The Biz of Commercial Retouching Part One:
Networking and getting the word out!
Looking to break into commercial retouching? In this article I
offer practical insights on building your business. From establishing a strong online presence to effective networking strategies, it covers key aspects of launching and growing your career. Learn how to navigate the competitive world of commercial retouching and set yourself up for success.
Of course it all starts with building a strong set of skills. Several of the articles I’ve written and published here talk about how to build those skills. (Don’t worry, more will be coming soon!) But lately the mentor side of me has found lots of folks also need to learn more about HOW to build a successful business as a creative, and as a retoucher. So Imma gonna take a little time to share some ideas on that side.
Sharing your work:
Once you have a strong portfolio built ya gotta share it so people can see just what you can do. The first thought most folks have these days on these lines is “Which Social Media platforms should I build my portfolio on?”.
However my suggestion is start first with building a good website. This will be the heart of your online presence. Instagram, Behance and Facebook are all great places to share your work. But the reason why these should not be the heart of your presence is you do not own any of the data, any of the connections you might gain from those sites. And all it takes is a tweak of the algorithm for your engagement to plummet.
So a well built website where you can share your work, info about you, how to contact you, even a blog where you can share case studies etc is gonna be the base of your online presence. With the website in place it’s time to look towards ways to get the word out, to let folks know who you are and what you can do. This is where Social Media comes in.
Social Media:
But know that when it comes to Social Media it’s not about which sites you like to hang out on. We all know which sites we can get caught up scrolling through while the minutes and hours disappear. That’s all great for our own entertainment.
However when it comes to marketing it’s gotta be all about going where your market IS. So in some ways your Social Media presence is gonna be a little of ‘all of the above’, but you also need to track which ones actually tend to convert your posts into work. Lots of creatives love to see the Likes pile up on Instagram etc, but unless you’re seeing an increase in jobs those Likes are not gonna get you where you want to go.
How effective a particular platform might be for you depends a great deal on who your ideal client base is. If you want to work on wedding photos you need to go where the brides hang out. If you want to work on Beauty shots you need to go where the photographers and cosmetics companies can be found. If you want to work on movie posters you need to find where the Art Directors and Creative Directors at the ad agencies that design those posters tend to gather.
So it’s gonna take some research, some tracking work on your end, and consistency to use Social Media effectively as a marketing tool. For everyone of you the ideal mix will be a bit different, but it is essential for you to do the work to find what that ideal mix for you is.
One more note on Social Media, do not overlook LinkedIn. At the minimum LinkedIn can be a great research tool. Suppose there is an ad agency you really want to work with. Using LinkedIn you can find out who works for that agency. And you can find out who the Art Directors and Creative Directors are. (Pro tip: quite often it’s the Production Dept that hires the retouchers, so do not forget to find out who those folks are as well.) Once you know who the people you need to connect with are you can also use LinkedIn to connect with them. Interestingly enough I find posting movie poster work on LinkedIn also leads to the best rate of new job inquiries, so be sure to share your work there as well.
Join a Community:
Creative folks, like everyone else, recognize there is strength in numbers. All over the world creatives come together to form communities and organizations as a way of helping to support one another. Here in the U.S. there are several photographer centric organizations like APA, ASMP, and PPA. Early on in my career I joined the Los Angeles APA Chapter and eventually was invited to be a part of their Board of Directors. Joining that chapter and getting involved, contributing wherever I could helped me make lots and lots of connections with photographers. Many of these photographers became friends, and several became clients as well as friends.
But beyond the immediate goal of getting clients being involved in these communities also helped me learn the essential points of running a business as a creative. Many, many times the friends I made through APA gave me tips, advice, and support as I learned and grew my business.
Attend Conferences and join Creative Groups:
Early on in my career I made a point of attending conferences as a way of making connections and resources to help me learn the finer points of my trade. Over the years I have found these events have also helped me make close friends who have been so helpful and supportive over the years.
In the beginning I went in the hopes of rubbing elbows with the known photographers who I would have loved to work with. Over time these events have been where I go to hang out with close friends who come from all over the world. The classes and conference related events are great, but the real rewards come from building a network of cool creatives from around the world who support each other.
And the focus of the conference turns out to matter less than the folks you find there. Each year the WPPI Conference happens in Las Vegas in late February/early March. This conference is primarily focused on Wedding and Portrait photography, which is not my primary market. However the connections I have made there have led to not only making some great friends, but it’s opened opportunities for doing workshops, speaking to photo groups etc. The key is figuring out how to network and connect with these cool creatives.
Learn to Network:
Networking, like any other skill, is something you learn to do well a little at a time. Most folks I know think networking is all about exchanging business cards with strangers in a room. (Do people really do business cards anymore?).
But two people helped me learn what networking is really about. Malcolm Gladwell published The Tipping Point in 2000. In that book he talks about how little things can build up to make a big difference. And one of the concepts he talked about was how some people are “Connectors”. That is in any given group there are those people who know ‘everyone’.
My friend Emily Teague is one such connector. And watching her taught me the key to networking is actually very simple: Find the connector, get to know them, then bring in more connections and introduce them to the connector. Soon you will be known as a connector as well.
One great trick helps a lot when it comes to making these introductions, tell each person what it is you think makes the other one a great person to know. For instance if I’m going to introduce “Bill Jones” to Emily I will do it something like this:
”Emily I want you to meet Bill. He’s just getting started as a retoucher, but has become really good at color correction.” “Bill, this is Emily. She’s an amazing photographer who I love working with. She has a great sense of color grading and does really good work along those lines.”
When people hear you introducing them to someone else by sharing a genuine compliment about something they do your status with that person grows dramatically. And this works with both people you’re introducing to each other. Oddly enough people tend to love hearing someone give them genuine praise in such situations. Who’d a figured that?
BTW Nino Batista and I are going to be sharing lots more on how to build a career as a retoucher, touching both on the business side as well as the cool retouching tips side in an in-person workshop here in Los Angeles Oct 5th. If you’re interested in learning more about how to be commercial retoucher you can sign up for our work shop here. (Note seats are limited so we can be sure to give everyone the one on one attention they need to get the most out of the day, so sign up now before it fills up.)