Portrait Session: The Photography Podcast for Portrait Photographers

In todays episode Erica and Connor talk about displaying your portfolio and tips for building the visual elements of your brand.

Then, on sticking points, I sit down with Michael Pugh to give him some thoughts on intentional improvement as he learns more about photography as well as giving some advice as to where his money would be best spent to help him hone his skills.

Branding and using visual elements to speak to potential consumers about what your business stands for.

Logos don’t mean much on a blank page, but branding is important for getting your message across to your client

You have an idea of what you stand for in business, this is the time to start writing things down on paper. Make a list of 3-5 adjectives you feel represent what your business stands for/says to clients.

This can also be helpful to put into terms of:

“I want people to know that my business is _______” or “I want people to know that my business doesn’t do __________.”

When doing this step, don’t be too focused on the aesthetic portion of your branding, but just consider the emotive elements of your brand. Often times the emotion and message of the brand will dictate the visual elements.

If you have the means, work with a professional designer to brand your business. They’ll help you with colors, fonts, etc., but also with coming up with things that will speak to your target client AND help you implement things in the best way possible.

Check out fiverr.com for affordable, but good quality logos 12:30 ish

“They” say that people have to see something 7 times before it becomes memorized. Put your logo and branding everywhere so that people see it constantly. It’ll help you become a recognized business in your community.

Other items of branding, business cards, possibly print boxes, letterhead, social media, etc.

Having a great body of work is good and fine and will look great on social media, but it is a good idea to have a place to show off your work and a website is a fantastic/professional way to do so.

Squarespace v. Showit v. Wordpress v. Wix v.

Client experience is also a part of your brand. Consider making videos that demonstrate what that experience looks like. Promo videos are a really cool and unique branding tool.

In this episode Erica and Connor discuss different considerations to make as you think through the way you would like your ideal client to move through their interactions with your business. This can range from being a high end full service photographer, or a speedy and efficient shoot and burn photographer. One way or the other, it is incredibly valuable to think of how you would like your client to interact in your business and start putting systems in to place to allow for a consistent delivery of that client experience.

In this Episode, Erica and Connor discuss the considerations to make when setting your prices for your business to allow for it to be sustainable over the long term. This is a very important consideration to make as you establish your business to ensure you don't have to go through the pain points of starting a business. 

Start by learning what your pricing needs to be for you to have a sustainable business.

Don’t let local markets influence this part too much. It is important to know at what point your business will be sustainable to know when you’re on the right track.

Erica disagrees. You have to take local markets into account when pricing. You’ll struggle if price yourself at $10k a wedding in a market that has an average of $2k a wedding. Similarly, if you price yourself at $2k a wedding in a market that averages $10k a wedding, you’re devaluing the art and everyone else in your market. If I lived in LA/NYC/Chicago, I’d be charging 3-4 times more than I do now because of the market in both locations.

You can start out lower than this sustainable number, but it is important to figure out ahead of time. When you know what it will take to be sustainable you will have a target to hit.

Cost of Doing Business Calculator: https://nppa.org/calculator

Sticking Points with Renos Erotocritou

Flash Gear to get started

Yong Nuo YN-560 IV

YongNuo YN-603 trigger

Cowboy Studio Stand

Flash Bracket

Shoot through Umbrella

In this episode, Erica and Connor discuss the best practices for putting together and curating a strong and effective portfolio that will help you put your best foot forward.

Then on Sticking Points, Connor sits down with Aaron Taylor to discuss the ways in which he can improve his sales and customer experience with his in person sales process.

Don’t throw every session you’ve shot into your portfolio. That is fine to start with, but eventually you need to get choosy.

Having a great body of work is good and fine and will look great on social media, but it is a good idea to have a place to show off your work and a website is a fantastic/professional way to do so.

Other items of branding, business cards, possibly print boxes, letterhead etc.

Before making any of these things, be sure you feel confident you can answer core questions about your brand. What do you stand for? What kind of service do you provide?

These questions have more to do with what your customer can expect from their interactions with you. Are you a brand that gives great looking photos at an affordable rate? Will your business model support that? What will that mean you are having to sacrifice to keep costs low in the long run?

Erica and Connor discuss the things to consider in getting your business set up with a bank account and give our recommendations for things like bookkeeping software, business lines of credit, credit cards, and accounting. Then, on Sticking Points, Connor sits down with Evan Criscuolo to discuss the finer details of being in business as a fine art photographer and why that is a path he might want to consider.

Erica and Connor Discuss how to go about getting your business established as a legal entity with the state and federal government. Then on Sticking Points, Connor sits down with Nick Skog to talk about how he can bring order to the tasks he has to take care of with his photo business and discuss ways of feeling confidence in the value of your work.

Some Helpful notes and resources

SBA has a huge section of their website dedicated to launching your business. Covers most of what we’re talking about today.

https://www.sba.gov/business-guide/launch-your-business/pick-your-business-location

Consider the legal ramifications and the taxable ramifications of your business structure.

Each structure affects your operations, how you file your taxes, and how much of your personal assets are at risk.

IRS classifications are:

Sole proprietorships

Partnerships

Corporations

S Corporations

Limited Liability Company (LLC)

Most photo companies are sole proprietorships or LLCs.

how to file with the state.

If you’re operating your business as yourself under your legal name, you don’t need to register.

But, you’ll miss out on some legal/personal asset protections.

If you’re using a business name, you’ll need to register.

Very simple process that you can do online.

Ohio Small Business Development Center will do it for you!

Look up SBDC’s in your area. Lots of workshops, legal professionals, funding opportunities, etc. at your service.

How to get a tax ID number if needed

This is like a SSN for your business.

https://sa.www4.irs.gov/modiein/individual/index.jsp

Costs involved with each.

Remember that we’re not lawyers or tax professionals. All of this information is based on our own personal research and experiences. Please consult professionals in your area to solidify and implement your business plans.

Erica and Connor discuss the factors that go into deciding what kind of portrait business you want to start and explain the importance of bringing focus to your business.

There are many ways to take pictures of people for money, but what ways do you want to focus on?

What kinds of photos do you like taking? What kind of market is there for this?

Who would be your ideal clientele?

Consider income bracket, age, gender, what they look like, how they dress, where they hang out, what they’re interested in. Analyze the shit out of them to create your perfect client. Knowing your perfect client will allow you to market to them appropriately, price yourself appropriately, and plan your social media.

All too often people jump into making money without thinking about building a business.

You don’t have to pick just one, but it is a good idea to have an idea of things that you do and don’t want to do.

Think about restaurants. The best ones are usually the ones who specialize in a certain type of food (ethnic, burgers, pizza, etc.).

If you do pick multiple types of portrait photography, do they compliment each other and work as a single business? Is it better to create two separate divisions ie entities for differing types of photography?

​​​​​​​In this Episode, Erica and Connor Discuss The changes coming to the podcast's format before having a conversation concerning the overall steps a person interested in taking their portrait photography hobby and turning it in to a business.

In this episode, Erica and Connor discuss various takeaways they have from their time teaching at the Create Photography Retreat.

Erica & Connor share their best suggestions to help you improve your portraits in the next 30 days.

Familiarize yourself with your gear.

It is easy to get bogged down with GAS, but it is important to realize that the best gear you can use is the stuff you have right now. Don’t allow yourself to pine after a new camera body if you don’t know the strengths and limitations your current gear.

Set up portfolio shoots.

Everyone has a busy schedule, so there is no need to add a certain amount of shoots here, do what you can comfortably do with your schedule even if it is just one shoot.

The key here is to not just set up a shoot, show up, and shoot the way you feel comfortable with. Set goals ahead of time of something you want to improve on and focus on that thing throughout the shoot so it becomes a comfortable point for you.

Set up portfolio shoots based on what you want to be paid for. Focus your efforts on the types of photography you want to be hired for. Don’t just shoot randomly.

Start Pre-visualizing your shoots.

This goes along well with the last segment. Go back and look at work you have done within the last 6 months and pull them apart. What could you have done better? THERE IS ALWAYS SOMETHING THAT COULD BE DONE BETTER.

Is this something you understand how to overcome?

The day of shooting it is nearly impossible to remember these things you casually noticed if you haven’t already mapped a solution to the problem. Think out exactly how you plan to overcome your weakness and have a “go-to” thing you want to do to fix it. This will increase the likelihood of you following through when the time actually comes about.

Focus on light.

Carve out time every day to focus on light. This doesn’t necessarily mean photography related light. As often as possible, pay attention to the way light hits certain objects and the shadows they create. The more you do this, the better you will understand the qualities of light.

Also make time to focus on photography related light. Whether you want to perfect your natural light photos or learn about flash, dedicate at least 30 minutes every day to light. Read about it, experiment with it, etc.

Start Building a visual vocabulary.

Something I have found as I have progressed in photography is that I have a certain visual aesthetic that appeals to me. This is something I honed by using sites like pinterest and tumblr to find work that appealed to me and pinned it.

This isn’t so you just copy work you find, but when you have a large list of images that you find striking, it starts to become easier to see elements of things you like in that imagery. I just recently downloaded tumblr again and went through my blog I haven’t posted on in a few years and it is amazing to see how much the things I blogged there still resonate with me now.