Finding your niche is a lifelong process. You’ll constantly be exploring new topics and forms of art. But did you know that it’s not as difficult as you may think? Even with the changing zeitgeist in photography, there are always going to be niches that are still thriving. It can be tempting to dive headfirst into photographing every type of subject and style you come across. But that can cause you to miss out on the best way to find your niche as a photographer. In this article, New York – based photographer Adina Shurkin discuss how you can figure out your ideal subject matter and thrive as an artist in it.
Research different fields of photography
When you’re trying to figure out your niche as a photographer, finding the right research materials is key. There’s no point just randomly Googling “niche as a photographer” and putting in your own keywords. What you’re looking for are different types of photography, the communities surrounding them, and their histories and stats. This will give you a better idea of the barriers and opportunities in different niches and the relative sizes of each niche. How do you find this information? Well, professional photographer Adina Shurkin recommends using a combination of Google, Reddit, Flickr, and other search engines.
Write down the ones that interest you
Once you’ve gathered all the information about different niches and the barriers/opportunities therein, you should start writing down all the niches that interest you. You should also write down any other topics you want to explore in photography. You can use a notebook or Evernote. Once you’ve written down all the topics that interest you, you can start to group them by what they have in common.
Start narrowing down your list
As you go through your list of different niches, it’s important that you start narrowing down your list. You want to take the time to think about each niche, and determine if it’s right for you. There are a few ways you can do this.
First, you can make a mental checklist of what you like and don’t like about each niche. Maybe you really like macro photography or you really like the idea of shooting food. Maybe you really dislike shooting landscapes or are less interested in the community surrounding fashion photography. Using this checklist to make a judgement about each niche will help you get a better idea of what you’re really interested in.
Another way to narrow down your list is to make a list of criteria for what a niche should have. For example, Adina Shurkin explains, you may want to have a specific focus in your work, or a specific audience. Maybe you’re interested in shooting portraits for babies or weddings. The list of criteria you may want to include in your niche is the list of things you want in your niche.
Assess what you currently shoot
If you’re doing some kind of photography intensive course or if you have a mentor in the industry, assess what you’re shooting right now. Make a list of all the types of photography you do and what scenes you’re actually shooting. Make sure you’re including everything from macro photography to food photography to travel. Why is this important? Because if you’re shooting a bunch of different types of photography, you’re actually covering a bunch of different barriers and opportunities. By assessing what you’re shooting, you can see if you’re missing out on any specific opportunities.
Decide where you want to be in 6 months
When you’ve narrowed down your list of niches, it’s also important to take a step back and decide where you want to be as a photographer in 6 months. This can help you make decisions about which niches you should try to avoid. Again, you can use a checklist of what you like and don’t like about each niche to help you decide. But it’s important that you don’t just make this decision based on what you like or don’t like. You want to base this on what you think is best for you as a photographer and artist.
Take Action!
Now that you have a list of niches, it’s time to start exploring each one. Go through each one and research the barriers and opportunities in it. Try shooting some photos in each one. Try to get a sense of what the community surrounding each one is like. Try to get a sense of the barriers and opportunities within each one. Once you’ve done enough research in a specific niche, you should start making some decisions about which ones you want to focus on the most. You can start building up a portfolio around a specific niche or a few different niches. You can also start to make connections and meet people in the community, try to create a name for yourself in a specific niche.
Conclusion
Finding your niche as a photographer can be a lifelong journey. You’ll always be on the lookout for new subjects and new styles to explore. But remember, there’s always going to be a niche out there that is thriving. You just have to find it. And the best way to find out which ones they are is to do some research and take some risks.
