THE MARKET REWARDS MARKETING, NOT QUALITY (AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT)

I had one of those conversations this week that left me frustrated as hell.

Fellow photographer friend. Both of us sitting there, both feeling the same shit: watching the market reward "loud" over "good." Watching photographers with mediocre work get booked solid while we're out here creating work we're actually proud of, wondering why our inboxes are quieter than theirs.

Here's the example that triggered it: There's this photographer. Well-known, booked consistently, clearly making good money. But if you ask most photographers about their work? "Boring." "Generic." "Nothing special." Not trying to be a dick here, just stating what I hear. Their work isn't bad. It's just... safe. Predictable. The kind of photography that doesn't make you stop scrolling.

But here's the thing: they're booked solid.

Why?

Because they figured out marketing. They built automation. They show up consistently. They have systems.

Meanwhile, we're over here creating work with actual soul, actual vision, actual fucking craft... and struggling to fill our calendars.

That's what fucks with your head.

Here's What The Industry Wants You To Believe

"If you're good enough, the work will speak for itself."

That's the lie. The beautiful, romantic, artist-martyrdom lie that keeps creative people broke while mediocre marketers thrive.

Here's the brutal truth: The market doesn't reward the best photographer. It rewards the best-marketed photographer.

Think about the workshop culture right now. Popular educators who pivot from trend to trend. "Cinematic" one year, "luxury" the next, whatever's selling. They're not teaching you to find YOUR voice. They're teaching you to copy theirs, creating armies of "mini-me" photographers who all shoot the same way, edit the same way, caption the same way.

And it works. Not because the education is revolutionary. But because the marketing is solid.

Think about social media right now. The photographer posting BTS content with the latest tech gadget, framing it as "client benefit" when really it's just self-promotion. The constant stream of "look at me" content. The comparison trap. The burnout from trying to keep up.

And it works. Not because the content is meaningful. But because consistency wins.

Here's what pisses me off: I watch photographers I respect (people creating work that actually matters) struggling to get seen. While photographers with half the skill and twice the ego are booking out months in advance.

Not because they're better. Because they're louder.

Here's What I Had To Accept

Marketing isn't optional anymore. It's infrastructure.

You can hate this. I hate this. My photographer friend hates this. But being bitter about it doesn't get you booked.

Here's the reframe that helped me: You don't have to market LIKE that loud photographer. You have to market like YOU.

Let me be clear. The photographer with the "boring" work isn't the enemy. They figured out a system that works. The workshop educators chasing trends aren't the enemy. They're responding to market demand.

The real enemy is the belief that "good work" is enough.

Because it's not. It never was. Even Ansel Adams had a marketing strategy. Even Vivian Maier (who never marketed at all) had her work marketed by someone else posthumously. The work didn't "speak for itself." Someone else had to speak FOR it.

Right now, my photographer friend and I are both pivoting our businesses. Both moving from traditional weddings to elopements and intimate sessions. Both rebuilding our websites with actual SEO strategy. Both using AI tools to overcome our perfectionism and ship content faster.

The difference between us and the photographers we're frustrated with? We're building marketing systems that align with OUR values, not copying someone else's playbook.

And that's the key. You don't need to become the loud, trend-chasing, tech-flexing photographer if that feels soulless to you. But you do need to build infrastructure that gets your work seen.

So What Do You Actually Do?

Let me give you a three-part framework that's helping me navigate this shit without losing my soul:

1. Accept the Reality

Marketing is not a "nice to have." It's infrastructure.

The photographers getting booked aren't lucky. They're strategic. They show up consistently. They have systems for inquiries, follow-ups, content creation, SEO. They treat their business like a business, not just a creative outlet.

You don't need to like this. You just need to accept it. Because once you stop fighting reality, you can actually work WITH it instead of against it.

2. Find YOUR Marketing Style

Don't copy the automation-heavy photographer if that feels soulless to you.

Don't follow the trend-chasing educators if that doesn't align with your values.

Do identify what feels authentic AND effective for you.

Example: My friend and I are both using AI right now. But not as "yes-men" that just spit out generic content. We're using AI as critical business analysts. We feed it our work, our voice, our strategy, and we ask it to challenge us. To find holes. To push us.

That's strategic efficiency that doesn't compromise voice. That's using tools to save time on the parts you don't care about, so you can focus on the parts you do.

Find your version of that. What marketing activities feel possible for you, even if they don't feel easy?

3. Use Tools To Save Time For What Matters

Here's what we're both doing right now:

• AI for SEO optimization (alt-text, meta descriptions, blog outlines... the tedious shit)
• Website migration to simpler platforms (escaping technical maintenance hell so we can focus on content)
• Batch content creation (dedicating one day to create two weeks of posts, rather than scrambling daily)
• Strategic automation (email sequences, inquiry follow-ups... the stuff that should run on rails)

The goal isn't to automate everything. The goal is to automate the parts you don't care about so you can focus on the parts you do.

And here's the principle that's saving both of us from perfectionist paralysis:

Ship at 70% perfect.

Not 70% quality. We're talking 80% done, 100% usable. A launched website at 70% beats a perfect website that never goes live. A published blog post at 70% beats a perfect post stuck in drafts forever.

This doesn't mean cutting corners. It means accepting that "good enough to ship" is better than "perfect but invisible."

Here's The Truth

The industry isn't lying when it says you need marketing.

It's lying when it says you need to do it like everyone else.

Your frustration is valid. Your work DOES matter. But you need to build the infrastructure that gets it seen. Marketing is part of your craft now. Not instead of your photography, but alongside it.

You don't have to become someone you're not. But you do have to show up consistently, strategically, and with systems that work while you're shooting.

The photographers you're jealous of? They're not better. They're just more visible. And visibility is a skill you can learn without compromising who you are.

What's your biggest frustration with photography marketing right now?

Hit reply and tell me. I read every single one, and your responses help me figure out what to write about next.

Hugs,
Bjørn

For the hearts still beating—keep creating, keep pushing, keep giving a damn.