Archive for Guest Bloggers
Defining Your Photography Business: by Sheryl Warwick
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Many people who start off in photography as a business will take every single dollar that comes their way. I know because I did, we all have to make ends meet. I started off with the goal of shooting weddings as my profession. I remember what I paid my wedding photographer and thought I could make a good living doing that. I started doing some engagement photography and worked my way into booking weddings. I had shot about 3-4 weddings when I realized wedding photography was not for me. I continued to do it because I loved photography and remembered how much I wanted to do it as a career.
Eventually I had a few clients ask for some boudoir photos as wedding presents. I admit I had given my husband a set for our big day. So I obliged and started doing my research on how to give my clients the best images possible. I did my homework and looked at styles from photographers across the country. I picked what I liked and what I found appealing to me. Then I sculpted it to fit what I envisioned. My first 3 clients shoots went great and I decided I wanted to post a gallery on my site so I could book more of these clients. Since many of my brides had their grooms shop my site for their wedding day photographer, I chose to make a whole new site devoted to boudoir so they wouldn’t have their surprise spoiled. This was the best decision of my life. It might not fit the bill for you and your business, but for me, it’s exactly what the doctor ordered. Read More→
Friday Business Challenge Wrap-up
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A huge thank you to everyone who participated in the Friday Business Challenge bought to you by Current Photographer and Today is Different. Did you miss the 7 weekly challenges? If you did it’s not too late to go back and check them out?
- Avoiding the overwhelm of social media
- Providing a remarkable experience
- The 7 point website review
- Must do SEO tactics for photographers
- 7 steps to creating a referral program
- 7 steps to eamil marketing
- Goal setting and teh next 7 weeks
So if you stayed with us, how did you go with the challenges? We’d love to hear your comments. If you are saving them up for a rainy day, that’s cool as well!
If you particiapted in the challenges and want to see more from me at Today is Different pop on over, have a look around and get a free marketing promotions planner if you subscribe. Read More→
Controlling Efficiency in Photo Processing: by William Petruzzo
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In today’s competitive photography world, it’s a must that the professional photographer carefully select the best images to give to the client and to process each of those photos to their very best. But for many photographers, especially photographers new to the market, or even just the hobby, dealing with a huge number of images can be, well, daunting. Many underestimate the importance of developing and adhering to a workflow that will help them remain efficient with their time and energy. After all, if you charge $300 for a 1 hour portrait session, but take 6 hours to sort and edit the photos, you’ve severely diminished the value of your time. If you’ve read Angelo Stavrow’s outstanding article, “Three Reasons You’re Not Ready to Shoot a Wedding”, this article aims to help you get past number 2.
When I first started my business in 2003, scheduling was difficult because it was hard to estimate how much time I’d have free for shoots and processing of the resulting images. It also added significant challenge to forecasting profits and establishing reasonable pricing structures that made the money worth my time and energy. Over time, we have developed a mature and consistent workflow which all photographers we work with adhere to. It helps to keep us consistent and timely in our delivery of images. As well as helping to ensure that those images are safe in the event of a disaster.
So, in the interest of helping newcomers work out their own strategies and start working on the important stuff as soon as possible, here are some of the things we’ve learned and you might want to keep in mind. At the end, I have also included a quick sample of a workflow using Adobe Lightroom. It’s fairly basic, but a good place to start if you find yourself stranded in a sea of awesome photos you don’t know what to do with.
Friday Business Challenge – Week 7: Goal Setting and the Next Seven Weeks
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Welcome to week seven of the Friday Business Challenge bought to you by Current Photographer and Today is Different. Not sure what The Challenge is about? Click here to find out: Welcome to the Friday Business Challenge.
So how did you go with last week’s challenge? Did you do it? Don’t worry if you haven’t yet, just go back and do it any time before the challenge ends.
So on to week number seven.
Goal Setting and the Next Seven Weeks
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Friday Business Challenge – Week 6: Seven Steps to Email Marketing
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Welcome to week six of the Friday Business Challenge bought to you by Current Photographer and Today is Different. Not sure what The Challenge is about? Click here to find out: Welcome to the Friday Business Challenge.
So how did you go with last week’s challenge? Did you do it? Don’t worry if you haven’t yet, just go back and do it any time before the challenge ends.
We want to give a big shout out to Tanya Tindale for participating in the Friday Business Challenge for Week 5. Be sure to check out her website at TindaleImages.com to learn more about her.
So on to week number six.
7 Steps to Email Marketing
Friday Business Challenge – Week 5: Seven Steps to Creating a Referral Program
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Welcome to week five of the Friday Business Challenge bought to you by Current Photographer and Today is Different. Not sure what The Challenge is about? Click here to find out: Welcome to the Friday Business Challenge.
So how did you go with last week’s challenge? Did you do it? Don’t worry if you haven’t yet, just go back and do it any time before the challenge ends.
So on to week number five.
7 Steps to Creating a Referral Program
Friday Business Challenge – Week 4: “Must Do” SEO Tactics for Photographers
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Welcome to week four of the Friday Business Challenge bought to you by Current Photographer and Today is Different. Not sure what The Challenge is about? Click here to find out: Welcome to the Friday Business Challenge.
So how did you go with last week’s challenge? Did you do it? Don’t worry if you haven’t yet, just go back and do it any time before the challenge ends.
We want to give a big shout out to Toni Aull for participating in the Friday Business Challenge for Week 3. Be sure to check out Toni’s Flickr stream to view her work and to learn more about her.
So on to week number four.
7 Basic “Must Do” SEO Tactics for Photographers
SEO is a large and complex topic. You can pay someone to do it for you or you can immerse yourself in all of the technical information trying to figure out how to optimize your site.
The truth is you may need to adopt one or the other of the options above. But before you do, try these tactics and make some small adjustments, and most likely you will see improved rankings quite rapidly.
Friday Business Challenge – Week 3: The Seven Point Photography Website Review
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Welcome to week three of the Friday Business Challenge bought to you by Current Photographer and Today is Different. Not sure what The Challenge is about? Click here to find out: Welcome to the Friday Business Challenge.
So how did you go with last week’s challenge? Did you do it? Don’t worry if you haven’t yet, just go back and do it any time before the challenge ends.
We want to give a big shout out to Rich D. from RichDPhoto.com, Travis Hudgons from HudgonsPhotography.com and to Tanya Tindale from TindaleImages.com for participating in last weeks Friday Business Challenge and for taking the time to write such great comments on the blog.
So on to week number three.
Is Your Photography Website the Best it Can Be?
Your challenge this week is to conduct a review of your website in two parts…
Five Business Lessons Photographers Can Learn From The Game of Monopoly: by Kene Erike
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I love board games.
They pass the time, are generally easy to pick up, and offer a competitive outlet. One of the most popular board games of all-time is Monopoly. It has spawned dozens of spin-offs and would-be imitators.
You’d be hard pressed to find someone who is not familiar with the game. Monopoly enjoys a passionate following, including University Presidents and CEOs.
One can learn a thing or two about life and business from the game of Monopoly, especially in retrospect.
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Lesson 1:
If people don’t like you, even if it’s in their best interest, they will not do business with you
I was preparing to play a game of Monopoly with a few friends while I was in college. Another resident (let’s call her “Stacy”) asked if she could join us. Stacy told us that she had played the game a few times in the past.
It quickly became clear that she didn’t understand the nuances of the game.
She made a number of terrible moves, including declining to buy property and ill-advised trades. I couldn’t contain my disdain for her play and made sure that she knew it.
Against counsel, she completed a mega-deal with another player. This player (we’ll call him “Jeff”) handled her with kid gloves. He never yelled or berated her. He just kept talking to her, reassuring her that she was playing a “good game”.
I still remember the smirk on Jeff’s face as he consummated the deal, all but cementing his victory.
She was so turned off by my criticism that she accepted an inferior deal that ensured she had no chance to win the game. Even Jeff conceded as much after the game was over.
I felt bad about criticizing her play, so I apologized to Stacy the next day.
That old saying about flies, vinegar and honey still rings true. Read More→
Friday Business Challenge – Week 2: How Remarkable is Your Photography Business?
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Welcome to week two of the Friday Business Challenge bought to you by Current Photographer and Today is Different. Not sure what The Challenge is about? Click here to find out: Welcome to the Friday Business Challenge.
So how did you go with last week’s challenge? Did you do it? Don’t worry if you haven’t yet, just go back and do it any time before the challenge ends.
We want to give a big shout out to Sophie from KisschaseyPhotography.com.au. She took last weeks challenge and wrote a great comment on the post sharing her thoughts. Be sure to stop by her website and blog to see what she’s up to and give her a “Like” on Facebook.
So on to week number two.
How Remarkable is Your Photography Business?
The question is why should someone decide to hire you, over all the other photographers in the area? What is it that’s so special and unique about you that they should choose you over all the other choices available to them, including doing nothing at all?
