Continuing education is hugely important for all photographers. As we know, the industry is in a state of rapid change, and it’s all we can do to keep up! I’ve always believed in balancing education in both business & photography, and Photovision has done a great job of maintaining that balance for me and my studio.
What Is Photovision
If you haven’t heard of Photovision, it’s a periodic “seminar on DVD” that’s delivered straight to your home. Each issue is packed with useful information on all aspects of photography and the business of photography, such as weddings, high school seniors, kids, families, marketing & sales.
I’ve been a subscriber to Photovision now for several years, and I always look forward to the latest DVD in the mail from them. Usually, I watch each DVD several times, which helps me to get the most out of each issue, and they are always on hand as good reference material.
I would have to say that Photovision is now an indispensable part of my photography business.
General
photography education, Photovision
As professional photographers, we are storytellers. In fact, we take pride in creating imagery that tells a story – a wedding day, engagement, or a child’s personality. We mention it in our marketing, on our websites, and blogs, as a means of letting our clients know that we care about them and their lives.
Don’t Stop There
Unfortunately, too many photographers (and I include myself amongst the guilty) stop there, in the belief that our photographs alone will be sufficient to tell the story. I guess it has to do with the old saying that “a picture is worth a thousand words”, but in most cases the real story remains untold.
But we’re committing a great disservice! Essentially, by doing this we’re stopping just short of the finish line. We have great images that capture the essence of a wonderful story, but then we stop, thinking that the story will tell itself.
It doesn’t really work that way…
Sales & Marketing
emotional photography, telling a story, wedding photography
This is another follow-on post from “12 Ingredients For A Magic Pill In Your Photography Business” (read Part I and Part II), focusing this time in more detail upon ingredient #4 – Embracing Your True Value.
What Is Your Financial Thermostat Set To?
Do you often have a difficult time asking your clients for money in exchange for your services and products? If so, the problem may not be that your prices are too high, but that your own internal financial thermostat is set too low.
What do I mean by “financial thermostat”? Whether we like to think so or not, we all have our personal comfort zone of wealth, outside of which we begin to feel uneasy. Even though we often dream of winning the lottery, or making an enormous sale, this idea applies just as easily to having too much money as it does to having too little. If you’re not sure about this concept, or doubt that it applies to you, consider this quick thought experiment…
Read more…
Photography Business Ideas
financial thermostat, photography business, pricing
Okay, I’ll admit it – one of my favorite TV shows is “Kitchen Nightmares” by my compatriot, Chef Gordon Ramsay. Watching this passionate businessman, as he tries to help struggling restaurateurs turn their kitchens from a nightmare into a dream business, is certainly addictive TV from the perspective of anyone in business.
Love him or hate him, his incisive insight into what makes a successful restaurant can’t be denied…
Which got me thinking… What would happen if someone like Gordon, but a successful photographer instead of a chef, were to wander into some of our photography studios? What in the world would he have to say? I’ve no doubt it would be blunt and to the point!
Photo Studio Nightmares
Think about it for a moment. Is your studio or photography business a nightmare? Even if it’s not quite as bad as that, if it’s not the dream business you thought it might be when your started out, then the chances are that it’s a “disturbed night’s sleep” at the very least!
Read more…
Photography Business Ideas
business success, Gordon Ramsay, photography business
A recent thread in a Facebook group inspired this post, from a wedding photographer who was (understandably) upset by a client that wanted her to supply the contents of a premium collection for free, even though they were only prepared to pay her for the basic package.
Judging from the response to the original post, and the number of comments, this is something of a hot topic right now, with other photographers also complaining that this happens to them on a more than regular basis.
Even Doing It Right Doesn’t Always Help!
In this instance at least, the photographer did everything right. She had a face-to-face consultation with the couple, talked about her wedding photography collections, let them choose a package, and then had them sign a contract (which she explained in great detail to them). Everything should have been just fine, but it didn’t stay that way!
Read more…
Sales & Marketing
difficult clients, photography business, professionalism
Facebook appears to be a marketing dream machine for the professional photographer, as long as we use it correctly, of course. There is no other platform on Earth that allows us to freely share the product of our work with so many people. And the great news is that it recently got a whole lot better!
New Facebook Photo Viewer
Okay, the “new” photo viewer isn’t exactly “new”, since it has been around for some time now, but I thought it might be worth noting in case some photographers haven’t yet caught up, and have missed out on capitalizing on the new features.
Read more…
Photography Website SEO
facebook, Facebook marketing, Facebook photos
We’ve all heard it at some point, usually when someone is trying to encourage us to participate in an event, or asking us to give our work away free. It’s the old “it will get your name out there” ploy, but have you ever stopped to wonder what in the world that really means or how effective it might be?
Not All Marketing Is Created Equal
As business owners we have an obvious need to market ourselves, in order to attract new clients and generate new business. One of the most effective marketing methods is word-of-mouth marketing, which relies on happy clients who are in love with what we do spreading the word for us to their friends and family in a viral fashion.
Despite what people might try to tell you, “getting your name out there” is not word-of-mouth marketing. At its very best, it might be considered as a minor form of brand-building, but since it doesn’t come packaged with any kind of emotional component, it’s unlikely to generate new business by itself, and it certainly has no viral qualities about it.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t participate in charitable events or donate our time and talent to organizations we consider as worthy causes. Far from it – there are many times we can use our photography to benefit others. It just means that having someone tell us that it will get our name out there is not the main reason we should do so, nor should it even be a part of the consideration.
Sales & Marketing
marketing
Not so long ago the word “engaged” either meant there was something special for us to celebrate, or the telephone we were trying to reach was busy. Now, it also means something else entirely, certainly in social media circles.
But What Does Engagement Mean?
It seems like we need a new buzzword every week these days, and this one has been the star of the show for quite some time now – banded about to indicate that the person using it knows all about social media marketing. Of course, some of those people (such as Brian Solis, and his appropriately-titled book “Engage!”) really do know what they’re talking about, but what about the rest of us? What does “engagement” really mean? Is it real, or just another buzzword?
Photography Website SEO
social engagement, social media, social media marketing
This is another follow-on post from “12 Ingredients For A Magic Pill In Your Photography Business” (read Part I and Part II), focusing in more detail upon ingredient #3 – How Your Core Beliefs And Values Affect Your Business.
Before we begin, let me state that when I refer to core beliefs and values I don’t mean anything at all to do with your religious or spiritual beliefs, or whether or not you could be considered to be a nice person by others, or have high moral values. Those are completely divorced from the ideas presented here.
More accurately, in the context of this article, our beliefs and values are what define our character and personality – who we are, if you will. Every one of us is unique, with our own particular set of beliefs and values, with which we govern all of our decisions in life and in business.
Photography Business Ideas
business, inner values, limiting beliefs, success
There is a question we hear every day in our photography business, asked to us either through email, or on the telephone: “How much do you charge for…?” Of all the questions put to us, I believe this has to be one of the scariest for most photographers.
Why Are We So Frightened Of This Question?
What is it about this question, which we hear all the time, that somehow strikes dread into our hearts whenever someone asks it? After all, we know the question is coming, so it’s not entirely unexpected, and the person asking the question isn’t doing so out of a desire to intimidate us in any way. They just want to know the answer!
Sales & Marketing
limiting beliefs, photography pricing, photography sales, self-sabotage
I’m going to start off today’s post by having you ask yourself a question… “Why did you want to be a professional photographer?” Was it something you knew you always wanted to do, or did you (like many of us) come into the business later in life, having first tried working for other people?
I belong to the latter group, having spent almost 20 years working as a computer programmer, systems analyst and project manager for various corporations in the UK and, finally, in Bermuda. Although I really enjoyed the challenges, I found myself with the increasing feeling that something was missing in my life, and I longed for work that was more satisfying on an emotional level than writing computer programs. I needed something more gratifying to my soul than a well-written piece of computer code. This was quite scary to someone who had spent their whole life involved in science and technology, because I felt as though I was turning into, of all things, an artist…
Anyway, to cut a long story short, I ended up leaving the world of IT to make the radical change of becoming a professional underwater photographer. After several amazing years of working in the Red Sea and the Caribbean, I moved to the US to open what you might consider to be a “real” photography business.
Read more…
How To Be A Professional Photographer
e-myth, motivation, photography business, success
This is another follow on post to the “12 Ingredients For A Magic Pill In Your Photography Business” (read Part I and Part II), this time exploring the idea that we need to remove our mental boundaries in order for us to move forward into the success we can achieve for ourselves.
Let me begin by stating that I firmly believe success is not a rare commodity, available only to an especially select few. It is readily available for all of us, and that all we need to do is simply reach out and grasp it. There was a time when I would have disagreed with that statement, citing the reasons that life is hard, there’s a recession on, no one wants to spend money, there’s too much competition, I’m not that good a salesperson, my marketing isn’t good enough, and so on…
In reality, these so-called “reasons” are nothing more than excuses thrown up by our own subconscious programming, designed to keep us precisely where we are by preventing us from taking the necessary steps to progress out of what we might consider our comfort zone.
Don’t believe me? Then let’s consider a simple thought experiment…
Photography Business Ideas
motivation, photography business, positive attitude, success
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