These two words, selectivity and curation, are where my focus is for 2014. I’m going to tell you why these are important to me, and how I think they could benefit everyone, even if you’re not working in a creative field.
se·lec·tiv·i·ty / noun: the quality of carefully choosing someone or something as the best or most suitable
content curation / verb: the process of collecting, organizing and displaying information relevant to a particular topic or area of interest
Selectivity + Relationships With Clients – Avoiding The Bad Ones
Let’s discuss selectivity and how it applies to our focus and client relationships in 2014. First, a quote from Seanwes, who I listen to twice a week (wednesdays/fridays) via the Seanwes podcast.
There is no magic point you reach where you are able to be selective with clients. You are able to be selective by practicing selectivity.
Easier said than done, right? Well, yeah. But, with a little discipline and understanding of who we want to attract and work with, it will be possible to reach a working relationship that is pleasant and fulfilling for all parties involved.
I’d venture to say that most photographers and designers have relationships with clients that are awesome and others that are, well… frustrating. The default response is to accept that that’s just the way it is. Some are good. Some are not so good. The alternative response is to look in the mirror and realize there’s no such thing as a bad client — only bad relationships. It takes both sides to make a bad relationship (or a good one). This is where selectivity comes in. By developing a process and criteria — whatever that means to you — and sticking to it, you are now practicing selectivity. If a potential client balks at some of your requests during the early phases of your process, chances are high it’s not a relationship you should be entering.
As Sean mentions in the quote above, this doesn’t happen overnight. You won’t wake up one day and magically be attracting the type of clients that give you the type of photos you LOVE taking. You have to start now, and for us, what better time to start than the beginning of a New Year.
Selectivity + Relationships With Non-Clients
The next part of selectivity are the relationships we keep with non-clients. This includes pretty much everyone else we may spend time with or come in contact with in 2014, and this includes social media. Jim Rohn famously stated, “We are the average of the five people we spend most of our time with.” This can be scary, or exciting. It doesn’t mean you need to immediately change the friends you keep, but even a little more thought into where you are, where you want to be, and how the people around you support your goals can go a long way. One great tip for those of you on Twitter: Go through and unfollow everyone on your feed. As you go start over and decide who to follow, ask yourself, “How is this person influencing my life and my goals?” This is one thing I’m doing right now. I’m excited to see the value Twitter will have.
Curation + Photography
When I look at the photographers I admire, the constant thread among their work is a curated and intentional style. The mark of a novice is photography that’s all over the place. It doesn’t mean the pictures aren’t well composed or technically “good photos”, but it’s the sum of the parts that makes the work admirable. When you are able to achieve a similar result with your photography it means you are disciplined and creative. Those two may not seem like they go together, but trust me, they do.
Social Curation
There are two places where curation works wonders: Instagram and Pinterest.
Both are very visual mediums and the feeds that succeed play to the native strengths of the platforms. For example, if I decide to follow @personXYZ because they post really cool photos of Craft Beer, that’s what I expect to see from them in my feed. If a week goes by and I start to see pictures of them folding their laundry and playing with their daschund at the dog park, then something is wrong… and it wasn’t my fault. Well, maybe it was for having lofty expectations, but that’s a whole different topic. To me, @personXYZ broke the promise of a curated feed because the 100 pictures before the laundry, were all of Craft Beer. That’s what I came to expect. That’s what good photographers do. They create a desire and an interest in their work and then deliver what their client or follower is looking for.
Pinterest, on the other hand, is all about inspiration. This year, I’m curating all my boards and being very intentional about what type content goes on which board. Most of what we post to Pinterest is original content, but the beauty of Pinterest is how you can gain followers by re-pinning other content, too. Your boards dedicated to re-pins (like this one on mobile lifestyles) can help showcase what types of things you’re into besides your work and if done tastefully, won’t cheapen your brand. The board linked above on mobile lifestyles will attract people interested in that way of living, and then when they need a photographer, hopefully we’re on their mind. You could never do that on Instagram, people would think you’re stealing content (which you would be if you posted it as your own).
Overall, there are many applications for curation and selectivity in life. It requires a focus and an understanding of what and who you want to associate yourself with, so if you’re not quite there yet, a good place to start is by making a list of the people who inspire you and make you want to be better. Then, spend more time with those people and less time with the people who don’t make the list. Write down the topics and hobbies that make you happy and do more of those.
Be selective. Curate.
It is your life, after all.
