120,000. Apparently, that’s the number of new photographers in the last year. 120,000! That’s a lot of new photographers. That’s a lot of new businesses. That’s a lot of new people working hard to build a business around this photography thing we do. So, for those of you who find yourself in that group –
Archives for May 2010
Lightroom Catalog Portability and Syncing Tutorial
If you are using lightroom on more than one computer, say a laptop and a desktop, or perhaps you have an assistant to does some of your post processing work, or you have outsourced your post processing to Shoot Dot Edit, you will find that knowing how to share, transfer and sync Lightroom Catalogs as
Tips From a Blogger: Avoiding Writer’s Block
I’m sitting in the new “creative room” here at the Pictage office, on a stool facing a new IKEA tall writing desk. My iPod is in one ear, silence in the other, with eraser dust everywhere, and I mean everywhere. This is the perfect scene for my mad scribbling on a large yellow legal pad
Lifestyle Photography Part Two: Client Relationships
Real life is beautiful. I believe wholeheartedly in this philosophy, and after reading my last article in this series, you may acknowledge the idea… but does the average consumer embrace this concept? When an expecting mother decides that it is time to cross the “hire a photographer” task off of her “to-do before the baby
Get Out of the Woods: Hire a Guide
Photographers are, nearly unilaterally, horrible business people. Most have grown organically without much thought or training. They are passionate about photography, and believe their passion equates to ability in all areas of business. They run illegally (“I don’t need a state sales-tax ID; I use my social security number.”). They do their own taxes (“I
Mutual Networking for Boudoir Photography
Just like weddings, if you want to get in on the business of boudoir photography you are going to have to find a way get potential clients. When I first started boudoir photography I naturally just advertised to my brides. But with only an average of 30 brides a year I was barely able to
How to Start Optimizing Your Website for Search Engines
The idea here is to explain a couple of the basic, though often overlooked, components of SEO, specifically keyword research and creating title tags, while also giving you specific tips on how to get started optimizing your own site. Keyword Research – Any good SEO strategy begins with keyword research. Keyword research allows you to
The “D” Word: Selling High Res DVDs
Other than selective color and the dutch tilt, The “D” word (DVD) has to be one of the most polarizing topics for photographers in the last 5 years. In a world where we as photographers work so hard to balance and maintain a high level of quality control while maximizing effective business principles, you must
Top Ten Ways to Increase Boudoir Sales
1. Make it Meaningful Keep in mind that you aren’t just taking pictures — you are creating how your client wants to be remembered… and the more you nail that, the more she’ll love it, the more she’ll value it, and the more she’ll want to pay for it. Customize each shoot so that it
How to Prep Your Clients to Use Pictage
One of the real benefits of my job is that I get to meet with successful photographers all the time. One of the challenges is that I also get calls from folks who are struggling. Some folks I can help. When it comes to ideas for marketing your business, dealing with sticky situations or just