Why You Haven’t Got Any Photography Clients

We've all been there. Looking at our calendar and seeing it blank - not a single job booked in. That feeling can be brutal. It can scary, and it can be totally deflating. But I'm here to help, and always will be. So let's look at why you might be struggling, and why you might not currently have any clients. 

Self Doubt:

 Self doubt can be utterly crippling. It can be made even worse when you don't have clients booked in, and feel pretty crappy about your work. Trust me, every single photographer, no matter how "good" you may think that they are, or how much you think they've "made it" will feel self doubt in some way, shape, or form.

The difference between the photographers who make it, and the photographers who freeze in these moments, are those who push past their self doubt, and go for it anyway. 

Here's what I've learnt: that self doubt you feel? It's not going anywhere. It's going to be with you forever. I know that sounds brutal, but it's the truth. The sooner that you can learn to ignore it, to push beyond it, to quieten that voice in your head that says "you're not good enough" the quicker you'll progress. 

Want to know something fascinating? Motivation is a big lie. You can't rely on motivation to keep you going. What really will make you feel motivated is when you see yourself progressing! And the only way that you can progress is if you feel that fear, and that self doubt, and push beyond it.  

A book I can HIGHLY recommend reading if you struggle with self doubt and fear is called: Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffers.* (Affiliate Link)

Comparison is Killing Your Vibe: 

The saying "comparison is the thief of joy" isn't a saying for no reason. It's because it's totally true! We all know this deep down, but so many of us spend so much time looking at what other photographer and creatives are doing, and feeling crappy about "how much better they're doing than us" that we hold ourselves back from SO much. 

I wrote a blog post a while back called "Why Photographers Shouldn't Follow Other Photographer's" and I wanted to share it with you again here today, but I do still believe in it. I personally don't follow many photographers anymore, because honestly? It was too triggering! I would scroll through Instagram, see how great someone else's career was going, feel crap about mine, and it would make me freeze. I found myself not posting to Instagram, not wanting to pitch myself to brands, not wanting to organise shoots... all because I was feeling "less than" because of someone else's success. It's SO silly to feel that way, but I know myself, so I choose to not follow many photographers.

If you're feeling triggered by other photographers (myself included) please unfollow. You're unknowingly halting your progress SO much more than you realise. 

 You're Not Putting Yourself Out There Enough:

I mean, you knew this was coming, right? If you haven't got any clients right now, it will probably have a lot to do with the fact that you aren't putting yourself out there in front of the people who could hire you! There is ZERO point in sitting around, waiting for a brands email to land in your inbox, hoping they'll want to hire you for a job.

Of course, if you haven't got your mindset in check (like we just discussed in points one and two) then this is going to feel really, really tough. I know that, and that's why I created my online course Pitching With Confidence, so that I could help more photographers with their pitching. But I promise you, once you get started, pitching and emailing people you'd love to shoot for isn't that hard. It really isn't. 

If you've never sent an email to a brand that you'd love to shoot for in your life, my challenge to you this week would be to send just one! Just try. See how empowering it feels to know that your work has been placed in front of someone who might... just might... want to hire you. 

If you've got no idea how to get started with pitching, this blog post will be a good place to start!