Photo Success

A Place to Grow

His dedication and passion is testament to his success.

By Leave a Comment

I met Danny back in 2008 -ish?

He made his way up from California to attend our 5 day workshop at Niagara School of Imaging,
St Catharines, Ontario.

Danny was a full time police officer. He, and his wife Dianne, ran a
studio/frame shop. He was always busy, working full time, and then
tending to his “second job” running the studio after hours and on
weekends.

His dedication and passion is testament to his success.

Things only got better.

A few years ago Danny retired from the force. It seems he was waiting for this moment
so he could hit the ground running and really make a go in his studio.

Which he did. Where he gets the energy from, who knows. This guy has more
energy than a 19 year old.

When most folks are happy basking in the glorious cozy blanket of pension-dom,
Danny and Dianne only just got started.

Now they have 6 fulltime employees and 14+ during peak season.

Danny will be updating us in the next mastermind presentation. We’ve
had him speak in previous webinars, and at our live events.

His story, his advice and his passion makes for great inspiration for all
photographers, both established and aspiring.

This is the kind of stuff I like to tap into. Real, legit success
from real legit business owners who master in photography.

No bull…..

MEMBERS: Join us this Thursday, February 16th, 12:00PM EST (that’s noon…not midnight!)
…..REGISTER HERE:

The replay, as usual, will be in the forum.

Not a member and and want in? It’s only twenty bucks to have access to this
meeting and hundreds upon hundreds of other high quality presentations.
(leave when you want)

Access here.

Yours in photography and success,
Robert Provencher

“What makes you tick?”

By Leave a Comment

Years ago, way back when I was a young laddie buck of only 27 yrs old, I attended my first ever photography seminar.

It blew me away.

Completely floored me.

I had no idea such a thing existed. Where someone, an accomplished photographer, would get up and only talk about photography.

And what makes them successful.

How they do what they do?

And what makes them tick? I wanted to know so bad.

Curiosity is a powerful ally.

Since that life altering day I have not lost the drive, the passion and the searching out of other successful photographers…

And I ask the proverbial question: “What makes you tick?”

It’s like I’m 27 all over again. But I’m 58. Nothing much changes.

Good thing.

Being curious and searching, non stop, for answers, is one of the MAIN reasons I still have my mojo working for me.

Join us, as Chad Pennington, a wedding photographer from New York chats with us about what makes him tick.

REPLAY HERE

Get inspired….

Yours in photography and success,
Robert Provencher

“Such a video would be worth gold bullion…”

By Leave a Comment

“Such a video would be worth gold bullion…”

So sez my droog and member of noBs photosuccess Ron Hare.

Me thinks he exaggerates, a tad, using medieval sounding words like “bullion”.

Of what does he speak? I posted an image of my daughter that I called the Ice Queen….

And Ron was itching to know how I did what I did.

When commenting on being a member, Ron added:…“a video about how you created this of your daughter would be worth many membership years alone.”

Doth my kind sir exaggerate? Maybe not. Depends.

The content is there. A virtual vault from top notch experts in their respective fields of photography…..

All you gotta do is go get it. It’s there.

In that spirit I created a three part series just for Ron, and all other members of noBs Photosuccess.

Member? Login, go here and watch….(Each section is short, to the point…none of that non-stop filler and babble you often hear in photoshop tutorials.)

Not  a member?

C’mon…it’s like cheaper than dirt, but worth more than gold….SEE FOR YOURSELF

Yours in photography and success,
Robert Provencher

The rainbow neon colored cannabis leaf wife beater shirt marketing strategy….

By Leave a Comment

I’m in Costa Rica, sunny hot days, monkeys and birds everywhere.

In a small beach town called Tamarindo, which attracts swarms of tourists, surfers, hippies and retired folk looking to get away from the cold, cold north.

Life is good, indeed.

The other day while walking home I noticed in the window in one of the funky little clothing stores, one of the ugliest pieces of men’s clothing…ever.

It was a black, ‘muscle shirt’, with multicolored neon bright cannabis leafs all over it.

My first thought was: “Who’d buy a wife beater shirt?”

Then I realized I was wearing one. But not like that one of course.

I swore I’d never wear a “muscle” shirt, but gave in two years ago.

Too warm down here, too dam comfortable.

But black, with bright fluorescent neon weed leafs all over it? Ugh!

And fishnet see through mesh fabric no less. Double ugh!!

But if you’re gonna wear them, at least have some class. Some style.

And this one! U*G*L*Y…..nothing less.

Which made me think….“I bet this is a marketing strategy. Designed to grab your attention.”

This store is known for funky cool stylized, offbeat, retro selection of young hip clothing.

Why not highlight this abomination?!

For effect, no less. No doubt. It grabs your attention.

Grabbing your attention is one of the foundations of good marketing.
Done right, of course.

One of the very best marketing strategies for photographers is the display. You know, in a mall, a store, restaurant, instagram, facebook….all are displays in a sense.

We put our work out there, for all to see. To “grab” attention. Over and over.

And it seems this strategy favors the bold. Certainly worked for me.

Here’s my short list of display ideas:

*In our studio we have an 8’x12′ billboard on the side of our building, facing one of the busiest streets in our city.
*Business cards
*ALL social media….daily posts
*website blogging
*store front…(my two large windows are covered each with display images-the kind you can’t see in, but can see out- perforated is the term used I believe)
*sales room…high impact large display images and well appointed decor…impact!
*mall/tradeshows/art shows…any and all displays at events in your city….old school, very, very effective

Some free,  some paid, all effective attention grabbing publicity. One of my favorite marketing strategies and a must for any photography studio.

Be shameless, brave, bold….like a multicolored neon cannabis leaf encrusted muscle shirt on display.

I talk about this at length in my marketing manuals I’ve created (3 so far), in the monthly marketing mastermind  meetings I run.

By far, as a photographer, you need to grab their attention. They ain’t gonna come looking for you.

Last night during our marketing mastermind with special guest Warne Noyce, he showed us an image he created right in his front yard, in the water. (he lives in the boonies on a beautiful lake.)

The image was of a high school senior in her prom dress, in the water, with a huge giant moon on the horizon, reflected in the water. (0bviously added, but very effective)

Would anyone want that style of shot? Maybe some, maybe not.

An image with impact that draws them in. Pushing his brand of uniqueness and style.

Like a black see through mesh neon cannabis leaf encrusted wife beater shirt.

Yours in photography and success,
Robert Provencher

P.S. Members can watch the repaly of last nights presentation with Warne here.

P.P.S. My entire collection of marketing manuals, replays and meetings are ALL part
of your membership.

The turbo charged pixel myth…

By 6 Comments

Well, I never thought this would happen.

I met a photographer who started out in digital before the dawn of all things digital like I did.

I met Kirk Saint a few months ago at a 2 day convention. I couldn’t believe he started out with one of these cameras like I did.

We’re talking way back. As in the year 2000 back. When Canon introduced what I consider to be their most groundbreaking camera ever.

The Canon D30.

And few, very few have heard about it. Maybe because it was primitive, at a mere 3.4 Megapixels.

But most thought it simply couldn’t do the job. Many, in fact, thought digital was crap and a passing fad. Even the dude who owned our local camera store thought this.

The best thing about this camera was the price. A very reachable $3,500.00 for the body. Not bad considering the next best thing was about twenty grand or so.

By today’s standards I consider this camera, if I were to compare today, on par with a Model T Ford. With a hand crank no less.

But whatever. Back in the day, it was revolutionary. And I bought one, with a Canon 50MM lens.

I was Hasselblad and Nikon. I sold everything I owned. All of it.

Except for my Nikon 105MM lens.

Hey, I needed a portrait lens. So I found a dude in New York who sold Nikon to Canon lens adapters. I was in, in a manual focus way, for $85.00 plus shipping.

Kirk’s story was similar to mine in that he got great results from this camera, in spite of the small file size.

I was pulling off wall portraits the first year I switched.
(see link below for examples)

I had to be able to otherwise I wouldn’t have taken the plunge.

Consistently I was getting great results. While everyone told me I couldn’t. My reply to the nay-sayers, was “bullsh*t, look what I had printed from my dinky little 3.4 MB file.”

Proof’s in the pudding, as they say. It ain’t bragging if you can do it.

My next camera was the Nikon D1x or something like that. A whopping 5.5 MB. Again, I pulled off hundreds, nay, thousands of wall portraits over and over.

If it does the job, it does the job. I prefer to obsess over marketing, than file size.

See samples below….

Yours in photography and success,
Robert Provencher

P.S. Last month I interviewed Kirk. He runs a successful studio in a small town shooting amazing Santa images, cool sports photos and more….Members, login, go here.

Not  a member? no problem.

Below…a few samples from my Canon D30, images that were enlarged, with ease, to over 30 inches….:

Insane moves create insane success

By Leave a Comment

Maggie moved to Canada from Poland when she was only 16.

She attended OCAD, one of our finest art universities and in spite of her lack of English and being in a foreign country, she acquired a degree in art.

When I met her, about 7 years ago, she had been in her own photography business for about 5 years, and most recently took some seriously insane steps.

Even she admits what she had done made no sense, was at the worst time one could imagine, under less than ideal circumstances.

She had two young children at home. A husband. Mortgage, the whole nine yards. What did she do that made everyone around think she completely lost it?

It was 2009, one year after the big economic meltdown, when more people were leaving photography than joining.

Here’s the story of a true renegade.

She mortgaged her home, and paid half  a million dollars into the purchase of a new mall storefront condo.

AND, she drops about an additional 100K in renos.

See, she had a vision. And the passion needed to rise about the nay-sayers and doubters.

One thing she has is passion. More than anyone I ever met. And balls. Great big audacious balls.

When she was guest speaker at my 3 day inferno, two years in a row, everyone in attendance would tell me the same comments:
“I love this lady! By far my favorite speaker.”

Her story is amazing. Her studio is rocking. She’s top of the mountain. And she helps other photographers like as if they are her own children.

This lady is my hero.

And tonight, along with her studio manager Ian Cuthbert, who also has an amazing legacy in the photography industry, they will be judging the noBs Bull Pen Print Show.

Your welcome to join in, watch and learn.

If you want to submit an image or two, it’s PHREE! And you might win #hard-cold-cash

I don’t know if there’s room to submit your images at the late time, but worth  a go.
Don’t delay, it’s only hours away.

DETAILS on registration and submissions.

Hope to see you there.

Yours in photography and success,
Robert Provencher

P.S. Here’s even more about Maggie’s story.

Why I don’t golf…and why I would if I did….

By Leave a Comment

The last time I went golfing I almost killed a dude.

That’s how bad I am.

Besides, I don’t really like the game. I find it odd, like yoga.
(I started yoga last month…what a weird activity that is…more on that later)

Strange, strange stuff…..but it could be me. Who knows.

One thing about golf that is super cool, is the tight feedback loop.

You know instantly if you’re doing ok. Music is the same way.

You hit the ball, it responds with scientific accuracy.

You play a note, it’s either in tune, or not.

You take a photograph….well, maybe it’s ok, maybe it’s not.
Who knows?

So you post it on flakebook. A hundred peeps tell you it’s amazing. You feel good.

Wow….I am a photographer. Look at what I created. Look at the love and admiration.

I’ve said this a million times.

Love it or hate it, it’s about as scientific as you can get in this field: the only feedback
loop that matters in the business of photography is the money.

Show me the money.

Unless, of course, you’re in it for the hobby and therapy, which if perfectly OK.

But if you’re in the biz side of things, the ONLY feedback loop that matters is sales.

Profits. Cash. Sheckles. Don’t fight me on this one. You will lose.

There is no alternative. We live on an economic planet. It’s always been that way.

Don’t like it? Find another planet. Or, take up photography for other reasons.

For me, it’s my passion, and my “job”.

My feedback loop is the profit loss statement. Everyone wins when I win. My wife, my family,
and especially my clients.

They must. They keep coming back.

Yours in photography and success,
Robert Provencher

P.S.Want more information on shooting photographs that sell and marketing your photography business?

HERE