Something you will want to watch...

I'm interrupting our series on senior photography to share this 3 minute movie with you.

As usual, subscribers will need to return to the blog to view this as videos are not pushed through.

Turn on your speakers and hit play...

Senior Portrait Artists DVD Review...

I was fortunate enough to get a copy of the 3 DVD set from the Senior Portrait Artists 2009 convention and it has transformed my thinking (and practice) about senior portraiture.

There is no doubt moving forward my senior business will be done differently (and better). Translation = more bookings + more print sales = more revenue. The added bonus is that many of the marketing ideas and practices will improve my overall photography business.

"SPA at the Rock 2009" is three DVD's packed with 4 1/2 hours if information from start to finish. No fluff here.

DVD 1 is all about shooting, shooting at different locations, with different challenges, some sessions are in brilliant mid day sun and others in overcast cloudy days. There are also many "breakout" sessions done in and around the hotel where the event was held. During each training session photographers like Bob and Krista Ashmun, Ken Kneringer, Kevin Harrington, Tim Babin, and Fuzzy Duenkel walk us through how any photographer can not only overcome each situation specifically, but also how to overcome obstacles in general to get the best possible shot with what we are presented.

DVD's 2 & 3 take us to "business school" where Kirk Voclain, Kent Smith Photography, Kia Bondurant, Nancy Nardi, and John Ratchford share with us the business ideas and practices that make them some of the most successful senior studios in the country (and Canada). What makes their stories even more impressive is when you learn that some of these studios are in communities of only 15,000 people yet despite the small population they are still wildly successful.

The final 30 minutes of DVD 3 is a "round table" discussion with some of the attendees of SPA at the Rock 2009 where we get to sit in and listen to the challenges they face in their studios and how they will take what they have learned from the convention and apply it when they return home.

One person in particular drove home the reality and credibility of the presenting instructors, it was photographer Sarah Smith, who told two stories, one that impressed me, the other that moved me.

What impressed me was her way of thinking and presenting things in a positive light, she shared a story of how one studio in her area would warn seniors that if they were 15 minutes late for their session they would lose one outfit (some photographers set senior sessions by the number of outfits worn), Sarah tells her seniors that if they are ten minutes early for their session they'll receive a $10 credit towards their prints. Both want to accomplish the same thing, having the client arrive on time, but which one does a better job and has the added benefit of presenting a positive? You really don't have to answer that, it was kinda rhetorical.

:)

What moved me was when Sarah talked about the challenge of shooting a "heavier" senior, she did it with far more sensitivity than I am able to put into words. It gave her great credibility as a person and made everything else she said even more believable, more impressive.

I am a self admitted frugal person (my daughters are less generous in their descriptions), so I know many will pause when they go to the SPA order page and see a price of $599 for this DVD set, but all it will take is one senior session to make back that money and moving forward every session you ever book, every print sale you make because of the techniques you learned from this DVD is money in your pocket you otherwise never would have had.

If you can't take anything away from this DVD to improve your studio you are either already wildly successful, or should think about doing something else.

Here are a couple videos that will provide you a good "sneak peek" for what is contained.

Reader question on Senior Portraits...

A reader asked for details regarding the images I used in yesterdays post.

So let me give you some general rules I use for all of my senior shoots.

Keep in mind there are two types of senior shots, the image they will use for their yearbook, and the image that the parents will hang on the wall of their house, the latter being a much more "staged" artistic photograph.

So the details I am about to share are for the those that are intended for the yearbook.

1. I have never had a senior as happy with indoor shots as they are with those taken outdoors, so I will always start shooting outside and it's not that uncommon that we never make it inside.

2. When scheduling I look at my appointment book first and then at the forecast second, if it's going to be a sunny day I schedule the shoot during "the golden hour", if it is an overcast day I select the first available slot.

3. During the session I shoot with two bodies, one has a 28-70 lens, the other has a 70-200, this way I'm not swapping out lenses (making it a quicker shoot). If I don't have to change lenses while shooting outdoors, especially when at the beach, I am a very happy guy.

4. This is the part that is going to give some camera snobs heartburn, but before I start shooting the client I will quickly grab a couple sample images using different settings (checking exposures) and quite often end up shooting in "P". For the most part my camera does a great job metering and adjusting for an outstanding outdoor image (I shoot with a Nikon D300 and a D3). I want to be absolutely clear that this only applies to shooting outdoors, I never shoot on "P" indoors!

Here is a good example of an image shot during the "golden hour" and how nice it makes the skin look:

These two images are examples of why I use two bodies/lenses.

This image was shot with a 28-70, notice the railings in the background.

The image below was shot with a 70-200, the background is much more blurred giving the image a more "abstract" background.

Senior Photography...

This week we are going to focus on senior photography, I will share some of my work from this "senior season" but more importantly I will share with you some really informative and useful resources that are specific to shooting seniors, but can be applied to any type of photography.

These images are of Andrew, the first set are your "standard" senior shots, in the second set the sun had almost completely set and I asked Andrew if he felt like "having some fun", we broke out the flashes, shot away and we were both happy with the results.

Click on any of the images to view larger and in a new window.

One week from today...

Next week on this very day I will be hitting the road for Warren Vermont to attend the workshop "Studio Success, from K to V".

It is 2 (full) days of Kevin Kubota and Vicki & Jed Taufer teaching, branding, positioning, creating a buzz for your studio, photography techniques for weddings and portraits, live photo shoots: portraits with Vicki, Weddings with Kevin, selling without selling, and promotions that really work.

I have long been a fan of Kevin Kubota and just saw the Taufers at WPPI Boston (they were outstanding) so I am really looking forward to this.

Learn more about the seminar here, the hotel where the event will be held here, and more about Warren Vermont here.

Hope to see you there.

Maximizing your photography sales...

I was thinking of labeling this post with a really outrageous title like "Sex, Sex, Sex!" because I wanted to make sure that every photographer who sells (or hopes to sell) prints to their clients reads this post.

"How to Sell" from Joyce Smith will help you do it (the sell part, not the sex part).

But before I tell you what the guide contains, let me tell you how it made me feel.

It starts out with a story fraught with obstacles and hint of desperation.

Joyce had just moved from New York City to Pennsylvania, she did not have a drivers license (so her husband had to taxi her from place to place), she had a new baby but no baby sitter and she did not have a studio, so her only option for making sales was online.

And if she didn't make those sales Joyce would have to return to her "real" job, teaching.

So there she was - with more than her share of obstacles (certainly more than most of us) and the motivation to overcome them.

As I read the guide it wasn't as if I was reading the words of just some photographer, who was somewhere else, I felt like I was sitting down with a friend. I felt like I knew Joyce and she was sharing her experiences with me over lunch.

So before I even got to the first tidbit of information I was feeling good, good about who was talking to me, and good about her message.

The "norm" for me when reading something like this is to have my trusty highlighter and Post-It tabs, so when I come across a "gem" I highlight it and then mark the page.

I quickly abandoned the highlighter as it would surely run dry it just a few pages, then about 20 pages in I abandoned the tabs, as I realized I was tabbing almost every single page.

Here is an excerpt from "How to Sell" that Joyce considers an often overlooked but crucial component to solid portrait sales, whether online or in-person: confidence.

"I am not a gregarious person by nature, nor am I the life of the party. Swear. I don’t love meeting new people and trying to win them over. I could never, ever be a telemarketer or sales rep. I say this lest you believe that I possess some sort of inherent charisma that makes clients want to buy from me and hire me over and over again; in other words, what I know is not something that is specific to me and unteachable. My personality, lovely as I like to think it can be to those who know me well, does not magically lead to instant sales.

Regardless of my cautious, sometimes reluctant-to-speak-up nature, I still possess something extremely invaluable to what I do, and that is my overarching philosophy--my unshakeable, sincere belief--that what I do has meaning. We have all heard “You have to believe in your work,” and yet how often do we sit back and watch the “rock stars” of photography and think, “Good for them, but I could never be that confident”? But confident you must be if you want to impart the important message of “Yes, she’s so worth it” to your clients. Please note that I don’t mean you need to brag. On the contrary, you don’t want to look like you’re trying too hard. Rather, you are someone who knows that he or she is in demand, both valued and valuable, and doesn’t need to boast about it (not too loudly anyway!). When you truly believe in yourself and your work in this way, clients will perceive what you do as more desirable. This is true whether your target market can spend $500 or $5000 with you.

While this may seem all a bit too Anthony Robbins and Rhonda Byrnes’ The Secret for you, I‘ll be darned if it doesn’t work! When I first started out I was confident about work that now makes me cringe a little inside (we have all been there, and we will be there again as we continually improve!). Nevertheless, I knew the type of photographer I wanted to be and I carried myself as if I had already arrived. It was clear to me early on that I needed to come from a place of confidence. I knew that projecting any whiff of desperation to my clients, any air whatsoever of “Gee, I really hope you like my pictures. I really do think I’m a bit better than The Picture People, don’t you think?” would be the kiss of death. Did I sometimes think these less confident thoughts in the back of my mind? Sure! But did I allow them to pervade my thoughts and, consequently, my client interactions? Not for one second.

If you are someone who struggles with this concept (and you probably already know if you have this innate confidence or not), it’s helpful to think of your images as a product that you are very excited about. You can trick yourself somewhat into thinking you’re not selling yourself per se. Couldn’t you talk enthusiastically about the newest Bugaboo stroller or the latest Pampered Chef gadget that’s made your potato peeling drudgery infinitely easier? Haven’t you told friends why they simply had to go see your latest favorite movie? Then why can’t you get excited about the latest artist who is THE photographer to go to? Isn’t she fabulous? Oh wait, she’s me!

All kidding aside, while I do believe that we are our brands--clients will remember how their sessions felt and how we interacted with them as well as their images--this sort of mental distancing exercise can be fruitful if you’re struggling.

If all else fails, slightly shift focus to your wonderful subjects. “Wasn’t it so wonderful when we got this shot?” you ask your client when she picks up her order. “Oh, that little one was so sweet and the light was perfect that day,” you effuse as you show sample session albums to your new client. After all, we should have no problem whatsoever being effervescent about what it is we purportedly love to do! Once you fully embrace the idea that you provide both treasured images and a memorable experience to your clients, the respect you show yourself will infuse each interaction you have throughout the process and the sales you desire will follow.

With this said, here it is: my sales process with each client and the many ways, both overt and subtle, that I attempt to influence the final sale . . ."

If you had just $95 left to spend to improve your business, "How to Sell" is where you should spend it. Seriously.

In the near future we will be reviewing "What to Write" and "What to Wear" but they will so help improve your business that you might not want to wait until then to make the investment.

To learn more about Joyce and to see her beautiful work be sure to visit her website and blog.

It's horn tootin' time...

Guess who was number one on OnlineClasses.org list of "100 Best Blogs for Photography Students"?

Nope, wasn't Weekly Photo Tips.... but we were number twenty five!

Thank you to Online Classes for listing us, and thanks to our readers for making Weekly Photo Tips what it is.

The only problem, if my mother reads this post I will be getting a cuff in the back of the head for "tooting my own horn".