Photo Success

Tools for growing a photography business

One of my favorite all time best seminars…

By Leave a Comment

One of my favorite all time best seminars I personally experienced, first hand, like watching a master of masters in action, was way back when I organized a speaking gig with Al Gilbert.

Al did a live demo on how he shoots, poses, lights and controls a session.

He somehow he had contacted our city mayor to come out on a Sunday so he could demo his portrait strategies, on location, at our city hall.

It was amazing. All I can say. Amazing.

Al knew his stuff. His confidence, assuredness and the way he communicated to us and the subject at hand, was and is to this day one of the most important lessons I have ever learned.

One lighting strategy that Al used is called “subtractive lighting”, where he strategically placed light blockers to prevent certain ambient lighting from polluting the subject.

His exposure was such that the flash and the ambient all played a key role in the final image, which was stunning. But the light needed to be controlled. And control it he did.

This reminded me of Fuzzy Duenkel’s lighting strategies. Fuzzy is primarily a senior portrait artist and in my oh so humble yet accurate opinion the very best there is today.

Why? Well, first off, the results speak for themselves. And lighting control plays a huge part in all of this. Al, and Fuzzy are both masters of controlling light for a certain look and outcome.

You can see it in their work. I can spot it when it’s missing. I can see lack of lighting control a mile away.

Sadly, it’s pervasive in todays day and age of “everyone is a photographer.”

I never met Fuzzy, not in person anywho. But I did rope him in a few years ago to run a four part series online.

Even though I had the fortune of hosting and working with Al Gilbert 18 years ago, and he remains to this day my all time favorite event, I can honestly say my favorite ONLINE event, bar none, was the “Transcend the ordinary” with Fuzzy Duenkel.

Check it out:

A four part, six hour online presentation by Fuzzy Duenkel, one of the best portrait photographers around today.

Lighting is everything. Learn to see, control and master it.
Robert N. Provencher – Your Master Coach Marketer

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

Join us…Content, Coaching & Community

Using the Goddox AD600BM and AD200 on location

By 2 Comments

I like these lights. They feel well made and rugged. Like me.

And I don’t need to get a mortgage or sell my soul. Hopefully they’ll last too. Like me. (not my hair)

I bought the Goddox AB600BM, which is 100% manual, and softbox, to use on families, weddings and shoots like the one I’m showing you in this post.

It’s an amazing system. All radio signal controlled from the camera. Even though the 600 is not the TTL version, I prefer dialing in my output and figuring out exposure from the camera. It’s a fast, easy and versatile system.

One thing I do wish it had was the ability to switch to optical slave when needed. Why? If the radio thingie quits, I could manually fire these using an old school on camera flash or similar. I acquired a second “back up” transmitter…just in case.

The 200 I purchased back in May. Sorta my foray into this flash system.

 

 

*************************************************************

Back in April during the Lighting Mastermind we talked about the Goddox system, specifically the 200. For members HERE

Last week I dug deeper into using the newly acquired 600BM and showed you many examples from real paying gigs using real paying clients….families, executive…mostly families. That replay is HERE

Here’s a summary of the executive shoot. The set up…

The results:

Before shooting I had my assistant, Brent, aka the grunt, check on the reflection while firing the main.

These were shot outside, sorta in open shade. High speed synch with a very wide aperture around 2.8. Using the 85mm 1.8 Batis lens created a smooth and much desired background. Shutter speed? Who knows. It was plenty fast to let me hand hold and I simply “dialed in” the best speed for ambient light exposure. All possible with the high speed synch feature.

I love this system, plain and simple.

A few more from this shoot and a few other family shoots that I dug into during the July Lighting Mastermind presentation.
More to come…stay tuned.

Robert N. Provencher – Your Master Coach Marketer

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

Join us…Content, Coaching & Community

 

“The weasel clause…”

By Leave a Comment

No one likes a misleading pitch. I don’t. And try my best to avoid being using weasal clauses or acting like one….the KEY: good, clear communication.
And Bob pointed this out.
An email I received from Bob:
 
“Hi Rob, It’s annoying when you provide a link to a video and I go to it and get an OOPs message.   It would not be annoying if you mentioned it’s a members only replay.
 
IMO you’d have a much better chance of getting new members if you made more media samples available so that prospects can evaluate the benefits with some degree of confidence.
 
Best regards, Bob Flanagan”

My reply:

“Bob yea, I know….and I struggle with this.

Me, the first guy to nag others when they get “weasly”….which I come close to being when I do this….:):)

I am sending out an email on Monday, and going to quote you (if you’re ok with me doing so that is)…and, the link, with replay, added….

You can  get access to it here

Rob”

There you go…..AGAIN, click here

***************************************************

NOTE: This is happening in TWO days:
Special Presentation- Secrets to building, creating, selling and promoting Enchanted Fairy, Ice Fairy & Medieval Themed Sessions

Robert N. Provencher – Your Master Coach Marketer
“If you want to be a profitable and successful photographer, then study profitable and successful photographers.”

Join us…Content, Coaching & Community

How to get a free full page ad for your photography studio…

By 2 Comments

This is not the first time I scored free advertising in bigger media outlets in our city. I’ve acquired full page ads in magazines, newspapers and most recently a full page 8.5″ x11″ ad in  a local real estate mag. This ads are typically very expensive, sometimes running into thousands of dollars for a full page version.

I did get lucky, but I’ll take it. I believe in getting out in the community and giving. A lot. As much as you can. I find many photogs get pigheaded over this one.

What happened for me recently is a guy started a ballroom dance event. You know, chacha, waltz, foxtrot and such. (For the record, my wife and I are dance school dropouts.)

This even was a fund raiser, for kids with cancer. I think it was more a showcase for the dancers, which it was. It appears dancers are very passionate, and love dancing. Especially when in a crowd.

So Len, the guy who started it, contacted me to see if I wanted to set up a drop, lights etc and shoot on spec. I thought about it, and came back with a better idea. “Why not give me an area to display at, feed me and my wife, and I’ll shoot all the dancers in action, and give everyone the files.”

Done. It was  huge success. Why didn’t I go with his suggestion? Think about it. There were 16 dancers. I’ll go in, bring all my lights, a huge drop, and see if anyone wants to pay me for pics. Ugh. I’d rather go back to dance school.

My ultimate suggestion was, in my oh so humble yet accurate opinion, was a much better solution. Win win all the way, and we got a great meal out of it. Not to mention all that publicity.

I love helping out in our community too. Meeting so many people, getting face time, and displaying my work. That, and Len was so grateful, he gave me a full page ad in his real estate magazine. (yes, that’s his full time, day time job and business.)

You can see some of the images I shot from this event. And the actual ad I ran….
I spoke in greater detail on this subject in the December Mastermind presentation…. replay available HERE for members.

 

Next year will be even better…..just watch.

Yours in success and in photography,

Rob

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

“I’m in 4K-HD-720p-3D-HDR-ADHD mode….”

By Leave a Comment

Trends come and go.

I ask myself, whenever a new trend pops up from the most recent
pop photo fad, these questions:

*Will it make me money?
*Will it help my photography business grow?
*Will it in some way enhance the service I provide to my clients?
*and in turn improve their experience with our photo studio?
*which will in turn bring in more profits?

It was in that spirit that I jokingly replied to a question from my daughter, and her boyfriend,
while we were out on a photo excursion last week….(I forget the question, matters not….)….:

I replied: “I’m in 4K-HD-720p-3D-HDR-ADHD mode….”

Laughs all around.

The implication being, when in such and such a mode, or when using such
and such a technique, or piece of equipment, your images will look sssooooo much better.

Photography fundamentals, like business fundamentals, don’t really change much.

I teach a Photography 101 class for serious amateurs locally, and I drive this point home
over and over….”We’re painting with light.”

Learn to see the light, the tones and composition. Never mind the other stuff.

The same ideas, my friend, applies to business.

You don’t need to find some 4K-HD-720p-3D-HDR-ADHD mode for your marketing. There ain’t none.

The same rules apply, have applied for centuries and likely will for many more.

Photography marketing, all marketing, all industries, is about targeting a market.
A hungry crowd, so to speak.

Create a message, a package, an offer, a pitch, a brand, a something that makes their mouths water.

And deliver that message. Sell the dam thing.

Yours in photography and success,
Robert Provencher

P.S. Dollar for  dollar, pound for pound, you won’t find more real-life, from the
trenches content than the NoBs Photo Success™ Inner Circle Members
Forum. No Hype. No fluff. No egos. No prima-donnas.

P.P.S. The NEXT BUll PEN is in the books… December 21, 9:00PM EST…all are welcomed.
Amazing world class critiques. WIN CASH….DETAILS

P.P.P.S….Members ONLY….Kirk Saint, an amazing, high energy, ubber focused, highly skilled photographer
is our next Frontline presentation guest…. Monday, 8:00PM EST December 19th….DETAILS

Announcing- Advanced Training with Fuzzy Duenkel

By 2 Comments

ban1

ANNOUNCING: Fuzzy Duenkel Advanced Training

Transcend the ordinary.

It’s been said that lighting is everything. And that lighting is infinitely complex, and crazy simple, all at once.

One thing is certain. In portrait photography having control over your lighting and creating images that sell based on your lighting abilities can make all the difference in whether or not your create a steady demand for your photography.

And profits. After all, isn’t that the bottom line? Profits. Success.

Creating stunning portraits is all about good lighting. Created consistently, over and over…CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS