Message from the Board (Formerly President's Message)

Each month the AzPPA Board challenges you with thoughts on photography. Here are messages from the last couple years starting from the most current and going back...

May 2011

Put All Your Eggs In One Basket… the advantages of being a specialist
By Ed Wilson, CPP

Economic survival has become the sole goal of many photographic artists these days. And it is difficult to turn down business that is not an assignment that we can get passionate about, or which we don’t feel entirely competent to fulfill to the extent that our customer is delighted by our work product. It really depends in some cases on what gets you up in the morning.

A photographer who never tires of shooting a wedding, or the one who can’t wait for his/her next senior session, or the baby photographer who can’t stop visualizing new and better ways to showcase an infant…all are examples of the photographic artists who might be better served spending their non shooting time in marketing and selling, or self education activities rather than taking on any old business they happen to trip over.

Our studio gets occasional requests for wedding coverage. I shot weddings for five years and found that I really loved the people but hated shooting weddings. Also, weddings, given the workflow of the day, cost me three full days labor. Those three days could have been profitably spent shooting portraits, and/or selling and marketing our services.
The lesson here is that if I had loved wedding coverage, the three days would have been an opportunity for us to get better and more creative and thus able to command higher prices and get more assignments. In my case, though, it was just extended drudgery.

Now, when a friend who loves our portrait work asks us to do them a “favor” and shoot their wedding, our response is “Let us do you a favor and refer you to a wedding specialist”.

Our family doctor is a superbly trained physician, a generalist. He is struggling to make expenses and pay tuition for his kids and save for retirement. He referred us to a specialist who makes, in a down economy, about a million a year.. There is little difference in the quality of their training or their individual abilities.. It is that the specialist has invested in occupying a niche that few others are willing to work hard enough to fill.

Anyone who has survived the photography business for more than five years either has a trust fund, or has learned that Marketing and Sales is 95% of the business. For a lucky established few it is only 85%. Since the main preoccupation of any professional photographer is getting the next assignment, it leaves little time for “chasing rabbits” or taking on assignments that are not in our wheelhouse and will therefore not represent our best work. And, worst of all, it distracts us from performing our mission and business plan.

The world is moving away from the generalist. The internet has created the phenomenon called micro-celebrity. It is possible to become the acknowledged expert in your field within a small defined population e.g. Phoenix, or even Arizona. You can become the “go to” studio for a certain type of photography, where customers know they’ll get exactly what they want and expect. These are the photographers who are booked up early and are not feeling the economic woes of the nation as acutely as the rest of us. It baffles me why anyone would wish to slog along it the middle of the pack of similarly talented and similarly skilled competitors all fighting for the same assignments. In those competitions, talent and skill quickly start to take a back seat to price and freebies. …And, the real plum assignments get taken by the established specialists. For the specialist there is less price negotiation and the average fee is much higher.

The established specialist got to that enviable status got there by extremely hard work. It is tempting to believe that there are some photographers out there whose success is due to good timing or good fortune. While these two intangible variables may play a role, it is more often a product of the following:

They set realistic, tangible long term and intermediate business objectives.
They become a student of their business and treat it like a business.
They work on their craft every day and create a pleasing and identifiable look and style to their work.
They bust their butts doing everything that advances their goals..every day.
They recognize and accept that shooting pictures is at best 15% of the game.
They are willing and not afraid to spend the large bulk of their time selling to new customers.
They decide on what their area of specialization is and fiercely stick to it.

The sooner one realizes that specialization and dedication to intensive sales and marketing of ones business is the road to success, the sooner it will become less of an expensive hobby and more of an income producing business. If you decide you aren’t willing or able to be a sales and marketing person, you have to make a choice. You can find a job as a staff photographer on salary (good luck with that one), or you can hire an employee who’s full time job is sales and marketing, or you can seek job counseling and return to being a photo hobbyist.

April 2011

Don’t Call Me JPEG: Maximizing Sales In a Digital World
By Bob Zimmerlich, CPP

Creative arts have undergone many challenges since the transformation of analog to digital. From the early 1980’s when music became available on CD’s, most art forms have had to deal with the proliferation of digital delivery of their work. Music, Movies, Books, Photography – all face similar issues on delivery, copyright, showcasing, and profiting from their work in a digital medium. The truth is the current generation growing up are immersed in a digital world and this is our current and future base.

The decision to sell digital image files to your clients needs to be made within the context of your business plan. Only you know as an artist if you wish to make your art available in that format and you should never compromise yourself under pressure to deliver a final product which you feel does not showcase your work the way you want it to. That being said, if your studio is offering (or is considering offering) sales of digital files to your clients, then you should ensure that you are receiving as fair a compensation in that medium as you would for your print sales.

One key point to remember is that photographers are selling art. We are hired by our clients for our photographic creative expression, our knowledge, and client experience. We aren’t selling prints or digital files, we are selling art – images. What medium it is sold on should be irrelevant to our bottom line.

When Apple sells music on iTunes, they are not selling you an ‘mp3’ or ‘aac’. They are selling songs. When you download a movie from Netflix or Amazon, you are not buying an MPG4 or AVI or DIVX - you are buying a movie. When you purchase a book for your Kindle or iPad, you are not purchasing a PDF or EPUB – you are purchasing a book. When you purchase software, you are not buying an EXE – you are buying a software program or an application. So why in the photography industry do we demean the value of our work by saying we are selling JPG’s (which right or wrong has a connotation of a low quality compressed image)? We are not selling JPG’s, we are selling photographic images. The medium is simply a matter of what suits the client best, but it is not what we are selling.
So the first step In maximizing your digital sales is to name your digital file products with a unique quality name. Instead of ‘yes we sell jpgs’, say ‘ yes we do offer a digital collection’. Give your collection names such as ‘Contemporary’ or ‘Digital Portraits’ or ‘Theater Presentation Collection’. Italian and French always make products sound romantic, so come up with a name such as ‘fotografia digitale’. The point is to come up with a name that shouts quality and high end.

The next step is to find out exactly why a client wants the digital files. How do they intend to use them, display them. This should be part of your consultation prior to the session. Just as you would consult with a client beforehand on what type of wall portraits they are looking for, what rooms they would display them in, who else may they be purchasing prints for – the same is true when talking about digital files. The more you know – and explain – up front the better you can custom tailor your digital product sales to your client. One size does not fit all, and you may be surprised as to why the client wants a digital file if you just ask. Here are just a few reasons a client would want a digital file:
Facebook or other social media (low resolution)
Emailing to friends/family (low to medium resolution)
Display on table top digital frames (medium resolution)
Display on large monitors – family room TV, dedicated wall monitor, digital monitor groupings, etc. (high resolution)

Just like you price your prints based upon size, price your digital files based upon resolution and if your digital files are not intended for printing then make sure you have your copyright terms clearly spelled out on your contract and that you explain it to your client verbally. Of course this would not physically stop a client from breaking your copyright terms (not until the day comes when a digital file format is created that can’t be printed) but if you price your digital files correctly, and use other incentives such as minimum print orders, etc. – you can help offset the potential loss of revenue by pricing your digital files as you would prints.

Provide digital suggestions, just as you would for prints. Recommend specific digital frames that are highly rated and properly calibrated (perhaps brand with your logo and sell along with the purchased files). Even consider preloading the digital frame for your client. How about showcasing digital monitor groupings (perhaps even with frames)? Imagine a wall that has a grouping of 4 or 5 monitors instead of canvases? How many images do you think the client would want to purchase from you if they know they can view many per display? What if you hooked up with a home theater/automation company to offer installation of the displays?

Other suggestions for digital sales include upselling slideshows, offering a digital archive service, create a digital ‘album’ with design elements as you would a printed album. Charge higher prices for composites of multiple images in one. How about a service where you will go to their home and calibrate their monitor for them and price the service accordingly in their digital file order?

When it comes time to deliver the digital files, it’s all about the perceived value. Don’t just email the digital files to your client, deliver the images on a branded USB thumb drive, or a beautifully labeled CD in a high-end CD case. Package it in a beautiful box just as you would your prints. Think Nordstrom, not Wal-Mart.

As the popular saying goes, you have to show it to sell it. Setup an area in your gallery that showcases your digital collection offerings. Have a few digital frames or perhaps a digital monitor grouping on a wall. Show the client that not only do you sell digital files, but that you embrace the medium and that you are an expert to go to for photography being sold in that format.

One of the biggest concerns among photographers regarding the sales of digital files is that it is cheapening the industry. The same can be said for inexpensive print sales. The key is to price your digital files not based upon cost of materials (which is why many photographers think incorrectly it should be sold cheaply) but rather based upon the value it has to the client. In many cases this means it’s priceless.

March 2011

The art of growing through learning and doing.
by Ivan Martinez

There is no doubt that there are many options available today to expand our knowledge of photography. You don't have to search far to find out about a seminar, school, convention or speaker traveling around the country. Our mailboxes are constantly being visited by e-mails or postcards promoting an event or educational opportunity. If you regularly attend AzPPA monthly meetings you are already gaining a great deal of knowledge. You are taking advantage of networking with other photographers and learning from speakers that present during our educational sessions throughout the year. If you have attended a convention or workshop you are way ahead of many in the field. You are learning. The question then is are you growing? Are you taking what you are learning and applying to your business? Or are you just attending a presentation and then getting into your regular routine with the hope that you will get to your notes later on when time allows?
If you are just piling up notes you need to re-evaluate your approach. Chances are very good that you have very little recollection of the ideas you wrote down at your last presentation or convention. I don't know about you; but I am guilty of it. I clearly remember when I attended my first PPA convention. I was thrilled to be listening to people that had a great deal of insight and experience about photography. I completed an entire notepad with scribbles and great ideas. I got home put the note pad in a folder and few week later was too busy to remember what I have learned. There is nothing wrong with attending conventions. I believe that it is what you do with what you learn that is at the heart of the growing process. So what have I done to better my chances of learning and applying what I discover at convention or presentations? I have developed a simple approach that I hope will help you next time you take time to attend a presentation or convention.

1-Begin with an end in mind

Plan ahead and do a little bit of research on the speaker and the subject. Make a note as to what you would like to gain from listening to him or her. This will help you simplify your listening and note taking. At the end of the presentation if you are still not clear you got what you wanted, ask questions.
I recently attended After Dark in Vegas. I participated in the three day business track. I wanted to look at ways to simplify my pricing and product mix as well as to redraft by business plan. Those were my two goals for participating in this workshop. Everything that I did prior to, during and after the workshop have been done with the idea that I will have a new pricing and product mix that will be in line with my revised business plan.

2-Look to gain only one or two things from the presentation.

It is easy to fall on the trap to think that by attending a speaker presentation that you will be able to gain a great deal of knowledge and that you will know as much as he or she does on the subject. Instead, look for one or two key things you can easily put in practice right away. If you are able to do this with every presentation you attend then you would have accomplish a lot in a year span. Look for things you can measure such as revenue gained or money saved as a result of implementing the idea. If you do this, you will gain at least two things. You would be able to justify your investment and know that you were able to gain from your time and money you put in attending the presentation.
At our state convention I was able to gather few tips from all the speaker that I know will help my business. One item I gained and that I am now implementing is how I am changing my wedding packages. Mark Garber and Jennifer Gilman did a great presentation on how to market weddings. The item I took away from their presentation was that rather than provide a set of packages for weddings, I would be better of having a set of prices that will allow a bride to build from. This is key in my approach to marketing to brides. I want to appeal to a the bride that wants a customized package rather than a standard option to choose from.

3-Venture out of your comfort zone

Find a speaker that is doing something different something that is not what you regularly do. It may surprise you what you may learn.
I just got back from WPPI and one of the speaker I wanted to see was Jennifer Hudson. I has been blown away by her images. They are different. The interesting thing is her art is not a style that appeals tome. However; I admire her ability to do and create things that are different. So I wanted to learn about her approach and what motivates her to keep art that is very different than what everyone else is doing. After I listened to her presentation I learned one thing. For you to get to the place that you look at the work of other artists and see what work connects with you. However; you must follow your own compass. It is not by copying or duplicating other's art but by doing your own work what you will be energized beyond believe to do what you love and do your very best.

4-Have a follow up action plan

By now you have a list of items you wanted to learn and a couple of action items you learned. Now it is time to put them into practice.
Now that I have completed After Dark, I have a list of items that I am working on to accomplish what I had in mind when I decided to attend the three day experience. I am currently drafting a new business plan that will include a new product mix and pricing program. My goal is to have this completed and in place by March 21.

5-Keep a journal

I don't know about you; but if don't write things down, I am very likely to forget. This year I started to better organize my notes from conventions and presentations into a journal. In it I am writing down what I learned, what I put in to practice and the outcome from each.

So having a journal where I keep track of what I have learned and how it has impacted my business has been very helpful for me. It has helped me track my progress. It has also helped me compare how I and my business has grown.

Conclusion

It is my believe that to succeed in this industry one needs to keep learning and practice what is gained on an ongoing basis. To make the assumption that we have enough knowledge and that learning something new will be a waste of time is to give up. We need to keep looking for ways to grow by learning from others. How we approach this learning is very important and key to our success. For any business and specially any small business, time is by far my the most valuable resource. Unfortunately there is only a given amount of it that we have to our disposal. It is very important that we use it in the most productive possible way. Finding ways to best utilize time to incorporate learning opportunities into our regular business is very important. Taking time to apply what we learn throughout the year is the key to success.

It's what you learn after you know it all that counts.  ~Harry S. Truman

February 2011

Grow Your Profession
Rochell Planty, CMP, CTA - AZPPA President 2011/2012

It is a privilege to serve as your 2011-2012 AzPPA President. I look back and reflect when I first joined AzPPA and what brought me to this opportunity to serve you. I first learned about AzPPA through a course I was taking. I did a little research to locate the website and before I had the opportunity to hear back from my inquiry I attended a local photography seminar and was a lucky winner of a year membership presented to me by AzPPA Member, Connie Zimmerlich. The first few meetings I attended I met Jennifer Flanagan and Wendy Newman. They embraced me as a new member and encouraged me to get involved. I was overwhelmed by the established photographers in the group and the many awards they had won but everyone was so welcoming it was easy to begin to feel at home.

I am the type of person that believes you get out of it what you put into it and had every intention of trying to find my niche in the association where I could meet members, continue my education, and get involved. After about a year I was asked if I would be interested in serving on the board which led to the opportunity in serving as Secretary/Treasurer and continuing to move in the leadership roles. I thank Wendy Newman for being my mentor and encouraging me to continue my involvement.

AzPPA offers amazing educational programs throughout the year but going beyond those events to network with your peers is also a great opportunity to learn more about the industry whether it is to enhance your skills as a photographer or learn more about the business. I believe we can all invest time, and talents to become contributing members. We all have something special to contribute and there are numerous committees always looking for your talents and energy.

We need to continue to invest in our profession to grow our business. As professionals we need to continue to seek opportunities to enhance our skills for the current market, review our business plan and continually work on our strategic plan to be more successful.

As I reflect on the year I am amazed that we are already almost three months into it and it seems to have gone by so quickly! We have an amazing year planned for our members and a tremendous leadership team leading the way to help you continue to grow. We hope you will mark your calendars for the AzPPA events each month not just as an extra event to attend but an investment in your future.

Our affiliate's success is in direct proportion to the success of members - it truly is a partnership. I encourage you to take advantage of all that AzPPA has to offer and let us know how we can continue to contribute to your personal and professional success! Are you taking advantage of the membership benefits listed below and the resources of our partners (AzPPA Sponsors)? If you want to learn more about these opportunities don't hesitate to reach out to any board member and we would be glad to share additional information or visit the website to learn more.
Offering the most cutting edge industry education, from the entry level to the most seasoned photographer.
Offering two free studio tours this year
Offering discounted registration to three full day programs this year in addition to a half day program.
Mentor Program
Question of the Month
New Member Orientation - even if you joined recently you might join the orientation to learn more about PPA and SWPPA
Your membership includes SWPPA Membership
Insurance discounts
Free entry into the Southwest Regional Photographers Association Convention
Online Membership Listing
Free Monthly Meetings
Award recognition program
Discounts on additional programs through out the year
Monthly Newsletter
Free classifieds for members
Forging new friendships
Volunteer opportunities
Dive in and engage with us this year... as this membership experience is a unique one. We welcome your insight, input and participation.