The last time I dared talk about photographers using watermarks, I got a few (okay, a lot) of angry messages.

But I hope this time you hear me out on why watermarking your photos is a futile effort that only satiates ego and does nothing to actually help your brand or business.

https://jamespatrick.com/

By default we only want to share our wins and successes. The fear is that if we are open and honest about projects that don't go well or client experiences that are not stellar that it will somehow reflect negatively upon us. The truth is, when we only share the positives about our careers, it gives a false aspiration of what a creative career truly looks like.

Throughout our careers we will lose more work than we will ever win. That is the simple math of it. And once we acknowledge that reality - we can begin to look at losses as not failures but as opportunities to learn and improve our services to the right clients.

https://jamespatrick.com/

When I am in the mood to torture myself, I hop over to Photography Facebook Groups and read the comment sections whenever a photographer asked for help, support or advice.

The inevitable result is a barrage of awful keyboard critics giving the worst advice pretending they are being altruistic and supportive - but in reality just trying to keep others out of the industry they believe they are at the center of.

In this episode I discuss what happened when a photographer made the mistake of asking for help.

https://jamespatrick.com/

I selected 13 (of course) of the most terrifying photo experiences I've had in my 20+ year career. Everything from having people physically assault me to say I'm too young to be a photographer.

Enjoy my awful memories while I go into an anxiety attack reliving these horrific experiences.

https://jamespatrick.com/

Okay don't get too mad at me for this episode! It is not that I am encouraging photographers that they have to work for free. But I wanted to dissect how someone could professionally and respectfully ask a photographer to collaborate or provide services at low-to-no cost.

https://jamespatrick.com/

How do we best compete as photographers in a way that supports the community and industry as a whole? And what happens when photographers go against that supportive environment and try to harm other's businesses?

In this episode of the Beyond the Image podcast, host James Patrick discusses both sides of competition from healthy to unhealthy.

Connect with James Patrick at https://jamespatrick.com/

When should photographers work for free? If you've followed me for anything length of time, you've seen the numerous videos and posts I've done about cheap clients trying to take advantage of photographers. You would, no doubt, asssume I would be diligent about saying that no photographer or creative should ever work for free.

But that is not what I feel at all. In this episode of the Beyond the Image podcast, I chat about the times when photographers and creatives should consider taking out the camera without being paid.

What do you think? Connect with me on my website https://jamespatrick.com/ or Instagram https://www.instagram.com/jpatrickphoto

When we think about creating our style as a photographer (or any creative professional) what we intially think is that we have to niche down who our core market is and the type of work we will be focusing on. And we are not wrong to think that.

But surprisingly, there is actually a tremendous amount more we can do to define our style as a creative.

In this episode of the Beyond the Image podcast, host James Patrick discusses a myriad of ways that photographers, videographers and fellow creatives can begin the process of defining and carving out their unique style to help them stand out from their competition in the marketplace.

Connect with James
https://jamespatrick.com/
https://www.instagram.com/jpatrickphoto