ryan_smith10

Thank you, everyone for the great advice - I think I'll do the business card trick of "personalizing" it with your hand-written phone number ? great way to create a sense of obligation to the potential client. I?m trying out Facebook ads, and am looking into google ads as well. Thanks Anne for all the great links ? I will definitely try to implement those as well.

Thanks again!

Hey everyone, after about 1.5 weeks of having my site online, I've received 3

inquiries, one of which seems like a taker (no bookings for this year yet,

however).

Quick Fact - Live in Ottawa, ON (larger city, lots of local photographers)

What are good Marketing practices? So far, I have posted online in as many

places possible (without actually purchasing adverts). My Rank on Yahoo search

is pretty good (when searching "Ottawa wedding photography", I'm the 5th),

however I haven't been indexed by Google yet (have checked thrice hourly for

the past week, it's getting to me).

I was thinking of printing up 8X10 ads to post in residential building common

areas (where they wouldn?t be ripped down), and on posts around downtown. Would

this be a waist of money and time, or has it been done before, successfully?

Also, even though it would probably be frowned upon, I was thinking of placing

business cards in Bridal Magazines at various stores - is this "thinking

outside the box" or just stupid?

well sorry for such a long post, but any advice would be great!

Also, my budget for advertising is virtually nothing. $250 would be pushing it.

I'm planning on purchasing my second DSLR (have D80), and was looking at the

d200 (D300 looks great, but I can't justify the extra cost for my needs). I

will likely go through with the purchase if I can be assured it can withstand

shooting in a rainfall, however reviews from Nikon VS. consumers give mixed

conclusions about the weather-sealing.

Nikon says "protection against normal moisture and dust" - definitly does not

sound weather-proof

Various users of the d200 have said they have used it "in the pouring rain for

an entire wedding" - which would definitly meet my needs

Would you advise using the D200 in the rain?

After coming to the sad conclusion that the SB600 cannot be a commander, I have

resorted to using the pop-up flash of my D80 as the commander for the SB600. I

was wondering if it was possible to set the pop-up flash to only emit minimal

flash (enough to trigger the SB600), but not significantly add to the scene.

when setting up the camera, I have chosen Commander mode and built-in flash is

set to "--", which I thought would accomplish this, however the flash is still

as strong as ever. TTL gives same results, and M 1/1 almost blinded me.

Any suggestions?

Hey, if anyone can help me on this, it would be great. I have a D80 and 2

SB600s, and I'm trying to set them up so I have one SB600 on the camera, while

holding the second one wirelessly. I have been able to set the camera so that

the pop-up flash from the camera can trigger the wireless SB600, but as soon as

I attatch the first SB600 to the D80, I am only able to trigger the one that is

directly attatched, while the wireless one won't respond. Any help would be

greatly appreciated!

Ryan

quick question for whoever is reading this. In photoshop, under View>Proof Setup, which setting are you working under? If you are using Working CMYK, is it possible to have an accurate representation of what will be displayed in Imageready while in photoshop(be that converting color profiles before saving or any other method).

If not, does that mean that under View>Proof Setup, must Monitor RGB be used to give a more accurate depiction of what will be viewed in Imageready?

Basically, if demanding accurate colors when uploading to the internet, what setting must be used under Proof Setup?

If anyone can help me on this, it would be GREAT! I'm working with Photoshop CS3

using Adobe RGB (1998) Color profile and I have all my settings as "preserve

embedded profiles". My problem is when I try to "save for web" - the colors

loose saturation (especially reds). I have attempted to convert the image to

sRGB IEC61966-2.1 before saving for web or opening in imageready (CS, as CS3 is

lacking this), however I am still getting this problem. I want to ensure that

that colors I see will be uploaded correctly to the web for viewing, and this is

proving problematic. I visually calibrated my laptop monitor (unfortunately I

do not have a puck) and have spent forever trying to fix this, but no luck.

Does anyone know how to synchronize the color profile used when editing in

photoshop with that of imageready?

I am using the assistance of http://www.gballard.net/psd/assignconvert.html, but

I still do not see what I'm doing wrong.

Thanks!

Thank you very much everyone for all the feedback and advice! I believe I've made a decision (however will finalize this decision after talking with a few more wedding photographers in the area). I will pursue it without a college diploma this summer, basically testing the waters. If I feel at all unsure about my future in the business after the summer, I will put it on hold and take a business and marketing class come winter. Best-case scenario - I do great, build a thriving business and spend my life doing this. Worst case scenario - I s*ck during the summer, clientele give negative feedback, I go back to school for business, attempt it again and have a better foundation to build myself from. Worst Worst-case scenario - school still doesn't prepare myself enough and I'm 45 flippin' burgers. But hey, what's life without a bit of risk taking? ;)

Thanks again,

-- Inspired, Ryan Seyeau

Bob,

I believe that furthering one's knowledge is by far the most important thing you can give to yourself, however, the nature in which things are taught in college is not preferable to me. For myself, the only difference having a college diploma will have is an extra line in "About Us" that states that I'm a graduate. I personally believe that a strong portfolio with experience speaks more than a textbook understanding of the trade.

I believe the connotation that a college or university degree will bring you fortune and a lifetime of your perfect career is very "in the box", to put it nicely. Your ambition and d*amn hard work in something your passionate about, I believe, will result in success. In today's society, I think people put too much emphasis on going to college. It's a social norm that has been passed on, and it's just the right thing to do. People working in factories will tell you "stay in school, you don't want to end up like this" - but I believe it was their lack of ambition, their lack of risk taking that resulted in them working for $14 bucks an hour for their life.

Education is not only accessible through organized institutions. To think that is to limit yourself greatly.

I do not agree with the belief that an education is a must in today's world (at least pertaining to photography). This post my come across as crazy, but objectively look at today's society, and ask yourself - what makes a successful person?

I currently only have an online portfolio, however printing one will not be a problem. I personally thrive in situations that are problematic. My nature is to take charge and bring order to something that needs controlling (while acknowledging that sometimes I have to back off as to not appear pushy). As for the quality of my work, I believe it's half-decent (by no means is it jaw-dropping, standing ovation, professional, but good enough I think).

I will upload a picture to give you an idea of the "select few" half-decent photos I take.

I'm just north of you in a little place called Canada ;). In Ottawa - there's plenty of business here for it, however lots of competition. I've noticed, however, that a large part of the competition have poorly designed websites, unfavorable pictures in their portfolios, and their marketing schemes are questionable. I believe that with a bit of tact, I will have an edge. I'm also charging less than the pros, so I'm hoping that will also be a positive in enticing clients.

I have one question - how much does it usually cost to support a new photog. business? I feel that I'm underestimating the costs - could someone break it down into major categories and quote a cost - this would be very helpful.

"Afford Everything" as in afford all living expenses, afford all the new equipment, afford maintaining a website, seeking legal advice, hiring an accountant, promoting myself (business cards, advertisements, etc), registering an actual business. "Afford" as in putting the business ahead of myself, and investing a h*ll of a lot into it with no guarantee of a return.

I also have emergency funds - say if I was sadly mistaken about how much this is going to cost me.

Tony,

From now until summer, I am planning on working full time to afford everything. Both jobs I have at the moment are "part time" (however are very full time when put together), and are very flexible. I would basically work the amount necessary to ensure a decent living in these jobs while doing weddings. If I book more than predicted, I would limit my working at these jobs to once every week to maintain my position there, so as to keep the job for winter. (P.S. my current living expenses are not high, so I don't have to make a killing when just getting started).

Once I get more experience in the photog. biz, I was planning on branching off into other avenues, as to survive the winter. (quick question - successful wedding photographers make a half-decent living during the summer, however how do they survive the winter?).

I work at a photography business currently, and have very generous discounts on printing, which will also increase my profitability margin. I was planning on charging $550-$900 for weddings. Two of these a month would set me financially secure (be that bread and water), and any more would be gravy.

As stated above, winters are another concern of mine. I've heard that some wedding photographers book solid through the summer and use part of the winter to finally get the photos to the clients. Is this normal practice?

Thanks lots for your interest in my post.

Thanks for your response! As for back-ups, I have budgeted myself from now until summer and will have 2 bodies (d200,d80, multiple lenses, multiple speedlights, etc.). I am also fluent with programs such as Photoshop (7.0 through CS3), Lightroom, Microsoft suite, etc, so I have a fairly solid foundation there. I am currently working 12+ hours a day, 6 days a week between 2 jobs, so am familiar with the long and tiresome days to get anywhere in life. On my day off, I usually photo-edit or shoot freelance around the city, however I hardly call this "work".

I would almost call my interest in photography an obsession. Every chance I get, I further my knowledge in the field. Even at work, my mind is always on the biz (such as doing my own finances behind the cash, calculating possible packages/base printing charges/profit margins, etc).

I took law last year in university and hated it. Even then, I was thinking to myself that law would only be a job so I could afford the best of the best in photog. Luckily though, I made a few contacts while there and I can get a contract written up very soon.

As for insurance, thank you for pointing this out. This is one avenue that I have not investigated, and will be sure to figure it all out.

Personally, I believe college to be a waste of time. The classes are dumbed down to "this is what aperture means, this is who Ansel Adams is". With my own devices, I can concentrate what is taught and spend FAR less money and invest FAR less time. Instead, I can invest those into a business and push myself forward instead of stalling.

I don?t intend this to be a rebuttal to your response, just further elaborating my situation and beliefs.

If you were to take my age out of the equation, what would you suggest?

Alright...I have been very passionate about photography for a while now, and I

know beyond a doubt that this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. I

have shot a few weddings so far, and have received praise for the images (mind

you, the select exceptional of the day) from the clients and professional

photographers alike. Likewise, I have also been told that on many images, I

have some fine-tuning to do. Would you advise me promoting my photography

business just yet, or should I hold off for a while? I have already made a

website (which hasn?t been published yet) and I?ve designed a business card.

I?ve been given advice from another wedding photographer who shot for 20 years

(apparently out of the business now due to bridezillas), and he suggests that

I should start this upcoming summer (which is when I was planning on accepting

weddings). This time would give me the opportunity to read up on wedding

photography, business, accounting, and legal books that would aid me in

starting the business, and more time to fine tune my skills in the trade.

Here?s the catch ? I?m 19, and come summer, I?ll still be 19. I don?t have any

formal education in photography (besides for a few classes in college I?ve

taken), and I?m worried that people will dismiss myself as just a kid with a

dream. I have done extensive research in the wedding photog business, have

read through these forums, reviewed MANY wedding photographer?s websites in

this area (even posing as someone getting married to get more information from

a photographer), and believe I have what it takes to lift my photog biz off

the ground. PLEASE ADVISE ME! Should I take a 2 year course in photography,

and then start the business, or would you advise starting right away, learning

on my own along the way?