Networking & Marketing

What are the best ways to network yourself and your new photography business?

I use Facebook. I am also on Twitter, but pigs fly more often then I Tweet. lol Posting on forums. When you run into people, and a converstion starts, mention about your photography business (while handing out a business card).

I am on Facebook, twitter and I have my details in a few free photography sites, all these places point to my website, as Crystal says get those business cards out there, they are no good in your pocket, it aint easy but try anything as the more people who hear about you the better, so good luck

If you don't have business cards already, go to Vistaprint. You can get the first 250 for free, unless you want the premium cards (using one of your own photos, which is a great idea), even then, it's pretty cheap.
I have a page on Facebook for my photography. You could also volunteer to take photos in your community. I'm doing an event next month, Bark for Life. I'll be taking photos and selling them to raise money for the American Cancer Society, but I'll also have a table with my portfolio, business cards and brochures/flyers for my photo business.

I agree on the volunteer part. I volunteered at our local SPCA taking pictures of the animals.

BTW, marketing yourself is easier said then done, especially if you are not a social person.

thanks for the tips!

heres my facebook for my business! I'd love for you to check it out! http://www.facebook.com/pages/Little-Blue-Leaf-Photography/165473973504781

Erika wrote: thanks for the tips!

heres my facebook for my business! I'd love for you to check it out! http://www.facebook.com/pages/Little-Blue-Leaf-Photography/165473973504781

I liked your page.

crystal wrote:

Erika wrote: thanks for the tips!

heres my facebook for my business! I'd love for you to check it out! http://www.facebook.com/pages/Little-Blue-Leaf-Photography/165473973504781

I liked your page.

Me too!

Erika, I am going to give you my honest opinion. You can take it and learn from it or ignore it.

I checked out your website, I see there is two of you in this Little Blue Leaf Photography business. I don't know who took the pictures that are on the site, but it doesn't really matter, all of the photos are IMO marginal. The pictures remind me of the typical teenager snapshot and post processing. Some of them really remind me of snapshots. Some pictures have hands/arms, legs crop off. There is a picture where the focus point is on the ground in the middle of the frame. I do not understand the point to that photo. A couple of the photos are over exposed.

The photos I like it the guy in the tie, the two hands with rings, and guy standing by window.

IMO, your prices are pretty high for the photos I see.
For a 1hr family session, there is no need to have two photographers. Now it's fine to have a photographer and an assistant. If that is how you two are working, then only state one photographer. Otherwise, if you two do shoot in that 60min window, that is alot of shooting going on.

I don't know if the reason you ask this question is because Little Blue Leaf hasn't had any clients....but if that is the reason, maybe you should rethink your prices and practice alot more on photography and post processing before charging.

I say this, because you are young and I like to see you grow, but you need to crawl before you can walk.

The Nikon D40 and the lenses you have is a nice set of equipment, but they are only tools. It's the photographer who takes the photos, not the camera.

I try as many different ways as I can to get my name and business seen.

* Facebook is one of the best and the 2 group's I have on there.
* Word of mouth is my best way so far, get known and people will recommend you.
* Twitter I found dose not help me at all ......
* Modeling web groups like Purestorm / ModelMayhem
* My own website and getting as many word's in the word search to be found.
* Free Add's on the internet.
* Joining as many forum's that I can
* Business Cards ..... hand them out to anything that moves lol
* Flyer's up in local shop window's

Crystal,

I don't see how this response was any way helpful to the question I posed. I didn't ask for opinions of my site. If one was to check it out thats one thing, but at the end of the day I love the business and website that my cousin and I have created. Thats what matters most. If I like my photography then thats good enough for me.
I find your comments rude and uncalled for. I'd appreciate if you kept the slander at a minimum on forums such as this because you'll never see me say things like that. Thank you.

I agree completely with everything Crystal said. You asked about networking and marketing...that's great. But before you get so involved with getting your name out there, why not worry first about how to take a good photograph and not charge an arm and a leg for the work you and your cousin currently do.

Truth hurts. Learn from it.

While Crystal & Scout had good points there is no need for the rudeness. they also seem to live in a bubble where there is only one kind of acceptable photography...

It does not matter what Scout or Crystal or I think of your photos, What matters is whether or not enough people like your style of photography and are willing to pay you for your style. Marketing effectively means knowing your market and then advertising your product to that market. No point advertising spectacular wedding photos in a dirt bike magazine...

Think about what you want to do, what your style of photography is similar to, the washed out, blurred motion look goes through cycles just like everything else that's fashionable. You need to try and work out what styles are currently popular and what the next style might be, experiment with styles, and don't let stubborn old fools on a forum tell you your photography stinks. If your aspiration is to shoot for GQ magazine or Vogue and they tell you your photography stinks, that's another thing entirely. That would be your market saying no.

At the same time the only way you will survive is if you can perform. this means knowing your equipment and all the technical theory to produce and reproduce on demand. You might get a great artistic shot by accident one day that you put in your portfolio or on your website. You might then have a potential client ask you to reproduce that shot with a few modifications. Question is, can you?

Anyone can take a nice artistic shot by accident and have thousands of people go OOOhhhh! If you want to make a living out of this I think you need to be able to deliver what the client wants. Not what Crystal or Scout want and possibly not even what you would want.

You need to split yourself into 2 photographers. One who provides a service for $$$ and one who experiments and is artistic and does it for fun not $$$. The better you are the more likely you will be able to one day merge them both into one.

I'm still new to this myself. My background is in marketing although I have never owned my own business. I personally need to fix my website so that It is much easier for people to find examples of my work that are of interest to them. No point having hundreds of various photos in a slideshow if by chance it doesn't show any photos of interest to a visitor. I think this is something you need to do as well, but every business has a different market, different needs. Make it easy for them to find Fashion, Art, Portrait, Landscape etc.

With regards to your pricing, I will comment as this is part of marketing. It needs to be less artsy and more clear.
It's lovely giving packages names like "The White Fir'... Don't
You are much better off naming the pricing packages according to what they include; Couples Portraiture half day / full day, Weddings Half day / full day etc.
Make it clear and concise what is included. Eg why do you state a minimum of 8 people are required for a family portrait session when your pricing indicates it is $150.00 for the session? Is it actually $150.00 per person for the session?

You will miss out on a lot of business by enforcing a minimum of 8 people, I also would think a lot of families wouldn't book a photographer for only 1 hour at $150.00 a head with no photos included; not even on disc... What on earth are they paying for? An hour of your pleasant company while you take photos of them that they then have to pay extra for? Why is "cherry blossom' more expensive and restricted to pregnant women? Why not offer those same services to families, couples, Athletes, local bands, business profile shots etc for that same price. It doesnt cost you any extra to shoot a pregnant lady than it does a local real estate agent needing profile shots.
Base your prices on the time and expense to you + profit. Not what sounds fancy and elegant in your head.

Maybe I didn't quite understand your pricing, but if I didn't; how many potential customers didn't either? In the past a customer would have come into your shop or made a phone call to enquire about your prices. Giving you the opportunity to explain the packages and even offer a discount in order to close the sale. By displaying your prices on the web, people will simply go to the next google search result if your pricing is too hard to understand or is too costly. You are better off asking them to contact you for a price list.
Just make sure you have one that's easy for you and them to understand.

Just my 2c.