This video is sponsored by a Squarespace. Ahoj! This is Zdenka. I’ve been in the photography
business for many years. I’ve seen lots, I’ve done lots. I am very fortunate to be
able to do this full time. Photography, now video, youtube, teaching… There are things
I’ve done for my business OK. There are things I've done really well to be able to
grow successfully. Looking at my past, there are definitely things I would have done little
bit differently to grow my business even faster. You don’t need to be a struggling artist.
In today's video I want to share my strategies which worked for me for past 15 years and
strategies I’ve seen in action and worked very well. My only regret is that I didn’t
do myself. I’ve met many photographers over the years. Photographers which were humble,
they worked hard, they were treating their clients with respect and the quality of work
built their name and reputation. I’ve met photographers which were average and below
average, they weren't afraid to sell even if it went to point to upsell, even if it
went to the point to push for hidden charges. Even if it went to the point to include photos
in their portfolios which were not their own only to get the client. Even when they knew
that the photos the clients will get is not gonna be what they are showing in the portfolio.
Where did I belong? I am the one who was always telling myself that my photos are never good
enough and that was working against me lots because I was always putting all my time and
all my effort into my work, my portfolio and I was not putting enough time and effort into
my business and marketing. My clients must have the photos they dreamed about, they must
be absolutely happy wanting to show it off to all the friends. I might not be shy on
the camera now but I was always little bit shy around people I didn't know, strangers.
I was always the one making all the excuses in the world not to go to a big party. I am
from a smaller city but close enough to Toronto. I have a background in modeling so what I
knew is how to pose, work in front of the camera and I had an extremely strong advantage
over male photographers, I am a female. I also knew many local models. Naturally what
I started to do is contact one by one, building my portfolio and also theirs. I did tons of
free shoots. It took some time and eventually the photos I created started bringing me actual
clients in as the models were showing off my work to other people. Because I am a female
with extensive background in modeling I felt very comfortable posing other females and
that was attracting lot of glamour makeovers clients and also modeling type of clients.
I did advertise here and there as well, it is part of any business really. My website
was bringing me many clients, but the rest was word of mouth. What was very important
is that what the clients saw in my portfolio, that's what they were taking from the photoshoot.
The same results. Nothing less. Many photographers are making mistakes right there. They have
over the top high end photos in their portfolio which they show to the clients, but then the
client at the end is not getting the same quality of the photos. He is not getting the
same results. The photos have to be consistent in order to have the the clients to advertise
for you. Above all this, making the client comfortable, making them feel special and
welcomed, being very friendly, all that counts. The client will talk about you a lot. Your
personality will help you sell or your personality is not gonna sell you at all. What can really
make you stand out in 2021 is a special skill. I know a videographer which is also a figure
skater, you may have seen me post some posts about him on social media because he was covering
the world’s figure skating championship. Jordan Cowen. Skating with a camera on a gimbal,
getting some incredible footage on ice. Not too many people can do that. That's a special
skill right there. This is a guarantee for him to stand out from the crowd. Now the question
is, if by any chance you don't have some type of a special skill which can make you stand
out from the crowd? Weddings and Event photography is hard. The hours are long, and sometimes
it might be physically challenging and mentally as well. But they are absolute gold for your
business. Let me explain. I know it is 2021 and right now it's very slow with weddings
and events. But once this whole thing is over behind us, I have a pretty strong feeling
that there will be a large spike when it comes to weddings especially and maybe events as
well. I'd be ready. Why are they gold? You are meeting huge amounts of people. What I
absolutely suck at is approaching strangers to talk to the strangers so I was hiding behind
the camera most of the time. But when it came to giving final photos to the bride and groom,
all I had to do is share their online portfolio, well send them the link to online portfolio
and say, "feel free to share it with your friends and family". My website address was
right there. And when people visited my website address they saw that I am also doing glamour
shoots and I am doing makeovers, that I am doing family shoots and portraits and all
the other stuff and I got many extra bookings from those weddings. Speaking of websites.
Thank you very much Squarespace for sponsoring today’s video. SQUARESPACE is the all-in-one
platform to build a beautiful online presence and run your business. I’ve been using Squarespace
for almost a year now and the experience is excellent. All you have to do is choose one
of their award winning templates which you can fully customize, choose a domain name
and you are set. If you need help, they have 24/7 customer service. They have all the tools
you need, you can link all your social media there and display it directly on the first
page like I do. One of the features I really like as a photographer is their portfolio
and galleries which are pre-designed, you can choose the look you like. You can also
create password-protected pages just for your clients. Another feature I also like is blogging
tools. It is very easy to write a blog, add photos and videos and schedule it to be published
at a later date. Lastly Appointment Scheduling is also available to make it much easier for
your clients to see your availability, book or reschedule if needed. Head to www.squarespace.com
for a free trial and when you are ready to launch, go to squarespace.com/zdenka to save
10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. If you watch my channel for a long
time, then you must have Jaime Espinoza in one of my past videos. Photographer, the 2nd
shooter at the weddings. Working with me side by side for number of years. The reason I
picked him because he is a role model even though he doesn’t think of himself that
way when it comes to events, making the most out of them and marketing himself the right
way. He offered himself at all kinds of events. Sports, music, politics, photographed models,
did so many free shoots. Every time showing off his work on his website, making contacts
with people. People started noticing him and calling him. His website looks really impressive
and full of work he can do. This is the best way of doing it. His work ethics were unbelievable.
Sometimes I had to actually stop him. You know, go, sit down, have something to eat,
relax. Because I knew that with the amount of photos he is going to give me, I'm gonna
be editing for days. I don’t remember exactly how many years we were working together but
he grew over the years so much. Last few weddings when I was editing the photos, I actually,
when it comes to the candid, ceremony photos, I had no clue sometimes who's photos were
who's. I had to look at the file numbers to see it. We had such a similar style and this
was a true extention. We worked together so well. We were complimenting each other very
well. I’ve tried roughly 30 photographers over the years and most of them only really
shot 1 wedding with me. Drinking problems, sitting by the bar not really working. Or
some of them delivered 200 to 300 RAW photos after a 12 hour day, or their photos looked
like nothing like their photos they showed me in their portoflio. The quality wasn't
there. I don’t settle on OK. Toronto is very highly competitive. I was booking 25
- 30 weddings a year. I asked Jaime if he would be willing to share with you the most
important things to do when you are just starting out. So this is what he wrote me. Number 1
is Research. Do as much research when you can. This will help you make informed decisions
that range from the basic decisions, for example what camera settings to shoot with, to the
significant decisions, for example what camera body to invest in. Number 2 is practice. For
new photographers, practicing will expose you to new scenarios and TFP arrangements
are a good way to learn. For experienced photographers, practicing will help you retain and refine
your skills for important jobs. Number 3 is self awareness. Assess your skills and personality
to find your strengths and weaknesses. This will help identify your comfort zone in your
photography and business. Number 4 is marketing. Determine who your target market is and the
best way to reach them. And last one is patience. It takes time to find your style, build your
portfolio and book clients. Be realistic with your goals and continue to adjust them accordingly.
Oh this one is huge. Something I didn’t do and I should have done. My biggest regret
because I didn't know enough about marketing at that time. There is this very big wedding
company in Toronto which asked me if I could help them to shoot a wedding. They needed
a hepl and I said why not, I have nothing to do, extra cash. Well, they have a very
large staff of photographers and videographers, they are always booked solid for the year.
One extremely smart thing they did was to use one of their staff photographers to take
portraits of families and couples at the wedding and they had nice set up. They put a background,
they put a studio lighting, all that. Photos were very nice, good quality. What they did,
they printed the photo on the spot, had it nicely framed. Of course there was their website
address and contact information and they placed it on the tables for all the guests to take
home. So when the guests displayed the photos somewhere in the house and somebody asked
them, who is the wedding photographer or videographer, do you know anybody? Oh yeah, sure. We were
just at this wedding, this is the company. I failed at this huge. Most of the weddings
have 200 - 500 guests. That's a huge marketing. Most of the people are afraid to give free
things. I was one of them. I wanted to get paid for my work. This simple thing could
have just change my business completely. I could have hired more shooters and it could
have just grow and grow. What I would highly suggest to pick something like that depending
on what type of photography or video you are doing. A small free gift which can reach very
large audience so you don't have to necessary rely on bridal networks and advertisements
or brides and grooms' recommendations only. I've used lot of social media in the past
years too but recommendation, personal recommendation from a friend doesn't beat that. I actually
didn't get many clients from social media. Most of it was honestly word of mouth. All
that works together with passive income. Selling products, stock and all that. You could be
on the way of making 100K a year I don't shoot weddings anymore due to my eye condition…
I cannot work with flashes anymore. But I am very happy to share my knowledge and everything
I learned with those who will use it the right way. Best of luck to you…