Tag Archives: professional photographer

The ASMP Guide To New Markets in Photography

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Back when I started out as a pro photographer, I followed what seemed like a very defined and obvious pathway when it came to marketing myself and building a successful photography career.

However, times have changed. We no longer live in that world anymore. What seemed obvious to most photographers back then would feel incredibly limiting today, especially to those photographers who are just starting out.

As photographers, we have more opportunities today than we ever had before, but the hard part is figuring out what road to take. How do you figure out how to balance traditional marketing with social media? How do you navigate the needs and wants of today’s client while still holding your work in high value?

And then there’s the biggest questions of all, how do you find new markets and put yourself out there in the best way possible? How do you build a photography career that compliments the life that you want for yourself?

Check out The ASMP Guide to New Markets in Photography. It’s a wonderful new book that is a must-read for anyone is working in the field or who’s thinking about getting into photography as a career. It’s a well written guidebook that’s packed with powerful and relevant insight from a wide array of working pros, who share their own experiences in how to navigate the waters of the new world.

The internet economy has completely transformed what it means to be a photographer, and the The ASMP Guide to New Markets book not only helps you understand that, it shows you how to forge ahead with a business model so that you can remain competitive, viable and successful in today’s world.

Chapters include:

  • Where are the clients?
  • The Role of Technology
  • Where are the solutions that create compensation?
  • Branding your business
  • Marketing today
  • Selling in the new economy
  • New products and services

The book is broken up into three parts. Moving out of an Area of Conflict asks the questions and addresses the changes that photographers face today, whether they revolve around marketing, licensing or how to adapt to new technology.

The Process of Building a Manageable Solution covers how to build a road map and forge ahead with new ideas and strategies. Finally, Case Studies for the New Economy looks at how other successful photographers have transformed their own business models to meet the demands of today’s photography industry. This section features interviews with 30 photographers and explores the unique and dominant approach that each one has taken to create a workable and sustainable business.

Whether you’re a longtime working pro or an emerging or aspiring photographer who is still trying to figure out your own road, The ASMP Guide to New Markets in Photography is essential reading and an excellent reference for anyone who wants to make money with their camera. In case you can’t tell, I highly recommend this book, and I feel that for the editorial and commercial photographer, this book is one of the the best resources that’s available to day.

Note: If you’re strictly a portrait photographer, then you may be better off reading Dane Sanders’s two awesome books, Fast Track Photographer and Fast Track Photographer Business Plan. Check out my review of Fast Track Photographer here. I’m not really a portrait shooter, but I gained some great insight about branding and building an identity from his advice.

We’re now halfway through the second quarter of 2013, with summer quickly approaching. Once that hits, the year isn’t going to slow down and let you take a break. Now is the time to read this book, so do yourself a favor and spend the few bucks on something that will absolutely make a difference in your photography. I guarantee, it will pay for itself many times over. My copy is sitting on my desk right now.

5 Simple Photography Marketing Ideas

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DSCF1056CMarketing is all about reminding people who you are, and regardless of your status as a professional photographer, you have to constantly work at marketing yourself. The reality is that even if you’re well established, some days and weeks you’re just not on anyone’s radar. Nevada Wier is quoted as saying, “No matter how recognized I would become in photography, the phone would never ring on its own.” This from someone who many regard as one of the best travel photographers around.

img_495609Basically, if you stop marketing, people will stop calling. Period. Like it or not, that’s just the way it is. The phone will only ring if YOU make it ring, and you can do something to make it ring every single day. It doesn’t have to be hard, though.

Here are five simple marketing ideas that every photographer should do on a regular basis. Yes, social media time can be considered marketing, but you should also get in the habit of doing one or two of these things every day as well.

In the long run, a consistent effort of small marketing tasks will be more effective than one or two grand schemes in the course of a year.

1. Reach out and touch someone: No one’s called yet today? Pick up the phone and call them instead. Or send an email and introduce yourself or touch base with a few of your clients. Find out if they received your latest promotional piece or special offer coupon and ask them if there are any current or upcoming image needs that you can help fill. You don’t have to try and force a conversation with anyone, just give a quick call to jog their memory.

2. Mail a Promo Card: If you’ve done regular mailings over the years you’ve probably got a few extra cards lying around the office. Put a few on your desk, hand write some addresses and pop them in the mail. Another great option would be Then follow up with a phone call. Yes it’s true, photo buyers get lots of cards in the mail and it’s easy for yours to get missed, but you never know. I’ve gotten a number of assignments because my promo card crossed the right person’s desk at just the right time.

3. Visit a Client: Personal visits are a great way to touch base with clients. It helps build a rapport, which makes them much more likely to think of you the next time they have a job. Most business is all about relationships and if you can establish a personal connection with your clients and let them get to you know you as a person instead of just a name, then they’re much more likley to hire you.

Of course, it’s always good to leave a small promo piece behind when you do personal visits. Business cards work, as do regular promo cards, but why not step it up and leave something a little more unique, like a Photo Folder? Anything that will set you apart and create a lasting visual impact on your client.

4. Shoot New Photos: This is perhaps the most important thing that you can do for your photography business. Since every photo you take helps build your skills and can potentially translate to new income, it only makes sense that you continue to build your portfolio. With social media and instant web updates, you can get your newest work into the marketplace immediately. You never know who might retweet or share one of your shots, which obviously increases the chance that a potential new client will see it and initiate a contact.

5. Get Your A** of the House: Even if you don’t do #3 and #4 today, you should still get up out of your chair and leave the office. Take your laptop to the coffee shop. Take your camera to the park. Take a hike. Go ride a bike. Go jogging or horseback riding. Go visit a friend or another photographer. You never know who you might meet or what might happen when you step out your front door. Valuable personal connections are out there for the making, but not as long as you’re sitting at your desk.

 

For more ideas, I’d recommend checking out one of these three photography marketing books. (The third one’s an eBook.) They’re all full of well tested tips that can help get you out of your marketing comfort zone so that you can get more clients to notice you.

Don’t Get Discouraged, Everyone Takes Bad Photos

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Shoot any bad photos recently?

Yes? Don’t feel alone, everyone takes bad photos. Even the pros. No matter how good a photographer you are, and no matter what you’re shooting, the truth is that you’ll end up with more bad photos then good ones. Even if you were shooting a rugged looking ski model carving perfect turns in epic powder through the aspens at sunset, and even if you had nothing but a bag full of pro gear, I can guarantee you, every shot won’t be great.

In fact, some of those shots will plain suck, but take this to heart. If they didn’t, you’d never get better.

Photography is all about experimenting. You come up with an idea, throw in some specialized equipment and put forth some effort to capture it in the most original and creative way possible. Problem is that no matter how hard you try, some of your ideas just aren’t going to work. Does that mean that they’re bad ideas? Not, it just means that under the circumstances, you need to move on and try something else.

The mantra to all of this is that you can’t let yourself get discouraged if you aren’t getting the good shots right away. In fact, if you nailed your subjects on the first try every single time, you wouldn’t be spending much time experimenting and pushing your creativity. The consequence to all of this is that you won’t grow very much as a photographer or an artist.

Even if you’re struggling and don’t nail your shots every time, keep clicking the shutter, eventually your process will pay off and you’ll get something great. The not-so-big secret in the photography world is that even the best pro shooters burn through thousands of frames before they get the one good shot that graces the cover- you know, that one beautiful picture that clearly illustrates their mastery of light, color and framing? It was probably chosen from a collection that has more photos in it that there are words in this blog post.

It’s not uncommon for an photographer to shoot a thousand or more images on an assignment that will, in the end, produce the handful of amazing shots that appear in the magazine. That’s right, a handful. What about the rest? That’s called editing, the process which reminds us that no matter who we are or how many years of experience we have under our belts, we still make mistakes. We still miss the shot. We still botch the lighting. We still forget to change the aperture. We still blow the framing. And most of all, we still click away when the subject and lighting are not where they need to be in order for the shot to go BANG!! Only those aren’t the ones that we see in the mags, those are the ones that get thrown away.

We all strive to push our limits with our photography in hopes of getting a few really compelling shots, and yes, we all try certain methods and techniques that don’t always work. However, that’s how we learn, adapt, and grow our skills, which will, eventually allow us to make better photographs.

In the end, photography is not about the success rate or how many good shots you get from a session. What matters is if you get that one great image which tells the story and communicates the message of your own excitement and feelings about the scene. So again, don’t get discouraged if you’re not getting the shots you want, it probably means that you’re not shooting enough. Keep coming up with ideas, keep burning through frames and sooner or later, you’ll see the quality of your imagery rise to meet your own expectations, as well as the excitement of your audience. 

7 Things That Made Me A Better Photographer in 2012

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This time last year, I wrote about my Top 10 Photography Highlights of 2011, where I listed some of my notable accomplishments of the preceding year. This time, rather than look back at what I did, I want to focus on … Continue reading →

Instagram’s New Terms: Should You Bail?

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Here we go again. The other day, Instagram released new Terms of Service, which has everyone running for the hills. Essentially, the new terms allow Intagram to use your photos for commercial purposes and keep the money. You have until … Continue reading →

Becoming An Adventure Photographer- by Camrin Dengel

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Today I welcome guest writer and emerging photographer Camrin Dengel. I’ve been watching Camrin’s work for almost a year and I really like her style. She’s already had a number of images published and is a frequent contributor to Women’s … Continue reading →

Pricing Your Photography

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The other day I heard from a Colorado photographer who needed stock photo pricing advice. An advertising agency had seen one of her wildlife images and wanted to use it in a campaign for a national brand. They had apparently … Continue reading →