stacy Posted August 2, 2006 Share Posted August 2, 2006 I was just reading an article in PDN about photographers' best business decisions and I thought it was really intertesting so I thought I would ask all of you- what has been your best business decision and why? I think my best decision was to stay true to my personal style of photography. It's easy for people to say (and you might start to believe it)that you have to shoot this way or that way at a wedding- but it's not true. You can do wedding photography in any way you want as long as your honest about it upfront so people know what they are buying. That decision has brought me the most work I think. Another good choice was to only use very high quality products. So- what's yours? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean_flanigan Posted August 2, 2006 Share Posted August 2, 2006 My best decision was to start shooting weddings. Before I started shooting them I kind of looked down on them, like they weren't cool, or I wasn't a real PJ. Forget that, I have a blast doing weddings now and I get paid about 10 x more for a wedding than I do editorial work. If you were to tell me a couple years ago that I would be shooting weddings and likeing it and would never believe it. I am in my second year of shooting weddings, I will finish this year with 40-45 weddings and I have 22 booked for 07 and 3 for 08 already. Bring them on, I love it! Another good choice was to offer E sessions to my clients for free, this way I get a chance to work with them before the wedding, the feel more at ease on the wedding day, I know what to expect from them, and their family gets exceited about me because they see the beautiful portaits I did for the couple prior to the wedding. It's also nice to make money on those prints too. Stacy, can you send me that PDN link, I missed that article. Cheers, Sean http://www.seanflaniganphotography.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaimie blue Posted August 2, 2006 Share Posted August 2, 2006 Hi Stacy I am in the middle of what I hope is my best business decision...moving out of Las Vegas where my sole supporting enterprise was photography, including weddings. Now in North Carolina hope to be able do something else and cultivate a photography business in addition to other work. Want to specialize and have my little niche market develop fully to its vision without too much compromise. Want to be a weekend photographer and a weekday something else. Let you know in a few months how it is going. See ya, Jaimie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lb- Posted August 2, 2006 Share Posted August 2, 2006 leaving the US. downright unfriendly place for the small business owner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stacy Posted August 2, 2006 Author Share Posted August 2, 2006 Good night Sean! That's alot of wedings for 2007 already- you should bump those prices up! The article is in the new issue that i got today- I don't know if it's online yet. Good Luck with the move Jaimie...very brave of you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiva Posted August 2, 2006 Share Posted August 2, 2006 Good topic stacy ... I think that the best decision I've made to this point is to fight hard to leave the "art" to the photography and the post processing and treat the rest as a serious business. It's all coming together beautifully and I'm ahead of my first year's goals already. That's it for me: the realization that "Art" is beautiful but "Business" can promote the "Art" if allowed to have equal footing/importance to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean_flanigan Posted August 2, 2006 Share Posted August 2, 2006 Good night is right, I am super busy. I found the article, good read. How did you get your PDN so early? I just checked the mail for mine and it wasn't there. Lucky you. Sean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fotografz Posted August 2, 2006 Share Posted August 2, 2006 Same as you Stacy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caseychappell Posted August 2, 2006 Share Posted August 2, 2006 Great post. I'm learning and being inspired by reading. I wish I could say what my most important business decision is, but I am afraid I might be in the midst of having to decide what that decision will be. I am getting burnt out with my Hairdresser JOB but at the same time I love doing hair. I am dying to explore make up artistry and fashion photography and graphic design while at the same time wishing I had more time to keep up my other hobbies (all artsy in nature) I love photography and people do ask me why I'm not doing that full time but then at the same time saying don't you dare quit doing hair because I'm the best hairdresser they've had. I'm so glad I've pursued talents and that I enjoy them but it's really hard to balance or choose between them! So I will continue reading everyone's great advice and experiences and see where time and the Lord takes me! Thanks for sharing! People like me really benefit from it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caseychappell Posted August 2, 2006 Share Posted August 2, 2006 Great post. I'm learning and being inspired by reading. I wish I could say what my most important business decision is, but I am afraid I might be in the midst of having to decide what that decision will be. I am getting burnt out with my Hairdresser JOB but at the same time I love doing hair. I am dying to explore make up artistry and fashion photography and graphic design while at the same time wishing I had more time to keep up my other hobbies (all artsy in nature) I love photography and people do ask me why I'm not doing that full time but then at the same time saying don't you dare quit doing hair because I'm the best hairdresser they've had. I'm so glad I've pursued talents and that I enjoy them but it's really hard to balance or choose between them! So I will continue reading everyone's great advice and experiences and see where time and the Lord takes me! Thanks for sharing! People like me really benefit from it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_schilling___chicago_ Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 For me it was learning to shoot weddings while being trained and gaining experience at some very good high volume studios. Was able to shoot alot of rolls of film on someone else's dime. I didn't open my own studio until after I had shot a few hundred weddings and became more familiar with the bussiness side of running a studio. I was also able to translate some experience with shooting models and glamour to my bridal portraiture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricM Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 uhm, sean flanigan, you're a wicked photographer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lb- Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 "uhm, sean flanigan, you're a wicked photographer." no joke. inspiring work sean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stacy Posted August 3, 2006 Author Share Posted August 3, 2006 Thanks everyone for your comments- very interesting! Sean- I don't know how I got my PDN before you- just lucky I guess. Oh- and I agree with Eric and Lucas :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben_rubinstein___mancheste Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 My best decision by far was to go digital from an economic point of view, I'm not going to bother justifying it here though, not with a history of being attacked for saying it. My accountant agrees and who cares what others think! ;-) My worst decision was to think cheap when I started out, it took my 2 years to get over the cheap mindset. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonj Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 Building relationships first! This applies more to my PJ Spot News work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean_flanigan Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 Thank you for the kind words everyone! Here is link to a wedding photographers site who I just really admire. The best wedding shots I have seen, ever. http://josefisayo.com/ Let me know what you think. Sean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stacy Posted August 3, 2006 Author Share Posted August 3, 2006 I've seen his site before- he does have amazing photos. The thing that really stands out to me is how skilled he is at isolating his subject- through DOF or tones...anyway- really nice- elegant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamie_thomas Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 Sean, I feel that your wedding photo's are just as good. My best move was paying for advertisement on a good local site that bides like. It paid for itself in a month, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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