We all know the importance of discovering and focusing on a niche when it comes to building an online business. A niche puts you in the “red umbrella in a sea of black” category, establishing you and your business as one of a kind. But it can’t be said enough: the first rule of thumb when choosing a niche is to find one that aligns with your passions since doing what you truly enjoy will make your online business shine.
If, as a child, you’d rather play with a camera than your scooter or if as an adult your car is filled with camera equipment, then you know you’re personally fulfilled when you’re immersed in all things photography. Why not turn your passion into profit? A related niche may be right up your alley.
Of course the next step is to make your online photography niche stand out.
If you live and breathe photography and want to develop your niche, read on to discover some very unique ways others have made their love for the camera truly stand out from the pack.
But first, a few helpful tips.
Some Tips to Strengthen Your Photography Technique
Whether you’re taking the images yourself and selling them or strictly selling that of others, it’s important to know what to look for.
Discover the Niche Within
As with many aspects of business, not just photography, the key is to think different. For example, wedding photography is certainly a niche. But what about honing in on the behind the scenes shots or the humorous mishaps along the way? Finding a niche within the niche, often referred to simply as a sub niche, can take your online business that extra mile.
Be Different
People tend to gravitate towards outside the box thinking and imagery. In the case of photography, being different involves giving people glimpses of the unexpected or unusual. There are tons of landscape and sunset images around, but what about capturing the glow of a sunrise (pretty) on dumpsters (not so pretty) or snap away as the golden flickers of a sunset create wonderful texture on a rusted, abandoned car? In other words, casting the otherwise “ugly” or ignored in a breathtakingly beautiful light often intrigues others.
You can work with the likes of Shutterstock or Fotolia or go it on your own via your personal online photography store/blog. Either way, Evan Varsamis, technology guru and founder of Cloudie Co. shares advice that’ll give you results no matter what photography niche you find. In a nutshell, he advises to shoot from unexpected angles, find a unique twist on old theme and “stay far away from anything that crops up in Google when you search ‘stock photography memes.'”
Again, it’s important to remember to get involved with a photography niche you’re personally excited about that will also resonate with an audience. For example, if you’re fascinated with textures and tile and live in an area that embraces the arts and creativity, you might be at your best by selling images of shower stalls (more on that later, and yes, it’s an actual photography niche) but not so much if you lock yourself into selling pictures of the all too common beach sunset.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at some unique photography niches and how they may work for you. At the very least, you’ll be inspired by the creativity and in turn, uncover your very own unique photography niche that lets you showcase your love of photography, the subject matter and of course, allows you to make a profit online.
Top 5 Unique Photography Niches
Landscape and Alcohol
Sounds like an interesting combination, right? The love of tequila, the tequila landscape (the agave plant in particular, which is what’s used to make tequila) and passion for photography was the perfect combination for Ben Olivares, a Guadalajara-based freelance photographer. His unique photography niche ultimately caught the attention of the Mexican Academy of Tequila Tasters and he was invited to attend one of their prestigious events. He hung his images and displayed his wall calendars at the event, making it a win-win situation for both parties. Today, he continues to enjoy a successful business by staying within this very unique niche.
One Color
Honing in on a specific color can be a niche in itself. French artist Yves Klein was wildly popular and known for his period where he focused on the color blue, and you can follow suit (but with your own twist of course). Even certain niches can focus on a color. For example, let’s assume food photography is your area of expertise and you love the color orange. So, you create a niche that’s all about foods with eye-catching pops of orange: the textures of orange frosting on a cupcake, an orange ice pop as it melts down the stick in the summer heat, and so on. Or, if pet photography is your specialty, you can further narrow it down to a color within that niche: blue dog collars, dogs with striking blue eyes, etc. Be creative!
Aerial Shots . . . from the Ground
Don’t have your own private plane? Well, most of us don’t. But you can get still get in on aerial photography with a kite. That’s right, a kite. With a mountable camera and the ability to observe what the camera is seeing from the ground, Dutch photographer Eric Kieboom manages to merge his love of photography and kite-flying talent into a wonderful photography niche. As such, he’s carved out a niche that’s allowed him to take pictures throughout Holland like a 121-foot high climbing wall and the world’s longest breakfast table. Kieboom says, “Abstracts can be nice, especially if the viewer has no idea of scale. Long sweeping lines in roads, canals and other landscape features can be interesting, too.” These days, he says he’s more involved in human activities such as climbers on a climbing tower or people on sailing boats.
Shower Stalls
No, we’re not talking about getting all Bates-motel on ourselves or anything peculiar, but rather taking the ordinary and presenting it in a different way. I mean, who thinks of the shower stall as the origin for breathtaking imagery and photography splendor? Apparently, there are folks out there who do and the proof is on this photobucket page: http://photobucket.com/images/Shower+niche/?page=1 So, if you love tile, have a thing for modern shower heads or stall designs that still exist straight out of the 70s, there could be something in it for you. Who knew close-ups of shower faucets and soap dishes could be so interesting?
Pets in Need of Psychotherapy
Pets catching Frisbees mid-air or dressed up like Aunt Dot are so been- there-done-that. Still, people love their animals and even the traditional dose of cuteness is still widely sought after in photography. But want to go deeper and hone in on that niche? The pet industry goes deeper than you may realize. Because of people’s collective love and fascination with animals and pets, there are pet trainers, pet masseuses and yes, pet hypnotherapists. So if pet photography makes you happy, consider tailoring it to images that capture a mood (happy dogs and sad kittens, for example, may be just what a pet hypnotherapist needs to outfit their office and use for marketing materials).
Of course, there is much more to be discovered since ideas are endless. Find the photography niche that’s interesting for you, add your creative twist and consider your audience’s needs. You’ll be well on your way to profiting online from your talent and creativity.