There are so many different kinds of photographers out there: commercial, fashion, weddings and engagement, nature, senior, boudoir, families, etc. The list goes on and on. So many aspects of photography all with tons of unique experiences.  Some artists take a jack-of-all trades approach to their work while others choose a specialty.

One of the most exciting parts of my photography journey has been trying new concepts.  When I first started out I took whatever would come my way. I was just aching to use my camera and start practicing (and even make a little money!). I’ve gotten to work with families, children, seniors, and I’m even working on a few weddings. As I’ve worked with clients I began to see a trend in what I was drawn too and what thing things caught my eye.

So how does one decide their niche? Ask yourself these questions:

What excites you? What kinds of images can you not wait to start working with?

What pushes you to keep climbing the creativity ladder and challenging yourself?

What kind of clients do you feel the most confident with?

What catches your eye when looking at photographs? What kind of photographers are you favorite to follow?

What is your vision?

If you want to make photography a life-long passion I believe working with subjects you love is the key to not becoming burnt out. For me, the kind of work that excites and challenges me is that of portraiture. I’m slowly narrowing my own focus to fashion senior work. I love working with just one person, and discovering their personality and bringing that out through photographs. I especially like to work with women. I’m fascinated by catching all the lovely details each women holds. I’ve come to learn that through my lens I’m very detail oriented and become most inspired when I get to work those muscles.  I realized with other subjects I would quickly become bored in the post processing phase, and would struggle with creativity during the shoots.

With one model I feel more comfortable exploring and taking the time to experiment with how they move, and act and portray themselves. I’m able to build a sense of how the images could look based on personal interactions with my clients.

Choosing a niche has helped me shape my vision for the future of my craft. I want to display the beauty of young women in a way that is lovely, classy, yet lively and adventurous. These are things that are becoming old school-fast. I want to capture joy and create an experience for every  girl to feel like a professional model for a day. My desire is to shine a little light into the world of fashion photography and the growing expectations for women to only be ‘sexy or hot’.

I interviewed some awesome fellow photographers to find out their take on finding a niche:

Erin Crista, “Weddings and newborns are want I want to book consistently… they made me happiest. I know it sounds silly but I get excited and nervous about them. I knew I was wasting my time If I didn’t feel truly excited about the work I was doing.” Find her work @erincrista.com

Kim Nelson, “I found it easier to niche out. I was spreading myself too thin. I had crap newborn images on the same page as an alternative cosplay. It was confusing to my clients to see the different levels of my skill. Niching out gave me more clients because my skill appeared more consistent. They knew who I was and what they would get.” Find her work @handinhandphotography.com