Showing posts with label Business 101. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Business 101. Show all posts
Saturday, November 28, 2015
What's Next in the Field of Photography?
During FotoWeek DC's annual PhotoFest a few months ago, a group of concerned photography professionals brought together a series of presenters to talk briefly about what's next in the industry. I was among the presenters, and the presentations are now online on YouTube.
Here's the Highlights video (RSS readers see the video here):
After the jump is the entire presentation, in 5 clips...
Clip 1 of 5 (RSS readers view the clip at this link):
Clip 2 of 5 (RSS readers view the clip at this link):
Clip 3 of 5 (RSS readers view the clip at this link):
Clip 4 of 5 (RSS readers view the clip at this link):
Clip 5 of 5 (RSS readers view the clip at this link):
Please post your comments by clicking the link below. If you've got questions, please pose them in our Photo Business Forum Flickr Group Discussion Threads.
Read more »
Here's the Highlights video (RSS readers see the video here):
After the jump is the entire presentation, in 5 clips...
(Continued after the Jump)
Clip 1 of 5 (RSS readers view the clip at this link):
Clip 2 of 5 (RSS readers view the clip at this link):
Clip 3 of 5 (RSS readers view the clip at this link):
Clip 4 of 5 (RSS readers view the clip at this link):
Clip 5 of 5 (RSS readers view the clip at this link):
Please post your comments by clicking the link below. If you've got questions, please pose them in our Photo Business Forum Flickr Group Discussion Threads.
On Hiring A Wedding Photographer
For once, someone in the business of providing services to weddings that is NOT a photographer writes about what is needed when hiring a photographer to photograph your wedding. All to often, a writer who has no knowledge of what it means to be in the room for hours on end, behind the scenes, and so on, believes they have captured the essence of being a wedding photographer and what that means - and most importantly, what a prospective couple should look for.Evan Reitmeyer writes on his blog MyDeejay.com, in an article titled Hiring a Wedding Photographer (928/09), about just what the bride and groom should be looking for, by not only asking photographers in the DC and Baltimore areas about what you should watch out for, but he also filters those answers through his BS-meter so that you are not getting marketing gobbly-gook, but rather, a real and thus very helpful answer.
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He gets good answers to these questions:
Why is wedding photography so expensive?And poses these questions as well:
If a couple is on a specific budget, what are some ways they can get the most for their money?
Each photographer handles the rights to their photos differently. Can you explain the differences?
What are the differences between the major styles of wedding photography?In addition, they include a good list of questions to ask a wedding photographer. Evan wrote a great piece - thanks Evan!
What exactly does “wedding photojournalism” mean?
How important is it to meet the photographer before you hire them?
How important is it to find a photographer that’s a good match in terms of personality, or is liking their photos enough?
Are there any advantages of digital photography over film? Are there any disadvantages?
How important is it for a photographer to be familiar with the ceremony or reception site?
What are the advantages of having a “second shooter” to assist the photographer?
Every couple has a “shot list” for family photos, but what are some unique things they can do besides that?
What’s the most efficient way to get formal photos completed before the reception?
What if the bride and groom really don’t want to see each other before the ceremony?
What kind of advice do you give to couples to prepare for an engagement session?
What are your thoughts on the current trends in wedding photography, and where do you see things going?
Please post your comments by clicking the link below. If you've got questions, please pose them in our Photo Business Forum Flickr Group Discussion Threads.
Wednesday, November 25, 2015
The Art and Business of Photography
While one might consider it unusual that I would recommend and promote a book on the business of photography when I am the author of what could be considered a competing book, I genuinely believe that the more business knowledge that's available, the better it is for photographers.
It is to that end that I recommend you consider Susan Carr's book - The Art and Business of Photography,
which you can pre-order on Amazon now, and get it in a few weeks.
I've known Susan for a number of years, and worked with her on the ASMP Strictly Business 2 seminar a few years back. She not only edited the updated ASMP Business Practices book, 7th Edition, a few years back, but she also responsible for developing educational programing on professional photography for the ASMP as their Education Director, and has been for almost 4 years. So, she brings a learned perspective to the subject matter, and I am sure you'll garner significant insights from her book. So, pre-order it now.
Please post your comments by clicking the link below. If you've got questions, please pose them in our Photo Business Forum Flickr Group Discussion Threads.
Read more »
It is to that end that I recommend you consider Susan Carr's book - The Art and Business of Photography,
which you can pre-order on Amazon now, and get it in a few weeks.I've known Susan for a number of years, and worked with her on the ASMP Strictly Business 2 seminar a few years back. She not only edited the updated ASMP Business Practices book, 7th Edition, a few years back, but she also responsible for developing educational programing on professional photography for the ASMP as their Education Director, and has been for almost 4 years. So, she brings a learned perspective to the subject matter, and I am sure you'll garner significant insights from her book. So, pre-order it now.
(Comments, if any, after the Jump)
Please post your comments by clicking the link below. If you've got questions, please pose them in our Photo Business Forum Flickr Group Discussion Threads.
Sunday, November 22, 2015
"I Forgot" Is Not Acceptable
At the core of the housing crisis right now is one simple fact - people were buying houses they could not afford. Now, you can lay the blame on the banks who told people what they could afford, or the elected officials who bent the bank executives over and got them to loosen credit requirements, or you can lay the blame on the people themselves. Consumerist (Former Treasury Secretary Says He "Forgot" That People Had To "Afford Their House", 12/22/06) cites the New York Times article:
“The Bush administration took a lot of pride that homeownership had reached historic highs,” Mr. Snow said in an interview. “But what we forgot in the process was that it has to be done in the context of people being able to afford their house. We now realize there was a high cost.”How does this apply to photography?
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Before you can know what to charge, you must know what it costs to be in business. If you are charging $X and you don't factor in costs like depreciation, or the fact that you will be paying between 40 and 50% of your profits to the government, the sentence "I forgot to include the cost of my cameras in my cost of doing business", or "I spent all the money that came in. I forgot that I had to pay half that to the government."
Forgetting these things is unacceptable. Here's a re-wording of the quote above:
“John Doe Photography took a lot of pride in his photography and how so many people were hiring him for assignments,” Mr. Doe said while in line for his welfare check. “But what I forgot in the process was that the business of being a full-time photographer has to be done in the context of charging more than it costs to be in business. I now realize there was a high cost that wasn't reflected in what I charged my clients.”
Do not be like a starry-eyed Doe in the headlights. Determine what it truly costs for you to be in business, and take that into consideration when setting your rates. Check out the NPPA Cost of Doing Business (CDB) Calculator to get a start.
Please post your comments by clicking the link below. If you've got questions, please pose them in our Photo Business Forum Flickr Group Discussion Threads.
Saturday, November 21, 2015
When It Gets Slow
I spent a good portion of November being much slower than I wanted. In fact, I panicked a bit. Not the January/August panic that happens despite almost 20 years of photography that tells me that those are my slow months. It was a "oh my God the phone isn't ringing, I need new clients" panic. A scheduled rate increase set for January I was rethinking, and I gave serious thoughts to accepting lower paying assignments, and, I looked at my bank account to see how much longer the business would run if the phone didn't ring again.(Continued after the Jump)
I started with an aggressive marketing campaign, directed at both short-term clients, as well as long term ones. I did A LOT of research (with all my spare time) on exactly the clients that fit those descriptions, and I began a targeted campaign to these prospects. (I have been espousing this solution at each of the places I have given presentations over the past few years). One of the things I haven't done a lot of in recent years is marketing, because we are at and exceeding our capacity to service our existing client base via word-of-mouth referrals.
One of the things that people in the know in marketing will tell you is that you should always be marketing, and I was concerned I'd fallen into that trap. Yet getting "cold" clients has a significant curve to it. Teaching the clients why you're worth what you are, explaining the rights issues, and otherwise just prooving yourself means a lot of effort for a potentially diminished return. This is why, for example, I wouldn't put myself in a pool of 10+ photographers a bride is considering, and when I get a client who wants me to do a site visit to the National Press Club days before the event (I have done hundreds of events there) I give pause to that assignment. These are among the downsides to "cold" clients. When you come via word-of-mouth, you're their photographer, if you're available, and when I get to an "exceeds capacity" situation, then that's not good.
As late November rolled around, a few calls came in for December, and now December assignments this year exceed our average, and last year as well. Further, January is booking up - unusual for a clientele that, 90% of the time, books a week or so out.
What I concluded as I considered why this happened, was that it was all about the election. No one wanted to do anything in DC until they knew what was happening, and the election din had died down a bit. I had thought of that when doing my research, and I looked back at the assignment data from 2000, and realized that that was bad data because that was right around when the dot-com crash was, so it wasn't really useful.
We are now back on track for a normal 2008 (overall), and, armed with many many prospects for 2009, I expect we will be growing our business once again, and we'll maintain the marketing outreach as well. Our rate increase is no longer a question mark, and January is filling up.
I know that people get this idea that doing it free or slashing rates is a solution, but I did not succumb to that. In looking at the bank account I concluded I had 3-4 months worth of operating revenue to sustain the business even if the phones never rang again, and that was before considering things like selling gear, getting a loan, or any of the other solutions. I was committed to maintaining my rates (which are a fair value) up until I shuttered the business. If you're a restaurant and you've determined that it costs $10 to make a dish that you serve for $16, just because you're slow you don't slash the price of the dish to $8 in order to get business. Doing so attracts the wrong clientele (i.e. a non-sustaining one) and then when it gets busy you can't raise your rates back to where they were. The old adage "we lose a little on each sale but make it up on volume" doesn't work for them, and it won't work for you.
One of the clients that came on during the pause was one who, for them, price wasn't a deciding factor, it was just a detail. They booked coverage of a one-hour press conference, wanted rush services and duplicate CD's and proofs, and the entire estimate exceeded $2k. Then, they added on a separate portrait session with lights for $2k+. There wasn't any debate about if the price was too high. When the call for that assignment came in, it was slow, and I thought about reducing the estimate, but I did not, thankfully.
Resist sliding backwards to a client base you might of once had but have now migrated upwards (price-wise) from. Re-group and re-think your marketing outreach. Reduce operating costs, and remain focused. Your business isn't a sprint, it's a marathon. Think long term.
Please post your comments by clicking the link below. If you've got questions, please pose them in our Photo Business Forum Flickr Group Discussion Threads.
Saturday, November 7, 2015
Doing Less Costs You More
One of my daily reads is Seth Godin's blog. He has a lot of good things to say, and I know that others, including Leslie Burns Dell'Acqua reads him daily as well, and she too highlighted his message for the day about mediocrity. I'll take a similar tact.When you are not paying attention to the details, you could well cost your business a lot of money, and certainly a diminished reputation. Today, Seth wrote - The sad lie of mediocrity - "The sad lie of mediocrity is the mistaken belief that partial effort yields partial results. In fact, the results are usually totally out of proportion to the incremental effort."
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Here are a few examples:
1) Recently, a colleague of mine wrote to someone, and addressed them as "Mrs." The problem is, she is a he.
2) An estimate went to a client with a DC and a NYC office. The address error to someone paying attention was something like below:
Because a large majority of our clients are DC based, the software we use auto-fills in Washington DC for that client, but someone wasn't paying attention when that estimate went out.
John Smith
Big Corporate Client
1234 Madison Ave, 5th Floor
Washington DC 10017John Smith
Big Corporate Client
1234 Madison Ave, 5th Floor
New York NY 10017
Paying attention to details, smiling when you're talking to clients, being upbeat and positive during those interactions, saying things like "let me figure out a way to make that happen..." instead of "I don't know if that's possible", and so many other variations on that theme are what differentiates you from your competition. Don't say "the problem we might run into with doing it that way...". Instead, try "we'll have a bit of a challenge in trying to make things work that way...", which suggests you are up for the challenge, and are thinking of ways to solve the problem.
Excellent customer service is key. Customer dis-service, distain, or mediocrity when cast in their direction is a disaster. You just might not realize it until it's too late.
Please post your comments by clicking the link below. If you've got questions, please pose them in our Photo Business Forum Flickr Group Discussion Threads.
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