© Ellen Burns

Your elevator pitch

5 October, 2025

When I run workshops I often ask the photographers to introduce themselves in a couple of minutes – an elevator speech if you will.

Even photographers who know their brand and style seem to suddenly go blank and default to listing the type of photography work they do (‘I’m a commercial photographer/ director’. Or ‘I photograph architecture and people’).

Sometimes there’s a stream of consciousness which gradually peters out to a self-effacing mumble.

If you’ve ever struggled with finding an interesting, SUCCINCT way to answer the question ‘What do you do?’, don’t beat yourself up (and definitely don’t avoid workshops!).

It might be comforting to know that you don’t have to explain everything, just pique interest.

Consider starting with the feeling or emotion your work evokes, or better still your ‘why’.

Examples from photographers I have worked with (yours might be here):

  • I strive to empower women.
  • I love to make the ordinary extraordinary.
  • I help uplift people.
  • I show mystery and intrigue.
  • I capture fleeting exchanges of energy (see image above by the super talented Ellen Burns).
  • I focus on celebrating diversity.

When you’ve worked it out, practice saying it again and again and again. Repeat it in front of the mirror every morning. Write it everywhere. Add it to your Instagram bio. Get used to sharing it and saying it out loud to anyone who asks.

This bit is so important, so you don’t find yourself defaulting to mumbling about the ‘things’ you photograph.

When you introduce yourself by sharing your why, you’ll get replies like, ‘Oooh…tell me more!’, and ‘How do you do that?’

Then you can get to the how (you’re a photographer/ director/ videographer/ blah blah.), and who you work for (brands, industry, etc.), or exhibitions you’ve been featured in, awards won – whatever feels appropriate.

Be proud of your own unique brand. It’s what sets you apart from the other photographers out there who work in your industry, and it’s your beacon of light when you’re confused or lost.

And hey, you never know who you’ll bump into in the lift.