Free One-on-One Setup Assistance Program Gets Photographers Up and Running Faster than Ever! ShootQ’s mission is to help professional photographers fulfill their artistic dreams while meeting their financial goals. In today’s environment, that means freeing up more time for shoots and brand development. ShootQ allows you to do exactly that, when it is setup properly. That used to take time, which somewhat defeated the mission of the software. Now, it takes a lot less time, thanks to ShootQ’s Setup Assistance program. ShootQ already offered a “test drive” program that allowed new customers to try it free for a month. However, some customers chose to cancel at the end of the trial, because they found the setup to be a bit too daunting. In response, ShootQ
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Slow & Steady Wins the Race: Tips for Marrying Your Client
When you’re building your business, you may think that the photos you make are the most important aspect to focus on. Don’t get me wrong, your images are your brand and your integrity, but you might be overlooking a vital component that can help you become more successful: Creating and maintaining solid client relationships! As someone who has worked for the past decade to develop the relationships that have led me to book and work the gigs of my dreams, I’d like to share a few tips I’ve picked up over the years to help you do the same. 1. Be patient. There is nothing worse than waiting to hear back from a potential client. I know it’s awful to stare at your phone for
Braintree Checks In As Google Checks Out
In preparation for Google’s retirement of Google Checkout, ShootQ integrated with an alternative merchant solution, Braintree. Braintree helps your business run more efficiently by allowing you to easily accept credit card payments online. ShootQ supports merchant accounts like Braintree, among others, that can seamlessly communicate back and forth with ShootQ. With this direct integration, you can receive a confirmation that a payment has processed and mark that invoice as paid as soon as your client posts it online. This saves you from having to monitor your merchant account and manually mark invoices as paid in ShootQ. It also helps your clients feel confident about your business, since they can see the results of their online payments immediately after posting them. ShootQ currently supports the following
We Remember: Daniel Mast
On May 21st, 2013 the photography community lost a talented colleague, dear friend, and passionate spirit. We share this memorial quote from Rita Wiebner to honor Daniel Mast, whose zeal for life, family and photography leaves a lasting legacy. Daniel leaves behind his wife, Rebecca, and three children. Please consider participating in the memorial auction by clicking the image to the right. All funds raised go directly to Daniel’s family.
We Remember: Eric Langlois
June 18, 2013 the photography community lost a talented colleague, loving friend, and avid adventurer. We share this memorial quote from Carla Ten Eyck to honor Eric Langlois, whose zeal for life, family and photography leaves a lasting legacy. Eric leaves behind his wife, Amber, and his children. Please consider supporting Eric’s family by clicking the image to the right. All funds raised go directly to Eric’s family.
A Simple Wedding Workflow Checklist
You’ve just finished shooting an amazing ten hour wedding. Two cameras, perhaps even a second shooter. Total clicks are in the range of 3k-5k. Even though you’re on such a high, in the back of your mind you’re thinking, “ugh this is going to be such a long edit!” Monday morning comes around and you start culling, but then your inbox starts filling up, Facebook is calling your name, and the dog is barking at you. What do you do? As professional photographers, we’ve all been in this situation before. You need help. That’s exactly why I created this wedding workflow checklist. Feel free to use any or all of it to help you stay streamlined. 1. Download cards – 1 hour I personally don’t cull as
How Two Photographers Realized their Dream of Studio Ownership – by Sharing!
Two Canadian photographers are following their dream to create Edmonton’s finest photography rental studio. “The Photographer Studio,” owned by Tammy & Lauri, was created in January 2012. The concept was to provide an affordable studio setting for local photographers who don’t have their own space, or don’t have the volume of shoots to sustain their own studio. Originally, the concept began with a co-op style rental agreement that allowed photographers to share the space equally with the odd hourly rentals when the studio was available. Within the first year, however, the owners realized that this was not enabling profitability. They pivoted quickly and changed to a membership option, with hourly rentals made available to non-members. So, what goes into a smart shared studio space? Member
4 Steps to Untether Yourself from Technology
Think about a typical day. How early do you start using your phone or log into Facebook? First thing? What’s the last thing you do at night? Is it the same? Do you fall asleep with your iPad on your chest? Do you ever stop and think it’s all too much? As photographers we spend significant amounts of time “connected.” We have websites and blogs to update and read, pictures to edit, clients and vendors to connect with; and it’s all made easier by being constantly in touch. But there is a price that we’re paying for this connected lifestyle. We struggle to focus on one task at a time. We check every notification that lights up our phone, even if we’re in the middle
Why Photographers Outsource (and what it says about their business)
In talking with photographers about post-production work over the past few years, I’ve found that there are three primary reasons for outsourcing this work. What’s more, the reasons for doing so evolve over time and are often indicative of the photographer’s business maturity. See if any of these reasons resonate with you. “I’m so busy I will never get all this work done….what was I thinking?.….my clients will kill me….so will my family & friends, if I have any left. Heck, I’ll be happy if I just live through this…I can’t answer another ‘where are my images?’ question. HELP!” We tend see more of these cases as the photography season advances. There were good intentions to get acquainted with an editor earlier, but there wasn’t