In the next few weeks I will show you how to capitalize on these techniques all while having fun and making it residual. Check out the step by step instructions and tips on how to make a stop motion film using your camera. If nothing else, it will prove to be fun!
read more | digg story
Friday, January 18, 2008
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
12 Creative Ways To Get Your Photos Seen
It’s the first step for any budding photography business. It’s the task that every photographer has to accomplish if they’re going to sell pictures and earn from their images.And it looks like the toughest one of all.You have to get people to see your photos.Here are 12 creative ways to do it
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Friday, January 11, 2008
Do you want to make more photo sales???
So, you've got your brain ticking and you're ready to go get some business... but you say "WAIT!!! I need to better my skills before I charge people for my services!" or "When I shoot assignments, my clients don't purchase that many prints" or "I wish I had something that REALLY set my photography apart from the crowd"...
Those are all common insecurities in photographers professional or amature. The one thing that I can definitely say is that you need to get out and shoot every single day. Hone your skills and step outside your own boundaries every time you shoot, EVEN ON GIGS.
The way I see it, as long as you have your assignment shots covered, take a little time to try something experimental. You'll end up with some really neat images that might end up making you a little extra money, even if you don't think the photos are that great. "Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and then." And remember this: When you're being paid to do work for a client, it matters not what you think of the photos... it only matters how your end client sees them.
With that said, there are several things that you can do to set your photography apart and step it up from amature or semi-pro level to PRO level.
In Digital Photography Secrets, David Peterson gives the inside scoop on how professionals get that extra edge by making their pictures look stunning every single time. It could the difference between a sale, and a space wasting photo sitting on your hard drive.
On top of that, David gives you several other tips and tricks to make your photos more interesting, from composition tips to techniques for taking photos it's sure to improve your photography all around!
Think of it as an investment in your career...
Those are all common insecurities in photographers professional or amature. The one thing that I can definitely say is that you need to get out and shoot every single day. Hone your skills and step outside your own boundaries every time you shoot, EVEN ON GIGS.
The way I see it, as long as you have your assignment shots covered, take a little time to try something experimental. You'll end up with some really neat images that might end up making you a little extra money, even if you don't think the photos are that great. "Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and then." And remember this: When you're being paid to do work for a client, it matters not what you think of the photos... it only matters how your end client sees them.
With that said, there are several things that you can do to set your photography apart and step it up from amature or semi-pro level to PRO level.
In Digital Photography Secrets, David Peterson gives the inside scoop on how professionals get that extra edge by making their pictures look stunning every single time. It could the difference between a sale, and a space wasting photo sitting on your hard drive.
On top of that, David gives you several other tips and tricks to make your photos more interesting, from composition tips to techniques for taking photos it's sure to improve your photography all around!
Think of it as an investment in your career...
Thursday, January 10, 2008
12 Top Sites for Photographers and Photo Enthusiasts
I found a neat little article that I thought I would share with everyone. It's got 12 sites that are really informative, even some I'd never been to. Check em out by clicking on the "read more" link below.
Want to find great photographs, learn how to make them or even make money from the photographs you have already taken? Whether you are looking for great photography from talented artists or want to improve your abilities or income as a photographer, this list has something for you. Sorted into advice, blogs and further resources, here are 12 of.....
read more | digg story
Want to find great photographs, learn how to make them or even make money from the photographs you have already taken? Whether you are looking for great photography from talented artists or want to improve your abilities or income as a photographer, this list has something for you. Sorted into advice, blogs and further resources, here are 12 of.....
read more | digg story
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Back in business! I've been cured...
So, we left off a week or so ago with the thought of proactive marketing. I would have updated this sooner, but some computer genius found a great way to steal all of my information and put the she-bosh on my computers functionality. Anyhow...
What is Proactive Marketing?
I'll start with http://www.dictionary.com's definition of proactive: Acting in advance to deal with an expected difficulty. Combine that with marketing and that is essentially what we're talking about.
Wait, you don't know what marketing is? Oh bother....
Marketing, in layman's terms, is: Everything within your sales cycle that establishes a brand or identity and carries out the function of providing a product or service to a consumer. Like that? I made it up myself. :)
Almost anything you do as a "company" could be considered marketing in some form or another. It's a sticky word that I hated learning about. So, for the purposes of this blog, we'll be talking about marketing as it pertains to the sales of your services.
As you'll remember, I was talking to my buddy Jeff a few weeks ago and he was broke as a joke and couldn't figure out a way to bring in more business to save his life! His "marketing plan" was to post some ads on craigslist and sit back and wait.... effective.
Well, I must report that within the last week and a half, Jeff has managed to obtain 5 new photography gigs and he'll probably clear $2200.00 between the lot (meaning total money for all gigs).
So, what did I tell him to do? Be Proactive!
I sent Jeff away with a to-do list of 14 items. These items are:
1. Get business cards made. Can you believe that he didn't have any business cards? He's trying to break into a new industry and has no way of promoting himself. It is ABSOLUTELY IMPERATIVE to have business cards... and lots of them! Focus on simplicity and quality. Business cards that are too busy or use scripted fonts are hard for clients to read. The average business card only gets about 7 seconds of life... you have to make the most of it. There are plenty of great places to get cards from, some are even free! The most important part of this item, though, is this: PASS THEM OUT TO EVERYONE. You're in line at the grocery store? Give one to the person in front and behind you. You're out in the club? Pick up a hottie by asking to take their picture (a good portfolio builder if you find the right one). At work? Leave them on co-workers desks.
2. Make a list. Make a list of every single person you know and start yourself an Excel spreadsheet for future clients. Include different columns for each piece of vital information: Name, Address, City, State, Zip, Phone, email, Contact Date, First Shoot Date, First Order Value, etc. If you don't know how to use Excel, here's a decent starting point. If you can't find the info there, google it. :)
3. Make at least 50 calls. Yep, the one thing that everyone in the world hates to do. The difference here is that these aren't cold calls. These are warm calls to people that you know. These calls should be for the sole purpose of letting everyone know that you are a photographer and asking for referrals. Ask questions like, "Do you know of anyone that needs photos taken?", etc. Don't make this too formal, just call to touch base and mention it. You're allowed to call people like this for no reason so stop feeling silly.
4. Go to 100 Doors. Canvas a professional building. I wouldn't recommend going from home to home, this is more for corporate events and other things. Walk in, ask to speak with the manager and tell them that "you'll be in the building(plaza, strip mall, etc) doing headshots for business cards and promotional materials on the week of __/___/___. Prices are: ____". Try to book them on the spot. ***This is how I got most of my business when I started.*** It's a drag, and you'll get shot down 8 out of 10 times... but the 2 times you make it happen pay for the whole day.
5. Shoot 2 pro-bono gigs a month. What? I thought this was a blog about making money in photography... It is, my friends, but there is no way to get your name out faster than doing pro-bono or barter work. Don't just shoot anyone for free... that's bad for the market. Shoot free events for charities and non profits or even use it as a negotiation tool for securing bigger fish. "I'm so confident that you'll love my work that I'll shoot the first even for free". The object here is to make the freebie pay for its self with word of mouth. Shooting a portrait session for free isn't going to do diddly squat for your marketing...
6. Start looking for a niche. What you're looking for is a sector of the market that isn't saturated in your area. A sector that pays well and is easy to shoot. While this isn't a form of instant money, this is set-up for the long haul. It's easy to default to "wedding photographer" and compete with everyone and their brother in a market that is highly competitive, with tons of talent. Look elsewhere for people that see value in photography out of necessity. Places like insurance companies, leasing and lending companies and people that just plain don't have the time to document assets for appraisals, etc.
7. Start your online presence. You need a place for people to go to take a look at your work. We're living in 2008 now, you should at least have a blog. There are plenty of free website templates out there that would easily accomplish a starter site. The end goal obviously being that you need your own site built, but for starters, your clients aren't going to notice that much of a difference. We're trying to keep this as cheap as possible. The first thing you need to do is head on over to GoDaddy or 1Coms or NameCheap and get yourself a domain. Then, find some hosting, or even redirect your domain to your personal webspace that your internet provider should be allowing you. Now, go get a free website template and start your site. If you've got coding knowledge, awesome... If not, do a google search to learn a little CSS and HTML and you should be all set.
Okay, that's only 7 of the things that I gave Jeff.... but that should keep you MORE than busy for the next few weeks. I'll be making a post in another week or so with the following seven items on the to-do list. If you remember nothing else from this post, just remember this: You need to be aggressive in getting your name out there, tell everyone you know that you're a photographer. Mention it to everyone you meet. Make it a topic of discussion any chance you get. Utilize your contact with others and leverage that to make yourself successful.
Just a word or two about commitment, if you're going to make this into something serious, you're going to have to take this seriously. Get out there and just bite the bullet and DO IT! At this point, there is nothing stopping you from becoming a photographer and making money with your camera! So, make it happen... and post some comments telling me a story about your adventure into this new and exciting industry.
It's 5:34 in the morning and I haven't slept yet... I'm going to bed. haha.
Wait, you don't know what marketing is? Oh bother....
Marketing, in layman's terms, is: Everything within your sales cycle that establishes a brand or identity and carries out the function of providing a product or service to a consumer. Like that? I made it up myself. :)
Almost anything you do as a "company" could be considered marketing in some form or another. It's a sticky word that I hated learning about. So, for the purposes of this blog, we'll be talking about marketing as it pertains to the sales of your services.
As you'll remember, I was talking to my buddy Jeff a few weeks ago and he was broke as a joke and couldn't figure out a way to bring in more business to save his life! His "marketing plan" was to post some ads on craigslist and sit back and wait.... effective.
Well, I must report that within the last week and a half, Jeff has managed to obtain 5 new photography gigs and he'll probably clear $2200.00 between the lot (meaning total money for all gigs).
So, what did I tell him to do? Be Proactive!
I sent Jeff away with a to-do list of 14 items. These items are:
1. Get business cards made. Can you believe that he didn't have any business cards? He's trying to break into a new industry and has no way of promoting himself. It is ABSOLUTELY IMPERATIVE to have business cards... and lots of them! Focus on simplicity and quality. Business cards that are too busy or use scripted fonts are hard for clients to read. The average business card only gets about 7 seconds of life... you have to make the most of it. There are plenty of great places to get cards from, some are even free! The most important part of this item, though, is this: PASS THEM OUT TO EVERYONE. You're in line at the grocery store? Give one to the person in front and behind you. You're out in the club? Pick up a hottie by asking to take their picture (a good portfolio builder if you find the right one). At work? Leave them on co-workers desks.
2. Make a list. Make a list of every single person you know and start yourself an Excel spreadsheet for future clients. Include different columns for each piece of vital information: Name, Address, City, State, Zip, Phone, email, Contact Date, First Shoot Date, First Order Value, etc. If you don't know how to use Excel, here's a decent starting point. If you can't find the info there, google it. :)
3. Make at least 50 calls. Yep, the one thing that everyone in the world hates to do. The difference here is that these aren't cold calls. These are warm calls to people that you know. These calls should be for the sole purpose of letting everyone know that you are a photographer and asking for referrals. Ask questions like, "Do you know of anyone that needs photos taken?", etc. Don't make this too formal, just call to touch base and mention it. You're allowed to call people like this for no reason so stop feeling silly.
4. Go to 100 Doors. Canvas a professional building. I wouldn't recommend going from home to home, this is more for corporate events and other things. Walk in, ask to speak with the manager and tell them that "you'll be in the building(plaza, strip mall, etc) doing headshots for business cards and promotional materials on the week of __/___/___. Prices are: ____". Try to book them on the spot. ***This is how I got most of my business when I started.*** It's a drag, and you'll get shot down 8 out of 10 times... but the 2 times you make it happen pay for the whole day.
5. Shoot 2 pro-bono gigs a month. What? I thought this was a blog about making money in photography... It is, my friends, but there is no way to get your name out faster than doing pro-bono or barter work. Don't just shoot anyone for free... that's bad for the market. Shoot free events for charities and non profits or even use it as a negotiation tool for securing bigger fish. "I'm so confident that you'll love my work that I'll shoot the first even for free". The object here is to make the freebie pay for its self with word of mouth. Shooting a portrait session for free isn't going to do diddly squat for your marketing...
6. Start looking for a niche. What you're looking for is a sector of the market that isn't saturated in your area. A sector that pays well and is easy to shoot. While this isn't a form of instant money, this is set-up for the long haul. It's easy to default to "wedding photographer" and compete with everyone and their brother in a market that is highly competitive, with tons of talent. Look elsewhere for people that see value in photography out of necessity. Places like insurance companies, leasing and lending companies and people that just plain don't have the time to document assets for appraisals, etc.
7. Start your online presence. You need a place for people to go to take a look at your work. We're living in 2008 now, you should at least have a blog. There are plenty of free website templates out there that would easily accomplish a starter site. The end goal obviously being that you need your own site built, but for starters, your clients aren't going to notice that much of a difference. We're trying to keep this as cheap as possible. The first thing you need to do is head on over to GoDaddy or 1Coms or NameCheap and get yourself a domain. Then, find some hosting, or even redirect your domain to your personal webspace that your internet provider should be allowing you. Now, go get a free website template and start your site. If you've got coding knowledge, awesome... If not, do a google search to learn a little CSS and HTML and you should be all set.
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Okay, that's only 7 of the things that I gave Jeff.... but that should keep you MORE than busy for the next few weeks. I'll be making a post in another week or so with the following seven items on the to-do list. If you remember nothing else from this post, just remember this: You need to be aggressive in getting your name out there, tell everyone you know that you're a photographer. Mention it to everyone you meet. Make it a topic of discussion any chance you get. Utilize your contact with others and leverage that to make yourself successful.
Just a word or two about commitment, if you're going to make this into something serious, you're going to have to take this seriously. Get out there and just bite the bullet and DO IT! At this point, there is nothing stopping you from becoming a photographer and making money with your camera! So, make it happen... and post some comments telling me a story about your adventure into this new and exciting industry.
It's 5:34 in the morning and I haven't slept yet... I'm going to bed. haha.
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