How to Define Your Photography Business Values and Attract the Right Clients
By Joe Lenton
Your photography business values can influence everything from the clients you attract to the suppliers you choose. Joe Lenton explains how identifying what really matters to you can strengthen your brand and help you build a business that feels authentic.
You don’t have to run a not-for-profit organisation to have business values.
In fact, understanding your values can be one of the most useful exercises you undertake when building a photography business.
Your values can help shape your brand, identify the clients you are best suited to work with and give you a clear point of difference in a crowded marketplace.
There may be plenty of photographers offering similar services to yours, but it is unlikely that they share exactly the same combination of beliefs, priorities and passions.
That combination can become part of what makes your photography business distinctive.
What are business values?
Your business values are the principles and priorities that genuinely matter to you.
They influence the way you work, the clients you choose, the businesses you collaborate with and the decisions you make.
Values might include things such as:
- Creativity
- Sustainability
- Family
- Inclusivity
- Quality
- Honesty
- Community
- Innovation
- Freedom
- Reliability
- Personal service
- Supporting local businesses
There is no correct list.
The important thing is that your values are genuine.
If you simply choose values because they sound fashionable or because you think they will attract more customers, eventually that lack of authenticity is likely to show.
Why are values important for a photography business?
Running a photography business involves making countless decisions.
Which suppliers should you use?
What type of work should you accept?
How much should you charge?
Who do you want to work with?
Which products should you offer?
What should your brand stand for?
Where should you spend your marketing budget?
Having a clear understanding of your values can make many of these decisions easier.
If a potential supplier’s approach is completely at odds with something that matters deeply to you, for example, you may decide that the cheaper option isn’t necessarily the right option.
Likewise, you may decide that some types of photography work aren’t suitable for you, even if they could be profitable.
Your values give you a framework for making those decisions.
Values can help you stay motivated
Running a photography business isn’t always easy.
There will be quiet periods, difficult clients, unexpected expenses, competition and plenty of jobs that aren’t particularly exciting.
Motivation can naturally rise and fall.
One way to make it easier to keep moving forward is to make sure your business goals connect with something that genuinely matters to you.
If your goals reflect your values, you’re more likely to feel motivated by the journey rather than simply the financial reward at the end.
Think about the difference between:
“I need to make more money.”
and:
“I want to build a photography business that gives me the freedom to spend more time with my family.”
The first is a financial target.
The second connects the target to a personal value.
That distinction can make a surprisingly big difference to motivation.
Your values can become part of your photography brand
Your brand is about much more than your logo, website and colour scheme.
It’s also about what people understand you stand for.
Two photographers might offer essentially the same service but attract completely different clients because their brands communicate different values.
For example, a photographer who places sustainability at the heart of their business might choose environmentally responsible suppliers, minimise waste and communicate those choices through their website and social media.
A photographer who places personal service at the centre of their business might focus heavily on the client experience, personal consultations and creating a relaxed relationship with every customer.
Neither approach is necessarily better.
The important thing is that the values are real and consistently reflected in the way the business operates.
Values can help you attract your ideal photography clients
Your clients have values too.
When people choose who to buy from, they aren’t necessarily looking only at price or technical specifications.
They are also making judgements about whether a business feels right for them.
People naturally tend to connect with businesses and individuals whose attitudes and priorities feel familiar.
This can be particularly important for creative businesses such as photography.
Imagine a couple looking for a wedding photographer who is passionate about sustainability.
If one photographer simply says they care about the environment while another can demonstrate that they use sustainable products, minimise unnecessary waste and work with environmentally conscious suppliers, the second photographer is likely to feel more authentic.
The same principle applies to many other values.
If your ideal clients care deeply about inclusivity, community, creativity, luxury, adventure or personal service, demonstrating those values can help them recognise that your business is right for them.
Don’t choose values just because they sell
There is an important warning here.
Don’t decide what your business values should be based solely on what you think will attract customers.
If you don’t genuinely believe in something, don’t make it a central part of your brand.
People are increasingly good at spotting when businesses are simply adopting a popular cause as a marketing exercise.
If sustainability isn’t important to you, for example, don’t suddenly make it the centre of your brand because you’ve noticed that environmentally conscious consumers are a growing market.
Instead, look for the things that genuinely matter to you.
Your values should reflect who you are rather than who you think your clients want you to be.
How to discover your photography business values
So how do you actually work out what your values are?
Start by making a list.
Don’t worry about creating the perfect list straight away.
Write down anything that comes to mind when you think about the things that matter most to you.
Then start asking yourself some questions.
What matters most to you?
What subjects or issues immediately come to mind?
What makes you passionate?
What would you find difficult to compromise on?
Why do you choose certain businesses?
Think about the companies and suppliers you already use.
Why do you choose them?
Is it simply price and convenience?
Or do you identify with something about the way they operate?
Perhaps you like supporting independent businesses.
Maybe you care about where products are made.
Perhaps you value exceptional customer service.
These choices can reveal more about your own values than you might expect.
What makes you angry?
This might sound like an unusual question, but think about the things that frustrate you when other people get them wrong.
What behaviours do you find unacceptable?
What do you think businesses should do differently?
The things that make us angry can sometimes reveal the things we care about most.
What communities matter to you?
Think about the groups, organisations and communities you are involved with.
Are there causes you actively support?
Are there people you feel strongly about helping?
Are there communities where you feel particularly at home?
These can all provide clues about your underlying values.
What qualities do you admire?
Think about other photographers, businesses or individuals you respect.
What is it about them that you admire?
Is it their creativity?
Their honesty?
Their determination?
Their generosity?
Their environmental credentials?
Their willingness to challenge convention?
The qualities you admire in others can help identify your own priorities.
You don’t need dozens of values
There is no magic number of business values you need.
In fact, a huge list can become meaningless.
Try to identify the values that genuinely sit at the core of your business.
Ask yourself which ones you would be prepared to compromise when necessary and which ones you would find extremely difficult to abandon.
This can help separate your core values from things that are simply nice to have.
A useful test is to ask yourself:
“Would I be prepared to sacrifice business for this value?”
If the answer is yes, you’ve probably found something that genuinely matters to you.
If the answer is no, it may be a secondary preference rather than a core value.
There is nothing wrong with that.
The exercise is simply about understanding the difference.
Use your values to make better business decisions
Once you’ve identified your values, don’t simply put them on an “About Me” page and forget about them.
Use them.
When you’re considering a new supplier, ask whether they fit with the way you want to operate.
When deciding whether to accept a job, consider whether the client and project align with the business you’re trying to build.
When creating marketing content, think about whether it communicates something that is genuinely important to you.
When deciding what products and services to offer, consider whether they support the experience you want your clients to have.
Your values can become a practical decision-making tool.
Values can help you stand out from competitors
Photography is a competitive industry.
There may be dozens of photographers in your area offering similar services.
Trying to compete purely on technical ability or price can be difficult.
Your values provide another potential point of difference.
Your camera equipment can be copied.
A competitor can offer a similar package.
They can even imitate aspects of your visual style.
But your combination of personality, experience, beliefs, priorities and approach to business is much harder to replicate.
That is why authenticity can be such a powerful part of a photography brand.
Turn your values into marketing content
Once you’ve identified your values, they can also provide a constant source of ideas for your marketing.
Your values can influence:
- Blog articles
- Social media posts
- Website content
- Behind-the-scenes stories
- Client stories
- Email newsletters
- Videos
- Collaborations
- Supplier choices
- Personal projects
Instead of constantly asking yourself, “What should I post today?”, you can start creating content around the subjects that genuinely matter to you.
That makes marketing easier because you’re talking about things you actually care about.
Your values can attract the right clients — and repel the wrong ones
This is an important part of building an authentic brand.
The aim isn’t necessarily to appeal to everyone.
If your values are clear, some people may decide that your business isn’t for them.
That’s okay.
In fact, it can be helpful.
The clients who strongly identify with what you stand for are more likely to appreciate your approach, connect with your brand and understand why you charge what you charge.
Trying to please everyone can result in a business with no clear identity.
Knowing who you are makes it easier for the right people to find you.
Bring your values into everything you do
Ultimately, your business values should be more than words on your website.
They should be visible in the way you work.
They should influence the clients you choose, the businesses you collaborate with, the products you offer and the experience you provide.
Most importantly, they should be authentic.
Your values reveal something about the character of your business and, because photography is such a personal and creative profession, that can become a powerful part of your brand.
Take some time to identify what really matters to you.
Then build your photography business around it.
You may find that it makes your business decisions clearer, your marketing more natural and your relationships with clients much stronger.
