Bill Weaver Photographers

We all know that we would like to everything our way and just our way…but why? Do we think we are something special? Or do we just like to be high maintenance? That may have been the case while I was growing up ( sorry no dates!!) but why is now expected and what does it have to do with photography?

Well lets take a walk back in time. One of the things that put us on the fast track to where we are was the move from individually crafted items produced in low numbers. that was ok as long as the demand of those items was matched with the ability of the producers to keep up. Suddenly, a young upstart named Henry Ford decided that everyone needed and should have a way to get around and it should be affordable. Abracadabra and there were suddenly hundreds of black four wheel horseless carriages put-putting around! And hence the beginning of the Mass market revolution, lots of average products for lots of average folks. Everybody was happy and a limited ability to chose began evolving as the ease of producing and communication those choices increased.

So back to today… now we are seeing an ever increasing demand for choice, choices that reflect who we are. By simply googling we can come pretty close to not only getting what we want and in the quality we want ( that suits our budget etc.). And the ability to self design our choices is ever increasing just walk through Ikea.

So what does this have to do with photography? Well the wedding and portrait industry was part of the great massification as well, just take a look at your parents old photos. We have been slow to catch up and one could argue that we aren’t even close yet. While the wedding industry has adopted different operating model through the rise photojournalist style it is still a one size fits all approach. Furthermore, we have been locked in a time warp of a business model built around selling paper prints!!

So….how’s that working out? Turns out not so good since nationally sales have been down..well DUH!! Who wants paper when they can have their images in whatever shape size, color or whatever, they want. We used to be very limited in what we could do with photos and 99.99999% of the time after the initial oooohhs and aaaaahs, they were neatly tucked away in a drawer only to be discovered 20 years later when we were getting that old desk ready for the garage sale. The behavior hasn’t changed that much since, it has just changed shape, instead of tucking the images away in a desk we put them on a disc or load them into a computer and forget about them…until a couple of years later we want to show our kids how cool we looked. And to our horror of horrors they have disappeared, vamoosed, poofed, blown away!!!

So the point of this little ditty is we have not only a chance but an obligation to work closely with each and every client to develop a package of services that best meets their needs. Ya it takes time on our part and energy and effort and dedication to giviing our clients the best and most personalized service they could ever imagine.

More on this later…..don’t want to overload.

Tweet This Post

In my last post I implied a question..how do we resolve the issues of a bad disk of memories ormore importantly how do we continue to reinvent ourselves as the market changes? The easiest thing is to stay tuned to our market…don’t apply old ways of doing business to the curent market. Here is an example, how many times have you asked potential clients about their intentions around the photos you are being paid so dearly to create? I’ll bet next to zero..why? I think because the market itself has not adjusted to the shifts. While everybody is becoming more conected on social networking sites few are realizing what that means when they decide they want you to photograph their wedding or their families.

The simple fact of increasing digital connection is reducing the likelyhood of your digitally created photos ending up on their walls or anywhere else than a drawer. There are new and yet unknown possibile uses for our photographs …. all we need to do is help our clients uncover them. And by working closely withour clients we are building a long and trusting relationship with them. Wake up the days of relying on only paper prints are numbered!!

Tweet This Post

Once again my daily inspiration comes from reading some of my favorite blogs. Today’s however comes both from reading Seth Godin’s recent post and some things I have been thinking about lately. I have been increasingly concerned that photographers are missing the mark when they give a client a disk of images and say “see ya”. However, what is even worse in my mind is that the clients see nothing wrong with that..until they try to view those photos a year or so later and find the disk has erased itself due to rot!

What does this have to do with Seth’s comments on the last interaction? Everything and I think it is one of the factors defining the current dismal state of photography as it relates to wedding, portrait and events. The last interaction for us may not be the end of the wedding, or the sale of the last wall portrait it may be when that disk of memories becomes inaccessible…. think about it.

Stay tuned.

Tweet This Post

Seth Godin on what is a great idea

read more | digg story

Tweet This Post

Some new things happening here…

First we will be launching a newly designed web site to show case our photography. We will be able to show the full breadth of our work so you will be able to see weddings, portraits,landscapes, travel and photojournalism.

Coupled with that will be the addition of a completely client driven blog, a place were you can ask questions, comment on photos. We feel very strongly about helping our clients, we will still be using our other blog (this one) but it’s content will be changing and will be more focused on educating the photo buying public..yes that is you! Our recent post showing wall design ideas is just the beginning… look for more of this!

Stay tuned.

Tweet This Post

Over the past few months I have been working with Michael Port, author of "Book Yourself Solid", as I  re-design our business  so that it is more  in tune with who we are and what we have to offer the world.  I resonated with Michael very quickly after I read the first chapter in  his book. Here  is a guy  who understands what I have been thinking for decades…the best way to serve the world and the people you are meant to serve is to find them and then serve them.

So what does this have to doe with Seth Godin? I am also reading Seth’s most recent book "Meatball Sundae" and I follow his blog which gives me a daily dose of hope! Today’s posts on his blog are exceptional especially this one on workaholics, why? Because between Michael and Seth and many others like them I feel that rest of the world is starting to wake up as a result of their proding and those of us who have always been  "out there" are feeling less and less in the minority and more and more a part of the movement towards actual service directly to those we serve.

Check out Seth’s  blog and by all means read his books and then head over to Michael’s  and while you are at it check out the Think Big Revolution.

The Think Big Revolution is a weekly phone discussion about and with people who are some of the most courageous thinkers and doers of our time! It is my weekly dose of inspiration.

Tweet This Post

This past year I began thinking about what our clients where doing with their photos. I know many have done nothing and yet they paid us thousands of $$$ to photograph their weddings or their families. This got me to thinking about how I could help. the first thing I thought of was to begin the thought process early on in our working relationship with new clients. This way we could have some focus and direction while working, we could make sure we got some great photos that could be used in our client’s homes.

The next thing I thought of was something I used to do when I was working as an architect. I would sketch designs using the context of their existing home. Nothing helps people visualize better than a sketch. So when one of our clients asked me last week for ideas as to how to use her wedding photos  I was more than ready. This first time I customized some templates from another photographer. Using photoshop I was able to quickly generate multiple variations using our client’s photos.

This experience has prompted me to begin to develop a kit for our clients to help them visualize their photos on their walls.  As I re design our web presence I will be including downloadable copies of the kit.

Anyway…here are some examples using the templates.

Look for more to come!!

Tweet This Post