We know that you’re doing business. The evidence is everywhere. You sign contracts, shoot jobs, process images and deliver products to customers. But are you taking care of business? Are you keeping in touch with customers the way you know you should? Are you getting in touch and spending time with people who can bring business your way? Are you keeping up with your blog and Facebook page? Are you taking care of business? Successful photographers may not necessarily be better artists or technicians than their counterparts, but they do know what they are selling and what it means to be taking care of business. What they are selling is a personal relationship with their customer, and that can’t be done sitting in front of your
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The Pro Photographer’s Guide to WPPI
Headed to WPPI this week and next? Like 15,000 wedding and portrait photographers, you are headed to one of the biggest gatherings of people from our industry, that you’re ever likely to encounter. Whether you’ve been a dozen times, or are headed out for your first time, the entire experience can be a bit overwhelming (to say the least). Between the platform classes, master classes, impromptu classes, shooting experiences, mentoring, and of course – the parties – there’s a lot happening. Want to come back in one piece? Here are my WPPI Survival Tips: 1. Don’t try to do everything. You’ll hear this a lot from many people who have been there, but seriously – DON’T try to see everything. You can’t. It’s too big,
Using a Camera as Your Voice
When did photography become just a job? Have you ever asked yourself this question during the dark hours of morning when you’re in a drowsy dream state? Do you want to tap into the power of personal projects, using a camera as your voice? You’re not alone. Many creative people who turn their passion into a profession ask themselves this same soul-searching question. Ji Lee, former creative director at Google Creative Lab, summed up this frustration: “I really wanted to not only think about ideas but also make something happen!” For photographers, making something happen means using a camera as your voice. To explore the power of personal projects, The Photo Life is publishing a series of posts from photographers who have embraced risk and pursued long-term
How to Prepare for Your First Intern
As I’m getting ready for my next internship opening announcement, I thought I’d share some tips about finding an intern and making the most of having them learn while working in your business. This is the first of two posts. (The following image is from an intern.) How to Prepare for Your Intern: Review the United States Department of Labor Guidelines on Internships to make sure that you are creating an experience that qualifies. Identify three of your closest photography schools and/or high schools that offer photography classes. Contact the teachers or intern coordinators to learn about their student internship requirements and expectations. Decide exactly what the intern will be learning during their internship and what tasks will help them learn while they work with you. Outline the
Why Images Still Captivate Us
We ache for the genuine. To know there is the pulse of warm blood running through a body, full-throated and clear. To know that there are others out there, behind the veiled walls of data, pixels, and screens. To reconnect with a collective conscious that transcends the divisive chasm that is America today and find a yesterday that binds us. In the here and now, there is no time for the still. Beats are measured in billionths, moments fray at the edges of distinction, and we speak in streams of 140. But the mythology lives. God made a farmer. We hear the words. God made a farmer. We hear it, and we respond. That Dodge Ram commercial during this 47th Super Bowl was a sledgehammer,
Five Ways to Engage Your Audience Using Marketing Emails
Some consider email an “old school” marketing tool, but it’s actually one of the most effective content marketing tools available because it delivers content easily. But once your emails are delivered, how do you get your audience to engage with your message further, viewing it and clicking on links? After all, inboxes are inundated. How do you make your emails stand out? Here are five ways to engage with your audience through marketing emails: 1. Start by letting your audience opt-in. An email list of hundreds of willing subscribers is more valuable than a list of thousands of unwilling recipients. Willing subscribers are more likely to take action than unwilling recipients who will probably report you for spam! To ensure that your email list consists
Shooting for Story: How to Make Your Portrait Sessions Tell a Complete Story
I love shooting for, designing and selling albums to my family portrait clients (and then visiting their homes and seeing them proudly displayed on their coffee tables.) In my third year in business, over half of my clients opted for an album and many ordered “bundles” – multiple copies to gift relatives and/or leave at the office – and I anticipate those numbers growing. I’ve been told that what made my albums such a hit is that they tell a story. As a former television writer, my scripts had a clear structure, bookended by “Fade In” and “Fade Out.” When I transitioned into portrait photography and found myself producing album after album, I realized that I needed to shoot like I wrote, and approach each session
Learning How To Make Your New Year’s Resolutions Stick
Running a small business is hard. When you hear people talk about a “work life balance,” you probably laugh. As small business owners it seems there is a lot more work than life! Over 11 years in business, I have been there too. New Year’s resolutions are great but too often they are left behind to die. Learning how to make your New Year’s Resolutions stick is the real challenge. Have you ever been to a seminar and left with pages and pages of ideas just waiting to be implemented? You’re fired up, inspired, and then you get home. Back to life and back to work and your inspiration list dies. It’s okay to say “yes,” we have all been there. Here are a Few Goals that I’ve
What’s NEW with ShootQ for Photographers?
What’s new with ShootQ? That’s right – there’s a new a batch of updates to ShootQ that will help you streamline your photography business. This release is the second part of a two-phaser. The first phase was especially popular with portrait photographers. Here’s what’s new with ShootQ in this second release… 1. Product Options Visible to Clients – This feature lets your clients choose product options from the “share pricing” pages and proposals. While this has been an awesome internal tool for photographers to keep their product options organized, it is now also available for clients to view and choose options. With this release, the feature now works for ShootQ accounts…and our January Nimbus release will update this feature there as well! Read More Here >>> 2.
How to Make One Kid’s Year by Just Taking a Picture
Jane Goodrich has a simple question: “Can I actually make one kid’s year just by taking a picture?” Turns out she can – and you can help too, by supporting her work and sick children who need us. Jane loves photographing children so much, she’s made a career of it. She specializes in portraiture of newborns and children. And as an identical twin herself, she particularly enjoys making images of twins. (Turns out parents of twins are often reluctant to have a photo session, fearing it’ll be twice as crazy as regular studio appointments; Jane makes house calls to help simplify things for families.) Lately, though, she’s engaged in a project that has become almost as dear to her heart as her DNA-matching sister. Jane