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Photography is the art of capturing beautiful moments for people to enjoy and cherish as well as for commercial purposes. It is a highly technical and creative skill, of which, mastering their combination can make you the best in the business. But again, it is quite impossible to be the best in every field of photography. Not to sound discouraging or demotivating, but even the greats and masters weren’t the best in every field of photography, but they sure were the best in their forte or field of expertise.
Specialising in a field of photography means becoming an expert in a particular niche or area of photography. Doing a specialisation course in the field of photography makes you well-equipped for the field by providing you with in-depth knowledge of the particular niche. It covers the various aspects required to master a particular niche. Specialisations of photography include wedding and event photography, food & product photography, fashion photography, wildlife photography, travel & street photography etc.
Specialist vs. Generalist
A generalist is someone skilled in multiple disciplines while a specialist is an expert or a master of a specific field. Beginning as a generalist, experimenting and exploring various things can be quite rewarding as to improving your skillset but after a while, narrowing it down to a particular niche would help you more in your photography career. Let’s see how:
1. Specialisation makes it easier to make a name in the industry.
Non-specialised photographers, as compared to specialist photographers, find it difficult when it comes to building a name for themselves in the industry. Since they don’t offer specialised work, and dabble in various fields of photography, they become the jack of all trades, but master of none. Specialist photographers offer and deliver their best in their forte, which makes them the go-to option for clients for their needs.
Specialisation in a field of photography helps the photographer to get work in that specific area of expertise along with building trust between the photographer and the client.
Specialisation in photography from reputed institutes that involve in-depth training about the area of expertise, gives them an upper hand in their journey of photography.
2. Choosing a niche gives you direction.
When starting out, you would want to experiment and explore various genres of photography which rightfully helps you find your authentic style as well as help you discover your niche in photography. Doing this sampling process helps you realise your interest in a particular field of expertise which you can double down on with laser focus. Settling on a niche means that you can finally devote time and energy to master the particular area of expertise and go all out on it, without caring about mastering other fields of photography.
When photographers try to learn and acquire all possible knowledge concerning the skill, learning can be quite confusing and challenging as opposed to someone who is practising and mastering a certain area of expertise.
3. You can charge more.
Specializing in a certain field of photography gives you the liberty to quote more pay for your work. In a market that is saturated by generalists, specialists are a rarity. It becomes justified for a specialist photographer to quote more pay since they deliver quality work. The pay is not only for the work done but also for hours of time and energy put into mastering the niche and the overall skill. As a professional photographer, you would want to set your professional photography prices to best represent your brand, your speciality, knowledge, experience, and many other factors.
We hope these points help you decide your pathway to become a professional photographer. Le Mark School of Art’s specialized courses in photography can make the journey way easier by setting you up for a bright future in this exciting and challenging Industry.