Surviving as a professional photographer in a down economy
As a professional photographer, I always want to be growing in two ways.
First is to always be improving my photography. In light of that there are several things that I do. I participate in monthly training through PPSO (Professional Photographers of SW Ohio). I am a member of PPO (Professional Photographers of Ohio) and I go to the annual convention in the spring. At the convention I participate in every seminar that I can get my hands on. I also have a subscription to PhotoVision which is a collection of video presentations for professional photographers (Also a bi-montlhly DVD mailed to my home). Communication with other photographers through Facebook and photography forums, email and the telephone is important and I also have several Podcasts that I regularly listen to. Through these involvements I am always sharpening the product and the experience that I provide to my clients.
One thing that I just discovered, I think I saw it on a Twitter Tweet from another photographer, is the Jeff Smith books blog. This particular blog has an email subscription option (something that I always do – I don’t have to login, go searching for a web site or blog, it just shows up in my email box) so I signed up. He just published yet another book for professional photographers, this one on Senior Portraits. Yesterday I went on Amazon and purchased that book and another.
But this brings me to the other way that I think that I and other professional photographers must keep growing. That is to understand your market and current trends that effect your business. Each of the sources that I mentioned regarding improving my photography above also provide education about marketing and advertising professional photography.
Jeff Smith books blog had this post today. In it he was talking about not just surviving, but learning to do well in our current economic climate. It involved changing things up a bit on his senior portrait marketing and packages to eliminate some of the guilt and fear that people are experiencing about spending money. Here is a portion of what he said:
As business people we have to be smarter in this economy. While excessive spending is currently out of fashion, spending on memorable moments with the ones we love is viewed by Americans as perfectly fine. With our seniors, we are marketing more for the mother being included in the session and making it a “lady’s day out” experience. If it’s as much (or so the senior would think) about mom as it is the senior, the seniors doesn’t feel guilty when moms wants to buy the largest package, a wall portrait or additional wallets.
In this changing economy, many seniors that used to expect senior portraits at a premium studio as just a part of their senior year and now having to ask for senior portraits as gifts for birthdays or Christmas. The good new is when a senior is willing to give up a birthday gift for senior portraits the guilt of spending more is lessened. Again this just means as a business we change our marketing strategies to thrive in this economy as well as the next, because when it comes the economy nothing lasts forever!
Just as it is important to always be willing to learn new things with regard to the quality of your imagery, it is important to be willing to learn new ways to package and market your photography to meet the needs and wants of your clients. If you are a photographer friend, I would encourage you to go and sign-up for Jeff Smith’s blog and continue your learning (and being willing to learn) each day.
This blog post appears on my web site: Peter DeMott Photography. It will also appear on Twitter and Facebook on my personal page and my business page. You can follow me using the subscription option or by friending or becoming a fan on Facebook.
Related posts:
- Becoming a photographer, being a photographer, learning about photography
- PPSO June all day workshop by Ken Kneringer PPA Master Photographer
- Living Social photography deal explains “professional photography is really expensive, I’m not very professional”
- HELP PORTRAIT initiated by Nashville-based photographer Jeremy Cowart
- One of my favorite photography blogs by Jeff Smith photographer and author
All of these things are great. Lets all keep in mind that basic business and project management skills are the foundation of staying in business. The adage of “if i build it they will come” is not true. Marketing, Relationships, Networking and getting yourself out there is the key to keeping the momentum going.