Hey Girl, Nice Shot

What to Wear - Shortcut

I get asked all the time by clients "what should we wear" and while I did have a little blurb on my website I really wanted to do something more comprehensive.  And then I saw the What to Wear guide by Joyce Smith and knew I had found my shortcut.

The "What to Wear Guide" is a fully customizable guide written with modern photography in mind.  It comes essentially ready for you to give it to your clients or you can go in and customized the photography and wording in the PSD files.  I'm still in the process of customizing as I have time but in the meantime, the pages that still have the included photography just have a notice on them they they were provided by Joyce Smith Photography.  This is a major shortcut as it is MUCH easier to tweak something that already exists than to try to write it on your own.  For example, I did take out the part about nude maternity portraits because it is something I'm not comfortable with.  This great package comes with the PSD files that you can use to create a electronic PDF file to email to clients, and layouts for a printed 5x5 trifold, and two individual 5x5 cards for maternity and newborn.  It also came with a great bonus spring clothing guide. 

The templates are on sale right now so head on over and pick up your copy for only $65 and start customizing it today.

Pay It Forward Interview: Part Two

The second part of my Pay It Forward interview is up and running so head on over to check it out. 

I know some folks have had problems downloading the textures from the PIF site but I just tried it out and it seems to be working now.

Applying Textures: Video Tutorial

I thought it would be helpful if I put together a quick video on how to apply textures to your photography since I have been giving away some textures.  This is how *I* do it so it doesn't mean there aren't other ways to do it also.  I tend to be a little heavy handed with textures so you may find you like your results better if you lower the opacity of your textures.   If you are using an RSS reader and don't see the video file below you can click here to see it on YouTube.  Sorry for the fuzzy images (the YouTube conversion left it a little out of focus but I think you can get the idea!).  As you watch, keep in mind: you do not have to flatten your image file before applying the texture I I think it is easier to manage.  Also, when I go back and add the texture back in on the layer mask I changed my paint color to white to paint it back in on the layer mask (sorry, I didn't explain what I did there).

ETA: Yippee!  It seems like the YouTube issue has been resolved!  Enjoy the video.

 

Pay It Forward Photographer Interview

The sweet folks at the Pay It Forward blog were kind enough to feature me this week as their photographer of the week.  Head on over to check out part one of their interview with moi!  I put together a whole new batch of texture files just for them to include with my interview (which will be shared in part two of the interview).

Royalty Free Music

When I went to a photography class last year the instructor of the workshop went over some of the rules about using music in our day to day business.  Essentially you can't just fire up iTunes and start playing music in slideshows or as background music when meeting with clients because it is considered a commercial usage of the music rather than a personal usage.  And before you just load up a song to play for your slideshow from your personal collection because, well, no one will really know, keep in mind that you client can go home and do the same thing with your photography.  You don't want them scanning pictures they've bought from you and essentially using your personal music for your clients is just as bad.

Now, I know, I've heard that argument about how if it weren't so difficult or expensive to license music folks would be more willing to do it legally.  Well, customers could say the same about our prints so why not just go the legal route and feel good about yourself too.

So, you can either spend big money and take the time to figure out the licensing of that popular tune you like so much, or you can go with royalty free music.  I went the royalty free route first with the purchase of the song titled "Dreamy Piano" from Music Bakery.  I can tell you after a year of Dreamy Piano for every slideshow I'm a little sick of hearing it.  I did buy another song from StockMusic.net but it also had gotten old.

So I was so excited when I came across Triple Scoop Music.  It is a music licensing site that is designed for usage by photographers.  I immediately bought two songs.  Angel Eyes by Brenda Harp which is a great song for slideshows featuring children and As Long as These Moments Come by David Keen which is a great song for slideshows featuring newborns.  I've already had two review sessions using the new music and I love the way the songs work with the images. Check them out...

Marketing: It Can Work For You

If you are relying on word of mouth for your marketing, well, it is probably going to take longer than you would like to build up your clientèle.  A referral is a great way to get new clients in the door because those clients are pre-screened with some knowledge of what to expect from working with you.  BUT, there are other ways to get people in the door when that appointment book is looking a little empty.

But before you start sending out information you need to get your branding in place.   In my case, I had a logo designed for me and I love it.  With my logo sometimes I use just the text portion, sometimes just the flower portion, and sometimes the logo all together.  I wrote about the process of getting a logo here: Going Logo

Then you'll need all the fun stuff like business cards, referral cards, brochures, postcards, etc.  It seems that photographers have some very specific needs and there are lots of graphic designers that are filling the niche market that has created.  I've posted in the past a list of designers that have marketing packages that you can buy.  The nice thing about these packages is they are essentially fill in the blank which gives you a major head start on getting your marketing materials together.  And because you get a set of templates you'll have a cohesive look to your materials.

I spent a lot of time looking at marketing sets before deciding on the Green Apple Marketing Set from Pink Grapefruit Designs.   I liked the look of this template and I felt that it worked well with the style of photography that I have developed.  And even though it was priced a little higher than some of the other designs - it is an exclusive purchase so no one in a 50 mile radius of me can buy the same template! 

I wanted to keep the swirls in the "logo" area so I used the text treatment of my logo in the middle and used the flower part on the back as a watermark on the picture.  So far I have used the double sided postcard design to create the marketing postcard seen above which was included in 100 welcome kits for people that have recently moved to my area.  I can see also using them as a take-away from a booth at a show, to hand out at talks that I give, or as a mailer.  I love the double sided business card which really stand out.  And I've used the referral cards too which I know will help get those word-of-mouth people my way too.

1. So first, get your marketing materials ready.  If you need a logo designed, check out the list of designers that can help you create a logo if you need one. 
2. Second, design or buy templates for your marketing materials.  Keep in mind that print costs on these can be high if you use a quality printer.  I used White House Custom Color for my printing with almost everything on the watercolor paper.  I know the photographs will print well because that is what they specialize in.  Even with the cost it is worth it because in many cases this is the first impression a potential client will have of me and I want them to already have quality in mind.  I used a marketing set from Pink Grapefruit Designs if you want to check out what they offer (they have several marketing sets and I think a new one coming out soon).   I also listed a bunch of other designers in my post: Business Marketing Packages.
3. And when you have your materials ready you can start giving them out.  You can work with a company like Marathon Press to design and mail your mailers for you, or you can buy a mailing list from a company like InfoUSA.  You can provide your cards to be including in welcome packages for people that move to your neighborhood.  Check with local mom's groups to see if they would be willing to share your cards.  Frequently if you donate a gift to a fund raiser you get to include your marketing materials so look for school auctions and other fund raisers that target the same people that you want to come in for sessions and give one free session away with the idea that you'll get some paying sessions from the exposure.

The Cost of Business

In a world of mall studios and $2 one hour photo 8x10s, it can be hard for a boutique professional photographer to justify to a client why an 8x10 cost $40 or more.  There is definitely a level of educating the client that is required to help the client understand where the cost comes from and why there is the extra value in hiring a professional photographer.   Children's Photographer Marianne Drenthe/Marmalade Photography has started up a blog which has well worded explanations as to why to hire a custom photographer and why it cost more.  Give her post: Why Does Custom Photography Cost More a once over...it is a great read.  And if you give her the credit she gives full permission to copy some or parts of her text which you can use to create a similar style page for your own website.

Back in July I wrote a post "How Do You Slice Your Pie" which talked about how I came up with my formula for pricing.  If you are still at a point where you are trying to determine how you will price for your business, both of these are good reads.