This post was inspired by today’s image of the day. I actually debated posting this photo as it doesn’t fall under the category of garden or travel (although I did shoot it in another country). Is it such a bad thing for photographers to do something different?
These days the photography camps are divided. On one side you have the “niche market” photographers; those who believe that specialising is the key to a successful business. On the other side you have the “I’ll shoot anything” camp, who believes that diversification is the key.
So where do I fall? Somewhere in the middle I would say. My niche is garden and travel photography – but let’s be honest, the travel “niche” can encompass just about anything and some would say it’s not really a niche at all. For me, travel photography is usually architectural (often focusing on details like windows) or beautiful location landscapes, often with the garden element as well. Another ‘travel’ photographer could shoot almost exclusively portraits. It’s a wide open term.
Calling myself a garden and travel photographer, however doesn’t mean that I never break out of my box and shoot something different. Just last week I did an environmental portrait session on the streets of Brussels and had a lot of fun doing it. Next week I will be shooting food and wine, a niche that I also love to dabble in.
At the end of the day, you have to shoot what you are passionate about and what gets you fired up to grab your camera and work. For some people this means shooting the same subjects most of the time, other photographers work best when faced with different challenges. And during these tough economic times, sometimes we need to shoot whatever puts food on the table.
Speaking of putting food on the table, I’ve said all of that to segue into some of my favourite food photos.
Alison Cornford-Matheson is a Canadian photographer living and working in Brussels, Belgium. She specialises in garden and travel lifestyle stock photography. In addition, she is a Photoshop professional and produces digital artwork as fine art prints. Alison is available for assignment work and commissions on request. 
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