When marketing their business, many photographers will talk about their camera equipment. On their web site, some photographers list the makes and models of all their gear. Some even display pictures of their camera equipment. Why?
When shopping for a contractor to renovate your kitchen, do you care what brand of tools they own? When your car needs servicing, do you ask the mechanic what brand of tools they use? At a restaurant, do you check what brand of kitchen appliances they have?
Customers don’t care about the brand of camera equipment that a photographer uses. They do not care nor should they.
Photographers like to say that it’s not the equipment that makes a good photo but rather it’s the photographer behind the camera. So why do they list the camera equipment they own? Are they photographers or equipment suppliers?
Customers don’t know or care about the difference between a D700 and a D7000, or between a 1DX and a D1X.
When a photographer talks about which brands of equipment they own, that’s really the photographer saying, “Me! Me! Me!” And that’s not marketing.
Marketing is talking to the customer, in the language of the customer, about the customer’s needs.
Photo customers are concerned only about their current photography needs. Can the photographer be trusted? Are they reliable? Do they have the experience and know-how to do the job properly? Will the work be done on time? What happens if something goes wrong? Will the pictures satisfy their needs?
Customers aren’t looking to rent camera equipment, they’re trying to hire a photographer. A photographer who talks about the equipment they own is not hearing what their customers are asking.
