You Have a Reputation

This is a chapter from the book A Lesser Photographer.

Marketing phrases like “personal brand” come and go and are mostly the work of marketers who believe that to own something, you must rename it.

Go back decades before such buzzwords pervaded our lives, and you’ll find the foundation of this concept was more simply called your “reputation.”

A good reputation comes from your work and your interactions with your community.

You have one, whether you want it or not. Whether you care is up to you and your goals as a photographer.

A good reputation is not derived from marketing “hacks” deployed on prospects to promote yourself.

Unfortunately, it often seems that those who are most obsessed about building their personal brands are the first to forget about their reputations.