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February 6, 2017

Adrienne - This post was written 11 years ago... you may be interested in watching my TEDx Talk to see how it all has turned out for me to date.... <a href="https://youtu.be/JoC-vPjz_S8">https://youtu.be/JoC-vPjz_S8</a>

February 5, 2017

I can't believe it's been 11 years since this post was made. What an amazing ride it's been. If you're curious about how a photography business can evolve over time, I've shared a lot of my journey on my blog over this last decade, and decided to pull together all of the interviews on changes and pivots in one post... <a href="http://anneruthmann.blogspot.com/2016/03/managing-change-gratitude-journal.html">http://anneruthmann.blogspot.com/2016/03/managing-change-gratitude-journal.html</a>

Member's Photo News · July 14, 2015

It's been so long since I've been on this site and my business has changed dramatically since I first used Photo.net!! The people here really helped me move from amateur to professional 11 years ago. Now that I've reached a point where I can hire more people, I want to give an opportunity back to the community, in the event that I can help someone else's journey.

I'm looking for serious candidates in the NYC area who are in love with buildings, have an acute eye for color correction, are fascinated by architects and designers, and want to create stunning work that serves these creatives at the highest level. If this sounds like you, or someone you know, please read the application details to see if it would be a good fit:

<a href="http://anneruthmann.blogspot.com/2015/06/nyc-architectural-photography.html">http://anneruthmann.blogspot.com/2015/06/nyc-architectural-photography.html</a>

March 22, 2014

Thanks Marc - I was definitely a bit worried about what might happen after moving into one of the most saturated photography markets in the country, but it seems to be working out much better than I'd ever expected! If I'd gone in trying to push just my previous work, rather than seeking opportunities to fill an existing need, it might have been harder, but a willingness to grow and be open to different things has given me even more opportunities than I'd anticipated.

March 18, 2014

I had no idea when I first reached out to this community so many years ago that I'd still be a full-time photographer doing what I love today. I knew the failure rate was stacked against me, but I was determined to make it work. It really is amazing how this self-taught artful skill has turned into such a great and flexible career. I just looked back at my last post here, <a href="/wedding-photography-forum/00XtYV">thanking Photo.net for the support in the early stages of building my business</a> and for all the people who provided feedback on images when I needed help solving problems. I had no idea at that time how things would change in the years ahead - I continued shooting weddings, but at a higher price point than ever before, including several clients over $10K, I wanted to do more weekday work and I ended up securing a regular contract with a university- photographing many of their events, social media materials, website portraits, and even spending the day with author Stephen King, I got to take a year off to travel the world, and just made another move- now living in New York City (Manhattan) and I'm now diving into interior design and architectural photography while still serving wedding and portrait clients as I always have.

To anyone in the early stages of your business... tenacity, stick-to-itness and the willingness to grow, adapt, change, and learn are the key elements to making this career work long term. Another big factor is listening to what feels good for you. Learn what works for others, but then try it out and decide what actually works best for you. There's no one right way to go about this work or creating your business. Don't be afraid of failure, it's there to help you learn what NOT to do so that you can get closer to learning what you NEED to do. Be nice to EVERYONE you meet because you never know when that DJ with a camera, or that videographer who stood in your way, or that angry wedding planner is actually going to help you out in the future.

Spend more time and money serving your clients and making them happy than you do on making yourself look good. If you look at my websites right now, you'll see that I have a bunch of mismatched branding because I'm going through a branding transition and trying to find a great web designer to help me out. My clients don't care that my sites and branding aren't perfect because they were highly referred by other clients who I did great work for and who recommended me as the only person they should work with. If I had spent more time and money on my branding than on serving my clients, I wouldn't have such great referrals that have carried me from state to state over all the moves I've made in my business. You can have the most beautiful website and images, but if your clients don't love you, staying in business gets exponentially harder.

Just wanted to share some encouraging news to anyone who might feel down or unsure about the industry. It's easy to let naysayers and unsuccessful people shatter a dream before you've even given it a try- but if you keep trying, keep getting up over and over again, the only way you can fail is by giving up on yourself!

December 23, 2010

There are a few different ways to approach this- one is to only schedule them on weekends when you want to, or to charge a premium for a weekend engagement shoot versus a weekday engagement shoot. That will help couples self-filter and determine how much it's worth it for them to do a weekend versus a weekday. Most couples can find one day during the week in which they can both take off work a little early like they would for a doctor's appointment- but you have to be firm in letting them know that you only do your portrait sessions during the week so that you can give weddings and your family your full attention on the weekends. Most couples are understanding when you let them know why.

December 21, 2010

Just realized I said "reception" instead of recession!! HA!! What a typical freudian slip for a wedding photographer!!

December 21, 2010

Hi Nish- I believe I may have been a subscriber at one time, but it might have also been unlimited when I originally signed on. ;-)

Nadine- bless you for continuing to be the lifeblood of this forum. I think photo.net owes a great deal of success to your regular participation and guidance. I take that back... I think the ENTIRE wedding photography industry owes a great deal to you for your mentorship of new photographers!!!

December 21, 2010

Until you have an established business license and tax ID, http://kolo.com/ offers some beautiful storage boxes that are archival quality. ;-)

December 21, 2010

I believe the best answer is always to have a diversified solution when it comes to back-ups. My clients receive DVDs, which I encourage them to make copies of and store elsewhere or in a safety deposit box. I also have DVD copies as well as hard drive back-ups for all of my client's final images. My favorite back-up solution however, is that my lab Pictage.com provides unlimited, indefinite archive storage which is always available to me by FTP. Plus, if anything happened to me or I closed my business, my clients would still be able to contact Pictage if they had an emergency or needed to replace everything they had.

December 21, 2010

It's been a while since I've visited the forum here, but I still get plenty of visits to my site from previous posts I've shared here, which tells me the community is still alive and vibrant as ever- which is so good to know because this forum is a wealth of public knowledge! I'm confident that any wedding photography related question can probably be answered with 10 different posts by simply using the search box on this forum- and it's all free and publicly available- the best kind of resource there is.

As I look back on 5 years of being in business as a full time photographer, I can absolutely say that photo.net was an integral part of my success. I had tons of questions in my first two years of business, which is where photo.net was always there for me. I had to start my business in three different markets (Michigan, Indiana, Massachusetts), and photo.net was able to provide me with real people connections in my local community which helped make my transitions much less difficult. The public format and google-ability of photo.net meant that photographers were always accountable to their answers and provided thoughtful responses, as opposed to some private forums where people can unleash on others thinking it will never come back to bite them.

After experiencing some private forums, I can honestly say, you aren't missing a thing. Oh wait, yes you are- you're missing the catty bitterness that comes with a pay-wall and community of people who are wasting their time barking at others instead of working on their own businesses. Thank you photo.net for never becoming that.

I had to take a break from sharing here in order to really dig in and focus on my business during the multiple transitions to different states and the shifting uncertainties of the reception, but I'm happy to say that I now have a business with plenty of resources that allows me the time and freedom to do what I love and give back to others again. I hope to visit here more often and share as much as others have shared with me. ;-)

PS. I can't believe some of the photos I uploaded to this account!! My how things have changed!!

January 4, 2010

Apologies if my post was written with too much generalization. I was trying to stay brief and I also naturally speak in big picture terms rather than detailed technicalities. I shared the ways in which I think and what works best for me throughout a wedding day based on the original question posed for the thread, but I would expect that everyone makes their own decisions based on their knowledge and experience. That's what this is all about, right? Not determining that there is any best way, but rather, how many different ways there are of accomplishing similar goals. Everyone thinks differently, perceive the world differently, and takes action differently. There are many ways of thinking and doing - none is right or wrong, but something can always be learned from the ways that others accomplish the same goal through different means. ;-)

January 4, 2010

When I was starting out, I remember how difficult it was to find local resources, which is why I relied so heavily on online forums. It wasn't always easy to find local photographers to shoot with because all of the professional resources seemed to be secret or hidden from public view. While that's a great thing for professionals who need a private place to share, it also makes it a little more difficult to find a local mentor to work with. So, here are some ways to learn more about the local resources in your area:

Local Camera Gear Shop Even if you live in a small town where there isn't a professional gear shop, your local camera shop will likely have the names of a few photographers in town, know what kind of work they do, and can give you an idea if those professionals are open to mentoring others. Local camera shops are also a great resource for finding out if there are any workshops or classes locally available (since they may provide supplies for them) so don't hesitate to get on their mailing list. If they don't provide high end photography equipment, ask them what the next closest place would be to find professional gear. There's a very good chance they know who keeps the professional equipment in house.

Local College Even if you don't have a full-out photo school nearby, your closest college probably has a photography department or instructor of some kind. Teachers are often natural born helpers, so they can be a great resource when it comes to finding assistants or finding someone who is willing to take on an assistant. While photography in school is most often dedicated to fine art, it's still great to get out and see the work that today's photo students are creating in order to keep up with what is influencing the minds of the future.

Local Photography Groups These are often a little more difficult to find, but if you've talked to someone in the area who knows a lot of photographers, they should be able to point you to at least one local photography group. Often times you'll find local groups listed on <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/">Flickr.com</a>, <a href="http://www.meetup.com/find/">Meetup.com</a>, <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/">Yahoo Groups</a>, etc. There are also several professional labs that provide free local workshops and opportunities to meet other photographers, such as <a href="http://blog.pictage.com/?page_id=769">Pictage PUGs</a> (I currently host the Boston, MA one) and newly starting <a href="http://smugmug.com/smugs/find/">Smugs</a>.

Getting to know my local photography peers has been one of the greatest assets to my business because individually we may not know everything, but collectively we can figure out anything! While online forums are excellent for learning at your own pace and getting lots of feedback, having a local offline network of support may be the only thing that can save you in a pinch when you need it most!

January 4, 2010

My thoughts on metering... you're best off sticking to patterned metering so that your spot metering doesn't slip and expose for something you weren't planning on having it expose for. With black tuxes and white dresses, it's far too easy to have something completely over or under exposed with just a slight tilt of the wrist. You're much better off having your camera meter the whole scene and then using your knowledge of light to adjust exposure compensation from there.

January 4, 2010

I think the smartest approach is knowing what to use in any given situation and why its the best thing to use at that moment. A camera is like a toolbox, there are many different problems it can solve if you choose the right tool and know how to use it effectively. Here are some of the decisions that go into what I choose and when I choose it...

Manual

<ul>

<li>Always when shooting flash, because the camera's meter is easily fooled, regardless of what kind of metering you're using. </li>

<li>During a consistent lighting situation where there's little to no change in the brightness or quality of light, so that I'm in constant control of depth of field and motion blur.</li>

</ul>

Aperture Priority

<ul>

<li>When in a variable light situation where light quality changes from shot to shot, like the getting ready room where one moment may be near a bright window and in the same breath, a reaction may be across the room under tungsten light.</li>

<li>During sunset, when I simply want to focus on getting the best images during those last few moments of golden light without worrying about changing my exposure every 3 minutes due to the dimming light.</li>

<li>In high contrast situations where moments need to be nailed and isolated in both shade and sun without time to switch exposures.</li>

</ul>

Shutter Priority

<ul>

<li>When I don't have time to meter or think about depth of field, but want to grab a quick shot of something in motion using super slow or super fast shutter.</li>

</ul>

Program

<ul>

<li>When I'm feeling too sick, tired, or lazy in the moment and am willing to do a lot of post-production correction. (Usually the thought of all the post-production is enough to make me want to snap out of it and use the gray matter floating in my head.)</li>

</ul>

December 24, 2009

Long time no see!! ;-)

December 20, 2008

Wedding Wire & Project Wedding will be the new sites to take off in the next few years. They have structured their sites to be very user friendly, and to give brides a way to provide vendor reviews in order to help keep the wedding market honest. It's actually free to have a listing on these sites, so I highly recommend everyone make the most of them.

Personally - I do not find any value in the paid advertisements. Advertising is a very overcrowded marketplace and does not come with any inherent trust attached. Personal referrals will always be the best source of promotion. Take care of your clients and they will take care of you.

I've written pretty extensively about how to market yourself, and you're welcome to read more of my thoughts [Moderator Edit: Click on Anne's name and you'll see a link to her blog on her contact page]

December 5, 2008

Yep - PhotoJunction is a great software and now that it's free, no reason not to give it a try!

July 24, 2008

Most of the consumer album sites like blurb.com, lulu.com, kodakgallery, etc, provide free customizable templates for their albums.

However, if you're looking to create a design to send to a professional album binder, you're going to either need to learn a page layout

program like photoshop, or you'll need to purchase a program, set of templates, or hire a designer.

February 11, 2008

You don't have to have clients in order to have word-of-mouth referrals and buzz. My word

of mouth started with people who were just friends, sharing my work with other people. I

built my business quickly without paying for advertising... but I did have business cards ;-).

I'm not saying you're wrong Russ, I'm just letting Ryan know that I was very successful doing

it a different way and that there are other options out there.

February 11, 2008

Russ - would you like to write a guest article for photolovecat about " studing your local

market and determining what the effect of supply and demand will have on your bottom

line"?

I'm interested to hear more of your thoughts on this subject and if you have some great

advice to offer, I'm sure others would be happy to read it.

February 11, 2008

Really? Because I booked my calendar full for the last three years on FREE advertising. Some of it came free with my professional memberships, but most of it was simply word of mouth and my blog. So, I don't think you HAVE to pay for advertising to fill your calendar. I actually had to scale back on marketing this year when I found that my calendar was so full I couldn't take any more weddings! But that's just me... and everyone is different.