Previous |  Contents | Next Download the eBook Social media platforms encourage you to feed them constantly. Fair enough, they have the audience. But you need to feed yourself!  You’re lucky Photographers are fortunate in that their work generates rivers of desirable online content. You need to avoid giving away the Crown Jewels, and you need your clients’ permission to share, but your photography is a wonderful online resource. The ideal Things aren’t always ideal in the real world, but nevertheless… — Real friends are better than Facebook friends. 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 >>

"Micro-Weddings/Elopements/Minimony(s)." Whatever you like to call them, it appears smaller weddings are here to stay — at least for the foreseeable future.  How things used to be Many wedding photography businesses have been built on the premise that a wedding shoot lasts all day, that there will be "getting-ready" shots needed of at least one half of the couple, that after the ceremony there'll be family photos and a celebration to cover, and that in many cases a second photographer will be needed to fully capture the day’s events. Many photographers have built a career based To View More >>

A long post but full of insights! Andy Fountain explains how he and Lewis developed their unique style of wedding photography, how almost every coverage includes an album, and the pay-off for both their clients and the studio. There are two photographers at Fountain Photography. How do you and Lewis work together to capture the big day? Lewis is now my business partner, rather than simply an employee and second shooter. Mid-photography degree, we brought Lewis in to the business with the idea of eventually shooting two weddings a day, and making twice the profit. But while To View More >>

"I love a little quirk from time to time - something different for the soul — to keep things fresh, to keep the spark alive and to fuel my passion for wedding photography…” Maybe that explains why Jonny Harper did such an incredible job of capturing Tanaya and Mathew's wedding. I was so excited to discover their album coming through the Bindery. Working on this blog post was a lot of fun, with rabbits hidden in the bushes, incredible walls of art and so much more… Tanaya is  a set designer, Matthew a base player for his London based jazz band. They To View More >>

I'm a bit frustrated! We have two new initiatives to launch but we can't get either out until next week, so I thought I'd try and clear up a few misconceptions about SEO... SEO comes to mind for two reasons. First, in Ian's 14 Tips post a while back he said (rather carelessly!), "10. Link to the venues, florists, dressmakers and other vendors who were connected to the event - another Workspace feature. They'll love you for it, and linking is great for SEO." Someone commented, "Yes, linking is great for SEO, but for the [site] you are linking to, not for you… I'm always wary about linking to…vendors' To View More >>

Although a lot of you love our albums (us too!) we operate on the simple principle that you're running a business, and if you can't make money selling them you shouldn't buy them. But there's no doubt many photographers do struggle. Partly that's because they sell a la carte, and have persuaded themselves that their clients don't want albums. I don't buy it. A la carte is often shorthand for having a cheap headline price, and no levers you can pull to make a better sale. (I'm not saying a la carte's a bad idea, but it needs close thought). As for people not wanting albums, it was the same story To View More >>

(Warning: contains references to blue-grass and rock music) Johannes introduced me to his friends, Lyttelton band The Eastern. That’s OK, nobody else has heard of them either, and that's the point of this post. A while ago The Eastern opened in Auckland for Steve Earle, and more recently for Old Crow Medicine Show. Old Crow who? Heather and I bought tickets anyway, probably the only people in the audience who didn’t know anything about the main act. But then they came out and played. I was hooked after the first few bars Ketch looked wry, ironic and after your girlfriend. Willie wore a Neil To View More >>

Four years in, and Suzanne Black could teach a lot of people a lot of things…especially about marketing and surviving when times get tough. I had a chat with her about what she thinks are the keys to success, how she turns 90% of her enquiries into bookings and why albums are so important to her business. Positivity is contagious. Suzanne is feeling positive right now. I haven't heard that response to a question about the state of the economy in a long time, but after chatting I've decided describing her as "positive" is an understatement... She says, “In the current climate I think it's more To View More >>

Welcome to the second interview in our series featuring clients whose businesses are thriving despite the current economic climate. Click here to read the first interview with Christian Oth. In the same year they had their first child, Chris and Darcie Siiteri started their Austin (Texas) photography business, Innovative Photography. Fifteen years later they’re still at it and doing better than ever. I gave an initially nervous Darcie an early morning call to chat about how they approach their album sales, and what they do to ensure their clients have an amazing experience and to foster relationships To View More >>