In a departure from Jim’s keynotes of the past, this year’s keynote gets down-and-dirty in the world of business. Jim will focus on the myths, challenges and opportunities facing professional photographers today. This data-rich session provides a launching pad for conference attendees by highlighting keys to success that every photographer requires.
The keynote will include a state of the market overview, using data about consumer preferences for photography. With that foundation, we will delve into product strategy, differentiation, the importance of time management, and the central themes of marketing strategy around which a brand must be built.
Leave the kleenex in your rooms folks, this year you’ll need a notebook, a pen and your big kids pants as we challenge you to make your business the best it can be.
One of the strongest messages within the industry is that it's all about us. It's not about the photography; it's about the photographer. That it's about our unique personality and our particular eye that produces photographic art that nobody else can create. It's YOU that defines your brand and separates your business from everyone else in the market. While those statements may be 100% true, our businesses are still not about us. Jeff and Erin Youngren will explore the surprisingly subtle (and not-so-subtle) differences between self-centered business practices vs. a client-focused mindset that asks the question, "If our most important goal were to serve other people, how would we change the way we do business?
How do you make a client feel and look beautiful when everything seems stacked against you? Learn new skills to creatively solve problems that arise on the wedding day that most often serve as a barrier to great portraiture and review the process that Ned considers when he's photographing his clients. Ned will push you to find a new mindset that will help you expand creatively and capture dynamic portraits that speak to the essence of the couple, as well as the mood and emotion of the day.
Luxury is defined by exclusivity, yet the use of social media creates accessibility and democracy. With the ever-increasing ubiquity of online presences, it becomes more and more difficult to maintain a luxurious cachet and allure. Learn how to communicate a desired luxury brand and increase your digital territory without undermining brand perceptions through social media.
Stop wasting my time! Learn how "Lean Engineering" principles can continuously improve your business, your customer base, and your bottom line. It's not sexy. But it's true. Our businesses are dependent on systems. Our schedules fill up and we have little time left to see how systems impact our businesses' quality, profitability, and customer satisfaction. Leeann will introduce you to the core concepts of "Lean Engineering," and show you how they can be implemented into your business. By eliminating complexity and waste, you can achieve superb customer satisfaction, higher profits, and more free time!
Tyler will explore the idea of building a business and creating a style around THE CLIENT. This concept enabled his business to weather photographic trends by maintaining a purely documentary approach; one that celebrates the client first and foremost. Using photography as a story telling medium allows Tyler to impact his clients' lives in personal ways, thereby offering an experience that they not only remember but also broadcast. Learn how a good old-fashioned work ethic has made a huge difference in Tyler's highly saturated Midwestern market.
In this session, Richard takes the class through a sales consultation session. From the initial phone call, to a pre consultation survey, investigating your clients before they come in, your meeting environment, and how to captivate their senses. I talk about how ShootQ plays a major roll in communicating with my clients. I go through my entire consultation process from how to welcome them, body language, and how anyone can create a conversation that's only about the client. Then it's about getting your clients connected to your images. Story telling. Selling product by allowing clients to feel a connection with them.
Photographers often hear that creating a great brand is all about selling yourself and being yourself. Sure, that's part of branding, but this panel will challenge you to think beyond conventional wisdom! Explore what a truly client-focused business looks like how these photographers' business practices are different than what you'd expect. Come ready to ask questions, be challenged, and think outside the box!
Pulitzer Prize winning photographer, Deanne Fitzmaurice will show how personal projects can spark your creativity. She will discuss how she gains trust and access in challenging situations. With a forward-thinking approach to visual storytelling, Deanne will also discuss how she is using HDSLR video and audio to enhance the narrative of her stories. Some of the stories Deanne will show include her Pulitzer Prize winning story of an injured Iraqi boy which has become an 8 year project and a multimedia piece about a Circus Sideshow performer at Coney Island.
World Press winner and recipient of the Alfred Eisenstadt award for journalistic impact, Joe McNally will show and discuss work from a 30 year career as a photojournalist distinguished by tenacity, versatility, fluency with light, and an ability to initiate, fund and shoot major projects. He will discuss the use of light as the language of photography, and how personal relationships, and accountability as a shooter creates the trust needed both at publications and in the field to pursue significant stories. He will show excerpts from stories shot for LIFE, Time, Newsweek, and Geo as well as his 25 year history as a shooter for National Geographic. He will also discuss and show examples from his 10 year involvement with the events of 911, resulting in multiple books, a traveling show and a photo project known as Faces of Ground Zero.
In an industry overflowing with how to's and should do’s, it seems like everyone has a different answer about the best way to grow your business. The truth is: the best way to grow your business can’t be defined by anyone but you. This panel will not only explore strategies for growing a photography business, it will also identify reasons why specific strategies have worked for each unique photographer.
Come hear about strategies ranging from associate photographer models to the pros and cons of owning a studio storefront, and how to diversify your revenue streams. You'll be challenged with new ideas for your own business and provided with practical tips to take away!
Listen in on a rare conversation as four photographers with distinctly different styles critique each other's work. They’ll discuss the story, the technique and the approach behind images and then open the floor for conversation and critique. Bring your questions and comments – no holds barred!
Are product sales dead? Do prints matter any more? These photographers will share the ways they've incorporated (or steered away from) physical products in their business as well as explore new ways they've found to take advantage of digital technology. Listen in to these solidly different viewpoints and be challenged to examine how you're currently approaching digital and physical product sales in your own business.
We all have our weaknesses. Ours is the propensity to "collect" and "hoard." We have been wading through mountains of paperwork: business cards, receipts, paper bills, cutout magazine articles and photos... you name it. We made a conscious effort to reduce this clutter in January of this year. With the help of an upright scanner, a suite of iPad/iPhone apps, and Evernote, we have reduced the mountains to a mere molehill. Add in ShootQ, and your home office/studio will be lean as ever, and your mind will be free to embrace the creative vibes you‚ve lost in the clutter.
How are you using your blog, email and social media to build genuine relationships with your audience? How are you transitioning the relationships with that audience into paying clients? In this demonstration, The Photo Life content creators will show you how to use generous content to do just that. They'll walk you through the process of creating a Content Marketing plan for your unique business. You will leave a Content Marketing machine!
Let's kick it into high gear as Christa dissects her portrait business, puts it under a microscope, and exposes the critical choices she made when building the brand that earned her a six-figure income in less than two years after just getting started. She will uncover the strategies that led to being booked solid, continually increasing sales, and creating higher profit margins. Christa's definition of a successful portrait business goes beyond high revenue and also includes creative fulfillment and running a business with ease. So from top to bottom, we'll take an intimate peek inside her business and identify the mind-set, the systems, the tools, and the business practices that keep her happy, in-demand, well-paid, and creatively fulfilled. Let's break it all down together and set you up for success!
The master of photography understands light, can predict it, command and replicate it and bend its course to suite his particular needs. Yet a mastery of lighting techniques is worthless without a clear aesthetic understanding of light's effect on composition and meaning. Join me as I discuss the philosophy of light in photography. We'll leave the technical mumbo jumbo to someone else.
During this 90 minute presentation, Justine will lead you through sales strategies that are relevant to both wedding and portrait photographers of all skill levels. Learn to see through the eyes of your clients and how to fill their needs in ways even they haven't considered. With a focus on information gathering, shooting with purpose, presentation techniques, and learning from your own statistics, Justine will teach you how to "help" your way to bigger sales and more of them.
Do you view your photographs as "deliverables" or "shareables?" What if your clients were collaborators rather than simply your customers? Join this incredible panel of photographers and strategists as they discuss and debate how photographers can change the ways they create and share images. Consider this: if photographs are "shareables" rather than "deliverables," then consumer-created content is just as valuable as professionally-created content. Scary? Or, an exciting new way to monetize creativity? Join us to find out how!
How The Kids Book Project Changed our Business (and How it Can Change Yours Too!)
In 2007 our studio did a very modest number of portrait sessions -- about 10.
But after attending a Tero Sade seminar that year our portrait business took a dramatic change -- for the better.
Since 2008 we have photographed over 500 children's sessions for our charity book project and this project has had a profound impact on our business both on the bottom line but also in how it has changed the perception of our business within the community. If I can do this, so can you.
In this seminar I'll share why a charity project such as this can benefit your business, benefit your clients and benefit a worthy charity (in some very lean years).
Your business can be transformed by these projects and I'll share how you can start one for yourself and some mistakes to avoid along the way.
Storytelling with Context: A Photowalk
I do documentary work. When it comes to documenting couples, I adhere very strictly to a set of principles that involves no intrusion and no messing with what is going on. We'll be talking about walking into a space and immediately finding your compositions and preserving the integrity of the scene so that when the action starts to roll, you know where to be, what to shoot, and how to shoot it while staying flexible to the ongoing action and its reverberations. My work looks like this :: ericlauritsweddings.com
Not a model? Not a problem.
We‚ve all been there.
Your most recent couple are not models. They are real people with real blemishes or body issues. Perhaps there is a tremendous height difference, or a drastic difference in skin color (creating an exposure nightmare). Your clients pay you good money to feel like models... don't you owe it to your them to make them feel as though they just finished up a shoot for Vogue?
Using real people, Betsy and Jeff will train you on how to properly position various body types, how to manage height differences, and even how to properly expose for an interracial couple. Join them as they instruct you on how to shoot anyone, anywhere.
Joe's shooting style is photojournalistic in nature, he is about capturing the essence of the person in the moment. This is done both in moments that actually unfold and in traditional portraiture. Joe uses available light and every once in a while his flash is available :).
From Whine to Wow: Photographing the Fussy Family!
Jules Bianchi is well known for her work as an award winning wedding photographer, but what comes after marriage? Kids! And while brides WANT to be photographed, kids and pets could care less. Jules and Joy have learned (sometimes the hard way) how to handle the unique challenges that comes with photographing a family, from prepping the parents to tricks to working with kids and dogs. Join us in San Diego and we'll tackle getting great shots of those clients who don't actually want to be photographed!
Bringing out natural emotion in your clients who may be awkward in front of your camera is my specialty. Come learn how to put them at ease and capture two people in love...
Ever since I started shooting pictures I have always looked at the world with my own unique eye, capturing images that stand alone. Attend my workshop and get inside my head, let me help you see in a whole new way and open your eyes to a new creative vision. We will photograph three different subjects using three separate lighting techniques, strobes, hot lights, and available light. We will divide into small groups. I will work with each group and each person one on one while you shoot, helping each person to see and use light to create images like never before while getting you to think outside the box.
My approach is pretty simple: I work to draw a great scene and make my couple comfortable. The rest comes naturally – lighting, texture and expression. During the wedding day, I'm often blending in and working to capture those moments that leave everyone in awe. I think the biggest thing a photographer can do is let the bride and groom know that they are there for them, to show that we care about their comfort as much as great photos. I'm inspired by shapes, colors and sharp lighting, by a soft breeze blowing a brides dress, small things through the day that keep me motivated to continue the streak of fun, sexy and beautiful images. That's my style and approach in a nutshell.
Want to learn about shooting with Primes? Want to shoot with me in my favorite place in the world, Downtown San Diego? I am so excited about this shooting workshop! I want to show you how to seek out and find great locations, make the right lens choice, and work with your client to get the best image you can. I am even going to break out my video lights for a couple shots and show you how to use video light inside to get stunning images. We are going to talk gear, light, posing, and anything else you want to know. I am SO excited about this shooting workshop. I can not wait to meet all of you and have an incredible time learning and creating incredible images.
Adding Video to Your On-Location Photo Shoots
Adding video to your photo shoots will help you increase sales, get a bigger and better presence online, and help you find more clients. But, how can you add video to your photo shoots without adding any more staff, equipment or time? We've been doing this for years, join this workshop and we'll show you how.
Jared Platt's name is synonymous with Lightroom and Post-Production Workflow. His Lightroom Workflow Workshop has changed lives all across the country and more than likely has already streamlined your workflow. And now, there's even more... Debuting at Pictage Partner Conference, Jared's all new Adobe Lightroom Intensive will rock your world. Come learn how to harness Lightroom's power in an intense, four hour workshop, where you will learn powerful image development methods, preset creation strategies, black and white conversion techniques, automation tips, Photoshop interaction and action automation, Lightroom based image sharing and much more. The Adobe Lightroom Intensive is the perfect companion workshop to The Lightroom Workflow Workshop. Don't miss it.
Where are you going?
We will set the roadmap for your business. How much money do you want to make? How many events do you want to photograph? We will systematically work through all of the logistics associated with creating a business structure, based on these questions and others. Together, we will work to define the metrics of your business, and what you need to do to get there. Ever feel lost in your goals, and the executables necessary to get there? This part will take care of that for you :)
Workflow Structure
Now that you know where you're headed, lets talk about the specifics of how you're going to get there. What should you focus on? Where should you commit your time? Most photographers end up spinning their wheels, wasting time on things that don't have a maximum impact. We'll clear through those things, and learn how to prioritize tasks and responsibilities. I'll also show you how to implement systems that will save you time and energy, so you can focus on what counts.
Pricing and Packaging
Creating proper package structure is fundamentally one of the most important things you can do for your business. Come see the details of the highly rated 2011 WPPI Platform Presentation on Pricing and Packaging. We will discuss which structure is best for you: packages or a la carte. I will then show you how to structure each, so you have pricing that upsells itself and removes confusion from your clients. If you feel like your bookings aren't in line, or you're not making enough on each package, this section will show you how to change that.
This is a nuts-and-bolts, hands-on class with plenty of time for questions. You will work with Liana's Number Cruncher tool (a copy is included complimentary with your registration). You will create a personal budget and determine your salary, create budgets for your different business expenses, determine your income, and take a look at your sales goals and overall financial outlook for 2012.
Get your ShootQ account dialed in for once and for all! We'll walk you through ShootQ best practices, explain how to set up your pricing and workflows, and share our tips for making the most out off ShootQ! Walk away whipped into shape like a champ - your brain may be sore but your business won't regret it!
Wondering what Nimbus, Pictage's fresh new web platform can do for your business? David Wolf, a web developer and computer nerd with years of experience will give you the answers you need. In this four hour intensive workshop, you will learn how to: Use Nimbus to enhance your web presence and increase sales. Move your existing web content to Nimbus. Use Nimbus to attract new clients. Integrate Nimbus into your workflow. And much more...
