Choose to Go Against the Grain

Reverse positioning is a marketing and branding strategy where a business intentionally chooses to go against the grain.

Instead of adding more features, services, or following every trend, a business using reverse positioning aims to strip away "expected" attributes, remove services, features or elements that are standard in their industry that your customers care about.

When you let go of the offerings your customers don’t care about, you can focus on a few core, often unconventional, strengths. Spend your time and energy on a limited set of qualities or offerings that truly differentiate you, even if those aren't what the mainstream market initially thinks it wants.

You’re creating a new niche or building something for an underserved one. By doing this, you’re aiming to attract a specific type of client who values your unique approach, rather than trying to be everything to everyone.

Think of it as the "less is more" philosophy applied to business strategy and artistic identity.

How Can Photographers Apply Reverse Positioning to Their Style and Business?

It starts with looking at the other options your customers have and understanding what they are offering and crucially what they aren’t doing well, as a result. When you look at your competition start by asking yourself these things:

• What are the common things "everyone else" in your genre is doing?
• Which of those things do you feel less passionate about or could happily discard?
• What unique perspective, skill, or value could you elevate if you weren't trying to do it all?
• Who is the ideal client that would be thrilled with this stripped-back or more focused approach?

Once you have solid answers to these questions it’s time to do something about it. Let’s be what your competition can’t be!

4 Steps to Get You Started.

Having a reverse position is powerful because it allows you to focus your energy on something that’s going to stand out, but knowing what you want to do isn’t enough. It’s time to take action. Let’s try this:

1. De-clutter your offerings: If your competition is offering weddings, newborns, family, corporate, events, and pet photography, Reverse Positioning might be: specialising only in unposed, documentary-style day-in-the-life family photography, and actively not offering posed newborn sessions or traditional wedding coverage. Or perhaps, a wedding photographer who only shoots elopements or intimate ceremonies under 20 guests, and markets this exclusively.
2. Challenging aesthetic norms: If your competition is bright, airy, perfectly smooth skin, and chasing the latest editing trends seen on Instagram, Reverse Positioning might be: intentionally embracing a darker, moodier, more "imperfect" and raw aesthetic. Perhaps using only film, with its inherent quirks and limitations, and making that a central part of your brand. You can celebrate grain, blur, or unconventional compositions that tell a different kind of story.
3. Redefining the client experience: your competition is offering massive digital galleries with hundreds of images, extensive retouching options, and a wide array of print products, Reverse Positioning might be: delivering a very small, highly curated selection of exquisitely crafted images. Perhaps you focus entirely on producing a single, stunning museum-quality art piece for the client's home, rather than a folder full of digitals. The experience might be more about the deep connection and the creation of one significant piece.
4. Communicating values: If your competition is competing on price or the number of images delivered, Reverse Positioning might be: Building your brand around specific values like sustainability (e.g., using only eco-friendly materials, planting a tree for every booking), deep storytelling, or a commitment to a particular social cause reflected in your work or business practices. Clients are drawn to this shared ethos, not just the photos.

Being Different is Memorable by Design

In a sea of photographers offering similar styles and services, a reverse positioned photographer is immediately distinct. Your focused approach is easier to understand and remember.

By clearly stating what you don't do, you repel clients who aren't a good fit and strongly attract those who resonate deeply with your unique philosophy and style. This leads to more fulfilling work and happier clients.

Create Your Own Category

Choosing to do what your competition won’t means you’re not competing on the same playing field as everyone else. You have a chance to dictate what the experience should look like and truly design something exceptional.

Being unique means that you aren’t as reliant on price to convince your customers to book. You can be the perfect answer to your clients’ needs rather than something that’s close enough. A better fit can lead to far more profit in the long run than working in the same way as your peers and being forced to work for less or see reduced bookings.

Give Me Some Examples!

• If your competition is editorial you can be the "No Posing Ever" Photographer - strictly documentary, capturing only candid moments. Your marketing would educate clients on the beauty of imperfection and real life.
• If your competition is obsessed with image quality and the latest gear, you could be the "Analogue Only" Portrait Artist: shoots exclusively on film, emphasizing the craft, the tangible negatives, and the unique look. The process itself becomes a selling point.
• If your competition is promising hundreds of images per shoot, you can be the "One Perfect Shot" Photographer: focuses the entire session and post-production on creating one breathtaking, impactful image for a specific purpose (e.g. a signature art piece, a powerful headshot).
• If your competition is designing elaborate sets, perfect studio shoots or highly curated images, you could be the "Anti-Perfectionist" Brand Photographer: working with brands that want to show a more raw, behind-the-scenes, less polished image to their audience, moving away from a slick corporate feel.