With a remake on the way the Ghostbusters are diligently waiting to make more profits.

There are many types of photographers out there … some have a procedure and others fly by the seat of their pants. Neither of them admits to it.

Who you gonna call?

For a prospective bride the outlook isn’t good. Does she choose “Same old…” or “There are good days and there are bad days…”?

Whoa! the bride wants results and wants them to be unique!

This is where the trust comes into it … Trust means so many things but in the end it is about getting results.

Cheers, Johannes

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My recent email suggested that if you can’t name five things that differentiate you there is probably only one – price! Not a good look.

Among the responses was this one:

I’m so sick of working harder and not smarter with the middle to lower end. I want to start all over again and aim at the high end of the market with the best products and service. I have never done an album before. I made the decision to specialise in babies, children and family portraiture. I can visualise beautiful portrait albums sitting on my coffee table in the studio, but I don’t know where to start.

Albums are not the place to start.
The place to start is with some deep thinking about where you are now, where you want to be and most important, the little steps that get you closer every day.

Changing your business model is never easy, but I believe that anything you’re doing now that’s taking you in the wrong direction (eg “working harder and not smarter with the middle to lower end”) is a real problem.

If you could afford it, having too little work could be better than have too much of the wrong work.

At least that way you’d have time and energy to work on change. Too much of the wrong work wears you out, takes up your time and stops you making change.

And prospects coming to see you (especially those who know of you from previous customers) come wanting the old you, not the new you.

Of course the wrong work is probably what’s paying the bills! But you have to work out what to do about that.

Most small businesses face this challenge. Many don’t solve it. One solution might be to find a new revenue stream … a day job. Heather and I started like that.

Getting back to albums…

As my email suggests, provided you and we are a good fit, Queensberry will be one of those differentiating “steps along the way”.

But first you need to work out what your business will look like when it’s done, and how to get there.

Cheers, Ian

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New Research indicates that older people are indeed wise, both in knowing how to deal with conflicts between people and in accepting life’s uncertainties. This is called social wisdom.

- recognising that values differ among people,

- accepting that uncertainties are in fact a certainty,

- accepting that things change over time,

- and acknowledging others’ points of view.

This is different to knowing stuff about technologies.

As technology becomes the new playground the rules are the same but they execute differently.

As photographers who ran successful businesses become last year’s model they are easily discarded by a new generation of ‘hip’. To survive, do the men start shaving their heads, growing small goatlike beards, colouring their wardrobe black and wearing sunglasses inside? Do the women colour their hair more frequently, use loud nail-polish and wear more layered clothing?

These become obvious markers of people trying to keep up with another generation. Because all of these things are obvious ‘disguises’ for agedness it is possible that they do little to generate a sense of trust.

It’s true that clients make judgements on appearance … we all do …

Experience used to count for so much, as did social wisdom. It should matter more …

It used to be that being in business for 30 or 40 years meant that you were good at what you do and that you had probably made all of the mistakes you were going to.

Now it means ‘been around too long and potentially boring’.

It is our job to stay fresh, move with the times and make our experience matter.

This is not about always owning the latest filters but about not resting on the laurels of our pasts.

Espousing our social wisdom without ever using the expression “in my day” creates a unique point of difference.

Applying that experience to the new understanding of image ownership puts you ahead of a vibrant new kid on the block with lots of thoughts but no idea.

As you get older the only real ‘hip’ upgrade happens in a hospital under anaesthetic…. so it comes down to using your social wisdom to keep ahead of the play.

Cheers, Johannes

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The measure of a photographer used to be how much you could charge for an 8×10″ print. At seminars it became the call that epitomised the lack of understanding, from some, of the need for skills other than the balls to charge like a wounded bull.

Things have changed and now the measure of a photographer is what they charge for being a photographer. People disguise this photographic fee in packages and bundles, and sometimes lose track of what it is they are selling.

It is an absolute truth that a 10×8 print holds much less value now because of the broader accessibility of the photographic medium.

It is now more important to distinguish ourselves without distancing ourselves from our clients.

The real commodity we are selling is our vision. From this vision comes creative opportunity. We package it up as a set of prints, an album, and/or a set of digital files.

In creating a Queensberry album we are packaging our vision as a story for the future. As a vessel for the story the Queensberry gives it permanence, presence and protection. These things are a worthy investment.

Cheers, Johannes

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The New York Times caused a ruckus a couple of days ago with an article pointing out the negative impact on professional photographers of a number of trends: the decline of the print media and therefore print advertising; the rise of digital imaging, stock photography and photo sharing sites; the flow-on opportunities for pro-am enthusiasts who don’t face the same commercial imperatives. Christian Oth runs an upscale Manhattan studio. Here’s his response – Ed.

The New York Times posted an article about how photography is on a shrinking path. It is an interesting assessment of the state of assignment photography, but as far as the aesthetics of photography go, I couldn’t disagree more. It has never been easy to ‘make it’ in photography and the fact that the commercial/editorial landscape has shifted and is undermined by amateurs is nothing new to an ever-evolving industry.

Landing a career in photography is not as easy as just going to college, building a portfolio and, poof you have a career. The photography world is saturated, one has to be not only talented but also extremely hard-working and savvy to have a fighting chance at making this a career. The failure rate has always been enormous. This is nothing new.

What IS new, as the article says, is that the amateurs are undercutting pro photography. But what the article doesn’t mention is that the consumption of photography has also increased tenfold.

We live in a much more media-rich visual world. It is a well-known fact that people just don’t read anymore. Everything nowadays is supplemented with media. There are simply different opportunities out there, than the traditional assignment photography business model.

I would also like to make the statement that photography has never been this good, especially in the wedding world. The pros on the top end of the market have gotten so remarkable, and I simply relish the fact that wedding photography has been elevated to these incredible heights in our little niche.

This has also opened up incredible opportunities for the pros out there who are truly talented: the average couple has now a much higher appreciation for photography than, say 10 years ago. It is absolutely incredible what is happening in the industry right now in terms of aesthetics and vision. The growth of really good, stimulating photography has been enormous.

Weddings nowadays have become such incredible visual feasts. Anyone who hires an amateur for their wedding is simply rolling the dice.

Originally posted at christianothstudio.com/posts/

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The Archive of Accidents that once was photography.

Les Walkling describes a truth that is often forgotten in our pursuit of perfection.

Editing our images to only show our best is destroying a potential archive of wedding (and family) culture. Not only do we forget but we actively discard ‘the accidental archive’.

In making albums we look for the best-ofs, often overlooking the incidental truths.

When we are editing we discard photographs that are imperfect or that don’t suit our story (this is the inevitable outcome of editing).

It’s a fact that vanity rules over truth, but there is something in the accidental evidence created in the course of a day that would tell a different but interesting story, and maybe has more relevance than the fictions from the creative expertise of the photographer.

The accidental photographs that never make the selection are sometimes more significant than we, the authors of ‘truth’ may ever understand. The only photograph of a favourite uncle talking to his grandniece is rejected because it is not quite sharp.

Is it because the money shots are the ones that appeal to vanity?

As we focus on making successful businesses and keeping up with technology, are we becoming insensitive to the subtleties and complexities of what we do, that are incidental to the immediate and obvious task of making the bride and groom look amazing.

So the archive of accidents is a special thing … and there will always be people in denial of their unphotoshopped selves. But are we denying the memory of an alternative past by making the record of somebody’s wedding (their album or prints) as perfect as possible?

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As a proud parent I look at other babies and want to know if we are doing okay. (It’s the first time and we have no standard to work from.)

When two babies meet it is easy to overlook the needs of the other parent as you well up with pride in the achievements of your offspring.

Photographers can be the same with their personal prides.

Good etiquette with babies is to resist outdoing the other parent with the successes of your own child (sleeps through night … makes own breakfast, gifted, etc). Because even though it is reassuring to acknowledge the superiority of your genealogy it has no social benefits (unless you have cities to conquer).

Why do I mention this?  It’s about respecting the success and pride of others. It makes the photographic community stronger and of greater value.

Cheers, Johannes

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