Is Free Always Better?

Quick answer...No!

I've been having a bit of a dilemma recently about pricing.  There are a lot of photographers around and competition is quite fierce.  Especially around this time of year.  Many of them are offering free shoots and heavily discounted photo packages.  I wondered how I could compete with this and still make enough money to keep the lights on in my house.  Or even if I should.

I decided not to.  That might sound silly in the current economic climate.  Why would I not want to attract business from the opposition?  Well obviously I do.  So why not wade in with my own free offer?

I did a bit of research and asked a lot of people what their thoughts were on the subject.  It basically boils down to value and the old saying 'you get what you pay for'.  I provide a personal service giving all of my customers exactly what they want.  My sessions are good fun and all of the pictures I show are of a very high quality.  What the customer receives is always excellent and everyone goes away happy.  Including me.

If I went in with a free shoot and a £19.99 photo package, first of all I would never earn anything.  But also my customers and potential customers would expect a certain level of service.  I aim (and deliver) higher than that.  My prices are already very reasonable while still giving me the margins I need to live off.  Reducing the price also reduces the perceived value.

I have discounted Christmas shoots to £15, which still retains the level of expected value while at the same time giving people a bit of a break in difficult times.

In short - if you want something that's worth nothing, go get it for free.  If you want something that's worth its cost that you will love and keep forever, come to me!

Inspiration

Inspiration comes from all sorts of places.  Since I started working for myself I've been to a lot of networking groups and seminars and listened to a lot of inspirational people.  The inspirational and motivational speakers are good but I get far more from people who aren't trying to inspire.  They just do.  And it has far more of an effect.

At the networking groups I attend, each week 1 member has the opportunity to speak for 10 minutes about their journey to where they are now.  There are obviously some who leave school, train in their field and work in that field for years.  That's great, but it's the ones who hate their job and accidentally fall into another profession that are really inspirational.  Or the ones who lose their jobs and start a business.  Or the ones who go through massive upheaval in their life and turn it around.  Or the ones who have a good idea and take a massive risk.

Some examples... A friend of mine had a very good job working for a frozen food manufacturer.  He moved around the country a bit and ended up in Grimsby.  A opportunity came up to buy a local driving school in Grimsby so he took the plunge!  Brilliant!

Another friend was in the army.  He got shot and blown up (his words) and left.  Instead of letting his head go down he started a first aid training business.  Brilliant!  He has also just started public speaking to share his story and motivate other people.  Double brilliant!

I could go on but I won't.  I'll leave you with a quote from an insurance broker in Lincolnshire who spoke at this morning's networking group.  It takes all of this and takes it that little step further.  "Don't look to others for inspiration... learn from your own experiences and do something inspirational"

Test Trading

It's time to come clean.  I have only just become official...  For the last 6 months I have been working on a Government scheme called test trading.

I lost my job in January (under circumstances I'd love to discuss but can't...) which was a bit of a shock but also a massive relief!  I'd aggonised for a couple of years about quitting and taking the plunge as a full time photographer.  Can I afford it?  What if I don't get the customers?  Will my house get repossessed?!?!  But that decision was made for me at the start of the year so I did it.  OK, not straight away...

With the help of eFactor I went and signed on and got myself onto the Test Trading scheme.  It allows you to continue receiving benefit while starting your own business.  It gives you a chance to see if being self employed is for you, if you're any good at what you do, if you can make any money doing it and generally if it's going to work. 

For the last 26 weeks I have had to check in fortnightly with my Business Adviser who checks what I've been up to and how much I've made (or lost!)  Any profit the business makes has to go into a jointly controlled bank account so I can't get my hands on it (hence still being able to sign on), but the money can be used to buy stock and equipment for the business.  Something I've made full use of!

So now the 26 weeks are up and I'm being let loose into the world on my own.  The profit in the account is now mine to use as I please.  I will still be using eFactor though.  Their advice, courses and networking events are excellent and free!

I need to say a massive thank you to eFactor and especially Judith Hancock who have given me more help and support than I could have hoped for.  I urge anyone who has a business idea or who finds themselves in the same situation as me to get in touch.

Houston... We Have an Opportunity!

OK, so I nicked that off a T-shirt. But it says everything I want to say. Problems come along all the time, but it's how we deal with them that makes us successful.

A fresh problem can knock you back and it's a natural reaction to let it get you down. You focus on fixing the issue, minimising the damage and generally getting yourself out of a mess. But that's all a bit time consuming. Which means the things you should have been doing get put off, timelines get compressed and the day-to-day things become the next problem leading to upset customers and unnecessary stress.

So why not flip it on its head? Turn a problem into an opportunity. OK some things need fixing but a bit of bad news can lead to something bigger and better! A couple of examples from me then...

I'd been wanting to start my business for a while, doing a bit here and there for friends and family. Doing a bit of promoting but not really trading and certainly not making any money! I was working full time getting a reasonable, regular salary. OK I hated my job but it was secure and regular and taking the plunge to take pictures for a living was a massive step. Which I was too scared to take. In January I lost that job. It was a huge blow to my confidence and a big worry as to how the mortgage would get paid. Even then I didn't start my business. I was focused on the worry of an income. I got a bit of a payout so I was OK for a few months. So I started looking for another job. Not easy in a small, out-of-the-way town in a recession. In April my wife suggested I went to eFactor to see if they could help me set up my business and do it properly. I registered at the start of May and here I am! From jobless to self employed, working for myself and choosing my own hours (sort of) in less than a year!

The latest "opportunity" came a few weeks ago. My studio in Grimsby is within another business and the owners told me they were selling up. I met with the new owners who told me there was to be no space in the new plan for a photo studio. So did I give up the portrait work completely? Did I find another studio to rent in Lincolnshire? Nope! I went out to find my own premises. I've found somewhere and I'm currently in negotiations with the agent and the landlord. All being well [searches for wood to touch] I should be in for January or February. A bit of a gamble though... It'll cost 3 times as much as I'm paying but I'm confident I can make more than that in the new location! Watch this space...

There's loads of books available about the power of positive thinking. None of which I've read... But it works. Get your head in the right place, know that every problem is just an opportunity in disguise and just do it!

Competition

I've been to another Wedding Fair today.  This one was at Oasis health club.  It's not the first I've done and certainly won't be the last.  They are really the best way for a wedding photographer to get his/her name out there and get noticed by the right people (i.e. brides and grooms to be).

One thing you notice though is that there are a lot of wedding photographers in Grimsby and Cleethorpes!  I did a fair in September and there were 10 of us!  It seems like a lot at first glance.  And second glance.  And third...  There is a lot of competition.

So it's important to stand out.  Yes you have to have good pictures (although not all do - just my opinion!), but you also need something else.  I like to give a really personal service to all of my clients.  I have the packages like most others, but I also offer a completely tailored service so you can have exactly what you want!

I also offer a few little extras that no-one else does.  For example, every package comes, at no extra charge, with 50 personalised thank-you cards featuring the photo of your choice.  I will soon be adding a framed "guest book" picture as part of the Gold package as well.  Something a bit special...

I don't know if it's enough, but people seem to like me and book me to be their official photographer for their big day!  There's always room for more bookings though...

Fashion Photography

I am proud to say I am now the official photographer for Capital Collection.  For those not in the know they are a high end men's clothing retailer in Grimsby.  It is now my responsibility to take all the photos for their website.  OK, it may not sound very exciting, but the standards expected by Stuart and his team are very high.  He needs excellent quality, well lit fashion shots of all of his stock to sell online.  And he has a lot of stock!

For me personally it is a very good job to get.  It's not working with people which I love, but it is good regular work which still gives me scope to be creative.


 OK, I have had to buy a new mannequin  for the shots but I can add it to the equipment I can provide with my studio to rent in Grimsby.

I am incredibly grateful to Stuart for choosing me and I hope it is set to continue for a long time to come!

It's a good advert to anyone else who has anything to sell online.  It's well worth spending a bit extra and getting some good quality professional commercial photographs to properly market your product.

(I should probably say as well that if you do go onto the site for a look they're not all my shots.  Not yet anyway...!)

Art or porn...?

So I've had a problem recently.  I wanted to expand my portfolio a bit and offer something a bit different to my potential clients.  I already do Boudoir Photography but wanted to expand a bit and offer Nude Photography.  Now this is obviously a very personal subject matter and I wouldn't expect any previous clients to allow their nakedness to be used for my own personal promotion (although some may be happy).  And besides, I didn't have any of my own photos to use, which was really more of a problem...

So I paid a model.  Heidi was excellent!  Very attractive, slim and super professional.  And not afraid to pose nude.  I got a set of photos that I was pleased with and proud of.  I put them up on my website.  (Go to www.chris-lynn.co.uk or Google Photographer in Grimsby to have a look.)

I also put them on Facebook.  Which is where the problem arose.  It seems I breached their content terms and condition regarding nudity.  I checked the rules, changed my age restrictions and deemed my photos not to be pornographic or offensive.  Facebook disagreed it seems.  My account was disabled with no explanation and I was left without for a week!


I'm back on now with the offending pictures removed.  But I still feel a but aggrieved.  I'm wondering at what point art nude becomes offensive...  Have a look at my gallery in the nudes section and maybe you could let me know...?

(By the way... I haven't posted any of the pics here for obvious reasons!)