Disclosure:  There are many ways to become a successful photographer.  The purpose of this article is to open your mind.

As a photographer you may find yourself comparing yourself to other photographers.  “Oh I want to shoot like that person.”  “She seems so successful, how do I become that successful?”  This is the easiest way to set yourself up for failure!  Everyone has different goals and ways of  measuring success.  Comparing yourself to other photographers is so much easier due to the evolution of technology.  Facebook and Twitter have given photographers a new medium for showcasing their work and updating the world of all their success.  Yeah…we all know how annoying it is when photographers feel obligated to broadcast every inquiry and booking they get.  That’s their job thought right?  I would hate to follow the local waste treatment plant worker on Twitter!  Ha!

Life is like preparing for a sailing trip.  You first have to decide where you want to go.  Do you want to head out on the lake for small trip with the family?  Do you want to sail for a 3 year journey around the world with a full crew?  Once you decide a destination, you have to plan and prepare before you set sail.  Do keep in mind that both of these journeys are very different and it’s hard to compare them to each other.

As the Captain of a small sail boat you take on many duties yourself.  Although the duties are usually manageable if you come up with a system. You won’t have to worry to much since the lake is small.  On the other hand if you have a large ship you will need many crew members.  There is no way you will be able to sail the world with out a navigator, cook and other crew members.

NOTE:  These are just examples of the two extremes to help illustrate a point.

Ben the Photog:  Ben is a photographer that shoots 25 local weddings a year and about 40 portrait sessions.  He has a great work-flow.  He edits all his own photos and designs his own albums in the comfort of his living room.  Two times a day he walks his dog to the park and picks up his kids from school.  His small operation allows him to just spend 40 hours a week on his business.  With his free time he hangs out with his family and takes two vacations a year.  Every Thursday he hangs out with “the guys” for some poker and beers.  Then the 3rd Friday of every month Ben takes his wonderful wife out for dinner and a movie.

Lacy the Photog:  She is a photographer that shoots about 15 international weddings per year.  She has 4 assistants/staff members that help her shoot, edit, design and manage her studio.  She teaches about 20 workshops a year for other photographers.  Lacy is also in the speaking circuit.  Every year she attends WPPI, DWF, PPE and PartnerCon.  She also has a side business that sells various resources to photographers.  Over 60% of the year she is staying in hotels, eating fast food and away from home.

Are they both successful?  Think about it.  Let’s say Ben’s goal is to have a business that allowed him to spend time with his family and friends.  His business revolves around his life.   By the sounds of it he is VERY successful right!  Lacy is VERY successful too if her goal was to dominate the industry and travel a lot.   Her life revolve around her business.  Donald Trump was VERY successful too…except with his marriages. 

So as a photographer do you want a small boat or large ship?  First you have to ask yourself what your goal is and where you want to go.  Do you want your photography business to help create a lifestyle for you and your family?  Do you want to be able to make your own hours and spend more time doing other things?  Do you wanna make a lot of money?  Do you want to have several assistants and a studio?  Do you want to shoot destination weddings and travel often?  So many questions I know.  Although it is so important to define your goals before you start your journey to success!

If you define yourself then you own your own success.  ~ Ben Harper

~Rob

The Canon 35L f1.4 prime lens is a small and excellent lens from the experts at Canon. The lens features excellent build and shot quality and is particularly adept at full body portrait shots, low-lighting uses and wide-angle uses. Its small size makes it easy to handle and to work with on the fly. Read on to learn more about the features and specifications of the Canon 35L f1.4 lens.

This lens retails for about $1,400 and is packed with appealing features that make it a very highly regarded lens. The lens is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, 3.11” x 3.39”, and weighs just 1.8 pounds. The lens fits well on the camera body and is not bulky, even with the lens hood on. The lens produces very sharp images and takes a 72mm filter size.

The lens is internal focus and supports both manual and auto-focus with a switch to control the focus function. The AF drive system uses a rear focus system and a ring ultrasonic motor for smooth adjustments supporting full time manual focus. Distance information is provided to the camera and the minimum focus distance on this 35 mm lens is 11.8 while the maximum magnification is .18x.

The Canon 35L f1.4 works best in its niche of full body portraits and low-light conditions. The lens is able to focus quickly even in low light, making it a good choice for weddings and events at churches or schools. The combination of a wide focal length and fast aperture works well in indoor situations with no flash. Photographers should be aware of the depth of field in these situations and take care when shooting in tight space situations to avoid subject motion. Buyers should also be aware that at f1.4, the lens produces images that are a bit soft and have a little bit of vignetting on the corners.

The lens also works well for wide-angle application such as landscape photography, and some people say that this application is the lenses strongest point. The depth of field, aperture speed, color and contrast, as well as its focus ability in low light conditions make this lens a top choice for many landscape, outdoor photographers and wedding photographer.

L-series professional f/1.4 wide-angle lens with an aspherical lens element to correct aberrations. The floating system enables high picture quality to be obtained over the entire focusing range. Autofocusing is quick and quiet with rear focusing and ring USM. Full-time manual focusing is also possible.

Focal Length & Maximum Aperture: 35mm 1:1.4
Lens Construction: 11 elements in 9 groups
Diagonal Angle of View: 63°
Focus Adjustment: Rear focusing system with USM
Closest Focusing Distance: 0.3m / 1 ft.
Filter Size: 72mm
Max. Diameter x Length, Weight: 3.1? x 3.4?, 20.5 oz. / 79.0 x 86.0mm, 580g

]]> http://www.photogshootout.com/blog/2010/01/29/canon-ef-35mm-f1-4l-usm-lens-review/feed/ 1 http://www.photogshootout.com/blog/2010/01/28/forecasting-your-success-as-a-photographer/ http://www.photogshootout.com/blog/2010/01/28/forecasting-your-success-as-a-photographer/#comments Thu, 28 Jan 2010 04:37:20 +0000 bossman http://www.photogshootout.com/blog/?p=199 Today I had an in-depth conversation with my good friend, awesome photographer and fellow entrepreneur; Garrett Delph.  We explored how multi-layered experiences can lead to successful business ventures.  The analogy I came up with had to do with the formation of hail. Hail is only formed when the weather conditions are just right.  During its journey, a single piece of hail may travel as high as 60, 000 feet into the atmosphere, stay suspended for up to an hour and collect several layers of ice before falling to Earth’s surface. Then I thought how weather forecasting is so much like business planning!  Yes my inner geek came out in full force as I tapped into my Naval Meteorology Training to find these parallels.

Just like forecasting the weather, creating a successful business has many steps and variables.  Meteorology as a whole is not an exact science.  As most have realized from all the busted forecasts by your local weather guesser….eeeerrrrrr….I mean weather person.  ” Yup…there is a 50/50 chance something is gonna happen today…or tomorrow.  Back to you Tom for Sports.”

Before becoming a wedding photographer, I spent 6 long years in the US Navy as a weather observer and forecaster.  My job was to observe, collect, record, analyze and forecast meteorological and oceanographic data.  Then present briefs concerning current and predicted environmental conditions and their effect on military operations.  Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz right?

In non-geek terms, it was my job to observe and forecast the weather for missions.  Some days I’d get a few calls to relay basic wind data for pilots.  Other days it was my job to recommend what specific missiles pilots should drop on Afghanistan depending on the forecasted weather!  True story.  (Note:  That info is not classified so I won’t have to kill you. jk )

To this day I use much of what I learned from the Navy.  From data collection, to analysis, finding patterns…all the way to forecasting!  Who needs business school right?

Here are 5 steps that can be used to increase the likely-hood of success of a business:

1. Observe – to take notice. to make observations.
2. Collect – to bring together into one body or place.
3. Record – to set down in writing : furnish written evidence of.
4. Analyze – to study or determine the nature and relationship of the parts of by analysis.
5. Forecast – to calculate or predict (some future event or condition) usually as a result of study and analysis of available pertinent data.

Observing the conditions.

Every hour on the hour my job was to step outside and observe the current weather conditions.  Essentially I would take these observations, compare them to past weather conditions and that would help me forecast the future!  Easy enough.   So as a wedding photographer you should be attending bridal shows and I don’t mean spending $400+ on a booth.  Go as a guest…best part is you can float around and network with other vendors!  Sssshhhh.   Have you ever bought a wedding magazine to see what the current trends are?  What wedding photographers in your area show up on Google searches for popular keywords?  What’s the average cost of wedding photography in your town/city?   Have you searched the local wedding forums to see what the brides are talking about?  Go observe your market place.

Collect the data.

Consider collecting data as your market research.  You have to put yourself into your prospective clients’ shoes.  Get inside their heads.  Read what they read.  Eat what they eat.  Shop where they shop. Go where they go.  Although don’t get caught looking in their window at night!  Trespassing and a restraining order is hard to clear off your permanent record.    Without data you can’t analyze.  If you can’t analyze, you won’t see the patterns.  If you don’t see patterns…you cant forecast!  Ya feel me???

Keep record of the data.

This is probably the most tedious part of the process.  Believe me.  Over 6 years, I recorded over 6000 hours of weather data.  Now as a wedding photographer I have recorded every single wedding inquiry I have ever received, since day one.  Now I’m familiar with how popular the 3rd Saturday in September is!  So I can be very selective on booking that date knowing that I will receive many requests for that day.  I’ve noticed that the average booking window for me is about 8 months.  So I don’t worry if my bookings are lower then normal around December.  My geekiness has paid off!

Analyzing the data.

This to me is the best part!  Yes it can be over whelming.  Yes it is time consuming.  Yes I’ve lost sleep trying to “break the code.” I find a thrill extracting info, connecting the dots and finding the patterns!

Forecasting.

This step is the most important.  Many photographers fill their calenders up as they feel that is the true definition of success.  They work so hard IN their business that they never work ON their business.  All successful businesses need to find the balance between execution and planning.  Every great artist…and business man/woman should step back periodically to evaluate their work.  During this periods it a good time to take all the data you’ve observed, collected, records and analyzed…to forecast!  Forecast growth, forecast market trends, forecast sales, forecast budget………

It is so important to do your research before starting a business.  This will help to improve your odds of success!

What do you think?

~Rob

Wedding photographer

“How many passed does the team in white make?”  Easy.  My first instinct was to quickly study the team in white.  A brief glance told me that the white team had 4 people of various sizes.  The passing started and I deduced the easiest way to count was to lock my eyes on the basketball.  Similar to locking onto one blade of a ceiling fan to follow the rotation. At this point I was wathcing the ball and not the individual players on the team in white.  2…3…4….5…I counted.  At the end my guess was 12.  I must have missed the first pass during my mental scramble at the very beginning.

WATCH THE VIDEO BEFORE READING THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE!!!

Did you see the moonwalking bear?”  I laughed.  Not because of the possibility that I missed the moonwalking bear.  I laughed because of the mental image that my brain manifested of a….MOONWALKING BEAR!

“Noooooo!” I say.  Shaun replies, “Watch the replay.”  The video rewinds before my eyes and I tried to sneak a glance of this moonwalking bear.  Well come to find out…there he was.  That damn bear would have made MJ roll around in his grave! (Sorry was that too soon??

The lesson here: If you dedicated all your efforts into one thing and block out everything else…you might miss the moonwalking bear!  ;)

As a photographer are you spending too much time editing pictures and missing out on other opportunities?  Are you too busy watching every little “pass” and missing the whole “game?”  Are you working more IN your business and less ON your business?

What are your thoughts?  How aware are you in YOUR photography business?

~Rob

The Canon 135L f2.0 is a favorite lens, one that professional photographers love to use for every day “walking around” shooting, wildlife and portraits. Its sharp, beautifully saturated images make it a classic “must have” lens, and as prices are stable at around $1100, it is a lens worth saving for to add to the collection of new photographers. A superior offering from the excellent Canon “L” series, (the letter indicating luxury) the 135L f2.0 draws only approval and very little criticism from the photography community at large, unusual for any lens.

Basic Specifications of the Canon 135L f2.0 USM lens explained

* Fixed Focus Lens

This lens does not have any zoom capabilities, hence the fixed designation. The photographer’s legs do that work, but the extra quality and sharpness present and typical in the best fixed lenses make them worth the effort to master.

* L Series

Canon’s luxury series are more expensive than any other lenses they make, but in this case the extra expense is more justified, since the superior build has produced a winner. New photographers are often advised to buy cheaper camera bodies and save the cash for quality lenses. This one would be a great beginning to any collection.

* DSLR Lens

Cameras used by professional photographers and serious amateurs are mostly in this DSLR class. The major difference with this lens comes when it is used in combination with a full frame camera, one that does not have any crop factor. The full power of the 135L f2.0 is available with this largest class of sensor, opening up a vast range of possibilities to every photographer, since post shooting editing can crop images down and still see a degree of sharpness that is simple stunning.

* USM Feature

The USM or Ultra Sonic Motor is that which drives the auto focus. In this case, Canon has used the ring style, as opposed to the cheaper Micromotor ultrasonic drive found in lenses of lesser build quality. This offers a considerable advantage in terms of speed and quiet camera operation, invaluable for photographers taking pictures of birds and other animal that can be spooked by loud drives.

More Canon 135L f2.0 USM Specifications

* Official Model No: 2520A004
* Mount type: EF
* Min and Max focal length: 135mm
* Min.focal range: 35in
* Max aperture: F 2.00
* Angle of view: 18 degrees
* Weight: 26 oz
* Length: 4in

Some of the advantages offered by the Canon 135L f2.0 USM

* It takes photographs that are an eye opener to any who have not previously tried a lens from this class. The “bokeh,” or unfocused background portions of shots are better than almost any other lens we have tested.

* Portraits’ shooting is enhanced by the extra “reach’ offered, when compared to the popular 85mm lens used for this style.

* Excellent color saturation

* Seriously sharp images.

* Great Macro shooting

The “Room for Improvement” Department

* No I.S. (Image Stabilization) so tripod use may necessary for some shots

* The weather proofing could be better.

* A hard case in the box would be appreciated.

In conclusion, it seems the Canon 135L f2.0 USM holds a top position; by populate acclaim, in the Canon range of lenses.

~William Chang | NYC wedding photographer

I’ve noticed many wedding photographers and portrait photographers are still practicing traditional “outbound” marketing and advertising techniques. Sending monthly postcard mailers, spending hundreds of dollars for bridal shows, and dropping hundreds to thousands a year in traditional paper ads. This can be referred to as “Spray and Pray marketing.”  Some of these methods may still produce some business for many years to come.  Although, many consumers are now “Googling” their questions and finding referrals from the Internet.

Our clients are evolving and becoming smarter consumers.  Google and other search engines have made information more readily available via the Internet.  So it is essential for us to embrace to new trends of technology and adjust our marketing efforts accordingly.  To help increase the conversion rate of bookings you have to go where the people are.  So, if your prospective clients are on Facebook, Twitter and other Social Media sites…you can capitalize on this to boost your photography business!

“Those that use Facebook as their primary marketing effort are reaping the rewards compared to those that place a secondary emphasis: 7.6 Facebook generated bookings vs 1.1 in the last 12 months respectively. Those using Facebook should consider
investing more effort in this area early on in their career when volume is the goal.”  (Source:  2009 Digital Wedding Forum and Two Bright Lights Marketing Effectiveness Survey)

Over the last four years I’ve been sharpening my Internet marketing skills and applying them to my photography business.  I can honestly say that Social Media and SEO have helped me grow my photography business over 30%!  Best part is, adding Social Media to your marketing efforts is very cheap compared to traditional marketing!   Over the last year I’ve been doing some private consulting with photographers and some photography industry people.  Now it’s time to start teaching my “Social Media workshops!”  Stay tuned for some dates and locations!  Of course I will be covering some Social Media tactics in the “Fishing for Clients” workshop, with Jonathan and Cara of F8 Photo Studios, during the Raleigh Photog Shootout in November!

Some topics will include:

• Understanding the Internet

• Boosting traffic to your website with Social Media

• Analyzing traffic and focusing your marketing
  

• Converting traffic into bookings

• Creating a voice with Twitter

• Creating a community with Facebook

• Broadcasting yourself of Youtube
  

• The key to consistency on the Internet

Here is what some are saying about Social Media:

“Social media is THE key to marketing in 2010. The DWF has been using Facebook and Twitter to drive traffic and awareness of it’s happenings, and reaching new audiences. Taking tips and advice from Rob Nicholson, we’ve been applying sound social media strategies to fuel the DWF’s growth for over a year now.”

Tim Uhl, Director of Marketing

“Social media is a medium to broadcast ideas and concepts through various networks. Rob has skillfully harnessed technology’s potential to create and organize nationwide shootouts from the convenience of home.

Whether one’s intention is to build exposure for a business or to make new friends, social media has opened doors to what was once unfathomable. Whatever part of the spectrum it is, Rob is a skilled agent in exercising this phenomenon.”

Lawrance Chan, Tofurious SEO Workshops for Photographers

“Rob is critical and creative thinker.  His ‘outside the box’ approach to social media marketing has helped our company reach a target market that was otherwise impenetrable. We highly recommend tapping into his insight.”

Garrett Delph, Owner ShootDotEdit, LLC

~Rob

Davila, Tony; Marc J. Epstein and Robert Shelton (2006). Making Innovation Work: How to Manage It, Measure It, and Profit from It.

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When we hear the word “innovation” one would think of NASA’s new intergalactic solar optic telescope! Maybe even new DNA analysis breakthroughs which resulted in solving a homicide from 40 years ago. As seen on CNN and BBC, they are known for highlighting monumental ground breaking news. Innovation definitely does not have to be world changing breakthroughs by any means.

In the business world innovation and creativity have resulted in breakthroughs as well. You might even see the big Fortune 500 companies risking their stock holder’s profits to try something new, despite the Board of Directors acting as the overly protective and proud father. Not allowing “little Junior” to do anything stupid and mess up the family’s reputation. There are some exceptions though, like Google. Even though Google went public in August 2004 and is now one of the Big 500, Google was founded on the idea of innovation and creativity. Even today their brand image is all about innovation. Another company that has seen great success by doing things a bit different is Dogfish Head Brewery. Both companies were founded by individuals who had a burning passion for what they loved and knew they could improve it.

In my experiences as a Professional Wedding Photographer, most of my clients choose me because they want something different. I knew I needed to set myself apart from my competition. There are many ways to be “one-of-a-kind.” I’ve heard many other photographers say, “I’m not good at business.” As if “business” is everything other than actually taking the picture. There are many things that I am not good at, too. Like paper work, Excel and budgeting. These are all things that I outsource to other professionals who specialize in those things. Most artistic people rely heavily on the right side of their brains. They lack the analytical left side of the brain that give us Artsy types the stereotype of being in la-la land and day dreamers. For the most part this is true. We’ve all met the Artist who is so “far out there” that it’s hard to have a conversation with them!

Don’t be afraid of infusing some of your creative genius into your business, though. Remember that even though we are photographers, we are small business owners as well. Think about our title, Professional Photographer. Our title is a two part title. Anyone can be a photographer. What about a Professional Photographer? I’ve been a photographer since I was a little kid. While in the Navy I realized I wanted to live my childhood dream of being a Professional Photographer. Instead of going to Art School I decided to learn about business. Fortunately I was also fascinated with the concepts of running a business. This would be a fun way for me to learn about Entrepreneurship while still doing something I am extremely passionate about.

For example, marketing is one of the areas I absolutely love! Other than shooting pictures, marketing is one of my favorite things to do. Whether it be Personality Marketing, Internet Marketing or other flavors of Creative Marketing; this was the greatest way for me to set myself apart from other photographers. This allowed me to use my creative juices to improve my business. On the surface marketing goes hand and hand with advertising. Just like spaghetti and meatballs, right? Marketing is an umbrella term that encompasses business decisions in order to identify and satisfy customers’ needs, and hopefully create a long lasting relationship. The way I look at it is like making friends. Similar to high school, if the other kids like you then you will have many friends. On the other hand, if not a lot of people like you…you may need to pay people to be your friend…like Advertising!

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Summary:

You are a creative professional and should infuse your “art” in all aspects of what you do! Make your business duties an extension of your creative genius.

~Rob Nicholson

Wedding photography is said to be one of the most difficult of all the photography specialties. How do I build my wedding portfolio? How can I break in to the highly competitive wedding industry? Do I assist another photographer for a couple years first to get experience? Do I need to go to school? Am I doing this for the money or do I really like weddings?

Things have changed enormously in regards to wedding photography. Traditional Wedding Photography, just like film photography, are slowly becoming a thing of the past. Some argue that Traditional Wedding Photography is here to stay and “timeless.” 8-track tapes are still “timeless”, right?

Today we hear many buzz words like wedding photojournalism, wedding documentary or lifestyle wedding photography. With that, there are many ways to get started in your adventure of becoming a wedding photographer. Most will assist, 2nd shoot and then start their own businesses. Some go to school for photography and decide to shoot weddings. Others will cross over from Fashion Photography or Editorial Photography to the wedding game. There are also those hobbyist photographers who love photography! They start shooting families’ and friends’ weddings and events. These “weekend warriors” have full-time jobs and shoot part-time. Eventually they may go full-time upon retirement from the 9-5 grind, or leave their jobs once they feel confident they can make it as a Professional Photographer.

There are many, many ways to become a successful wedding photographer. What ever route you take, you must do your homework first! My background is in scientific research, and I’m a firm believer of it in order to lessen the risk involved with any business venture. Anyone can take pictures…but, not everyone can create and maintain a successful business. You’re probably familiar with lighting and perspective, but what about your niche market and overhead? I’d recommend stopping by your local Small Business Development Center or SCORE. Your taxes pay for those services, so why not use them? They have many resources and contacts that will help you get started!

Hints:

• Relationships – Create and maintain relationships within the community, the couples, their fam and friends and vendors. Very, very….very, very, very, very important. You have to be a people person and like people!
• Passion – If you don’t honestly love wedding photography…don’t do it. I see so many other photogs shoot weddings for some extra money.
• Wow Factor – Make sure that your couples RAVE about you every step of the way. An extremely satisfied client will help you book more weddings than a magazine ad or web ad!
• Pricing – Don’t be afraid to charge accordingly. Don’t be the low-end photog who shoots a wedding for $800 then gives away the CD of unedited dig negs. This is terrible for the couple, your studio and the whole wedding photography industry! Remember that you are an artist.
• Niche – “Find your niche and scratch it!” You will need to decide who your clients are. The more specific the better. Understand that you can’t shoot everyone’s wedding. My website and blog help me screen the couples. This way, the couples who contact me are a lot like me and that has been key to my success so far!

________________________________________________________
Summary:

Find your yin and yang of being a Professional AND a Photographer.

~Rob Nicholson

“Guest Speaker”

M. Gerber – Art Director

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The best way to make contact to magazines or major book publishers…

Photographers get involved in projects with book publishers or editorial in magazines through a variety of ways. In my own experience as art director, it is through word of mouth. Somebody knows somebody who knows somebody. I went to a college that was well known for photography and I knew a lot of photographers that I still keep in touch with and use periodically. If a photographer does not have many contacts in design or editorial and wants to try and break into it they could send samples of their work to the Art Director of the publication or publishing company. The photographer should contact the art director/art department as opposed to the publisher because it is the art director who suggests the style photography to the publisher or editor. They should contact art directors directly, sending them samples of their work via emailed jpegs and a website link or even by sending a simple postcard. The Art director keeps these samples filed away. When a project comes up and a photographer is needed they will go through their files of samples and portfolios and can suggest certain ones to the editor or publisher. Who gets chosen for a project is based on the photographer’s portfolio and what style they are skilled in most. (exercise, food, nature, portraits, architecture, etc)

Art directors of magazines are easy to find in the first few editorial pages of any magazine. Then a photographer can send samples to the address of the company to the art director’s attention.

To contact a book publisher’s art director, a photographer can most likely look up the company’s site online and get the proper address and information for where to send samples. Or they can call the main publisher’s number and ask for the name or email of an art director for a certain imprint. That is how a photographer can get specific information as to where to send portfolio work.

Once a photographer is signed on to work for a publisher they need to ask if specific company guidelines exist for how to submit photography. They need to be sure to ask the art department for any and all information and specs before starting the project. All images should be at least 300 dpi if digital and to the correct size the publisher or art director requires. If they are images that will need to be scanned or retouched, more time may need to be built into the schedule. The photographer should let the designer or art director know the process in which they work and how much time they will need. Many art directors will also ask you to leave extra bleed around a photograph in case the photo needs to be cropped in a certain way. This way the designer has the freedom s/he needs to make an image work in a certain project. This is the kind of information a photographer will need to get at the start of a project before it is too late and there needs to be a re-shoot.

If models are involved in a project, model releases are needed for every. If it is a minor who is in the photo a parent or guardian will need to sign a special minors release form. Many publishers have their own release forms that the photographer is responsible for getting signed by all necessary parties. They may not be able to use their own release form.

If a photographer is chosen to work on any food related projects, in magazines or cookbooks, it is wise for them to have a food stylist they feel comfortable with that they can bring along with them. The photographer will also be responsible for renting a studio and organizing everything involved unless the editor wants to help or give additional guidance at the shoot. Most likely an art director or designer will be at the shoot with the photographer to make sure all photos will work within the design concept and page layout.

A photographer should always make sure a contract or agreement is in place before starting a project. The contract should mention a “kill fee” so that if a title is postponed or is no longer going to be published the photographer can get paid for any work that has been done so far.

Most important, being an art director, deadlines are VERY important. If photos are late, a book has less time to be designed and prepared and is at risk for being printed late. If a book misses its pub date it can lose many important sales from buyers. And no matter how great the photography is the photographer may not be asked to work on other titles. And in a magazine if photos are late, they will most likely not end up in the magazine at all.

~ M. Gerber

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Summary:

Getting your photography published really helps boost your reputation, portfolio, confidence and exposure.  Do your homework and make sure you follow the submission guidelines.
~Rob ]]> http://www.photogshootout.com/blog/2009/08/05/getting-your-photography-published/feed/ 1 http://www.photogshootout.com/blog/2009/08/03/calendars-on-photography-websites/ http://www.photogshootout.com/blog/2009/08/03/calendars-on-photography-websites/#comments Mon, 03 Aug 2009 14:51:55 +0000 bossman http://www.photogshootout.com/blog/?p=93

“I value the friend who for me finds time on his calendar, but I cherish the friend who for me does not consult his calendar.”

~Robert Brault

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Most photographers are moving toward flash websites and loving the idea of updating it themselves! New flash sites allow us to use very user friendly Control Panel and add new pictures from our recent weddings! This is great because we don’t have to wait several weeks for our web designer to “get around to it.”

For example, many flash templates with the option of adding a calendar. When I first launched my website I thought it was a very cool idea and had put my calendar up. My thinking was that this would let brides know if I’m already booked for their dates. This would save me time as I didn’t have to email them back telling them I’m booked. The bride could save time (after some tears of course) and she continues her search for another wedding photographer. This made a lot of sense to me…at the time.

After about six months of having my calendar up on my website, I only had two brides actually contact me to ask if I could refer any other wedding photographers. Also I had several brides contact me and say, “My friend ’so and so’ said I needed to contact you! She loved your photos but saw you were booked for her date!” So I started thinking about whether I should have my calender up or not.

Sometimes I like to use a more simplistic decision making approach. In the book On the Origin of Species, Charles Darwin created a Pros and Cons list to see if he should marry. I decided to take the same scientific approach of this great naturalist. Basically I developed a pros and cons list for having a calendar on my website. Simple but very effective.

Here is my list:

Pros:

• Save me time since I don’t need to email the brides when I’m already booked.
• Shows brides what venues I’m shooting/shot at.
• If brides see that my calendar is filled up, they will feel more confident and expedite the booking process.

Cons:

• Never get to talk to the brides to try to book them on some engagement pictures.

- I’ve booked several e-sessions with couples whose dates were already booked.

• Never know who would have contacted me.

- Keeping track of these couples’ info is very valuable! It helps me understand who my clients are.

• Never know how they found me.

- Understanding where they came from to get to me is valuable, too.

• Never know how many brides are actually contacting me and willing to pay for my services

- Let’s say that 10 brides a month are inquiring about my wedding photography. This helps me better understand my demand and essentially helps me price my wedding photography accordingly.

• Never allow me to refer to other photographers.
  - My referrals come from brides and other photographers! So it is important to strengthen my relationships with other photographers.
  • Never know if my efforts are paying off (ads, links, referrals and leads.)

  - I do have one magazine ad, many links and pay for some online directories. So I NEED to know if these are worth my investment.

  • Never get to start a relationship with the couples.

  - Wedding photography is all about relationships and I like to create a relationship with all couples that contact me. I want them to say to their friends, “We wanted Rob Nicholson of Humbled Eyes Photography…but he was booked! You need to call him!”

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  Summary:

  Wedding photography is about building relationships, building referral networks and understanding how and where you fit in to this “crazy wedding game.” Having a calendar up limits you from gathering information and understanding your business!

  ~Rob Nicholson