Six powerful habits of successful photographers you need to know about

The road to becoming a successful photographer can be a hard one to travel down. Success doesn’t come easy, so, you’re going to need to spend time honing your craft, developing your style, and marketing yourself. There are, however, a few habits that successful photographers swear by.

The key to becoming successful at anything is creating easy-to-maintain habits that will lead you toward your end goal. Creating habits will make seemingly mundane or hard tasks second nature with a little time and effort. If you want to get ahead in the ultra-competitive field of photography, you need to create habits that will help you stand out from the crowd. Here, we’re going to look at some traits of highly successful photographers that keep them moving forward.

Successful photographers are dedicated

This one should come as no surprise. Successful photographers are not afraid to go out and create. Wind, rain, snow, freezing temps, sweltering heat, 3 a.m. starts. These are just a few challenges that we all face as creators. However, the very best photographers don’t roll over and hit snooze when the alarm goes off at crazy o’clock or when the going gets tough.

Just like with other professions, if you want to be the very best, you have to be dedicated to the cause. Dedicated photographers embrace the crazy and figure out how to work with it. They’re out creating when others are shying away. Accomplished photographers have their cameras with them all the time so that they can create when inspiration or opportunity hits. If you want to be a successful creator you need to be ready all the time. Henri Cartier Bresson and many of the other greats didn’t become successful by being unwilling to shoot whenever, wherever,

Successful photographers are always networking

In today’s world, networking with others online and locally is vital. Successful photographers leverage platforms like LinkedIn, Flickr, 500px, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and others to make connections with other creators and potential clients. Don’t be afraid to reach out to photographers who share similar interests. Reach out to those who work in genres you want to break into. Follow and interact with companies you’d like to work with. Successful photographers play an active role in many communities by sharing their knowledge or by interacting and learning from others.

It’s important to network offline as well. You’ll find that photographers who are well-respected visit trade shows to interact with others in person. They play active roles in local camera and photography clubs, and they lead photography meets in their city or town. Don’t underestimate the power of networking. You never know who you might make a connection with nor where that connection may lead. Get into the habit of building relationships with others in your field. It will take you far.

Accomplished photographers print and share their work locally

It’s great to share and see your work online. However, every successful photographer out there will tell you that a printed image is more powerful than a digital one. By all means, share your work with apps like Instagram and 500px. Market yourself online. Write witty captions and hashtag the crap out of your work so it can get in front of as many people as possible, but don’t overlook printing.

You can be a successful photographer offline as well as online. Accomplished photographers get into the habit of printing their images. This allows them to set up booths and show their work at local art fairs. They can approach local businesses to see if they can hang their images in their stores or coffee shops. It might seem like a hassle because jumping on Instagram is so much easier, but invest in a quality printer (read our review of the Epson SureColor P900 here) and make it a habit to bring your work to life so you can show and share it locally.

Successful photographers maintain their own website and blog

Creating images is only half the story of becoming a successful photographer. You have to be able to market yourself as well. So, having a personal website and blog is essential. Nothing screams unprofessional more than making potential clients look at your work on Instagram.

Buy yourself a domain name (you can get them for $12 a year). Once acquired, launch a website on WordPress, Squarespace, Wix, Weebly or Format for example. Upload your images into personally curated galleries, and write about how and why you created them on your blog. Let others get to know you. Let them into your creative mind and thought process through your words. Get into the habit of blogging and sharing your images on your name dot com and you’ll reap the rewards.

Accomplished photographers are always learning

Successful photographers never stop learning. Ask anyone successful in their field and they’ll tell you that the biggest mistake anyone can make is thinking they know it all. This applies to photographers and creators as well. The second you think you’ve reached the summit, well, you’re already being overtaken by someone else.

Get into the habit of reading photography books. Sign up for classes on new photo editing techniques. Make sure you have learned everything there is to know about your gear. Study shooting techniques that you may be unfamiliar with like panoramas or the Brenizer effect, for example. Accomplished photographers are always challenging themselves and they’re always moving forward.

They keep and maintain up to date portfolios

As mentioned above, showing your work to potential clients via Instagram is a surefire way to lose business and respect. Successful photographers curate their work on personal websites. However, on top of this, they also curate portfolios that can be shared with clients during one on one sessions.

Are you trying to book a client for a wedding? Print your images and curate a portfolio that shows your wedding photography. Are you trying to secure portrait business? Make a portfolio just for portraits. Do there same for your product photography, event photography, documentary work, and so on.

Get into the habit of being prepared to showcase your talents and sell your vision to potential work partners. Being able to hand over physical copies of your work is incredibly professional and powerful. It’s why successful photographers swear by portfolios.

Do you have any tips you’d like to share with others when it comes to being a successful photographer? Feel free to share them in the comment section below.