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Pet Photography Intro Q&A

Does anyone have any questions in the audience? Here we go, we'll ask one. Um, you talked about right the beginning, you talked about your studio being a big party brand. Um, I do have a studio it's in my house down dark stairway into an unfinished basement next to a washer and dryer. I'm not sure I want that to be my brand sounds like you started similar. How did you take that step? I mean, you signed a five year lease that's a big step? I wouldn't recommend doing that, um, you know, I mean, I think that I'm sure you've already gone through the thought process of what you're different options, you know, could be, but I think that in that case, I mean, yes, obviously one option, yes is to sign at least hopefully not a five year lease, but maybe it one or two year lease and get the business out of your home if that's what you want, the benefits of having something you're home, I miss those benefits. I mean, you get a right stuff off for taxes. I mean, the I don't miss the client's showi...

ng up when I'm in my robe, having a coffee, you know, are working in the yard, there are those things I get, but, um you know, the other things I would potentially explore for you and and as we get to know each other more over the weekend I'll get to know your business a little bit but obviously there's lots photographers who do a lot on location s o you know, I think in I'm working towards this I'm actually I have been um for years the idea I'm going to tell you is something I've always said in theory this is where I see my business going someday I am not there now, so I'm not telling you this is what I've done, but this is where I would like to see my business go and I've actually been starting to implement some of these things that someone could start off from the get don't do this if this appealed to I actually think the highest and photography business that could exist would be one that does everything for the client and goes into their home and it's like red carpet service that being said like you don't even need your space so that means doing pre consul ts in the home I mean it could be in any one of these things it would have to mean all of them, but you could go to the client to a pre consul in the home to the shoe on location or at their home project in their home I mean sale wise like and I've been starting to some of these things I've been hanging clients prints in their home there's a couple clients in particular I've been working with that had tremendous sales and I really held their hand through the whole process and I'm like I'm kind of practising what I've been preaching and I said what happened but like I could just do a few of those sessions rather than doing twenty of the smaller sessions and make the same money and work a lot less and get to spend more time with that client and that relationship and really give him honest feedback like I was in their home same okay like you can project on their wall and actually see an actual size or you could say, wow, because of this coloring this would look really awesome here or put it with this frame what's so awesome is they're hiring use the professional like the best way I can relate to you is, um like I did that I think about the process we went through when we've remodeled part of our house. One of the most frustrating things for me was when I was trying to buy windows I don't know anything about windows like I just wanted somebody to tell me what I need I at that point didn't even care about pricing just tell me what's good tell me what I need done like that's what our clients actually want from us, that if we are like handholding and walking them through like this would look really great, you should do this like they're hiring you as that professional and and it's that much more of a personal business, obviously, windows. But you could do that on such a level if your goal is to go crazy high end I I believe you could do that on such a level by just really trying to move more stuff into their home if in the home was an option, I mean, that would be my first choice to tell somebody just because that's where I'm at and that if I were starting all over again, I'd probably try to go that direction, so I do yes have the space, but we've cut the overhead where it's pretty much paid for, but I'm spending a lot more time in my client's homes. The other option, really quick would be couple of attire for sharing a space. I've actually been talking to some people who might want to use my space as well, so you're just sharing that overhead. So if you wanted to not have the fear factor of the lease and the overhead, you can share that space. All right, we're gonna go to the internet here tr photography is wondering what do you do with clients that don't want to spend the time to meet beforehand? I keep pushing for a meeting before end or and toe order together but keep getting shut down and we've done we've done this all different ways so right now in our business we actually don't dio on actual pre consul appointment so we do did orders in the studio we project that's how they see their images initially and so we do kind of a consultation apri consul on the phone so we have kind of the key questions and things that which I can go over that tomorrow pride when we do the pricing and sales and stuff but dewey, I'm okay with doing that over the phone um I also we are looking into we have different things we've put online with the link that clients don't have access to but I can actually walk through with them over the phone that they can have access to so again it's not ideal like if someone's wanting to pre consul the best thing yes would be to have him come into the studio on do that or you go into their home and I have done that on limited basis with some of these clients like I mentioned but I think for me because we downsize and I don't the staff I'm just not doing that right now, but I see the value in it, especially from the priest sell factor like you don't want your client's shocked when they come into order and seeing products for the first time, and not knowing what things cost that I actually try to do on the phone, but also in the session because I allow enough time. Most my sessions are forty five minutes to an hour, but I block usually a couple hours that if they're not in a rush like I prefer to walk around the studio with them, I'll show him different products. Oh, hey, look, we just got this new thing in, so I'm actually doing a consultation with them, but it's, just at the same time that they were photographed so that by the time they come in, they actually are ready to place the order. So and we will put things online for clients who we do get clients who come in from out of town. So that is a non option that we will do for people is well, and we use smugmug for that. Thank you. Okay, I have a question here from several people, um, crystal marlon, marlon mack, sara murray and cooper photography, all the questions about vendors, the question is I have a question about going in and talking to vendors do you bring in images to show the vendors are just flyers or business cars? I've been talking to vendors but haven't had any willing to let me bring things in um and I will answer that um briefly but I actually have a whole my whole morning segment tomorrow is on marketing and relationship marketing and working with vendors so I've got a ton of stuff tomorrow to share but yes, I would say definitely you know, taking some sort of gold portfolio and your work and physically going in there it's more grassroots not even you know I haven't had much luck when I send someone else or with staff you know but like if you go in as the photographer I think you'll have more luck and not being afraid of no we've been told no like that's the big thing psycho don't get down someone says no go to the next person or if it's somebody that you really want you go to him again you know you try it a different way you tried for angle sitter is wondering at did you ever photograph for rescues and do you feel this is a good way to get your name out there? Um I have not when we the way we tie in that I'll talk about with our dog days event is with the local animal shelter and we d'oh a donation of dog food as part of the way we tie in with charity for them I have not done the photographing of rescues but yes, I actually think that would be a great way to do something because most of most of these shelters and different people you'd be working with they have their own databases they have their newsletters they send out so yeah, if you worked with them they're going to actually promote you to all of you know their entire database so I think that's a great thing question from jerk all who asked um are there money shots for pets like there are for weddings? Yep, absolutely what you'd like for me I can tell you like I can shoot certain things and I know pretty much with the clanton order that's what I will recreate hopefully this weekend but for me that's going to be the shot like you saw with some part of the owner in it the feet and actually it's very similar for me the money shot with a pet with a high school senior girl and with the child and that's for me up on a ladder shooting down um at the subject at the pet where the floor, the rug whatever kind of blurs out of focus like that's pretty much gonna be some of the images that I know we'll always get purchased ah, well mom ten asked so when you first started how did you show your products without having products to show um I got products e I mean like really I mean when I first started um I'm trying to say I mean when I really started doing if we're talking pet photography that was five, six years ago and a lot of the products that are out now didn't exist so if that makes sense really products could just mean prince so for the first half of my business it really just meant taking the time to get some prints made and framed so s so there's really no downtime like you could get samples made rather inexpensively um nowadays yes, there are lots of products um and I do try to sell things that I don't actually have printed because there are so many products and finishes and types of things um but I will tell you the things we sell are the things we have the samples up so I make sure I have the products of the things that I really want to sell like as the artist but we offer other things as well and so at that point, you know, it might just be, you know, putting out you know, sheet off the website from the vendor that doesn't have the pricing on it but that'll be much harder sell like clients need to touch feel and see it. If you really want to sell. Especially if it's something with, you know, a higher price point and your, you know, wanting to get a higher investment for it. That's gonna be difficult without them actually seeing it.