As tax time is getting really close I was chatting with my wife remembering the old days of our business just a few years ago. Right before tax day when I would meet with our CPA I would empty out this huge box of all receipts we had for the business on the floor and we would sit down for hours to organize them into categories. Then the even more tedious task of grabbing the calculators and adding up these thousands of receipts to get a total for each category. Over the years I streamlined this a little and tried to break it down into a monthly task but still it was tedious work that was not what I loved.

I got into photography because it was something that I loved ever since I was a child. It has always been a huge passion for me and the creative aspect of photography is what keeps me up late nights editing, thinking and just brainstorming about the perfect shot. But when I started my own business there was much more to be done other than being creative and after a few years those non-creative tasks became more and more. Besides being a creative mind I also can be somewhat of a control freak so it took me way too long to learn the value of hiring others to help out. Even if you are doing photography as a part time job there still are many tasks that you are currently doing that you probably shouldn’t.

As photographers what should we really focus on? This answer will be totally different for everyone but what I would like to focus on (and am still working on fully getting here) is only 2 things:

- Being out doing what I really, really love which is shooting
- Post production. For me this is a huge part of the creative process and one that I do really enjoy.

So that means that all other aspects really should be sent out for someone else to do. Here are a few things that you probably are doing yourself but really shouldn’t be:

- Marketing. It’s a big part of running a business and in today’s competitive world essential to survive. While parts of it can be creative and I do have fun with Marketing it really would be best to have a true professional helping out. This doesn’t have to be super expensive either and can easily be a contractor who is helping you out 10/hours a week.

- Accounting/office tasks. These can eat up a huge amount of time. Get a good bookkeeper and a CPA to help with the finances. Also helping with filing and other small office tasks can be easily transferred over to someone eager to learn more about photography. You can find a student intern very easily and get great help at a very good cost.

- Client calling. Some of us hate all the time it takes to call clients to setup appointments, call for reminders, etc… Why not hire an online virtual assistant that can help you out. In today’s world you don’t need to hire someone to come into your office but can hire someone anywhere to help you with calling. Check out online job marketplaces like Elance.com and look for a virtual assistant. Interview them just like you would anyone and then provide them with a daily list of people to call and access to your calendar. It doesn’t have to cost much and just 1 hour of savings a day can be huge.

- All the other things we put together like slideshow creation, album design, maybe even the post production deepening on how much you enjoy it. If you don’t love it then don’t do it.

And if you are thinking that you can’t afford to hire people or send off a wedding to be edited you are missing the big picture. Say all of the tasks you do for a wedding take up 40 hours of your time and within that you spend 10 hours just editing. If you shoot 30 weddings a year that editing time is 300 hours. So hiring someone to do the editing saves you a ton of time that you could instead spend shooting another 10 weddings (300 hours divide by 30 hours a wedding, not including the editing time now). Even if you pay on the high end for editing and the cost is $400/wedding that would only be $12,000. Sounds like a lot but if your average package is $3000 and you can shoot 10 extra wedding now a year that will bring in an additional $36,000. You might not be charging $3000 yet but when thinking of pricing should be factoring in costs like editing, album design, your CPA, etc… We will talk about price soon though so stay tuned.

The goal of it all is to continue to stoke the fire that drives us, to keep creative and do what we do best. Lets focus on creating art and let the rest be done by others who are passionate about that task.

One company that I absolutely love that really saves me time with taxes and organizing my receipts is shoeboxes. Check out this review of Shoeboxed.com I did awhile back . I’ll review a few other companies that I use coming up soon so check back later.

If you like our articles remember to share them on Facebook, Twitter or +1 them on Google. I appreciate you spreading the word to your photo friends and it helps me to continue writing content for everyone!

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When I first started offering slideshows years ago I was excited about the extra impact that music and good transitions gave my work and started to do these for my wedding work. The first question I started to get from many other photographers who I showed these to was “cool, those look great. How much can you charge for them”. The funny thing was my answer was always $0. Yes, a big fat $0. Some photographers thought I was a little bit crazy, “you could easily charge $300+ for a nice slideshow right?” they asked. Yes, you easily can however some things I don’t look at as products I can sell but as purely marketing material. The cost of creating slideshows can be very inexpensive (i’ll cover who I have used and why in a post coming up soon) and it makes for a very nice surprise for your clients.

Think about it from their end, you are on your honeymoon relaxing on the beach in the bahamas. Happy and in love but just like most people checking your email still on your iPhone. You get a email from your photographer telling you how awesome the wedding was and that he has created a little highlight reel of the day for you. Clicking on the link you see a beautiful 4 minute slideshow set to music that brings back all of the memories of the day. That slideshow also has many cool ways to share it with their family and friends, they can quickly email a link to the slideshow or post directly to their Facebook wall or Twitter. After sharing it on Facebook the video is watched hundreds or even thousands of times to all potentially new customers. I want to always get my work out in front of as many people as possible and with how easy it can be to share these types of videos its really a great marketing tool.

There are many things that we can offer our clients that could be great little add-on sales but what can be much, much more valuable compared to add-on sales is the value of a very high referral driven business. When you build up great relationships with your customers and go above and beyond from time to time to give them something great it will give you so much more compared to a few extra sales. There are a few other similar things that I do that add extra cost for me to each wedding but really go above and beyond to provide an amazing experience to our customers.

Here is a little sample of the type of slideshows we get created. We use emotion media for these and i’ll have another post coming up soon showcasing a little more about what they do and some of the other creative ways that we use slideshows over here to grow the business.

Do you currently offer slideshows for your wedding business? Lets start a conversation in the comments below or on our Facebook page.

If you like our articles remember to share them on Facebook, Twitter or +1 them on Google. I appreciate you spreading the word to your photo friends and it helps me to continue writing content for everyone!

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If your business isn’t already on Facebook you are missing out on one of the best ways to market your photography business. If you aren’t sure about getting started check out this article I wrote awhile back, Facebook for Photographers – 5 tips. Today though I want to talk a little about the changes for business pages on Facebook that you have probably already seen either with other fan pages or a similar view with your own Facebook page. Awhile back when Facebook launched the new Timeline view it was only for your personal Facebook profile, however all business fan pages will be converted to the new timeline view by March 30, 2012 so there is only a few weeks left to optimize your fan page.

So what’s new with the timeline style view other than a different look for your wall? THere are some pretty important things to keep in mind while setting this up to optimize the experience. First your fan page will have a cover photo now that gives you a nice 850×315 image area to really capture your users attention. This is a great way to show off one of your favorite images and since it’s such a prominent real estate on the page a good way to make your clients feel special. One idea to keep your customers visiting the page is to let them know you will rotate out the cover photo weekly and for them to check back to see if you choose an image from one of their shoots. Everytime you rotate it out let that customer know they are featured on your Facebook page. It can be a great way for them to share your Facebook page with their family and friends.

One of the biggest differences though is the links that you used to have on the sidebar show up on the top right side. You now only have space for 8 links and they show up as boxes underneath the cover photo. By default people only see the first 4 links and have a arrow to expand this and see all 8. Because of this you want to make sure your most important links are shown in the top 4. The first link for photos you actually can’t move, that has to stay in the #1 spot but all others you can. To move these just click the arrow on the right edge to expand the selection to view all 8. Then hover over one of them to see a edit button come up in the top right corner. Click on this to switch the position with another app or to remove it.

For our page (to be coming soon, still working on a few adjustments) we have our 3 most popular links shown in this area; a sweepstakes widget, a sign up form for our weekly email updates and a link to download our Free set of mini Lightroom presets.

If you haven’t checked out our Facebook page come on over. You can find us at http://www.facebook.com/digitalphotobuzz. Come on by and start up a conversation, you can always post questions on our wall, post photos to share with others (or to get feedback) and just chat about photography. Also I want to showcase some of your best work as our cover. If you have an image that would look great just leave a comment below or on our Facebook wall and i’ll pick a few to rotate out. Add your name and link to the image so everyone will know it’s your shot and i’ll also give you a shout out on our wall whenever we use an image.

Are you already using the new timeline view for your business? If so share a link in the comments so we can all check out your page!

If you like our articles remember to share them on Facebook, Twitter or +1 them on Google. I appreciate you spreading the word to your photo friends and it helps me to continue writing content for everyone!

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As I am gearing up to review the new iPad tomorrow and reading all of the crazy news tonight with people already in line and camping out for the latest Apple gadget it always gets me thinking about their marketing power. If you look at the rise and fall and then rise again of Apple computer over the past 30 + years there are some amazing business lessons we can all learn from and many that us as creatives can really relate to. It’s pretty amazing that a company in a recession can release a $500-$900 gadget and have people waiting in line to give their hard earned money out right away. How do they do it and how can we have clients who are eager to spend thousands on creative portrait work of their families or artistic wedding photography?

Even if you hate them, you have to agree that Apple has built a very strong brand and a huge following of people who are very passionate about their products. How can we apply some of Apple’s principles towards our own photography business? How did they create such a hype that as I am sitting here writing this thousands of people are lining up at malls to buy the new iPad, camping out overnight and I am getting my alarm set to be there at 4am?

I think there is a ton of things we can learn from Apple about marketing, branding and just how they talk about their products. I know the artist inside me always wants to forget about doing any type of marketing and just focus on being creative but the reality in todays competitive environment is you have to not only be an amazing photographer to do well but also have to market yourself well. It took me many, many years to finally get this but once you do have a good marketing strategy in place you get more business and then get to shoot and be creative more.

The first thing I have learned from watching Apple over the years is their passion. When Steve Jobs used to get on stage to release a new product he didn’t just think they had a good product, he believed they have the best product ever created. If you listen to his keynotes he will talk about how their products are groundbreaking, revolutionary and will change the world. That is a very powerful statement to make! With the passion that he has for his products you are usually left really believing that product is revolutionary and just have to have it. Passionate people attract people, they are like a lighthouse against a dark sea. When our passion flows through our business it will be recognized by others. When you meet with a new potential customer don’t talk about price, types of albums you make or any specific product details. Show them your passion, show them what drives you.

Live your life with full passion! Put yourself into your photography business, don’t listen to what others are saying or doing but fully follow your heart!

Apples marketing is all about the expierience. Apple rarely talks about price, and they also put little focus on specs which really used to be rare in the computer world. With the new iPad launch they didn’t talk about RAM vs the iPad 2 but talked about non-technical things like the screen being “retina” and how amazing the experience is. Look at the video at the end of the article for the new iPad, it doesn’t really say it has 1GB ram, 32GB space or any other tech specs. What they do great if you listen to every word in the ad is show an experience and pull on your emotions.

We need to create amazing experiences for our customers. We aren’t just creating an 8×10 image for them but a life changing experience that will create memories for generations to always look back on and that are truly priceless!!!

So the question of the day for us photographers is… are we providing an amazing experience for our customers? Are we really creating work that we are passionate about and trying to push the bar up higher and higher. Are we communicating the experience and our passion effectively to our clients? Are we telling them when we first meet with them that our photography is unique, it can’t be matched by anyone out there?

Are we bold enough to fully believe in ourselves and share that true belief and passion with our clients? The buzz and branding that we create for our business really starts with us and how we speak about our work and what we do. Sharing our passion and confidence is key, so next time you are meeting with a potential client really pay attention to your words. Maybe even tape yourself if needed to listen to later, and watch the words you use to describe your business, your photography and the products you provide.

What do you think we can learn from the way Apple markets? Love them or hate them lets start a discussion in the comments below.

Also for everyone who wants to see the quality of the camera on the new iPad, images of the display and my thoughts check back tomorrow. I’ll post a few different reviews after I have a little time to play around with it.

If you like our articles remember to share them on Facebook, Twitter or +1 them on Google. I appreciate you spreading the word to your photo friends and it helps me to continue writing content for everyone!

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Google announced on Monday their Google + pages for business now have a few key updates. I am excited about what next year will bring as Google and Facebook keep pushing the bar higher and higher to compete.

1. Multiple Managers! Now you can setup multiple people to manage your page. This is great if you have someone who helps with your social media and you can set up to 50 managers on a page.
To setup more page managers just click on the settings icon on the upper right and choose “Google + Settings”. The click on the “Managers” button on the left and enter in anyone’s email who you would like to setup as a page manager.

2. Notifications for Pages. Now you can see all of the notifications like +1′s, comments, etc… from your Google + page just like you can with your own personal page. Great to see who is being active on your page.

3. Unification of +1 and follower counts. They have also unified the +1 and follower counts and show 1 number right under your logo on the top left.

I think Google + is quickly becoming a major player in the social market and am glad to see them constantly pushing out updates. Here is a video with some more information from Google. Who has setup a page for your photography business already? Share your link in the comments below so everyone can check it out.

You can also circle Digital Photo Buzz on Google + here: +Digital Photo Buzz

If you like our articles remember to share them on Facebook, Twitter or +1 them on Google. I appreciate you spreading the word to your photo friends! Also remember to always start a conversation by leaving a Facebook comment at the bottom of the page. I love to hear from you!

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I have to admit when Google + launched awhile back my first thoughts were “great, another thing Google is trying to copy that will end up like Google wave”. I waited a few days before creating my profile (which you can add here: https://plus.google.com/101828183984777718546/posts) but was really surprised to see that the interactions on Google + right away were much different than Twitter and Facebook. People were much more real and the conversations going on in the comments really engaging! Also the images are presented nice and large. Since I have been on there I have found some amazing photographers that I would have never met and really have been inspired by some of the work I have seen there.

If you aren’t on Google + I would suggest setting up an account and checking out some of the great photographers out there. If you need some people to follow check out this list I created: Awesome Photographers to follow on Google +.

At the start Google + pages where only for individuals and they even were removing people who weren’t using their real name. Now they are opening up Google + pages for business pages just like Facebook allows you to. This can be a great way for us to all get more exposure and a venue to showcase our portfolios. So should we all rush out and create a Google + page for our photography? I think right now it really just depends on what type of photography you currently do. For me shooting primarily weddings and portraits the type of client that I have is primarily on Facebook compared to Goole +. Since Facebook is so mainstream and most of my clients are on there already I will continue to focus my marketing effort on Facebook and reaching more clients through my blog. For now i’ll hold off on Google + since most of the people I have run across on there are awesome people but lots of techies and photographers who aren’t my target client. We always have to remember to focus our marketing efforts on areas where we will be able to be seen by people that fit our ideal client type.

Since there are lots of photographers on there and good photo conversations I did create a page for Digital Photo Buzz. You can follow Digital Photo Buzz on Google + here: +Digital Photo Buzz

Did you already create Google + page for your business? Leave a comment below with the link so I can check it out!

If you like our articles remember to share them on Facebook, Twitter or +1 them on Google. I appreciate you spreading the word to your photo friends! Also remember to always start a conversation by leaving a Facebook comment at the bottom of the page. I love to hear from you!

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One of the most common questions I get is how do I get started in Wedding Photography, what gear do I need and how to I get clients? As I am wrapping up my wedding season this year I just shot my 300th wedding. It’s pretty crazy thinking back that I have photographed that many weddings. Weddings are an extremely fun and gratifying type of photography and for me a perfect fit with a mix of my 2 loves, journalism and fine art.

Today I just want to share a little about getting started as a wedding photographer. Before jumping into what gear you need to start shooting weddings I think you really need to take a good look at your understanding of lighting and overall photography knowledge. Weddings happen in the blink of an eye, moments that are the most important moments in someones life are flying by you in a second and usually under very trickily lighting situations. You might go from really dark indoor lighting to outdoors in the middle of the day full sun within 1 minute. Start by putting yourself through some of these scenarios and ask yourself if you really know exactly what to set your camera to and what type of lighting would be needed to get the shot you want. As artists we owe it to our clients to make sure that we are 100% ready to take on their job and create something that will be amazing! There is a really great discussion in this older article I wrote, Are you really a pro photographer? , that was really written to say we need to make sure that we know our art before taking on work that is so important and meaningful like a wedding.

So the first question before really getting started shooting weddings is to make sure that you are confident with your camera and can shoot in any type of light while still creating amazing art. If not then don’t rush it, get out and meet with current wedding photographer and assist for some. Watching a current pro work on taking workshops can be a really great way to learn.

Once you are ready to start shooting weddings your gear is important. I usually don’t believe that gear makes the photographer but the creativity does, however with weddings you do have to made sure you have certain things covered. Since weddings can’t be redone you have to make sure that you have backup equipment and lots of batteries and other accessories.

When I shoot a wedding I bring a large Pelican rolling box, mine is usually packed with the following:

Canon EOS 5D
(my camera of choice). This is the first digital camera that I really fell in love with and reminds me of the beauty of film that I used to get. Having at least 2 camera bodies is essential. You might not want to go with the same exact body but should definitely have 2 camera bodies at a minimum before shooting a wedding.

Another amazing camera if your budget is a little less is the Canon EOS 7D The great thing about using a 5d and 7d is that the 7d is a cropped sensor camera so will give your zoom lenses more reach. A 100 mm lens on a 5d is a true 100mm however on a 7d would be equivalent to a 160mm. I use this to my advantage all of the time and will shoot parts of the ceremony with a 7d so I can get a little closer in.
You can read my review of the 7d here: Canon 7d camera review

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L II IS USM
. I think this lens is a must have for a wedding photographer. This lens is perfect for getting in close during the ceremony and the image stabilization really helps out during church weddings. The cost of the IS is worth it in my mid totally! Nothing worse than a blurry wedding photo, so this helps to keep the image sharp.

Canon speed lights – I normally bring at least 2 Canon 580 speed lights along with many other flash units or strobes. During many parts of the wedding you need to supplement the light to add a little fill or to light up the entire reception area so really can’t being enough flash units.

Canon – 24-70 mm – f/2.8 L USM. Another lens that gets a lot of use in my camera bag. This lens is very versatile, you can get great wide shots during the reception as well as a decent portrait lens at 70mm. You have a lot of flexibility with this lens and with the fast pace of a reception it gives you the chance to go from wide to mid range without changing lenses.

Canon EF 50mm f1.4

One of my favorite lenses and the cheapest in my bag. I opted for the 1.4 lens vs. the 1.2 lens after a lot of thought and viewing images from both lenses. I think the 1.4 is an excellent lens and for the price difference vs the 1.2 I think there is a minimal difference in quality (plus I like the much smaller and compact 1.4 to save a little weight). This lens is so crisp and produces amazing colors, when you really compare a nice prime lens like this to a zoom you will see a pretty big difference in quality. For anyone starting out on a small budget I would suggest this as a perfect starting lens.

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS
Another amazing prime lens. The focus is a little slow on this lens when compared to a few others in my bag but the macro is where this really shines. I normally only use this lens for a few images a wedding but its so worth it. To get a really cool looking macro shot of the rings or the flowers can only be done with a true macro lens like this.

Canon EF 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye Lens
. This is a lens that I think can be overused a lot and while I do like the fisheye look for a few shots I try to keep it to a minimum. With my style of shooting I am trying to tell a story of the day in an artistic way so I might use this lens for a few bride and groom shots or for shots of the church or reception room but thats normally it. Don’t get me wrong I do love the lens just think you need to be careful not to get too carried away with some of these specialty lenses.

A few Vivitar 285HV Flash, some canon speedlights round up the essentials in our bags at a wedding. There are a few other specialty items we bring with us but we will save those for some later articles.

Check out most of these items at amazon here. Amazon gear site.

Also I have a list of our Lighting essentials here: Digital Photo Buzz Lighting Essentials

Other accessories that are really helpful at a wedding:

How to start getting new business?

Now once you feel you are ready and have the gear needed to shoot weddings how do you start to get business? There are tons of ways to first get out there and I am always a believer of taking your time. Get one client at a time, provide them with the best possible images and service and then get their friends and family to use you. When you are getting started here are a few things you want to make sure to get setup:

Your Vision – Before creating a website or getting the word out there to new clients you first have to make sure you know what your vision is. What really drew you to wedding photography at the start? What do you want to offer people that is unique to you? Create a vision statement that shows what your vision for photographing weddings is. This should be incorporated into everything you do to market your new business.

Website – Having a strong website is key. Even if it only has 1 wedding on it that doesn’t matter as much as having great images. Remember to only use your best.

Traveling Portfolio – A website is great but what happens when you are out at a function and meet a newly engaged couple. Having a great set of work on your iPhone or iPad that you can quickly pull out and WOW them always comes in handy.

Facebook Fan Page – Almost as important as a website today, remember to create a Facebook fan page and start posting photos and engaging with people.

Also check out our recent article 5 ways to get new photography business now.

If you are thinking about getting started in wedding photography and have questions remember to leave them at the bottom of the page in the Facebook comments section!

If you like our articles remember to share them on Facebook, Twitter or +1 them on Google. I appreciate you spreading the word to your photo friends! Also remember to always start a conversation by leaving a Facebook comment at the bottom of the page. I love to hear from you. Also let me know what your favorite iPad app is for photography in the comments below!

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No matter what type of photography you do driving more business to your studio is always important. One question I get from new photographers a lot here is how can they start getting new business. Marketing ourselves can always be tricky and something that took me years to get the hang of. When I first got out of school and started up my photo studio I thought that all I had to do was focus on creating awesome art and people would come rushing through my doors. I worked hard on getting a great portfolio together and then waited and waited for everyone to just throw business at me. Since things were going much slower for me than what I wanted I had to get some good marketing ideas going quick and immersed myself in marketing for the next few years (and really ever since).

Today I want to share 5 ways that you can start to get new photography business now. I hope these ideas inspire some of you and help to get some good traction for your business. As always I love to chat about photography so if you have a question just leave a Facebook comment at the bottom of the post. Also these tips apply to wedding and portraits which are my specialty but really can apply towards other types of photography as well.

5 ways to get new photography business now

1) The first tip is really a pre tip. Before getting out and starting to get some new business coming in you need to make sure that your website and portfolio are totally up to date and showcase only your best work. Even if you don’t have a ton of work it’s all about showing your best, focus on the quality and make sure that every piece in your portfolio is outstanding. You want to make sure that once someone is interested in your work and goes to see your site for more information that you wow them.

2) Facebook. Leverage the power of social. It’s a good chance that someone in your social network needs photography. But does everyone that you are connected with know what you do and is really familiar with your work? Start posting on your Facebook page more information about your photography style and sample portfolio pictures. When you are posting photos and updates on Facebook remember to include quick marketing messages to remind people that you are open for more work. When posting a family portrait photo include a quick text like this “Here are some great images from XYZ family session, if you love these we still have some openings for sessions this year! let me know if anyone wants to book a session”. Be persistent and always in front of everyone you know.

If you have a friend who is active and has a lot of Facebook friends offer to do a free portrait session with them. Process the images as quick as possible and post the best shots on Facebook tagging them in the photos. This can get great traction and get some referrals from their friends.

If you don’t have a business page setup for your photography yet, check out this past article on Facebook marketing for photographers.

3) Contact all of your family members and good friends. It’s amazing how many people don’t start with their most trusted family members and friends to get the word out. Many people might know that you like photography and might even know that you are trying to start a business but need to know what your business is all about. I had to educate my family on what type of photography I really did and what made it unique. I educated them on talking points and shared my passion with them. You don’t want to have a situation come up where someone is looking for a photographer and say for example is talking with your sister. Her friend is telling her that she wants someone to take some portraits and her reply is “Oh yea my brother takes pictures”. That normally won’t result in anything, however if her reply was something like “Did you know my brother is a professional photographer, he specializes in family portraits that really capture the essence and personality of your family and does some amazing work. Here is some of his information…”. We have to educate our family and arm them with information to be great sellers for us.

Word of mouth business is key but does not just happen, we have to make it happen.

4) Reach out to all of your past clients. Even if you are just starting out and only have a few clients its still a good habit to get into. Give each one of your past clients a call to touch base and see how they are. Get to know your clients and ask them personal questions (as you write notes in your database so you always know who they are for future reference). Ask them if they have any need for photography right now or have friends that do. A quick call to every one of your clients can be a goldmine that opens up many doors.

5) Pop by a few new local venues every week. Getting connected with wedding venues can be a huge plus to your business. Do a pop by at new places you haven’t worked at before and get to know the coordinators out there. Ask them what you can do for them and take a look at some of their marketing material. How good are the images? If they aren’t the best offer to do a shoot for them and provide them with all of the images, no cost at all to them. Venues need a lot of help with their image sometimes and we can provide great value to them in that area. I do lots of free work for venues getting them amazing images for their website and other use. That time always provides a huge return to me with the business they send me. Make it a point to get to know every venue in your area over time by just starting with a few a week.

Just a few ways that you can get out there and start to get new business! Let’s chat in the comments, always feel free to leave a Facebook comment below with questions and i’ll get right back to you.

If you like our articles remember to share them on Facebook, Twitter or +1 them on Google. I appreciate you spreading the word to your photo friends, the more you share the more time I can spend writing new articles for everyone!

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I was reading a report yesterday on the crazy growth of mobile commerce which really got me thinking about my photography business and the web traffic that I get. It’s always important to realize where our business is coming from and be able to see into the future to make any changes ahead of time. For most of us the web is a good source of new business. In my field of shooting weddings and portraits my clients always check out my online portfolio first before coming in to meet with me. My main portfolio has been flash based for many year, there are so many slick flash templates out there that give you a great presentation however iPhone and iPad visitors can’t view your work.

In the past I have had about 10% of my visitors come from an iPhone or iPad device. Awhile back I made sure that I removed all flash from my blog which many brides visit but still haven’t made the move with my main portfolio site. Looking at this report though it got me thinking again about having a site that can be viewable from any device. The following graph is a report by Kliner Perkins on the percentage of visitors for Pandora, Facebook and Twitter that are on mobile devices and the results are pretty stunning. Granted these sites are more prone to viewing them while on the go however it really amazed me to see the rapid growth in mobile browsing for these sites. Check out the graph for the last few years traffic these sites have been getting from mobile devices.

Not all mobile devices are the same and some can render flash while others can’t. The question that we should be asking ourselves that is really more important than flash vs. no flash is really how mobile friendly is our website. What is the user experience when growing your portfolio on a mobile device, what about the navigation and ways to contact you? As a professional photographer today we have to not only be great artists but also excellent marketers. I am not sure what the best solution is just let for the perfect mobile site for photographers but wanted to get everyone thinking about where your current business on the web is coming from and where it might be in a few years. If you aren’t thinking about how your site should be changing for the upcoming year now is the time to start planning and putting things into motion.

What can you start doing different to provide the best experience on your website no matter what type of device someone is coming from? Let’s chat about it in the comments below.

If you like our articles remember to share them on Facebook, Twitter or +1 them on Google. I appreciate you spreading the word to your photo friends! Also remember to always start a conversation by leaving a Facebook comment at the bottom of the page. I love to hear from you.

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Facebook has been the leader in Social media for quite some time now and Google has made a few attempts in the past to take over. Their past attempts failed but the most recent Google + seems to be taking off and in the photography space is taking shape as a great place for photographers and artists to get together and communicate.

The last few days with the ability on Google + to share circles there have been an overwhelming amount of people following each other and the momentum is picking up for Google +. I am always interested in social media for 2 different aspects. One as a great way to connect with other artists and have good conversations. The other is as a vehicle to keep up with my past clients and also attract new clients. I have used Facebook successfully for a number of years now to market my studio and it has worked out well to gain new business. Check out a recent post Facebook for Photographers – 5 tips that I wrote awhile back.

So I wanted to do a quick comparison yesterday. I ran this test in the evening way off peak time but the results were still pretty interesting. The Facebook wall that we have has about 5,000 fans, I have had this page up for about a year and a half and have steadily been growing the follower count every day. It’s built up steady over time and get a fair amount of feedback from each post. Since many of the followers there have been a fan of the site for awhile there is an established connection. With Google + I have been on since the start and up until this week had about 2500 followers. Now with the sharing of circles available my follower count has been growing like wildfire and I have over 11,000 followers now. These are new people many of whom I don’t really know yet so I was curious on how engaged they would be.

To test out engagement on the 2 platforms I posted the same photo during the evening. The Facebook page received 8 comments and 33 likes.
My Google + page received 23 comments and 76 likes. The comments are about 3x from Facebook (even with a follower count of double this was still a surprise to see since Google + and my followers are so new) and the likes just a little over double.

Pretty interesting to see and at this point in the game anything can really change. Maybe there is so much interaction on Google + since it’s new and will wear off over the next few months? Nobody knows but for now I can say it’s a pretty fun place to connect with other photographers and if you aren’t on Google + yet you should check it out. Add me if you would like and lets talk photography. In terms of your photography business I still think that Facebook is the winner and where you should spending your social marketing time. Mainly for the simple fact that they have the numbers, their base is still the largest and it’s a good chance most of your current clients are on Facebook already but not Google +. So connect with them and their friends on Facebook and use Google + to connect with other photographers and be inspired.

Also check out our list of some cool photographers I have found on Google +

Whats your favorite social media site and why? Leave a comment below and lets start a conversation.

If you like our articles remember to share them on Facebook, Twitter or +1 them on Google. I appreciate you spreading the word to your photo friends! Also remember to always start a conversation by leaving a Facebook comment at the bottom of the page. I love to hear from you.

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