Thoughts on the most common mistakes?

[Dan O']

What are your thoughts on the most common or most significant mistakes made by photographers starting out, or established, in regards to business practices, technique, etc..?

(My apologies if this is a rehash of threads past, I did try a couple searches)

I am a beginning "professional" and I use that term in a most limited sense. My list of past and present clients is very short and outside of shooting/editing/etc.. I divide my time between looking for more clients, reading relevant books or articles, and myriad small tasks such as networking, updating web content, paperwork, etc.

In all of my reading there seems to be an almost endless amount of advice on "how to", but I would like to know more "how not to " so I may stop doing what is likely hurting my business. Just as a portfolio is only as strong as its weakest image, I think a business can only be as strong as its weakest element.

For example?

going "pro" before images/skills meet a high enough standard
undercharging
business/tax/legal problems
having a too broad/narrow focus
website
etc..

Basically I'm looking for anything that comes to mind, specific examples or broad concepts. (Feel free too pick on me. I have thick skin, an open mind, and an understanding that I've been figuring things out as I go along, with most of my learning resulting from my mistakes. )

[Jim Bryant]

Get John Harrington's book, "Best Business Practices for Photographers".

[Niresangwa]

Giving us something to work with, such as your website to look at pricing structure, social network outlets, looking at your portfolio, your presentation/branding/verbiage etc would probably go a long way towards eliciting some helpful responses...

...either that or very specific questions.

[AnneWynne]

Do not undervalue yourself, even in the beginning. You are not just selling paper that happens to have ink in a pretty pattern on it. You are selling so much more. You are selling an experience and a memory, not just paper and you should price your work accordingly.

Be realistic in what you are capable of doing, but do not, ever, undercut yourself.

[Dan O']

Jim, thank you that is on my to do list for tomorrow. I have heard that is one of the most useful print resources. (I already have the Photographers Market.)

Nirsangwa,
I initially thought my site was in my signature, but when I noticed it was not and attempted to change that, I found I am currently unable to edit my profile (some tech glitch where I am redirected to another members page) Anyhow my primary website is

Dan O'Sullivan Photography

I didn't initially have any specifics in mind, more of a general sense of mistakes others have often seen, or had done themselves and wished someone had told them sooner. However I am very open to anyone who feels like a glance at my site and is so inclined to give any form of critique. (objective/ subjective, detailed/ generic, regarding the site, or perceived business practices, technical issues, or even general impressions of myself as a photographer)

With as much time as I have spent in all elements of starting/running my photo business I either develop tunnel vision where I cannot tell what I'm probably doing wrong, or I am hypercritical and can critique myself out of any sense of value as a photographer and businessman.

AnneWynne,
Thank you, that does help. So far I have been very cognizant in trying to only take on what I know I can (probably) handle. Primarily individuals and local business clients who have a budget, but will not get me in over my head and screw up future "big" jobs as my skills and equipment progress.

[SwissJon]

Your Website is slow to load and I have to say, looks a little amateurish.

Your thumbnails of your photos are, I think, just the originals, but with the size bounded.. That's not good.. First, they're too small to see properly and second, they're slow to load.. My expeience is that people don't like to wait. Get a proper thumbnail for each picture.. 10 or 20kb in size.. They load almost immediately and that will make the viewer less impatient. Make the preview big enough to see, and get rid of half of them, choose your best.. Quality over quantity any time.

I don't like the white background, it made me squint and makes all your pictures look dark. I have noticed that most of the professional looking sites, the website background is dark, drawing attention to the photos, which then look brighter.

Putting restrictions on what IE users can and can't do isn't a good idea.. What they can and will do is go elsewhere, that's about 50% of the market at the moment.. Work with the technology of your visitors, don't force them to work with you.

I would decide on a price that puts you at about average.. Sell yourself short and you'll get people wondering why. If people look at your photographs and decide you aren't worth that much, they'll go elsewhere.. Improve your photography, not your prices, like any new business, you should expect to make a loss or small profit for the first few years.. Make sure you're ready for this, but don't under value yourself.. If you aren't selling, it's probably your marketing techniques which require assistance. Market market market.. It's better to be too busy than have nothing to do.

Get professional tax and legal advice.. It's not worth relying on word of mouth, if you get caught out, the judge is going to find you liable, not the person advising you, if you pay for the advice under contract, they're liable.

Get professional indemnidy insurance. It doesn't cost much and if you ever need it, you'll be SOOOOO glad you have it.

I'm not a professional photographer, yet, but what I do for a living entails very much the same marketing skills.. I don't want to offend you regarding your website, it's just that IS what I do (ocasionally) for a living.. Congratulations you got some free advice from a pro

Good luck with your career.

[Niresangwa]

Well, as for general advice, the first thing that comes to mind is don't discount the advice you'll hopefully yield from this thread. You said you had thick skin, and you're going to need it. One of the biggest fouls people cry about is the cold and aloof pro being too harsh and not understanding your plight... the thing is they do understand it, better than you often do, but until you have your aha! moment, they're going to look like a bunch of bitter old has-beens reeking of professional jealousy and resentment at newcomers horning in on their aging patch...

Listen to what they have to say, and when you feel yourself getting defensive, swallow it. Whatever excuse you think justifies why they're wrong, or whatever details you think makes their advice obsolete or inaccurate, 99 times out of 100, it doesn't.

Pricing is the best example of this, especially on this forum and the industry in general. No doubt that the advent of digital photography and its mass availability has made the old machinations of the photography business look out dated and over priced. However having gone through that intellectual process, (having held those opinions and now having come out the other side thanks to reality), the business side is largely unchanged and start ups would do well to really study and pay attention to them as they'll be the make or break in most cases; thats not to say you can't run a business by disregarding them, but you will have a very hard time developing and growing that business to levels of relative success.

My own example expounds upon what Anne alluded to, which is don't undervalue yourself in the beginning, even if you have noble aspirations to be the so******t photographer providing services at an affordable rate without sacrificing quality. I priced myself that way, partially because of that 'noble' reason, but also because I figured better to generate business than miss out on it. Over a year in, I've matured and woken up to the fact that while I certainly did generate business, my schedule is now over packed for this year and I'm not going to make the money I now I could, because I inked my 40+ contracts when people took advantage of my pricing. So, live and learn. There was no way to know that my business would explode the way it did, and though grateful for it, I'm more grateful for having learned the lesson without it killing my business. If only I'd listened in the first place though, my year would have been exceptionally profitable instead of comfortably profitable.

On to more specific critique based on what you provided...

Your website needs an overhaul, ASAP. It looks amateurish, and will be an immediate detractor from your viability for many folks. You cant afford to be sentimental, remember your site is being judged against others, not on its own merit. It's your identity until they meet you, and at this stage looking like it is, they may never try to meet you.

The common complaint that makes my eyes roll is "I just can't afford a professional website". Really before you start a business you should have researched all of this and how much capital would be involved, not just for purchase of equipment, but also for aspects such as your web presence. If you can't pull together $100 for even a basic, but professional website what does that say about your preparation? You can pick up a domain from godady for $10, and use a professional photography template system like Photobiz and get an HTML site for $45 and $15 maintained a month. If you cn't invest such a small amount in your business for such a fundamental element, you have no business running one.

I don't see any integration of social networking such as facebook or twitter after a quick look around (if i missed it i apologise). You absolutely have to have these features, and more importantly know how to use them to network virtually. These outlets can easily be customized to suit your brand with a little research and reading and will be absolutely critical in building a support base, networking and moreover making you more accessible. I was incredibly fortunate to have a supportive network but social media was crucial in my success so far on a number of levels.

The portfolio images or even illustrative images need work, as mentioned by a PP. Maybe theyre just placeholders, which is ok for the short term while you get everything set up, but they need to be improved asap, which goes for anyone's portfolio.

Having said that, though your images suggest a refined niche of cycling/climbing/outdoorsy stuff, you don't back that up witht he language you're using. I read your about me section, i left knowing nothing about you. it wasnt until i looked through your gallery and blog that i started to learn. Few people are going to look that deep, theyre going to just click on to the next... if youre going to be a niche, make sure it defines you, and make sure you're damn good at it, otherwise it won't help you, it will cripple you...

...who's the most prominent photographer in your niche in your county? your state? your region? in the USA? you should know this, and you should be studying their presentation and their work assiduously. it's fine to have your own take on things, but emulation should come first.

Well, i think that should do for now. Hopefully someone else will chime in so I don't look like the only d!ck.

I guess the bst piece of advice I can give is if youre going to do this, don't be meek about it. Get your ducks in a row in terms o skill, ideas, administration, structure and money before making any moves. Of the success stories of launching businesses of members here on DPS, the ones who try and tip toe and ease themselves into it are not the ones I observe to be having strong success - it's the individuals with conviction and the attitude of Go Big or Go Home that are making it... this isn't photography, this is business (insert visualization of the this...is...SPARTA scene here)...

all the best to you!

[gturner]

I don't think enough people know who to calculate the REAL cost of doing business.
They look at the per hour/ session fee and put the $100 in their pocket and wonder why they struggle to keep afloat from month to month.

[lonni]

I think people underestimate the time it takes to liase with customers. It takes time to sell the images, to deliver them, to find out what they want, to get pople organised at the shoot etc.

Also i agree with the above post, the real cost is something people dont do. Electricity, insurance, bank fees for cheques, packaging etc often gets overloooked.

I hate to say it but advertising is overlooked. People spemd big on a bit of advertising at the begining and just expect people to coem flocking. make sure you work out a good marketing approach across different mediums and make sure it extends beyond teh first few weeks.

HTH

[candleman]

Originally Posted by Niresangwa

(insert visualization of the this...is...SPARTA scene here)...

we need a like button on this forum.

My 0.02
Set it up like you're going to start a franchise.
set systems in place, standardise as much as possible.
Ever wonder why franchises do well and individually owned businesses often crumble?
Systems and standards.