Why Photographers Drop Out: The Painful Truth About Staying Relevant

When I was young and Sex and The City first came out, it was a BIG hit and a BIG deal.

It was such a big deal that my roommate and I would have Sex and The City watch parties.

💁🏼‍♀️Okay they weren’t parties, but a bunch of girls (and some cool guys) that would come over just to snack and watch Sex and The City.

This ritual was very important because It was VERY important that we didn’t ever miss an episode.

Because this was before the days of streaming. You yunguns probably can’t imagine a world where you couldn’t pause TV or watch a show on demand. But alas, a time like that did exist.

So when recently And Just Like That came out, I got really excited.

A show about the same young women and how their lives transpired years later, now that they’re uhum, old… er? I’m in!

And wow WOW is it bad.

That scene that became the laughing stock of the internet? You know the one where Carrie couldn’t move while Mr. Big was having a heart attack and dying? Soooo cheesy. So badly written, so badly edited, badly acted though maybe just cuz it was badly written and edited, it was just bad bad bad.

But somehow I forced myself to watch the rest of season one.

Now, season two is upon us. And when I started to watch the first episode, I was subjected to watching old, out of shape actors, forced into doing completely unnecessary, butt naked, love scenes so I immediately turned it off. And not because I’m a prude either.

But then two days later, I had nothing to watch📺 so I turned it back on and endured the scenes that made me throw up a little in my mouth, and finished a really cheesy rest of the episode.

Then I did it again. And again.

But I swear I’m done. It’s just so fucking bad and WHY AM I STILL WATCHING?

And I want to know if the original Sex and The City was this bad and if we were just too young to notice? Can you tell me? Cuz I’m too afraid to look myself and find out.

I feel like “And Just Like That “is a perfect (and painful) lesson in not becoming dated and staying current with our businesses.

When you’re on top of your game, using the marketing strategies that work right now cuz it’s what you’re growing up with, it’s easy to win.

Clients are lining up, you’re getting great referrals, and everything just clicks.😉

When I was coming up, I was passing the “names” that had been around for a long time in my market. I was young blood doing things differently. I was current.

But when there are major technology shifts, it’s not that easy.

From black and white to color, from film to digital, from portfolio books to websites, from advertising in directories to social media, in the last two decades, I saw photographers drop out of the game like flies cuz they couldn’t keep up with these changes.

Most recently AI has entered our lives. And I want you to ask yourself if you’re staying current.

Because if you’re not using AI in your business on a regular basis, you’re not.

“And Just Like That” is EXACTLY what happens to businesses that don’t stay current. They eventually fall behind.

I vowed never to be one of those photographers and yet with my eyes wide open, I’ve been blind sided several times without even realizing what was going on.

And every time my business slowed down, it was because I wasn’t doing something I should have been doing. Never because “the market is too saturated.”

When I was building Headshot Academy™ (👈 get on the wait list for the next cohort), I talked to 14 photographers to get a sense of what it is they needed to make sure my program was built with you in mind.

And you know what I discovered? The older ones all had the same complaint. The phone wasn’t ringing anymore and it wasn’t as easy to get clients. They were defeated and they didn’t know what to do. My heart went out to them. I wish Headshot Academy® was already built because I could have helped them.

Because you know what they all had in common? They hadn’t adapted.

If you’re still relying on the “old ways” that worked five or even two years ago, you might still get some clients out of old loyalty or habit (like how I forced myself to keep watching that dreaded show), but that’s not a sustainable business model.

Just like a TV show needs to evolve its storytelling style to its current audience, albeit old, but living in today’s world, your photography business needs to constantly evolve its marketing strategies.

Your website might be clunky, your social media might be irrelevant, and your lead generation methods might be as outdated as a VCR.

 

• Your Website: Is it still just a “pretty gallery” or is it a dynamic “salesperson” designed to bring prospects into your funnel? Is your bio still a long, third-person resume from 1999, or is it infused with your personality, speaking directly to your ideal client in the first person? Did AI assist you in making your copy more compelling?

 

• Social Media: Are you posting blindly, or are you using marketing strategy? Heck are you posting at all? Are you adapting to video, or are you clinging to static images? Are you using AI to repurpose content or write your captions based on what the post is about?

 

• Your Advertising: Are you still trying to get leads from in-person networking events or are you learning how to advertise where all the eyes are… on social media? Are you using AI to help you refine the copy on your ads?

 

If you cling to what used to work, you risk becoming irrelevant.

Don’t let your business become the “And Just Like That” of photography.

Embrace the changes (even if you have to do silly things on social media), adapt quickly, ensure your marketing is current and speaking to today’s clients and use whatever current tools are at your disposal.