Becoming a successful photographer in a not-so-big city can certainly have its challenges. After moving from a city of close to two million (Columbus, Ohio) to a new house with two acres (Akron, Ohio), we’ve been committed to some important aspects of networking to help plant and nurture roots in a smaller city.

For the past decade, whenever we shared or blogged our photos, we followed the paths of most photographers: show the details, show off the “wow” photos and tell some cute story. But recently, after interviewing Pye Jirsa on our wedding podcast (watch it below), our eyes were finally opened: Sharing your images, regardless of your environment, can be an incredibly powerful celebration of all the vendors involved—not just your work.

We shifted our focus away from just showing off our imagery and directed our focus on celebrating our coworkers and peers’ accomplishments. By doing this, our blog, podcast and social media posts became pillars of networking and establishing our brand in our smaller city. We took Pye’s teaching from his online workshop “Marketing and SEO for Photographers” and expanded our new approach into two categories: strengthen vendor relationships and get involved in our community’s social circle.

Over the last few months of quarantine, vendor relations have become the most powerful driver of business for us. For many years, we were convinced it was our photos that mattered most, however, over the course of our ten years in business, cultivating and nurturing our relationships with vendors and peers has proven to be invaluable.

One of Beth’s many jobs in our business is to reach out, cold-call, connect, join, act, offer, volunteer and build up all the vendors in our area. She organized Instagram Live discussions with fellow wedding vendors, reached out to venue owners and offered our photo services, and she strengthened relationships with fellow photographers in our area. Beth was on a mission to write positive reviews for our peers on various wedding vendor platforms like The Knot and Google, then reach out and let them know of our efforts. Our photo projects, such as style shoots and charity sessions, turned into celebrations of everyone else’s amazing work.

I implore you: Fire up Instagram, find new contacts, connect with them and find a project to work on. You’d be amazed by what it can lead to.

Getting involved in your environment is pivotal when it comes to fitting in, getting known and increasing your brand’s reach. It does take effort, but mostly, the adventures are fun, eye-opening and low cost. These social interactions can include attending your local chamber meeting (especially if it’s a virtual meeting), starting a vendor meet-up group or recurring Zoom chat, volunteer your photography services for non-profit groups (especially ones that help people), start an Instagram Live podcast, or simply reach out to new people online and get your brand on their minds.

LinkedIn can be very helpful to interact with folks on a more professional level. One quick and effortless introduction can include offering a free headshot portrait, something that most folks have needed for years. Beth will target five powerful planners and venues in our area and simply attack them with kindness on social media until they notice us. Most importantly, she calls them and arranges a meet-up. She’s a savage when it comes to overwhelming people with happiness.

In the end, shifting your focus away from yourself and onto the celebration of others can have an uplifting impact on your photography business—especially in a smaller town. 

Seth and Beth Kerechanin are a wedding photography duo based in Akron, Ohio. In addition to their photography, they host a podcast about the wedding industry.