Recommended Photography Tools Archives

Shoot and Burn vs. Shoot and Share:
How to Make Money in an Increasingly Mobile-Based Marketplace

Thanks for watching this live webinar replay with Nate Grahek of StickyAlbums and myself as we explore the best way to share images, get new clients, and still make money when people are becoming more and more tied to their mobile devices.

In this free webinar replay, we talk about

Is it okay to sell digital images?
Why do in-person sales when you can just send an online gallery?
Why is it so important to think about mobile apps and how it affects your business?
How do clients use their mobile devices and what does this mean for our business?
What is the best way to deliver images to your client?

[Click to read more]

Top 10 Photography Business Resources of 2012

Every year I put together my Top 10 Must-Read Photography Blogs to help you waste less time and know which blogs are worth following, and I thought it might be helpful to do the same thing with my favorite photography business resources out there.

Right now is a great time to pick up a few of these to take advantage of tax deductions for 2012 and reduce your tax bill. Then set aside some time after the holidays to learn from them and implement them to make as much as possible into your business for 2013.

Less taxes to pay in 2012 + more profit in 2013 = Pure Awesomeness!

So let’s dive in and look at the Top 10 Photography Business Resources of 2012!

[Click to read more]

The Most Simple Way to Get More Photography Clients

It’s the scenario I dread as a mother because it always ends in tears and yelling.

My daughter wanted a toy that my son was playing with. She’s still young enough that when she wants something, she does anything she can to get it.

But this time, instead of ripping it out of his hands with brute force, she tried a different tactic.

Not only did she get the toy she wanted, but she did it without any fighting. He willingly handed it over. There was no arguing, screaming, and I didn’t have to stop working to dole out the consequences.

I was in shock (and thankful not to have to intervene!), but it reminded me that this is exactly the same thing we need to do to get more clients.

So let’s dive in and break it down, step-by-step, so you can get more photography clients for your business as well. [Click to read more]

The Most Common Portrait Sales Mistake That Almost All Photographers Make

When I was first starting out in photography, I had no idea what I was doing.

I think I charged something insanely low like $50 for a session plus a disc of all the digital negatives. I put the images in an online gallery, but I didn’t really sell many prints. I got lots of compliments about how people loved that they got the disc and could do what they wanted with it.

I told myself this was simply a case of meeting my clients’ needs and giving them what they wanted, so it was a good business practice.

The problem was, my ideal clients, the ones who valued photography and really wanted to preserve their memories didn’t just want the disc. They wanted someone to walk them through the photos, help them decide which ones would look best on their walls, and suggest products that would truly help them preserve this time in their lives as best as possible. I just didn’t believe that.

Not only that, but sometimes life gets busy and sometimes people simply don’t do what they intend to do. Eventually I stopped just giving the disc away and started charging for it to help encourage print sales, but then I’d get clients who raved about their image but never actually bought anything. Life just got busy and they never got to it.

That made me a Sad Panda. See? [Click to read more]

Why I Switched to Flash Drives Instead of DVDs and Why You Should Too

It’s all Apple’s fault. No, really.

As a wedding photographer, I give all of my clients the digital images from their wedding day.

I used to deliver these in a beautifully packaged DVD that had a custom image of the couple printed right onto the DVD. It came in a modern metal case, and when wrapped up nicely with a bow it looked awesome. I loved every part of it.

But then Apple decided to release new MacBook Pros without a disc drive in them.

So that cute customized DVD? It’d be useless to any client that has one of the new MacBook Pros.

Just like Apple killed flash websites, they’ve now also made the DVD an outdated way to deliver images to your clients.

Sure, at the moment only a very small percentage of people out there would have this problem, but if you have high-end clients, they are more likely to have one than the general public. And the last thing I want is to come across as outdated or give them something that they can’t even use 2 years from now.

So, I accepted the fact that it is time to move on to a different way of delivering digital images to my clients and started researching. I decided that flash drives were the best way to deliver the images and am really happy with the switch. In fact, I’m so pleased with it that I wish I had done this a few years ago.

Here’s everything you’ll need to know about switching to flash drives for digital image delivery for your clients.

[Click to read more]

Best of the Rest: Must-Read Articles From Around the Web!

Back by popular demand, here’s another edition of the best resources from around the web that will help you grow your business.

No fluff; just useful information that will help you grow. I even found some great freebies: a free boudoir posing guide and a free second shooter contract! Sweet!

I highly recommend checking them out (as well as all the other good posts in the list) and sharing the links on Facebook or Twitter if you find them useful. Enjoy!

[Click to read more]

Best of the Rest: How to Get More Photography Clients

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Your voice has been heard.

I’ve been sifting through the answers to the super-quick survey I posted last week, and it’s been incredibly awesome and eye-opening. Thank you profusely if you took a minute to answer the 5 questions for me (and if you didn’t, it’s not too late to speak up. I value what you think more than you know).

The most common thing I’m seeing? You want more clients.

Getting pricing relief is great, but it doesn’t matter how much you’re charging if no one even asks or inquires.

Many of you are doing photography part-time or just thinking about it, and you simply don’t have the time or money to do the marketing that you need to be doing in order to get the clients you want.

So this week I’ve decided to post some of my favorite resources from around the web that talk about getting more clients. I want to help as many of you as possible right now, so I thought that a collection of resources would be a great way to start.

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Best of the Rest: Seriously Helpful Resources From Around the Web

It’s time for another “Best of the Rest” where I sort through all the fluff on the web for the best photography-related articles that will help you grow your business and be a better photographer.

I’m just going to dive right in because there’s so much awesome stuff to share today. [Click to read more]

Giveaway! Get Super Photo Editing or Awesome Album Design Skills From Photography Concentrate

If you’ve been reading this site for awhile, you’ll have seen a number of links to Photography Concentrate, another amazing site with photography tips that I highly recommend.

“Learn Photography Faster” is their tagline, and they’re serious about it.

Lauren and Rob were kind enough to give me a copy of both their Super Photo Editing Skills and Awesome Album Design Skills tutorials to check out and review, and they’ll be giving away your choice of one of them to a winner (see entry info below).

I’ve been using Lightroom and InDesign for editing and album design for a few years now, so I was pretty sure it’d all be review for me.

Boy was I wrong. [Click to read more]

The Best of the Rest: Photography Business Resources You Can’t Afford to Miss

Back for the third time by popular demand, here are some of the best resources from around the web that I’ve seen in the past few months. Three blog posts and two ebooks that everyone should read, not to mention a birthday celebration event at the end! Enjoy!

1. Photographers Web Marketing E-Book – William Bay put together this awesome guide about how to market your business using the web. He shares how to put together a website, how to use social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, and other super-important web marketing strategies (like email marketing, which is where the money is really at when done correctly) that make this a great place to start if you’re not sure if you’re really using the web well or not. Use coupon code TMT to get $5 off before October 21st.

2. It’s not sexy, but you need it. – Brand Camp Blog hits another one out of the park with this awesome tip for getting you more customers that’s shockingly simple.

3. How to deal with criticism – Brooke Snow tackles this straight on. Read it.

4. How to Photograph Your Friends (and Why it’s Super Important) – Photography Concentrate speaks to the elephant in the room about how to work with friends who you once shot for free but now you’re a professional. It’s not about pricing so much as how to enjoy the process and embrace working with friends.

5. Click: How to take Gorgeous Photos of your Kids – While this book is written for people who are either photography enthusiasts or newer pros, I thought it was an incredible resource anyways and picked up a number of good tips about how to get good photos of kids (both mine and other peoples’ kids).

It’s shockingly inexpensive for all its content, only $19.99 right now increasing to $29.99 on the 19th. Your purchase before the 19th also enters you to win a $1000 dslr camera, so that’s pretty sweet too! Totally worth checking out.

Happy Birthday to me = Awesome sale for you!

Today I turn 30 years old. Scary to move into a new decade!

In celebration, I’m offering a crazy 50% off sale on all my products, good until midnight tonight (October 14th) MST. The discount will be applied automatically in your shopping cart.

Check out the Photographer’s Pricing Guide Workbook and our awesome Photography Client Questionnaires!

If you found this post helpful to your business, please pin it on Pinterest or Like us on Facebook! Thanks!

Best of the Rest: Other Awesome Photography Resources

I got such amazing feedback from people last time I did this, so I figured it was time for another round of amazing links from around the web.

1. 5 Things To Do Right Now if you Haven’t Already – Quick things you most definitely want to do!

2. 10 Lightroom Shortcuts and Clickables You Don’t Know About – I even learned a few shortcuts and I’m pretty Lightroom savvy. Good stuff.

3. Google+ What does it mean for your Small Business? – Excellent things to consider about how this may change things for us small business owners.

4. The 21st Century Neanderthal’s Guide to Social Media – I’m thought this was a helpful article about how to use all those social networks well.

5. How to Write a Fabulous Bio – Because I know you’re fabulous. So now, go learn how to write a good bio for your website that reflects how amazing you are.

6. One of my Favorite Business Purchases – This is not a link to another blog, but I thought I’d share one of the most practical and awesome things I have in my bag. And they’re cheap. They last longer than any others I’ve seen, and they hold their charge for months. It goes especially well with this little piece of equipment. Enjoy.