{"id":566,"date":"2010-07-26T11:45:00","date_gmt":"2010-07-26T11:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/smallbizsurvival.com\/?p=566"},"modified":"2014-08-27T07:46:29","modified_gmt":"2014-08-27T12:46:29","slug":"how-small-town-photographer-survives-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smallbizsurvival.com\/2010\/07\/how-small-town-photographer-survives-in.html","title":{"rendered":"How a small town photographer survives in a crowded field"},"content":{"rendered":"

Photography is a crowded profession. And it’s getting squeezed to death by a glut of amateurs. When everyone can afford a “pro” camera, how can a professional photographer make a living? Mike Klemme’s answers hold some lessons for people in all types of professions being squeezed.<\/p>\n

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\"Mike<\/a>Mike Klemme is a professional photographer from Enid, Oklahoma (population 47,000). He’s making his living at a time when\u00a0the general freelance photography business is being squeezed to death in a race to the bottom. One dollar pics at iStockphoto have meant the end to the routine but profitable $300-500 stock photos Klemme used to sell over and over.<\/p>\n

But Klemme found an answer.
<\/a>He built his business\u00a0on the Red Adair<\/a> model: be the one<\/i> to call. Starting with his skills as a landscape photographer, he became the first pro photographer to specialize in golf courses. There is a ton of competition in general landscape photography. But once Klmme became the go-to-pro for golf courses, he was called on to travel the world to shoot courses from Miami Beach to Kenya. \u00a0<\/div>\n


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Find a niche, fill the niche and kill the niche,<\/b> Klemme said. Pick a niche without an existing specialist, one that capitalizes on your skills and abilities. Start learning all you can about it. Network, read the trade publications, meet everyone involved, know the industry players and become a guru in your specialty. Get beyond the obvious shots; develop your own perspective and your own style. Slam the door on that niche by being the absolute best.<\/p>\n

Good photo niches are the subjects people are passionate, even crazy about. To prove his point, Klemme listed off a bunch of potential photo niches, ones where he did not know of an existing photo specialist.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>\n

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