Is it possible to be a profitable creative photographer if you don’t live in New York?
Sheyanne on the city streets of Milwaukee. Photographed by Elizabeth Wiseman
This is a question I get a lot. It seems like everything worthwhile is coming out of New York or Paris, and that there’s no way to even get a brand to notice a small-market photographer, much less come to their city to shoot.
I have four tips to help get over this hump
Embrace the fashion industry your town DOES have. Every town has something - even a small boutique or a local fashion week. There’s someone else out there thinking about fashion. Start by getting plugged in, volunteering to be part of events, join clubs and do whatever you can so that whenever anything fashion related DOES come up- you’re the first name on everyones list. I have made a steady income being one of the only fashion photographers in my mid-size market. It’s one part big-fish-small-pond, one part winner-takes-all.
See if there’s any viable reason why fashion brands might think of you over a New York photographer. Maybe you do something really unique with the landscape around you. Perhaps you are known for utilizing the light in your rural area in a spectacular way. You’d be surprised how often art directors are looking for one pinch of magic to build a concept around.
Learn to scout models or borrow models from local agencies to build your portfolio, and once it’s built show it off! This might lead to jobs from areas surrounding yours or projects coming to your doorstep, but either way, intentional portfolio building is so key. There’s so much more to talk about in this section so to learn more about this consider my tutorial on model testing. Again, If your town doesn’t have any fashion agencies at all, SCOUT your own! Or use people you know.
Think outside the box about what it means to be a fashion photographer. Maybe in Denver there are outdoor performance wear companies, or in Asheville, handmade knits. Perhaps in Montana there’s a group of young women who sing/perform/participate in pageants? There are lots of ways to be paid to make beautiful images of people with a focus on creative styling.
Let me know what you have in your small market and I will share with the world!