Business Trends

Sort By: Post DateTitle Publish Date
Business Trends
Internet Infringement: Right-Click Conflicts
Maria Piscopo  |  Mar 16, 2012  |  First Published: Feb 01, 2012
We have been concentrating on copyright issues in this column of late because of its importance to photographers. (See July, 2011, available at www.shutterbug.com, search Business Trends.) One topic we felt needed coverage was access to and use of images available on the Internet, including some background on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and some updated Internet educational resources that you might want to explore. We also wanted to touch on issues of public domain and image theft, and protection. Though many copyright infringements are non-malicious or unintentional, it remains an issue to be studied in order to defend and protect your images on the web.
Continue Reading »
Business Trends
It May Not Be Monday Night Football, But... The Youth Action Sports Market
David Whitson  |  May 01, 2007

Are you interested in taking action shots of youth sports events and selling pictures on-site? It can be a great way to start earning money with photography, and the market is more accessible than you might think.

Is There A Market In Your Area?
On-site event photography can be done as a business or as a weekend hobby; either way, it's...

Continue Reading »
Business Trends
Legal And Business Practices For Digital Photography; On Guidelines, Licensing, And More From ASMP’s Judy Herrmann
Maria Piscopo  |  Feb 01, 2008

As digital technology grows it's critical for photographers to enlighten themselves about the most essential business and technical practices. The legalities associated with digital capture are quite different from film and need to be addressed in the everyday business of digital photo shoots. The work of the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP), Universal...

Continue Reading »
Business Trends
Location Photography: When More Than Stock Is Needed
Maria Piscopo  |  Jun 07, 2012  |  First Published: May 01, 2012
Clients buying location photography can include those from the travel, fashion, editorial, corporate, and even architectural fields. You might well ask—why don’t they just use stock? With so many sites and so many agencies and photographers offering images from every imaginable corner of the globe, hasn’t stock killed this market? Stock photography for this market is a topic for another day—this is about companies that need location photography because they need their people or property photographed and they know that stock will simply not fit the bill. As a related sidebar, we’ll also cover how you can rise above the iReporter-type shooter who often degrades the market by offering travel and lifestyle images for a “dime a dozen.”
Continue Reading »
Business Trends
Making A Difference With Photography; The Risk And Reward Of Commitment
Maria Piscopo  |  Apr 01, 2008

Success, self-fulfillment, and philanthropy are common goals among professional photographers. Ingrained within us all is the desire to help others, but that lofty aspiration is sometimes beyond reach as we focus on maintaining a comfortable existence. How can you harness your talent and use it to help others while paying the rent at the same time? Is it possible to spread...

Continue Reading »
Business Trends
Making A Difference: Working With Nonprofit Organizations
Maria Piscopo  |  Oct 10, 2012  |  First Published: Sep 01, 2012
“Doing Well by Doing Good” is how you might describe the subject of this column. It’s one of my favorite topics—photographers working for nonprofit organizations and Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) and finding a way to both make a living and make a change in their community. Whether it is local or global, photography has always been used to advocate for social change. There are many local and international communities and organizations you can serve.
Continue Reading »
Business Trends
Market Your Portrait Photography!; A Look At The Consumer And Commercial Realms
Maria Piscopo  |  Dec 01, 2009

Portrait photography clients live in two distinct worlds: consumer clients and commercial clients. The time, energy, and attention required to market to each is so consuming that many photographers gravitate toward one or the other. Consumer portraits include family, children, and high school seniors. Commercial portraits range from editorial, celebrity, and advertising clients. Though they are...

Continue Reading »
Business Trends
Marketing Your Wedding Photography: Wedding Pros Share Their Tips
Maria Piscopo  |  Apr 24, 2012  |  First Published: Mar 01, 2012
Finding clients for your professional wedding photography work can be a challenge. In this article we talk with seven wedding photography pros about their business today and how they find clients, what portfolio formats work best, and where they think the wedding business is heading in the next five years. We interviewed photographers from across the US; their styles range from beautifully posed portraits to wonderfully natural candids.
Continue Reading »
Business Trends
Marketing Your Work: What Works In Today’s Photo World
Maria Piscopo  |  Jan 10, 2013  |  First Published: Dec 01, 2012
In my workshops and classes the most common concern is about marketing and getting business. It’s a sign of the times, and folks are asking: “Everything seems different these days in the photography business, what should I do?” My first and foremost answer is to have a business plan and then work that plan. It is simply not enough to put up a website, send out a few mailers, and see what happens. The best advice I can offer is to study up on creating and implementing a marketing plan and make the effort as important as learning and improving your craft.
Continue Reading »
Business Trends
Mid-Year Marketing Plan Update; An Interview With Bill McCurry
Maria Piscopo  |  Jul 01, 2006

Stop. Look. Listen. You learned it when you were a little kid and it is good advice today. We are all so busy doing our photography that we often don't make the time to do our job of running a business. Part of any good business plan is scheduling a mid-year marketing update. It's a reality check--where have you been, where are you now, where are you going?
...

Continue Reading »
Business Trends
Model Releases: Fact & Fiction, And Some Case Studies
Maria Piscopo  |  Aug 01, 2010

As I did my research on model releases it became clear that this is not a black-and-white issue. The law and the practice of the law seem divided. The aim here, then, is to present you with a point of view that is both practical and supported by industry custom. First, let’s try to separate this discussion from copyright. Copyright law is the federal protection of your right as the owner of...

Continue Reading »
Business TrendsPhoto How ToPro Techniques
Model Releases: Your Best Protection: Plus An Important Update On Social Media Image Usage
Maria Piscopo  |  May 15, 2014  |  First Published: Apr 01, 2014

While you as the photographer own the copyright to images you create, this does not negate the privacy rights of any recognizable individual in your photo. Knowing when you can sell or lease that image with or without a model release is important. In this article we cover that ground as well as the impact of social media and new technology on privacy rights and model releases.

Continue Reading »
Business TrendsFamily Photography How ToFamily TipsOutdoor Photography How ToOutdoor Tips
Money-Making Photo Ideas
The Editors  |  Sep 01, 2003

Some ways to help offset the cost of your favorite pastime

There are lots of way to make money in photography, including selling and trading photo gear, processing film and making prints for other photographers, scanning images (slides, negatives and prints) and putting them on CDs for others, retouching photos, copying and restoring old photos, collecting collectible photographs...

Continue Reading »
Business Trends
New Technology For Printing Promos; Full Service Companies Help Meet Your Needs
Maria Piscopo  |  Dec 01, 2006

In today's competitive marketplace for your photography services, new technologies in print services are emerging to help you find and reach potential clients. Using a service combination of design, list purchasing, custom quality printing, and even mailing the postcards for you, companies such as Modern Postcard (http://www.modernpostcard.com"...

Continue Reading »
Business Trends
Photo Books: Is Self-Publishing An Option?; Four Photographers Share Their Book Knowledge
Maria Piscopo  |  Dec 01, 2010

These days every photographer and would-be writer has the ability to publish their own book. When you take it beyond the vanity press level, and look at it as a business venture, there are numerous pitfalls and considerations to be taken into account before you take the leap. To gauge the activity in this market, we talked to a number who have gone down the publishing road.

...

Continue Reading »

Pages

X