In a veritable sea of photographers, we’d all love to believe we’re special snowflakes but really we’re a dime a dozen. Typical promo pieces aren’t always enough to convince the people you want to hire you that you’re the one to watch among all the competition, so getting creative when it comes to self-promotion is a must. With the help of agency Havas Worldwide Canada, advertising photographer Aric Guité has built himself a system that’s getting results – 65% of art directors contacted have responded to his promos, and he’s gotten to work with 20% of them. What might Mr. Guité be doing to establish himself as a frontrunner?

First, he’s utilized one of the most currently relevant platforms for photographers to commingle with others in the creative industry – Instagram. From there, he engaged in one of social media’s clandestine purposes – stalking the people that interest you. In his case, art directors – the people advertising photographers look to when it’s time to hunt down a job. He made a list of the 50 art directors he’d most like to work with, and found them on Instagram. Once he found them, he scoured their feeds and selected one image for each art director that stood out as ‘iconic.’  And, he replied to those images with an image of his own – always something clever and eye catching that really showcased his creative thinking and ability to communicate a concept via imagery. He posted the the original photograph and his response together, hash tagged #CollabWithAric, tagging the targeted art director and offering an invitation to work together.

[REWIND:] WHAT ART DIRECTORS AND DESIGNERS LOOK FOR IN PHOTOGRAPHS

Aric and Havas have succeeded in making a name for Aric, as his story generates buzz and undoubtedly art directors who he hadn’t even heard of before are seeing his work now. Which brings us to the final step, subject to the whims of the internet – make it viral.

To see more, check out Aric’s Instagram.

#CollabWithAric from Havas Worldwide Canada on Vimeo.