7 Things To Do With Your Photography Business Today

14 Do’s and Don’ts To Win Over Your Photography Clients

The key to a great business is having great clients. Here are some simple rules to ensure that your customers love you and want to use you again and again. And again.

Do find your competitive edge.

What makes you special? What makes you unique? Its not just your passion or your love for the business. It has to be your approach to photography and the way you run your business. Find that one unique thing that sets you apart and use it to bring in a ton of clients.

Don’t badmouth your competition.

You probably have one or two competitors who you think very little of. They run their business completely against your ethics and you know “dirty little secrets” about them that makes you have anything but trust. Don’t tell. As much as you know about them, its important to turn the other way and simply ignore. The clients that are best suited for you will quickly figure that out for themselves if they visit that business. Just stay true to your word and do the best you can do.

Do find ways to build relationships.

The most difficult way to build a business is to focus on bringing in new client after new client. If they’ve never heard of you when they begin their search, it will take time to educate them on who you are. Instead, keep your existing clients happy, and they will refer you to all of their friends and family.

Don’t sell, sell sell.

Your job isn’t to sell what you do. Instead its all about building strong relationship with pillars of the community. If everyone is talking about you, everyone will have to use your services. Avoid the temptation online and off to spread your message as “would you like to buy from me?” They will find you when they are ready. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Customer Service Tagged With: customer service, photography tips, selling your services, win over your photography clients

6 Things A Photographer Should Be Prepared For

by Virtual Photography Leave a Comment

Operating a photography business can be so much fun. You fill up your bags with the latest photography equipment, bring in the best clients, and showcase work you truly love and are proud of.

And for the most part, its all good. Things move along smoothly, and you learn how to improve day to day.

But on occasion, you hit a rough spot. You have a day where something goes wrong – terribly wrong in some cases – and you’re just not sure if its all worth it.

While the unexpected will always happen, and there is little you can do to prepare for it, there are certain things you can plan for today. What are your policies on the following?

Bad Advice

Have you ever noticed how people love to dish out advice when it doesn’t affect them? They hold down 9 to 5 jobs, live in the rat race every day, and yet they become an “expert” in running a small business when you mention your ideas.

And in some cases, it can be hard NOT to take their advice. Especially when its family.

“Here’s the $1,000 you asked for. Don’t worry about paying me back right away; just make sure you use it wisely. Don’t put it towards that ad in the magazine you talked about – that sure was expensive. And …” The advice goes on and on.

And while your loved one means well, if they’ve never run a small business, they don’t have a clue as to what to do.

Smile. Take in their advice. Thank them. And move on.

In some cases they may have valid concerns. Use them when making your final decision. But if their line of thinking is way off base, don’t let that influence you. You’re the boss; you get the final say. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Planning Tagged With: issues, photography tips, problems, things a photographer should be prepared for

How The Recession Can Boost Your Business Savvy

by Virtual Photography Leave a Comment

The media is full of stories of economic downturns, bankruptcies, and businesses going out of business. While you can look just about anywhere and find the “bad” that is out there, the recession can actually do small businesses some good as well. Instead of bemoaning your situation, change it around and find some positive aspects to focus in on.

Its been said that some of the strongest, healthiest companies in the world were started during hard economic times. It may be because you have to watch how you spend your money and what you invest in. Here are a few things that can help you increase your business savviness over the coming months.

Make savings a priority

Because we’re in the middle of a recession with no clear end in sight, assume this is the new “norm”. What can you do today to make next year at this same time even better? Getting loans is more difficult than ever. Lines of credit are all but extinct. And the last thing you want is to bring on more credit card debt. Make a conscious effort to live within your means, and create a savings account now for life’s little emergencies. Even if you can only add $50 a month to it, consider it as an investment towards your future.

Pay debts on time or ahead of time

When you are living paycheck to paycheck, every dollar counts. And if you fall into the “fee” trap you’ll quickly find yourself in a difficult position. Banks don’t make money if you pay on time; they like the clients that don’t make payments, have their interest rates go up, and are assessed fee after fee for late payments. Make it a habit to pay ahead of time, or at the very least on time. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Make Money With Photography Tagged With: business savvy, depression, education, hard economic times, learning, photography tips, recession

How To Fall In Love With Your Photography Again

by Virtual Photography 2 Comments

Ever get to a point where you’re just not having fun any more?

The images you used to take that thrilled you – now just feel like you’re in repeat mode, taking the same things again and again.

Even the clients you used to love now seem to get on your nerves, no matter how hard you try to appease them. And even the littlest of tasks have become tedious and boring.

Is it time to quit and start something new?

A business is a lot like a relationship. When it’s new and fresh, you are passionate about each other and can’t wait to spend time together. But when you’ve been together for years, it takes more work, more spontaneity to keep the passion alive and burning. It’s not that its not there; it just takes time and dedication to keep it alive.

To keep your business alive, maybe its time to do something a bit different. Something that will help bring back the passion you felt when things were brand new.

#1 Learn Something New

People usually get stuck in a rut when they continue to do the same things again and again. So the easiest way to get out of your rut is by changing what you do.

Head over to Google and start searching for classes in your area. You can head to a community college – they usually have adult education classes that last anywhere from one evening to a multiple week program. Look for chambers or other networking groups, and find out what seminars are coming to your area in the next month. Or find some photographic groups that meet in your area, and sign up for something you’ve never tried before – a Photoshop retouching class, or even a course in a new niche.

It doesn’t matter if its photography related or not; just something that gets your creative juices flowing again. It’s a way to look forward to your day again instead of feeling lost and on the path to nowhere. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Get Inspired Photography Tagged With: creativity, motivation, photo inspiration, photography tips

Your Words Can Add Millions To Your Bottom Line

by Virtual Photography Leave a Comment

Ever been to a flea market? They can be quite entertaining. Who knows what you’ll find in the tables of “junk” – you can definitely find your own treasure if you look close enough.

changing the way you speak about photography

image source

Here in Denver, we’ve had a fairly large flea market (Mile High Flea Market) that’s been around for years. They’re open every weekend year round, and its been growing every year since it opened. This year I noticed a change.

They are no longer the Mile High Flea Market. They are the Mile High Marketplace. They are still open weekends only, but they’ve added permanent structures: buildings and tents, and have themed many of their weekends to offer special classes, booths and even concert events. This next weekend is the Green Marketplace, and they’ll have special demonstrations on green technology and green companies, showing you how to do everything from xeriscape your lawn, to learning more about wind and solar power.

So what changed? Their name and the way they think of their business. They are no longer a flea market – associated with a cheap, garage sale mentality. They are now a marketplace, and likewise have the ability to offer anything they choose. The sky is the limit with their knew image and thought process.
[Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, Get Clients Tagged With: photography marketing tips, photography tips

It’s Not About Looking, It’s About Seeing

by Virtual Photography 2 Comments

What makes a great photographer? It isn’t the camera or the lens (although that can help). It isn’t the subject. It isn’t the paper the final image is processed on.

It’s the eye.

A great photographer knows how to look past what is right in front of him, and look into the message he wants to convey. He sees the story in what is being told, and looks for the best way to tell it.

1. Focus on the action, not the facial expression.
Have you ever facial expressions been in the room with the parents saying, “smile” or “look at the camera”? And you are really supposed to get a creative expression with that happening? Great photos show the emotion of the subject, not a smile towards the camera.

2. Don’t stop with one.
Sometimes you have to be patient to capture the perfect image. Don’t take just one, take a series of images. You never know when the perfect one is about to happen. And with digital, its easy to keep the great one’s and delete the okay one’s.

3. Plan first, be spontaneous second
Pick out your background before you concentrate on the image. If your subject is standing still, you can photograph them from any angle. Walk around them in a circle, and choose the best background situation and then start shooting.

7 Photography Tips for Better Children’s Portraits

by Virtual Photography 6 Comments

How do you approach portraiture for children so that you get great images AND make a ton of money doing it?

1. Treat the child as your client. Your first task is to create a great rapport with the child. They won’t work with you if you don’t talk to them in their mannerism. Find what they like and share in their excitement. Get down to their level. You don’t want them to see you as an adult. You want them to see you as a friend.

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image source Tina Keller

2. Treat the mom (dad, grandparent, or whoever is there and paying for the portrait) as your client. Yes, this is the person paying for the portrait session, and any packages and prints they purchase in the future. But remember, they will be happy if their child stays happy, and if the child has a smile on his or her face as they are leaving your studio.

One Great Idea: Meet Jennifer Bowen

by Virtual Photography Leave a Comment

I move in and out of photographers’ sites all day long. But every once in awhile I find a photographer that really “gets it” and holds my attention for a long time. And in this case, I was on there for 30 minutes when I decided to email her and include her in my One Great Idea section.

Meet Jennifer Bowen

When I first clicked into her site/blog, I could tell immediately she understood how to reach out to her clients. The image that greets you says WOW. It has a clean style. And the posts are amazing. When you see the images, you have to read the copy as well – you really want the whole story.

The post I was greeted with was Kaoife & Josh’s Wedding At Sassi. I was pulled in immediately by the photograph. And as I started reading, I actually clicked around to the links to the various vendors. What vendor wouldn’t love to be connected to a site like this!

Now imagine a bride viewing this instead – couldn’t she gain a ton of ideas from a post like this? How about gaining ideas from the many other posts Jennifer has on the site as well? What bride wouldn’t love to find Jennifer as a resource for planning her own wedding!

All of that – and more – captured my attention. And that isn’t even my takeaway idea!

10 Photography Tips for Better Outdoor Portraits

by Virtual Photography 23 Comments

I’ve been a professional photographer for over 20 years. Even though I have a ton of ideas and styles, sometimes I find going back to the basics creates portraits that clients truly love. Here are some simple solutions that everyone can benefit from when capturing your next outdoor portrait session.

Select a location
Locations are very important and should be thought out in advance. Look for locations that bring interest and enhance your session. Parks, lakes and other open spaces offer natural scenery and tend to be the first places people think of. But don’t forget about architecture. Buildings and other structures bring warm elements into a portrait. Doors, windows, walls, a staircase or pillars will bring wonderful life to a portrait.

Choose a location that is not busy and bustling with activity. A quiet area will allow a client to be more focused, and allow them to be able to listen to your posing instructions without distractions or loud noises that would otherwise interfere.

Repeating lines
A great way to add depth is to find a location with repeating lines. Columns, pillars or other structures add interest to a portrait and create a portrait that stands apart from others.

Use a longer lens
By selecting a longer lens, you can put the focus on your subject, leaving your background soft and out of focus. This adds to the drama of the portrait, and can give you a unique look and style. One of my favorite lens to use is a 70-200mm F2.8. Use your longer focal length (150mm – 200mm) to separate your subject from the background. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, Portrait Photography, Taking Better Photographs Tagged With: photography tips, photography tips for better outdoor portraits, taking environmental images