Yesterday, we had a great teleseminar and Q&A session with commercial photographer Mark Skalny, discussing and answering questions on the subject of environmental portraiture, especially as it applies to commercial photography.

Over the course of the call (almost 2 hours), we talked about the business, marketing, approach, lighting, equipment and sales of commercial environmental portraiture in great detail, and I know that you’ll get a lot of information out of this to use in your own business.

What Is Environmental Portraiture?

As Mark so eloquently describes it, environmental portraiture can be created outdoors, at the client’s home or place of business, or even in the studio. The term “environmental” doesn’t necessarily mean that the photographs must be taken outdoors, rather that the portraits are created in a setting that describes the normal environment of the subject. For example, a chef working in a kitchen, an executive in an office, a doctor at work in an MRI lab, and so on.

The technical and physical challenges are diverse and unique to every job, therefore an ability to adapt to all manner of situations is required to do this type of work successfully. Experience helps tremendously in this regard.

Mark did a wonderful job of answering the questions on the call, and I believe there are some brilliant nuggets of information in here to help you in your business.

Listen To The Call

I’m sure you’re anxious to listen to the call, so I’ll let it speak for itself.

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Photography Business Teleseminars environmental portraiture, photography business, professional photography, teleseminar

Most of us are brought up with the idea that we have to go out to work in order to earn the money we need to support us in the lifestyle we want to live.

Before long, we’re caught up in the vicious cycle of “work, eat, sleep“, with our lives slowly being eaten away by the passage of time.

However, most of us never really stop to think about what it is that we’re actually trading for the money we earn.

That “something” is our second most valuable asset in life (our attitude being the first)”

Our time…

Only 86,400 Seconds

Everyone on the planet is given exactly the same 24 hours (give or take a few seconds) every day – no more, and no less than anyone else. It doesn’t matter if you’re rich, poor, positive, negative, busy, or idle. There is no way you can squeeze any more time from a day.

I want you to stop and think for a moment about just how important tomorrow’s 86,400 seconds are going to be for you. What if they were the last 24 hours you would ever have? How much would you treasure each and every second of that day?

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Photography Business Ideas photography business, pricing photography, value of photography

Little did I know, when I started writing the Photography Business and Marketing blog at the end of 2008, that it would become so popular.

I’m both amazed and humbled by the number of people who read and share the articles on this blog!

Originally, I began writing as a means of self-therapy for my own photography business, to help me sort through the variety of challenges that I, like everyone else, had to solve in order to stay in business.

However, I soon discovered that others also found the blog useful, so I kept it going and it’s now one of the most enjoyable parts of my business life.

But I never fully imagined that the blog would evolve in the way it has, and that there would be such a variety of content on the site – from articles to audio interviews and teleseminars.

For the future, I’m looking at conducting video interviews, workshops, online courses and expanding on the ever-growing library of content. Who knows what else lies in store for us further on down the road?

Introducing Zenologue Insiders

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General business success, membership site, professional photographer, professional photography

As much as we all love the art of photography, as much as we get caught up in the excitement of the session to capture the smiling faces and powerful emotions of our clients, it’s vitally important that we make sales at the end of it so that we can stay in business long enough to go out and do it all again for the next client.

The sales part of the photography business is the one area that many photographers seem to face with mortal dread.

Surely, it would be much easier if the photography just sold itself so that we can get on with the stuff we really enjoy doing! Sadly, that doesn’t happen, so we’re left with having to deal with the “selling” monster.

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Sales & Marketing high-end portraiture, photography sales, projection selling, wall portrait

Today I had the great pleasure of talking at length with Michael E. Stern about the psychology of sales, and how photographers are thinking and behaving in and around the sales process.

The subject of sales is guaranteed to send shivers of fear down the spine for many photographers! After all, it can be very intimidating for a lot of people, and a source of personal pressure.

However, it need not be that way, as we learn from my chat with Michael on some of the ways we can approach the idea of sales for our business.

It All Comes Down To Confidence And Belief In Yourself

Being good in sales really does come down to your own confidence and belief in yourself and what it is that you’re trying to sell.

This faith and surety originates in your own mindset, your approach to business, and how you relate to people.

Sales skills are not hard to develop, and it’s a lot more fun and rewarding than you might think.

I used to dislike sales immensely but have come to love it as my perception of what sales really means has changed.

Michael shared some really great insights as a result of his extensive experience in this area!

Members can listen to the full interview at the link below:

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About Michael:

Michael Stern first picked up a camera at age 12 and has yet to put one down. He self-taught by way of a homemade darkroom and continued his photography education in Jr. and Sr. high schools, Cal State Northridge and Art Center College of Design. He earned a BFA in 1979.

During his career, Michael has owned and operated small, medium and large commercial studios in Hollywood, North Hollywood and Burbank. He began his career shooting movie posters for agencies and multimedia productions for Star-Kist Foods. After relocating to Burbank, he began producing photographs for local and international companies specializing in van conversions, building design and construction.

Michael started working with The Walt Disney Company in 1982 and has been working with them ever since. He has also worked with Warner Brothers, Universal, Paramount Studios and Sid & Marty Krofft Pictures. He photographs executives, celebrities, products and architecture. His reputation is one of quality, creativity and making the deadlines.

In 1995 he added digital imaging services and in 2000 he scanned, restored and printed 140 aviation-themed historical photographs for Disney’s California Adventure. As a digital restoration expert Michael continues to work on other projects for educational institutions, companies and private parties.

He is expert in scanning, retouching and printing and has taught at many educational institutions, teaching photographic theory, Photoshop, pre-press, artist business practices and operating a sole proprietorship. His first book: Build A Better Photograph, A Disciplined Approach To Creativity, is an informative look at his approach to maintaining a professional photography presence beyond f/stops and shutter speeds. His radio show: “Build A Better Photograph” is aimed at advanced amateurs, college students and early career professionals. Podcasts are available from iTunes free of charge.

His radio show broadcasts live Fridays at 9am, PST. Click the link below to be entertained and informed!

Michael’s webhub is buildabetterphotograph.com, where you can find out more about this dynamic individual.

Photography Business Interviews michael e. stern, photographer interview, sales psychology

Today’s post, as you can see, is a lot shorter than usual, and actually takes the form of a simple question:

“What makes you marketable as a photographer?“

As mentioned in some of my previous posts, one of the areas I feel very strongly about in the photography business is the fact that many photographers are finding it difficult to identify the things that make them different.

This can lead to all kinds of problems in marketing and sales, which translates into lower-than-expected revenue, stress, and potential failure.

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Photography Business Ideas photography business, photography marketing, professional photography

One of the hottest burning topics in the world of professional photography since the digital camera arrived in the mainstream is the debate on whether or not to sell (or give away) our photographs on CD to our clients.

Whenever the subject is brought up, it quickly divides and polarizes the industry in very non-productive ways, and serves only to transfer more control over the business from the hands of the photographer to the client.

Every Man For Himself!

Unfortunately, as an industry, there really doesn’t seem to be any standard consensus on what we should be reasonably expected to do as photography professionals. There are certainly no rules or guidelines on how to tackle the issue, so we’ve ended up with an “every man for himself” situation with photographers arguing the finer points on an almost daily basis.

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Photography Business Ideas digital files, images on cd, photography business

One of the common themes I encounter when working to help photographers with the challenges they face in their business is that they don’t fully understand what business coaching really means, so I thought it might be a good idea to present some thoughts on this to help clear up some of the confusion.

Some believe that a coach is there to provide them with an “out of the box” system that will fix their business for them. Others are of the opinion that a coach’s job is to tell them what to do.

Both of these scenarios are inaccurate, for different reasons, which I will go into in more detail below.

For now, here is my (very brief) definition of a business coach, and how I see myself helping others to find that much-desired peace of mind in their business:

A coach exists solely as a facilitator of change…

It’s really as simple and as complicated as that!

Why Do People Need A Coach At All?

This is a fair question, and one that really needs to be addressed. After all, most photographers are intelligent folk, able to think and behave creatively, so why is it that they need someone else to help them fix their business problems?

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Photography Business Coaching business coaching, photography business, success

Following on from my previous post (5 Photography Website Blunders To Avoid) I felt the need to expand a little more on one of those major web site blunders – the generic artist statement and why it’s so ineffective in persuading prospects to take action.

In my opinion, having blurred or poorly defined unique selling propositions (USPs) is one of the major reasons why so many photographers are struggling today. Not only are these factors not being clearly communicated through their web sites, they’re also unable to give potential clients an undeniable reason to hire them when talking on the telephone or during sales consultations.

This inevitably leads, of course, to a lack of enthused clients, lackluster sales, and a depressing situation for anyone who wants to know how to be a professional photographer. But it can be fixed.

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How To Be A Professional Photographer photography business, photography success, unique selling proposition, USP

How important is your web site to you and your business? For example, if you woke up tomorrow to find the Internet had suddenly vanished, what would you do?

How would you attract clients to your business? I’m sure you would feel like you’d been thrown back into the early 1990′s!

So, I’m guessing that your web site is very important to you, and that your business would find it very difficult to survive without it, right?

Is Your Web Site Sending Clients Away?

It’s interesting then that so many photographers and businesses are not taking the proper care and approach to their web site to ensure it supplies them with a steady stream of leads and clients. In fact, without even knowing it, some of them might be sending people away!

As a photography business coach, I spend a fair amount of time looking at other photographers’ web sites, either to see what people are doing, or in the course of helping a client improve their web strategy. Unfortunately, I see a number of mistakes on many sites, which could be costing the business thousands of dollars in lost revenue through potential clients.

Here’s a quick list of my top 5 current pet peeves:

1. The Generic Artist Statement
2. No Compelling Headline
3. No Call To Action
4. No Specified Location
5. No Testimonials

Let’s take a look at these 5 areas in more detail…

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Photography Website SEO photography marketing, web site marketing, web site mistakes

Yesterday, I had the privilege of hosting a great teleseminar and Q&A session with architectural photographer Greg Phelps. Greg is the owner of Gregory James Phelps Photography in Brownsville Texas, and has been in the industry for over 25 years.

This was a wonderful opportunity for photographers interested in this little-visited genre to get some clear insights into how architectural photography works from a business standpoint.

Architectural Photography Is Not A Retail Business

One of the points that Greg stresses in this call is that architectural photography uses a commercial-based business model. It is not the same as photographing portraits or weddings, which are more retail-based.

This is an important distinction, since the resulting images have tremendous value to the client I terms of increased sales & marketing. These images are usually sold using a licensing model based on usage, rather than as one-off prints etc.

He also talks about the finer points of being in business as a professional photographer, and describes at length the process of taking a project through the process from initial bid to final delivery.

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Photography Business Teleseminars architectural photography, greg phelps, teleseminar

I’ve spoken to several photographers over the last week, who have asked me to be their photography coach, working in a variety of disciplines, who have all expressed a great deal of personal anguish over the state of their businesses.

A common thread to each of these situations is that the photographer somehow feels inadequate or woefully unfit to run a business. They’re overwhelmed by some aspect of their business, whether it be marketing, sales, or pricing, and they become “stuck“. In many cases, the problem is that they just want to know how to start a photography business.

Being Stuck Is Natural!

This is where my role as a business coach comes into play – to help the photographer sort through the confusion in order to facilitate the changes they need to make in order to break through the blocks and move forward.

One very important thing to bear in mind is that becoming stuck in business isn’t necessarily something that happens to you because you’re a poor businessperson. There certainly should not be any stigma attached to the idea of finding oneself up against challenges or obstacles. These are a natural result of being in business and should actually be taken as a good sign! The fact that you’ve hit a stumbling block, or found something that causes you to get stuck is an indication that you’re at least moving, and not stagnating.

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Photography Business Ideas attitude and success, business coaching, problem solving