blogs of photogs

Seshu Photography (blog here ) is based in Connecticut, New England, but Seshu travels extensively to capture lushly gorgeous wedding, engagement and portrait images that are a flawless mix of candid in-the-moment captures fused with beautifully posed images. Seshu was born in NY, but lived in India for 12 years before returning to the US. As he mentions in his bio, he straddles multiple cultures and comfortably immerses himself into their prized traditions. I know you will enjoy his work if you haven’t yet heard of Seshu. Make sure you follow him on twitter too, as he has lots to say and lots of great advice.

Enjoy!

Mary

Audrey Woulard, has been working out of Chicago as a portrait photographer for about 7 years, near as I can remember. Audrey and I were friends online on a parenting board for many years before either of us ever pursued photography as a career, so I got to see her go from starting out to skyrocketing to fame in a fairly short period. Audrey’s work has a very distinctive style, a commercial feel that caught the eye of national campaigns such as Pottery Barn Kids a few years back. Audrey is an extremely successful business woman as well, offering many variations of workshops over the years that have brought her as many aspiring photographer fans as she has photography clients. I’m convinced that if Audrey writes about a product on her blog, or uses a hat, blanket (remember that?) etc in her work, then you ought to buy some stock in it~ her cult following is that strong. Her work has been featured in many places, including the cover of Professional Photography magazine and is the inspiration for many photographers who are just starting out. If you haven’t checked out her blog before, I know you’ll enjoy it.

On a personal note, please forgive my neglecting Blogs of Photogs. Its crunch time for finishing up all my client work. I hope to share a freebie card I designed within the next day or so, hopefully you can use it for last minute orders, or maybe even for your own neglected card! Happy Holidays to all!

~Mary

Jodie Otte works out of the Black Horse Studio located in Northern Baltimore County, Maryland. Her blog can be found here, where you will see a beautiful sampling of her work with clients ranging in age from days old to families. Jodie is equally comfortable and skilled at using both studio lighting and natural light, and her blog also features lots of slices of life from the nature surrounding her home in the cornfields. Aside from being an accomplished and talented photographer, Jodie is also excellent at self-promotion and marketing and has a thriving workshop business and book offerings for photographers as well. I first met Jodie on a parenting forum nearly 10 years ago now, and though I don’t often get over to her blog, it was such fun to see how her kids have grown, and to find that she also keeps chickens (!) as we entered into keeping chickens ourselves this year! You’ll find lots of photographic inspiration here!

~Enjoy!

Mary

Jodi Friedman of Multiple Choices Photography (MCP) has so many irons in the fire I get tired sometimes just attempting to keep track: MCP photography, workshops,  her blog where you can find lots of great information and resources for photography, and her actions which I’ve mentioned before on the blog. She even has guest bloggers, such as this post with beach posing tips! Just had to give a shout out to this great wealth of info. If you haven’t visited before, enjoy!

~Mary

Something a little different today… Peter Hurley is an extremely talented commercial photographer who has studios in both NY and LA. He also has several affliate photographers working for him, and a peek through his portfolio will show you how accomplished he is. However, today I’m linking to his awesome video about “how to get a great headshot” (shot by sceneinteractive.com,) find the video here. This video is geared towards actors who are looking for the perfect headshot, but I think all photographers would also benefit from the info too~ always great to hear/see another photographer’s working style. Enjoy!

Mary

My three sweet kids, my wonderful husband & I are off to a Florida vacation in the morning. I am so seriously behind in proofing that I didn’t have time to blog here like I wanted to. I will be back with some great photographers blogs next week, so check back soon! In the meantime, I have to share the most amazing set of actions I have ever seen. If you take photos with cool urban backgrounds, etc, you will for sure want to check out MCP actions new set, All in the Details. Jodi’s actions are just stunning in all they can do. They could really jazz up just about any photo, or make a very good photo amazing. I was lucky enough to get to play with this action pack before its release, and I don’t have the photos I played with on this computer to share with you~ but the possibilities are endless. Make sure you visit her blog and see some of the stuff posted that people have done with this new set. Link is here. Her blog also is just a great wealth of info for photographers of all levels. Jodi seems to be such a giving person. Check it out!

best,
Mary

Blogs of Photogs is happy to welcome the wonderful Angela Calderon to the blog. Angela will write an occasional business tips feature, starting today. Feel free to leave some comments thanking her, and also with questions for a future feature. And for those looking for a fabulous photographer, Angela works out of Atlanta, GA and also out of Los Angeles, California and is both über talented and a great person, visit her site here!

It’s no secret that the economy is in the toilet.  Times are tough.  Custom portraiture is a luxury, not a necessity (wow say that 10 times fast).  Many photographers are finding that prior to booking, potential clients are shopping around now more than ever.  What are you doing to recruit new clients and retain the ones you currently have?

Many of my best repeat clients have told me that one of the things that keeps them coming back is my customer service and my attention to detail.  When I first speak with my clients on the phone or even in email correspondence I ask a lot of questions.  Now I’m sure most people do that, but I’m always sure to write down every single little detail so that I can have that as a reference.  When I go to a client’s home and I’m photographing their precious newborn I am usually in the living room with the Dad while the Mom is nursing the newborn or getting ready.  During that time I make it a point to do more than just casual chit chat, I try to get to know them.  I ask how they met, how long they’ve been married, how long they’ve lived in the area, what their dog’s names are, where they went to college, etc.  All of this information is going in to my mental file cabinet.  When I get home from the session I write down the information so that I have it in their file.  Ok, that might sound creepy, but I promise it’s not!

I know everyone runs their business differently but what works for me is that I like to think of my clients as my new friends. I love getting to know more about them so that we are all comfortable with each other and can continue to build a client/photographer relationship for years to come.  So a month or so later when I notice their alma mater had a great game that day I will drop them a quick email and say - hey how about those Gators today.  When their birthday rolls around I send them a email greeting.  It’s just like a friend, remembering things that are important to them.  This builds loyalty.

Do you keep your clients in the loop for the entire process from start to finish?  Let them know what to expect.  How long it will take to see their slideshows, how long it will take to get their prints back.  Spell it out for them and be one step ahead with information so that they never have to wonder.   Here is a biggie (well at least in my book)  FOLLOW THROUGH ON YOUR PROMISES.  UNDER PROMISE AND OVER DELIVER.  If you are *the* slowest proofer ever (like me) don’t tell your clients their images will only take a few days, tell them it will take two weeks or however long it will realistically be.  If you get them done early, score one for you for beating the deadline.  If you wait until the last minute to order from the lab and it is going to make you late getting their prints to them then consider drop shipping to meet your deadline. Then follow up shortly with a thank you and a little something extra that you would have put in had you shipped and packaged the prints yourself.  Put yourself in the client’s shoes, how would *you* want to be treated?

One of my favorite articles regarding customer service is called 5 Secrets of Good Customer Service: http://sbinfocanada.about.com/cs/marketing/a/custserviceas.htm

There is an old saying that if someone has a positive experience they will tell four friends, however if they have a negative experience they will tell at least ten friends.  Well that’s not really fair now is it?  We photographers sure do have our work cut out for us to get the POSITIVE word of mouth out about our businesses.

So your homework for today is:

Think about what sets you apart from the competition, embrace it, promote it and kick it up a notch!

–

Angela Calderon Photography

www.angelacalderon.com