The 1st of January 2012 will be the last of my posts at my personal photography blog project PhotoCreative365. Since December 31st 2009 I have posted daily thoughts, ideas and inspiration for photographers. Tomorrow I’ll be publishing a list of the most popular posts from the past 2 years but with over 1000 articles that still leaves out quite a few of my favourite rants, ideas and thoughts on the business of photography. There’s lots to read so get stuck in!
Enjoy……
Client Capacity
Client capacity is exactly what the name suggests it is. It’s the most amount of clients your business can handle whilst allowing for those extraneous variables and hiccups like re-shoots, extra travelling and larger orders/assignments.
Just so we’re clear – I’m not afraid to undercut you
I keep coming across articles and blog posts from photographers where they warn of dangers and pitfalls of hiring an amateur photographer. Indeed I’m sure I’ve written articles or dispensed similar advice myself at some point. And it’s true, if you want a professional job done then hire a professional. That’s just good advice.
The Digital File Anticlimax
I run a high volume baby portrait business and for the most part many of our clients aren’t the worlds most affluent. This means we made a decision to sell products that are affordable but have a high profit margin. I mean of course: prints and digital files.
Give yourself a boost
I don’t know about you but I’m sick of the term ‘hard times’. Unfortunately that is the reality of the world we live in and it’s pretty rare to find a business that hasn’t been effected by the downturn, current financial climate or whatever other label you want to put on it.
Beware of public opinion – Misinformed or otherwise
This week my friend’s half a million pound a year business closed its doors less than a month after a completely inaccurate (and later retracted) story in The Sun newspaper. My friend didn’t run a photography business but it’s still a worrying thing to think that public opinion can be so dramatically swayed.
The Green Photographer
What with my gallivanting around on public transport and the hammering my Oyster card gets on a daily basis it has been suggested that I am somewhat of a green photographer.
Lazy LightRoom Editing
What is the difference between a wedding or portrait photographer with a £500 camera who shoots in his or her spare time and someone who does all their editing in LightRoom and doesn’t own a copy of the full Photoshop software?
Shoot to burn or not shoot to burn (with a bit of an Historical Perspective)
That is the big question for many photographers when they start out but it’s also the second question that most clients ask (the first of course being how much?)
Formal Photographic Qualifications
I had a great question come in from Lynne Bardell regarding formal photographic qualifications I was wondering if you had ever done anything on what photographic courses people have done and why?
Automating your life while you’re away
It may or may not surprise that you but for the last 10 days I’ve actually been on holiday……. yes a wedding and portrait photographer taking a holiday in the middle of the busiest time of year!
Is your photography business a 4×4?
On my way to a photo-shoot I passed by your archetypal Chelsea Mum dropping off her kids to school driving an off-road, fuel guzzling beast of a 4×4 Land Rover.
Wasting Time on Branding
Before you gasp in horror at the fact that I might be suggesting that branding for a photographer is a waste of time perhaps I should rephrase the title….. Wasting time on the wrong type of branding and not realising what clients like about you and why they remember you.
Shooting Babies
I have this really bad habit and the problem is that I’m not likely to change it as I still find it quite amusing. I keep telling people I shoot babies…..
5 Things that irritate me about your website
This is aimed at you photographers but there are a lot of bad habits here that many of you are guilty of. Why do they irritate me? Because I know that you know better!
Changing the way you sell your photography
I happened upon this article from Paul Melcher – It’s Time for Independent Photographers to Consider Subscription Pricing. A new way for photographers to introduce subscription style pricing.
Delete that picture of me!
Vanity is a strange thing and something that as a portrait photographer we are constantly dealing with. I’m not referring to our own vanity (or ego) but rather the vanity of our subjects.
Using images from training courses
As a photographer, training shouldn’t be a luxury it should (in my mind at least) be viewed as a necessity. After all, if you’re not learning new things how can you progress both as a photographer and as a business?
Working for Free – Charities
One of the biggest mountains to climb is knowing when and what to charge for your photography. It doesn’t matter how good you are or how many fans you have on Facebook if at the end of the day you can’t make a living from what you’re doing. But what about charities?
Photographic trends I’ll be happy to see the back of
In all honesty it’s a list of things that I hate to see but we’ve all been guilty of at some point.
The art (and science) of flattery in portraiture
How many times as photographers have we heard those immortal words “Just make sure you make you look good”? I don’t know about you but I’ve never intentionally set out to do anything but make people look good!
10 ways to improve your photography and your business
Like any of these lists these are just a few ideas that might help you develop your photography skills and your product. Better product = better profits ….. at least that’s the theory!
Defining being a photographer & The future of being a photographer
Let’s face it, to be a modern photographer, especially when you’re starting out, it’s far too easy to become a ‘jack of all trades photographer.’ When a client is looking for a photographer they are not necessarily looking for a specialist (those are expensive).
Storybooks, digital media and the death of the 5×7 print
Choice and variety is a wonderful thing. How a wedding photographer offers their finished product can in many ways define what type of photographer they are.
The social wedding photographer
Photographers ain’t what they used to be …… but who is the social photographer?
The modern photographer can connect with his/her clients like never before and in so many ways.
I’m not just talking about social media but the whole wedding photography experience has changed dramatically in the last 30 years.
Open question to the photography educators of Britian
What are you doing to prepare your students for an over saturated market in terms of business skills?
Are your pictures timeless?
I was just pondering this thought after attending a talk with Trevor and Faye Yerbury. He described simple, black and white images as timeless. That may at first seem a pretty valid point, but 30 years ago black and white photography was considered dated or at the very least, unfashionable.
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Michael has been working as a photographer for the last ten years. In that time he has shot over 100,000 peoples’ portraits and worked in four different continents. In 2001 Michael graduated with a degree in photography from Manchester Metropolitan University.