When I contacted Dan to come on the show, his reply intrigued me. He said in an email:
I’d be happy to have a chat with you, however, my business model would probably be considered atypical, flawed by design even!
I’m not sure there would be much of value to your average portrait or wedding photographer seeking to elevate their business.
I have owned and worked in ‘successful’ studios and when I started this venture I deliberately chose not to follow those tried and tested paths.
This is not me being self deprecating, by the way, just wanting to be honest about my business model and the fact that I am deliberately not gunning for full calendars, big turnover or high average sales.
This could be at odds with what your listeners tune in to learn.
Dan, I could not be more interested to hear about how your making a living as a photographer. Welcome to the podcast….
I am fortunate to be able to finance the work I do for love (art) with work I love to do (portraiture).
Here’s some more of what we cover:
What’s on Offer for Premium Members
If you’re a premium member, you should have received an email with links to your version of this episode where you can hear lots more content from where we dive deeper into some of the earlier topics plus some new ones that I pushed hard for that include:
What is your big takeaway?
Following this interview, I’d love to know what your biggest takeaway is – what is the one thing that you’d like to implement or learnt from what was shared? Let me know by leaving your thoughts in the comments below.
I deliberately try and create a lifestyle that is going to be conducive to me being a happy person
If you have any questions that I missed, a specific question you’d like to ask Dan or if you just want to say thanks for coming on the show, feel free to add them below.
If you’d like an easy way to show Dan your thanks, and support for the show at the same time, click the link to create a tweet and automatically show you’re listening: https://photobizx.com/tweet
Part 2 – Bernie Griffiths and National Family Portrait Month
In part two of todays episode, I chat with photography business coach Bernie Griffiths on his upcoming and massive project – National Family Portrait Month.
Although this project is Australian based, Bernie shares how anyone can set up something like this to book portraits, improve their business and raise funds for a charity at the same time.
The beauty of this formula is it can be scaled from a national level right down to a suburb or small town depending on what you want to achieve.
Links to people, places and things mentioned in this episode:
Dean Mansbridge Podcast Episode
National Family Portrait Month
Bernie Griffiths Podcast Episode
Advanced Success for Wedding & Portrait Photographers
GimmeThatIt – Design and Branding Experts
Equipment
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM Standard Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras
Interfit INT484 36-Inch Octobox Softbox
My business needs to serve me, not the other way around – Dan Cripps
Thank you!
Thank you again for listening to the show and thanks Dan and Bernie for being awesome guests!
If you have any suggestions, comments or questions about this episode, please be sure to leave them below in the comment section of this post, and if you liked the episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post!
That’s it for me this week, hope everything is going well for you in life and business!
Thanks and speak soon
Andrew
Another super interviewee here Andrew. Super inspiring and good to always hear from more portrait (non-wedding) photographers. Dan seems to be living in the perfect equilibrium.
Thanks Mark – glad you enjoyed this one. I agree, Dan is living a fantastic life having found what works for him.
More portrait photographers are lined up for future episodes too 🙂
Thanks for your kind words, Mark. I wouldn’t say I’ve found the perfect equilibrium, but that’s always my goal!
I’m a little behind in listening, and can’t believe there’s only 1 comment for this episode! Thanks so much Dan, for sharing so much and being so honest.
I think it’s so useful to hear from someone who has a unique perspective on their work and why they do it. The goal doesn’t always have to be world domination, and the criteria for what makes a business ‘successful’ really does depend on the photographer’s individual circumstances. We are all artists to some degree – even if it’s just in our paid work, and i think we can learn a lot from Dan’s approach to life. If you’re happy, you’re doing it right.
Thanks Damian! I think you’ve hit the nail on the head regarding ‘success’ – it can take form in a million different ways for a million different people. I’ve gone to great lengths to build a business structure around my unique goals and needs. I’ve sacrificed things which would universally be considered ‘good’ in a effort to chase what I would consider ‘great’.
It’s not perfect (by any means) and it is constantly evolving, but the underlying ethos is that it must serve me, not the other way around.
Wonderful folio, by the way! Your portraiture is incredibly joyous – which I find particularly inspiring as I personally find that style of photography extremely difficult.
Hi Andrew and Dan,
Thanks for another great podcast. Sounds like Dan’s got his work/life balance right on the button which is no mean feat! Congrats on his awards successes last year too, awesome imagery.
I was really surprised to hear that Dan doesn’t get asked much for high resolution digital files, especially given the type of work he’s creating which includes portfolio images … I would have thought agencies (and clients) would require digital rather than printed products. Out of interest, could I please ask what size his low res client files are and if he watermarks these?
This question of the clients wanting the high res files is one that I am still trying to navigate at the moment and coming from 20+ years in the industry it is one that I am struggling with to be honest. I know it’s an old subject now Andrew and you are probably sick of it, but it’s an ever changing market and there has been such a strong shift in client expectation around this issue in the portrait market. I now offer them for purchase as I was losing work to new players, but I change my mind almost weekly on the best way to structure it! #sigh
Maybe it’s something that you could open discussion around in a future episode? Even as a panel type discussion with those who offer files and those who don’t, those who use files to incentivise, those who sell outright, etc … now that would be a fun podcast!!. 😉
Sorry, that turned into a long comment! Thanks again guys, excellent work.
Hey Emma, thanks for your comments – much appreciated!
Regarding high resolution files – it’s certainly a hot topic. With regard to domestic portraiture (which accounts for 80% of my work), it’s never been an issue. I don’t offer and my clients don’t ask. All of my prints come with a low resolution file (900px) and I also offer discounted sets of low resolution files as an add-on incentive on sales which hit my target.
One area I do put a lot of time, effort and money into is providing beautiful prints – prints that my clients can’t get anywhere else. All of my prints are produced in-house with pigment ink on cotton rag, all are matted and mounted and all are subject to my ridiculously high quality control. I wonder whether this combination (beautiful print + low resolution file) represents a ‘best of both worlds’ type scenario for my clients and renders a high resolution file a bit redundant? That’s how I market it, anyway! Seems to be working. I’ll probably encounter a high-res tantrum this week…
I don’t shoot a particularly large volume of agency work, but I certainly do provide high resolution images to those clients so their art teams can do their thing. Those shoots are generally quoted based on project scope, deliverables and usage. It’s an entirely different beast than the domestic portraiture.
Great discussion! Like you, I’d love to hear other photographer’s experiences, too
Thanks for your reply Dan, I think you have something there with the fine art print + low res representing the best of both worlds… more food for thought! Cheers, Emma