While professional photographers shoot many types of events, many are coming up with unique ideas and incentives to offer their wedding clients, which are giving them an edge over their competitors.

Photographers who are looking for ideas that compliment their current wedding offerings are turning to other wedding vendor’s professional photographer programs to market themselves in a whole new and very unique way.

In a recent survey conducted by Adesso Albums, the following five incentives were identified as the most successful incentive-based marketing strategies for attracting wedding clients and referrals:

Engagement Photo Sessions

Many photographers will add an engagement photo session of the couple to their wedding package. This is a great incentive for couples wanting to publish professional engagement photos in their local newspaper or later use their engagement photos in a showcase album at the wedding.

Engagement Photos Showcased At Wedding

Engagement photos are showcased in an album that is later used at the wedding reception as a guest book.  The photographer’s engagement photos of the couple are showcased in the album and guests then add their handwritten sentiments and warm wishes on the album pages – a keepsake that is a lasting reminder of the day (and the photographer).

Wedding Photo Website

A website that hosts the engagement and wedding photos is a wonderful way for the couple’s out-of-town guests who couldn’t make it to the wedding feel as if they were a part of it. It also gives the couple an opportunity to stay in touch with their guests with fun pictures of the wedding and wedding reception.

Custom Parent Albums

Creating a custom album for each set of parents can boost the currency of the new son or daughter in law in addition to making a very special and personal gift.  The albums feature photographs that are meaningful to each set of parents in a beautifully bound and personally created coffee table album for them to enjoy for years to come.

Hi-Resolution CD

Having a high resolution CD of all their photos gives the couple the ability to have prints made long after their wedding day is over – for family gifts, to frame and send to friends as a reminder of that special day or even to get shots printed and framed for their new home.

Reduced Rates for Enlargements

This incentive is especially meaningful to couples with large families. With a reduced rate for print enlargements, the couple can provide their close family members with more than a few 4 x 6 wedding prints.

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One of the most popular new products on the market today are digital cameras.

Within the constantly changing world of technology, these digital cameras have become popular even amongst those who are not technically oriented.  They are now quite easy to use and available at a wide range of prices.  Even the least expensive ones can produce a quality picture that can be reproduced and sent off by the dozen to all your relatives and friends.  Their being both affordable and easily available are strong features of their popularity.

Because most homes have a computer, downloading digital pictures is a quick and easy snap.  It doesn’t require a lot of training and skill.  And, because of the abundance of
prints that one can easily reproduce, digital photography is here to stay.

Because photo labs were originally accustomed to the black and white processing, and then added color developing and printing, they had to rise to the challenge of working with
digital prints.  They found that it was actually much easier to edit and print the digital prints than it was to edit black and white, or color.  This has added to the desirability of using digital cameras.

Before the photo labs became involved with digital photography, people had to download the photos onto their home computer and then print them on their printer.  As printer quality then was intended for text, not photographs, the result wasn’t always what people wanted.  (But they still loved doing it!) Although technology improved the quality and durability of the home digital photos they still didn’t have the quality of a print that came from a film negative.  Over time the processes became more capable, yet the cost often prohibited making large numbers of picture reproductions.

Now the photographer has quite a few options.  The improvement of printers has been a great boon.  They can now handle printing many pixels in a beautiful manner.  And the
cost of the ink cartridges is slowly reducing, making home printing at least a little more affordable.  The durability of the prints remains a problem in some cases, and this
challenge has been handled well by the professional photo labs.

Many people find the discount labs to be a terrific place to get their digital photos processed.  These discount labs will download and edit most of the digital media cards on the market today.  As they will only actually print the better pictures, selected by you, you don’t end up paying for prints that make you cringe because they are out of focus.  (Or because they are oh, so embarrassing, or someone put their finger over part of the lens.)  On the other hand, those masterpieces that you want to share with the world can be reproduced in quantity, all at a decent price.

The internet provides an awesome choice of businesses which will print your photos for you.  The photos are downloaded to a special web site which you can let your friends and family know about, and they then choose, and pay for, the prints they want.  They can then print these off the internet or have a quality print mailed to them.  Another feature of some of these businesses is having your picture printed onto a tee-shirt, mouse pad, or mug.  You can design your own whole-year calendar using your photos and letting the company finish designing and printing them.  You are limited only by your imagination.  These companies will help you fulfill your dreams.

Digital photography can bring you much joy, and by using the right digital equipment you can fulfill many of your dreams.

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Image is everything when it comes to your photographs. You can have the most expensive camera, and all the modern trimmings, but this will not make a difference to your picture. Only you the photographer can make the difference, and creating a balanced
picture will help you do that.

So how do you improve this and capture that beautiful image?  A few minor tricks and adjustments will help you do this.

1. Adjusting the settings: With most digital cameras the white balance setting is set at “auto”.  This will produce a “cooler” picture. If you want to bring out those warm reds and yellows  set this feature to “cloudy.”  Compare pictures taken on “auto” and “cloudy” and you will see the difference. The reds and yellows will be more apparent, giving you a “warmer” image.  This will work especially well when you take outdoor portraits and photographs of sunny outdoor landscapes.

2. To add subtlety to the colors of your outdoor shots you will need to use a polarising filter. This will filter out glare and reflections resulting in a unique balanced picture. A simple way to create this effect is to use a good pair of sunglasses. You place your sunglasses as close to your camera lens as possible, make sure you position them right and do not include the frames in your photo. Be careful to position yourself so that the light is over your left or right shoulder for maximum effect. Then see how the colors of your image are enhanced when you use this technique.

3. Another way to create a balanced picture is to use the “fill flash or flash” feature on your camera: Make sure you are in control of this feature for better exposure. When you are taking portraits outside be sure the “fill flash” or “flash” is turned on.

4. You can experiment with light variations. Position the person so the sun shines on the hair from the side or back. This is called “rim lighting.” You can place them under a tree then use your flash feature to add extra light.

5. An important point in creating a balanced picture is positioning.  Most cameras have a range of barely 10 feet so do not stand too far away when you use your “fill flash” outdoors.

6. Macro Mode: Activating the close-up feature on your camera.  Get as close to your subject as possible. Hold the shutter button down halfway to allow the camera to focus. When you see the confirmation light press the shutter down the rest of the way. Focus on the most important part of the subject and let the rest of the image go soft.

7. Creating unusual shots when balancing your picture: Moving water is a challenge but here is a way to simplify it and get a “just painted” effect. Find some running water; force the camera’s shutter to stay open for 1-2 seconds then rake your picture. This will create the soft flowing effect of the water and leave the surrounding scene looking sharp.

With these tips you will be able to enhance your images and create a balanced picture just be using simple techniques and the basic features on your digital camera. They say a picture is “worth a thousand words” make your photographs the conversation piece of the party.

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What if I told you there was one simple thing you could be doing right now to grow your business rapidly that costs next to nothing, takes very little time, and is extremely easy?

Sound interesting?

Let’s face it, the competition out there is pretty stiff.  There are dozens of people that do the same thing you do in your local area.  As a prospect, I don’t know the difference between you and the ninety-nine other event professionals that are competing to shoot my special day.

So, how do you differentiate yourself from the rest?  How do you stand out in a sea cluttered with photographers / videographers?

By doing this one simple thing, you can instantly “zap away” all your competition like they’re an innocent little mosquito fluttering by one of those brightly lit bug zappers!  ZAP!

If you consistently do this one simple thing, your business is guaranteed to grow and you’ll have to fight off all your referrals with a stick.  This is no exaggeration.  If you do this one simple thing right, your clients will be talking about you.

So, what is this one simple thing you could be doing right now to put more money in your pocket and grow your business?

OVER DELIVERING!

You’ve probably heard people say, “You’ve got to over deliver on your service.”  But what exactly does it mean?  And how do you go about doing it?

In this article, I am going to give you straight forward strategies you can use to over deliver to your clients so they sing your praises from the center of town!  Let’s get started.

The first time you want to think about over delivering is right away, as soon as your prospect comes into your office for the initial consultation.  We all know first impressions are very important and if you over deliver at this point, you will ace it.  Here’s what I recommend.  Get some little bags printed up with your name and logo on them.  Fill them with tissue paper and assorted goodies.  Some suggestions: a pen and pad, a plant, a keychain, chocolates, guide to party planning, calendar; it could really be anything.  Don’t go too cheap on this.  Make the gifts worthwhile and something they could use.  Give your prospect the gift bag and say, “this is to congratulate you on your special day and a thank you for choosing us.”  Why should you give your prospect a gift right away?  There are many reasons.

First of all, people like doing business with people they like.  And who doesn’t like someone who gives them a gift?  Second of all, it gives your prospect a feeling of future obligation.  We are all brought up as kids with the idea that if somebody does something for you, you should do something for them in return.  Robert Cialdini, the foremost leader in researching social influence, talks about this “Rule of Reciprocity” in his book called Influence, “there is general distaste for those who take and make no effort to give in return, we will often go to great lengths to avoid being considered a moocher or freeloader.”  We might as well use this rule to our advantage.

It will go a long way when you are quoting your prices.

The third reason you should gift all your prospects right away is that nobody else in your profession is doing this.  This is a great way to differentiate your business from the “norm” and create strong word of mouth.

Your second opportunity to over deliver to your client is after they choose you to shoot their special day.   This warrants a gift.   After all they picked you out of the hundreds of other professionals they could have chosen.

Here’s what I recommend.  Send them something in the mail unannounced.  I like to send food such as a fruit basket, edible arrangements (fruit cut into shapes, very good idea, look online you’ll find them), or maybe cookies.  It doesn’t really matter what you send, only that you send something.

This gesture alone will do a few things:  This will shock your new clients at how generous you are, it will reinforce that they made a good decision in choosing you (cutting down on buyer’s remorse), they will tell every single person they know about this, and it will probably be much easier to get along with them on wedding day.

Added touch: Include a little note that says, “Looking forward to your wedding day!”

Your next opportunity to over deliver and completely WOW your client is when you deliver the finished product.   Here’s what I recommend:  I would hand deliver every video or photo album with a little something extra, a dozen roses, box of chocolates, and maybe even a free highlight video or 8×10 portrait.

At this point, you should definitely include a thank you note saying you enjoyed shooting their wedding and put in a testimonial/referral survey.  This will ask them questions about your service and give them a chance to write down names and addresses of friends they know getting married soon.  Both of these will be used in your future marketing.

As you can see, over delivering is very easy and inexpensive yet it provides such a powerful punch to your service.  It completely places you on a pedestal over all your competition.  For the skeptics who think that this is a lot of time and money.The cost is zero because you should just include it in your price (raise your price to cover the costs) and if you’re not willing to put in this extra time to set your business apart, your business will forever be “average”.   Don’t settle for average, you deserve more.

Over delivering will give your business a competitive edge for sure.  But please remember, you need a steady stream of new clients to use this strategy of over delivering.

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There are quite a few of us who are relentlessly in search of ways to make extra cash.  By using items that we already have and adding to it some brain power and motivation, we may surprise ourselves with some of the things we can come up with.

It could be something as simple as taking a photograph.  Yeah, anyone can shoot, but how many possess the eye to actually do it well?  Not many.  Now let’s group these people together into a percentage.  How many more of these people actually take an interest or have the patience to take pictures of their family, special occasions and events?  Of course some do, but still there are some who don’t; yet it seems almost impossible to imagine anyone who doesn’t appreciate having photographs of themselves, family and their memories, right?  This is where a potential opportunity presents itself.

Hoping that your camera skills are not too bad, you can start brainstorming some ideas as far as how you could use your camera to start making some extra money.  Pets make great subjects and most owners would love having pictures of their pets but rather not struggle with trying to get that perfect shot.  Also, you could offer a service where you photograph pets with their owners.  They make wonderful gifts and additions to the family albums.  You can charge for your service, plus you time and offer the photograph in the digital or printed version.

Make yourself available to attend events such as performances or parades.  Take pictures of the people who are participating and then sell it to them and their family members.  Think about it, neither performer or family member may have time to actually capture the moment.  You would be doing them a favor and at the same time making a profit.

Landmarks also make great scenic backgrounds.   Locating historic places in your area and then offering tourists your service of taking their picture in front of it is a great way to make a profit.   The only gamble is that a lot of tourists have cameras of their own, so finding the ones who do not have a digital camera is the real task.  You can offer them the option of seeing what their picture on your camera looks like as opposed to them only guessing what theirs may look like on their non-digital.

Different contests like animal and fishing contests provide you with the opportunity to take pictures of the contestants.  A lot of people at these kinds of events are so concerned with the actual event that they forget to bring a camera and would love to have a photograph.  Fishermen may want pictures standing next to the all the fish that they caught or just many shots of that one prize fish.

Events like graduations, prom night, and recitals are prefect opportunities to capture those shots that family members of the graduates maybe couldn’t capture.  For instance they may be seated a great distance from the stage or may not have as great of a shot as you do.  These are special moments in peoples lives that they would definitely want captured.

You can take portraits of children for parents.  Children’s portraits come out best when you capture the beauty of their innocence; such as while they are looking away from the camera, while they are playing with a toy, or smiling in another direction.  You can also take pictures of different families and put them on postcards for different holidays and events.  You can even get more creative and make the prints available online so that existing customers can refer their friends and family to the option of purchasing larger prints if desired.  Also providing them with the option to have their photographs printed out on t-shirts, mugs, key chains, and other items serve as great gifts.

There are plenty of other unmentioned ideas that are out there.  Just be creative and use your resources.  For example, taking pictures of used cars and selling them to dealers who may not have pictures of their new inventory; or teaming up with a freelance journalist to provide pictures to go with their stories.  Many people also sell their photographs to newspaper and magazine companies, and real estate agencies that could maybe use
additional photographs to include in their headlines, ads, and brochures.  Different Sale Methods

1. When you take your photographs, provide all of your subjects with a web address where they can view thumbnails and order high resolution digital versions or prints…

or

2. Collect the customer’s detailed information, payment and arrange to have the photographs sent to them.  Don’t forget to provide your information in case they want to hire you for something else…

or

3. Charge a fee and then email it to them later.  That is the advantage of digital photography.  After you take the picture, you can show it to the subject and they can choose to buy it only if they like it…

or

4. Carry a computer with CD-RW and give the customers their digital portrait on a disk.

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Thanks to a link in the most unlikely of places, I’ve just discovered www.iStockPhoto.com

I’ve not had a lot of time to investigate it in depth, but the quick synopsis is that photographers can join the site, lodge photographs with them, and earn money when content publishers want to use those photographs.

The deal seems to be that content publishers pay a one-off fee for rights to use the photo - whether this is a one-off use on a web-site, or relates to offline use etc, I haven’t yet investigated, but will be doing so in the coming weeks and returning to let you know more.

In the meanwhile, if you can find time to trawl your hard drive and those attic boxes of old printed photos, identifying what might be sellable, you’ll be fully ready for a fast start when I get back to you.  They already have over 2 million images online, and that’s a good sign that the service works.

Ed