How To Know If You're Ready To Start Pitching
I know that I go on and on about how great pitching is for photographers - because it is. I’m a firm believer in its powers, and think its the best way for photographers to get their work, especially with brands that they actually want to work with.
However, let’s be real for a second… how do you know if you’re ready to start pitching yourself? Because I do think that you need to be at a certain point in your career before you start to put yourself out there.
So let’s take a look at what you need to have in place before you start pitching:
A Solid Portfolio: Before you can start to pitch yourself, you need to have a portfolio of images that you’ve taken which will not only show off your skills as a photographer, but also show to the brand you’re emailing that you’d be a good fit for them. Brands will only hire you, or collaborate with you, if they can see evidence that you can do what you say you can do. It’s no good pitching to a brand in the first month of your journey into photography, because they simply won’t work with you.
So before you start pitching, take a look at your portfolio and ask yourself if there’s anything missing in it. Have you got images in there that look like something a brand you want to work with would feature on their social media? On their website?
If you don’t, go out and shoot those images you’re lacking. Spend a couple of weeks putting together “pretend campaigns” and then send them to those brands. That’s exactly what I did, and still do, each time I want to pitch myself to someone!
A good understanding of photography: I think this goes without saying… but just in case it doesn’t: you need to be a really good photographer. I don’t think that means you need to having been shooting for a decade, but you do need to know what you’re doing. Do you have a solid understanding of how a camera works? Could you handle a more pressurised work environment? If a client asked you to do something, would you know how to do it (or could you work out how to do it?) If you feel confident in your abilities, you’re ready to start pitching.
Business sense: This one is a bit ambiguous, but before you start pitching I think that you need to have a minimum understanding of how business works. Do you have an invoicing system set up? Do you have a contract in place that you can send them? Do you have a pricing structure set up for yourself? If you don’t have these basics in place, then take a week or two to get your business up to scratch, and then you’ll be ready to start pitching!
Self Belief: This is probably the most important part about pitching - you need to believe in yourself and your work. The creative world is rife with imposter syndrome, and it’s totally normal to feel intimidated and doubtful. But if you don’t believe in yourself, then who else will? If you’ve got all of the above in place, trust me, you’re good to go. If you’re feeling really worried about your work, or you’re really unsure about pitching, then ask for help! One thing you can do to help yourself improve is take my free mini pitching course. Sign up below, and get started on learning all there is to know on pitching.
