Commercial Photographer: Your Guide to Marketing, Creativity and Growth

Jo wants to help people who don’t want an average vision. She asks them if the level of effort they are putting in reflects in their bank balance, but for most people that is not the case. Jo finds that most people don’t know how to sell or land business. Once she helps them with that they can afford her and move everything else forward. One of the things Jo shows people is that it doesn’t matter...

  This episode is sponsored by Website for photographers. Website 4 photographers help photographers get more leads from their websites. You can get in touch here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ info@website4photographers.co.uk ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 01482 765871 ⁠ This week Sam is talking about using Google Business and Google maps for your business. Google maps is great for photographers, as most photographers want local clients...

Zoe runs Ask Zoe and calls herself a consultant with a difference. She focusses not just on your business, but also on marketing. So she educates customers on what to do, when and how to help you grow. Sam and Zoe met four or five years ago pre-Covid when Zoe ran Fab Events. This business was setup in 2016. Zoe grew the business with 4N , the networking group Sam and Zoe were involved with at the...

This week Marcus talks about building a portfolio as a photographer. He breaks this down into three areas, photographs, pace and presentation. Marcus starts by taking about Robert Frank and his book 'The Americans' , that was published in 1960. He took photos and made what he called about a visual poem out of them. Marcus encourages you to look at the book and focus on the fact that it is...

The Professional Edge: Is the rise of AI and a crowded market making you nervous? Jeff Brown, President of the BIPP, joins Marcus to explain why now is the time to double down on your professional identity. • The World's Oldest Secret: Discover the massive business benefits of joining a Professional Photography Association and how 123 years of history can protect your future. • The Death of th...

This episode is sponsored by Website for photographers. Website 4 photographers help photographers get more leads from their websites. You can get in touch here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ info@website4photographers.co.uk ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 01482 765871 Sam talks about who is your ideal client or customer. First Sam explains why you want to an ideal customers. If you think “anyone” is your client, your messages is bland and d...

 Emma runs Natural Aspect . She creates images for her clients so they can market their brand with ease and confidence. And Sam said that is reflected in her social media where she is promoting herself with confidence. The name of the business has changed many times over the years. During her last rebrand she was in the mountains in Wales. She as looking for a name that reflected her style, captur...

Marcus talks about repetition in this show. Repetition was a core part of the five Rs show which you can listen to here. Marcus has recently been to a Martin Parr talk. What Marcus found is that Martin has done huge amounts of fashion photography, which he wasn’t very aware of. Marcus explains that this is partly because he does what Marcus talked about in another recent episode alternative genres...

Robin Thompson says he is an IT stress reliever working with small and medium-sized businesses helping ensure that their IT is not causing them stress. Sam and Robin have known each other for a long time having started their business at a similar time and having run a networking event together. Robin’s journey into IT has been an interesting one. As a child of the 80s he has been using computers s...

Zoe Hiljemark is a PR and marketing consultant who works just with photographers. She has spent twenty years in PR, ten of those working with photographers.  She leverages PR content and SEO to promote photographers. Back when Zoe became a mother she wanted baby photographs. So she got a photoshoot with Karen Wiltshire . Zoe got on well with Karen and the ideas went from there. Zoe realised Karen’...

SEO part III on site SEO This episode is sponsored by Website for photographers. Website 4 photographers help photographers get more leads from their websites. You can get in touch here ⁠⁠⁠⁠ info@website4photographers.co.uk ⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠ 01482 765871 ⁠   This follows SEO part one , which as about planning and SEO part two , which was about work external to your website. That leaves this show, SEO III...

Denise Brady has been a food photographer for two and a half years. She is based on the East coast of the UK in Suffolk. Before this she was doing weddings and family photography, but Covid meant Denise had to pivot her business and moved to food photography. Denise’s photography journey began on her wedding day. When she got the images back from her wedding day she didn’t like them, and said she...

Every episode has an extra bonus tip that we give only to newsletter subscribers. For the show about fashion Marcus’s tip as if you want to shoot fashion, don’t shoot fashion. And now Marcus has a whole show on this principal.   When Marcus was working in fashion lecturing, students would come up with great fashion work. But he would say remember editors commissioning this work see pictures all th...

This week Marcus and Sam speak to Sonya Dove who is Wella ’s Global Creative Director and Marcus’s big sister. Sonya has been with Wella for 40 years and hairdressing for 45 years. On a day to day basis Sonya travels around the US and Canada educating and mentoring hairdressers. She also does classes and photoshoots. Hairdressing has given her the opportunity to travel the world. She still travels...

SEO Part Two There are going to be three podcasts on SEO. Planning External SEO Internal SEO This episode is looking at External SEO. This episode is sponsored by Website for photographers. Website 4 photographers help photographers get more leads from their websites. You can get in touch here ⁠⁠ info@website4photographers.co.uk ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ 01482 765871 This week Sam is talking about external SEO. That...

Paul Cooper has been a professional photographer for over 30 years. He is currently a commercial photographer. But, in the last 30 years he has shot most types of photography. His photography business Baily-Cooper Photography is run with his wife. They also have a photography education business called Master your Photography . Master your photography caters for everyone from someone who wants to b...

The ten principals of Flash Photography These apply to all types of light including natural light. 1. There are only two types of light, hard light and soft light. Hard light is the sort of light you would get at midday in a sunny place. Very contrasting light. The imagine it’s a cloudy day then the light becomes soft. 2. The closer the light is to the subject, the softer the light. And so the fur...

This episode is an interview with Fiona Scott a PR specialist. To start Sam and Fiona discuss the difference between PR and marketing. Fiona says public relations encompasses every type of marketing as public relations is about any time your business contacts the public. Fiona says that means if someone says they can help you with all of your PR be very wary, that is a very wide field. Fiona’s spe...

Are you a photographer who's ready to finally get found on Google? This week's show is the first in a three part series on SEO, revealing the most important step in the entire process. • Why doing any SEO work without a proper plan is a complete waste of time, and how to create a strategy that actually works. • You'll learn how to choose the right keywords and geographic areas for your...

Maureen helps elevate peoples Linkedin profile. She helps them create more opportunities and visibility. That creates more leads and more business. Maureen tells her story. She started off in the world of sales and marketing. She went from telemarking to field sales. To then running sales teams working with tech startups. As a Sales and marketing director LinkedIn was always her go to platform. Sh...

Marcus has been using three pieces of software for a long time in his career. Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, Capture one. But initially Marcus goes back to the history of retouching, which started only a couple of years after photography was invited. So “photoshopping” has been around from well before photoshop. Adobe photoshop was early photography software that started in the 1990s. Marcus remember...

This week on the podcast, we're joined by renowned British advertising photographer and director, Joe Giacomet With his unique and vibrant style, Joe has created an impressive body of work for major clients. He joins us to share insights on his creative process, the importance of personal projects, and how a unique style can be your greatest asset. What you'll learn from this episode: Disc...

Sam and Marcus discuss consistency in your marketing. Sam says the basic idea is decide what you want to in your marketing, and do it consistently and well. If you look at businesses that are doing well through their marketing, they are being very consistent. That doesn’t mean that all businesses that consistently market, do well. This episode is sponsored by Website for photographers. Website 4 p...

Toby Lee Toby is a headshot photographer in the UK. His business is called Headshot Toby. He has been a Headshot photographer for 7 years. He started out working with actors and those in the entertainment industry. He is now in Lincolnshire working more with businesses. Toby started out as an actor and went to one of the top acting schools in the country. During his final year at acting school, it...

Marcus has a wide experience in fashion having worked in it for many years, and then being a fashion photography lectures.   It’s a team sport Fashion photography involves a team of people, not just the photographer. This might include hair and make up, stylist, model and assistant. Marcus says as a fashion photography there is no need to know anything about clothes. This is the job of the stylist...