Justuff

Did the Super Committee Really Fail?

2011-11-22T09:16:00.000-08:00

Anyone who actually thought the Super Committee would succeed is a fool. I felt sorry for all 12 of those folks the minute they were named. They were nothing but the scapegoats sent to battle by their respective parties. A group of fully informed Uriahs. We were told they were empowered to make change. They were told that failure would not simply be failure to congress, but failure to country. This was their act of patriotism. Then they were hamstrung by the same ideological chains of party affiliation that have created dangerous deadlock in Washington in growing degrees over the last 20 years.

I’m no fan of the Occupy movement. To me it is a colossal waste of time and energy. How can a movement move with no direction? If it is not meant to move then what is it meant to be? It may as well be the “I’m mad” movement. I’d get that. A lot of people are mad. The “failure” of the super committee makes me mad too, but I’m not mad at them. Is it the bank’s fault? No. Is it “wall street’s” fault? No. Is it big business’s fault? No. Is it democrats’ fault? Maybe. Is it republicans’ fault? Maybe. Is the middle class subjected to an unfair burden? Absolutely. Do we need to do more for the working poor? No question about it.

The real challenge we are seeing all around us is actually a failure of leadership. Elected leaders are so afraid of their various empowering constituencies that they are unable to do what they know to be right. Business leaders have the same challenge. In a world with a 24 hour news feed and quarterly stock reports those who run big businesses are slave to immediacy. Anyone who steps up and calls for the kind of compromise necessary to create real change is drawn and quartered. In a world that refuses to listen reason dies. A western business leader who decides to invest in future growth risks termination when the quarterly reports show diminished profitability. A political leader who calls for compromise is called soft by the party leaders who fund television commercials and re-election campaigns.

The super committee was doomed from the start. It was an extraordinary diversion, cooked up by the president on one side and congressional leaders on the other. It’s sole purpose was to kick the can down the road. Let’s not decide now... We can decide then. It won’t be our fault it will be theirs. Only it’s not their fault. If I’d gotten the call to be on that committee I would have scheduled an immediate amputation and taken medical leave. Listen to the party leaders now... Want to know whose fault it really is? It is the leaders’ fault and it is our fault for funding institutions that demand that ideologies are more important than practicalities. Only we don’t really want to accept that.

If we go back and listen to the airwaves during the budget crisis that spawned the super committee we will hear exactly the same comments we are hearing today. “Less spending” on one side and “higher taxes” on the other. In reality they are both right, and interestingly, they both know they are right. We have to find ways to cut spending at all levels in government and if we want all of the programs that we have been so happy to have, then we need to be prepared to belly up and pay for them. The challenge for the ideologically blind is that that sounds r-e-a-s-o-n-a-b-l-e. Reason is scary.

I’m in the hated 1%. My family makes more than $250,000 per year. So are a lot of my friends. I’d hate to lose my write-offs for charitable contributions and for my Mortgage. Before I give up all that money I want to know that the money I’m paying for taxes is being appropriately spent. The fact is that I may not ever know if that is true. At the very least I want to know that the folks charged with spending it treat that privilege with honor. Right now I’m not sure it is. Perhaps I should start a movement. We’ll call it the “Shut Up and Do Your Jobs” movement. That has the handy acronym of SUADYG. Rhymes with sewage. That’s about right.

The Free Print Promo of 2011

2011-10-19T08:58:00.000-07:00

The Famous Free Print Promo of 2011

Why we did it. What we learned. When we’ll do it again.

Free Prints? Seriously? Jim must have lost his mind! Do you know what this could cost? Holy Cow!

If you were around the twitter sphere in the last 24 hours chances are you heard about the free print promo. First of all. Yes. I am crazy. At least slightly so. I’ve been seeking help about it for some time and it’s all working out ok. That’s not why we did this. Craziness had nothing to do with it.

Frankly we did it for three reasons:

1st. We know it’s been a tough year for our clients and we wanted to figure out a way to help out. In the end this promotion will have cost Pictage a few bucks. Frankly, the company is pretty strong these days so that doesn’t concern me all that much. We knew this would be a fun way to give people a chance to order some prints they may have been putting off or to help out a client or just to say thanks to their clients. Through the emails in my inbox and the comments on the Pictage Forums it is clear that that’s exactly what happened. Put a check mark on number one. Done.

2nd. We wanted to test the capabilities of the social media channels as a marketing tool. A few customers received an email from us about this promotion. However, by noon yesterday the airwaves were full of chatter, etc. Anyone connected at all could not have helped but hear about it. There are a few who are sad that they didn’t know about it. That’s the way it goes. Nothing about this promotion is promised in any of our user agreements, or in any other company communication. We have been experimenting with the power of media other than email and we decided that if this promotion didn’t work via the social media airwaves, nothing would. Good news here. It clearly worked.

3rd. We have a new tool and we wanted to test it. DOT is a tool that we created to make it easy for Photographers to order large format and specialty prints and products the way we know you like to. That is to say, place your client orders after you get a chance to do final retouch, etc. This tool was not designed to handle high volume orders. Well, there were some problems and most of them were because the tool was being used for something for which it was not designed, that is the placement of high volume orders. (the one guy who ordered 300 30X45’s will be getting a phone call instead of his prints!)

What were the outcomes? Well, from the number of happy emails in my inbox, twitter, etc., it is clear that this was, for the most part, a smashing success. There are folks who are mad that we didn’t send an email. I get that. (we generally figure out how to make people happy though so I’m not too concerned about that). A lot of people got to place orders for things they never get around to or just feel like they can’t order. I loved that.

Many photographers chose to ‘pay it forward’ and placed orders for charities, etc. Some printed long wanted family pictures or wall art. We’re excited about every one of these orders and we can’t wait to hear your stories of giving these prints to the folks for whom you’ve made them. It wasn’t a surprise to me at all that photographers would do these kinds of things. In my travels among my amazing customers I’ve found them (you) to be among the most giving people anywhere. You inspire us and we’re glad we can help you fulfill your dreams.

I also got a lot of notes from folks for whom this promotion came at a time when they had a real need. We love that too. In a time when a lot of companies are struggling or radically changing business plans etc, it is nice to know we have the strength to serve the customers we choose to serve and that when we do the business works. At Pictage we are extraordinarily proud of our Professional Photographer customer base. The work you do and the images you create continue to energize us to try to find new ways to serve you. Your success is our mission. We don’t take that lightly. Doing fun things like this is just one way we show that.

What’s next and will we do it again?

Later this week and early next week we are introducing the Pictage Gallery series. This is an expansion of our massively successful fine art canvas line with the addition of Acrylic prints (which are incredible), Bamboo prints (where the print is actually made directly on the bamboo, fine art prints and framing. When we introduced our new canvas line last month we saw a 10X increase in canvas sales. Pictage strongly believes that harnessing the purchasing power of more than 10,000 member photographers and using that to negotiate low pricing on very high quality products is a formula for success. Each of these products embodies that ideal and I am very proud of what we’re about to role out.

I’m excited to say that Nimbus, the long awaited Pictage/ShootQ website and management environment, is finally queued to go into production. This tool is free to ShootQ users and it both simplifies and expands the power of having the multiple online environments necessary for any small business.

Now. When we will do the free print promo again? Honestly, I can’t say that we will. It was a grand experiment and a grand adventure. With that said, I won’t say that we won’t either. I guess you’ll just have to watch me on twitter!

Onward,

The Most Common Photographer Marketing Mistake

2011-10-17T13:32:00.001-07:00

I am frequently asked to review photographer’s web sites. I always tell them that they should ask me with caution. I’ll tell you what I think. If you don’t want to hear don’t ask. Pretty simple. It’s a funny thing, but most photographers whose sites I review are actually pretty good. However, there is one big mistake that many make and it’s a simple and obvious one. Luckily its also easy to fix.

Your hero galleries suck.

OK. What is the hero gallery? It is the primary gallery or slideshow that loads on the home page. Common mistakes are too many images, too old images, images that aren’t that great, images that are too large or too small, images of irrelevant people, too many images of obvious models, etc. You’ve all seen them.

It matters. Here’s why. Almost anyone who is interested in your business will start their research on your web site. (read that carefully - I did not say, ‘on your blog’). Why? Because your web site IS your business online. Most consumers will only visit the blog after they’ve thoroughly reviewed the site. I’ve said it before but it’s a good rule of thumb, your web site is your living room and your blog is your family room. Important new visitors all go to the living room first.

When potential clients reach your site you want to greet them with the best possible message. Photographers spend an enormous amount of time figuring out every detail of the way their sites are organized. Colors, branding, text, type style, positioning, content allocation, everything gets viewed and reviewed almost ad infinitum. In many cases though the hero gallery is an afterthought. It shouldn’t be. It is the single most important element on your site.

Most consumers will actually sit through the whole slideshow before clicking through to a page. If it is their first visit (the most important one!) they have come to see your images. You want your very best right up front. Your VERY best. You also want to make sure that slideshow speaks for you. Here are some good rules to go by.

You want your slideshow to draw people into your site, not overwhelm them.
Stick to between 10 and 15 images, max.
Make sure the very first image strongly represents the people you most like to shoot.
Images of women should predominantly be beautiful.
Images of men should predominantly be fun. (I’ll get into why in a minute).
It is OK to intermingle genres so long as they’re in the same vane. (IE wedding and portrait). (Oh - I know I know - this is heresy. Consumers are evidently too stupid to figure out that you might shoot more than one kind of photography so you need separate sites and brands for each one ... OR ... these rules were made up by people who sell sites and branding and they just want you to buy more - you choose)....
Images should not live on your home page for more than 6 months. (they should be fresh).
Images should tell a story about your style and your business.

OK - A few examples.

If I were a wedding photographer my image order would be as follows: (Yes. Just one image for each number!)

Bride Beautiful. The bride is your key decision maker and her biggest question is whether you will make her look beautiful. This should be your best picture of a bride, period, and she better be beautiful!
Groom Fun. The bride cares about beautiful. The groom cares about whether you are going to be a pain in the ass. (sorry - business term there). The bride is worried about what her man is going to think too, so this image is communicating with both of them.
Parents, emotion. Once the bride and groom are comfortable you want to talk with the person who is going to pay the bills. Parents want to be sure that you will capture the important moments of the day. A great image in this category is the Father/Daughter dance.
A great group shot. No one likes to take them. Some photographers are lucky enough to have businesses that don’t require them. However, if there is any question, it’s a great idea to have a great group shot in the hero gallery. It shows your versatility as a photographer.
A great shot of the whole wedding.
A great detail shot.
A great venue shot. (of the venue you most love to shoot in).
A great reception shot.
A great leaving shot.
A great, the parents at the end of the evening, shot.

That’s it. 10 Pictures. Once they’ve seen them I want them to jump in to my more specific galleries. Every one of these images should be gallery quality beautiful. Tack sharp where they’re sharp, soft and sweet where bokeh rules. Perfect whites and balance and perfect framing. Nothing is thrown in just so it’s there.

The other galleries should be arranged in the same way. Never more or less than 10 images. Just enough to give people a taste of what you are communicating.

For portrait shooters I’d actually think the same way. A great hero/anchor image of the person who is the archetype for the clients I most like to shoot. A great shot of my client laughing and a great shot of an important moment. Then I would think about studio, indoors and outdoors. Show the range of light and your command of different textures. Make sure every single image absolutely rocks. Change them out at least every six months.

I think the most common mistake is simply too many pictures. Many times we’re the worst curators of our own work. You want your images to speak to the viewer about your skill, capabilities, style and vision. That will communicate more clearly with them than perhaps any other element on the site.

“Advanced Reading...”

If it were me and I was in this business, I would have printed and mounted copies of each of the first five images with me when I meet with my clients. I would actually hand them the images and tell them the story of the people in the images. These would be signed prints, not an i-device. That’s because the kind of client I would want to attract would be a client who values the art of photography. I would want to make sure they understood that I was an artist who make perfect brushstrokes of their special moments. The stories of the people in the images will remind them of the galleries they’ve already visited and provides an important touchpoint in which I make clear my ability to connect with my clients not just through my lens, but in a personal way as well. (Again, because these are the kinds of clients I would want to serve)...

Embracing Change. Still waters are dead waters...

2011-10-12T09:53:00.000-07:00

Still Water is Dead Water ...

We all fear change. Even those who embrace change do so with a kind of devil-may-care perspective that suggests they conquer natural fear rather than find themselves impervious to it. Change takes us from what is known to what it unknown. It is natural to want to resist it.

The challenge this creates is that change is a hallmark of life. In a very real sense, if we stop changing we die. In fact, the healthiest people, and the healthiest organizations actually seek out ways to change. They understand that all things are in a continuous evolutionary process and that the best way to succeed over the long haul is by not simply embracing change, but by planning for and strategically executing change as a fundamental element of the lives we lead.

So what? I think it is interesting that most businesses that fail fail because they fail to change. The marketplace moves on. Whether we like it or not, consumer preferences change. The most successful businesses anticipate change and work to stay ahead. Some stunningly successful businesses do a phenomenal job of simply following. The businesses that die are the ones that believe that just because this year was successful next year will be too. They are the businesses that think that this year’s accolades automatically translate to next year’s success. And - they are the ones who criticize the changing marketplace (usually because they understand that the change they see means they’re already behind, the world has moved on without them.)

Here’s the challenge of this post for anyone who wants to take it up... What will be different about your business next year than this year? What new product will you launch? What new market will you enter? What new technique will you try? If you listen well to your customers they will take you there. They’ll tell you what they want. Be smart about it. Putting things in a well defined, “idea” bucket and letting them succeed or fail based on customer demand is a good idea. Putting all of your eggs behind the new initiative is a bad idea.

But here’s the other idea. Change isn’t always adding something. Change is sometimes taking something away. A restaurant I know well has this challenge. They’ve been really hurt by the economy. They’re hanging in there, but barely. I talked to the owner a while ago and asked him why he continues to offer so broad a menu. I know it’s costly and there is a lot of waste. His answer was that he doesn’t want to remove things from the menu for fear that an old customer will come and want that particular dish. No business can actually do all things all the time. All businesses have to hone and focus their efforts on the things they do best that intersect best with what their customers want. Sometimes the hardest part of change then is not doing a new thing, but stopping an old thing.

I’ve been white water rafting a few times. I’ll be honest and say that I’m not a huge fan. The rivers scare me. I have tremendous respect for the power of water. When you ride the raft down the river there is a process of frenzied activity - when you’re in the rapids - followed by periods of rest. At times you “eddy out.” Purposefully pull the raft into the still shallows so the guides can survey and plan for a rapid ahead. I have to admit that in those times I wish that we could just stay in the peaceful eddy. We can’t though. If we did we would never get to where we want to go. And so, when the moment comes that we must turn the nose of the boat back into the white water I pull with all of my might. We have a plan. There will be unknowns but working together we can deal with them. When we get through we will feel the rush of satisfaction.

The same is true in business...

The One Secret to Professional Photography Success

2011-10-11T08:14:00.000-07:00

I was in a discussion with some folks the other day about why some photographers succeed and so many others fail. These people mentioned a series of things. Business acumen, economics, etc. I was mostly listening. It’s a subject that is near and dear to my heart since Pictage’s mission is to help professional photographers succeed in as many ways as we can. When I got home I did an admittedly unscientific survey of photographers who’ve emailed me or messaged me through the forums. I looked at sites of photographers I know are doing well. I looked at sites of photographers who are hurting.

These results aren’t universal. There are exceptions to every rule. If you’ve contacted me for help and you think I’m writing this just about you, I’m not. If it hurts do something about it. If it doesn’t this either isn’t a problem for you or you will also fail. That’s ok. 72% of the photographers who start this year will be out of business within two years.

Here’s what I found... earth shattering I know...

Successful photographers take great pictures.

It’s funny, right? And it should be obvious. It’s not though. Sadly. So much time and energy is spent on so many other things. But the most powerful determiner of success is the quality of the images you shoot. Period. Full stop.

Think about it. Do you worry that other photographers might be better? Do you worry about Uncle Bob or Cousin Kerry? Do you know that every time you go out to shoot, no matter what you are going to face, that you’re going to get great images for your clients? If you worry about any of these things then stop worrying about branding, marketing, etc. and go out and learn how to make great images. It is the most important thing you can do as a photographer.

I thought this was awfully simplistic. But when I went back and went through the sites again there was a common theme in what I saw, (at least in what I could see online). Very few of the images really “popped.” They were all good. I just can’t say that I think they were great. I get that this is pretty subjective, but I think it’s important to understand that the client is being subjective too. The client’s measure of great is a wholly subjective measure. Do I feel like I look great?

What defines a great image? Great emotion. Great light. Great settings. An understanding of the power of depth of field. A fearlessness about light and dark. An understanding of the power of natural light. An understanding of the purposes and proper use of augmented light. An understanding of the proper use of the various lens focal lengths and their impact on a subject. It is important to understand that an automatic camera doesn’t actually know any of these things. It is programmed for safe and average. It is not programmed for spectacular.

A modern automatic camera can take solid pictures without much knowledge. That scares a lot of photographers and, quite frankly, it shouldn’t. Clients don’t hire professionals for solid. They hire professionals for excellent. They know their foibles. They’ve seen decent pictures of themselves. What they want from you is nothing short of greatness. That’s why they’re hiring you. Can you deliver? If you do they will hire you again (in a heartbeat) and they will tell all of their friends about you. (probably “steal” a few pictures and put them on FaceBook too!). Conversely, if they feel the job you do is just good enough they’ll likely more or less bury the images away and move on. You’ll never hear from them again.

Great photographers know how to work within a setting to capture what is happening in a way that will translate powerfully to a captured image. If they are shooting a live event like a wedding, bar mitzvah or even a kids T-ball game they understand light and angle and they know the capabilities (and drawbacks) of their equipment. In a portrait situation a great photographer can make a mundane setting extraordinary. They have taught themselves to see light differently. When their clients see their images they will say, “I never would have seen this this way” and they will mean it.

Great photographers also understand that post production is like the seasoning at the end of the cooking process. It’s that last touch of salt, sweetness or acidity that gets the balance just right before the dish is served. It is not the core ingredient. While it is true that the modern professional cameras, capturing images in RAW format provide extremely forgiving latitude, nothing can make up for a bad shooting angle, missed focus or the wrong equipment. As a rule, if you spend more time editing than you do shooting then you may want to brush up your camera skills. (because all of that editing time costs you a lot of money -whether in out of pocket cash or in time).

The business of professional photography is first and foremost the business of taking great pictures. Everything else is secondary. Lots of other things may have an impact on how successful you become, but nothing has anything like the impact of a great image. If that’s not in your repertoire, it’s time to get to work.

Here’s the thing. Being a great photographer is not the only measure of success. Once you’ve nailed great image capture down marketing, connecting with your clients, staying ahead of product trends, etc., are all important. I’ll talk through a few of those in the coming weeks. It’s just that it all starts here and when you think about it that makes sense.

Why Does it Cost So Much. A public service for professional photographers.

2011-09-27T08:44:00.000-07:00

These days there is a lot of confusion with regard to consumer preferences for digital file vs printed product distribution. The good news, and the reason I’m not going to address that here, is that both markets are actually growing quite dramatically. (with specialty printed photo products growing at a rate of over 40% per year).

So this isn’t a discussion of whether people want digital or print, it’s just a public service for professional photographers whose clients clearly want prints, but who want them cheap.

I’ve written this specifically so that you can use it whether you are a Pictage client or not. If not, simply replace Pictage with the name of your lab or your site if you’re using another proofing and purchasing environment. (and ask yourself why they don’t do this kind of thing for you!)... You can also replace Canvas Prints with Photographic Prints, etc. I’ll write a separate version for Photographic Albums.

Go ahead - use this. Just copy and paste it. It will make your life easier. Ultimately, that’s what I’m here for.

What to do when your client says, “I just want to print it myself.”

Hey, I got your note. I'd love to send you the digital file but I think there is a misunderstanding with regard to pricing that I'd like to clear up. If I send you the file the cost is likely to be pretty close to the difference between a discount canvas printer and the pricing you see on Pictage (my site). Here's why. The price on Pictage includes a series of prep and editing fees that go into preparing the image to be printed on a format as large as a canvas. I do some of these and Pictage actually does a bunch too. If the file is to be printed by another vendor I still have to do my steps, but I can't guarantee that the image is going to look the way it does when you see it on your computer.

Most people have a hard time understanding this so I'll explain. A printer is not a printer. Printers are calibrated to monitors, etc. Consumer grade canvas manufacturers gear their printers to consumer grade images. Consumers make a lot of photographic mistakes (no offense!) so the printers are designed to even things out. They reduce contrast and saturation, etc. in effect, making the images dull.

I've actually worked with Pictage to calibrate my monitor at home to their printing process and this extends to their canvases. I use them because I know that what I see is what I'm going to see when the orders come back. They do a bunch of other stuff too, like ensure the canvases are properly treated to be resistant to light damage, beefed up frame construction, including all of the hanging hardware, making sure the canvas ships ready to hang, etc.

I hope that helps ... Like I said, if you still want me to provide the digital file for your use in printing one canvas I can, I just wanted to make sure you understood that you probably won't end up actually saving any money. (and if you do you might be sorry!)

Your helpful photographer.

Now, there is some discussion around why you would even want to do this. There are two answers. And again, this is for all photographers whether you use Pictage or not. The first is that for any professional photographer the sale of products related to their photography is an extremely important revenue stream. In fact, most estimates suggest that as much as 1/3 of a studio’s revenue must come from the sale of products in order for the studio to be successful. (there are always outliers, but this is based on the industry average fee structure). So learning to sell these products is important.

Second. The fact is that your client is likely to go ahead and print some of the images you provide to them digitally. They do this because one of the biggest challenges consumers face today is the understanding that it is far too easy to lose track of all the content they have on their computers, etc. They certainly don’t want every image printed (as a rule), but they want the best ones. That’s why the specialty photo products market is growing so fast. When they print through their local cheap printer, the same image compression occurs and it is not uncommon at all for the images to look dull. If that’s the way you want them to see your work, no worries. If not, then this is helpful.

It is here that a professional photographer must make a choice and a lot of it is client dependent. Do you want to provide the service of creating those products or do you want to leave your clients to do it for themselves. If you choose the first path you must learn to sell these products. If you choose the second path you need to make sure you have enough shooting opportunities to fill in for the lost revenue.

The choice is obviously ultimately yours. I just know that professionals are frequently asked why professionally fulfilled products cost a lot in comparison to consumer products and that having the answer above in your hip pocket will be helpful when the time comes.

Tomorrow I’ll create a different version of the response specifically for photographic albums. That one will be generic too ... Cut and paste away.

The lesson of Moneyball

2011-09-26T11:07:00.000-07:00

The Lesson of Moneyball...

I read the book when it came out. I didn’t read it because anyone said it was good. I didn’t read it because I thought it would be particularly interesting. I read it because I was flying home from Florida and I didn’t have a book and it was the only one I saw on the non-fiction rack at the airport bookstore that looked remotely interesting. I read the whole thing that night on the plane. It changed the way I think. I saw the movie this weekend and it did the same thing all over. Here’s why.

For those who haven’t read the book or seen the movie the story of Moneyball is pretty simple. Billy Beane is the coach of the small market Oakland A’s. He’s tasked with fielding a team that is competitive in spite of a payroll that is a fraction of his competition’s. His scouts and advisors try to do it the old fashioned way and he knows it won’t work. In a chance meeting with Peter Brand, he discovers a new way.

The story isn’t really about baseball. It is about taking chances. It is about knocking over the apple cart to see if there isn’t a better way to stack the fruit. It is about trying to understand the real cause and effect relationships that make the difference between success and failure and then when you discover they’re different than you or anyone else thought they were, it is about having the courage of your convictions.

The hardest part of this for any business, large or small, is deciding to try to look at the business and its key drivers in a new way. There is a great line in the movie when Beane asks Peter Brand (his out of the box thinking advisor and assistant GM) what he is doing that is so different. Brand says, ‘you guys spend all your time trying to draft players, I think you should be drafting wins.’ It turns out he’s right and when they adopt this method and make the hard decisions about fielding the team accordingly they start to win.

Spoiler alert, if you want to see the picture and you haven’t seen it yet stop reading here...

The team wins 20 in a row. They become the first major league team to do so. Then they lose in the playoffs to the Twins. There are two ways to measure success. There is the ultimate success, a world series win, wealth beyond your wildest dreams, etc. Then there is practical success. In the world of major league baseball the simple fact is that the team with the most talent in all areas is likely to win. They have to put it all together and there are a lot of variables but at some point the math just works that way. So are Beane and Brand failures because the A’s are eliminated in the ALCS playoffs? No. The fact is they should never have gotten to the playoffs at all. To get there they had to beat teams with payrolls many times their size. For the A’s success is a competitive season, not a World Series ring.

You have to measure success the same way in your market and if you are unhappy with what you can potentially achieve, then you have to change your market altogether. That’s a story for another day. From this story the big question is, are you asking the right questions? Are you sure?

Onward ...

Your Logo Doesn't Matter

2011-08-17T14:03:00.000-07:00

Your Logo Doesn’t Matter

Joe Buissink and I are doing a series of seminars (they’re free by the way which is, I think, the right price to hear me but a bargain to hear Joe!) around the country. Joe spends the first hour and 45 minutes (It’s supposed to be an hour and 15 but I never really care. I never get tired of looking at his incredible stuff!) talking about art. I spend the last 15-20 minutes talking about business. People who’ve come seem to be enjoying it and we get a lot of questions afterwards. Many of the questions I get have to do with a slide in my deck entitled, “Your Logo Doesn’t Matter.”

It doesn’t. Or it doesn’t as much as you might think it does. Here’s why that is true. You will never win a client because you have a great logo. Period. No one is going to sign up with you simply because they like the really cool custom typeface or your particular shade of celadon. I know. Shocker. What amazes me is how often I am asked what I think of a particular logo and the amount of time and energy someone may be putting into it.

I call that “Logo Myopia.” Typically you are a victim of Logo Myopia when during the scope of a rebranding exercise you find that you have become completely fixated on the logo. Typical symptoms include dreaming of logo variations, incessant logo doodling, hiring yet another designer because the last 9 didn’t quite come up with exactly what you were looking for, posting your logo to online photographer forums to hear what other photographers think about your logo (a good idea if you are targeting photographers!), etc. Go ahead and take a second and wipe the sweat off of your brow. We’ve all been there. I know about this syndrome because I’ve been it’s victim. It’s almost like you’ve got these blinders on and all you can see is the logo. Oh my God! I’ve got to have the best Logo! AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!

Take a minute and breathe. There’s hope. Here’s the thing. It’s true. A great logo, no matter how great it may be, will never get clients to come to you. To be sure. Your logo should fit your brand. It should essentially say something positive at a glance. But that’s about it.

Now. There is one final thing about logos that is important, especially to my many photographer readers. While a great logo will never win you a client, a bad logo will most certainly lose you some. So if your logo sucks you need to sweat it a little. Just don’t let myopia set in.

Onward!

Never lose a client to politics or religion. (unless you want to)...

2011-08-16T09:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I posted this statement on Twitter: Politics and Religion are the two worst reasons to lose a client. I inadvertently touched off some controversy. (funny how a post that was designed to discourage controversy could do so!) People feel passionately about these things, so I guess I’m not all that surprised. Rather than try to have the discussion in 20 words or less, I’m posting some thoughts here with the knowledge that many may want to weigh in with their own.

First off. Let’s review the statement. Considerate a postulate. (the kernal for a debate). The statement was: Politics and Religion are the two worst reasons to lose a client. Let’s take that apart a little...

I did not say that politics and religion are the dumbest ways to lose a client. There are, without a doubt, many dumber ways. Bad customer service, failing to listen and react to what your clients are telling you (and not telling you). Bad business practices, etc. These are all dumb. However, most smart people avoid these methods for losing customers. It is when our passions engage that we sometimes do things we don’t mean. Like giving people with different passions the impression that we don’t want to serve them because they don’t look or act or think (or worship) like us.

There are people for whom this is not true. There are people who actually think they are right and frankly they may be. These people seem to want to convince the world of their rightness, either so they can convince the world to go their way or just because it feels good to be right. I’m neither that smart nor that solid in my personal convictions. I guess I’ve decided that it’s more important for me to just be the best me that I can be and let others do that too. It is not for me to wag my finger and say they’re wrong. There are lots of folks who seem perfectly ready to step into that role.

Understand also that this does not apply to legalities. When preference crosses a line of legality it is for any contributing member of a society to step up and say, hey, that’s wrong. But when that line is the grayer line of religion or the extremely murky and highly polarized world of politics, I simply prefer to leave the argument to others.

So for me, Politics and Religion are the worst reasons to lose a customer. I don’t feel that I am superior to someone who chooses to believe different things. Therefore I don’t feel that someone who chooses to believe different things is inferior. Why then would I want to put something out there that causes someone to be uncomfortable with doing business with me because their convictions and mine may not line up? Isn’t it better to serve them as a client, treating them with respect and dignity, then to attack something about which they may feel passion? In attacking the thing it is far too easy for the person themselves to feel attacked and it is then that it is likely that any chance for a client relationship is severed.

It is true that politics and religion are about principles. There are those who seem to stand very firmly on their own. I actually do too. It’s just that one of my principles is a deep respect for the sanctity of each person’s experience and the knowledge that finding one’s way is hard enough. I would much rather help those who need it by setting an example through who I am then try to do so through words and phrases born in byte sized chunks over the ether.

So that’s what I was trying to say... I know there are those who feel much differently. I respect that too. If you want to lose clients because of your passions about politics and religion (“if they don’t think the way I think I don’t want to serve them”) more power to you. In that case, then for you politics and religion definitely wouldn’t be the worst reasons to lose a client...

Marketing isn't hard. We Just Make it Hard.

2011-08-04T08:22:00.000-07:00

“Hey Jim. I’m wondering if I can ask your opinion on something?” I get these emails all the time. The most common questions I’m asked? “What do you think of my pricing” and, “How do you feel about my (insert one here) logo, branding, new site, etc...

There are two things that I tell everyone. Number one... Never ask my opinion on something if you don’t want the truth. My friends tell me I should come with warning flags. It’s true. I should. If you ask me what I think and I think something is bad I’ll tell you that. That’s the first thing I say. Here’s the second.

What I think doesn’t really matter all that much. Why? Well unless your optimal client is a 40 something year old, bald, slightly overweight, harried executive who drives a Ford Pickup Truck, is married, has two boys, one in high school and one entering college, who rarely shops, is obsessed with camera equipment but not many other electronics and who spends about 50% of his life on planes and in hotel rooms, my preferences about your branding, pricing and logo aren’t going to do you much good. Frankly, neither will any of the other photo “gurus” who make at least part of a living giving advice to other photographers.

Here’s a better idea. It’s a piece of paper exercise. A sit down with a cup of coffee and an actual piece of paper and a little time exercise. A close your eyes and dream a little exercise.

I want you to think of your ideal client. Form a picture of that client in your mind. Think a little about who they are. This is the client you most want to serve... Now, on your piece of paper write down ten specific traits about this client. Ten things that define who they are.

Here’s an example: “Mom, between 25 & 35, married, works part time, loves her kids, drives carpool, shops at target, listens to hip hop (when no one is looking), is comfortable in her own skin, reads mystery books.” Now give her (or him) a name.

Here’s a little known fact. There is no person named Tommy Bahama. He’s a persona. He’s the outgrowth of a much more detailed exercise just like the one above. Every decision the successful retailer makes is vetted by Tommy. “What would Tommy think?”

Once you’ve picked out your ten traits, think of a few clients who match those traits and make them your own personal captive focus group. When you want to make changes, etc., email them and ask what they think. Their opinion is much more valuable than mine.

Take that piece of paper and pin it up wherever you work. Any time you are working on something related to marketing, take a moment and read those traits again and ask him or her in your mind what you should do. You’ll be surprised how much clarity this will bring in your business decisions!

In the next couple of days we’ll talk about Logo Myopia and a series of other challenges small businesses face. Marketing isn’t hard. We just make it hard.

In Business Strive for Clarity. You'll Sleep Better

2011-05-31T08:29:00.000-07:00

If you strive for clarity in business everything else is easier.

I get a lot of calls and emails from photographers. I don’t mind that. I actually like the sort of constant window into this world that these communications provide. Through them I am aware of the challenges you face and also the victories. Most often though, when someone is emailing me it is about the challenges and a surprising number of these essentially boil down to a lack of clarity. Here’s what I mean...

“Hey Jim, I have this frustrating situation that came up with a client. They hired me for a package that had 4 hours of coverage. They ran behind all day. I ended up being there for six hours. I sent them my bill and they don’t want to pay for the extra two hours. What do I do?”

That one’s pretty basic, right? I asked him to send me a copy of his contract. The contract clearly states that the package includes 4 hours of coverage. It also clearly states that the photographer will try to get all of the important pictures to tell the story, including leaving the reception. It does not state that extra coverage will be billed at $XXX per hour. When I asked the photographer about that he said that was because clients kept multiplying his hourly rate by four and wondering why the basic package cost so much more. Ugh.

In this case I told him that he needed to wave the extra two hours, make sure the client was happy (for referrals), put the clause back in his contract and move on. Lesson learned.

The thing is that I see these things all the time. Second shooters feel slighted when they don’t get to use images on their sites or aren’t paid for setup, travel, etc. Principle photographers get angry at second shooters who do the same things in reverse. Clients get angry with photographers who “nickel and dime” them.

Here’s the thing. None of these issues would ever come up with the business relationships between the various parties were completely clear. There are so many things we choose not to talk about because talking about them makes us uncomfortable. (Especially where money is concerned). But these are the things that we MUST talk about in order to make sure the terms of any deal are crystal clear to both sides.

Here are my suggestions: Pricing. Write it down and send it to them. Have a printed price list that clearly shows everything. Send it via email and the first time you meet with them hand it to them in hard copy. Feel like overkill? Well, the first time you get into a discussion of, “we didn’t know you charged extra for that..” you can point them to the price lists that you both emailed (resend the original email since you are keeping all of the correspondence with this client in a separate folder and it will be easy). Make your, “Oh silly, of course you did” conversation as easy breezy as possible.

Working with vendors, contractors. Have a standard agreement and make sure you use it, every time. Even if it’s a ‘friend.’ (Especially if it’s a friend). Use the same email, hard copy method with working with these folks.

Every time there is a dispute about anything, make a mental note to modify your contract to handle that issue. Sometimes that’s just another point within an existing clause and sometimes it’s a couple of new paragraphs.

Using this simple approach will mean that over time you’re covered and the clarity in your business relationships will lead to mess disputes and a better night’s sleep.

And that’s worth a little work, isn’t it?

Why Branding DOES Matter. And what Branding really is.

2011-04-27T09:19:00.000-07:00

If every client engagement comes down to a fight around your pricing and a desire to discount there is something wrong with your branding.

Take a second and reread that. It’s true.

‘Wait,’ you’re thinking. ‘You always say my logo doesn’t matter.’ That’s right. It doesn’t. So long as it is remotely presentable your logo doesn’t matter one tiny little bit. But I’ll reiterate, if your clients are constantly looking for lower pricing there is something wrong with your branding.

How are those two statements compatible? They are compatible because your logo is only an extension of your brand (and by comparison, an unimportant one). Here’s what I’m getting at.

In the highly projective world of internet communication, your brand is everything you are. It is not your logo. It is not your colors or your cool custom font that you developed that too truly just reflects you. It is these things PLUS everything else you have out there and every touch point in your business. It is your packaging, your pricing, your voicemail message, everything.

And most importantly it is what these things communicate about you to the people who may be interested in contracting you as a photographer. And it is your products.

What do I mean by all of this? Here’s the thing. If there is nothing that someone can only get from you, then anything that you sell can be found somewhere else. Wait, you say, my clients can only get ME from ME. I get that. And the funny hats and glasses and custom designed T-shirts, and all of the other stuff certainly set you apart. But you must understand that to a client that may not be enough. You’re just one highly stylized photographer among a herd of highly stylized photographers.

Ask yourself this question. Besides you, what ONE thing can a client get from you that they can’t get from anyone else? What thing can they NAME that they can get from you that they can’t get from anyone else? When they want to justify spending the extra money what are they going to say?

‘Well, I like soandso, she has a shoot fee and an album and a book and she has online proofing and we can get big prints or canvases to go over the couch. And all of that comes in the middle package that we can get for $5000.

‘Well I like soandso, he has a shoot fee and an album and a book and he has online proofing and we can get big prints or canvases to go over the couch. And all of that comes in the middle package that we can get for $4000.

See what I mean? Sometimes I think we spend so much time on the veritable window dressing of most branding exercises that we forget that it’s what’s written on the pages that will be most important.

Take some time and go out and come up with three things that you can incorporate into your business that are uniquely you. Name them as such. I am not necessarily talking about physical product, but I am talking about something your clients will name and say, “I like soandso, she’s the only person who can provide “nameofthingIloveandwantnomatterwhat.” I don’t care if it costs us an extra $1000. I want that.

When you do that all of the other stuff will fall into place ...

Onward,

Pricing. Understanding your Clients’ Quantitative/Qualitative Decision Points.

2011-04-26T08:58:00.001-07:00

“In the last month I’ve talked with five potential clients and not one has booked me. I got an email from the last one saying my pricing was just more than they wanted to spend. Do I need to lower my pricing?”

I get an email like this at least once a week. Pricing seems like the first place everyone goes. I get that. It’s scary. However, it is important to understand that a client’s decision points are based on a continuum of quantitative (or objective) and qualitative (or subjective) impressions. Whether you get the business will depend on how much your qualitative impressions skew the quantitative. This is true for all luxury product purchases (and if you’re reading this you sell a luxury - non necessity - product).

Here’s a worthwhile exercise. Take out a piece of paper. (If you’re concerned about the environment turn over a piece you’re already using- you’re only going to use one - it’s worth it - I promise). Draw a two sided arrow horizontally through the middle of the page. On the left side write, “Quant.” On the right side write, “Qual.” Pricing sits at the end of the Quant side, and Art sits at the end of the qual side. Lots of other things sit in between. It may help to think of it as a scale. Draw a triangle underneath it and see it as a balance that you have to influence in order to get the deal.

It is important to understand that the Quant side has a series of things that are related to you and a series of things that are not. You control your pricing and packages. However, you do not control the other factors. These are things like budget, other obligations, etc. related to the event or session, but they are also things like gas prices, consumer confidence, etc. that we hear about on the news and don’t think apply to us - at least directly. All of these things, and their relative impact on your prospect or client are “weights” on the quantitative side of that continuum.

Whether these issues has an impact on your client will depend on two things, one is quantitative and one is qualitative. The quantitative thing is what percentage of a person’s view of their financial capabilities is this event going to cost? Speaking plainly, is the person wealthy and not miserly? If so, then the issues that have an impact on most people are not going to influence them. The weight on that side is not as much of a burden. (Though it is always a mistake to assume it is not a burden at all).

The qualitative measure is essentially the value the client assigns to the various components in your package. Do they like you? Plus one on the qual side. Do they like your samples? Plus one on the qual side. Do you have something in your package that they LOVE that they can’t get anywhere else? Plus two or three on the qual side.

That last one is so important. Even if that ‘thing’ is essentially just the combination of you and your products and their perceived experience, it is the thing that will make the difference between someone making their decision solely on the quantitative aspects of the decision and being willing to throw those away because they simply must ‘have’ you.

There’s an easy way to know if you have a problem with this. If every prospect comes back and wants a discount and the only ones you are signing are the ones you give the discount then you are not establishing enough qualitative reasons why the client should use you. Tomorrow we’ll dig a little deeper into the things you can do on the qualitative side to make a difference. Until then, draw this little diagram for every prospect you’re currently speaking with. Figure out what their weighting is and then see if there are things you can put on the other side of the scale that might drive it in your favor.

Lower your pricing may be necessary, but it should never be your first decision. It is always your last.

Onward,

Why I do what I do... And some personal musings -

2011-04-22T09:31:00.000-07:00

My morning routine is a little different than most people. I’m up around 5. I eat breakfast at home (a scramble of eggs, black beans, chicken, fresh tomatoes and spinach). Oh! Wait! Major tangent here ...

A little over a month ago, inspired by Kevin Swan, Chris Becker (who I actually think I’m supposed to call just “Becker” but that seems really strange to me so I’m going to keep calling him this if he doesn’t mind too much - which he actually may.. so hmmmm ... ok, seems really weird but - er) “Becker,” and a few others in the photography business as well as by the fact that I serve a world of professional photographers who insist on taking pictures of my fat self everywhere I go, I decided to try out the 4 Hour Diet. I had read the book and talked with some friends who know about such things as nutritional science and with their blessing and the promise that I could lose 20 pounds in 30 days and if I was willing to alter my lifestyle and eating choices in some very manageable ways, not only would I continue to lose weight but I would also keep it off, I set off. (that sentence is positively Faulkner-Esque!) Well, 32 or so days later I am more than 20 pounds lighter. I feel great. I am still fat in my own eyes (the only ones that count) but 200 lbs is in sight and my weekend bike rides are more fun already. So thanks Kevin and, er (still feels weird but I’ll get used to it I guess), “Becker” for showing the way...

Ok, tangent over.

Like I said, my morning routine is a little different. I eat breakfast out of a cup in my truck on my way to the gym. (I know - it’s not safe - yada yada - write the NTSB about it - there are exactly 12 other people on the road at that time and they all know to watch out for the semi erratic Ford F150 weaving its way down the road). It’s about a 35 minute drive. I get caught up on the major news stories (KNX Newsradio here in Los Angeles is an excellent source - though I have to confess I don’t like morning anchor Dick Helton’s style all that much) and listen to some country radio. Once at the gym I “ride” (I guess that’s the right verb) the elliptical trainer for about 45 minutes, stretch, do sit ups (which I hate but which are good for my terminally bad back), and then shower, change and stop by Starbucks for my Venti Pikes, no room, no sugar, before getting to the office, most days these days, around 7.

That may be TMI. I dunno. It’s what I do. The reason I got to thinking about it is because all of this time gives me a lot of time to think. And when I have a lot of time to think I spend most of that time thinking about my clients (all, I-don’t-know-how-many thousand of you). Some days I think about all of the ways I/we suck. Some days I am frustrated that there are many ways that we no longer suck that don’t seem to make a difference. Some days I think about all of the ways you suck. (oops! am I supposed to say that out loud?) But frankly most days I find myself falling into a kind of mental retrospective of inspiration.

One month in to my first year at Pictage (which was exactly two years ago today, give or take a day) someone asked me what I like the most about my job. It was a challenge then and much bigger challenges loomed to be sure. But the reason my friend had asked the question was because he’d seen a change. I was happier. I liked work. I didn’t even mind taking the brunt of so many frustrated customers (frustrated about stuff that happened long before I got here and frustrated about stuff that was still happening). What was it about this job that made me happy?

The answer then and now is an easy one. I love serving professional photographers. Now don’t worry. I’m not going to go all sappy motivational speaker on you. But it’s true. I love what you all do. I am amazed at your vision and your craft. I am amazed at your willingness to give of your time and talent. As a long time blundering student of photography myself, I know how hard many of the things you do actually are. I wish I could do them myself. Some of you have had the time and patience to try to teach me and that’s been great.

Here’s my thought for a (Good) Friday. Keep it up. Don’t get distracted by the storms. That’s such a time suck. We’ll make a deal. You keep pushing and I will too. There are a whole series of pretty amazing things getting ready to jump out of your grandmother’s old Pictage. Most of these will launch in May. What’s going to launch in your business? Why will you be different in June than you were in April? Never stop. What’s next is what’s important.

Onward!

Getting Through to Tomorrow.

2011-04-20T10:03:00.000-07:00

A little while ago I published a post on the Pictage forums about trying to look up. I wasn’t really shaking my finger or anything like that, but I wanted to point out that the flow of conversation had really begun to focus on the negative. I’m not a hugely positive person. I’m not prone to seeing the glass as half full. Most of the time for me the glass can be overflowing and I’ll be griping about the waste or predicting where the glass is going to fail, when, and why. It’s in my wiring. When I let that side of me get a grip it slows me down.

I use words like ‘onward,’ and phrases like “what’s next is what’s important” as reminders, as much to myself as to my readers that I need to keep my head up. Forget about criticizing what is so much and focus on the things I need to do to be successful. I have a whole group of people who I’ve surrounded myself with who are extremely good at telling me all of the different ways I suck. An even larger group of folks is really good at telling me how my company sucks. (this group is startlingly large! I’m lucky I’m ambitious and probably a little overconfident!) Fixing these things is my priority. The time I spend griping about these things is wasted.

In response to my thread, Elizabeth Myer, a Raleigh, North Carolina photographer and frequent forum contributer posted this beautiful story...

One evening, an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said the battle is between two wolves inside us all.

One is Evil. It is anger, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride and ego.

One is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, generosity, truth, compassion, benevolence and faith.

The boy thought about it for a moment and asked his grandfather, "Which wolf wins the battle?"

The wise old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

I’ve since heard this story in a couple of different settings, but the moral is always the same. Which side of the battle are you feeding?

A pretty interesting thought for a Wednesday.

Exit Strategy - Long term thoughts in a here today, gone tomorrow world.

2011-04-19T13:07:00.000-07:00

Exit Strategy ... Such Big Words I’m Hearing Lately!

It’s funny. My world tends to be a largely financial world that sometimes intersects with photography. (I wish it intersected more but I can’t control that!) I forget that the marketplace I serve - a marketplace of professional photographers - is propagated by business people who focus on photography, but who must, on a fairly regular basis, intersect with a world of business and finance. It simply slips my mind.

Every once in a while though it comes crashing through, as it did the other day when I was in a conversation with a photographer who asked me what I thought her exit strategy should be. Huh? Your ‘exit strategy?’ It was kind of funny really. Two things crossed my mind almost simultaneously (I nearly short circuited myself as having actual thoughts is not a common occurrence and having two at once was severe overload!). One. What the hell are you thinking about exit strategy for? Two: That’s really smart that you’re thinking about exit strategy.

As incongruous as this sounds, both thoughts are actually logical. Here’s the thing. An exit strategy is a smart thing to be thinking about. But the term exit strategy is an odd one for a photography business. Are you looking to exit photography and achieve some value or are you looking to build enough personal value that you can retire? See the two things are really completely different. An exit strategy is a financial strategy employed by a company that needs to plan various transactions or events allowing investors to achieve a return on their investment. These can be public or private stock offerings or sales. (the sale of the company in whole or in part). A retirement strategy is a strategy employed by a business person that ensures income at the point at which they are no longer working, either through savings or through annuity.

I hear from a lot of people who have decided that their “exit strategy” (I don’t know where the term is being propagated but it’s out there enough that someone is obviously using it in the sector - probably in a seminar about how to exit your photography business!) is to do seminars and teach stuff to new photographers. When I ask what the role model for that exit strategy is I usually hear about one or two people. So, from the thousands of people who’ve tried it, two have apparently succeeded in getting to a point where some significant portion of their income is from seminars. But how long will this be the case? The back halls of this industry are littered with the has beens whose message is stale and who no longer offer a relevant message to anyone willing to pay. Once that dries up (and it does so with startling rapidity) where are these people to turn? Back to photography?

Here’s the thing. If your exit strategy doesn’t provide a REAL exit then it is not an exit strategy. It’s an alternative, or supplemental business. Here’s the challenge of that. There’s only one of you. If you are spending lots of time on your alternative business (teaching seminars), then your actual business (photography) is going to suffer. When your photography business suffers you will lose relevance in the marketplace. Then you will have no business. That’s a different kind of exit strategy altogether!

In these times that may be a tough message. If you can’t make money in a photography business and you can’t make money selling your knowledge to photographers how are you supposed to make money? Am I not being fair? Or am I actually just telling the truth?

One of the most fascinating dynamics I see in the marketplace is this one. I cross paths with hundreds of photographers every month. There is a loud, frustrated group who are spending a lot of time and energy trying to change the industry to get it to meet their needs. There is another group though. While the maelstrom wails around them they are quietly building businesses that are quite successful. They have no problem getting clients. They have no problem earning a living. Sure, they’ve been stressed by the macro-economic factors that influence the marketplace, but their response has been to double down and focus on the clients they serve and on making sure those clients are extremely happy. And in the middle of all of it, they’re finding success.

Want to build a great exit strategy? Build a successful business. Figure out how to serve your customers for a lifetime. Keep your head down. Keep moving. Innovate. Respond to market dynamics. Understand the macro climate. Be ready when things are hot to take advantage of looser purse strings. Be ready when things are slow to draw on your reserves. Build multiple revenue streams and never let your supplementary business take more than your supplementary time. Find a way through product and service diversification to serve everyone who comes to you for the service you provide. Build a business that is so successful that others want to come and work with you. Build a business that is so successful that you need others to be able to meet consumer demand. When that starts to happen, you’re on your way.

Stuff to think about for a Tuesday afternoon ...

The most important elements in getting the phone to ring...Marketing tips for photographers.

2011-04-18T10:46:00.000-07:00

When business is down turn to those you know.

It’s that time of year. You’re either booking up (and generally happy) or you’re not (and generally panicked). It’s the time of year when the stress starts to show up on Twitter. It’s the time of year when you begin to wonder if the market has gone away or if it’s you. In truth, it’s a little bit of both.

Many small businesses, and particularly photographers, serve a luxury segment. The products we provide aren’t a necessity. People don’t need great pictures to survive. (at least they think they don’t). $4.00 gas prices (closing in on $4.50 here in Los Angeles), and the continued stresses of the world feed angst in the minds of every consumer. ‘Should I spend this money or save it?’ Given a choice, most will choose to save until they feel better. That’s a reality and not one you can do much about. This just raises the importance of all of the inquiries and all of the opportunities that do cross the desk. It also raises the importance of your own outreach activities.

Frankly, the benefit and the challenge of running your own business is that your success or failure depends completely on you. What you are doing to grow and succeed will make that difference. What are you doing? Running a small business is an active process. Here’s a few thoughts about what you should be doing.

1). Know that your future customers will for the most part come through your network of current and past relationships. What are you doing today to remind people who you’ve worked with that you exist? What are you doing to remind them of the fun they had with you and the time you spent? What are you doing to keep them up to date with your craft and your business?

2). An ounce of personal trumps a million-billion-zillion pounds of impersonal. It takes time, but for photographers, sending along a favorite image as a way to reconnect will make the difference between invoking a favorable emotional response and being unheeded. “I was going through some past work and I tripped over this image. I wanted you to have it. I had such fun working with you and hope you are doing well. If you ever need photography services again, give me a buzz. It’d be fun to see you.” This will work so much better than, “ABC Photography services announces the introduction of family portraits.”

3). Generally speaking, the internet is not your friend. When customer inquiries slow down it is so easy to look to branding and internet marketing professionals as a way to try to increase your visibility. After all, the customers are out there. There must be a reason they’re not finding you. There is some truth to that. But it is VERY important to understand that for successful small businesses, less than 10% of the total customers come through paths other than referral or repeat. That means that 9 out of every 10 customers is someone who you are already connected with. What are you doing to encourage their call?

4). Do you have a “marketing day?” Given a choice between ranking time or money as most important to their business almost all small businesses (about 85%) choose time. This is understandable. Running a small business is a lot of work. Here’s the thing. If you don’t set aside time to market your business, and observe a discipline around how you use that time, then your business is going to struggle because you will always be reactionary. Good marketing takes thought and time. It is not something you can simply do between things. My recommendation is to take one morning a week. (and not Monday) and set it aside to purely focus on marketing activities.

5). Don’t get fat and happy. It is a sad truism that today’s very successful small business is often tomorrow’s failing small business. The reason is because the person who IS the business often gets distracted by the elements of success and forgets to focus on the labor that got them there. Then when the business starts to go away they will find other reasons for their challenges. “The market has gone away!” “These damn new folks are underpricing me!” Really? Or is it possible that you got so tied up in your success that you forgot that the customer relationships that were feeding new business were what was most important to getting you there?

I always say what’s next is what’s important. It’s actually a reminder to me. It is so easy to get caught up in celebrating the minor successes of the past. While it is important to take time out to acknowledge the milestones, it is even more important to make sure one is always moving forward. Always trying something new and always adapting. What’s next is what’s important. What’s next for you?

Onward!

What Jim Garner and Joe Buissink Know that You Don't Know. A lesson in differentiation.

2011-03-30T09:14:00.001-07:00

In my wanderings I have the privilege of meeting and spending time with many of the industry’s best and brightest. Every once in a while these people are also well known, as Jim and Joe most certainly are. Not only are these two guys solid businessmen and strong proponents of the industry, they are also two of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. I’ve had the privilege of hearing them both speak and I can tell you first hand that if you haven’t you are missing out on two of the best you could hear.

I must confess that I don’t know Jim all that well. He graciously agreed to come (completely on his own dime) to a free one day seminar that we sponsored in Detroit last year. (along with Joe, Bambi Cantrell - another of the industry’s real gems, -Ken Sklute and the inimitable Denis Reggie. Jim’s talk revolved around his approach to selling albums. It was brilliant.

I get to hear Joe speak frequently. He and I travel around the country and present together at Pictage’s UberPugs. Joe speaks on inspiration and photo technique and I speak on business. No one comes to see me. The tears and the hugs for Joe when his talks are over are testament to his heart and his connection to our business. Sometimes I wonder if in the middle of all of that people miss the sneaky smart things he is telling them about how his business works, among them, how he sells so many prints.

I know what you’re thinking. “You’re going to talk about Albums and Prints, Jim?” Is this talk devoted to CashCow and Dog category products? Well, no. It isn’t. Because for Jim Garner and Joe Buissink these products aren’t CashCows, they’re Stars. And that, my friends, is the real value of differentiation.

During Jim’s talk he shows several examples of really beautiful albums that he has created for his clients. These are not small books. They are long and thoughtfully wrought artistic expressions of their special days. As he shows the presentation he talks about his approach and the fact that he gets his clients to spend the whole day with him in order to create not just the book, but the experience that shines through on its pages. For the classic PJ shooter some of these words may seem like blasphemy. A day orchestrated for photography? But that’s not what Jim is doing. He is convincing his (easily convinced) clients that their day should be a full day, not a half of a day.

Why not start out in the morning with breakfast at your favorite restaurant? (just the bride and groom). Why not meet your friends at a poignant place to hang out and laugh. Why not get dressed before lunch and then head for the local hot dog or chili burger place? Why not have a blast for a whole day on such a special day? And why not have your amazing photographer tag along for the whole time?

The brilliant part of Jim’s presentation comes toward the end. He explains that his clients don’t hire him to take their pictures. They hire him to make their book. The books he creates share their special days in ways no one else is showing them. Everyone else has some pictures and ‘here’s an album with your pictures in it.’ Jim’s “Signature Art Books” & “Stories in Prints” approach turns that whole sales cycle on its ear and in doing so makes this product that is so hard for many to sell the focal point reason why clients hire him. If you get a chance to hear him speak do so. I promise that he will leave you thinking a lot about ways to improve your own approach.

Like Jim, Joe doesn’t sell photography services. He sells art. In Joe’s talks he walks people through his client consultations. The core part of the consultation is a session where Joe brings out a stack of mounted 11X14 prints, each one signed. He hands these prints to his clients and he does this amazing thing. He doesn’t talk about the prints. He tells the stories of what’s going on in the prints. He doesn’t show a lot, around 10. Each one is selected because it tells a unique part of the story. Each image is perfect. Each image is filled with story and emotion. But each image is also a signed print. Each image is art. This is really, really smart. Here’s why.

By showing his clients these prints, Joe is establishing the idea in their mind that this is something they can get from him. And because they are signed, this is something they can get ONLY from him. Too many photographers today spend too much time counting on online galleries, iPad slideshows, strangely iPhone slideshows etc., in their selling process. Then they wonder why their clients never think to buy prints from them or want to go to Costco to get them made cheaply. He has two price points. One for prints and one for signed prints. People actually pay more for his signature. They should. He is a treasure and his work is art.

It is important to understand that neither Jim or Joe are coercing these purchases. They are giving their clients an option to buy products that their clients will deem special. Their clients deeply appreciate the opportunity to work with them and in many cases they end up doing so BECAUSE of these products. If you think about it, how many of your clients hire you because of your products? To be sure, they are also hiring a great photographer, and someone they know they can connect and feel comfortable with. (all are important elements of the commercial decision). But most consumers are really unable to tell the difference between one great photographer’s work and another. Differentiation then, must be on the basis of something else. By giving their clients something tangible, something they can name and actually hold in their hand, these two smart guys are also giving their clients an objective reason to choose them. In a business of intangibles, that is pure gold.

Don’t copy their approach, but figure out what you can glean from it that will work for your business, in your region, and with the clients you want to shoot. Not everyone can be as successful as Jim and Joe, but everyone can and should learn from what they are so generously willing to share. The day a client chooses you because of something you have that no one else has you’ll know it has been worthwhile. That is true differentiation.

A Conference That Works ...

2011-03-29T15:19:00.000-07:00

A conference that works ...

As a part of my job I get to (and sometimes feel like I have to) attend a lot of conferences. I’m not an enormously social person so to be completely honest I try to avoid them. Recently though I attended one that really worked. I thought I’d devote today’s blog to InspireBoston. A conference that works because of the people there, the people who plan it and put it on, and also because of it’s purpose.

InspireBoston isn’t organized by an association, a magazine, a company or a group of authors. It’s organized by a group of highly qualified photographers whose life business is to be photographers. They aren’t interested in teaching seminars or follow ons. They’re there to help each other be better. They teach each other (and the other lucky folks who get to attend).

About 200 people get to go. Then it’s sold out. Most of the folks there have been in business for a while. Per capita the highest qualified gathering of wedding and portrait photographers I’ve had the pleasure to spend a day or two with. Everyone is mostly packed into the inn, so everyone eats together, drinks together and talks from early AM (like around 10 - the crack of dawn for most photographers! ;-) The information exchange is frank and honest. People discuss real problems and get real answers or real commiseration. Even the teaching is sharp, no nonsense and practical.

But the reason I love this conference so much is because it is so relevant to its own community. Nearly everyone there was from the Northeast. The teachers were from the northeast. (Am I supposed to be calling that New England?) There was an element of practicality that permeated the content. It can’t help but build community. It can’t help but strengthen ties.

I didn’t get to spend as much time this year with the attendees as I would have liked. I got busy with work things and I was actually also using this as a form of personal retreat this year. But even so, I was grateful for the time I was there and grateful for the organizers, Matt and Enna, Krista Guenin, Paul McNerney and Krystal Prue, Mark Andrew, Carla Ten Eyck and Richard Esposito.

I left thinking about what would happen if people in communities around the country started doing this kind of thing themselves. In every community there are photographers who could teach and photographers who could attend. In every community there is a great little place that would pack people in and make them feel warm and comfy. This model works because the content of the conference matches the needs of the community. The connections are real and useful and lasting. It also works because it’s small. You can’t help but interact with just about everyone.

Great job Matt, Enna and team. Your conference is aptly named, not just for the attendees but for the model. Let’s hope some others are inspired to pick up the torch in their areas and do great things themselves!

Making Your Products Fly, An Exercise. Part III of my Business Basics series.

2011-03-28T08:41:00.000-07:00

Today’s post is an exercise. I’m not doing this for me and I don’t think learning is a passive pursuit, so today you’re going to need a pen or pencil and a piece of blank white paper. (I know! Old school, huh?) I got some questions on how to use the BCG Matrix that I included in my last post. That’s great! It isn’t just a picture. It’s a tool. It can be used in any business and using it can make the difference between whether or not a business succeeds over time. As a refresher, here is the Matrix again.

The BCG Matrix was developed many many years ago by the very smart folks at Boston Consulting Group, a premier strategic consulting firm used by large enterprises all over the world. Luckily, it also works for small businesses. I’ve used it since the day that Dr. Roy Adler taught it to me when I was a junior undergraduate advertising major at Pepperdine University. Unwittingly, it got me my first job running a company at the ripe old age of 26. I still use it today.

Remember, any new product is plotted into the top right hand, 'ideas' (?) corner. As that product starts to grow it will usually move into the ‘stars’ category where your clients’ favorite products are. As star products start to lose their sheen, they will fade into the cash cow category, these are products that people still buy, and may buy in volume, but they are not products that people get very excited about. Finally, as sales of cash cow products decline those products will slide into the dog category.

The thing I love about this model is its simplicity. Quite literally anyone can use it. You should(!) and to encourage that I’m going to give you a little home work. Go ahead. Take a break from the computer. Find a quiet corner and a blank piece of paper. (yes - paper - not an iPad or any other electronic device). Draw a square and then divide it into four equal parts (or ‘quadrants’ in model speak). Right a small question mark in the top right corner, a star in the top left, a dollar sign in the bottom left and a sad face in the bottom right. See? Wasn’t that tough? Anyone can do that!

Now. Think about your different products and services. (I would actually suggest that a photographer should do different versions of the model for products - prints, canvases, books, etc., and services, weddings, portraits (by type), commercial, etc.)

Stars and Cash Cows are usually the easiest to fill in. Remember, a Star Product is something you lead with or talk about when you are selling. It is something you know (or hope) clients will get excited about. Typically it is something that makes your business different from someone down the street. If it is a product that is growing (you’re selling more or making more this year than last year) put it in the top of the box. If it is a product that is waning (like the setting moon) put it in the bottom of the box.

Cash Cows on the other hand are products you usually don’t talk about except to mention. They are products that your clients will negotiate price on (knowing they can also buy them down the street). They may be products that are a pain for you to maintain and fulfill. However as their name implies, a cash cow will also generate cash. From a business strategy perspective, their purpose is to be ‘milked.‘ They may be a pain, but your business benefits from their existence.

Ideas are products you have thought of, but that you may have just launched or are thinking about launching. Their soul defining characteristic is that they generate no cash.

Dogs are products you may still have in your catalog, but which generate no cash. The idea of a dog is that you want it to go away. (Not like your fuzzy little happy dog at home!)

A healthy business will have products (and if applicable services) in all four quadrants. Take some time now and map your products into these quadrants. Are their cash cows you want to get rid of? Are you sure? Are they generating money? The strategy with a cash cow is to make them yield as much money as possible with as little work as possible. How can you make them take less work but still yield a healthy contribution to your bottom line? (Also remember that less work isn’t no work. Sometimes the right thing to do is bolster a cash cow with a little thought and energy so it can go back to generating cash for you). Dogs are products that you simply need to bite the bullet and remove from your catalog. Even though you don’t sell them much, they take time, any small business’s most valuable commodity. Do you have at least three or four entries in your 'ideas' category? If not that's a big problem and something you want to work on fixing...

And speaking of time, here’s another way to look at the model. You should be spending the vast majority of your time on the products and services in the top two quadrants. You want to give good ideas a real chance to succeed (and you want to be coming up with new ones). And, you want to continually bolster your star products.

It is an interesting fact that one person’s star may be another person’s cash cow or dog. The difference will sometimes be in the way a product is marketed. We’ll talk about this concept tomorrow - but it’s an interesting thing for you to think about. Are there products in your cash cow or dog categories that you KNOW are other business’s stars? What is the difference between you cash cow and their star? Differentiation. We’re going to talk about that tomorrow.

Feel free to drop me a line here in comments or via email at my first name at pictage.com. Your questions fuel these posts.

Now - model away! (And if you’re courageous enough, send me a picture of your model!)

Onward!

Don't Be a One Trick Pony, Business Basics Article 2

2011-03-25T10:47:00.000-07:00

Don’t Be a One Trick Pony! Business Basics Article 2

OK. We’re going to dive right into controversy. One of the most common teachings I hear in workshops and professional photography seminars (and I guess even books) is that to be successful a photographer must concentrate on one thing. This teaching suggests that the distractions of different genres, for you and for your potential clients, will take away from your hero business and that therefore they should be discarded or at least hidden.

I disagree. Here’s why.

For any small business, the single hardest thing to do is attract new customers. We all get that, right? We crave a phone call and when we have a meeting we have butterflies and when the customer calls and says, OK, let’s go, we have this little ‘yippee’ impulse that wells up from somewhere deep in our souls. This is also, obviously (and increasingly), true for professional photographers.

Once they have attracted a customer, most small businesses do anything they can to keep the customer. CPAs send out reminder tax prep documents and newsletters, even small retail stores continue to market products and services to their past clients. The reason this is important is because the customer who has purchased your services is the holy grail of all marketing opportunities. These are people who have shown through their actions that they both value professional imaging services AND value YOUR eye. If they have done this once, there is a strong likelihood that they will do so again. I’ve never understood the practice of saying to a client, ‘oh, I’m just a wedding photographer, I don’t shoot portraits.’

OK. Now I’ve done it. Some of you actually just got a little mad. Right? I get that. Remember yesterday’s post. There are no absolutes. These ‘business basics’ are general perspective. As Malcolm Gladwell so effectively describes in his book, there are outliers. There are a few studios in any market who are able to just shoot what they want. They have developed a clientele and a business model (with very high pricing) that allows them to be choosy. The problem is that what works for them will not likely work for you. A small business too focused on doing only one thing will likely fail. Another problem is that a lot of smaller studios look up to these ‘more successful’ folks and so these folks are asked to teach seminars. They logically preach what works for them. Smaller studios pattern themselves after that and fail, likely because the demographic/psychographic target market for that level of service in any market is quite small and already being served. (by the guy/gal teaching the workshop!)

If you study marketing and product theory in college you are likely exposed to a model called the Boston Consulting Group Marketing Matrix. (BCG Matrix for short). This is a quadrant model, or one large square divided into four smaller squares. See below:

Using the matrix is pretty easy. The top right corner (?) is called, ideas. These are products into which you may be investing money or time but which do not drive any revenue. The top left corner is Stars. These are products into which you are investing money and time and they are high growth revenue products. (though not necessarily your top cash producers). The bottom left corner is called Cash Cows. These are products that generate income, but they are also products into which you are not investing large amounts of money and time (you’re milking them for cash). The bottom right corner is reserved for dogs. These are products that you are not investing in and which also generate little or no cash. (typically products you’re trying to sunset).

Any very healthy business will have products in all four quadrants. If you are a diverse photographer, you may have family portraits down in cash cows, weddings up in stars and boudoir in ideas. (as an example). This mix is good and it helps you understand what to do with a product in each segment. “I can shoot family portraits in my sleep. I really don’t like to do them anymore but my clients keep calling.” Perfect! Invest as little time as possible in this business, but make sure you’re milking it for the most possible cash! “I’ve shot a few senior sessions and I have an idea that I think could really make these a big money maker.” Great! Make sure there is a viable market for your idea and then make sure you are investing the time and energy it will take to turn this into a Star. Have a product that takes time and doesn’t make money. It’s a dog. Stop selling it and be guilt free.

The matrix can work in big categories like that or in smaller ones. Break down your physical product catalog into each of the quadrants. Make sure you have some stars, (albums or large mounted prints?), some ideas (high end photobooks), and some cash cows. (prints). Take the dogs out of your product catalog.

Then understand that a client once can be a client for life. Put time and energy into figuring out the various life cycle points when your products will once again be attractive. Make sure they remember you. Stay front of mind for them for any of their photographic needs.

This needn’t be time consuming. Pick one of your favorites from their original gallery and send it to them with a nice note about how much you loved your session, in email with a link to your site. Then, make sure your site describes all of the different photography services you provide. I have to be honest here and say that I don’t understand photographers who have a site for weddings and a site for portraits and a site for commercial and a site for this and a site for that! Why? Because your customers aren’t smart enough to be able to figure out that you can actually do more than one thing? Or because you are worried that they will think you aren’t smart enough to do more than one thing? Or is it because whatever web environment you’re using gets piggeshly slow if you have more than one thing?

What if you contract a consumer for a wedding and their mother or father runs a company and they want some commercial work done? If they come to your site and see only weddings what do you think they’re going to do? If you’re lucky they’ll call. If you’re not they’ll search ‘Commercial Photography services’ and find the person down the block. They already know they like you. They like your work. Are you really in a place where it’s ok to send them down the road when they want more? (If you are, stop reading now and go have a cup of coffee! I’m a waste of your time! But only if you are reasonably comfortable that it will always be this way). And what if the next year she wants to do a boudoir shoot for her husband or she’s already done that and the attendant side effect is pregnancy?

Ok, you’re saying, look Jim I can’t always do all these things. That’s fine. You can also be a referral source for other photographers in your community. The point is that in any case you want the option to say no. Your customers will understand that you are busy or that you are unable to serve them in a certain circumstance, but they’d much rather call someone you recommend than fend for themselves on Google. And you want them to call you because that also gives you a chance to chat. You’re a touchpoint. Make that conversation great every time and you will remain front of mind for their future needs. Give them a great referral and you are their resource for life.

For any successful small business it is a much healthier proposition to think of every new customer as an annuity rather than an event. Every one is a gem. Work to serve them for a lifetime and you will build a business that rides through the ebb and flow of economic change. (and a business that will likely have value when it’s time for you to retire).

Assignment: Take some time and really think this through. Scribble out your own BCG Matrix and write your products in. Think about how you treat each one. Are you investing too much in your cashcows or dogs? Do you have any ideas or stars? What about customers you’ve served. Are they in a place where they want more services? Will you be the person they call? What have you done to make sure that is so?

There Are No Absolutes. Volume One, Business Basics Series

2011-03-24T09:06:00.000-07:00

This is going to be controversial. I don’t actually seek controversial topics. Sometimes I think they seek me. They come in the form of things I hear and think, wait, that’s not right. Who tells these people these things? But the problem is that often there is a deep emotional attachment between the student and the teacher and so questioning a teacher’s teachings is suddenly perceived as an attack on their character. I don’t wish to do that, but I do wish to try to share an alternative view... and so, here goes volume one of my new business basics series. (BBP rules apply). (If you don’t know what BBPs are, you’ll need to look at some of my older posts. Hint, they can also be BGPs)

There Are No Absolutes.

I think one of the things that scares me the most in this industry is the penchant for absolutes. What is an absolute? Most commonly, it is statement that doing one thing will always lead to failure and doing another will always lead to success. The absolute is the always. Here’s a hypothetical example:

"I am successful. The key to my success was my new orange branding. If you wish to be successful then you need to have orange branding too. Make sure it’s different than mine. There are a million colors of orange. But orange branding will bring you success."

Ok, that’s pretty extreme right? But if you really think about it, it isn’t that different then a lot of the seminars you attend. Step by step guides and folks who preach specialization, separation or diversity effectively as rules are essentially teaching absolutes. Their audience is typically made up of people who are either just starting out or people who are truly struggling and who are looking for the magic bullet that will make the difference between success and failure. These folks hang on to formulas and methods they hold as gospel and sadly, in many cases this costly advice will lead to the failure of their business.

Here’s the thing. Every business is different. The chances that following one person’s formula will lead to your success are extremely slim. Success or failure of your business depends on a series of factors that will be unique to you. What is the general demographic level of your community? What is their income level? Are you in a rural area or a metropolitan area? How do people make a living? Are they farmers or financiers? A one-size-fits-all approach simply won’t work as their preferences are going to be different. More importantly, YOU are different!

In small business it is also important to understand that your business is predominantly about you. What is your acumen? What do you love? Abandoning something you love in order to specialize on something you don’t in order to make money is a very bad idea. The vast majority of small business people in the United States will tell you that the reason they are in small business is so they can do what they want to do. It is FAR wiser to find a way to turn the things you love into a going-concern then it is to abandon the thing you love because someone tells you it won’t lead to success. Your motivation is your love for your business. The money you make is the fruit of your success. When your motivation is the money you are in trouble.

So what to do? It is what you do with what you hear that makes the difference between a good and bad seminar or workshop experience. No matter how successful the teacher may be (and the best absolutely tell you this while they are teaching), you need to listen, understand the concepts and then overlay those concepts on your business. Build relationships with a few clients who you can sit down with and talk things through. Talk to non-photographers. (By all means talk to photographers too!) It is much more likely that there are tidbits that you can apply that make sense and can dramatically help your business than that a complete overhaul will drive success.

In the coming days I’m going to be taking a look at a series of topics around which there are fundamental misunderstandings in our industry. These will range from differentiation, to specialization, to the importance and purpose of branding. I’m going to be coming at these from a general business perspective and tying the unique variables related to photography into the discussion only for illustrative purposes. Hopefully understanding the fundamentals will provide a foundation upon which better decisions can be made. If that becomes the case, this will be worthwhile.

Onward!

It's That Time of Year: Questions to Consider before Changing Your Business

2011-02-07T09:06:00.000-08:00

It’s that time of year ...

I got an email from a friend on Friday. She was on her way home from a long day at work. She was depressed. Getting her business going has been a long, hard battle. She feels like she’s doing most of the things she needs to do. She is involved in civic and community functions and she makes sure the clients she serves are really happy. With all of that, when she and her husband sit down to review her business it is clear that she is not yet making money. Is she a failure? What radical changes does she need to make in her business to succeed?

She is an interior decorator.

I serve professional photographers. It’s funny that the challenges my friend faces in her business are so close the the challenges faced by so many in this business. My advice to her, and my advice to you, is the same.

We may be at the end of one of the most disruptive economic phases in our life times. I say we may be, not because I am qualifying the measure of disruption, but because I am not sure whether or not we ARE at the end. No one is.

I think it is important to remember this because we are always so focused on what’s right in front of us. We are able to access any information with little to no effort and in little to no time. Why are we not able to create positive change in our businesses in the same timeframe?

Many of the workshops and various experts who speak in our space exacerbate these challenges. “If you do this you will succeed.” I’ve heard a lot of these and I have to say that I find the common themes almost comical. It’s all about your branding and standing out from the crowd! Price your way to success! Make sure what’s coming through is the real you and when that happens you’ll succeed. Only sell to the rich, they’re the only ones who buy! This list goes on and on.

The challenge I have with all of these theories relates to the advice I gave my friend. Why do we always think we’re the cause of our problems? To be sure we sometimes are. There is merit in the underlying theme presented in most of these seminars. Your branding does matter (at least a little). Pricing matters. Making sure you are authentic matters. Your target audience and their spending ability matters. However, sometimes I think you have to stand back and look around you and notice what’s going on outside of your world. Taking that ‘macro’ view into consideration is of paramount importance when considering any big decisions.

The macro view, in a nutshell, is this. We’ve spent the last year and a half going through the most significant economic turmoil in our lifetimes. While the markets may be rebounding, they seem to be doing so in a void. As far as the every day life of the average person is involved, there is very little difference between January 2011 in the emergence and January 2010 in the disturbance. We still fear for our jobs. We have friends who have lost homes and more. We are much more careful with our spending and much less frivolous with our credit. All of these things will be true until the stimulus stimulates something that actually reaches our wallets.

My friend’s business is interior decoration. Yours may be photography or something else. Whether we like it or not, these are ‘want to have’ businesses. I have another friend who is a plumber. White van, pipe smell, hard work, etc. I asked him if he thought things were getting better. He said he didn’t know. He said that a lot of the folks he saw were asking him if he could just “patch things up.” He said others were going ahead and really getting things fixed. “A little better, maybe.” Any homeowner will tell you that plumbing is a “have to have” thing. It should be clear to all of us that the “nice to have” world won’t really come back until the “have to have” world is in much better shape. That’s a macro view.

What I told my friend is pretty simple. Check yourself. Make sure the things you’re doing are the things you believe you need to do for your business. Make sure when you are working that you are making money. Make sure you’re not spending money on anything you don’t need. But. Don’t make any big decisions until we really know what is going on in the Macro space. Be good. Be efficient. Be opportunistic. Do not be reckless.

Measure what you are told and let bigger decisions take a little time. I’m not saying don’t make the big decisions. I’m saying make them, but make them with all of the information, or at least enough to really know where you are ...

Successful businesses are business that think in the long term. That’s true whether you are a sole practitioner or an auto manufacturer. I hope that helps.

Monday Morning Ramblings, It's not always Pricing.

2011-01-18T08:28:00.000-08:00

I read a lot and I talk to a lot of photographers. When things are good, they’re good. When things aren’t so good, it seems like there are two places you always go. It’s either pricing or branding. Chances are it’s neither. Here’s what I mean ... (BTW - this works for all small businesses ... including quilt shops in Central Wisconsin!)

You sell products and services to a wide array of clients. They pick you as their pro for different reasons. Some do so because they love your work. Others do so because they like you. Pricing is a component of their decision, but the key driver is going to be one of those two things. Knowing which one it was should make a big difference in how you approach that client relationship. Here’s what I mean.

If someone chooses you because they love your work they are telling you something important about themselves. Photography is important to them. They get that there are different styles. They like yours. These clients will clearly identify themselves. “I just love this picture of ...” They will simply drool over your designs, etc. They are visually oriented, artistically interested (if not inclined) and they will have an emotional reaction to their images once they get them that goes beyond just being happy to see themselves in a new light.

If someone chooses you because they like you and you are convenient, a friend of a friend, someone who did a good job shooting someone’s portraits, kids, wedding, etc., they are much different. They are more likely to be price sensitive. Their priorities are going to be elsewhere. They may actually spend more on the DJ than on the photographer! Horrors!

Expecting these two clients to behave the same way is silly. Giving them equal time in capture, editing, design and posting is equally silly. Client type two isn’t going to buy the upsell album no matter how great it looks. They have signaled their priorities to you. “We want to spend as little time as possible taking pictures.” “This album is neat, how much is it?” “Can I get your lower priced package?” It will be a rare day that a client like this changes their colors just because your images rock. Their perspective will be, “Of course they rock. That’s why we paid you so goshdarn much money!” With this kind of client the key for you is to do your best to be efficient. Don’t get carried away with editing and design. It won’t pay. Think solid. Make sure there are no surprises for them and make sure you deliver on time and on budget. That’s what will make them happy.

Now client type one .... They’re the reason you’re in business. Have fun. Make you and them happy. Just remember that for most studios, (highly successful boutique studios in Chicago notwithstanding) your ratio is going to be about 4 - 1 client type 2 to client type one. To build a successful business you need to learn to serve both. Once you are ultra successful you can start saying things like, “well I just don’t want to serve that kind of person.” If that’s you, congratulations. If you’re like the rest of us then it’s all about making solid choices about what you will and won’t do in each case. That’s not always easy. What I would do is figure out a way to delineate the client type in whatever tool you are using to keep track. That way, every time you refer to the client you are reminding yourself of your priorities in their case. You don’t want to spend hours upon hours editing and designing for someone who simply won’t appreciate what you’ve done. You want to do great work. But you want to do it quickly and efficiently. Then you can go out and shoot something that makes you happy ...

Onward!

Jim's Top Five Business Rules

2011-01-10T08:54:00.000-08:00

Jim’s Top Five Business Rules.

We all like lists. Here’s mine. The top five rules I use to run a business. Interestingly, they haven’t changed much in the last several years, though I’ve done drastically different things.

The welcome consequence of consistency is the formation of trust. I wish I could say that was mine. It isn’t. It was a part of a business book I got as a gag gift about 15 years ago. The first sentence in the third paragraph of what was otherwise a completely unremarkable book. I’ve always loved that statement though. Consistency is about knowing who you are and what you’re about. It is never being too high or too low. It is always understanding the priorities and making every decision in the same way. Consistency may sound boring, but as a manager I’ve found that if I am consistent my team knows where I stand. They don’t have to ask me what to do. They know. That saves me time and builds their morale. It also helps us all get through the bigger challenges.
If there is a choice between something being good and something being bad it’s going to be bad. Hope is a powerful motivator and I never want to rain on hope, but I always want to be prepared for that wicked left hand turn. Anticipating what is bad means I’m never surprised when that’s what happens. I have a plan. I’m acting on it. If it turns out to be good the exercise is still worthwhile. Knowing how you will deal with the worst builds confidence even when you experience the best.
No one ever remembers what you said before you said “but.” I learned that in Dr. Mark Mallinger’s undergraduate organizational behavior class at Pepperdine in 1989. It changed the way I communicate. We have this terrible habit of always saying something good when we need to say something bad. “That’s a nice shirt, but you need to brush your teeth before you come to work.” It won’t take any time at all for you to come up with other examples. Here’s the thing. As Dr Mallinger taught me so well so many years ago, not only will no one remember what you said before you said, BUT, they will wonder if you meant it. Ever since then I’ve led with the worst. “Your performance sucks, how are you going to fix it?” Guess what? It works!
The big picture matters more. It is so easy to get stuck in the tyranny of the urgent. The problem that is right in front of us always feels like our biggest priority. The larger the problem, the more it consumes us. Here’s the challenge. The most immediate problem is rarely the biggest one. When we spend all of our time focused on it the bigger issues continue to grow. Usually, the problem right in front of you is a distraction. Always take the time to look forward. Get your head up. Take stock of the surroundings. Figure out what the real priority might be and focus your attention on that.
The only thing special about my position is that if something goes wrong it’s my fault. I read so many things about what people think about CEOs. Most of it is crap. My job is to make sure the people who work here understand their priorities. Then my job is to make sure it’s possible for them to achieve them. I serve them. Three years out of college I wrote an essay called, ‘Management from the Bottom of the Heap.” Even way back then I understood that the collegiate view of management, as the guy sitting on top of the pyramid, was upside down. We don’t sit on the top. We’re on the bottom, looking up, trying to anticipate what’s going to fall next and be there to catch it when it does. We’re there to clean up the mess. A failure in any area of the company is our (my) responsibility. I didn’t properly train, anticipate or prepare.

These rules apply no matter how big or small a business is. Perhaps they’ll work for yours.

My Grown Up Christmas List

2010-12-23T08:02:00.000-08:00

There is a great song by that name. It's been covered by a bunch of country artists over the years. It always makes me think, what is my grown up Christmas List.

It's been a tough year. I think a lot of us, and probably myself included, have let the pressures of the economy and the challenge of facing a world full of problems we can't individually change chip away at our inner souls. We're a little less hopeful. A little less forgiving. A little less convivial. We root for each other a little less and we protect ourselves a little more. I guess my biggest Christmas wish is that enough light would appear at the end of this present darkness that we could start to look up and move toward that instead of staying hunkered down. That light is whatever it is for you. It is not a religious thing or a socio-economic thing or a world peace thing or anything like that. It’s my thing and your thing. It’s the thing that gives us hope.

I also wish we could figure out a way to stop wasting time on the meaningless and focus on the meaningful. There is a world full of need around us and instead of reaching out to see how we can help, we get lost in petty trivialities. Some of this is mere mimicry. The folks that we look up to seem to ignore what is important in favor of what is interesting. Headlines, whether twittered or printed, hold favor over real contribution. That’s our fault in a way. Real help is hard. It takes time. We want it now!

It impacts our own industry too. Some of it is amusing. On our own forums I am often amused at the level to which people will go to fight about things like Canon or Nikon, PCs or Macs, Lightroom or Aperture, etc. Some of that is natural. It can also be fun. But goodness sakes folks, why waste the time and energy and risk the friendships on things that ultimately mean so little? I wish we could remind ourselves in those moments that the point we want so fervently to be accepted is really not all that important. (BTW - in case you’re still wondering, the answers are; Canon, Lightroom, and Mac.. :-)

Some of it has been a challenge and can be destructive. This year a lot of emotional capital has been spent on both sides of a great divide. Are the folks who teach seminars qualified? Is their “fame,” whether simply inside of our own marketplace or even reaching outside, “warranted.” A certain amount of good natured humor tests those qualifications. It’s a good thing. Frankly I think it becomes a little less worthwhile when humorous challenge becomes personal attack. I wonder why we spend the time? Why not simply ignore what we disagree with and focus on our own businesses, friends and community? I wish we could find that ability and move on.

I wish we could all find more opportunities to give back. They’re all around us. When we hold our cameras in our hands we hold a powerful and affirming gift. Those I serve, so much more than I, have the power to create meaningful memories and reminders for a world around them that so needs a reason to smile and feel valued. Through the charity events we hold and even the smaller things I’ve been involved with, I never cease to be amazed when those who have so little outward reason find the inward impulse to smile when the lens points their way. It’s a gift I can give them that costs me nothing but time. I wish to use it more.

In whatever way you celebrate the Holidays I wish for you peace and laughter and the knowledge that you are loved. More than that though, I wish Hope for you. I wish the Hope of a future that is bigger and better than today. If food sustains, sleep refreshes, and breath gives light, Hope is the fuel of the future and there is no greater gift than the dream of a better tomorrow.

2010, Images in the Den. Memories from a busy year.

2010-12-13T11:01:00.000-08:00

I have to admit that I have a few favorites. It isn’t really appropriate, right? But it’s true. There are a few folks who, for whatever reason, I just root for, lurk around, check in on, and always feel especially blessed when I hear from. That’s a horrible sentence, but you get it.

I neither have, nor have much need of, a lot of friends. I’m sort of prickly. I’m given to moodiness. If you ask for an opinion you probably won’t like what you hear. If you’re near me much you frequently get these whether you ask for them or not. My close friends have pretty thick skin. I’m not going to change. They know that. For some reason they stick around anyway.

It’s the time of year when we reflect on such things. No matter what our faith (or no faith!) we find ourselves looking around our memorial 'dens' at this time of year. Some of the images are painful. Others may be funny or poignant. They all contain friends. Over time the pictures on the walls in the den of your mind change. One comes down and another one goes up. Someone on the staff up there must do it. I rarely see it happen. I notice the changes at this time of year.

It isn’t really a surprise that this year the walls are covered with photographers, and photographers’ work. It’s what I do. Angela and I were out the other night and someone asked if the hours in this job were better than the hours in my last job. Ang just laughed. Hours? I never really got the concept. My hours these days are split between family and photographers. I’m not sure the split is even.

There are a lot of great memories from this year. Inspire Boston in February and arriving at the Concord Inn in deep snow. Drinking way too much, hanging out late with a great bunch of folks. Coolness.

Lens and Learn before WPPI. Such great kids and so cool to see a concept come to such inspiring fruition. Will Jacks said, “Nothing can take away your pains like seeing a child smile.” He’s so right. Especially when that child hasn’t had a chance to smile in a while. Those kids will never forget their standing ovation from so many great people at the Awards Banquet. I’m grateful to the industry as a whole for that. That’s a memory.

And speaking of WPPI. Studio-freakin-54. A little debauchery and a little too much fun, but there’s just something about seeing over 1000 people just forget about everything else for a while and have fun. That’s on the wall.

Walking through the year with Carlos Baez. Phenomenal photographer in the throws of the change in the industry. At once struggling with change and deepening his focus on his creativity and craft. An honest struggle to understand and see and change in a way that is real, but also appropriate. Too many people don’t have the courage to face these demons. Being a friend and a confidant in the process was/is an honor. And speaking of that, an evening in studio in Chicago with Kevin Weinstein and Dave and Nancy Wittig’s Chicago PUG. That was a night to remember too.

Who can forget Ron Dawson’s award worthy films at Partnercon? These artfully wrought pieces so surpassed my clumsy oratory that when I first saw them I wasn’t sure I could use them. Joe Buissink’s heartfelt testimony, to his love for the industry and his own struggles did what I thought was impossible, and if anything deepened my respect for this amazing soul. Sharie Zellers said what few others would. She was fearful of what might happen, but the applause she got for her courage said as much as she had. In the end though, it was Carla and Ashley and their story and struggle, and their choice to face their challenges with such blatant, ‘logic-less’ positivity...that’s on my wall. The moments I spent with Carla and the time I spent getting to know Ashley in Ron’s films changed me. We can make a difference. We just need to decide to and then do it. We can face our fears. We just need to decide to and then do it. (these films will go online in just a couple of days, if you're interested in seeing them follow me here or on the forums or keep an eye on the Pictage blog and you'll get a chance. They're well worth watching).

Last but not least, the evening a bunch of the lucky folks spent with Ralph Alswang and Paul Morse. That was an evening to remember.

There are no blank spots on my walls this year. There are, in fact, a lot of images I’d love to find a place to hang. But these were the big moments. The ones I remember without trying. Most of those of you who are reading this shared a bunch of these with me. I’d love to hear yours too ...

The Power of Pictures, Perspective from Behind the Viewfinder.

2010-12-08T08:15:00.000-08:00

My son is in high school. He’s a senior. There are a lot of things you do when your son is a senior. You wonder where the time went. You wonder (and fear) what’s next. You find yourself overcome with pride and anticipation (at least you do if your son is half as great as mine). You alternately cheer and weep and sometimes do both at the same time. One thing you do no matter what is you reminisce.

Last night Angela and I sat down and started going through old pictures to pick some for Mitch’s yearbook page. (A quasi obligatory thing overly sentimental parents do these days for their kids). We were looking for a few baby pictures and a few growing up pictures that can be ‘collaged’ together with a statement that more or less reads, ‘good luck we’re proud of you.’

The images brought back memories. Remember when ... Some were very funny. Like the pictures of Mitch with the colander on his head. It was alternately an army helmet, cowboy hat, cool hat, etc. He had other hats, but he preferred the colander. (stainless steal with uniform holes and a long handle). Some were sentimental. First day of school, ever. A family tradition was to walk to Fremont Elementary. That family tradition started that day. What will his last day be like? Some brought tears. Pictures of Mitchell playing with his beloved Auntie Rene who we lost to cancer, too young.

Going through these pictures is in a real way like going back through his life. I still love watching the Kodak ad, now on YouTube, where the guy asks the kids if he can hear the pictures. I can. I can hear them and smell them. I remember if it was warm or cold. They’re like two dimensional time machines for my mind. I never get tired of looking at pictures.

I’m not in most. In fact, in our total family collection, images that include my “visage” make up less than 5%. (Some would say ‘thank God’ and I’m one of them). But in a weird way I’m actually in almost all of them. I’m behind the camera. I’m looking through the viewfinder. I wonder if these images speak so clearly to me because they are what I saw? They are where I was. I wonder if they can ever be as powerful for someone who is simply in them? Perhaps.

But I wonder if a non-photographer can ever really appreciate a photograph the way a photographer can. It isn’t to say that I am somehow better. It is only to say that the experience for me is different. I can’t look at an image without experiencing it through the viewfinder. It’s the way my brain wants me to see what is in front of my eyes. My perception is dictated by my habit or my hobby or whatever you want to call what photography is for me.

No matter how these images of my sons are seen I am grateful to have them all. Someday I will want to sit and page through them again and remember again. They are who he was and they are also who he is and in some small way they are who he will be, at least to me. Weird year.

This Present Fog. A Prescription for Challenging Times

2010-12-06T08:42:00.000-08:00

If you’re anything like me you’re probably having a hard time “feeling it” this year. I think sometimes we get lost in what’s happening immediately around us. What’s going on with our lives. Is it a struggle to just pay the bills? Does business feel harder and harder? When things are harder we humans tend to have a shrunken world view. Why is it so hard for me?

This is when I think community forums and other personal and professional connections can be so valuable. The truth is that we aren’t alone in our struggles and the one gift I think the internet has given us is the ability to connect with people we’d have never met otherwise who’s experience so mimics our own that we can’t help but listen when they say, “here’s what I did and it worked for me.”

I also think it is important to point out that the current economic environment is incredibly wearing. It seems like every time we hear a shred of good news it is accompanied almost immediately by bad news. Stuff we couldn’t possibly have any control at all over seems to be impacting our own livelihood. (If you actually have ANY control over Greek or Irish banks, could you please stop reading now and go and fix them so I can have a better Christmas?) We keep hoping that tomorrow will bring better news, but we keep finding the same thing around time’s bend. The track keeps going, but it continues in a murk. When will we punch through?

In this business, a business that serves not the necessary but the desired, these weights continue to hold especially true. When people are having a hard time covering the necessities, paying a professional photographer is a long way down the priority list. For working professionals there are fewer jobs and they are farther between. This environment has been made more challenging due to the emergence of so many new photographers.

So how do you keep going? How do you maintain your creative vision? How do you keep your business afloat? Isn’t it easier to just give up?

At this point you’re probably ready for some pithy statement that makes you smile and makes it easier. I don’t have that for you. In fact, what I have may not help at all. It depends on you.

In times like this I have to remind myself that I do not, by myself, determine all of the outcomes. There is nothing I can do to change the world economic situation. There is nothing I can do to change consumer sentiment. The impact of the challenging economy is pervasive. It even impacts our moods. We get one more “no” and we think it must be us. Look, sometimes it is us, and so a vigilance around our business is a good idea. Are we communicating in the best, most efficient way? But just as often that “no” has nothing to do with us.

Ships captains of old dreaded few things more than fog. Fog obscured vision. It forced the world around the ship to close in. The lives and safety of the crew became an obsession. Several days in a mid ocean fog could drive men toward the edges of sanity. Every morning they rose hoping for a glimpse of the sun or a star to reckon by. Every night when they crawled into their berth, they wished or prayed the same thing. Lift the fog.

In that fog there was little the mariner could do beyond stare at the compass, keep the ship’s heading true and trust the charts created by those who’d gone before. Ships with lesser captains foundered on rocks or shoals when they went in search of shelter, to wait it out until the fog was gone or they found themselves run aground or hopelessly lost when captains recklessly pressed on without proper vigilance. Being too careful or foolishly courageous could get you killed. The best course was simply to carefully press on, knowing that the fog would eventually lift. It was to trust the compass and the other experts on board, make solid, informed decisions, and go.

It is the same for us. We can’t control the fog. We can’t change the economy. We can’t be too careful, or our lack of progress will be a self-fulfilling prophesy, and we can’t press on too hard or we could easily run aground. We simply need to trust what we know and forge ahead with enough conservatism to make it through but enough careful progress to be where we want to be when the fog lifts.

The only good news is that the fog will lift. I’ll leave the conjecture about when that is going to happen to others (and frankly I couldn’t care less what the “experts” have to say these days) but I’ll make sure that we’re moving forward in a way that both ensures progress and keeps us solid in challenging times. Perhaps that will also work for you and in a bigger way, perhaps the knowledge that what you’re feeling and seeing isn’t unique to you will help.

What’s next is what’s important.

Things your photographer can't say but wish they could...

2010-12-03T11:39:00.000-08:00

Being a professional photographer can be a lot of fun. Generally you’re around when fun stuff is happening and you’re celebrating with people and you’re taking pictures of people when they’re happy. They're chasing their own dream. They’re an artist and they’re making a living at being an artist.

But there are some things that get on their nerves. Most of these are things they won’t say, at least not to their clients, but they are things that can make a difference and so it is worthwhile for their clients to know.

With that slightly confusing preamble out of the way. Here are some things they won’t tell you.

Weddings:

Timing

Generally speaking your photographer isn’t going to be dictating what you do when on your wedding day. They spend most of the time in the background. However, there are some things you want them to capture and they want to capture and the more predictable the timing is the more likely they are to be there to capture these things.

As an example, if you want to take some portraits before the wedding make sure you’ve left enough time for makeup, prep, transportation and (if applicable) real and emotional breakdowns so you arrive at the location(s) in time for your portraits. If you plan for an hour and get there 55 minutes late you’re not going to get as many images as you saw in their portfolio. Calling to let them know where you are is a good idea too.

Uncle Bob

Photographers have a name for your family members and friends with big black cameras. They call them Uncle Bobs. (It’s a funny term in that it can be applied to your friend Nancy too - as in, “Then Nancy, this wedding’s resident Uncle Bob, started doing her own poses with the group and our timeline was completely out the window!”)

Most great photographers are willing to be more than patient with Uncle Bobs. They don’t worry that Uncle Bob will put images on Facebook. They don’t worry that Uncle Bob will make prints for you, etc. I know a few who will even lend Uncle Bob equipment. (but never ask for that because even those folks would wonder about you). What drives them crazy is when Uncle Bob gets in the way.

Ever look at a group picture and realize that half the people don’t seem interested enough to be looking back at you looking at the picture? Know where they’re looking? Uncle Bob. He’s standing next to the photographer with his/her big black camera shouting “look here.” What else are people going to do? Did you notice that there is no great shot of the kiss? That’s because when the photographer went to capture it, framed oh so perfectly down the aisle, Uncle Bob jumped out of his seat in the way and the only picture the photographer got is of the back of Uncle Bob’s head. If you know you have an Uncle Bob in the family, do the photographer a favor and just drop them a line ahead of time to say that you’ll love to see their pictures, but you’re so excited about your photographer too and could they please just be sure they let the photographer work?

(Important safety tip. At my friend’s weddings - usually my friend’s kids weddings these days - I am the volunteer thug. In this role I control Uncle Bobs, drunk guests, unruly vendors etc. I also feed photographers. But this takes me to my next point).

Food, Drink, Rest

Your photographer is likely to be chasing you around for about 7 hours on your special day. I’ve been to a few weddings since I got this job and I also had the sort of strange but also special responsibility of shooting one (by accident but it worked out ok for everyone) and I can tell you that during this day they are likely to walk, run, climb and crawl at least 10 miles.

If you’re like most people you hired your photographer for two reasons. You like their images and you like them. Try not to forget about them on your special day. It doesn’t take much, a few minutes of planning in the middle of the hours and hours of planning for these days, but you’d be amazed at the horror stories I hear of sitting out back by the garbage cans eating stale bread from the kitchen.

I know. They’re paid to be there and they are paid well. But they are also paid to be at your beck and call all day. They need a few breaks and some food and water (or other non-alcoholic liquid sustenance!) Give most of them a table in the corner to themselves and access to some hot food while everyone else (including you) is also eating and they will be prepared to kill themselves for the rest of the evening and never miss a beat!

Hey Miss Photographer? Can you take a picture of?

“Yes. No problem." It’s what they’re there for. Just know that they may be changing batteries, a memory card, checking flashes, going to the bathroom (I know - horrors!), setting up another shot, etc. They’ll be right there. A few minutes warning about when you’re going to cut the cake, first dance, etc. is all they generally need to be ready.

Frankly, they like it when you tell them what you would like pictures of -and even what you don’t. Photographers can be amazingly discreet. Whisper in their ear that Heidi would love a few pictures without Swen and he’ll never know it’s happening. Tell them you’d love some pictures of Aunt Millie and Uncle Joe together and you’ll get a beautiful set. Tell them your mom favors her right side and they’ll make sure she’s always on their left. They’re incredibly good at this. Just don’t come afterwards and say, “I wish you’d gotten a picture of ...” They can’t make time go backwards.

When you get drunk you’re going to look drunk.

Make sure all of your keeper event pictures are taken before this happens. There is not a “remove drunkness” action in PhotoShop. (though I’m quite certain Kevin Kubota or some other PhotoShop genius just sprang into action to create one).

If pictures are important to you, make sure you think about that ahead of time.

There are a lot of things you can do to make your pictures better. Think about just a few of these ahead of time and you’re paving a path to success.

Make sure the halls have just a little light. Modern professional cameras need surprisingly little. But contrary to popular belief they can’t actually see in the dark. Making sure there is just a little light saves them from having to use strobes a lot.

Check with the church. Different churches have different rules. You don’t want to be surprised when the pastor won’t let you take pictures during the ceremony. It isn’t your photographers job to know this (though many will) and it isn’t their fault when they can’t. If this is the church’s policy and you want pictures of the ceremony you may need to move it to a different church. You get my point. It’s just better to know.

These dresses are really tight. Perfect. They’re going to look great on everyone? If not, perhaps a slightly less form fitting dress, or a dress that has shoulders or straps would be a good idea. (or a wrap). No amount of photoshop can make the uncomfortable slightly heavier bridesmaid look like the size two next to her.

If you’re chewing gum we’re going to see it. By all means, make sure your breath is fresh. Have a mint. Chew gum for a minute or two. When it’s time to take pictures we’re going to see it tucked down in your between you cheek and your teeth. (Trust me, it’s green, we’ll see it).

Leave your cigarettes in your purse. The square bulge under your left breast in the bodice of your beautiful white gown isn’t flattering. Come to think of it neither is the wad of cash.

As you can see there are a bunch of things you can do to help your photographer make you look great. Most of these may seem like common sense, but I’ll tell you right now that I have seen pictures and heard stories of ALL of these things happening on numerous occasions. You can make the difference between something great and something average. Give your photographer just a little help and the work they’ll do will thrill you. I know. I see it too!

(as with all of these posts, this is free for photographers to use however you see fit. If there is a topic you’d like me to address, just drop me a line at jim@pictage.com and I’ll get right on it).

Picture Perfect Professional Portraits

2010-12-01T08:42:00.000-08:00

Picture Perfect Professional Portraits

Contrary to what the latest Nikon or Canon ad might be saying portrait sessions with professional photographers are alive and well, In fact, the business of portrait photography is actually going through a healthy expansion thanks to the emergence of some fun new genres such as expecting moms, family lifestyle and boudoir. Additionally, the emergence of much more portable studio quality equipment means that more often than not, your portrait photographer will either come to you or meet you in a great location where together you can capture some really great images.

Just like with all things related to working with a professional, there are some dos and don’ts when selecting, preparing and even during the process of having your photos taken. Your photographer will likely have a guide of some sort as well, but this should get you started.

Selecting a portrait photographer.

What do you want to do? Make a list. You want pictures. What will you use them for? Is your home a part of the subject/memory? Do you want the location to suggest other thoughts? Is this a one time thing or something you’re going to want to do every year? It is a good idea to have thought this through ahead of time. You’ll save a lot of time finding your photographer and you’ll also have a really clear set of priorities when you see her or him for the shoot.

Portrait photographers generally segment their business by what they’re shooting. Most will do more than one thing. Whether a photographer sticks to a particular genre (such as babies) or not will generally have much impact on the quality of their work. So take some time and look through their images to see if what they offer is what you want.

This said, you want to make sure that the photographer you select has enough experience doing what you want for them to be the experts when it’s time. Excellent boudoir portraiture isn’t about satin sheets and white wines, it is about posing and use of light and lenses that will put you in the best possible situation. If your photographer hasn’t worked with teenage boys, they’re not likely to get a smile from yours.

Let the photographer take the lead!

Babies

Babies are best in the morning and they’re best at home or a short walk from home. Baby photographers know these things. They also know babies. If your child cries they’re not going to be shocked or dismayed. They’ve heard babies cry. They won’t think less of you as a mom. The key trait possessed by most baby photographers - (in addition to amazing photographic skills of course) is patience. They’re also great at understanding how to change the environment enough that the baby sees and feels a change and they’re great at making babies feel comfortable. They’ll ask for help when they need it.

Teens

Having your teenager photographed for senior pictures? I have one big tip for you. Disappear. Don’t dictate wardrobe or poses or anything else and for heaven’s sake, don’t stand over the photographer’s shoulder yelling ‘smile’ at your teen! Let your teen and the photographer decide what they’re going to do and how they want to do it. Remember, these images are as much for them as for you. The best photographers know how to draw the best from this group. They make these sessions fun and interactive and both you and your son or daughter will end up with images you love.

Boudoir

Venturing into the dark for a boudoir session? You’re not alone. This is the fastest growing segment in portrait photography. Gals all over the country and gals of all shapes and ages are booking boudoir sessions with photographers who specialize in this genre. Interestingly, when interviewed about why they’re doing it, most say it’s something they’re mostly doing for themselves. Bravo gals, here’s some suggestions.

Consider your photographer carefully. What is going to make you feel most comfortable? Is your session going to be in a studio, hotel or your home? Boudoir session parties are one fun way a lot of women are jumping in, if that works for you it’s a great way to save a little money on the session fees. Just know that the key in getting great work is going to be a connection you’ll make with the photographer. The best make these sessions fun and easy. They encourage rather than push. And they know their craft. Tell them what your boundaries are in clear terms and then let them pose, mold, light and move you so they can get their best work. A common mistake is drinking too much before a session. Avoid this. It will show in your eyes and face. Any great boudoir photographer will have a solid list of do’s and don’ts for you to work from. Head their direction and you’ll have a great time.

Family

Another fast growing segment is the family/lifestyle genre. In this case, portrait photographers will generally visit your family in your home. They’ll shoot some posed work but they’ll also do a lot of candid work around the home. They may meet you at a local park or other outing. These segments are great because they yield great images that can be used for everything from holiday cards to family yearbooks. Just tell your photographer what outputs you want ahead of time so they’re thinking about these things as they work.

As in all other genres, there are some dos and don’ts for Family portraiture. Think about your spouse. Is the best time to capture them in a great mood at the end of a long workday? Are they going to be excited about this or will they see it as something worse than the annual physical? Don’t spring this on your spouse when the photographer shows up at the door. No matter how animated, your fight will rarely make good photographic art. The same goes for your teens. Dragging them home from a friend’s house will rarely get them terribly excited about smiling for the camera. It seems like an oxymoron, but the more prepared your family is for what is going to happen, the more likely they will be able to relax and be natural when it’s time.

And here again, let the photographer take the lead. Don’t yell at the family to smile or be quiet or stand up straight. If you’ve selected an experienced family photographer they’ll make sure your family has fun. You’ll end up with what you want and your family will be excited when it’s time to do it again next year.

In all of these situations there are some important things to consider...

Look your best. Get your hair done. Wear clean cloths you like and are comfortable in. Give the photographer the best chance to get you at your best and the work they’ll do will amaze you.
Forget everything you’ve heard about Photoshop. It is a tool that can make a great photograph perfect, not a bad photograph good. Great photographers will not use photoshop make you look skinny if you’re not. They can fix some flyaway hair but they can’t edit away a bad hair day. They can fix a blemish in a heartbeat but if your eyes look drunk or stoned that’s how they’re going to look in your images.
This is a photographer not a plastic surgeon. Great photographers know how to approach any body type and show it in its best light. Let them pose you and work with you. Just know that they’re going to celebrate who you are, not turn you into something you are not.
Be prepared to spend a little extra time. Shut off the cell phone. You’re paying for the photographer’s time. You don’t take calls in the dentist’s chair, why would you take them during your portrait session? They’re not going to extend an hour just because you’re not ready or are distracted. Some will give you a little extra time, but most are busy enough that they can’t simply drop everything and hang out with you while you sort out your mother in law’s transportation or hairdo woes. If you book a one hour session, block out three hours. One in advance, one during and one after. Give yourself a break. You’re worth it!
If someone is sick call early! Don’t push a sick child through a session just because the Christmas cards need to come out. See above. Photoshop is not a miracle worker. Great baby and family photographers are used to removing some unwanted - er - nose-stuff. But if your child is sick and fussy they’re not going to be able to make them look healthy. Just call and reschedule - but do it as far in advance as possible so the photographer is free to rebook your time.

There are lots of other things. Most, your photographer will share with you in preparation for your session. Now it’s time for you to act! Take the leap. Book a pro. Stick to these simply guidelines and you’ll be thrilled with what you get.

(as always, if you’re a working pro and you have something you’d like me to write about or add just drop me a line here or at jim@pictage.com and I’ll try to get it done. These posts are all free for you to use in whatever capacity you see fit. Feel free to copy and use them in whole or in part).

Selecting and Working with a Professional Photographer, Step One. Making Contact

2010-11-30T08:41:00.001-08:00

I spend a lot of time on the Pictage Forums. It’s a great environment where I am able to interact with photographers on a daily basis. It’s closed, so they can talk about what’s really on their minds, and through that experience I’ve been able to develop a pretty clear view of their challenges in working with clients.

Here’s the thing. In my experience (and we currently serve just shy of 12,000 of them), these folks universally love what they do. They approach every job wanting to do their absolute best work. There are some things you can do to help them. Many of these are things they’ll discuss with you. Some are not. Some are just common courtesy. Some you may not think of. Taking a few extra minutes to think through these things will make your time with them and your experience and images just that much better. The work they do is amazing, so long as you follow a few simple guidelines.

Over the next few days I will be posting a series of posts that are free for anyone to use for any purpose. These will cover subjects ranging from selecting a photographer - the work you need to do before you get started - to preparing for a successful portrait session, to ways to make sure you come away with the best possible images for your wedding, mitzvah or other event.

Finding a photographer. Navigating the Website and Blog to find the perfect fit.

There are a lot of professional photographers. In almost any town you may find there are almost too many to choose from. It can be a little overwhelming and it is not surprising that so many potential clients essentially resort to sending a blanket or form email out to see who responds. You should know that the more a photographer is working, the less likely they are to respond to an inquiry like this. It isn’t that they don’t love you or want to work for you, and it certainly isn’t that they won’t do great work (in fact, quite the opposite is true), but these folks are busy and they simply don’t have time to respond to all of the inquiries they get. To make your search more fruitful, take a little extra time and get to know them before you reach out. You’re much more likely to find someone who will absolutely thrill you with the work they do!

The web site.

Think of this as their store front. You will notice that all photographer sites feature rich image galleries. This is the first place to go when you get to the site. They’re all going to feature great images, but how do you narrow it down? You’re looking for two things: Their style, whatever it is that makes their images unique. And, their specialties. If you are seeking someone to photograph your baby or perhaps a boudoir photographer, make sure the photographer’s galleries include images like these that you LOVE.

I recommend creating a folder and “favoriting” a few photographers on the first pass and then going back to spend a little time. View their image galleries (those most relevant to you) a few times so you know for sure that this is the way you wish to see yourself. (One thing to look out for here ... Are all of the people in all of the images model beautiful? Are you? If so, great. If not, then spending a little time to find a photographer whose work more closely reflects who you are is a good idea).

Photographer Pricing

In most cases you will also find their pricing on their websites. Make sure this is also in your range. As discussed in a previous post, their pricing is generally not significantly negotiable. You are likely to be able to make minor changes to what is included in a package, but you are not likely to get a 50% discount. You can actually find great photographers in many price ranges. Just know that those who are really good and lower priced will require a little more searching (and they’re generally building their businesses so they’re also very busy).

The Blog

If the website is their storefront, their blog is their family room. Once you’ve narrowed your search down to a few (less than 10) photographers you’d like to work with, go and visit their blog. You will likely find a combination of recent real client projects and personal work and musings. You’re going to spend some time with your photographer and even if you’re just doing some headshots you’re going to want someone you know you’re going to be comfortable with. Taking the time to do this will help you get comfortable and will also give you something fun to reference in your inquiry email. (and that’s the generally the next step). One other quick note is that on their contact pages the photographer will likely tell you how they prefer you make contact. Again, this isn't them being hard to work with. It is actually that they are trying to be easier to work with. If they are generally on location then it might be easier for them to get a phone call and a voicemail than an email. They'll tell you that. Going with their method is another way to start out right.

First Contact - The inquiry email.

These days it is common for photographers to make first contact with their potential clients through email. It is a convenient way for both the photographer and the client to communicate, so this makes sense. However, you should know that if you are seeking a photographer who is in demand, (and most are), sending them an email that appears to be a simple form letter is not likely to get you a response. This isn’t because they are snobby or don’t want to take the time. It is because they are generally very busy and they get a LOT of these. If they took the time to respond to every one, they’d never get anything done. Here is a good and bad example.

Response unlikely: “Hi. We are seeking a photographer to take some portraits of our children. Can you send us pricing?”

Response likely: “Hi. We’ve been looking for a photographer for a while and we found your website and blog and we love your work. (especially the picture of the child with the balloons!) We’d love to get together with you to talk through what we’re looking for. Can you suggest a time and a place that makes sense? Weeknights are probably best for us.

Granted, you’re not going to be able to contact every photographer in your area if you use this approach, but taking the few extra minutes necessary to spend some time in their portfolios, review their pricing, etc., will be a big help to you in selecting a photographer whose work you will love and in making sure that photographer understands that you are serious about working with them and that is the first great step to success!

(Note: For photographers - if you are interested in using any of this content for any purpose you are welcome to do so. Consider it a gift and use it however you please. Also, feel free to drop me an email at jim@pictage.com if there are subjects you would like me to cover. I’ve gotten a lot of great ideas from the folks on the Pictage forums so I have plenty of subjects to cover, but I always love hearing from you).

Selecting your professional photographer - an alternative to that survey that looks so good.

2010-11-26T09:54:00.001-08:00

Before you send that survey ...

A number of the wedding websites have surveys on them designed to help brides select their photographer. Seems like a good idea in theory. But before you cut and paste that survey glance through this... It may make you think twice.

Having looked through one of these so you can make sure you ask questions relevant to you and make sure there are no surprises isn’t a bad idea. But sending a long survey to a photographer you are seriously considering may be the best way to make sure they aren’t interested in you.

Questions about photographic style (and definitions of style).

Frankly the best way to understand a photographer’s style is to view their work. Almost all photographers today will work mostly in a style closely tied to photojournalism. They’re going to work in the background, try to be unnoticed and catch the moments that matter. It is nearly impossible to put anything else related to style into words. Their images and their style is unique to them (if they’re any good), but any words they’d use to try to explain what that is will more than likely confuse or diminish the power of the imagery.

Go and look at their work. Are there images of people and venues that look like you and yours and do you like them? Then you know their style works for you.

Questions about how many, or "all" of the images.

Most professionals will shoot somewhere between 1,000 and 3,000 images during your event (some shoot many more). You will have no idea that most are taken.

I know this sounds like crazy talk but I promise that you don’t actually want ALL of the images your photographer will shoot. No matter how great they are some will be too light or too dark, some will be out of focus. Some will include things you don’t want to see. (your cousin’s hand up your mother’s dress?) One of the things you are paying your professional photographer for is to send you a collection of images that tells your story without burying you with so many that you can’t figure out which ones you want.

The number of images they take and deliver has little to do with whether or not they are good photographers.

Questions about pricing (why does a pro cost so much?)

I know. Your uncle and your friend take great pictures. Why not have them there instead of a pro? They have a big black camera. Won’t the pictures be just as good?

Truthfully, some may. However, a professional photographer understands the best use of light, situation and equipment. They aren’t there for the party. They’re working. Most of them will have photographed events in your venues. There are few problems they haven’t already had to solve for someone else. When you hire a pro you aren’t paying just for the time they’re there. You’re paying for all of that training and experience.

You’re also paying for all of the editing time. As a rule of thumb, it takes about three times as long to edit an event as it takes to capture it. That is a process of first culling out the images that you don’t want to see and then going through the remainder on an image by image basis to make them look their best. That may be done with professional image organization and enhancement tools like Lightroom or Aperture and it will also likely include some use of additional tools like Photoshop. Professional photographers will see and solve a multitude of ills before you ever see the pictures.

All of this is going to be included in what the photographer is charging for time.

Now - why the prints cost so much.

You aren’t paying a professional photographer to capture just any day. You’re paying a pro to capture a day that matters. It is amusing, and sometimes deeply frustrating, to pros that their clients seem so interested in taking these images to the local drug store to have the 14 year old kid print them out.

When you buy a professional photographic print you’re actually paying for two things. One, the use of the image. When you hire a professional event photographer to shoot your wedding you are paying for their time. The images they capture belong to them. When you want to use one of those images, either in print or online, you must license that image. Many photographers will include these licenses with their packages. That’s fine. It is their prerogative to do so. However, the higher end photographers will not do this. Their images are their art. They want to make sure that when they are used they are used in the best possible way. So they maintain control over the image and the way it is displayed. This is part of the cost of a print when you buy the print from a pro.

The other portion of the cost is the print itself. Professional photographers use professional labs. You actually have to qualify to be a customer in one of these places. They don’t serve consumers. Why? Because a professional understands that green is not green and black is not black. They’ve taken time and money to make sure that the screen they are editing on is calibrated to the printers in their chosen lab. Ever get a print back and look at it and wonder why the green dresses are teal? Or why what looks so bright on your Mac looks so dark on paper? This doesn’t happen in professional situations. The colors you chose for your day will be the colors you see. The photographer and the lab technicians spend a lot of time and energy making sure that this is the case.

Further, the materials used are a step above those found in the online sites or other sources. Archival quality papers ensure the colors are as vibrant on these images 50 years from now as they are today (and many labs provide lifetime guarantees).

Ok - So why are albums so expensive?

Any professional photographer has access to lots of different companies that can create books and albums for you. These are expensive for two reasons. One, they are a collection of the photographer’s images. (see above). Two, depending on the process and style (and this is particularly true for Albums) there is a lot involved in producing them.

Albums are actually still handcrafted. An album is a combination of archival quality photographic prints, a cover (usually leather, but sometimes metal, or other materials), and substrate (the material the prints are adhered - or glued - to). Someone actually has to go through and glue the prints to the substrate and then the prints and substrate are bound together to create the album. All of this then needs to cure - or dry - to prevent it from warping. There is very little automation in the album creation process. They are expensive to produce and are therefore expensive to purchase.

Digital, Film or both?

I have to admit that I almost laughed when I saw this on a survey. These days almost any professional photographer will predominantly shoot in digital. With this said, there are photographers who’ve made a niche of shooting some work in film. These photographers may employ older 35mm or square format cameras (such as Hasselblads) to capture some of their images. They may also use toy or plastic cameras, such as Holgas. In any case, know that their choice to shoot in film is a choice they’re making because they like that look for whatever it is they happen to be shooting at that moment.

When you are speaking to a photographer, asking them if they ever shoot in film may yield an interesting discussion. Whether or not they do will tell you nothing about the quality or level of experience of your photographer, but it is something all photographers think about and either do or don’t do for interesting reasons. With all of this said, if you are looking for someone to shoot in film these days, expect to pay a healthy premium.

Negotiating pricing and packages.. Some do’s and dont’s.

It is natural to want to negotiate pricing and a package that makes sense for you, and frankly almost any photographer is more than willing to do this with you. They want you to get exactly what you want at a price that makes sense as much as you do. The best way, by far, for you to do this is to simply call them, request a meeting, etc. But only do this if what you want to pay is within reason when compared to their published pricing.

The photographer’s packages are based on the amount of time they know they’ll spend on your day. Better photographers are in demand and they will command higher prices. Ultimately their business is entirely based on them and their skill, so once they’re hired for the day, that commodity is gone. There isn’t another. For this reason if a photographer has a published shoot fee, or booking fee, of $5000 (which is not at all unusual) you can expect that once you’ve negotiated, that’s about what you will pay.

Going to someone who has a fee of $2500 and telling them that someone else will do your event for $500 will almost always ensure that they will not call you back. If you want to pay $500, find someone who sells for around that price and negotiate with them. (But first, make sure you LOVE their work).

A photographer can generally substitute a book or some prints, or provide a slightly modified version of their coverage. As an example, if your event is on a Thursday night and it is only going to be three hours, they may give you a break on the coverage. However, if your event is a Saturday night and it’s only three hours the same will not likely hold true (because someone else will have wanted them for that whole day).

Cancellations

Most photographers will give you a full refund if they have to cancel for any reason. Additionally, most will also refer you to another photographer who they know can provide a very similar style and package to their own. (They are perhaps unique in their willingness to work and refer to each other).

However, if you cancel - and cancellations happen for all kinds of reasons - know that you will likely have to pay some amount, and perhaps all of the initial amount, for their time. The reason is that once they’ve committed to you they have taken themselves off of the market on that day. Most good photographers are busy, so this means they will likely have turned down events that they would have taken had they not already committed to yours.

Some photographers will offer you alternate uses for the time you pay for such as portrait sessions, etc. and these can be a lot of fun. (Doing a fun portrait session with your friends and family if the wedding is called off for instance). But they are usually under no obligation to do so.

Make sure you read carefully through the cancellation clauses in their contracts so you have a full understanding of your rights and theirs.

Selecting your photographer.

Ultimately selecting your photographer comes down to three things. Decide which order you want to put them in and then use these rather than a complicated survey and you’ll likely end up with someone who enhances your experience, both while it’s happening and in your memories.

Photographic style. No two photographers are going to be the same. Make sure you look at many and take some time over a glass of wine or a cup of coffee to really immerse yourself in their imagery. Are the people you see real? (Watch out for models). Do they look like you and your friends and family? Does the venue look like yours? Do you love what you see? This will matter a lot more than the way they may describe their style. You want to love what you see when your day is long past. (for me, this is the most important thing).
Personality. Once you find a photographer who’s style you love, spend some time getting to know them. Almost all photographers have a blog. Read what’s there. Many include personal tidbits with the rest. Here’s the thing. This person is going to be with you for your whole day - and these days aren’t always easy! Are you going to want this person with you while you’re getting dressed? Are you going to want them there when you’re stressed and losing it? Is their face the one that’s going to make you smile when you’re tired and getting cranky? You can learn a lot of that online, but when you think they are, meet with them and spend some time. This is nearly as important as style.
Price. As previously mentioned. If a photographer’s packages start at $3,000 they’re not going to work with you for $1,000. Asking them is a waste of their time and yours. Ultimately this comes down to how important great photography is to you. For me, it was very important, and 20 years later I am so glad that we had such a solid photographer as we still cherish our album and the images of that day around our home. For you, the cake may be more important. Just remember this; the only thing you will have in 20 years is your pictures. Everything else will be gone. That may be worth a little extra sacrifice, so when you see them you’ll smile and remember the day and if you’re lucky, the cool person behind the camera who shared it with you.

Hope that helps.

Beware of Fraudulent Photographer Ads posted on Craigslist and SEOing on Google

2010-10-07T18:07:00.000-07:00

This is mainly for photographers. There appears to be a well coordinated quasi phishing expedition using a series of established photographers and bogus URLs all registered through enom and hosted on the planet. The URLs are all cityname photographer dot com. A partial list is below, there are many, many more. We have attempted to contact most of the affected photographers. By searching the following text block on google you can find the fraudulent sites (and I'm sure the one that the original text came from).

Text:

A photographer is often known for the type of subjects they take pictures of. Most obviously a family photographer is a professional photographer who takes pictures for one or more families during special family events. A family photographer will often spend a while developing a familiarity with his clients that allows him to take surprisingly candid shots of family members. Because of his rapport with his subjects he is able to capture all the cute and endearing idiosyncrasies of family members which are the fabric that holds families together.

The sites are all basically the same, stolen business names, etc., forms to fill out and phone numbers to call. We have contacted local authorities to investigate the fraud and are also contacting FBI internet crimes to investigate.

If your site is affected immediately notify your local authorities and also notify Craigslist, Google, etc through their fraud reporting departments. We have notified ThePlanet where the sites are hosted as well.

What a pain in the ass ...

Partnercon Speaker Preparation

2010-09-23T11:39:00.000-07:00

I thought it might be interesting to have this out there on the ether ... (or however we categorize this now). This is the speaker preparation and expectations memo that is issued to all of the speakers at Partnercon. Frankly, I think it should be the speaker preparation memo distributed to all speakers at all photography conferences, but if I said that you'd need to forgive me for overstepping...

It's out here for two reasons. One. I think it shows a little tiny piece of what goes on behind the scenes in conference preparation. Putting these things on is no small task. Two, it creates an element of accountability between the attendees and the speakers and teachers at Partnercon. So, here it is ...

Speaker Memo 1 - PartnerCon, 2010. November 9-11. New Orleans, LA.

Hey Y’all,

It’s hard for me to believe that Partnercon is already less than two months away. We’re headed down there in a week or so to check out the venues and meet with the hotel and that will bring it all home for me for sure. Last year we did conference calls for speakers ahead of time but I know these are hard to fit into your schedules. This year I’m going to try to impart the same information here, so this is for you.

I’ll say up front that this is truly a “big boy pants” communication. (If you know me at all you’re used to these but if you don’t some of the tone may come as a little bit of a surprise. Rest assured that I love you, but I want to give you every chance for success).

Many of you speak a lot. Believe it or not, this is just as much for you as for the folks who are speaking for the first time. Maybe more. In my experience, and I’ve heard many of you speak, many of you are resting on your laurels. For this conference in particular I strongly encourage you to consider branching out and approaching your subject in a fresh way. You may be surprised at what YOU learn in the process.

That’s a tough statement. I get that. What gives me the right to say this? Well, two things. One. Before we had officially announced the speaker schedule for this conference there were over 200 registrations. These are people who simply trust Pictage to make this week great. In many respects, that actually increases the pressure for us and we take their trust very seriously. Two. Every single person who is coming has paid their way to be there (including all of you!). Folks spend real money to be there and I believe we ALL owe it to these people to do everything we can to honor their trust and sacrifice and to give them our best in everything we do.

Now. You’ve been chosen to speak at this conference and that’s meaningful. We had over 150 abstracts submitted. The community team and yours-truly spent hours (quite literally) going through all of the options and we’ve chosen you. In case you’re wondering why, there are two reasons. One. We know you. We’ve seen you speak and we know what you can do. We know you rock. Not a single speaker was chosen this year because of their fame. Every single person who is speaking has a passion and a unique perspective and a level of professionalism that causes us to trust that you won’t just fill the time, you’ll actually knock the ball out of the park. In truth, we’re incredibly excited about this year’s slate of speakers. We strongly believe that for actual content value you represent the best the industry has to offer.

With all of this said I am offering the attached guidelines to successful presentation preparation. I offered the same guidelines last year. Some people took advantage of them. Some didn’t. It was clear who was who. (some of those who didn’t did just fine because they took the gist to heart and did their own thing.)

Understand that I send this because I really, really want you to succeed. There are few things that I am a real stickler about. This is one of them. I take preparation for my participation very seriously. I’m just looking for you to do the same ...

Enough preamble! Here goes:

Your presentation needs to have an introduction, content, and an end. It should tell a story. There is an old public-speaking saying, “tell them what you’re going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you told them.” Over the years I’ve learned something about old sayings, they’re usually right. So, make your first slide an agenda and your last slide a conclusion. (Hint - I actually make these first when I’m building a presentation as they keep me on track).
Never do the same presentation twice. The reason is that while it may be fresh for the audience it won’t be fresh for you. That will come across. Even if you’re just freshening some images, etc., make sure you are making the presentation new enough for you that you’d enjoy hearing it even if you’d heard it before. This applies in this space as there are lots of people who’ve heard you speak. They’re coming back because the liked it last time, but they’re hoping for something new. (BTW - this was the most common complaint in our after surveys last year... “so and so just keeps doing the same old presentation.” Don’t let that be you.)
Give them very practical takeaways. Presentations with Five rules for this and Ten steps to that are VERY effective presentations. (these rules and steps are also GREAT blog posts and if you tell the folks who come to your presentation that you’ll be putting them on your blog later that day you’ll be amazed at the interaction you drive).
This is a presentation, not a slide show. Most of you are photographers. I strongly encourage you ALL to intermix images into your presentations. Your images bring continued connection and credibility to what you’re saying. They provide a place to connect. But make sure you have very strong and specific content wrapped around any slideshows. To make sure this is the case, embed your slideshows into a Keynote presentation. This will keep you on track. If any of your slideshows are longer than 3 minutes they’re too long. Attendees have exceptional “filler meters” and they will see long slide shows as ways to fill speaking time.
If you’re leading a shooting workshop you need a plan. New Orleans is a veritable cornucopia of backgrounds. Many who came last year have said they got some of their best portfolio work all year just goofing around outside at Partnercon. But there are secrets to success ... Know how many attendees you have and how long you have and make sure your plan takes all of that into account. Walk the route and plan impromptu shoot locations along the way. Take someone you know and trust- another photographer, helper, along with you to work with attendees while you are busy. Know what shots you want where and make the attendees put their cameras down while you are instructing. Then, make sure they have time to shoot!
Mind your internal clock. (and if you don’t have one make sure you have an external clock somewhere you can see it). In most cases you only have an hour. That time can fly be and it can crawl by. The best method to making sure your presentation works in the time allotted is to practice it. Find a local PUG and use it there. Ask for feedback. Listen. If you do this one thing you will be prepared.

That’s it for now folks. If some of what I’ve said here is offensive to some of you I’m sorry. I have enormous respect for you all, both as individuals and as photographers. If I didn’t you wouldn’t be on the dais. I want to challenge you all to be better, both because I think our attendees deserve it and because I think it’s more fun to take a risk and do something new than to simply do the same old thing ... And that’s probably the best reason of all!

Onward,

Adorama Rocks! Lens and Learn just got a big shot in the arm!

2010-06-23T10:18:00.000-07:00

Hey all ...

Buy camera gear from Adorama. Heck, get prints from them too! Pictage needed a partner to make equipment more accessible as we've had demand from Boys and Girls Clubs around the country. I reached out to everyone I could think of and then someone reached out to Adorama on our behalf. Joel Meisel (twitter @adoramaused) and I met in NYC. He came to the UberPug we did there with Joe Buissink and then I met with he and Brian Green, their VP of Marketing the next day at Adorama. They were able to do a deal for us on the cameras that made it possible for us to just go ahead and buy the 20 we needed. We're looking for a road case and some other gear, but this will mean that we can take our Lens and Learn program across the country, essentially anywhere there is a Boys and Girls Club that wants to do it and anywhere there are photographers who can help. (which in my experience is just about everywhere!).

We'll also be using these cameras for other functions involving teaching disadvantaged folks how to use them in fun and rewarding ways. While we were prepared to go it alone, it is a real thrill to have a partner like Adorama. These guys are the real deal.

Twitter thanks to them @adorama! They deserve a real pat on the back!

Thanks so much!

JC

Inspiration at Ground Zero for America's Economic Condition

2010-06-08T05:36:00.000-07:00

This is all Joe Buissink’s fault. I don’t know if you all remember, but way back in February or early March Joe twittered that he wanted to do a free seminar to give back to the photography community he loves so much. I was at my desk early and I saw the tweet go by. I thought - ok - this will be interesting. Within minutes he had requests from people all over the country. I think it was a shock to Joe. (which is why we love him so much). When I called him later that day he had settled on Detroit and he’d called some friends, including me, to see if we’d pitch in. How could we not.

So I arrived in Detroit yesterday afternoon, picked up my rental car and came to my hotel in the New Center area of Detroit. Directly across the street from GM’s old head quarters, “The Cadillac Building,” and down the street from Henry Ford Hospital. Fellow Pictage Employee, and Community Chief, Scott Anderson picked me up at the hotel so we could drive downtown to the Detroit Institute of Arts (built and funded entirely by the Ford family in the 20’s and an architectural wonder to behold) where “GetCandidDetroit” will take place later today.

On the way downtown it started to sink in. There was something strange about the landscape. It’s a big city, but it didn’t feel like it should. It took a while, but then I noticed it and it registered. There is no one here. The buildings are boarded up. Many buildings are quite literally windowless. Not ramshackle streetside huts or single family residences, although I’m sure they are too. 25 or 30 story apartment buildings, empty to the concrete core, loom over deserted streets. On one, hauntingly, a “Move in Free” banner, probably hung ten years ago, sways in the beautiful afternoon breeze. Welcome to Detroit, ground zero for America’s current economic condition.

Even more hauntingly, in the middle of downtown at 5PM there is no traffic. No signs that a city’s lifeblood of commerce runs through its veins. GM’s new headquarters on the river is a towering complex, but those who work inside vacate the city when the days fade in evening light. It’s a lovely city and the architecture, and in particular the deco architecture is quite stunning. It’s a place you have to see, but if you see it now it’s going to haunt you.

The speakers, all deserved luminaries, Bambi Cantrell, Jim Garner, Ken Sklute and of course, Joe’s good friend Denis Reggie, arrived yesterday evening and we drove through downtown together for an epic meal at Detroit’s own Opus One and we all saw these things together and I think it had an impact on all of us. These folks are here on their own nickel. No one is paying them a dime. They aren’t selling anything. They aren’t promoting seminars or hocking products. They’re here to listen and to share and hopefully to provide a breath of much needed inspiration. They’re here because they care. They’re here because they’ve been a big part of building an industry that is different because it’s participants, even in the middle of competition are willing to help each other. They’re here because Joe called, but they’re also here because of who they are.

The price of admission for the attendees was a question. People who registered for the conference had to submit a question, something they wanted these people to answer. The questions themselves are a stark reminder of the challenges faced acutely here, but around the country as well. Over 7 hours today these folks will attempt to answer most of the questions we heard.

There’s one more thing about Detroit. There’s a warmth here and a friendliness that penetrates the veil. Every single person I’ve met, from the folks who run the Institute, to the folks at the restaurant and the hotel and even passersby on the street has said a friendly hello. They may mourn the passing of what was. They know the challenges. But somehow their spirit is there. They’re figuring it out. They’re moving forward. Frankly I’m not sure they even need our help, though they’ve indicated their gratefulness. Here’s the thing folks. There’s a lesson we can learn from them. If they can do it, in the middle of all of this. If they can pick themselves up and move forward and support each other and work toward a better tomorrow... Then we can too. What’s next is what’s important.

Onward.

Time for a change in the gulf.

2010-06-01T11:22:00.000-07:00

“Please Mr. President, take over and make things better.” While I sympathize with this quote from another blog on the gulf oil spill, I have to say that the thought of the government stepping in is chilling to me at best. Why? Because the government stepped in on the Exxon Valdez disaster years ago and the Alaskan shores still bear too many sad reminders of what was then the worst oil related disaster in history. The government also stepped in to make things better in New Orleans after Katrina and one has only to drive a few minutes from the French Quarter to know that all is most definitely not better. There’s a better solution ... and it’s a workable one.

The government should step in and this disaster should be taken away from British Petroleum’s now financially failing hands, but the answer is not a full take over, it’s a blue ribbon commission that oversees a repair and recovery effort funded by all of the major US Oil Companies who drill off the coast. Over the last several years, while Americans have suffered through a painful financial collapse, petroleum sales revenues have created sickening profits on the part of the major oil companies. Each quarter we hear about the billions in profits these companies bank. To make us feel better they create beautiful mini-movie commercials to tell us that they’re exploring to find new clean energy sources or that they’re providing healthcare around the world. While I laud these efforts, I can’t help but see them as a little ironic in the face of one of the worst disasters an industry has ever perpetrated on the environment.

This is no longer BP’s problem. Sorry fellas. According to the ‘Journal’ you’re probably headed out of business because of what is happening here, but you yourselves said right from the start that you didn’t have the resources to deal with it. If out of business is where you go that’s fine with me, but I don’t see this as your problem anymore. This problem has rocked worldwide confidence in ALL oil companies. While you all may work hard to avoid mistakes, your history of dealing with it when you do isn’t great. In this case you need to step up, pool your resources and a share of your ENORMOUS profits (tax free if need be) to not just cap this leak, but invest in the years worth of rebuilding that will be necessary to make what you’ve ALL done here right. BP may have been leasing this platform, but if they hadn’t been one of the rest of you would have been and instead of pointing fingers and talking about a competitor’s irresponsibility it’d be your face on the evening news saying, ‘I’m sorry,’ and talking about how the latest fix didn’t work.

The people of the gulf coast have had a rocky few years, first from Katrina and now from this mess. Do I want Uncle Sam to fix it? No. He/She has enough on his hands at the moment and I’d rather not see my tax dollars pouring into solving a problem that the oil companies are much more likely to be able to fix. But would I feel just a little better about the rest of you if you stepped up, pooled resources, capped this leak, made sure the rest of the platforms are rigged with the proper fail safes, and then funded a grass roots effort among the very people who’ve been put out of work by this calamity to restore the gulf coast to it’s pristine, beauty? You bet I would and I wouldn’t even change the channel when the ads that say you’re doing that come on TV.

That’s my two cents.

Heroes Aren't that Hard to Find.

2010-05-21T12:02:00.000-07:00

When I was younger I thought that governments were comprised of people whose self determination was made up of a desire to so what is good in the world. At least I thought the “good” governments were. There was a time when that was actually true. While the ideologies of the founding fathers may have been different, they all struggled to achieve a common good and in some sense they have succeeded. Today though, to find the common good we have to look away from governments. We have to look at people who have been called. People who are compelled to find ways to move obstacles great and small in trying to improve the world. Sometimes it would seem like they’re just not there, but if you look more closely you can find them.

Greg Mortenson is one of those people. Many years ago, before most of us really knew where Pakistan and Afghanistan were, after the ravages of the war with Russia but before and courageously during the reign of the Taliban, “Dr. Greg” (a nurse by training) has been waging a war of peace through girls and women’s education in some of civilization’s farthest reaches. With the help of local tribal and religious leaders, Mortenson’s schools for girls have given nations cause for hope in civilization’s darkest times. With his team of local helpers, whose workloads border on the miraculous, Mortenson’s “Central Asia Institute” a non-religious NGO, has built schools all over Pakistan and Afghanistan. Bolstered by the financial support individuals and organizations and from his two books, Three Cups of Tea and Stones into Schools, CAI continues this battle today. He is one man. For the cost of one tank he can build 100 schools. His patience and sacrifice have earned him the trust and respect of these people and he is changing the world.

There are great examples of this in our own backyard. Jim Davis Hicks is a good one. Struck by the realization that people were dying around the world for lack of clean drinking water, Jim started Thirst Relief, a charity that funds and facilitates the development of fresh water supplies through various means in places without the resources to help themselves. This fresh water is more than life support. In fact, once the village has access to fresh water a myriad of resources are freed to help it advance its sustainability. The rate of disease retracts, educational opportunities are created when the men and women no longer have to trek long distances carrying water and villages can start to think about rudimentary economies. Jim Davis Hicks and the photographers he has motivated to go along with him are an inspiration and they are changing the world.

Justine Ungaro and Justin Lyon are just two of many photographers I know of who decided they could help in Haiti in a way that few others could. Through their talent and their respective lens they could capture the challenges Haiti faces and bring them home so we could have a clearer view. Here are links to their videos; Justin's & Justine's. For taking the risk, and the time and for using their resources in this powerful way, Justin and Justine are heroes and they’re changing the world.

Sometimes it seems that all is bad around us. Sometimes it seems that there is no one who is doing anything for the right reasons. Sometimes in a cracker box of pessimism it is easy to lose sight of what would be easy to see if we just remember where to look. In the places served by the people mentioned here, and in so many others at home, New Orleans being a good example, there are people soldiering on today for no reason other than that they have figured out that they can make a difference. We tend to forget the Lower 9th Ward and the ravages of Port O Prince. The news does little to share with us the good stories that are happening every day in the farthest reaches of Pakistan and Afghanistan and someone whose whole world is about clean water doesn’t seem interesting enough to matter all that much, but these people don’t forget. Their passion carries them and they’ll do it alone if they have to but I think we can help and all we really need is a reminder. Here it is. Get involved. It’s up to us.

Onward.

Thoughts for New Photographers - a Big Boy Pants Post - Read with Caution.

2010-04-29T13:00:00.000-07:00

So you’ve decided to enter the world of professional photography! Congratulations. It’s exciting isn’t it? And a little scary too. Especially with all of these seasoned photographers talking about how tough things are. I think there are a few things you should know, so I’m writing this just for you. With this said though, I always warn people that my posts can be pretty blunt. To keep that light I’ll ask if you have your big-boy pants on (Big girl pants work too). Here’s why. If you don’t then some of what I’m going to write will be insulting. You won’t be able to see through that and you’ll get mad. If that’s going to be you then stop reading now. We’ll be friends anyway. But if you think you’re ready, keep going.

The first thing you need to know is this. As with most businesses, the fun stuff is only about 25% of the time you’ll spend. The rest of it is actual work. There is nothing easy about succeeding as a photographer. (That is, unless you have a rich uncle who is underwriting all of your costs). Building a business that lets you charge enough to make a profit after all of your expenses are paid is the hardest part. Learning to take great pictures is also tough. You need to do both. So get ready to spend some time being humbled, getting better, being humbled again, getting better again, etc. And be ready for a lifetime of that.

There are those who have jumped in because you take good pictures. I think the thing you need to understand is that’s a good start, but you have to dedicate yourself to becoming a master of your craft. Here’s why. People aren’t hiring you for good pictures, they’re hiring you for great pictures. These days they can get good pictures for free. Taking great pictures is one part luck and nine parts skill. The settings are rarely perfect. The light is flat. The people are NOT always attractive. The dresses clash with the paint on the walls. The church won’t let you shoot with a flash or work downstairs. The bride gets drunk. (If you’re a bride and you’re reading this somehow please don’t get drunk. It makes it REALLY hard to take good pictures of you.). The groom’s mom is 100 lbs overweight, is wearing a sleeveless white dress and has said she wants some really nice pictures for her husband. If you’re the master of your craft then none of these situations present an insurmountable challenge. If you’re not, your pictures will suck, your clients will not be pleased and you will fail. (And - you also discredit the industry as people will assume that all professional photographers are just amateurs who charge).

There are those of you who’ve jumped in because the day job just wasn’t working out. Congratulations! You have a day job again. Working professional photographers spend most of their time doing actual work. Between editing events, having sales meetings with prospective clients, bookkeeping, rewriting marketing materials, working with vendors, etc., there is a lot of “slog” that has to happen between the “fun times” taking pictures. You’re your own boss now and there’s definitely an upside to that, but in that capacity you have to discipline yourself to actually doing these things. Otherwise when the tax bill comes at the end of the year you’re going to get an awful shock. (and the health insurance and the ... you get my point).

The biggest mistake most of you will make is undercharging. This is a tough topic to understand and I don’t have enough time or room to really explain it but suffice it to say that if you’re going to work an 8 hour wedding or a 3 hour location portrait shoot you need to charge enough to cover the time, plus a portion of your costs as a photographer and then have enough left over to help you pay the bills. I know you’re charging a low price to help you build a portfolio and a referral base (your life blood as a photographer) but you need to understand that if you’re charging too little, that referral base will simply refer other people who only want to pay that price. You have to be disciplined about continuously creeping up your pricing or you will quickly get pigeonholed as a cheap photographer.

Photographers who are successful over the long haul understand that more than half of their profit is going to come from post-shoot sales. For this reason, they are protective of their images. The images you shoot belong to you - not your clients. When they hire you to take their pictures they’re paying for your time, not for your images. You can include a disk of images with your packages, but you need to understand that when you do that you significantly diminish the chances that you will succeed. At the bare minimum, recommend to them that they buy any “enlargements” from you. They can go to Wallmart and get all the 4X6’s they want, but if they want an 11X14 or a 16X20 they want that to look great on their wall and the way to ensure that is by working with you. Your monitor is calibrated. You have access to professional quality labs that print on archival paper. You or your lab can properly mount the print. And most importantly, you can make money on it.

Here’s the thing. I’m certainly not trying to discourage you. I want you to succeed. There are a lot of things Pictage and others can do to help, but you have to understand that a lot of your success will be determined by your willingness to do the hard work I’ve touched on here. There are a lot of great resources and a lot of folks who can help and one of the most critical pieces of advice I’d give is to listen to what they have to say. (Especially on "closed" forums where they can be completely candid).

Onward...

Getting a job in today's market.

2010-04-26T08:45:00.000-07:00

I got a bunch of emails from folks wanting to know why I decided to do a free employment seminar and a bunch more from people who said they would have liked to attend but couldn’t make. I decided this was a good place to answer with some of the tips I shared and just as importantly, the big reason why I did it.

I think it’s important for people who are seeking jobs today to understand that both sides of the table are a little shellshocked. What we all went through last year, as employers and as employed/unemployed, was a very big deal. Folks seeking jobs are desperate to get back to work and employers are scared to death that if they over hire or hire wrong they’ll end up back in the same boat. We all need to take a deep breath, but it’s hard and I get that.

The thing that prompted me to do the seminar was a series of conversations I’d had with people who, after rejections, unreturned calls, 100’s of applications via internet sites, etc., were losing hope. For these folks, it’s so important to understand that the reasons for the rejections in most cases have nothing to do with them. In fact, the rejections themselves aren’t actually rejections, they’re simply applying for jobs that are already actually filled...

So from here on out I’m going to talk to folks looking for work and tell you what I told the folks who were able to be there on Saturday.

The first thing you need to understand is that the job market is beginning to stabilize and add jobs. For more than 16 months, the marketplace actually subtracted jobs. So if you lost your job you were forced into a situation where more people were actually looking for less jobs. That sucks. That’s turning around. Slowly, but it’s happening. So there is hope.

The second thing to understand is that in a market with a lot of applicants and companies that are scared to hire your materials need to be impeccable. Your resume needs to be flawless and it needs to tell the story of your working life in a way that someone scanning it can readily see your value. It can’t be too long either. That’s a common mistake when people have been working for a while. 3 pages Max is the rule I use. I told the folks who came to the seminar yesterday that I would review their resumes for them. I wish I could do that for everyone. I can’t. But find someone you trust and have them go through it with you to make sure it works. It’s important.

The third thing to understand is that the internet is your friend for research, but it is not your friend for open jobs, hiring, etc. In fact, it hurts you. There is a recent University of Washington study that confirms this. The reason is that you can spend hours sifting through open jobs, etc. (most sites are actually designed to keep you online) and submitting resumes. 90% of the resumes you submit will provoke no response. (Because the jobs are already filled). Of the responses you get most will be rejections (same reason). This flood of “no’s” can’t help but be disheartening. So instead of helping you, this medium is actually hurting you by giving you a false impression that you have no value. And that’s the thing you need most to understand... Working through friends and business contacts is a much better approach that gives you a much better chance of finding a job. I tell people this. Next time you feel the urge to log on to Monster go for a "thinking walk" instead. Sift through your mental memory banks for all the people you know. Where do they work? Does that sound fun and in your wheelhouse? If so, call them up and have coffee and ask them for help.

In this market no one is going to think you're a bad person because you are out of work. Everyone knows last year sucked. Get over that stigma and get yourself out there. It'll happen.

Prepare for the interview. Learn everything you can about the company and the people you’ll be talking to. Have a specific reason why you want to work there and make it something tangible. Hint, “It seems like a cool place to work” is not what I’m suggesting. Be on time. Have fresh copies of the resume you sent the company. Know how long they expect you to be there and be prepared to stay longer. Make the interviews a dialog. When you sit down remind yourself of this one important fact. What’s next is what’s important. You need to make the interview about why you’re excited about this position. You absolutely must keep it from being a conversation about the wrongs of the past. The company you’re talking to wants you to be motivated by who they are and what they do and what this job is. They want you to be excited about the job for which you are interviewing (as opposed to the one you can move up to from there). They don’t want to be your rebound relationship. They want to be your happy future.

Lastly - and MOST IMPORTANTLY. Understand this. You have value. The rejections and frustrations you’ve faced, so long as you’ve got a great resume and you prepare adequately for interviews are about the market. They’re not about you. The next one could be the one, or the one after that. There is no quality more necessary for someone looking for a job in today’s market than perseverance. There is good reason to hope. You have value. Someone will see that and they will hire you and this will be a memory. What’s next is what’s important.

A great dish on the side or all by itself. Rice with Peas and Ham

2010-04-16T13:58:00.000-07:00

Rice with Peas and Ham

If you’re like me, you get tired of the same old sides. Let’s see, we can have rice, dirty rice, potatoes (though I like the newly available fingerling potatoes we see in the stores), mashed potatoes. Every once in a while I make a pasta side like a risotto but that can be time consuming. This recipe, which is based on a recipe from a cookbook I had years ago, is a family favorite and a fun side for almost any grilled dish

Ingredients:

Healthy splash of olive oil (not Extra Virgin)
4 tablespoons butter (divided)
1 large chopped yellow onion
1 ½ cups long grain rice
4 tablespoons sherry (buy a decent Sherry such as Drysack - I use “medium” rather than dry or sweet)
1 16 ounce packages thawed frozen peas (or whatever size you can find)
1 cup diced smoked ham (I have used canned - just fry it to dry it - and also smoked ham from the meat section. Both work fine)
3 cups hot chicken stock (note “hot.” Don’t use cold or your rice will turn out mushy and gross!)
1 ½ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan

In a heavy two quart saucepan with a tight fitting lid heat the oil and two tablespoons of butter. Saute the onion for about 5 minutes. Add the rice and stir until it is translucent. Add the sherry (to boil off alcohol – about 30 seconds). Add peas, ham 2 cups of the hot stock, salt, pepper. Cover and bring to a boil, then cook over low heat for 10 minutes. Add the remaining stock, recover and cook for 10 minutes longer, or until the rice is at the desired consistency. Mix in the cheese and serve.

I think this recipe came out of one of the Jeff Smith Frugal Gourmet Cookbooks, but to be honest I don’t know. I’ve been making it so long that I basically make it from memory. When Ang and I were younger we had this sometimes for dinner - all by itself. Whether you’re having guests or just looking for something easy and satisfying this dish works great. Enjoy!

Are You Sure it's the Competition?

2010-04-12T10:11:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning at a community event, I was chatting with a friend. We were talking about my ongoing wine cellar project, when he looked up and said, hang on a sec, and ran to catch a guy who was walking by. I caught up with him a little while later and he apologized for running off. “That was my daughter’s wedding photographer and I’ve been trying to get in touch with him about the album.” We went on to chat chillers, etc. but I ended up asking him what was going on with the album (Ang and I were at the wedding last July). He laughed and said, “near as I can tell, nothing.” I asked him a little more about it ...

The album was a part of the package they chose when they asked him to shoot the wedding. He arrived with another photographer in tow, shooting the exact same Mark II, 24-70, 70-200, 16-35 two body, two 580EXII kits. They shot the ceremony and a pretty traditional reception, table shots, cake cutting, obligatory bouquet, garter ceremony and all. We were in the middle of a great conversation when one of the photogs interrupted us to tell us it was time for our table pictures. Stand around the table, bang bang bang with the flash, off we go.

I asked them right after the wedding if they’d been pleased with their photographer. “Yes, wasn’t he great?” (They hadn’t even seen any pictures!) About four months ago her mom asked me about how long it usually takes to see pictures, etc... I’m always sensitive about questions like this so I told her it varies, but at that point all they’d seen was the blog. She made a comment that there have been lots of events posted since on the blog, but that they still don’t have anything, “and it’s so frustrating when we want to talk about the wedding with someone!”

My friend’s frustration was pretty clear. Is he going to get referrals from them? No. Is he going to get referrals from anyone who knows them well? No. Why? Because he failed to deliver the pictures back to them during a timeframe that they felt was reasonable. But not only that! He also failed to deliver the images back to them during a time when they spent lots and lots of time and energy talking with their friends about the wedding. When they were struck with the costs and in post-traumatic stress and wondering if it had all been worth it, they had nothing to convince them that it was. Now, this many months later, they want their album because “they want to check it off of their list.” “And we paid for it and we’re not going to let him just keep the money.” Oof!

On the way out I bumped into the photographer. I introduced myself. He knew Pictage. ‘Used to be a member.’ Left because it wasn’t worth it. I’m actually sure he was right and that’s ironic. He’d gone on a long diatribe about how he does everything himself and didn’t need any of the services and didn’t understand why he was supposed to pay for them. He finally said that his business was really suffering, that his referrals were way down and that “no one wants to pay for a real photographer anymore anyway.”

I couldn’t help but shake my head. If he’d outsourced any or all of his fulfillment, these clients would likely have remained happy. Moreover, they would have shared their memories with their friends using HIS pictures. What better advertising could he have? Is his studio really failing because there is competition? Or is his studio failing because he isn’t meeting his clients’ expectations and therefore he’s not getting any referrals? To be sure, it’s a tough, competitive environment but in these times you have to pick up your game. If you’re going to sit on the sidelines and mope then you might as well go ahead and sell your gear now. New cameras are coming out and your equipment’s value is going to drop and you won’t even be able to sell the gear for your failed photography business for enough to cover your credit card bills...

Does that sound harsh? I hope so. Whether you like it or not, success or failure is in your hands. You don’t praise the market when you succeed. Why do you blame the market when you fail? If you persist in doing it all yourself, fine. But be disciplined enough to really get it all done. If you outsource, fine. I’m not even saying that Pictage is necessarily the best answer! Do your research, outsource to the place that’s the best fit for your business and then make sure you’re taking the best advantage of what they have to offer. Most importantly, make sure you’re being honest with yourself about why you’re struggling and once you have it figured out, move. In business, stagnancy is death.

Heroes Helping Kids

2010-04-07T15:12:00.000-07:00

Now that’s inspiring ...

Tim Co. is a Pictage member, Pictage User Group (PUG) leader, Wedding Photographer, terrific guy, hero. Hero you say? Yes, hero. At least in my book. Here’s why.

Lots of people talk about building great relationships with their clients. Tim does it. In fact, right now he’s somewhere on the East Coast of Florida walking 500 miles with one of his brides. This isn’t just any bride and it isn’t just any walk. That’s why Tim’s such a hero. Here’s some background...

Growing up wasn’t as easy as it should have been for Lauren Book-Lim. In fact, she endured the nightmare of child abuse by her nanny from the age of 10 until she was 16. She never told anyone because she was ashamed and scared. That would have been enough to break most people, especially when the abuse turned toward something akin to torture, but Lauren Book-Lim hasn’t just survived, she is thriving. Where most would want to leave this nightmare behind, she has turned around and she’s taking this cause on head on, founding an organization called Laurenskids to get the message out that “It’s Ok to Tell.” Her courage and her character are an inspiration.

Tim Co photographed her wedding in 2008 and her story inspired him to get involved. He has photographed many Laurenskids events and has stayed close to this friend/client. When he heard she was going to walk 500 miles up the coast of Florida, he dropped everything to get involved and is walking the walk with her, 30 miles a day, and frequently jogging back to get on the bus to edit and upload pictures to the blog (image on the bottom of this post). When Tim took a break for 30 miles to shoot video, Sara Kauss grabbed her cameras and filled in with stills, showing that Tim’s not the only wedding photographer willing to jump in for a cause. Way to go Sara! (You can see Tim and Sara with Lauren in the picture above. Tim's got the 'flip' and Sara is shooting away (yellow shorts) as Lauren greets an inspired young admirer.

I asked Tim why he was doing this. “Because there was really no option.” I love that. Sure there was Tim. You could have told her, ‘good luck’ and stayed home like most people would have. Instead, you’re there.

“I am not good at very many things,” Tim said, “I was determined to use the one thing I can do to significantly impact Lauren's efforts to raise awareness for her cause.”

And that awareness is important. Current statistics suggest that as many as 1 in 3 girls is sexually abused (1 in 6 boys) before they reach the age of 18. There are an estimated 39MM abuse survivors in the US today. (That’s more than the population of California). April is sexual abuse month so Tim decided there was nothing left to do but walk.

They’re out there somewhere along the way right now. It’s evening in Florida. You can find their blog here and if you’re in Florida swing by and honk or walk a little and say hello. It isn’t often you get to rub elbows with heroes and that’s what Tim and Lauren are.

In my book heroes are the folks who decide that something needs to change and they step up and do everything they can to change it. They are the voice of the silent. They are the hands and feet of the disabled. They are the identity of the unknown. Their courage is based on their conviction that whatever bad might come to them is eclipsed by the good that can come from what they do. They know the cost. They move ahead anyway and step by step, these two courageous souls and the folks who are walking along with them, following online on twitter and through the blog with Tim’s images and Lauren’s heartfelt words, are making a difference...and if that impacts just one child’s life, it will have been worthwhile.

Thanks for sharing your story Tim and give Lauren a hug for me and tell her we know about her and we’re here for her and we’re standing up and cheering...and I know that thousands of other wedding and portrait photographers will be too!

How's this for transparency?

2010-04-05T16:32:00.000-07:00

About Pictage Sponsor/Endorser Programs.

Wow ... So I’ve been waiting for the industry unrest to turn our way and I guess it has. Even though that’s true, I’m actually still enjoying reading most of what I’m seeing because it’s amazing how much you learn when someone is unhappy. (So hard to get people to tell you why though! ugh!). Anyway, the current stream of consciousness happens to be around whether or not Pictage pays photographers to say we’re great. I like the idea of that, but I have a sense that if we did that for any length of time we’d probably be in trouble, so the answer is no, we don’t. In the interest of transparency though, let’s take a look at what we do, do. (which I hope is not easily confused with doo doo!) ...

Pictage treats Joe Buissink like a member of our own staff (Hey, a guy can dream can’t he?) He’s the only “endorser” who’s actually on the Payroll. Think about that relationship kind of like a shoe company and a basketball player. Nike/Jordan if you will. Joe’s a heavy user. (Actually usually drops off his film himself!). He utilizes many of Pictage’s services and provides consistent feedback with regard to what he sees. In addition, I see Joe’s talks, conversations, etc., as helpful to the community (they are always bursting at the doors) and so I have no compunctions about this relationship and I make no apologies for it. Several other members of Pictage’s ad-hoc advisory board may get discounts on Pictage products or services as a form of compensation for the time they spend helping us get better. (that takes a lot of time). There is no other direct compensation for anyone who endorses Pictage. (so far as I know!)

Everyone else falls into a different category. All of Pictage’s educational activities are on a user volunteer basis. We don’t sponsor paid workshops. We may, in some cases, provide a free membership or other type of product for a photographer to use as a giveaway for a paid event but that’s about it. As an example, in the case of Mike Colon, we sponsor a dinner on the night of his workshops (we do the same for Dane’s where we provide lunch). Speakers for our own conference, PartnerCon, are selected through a process of abstract submission and user survey. (Who do you want to hear from?)

In addition, Pictage provides a level of financial support for events that we believe have educational value for Photographers. Recently we sponsored “Inspire Boston” and “Rebirth” (just concluded on the Mississippi Delta), two workshops with a slate of relatively unknown speakers (all working professional photographers), and a focus on providing a high quality experience to their attendees. We think this is inline with our own event, PartnerCon, held in New Orleans last year and this year in November. Pictage seeks to be a resource in these events, but we do not attempt to influence speakers, agenda, etc. We don’t see that as our place. (ask the organizers). I personally endorsed Carlos Baez’s workshop in Las Vegas because I knew it would be a hands on, direct learning experience with a lot of value for the attendees. I think Pictage bought Pizza for the folks who came.

Pictage does pay expenses in some cases. These are usually when there is a large expected turnout due to a lot of regional demand. (It’s important to note that Pictage only provides speakers like this when there is significant regional demand.). These expenses, in varying degrees can include travel, facilities rental, etc. Pictage only pays these expenses in situations where there is no charge to the photographer for attending the event.

Lastly, for all PUG leaders, and a few other folks, Pictage grants the membership fees for free. These folks bust their butts scheduling, planning, promoting and hosting the activities in their areas and that’s the least that we can do to help them out. Pictage pays for meals, etc., in these meetings, but we do not force a curriculum, speakers (including yours truly) or anything else. My view is that what happens in a particular community should be up to that community and not us or anyone else.

In the spirit of transparency I think that’s really the exhaustive list of everything we do. I’m not sure there’s much there to apologize for either. Times change. Where last year our users might have been clamoring for one speaker, this year they may be wanting to hear from someone else. The speakers with staying power are the ones who meet their audience’s needs. The ones who don’t meet those needs are charting their own courses. Supplying these speakers to the marketplace in a free to attend - free to not attend forum - is one of the services Pictage’s users expect and I think it is just that, a service. If you hear someone who rings your bell and you want to go to their workshop. Good for you and good for them. If you decide you can’t stand someone. Well, that’s ok too. (just let me know!)

I hope that helps to clear things up.

Onward,

A Word For the Rockstars... (In response to your emails to me).

2010-03-30T11:31:00.000-07:00

Criticism is an interesting thing. I actually blogged about it here earlier. I hear lots of it, and frankly, nearly all of what I hear, both personally and professionally, is absolutely deserved. Sometimes it hurts and I have to admit that my ego gets bruised. With this said, one of the benefits of getting older is a little more patience so I guess I see things differently than I used to. (I’m able to keep from showing it for longer).

It’s an interesting time in our industry. The status quo has been rocked a little by a pretty vigorous and fairly wide spread vein of criticism, much of it centered on the industry’s luminaries and their workshops, promotional activities, etc. Frankly, I find little of this surprising. I’ve been hearing a lot of it back-channel pretty much since I started at Pictage (one year ago today). There is a part of me that is glad that the voices of those who are frustrated are now expressed beyond the back-channel, ‘don’t tell anyone I told you this,’ emails that I so frequently received. It is only when criticism is heard that improvement can happen. It’s hard, but true.

Yesterday though, I got an email from someone who feels unfairly castigated by these new voices. (Don’t worry, I’m not going to ‘out’ you, but I’m not going to give you the reply you want either). So, you need to make a decision if you’re reading this, right now, and your decision is pretty simple. Do you want to put on the “big boy,” “big girl” pants and take it and get better or are you going to decide that the world is against you and stick your head in the sand? (A warning here... When you stick your head in the sand guess what’s up in the air for all to see?) ...

Ok, If you’re still reading congratulations, you’re serious about your career and you want to learn and get better. Learning and getting better are rarely painless. You know that at heart. The question is, can you take a deep breath and decide to do it? Or will you just discount this as yet another unfair slam? Here’s another hint, now’s when it’s important!

There’s a thing I’ve learned about criticism. (and like I said, I’m pretty much an expert on being criticized!), If you can get beyond the pain of being insulted (even creatively or unfairly insulted) then you will get to a place where you can begin to see themes in what is being said. When it comes to criticism it isn’t the emotion or the vitriol or the castigation (supposed or otherwise) that matters, it’s the themes. Here’s what I mean.

Are a number of people criticizing you for the same thing? Are they right? If they’re right what are you going to do? What’s your response. How will you get better? To be sure, there are always outliers and these can be discounted or ignored, but the central theme of criticism is ALWAYS something you can learn from. To be successful, you MUST learn from these things or you will quickly become irrelevant. (and irrelevance, in spite of the size of your ego, means you’re ‘out.’)

Seeing these themes of criticism and responding to them is one of the hallmarks of the most successful companies. (and the inverse is also true!) Adaptability is the key to long term success. You can’t simply be the flavor of the month - every month - all year long. The current culture is too attuned to authenticity as a marker. So, staying true to yourself is paramount. However, this doesn’t mean that you can’t show by your actions and your words that you’re hearing what’s being said and you’re responding. Here’s some examples...

Are you being criticized because you talk about photography and you’re not a great photographer? (For my other readers, insert any other business here. Both of you. I promise it still holds true). Ok, Find someone you trust and have them evaluate your work. Oh - I know. It’s your art and your expression. I get that. But the trick with Photography is that it is in part technical. If you are not the master of the technical side, if the results you get aren’t on purpose, then the criticism is warranted whether you like your work or not. There are two solutions. Endeavor to become the master. Seek out someone who can help you along. Heck, make others a part of your journey. We all suck at stuff! Or, stop talking about photography and just talk about what you’re great at! Either one works.

Are you being criticized for talking about the business side when your studio is in a shambles and everyone knows it even though they don’t say it? Well, this one’s a little harder. I have to admit that I actually agree with the folks who say that if you’re going to preach effective business practices you need to have practiced them first. I think it’s an interesting fact that there are few of the folks who run very successful businesses who are out speaking about it. There are two reasons for that. They’re busy. (If your business is successful you generally are!) They don’t like to speak. (for don’t like to you can substitute ‘hate,‘ ‘won’t,‘ ‘don’t feel qualified,‘ etc...) With this said, there are absolutely some notable exceptions, (a few on the road right now in fact), and their content is well worth the time and energy for their attendees.

In both cases you actually gain significant credibility (and lots of followers) by admitting your shortcomings and saying, ‘hey, here’s what I’m doing about it.’

As a parting thought I think it’s also important to point out two things. One, that there are lots of folks out there who offer terrific content, plan thoroughly, evaluate their effectiveness exhaustively, and who, because of all of this, definitely positively impact our industry. This is one of the unique things about the photography space and something I’ve come to really appreciate. (which makes it doubly important to listen to the criticism!).

Second, and probably equally important, is the fact that some of what is going on is the marketplace’s fault. “Why did you attend this seminar.” “Because this person has a lot of followers.” “Would you have attended the seminar if they didn’t?” “Probably not.” “Was the seminar about how to have a lot of followers?” “No, it was about (fill in the blank).” Well, then candidly you made a dumb decision. Get over it. Learn the lesson. Move on.

This will be my last post on this subject for a while. To be honest, I don’t mind the criticism at all, and I’ve frankly enjoyed some of the more humorous interactions. With this said, I’m not a huge fan of some of the cheaper, less constructive criticism, and that can be just as destructive in that if someone hears enough of it they simply lump all of what they’re hearing into that box and go on without changing. That’s natural. We’re only human.

And that last thing is probably important for all sides to remember!

Onward,

Jim's perspective on workshops and rockstars!

2010-03-29T11:04:00.000-07:00

There’s been a lot of twitter on the airwaves lately about the value, perceived value, or lack of value or workshops hosted by and for photographers. In my position at Pictage I actually get to attend a bunch and here are my thoughts. Since Pictage sponsors a number of these, this is also sort of an open letter to those who host workshops for us, and, of course, it’s an invitation to comment as there are a lot of opinions.

Jim’s Rules for Successful Workshops (and observations on what is not successful).

1). Respect your attendees. They spent money, and in some cases real money, to come to hear you speak. That, and the time and travel, etc., are their sacrifice. Yours is preparation. Nothing gets my attention quicker than a tweet the night before a workshop that you’re just starting to think about what you’re going to do. That’s disrespectful to your attendees and if you don’t see it that way, then you should read the email they send me!

2). (This one may hurt a little). Make sure you have something to offer. Are you doing a workshop because you are compelled to teach and share or because you want to supplement your income? If it’s in your heart, then I’m not going to stop you, but make sure you are sharing about something that you are qualified to share about. As an example, I recently attended a workshop where there was a challenge related to a lack of light. When asked, the leader said, ‘Oh, that’s easy to deal with, you just either increase your ISO, or open your lens or decrease your shutter speed,’ and then went on shooting. The person who asked the question turned and looked at me and during a break I found myself explaining to her the very distinct difference between these three options. That would have been fine if the workshop was a business workshop. It wasn’t. It was a photography workshop. If you aren’t the master of the subject you are going to teach, don’t teach it. Bottom line, if the sole reason you're doing your workshop is because you aren't really making it in your business, then get a job at Starbucks instead. You do a disservice to the industry by doing these badly. (how's that for blunt!)

3). Prepare and follow a lesson plan. What are your attendees there to learn? How do you know? Do you survey them ahead of time? Make sure your agenda and your lesson plan are inline with what their expectations are and make sure you are disciplined about following it. (If this sounds like work, that’s good!)

4). It’s not enough to be nice, successful, sweet, experienced, a rockstar or a successful startup. Your attendees are only sort of coming to meet you. They’re also coming to learn (and that’s how they’re going to justify the time and money afterwards!). I love to cook and I go to cooking classes hosted by celebrity chefs. The best one I’ve been to, by far, was one done by Michael Chiarello a couple of years ago. I met the chefs at all of the seminars, but Michael actually went out of his way to teach. He had prepared, planned, and practiced. His Q&A was detailed, but not belabored. His knowledge of the subject was detailed and based on vast experience. Some others I’ve seen sign lots of autographs, cook something fun, are short on answers to questions and more or less run out afterwards. I wouldn’t go see them again or recommend anyone else does either. I went home from Chiarello’s workshop with recipes, techniques and a broader framing of the entertaining experience and I heartily recommend it. (though he doesn’t teach many anymore!)

5). Remember that workshops are different strokes for different folks! Different people like different workshops. That’s the way it is. To avoid a situation where someone comes to yours and their expectations aren’t met, make sure your workshop has a clear purpose and that everything you do is toward that purpose. If you have killed it on marketing and promotion, make your workshop about marketing and promotion and then have lots of marketing and promotions oriented hands on exercises. If you’re an incredible portrait photographer and your workshop is about portrait photography make sure there are opportunities for people to watch you work with clients and make sure you also take the time to explain the post production workflow, business model, etc. You get my point but for the sake of clarity here’s the counterpoint: If you’re a marketing and promotions expert don’t lead a shooting workshop. (Some of your students will know more than you and that’s usually not good).

6). Do a survey after the workshop. Make sure your folks got what they came for and if they didn’t, endeavor to understand why. (I always tell people to discard the “happy” surveys and focus on those who were not happy). Was it up front messaging setting the wrong expectations? Was it lack of preparation? Was it lack of knowledge of subject matter? Was the attendee a wacko (which also absolutely happens!).

As to whether one person is more qualified than another to do workshops, I frankly have little opinion. That’s up to the attendees. If they’re happy, great. If they’re not. Not so great. Pictage MAY promote workshops for people whose attendees are generally happy (we do a lot of surveying ourselves) and we are not likely to promote workshops for people whose results aren’t so great. But it really comes down to whether or not the folks who go get what they wanted and are pleased. That, more than any other measure, is a good measure of whether a workshop was worthwhile.

By the way, one of the things I think is interesting is that so many people gripe about the various workshops, etc., but tend to do it back-channel via email (I get these all the time). In a couple of cases people were really nervous that the person who led the workshop would find out they were unhappy because there is a fear that if the “rockstars” see you as a “grumpy” then you will be blacklisted. That’s a little unfortunate and a little curious. It’s unfortunate because it means that diverse opinions are not heard. It’s curious because I have to wonder just exactly what a “rockstar” might do that could hurt? Are you worried because you are hoping that someday you too will be a rockstar? If that’s the case I’d say let your work and your business speak for itself. If you’re a rockstar based on what you do in your studio, there’s nothing that anyone can say that will take that away. However, if you’re a rockstar based solely on your affiliations, watch out, the seas are forever changing.

BTW - for what it's worth I've personally met and spent time with lots of these folks and I've almost exclusively found them to be genuinely terrific people who have a lot to offer and whose talents are well worth tapping, given the opportunity. Some of those folks need to take some of the prompts in this message, and the greater unrest in the space, to heart, to make sure their offering is as good as it can be, but that's not a comment on their character, motives or experience. Just my NSHO on their workshop offerings. (If you're wondering if I'm talking to you I don't think that's a bad thing!)

Onward!

Foodie Friday Follow on: Chicken with Broccoli. (not the Chinese food).

2010-03-26T15:58:00.000-07:00

Foodie Friday Follow On. Super Simple Recipe for those who are looking for something really light.

Chicken with Broccoli.

Ingredients:

Olive oil

One package of chicken tenders cut into bite sized chunks.

One package of Microwave in the Bag Broccoli.

Kitchen Basics brand, or similar, Chicken Stock. 1/4 - 1/2 cup

Salt, Pepper and

Herb Seasoning Mix (I like Spice Islands Italian Seasoning)

Red Chili Flakes 1/4 teaspoon or to taste

Ready? Here goes:

Pop the broccoli in the Microwave for just a little less than the time recommended on the bag. Remove from the oven and set aside.

Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel and then salt and pepper the chicken lightly and liberally sprinkle the herb mixture all over.

Heat a non-stick frying pan on the stove over medium high heat to hot. Add two to three tablespoons olive oil and then add the chicken, tossing to coat with the oil. Let the chicken cook until just starting to brown on all sides. Add the broccoli and saute with the chicken for a minute or so. Add the chicken stock. The stock should come to a boil pretty fast. As soon as the stock boils remove the chicken and broccoli into a serving dish with tongs or a slotted spoon leaving the broth and other bits in the pan. Add the chili flakes to the broth and let reduce by about half. Pour the broth over the chicken and broccoli. Serve immediately.