Some of these ideas may not be new to you. If you’ve done them before, take the idea to the next level or over the edge to get your synapses moving.  Many of the ideas may involve a little research or investigation. I’m not encouraging you to do anything harmful or life threatening.

Ultimately, the concepts below are designed to improve your photography and help you create a better business. I threw in a few marketing ideas, of course.

1. Create a photograph without using your camera (any electronic camera).
2. Figure out what it costs you every second to run your business over a year. (one year = 31, 556, 926 seconds)
3. Ask someone who intimidates you to be your next model.
4. Take one day to create a Cinemagraph portfolio.
5. Call on the biggest agency or company in town for an appointment to show your portfolio.
6. Create a portfolio designed for people on Pinterest.
7. Light your subject using only mirrors.
8. Build a scene out of Legos and make an awesome photograph.
9. Develop a plan and sales funnel that focuses on selling only one specific photograph.
10. Rent the most expensive photography equipment you can afford for a week to see if it improves your images.
11. Network non-stop until you get the names and phone numbers of 20 people who just got engaged.
12. Photograph two opposite subjects in one image.  Make it work.
13. Photograph an entire day without looking through the viewfinder.
14. Ask a total stranger for a referral.
15. Spend an entire day reading and commenting on blogs. (You will understand blogs much better.)
16. Create a working photography studio out of a shoe box.
17. Photograph while running.
18. Don’t photograph more than 50 feet from you house for a week. Create a portfolio of 10 incredible images.
19. Ask the mayor of your town to pose with his/her No. 1 rival.
20. Create a portfolio-worthy image in a photo booth.
21. Plan all the details for a yearlong worldwide photo safari.
22. Create a new Photoshop technique.
23. Start a movement using the images from your camera. (social, political etc.)
24. Create a scavenger hunt for you and photographer friends. (Make it a challenge.)
25. Invite your favorite famous musician or actor to pose for you.
26. Create your own unique DIY lighting system from supplies available at the hardware store.
27. Photograph an entire session without reviewing one image on the back of your camera.  Wait until the next day to review the results. (This is how photography used to be).
28. Write a poem and then create a photograph to go with it.
29. Photograph from an extreme view.
30. Frame and sell one of your photographs on the street.
31. Create a great-looking photograph of rotting food.
32. Create a beautiful out-of-focus or blurry photograph.
33. Double your normal fees on your next five estimates.
34. Photograph an event without taking one picture of the main subject. (This idea might not be good for paid assignments.)
35. Spend a day promoting other photographers in town.
36. Call every client you have served and ask what you could have done better.
37. Write a list of 100 photography ideas, subjects or concepts to try over the next year.
38. Photograph by candle light.
39. Recreate one of your favorite photographs from another photographer.
40. Change your profile photo on Facebook every day for a month.
41. Take a photo walk every day for a year.

I’ll stop here.  What would you add?

• Detroit Creative Labs Podcast – Photographer Edition – You don’t need to be from Detroit nor a photographer to be apart of this digital marketing and social media experiment.
• Time: 30:00
• Podcast host: Rosh Sillars
• This weeks show notes:  Facebook pages, Google +, Personal Facebook,  Quora, Indexing your pages,  pages and search,  digging into the data, Google Analytics, Ads on your website, Your copyright is valuable.
• Google Plus Hangout: None
• Rosh Sillars Google+
• Like us on Facebook (video updates)
• Twitter @roshsillars
• Itunes Detroit Creative Labs: Photographer edition -  subscription
• Comment line: 64-newrosh-1 (646 397 6741)
• Email Rosh Sillars
• Rosh Sillars Speaking sample video 2:06 minutes
• http://about.me/roshsillars
• Rosh Sillars Pinterest
• My Plaxo
• Rosh 500px
• Rosh Sillars Photography Portfolios
• Detroit Photographer People Portfolio
• The Driven Business Blog and Podcast
• e-mail

Please listen to this warning.  Having family and friends hire you and tell you your photography is great is not reason enough to go out on your own full-time.

How will you know when the time is right?  When people in your circle, family and friends refer you to people outside your circle.  This is a sign of trust.  Once the referrals come at a consistent pace you should evaluate your progress. It may be time to take the next steps.

For some people, starting part-time is the right answer.

The first thing you need to understand is what you are about to do is start a real business. Understanding business is important. The competition in the photography industry is too great.

Decide what type of photography you wish to focus on and who would be interested in hiring you or purchasing your images. This is called finding your target market.  One thing I recommend is that you discover your and.  You need to separate yourself from you competition.  The reality is everyone with a camera or smart phone is your competition.

Add up all your expected expenses. Include everything such equipment, rentals, gas, insurance, set materials, assistants, processing time and how much you wish to make in a year.  Then divide the number of assignments, days or hours you expect to earn over the next year. Use your current history as a benchmark, not what you hope or think the number should be. This will give you a realistic gauge as to how much you should charge.  I often recommend per image pricing. If you are still unsure compare prices of other local photographers.

Don’t be the cheap photographer.  This business practice is a race to the bottom.  The only way being the cheapest will work is if you are Wal-Mart.  You’re not Wal-Mart.  You are a professional.  Photography buyers don’t give the big or important jobs to the cheap photographer.

Make sure you keep a list of your rates easily accessible so you will properly estimate all projects.

Develop your branding style and look.  I recommend you hire a good designer.  It will make all the difference in the world in terms of making your business look professional.  Keep the key elements of your look consistent throughout your paperwork, business cards, sales materials and website.

You must have a website.  If you are a photographer and you don’t have a website, you are not in business. Start with a website using your very best images.  Make it is easy to contact you; list the ways on every page.  Don’t expect people will click over to a contact page or fill out a form to do business with you.

Make it easy to do business with you.

Contracts are important to protect you and your clients.  Make sure you keep your copyright unless someone pays for it.  The only real good reason someone would need to purchase your copyright is if they plan on reselling your images.

People are the secret to your success.  Network, network, network.  Connect with people online and off.  Never stop. Everyone is an opportunity for a referral.  Make sure you encourage and reward people who refer new business to you.  These are your fans, supporters and champions. They must be cherished.

Never stop learning.  Photography, business and marketing rules are always evolving.  Read books, watch tutorials on YouTube, take classes, workshops and seminars.

Go to work every day.  If you work for a company, you are expected to be on the job at least 40 hours.  Each day you must prospect for work and do the work you were hired to do.   Keep developing better and more efficient workflows, better techniques, and improve your marketing.

Remember, the day you think you have arrived, that you can let up on the gas pedal, is the day your business and photography begin to decline.

What would you recommend to someone starting a business?

Rosh

Creating a successful image is as simple as being in the right place at the right time and clicking the shutter at the perfect fraction of a second.  Easy.

Actually, there is more you can do and we will explore a few ideas that you can take with you on your next expedition or assignment.

First, consider your composition.  Use the rule of thirds and think about everything that is in your frame.  Consider where you place the subject. Be conscious of the foreground and background.  Can you play one off the other? Should all the elements in your frame even be in the frame?

Light is the key ingredient in photography.  If you review your favorite photographs, chances are lighting plays a major role. Consider light direction, the quality of the light such as hard or soft, and the color.

Emotion is the next element you will find common in your favorite photographs.  If you are photographing people, look for happy, excited, sad, or mad (to name a few emotions).  The goal is to capture the decisive moment, the peak of the action.  This takes experience, timing, and a little luck.

One way to increase your luck for creating great images is to always have your camera with you and take a lot of frames.  Look away from the main subject.  Sometimes exciting or supporting photographs are found in the opposite direction; try new angles.

In most cases, your first idea has been done before.  That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t photograph it, but keep building on your concept.  As new ideas pop in your head, try them or write them down for later.  Trust me, you won’t remember.

I’m often asked  how to create the properly exposed photograph.

The quick method is to check your highlights and shadow detail.  Everything in your photograph should have texture, unless otherwise planned.  Your whites and light colors should show detail.  Your shadows should not be pure black unless by design.  Black cats, clothes, and surfaces all have detail.

Photoshop is not the answer.  Photoshop cannot fix everything.  It can enhance good photographs, but it can’t capture the decisive moment.  Every photograph doesn’t need extreme post processing.  Remember: Post processing can change the mood of the photograph to the positive or negative.

Obviously, we all have different tastes when it comes to photography and you can’t please everyone.  Different types of photography have different standards.  For example, capturing a great nature photograph takes a different skill set than creating a beautiful food image. In the world of art, opinions are off the chart.  Nonetheless, the concepts of composition, lighting, and clicking the shutter at the right time are common among all types of photography.

The best tip of all? Keep it simple.

How do you define a great photograph? Feel free to add a link to your favorite photograph.

Here are a few favorite photographs from my portfolio:

• Detroit Creative Labs Podcast – Photographer Edition – You don’t need to be from Detroit nor a photographer to be apart of this digital marketing and social media experiment.
• Time: 30:00
• Podcast host: Rosh Sillars
• This weeks show notes:  Driving traffic to your blog. 17 things photographers should not do, reinforce what works, How can social media make you money?, Weekly email from Linkedin, Instagram,  Best Business Practices for Photographers by John Harrington.
• Google Plus Hangout: None
• Rosh Sillars Google+
• Like us on Facebook (video updates)
• Twitter @roshsillars
• Itunes Detroit Creative Labs: Photographer edition -  subscription
• Comment line: 64-newrosh-1 (646 397 6741)
• Email Rosh Sillars
• Rosh Sillars Speaking sample video 2:06 minutes
• http://about.me/roshsillars
• Rosh Sillars Pinterest
• My Plaxo
• Rosh 500px
• Rosh Sillars Photography Portfolios
• Detroit Photographer People Portfolio
• The Driven Business Blog and Podcast
• e-mail

Do not …

1.  Spend too much time thinking about your gear.  Equipment is important, but it is not the core of photography.  It will not make you a better photographer.  Photographing makes you a better photographer.

2. Leave your camera at home.  Always have a camera handy.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve missed great opportunities due to a little laziness.

3. Photograph using the same techniques every time.  Your work will stagnate —  a sure sign you are not growing as a photographer.

4. Ignore the value of your copyright.  If your copyrights are not valuable, why are people working so hard to get them?

5. Take every assignment.  Every photographer has a few specialities.  Just because a job is offered to you doesn’t mean you should take it. It’s about your reputation.

6. Do everything yourself.  Hiring the right people to support you makes you look better.  Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.  Focus on your photography.

7. Fail to create an And.  Photographers need to separate themselves from the competition to survive.

8. Ignore the math.  Are your expenses higher than your income? (You can’t make it up in volume).

9. Forget to plan in advance.  The more you plan ahead and prepare yourself, your team and equipment, the more successful the assignment or outing.

10. Ignore blogging.  Blogging helps people get to know you on a deeper level as a photographer. It is also great for search engine optimization.

11. Ignore social media. Social media is one of the best ways to share your images with the world.

12. Place sensitive photographs on the web.  If you fear a photograph will be shared improperly or stolen for  use on the Web, don’t post it.

13. Ignore other lens options.  Don’t get too used to your favorite lens.

14. Forget your tripod.  As much I don’t like using a tripod, it’s important for certain types of photography.  You never know when you might need it.

15. Think you can fix everything in Photoshop.  Photoshop is  great tool but you need to start with great photography; it cannot fix everything.

16. Believe you don’t need Photoshop skills.  Today most images need some sort of correction or enhancement.

17. Stop learning.  The day you feel you know everything about photography is the day your photography begins to decline.

What would you add?

Success is subjective. It means different things to different people.  I divide photographic success into two distinctive areas.

The first area is the opportunity to create beautiful images.  For many photographers, successfully finding and taking advantage of great opportunities to create beautiful images means they win.  Once you decide to make photography your career, the story changes.

For photographers who wish to make a living, success still involves finding great opportunities.  The difference between the amateur and the professional in developing photographic opportunities is marketing.

The second measure of success for the photographer is all math.  Your income should be greater than your expenses and your net income should be enough to live a comfortable life.  Once again, the measure of what is comfortable is subjective.  The basic math of income over expense is not.

A successful photographer knows how much he spends each month on studio space, location fees, insurance, assistants, professional fees, equipment, and repair.  He knows how much he needs to make each day to generate a profit and achieve his income goals.  Do you?

Add up every fixed business expense, to the best of your knowledge, that will you encounter over the next year.  Then add how much you realistically need or want to make as your annual income.  Then divide the total by the number of jobs you had last year or a realistic number of days you will work this year.

You might be surprised by how much you really need to charge to stay in business.

You cannot afford to work hourly.

When the average person thinks about hourly rates, she envisions $25 – $50 dollars an hour as a professional rate.  This is not realistic.  Here’s why: Most photographers don’t spend 40-50 hours a week photographing for clients. To meet her expenses and income goals, a professional photographer needs to charge more per hour on average.

Unfortunately for the hourly photographer,  photography production takes less time than it did 10-15 years ago.   It is more important than ever to focus on the value of the image.   Pricing per image is the way to go.

The only type of photography that can practically employ hourly rates is event photography.  The photographer is required to be at the event for a specific period of time.  An event photographer can’t get out early because she thinks she “got the shot” or worked efficiently.

Great, now that I’ve explained how you may be losing money doing what you love, how do you find more photography opportunities?

 Marketing

When it comes to marketing, it is important to discover and understand your competition. In the photography industry it may be easier to figure out who is not your competition, because everyone is a photographer. 

If everyone  is a photographer, you must understand what the average photographer does.  What is considered average and make sure you are not average.  If someone is going to hire a photographer, that person needs to feel she brings value beyond what they can do to the table.  Great value.

One way to help make the competition less relevant is to find your And.  Create a valuable product, service, or style that no one else or very few photographers are offering.

Create demand

You may offer a wonderful service, but if no one knows about it you will have trouble making a living.  You need to develop a 2012 marketing plan.  This plan must involve digital marketing and social media.

Many photographers still resist digital marketing.  These new marketing ideas are not new anymore. They are standard and effective.  This does not mean traditional marketing techniques do not work.  Many are less effective than they once where, but if you executed them well you will earn positive results.

Cost is one of the major factors limiting the use of traditional marketing for the 2012 photographer.  Quality and effective direct mail, Workbook advertising, in-person meetings, lunches, events, posters, and traditional public relations are all expensive.  In the past, good marketing was more about the photographer’s financial budget.  In 2012 it’s a combination of money and time.  The photographer must decide which is more available and how to balance her assets.

The solar system

To keep your marketing in focus, you need to develop a plan.  I recommend using my solar system model.

Start with your website.

A photographer in 2012 who does not have a website is not in business.  A photographer’s website needs to be clean and easy to use.  The photographs must be the very best work, not a catalog of your career.  There is nothing wrong with having a photographic catalog on your website, but it is important for your portfolio section to contain only the top 10-20 images that represent your vision.  Always make sure you have contact information on every page.  It is important to make sure visitors know what steps to take next.

Your website is the foundation of your marketing in 2012.  This is where you sell.  Everything else is designed to drive traffic to your website.  Circling near your sun is your blog.  Your blog is your personality.  This is where you share outtakes, commentary, personal projects, behind- the-scenes photos and videos.  This helps photography buyers understand who you are as a person as well as a photographer. It is also excellent for attracting visitors to your website via the search engines such as Google.

The next orbit of planets are your inner planets.  These are content-sharing multi-media sites such as YouTube, Flickr and 500px.   Your outer planets are social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google +.   This is where you engage and develop your community.  It’s not as much about selling as it is educating people about what you do and developing referrals.

Note: I share more support information about my solar system marketing model in my book The Linked Photographer’s Guide to Online Marketing and Social Media.

Business in 2012 is still about people and relationships.  The difference is that relationships are now developed and reinforced online.  Social media does not replace in-person relationships. Social media and digital marketing doesn’t replace anything, it is a valuable addition to what already works in your marketing.

Digital marketing is not all social media.  Direct marketing such as e-mail and search engine marketing must be considered for your plan.  These direct marketing tools are like asteroids in your solar system and lead directly to your website for the conversion.

What is a conversion?

A conversion is the person visiting your website doing what you want them to do.  This could be a phone call, e-mail or filling out a form.  Once you get people to your website it is all about your sales funnel.  A sales funnel is the steps it takes to complete the sale.  What does your funnel or workflow look like?

An example of a broken sales funnel is all those business cards in your desk drawer.  Many business people collect the cards, but don’t do anything with them.  Another example is all the traffic coming to your website without conversions.  If you don’t know where your traffic is coming from you are losing opportunities. Take action to fix the funnel and make it more efficient so your sun doesn’t turn into a black hole.

Don’t let your sun turn into a black hole

The great thing about digital marketing is that you can test it.  Testing makes your solar system more efficient and ultimately generates more successful conversions and sales.   What do you test?  Everything!

Different keywords attract different qualities of traffic in your search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM).  Your favorite photograph is not always the best image for your front page.  Often our favorite photograph has personal and emotional value, but it is not our best photograph to sell our services.  Test headlines in your e-mail campaigns and blog posts.

A successful photographer in 2012 never stops testing and experimenting.

Speaking of experimenting, a successful photographer strives to improve his photography every day.  Techniques and styles continually change.  Yours need to develop and grow, too.  Never stop learning.

Keep track of your successes.  What worked last year may not work today.  Some activities that worked in the past may have gotten lost in the shuffle.  Test them again, they may still work.

One thing that always works is to show appreciation to the people who hire you.  Thank clients and reward people who generate valuable referrals online and in real life.

Photography is an easy career in get into, but it is an extremely hard industry to stay in.   In 2012 a photographer cannot build a career just on the love of the craft.  She must have a vision, understand business and marketing,  separate herself from the competition, and continually educate and update.

What would you add?

Rosh

• Detroit Creative Labs Podcast – Photographer Edition – You don’t need to be from Detroit nor a photographer to be apart of this digital marketing and social media experiment.
• Time: 20:00
• Podcast host: Rosh Sillars
• This week’s show notes:  Will Twitter help answer your SEO questions. Selina Maitreya call… Photographers Path Series.  Sociable plug-in, Flickr, Facebook, Twitter. Travel Plans?
• Google Plus Hangout: None
• Rosh Sillars Google+
• Like us on Facebook (video updates)
• Twitter @roshsillars
• Itunes Detroit Creative Labs: Photographer edition -  subscription
• Comment line: 64-newrosh-1 (646 397 6741)
• Email Rosh Sillars
• Rosh Sillars Speaking sample video 2:06 minutes
• http://about.me/roshsillars
• Rosh Sillars Pinterest
• My Plaxo
• Rosh 500px
• Rosh Sillars Photography Portfolios
• Detroit Photographer People Portfolio
• The Driven Business Blog and Podcast
• e-mail

• Detroit Creative Labs Podcast – Photographer Edition – You don’t need to be from Detroit nor a photographer to be apart of this digital marketing and social media experiment.
• Time: 30.00
• Podcast host: Rosh Sillars
• This week’s show notes: Selina Maitreya event Feb 6 4PM EST http://selinamaitreya.com/teleseminar/ , Your Intern , Landing Pages, Ask for the sale. New Speaking Video
• Google Plus Hangout: None
• Rosh Sillars Google+
• Like us on Facebook (video updates)
• Twitter @roshsillars
• Itunes Detroit Creative Labs: Photographer edition -  subscription
• Comment line: 64-newrosh-1 (646 397 6741)
• Email Rosh Sillars
• Rosh Sillars Speaking sample video 2:06 minutes
• http://about.me/roshsillars
• Rosh Sillars Pinterest
• My Plaxo
• Rosh 500px
• Rosh Sillars Photography Portfolios
• Detroit Photographer People Portfolio
• The Driven Business Blog and Podcast
• e-mail

A landing page is a marketing web page designed to offer specific information related to the advertisement or link clicked by the visitor.  The goal of a landing page is to convince the person on the page to take the desired action.  This action is called a conversion, which may represent downloading a file, filling out a form, contacting the photographer, or purchasing a product or service.

People looking for a food photographer don’t want to see fashion photography.  Photo buyers looking for a fashion photographer don’t want to see your landscape images.  A landing page is direct to the point.

A good landing page is simple.  You don’t want any distractions that will lead the visitor away from your message.   Make the theme of the page extremely obvious. Have a big headline and title directly related to the ad or link your visitor clicked.  For example, if a visitor clicked on a link that said food photographer your landing page headline should contain the word food photographer.

Ask for the sale.

Never expect that your visitors will know what to do. People must be told exactly what steps they need to take when landing on your page.  Make your directions obvious. Use different colors to emphasize  important information and create large colorful buttons.

Test.

Use Google website optimizer.  It’s just like testing headlines for search engine marketing and e-mail to drive people to your Website.  Test the elements on your landing page.  Test photographs, buttons and headlines.  Only test one element at a time otherwise you will not know what adjustments are actually working.

Here is an example of a very simple landing page: