It may sound counter intuitive but Jonas believes and explains in this episode the only way to stand out as an individual is to shoot like you… no one else can see the way you do. The difficult part is having the guts to move away from copying or emulating your wedding photography heroes and trust yourself to shoot the way you see.
Jonas doesn't suggest that every photo from every wedding needs to be innovative, new and groundbreaking but you must develop your own style. Only then will you attract the right clients for you, only then will you really be getting paid for doing what you love. Only then will you stand out from the crowd and only then, can you demand the prices that everyone would like to demand for their photography.
Here's some of what we cover:
- photography styles and which genre are you
- starting a photography business with a ‘fan base' or 200,000 subscribers
- marketing and how to attract the right client
- pricing your wedding packages
- facebook for ‘soft' marketing
- blogging and getting published – how it can affect your business
- feeding your brain to develop your style
- business v's art in wedding photography
- biggest mistakes of new and developing wedding photographers
- the importance of shooting for your client AND yourself
- destination weddings and how you can get them too
- pitfalls of destination weddings and what you need to factor in when pricing
The main aim of these interviews is to discover ways that photographers can improve their business through the experiences of the guest. I'm guessing you didn't start your business with 200,00 fans?
What is your big takeaway?
Once thrown, it felt to me like I was scrambling to keep the conversation going while trying to uncover some actionable content for you and your business. I'd love to read your feedback in the comments below – what is your big take away from this episode and is there anything you'll likely be implementing in your business following what Jonas had to say?
What have you implemented so far?
When starting this podcast, my aim was to uncover actionable content from each guest in every episode so you can improve your business. I didn't expect I would make so many changes in my business as a result.
So far, I have altered my price list, changed my packages to include wedding albums, rejigged my approach to Facebook, I'm in the process of redesigning our stationery and I'm concentrating more on my photography style.
What I'd REALLY love to know though, is what have you actually implemented since becoming a listener to the podcast? If you're feeling ‘gutsy' enough, use the voicemail tab to the right of the page and let me know. If you're happy to, I'll share your recording on a future episode of the podcast.
iTunes ratings, reviews and Shout-Outs
A couple of great ratings and reviews in iTunes from a couple of awesome listeners this week! Thanks to Teowai from Australia and Josh from Michigan in the States. It's a great help having your reviews and helps others discover the podcast.
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:
Bronwyn of www.petclix.com.au
Dean of www.deanbyfordphotography.co.uk
Robert of www.roberthock.com.au
and Evelyn – great to have you listening!
I also mentioned Matt from RMW Photo and the very sad shoot he was involved in where he photographed a dying Dad's wish to have his father daughter dance. You can find that article here.
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.
Links to people, places and things mentioned in this episode:
Jonas Peterson's website – http://jonaspeterson.com
Jonas on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/jonaspetersonphotography
Framed Network – http://framednetwork.com
Jeffrey Smart (Artist) – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Smart
Todd Hunter McGraw – http://toddhuntermcgaw.com.au
Dan O'day – http://danodayphotography.com.au
VSCO photoshop/lightroom plugin – http://vsco.co
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 interview.
Speak soon
Andrew
