7 Ways For Photographers To Increase Sales

Perfect Gifts For The Photographer In Your Life

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: camera, gifts, holiday, Photographer, presents

5 Big Ticket Items Photographers Pay For, Then Seldom Use

by Virtual Photography Leave a Comment

Yesterday I announced that we had moved from our large suburban home, to an urban condo environment, decreasing our space down to one third of our large home size.

When you do that kind of downsizing, you really start looking at what you’ve put in the back rooms, in the closets, and in the garage, yet have seldom picked up since you purchased it. What’s even more distressing is the items you find in their original packaging. Did you really need it if you never even opened it?

While an occasional office supply is one thing, when it’s a big ticket item, it’s a whole different issue. Imagine what you could have done with that money if you hadn’t invested in that purchase?

As we were looking through things, listing items on Craigslist, and giving things away, we discovered 5 things that we invested in, yet seldom used.

Camera Doodads

If you’ve ever gone to a photography convention, you’ve probably fallen for the shiny object syndrome. When you walk up and down the aisles, caught up in all the sights and sounds projected straight towards you, it’s easy to fall for it. Companies promise miracles, and great tools, gadgets and doodads that will improve your photography, or help you run your business more efficiently.

So you invest in a doodad or two. Two becomes twenty. And so on. Pretty soon you have boxes in your spare closet full of shiny doodads, many unopened and untouched. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Studio Equipment Tagged With: backdrops, big ticket items, camera, computer, photographers, props, purchases, studio

Automate Your Portrait Photography

by Virtual Photography Leave a Comment

This is an amazing use of photography equipment and how to automate your next portrait session.

Filed Under: Video Tagged With: camera, Digital Photography

Is Digital Cheaper Than Film?

by Virtual Photography 8 Comments

What’s one of the most common misconceptions in the photographic industry today?

Digital is cheaper than film

At first glance, it sounds correct.

With a film camera, every time you capture an image, it costs you money. You have to buy the film, you have to develop the film, and you have to print the image on to paper. When we were shooting film, we found it pretty accurate to assume total costs for one image was $1.

But with digital, every time you capture an image it’s essentially free. You place the card into your computer, download it, put it online or a CD/DVD, and usually only print the images you are paid for.

So it seems like digital is cheaper than film. But the problem with that assumption is you are looking at output only. The real cost comes at the front end, or with the cameras and technology itself.

I read a great article over on Digital Work Flow, The State of Business for the Digital Photographer Preparing for 2011. In it states:

Today a basic digital set of two professional SLRs, several lenses, dedicated flashes, laptop, desktop computer, card reader, memory cards, color management and processing software, monitor, printers, storage and back up storage, will cost approximately $20,000 to $80,000 or more.

Comparatively, a basic film system would likely cost under $20,000 and would likely remain current and functional for 10 years or longer.

So here is the comparison:

$20,000/10 years = $2,000/year average cost if you’re shooting film
$50,000/5 years = $10,000/year average cost for digital

And if you’ve been in the industry for a while, you know how quickly you replace your equipment. My daughter received a point and shoot for Christmas that is more powerful than the professional camera we were shooting with 5 years ago.

Total costs need to calculate everything. It’s unrealistic to charge a client a few dollars for a print because it only cost you a dollar or two to print it out. You still have to pay for your equipment, plus other expenses like rent, salary, phone, Internet, marketing, etc. And for your experience as a photographer and as an artist.

The only way to charge what you are truly worth is to educate your potential clients on what it takes to be a professional photographer, and how to tell the difference between you and an amateur trying to make a quick buck. Will they be in business a year from now? Who knows? [We’ve had clients come back to us 8, 10, even 12 years later for prints because they know we are here.]

Filed Under: Production Tagged With: camera, digital, equipment, film, photographic, Photography

Want Instant Prints? Stampy Camera Design Stamps Out Images

by Virtual Photography Leave a Comment

Instant gratification pushed Polaroid into a unique niche within the photography industry. The ability to view the image almost immediately allowed a pleasure no other company could create: a way to instantly view our imagery and have a print to share.

Now, we are in the digital age where every camera has instant gratification via a small LCD camera screen. Yet there is still a problem: no print to share and pass around. If you want hard copies, you will need to upload them to your favorite lab or print them on your printer…not so instant. Designer Jinhee Kim unveiled a cool design where a digital images can be stamped onto paper almost as fast as developing a Polaroid.

Licensed by Yanko Design, the innovative product named Stamp.y is coming to life. No pricing or availability has been announced.

via Yankodesign

Filed Under: Camera Equipment Tagged With: camera, digital, photo printing, photo processing, Photography, sharing images, stampy

WPPI Tradeshow Fast Tour

by Virtual Photography Leave a Comment

WPPI (Wedding and Portrait Photographers International) 2010 was a great event this year. Over 14,000 photographers attended this 9 day event. Speakers from all over the world presented in master and platform class formats. Amazing artists and photographers spoke during this event included: Bambi Cantrell, Kevin Kubota, Ken Sklute, Clay Blackmore, Jerry Ghionis, Mike Colon and Jim Davis-Hicks just to name a few.

The tradeshow was so incredible that 2 areas had to be used to host everyone. Vendors showed off everything from albums to cameras, photography labs to Photoshop. We wanted to show how amazing this display of amazing selection of photography related vendor was that we video recorded a walk through and then adjusted the speed to play twice as fast. Take a look at these 2 videos and sample the amazing display presented at WPPI 2010.

Filed Under: Blog, Video Tagged With: camera, photographers, Photography, wppi

I Can’t Go Anywhere Without A Camera – Can You?

by Virtual Photography 1 Comment

As a photographer, do you always find yourself documenting your life? Do you carry a camera wherever you go?

Maybe that’s how you can really tell the professionals. From their kids swim meets, to a day at the park, a professional always has his or her camera within reach.

You might not capture truly great, sellable images again and again. It’s more the act of being able to take photos, and share them with those around you.

I attended a career night for my daughter’s girl scout troop last night, and one of the moms brought out her laptop – filled with a slide show of images shot during a recent camping trip. They were great!

On a local hiking trip, we photographed around the area, just to have fun. It really makes you open up and look differently at your surrounding area. It’s not just about enjoying the fresh air. It’s about seeing it through the lens – what can you capture that will make an impact on you later?

So what do you do to photograph for fun? Does it make you look at your surrounding area differently? Share some of your favorite photos – I’d love to see them. [post a comment below, and add the web address to your Flickr account, or other source of your photo.]

Filed Under: Blog, Get Inspired Photography Tagged With: camera, taking pictures

Is it the camera or the photographer?

by Virtual Photography Leave a Comment

What makes a great photographer? Is it the camera and lenses they use? Or is it the photographer?

That was the question of the hour yesterday as Andrew and I poured over a selection of images we had recently taken.

The next time you’re out with friends that aren’t photographers, watch how they look at things around them. Do they notice the flowers surrounding the cafe patio? Do they notice the bird soaring in the sky? Do they notice the signs along the way?

As a photographer – especially coming from a photojournalistic style of photography – we see things in storyline fashion. We’re constantly looking for ways to tell the story with our photographs – and we pick up on ways to show that with each picture.

We focus on macro results, so the eye naturally picks up on what we focus on.

We show things in detail and put several images together to show the whole picture.

We use perspective to make a photograph better.

That comes from the education of being a professional photographer. It doesn’t come with the camera. I can get a great image from a point-and-shoot simply because I understand perspective and what to look for.

Of course the better the lens, the more I can get. But ultimately comes down to the photographer.

What do you think?

Filed Under: Blog, Get Inspired Photography Tagged With: camera, storytelling

7 Ways For Photographers To Increase Sales

by Virtual Photography 2 Comments

What is your average sale when a client comes into buy?

Are you still handing over the digital files (or worse, negatives) when a client comes in for a photo session?

As a photographer, you make your money from your finished product. If you’re providing your client with the raw files, and not a finished product, you are actually doing your client a disservice. Your job as a professional photographer isn’t just taking the picture and letting your client have the image. It’s also about seeing what others don’t see. A professional photographer has the ability to see things in unique ways, and give their client above and beyond what they could get anywhere else.

Become a Picasso
One of my favorite stories is about Pablo Picasso. Picasso was sitting in a restaurant having lunch with a friend when a woman came over and asked Picasso to create something for her on her napkin, and she would happily pay him for what it was worth. After a few minutes, he gave her back her napkin, and a bill for several thousand dollars. After the initial shock, she questioned why he could charge so much for a few minutes of work. Picasso responded the price wasn’t based on the few minutes it took him to create her artwork; it was based on the years of studying, education, training, and mastering his talents. She happily paid the price.

As a photographer, your prices should reflect your talents, not the final output. Anyone can snap a photo and print it out on their home computer. Where the real talent comes from is within the photographer herself.

And by the way you present what you do to your customers.

It’s easy to increase your sales potential on every client. Start with thee 7 ways to put more pizzazz into the way you market your photography.

1. Create better packages.
People like deals. And they like to get what everyone else is getting. Packages actually make the buying/selling process a whole lot easier. Your customer can bypass the ala carte section, and trying to decide exactly what they need. Instead, they’ll simply buy what looks like a good deal. And if it’s your best seller, why not choose what everyone else is buying?

Filed Under: Blog, Sales Tagged With: camera, Digital Photography, Photography, Photography Business, Photography Studio