Another Milestone in my Career
By · CommentsI was one of eleven professional photographers who earned the Business Impact Zone Degree (BIZ) from Professional Photographers of Iowa (PPI) at this year’s PPI Winter Convention.
Earning the BIZ degree involves a four day training class and the submission of a business plan.
PPI is the first and only state offering a business program such as this.
Iowa photographer Aletha Speaker, also a 2012 BIZ degree recipient, is responsible for getting this business program into action. The program has also been supported by four sponsors: American Color Imaging, Christian Photo, Colormaster Inc., and JB Frames & Design.
Are you Letting Thousands of Dollars Walk Out the Door?
By · CommentsYou are if you are not selling frames in your portrait studio.
I have heard countless stories from people who have never gotten around to actually framing their portraits that they purchased from a photographer. Not only are photographers letting thousands of dollars walk out their door, think about all of the artwork just sitting around, unframed, and not hung in people’s homes.
I used to work at a studio that sent out 8×10 images in an envelope. Larger portraits were simply wrapped in paper and leaned up against the wall. It felt so cheap. Our best sales attempt was, “Do you want a frame with that?” People just took their photographs home this way, who knows how long these went unframed. Or worse yet, if the images were framed properly.
I frame at least 95% percent of my portraits that are 11×14 and larger.
I have a plan for making sales and therefore I can make sales. A last minute, “oh by the way, do you want a frame for that?” has not ever been very effective.
My plan includes a few of the following sales tips from my Photographer’s Complete Framing Guide, for fast and easy sales:
- Make sure you have great looking framed samples on the walls. Your
clients will want what they can see so hang your favorite frames up. - Point out your frame displays at key points of working with clients. Have a plan when you will plant the seeds for a sale. Mentioning your framing service more than once builds awareness.
- Suggest the frame that will look good on their final portrait. I like to pick out one or two combinations of frames and mats before my client arrives.
You can learn more about my comprehensive framing guide by clicking here. I explain my entire process step by step just as I do it at my studio everyday.
I feel it is our job as photographers to help our customers go home with a portrait ready to hang on their wall and enjoy. Who is better than you, the artist, to help your customers? Do you really want someone less skilled picking out the final presentation for your photography?
It is easy to have a small selection of frame corners to show, a few simple tools, and a sturdy surface to work on. It can also be easy to sell frames without sounding salesy if you have a process for planting the seeds for that sale. Don’t let all of those sales walk out your door.
© 2012 Barb Gordon Photo Coach
Google Search Yourself
By · CommentsHave you ever Googled your own name? It is a good exercise to do. You just might learn something very interesting in the process.
What you will see, is how your information is displayed. You may be prompted to make some changes once you see what Google decides to show first.
Seeing your information listed from a different perspective helps you consider its effectiveness. How things look on a Google search is different than when you are on your profiles filling them out.
When you Google images of your name, you may not find you are related to a super hero, like I am, but it would be good to know what does come up.
(Barbara Gordon is Batgirl, the commissioner’s daughter, in the comic Batman. There might be a test on this someday.)
I am on Pinterest
By · CommentsI made a board on my Pinterest for all of you subscribers! What is it? Pinterest is a visual social networking format connecting people all over the world based on shared tastes and interests.
Organize and share things you love like bulletin boards. You can browse pinboards created by other people to get inspiration and ideas about all kinds of things like wedding planning, decorating, and recommended reading.
To get started you simply request an invite with your email address from Pinterest or a current user can invite you. Luckily for me, Melissa was on-line and got me started fast.
There is a free getting started guide I found at http://www.hubspot.com/how-to-use-pinterest-for-business/ Download this before you sign up, it has some great tips.
Then you can go to www.Pinterest.com to set up your account. It is easy.
At any time Barb Gordon Photo Coach subscribers can now pin your favorite images you have taken to my board. Here is the link:
http://pinterest.com/barbgordonia/barb-gordon-photo-coach-subscribers/
I am excited to see what you have been doing. Remember, the image you “pin” must already be on the web, so take a look at your blog and see what you have there. But before you pin: There is also some concern about copyright and image use agreements with Pinterest.
I for one find all the legal jargon hard to understand with use agreements. So I did not think too much about it until I found the following links articles that got me a bit concerned. You might want to be get more informed yourself so here are the links to get your research started:
http://www.businessinsider.com/pinterest-copyright-issues-lawyer-2012-2
and
and
In the article “How to use Pinterest without breaking the law” on the Wall Street Journal blog located at http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2012/03/13/dont-get-stuck-by-pinterest-lawyers-warn/?mod=wsj_share_twitter Jonathan Pink, a California-based intellectual property lawyer with Bryan Cave LLP told the Law Blog, “if you are going to play it conservative and safe, you should never pin an image on Pinterest for which you don’t own the copyright interest or for which you have not obtained a license from the copyright owner.”
If you decide to proceed, make sure you go to http://pinterest.com/about/goodies/ to download the “follow buttons” to add to your website pages.
Get ultra creative with Lensbaby
By · CommentsA selective focus lens is a great tool for the ultimate 
in creativity and impact.
I played with my Lensbaby for the first time on a little photo safari to Conrad, Iowa. I found all kinds of neat things to photograph in this little town.
I really liked the effect on the piano guts I came across. (Don’t ask me why someone threw out the middle of a piano.)
Get more information on the lens at: http://lensbaby.com/lenses.php?gclid=CJui693C1a4CFcW8KgodwRMLgA
This type of lens isn’t for every session you do, but I have seen it successfully used at weddings.
Let me know if you have shot with and liked it. Better yet, send me an image from a session!
Tulle: The Best Prop
By · CommentsTulle gives you a lot of bang for your buck. It is inexpensive, light weight, stores easily, and comes in a lot of colors. I like the texture and interest tooling gives without distracting from the subject.
You can shoot through it. You can use it under and around babies. It is great for hiding legs or supports of chairs. You can mix colors together. Oh the possibilities are indeed endless.
I have used it as a “curtain” as you see in the photograph. For this portrait, I wrapped many strands of pearl like beads around the “curtain” as a tie back detail. My background poles are holding up the background, so the tooling is clamped onto my ceiling fan chain!
