We interviewed Chris Reese (along with others in The Photographer’s Guide to Copyright) to learn more about what photographers should know bout social media and protecting their copyrights. Chris served as General Counsel and Executive Vice President of SightSound Technologies, a tech company that developed technologies to sell audio and video files online. Over the years, he’s watched how technology has both expanded the way artists can distribute their work and made monetizing it (and maintaining value) incredibly difficult.

Chris took the time to talk us through what a photographer needs to know before sharing images online and using social media as a marketing tool.

What should a photographer consider before posting photos online?

The thing to realize is that anything that you can see or hear on the web, you can copy. At the absolute minimum you can take out your iPhone and take a picture of the monitor. You really need to read the Terms of Service before you give a website access to your creative work. If you can imagine something being done that would make you angry after the fact, you need to understand whether you’re actually giving them the right to do that very thing.

What are the important things to look for in any Terms of Service (TOS)?

The one thing to keep in mind is that almost every single terms of service will say that it has the right to change the terms of service. And typically it’s without notifying you.

The primary thing to look for is whether or not they allow for the commercial usage of what you’re posting. Most of them don’t. Surprisingly, some do. Some say that anyone can take a picture, copy it, put it on a t-shirt and start selling it. You need to read the rules to see if you are permitting that kind of use.

What should a photographer take into consideration before using social media to market?

Anything that you put online is up for grabs and can be stolen. You have to keep that in mind. If you have the greatest song in the history of the world and you post that on YouTube for free, you might dramatically undercut your ability to commercialize it. On the other hand, it might not.

It’s very easy for us to imagine that something we’ve created will all of a sudden catch fire and everybody will want it – that’s the nature of creation. Is that likely to happen? Not often. When we decide to use the tools available to us through the Internet, being overly concerned about the potential for bad things to happen is probably just as much of a concern as overstating the potential for good things to happen.

Why is stealing so rampant online and over social media?

There’s a big difference between legal rights and technical ability. The technical ability to copy any kind of digital works these days is so much stronger than whatever legal rights you have to tell people not to copy it.

If, for example, you find somebody that just didn’t read the TOS and they think they’re allowed to take your photos and use your photos for a brochure – it’s a careless mistake. They’re not purposefully trying to steal. They think that they’re allowed to take this nice picture of a bridge and put it on the cover of a brochure.

What can you do about it?

First of all, the chances of you finding out about it are very slim. But let’s say you do. You send them a letter and if it’s a company trying to do the right thing they’ll say, ‘Oops, sorry. It was a mistake.’ They might pay a little money and not include it in their next brochure. But the more likely scenario is that you’ll never find out about it and that’s the nature of it. It’s very complicated and time consuming to enforce legal rights.

How should a photographer approach an international Terms of Service?

I’m sure that international issues complicate matters a great deal. Again, it really comes down to enforceability. Do they enforce those rights the same way in all countries? The answer is no.

So are you bound by what you’ve agreed to when you click ‘OK,’ even if you didn’t read all the tiny type?

The general answer is, yes. The reason for that is you couldn’t really have commerce online if you had to show that somebody actually read the terms of purchase.

Most people think that when they sign something there must be a way to get out of it. That’s really not true. It’s incredibly expensive to get out of it. If you tell somebody they can have your picture forever and use it for whatever they want, and then it ends up in some horror flick that horrifies you…tough.” An agreement is an agreement and the courts have generally said that agreeing to TOS is a valid and enforceable contract.

Chris Reese is the author of ASMP Social Media Terms of Service Recommendations.

Learn more

The Photographer’s Guide to Copyright will help you break down copyright law, understand your rights as a photographer, and take steps to protect your work from infringement. Get tips to keep your work safe, plus read in-depth interviews from photographers and experts from ASMP.

Jasmine DeFoore has over 20 years experience in the photo industry as an editorial photo editor, project manager, marketing director, artist representative, and freelance art producer. She uses this mix of experiences to help commercial photographers get the kinds of jobs they are looking for.

In this video, Jasmine breaks down the sometimes daunting task of getting organized and building a better portfolio into four main steps:

1. Define your target audience.
2. Put together a cohesive edit.
3. Build a better portfolio.
4. Create your marketing checklist.

Her tips and strategies will help photographers understand the importance of defining their niche and finding their strengths; use photo editing and book making software to review their work and put together an edit; create a narrative and use color, pattern, and shapes to build an inspiring portfolio; and update prospective and existing clients with enticing emails and newsletters.

Note: Please excuse some of the erroneous clicking going on during the presentation! We were experiencing some recording difficulties, but fortunately all the content came through. 

Click here to view the embedded video.

You can find Jasmine at jasminedefoore.com and on Facebook and Twitter.

There are hundreds of photo contests out there, so we’re at it again with another 10 competitions on the judge’s table. Here’s our take:

MPA Wedding & Portrait Awards

Entry fees: £2 per image (£1 of which is donated to the PACE Centre in the UK to help children with physical disabilities).

Prizes: 5 finalists from two categories (weddings and portraits) receive a £50 shopping voucher and certificate; the overall winner wins £1,000 and a trophy.

Promised exposure: Published on the Master Photographers Association website.

What the winners say: Scotland-based wedding and portrait photographer Nicholas Frost, who was a 2012 finalist in the Wedding Day Celebration category, says, “Personally, awards help motivate me. It is a stamp of approval by your peers that you are doing something right and maintaining high standards in your work…Overall as a photographer you can get engrossed and self absorbed in your own work – being critiqued is perhaps the best way to improve.”

Photo by Nicholas Frost

Verdict: C. The entry free is small, and it’s great that half of that goes to charity. You don’t have a lot to lose for such low cost and a chance to win £50-1,000 (though it’s unclear what your “shopping voucher” is good for), but then again, it’s not a huge prize at the end and potential exposure seems minimal.

Aperture Portfolio Prize

Entry fees: $25 (must also be current, paid subscribe of Aperture magazine)

Prizes: First prize winner receives $3,000 and has his/her work exhibited at the Aperture gallery in New York.

Promised exposure: First prize winner and five funner-ups are featured on the website; winners are announced in the foundation’s e-newsletter (~40,000 subscribers); opportunity to sell prints through Aperture’s limited-edition print program.

What the winners say: Andrew McConnell, who was a 2011 runner-up, says that the competition helped expose his work to a much wider audience, and generate interest in his prints. “The Aperture website now hosts one of my limited edition prints which is available to art buyers worldwide,” says Andrew. He cautions that photographers should realize that the Aperture Portfolio Prize is granted to those with “innovative, original imagery.”

Photo by Andrew McConnell

Verdict: B+. Aperture is a very credible and respected name in the photography industry, so winning first prize is a nice addition to your resume. The contest is also picked up by sources like Media Bistro, Resource Magazine, and Jen Bekman Gallery. The downside is that they essentially make you subscribe to the magazine if you haven’t already.

Astronomy Photographer of the Year 

Entry fees: n/a

Prizes: Overall winner receives £1,500; category winner receives £500; category runner-up receives £250; highly commended entries receive £125.

Promised exposure: Exhibition at the Royal Observatory Greenwich in the UK; published in the Astronomy Photographer of the Year book.

What the winners say: Rogelio Bernal Andreo of Deep Sky Colors was runner-up for the Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition for his image of a supernova remnant. Rogelio says that while he would enter again, “One needs to accept that the winning images have a subjective component when they are selected, and that a photo perfectly fit to be a winner in a contest may not ultimately be selected as a winning image by the judges, for reasons that go beyond quantifiable data. If you are okay with that fact, then by all means enter the contest and at the very least, share your work with others through that venue.”

Photo by Rogelio Bernal Andreo

Verdict: D+. You first have to join their Flickr group.  Also note that the organizers, the Royal Observatory Greenwich, gain the “non-exclusive, world-wide, royalty-free right to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, and publish in perpetuity, each image entered into the competition.”  This includes but is not limited to exhibition displays, promotional press and marketing materials, and planetarium shows which feels more like an opportunity for the museum to add to their image collection. Saved from receiving a lower grade because there aren’t many contests dedicated to astronomy photographers.

The Best of Photojournalism (BOP)

Entry fees: n/a

Prizes: See promised exposure.

Promised exposure: Featured in the online gallery.

What the winners say: T.J. Kirkpatrick took home first place in the News Portrait and Personality category for his image of Newt Gingrich during the run for 2012 GOP nomination. Although he says that he didn’t receive any new client requests after winning, “The award helped my promotional efforts, as I was able to reach out to current clients and colleagues with news of the award.” T.J. also thought entering was a good opportunity to comb through his work from the past year, and self-reflect in an effort to push himself to create even better work. “But it’s important not to place too much emphasis on winning,” he cautions. “Imitating awarded work doesn’t advance photography or our understanding of the world, and creating work in order to win contests is dishonest to the subjects of the photos.”

Photo by T.J. Kirkpatrick

Verdict: C. There are so many different categories in the NPPA’s contest (160+ in the Still Photography division alone) that it dilutes the distinction of receiving first place. Still, the NPPA is a widely respected organization.

International Emerging Artist Award 

Entry fees: $45

Prizes: International exhibition road show in Dubai, Singapore, Istanbul, and Marseille; invite to attend the prize presentation in Dubai; invite to participate as a jury member in next year’s competition.

Promised exposure: First place gets a media feature in New York Times Style Magazine (T.Emirates) and profile feature on the International Emerging Artist Award’s website. Second and third place winners get their work displayed at the prize presentation in Dubai and the website’s gallery.

What the winners say: Julie de Waroquier won the Emergent Artist Award in the 2011-2012 edition, and says that it gave her “the opportunity to travel very far (Dubai), to a country in which the artistic world is very dynamic. I met many people that are involved in this area whom I would have never met alone. It was also the opportunity for a foreign and beautiful solo exhibit. Overall it gave me more confidence as well as credibility as an artist.”

Photo by Julie de Waroquier

Verdict: D. If your market is contemporary art galleries in Asia and the Middle East, this might be a worthwhile competition for you. Otherwise, the audience probably isn’t going to be one that helps promote your work. Also note that winners hand over exclusivity rights for the duration of the road show.

Your Best Shot (Digital Photo magazine)

Entry fees: n/a

Prizes: Grand prize winner receives: $1,000 cash, Tamrac’s Evolution 9 photo backpack, Gitzo tripod, PNY flash memory card, strobist lighting kit from LumiQuest; 16×20 print of the winning photo. First place winner receives a Tamrac camera bag; Manfrotto tripod, PNY flash memory card, bounce lighting kit from LumiQuest, 16×20 print of winning photo.

Promised exposure: Publication of winning photo in Digital Photo magazine and the online winner’s gallery.

What the winners say: Grand prize winner Kristina Varaksina saw a jump in traffic to her website and Facebook page after winning Digital Photo‘s contest. As a recent winner, other benefits of winning remain to be seen.

Photo by Kristina Varaksina

Central Florida-based photographer Michael Libbe was the First Place Winner in this year’s contest, and says that he would definitely recommend other photographers enter. “The confidence boost in having a winning image is tremendous. The feeling of knowing your work is recognized by photography professionals that don’t know you personally is quite rewarding.”

Photo by Michael Libbe

Verdict: B. Digital Photo magazine has over 74,000 subscribers, so your work is likely to be seen by a nicely sized audience. But note that they hold several contests throughout the year, so it’s not entirely special. Also beware the rights grab, which is not too different from other photo contests (and ideally would help garner awareness and interest in your work): “irrevocable, royalty-free, non-exclusive, worldwide perpetual license to use the entry and his/her name, city and state of residence for credit purposes in Sponsor’s online galleries, without further compensation, notification or permission”.

The Sigma Delta Chi Awards

Entry fees: $60 for members of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ); $100 for non-members.

Prizes: See promised exposure.

Promised exposure: Featured on the online gallery and Quill magazine by SPJ.

What the winners say: Laura Rauch holds the Sigma Delta Chi awards in high regards, saying that they are part of “old school” journalism. She also sees contests dedicated to journalism as a way to bring attention to a variety of issues. “I think photojournalists often enter contests to gain notoriety for subjects they care about and want others to understand,” says Laura. “And that was certainly the case for this image. The young soldier in this image lost both legs and an arm in the service of his country [in Afghanistan]. I want Americans to be invested in the people they ask to go war, to understand their sacrifices and, most importantly, to take care of them when they come home.”

Photo by Laura Rauch

When Oakland Tribune staff photographer Ray Chavez‘s photo won in the Breaking News Photography (circulation 1-100,000) category, he instantly received letters of congratulations from his friends and colleagues. He also received a bronze medal and plaque. The Oakland Tribune paid for Ray to travel to Washington, D.C. to attend the awards benefit. “Seeing my award-wining photo on the cover of the magazine Quill is also a plus,” says Ray. “The award looks great on my resume, and of course, I got the satisfaction that my photo was historical in nature.”

Photo by Ray Chavez

Verdict: C+. The Sigma Delta Chi Awards have been around since 1932, so there is some prestige to be considered. Still, $100 is a high price to pay for a contest that covers everything from photography to reporting to radio. Prepare to get lost in the crowd.

The Open

Entry fees: Tiered pricing – $16 for one image; $21 for two; $24 for three; $35 for five; $48 for ten.

Prizes: $10,000 for Photographer of the Year; $3,000/each for 5 category winners.

Promised exposure: Every entrant is encouraged to create his/her own Artist’s Page, which includes a bio, contact info, and links to your website and social media. Visitors to The Open’s site click the entries to “like” their favorites, and the most liked images are continually pushed to the forefront.

What the winners say: The Open’s Photographer of the Year 2012 was Lorenz Holder, who specializes in snowboard photography, and won $10,000. “But I’ve not been booked more times due to the fact that I’ve won,” says Lorenz. “Winning doesn’t always mean that your work is more sought out than before.” Would he enter the competition again? Sure, he says. “If you don’t take it too seriously and just do it for fun, then you should definitely send in your work.”

Photo by Lorenz Holder

Verdict: A-. The Open has an interesting, very social aspect that encourages photographers to share their Artist Pages and get more “likes” so they can move up in the ranking. The Open also claims to have a database of 50,000+ creative industry professionals who use them to source new talent. On top of that, you can sell your photos through their partnership with FotoMoto. It’s a very robust contest, and the $10k grand prize money isn’t half bad either.

Google Photography Prize

Entry fees: n/a, but you must be a student.

Prizes: Grand Prize winner receives an exhibition at Saatchi Gallery in London, and a photography trip to the destination of his/her choice with a professional photography coach; top 10 finalists’ work is shown at Saatchi Gallery for two months; top 100 entries win a Samsung Galaxy Nexus phone.

Promised exposure: Exhibition at Saatchi Gallery, London; displayed in an online gallery on Google.

What the winners say: Swedish student photographer Viktor Johansson‘s series of diver Christoffer Eskilsson won last year’s Grand Prize, which focus on “the long, lonely hours of repetitive training and practice that it takes to excel in your field.”

As the Grand Prize winner, Viktor had the chance to choose any photographer in the world and spend one week with that person as a mentor. “I got to spend one week with Martin Schoeller in the US.,” says Viktor. “Being with such nice and professional photographer made me realize that this is what I want to do. To get recognized, and having people outside your inner circle comment on your work is great. I was very motivated to continue and go out and create something new and better!”

Photo by Viktor Johansson

Oslo University College student Kyrre Lien, who has since graduated, was a finalist in last year’s competition. He says that since the competition is free to enter, and the prizes are great, he encourages other students to enter. “The greatest benefit was how much press the nomination got in Norway,” says Kyrre. “I was featured in a couple of newspapers here and, for a freelancer, that is always a good thing when your name is out there.”

Photo by Kyrre Lien

Verdict: C. This competition is open to student photographers only, and seems to be largely European focused, based on the judges panel. You must also have a profile on Google+ to enter. Take note that by entering, you grant Google and it’s third-party vendors “a non-exclusive, perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free license to modify, rearrange, copy, reproduce and adapt the images only to fit the format required for product web pages and marketing materials.”

WPPI Awards of Excellence 16×20 Print Competition

Entry fees: $40 per entry for WPPI members; $60 per entry for non-members.

Prizes: Grand Award receives a $2,000 cash prize, a complimentary pass to the WPPI Conference & Expo, and complimentary entry into the Awards of Excellence Print Competition.

Promised exposure: Recognized during the WPPI awards ceremony; press release to publicize your winning efforts; featured in online gallery.

What the winners say: Houston-based wedding and portrait photographer Joe Cogliandro took home the Grand Award in the Wedding Division last year. It was a goal of Joe’s to win the award since he first attended WPPI in 2007. “The process of culling, envisioning, and creating work that my peers would feel is exceptional drove me down a different road of quality than that of my clients,” says Joe. “It is easy to create work that my clients will love, but to create work that the best of the best of my peers in this industry worldwide would consider the best is a whole other process.”

“The wonderful thing about WPPI print competition is that the judging is done live,” adds Joe. “This gives you a chance to actually hear what some of the best photographers in the world have to say about people’s work. It is like having 8-10 hours of live critique.”

Photo by Joe Cogliandro

Alicia Adamopoulos, who won first place in the Animals/Pets category, agrees: “For me the major benefits are my personal and professional development,” she says. “I use competitions to challenge myself to put forward the best examples of my work that I possibly can and each year I try to improve on previous efforts.”

Photo by Alicia Adamopoulos

Australia-based photographer Andrew Campbell won the Grand Award for Portraiture in 2012, and was also a winner in the Individual Portrait category. He believes that the WPPI Awards are worth entering because it’s an opportunity to measure your standard of work against others. “As many of us work in isolation, these contests provide an ideal vehicle to measure ones’ work standard within the photographic industry,” he says.

Photo by Andrew Campbell

Verdict: B+. If you plan to be at WPPI, then this is a worthwhile competition to see your work judged on-site. Remember that conferences like WPPI largely target photographers themselves, not clients, so your work will likely be seen by colleagues rather than prospective clients (still a great opportunity to have your work peer reviewed). $2,000 is a nice cash prize, but you also grant WPPI, Rangerfinder and AfterCapture magazines right to publish your photos without further compensation.

Sony World Photography Awards (Professional Competition)

Entry fees: n/a

Prizes: Winner of the “L’iris D’Or” receives title of “Sony World Photography Awards Photographer of The Year”, $25,000 cash prize, membership for the World Photography Academy, digital SLR camera equipment from Sony, coverage to attend the Sony World Photography Awards. Winners of each individual category receive coverage to attend the Sony World Photography Awards and digital SLR camera equipment from Sony

Promised exposure: Exhibited at the Somerset House in London; published in the winners book; featured in online gallery; opportunity to be represented by the World Photography Collection.

What the winners say: Rob Hornstra was 2012′s winner of the Arts & Culture category, and says that he would definitely recommend photographers enter the Sony World Photography Awards. “Always submit your work to contests and apply for grants if they offer a chance on significant exposure or significant resources,” he says. Rob received a lot of attention for The Sochi Project, which sells his books and prints in collaboration with writer Arnold van Bruggen (they were recently featured on CNN Photos).

Photo by Rob Hornstra

Germany-based photographer Peter Franck, who was a finalist in the Campaign category, says, “After winning, numerous opportunities to exhibit arose, and I received interview requests from magazines in Italy, Germany, and more. An exhibition of the work was shown at interesting places all over the world and thus made it accessible to a large audience.”

Photo by Peter Franck

On another note, Polish photographer Jacek Kusz – who was a finalist in the Nature & Wildlife category – says that he received little boost in sales after the winners were announced. “I was hopeful that after winning it would be easier to publish my pictures. But it’s not,” he says.

Photo by Jacek Kusz

Verdict: A. The World Photography Organisation is one of the top communities in the photography world, and winning its grand prize is a very notable accomplishment. Winners are typically covered by media outlets like The Atlantic, Washington Post, Telegraph UK, Mashable, and many more.

Next up: What contests should be brought to the judges table next?

And in this video interview, Ilise takes us through best practices for photographers (and all creatives) who are getting ready to “talk money” with clients. We start from the beginning – finding and qualifying prospective clients, drafting proposals for new clients, preparing for negotiating the specifics, and closing the deal with confidence.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Ilise also has a plethora of great business ebooks and tools, which you can find here.

Ilise Benun is part of our Dream Team Advisory Board, a group of photo and business experts who want to give YOU their time for free. How? Enter PhotoShelter’s Jumpstart Your Photo Business Contest and win time with them, plus a Canon 6D and $2,000 in gear. Learn more >>

Sara Allen considers her brand in every business move she makes.

She and her team of fellow photographic artists make up onelove photography, a group of self-described Neo-Impressionists based out of California (mostly San Francisco and Los Angeles, to be exact). Together they’re shooting over 100 weddings per year, all the while maintaining a unique sense of style, distinct vision and brand, and high-end level of customization. With a gorgeous portfolio and stunning client work to showcase, it’s no wonder onelove works steadily all year long. But their secret to standing apart from the crowd? You guessed it. Sara signed up for PhotoShelter in 2006 and hasn’t looked back since.

Customization, Customization, Customization

“I want to be able to showcase myself uniquely. I don’t want a template,” Sara tells us. This is why she contracted a designer to build her a totally custom site from scratch — the site you see at www.onelove-photo.com. Her designers created a lovely look and feel for her to start with, but she needed more. Sara needed to be able to sell from the site. She needed to be able to update things on the back end without having to contract her designers again every single time she wanted to make a change. She needed all this, but most importantly, she needed to be able to fulfill this wish list while remaining 100% on-brand.

What Sara found in PhotoShelter was just that — a fully fleshed out and professional ecommerce platform including a built-in shopping cart and integrated print vendors, the ability to personally and dynamically update imagery directly on the site whenever and wherever she needed to, and a way to successfully make it work all within one single already-established design concept. “What’s so cool about PhotoShelter is I get to control what I need to control from inside, and I just love the fact that it’s so seamlessly integrated into my site — people can’t even tell!” And this ‘seamless integration’ is truly what hit home for Sara. She knew that PhotoShelter could supply her with the client galleries, portfolio display, and ecommerce platform she needed, but when she learned she could take all of those things and make them look exactly like her already existing, completely custom site, she was immediately sold. “When I found out about this level of customization, I thought it was just awesome, and I’ve been hooked on the service ever since then.”

Of course, transforming the website pages PhotoShelter provides to integrate with an existing design does take a little HTML/CSS elbow grease. To help customize PhotoShelter to match her site’s concept, Sara hired PhotoShelter Certified Consultant Steve Fox. As a Certified Consultant, Steve is not only a great designer, but is also very familiar with the customization process within PhotoShelter. To start, Sara expressed to Steve the need to showcase portfolio galleries on her site from different events, as well as for each member of her team. When Steve was finished, onelove’s clients were able to click the “Portfolio” option from the site’s main navigation, then click on a specific wedding/engagement shoot, and there they’d find the gallery as it exists in Sara’s PhotoShelter archive  – just completely rebranded to match the rest of the site.

On the left is a page from onelove’s personal site — the “Portfolios” page. On the right is a page from onelove’s PhotoShelter site — a gallery of images you will find after clicking into a portfolio.

A Little Bit of Marketing Makes it All Worth it

Once Sara got her PhotoShelter website customized and integrated, she was ready to start sending her clients there. Her favorite way to bring people to the site is via a marketing tactic she feels is worth the price of maintaining a PhotoShelter subscription alone. “When you go to a wedding with onelove, we leave a little postcard at the reception that has a photo of the couple on it, and on the back side it says ‘View our wedding photos online here’, and it has a link to the gallery and the password to the gallery,” she explains. “So we’re giving people a little card to take home, and the family and friends go crazy, because they really want to see pictures from the wedding!”

To achieve this, Sara creates the password protected gallery for the wedding ahead of time, leaving it empty, and naming it with the couple’s name and the date on which the images will be posted. Once she creates the gallery she will automatically have the direct link, so she can place that on the postcard. “It’s marketing,” says Sara. “It’s so awesome because all these people go to my website, and whether they buy or not, they have now been to my site. And if someone needs a wedding photographer, they’ll remember onelove. I have the ability to give people my name this way, and it’s visual, and they’re experiencing our brand.”

onelove’s listed password protected client galleries.

Uploading, Delivering, Selling

When Sara finishes a shoot, she uses Photo Mechanic, which has a plugin for PhotoShelter built right in, to load the images into her PhotoShelter Image Browser. Depending on whether or not she wants to upload the full sized high-res images, she’ll use Photo Mechanic to resize her files as she is uploading, which is a huge time saver and convenience for her. Because she almost always has the gallery created ahead of time for marketing purposes, she’ll upload directly there, and price for both print and personal-use download sales.

Onelove’s clients receive a CD containing images from the big day as part of the package deal, but family and friends of the bride and groom look to the website to get the prints they desire. Sara is set up to fulfill print orders via EZ Prints, one of PhotoShelter’s four integrated print partners. As far as pricing is concerned, Sara keeps what she feels to be the real value of her work at the forefront of her decision making process. “I price my imagery with the concept of spending a little bit more for something you value in mind. I want someone to see our photos as art, something beautiful.”

Copyright onelove photography

Image delivery is a large part of the game for onelove, as well. Vendors often come to Sara looking for photos of food, flowers, etc., and she needs to be able to just let them take what they want, for free, without too much work on her part. If it’s one quick image and the vendor tells her exactly what they want, Sara will use PhotoShelter’s Quick Send tool to handle the job. With Quick Send, Sara can very easily fire off an email to the vendor straight from her Image Browser containing a link to the individual image download.

A look at PhotoShelter’s Quick Send tool from onelove’s perspective.

Providing vendors with 100% off coupons is another trick Sara’s got up her sleeve. Because she doesn’t want them to have to pay but the work is already priced for client sale, coupons are a great way for her to allow the vendors to “check out” without actually having to fork up the cash. It also serves the purpose of letting the vendors choose select images from a gallery of hundreds without them actually having to tell her which ones they need ahead of time.

The Heart and Soul of her Success

“Point blank, if I wasn’t able to customize to this extent with PhotoShelter, I don’t think onelove would be where it is today,” says Sara. “We’ve worked hard to cultivate and maintain our brand as Neo-Impressionists, and we’ve been able to carry that through with PhotoShelter 100%. We’re able to show our very best face by having the ability to change our galleries out all the time, so we can always change things up to showcase our newest, latest stuff, and that just adds to our uniqueness. And the way that I can have the ecommerce integrated on top of that within the unique design — it’s kind of the best combination, it’s like a perfect storm.”

Experiencing PhotoShelter as she has, Sara makes a point to recommend the service to fellow photographers as often as she can. She feels that even for those who don’t already have a hand in the branding pot, the ability to so smoothly sell online is reason enough for her to spread the word. “I recommend PhotoShelter all the time! The #1 thing I tell people is that the ecommerce aspect is so great. I explain that you can integrate with PayPal, and you can pick from a ton of different third party printers. You guys have a bunch of choices, which is really helpful for a photographer.”

After all is said and done, Sara rests easy at the end of a long day because she knows she has chosen the right tools to set herself up for success. Distinguishing from her peers in the sea of wedding photographers out there is a must, and PhotoShelter has helped take and keep onelove’s online branding where Sara needs it to be. “PhotoShelter really has helped my business to succeed,” Sara tell us. “As any photographer knows, marketing and branding is the heart and soul of your success, so just the fact that I’m able to remain distinct as a photographer makes all the difference in the world.”

Photo by Ben Lowy/A rebel stands on the infamous “Hand of Gaddafi” monument in the Bab Al-Azizya compound a day after numerous rebel brigades defeated Gaddafi loyalists for control of the massive military and government center, on August 25, 2011 in Tripoli, Libya.

Ben Lowy is an award-winning conflict and feature photographer based in New York City. He’s covered major stories worldwide, including the Iraq and Afghan wars. Hipstamatic also created the “Ben Lowy” lens after he used the app to document life in Afghanistan and was featured by The New York Times.

But alongside his award-winning photography is a distinct business brand that helps him reach more clients. So as part of our 2013 Photo Business Plan Workbook, we interviewed Ben to get his advice on creating a real, lasting brand for your photo business.

Branding is a concept that can be elusive to many, but it’s a key element that touches every aspect of your business. A brand is more than your logo or the color scheme you choose for your website. Your brand is evident through your niche, your technical style, your website, the way you interact with your clients, and much more. The good news is that, as an artist, you already have a distinct style and point of view – which are essentially what make up your brand. You just need to consciously identify the characteristics of that style and make sure they are apparent throughout your marketing.

Here are three tips to build your photo brand in 2013:

1. Focus on a niche.

When you develop your brand, you develop the identity of your business. Are you a high-end fashion photographer known for your impeccable client service? Are you an edgy wedding photographer who shoots only alternative couples? “The more focused your specialty is, the more effectively you can communicate your product, services, and values – in essence, your brand – to potential clients,” Ben points out.

2. Dedicate time to social media.

With over 20,000 followers on Instagram and a Tumblr blog he updates daily, Ben realized very early on that as he grew a steady following, he would need to think about how to present his work. This meant he would have to think carefully about the tone of his posts, the photos he chose, the frequency he would share content, and more. Consistency in these areas can often help define and strengthen a brand.

When sharing his work through social media, Ben makes an important distinction between his social media followers and potential clients: “The interesting thing about social media is that many of your followers are not future clients or even in the industry, they’re just fans. This means the work you should feature should be interesting, not necessarily always a photo that is technically your best shot.”

3. Your logo isn’t everything, but it does matter.

A well-designed logo is only part of your brand, but it can make an impact on potential clients. When visiting your website, it can be one of the first creative pieces someone sees. As the symbol of your brand, your logo will also touch all aspects of your business including your website, your Facebook page, your newsletter, your blog, and even your final invoice.

For example, Ben’s logo is bold and modern and creatively joins the first letters of his first and last name. The design combines grey and orange in a standard Helvetica font that appears consistently across different browsers. The logo is sleek and clean, which complements his mobile-friendly workflow and forward-thinking photo business. Ben told us that his logo, which his wife helped design, came as inspiration from one of his favorite comic book series characters, Tony Stark from Iron Man.

Want more tips from seasoned photographers on everything from blogging to SEO to managing your finances? Check out our latest free guide, the 2013 Photo Business Plan Workbook.

First and foremost, it starts with a distinct and impressive brand that speaks to your target market and makes you the obvious choice for clients seeking your work or services.

As we start a new year, make it your 2013 resolution to build a brand unique to your personality and photography business. Take time to think about your photographic style, your voice, your aesthetic, and most importantly, the feeling that you leave with clients when they work with you. Then use these 10 secrets to build a brand that attracts your ideal market, accurately communicates your specialty, and creates one-of-a-kind experiences.

1. Look through your previous work.

Lucky for you, you already have the creative and visual assets needed to determine the foundation of your brand. Take a look back at your strongest work which has, in the past, brought you the most business.

Think about the reasons those clients choose you over other photographers and why you enjoyed shooting those assignments. It’s these images, the clients, the aesthetic, and the why, that will begin to reveal the essence of your brand. While your photos speak volumes, they are only part of what makes up your brand. The stories and decisions behind each play an equal part.

Take some time to thoroughly look at your past work.

2. Provide something different.

Setting yourself and your services apart from photographers in your field can help attract interest from a bigger pool of potential clients. Whether your specialty is weddings, photojournalism, portraits, or fashion, you can’t solely rely on your specialty to make you stand out.

Instead, focus on the services you provide that separate your business from the other photographers shooting the same subject matter. What do you offer that’s different? How do you go above and beyond to provide great customer support for these services and products? How do you provide a truly unique experience for your clients while on the job? Also think about how you can differentiate your brand by who you target, or your location.

Wedding photographer Hunter Harrison differentiates himself by both location and his brand experience, seeking out specific untapped neighborhoods and making sure he conveys the feeling of the “neighborhood photographer.”

Wedding photographer Hunter Harrison differentiates himself as the “neighborhood photographer”.

3. Evoke a feeling.

Brands are like people – they have personality, and that personality has a direct effect on customers and potential clients. When you’re developing your brand, decide what type of “person” it’s going to be.

Important attributes for photography brands include: passion, reliability, approachability, and charisma. What other characteristics describe your brand? Fun? Adventurous? Spunky? Hyper professional?

All of your messaging should center around this feeling. Over the years your work might evolve and vary, but your brand should always remain the same.

4. Develop a strong name, logo, and aesthetic.

Now comes the fun part. You get to (or, you get to hire someone to) completely design the look of your brand. The aesthetic of your brand is a major part of what communicates your standout traits and personality. This includes naming your business, creating a logo, and having a consistent aesthetic across your website.

This part is fun, but can also be tricky. Many brand essences get lost in the collateral. If one of the words you use to describe your brand is “hyper professional,” don’t make your logo look handwritten and homemade. Clean, sharp lines can better communicate your professional demeanor.

Colors also say a lot about your brand as we often associate colors with particular feelings. Here are a few
common associations:

• White – pure, clean, youthful, mild
• Black – sophistication, elegant, seductive, mystery
• Gold – prestige, expensive
• Silver – prestige, cold, scientific

Photographer Katrin Nilsson developed a clever logo that combines camera imagery with the type of lifestyle she enjoys shooting.

5. Create an About page that shows off your brand.

The personality you convey on your website’s About page is most likely the first time potential clients are “meeting” you. Many photographers rely on their images to do all the talking, and forget that their written voice is a powerful tool and one of the best representations of their brand. What you decide to say – and how you decide to say it – can reveal a lot about your brand and the way you do business.

The About page will set the tone for all written communication with your clients, so it’s important for
it to be honest, true to your vision, and on-brand. Travel photographer Gavin Gough chooses to talk about his camera gear in his About section. This showcases his technical know-how and sets the tone for his work, which has appeared in publications such as Vogue and National Geographic.

Travel photographer Gavin Gough shows his camera gear on his about page to emphasize his technical knowledge.

Want to get the rest of our 10 secrets? Download our free guide, 10 Branding Secrets for Photographers now!

Photo by Brian Dorsey

New York-based wedding photographer Brian Dorsey has certainly made a name for himself in the high-end wedding industry: he’s been named one of the top 10 wedding photographers in the world by American Photo Magazine, sends his clients champagne before the big day, and has been featured in publications like New York Weddings, Wedding in Houston, and The Knot.

After more than ten years in the industry, Brian is servicing high-profile clientele along with a small team of talented photographers – and charging top dollar for it.

It would be incorrect to assume that a high-end product means an extravagant production. In fact, Brain’s approach is quite the opposite. He describes his style as observational and photojournalistic – the opposite of staging. He also gives his clients the five-star treatment with impeccable customer service and, most importantly, impeccable photos.

Photo by Brian Dorsey

Understanding how this market thinks was key in differentiating himself from other wedding photographers. The further upmarket you move, the higher the expectation is. The kind of client willing to spend top dollar on their wedding expects topnotch service, because that’s what they’re used to.

An excellent resource for both understanding this type of clientele and also connecting with them are wedding planners. Establishing relationships with wedding planners who serve the high-end market can be the key to the kingdom. While client word of mouth is still a major source of new business, referrals from planners and vendors have not only become a reliable source of new clients, but also tend to generate the most revenue.

Brian’s strategy to booking the kind of work he wants to shoot is to only show the kind of work he wants to get. In a similar vein, when pricing yourself, Brian advises that you ask yourself “what is my target market willing to pay for this service?” When it comes to the high-end market, being a bargain option can actually have a negative impact.

Regardless of the target market you aspire to serve, Brian has some good advice for surviving in the wedding industry: the best way to protect yourself and your business is to continue to differentiate yourself. When you’re setting up your business, you need to treat it like a long-term project and establish long-term goals.

Lastly, edit, edit, edit. And then, edit some more.  Everything you put out there is a reflection of you and your brand. An impeccable brand starts with impeccable self-editing.

briandorseystudios.com

Takeaways:

• An upscale experience does not necessary mean extravagant set-ups or loads of expensive equipment.
• To service high-end clients, you have to be familiar with and give the kind of customer service that the client expects.
• Make sure your portfolio speaks to your brand and represents your target market.

Also be sure to check out our free guide How To Grow A Wedding Photography Business to hear firsthand from successful wedding photographers and learn how set your services apart from the pack.

Stephen sends out a newsletter every one or two months for a total of about four per year, though this year he’s probably going to hit six. He uses Campaign Monitor because the cost is cheap ($5 for each email, and one penny per subscriber, which for him means about $8 a newsletter), and because it tracks click-through and open rates.

“I email a pretty tight list of people (around 300) who have hired me or who I’ve met with in the past – people I want to be kept abreast of what I’m doing,” says Stephen.

Stephen recently changed the look and feel of his newsletter to look more like a case study of his work. Here’s a clip of his August send:

He uses a photo shoot he’s done to showcase his strengths as a photographer, and keeps the tone light, not overly self-promotional, and wraps it up with a little humor. But the idea is that it “makes a case for why someone might want to hire me.”

“Even though I don’t explicitly write it, my emails are saying: ‘When you hire me, I make the shoots my own.’ It becomes my personal responsibility to do something great, and I care deeply about the shoot being a success,” says Stephen.

“I know that the photo editor has to answer to the editor, and I want to make their job easier. I want them to look at these photos and go, ‘Holy crap, you’ve got something there, despite whatever limitations or obstacles you had.’”

Once each newsletter goes out, Stephen pays careful attention to click-through and open rates. He also takes note of who actually opens his email and who clicks the links. He then might add someone to a postcard mailing if they’ve taken the time to click through.

A big tip Stephen would offer to a new photographer is to be wary of list generators. “That scatter-shot approach is really a mistake and can serve to annoy more photo editors than you could bring in,” he says. Stephen looks up everyone on his list using AdBase, where editors can note whether or not they appreciate e-promos. “And I absolutely abide by that. This is a small world and everyone talks. You want to be on the right foot,” he says.

Here’s a quick list of Stephen’s other top email marketing tips:

Use these tips to ensure your next campaign is a success, and download our free guide, Email Marketing for Photographers, for more information on how to optimize your efforts and avoid common pitfalls.

The following is a snippet from the guide, written by the pro email marketers at Emma:

Even at Emma, where we are in the business of sending emails and help our customers send emails every day, pressing the send button gives us a little thrill. Sending an email means you’re starting a conversation with the people who care about your work, and you want to make a good impression. So how do you make sure you get it right? Here are 10 Emma-tested questions to ask yourself before pressing send:

1. Am I sending to the right people?

Strong email marketing begins with a healthy email list. Always use a permission-based list, and avoid the temptation to send every email to your entire audience. Segmenting your audience so the right people get the right message at the right time means higher open rates and more clicks. Choose an email service provider (ESP) that makes it easy to segment by industry or type of client.

2. Does my subject line entice readers to open?

The words you add in the subject line are the most important eight to 10 words in your email, so take the time to make sure yours is concise and compelling. Be sure to identify your business by name, too, either in the “from” name or the subject line.

3. Is my email designed to draw focus to the right place?

It’s likely that your photography is taking center stage in your emails, so make intentional font and style choices that don’t compete with your photos. Your photography style conveys your brand, so there’s not a lot of need for extra design treatment. Proofreading and using spell-check is another way to keep the focus in the right place. A typo shouldn’t ever take center stage.

Email Newsletter from Stacy Bass, Commercial and Fine Art Photographer

4. Have I considered what this might look like in the inbox?

Believe it or not, your email will look different in Hotmail on IE9 than it does in MacMail on OS X. Take the time to send test emails to as many email clients as you have access to, or sign up for a service like Litmus, which lets you virtually test your email across all major email programs.

Keep in mind that many email clients don’t automatically display images, so it’s important to include some text that conveys the point of the email and links back to your website for more information.

If you are sending an email of one big image, consider slicing that image into smaller chunks and coding them in a table structure. The image will appear seamless, but it will load more quickly in the inbox, and you’ll be able to embed links in the different slices. If you use an ESP with link tracking, it’s a great way to learn where your audience is clicking.

5. Will my email look good on a mobile device?

With so many emails being read on smart phones these days, it’s important to design your email campaigns with the mobile-reader in mind. Small changes, like keeping your email to one column, spacing out your links (so they’re easy to tap with a finger), and bumping up the contrast of your buttons will help ensure your message doesn’t get muddled on a tiny screen.

6. Have I given recipients a (trackable and measurable) way to interact with my email?

Decide ahead of time how you want to measure the success of your send-off. Opens will measure the success of your subject line, and clicks will tell you how they’re interacting with the content of the email. The trend these days is to send shorter emails that link out to content on the web, so if you want readers to click to go to your website, give them a compelling reason to do so and make that link or button prominent.

Email promotion from editorial and conceptual photographer Fredrik Brodén

7. Does my email have a personal touch?

Whether it’s a personalized greeting, warm tone, or specialized content, make sure your email feels like a conversation with people you know, not a “blast” to your list. You can even personalize the delivery of your email with auto-responders that reach your recipients on their individual schedules.

8. Have I given readers an opportunity to learn more about me?

Include links to your website, blog, and social media pages in every email. Each of those channels should promote your work and your brand but serve up different content (or different flavors of the same content) to encourage your clients and fans to keep coming back to all your online hubs.

Email newsletter from Darren Carroll, Portrait and Action Photographer

9. Have I provided a way for people to share my campaign with others?

Your email subscribers will do a little marketing for you if you just give them the right tools. Include options to forward your email and share it on social sites. You’ll expand the reach of your email and might even gain new subscribers.

10. Have I thought about what my next step is?

Consider what you’ll do after this email is out in the world. Will you target the people who clicked on your link with a follow-up campaign or a phone call? Will you use tracking metrics to determine what kind of content is most popular with your audience? Having these goals in mind ahead of time will ensure a more meaningful send-off.

Use these tips to ensure your next campaign is a success, and download our free guide, Email Marketing for Photographers, for more information on how to optimize your efforts and avoid common pitfalls.