Talented But Not Getting Booked? What Art Buyers Look For

Jan · 0:22
Welcome back to The Curated Lab Podcast, where it's Per and me discussing the creative industry and what actually happens behind closed doors. In the last episode, we were discussing the intention behind The Curated Lab, why we founded it, and what we think is the purpose for. Our community. And if you haven't listened to that episode yet, please feel free to jump back to episode one. And there we will get a deeper insight into why all of this happens.

Per · 0:52
Thanks for the quick recap, Jan. Today we want to talk about an issue that we noticed among many creatives in our industry, that is so many people create wonderful work that really stands out, but they still don't get booked on a regular basis. And we want to discuss reasons for that and what you can change and what a solution to this could be.

Jan · 1:16
Before we start this episode today, subscribe to the show on YouTube or follow us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Per · 1:16
It takes two seconds and every Thursday the new episode comes to you.

Jan · 1:26
so where do we start? When we when we were discussing this topic for this episode, of course we looked back into our own careers and maybe I can share a bit of my own story. so So maybe I share a bit about my own story because I think that helps to understand where we're coming from. So when I started my career as a retouching artist, it was a transition from art direction to to retouching.

Jan · 1:52
So I had a very graphical background. I was always drawn into images, and I had a natural habitat in advertising agencies. So there was a lot of work that was in where images were involved and where of course image manipulation was a thing that That was a daily thing to do. And I was fascinated by all the the stuff that was actually possible when when having an and a creative idea and what you can do with images to to tell a story.

Jan · 2:19
Yet I didn't have a clear workflow and logic in my files that allowed me to be in control and to be like doing exactly what I wanted. So my work wasn't really predictable. And that is where I want to go with this. So when you are hired for a creative job, you of course are hired because the people like the results of the work that they see maybe on your website or in your portfolio.

Jan · 2:48
But there's another very important thing, and that is if they if they can see in your portfolio and of course in the conversation that they have with you, if they can trust you to deliver under pressure. And in real production surroundings. And I that is the the key difference for me. Per can you relate to that?

Per · 3:10
I can totally relate to that and add a few more takes that I have on the topic. Trust is probably, I would say the number one driver why you get booked, besides good work, obviously, of course. Without good work, there's no reason to book you. But the clients need to see that they can trust you, that you are reliable, that you are fun to be around. I mean, you don't have to be the most outgoing person, of course not, but you have to be a good person, a nice person, a cool person that you can communicate with your clients, with the agency, that you can communicate your vision well, that you can communicate prior to shoot, but also after the shoot, because a shoot doesn't stop when the last shot has been taken. And I think those are some of the most important factors that drive a client photographer, client retoucher relationship.

Jan · 4:05
Exactly, because exactly what you said, then when when people are able to trust you, they they will when they start searching for the team that will like perform a certain job, they they want the the clarity and the safety, so they buy safety that they get what they want in the quality that they expect. And of course the the the cherry on top is If you are a good person to work with, if you are easy to work with, if you are like, you know, if there's a big ego or not.

Jan · 4:40
Like nobody likes the big ego. It's sometimes it's it's necessary because the person is, I don't know, so good or contracted or whatever. On the other hand, if you have got someone that is a really good team player and still a great leader, that's the most that's the best thing you can ask for. And if you can be that person that delivers trust. excellence and like easy being easy to work with that's a that's a white card.

Per · 5:08
Absolutely. Although, I mean, if you look at the major, major campaigns from the big fashion houses, there is reason why the same photographers get booked over and over again. It's usually names like David Sims or even Steven Meisel still, although he's pushing, I think, 70 or something like that. They still get booked on so many big campaigns. And that's not just because their visual language is obviously top notch.

Per · 5:35
But the client knows if they shoot that, it'll be a plus. And that's just such a big factor. They can rely on that. They don't have to think about that. And that's also due to there's such big budgets involved that the client wants to be sure the budget is in good hands. And that can drop down into medium sized jobs. It's not just about the major, major campaigns. but the client wants to know my budget is in good hands.

Jan · 6:05
That's a very good point because that reminds me of a of a situation where I've once had a conversation with a very seasoned art buyer from an from a international advertising agency network. And she told me that when I asked her, What do you look for when you hire creative talent for a job? Not just as a as a fixed position, but as a as as a photographer or a retouching artist or a team. and she said. I'm looking for their pricing, but not looking for the cheapest one.

Jan · 6:38
I look for reasonable pricing so that they understand the scope of the work and the deliverables. And that was very eye-opening for me. So they they didn't look for the cheapest option. They looked for exactly what you said: safety, that their budget is in right hands and that they actually know what they're doing and what is needed. to be delivered. And not just in quality, but also in time and under pressure. So big campaigns, as you said, you cannot reshoot it. There's big timings behind that. And big teams involved.

Jan · 7:12
And if if you screw that up, on then of course the whole production gets jeopardized. And that's what they, of course, want to avoid because it's their job that depends on that, right? It's hiring the right people. So it's all about. expectation management and clear communication. But let's let's maybe break that up a bit and talk about when because we are talking about very let's say seasoned creatives now and being in a position where you have that trust already but what happens when you're starting out and when you're in the beginning or maybe doing a shift from being a an an art director or a photographer that is hired into a company and stepping into the the wild world outside being freelance or becoming your own company, what do you think can you do in in that moment to establish the first steps in that direction?

Per · 8:07
think one key driver to establish trust or making yourself a name in the industry is to become a photo assistant. that way you learn so much in the industry. let's say you become a photo assistant for two, three, four years. You learn so much. You learn how to communicate. You see how professionals do it. On the side, of that you do your own shoots, like personal shoots and establish a portfolio, build a portfolio.

Per · 8:36
And usually, usually it's a seamless progression from being a photo assistant into being a full-time photographer. Because during the time as an assistant, build a network. Ideally, you build your network. You make great relationships and you shot your portfolio as well. And then it's... it blends from photo assistant into professional being a professional photographer. That's definitely one way that you can do that. But it's always about networking, gaining relationships, gaining a good network, making yourself a name, showing yourself. People need to get to know you. If they never heard your name, why would they book you?

Jan · 9:19
Yes, that's absolutely right. Yet there can be the situation that you are maybe not in a location where there's a lot to network, right? So people working working remote, for example. And I think if that is the case, one other thing that you could potentially do is to const constantly overdeliver, to be To bring your own input more than what was asked to. Maybe another variant that shows that you're thinking beyond what has been asked for. Not to push in anything, but to show like like an extra that could be a potential benefit for the project, for example.

Jan · 10:05
Or I think being being faster than expected would also help to Of course, having the same quality, not not just being faster, but being faster and great is something that can also bring trust and r recurring business.

Per · 10:24
I always tell the client, let's say the images are ready in seven days and you deliver them in two or three. So the client feels, was quick, great, great quality, over delivered.

Jan · 10:36
Yeah, absolutely. And if you then also coming back to the other great argument is being easy to work with, also making it easy for them to to brief you what I noticed works very well when establishing new client relationshipships is finding a let's say creating a a vocabulary book that helps in of course air quotes again. But but it helps to establish a a mutual language that actually allows you to move faster. So when what is a good briefing? Define that for both sides. Take the time in the first job that you that you have together to briefly outline the the main expectations and to to have the same kind of Phrases to work with. What is a good brief?

Jan · 11:29
What is, for example, let's let's go to the hair world, for example. What what kind of expectations do you have in terms of shine and color, for example? Do you have any mood references? Something that we can you know work with to nail exactly what you want. So we don't need precise information on on every single step, but we need the key elements. So that we can make you feel seen and understood.

Jan · 11:56
And that is something that I is I I noticed throughout my career is super important, having the same language.

Jan · 12:03
Let's pause here for a second. What clients pay for besides the images we put together into a free guide, the Bookability Check.

Per · 12:03
Twelve questions. Go through them before you write to your next client.

Jan · 12:03
You will find the link in the description and now let's get back to the episode.

Per · 12:20
And another thing that I would like to point out why creatives don't get booked, although they have strong portfolios, is I think I'm fully aware that every person is different. But I think if you have strong work or a portfolio, you need to get your work out there. And it has never been easier than nowadays with social media or in general with all the platforms that you have to show your work.

Per · 12:49
I hear from so many creatives, I'm not there yet, my work is not perfect yet, I'll wait another year to show something. To a certain point, this might be true, although I would challenge that. Just get your work out there so people can see it. It doesn't matter at what stage you are. You will always get better if you push, but you have to get your work out there.

Per · 13:12
So people notice you, people see your work, and while they see your work, you get better. But if you never show your work, no one will notice and you won't get booked. It sounds very simple, but I think that's a pretty big issue.

Jan · 13:27
If you are staying in the shadows, nobody can can see your light. and I that reminds me of a person that I know a a really talented retouch artist. he's he's from let's say an older semester, so to say. He's I've I don't I'm not one hundred percent sure, but he's somewhat in the end fifties maybe. and he has a phenomenal skill set. He's very technical and but he can deliver on point. And he told me over the course of I don't know three or four years that he's building his website.

Jan · 14:07
And I asked him every year, where's your website? And he said, I'm not ready yet. I said, what the what the F are you waiting for? You know With the time is passing and you're you're putting energy into all the work that you do, but nobody sees it. So there's no there's no sense in that. And he was lucky enough to have great client relationships, so he wasn't dependent depending on that.

Jan · 14:36
But still his work never got out to be seen. And I think that's that's something that's so easy nowadays. it's so much easier than Two or three years ago, now you can just tell an an AI of your choice to to create a quick mock-up of of a of a website, or you can even have it built with it. It's it takes ten minutes and so there's no excuses anymore not to put out your work, other than you don't feel comfortable with it, of course. And that's that's but that's excuses.

Per · 15:05
Yeah, but it's usually excuses because I feel like the right moment is always now. It's always now. And just get it out there and iterate while you go, while you progress. You get better with the journey. you know, I mean, I can certainly relate to that. There might also be a fear of being judged what people think about your work. but it helps a lot to free yourself from being judged. I mean, people are going to judge you anyways, always. And it's a process to free yourself from that, but it helps a lot to grow.

Jan · 15:43
I recently saw a a really cool video of of of a a person giving a speech, I think at the university. And so that guy said that you should if you are scared of what people think of you, you have to free your mind from that from that feeling. And you could do that by walking through the through the street and every ten step jumping up and saying, Huh. Something like this, and doing something really funky. And he said, do that for 20 days in a row, and you won't ever care about what people say and think about you.

Jan · 16:18
And that is that is a very good point. I have been doing that once. I have been on a on a on an event, and there someone came up with this challenge to do something really like weird in front of the other people, and it felt very awkward in the beginning. But then I said, I come on, screw it, I will do it. And I did it. I was rolling around on the floor and jumping and doing really funky stuff. And it was a it I I was feeling very relieved afterwards because first, of course, it was a safe environment, everybody was doing it.

Jan · 16:54
but it was like, okay, this is something that it broke some some pattern in my head, and it was easy to do that afterwards. But that was just a side note.

Per · 17:06
Actually, there's also a really nice book about it, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck by Mark Manson. It can definitely nudge you in the right direction to at least think about or rethink certain behavior.

Jan · 17:20
That's a book that is in our holiday house and I'm grabbing it whenever we're there. It's a really good one and

Per · 17:27
it's a different topic anyways. Maybe for another episode.

Jan · 17:32
Yet I wanna I wanna point out another angle on that we might have a look at this at this topic. Having a a portfolio out there is is great, but there's also the need for it to be clear, right? So it can be strong, but not clear. That will lead to the person wondering, hmm, seems to be good work, but is he or she the right fit for that job. so I think it's very important that people understand what you stand for and what they can expect, right?

Per · 18:05
For sure, absolutely. And also, it probably depends on the level where you're at, but especially in the beginning or in the first years of your career, depending on if you have people around you who know better or if you are working on yourself. I see so many creatives who have, let's say, a bit of fashion, a bit of beauty, but then they also have lifestyle photography, some portraits, some commercial stuff. maybe even wedding stuff or something like that within the portfolio. And that's such a big issue to get the clients you really want because you shouldn't please everyone.

Per · 18:43
Look for your niche and double down on that. I mean, fashion and beauty obviously go well or fashion and portrait, et cetera. They go well together or even fashion and sports even more nowadays. But there's fine lines for sure. But don't offer everything. That won't get you anywhere.

Jan · 19:07
That is so true. I think when you when you think about it, it's maybe one of the the the key factors.

Per · 19:15
would say so, especially in the beginning or first couple of years. Then later on you gain experience, although it's hard to tell one answer for everyone, especially in the first years, commit to a certain direction.

Jan · 19:31
Yes. But I want to challenge that for for a second. Because when you're starting out and when you're building your portfolio, niching down in that moment might seem to be a good idea. But what if there's this little guy in your head telling you that, I'm I'm going to miss out on so many opportunities. Am I taking am I taking something from from my table? How do you think about that?

Per · 20:04
I can certainly only speak from my experience. And of course I know that that little guy in the head. when I started out, I was, well, I had the impression I should offer everything, but it was just because I didn't know better. No one told me because I didn't know the right people yet. I never studied photography or, you know, like learn it. Well, how do you say in English in German? It's Ausbildung.

Jan · 20:32
education and or studies, yeah.

Per · 20:34
like a probably I was just, you know, grabbing a camera and felt like that, that feels good. So I didn't yet have the people around me who tell me, so I thought just offer anything and you will make it eventually. So I really know that guy in the head saying, but if I ditch that from my portfolio, I'm going to miss out on client XYZ. And it was a process to go there, but deep down in myself, I always knew I wanted to only shoot fashion because that's where my heart is and what resonates with me most.

Per · 21:08
It was probably more driven from a money perspective because I wasn't yet earning much with photography. I was just starting out. get all the jobs in from A to Z, kind of.

Jan · 21:27
Yes. And you know, I think in the beginning, especially in the beginning, it's okay to to try out many things and to also find out what you don't like and what you don't feel comfortable with. And and later, when you that maybe identified an area that you would like to niche down, of course you do not have to stop working in the other areas, but maybe consider not putting them into your portfolio, right?

Jan · 21:54
Because the ones that you put out are the ones that you want to get hired for. But people that you have already been working with, they will always get back to you if you did a good job. So I mean they will keep you in the relevant set for that area. So it's not that, of course, unless you say that I don't want to do that anymore, that's fine. but I think it's it's also a matter of communication and what you put out and It doesn't say that you shouldn't take the the bread and butter jobs, right?

Jan · 22:26
so but I think that's it's of it's sorry, but I think it's important to say that. You don't have to stop doing that. You just maybe think about not communicating it anyway.

Per · 22:36
Exactly. mean, clients usually know, you know, if you show a certain portfolio and let's say there's only fashion images and their clients know you also have a commercial portfolio on the site that you can show them and they will they will ask for that. But there's no need to show that in your portfolio because you want to make sure you specialize in your portfolio and your portfolio is only as strong as your weakest image because That's what stays in the mind of the possible clients.

Per · 23:07
They look for, well, they see a good work, but they also see maybe an image, this doesn't hold up with his or her best work. Why is that in the portfolio? And they, it's probably in human nature that they will remember the bad one over the good one.

Jan · 23:25
totally. And from from my own experience, I think it's also very important to to review your portfolio every now and then and to have a have a very clear conversation about that with people you trust. Also, maybe with clients that you have a good relationship with. So, would that resonate with you to hire me? Or would that, you know, just thinking out loud, can we have an open discussion about that?

Jan · 23:52
I think if if you have a a good relationship with a client or a partner, that is a very good conversation to have. because that will help you challenge your own perception. Because sometimes you I certainly had like let's say a relationship with certain pictures because it took me, I don't know, a lot of effort to create them, but actually it was not my best work and I just kept it for the wrong reasons. And getting getting rid of this was a relief also, but I couldn't let go in the first place.

Jan · 24:28
And Yeah, I think that is exactly one of the reasons why we founded the lab, right? So inside the lab, these discussions happen, and that is what we want to help our members to understand. And also we see that they help each other in in these discussions. So is that a strong image? Does it really serve the portfolio purpose? and we have that especially in the portfolio reviews. Would you like to give a quick insight into that, maybe?

Per · 25:00
Yeah, I certainly agree. It helped me during my career as well that once external people viewed my portfolio, it helped me so much to get a different view on my work because usually you are married to your work. It's so dear to your heart and you love every image. But if an external person who doesn't know you or just maybe just know you from online, I don't know. gives an external view on that. It's extremely valuable. And inside the lab, Jan, you and me, want to offer this external view to our members to maybe think differently, think outside of the box with your portfolio or on your portfolio and what could stay, what could be removed or why we would remove certain things or. maybe even just structuring them differently or position yourself or your portfolio differently. It was to me the game changer.

Jan · 25:58
Totally. And it's so important to say that. And that is also one of the reasons why we decided to bring in people from our networks. be it like editors from from big magazines, agency folks that are maybe on the art buying or creative direction side that you know have these decisions to take every day. Who do we work with? And have them inside one of the live sessions in inside the lab.

Jan · 26:24
The live Q&As to answer these questions to the members. I think it's a very, very great opportunity to get that real-world feedback that I was looking for back then. And I had to build that trust first to really be vulnerable and open to these people, to really show that unsecure, insecure side of me. I think that way it's it's a much more. let's say safe space to do that and that is why we created it.

Per · 26:55
Exactly. Because what happens inside the lab stays inside the lab and it's a mutual growth community where you can open up and be vulnerable.

Jan · 27:08
Yes. So if we we summarize what we talked about in this episode, I think it's it's definitely try to be clear on what you are known for and what your portfolio is focused on. it's it's so much more important to have a clear portfolio than a big portfolio. And it's very important to not only rely on your portfolio but also to be trustworthy to be delivering under pressure every single time. Did I did I miss something?

Per · 27:39
was pretty much on point. Show yourself. If no one sees your work, how will they know?

Per · 27:45
Before we go, a question for you. Have you ever lost a job you were sure was yours? What do you think decided it?

Jan · 27:45
Tell us in the comments. We read them and then we can shape the next episode.

Per · 27:45
If this helped, subscribe on YouTube or rate the show on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It is how other photographers and retouchers find us.

Jan · 27:45
The Bookability Check is linked in the description for you.

Jan · 28:07
so everybody that is curious, you can check out the Curated Lab website to to get a better understanding of what happens inside the the live sessions, for example. And until then, we are preparing the next episode where we will be talking about what actually makes a high end image. And I'm really curious to dive into that with you, Per.

Per · 28:28
Absolutely. Thank you so much for listening, guys. Wishing you an inspired day wherever you are.

Jan · 28:34
Take care. See you in the next one. Bye.