Beginnings Of A Headshot Portraits Business

I am indebted to four people when it comes to jump starting my business, Connecticut Headshots.

In the past, I have written about Zack Arias, Dylan Patrick and Peter Hurley. But the guy who really instilled a love for business portraits in me, was Eric Laurits.

Talking About Headshots

I sat riveted to my seat the first time Eric presented at Inspire Photo Retreats, some two or three years ago. A few weeks back, I had the opportunity and pleasure to speak with him in advance of his presentation at this year's Inspire conference in Newport, Rhode Island.

Portfolio Of Portraits

Eric's topic at Inspire Photo Retreats is “Headshot A Lot.” Take a look at a sample of his work below. You'll quickly see that he is a master of his art. Like he influenced me, he has helped scores of other photographers to embark on careers in headshot portrait photography as well.

Learn Headshots At Inspire

Catch Eric this year at Inspire Photo Retreats. Whether his presentation skills are due to his acting experience or one that comes deep within him, you are in for a treat. Will headshot portraits be a part of your repertoire?

Register for Inspire Photo Retreats now.

Did you ever believe you could serve two different clients and still make branding your business a success?

A wedding and family portrait photographer based in Boston, Karen Kelly did just that!

Branding Your Business

Karen struck upon the idea of branding her business by committing to one mission: serving her clients for life! She will be speaking and teaching at Inspire Photo Retreats and her topic is “How to Brand Your Business for Success”. It's perhaps after structuring your business in the right manner, that branding it correctly must come next to make it a success.

The Interview

Soon after I learned that Karen was going to teach at Inspire Photo Retreats, I looked her up online and viewed the video on her “about me” page. I didn't waste a minute scheduling her for a quick chat about her business brand and positioning. We also talked about her presentation at Inspire Photo Retreats this year in Newport, Rhode Island.

We talk about:

– The joy she saw in people experiencing her photography inspired her to create a business
– What consumer problem are you trying to solve?
– How her degree in psychology and experience in advertising helps her business
– How photographing the lives of her clients, shapes her life too
– Teaching and creating community is key for Karen
– How her specialization in family history allows her to offer both weddings and family portraits

The Portfolio

Check out of Karen's fabulous work. It will you give you a sense of her style and also her branding (which, I hope you all know goes well beyond just using a fancy logo). Every frame shows her love for her clients. It's beautiful, soulful work.

So, are you coming to Inspire Photo Retreats this year? It starts TOMORROW. If you see me or Karen Kelly, stop by and say hello!

Heidi Hope Guerard is a photographer based in Cranston, Rhode Island, specializing in natural light, newborn sessions. In addition to running a busy studio, Heidi makes time to host workshops for photographers also interested in newborn and infant portrait photography.

Professional photographer and studio owner Heidi Guerard of Heidi Hope Photography is internationally recognized for her colorful, soft and whimsical portrait photography. Often referred to as a “baby whisperer”, Heidi’s most celebrated work is creating artistic portraits of babies from their first days of life through their first days of school.

Heidi will be presenting at Inspire Photo Retreats this year. Her topic is The Business of Baby and Children Portraits.

We sat down to briefly talk about her presentation this year and also a little bit about her background in the arts.

We talked about:

– Her foundation in the arts. She has a BFA in Art Education
– How she first learned the skills to teach photography technique
– How she weaves the importance of the business with the art of photography
– How work and life can be in sync with each other
– Why outsourcing can help you focus on your strengths and make you stand out
– What she put in her proposal to Inspire that got it accepted
– Looking at the photography industry and what is changing
– Why your brand and business matters more than ever in a crowded market

Here is a small sample of Heidi's portfolio. For more, please visit her website.

Have you registered for Inspire Photo Retreats? It's right around the corner – like next week! I am really looking forward to being there and learning from people like Heidi.

Are You Marketing Right?

Mondays are usually reserved for “marketing,” so I have to ask you this important question – are you working with your ideal clients?

Discovering your ideal clients should be your number one goal, if you are looking to be in business for the long haul.

The craft or technique of photography can be learned and practiced as it should be. Most photographers, though, falter at growing and sustaining their business. Why? Because they haven't focused their attention and energy in building a client base that fosters their future success.

The Youngrens are wedding photographers based in San Diego, with clients from all over the world. They also are actively involved in Bauman Photographers, a company dedicated to serving their commercial clients.

Discover Your Ideal Clients

But Erin and her husband Jeff Youngren are more than just photographers. They are on a mission to educate other photographers on such topics as working with the very best clients; the ones you were meant to serve with all your heart.

They have a popular course on their website called Discover Your Ideal Client. Use the code: Tiffinbox20 to get 20% off. In fact, I spoke with Erin & Jeff about this very idea of finding and nurturing your best clients some time ago.

However, if you would rather learn from them in person, here's my invitation to you to register for the Inspire Photo Retreats taking place in just a few days. Erin and Jeff will be there to walk you through the steps in discovering your ideal clients – wedding or portrait.

The Interview

Earlier in the year, I spoke with Erin about her presentation at Inspire Photo Retreats and why they chose to trek all the way from San Diego to Newport, Rhode Island for the conference:

Connecting With Your Clients

One of the things that has helped The Youngrens understand and anticipate their client's deepest desires is through blogging. The Youngrens also offer a free course called “Six Weeks To Effective Blogging” that I would highly recommend.

Family Photojournalist, Teacher, Mentor

Where Kirsten Lewis is based really doesn't matter.

You see, both her passion and her vision to document families takes her around the world from her home base in Denver, Colorado. She is a highly sough-after teacher as well. Did you catch her on CreativeLive?

Her first course, Family Photography: Modern Storytelling, drew such a huge following that she is scheduled to come back and teach again this February. This time her topic is – Family Photography: Photojournalism in the Home.

But before she heads back to teach at CreativeLive, in Seattle, Kirsten Lewis will be at Inspire Photo Retreats, taking place February 8-10th. Her presentation at Inspire is called “The Being Of You.”

The Interview

If you are asking yourself what that means, you will want to listen in to our short conversation below:

We talk about:

– How Kirsten moved from wedding photography to documenting families
– The unpredictable nature of photographing families
– What the best photojournalists can teach you
– Encouraging all photographers to be vulnerable enough to strengthen your work
– The Artist vs. Business person
– Being a documentary family photojournalist
– How Kirsten becomes a part of the family she is photography for the day
– The one important you can grow your own documentary family photography business
– Who are you photographing for?
– Why are still photos so important?
– How to offer all-day, or 1, 2 or 4 hour sessions
– Why trying to convince parents to hire you for their documentary family session is the wrong move to make … instead what will persuade parents to sign up

In our current industry, saturated with thousands and thousands of photographers all making work that look like they come from a single shooter, it's imperative to stand out in your market. The easiest way to do so is to simply make pictures that are an extension of you, your experiences and how you see the world.

Kirsten Lewis' Documentary Family Photography Portfolio

Though Inspire Photo Retreats is just a few weeks away, you can still register for it. I am going to be there and Kirsten Lewis's presentation is on the top of my list. As a family photographer in Avon, Connecticut, I owe a great deal to her as my mentor and teacher.

Bonuses

We mentioned Huy Nguyen who founded The Foundation Workshops and Fearless Conference.

Kirsten also talks about the amazing portrait photographer Luis Gervan. Check his work out!

A Different Genre

I must have stumbled across this quote about wedding photojournalism several years ago, when I was starting to transition from being a photojournalist to a wedding photojournalist:

“The hallmark of the concept is both perspective and attitude, based on a mandate to be truly reactive rather than proactive, and a dedication to record events as historian rather than director. Content with reality, the wedding photojournalist quietly documents while anticipating action, sensitively observing details and nuance, capturing moments without subjects actively aware of the process.” – Denis Reggie, the Godfather of Wedding Photojournalism

And it took my breath away.

If you ever pursued anything without knowing that it was valid and that there would be a demand for it, you'll also know that sense of calm that washes over you when you know all will be well.

No one had so succinctly defined the kind of photography I wanted to deliver for my wedding clients. That someone had enunciated it so lucidly assured me that I was on the right path.

So began my pursuit at studying Denis Reggie‘s work. To be honest, I wasn't attracted to it because he had photographed the Kennedy's or that he comfortably commanded five figures for his services. No, it was this “hands-off” approach that captured my imagination. I'll bet you see it in my work at Amata Pictures. Take a look!

The Interview

It was on Facebook that Denis Reggie and I finally connected. I must have asked him a question or responded to something he had posted about wedding photojournalism. What follows is a short interview with Denis Reggie about wedding photojournalism:

We talk about:

– Photographer as a witness, not a director on the wedding day
– How to blend in as a wedding guest to photograph weddings as a photojournalist
– Photographing people without them being aware of the camera
– Why documentary weddings are specific to a particular age group of clients
– How Denis doesn't really use Photoshop to create fantasy photographs
– The Achilles Heels for any new photographer
– Creating consistent lighting, understanding flash to create quality light
– Producing matted albums vs. flush albums for high end clients
– Knowing your client's needs and experiences and delivering on it
– How wedding photojournalists are historians with a camera
– Getting started in the business of wedding photojournalism
– How Denis literally starved for 7 years before making it in his 8th year of business
– Working with wedding planners, banquet managers
– Time, education, practice, staying current all cater to a photographer's progress
– Whether we are sitting in a wedding photography bubble or not; will prices come down?
– There is a market for excellence in wedding photography
– Creating original works of art for discerning clients

The Wedding Photojournalism Gallery

Check out some of Denis Reggie‘s work below and visit his website:

Where Do You Stand?

Are you a photojournalist looking to enter the wedding market? Would you abandon all that you know about narrating visual stories and pose people all day long or would you prefer to work with clients who will respect your work at the end of the day? As Denis Reggie said in the interview, there is no right or wrong approach to wedding photography. If your clients expect (or even demand) a certain approach, then you are in essence only delivering on that promise you are making them at the very start of your relationship.

Gavin Wade had an idea and he ran with it.

As a photographer, he wanted to quickly and painlessly deliver his client's photographs. He wanted to upload his images once and then be able to deliver different versions to different clients. His solution: Cloud Spot.

I trust you have affiliates or business partners who simply have different needs for your photographs and they don't all fit neatly into one standard dimension. Imgaine you are a wedding photographer who has just photographed a Jewish wedding and you have some photographs of the huppa. Some of your wedding vendor friends will only need a postage sized version of the images, while the wedding planner you are wooing might want the photographs with your watermark to display on her Facebook page.

Do you sit there scaling up and scaling down the same photographs as and when someone requests it? It wouldn't be very efficient use of your time, right? That's where Cloud Spot excels.

I spoke with Gavin Wade about Cloud Spot and how it has saved his wedding photography business tons of time. Give this interview a listen and see if Cloud Spot is something you want to consider using for your photography business as well:

Setting up your Cloud Spot account is super easy:

Ever wanted to send some of your special clients discount codes? Well, you can now with Cloud Spot:

Your online store's back end should look this easy to manage:

There are six pricing options, including one that is totally FREE (jpeg imaages only). The Entry option is only $4/month and allows you to store and share JPG, GIF, TIFF, PNG, PSD, AI and PDF files. Granted you only get 5gb of space, but if your photography business is just starting up, this should do really well for you for now. You can always scale up!

Gavin has generously offered all Tiffinbox readers a special discount code. Use: tiffin10 – good for any monthly or annual plan when you sign up here.

Why Are You In Business?

If you are in business, you should be making money at some point, right?

Jamie Swanson of The Moderntog has it dialed in when it comes to teaching photographers how to market their business – to move from mere passion into the sphere of profit.

If you are dedicated to your craft, you would have noticed how you have progressed due to your discipline and focus. The business side of the equation is no different. It too needs your constant attention. Ignore it at your peril and in a short time you will have nothing more than a hobby to call your own.

That might just be the ticket for a lot of people currently in the industry. Nothing wrong with being a hobbyist or a weekend photographer, while you still have your day job. For some photographers, the grass is always greener on the other side anyway and you living that life might mean a more comfortable and stress-free existence.

That said, if you are going all in, and you are going to spend the next 20+ years as a professional photographer, you are going to need to market your photography business and do so really well.

The Marketog Course

Back in 2014, I spoke with Jamie about Marketog and since then she has made a few additions to her tried-and-tested course.

Here are the six steps she covers in Marketog:

How to get more of the right kinds of clients
How to turn inquiries into clients: 6 game-changing strategies
How to turn your website into an inquiry-generating machine
How to get repeat clients and more word-of-mouth advertising
How to get other business owners to send you their best clients
Your marketing toolkit for effective marketing

Open Enrollment … Now!

Jamie is about to open enrollment for the course again, for a limited time (today through January 24th). Despite her busy schedule (look, she has five kids and home-schools them all), I managed to convince her to spend a little time with me being interviewed about the six-week commitment you are about to make for yourself.

The Free Sample

Grab this FREE sample lesson to get a sense of what you will learn from the Marketog course.

Follow Along At Your Pace

One other thing, while the course runs for six weeks, you have access to all the course materials for life. So, if you don't get to it as the course starts on January 25th, relax! Just log in when your schedule permits it, and walk through the modules step-by-step at your own pace. Jamie makes it super easy to follow along, but there is a good deal amount of work to be done. If you are spinning your wheels, pop into the Facebook group Jamie has set up for you to ask questions or share your successes.

Ready To Sign Up?

Are you ready to jump-start your photography business with a solid plan for marketing it? Will you enroll for Marketog now that you a little bit more about the course? Do you still have questions? What would get you off the fence? Tell me below in the comments section and I will do my best to help you out. You see, like you, I am enrolled in this course as well and honestly, I am lingering on module 3 right now. Come join and inspire me to complete all six modules of Marketog with you!

Robert Norman, a wedding photographer based in Trumbull, Connecticut, will teach other photographers the encaustic process at this year's Inspire Photo Retreats conference.

So, what is the encaustic process?

The Encaustic Art Institute says this:

Encaustic is a Greek word meaning “to heat or burn in” (enkaustikos). Heat is used throughout the process, from melting the beeswax and varnish to fusing the layers of wax.

Robert and I sat down to talk in some detail about the encaustic process, how he approaches it and finally whether there is any commercial applications with the final piece of artwork.

As I said, at Inspire Photo Retreats this year, Robert will guide a small group of photographers step-by-step through the encaustic process. By the end of the day everyone will have one or two finished pieces to take home with them.

If you haven't yet, register now for the Inspire Photo Retreats conference. It's a terrific event, bolstered by charming photographers like Robert, Cig Harvey and Tyler Wirken.

Below are some examples that Robert has shared of the encaustic process:

If the interview piqued your interest and you want to learn this fun photographic process, there is only one way to learn from Robert Norman and that's by being at Inspire Photo Retreats this year.

The Fujifilm X-Pro 2 is finally out. After years of speculation and lust, photographers can rejoice today. As a Fujifilm X100T user (scratch that, devotee), I was on the fence about buying a new Fujifilm camera.

At Photo Plus Expo, I tried the Fujifilm XT-1 but wasn't taken to it like I had with the X100T.

Form factor and the way the camera simply blends in the way I work made me wonder about a camera similar to the X100T but with the ability to change lenses. That camera may just be the Fujifilm X-Pro2.

There are a lot of reasons to own this new camera body. But first a few videos that set the tone.

David Alan Harvey

Max de Martino

Gianluca Colla

Kevin Mullins

Find a whole slew of other videos on Fujifilm's YouTube channel.

The reviews are out too for this new Fujifilm camera.

Jonas Rask

Kevin Mullins

Damien Lovegrove

Patrick LaRocque

Tomash Trzebiatowski

If you poked through the videos and reviews above, I am sure you want order a Fujifilm X-Pro2 like I do. If you are in the US, you have at least 3 options when it comes to buying it online:

B&H Photo Video

Adorama

Amazon

So, what's going to be? Are you convinced this new camera may be just the thing for you and your photography business? Does your approach to photography lend itself to using a camera in an unobtrusive way? Can you see yourself photographing without those heavy DSLR cameras?

I for one am looking to divest myself from my Nikon D700. It's a matter of time when I swap that system out for the Fujifilm X-Pro2 and its slew of sharp, fast lenses.

Which lenses will they be? I'll follow up in another blog post with my choices. Until then, think about how your gear should get out of your way of making art.

If my experience with the Fujifilm X100T is any indication, the Fujifilm X-Pro2 carries forth that same feeling or culture with it; it's a silent but equal partner in the art of image making.

I want to hear from you. Share your thoughts below in the comments section. What do you like or do not like about the Fujifilm X-Pro2?