Destination Photographer – Does It Have To Be Weddings?

“I love the idea of traveling with my photography. I’ve done a few weddings, but I’m not excited about making them my specialty. Do I have to do weddings to be a destination photographer?”

The great thing about being in business for yourself is you create the rules. Anything is possible as long as you build to make it possible.

What is your idea of photography? How can you turn it into a business that allows you to travel?

Maybe you enjoy shooting in warm places in the heart of the winter. Why not become a fashion or product photographer? Catalogs are developed months in advance. They need someone to be shooting catalog spreads in places that show off their newest product line. So a company in Wisconsin may need swimsuit and spring fashion shoots on the beach in the Caribbean in January or February.

What about portraits? Thanks to the Internet, you can build up your client base anywhere in the world. Maybe your goal is to live three months on a warm, tropical beach. Plan for it months ahead, put together a website, and start selling photographs on the beach. Promote it to your existing clients, and they may just change their vacation plans to meet you on the beach.

Destination can be anything you want it to be. But it usually starts with an idea or two. Destination can mean anywhere in the world. So it’s up to you to decide where in the world that means.

Once you have your destination in mind, then you can put the business to work.

photo source whoALSE

Photography – How To Overcome Your Fear Of Becoming A Six Figure Success

When you decided to become a photographer, what process did you go through? Did you establish goals for yourself? Did you commit yourself to the business with all your heart, knowing you would find success?

How’s it going?

If things haven’t turned out quite the way you thought they would, you’re not alone. I talk to photographers every day that set out to create an extraordinary business, and fall short somewhere along the way.

The reason we fall short is we build up false fears in our minds, which ultimately stop us from achieving our desires. In fact, through my years of helping photographers, I’ve discovered 5 fears that most business owners have at some point in their career.

1. Fear of failure.
Sometimes it’s easier NOT to do something than risk it all. Unfortunately, that’s why most people never achieve their dreams. It’s scary to have people around you say, “I told you so”. It’s easier to have the dreams deep down inside, and never share or acknowledge them. But failure can be a good thing. Think back to your childhood. How many things did you attempt for the first time? Failure doesn’t enter our minds until we’re heading into adulthood, and then it hits with a vengeance. Put aside your fears, and give it a try.

2. Fear I might lose money.
Many photographers start their businesses on a

Are You Pricing Your Photography To Stay In Business?

“I’m new at my photography business. A friend asked me to photograph her wedding. Because I didn’t know what to charge, I found a few sites online and used their packages to build mine. Then I lowballed it because they have been at it longer and have portfolios in place, plus a website and other marketing. So I have a couple of packages in place, but I’m not sure if this is the best method. What else should I do to come up with my pricing?”

I get questions like this all the time.

When you head into a store to buy a new pair of shoes, the store doesn’t guess at its price. The price is established by looking at: materials, expenses, production, marketing, and business expenses. It’s a refined process to make sure that every time a pair of shoes sells, all costs are covered AND the store makes a healthy profit as well.

Without a profit, there is no way a business can stay in business. And if you don’t plan for it upfront, you’re on the road to failure.

Photography – Planning Out A Portrait

As a professional photographer, it’s your job to tell your clients what to wear, and what background to use. Clothing does make the portrait. And the more professional the portrait, the more money you can make.

Decide What Portraits To Sell
As a marketer, you can only sell what you show. If you want to sell dramatic 30×40 portraits with a lot of style, you can’t show people close-up portraits in small sizes. Your clients simply won’t m ake the connection.

Start By Creating Samples
Let’s say you have an idea for creating romantic beach portraits. Ask friends or relatives if you can “borrow” them for a couple hours. Choose your ideal location. Go out and buy the props you need. Get everything set up, and have your friends be your models. All you need is a few great images to show future clients what you can do.

Image by George Pollard

Coach Your Clients on What To Wear
What mood are they trying to create? Spend some time planning out the perfect image, and talk with your client about what will be needed. We once had a client that loved her convertible, and wanted powerful black & white images with it. We met her in a warehouse district on a Sunday, and added some incredible architecture to the background. She went out and bought the perfect jeans/jacket combo, and had some amazing images to hang as artwork on her walls.

Sell With The End In Mind
You and your client have to want the same thing at the beginning of the portrait to both be satisfied in the end. If you want to sell portrait packages in the 4 to 5 figure range, present those packages to prospective clients. Don’t hide or cover up your ultimate price. It will leave you and your client frustrated.

Earn money today with you photography – Photography Money Club. Providing new ideas to your photography business and information on how to start a photography business. Stay up to date with our photography newsletter which provides tips on your photography studio.

Photography With an Angle – Get Inspired with your Photography #12

Photograph with a new angle. Take your digital camera out, put on your favorite telephoto or zoom lens and hit the streets. You only need to remember one thing for the inspiration, no straight shots. Each image need to be photographed with a tilt to it. As you look through the viewfinder, you will start to see a great amount of unique viewpoints. Photograph a person in a portrait format, but make sure that you have a tilt to the image. Put the subjects head into one of the corners and see what the angle does to it.  – Get Inspired Today!

Earn money today with you photography – Photography Money Club. Providing new ideas to your photography business and information on how to start a photography business. Stay up to date with our photography newsletter which provides tips on your photography studio.

How To Find A Perfect Target Market Using Message Boards

How long have you had a photography business website? Is it pulling in visitors that are taking action?

Unfortunately many small photography business owners today have fallen in to the “build it and they will come” mentality. Everyone has a website, right? So the owner spends a few hundred (or thousand) dollars putting up a website that is little more than a glorified brochure. After a few months, they begin wondering why they spent the time, effort and money necessary to put something online that just doesn’t work.

If you see yourself in this category of photography business owner mentality, take heed!

One of the simplest ways of getting targeted traffic in to your website is by chatting online with other people from around the world. It’s easy. It’s free. And it takes just a small amount of time each week to produce remarkable results.
A message board is a place on the web where users post and read announcements on topics of common interest. Users interact with other users on the message board by submitting a form with their message, allowing the message to be posted directly to the board itself for all to see.

The beauty of a message board is your response is permanently attached to that board, and can be archived and viewed by thousands of people over the course of weeks or even months. By placing a link to your website in your signature line, you guarantee that your website will be promoted for free again and again.

There are thousands of message boards online today. Boards exist on many topics in many industries, and you can usually find one that has a fairly specific interest. The key is to find a message board where people congregate with interests in what you are selling. For instance,
• A business that provides wedding invitations should find boards where brides-to-be post.
• An author with a book on small business marketing should find boards where small business owners post.
• A cruise specialist should find boards where people are discussing travel
You get the picture. Think about what you sell and whom you sell to, then find those people online in a message board.
Finding groups online is easy. But building up relationships and finding boards that work well for you takes time. Don’t lose patience. Instead, find a few boards that interest you and continue to work them several days a week. Start by looking at:

Groups.google.com
Groups.yahoo.com

Both provide a wide variety of groups with a broad range of interests.

Next, spend some time researching message boards with your favorite search engine. Type in “message board YourTopic”, and spend some time on the boards that come up in your search. From there you can continue to research and find niched message boards that provide you with access to hundreds of people that may be interested in your business.
Another resource for you to check out is Ryze.com. Ryze.com is a business-networking site that allows you to create a personal profile, and then have access to thousands of people by participating in their message boards. They have many different message boards, in a wide array of interests. Ultimately, you can create friendship links, and network with people all over the world just by sharing your information in a few different places. Ryze takes the idea of message board posting to the next level with the tools they provide.
No matter which board you decide to post on, and what communities you decide to join, the critical key to making this form of marketing work is to keep posting on a regular basis. Posting once a month doesn’t work. Posting several times a week creates the exposure you are looking for.
Once you find a few boards that meet your qualifications, what should you post?

Message boards are a place to share. People come to ask questions and receive answers. If you are visiting a message board to gain potential new clients, your job is to provide answers, and ask questions that get people thinking about your services. But there are a few key rules to follow when posting online.

1. Message boards are usually not a place to advertise. Instead, they are places where people go to get answers to their questions. Provide honest feedback and helpful tips.
2. Make your messages are detailed. Provide guidance that will directly help the question being asked. Provide links to other useful sites. If you have a report or article on your own website that may be helpful, provide a link.
3. Develop relationships. Let people see your name again and again. When someone joins a board for the first time, let them see your posts and gain knowledge from your information. You will become an authority figure quickly.
Have fun with it. Make it a daily part of your routine, and think of it as you ½ hour daily networking function. You’ll be surprised at how quickly you gain results!