This is really more of a production tip than a photography tip.

I have so many ways for people to chat or contact me. I can do one simple thing to help make sure I get the things done that I need to get done.

A few days a week, turn the chat off on Facebook, or anywhere else for that matter, and relieve yourself of one more distraction. You’ll be amazed how much more post editing you can get done.

While this seems really simple, it was about a year ago that I read this tip out there somewhere on the web and I followed the tip, and I am so glad that I did.

Aric C. Hoek BFA, CPP, Author
PPBF Administrator
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There is no such thing as time management. No one can manage time. There is only activity management.

Here is a great, but simple tip, on how to sort out all the things you have to do. It’s how I get so much done.

I have multiple to-do-lists, and each one has a ton of things on them. One list is for my studio, the other is for things I need to do for the community. I am on the board of the PPGH, so that most certainly gets a to-do-list. I have a to-do-list for my family needs (here’s my boy). And I even have a to-do-list for my intern. But there is one to-do-list that I like the most. This is my 24 hour to-do-list. This list only contains three items on it, and these items are taken from the other lists. Once an item goes on my 24 hour list it stays there until I have completed that item.

I start an item on that list, and I continue with that item until I have finished it, giving that item as much of my energy as I can. If I don’t finish it, it carries over until the next day. I don’t think about the things I have completed, and I don’t think about the other things I need to do. I focus on the activity at hand until it is done, and I give it my best energy.

To be great, just do single actions in a great way every day. Keep your 24 hour to-do-list small and manageable. Keep moving forward.

Aric C. Hoek BFA, CPP, Author
PPBF Administrator
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This eBook normally sells for $9.95. Receive it free by joining our mailing list to the right. Once you join our mailing list, you will also receive two additional gifts.

1. A free download of a past teleseminar entitled “Working On Location” This lecture educates beginning wedding and portrait photographers on how to run their business without a brick and mortar studio. It’s packed with great information.
2. A generous 50% discount code to join the Pro Photo Business Forum.

Thank you for visiting the Pro Photo Business Forum. We hope you enjoy your stay.

“I‘ve been a professional wedding photographer for 14 years, and I can honestly say we have generated thousands upon thousands of dollars for my studio by using just one of the calls to action described in this eBook, and we continue to use this business technique today. The information is worth so much more than the price of the eBook!”
David Jones, CPP

“Aric quickly takes you to the next level in your profession as he shares his secrets of success.”
Alvin Gee
Master of Photography PPA
Photographic Craftsman PPA
Camera Craftsmen of America

“If you are even considering entering the Wedding Photography World, this is a must “hands on primer”. Read the book, study the book, then DO the book.
Aric has such great practical ideas to save you such headaches and heartaches, and well as the all important Money matters…..You should know this book like you know your camera manual!
Best wishes and blessings to all who strive to create such precious memories and stories for others.”
Carol Andrews
Master Photographic Craftsman,
Approved Business Instructor
SMS photographic Consultant and Instructor
PPA Board Of Directors

“These no nonsense tips aren’t just for beginning wedding photographers. Everyone can benefit from Aric’s insight. I wish someone had told me some of these when I was first starting out – it would have saved me a lot of trial and error.”
Brad Barton
A major contributor of The Texas Photo Forum with over 10,000 posts.

Do you feel like you are a business owner standing in a 50′ hole?

Aric C. Hoek BFA, CPP, Author
PPBF Administrator
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If you’re like me, you want to advance everything about your photographic life. To do this you need to come up with new and fresh ideas that will cause you and your business to grow. New ideas can be a hard thing to come by. However, part of what it means to be an entrepreneur is the ability to convert ideas into money in the bank account.

I have plenty of individual ideas of how to move my business forward, but what is more important is how I come up with these ideas.

Ready? This works for me, but please take it with a grain of salt.

First, I imagine something that I want. Something that will change my lifestyle. A new camera is nice, but not large enough a goal for this exercise. I try to think of something that is out of my current capabilities of obtaining. To make this example easy, lets think of a larger home than you currently have.

Imagine your dream home. Don’t covet someone else’s home. Imagine your dream home. Imagine it in every detail.

Next…. put a monetary value on that home. Something truly obtainable for you personally. This value will of course change depending on where you live, but the point is that this dream home should be outside your current means, but also feel obtainable for you personally.

Now… Imagine you are living in the home now. You have somehow made it there! Now… to get new ideas on how to increase your business, think of how are you going to continue living in this home as a professional photographer. Will you just shoot more images? How will you maintain this level of income and new lifestyle with your photography?

I am not asking how you are going to achieve this home, but how are you going to change your current photographic business to continue living there? What actions are you gong to take? You don’t want to lose your dream home do you?

Have any ideas? Are you going to open a second location? Are you going to have more photographers working for you?

If you’re a member of the Pro Photo Business Forum, you are gong to be happy, as we have opened up a new section today called “Taking It To The Next Level!” This section is a place for new ideas on how to set your studio apart from the pack. Over time, I think this section of the forum will become very valuable for the PPBF membership as it gets filled with valuable ideas.

Join the Pro Photo Business Forum now.

Aric C. Hoek BFA, CPP, Author
PPBF Administrator
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Without a doubt, photography is a luxury product when it comes to wedding and portrait photography. This fact is unfortnately only magnified in a recession. So, we need to do things that will help maintain cash flow.

For those of you who sell the DVD from your sessions, here’s a simple and effective idea.

“I am so glad to hear that you love all the images from your session. You know, you have the option of purchasing a DVD of your portrait session for $xxx with files large enough to print 8x10s and smaller. And, as an added bonus, all portrait orders placed after the purchase of your DVD will be 50% off.”

Giving you clients this kind of value is an interesting approach. What is your goal for an average sale from a portrait session? Price your DVD at this price.

The client receives all their images, with the value of being able to make reproductions on their own, and you have stimulated the possibility of making additional portrait sales with the 50% off bonus offer.

Aric C. Hoek BFA, CPP, Author
PPBF Administrator
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There are three basic habits that you must do every day to maintain your cash flow.

1. Return all inquiries the day they come in.  Try to do this within two hours.
2. Return all phone messages.
3. Confirm all appointments for the next day.

Fail to do these simple things, and watch your cash flow have a hick-up. Complete these simple tasks daily, and watch magical opportunity fall at your feet.

Aric C. Hoek BFA, CPP, Author
PPBF Administrator
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Are you folks familiar with Garry Winogrand?  If so, then great – this will make perfect sense.  If not, click on the link at the end to a short story written by a gentleman who took a workshop with Garry.   So, how does vague and seemingly unconnected start have anything to do with Wedding Photography?   Good question…

While I was sitting in a workshop with a mentor of mine, Don Giannatti from Phoenix, AZ, he was telling us a story about a photographer named Garry Winogrand. What set Garry apart (among other things once you read some biographies) was that he never looked at images right away.  Most of the time, he waited a year, sometimes two, before processing the film.  His thought was that he should have no recollection of taking the image because it would cloud his vision on whether or not it was a “good” photograph.

Of course, there were always exceptions.  So, it was noted that if Garry felt particularly excited about a photograph – or just wanted to see it right away – he would develop it immediately.  However, as I understand it, the norm was that the film sat in their canisters for quite some time before ever being developed.

So, as a Wedding Photographer – you certainly cannot allow your images to sit there for a year before you look at them.  You wouldn’t have any clients.  But, what you can do is go back after that year and look through the wedding to see if anything jumps out at you.  I discovered this by accident.

We are working on creating a few new sample albums for our studio – and one in particular was from a Wedding in June 2009.  We had, for some reason, never made a sample album from it.  We had a few favorites from that wedding that we had used in marketing and such, but I realized that I was looking at the images in an entirely different way because it had been a year since I had seen them.

What I realized was that as my tastes changed, and I had another year of education, photography, and experience behind me – I was able to see things in the photos that I hadn’t seen before.  So, I encourage you to go back through your weddings – with a more experienced eye than you had before.  Find some new photos – you can potentially enhance your portfolio without having to do too much work.

Stay tuned to the Pro Photo Business Forum – next week I’ll be posting a workflow article on keeping track of your favorite images that way they’re easily at hand for promotional purposes.

Thanks everyone for reading – below are some links referenced in the article.

A story about Garry Winogrand
Lighting Essentials by Don Giannatti

Atlanta Wedding Photographer, Matthew Lovell

At the very VERY basic level of professional photography, we must provide “photos that don’t suck.” From there we can move to good photos, then great photos, then ground-breaking earth-shattering photos. But first, we must make sure that EACH photo we provide doesn’t suck.

For example, I’ve recently had several weddings/receptions held in venues with high, dark ceilings. It’s relatively easy to take great pictures when the venue is conducisve to photography, but more of a challenge when conditions aren’t great. So, I have adopted the following mantra: “Grainy” is acceptable, “blurry” is not. Direct-flash is acceptable, washed-out is not.

Now don’t get me wrong, I absolutely do NOT want to provide my clients with grainy photos, and I want to use lighting techniques that make folks say “wow.” I want every shot to be technically sound as well as artistic. But you could spend half a reception trying to set up and balance lights without really helping yourself. At the very VERY least you have got to end the evening with a card full of DECENT shots. If the client complains about high ISO or direct flash, you can explain the situation. How will you explain hundreds of blurry or severely underexposed shots? It may not be perfect, but get the shot.

http://www.bclphotography.com

Bryan Lindsey
BCL Photography
Houston Wedding and Portrait Photographer

Have you heard the news about ShootQ? They were bought out by Pictage.

I have never been a big Pictage fan. I have heard the same story from multiple people using Pictage.

The story I hear is that a photographer will post images of a wedding, and then the photographer will inform the client that the gallery has gone live. The client then passes the access information to their friends and family so they can view the images. To get into the gallery, the guests must give their contact information, ie email address.

I then understand that Pictage will contact the guests without the knowledge of the photographer to try and sell/promote photographic products. I don’t know about you, but I feel I should be the only one contacting my clients.

So, I am concerned with Pictage having access to my database of clients. Time will tell if this fear is valid.

Aric C. Hoek BFA, CPP, Author
PPBF Administrator
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