Ben Kopilow (Client Consultation)

All contact is to get them in the door.

Email to get a call, phone call to get a face to face meeting.

Ensure you have a comfortable phone space with notepad, pen and reminder sheet with things to say.

Tell them you will answer all questions then Shut up.

If they ask for a price first, give them a redirect question: ‘I’d love to give you a pricing but first tell me a little about the wedding’.

Ask if they have a budget,

Mention your starting price,

Ask how this fits in with their budget,

Ask for a meeting, if they ask to check with their other half get them to schedule something in now with the ability to change it anytime.

Text a reminder of appointment on due date.

If they make no commitment to for a face to face ask if you can follow up in a week.

If you can’t meet at home/studio then meet at high end venue. Create a comfortable environment for the client. Client wants to see the real you.

Dress at a level your clients aspire to, can they see you fitting in at your wedding?

Don’t offer the clients any fancy refreshments, just water at this stage.

Sales consultation:

Set expectations; explain the purpose of the meeting.

Get them to know you and your work. Get to know them.

Your number one selling tool is your passion, just don’t write it down. Show them that you love what you do.

When they respect you as an artist and a professional they will want to work with you.

The first half of the meeting :

Establish raport.

Questions about the wedding, relationship, work, hobbies. Be genuine. Ask a few questions them shut up, let them talk.

Ask what their perfect wedding album would look like. Would it have a lot of photojournalism images?, lots of detail shots? Show them an album that reflects their needs.

Observe them and their body language, romantic, relaxed, fussy?

Be a resourse, the more you provide, the less price matters.

Don’t show slide shows.

Focus on album sales

Never make excuses for your work. Talk about your work. Talk about successes, how you overcame problems.

Point out your style. Point out images that fit their style. If they ask what makes you unique tell them. Don’t just say you shoot what they want.

Ask how the albums fit in with their ideal album. Explain prices clearly. Explain delivery process. Ask how the prices fit in with their expectations.

Never pencil in a date. Ball is in their court, they can book you if they want. Leave them alone to discuss options. Ask if they would like you to draw up a contract. If not can you follow up in a weeks time.

Don’t negotiate until they are ready to book.

Ask for their offer/suggestion first. Ask: ‘what are you looking for’ then shut up.

Once a position is made, he who speaks next loses.

Negotiated offer only good for that conversation, once they leave the offer is revoked.

Ben Kopilow (Giving Up Your Day Job)

Secrets to a Successful Career in Wedding Photography

Ben Kopilow has positioned himself at the high end of the Canberra Wedding Photography scene with a turnover of around $260,000 in 2011 shooting 32 wedding.

Ben didn’t start there though; his entry into professional wedding photography in 2007 saw him shoot 55 wedding at $3600 each. Seeing the need to reduce his workload and maximise his return he gradually restructured his product and prices to where he is now.

If you shoot 50 weddings a year at $1200 each your turnover would be $60,000. Take $500 for expenses per wedding and you are left with an income of $35,000 per year.

When working out your prices, factor in your business bottom line; include expenses from camera wear, insurance, electricity, consultation, fuel, clothing etc.

Ben’s change in pricing and hence lifestyle:

YEAR	No. of Weddings	Avg Price / Wedding	Yearly turnover
2007	55	$3600	$198000
2008	50	$4200	$210000
2009	45	$5000	$225000
2010	39	$6300	$245000
2011	32	$8000	$256000

Ben talked about album sales and how he charges per page rather than per album, this way there is no perceived limit to what the customer can purchase. As an example he had a client who purchased a $2500 wedding then went on to spend $4500 on the album.

Need to have sample albums and prints.

Never limit what the customer can buy.

Educate the client before they select there package. If your business is run on album sales then educate them that an album is the presentation method for your photos. It is the reason you are having a photographer at the wedding, to have a great album.

Value is not in physical products but the service, the attention to details and the quality of the memories.

Ben’s old price list:

$2500 - Staff photographer

$3500 – Staff photographer or Ben off season

$5700 – Ben with basic album (negs extra)

$8500 – Ben with album (negs extra)

$12950 – Ben, album and negs.

Ben’s new price list:

$5700 – artistic fee

$1500 – Negs

$$ - albums, prints etc

The best way to differentiate yourself is to own an attribute ie. Affordable, free negs, style, second shooter, all day coverage, passionate.

People pay more for experience.

If you differentiate with service then give them an experience they won’t forget.

People prefer to deal with experts rather than jack of all trades.

Ben lists in his awards a ‘best husband award’. This gives him a human element and shows that he is compassionate, caring and a family man.

The biggest tip from Ben was to believe in yourself and your worth.

 

Kopilow, B 2011, Fusion Photography Blog, Fusion Photography, Viewed 11 October 2011, <http://www.fusionphotography.biz/blog/>

Dan O'day seminar

The AIPP Fine Art and Wedding Photography seminar held by Dan O'Day and Tod McGaw was quite informative.

Dan talked about his fine art work and how he started out as an artist then picked up a camera and never looked back. He shoots most of his fine art work on a 6x7 film camera, scans the negs and prints them in limited runs of five images. His prints command about $1500 per print. He talked about the pros and cons of gallery representation and the fact that they take a large percentage of your sales yet they do the leg work for you.

He went on to talk about how to get noticed by a gallery when you are looking for representation. One way was to hand write a letter as this is rare and anything that stands out gets you one step closer. He talked about bulking out your CV with all exhibitions and competitions and published works as this makes you more desireable.

His top list of galleries to try if you are looking for representation are:

Brunswick Street Gallery
Catherine Isquith Gallery
Stills Gallery
Monster Children Gallery
United Galleries

He also mentioned that approaching magazines is a worthwhile excercise to get noticed. His list of recommended magazines include:

Kurv
Oyster Mag
Blanketmagazine.com
watim.com
melbournepixel.com
lightjourneys.net.au (Female only magazine)

He mentioned that to keep up to date with competitions to enter look at:

www.visualarts.net.au
www.acmp.com.au
www.avantcard.com.au
www.offthewallart.com

Also he recommends looking into art grants as there are alot out there that can assist to further your career.

 

O'Day, D 2011, Photography by Dan O'Day, Dan O'Day Photo Blog, viewed 10 May 2011, <http://www.danodayphotography.com.au/>

He went on to talk about his wedding work and invited Tod Hunter McGaw up to talk. Tod was quite interesting and talked about how his branding had a huge impact in his sales. Since changing his branding across all mediums his sales has shot up dramatically.

Tod's shoots are photojournalistic in nature and I liked his style.

McGaw, T 2011, Todd Hunter McGaw Photographer, Todd Hunter McGaw, viewed 10 May 2011, <http://www.toddhuntermcgaw.com.au/>

Peter Coulson

I've been looking at Peter Coulson's website and I've got to say, some of his shots are great. He has great control of both composition and lighting when it comes to his fashion shots. I'm looking forward to his workshop next week.

Coulson, P 2011, Koukei - The photography of Peter Coulson - Melbourne, Koukei, viewed 04 May 2011, <http://www.koukei.com.au/>

We attended Peter Coulson’s workshop in the impressive Sun Studio’s in Sydney. The focus of his workshop was a Lighting Master class based around fashion. This was right up my alley as I had been interested in Fashion photography since trying my hand in it last year.

His main focus on the day was to show people that if you use only the lights you actually need for a shot then life becomes simpler. Start with one light and work from there. He talked about the fact that every time you add another light you are creating another problem.

He demonstrated the fact that you don’t need a soft box to soften a ladies skin. A bare head positioned on camera axis works just as well as it produces minimal shadows and thus flawless skin. He also showed that to enhance the eye colour bring a side light in to create a reflection.

He finished by saying that you shouldn’t forget to have fun as once the fun stops so does the creativity.

Gavin Blue workshop

I was first introduced to Gavin Blue about a year ago when he visited CIT and gave a similar talk to the one he gave to all the students this time around. It's always interesting to hear about the real world of Photography from those making a living from it. I don't necessarily count myself in that category as I get paid to turn up to work regardless of whether I take a photo or not. I'm not exchanging a photo shoot for cash although that is my goal, to rid the constraints of being an employee of the Government.

Gavin Blue's talk was aimed at speed lights and there use as a viable portable lighting solution. I use speed lights extensively with up to three heads firing remotely yet I still don't think I control the lighting as well as what Gavin was demonstrating. His use of speed lights as a high powered light source with a great degree of control was impressive to watch. It makes me re-evaluate speed lights as a viable alternative to portable studio kits.

Most of Gavin's portraiture has an element of 'sameness' to it. He likes keeping the subject facing out of frame, a blue cast in the background takes pride of place in his repertoire and tilted horizons.

Blue, G 2011, Blue, Gavin Blue Photography, viewed 31 March 2011, <http://www.gavinblue.com>

Alexia Sinclair Workshop

It was great to meet Alexia Sinclair today. I really admire her work, the talent and the dedication to see her dream come true. Personally her style is not one I wish to pursue but I appreciate amazing works of art when I see them.

One of the videos she showed during her talk in the morning was a behind the scenes look at the shoot "Charles II - The Merrie Monarch (1630-1685)" from shooting to digital manipulation after the shoot.

Alexia Sinclair

Charles II - The Merrie Monarch (1630-1685)

http://alexiasinclair.com/portfolio

She shot this image for the New Zealand Opera. It was amazing to see how much work she does in post to get to the final result. I admit that the amount of work she does is justified when you view her work.


It was great to talk to her with the small group of third years in the afternoon. She talked about how she got into the industry and talked about the fact that you're never really in the industry. She has to fight for all her work, a by product of being a fine art photographer trying to work in a commercial world.


She gave us a few names of photographers she gains inspiration from. I'll have to have a look at their work and see if I can take any inspiration for my own work.


Here's a couple pics of Alexia Sinclair's that I really like:

Alexia Sinclair

Charles II - The Merrie Monarch (1630-1685)

Alexia Sinclair

Pope Alexander VI – The Borgia Pope (1431 –1503)