Ben Hartley leads a wedding photography business at Style and Story Creative and is a business coach and podcaster on his site Six Figure Photography.

Safe to say, Ben knows a thing or two about branding; what works, and, what does not work. To Ben, branding supersedes pricing and even location. You see, Ben and his companies are located in Columbus, Ohio. It's a wonderful city, no doubt, but it isn't what one would consider a mecca for the latest fashion trends or even photography. Yet, Ben and his colleagues at Style and Story Creative have established a very legible mark in the landscape as the top wedding photography company in the area.

While all of that can and should be attributed to hard work, it was also a very strategic branding move on Ben's part to set himself and his company apart from the competition. That in a nutshell what branding is all about.

Branding Mistakes

While it's easy to concern yourself with marketing collateral – logos, business cards, promotional flyers, etc. – branding comes down to how your customers perceive you. In some respect, it is what they say you are that defines your brand, not how you define it for yourself.

Ben and I had a lively discussion on the topic and of course addressed the five common branding mistakes photographers make. Give this interview a listen now:

This is just speculation, but I think within the next ten years the photography industry for the middle to low end photographer is going to collapse. – Ben Hartley

Unpacking Your Branding Mistakes

1) You have a crappy headshot – why is it important to have a fantastic headshot or business portraits, and why it should be the best portrait on your site?

2) Your copy or your words on the website don't reflect who you are and way you use them in your emails or contracts is hurting you

3) You are your own graphic designer – be a photographer first and foremost and leave the graphic designing to a professional please

4) You don't know how to handle client conflict – diffusing issues with clients gracefully and tactfully – is it a win-win at the end?

5) You don't niche down – you are a generalist, a Jack-of-all-trades!

The Free Webinar

If you enjoyed the interview above and want to know more about each of the branding mistakes you could be making, click on the graphic or links below to sign up for the ShootDotEdit hosted FREE webinar that Ben Hartley will be leading on branding mistakes photographers make all the time.

Ben will be leading a free webinar on Wednesday April 6th with ShootDotEdit. The title of the webinar is 5 Branding Mistakes You Know You're Making.

Check out the work Ben and his colleagues at Style and Story Creative have produced for their clients:

Register now for the FREE ShootDotEdit webinar that Ben Hartley will be presenting on April 6, 2016.

Hanging A Shingle

Congratulations! You have entered the amazing world of photography, and better yet, you have now become a photography business owner. This means, that there are no longer the “cushions” of bi-weekly salaries, you are on your own and you have to make this produce sustainable and expendable income!

As in any business, big or small you must have a plan; not just a business plan. But, you have to create plans of leading marketing directives. Also, have plans on how you expect to deliver the professional products you advertise. So, you must create a plan to bring it all to life. Networking and developing relationships are key!

Better yet while keeping in mind that you are not doing this on your own, I will tell you a secret: there are so many resources, right in the place you operate your business (your neighborhood, town or city) and if you play your cards right and this is done well, it will help your business soar while lifting other businesses up during your path to success. 

Understand, this will not happen overnight, you must be patient and have a strategy. You can launch a brand that you are proud of and really represents YOU!

Having A Strategy

As a business, there are various ways to compete (it is the nature of the beast) and I would say one thing about this: the true competition should be within your own structure, because you must focus on what you are doing for your business and not spending your energy worrying about what everyone else is doing.

That said, a few pieces of advice:

• Become an active member of your community. Join your Chamber of Commerce. Get to now your neighbors.

• Be kind – Maintain an open mind and be friendly with everyone, use the best of your abilities.

• Reach the right individuals – Get to know these business owners, make sure your services offer a good fit for their vision and their association is benevolent for you too.

• Team up within your industry, there will be a handful of photographers in the area, and not everyone will be pleased to know that you are offering likely services, but networking with the right creatives who have the same client in mind and are at the same level with your business plan will allow to cross refer services when booked and  develop some have amazing relationships.

• Expand your market parameters, by traveling and being accessible – Be your best billboard. Tell others that you travel and keep fostering relationships while traveling for seminars, classes, assignments, conventions and such.

• Show your work, let it speak for itself and then let your work ethics speak for you! 

• Make your clients happy and your clients will make YOU happy!

• Keep it simple and although not everyone will be on board: DO NOT give up

• One of  my most important pieces of advice : Make referrals a GOAL!  

I wish that when I took my “leap of faith,” I would have had the resources that are now so available to the new generation of photographers. Or, at least have had someone that would have been willing to shed some light on having the right networking opportunities with industry vendors. Again, this is the best time to do what you are doing! 

I currently handle three divisions under my main business and they all cater to different clientele. Although, all are my favorites as they offer different opportunities and dynamics in photography, I enjoy weddings the most.

Developing Relationships

I will unveil and I will be very transparent about my advice (and I know that wedding photography isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but it is mine – we will use as a first example) – my wedding photography division has led me in the direction of knowing many professionals in the industry, not only locally but nationally.

That said, while working locally, I'm focused on teaming with fantastic and experienced vendors, and because I have seen their work ethic, I definitely want to refer them to my couples. This is important in order to maintain a standard of customer service with my clients. Nationally, I nourish my own vendor relationships. The ones who take care of me, my products and the services I offer my clients. These are very essential to my branding.

There are countless opportunities to be explored, but another best piece of advice is that you make sure you take care of your venues locally (if you are into event/wedding photography). Provide images as soon as you have photographs ready, like the same or the very next day. Don’t wait weeks to contact your venue coordinator to send them your work. Also, always remember while sharing your work on social media, make sure you mention their venue (spelling is super important) and highlight the beauty of their site. Keep in mind that other potential couples will see your work at that venue, and because you have experience with the venue you are more likely to be hired.  

Networking Like You Mean Business

Make sure you invest on great marketing collateral because presentation matters. Distribute albums, canvases with creative images and real weddings. Remember be candid and honest about your intent in relationships. Always be kind and deliver on your promise, on time. 

The same practice should be followed for your other industry vendors such as catering teams, floral and cake designers, as well as any entertainment professionals. Network!  Support them anyway you can. Your fantastic images are your tools of your trade, and your relationships with selected venues and vendors will dictate the success of your business. 

If your main focus is portrait photography, then make sure you associate with offices, groups and other community affiliations and always maintain an impressive portfolio at all times. Remember, first impressions are key!

For example, when you have appointment somewhere or even while you are out running errands and frequenting your local shoppes, make sure you speak to others about what you do, and carry your business cards with you. Always, find an opportunity to market yourself.

Lastly, never forget, those times when you feel a little limited. Just take a look at your surroundings and act. Seek the chances to keep developing relationships and your business!

Below, tell us what you do to develop relationships for your photography business. Share your thoughts about how having these local or national partnerships has helped you succeed.

It's a busy time of the year for Scott Wyden Kivowitz who is always ready to talk about a new WordPress service for photographers.

What is Imagely?

As the Blogging Wrangler and Community Liaison for Imagely, Scott will tell you they have some very ambitious plans to offer WordPress hosting, themes and plugins – all under one roof.

Why WordPress? Well, did you know that nearly 25% of the websites in the world run on the WordPress platform? That's a staggering number of websites and a great many photographers lean on a self-hosted WordPress themed website or blog for their business.

But not everyone has the time or the technical skills to work on the platform. Tiffinbox, for instance, was custom designed by someone who knows her way through the theme and its back end. Now, not everyone can have a custom designed site or needs to have it specifically designed for them. That can come later when the dollars start flowing in from sales, right?

Until then, though, you are going to need a WordPress service for photographers. And that's where Imagely comes in.

The Interview

WordPress Service For Photographers

If you act quickly, you can get in on a special offer Imagely provided photographers who signed up for WPPI.

Learn more about Imagely through their top-rated podcast too.

Can you see yourself having more time to make images, serve your clients better or chill out with your family rather than tinker with your WordPress website?

So, what will you do? Will you jump in and sign up for this WordPress service for photographers now?

The Backend Of Imagely

The Big Problem

Can we agree that the murkier your ideas and goals are about who are serving, the quicker you are going to fail?

Sorry to be such a wet blanket about your business, but it is true. If you don't know who are serving to the best of your abilities, you will be soon spinning your wheels, stuck in a rut.

That's exactly where I found myself a couple of years ago, but I refused to give up and walk away from my photography business. Serving people that “got me” was and is an important part of why I continue to make photographs. Isn't that how you want to feel about your photography business?

I understand that you may get the “why” behind getting clear about your clients, but the “how” may be the challenge. Thankfully, there are credible coaches amidst us who have proven over and over that their well-timed expertise can help provide the framework and a strategy for success.

Finding A Solution

Just ask Heather Conley, who is also a photographer in Connecticut like me. After several years of working with a wide variety of clients, she is now hyper focused helping architectural firms in New England and beyond. I asked her how she managed that transition from serving EVERYBODY to serving a very select group of people. She mentioned working with a coach I had heard of before – Beate Chelette.

Get Clear About Clients

If you live in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York or even New Jersey, you'll want to know that Beate Chelette will be presenting at the University of Hartford on March 23rd. Her morning presentation is called – “The Successful Creative Entrepreneur with Beate Chelette“.

This is an incredible opportunity to work with a dedicated coach, to learn her system to get clear about who to serve and other goodies that she says she will reveal when we see her in person.

Register now for this mini-course where you will walk away with some actionable goals that will ultimately help you and your photography business.

Coaching Creative Entrepreneurs

Beate Chelette, coaches creative entrepreneurs, including photographers like you and me. Known to have made her mark as a photographer who eventually sold her entire stock agency to Corbis, she now helps people get very clear about who our clients are or should be.

I spoke with Beate Chelette today about her approach to gaining clarity and setting up a prosperous photography business:

P.S. I repeatedly say that Beate's presentation at the University of Hartford will be on October 23, but it IS … on March 23rd! I apologize for the gaffe.

The Book Hunt

Go to your local bookstore or hit Amazon up and do a quick search for “photographing men.”

Seriously, go right now and do it. I'll wait. Cue the Jeopardy theme song.

Oh, back so soon? I am not surprised.

Until recently, you would have been able to only locate one book.

Seriously?

Unbelievable, right? A world full of guys and it would seem no one has had the vision to focus on that very obviously under-served niche.

Well, Jeff Rojas a portrait and fashion photographer based in New York City decided to do something about that. In a couple of weeks, he will be launching a new book titled, Photographing Men: Posing, Lighting, and Shooting Techniques for Portrait and Fashion Photography.

Solving The Problem

Photographing Men

Now go take a look at Rojas' work, or cast your eyes below on a few samples:

The CreativeLive Courses

I don't know about you, but while I love books and my library is full of them, there is a certain thrill of learning in-person or if that doesn't work with your schedule, going online. It was Jeff Rojas' CreativeLive course, “Men's Portrait Photography,” that inspired me to contact him. Soon I also bought his shorter course, “How To Photograph Men.”

You see, I was working full time at an all-boys prep school in Connecticut and one of the most difficult things you will encounter as a photographer is to posing teenagers. First off, they may give off the vibe that they aren't into it but if you know what you are doing and you can put them at ease, they come alive and are eager to work with you. Jeff Rojas' courses came in handy because I was able to make these young guys look and feel good when they saw the final results. So, I owe it to Jeff Rojas and his courses for elevating my skills.

The Giveaway

If you have scrolled all the way down here, you deserve to be rewarded. But let's make this a game shall we? I have a code for Jeff's Men's Portrait Photography course on CreativeLive to give away to one lucky person who pre-orders his book between tonight and March 3rd. I will announce a winner on my Twitter account, so be sure to follow me there.

Pre-order the book using this link, then email me at seshu (at) tiffinbox (dot) org with your receipt. The subject line of the email should be “Photographing Men by Jeff Rojas – Giveaway”. In your email to me, please include your Twitter ID, so that I can mention it if you win! But the CreativeLive checkout code you see blurred out above will only be emailed to ONE winner. Capiche?

I am the final arbiter of this game. If you do win it's because you followed the simple rules and you are a good sport. Bonus if you leave a comment below telling me why the course would complement the book you just bought.

Remember, this is for any pre-orders of Jeff's book, only from tonight through March 4th, though. If you click on any of the links in this post mentioning the book, you will be directed to Amazon where you can easily order the book and have it delivered it you after it launches on March 15th.

Sound good? Good luck! And, here's to making a difference in men's lives by creating stunning portraits of them too!