50 Years Later: Celebrating Life, Photography and Friendships!

Good Morning Everybody,

What a grand celebration this past Saturday! It was wonderful to have so many of the people to whom I owe my success come by and celebrate my 50th year as a wedding photographer this past weekend. The guests attending spanned 40 years of my business career.  It was kind of a career reunion and a great time for all present to catch up, tell stories, and just enjoy a wonderful evening of good conversation, great food, and perfect weather.

Pictured in the photograph below from left to right: seated first is Marvin “Bucky” Armstrong, one of my original assistants/photographers who, along with his wife, assisted me throughout the late 70’s.  Next to Marvin is Tom Taylor, a good friend and occasional assistant/second shooter/Master Class facilitator whom I’ve known for 10 years.

Top left is my good buddy, Eric Cameron, a talented photographer who began working with me first back in 2006 assisting LaDawn with our Digital WakeUp Call Tour and then came on board to help on special assignments and as one of my Master Class Coaches.

Next is yours truly and next to me is Steve Bitter, my very first assistant.  Steve began helping out when he was 15 years old – I was dating his sister at the time.  Steve is also the assistant who probably has more stories to tell that anyone who has worked with me over the years – and there are some good stories to tell ;~)

Next to Steve is Bill Mowery, a great guy, great assistant, and talented photographer.  Bill assisted mostly during the middle years of my career.  He always kept a level head and kept the occasional wedding chaos is perspective for all of us on the job.  I may be wrong here but I believe it was Bill who nick-named the equipment/lighting bag the DEATH BAG because of its weight – about 90 pounds.NOBODY liked carrying the death bag ;~)

Next to Bill is my good buddy, Damien Tepe.  Damien was sort of the IT brains of the operation around here for a few years.  He helped get our Digital Resource Center [link] up and running and helped keep all the workstations/computers running smoothly too.  Damien could also be trusted to help out on a wedding gig or two as well.  His real job is taking him to Dallas, TX in a few weeks so it was good he and his wife Laura could come by on Saturday.

Not pictured are Johnny Miller, not the golfer, but a great friend and talented photographer.  John was one of two photographers (Don Moore was the other)  that help put Ziser Photography on the map back in the early eighties.  Also, not pictured is Ace#1 Assistant and great photographer, Nicholas Viltrakis, who unfortunately had to leave early. Wait, there he is on the far right in my iPhone pano shot. 

Nicholas has been my “go to” guy these last several years at Ziser Photography for the huge, challenging events we occasionally booked at the studio. 

Also not pictured is Don Moore.  Don and I have been the best of friends for over 30 years.  Don was one of the studio’s first photographers along with Johnny Miller and he was also my first studio manager.  By the mid to late eighties Don had left the studio to pursue his own commercial studio endeavors – Kamera Art. Don and I still find it difficult to get together as often as we would like due to both of our crazy schedules,  but still remain super close friends. 

Also missing are a few other indispensible assistants Michael Nealis, Marc Bridewell, and photographer, Angela Haines all of whom had previous commitments or long distance that kept them from being here.  We still told stories about them too ;~)_________________________________________________________________

In this next photo you see most of the Ziser girls – truly the team that kept the wheels on the wagon at the studio. From left to right standing we have Sharon Blades, the studio bookkeeper and the life of the party around here over the years.  Sharon’s spontaneous, off the wall, remarks would put anyone within earshot in stitches.

Next to Sharon is Susan Kliendinst, my studio manager about 8 years ago. Susan was actually hired by my staff at the time while I was out on the road lecturing back in 2005.  I came back into town and was introduced to my new studio manager.  I was reassured by my staff that all would be fine. Susan jumped into her responsibilities with both feet – some would argue she did not “jump” but was thrown in head first into the studio’s “baptism of fire”.  We had a great run while Susan was at the helm.

Next to me is Shelly Roehrig who come on board as studio manager around 1998.  I was just elected PTA President and she was on of the PTA team at the time. She was giving me the tour of our Market Day operation – a money saving, fund raising arm of many PTAs. Before she was finished showing me the ropes, she had talked me into buying most of that month’s featured items.  I immediately asked her to come to work for me.  She got a job offer from UPS on that same day which she refused.  The rest is history. 

Our kids were about the same age so our work day began after the school bus picked up our kids and ended pretty much at 3:30 p.m. when the school bus returned to drop them off.  I also loved the fact that “snow days” where automatic studio holidays. Hey, school was closed so we all headed to the park for some fun sled riding – good times, and many wonderful memories.

Next to Shelly is Karen Armstrong, again a long time friend, wife to Marvin above, and one of the early original team at Ziser Photography.  It was good to see Bucky and Karen again – we haven’t seen each other in over a dozen years.

Seated bottom right is Gayle Lehman, our fabulous album designer and photographic artist for many years. I remember when we were sinking in the “digital seas” like so many other photographers in the early days of digital cameras and Photoshop. Gayle, along with Susan, stepped up too the plate to get us transitioned in our brand new digital world.

Seated on the left is LaDawn, my beautiful wife.  LaDawn who has been the marketing coordinator and tour manager for Photographic Resources, the lecturing arm of our business since our first national lecture tour together – Digital WakeUp Call - in 2006. LaDawn has handled all the back room and behind the scenes activities for all our lecturing projects with a great smile and with utmost thorough efficiency.  We celebrate our 8th anniversary this Wednesday.  Cheers to my Sweetie!

Not pictured is one of the Ziser Photograph’s most important studio managers, Lona Kidwell.  I met and hired Lona when she was in her early twenties. She had that special confident quality about her that made her a perfect choice for the position. I’ve never ceased to admire her fabulous sales skills, tenacious spirit, and outstanding positive attitude.  Lona and Don met during the early studio years and have been happily married ever since.

Also missing is Rebecca Blaut.  Becky came on board as studio manager in the early 90’s and navigated the studio some of it’s difficult growing pains always putting the clients first and always getting the job done.  Becky now operates her own successful studio [link] here is Cincinnati, OH and was not able to attend because of family commitments.

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In this next photo below are pictured next to me are Jim Fauz, a long time friend, Master Class coach, and the person he says sold me my first SLR 35mm camera years ago (a Miranda Sensorex pictured above). Next to Jim are Wilma and Rob Kumler, owners of K&R PhotoDigital.  K&R, as we know them in the area, have been supplying camera and photo supplies throughout the Midwest since 1975.  Rob guided me through my first Hasselblad purchase in 1978 – talk about a traumatic experience – two 500CM cameras, 3 lenses, a few film backs – about $10,000! You definitely needed a pro bank account to be a pro photographer back in the day ;~)

Also missing from this photo are Linda and Dick Bass, owners of LinColor Labs, my lab of choice for all my processing back in the very early days of Ziser Photography.  Linda had the distinction of printing more award winning prints than any lab in Ohio and Kentucky during the eighties and nineties.  Linda and Dick eventually both competed themselves and were eventually honored their Master of Photography degrees from the Professional Photographers of America.  We really  missed them on Saturday.

There are others that were part of the team over these many years and my thanks and gratitude go out to them too.  It’s been a great run (so far) and I’m sure glad, grateful, and happy to have the support of so many good friends that have made DAVID A. ZISER PHOTOGRAPHY one of the premiere studios in the area.  Again, my thanks to everyone who helped make it happen. 

High Fives to each and everyone of you!

David

p.s. Check back tomorrow for a brief history In time about Ziser Photography

Business Day Thursday: It’s Time To: Invigorate / Innovate / Interpolate

Good Morning Everybody,

We had a 5  hour drive to the Indiana Dunes National Seashore yesterday, got settled into our hotel and headed to Mt. Baldy, the largest sand dune in North America.  Yep, our plan was to re-live LaDawn's Mt. Baldy experience of years ago and climb to the top.

Now many of you don't know, but about two months ago, I decided to "clean up my act" and get into shape.  Hey, better late than never, right;~). Anyway, I have fully embraced a much healthier diet, and dare I say, exercise.  Yes me, exercise - yikes.  But the reality is that I’m walking up to about 4 miles a day and feeling better.  As a matter of fact the results of my new health venture has resulted in a nearly 40 pound weight loss, blood pressure well into the normal category, and a cholesterol reading that is literally one half what it was - yes, 1/2 the previously number and now well below normal.

Anyway, I'm ready for Mt. Baldy, right?  WRONG!  Good ol' Mt. Baldy did me in yesterday.  At roughly 125 feet tall, Mount Baldy is the largest "living" dune in Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. As the dune moves, it buries everything in its path, including trees.

You know, walking uphill in sand is quite a chore.  And when you're trying to do it on one of the biggest sand dunes in North America, it's both daunting and exhausting.  The dune is actually three times higher than it seems.  Why?  Because for very three steps you take forward, you slide back two. But after a lot of effort, we did it.

Now take that adventure off my "bucket list".  I am over sand dunes, sand, and Mt. Baldy.  Heck, I don't even know if I ever even want to walk on a beach again!   OK, maybe I'm over reacting now.  Beaches, oceans, and sunsets are still OK for me :~)

Wait now, maybe hang gliding off Mt. Baldy would have been better – uhmmmm…

Hey gang, enough of my adventures yesterday.  How about we get on with today's Business Day Thursday.  Here we go.

Resting On Your Laurels, A Guaranteed Path To Failure

Over the last 5-7 years I have watched many photographers studios "bite the dust" and go out of business with those business owners lamenting the fact that times and customers have changed and today's customer just doesn't get it anymore. 

These photographers, and I was guilty of that too for a while, have been resting on their laurels for the last several years of their careers reaping the benefits of a business that has remained basically unchanged for over 50 years.  But change happens, the cheese gets moved, and the successful entrepreneur make moves quickly to adapt.  Like I said, resting on your laurels is the surest way to failure - I've seen it over and over.

Having said that, I've also seen a new crop of young, talented photographs move quickly to fill the vacuum created by the "laurel testers".  Photographers like Lynn Michele, one of the top new wedding shooters in Dallas.  Blair Phillips is tearing up the photography market in Charlotte, NC.  And, Zack and Jody Gray are rocking it down in Nashville, TN after only a few short years in business.

So what's the big difference here.  Is it just out with the old and in with the new?  I don't think so.  I think it comes down to the new kids on the block figuring it out a whole lot quicker that the photographers of yesteryear. "Digital" as they say, has changed the way photographers have done business nearly overnight.  To many of us, and me included at first, we're slow to change and adapt.  But, the new stars on the photographic horizon figured it out early, grabbed the digital tiger by the tail, and are having a great ride.

What does it come down to to be successful in this brave new photographic world?  I think it comes down to the same factors it always has and always will - regardless of the age or era entrepreneurs are doing business.

It’s Time To: Invigorate / Innovate / Interpolate

Invigorate:  Get yourself excited about what your all about.  Get yourself excited about your photography again.  Nothing hurts success like apathy.  And, when business is slow - apathy, like a cancer, can start to erode away your optimism and enthusiasm.  You need to take time to recharge your batteries.  Give yourself a creative photographic self-assignment.  Start pointing your camera at subjects outside your normal "business box".  Take a photo-walk around your city or town and shoot street scenes, flowers, people - start a creative conversation, a dialogue if you will,  with yourself with your camera.

Innovate: Shake the dust webs from your product offerings and offer something new.  Every six months you need to re-visit what you offer, how you offer it, and consider how you can do better.  In that same vein, you need to constantly innovate and introduce new product offerings.  Like I said, every six months you have to force yourself to go through that innovating process. Frankly, in today's super fast moving digital world, it's do it or die. Is that really the music you want to face professionally?  Then get busy!

Interpolate:  Look at where your customers are coming from now and see if there are more customers there.  Reach out to your current clients for new referrals and leads.  Give them rewards or special incentives (spiffs) for sending referrals your way.  The easiest way to do that is with "Two for One", Buy One, Get One", or "Bring A Friend" promotions.

Don't forget to stay connected.  That means staying connected with your current and prospective clients. You can do that with all the social media options available to you - from Facebook to Pinterest.  Learn and embrace the social media opportunities today.  There is no away around it - just do it!!!

And stay connected with your professional friends, I call them my vendor buddies.  Re-kindle, renew, and expand those relationships so you can grow and thrive together.

Folks, those are a few places to begin.  But the real new beginning comes from you and you wanting to make that effort.  I always said it was easy to be the best photographer in town.  You just have to work a lot harder than the next guy.  And, guess what, that's the easy part, because a lot of people just don't want to work that hard.  The path is clear for those who want to walk that road less traveled.

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Hey gang, that's it for me today.  We're spending a few more hours  in the Indiana Dunes area and then heading up to Grand Rapids and then onto Frankfort, Michigan later this afternoon.  Then for me it's banging out about 6,000 thousand words on my book and a big three day wedding this weekend.  Have a good one and I’ll see you soon.

Adios, David

Business Day Thursday: Secrets of Booking Today’s Wedding Client - “The Psychology of a Photographer from a Marketing Standpoint”

 

Good Morning Everybody,

I am really stoked this morning.  A few days ago I received an email from Matt McGraw, one of the most talented wedding photographers east of the Mississippi, heck, one of the best anywhere. Matt and I have stayed in touch via email for a number of years – in fact he did a web program for our photography association a few years ago to “rave” reviews.

Matt sent me a quick note describing today’s wedding client and defining his new approach to booking the new generation of bride’s looking for photography services.  In today’s world of super connected everything and everybody, the new “playing field” demands a brand new approach in booking these new customers. But first, allow me to digress….

What Today’s Wedding Customer Wants

Today’s customer wants to connect with someone on a more personal level before ever considering that vendor’s product and service.  For many photographers who have been running successful businesses for many years, that new customer has been quite elusive to book. The fact of the matter is that so many of the “old school” photographers failed to change with the times, that is to embrace what the new social media technologies bring to a company’s continued success.  Most of these companies have looked the other way hoping the whole Facebook,Twitter etc. thing would just go away.  Well, at 900,000,000 on Facebook and growing, that just is not going to happen.

On the other hand, many of the new wedding photographers are willing to settle substantially lower commitments from the bride and groom at $1,000 – $1,500. Sadly, many of the newly minted wedding photographers have difficulty building a sustainable successful full time business in this profession. Twenty years ago successful wedding photographers – full and part time - were averaging over $2,500 on nearly every event offering top quality product in a gorgeous custom bound album!  That’s an average most of today’s wedding photographers would “die” for.

What We Have Here Is A Failure To Communicate

What I see is a generation gap between photographers on one hand and wedding customers on the other. On one hand we have a group of photographers whose wonderful talents are lost on the new generation of brides and groom’s because, to borrow a line from the 1967 film Cool Hand Luke , “a failure to communicate.”  And on the other hand, we have the new crop of photographers that are really challenged to run a successful, ongoing business and only see contracting a wedding weekend event as “extra dollars” in their pockets.  The reality is that most of today’s wedding photographers are part timers, with little to no aspiration at ever turning it into a full time profession, who enjoy photography, and have week-end time available and enjoy the extra income from their event endeavors.

OK, let me say upfront – I am trying to make the point that the business has changed enormously in the past five years – lots of talented pros are out of business and lots of new shooters have little or no idea have to effectively sell their imagery. As a result, today’s bride settles for a lot less, let’s say, “Good enough photography” just to get the “booking chore” behind her. And today’s wedding photographers, most of them at least, will never create a successful, creative, vibrant, profitable, SUSTAINABLE business. There, I said it, now I’ll step down from my soap box.

DigitalProTalk Is A Wonderful Business Resource

For the last 5 years I have spent every Thursday sharing with our DPT readers tips, techniques, and strategies on just that – running a sustainable photography business.  Many have written and told me how the business advice has turned their business around.  Many others have told me how, because of the over 500 business posts that they have quit their day job and taken on their new found profession of photography full time.  For these realities I am truly honored. But that doesn’t mean that we resting on our laurels at David Ziser Photography either.

I too struggle with connecting with the new wedding client, but have been extremely lucky to have built up a very loyal following of clients over the last 25 years that continue to return excited about our imagery and photography. But what about so many other other photographers out there?  What about the “new kid on the block” wanting to kick start their business.  What about the seasoned pro who seems all hope is lost when trying to book today’s younger, more hip, super connected bride and is actually angered by that fact?

The “Must Read” Business Article Of The Year!

Folks I think a BIG part of the answer lies in Matt’s article below.  Please give it a read and then re-read it. The advice is golden for any photographer of any age wanting to not just connect with today’s wedding client but run a successful and thriving business as well – IT’S A MUST READ!!!!

Folks, please give it up for Matt McGraw, my guest blogger for today’s very important Business Day Thursday post.

“The Psychology of a Photographer from a Marketing Standpoint”… by Matt McGraw

I hate business meetings!!! 

With clients, new clients, potential clients, old clients, you name it I hate it!!… So I’m not a sales person you say. How in the heck do I have a business if I hate to meet with clients? After all, that is sales isn’t it? Well the bad, mean, and ugly word here is!?!?! … “BUSINESS!!”

You see I don’t meet my clients in my office. We meet at restaurants, bars, coffee houses. We meet on a social level, instead of meeting on a business level. Interesting eh? What I call this is social selling. Social selling!?!? What? Think about it, the world nowadays is all about?? … Social media, right?

The workshops regarding the selling tactics selling scripts etc. are a thing of the past.

Or they should be. You need to throw them out the door!!! Nowadays we know people we’ve never met. Why do we know them? Because of Facebook!!!! Everyone knows everyone… the 6 degrees of separation has really dropped down to the 3 degrees of separation. I can’t sneeze without 100 people telling me “bless you”. Take advantage of this my friends!!!

With social media, we can pre-qualify like we never have before. We’ve all been through workshops and they talk about the money pre-qualifying … blah blah blah… again throw that out the door. Pre-qualifying shouldn’t and isn’t about money anymore.

Let’s go through an inquiry I got a week ago or so…..

It’s a simple email that read…

“I’m getting married October 20^th, 2013 and want to inquire about your packages, please email me”

We’ve all got this email…… Now a normal email back might be “Dear client thanks for inquiring attached are my packages…blah, blah, blah…”  People, that doesn’t work anymore !!!

You have to make it personal.

It all starts out with finding out a little about my client or who my clients are via certain phrases etc. WOW question is, What the heck can I pull from that?… SO what do I do? I cross reference the email address on Facebook and even went as far as a Google search. What I learned was by the 4 photos I was able to view on this potential client was that this client is kind of artsy, a little hippy, liked micro brewed beer from what I saw in a camping photo. So my impression was these were simple people not really into the whole big glamour wedding.

There was also a travel photo from Costa Rica! So they like to travel. I also noticed on her about page she went to UNC Chapel Hill. She is also local, from my hometown! I was able to obtain all this on her about page and by a few images on her profile pics. WOW!!! I have a foot in the door.

So below is what I wrote her…. Now remember all I got in this email was “I’m getting married on October 20^th and want to inquire about packages”…

My response --

Hi Potential client,

Congrats on your engagement. I’d love to shoot your wedding!!! Below is a slideshow that features a few images from 2010 and 2011. And attached are a few recent images that are some of my favs!

http://slideshow.mattmcgrawphotography.com/MattMcGrawPhotographyWeddings2011/

DAZNOTE: Please hit this link above and enjoy some very inspiring and exciting wedding photography.

Can you meet sometime in the next couple of weeks? Idea - lets meet socially instead of a business setting. I can help you guys with your wedding. I know all the good guys in town – vendors, that is. I can also give you some suggestions like the do’s and don’ts and must do’s and try to avoids, and can probably give you some money saving tips…. Let me know. : )  Also forward this email to your fiancé… definitely want him to see my style… If you can lets meet at this cool pizza place I know. And chat it up about your wedding….

That’s it.  Keep in mind; I don’t want to mention to her yet that I’ve stalked her on Facebook…. So I made no mention of that….

When It Comes To Wedding Samples, Forget About The Classics!

Now the photos I included were a wedding photo of the bride and groom in sandals and his shirt unbuttoned her laying in his lap sort of laughing, a wedding couple that got married on a farm, a bride that wore a little makeup, or in other words a simple bride. What I wanted to show her were photos that she might like or relate to.  I did include a destination wedding photo shot in Italy, What I’m trying to do is put us on the same level. Keep in mind, I have never talked with this bride either. This is just from my glancing at the few photos she has on Facebook before I was friends with her on Facebook.

I got a reply back almost immediately, within 30 minutes

We’d love to meet with you!

We exchanged a couple of more emails to schedule our meeting, etc. I haven’t sent her a package attachment or anything yet.  BTW, we were all a go for the meeting!!!!.

We meet at the awesome pizza place in town. Why? Because they have great draft beer! Remember I saw a camping photo with good micro brewed beer. In the meeting we talk about everything and a wee tiny bit - get this … photography too.

You’ve Got To Talk About Them!

What we talk about is her wedding details, talk about family! That’s important! I gotta know the drama! There isn’t a wedding without drama right? We also talk about hobbies, etc., education… not what they majored in but where they went to school. The point here is I’m adapting to who they are….. and somewhere in there…. we’re gonna talk about photography. Now remember I haven’t sent her or talked about a morsel of a price. No packages or anything.

So what does all this do?… what this does is establishes that they can depend on me. I am their friend. I put their mind at ease as just not a photographer buuuut someone she can depend on someone that’ll make her smile when the goings tough. I will absolutely take wonderful photos.

Photography Is #2 With Today’s Clients!

It really comes down to the actual photography is the 2^nd most important thing about your job. It’s about relating to your clients. Feeling who they are on the inside… I’m gonna be friends with them. I’m gonna know their likes, dislikes, their comfort levels! They can call me about whatever they want. Not just photography related…. Nowadays you can’t just be the business person making a sell. It goes way beyond that. It’s establishing a relationship from the beginning. It’s adapting to who they are inside.

I want to go a step further with my couple… she asked me about doing a bridal portrait. Of course I photograph bridal portraits. I gave her the run down of what the process is, etc.…. but paused a hot second and said. You gotta bring your mom. I’d love to meet her. You see, bridal portraits aren’t just about the photos. It’s also about the bonding experience between bride and her mother. She’s gonna tell her mom I said this.

What this does is let the “traditional” mom know that she has a role in this wedding. That we certainly want her to be involved and “I” as a photographer am gonna hand hold her. I put a positive spin on her roll. It’s hard for a mom. Her daughter is independent. How much will her daughter let her be involved? How much will the daughter involve her mother? It’s not easy on a number of levels.

A wedding can bring out the good, bad and the ugly. Mom expectations, daughter expectations of moms might be different… We as photographers have the opportunity to relax everyone and make all these family annoyances easier. You’re hand holding sort of during the whole wedding process and it really starts from the very first email.

Now on To The MONEY!

Notice I’ve talked little about the money aspect….. So I finally talked money at my meeting…. Oh my!!! their budget was only $1500….. I’m toast!!!

Guess what? I wasn’t and the budget for photography just went up 2 fold. They booked me on the spot and … they now know and I made sure they know that I was an important hire…. get this… I said “I” I didn’t say photography. I, as a photo psychologist, am the hire and not the photographer… : )

Matt, Matt McGraw Photography

Watch the slideshow right here to view recent Wedding Images!  : )

Folks, how about a great BIG Thank You to Matt McGraw and his very insightful article on booking today’s bride. Way to go Matt – keep them smiling!!!

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Hey gang, that’s it for me today. I hope the sun comes up shining and you have a fabulous day.

I’ll see everybody real soon.

Adios,  David

Business Day Thursday: It's Always The Difference That Makes The Difference!

Good Morning Everybody,

It was such a nice day yesterday, and since LaDawn reminded me that we were on vacation, I decided to take the day off from blogging. But, you guessed it, I’m back at it today. But as you see, pretty late in the day. I got a call from local, and very talented photographer, Michael Slear [link] on the left who invited us out to lunch with his friend Joe Carr [link] on the right, one of the leading portrait photographers in Myrtle Beach, SC.  Be sure to check out their websites for some pretty inspirational images. 

Lunch turned into a very nice, leisurely visit we all enjoyed.  Next it was off to Brooktree Gardens one of the most amazing parks and statuaries in the world.  Be sure to hit that link too – amazing!!!   In fact, it IS the largest in America. Needless to say, I didn’t get back to my earlier started blog post until this evening.

This evening we’re planning a walk down the mile long pier into downtown Myrtle Beach where I’m planning a little HDR photography just to see what I capture – it should be fun.  After some much needed R&R and a couple of rainy day afternoons, we've had a wonderful, relaxing time visiting the Myrtle Beach area. The balcony of our room overlooks the beautiful Atlantic Ocean and the sound of the waves is forever peaceful.

But, it's time to head for home and go back to work. Come next Tuesday I begin putting down the first actual words of my book onto paper, or actually into the computer.  I'm really looking forward to getting into the guts of each chapter over the next couple months. In addition to writing the book I’ll also be working on our PhotoPro Network Summer School coming up July 13 and 14th. Check my blog for all the details which should pop sometime next week. I hope you mark your calendars now then find the opportunity to make it to Louisville, KY and be part of the weekend festivities.

And finally, we have one busy shooting schedule for the month of June. I'm shooting every single weekend – a couple weddings, a Bar Mitzvah or two, and a high school graduation. I've been telling most of my friends that I'm trying to slow things down at this stage in my career but most of them laugh at me and tell me I'll never do it ;~)  I guess the fact of the matter is; that if you enjoy what you're doing you always want to keep doing it.

In any event, we've got a full summer ahead of us and have some great plans coming up in the fall. We’re looking forward to experiencing every one of our summer moments and I  hope you get a chance to do the same. Hey, enough of me waxing fantastic over our summer plans. I’ve got an important post - so let’s get right on with today's Business Day Thursday.

It's Always The Difference That Makes The Difference!

I don't care if you just starting a business or you’ve been in business for a hundred years, I think today's advice is important for anybody trying to be successful. I have tried to live these opening words for most of my photographic career.

Last week, while visiting New York City, this mantra was aspired over and over again – great companies achieving that greatness because they chose to do things differently. My daughter’s graduation commencement address was given by Danny Meyer . Danny always thought he would enter college and be an attorney according to his family wishes.  But he never really felt that this was the course he wanted for his life. He always enjoyed cooking and had a love of food. Danny was encouraged by the career changing advice of one of his uncles. He decided to go into the restaurant business instead – and for anyone in the business – he knew it was going to be challenging to say the least, especially in NYC! 

For anyone who’s ever visited the Big Apple, you know there about a gazillion restaurants on every block within that giant metropolis. After looking at what the competition was doing, Danny decided to take a different approach, and as a result opened what has since become one of the most respected restaurants in the city – Union Square Café. Danny’s Union Square Café Hospitality Group in now one of the most successful in the city.  He has also received several culinary awards over these many years.

The interesting fact is that Danny didn't stop after creating this signature restaurant – Union Square Cafe. He also noticed the sea of mediocrity among all the burger and fry joints around the city. He worked on a different concept. After studying all the other burger establishments he discovered they all seemed to be doing things pretty much the same. Danny decided to break the mold with high-quality ingredients, a well run,  well trained and knowledgeable staff, burger restaurant.

Shake Shack was born and has become the definitive burger and fries place to go throughout the city. It was voted best place for a burger by New York Magazine in 2005!  In fact, many store locations have a web-cam set up showing the lines to the counter so you know just how long a wait is before you arrive on your hurried lunch hour. What this shows is that Danny knows how to do things right. Wait, more importantly, he knows how to do things that are different from the competition.

Now How About YOU!

Now let’s start looking at other companies that we're all familiar with – Amazon, Facebook, Pinterest, Groupon, and the most notable company in recent years Apple. Each of these companies looked at the niche in which they wanted to compete – books, social marketing, coupon sales, and life style products. And each of these companies soared to the top of their field.

Okay, you might be thinking to yourself, "Ziser, I'm not an Amazon or Facebook or Apple brand. I'm a small business trying to do business Small-ville, Suburbia America. How does that advice help me grow my business and be successful?"  The answer lies not in trying to become the next Apple or Amazon. The answer lies within you. For the last several years of lecturing and training I've always began my program by offering the best business advice I could to all the attendees – that advice is echoed in today’s post title.

Let's get back to that sea of mediocrity in products and services so prevalent around the world today.  The same is obviously true, and especially true, in our digital age when it comes to photography. Everybody and their mother, brother, father, aunt and uncle thinks he or she is a photographer. We have cameras in cell phones, Facebook’s 900,000,000 members sharing photos, the free cost of capturing a photograph all making it easy for everyone to look through a viewfinder from one personal device or the other, frame up their image, and start shooting away. We all know, that these photographs elicits a certain thrill in each of us as we look at our final results. But even my statement above speaks to the fact that everybody is doing pretty much the same old thing.

Don’t Let SAMENESS Rule!

Here's the deal:  To do the same old thing – do the same thing everyone else is doing – means that we produce work that for ourselves and for our clients all looks pretty much the same. As photographers try to compete, and professional photography is a very competitive field, it's not about being the same as everyone else that will lead to your success. In fact striving to be the same means that you have only one criteria to compete on. And, it's NOT your photography….. It’s price alone!

This fact is born out very clearly by the number of Craigslist photographers on line. They post their services on Craigslist at rock-bottom prices and hope to book a few events because of those low prices. Sure, but the Craigslist photographer will get the booking, but to expect to build a career by offering your services at the rock-bottom price is no road to success. In fact it's a road to financial doom.

Now don't get me wrong. I know everybody needs to start somewhere. I too was the cheapest guy in town when I opened my business over 30 years ago. Luckily, I learned the lesson very early  that low prices were no way a foundation to the road of success. I had the opportunity to attend several lectures by some of the top wedding photographers working at the time. In fact, I continue to attend seminars and workshops even today. Why? Because I continually want to differentiate my work from the competition and the competition is particularly fierce today. Yes, I said I’m continually working to differentiate my work. Before I go much further let me spell out for you the secret of success in any business.

The BIG Secret – Drum Roll Please!

The BIG secret: It’s The Difference That Makes The Difference! Here's my advice to you. Analyze exactly what you're doing in your business right now. I don't care if you’re a part-time business or full time enterprise, the process is the same for everybody. Take a look at every aspect of your business – how you answer the telephone, how you phrase your emails, look at the line of products that you offer, the level of service that you give, the style of your photographs, the look of your albums, the packaging on your DVDs that you offer your clients…etc. Make sure that your list is long and inclusive of everything that you do in your day-to-day business.

Now, this next point is most important. After you've compiled that long and comprehensive list of what you doing in your own business operation, compare each and every one of those line items on your list with your competition in your local photographic community. Analyze each item on your list and determine whether it's a “sameness” or “difference” when compared with the competition. For each item on your list that is pretty much the same as the competition’s, give yourself a big S. Give yourself a score of “D” for anything that is “different” from the competition.

Time To Go To Work

At the end of the process, and be honest with yourself as you work through this process, and analyze your scores. Most business owners will find that they have a lot more S’s than D’s. This is common within the business world today – everyone does pretty much the same old thing, the same way, which explains why we see such mediocrity in too many companies. Weather it be restaurants, burger and fry joints, or photography – when compared with each other's market niche – sadly there's a lot more S’s among these businesses than there are D’s or differences.

You need to proactively work on changing as many of your Sameness's into Differences as possible. You're not going to do it overnight but you definitely need to do it if you plan to walk down that road of success. At the end of the day, the end of the week, the end of the month – you should've determined which of the items on your list you can change easily and which ones are going to take a little more work.

Wait, There’s More: Corollary To Success Secret #1

Another lesson to learn to is that once you make the changes you will see that the number of Differences will eventually outweigh your Samenesses. And guess what? Your clients will notice too. And guess what again – drum roll please…. You can charge a heck of a lot more for Differences then you can for Samenesses.

Let me caution you about one thing. Regardless of how successful you become, regardless of how successful you are at creating the new list of Differences eventually they too will fall back into the Sameness category. It’s important that you recognize the trend early.  Then get back to work revisiting your list and go to work again. The bottom line is; you can never become complacent. 

You Can Do It Too – And Must, Over And Over

That's why it's important for you to revisit your list at least every six months – the goal is to stay ahead of the competition – don’t let them catch up! Always stay ahead of the crowd. As I said, I've been in this business a long time and unless I went through this process many, many times myself I could not have maintained our business success over all these years.  I wish each of you the same level of success, but remember, success takes, work, effort, diligence, and perseverance.

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Whew!  that's it for me today (finally). So, have a great rest of the day and I'll see you  back in Cincinnati, Ohio. The good news for me is that after we arrive, we need to get ready for big wedding on Sunday with another one of my past clients and I’m really looking forward to hanging with them this weekend. 

See you soon, David

Business Day Thursday: Where’s The Beef? Don’t Believe Everything You Read!

Good Morning Everybody,

It was a great day yesterday as we headed  to Radio City Music Hall and watched my daughter, Elizabeth, graduate from the Lubin School of Business of Pace University. She graduated just .05 points away from Suma Cum Laude receiving her Magna Cum Laude the night before at the Honors Ceremony.  She was also inducted into the most prestigious honors society for business in the world.  Beta Gamma Sigma is the highest recognition a business student anywhere in the world can receive in a business program accredited by AACSB International. Congrats Liz!!!

Today its over to Central Park for my BIG shootout for B&H.  It's shaping up to be the biggest shootout they've ever hosted at Central Park with upwards of 300 photographers taking part in today’s fun. WOW! We need to be hitting the road soon so lets get right to todays post.

Business Day Thursday: Where’s The Beef? Don’t Believe Everything You Read!

It just kills me when I see this kind of post telling photographers which photo to shoot at a wedding.  I guess what bugs me most is that photographers read it as a complete list and fail to see all the holes to the coverage.  Recently WeddingIdeasMag posted  "The 20 Must Have Wedding Photos You Must Take At A Wedding" [link].  I have no problem at all with the 20 suggestions given.  In fact, we take ALL those images and more at a wedding.

The problem for me is that there are so many holes in the list. The list implies that a wedding photographer is only shooting for the bride and groom - WRONG!!!  Any wedding photographer worth his/her salt realizes that they are shooting not just for the bride and groom, but the bride and groom's parents, the grandparents, family and friends as well. If any of us miss-interpret this list and shoot only for the images listed we only shoot about 2/3's of the event, disappoint the rest of our clients with the LACK of images missed during the day and can look forward to sales much lower than otherwise possible.

Here are 10 more images to add to the list referenced above.

1. Photographs of the Bride and Groom with the bride's mom and dad and immediate family.

2. Do the same for the groom's family.

3. Don't forget to photograph the grandparents in separate photographs with the bride and groom.

4. Photographs of the bride with her girls.

5. Photographs of the groom with his guys.

6. Photographs of the bride walking down the aisle with her dad - vitally important!

7. Photographs of the groom getting ready too.  Remember, half the guests at the wedding are there for him.

8. Several photographs of the ceremony, church, synagogue.  Get telephoto shots and wide shots.  They make great panoramas in the wedding album.

9. Be sure to request if the couple will have any special guests at the wedding.  You don't want to miss that special aunt from Milwaukee or a special uncle or godparents.

10. Be sure to check with the couple to see if they need any photographs of college friends, roommates, sororities, fraternities, etc.

11. Key to any/all photographs listed in the link above is not just capturing the action of the day.  It's also important to capture the reactions as well.  For me, its about capturing the moments of the day - actions+reactions+special moments - and you can't do that without capturing both

12. Yes, don't miss the first dance, but be sure you get photographs of the bride dancing with her dad and groom with his mom - must have images.  The reaction photo - when the last note of the song hits and the bride and the groom warmly embrace their parents - hugely important!

And that's a quick 12 off the top of my head - the list doesn't stop there either.  If you want to do the best job at a wedding, keep in mind who your REAL clients are - bride and groom, the couple's parents, and the grandparents and the rest of the family.  If you keep that thought in mind while shooting, you will will have a much more complete coverage for your clients.

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Hey gang, that's it for me today.  We've got to run and get up to Central Park a little early to check locations for today's shoot.  Hope to see a few of you there!

-David

Business Day Thursday: The Angels Are In The Details

Good Afternoon Everybody,

Things have been pretty calm around here this week even though our plane leaves for New York City in just the next few days. The fact that we just returned from Texas School means that the equipment bags are mostly packed and ready to go. LaDawn completed a few orders, retouched a two volume wedding order and is near completion on designing the albums. She should be able to head to New York City without too many work worries on her plate.

Anyway, you don’t want to hear about our upcoming vacation so, let's get right on with today's post.

The Angel Is In The Details

I know I paraphrased the regular saying, “The Devil is in the Details”  but, I think today's post really points to Angels. That is, Angels of profits. There are a lot of great new wedding photographers inundating the market, many of them offering different perspectives, styles and products on wedding photography.  But, when I look at wedding photographs, competition albums and web sites I see mostly photographs of brides and grooms, the wedding party, some great candids but little to no photographs of the reception venue. What I want to suggest is that you look for the Angel in the Details and place a little heavier emphasis on the reception venue. 

Wedding photography surely has to be about the bride and groom, their families and  friends. But remember, you’re not just shooting for the bride and groom, and family members, you're also shooting for yourselves knowing that the images that you capture can be used for sales, marketing, and promotion of your studio.

Here is a perfect example of what I’m talking about. Whenever I shoot an event, I always make it a point to take several photographs of the banquet room before all the guests arrive. I may take up to 24 images in the 7 – 10 minute time slot I arrange in advance with the banquet captain timed just before the guests enter the room. These images include overall views of the room and many close up details of the table settings. Now, you may think I'm a little crazy for taking 24 images and say, "Just how many of those photographs do the bride and groom want to buy?"

It's not about the bride and groom purchasing all these photographs or even a few of these two dozen photographs. It's about me having them as a resource I can use to approach the wedding venue and offer them a selections from the extensive ballroom shoot, high-lighting their efforts. The reason for this is pretty obvious.  First, it shows that I'm a decent wedding photographer and let’s me showcase my work to the vendors I want to recommend me. And secondly, it’s a great benefit to the reception venue and my business building to get these images in the hands of the sales team at that particular venue.  It’s a win-win for both of us. 

Over the years we have created small, five to ten page vendor albums, which includes our branding on several of the pages, for most of the wedding vendors we have directly connected. We select about 24 or 25 images showcasing the details from the wedding, assemble them into five to ten 8x10 collage pages, and bind them together into a simple book for presentation to the venue.

What I'm suggesting today is to give a  much heavier emphasis to the detail ballroom photographs since that vendor is key to my business building and whom I want to recommend my photographic services as they interview prospective brides and mothers of the bride.  In my selection of 25 images, I’ll include a few photographs of the bride and groom, the flowers, and a few activities from the very special day.  All in all the mix may split 75% featuring the reception location and table/room detail photographs of the venue. That leaves 25% of my signature images just to add a sense of WOW factor.

We collage images very quickly within LumaPix Fotofusion. With the recent release of LumaPix V5, it is an even a more incredible fast and efficient tool to do this. We print the collage pages up as 8 x 10 size prints, bind them in an inexpensive cover (about $12) and give them to the reception sales staff for their use in their sales room. The sales staff is pleased to receive the samples because it shows  a recent event and it's free advertising for them (and for me, too).

With LumaPix you can easily send a follow-up email including your collaged pages to the sales staff that they can forward to out-of-town perspective clients showcasing their location and ballroom. Just be sure you have include your branding within a few pages of the album, so as the sales team forwards the images your logo is included.

So, the next time you head out on your next wedding, especially your larger weddings, I suggest you look for the Angels in the Details.  That Angel  may just give your profits, those newfound wings, to a more prosperous photographic future.

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Hey gang, that's it for me today.  We've still got a few loose ends to tie up and then were doing our final pack for NYC trip. How about I see everybody tomorrow for a quick note on four leaf clovers – you’ll have to tune in to see what I’m talking about ;~)

See ya’ then, David

Business Day Thursday: Don't Give Your Business Cards Out At Weddings!

Hey Everybody,

Its Business day Thursday so let's get right to it.

Business Day Thursday: Don't Give Your Business Cards Out At Weddings!

Okay, you must think I'm crazy making a statement like that. But, it's been my philosophy for as many years as I've been in the wedding business.  You might be asking yourself, "Then how in the world am I going to be able to pass my name on the potential new clients?"   Folks, I'd like you to consider something. When I started my business I was happy and thrilled to pass my business cards to prospective brides and grooms that I met at the weddings and events I was photographing. 

The funny thing is I seldom heard back from any of the people I gave the cards to. Here's why. Historically I found overall my years in business that when you pass a card to a prospective client, that card will be lost in the purse, still be in the jacket pocket as a coat heads to the dry cleaners, are just simply be misplaced really killing any chance of you hearing back from the person you gave the card to. Historically I found that about 15% of the people that I gave to cards to at wedding receptions made the effort to try to contact me again.

I think that a 15% return on your marketing efforts – passing out a business card – is a pretty darn poor return on your efforts. How about if I could guarantee you he 100% return on your efforts?  That's exactly the topic of this post. Now don't get me wrong here.  I don't think business cards are a bad thing. In fact I'll give my business card away at conventions and programs all the time. But in that case I'm not looking for the recipient to necessarily be making contact back with me. I'm passing out my card to them for  a reference should they need to contact me in the future.

Just Don’t Do It!

But when it comes to passing out business cards at a wedding, it's a completely different matter. You want that potential client to contact you and hopefully do business with you. But as I said the possibility of that happening settles in at a very dismal 15% rate of return.

My strategy, for many many years, has always been to ask the person requesting my business card, while never offering mine, but always ask for theirs instead. If they didn't have a business card I'd ask them to write their contact information on a cocktail napkin. In either instance, I had their contact information and I knew I would be a lot more pro-active in re-contacting them. That would guarantee me a 100% rate of return on my efforts.  As you can see, this practice dramatically improves my chances of booking a potential client.

The Power Of The iPad

In today's digital age it is so easy to follow-up with clients that request your business card at a wedding. I blogged about this before here DigitalProTalk.  One of the most effective ways to counter the business card request is to have your trusty iPad with you everywhere you go. Then, if you encounter potential client, asking for business card, just shown your portfolio on your iPad.

If they see an image that they really like, offer to send it to them. Now you’ve captured their email and have it for reference for future wedding planning or whenever. The potential client will be amazed with your responsiveness and I that same moment you've got their e-mail address for further follow-up.

The whole point is this – to be able to follow-up with a prospective client proactively knowing that you will make the return call 100% of the time.  Waiting for your potential client to call you after passing your business card to them for slim pickin’s when hoping to pick up new clients.

So, In Conclusion:

Whenever you encounter a potential client, whether it be at a bridal show, a wedding reception, a special event of wedding planners, or any special event; be sure that you get their contact information 100% of the time.  That will guarantee you, if you’re not the lazy sort, a 100% guarantee of reconnecting with them.  When we take it upon ourselves to proactively contact our leads we will see a dramatically higher rate of return of booking is prospective clients.

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Hey gang, that's it for me today. We've got our webcast later on this afternoon and I've got a few things I still need to do to prep for it. I sure hope to see you online in a few hours. Everybody have a great rest of the day and I'll see you soon.

Adios, David