Archives for 2015

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6 Plugins you Need for your Photography Website

Author: ShootDotEditOn: Nov 17Categories: How to Become a Photographer No Comments

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When a bride and groom take the time to search for a wedding photographer on the Internet, the first glimpse of your business they see is your website. As the couple browse through your website, they decide whether or not they want to choose you as their wedding photographer. How can you grab their attention and encourage them to work with you (and spread the word with their friends and family)? Website plugins are hacks to help you increase interaction from your clients, which invites them to learn more about you and your business.

Since there are so many ways you can use the technology available today and increase the traffic and bookings to your website, we decided to put a list together of helpful tools you can use. Here are the 6 plugins you need for your photography business to reach ideal clients.

1. OmniGallery

As a wedding photographer, you share content with your clients regularly. With the various social platforms available to you, there are plenty of opportunities for you to reach new audiences. Since it is important to get ideal clients to reach your website, it is necessary for you to use a tool that helps you connect the various channels.

Related: Don’t miss out on the nine time-saving tools you need in your business

OmniGallery is a WordPress plugin that helps you add your images from other social platforms, such as Pinterest and Instagram, to your website. If you decide to shoot an image on your iPhone and post it on a social network, visitors to your website cannot see this image. Using this plugin allows you to include your images on your website and blog from any platform and add them into the gallery of your choice. This is important because there are many times you share on one platform and not on any other. When you install this plugin into your website, your content is shared with your visitors on your website. [···]

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The 6 Most Important Angles to Capture during the First Dance

Author: ShootDotEditOn: Nov 12Categories: Wedding Shooting No Comments

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After the bride and groom say their vows, and you capture the couple and family portraits, it is time to head to the reception. When the couple is introduced at the reception, one of the first things they will do is transition into their first dance. The first dance signifies the beginning of the celebration they will have with their family and friends.

The wedding day can be hectic for your couple. As their wedding photographer, what can you do to capture this meaningful time during the reception? Switching your angles while you are shooting can make a large difference in the result of your photos. Use the same process for the first dance as you do when you are trying to diversify how you shoot the images at any other point of the wedding day. We’ve put together the 6 most important angles for you to capture during the first dance that will help you document every important moment.

1. Shoot Through the Perspective of Guests

During the wedding day, your couple has a limited opportunity to observe the reactions their guests have. Since they are busy with one another, and sharing the special first dance, this means it is your job to document the happenings. Show the bride and groom what their guests experienced as they watched the first dance by standing in the location where most people are. As you stand with them, take shots of the couple from this angle. For an artistic approach, stand behind a few guests and shoot through them. This gives your image a creative look by incorporating the guests, and shows your couple what everyone else experienced at that time.

You can also try adding the guests into the background of a few shots. Position yourself of the opposite side of the room so you can see your couple and the guests behind them. Not only will this be a creative angle to capture, it will make your couple happy to see the excitement on their guests’ faces.

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Top 5 Tips for Fast Album Design

Author: ShootDotEditOn: Nov 11Categories: How to Become a Photographer No Comments

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In the role you play for the bride and groom’s wedding day, not only are you their photographer, but you are the one who can artistically tell their story. Storytelling is a large part of what makes your images stand out, and what encourages your couple to buy additional products from you. When the bride and groom make the decision to purchase a wedding album from you, it helps increase your profit and gives you the chance to flex your creative muscles.

Although creating albums can be beneficial, they can also consume your time and can cause frustration for you. As a busy photographer, it can be difficult to add more to your plate than there already is. For you to successfully run your business and fulfill your clients’ wishes, you need an album design workflow that allows you to spend minimal time on the process.

In our Lightning Fast Album Design Webinar with Andrew Funderburg, he shared how you can speed up your album design workflow and create a faster turnaround time. Since he provided so many actionable solutions for a fast workflow, we’ve put together the top 5 tips for fast album design.

1. Shoot for the Design

Although you create the album after the wedding day is over, it is important to keep the design in mind as you are shooting. Think of how you can shoot many images that would work together to tell the story of the wedding day. Also, when you see an image you know is going to be a “Wow” image, try as hard as possible to take the best shots.

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How to use Hootsuite for Your Wedding Photography Business

Author: ShootDotEditOn: Nov 10Categories: Social Media Tips No Comments

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In your wedding photography business, it is important to spend a majority of your time reaching ideal clients. With the advancements in technology and the Internet, there are plenty of platforms you can use to achieve this. One of the fastest ways to reach clients (past and present) is to use social media to share your content. Since almost 1.7 billion people have active social media accounts, you need to have a presence online so potential clients can readily find you.

Although utilizing social platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest, can help you reach additional clients, how do you carve out the time to make it work for you? Regardless of the season, you are a busy wedding photographer who has to take care of your business. How can you spend your time creating and posting on social media without falling behind on your other tasks?

Hootsuite is a social media management program which can help you manage your platforms to reach more of your ideal clients. Using Hootsuite in your workflow helps you connect with a larger audience through each of your social platforms. Check out these tips for using Hootsuite and get started managing your social media today.

Manage Multiple Social Media Platforms

As a wedding photographer, it is important to be present on social media platforms which will help you reach a larger audience. This means you are in charge of more than one program at once. But, when you take time to post to each network, it takes valuable time away from other parts of your business.

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Top 5 Tips: Maximizing Your Facebook Photography Page

Author: ShootDotEditOn: Nov 04Categories: Social Media Tips No Comments

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With billions of users on Facebook, there are plenty of opportunities for you to capture the attention of a larger audience than you currently have on your Facebook photography page. Because there is so much content available on Facebook, and constant changes to the algorithm, it is necessary for you to have a strategic business plan in place to reach your ideal clients.

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How to Shoot with Strobes

Author: ShootDotEditOn: Nov 03Categories: Wedding Lighting No Comments

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As you begin to build a portfolio for your wedding photography business, it can be necessary to have a diversified collection of photos to show potential clients. Although some locations do not require you to bring along any additional lighting resources, there are many shooting situations that need extra equipment. In the past, we’ve shared how to shoot with speedlights, as well as how to diffuse light. Today, we’re going to share how you can use strobes during your wedding shoots to create the perfect light.

Strobes are off-camera lights you can position anywhere on location to help you shoot the images you desire. Unlike the flash built into your camera, strobes give you the flexibility to place the light in any position to capture the best shots. By having the ability to control the lighting in every image you take, you can create more consistency in your images before you send them to a photo editing company. Here are some simple tips to help you get started using strobes to capture dynamic images during your wedding shoots.

Develop a Mood

With every image, you want to tell a story or send a message that relates to the wedding day. Besides providing light for your shoot, strobes allow you to add in special effects to create a specific mood for the couples’ wedding photos. If you are lighting your couple from behind and also have a light source in the front, then you have the potential to evenly light the whole image while placing a rim light around your couple. This will help you create a lighter feel to your images, while showcasing your couple.

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16 Things I Wish I Did My First Year as a Photographer

Author: ShootDotEditOn: Oct 29Categories: Wedding Photography Ideas

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Do you remember the first day you decided to take your photography hobby to the next level and start your business? Whether that was years ago, or you are just starting out, your first few years of business are crucial to your future success. As in any endeavor, your first year is likely to have speed bumps and issues as you learn the most efficient ways to be the best photographer possible.

Since everyone has a different story, we wanted to share some of the things some of the pros missed out on their first year as a photographer. Maybe these are things you can relate to, or they are items you may have not come across yet. Either way, take a look at 16 things that pro photographers wish they did during their first year of business.

1. Realize You Are Not Just a Photographer

When the bride and groom book you for their wedding, they may not realize all of the tasks you will perform leading up to the wedding day. Not only will you be a resource for your couple,but you will help them plan out their wedding day schedule. When the day of the wedding arrives, you will tell the bridal party and family members where to stand and how to pose through every shot.

Related: Are you using this checklist to stay organized during the wedding day?

“You are a photographer/customer service expert/book keeper/marketing director/social media whiz/branding dude/website creation person/secretary/treasurer/CEO/CFO/ and pretty much any other title you can think of.” – Lauren Lim

You are a valuable asset to your couple, so remember that when it becomes challenging to be a business owner.
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Top 5 Tips to Use Presets with your Color Corrections

Author: ShootDotEditOn: Oct 28Categories: Lightroom & Photoshop Tips No Comments

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Regardless of how many weddings you shoot per year, your post production workflow can be the most time-consuming part of your job. As a business owner, it is important to master your post-wedding workflow to ensure it is not taking up too much of your time. Using presets in Lightroom can help you speed up your workflow and deliver breathtaking images.

In his fifth webinar with ShootDotEdit, Jared Platt shared how to strategically create and use presets in your post-wedding workflow. Decrease your post-wedding workflow time when you implement these top five tips using presets with your color corrected images.

1. Develop Multiple Presets

After your images are color corrected and have a consistent look, it can be helpful for you to add a few of your own edits to showcase your personal style. Though it may take a bit of time upfront, creating separate presets can help you achieve your desired look in the least amount of time. For instance, you may want one image to include an increase in saturation, a reduction in clarity, and a vignette. But, there may also be times when you want to use one effect. If this is the case, you are making extra work for yourself when you try to undo one of the effects in the preset. When you create separate, specific presets, you will not need to go back and make changes that cause you to make additional changes.

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How to Diffuse Light in 4 Easy Ways

Author: ShootDotEditOn: Oct 22Categories: Wedding Lighting No Comments

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Regardless of where you shoot the wedding day images for your couple, there are always lighting challenges that present themselves. Is there one location where you constantly shoot but never know exactly what to expect for lighting conditions? Since you cannot always control the weather or the times of day you will be shooting, it is essential to know how to diffuse light to capture beautiful shots.

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6 Quick Optimizations to your Pricing for Big Results

Author: ShootDotEditOn: Oct 21Categories: How to Become a Photographer No Comments

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In your photography business, it is important to have established processes and systems that help you maintain your success. As you continue to work with your ideal clients and practice your skills as a photographer, what are some ways you can increase your income by a substantial amount? One way is by optimizing the systems you have in place to help you grow as a business owner, and allow you to meet and book more clients each year. Pricing is one of the most difficult aspects of owning your photography business, but is also one of the best ways for you to increase your profit with your upcoming bookings. Implement these six quick, pricing optimizations for big results.

1. Re-evaluate your Current Pricing

When you started your business, you may have set pricing that fit the goals you wanted to reach at that time. If you have yet to change your prices to match your worth, this is something that can help you increase sales and profit drastically. Since you are usually busy meeting clients or shooting, document the amount of time you spend working on each unique wedding from the beginning of the process until your final interaction with that couple. Adding up the hours can help you see how much time you spend, and then you can reevaluate your current pricing.

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