Should you niche down or not?

That question has bugged me for a long time. I spent five thousand euros on coaching. I built a second website. I stopped taking weddings for six months. And I still failed. This is what nobody tells you about niching down.

I'm Jaimee Moses, I've been a photographer for 13 years, I've shot more than 150 weddings across Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France. This is my full time job. So I know what niching down looks like from the inside.

WHY NICHING WORKS

So first let's talk about why everyone tells you to niche down. And they're not wrong.

When you niche down you're talking to one specific group of people. Your messaging is clear. People know exactly what you do. And a specialist always gets paid more than a generalist.

Think about it like this. A wedding photographer who's shot 150 weddings knows exactly when the ring gets exchanged, where to stand in the church, which lenses to bring. A food photographer has a macro lens, knows how to style food, does flash photography. A sports photographer is shooting with a 100-400mm, knows when the action is coming before it happens.

If you're shooting weddings, babies, food, hotels and landscapes all at once people don't know what you're good at. And honestly, you probably don't get that good at any of it.

And the deeper you go into a niche the more interesting it gets. With weddings for example the longer I did it the more I discovered. Destination weddings, elopements, different styles, different cultures. You think it's one thing and it opens up into a whole world.

SECTION 2 — THE CON NOBODY TALKS ABOUT

But here's the thing nobody really talks about. Once you're in it, you're in it.

People know me as the wedding photographer. I get inquiries for weddings. My whole website, my social media, my word of mouth it's all weddings. And that's great. But if tomorrow I say okay I want to try something different, changing that is not as easy as people make it sound.

You're not just changing what you shoot. You're changing how people perceive you. And that takes time. A lot of time. And I know this because I lived it.

SECTION 3 — I TRIED TO GET OUT

So I actually tried. For about a year I tried to get out of wedding photography.

I built a second website. I did food photography. Real estate videography. I went after different clients. I even spent five thousand euros on coaching to help me get new clients in a different direction.

And I stopped taking weddings for about six months while I was doing it.

SECTION 4 — I FAILED

I'm gonna tell you what actually happened when I tried to get out of my niche. Because I failed. And I think that's more useful to you than any theory.

It just didn't click. With weddings I don't even need to try that hard to get clients anymore. It just comes. But with food photography I'd shot maybe ten gigs. Compare that to 150 weddings and 200 engagement shoots that's a massive gap in experience and reputation. You can't fake that.

The coaching wasn't bad advice. The timing was just wrong. I wasn't in the right headspace. And I think when you're desperate for something, people feel it. Things get pushed away. But when you step back and say okay, I'm gonna do what I'm good at and see what happens that's when doors start opening again.

So I went back to weddings.

SECTION 5 — WHAT I ACTUALLY LEARNED

Now here's what I actually took from all of this.

Everyone says burn the boats. Commit fully. No plan B. I'm telling you the opposite.

Don't burn the boats before you know the other shore is there.

I stopped weddings cold turkey for six months while trying to pivot. That was the real mistake. Not the pivot itself the fact that I burned the foundation before the new thing was ready.

I've taken cold turkey jumps that worked. I jumped into wedding photography full on 13 years later still going. I moved to Germany, cold turkey worked out. Sometimes those risks pay off. But sometimes you try and you fail. And when you've already burned your boats, you feel that.

So my actual advice niche hard at the start, get good, get stable. Then when you're ready to expand, build next to what you have. Don't shut it down. One real estate client here, one brand shoot there. Slow. No rush. Let the new thing grow while the foundation holds.

You don't have to choose between who you are and who you want to become. You just have to be patient enough to build both.

So should you niche down? Yes, especially at the start. Should you stay niched forever? Not necessarily. But when you're ready to move, don't burn what you built. But hey. Who am I to say what, uh, what you're supposed to do? You know, like, I also know other photographers that have done it totally different way. You know, like, all of this is just advice. Do whatever you want. You know? Like, I've heard of photographers that have not niched down at all, and it's worked fantastically for them. This is what has worked for me. Maybe it doesn't work for you. You know, I hate when people say, hey. This is the way to do it, and there's no other way. It's not true you know, there's so many ways to, build a strong business. Take what's useful and leave the rest. Yeah. Like, for example, I'm not gonna niche down anymore, per se. I'm just not. Like, I am a wedding photographer, and I've been doing this for such a long time that people know me as that. But, you know, I'm also gonna try out different stuff.

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