When I think of personal photography projects, I think of Rachel Devine. Rachel is a “purple cow” in the industry of child photography. She is a commercial child photographer and her blog consists of her simple representations of every day life with children. She blows the doors off passionate personal projects. I introduce to you Rachel…

JAIME: I love that you have a gallery called “Personal Projects”. I feel like many photographers get so caught up in creating art for their clients that they forget to create art for themselves.

As artists, we need to rejuvenate ourselves with projects that “fill our tank” and remind us why we got into photography in the first place. It looks like you have done that… BTW – your work is just stinkin gorgeous.

JAIME: Why are personal projects important for photographers?
RACHEL: I think that personal projects are a sort of continuing education for artists of all types. I like to challenge myself with my personal projects to try new techniques and to explore ideas in depth over long periods of time. I feel that when I am learning new things for myself, I am bringing more interesting and fresh ideas to clients. If I only did client work and was bound by the parameters of their and artistic direction, then I would not be as happy as an artist and believe I would reach the burnout point of my photography becoming just work. Since I am grateful for the fact that I get paid for doing what I love to do, I work hard to protect my passion for it.

RACHEL: Well, my photography career started out of my love for photography as an art form and hobby so it has been a personal project from day one. The interesting thing is that I now hardly ever blog any of my client work and my career has turned down the path of this 21st century medium of “photo blogging.” My clients who hire me say they feel like they know me personally before working with me from all that I share on my blog. It helps them get a sense of me and my personality being a fit for their project. I have also heard many times that the ability to see quality in my work on a nearly daily basis has been a deciding factor in hiring me. My personal work has now become my brand and what people expect to see when they go to my site. It is not all I do, but the majority of what I share online.

JAIME: How would you suggest a photographer pick a personal project and keep it going?

RACHEL: I believe that a photographer’s first step to finding a personal project is research. With so many new photographers getting into the business and craft by simply buying a digital camera, most of their education is spent learning the camera and editing software with not enough (if any) time delving into the history of the medium. When I mentor clients either in my one on one sessions or my Camera therapy workshops, I end by giving them a photographer to research. The goal is to get them to expand their range of inspiration from the local kid or wedding photographer’s blog to a much wider world of work. So go to the bookstore or library and buy a book on the history of photography, pick something or someone who really catches your eye and then read all you can about them. Take notes and then work what you are learning into your own photography even if it is as simple as renting a new lens with an angle of view that you are not currently used to shooting with. Start small and give yourself little deadlines. The joy from the projects should be enough to keep you going.

I’m just figuring out video and playing around with Animoto (LOVE Animoto!) What do you think?

Click here for more information about the Certified Professional Photographer Study Guide!

Several years ago, I was driving on  I-294 around Chicago and I was not in a good mood. I pulled up to a toll booth only to find out that I didn’t have to pay because the person in front of me paid my toll. Wow! My mood totally changed. I felt so happy that I wanted to give back so I paid the toll for the person behind me. My morning completely changed and I felt very content the rest of the day.

Has this happened to you?

Why did I feel the need to pay the toll for the next person in line?

You might call it the “Pay It Forward” principal. I call it the “Law of Reciprocation”. If someone gives you a gift then you want to return the favor. In Japan, the word thank you “sumimasen” means “this will not end”.

Giving an unexpected gift to your client not only fits into the law of reciprocation but also exceeds your client’s expectations and lets your client know that you care about them. To shed some more light on exceeding your client’s expectations  and strengthen client relationships is the award-winning Sarah Petty. Welcome Sarah!

JAIME: What are some reasons why a photographer should provide an unexpected surprise or gift to their client?

SARAH: To create loyalty and strengthen client relationships, it is important to treat your clients like friends. When you care about your friends, you do thoughtful things and sometimes even give them a gift. That is how you show that you care about someone. If you apply these thoughtful feelings to your clients that you care about, it will strengthen those relationships.

JAIME: When should a client provide the unexpected surprise? When they first meet the client, during the session or after the sales consultation?

SARAH: When a surprise is unexpected – like at the holiday season as opposed to something extra included with their order – it has more impact. They have likely moved on from the experience with you and after some time has passed, it will remind them how much they value the images you created for them. It will also afford them the opportunity to brag on you to their friends, thus, generating referrals and love coming back to you. While our preferred gift giving time is at the Christmas holiday season, I think any holiday that is full of emotion can increase the impact. Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving, etc.

JAIME: What is your advice to photographers who are trying to find the “perfect” unexpected surprise or gift?

SARAH: I don’t think it is about the perfect gift because I think the thoughtful part is what makes it perfect. The gift is just a bonus. The reason people come to a photographer who maybe charges a little bit more is because of the relationship.  Don’t worry about what the gift is as much as the fact that you are doing it. With that said, I like to create gifts that show off my photography. We have used many products from whcc.com such as the little canvasses and custom note cards. We also created some handmade leaded glass ornaments. This year, we are using some really cute little retro holiday ornaments from Wild Sorbet.

Thank you Sarah!

Sarah Petty Bio:

There’s never a quick trip to the grocery store for Sarah Petty. You see, she’s in heaven in a place with so many products. She’ll pick up a box of cereal to examine the packaging and dissect the store window displays all while strategizing what works and what doesn’t. For Sarah, marketing really is a joy. She simply can’t get enough.

Even though she has won plenty of awards for her photography, it’s not photography technique that has made her business successful. Sarah believes it takes more than technical expertise to win in business. And old school marketing? Forgeddaboutit! The knowledge Sarah shares through The Joy of Marketing and to audiences worldwide has helped thousands of boutique business owners grow their small businesses beyond their wildest dreams.

Sarah is a highly-acclaimed speaker, author, MBA and coach who has inspired thousands of boutique business owners to use beautiful marketing to take their business to the next level. Her expertise is based on over 20 years helping build the Coca-Cola brand, meeting the marketing goals of a top regional advertising agency’s clients and building her own successful  boutique photography studio. This studio was named one of the most profitable in the country within just five years in business. Sarah has mastered the science of marketing and the art of making it simple, actionable, and, yes, fun!

Don’t miss the NEWBIE BASIC TRAINING EVENT! Runs November 8th – 11th! Sign Up Today!

11 am CST – Jennifer Roggi | Ready, Set, Go!
12 pm CST – Judy Grann | Planning.  What it is and Why do we have to do it?
1 pm CST – Ann Monteith | Pricing for Profit
2 pm CST – Emily Potts | Homework

Task

Create an unexpected surprise for your clients.

Here are a few ideas to get you started…

Please “Like” or Retweet if you found this post helpful.
Comments are always welcomed!
Cheers!

Day 13 – Join The Social Media Cocktail Party

(This is part of the “31 Days To A Better Photography Business” Series)

Not just any social media party. Let’s start with just one.

Today I’m going to go through the DOs & DON’Ts of LinkedIn.

What is LinkedIn?

“LinkedIn is a social network with over 116 million users that enables you to network professionally, post and find jobs, answer questions, and build thought  leadership—while simultaneously helping the people you trust. A user can easily discover the people employed by a certain business, or the various businesses a  certain person has worked for.” – Hubspot.com

Hubspot compared Facebook to a local pub and Linkedin to a tradeshow where users keep it pretty formal and professional (with occasion lunch breaks).

I’m a photographer. Why should I care about LinkedIn?

Let me answer your question WITH a question.

Are you satisfied with where you are today?

If not, then I suggest getting your social media hat on today. LinkedIn has the potential to connect you with an amazing business owner that has been dreaming about a photographer just like you to help them with their business. You could also meet a business partner that throws oodles of business your way.

Are you ready? Put your seatbelt on and let’s open the door to this fabulous cocktail party called Social Media!

How do I use LinkedIn?

There are a few tricks to LinkedIn. First, this is a formal network for professionals so chatting about the delicious PB & J you just had for lunch is a no-no.

Here are a few more DOs & DON’Ts for LinkedIn:

DON’T put a picture of your baby’s feet as your profile picture (they are cute toes but people want to see what you look like)

DO pick a professional picture of you that clearly shows your face and pearly white smile.

DON’T just display your initials (i.e. John S., or Jenny H.).

DO display your FULL NAME (we want people to be able to find you with ease).

DON’T list every job from your ice cream dipping job in high school to your summer job sweeping dust in a robot warehouse.

DO highlight only jobs that present your profile in a professional light. Only include professional jobs or internships.

DON’T include a long and obnoxious Professional Headline (i.e. Most Extraordinaire Super Fantastic Amazingly Eclectic Photographer)

DO customize your Professional Headline to say your position (i.e. Photographer for XYZ Photography)

DON”T send a generic “I would like you to be part of my Linkedin network, blah, blah, blah”.

DO send a customize message to the person you are requesting to connect with on Linkedin (i.e. It was great to meet you at the XYZ meeting. I look forward to working with you!)

DON’T miss the opportunity to connect your Twitter account with your Linkedin profile.

DO connect your Twitter account with to your Linkedin profile. Sharing Twitter tweets gives your professional profile a personality.

DON’T request to connect with a bunch of people at once. Just like at a cocktail party – it doesn’t look genuine or sincere (it looks more spammy).

DO request to connect with one person at a time.

Task

Setup your Linkedin Profile.

If you already have a LinkedIn Profile and you are active on this social media site then pull up a fuzzy white ottoman and put your feet up. For everyone else, please click here and get started: Linkedin.com

How do you use LinkedIn? Please share any LinkedIn positive experiences.

Comments are always welcomed!

New Arrival!

Fine Art Wedding Photography: How to Capture Images with Style for the Modern Bride

See what else is new in the “Recommended Gear” shop…

Owning your photography business is not just about creating beautiful pieces of art for your clients. It’s also about your well-being and health. Sometimes we forget about ourselves in our efforts to have a successful business, happy family and look good while doing it all!

Being healthy and vibrant in your daily life and at photo sessions can improve your business and well-being.

Not being HEALTHY hurts your business.

If you are running out of breath while trying to catch a energetic toddler and missing the perfect shot then your health is affecting your business. We have all been there – the “not so appealing” muffin top over the jeans as your crouch down for a picture or flabby arms that you cover with jackets and sweaters. I recently discovered that I suffer from severe hypothyroidism. I was sluggish, exhausted, chronic dry skin (I thought it was just the dry Denver climate!), losing hair and overweight. I thought that I was just an overworked mom. Running my own business, helping my husband with his company and being a full-time mom. I was constantly exhausted.

I’m now in control of my hypothroidism and have become a little bit of a health-nut (throwing out the junk food in the house, buying everything organic under the sun (thank goodness for organic coupons!), and getting back into exercising. Enough about me…let’s get back to you.

How Can I Lose This Weight?

Healthy snacks!

Here is a list of healthy snacks that you can pop into your photography gear bag before heading off to a photo session (I chose these snacks because they are easy and at your local grocery store). These are compliments of Kim Lyons, Personal Trainer that was showcased on The Biggest Loser:

1. Low Fat String Cheese and an apple
2. Greek yogurt and berries
3. Celery or a banana with almond butter
4. Hard boiled eggs
5. Sprouted grain toast and light cream cheese or almond butter
6. Apple and 14 Almonds
7. Beef Jerky (*careful of the sodium)
8. Ice blended Fruit smoothie make with Greek yogurt
9. Sliced tomato with a TBSP of parmesan cheese and olive oil
10. Air popped popcorn seasoned with Ms Dash

Here is a quick video by Kim  Lyons about Healthy Snacks.

Please click on “LIKE” or Retweet if you found this post helpful.

Comments are always welcomed!

Day 12 – Go To Bed One Hour Earlier Tonight

(This is part of the “31 Days To A Better Photography Business” Series)

“One hour of sleep before midnight is worth two after” – Unknown

Have you ever found yourself working on your computer posting on your blog, editing, or answering e-mails until the wee hours of the morning and then feeling lifeless and exhausted the next day?

We know how important sleep is to our health and well-being but we continue with our bad sleeping habits. It is tough to change bad habits (ask any smoker).

Falling asleep before midnight has been a chore and sometimes it just doesn’t happen. I make the effort to fall asleep between 10:00-11:oo pm every night. I definitely see a difference in my productivity and creativeness (and less crabby-ness in general!) Here are a few more issues that could occur if you chronically do not get the right amount of deep sleep every night:

#1 – Kills Creativity. Try designing a client’s album with one eye half-open and a Starbucks coffee clenched in your hand. When your body is deprived of sleep it strives to maintain the basics in your body like breathing as opposed to creating the next Ansel Adams piece of art.

#2 – Irritability. When my kids don’t get enough sleep, and they start to grumble -  I say, ” Oh no, here comes the crab truck!” That probably makes it worse but you know what I mean.

#3 – Health Issues. I researched what health issues arise when you do not get enough deep sleep and the list was exhausting! Here are just a few health issues linked to insufficient deep sleep: obesity, colon cancer, breast cancer, heart disease, and diabetes.  Yikes!

“Lack of sleep disrupts every physiologic function in the body,” said Eve Van Cauter of the University of Chicago. “We have nothing in our biology that allows us to adapt to this behavior.”

Okay that’s scary SO…

How much sleep do you need?

“The amount of necessary sleep varies from person to person, with some breezing through their days on just a few hours’ slumber and others barely functioning without a full 10 hours, experts say. But most people apparently need between about seven and nine hours, with studies indicating that an increased risk for disease starts to kick in when people get less than six or seven, experts say.” – The Washington Post

What if I have a problem falling sleeping at night?

There are several things you can do to prepare your body for a good night’s sleep. (Buying pink fuzzy bunny slippers MIGHT be one option)

• Avoid caffeine in the late afternoon or evening. Caffeine is a stimulant and can alter with your ability to relax and prepare for bedtime.
• Avoid exercise right before bedtime. Crunching in your P90X workout at 9pm is a bad idea.
• Read before bedtime. It calms the mind and it can also be a “trigger” to your brain that it’s time to go to sleep.
• Avoid the computer. Ouch! This is a tough one. I’m a late-night surfer and worker-bee so this is the most difficult one for me. If you have to work on the computer late at night, try this handy piece of software (F.lux) that changes the color of your monitor to reflect the time of day (blue during the day to replicate daylight and red during the evening to replicate evening light). “During the day, computer screens look good—they’re designed to look like the sun. But, at 9PM, 10PM, or 3AM, you probably shouldn’t be looking at the sun.” - F.lux software. Not a great idea if you are color correcting images but if you are working on the internet than it might be a good option.

Task

More Articles:

Scientists Finding Out What Losing Sleep Does to a Body – Washington Post

25 Ways to Sleep Better Tonight – Good Housekeeping Magazine

Foods That Help You Go To Sleep – Factoidz

What are some ways that help you fall asleep at night?

Comments are welcomed and encouraged!

Day 11 – Refresh the Legal Side

(This is part of the “31 Days To A Better Photography Business” Series)

Is Your Business Protected?

That’s an interesting question…maybe we should stop and think about this before we move on.

A quick look at the new shows hundreds of lawsuits against one business, person or thing. Starting your photography business with sound legal assistance is a step in the right direction. Some legal forms that I use in my photography business include:

• Client Contract
• Model Release
• Legal Entity (I’m setup as a LLC or limited liability corporation)

I remember bits +  pieces of my business law class in college. It was filled with 1,000+ students and little ol’ me in the second row (I couldn’t sit in the front row because that would be nerdy!) I was fascinated with the number of court cases and legal jargon that filled my head for 50 minutes twice a week. I decided not to share with you my notes from my old business law book (yes – I still have it!) and asked a professional – Chris Walton of Simplicity Law. Thank you Chris!

JAIME: Why would a photographer just starting their business need legal assistance?

CHRIS: There are several issues a photographer starting a business might need legal assistance with:

- Choosing the correct form of legal entity (e.g., a limited liability company, corporation, partnership, etc.).  Under most circumstances, the owners of limited liability companies (LLCs) and corporations are shielded from their company’s debts.  Depending on the nature of the business, I don’t necessarily advise my clients to operate as an LLC or corporation, but it’s something that I think any startup business should consider.

- Trademarking a logo or brand, if any.  New business owners often create a logo or have a catchy business name, and have concerns that a competitor might copy it.  One good way to protect your brand is through federal trademark registration, which creates enforceable rights to prevent others from copying your business name or logo.

- Partnerships. I don’t know that it’s very common in the photography industry for photographers to form partnerships with other photographers (as opposed to working solo), but I would strongly encourage anyone going into business with someone else to talk with an attorney about preparing a written partnership agreement.  This is one of the biggest mistakes I see with startup businesses – partners begin business, get along great, and figure it’s not necessary to write down the terms of their partnership.  Later on, a disagreement arises and there is no written agreement to help resolve the disagreement.  Questions regarding ownership percentage, distribution of company income, voting rights, selling an ownership interest, and bringing in new partners are all important issues that should be addressed in a written partnership agreement.

JAIME: What key components should be covered in a “photography contract” that clients sign before a photo session?

CHRIS: One of the simplest ways to avoid legal disputes is to ensure you have a well-written agreement that reflects the terms that you and your client intend to govern your agreement.  I often see clients cobble together agreements from various sources.  The terms are not always applicable or appropriate to the client’s business.  A few key issues that should always be addressed in your contracts are:

Task

Day 10 – Rethink How To Present Your Images

(This is part of the “31 Days To A Better Photography Business” Series)

“You want only ONE 8×10 print??!?!?!??!”

Sigh.

Have you ever wanted to cry after a client places an order? You thought for sure they would order the 20×30 gallery-wrapped canvas and 16×24 custom-framed print and your sales would be $3000+.

Sadly, this is not always the case. You ask yourself:

How Do I Increase My Sales?

Today, I interview Mara Blom Schantz,  one the country’s premier children’s photographers, working as a photographer and studio owner since 1998.  Her studio is called Artistic
Impressions by Mara. Mara offers some deep insights and a little “tough love” to photographers.

JAIME: How do you present images to your clients?

MARA: I present my images to clients the only way a professional photographer who loves her work and wants to stay in business for the long term does, projection!  I would never post images online and let the clients choose without my guidance.  They have no idea what to choose, how images should be printed or cropped and how the final portrait will look without you there to guide them.  I am the professional and my job is to help guide them in their order.  I would NEVER, EVER give them a cd – that is the ultimate disservice.

JAIME: When presenting your images to clients, what have you found works and what does not work?

MARA: What works for me is making a connection with my clients and being as personal as I can.  This means having someone actually answer the phone and talk with them during the initial call, talking on the phone v. email, meeting with them prior to the session in a design appointment, and projecting the images in a personal sales appointment.  At the projection appointment I personally assist the client and make recommendations about their order based on all of the information they have given me at the design appointment.  I also do “Suggestion Pages” for them which tell them exactly what I think they should order.  I would say 90% of my clients order what I have suggested.  Whenever I follow this procedure the sale is always successful.

When I skip a step, that is when I have problems.  The few times I have posted images online for long distance clients, the sales are always much lower.  These things also help me to keep my clients coming back to me year after year.

During all of these personal interactions we talk and my clients tell me things that might be very personal and emotional.  They trust me and would not go to any other photographer after that.  Additionally, what works for me personally is to spend more quality time with a smaller number of clients who will place larger orders than a lot of clients who pay a little.  My average sale is over $2,500.  You do the math.  If I charged $500 for a session and cd, I would have to photograph 5 times as many clients (who would probably never return to me – see below) than if I spent quality time with one client who will return (and tell her friends).

JAIME: What would you suggest to a new photographer that is trying to decide how to present their images to clients?

MARA: First, buy a projector.  If you are not willing to project your images and guide your clients to order the best images, you should not waste your time being a professional photographer.  If you do not follow through on the sale in a personal way your clients will eventually go to someone that will and you will burn out.  I have a number of clients who
come to me after going to photographers who did not help them with their order (who gave them proofs or cds).  They are always super frustrated and I end up making the money the other photographers could have made when I help them choose what to order and I print those photographers’ images for them.  If you love to photograph but are not comfortable selling your images yourself, hire someone to do it for you.  Even if you are just starting out, you can pay on commission.

JAIME: What is one item, software or thing you could not live without when presenting images to your clients?

MARA: I actually have three… My charm and confidence, my projector and ProSelect.

Thank you Mara!

Among one the country’s premier children’s photographers, Mara Blom Schantz has been working on her own as a photographer and studio owner since 1998.  Her studio, Artistic
Impressions by Mara is a high end, boutique studio in Phoenix Arizona.  Trained by her parents, John Blom and Chloe Beeson Blom, both Master Photographers, Mara has photography in her genes as well as her soul.

Mara’s work with black and white film and natural light give her work an honest, emotional depth in a world of fleeting fads. Her goal is to elicit the emotional response of the viewer by showing the real parts of both her subject and herself. She believes that this can only be accomplished by making a connection with her subjects and clients and treasures that aspect of her work.

Mara is a PPA Photographic Craftsman as well as a member of the American Society of Photographers.  Her work has won numerous accolades and awards and has been featured in various magazines and on television.  She has taught many private workshops and has been a featured speaker with both the Arizona Professional Photographers Association and Professional Photographers of America.  A list of her workshops can be found on her pro blog, Workshops By Mara.

Task

Write down 3 different tactics to use when present your images.

Write down the way your present to your clients today and figure out what you average sales per customer is (I know….this might require going into your Quickbooks software, Outright.com account, or a good ol’ spreadsheet and doing a little math). Mara outlines one way to present to clients above. Here are some other ideas:

- Bring home-made cookies to your image presentation?

- If you clients are far away, what if you used Skype?

- Bring a sample of your highest profit item to your sales presentation (they is nothing better than letting your client touch + feel the product before purchasing!) like an album?

Start with one little thing. Don’t get overwhelmed. Try one thing at a time and run little tests until one way proves to be successful. Woot! Woot!

Advanced: Track your sales. Watch your sales hit the roof and then celebrate. Just a 10% in your average sales calls for a bottle of champagne (and chocolate-dipped strawberries, of course!)

Even More Advanced: Grab some popcorn! If you are interested in Proselect, I embedded a YouTube video about it below. It is 13 minutes and starts a little slow but it goes over everything you need to get started with ProSelect software

What tactics have you used that increased your photo sales?

Please click “LIKE” or Retweet if you found this post helpful!

Day 9 – Be More Productive

(This is part of the “31 Days To A Better Photography Business” Series)

“If I had more time, I would ___________.” – Jim Davis-Hicks – Thrist Relief International

How would you complete this sentence? Does time just slip away for you?

You have come to the right place.

Today we are talking about getting more time in your day. No. We are not adding an extra hour to the clock or creating a time machine (but that would be cool too!)

I interviewed Charlie Gilkey and his concept of Heatmapping. Charlie is the “Productive King” (he didn’t give himself that title – I did!) He is a coach, speaker, consultant and founder of Productive Flourshing – Strategies for Thriving in Life and Business. I discovered Charlie and his Heatmapping concept in April 2011. It has transformed how I go about my daily work. See more details in the interview below…

JAIME: What is heatmapping and where did you come up with it?

CHARLIE: First, thanks for giving me the opportunity to share some techniques for leveraging our own natural creativity.

Heatmapping is an informational design technique that essentially uses colors to show changes in whatever data you’re trying to display. It’s a subtle but fascinating way to convert data into information using a schema that’s embedded into our very basic cognitive maps – we’re hardwired to understand “darker”, “lighter”, and colors. For instance, we intuitively understand which portions of fires are hotter by just looking at them.

You can find heatmaps all over the place, but I initially stumbled upon it through website design. I was exploring some techniques for determining how to figure out how people were using websites and came across some tools. It was cool and it stuck with me, but design isn’t my native area – productivity for creative people is.

I simply put a few concepts together: heatmapping, energy management, and the understanding of our circadian rhythms. The simplicity is why it works – it was an accidental discovery that I didn’t overthink before testing and sharing it.

JAIME: I have used your Heatmapping concept for the past 6 months and it has increased my daily productivity exponentially. I love it. I map out time slots to edit my photos, design marketing materials, e-mail clients back and even my shooting times. I’ve found that I feel more rewarded after working during my “red” time and I do not try to accomplish highly creative pieces when I’m in my “gray” zone. I feel more fulfilled and less frustrated with my daily work.

Most people know what they need to do to be more productive but they do not always do it. What have you found are the reasons a person would not use the Heatmapping concept?

CHARLIE: Throughout the years that I’ve been sharing the heatmapping technique, I’ve found that the major resistance to using it is a (false) belief that creativity can’t be structured or tracked in such a way. The idea seems to be that “creativity (or creative peaks) just happen.”

Well, they do and they don’t.

I work with and talk to hypercreative people every day and I’ve yet to find one who doesn’t have daily rhythms with energetic troughs and peaks. What tends to be far more common is that people are distracted or interrupted so much all day that they can’t focus, and this is precisely where we can draw a fine distinction between our energetic levels and focus. They’re two different things that require different approaches, i.e. you can work on not being distracted or interrupted but still not be in the right energy space to work just as much as you can be in the right energy space but be unable to focus.

JAIME: How would heatmapping help a small business photographer?

CHARLIE: To be in small business is to be crunched for time, energy, and attention, not to mention money. We spend most of our days trying/having to do way too much with too little.

The basic idea of using heatmapping your day is to make sure you’re doing the right stuff at the right time. The creative heavy lifting we need to do can only be done during certain parts of the day – if you don’t do it during those periods, they don’t get done.

When we get to the runway, that means that processing email and being on Social Media when we need to be working on our marketing plan, writing, or editing pictures gets everything backwards. If you (as a photographer) gets real about it, you get paid for high quality, high touch experiences through film (or digital). You can’t really work at your best when you’re in the wrong energy space.

Photographers are even more pressed for time given how much lighting, weather, and people’s moods affect your craft. Why be on Twitter or email during the golden hours for photography or not be taking capturing your experiences during the ideal times?

When you do the right things at the right time for you, the process AND the product are just that much better. In short, it makes sure that your resources are used the best way possible. As an aside, most people find that they get more done with less burnout once they rearrange their schedule to fit their cycles.

Thank you Charlie!

Charlie Gilkey | Team PF Captain
Charlie is the captain of this small team of awesome people. In addition to guiding Team PF, he’s the chief writer, coach, consultant, speaker, and program developer. He’s currently writing a book that helps small business owners improve their businesses on the fly – or, as he might say, it helps them fix the plane while flying it. He lives in Portland, Oregon with his life and business partner, Angela Wheeler. If you’d like to learn more about Charlie, check out his longer bio.

TASK

Fill out the Heatmapping chart.

CLICK HERE to get your FREE Blank Daily Productivity Heatmap (28208) This is your chance to map out your day and gage your energy levels. Here are the colors and the meaning, per Charlie’s words:

Red: This is where productive capacity is the highest.  All systems are operational and ready for the captain to give the signal to go to warp speed.  This is where I get all of my creative heavy lifting done.  I call this level the “nova” stage (from “supernova”) because it’s really hot and intense, and it’s also something quick to say to my wife so that she knows what’s going on with me (I get really, really frustrated by trifling issues during novas, since I am acutely aware of what else I could be doing).
Orange:  This level of productive capacity is the waystation between creative awesomeness and merely puttering along.  A lot of work can get done here, but you’ll be somewhat aware that you’re working.
Yellow: This level of capacity is the idle status.  Some productive work can be done, but it’s not going to be high-level, lose-track-of-time type of productivity.
Green:  At this level, I’m spending more energy trying to keep working than actually doing the work itself.  Creativity, motivation, or focus is pretty much gone.
Gray: Hopefully I’m asleep at this level.  Unfortunately, all too often I’m still trying to get something done or can’t sleep because some idea is teasing me. – Productive Heatmapping

Charlie mentions that it might take a few days to record your productive. I used it for a week and I discovered that I go “nova” (red) between 9:00am-Noon. I’m the most creative during this time and I “lose track of time” and forget that I’m working. I try to schedule my shooting sessions at this time or writing for my blog. I drop off to yellow around noon because my sugar levels dip. From 1:00-3:00pm, I stay in the orange zone and work through my e-mails and social media and “auto-pilot” work. This is just an idea of what your productive chart could look like. Enjoy your heatmapping exercise!

Advanced: If you really want get your “Productive Mojo” humming then read this: How Heatmapping Your Productivity Can Make You More Productive By Charlie Gilkey

When are YOU most creative?

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