Photo Success

A Place to Grow

Are hot girls ruining the industry?

By Leave a Comment

There’s a ton of talent out there.

Musicians, comics, artists and photographers.

Most of it goes away. Much of it is inert. Never revealed, put into action and given a place. A purpose.

The way I see it, if you have a talent, you don’t really have it unless you use it.

Put it out there. Give it a voice. Use it to make a difference.

It’s useless otherwise, unless it merely hits you with a mild ego boosting dopamine hit when your mommy proudly points out how ‘talented’ you are. Or someone on Facebook likes your images.

Better yet, they make a vapious compliment.
(Never trust your mom- she loves you too much for your own good. Likewise, never really
trust flakebook comments either)

This is pervasive in the industry of photography….
mainly, weddings, babies, families…and, well, hot girls.

Hot girls are ruining the industry. You know the story. Many go out, get a new Canon Rebel,
grab a hot girl, photograph her, and voila!

Photographer! Instant portfolio of hot girliness.

It’s easy to get derailed from what really matters. From real talent. Talent that plays a legit
role in the world, and continues to serve.

And make money. Yes, turn a profit.

It ain’t a business unless it’s making money.

Unless, of course, you’re just starting out and still learning marketing, selling, and getting established in your community as the GO TO photographer. But that’s just a phase.

Meanwhile, your business cards, your fancy well made website….even your stunning images of hot girls….and all those stunning images of children in fields with mucho sun flare…..
all of it……a ruse.

A lie. It’s all meaningless and temporary.

I was chatting with a well known, well established photographer last week who tells me the average
turn around for photographers is 1.5 years. And he may be  a little optimistic.

What matters most? Clients. Clients who pay, and return year after year.

Take that idea, and scale it up. Multiply it. And you got a business.

A reason and a place for your talents. Awards are meaningless. Accolades and praise
from family, friends, fiends and peers too. All meaningless.

Your cameras, lenses, computers and facebook fans and likes….all…meaningless.

Unless you put it all into action and build a business.

Now go forth ye friends and foes….and build. Keep it real.

Yours in photography and success,
Robert Provencher

“If you want to be a profitable and successful photographer, then study
profitable and successful photographers.”

What do you do when you lack self-confidence…

By Leave a Comment

Norman Vincent Peale said it best. Short, sweet, inspiring and to the point:

*Decide exactly what it is you want.
*Make it a primary goal.Make it big. Make it important.
*Establish a series of yearly, monthly, weekly, and daily objectives to achieve that goal.
*Fight the urge to give up along the way. This is easiest when you have clarity.

My own experience bears this out: you can achieve almost anything you want in life – even if you don’t have much faith in your own abilities.

Lack of self-confidence, Peale said, “is one of the great problems besetting people today.”

(And that was like way back in the days of old, when everything was still in black and white.
Nothing much has changed…besides color. Yes, they invented color.)

He makes reference to a survey of college students indicating that for 75 percent of them, confidence was the thing most lacking in their life.

No one know this more than I do. No one was more afraid, lost and burdened with the stress of life than I.

Just last night over supper with friends we were recounting our early 20’s.
(we’re all in our 50’s now, healthier, wealthier and wiser… so we think)

I told our friends about how petrified I was when I was 21. Working full time in a darkroom.

Loving it, good at it. But ready for change and ready to start a new job photographing school photos for a large national company.

That first year shooting was horrible. I was in a constant state of panic it seemed. I had anxiety attacks that were unrelenting.

When asked how long that went on for, I answered: “A whole year.”

It took me one whole year of photographing hundreds and thousands of students to finally, FINALLY get a handle on it.

In the second year I started to get a sense a confidence. I started a new skill set in those early years.
But I had a long way to go.

“Imagine if you would have been stuck in that prison the rest of your life?” was a comment.

“Yes, I know that! I always look back at those years and wonder what would have happened had I let the fears and anxieties rule me. Rule my destiny. What if I would have embraced it and made it my closest friend, my dearest ally? What problems would have and could have arose? What medications would I have chosen to eventually fight that battle?”

Crazy stuff when I think about it.

“The blows of life, the accumulation of difficulties, the multiplication of problems tend to sap energy
and leave you spent and discouraged,” Peale says.

In such situations, “it is easy to lose track of your abilities and powers” – but by re-appraising your personal assets, you can convince yourself that “you are less defeated than you think you are.”

Part of me is glad I went through all those times.

They made me who I am now.  I persisted. I did not let myself get defeated.

Easy? Not for a second. Worth it? What do you think?

I grew because I persisted. I faced the fears and moved ahead in spite of them. I created goals.

I studied and fed my mind a constant flow of books, seminars and new ideas. I pushed hard.

I fought the demons that tried so hard to rule me.

And you can too. Be true to yourself.

Be fearless my friend.

Yours in photography and success,
Robert Provencher

P.S. Let me help fight the demons.

How to kick the muse in the balls and wake him up…

By Leave a Comment

Apparently I have adhd. So I’m told and tell myself. And the articles I read online verify.

How do I know? It appears one of the biggest symptoms is procrastination.

There are as many ways procrastination rears its ugly head as there are excuses for why we are not moving forward with our hopes, dreams and goals.

Personally, I feel the biggest influence is lack of imagination and fear.

Imagination is hard. It takes discipline. And it’s a lonely journey. Only I can use this amazing force…..all by my lonely self.

But it is powerful and essential.

There are specific things you can do to avoid getting off track…. here’s  a few that I personally use:

*cards. Write out lists.  I like small recipe cards. I have my goals and affirmations written out
in point form. I read them every night before bed and in the morning.
*smart questions. Never quit on a situation and give in. Instead, ask compelling questions.

For instance, you may be trying to come up with some marketing solutions and you maybe hitting a dead end. External forces may be creating some serious roadblocks. Don’t quit. Ask. What can I do to create a solution?

Sometimes I take on a role model, someone I admire and ask: What would so and so do in this situation?

And wait for answers. They will come. All YOU need to do is learn to ask compelling questions. This is one of the most powerful imagination tools at your avail.

*positive imagery. On cue. Whenever a negative feeling enters you, instantly and on cue create a positive image

*love list. Ask yourself what things do you love. Get creative. Have fun. Write fast. Stir the soul.

*deadlines and discipline. I don’t know how many times I found myself in a situation and looked back thinking: “Good thing I committed to this. Because it all worked out.” There would be a project I am working on and it jus sits there. The solution, each and every time, is committing a block of time and forcing myself to sit and work at it. Each and every time I end up tapping into an immense amount of ideas, innovations, clarity….it all requires commitment. Do not wait for the muse.

Kick him in the b*lls and wake him up.

Taking control of your life is a big job.

Being scared or a whiney cry baby is reserved for those who refuse to accept they have a passionate, confident and creative life running right beside them.

All you gotta do is get off the trail you’re on and step over.

Notice I never said the word easy. Lose that word. Kick it out of your life. Easy is for children who rely on mommy to wipe their nose and butts. And flakebook.

Being able to grab the proverbial bull by the horns and ride it takes a certain mindset and willingness to move on our desires.

Yours in photography and success,
Robert Provencher

“If you want to be a profitable and successful photographer, then study profitable and successful photographers.”

The number one principle of design for photography studios….

By Leave a Comment

I am in the middle of decorating our studio reception. New wall samples, decor and furniture…the whole dealio.

This is very important to me. Why? Because I want to make money.
I want my photography business to thrive.

It’s that simple really. Having the right studio reception area and wall samples is of paramount importance to me.

Every photographer who is serious about selling their services for top dollar needs to take this message very serious.

I thought it a good idea to revisit Tana Lemay, the queen of studio decor. She’s good. In my oh so humble, yet accurate opinion, she’s the best there is at this game.

Couple years ago I had Tana do a presentation called: “Principles OF Design”

Members, login, and access that HERE.

She mentioned the NUMBER ONE, the big KAHUNA, the grand daddy of all elements of design….drum roll please…..HARMONY.

This is hard to describe however. But she gave an excellent analogy….

You walk into a room, and it just feels right. The brain resonates and all sorts of synapses fire off in glorious harmony and visual dance.

I couldn’t help but think of the time my wife visited a spa in Costa Rica…..and she comes home and described it to me. Sounds like heaven!

Have you ever been to one? You know, you walk in, and it’s like …wow! What  a place….!!

We, as photographers need that.

Why? The main reason is it reflects the quality of our work and more importantly it advances the sales process.

Tana also mentioned that the industry is doing very well. We looked at some images from other studios that are well designed (you need to see this to believe it) and there are many, many successful studios out there.

She did say she speaks with many photographers who are in their first or second year, and she often doesn’t get them as clients for another year or two.

But eventually they do come to her (her company delivers some of the best framing services out there.
Very exclusive, attractive and she only sells to photographers, not to the consumer market.)

Why? Because many aren’t ready. Many, she told me, are not serious about their studios yet. They need confidence.
They need to make that “switch” where they realize they can’t sell their services for $200.00 for a CD of digital files.

She said, tongue in cheek, “bottle confidence and sell it to photographers and you’ll make a million tomorrow…”

Like I said, there’s a ton of gold in what she said.

Yours in photography and success,
Robert Provencher

“If you want to be a profitable and successful photographer, then study profitable and successful photographers.”

Something I always noticed about photographers who progress the fastest…

By Leave a Comment

There’s a consistent, almost predictable behavior pattern with many photographers who are successful.

I’ve noticed this many years ago. I also noticed it in myself, and have attributed this set of behaviors to my own success.

These behaviors I can almost guarantee will propel you to great heights.

Then why don’t most apply and take advantage of these behaviors? You’re guess is as good as mine, but if there’s one simple word that could possibly explain it. That word is attitude.

Sounds old fashioned, but some things never change.

And the list of behaviors is timeless. Let’s look at that list right now….

#1-Successful photographers are always hungry for knowledge.

They know that in this field, staying on top, staying fresh in our photography and in our marketing is vital.

Successful photographers never whine about speakers who are selling stuff at conventions.

They know that the information most speakers have is valuable, and you can take that photographer home with you by investing in their education materials.

I have shelves and boxes filled with educational materials.

Losers have big egos that get in the way or cause them to get creative in the excuse department.

#2– Successful photographers are not afraid of criticism. And I don’t mean evil, mean spirited criticism. Or sour grapes, knee jerk jealous comments from losers who have no place in offering input.

But valuable critiques from other photographers who are qualified to help.

This is one way to stay young, vibrant and alive! But you must be open. A closed minded photographer is nothing more than a fool And a fool is losing out.

Don’t be a fool.

#3– Successful photographers are never too proud to take on jobs that are “below” them.
Especially when starting out!

I take on loads of little, dinky jobs. Warne Noyce shoots dance schools. Ansel Adams shot school pictures.

As a matter of fact, Ansel is quoted as saying that he learned more from the “bread and butter” photography than anything else.

Al Gilbert shot passports when I last spoke with him. And he was nearing 80 yrs old. And still considered on of the best photographers in North America.

Don’t be too proud to take on jobs. Unless of course you have no time because you’re way too busy. But many small jobs, be they donations to community causes or small time gigs, will keep you active, learning, and earning.

#4– Successful photographers are not quitters. I know, some people realize it’s not for them. Or, they get offered a “real job” and opt for the security and golden hand cuffs.

But successful photographers who are very, very serious about making it, don’t quit.

And they don’t start and stop all the time, jumping from one piece of equipment to another, one forum to another, never truly committing to their personal drive and passion.

It takes guts and commitment. It’s that simple. Your level of desire must rise above, way above your pain threshold and your inner weakness that makes you give in to the pain.

Let me repeat that…..your level of desire to succeed must be way, way bigger than the pain, fear and desire to quit.

#5– Successful photographers chose good role models and mimic their work through practice. We all have role models. Those who produce work that truly inspires us to want to reach great heights.

Musicians have them too. They all talk about the music they listened to in their formative years and how it inspired them.

I get asked a lot of questions. My main answer, most times, is get out there and shoot, shoot, shoot.

What will happen is this: Not only will you be getting technical mastery over your gear and adding to your ability to “see the light”, but in time inspiration will seep into your life and you will begin to find direction, purpose and focus on the style of photographer you are evolving into.

And part of that is finding other successful photographers that inspire you. It’s all part of the journey. Be open. Be true to your journey and let others inspire you.

Throw it away, and your throwing away part of your journey.

Hey, I SUFFER for my craft. I demand perfection from myself. I don’t always get it, but I demand it nevertheless.

It’s why I teach and preach and try to reach out to other photographers who have the same passion and drive as I do.

I love teaching, because I learn as much as the student. I put on more webinars, workshops and tutorials each month than anyone out there.

Why?

I luv learning…it’s that simple.

If I hated it, why would I do it?

Luving it is a big enough why for me….hopefully you too

Yours in photography and success,
Robert Provencher

P.S. “If you want to be a profitable and successful photographer, then study profitable and successful photographers.”

Who let the dogz out….!

By 2 Comments

When I book a family session, I encourage them to bring the family dog.

Some are amazed that I insist. For some reason, they somehow think I’d be offended by them bringing the pup along. To me, they are family.

“And when you show up, unleash the dog and let her be. Let her sniff the place out, get comfortable. Ignore them. Talk to me. Let them see I’m a friend.”

I take a similar approach to photographing two year olds. Unleash them and let them see me interacting with the family. Don’t even look at them.
They can sense it when you’re trying to control.

With the dog, and with the two year old, something amazing almost always happens.

I start posing the family, and the dog (or 2 year old) will walk on over and plop themselves down.

Often next to their favorite person.

They want to be part of the family. Let them be. Don’t try an control them. It makes them nervous and I swear I know what they’re thinking when they’re tense:

Doggie thoughts: “Everyone’s acting weird. What’s with that? Wait a minute! This dude’s a vet! He’s gonna stick a need in my ass! Get out! Everyone, get out! AAaaa oooooooo!!!” So the howling goes.

Or something like that.

Yesterday I had two Goldens and their mom, a retired university prof in my studio.

One of the dogs was blind and deaf from birth. She kept walking into things. Mom made a few lighthearted remarks and poked fun.

She walked over to me (the dog, not the mom) and could almost sense me. She nuzzled up against me, insisting I pet her. Cute. Very sweet.

I thought of all the tactics and strategies that Margaret Bryant uses in her pet photography business.

She really knows her stuff when it comes to creating genuine, personality loaded poses of dogs. How she does it who knows. But she can do it. It’s like she has a super power and can draw out the personality of each dog.

Amazing.

Anywho, whilst in this session, now knowing how it was going to unfold, I started shooting the three of them, and then eventually snuck mom out to grab some poses of the two dogs.

It worked. I got some amazing stuff. Now remember, one dogs is completely deaf and blind. And her one eye looks like she was in a fight with a bear.

Also, you can access the entire four part series with Margaret Bryant here.

Don’t forget, if you’re a member of my noBs photosuccess inner circle, I posted more images and discussion on this topic here.

Yours in photography and success,
Robert Provencher

P.S. If you’re a member of the noBs photosuccess inner circle I posted more images and discussion on this topic HERE

Every day you are beat up

By Leave a Comment

Every day you are beat up. Beat up by the crappy images you, and your clients aren’t thrilled about.

Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe your images are exceptional, and it’s YOU.
The way you see yourself and success.

I get it. More than anyone. You long to conquer mountains, yet every day you are beaten by shitty little anthills.

All these little problems… they should be so easily solved. Yet they go on defeating you, day after day, until at last you conclude that you are not a capable photographer.

If you are this easily defeated, maybe, just maybe, you wonder, you do not have what it takes to win the bigger struggles: to become your best self, to create a business empire, to create works of art that will outlast you.

Hell, you can’t even remedy a crappy shoot. Might as well fuck off and go check out Flakebook or watch Netflix.

But you’re looking at the problem entirely wrong. You may feel your life is at risk of imploding from outside pressures and problems.

Pick the project that makes your hands shake. Pick the irrational path… the one you’ve been “saving yourself for”… the one of which you’ve thought “if only I had the ballz.”

And then, simply begin. Surrender, finally to the irrational quest.

And know this…..it is the ACTION that ushers the essentials.

It is the JOURNEY that creates the way. The door to the dragon’s lair. Walk in, and stir the dragon.

Tomorrow night, Thursday, April 13th, 9:00PM EST I’ll be running our monthly marketing mastermind webinar.

If you’re a member, just login and find the webinar link here.

As usual, the replay will be posted within 24hours.

Not a member? This could be the best twenty bucks you’re invested…ever.

Go here and find out how and why.

Yours in photography and success,
Robert Provencher

Chad 2.0….”How to interact with clients and get killer expressions.”

By Leave a Comment

What happens when your roll Yervant, Ghionis and a few other big name marquee photography names into one?

You got Chad. He’s a just a regular dude pushing his wedding photography business and totally crushing it.

I call him Chad 2.0 because we had him  present 3 months ago and his ideas, his content was epic…..

I never got it why people got so excited over “celeb” photographers….mostly because they’re speaking at conventions and such.

Like being on a stage is the thing.

Well that, and they’re creating really great images. We like others who seem to have magic powers when it comes to creating stunning images.

I do. I try and be like them all the time. We all wanna be rockstars.

Thing is, there’s a whole lot more out there than the dudes and dudettes on the stage or in the Creative Live ad.

The truth is, we’re all a bunch or regular ‘ol shmucks….like me.

Out there doing our best to keep our businesses going, maintaining a steady cashflow.

We luvs our gurus don’t we?

I like guys like Chad, because he’s the real deal. He works very hard. He lives in the Bronx, has a wife and family and some serious passion for his craft.

Mostly, he’s really got it going on in the photography department.

And he brought this passion to his presentation last week. No fluff talk, no equipment, no tech….. pure story, pure strategy based on real, honest to goodness client interactions.

All on creating emotional connection with them and creating images that sell.

It doesn’t get any better than that.

Real talk, real strategies, from real photographers.

That’s how I like to expand, grow, learn (something we always need to be doing in todays climate) and build our photography business.

The replay for our mastermind meeting last Thursday called:

“Success Shooting Couples and Families- How to interact with clients and get killer expressions.”

It’s in the downloads section……go get it here.

If you aren’t a member, and want access to it, it’s simple….details.

Yours in photography and success,
Robert Provencher

Sam asks….”Is the membership contractual…?”

By Leave a Comment

Sam asks….

“Rob, Question please…..Is the membership contractual or may I cancel at anytime? Thanks, Sam Mike…”

Sam, cancelling is literally as soon as you want. Ten minutes, days, weeks or whenever, and it’s all self managed, in other words, no emails, no support steps….just click on your account, and cancel…..click! Done….

It’s that easy….

Now some rare folks of the tidwad realm join, download in a frantic frenzy the hundreds upon upon hundreds of high quality videos, manuals and mastermind replays….

Somehow thinking owning is equivalent to succeeding.

Thankfully, most aren’t this innocent and naive.

See, my goal, my mission, is to show others, old and young alike, the way to marketing, shooting and selling in a photography business.

Whether it’s babies, children, families, fairies, grads or commercial photography…. the entire universe is underscored by one common denominator…..namely: Marketing.

And networking. Watching a bunch of videos is useless, unless you create something from it….and, then get out there and rattle a few cages in your community.

That, my friend, is where the true power of growing a business lies.

Sure, the content is important. But it’s not king.

What is is tapping into your courage, power and perseverance.

Make that your mission….

The goods.

Yours in photography and success,
Robert Provencher

P.S. Last night’s presentation with Chad Pennington was epic. The replay will be installed later today. If you’re  a portrait or wedding photographer (which I know most of you are) you don’t want to miss this one! The secret sauce, the magic ingredement in any session is the emotion and expressions. And I gotta say, as much as I love the likes of Yervant, Ghionis and other fearless photogs, this guy has all of them rolled into one. We can all learn….

An open letter….

By Leave a Comment

“The most important part of a race car is the tires.
Good tires will always beat bad ones.
The most important part of a cup of coffee is the beans.
The grinder, the machine, the barista pale in comparison to the quality of what you start with.

And the most important parts of an organization are the people you begin with.
Not the systems or the policies or even the real estate. Great people make everything easier.
And yet…
And yet we spend money on 4 wheel drive instead of snow tires.
And yet we upgrade our coffee maker instead of buying from a local roaster (or roasting our own).

And mostly, we run classified ads to find the cheapest common denominator employee and spend all our time building
systems to protect our customers from people who don’t care…”
~Seth Godin~

Friends,

I started noBs photosuccess back in January 2001 with James Hodgins. Back then, my busy studio was converted 100% to digital using a 3.2MB Canon D30.

I was shooting about 700-800 sessions a year, including families, babies, kids, commercial and over 30+ weddings.

All digital. No one was shooting or printing digital in those days. Except one older dude I met at a workshop.

He showed us how the pixel count mattered not so much. He inspired me in a big way.
Him, and Craig Minielly. Pioneers.

I was an early adopter. They helped point the way.

The industry told me:
“You can’t get anything bigger than an 8″x 10″ with those files.”

Meanwhile, my studio reception walls were covered with 20 inch, 30 inch and 40 inch samples.

All digital. I still have those images. One photographer walked in and said one of my images of a two day old baby looked like it was shot on a 4″x 5″ medium format film camera.

So needless to say, we called ‘bullshit’ on their claims.

There’s no point to this historical meandering, except to point out the underlying story that I believed in, and still believe in to this day…..:

That a business is an exciting adventure and a personal vision  that expresses itself to the world like a drive-in theatre at night.

It is an expression of who we are.

And like any business, there are layers of struggles, challenges, skills (both innate and learned) that on average takes 3-5 years before you start to make some serious ground, lay a solid foundation and start reaping profits.

Sadly, in today’s day and age, many newbies don’t get beyond 1.5 years in photography. That’s the latest statistic I heard from reliable sources.

The truth is, and this is something I believe with all my heart and soul, is that business is a creation, a work of art, built on a matrix of marketing, selling, and personal vision.

For me, learning marketing and selling is everything. These qualities, like lighting, posing, composing images that sell, are all skillsets. We get better with time.

And, a constant on-going self-improvement regiment is key.

I believe in freedom. Freedom to basically choose what and where we want to go in life.

And I believe it is my obligation to improve myself constantly, everyday, every year, forever until I die.

Like I said, it’s an adventure. Sometimes crappy things happen and it seems like the entire universe is conspiring against me. Other times, everything flows, and events, opportunities fall into my path.

Assuming I am open, willing to spot these, and pick them up, then, and only then will progress be made. I said it a million times. It’s an inside job. We have choices.

When I look back at my life (I’m 58 now….busy, busy shooting still…running my studio) and I see the shit storm of events (much of which was self-imposed) I try to focus on the good stuff.
I came  a long way and it wasn’t easy:

  • I sobered up 25 years ago. That period was HUGE for me. It’s when I really, really started to make change. Facing my demons head on and taking positive steps was by far the best thing I could have ever done….yea, sometimes I wished I didn’t have to go through that. Or, that I could have done it sooner.  But alas, one cannot live in ‘should haves’. Regret is poison.
  • I started Toastmasters 25 years ago and honed my public speaking skills
  • I started an obsession with marketing and became, and still am, the proverbial info-junkie
  • I cleaned my messes, including my friends, finances and health
  • I got married to an amazing woman and we had a child Danielle
  • I believe that in order to stay healthy, both physically and mentally, I need to constantly be learning.Learning never stops. Learning how to get better, as  a person (I still have a long ways to go in that area!), how to stay active, how to be the best human I can be. The best marketer I can be (marketing IS everything), have the best friends I can have, and be prosperous and creative

    We seem to be living in crazy times. Everyone, it seems, is full of anxieties and more stress than ever before.

    I believe social media, the interweb and a general inner drive to finally reach that elusive state of “I made it” (which is a big lie) is the root cause for many of us.

    I still have  a lot to do and  a lot to give. The way I see it, as we get older, and hopefully wiser, it’s our, my responsibility to try and help others as best I can.

    For me, there is no better path in life than self-improvement. This is the key, both personally and in business.

    And, working with a group of great people (this point is really brought home if the quote by Seth Godin above…if you skipped it, go read it now…..)

    Yours in photography and success,
    Robert Provencher

    P.S. On that note join us tonight with Chad Pennington’s presentation:
    “How to interact with clients and get killer expressions in your portrait photography.”

    HERE