This is probably the Million Dollar question. The truth is that there are many ways to do this, but sometimes it takes trying and testing new methods until you find one that works for you.

That’s why I’m so excited to share a recording from a phone call I recently did with one of our NPB students. His name is Gregg Workman and he’s done some testing in this department and agreed to share one of his techniques with me and everyone else in our little NPB community.

This is why it’s so important to surround yourself with like minded people that have the same goals. You can speed up the process by learning from other peoples mistakes and success.

Press the play button to start the recording and Enjoy! As always…leave me a comment below and let me know your thoughts.

Make sure to take notes and do what Gregg did…Take Action!

In the video below I’ll demonstrate how using these Digital Backgrounds and Props in Photoshop can be super simple.

The Digital Background we used in this video is available in our Digital Creations Club.
Check it out…Here!

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Topic: Printing labs & what to tell the customer…

Every once in a while someone asks me where I print my portraits. What should I tell them? I go to a local printing lab that a lot of professionals and amateurs use in Louisville. But I don’t want the customers thinking they’d just rather get a cd and take it to walmart and print it themself, especially since I’m not offering cd’s. Plus they can also see the price list for prints and although I don’t charge much yet, I still feel funny about that. But I also don’t want to sound like I’m trying to hide anything. So what’s the best answer?

Nikkia

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Nikkia – I get that same question once in a while too. I tell them I have them printed at a professional lab out of state (which I do). I use Black River Imaging most of the time, although I have used H&H too. If I’m in a real hurry I will use a lab here in town, but I never tell them where. They don’t need to know pricing.

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Nikkia, same here. Even when I used to local lab I didn’t tell them where I did it. They are aware there will be a mark-up but if they think I’m paying $2.00 for a 8×10 why is my mark-up $20.00?
I do explain to them there are local labs but mine are done out of town because I get a better product for them and I can actually show them the difference between local and H&H, which is who I use.

Carol

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Thanks girls! I actually thought as I was typing that question, gosh these people are gonna think I’m nuts! But you made me feel not at all nuts~  Glad I asked!

Nikkia

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I always think it is nice to get different opinions and hope one will work.

My son is a locksmith and will open a car door in 2 seconds and charge $25.00-50.00 and the owner will comment on the price versus the time it took and he says he will gladly relock it if they wish, they tell him no. Usually because they have called around and all the $20.00 places won’t show or that is only their day rate so they know there isn’t anyone available. Yes, my son used tools he bought (there are about 15 kinds of “slim jims” one doesn’t fit all models but he also goes to continuing ed classes and has to pay for his vehicle, gas, ins, etc.

Now we all have expenses, equipment to maintain, possible classes and other overhead and that has to be figured in with our prices. I remember one time when I was selling Tupperware a lady wouldn’t buy from me because S&H was $3.50 and we were no longer delivering to customers (now she would have been happy for me to deliver for free to her but it would have cost me gas, time and wear and tear on my car) and then she went to the next booth and bought a toy and did not hesitate to pay $8.50 for S&H because that was the way that company always had that policy.

Carol

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Wow my son is a Locksmith too- charges $65 and when not paid he has re-locked the car.

Does anyone question a doctors charge for looking at the x-rays that cost 50c No he charges for the 12 years plus of med school.

joe

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I tell people who ask me that i send them off to a lab in ______ depending what lab im useing ( i use 3 diff labs depending on what i am doing sports, portraits, etc…)

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I heard a story of a factory that had a million dollar machine that wouldn’t work properly. They had all the engineers and top dogs looking at it and no one knew what the problem was. Eventually they were told by someone that they should call this older gentleman that retired a few years back. So, they did. He came out there, looked at the machine, and put an “x” on a piece inside on one of the circuit boards with a black magic marker. He told them to replace that part he marked with a new one, and it would work just fine. So they did, and it worked perfectly. Saving the company millions in having to purchase new equipment, downtime, etc… When they received his bill, it was for $10,000. The top dogs were livid and asked him to send them an itemized bill. So he did, and here is what it said:

$1.00 – Black sharpie marker to put “x” on part
$9,999.00 – knowing where to put the “x”

If photography was easy, they wouldn’t be coming to you.

J
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I’m just starting portraits, but my sister is in the same mindset. she wants be to take photos of her step-daughters baby, wants them edited into Scott’s scale bg & the moon bg. But she doesn’t want to order through me, she wants to bring a CD for me to put them all on when I am done with the edits & she’ll print them on her “Good” Kodak printer. that way she’ll owe me nothing!

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Sounds like one heck of a good deal !!! NOT…
Have you take the portraits, have you edit them how she wants,
and then just give them to her on a CD so she can print all that she wants on her little home printer… and you get the big fat nothing for your effort and time…
I want one of those deals please

I presume you have enough sense to not go any where near it, at least under the terms you sister has for you.

Nolan

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Heavens NO! she may not talk to me, but I’m not doing all the work and giving her everything for nothing. Besides I don’t want one of my first sessions printed with a home printer.

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yeah it is amazing how people want something for nothing!!

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J, that was a great story you typed. I literally laughed at the itemized bill he sent the company. LOL I totally agree with the bill he sent!

I tell my clients the same – that I get all my prints through a professional lab out of state. We have pro labs here in Houston as well, but I don’t tell them who I go to. They don’t need to know all that. LOL

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OK…so the bottom line is people will be bold and ask some really BOLD questions. You as a business owner need to make sure you have your answers available on the spot. We’ve been asked this many times and always said a private lab. You shouldn’t have to answer personal business questions like were you get your taxes done and things like that…but you will.

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But, if you’re reading this blog post…you must love photography.

I wanted to post a few shots from 2 of the new sets and show you the before and after shots, so you can see for yourself.

Here’s a shot that was taken from one of our NPB Digital Creation Club members (Judy Kasper). This was shot on a black background and made it pretty easy to cut out in Photoshop.

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Here’s the after shot that I created. By using the Digital Creation, I was able to just cut out the dog in Photoshop and then insert him. I’m sure that if you had this image enlarged to a 16×20 or larger….you’ll get some heads to turn.

Now I wanted to also show how this same Digital Creation could be used for subjects other than pets. You always want to try and use subjects that target your market. If you’re creating a portrait to hang in your local pet grooming salon…go with portrait #1. This will align your services with theirs.

Here’s the before image I used to create the 2nd portrait.

And once again, after about 5 minutes on this one…I created another beautiful portrait.

For more information about our club…Click Here!

Here’s 2 more shots that were created with another one of our new Digital Creations. It’s called “Summer Picnic” and it works really well.

For more information about our club…Click Here!

So…I just wanted to post these examples of how using Digital Backgrounds and Props can turn you into a professional almost overnight. Plus it gives you access to $1,000’s of dollars worth of hand painted backdrops and props that you don’t have to purchase.

…and yes I would love you to join our club and start using our Digital Creations in your business.

Even if you just add these to your existing business…I’m sure your clients will love them and you’ll start to create some buzz.

Talk to ya soon!

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There was a question that came in from Colleen about setting up her Fundraiser table at an event she’s hosting. She wanted to know if I had any tips or suggestions on her table display.

Of course I did and I wanted to share these with all of our subscribers. I know most people just don’t think about the small things, but these can make a HUGE difference.

Take some notes and use these when setting up your next Fundraiser.

Enjoy!

Press the play button to start the recording.

After you get done listening…leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts.

Scott

It’s under 10 minutes long and it will give you some ideas on how to step outside your comfort zone and start getting some new clients in your photography business.

As always…leave your comments below and let me know your thoughts.

Enjoy!

Press the play button to start the recording.

Watch the short video below to see how you can follow this simple technique.

As usual…post a comment and let me know what you think.

Enjoy!

Another common problem new photographers have…is creating their (IM) Aka: Interest Magnet. This is a portrait to create desire for their services. Check out some of our IM’s  that we’ve created and now offer to our NPB club members.

Click Here To Check Out Our NPB Digital Creations Club

Click Here to check out our NPB Digital Creations Club.

Here’s an example of the finished portrait. Great Job Carol!

]]> http://newportraitbiz.com/blog/337/digital-photography-tips-using-photoshop-and-digital-backgrounds/feed/ 15 http://newportraitbiz.com/blog/329/photography-business-marketing-tips-for-your-studio-contest-model/ http://newportraitbiz.com/blog/329/photography-business-marketing-tips-for-your-studio-contest-model/#comments Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:30:24 +0000 http://newportraitbiz.com/blog/?p=329 I decided to create this video after one of our NPB Coaching calls and discovered a few common mistakes that can easily be fixed…so ultimately you get better results in your marketing.

Gregg, who’s one of our NPB Students, had a promotion for his Photography Business and was wondering why he didn’t receive the best results. After listening to the offer and email he was using…I had a few ideas as to why it didn’t WORK!

Watch the video below as I go through Gregg’s entire promotion and give my advice on how to fix it

I wanted to say thanks again to Gregg, for allowing me to share this with our subscribers.

Talk to ya later!

Scott

There’s certain elements that I cover in this video that can help you maximize both your profits and your client base. You can always modify and tweak these guidelines, but it’s a good starting point.

Enjoy!

Scott