A fairly common thing we hear from photographers is: “My clients just don’t want printed products.” But here’s the truth — more often than not, it’s not that they don’t want them. It’s that they’ve never been shown the value of them. They’re used to digital galleries. They expect USBs. That’s what the industry has trained them to expect. But just because it’s all they know, it doesn’t mean that’s all they want. Ian tells the story of being in a seminar with a number of very wealthy Americans. When he tried To View More >>

As a photographer, your creativity is your super-power. It’s what sets you apart, what draws clients to you, and what fills your work with meaning. But when your days are spent juggling inboxes, invoices, timelines, edits, orders, banking, and endless other to-dos, it’s easy for that creative spark to fizzle out. Here’s the truth: you don’t need less structure to be more creative — you need better systems. Think of systems as the scaffolding that holds your business up — so your creativity can roam freely within it. Strong systems take care of the repetitive To View More >>

Previous |  Contents | Next Download the eBook Our brand isn’t a look but a promise kept — not what we say but what we do. Value Imagine if you said, “I want you to pay me what you think I’m worth.” Most people would imagine themselves out of business. We need to tell our clients what we’re worth, and live up to our rhetoric. What is the value of your work to people who don’t know you, or how much they should be paying? The value of a compelling and authentic brand is that it tells people the price of entry and helps them see it’s worth To View More >>

Previous |  Contents | Next Download the eBook "Me me me! My favourite word." — Seth Godin The people paying Here’s the key thing about social photography. Those people in your viewfinder are paying your bills. All of your bills. And the images you take are more or less worthless to anyone else. What are your customers after? Why do they want their photographs taken? Actually, do they want their photographs taken? In social photography the trick is to understand that it’s not about the print, or the album, or the photography, or Photoshop, or what your peers think To View More >>

We spoke to Dan Morris Photography, based in the UK, about his wedding photography practice, some memorable moments over his career, and why he offers albums to every client. I have been photographing weddings for around six years, though this is my second year full time. I started off as 'Uncle Bob' and took my camera along to a friend's wedding, with no intention of ever becoming a wedding photographer. I posted a few images on Facebook and then two couples asked if I'd be interested in capturing their special day.  How would you describe your style? I would say my style To View More >>

Recently we worked with Ebonnie Louise Photography  to set up her website, and we had so much fun we thought we’d share it with you. We worked with her under our Turbostart service, which helps photographers with their Workspace websites.  Ebonnie had worked with Olivia Lord Design to create her brand identity, so she came to us with a strong brand, and brand message, which was great, for two reasons. First, we knew exactly what she was after, which made her the ideal customer. And second, Turbostart is not about design and branding, but the technical stuff — setting To View More >>

There are — how many? — a million professional photographers around the world? All competing for customers who are happily uploading their own pictures to the internet by the billion every day! How do you stand out in that crowd? How do you earn a living? By being a better photographer, yes. By knowing what your clients want before they do, absolutely. And by thinking differently and acting differently. By being a price setter not a price taker. By leading the crowd, not joining it. Unfortunately the world is heading in the opposite direction. Giant labs. Huge hosting sites. Software To View More >>

Our UK friends have lots of exciting learning events coming up. We wish we could be there - check 'em out! This summer Aspire Photography have a variety of different courses to suit all abilities, from Lighroom Essentials to polish those post-production and workflow skills, Inspire My Weddings for advanced wedding photographers, and Becoming a Lifestyle Commercial Photographer for those wanting to step into the world of commercial photography. Brett Harkness also has a bunch of exciting events coming up. On his two day Prague Documentary To View More >>

We’re proud to be supporting David and Luke Edmonson at WPPI this year. They’re talking about perhaps the most important challenge facing every professional photographer – how to transform their passion for photography into a successful longterm career. Luke and David want to be known for producing great photography, and serving their clients — but of course every sustainable business needs to generate profits as well. We’re going to publish an article about their sales strategies shortly, along with some of their work, but first we thought you’d like To View More >>

I believe that to succeed in this “industry" we need to fully engage our heads and our hearts, and Sonya's post demonstrates how truly engaged she is. It was about the albums she’s been keeping of her two daughters since they were born, and it reminded me of another album that Heather made years ago. So here am I, hand on heart too… Twenty-one years ago we hired a professional photographer. It was our daughter Adrienne’s birthday. Stephen was coming home from Australia with his fiancée Sonya to meet the family. Heather's Mum and Dad had long passed To View More >>