TG Photography Weblog

Interview of Professional Photographer

Adrienne Maples

1.                  How do you advertise?

a.       What is the most effective type of advertising?

Adrienne pays for advertising in Kansas City Weddings magazine, The Knot, and she has a web presence with her web site and Google tags.  However, she says, “word of mouth is the most successful thing.”  She also stressed that doing good work is the best way to have people talking about you.

11.       How do you handle clients that want the digital files or want to buy all rights to your photos?

For weddings Adrienne includes a CD with lower resolution files that are capable of printing up toe 8X10 images.  Before delivering the CD she has clients sign a contract stating that the copyrights still belong to the photographer and the CD is intended for personal use only.  Occasionally she will sell higher resolution discs to portrait customers.  She is not very comfortable with selling the CD’s, but since it is what her competition is doing, she hasn’t much choice.

12.              Should a beginning photographer go out cheap?

Adrienne explains that there are two rules of thought on this topic:

a.       If a photographer works cheap, he or she will ultimately have the reputation of being cheap that will be difficult to overcome.

b.      Working cheap is a good way to build a portfolio.

When Adrienne started out she did not have a business loan.  She “built her business on business” by using the money she made from each job to buy more equipment.  She would shoot a wedding for $800 and spend the money on a new flash or other piece of equipment.  Then after four weddings she raised her price, and continued in that matter until she made it into the high end weddings.  She said that it is a good idea to have a game plan set for your business and to follow it.

13.              Is there value in being a member in professional organizations?

“Absolutely.”  Adrienne is currently involved in, or has been involved in the past, in WPPI, PPA, SPE, and WPJ.  The best thing about belonging to these organizations is the network of photographers that you are able to associate yourself with.  It is also an excellent way to make friends with people you can ask questions about photography.  She also uses her memberships to enter contests.  She explains that “awards take you to another level.”  In this statement she means that you photography is of greater value.  The courses are also beneficial.

16.              What do you consider your keys to success?

“Love is the killer application.”  This is Adrienne’s business philosophy.  She loves what she does and that comes through to her clients.  She builds a relationship with everyone she photographs and then those people are more likely to tell their friends about her, which will give her more clients.  She also says that, “a huge part of my success is my attitude.”  Being nice and doing good work is what people will remember.  She is also a very hard worker and tries to make her photography better with each job.

17.              Do you do your own accounting?

“Yes and no.”  She has an accountant, but she also keeps track of everything herself and supplies the accountant with that information.

18.              Do you use business software?

Yes, she uses Excel spreadsheets to keep track of spending.  This is the information she supplies her accountant with.

19.              What camera and equipment do you use?

Adrienne uses the Canon 5D because it is light and travels well.  She also uses Pocket Wizards, and several fast lenses.  She states here that it is very important to spend money on the best lenses with the professional glass.  She says to save money and buy the good lenses.  One that she uses often has a 70-200mm and is in the f/1 to f/2 aperture.

20.              Do you print your own images?

No.  Adrienne uses a lab.

21.              What labs do you use to print your images?

She uses a lab in California named, Pictage for all her weddings.  The quality is not the very best, however the customer service is good and the turnaround is fast.  In Missouri she uses White House, Custom Color, and H&H labs.

20.              Do you hire someone for your website maintenance or do you do it yourself?

Adrienne designed her own website.  She did not have the money when she started her business to spare, so she took a web design class in college to learn how to do it herself.  However, her current site is an HTML site and since all of her competition is using Flash driven sites, she is considering hiring someone within the next year to redo her site.

22.              How do you present your work to your clients?

Other than her website, which includes slide shows, she shows clients her portfolio and speaks with them during a scheduled meeting.  She has also sent discs to clients with information and slides using David Show It software.  But she again states that, “love is the killer application,” and she loves all of her clients.

23.              How did you come about determining your pricing and what you charge your clients?

Trial and error is the way Adrienne decided upon pricing.  She looked at the competition and the packages that they offered and she questions her pricing all of the time.  She says that being published like she is given her more latitude with her pricing since it makes her more desirable to clients.  She has also used undercutting for pricing where she charges just a little bit under the competition that is shooting similar quality as her own.  Then she says that “people are undercutting me now.”  At this point in the conversation Adrienne says “Do not negotiate on pricing or people will think you are cheap and easy to persuade in the future.”  She is not interesting in having clients who try to talk her down in her pricing.  “If you consistently raise the bar with your work, people won’t care if you raise your prices.”

24.              How many different clients do you handle in a year?

Adrienne books only 25 weddings a year.

XX.           I also asked some questions not on the list:

a.       How do you handle situations dealing with brides and grooms who do not want to see each other before the wedding?

“Don’t push customers into seeing each other before the wedding if they don’t want to.”  She says that she gives out suggestions about the way to arrange photos for the wedding.  She sets up a special 15 minutes for the bride and grooms to be alone with her before the wedding.  But if they still are against it, she does not force the matter but works with them.  In the end she says that 80% will follow her suggestions.  To try and get away from the traditional shots, she only spends 15 minutes on posed group pictures.  She is “there to catch it when it happens.”  She also says that she still gets nervous before every shoot.  She wanted me understand that part of being successful is setting yourself apart from the mainstream.

28.              Do you feel that digital photography has had a positive or negative influence on your business?

Adrienne answers that digital has turned everyone into a photographer.  She says that you have to “concentrate on developing your personal style.”  Then she tells me a story of when she was in school and assigned to shoot a nude model.  She was uncomfortable about it so an instructor told her what she considers the best advice she ever received from a teacher; “use a timer set for 30 minutes and take photos of your model.  By the time you have only 5 minutes left, you’re best shot will come then.”  She continues, “Look at things and interpret it differently from anyone else.  Take the time to explore very different avenue.”  One of the pictures that she took of the nude model in that last 5 minutes was displayed in a New York City show.

            Other great advice she gave me:

                        Work your style into a business motto.

                        Sharing knowledge will work for you like karma.

                        Always look for ways of reinventing yourself.

                        When people are comfortable with you, you get better shots and better moments.

                        Make sure you have business insurance when you start out.

                        Buy equipment on EBay after you have checked it out first.