Tips & Techniques

Do Part-time Photographers Hurt Your Business?

(we just love this article from JD Photo Imaging http://www.jdphotoimaging.com)
Do Part-time Photographers Hurt Your Business?
Paul Pannone at eWedNews.com reports that the number of part-time wedding photographers is growing as customers become more cost conscious.

If you are a full-time, professional wedding photographer, this is obvious - and perhaps even frustrating - to you. That is why I was so impressed with Kirk Russell’s article below about how our attitudes can help or hurt our success.

In my opinion, the new crop of part-timers can only hurt your business if you let them. Here’s why.

No one starts out as a full-time, professional photographer. Amateurs and part-time photographers have always been around. Some work hard, get certified, and go on to become great photographers. They bring new life and ideas into our industry. They get a new generation of consumers excited about professional photography. That benefits everyone. Betsy Finn is a fine example.

The majority of part-timers will only shoot one or two weddings or seniors, then disappear. The reason: photography is only half of the recipe for success. The other half is marketing.

That’s why at JD we’re committed to providing you with not only superior products and services, but also the marketing support you need to grow your business. Beyond the Webinars, in-house training and articles, over the next few weeks we’ll be rolling out even more services to help you succeed. Stay tuned.

So What’s the Point?
by Kirk Russell, 3Lenses.com

I often hear from financially struggling photographers who, when asked to explain a loss of business, offer: “It’s so easy for new people to get into the business today. And they don’t have to be good photographers, because they can rely on Photoshop to fix their images.” Is this really IT?

But what about…

• The cost of equipment, props, and backgrounds is so much less than it used to be. Really? Is future success dependant on keeping the cost of entry into the industry too high for others?

• “Soccer moms” entering the industry can afford to spend hours, or days, manipulating images before their clients see them. Really? How long could you stay in business doing that?

• Competition will dominate the market by offering photography, products, and services that are far below consumer expectations, and traditional standards. Really? Consumers have actually become more demanding, not less so. They are less likely to compromise quality and service, and less likely to pay more for “name brands” when comparable photography and products are available for significantly less.

• People with little or no business, sales, or marketing experience can start a studio, and in just a couple of years, attract enough people, and do a better job than established, successful photographers. Really? Unless established photographers are complacent, or unwilling to evolve with the times, they should be able to run circles around newcomers.

Even if any of these points are valid, they are only attitudes. And attitudes can be changed. You can change the attitudes or perceptions of consumers, even when it seems competition has leveled the playing field. Consider Kmart and Target as examples of competitors who compete to attract the same consumers to their stores. Just a few years ago most people saw few differences between these two companies; both offered basically the same products, and their store exterior and interiors looked much the same.

But today most people would agree that Target’s image is dramatically different than Kmart’s. Target has more consumer appeal because its image is more stylish, and innovative. And this is in spite of the fact that most of Target’s inventory hasn’t changed. What did Target do to change client perceptions? Target changed its MARKETING!
Target didn’t add many new products to their shelves, nor did they spend advertising dollars trying to convince consumers that their products were superior to competitors. They changed the look of store interiors, and the image they projected in their marketing.

Target and Kmart had equal opportunities to capture the attention of consumers, but only one chose to use innovation to engage consumers.

A sitting duck is an easy target. If you don’t introduce innovation into your studio with new photography, products, service, and marketing, but steadily raise prices, you invite competition to offer comparable photography at lower pricing. And when people respond, you may blame the competition, or write it off as lower consumer expectations.
The point is that if you become complacent, and don’t breathe new life into your business, every year you will become less and less appealing.

For more great articles and some really awesome products - check out http://www.jdphotoimaging.com

Market Yourself on the Cheap!

When I first started my photography business, I spent every last dime I had on the equipment I needed.  I had a credit card with a limit of $3000 and went shopping.  I bought a Canon 10D, a 420EX flash and the fastest lens I could get for my money - which turned out to be a used Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM.  Ok - all set.  Let’s start this business.  I had a bunch of friends and family members that were more than willing to let me shoot them (for FREE) so I could build up my portfolio.  I was building and building ... and eventually had a pretty good selection of images.  Now I was ready to start marketing my portfolio and get those paying customers.  One problem, I had almost no money left on my credit card to actually pay for any sort of marketing.  I had to get creative.  I made the cheapest sample “books” of my best images and hit the ground running.  Here is what I did with them: 
* I gave copies of the sample books to all of my friends and family members that were in the book and asked them to bring copies to work.  I offered a friends and family discount to anyone who booked an appointment. 
* I asked the hair salon that I had been going to for the past 10 years if I could leave a few books in the waiting area.  Eventually, every girl in the salon started recommending me.  (I booked a lot of weddings this way, too!)
* I asked my doctor’s office if I could leave a few books in their waiting room and offered a family portrait discount “courtesy of Dr. So and So” (he loved that idea and it didn’t really cost me anything)
* I knew that a few moms had bought outfits for their kids from this high-end baby boutique in town.  I had images of the kids wearing these outfits in my sample book.  I called the manager of the store and she agreed to let me leave books in their lounge area.  (every time the manager needed photos of anything – they called me!)
Hopefully some of these ideas spur on some ideas of your own! 

6 Simple Steps to a Successful Wedding Photography Sale

When you run a photo lab like JD Photo Imaging, you get to talk with photographers. Lots of them. And after a while, you begin to see patterns that the most successful (i.e. profitable) ones have in common.

When it comes to wedding photographers, the most successful ones I’ve talked to use the K.I.S.S. (keep it simple, stupid) principle. They have figured out that although a bride may seem to want a million options, what the photographer provides is what she really needs: stress-free and confusion-free photography on her wedding day - and when it comes time to select prints and purchase the album.

These are the 6 (simple) steps to a successful wedding photography sale:

1. Sell yourself on the phone. Offer a free consultation at her convenience. Avoid quoting prices. If asked, stick with “we work with your budget.” If she’s unwilling to come in, get her email and immediately send her a link to your website. Make sure it has lots of examples and testimonials from other brides.

2. Sell yourself at the consultation. Show 2-3 great sample albums, no more. Sell yourself again. Promise that you will reduce stress and confusion, and make the photography fun. Offer three prices points: a “budget”, the “most popular” (what you really want to sell), and a “deluxe” package. Get a deposit.

3. Shoot the wedding. Take charge by making suggestions, not demands. You’re the wedding expert. Look, dress and act the part. Leave cards on the tables for guests to go online and purchase prints. Images online should be the same ones you’ll show the bride for the album - don’t put all your images online.

4. Present the images. In-studio shows on a big screen are best, right after the honeymoon. At this point, you’re selling a dream, not a product. Show the couple only the best images that tell the story, about 25% more than they ordered. The average album has 120 images - never show more than 150. Let them cull out the unwanted images. If they cannot, offer an upgrade package. Reveal a “holy smokes” shot to end on a high note - and to offer as a wall portrait later.

5. Sell the album. Stick to the “Rule of 3″. Bring out 3 samples: good, better, best. Bring out 2 colors, black or brown. Bring out 3 sizes, 8×10, 10×10, 11×14. Don’t make a complicated grid of options that change the prices.

Complete steps #4 and #5 in 90 minutes or less.

6. Deliver the album. You should have the album built and returned to the bride within 4 weeks of their wedding while she is still excited. The sooner the better.

While you can be a successful wedding photographer without this list, I guarantee if you try it you’ll have even more success than before.

For more photography tips and techniques, check out JD Photo Imaging at http://www.jdphotoimaging.com

Natural Light technique from Stephen Knuth

When shooting in natural light:
Pose your subjects in front of the sun, aim your lens to shoot with the sun behind them and make sure you are standing in their shadow to create your own “soft box diffuser”.  Put your settings at ISO 100, 1/1600, f/2.5. You’ll get perfect skintones and capture a nice rim light behind them!  Once you have the sun behind the subject, slightly tilt your lens and get the edge of the sun to poke out. This will allow a small sun flare to appear on your images.

PORTFOLIO: http://www.stephenknuth.com
BLOG: http://www.stephenknuthblog.com
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Online Education + Expos for Imaging Professionals and Enthusiasts.

Online Education + Expos for Imaging Professionals and Enthusiasts. 
Don’t miss this FREE two-day virtual event dedicated to wedding and portrait photography!

Register Today FREE

Log on and visit exhibitors in the expo hall, chat live with vendors, and download product and service information you need…all from the comfort of your home or office.

Learn how to approach wedding shoots differently and how to run a more profitable business by increasing client purchases, mastering the art of album sales, and finding the best suppliers for your needs.

PDN PhotoPlus Virtual Events presents these exciting Webinars with world-renown photographers and industry experts:

•Susan Moody: SEO/SEM 101 for Wedding Photographers

•Jim Garner: The Experiential Style of Wedding Photography - A New Key to Success!

•Gene Ho: Exceeding Client Expectations Through Speed and Opportunity

•Laura Novak: Defining Your Niche and Building Your Brand

•Rebeka Fluet: Effective Tools for Self-Promotion

•Doug Gordon: Creating Show-Stopping Bridal Images and Contemporary Posing

•Judy Host: Unique and Artistic Tools to Create Fine Art Images with Templates for Photoshop

•Plus more…
Take your wedding and portrait photography to the next level, log on May 24-25, 2010.

REGISTER HERE
http://pdnphotography.veplatform.com/uc/registration-short-form.php

DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY BOOTCAMP® - MAY 16th - 21st, 2010

DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY BOOTCAMP® - MAY 16th - 21st, 2010
Digital Bootcamp is the most comprehensive digital studio training available!

Bootcamp is hosted by Kevin Kubota and his team with guest presentations by:
    •  Vicki Taufer - the illustrious woman behind the camera at V gallery.
    •  Craig Strong - creative genius, photography legend, and founder and
      inventor extraordinare of Lensbaby.
    •  More to come!

It is for seasoned pro photographers looking to perfect their systems and new photographers looking for a complete set of studio tools and techniques for success. If you are just making the transition to digital or need to move your existing digital system into full-efficient swing, the Digital Photography Bootcamp will prove to be one of the best investments you can make for your photography career! Bootcamp is designed to take you from start to finish and include everything in-between. In addition to having an action-packed schedule, we will include ample time to answer all of your burning questions. This workshop is loaded with all the techno, creative, artistic fun you can eat!

The May, 2010 Digital Photography Bootcamp is in it’s 19th season! Perfected over the years to include the newest software technologies (including Lightroom® 2 and Photoshop® CS4), in addition to the very latest tips and techniques for inspiration, creativity, capture, sales, marketing, presentation and more!

HIGHLIGHTS
    •  Staying creative and motivated throughout your career.
    •  Lifestyle posing, capturing natural expressions and images with
      irrefutable value.
    •  Complete workflow system using Lightroom to cut your workflow time
      in half.
    •  Enhance your images in 2 minutes or less in Photoshop for maximum
      impact.
    •  Techniques for selling without selling, step-by-step marketing, building
      your brand and creating lifelong clients.
    •  Social networking simplified and effective in the minimal amount of time.

MAJOR TOPICS
    •  The RAW shoot & Camera and subject technique
    •  Archiving and editing & Best practices for high efficiency
    •  Photoshop & Navigating and editing with confidence
    •  Presentation & Creating slideshows & DVD’s
    •  Printing & Tips and techniques to get the best prints
    •  Sales & Attracting and keeping clients for life; and how to charge what
      you’re worth!

KEVIN KUBOTA
Your lead Bootcamp facilitator, Kevin Kubota, has helped to provide thousands of digital photographers the critical skills necessary to make professional digital photography beautiful, profitable and fun! Kevin has been a Nikon sponsored speaker at major national conventions, conducts workshops worldwide and is regularly selected to represent Nikon in marketing ads. In March 2007, American Photo Magazine named Kevin “One of the Top 10 Wedding Photographers in the World”. Kevin has a passion for teaching and is dedicated to Empowering Photographers. This is your opportunity to learn his secrets to success first hand.

WHAT’S INCLUDED?
Immersion Training: Five full days of digital studio training, including a full-day of Photoshop®, capture outings, and creative side trips.
Deluxe Accommodations: All-inclusive lodging package with beautiful, private cabin room and three delicious meals per day.
Unlimited Resources: Your workshop facilitators will be on campus with you 24/7, so you’ll have full access to our brains.

WHAT’S NOT INCLUDED?
Airfare and transportation to/from Five Pine Lodge in Sisters, OR. If you are flying, come in to Redmond, Oregon [RDM].

WHAT TO BRING
    •  Computer (If necessary, we can arrange a rental system for you.)
    •  Camera gear
    •  A great attitude and a smile!

LIMITED SEATS AVAILABLE
In order to give you the most training for your dollar, we strictly limit the number of participants to twenty-one. We do this to assure that you will receive all the individual attention you deserve.

Bring your family! Spouse and kids can stay in your room at no additional occupancy charge! For meals, simply sign-up your family members for the awesome meal plan upon check-in at the lodge.

GUARANTEE
The skills and knowledge gained from this Bootcamp, when applied, will produce a return on your investment far greater than the cost of registration- we guarantee it. Plus, it will be one of the best working vacations you’ll ever take! (The information you’ll gather and fun you’ll have will disproportionately affect your gross annual earnings by at least a factor of 2.5 multiplied by the programming fee (x pi r squared) over the course of 6-12 months following the closing date of seminar effective 12:01 am Pacific standard time. The diversion or postponement of an invaluable amount of permanent hair loss will also be factored into the long term gains equation and…oh heck, if you’re not satisfied, we’ll refund your programming fees!

BONUS
Ginsu Knife Bonus! - Just kidding, however, each registrant will also receive Kevin’s latest Workflow Tutorial CD-ROM ($99 value). But wait, there’s more! You will also receive bonus photo enhancement tools, so you can zip through color correction, sizing, portrait effects like a true digital photography guru…priceless!

For more information go to http://www.kubotaimagetools.com/store/catalog/category_248_Creative_Workshops.html

The Best Response to Lowball Clients by John Mireles

Hi, I love your work! I’d like 10 hours of wedding day photography, two photographers, a coffee table album, two parent albums, engagement shoot, a 16x20 gallery wrap, everything on a disk and your firstborn child. Oh, and by the way, my budget is $1,000.

Sound familiar?

The client wants the sun, moon and stars but has a decidedly Earth-based budget. Inquiries like this are frustrating to say the least. You’d love to work with this client, but their budget won’t even cover your costs. So how do you respond?

When this subject comes up in conversation with photographers, many express anger towards the client. It’s like the client is personally insulting them. There’s even a tendency to want to respond with smart comeback or put the client in their place. Well don’t.

Clueless Clients
Better yet, don’t even think about it because the client usually has no idea that their request could even be taken as an insult. They’ve never hired a photographer before so they just don’t know any better.

The reality is that for the vast majority of folks getting married hiring a wedding photographer represents a lot of money. Case in point: when my wife and I got married a few years ago, we’d just purchased and remodeled a house in overpriced San Diego. (Where else can you spend way more than you can afford yet not even get a working kitchen?)

We paid for the entire wedding ourselves so even even a thousand bucks was a lot of money (which is what we paid). Just because I was charging $$$ for wedding photography didn’t mean that I could afford it myself.

Let the Client Decide
The bottom line is that you shouldn’t take an unreasonably low offer personally. It has nothing to do with your work or the value that the potential client places on it. When you get a lowball offer, just respond as courteously as you normally would. Provide a friendly response with your pricing and then let the client decide whether they can afford you or not.

Don’t try and make the decision for them however. Just because the client comes in with unrealistically low expectations doesn’t mean that they can’t or won’t buy. If they don’t have the money, you won’t hear from them again. But, sometimes they do. I’ve had the client’s mom tell me that she was expecting to pay $500 for her daughter’s wedding since that’s what she paid 25 years ago at her wedding. This as she’s writing a check for eight grand!

Often, there’s sticker shock at what good photography costs so you have be prepared to get past that. If you don’t respond or respond with a snide retort, you may miss out on either a potential booking or a referral to other folks with more realistic expectations. Just because the inquirer may not have the budget for all her desires doesn’t mean that he/she doesn’t know someone who does.

Keep It Professional
Bottom line: Always be professional and friendly with every single person who inquires with your business. It’s never appropriate to be condescending with anyone no matter how cathartic it might feel.

A common response to the low-baller is to try and educate that person about the value of professional photography. I’ve seen long-winded emails that photographers have sent that goes into great detail about all the work that the photographer will do, how they have insurance which the other guy doesn’t and yadda, yadda, yadda. You may as well burp out a response for all the good that expenditure of effort is going to do you. (Seriously.)

Clients know the value of a professional - that’s why they’re inquiring with you! Don’t bother trying to tell them how important it is to have a professional who will document the day and then be there to deliver the goods afterward. Don’t tell the client about how much time you spend working on the images and how much your equipment costs. Nobody cares!

Think of What the Client Wants
The only thing that clients care about is what you are going to do for them. So, in any response to any client, including the low-ball client, always focus on the unique value that you provide. The value you in your work doesn’t lie in all the time you spend or your super-duper equipment, it lies in your ability to create emotionally powerful images that the client will love.

Instead of talking about your costs of goods to deliver their wedding images, talk about how you’re going to do an awesome job of getting shots of the bride’s mother crying as the bride walks down the aisle. How you’ll get bride and groom portraits so beautiful that the client will want to hang them on the wall forever. When you communicate your abilities and the passion you bring to your work, clients will spend - budgets be damned.

Go Unique or Go Home
It’s important to share your abilities from the standpoint of uniqueness. If you can offer something no one else does, the client has no choice to come back to you if they want what you’re offering. Anybody can deliver a gallery wrap print; only you can deliver one that will make the client laugh or cry.

If the potential client ends up booking someone off of Craiglist or that friend who’s got a camera, it’s not because they don’t value professional photography. The reason lies with the fact that you didn’t do a good enough job in distinguishing your work from the amateur. Who’s fault is that?

So forget about talking up the importance of hiring a professional. Focus on the importance of hiring YOU. What you going to do for THIS client? Focus on how your work will uniquely meet the emotional needs of the client. Once you convince the client that no one else will get those photos that the client will love forever, whatever price it is that you charge then becomes cheap!

Of course, as I pointed out in the beginning, there is the reality of budget. If the client doesn’t have the cash, what can you do? Well, here’s where some old fashioned horse-trading comes in. If, after all your passionate salesmanship the client really is interested, see what kind of deal you can work out.

Don’t Make it Easy to Say No
I’m not suggesting that you lower your prices or just bend over for the client - sometimes it’s a matter of bringing the client back to Earth with their expectations of deliverables. What does the client want more: all the stuff or great photography that only you can provide?

Once you have the client on your side, see if you can work out a custom package with fewer deliverables. Throw in a little extra to get the booking if you have to. You shouldn’t have to negotiate or customize packages with every client. If you do, there’s something wrong. Every once in awhile is okay especially if business is slow (and I’m hearing that it is from a lot of folks).

Every potential client that comes to you represents an opportunity. Granted, not all may be a good fit for you, however you just don’t know. No matter how insulting a client’s requirements may seem up front, it never hurts to give each and every client the professional treatment they deserve. At a minimum, you’ll generate goodwill and no business can have too much of that.

written by John Mireles for Photographers Business Coach
http://PhotographersToolkit.com

You can access a bunch of FREE and VERY HELPFUL RESOURCES at John’s website.  Do yourself a favor and sign up for his FREE Photographers Business Coach newsletter.

Branding, Business, & Building Relationships with Jules Bianchi

Branding, Business, & Building Relationships
with Jules Bianchi in Austin, TX April 1

This April 1, 2010 join Jules in Austin Texas for an informative workshop that will help you to create the perfect business for you!

Plan and outline realistic goals to grow
Discover your own style and brand
Stand out from the crowd
Find clients who love you!
We will cover everything from business to branding to networking with a small intimate group of photographers
Lunch is included as well as some fun giveaways and other surprises!

Sign up before March 15 and be entered to WIN a Kubota Pro Pak worth over $600!

Questions? Email Joy at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).  They are taking a limited amount of participants in this program, and there are only a few spots left. Cost: $399

For more information go to http://www.julesbianchiworkshops.com/

Back to Zero: Using Reset

Back to Zero: Using Reset
We’ve all done it — we pick up the camera to shoot for the first time in awhile, and we’re rushed to get the shot. Maybe it’s a sporting event, family event, etc. We take a few critical photos, look down to check our pics… and we quickly realize we’re shooting small jpgs at ISO 3200 because that’s what we were shooting at last time! Moment ruined (well, probably salvageable nowadays).

I’ve gotten into the habit of resetting my camera right before I shoot. With a Nikon, it’s extremely easy: on the top of the body, there are two buttons marked with a bright green dot. Hold those two buttons down simultaneously for a few seconds, and you’ve quickly ‘reset’ your camera: ISO 200, Program mode, Normal size jpgs. Now, if you’re using your customizable Shooting Banks, you an flip right to one of those that fits the moment. If not, at least you’re ‘back to zero’. If you’re a Canon user, I do believe there’s a Menu command to do the equivalent.

Happy shooting!

Bobby Alcott was voted one of the Top 5 Photographers in Detroit, and shoots weddings all over the World.
Link: http://www.bobbyalcottweddings.com
Twitter: bobbyalcottphoto
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bobby-Alcott-Photography/37567129944

A Special 3-Day Workshop with Denis Reggie and Joe Buissink

World renowned photographers Joe Buissink and Denis Reggie are coming together in Atlanta for a special 3-day workshop event limited to 12 participants. Here’s a chance to see and learn from two legendary and inspirational masters in an intimate setting – Denis’ Atlanta home. Both were named to American PHOTO’s “10 Best Wedding Photographers in the World” listing… and Joe and Denis were the only American photographers featured in the BBC produced television special featuring five of the “World’s Greatest Wedding Photographers.” This event is perfect for both working and aspiring wedding photographers looking to unleash their own personal style and maximize business success in their market – even those preparing for a first wedding assignment will greatly benefit from this experience.  Count on plenty of up-close and personal time with Joe and Denis in this exclusive setting – a first time ever opportunity not to be missed.
If you’re ready to supercharge your career, put this Atlanta experience on your calendar.
A special 3-day workshop with Denis and Joe held at Denis’ Atlanta residence
February 22-24, 2010
For more info visit http://www.denisreggie.net/workshops.html