I’m going to make a bold statement: put two 5×7 prints of the same image in front of a high school senior – one from a pro lab and one from a big-box store – and ask them to tell you the difference. Chances are, they cannot. To them, a print is a print, and the only difference is the price. It’s like buying milk at the grocery store.

No matter how good we get at providing you with professional color, paper, “green” finishes, and convenient ordering, at the end of the day these are only incremental improvements to the products you offer your clients.

The difference between a $2 store print and a $50 print from a studio has to come from you. The fancy marketing term for this is “product differentiation.” It is the thing that makes what you offer different from both a commodity (like a snapshot) and from your competition.

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Paul Pannone at eWedNews.com reports that the number of part-time wedding photographers is growing as customers become more cost conscious.

If you are a full-time, professional wedding photographer, this is obvious – and perhaps even frustrating – to you. That is why I was so impressed with Kirk Russell’s article below about how our attitudes can help or hurt our success.

In my opinion, the new crop of part-timers can only hurt your business if you let them. Here’s why.

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by Kirk Russell, 3Lenses.com

I often hear from financially struggling photographers who, when asked to explain a loss of business, offer: “It’s so easy for new people to get into the business today. And they don’t have to be good photographers, because they can rely on Photoshop to fix their images.” Is this really IT?

But what about…

• The cost of equipment, props, and backgrounds is so much less than it used to be. Really? Is future success dependant on keeping the cost of entry into the industry too high for others?

• “Soccer moms” entering the industry can afford to spend hours, or days, manipulating images before their clients see them. Really? How long could you stay in business doing that?

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Here is a question from a professional photographer that passed across my desk recently.

I have a client that is so thrilled with all her daughters senior pictures, and has requested digital files…. I will not release the original files, but I am considering selling the web files with my business logo on them… Is this something I should do, and if so what should I charge?

First, I suspect the photographer doesn’t know what the customer plans to do with the files. If the the daughter wants a thumbnail-sized image to use on Facebook, make it a lagniappe and give it to her as a gift. If Mom wants to make prints at the local BigBoxStore, that is another matter.

The bigger point is, the photographer has not properly prepared for the question, nor do they know what their time is worth. If it takes a studio an hour to resize, logo, burn and ship a CD of images, and their burdened rate is $50/hour, then they should charge at least $125.

Help me help this photographer. What is your opinion? Do you offer digital files? What are you charging?

On any given day, I speak with several photographers. As we talk on the phone, I usually visit their website. While I’ve seen some great websites, I’ve seen others that don’t quite convey the professional image the photographer is trying so hard to project online.

Your website is an important part of your brand. 80% of new customers will look you up online before contacting your studio. That’s why you’ve got to get every detail of your website right.

Here is a list of 10 projects you can do in an hour or less that will make your site look more professional to your clients. Do one of these every day for the next two weeks, and you’ll be confident your website isn’t hurting your sales.

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JD’s incredible wall clings are now available in ROES.

We have many clients successfully marketing these for sports, teams, pets, custom cars, in-store signs, advertising and many other uses. There are countless ways you can turn a wall cling into a profitable add-on sale. With your images, you can offer clients a unique product they cannot get anywhere else.

Features:

• Your image printed on removable and reusable fabric adhesive paper

• Can be used both indoors and out

• Fabric is water resistant, doesn’t tear or wrinkle

• Easily removed with no residue or paint peel

• Sizes from 12×24″ up to 36×72″

• Contour cut available under ‘Size Options’

• Retouching available under ‘Image Options’

• Order in ROES from the ‘Specialty Product’ Catalog

Having a Facebook page for your business is as important now as having a website. That’s why it is time to start putting your Facebook page name on your ads and on your business cards. Unfortunately, most Facebook page names look something like this:

facebook.com/pages/Flint-MI/jdphotoimaging/14414426999?ref=ts

Not very flashy on a business card, is it?

So here’s the trick to getting an easy to read (and remember!) Facebook page name.

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Metal photo prints, license plates, dog tags available in ROES

• With a glossy finish and hard surface, these great looking prints make your high-def images (and regular ones) stand out from the competition.

• Print are available in 8×10, 11×14 and 16×20 sizes, have rounded corners and clear or white finishes.

• Large prints don’t need frames – order the optional wood or acrylic picture hanger on back. Prints will stand out 1/2″ from the wall.

• Clear acrylic desktop stand available for 8×10 or 11×14 sizes.

• Dog tags are double sided, come with a US Army-style neck chain.

Order your metal prints, plates or dog tags in ROES today!

When digital cameras first became popular, I remember photographers who started taking 500 images at a wedding because they no longer had to worry about the cost of film. I even remember encouraging a few of them myself. After all, pixels are free, and if you don’t like the image later, it is easy to delete.

Of course, there were a few “die-hards” who continued to take dozens of images – like they did in film – and I tried to encourage them to take a few more images than they used to. After all, don’t top-end fashion photographers take dozens of shots of the same subject just to find the perfect pose?

I’ve come full-circle on the subject. Now I believe shooting less is more.

Here’s why.

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