Here is an exercise you need to go through in order to understand the importance of pricing. Let's start with an engagement session. We shoot our engagement sessions on location and usually spend about an hour and a half with the client. We then edit the images—let's say that takes us an hour. Then, after about two weeks, the client comes in to see their pictures and we spend an additional two hours reviewing and picking their images. At this point, we have 4.5 hours invested in the shoot.

It's seems that no matter what you pick up, read or talk about today something about the economy eventually creeps into the conversation. Yes a sluggish economy has left the entire world scratching its head wondering, "What happened?" But more importantly, "What the hell do we do now?" Normally I write about specific marketing strategies and techniques but I want to focus this article on why you should be out there everyday marketing your photography instead of focusing solely on how funky the economy is. For starters like recessions past, this too shall follow suit and while recovery may be slow in coming, it is coming.

This excerpt from Photography Web Marketing Guide shows how simple design choices on your website can impact ease of use and therefore actual business results. My wife thinks I'm crazy, but I'm completely bothered by unreadable signage – the billboard with too much information to read in 2 seconds, the bumper sticker with a small font, a guy on the corner twirling a sign so quickly that I can't read it. Anything difficult to read loses an opportunity to market your message. To reference the free ebook Nonverbal Website Intelligence: http://diythemes.com/thesis/nonverbal-website-intelligence/

Speaking to Amyn Nasser is as fascinating as taking a long slow stroll through his art. Yes, Amyn is a photographer, but it is clear that the camera is merely the tool of choice that allows us into the creative mind that produces so many images that are consistently inconsistent. “Juxtaposition” is, ironically, a term that came up early in our conversations.

Is it possible to be in the market for too long?  I'm not talking about the stock market.  We all know the answer to that one.  I'm talking about the photography market.  If you are forty or fifty years old and you've been a photographer for the last ten or twenty years you know that we've been through some gut-wrenching changes.  We've all devised some self-serving and optimistic ways of looking at the decline of our traditional markets.

If you remember a few months back I mentioned that I was preparing to move to Los Angeles.  Well, the day finally came and I am now settling into a new city, a new market and working on rebranding myself and my business. The great thing about moving to a new place is that it is a fresh start. I am new here so I get the opportunity to introduce myself to numerous potential clients for the first time, so, as long as my marketing materials and portfolio are updated and fresh, and I can put my best foot forward. I wanted to share with you the things I am doing to market myself because I think it is vitally important to do these things even if you aren’t moving to a new city. Even if you have worked in the same market for 30 years you need update your look and “re”introduce yourself to current clients. Keeping yourself fresh and current is the best way to guarantee return customers.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is one of those terms that gets thrown around pretty liberally. Many website vendors claim that their websites are optimized, and you probably receive a few dozen pieces of spam every day promising top search results. But how can you intelligently determine if your website is truly optimized?

Let's face it,  I don't think any of us woke up one morning and said, “The thing I love best is taking pictures of chubby brides putting on yet another cookie cutter,  antique ivory white dress with the annoying little buttons down the back.....”.  We didn't.  We don't.  We do many of the annoying little jobs we do because they pay the bills.  The wedding profits pay for the mortgage and the car payments.  The bridal portraits help pay for new gear.

What is the true definition of Photography and where do we draw the line in saying we have gone too far in the manipulation process.  Recently I have had this ongoing debate with a few of my photography friends.  The debate over what is the true definition of photography has been going on for over a hundred years and will continue I am sure, as long a there is a means of capturing light.

I recently suffered through a painful presentation on social network marketing and another presentation on creating “effective” e-mail blasts to advertise your service business.  These were followed by impassioned suggestions that my business could be improved by paying for Google Adwords(tm).

Over the past two years, we've seen a tremendous surge in the use of videos by pro photographers to market themselves. On behalf of all the pro video producers out there who've been able to get work from their fellow visual artists, I thank you. But, I'm starting to see a trend in promo video production that I want to address.

When it comes to the business side of photography, placing a bid can be somewhat of a challenge, especially in these trying times economically.  I believe it is more critical than ever to get an understanding on how the pricing game works.  Recently I have received a few calls asking advice on this topic, so here are a few thoughts on the subject.