I used to be a marketing consultant and rep to commercial photographers, before I went to law school. When I work with photographers now, I see a lot of the same issues arising, both legal-and marketing-related. So, in a holiday gift to help, here’s a list of 15 things I think you should/should not do to be more successful in 2023:
If anyone talks about ROI or value propositions or anything else that smacks of weasel-in-a-suit when it comes to your marketing, run away.
Throughout my years in business, I have been fortunate enough to have various mentors specializing in different areas of life and business. Whether it was my therapist to help with life challenges, a social media consultant for social strategies, or a photographer to aid with the development of photo and business techniques.
Disclaimer: I loved Sprout Studio so much that I became an ambassador for the brand back in 2020. While I do receive a commission for new users signing up, this application has been a staple in my business since 2015. For anyone interested in trying out the program, please know your support is greatly appreciated and I am here to help if you have any questions.
APALMANAC is proud to be partnered with California-based intellectual property attorney Leslie Burns. Leslie is back on the blog this month to answer another reader’s question about intellectual property and the law.
Please remember that the answers here are not legal advice, but rather for educational purposes.
CONAFARQ is a huge acronym with an equally huge goal. The “National Collective of Photographers of Architecture” is an association of architectural photographers from Brazil. CONAFARQ was born with the main objective of protecting copyright in architectural/interior photography.
Architectural Photography Almanac has partnered with Leslie Burns, an intellectual property attorney based California to answer reader questions about intellectual property and the law. By far the most common reader questions have to do with licensing, fair use, and intellectual property infringement and enforcement, so we thought it was the right time to make a commitment getting a professional involved to help architectural photographers around the world better understand copyright law and avoid the headaches and chicanery that go along with navigating the world of image use and rights.
Let’s talk about making money. The most common questions in the APALMANAC inbox are about pricing. Pricing architecture and interior photography can be nuanced and chock full of variables like usage, licensing, creative fees, post-production fees, assistant charges, and the like.
For the past few years I’ve been focusing my energy on establishing myself as an interior design and architecture photographer and with that came a lot of very expensive purchases. The type of equipment we need to develop ourselves in this industry is very specialized and is often accompanied by a hefty price tag.
LinkedIn is a robust B2B social media platform with an abundance of business networking features that can often cause confusion on how to get the most out of it. I like to look at it as an in-person networking event, where you selected everyone in the room to be there.
If you’ve been a photographer for any stretch of time, you probably know that it’s easy enough to take a good picture. But how do you get paid to take those pictures in the first place? By far the most common questions that we receive here at the Almanac are business-related.
Marketing as a photographer is more than just showcasing your portfolio. There are many places for you to market your brand like social media, emailers, print mailers, etc. Wherever you are marketing, you’ll need content to go with it. Our instincts are to show portfolio-worthy content but, there is a huge benefit to being real with your audience.
For the years I worked in sales and marketing, there was a principle I kept in mind that I learned early on in my career: people do business with people they like. Barbara Corcoran from ‘Shark Tank’ has a fantastic quote related to this…
“If people like you, they’re going to want to do business with you.
Several weeks ago during a conversation with a prospective home builder client, I was asked “what’s the difference between you and [redacted] real estate photography?” Now, to be honest, the builder was trying to push my buttons a bit to see how I would respond.
We all know that awful, sinking feeling at the end of a long day when the client says, “Oh hey, can we just grab one more quick shot?” When I had a day rate, those feelings of defeat, exhaustion, and frustration were real. Since I switched to billing hourly, those conversations go something more like this:
Client: “Oh hey, can we just grab one more quick shot?”
I love seeing the brilliant ideas photographers put into place on their websites, Instagrams, or mention in forums. I’ve noticed that the ones I’m particularly drawn to have less to do with how to make great photos, and more to do with how to run a great business.
The topic of licensing as it relates to photography can be confusing, and rightfully so. It’s not the easiest subject to understand and very few people are thoroughly familiar with the topic. Unfortunately, because of this unfamiliarity – many individuals and businesses make assumptions and end up using or distributing photos that they’re really not supposed to.
Like many, I started my photography business without a clue of where I wanted to take it, without a support system, and quite frankly, without enough cash in my bank accounts. I was a frustrated artist in a dead-end job, looking to create a brighter future for myself.
Behind-the-scenes content is some of the most enjoyable and informative to consume in my opinion. I love seeing how other photographers go about their business and find this is a great way to quickly pick up new ways of working that I may be able to incorporate into my own work.
Nick Merrick and Steve Hall have been photographing architecture longer than most readers of this blog have been alive (myself included). When you think of some of the most important architectural projects of the last 100 years, Merrick and Hall have probably been there, creating photographs to share the stories of these projects with the world.
While he isn’t specifically in the architectural or interiors niche, Joel Grimes is an impressive photographer.
His portraits, landscapes, and composite images are of the highest quality. You could think of him as a performer in the Champions League of Photographers (sorry, I am European, so translated for my American friends: the Superbowl).
