![]() You never know who you might find yourself being introduced to. ![]() You should also start preparing your elevator speech. I think we all get excited to share what we are working on but it's easy to forget to make honest connections and not just pass out promo cards. Make a few tweaks update any new images before I go. If I have a new project I've been working on I make sure to find new ways to promote it amongst my peers without seeming advertise-y. I always find things like this frustrating since it was just laziness on my part. Is it up to date, do I need to make changes? Do I have enough printed? Last year I forgot to print new business cards and ended up paying twice what the cards cost just to rush order. Next, I start looking at my current promotional material and portfolio. This is also another example of why having a large network of peers is helpful as it will make connecting and moving up the industry food chain easier. ![]() You can use sites like LinkedIN to help find who are the right people to email. When ever possible it helps to have someone make an introduction but often you just have to start cold calling. Once I start to have a picture of what I would like to accomplish I start reaching out via email and social media. Companies I just want to know I exist and of course peers I rarely get to chat with in person. This usually includes people I may have already had conversations or worked with. The first thing I do is create a list of all the potential contacts and companies I want to meet with. If you just show up and wander around you might still find some new opportunities but the real goal is setting up meetings in advance. If you want to get the most out of networking you have to put some time into it before you arrive. Well, then major networking events like this are pretty much mandatory. Plenty of photographers have little interest in the industry as a whole but if you aspire to share what you've learned, fund dream projects, be sponsored by companies like Canon and Sigma (wink wink), or maybe just have a group of peers who share and admire each other work. There are lots of ways to excel in photography and lots of different career paths. Things like industry networking, company sponsorships, speaking engagements, peer networking, project pitches, and most importantly after parties. Last year I wrote an article called " The Importance and Real Reason for Attending Industry Events like PDN's Photo Plus Expo." It basically talks about all the advantages there are to attending these events besides the already great things they have to offer. I really think conferences like Photo Plus Expo are an important chance within the industry to take your career to the next level and I have a 15% Discount code for anyone who is interested in going.
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