“Okay… what should I be offering?” The answer will depend on your clients — and your photographic genre . Each genre requires different presentation. For example, a wedding photographer, with potential sales of hundreds of images, will require completely different products from a landscape specialist offering images intended for wall display. Bear in mind too that the most appropriate printing isn't just a personal preference but will depend on the products you want to offer. For example, we recommend silver halide over inkjet for applications where To View More >>

Previous |  Contents | Next Download the eBook "That process has two distinct stages—before and after the shoot. The first sells the booking, the second is the up-sell…" High-end photographers have been selling albums profitably for as long as we’ve been in business, but for many today it seems a lost art. Why? Obviously the world has changed — "shoot-and-share" and "just the files" are seductive ideas, and so is selling online. And who needs the hassle of getting people into the studio, playing nice, offering them bubbles and selling To View More >>

Previous |  Contents | Next Download the eBook There are so many reasons why the printed image matters, but long term accessibility to your most treasured photos is surely a deal breaker. Why printed images matter Back in the ’90s I remember walking back to our trade show booth behind two people from a neighbouring stand. They were into IT. As they approached our booth I heard one say to the other, “I feel sorry for these guys. How long can they last in the modern world?” It’s so long ago I feel like they must have been visionaries — how did they know To View More >>

Previous |  Contents | Next Download the eBook "Me me me! My favourite word." — Seth Godin The people paying Here’s the key thing about social photography. Those people in your viewfinder are paying your bills. All of your bills. And the images you take are more or less worthless to anyone else. What are your customers after? Why do they want their photographs taken? Actually, do they want their photographs taken? In social photography the trick is to understand that it’s not about the print, or the album, or the photography, or Photoshop, or what your peers think To View More >>

Previous |  Contents | Next Download the eBook Model yourselves on people who’ve built long, profitable careers — those who get as much fun out of making a sale as taking a picture. Predictions Here are some predictions for you: Over the course of your career new cameras and technology will continue to make it ever easier for anyone to take a half-decent picture and share it with their friends and family. Even so, many people will continue to make a good living using skills that they share with most people on the planet (not just photography — writing, cooking, To View More >>

Previous |  Contents | Next Download the eBook These are conversation starters, not a test. There’s more than one “right answer”. 1. Are there too many photographers? Do you think it’s different now to 10-20 years ago? If so, why? How does it impact your business, and can you do anything about it? 2. What is it that enables people to earn a living cooking, writing or taking pictures when almost everyone can do those things? What’s special about them? 3. How many commissions — weddings, portrait sittings etc — do you need, and how much does To View More >>

“Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known.” –  Oscar Wilde   In this series we shine a light on artists expressing their individuality, documenting what they love, working hard on their craft, and sharing it with the world.   Cole Holyoake is a Wellington based digital illustrator. He's also creatively involved in two tech start-ups and he's "deeply inspired" by influential figures around him.    Cole says his schedule can be chaotic and random — eight hours with a drawing tablet; or a mix of 3D modelling and drawing To View More >>

Here are twenty questions to think about, to help make your business better. It's thought-provoking and worth reviewing regularly, so get a pen and a piece of paper! 1. Are there too many photographers? Do you think it’s different now to 10-20 years ago? If so, why? Does it impact your business, and can you do anything about it? 2. What is it that enables people to earn a living cooking, writing or taking pictures when almost everyone can do those things? What’s special about them? 3. How many jobs do you need, and how much does each one need to pay you? (ie to cover you, your equipment, To View More >>

Should you focus all your marketing energy on finding new customers? Maybe not! Generating extra revenue from the clients you already have can be simple, effective and very satisfying. This excellent article by Ago Cluytens explains a few ways to go about it, and in this post we're going to look at how to apply his ideas to your photography business.  As you're reading, ask yourself, "How can I add value for my clients using these strategies?" It's not about taking, it's about giving more than people expect. 1. Cross-selling "...the ability To View More >>

In my short life I've listened to music played on 7″ and 12″ vinyl records, reel-to-reel tapes, 4-track tapes, 8-track tapes, compact cassettes, CDs, digital audio tapes, DVDs, Blu-ray discs, streaming-music services, and many digital audio formats. With each media came a new player, destined to become outdated and therefore inaccessible. There are lessons in that for photographers… A personal story about media loss, and the pain it causes Earlier this year my wife and I emptied the house where she grew up. We found her childhood box of nearly perfect 45 rpm To View More >>