Photo Success

A Place to Grow

Photographing the hockey coach on location

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Hockey is big on our area. Especially Triple A hockey. You can tell when there’s a game on, since most of our downtown will be jammed with vehicles and all parking spots snatched up.

I was hired to shoot the local triple A hockey coach for our local lifestyle mag. They wanted a studio shot. Ugh.I had something else in mind.

Now, this guy did NOT want his pic taken.
When I called him up and scheduled his session, I assured him it would take maximum fifteen minutes.

My hope was, once he showed up at the studio, I could convince him to give me an addition fifteen, but back at the arena. I had a vision and I really wanted to create it.

He said yes. We jumped in our cars and booted out to the arena.

Here’s the area I had in mind at the arena. Got here five minutes ahead of the coach.

I had a small softbox to the left and a kicker light (Nikon SB800 on manual) to the right, on a stand, held by my trusted assistant. Here I am standing in for the coach:

Coach shows up, here’s a pull back shot showing the kicker to the right:

Final shot below.
ISO 800 5.6 at 1/80th of a second. Nikon D800.14-24 2.8 lens at 14mm

Final image used on the front cover. Sadly, they cropped it in a little too much for my taste. It lost some of the “grandeur” that the original image and vision contained.

 

7 Of The Biggest, Baddest, Classic Business Breaking Blunders Photographers Make….(in business)

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Let me get straight to the point…..7 mistakes photographers make.

1- Market Too Soon
This is a newb mistake. They start doing all sorts of marketing, and spending money on ads and other “magic pill” solutions…..when the truth is….their work is crap.
Increase the marketing too fast, and you’re only speeding up the process with which the marketplace finds out how crappy you are.

2-Not Market Enough
Another mistake. Often with established photography studios.
They sit back and think: “Yea, we’re so dam good we don’t need to lower ourselves.”
What a load. It’s all fine until the eventual winds of destiny come blowing into their studio business and all is gone because we sat on our laurels.

Listen, everyone needs to market. Always….publicity, networking, greeting cards, social media, offers, clubs and programs, monthly offers, specials and themed portrait offers, affiliation strategies….

All you need to do is lose the ego, get on the marketing mule and go panning for gold. No one is immune to this.

3-Suffer From Technitis
Way too much focus on gear and processes. ’nuff said.

4-Pursue Wrong Markets
I love the story from my good friend Alicia Birch, from Australia.
I’ve had her pitch in and help me with a few coaching calls, and she told us about how she used to photograph horses. Yes, she made some money.
But not much.

The reality is, it’s not a large market. Sure, she could offer some sessions as horse themed photography sessions, or shoot the occasional show, but to niche in that area is a losing proposition.

5-Copy Cat Syndrome
I call this marketing incest. We see another photog we admire, and do everything like them instead of creating our own style, our own voice.
Our marketing gets dumber, watered down and weaker because of this. Our style doesn’t sing and resonate. Be true to yourself and shine. It takes courage. Brass balls.

6- Lack Big Picture Vision
Michael Gerber wrote one of the best business books of all time…The E Myth. Read it if you haven’t yet.
In it he tells how it’s vital for all businesses to envision what their (photography) business will look like five years from now.
This is a powerful exercise. And it forces us to use our imagination. No one else can do this for us. Only we can.

7-Fail To Treat The Craft Like A Business
This is common. So many don’t get this and it’s likely the number one reason why photography “businesses” fail.
It’s a business. You must make a profit. The final vote goes to the client who opens up their minds and hearts and votes with their wallets….over and over…

Their is no shame in making money.
It’s a business.
Get it?

Get it and you’re on the right track.

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

High speed synch and off camera flash portraits..using the Sony A7R and Sony flash

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Of course, this will work with any brand, Canon, Nikon, or any system that allows high speed synch.The goal is to use flash outdoors in bright light, and set the aperture as wide as possible. This creates a painterly, beautiful soft background with separation and bokeh. Controlling the light is also a benefit by adding reflectors and and over head scrim to “subtract” the light.


ABOVE: Using my Sony A7R, 85MM Batis 1.8 lens, the HVL-F60M Sony flash with small soft box and onboard the camera is the much smaller, but used as commander, Sony HVL- F32 flash, all set to high speed synch.

Shutter speed at 1250th of second. ISO 100 at 2.2


I added  a “canopy” over top. This is inspired by the Fuzzy Duenkel “subtractive” lighting strategy.

And one small reflector, as noted above, on the ground to kick in a little more specular highlights in the eyes.


I talk more in depth on this lighting scenario, and many others, in all my monthly lighting mastermind meetings.

Go here for members access.

Yours in success in photography,

Robert Provencher

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

Webinar with Jeff Lubin

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jefflubin
Image by Jeff Lubin

I heard of Jeff Lubin from Travis and Paula Gadsby over at SilverLake photo backdrops.

If I were able to bring up long last memories of the many conventions I’ve attended, I’m positive there’s one in there where I saw Jeff speak…years ago.

Jeff is 65 years old. He talks about the struggles and challenges of life, like back operations, cancelled travel plans and a 14 year old son with life threatening cancer and the challenges of starting and running one of the most successful portrait businesses in the country.

Give me all the best photographers today, all the hot shots. the Sandy’s, the Gerrys, the Sarahs, the Harringtons..on and on… wrap em all up into one big super hero photographer…..

…and I’d take Jeff Lubin over them all.

Why?

Jeff mainly shares some of the best information on running a professional photography studio I have ever heard.

Ever. Bar none.

Listen, this is good. Sure, we had some technical issues getting this webinar off the ground. It is far from perfect.

But when you deliver amazing, jaw dropping and priceless information, who cares if it gets delivered in a tattered old pizza box someone pulled from a dumpster.

I say that in case any of you take issue with the aesthetics over the pure 24 K gold delivered.

Cool?

Onwards. Be smart and soak this in.

Jeff shares some of the best information you will ever hear, including:

  • what you need first and foremost before you start marketing
  • you know people, you know what you need to do
  • the over all formula and mosaic for success, and how you play a valuable role
  • use pricing that makes sense
  • raw guts, drive and sportsmanship…essential ingredients
  • it’s never ONE thing that makes you successful…it’s a puzzle, a mosaic
  • be adaptable…there’s always opportunity
  • how Jeff changed with the times, even though his core product (timeless classic portraits) didn’t…he remained adaptable, progressive in the face of lower averages, he still managed to pull off an amazing year average sales (you won’t believe this amount when you hear it- I nearly fell off my chair)
  • the biggest challenge when using the best marketing strategy
  • your skills are two sided..intellectual and creative…soft and hard…
  • have game and learn to stand out in the crowd
  • look at yourself in an objective way…Jeff explain this in greater detail
  • fear…the dark side of success and how to use it in a positive way
  • the number ONE strategy that every portrait studio needs to do…it’s universal!
  • stop looking like your selling a “product”
  • ESP doesn’t work very well in marketing:)
  • ” I know people. I know what to do.”
  • There’s opportunity, you need something to sell

Enough said….go take it in now….

.

Robert Provencher

“There’s always money for spinach….”

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“There’s always money for smokes” I told my daughter Danielle the other day.
She was like, uh? I explained that way back, when I was 30, and a smoker, as was my girlfriend at the time, and her dad. He’d say this if cash ran out, and we needed smokes: “There’s always money for smokes.”

It means we’ll find the cash. Cuz’ we need to get our nicotine on. No option.

I told this to Danielle as metaphor that whenever you want something, or need something, whether you actually need it or not, you’ll FIND a way.

It’s that simple.

Nowadays I am much healthier, smoke free, near vegan and making huge ass spinach smoothies every morning. The budget for good food is limitless because health, and smoothies, are what I want.

There’s always money for spinach.

When you know what you want, you get what you want. It’s really that simple.

When Danielle was young, I had a rule: “There’s always money for books.”

Same idea, you get it. I wanted a smart kid.

If there’s one activity that will guarantee you success in life and in your own photography business it’s the effort you put into digging deep into your heart and soul and pulling out a list of meaningful challenges worth pursuing.

In other words, have meaningful goals. Have purpose to your life. Dig deep, kick butt and no excuses.

In this presentation below I reveal to you what I feel in my heart is the most effective ways to break free from the limitations that hold you back. Grab a pen and note pad, turn off your phone and facebook and focus in on this for an hour.

GO HERE and watch, download, get the goal setting PDF form.
It may change your life.
Yours in success in photography,
Robert Provencher