Lessons

Lesson Info

9:00 am - Photography Industry

Wait okay uh you guys think it's just my pictures think there's always interesting from messages coming from the past now today I'm going to talk about albums that's where I'm going to start about albums why album is so important for our industry you know first of all please it's very important guys if you if you are shoot and bernie burner or if you are just doing it for I'm not critiquing what you're doing I'm just telling you what's the best way to do your business a better business and for thirty years plus I'm doing this business and I have never shot a wedding without giving them a finished product you can say oh yeah I work on my all eight hundred or five hundred pictures put it on a disc and I give them finished yeah good good good on you but what? But you're giving them a file on the disk and they're going to go toe walmart paint a picture out of that or they're going to print themselves and it's not going to be your images it's going to be their images their printed it so the...

quality of it is not going to be there and they're not going to come back to you because they love what you did and their friends are going to book it's not going to bring you back new business it's going to be only temporary so when I create album it could be an art art book they need to be very creative so they will appreciate that we share and we will get recommendation recommendation is the most important part of our business if you if you if you don't get recommendation it's not going to continue so off survived thirty years and I hope I will survive for the next thirty years because I want to do it right I want to keep this in the speed really hard and high okay where was he around for the last couple of years I I I a little bit disappeared from the face over I it was not I decided not to be a fourth a rather on the contrary on went back into the business I went straight into the indian totem to my studio to see what's happening what's the future what are we looking at? Where are we heading? Because a couple of years ago when I went to w p p ay the crowd were so negative or it's the end of the world there's no business it's recession and everything okay recession we all blame recession but what are we help are waiting for the government to help us are are we helping ourselves? You can't rely on the government because they've got their problem around the world I'm not talking one country this's around the world so sometimes during recession people become also rich because they have a project they do things in their life they do it right you know a very good example is apple apple is my number one favorite product I've been apol cowboy or april for lord like for them for many years but I like their mentality I like the way the company works during the recession thiss company went up and up and up enough they opened so many stores around the world the day seo it's recession when they were going to go broke no day dylan on the contrary they brought products they marketed it in a different way it's the same product that other people had also everyone has computers everyone supplies but they they marketed they marketed and then there was the competition who came in people companies like google anti day and in this recession area they were like hotcakes they were selling these products so well so why can't we do the same off? Of course we're not apple were not google but we're in our in our little shop we can too similar to protect us so I went back in my studio because I was traveling a lot I had to see where was the problem because we felt it also after I went w p p I I checked the book list booking not my style of clientele because if you don't have the right clientele you're not going to be able to book you sell enough after its zx with the upsell that's going to make us the extra money because if you sell your package from the study and if you don't obsolete, you were not going to survive because people think that I should the wedding I will finish it thousand dollar in my pocket but you have insurance, you have everything so it's a lot off expenses that you need to cover so the initial cell will cover your expenses on average, my studio, his toe and a half thousand to three thousand dollars experience a week so so just shooting a wedding is not going to make me survive I have a shop I have stuff I have to pay insurance is I have to pay everything so so I need to make more money tended to survive if now I have to close the studio so me and annie sit down, we went to the whole thing's the first thing we did a big mistake was when I was traveling and we're doing workshops like this is I was living my studio alone with the stuff and the stuff because I'm not there beautiful stuff I have a very good stuff but because I'm not there to guide them where to go it became their studio so they run it the way they think should be run, so at that time I had a girl who wass on excellent and she used to be fifteen, sixteen years with me but the client is she started to attract was more suitable for her styled in my stuff so so it wass not him not moving correctly ah this girl she she she she she ate a long time with me she decided to resign I was upset because she she was a great lady she she supported my business for many years but she wanted to move on so it's fine and she's doing very well now, eh? So we started to rick way we construct our stuff and that was the number one problem we had tto create stuff that is going to be suitable for me so many off the young kids these days they know better than anyone else they just leave school and come and say oh, I know what to do anything and you hire them and nothing happens nothing happens it's on the contrary they promise you the world and they don't have idea off the business so I had veto still shooting for me I had another person also uttered shooter but we decided three shooters is too many. We decided I wish you'd and vito wishes so the two of us and I are they I went I started to go to shoot more waiting's for the last two years I've been shooting a lot ofthe weddings myself so I enjoyed it it it started to become me the customer were relating more to me because my style started to happen happen again a tte the same time we were working out why people are booking not booking weddings anymore and many reasons first as I said the other day this double the numbers off photograph asses many years ago and it's triple now and quadruple so it's it's a lot ofthe photograph furs but also there's a lot of business out there and if you do it right I don't need every customer that can make me get married in melbourne only need less than one percent there's seven hundred weddings are a weekend movement so I didn't need all the customers so I had to target my marketing again to the right people um we decided okay we haven't been doing bride or so we thought we don't need it but that's the biggest mistake because your photograph is know who I am the past prides know who I am but the new bright was going to get married doesn't know who I am because she's gonna look only for me when when she's lucas he's getting married so where were chick go? The first thing she goes our eyes on internet great internet is great place but on internet there's thousands of us tow and I hardly see any bed websites so they're all good there they're all perfect you used to pick up the first two or chief first four or five hearing them hey start now deciding who's the cheapest because that's all you have you have to see you see we we lost that personal touch with the client we needed it because if a bride is going to decide on my website in my price it's not my pride that's the wrong right I don't want that bright because she's looking for bargain I'm a database on earth on the paper and it's it's not right so honey on you made a lot of research about this way updated our website, but it was not what we wanted. We wanted to have a touch with the bright, so we went to the bridal shows again pick to the bridal shows we book quite a lot of weddings that the bride is short, but the quality off the people that the brighter shows wass all over the place we couldn't separate was the right crowd was the crew right card so after date we decided also to communicate back with with the reception places with the dressmaker's because we have a good reputation and go back to talk to these people because these are people who see the bright always live in by going back, promoting a little bit more advertising in the magazines, that's getting lower and lower and lower because magazines are going slower people are not buying as much magazines this day, so internet is the most place they get visited s o we started tow get the business back up again having a beautiful shop bringing the bright we never give a price on the phone we never give a price on the phone it's it's always we went too bright to come to our studio see our work if she likes then it's about the price if she doesn't like why waste our time giving prices nt? So we need to get the right client ellie it was so important so so we did that and for two years success after success the recommendations start to come back because we brought our life taking to the studio so it was not decision. It was not yes, recession had something to do with it, but it was a change off the style of photography change off everything that we're doing it at the moment I don't know in your united states but in australia there's a big popularity off weddings nearly like a country waiting saving sign is he having they make their own their own? Ah arrangements and it's quite cute, but again that's not my clientele that's not my clientele, so so we didn't want to promote that style of wedding because we were going to be blended in the same cart so we wanted to bring our style baking to the into the market because that's what we want to do we we don't want to be everyone else we want to be individual again so clearly about that not everyone will like our work not everyone will like our style not everyone it's okay? You don't have to you don't have to because we don't need everyone's job if it was like that I would have bean the richest men in the world and shoot all the weddings in the world and and drive a rolls royce and it's not about it my passion is to capture the girl who comes to me it says here runt I love you were I want you to shoot my wedding and when I go to her house she forgets about everything and comes gives me because because this is her most important part my bright say you're one I come to you because I want to have one of your picture once I talk to you and book you, then I'm going to go and decide with reception with church which I want you to be available first and and that's a good thing because many years ago I was the maybe just before the cars or maybe before the cake now in many cases the bride is coming to me because she wants me to help her organize the waiting we had this situation's more before but it is more classier now more more correctly set up now so the girl comes in we guide her we help her we work with the reception halls the favorite chris sectionals they send us good quality clients also so we were back to that correct track so my decision is okay here want this is good but if you go back to those seminars and why or chops you're goingto drop this against so so our decision is not to do this the speaking part all the time just concentrate on our business because they are loved livelihood I want my business to last forever even when I'm not there tip practically now I'm not a person who works in the studio the studio is there it's a brand it's your van photography but it's run by stuff in my wife so when a customer walks in they don't know who is the air vent they know who is what their panties at brain ofthe studio so so it it's not about me vito gets the first bookings because he's part of the group of government so it's it's very important this also for your future if you brand everything about yourself you do everything you finish everything then one day you want to slow down or go on holiday your business is going to stop so think long long term think long term don't go so too big because many years ago in australia they were always to host it. They had they used to shoot three, four hundred weddings a year they had obtained for the rubbers. Sometimes they got part time photographs but those days are gone. People now those days used to deal with the parents. People now deal more with the actual couple. The couple come to the studio so they know what they want. Thie age gap also has changed. You see, I'm realizing okay, there wass less weddings in the last five years or so, then before why is it that happening? Okay, let's, look at it. My brides have gone older than before. Guys used to get married. My time we got married twenty two years old. We were kids, my my boys eighteen year old I can't see him getting married in the next ten years, so we got married at twenty two years old. We were kids. Now if she looked big, all the people getting married are closer to the thirty years old they're having kids at an older age so the time has changed there waiting to get married. It's later did some we missed the gap off five, six years around the world. We missed that cap off, not having enough weddings so that that's where I think the biggest problem was not physician times have changed, and people are getting married at a later date, so so now we're starting to get more weddings is so thiss kids who we missed, they were going to get married six, seven years ago. They're getting married now, so so that cap is where we may start on bookings and everything. It's not only photographs that missed out, I checked with the top reception, one off the biggest reception, five star reception in melbourne. They've dropped the price dramatically because this's, the top reception in melbourne and they're dramatically dropped the price is because they were not looking enough wedding because people were not getting married, they were waiting for an older age. I know my my relatives, my cousin's kids, they're all reaching thirty, and they're still not married, they have partners and everything, but they're not married, and now they're planning their marriage. So we missed a big captain, so don't be negative don't be worried about it, because people will be getting married all the time. It's their tradition will never go on dh, and I wish, you know, I'm their days more excitement in the marriage industry that will help us to get more weddings, you know, when the prince of england william got married, that that's a good thing he's going to have a family you know celebrities get married it gives us all these excitements our young kids also start to get married also so the future is is good the future is good but also toe to make it work we have to work out on what we are producing what we are giving you see like I said yesterday there was a beautiful picture on the world it was awaiting I shot and I said that's my work wow it looked great I want that to happen continuously so if I give them to file and say guys here it is clean my hand off it that's it I'm done I'm happy we could thousand dollars what's going to happen there picture that they're going to hang on the wall after five years it's going to be yellow faded and ugly and they're going to get used to their colors so when had they have a guest at their house it's going to be terrible like going to someone's house looking at their tv said it's a terrible tv because you get usedto what you have at home so this is this is the same so our pictures no need to sparkle on the wall pictures our lifetime investment pictures are your history pictures become more valuable the older you get you have grandchildren you have kids that becomes more valuable you know my parents marriage picture it's so beautiful now when I see it on the world years ago I didn't even care about it our marriage weddings pictures my little book boy took he was proud to show his friend's mom and dad's wedding and his ten years old only and he took the picture the kids look at it they were happy to see a picture like that they said this's holt and their reaction was totally different because we've married in the eighteen eighties and the kid could see the style off the dress and everything so and he was proud that he had the kids loved his picture you know and and my kids will appreciate it even more when they have their own kids you know the my mom loves lt's our wedding album and shares it with my my kids we don't look at our wedding album but mom and kids always located my kids watch our wedding video which was horrible so that you look so young there in whatever so it's it's it's you know people worry about that they want to make there history that the tree off their family and why not with pictures so pictures are sorry important digital is great I love digital I I was one off the first person to line up outside naples store it's four o'clock in the morning so I can get my first ipad and every brand every model that came out I continue to line up although I have one in my hand, I wanted to buy the next generation I used to buy a lot of magazines because I love reading magazine and hearing the news what's happening what technical magazines, aunty but the problem with magazines wass it was piling up under my tea I don't want to throw them out, but anne says the room is becoming too busy. Let's get rid of non you control my magazines so now I buy my magazines on the ipad, but we're talking something that comes out every week and I don't need to have the hard copy. It's, great to read my magazines here I keep it there, it's all in there. But when it comes for personal pictures, I don't have any here because personal pictures need to be in a book or on the war or printed because if you start loading I liked you guys. My first kid had a lot of people printed pictures my second kid all on the computer not one picture in the house, only one with his brother together and the other day he was looking at the little album instated I'm so young care I looked at him I said, kiddo, this is not you this's this is not you, this is your brother oh, he said, what about me I said this plenty over here on the laptop he came there and said, oh, I wish I had one off this books for me I said okay this is a young kids to born in the digital generation he's digital all over the place but when we keep him about his history he wanted it on the book he wanted to see pictures he wanted toehold and this is a boy girls have more filling with paper books they love it more you know I see my wife working in a in the store store or whatever she touches everything she wants to try everything honey come on we can't do this forever but he gets upset she wants to see everything the kids don't want to go into start mom I don't want to go in there because they know that mommy's going to take forever so she grilled goes by herself woman love to touch you know yeah we can buy food put it in the microwave if you can't do that but how many cooking shows on tv it's becoming so popular people loving toe cook their own meals people are loving to create beautiful meals that's not in the box people are creating also beautiful food which is more healthier for them you know, because we're busy sometimes we take takeaways from from stores are or will we get a month wouldn't every time we bring month's food or anne cooks the kids love it, you know they don't leave a plate and whenever it's from outside it's a habit it's it's not the writing so so we need to stay human in this world it's digital it's beautiful! I love digital but we need to have also our life in really city paper has been with us for many years before that it was on later you go to europe, you see all those beautiful new materials everything this's all visual this's all you can see it's not in the book it's, not in a digital format. Whenever I go to a bookstore and see those amazing photography books how will never buy those on the night pet? Because their books they're there I can't feel it, I can touch it in on ipad it's not going to look as great as what itwas another thing is now let's put my pictures on the night patty instead on urban alka ipad will cost us five hundred six hundred dollars I came maybe it's the same prices anabel, maybe a little bit more expensive. I will promise you that I'll make an album on an ipad and all your pictures are on the knife but it comes with the package give it to you so what what does this mean a ny pad you know how much an ipad costs so you look a tte the ipad and see alright the ipad is five hundred dollars buys a charging me two thousand dollars he knows the value of an ipad because he can put it himself the pictures in there you don't have to charge him two thousand dollars to put the pictures in there he can do it himself there are softwares that creates layout in the ipod another thing when you thought holden ipad for wedding album or did you order or your computer you start stretching the pictures you go close optical forward you rotate you do stupid thing toe a picture I don't want you to crop my pictures I want you to see the full picture that that's what I look at those pictures imagine if they go across to the to the girl in the middle she's out of focus there's movement it's not going to look good I don't want her to do that I wanted to see the picture the way I created the moment the way it happened so so it's it's so important it's so important that we present our work the way our customer needs to see it now sometimes customer comes says look I don't want album I want it on the on the wall that's good if you're going to sell pictures on the world it's great but it's going to be only two or three pictures out of eight hundred pictures so so that's why we don't have a package without an album all our books, all our packages are including an album if a customer comes to me and says, look, I will pay the money you want, but I won't take a book I say no, I can't do it! I I honestly did it, I say if I can't show you my work on the book and not give you a book that's not my work anymore, I want my work to be finished the way I imagined it, so so it can be a very simple layout. It can be on the texture, matt or whatever, but as long as it's a book, because when you open a book it's it's much more romantic it's the way I wanted it, it's the way I imagined it's the quality I wanted it to be and this tense this cause a lifetime it doesn't go there and suddenly disappear you made a mistake or just cause you don't take up like typical people so they can back up they can do things like that. My wife she's, not a computer savvy, she doesn't she just does the typing sze she went for a presentation in in south australia on the plane she forgot the laptop when she came on because it was late actually forgot in the big the next day she realized that she loses she lost a laptop she panicked there was no backup off her work nothing I said you didn't make up no and although I know that and what happened panic she was going to create everything luckily sharing their lines and it was there what if it was not there it's gone it's so easy to lose also your pictures okay that can also happen to a bookie might it might get burned it might get destroyed it might get something happened to it but it it can always they can always come to your they will have a copy of it on the disk and we will produce it again but it's it's it's the romantic sins one off a book that makes it very important for me that's makes I can't put any value on this I can not put any value on this you know the because the value of this is six hundred dollars plus how much can you put on top of it? Another think we are moving away is before many years ago we had packages package one and the album price was quite high so we were making a lot of profit on the album now we're thinking different our albums are very cheap of nearly nearly nearly cost price I don't want to make profit on the book I want to brace the pricing on our service so service is the expensive part album is the chip part. So that's that's okay, if album is dead, not then wash it's, not expensive will get the album so don't make profit on the album some photographs with sam ten thousand dollars my album is two hundred dollars some photographs with some two thousand dollars. My album is same price is the other one, so then you decide the customer will decide which photograph they want. They want to ten thousand dollars because his work is likely better or they like the two thousand dollar work, but then they're going to get a book book book is you see we should one hundred weddings a year approximately it goes up and down few few upin done so if we make hundred albums a year, the album the album is not the biggest profit off our company. We don't make too much profit on it. The profit is on the service, so the service will be quite high because off our quality, we don't want to shoot more than hundred so it all will stay at the high price and give give the service to the give create the book with the album so it's it's, so important to do this so what have we been doing to reinvent our studio? The albums haven't changed three albums way we use graphics studio which is amazing albums we used the abu the design has changed a little bit we've moved away from bizzy albums we realized that if you make too busy albums the customer gets confused a little bit and we've educated our client did to have a beautiful album a spread should have tripp pictures maximum three picture mike maximum this is on our contract so if they're going to have ten spreads it's going to be thirty pictures so if they're selected two hundred pictures it has to be so many pages that way the customer doesn't come and say we want ten spades and we want three hundred pictures in it because then it becomes a message but macy album I want I would like to show them big pictures I would love to have space empty spaces so thie I travels better the design is very important so if you have beautiful designs it flows better and it's much nicer towards if it's too busy you get tired of it many times also when people bring me their their pictures and show me on iphone and ipad you look want to and you get partof it because it's it's not when they give you beautifully designed abu me start working while wow in the next day you want to keep on going you want to keep on going