business

Photography Credit: Sacco & Sacco Photography

As an emerging photography business it can be hard to spot the times when you’d be better off saying no to potential jobs. It’s amazing some of the offers than can come your way so how do you gauge the times when it’s not in your best interests to take something on?

Even having been a full time photographer for twenty years, I still get it wrong sometimes.  Shortly after I did the Big Fat Wedding Bloggers Shoot, I was asked by a vet to do some portraits of him in his practice. I don’t get a lot of time for commercial work usually, but this sounded straight forward and it was right at the end of my road. He seemed like a fairly decent chap and when I turned up at the agreed time, he turned up late but I was polite and asked for a detailed brief. I fulfilled this exactly and did what I thought was a decent and quite flattering job portraying him and how he is at work. He was around 60 and a bit windswept, and as I can only assume that how someone presents themselves at a shoot is how they want to be photographed, this is what I did. I delivered the images the next day with my invoice. That evening I received an email saying that he was disappointed with them, that he didn’t look smart enough and he didn’t feel it really captured the ‘essence’ of his work and that now I had got a feel for the business could I come back for a reshoot? He then went on to point out that he had expected it to look more like the Bloggers Shoot…. er WTF?

I responded saying that I had fulfilled his brief and I had even pointed out to him that his tie wasn’t straight but he wanted to carry on. I also explained that the shoot he liked on my site was of girls in their twenties and was achieved with a team of hair stylists, make up artists, stylists and professional lighting. To recreate a similar shoot would cost thousands and had abso-friggin-lutely nothing to do with a suburban vets business. I told my best friend about it and she said it sounded just like her Dad who had his passport photo done 11 times because ‘they just didn’t capture him’. I declined his offer to go back for a reshoot and told him that I didn’t feel I could do the job any better and he was welcome to commission another photographer. I was right to say no as I believe he was never going to be happy because he had very unrealistic expectations.

However at other times it can be difficult to spot when something isn’t right for you. When establishing your business the pressure is on to accept anything that may come your way. Certainly if it’s weddings that you really want to concentrate on, then some portrait and commercial work undertaken during the week can be a good supplementary income. It’s important to ensure that you are getting paid a decent rate for these jobs, especially if they are not something that you want to promote on your blog. So many upcoming businesses think it’s acceptable to try to get photography for free to use on their own marketing material. As if it’s just an honour for you to be asked. I’m not saying never shoot for free because I certainly do, but only if it’s going to promote my business and is mutually beneficial. But if something comes along that’s just not right for you or you feel is beyond your skill level than its okay to say no or at least command a fair fee to do the job.

Another dilemma for wedding photographers and other suppliers is what to do when a friend asks you to do their wedding. I have actually only been a guest at a wedding two or three times as almost everyone I know who has got married has asked me to photograph their days. As awkward as this can be, I guess I am flattered. One of my close friends got married last year in Scotland (photo above) and though she had been my bridesmaid, she asked me to be her photographer. At first I was like ‘Really?’ but she said she would feel weird having anyone else do it and she loved my work, so maybe I was flattered into it! I had to be ready by 10am (no mean feat with two kids in the hotel room!) and she was stressing as she got ready, but as soon as she walked down the aisle I started crying as I knew her so well and had been a part of her life for over twenty years. I tried my best to hide behind my camera for most of her ceremony.

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“Teardrop shower jewellery bouquet”
Photography Credit: Emma Case Photography

Before I entered the heady world of the wedding industry I worked for nearly two decades (gulp) as a journalist. I worked as a reporter and then news editor on regional weekly and daily newspapers and also wrote health and beauty features for a glossy magazine – all of which means I have spent a frightening proportion of my life reading press releases.

Press releases are a great way of sending information and news about your company, product or service to journalists and bloggers quickly and easily. While it is no substitute for face-to-face meetings, a well-written press release backed up by strong images is a godsend to busy journalists who don’t have time for countless meetings and networking events and can just cut and paste your copy into a last-minute gap on a page. On the other hand, a poorly-written or presented press release can do more damage than good, leaving the recipient tearing their hair out, reaching for the delete button or, in the very worst cases, blacklisting the sender for being rude and stalker-ish (no really…)

“Brigitte”

Now I’m running my own vintage brooch bouquet and headpiece company, the shoe is on the other foot and I find myself writing and sending press releases to journalists. I now realise more than ever the importance of this medium. To do it well is a time-consuming job – that’s why public relations professionals exist, and why it will be one of the first elements of my business I outsource when the time comes. I truly believe that hiring a good PR is money well-spent, especially if you can find one with good journalist/blogger contacts within your chosen industry.  If you can’t afford to pay for a PR firm there’s still no reason anyone with a computer can’t send a perfectly professional release – and so I’ve put together a few tips below to help get you started.

Of course I’m not pretending to have all the answers – there are many variables which will dictate whether your release, no matter how well-written, is used – these can include whether a competitor launches a bigger, better product at the same time as you, whether you advertise with the outlet or not, or simply whether your product is good enough.

I’m sure there are plenty of Green Room readers who have their own experience of sending, receiving and writing press releases – so please share away in the comments!

“Clara”

What are you selling?

A press release is all about selling your product or service and so you need to identify what you want the recipient to publicise. If you’re a new company it might be as simple as introducing yourself to their readers, if you’re more established you might want to publicise a new collection or product. Either way, you need to identify your unique selling point – what is the special thing that makes your photography business/latest headpiece stand out amongst all the other hundreds of people who are also photographers/ headpiece designers?

Who are you selling to?

Consider who your customers are – and what media they read. Once you know your market – for example budget, vintage, alternative, high end – you can start to identify which blogs/magazines/papers they are likely to read. If you’re selling low-budget products pick outlets that actively promote bargain buys. If you’re all about exclusive high-end products or services aim for titles that focus on luxury products.

READ the blog or magazine you plan to submit your release to to ensure that what you are sending has a chance of being featured – if the person you’re submitting to only ever features styled shoots and real weddings you’re wasting everyone’s time by sending them a release about your new collection of poetry-embossed wedding chair covers.

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Hi, my name is Amma and I would like to confess that sometimes I have green eyes.  Yes, I know that biological anomaly that I, as a child of African parents could have emerald green peepers – but I’m talking about professional jealously and how you get over it.

As, some of you may or may not know – I still have a day job; as day jobs go mine is not half bad and given the state of female unemployment at present; I certainly know which side my bread is buttered; so I am more than happy to plod along – albeit sometimes sulkily as a 5-9er until I hit my professional tipping point.

Now, without getting into the nitty-gritty of it all – I had some personal stuff going on that really meant that despite streaking the sky like a comet when I first began my foray into business.  I got forced to slow down, in fact not just slow down – I had to hit the brakes and I experienced a mega slide into a career plateau.  Although, work requests and projects were coming in thick and fast, there was no way that I could take it on, and circumstance meant that ‘my stuff’, blogging, and the day became an all encompassing festival of woe.

Of course when you are feeling sorry for yourself – you can guarantee that one old friend who is going to show up to complete the guest list at your pity party is jealousy.  When you are going through crap, nothing warms your soul more than seeing your luminaries doing well.

You all started at the same time and you start saying to yourself when you see a write up, or a feature on a blog ‘That should be me!’, ‘I want to be at home with my cat acting as a foot warmer’, ‘I wish I could go to said party or event at midday, I don’t wanna work!’

Well, sorry kids – the bad news is that you have to build a bridge and get over it!  So, here are my top 5 tips for overcoming your jealousy and the dreaded career plateau.

The grass isn’t always greener, it is frequently covered in pesticides

The security of a day job means that I get a chance to be lazy.  If I waste my time at work; I am wasting my employer’s time. Those 4 hours spent playing bejewelled before getting on with my blog posts is all kinds of awesome!   However, being full time means that you have to be mega disciplined as freelancing means fluctuations in income.

In the space of a month, you might go from being the Louis Vuitton Don – to a Kafkaesque existence where subsist on cold baked beans eaten out of a tin by candlelight to save on the leccy.  In other words, working for yourself means you might on occasion vacillate between the abject joy of achievement (not to mention filthy lucre) and the terror of failure, worrying about where the money is coming from.

You also live in a land where holidays don’t really exist.  Trust me, while it may look glamorous – the hermit who lives in a hole in Blackheath has a more active social life than most freelancers.

Quit the navel gazing and do something

Anytime, I find myself wondering what other people are doing I pinch myself and look at what I’m doing.  ‘What is that Amma? Are you looking at lolcats or playing digital dress up on ASOS?’

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