The Pro Photo Business Forum

Have Fun! (whether you like it or not…)
by: Bryan Lindsey
Visit us on the web: Houston Wedding Photographer
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Ah, the roller coaster ride that is professional photography. One day you are on top of the world, taking the best images you ever have – the next you are buried under a pile of editing, phone calls, and general business un-fun-ness.

It’s a common business goal to make as much money/profit as possible. Allow me to propose another goal: To have as much fun as possible. Now, these two goals are sometimes opposed to each other, and our “have as much fun as possible” goal cannot exist in a vacuum. So how do we maximize our fun while staying within the bounds of profitability?

The answer will be different for each person since we are each turned on by different aspects of photography. So take a moment of self-introspection and ask yourself – what do I enjoy doing? What do I love about photography? If I were independently wealthy, what would I be doing simply for the love of doing it? I’ll go first: I love (1) the interaction with people as I photograph them, and (2) the personal gratification of viewing a picture that I took, that I love, and that the client loves. So, knowing this, how do I maximize my fun?

1. Interaction: I need to be more confident in my interactions with people. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a person who lacks confidence, but I think I often come across as very go-with-the-flow as opposed to someone capable of directing the creation of fine art. So I believe that I can have more fun if I bring more “focused enthusiasm” to my shoots. That is, I want to set the tone of the shoot regardless of the initial enthusiasm of the subject(s). You know the rapport that’s there by the end of the shoot? I want to get to there as soon as possible. Maximize fun time.

2. Take great pictures: My strategy for this is to lean more toward KISS (keep it simple, stupid). Lately I’ve been hung up on creating stuff that is cool and different to me (sometimes it works, sometimes not). I need to get back to basics and create images that the clients love. Sure, I’VE seen the wedding-party-jump pose a million times, I’M not a fan of the “shoes” shot, etc. But it’s not about me trying new stuff all the time. I’ve got to keep in mind that some of these standard images have great value to the client, and making them happy makes me happy – it’s fun. However, I need to stay balanced and fresh because, as Scott brought out earlier, you don’t want to get stale either. Fresh also equals fun.

There will be plenty of boring stuff to do later. Remind yourself of why you enjoy photography and HAVE FUN!

Bryan Lindsey: Houston Wedding Photographer

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Breaking the Boundaries

Written by Scott Villalobos

Friday night I had an engagement session with Seth and Christina. Christina had seen some images from a previous session and wanted to do some from the same location for her engagement session. Of course I said, no problem, and therein lye the problem. Shooting in the same location with the same conditions. I had talked briefly about this in my earlier post, “Spaghetti Anyone?” But now I was faced with more spaghetti from a paying customer, how could I spice it up?

Recently I had purchased some Pocket Wizard TT5’s, from the Houston Camera Exchange, which enabled me to be more effective with my off camera strobe then I could be with the infrared/line of sight based Canon system currently available using 580EX II’s and the ST-E2 wireless transmitter. In the past I’ve tried lighting from behind using this system but the line of sight limitation made it impossible, now with the Pocket Wizard’s in my Pelican case the boundaries of infrared were no longer an issue.

I’ve photographed this arch many times in the last year, but this time I really wanted to do something different. By backlighting my couple and lighting the interior of the arch I think I put a new twist on an old favorite, thereby making something old into something new and exciting. I really look forward to working with these new tools, which will expand photographic possibilities, which were technically impossible for me in the past.

I will be writing more about these little wonders in the near future so stay tuned for that!

Posted by Houston Wedding Photographer Scott Villalobos | RSVP Studios

F/8 and Be There
by: Bryan Lindsey
BCL Photography – Houston Wedding Photographer
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Photojournalists have an expression, “f/8 and be there,” meaning that getting the shot is more important than dialing in the absolute correct exposure.

This is great to keep in mind for photographers who are shooting outside of a studio. Lighting conditions change, and we are constantly checking and re-checking our cameras, looking at test shots, and waiting for great moments to materialize so that we can capture them in the best way possible. But throughout all of this mental processing, we MUST be keeping our eye out for great shots. A perfect example of this my most recent engagement shoot – I was doing my best to keep things loose while still structuring the posing, composition and lighting that I wanted. The couple’s smiles were ok, but you could tell they were forced. At one point the guy said something to the girl, and she broke into a beautiful, natural smile. I was in the middle of something else, but I immediately turned and snapped few of just her, and those images are going to come out great.

So when you see that golden smile, when a romantic couple leans in for a kiss, when people are at their best, capture the moment – don’t worry about it being perfect. Chances are that the photo will be cherished and any technical imperfections will never even be noticed. F/8 and Be There.

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Are you a wedding photographer?  Thinking of becoming one?  Then here is a great tip.

Make sure to take very flattering images of every reception facility that you find yourself in.  Make prints of these images, making sure to tastefully include your company name and contact information on the image itself, and then send the images to the facility free of charge.  Include an invoice with the images.  Show the value of the images on the invoice, and then show a 100% discount.  List the reason as “professional courtesy”.

If the images are of good enough quality, then possibly the facility manager will use your images as a sales tool to reserve couples for their facility.  The facility manager in essence becomes your agent.  When you have made your vendor images, make sure to deliver them in person.  Use the opportunity to build a professional relationship and contact.  Let them meet you face to face.

Now that you have this general idea of vendor prints, put it to good use.  Send images to the florist.  Who made the cake? Who made the dress?  Who sold the wedding bands? I’ll bet they would love to show your images.

One last thing to keep in mind with vendor prints is the pecking order in which a wedding is planned.  A couple will almost always book their ceremony and reception facility first as this solidifies the wedding date.  After their facilities have been reserved, the bride and groom will begin to look at vendors that can only be in one place at one time.  These include the band, the officiant, and, of course, the photographer.

What does this tell us?  It tells us that the most beneficial people to give vendor prints to are the facility managers and the facility catering directors.  For me, referrals from cake makers are few and far between.

While photographing an event, make it a point to find the facility manager and introduce yourself.  Ask for their business card.  When you make an appointment to drop off the images to the facility, try to schedule your meeting with the manager you met.  During your meeting, ask if the facility has a preferred vendors list that they hand out to their perspective clients.  When you return to the studio, send a thank you card to the manager, thanking them for their time.  Direct them to your website so they can see the quality of your work.  This will make them more willing to add your company to their preferred vendors list.

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As a wedding and portrait photographer, especially if you are just starting out, you want to make sure that you have a long tail.

Your tail is also your product line.  How many items do you offer to your clients?  For most wedding photographers, their tail consists of their time, an online gallery, and wedding albums.

Extend your product line, and watch your profits grow.  After all, your clients are talking with you because they want to spend money with you.  It is your job to continually be offering products until your client says “no”.

More than likely you are offering Engagement and Bridal sessions.  Do you offer a frame with each and every portrait you sell?

Do you offer three to four different lines of wedding albums?  One line of wedding album can be more expensive than the other.

Do you offer different finishing options for your finished portraits?

Do you offer studio versus outdoor portrait sessions?

When was the last time you offered a parent album to the Groom’s family, and not just the Bride’s family?

And, as an extreme way to extend your tail, you can offer honeymoon photography!  Make sure to attend one of our workshops if you are interested in learning more about how to get started with honeymoon photography.

Are you thinking about building your first photography studio?  One of the things that should be running through your head is how much it will cost you to keep the studio open every month, and additionally will the figure you come up with be less than what you make each month.

It’s a tough question to answer as you have no idea how much money you will be making once your studio doors open.  So, I would like to offer a different way for you to think.

Break things down into 16x20s.  Here at Solaris Studios, we sell our 16x20s for $500.  Knowing this, we ask ourselves how many 16×20 portraits do we need to sell each month to achieve our goals.

By thinking this way I find it keeps everything in perspective and much more manageable.  Our rent in our current location is $1500, or three 16x20s.

Knowing this, I make sure that all the wedding packages we sell come with a bridal and engagement session giving us at least two chances to sell each client a 16×20 portrait.

What new camera would you like to purchase?  How many 16x20s will you have to sell to achieve the camera?  How can you sell that many 16×20 portraits within one month?

Think in 16x20s.