Ready to go "pro" and we need advice...

[klynam]

After several years of shooting family, friends and the occasional paid gig, we're ready to go pro.

My wife and I have made a sizable investment in equipment and remodeled for a home-based studio space. Now we're going where angels fear to tread...LOL.

Out initial marketing target is 2010 high-school seniors and I'm curious - at a very high level - what initial steps you recommend for tapping into this very competitive market.

Thanks for your time,

[Michaelmjc]

I'll give my 2 cents.

There are a few things to consider;

1 - Check out your competition. Find out what sort of things they are offering at what prices. That way you can stay competitive without undercutting anyone.

2 - It's all about branding. You need to come up with a great brand and then keep it CONSISTANT! 1 logo, and that logo will appear on everything. Cards, brochures, contracts, website, photo's, etc... You want to make sure when someone sees your brand, they will know instantly who it is. This is the most important part of the whole process.

3 - Getting new clients is hard, start off with a few promotions or incentives. Throw in a free album with every new booking for the first few. Or upgrade prints. Whatever works best for you, make sure it's something good to lure them in.

4 - Start networking with others in your area. Get to know the other photographers, share information, let them know you are available for work if they can't make it or are already booked.

Good luck, it's tough getting started. Being persistent is the best advice.

Mike

[klynam]

Thanks for chiming in Mike. I appreciate your time and perspective...

[Alleh]

You need to use your network. Family friends etc. and get people to become advocates for you. The most profitable and successful marketing for retail photography is word of mouth. All the other things like ads, promos and SEO or small business % increases and wont really be worth spending money on till you have a base.

Get out and start telling everyone you are in business as a photographer. If you are the best photographer friend they have you will be their first choice and maybe you give them a small deal and if they like the photos you just gained all of their friends as potential clients and so on. The difference between you and the very successful retail photographers is going to be for the most part 1 of 2 things. Either they have been in business long enough to build a solid word of mouth network or they have a competitive edge. The edge is more or less just a lot of talent and style for what they do so people choose them based on that and pay whatever they are asking. You don't really have an edge and probably never will as it's something that just comes natural for very few people, often called an "eye for photography" so you will need to rely on your network. Outside of those categories you have all the crap photographers trying to earn a buck and charging all sorts of random low fees and stealing a lot of work you probably deserve. Basically it's a business that survives on people who don't understand photography and what a good photo is at all. Their is opportunity in that area as well though if you can educate people and get quality photos out in front of them.

[Alleh]

Sorry I didn't mean to be a jerk about the no edge thing i just made a personal judgment based on the style and quality of your photos, basic lighting, poses, style and simple photoshop treatments most likely a purchased actions pack? Their are no signs that you are pushing any boundaries or trying anything new and experimenting. Plus it looks like you joined this forum in 2004 so I assume you have been practicing photography from at least that time putting you at about 5 years as a practicing photographer and I just don't see 5 years of quality. I myself only first picked up a camera 3 years ago by some ode series of events. Before that the only pictures I had taken were when people said "hey can you get a picture of us together with our camera?"

You may still have an eye you just need to find it which will mean forgetting everything you think you know about photography and starting over from scratch. At that point you need to live for it. Try anything and everything shot all subject and do things at random. Read lots of books and blogs and study great photographers images. Being a creative is a lifestyle, photography will become like air. You wont be able to survive without it.

[siriusdogstar]

Find an in. Got kids? Friends with kids? Do portraits of them and their friends. One of the parents on the PTA?

[Tommy]

I'm not sure where you're located, but for me, the senior season is in it's peak. By the time school starts up, most 2010 seniors will have already had their photos done, or have an appointment already scheduled. Assuming that your market is about the same as mine, the don't get too discouraged if you don't get as many 2010 seniors as you think you should. But get as much as you can, discount if necessary. Be sure to get some of the best work that you can produce. Then take those images and put together marketing material for the 2011 seniors. Business cards, brochures, fliers, post cards, etc. You'll spend some money here. Then talk to your local high schools. Find out who the class adviser is for the next graduating class and contact them. Ask them if they'll hand out your brochures and fliers to the Junior class (would be 2011 seniors) in mid April. This sure beats paying for targeted mailing lists. Do a bunch of leg work, always looking ahead.

Also, always make sure your photography is top notch. Find a niche... something that you have over the other local photographers and market the hell out of it. For the first few years, also make sure your offer is slightly better than the competition. RESEARCH all your competition. What quality of work do they do? What do they charge? The only way to be competitive is to know your competition...

Hope this helps some...

Best of luck to ya!
:: Tommy

[klynam]

Sorry I didn't mean to be a jerk about the no edge thing i just made a personal judgment based on the style and quality of your photos, basic lighting, poses, style and simple photoshop treatments most likely a purchased actions pack?

LOL - no I don't use "action packs." I've been working on Photoshop since version 1 and before that in an application called Aldus Digital Darkroom which was only 8-bit grayscale. I've been shooting a little longer than 5 years, but I also have a non-photography career (plus consulting on the side) and support a family of four in addition to many other interests.

As a professional, I accept the constructive criticism and appreciate the advice on adopting a lifestyle of passionate photography...

[klynam]

Perhaps I should define "pro" as there are "professional" shooters here on POTN that are light years ahead of me in just about every measure.

By "professional" I simply mean moving from friends-n-family and TFCD work to building a business - even a small one - of paying clients...

[Tommy]

I simply mean moving from friends-n-family and TFCD work to building a business - even a small one - of paying clients...

My original reply was geared towards seniors since you said your original market will be 2010 seniors. But the same principal still applies for other photography as well. Get your stuff out there and make sure people know you're available. Word of mouth is the best kind of advertisement and will get you far... but not very quickly. So even if you're working towards building a small client-base, you still need to spend some money on marketing (even if it's just business cards and a local ad) to get your name out there and plant some "word of mouth" seeds. Hand out business cards at EVERY opportunity. And I mean EVERY opportunity. When I first started, I used to write a small "thank you" note on the back of one of my business cards and leave it with my tip at local restaurants... If you see a teenager behind the register at your grocery store, hand her a card and tell her to come in for her seniors. If you see people taking photos of each other outside, don't be afraid to talk to them... tell them who you are, offer a discounted rate to get them more professional looking photos (and of course give them a card). You see a pregnant woman, talk to her and offer her discounted rates for maternity and/or newborn shots, etc.... Basically, do a LOT of schmoozing... Get a few people in, make sure they leave your studio with a smile on their face and a fun story to tell... then the word of mouth takes over...

[klynam]

...You don't really have an edge and probably never will as it's something that just comes natural for very few people, often called an "eye for photography"

...Sorry I didn't mean to be a jerk about the no edge thing i just made a personal judgment based on the style and quality of your photos, basic lighting, poses, style and simple photoshop treatments

...Their are no signs that you are pushing any boundaries or trying anything new and experimenting

...I just don't see 5 years of quality

...You may still have an eye you just need to find it which will mean forgetting everything you think you know about photography and starting over from scratch

The first time I read your posts, yes I thought you were being a jerk; and maybe you are - but it doesn't matter. What matters is I basically agree with you so let's take that fork in the road...

My work is decent - and I'm not satisfied with that. I realize there is NO EDGE but I don't know how to get past that given my existing commitments and resource availability.

The fact is I am not going to hit the road assisting Annie Leibovitz for free, living on vitamin-C and cocaine for 9 months at a time. So the immersion course is out. On the other hand I have, do, and will continue to, read and observe all I can from other photographers. I can technically deconstruct just about anything I see and rebuild it in my minds eye. But that only goes so far. Does it help - yes. I have no formal education in photography and self-study has brought me this far: competence.

But I don't want to be a competent photographer. I want to be a great photographer. And I'm willing to push to get there. But there are boundaries I will not break and compromises I will not make in this pursuit.

So now what? How DOES one develop a photographic EDGE within the borders of an existing career and family ?!?!?!?

[golfecho]

How about this . . .
Since you and your spouse are "taking the plunge", you may want to take detailed notes on every step of the way (a business diary, if you will). Do this religiously. And when you are at a point where you consider yourselves "fully successful", you will have the basic chapters for a book on starting a photography business. It is difficult to go back and remember every detail, frustration, or moment of joy, and try to pin down exactly what event or circumstance brought about that moment. But with a "business diary" of sorts, you could easily isolate those steps that are important to do, or avoid.

Just a thought, since you are at the starting gate, and that would be the best time to document your progress . . .

[Alleh]

Honestly I can't even get married right now because the idea of adding something like that to my plate seems overwhelming. Thankfully my girlfriend understands. With a full time career and maintaining a family with 4 kids is probably more work than I have ever put into my photography. I would say enjoy photography when you can and enjoy your family more. Being a working photographer isn't what photography is about and doesn't prove any skill level, for most people it's just another job for some it's a passion. You may find that developing small personal photography projects drives you, coming up with something creative and doing it for no other reason than enjoyment of photography. Maybe you will start to see some really cool stuff develop and you can start to share your projects. That is how most of the great photographers made a career anyway. Check out this guy who just likes to shoot photos of Lego scenes he creates http://www.flickr.com/photos/balakov/sets/72157602602191858/

You could also always get laid off from your job and collect unemployment giving you at least 40 hours a week to work on your photography for what 14 months right now they let you colect?

[Alleh]

Another thing to consider is the thought process behind creating photos. Do photo shoots you want to do not because you think you need to ad something to your portfolio. I used to sit around and plan exactly what I thought would get me a job shooting things that were not what I thought interesting but what I thought would make a better portfolio. Once I let everything go and started doing what I wanted how I wanted things just took off.

I have wanted to shoot some photos out at the wind farms for so long I finally made it happen last Saturday and just took a day trip with a couple models. I didn't have anything to specific in mind I hadn't even ever made the drive. I just went and created what came to mind as I went along and it's the best feeling in the world. Turns out I think I have my next print promo from that trip though.

http://allehphotography.com/postedimages/wasco_trip_s.jpg

[klynam]

I like the idea of a journal of our journey. Who knows, it may even be useful for someone someday...LOL

[Alleh]

The journal sounds like a cool idea I tried something similar with my business blog but then I didn't want my inexperience to be obvious as I was hoping to get the same clients the guys with 5-15 years of commercial experience had.