I Borrowed This Idea to Help Make a Point About Shoot-and-Burn Photographers

Every year, my local community center puts on a pretty impressive Bridal Expo, targeting area brides and inviting vendors from the wedding industry to participate. Even though I don't do a lot of these shows, I like this one because it keeps me visible in my community and the cost of the actual booth is very reasonable.

As with many Bridal Expos, there are couples who are are there to "kick the tires", as well as other couples who are pretty serious about planning an event. There are also maids-of-honor, sisters, friends, parents and of course, a few reluctant grooms. (I still think bridal fairs should have an open bar and a big screen TV just to give these poor guys something to do!)

My displays consist of finished albums and large canvas prints, with a few smaller books and some non-wedding couple and family images sprinkled in for a wider base of appeal (just in case you're the MOH or girlfriend who has a family or just wants to update their image with their "significant other".) It's always good to let prospective clients know you do more than just weddings.

There are drawing forms on the table for a series of prizes; in additional to the basic information (name, date, address, email and phone) I also add a few important check-boxes:

    - I have immediate need for your service; please call to schedule a studio visit!

    - I am still in need of a wedding photographer and would like more information.

    - I'm not interested in your services, but please let me know if I'm a winner.

    - If I'm a winner, I would prefer the cash value of the item instead.

My best prospects are going to come from #1, with some potential for those who checked #2. Obviously, I'm not going to waste time and money marketing to those who check the #3 or #4 boxes.

One of the other things you can do after you've had your drawing is send out "Second Prizes". I will often send out a $100 studio gift card to every attendee who fit into the #1 and #2 category. This gives them a little added incentive to call the studio and schedule an appointment; people hate to walk away from a gift card with any kind of substantial value.

Even though my business model is selling completed albums and printed images, I also get my share of people who say "we just want the images on a disk." Earlier this week, I saw a post come across on Facebook that was too good to pass up. It showed an old floppy disk with a CD label that said "What if this was the only way you could view your grandparents' wedding photographs?" Brilliant! How many hours have I spent extolling the virtues of professionally printed images to couples and telling them that any type of media - CDs, DVDs, thumb drives, even hard drives - is fragile and permanent storage and long-term accessibility can be questionable.

So . . . off to eBay I went to find someone selling old 5 1/4" floppy disks (I don't even have a computer that takes these, so I tossed all of my old ones). I also ordered some business-card sized stickers from my lab to put on each disk. I will hand these out to brides who request info this weekend, as well as displaying one on my table.

I think it gets the point across quite well.

- David

Do You Really Need the Latest, Greatest Camera Body?

With Nikon's announcement of the D4 and D800 series bodies, photographers everywhere are drooling over this latest morsel and trying to find a way to fit it into their camera bag and checkbook. The same thing happens when Canon introduces new product.

This has been a long-standing argument with photographers; should I buy the more advanced camera body, or should I buy a better lens?

Here's my 2 cents worth (c'mon, you knew it was coming!)

Unless you're working with a very low-end consumer grade DSLR, I'm going to tell you to buy the better lens every time. When we dealt with film, I always said "the body is simply the film holder and advance mechanism. The glass is where the difference is made." I stand by that advice with digital.

Think about it like this: would you go out and invest in a Porsche but then decide "ummm, I can't afford the really good tires, but I think I have some at home I took off the mini-van." Are you nuts?!?! You now have a high-end sports car and you will NOT get the expected performance out of it with crappy bald tires. You can, however, put better tires on the vehicle you currently drive and feel the improvement in handling, cornering and even the smoother ride immediately. Is it going to be as sexy as the sports car? Probably not, but it will still get you to the desired destination while being safe and comfortable as well.

The same is true in our industry. Do you really need the latest, greatest camera body? Probably not. Sure, you may be giving up extra megapixels and not have full-frame capability, but as long as you're not photographing "professionally" with consumer-grade gear that's designed for hobbyist applications (car snobs refer to it as driving a "total POS") you will benefit more from getting better glass first. That WILL give you a noticeable improvement in your images immediately!

Whether you're a Canon or Nikon user, the coatings used in the production of better lenses will give you a distinct advantage over the ones used in the "good enough" kit lens that came with your camera. Go ahead and upgrade the body if you really need the new hardware (especially if your camera says "Rebel" on it), but investing in good quality lenses will NEVER be a mistake.

- David Grupa

What's Hiding in Your Mailbox?

We've all had it happen. You get a vendor or client who says something like "Didn't you get my email?" or "I sent you a message on Facebook!" It didn't show up when we clicked on our mail, but they swear they sent it.

Really? Are they just making up excuses?

Possibly not.

Mail services such as Yahoo mail and Google's Gmail employ some pretty intensive filters in order to prevent "spam" mails from reaching you. Since many of these unsolicited messages are sent from free email services, some clients may also be blocked or sent into the the "Junk Mail" folder. Depending on the virus scanner used on your system, this may also filter email which have a "suspicious" appearance. Unfortunately, these scanners are not 100% accurate.

Make it a habit to check your "Junk Mail" folder on a regular basis to make sure you're not missing an inquiry from a current or prospective client.

You're thinking "I already check my junk mail on a regular basis; this isn't news." If you do, great! You're a step ahead of the game. If not, you may wish to check that box more frequently.

Here's one that came as news to me, however!

On Facebook, click the "Messages" link on the left side of your home page. When you do, a small link opens underneath it that says "other". Clicking that may reveal messages from people who you haven't friended, or messages from groups you have joined. I found no less than 6 messages from colleagues and clients who I had not previously friended . . . some over a month old!

Fortunately, you can keep yourself from looking like an individual who doesn't pay attention to or return their messages simply by checking these areas on a regular basis.

Until next time . . .

- David Grupa

PPA Charities' #CelebrationofSmilesDay is a Win/Win for your studio!

Ok, photography friends . . . now that I'm back from another awesome ImagingUSA, I've got something really cool to share with all of you PPA Members!

What if I told you that I learned of a simple promotion that will drive clients to your door, old and new? Would you be interested?

What if I told you this same promotion will put you in a positive light with all of your clients, because you're doing something that benefits something dear to all of us - children? Have your ears perked up yet?

Finally, what if said promotion is practically turn-key; all you have to do is put your name and phone number on the materials and send them out in order to get started? Are you with me?

Good!

Coming April 21st, PPA Charities will kick off our first-ever "Celebration of Smiles Day". As a PPA Member, you can join with PPA Charities (the philanthropic arm of Professional Photographers of America) to promote “Celebration of Smiles Day.” This national fundraising effort will benefit Operation Smile, which treats children around the world who suffer with cleft lips, cleft palates and other facial deformities.

On that day, participating photographers will offer the gift of an individual portrait session and a desk-size portrait in exchange for a $24 donation to Operation Smile. This donation represents one tenth of $240, the amount needed to help fund a single surgery.

The time to get involved is RIGHT NOW.

• For your donation of $25, PPA Charities will send you a Celebration of Smiles Day Marketing Kit, complete with a 36 page marketing guide that takes you through the entire promotion in a step-by-step process to help you plan, market and execute this promotion in your studio. You will also receive a disk containing promotional elements and materials to help you prepare marketing pieces as you contact your clients and prospects.
  
  
• Your studio name and website link will be placed on the www.CelebrationofSmiles.com consumer website.
  
  
• You will also receive weekly "timeline" emails you you'll be able to stay on track with your marketing and promotional efforts.

So . . . what do you need to do to get involved?

It's all pretty simple. CLICK HERE to register and you'll receive the marketing kit in the mail! 

Still need more details? Find them at PPACharities.com

Not a PPA Member? (You need to be one to participate . . . ) It's easy - join now! www.PPA.com/join

Even if you don't have a studio, you can partner with a location for some great traffic.

Register for Celebration of Smiles Day today!

- David Grupa

Don't You Love Craigslist?

Yesterday morning, a colleague messaged me regarding a Craigslist ad in which the writer railed professional photographers for being ridiculously expensive and making "ridiculous amounts of money." 

I took the opportunity to respond to her and educate her on why professional photographers charge what we do.

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Attn: Wedding Photographers :) (Puget Sound)

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Date: 2012-01-17, 8:57AM PST
Reply to: serv-zwumx-2804332414@craigslist.org ^{[Errors when replying to ads?]}

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WHY is finding an amazing wedding photographer so difficult? :/

I am a Bride who is getting married this summer and have yet to find a decently priced, exceptional, amazingly talented, fun photographer.

WHY because the word "WEDDING" is involved photographers think they can change you $ 3,000.00 for wedding photos? Oh, because no bride is going to go without so they are going to pay it, because they HAVE to. They are ripping people off for all they have! Why when you want to get married it costs you AT LEAST 15 grand after all is said-and-done? Its such CRAP!! I love all you $ 3,000.00 photographers out there but i think your prices are WACK. All your doing is hanging out at a wedding taking tons of photos and editing them.. and thats owrth 3 GRAND!!! You're making so much money its crazy. I just wish people would be more realistic. I mean the "average" persons salary for 1 freaking month is somewhere around 3 grand. (Thats making 19$ an hour) So you're going to take someones WHOLE MONTH paycheck for one flippen day of photos? Just because you CAN!!?????? So that maybe they will not be able to feed themselves or pay any other bills they have, right? It makes me SICK!

I know im speaking for more than just myself right now. Alot of brides out there think the same thing. & I bet all you fancy photographers wont even read this. oh-well.
Maybe there are cheaper photographers that will read this and LOVE to take my photos :)

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Dear "Pissed Off in Puget Sound",

A colleague shared your Craigslist ad with me a bit earlier today. I wish I could say that "hanging out at a wedding and taking tons of photos" is "easy money" as you seem to think, but it's really not. While I agree that professional photography is not inexpensive, try working with a "weekend warrior with a camera" and see the difference. Sure, you may pay less money, but the resulting images will be of such poor quality, you'll be certain to feel "ripped off."

However, rather than tell you about award-winning photography, explain my credentials and attempt to convince you why a talented photographer is worth $3000 or more, I'm going to do some basic math instead.

First, let's talk about taxes. Don't you just hate opening up your paycheck at the end of the week and finding that Uncle Sam and friends have taken about 30% of your hard-earned dollars for federal, state and other taxes? Well, photographers have to pay them, too. That's $900 straight off the top of that $3000, leaving $2100. (You may think that 30% seems like a high number, but remember that since I'm self-employed, there's nobody else kicking in a percentage; the entire tax burden is borne by me.) Since there's no withholding, it's up to me to put this amount away so that I can make my quarterly tax payments on time.

Another huge chunk of the pie is a rather surprising expense to many people. We call it "Overhead" and "Cost of Goods Sold". In this category are visible items like albums, prints, frames and those items you take home. You don't want cheap things that will fall apart or fade, so I'm willing to pay a bit more in the search for a quality product. Remember, "good things aren't usually cheap, and cheap things aren't usually good." The photography industry is a showcase for that motto; really, ask around. (The pages of that "Snapfish" album will fade and discolor before your first anniversary.)

However, there are also other things in this group as well; things that we need to deliver our best to you, but are somewhat "invisible" to people other than business owners. They include our studio rent or monthly location payment, phone, computer, website and hosting, equipment and liability insurances (because we realize that we live in a litigious society), and local business and other licenses. Add in the membership dues to professional associations where we go for new techniques and to stay current so that we can deliver those amazing images you seek, and this Overhead category takes another 30% bite out of that $3000 so that just $1200 remains.

Then there's the equipment we use. Digital has brought some awesome advantages to photographers, but it comes at a price. New cameras and lenses are not inexpensive; we don't photograph with $500 Canon Rebels from WalMart. Since it takes a while to save enough money for this, I put away 10% of each job toward new equipment, equipment repairs, cleaning and maintenance. (Yes, I carry at least 2 working professional cameras to your wedding in the event something happens. A professional will simply pick up a new camera and continue photographing as if nothing happened. Your bargain photographer may panic or worse yet, not even realize that something is wrong. Not sounding like such a bargain anymore, is it?) Subtracting that $300 brings me down to $900.

Since I realize I won't be able to do this for the rest of my life (and I haven't found a sugar momma to support me) I'd better save something for retirement. Financial planners say that should be 10%, so there goes another $300. I'm down to $600 of the original price.

Being self-employed, I have to buy my own health insurance for me and my family. For an individual who's not getting it through their employer, this is NOT cheap. (I'm not going to use the term "WACK", but I think you get where I'm heading.) Another 10%, another $300 and I'm down to $300 "profit" from your wedding.

While I'd like to say that I take the remaining $300 and spend it on me, it's only partially true. As you do, I have responsibilities such as monthly bills, gas for the car, car payment, food, clothing . . . the kind of stuff you were mentioning.

Let's say I spend 6 hours at your wedding, another 8 hours editing your images, not to mention the meetings we've had that last an hour each. When you come back to select the images for your album, we'll spend another 2 hours going through choices and then I'll invest another 4 hours (minimum) designing the perfect album for you, prepping it for printing and sending it to the manufacturer. When it comes back, I'll inspect it and make sure it's perfect, then spend another 45 mins going through it with you when you pick it up. Almost a full 24 hours . . . divided by the $300 I got to keep . . . and I've just made $12.50 an hour. (Which totally blows the "You're making so much money it's crazy" theory.)

On a side note, over the past 36 years I have been photographing weddings, I can't even begin to count the number of ball games and other events I've missed. My kids got used to it; "You know that Daddy works on Saturday", but over the years it took its toll on my relationships as well. I refuse to make those mistakes again; those who refuse to learn from the past are destined to repeat it.

I'm sure you're probably tired of reading, but I hope you understand what I'm saying. Producing a quality product at a fair price IS what professional photographers do; it's always your choice to work with us or someone else. The problem is, what will you give up when you "get what you paid for?"

Respectfully,

David L. Grupa

Certified Professional Photographer

M.Photog.Cr., AFS-MNPPA

Resolve to Be Better to Your Clients in 2012

If you're one of the many professionals who are tired of seeing overworked images that make portrait look artificial, then you'll enjoy this video by Jesse Rosten. While it's a total spoof on the professional tool we all know and love, it makes a strong statement about how we view beauty in today's society.

More importantly, it should cause every professional photographer (and "faux-tographer", as well) to pause a minute and think about the amount of "editing" and post-production work we do on our images. Are we enhancing the beauty of our clients, or hiding it behind a myriad of actions and effects?


Make 2012 the year to be true to both your clients and your art.



Fotoshop by Adobé from Jesse Rosten on Vimeo.

Resolve to Be a Better Businessperson in 2012!

First off, I hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful holiday with the people they love the most. After all, that is really what it's all about.

Florida photographer Kevin Newsome has posted a series of YouTube videos with his opinions on different issues within the industry. They're relevant, thought-provoking and mildly entertaining. When a link to one of his videos on "Shoot and Burn" photographers was recently posted in another forum in which I participate, it opened the ever-popular discussion of "should I sell print or files?" While I don't want to get into that one one more time, I do think there were a few important points to be made.

One relatively young and opinionated member chose to point out that selling image files was the only way to make money and that Mr. Newsome was a "relic" and and "artifact" in the industry. This group member continued by stating "This dude is just afraid of losing his rip off of a business that needs to die and I'll be happy to be one of the ones to help make that happen."

Is he right? The fact is, we should all be concerned about losing our businesses, but not because we are "rip offs" or aren't embracing technology and selling files. We should be concerned about the fact that we are underpricing our products and services in an effort to compete with the MWACS and DWACS who enter this field daily. (Just think, there are probably hundreds of new "professional" photographers right now who are still trying to decide what to name their Facebook business page as they caress the shiny new Rebel they found under the tree!)

While I definitely have my own opinion, I'm not going to fuel the files vs prints debate here. What I am going to do is ask you to take a serious look at the amount of profit your studio needs in order to survive.

Photographer and educator Charles Lewis (another "relic" or "artifact") still talks about starting his studio and the number of hats one must wear to own their own photography business. He'd say "all I want to do is take pictures!" Of course, we'd all love that.

However, it takes more than just pushing a button. Those photographers who fail to do the sales, marketing and most importantly, pay attention to the numbers and bookkeeping are doomed to fail. You MUST find a way to make a viable living in this industry by pricing your product (whether image files or physical images) to make a profit.

Those who shoot and burn for cheap rates will be forced to find another source of income to supplement their photography. Those who sell prints for cheap prices will die for the same reason. 

It's not about the technology. It's not image files vs prints. It's not "relics vs young guns". It's each and every one of us vs ourselves and our own reluctance and hesitation to sell our products and services at professional rates that allow us to make a decent living while still doing something we enjoy.

Everything old is not necessarily bad, just as everything new is not necessarily better. Some things got to be old because they stood the test of time and have not crumbled under the pressure of change. Yet, embracing the "out with the old, in with the new" mentality can be a good thing in many ways. Perhaps the New Year is the right time to take the plunge with a new pricing structure. Maybe this New Year will be one in which you eclipse your old sales numbers. What if I told you 2012 would be your breakout year, simply by making a few positive changes in the way you look at your studio; not the photography itself, but the business of photography.

My suggestion for a great resolution for 2012 is to take a serious look at your own business model. Crunch your own numbers (or if that's not your strong suit, talk to a bookkeeper or accountant who can help decipher them with you!) We obviously love what we do and have a deep passion for the art. Make 2012 the year you get passionate about the business side of photography and start making it truly profitable!

Happy New Year!

- David Grupa