Building a network is essential for anyone who wants to progress in the world of professional photography. The bigger your network, the more people you will be able to learn from, and the more opportunities you will get! Here are our tips for growing your professional network, both offline and online.

1) Get some business cards

Hand them out to everyone you meet who might be interested in your services or who you might be able to exchange professional information with. Make sure your cards are beautiful - you are a creator after all - and that they exude your personal style. Use your best images for the design.

2) Join a photography organisation

Joining an organisation brings many benefits. As part of a photographic community you will get the opportunity to attend special events where you can truly network with other like-minded photographers - not to mention some organisations have online forums where you can build your online network. There are a myriad of other benefits - competitions, the chance to be featured in special publications, portfolio reviews - the list goes on. It’s a good idea to put in the research and figure out which association is the best fit for you, but this is a great way to become part of a ready-made professional network.

3) Go to photography meetups

Meetup.com is an excellent website for finding photography meet-ups, from Instagram walks to DSLR workshops and everything in between. Make sure you come home with less business cards than you ventured out with!

4) Take local photography workshops

These are a great opportunity to sharpen your skills or learn some new ones while meeting other photographers in your area. Talk to everyone - you never know what opportunities a new friend could lead you to!

5) Stay in touch with your clients

Stay in touch with anyone you work with - they may be able to introduce you to more work!

6) Share your knowledge

Make sure you share all your own photography knowledge with everyone you meet. Networking is reciprocal. For example, if they have never heard of Picfair, tell them about it!

7) Keep on top of your online presence

Make sure you website is professional, up to date, and displays your best work. You can use tools like Wix to build a good looking website, or get a designer to create it for you. You should include links to all your social media channels from your website, and you should link back to your website from all your social media channels.

All you really need on your website are some examples of your best work, your contact details, and links to any places where your photography is available - your Picfair profile for example. You may wish to include a blog, which is another great way to grow your network by writing engaging and thoughtful pieces that other photographers will love reading.

8) Be active on social media

It can be time consuming, but it is worth it. You are far more likely to grow a fruitful network if you can post on all your channels every day. Having said that, quality over quantity is important. Do not post things just for the sake of it - only post things of value to your followers. Tips, hacks, news, updates on your work etc. Imagine if someone who has never heard of you landed on your Twitter or Instagram - would your posts make them want to follow you?

9) Share your best work

This goes without saying - share your very best images! Picfair shares all its best uploads accross its social media channels with links to photographer profiles, so make sure to upload your best images to Picfair for the best chance of being shared to our audience. We also retweet the best Picfair images that photographers tweet - share some from your profile and we may retweet you!

10) Share stories, not just images

Tell the story behind your photos. Photography is far more interesting when you know the story behind the image, and has a better chance of starting a discussion, which is what networking is all about.

11) Ask questions 

Once your network is building nicely, a good way to engage is by asking questions. Don’t just seek answers to things you need to know though - start conversations. “What is your dream camera setup?” or “What is the strangest situation you’ve ever been in taking a photo”, for example, are good questions to get an interesting conversation started with your followers. Look for conversations to get involved in, too!

12) Use #hashtags

When posting, always use hashtags to increase the chances of someone new finding you and becoming a follower. Whether you fill a particular niche or post on a variety subjects, a quick google search can help you find a list of relevant hashtags to increase your reach.

13) Take advantage of online communities like Picfair’s twitter

Search for #picfair on Twitter and you will see lots of Picfair photographers tweeting about Picfair. You can take advantage of online communities like Picfair to join in the conversation, find new people to follow, and find new followers yourself.

14) Be patient

Quality over quantity. It is better to have a following of 100 people on Twitter who engage with you and are willing to exchange valuable information, than 1,000 who don’t. Building your following takes time, but it is a worthwhile investment. 

And if you haven't already...
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