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Marketing Part 1

Lesson 48 from: 28 Days of Portrait Photography

Sue Bryce

Marketing Part 1

Lesson 48 from: 28 Days of Portrait Photography

Sue Bryce

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Lesson Info

48. Marketing Part 1

Next Lesson: Marketing Part 2

Lessons

Class Trailer

Day 1

1

First 2 Years: The Truth

1:23:37
2

Teaching 2 Photographers in 28 Days

1:10:45
3

Rate Your Business

1:05:08
4

Year One in Business

1:00:34

Day 2

5

28 Challenges

1:21:39
6

Fear

1:04:07
7

Price & Value

1:10:17
8

Checklist, Challenges, and Next Steps

26:35

Day 3

9

Day 1: The Natural Light Studio

38:09

Day 4

10

Day 2: Mapping Your Set and Outfits

1:54:32

Day 5

11

Day 3: One Composition - Five Poses

35:49

Day 6

12

Day 4: Flow Posing

49:31

Day 7

13

Day 5: Posing Couples

55:55

Day 8

14

Day 6: Capturing Beautiful Connection & Expression

40:47

Day 9

15

Day 7: The Rules - Chin, Shoulders, Hands

56:24

Day 10

16

First Weekly Q&A Session

1:00:15
17

Day 8: Rules - Hourglass, Body Language, Asymmetry, Connection

28:39

Day 11

18

Day 9: Styling & Wardrobe

40:50

Day 12

19

Day 10: Shooting Curves

48:40

Day 13

20

Day 11: Posing & Shooting - Groups of 2, 3, and 4

28:46

Day 14

21

Day 12: Posing & Shooting Families

28:36

Day 15

22

Day 13: Products & Price List

56:53

Day 16

23

Day 14: Marketing & Shooting the Before & After

41:20

Day 17

24

Day 15: Phone Coaching & Scripting

52:56

Day 18

25

Second Weekly Q&A Session

1:02:21
26

Day 16: Posing Young Teens

43:02

Day 19

27

Day 17: Marketing & Shooting - Family First Demographic

33:14

Day 20

28

Day 18: The Corporate Headshot

1:05:43

Day 21

29

Day 19: Glamour Shoot on Location & Shooting with Flare

53:56
30

Photoshop Video: Glamour Shoot on Location & Shooting with Flare

11:06

Day 22

31

Day 20: Photoshop - Warping & the Two Minute Rule

1:22:22

Day 23

32

Day 21: Posing Mothers & Daughters

42:22

Day 24

33

Third Weekly Q&A Session

1:31:41
34

Day 22: Marketing & Shooting - 50 & Fabulous Demographic

1:04:00

Day 25

35

Day 23: Shooting into the Backlight

58:22
36

Bonus: Shooting into the Backlight

06:52

Day 26

37

Day 24: Marketing & Shooting - Girl Power Demographic (18-30s)

39:17
38

Photoshop Video: Girl Power Demographic (18-30s)

1:07:21

Day 27

39

Day 25: The Beauty Shot

46:32
40

Bonus: Vintage Backdrop

04:54

Day 28

41

Day 26: Marketing & Shooting - Independent Women Demographic

49:40

Day 29

42

Day 27: Sales & Production

54:30

Day 30

43

Day 28: Posing Men

52:19

Day 31

44

Bonus: Pricing

42:32
45

Introduction

11:36
46

Photography, Style, Brand, and Price Part 1

1:06:49
47

Photography, Style, Brand, and Price Part 2

47:24
48

Marketing Part 1

38:01
49

Marketing Part 2

1:12:04
50

Money: What's Blocking You?

49:15
51

Bonus: The Folio Shoot

52:29

Day 32

52

Photo Critiques Images 1 through 10

23:11
53

Photo Critiques Images 11 through 27

25:01
54

Photo Critiques Images 28 through 45

30:19
55

Photo Critiques Images 47 through 67

36:47
56

Photo Critiques Images 68 through 84

23:22
57

Photo Critiques Images 85 through 105

36:01
58

Photo Critiques Images 106 through 130

34:49
59

Photo Critiques Images 131 through 141

13:45
60

Photo Critiques Images 142 through 167

25:27
61

Photo Critiques Images 168 through 197

29:13
62

Photo Critiques Images 198 through 216

25:51

Day 33

63

Identify Your Challenges

35:06
64

Identify Your Strengths

22:16
65

Getting Started Q&A

22:54
66

Rate Your Business

31:29
67

Marketing Vs Pricing

33:26
68

Facing Fear

23:45
69

The 28 Day Study Group

15:02
70

Selling Points

40:35
71

Interview with Susan Stripling

18:03
72

Emotional Honesty

29:09

Day 34

73

Sue's Evolution

18:36
74

28 Days Review

15:14
75

Student Pitches

11:28
76

28 Days Testimonial: Mapuana Reed

09:02
77

How to Pitch: Starting a Conversation

37:28
78

Your Block: Seeing is What You're Being

35:30
79

Your Block: Valuing and Receiving

37:09
80

Building Confidence: Your Own Stories

20:45
81

Building Confidence: Your Self Worth

36:05
82

Pitching An Experience

34:16
83

Pitching An Experience: Your Intentions

18:15
84

Pitching An Experience: Social Media

30:14
85

Final Thoughts

24:35

Lesson Info

Marketing Part 1

I'm gonna talk to you about marketing. In fact, next couple of hours let's hit some big marketing ideas, but before we go onto that, I need to talk about Jessica. We need to talk about Jessica. (audience chuckles) Jessica, I know that you are chewing your fingernails right now, but there is no need to. Jessica has so graciously, as a startup young business and a mum at home, has given me a really an in for you guys to see something that you will identify with, and it is the most valuable lesson that she could give you all and she's done that openly. So I want everyone to support her on her Facebook page and support her online 'cause she did that unselfishly and when I asked her if I could post it, she didn't flinch once, she trusts me that much. She went yes, she flinched a little bit. Jessica threw into the chat last Monday that she did not believe that it was, she did not believe that her market can support her as a photographer and she doesn't understand why, because she charges a l...

ot less than Sue Bryce. So I said well I don't believe that, so I want you to tell me what your blocks are around money and she said, no seriously, it's the market I'm in and I know, break into a new market and all the rest of it. And this is where everybody disconnects from what they believe into actually taking the action to go and do it, because there's this belief that there's something out there that's not your fault and here it is right here. This is the bridge that you're all gonna get between how do I put myself out there, how do I break into that new market, I was in exactly the same position four years ago when I moved from New Zealand to Australia. I was in that position eight years before that when I started my business in New Zealand. How do I break into the market? Well my client base are women and there are women everywhere so let's look at how. So I said to Jessica, I threw it out there, Jessica came back with no, really, it is my market and I was like I don't believe that, Jessica. There is a disconnect between what you're saying and what you're advertising and what you're marketing and what you believe. Let's fine the block. And I said, Jessica, send me your PDF. Send me your PDF and I will critique it, and if you're brave enough, I will show everybody else for 28 Days, and this is what happened. I was sitting very quietly, I opened my email, I opened Jessica's PDF, and instantly I saw Boudoir and Glamour, and I thought okay, we didn't need both words, that's okay, she's either boudoir or glamour. I think there's a distinction. That's fine, I go with glamour, she sticks with boudoir. That's fine. I loved her logo and then there's three little panels. This face looks warped, this face is looking off in another direction, and this woman fell asleep during her shoot. This was my initial instinct, I told Jessica this, she laughed. Then, I go to the next page and there's two tiny little shots. Neither of them are significant on the page and it says what is boudoir and glamour? So now we're gonna get an education. Boudoir and we'll spell it phonetically, boudoir, just in case you couldn't say it, and then glamour, and then glam-our. "A woman's bedroom or private sitting room, "charm, allure, and fascination. "How does this translate in photography? "Boudoir photograph is of an intimate nature "and has more sensual portraits of an individual. "The end results typically gives you a gift of oneself "to a significant other, it helps to celebrate "a woman's beauty regardless of shape or size. "Boudoir is not only in the bedroom these days "but almost anywhere you can think of it. (snores) "Glamour photography is a little less sexy "and a little bit more romance. "Think dresses, makeup, and fashion. "While glamour portraits still lean towards very sexy "and alluring, at J Morgan images, these portraits "are more about capturing the" I didn't read it, 'cause I was bored after I read the first two lines. Alright? So I was like (snores), that went on for a length of a Lord of the Rings movie. (audience laughs) And then we have a scientific equation that is the price list. A la carte options, album, 10 sides, 20 sides, come matted, prints come matted, 12 by 12, 10 by 10, we're going backwards to four by six, custom cover instead of leather, accordion album, additional pages, calendars, DVD, additional locations, custom design, I stopped reading after a la carte options and I looked straight at the image which apparently was cropped incorrectly 'cause all I could see was her mouth, right? And then I got to here and it starts with investment opportunities. Invest in what? This is not real estate, so all options come standard with professional retouching, online password-protected gallery, it just carried on. It carried on, it carried on, and then there was one image down here. So in four pages, it lacked in entire communication to me and what she does. So I hit Jessica with that on Skype. And what we came up with as our next scenario was this. In your communication you need to tell me who are you, what do you do, what are you going to give me as a consumer, what is the experience that I'm gonna have, that I am paying for, and where is the entice in this brochure? So let's go back. Did she tell me who she is, no. Did she tell me what she does, no. She explains what glamour and boudoir photography is but she never showed me or told me what she does. Does she tell me what she's selling me, no. She shows me product. I'm not buying product, I'm buying the photo shoot. And did she entice me with images, no. Okay, no on all counts and yet information and design-wise it was actually good, because she answered a lot of questions and she designed it clean and simple. So to her, she can't understand why it's not working, so let's look at this. I believe that this PDF is selling an investment opportunity to nothing that I understand. Would you agree with that? Okay, so we talked about it, and I'll play this. Can we have some sound? Your PDF I can present on Creative Live on Monday and I'm going to tell people what my critique was, but then I'm going to show them your amazing new PDF, okay? So you're going to do that over the next three days and I can help you do that so if you have any issue with it I want you to call me and I want you to talk to me about it, and secondly, I want to just reiterate that as soon as we start, we get your images and we're gonna put your personal profile on there, we're gonna start selling Jessica instead of money. It's a little weird to be like putting my picture up on something Do you think? That plain, yeah. Yeah, but you're trying to sell you, you're trying to sell you as a business owner, as a photographer, as a woman with children, as a beautiful woman, you're trying to sell all of those things and the most authentic person you could ever use in your own advertising is you. So not only is that the most important part, secondly, you're trying to sell me money and I want to know what you've got to offer me and you haven't once told me what you offer me. You haven't once showed me a shoot or behind the scenes, a before-and-after. You haven't once told me what you're gonna do for me. In fact, you had the audacity to give me two full pages on what you cost and you didn't once tell me what you sell, and when you list images and words in boxes, that means nothing to me. I wanna know what you're giving me, and I wanna know who you are, and so I cannot wait to show you a new PDF and I cannot wait to see how many bookings you get from it. So I'll get you those in the next hour, you're gonna put that together and you're gonna show me, send me a couple of beautiful photos of you and I want a very basic bio, age, children, married for, been a photographer for, love boudoir, glamour, and I wanna know are you more boudoir more or are you more glamour? I'm more boudoir. Okay, so then we're gonna brand you as J Morgan Boudoir and Yes And we're gonna take away all those strange explanations and translations on your price list, okay? Okay. And now from now on you're gonna start selling me Jessica instead of selling me investment opportunities. Okay, I emailed you a picture, it's one of my friends, so it has her logo and I just emailed her to ask for if I can use it. Cool It's really small logo That's cool, so you can take the logo off for your PDF and just put a credit, photo credit underneath so put photo credit blah blah blah and then that goes on your PDF with her photo credits so they know that you didn't take your own photograph so it's okay to photo credit another photographer and then whoever sees that sees that your own image is on there, and that's really, really important. I look forward to seeing it. Over the next two days, let's redesign your PDF so I can put it up and show everybody the big shift that's coming in terms with how you are marketing yourself. I'm telling you right now, Jessica, your PDF was so misaligned with who you are that there's no way anybody would've booked off that. I'm surprised you got any bookings off that. When you turn that around, you're going to be surprised at how much because you have got all the goods, you were just speaking to the wrong pad, and I know that your need to make money was strong but it was overshadowing your desire to give service, to take photographs. You were trying to sell me investment opportunities and you weren't trying to sell me beautiful photographs, and it's about me, not you getting money, okay, so when I share that. When somebody's here, it's not about that at all. I know, so why would you try and attract that, totally, so remember, I listen to language and I listen to what people say. I don't care what people tell me. I care the way they say it and you were reeking of asking for money instead of selling photography, and I'm so glad that you got the opportunity to see it from my point of view because when we redesign it you get the opportunity to change the way you say it and you get the opportunity to attract something way different, which is more authentic to you. Okay. And I can't wait to see you do this, and then my friend, you owe me dinner. That's fine. Yeah, alright, and a bottle of wine. I'll take you out on a date anytime. I'll pluck my eyebrows (laughs). Nice talking to you, I'll talk to you over the weekend. Alright. Alright darling, have a good weekend. You too. So what a beautiful girl she is and what a beautiful girl to not be in any part of her advertising, and there was nothing authentic about her PDF. Any from the audience, can I just go back to that and I know that Jessica's in our chat, and I know that she'll be getting a lot of support right now so right now is there anybody that's got anything, I would like to hear something positive about this PDF. Okay, so just because I slammed it down, I told her what was wrong with it in my eyes but there were positive aspects to it. Did anybody look at that and go, well, that looks like mine and I wouldn't have been quite so hard or did anybody not agree with me? Anybody online, did anybody not agree when I said that this PDF is trying to sell me money and it is not trying to sell me a photo shoot? Now when I compare this to my PDF, doesn't it stand to reason that mine is selling a photo shoot? Okay, 'cause mine's all about images, less about words, all about the photographs, full page, double bleed, you know really, it's about the before and after so when you look at this, was that all about the a la carte options, the investment opportunity and the boudoir and what is boudoir and glamour instead of this is what I do, to me just tried to sell me money. Yeah, I just wanted to, so that I definitely, I was impressed by how she created it and I think that, I know when I first started out I started looking at all of these websites and she was copying, you could tell that she was copying the standard, and you're shattering the standard which is amazing, but I think that she if compared with a million photographers online, it would be really similar, which is really sad. It would be similar, well it's not sad because when an industry standard becomes an industry standard, we watermark our logo, okay, we put colored borders in, we go double shot one color, two, and actually she's used three fonts, which is a design flaw, which most people do, in fact one, two, three, four, five fonts, four fonts, five, there's five on that page, two is the max, and then she has boxed her images. So she's boxed in her images instead of making full-bleed designs which by the way, magazines have been doing full-bleed designs for 15 years so why aren't we doing them, we are modern, contemporary designers. That's why my design looks more magazine. Okay, aside from how it looks 'cause I actually thought the design was standard and it was actually better than normal, okay? Absolutely gave it props for that, gave her big props for the logo. Logo's outstanding. I don't have a logo, mine is just Bryce in Palentino. I like to keep it simple but I really like that. Okay, what it was was its communication for me was just completely misaligned. This completely, it got better, and I've gotta show you this 'cause Jessica, I don't know if Jessica even knows that I have this but somebody copied out of the chat a comment that Jessica made while I was live and so I didn't see the comments 'cause I don't get to read them, and they sent it to me on email. And I just wanna talk about this. She wrote in the chat, "I am convinced it's the market "I am in currently and not knowing how to break out "into a market that I'm not involved in. "Yes, I know, get involved with the market "to break into it, but how?" So Jessica believes that if she takes a marketing course and I tell her how to break into that market that her answers will be given to her, her problem will be solved, but her problem is back here in how she's communicating what she's selling, okay? I have been nagging you all for 12 months, 13 months now to create a PDF for your business that accurately communicates what you do. I have asked for you to do three things: make it image-driven, show don't tell, make it communicate easily what you do behind the scenes, and make it simple. That PDF breaks all three of my rules and so do most of you that are sending PDFs to me. What's it going to take for you to get that? Let's look at how we can do it? "My feelings," and this is what happened when I challenged her about money, "my feelings on money, I am broke "and maybe that makes me attract the same type of people. "The people who want money but don't have it already. "Trying to find my road block here folks, "I don't fear being successful, I crave it." So in being broke and craving, she's craving money because that's what you do when you're broke and when you crave money, you come from a place of pitching for money instead of pitching for service, value product, and experience, and yet everything about Jessica, her demeanor, her gentleness, her instant friendliness, her love of what she does tells me that she makes it about the shoot when they're there but everything in her PDF communicates I'm broke and I need money and it's just focused on me getting money. Did anybody else feel like that, does anybody else feel like that now that I'm saying it and you're seeing it? Is anybody else thinking of their own PDF and how it communicates? I think that what Jessica did, I think is something that it's easy to do, it's easier to do, to focus on the money because if you are so worried about it, you figure if I put it out there right there, they see it, they know, when they come to me I don't have to worry about any of that, they already know what they have to pay me But get this They've already agreed to pay me. This is my big problem, I did the same thing. I made it first about the money and repelled it. Then I switched in the complete opposite and put no price on and made it about the experience and then people were coming and going what, how much, and I was hiding the money. So you can go both ways there and screw it up for yourself instead of being, I give a great service, I receive well for it, I give a great service, I receive this much for it. It's a 50/50, okay, very, very important. Kenna? Well, just what I was gonna say 'cause there's a lot of discussion going on in the chat room and Jessica is in there as well and says thank you to Sue, of course, and everybody else, but what people are commenting on when you asked about what did you like about Jessica's PDF, and the most resounding thing was that she actually has one. Yes! (audience laughs) And that's she's actually. Jessica! Done it, because You're already ahead of the crowd. Because people are already I have to create a PDF but I'm scared, that was Jana Marie Photography. And just again, Okay, well let's go, look at this. So I take her logo and I go make that your front page. By the way, this is about Jessica redesigning it. I did not design her PDF. I just told her what I just told you, so she came back with this because I felt that this was really vital, that she needed to speak from Jessica. I asked her to tell me who she was and why she liked it. The photograph she sent me was her in a pink tutu shot by another photographer, excellently well executed shot, but too cute and she looked about 18 in it and I just went you can't have that as your profile, so Jessica got her husband to photograph her a profile shot that morning, Saturday morning, and emailed it to me, and I picked my favorite one, and it was that one. And it was perfect, she's beautiful. What I love about her is here she looks young and the cool thing about her is she is the mother of two children and she's 29 years old. So at first glance you might think she's 20, but then you realize she's a wife and a mother. And her description and her beautiful little logo signing off down there was I am Jessica Edler, boudoir photographer, bam, much better than boudoir, glamour, translate this into photography. I am Jessica Edler, am I saying it right, Adler, Edler, boudoir photographer, bam. I love that! I mean how confident is that, look at this beautiful woman. I am Jessica Edler, boudoir photographer, I'm 29 years old, a wife, a mum of two, a dreamer, a rebel, and an excellent storyteller. That is an elevator pitch. Okay, I have a passion for finding the beauty in others and helping them see it, too. Bam, none of that came from me. Would you like to have beautiful photographs of yourself to share with the person who loves you? And feel gorgeous, empowered, and pampered? Question mark. Book now for a makeover and boudoir photograph collection start at 800 dollars, Jessica Edler. Okay, what I love about this, I am boudoir photographer, 29 years old, mother of two, wife, dreamer, storyteller, what I love is to find the beauty in others and would you like to have beautiful photographs. What's the one thing we want? Beautiful photographs. She's answering my questions. I want beautiful photographs. Just so happens I take beautiful photographs, that's what that question says. This is page two, okay, so we go simplicity, information. Now she's got to entice me, so she's gotta put a full-bleed image up and then she's gonna put another one up but instead of just making it images she's put to love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance, Oscar Wilde. And how beautiful that she would choose to love oneself, not to be beautiful enough that somebody else would love you, but to love yourself, to honor yourself, to have your own photo shoot. She's enticing me with images, and then she's showing me the experience, and it's even called the experience. This is what I'm going to experience. You arrive at the studio, you meet your hair and makeup artist, and it shows me what's gonna happen through my day. Those are the only words in there, entice, price. She's gone with small, medium, and large. She's still working through these packages. These were not set in stone, she did this very early Saturday morning, her and I were Skyping together so we could get this up. Her now-PDF now looks like this. Is that not 500 times better? Okay, talk to me, why, what do you like about it? What's missing from it, what would you like to see more of, what would you like to see more of and how can she make that better, has she improved her PDF, do you think she's changed her communication? Okay, speak to me. So I just wanna let you know that Jessica is on fire now (audience laughs) and she said that she has basically, this has made her rethink everything and she's going to go and change pretty much every part of her, anything associated with her business she wants to revamp and redo. So how I learned about this communication? Two ways. If I was, I never got bored reading that. I went like this, clever, clever, clever, oh this girl's clever. Because I got to, I'm 29, Jessica, boudoir photographer, bam, that's it, I'm 29 years old, a wife, a mother, a dreamer, a rebel, and an excellent storyteller, great, didn't waffle on. I have a passion for finding the beauty in others and helping them see it too, double-edged sword there, would you like to have beautiful photographs of yourself to share with the person who loves you, the person who loves you? So you get boudoir photography to show your partner and that's the person who loves you. This is about, so she's saying do it for him but do it for yourself. Do it for him because you love yourself. I love that flip. Book now for a makeover and boudoir photo shoot collection starting at 800 dollars. Bam, that was enough, and that that's her and oh, I love that, oh, that just spoke volumes to me. Okay, volumes, volumes. I just wanna say Michael P in the lounge has said that this is really tough love but we all need it, so You know, it is tough love and I'll tell you something. Jessica could go back to that old PDF and call me a bitch, and that's fine, I'll do that, I can sit with that, but remember the one thing when you are doing something the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result, so the choice would be that she doesn't have to stick with what I see was her faults, but she needs to open a dialogue with either a client, people around her, a friend, another mentor, and say where am I going wrong, not I am in a market that is not supporting me. Where am I going wrong, I'm going wrong. She can do whatever she wants from here on in. All I've given her is my opinion and my opinion is not the be all and end all. I am only two things, a business owner of a successful business and a consumer, and that last PDF made me go yuck and this PDF made me go yay. Alright, and so it's about communicating really simply what I'm getting out of this, I'm the client, you're the photographer. Okay, I know that you want to get paid but what are you getting paid for? What are you getting paid for, I know you all want money but what are you giving me in order to give you the money? I'm not gonna give you my money unless you tell me what I'm getting. Okay, I don't just walk into BCBG and drop a couple of hundred dollars, they actually give me something and I leave with it (audience laughs) okay, that's consumers. So I want, it's so important, any other feedback I can't stop talking about that. I have a question. With regards to just generally the kind of, 'Cause you're designing your PDF right now, aren't you Susan Roderick? And I still haven't seen it yet but gosh, I wait with bated breath for that Skype call. I was waiting for this moment. You're going pink! So the question is, in marketing in general, usually there's an overall kind of you're missing something or you're lacking something, so I will add or I will give that back to you. Do you recommend in the words that you choose kind of making people feel like they're at a deficit and that you're going to fill that? Okay, I think it's this simple. Yes, they are at a deficit. The ethos of marketing is that you're going to solve my problem, you're going to answer my question, solve my problem, and fill a desire within me, and the truth is at the end of the day, you do not know what that is. I think our basic is everybody gets a beautiful photograph, isn't that what we all want, look and feel like a supermodel, be pampered for a day, have images that last a lifetime, be seen in images for your children, you're someone that I love, I want to capture you for all time. You know, think of what it is that you think you sell and market that. But don't market me money and albums and numbers, because I'm not interested, I don't buy that. I buy the dream, I buy the transformation, I buy the experience, I buy the belief that you're going to give me what I want so whatever you think you're giving, you know, for a lot of boudoir and glamour photographers their desire is to give with connection, wouldn't you agree with that? To give that connection of a beautiful photograph where you feel incredible, it's not really about a spa day. I don't really go with the pamper day, I go more for the transformation. I'm more about the before and after than the spa day 'cause I'm not transforming you for one day. You know, I'm not a big spa person 'cause I'm a practical girl and even though I like to spend money on shoes and stuff, I spend 125 dollars on a massage and I enjoyed it while I was there, but I kinda leave feeling oily and then you go and have a shower and then it's like later on that day you're back on Photoshop and your shoulder jams up again and you're like well that was 125 dollars I'm never getting back. And I'm sure the experience was really wonderful while you were there, but it's not something I take away. I would rather get my hair blown out for 60 dollars and leave with gorgeous hair for four days. That's a result and not only that, that not only produces a result for me, for me getting my head massaged it's like you could massage my head, I'd just follow you home. Yeah, I just love my hair being played with. And so that to me is what I want, so I kinda think if you market it as a pamper day, people get over the pamper real fast but they don't ever get over the transformation. Because a transformation is like boom, the best part. We all desire to be better, better photographers, we all desire to be better mothers, to be better sisters, friends, people, human beings, we desire to be thinner, prettier, younger, everything in our marketing is a desire to be something. To be transformed, to be captured, to be immortalized beautifully in a photograph. That's what you're selling. Microphones. When you're talking about the transformation for me, I shoot high school girls predominantly. So how do I portray the before without sabotaging that age group is obviously very fragile, you have to be careful. I wouldn't do the before and after At all? With teenage girls. No, I would sell the experience of being a princess for a day, a supermodel for a day or a superstar for a day. Okay. But for them, the experience, they're quite happy with no makeup on in a bun, for them it's not the hair and makeup, it's the dresses. Have you noticed with the senior shoots the dresses they turn up with? Holy cow! These girls turn out with six, seven ball gowns. And they're like just little Forever 21 ones, but like sparkly dresses and little pink dresses, cheap ones that just look incredible, that's where they want to be, they want to be in the whole photo shoot experience. I had a photo shoot, it's the 30-year-old woman who's like oh my god I got the full transformation, the 16, 17 year old, she just wants to shoot. You sell the shoot to her, so Jessica's PDF is transforming even as we speak. Jessica had an hour to put that together Really? After my critique. Yeah, she did it on Saturday morning. Her husband photographed her and she sent me back the words so fast and even managed to text me and say I'm going to a kid's birthday party, I'm not by my computer so she managed to do all of that and take the kids to a birthday party. I mean she knocked that out and then she said she did not talk to me about packages, I said no, I don't wanna critique it again, I just want you to do the first critique and come back with what you do. So she did that, and now she's going to evolve it even more. So can I just make it really clear before we finish, okay. The marketing, let's make this really simple, real 101: marketing is the ability to share it, what you do. Okay, what will get in your way is fear, value, and confidence. Okay, she has a fear around money, she has a fear around valuing her product and she didn't have the confidence to even put herself in her own advertising. However, marketing is the ability to share it. Now I'm giving you the opportunity to create a marketing brochure for your studio free on Photoshop, you just do it yourself. We've given you templates, I've showed you designs, Jessica's watched my Creative Live, she still didn't do it. What's it gonna take today to get you to nail this? Full-bleed, show me what you sell. Your shooting session is where you educate, you show your product and you give service. You don't need to do that in your PDF. You do not need to do it. What you need to do is get her in first. Then you have your viewing, your sales session and this, lack of education, will stop you from selling and any blocks you have around money and value will stop you from selling. These are all things that are gonna get in your way. So let's talk about 50 ways to market your business when we come back, but the first thing I want you to do, when you leave today, is this is called 50/50. I want you to call a photographer friend, Susan Roderick can call me, alright? She's just shot behind the scenes for me for the last two months, so I'm gonna go and do the same for her. Now I'm quite good, and that's one of the things that you get when you know another photographer and everybody does, you all know a photographer. You go and shoot for them, they come and shoot for you. I want you to show behind the scenes. Okay, I want you to show the makeup, maybe even a little bit of video footage if you've got show reels and you're moving towards that. Show you shooting. I want you to feel very comfortable with what you look like from behind when you're shooting because it's going to be quite confronting for you. Okay, I remember the first time I saw myself like this from behind and I went who is that? (audience laughs) You don't get to see that perspective very much, it's shocking. Prepare yourself. Also, think about how you look. When I shoot, I shoot with no shoes on and my hair up in a bun and no makeup on. Not gonna fly for the behind the scenes, so I wore my hair down throughout the whole 28 Days, it was very difficult to shoot with my hair down, but you know, think about it. Tell them you don't want photographs where your bum is the center of the image, your bum goes off to the left, it's more of a side-on, cat's eye meet bird's eye view, whatever cat's eye come up, down, up under from the floor, but for god's sakes, get some behind the scenes footage. Then show the before shot, show the makeover, all in stills. You're a stills photographer, you have this incredible ability to take photos. Take behind the scenes with somebody else, return the favor to them and then make a slideshow and put it on YouTube, and then link tag words to a funky track that you bought off Triple Scoop for like 40 dollars, to a funky track from the Sue Bryce collection, and it's about glamour photography, put a logo in there and a phone number and then tag glamour photography before and after, makeover, glamour style, then you're competing on the second biggest search engine on the planet. Then go and make a PDF out of it. How do you make a PDF? Open it in Photoshop, flatten the layers, save it as a JPEG, open it in Bridge, select all the JPEGs, output as a PDF. Trust me, you'll work it out. Go on In Bed with Sue, go on In Bed with Sue and ask everybody in there because I can't answer 700 emails tomorrow but I bet you everybody else will help you 'cause that community has been incredible. Get that PDF out now to every single client, make sure it communicates what you are, what you sell, what you do, how much you are, but make sure it communicates with imagery. You have a week. And if you don't, know that today tens of thousands of photographers around the world are ringing a friend on their lunch break right now to book the behind the scenes and you're the one that's going to be missing out. Yes, Jessica had a shitty PDF, but she had a PDF, and now, she has an awesome one. And she's going to rock it. We're gonna come back and we're gonna market ourselves. We're gonna talk about marketing, we're gonna talk about communicating, and I need you to understand what that communication is, and I need you to understand how you can just make it so simple and this is the first contact most people will have to your style, your brand, and your price, because they've already seen your website and if they're emailing you or calling you, they want to book a shoot. You're the only one getting in the way from allowing them to do it. This is so easy to update instead of changing your website. You can leave your website all year and change your PDF monthly. And then take your 50/50 friend, critique both of your PDFs together until both of you are communicating visually and beautifully, openly and effectively what it is you are selling 'cause you all want money, but what are you giving me to get paid?

Class Materials

bonus material

Business Checklist
Keynote Part 1
Keynote Part 2
Posing Guide: Set Map and Outfit
Posing Guide: Flow Posing
Posing Guide: Couples Posing
Posing Guide: Curves
Posing Guide: Teen Posing
Posing Guide: Family Posing
Posing Guide: Over 50 Demographic
Posing Guide: Beauty Shot
Posing Guide: Posing Men
Workbook
How It Works
Styling and Wardrobe

Ratings and Reviews

a Creativelive Student
 

I have purchased four of Sue's courses and love them all. I have learned so much. I found the lesson on connecting with people thru their eyes has made a huge difference in my photos already. Her before and after's made me cry. I want to be able to take these kinds of photos for my family and friends. I just love what she does. She is such a great teacher. I learn much better seeing things done, so this was the perfect choice for me to learn. I love Sue's humor, her honesty, her detailed teaching and sweet and wonderful personality. Her sessions will or should not disappoint anyone. It is the best money I have ever spent on self-help teaching. Thanks a million creative live. You GOTTA LOVE SUE!

katie
 

Pure gold. Sue Bryce is likable, talented, funny, and an amazing teacher. She calls you on your BS (your excuses for why you aren't succeeding), gives you business, posing, marketing, pricing and LIFE advice. The class is 58 hours long - and you spend the majority of it looking right over her shoulder, through her lens and watch her walk through many, many photoshoots. She verbally and clearly repeats several critical formulas for success so it's imprinted in your mind. Her advice is crystal clear and your photography will dramatically improve after this class. Before Creative Live, you'd NEVER have had the opportunity to shadow a photographer of her quality... hands down the best photography class I've ever taken.

JRomkee
 

I have just began this course and I am excited to see how following her model will help me to improve and get my business started. I have been through the first two days and there is lots of information to absorb and things to get in order before I begin the actual challenges. I am thankful that there are photographers out there who are will to reveal there secrets ad are truly invested in others improving themselves in all aspects of their life and not just their photography skills. Thanks Sue Bryce for your passion for empowering woman and your knowledge of creating and sustaining a business by being true to who you and commitment to the improvement of others! I am excited to grow myself and my business, I am confident this will be worth every penny! Were the templates for the email PDF included in this course

Student Work

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