The Pro Photo Business Forum

Lucky you. You’ve received an inquiry about your wedding photography services. Nice!

You immediately reply back via email… only to be greeted by the sound of crickets. A day later you reply again, and still nothing. One more time? Sure. Why not.

At some point though, you’re going to draw the line and give up on that lead. You walk away scratching your head wondering where you went wrong.

But wait! Don’t through that lead away. Why not refer the lead to your friends? You do have friends in your area that shoot wedding also don’t you? Why not refer that lead to your friends? They may have better luck, and refer you back in turn.

Honeymoon photography. The last frontier for wedding photographers. Listen to this teleseminar an learn how to get started as I disclose the language and tactics I used to get started with this new product. By the end of the teleseminar, you’ll be able to add language to your blog and web ads to offer this product line to your clients tomorrow.

Follow this link to see some Honeymoon Photography examples.

Would you like to listen to this and other episodes as a Podcast on your iPhone, iPod or on iTunes?

[display_podcast]

This post contains a link to be used in conjunction with the teleseminar held on 7/28/2010 discussing how to get started with Honeymoon Photography.

http://solarisstudios.com/category/image-blog/honeymoon/

This is really more of a production tip than a photography tip.

I have so many ways for people to chat or contact me. I can do one simple thing to help make sure I get the things done that I need to get done.

A few days a week, turn the chat off on Facebook, or anywhere else for that matter, and relieve yourself of one more distraction. You’ll be amazed how much more post editing you can get done.

While this seems really simple, it was about a year ago that I read this tip out there somewhere on the web and I followed the tip, and I am so glad that I did.

There is no such thing as time management. No one can manage time. There is only activity management.

Here is a great, but simple tip, on how to sort out all the things you have to do. It’s how I get so much done.

I have multiple to-do-lists, and each one has a ton of things on them. One list is for my studio, the other is for things I need to do for the community. I am on the board of the PPGH, so that most certainly gets a to-do-list. I have a to-do-list for my family needs (here’s my boy). And I even have a to-do-list for my intern. But there is one to-do-list that I like the most. This is my 24 hour to-do-list. This list only contains three items on it, and these items are taken from the other lists. Once an item goes on my 24 hour list it stays there until I have completed that item.

I start an item on that list, and I continue with that item until I have finished it, giving that item as much of my energy as I can. If I don’t finish it, it carries over until the next day. I don’t think about the things I have completed, and I don’t think about the other things I need to do. I focus on the activity at hand until it is done, and I give it my best energy.

To be great, just do single actions in a great way every day. Keep your 24 hour to-do-list small and manageable. Keep moving forward.

By Aric C. Hoek, owner and creator of Ten Houston Wedding Photographers

My eBook, Actions You Can Take To Promote and Protect Your Studio,  normally sells for $9.95. Receive it free by joining our mailing list to the right.  Please feel free to immediately unsubscribe from the list once you receive your eBook.  Seriously.  We understand that you don’t want to be bothered.  Our goal here on the PPBF is to educate amateur portrait photographers.  However, if you would like additional free photographic education, then you might want to consider staying on the list for a week, just to test out the waters.

For a limited time, as soon as you join our mailing list, we are going to send you a discount code good for 50% off a membership to our forum.

Once you fill our out form, you will be asked to confirm your subscription, and once you do you will be sent an auto responder with a link to download your free eBook.  Once you have your book, simply unsubscribe from our list.  Simple.

Just fill out our subscription form to the right to get started.

We hope you enjoy your free eBook.  Here are a few things people are saying about it.

“I‘ve been a professional wedding photographer for 14 years, and I can honestly say we have generated thousands upon thousands of dollars for my studio by using just one of the calls to action described in this eBook, and we continue to use this business technique today. The information is worth so much more than the price of the eBook!”
David Jones, CPP

“Aric quickly takes you to the next level in your profession as he shares his secrets of success.”
Alvin Gee
Master of Photography PPA
Photographic Craftsman PPA
Camera Craftsmen of America

“If you are even considering entering the Wedding Photography World, this is a must “hands on primer”. Read the book, study the book, then DO the book.
Aric has such great practical ideas to save you such headaches and heartaches, and well as the all important Money matters…..You should know this book like you know your camera manual!
Best wishes and blessings to all who strive to create such precious memories and stories for others.”
Carol Andrews
Master Photographic Craftsman,
Approved Business Instructor
SMS photographic Consultant and Instructor
PPA Board Of Directors

“These no nonsense tips aren’t just for beginning wedding photographers. Everyone can benefit from Aric’s insight. I wish someone had told me some of these when I was first starting out – it would have saved me a lot of trial and error.”
Brad Barton
A major contributor of The Texas Photo Forum with over 10,000 posts.

Do you feel like you are a business owner standing in a 50′ hole?

If you’re like me, you want to advance everything about your photographic life. To do this you need to come up with new and fresh ideas that will cause you and your business to grow. New ideas can be a hard thing to come by. However, part of what it means to be an entrepreneur is the ability to convert ideas into money in the bank account.

I have plenty of individual ideas of how to move my business forward, but what is more important is how I come up with these ideas.

Ready? This works for me, but please take it with a grain of salt.

First, I imagine something that I want. Something that will change my lifestyle. A new camera is nice, but not large enough a goal for this exercise. I try to think of something that is out of my current capabilities of obtaining. To make this example easy, lets think of a larger home than you currently have.

Imagine your dream home. Don’t covet someone else’s home. Imagine your dream home. Imagine it in every detail.

Next…. put a monetary value on that home. Something truly obtainable for you personally. This value will of course change depending on where you live, but the point is that this dream home should be outside your current means, but also feel obtainable for you personally.

Now… Imagine you are living in the home now. You have somehow made it there! Now… to get new ideas on how to increase your business, think of how are you going to continue living in this home as a professional photographer. Will you just shoot more images? How will you maintain this level of income and new lifestyle with your photography?

I am not asking how you are going to achieve this home, but how are you going to change your current photographic business to continue living there? What actions are you gong to take? You don’t want to lose your dream home do you?

Have any ideas? Are you going to open a second location? Are you going to have more photographers working for you?

If you’re a member of the Pro Photo Business Forum, you are gong to be happy, as we have opened up a new section today called “Taking It To The Next Level!” This section is a place for new ideas on how to set your studio apart from the pack. Over time, I think this section of the forum will become very valuable for the PPBF membership as it gets filled with valuable ideas.

Join the Pro Photo Business Forum now.

By Aric C. Hoek, owner and creator of Ten Houston Wedding Photographers

Without a doubt, photography is a luxury product when it comes to wedding and portrait photography. This fact is unfortnately only magnified in a recession. So, we need to do things that will help maintain cash flow.

For those of you who sell the DVD from your sessions, here’s a simple and effective idea.

“I am so glad to hear that you love all the images from your session. You know, you have the option of purchasing a DVD of your portrait session for $xxx with files large enough to print 8x10s and smaller. And, as an added bonus, all portrait orders placed after the purchase of your DVD will be 50% off.”

Giving you clients this kind of value is an interesting approach. What is your goal for an average sale from a portrait session? Price your DVD at this price.

The client receives all their images, with the value of being able to make reproductions on their own, and you have stimulated the possibility of making additional portrait sales with the 50% off bonus offer.

There are three basic habits that you must do every day to maintain your cash flow.

1. Return all inquiries the day they come in.  Try to do this within two hours.
2. Return all phone messages.
3. Confirm all appointments for the next day.

Fail to do these simple things, and watch your cash flow have a hick-up. Complete these simple tasks daily, and watch magical opportunity fall at your feet.