January 21, 2009

4

Biz Sense, Gavin Seim, PPS Photography Tips, ProPhotoShow, Weddings

The Bridal Show:

by Gavin Seim: This weekend I had a booth at the Wenatchee Bridal Show. The confession I have to make is this. While I was happy with my setup and received great feedback, I ran into my typical problem. I was not a good enough salesman.

Now those of you that listen to Pro Photo Show know that I’m not a shy person. It’s as if like I sit in my booth making weird sounds as I flick my lip with an index finger making that interesting “buh buh buh” sound. Nope, I do fine interacting with people and being professional. Until it’s time to seal the sale that is.

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January 16, 2009

0

Biz Sense, Gavin Seim, Portrait, PPS Photography Tips, ProPhotoShow, Software, Weddings

How To Market & Sell Your Photography:

By Gavin Seim:  Being a fabulous photographer is great, but if you want to pay the bills with your passion you have to make sales and take great images. Here’s some great content from PPS and some other great sites to help out. I’ll be updating this post as I find great content on how to market and sell to your clients and a few posts dealing with shooting itself. If you know of some great articles on selling, post em up in the comments. For more good stuff see the Best Of Pro Photo Page

Good reads.

14 Steps To A Successful Sales Presentation:
Another good Ziser post. Fourteen steps David uses in his presentation to help him make great portrait sales.

How to Logo & Brand Your Images:
Branding is important and if you’re sending portraits out the door without it you’re throwing away money.

Selling to an out of town client:
Another Ziser classic. Full of tips on how you can keep sales high, even when you can’t meet in person.

The Portrait Consultation: Part1, Part2 A multi part series from David Ziser (we’ll update it as he publishes them). Selling a portrait is not just about getting a session booked. It’s about selling large prints and making the session profitable.

Large Wall Portraits. Why the 8×10 is stealing your thunder.
One of the host hotly discussed and perhaps the most valuable marketing articles ever on PPS. The ideas may be bold, but they absolutely work. whether you choose to listen or debate them is up to you. Join the discussion.

Copyrighting Your Images: It’s a part of the business that we tend to avoid, but it’s important and once you get the hang of it it becomes easy.

20 Ways To Appreciate Your Customers:
Can’t go wrong making happy customers.

Podcasts…

Pro Photo Show #60. Not Wearing Pants: A good episode overall, but starting at 1:34:10 we start getting into standing out and being something more than a weekend warrior. Then we move right into selling large portraits and how key it is. Be prepared for a few Gavin rants.

Pro Photo Show 53: This episode is a favorite and it’s full of good stuff. The whole show is well worth a listen, but starting at time index 44:28 we’re joined by Kevin Swan. Listen through to the end because the longer he talks the more you’ll glean.

Pro Photo Show 51: Another fun roundatble. At time index 52:33 guest photographer Scott & Adina Hayne talk about the marketing they used to build their wedding business in record time. This is also where they share info on leveraging Facebook to held build your business.

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January 7, 2009

2

Gavin Seim, PPS Photography Tips, ProPhotoShow

Basic Photo Economics & Survival. Don't Whine, Be Creative:

It seems that lately there’s been an abundance of gloom when it comes to business talk. Some think paid photography is going to be a thing of the past in years soon to come. I say that no matter what business you’re in, supply and demand dictate your market. That’s the most basic principal of economics. Some of the best innovation can come from the competition of slower economic times.

Some say Photography won’t stay profitable because everyone’s a photographer now that there’s digital. I say guess what? In 1966 anyone could buy a great camera. The fact that lots of people have great digital cameras has little to do with whether you can sell photography. Consumers who were lousy with film in 1966, are generally lousy now with their 15 megapixel digital cameras. As to so called weekend warriors. They either become real pro’s, or learn that making a business profitable is harder than they thought and bag out.

Is your supply of paying customers down? Time to increase demand for your work. Analyze what you have vs what people want in the market you’re trying to target. Is your service and quality so good that everyone wants you, or are you just another scruffy guy with five o clock shadow, holding a camera? Pro photography is usually much more about business and relationships than taking pictures. The reason a pro wildlife photographer can sell his picture of a deer is not because it’s never been taken before. It’s because he knows how to make a demand for his work.

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December 9, 2008

86

Gavin Seim, Portrait, PPS Photography Tips, ProPhotoShow, Weddings

Free Wedding, Portrait, Commercial, Contract Samples: UPDATED

Updated 08/2012. by Gavin Seim: People are often looking for a starting point to build their photography contracts. Sometimes photographers take the I’m not sharing stance. I however do not and rather than manually emailing them each time people ask, I decided to share them here. I’ve included a folder with  both PDF and DOC formats. You can start here, insert your own name and alter the text to suit your needs.

Disclaimer. I am NOT a lawyer: These are contracts I have used and I am making available free of charge. They are in no way guaranteed. I’ve written them in plain English, while still trying to cover my bases. I have not had them reviewed by a lawyer, so if you feel the need to have them checked, you’ll have to handle that on your own. OK disclaimer finished.

On a side note, if you are a lawyer and would like to help review the legal side of these contracts so we can post more official versions please contact me. Also if you have links to your own contracts (available for free) post them up so people can look at more ideas.

Enjoy… Gav

UPDATE 08.2012. Version 1.5.

Now includes…

  • Sample Wedding Contract – Updated
  • Sample Portrait Contract – Updated
  • Sample Commercial Contract – New
  • Sample Second Shooter Contract – New

Download Sample Contracts v1.5 Zip

 

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November 13, 2008

1

Canon, Gavin Seim, Nature, Portrait, PPS Photography Tips, ProPhotoShow, Software, Weddings

Six Tips to Build Your Photography Business:

by Gavin Seim (Updated 01/10) — With winter on and economic downturn in many parts of the world, you may find yourself looking at the numbers in horror. OK maybe I’m going too far, but many photographers are concerned about the amount of work on their schedule. I’m a blessed man. And while things are moving along, I too am looking at ways to put more on the calender.

Now I’m not the worlds chief authority on marketing. What I do know is that amazing service is a never fail approach. Beyond that there’s is no instant solution, but hard work pays off and these tips will get you thinking. I’m going to assume you already have great service (you do right?), then keep it short with six tips that can help you get noticed in this competitive market. I also found another cool article by Sean Clayton about getting your phone to ring that you might want to check out.

  • #1. Give Some Classy Freebies:
    Sometimes the best way to make profit is by giving something away. You don’t have to devalue your work by shouting FREE prints to the world.  Try sending  gifts to past clients for anniversaries or graduations. They don’t need to be photos. In fact something else might make a HUGE impression. Chocolates, a gift card for dinner. Maybe coffee or a bottle of wine. They may have loved your photos, but clients need a reminder to talk about you. I know it sounds expensive, but it will WOW past clients and usually pays. There’s various ways to give gifts and perks. Just be creative and see what matches your style.
  • #2. Send Images to Venue’s:
    Sending out promo images from a venue is a great way to make yourself memorable and build venue relationships.  A pile of 8×10’s for their book or some web files for their site is fine, but lately I’ve been taking it to the next level by giving notable things like larger canvas images and albums. Venues nearly always need great images to show off to potential customers and what can be better than them showing off yours. Make sure you put your name on them in a classy fashion and send some business cards along. The venue will appreciate the images, and you can get free advertising, which is always the best kind.
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