WHAT DO YOU CREATE?

In today's Wall Street Journal, there's a great section on the "All Things Digital" conference that took place a few weeks ago.  Particularly interesting - and relevant to create types like photographers - was the interview with James Cameron.  

Cameron is known for some of the most successful movies of all time: "Avatar," "Titanic," "Terminator," and "Aliens."  In addition to being HUGE box office successes, each of those movies (franchises) is known for their incredible use of technology.  Each was at the cutting edge, pushing the boundaries of what technology could do for film-making at the time.  

So, it was really interesting to me, to read some of Cameron's views on technology vs the story.  Here's what he said about the use of 3-D in the movie "Avatar." 

98% of my work as a director is not about the [technology].  It's choosing the actors, writing the story, designing the world, designing the creatures, the characters, the plants, the color palette, composing the shots, mixing the music.

Film-making is about story-telling, and Cameron is a story-teller.  First and foremost, he's about the story.  That's the art.  That's the reason for making the movie.  The technology simply supports the story.  When asked about how the distribution of movies is changing - with so many people consuming movies on iPads, iPhones, etc, Cameron says:

..I don't make movies for iPhones, I make them for the big screen.  But the reality is, good narrative, good story, good acting, all of those things scale.

I want to talk about those two quotes for a minute, and offer some insight into how this might effect our lives as photographers.

First, I completely agree that photography is NOT about the technology. Being a photographer isn't about photoshop, or LightRoom, or actions, or whatever.  It's about light, and composition, and the interaction of subjects and context.   Think about that for a minute.  Actually - say it out loud.  Our craft is about capturing light - and everything that goes into it.  It's about using all of that incredible technology to tell a story.  

Second, it's worth asking, what are you creating your "art" for?  Are you creating images for "iPhones," or are you creating them for the "big screen?"  Or, another way of looking at it is, what's the primary way you intend for your work to be experienced.  Does it scale?  You might wonder whether it really matters - but I assure you it does.  Here's why. 

I create work for the album - for physical prints.  That's my "big screen."  In addition, I'm okay with people viewing images on their iPhone, iPad, or whatever.  My goal is to design art that does, in fact, scale.  On the other hand, if I simply hand over a disc of images to my clients after a wedding, that's it.  There's no scale.  There's no "big screen."  There's nothing else.  

Sure, I want people to experience the work I create in many ways.  I don't want to limit the way they consume the story - I want them to choose what works best.  But I photograph for the big screen, and I always keep that in mind.  I'm shooting for the story - the story that will be told in an album.  I'm shooting for that image that a couple will want to display in their home as a 20x30 matted and framed print, or a 30x40 canvas.  

It was really encouraging to me, to hear from one of the most successful film-makers - and one of the best innovators in his industry - that the story (the art) is still the reason for creating.  Everything else is just scale.

So, how about you?  What's the most important thing for your art - the technology, or the story?  Are you shooting for the big screen?

WHERE HAVE ALL THE CLIENTS GONE?

I had the privilege of writing a post for the Pictage blog last week about some core things that I think new photographers should know.  One of the suggestions seemed to resonate with a good number of people - both in the comments, and in conversations I've had since.  Since it seemed to be something that a good number of people struggle with, I thought I'd go a little deeper here.

First, here's what I wrote:

8. Finding clients isn’t that hard.  Waiting for them to find you is.

A lot has changed in the last few years.  People keep talking about how the economy has effected everyone’s business.  I’m sure it has, but what I’ve noticed is that there are two types of photography business right now:

A) Photographers with growing, thriving businesses, with more work than they need.

B) Photographers with struggling, dying businesses.

The difference?  The one’s with growing business are the one’s that work harder than everyone else.  Sure, their work is incredible.  Sure, they’re super talented.  But, so are you (if not, see #3 above).

Here’s the deal – the photographers with growing business aren’t sitting around waiting for the phone to ring.  They don’t spend hours a day reading other photographers blogs.  They’re working!  They’re either shooting, or if they’re not shooting, they’re out building their business.

They’re connecting with clients, venues, vendors, planners, and other people who can help them grow their business.  They spend time meeting people.  They follow up with clients.  They WORK HARD.

Often, people worry about how they’re going to find more clients.  What they’re really wondering is “how do I get clients to find me.”  The truth is, unless you’re REALLY well known – that’s just not going to happen.  So, instead of being depressed about that fact – go out and work.  Go out and find clients!

The reality is that I think this is probably relevant to everyone who runs a small business, so let's unpack a few things you can do to find clients.  The bottom line, is that finding clients is a mindset.  It's not a secret formula, and it's not magic.  It's about getting serious about building your business, and being aggressive about attracting new clients. 

Google SEO and AdWords are examples of hoping people find you.  Building a great website is, well - great, but it's useless if you just sit around hoping people find you.  Instead, here are a few things that require you to get out there and work hard!  The great thing about working hard is that it's hard - so a lot of people won't do it.  A lot of people want it to be easy, so when you go out and do the hard work - you stand out!

So, what does it look like to be actively finding clients?

1. Engage in relationships.  People refer people they like and trust.  People like and trust people they have relationships with.  I know that I refer people that I have a genuine relationship with - not just people that ask me to pass along their name.  I'm much more interested in helping people if I have something at stake - if I'm invested in them, and they're invested in me. 

Specifically, I focus on building REAL relationships with the following people:

Wedding Coordinators and Planners

Editors and Publishers

Reception Venues

Other Industry Pros I respect and admire.  This includes photographers, videographers, cake designers, and more.  

2. Make it easy for people to talk about you.  I totally stole this one from my friends Zach and Jody Gray, That's okay though cause it's an AWESOME idea.  We started giving our clients a challenge.  When we posted their sessions online, we gave them a challenge that if they had a certain number of their friends comment on the post- they'd get something valuable.  We simply sent them an email letting them know about the opportunity, and let them do the rest.  

The very first post I tried this on, We had over 60 comments, and 2 INQUIRIES - just from that one e-session post.  When you make it easy for your clients to talk about you - they will.  And when they do, you win.  I can't tell you how important it is to make it easy for your clients (and other people) to talk about you.  When you have a real relationship with someone, and you make it easy for them to say good things about you to their friends, you're two steps closer to finding the right clients.

3. Put yourself where the clients are.  It's easier to find someone if you're hanging out where they hang out.  There's two ways this works.  

A) Be physically where you're target clients are.  This can mean the location of your physical studio, but it also means that you should be frequenting the same kinds of places your ideal clients frequent.  Where do they shop, where do they eat, where do they hang out?  You'd be surprised how big a difference this can make.

B) Have a presence at the front of their mind.  This is what advertising is meant to do, but it only makes sense if you're spending your resources on things that actually hit your target.  Think again about your target clients - what do they read?  Where do they get their wedding information?  What resources are they actually using to plan their wedding?  Be there.

What about you?  What are some of the things you're doing to find the right kind of clients?

HAVE WE MET?

Who is your ideal client?  Have you ever met them? Would you even know if you had - have you ever sat down and defined your ideal client?  Do you know what they're like?  Do you know where they shop, where they spend their money, what they like to eat, where they like to vacation, and what kind of car they drive?  "People willing to spend a lot of money on photography," isn't very helpful as a target.

It's an exercise with a lot of value to your business, and it's one I strongly encourage you to consider spending some time on.  Here's why:

1. Focus clarifies.  Putting it in words is useful because it helps you to quantify the type of clients you're hoping to engage with.  These are the people you want to work with every week, and are the kind of people, for whom you get REALLY excited to create incredible images.  Write down everything you can think of about who your ideal client is - so much so that you could pick them off the street if they walked by.

2. Focus gives you the ability to make decisions. When you know who you're ideal client is, you're able to make decisions about your business.  You can make informed decisions about things like, where to advertise.  You can make decisions about how to present your photography, whether or not to have a studio space, what types of work you want to show, and what marketing will be most effective. 

If you don't have an ideal client in mind - most of these things will be wasted efforts since you'll have little chance of measuring the success against anything meaningful.  If your ideal client reads Martha Steward Weddings, why are you advertising in The Knot? (I'm not commenting on either, except that they target different segments of the market).  If your clients shop at Pottery Barn, they're used to a different experience than if they shop at IKEA.

3. Focus enables healthy growth.  It seems like diversification in your brand might be the opposite of a laser-like focus, when in reality - focus is the key to growing your business both deeper and wider.  Knowing where to move next is based on a solid understanding of who you want to serve, and what they need/want.  

Simply trying a little of everything - for everyone - might net you short-term returns, but it doesn't really allow anyone to feel like they really know what box to put you in.   Sure, most of us don't want to be put in boxes, but the reality is - clients do it whether you want them to or not.  Then they pass that box around to their friends that they think will like you.  If you make it hard to put you in the box, you make it hard for them to share. 

4. Focus means saying no. I'm not suggesting that you simply start turning away all business from anyone who doesn't match your "ideal clients."  That would be really bad advice.  In fact, when you've defined your target well - you'll find yourself REGULARLY working with clients that are close - but not perfectly ideal.  That's okay, it's the point actually.  By positioning yourself in market, you'll attract the market around you.  

Focus DOES mean saying no to distractions.  It means not wasting resources (both energy and money) in places that don't help you reach your ideal client.  It means saying no to opportunities that keep you from moving in the right direction.  It means not spending thousands of dollars on advertising that doesn't position you in front of your ideal client.  And it actually DOES occasionally mean turning away clients when you really aren't the best fit.  

You don't do anyone any favors by investing in the wrong places.  You don't do anyone any long term favors by investing in the wrong clients.  Do yourself - and your future clients - a favor right now.  Sit down and define who they are.