I’m the poster boy of how NOT to utilize social networks to help grow your business.I don’t have thousands of Facebook fans or Twitter followers. I don’t update my blog often enough, and my blog gets moderate (but very welcome) traffic. However, I’ve been fortunate enough to grow and expand my business year after year, despite downturns in the economy. And 2012, my ninth wedding season, will be my best year ever. I’m also somewhat lucky because my clients generally seek me out based on past referrals. It’s not uncommon for me to see one or two former clients at any given wedding I shoot. The referrals I get from past clients mean everything to me and have been the building blocks of my business.
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Lifestyle Baby Photography Part Four: The Session Overview
In my last three articles, I expressed my beliefs regarding the beauty of real life and I detailed ways to overcome client insecurity. With this philosophical platform under our feet, let’s discuss the session itself! The only way these types of sessions can be effective is if the photographer believes the ‘Real Life is Beautiful’ mantra. Each session must be approached as an opportunity to capture something special, regardless of how mundane the subject matter may seem. If the photographer doesn’t truly believe that reality can be beautiful, he will be focused on all of the things that do not matter, rather than on capturing the things that do. To effectively orchestrate a true lifestyle session, a photographer must give up his desire to control
Power to the People – Put Your Clients First
We’re sold the dream. Being our own person. Owning our own lives. Maybe it’s the idea if you work hard, you’ll get there. Maybe it’s the idea that it’s a birthright for being who we are. Maybe it’s just a burning desire to get somewhere. But slice it how you like, one way or another, we’re always beholden to someone. If it’s not ‘the man,’ then it’s the planner who passes you the business, the client who posts the reviews, or the blog that features your images. Forget independence. Forget freedom. Forget the notion that going for the gold means we’re a hop, skip, and a step away from strutting down easy street, owing nothing to no one. Because the question isn’t whether you own
Lessons Learned from a Photographer Planning his own Wedding
Planning our wedding has been intense, fun, and quite a learning lesson. The experience gave me a much different perspective on what new clients see while searching for photographers and other professionals who make their wedding day special. The First Impression At the beginning of our planning process we met with the general manager of the venue where we wanted to host our wedding. We looked through their display albums out of curiosity and for decor ideas. There was strong work by local photographers, but surprisingly none of the albums had contact information for the photographers printed inside! The albums had the photographer’s name, but no phone number, email address or website. The ‘A List’ and the ‘Black List’ After settling on the venue, we
The Mashable Movement Part 2
**Great news! We’re hard at work updating this guide and will be re-releasing it shortly. In the meantime, check out The Photo Life Social Media Guide!** What if Photographers Stopped Trying to Combat Change and Embraced it Instead? It’s a question worth asking again and again. And again! That’s why this Dispatch seems familiar to you. It is. Re-releasing “The Mashable Movement” is a challenge to you to consider this inescapable question and find your unique answer. What if YOU stopped combatting change and embraced it instead? What would that look like in your unique business? Let’s take a look together. What’s Inside: A challenge to look at your photography business in a different way, to see your clients as collaborators rather than consumers. Inside you’ll also
Lifestyle Baby Photography Part Three: Overcoming Insecurity
Real life is beautiful. We established that in Part One of this series. But although this philosophy sounds wonderful, it can be hard to follow through with, particularly when it’s personal. In my last installment in this series, I explained that I believe there are two major barriers to overcome in Lifestyle Photography – ignorance and insecurity. I outlined ways that I work to combat ignorance by cultivating true relationships with my clients. Once the barrier of ignorance has been removed, and people become aware of Lifestyle Baby Photography, we are still left with their insecurities. Even if my potential clients embrace the concept that Real Life is beautiful, in a global sense, they have probably not truly grasped that their Real Life is beautiful. My
Consistency is King
The wedding and portrait photography market relies heavily on referrals, and one way to ensure that each referral is just as happy as their family member or friend who sent them to you is to provide an equally consistent experience. If you’re unsure of where to begin, consider the following: Products: Are you ordering from the same vendors each time? Are you creating consistent products, so that two clients would see no difference if compared? Are you following the same process for designing albums, with policies to refer to if necessary? Pricing: Is your price range on your website the same as it is when you send your client pricing? Does it all end in .00 or .99? Pick one. Are there logical jumps in
Capturing Authentic Emotion on the Wedding Day
A long while back, I wrote an article for The Photo Life about how to bring out authentic emotion in your couples. In that article, I introduced the concept of Emotional Grounding, the idea of leading your couples into their core feelings for each other. It’s something Jeff and I have been developing and using with our subjects for a few years. While it’s not a revolutionary idea – we’re not the only photographers who engage with subjects emotionally – putting an actual name to this concept helped us identify and improve how we do it in practice. My initial article covered part one of the Emotional Grounding concept, introducing an emotionally-engaging style of shooting at the engagement session. Now, I want to talk
The Ultimate Sign of Credibility
Thomas Edwards just got engaged. If you know Thomas you’re probably engaged yourself or actively pursuing a path towards love (and lovemaking). A few days ago, we met up for drinks and I half-jokingly asked The Professional Wingman if getting married was “bad for business.” Without skipping a beat, he coolly said, “Being a product of your own service is the ultimate sign of credibility.” A Choice of Trainers Using Thomas’ example: Let’s imagine you want to hire a personal trainer and meet with two prospects. Trainer #1 has an amazing physique, optimistic attitude and offers a personal story about how fitness is transforming her life. Trainer #2 is overweight, defensive when you ask about it and insistent that his fitness method is the best.
Dazzle Your Clients in 2012
Leeann is a ShootQ Accredited Consultant or ACE. Contact her to schedule a custom ShootQ consultation! It’s almost the new year, and booking season is right around the corner. New clients are knocking, and it’s our chance to dazzle them with the client experience. In a world where word of mouth means everything, it’s no longer good enough as a growing business to just do an OK job. We need to “Wow!” our customers by exceeding their expectations. This process of customer satisfaction can be illustrated in two distinct areas: The Expected: Clients expect great pictures, prompt email or phone responses, and beautiful products with on-time delivery. They hire a professional to meet all of those expectations. For those who wish to charge peak prices,