This video is another response to a reader question: how do I make a portfolio? This was planned as a quick video but that just didn’t do the topic justice. It was better to roll the camera just a bit longer, I thought, and here’s the result.

While the internet is primarily used for initial review of a portfolio, most commercial clients (or photographers hiring assistants) also want to see a print “book”. It’s an effective way to view a photographer’s attention to detail and presentation. I show a few …

At the core of the photography business, whether it’s taking photographs or running the business end of things, my job is to be a problem-solver for the client. In order for me to solve their problems I need to ask questions. In this post I’ll mention three questions I find important to ask any new client. These inquiries naturally lead to other conversation. My job is to carefully listen and interpret what the client is really asking for.
As I’ve mentioned a few times, I then write down our conversation in …

Portrait and wedding photographers usually have a price list. Want to know how much something costs? It’s there on the price list. Public relations photographers may charge by the hour. For commercial photographers it can get a bit more complicated because most every job is different. Sometimes it’s hard to know where to start and what questions to ask.

Last week I referred to Blinkbid software and how it greatly aids thinking through a job. Here’s a screen capture from the soon-to-be-released new version. How ’bout those numbers?

Most of our clients …

What’s involved in delivering professional photography? There are a core group of services we provide on most every job. I thought it might be interesting to show you what services we charge for on most every commercial photography job. This is the basic “skeleton” of charges. If stylists, props, rentals, etc., are needed then that all gets added and a 10-15% markup is tacked on for handling, facilitating and carrying costs. These are the basic core group of services that our photo studio provides.

I want to say that I used …

In high school I had a great class called “consumer decisions”. In that class we learned all sorts of practical things including defining purchasing decisions as either “wants, needs or desires”. Do you want, need or desire a new camera? When is it time to actually buy?
I’ve probably mentioned before that it’s much easier for me to make a purchase decision for my business than for myself. A business purchase must go through pretty defined justifications, including (primarily) return on investment (in other words, making money). By looking at the …

Today I’d like to share a letter from a reader. Questions like this are always welcome and they give genuine purpose to what I hope to accomplish with prophotolife.com. This young man is the future of the profession…
Hi, my name is Matthew,
I’m 17 years old, and a Junior in High School.
I’ve been taking Graphic Editing and Graphic Design classes for a few years, and photography has caught my interest. I love cameras, I think they’re incredible. I started saving up for a Canon Rebel XTi, and I should have …

If you’ve read all of the business responsibilities sections and are still with me then it’s obvious you really want to be a professional photographer. There’s no way around it, if you’re going to survive (and thrive) in business then you have to understand how business works, whether you’re running a bakery or a photo studio.
All of this learning doesn’t happen overnight, it’s a process. My particular process has involved a lot of mistakes, I readily admit. I’ve taken chances and made some bad decisions, things I’m lucky to …