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

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

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

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

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

Do you offer different finishing options for your finished portraits?

Do you offer studio versus outdoor portrait sessions?

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

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

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

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

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

By thinking this way I find it keeps everything in perspective and much more manageable.  Our rent in our current location is $1500, or three 16×20s.

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

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

Think in 16×20s.

Cool Must Have Products

When Canon announced the release of the “5D Mark II” I was thrilled, when they announced the “1D Mark IV” I was ecstatic, and when they recently announce the release of the new “70-200 2.8L IS II” I almost fainted. Honestly I’m a huge fan of great products such as the aforementioned, but in reality I rarely get excited over new gadgets, doohickeys, gizmos or attachments. Lord knows the market is flooded with every kind of contraption imaginable. Some of which are quite useful and some of which are not so much. But it seems to me that the majority of these thing-a-ma-bobs inevitably end up in a box headed for ebay. Take the Fong dome for instance. A great idea, both bounced and diffused directional lighting out of your attached camera strobe. Great that is until you start using the darn thing. It seems to have a real problem staying fixed atop that 580 EX II under real world circumstances, and the last thing you need is that puppy slapping down on a marble floor during a ceremony. Sure a little Velcro, a little black tape and it’s as good as welded on, but really who has the time and patience for that? It just seems that those miracle products just don’t work as well as they say they do.

Now if you’ve ever shot with two cameras at the same time you will know that trotting around with a camera hanging off each shoulder isn’t exactly a smooth operation. Oh you can try, but one is always falling off your shoulder at the most inopportune time. And if you have a 70-200 or longer telephoto, no doubt it bares the scares of smacking the ground for those times when you knelt down for low angel shots. You could crisscross the straps and end up strangling yourself in the process, but wouldn’t it be nice if there were a better way?

A few weeks ago I came across a gizmo that caught my eye, something that seemed revolutionary, something that not only worked but worked well. I was surfing the net as I so often do when I saw a video were a photographer was shooting with two cameras; one hanging from each of his shoulders. What caught my eye was that his camera straps were a part of something that resembled a backpack harness. (the light bulb goes on over my head) As I sat there watching with one eyebrow raised higher then could be considered attractive I thought, “This I’ve got to have! Who makes it, what’s it called, where can I get one?” So I did a web search and came up with the RS DR-1 by Black Rapid. It’s a revolutionary new type of camera strap that not only solves the problem of slippery camera straps, but also distributes the cameras weight and balance far better then any other product I’ve ever used or seen for that matter. Another impressive feature of this product is that when you raise the camera to your eye the strap stays stationary. The camera slides up and down the strap via a mechanism that attaches to your camera where you tripod plate would normally connect. It even has adjustable stops that will prevent the camera from moving to far back or forward.

While this thing is just plain cool, it’s also surprisingly fast. You can literally switch between cameras in less then a second, no fumbling; no rope burn, a really cool feature when you need to switch between a camera with a long telephoto to one with a wide-angle attached. I must warn you though, this isn’t for the faint of heart; expect to spend between $130 to $135 plus tax or shipping or both depending on where you shop. I bought mine at the Houston Camera Exchange and they had several different models in stock. You can also purchase the RS-4, which is a single camera strap, and they make various attachments for memory cards, cell phones and the like. Your world on your shoulders, these guys thought of everything. Seems to me they might actually be photographers.

In conclusion, of all the gizmos I’ve purchased over the years, this is a product that I can really get behind and one that will have a permanent place in my Pelican case.

To learn more and see it in action click here: http://www.blackrapid.com/

Posted by Houston Wedding Photographer Scott Villalobos/RSVPStudios.com

“Shoot Manual”
Bryan Lindsey
BCL Photography – Houston Wedding Photographer
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I used to balk when photographers said they only shot on manual mode (as opposed to “A”, “S”, or “P”). Moving all of those variables around just seemed too difficult. Why make all the decisions yourself, when your camera can make some of them for you?

Last week I shot my first wedding almost entirely on manual mode, and I LOVED it! Sure, it look a little longer (and a few more test shots) to get what I wanted, but I didn’t feel dependent on the camera. I told the CAMERA what I wanted to see, instead of the camera telling ME what was there.

So how does one get to the point of shooting entirely on manual? Practice! It’s ok to start out shooting on “P” (programmed auto). But if your goal is to take better pictures and you are still shooting on “P” 6 months later, then it may be time to begin honing your skills and begin operating outside of your comfort zone.

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Photography – Hobby or Profession?
Bryan Lindsey
BCL Photography – Houston Wedding Photographer
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I have loved photography for many years, and chances are that you have too. Not many objective entrepreneurs wake up one day and say “I think professional photography would be the greatest return on my investment” and pursue it like any other business. It is almost always quite the opposite – what starts as a hobby becomes intriguing as a business. And that may be why you are here in this forum in the first place – to expand your hobby into a business.

When asked the question “should I pursue professional photography,” I like to compare some of my other hobbies. For example, I like to sing. Lots of people like to sing. But how many professional singers do you know? I like to play the guitar. Lots of people play the guitar. But how many professional guitar players do you know?

The point is that parlaying a hobby into a business is difficult. It involves work that is unrelated to actual photography, such as accounting, marketing, and selling. Anyone can take a picture. A smaller percentage of people can take a GOOD picture. And an even smaller percentage can SELL a good picture. So, if your desire is to be part of the latter group, just go into this thing realizing that it will be a lot of work. The good news is that by being part of the PPBF, you’ve picked a great place to start!

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I’ve been using ShootQ now for about two months, and I am absolutely hooked.

ShootQ is a tool made especially for photographers to manage their studio. It was created by photographers that know the difficulty of managing a studio while trying to concentrate on their core business of photography. It’s a web based system that works like a software program on a business computer. This system organizes work flow from the first client interest phone call all the way through until the customer receives the ordered photography and completes payment. It’s a great tool to have for any professional photographer and works very well for wedding events.

This studio management tool will be able to follow a client from their first phone call through their whole process of working with a particular photography studio. It allows the photographer to enter in information in one area instead of having interest books, appointment books, billing lists, and calendars to keep up with. ShootQ even sends reminders of when a customer needs to be billed which is an advantage from trying to remember or keep organized records on paper. A professional photographer can spend more of their time on what they do best, taking portraits of people.

The system gives reminders of what a photographer needs to do next, which is very helpful when trying to keep up with the wedding production and to keep the important client, the bride, content and feeling secure and informed.

With ShootQ, less time is spent on the administrative side.  Foe me, the studio management system acts as an extra employe. Furthermore, some photographers lose money by not billing on time or following up to receive earned payments. Cash flow is the name of the game, and ShootQ keeps me on track and allows me to see  a projected cash flow for the entire year.  My photography studio runs so smoothly using this tool that the photographer’s life will have more quality and their clients will feel as though they are working with a well managed business. Many photographers get work by way of word of mouth and having clients happy will prompt them to distribute a studio’s name.

Multiple members of The Pro Photo Business Forum are now using ShootQ, and we have begun a forum which will allow the sharing of custom workflows.  Come and join us!

The Importance of the Engagement Session

Written by: Scott Villalobos

The engagement session is a great way to increase revenue to the bottom line of your wedding photography business. It seems more and more photographers are adding complementary sessions into their existing packages. While not a new idea, it is a good one to not only beef up the bottom line, but for several other reasons as well.

Think about it, how much would you charge for a two to three hour photo session? Four, five, even six hundred dollars? And yet many photographers are just throwing them into their existing packages. Why?

The e-session offers a great way to earn income that you might otherwise miss out on. Depending on your market you can add a couple hundred to several hundred dollars to your bottom line. E-sessions are usually done on weekdays or days when you don’t have a wedding or other event. They don’t take too much time and the resulting sales can be stellar. I know of a few photographers who regularly sell over a thousand dollars in additional product that without the complementary e-session would be non-existent. I’ve had couples call me the week of the wedding wanting 20×30 inch gallery wraps in time for the wedding. These are big-ticket items they might not purchase from the wedding itself, especially once the hype and excitement cools down.

I’ve found the e-session to also be a great marketing tool. When you have several hundred e-session images to work with you can create some incredible marketing tools that will bump up your after wedding sales and bring in new clientele. There are a few things I do regularly to take advantage of this avenue for marketing my photography.

1.) The Thank You card. I generally make 100 thank you cards, at not charge, for my clients to place on the tables of the reception. On the front of the card is a picture from the engagement session with a personal message or Thank You from the bride and groom. On the back of the card is another picture with my studio info and invitation to view all the wedding pictures. This not only boosts my sales, but more importantly increases traffic and awareness of my business. Everybody usually gets one and I notice huge increases in traffic to my site after the wedding. The more traffic I get, the better my chances of increasing sales that would otherwise not happen.

2.) The guest book. Every wedding has them and over the last three years or so they have really gained popularity. Instead of just a plain old book with lined paper that the bride and groom would purchase from a stationary store, I make a guest book that includes many of the favorite images form the e-session. It’s always a hit and I’m usually approached by several guests per wedding inquiring about my services based on what they saw in the guest book.

3.) Large prints. Most brides and grooms want at least one large print to display at the reception from the engagement session. These prints can be a great source of additional income and really get your work noticed. It also sets the tone for after wedding day sales. If they bought a large print before the wedding, they will most likely want some from the wedding day as well.

4.) Aside from the monetary reasons for doing the e-session, there is what I think to be an even better reason. When you do an e-session you really get the chance to bond with and get to know your clients in a way that you wouldn’t if you only showed up on the big day. You get the chance to work with the couple and they get the chance to be in front of the lens and used to having their picture taken. This really is huge, especially if you’re trying to shoot in a more photojournalistic way. I don’t know about you, but I hate it when I’m trying to capture a moment – naturally – and when the bride sees the camera pointed in her direction she starts posing. The e-session helps the couple to understand what your about and what your trying to capture. It helps them to feel comfortable having you around and just being themselves the day of which makes your job that much easier.

No matter how you look at it, the e-session is a win-win for both the photographer and the bride and groom. It’s a great marketing tool that will ultimately increase your bottom line and give your bride and groom the chance to have something they otherwise wouldn’t. 

How Traditional Portraiture Can Help You
by Bryan Lindsey
BCL Photography, Houston Wedding Photographer

Do you like traditional portraiture? Does the thought of moving four lights around in a studio get you revved up? If so, that makes one of us. In the past I have shied away from studio portraiture because I consider it boring. I would much rather get outside and shoot an awesome e-session, or go to a high-class venue and capture some great moments of the wedding day.

Recently, though, I found myself in-studio, now face-to-face with all the photographic principles I’ve read about and loosely applied outside of the studio. All the crutches were gone – the light, the pose, and the composition were all on me. I don’t mind telling you, I was quite intimidated. I think we did reasonably well that day, although the biggest lesson I learned is how much more I need to learn! (the more I know, the more I know I don’t know anything…)

There are at least five things wrong with this photo. Can you spot them?

The big benefit to studio portraiture (in my mind, anyway), is that it helps to quantify aspects of photography that may already come naturally to you. So when that outdoor scene unfolds, you can make the small adjustments in lighting and posing that make the difference between a good photo and a great photo. I’m learning “the rules” of traditional portraiture, and I invite you to do the same.

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First place will be awarded a one year free membership to the PPBF, a $50 value.  Second and third place winners will be awarded a one month membership.  Once judging has closed, critiques will begin.

If the winner is already a paying member, then their current membership will be extended.

Thanks to all who entered, and good luck!

Maintain Your Own Vision
by Bryan Lindsey
BCL Photography – Houston Wedding Photographer

On your journey through photography (for fun and profit), you are going to get a lot of advice. That’s a good thing – it’s why you here on the Pro Photo Business Forum. But I would caution you against losing your vision.

What do we mean by that – “losing our vision?” Well, as you solicit opinions from others, do not necessarily take them at face value – consider the background of the person providing you with the opinion. We should ask ourselves why we care about their opinion in the first place: Are they a professional photographer from whom we are trying to learn? Are they a potential client? An existing client? Your average Joe? We can learn many things by soliciting the opinions of all these individuals – but should we let them dictate our photographic style? Our vision?

For example, I recently submitted some photos for review to a West-Coast photographer I admire, and some of his feedback included “too dark” and “too traditional.” Well, his work is sometimes a little “bright” for my taste, and he occasionally throws out some shots that seem…well, just weird (to me, at least). So, understanding his style and preferences helps me to interpret his feedback. Now I have the choice of (a) heeding his advice and modifying my style and artistic vision to be like his, or (b) take that specific feedback with a grain of salt and realize that not everyone will dig my style as much as I do.

This is not to say that we should discount ALL advice that we don’t agree with. When we ask for an opinion, we should be prepared to accept it – perhaps not agree with it, but understand it. And we must always be open to technical critique (as opposed to artistic critique). But don’t necssarily let other people dictate your style, your vision.

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