Never allow your client to believe they have an “option” to buy photographs. Make them understand that they have an “obligation”. One of the critical decisions you will make as a working photographer is what to charge for your work. Pricing models and calculations are covered in a previous article, so that won’t be rehashed …
While being the inexpensive option might attract customers in the short run, it soon becomes obvious that this is not sustainable. You will also soon understand why so many photography businesses fail. If you don’t figure that out soon enough, you will sadly be one of them. All business startup education begins with the same …
I have no problem telling photographers, especially brand new to business photographers, beware of one certain source of advice, especially if you have to pay for that advice. That is advice from the Used-To-Be Photographer. Professional courtesy is one of those givens in any industry. Colleagues get the benefit of the doubt because empathy is …
No photographer wants to discover that their client is using photos in unintended ways. If there was something more that you could do, to not only make your terms clear, but increase your bottom line, why would you not do it? Andy Warhol commented, “In the future everybody will be world famous for fifteen minutes.” …
Photography has become one of those ironic industries where we tell one another “raise your prices! charge your worth! educate your clients” instead of “maybe a photography business just isn’t for you.” I read. A lot. It’s been mentioned a time or two. There is a lot of good material in the world. There’s a …
The content that once brought me a bit of insight and joy had turned into a source of stress. As I cruised through my heaving mailbox, I found myself asking the same question over and over again: “Who is this person, and why are they in my mailbox to begin with?” Admit it. There’s stuff …
Does no photographer take photos anymore? That is not rhetorical. It is not a pun. It is a legitimate question that needs an answer. While cruising through some old bookmarks recently, I began to notice a curious thing. Photographers seem to time out at about 10 years. But not all of those years were spent …
Your target market isn’t on social media, they are in law offices, boardrooms, sales meetings, social events, and on the telephone with their own clients. The vast majority of luxury clients come from word of mouth. Their friends see the photos or brag to their friends about the photos, and so it goes. You have …
The way you test the veracity of marketing advice is the same way you test the source of any material in general. Ask yourself: Does this sound like something someone has done for positive results, or does it sound like a wild guess or someone’s “great idea”?
Your prospective client is looking for a specific photographer that takes a specific photograph. The photographer that excels in that photograph will win out over the photographer who takes a lot of mediocre photos in different genres. Business is one decision after another. Some decisions are made along the way. Some are foundational and should …