Before I opened my first studio, I was still coaching football and shooting out of my house, so most of my sessions were on location. That first year of shooting was all about trying to get better in hopes of making photography my living.
Thriving photography businesses adapt to the changes in the market they specialize in. We wanted to do something different within our senior market that would create a lot of buzz and momentum for client referrals. After many hours of brainstorming and deliberation, DigiSmiles Splash Week was born.
The March edition of Shutter Magazine is all about seniors, one of my favorite subjects. It’s about the ability to create with a client who, for the most part, actually wants to be there, wants to be photographed and is willing to try new locations.
Branding: The marketing practice of creating a name, symbol or design that identifies and differentiates a product or business from other products or businesses in the same market.
With this month’s theme being “Seniors,” it’s the perfect opportunity to talk about diversity in building your business. Seniors can be an incredibly strong revenue component, and they can push your creativity.
There was nothing flashy about my senior portraits—well, perhaps the borrowed tuxedo top I wore over plaid shorts against a blue backdrop. (The image, of course, was cropped above the shorts.) Yet my mom remembered and coveted those portraits throughout my life.
The biggest obstacle we face as senior photographers is keeping ourselves in front of our target audience, the seniors. There are so many photographers out there vying for the same business that we can get lost in the masses.
Everywhere I go I hear the same thing: “Senior photography is not a thing here.” It’s not? So, you live in a part of the world where teenagers are not rebelling? Don’t want to be cool? Aren’t going through an identity crisis of some kind? Wow. You must live in a very unique place.
This week, I’m in Nashville filming and teaching. As I was deciding on my topic for this month’s article, I couldn’t help but think about the musicians and that this town is just flowing with creatives.
I have been shooting high school seniors my whole career, which started about six years ago. When I began, I was still coaching high school football, and my first clients were my players.
