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Cutting Your Costs: 11 Cheap Tools To Grow Your Photography Business

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One of the most common questions people ask me is:

“I’m trying to grow a photography business on a very small shoestring budget. What should I do?”

As a small business owner, “shoestring” automatically becomes a word commonly used in your vocabulary. Times are tight and when you have a very limited budget, you attempt to do whatever you can at the lowest cost possible.

With a photography business, it takes more than a camera and a computer to run it. You need many different things to make it both functional and profitable. So if “fast” “easy” and “cheap” are now permanently ingrained in your vocabulary, take a look at some of these tools and tricks for running a business on a budget. You may find some new ideas that are perfect for you to move forward with this year.

Google Voice

A virtual phone center to run your business from anywhere in the world. Google Voice offers a wide array of services. Start by choosing your area code, then use the system to help you with everything from budgeting your time by setting up “do not call” hours, to sending multiple SMS messages at a time. Read my review to learn even more.

Gliffy

Gliffy is an easy to use processing system for graphics, diagrams and flow carts. With easy to use formatting, you can create dynamic presentations for your website or presentations. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Online Resources Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Workflow Resource – Give Image Finder A Try

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On any given day, do you have a gazillion things running past you, and just as many windows opened up on your computer? I know I do.

So when you start in on a new client, or have someone call up with questions on images, your mind quickly scrambles to come up with where the image files are located and how to find them quickly.

You may want to try Fundy Image Finder – a brand new tool that makes finding and pulling images quick and easy. Its not a sophisticated program; just a simple workflow utility to help photographers pull images for print and album orders in the most efficient way possible.

(And best of all, its 100% free – so you have to go download it now!)

What it is

A simple tool for quickly finding a batch of images.

Why it rocks

Ever have a print or album order with a list of images you have to find?  We’ve made the job of finding them fast and snappy!  Image Finder was designed to do one very specific task, and do it well.  Like the name of the product, it finds images.  That’s it.

How it works

Cut and paste a list of image files into the finder window, and hit go.  It will search a folder and/or subfolders for the images and bring them up in the queue.  From there, you can open the files up in Photoshop or quickly create copies for editing.  That’s it!  It just takes a simple step in your workflow and makes it lightning fast. Watch this video to see just how fast it is.

How much is it?

Brace yourself.  It’s FREE.  Yeah, how cool is that?  Fundy Software is all about making the Photographer’s workflow faster and easier.  This was such a simple tool to develop we were amazed nobody had made it yet, so we busted it out and are making it available completely free.

Grab your copy of it here.

Filed Under: Production Resources Tagged With: , , , , ,

Photo Restoration Tips and Tricks

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guest post by Leah Spencer

Modern digital restoration techniques and programs are excellent tools for restoring, preserving and archiving photographs. This way, the saved images are not subject to deterioration, water damage or aging effects that physical storage may otherwise cause. Here are some tried and tested tips that you may find useful while restoring old photographs.

Before Restoration:

After Restoration:

1) Use a good scanner

Scanning is the first step to successful restoration. It is important that you use a good quality scanner and set it to maximum resolution and color depth while digitizing your photos. Adjusting the lighting with your scanner will let you capture much more detail, and then use it for further improvisation using editing software. Also, scanning in color absorbs more information than black and white.

2) Work on copies

Before you begin editing your photos, it is advisable to make more than one copy of it. While restoring photographs, it is possible that you make some irreversible edits or errors.

3) Change to black and white

As far as photo restoration is concerned, black and white photos are generally considered easy to work with. If the photo is sepia, you may convert it to black and white using your photo editing software and then convert it back to sepia after restoration. [Read more...]

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The Newest Beauty Secret … Fotoshop by Adobe

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Do you love parodies? Do you love finding the Photoshop mistakes they make in some of the biggest magazines in the world? Then you’ll love this – Fotoshop by Adobe

Released 5 days ago and already approaching 1 million views, this video will make you laugh at how unrealistic our expectations really are when it comes to beauty.

Filed Under: Video Tagged With: , , , , , ,

5 Secrets Professional Photographers Will Never Tell You

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I remember when we first started out in photography, we would look at the professionals who had “made it” within the industry and somehow think they were different then us. They had a fan base stretched out around the world. They traveled to exotic locations to photograph their clients. They were featured in magazines and talked on stages in front of hundreds of people.

They were real photographers. And deep down we questioned all the time whether we had what it takes to make it to that level.

But as we worked more on our photography, we quickly realized that perception doesn’t always match up with reality. Photographers at all levels have the same struggles as you and me. They just handle it a bit differently. Here are five things every photographer faces at some point every year.

Secret #1 – Photography is Difficult

“I have often thought that if photography were difficult in the true sense of the term — meaning that the creation of a simple photograph would entail as much time and effort as the production of a good watercolor or etching — there would be a vast improvement in total output. The sheer ease with which we can produce a superficial image often leads to creative disaster.” ~Ansel Adams

Anyone can pick up a camera and snap a picture. Even an amateur who shoots occasionally is going to get lucky once in a while and capture a great image. Yet when you get to the professional level, you expect every image to come out perfect every time.

It doesn’t always happen.

As professionals, we’ve trained ourselves to be ready for the unexpected, think ahead to what is going to happen so you can be there when it does, and be patient. Yet its easy to “kick” ourselves when you find the perfect shot – and your camera is at home. Or you see the action and you’re across the room.

And that’s okay – as long as you capture the majority of what is truly important. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Get Inspired Photography Tagged With: , ,

Top Business Books For Photographers To Read Going Into 2012

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Every year I read dozens of books. And while I read a variety of different genres, business books tend to be one of the largest. As I was looking back over some of the books I’ve read this year, I decided to put together a small list of books that are perfect for finishing up 2011 with and getting ready to build a strong, successful business in 2012.

How To Market to People Not Like You
By Kelly McDonald
While most marketing gurus argue that you should develop a niched market and target them exclusively, this book will show you how to step outside that box and concentrate on core values rather than demographics. By looking at core values, you can find similar marketplaces in a variety of different places. If increasing your client base in 2012 is a top priority, this may be the book to help you think in different ways.

Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds and Actions
By Guy Kawasaki
I love how Kawasaki writes – story like format that is easy and fun to read. This is a quick read that will help you think of your business and your customers in new ways. Enchantment is the art of influence and persuasion, and how it transforms the relationships all around you. Understand how to change your goals through the use of enchantment and you will quickly get into the hearts and minds of people that could be your biggest fans.

Think: Straight Talk for Women to Stay Smart in a Dumbed Down World
By Lisa Bloom
While not technically a business book, this book is filled with information on why women are at the top of their game in education and career options, yet still struggle to get past the “looks” obsession. (Plus its a great read for the daughters in your life as well.) With today’s focus on celebrity media, plastic surgery and reality TV, the only way to move forward from here is to Think.

The Thank You Economy
By Gary Vaynerchuk
If you’ve noticed a change in the way people market their products and in the way they  buy, you’re not alone. Today’s world is controlled by a new set of communication rules. If you don’t understand the way people now make decisions, you’ll never succeed at business. This book is a great way to help you start out 2012 in a new way. While it won’t give you a detailed plan for using social media, it will provide a blueprint to why its the only way to succeed in the future.

The Personal MBA
By Josh Kaufman
This book starts with business fundamentals and works forward from there. With a unique look at concepts and skills, its an easy way to pick up the facts you need to succeed and put them into place immediately. It’s a book filled with complex principles written in an easy to read format. Perfect for the person that doesn’t have an MBA, yet really wants to succeed in business.

Evil Plans
By Hugh MacLeod
At first glance this may seem like a strange book to include in my Top Business Books list. It’s a book filled with cartoons. Yet look at its meaning and the message it delivers. This book is a manifesto on creativity, how to find it, and what to do with it to find success within your own small business. It’s a great book to pick up read one or two on a daily basis and really think about how to apply it to your own business model.

Real Time Marketing and PR
By David Meerman Scott
I’ve recommended his previous book, The New Rules of Marketing and PR before; in this follow up you’ll learn more practical steps to take your business into the future using online marketing strategies to your advantage. I love this book as it is filled with real world examples. Pick it up, open it up to any page, and you’ll learn something new you can directly apply to your business today.

If you’re looking at expanding your knowledge of operating a photography business, there are many options out there. While most are geared towards starting a business or becoming better at picture taking, here are a few that can help you understand and build a strong photography studio within the next few months.

The Photographers Blogging Book
30 Ways in 30 Days
Become a Top Wedding Photographer
What Do I Name My Photography Business?

Filed Under: Books and Training Tagged With: , , , ,

Hey Photographer – Are You A Storyteller?

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One of the things that set us apart from other photographers early on was our storytelling. We didn’t believe photography was all we had to offer. Instead, we chose to take it to a different level and offer storytelling through our albums. We regularly sold three to five albums to our clients, so I guess they loved it as well.

Storytelling involves many things. It involves thinking ahead of time about what you want to capture. It involves understanding what will happen and being there ready and in position before it does. It also involves being ready for the unexpected as well.

Dig Deeper: 7 Tips For Visual Storytelling

I ran across a great series of videos today by Ira Glass who hosts This American Life on Public Radio. He has a series of four videos in which he goes over his ideas on what it takes to be a storyteller – all are good and worth listening to.

But it’s a compilation video that really caught my eye. The way its written can be an inspiration to any creative artist. It may be just what you need as you begin planning for a New Year.

Ira Glass on Storytelling from David Shiyang Liu on Vimeo.

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Will You Regret Not Jumping Into A Full Time Photography Business?

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If you look back at your life so far, what do you regret?

I’m sure a few things pop into your head immediately.

Do you regret not finishing up your degree? Or maybe never going to school at all?

Do you wish you would have followed a different career path? Or chosen a different job?

I watched one of the top TED videos from 2011 today on regret, and I’ve included it here. It’s around 15 minutes in length, and I would highly recommend watching as it teaches a lot about how we look at ourselves.

One of the most interesting things Kathryn Schulz mentions is:

When we look back at our lives, there are many things we regret:

  • Education 33%
  • Career 22%
  • Romance15%
  • Parenting 10%
  • Self 5.47%
  • Leisure 2.55%

Yet financial regrets are even less.

We don’t wish we made more money and had more cash to buy bigger houses and cars. We want to take care of ourselves and the people around us; the ones that we love the most. We want to educate ourselves to feel fulfilled. We want a great career that we love and feel we are contributing to society.

We regret not taking chances that have could have done more to improve our lives. We regret not taking advantage of opportunities that come by.

So now is the time to think of what you have today, what opportunities are being presented to you, and what you will do that will affect the rest of your life.

Will you move forward with your goal of creating a successful full time professional photography business?

Or will you face regret at some point in the future?

Filed Under: Get Inspired Photography Tagged With: , , , ,

Perfect Gifts For The Photographer In Your Life

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When you’re a photographer, you wind up with gifts that are somehow always related to the business. And while you’re tree can only hold so many cameras and miniature photographers, there are some really cool things that you’ll be moving to the top of your wish list this year.

Phone Lenses

What’s the one thing missing from your camera phone? The ability to have multiple lenses for every situation. Not any more, thanks to this series of lenses, Choose from fisheye, macro/wide angle and telephoto lenses – or get the series and save, plus free shipping.

iPhone Lens Dial

Like the idea of different lenses for your iPhone, but don’t want to carry all of them with you? Check out the iPhone Lens Dial. Now their conveniently in place and ready for any situation.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Just For Fun Tagged With: , , , ,

What Makes A Photograph Breathtaking?

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Its easy to look through hundreds of pictures, and enjoy each one for what it offers. Then you open up a site with a photograph that makes you say … WOW!

There is a difference between 99 percent of the photographs out there, and the 1 percent that truly leaves you breathless. And while you may say that a breathtaking photograph is in the eye of the beholder, there may be things you can do to make your photographs truly breathtaking.

Head over to a site like The Big Picture. I visit there every once in awhile when I need inspiration. The photographs are unbelievable. But what makes them truly magical is the story they tell when you look at each subject all together.

And of course you can’t leave out a site like National Geographic. Their photography has been WOWing people for decades. And while the stories they tell are remarkable, it’s the photography that really penetrates your heart.

So how do you take a breathtaking photograph? I searched through other photographers sites to see what they have to say. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Taking Better Photographs Tagged With: , , ,
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