I Started To Care Less About Making Content Perfect

Photo Source: Pexels.com

I started my photography journey in my 30s, and right away, I knew I wanted to do this full-time and make a living from it.

The problem was, I had no clue where to start or how to improve.

So I worked backwards.

I took the work of professionals I looked up to, photographers and filmmakers I followed on YouTube or aspired to be like and started breaking their work down. I studied their photos and videos, tried to understand how they were made, and experimented with different techniques to replicate their style and get as close to the quality of their work as I could.

Then once I start to get real jobs, I realised something.

Most clients don't see or care about the meticulous work that goes into making a photo or video look great.

For example, they don't really care that I'm using a 33-megapixel camera, expensive lenses, or a camera capable of producing high-quality video.

What they care about is the investment they're making.

Can my photos and videos help solve their problems?

More importantly, can the content help them sell, communicate their message and grow their business online?

A lot of it came down to things that happened before I even picked up the camera: content strategy, pre-shoot Zoom calls, meetings, brainstorming and, of course, the final deliverables.

In some cases, clients were even perfectly happy with a simple photo straight out of the camera because it captured the right moment.

Or a simple short-form video that simply showed what their product or service looks and feels like from a customer's point of view.

Wait… is it really that simple?!

Well, not exactly.

There are still certain standards I hold myself responsible for. Proper lighting, framing, composition and image quality still matter. These are things I take pride in, and I don't think I should compromise on them just because the client may not notice every technical detail.

But I don't feel the need to brag about them either.

In a way, it's more like:

Tell me what you need, and I'll use my experience as a photographer and filmmaker to make sure the content looks great and does what it's supposed to do.

Without having to over-explain everything.

Long story short, I started becoming more mindful of the planning, communication and making sure we're always on the same page.

I started focusing less on how I shoot and more on what we're trying to achieve and how I can make the client feel throughout the process.

But there's a downside to this too.

I realised that if I focus too much on the business side of things, it's easy to neglect my own practice and improvement.

That's why I still try to make time for passion projects.

They give me the freedom to experiment, try new techniques, make mistakes and simply enjoy photography and filmmaking without having to worry about whether the work has a commercial purpose.

I think that's important.

If you're a working professional like me in this industry, don't just focus on making your work technically good.

Focus on the planning, brainstorming and communication first.

Because good work without a purposeful impact can easily become something forgettable.

At the end of the day, it's about understanding what your client actually needs, what they're trying to achieve, and how they feel about working with you.

The camera is just one part of it.

Thanks for reading!
Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions.