Photography business is 10% photography skill and 90% business skill. And that might even be generous.

You are not good people only care about the subject matter

The subject is what 99% of people care most about when looking at a photograph.

A technically mediocre photograph of an amazing, interesting, thought-provoking subject is much, much better than a technically perfect photograph of a cliché.

There is a reason that virtually of the successful photographers recommend taking business courses. Business skills and marketing make a bigger difference skill behind the camera.

As long as their images are good enough to make their clients happy it does not matter if they are not as good as another photographer. The clients are happy and that is all that matters in the end.

As others have said quit complaining/looking down on the quality of other photographers work and instead focus on learning how are they getting that much business. What are they doing better/different than you are that results in them getting those clients?

Once you have those answers and can compete with them on the business/marketing side then hopefully your skill work translate into clients choosing you over the competition.

That’s because you seem to think pictures sell photography, and that’s just not true. The photographer sells their photography. You have to learn marketing and sales in order to run a business. What does “trying very hard to get work” look like? What are you actually doing to get bookings?

Do you know who your target client is? What are you doing to reach them specifically? Are you selling digitals, mini sessions, prints? Are you a luxury service or a shoot and burn service? How do you make clients feel during sessions? How do you promote loyalty with current clients? What are you doing to increase the odds of word of mouth referrals?

Here’s my challenge to you: go make a list of those people with little talent but lots of bookings and really observe their website and social media presence. Take notes on what they’re doing to make their clients feel special, taken care of, and what makes the photographer stand out. Pay attention to how they price the photo session vs. digital files vs. prints. If you can, book sessions with a few of them and see how they interact with you and how they price their services. Or message them and see if they’d be up for a 30 minute zoom call to teach you about how they manage their business (pick people in a different physical location so you aren’t competitors).

Can you run a gravel supply company? Or a small accounting office? If yes then you can also be a professional photographer because the business acumen is the bulk of what’s needed.

That’s just, like, your opinion man. That’s how art works. Do better.

Networking, business and people skills will get you way further in business than photography skills. But your talent can be icing on the cake if you learn the other stuff. And it’s never too late to start working on the former. Seems like you understand the differentiator with those who get a lot of business and those that don’t, up to you if you want to pursue the skills needed to succeed.

punctuation

For photography I find that the pictures themselves only really matter the further away you are from a potential client. For example, I could show this sub my photos and maybe a lot of people would like it. But I could go up to people on the street and show them my photos and almost everyone would like them, and anyone needing a photographer, who doesn’t already know one, will ask me about rates

If you’re sitting off to the side thinking that your photos should be good enough to speak for themselves, think again because everyone thinks that in almost every field where you have the option to work by yourself. Every solo person believes that the world will just gravitate towards their art and see all the hard work that went into creating it. It just doesn’t work that way for everyone, and honestly, the true art of whatever you do will more than likely be lost on those willing to pay for it

So if you work, go out there and get that work. If you have good gear then you could honestly get work just by taking photos of squirrels. You just need to make sure people can interact with you while you talk about your photos. Photography is more than just taking photos and gear if you want money to change hands. It’s also about selling the idea of a good photo, and you gotta realize that although a picture may be worth a thousand words, it will never be capable of telling someone else why they should buy it or hire the photographer

So stop ranting on here and go out there and get that money

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.

Running a photography business takes more business skill than it does photography skill. The unfortunate reality is that there are way more people who want to be professional photographers than there is a market for it, and that the photography skills needed to take pictures professionally in a lot of different areas are really not that advanced.

Look at the advice from almost any professional photographer- they all say to focus on business/networking because that is what will help you the most.

Work harder.

This is one of the reasons I no longer pursue professional (paid) photography. I love the craft and the art, but I was never very good at the business side of things. As others have said here, sales and marketing skills are key to growing your business, and the quality of your work should speak for itself but it doesn’t always work that way.