The other day we interviewed David Ziser for our Monthly Mentor Program. Many of you saw the video we posted on our fan page. If not, take a sneak peek at Facebook.com/mystudiomentor. One of David’s profound statements was “you can charge a heck of a lot more for differences than you can similarities!” This statement really stuck with me and is the theme of today’s blog. Did you know that one of the top Google searches right now is “How to start a photography business?” This phrase yields over 45 million search results! With more photographers than ever before getting into this business, it’s becoming harder and harder to separate yourself from the competition. And, cheaper competition means fewer clients in the pool for you to catch!
What’s the solution then? Move to another pool! You have to find ways to go after untapped markets and provide a product that no one else can, or at least market it as such. For us, one of our major USP’s has always been large wall décor. We create custom works of art for our clients who display them proudly in their homes! It sounds simple, but there are not too many photographers out there selling 30, 40, 50, 60, even 70 inch portraits. Why is that? Here’s my take on why more photographers are not going after this high end market and separating themselves:
(1) It requires a lot of planning. In order to sell large you have to educate your clients to the benefits, which means having a pre-portrait consultation. We also travel to our client’s home before the session to get a feel for the colors, mood, and where the portraits are going to hang.
(2) You have to project! If you can’t show your clients what size it’s going to be on the wall, you’re shooting yourself in the foot. How many 30x40’s have you sold from online proofing? We also do a lot of final fittings at our client’s homes as well, where we project the image right on the wall!
(3) Our images are worthy of wall. I’m not trying to sound pompous here, but the shear quality of the image is seen as “wall portrait” quality by my clients. There are a lot photographers out there who simply can’t produce these kind of images. Case in point, yesterday I was delivering a wall portrait to a new client who we photographed in August. They have a beautiful multi-million dollar home on a lake near Seattle. While photographing this family at their home a few months ago, I noticed they had portraits on their mantle and in the kitchen of their kids. As I delivered their order I asked who did their other portraits, she said it was a friend of a friend she knew. “We needed some new shots of the kids a few years ago. The photographer was nice but all we got was black and white images. I like black and white, but I wanted some color. After the session, I got them all on a disc and had to print them.” So of course I asked, “Why did you decide to use us for your family this time?” She said, “We wanted some special and different. I wanted something that would go on the wall.” I’m not knocking the photo journalistic style here; it has its place in our product line as well. But you have to separate yourself from the growing competition.
David said that many of the photographers out there are hungry for basic lighting techniques, which using an off camera flash is essential if you want to take your imagery to the next level. Anyone can buy a camera and put up a website these days, you have to show consumers why you are different and are worth the extra investment. Is marketing, creating, and selling wall portraits a lot of work? Yep! Is it worth it to see your bottom-line grow and your clients respect you as an artist? Yep! But, as we all know, it takes more than just pretty pictures to make a good living in this business, you have market yourself effectively! Try to find something that you do different and market it; it’s all about separating yourself! B.H.
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Need help with off camera lighting and large family portraiture?
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