with the information being shared has been astounding and is the driving force behind the show . I received an email from Mike Seaman in the UK last week to say he ’ s just gone full time with his photography after only recently discovering the podcast . His email message is not out of the ordinary . That kind of thing continues to blow me away .
The Photography Xperiment Podcast is a little different . The focus here is to get inside the head of the photographer and learn what makes them tick . Why they do what they do , how they approach their photography , how they achieve what they do . There ’ s a bigger focus on the creativity behind the photography and a lot less about the money making side .
One listener described the two podcasts beautifully , he said ; PhotoBizX is like an intensive business workshop each week where you go to learn , improve and grow as a business operator . The Photography Xperiment Podcast is more like sitting around with your photographer mates over a beer or two after class and talking photography .
You ’ ve interviewed a real mix of people from photographers to marketing and social media experts , if a reader was wanting to get serious about wedding photography , what would you advise them to get in place first ... what I mean is do they ensure they have the right gear , the right training or understanding of photography and what about the business and marketing side ?
The mix of guests on the PhotoBizX podcast has been super varied and funnily enough , it ’ s not always the big name photographers who share the best content to help the listener get ahead with their business . Often it ’ s the lesser known photographer , scrapping away in the trenches fighting to be profitable that share the real gems .
In regard to getting started as a pro , my feeling is you need to know how to shoot first . A photographer should be able to create great photos no matter the conditions they face . Sure , some of this will come with experience and you can ’ t learn everything before you give business a try BUT , a photographer has to be confident in delivering something worth paying for , from every shoot .
Once here , it ’ s all about the business . And by business , I ’ m talking about pricing , marketing , branding , advertising , networking and being able to get the phone ringing and people booking . Without bookings and sales , you won ’ t have a business for long and you ’ re certainly not
a professional wedding or portrait photographer .
The biggest hurdle I see for new photographers is building that consistency of bookings , shoots and sales . That doesn ’ t happen by owning flash camera gear or even being the best photographer . Anyone trying to profit from photography must work on their business , there ’ s no way around that unless you work for another photographer .
One thing to add ... being a pro photographer isn ’ t for everyone . Some of the happiest , best photographers I see have a full time job and shoot for fun . To a lot of pro photographers , that looks and sounds pretty attractive . Running a business can be tough and takes a lot of work .
In saying that . I wouldn ’ t swap !
Are you teaching too or plan to ?
My teaching is limited to writing books and courses based on the interview content and helping PhotoBizX members succeed with their businesses .
My most recent course on Facebook Ads has been a great success but it was all knowledge learnt from an interview guest ( Bernie Griffiths ) that members , listeners and I have
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