Don’t be afraid of working with your fellow photographers in the community. Collaborating with photographers can be good for you in many ways. As we are all trying to make it through the busy season – sometimes connecting with other photographers for styled sessions or even just meeting up for lunch can spark some new creativity in ourselves and rejuvinate our passion for this business (or let’s be honest – just help us keep our sanity!)
You might hear a lot of photographers talking about their competition and how some photographer communities can feel a little stand off-ish. It can be hard to connect with other photographers sometimes if there is that threatening vibe to your livelihood. It doesn’t need to be like though – there are plenty of clients to go around and connecting with your photography community can help you in the long run. How can you begin a collaboration with others and what are the benefits to doing this?
How to Connect with Other Photographers
Social media is a great tool to help you connect with other photographers for collaboration. There are many photography focus groups on Facebook and even some great ones that are specifically for local groups. Click Away has several location based groups that have popped up on Facebook or you can search for photographer groups for your city and state. I have personally connected with several photographers through local groups and have made some great friends that way!
Attending in person conferences, workshops, or mentorships is another great way to expand your community and connect with other photographers.
If you follow photographers that you love, don’t be afraid to reach out and network directly as well too!
Some great ways to collaborate include:
– styled shoots
– have a shoot out
– location scouting
– host a workshop together
Benefits of Collaborating with Photographers
Stepping Outside Your Comfort Zone
Collaborating with photographers opens the door for you to step outside your comfort zone. You might collaborate on shooting something that you haven’t shot before or trying a new location out. Stepping outside of your comfort zone can be great for creativity.
Learning Something New
Learning from others is a great benefit from collaborating with another photographer. You can see the different ways you direct clients, learn a new pose or trick to keep kids from losing their minds during a session, and maybe even learn different editing tips. We all start somewhere and have different knowledge and skill sets. Coming together to learn is a great way to grow as a photographer.
Test Out Gear
This is always a fun perk! Your fellow photographers might be shooting with different gear. You can ask questions about their gear and get their feedback if it something you were thinking about buying before you buy it. And maybe even get a chance to test it out during your collaboration! This is great if you don’t have any local places to rent/test gear.
Making Friends
If you don’t get anything else out of collaboration, you’re likely to make some connections and begin building new friendships! It’s nice to have someone to talk to (maybe even vent to) that understands what you’re talking about and going through because the share the same interest in photography as you.
Let us know how you are collaborating with other photographers!
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