Business Trends

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Business Trends
Photographers And Copyrights—Part 2; Fair Use, Derivative Rights, And More
Maria Piscopo  |  Sep 01, 2009  |  0 comments

“Bloggers think that a use of a photograph in a web blog is covered by fair use simply because it is not usually done for profit, and they are ‘commenting’ on the news. This is not necessarily the case.”

Last year in my column I tackled the important issue of copyright. (Editor’s Note: Go to our homepage at www.shutterbug.com and type in Copyrights.) Unless...

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Business Trends
Photography For The Music Industry; Not The Same Old Tune
Maria Piscopo  |  Sep 01, 2010  |  3 comments

Like many aspects of commercial photography these days, the music industry has seen many changes that affect how a photographer finds clients and promotes their talents. One of the biggest changes, according to photographers we talked with for this story, is that there is no one single “contact” person anymore and that to broaden your scope you have to deal with numerous individuals...

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Business Trends
Photography Workshops; Marketing Tool And/Or Revenue Source
Maria Piscopo  |  Jan 01, 2011  |  1 comments

There is a long tradition of photographers giving workshops, either self-sponsored or within an established workshop organization structure. Workshops cover a wide range of topics, from fashion/beauty to nature/travel, and take place all around the world. Workshops can serve as both a marketing tool and an additional source of revenue, and while there are some who are constantly on the workshop...

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Business Trends
Photography—Making A Difference; Give And Ye Shall Receive
Maria Piscopo  |  May 01, 2009  |  0 comments

For every photographer success and self-fulfillment are common goals, but the desire to help others is something that many photographers bring to their work. You may feel that today’s economy makes helping others difficult, especially as you focus on the daily effort to grow your business. How can you use your talents to help others and pay the rent at the same time? How can you spread...

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Business Trends
Portfolios From The Edge; Websites As Marketing Tools
Maria Piscopo  |  Dec 01, 2007  |  0 comments

Is your website working as hard as it could as an online portfolio? I have been back and forth for years with photographers and their clients on website marketing and not everyone agrees on their value. Certainly, websites are an important marketing tool when used as advertising--they broadcast your marketing message to potential clients. But how well do they work as...

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Business Trends
Portrait Photography Marketing: Portrait Photography Marketing
Maria Piscopo  |  Apr 16, 2013  |  First Published: Mar 01, 2013  |  0 comments
The world of portrait photography is defined by its differences—all potential clients, whether they are individuals, families, or professionals, are different people with different imaging needs. There is a difference in style and approach in making commercial, professional, and social (family) portraits. Commercial clients have something to sell or someone to influence; consumer clients have something or someone to remember. And, at any point in time, a photographer’s style may be so strong or special that it transcends these categories and enters the “fine art” field.
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Business TrendsPro Techniques
Pro Bono Photography: Doing Well By Doing Good
Maria Piscopo  |  Nov 22, 2013  |  First Published: Oct 01, 2013  |  1 comments
There’s a long tradition of photographers doing pro bono work for charities. Now, with social media and the Internet in general, the marriage of photography and doing good for others has grown even more. NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) have been around since the mid-1940s, but in the last few years some amazing photography has further helped communicate their mission.
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Business TrendsPro Techniques
Professional Associations: Are They Right For You?: The Benefits Of Membership
Maria Piscopo  |  Jun 28, 2013  |  First Published: May 01, 2013  |  1 comments
I have always been a big supporter of joining and participating in professional groups. The growth of my career as a photo rep, teacher, and author all came from joining and participating in groups that brought together like-minded individuals. For photographers looking to enhance or initiate their careers there are numerous professional associations worthy of attention.
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Business Trends
Project Management For Photographers; Organization Means More Than Filing Photos
Maria Piscopo  |  Jun 01, 2007  |  0 comments

Twenty years ago, business software for photographers was limited. The move from paper to software was a big and risky leap of faith. We talked with a number of photographers to get their take on how, and if, software holds the key.

Geoff Manasse (www.manasse.com): I'm the sort of software user...

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Business Trends
Selling Event Photography; Lessons Learned In A Fast-Paced Business
Maria Piscopo  |  Mar 01, 2009  |  4 comments

One of the growth markets for photographers these days is consumer event photography, including youth sports. This is a very specialized business; often, event photographers must be equipped to print and sell photos on-site, offer a variety of photo-package choices, and, in many cases, include green screen technology in their photo shoots. In preparation for this article I began by talking with...

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Business Trends
Selling Stock Photography; How To Survive In A Competitive Marketplace
Maria Piscopo  |  Nov 01, 2008  |  0 comments

Many commercial buying patterns have shifted from hiring for assignment to buying stock licensed images or royalty-free images. This shift has greatly decreased the value per image for all but the most creative or unique stock images. But it has also opened markets for still photos previously unexplored. Stock is no longer just for print use; clients are buying still images for website...

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Business Trends
Selling Through Galleries; Charting A Course For Making Fine Art Photo Sales
Maria Piscopo  |  Apr 01, 2009  |  0 comments

As the markets for both consumer and commercial photographers keep warping and changing, many photographers are looking for alternative revenue paths. A fine art photographic sale by a gallery always gets high interest from photographers, but what about the gallery owner’s perspective? What factors influence their choice of the photographers they represent? How do owners view fine art...

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Business Trends
Show Me The Money: What Do You Charge? Let’s See What It Costs
Maria Piscopo  |  Oct 17, 2011  |  First Published: Sep 01, 2011  |  0 comments
“Day rate is not an accurate measure of photography cost, as it does not include expenses. Day rate does not transfer usage or licensing rights, the real sale in commercial photography.”

“What do you charge?” There is something about that much anticipated, yet dreaded question that causes many photographers distress. There are probably a dozen psychological reasons for this feeling. Rather than take on those feelings, which is beyond my ken and that of this magazine, I’d like to look at specific actions and steps you can take to improve your behavior when it comes to pricing and asking for money.

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Business TrendsNewsTravel Photography How To
So You Want To Be a Professional Travel Photographer?: Business Survival Tips
Maria Piscopo  |  May 03, 2016  |  1 comments

Getting work as a travel photographer has never been easy. Today, factors of the economy and technology have added obstacles that require even more knowledge and planning. The five travel photographers we interviewed work with clients ranging from editorial to corporate and advertising.

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Business Trends
Social Media Marketing: The Next Best Thing?
Maria Piscopo  |  May 15, 2012  |  First Published: Apr 01, 2012  |  22 comments
“With any marketing campaign you need to excite potential clients so they will want to contact you, and you need to keep current clients interested and be sure they think of you first.”
—Jeff Colburn

There are so many choices today for online and social marketing. Here’s a partial list: Facebook, LinkedIn, Blogs, Online Groups, Twitter, Tumblr, Myspace, Digg, StumbleUpon, and of course your website. How effective are these new marketing scenarios in helping you sell photography services? We asked four photographers using social media to share their experiences. Thanks to Jeff Colburn, Karen I. Hirsch, Gail Mooney-Kelly, and Ian L. Sitren for their helpful opinions and advice. Please see their web addresses and visit their websites to see their work.

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