Why teaching food photography for brands actually gets me more clients (and doesn’t make my job obsolete)
I’m a full time food photographer for food and drink brands. I make my money by booking shoots with brands that want good photos. So whenever I mention that I also teach brands how to improve their own food photography in house, people look at me like I’m crazy. They say things like ‘but isn’t that just working your way out of your day job?’ or ‘why would you teach people how to do it without you?’
But there are several very good reasons why teaching food photography for brands actually gets me more clients, not less.
1. Because learning a few essential skills is not the same as being a professional food and drink photographer.
Take the analogy of DIY - you might watch a few YouTube videos on how to paint a room or upcycle some furniture, but you’re not going to take on a full remodel or build a two story extension without professional help. The same goes for food photography. Teaching brands how to do some of the work themselves doesn’t make my job obsolete. In fact, when brands realise the time and resources involved with creating good quality imagery, they often decide their time is best invested elsewhere and seek to outsource the photography as soon as their budget allows.
2. Because good imagery makes money.
Brands who have a good understanding of how to create beautiful food photos that align with their brand values will be building an incredibly strong visual presence and a sense of familiarity in their audience that will keep them coming back for more. This means they make more sales and more money. And when a brand that values the power of food photography makes enough money to pay someone to do it for them, guess what they do? They invest in a professional food photographer to continue the work they’ve so successfully laid the foundations for.
3. Because it’s a full time job to be a food photographer.
It takes some pretty serious dedication to turn a side hustle into a food photography career, not to mention hours of training, thousands of pounds on equipment and the incessant admin and mindset work that it takes to be self employed. If the social media, marketing and brand managers that I work with were ready to commit to all of that then they were always going to become a food photographer anyway. And if I can be a part of the journey in helping someone follow their passion and create a career on their own terms then I wouldn’t hesitate for a second in doing that.
4. Because DIY photography is a means to an end.
The reason brands want to improve their own photography skills is because they want to elevate their brand. They want to stand out online. They want to create imagery that connects with their audience and makes them more sales. It’s not because they actually enjoy the process of DIY photography. As soon as the budget is made available to book a professional photoshoot, that’s exactly what they do.
5. Because teaching photography builds a relationship with my ideal clients.
Who do you think my mentoring clients want to work with when they do have the budget to outsource? It might be a photographer they’ve not worked with before, but it’s more likely to be a photographer they already have a relationship with, who has helped them build and grow their business, and who knows their brand values and preferred style inside out.
6. Because teaching photography makes money too.
It frustrates me when solo business owners don’t own up to the fact that they do what they do to make money. Of course we all have a passion for what we do and a drive to better the world in some way. I truly believe in the power of food to bring people together and know that if we raise the profiles of the businesses doing things differently, then we can have a positive impact in the food industry. But I also can’t do any of that if I’m not making money.
So if a brand doesn’t have the budget available to work with me on a photoshoot, but in the meantime wants to book a power hour to improve their skills, then the decision to mentor those brands makes good business sense. I still get to do what I love, I still get to help people stand out online and I still get to make money in the process.
And like I said, it often leads to working with those brands on photoshoots in the future anyway.
So there you have it: 6 reasons why teaching food photography for brands actually gets me more clients as a food photographer, not less.
If you want to work with me to improve your own brand photography then I’d love to hear from you.
Click the button below to find out more about my brand mentoring options.