Category — Business/Studio Tips

….that 90% of images on a digital camera are not printed!

I recently read that in an article and that made me think what an incredible opportunity for Professional Photographers. How many times have you heard from a bride that that it has been a year, 2 years or 5 years since their wedding and they still do not have a wedding album. Many times it is because,  Uncle Joe photographed the wedding and handed over the DVD of all the images.

Here is where your skills and expertise will come to the forefront! Every special event that you photograph will be documented, saved and printed for your clients to have and to share.

What an incredible service you offer to your clients!

This is a question that seems to be asked a lot not only from clients but from photographers as well. Here are 5 reasons why you should have an album in your studios packages.

1) Protect images: Make sure that the albums you use have archival pages and mats to protect the images long term. This also protects the images from fingerprints and scratches.

2) Create an heirloom: Who doesn’t enjoy looking through Grandma & Grandpa’s or Mom & Dad’s wedding albums? Just check out Twitter! We see comments like this all the time. An album with images to share from this special event means creating an heirloom to share with your family.

3) Make em’ portable: Even with the ability to share images online there is nothing quite like taking a photo album sharing stories as you view the album.

4) It’s all in the presentation: When you present an album of images that your client’s have selected and the design you have created, there are few things quite as powerful as that moment.

5) Your photography is art & should be treated as art: You have invested time, money and effort in developing your skill and starting a photography business. What you offer your client is your skill and expertise in capturing special moments of that day. The result? You have created art and your work deserves to be treated as such!

There is definitely a perceived value issue to be considered here as well. Compare the value of your art delivered to someone on a CD vs. art being delivered in a beautifully designed bound album. What fits best with your branding and marketing efforts? Delivering a completed album is also a finishing touch on the experience you have given your clients, a powerful combination that will help distinguish you from your competitors.

Attending a national convention and tradeshow can be a huge investment of your time and your money, what are the issues you consider when deciding to go:

• Location?
• Sponors?
• Vendors attending?
• Speakers?
• Classes/Seminars offered?
• Recommendations from photographers?

We would love to hear from you on what you look for and what you expect from your convention/tradshow investment.

The convention and tradeshow has started for many of us and getting ready for that first show is always exciting.

There is so much that needs to be done, register, make travel arrangments, pack, get to the show, figure out where everthing is, get your welcome packet, figure out where your classes are at, be handed all sorts of catalogs, flyers, business cards while touring the tradeshow, attend classes, pack again, travel home and then unpack.

By the time you have been through all of that it is no wonder you feel overwhelmed when you look at the pile of all the information you have collected.

Here are a few tips to reduce the overwhelm at a convention and tradeshow. [Read more →]

My family always taught me to “work hard and you’ll be successful”.  But over the years, I have met very successful people who, to my amazement, actually work fewer hours, are more productive, take lavish vacations and still have time to exercise daily!  It is the exercise part that really makes me mad, how do people actually have time to do this??? Answer: They are “working smart,” not “working hard.”  Here are things we can ALL work on to work “smarter” not “harder”.

1. Don’t spend time doing things you are not good at! This is especially important as photographers to realize what our skills are (shooting obviously) and what we should outsource (editing, marketing, accounting etc.)  By doing this, you will have a clear focus and won’t get bogged down.  Find someone that does this well and ask them to mentor you.
[Read more →]