Should you really stick to your niche? Well, yes and no!

If you’re a photographer or videographer, you’ve likely heard advice urging you to “niche down.” If “the riches are in the niches,” meaning specialization is the only way to succeed. In his recent video, Jared Collins dives into this topic with a balanced take: should you focus on a specific niche? His answer? Both yes and no. But let’s get into more detail.

As Jared points out (and I completely agree), finding your niche doesn’t mean you stop exploring other genres of photography or videography. It simply means your portfolio should showcase the work you want to be hired for. Think of it like this: if a client is searching for a wedding photographer, but your portfolio is filled with car photography and landscapes, they might question your expertise. Put briefly, clients book you based on what they see.

Jared shares a personal story about starting as a wedding videographer and then shifting to creating social media content for businesses. Despite producing high-quality wedding films, businesses struggled to envision how that work translated to corporate projects. This experience underscored the importance of showing specialized work that directly aligns with your target audience.

How to find your niche

Finding your niche starts with experimentation. Jared suggests shooting a variety of subjects to discover what excites you most. From there, you can narrow your focus and research how to break into that specific industry. Whether it’s weddings, automotive photography, or social media content creation, understanding your niche’s market and best practices is key to building a strong portfolio.

What about other genres?

But if you find a niche, doesn’t mean you should stick to it and do nothing else? Of course not. Having a niche doesn’t mean abandoning other types of photography. Jared shares that he has a professional portfolio, dedicated to social media content for businesses. But he also has a personal portfolio including landscapes and old buildings. Those are just things that bring him joy, as he says, and he doesn’t mix them with his professional work. Keeping these separate allows him to present a polished, specialized portfolio to potential clients while still enjoying creative freedom. And I think this is a perfect approach.

Final thoughts

Niching down is essential if you want to make photography or videography a business. Your portfolio must reflect the jobs you want to book, as clients hire based on what they see. But that doesn’t mean limiting your creativity—just your professional presentation. Start broad, find your passion, and focus your portfolio to show exactly what you want to be known for.

[Should Creators Niche Down? | Don’t Make the same Mistake I Made when I started my Business! | Jared Collins]

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