Selling is not a battle, and clients are not the enemy. Yes, there are strategies and tactics, but clients are not prospects to be vanquished. They are not pawns or peons, and they’re not the barriers to photography supremacy. They are people to connect with and inform. They deserve respect.

Remember that most clients are on your side. They want you to be the one. They’ve invested time and effort by learning about you, and if you can provide what they need, they believe their life will be better for it. Who goes into a store hoping not to find what they want, after all? Next time you’re crafting your presentation, think about how it felt last time you went … Read more...

It’s an old marketing adage that you need to explain the benefit of the benefit, but it’s an easy one to forget. Don’t ever assume that people will just get it. The more you spell things out, the better. Edward Tufte, the famous information designer said magicians never show their tricks twice for a reason. Because you’ll figure things out when you see it a second time. So it’s fair to assume the reverse. If you want people to get things, repeat yourself. Go into detail. Make your points crystal clear, and don’t worry about clients being insulted for treating them like little kids. They won’t be. They’ll appreciate you being the only person to bother to really talk with … Read more...

Photo by Gary Donihoo
www.f8studio.com

This shot is pretty self-explanatory. And that’s a great thing, because that means it’s so direct, it just hits you without needing to think about it. You feel it. It bypasses all those synaptic pit stops, making a beeline right into your head and putting you in that moment. Some of the specifics that make it work? The use of the wide angle lens definitely heightens the drama and the expressions are right on. Beyond that, the inclusion of the arms on the left add a nice sense of action and clarify the meaning of the content, helping to round things out, while the white on pure black makes for fantastic contrast. Nice! … Read more...

McCann’s Steel Cut Irish Oats. Mmmmmm….doesn’t that sound good?

I came to New York hot on the heels of the dot come bust, gathering the money I had saved and figuring I could find a way to get things going before I went bust. Things weren’t looking so good by 2003. I remember sitting in the grocery store looking at that can of McCann’s Steel Cut Irish Oats. I wanted it so much. But I just couldn’t. Not even as a splurge. I didn’t have the extra $2.71 available, so Quaker Oats it was. I don’t know what it was about having steel cut oats that sounded so good. It just did. Even though I didn’t know what steel cut … Read more...

Photo by Cathy and David Photographers
www.cathydavidphoto.com

This is such a nice and simple portrait. No pretense. Sweet and romantic, yet relaxed enough to feel like a spontaneous expression in the middle of it all. The dreaminess created by the bokeh fits right in with the wonderful palette, making for a great shot that feels right.… Read more...