Feeling totally overwhelmed by competitors....where do I start?

Hi Liz.

 

I have recently started my own business too, but having a few qualifications in retail & advertisement from my teens its been a big help.

 

The hardest thing is getting yourself known and your work established,

from a customers point of view, you may be cheaper, but inexperience to some people can come across as unreliable, (something nobody wants when choosing a photographer)

 

My best advise is this..........

 

Like mentioned earlier, cover a wider field, I was initially starting out in Portraits, but I am now concentrating on portraits & portfolios over a much wider field (including pet portraits), on top of that I am also doing weddings (especially with this time of year, Weddings is a great way to get yourself known, I've been lucky enough to pick up 3 weddings in August. Eventually I will be shooting some stock, and have worked lined up with a local amateur football team.

 

The next thing you need to worry about is advertisement.

The more people hear about you the more likely they are to become your client,

However sojme advertisement can prove quite costly when starting up (sometime sinto the hundreds simply for a small advert in a local paper)

My advise is start at the bottom and work up.

 

If your confident on a PC, then create a few leaflets, or flyers. and visit vistaprint and get some business cards.

anywhere you can put your advert up is worth a shot, many places are free, your average papershop[ might charge 50p a week, but at that rate you could put it in 200-300 shop windows for the price of a much smaller box in your local paper.

with flyers/leaflets, even photocopies will work, and black and white can be as small as 100 prints for about £6 (more of color) then hand these out at fairs, markets, etc, etc,etc....

 

Fianlyl another great way of advertising is doing the work yourself.,

nip down to the police station and get a pedlars license, (about £17 i think) this will allow you to sell your photographs on the street.

Station yourself at a busy location with either a portable printer or an instant printing kiosk/store nearby,,

 

Then simply offer a street-portrait to anyone who might be vaguely interested, and only charge for the price of the picture (and card if you decide to mount into a cheap display card etc) and only aim to sell for about £1 profit.

 

selling these shots at £3, or even £2 is a great way of demanding notice, and you'll find when you mention those prices people will be asking you or more than happy to take one of your business cards.

 

In all you need to spend around £100 / $200 on advertisement, shop windows, 2000+ business cards, and photocopying..

 

Most of all though, have confidence in your work,,

I appreciate your honesty, but never EVER let a potential client know that you ar enot happy with your work.

always show entusiasm for every photo you take, and make sure that everyone you speak to knowns that your pride and reputation goes into every single photo you take.

 

believe me it does take some time and work, I went a month without much, But in the last few weeks I have got offers from gallery's, publicity work with a large national company at there local establishment near me.

and the pre-mentioned 3 weddings, and thats before I got to hand out 100's of leaflets to the gen publ.

Hi Liz - I just had a look at your website and you are right - it is messy. Can I suggest a few web site tips?

The home page is plain , dull and boring - it needs your best image up there with clear, concise, professional

text links to your galleries and about me.It HAS TO BE catchy straight out ! You must have a page that people

want to explore further ! Have a small but interesting and dynamic "about me" as well with maybe a small thumb

of yourself. There is also no navigation back to the main menu once you leave the page or i couldnt find it

easily.There are too many average images, should be the best of each shoot. On your prices page theres too much

waffle and I would get rid of prices completely as your are relaying straight to the competition. You need to get

to talk to people and then you can tell them the prices yourself. Try and get the job first. Get rid of the

protected galleries - have them separate with a password entry under a "log in" or similar.

As for your web name "www.lilypicketlane.com" no one is ever going to find that. You need a registered web name

that will Google well when people look for a photographer in the area eg if you are from Grand Island , NE then

something like Western Nebraska Photography or Grand Island College Photography. Get a registered business name

to suit, brand all your stationery the same and a catchy business card as well. Keep the amount of information to

a min.Get to the point. You have 3 seconds to catch the average website visitor's attention !

As for your photography, you have great potential. You look like you have a great rapport with kids so that could

be a good starting place.

This can all be done from home until you get some impetus and move out. you MUST have a clean and tidy home

office if you want business !

All the best with it and dont forget that there is only going to be more competition as digital technology

becomes pretty much foolproof.

You have to provide both a service and the photography to exceed your competition.One more thing, keep your

prices and modus operandi to yourself.If you dont then people will match you all the way to the last dollar.

Once you get up and running you will find that you will become a counsellor, confidante,team leader,stress

buster, organiser, mediator, mrs fix it, and dozens of other things that go with this territory.

A real danger for you that I just thought of is also only having one camera outfit especially at weddings. You

need 2 of everything -if you are stuck for cash, get a cheap film body and have a few rolls of film spare- it

could save you an awful lot of money !

Photography is a lifelong learning experience, I find that there is a challenge every week. So take a deep

breath, relax and run with it.

Good luck .

"MWAC"

 

I certainly hope this degrading acronym doesn't catch on. What's next? MILF-WAC?

It has caught on - it's been around for awhile now.

 

I'm a mom with a camera and it doesn't bother me. Why should it? I'm a professional photographer that runs a

business. I also happen to be a mom. And hey, it some cases it's quite accurate. Take my friend, who I wrote

about in my last comment. She truly was a "MWAC". When she became interested in starting a photography business,

I offered to teach her photography and offer some pointers on business. Her words to me? "I don't think it's

important to know all that stuff, my camera does a good job, people tell me that I take good pictures". I kid you

not. My jaw dropped when she said that. So I kept any advice to myself; she subsequently floundered and flopped

and quit the business.

 

Now, MILF, that's a different thing altogether.

OK, I'll bite. . what would MILF stand for? I'm terrible with acronims!

there is a tone of great advise above... here's my 2cents.... I'm mom and I do shoots here and there.... I have a full time job ( as a single parent I can't afford not to for the sake of my kids)....i give my bussines cards out and show all my latest pictures to anyone who has time... I shoot for friends.....one thing I 100% agree with Karen L. you will have these down days.... then pamper yourself, get good sleep and start the next day with a plan... i would highly sugest to write out your expectations, business plan, and what you need to reach it.... 1.bussiness cards... free on vistaprint.com (just pay $5 for shipping.... I take the longest one, but it still arrives in about a week), 2)make flyers, hand them out anywhere you can, network online, craigslist.com, your local tv station might have free clasifieds on their web site, ADVERTISE....3) clean up your web site... show your absolute best work... I noticed that some of the images are too dark, lack contrast... take the out 4) practice, practice, practice... I take my camera to playground, take pictures of kids at play.... ask parents first....offer to send them an image... that will give you practice and can get you a potential client (keep small notebook with you, so you can take email adress and short description of the image).....5)pull yourself together....crying and complaining will not make you better photographer.... take tons of images( your child, join a mom group take pictures of their kids, local parades, sports events)... be a good self critic, but dont pitty yourself..... if image did not come out... figure out what it lacks, try again.... and give praise when you did well.... I take images almost every day... for myself I print on snapfish( i should take a sock in that company), but I a ton of my images stay on a dvd and never make to a print ( I scrapbook too and only the best make into the scrapbook)... I wish you the best of luck and ton of patietnce

Nedine, the last letter of the acronym is naughty. Let's just say that the acronym refers to attractive Moms...

I don't mind MWACs, it's the IWACs (idiot with a camera) that foul the air.

 

There is a great deal of good advice in this thread. To me the key things are practice, preparation, perseverance and attitude.

All these are vital ingredients to success.

 

The most daunting aspect of a new business venture is how much work and detail management is required to get oneself off the ground. Even with everything done correctly it takes time to get up to speed.

 

Many fields of endeavor seem like a delight until one takes the plunge. The fact is that professional photography is a sales business that happens to utilize various aspects of photography. This is true of any business. No sales no business.

 

You will succeed if you focus and persevere. Think of your certain future success to get yourself in the proper frame of mind and it will be a lot more like fun than work.

The off base word got coined 15 1/2 minutes into the R rated movie American Pie; by actors John Cho and Justin Isfeld. They are credited in the credits as "MILF Guys" and the end.<BR><BR>John Cho is the new "Sulu" in the Star Trek movie next year

"I'm a mom with a camera and it doesn't bother me. Why should it?"

 

It's an unnecessary descriptor used in a derogatory manner, that's why.

What is wrong with your work. I have seen lots of other photographers who were not as good as you.

 

PIck up your chin and keep pressing on. It sounds like you are giving up on yourself. DONT. Go to the library and get some books on business. I suggest Focus on Profit by Zimberoff.

Liz,

 

I agree with the many other responses you have received.... it's about marketing and presenting a polished image. It's about consistency. Changing your logo and web site time after time sends an unprofessional message. Get a logo and a website that you like and stick with it. There are some days when I think about playing with my logo or changing my website colors and layout, and I just let the moment pass. I have business cards and flyers that match my site, and when people see my cards and flyers I want them to see one brand.

 

I think, of course, that it's important to be an excellent photographer, but in the end it's about getting the word out. I am still new to marketing, but I am realizing how utterly important it is to make a connection with potential customers.