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.

Get Connected: Join Wescott's New Online Photo Community

Check out this online version of an email I received today to find out how you can:

1) Join the NAPP (National Association of Photoshop Professionals) and get a free Photoshop Training DVD

2) Be recognized as a PRO photographer

3) Get tips for shooting photos and video from Wescott affiliated professional photographers

Instructor's Tip: Wet the Wood

Enjoy this week's "Instuctor's Tip" by award winning nature photographer Russ Burden:

"Wet the Wood"

Saturated colors have more impact than those that are washed out.
They possess a greater richness and tonality adding to the success of
an image. This is one of the primary reasons photographers prefer to
shoot during the sweet light hours of sunrise and sunset. The warm
rich light adds dimensionality and has a luminosity that can’t be
replicated in mid day.

I love to photograph trees, I love macro work, and I love to impart
saturation to both. Over the years I’ve come up with a great way to
marry all three. I’ve made many close ups of bark patterns satisfying
my love of tree and macro photography. I’ve learned that using a
collapsible diffuser to soften the light allows me to shoot at just
about any time of the day. Bright highlights are tamed and the
overall softness of the image makes me thankful for the tool’s
discovery. Still something was missing.

One day while shooting on Mount Evans, a short lived Colorado
thunderstorm moved through and was followed by the sun. While walking
through the beautiful bristlecone pine forest, I noticed all the wood
had a saturated quality with warm and rich tones. I found the missing
piece to my puzzle. So now, whenever I make photos of tree patterns,
I carry a 16 oz spray bottle of water to wet the area I intend to
photograph. The key is to wait until the water just begins to dry
before taking the photo. This way the glare of the freshly sprayed
drops disappear and I don’t get hot spots in the image.

-Russ


The photo(s) in this post were taken by Russ Burden. To learn more about how Russ captured this image, join him on one of his photo tours. Visit Russ Burden Photography to get more information.

To take a class with Russ or a fellow Digital Photo Academy instructor in your area, check out the Digital Photo Academy. I took Russ' intermediate and advanced courses last year, and he continues to be a strong source of knowledge and encouragement as I progress in my photography.

Don't forget to check Take Great Pictures for Russ' most recent tips. On the home page, click on the "Photo Tips And Techniques" button in the left hand column. Additionally, check out his "Digital Tip of the Month" found by clicking on the Digital Photography button.

Birthday Road Trip

I just got back from my birthday road trip a few hours ago, and I had a blast! I decided to head to Rifle, Colorado, a mountain town about four hours west of Denver along Interstate 70 so I could photograph the lush Rifle Falls. The breathtaking waterfall was amazing to see, hear and feel. You'd think you had wandered into a jungle as the spray hit the rocky limestone cliffs, creating a misty secret garden of moss covered rocks. I felt like a child getting pelted with the spray, and I had to resist a strong urge to leap into the base of the waterfall. I've never seen anything like it.

This Cancerian felt like she was home. When I wasn't sitting for hours just watching the falls, I was shooting from every angle I could, amassing nearly 300 shots from morning through the night. I hiked to the top of the waterfall to get this gorgeous bird's eye view. This was the first one I edited as soon as I got home, and more will follow. I'm proud of this one because I used some of the new techniques I learned in my Photoshop 2 class with Armando Martinez. Curves helped me make that rock on the lower left hand part of the frame blend in more. Did you notice it when you looked at the image? I hope not!

These solo excursions on my birthday have become an annual rite of rejuvation. Last year, I went to Mt. Evans...which was no easy feat for this city girl. I had to overcome some fears driving up there alone, but having done so filled me with a great sense of accomplishment. I was a little afraid traveling by myself at first, but I grew more comfortable with it as the days progressed. And I made new friends along the way, including a new photographer buddy I met at the falls, Vince. Plus, being alone gave me the opportunity to reconnect with myself, an act that within itself is always time well spent.

An Aside: Backups and Heeding a Friend's Warning

A cry for help in a Digital Photography School forum spurred me to do something I should have done a long time ago: back up all of my photography files and images. Southernbelle, a new online friend and fellow fotog, lost her photos when her hard drive crashed. Thankfully though, she had been uploading all of her images to a Kodak gallery for the last four years. She was able to buy an archival CD from Kodak containing all of her 6,000 original images.

It is a lesson we should all learn from.

Several months ago, I purchased a professional membership to Flickr, which allows me to backup and store my images online. Even though I had this extra security, I had been remiss in uploading my photos. Today, I decided to take action. Before I leave the city and head to Rifle to take pictures of the lovely triple beauty of the Rifle Falls, I WILL backup everything on my Flickr site. I also want to check out the Kodak gallery as well. When it comes to backing up, I think redundancy and paranoia is a good thing. I also have two external hard drives with all the images backed up as well.

Thank you Southernbelle for sharing your experiences. I plan to take heed to my friend's warning!

Get the Goods: Free Texture Give-A-Way

Colorburned.com is giving away a handful of high quality textures at their website. Each set contains about 35 images which can be downloaded for free. Graphic artists and designers are increasingly turning to the internet to assemble components for their products, including using high resolution photography as background textures. Try layering these textures (lowering the opacity of the layer so it fades into the background without being distracting) to add depth to your images.

This Weekend: My Birthday!

My 34th birthday is on Monday, and to celebrate, I've taken this Friday and Monday off from my work at the Denver Post. Since my roadtrip earlier this year commemorating my First Year Anniversary of being a photographer was so successful, I am thinking about taking another mini-road trip to a scenic location.

A few months ago, I picked up this book, "A Guide to Colorado's Best Photography Locations" by photographer Andy Cook at the Denver Pro Photo store.



My goal is to systematically visit all of the places listed in this amazing book that holds a wealth of information for landscape photographers. Detailed directions, maps, and best seasonal shooting times make this book invaluable, plus it includes tips and techniques for bettering landscape photography skills.

I haven't decided where I'm going yet, but it will be a day trip I take on Sunday, since my friends want to take me out dancing Friday and Saturday. Where do you think I should go? Do you have a favorite Colorado scenic haunt you are willing to share with me?