How to Get Photography Clients

Show the work you want to be hired for. Then find the people who need to see it.

That is where I would start if I needed photography clients today. Before posting more, redesigning my website, or sending emails, I would ask: Can a potential client see that I can do the job they need?

I’m a documentary and commercial photographer. I’ve photographed campaigns for Burger King, Coca-Cola, and Facebook. Instagram and Google have helped clients discover my work. You can see what I photograph and share on my Instagram, @trovatten.

Before photography, I worked in digital marketing and SEO. Today, I teach photography marketing through Underexposed, helping photographers get their work discovered.

The advice I disagree with most is “build it and they’ll come.”

They might never come. You need to give the right people a way to find you, or get up and find them yourself.

Here is how I would approach it.

Show the work you want to be hired for

If you want to photograph big weddings in France, but nothing in your portfolio looks like a big wedding in France, how is a couple or wedding planner supposed to know you can pull it off?

You might be an amazing photographer. You might be perfectly capable of handling the setting, the scale, and the moments you only get one chance to capture. But the client hasn’t seen that yet. You’re asking them to take your ability on faith.

Your portfolio needs to give them that confidence.

Show work that helps them picture their own wedding in your photographs: the people, the place, the atmosphere, the ceremony, and what happens when daylight disappears and the party begins. A few beautiful portraits demonstrate part of the job. A coherent wedding story demonstrates much more.

The same principle applies to other assignments. A restaurant owner needs to understand how you could photograph their restaurant. An agency needs to see how your approach could work for its campaign.

Choose the assignment you want more of, then edit your portfolio around it.

You can have different interests and photograph different subjects. But the selection you send a potential client should answer their particular question: can this photographer make the work we need?

What if you haven’t photographed that kind of assignment yet?

Find a realistic way to build the evidence.

For weddings, that might mean assisting or second shooting for an experienced photographer, with permission to show your contribution. A styled shoot can demonstrate your taste, lighting, and approach to portraits. Describe it honestly; photographing a styled scene gives you different experience from covering a complete wedding.

For restaurant work, you could arrange a small project with a restaurant you know. Photograph the space, the food, the people, and the details that make it distinctive. Think about the selection a business could actually use.

Agree on the scope, any fee, and permission to show the photographs beforehand. Label personal and self-initiated projects clearly.

Then ask someone unfamiliar with your work to look at the selection. What would they hire you to photograph? Which images give them confidence?

Their answer will tell you whether your portfolio communicates what you intended.

How to find photography clients who need your work

Once you have relevant work to show, identify who has a reason to commission it.

Be more specific than “people who need a photographer.”

For example:

Large weddings in France: couples planning those weddings, wedding planners, and venues hosting them.
Restaurant photography: owners, restaurant groups, hospitality marketing teams, and agencies working with them.
Commercial documentary photography: creative directors, art directors, producers, and agencies looking for that approach.

Look for a connection between your photographs and something the potential client is doing. An opening, a campaign, a new website, or an upcoming event can give you a useful reason to start a conversation.

For each person you approach, answer three questions:

What could they use my photographs for?
Which project shows that I can help?
Who chooses or commissions the photographer?

If you cannot answer those questions, spend more time choosing the prospect.

A wedding planner needs a relevant wedding portfolio. A creative director developing a documentary campaign needs to see how you photograph people and tell a story. Send a selection that makes the connection easy to understand.

How to get your first photography client

With a relevant portfolio ready, I would begin with people already within reach.

Former colleagues, friends, businesses you know, and people who follow your work may be able to hire you or introduce you to someone who can.

Give them a specific offer they can remember and pass on.

For example:

I’m taking bookings for portraits of small business owners in Copenhagen. Here’s a recent series showing the kind of work I make: [portfolio link].

If you know someone launching a website or updating their business photographs, I’d appreciate an introduction.

The reader knows what you photograph, where you work, and when to think of you.

You do not need a large audience to have that conversation. You need something relevant to show and a clear explanation of what someone can book.

If you need paid work this month, start those conversations while improving your website and publishing your work. Search visibility and audience growth take time to develop.

Get photography clients through Google

Some potential clients are already searching for the photographs or photographer they need.

They might search for a service and location, such as “restaurant photographer Copenhagen.” They might search for a subject. Or they might see a campaign somewhere and look for the photographer behind it.

I have experienced that last route myself.

The agency that booked me for the Coca-Cola campaign had seen my Burger King work at Cannes and searched for the photographer who made it. Having the work online gave them a way to find me and get in touch.

Someone at Sony Music also found my Day of the Dead photographs through Google and contacted me about a possible cover image.

That enquiry never became a paid job because the person changed jobs. But it showed how someone could discover photographs suited to a project without knowing my name beforehand.

I think SEO is one of the most overlooked opportunities for photographers. We put enormous care into making the work, then often give much less thought to how someone who needs it will find it.

Give relevant work a useful page

Start with one strong page for a service or project you want people to discover.

Show the photographs and explain:

What the project or service involves.
Where you photographed it, or where you accept assignments.
Your role and approach.
Whether it was commissioned or personal work.
How someone can contact you about similar work.

Use language a potential client understands. Alongside your creative description, make the practical offer clear.

A visitor may arrive directly on that page without seeing your homepage. Give them enough context to understand who you are and a clear way to enquire.

My SEO guide for photographers goes through this in more detail.

Get photography clients on Instagram

Instagram has brought me commercial opportunities. It has also helped people discover uses for photographs I had already made.

In 2020, the owner of a Mexican restaurant in Denver found my work on Instagram. He wanted photographs for a tortería with a Mexico City theme and asked for 75 images.

The conversation became a paid sale of photographs to print for the restaurant.

He had a place for the work. My photographs helped him create the atmosphere he wanted.

That is a useful reason to keep showing your personal projects. Someone else may see a use for them that you never considered while shooting.

Help a potential client understand what you could make for them

When you share a project, give people a way to understand it.

For commissioned work, explain the brief, show a considered selection, and describe a decision you made. For personal work, explain the subject and what drew you to it.

Think about who the post is likely to attract. Camera advice may bring you an audience of photographers. If you want restaurant assignments, make room for work and stories that help restaurant owners, marketing teams, and creative directors understand your approach.

Then check what happens when someone visits your profile.

Can they quickly see what you photograph, where you work, and how to contact you? Do your pinned posts represent the assignments you want now? Does your link lead to relevant work?

Choose the work that introduces you well. The post with the most likes may serve a different purpose.

For more on presenting and sharing your photography, read my Instagram guide for photographers.

Approach commercial photography clients with something relevant

For brands and agencies, finding the right person matters.

The photographer may be commissioned by an agency, a producer, or a production company working for the brand. Look at the credits behind campaigns similar to the work you want to shoot.

Then give that person a clear reason to open your portfolio.

Here is an example you can adapt for a local business:

Hi [name],

I saw that [restaurant] is opening a second location. I’m a photographer based in [city], and I photograph restaurants and the people behind them.

Here’s a recent project: [link]. I thought this approach could suit photographs of the new space and your team for the launch.

Are you organising the photography, or is there someone else I should speak with?

[Your name]

The message connects a real need with relevant work and an easy next step.

Use the same care when approaching an agency. Show the project that fits its work, explain the connection, and keep the message brief.

If the opportunity is still relevant and you have not heard back, follow up once with a short reminder. Respect a decline.

If your project has a story suited to a publication, my guide to getting photography published explains how to approach editors. A feature can introduce your work to another audience, although publication itself does not guarantee bookings.

Turn photography enquiries into bookings

When someone contacts you, help them understand whether you can do the job and what happens next.

A useful first reply might be:

Thanks for getting in touch. Could you tell me what needs photographing, where and when the shoot would happen, what you need delivered, and where the photographs will be used?

Once I understand that, I can confirm availability and prepare a proposal.

Send a focused selection of relevant work if they need more evidence of fit.

Your proposal should make the scope, fee, deliverables, intended use, and next step clear. If you need time to prepare it, tell them when to expect it.

Keep track of the conversation. A promising enquiry can disappear because a question went unanswered or neither person knew who was taking the next step.

It is also worth testing your website with another person. Ask them to find relevant work and contact you as though they were booking a shoot. Watch where they hesitate.

That gives you a concrete problem to fix.

Get more photography clients through referrals and repeat work

After a successful assignment, ask for a specific introduction.

For example:

I’m glad you’re happy with the portraits. I’m taking on more work for founders and small teams. If another business owner you know needs photographs for their website, I’d appreciate an introduction.

Stay in touch when you have a useful reason. A growing team may need new portraits. An annual event may need coverage again. A restaurant may have a new location or menu.

Get to know people who work with the same clients, too: planners, designers, producers, venues, and other photographers. Relevant introductions often begin with those relationships.

What I would do this week

Start with the part that is holding you back.

If you lack relevant work: arrange one project or opportunity that helps you build it. Define what you need to demonstrate before you shoot.

If you have the work but few enquiries: edit a focused selection and identify a small group of people who have a reason to see it. Match a project to their need and start the conversation.

If you get enquiries but few bookings: review recent conversations. Look for unanswered questions about the work, scope, price, timing, or how to confirm.

Keep a simple record of where enquiries come from and which become paid work. Ask new contacts how they found you. That will help you decide where to spend your time.

The approach I teach in Underexposed starts with making your work and offer clear, then helping the right people discover it through your portfolio, Instagram, search, press, and outreach. The course and community give you structure and feedback as you put it into practice.

If you want help doing that with your own photography, explore Underexposed.