Vanessa Honda is an award winning portrait and wedding photographer who was recently hired to photograph a former Miss Universe for a feature in Iris ...
In Southern California and particularly in Orange County, the photography industry is competitive. To compete effectively a photographer needs to offer a superior value to his clients. This article offers suggestions at how a beach photographer can offer a terrific value and still make a living.
Offer multiple mini-sessions within a single photography session. Many people have their family portraits done at the beach because they are have a family reunion or family vacation at the beach. Thus there will often groups of extended families. A photographer who is organized and experienced can offer a better value to these clients by offering to shoot several mini-sessions within the larger session. In this way, if there is a high school senior, the high school senior can have his senior portraits taken. If there is a newborn, the photographer can do a mini newborn shoot. Thus the large family can get a few images from the one shoot that they would otherwise have to pay several session fees for if they were to hire a less organized photographer. By being organized and offering these min-sessions, a photographer can offer greater value to his clients.Have an efficient back end editing system. As most photogaphers know, most of the work of a photography session happens after the shoot is completed. Many photographers do the same thing over and over again but do not think of how they can make their process more efficient. The do not take the needed time to sharpen the saw. They then spend more time in the long run. The beach photographer who is able to have an efficient system will be able offer a better value than one who is not organized. Organize your back end processing!Offer mini-sessions. In many instances, a client does not need a large number of images. They just need a few quality images. In these cases a photographer can break up a normal session into a number of smaller mini-sessions. In this way, the photographer will be able to charge less per session because he schedules three clients for the time of a normal session. In this way, the photographer earns money through greater volume and the client does not get excess images she does not need.
The photography industry through Orange County is competitive. By following the above suggestions, a photographer will be in a position to compete effectively.