So now that the wedding season has slowed down, I’m making some time to brainstorm ways to improve my wedding photography business here in Pittsburgh as well as implement some of the ideas that I’ve been tossing around over the past year. Because it seems when I’m in the thick of it, I get a lot of great ideas, but I’m too busy to really stop and consider them. It may seem odd to blog about this, but I see it as a way of holding myself accountable. So here’s a running list and some of the thoughts behind it:
Web site:
Create new intro page, make logo more prominent in design
Create introductory video
New bio, new portrait
Update wedding and engagement galleries
Create portraits site and portfolio galleries
Get royalty-free music for sites
My website is the main way that clients find my business and I want to put my best foot forward when it comes to first impressions. There are lots of great wedding photographers in Pittsburgh and great web sites for that matter. I want mine to communicate my style and personality so I can attract clients who are a good fit – that way, it’s a win-win for everyone. So the design, video, bio, portrait, galleries and music all play a role in communicating my brand. Music is something I’ve held off on for a long time because it’s not recommended by web designers, but I’ve always loved combining different art forms for an experience that appeals to more than one sense. It can be so powerful, so I’m going to give it a try and see what kind of response it gets.
The way people communicate and gather information is changing so quickly, so I want to make my site more mobile-friendly. I heard the other day, that by 2013 most people will rely on their smart phones and personal computers will become less and less useful. That’s crazy, isn’t it? If not this year, I will definitely be looking into optimizing my site for mobile devices for 2012.
Marketing:
Blog three to five days a week
Use twitter and facebook more
Read a few marketing/small business books
Get published on blogs or in magazines
Create new print materials
Create new products: rehearsal dinner coverage, engagement guest books, gift certificates, etc.
Create incentives for referrals, reviews, comments on the blog, etc.
Ok, blogging so much will be a challenge, but maybe it’s like getting into a work-out routine where after a few weeks of consistency, it becomes second nature. At least I hope it’s that way. And after I get that routine down, I’m going to get back to exercising—I was doing so well until July…
Back to the way people communicate—I know social media is here to stay and it’s a great venue for marketing. My trouble has been putting myself and my business out there. I’m a bit shy, so I haven’t been making the most of social media and after attending a seminar by Jasmine Star, I decided that I’m going to put my big girl panties on and just do it.
I’m not a natural marketer and if I’m truthful, running a small business has been an eye-opener. I’ve learned a lot from making some mistakes along the way and I find inspiration from the people around me. I feel truly blessed to have a great network of people who are willing to share, listen and collaborate.
I want to put more effort into getting my work published. I’ve been fortunate enough to have photos on the covers of Expectant Mother’s Guide to Pittsburgh (2009 volume 2) and the Pittsburgh Filmmakers Summer 2010 Catalog, but those were pretty luck coincidences. I’m going to reach out to bridal web sites and local magazines with the coming wedding season, because I have some great clients lined up and it would be pretty exciting to see their weddings published.
I need to freshen up my print materials like the price sheet and general info about Captivating Imagery. I need to look through the latest weddings for photos to use in those pieces.
Ok, past, present and future clients out there: what products do you want to see? I get all kinds of requests and it’s hard to know what to offer. I’ve been thinking about offering rehearsal coverage, custom-designed guest books with images from engagement sessions, framed prints, canvases, and gift certificates that can be purchased online. The gift certificates could be nice for couples who would like to add additional items that weren’t included in their package after the wedding.
I also would love to set up a few incentives for referrals. I like to reward my clients when they spread the word about my business, but I never really formalized a plan for incentives.
Ok, it’s time for some chocolate to keep me motivated as I’m realizing this list is too long for one post. More to come about my goals for next year. If you have any ideas or experience with some of the things I’m planning to implement, please let me know. I’m all ears.
A Pittsburgh Wedding Photographer’s Goals for 2011
/by kmillerSo now that the wedding season has slowed down, I’m making some time to brainstorm ways to improve my wedding photography business here in Pittsburgh as well as implement some of the ideas that I’ve been tossing around over the past year. Because it seems when I’m in the thick of it, I get a lot of great ideas, but I’m too busy to really stop and consider them. It may seem odd to blog about this, but I see it as a way of holding myself accountable. So here’s a running list and some of the thoughts behind it:
Web site:
Create new intro page, make logo more prominent in design
Create introductory video
New bio, new portrait
Update wedding and engagement galleries
Create portraits site and portfolio galleries
Get royalty-free music for sites
My website is the main way that clients find my business and I want to put my best foot forward when it comes to first impressions. There are lots of great wedding photographers in Pittsburgh and great web sites for that matter. I want mine to communicate my style and personality so I can attract clients who are a good fit – that way, it’s a win-win for everyone. So the design, video, bio, portrait, galleries and music all play a role in communicating my brand. Music is something I’ve held off on for a long time because it’s not recommended by web designers, but I’ve always loved combining different art forms for an experience that appeals to more than one sense. It can be so powerful, so I’m going to give it a try and see what kind of response it gets.
The way people communicate and gather information is changing so quickly, so I want to make my site more mobile-friendly. I heard the other day, that by 2013 most people will rely on their smart phones and personal computers will become less and less useful. That’s crazy, isn’t it? If not this year, I will definitely be looking into optimizing my site for mobile devices for 2012.
Marketing:
Blog three to five days a week
Use twitter and facebook more
Read a few marketing/small business books
Get published on blogs or in magazines
Create new print materials
Create new products: rehearsal dinner coverage, engagement guest books, gift certificates, etc.
Create incentives for referrals, reviews, comments on the blog, etc.
Ok, blogging so much will be a challenge, but maybe it’s like getting into a work-out routine where after a few weeks of consistency, it becomes second nature. At least I hope it’s that way. And after I get that routine down, I’m going to get back to exercising—I was doing so well until July…
Back to the way people communicate—I know social media is here to stay and it’s a great venue for marketing. My trouble has been putting myself and my business out there. I’m a bit shy, so I haven’t been making the most of social media and after attending a seminar by Jasmine Star, I decided that I’m going to put my big girl panties on and just do it.
I’m not a natural marketer and if I’m truthful, running a small business has been an eye-opener. I’ve learned a lot from making some mistakes along the way and I find inspiration from the people around me. I feel truly blessed to have a great network of people who are willing to share, listen and collaborate.
I want to put more effort into getting my work published. I’ve been fortunate enough to have photos on the covers of Expectant Mother’s Guide to Pittsburgh (2009 volume 2) and the Pittsburgh Filmmakers Summer 2010 Catalog, but those were pretty luck coincidences. I’m going to reach out to bridal web sites and local magazines with the coming wedding season, because I have some great clients lined up and it would be pretty exciting to see their weddings published.
I need to freshen up my print materials like the price sheet and general info about Captivating Imagery. I need to look through the latest weddings for photos to use in those pieces.
Ok, past, present and future clients out there: what products do you want to see? I get all kinds of requests and it’s hard to know what to offer. I’ve been thinking about offering rehearsal coverage, custom-designed guest books with images from engagement sessions, framed prints, canvases, and gift certificates that can be purchased online. The gift certificates could be nice for couples who would like to add additional items that weren’t included in their package after the wedding.
I also would love to set up a few incentives for referrals. I like to reward my clients when they spread the word about my business, but I never really formalized a plan for incentives.
Ok, it’s time for some chocolate to keep me motivated as I’m realizing this list is too long for one post. More to come about my goals for next year. If you have any ideas or experience with some of the things I’m planning to implement, please let me know. I’m all ears.
Pittsburgh North Shore Engagement Photography Session
/by kmillerThe North Shore of Pittsburgh is one of my favorite places to photograph people – especially engaged couples. It’s fun to walk along the river’s edge and get to know the couples I’m photographing. This session is from a while back—sometime in the late spring and the couple, Jasmine and Ryan were married this past July at the Pittsburgh Aviary. It was fun working with them and their outdoor wedding was a blast. Their wedding colors were white, black and red and Jasmine incorporated the color theme into their engagement session as well.
Jasmine and a friend of hers recently started their own wedding planning business. It’s called Something Blue. Their web site isn’t up yet, but I have a feeling it’s going to be great. To start, I just love the name of their business. If you’re looking for a wedding planner, you can email her at somethingbluepgh@yahoo.com. I hope we’ll have an opportunity to work together again!
Jasmine and Ryan were fun-loving and you’d be hard-pressed to find them when they’re not smiling.
We went to the fountain by Hyde Park steak house and there were so many kids playing there. And of course, they were all very curious about what was going on with the adults in the fountain.
From here, we could smell the food from the Bettis Grille and it was so tempting!
And back to Hyde Park, couldn’t get away from delicious smells of steak wafting through the air. I remember it well because it smelled so good! I definitely want to check it out sometime.
Anyway, this was a fabulous session with two beautiful people in the city I’m proud to call home.
Katie and John’s Pittsburgh Wedding Photography Album
/by kmillerIt’s been a while since I photographed Katie and John’s Pittsburgh wedding and since I designed their wedding album, but I’m going to be spending the next few weeks blogging about things that I didn’t have time to get to this summer and fall. I’ve been busy working on albums and this is the first wedding of the summer, so it’s a good place for me to start.
Katie and John’s wedding was tons of fun. I shot it with Gene Yuger of Photorise Photography. In fact, when I get contacts about dates that I’m already booked for, Gene is one of the first photographers I recommend. He photographed my wedding and I can say from experience, that he’s fun to have around on your wedding day—not to mention the amazing images he creates. So anyway, some of the images in this album are by Gene as photographing a wedding is really a two-person job.
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Pittsburgh Senior Portrait Session at SteelGate Studio
/by kmillerHere is a recent senior portrait session in Pittsburgh. Jordan is getting ready to graduate from high school and move onto college. He’s a charismatic guy and I can tell he’ll do well with whatever he chooses. It’s fun working with people at this age because there’s so much life ahead of them and yet they’re coming the close of a chapter where they’ve spent so long defining who they are and want to be. Kind of like getting to the top of that first hill in a roller coaster, it’s a slow ascent, but in no time the pace accelerates and life as you know comes undone. Ok, that’s a bit dramatic, but when I look back at how my transition to college went, I feel there is a hint of truth to that analogy. Anyway, back to Jordan, who was tons of fun to work with and totally comfortable in his own skin.
This is one of my favorites. I think he can really pull off the serious look.
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Pittsburgh Wedding Photography at St. Frances Cabrini Parish and The Club at Shadow Lakes
/by kmillerCongratulations to Jen and Tim! It’s been about two weeks since I photographed their Pittsburgh wedding and these newlyweds will soon celebrate their first holidays as husband and wife. So sweet! Anyway, I just finished editing their wedding and have lots to share about these honeymooners. To start, Jen wore a beautiful gown with a full skirt and a higher waist. I love this style. It’s a nice change after a season of drop waist gowns.
She wore a sixpence in her shoe for good luck. Thanks to Alex for the next two photos!
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