One of the people I follow on Twitter, jtgstudio, was just expressing how she felt, “buried under her very long to do list”.

Our to do lists seem to get longer when times are a bit more stressful. One can easily get buried under the tasks we set before ourselves, and all in the name of time management. When a person gets bogged down, they lose their perspective and become inefficient.

The truth is there is no such thing as time management, only event management.

Make a second to do list for yourself, only this list is a 24 hour to do list. At the beginning of your day, add two or three items to this list that you want to complete. When you start one of the items on your 24 hour to do list, do not stop until you have completed the item. Give all your energy to the one task at hand, always keeping in mind what the completion of the project looks like and how the reward will feel once the project is done.

If you are unable to accomplish all that you placed on your 24 hour to do list in 24 hours, then you can either move the remaining projects back into your bulk to do list, or leave them for the next day.

This simple system has really made a difference for myself, and my business.

By Aric C. Hoek, owner and creator of Ten Houston Wedding Photographers

For some time now, the seasoned photographer has had to compete with the new and upcoming wedding photographer.  The shooting star if you will.  A tag line that reads, “Doing business since 1986” just isn’t good enough anymore.  You have to have a WOW product in order to stay on top of your game, and boy do we have some WOW products that we offer our clients!

But now we have something new to deal with.  The economy.

The seasoned photographer with more overhead is going to have it harder than the photographer that is just getting into the field and only charging a fraction of the cost.  So what is one to do?

Is the answer to lower your prices?  It took me years of education and sweat to get to the level that I am today.  The thought of going backwards sickens me.  None the less, something must be done to maintain cash flow.  So, I have come up with a hybrid solution to the problem.  One that you may choose to follow as well.

The experienced wedding photographer has one thing over the new entry level photographer.  Professional relationships with other wedding vendors.  Specifically, professional relationships with the Catering Directors and Facility Managers.

Canon tediously as LenoMy plan is this.  I have made a reduced price, which I will only offer to the patrons of one of the wedding facilities that frequently refers me.  I will create the offer in such a way, that only the couples that book the facility for both their ceremony and reception will be able to take advantage of the special.  By doing this, it will be in the best interest of the facility manager to promote the special as an enticement for book couples to book their facility for both the wedding and reception.

To make this plan even more effective, the patrons that are able to take advantage of this special offer will be given two package choices.  The two choices will be exactly the same, except for the following.  Each of the two packages will represent two different photographers.  One will be for me to photograph the wedding and only slightly more expensive that the second package, which will be for my associate to shoot the wedding.

By making my package only slightly higher than my associate, I give myself a better chance of getting booked first, and my associate second.  This only works because the facility is capable of holding multiple weddings at the same time.

I see this as a hybrid solution.  I have created a win / win situation for the facility manager, myself, and the patron.  Plus, I have still left my prices intact for couples that contact me from other wedding facilities.  Lowering my prices completely just doesn’t seem prudent at this point, and this is my solution.

I’ll let you know how it works out.  I’m off to the facility right now with 50 copies of the special and a stack of vendor prints.

You’ll find a few more real world ideas in my eBook.

Your advertising caused your phone to ring. Your professionalism on the phone resulted in a consultation, and you’re sitting across the table from them now.

After bringing out a sample album for your potential client to view, you place the album in front of them. Thirty seconds later the couple has flipped through every page and is ready to look at the next album!

Take better control of the meeting and turn the pages of the album yourself.

If you place an album in front of your prospect, more than likely they are going to do exactly what you expect them to do. They’re going to open it, but not in the way you want them to. You’ve spent years of your life developing your craft. The albums you show should represent that. Allowing someone to go through one of your albums in less than 60 seconds is shameful!

Whether you know it or not, you are not just selling your albums, you’re selling yourself! The people who hire you to photograph their wedding are hiring you, not your album. You need to let your passion for photography flow, and telling stories is a great way to communicate that passion.

Tell stories about your albums. Why is one album more important to you than another? Tell beautiful stories. Fun stories. Unique stories Show that you care. Educate. Talk about the individual stories behind one picture on every other spread. Tell stories about the care you take to design each individual’s album. Keep in mind this is quite possibly the first time the person sitting across the table from you has ever shopped for a professional photographer, so tell your stories with a smile on your face.

My business tip is this. If you want to book more weddings, tell better stories. Keep in mind also, that nine times out of ten you will be telling these stories to women.

Take better control of the consultation. Place your sample albums down one at a time and slowly turn the pages of your sample wedding albums one at a time. Do so in a manner that shows you value and respect the album.

When your prospect leaves your studio they should know that you respect your own photography and you’re passionate about your artwork. Your clients can’t afford not to have you at their wedding!