Business Skills For the Wedding Photographer

Absent from most workshop programs that teach photographers how to take better pictures, is how to earn a living once you are proficient with a camera. I submit that photographers that are mediocre in their talents and excellent in their business skills will succeed far and away better than the most talented photographer who hides under a rock when presented with the opportunity to learn more about being in business.
As such, I have been asked by the good folks at Momenta Workshops to talk about the business aspect of being a wedding photographer.

IN ONE WEEK - ALL DAY - MONDAY - AUGUST 8TH, WASHINGTON DC




About the Program
The wedding industry is readily expanding as photographers look for new markets and revenue streams. The photographers and studios that will last are the ones who build sustainable business practices into their growth models. Momenta believes in supporting photographers with professional training at all levels. We believe a stronger photographic community means success for everyone. Therefore, we are offering this one day, intensive business skills workshop to help you take your profitability and business practices to the next level.

Our panelists, speakers and lecturers will cover topics that will help each division of your services. From marketing to finance to client relations and products, we will discuss the many ways you can build your business to be more profitable and successful.

Along with the handout materials and lectures, we are providing all pre-registered participants with a copy of John Harrington's Best Business Practices for Photographers. John Harrington is a national asset to photographers who offers professional, tested advice on how to make the best financial decisions to grow your business successfully. His book has been considered the "Bible of Freelance Photography" for many photojournalists and studios since it's first publication.

Hit the jump for the program, or go HERE to register and learn more!

(Continued after the Jump)

Here's the program:

9:15 a.m. | Keynote Speaker Address. Maryland based Amy Deputy will discuss finding your bliss in your career. Amy will share her story of growth from a wedding freelancer into one of American PHOTO’s Top 10 Wedding Photographers. Her discussion, punctuated with her award winning portfolio images, will focus on the successes, mistakes and major learning lessons of her career. Amy will guide attending photographers through her very unique journey to finding the right price point for her services and how she found the right clients for personal vision. Following her presentation, Amy will open the floor up for Q&A.

1 p.m. | John Harrington’s Best Business Practices for Photographers. Grab a seat and get ready for four of the most fascinating hours of your career. John’s usual one-hour lectures just scratch the surface of his vast level of expertise in growing a business. Having and reading John’s book is just the beginning for understanding the best way to become a professional and make your more business profitable. Seeing John in action ties it all together!

Throughout the afternoon, John will be walking you through the many steps you will need to succeed in today’s economy using all the tools available to you. Whether you are a seasoned professional or a brand new start up, we are confident you will learn an enormous amount from John’s workshop. Through interactive presentations, actual client phone call recording and practical examples, John will cover the following topics and more in his afternoon address: pricing your services for sustainable income; how to create a portfolio worthy of client presentation; finding clients in a bad economy; how to get clients who won’t fight your pricing; client negotiations and tactics for success; planning for taxes and accounting practices to save you time and money; professional gear for professional people; how to use your leadership skills, social networking, marketing and peer groups for your business’ future growth.

....and we wrap up at 5.

Register HERE!

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Teaching listening in schools

Following my TED talk on conscious listening and why it should be taught in schools, I've had enquiries from educators about how this can be done. Here are some practical suggestions. There are many more ideas and I would love to hear what people all over the world come up with. I plan to start a new web resource for listing in schools, probably a blog where people can post their experiences and ideas.

Silence
Help them to experience this possibly for the first time in their lives. Teach about it (take a look at my blog on silence for some ideas) and then work up from short shared silences - maybe one minute to start with - to longer ones. This will be very precious for them, but also very challenging. Ask them to write or share their experience of these silences, and what silence means in their lives.

Mixer
Take them to rich aural environments (start inside the school) and have them pair and log all the sound sources they hear. If you have the resources, let them experiment with multichannel sound.

Savouring
Give them a multi-day project to notice sounds and bring their three favourites in to class to share. If you have the resources (eg own a Zoom H2 digital recorder or similar) do this one small group at a time and have them record the sounds to play to all. You could do the same with sounds they dislike.

Listening positions
The most powerful of all. Pair them up and have A say what they had for breakfast while B listens from different positions (for example 1 I'm bored; 2 I want to be friends with this person; 3 I'm in a hurry; 4 what can I learn from this - please make up your own also). Have the As share their experiences at the end, then the Bs. Swap and repeat. If they get the principle that you can change reality by listening from a different place, that will be a great gift.

RASA (receive, appreciate, summarise, ask)
Practice each element by pairing up again and have listeners turn each element off and on while listening and then both people share their experience. Have them share about their general experience of being listened to at home, in school and elsewhere (especially by adults), and how it affects their own listening to others. 

Posted via email from Julian Treasure's posterous