Rant There are people who have little talent/skill that get a lot of business and people who have talent and skill who get no business. It’s so annoying. I know people who know how to use their tools and get gigs left and right and there’s me who tries very hard to get work and has no luck.
You are not good people only care about the subject matter not the skills to do the job right and make things look good-great.
There are people who are amazing and get work but I am talking about the people who are near the line.
There are people who have skills and get jobs, you however are missing the fact that it is having the proper skills and understanding the business you are in to get you the jobs you want and provide your client with what they need quickly and at a proper point.
You are trying really hard, but are you putting your efforts in the proper place? Are you using the correct skills? If you are not getting work then the answer is likely no.
In general I have found I make the most money in photography from what I would consider the worst photographs I take. Not because technically they are bad photos but because they lack any level of life, don’t “look great” etc… The thing is they are what is needed for the job you are hired for. Part of your problem can even be that your hard work and efforts to make great images takes too long and you are not delivering as your clients want.
The number of times in my life I cringe as I apply a filter to a photo in order to provide a client “the new look” in a trend that everyone wants is beyond what I can count. I look at images I make sometimes and think how terrible they look after applying that latest fad (or even just photographing people in trendy clothing or poses etc…) They suck and I would never put them in a portfolio… I will however do it because I am getting hired and paid and it is not about what I think looks good it is about what the client wants.
Working in this field, in any field, is not about your talents, it is how you market and sell yourself and your product and if that meets the needs and expectations of clients. When you say someone has “no-talent” to make good images and yet they are constantly getting work and you are not… I would say they have the talent needed to make it in this business and you may have talent but not what is required to be successful.
Focus less on your subjective idea of great-looking images and more on what clients / prospective clients are looking for.