Marketing / Consumer Behavior, Price and Photography

cdifoto wrote in post #12850933
"Proven" doesn't mean anything either if the work they produce is so proven that it has become boring.

Photographers tend to think consumers' standards are getting lower but I think it's the exact opposite. I think peoples' standards are getting higher. It's getting harder to impress people so if you want to make money you have to be better than ever. If you're just "okay" then you'll be bunched in with the other guys who are just "okay" and the differentiator will be price.

As far as the facebook comments...that's just people being nice to their friends. They look past the technical stuff and see their friend, who they love very much. When they're actually shopping for their own photography, they want to get someone who makes them look amazing. They're more critical of photos of themselves than they are of photos of their friends when their money is on the line.

CD,
I agree with your statements above. The problem is is that when you look at the prices these people (a couple have changed it up) in my area are charging it's obvious it isn't enough to sustain a full time business, it's hobby pricing. The days of the general photographer with a business front studio is going the way of the dodo bird.

mobei wrote in post #12852236
The days of the general photographer with a business front studio is going the way of the dodo bird.

And if I am not mistaken the Dodo became extinct due to an inability to adapt quick enough. I don't see studios disappearing completely... just the ones belonging to badly run businesses.

What I do see happening though is a move to more efficiently run businesses which cater for the digital age. There isn't the same requirement these days to have a "studio front". People can find services online as opposed to having to walk past them or find them in the yellow pages like the old days. They can see samples of work, read reviews and even have digital products delivered without having to visit the store. I think many studios in the shop front format aren't cost effective compared to a "back yard / out building" studio.

I think those tied to expensive leases are going to find it increasing difficult unless they can offer a very distinct style or USP.

There are a lot of those around me as well. The quality matches the pricing, so it doesn't bother me a bit.

memoriesoftomorrow wrote in post #12852313
And if I am not mistaken the Dodo became extinct due to an inability to adapt quick enough. I don't see studios disappearing completely... just the ones belonging to badly run businesses.

What I do see happening though is a move to more efficiently run businesses which cater for the digital age. There isn't the same requirement these days to have a "studio front". People can find services online as opposed to having to walk past them or find them in the yellow pages like the old days. They can see samples of work, read reviews and even have digital products delivered without having to visit the store. I think many studios in the shop front format aren't cost effective compared to a "back yard / out building" studio.

I think those tied to expensive leases are going to find it increasing difficult unless they can offer a very distinct style or USP.

I was working on a post similar to this but you beat me to it.

I don't have a studio. I don't need a studio. I don't WANT a studio. Fixed costs need to be kept to a minimum to operate effectively.

cdifoto wrote in post #12852325
I was working on a post similar to this but you beat me to it.

I don't have a studio. I don't need a studio. I don't WANT a studio. Fixed costs need to be kept to a minimum to operate effectively.

I agree... once you have your equipment, determine what marketing you really need (when WOM kicks in you don't need much) and establish the basic business overhead costs e.g. insurances, utilities etc there really isn't much more to it. Equipment should last for quite a reasonable period of time (even a computer will these days). Costs can be kept to a minimum without hurting the business in any way.

memoriesoftomorrow wrote in post #12852313
And if I am not mistaken the Dodo became extinct due to an inability to adapt quick enough. I don't see studios disappearing completely... just the ones belonging to badly run businesses.

What I do see happening though is a move to more efficiently run businesses which cater for the digital age. There isn't the same requirement these days to have a "studio front". People can find services online as opposed to having to walk past them or find them in the yellow pages like the old days. They can see samples of work, read reviews and even have digital products delivered without having to visit the store. I think many studios in the shop front format aren't cost effective compared to a "back yard / out building" studio.

I think those tied to expensive leases are going to find it increasing difficult unless they can offer a very distinct style or USP.

As much as I have completely disagreed with you on other points, you are spot on with this. Well written and I agree completely.

memoriesoftomorrow wrote in post #12852375
I agree... once you have your equipment, determine what marketing you really need (when WOM kicks in you don't need much) and establish the basic business overhead costs e.g. insurances, utilities etc there really isn't much more to it. Equipment should last for quite a reasonable period of time (even a computer will these days). Costs can be kept to a minimum without hurting the business in any way.

Yep. And how many businesses are operating with a landline phone when they can just use their cell? How many have a faster internet connection than they really need? How many are stockpiling supplies to print and ship their own work when they could have a lab do it more efficiently and at less cost? How many are upgrading cameras every year rather than 2-4 (or more) years? How many are being unnecessarily abusive towards their gear, forcing premature replacement? How many have bigger lights than they really need? How many are driving a gas hogging SUV when a small/medium sized car has plenty of storage and gets better mileage? How many are outsourcing their books if they're structured so simply that all they need is an Excel spreadsheet? How many are running into town to deposit every single check instead of waiting until they accumulate several? How many are paying for AdWords that aren't helping? How many still have a Yellow Pages listing that isn't helping?

There are soooooo many small yet cumulative ways SBOs are wasteful and they don't even realize it.

When I first began I thought I needed sooo much stuff. Then I sat down and really looked at it and cut out a LOT of fixed costs. Almost all of my expenses scale now (with the exception of the absolute musts that you cannot avoid). More business = more costs but also = more profit. Sitting idle would still cost me of course but it's relatively negligible.

I am trying to take it to the nth degree... one of my business targets is to end up with as little advertising costs as possible. I'm aiming for something like the Will Smith movie "Hitch" where nearly everything is referral based.

memoriesoftomorrow wrote in post #12852313
And if I am not mistaken the Dodo became extinct due to an inability to adapt quick enough.

What was it going to do? Grow a bullet-proof hide in two generations? The dodo was killed off by hunters. Sometimes a professional doesn't just die off from a changing environment, it can also be killed off by direct action.

cdifoto wrote in post #12852325
I was working on a post similar to this but you beat me to it.

I don't have a studio. I don't need a studio. I don't WANT a studio. Fixed costs need to be kept to a minimum to operate effectively.

Depends on the details of the the experience you're selling.

RDKirk wrote in post #12879418
What was it going to do? Grow a bullet-proof hide in two generations? The dodo was killed off by hunters.

http://en.wikipedia.or​g/wiki/Dodo read the section about extinction...

L5intoR5/Cr wrote in post #12847495
I think you are overlooking the fact that many people simply don't have the high expectations that we all think they should have or did have.

Good enough really is good enough for most people

The thoughts (here) about marketing is relevant and good advice. But at least in my experience, the above is also a powerful factor in the equation.

People really aren't as discriminating as we think they are.

As photogs, we know quality and crap. We know good composition, lighting, etc. from bad. And I think we project that on non-photographers, assuming they do to. And many do not.

Case in point: I have had many occasions where clients have chosen older images taken with a 20D and want then printed 24 x 36.

As I roll those prints up in a tube for delivery, my eyes are only a couple of feet from the print, and they make me cringe. In my opinion, they're horribly bad - pixelated and noisy. But every time I hear back from the clients that after they were matted, framed and hung, they loved them!

People are just not as discriminating as we think they are, or think they should be.

That's why those commercials work. They buy the hardware based upon the fact the ads tell them they will be a photographic genius, and what they get out of those cameras is just fine with them!

To successfully market your services, you have to convince them that what they are very happy with isn't good and they really should not be happy with it. A sale like that is very hard to make.

Not that hard, presuming two factors:

1. You show them the object to desire.
2. You make it possible for them to own for it.

Shooting portraits, I have been very successful actually selecting what I consider the best image of a set, enlarging it to a canvas gallery wrap (from 16x20 to 30x40, depending on the client), and having it right there for them to see at the sales session.

Typically, the wife/mother looks at it, gushes over it, and looks at her husband--who either pulls out his wallet without further comment or asks about payment plans. They typically find it very, very hard to walk away when the object of desire is right there at their fingertips.

If they do walk away, I have a model release that allows me to display the images in several places I have local displays...and I'll also offer them an opportunity to purchase the gallery wrap at a slightly lower price after it's been on display for a year. If I display it, it's still a win for me (because I picked out the image I liked most), and another win for me if I sell it to them later even at a lower price.

Sometimes they decide they love the size, but not the selected image--so they select another image to be enlarged to the same size. That's still a win for me, because I sell them a large image and still have a display image.

Just a couple comments here:
1.) Photography shouldn't be licensed. That's silly. The licensed trades are licensed because a person practicing without the proper education would be in a position to severely harm a person or their property and the license shows that they have had this education.
2.) Most people that I know who get DSLRs, use them in auto mode and as they go forward they run into a brick wall and find that their camera just doesn't shoot what mine does....even when their camera is "better" than mine.
3.) As the technologies improve, so should we. Those of us who keep our skills ahead of the curve will always be able to produce a better work than someone without an eye. The next development will likely be the ability to select DOF AFTER they take the photo.
4.) There will always be room to make money if you can create unique works that others cannot. But you have to be able to show them the difference. People still pay for quality. We just need to consistently deliver it and make sure that others see it.
5.) Fighting copyright issues is really the wrong way to go about it in a market like we have now. Our product is not the paper the images are printed on, it is the image itself. We need to be selling our time, providing prints as an ancillary service at minimal rates, and allowing customers to print as many good quality images as they want since they can then serve as free advertisements. That Walmart photo just looks like crap and you don't want your name on it, so release the copyright as long as your logo remains on the front and then let them print wherever they want.

I've been experimenting with this a lot lately and it is working out very well. I think the mistake we made was in the past where we decided to charge less for our time and make up the difference by selling prints. This turned the prints into a commodity.

Here's the thing.... I can cut my own grass. But I pay a lawn guy to do it. He does it faster and better and I don't have to do it myself. I just give him money and he does the job. Same for oil changes, tree service, painters, and carper cleaners. I eat at restaurants a lot although I can make my own food, and I buy clothes even though I'm sure I could sew together some fabric and make some decent stuff. Some businesses succeed, some fail, no matter what field it is and photography is no different. If you can create a compelling product, people will buy.

kfreels wrote in post #12885550
4.) There will always be room to make money if you can create unique works that others cannot.

Or cater to, or exploit a specific (marketing) niche that others are not.