Generalizing vs. Specializing - What's Better for You
Photographers, let me ask you a question! Have you ever thought about generalizing vs. specializing? Perhaps, you're at an early stage in your photography career and are wondering, what's right for you? And even if you have been doing photography for a while, it's a question we all face once it's time to take the next steps within our business and grow, am I right?
Well, I've had experience with both generalization and specialization. I can confidently say that I much prefer the latter and there's a reason why. I will layout the pros and cons of each and you can see what's better for you and your business.
But first I will say that there is no right or wrong path here. It's just about paying attention to what works best for YOU. It's about what sets YOUR soul on fire.
How to Know Which is Right for You?
It's possible to start out knowing you love photography but not knowing what you want to focus on shooting. And that's okay because it's just a part of your discovery journey. Only through trying out different things to photograph - from situations to people - will you get closer to realizing where YOUR love for photography lies the most.
It's also possible to start out knowing EXACTLY what you want to focus on shooting right away.
I've had mentoring sessions on both side of the spectrum where one person was confused about what they wanted to focus on, yet another knew exactly right away what got them most excited!
Me for example. I was confused as fuck.
9 years ago, I first thought I wanted to go into fashion photography, because I thought that's where I could be most creative, but then Storey Wilkins walked in and changed my perspective on that. She helped me realize that it was about people. I wanted to freeze emotional moments in time for others so they always had those photos to look back on.
After that, I tried shooting everything to do with people: families, babies, maternity shoots, couples, weddings, events.
But it didn't feel like I was getting much traction.
Then Jeff Jochum came along and coached me into specializing.
He taught me that through specialization, I could focus all my energy on what I LOVED shooting most, and then get really good at it. As a result, I would be able to:
get known for that niche
charge premium
So I clearly decided to focus on weddings, and more specifically, documenting weddings for free-spirited and sentimental couples.
I specialized myself SO much that I got to photograph what I loved most - wedding moments. On top of that, I was and still am able to work with people I feel I can be myself around!
Being able to specialize and become really good at what I loved most AND
be able to charge more for my work - well, that's what I call living the dream.
Pros + Cons of Generalizing vs. Specializing
Let me outline for you the pros and cons of generalizing + specializing. Breaking these down can help you decide which path speaks more to you!
Generalizing
Pros:
Variety in what you photograph
Challenge your creativity more since you are photographing different types of scenarios which can broaden your creative horizons
Cons:
It can feel overwhelming to stay well-organized. You have to create pricing, contracts, email templates, workflow systems for each category you photograph
Marketing can feel confusing because it's not clear what to focus on and who your target audience is
It's easier to be forgotten if it's not clear what you do exactly and this can lead to fewer referrals. What it means is that you're not the first one to come to mind when someone's friend is getting married and they are looking for a wedding photographer because you post that you also shoot babies, families, products, branding sessions, etc.
If you're good at everything, you're GREAT at nothing. If being GREAT means a lot to YOU, then generalizing may not be for you.
Specializing
Pros:
Your confidence levels increase because you become GREAT at ONE thing
You are memorable to people because it's easy for them to remember exactly what you're great at
It's much easier to stay organized creating pricing, contracts, email templates, and workflow systems because you only have to create all those things once and keep them updated.
You're able to charge a lot more because you are seen as an expert in your niche
You get to focus on what you love photographing most
You get to connect with your clients on a deeper level because you have the time and energy to do so by being so organized on the back-end and not always playing catch up and juggling all sorts of shoots
The better you get at your craft, the more you can innovate in that space to create an even more memorable experience for your clients
Your marketing strategy on Instagram/website gets so much easier because you know exactly what you do and why. Your messaging is clear. If people constantly see you posting wedding photos and nothing else, it's very clear that you're a wedding photographer and you're more likely to come to mind when their friends are looking for a wedding photographer
Cons:
You have less variety in what you photograph
Yup, just one con! And that's not because I prefer specializing. It's genuinely the only con that comes to mind.
And remember, I used to generalize for 4 years, so this is me speaking from personal experience.
To me, that's not even a con because I love what I do so much and I feel like I have enough variety because I'm always telling new stories, for different people, and the locations always change. To me, that's a lot of variety.
But I know what you're thinking - Sara, if I specialize, won't I miss out on booking more shoots and making more money since I'll be pigeonholing myself into one category?
The answer is NO! And again, I say this from experience. The riches are in the niches! Experts are the ones that are trusted most and get paid the most.
Now, I'm not saying that once you choose to focus on photographing weddings, that that's ALL you can shoot and you can no longer take on other kinds of work. That's not true at all!
If you choose to specialize because you want to focus on what you love shooting most and become an expert, that's what you would focus on MARKETING, so that it's easy for you to communicate what you do, who you serve and how you do what you do.
But then, you'll actually still get random inquiries on the side to photograph other things with people saying something along the lines of, "Hey, I know you shoot weddings, but I love your work so much and the way you capture feeling and emotion. Would you be up for doing a family session for us?”
Guess what, in that moment you can decide for yourself if you'll take that on or not. Maybe you feel a good vibe from them and have the time to take on another session so you agree! Maybe money feels tight and you need to do what you need to do to bring in more income.
If you have your boundaries set and you know that if you say YES to this, then it'll mean a NO to something like quality time with your partner, or simply relaxing, then you can simply respond to them by saying, “Thanks so much, I'm so grateful you reached out but I am focusing only on weddings so that I can keep a healthy work-life balance. Here is a list of photographers that I can suggest for you to get in touch with and who are hopefully available. I hope this helps you on your search! :)"
Figuring Out Your WHY
Even though I prefer specializing, I know some of you may have your own powerful WHY of why you love generalizing and you can take on the challenge of staying well organized on the back end, while providing an amazing experience for your clients, while ALSO having a healthy work-life balance.
So if that speaks to you more, then do you! I do believe that if someone wants something bad enough, they can make it happen. So I mainly wanted to create this blog post to help empower you to make a decision that's best for you.
Just remember. Whatever you are leaning towards, ask yourself WHY.
WHY am I leaning towards generalizing? Is it because of a fear of not bringing in enough bookings when I commit to one thing, instead? Or is it because I equally love so many of the things I photograph that I would become unhappy and unfulfilled as an artist to let any of them go?
Similarly, if you're leaning towards specializing, also ask yourself WHY.
WHY am I leaning towards specializing? Is it because I want to bring in more income for me and my family? Is it because I'm tired of feeling like I have to shoot everything in order to make money? Is it because I want to excel and grow to be the best I can be in one area to provide an exceptional experience for clients?
It's also powerful to know what drives your decision because then you can see if you are making it out of fear, or out of what you really want to do. And there is a huge difference between the two. I say, lean into what you REALLY want and let go of the fear because you have MORE of a chance at being successful doing what you love than something you hate because you will naturally have more drive and enthusiasm to do the work it takes for you to get there.
If you choose to focus on specializing, be aware that you may experience a dip in inquiries. That's bound to happen if you let go of something to start focusing on marketing one thing instead. This happened to me too. But keep at it! Keep pushing through because when you make it to the other side, you'll be able to do what you love and get paid really well for it.
I hope this helped you. If it did, please let me know by sending me a DM on Instagram (@saramonikaphoto). If you know someone who would like this too, share this blog with them or send them the link to the podcast episode!
Love you guys and thank you so much for reading!
-Sara Monika