5 2014 Wedding Photography Trends to Watch out for

The year is well underway, yet many in the field of wedding photography are wondering what the most relevant 2014 wedding photography trends are. Read on to see our picks, which include online advertising, printed albums, and a whole new esthetic, in terms of actual picture-taking.

Fine-art photojournalism is in, vintage is out

‘Fine-art photojournalism?!’, you might exclaim. What’s that? Just what it sounds like: a blend of styles that brings together the candid quality of photojournalistic shots with just a dash of the impeccable style you would expect from fashion and editorial shoots. In other words, it’s the type of photography that manages to look both glamorous and unscripted. The vintage style, popular a few seasons ago, is reportedly falling out of grace with an increasing number of photographers, who are striving for a timeless look, instead of one that just looks dated from the get-go.

Truly professional photography

It was bound to happen, wasn’t it? On the one hand, we’ve seen a virtual boom of DSLR ownership among non-professionals over the past few years. On the other, an increasing number of photography hobbyists are going pro. These two factors combined bring us to one of the most interesting 2014 wedding photography trends. The experts predict this to be the year when the professionals will need to learn to set themselves apart from the non-pros. What’s the best way to do that? By finding a niche all your own and catering to the tastes of clients who know that a friend armed with a DSLR (no matter how expensive) is not quite the same thing as hiring a professional photographer.

Spectacular wedding albums

In terms of 2014 wedding photography trends, one thing is for sure: much like in 2013, high-quality fine-art printed albums will continue to rule. Yes, yes, we know: these days everyone and their grandmother has Internet access and is dying to share digital wedding photos on social media. However, while providing your clients with a DVD of pictures taken on the big day will remain the standard, what will truly set the professionals apart is the energy they invest into creating a beautiful book of hard-copy mementos.

Stagnant pricing

The economy is ever so slowly recovering, but while this doesn’t justify price increases, the afflux of hobbyists turned professionals in the field of wedding photography warrants that prices will stay the same. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as it means the clientele is getting used to the idea that access to professional wedding photography services is something that comes at a price. In brief, the clients are becoming educated – and this is happening thanks to a handful of professional wedding photogs who are standing their ground, even in the face of economic sluggishness. What they’re doing actually benefits the entire field, since it means that emerging photographers don’t have to start out from the very bottom, in terms of fees.

Wedding photography blogs

They’ve been around for just about as long as high-speed Internet connections, but the experts in 2014 wedding photography trends say that they’re here to stay for this year. It’s all thanks to the increasing weight and importance of online advertising. Social media has a lot to do with it, but so do the hefty prices that photographers are expected to pay, in order to have their work exhibited in bridal shows. Print advertising overall is declining and that’s obviously because there’s no comparing online publicity to what money can buy offline. As numerous professional wedding photogs are saying, these days a massive part of their business is coming in from their blog – so if you don’t have one already, you’d better get to it.

Filed Under: Blog, Business, Get Clients, Marketing, Online Marketing, Photo Niches, Pricing Tagged With: Blog, blogging, Digital Photography, marketing, Online Marketing, Photographer, photographers, Photography, Photography Business, Photography Marketing, sales, Wedding Photography

6 Must-See Photography Portfolio Websites

by Dave Hughes

You know that Virtual Photography Studio likes to keep you updated on all the latest trends in digital marketing and social media for wedding photographers. Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and newer platforms such as Viddy are all great, of course, and they stand to help you increase your visibility, as well as your revenue. However, they’re not all there is to it. On this great, big Internet, which also includes business pages and blogging, there’s also a special niche for portfolio websites. And if you’re at all serious about wedding photography (or any other form of visual media, in fact) you have got to be aware of them. Of course, no one expects you to keep track of them all, since there are literally hundreds, perhaps thousands out there. That’s why, in today’s post, we’ve rallied up the top 6 must-see photography portfolio websites.

Behance

By far the largest and best known of all the must-see photography portfolio websites, Behance is a free platform with millions of visitors at global level. You can easily customize your portfolio and there’s also no limit on how many creative projects you can upload to the site – be they photos, videos, or text entries. Another boon is just how seamlessly the site integrates social media tools, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and plenty of others.

Viewbook

It’s been around since 2009 and was founded in the Dutch city of Rotterdam. Its pricing scheme is subscription-based, with plans starting as low as $4 per month. While other sites on our list of must-see photography portfolio websites cater to various types of artists, this one is geared specifically toward graphic designers and photographers. The rendering for mobile devices that this site offers is incredible and it also comes with great social media support for Tumblr, Facebook, and other platforms.

Cargo Collective

This portfolio website offers pricing schemes in a freemium regime, which essentially means that you can sign-up and use it with limited functionality for free. However, if you want access to all the features, you will have to shell out upward of $9 per month. On the plus side, Cargo Collective has got one of the best integration systems for communities – and its community really is active and vibrant. On the downside, it’s not as easy to customize your portfolio here, as it is on other sites. As such, if you know nothing about code, perhaps you might want to look elsewhere.

Wix

Like Cargo Collective, on Wix you can sign up for free, but might want to pay for the extra features. A premium subscription will cost you at least $4.08 each month and the site is relatively easy to use. Unlike other must-see photography portfolio platforms on this list, this one is also accessible to artists who don’t have much experience with web development and coding. Also, the kind of website it creates for artists comes with an edge, compared to some of the other platforms: the sites are Google optimized.

Fresh.li

Easy to use and optimize, as well as loaded with a lot of goodies aimed at optimization, Fresh.li costs EUR5.75 per month. You can alter the fonts, colors, logos, and many other things on Fresh.li and can even use a personalized domain name on this website. Another plus: you don’t have to pay up right from the beginning, as the website offers you a free 30-day trial, albeit with limited functionalities.

Carbonmade

The “hassle-free online portfolio” experience offered by Carbonmade really requires no knowledge of HTML and the site is massive already. It hosts over 600,000 portfolios, most of which are owned by photographers or graphic designers. It may not be the best choice for videographers, but for a $12 monthly subscription, a wedding photographer could definitely benefit from being on this website.

Filed Under: Blog, Social Media, Social Networking Tagged With: blogging, marketing your photography business, Online Marketing, Photographer, photographers, photography portfolio, social media, Website, Wedding Photography

The 1-2-3 Marketing Mistake Most Photographers Make And Why It Kills Business

by Virtual Photography

Have you ever done this?

You get excited about blogging. So you create a blog and start writing content for your posts. You write the first month because you are excited. By the second month it’s getting a bit tedious, but you do it anyway. By the third month you are really questioning why you’re writing and you begin limiting your posts. You slip from every day to three times per week. No results. Month four is cancelled.

Or maybe you’ve decided to send postcards to certain zip codes to try and drum up business. You spend time creating a postcard and figuring out how to make it a powerful campaign. You’re excited about its potential and you ship the first month issue out enthusiastically. With no bites on the first go around, you’re a little more hesitant about month two, but you’re still dedicated to the concept. Month two’s postcards head out your door and into the mail. By month three, you’re very unsure about the whole thing. You may have had a call or two, but really no clients yet. Do you really want to do this and incur this expense? Maybe one more month; postcard three heads out the door. Month four – no sales, no great leads – it’s over.

This is what I call the 1-2-3 Marketing Mistake.

No matter what marketing tool you try, online or off, nothing will work spectacularly on its first go. (Okay, I’m sure you can find some case studies that show instant phenomenal results, but they are the case studies, not reality.)

People today want instant results. We can solve cases in one hour, thanks to television. We can see an entire generation move from birth to death, thanks to Hollywood movies. We know everyone can get rich overnight thanks to many of today’s marketing tools – just look through your email or watch an infomercial.

So why shouldn’t our marketing methods work just as quick?

We are exposed to so much content, so many ideas, so many messages, its almost impossible for the average person to understand your offer with one contact, especially if they don’t know they have a need yet.

Lets go back to our two examples.

If you’ve decided to set up a blog, there is only one thing you should be doing on a regular basis. Blog. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Blogging Tagged With: Blog, blogging, Marketing Mistakes Photographers Make, postcards

4 Steps To Turn Prospects Into Clients With Your Website

by Virtual Photography

As a photographer, what is the one thing that motivates your prospects to convert to clients? Your photographs?

Nope.

It’s actually your words.

Don’t believe me?

Head out and Google random photographers’ websites. You’ll quickly find the majority of photographers online today create a site driven by their photography.

Sure they say, “welcome to my site”. And they have a bio – very small that doesn’t really say much. And they may list their services with pricing and inclusions.

But then it’s on to the gallery. And it becomes a “best of” festival, showcasing whatever the photographer deems to be representative of their finest photography. 50, 100, 200 images – they take a few best shots from each clients’ file and upload them to a gallery.

No matter how beautiful the photography, the value of it starts getting lost as people go from one site to another, and they all pretty much look the same.

And its’ not just the photography. Even the website designs begin to look the same. It’s enough to leave any potential customer confused.

Which is where your words become more important than ever. Take a look at these two examples.

Example 1:

In this example, all your prospect sees when visiting your site is an image. They build their opinions strictly from the image you provide.

.

.

Example 2:

Instead of choosing a “best of” image, you put a selection of images from a past shoot and talk about the shoot:

Brent and Amanda’s Engagement

I was so excited when I booked Brent and Amanda’s wedding. I knew right away they were going to be a fun couple to work with. They wanted something different for their engagement setting, so I started asking them what was important to them. Amanda started telling me about the picnic lunch they shared right before Brent popped the question – all down by city park. I knew then where we had to photograph their engagement.

I met them there and instant magic started happening. With a little direction, they began having fun, and the photographs turned out exquisite.

They wanted a series of images to display at their reception site, so we didn’t take the standard images – instead we had some fun. Here are a couple of my favorites.

I’m SOOOO looking forward to their wedding in October up at the Ritz!

As a prospect, the first image is nice. But there is nothing that allows you to get “inside” what the clients were feeling; what the photographer’s intentions were.

With the second, the story unfolds. Even if you don’t know “Brent and Amanda”, you feel like you do. You get this happy feeling just by reading what transpired.

So ultimately, its in your words. Which is why I always recommend blogging. With every post you make, you can get into the details of what your last shoot was. It doesn’t take a novel or hundreds of words. Just a simple story like the one I wrote above. It’s 142 words.

If you HATE writing – I have a lot of people tell me that – here is a quick way to get your story out and on to your blog.

Outline

Pick your favorite images from the shoot. Not a ton, just 2 or 3. Why do you want to share them? What makes them special? Write down on a piece of paper three reasons why these mean something to you and how they best represent your client.

Freewrite

Take those three points and write. If you hate writing, speak. Dragon Software has a great product that allows you to talk while it takes notes. Or if you have a Mac with the new operating system, Mountain Lion, it has a dictation program that allows you to do the same. Just let yourself go without editing or concerning yourself with your language.

Read Aloud

Now start at the beginning and read it aloud. Things sound different when you speak them and it will help you discover hidden errors. Correct things as you go along to make it sound better.

Post

When you’re comfortable with your message, post it with your images. Don’t overthink this. Just do it. Your first try won’t be as good as your tenth. And that’s okay. The important thing is to let people see your work and your personality.

Filed Under: Website Marketing Tagged With: Blog, blog writing. content, blogging, copywriting, Online Marketing, prospects into clients, Website

Why A Blog Filled With Client Posts Is The Best Way To Sell

by Virtual Photography

How many clients will you be photographing this year?

Maybe you’re a wedding photographer. Your 2012 looks like this:

35 weddings

22 engagement sessions

10 trash the dress sessions

Maybe you’re a portrait photographer. Your 2012 looks like this:

50 family sessions

35 baby plans

100 high school senior sessions

Maybe you’re a commercial photographer. Your 2012 looks like this:

3 commercial jobs every month – 36 jobs for the year

Every single one of these sessions should be more than just the session. They should be made into a blog post to showcase your work and show other potential customers exactly what you can do. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Blogging Tagged With: Blog, blogging, client, posting, posts, sell, selling, testimonial

8 Simple Ways To Get People To Read What You Have To Say On Your Blog

by Virtual Photography

Blogging. Nothing online can make you more successful than the words you write on your blog.

But if you’ve ever slaved away over a post, spent tons of time carefully crafting your post, and had NO ONE read it, it can be a bit disheartening.

Or you may have experienced the opposite. Instead of writing, you post a dozen photos or so from your latest shoot and release them to the world. Yet if you factor out your client and her family, ZERO have seen it.

What’s a photographer to do?

Should you really keep writing? Should you keep placing your images in posts? Or maybe you should tweet instead.

Writing can be difficult. And many photographers are visual by nature – they like to photograph, not write. And while your blog is the perfect place to include a variety of images, photographs alone will not bring you success.

The key is in the writing.

Yet the key might not be in writing more; the key may be in writing less.

The problem with many photographers is they don’t spend enough time thinking about the way they write their content.

Dig Deeper: It’s the Greatest, Easiest, Most Profitable Way To Talk About Your Photography … So Why Aren’t You Doing It?

Think for a moment about how you approach search. When you search for new information, you use keywords in Google and head to the first relevant link.

Then you head over and scan the information. If you find something relevant immediately, you scan a bit more. The more you find, the more you read.

Words matter. But so do graphics. You use it all to quickly determine what your next step is.

Ultimately, it comes down to interest. And there are 8 ways you can structure your posts to capture even more interest with every post you create.

1. Use short, compelling paragraphs

Your English teach from high school may not approve, but in the blogging world, keep it short. Every paragraph should be short and too the point with equally short sentences. Two or three lines per paragraph is a good thing in the blogging world, and will leave you with plenty of white space.

2. Plan your subheadings first

When you start your blog post, your title should direct your content. Subheadings should help you divide it into thoughts. I’m a fan of making them bolder and stand out as well – something you see here with these 8 subheadings. They also help direct your content and help you stay on track. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Blogging Tagged With: Blog, blogging, get people to read your blog posts, posting, posts, writing

Blogging Is Booming For Business … If You Do It The Right Way

by Virtual Photography

Its easy to get caught up in the promise of big returns by using the latest social site – whatever that may be. Yet by jumping on the “latest and greatest” social networking site, you may be missing out on an opportunity that has been there all along.

Blogs are sometimes overlooked as the strong marketing tool they are. A recent study showed that blogs as sources of online buzz have increased over the last five years from 36 million to 181 million. Yet why are blogs still so strong? Should you be using them? And is there a right way … and a wrong way … to use a blog for your photography business?

Blogs Are The Backbone Of Success

Sarah is a photographer. When she decided to start her photography business, she had been unemployed for several months and didn’t have a lot of funds to invest in her new business. So she did what any savvy business owner would do and did everything she could for free. She printed off business cards on her home printer. And she started designing a Facebook page to showcase her work. She spent several months adding posts and content to Facebook and gradually built up a pretty good following. She gained over 2,000 followers and had a steady line of prospects and customers – enough to keep a steady income coming in every month.

Then someone got a hold of her Facebook password and started posting spam from her account. Facebook received a number of complaints and shut her account down. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Blogging Tagged With: blogging, business, Online Marketing, Photography Business, tips, Website

10 WordPress Themes Perfect For Today’s Photographer

by Virtual Photography

Do your New Year’s goals include building a new website? If so, WordPress is the perfect option for you.

Dig Deeper: The 10 Advantages of WordPress For Designing Your Photography Site

And while WordPress offers a ton of options to help you customize and create content to reach out to your clientele, it’s also great at “plug and play” technology. Because WordPress is so popular, with 1 in 5 sites now being built on a WordPress platform, there are many themes you can purchase that give you instant access to a professional look and feel. And the best thing about it is all of these themes are priced under $100, so they are perfect no matter if you are a start up, or a seasoned professional. Check out these 10 WordPress themes perfect for photographers.

Photopassion

Photopassion is a WordPress gallery theme that offers unique photo viewers, sliders and sidebar managers, a horizontal gallery slider, and 5 color variations.

Karma

Karma is a beautiful WordPress template that provides a ton of opportunity. It features a 3D slider that makes your photography pop, and comes with a ton of options for page layouts, color options and more.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Blogging Tagged With: Blog, blogging, premium, style, Theme, wordpress themes for photographers