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 >>

Previous |  Contents | Next Download the eBook I would not sabotage my long-term business in order to survive a panic attack or a short-term crisis. Panic attacks — we all have them “My bookings are down.” “I’ve gotta cut my prices.” “I’ve gotta slash my costs.” We all have anxiety attacks, so maybe this chapter’s for you. Anxiety is worrying in advance, worrying without a plan, psychological rather than rational. And the actions you take while you’ve got the cold sweats could affect your business for a long, long To View More >>

Previous |  Contents | Next Download the eBook "That process has two distinct stages—before and after the shoot. The first sells the booking, the second is the up-sell…" High-end photographers have been selling albums profitably for as long as we’ve been in business, but for many today it seems a lost art. Why? Obviously the world has changed — "shoot-and-share" and "just the files" are seductive ideas, and so is selling online. And who needs the hassle of getting people into the studio, playing nice, offering them bubbles and selling To View More >>

|  Contents | Next Download the eBook A guide to building a profitable photography business Is this for you?  These pages are for professional photographers, primarily social photographers, by which I mean those who’re paid entirely by the people in their viewfinders. Think family portraits, weddings, babies, kids, pets, events, glamour, boudoir, schools, graduations and so on. This is not the official Queensberry view of the world, just my own. But it lays out the lessons I believe we’ve learned from 50 years listening to successful photographers. ~ Ian To View More >>

As we reach our last workday before closing for the holidays we want to send you very sincere thanks for your support over the last year. While the pandemic itself is largely behind us — at least in the sense that people are generally back to “business as usual” — for much of the world the social and economic “hangover” is still with us. Some in our own industry are among those still feeling the after-effects, and our thoughts will be with them this Christmas. But overall our community continues to inspire us with its resilience in adapting successfully to a To View More >>