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 Social media platforms encourage you to feed them constantly. Fair enough, they have the audience. But you need to feed yourself!  You’re lucky Photographers are fortunate in that their work generates rivers of desirable online content. You need to avoid giving away the Crown Jewels, and you need your clients’ permission to share, but your photography is a wonderful online resource. The ideal Things aren’t always ideal in the real world, but nevertheless… — Real friends are better than Facebook friends. To View More >>

Previous |  Contents | Next Download the eBook GOOD is what gets people in the door, like a newspaper headline or a “special” at the supermarket. Good is what makes you competitive. Don’t offer just one service, offer choices. Don’t assume the deal that encourages people to get in touch with you is the one they’ll commit to later (once you’ve open their eyes to how good you are, and what you can do for them). And don’t assume that they won’t go even further once they’ve fallen in love with their own photographs. That’s the To View More >>

Previous |  Contents | Next Download the eBook Our brand isn’t a look but a promise kept — not what we say but what we do. Value Imagine if you said, “I want you to pay me what you think I’m worth.” Most people would imagine themselves out of business. We need to tell our clients what we’re worth, and live up to our rhetoric. What is the value of your work to people who don’t know you, or how much they should be paying? The value of a compelling and authentic brand is that it tells people the price of entry and helps them see it’s worth 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 “Measure results, change activities.” — Keith Cunningham Focused I’ve never met a photographer with a more analytical approach to his business than Craig. He was a wedding photographer whose goal was to clear “100k in 100 Days” from 30 weddings. (The actual figures don’t matter — they just sound snappy — so I’m not going to tell you when, where or in what currency.) Many a photographer has built a profitable business out of shooting 30 or 40 weddings a year, bur Craig’s 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 >>

If you’re a photographer wanting to make a living from your work, you have two big jobs todo — shoot pictures and sell them! Referrals and person-to-person contact are important ways to get your work in front of people, but we live in an online world, which means getting traffic to your website is too. That’s why, whether you’re selling wedding photography, school photography, portraiture, fine art or decor, you need to know about SEO. It’s a crucial aspect of  online marketing  and  website management  designed to help you get found online.   To View More >>

We believe successful wedding and portrait photographers need to love two things — taking photos and making sales! So we love to see our clients running promotions, and we like to help with them if we can. You can run successful promos for any number of reasons, for example a  Winter Sale, an offer to past clients or to book new ones. Or to promote a good cause, your new products, or your new website. The point is they're YOUR promotions. We're just here to help if we can, generally with 15% additional discount on all Queensberry To View More >>

Ever since digital replaced film as the photographers’ tool of choice, there’s been a rapid rise in reported cases of Photographer’s Herd Instinct Disease (PHID). Like other herd behaviors (buffalo grazing, people drinking Kool-Aid®, etc.) the symptoms of PHID include needing to hang out with the rest of the herd, think the same thoughts and do the same things. PHID is viral and highly contagious, and affects wedding and portrait photographers in particular. Although often transmitted through direct photographer-to-photographer contact, recent studies suggest that software To View More >>