by Carolyn on July 26, 2010
The number of professional photographers who are experimenting with offering video production to their existing client base seems to grow exponentially with each release of a new DSLR-HD camera. It’s SO tempting when a client you’ve had for years asks you on a print shoot “While you’re at it, can you cover this scene in video as well?”
So there you are… faced with a (billable) request from an existing client. You want to make them happy by granting their request. You certainly don’t want to have them go elsewhere (i.e. a competitor) to get that footage you can “easily” provide. I mean, why wouldn‘t you say “Sure… I can do that. My camera has video capabilities.”
Because after your very first shoot that has sound in it, you’ll likely have an “uh-oh” moment. While most of your production values are as rock solid as usual: the lighting is great, the composition perfectly balanced, and the decisive moment is captured, there’s something not quite working in that footage…
There’s that new X-factor: The sound track. It doesn’t seem quite of up to the level of your imagery. What’s missing?
I guess because I come from a photography background, I had a bit of the same preconceptions that some photographers had when digital cameras first arrived with video capabilities: “oh, this is such a cool tool. I’ll just turn on that feature and get some video imagery as well.” I really didn’t even THINK about sound’s ability to make or break moving imagery.
For the past year or so a number of my photography marketing consulting clients seem to have traveled along the same path. Many are confused as to best practices and many photo industry professionals have blogged extensively about the obstacles along the path from still photography to motion.
One of the things that always gets mentioned as a challenging learning curve is SOUND. Most of my consulting clients already have a camera that shoots video–or know which one they want to buy–but the SOUND issues and what gear to get are perplexing them.
If you’ve been reading any of the professional photography online forums (e.g. ASMPproAdvice@yahoogroups.com or APAnet@yahoogroups.com or ASMP’s Strictly Business Blog) you’ll have already read tons of good advice from some still photographers who were very early adopters of shooting video. Attending seminars by early adopters such as Gail Mooney or Lee White at a local trade org event will certainly be helpful in navigating the path to motion; I readily recommended those workshops.
But other than advising clients to get into a good hands-on video workshop ASAP or scroll through hundreds of messages in the forums, I wasn’t sure what to tell them. I wanted a resource I felt would be really helpful, one that I could trust to be accurate, and one that was simple enough that even I could understand it!
That’s why was really glad that my friend Adriel shared a copy of his just-released Video Buyers Guide with me. With decades of experience in video production and great teaching skills (even the most non-techie people can understand him), he is a great guide to answer the questions from my moving-into-video clients.
His brand new Video Buyer’s Guide is a great resource and it even makes sense to me –someone who’s very comfortable in marketing photography but who is way uncomfortable in the more technical aspects of digital video. (I only carry a way-down-the-video-line Canon S90 but I can certainly sense the allure of the video capture function). And I’m certainly a “Dummy” when it comes to sound.
So I invite you to check out this cool resource if you’re at all confused about some of the issues you’re encountering as you move into video. The Guide was just released over the weekend and is available for US$19.00–which is WAY affordable and I think under-priced for the tips you get.
Caveat: The price will go up after the first 100 copies of the guide are sold.
http://bit.ly/photogvideoguide
by Carolyn on July 19, 2010
When all of your other marketing efforts start to pay off and you’re in a bid situation for a photo assignment, there’s one more thing that will help you land the job:
Do some research about what you’re being asked to photograph.
If you take the time to read up on the product, company, or event you’re being asked to shoot (you know you can Google ANYTHING) you appear to be someone who will be a partner in problem-solving. Demonstrating that you’ve actually taken your own time to learn about the client’s product can be a powerful way to show that you’re truly interested in their needs–everyone finds that attractive and very compelling.
Your willingness to do some research may provide a creative insight which can add value to the assignment and set you apart from your competitors. If you really are a creative problem-solver and don’t just call yourself one, then demonstrate that trait at this point of the project and share that side of yourself with your prospective client.
While some fear that “giving away the solution before getting the job” is professional suicide, others know that there are far more clients seeking to hire a creative team member for their project than there are clients who only are looking to steal someone’s ideas without compensation. If you’ve really got some awesome creative chops, you’ll always have them. If you continue to support your “muse” (spend some time with your muse so she doesn’t die from malnourishment), you can use that creative well-spring to nurture a prospective client relationship––not just on the shoot, but well before you’re hired.
Fearless, generous creators are pretty impressive individuals.
Are you one of them?
by Carolyn on June 11, 2010
I just read Matt Richtel’s great article in the NY Times called “Hooked on Gadgets, and Paying a Mental Price”
I wonder how many photographers–myself included–realize the neurological effects of adding yet another gadget or media feed into our lives? How much does our gadget-encrusted lifestyle affect our ability to finish projects that necessitate long, focused, and repetitve actions to achieve success e.g. implementing marketing plans?
And I also wonder about the global picture: What will the world look like when a huge percentage of the entire planet’s population is filled with super multi-taskers who have little or no ability to be fully connected in the present moment with a fellow human being.
Hmmmm…..maybe I will wait on get that iPad.
by Carolyn on May 28, 2010
Start your engines! It’s Memorial Day Weekend! Let the summer games begin! Yeah! I hope that we all get to kick back, take a break from the work stress/recession-anxiety for a moment, and enjoy the 3-day weekend. But after you’ve had some time to relax and refuel, don’t let your marketing head get too chilled out.
It feels counter-intuitive, but summer is actually a great time for a photographers to market their winter-themed imagery. While many clients are engaged in up-to-the-minute current-season marketing, other companies produce big holiday catalogs that have really long production lead times. Many companies are planning and scheduling shoots of their winter-season products in the warm summer months.
If you’ve some ideas and examples on how to shoot “Christmas in July” now’s the time to get the word out. If you have the knowledge and experience to capture a cozy, winter, hearth- huddling mood when it’s 90º outside you’d do well to target some prospective clients and show them what you can do for their winter promotions.
Let it snow!
by Carolyn on May 17, 2010
When it comes to increasing your productivity- for the non-image-making part of your business-there are many great applications to choose from. Lots of people use Apple’s Mobile.me account. There’s also another good way of developing the work flow of integrating all of your contacts, tasks, and calendar events-no matter what operating system you use- and it lives within the free universe of Google apps.
If you have a Google account, you can use it to help you take regular and weekly steps in implementing your marketing plan.Google has created yet another great feature set called TASKS . Do a search for “Google tasks” and you’ll get to the main TASKS app page that has a link to a short instructional video.
Use TASKS to create a marketing to-do lists filled with daily, weekly, and monthly “micro-steps” E.g. find the address & phone number of three prospects/add them to mailing list/pick image for June mailing/create subject line for promo/etc.Then add those items to Google TASKS.
You can also create general categories and sub-categories.For example, the broad category might be “Post Card Campaign” and the subcategories can be divided by e.g.,launch dates. A sub-category can be further sub-defined by tasks such as “contact designer” , “write subject header, etc”.
If you find it really hard to do marketing tasks, start with some super, super easy tasks e.g.”Select a folder to put promo images in” ,”create the Title of the folder for the marketing images.”, etc. Then you can start your day off with the thrill of ticking off a couple of the to-do items check-boxes! (Believe me…I’ve had to put some pretty silly, and way-granular items on my own lists some days). Then you’ve got some TRACTION!
Now you can keep moving. If you use Gmail, your preferences can be set-up to allow you to create tasks alarms, add items to your calendar, and always see your tasks list whenever you check your email. Because you can access and update your progress from any internet-enabled device, you can maintain a good marketing momentum. Daily progress creates real progress.
by Carolyn on April 7, 2010
In case you somehow missed the article entitled “For Photographers, the Image of a Shrinking Path” which was in the March 29th, 2010 edition of the New York Times, it covered what those of us who are deeply involved in professional commercial photography business, painfully know: things have dramatically changed for professional commercial photographers. So much so, that mainstream media is now reporting on the trend that’s been occurring for at least the last 5 years: advanced amateurs and part-time photographers are pricing their photography at rates well below prices that could viably sustain a full-time photography business-or probably a business of any sort!
A response to the original article was posted the following day wherein professional commercial photographers, other photo business professionals, and amateurs and hobbyists weighed in. There were emotional as well as calm and reasoned responses to the sobering fact that it’s never been harder to make a decent living as a full-time photographer. The pro photographer forums such the ASMP’s very active ProAdvice forum, are on fire with debates on how best to detail with low-balling photographers who have no need to support themselves or their families with the money earned in their part-time passion.
Not only are the traditional assignment opportunities for professional photographers are rapidly dwindling. Magazines are folding in record numbers; print ads are being created using royalty free and micro-stock images; frames are being re-purposed from footage produced for TV commercials and now, ever more hobbyists are shooting for the “glory” of a credit line.
The reason I wrote my 2005 article “The Commoditization of the Commercial Photography Business”was that I wanted to give professional photographers a heads-up. I wanted them to seriously start thinking about what was coming down the pike due to advances in chip technology. I wanted to give them some tips how to avoid being run over by the low-priced steamroller now fully parked for the foreseeable future in many of photography’s traditional markets. (If you’ve not already read the article, you can get it by signing up on the Contact page of my www.cpotts.com site; NOTE: just multiply all the listed stock numbers by a factor of 1000!).
I still believe the very best strategy to deal with these changes is having both real talent (that is ever-evolving) and the right attitude. I feel that having a pro-active attitude instead of a “victim” attitude is probably the most critical element.
Why? [click to continue…]
by Carolyn on March 25, 2010
When the FCC debates are over and we figure out
how to fund universal access to broadband, and it
becomes as common as phone access, the demand for
digital content will increase exponentially. There
will be more media being consumed on more devices
than we have now (or can yet imagine).
In the ad agency world content convergence means
more ad content will be re-purposed. Imagery that
would only have only appeared in a magazine in
last year’s campaign (and licensed for that
limited usage), might now appear as part of this
year’s online interactive gaming experience-or
within an app on a new media player (iPad, etc.)
Content convergence necessitates collaboration
with more creative staffers as well as more content
suppliers. Production meetings have to occur far
earlier on the ad production calendar to
effectively plan for assets displaying on
platforms that weren’t even around last year.
Digital design departments, print production,
broadcast, and interactive gaming strategists are
all now sitting around the same conference room
table when planning a campaign execution.
Historically, when there was a huge TV
production-especially if there was a celebrity
with limited availability- a still photographer
was brought on to shoot for the print campaign
during the same TV spot production. The business
model of “double dipping” to save production
dollars has been around for a while-but with two
separate crews shooting.Now “double-dipping” has to extend to multiple
platforms-not just TV and print. Art directors who understand the tech
nuances of all media are the ones whose jobs are
safe.
So, too, are the smart photographers who embrace
multiple platforms; they’ll be in the best
position to work with those new-era art directors
during this image-making evolution.
As technology gets better and cheaper, only those
with the best command of the dual-purpose
equipment will be on the agency’s preferred
vendors list. It makes no economic sense to a
client not to use one resource to tell their brand
story if it’s economically and creatively
feasible. If there’s an image-maker (or team) who
can deliver the media assets that will reproduce
well in both print and multimedia.. why wouldn’t
they prefer them?
Right now, at major ad agencies it’s still the
broadcast production departments that control
motion projects. Art buyers and creative directors
with extensive print experience, source their
favorite photographer when there’s a print
component that needs to be covered during a big
film production. They look for someone who can
play well with others and not get in the way of
the bigger-dollar film shoot.
On smaller projects, such as web projects, the
print department is not currently in the position
to tell broadcast to use a photographer for those
elements of the ad campaign; broadcast currently
pulls those assets from the TV shoot to give to
interactive department. It’s more of a courtesy
for the production company to provide those
assets.
But as technology gets faster and cheaper and the
economy remains anemic, economic forces will cause
new departments and job responsibilities within ad
agencies to form. At some major agencies art
buyers are already called producers.
A production undertaking that now seems impossible
to produce (due to the high cost of equipment and
necessary technical know-how), will eventually be
able to be feasibly produced by thousands of
suppliers. Consider what happened to
retouching…anyone reading this remember SciTex?
When that time comes, it will only be the depth
and breadth of your creative solutions; the
strength of your business relationships; and your
ability to collaborate, that will get you on the
agency short list of image makers called on to
produce their client’s brand story.
by Carolyn on March 3, 2010
The most essential step in creating an effective marketing plan is to first decide who you most want to work with. If you don’t have a specific answer to that question, you won’t know where to begin to look for them.
Almost every photographer who calls me for photography marketing help has the same basic issue: “I want more work. How do I get it?” I wish there was a simple solution to offer them; but like any goal worth going after, it first takes some understanding of what the end goal actually looks like.
One of the first things I do is first ask them: “What kind of client do you want to work with? What kind of works brings out the best in you?” or the corollary “What kind of work does NOT inspire you on any level?
Many times I get “I don’t really care. I just want work!” While I totally sympathize with that generalized need (in this economy especially!), any viable photography marketing plan MUST begin with narrowing down which would be the best client/market niche for YOU to pursue.
The narrowing down process I go through with my clients is, of course, far more individualized and in-depth, but here are a few key questions that will go a long way in helping you choose strategies and tactics to reach YOUR ideal prospects. They’re simple questions, not easily answered, but ones which are critical to your success.
When you’ve found the answers to these questions you have the beginnings of a road map that can help you eliminate or avoid marketing activities that will not give you as high a return on your investment of time and money.
•What kind of clients could most benefit from what I bring to the table?
•What do I do that an advanced amateur photographer could not do as well–or at all?
•What market segments will NOT appreciate my level of professionalism?
•If it’s an uneducated market segment, am I willing to do “”whatever it takes” to help those potential clients understand the real value I add to their business?
•What kinds of assignments/projects do I always love doing?
You’ve probably heard the advice “it’s important to first know where you want to go before picking up a map.” Knowing your destination will determine which marketing map you actually use.
Many marketing resources discuss this concept in depth, but I prefer the succinct wisdom of Lily Tomlin: “I’ve always wanted to be somebody, but I see now I should have been more specific.”
by Carolyn on February 8, 2010
What it is your most valuable business asset?
Hint: Its not your camera gear. Nor your computer hardware and software- or even your image archive or your portfolio.
It’s your creativity. It’s what sets you apart from every other photographer; it’s the distinguishing value that is added to any great image you create. Without it, you could be replaced by a machine.
Ironically, this extremely valuable asset can’t be covered against loss by an insurance policy.It’s up to you-and only you-to take precautions that you don’t lose your creativity.
Are you spending even half the amount of time and effort that you take to protect your other business assets from loss? You probably back-up your images on multiple drives on a regular basis. Your gear is probably protected by good security systems when it’s not actually with you. Your office probably has fire, flood and theft coverage. You want to protect your business, so you’re prudent. And you’re responsible.
Why is it so important it is to keep your creativity safe? Without it you probably don’t have much to offer any client since creativity is an essential for problem-solving. Clients hire you because they have a problem they need solved; usually ones they don’t have the creativity to execute as well as you.
So what are you doing to PROTECT your creativity? Do you know what keeps it vital and alive?
What was your mental state when you had your last great idea for a portfolio piece? Wasn’t it when you were relaxed, open, and receptive? I suspect you’ll also say it was when you “weren’t even trying”… it just “came to you.”
Do you know under what conditions your creativity is at risk? Are you aware of how negative emotions such as fear, anxiety, and worry significantly diminish the flow of intuition? Intuition is what most often guides you in what is necessary to take a shot from good to great.
In the current sea of negative emotions swirling in the photo business, are you pro-active enough to wear a “mental life-preserver”? That is, do you have an effective strategy to keep your intuition afloat? Can it be saved it from drowning in the swells of fear and anxiety?
Here are some time-honored, extremely well-researched, and very effective strategies to protect your most valuable business asset: Meditate. Spend time in nature. Pray. Jog. Swim. Politely refuse to spend time on the pity pot with those who continually spread evidence about how horrible things are. Be grateful for what you DO have. And finally, volunteer to help those who have less than you.
by Carolyn on February 7, 2010
Since this month the 3-day early bird discount falls on a weekend, I’m extending the discount offer through Monday 2/8/10. If you’re interested finding out if you may be unintentionally shooting yourself with your portfolio or web presentation, please contact me directly. More info is available here
In addition to generous sponsors LiveBooks and Agency Access, I’d like to welcome my 3rd and latest event sponsor, PhotoShelter. PhotoShelter enables you to create a professional online presence using a set of tools which include high-res file delivery, secure image archiving, and website creation tools.
