Why your current fashion portfolio is not getting you booked.

When I first started photography, I was told that I should shoot as often as I could. I was encouraged to do shoots as many times a week as possible.

A couple years into my career, I realized I need to slow down. I was shooting lots of content, and it looked like I was super busy, but the reality was that I wasn't getting that many clients and the work that I was producing weren't helping me to book many more because it wasn't that exciting.

You're not booking your clients by how much content you have online; you're booking them based on how good your content is. So if you're constantly churning out mediocre photos because you're trying to fill up a website that's empty, you're not going to get very far. You need to take a break from the hustle. You need to slow down and focus on creating the best photos possible.

There are lots of questions you can ask yourself when you're trying to figure out what your next photography project should be, but here are some of the most important ones:

‘What sort of imagery is my portfolio currently missing? What gaps do I have?’

‘What skills do I have as a photographer that I'm not demonstrating?’

‘What would be the most creatively fulfilling shoot that I could produce?’

When I began to be guided by questions like these, I produced work at a much slower pace, but the work was good. And in turn, that work leads to more bookings.

So next time you start to plan a portfolio shoot, make sure to ask yourself the same questions as I do. That way, you'll always be producing something you love but that will also go toward helping your career.