Previous |  Contents | Next Download the eBook I would not sabotage my long-term business in order to survive a panic attack or a short-term crisis. Panic attacks — we all have them “My bookings are down.” “I’ve gotta cut my prices.” “I’ve gotta slash my costs.” We all have anxiety attacks, so maybe this chapter’s for you. Anxiety is worrying in advance, worrying without a plan, psychological rather than rational. And the actions you take while you’ve got the cold sweats could affect your business for a long, long To View More >>

Previous |  Contents | Next Download the eBook Social media platforms encourage you to feed them constantly. Fair enough, they have the audience. But you need to feed yourself!  You’re lucky Photographers are fortunate in that their work generates rivers of desirable online content. You need to avoid giving away the Crown Jewels, and you need your clients’ permission to share, but your photography is a wonderful online resource. The ideal Things aren’t always ideal in the real world, but nevertheless… — Real friends are better than Facebook friends. To View More >>

Previous |  Contents | Next Download the eBook GOOD is what gets people in the door, like a newspaper headline or a “special” at the supermarket. Good is what makes you competitive. Don’t offer just one service, offer choices. Don’t assume the deal that encourages people to get in touch with you is the one they’ll commit to later (once you’ve open their eyes to how good you are, and what you can do for them). And don’t assume that they won’t go even further once they’ve fallen in love with their own photographs. That’s the To View More >>

Previous |  Contents | Next  Download the eBook Be yourself. Everyone else is taken. Be yourself Heather and I have been friends with a particular couple since our kids were pre-schoolers, which is some time ago. She’s got progressive musical tastes. He likes Simon and Garfunkel. She’s been complaining for forty years about Neil Young’s whiny voice. He’s been complaining that Bob Dylan can’t sing at all. I don’t care. What would they know? Not everyone likes Neil’s voice, or Bob’s, or what they have to say, but everyone knows them, To View More >>

Previous |  Contents | Next Download the eBook “Your lizard brain wants you to be average.” — Seth Godin When it comes to building a long term career in professional photography, many are called but few are chosen. That’s another major lesson from our five decades in this business. Not everyone can make it to the top, although anyone can be busy if they slash their prices. Busy is one thing. Busy, happy and successful is a bit more complicated. Here are the key points you need to bear in mind if you want to stake your claim closer to the higher end of the To View More >>

I'm going to be a bit pushy here. Our series on selling albums talks about:  — setting expectations — making it clear you sell them, and why! — making it easy for your clients to buy — not coming across as "pushy or sales-y" etc. I think that's good, sensible stuff — I helped write them, so there's that! — but let's face it, they lack something: ambition. Sales-ambitious or sales-shy? Portrait and wedding photographers come in all shapes and sizes, attitudes and ambitions, but one of the most important things that define them is surely their attitude to To View More >>

If you can’t name five things that differentiate you from your competitors, there’s probably only one – your price. Here's what differentiates Queensberry: 1. We believe the way to succeed is to stand out from the crowd, not to join it. There’s less competition, more satisfaction and more pride at the high end of the market … and it’s our job to help get you there. Think of our albums as profit centres, not costs. 2. We’re design-led. The people in your viewfinder will be looking at your albums for much longer than we will. They must look beautiful To View More >>

If you build your business on In-Person Sales, you have a huge advantage over competitors who can't — or won't — do the same. Online is great to get your name out there, great to sell prints to friends and family, fantastic for high volume, low price print sales … but, for high-end sales, getting face-to-face with your clients, in your studio, is best. In future posts, we'll talk more about sales strategies. This post is just about the benefits of buying Studio Boxes in bulk, by which we mean carrying your own stock of mats and boxes in To View More >>

CHOICE, TRUST AND TECHNOLOGY Has your lab stopped offering traditional silver halide printing? It’s sad to see such a gloriously refined technology abandoned. With forty years pro lab experience, and chemicals in our veins, we aren’t ready to turn our backs on traditional photographic printing just yet. In fact we think it retains an important place, and we’re committed to the technology. But here’s why the Big Boy Labs are selling the line that silver halide is finished. Their top priority is, and must be, internal efficiency. They have expensive, high-volume machines to To View More >>

Remember the little domestic drama about how my briefcase and laptop were stolen? And how, to judge from my own buying behaviour, not everyone is going to downgrade to cheap and nasty just because of the recession? Well, yes, I bought the most expensive laptop bag I came across, but... I asked for a discount. You're not to know this but I'm a shrug-and-pay guy. It's my role in life to pay full retail, so for me to ask for, let alone get, 10% off is unusual. But what struck me was how the store projected itself. There wasn't a sale sign anywhere. Nothing to suggest times are tough, or please make To View More >>