In this article, Alex Stead shares insights from his journey to help aspiring photographers navigate this competitive field. From the importance of reinvesting in yourself and prioritizing practical experience over formal education to the crucial roles of networking, continuous improvement, and maintaining a strong business mindset, Alex’s advice covers all essential aspects of building a successful career.
1) So my first advice would be to re-invest in yourself.
I remember starting in photography and trying to make money; I shot the most boring things, like corporation events, to make money. I did not make much with these projects, but I re-invested what I earned into a new bit of equipment that could help me reach my goal of becoming a travel photographer, like a new filter or lens. Or I would invest it into traveling to build my portfolio.
2) Secondly, passion and practical experience can sometimes be more valuable than formal education.
My passion for photography began in school. I loved the creativity it offered. Learning darkroom techniques, film development, and pinhole photography sparked my curiosity. After school, I continued shooting and attended university but dropped out after a year. Working with clients and traveling taught me much faster than the university could. I have no regrets and am very happy with my decision.
3) Thirdly, building a successful career, especially in photography, often requires taking risks, being proactive, and leveraging networking opportunities.
I dropped out of university at 19 and worked with brands like Mercedes, Lufthansa, and Ritz Carlton, which helped build my portfolio. Starting with small projects, these led to bigger opportunities. Success did not come overnight; I first worked with many small brands. Connections and networking are crucial in photography, requiring constant proactivity.
4) In the same way, I want to be sociable and meet other creatives.
It is honestly incredible who you can meet in the most random places. This advice concerns getting work; I attend many meetings or events to network. Networking is one of the most important things to get a successful career.
5) Always keep improving.
Nothing is worse than not improving on your craft and staying where you are as such, no matter how professional you are or how many years you have been working. I look at every shooting and every image I take to evaluate what I could have done better.
6) The quality of your work and the projects you undertake are ultimately more important than building a large social media following.
Building a large following on social media was very important to me at the start. I still value what I have, but it’s not as important nowadays. The work and projects I produce are much more crucial.
7) Investing time and money into personal passion projects can bring personal fulfillment and lead to unexpected professional opportunities.
Putting time and money aside each year is crucial to putting it back into what you love. I try to do a couple of wildlife projects each year. A few years ago, I had clients picking up on my wildlife portfolio that I started for pure enjoyment with my own money and time. As a result, I also began to get work and opportunities in that area.
8) In a competitive field like photography, distinguishing yourself with a unique style and versatile services while knowing your limits and focusing on your strengths is crucial for success.
The photography and creative space is a tough one. I distinguish myself firstly by my work. I have a recognizable style, composition, and symmetry throughout my images.
However, I don’t limit or overextend what I can do in photography. What I mean is that I don’t limit myself to just landscape images. I also work in lifestyle imagery and video work, which is a great section to work with.
Cars, hotels, planes, and tourism boards are some examples. All of them want lifestyle imagery as well as landscape. Limiting yourself to just fine art landscape, for example, narrows down your business and what you can offer. However, as I said, I don’t overextend what I do. I am not taking on weddings, corporation headshots, or parties.
9) Having a business mindset and strong work ethic is crucial for building a successful career, regardless of the quality of your images.
No matter how many pretty or incredible images you take. If you don’t have a business mindset in photography, you aren’t going to have a career. I have good client relationships, and I’m easy to work with. I understand how to reach out and pitch to brands. Lastly, I work extremely hard. I work seven days a week. On most shootings, I work from 5/6 AM till 11/12 at night.
Our first interview of 2020 was with Alex Stead, a travel and commercial photographer based in the UK with more than 12 years of experience and 1M followers. Skipping classes and dropping out of university doesn’t always indicate a successful future career, but in this case, it worked. Starting with small brands, Alex is now also working with brands worldwide such as Mercedes, Lufthansa, and Nikon. To reach this, “you have to be proactive all the time!” Networking is key, he says, and having a business mindset and knowing how to pitch to brands is very important as well.
Essential to Alex is putting aside time and money each year to dedicate to something that you love doing. Photographing can be a hobby, but to stay creative, motivated, and inspired, it helps to do some kind of ‘projects’ for yourself rather than for a client. Alex started with wildlife photography, using his resources. Besides just enjoying it, it helped him improve as well and without having the objective, it also brought him new clients. “Limiting yourself to just fine art landscape, for example, narrows down your business and what you can offer” he mentioned. By the way, one of his favorite photos is the one of the lion. If you read the story behind the photo, you will understand why!
When we asked Alex about his editing process, he shared some interesting tactics he’s using himself. For example, he recommends anyone understand what effect the tonal curve has on your photo when applying it. For more than a decade Alex has developed a specific style and he was so kind to explain something about that and his approach to shooting, editing, and traveling.
For Alex, the best part of traveling is meeting people, he loves working with other creatives and thinks that it’s all about learning from and encouraging each other. This is directly one of the many tips he gave away to all of you who would like to pursue a photography career.
Curious about the other tips and what he had more to say? Visit the link below and keep reading!
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