Photo Business News & Forum

TIPS60 - The value of The Picture Licensing Universal System

2013-05-20T07:00:00.000-04:00

Here is another of our videos offering tips and inisights into the business of photography. a transcript of the video is included after the jump.

(Continued after the Jump)

TRANSCRIPT:Here are a few thoughts on the value of PLUS. I'm John Harrington. PLUS or the Picture Licensing Universal System is a industry standard that allows you to license your work in a way which everyone knows about and understands what you're saying. So, if you're referring to and ad slick or you're referring to a bus back or bus shelter where your pictures being licensed. Everyone understands that what that means and there's no ambiguity because the Picture Licensing Universal System, PLUS, which is free. Check out the URL below. Really explains it, everyone's gotten together ad agencies, media, art buyers, stock photo agencies, everyone's gotten together and agreed on exactly what the licensing language is so that there's no misunderstandings. In addition PLUS is creating this registry which will help photographers and image buyers connect if someone's got an image, they're trying to find who owns the rights to that photograph, they can reach out to them and find them through the PLUS registry.

Please post your comments by clicking the link below. If you've got questions, please pose them in our Photo Business Forum Flickr Group Discussion Threads.

TIPS60 - Product Commentary - Spyder LensCal Camera/Lens Calibrator

2013-05-13T07:00:00.000-04:00

Here is another of our videos offering tips and inisights into the business of photography. a transcript of the video is included after the jump.

(Continued after the Jump)

TRANSCRIPT:One of the things that a lot of cameras have a problem with, no matter what professional grade camera you are working with, is that every lens and every camera combination are not perfectly calibrated, perfectly matched to them, to each other. Now you can take and send your cameras off to Nikon Professional Services, Canon Professional Services what have you and have them do all the calibrations for you. There is a fee and obviously you are without your cameras for a while. There's a really great solution that we encourage, it's actually called the Spyder LensCal tool. What's great about the Spyder LensCal tool is that it lets you focus on an exact known position and have the camera say that it's in focus at that point and then if it's actually not, off by a millimeter, off by a few inches it can actually be adjusted in camera. The camera remembers each of the lens positions for each of the focus points for the lens positions and it's a really great tool to make certain that everything you shoot that's in focus really is in focus.

Please post your comments by clicking the link below. If you've got questions, please pose them in our Photo Business Forum Flickr Group Discussion Threads.

TIPS60 - A good job grows clientele, a bad job costs you clients!

2013-05-06T07:00:00.000-04:00

Here is another of our videos offering tips and inisights into the business of photography. a transcript of the video is included after the jump.

(Continued after the Jump)

TRANSCRIPT:Here are a few thoughts on the value of any given client. I'm John Harrington. When you're talking to a client, they've decided to call you they've made a whole host of decisions about whether or not they want to work with you. The only reason they are calling you is because they're considering working with. So you to want to make sure that all of the things that went up to that phone ringing, don't get lost and all of the sudden the job falls apart and you don't get a chance to do that work. The challenge of course is once you keep that client, and make them happy, recognize that that client, that one job, for conversations sake let's say it's a $500 job, is all of a sudden going to parlay itself over the course of a lifetime relationship with that client into ten plus jobs. Even if you're only getting one job a year, it's going to be a lot. So any given job that is worth $500, if you keep that client, is going to be worth ten times that or $5,000, but if you make a mistake and screw up that $500 job costs you that same $5,000 down the line because they're not gonna call you back.

Please post your comments by clicking the link below. If you've got questions, please pose them in our Photo Business Forum Flickr Group Discussion Threads.

TIPS60 - Accounting - Managerial vs. Tax methodologies

2013-04-29T07:00:00.000-04:00

Here is another of our videos offering tips and inisights into the business of photography. a transcript of the video is included after the jump.

(Continued after the Jump)

TRANSCRIPT:Here are a few thoughts on managerial accounting versus tax accounting. I'm John Harrington. Managerial accounting is a system that tells you why you spend your money on what you spend it on as opposed to tax accounting which is a system that tells you what you spend your money on. Tax accounting is something that your accountant is going to use, but managerial accounting is something that you want to use in your business to understand why and where the costs are associated with different products and services that you offer. You want to work with your accountant on transitioning your accounting system from managerial to tax accounting when you're trying to deal with your tax return and that's why having a great accountant is important. But, I would strongly encourage you to check out this URL here down below. It's a great PPofA resource, Professional Photographers of America, on the differences between managerial and tax accounting. Why you should use managerial accounting and the benefits of doing so versus the importance of tax accounting. So check it out.

Please post your comments by clicking the link below. If you've got questions, please pose them in our Photo Business Forum Flickr Group Discussion Threads.

TIPS60 - Staff2Freelance - having 3 - 6 months of savings

2013-04-22T07:00:00.000-04:00

Here is another of our videos offering tips and inisights into the business of photography. a transcript of the video is included after the jump.

(Continued after the Jump)

TRANSCRIPT:Here are a few thoughts on the potential transition for you from staff to freelance and how much money you might want to have saved. I'm John Harrington. If you're a staff photographer you have a pretty good idea of what your monthly costs are for rent, your mortgage, gas, utilities, and so on and so forth. So you really need to understand that if you go from staff to freelance unexpectedly, you need to have a bare minimum of three months of savings and more likely six months of savings to really make it easy for you to make that transition. You can't always rely on the company providing you with some form of a separation package or some kind of package to let you go out and and leave the company comfortably and happily. You've need to have three to six months worth of savings based upon your current costs. You also need to understand that you can COBRA your insurance up to eighteen months according to the latest regulations. But you need to be prepared. Three to six months savings is really what you need to have so that you can be prepared for the staff to freelance transition.

Please post your comments by clicking the link below. If you've got questions, please pose them in our Photo Business Forum Flickr Group Discussion Threads.

TIPS60 - The importance of paying yourself

2013-04-15T07:00:00.000-04:00

Here is another of our videos offering tips and inisights into the business of photography. a transcript of the video is included after the jump.

(Continued after the Jump)

TRANSCRIPT:It's really important to pay yourself what you're worth and not only do so every month, but incur the costs of you the employee, even if you're a sole proprietor, if you're an S-Corp or an LLC that's different, but still very similar. You want to make sure that you pay yourself first. Look at what you should be earning, how many hours you are putting in in any given month and pay yourself. Don't sit around and not pay yourself and then just decide that you're going to use to pay your personal expenses all of the money that you have left over at the end of the month. You should be the first bill that you pay every month. Whether it's a token amount of $500 or maybe is a large amount of money maybe $2, $3, $4,000 dollars a month, $10,000 a month if you're doing really well. Ultimately though, you want to make sure you're paying yourself first and including that as a bill as a part of the business that you're running.

Please post your comments by clicking the link below. If you've got questions, please pose them in our Photo Business Forum Flickr Group Discussion Threads.

TIPS60 - Determining A Client's Budget for the Project You're Going To Provide An Estimate for

2013-04-08T07:00:00.000-04:00

Here is another of our videos offering tips and inisights into the business of photography. a transcript of the video is included after the jump.

(Continued after the Jump)

TRANSCRIPT:Here are a few thoughts on determining the client's budget when you're talking to them about the job. I'm John Harrington. When you're dealing with a client, you're trying to figure out what their budget is you need to ask a lot of questions. One of the reasons that you ask about the client's budget is you're trying to determine what production level is exactly they're hoping to have you bring to bear. Flash on camera, no assistants, an assistant, one light, a large production, big trailers, everything, you just never know. It really helps to understand what the client's expectations are. If the client says to you, ""Gosh, we don't have a budget, we don't know what our budget is"" you need to start asking some probing questions. ""Well, were you trying to get this done for $1,000, $5000, $10,000, $20,000?"" Once you start asking questions like that you really do start to get an understanding about what the clients per hour budget is or at least the parameters within which they're trying to work. If the client says $200 and your out the door is $750 then maybe this client just isn't for you. So always ask the question about what kind of budget you're trying to work within.

Please post your comments by clicking the link below. If you've got questions, please pose them in our Photo Business Forum Flickr Group Discussion Threads.

TIPS60 - Staff2Freelance - buying your gear when you lose your job?

2013-04-01T07:00:00.000-04:00

Here is another of our videos offering tips and inisights into the business of photography. a transcript of the video is included after the jump.

(Continued after the Jump)

TRANSCRIPT:Here are a few thoughts on the unexpected transition from staff to freelance. I'm John Harrington. One of the things that you might be finding as you're going from staff to freelance unexpectedly is, ""Gosh, I need a camera to continue doing my job. I need a laptop to continue doing my job."" You may have an old computer at home or may not even have a computer all. One of the things you want to do is, if your company has laid you off, if they've told you they no longer need your services, for whatever reason offer to the company to purchase the cameras, lenses, and the laptop that you had. The reason for doing this is the company probably doesn't need them anymore. They're looking to get rid of them. They've probably amortized them off to zero on their tax and accounting books. So the idea of having to sell them or get rid of it is not valuable to them. Make them on offer, look up what the gear is worth. You know how well it's been taken care o,f or hasn't. Make them an offs say, ""I will purchase them from you for fair market value. Fair market value is ""X"" dollars. Are you willing to part with equipment?"" It's a great opportunity for you to start with the gear that you're already familiar with.

Please post your comments by clicking the link below. If you've got questions, please pose them in our Photo Business Forum Flickr Group Discussion Threads.

TIPS60 - Partnering with other vendors to grow your business

2013-03-25T07:00:00.000-04:00

Here is another of our videos offering tips and inisights into the business of photography. a transcript of the video is included after the jump.

(Continued after the Jump)

TRANSCRIPT:Here's a way that you can grow your business by partnering with other vendors. I'm John Harrington. When you're dealing with variety of different vendors for a client, say a wedding client, partnering with vendors like the hotel that they might be having their event at, the person doing the flowers or the person producing the wedding dress, making the wedding dress, those types of vendors are vendors that you want to have relationships with. If they are talking to a prospective bride, for example, and that bride's talking to them you might want to be the person that that particular company refers to. ""Hey you should use this photographer"", in turn, if you're talking to a bride first and you say that bride ""Have you picked out your wedding dress yet?"" and they say ""No, I haven't, I'm still looking."" You can encourage the bride to consider that wedding dress vendor as well. There are a variety of different ways you can partner. This was just one example for weddings. You can do it for family portraits and newborns and all different types of photography.

Please post your comments by clicking the link below. If you've got questions, please pose them in our Photo Business Forum Flickr Group Discussion Threads.

TIPS60 - When discussing an assignment, get off the phone and THINK!

2013-03-18T07:00:00.000-04:00

Here is another of our videos offering tips and inisights into the business of photography. a transcript of the video is included after the jump.

(Continued after the Jump)

TRANSCRIPT:Here are a few thoughts on managing client interactions. I'm John Harrington. When you're talking to a client, after you've got some of the pertinent details from that client, it's really important that even if they ask you, ""How much is this going to cost or can you give me a ballpark?"" is to say, ""Let me give it some thought"" and get off the phone. You need to get off the phone and think about what's going into this shoot. Do you need an assistant? Do you need a crew? Do you need a larger production? You really need to just, after you've talked to the client, get off the phone. That gives you time without the pressure of a minute or two phone call to really think through the details of the shoot. Think through the creative, and come up with a really thoughtful and thorough estimate because if you don't have everything thought through when you send the estimate it's going to reflect on what you're doing for that client. They're going to look at you and go, ""Well, maybe they just don't know what they're doing."" It also lets you really come up with a fair and reasonable number that accounts for the production level of the shoot.

Please post your comments by clicking the link below. If you've got questions, please pose them in our Photo Business Forum Flickr Group Discussion Threads.

TIPS60 - The value of having staff in your business

2013-03-11T07:00:00.000-04:00

Here is another of our videos offering tips and inisights into the business of photography. a transcript of the video is included after the jump.

(Continued after the Jump)

TRANSCRIPT:Here are a few thoughts on the value of having a staff. I'm John Harrington. We have a staff at John Harrington Photography. It makes my life a lot easier. It lets me get out and make the pictures that I love to make. It does minimize my need to sit behind a computer doing post-production, sending out invoices, sending out estimates, I get to go out and be creative and make the pictures that I love. I can't stress enough the value of doing that can be underwritten by having an additional few dollars applied to an invoice. We use our administrative fee in our business to justify the value of an office manager, to pay those bills and get the invoices out and follow up on unpaid invoices. A post production manager is really invaluable and and is something you should be billing for as a part of your everyday expense of dealing with clients. A post-production charge should be part of every invoice. Because it does take time whether you're doing it yourself or using the staff that you rightly should have to make your life easier and let you focus on making pictures.

Please post your comments by clicking the link below. If you've got questions, please pose them in our Photo Business Forum Flickr Group Discussion Threads.

TIPS60 - On Quickbooks - Explaining "Splitting" a Transaction

2013-03-04T07:00:00.000-05:00

Here is another of our videos offering tips and inisights into the business of photography. a transcript of the video is included after the jump.

(Continued after the Jump)

TRANSCRIPT:Here are a few thoughts on splitting transactions in Quickbooks. I'm John Harrington. Quickbooks is a great solution and a great tool, but you need to make certain that all of your all of your expenses are properly categorized. In one instance, you're actually going to be writing a check to, say, a credit card company for $1,500, but the credit card company expense is actually comprised of three separate expenses. In this instance, you have a $1,000 expense to a camera store for a lens, you may have a $400 expense for office supplies to Staples, and then you may have a $100 expense say, for a client meal that you took a client out to. Each of those has to be categorized as a separate expense in Quickbooks and you do that using the splits category that is an option within Quickbooks. So use splits to make certain that you have all of your expenses properly categorized.

Please post your comments by clicking the link below. If you've got questions, please pose them in our Photo Business Forum Flickr Group Discussion Threads.

TIPS60 - Should You Have a "Brick and Mortar" location for your business?

2013-02-25T07:00:00.000-05:00

Here is another of our videos offering tips and inisights into the business of photography. a transcript of the video is included after the jump.

(Continued after the Jump)

TRANSCRIPT:Here are a few thoughts on the benefits and drawbacks of having a brick and mortar location. I'm John Harrington. One of the questions that so many photographers ask themselves is, ""Do I need a studio, do I need a physical location in a building. Either in a warehouse district or in a downtown commercial district to make my pictures to review and receive clients?"" In many instances the answer is no, you don't. For over twenty years we've been making pictures, portraits on location, portraits in commercial and corporate offices or we go to the client And portraits of our subjects in all manner of locale, but none of which required a studio. We've never rented studio that's not to say that we haven't shot in a studio environment. So think very carefully about whether or not you need to incur the five, ten, twenty thousand dollar a month rents that are associated with having a brick and mortar location and see if you can cover that in your overhead.

Please post your comments by clicking the link below. If you've got questions, please pose them in our Photo Business Forum Flickr Group Discussion Threads.

TIPS60 - Product Commentary - prime lenses vs. zoom lenses

2013-02-18T07:00:00.000-05:00

Here is another of our videos offering tips and inisights into the business of photography. a transcript of the video is included after the jump.

(Continued after the Jump)

TRANSCRIPT:Here are a few thoughts on primes versus zooms. I'm John Harrington. There is a great deal of debate amongst photographers about whether you should shoot with a prime, whether you should shoot with a zoom. Zooms are great lenses because of course you can be at 24mm, wide open and then all of a sudden you need zoom in to 70mm, no problem, a 24-70mm is a really common zoom lens. If you have the opportunity though, I would strongly encourage you to consider primes. Camera manufacturers still make primes for good reason. They're great lenses, they're sharp a 24mm prime is going to be sharper at 24mm then a 24mm zoom will be at 24mm. It's a crisper lens, it really also is a lens that makes you give a little more thought to what you're doing picture wise, your framing, and so on and so forth. You can't just fix it in zoom. Everyone likes to say, ""Well, fix it in post"" or ""Don't fix it in post"". Fixing it by zooming is a little different than fixing it by changing lenses and changing position. So strongly encourage you to consider prime lenses. Prime lenses are a great tool when you're really trying to just be thoughtful about the image you're making.

Please post your comments by clicking the link below. If you've got questions, please pose them in our Photo Business Forum Flickr Group Discussion Threads.

TIPS60 - How to be paid what you are worth(and get clients to do so willingly)

2013-02-11T07:00:00.000-05:00

Here is another of our videos offering tips and inisights into the business of photography. a transcript of the video is included after the jump.

(Continued after the Jump)

TRANSCRIPT:Here are a few thoughts on how to get paid what you're worth. I'm John Harrington. In order for you to be paid what you're worth, you actually have to demonstrate to clients what you are worth. Sometimes that's a challenge, but the key thing to do is to convince the client that you're worth ""x"" dollars. If you don't convince the client that you're worth that then ultimately what's going to happen is the client's going to decide what they think it's worth off the top of their head and generally speaking what they think it's worth and what it really is worth is always a very disparate figure. The key thing to do is to not only demonstrate that you'll be there for say twenty minutes or a half an hour doing a portrait, but that not only are you there for that period of time, but you are there for an hour before hand setting up and a half an hour, forty five minutes, afterwards breaking down. You'll be doing work on the computer for a couple of hours afterwards to make their portrait look just right and then in addition to that they'll be able to use that picture for years to come based upon the photography licensing and you provide to them. So it's not just fifteen minute shoot, it's actually much longer than that.

Please post your comments by clicking the link below. If you've got questions, please pose them in our Photo Business Forum Flickr Group Discussion Threads.

TIPS60 - Using 2/10 Net 30 to Incentivize Faster Payment

2013-02-04T07:00:00.000-05:00

Here is another of our videos offering tips and inisights into the business of photography. a transcript of the video is included after the jump.

(Continued after the Jump)

TRANSCRIPT:Here's an explanation of 2/10 Net 30. I'm John Harrington. 2/10 Net 30 is an accounting term that tells you as the buyer of a product the you can take a two percent discount from the total bill, the total invoice, if you pay in ten days. Otherwise, the net amount is due in thirty days. So if you are sending a bill to a client and you place on the bill 2/10 Net 30 you're trying to provide that client with the incentive to pay that bill within ten days of receipt and therefore allowing them to take a two percent discount. Now a two percent discounts not a big deal when you're talking about a hundred dollars, it's two dollars, thousand dollars, is twenty dollars, so 2/10 Net 30 is really a good incentivisation to give clients to get them to pay you on time or early in this case. So 2/10 Net 30 is a really good accounting tool to get clients to pay you on time or early.

Please post your comments by clicking the link below. If you've got questions, please pose them in our Photo Business Forum Flickr Group Discussion Threads.

2013-01-30T11:00:00.000-05:00

In 2009, we shared with you a series of behind-the-scenes videos leading up to the historical inauguration of President Barack Obama. The video - Inaugural 'Pre-Game' Behind-The-Scenes Video - showed the different angles available to those covering the event. In 1992 we found ourselves on the North Riser, and every inauguration since we have been on the south riser. This year, we opted for the Ballustrade - a change up to be certain - something new.

Below is a video which illustrates from start to finish the set up we used to capture the swearing in ceremony - once which lasts for approximately 60 seconds. The set up and configurations, a bit longer. IF you're getting this in a feed, click here for the link.

(Comments, if any after the Jump)

Please post your comments by clicking the link below. If you've got questions, please pose them in our Photo Business Forum Flickr Group Discussion Threads.

TIPS60 - Using music in your videos, shoot sessions, website - should you?

2013-01-28T07:00:00.000-05:00

Here is another of our videos offering tips and inisights into the business of photography. a transcript of the video is included after the jump.

(Continued after the Jump)

TRANSCRIPT:Here a few thoughts on using music in your photography business. I'm John Harrington. You need to be very careful about using music in your photography business because even if you're using the music to entertain a subject when you're doing a portrait session doing so in that commercial environment requires a license from ASCAP or BMI. Those are the two major ones. You want to make sure you have permission to do that if you have music playing in a studio that you have a brick and mortar facility. Having that music play actually requires permission. When it's on a website, when it's in a video you delivered to a client, you need to have a separate and specific license for that use as well. Generally speaking you shouldn't be using any music on a website because brides and grooms if they're looking for you or a couples are looking for a family portrait photographer, corporate commercial clients don't want to see music coming up when they are trying to sit in their cubical searching for a photographer for whatever reason when their at work. So just don't use music in general.

Please post your comments by clicking the link below. If you've got questions, please pose them in our Photo Business Forum Flickr Group Discussion Threads.

WHAT WE USE - Wimberley Tripod Head

2013-01-26T20:38:00.001-05:00

We took the Wimberley tripod head to the Presidential inauguration to see how it handled. Here's a video illustrating it's use. Quick Link - HERE To learn more about the heads, visit www.TripodHead.com .

(Comments, if any, after the Jump)

Please post your comments by clicking the link below. If you've got questions, please pose them in our Photo Business Forum Flickr Group Discussion Threads.

TIPS60 - A few tips on handling the late-paying client

2013-01-21T07:00:00.000-05:00

Here is another of our videos offering tips and inisights into the business of photography. a transcript of the video is included after the jump.

(Continued after the Jump)

TRANSCRIPT:Here are a few thoughts on dealing with late paying clients. I'm John Harrington. Dealing with late paying clients is the bane of every photographer's existence. Heck, I'm sure it's the bane of most businesses existence, especially those that deal with people who provide services and then pay at a later date. In the end ultimately you do need to get paid and the first thing you need to do is if that particular person you're dealing with is not in the accounting department reach out to the accounting department in that company. Talk to them, ask the invoice is in their system. Ask if it has been approved and set to pay. Once you learn these things, if it's not in the system, provide the accounting department with a copy of the invoice and your W-9, letting them know that you anticipate being paid soon. Also provide them with the contact information for the person who originally secured your services. If you're dealing with a particular client that's an individual or a family, make certain that you're dealing with them directly not providing the finished product until you've been paid, will minimize the likelihood that you're going to get paid late by any individual client.

Please post your comments by clicking the link below. If you've got questions, please pose them in our Photo Business Forum Flickr Group Discussion Threads.

TIPS60 - The importance of having a website - For Staff Photographers!

2013-01-14T07:00:00.000-05:00

Here is another of our videos offering tips and inisights into the business of photography. a transcript of the video is included after the jump.

(Continued after the Jump)

TRANSCRIPT:Here a few thoughts on, if you're a staff photographer, what you might need to be thinking about as far as the possibility that you might go freelance. I'm John Harrington. When you're a staff photographer, you think everything is all set you're going to end up retiring from the company that you're working at and that will be that. You'll have your retirement, your 401k, and you can ride off into the sunset. The reality is, it's nowhere near the case. Most staff photographers are being transitioned into contract or the company has just decided to use freelancers. So it's really not a matter of if, it's just a matter of when you go from staff to freelance and you really need to be prepared for that. One of the steps and one of the things you really should always have at the ready is a great website. A website that showcases your work, shows that you're a talented and skilled photographer, and really gets your work out there. Not necessarily for side freelance work, although that's a great fringe benefit to having a website, but so that when you are ready to go, unexpectedly, and no one is really ever ready to go, you'll have a website that showcases your work and really lets people know that you're a capable and skilled photographer. So if you're a staffer you have got to have a website.

Please post your comments by clicking the link below. If you've got questions, please pose them in our Photo Business Forum Flickr Group Discussion Threads.

TIPS60 - Weddings - why take a deposit and when to collect the balance

2013-01-07T07:00:00.000-05:00

Here is another of our videos offering tips and inisights into the business of photography. a transcript of the video is included after the jump.

(Continued after the Jump)

TRANSCRIPT:Here are a few thoughts on wedding photography deposits and the balance due. I'm John Harrington. We do weddings and we require a deposit when we do that work for that client. That deposit upon the moment when they sign the contract locks in our time and means that we're not committing that time to any other wedding client on that day. In addition, you're taking your balance and collecting your balance due. Oftentimes deposit is fifty percent with balance due at fifty percent some photographers will do twenty five, seventy five. We strongly encourage you to make sure that you are collecting your balance due a week before the wedding. Why a week? You don't want to be turning up the day the wedding with your hand out saying I need my balance due. That money should have been collected it also makes certain that you can make sure that the check is cleared by the time the wedding actually occurs. You want to make sure you have all of your money before the bride and groom head off to their honeymoon because who knows how that money will be spent after that point and you want to make sure you've been paid.

Please post your comments by clicking the link below. If you've got questions, please pose them in our Photo Business Forum Flickr Group Discussion Threads.

TIPS60 - Handling clients within your old and new paradigms

2012-12-31T07:00:00.000-05:00

Here is another of our videos offering tips and inisights into the business of photography. a transcript of the video is included after the jump.

(Continued after the Jump)

TRANSCRIPT:Here a few thoughts about paradigms for old clients verses your new clientele that you might be dealing with. I'm John Harrington. In a situation where you're raising your rates, you're increasing how you charge for the work that you are providing, dealing with contracts in a different way, however you are changing your business model if it's a substantial change, all of your existing clients may actually not react very well to it. They may object to increased pricing or what have you. So the important thing to do as you're evolving in a new business model is to leave your existing clients in the old paradigm the all the way of doing business. That will help you pay your bills and continue to pay your bills. As you evolve into a new business model then your business model could be more expensive and your old clients may not understand. But, as the phone rings with new clients, providing them with your newer rate structure, you're more sustainable rate structure, is really the way to evolve from one business model to a better and newer business model.

Please post your comments by clicking the link below. If you've got questions, please pose them in our Photo Business Forum Flickr Group Discussion Threads.

TIPS60 - The real value of accepting credit cards from your clients

2012-12-24T07:00:00.000-05:00

Here is another of our videos offering tips and inisights into the business of photography. a transcript of the video is included after the jump.

(Continued after the Jump)

TRANSCRIPT:Here are a few thoughts on the value taking credit cards. I'm John Harrington. We take credit cards from our clients because it makes their lives easier. It also allows for us to do business with certain companies. Some government contracts require a triple bid process unless the charge is on a credit card. That insures that oftentimes we'll get a job because they don't have to bid it out because they're not putting out a purchase order and writing a check for it. Making us a payment with a credit card. Credit cards are also great because if you're dealing with say, a consumer client, consumers are more likely to actually make a larger purchase when they're using a credit card than they will if they have to write you a check, or in fact hand you cash. So the value of a credit card is not to be underestimated. You can get credit cards from your bank where you do business with for a nominal monthly fee, next to nothing. You can also get them from clubs like Sam's Club or Costco where they offer credit card services for small businesses.

Please post your comments by clicking the link below. If you've got questions, please pose them in our Photo Business Forum Flickr Group Discussion Threads.

TIPS60 - Product Commentary - Eizo Monitors

2012-12-17T07:00:00.000-05:00

Here is another of our videos offering tips and inisights into the business of photography. a transcript of the video is included after the jump.

(Continued after the Jump)

TRANSCRIPT:Eizo monitors are really the top of the line when it comes to monitors. Workflow, color calibration, having the widest gamut necessary. Now if you don't know what gamut is, gamut is basically how much information within an area of color that can be displayed. If you consider that the full spectrum of colors is one gamut. Nothing can actually replicate a full spectrum of colors. Instead, you want to look at something like an sRGB which has a very small spectrum of colors, Adobe 1998, another spectrum of colors. So by having an Eizo monitor, Eizo monitors are great because they have the widest gamut of any really commercially available monitor out there. It's going to give you the truest rendition of colors it's going to give you the broadest spectrum of colors for the images that a you're trying to display and view on your screen to make sure that the color is just right. So we strongly encourage you to consider Eizo monitors for that.

Please post your comments by clicking the link below. If you've got questions, please pose them in our Photo Business Forum Flickr Group Discussion Threads.