How to Quickly Improve Client Meetings

When I was a teacher, the best feedback I received was often the feedback I gave myself after watching a video of me teaching in my own classroom.  There are so many things that happen in the moment, but when we're focused on what we need to do, it becomes easy to overlook all of those little things that may be making a bigger difference than we think!

Now, I have to admit that watching a video of ourselves is a bit painful at first.  The camera adds 20 lbs, we get to see all of our little physical oddities and habits that are usually easy to ignore, and for some people, hearing their own voice on a recording is like scratching fingernails on a chalkboard.  It's not easy to watch, but you really should do this as often as you can and no less than once a year.  I suggest setting up a camera in a part of the room where you can see both your own body language and the body language of the client.  Notice their reactions, their hesitations, how they look through your images, what they seem to gravitate toward and what they push away from.  Listen to how quickly you talk, how much you listen, how you come across - does it match what you thought you were doing?

There's soooo much insight to be gained from watching just that ONE video because you'll see things you've NEVER seen before even though they were right in front of you!!  As long as you don't share your video with anyone else, there's no need to disclose that you're recording, it's just a personal evaluation for yourself.  If you have a red recording light on your camera, just cover it up with some tape.  I would be really interested to hear back and see what you learned from this one simple step!!  I GUARANTEE it will help you improve your meetings with clients!!

ANNE

Anne Ruthmann is a lifestyle & wedding photographer from Boston, MA. She spent 10 years practicing marketing & management in corporate and non-profit businesses before pursuing her passion for photography as an independent small business. She loves helping others find creative and low-cost solutions to business problems. Follow her on Twitter to see her daily adventures and thoughts.

Meet: Corey Balazowich

Don't let her blonde hair and high-pitch voice fool you, because the minute you underestimate Corey is the minute you'll begin to regret ever doing so. On the outside she might appear to be your stereotypical midwestern blonde fashionista with expensive shoes but on the inside she's lived through some hard life lessons and knows how to deliver a punch when someone tries to take her for granted. It's probably because she looks so unassuming and innocent that people reveal their true colors around her and she gets to see a side of people that they otherwise wouldn't show anyone.

Corey has been to A LOT of the photography workshops offered in the wedding industry over the last 2-3 years and she's also been to most of the major conventions. Because of this, she can give you the inside scoop on who to drop the big bucks on and who you should just avoid. However, we have an agreement here at Photo Lovecat: that we won't say anything negative about anyone, because we're LOVECATS!! So, if you want the inside scoop, you're going to have to talk to her directly! All of that wisdom she's acquired over the last few years needs an outlet, which is why I've invited her to be a Photo Lovecat! Please welcome her with some love by leaving a comment or asking a question to inspire her for future posts!

Name: Corey Balazowich

Business Name: Corey Ann Photography

Websites: http://www.coreyann.com

Location: North Canton, Ohio

When did you start your business? September 2007

What services do you offer? I focus on Wedding and Portrait Photography.

What products do you offer? Currently I offer Finao albums and I use Pixel 2 Canvas for my canvases.

Are you home or studio based? Home based.

What do you enjoy about working from home/studio? Editing in my pajamas by far is the biggest perk of working from home followed closely by the ability to sleep in!

What have been the challenges of working from home/studio? I know EVERYONE says this but having set hours kind of goes out the window when you work from home. It's all too easy to "quickly" reply to one email, that turns into a blog, that turns into editing and so on.

Do you have any employees? Nope, just me. However I do have an assistant - and hopefully more next year - that is a contractor for me. My husband also shoots when he's not working on the weekend.

What do you outsource and to who? Me, myself and I.

How did you acquire your photo skills? My Dad had a Canon SLR from the 60's (I think the first one?) and I learned from him. I was very much a Daddy's Girl and would mimic him all the time so I was always right behind him taking pictures. When I was 13 I had a picture I took of Wild Horses in Corolla made into a postcard and after that the photography bug was firmly seated.

How did you acquire your business skills? To be quite honest, I don't know. You learn as you go, you learn from those smarter than you and roll with it. I also use and love ShootQ which has helped tremendously.

What has made the biggest difference in your business? My Mac Pro. Seriously. I was the BIGGEST PC cheerleader. I used to do tech support. I could fix anything that broke on a pc pretty much. It was a comfy blankie to me and I didn't want to give it up. Then I bought the thrid desktop in 2 years because yet again, I killed one editing on it. That computer died in 3 days. That was the final nail in the coffin on my PC. I haven't looked back since (although my bank account may disagree with that!)

What do you want for the future of your business? More and more happy clients!!! Honestly though, someday I would love to be a wedding and travel photographer.

What do you want for your personal future? I would like to have kids sooner-rather-than-later but of course I have to plan it so that it doesn't clash with wedding season.

What are you passionate about other than photography? I am an avid reader and read over 100 + books a year. I literally have been reading a book of some sort since I was able to read. The rest of my passions are (in no particular order): New Kids on the Block, fancy shoes, Louboutins, chapstick, bath products, bubble lights, freshly fallen snow, animals, cats, hugs, lilacs, candles and my husband.

Share a little about your home life: The house that I live in was built in the 50's and I'm the third generation to own it. My grandparents had it built, my mom grew up here, I grew up here and now I live here. It's kind of nice to live in the same house for almost 30 years! I live here with my husband and my two cats, Kitty and Sage.

Tell us a funny story about one of your experiences: I have this strange knack for getting hurt in the weirdest ways possible. I think I could get hurt sealed in a bubble. If there was a talent competition in injuries I could totally win. Anyways, during my first trip to WPPI I did a day-long shootout with a lot of other photographers. We started off at the Neon Graveyard and then continued out to a ghost town about 40 minutes away from The Strip. Two locals were with us and said that at sunset the way the rays backlight the cacti in a field right by the abandoned mine is almost magical and we really should all try to at least nail one shot from it. They warned us to be careful when around the cacti though because they hurt and the needles are really hard to get out once they go in the skin. I was following the crowd into the cacti field and someone stepped back and my instant reaction was to step back myself. Well in backing up I swung my hand into a cactus. Hard. It wasn't pretty... and it hurt. Bad. Luckily one of the guys had a knife on him to pry my hand off the cactus (but NO ONE TOOK PICTURES!!!) and eventually I got most of the spines out. However the rest of the trip, it hurt. It kept hurting all week. When I got home it felt like I had arthritis in the hand, it was the strangest thing. I tried EVERYTHING to get the remaining spines out to no avail. Eventually I went to my doctor and finally a dermatologist and was told that the scar tissue that formed over the spines/spine holes were permanent. It took about a year for me to stop having random pains in the hand but I still have the 'spots' from where they all went in. Lesson? Beware of the cactus and no matter what you do, don't slam a body part into one. They bite.

How to Find Free Local Professional Photo Resources

When I was starting out, I remember how difficult it was to find local resources, which is why I relied so heavily on online forums. It wasn't always easy to find local photographers to shoot with because all of the professional resources seemed to be secret or hidden from public view. While that's a great thing for professionals who need a private place to share, it also makes it a little more difficult to find a local mentor to work with. So, here are some ways to learn more about the local resources in your area:

Local Camera Gear Shop
Even if you live in a small town where there isn't a professional gear shop, your local camera shop will likely have the names of a few photographers in town, know what kind of work they do, and can give you an idea if those professionals are open to mentoring others. Local camera shops are also a great resource for finding out if there are any workshops or classes locally available (since they may provide supplies for them) so don't hesitate to get on their mailing list. If they don't provide high end photography equipment, ask them what the next closest place would be to find professional gear. There's a very good chance they know who keeps the professional equipment in house.

Local College
Even if you don't have a full-out photo school nearby, your closest college probably has a photography department or instructor of some kind. Teachers are often natural born helpers, so they can be a great resource when it comes to finding assistants or finding someone who is willing to take on an assistant. While photography in school is most often dedicated to fine art, it's still great to get out and see the work that today's photo students are creating in order to keep up with what is influencing the minds of the future.

Local Photography Groups
These are often a little more difficult to find, but if you've talked to someone in the area who knows a lot of photographers, they should be able to point you to at least one local photography group. Often times you'll find local groups listed on Flickr.com, Meetup.com, Yahoo Groups, etc. There are also several professional labs that provide free local workshops and opportunities to meet other photographers, such as Pictage PUGs (I currently host the Boston, MA one) and newly forming Smugs.

Getting to know my local photography peers has been one of the greatest assets to my business because individually we may not know everything, but collectively we can figure out anything! While online forums are excellent for learning at your own pace and getting lots of feedback, having a local offline network of support may be the only thing that can save you in a pinch when you need it most!

(This article was also shared on Photo.net where you might find more responses to this topic.)

Anne Ruthmann is a lifestyle & wedding photographer from Boston, MA. She spent 10 years practicing marketing & management in corporate and non-profit businesses before pursuing her passion for photography as an independent small business. She loves helping others find creative and low-cost solutions to business problems. Follow her on Twitter to see her daily adventures and thoughts.

Referral Best Practices

'Tis the season for bookings to increase and availability to dwindle! Smart photographers know that what goes around comes around and referring clients when you're already booked is great for your business and your relationship with other photographers. A few years ago I wanted to test the effectiveness of my referral system and here's what I learned:

Give no more than 3 names
Anymore than a few names and the client perceives you're just passing them off on anyone, rather than hand-selecting people you think would work out for them. This is a reflection of the level of service that you provide to your clients - so even if it isn't "hand-selected" you can at least give them the appearance that it is, which will make them feel special warm fuzzies when they think about you even if they can't work with you for their wedding day.

Know the availability of the referral
There's nothing worse than finding out your favorite photographer is booked, only to find out that their recommendation for someone just as great is booked as well. Try to avoid sending your clients to dead ends, it simply attaches feelings of frustration to their interaction with you. I use google calendar to share my availability with other photographers and a syncing program that works with my preferred calendar offline so that my google calendar is always up to date.

Make it personal
Say something really nice or even a little boasting about the person or people you're referring. It's one thing to say, "This person is available" and it's a whole different level of referral when you can say, "Not only does this person happen to be available at the moment, but I would totally trust them to do my own wedding."

Know your referral's prices & style
While there are many photographers in any given area who may be available and wonderful, not all of them share your same price range or photographic style. Before you send on a referral you don't know very well, take a few minutes to figure out if they'd actually be a good referral for your client and if you'd want their clients being referred back to you. The ultimate goal is to work with people you love, so try to send your referrals on to people who can reciprocate the kind of clients you're looking for as well.

If you've never received a referral from another photographer, you need to give it before you can get it. If you don't have any referrals to give yet, you can start by contacting people with a similar style and price to see if they'd be interested in getting referrals from you in the future. 'Tis the season for giving!

Anne Ruthmann is a lifestyle & wedding photographer from Boston, MA. She spent 10 years practicing marketing & management in corporate and non-profit businesses before pursuing her passion for photography as an independent small business. She loves helping others find creative and low-cost solutions to business problems. Follow her on Twitter to see her daily adventures and thoughts.

Quick Thoughts on Buyer Behavior

When you feel you don't have enough money, every little bit counts because you want to make sure you're getting the most for your dollar. When you feel you have more than enough of money, quality and reputation matters most no matter what the cost. You can be rich and feel like you don't have enough money, and you can be poor and feel like you have more than enough.

When you're a bargain shopper, you shop based on numbers. When you're a quality shopper, you shop based on aesthetics. Whether you shop based on bargains or aesthetics depends on how much you care about what you're purchasing. You don't always shop in the same mindset for everything you buy. You may be a bargain shopper at the gas pump, but when it comes to 4" pumps (shoes) you may not care what the price tag is so long as you look fabulous in them.

There will always be more bargain products to choose from since they are easy to find and their success depends on quantity. People will always go out of their way and pay more for a product that they perceive is truly unique, difficult to obtain, or fully customized to their specifications. Bargain shoppers take more time to make decisions because they need to fully understand the market first, while quality shoppers make decisions quickly based on their feelings about a product or service.

When you want the most for your money, you start shopping early and wait for the best deal. When you want something rare and unique, you buy it right away for fear that it won't be there the next day. An item can appear to be rare and unique to you if you've never had prior experience with the product, regardless of whether or not it's actually rare or unique in the market. When you are uninformed about a product, you rely on the recommendations of others to help you determine a product's quality or value.

(read more thoughts on pricing --> http://photolovecat.blogspot.com/search/label/pricing)

Anne Ruthmann is a lifestyle & wedding photographer from Boston, MA. She spent 10 years practicing marketing & management in corporate and non-profit businesses before pursuing her passion for photography as an independent small business. She loves helping others find creative and low-cost solutions to business problems. Follow her on Twitter to see her daily adventures and thoughts.