Did you ever believe you could serve two different clients and still make branding your business a success?

A wedding and family portrait photographer based in Boston, Karen Kelly did just that!

Branding Your Business

Karen struck upon the idea of branding her business by committing to one mission: serving her clients for life! She will be speaking and teaching at Inspire Photo Retreats and her topic is “How to Brand Your Business for Success”. It's perhaps after structuring your business in the right manner, that branding it correctly must come next to make it a success.

The Interview

Soon after I learned that Karen was going to teach at Inspire Photo Retreats, I looked her up online and viewed the video on her “about me” page. I didn't waste a minute scheduling her for a quick chat about her business brand and positioning. We also talked about her presentation at Inspire Photo Retreats this year in Newport, Rhode Island.

We talk about:

– The joy she saw in people experiencing her photography inspired her to create a business
– What consumer problem are you trying to solve?
– How her degree in psychology and experience in advertising helps her business
– How photographing the lives of her clients, shapes her life too
– Teaching and creating community is key for Karen
– How her specialization in family history allows her to offer both weddings and family portraits

The Portfolio

Check out of Karen's fabulous work. It will you give you a sense of her style and also her branding (which, I hope you all know goes well beyond just using a fancy logo). Every frame shows her love for her clients. It's beautiful, soulful work.

So, are you coming to Inspire Photo Retreats this year? It starts TOMORROW. If you see me or Karen Kelly, stop by and say hello!

Heidi Hope Guerard is a photographer based in Cranston, Rhode Island, specializing in natural light, newborn sessions. In addition to running a busy studio, Heidi makes time to host workshops for photographers also interested in newborn and infant portrait photography.

Professional photographer and studio owner Heidi Guerard of Heidi Hope Photography is internationally recognized for her colorful, soft and whimsical portrait photography. Often referred to as a “baby whisperer”, Heidi’s most celebrated work is creating artistic portraits of babies from their first days of life through their first days of school.

Heidi will be presenting at Inspire Photo Retreats this year. Her topic is The Business of Baby and Children Portraits.

We sat down to briefly talk about her presentation this year and also a little bit about her background in the arts.

We talked about:

– Her foundation in the arts. She has a BFA in Art Education
– How she first learned the skills to teach photography technique
– How she weaves the importance of the business with the art of photography
– How work and life can be in sync with each other
– Why outsourcing can help you focus on your strengths and make you stand out
– What she put in her proposal to Inspire that got it accepted
– Looking at the photography industry and what is changing
– Why your brand and business matters more than ever in a crowded market

Here is a small sample of Heidi's portfolio. For more, please visit her website.

Have you registered for Inspire Photo Retreats? It's right around the corner – like next week! I am really looking forward to being there and learning from people like Heidi.

Are You Marketing Right?

Mondays are usually reserved for “marketing,” so I have to ask you this important question – are you working with your ideal clients?

Discovering your ideal clients should be your number one goal, if you are looking to be in business for the long haul.

The craft or technique of photography can be learned and practiced as it should be. Most photographers, though, falter at growing and sustaining their business. Why? Because they haven't focused their attention and energy in building a client base that fosters their future success.

The Youngrens are wedding photographers based in San Diego, with clients from all over the world. They also are actively involved in Bauman Photographers, a company dedicated to serving their commercial clients.

Discover Your Ideal Clients

But Erin and her husband Jeff Youngren are more than just photographers. They are on a mission to educate other photographers on such topics as working with the very best clients; the ones you were meant to serve with all your heart.

They have a popular course on their website called Discover Your Ideal Client. Use the code: Tiffinbox20 to get 20% off. In fact, I spoke with Erin & Jeff about this very idea of finding and nurturing your best clients some time ago.

However, if you would rather learn from them in person, here's my invitation to you to register for the Inspire Photo Retreats taking place in just a few days. Erin and Jeff will be there to walk you through the steps in discovering your ideal clients – wedding or portrait.

The Interview

Earlier in the year, I spoke with Erin about her presentation at Inspire Photo Retreats and why they chose to trek all the way from San Diego to Newport, Rhode Island for the conference:

Connecting With Your Clients

One of the things that has helped The Youngrens understand and anticipate their client's deepest desires is through blogging. The Youngrens also offer a free course called “Six Weeks To Effective Blogging” that I would highly recommend.

Family Photojournalist, Teacher, Mentor

Where Kirsten Lewis is based really doesn't matter.

You see, both her passion and her vision to document families takes her around the world from her home base in Denver, Colorado. She is a highly sough-after teacher as well. Did you catch her on CreativeLive?

Her first course, Family Photography: Modern Storytelling, drew such a huge following that she is scheduled to come back and teach again this February. This time her topic is – Family Photography: Photojournalism in the Home.

But before she heads back to teach at CreativeLive, in Seattle, Kirsten Lewis will be at Inspire Photo Retreats, taking place February 8-10th. Her presentation at Inspire is called “The Being Of You.”

The Interview

If you are asking yourself what that means, you will want to listen in to our short conversation below:

We talk about:

– How Kirsten moved from wedding photography to documenting families
– The unpredictable nature of photographing families
– What the best photojournalists can teach you
– Encouraging all photographers to be vulnerable enough to strengthen your work
– The Artist vs. Business person
– Being a documentary family photojournalist
– How Kirsten becomes a part of the family she is photography for the day
– The one important you can grow your own documentary family photography business
– Who are you photographing for?
– Why are still photos so important?
– How to offer all-day, or 1, 2 or 4 hour sessions
– Why trying to convince parents to hire you for their documentary family session is the wrong move to make … instead what will persuade parents to sign up

In our current industry, saturated with thousands and thousands of photographers all making work that look like they come from a single shooter, it's imperative to stand out in your market. The easiest way to do so is to simply make pictures that are an extension of you, your experiences and how you see the world.

Kirsten Lewis' Documentary Family Photography Portfolio

Though Inspire Photo Retreats is just a few weeks away, you can still register for it. I am going to be there and Kirsten Lewis's presentation is on the top of my list. As a family photographer in Avon, Connecticut, I owe a great deal to her as my mentor and teacher.

Bonuses

We mentioned Huy Nguyen who founded The Foundation Workshops and Fearless Conference.

Kirsten also talks about the amazing portrait photographer Luis Gervan. Check his work out!

A Different Genre

I must have stumbled across this quote about wedding photojournalism several years ago, when I was starting to transition from being a photojournalist to a wedding photojournalist:

“The hallmark of the concept is both perspective and attitude, based on a mandate to be truly reactive rather than proactive, and a dedication to record events as historian rather than director. Content with reality, the wedding photojournalist quietly documents while anticipating action, sensitively observing details and nuance, capturing moments without subjects actively aware of the process.” – Denis Reggie, the Godfather of Wedding Photojournalism

And it took my breath away.

If you ever pursued anything without knowing that it was valid and that there would be a demand for it, you'll also know that sense of calm that washes over you when you know all will be well.

No one had so succinctly defined the kind of photography I wanted to deliver for my wedding clients. That someone had enunciated it so lucidly assured me that I was on the right path.

So began my pursuit at studying Denis Reggie‘s work. To be honest, I wasn't attracted to it because he had photographed the Kennedy's or that he comfortably commanded five figures for his services. No, it was this “hands-off” approach that captured my imagination. I'll bet you see it in my work at Amata Pictures. Take a look!

The Interview

It was on Facebook that Denis Reggie and I finally connected. I must have asked him a question or responded to something he had posted about wedding photojournalism. What follows is a short interview with Denis Reggie about wedding photojournalism:

We talk about:

– Photographer as a witness, not a director on the wedding day
– How to blend in as a wedding guest to photograph weddings as a photojournalist
– Photographing people without them being aware of the camera
– Why documentary weddings are specific to a particular age group of clients
– How Denis doesn't really use Photoshop to create fantasy photographs
– The Achilles Heels for any new photographer
– Creating consistent lighting, understanding flash to create quality light
– Producing matted albums vs. flush albums for high end clients
– Knowing your client's needs and experiences and delivering on it
– How wedding photojournalists are historians with a camera
– Getting started in the business of wedding photojournalism
– How Denis literally starved for 7 years before making it in his 8th year of business
– Working with wedding planners, banquet managers
– Time, education, practice, staying current all cater to a photographer's progress
– Whether we are sitting in a wedding photography bubble or not; will prices come down?
– There is a market for excellence in wedding photography
– Creating original works of art for discerning clients

The Wedding Photojournalism Gallery

Check out some of Denis Reggie‘s work below and visit his website:

Where Do You Stand?

Are you a photojournalist looking to enter the wedding market? Would you abandon all that you know about narrating visual stories and pose people all day long or would you prefer to work with clients who will respect your work at the end of the day? As Denis Reggie said in the interview, there is no right or wrong approach to wedding photography. If your clients expect (or even demand) a certain approach, then you are in essence only delivering on that promise you are making them at the very start of your relationship.