11 Surefire Ways to Get Your Photos Noticed Amidst the Pandemic
This unsettling time may make you feel completely derailed in your chosen career. With sessions, events, and projects cancelled or delayed left and right, it seems that your photography equipment (here’s a list of equipment every photographer needs) will continue collecting dust in the closet, and the bank account will probably be depleted. You should stay home and keep yourself and your loved ones safe from the spreading of the virus. You could sanitize, wear a mask, and keep your space clean. But other than that, you may feel like you do not have any more control over it.
Am I spot on? Well, you are not alone.
Photographers all over the globe are having the same impact on their businesses and feel like the world has been turned upside down.
There is, however, one other thing that only you are controlling right now: your action and your reaction. You have a choice in front of you: either you stay still and make the weight of this pandemic to hold you back on your photography journey, or you make a decision that this unexpected flurry of events will NOT defeat you, but instead pursue opportunities to grow as a businessman.
I know that if you are pursuing sharing your love of photography with the world, then your ambition is exactly what you need to hold onto right now. If you could somehow stay connected to your burning desire to continue to pick up that camera, and you don’t have any choice but to find the answers, you’ll thrive on that.
So, what’s the photographer to do? How do you support your photography business during this downtime?
Blog!
Review best blogging practices for optimal SEO. Now is the time to get absolutely caught up with all the sessions that you put off the 2019 blogging. Start your phone’s running list of blog topics so you could write them down as they come to you! Start blogging and brand your photos online.
Update your Galleries
When was the last time you visited all of your website galleries? Do not just add new favourites, remove those that may no longer be your finest work. Also, use the time you have in your hands to make sure that the photos in your gallery have a watermark and are protected from theft.
Brush Up Your Online Portfolio
Do you know that 97% of customers are looking online for a local business? If you do not have an online presence that communicates your experience and reputation, you might be leaving too many funds on the table!
Spend some time arranging your portfolio and building a client-attractive website that will help you drive traffic, highlight your work, and generate more leads. Also, conduct keyword research to ensure that you create the right content that will help your site rank high in search engine results and target the best prospects.
Learn a New Photography Skill
Have you been thinking about double exposures in-camera? Dying to study macro or food photography? Have you always wondered how to free-lens? Now is a perfect time! You’ll probably never have that much non-shooting time again (let’s hope), so grab that camera, check out a YouTube video, and obtain a new skill.
Finish the Family Album You’ve Been Putting Off
In today’s era of digital photography, we prefer to download our images and leave them on our computers forever. It’s time to get around to printing your pictures. You can even share it online (don’t forget to watermark them first) and spread some good vibes; the world needs it.
Work on Your SEO
I know that SEO is confusing and overwhelming. The great news is that there are several opportunities out there that could give you precise, actionable steps. My advice would be to work on adding alt text to all of your gallery photos.
Try to Plan Out a Month’s Worth of Social Media Posts
You might have time to post on Instagram every day right now, but you’re not always going to do that. Consider planning a month for Instagram posts in a scheduler like Planoly. H use them now while the pandemic is happening, have them prepared when your busy season comes back!
Consider Starting a 365 Photography Project
If you’re unfamiliar, the 365 project is a project where you are committed to taking one photo every day for a whole year. There is no stated law that you need to start on the 1st of January. Now is the perfect opportunity to get into the habit of shooting every day. Not only do you have a lot of time with friends and family, but the days are getting longer, and there is plenty of daylight after business hours.
Update Your About Page
Use this new self-portrait or another recent photo of yourself and update your About Page! Had a baby? Have you moved here? Have you taken up a new hobby? A new pet has been adopted? Get your personal information and tell your potential customers about it.
Watermark Your Photos and Brand Your Photos Online
During these trying times, some people resort to desperate measures. Your photos are not safe from getting stolen. The unfortunate reality of the internet world is that photos and other content are thriving misused without proper authorization from their respective owners. Nothing will ever protect your material from being stolen by committed photo thieves; you could only discourage them.
Use this downtime to go through your collection and make sure that your photos are protected by using an efficient free watermark maker like Watermarquee. Moreover, not only will watermarking protect your photos from theft, but it will also help brand your photos online.
Use this downtime efficiently. It is a good idea to put your photos through a watermark maker and put watermarks on them before posting them out on the internet. Watermarquee is a great online watermark maker that can help you protect your images from getting stolen.
Submit Photos for Publication
It is a lot easier than you might think to get your photos published and noticed if you implement a few important steps.
First, recognize an established publication that fits well with the kind of sessions you’ve been photographing. You could usually find the guidelines for photo submissions and timelines on the website, and you would want to follow those steps accurately as they are presented. This could mean enhancing your photos, re-sizing your images, or submitting only a specific set of images.
Remember, to protect your images before publication of your photos with your own watermark. Unlimited watermarking is available for a one-off fee of $19 with Watermarquee.
Bottom Line
Everyone probably has a little extra time on their hands right now. You don’t have to fill it with endless tasks. Taking a second to breathe and relax could do wonders. It might give you a new project idea to handle in the next few weeks. Meanwhile, to help your funds keep up, here are some of our tips on how to monetize your photos.
All of these current rules and changes can be frightening, so it is very important to keep in mind that things are going to get better, and people are there to help. Try to follow all the rules and guidelines as best as you possibly can. Every little bit helps.
