Number of Followers

I’ve been using Twitter since 2007 and have seen it evolve over the past few years. During this time people always seemed to want to get their Followers number up. The logic is: The more people that follow me, the more people that will see my tweet, the more people that will click on my link, the more people that will then purchase my product or service, etc… This type of thinking is false. For example, yesterday I posted a tweet that had the words “Key West” in it. Two minutes later, a realtor from Key West started to follow me. This increased my Followers count by one, but I highly doubt that the realtor will start to engage me in meaningful conversations. More likely, this was done automatically, and the realtor has no idea who I am, or what I do. So instead of worrying about your Followers count, start engaging people and you will start to have more meaningful conversations.

Twitter Lists

Twitter recently introduced a new feature called Twitter Lists. This new feature allows you to organize people you Follow (and people you don’t Follow) into lists. These lists can either be Public (Everyone on Twitter can view), or Private (Only you are able to view). At first, I wasn’t a fan of Twitter Lists and didn’t see how I could put them to use. However, I recently restructured how I am following people on Twitter, and it is all based on Twitter Lists. For example, if you are overwhelmed by your Twitter Stream and feel like you are following too many people to actively engage them in conversation – Create various Twitter Lists to help you organize your Twitter Stream. Personally, I created 5 private Twitter Lists – Photography, Design, Business, Entertainment, and Fun. I then started moving people into the appropriate Twitter Lists. For example: @ErinVey in the Photography List, @RibbonsofRed in the Design List, @RichardBranson in the Business List, @OGOchoCinco in the Entertainment List, and @ShitMyDadSays in the Fun List. To simplify my Twitter Stream even more, I unfollowed the majority of the people I put in these Lists. Does this mean that I’m not going to have a conversation with them because I unfollowed them? Absolutely not – In fact, the opposite is true: I will have more conversations with them because of how they are now organized. I highly recommend you take a look at using Twitter Lists to organize your Twitter Stream and start having more meaningful conversations.

Meaningful Conversations

Did you notice how the past three paragraphs ended with the words “meaningful conversations”? At the end of the day, this is all that matters when it comes to Twitter. So don’t worry about the numbers – Have fun, meet new people, and enjoy the meaningful conversations.

About the Author:

For the past five years, darkroomRYAN has worked with Fortune 500 clients. As the owner of Darkroom Branding, he now provides marketing and branding strategies for photographers. Feel free to follow him on Twitter at: @darkroomRYAN

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There was a time when people weren’t so interested in transparency, when the web was principally used to send email and the idea of keeping interior monologues interior was key. That was before blogs.

Blogs have become useful in lots of ways, especially to photographers.

Blogs are useful because they can help prospective clients see what your interior monologue looks (or even sounds) like. You can use your blog as a place to put your photographic experiments. Sometimes projects have happy accidents and those are useful fodder. Sometimes, things go terribly awry. You have to be a good judge of what’s “overshare” and what’s interesting. Putting these things on your blog gives you a comfortable place to “talk it out” about the things that you experienced. An added bonus of creating a blog is having a place to come back to see what you were thinking previously.

Photographers have lately needed to become experts in all sorts of fields rather than just making images. Many have had to learn how to bid for projects, how to understand search engine optimization, and finally create and update websites. Having a blog is a way to cut down on website content changes and keep your work fresh. Putting up work from recently completed jobs gives prospective clients a chance to see your range. It allows you to showcase whatever newest image (or set of images) you’ve made that strikes your fancy.

Value-added extras, like behind-the-scenes videos and photos, can also fit well on your blog. Often, people like to see what went into making a particular image as much as they like seeing the actual image itself. More than that, some ADs are interested in knowing more about who you are, so keeping your personal projects on your blog can humanize you. Telling stories about your images aids in this. It helps clients gauge how you might integrate with the creative teams they’ve assembled.

What’s important is to keep a regular posting schedule because in the digital world, attention spans are fickle. A blog that’s a hit today can be a dud tomorrow because of a lack of posts. It might be good to keep the following things in mind as you enter the world of blogging:

(1) As a photographer, it’s always good to put a photograph in each of your posts.
(2) Post on a regular schedule so that your readers can know when to expect new content.
(3) Enjoy yourself! Your blog should be about your work, but it’s about you, too.

Here are some helpful blogs to look at:

Jay Reilly Photography
Lemon Lime Photography
Jasmine Star Photography
Emily Shur Photography
The 10 cent Designer
Lydia Hudgens Photography

About the Author:

Thomas Scott is a photographer in Richmond, Virginia. He specializes in location portraiture. He likes bright colors, the laughter of children, a good beer and pretty pictures.  Drop him a line; he also loves to talk.  More information can be found about him at his website: www.punchphoto.com.

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There are many amazing iPhone apps to enhance your photos – i.e. CameraBag, Best Camera, PS Mobile, etc…  However, there are also some great iPhone apps that can enhance your photography business.  In this post I will be highlighting five free iPhone apps that you might find beneficial.

1. Evernote

Consider this your brainstorm and inspiration collection.  Evernote allows you to create multiple notebooks, photos, and voice messages that you can use to organize your inspiration.  For example, one notebook could be “Poses”.  This notebook could contain thoughts and ideas on various poses that you have seen and wanted to save for future reference.  Another great feature of Evernote is the ability to tag items.  This is helpful when you have many items in Evernote and want to search for a specific item or topic – i.e. Wedding Photo Ideas.

2. INRIX Traffic!

What time is it?!?!?!?  We’ll never get there in time!!!  Sound familiar?  This app comes into handy when you have a photo shoot at a location that’s across town.  You can simply check this app and see which route is the best one to take depending on the traffic.

3. To Do’s

When you have your own photography business, you are not just a Photographer.  You are also in charge of sales, marketing, public relations, accounting, finances, and on top of all of this you need to remember to pick-up your child from kindergarten.  Sometimes it can feel overwhelming wearing all of these different hats.  To Do’s is an app that allows you to create items that you can prioritize to make a simple To Do list.  You could also get creative with this list and write down all the different shots you want to take at an event, and then check them off after each one has been shot.

4. Find A Photographer

I’ve mentioned in the past that one of the best ways to grow your business is to network and get to know other photographers.  This iPhone app allows you to search for photographers based on location, specialty, and last name.  After finding a photographer, you can view the photographer’s portfolio directly within the app.  The photographer’s Address, Phone number, Email, and Website are also provided.  Note: The app only provides results for photographers belonging to the American Society of Media Photographers.

5. Pixelpipe

I personally love this app!  If you are into social media, this is the app for you.  It allows you to update multiple social networks and blogs (Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Wordpress, 12 Seconds, and many more) at once.  You can also update multiple Twitter accounts at the same time – i.e. If you have a Personal account and a Professional account.  With Pixelpipe, you no longer need to jump back and forth from app to app or from site to site to post new content.

I hope you have enjoyed this post on free iPhone apps to help your Photography business.  My goal was to share with you some free iPhone apps that you may not have tried out yet.  However, these apps are just the “tip of the iceberg”.  Depending on the response to this post, I might share with you some of my favorite paid iPhone apps that can help your business.

Feel free to leave a comment and share some of your favorite free iPhone apps for your photography business!

About the Author:

For the past five years, darkroomRYAN has worked with Fortune 500 clients. As the owner of Darkroom Branding, he now provides marketing and branding strategies for photographers. Feel free to follow him on Twitter at: @darkroomRYAN

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I remember the first time I heard the word “blog”. I thought it just might be the funniest word I had ever heard. It took me a while to get used to  it, and to even know what it meant. But now, 8 years later, the word “blog” is used in every day conversation. The blogging world is taking over, and you better be ready for it.

There is one powerful tool that can separate your blog (whether just a personal journal, or a photography blog) from all the others. It’s something that will keep your readers scrolling, or send them on to the next site. That tool is the proper use of pictures. Here, I offer a few ways to make your pictures more appealing and fitting to your online journal:

1. Invest

If you are serious about your blogging, then it’s time to get serious about your camera. I’m sure by now you have noticed the difference between a pictures shot with a measly point and shoot compared to one with a dSLR. Need help deciding on which one to get? Refer back to this article. If you want to make it more interesting, try using different types of cameras like Holgas, Polaroids, etc. for a different style.

2. Simplify

Is your blog for a business? Or just personal? Either way, your pictures should be free of unnecessary distractions. In order to get your story told, or your product sold, you need to learn how to find nice lighting, a simple background, and voila. A nice, simple picture that will get your readers hooked.  Oh, and one more thing. Instead of posting 5 pictures of the same thing, but maybe each one has a slightly different angle, just choose your favorite one and post it. Pictures lose their impact if they are repeated too often.

3. Lighten Up

You’ll find that one of the most common problems in photographs is that they are underexposed and flat.  Once you have your pictures, find a program that allows for easy editing (Picasa and Lightroom are both simple).  Add some light and some contrast, and you will be amazed at how big of a difference it will make on your pictures. A good tip to remember is that the whites should be white, and the blacks should be black.

4. Focus

Please don’t post pictures that are out of focus. It hurts my eyes.

5. Bigger is Better

Save the readers from having to click on each picture to get an idea of what the picture is all about. Post a picture big enough where they don’t have to click on it, but not so big that they feel they’ve lost their personal space. Your pictures and design are the look of your blog, so make the look worthy of your writing. Having problems with your writing? Check out Fuel Your Writing and Fuel Your Blogging for tips!

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Twitter Directories
One of the benefits of Twitter is its ability to connect people that share a common interest.  In this case, connecting you with other creative photographers.  Thanks to Twitter, I’ve had the pleasure of becoming friends with some of the top photographers in the industry – and you can too!

Here are three Twitter Directories that you can use to search for other photographers on Twitter:

We Follow: http://wefollow.com/twitter/photographer
Twellow: http://www.twellow.com/category_users/cat_id/342
Just Tweet It: http://justtweetit.com/photographers

Often times the photographers I follow on Twitter will send a tweet asking for a second shooter for a wedding, or other possible job opportunities.  So start following, and become active!

Note: You may also find it beneficial to add yourself to these directories so that other Photographers can find you.

Advance Twitter Search

There is an Advanced Twitter Search option, and there are numerous ways that you can use this Search option to help you and your business. If you clicked on the link above, you’ll notice that there is an “All of these words” form field in the “Words” box, and “Near this place” and “Within this distance” form fields in the “Places” box. Depending on how you fill these out, you could potentially uncover new client opportunities.

For example, lets say I am a photographer in Las Vegas… I just typed in “photographer” in the “All of these words” form field, and typed “Las Vegas” and “25 miles” in the “Near this Place” and “Within this distance” form fields. I just scanned the first page of the results, and there were two people that tweeted how they needed a photographer… It would then make sense for me to write a tweet to them introducing myself.

The best part of this is that you can save the RSS Feed of the Search. So anytime in the future when someone “within 25 miles of Las Vegas” mentions “photographer” in a tweet, you will automatically be notified.

Here are some other searches that you might want to create and save: “Wedding Photographer”,  “Wedding Photography”, “Just Got Engaged”, “Fiancee”,  “Fiance”, “Photo Shoot”, and “Photography Shoot”.

Wrap-up

The two ideas that I shared above are just the “tip of the iceberg” when it comes to how Twitter can improve your Photography business. In upcoming posts, I will share other ideas and methods on how to leverage Social Media to gain new clients and exceed your photography business goals.

About the Author:

For the past five years, darkroomRYAN has worked with Fortune 500 clients. As the owner of Darkroom Branding, he now provides marketing and branding strategies for photographers. Feel free to follow him on Twitter at: @darkroomRYAN

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1. Digital Photography School

This site has it all. Tutorials and articles on everything photography you can imagine. Equipment, post-processing, tips/tricks, forums, assignments, etc. It is because of sites like this that people can buy a camera and make a career out of it with no formal education. If you haven’t seen it, well, you are missing out on a TON of really useful information.

2. Strobist

You may have your camera down pat, but what about your flash? This site has some fantastic tips for on and off camera lighting. Photography IS all about light, right?

3. Photographer’s Edit

If you find yourself pulling your hair out because you have taken on more jobs than you can handle, Photographer’s Edit might be your solution. The concept: you take the pictures, they do the editing. Tempting, isn’t it?

4. Behance

A collection of portfolios from some of the most talented creatives in the industry. A great source of inspiration for all genres. I would say this site is best for those photographers who are already established and need some new ideas. Just be careful, you could find yourself browsing the site for hours!

5. B&H Photo Video

Love this site. Mainly because it is where you will find the most reliable equipment for the best deal. For most products, you have the option of buying new or used equipment. I love it when people take your budget into consideration.

6. Photojojo

You wouldn’t believe some of the ideas these people come up with. Ways to use your photos, or even recycling your camera…this site is a MUST for all you photo fans!

7. I Heart Faces

This site has you smiling the second you see it with it’s clean, appealing design. A great resource for portrait photographers who are looking for both tips/tricks, and get to know other talented photographers. Check out the challenges and the guest judges they bring in.

Do you have other sites you frequently visit? Let us know about it!

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What’s Your Number?

I highly encourage keeping your personal and professional phone lines separate. However, I realize that this may not always be possible. For example, I don’t have a land line. All of my calls are managed using my iPhone. So fear not – I am going to share with you how to manage different numbers on one phone. First, there is a service called Ring Central that allows you to create a toll-free number that can be forwarded to your existing phone line. It also has various voicemail options that you can set-up, i.e. for Wedding Photography press 1, for Portraits press 2, for Stock Photography press 3, etc… Ring Central also has an iPhone app that is available to download in the Apple App Store.

After The Beep

Before I begin this section, let me state that if you are able to answer the phone when someone is calling, I highly encourage you to answer it instead of letting it go to voicemail. However, I realize that this is not always the case. Since potential clients will be going to voicemail, this is a great opportunity to share with them your USP , any news about your business, or inform them on any specials that you may be offering at the moment, i.e. “Hi this is Ryan from Ryan Photography. Please leave a creative message and I will get back with you. In the meantime, feel free to check-out our work in the latest issue of Shutterbug Magazine. Thank you for your call, and we’ll talk soon.” Basically, use this opportunity to somehow stand-out from the crowd, and be creative with it. As Jerry Seinfeld has stated, “There are people on phones and voicemails still telling you to leave your name and number. Are those necessary instructions? Is anyone getting messages like, ‘This is a woman. Good-bye’?” And his thoughts on the beep, “I know people who are still telling you to wait for the beep. It’s the 21st century – I think we’re all up to speed on the beep!”

Press 2 for Awesome Service

Finally, I want to let all of you know about an amazing service that Google is offering, called Google Voice. This service used to be GrandCentral before Google bought them on July 2, 2007. Google Voice allows you to select a specific phone number in an area code of your choice, and when this number is dialed you can determine what phone you would like to ring, i.e. your personal phone, your business phone, your cell phone, etc… This is a great way to provide potential clients with a different local number than your personal number. A great feature of this service is that all calls are stored in your Google Voice Account. This makes it very easy to check messages and manage your calls. Currently, Google Voice is by Invite Only, but I highly encourage you to sign-up to get on the wait list for this service.

In closing, remember that the phone is simply a tool for conversation. The main thing is to make it super simple for clients to contact you – how they want to contact you. Some may feel more comfortable via Email, whereas others will only dial a toll-free number. The key is to have these options available to them, and provide them with superior service.

About the Author:

For the past five years, darkroomRYAN has worked with Fortune 500 clients. As the owner of Darkroom Branding, he now provides marketing and branding strategies for photographers. Feel free to follow him on Twitter at: @darkroomRYAN

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Visual Consistency
Your website, logo, company colors, business cards, and your photography are all examples of visual consistency. These are the visual clues that relate your business, photography, and brand to the world. All of these pieces need to interact with each other in order to have successful branding. A great exercise to think about is this: If I had ten photographers business cards, and I placed them out on a table – I should be able to determine who owns each business card by simply looking at their website. The colors, design elements, and font on the business cards should be consistent with those on the websites. Imagine what would happen if IKEA changed the colors on their buildings to red and black, yet kept their logo and other marketing materials blue and yellow. There would be a sense of disconnect, because the buildings were not consistent with their marketing materials.

External Consistency
External consistency is how you interact with clients on an operational level. This includes how clients can hire you, order photos, and how your respond to them. If I’m a client of yours and I refer my friend to you, I should be able to tell my friend the steps and procedures to schedule a session and purchase photos from you. This is the same type of consistency that chain restaurants use. For example, how you place an order at a Chipotle in California is the same as in a Chipotle in Ohio. Also, if I’m a client of yours and you respond quickly to my voicemails and emails, the people that I refer to you should experience the same type of service.

Internal Consistency
This type of consistency basically means: If I hire you, I expect to get you. Internal consistency is about being the same type of person that clients have seen, or heard about. This means that if you are a cheerful and optimistic person on your website, blog, or online videos, you should be the same type of person during your interactions with your clients. For example, if you purchase tickets to see Jerry Seinfeld perform stand-up comedy, your expectations are based on seeing a certain type of style of comedy. It would not be consistent if Seinfeld’s act was two hours of prop jokes ala Carrot Top. I’ll leave you with this quote:

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us.”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

I hope you found this post helpful. Stay tuned to Fuel Your Photography for future posts on using design principles to help your photography business.

About the Author:

For the past five years, darkroomRYAN has worked with Fortune 500 clients. As the owner of Darkroom Branding, he now provides marketing and branding strategies for photographers. Feel free to follow him on Twitter at: @darkroomRYAN

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I. The Experience

People can hire a wide-variety of photographers for their wedding, portraits, or senior photos. However, nobody can provide them with the exact same experience as you. The “Experience” starts the moment a potential client contacts you. This ranges from how you answer the phone, how comfortable you make them feel at the shoot, how timely you reply back to them, to how you follow-up with them after the shoot. Every interaction you have with your client influences their perception of you and your brand. To some degree, the “Experience” for a potential clients starts before they contact you. Your website, Twitter account, Facebook Page, and branding can all influence a potential client to contact you or choose another photographer.

A great way to give potential clients a sneak peek into your “Experience” is to have someone shoot video or take photos of you while you’re at a shoot. This will allow potential clients to see how you interact with everyone at the shoot, how much fun everyone is having, and what to expect for when they hire you. Think of it as a Behind The Scenes clip starring you!

II. The Style

Many photographers are going after the same style in the marketplace these days. However, there is only one Victor Sizemore, and one Mike Colón. Feel free to use another photographer’s style as inspiration, but put your own unique twist on it. This can range from the angles you use, the emotions you capture, the actions you used in the digital darkroom, to the type of film you use. Yes, I said film…

An example of this is Steve Zugelter of Studio Z Films . The majority of his competitors were only using digital cameras for their shoots. He took a risk and started offering to shoot weddings in Super 8 film. By doing this, Steve stood out from his competitors and provided his clients with a creative way to capture their wedding. Who knows, one could take this to the extreme and shoot an entire wedding with Polaroid! The main point is: Don’t be afraid to put your own unique touches on your photography, even if it goes against what may be the popular fad today.

III. The You

There is only one you, and that is ultimately what you are selling. However, before you can sell yourself, you need to be sold on yourself. Be confident in your abilities, be proud of your work, and most importantly – Have fun out there!

I’ll be touching upon “The You” in future blog posts on Fuel Your Photography. In the meantime, feel free to leave a comment below and get shooting!

About the Author:

For the past five years, darkroomRYAN has worked with Fortune 500 clients. As the owner of Darkroom Branding, he now provides marketing and branding strategies for photographers. Feel free to follow him on Twitter at: @darkroomRYAN

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1. Build The Relationship

How many of you have heard the phrase, “It’s not what you know, but who you know.”? At least for me, I grew up hearing that all the time. Over the years, I’ve learned that a more accurate statement would be, “It’s not who you know, but who knows you.”. A great way to develop referral business is by building meaningful relationships with not only your clients, but other photographers, and vendors as well. Networking and helping out other photographers can lead them to refer their overflow work to you, and vice-versa – Remember, relationships always go two-ways. Creating relationships with vendors, i.e. Wedding Reception Halls, Jewelry Stores, Florists, etc… is another way to gain new business. A unique idea for working with a jewelry store is: When a couple purchases their engagement ring, they get a free engagement session from you. This is a great way to build a rapport with the couple, and hopefully book their wedding.

2. Rewards Program

I love getting free gift certificates from my bank for using my debit card. You can develop the same type of “program” for your clients for referring business to you. In doing something like this, there are two frames of mind: 1. Tell your clients about the rewards they can get ahead of time, before referring business to you, and 2. Surprise your clients with a reward after they have referred business to you. My personal option is that you should do the latter, and make the reward a surprise for your clients for referring you business. Imagine their feelings and emotions when they receive a Thank You card in the mail from you with a Gift Certificate to their favorite restaurant, or a letter saying a donation was made in their name to their favorite charity.

3. Referral Cards

This is a creative idea that I have shared with my photographer clients that received great feedback. The idea is to send a card to your previous clients for their One-Year Anniversary. In the card, write something to the extent of: “Renee and Ryan, I can’t believe it has already been one year since your magical night! Congratulations on your One-Year Anniversary! I had so much fun being part of your ceremony, and I’ve included a few of my favorite moments. Hope you enjoy!” This is where it gets creative… Included in the card are six custom made business cards, that you have tweaked into what I like to call “referral cards”. A referral card has a photograph of the couple at their wedding, below that it says “Renee and Ryan Approved”, and then your contact information. Since your clients’ photographs are on the cards, they are more likely to show other people and hand them out.

NOTE: A great place to print these cards is moo.com.

I hope you found this post helpful, and stay tuned to Fuel Your Photography for more ideas to grow your photography business!

For the past five years, darkroomRYAN has worked with Fortune 500 clients. As the owner of Darkroom Branding, he now provides marketing and branding strategies for photographers. Feel free to follow him on Twitter at: @darkroomRYAN

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