Taste, Timing, and the Trouble with the Chase

What Good Is Taste If No One Sees It? This industry rewards what it can see. Here’s how to show up like you mean it.

There’s a kind of persistence that no one talks about enough — not the loud, grind-it-out ambition, but the quiet, internal certainty that you know what you love. That you have an eye. That your taste is sharp and specific, and that somewhere, somehow, it deserves a seat at the table.

But what happens when you’re not in the right rooms? When you don’t know the exact right teams, or the names currently being whispered in green rooms and production group chats? When the vision is vivid, but the route feels completely out of reach?

Because here’s the thing — there’s so much noise now. So many artists. So many images. So many people calling themselves “creative” without saying or showing much at all. If your taste isn’t clearly communicated — visually, consistently, with intent — you don’t stand out. You just blend in.

That’s always been true to an extent. But now? Now it’s critical because AI is here and if we aren’t showing our unique and individual taste then it’s anyone’s game.

Because taste might be subjective, but irrelevance is brutal. And experience alone won’t save you if no one’s watching.

The Gap Between Experience and Relevance

You can be the most experienced person on set — decades in, unflappable under pressure, armed with technique and receipts — and still feel completely sidelined. Because if you’re not visible, it doesn’t matter how good you are. It’s not enough to be capable. You have to be current.

Likewise, we’ve all seen what happens when someone is relevant but not experienced. It can look shiny on the grid, but it falls apart under pressure. The wrong product. The wrong tone. The model’s skin compromised by the end of the day. There’s no shortcut to technical skill — and the people who’ve earned it? They know.

The sweet spot is rare: someone who’s both skilled and seen. But more often, we’re out of balance — either seasoned but invisible, or fresh and buzzy but green. And the hard truth? In this industry, buzz often wins. People get booked because they’re trending, not necessarily because they’re excellent.

And it’s not always that you’re not in the room. Sometimes, you are. You’ve made it in — and that’s hard enough — but staying there is a whole different skillset. Taste, while technically subjective, does have a kind of agreed-upon frequency in different parts of the industry. There’s a specific flavour of taste that’s understood and expected in fashion. A different one in celebrity. Another in advertising. It’s not that one is better than the other — but each has its own visual language, and if you’re not speaking it fluently and consistently, you can fall out of sync fast.

What makes it even trickier is how transient things have become. You used to work with a team and they kept you. There was loyalty. Now? Projects feel more one-off. Teams rotate. And unless you’re loudly and clearly expressing your taste — on your own terms — between jobs, it’s easy to be forgotten.

So yes, taste is crucial. But it only matters if people know you have it — and if you’re finding ways to keep it visible, even when you’re not being hired to show it.

The Chase: Specificity Over Scatter

The real challenge of chasing your dream? Narrowing it down.

As creatives, we love everything — we can appreciate an ethereal glow, a smudgy punk eye, a raw skin moment, a hyper-glam sculpt. But if you’re chasing everything, no one knows what to book you for. The hard part isn’t having taste — it’s picking a lane. Planting a flag. Saying, this is what I stand for right now, even if you have the range to do a dozen other things.

That’s what the chase really demands: specificity. You don’t have to lock yourself in forever — but you do need to start somewhere. Hone in on an aesthetic. Follow the collections. Talk to stylists. Ask models what they’re shooting, what’s being referenced, what people are actually responding to. Understand what’s current in the world you’re trying to exist in — and then shape your own take within it.

And here’s a cold hard truth: you can’t just go off and shoot a look you love on a model you found on Instagram and expect it to land. If the image doesn’t look right — if the model can’t carry it, or isnt in demand or the next big thing or if the lighting is off, or the stylist cant pull anything great — no one’s going to care how good the makeup was. Taste doesn’t travel without the right vehicle.

That doesn’t mean you need to wait for the perfect team. But it does mean choosing collaborators who are aligned with the kind of work you want to make — even if they’re newer, even if they’re not fully established yet. You’re better off working with a experimental photographer and a model with edge who understands fashion than a glossy commercial team that makes everything look like an ad for toothpaste.

Chasing the dream isn’t about running in circles. It’s about building something cohesive. Taste alone won’t do that — but taste, paired with strategy and the right collaborators? That’s how you start turning vision into work that sticks.

Taste Isn’t Just Aesthetic — It’s Strategy

Taste is your point of view — but strategy is how you show it.

Everyone loves to say taste is subjective, and sure, technically it is. But in fashion, in celebrity, in advertising — there is such a thing as industry-specific taste. A flavour. A mood. A visual shorthand. And if you want to work in a particular part of this business, you have to know what the current language is — and then learn how to speak your version of it fluently.

It’s not about chasing trends, but it is about context. If you want to be part of the conversation, you need to know what’s being said.

That means staying plugged in. Following new work. Watching who’s getting booked — and why. Understanding what different clients value. If you’ve got the range, great — but you’ve got to funnel it. Taste gets lost when it’s too vague. The best artists know how to filter their vision through the lens of the job they want next.

And let’s be honest: you’re not always going to be booked to do your best work. Sometimes you’re doing safe, clean beauty. Sometimes you’re matching reference. Sometimes you’re biting your tongue because the talent doesn’t want powder and the lighting is… shiny. That’s fine. That’s part of the job.

But if you don’t have another outlet — somewhere you drive the look, where your taste leads — then people won’t know what you’re really about. That’s why personal projects matter. That’s why building your own edit of work, even if it’s just on Instagram, matters. That’s why saying something — even in a quiet, consistent way — matters.

Because taste isn’t just what you love. It’s what you choose to show. And in this industry, what you show is what people believe.

Goals When the Path Isn’t Linear

There’s no set ladder in this industry. No next level you can tick off. One month you’re doing Vogue. The next you’re fixing eyeliner in the back of a van on a shoot that started two hours late. It’s not always a straight line — and because of that, it’s easy to feel like you’re not making progress.

So how do you measure growth when there’s no official blueprint?

You start by making your own markers. Not based on what looks good on Instagram, or what someone else might call “success,” but based on what actually moves your work forward. Maybe that’s shooting one story a month that feels creatively aligned. Maybe it’s updating your portfolio quarterly. Whatever it is, make sure it keeps your aesthetic front and centre.

You can even track invisible wins — the kind no one “likes” but that change your career in the long run. Having the confidence to speak up on set. Getting rebooked. Sending the email that scared you. Learning a new product or editing technique. Saying no to a job that didn’t feel right. These moments count. They just don’t come with applause.

And it’s not just about being visible — it’s about being clear. One strong editorial that fully reflects your taste is worth more than ten posts that keep you algorithmically relevant but say nothing.

And clarity doesn’t mean confinement. You can have multiple channels that showcase different aspects of who you are: your product taste might live on TikTok, your editorial eye on Instagram, your reference and research on Pinterest. Each platform tells a piece of the story — and when they’re in alignment, they create a full picture. One that’s both strategic and personal.

If you don’t have the capacity for high-production content, then focus on showing your knowledge. Talk about what you love and why. Break down techniques. Speak directly to your peers and your clients. What matters is reinforcing your voice — your taste, your skill, and the place where they meet.

Stay Seen, Stay Sharp

You don’t need the perfect network. Or the biggest following. Or a fully mapped-out five-year plan. But what I’ve come to know is that you do need is a clear sense of your own taste — and the discipline to keep showing it, even when no one’s asking.

Because in this industry, staying in the room is harder than getting in. And if you’re not consistently making your taste visible — through your work, your presence, your voice — people will forget. Fast.

So build with purpose. Choose collaborators who make sense. Hone your aesthetic. Show your knowledge. Don’t waste time trying to be everything — just be undeniably you

Taste is power. When you know how to wield it, people notice.