How do I "get my name out there"?

As a photographer who wants to expand who and what they shoot, how can I market myself? What ways do you all recommend to get my name out in the public sphere? I hope some day to get my foot in the door of the commercial photography world, but for now I'll build my portfolio of portraits, etc.

Who and where should I target myself? My wife is a teacher, and she tells her students that I will be offering senior portrait sessions, but it doesn't seem like the kids really give a damn and it's usually the parents who set up those types of things.

I'll be getting business cards this week, I have my smug mug set up but will working on a proper website in the coming months once I figure out how I want to host it, etc.

What other things can do I to draw more clients?

My wife is a teacher as well and I have used her fully for her resources. I've shot over a dozen senior sessions in the last month and have been contracted for homecoming next week and prom on the spring.

Business cards are a must. Put them in your car, wallet, camera bag and then add some to your wife's purse and car. Word of mouth is the cheapest advertising but it shouldn't stop there.

A far as advertising at school, I would contact the board office to make sure that this is okay since your wife is a teacher there. It probably won't be an issue but you never know. If you get the okay for advertising at school, get some postcards together. Include some images on them(preferably senior pics). Include an incentive to use you. I dropped off about 2 dozen last week that included 12 wallets or 2 5x7's if the booked a session and brought the card in.


FACEBOOK, FACEBOOK, FACEBOOK-Creat a business page. Include all of your biz. info and all photos. When you add images, tag yourself on each and every individual photo. This way all of your personal contact will see the tags as updates on their pages.

canonguy14 wrote in post #13161251
My wife is a teacher as well and I have used her fully for her resources. I've shot over a dozen senior sessions in the last month and have been contracted for homecoming next week and prom on the spring.

Business cards are a must. Put them in your car, wallet, camera bag and then add some to your wife's purse and car. Word of mouth is the cheapest advertising but it shouldn't stop there.

A far as advertising at school, I would contact the board office to make sure that this is okay since your wife is a teacher there. It probably won't be an issue but you never know. If you get the okay for advertising at school, get some postcards together. Include some images on them(preferably senior pics). Include an incentive to use you. I dropped off about 2 dozen last week that included 12 wallets or 2 5x7's if the booked a session and brought the card in.


FACEBOOK, FACEBOOK, FACEBOOK-Creat a business page. Include all of your biz. info and all photos. When you add images, tag yourself on each and every individual photo. This way all of your personal contact will see the tags as updates on their pages.

Thanks for the info. While I really want to branch out and do work for hire/pay, a part of me isn't sure I'm ready yet and if I'm thinking that way, then maybe I should hold off. But, when can you ever know if you are truly ready if you don't jump in feet first?

I love shooting portraits because I love working with light. It's really interesting to me and I love learning as I go.

I really enjoy shooting bands and live music, would love to do promo shots for music acts, artists, poets, authors, etc, but then again that ties into doing portraits.

I also have an eye for photojournalism. I love taking my camera to an event and telling a story with the images that has a beginning, middle, climax and a resolution.

A part of me wants to go right into it and start making some money, but at the same time I want to hold off and hone more skills and perfect some techniques, but if I keep doing shots for free, when will I EVER be able to charge for my work after doing it for free for so long?

StayLucky wrote in post #13161424
Thanks for the info. While I really want to branch out and do work for hire/pay, a part of me isn't sure I'm ready yet and if I'm thinking that way, then maybe I should hold off. But, when can you ever know if you are truly ready if you don't jump in feet first?

I love shooting portraits because I love working with light. It's really interesting to me and I love learning as I go.

I really enjoy shooting bands and live music, would love to do promo shots for music acts, artists, poets, authors, etc, but then again that ties into doing portraits.

I also have an eye for photojournalism. I love taking my camera to an event and telling a story with the images that has a beginning, middle, climax and a resolution.

A part of me wants to go right into it and start making some money, but at the same time I want to hold off and hone more skills and perfect some techniques, but if I keep doing shots for free, when will I EVER be able to charge for my work after doing it for free for so long?

This I agree on. You begin to obligate yourself a lot more when it's for pay. But I don't think it should set you back either. I would charge what you think your photography is worth. And be realistic and honest. If you have never shot a senior session, start with the family and friends that have kids in high school. Offer minimal session fees. If they like your work, then they can purchase it.

I did portfolio builder in March for the easter season. I offered a 30 minutes child session with no session fee. I did this over 2 weekends. I figured that at worst, I had a fair amount of photos to build off of. I ended up shooting 14 sessions and almost all(13) ordered photos.

canonguy14 wrote in post #13161802
This I agree on. You begin to obligate yourself a lot more when it's for pay. But I don't think it should set you back either. I would charge what you think your photography is worth. And be realistic and honest. If you have never shot a senior session, start with the family and friends that have kids in high school. Offer minimal session fees. If they like your work, then they can purchase it.

I did portfolio builder in March for the easter season. I offered a 30 minutes child session with no session fee. I did this over 2 weekends. I figured that at worst, I had a fair amount of photos to build off of. I ended up shooting 14 sessions and almost all(13) ordered photos.

Thanks canonguy for the great ideas... the minimal/free session fee with option to purchase afterwards is a brilliant idea and I never would've thought of it!

Welcome

personal services like portraits are very,well, personal! people tell their friends who they went to for 'that wonderful picture of your kid' or 'that excellent Facebook profile pic!'

if you have enough friends and family, your phone will ring off the hook, assuming THEY know what you are doing.

IMHO, the awesome website is for attracting people you dont know, which is fine, but it's not AS important as farming the people who already know, like and trust YOU to deliver.

Flores wrote in post #13171226
personal services like portraits are very,well, personal! people tell their friends who they went to for 'that wonderful picture of your kid' or 'that excellent Facebook profile pic!'

if you have enough friends and family, your phone will ring off the hook, assuming THEY know what you are doing.

IMHO, the awesome website is for attracting people you dont know, which is fine, but it's not AS important as farming the people who already know, like and trust YOU to deliver.

Solid advice. Thank you!

It starts at your inner circle of contacts. Friends and families. If they like your work, the word of mouth will follow. Then as you expand out, you step into outer circles of strangers. Discover your style. If you try to accommodate for every style, then you will not distinguish yourself. What do you offer that the other few thousands in your city aren't already? Like artists, our work is judged subjectively. Successful individuals in this arena has a style that appeals to a certain set of clientele.

Calculate the cost of doing business. If you are not generating profit, this is nothing but a hobby. All the best!

veritasimg wrote in post #13171265
It starts at your inner circle of contacts. Friends and families. If they like your work, the word of mouth will follow. Then as you expand out, you step into outer circles of strangers.

I have to respectfully disagree with this statement. It certainly does not have to start with inner circles and, if you limit yourself to this or even just resign yourself to this, you are doing yourself a grave injustice.

We were working photojournalists prior to making the decision to start our own company so our individual names were somewhat known - my amazing partner much more so than me. But we decided to go with a new company name which meant brand new marketing needs.

The majority of our client base since we started our company came from cold-calling, replying to Craig's List ads and just generally putting ourselves out there. If you know your product, know your market and present a confident (not arrogant ) image of your brand, you can get hired!

Good luck to you!!!