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DIYP Challenge – What is Your Photography Niche?

Nov 13, 2015 by JP Danko 14 Comments

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Underwater competitive swimmer swimming freestyle.

In my ongoing quest to streamline my portfolio and re-brand my photography business, one of my biggest challenges is figuring out what exactly is my style – or in other words – what is my photography niche?

In order to successfully market your work to art directors, the prevailing wisdom in the photography community is that you need to develop a personalized style to your work – something that is unique to you.

Of course, finding your personal photography niche is much more difficult than it seems – especially if you are just starting out.  It takes time (and a lot of dead ends) before you start to see consistency in your portfolio and longer still before you can narrow that down to a specific photography niche.

So in this article, I am going to attempt to define my photography niche – and I challenge DIYP readers to submit a link to your own portfolio in the comments along with an explanation as to what you think your niche might be.

Is “Water Photographer” A Thing?

To define what I think is my personal photography niche, I am going to start with my Stocksy portfolio (a sample size of nearly 1000 photos).

This is a small proportion of my entire Lightroom catalog, but I think its a good place to start.

Most of what I submit to Stocksy is personal work – so for the most part these are photos that I wanted to create, photographed and processed in a style that I find personally appealing.

girl jumping into a pool underwater

This is also a tightly curated collection – Stocky’s notoriously ruthless editors (who know a lot more about what an art director wants to see than I do) have decided that every image in my portfolio is marketable in some way.

Man Aerial Photography Woman Family Boy Girl Walking on Tropical Beach on Vacation Drone

So, looking through my galleries, there are a few tends that start to emerge.

First, I think that most of my work has a consistent style – colorful, sharp, mostly wide angle and with people.  I would also say a tad contrived and static.

I know that I am much more comfortable photographing manufactured moments rather than genuine spontaneous moments, so unfortunately I can see that reflected in my work (its something I’m working on).

Mother, daughter and dog fishing from a dock on a quiet cottage lake.

I also like to think of myself as an “action sports” guy – but besides a few rock climbing photos, I just don’t see that in my portfolio.  I see more of a retired action sports guy who now has two kids and a house in the suburbs (go figure).

Man cross country skiing on frozen lake at twilight.

Finally, when I look through my gallery categories – there is one category that seems to define my work… Water.

Nearly 50% of my entire portfolio contains images that were taken in, in front of, beside, or under water.

(I had no idea that water figures so prominently in my work – although I probably should have guessed – every time I go camping in the southwest it subconsciously stresses me out that there is no flowing water in the creeks).

I guess that makes me a “Water Photographer”.

underwater triathlon photo

What Is Your Photography Niche?

What do you think – is “water photographer” accurate – or do I need to narrow that down more?

What is your photography niche?

Leave a comment below with a link to your portfolio and a description of what you think your photography style represents.

I think it will be interesting to see how we define ourselves vs. how others view our work.

(And be nice – mean comments will be deleted).

boy climbing in grotto cave on seashore

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

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Related posts:

How to find your niche in photography, and why you should do it How to find your style and niche in photography How to Find Your Photographic Niche 52 Week Photography Challenge for 2018

Filed Under: Inspiration Tagged With: business of photography

JP Danko: from diyphotography.net

About JP Danko

JP Danko is a commercial photographer based in Toronto, Canada. JP
can change a lens mid-rappel, swap a memory card while treading water, or use a camel as a light stand.

To see more of his work please visit his studio website blurMEDIAphotography, or follow him on Twitter, 500px, Google Plus or YouTube.

JP’s photography is available for licensing at Stocksy United.

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