Is Generosity Killing Your Photography Business?

Everyone today seems to have a story. And I’ll admit some of them are good … REALLY good. So much so that you really want to hand over your photography for free in order to help the cause.

But the problem with one is it quickly becomes two. And two becomes four. And so on.

Pretty soon you’re doing all of your work for free, barter, or at a discount, and you barely have enough to survive on your own.

Sometimes generosity can become extremely challenging, and have you start questioning why you’re in business in the first place. But how do you stop it? How do you know what causes to take on, and which one’s to pass by? How can you strike a balance between running a business, and still being generous in the process?

What Is Your Policy?

A few years ago I had a real problem.

I would be approached by dozens of different businesses and non-profits, asking if I would provide my services in exchange for “something”. It could be the opportunity to promote to their group, for charitable reasons, for exposure, and a host of other reasons. [Read more…]

Tell A Story with Focus For Humanity

A true photojournalist heads into the roughest conditions, the most unreachable places, and tells a story for the rest of the world to see.

Think about the images you’ve seen grace the covers of magazines like National Geographic. They can be truly breathtaking, and leave you in awe of what that part of the world must be like.

While that type of photography isn’t for everyone, you have to admire those that choose that type of lifestyle.

Focus For Humanity is an organization that offers grants and awards to photographers that choose to make this a lifestyle. Their mission is to provide financial support, resources and training for professional and amateur photographers who capture stories of shared humanity and support their work with various non-governmental organizations throughout the world.

Start by looking through the recent winners – the images there are inspiring. Then check out some of the other areas, they provide detailed information on grants, awards and mentoring.

Starting in April, they will be offering a mentorship program in which they will help you get started in this line of photography. Because expertise and guidance is what can help you achieve your goals in a much quicker fashion, their mentorship program pairs you up with someone who’s in the field and living this lifestyle.

Focus For Humanity subscribes to the guidelines of another organization, International Guild of Visual Peacemakers, which is also worth checking out. Their goal is to display common humanity and images that build bridges of peace. They also provide a wide variety of photo tours and workshops throughout the world.

Just A Few Letters Spell S U C C E S S

What if you love photography, love the ocean, and want to combine the two into a successful business? I found the answer today in a website called Words From The Sea.

Two years ago while celebrating a birthday, a couple walked along the beach and began noticing shapes in the seafoam washing onto shore. David, a 30 year veteran in the photography industry, quickly started photographing the different shapes, and slowly began capturing the entire alphabet – naturally, no Photoshopping allowed. Slowly he captured the alphabet, punctuation marks, numbers and other characters to add to his collection. And the concept of Words From The Sea was born.

Today David and Lea have created a dynamic web presence that showcases these extraordinary creations. Not only is their wall art an inspiration, but their website is too.

You can purchase pre-created wall art in popular choices such as “faith” “believe” and “imagine”. Or personalize your artwork, and create something just for you – your first name, your last name, or the name of your hometown. Either way, your new artwork will be the focal point of your room, guaranteed to get people talking.

From there, Lea and David didn’t stop at building a business to make money doing what they love. They also decided to give back, and find a way to help what they love as well. They spell out on their site the importance of ocean conservation, and provide details on why we should care about our oceans future. Words From The Sea gives back by supporting ocean conservation, and raises money for both awareness and by giving a portion of all proceeds to ocean conservation programs.

[Read more…]