If you are a photographer looking to open up a new profitable revenue stream or a school looking to raise funds for your theatre program, I can help. Photographers have a hard time with this market segment in the past because they haven't come out with a proven system that works every time.
Schools have found bringing in photographers to do their theatre photos, is usually more of a problem than it is worth. Here's what usually happens, a parent of a child in the drama dept. will usually volunteer to do the photos. The quality isn't that good, the photographer doesn't make any money, and when their kid graduates, they quit doing the photos. Pro photographers come in and try to make it all work out but no matter what they do, they just can't seems to make enough money at it to continue...so they quit too.
On top of not making money at it, novice theatre photographers usually have a very hard time working with theatre lighting. It can be very low light. The lighting on the stage is always uneven. Plus the lighting changes with the scene. And getting a good photo of everyone on stage is harder than it looks because some actors are only on stage for less than a minute.
My company, Show Biz Photo, solves all these problems. I provide quality photography and a money-making system that works every time it's tried.
If you are interested in learning about what I do, I'm willing to work with you. First off, IF YOU ARE A SCHOOL, I will come out to your school for a set fee. I will shoot your show and sell photos. Your school will get 100 percent of the profits. But more importantly, I will teach one teacher, one parent and one student exactly what I do to make money so that for every show you do in the future, you will make a good chunk of change to help pay for your script., costumes, set or whatever you need help with. This program will pay for itself over and over again.
IF YOU ARE A PHOTOGRAPHER looking to develop a new profitable market segment, we can do this two ways. One, just like the school program, you pay me a fee upfront and I'll come out and shoot the show. The local photographer keeps the profits and I will teach exactly what I do from photography to sales and everything in between.
The second option for photographers would be a seminar on theatrical photography hosted my Show Biz Photo. The next seminar will be in Jan./Feb. 2013 in sunny Scottsdale, AZ. I'm willing to take the seminar on the road if there is enough interest.
If you have an interest, please contact me at Dan@photographybusinessbuilder.com or showbizphoto@yahoo.com.
Friday, July 6, 2012
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Top 5 Things My Photography Teacher Never Taught Me.
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| English: Hotel photographer and a hotel guest in an Hotel in Konaklı, Alanya, Turkey (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
4. People will look to you to lead them. In a group setting, you are the photographer and people will look to you to take charge. Don't disappoint them.
3. The dangers of speculation. Decide how much you are willing to speculate with your photos and then don't change it no matter how much they beg you. Additional photos always need to be paid up front.
2. The value of continuous education. Since everyone seems to think they are a professional photographer these days, it is very important for a true professional to offer more and do more than others can't. Keep learning new photo techniques and new marketing skills.
1. You represent your business 24/7. It's nice to be able to put your life in various compartments. For example this is my work life and then my after work life. Unfortunately, as a photographer you have a very public profession where you deal with the vanity of subjects every day. Keep your image clean. I can tell you, I know of many so-called "fashion photographers" who are in the business just to meet a beautiful model. If you are a fashion photographer, always have other people around you when you work. Remember, your reputation is EVERYTHING.
Photo Scam
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| Wedding Dress For Happy Couple in Love (Photo credit: epSos.de) |
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Avoiding legal issues.
Just recently, a photography studio in New Mexico was successfully sewed because they refused to photograph a lesbian wedding. The couple who owned the studio were devout Christians and didn't feel comfortable doing the wedding so they said no. Here's the problem, this entire thing could a have been completely eliminated right from the start. The studio gave out way too much information. All they would have to do is say they were booked on that date. That's it. Done. But instead they felt they had to justify their decision to a potential client. Big mistake. You have the right to do business with whoever you want and for whatever reason you want. You just have to keep that reason to yourself. We live is such a legal society these days, anything you say, can and will be held against you. So watch what you say. For your own protection, stay off of political soapboxes.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Photo Tip of the Week
As photographers, we are creative people. We have ideas. To move forward on them, I've enclosed a quote from the late great, Jim Rohn.
Think about it, with the images we capture, we create miracles every day. It's just a matter of putting them into the proper vehicle that will take us where we want to go.
"So the first step is to imagine what is possible, the second is to have the faith to believe that what is possible is possible for you. And now the third step is that you go to work to make it real. You go to work to make it a hotel. You go to work to make it an enterprise. You go to work and make it good health. You go to work and make it an association. You go to work and make it a good marriage. You go to work and make it a movement. You make it tangible. You make it viable. You breathe life into it and then you construct it. That is such a unique and powerful ability for all of us human beings. Put this to work and start the miracle process today!"
Think about it, with the images we capture, we create miracles every day. It's just a matter of putting them into the proper vehicle that will take us where we want to go.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Wedding Photography Tip of the Day
To be competitive in the wedding photography market it takes a lot of creativity by the photographer. Not all photographers naturally are creative. Most are, but it's also something that can be learned. Create you own pose book by cutting out poses you like from wedding magazines or website screen prints. This will go a long ways towards helping you build your creative mind and come up with poses when you need them in the field. Also make sure you leave yourself enough time to get the shots you want. When you have your pre-wedding meeting with the bride and groom, negotiate for every bit of time you can get. Creativity takes time and in the hustle and bustle of a wedding day, time is your greatest enemy. Be creative but stick to the schedule and do the best you can with what time you have.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Theatrical Photography Busy Season
Sorry gang but March and April are very busy times of the year for me. It is right in the middle of the spring high school theatre season. With my company Show Biz Photo, I'm out and about photographing musical shows for high schools. I've also been busy working on my two books. One is a "how-to" educational book on how to make money with theatrical photography called, "Break a Leg with Theatrical Photography." The other is a photo book of "The Best of Show Biz Photo" The book, "Break a Leg" highlights exactly how it all works for me as I introduce people to the "Show Biz Photo System." More information will be coming on my books soon but here's one of the covers. Until then, enjoy some of my most recent photos.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Photography business quote of the year...
Disneyland (Photo credit: andy castro)This is from a friend of mine, Michael Campbell and it is so appropriate. In the world of event photography, way too many photographers choose to place their photos online only. It's usually a big mistake. Michael says it best..."PEOPLE ONLY BUY THE MICKEY MOUSE EARS AT DISNEYLAND. They don't go home and buy them online, they don't buy them in Walmart or Target." -Michael Campbell
That's right folks, if you expect to make money in event photography you have to plan for the here and now, not the maybe next time. I would be rich if everyone who has said they would go home and buy their photos online, actually did. Sadly, only a small percentage ever do.
So what do you do to get your product in front of your potential buyers? You basically have three options. 1. You can print up everything you can as soon as you can and sell actual product at your sales table. 2. You can print everything up on demand by using viewing stations and high speed printers. 3. You can have the customer view the photos at computer viewing stations, they place and pay for the order and you send it out in the mail to them.
The disadvantage to printing everything up is you are speculating and paying for everything up front. However, if your wholesale price is small enough, it doesn't take long to make a profit even if you only sell 30 percent of what you print up, providing you have it priced right in the first place. This works best with a multiple day event.
The disadvantage to printing on site is if the technical end of it doesn't go correctly, you will have a mess on your hands really quickly Plus you have the expense of the equipment and hiring an IT guy. You will have less of a problem if you just don't try and print on site but use the viewing stations as an ordering station only. It will take a lot of the pressure off having to produce a product immediately. You will still have much higher expenses with all the equipment. But for a large scale event, this is really the best way to show the product.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Top 5 Little or No Cost Photography Marketing Tools
- Free blog page at Blogspot.com or WordPress.org
- 250 Free Business Cards at VistaPrint.com
- Free Facebook Business Page
- Cheap Domain Name at: go-danny.com
- Business Networking Events
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Top 10 Undeniable Photography Truths
Image by www.robertorey.es via Flickr10. The more beautiful the subject, the harder they will be to please.9. Photographers are like gamblers, they overstate their earnings and understate their losses.
8. You don't have to take perfect photos to make money in photography.
7. If the baby doesn't smile for the photo, mom will not be happy.
6. In the family photo, mom needs to look the best for it to be a successful sale.
5. Senior citizens will always show up 30 to 45 minutes early for their photo session.
4. Regardless of the photographer, posed rock band photos always look the same.
3. Wrestlers will never smile for their photos.
2. If you need assistance with team photos, always go to the "team mom."
1. The two things needed to be a successful wedding photographer are a good assistant and a sturdy step stool.
Friday, January 20, 2012
TOP 10 GOAL SETTING TIPS FOR 2012
- Be decisive
- Stay focused-first things first
- Welcome failure-sometimes you have to go through a lot of "Nos" to get to "Yes"
- Write down goals-if it's not written down it's a wish not a goal
- Plan thoroughly
- Get others involved-find a mentor-don't be afraid to ask for help
- Take purposeful action-always be moving forward
- Enjoy the journey-you gotta have fun
- Reward yourself
- Review your goals often
- Always have a dream, no matter what
- To avoid discouragement, forgive yourself for past failures
Just had a great seminar.
Image via WikipediaI do monthly Photography Business Builder seminars the third Thursday of the Month at the Keller Graduate School of Management in Phoenix. Yesterday's topic was creating your 2012 Photography Business Marketing Plan. We had a great seminar. More to follow. I'll post updates here. 
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
A Photography Success Story in Arlington, Minnesota
Image via WikipediaRealtors always talk about marketing to their "farm" which is their designated marketing area they are willing to cover. Photographers should have their "farm" figured out as well. A friend of mine is doing very well in an area you might not expect. Angela Archer with Angela Archer Photography is working her farm in farm country, Arlington, Minnesota population 2500.It used to be that every small town had it's own professional photographer. With the advent of regional shopping centers came the big box studios and the one hour photo stores that effectively put most of these mom and pop studios out of business. Angela has taken the advice of an old mentor of mine who used to say, "bloom where you are planted." Angela owns her "farm." She has worked hard to cultivate new business and bring back the "home town photographer."
So what does she do? First off, she's a great photographer who knows the names of her clients and treats them with tender loving care. Secondly she works her studio as if it were located in the middle of a big city. She has special studio theme days for family and children's portraits. She does all the work for the local high school so she pretty much does the lion's share of the senior portraits. She also has a growing wedding business. She has forged strategic alliances with vendors and made use of social media, especially Facebook.
As someone who is from a small town, I can tell you this, you do good work and you'll have a customer for life. Small town people support each other big time. But they do not like being taken for granted either. They are not fools and they are savvy buyers who will go elsewhere if their business is not respected.
In short, Angela has does a lot of things right. Did it happen overnight? No, but she kept moving forward because growing up in Arlington, she knew the value of her "farm" better than anyone else.
DO YOU KNOW THE VALUE OF YOUR FARM?
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
A new market nitche?
Image via WikipediaI saw an ad in one of the job search sites today that was a totally different type of photography. I knew that a hospital would certainly have a photographer in their PR or Communication Dept. I also assumed that someone was taking photos of the various injuries etc. But here they are advertising for something very specific. A Photographer for their Burn Unit! Now that would gross and difficult for me, so I passed it on to some friends who might be interested in Medical Photography. I'm pointing it out because it's just another example of how, as a photographer, you are only limited by your imagination. 
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