Q. “As an American living in the UK how have you found the differences between the UK and the US photography market? I spend a lot of time on websites where 95% of the people are American and there is a lot of talk of photographing seniors, newborns having a family photo taken for the Christmas cards. This all seems so different to what I grew up with in the UK where having photos taken by a professional seems to be reservered for just wedding photos, the obligatory yearly hideous school shot or perhaps the occasional visit to an overpriced photography chain.”
A. I jumped for joy to get this question! Honestly, I find the UK market so frustrating and I don’t want to come off as taking a dig at the Brits but since you asked!
{First, some Definitions}
Defining some American markets for those who need some explanation:
Senior Photos – Seniors are kids in their last year of school. Equivalent to the end of College here in the UK. Even when I was graduating 10 years ago, having photos was an assumed necessity. They went in the invitations to my graduation and grad party and were sent to family allover the country. They were hideous studio head shots with me in my cap and gown. But now, it’s so much more popular for Seniors to have proper shoots complete with wardrobe/location changes and all that jazz. It quite often culminates in a coffee table book or other costly product. It’s a ginormous slot in the American photographer’s market and one I yearn to benefit from. But here, there’s no such thing. Heck…even prom isn’t all it is in America. It’s just not as big an event as is leaving school in America.
Newborns – I think it’s widely accepted in America that when a baby is born, he’s photographed. Even before I cared about photography, I had my babies photographed when they were itsy bitsy.
The Christmas Card – Again, even before I cared about photography, we had Christmas cards printed with our photo. Among the upper and middle classes, this is a normal, yearly practice. If you’ve seen the film ‘The Blindside’ you’ll know what I mean :) That’s pretty typical.
{Some Experiences}
I loved sociology in college. I love learning about cultures and understanding why they are the way they are. If you listen closely to the world around you, you’ll pick up plenty of tidbits here and there that will help you better understand why your culture feels the way they do about photography. Now, there’s an exception to every rule and my clients love photography. They love displaying it in their home and showing it off to their friends. But I had to work hard to find these people while in America, they’re everywhere. One of the main things I picked up was in a conversation with one of my friends when talking about big canvases. She got a bit stiff and bug-eyed and said “oh gosh…isn’t that just a bit too showoffy?” And, folks, that says it all right there: the Brits hate to show off.
In my experience living here for 6 years, I have come to realise that showing off is strictly off limits. Children are kept painfully average, homes are very sensible and photos are as tiny as humanly possible. If I think about my best clients, there’s a common thread in that they’re either from somewhere else or have had experiences living in other places. And then there are the few who are just outta-this-world-awesome and rebel against the worst parts of British culture.
The British also have a very dark and depressing history with regards to war and deprivation. While Americans known as The Pioneers were hitching up their horses and forging through new lands, building their own societies and playing Little House on the Prarie, the British were living in the Victorian Ages which is marked with work houses, children being sent up chimneys {and dying in them} and other horrible atrocities. So it’s no wonder that somewhere deep in the British psyche, there is a sadness and a feeling that life might not be all that awesome and “why would I take pictures of my life?”
And don’t even get me started on the class system.
Now, I’m not at all saying Americans have it all together. In fact, I’d say we need to learn to be less into ourselves and not think we’re God’s gift to the world. I mean look at me…I’ve figured out the whole of the British culture out in one little blogpost! I’m a total knowitall and I have a whole blog to prove it. There’s good and bad in every society.
{Now, my opinion}
7 years ago when my little guy was in preschool in America, the photos were a billion times more evolved than the school photos I’ve seen taken here in the UK. And at times, I’ve had to downplay my talent and take painfully average school photos due to the fact that when I pulled out all the stops and did full-on white seamless studio stuff with the kids, parents were displeased and unhappy that the kids weren’t just sitting with a lovely faux marble sheet behind them. I find this so extremely frustrating. Another place I rarely go (unless a client requests it) is the styled, accessorised period-look children’s session. In America you pay top dollar to have it. Here, I have only found that, maybe, 1% of my clients ‘get it’ and actually like it to the extent that they pay for it.
Another example of where this problem gives me hardship is that every single last photography prop I’ve wanted to buy has had to come from America. Groovy knit hats, vintage headpieces for newborns. I’m even about to have to order my faux wood studio flooring from America which is going to cost me a pretty penny in shipping and import taxes. But you just can’t get that stuff here! Note: after first writing this post, I bought a piece of vinyl flooring from a carpet store which was far more economical.
{What now?}
So what’s the way forward? I figure I can either lower the bar, take purposefully average portraits or I can continue to plow the fields and labor to bring the UK into the 2012 photography market where the yearly session is an event to anticipate. To be really real with you, I have to tell you that my business isn’t anywhere near as successful as it could be in America. If you’re a photographer in the UK, you have to be realistic about that. But there is definitely a little pocket of Etsy-loving-vintage-dreaming mommas out there who are clients of mine. You simply have to go out there and find where your ideal client is because whatever country you’re in, they’re out there somewhere!
Here are a few things I’m doing:
- I set up my own styled, accessorised sessions to continually be bringing new sessions for my blog readers and FB fans to see. I hope that this will get them thinking that they, too, can have such images of their own children.
- When I shoot schools, I take a normal head-and-shoulders shot with a backdrop and then I take an alternative shot on a separate set. Then, parents have a choice of traditional or trendy.
- I don’t charge outrageous prices that make clients gulp. I want them to feel that this is affordable enough to do more regularly. However, the concept of ‘outrageous’ is a completely subjective one and no two people will agree on what is a reasonable price.
- I remind clients that I am their photographer. I stay in touch, run offers and shell out a load for beautiful Christmas cards to remind them that I’m still around and I’m their photographer! I hope that this will encourage continued patronage and the mindset that photographs can be taken for any occasion or you can make one of your own.
- Mini sessions are a great way to get clients eased into your business. Set up a day and a theme and book clients in for 20 minutes at a time. Then they can get a feel for what you’re like, get a great deal on some shots and now you can stay in touch for when they need more!
That’s about all I can think of for now. I’m very excited to be in England and love to evangelise about things I’m passionate about and photography is absolutely near the top of the list! I will get this place thinking about the yearly session if it’s the last thing I do! :*)
