business to business sharing | Queen Creek Photography

I’m so confused, please help me understand… why would somebody NOT want to share business info?  Here is what I mean:

ME:  Hi, Mr. Retailer.  Can you let me know where you get your suckers?

Retailer: Ummm, no.

ME:  (completely baffled)  I am curious to know why you wouldn’t want to help another business grow.  I am interested in giving those suckers to photography clients.  I am not selling them (and then my mind went on to say, “and this is not what you business is about so why do you care?  people don’t come here to buy suckers, they come for what your core business is about.  those suckers are an after thought.”

Retailer: well, I order them for the store in bulk and the company is not interested in new clients.

I began to ask more and more questions so that I could narrow my search to find those suckers.  So, instead of giving me the name of the company, I learned all that I need to know about the company to find out who the company was.  Like a game of Guess Who?  Anyhow, when I hung up the phone, I found the manufacturer within 2 minutes.  I called-yes they love new clients and they like anybody want to be profitable and see success!

Why do people NOT want to share?  Isn’t that how we get ahead in the long run?  In any business, we can share!  There is so much to learn from one another.  We all have our own tweaked version but knowledge is power.  I love to learn and I love to share. 

Being fairly new to the business of photography, I found THIS ARTICLE to be so helpful and inspiring.  What a wonderful woman to want to SHARE what she knows and has learned.  I find tidbits like this, ideas for growth, ideas for success and support and I feel inspired to reach out myself (until I run across someone who doesn’t want to share the information about suckers).

We all learn that you need to give to get ahead.  What is a way that you can be remarkable in your business?  

I have to share something…  I learned today how important it is to be charging taxes and paying transaction privilege taxes on a monthly basis (to avoid problems along with late penalties).  You can find out more at AZtaxes.gov.  I filed for my TPT license which means I am officially and truly in business.  I am for real.  : )  I am a real business.  : )  The picture is to illustrate what it feels like to not know what to do about taxes and how to charge and what to file.  BUT ah-hah, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Images on disk… sitting on your shelf

So, you hired a professional photographer.  Why?  Maybe you wanted awesome photos that you are unable to do all by yourself, or you wanted to be in the photos, or everybody else is doing it, or you want some new wall art, or you want to capture memories, etc.  Then, you couldn’t decide which photos you wanted because you loved several of them.  Since you couldn’t decide (and maybe you weren’t sure of what to do with them) you bought the disk (because certainly you made sure prior to the appointment that the photographer would sell the disk to you-an important feature for you!).  So, you have the disk now, Yabba Dabba Doo!  But three months later, you still only have the disk, yippee.  Then that busy time passed so now you are determined to do SOMETHING with those images but another 6 weeks pass.  Now your budget has been allocated in another direction, you forgot about the disk and found it sitting on the shelf when cleaning out your work station.  It has now been 6+ months since the photo session and you open the disk.  You are disappointed to realize that your family has changed: youngest grew, you lost weight, you are planning on another baby soon, and you are moving.  The pictures that you once loved and paid lots of money for have lost personal value and are now not as exciting.  The work that goes into getting everything ordered seems overwhelming and time consuming.  As a matter of fact, in order to get the next Christmas cards out, you will be scheduling a new photo session in 3 months.  So, now you wonder, “What is the point?”

Ever heard of the books  Choose Your Own Adventure?  Want to play that way where I state different endings and you choose which one you want to follow?  If the above scenario isn’t exactly your situation BUT you do have a disk of images on your shelf, than this is for you!

This is a digital world.  I understand that!  Everyone wants digital copies of their images, me included.  But what I have yet to figure out is WHY?  Why do we want them?  Do we have the intention of ordering prints?  Making a book?  Putting them in the safe deposit box, reviewing them in years to come?  I am sure that everybody’s “why” is different.  So, help me think through the print reason.  So, you purchase the disk (which was in excess of $300) and you are heading to a inexpensive print place and you’re going to get 5 prints (that is all you really have room for).  So, now you have paid for the whole disk and the prints.  You forgot about the cost of framing…  I wonder if you would have saved money to just order the 5 prints, mounted or framed and ready to hang?  I realize that it is difficult to walk away from or NOT purchase the disk because it has EVERYTHING!  All the images, good and bad, from your experience.  It provides the outtakes from the photo session!  It has images that you may never print but you liked them.  I am guilty for this very thing, which led me to write this.  I loved several images.  I couldn’t decide.  I bought the disk and now my disk sits on my desk.  I used two images on my Christmas card but please tell me that I didn’t pay that much for two images on a Christmas card that now sits in everyone’s trash cans.  Something to think about!

This year, I am including a free Pre-Session Consultation.   We will discuss important things such as clothing and location but also we will talk about what the heck you want to do with your photos so you know what you want. I don’t want a photo session to mean spending lots of money and doing nothing with the money you spent.  (I actually get disheartened when I know that the photos I felt passionate about and was excited to see hanging on your walls are still on a disk on a shelf.)  I want to see the walls you want to adorn.  Maybe you need updated business cards, greeting cards, books and albums, etc. then we will discuss that as well.  I want it to be a custom experience for you-something that you haven’t experienced in the past.

Have you ever thought through all this before?  Do you call up a photographer, make an appointment without being completely certain of what you need the photos for?  You just know you need them because it’s been a year or more…  and maybe you need Christmas cards.  Or do you call knowing that you need four 16×16 photos to hang in the new baby room and a cluster of family photos for your mantel?

So, let’s go back up to Choose Your Own Adventure…  You hired a photographer -I’ll be presumptuous and say its me : )-because you wanted to be in the photos with your family and you couldn’t do them all by yourself.  (this time you had a pre-session consultation).  You can’t decide on which photos you love (and seemingly want them all again) but then you remember the plan…  you stick to your plan and select the images that you will be hanging in your home, the image for your Christmas card, a portrait box to showcase ALL your photos from the session and order a session slideshow so you can still cherish all the memories.  You place the order and sit back and let me do all the work.  (that’s the nice part)  Your products are in hand, pictures hung, and you play the DVD over and over again with your family and any unsuspecting visitors.  The DVD is getting so much more use than a disk of images.  You have accomplished the things you set out to do when you hired a photographer.  The best part, you stayed within your budget and spent your money on exactly what you wanted. 

OR, you can’t decide on which photos so you purchased the disk and decided to take care of all your own prints.  Several weeks later, you still haven’t placed the order.  : )  You think of a plan but have yet to put the plan in action.  I’m just sayin’  ; )

Costco revealed

Let’s have this discussion.  By no means am I discounting the work that Costco does.  They have fabulous prices, quick turn times and its local.  If inexpensive, quick and location are the most important to you than I’m not sure that anything beats Costco!  I do want to address some of the differences and things to consider.  This is strictly informational…  If you are the type that wants your images on disk for the purpose of ordering your own prints than this information will be helpful! 

First, let’s discuss color/quality.  Most photographer’s workspace (i.e. monitor) is calibrated and set up to produce the widest spectrum of colors, according to the professional lab they use.  If we are not sending our work to Costco, we probably aren’t loaded with the proper profiles for Costco.  So, here’s what happens… you get an image on a disk, upload the picture to Costco and pick them up and something looks weird! Your colors may be off and cause some funny looking clothing or other funny looking important features, like skin!   Professionals want their photos to look their very best, wouldn’t you?  Sometimes, you may not know the difference if you haven’t seen prints from a lab next to prints (ordered incorrectly) from Costco.  “If I can’t see the difference, then who cares.”  You are right to think this but let me help you understand the other side of the story with an analogy.  Purses… there are name brand purses and knock off purses.  If you are the maker or purchaser of the name brand purse, you certainly know the difference between them.  OR, how about handmade gifts compared to the same item purchased?  You can see the difference, especially if you did the work.  Photographers work hours on images-HOURS- and if it doesn’t look the same in print, we notice.  Prints are the photographer’s reputation!  It is the final product, the masterpiece per se. If you are going to use Costco for printing services, let your photographer know so the color space and any particular profiles can be set properly.  Photographers simply want the image (in its final destination) looking its best.  If the colors are too harsh, too dark, or catawampus in any way, it is a disservice to the photographer.  So, please make sure your photographer knows of your intentions so proper steps can be taken to get as close as possible to the way the images is supposed to look.

Second, let’s talk about products-Costco is definitely making progress in this arena, but nowhere close to a reputable print lab.  But Costco’s main focus is not prints.  What they DON’T OFFER is mounting services (standout, gallery wrap, and float wraps) different printed press papers (pearl, metallic, fine art velvet, fine art watercolor, art recycled, art linen, bonded canvas, etc.) and textures.  Different papers and textures make a HUGE difference in your wall art!  If you want large wall prints from Costco, they only do 16×20 or 20×30 AND they will be printed as a poster.  It isn’t technically a photo, hmmm… 

In the pictures below, you will see the first photo is a gallery wrap (Costco is now doing a version of this), the second photo shows the edges of a float wrap and a standout, the third photo is the same in a different angle, and the fourth is a better picture of a float wrap and standout.  (All of these mounted products are of wonderful quality and the best part is that they come ready to hang!)    

So, if you are the type that wants your images on disk and then loads the pictures to Costco, only to pick up prints and never do anything with them (or worse, never doing anything with the disk) because you forgot about framing and all the costs and time involved then something arriving ready to hang might be the best option for you.  Many photographers even work with frames so you may be able to chose your print and frame and then simply wait for its arrival… then hang it!

Third, I’ll address time.  Sometimes the ordering process, expense/cost research, image set-up and ordering takes time, lots of it.  If you are not seasoned with these things, consider how much your time is worth!   It could take in excess of three hours to research options and costs, decide where you want it printed, load and set-up the image and then make your way through their ordering system.  Personally, I have worked through ordering systems and spend many a nights figuring the ins and outs.  I’m just sayin’… 

OH, and the assumption that a professional print lab takes FOREVER is incorrect!  (Now granted, Costco’s small print service takes just a few hours but you have to go pick it up.)  Personally, the lab I use has orders to me oh so quickly-I love it.  The orders come right to me (or I can ship them to you).  Convenience is a beautiful thing.

Fourth, but not least COST.  Professional labs have quality papers and machines that are always tested and calibrated, they cater to pros and only know prints-that is all they do!  I would say that color and quality is unmatched when using a reputable professional lab.  BUT, excellent quality comes with a price.  In order to determine if the higher cost adds more value for you, think of these things: How long will you have the photos on display? Where will they be displayed?  Who will be viewing them?  Who is in the photos?  Who took the photos? What kind of paper do you want? What finished look/mounting do you want? How much extra time do you have?

I hope this has helped in some sort of way.  I want to restate that I am not discounting what Costco provides!  There are too many people wondering why they would pay the cost for print products from a professional lab, or pay a photographer’s print prices and this is a brief and personal explanation.  Professional labs may not make sense for you, your needs, and/or your budget.  In any case, please consider the quality and color specifications, the products, the time and the cost in your print decisions! 

Next post will be about my pre-session consultation.  I’m excited about this additional to my process!  It will help us sort through things like what is mentioned above…  Stay tuned.  : )

You say its your birthday

I just finished making these last night at Scrapbooks, Etc. in Mesa.  I started off the year being super excited about birthdays for my clients’ kids.  BUT, since I didn’t get started before January 1st, I am simply behind.  I had fun incorporating my colors and making them a bit more fun than a card-ish card.  : )  So, if you have given me your kids’ birthday, shout hooray! because your little darling will be getting his/her personal note in the mail with something super special inside!  I can’t tell you the secret but I hope your kids will like it!  Sorry to all the January birthdays… I am sending them today!

Feedback

I need help with this blog.  I would love feedback on this new site/blog.  What do you think?  What can I improve? What is great and what is terrible?

In the meantime, I will be reviewing some of my favorites from 2009. 

Kade is hilarious, can you tell?  I have every pose/emotion from him documented but this one was it for me!  He was just a goof and showed his true colors.  His mom is going to smother his room (or the stairwell-not sure what she decided) with fun pictures and this may not make the cut since he had so many funny ones.  I love the peace symbol shadowed on his face, along with his serious demeanor.  It’s like he is saying, “Peace, or else!”