The first question I’m going to address is from my friend and client Thao:

“Hi, Tasha! Great post; thanks for asking us for suggestions! I would personally love to know how you began building up a steady client base, especially before you had a big portfolio. Did you rely on personal recommendations? What marketing tools did you use? What do you think made you stand out from other photographers?

I know how WE (Dan and I) found (and loved!) your work, but I’m curious to know if that was an anomaly or a part of your regular business strategy.”

A bit of background – when I first started portrait and wedding photography, I ran a special where I gave away a very limited number of free sessions as a portfolio builder. Thao was one of my first clients, and found me through some retweets about that special on Twitter. We had a fantastic engagement session together (still one of my favorite sessions to this date), and I’ll be shooting her wedding this June, and I couldn’t be more excited!

Thao herself is working on starting a paper design company, so I can see how apt this question is for her. Oh, and by the way, if you’re looking for some fabulous, classy, and creative work for invitations, save the dates, etc., check her out. Here’s one of her latest projects.

Ok, now on to the answer….

The first thing I did was create a portfolio and, at the same time, try to get my name out there. This is where those few free portrait/e-sessions came in. I know if you offer a quality product for free, word spreads like wildfire… and I also knew I couldn’t sell myself to paying clients in the near future without something to show them that I did indeed know how to work a camera and had a creative eye. Along the same lines, I also offered drastically reduced wedding packages for the first free months I was in business. I needed to get clients to me and create some buzz.

I don’t condone working for free or cheap on an ongoing basis – photography and other creative fields involve A LOT of hard work and you should always respect your work and charge what you are worth – but I don’t see anything wrong with offering specials on a short-term or limited basis to get people in the door. I mean, it’s worked for a lot of large businesses, right?

After that initial push, now that I had some sort of portfolio in order, I relied (and still do) heavily on social networking and word of mouth. I’m really lucky in the fact that I’ve been known in a photography capacity for years since I’m an established music photographer as well as a wedding/portrait photographer…. thus, when people think of me, the fact that I am a photographer is forefront in their mind. I get a lot of referrals from friends, or inquiries from people that know my music work and are now getting married. I also have fantastic clients who refer me to friends and family as well as on wedding boards. Chicago is an extremely saturated market and I think many, if not most, people in the area look for recommendations for photographers rather than just blindly Googling. As far as social networking, I try to put my photos out there and let them sell me… I post on Facebook, on my blog, I tweet often, I use Flickr…. I try to make it as easy as possible for people to find me.

In addition to working with social networking, I also really focus on customer service. I do my best to answer emails quickly and thoroughly. I try to go to my clients for consults and meetings instead of having them come to me. I listen to them when they talk about what they want in their photos, rather than just running blindly with my own ideas (although I also do incorporate my own style and thoughts). For wedding clients, I always always remember what a stressful, fun, and exciting day a wedding day is, so I do what I can to reduce the stress and capture the fun and excitement.

I think my attention to my customers is one thing that sets me apart from others, and the other thing is my background. As mentioned, I come from a music photography background, which lets me be very comfortable with low lighting and fast movement (such as a reception at a wedding). I also work at a university where I do portraits and events on a regular basis. Between music photography and my university job, I am shooting every single day, even if I don’t have any business related portrait or wedding shoots. Sometimes I have several shoots in one day. I’m practiced, I’m used to different styles of photography, and very few things can throw me for a loop. I also am used to working with different locations and different people. I think aside from all those factors contributing to my confidence level, it also gives me a different viewpoint or “eye.” I like to think I’m great at telling stories with my photos, whether it is a concert, a portrait, an event, or a wedding.

Ultimately, I think as long as you’re dedicated, passionate, professional, and look for every opportunity to get your name out there, you’ll succeed. If you’re excited about your work, others will be too.

I always have a meeting with my wedding clients a month or two before their wedding so that we can go over final details – some special shots that they want, who they want in their formals, and of course, the schedule. I need to know the schedule so I don’t miss certain important aspects of the day, obviously, but I also want to make sure that there is enough time in there to get all the shots that the couple wants. That’s why this schedule that I’m posting about is fantastic.

Devised by the creative brains over at Wedding Chicks, this schedule not only makes a lot of sense, and is concise (thank goodness! I hate long forms!), but also has specific notes relating to the photography aspect of the wedding. It gives tips and schedules in time for some shots that might not immediately come to mind. Oh, and it’s really cute. A little beauty never hurt anything, right?

So, if you’re currently planning a wedding, or a photographer in need of a schedule, head on over to the blog post at Wedding Chicks to download it and read a bit more about it.

I took this on Christmas day to test out my new macro-lens, and I just made it my desktop background… so, I thought I would share the hi-res version for others to do the same, if they wish (and if they’re obsessed with cameras, like me).

DOWNLOAD THE LARGE VERSION HERE

Enjoy!

(PS. This is for personal use only, please do not distribute the image or use it commercially without prior permission. Stealing is not nice.)

I like to share when I find companies or products that I adore. I’m never endorsed or get any kickback from mentioning these companies (unless stated otherwise)… I just know how hard it can be to find reliable vendors. Besides, my mama always told me to share.

M13 is kind of the standard amongst local bands in the area. If you get a glossy flier handed to you after a concert, chances are, that flier came from M13. Since I deal with many local bands, I wasn’t unaware of the benefits of M13, but I never thought to use them for my business work. I wish I thought of it earlier! They offer unbeatable prices and they’re amazingly quick.

How quick, you ask?

I put an order in on a Friday night for a 1000 of the above 3×4 discount cards, at 8 p.m., and they called me the next day at 2:30 on Saturday (yes! Saturday!) to let me know that my order was ready for pickup.

The other great thing, aside from absolutely amazing customer service, is that they don’t charge extra for 4-color printing on both sides, nor do they charge extra for UV or matte finish.

For those not in the Chicago area, they do ship all over, so this rec is for everyone… if you’re a photographer and want postcards, business cards, etc., this is a Godsend. If you’re a client, look into M13 for save the dates, place cards, or programs. And even better – today only (December 23, 2009), they are offering 50% off on all their products (I’m going to get more business cards!). Really, what are you waiting for?

www.m13graphics.com

Hey photographers…

Since I always like to share little tips and tricks, here’s another goody. My friend Alexandre just launched a preset site full of Lightroom presets. There are a bunch of freebies (who doesn’t love free stuff?!), as well a large collection of presets that you can buy on the site.

Since I am a lucky girl, Alexandre sent me some presets to play around with, and I can honestly say that they’re a lot of fun. I posted a few samples of what the presets can do below.

(Using the “Window Light” preset)

(Using the “Rosalici” preset – which I think is my favorite!)

Here’s the site again: www.AMPresets.com

I made this preset while working on Thao & Dan’s engagement pictures. It’s a completely unassuming preset. It’s nothing flashy, but it’s oh so effective. I call it, simply, “Light Pop.”

Since its creation, I’ve used the preset on a large majority of my recent work. It’s become my go-to preset when I want a bit of an exposure and contrast boost as well as a warm tone. Oh, and you can’t forget a touch of vignette… I do love subtle vignettes.  It’s meant to be a base preset – great for photos that are intended to look natural, or give a great starting point that you can tweak further.

Why am I giving it away for free, you ask? Well, I’m sharing for a totally selfish reason… I would love to see how other people use it, and in the process, maybe make some new photographer friends (as I’m new in the biz and all). So, download it, test it out, and post your results here. Make sure you include a link to your site so I can oogle it (psst, I’m encouraging you to link back to your sites!).

DOWNLOAD HERE

Here are a few examples:

To save some scrolling, here’s another link:

DOWNLOAD HERE

After responding to an email about how to start up a business, I thought I’d share a few of the resources that I use and swear by. I’m not endorsed by any of these companies – I just really like them!

1. Instaproofs.com – Instaproofs is a “free” online proofing system. Their service has no setup or monthly fees, instead, they only take a small percentage (about 15%) of your sales. However, the benefits of Instaproofs largely outweigh their small commission. Instaproofs gives you several ways to promote your proofing galleries – you can send out bulk emails, you can set discount rates, and there is a section to highlight certain galleries. Everything is also customizable. You set your own print prices, your watermark, your extras, etc. There is even a section where you can alter their CSS for a little more personalized look on your proofing page.

If you sign up for Instaproofs, make sure you put my email address (tasha@redwallphotography.com) in the referrer box!

2. Dropbox (getdropbox.com) – Dropbox is online file sharing space whose ftp system integrates with your computer. Simply put, you download Dropbox’s software, which then creates a folder on your computer. To upload anything to Dropbox, you merely drop the file/folder into the designated Dropbox folder, and voila, it uploads! I mainly use Dropbox to send files to clients. All I have to do is upload the files I want to Dropbox, then right click to get the download link where my clients can then download the files, and I send the client an email with their unique link to download their files. Everything is secure, as the link only allows access to their specific files. It’s more professional than sites such a Mediafire, and is easier than uploading something to your own web server.

Dropbox offers 2 gigs of free space to begin with. You can either buy more space or earn more space through their referral program. Basically, they give you a unique link (this is mine), and if people sign up using that link, you get an additional 512MB of storage space, per person that signs up! By the way, did I mention that my personal link is here if you want to sign up?

3. Presetsheaven.com – Free Lightroom presets. While I’m a huge advocate of creating your own actions and presets, Presetheaven has some nice Lightroom presets that are created by various photographers. All different types of presets are featured on the site – everything from basic contrast tweaks, to vignettes, to complex presets that can completely transform your photos. At the very least, it’s a great place to get some ideas or to get the basis for some personally-tweaked presets of your own.  Oh, and p.s. – they also have some tutorial videos and other goodies.