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As a professional photographer, clients are our business. How to find photography clients and how to get more photography clients are ongoing questions for pros either just starting out or pros in business for decades. 

Besides the issue of how to get photography clients in the first place is the related concern of how to keep clients coming back to us and perhaps even referring us and our work to others.

Some pieces of this puzzle are where to look for work, how professional is our manner (not just our image quality), and how are we presenting ourselves and our images to people.

How to Find Photography Clients

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The first step for how to get MORE photography clients is to find a method for how to get photography clients in the first place.  

Primarily, this is the job of an advertising budget and our ability to network and sell ourselves. Although a photographer may be  just starting out in this business, an approach to advertising and learning how to sell is as vital to them as it is to a major firm with a significant advertising budget.

Many beginner pros turn to social media, but that isn’t always as lucrative as some helpful services like to project. Though social media advertising does work when done well, it’s simply that there is no “one-click gets clients” that realistically provides us with clients.

A targeted approach can be very effective. Signing up for websites with people actively looking for photographers is simple, but the payout and fee structure certainly won’t make us rich quickly. Still, it can be a fine way to start out and gain experience and referrals.

Real-world snail mail campaigns can also yield acceptable results. Another idea is to get out and make some visits to places that might be open to referral partnerships, such as networking with florists or wedding planners if you’re doing wedding photography.

Learn More:

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How to Get More Photography Clients

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Now that you have some happy clients and a portfolio of  images to show, we can go to work on finding how to get more photography clients. We can make this happen by asking for referrals, targeting advertising with a more focused approach, and displaying eye-catching physical enlargements. 

Referrals

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Getting referrals as a professional photographer runs from as simple as handing out business cards to your existing clients upon delivery of your images to asking for promotional use of your work images in your contracts.

Target Advertising

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Target advertising as a way to get more photography clients means to tailor our advertising copy and the delivery to those who have a higher likelihood of responding. 

This will require some research on our part, such as an insurance agent would try to target a specific age group. There are numerous subscription services that can provide lists broken down by demographics.

Display Enlargements

There are two ways to try this approach. One, display eye-catching images in your home office or studio and two, ask others to display in their stores, beauty salons, offices, and so forth. Both methods have a proven track record of enabling us to get more photography clients. 

You will want to display only your best work, obviously. The method of display can also make a huge difference. A large physical print made as a metal or acrylic print or as a canvas wrap gets more attention typically than a comparable paper print matted and framed.

In my experience, something about those large canvas wraps really captures attention. We want to have the highest quality canvas wrap if we’re going to travel this route, so choosing one of the better printers is paramount.

CanvasHQ is constantly at or near the top of many photographer’s lists when it comes to making high-quality large canvas wraps of our photographic images. CanvasHQ has won our canvas print shootout two years running and I have dozens of canvas wraps from them in my home, my office, and my studio.  

There are also several local businesses displaying my images by means of a large canvas wrap of my photography made by CanvasHQ in their own offices, storefronts, or other places. When you use this method, be sure to include a way to contact you so that you actually get more photography clients from these shared displays.

Using these methods may not guarantee success or actually get more photography clients to come to you without making an effort yourself to be as engaging as possible and learn some sales techniques. 

Your work is already outstanding, leverage it professionally and get more photography clients wanting to hire you or buy your images.

Learn More:

• How Large Should I Print My Photo?
• Proven Marketing Ideas for Photography Businesses
• How to Get Your Clients to Buy More Prints