Happy New Year Young Photopreneur’s! I hope that January has been a great start for 2010 for you. I know that many of you have photo shoots in mind to build your portfolio and may even want to step it up a bit in the way you put them together. So I wanted to give you some insight an tips on how you can have a smooth productions the next time you shoot!

Ever wonder how a photo shoot is produced? The photography world can be such a mystery sometimes, that even photographers have a hard time finding the right answers. 

Not until you experience it for yourself, will the puzzle pieces start to come together, and everything seems to make sense.

Sometimes reading a book will not always give you what you need. However, any information is ALWAYS helpful, and I’m here to give you a first hand perspective on how it’s done.

I recently had the opportunity to shoot a photo series at a hip new restaurant located in Orange County, California. I already had a vision of what I wanted to create, and with the permission to shoot at this venue, the vision started to unfold and materialize.

I’d like to take you through the process of how this production was done, so the next time you have a photo shoot, and you’re not sure where to start, you can refer back here for some tips. 

Two Weeks before the shoot:

You’ll want to set aside ample time to set up your shoot, a lot of work will go into it, so you’ll want to make sure everything goes smoothly.

Scout for a location:

Two weeks before the shoot I contacted the key people at the location I wanted to shoot at. I spoke to them in person about what I was looking to do and asked permission to shoot there. Luckily, they were the nicest people in the world and had no problem with me shooting at their restaurant.

Sometimes you’ll need to purchase a permit to shoot at certain locations, so make sure you do your research.

Brainstorm your concept:

I later met up with my Art Director to go over the concept for the photo series and brainstorm on how we’d set up each scene. Having help when producing a shoot can be a tremendous stress reliever. As creative people, we like to do things ourselves to make sure it’s done correctly, however we don’t always have to do EVERYTHING! Consider bringing people on board to balance the responsibility.

Mansfield, my Art Director wore many hats on this production. He became my sidekick and helped me make this shoot a success. 

Casting Call: 

After going over the concept, we put out a casting call for models, as well as contacted modeling agencies for options as well. We were going to need at least four male models and four female models. 

Assemble your crew:

After finding the talent, I was then in a position to contact my make up artist and go over the concept with her as well. 

I also contacted my film director to inform him of some footage we could get of the shoot.

So everyone was on the same page. The crew and talent all knew the concept, and had all the information on call time, date and location.

One Week before the shoot:

Meet on common ground:

You’ll want to make sure there’s a place for everyone to meet on the day of the shoot so that people have a place to get something to drink and eat, sit down, and also for prepping the models. 

Luckily, the location was walking distance from my house. So everyone could easily meet at my house, and then drive over to the location when ready to shoot. 

Photo Assistants:

Just the simple fact of having 8 models for this shoot was enough for me to know I was going to need a lot of help. I contacted two assistants to help me on the shooting day, and the extra hands proved to be an invaluable asset. 

Four days before the shoot:

Props:

There were a couple specialty props I knew I needed for the shoot. You can hire a wardrobe stylist in this instance, however, since what I needed wasn’t too complicated, I and my Art Director went and picked it up ourselves. 

Kraft Services:

It’s your responsibility to make sure your crew and talent is well hydrated and fed. Contacting someone who specializes in Kraft Services is one option, or you can also simply order from a local eatery.

One day before the shoot:

Send out the final version of the call sheet, and contact all talent and crew to confirm for the next day. 

I always test out my equipment to make sure everything is working properly, and I also test out any rental equipment. 

A checklist is good to have, just to be safe that you’ve gotten everything you’ll need. 

Day of the shoot:

For this particular shoot, of course it had it’s ups and downs of stressful and not so stressful moments. However, thankfully the entire day turned out extremely well. With the amount of crew and talent on board, everything went exceptionally well.

6am:

Have meeting spot ready for crew and talent. Get equipment ready for loading and transporting to the location.

7am:

Crew arrives. At this time, the make up artist and film director started to set up and get ready for the talent to come.

8am – Talent call time: 

By this time, the female models arrived to have their hair and makeup done. Each model took anywhere from 30-45 minutes. So you’ll want to make sure you have enough time to have your talent get ready before the call time of actually shooting. 

9am:

BREAKFAST! YUMMY! TIME TO EAT:)

At this time, the male models also arrived.

11am:

My assistants and I loaded the cars with equipment and drove over to the location to set up. We also took note on how we’d navigate the shoot; Where and when we’d shoot in the restaurant. The manager of the restaurant let us use an entire section of the place!

It was fantastic, because we had the eating area to use, as well as a dancing floor and vintage cars to take advantage of.  

Noon:

After the models were fully dressed and hair and make up was done, we started carpooling everyone over. From there, we spent the next 4 hours shooting each scene we discussed. 

My Art Director was amazing in helping me set up each scene and making sure we were getting everything we had envisioned. 

The Story:

Original Mike’s, the restaurant we shot at, has a great ambience. I’ve passed by it hundreds of times, but not until recently did I consider shooting there.

The story I had in mind was to have a couple going out to eat, they sit down and have there drinks brought to them, when the guy gets a message to call someone. 

At this point, he leaves his date to make the call, while she stays behind. She takes a sip of her drink, passes out, and is kidnapped!

He then has to find her, and the only way to get her back is by flashing his Michael Jackson studded glove to blind the kidnappers!

It’s a Wrap!:

By the end of the day, the crew and a few models stuck around to help me clean up the restaurant and leave it the same way we found it. 

I thanked the manager and told him how appreciative I was for him having us and giving permission to use the facility.

I collected the signed model releases, and then called it a day!

It’s always fun to have a wrap party. So if your crew and talent have the time, you should reward their hard work.

That was a busy day for everyone, so we weren’t able to celebrate. However, we all had a lot of fun during the shoot!

Thank You:

I like to send thank you letters to all that was apart of a shoot. It shows that you appreciate others’ help and I’m sure the person on the receiving end also appreciates it.

So there you go, a shoot from beginning to end! To see the entire “Smooth Criminal” series, log onto http://www.CheriAmour.com. Currently, the images are still being edited, so check back often for newly posted images from this photo story! 

Are you ready to produce your next photo shoot? If so, after it’s all said and done, come back and leave a comment on your results!

Or if you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Until next time… Cheers to your success!

-Cheri Amour

I’m proud to have been asked to be featured on their website, and I’m sharing this with you because you can start getting free press as well!! This is an article I can now use in my portfolio. So once you start meeting people and getting your name in front of the right people, you will be able to use this information to strengthen your portfolio!

To view the entire article, click here!

Until next time, cheers to your success!

Today we’ll be looking into #5 (making yourself visible). In order to have people know your out there, you have to tell them where you are, and make it easy for them to find you! Makes sense right?:)

The first thing to work on, is optimizing your website. Search Engine Optimization, also known as SEO is what will help you gain more traffic from google. By using certain keywords, it will improve the quality and traffic of your website from search engines (“organic” or “algorithmic”). When your site ranks high in a search, it is more likely to be visited than others.

The Biggest Mistake People Make Online

With a website, you want to be able to have visitors, and convert them into clients. Otherwise, the traffic you acquire will be useless. A pretty website that doesn’t convert visitors into clients is pointless. Of course, you’re gonna want to have an AWESOME portfolio page, but there needs to be a reason for that visitor to want to work with you.

You may get a few calls and gain some new clients, but 99 percent of your visitors will not come back again. Not because they don’t like your work, but most people lead busy lives, and may forget how they arrived to your site in the first place.

Your focus is to offer visitors a reason to come back. Maybe to see new images from a recent shoot? Or to watch behind-the scenes footage of a full on photo shoot. Or you could even offer a a discount or new product they’ll receive if they hire you as their photographer! Get creative on why someone should visit your site again.

A few things to remember

Industry studies suggest that you only have 3 seconds to create a connection with a new visitor to your site or they move on. 3 SECONDS!! WOOOOW!! First impressions are EVERYTHING:)

1. Domain Name: Try to get a domain name that is easy to remember. Your name is always great, but you can get creative too! You could also have multiple domain names that all direct to one site, this is called domain forwarding.

2. Speak to your target market: Make sure your website speaks to the market you want to work with, and meets their needs. You can offer solutions to problems they may have and describe the benefits if they choose to work with you.

3. Call to action: It must be clear of the action you want your visitors to take. Sign up for your newsletter? Leave their e-mail address to receive discounts? The possibilities are many!

Generate more traffic

If you plan on using your website to help you get clients, steady flow of traffic is imperative. Here’s a few techniques that can help you generate more traffic.

1. Get listed in search engines – If someone searches for what you’re offering, a good ranking will help you get more traffic right away. Depending on the keywords you use, and the content provided on your site, will all determine how long it will take to rank high in search engines.

2. Boost your link popularity – This refers to the number of inbound links you have, as well as quality inbound links (links from sites that have a good ranking and serve the same target market). This will help provide a way for more quality traffic to find your site. It will also improve your search engine rankings.

3. Leverage your e-mail signature – As I’ve stated in previous posts, your e-mail signature can be a GREAT tool! It’s often overlooked, but a great way of promoting your services. It’s a simple yet effective way to tell people about what you have to offer and to encourage them to take action, such as visit your website! You could also consider asking a question in your signature and include a link to your site where the answer to your question will be answered. Clever, eh?:)

4. Use a Tell-a-Friend Forms – Most clients I’ve received have come from referrals. If your current clients have been happy working with you, why not ask them to tell a friend about you? What if a visitor came to your site that knew someone who could use your services? All they’d have to do is fill out the form and forward your information to a new prospect. VERY COOL! You can even customize it so that it automatically sends a personalized e-mail promoting your site and website.

5. Create a testimonial page – People love to hear reviews about how you do business with others, whether it’s good or bad. It helps them form an impression on you in deciding whether to work with you or not. If you get compliments from your customers about how great their photos turned out, or what a pleasure it was to work with you, why not show other people why they should work with you too!

Optimizing your website, is one of the best ways to help people find you!

A couple more suggestions…

Another great way to keep those new leads, is following up with them. They may have called or e-mailed you and later forgot about it. However, if you follow up with them, you will refresh their memory of their initial contact with you, and leave an impression with them that could lead to a new client!

The last suggestion I’d like to leave with you on making yourself visible, it to get listed in the business section of the Yellow Pages and White Pages. As much of an online community people have become, there are still people that use the trusty Yellow and White Pages. I mentioned this tip in a previous post, however, it can be a great resource for people trying to find you. So it’s worth mentioning a second time:)

So get out there, and make yourself visible! Optimize your website, follow up with your new leads, and get listed!

Next Post: Becoming an Expert

As a photographer, you’re already a creative person.

So use it to your advantage to fester those creative juices and extend into different avenues outside of photography. With some thought, you’ll create new ways to promote yourself and start to familiarize people with what you do!

If you haven’t gotten any ideas yet, it’s okay, because I’ve got a bunch for you to test out and see what works for you! So let’s get started!

Freebies – People love getting something for nothing. Maybe you get hired to do a photo shoot for someone and part of your price includes a few retouched pictures. Why not go beyond what the customer expected and add something extra, like a cd of their images, maybe a dvd slideshow of their favorite pictures. When you over deliver, people will not only appreciate it, but they will also remember you and either work with you again and/or refer someone to you.

You could also give something away for free before they do business with you. The free item or service will build a relationship with them and they’ll later want to spend money on your services.

Know your target market and advertise to them – Know who the market is you want to do business with. When you know who they are, research sites your clients or future clients visit and buy advertising space there. This can help to also cross market to people you may not have had the opportunity to reach beforehand.

Don’t just go to trade shows, BE in one! - Participating in trade shows can help you network with hundreds if not thousands of new business within hours. Being in a trade show positions you as a professional and people will definitely take you seriously.

People still use offline directories – Although the Internet has become the number one source of a place to find information, people still use offline directories such as The Yellow Pages and business directories. List yourself in business directories such as this. However, you can also list yourself in the same directories, but the online versions of them.

Your car can promote for you – I’m sure you’ve seen the VW Beetles with i.e. The Geek Squad ads on the doors of the cars. Why not do the same as a photographer? You don’t have to plaster your entire car with signage of your business, unless you want to of course, but why not place a bumper sticker on the back of your car, or have your license plate holder have your website on it! People always read those things when driving behind someone:)

Stick out like a sore thumb – Have some type of offer or gimmick that makes you the pink elephant in the crowd. If you have something to offer that’s different than other photographer’s, you will get noticed more than not. Maybe it’s your personality, or maybe it’s what you carry your equipment in. Come up with something that makes you unique. You probably don’t have to look far, it may be something you already do on a normal basis but never really noticed. Ask friends and family what makes you different than others. They’ll be able to easier tell you, if you’re not sure what it is.

Google Adwords - Those ads you see on the side of search engines aren’t just for the many other businesses out there. You can use them to your advantage as well. Set a cap of how much you want to spend per click. Try it out for at least month to get a good idea of your results. If it works, and the profits over exceed your cost, you may have found something that sticks! The great thing about Google Adwords is that you can place your ads that are specific to your location. i.e. if you live in Orange County, you can make it to where ONLY people in Orange County will be able to view your ad. Isn’t that great!?

Newsletters – Have you ever read a photography newsletter? If so, you’ll see that ads are placed in there as well. Try placing and ad in one of these newsletters and track your results.

Magazines – Speaking of photography newsletters, there are a TON of photography magazines you can advertise in. To get more specific, however, you can advertise to niche magazines or trade publications. Maybe you only want to market to people interested in fujifilm… or a publication specifically for trendy furniture. These types of publications ALWAYS need photos. So why not have your photos in them? It’s worth a shot!

Brand your business - Why not have things branded that relate to photography, or something that people use often. For instance, how about offering USB jump drives to clients and new prospects with your business name and contact information on it. You could also go a step further and have one of your images as a file that’s already saved on their drive. That way, the first time they use it, they’ll see one of your images that’s stored on there and remember you. You could also offer pens and paper, post-it notes, the list goes on:)

Local Newspapers – People in your local area are a great start to help you get well known, and branch off after that. Try placing an ad in your local newspaper. You never know who may pick it and read it. Don’t underestimate the tools you have right where you are.

Holidays are a great reason to self promote -  Christmas, for instance is a great time to show off the work you did all year. Send an email highlighting your best work from the year to clients, friends and family. That e-mail may be forward to someone, that’s forwarded to someone, etc, etc. Creating a domino effect and could possibly bring in some new business for the New Year!

Free Sitting - You could offer a free first time sitting. Maybe taking 10 pictures of someone and giving them their best shot. If you do such a great job with just 10 shots, how great would you do if they paid you to take 200 shots!?

A walking billboard – Literally – One of my favorites out of this list is literally becoming a walking billboard. When I tried it out for myself, not only was it a lot of fun, I had many people simply come up to me and ask what it was all about. Fashion is always eye catching. Why not get some t-shirts made with your url printed on it, or business name on it. Just like the bumper stickers on cars, people are also compelled to read the writing on clothing as well:) Try it out, it can be a lot of fun and maybe you can start an army of people wearing your t-shirts and being your walking billboard!

Throw it all out there, and only keep what sticks!

All of these suggestions work differently for everybody. So try the ones that appeal to you the most, see what works and keep doing what sticks! Maybe all of these will work for you, maybe only a few of them work. It’s worth trying out though, with different avenues of promoting yourself, someone will bite! Good Luck!