This podcast episode with Jeff Voon, an incredibly talented and successful photographer from Malaysia, is filled with a surprising number of ideas on how to improve your wedding photography business that go totally against  many of the approaches I've heard from other photographers interviewed on the podcast. I think the title sums the interview up perfectly; do it differently for wedding photography success. Listening to Jeff, I can't see why the same shouldn't apply to portrait photographers as well – go ahead and do things differently in your business too. Jeff has no website, no business cards, doesn't show his name during same day slide shows at weddings – this guy is an enigma and that is the way he wants to be – he feels it gives him exclusivity which means higher prices.  Jeff also gives three totally different ways to get known if you're a newbie, which in turn, will pave the way for a successful career in photography. He explains exactly what you can do to get noticed in your community in the interview.

Here's some of what we cover:

  • shooting 30 weddings in 30 days
  • going back to 5 weddings per month and how it affected business
  • the importance of getting your branding right and the difference to profit it makes
  • respecting and valuing what you do – the first ring on the ladder to success
  • when learning don't ask why, ask how
  • why not having a website is an effective marketing strategy
  • same day wedding slideshows and how to use them to generate bookings
  •  marketing advice for newbie photographers
  • using google to learn from other photographers, not copy
  • earning commissions from overseas contract shooters
  • destination weddings
  • shooting a wedding from 4am till 11pm for $130 USD
  • focusing your efforts on only one social media network

I'm unsure whether or not Jeff misunderstood my question when I asked him to share an embarrassing moment but his resulting story of thugs, threats of violence and other photographers paying to have people do him harm was way more than I was expecting. It seems success in Malaysia may bring about its own unique problems.

Jeff Voon Photography Business Podcast Interview

Premium Members

During the main interview Jeff covered some marketing advice for newbie photographers to get noticed in their local community, for premium members, we dive deeper into the topic and look at it from the perspective of an established photographer looking to increase their prices and profits. Although some of this advice may not be possible for the newbie, it's still worth a listen and will definitely lead you in the right direction from the start. If you are established, you need to hear this.

What is your big takeaway?

Following the interview, I'd love to know what your biggest takeaway is – what is the one thing that you'd like to implement or remember from what Jeff had to share? Let me and other listeners know by leaving your thoughts in the comments below.

What have you implemented so far?

If you have implemented something that you've learnt or heard from the podcast interviews, I want to know about it! I really am interested and love to hear about your success stories, especially if I've helped play a small part. If you feel up to it, leave a voicemail message by clicking the tab on this page or record and send me an .mp3 file – I'd love to play your recording on a future episode. Don't feel confident or want to send a voicemail? No problem, shoot me an email, I'd love to hear from you – andrew@photobizx.com.

iTunes ratings, reviews and Shout-Outs

Three amazing ratings and reviews in iTunes this week which I truly appreciate – thank you guys! It's these reviews that really make a big difference to the podcast being ranked well and found in the iTunes store.

iTunes reviews Jeff Voon

If you have the time and are happy to leave an honest rating and review, head over to iTunes.

Also, a few shout-outs to photographers/listeners that have made contact via email or social media this week:

Rhona of http://rhonaviloriaphoto.com

Trish of http://rtphotos.biz

Terry of  http://www.terryrichards.com

Stacey Carpenter from the UK Lisa of http://www.lisaeasterphotography.com

Jacqui and Steve of http://jacqui-marie-photography.co.uk

Thanks guys, it's been great chatting and hearing from every single one of you this week. If you'd like to get in touch, ask a question or make a suggestion for the show, you can email me andrew@photobizx.com, find me on twitter https://twitter.com/andrewhellmich or on Facebook at https://photobizx.com/facebook – I'd love to hear from you!

Jeff Voon Photography Business Podcast Interview

Links to people, places and things mentioned in this episode:

Jeff Voon Photography on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/JeffVoonPhotography

Jeff Voon on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/jeffmiri

[jf] Academy of Photography – https://www.facebook.com/pages/jf-academy-of-photography

Information about Jeff's workshops – http://www.aswpp.com.au/jeff-voon-world-tour-2013/

Bernie’s main website – http://www.berniegriffiths.com

Advanced Success for Wedding & Portrait Photographers – http://www.aswpp.com.au

That's it for me this week, hope everything is going well for you. I'd love for you to leave a comment below to let me know what you took away from this episode of the podcast.

Speak soon

Andrew