To kick things off with a bang, I always greet new clients with excitement. Weddings are a really exciting time for couples and I want to contribute to the enthusiasm. After the boring contract business is done, I want to make sure the excitement builds right away. I take time to send couples an email right away. I greet them with honest excitement. After all, I really am excited to be working with them and to start a new relationship. This kind of opening helps reassure any client that they made the right decision. The news is filled with sensationalized wedding horror stories, so reassuring your clients can make a big difference.

A week later, I follow-up with step two. No, I don’t send them some FAQ document or more things “deal” with. Instead, I send them a simple gift, and the gift is something personal to me. A core component of my brand is the idea of a “gift,” so offering my clients something at the beginning really helps to under-score my brand.

If this concept sounds right for you, but you feel it might be too expensive, you’re be over-thinking it. The gift I offer is small and inexpensive. What’s important is that the gift is personal to me. So how did I arrive at this specific gift?

• I often greet clients in my home-office with fresh cookies. It’s just a great way to start a meeting!
• The sweet treats are a specific memory from my youth that I am excited to share. Hopefully, this creates a personal connection.
• Last, I want to underscore my gratitude with personalized thank you note.

In the future, I will be adding some more components that will allow the welcome gift to be personal to my clients as well. Are sweet treats not right for you? All that’s needed to come up with something unique and personal to you is a small time investment.

On a completely random note, business has been growing by leaps and bangs lately. So much so that the shipping department needed a new employee. I recently added “Hector” to the staff I expect he will improve productivity. And yes, I do name inanimate objects around the office. Weird, but that’s me.

See y'all soon,
Hunter

The Bride and Groom are the stars at any wedding. All of the vendors then orbit around their gravity to form the wedding event. As a photographer, I’m a small part of the wedding solar system. Every satellite in the team has to do a great job with beautiful synchronicity to create an amazing wedding for our clients. Team work is crucial, and so is giving thanks. As just a small part of any wedding, I should be thankful to all the vendors who keep the wedding running and looking amazing. The day of the wedding, I make sure to personally thank anyone I can find. I also like to follow-up later with a more substantial thank you.

The follow-up really helps to cement my heart-felt appreciation, but it also pays additional benefits. It gives me a chance to market my business (albeit slyly) and to strengthen my brand with others. All of this will help me to find and work with my perfect clients. Whenever possible, I try to include a little gift for the vendor.

Including an album for the vendor is a perfect choice. It communicates the quality of my work – but also the quality of the vendors. When done right, albums can be effective and affordable-ish. I deliberately choose images that reflect the vendor’s best work. I make sure these are printed large and get attention. I also make sure to use the vendors name and logo in the layout. The rest I fill in with great photos showing the happy couple. Collectively the album is about the vendor. But it is also about my work.

I package each album nicely and in a manner consistent with my branding. I then take the time to hand-write a very personal thank you note. Both of these actions ensure I am remembered as a person and as a business – separately. I want them to remember that it was nice working with me. I want them to say “you should hire Hunter Photographic”. Hopefully the difference between those two points is clear.

I don’t create a personalized album for every vendor. Instead, I start by picking the ones who’ve done an amazing job. After all, I want to work with a great team. Second, I also consider vendors who seek a similar client as myself. This helps to ensure I find the right clients in the future. Unfortunately, I don’t have the time or resources to send a personalized thank you to everyone. Instead of doing something small for many, I do something big for a few.

Why go to all this trouble? Here are a few reasons -

• Brand recognition and distinction
• Increased marketing reach
• More contact with the type of couples I love
• Giving thanks feels great and it’s the right thing to do!

So that was my chore today. I’m excited for two reasons. First, some friends will receive gorgeous gifts that they deserve this week. Second, I’m also excited for what the future could hold. I’m definitely looking forward to new doors opening.

See y'all soon,
Hunter

In the guide, I discuss a few topics critical to starting a successful wedding photography business. Key point include correcting for the inevitable mistakes, creating a cohesive brand, and building your site for solid SEO performance (that’s Google, y’all). I highly recommend getting a copy for yourself. I plan to read it cover-to-cover tonight.

But wait, there’s more! When PhotoShelter interviewed me for the guide, we talked for a solid hour. The whole process has been a pleasure. However, there were a couple tips I forgot to include during the interview. To provide additional benefit, I though I would include the additional information right here.

Are you absolutely certain?
Photography can sound like a wonderful career. People have visions of running all over the world photographing amazing clients in beautiful locations. But that’s not how it works. In reality, photography is tough. It doesn’t pay well and you have to work very long hours. Of the hours you do work, very few are actually spent capturing photographs. The balance of the time is spent running a business, caring for your clients, editing photos, and really boring stuff like….taxes!

So ask yourself this – must I become a professional photographer to be happy? If you like your job well enough and enjoy time with your family, consider remaining a very serious amateur. There is nothing wrong with being the best damn amateur photographer ever. However, if you are chasing a vision in your head that you can’t get out, then maybe it is time to become a pro. One commonality among the professionals I know is an insatiable drive to capture a certain vision again and again. It’s not something they can let go.

It’s a vision thing
Being a master at business and client relations is important, but when it comes to any creative pursuit, you need a solid vision that defines your work. Developing this vision is like developing a muscle – it needs work each and every day. Here are some initial steps I took to hone my personal vision -

• Use a tool like Google reader to build a large collection of work that speaks to you. Google reader is a great tool for curating work from other photography blogs.
• Over time, decide which of the collected works really speak to you. Eliminate all those that don’t.
• Hone the remaining list down to those that share common visual themes. What you like creatively will begin to stick out.
• With your list of “visionaries” in mind, take the style you have curated and make it your own. Add your personal touch.

The above is not something that has an ending. It’s a muscle you must constantly exercise.

It’s always personal
The saying “it’s just business” makes my skin crawl. Who could think such a thing?! Business is, and should be, very personal. Build your photography or creative business around relationships. Serve your clients well and constantly surprise them. Show them you care about more than just their work. Demonstrate that you care for them as people. As I mention in the guide, a core component to my brand is that I want my clients to feel as though they were given a gift. This is a critical part of what I do for my clients – and it’s deeply personal for me and for them.

That’s all for today. Definitely checkout the guide. Also, stop back here often. I will be adding much more content for photographers very soon. Until then, you can keep up with our current work on Facebook.

See y'all soon,
Hunter

Many thanks to Gina from Shi Shi Events for planning such an amazing wedding and working with TheKnot.com. Also, thanks to the fine people at Plantscaping for providing the amazing floral arrangements designed just for Ethan and Jamie.

The issue is hitting news stands now (going to get mine today), but you can see the feature article below. The featured wedding was for Jamie and Ethan, two of my favorite people. They had such an amazing and beautiful wedding. Elsewhere on the site, you can also see some more of Jamie & Ethan’s wedding photos. Looking forward, this year’s weddings are off to a great start with some amazing results. I’m certain many more magazine and blog features will be in our future.

See y'all soon,
Hunter

The above quote applies because I was doing things the same old way. When I started, I designed my own business card and found a cheap printer. $19.99 for 1000 business cards is a good deal right? I also created a contract and some brochures in Microsoft Word and print those myself. It all looked kinda professional. Looking professional worked a little, but there was a problem.

I am not a designer…despite my wild imagination! Furthermore, I jumped head-long into creating a “brand” before I considered who I am or who I wanted for clients. The lack of a considered approach really showed. It was time for a fresh start.

The first step was the hardest, but the most crucial as well. I had to consider who I was and who I wanted for clients. A photographer’s brand must speak eloquently to both purposes. Defining this core message was really just a thought exercise, but a tough one. Each idea had to be carefully considered and weighed. Through the process, I asked myself questions such as -

• Imagine your new brand – what feelings, objects, ideas or people would you associate with the brand?
• Think of yourself – what 3 words describe your work the best?
• What are the characteristics of people with whom you want to work?

Only after the above concepts were defined (and a million others) did I feel comfortable moving to the next step. I’m smart enough to know I needed professional help (in more ways than one). Maria Pastore joined the project as a professional designer and business branding ninja. She brought a creative eye for print, which was important. She also brought a great ear for messaging. With a well developed message in hand, Maria and I set out to create some key branding materials including a new company name, business cards, website design and client package. Collectively we realized that the following ideas were critical to the overall message and brand -

• The services and brand should feel like a gift
• The design had to be approachable, modern and with hints of classic elegance
• The color palette should be warm and inviting
• Feel was important, so papers should be tactile and rich
• Handmade quality, as with all my work, is paramount

Next was sourcing materials and choosing printing providers. Do you know how many types of paper there are? It’s gotta be about a gazillion! I won’t bore you with the details, but let’s say the results are amazing. The letterpress business cards are to die for. When handed over, every clients gently feels and studies the card. That is how I know we accomplished our goal.

A well-defined and meaningful brand works. The clients who choose my work are exactly the people I want to work with. They are some of the most extraordinary people and I am forever grateful for them. I am also forever thankful for Maria….even when she tells me “bad idea, Home Boy!” (I made that last bit up). The above information should not make branding sound easy. I could have written volumes on the subject, but chose to keep it short.

Below you can see just a small preview of the outcome. With this level of quality, my brand will be my heirloom.

Above, letterpress business cards nestled among the building blocks for the client package. Below, hand-stamped cover tags for each package (they take forever to make).

Below is the finished client package, folded tightly and sealed with a love knot.

The front cover of the client package. In the background are the assorted contents ready for stuffing in the dutch felt folders.

What clients see when they first open the gift, err package.

Soon I will have some more information about my brand development experience. I also have a piece coming about our new Heirloom and Whistler wedding albums. They are truly amazing and the best quality imaginable. Make sure to stop back. In the mean time, stop by Facebook or Twitter to say hello.

See y'all soon,
Hunter

Holds more than you think - the soft-sided Think Tank Retrospective 20

What it’s not

Before I discuss all the great things the Think Tank Retrospective 20 does well, you have to understand what this bag is not supposed to be. If you confuse the purpose of this camera bag, then you will be disappointed. However, if you understand the niche this bag fills, then you will be elated. Well, very happy at least.

The Retrospective line of camera bags (in sizes 10, 20, and 30) are not general purpose camera bags. Nor are they good bags for travel or storage since they lack reasonable padding or secure zip or clip closures. The Retrospective bags are not great at carrying laptops with cameras. Lastly, while they hold a lot of gear, they are not intended to hold everything a professional photographer needs.

Carrying capacity for the Think Tank Retrospective 20 - D700 with grip, D300, 70-200mm f/2.8 with hood reversed, 24-70mm f/2.8, 14-24mm f/2.8 with hood extended, SB-800 speedlight, spare batteries, memory cards, rain cover, iPhone and car keys with room to spare.

So why are they so special?

The Retrospective bags fill one niche really well – they are the perfect “shoot sack” for working photographers. I cannot tell you how perfect this bag is for comfortably carrying a moderate amount of gear nearly all day long. With the right gear loaded, the Retrospective 20 sits comfortably on the hip with the strap across your shoulder. The strap is built tough, but more on that later.

If you must stuff the Retrospective bag full, have a look at the picture above. The Retrospective 20 can hold all of that photography gear with room to spare. YES, two camera bodies with one grip and three fast lenses. However, I recommend carrying less in the Retrospective 20. In fact, I am wary of the larger Retrospective 30. Carrying too much in either bag is uncomfortable and wears on the shoulders regardless of the excellent strap. For my purpose as a wedding and portrait photographer, the Retrospective 10 is a little small. Then again, I just carry too much gear.

So, simply put – a perfect bag to load up with gear you need access to quickly and often. Perfect for working wedding or portrait photographer, especially when working on location. Definitely not designed to be a travel bag. For travel and storage, move your gear to a well padded and secure bag and simply take the Retrospective 20 along for on-location duty.

Comfortable capacity for the Think Tank Retrospective 20

With gear reduced to what I really need, as seen above, the Retrospective 20 wears well and feels comfortable across one shoulder. However, you can still see that it holds a lot. Leaving out the extra camera body and knick-knacks gives me the right gear and comfort level, especially with a camera and lens in hand leaving the bag partially empty.

If you typically just work with two lenses, say a fast normal and telephoto zoom, then you may be able to get away with the smaller Think Tank Retrospective 10. Personally, I like a little more space in case I need to squeeze in extra gear. Also, all three Retrospective bags can hold an iPad or small laptop in the outer-back zipped pocket. Keeping something large and ridged in this pocket makes it sit uncomfortably on the hip. Leave the laptop or iPad a travel/storage bag.

Spacious internals of the Think Tank Retrospective 20

Retrospective 20 filled with a comfortable gear load - One camera with grip, three fast lenses, speedlight and accessories.

Packed up with a comfortable load, the bag does not wear very “thick” at the waist. My arms move comfortably around the bag when I am walking distances. The bag can slip behind the thigh and stay put while walking – much more so than a single camera hanging from a rapid strap. It simply stays at my back and does not flop around much.

Features make the bag

Features will make or break a decent bag. Fortunately, Think Tank does features better than any other professional camera bag company. I also own the Think Tank Airport Security and have looked at Think Tank’s entire line-up. They all come with thoughtful and useful features, including the Retrospective line of bags.

Retrospective 20 camera bag inner front pocket with the closure flap tucked away for "silent mode"

First, the inner-front pocket seen above has the right amount of well-sized mini pockets. The pockets are great for holding the typical small accessories a professional photographer needs. You can see the Think Tank label in the picture above. That is a flap to secure the inner-front pocket closed. If you don’t want the loud velcro RRRRIIIIPPPP during a wedding ceremony, the flap will secure to the side leaving the pocket open. In fact, all of the velcro flaps can be put into “silent mode.”

The inner-rear pocket of the Retrospective 20 features a zipper closure with a soft cloth pull tab.

The inner-back pocket is one deep well and secures with a zipper. Grabbing the zipper is made easy by the large cloth pull attached to the zipper head. The cloth pull is nice since it won’t scratch or wear photo gear inside the bag, especially LCD screens.

Dual "speedlight" pockets are included on each side of the Retrospective 20 camera bag.

Each side of the bag has a pocket that secures with a velcro flap. These two inner-side pockets seem tailor made to hold speedlights, even the giant Nikon SB-900. The flaps can be secured so the pockets stay open in “silent mode.” Even though these pockets seem designed for speedlights, I prefer to keep my speedlight in the front-outer pocket. This leaves more room inside the bag, enabling fast and easy lens changes.

The best feature - silent velcro. In the velcro in one position the top flap secures. In the other, the velcro won't engage. Brilliant!

Above you can see what I mean by “silent mode”. This is the main flap that flips over the top to secure the entire bag closed. On this flap, you can secure the velcro in “silent mode” so that it does not seal when the main flap is shut. This feature enables silent access to the bag, especially nice during wedding ceremonies. For a wedding photographer, this silent feature is a real dream.

I mentioned at the top this bag is not for general purpose storage and especially not for traveling. The main flap only secures with the velcro. There are no clips or zippers and little padding. Because of this, I do not recommend the bag for gear storage or travel. I use the Think Tank Airport Security to house my lighting gear and a well-padded LowePro backpack for camera gear storage or travel. If you recognize the Retrospective 20′s on-location niche, this should not be an issue. Think of it as a bag supplement.

Then again – bags are like crack to professional photographers. We can never have enough bags.

Comfortable strap - the Retrospective 20 has a well padded and adjustable strap which features anti-slip rubber pads on the bottom

Built tough - the strap anchor points on the bag continue down the sides and under the bottom for security

The last feature worth mentioning is the strap. Again, it is very well designed with the professional photographer in mind. The shoulder pad has three main features. First, it strap pad is thick and provides all day comfort. Second, the bottom of the pad has anti-slip silicone nodules to keep the strap securely on your shoulder. Last, there is a strong friction fit between the pad and the strap. Thus, the pad will not slide out of position on the strap, but the pad can be moved to your desired position.

As for the strap security, just have a look at the last picture. The strap anchor points on the bag are nuclear-strength. Strap webbing continues down the side and across the bottom. In short – this strap will NOT come undone.

Some other nice features:

• A second top strap handle for carrying the bag in your hand
• Available in black or “pinestone” (a soft gray-green)
• Outer-side pockets to hold, um, stuff
• Big outer-back pocket large enough to hold an iPad
• Comes with a weather-sealed rain cover, which can tether to the bag
• Has a lanyard for your keys
• Strap can be easily adjusted for taller or shorter people
• Comes with a couple extra dividers, but you really don’t need them

What’s the downside

Certainly not the on-location niche. However, here is a short list of possible improvements -

• Including a clip on the main flap in addition to the “silent” velcro would give extra peace of mind.
• The bottom of the bag could use a little more padding. I certainly would not want to drop the bag by mistake, even from a short distance.
• The cost – at $159 the price is steep. Then again, professional photography bags from any company are not cheap.

Do I like it? Yeah, you can have my Retrospective 20 when you pry it from my cold dead hands.

See y'all soon,
Hunter

Screen shot credit Professional Photographer Magazine, article by Allen Murabayashi

The package waiting for me at home could have been a surprise, but PhotoShelter kept me informed throughout the process. In the end, I was expecting the two glossy copies of Professional Photographer Magazine nestled inside the padded package. Nonetheless, I am thrilled to be published in this month’s issue.

Read or download the complete article

PhotoShelter had contact me to see if I use Google Analytics and SEO. After a short discussion, I was invited to participate in an article about how photographers successfully market themselves online. One short interview later and I was published. I have certainly worked very hard marketing my business online, which is like having a second job. In just a year, traffic on my site has tripled and my business has doubled.

Still though, it is not all about marketing. My two central pillars remain exceptional service and excellent photography. Marketing is just a necessary chore.

Take some time to learn more about Professional Photography Magazine, or the article’s author, Allen Murabayashi. By the way, Allen is also the head honcho over at PhotoShelter.

P.S. – Allen has the looooongest bio I have ever seen, but it is humorous at least. I dare you to read it all.

See y'all soon,
Hunter

The rock-solid principle upon which I build my business is service (and good photographs). Providing my Cleveland wedding and portrait clients with the very best service is how I exceed their needs, keep clients coming back, and ultimately ensure the success of my business. Part the formula is providing my clients with great online services, and I have my service provider to thank. Hit the jump to see how we provide wedding and portrait clients with the latest tools to help them capture and share their memories.

Nearly all of the services I provide to my clients are powered by PhotoShelter. If something is not directly powered by PhotoShelter, they had a hand in creating it. If you are one of my clients, then I am sure you are familiar the the services. If you are considering our services, keep reading for all the features we provide. For photographers, you need to know PhotoShelter.

Since the start of Hunter Photographic, PhotoShelter has been our primary service provider and I have been with PhotoShelter since their start. In a weird way, I was with PhotoShelter before “turning pro” and their service and community had a big hand in shaping what I do and how I serve my clients.

Client services

Here is a short list of the services I can provide my clients, with a little help from PhotoShelter:

• View wedding galleries right online (password protected if desired)
• Image and gallery sharing on social networks
• Clients can download full sized copies of every image
• Avoid the pestering third cousin – she can download images too!
• Order any print product you could imagine right online – from a 4×6 to a huge 24×36 gallery canvas print
• Prints delivered straight to your door, usually in less than a week
• Watch and share slide shows
• It’s scary how easy it is to contact me (scary for me at least)

As an example, have a look at the slide show below. My clients can grab a slide show of their wedding photos and share it anywhere in the world in seconds. It is really that easy.

All of these client services are enabled by my favorite service provider. Even better, I can focus on my clients and run my business with greater ease because of services provided to me as the photographer.

It’s just a little about me

OK, I will admit it. Part of the reason I love PhotoShelter is because of the services they provide to me as a business person and a photographer. Here is just a quick look at how they help me to run my business:

• Amazing photo management system that has all the bells, all the whistles, and the do-dads too!
• Direct image publishing right from Apeture or Lightroom
• Great website and blog integration
• An expanding list of SEO capabilities and help
• Complete customization of my galleries – if I can dream the look, PhotoShelter can support it
• COUPONS for my clients!!!
• Great communication tools
• Amazingly good service
• Constantly improving list of features and add-ons (did I mention COUPONS!)
• One….kick….as….BLOG!

So what does this all mean?

Well, it means to be successful you need the right partners and PhotoShelter is mine. They serve me by helping to provide my clients with great services. I can then concentrate on providing my clients with great overall service (and photographs).

If you are in the Cleveland area and need wedding or portrait photography service, contact us to see how we can serve you. If you are a photographer, have a look at how PhotoShelter can serve you.

See y'all soon,
Hunter

This definitely falls into the business category. As many of you know, I extensively use tools provided by PhotoShelter. You could even call me an evangelist. Why, pray tell? Well, the PhotoShelter tools work well, they are very SEO friendly, and they work hard to support their user community.

Just announced, PhotoShelter now supports integrating photo galleries and images with Facebook. Users will be able to automatically post new galleries to Facebook from within PhotoShelter. For photographers who rely heavily on social media and marketing, this will be a huge help.

I do use social media for some marketing activities. I guess I have a toe in the water and keeping an eye out for sharks. I am just not sure it is worth the time yet. However, it is nice to know that the integration is there.

More here.

See y'all soon,
Hunter