Tag Archives: Marketing

On The Road…Again

I’m no expert but it appears the economy is improving.  The first two months of 2014 were the busiest I’ve ever had.  I know it’s a small sample to base the year on but other photographers have told me they’re off to a good start also.  If photographers are working, businesses are marketing and looking to growth.  That’s what we do, we help our client market, sell and grow their business.

I spent a lot of the month on the road.  Several trips to Orange County surrounded a couple San Diego projects and then I went to the Bay Area for a couple shoots up there.  After a quick respite back home and starting a new local project, I went to Alaska for a quick shoot.  I know, why send a San Diego photographer there, it’s because my client trusts me to get what they need.  Maybe an idea for a future blog.

Well I need to wrap this up.  I have another couple projects in Orange County and LA this week.  I hope everyone else is busy.

About my image gallery:  All images shot with my iPhone while traveling.  Post was in Snapseed.

Are you LinkedIn……?

IMG_2230  I guess the real title should be why I don’t connect with other photographers.

I consider my self fairly successful, at least for the market I work in.  That’s why I finally started marketing better a few years ago at the suggestion of a millionaire friend of mine.  We talked and the reality was I needed to change, to expand my network.

First I revamped my portfolio www.zwink.com and then after doing some serious soul searching decided to focus my marketing on architectural photography even though I love to shoot it all (well almost).  One of the marketing tools my friend Bob suggested was Linkedin, a professional networking site used primarily at that time for people looking for job opportunities and business connections.  The basic idea is to network, to explore and gain new opportunities.

When I was new to Linkedin there were not a lot of photographers using the service.  Now that has changed.  I constantly get requests from other photographers wanting me “to add you to my professional network”.  I don’t think so.  A lot of my contacts are people I either work with or want to work with.  Why tell others who my market is?  Is it paranoia?  No, I had someone I thought was a friend steal one of my clients.  Approached them offering to do the work cheap and for trade.  He is no longer working in this town….  His business model didn’t work and I learned my lesson.

So….. if you’re a photographer meet me on Facebook, @zphotog on Twitter, or better yet email or call me.  I’ll still be your friend.

My website is:  www.zwink.com            And my older work is archived at:  www.bigstudioz.com

Do you Shoot Food?

I market myself primarily as an architectural photographer.  It’s hard.  Experts say to have people take you serious and pay decent money you have to be a specialist.  So do you?  I was trained and worked my early career as a photojournalist.  A good photojournalist is good at shooting a lot of subjects and an expert generally at none.  So what do you do?  I don’t want to be tied into just one thing so I do niche marketing.  Most of my work is photographing properties, new construction and aerials of those projects.  To those clients I market myself for my architectural work.  To a few others I’m known for my environmental portraiture.  I market them differently.  You get the picture.  In this economy you need to diversify within your business and marketing.  But to each your a specialist they need.  btw, yes I do shoot food……

The image:  Taken with a Nikon D3 and a 80-200.  Processed in Adobe Lightroom.

The Food:  Bully’s East, Mission Valley, San Diego, Ca.  Great place.  Yes, we enjoyed some of it when we were done .  The benefit of being a food photographer.

My Marketing:  www.zwink.com , my other diversified work, www.bigstudioz.com