The answer is YES!

This set is from our Digital Creation’s Club and it is called “Comfy Basket Set”

You Can SWIPE This Idea!

Yes…you could recreate this very easily with a hard wood floor, baseboard molding, solid backdrop or wall, wicker style basket and colorful blanket. But…most people don’t want to spend the money on all these components and would rather we create it for them.

So…just keep in mind that if done properly, Digital Backgrounds and Props can be a HUGE asset to your business and help offer more options.

I also would like to say that not all Digital Backgrounds and Props are created equal and there is some bad stuff out there. I’m not bashing anyone here…just stating the facts.

It’s the old saying…Good Quality In…Good Quality OUT!

I hope this post has helped inspire you and also given you some ideas that you can use in your Photography.

Here’s the original post from our Digital Creation’s Facebook Group.

]]> http://newportraitbiz.com/blog/1215/was-this-a-digital-background-and-prop-or-not/feed/ 2 http://newportraitbiz.com/blog/1092/5-holiday-portrait-ideas-using-digital-backgrounds-and-props/ http://newportraitbiz.com/blog/1092/5-holiday-portrait-ideas-using-digital-backgrounds-and-props/#comments Tue, 18 Oct 2011 13:50:28 +0000 NewPortraitBiz http://newportraitbiz.com/blog/?p=1092 The Holiday’s are one of the busiest times for portrait photographers and their businesses. That’s why you need to take advantage for these busy times and be creative in your sessions.

I wanted to share 5 new portraits we just created for our NPB Digital Creation’s Club. You are free to use these as inspiration and put your own spin on them for your upcoming sessions.

Portraits #1 – Peaceful Holiday Night

Pro TIP: Always try to name your portraits or themes. This makes it unique to you and your style.

Portrait #2 – The Train StationPro TIP: Using Trains as a theme or a prop are usually a big hit with clients.

Portrait #3 – Elegant Evening

Pro TIP: Old Victorian furniture adds a classy look and can be used for the Holidays or anytime of the year.

Portrait #4 – Christmas Eve

Pro TIP: Capturing cute poses or expressions will help sell your portraits. Try this one!

Portrait #5 – Hat and Mittens

Pro TIP: Use fun props to be creative, but don’t over do it. Simple is sometimes better.

So…there’s 5 unique portrait ideas to get your creative juices flowing. Study these images and see how you can add a unique flare to your Holiday portraits.

It doesn’t matter if you use our Digital Backgrounds or not…you should have some fresh ideas for you to…BE Unique!

Now…if you want to take a short cut and add portraits like these almost instantly and you’re not currently a Digital Creation’s club member…you can get started HERE!

Good Luck and I look forward to seeing your unique portraits this holiday season.

Happy Shooting

So…I thought I’d share it with you, because most people…including myself have fallen into this trap.

Here’s the email she wrote and the advice I gave her.

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Hi Scott, my name is Bec,

I have bought and am using many of your backgrounds and am about to begin a party plan business using them. I will purchase many more from you in the future for this business.

Scott, I need some very quick advice please. I am currently charging $60 for a creation fee and in that the customer was getting 6 photos onto 6 different backgrounds of there choice + 6 small photos.

The problem I had with my first party was that everyone took the 6 free photos with the intention to scan them, so therefor I had not even 1 sale, an in fact was in debt from that party.

Do you have any suggestions please?

Bec
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Hi Bec,

First let me say…congrats on Taking Action! That’s the very first step and most people don’t even get that far.

Now…I would suggest tweaking and testing different ways to present your portraits. You could have a follow up party or meet with each person again to show them their portraits. Then you could sell additional items and possibly set up a future private session.

***It’s Not Always About Making The Sale!***

The other thing you need to keep in mind is that the portrait party is not all about making the sale. Yes…you can make some money, but it’s all about getting your name out there and setting up appointments for your full sessions.

You should be collecting their email, mailing address and phone numbers. That’s The TRUE Gold Here!

Then you can follow up with them to let them know of your upcoming Specials, Facebook updates, Blog updates….and Build The Relationship!

***Building Relationships….Is HUGE***

I can’t stress this enough. Building a relationship is HUGE for long business success. These people will become fans and promote you and your business for YEARS!

I know you said this may have cost you money…but it’s a much better way to spend money on advertising than just throwing an Ad in the newspaper. You actually met with people who are in your targeted market. You should have received their contact information for future follow ups.

So…if it cost you $25 to create these images, I would say that’s money well spent. Yes…you spent your time, but that’s business. If you want to be successful, you need to put in the work and the time.

I hope this helps to show how it’s not always about getting the sale. It goes much deeper and the price on a potential client and their contact information….is HUGE!

Keep your chin up and focus on creating beautiful images that Make People Happy and you’ll do FINE!

It’s all part of the journey. But…if you have a passion for photography and love making people happy by creating portraits, you have to keep pushing. The only one that can get in the way of your success…is you.

Here’s to your success!

Scott

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I hope you can see there’s that there’s so much more than just the initial sale and just because you didn’t get the sale today…you may receive one tomorrow.

Click the “LIKE” button below and share some Love

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Resources:

Create Unique portraits month after month – Digital Creation’s Club

NPB Pro The Inner Circle – Photography Business Community

This video is a Must See!

This video will show you how one of our NPB Pro students creates AMAZING portraits with a super simple set up. Try to say that 3 times fast

Honestly…you’ll be surprised how simple it is and you’ll be able to start creating these Amazing Portraits Too!

Click Play to watch the short video

After you watch the video…leave a comment below!

…and click the “LIKE” button and share the LOVE

I’ll reveal (2) important mistakes that photography businesses make and how you can avoid them. Plus…I’ll show you (2) methods so you can get new clients and more sales…without having to do a lot more work. That’s pretty COOL

In this lesson I’ll show you a real life example from (Karen) one of our NPB Pro Inner Circle Members. She did everything right and now proved to herself that this stuff really works. As long as you use what I show you in this lesson…your business can grow leaps and bounds.

This is all about using the resources you already have and Taking Action! I’ll explain everything in this short 9 minute video.

Click the play button below.

Leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts!

…and Click the “LIKE” button and show a little love to our Facebook friends

New Digital Creation’s Member Doesn’t Mess Around!

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Original Post:

I wanted to post a couple of new portrait ideas for you that will work well for Easter or Spring shoots.

These were created for our Digital Creations Club as Digital Backgrounds and Props, but you could create similar shots using unique props and backgrounds.

The first shot we named “Spring Bowl“. I know pretty unique

It’s pretty simple and only requires a few items to create this shot.

• 1. Hand painted background or soft muted muslin backdrop. The key here is to have soft colors that give a springtime feel.
• 2. Find a large bowl that is unique and has earthy soft colors. You want to have the bowl blend with the backdrop and have a special unique shape.
• 3. Add painted Easter eggs around the bowl. This is optional to give it a Easter theme and to accent the soft colors in the background.

The second shot we named “Spring Basket“. Yep…we got really creative with that name too!

This is very similar to the first shot. The basket is what makes this shot different from the last. Props can add so much to your shots…if not overdone. You want to find unique props at antique stores, thrift shops, flea markets, garage sales, any place that sell unique items.

This shot we used the same backdrop, but just added the new basket.

Now…because we created a Digital Creation Set, we produced two portraits with just one shot. We shot the baby on a white backdrop and then cut her out to insert her in the Bowl and the Basket.

So…I hope you can see that anyone can create unique portraits with just a few unique props. Sometimes clients will come to your studio for a special unique prop they saw from a friend’s portrait session.

My Final Thoughts…..

It’s all about being UNIQUE!

We wanted to make it even easier for you to give this Digital Background thing a try. Until Friday, the 25th you can gain access to the club for just $1. This is another way of saying thanks to our loyal NPB subscribers.

Check Out The Digital Creation’s Club Here

Here’s another example below

Check Out The Digital Creation’s Club Here

Update:

New Digital Creation’s Member Doesn’t Mess Around!

Misty didn’t mess around. She joined the club, downloaded the monthly Digital Creation and created a beautiful portrait. She asked for some advice through Facebook and I responded what I recommended. It’s funny, because I created a tutorial in the club for February that shows exactly what I did.

I’m including the before and after shot from the simple technique I shared with Misty.

Here’s the adjustments I told her I applied to the image that improved the overall portrait.

I wanted to share this image, because it shows how someone decided to give our club a try and received an AMAZING portraitin return.Misty didn’t waste anytime and has proved that she can do this.

Check Out The Digital Creation’s Club Here

Linda Dean Says:
I have been dabbling in photography off and on for years. Reading from the internet, bought tons of books, started but didn’t complete a well known distance learning course, but have never found anything hit home more than this has in just two videos.

Thanks so much

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Bekkie Harper Says:
There is so much information available on the web but this course has provided
more clear and understandable information in a few well thought out, put together
lessons than anything I’ve seen or read on the net!

You guys take something that was so complicated and difficult to understand and
turn it into something even I can do! Thanks so much, I am so excited and can
hardly wait to do the homework.

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Melissa Jolivette Says:

These lessons are right on time!! I struggled for a long time trying to understand
the saying “longer shutter speed” or “drag the shutter”. This lesson was very
detailed and now my unanswered questions have been answered! Thank you guys!

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Judy Kasper Says:
Thanks again, I am learning something new from each one of these videos. This is great!
Thanks guys. I’m enjoying these very much.

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Carol Moreau Says:
The one light set up will come in handy for me because most of my business is
as a mobile photographer and sometimes trying to find room to set up several
lights is a challenge.

Thank you Scott and Joe for being so willing to help us.

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This isn’t the first time I’ve heard this from Photography Business Owners. We as humans want results….NOW! We think if we try something once and it doesn’t work, than it doesn’t work. We expect if we send out a postcard to people one time, they should respond.

WRONG!

The truth is that it can take 5-7 times (sometimes more) for people to see you and then respond. Sometimes the time isn’t right for the individual or maybe they just don’t know you or trust you. Maybe they are happy with their photographer at the moment.

But…who knows if they will 6 months from now. Things change as we all know…Right?

I wanted to shoot a video and explain why marketing is a lot like fishing or playing sports. I want you to see that you need to be persistent and willing to keep trying in order to be successful. If it was so easy…everyone would be successful.

I also wanted to remind you that the clients that you already have or get in the future, will be your best advertising tool…EVER! So many people want to find new clients, but don’t use their past clients to help promote them. This is the BIG picture. Finding clients and having those clients promote you with word of mouth advertising. Period!

Remember…it takes persistence and a desire to be successful. You can do it

Watch the video below!

Leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts!

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Click the “Like” button and show some love

We’ve included over 100 images in this Creative Guide using NPB Digital Backgrounds and props that helped create these Amazing Portraits.

(Right click and “Save As” to your computer)

Click Here to Download!

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*NOTE: If for some reason you can’t view the guide from the above download link, you may need to update your PDF reader.

Check for the latest reader HERE!

You can also try to download the optimized version below.

Click Here To Download

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Make sure to click the “Like” button and share this with your friends.

]]> http://newportraitbiz.com/blog/813/digital-backgrounds-portrait-guide/feed/ 39 http://newportraitbiz.com/blog/806/5-steps-for-building-a-successful-photography-business/ http://newportraitbiz.com/blog/806/5-steps-for-building-a-successful-photography-business/#comments Mon, 31 Jan 2011 01:06:50 +0000 NewPortraitBiz http://newportraitbiz.com/blog/?p=806

Click Here to Check Out BizControl Marketing Course

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