in

Photo Shoot Workshop and Marketing Your Photographs

Friday, August 17, 2018

At noon, I attended a Canon workshop about World Photography Day, which is basically hands-on interaction with different Canon cameras and their features in a studio photography setting, which is mostly for photo shoots. It also involved working with lighting, in which I am not very good at because I prefer to work under natural lighting situations as well as camera flash. But it was interesting to check out new Canon cameras, which are digital, even though I still use my old film camera as well as iPhone camera. They also talked about marketing on Instagram, and I worked on setting up Instagram on my iPhone by signing up my Instagram with my Facebook account. Then, I ended up texting my cousin who was in California with her family. Then, I asked about working with my old Canon camera and some expired film. I would like to try it out this weekend. I felt I was planning and preparing today to work on my photography project.

At 4 pm, I had a two-hour break, in which I decided to go home for a while, which isn’t far.

I returned to the Canon building at 7 pm for the second workshop, which is about Marketing for Maternity Photography. Karen Bagley talked about marketing her Maternity Photography business. Creating marketing materials is based on marketing certain concepts. There is free marketing and paid marketing.

To create your concepts, you need to focus on your specific topic you are trying to market. What type of photography do you do? What is your business? What is your field? And, let your work speak for itself.

Only market your best work by using few statement pieces that you really like. These pieces are usually the same pieces that you are likely to put in your portfolio.

Be creative by being different and unique, which will help you stand out from millions of others online who are trying to market their work. What is your experience and skills?

Free online marketing involves creating a website, usually free, and blogging regularly on this website as well as networking a lot on social media. Network on social media involves writing comments, responding to comments, liking, and sharking. Update your website with current information and photos regularly in order to remain active. Use quality information. Quality is better than quantity. Your website should also be mobile-friendly. And, blog on a regular basis.

The most used four social network sites are Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Snapchat. Such sites are perfect for marketing purposes. Start by regularly posting on social network sites.

On Instagram, add hashtags, create behind the scenes stories, and engage your followers by interacting with them. Hashtag your location and place it in the comment. Then, at a later time, click on your hashtag to make sure it is still there.

On Facebook, make sure your content is sharable. Make sure your Facebook page is Public. Regularly post new information, like other people’s posts, and share. Networking is all about interacting with others in a positive way. Keep your Facebook page unified for business purposes to promote your skills and work. Share your clients’ stories and respond to other people’s comments.

The most watched videos on YouTube are usually tutorials, behind the scenes stories, and demonstrations. What subject do you have most authority on? What are your skills and experiences? Express your personality in longer videos. Help others learn how to do something that you are good at by creating instructional videos and demos.

Offline marketing tends to be old fashioned because most people prefer online marketing but it is still used nowadays. It is more personal to go out in public, physically meet people, socialize, and networking. Join business groups and got to business offices for networking and referrals.

Paid Marketing is usually expensive, which is why I feel it is more practical and useful to learn to do it yourself. It is a lot of work, which requires doing a lot of research, including market research. SEO is about using the right keywords that Google recognizes.

You can also pay for ads on Facebook and Instagram. If you decide to pay for ads, then don’t boost ads. Plan your ads with a specific purpose. Study your ideal client by doing market research in order to know your target audience. Exclude certain people that don’t fit in this target audience. Do a split-test, which require doing multiple ads in order to find the best ad.

Expos are good places for networking and getting exposure. It is important to be social, friendly, people-oriented, and meet as many people as you can. Just remember to set realistic goals and be in the right mindset.

Magazine Advertising is for people who have a lot of money, and they can afford to spend a lot of money on a weekly or monthly basis.

I added some of the snapshots from the photo shoot workshop. I used my iPhone, but I did the same thing I would do if I was using my film camera.

Report

What do you think?

2 Comments