Archives for 2016

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Why Pre-Designing Albums is Crucial

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In your photography business, selling products and services assists you in increasing your overall profit. Selling albums to your clients is one of the best ways for you to help your clients remember their wedding day and to bring in additional income to your business. But, creating albums can sometimes cause confusion and headaches if they are not done properly. Just as you should be outsourcing your images to a photography post production company, you need to be looking at other areas of your workflow which can benefit from a streamlined process. Andrew Funderburg, founder of Fundy Software, is going to share how you can pre-design albums to make the process simpler for your workflow and increase your profit. 

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In the first article, we talked about shooting with intent. Then we described how to translate the images from that wedding into an album story. Now, it’s time to discuss why pre-designing your wedding albums is crucial to your workflow and to your post-wedding sales.

Eliminate Stressful Decisions

Pre-designing your album before you deliver any images to your client is crucial. The truth is, your couples don’t know what they want. They experienced this very sentimental event, and now it’s over. In best case scenario, the leftover feelings are fraught with both happy & mixed emotions. How they ultimately will remember the day, and the experience with you, is how you present it to them. 

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Image compliments of Ben Hartley of Style & Story Creative

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11 Business Magazines You Should be Reading

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As a business owner, it can be necessary for you to constantly make adjustments to stay relevant in the photography industry. There are various ways to discover new methods to maintain your business, such as webinars, guides, classes, and workshops. Magazines are also helpful for you to lean on so you can absorb current information in the business world. Also, since magazines are both in print and online, you have the choice of how you desire to read them.

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7 Strategies for Quicker Image Curation

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As you work to build a clear and unique brand message, properly curating your images for your website and blog can help you reach higher-end clients and begin to charge more for your services. In our Skyrocket Your Bookings with just your Images Webinar with Amy and Jordan Demos, they shared strategies for curating your images to attract ideal clients. So you can continue to share your brand message to clients, we are sharing 7 strategies for quicker image curation.

1. Create a Strategy

With everything you do for your business, first impressions are crucial to your success. If you do not have a strategy in place for placing images on your website and blog, you risk incorporating photos which are not geared toward ideal clients. For you to make a lasting impression, sit down and create a plan for the images you will share on your website and blog, and how those images will elevate your brand. Decide what images will speak to your ideal clients and feature those on your website, and then plan which storytelling photos you will share on your blog.

“Every time a potential client hits our website or blog, images are the first thing they see. It is our images that dictate the first impression a potential client has, and we can control what images are shared.” – Amy and Jordan Demos

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Should You Archive Your Images?

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One of the most rewarding parts of your job is telling the story of the wedding day through stunning images. Because you shoot thousands of photos at every wedding, having a system in place to back-up your images and store them is crucial to your success. Even if you only deliver 500-700 images after they are color corrected by a photo editing company, you should still archive the photos you shot so you can easily access them. So you can feel confident saving and storing your images, Wedding photographer, Melissa Jill, is sharing why she archives her photos and the process she uses to protect what she shoots. 

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The other day Dixie and I were taking our daily walk with our neighbor friend and her pup. We were talking about photos and she mentioned that she had no idea where the thumb drive of their professional wedding photos was. A wave of nausea hit me and I asked her if she had them backed up anywhere. She sheepishly admitted that she didn’t. Then I laid into her (with love), encouraging her to find them and get those babies backed up somewhere in the cloud ASAP! Yikes! SO scary.

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6 Reasons Why You Should Hire an Accountant

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In your business, you have necessary tasks which need attention throughout the year. Many of these mundane tasks revolve around ensuring you have the ability to maintain your photography business for years to come. Because there are plenty of responsibilities you already have, some of the financial and legal issues may fall out of your grasp. But, without properly handling your finances, you risk missing important matters, deadlines, and appointments. Since you might not have the bandwidth to add more to your plate, hiring an accountant can help you stay on track with your important legal documents and aspects which assist you in staying in business. Here are 6 reasons to hire an accountant so you can continue to have organization in your business.

1. Create Smooth Operations

One of the best parts of hiring an accountant is maintaining a regular workflow where you do not need to take on any additional work. An accountant can take care of the financial aspects of your business, which means you can continue your day-to-day operations without worry. Since you have so many other projects and tasks to take care of, an accountant can help your business continue running efficiently. Also, hiring an accountant helps you meet all of your deadlines for payments and taxes so, you do not run into any problems. The less time you have to worry about whether you are behind on your financial paperwork, the more time you can spend running your business as usual.

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3 Tricks to Tell a Story with your Images

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As a photographer, you have the opportunity to tell a story with the photos you take from the wedding day. Because you are the expert, storytelling should be something which is engrained in your shooting style. Sometimes, telling a cohesive story with your images can be challenging. That’s why we are featuring Andrew Funderburg, founder of Fundy Software, so he can share 3 tricks to tell a story with your images from the wedding day.

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In the first article, Strategically Shooting for the Album Design, I talked about how to be present on the wedding day and ensure that you capture the best images for the album. Now, what do you do when you are back in the studio and faced with thousands of images from the day? How do you get from a full wedding down to an album? Focusing on telling a story in your album is the key to creating a strong album that your client will treasure.

1. Place the Images in Order

You can start the process in Lightroom, where you have the opportunity to cull through the photos you need to accurately tell the story. After your cull, bring your chosen album imports into your album design software, like Fundy Designer. At first pass, I recommend taking the imported images and just getting them into the album creator in chronological order. They don’t have to – and probably won’t – stay where they are, but wedding timelines are the default basis for any wedding album. As a visual person, as most photographers are, it also helps to see that day laid out from start to finish.

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Image Compliments of Andrew Funderburg

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7 Ideas for Including the Landscape in your Portraits

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During an engagement session or wedding shoot, how often do you incorporate landscapes into your photos? If you shoot most of your weddings outdoors, chances are you work with stunning landscapes during many of your shoots. If you primarily shoot indoors, do you suggest to your clients to step outside and capture some of nature’s beauty?

Spicing up your portfolio is key to remaining current and inspired in the photography industry. Although shooting with remarkable landscapes may seem simple, it can also become a bit of a challenge. When you choose a location to shoot in, there are still plenty of decisions to make in regard to capturing perfect shots, from the perfect angles, lighting conditions, and compositional elements. Here are 7 ideas for including the landscape in your portraits to create interesting and compelling photos for your couple.

1. Scout Stunning Locations

Is there a certain place the bride and groom mentioned they would love to visit to have their photos taken? This is an opportunity to find a unique location to shoot your couple during their engagement session or wedding portraits. If your couple is unsure where they want to go, but know they want to take their photos outside, make sure you have a few ideas for locations which would make for perfect landscape shoots in your area. 

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Image Compliments of Danny and Julia Dong

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How to Build a Social Media Plan for Photographers

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Some of the top platforms for social media for photographers are Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. Each of these platforms allow you to share your content (your images) with larger audiences. Once you decide to include these platforms into your workflow, it is time for you to build your social media plan for this year to increase awareness and gain additional bookings.

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6 Effective Instagram Statistics You Can’t Miss in 2019

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In your business, social media is one of the best ways for you to connect directly with multiple clients at once. You can quickly post your photos from past weddings, information about your services, and you can share personal details so you become relatable to your clients. Instagram is a social media platform which is perfect for wedding photographers since it allows you to share your best work (and some fun photos which represent you).

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3 Tricks to Make your Couples Laugh

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Often times, the bride and groom are initially nervous around you and in front of the camera. If your clients are stiff and uncomfortable, your images may not be as powerful as they could be. The more relaxed your couple is, the easier it will be for you to pose them and capture their genuine emotion. One of the best ways to lighten the mood is to get your couple laughing.

Virginia wedding photographer, Katelyn James, knows how to get your couples to laugh and enjoy themselves during the shoot. Today, we’re excited to have her share 3 tricks to easily make your couples laugh.

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Download our free Posing Guide here, with 34 pages of posing tips and tricks from 9 successful wedding photographers!

1. Feel Comfortable with Couples

I was once asked, “How do you get your clients to LAUGH?!” This is a great question because I often forget this does not come naturally to everyone. Some newer photographers are nervous when they shoot and so being “funny” and “engaging” with their clients is uncomfortable at first. I think there are several variants which come into play when it comes to photographers photographing GENUINE laughs. There is not a magic formula or an “easy button” for this and every couple is different.

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Image Compliments of Katelyn James

However, I do think that EVERY photographer HAS to be personable. This is non-negotiable. If you are a wedding and/or portrait photographer and you don’t really love being around PEOPLE, then you need to purchase an epic zoom lens and start photographing sports and landscapes. (Not that sports or landscape photographers aren’t personable… but they don’t HAVE to be in order to do their job well:)

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