Great clients are made, not found

By Jeff Kent
January 2020 issue Business

Does it ever feel like other studios are blessed with amazing, loyal, high-spending clients while you’re struggling with price shoppers and noncommittal customers? It doesn’t have to be that way, says Steve Saporito, a Melbourne, Australia-based photography consultant and educator.He’s also an Imaging USA 2020 speaker who has taught thousands of photographers how to find abundance in today’s photography market. He posits that the gap between high-performing studios and everyone else... Continue Reading >

Small space, big business

By Jeff Kent
January 2020 issue Business

Run a profitable business of any sizeWhen Marnie Clagett, CPP, opened her studio in 2009, the term “studio” was a bit of a stretch—to be more precise, it was a bit of a squeeze. Clagett worked out of a snug 110-square-foot room in her home in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, using the space as a camera room, a presentation and consultation area, and eventually a shared office when her husband joined the business full time.Clagett would ultimately purchase a live-work space in her town’s... Continue Reading >

5 ways to activate gratitude each day

By Amanda Arnold
December 2019 issue Business

No doubt about it: Gratitude is good for you. It has the power to improve your physical health, mental strength, energy level, sleep, and self-esteem. So says brain training expert Jim Kwik, who will deliver the opening keynote at Imaging USA 2020. Practicing gratitude on the daily enables you to better serve your clients and manage your business. Here are are five daily actions to rev up your gratitude.  Continue Reading >

How to focus on what really matters

By Jeff Kent
December 2019 issue Business

We live in an amazing time. There is so much information at our fingertips, all the time. Photographers have access to a seemingly endless library of resources to build their businesses, perfect their processes, and hone their craft.But it can get overwhelming—quickly. There is so much out there, so many new tools and solutions and options, that even the savviest student of the digital economy can suffer from information overload. And even if you can process all this data, how do you apply... Continue Reading >

The right light

By Jane Gaboury
October 2019 issue Business

How clients see youHas it ever happened that after you’ve finished a photographic work some delightful detail revealed itself that you hadn’t even known was there? Like a deeply submerged thought you hadn’t yet given voice to, some aspect needed to bubble to the surface. So it is with the written word, I find. With nearly every issue of the magazine, there comes a time in our production cycle where I’m excited and slightly surprised to see a theme arise that had somehow escaped my... Continue Reading >

Make technology work for you and your clients

By Jeff Kent
October 2019 issue Business

In photography, the technology gap has closed between professionals, enthusiasts, and the general public. Gone are the days when photographers could set themselves apart by owning and knowing how to operate the most advanced camera equipment. To remain viable entrepreneurs today, professional photographers must differentiate themselves through their professionalism. Creating effective business systems is part of that differentiation.Crystal Washington is a technology strategist and futurist... Continue Reading >

Branding: Be the opposite of normal

By Jeff Kent
September 2019 issue Business

Before he was the Man in the Yellow Tux, Jesse Cole worked for a college summer baseball team in Gastonia, North Carolina. It was one of the worst baseball organizations in the country: About 200 fans showed up at each game, the team had $268 in the bank, and the organization was losing more than $100,000 a year.Cole thought hard about the business he was in. Was it baseball? No, not really. More than baseball, per se, people wanted to be entertained. And that’s where Cole and the team had... Continue Reading >

The products clients want from photographers

September 2019 issue Business

When a client comes to you for a family, child, or pet portrait session, what products are they open to purchasing? Unsurprisingly, digital files are top of mind, according to a PPA consumer research study. But printed images in all their various forms aren’t far behind. Video, on the other hand, might be a tougher sell.© Professional Photographers of America Continue Reading >

Research: Regardless of their age, consumers want prints

August 2019 issue Business

Consumers of all ages value printed photographs. While popular culture stereotypes may have you believing that millennials are only interested in digital photographs, research by PPA shows they want to buy printed photographs just as much as older clients do. In fact, there was no significant difference between millennial (born 1981-1996), Generation X (born 1965-1980), and baby boomer (born 1946-1964) consumers in their desire to purchase prints after a session with a professional... Continue Reading >

President’s message: Celebrate your freedom

By Audrey Wancket, M.Photog.Cr., CPP
July 2019 issue Business

© Gregory DanielJuly 4 celebrates the signing of the Declaration of Independence, which gave us certain unalienable rights, including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. As Americans we not only have the right to dream, but we have the right to establish our professional independence—to build a business that reflects our individual interests and values.Starting a business involves risk, responsibility, and unexpected limitations. But if you seek knowledge in the right places,... Continue Reading >