Archives for 2016

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Top 5 Tips for Finding a Unique Photography Style

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One of the most important parts of wedding photography is discovering and maintaining your unique style. Often times, it can be challenging to know exactly what your style is or who you are as a photographer. Without an idea of how to find your style, how can you maintain consistency and share your unique style with ideal clients?

In our Online Training: How to Find Your Unique Wedding Photography Style, Jared Platt shared the concept of how to get to a style and how to maintain that style without compromising efficiency, standards, and quality. Here are the top 5 tips from the training.

1. Understand What Style Is

To understand what style is, and create one that lasts, dig deep to the core of who you are as a photographer. You might think your style has do with just your logo or website, but that is not the case. The reason for this is because logos change, but the style of photographs should not change much throughout your career. Your style is actually who you are as a photographer, and what you believe in photographically.

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Top 5 Tips for Taking Tasks Off Your List

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As a photographer and business owner, you cannot do everything by yourself. Taking repetitive, trainable tasks off your list is one of the best ways for you to find success and grow your business. Outsourcing to partners and specialists is the necessary step to take for many of your tasks, and can free up your time so you can focus on what is most important for your business. But, why should you outsource, and what needs to be taken off your list?

In our Online Training, 20 Tasks You Can Take Off Your List Today with Melissa Jill, she shared why you need to outsource time-consuming tasks, and ones that don’t require your constant attention. We’ve gathered the top 5 tips from the training to use in your wedding photography business.

“The most successful people outsource nearly everything that doesn’t play to their strengths, or things they simply do not need to do themselves.” – Melissa Jill

1. Time-Consuming Tasks

Though there are many tasks you perform on a regular basis, there are a few that often are time-consuming for your workflow. One area in particular is color correction, which can take hours after every wedding you shoot. Even if you only shoot a handful of weddings each year, or you allot editing time in your workflow, you are still spending those hours on your images rather than booking more weddings, meeting with vendors, or spending time with your family and friends. How many little league games have you missed or dinners with your best friends because you had to finish editing your wedding from 5 weeks ago that you kept pushing aside? Outsourcing your photo editing needs to a company like ShootDotEdit eliminates time from your post-wedding workflow, giving you more time to spend with loved ones.

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When Things Go Wrong: How to Create Wedding Photography in Low Light

Think back to your recent shoots, or even ones from years ago. When was the last time everything went perfectly during one of your wedding shoots? There are distractions and issues that occur during the wedding day which you have no control over, and this is something you learn very quickly as a photographer. But, when things go wrong, it is necessary to be prepared and know how to capture images your couples hired you to take. This is especially true when it comes to low light photography.

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3 Keys to Mastering the Couple Portraits

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Whether you shoot the couple portraits before the ceremony or after, this is a moment your couple will remember as they look back at their wedding photos. This means it’s important to create stunning photos you can deliver to them after they are color corrected by a wedding photo editing company. Since various challenges can occur during the couple portraits (harsh lighting, unflattering backgrounds, cluttered areas, etc.), you should know how to work with the bride and groom through any situation that occurs. Today, Zach and Jody Gray are sharing 3 keys to help you master the couple portraits every time.
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1. Understand Lighting

The best time of day to shoot is 1 hour before sunset, and the first hour of the sun rising because the sun is going through more atmosphere which disperses it wider and makes the light softer. The one and only thing that makes light soft and pretty is the size of the light source. You can diffuse light all you want from any light source, but if the light is not BIG, then it will still be harsh.

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Image Compliments of Zach and Jody Gray

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Instagram’s New Algorithm: The 4 Things You Can’t Miss

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Just when you think you have each social media platform mastered, the updates arrive! It can be a massive headache to learn a new process, especially after you spent so much time on it before the change. You may already know that Instagram has made an update, and it’s one you want to pay attention to so you can keep your followers engaged.

Your Instagram account is a great platform you for to use to stay connected with your followers, share your images that are color corrected by a wedding photography editing company, and book clients who are in need of a wedding photographer. Now, you just need to adjust your social plan to keep up with Instagram’s new algorithm! These are the 4 things you can’t miss regarding the update, and things to do so your account is not forgotten.

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Image Compliments of ShootDotEdit Wedding Pros, Jason and Gina Grubb

1. Posts are not Chronological

Before the update, posts would appear on your followers’ feeds chronologically. Similar to the updates Facebook made, your posts on Instagram no longer solely appear based on the time they were posted. According to Instagram, users were missing 70% of posts shared when posted chronologically, which is one of the reasons for this major update. The new algorithm indicates your followers will see your posts based on the interaction they have with you. So, the more they like and comment on your posts, the more relevant you will be in their newsfeed. 

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Snapchat for Wedding Photographers: Should You Use It?

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Are you currently using Snapchat for your personal life? If so, have you ever thought about using it for your wedding photography business? And, if you haven’t downloaded the app yet, have you been thinking about what it can do for your business?

Snapchat is a mobile app that allows you to take videos and photos and share them with your followers. What started out as something for people to quickly send videos and images has turned into a huge social phenomenon, and business owners are starting to use it to reach more clients and build their brand. So, is Snapchat something you should use in your photography business? Read on to make the decision whether you should use Snapchat to connect with your clients.

Create Videos and Images Quickly

Your time is important and you often have very little of it. Snapchat is perfect for the busy wedding photographer, because it won’t take up too much of your time. The reason for this is because it doesn’t require you to schedule anything out in advance or create a content calendar. Unlike Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, Snapchat can be used at your convenience. All you need is your phone and something interesting to talk about or take photos of!

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You can send individual messages to your followers, but you can also build stories with your videos and images. When you build a story, your videos and images are available for view for at least a day, meaning many of your followers can view it. Because it is so quick to use, you can share videos and images with your clients throughout the day and spend a minimal amount of your time.

 Related: Is your Instagram strategy helping you book more clients?

Tip: After you receive your images back from a photography editing company, you likely share them to your website, blog, and other social media platforms. Use Snapchat to take a shot of some of those photos as a sneak peek for your followers! 

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26 Inspirational Photography Quotes to Make Your Day

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Here at ShootDotEdit, we know you have a lot of pressures and responsibilities with your photography business that can sometimes cause you to be stressed and overwhelmed. There may be days where you feel uninspired or exhausted, and days where you feel as if you aren’t sure why you got into business in the first place. On the days you feel this way, it’s necessary to take a step back and remember what made you start your photography business. And, that’s why we have gathered 26 inspirational quotes for you to look at when you need a little boost!

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The Keys to Pricing: Selling Products and Services A La Carte

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Pricing for your business can often be a challenging part of your role as the owner. When deciding on what type of pricing to use, there are two choices. You can create tiered wedding photography packages which feature your products and services. The second option is to create A La Carte pricing, which allows your clients to choose the products and services they desire for their wedding day. A La Carte can be a challenging pricing model to master but can help you increase your overall profit through add-ons from clients. So you can take a look at your current pricing and decide whether you want to make a change, here are 4 tips to selling your products and services A La Carte.

1. Create a Reasonable Starting Price

Similar to a pricing model based on Packages, the starting price of your basic collection for A La Carte is vitally important. If you charge too much for your coverage, you risk pushing a lot of potential bookings away. With an A La Carte model, you rely on post-booking sales. Pushing away clients who would have spent money, but did not book because of your starting price, is destructive. If you charge too little for your coverage, you open up the opportunity to not make enough money. Oftentimes, clients who are attracted to a lower coverage price do not upgrade as often, leaving you with less in post-booking sales.

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Top 5 Tips for Generating $10k per Wedding Shoot

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Are you confident in the relationships you build with your couples and their loved ones during the wedding process? The more you get to know your couples, the better their experience is with you and the more valuable products and services become. How can you ensure you make genuine connections with each couple so you can increase your overall profit for your business?

In our How to Generate $10k per Wedding Shoot Webinar, Business Coach Steve Saporito shared why you aren’t making $10k from every wedding, and how to fix that through making lasting connections with your couple. These are the top 5 tips for generating $10k from Steve’s webinar you can implement into your photography business today.

1. Switch Communication Methods

When couples search for a photographer, they may not know the importance of the experience or relationship they can build with you. Today, most inquiries are done through email. To personalize the experience from the beginning, in your email template for the initial inquiry response, make sure to include your phone number and inform the couple you would love to set up a call. With this gesture, you are giving your couple the attention they deserve to make this an overall positive experience.

“Those people that are getting on to the phone are finding that their clients are so overjoyed that someone has picked up the phone, and that they get to talk to a human being.” – Steve Saporito

This makes it easier for you to connect with the couple before you meet them in person. Initially, they might be uncomfortable with you in person, as you are just getting to know them. Use the phone call to ask questions to help them feel more comfortable with you, so when you meet them face-to-face, they are ready to share more about themselves and are open to your suggestions for products and additional services. 

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