Write your story, find your people

As much as images are in a photographer's DNA, words (and the stories they tell) are every bit as important. What's your story?

- Paul Wilkinson

Go along to any photography convention and you will no doubt see classes and workshops on every aspect of the craft: how to use lights; choosing the right printer paper; posing your subject; the joy of f-stops, shutter speeds, and why you should care; retouching skin; how to add fake backgrounds... The list goes on.

What I find intriguing, however, is that there is much less emphasis on one key aspect of any business: finding and telling your story.

In this age of smartphones, tablets, and the internet, we photographers have access to our images right here in our pockets. So if we are ever asked (and sometimes even if we're not asked), we can drag out a phone and, with just a few flicks of a finger, have our entire portfolio right there to show (or bore) people in a heartbeat.

But have you ever noticed how the most successful photographers rarely do this? Have you ever wondered why?

The art of the storyteller

There is an adage in business that you will attract people like you. Outdoor people will attract outdoor people; country music fans will attract country music fans; geeks will attract... Okay, maybe the list isn't perfect, but you get the point.