Get Connected: Forum criticism: motivation or madness?

I will be the first one to admit that as a developing artist, I'm still entirely too attached to my work so much so that accepting criticism is difficult. Your first instinct might be to just dismiss negative comments as just that, a negative opinion. Sometimes I can do that and let negative voices roll off my back. Other times, like this week, I allow them to eat away at me, driving me just to the near side of insane. If something keeps bothering you, maybe that's the universe's way of saying, "take another look, stupid." I'm glad I did.

So taking a line from the Sci-Fi series "Battlestar Galactica:" "what the frack am I talking about?" I received a host of negative criticism about my new business logo when I posted about it on the Dgrin forum. I was shocked and disappointed that so many posters to my thread disliked what I thought was a great idea. Part of it was me personalizing the critics as if they were somehow attacking me. Another issue was feeling defensive and trying to protect my friend who created this logo out of the goodness of his heart (and for free!). I loved what my friend created from the get-go. Out of all of my attempts to try to create one myself and by using canned clip art templates online, Paul's "logo" spoke to me, stood out and was drastically different from anything else I had ever seen before. Because I had such a visceral reaction to it, I was SURE that it was the right thing for my business.



But those negative comments needled me so much that I started doing more research about what actually makes up a good business logo. I talked with other successful photography business experts here locally that I trust and got their opinions, and I researched online. Unfortunately, I had to face the fact that Paul's logo wasn't it, namely because logos are usually very simple graphically and has to be something that can be recognized even when printed very small. Paul's logo would start to lose its readability if it were printed smaller than a business card, and even he agreed to that notion. But further inspection let me know that what Paul created will be good for another business prospect. I think it will look perfect on the new postcards I plan to mail out as advertising for my business as soon as I buy a mail list to targeted neighborhoods in Denver! If you remember, last year I sent out this postcard with some limited success in my neighborhood. Imagine how great Paul's logo will look on this with my business information on the back of the card!





I've asked Paul to make a few more tweaks to the postcard advertisement, namely to separate the business name from the globe so that it stands on its own and can be more clearly seen. I am considering starting a logo campaign with logomojo to see what they can come up with. I've learned that there is STILL so much to learn about running a successful business. I should have created a logo right after I came up with a business name...but I guess it's better late than never. I've also learned that not every negative commenter is out to get you. It's really in how the information is thoughtfully presented. I've trusted responses from dgrin posters in the past, and their sincere comments have helped me during times of crisis when I needed advice on how to shoot weddings, runway shows, and deal with other aspects of photography. I'm glad I didn't let my defensiveness get the best of me....at least not for TOO long! ;)

Get the Job Done: New Wedding Packages Announced

It took me several days and lots of advice from my colleagues before I came up with a list of new wedding packages that I believe compensates me for the time and work that goes into comprehensive wedding coverage. I have included some contemporary add-ons that are in demand today, including DVD slideshows, custom coffee table photo memory photo books, and custom canvas paintings.

I started out with five different packages from $800 and up so my prices could fit into any budget. But I was quickly told by my colleagues that I had too many choices with very little difference in value. I changed it to three packages, offering high end, mid-range and standard service options that differ based on the amount of coverage time and add-ons included in the package.

Plus, my theory of likely having more clients who could pay at the $800 range (and fewer at the $5,000 range) was quickly shot down too. More quantities only meant more work for me at less pay, one colleague explained. Another colleague suggested it would be professionally more beneficial for me to work towards appealing to a higher end client in this Digital Grin Photography discussion forum thread. I would encourage you to read through this thread because I think it's filled with great advice from more seasoned wedding photographers.

Growing Pains: No Print Sales From Wedding Yet, But Why?

My first wedding and the growing pains I continue to suffer because of it has definitely pinpointed the fact that I need to hone my business skills if "Picture Your World Photography" is going to succeed.

I blogged last week about providing CDs in packaging. This week, I'm having to deal with the fact that no one is buying online prints from the wedding. The presentation went very well and the bride was very pleased with the photos. I'm not sure what the issue is, but I ran into the same problem earlier this year when few people purchased prints from a National Black Skiers association event I covered in January. Given time, I eventually made more than $200 in additional print sales from the NBS event...but it was still confusing considering how many people viewed the images (and continue to do so even months after the event).

My instructor Russ Burden, a veteran photographer, said even he has experienced this same phenomenon. I have posted numerous threads about the issue on the photography forums I frequent, including Digital Photography School and Digital Grin to get some help and explanations. If you have the time, I would suggest reading through these threads, as they are full of great tips from seasoned photographers who have found ways to deal with these issues.

Some people are convinced that online print purchases just don't happen, and if they do, it should be considered "icing" on the cake. To that end, it has been suggested that I need to create a business plan that incorporates print sales into the overall price. For example, $500 was simply too low to charge for the wedding. A more realistic price might have been $1,500 or more (with half or all paid upfront before the wedding) to ensure a profit margin.

I've been doing some research to see how much local wedding photographers charge for their various services and what their packages look like. Few people can afford to pay $3000 for wedding photos, so I really like the idea of creating several types of packages, based on coverage, starting from $750 and up.

I also took a "Managing your Business: Passion and Profits" seminar from Illuminate Photography Workshops several weeks ago to get a handle on the business aspects of photography. Being a good photographer doesn't mean you will have a successful business. Instructor Jim Turley stressed the need for me to create a six month business plan. He is right, and this is exactly the kind of circumstance where having one would have helped me. Instead of getting overwhelmed with trying to create an entire budget, I am going to start with realistic steps to get me through the next six months of my business planning including: nailing an agreement contract, creating service fees and photo packages and passing out all of my business postcards I bought.