Kami Fore  wrote:
However I was wondering how I could build a sustainable career in BEAUTY (editorial beauty, beauty portraiture, commercial beauty) in particular. What I've learned is that there are different industries for certain niches (advertising, fashion editorial, corporate, etc). What I don't have enough information on is making a career in this niche for 5 to 10 year prospects.

I live in Los Angeles. Do I attempt to find a studio (like Flex once did before he went back to freelancing) and do beauty in house? Is that what they do for that part of the industry? Or do I just build my client base freelancing?

- KF

Well sounds like, at least based on what you are saying that you are on the right track. Keep up the enthusiasm. As for long term thinking, it depends. Things are changing very fast so who knows where the industry will be in 5-10 years. Probably won't look the same. More competition, new technology etc.

I would say to try to think of it like this? Don't worry about what the industry will do, that is something you can't know, worry what you can do. One thing you probably already know, that is to keep learning and keep growing both as an individual and as a business. Don't put all your eggs in one basked. Add additional skills to your service, perhaps teaching, and learn new skills, improve what you already know. Stay active. The best long term investment is you.

Should you go to studio or freelance. Both have their pros and cons obviously. How about your personal preference? Do you like being a freelancer?

There are better people who are more active than me in the industry to give you specifics but as general rule, I think of it like this. This BTW, is not aimed at you directly, but more like a general rule, something to keep in mind.

Being a generalist, sort of Jack of all trades, master of none is good survival strategy. There is always work but the work in not very well payed. Than there are generalists who are great at one thing. They are valued and well payed. Problem is that they become to dependent on their niche and their market. If their surroundings were to quickly change, they would probably not be able to adapt fast enough. The best strategy in my humble opinion is to blend the two. A polymath or sometimes known as the Renaissance man. Someone who is specialist in more than one area. Who is really, really skilled in more than one thing. In my opinion if you are thinking long term, especially in this ever more changing and ever faster changing world, be a specialist in more than one thing. This could be in retouching or in retouching and something else. That is your best investment against long term market changes that no one can predict.

Some food for though.

1998 - Google opens as a major  Internet search engine and index.
2001 - Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia and world's largest wiki, was started.
2003 - MySpace, LinkedIn and Apple introduced the online music service
2004 - Facebook, started for students at Harvard Collage. Flicker opens.
2005 - YouTube began storing and retrieving videos.
2006 - Twitter, 40-charachter networking and microbloging site was launched.

Things we take for granted to day and seem to be with us forever happen in the span of only 8 years when world was evolving slower than it is today.

No one knows what the retouching industry will be like in 5-8 years. 

To ensure long term survival any business, big or small, ultimately has two functions. Innovation + Marketing. Always thing how can you innovate and be different and how can you market the fact that you are different and therefore valuable to the right people. Innovation could be something incremental, like new skills you learn, better turnaround time etc. or it could be something more substantial, offering new services that no one else offers. Innovation can also apply to marketing, new ways to find better clients etc. Innovation + Marketing.

Now, I don't want to make this more dramatic than it has to be, especially for a retoucher starting out and it seems you are on a good start, but if you are looking for long term strategies, as a general rules worth following that is something I would recommend. Hope it helps.

Cheers!

Krunoslav Stifter wrote:
Well sounds like, at least based on what you are saying that you are on the right track. Keep up the enthusiasm. As for long term thinking, it depends. Things are changing very fast so who knows where the industry will be in 5-10 years. Probably won't look the same. More competition, new technology etc. (continued)....

Your input's always fabulous Kruno, thank you. I've tried exploring other areas of working with photos and I'm learning that I just prefer beauty. I love really detailed skin work in comparison to other things. I forgot what year Natalia said this in but she agreed with the notion that it's good to be able to offer more than one trick to survive for different situations, but specialization is best for certain people. For me, that's beauty.

It's ...soothing to me? My bestie thinks I'm so strange being soothed by beauty retouching. I found out that it's just my thing. Haha. It's one of my goals to land a campaign with L'Oreal, get a few beauty editorial spreads in Vogue Korea/Vogue Japan and to work on some cosmetic brands. I think as far as expanding goes I'd be fine with making my work more commercial for beauty opposed to in just spreads in select magazines. I believe that I can do both with time.

I'm in a good city for this, networking wise, so I'm thinking of just building my social media presence (as Daniel Meadows suggested once) and build strong client bases with some photographers I like based on trust. I'm told that I'm very likeable so I believe that that can help me in the long run. Personality + (Improving my service) + Web Presence + Skill.

I tried looking for studios in LA and there are many of them close to me but they don't (to my knowledge, someone can totally ding me if I'm wrong) really focus on beauty. They're mostly for commercial fashion ads/spreads. I also think that it's probably better for me if I just freelance. I don't know. I might end up being like Flex where I try both and learn from experience to prefer one more than the other. Only time will tell.

What I'm working on is trying to find new ways to beat out competition with more than just what's in my portfolio. I think the psychology of it is to work your way into an industry you like and have staying power where they're going to trust you in comparison to others because you're proven to work each and every time and you're likeable. Like, to me, anyone can have a great portfolio but, in terms of longevity, it comes down to customer loyalty.

I have another business I co run and we've niched out an area based on a need we saw and we made our approach unique where they're loyal to us because our model relies on building relationships and remaining transparent.

Will probably apply that to my retouch business model.

Sorry, ranted a bit there. You made me think. Thanks again.

If anyone (Natalia, where you lurkin at?), wants to contribute, it'd be helpful as well.

Kami Fore  wrote:
I need more industry insight if possible.

Depends on what end of the market you are trying for. Not sure if there is a "beauty" specialty per se. You might specialize in faces with a certain look, but to make a living just doing that is a question.

Having said that you get to be known for specialties. Cars, clothes or products. One of the big names use to get lots of work in "water" drop effects. Beer, soft drinks, cold containers. You can get pigeonholed too.

All you need is to produce consistent work and get seen by the people that matter.

Leonard Gee Photography wrote:

Depends on what end of the market you are trying for. Not sure if there is a "beauty" specialty per se. You might specialize in faces with a certain look, but to make a living just doing that is a question.

Having said that you get to be known for specialties. Cars, clothes or products. One of the big names use to get lots of work in "water" drop effects. Beer, soft drinks, cold containers. You can get pigeonholed too.

All you need is to produce consistent work and get seen by the people that matter.

Thank you! And agreed. I'm looking to get into high end and commercial retouching for campaigns for cosmetic ads and beauty editorial spreads for magazines like Elle, Vogue, Allure, etc. That's the end of the market I want.

I'm strategizing how to shape my portfolio in accordance to those as well. Just need some tear sheets, samples of products, hair, a client list and I'm good. Have a special idea to add something else I haven't seen around in portfolios yet as a bonus.

I was just scared that I was missing out on some alternative formula to land my goals that I couldn't find in the forums after researching so thoroughly, haha.