You might remember a post called "the secret life of wedding photographers" on ISPWP a few years ago. Apparently photographers lead a great life – you get to spend your time taking pictures, travelling to exotic locations and partying like rockstars! Of course the sad reality is often quite different. This fertile little meme has got a lot more airtime recently because APE and now Seth Godin have posted about it. As always, Seth's post is well worth the read. He makes the point that everyone has a choice: get together the "guts and resources" too do what you were born to do, or spend your time To View More >>

What could a shoe shine guy teach a wedding photographer about their business? I just came across the ratty old Youtube video below, which features one of the best salesmen ever. It's short, very funny (I think) and full of insight. RIP Zig Ziglar, who died recently aged 86. We all need to be salespeople if we want to get the prices we deserve Read Secrets of Closing the Sale. Cheers, Ian To View More >>

Why are some photographers more successful than others? In part it's their level of confidence. Or anxiety. Picture the anxious photographer preparing for a pre-wedding consult. Setting out coffee and cakes in the studio. Grateful someone got past the email stage. Anxious to finalise the booking … And not wanting to push their luck! They know the bride's looking for a cheap photographer and a cheap album … or a good photographer and a DVD! The most important thing to her is her BUDGET. The confident photographer starts by assuming the most important thing to the bride is her WEDDING. She sets To View More >>

Many photographers include albums in their wedding packages but you'd never know it! On their websites they'll say they sell them - they may even say how much they cost - but they won't actually show what they look like. We strongly believe that to be successful you need to show people what you want them to buy. Sarah Vivienne from the UK is someone who does a great job of it. These photos are from her blog: On her blog Sarah photographs and discusses her albums with detailed product shots and insight into the design process. I recently spoke with her and this is what she had to say: "I find To View More >>

In business there's one thing we need to focus on constantly – our customers and their experience. It's not what I think (the business owner) but what you think (the customer). At the cafe where I got this cup of tea, the marshmallow on the saucer suggests that somebody was trying to give me a little something extra, and a good experience. But my primary desire is to have a great cup of tea. Glance around your average cafe and there's a very expensive machine to make awesome coffee. Organic, fair trade, freshly roasted beans. A barrista who's been taught how to add delight to the coffee experience. To View More >>