This is a guest post from one of my former SAIT PHOT 200 students
Meet Nikki McArthur of EpicDanger Photography. Nikki is an up and coming Calgary Area Photographer specializing in Family, Maternity and Newborn Photgraphy. In 2008 with the birth of her first child Danger, Nikki picked up her camera for what seemed like the first time in attempts to capture every moment milestone and emotion that came with her growing daughter. Today that journey continues as she documents her own two Children Danger and her son Epic as well as the love and bonds that flow between parents and their children all over Calgary. You can visit Nikki on her website at: www.epicdanger.com or check out her blog, twitter, facebook or tumblr page.
Nikki is a great fit here because many of you are starting to make money with your photography, or you have dreams of doing so in the near future. Leave some comment love for us at the bottom of this post, and tell your friends to read it too!
Just over a year ago I decided I was going to take the risk and turn my hobby and passion into something more, I was going pro.
If you’re anything like me you might think “Yep, I’m going to do it! I’m going to be a photographer!” and assume that means that you will spend the majority of your days taking images, editing images and looking at images. Then reality comes and slaps you in the face with the business side of things, the websites, the blogs, the Search Engine Optimizing, social media, setting up printing, albums, business cards, branding, and so much more.
Gone are the days of printed portfolio’s, face-to-face client meetings and phone calls.
These have been replaced by websites with online portfolios, Skype and email. The Internet is your best friend. It allows you access to a bigger audience than you could ever imagine. The Internet really makes the term “The Sky’s The Limit” ring true, however it can also be your arch nemesis. Your website, your blog, your Tumblr page or the lack there of can really make or break your business.
In seconds a potential client can find you and hundreds of other photographers online and peruse through your little piece of the web hoping to find an image that speaks to them. Although you and I might like to think it’s all about the photos, the truth of the matter is that it comes down to a lot more than that. Your potential clients are looking to connect somehow, whether it be a witty line in your bio section, an image that takes their breath away or a song that plays while browsing through your gallery, people are looking to connect, to find something about you that they click with. You may be the best photographer in Canada but if your website doesn’t match up with your mad photo skills or even worse if your website doesn’t list on a search engine for your relevant keywords, you are putting yourself at an extreme disadvantage.
So how do you give yourself a professional web presence? You’ve got two main options: A flash website, or a blog.
The Flash Website
Whether custom designed by a pricey professional or customizing your own template purchased from places such as Into The Dark Room, Bigfolio or Bludomain, the flash style website gives you a nicely polished, professional looking site.
The Blog
Whether you are like me and are using your blog to compliment your Flash website letting your clients get a better feel for who you are as well as giving you a place to show off your current work, or you are like ImageMaven and are using it as your main web presence, the blog options are ENDLESS!
For those not so tech savvy folks you can get yourself started with a free Blogger or WordPress.com account and use a generic template. However, Marlene recommends using a WordPress.org hosted solution, which has more functionality and customization features. For a more polished individual look you can head on over to places like Pro Photo Blogs and others just like it and purchase yourself a WordPress template that can be customized with your photo galleries. There are lots of possibilities when you combine WordPress with a good template. Make sure you check out the features of each before you make your choice. Some templates are better than others. Look for ones that have built in SEO features.
Now that you’ve got your website or blogsite out of the way you are ready to sign up for Twitter which Marlene has written about here, as well as Tumblr, and of course the ever popular facebook page.
Then what?
How do you get people to notice all of these great pages you’ve created on the web? Well here are some options. You can hire a guy like ClearSEO for a one time or a monthly fee to spend time optimizing your site or blog for search engines. Enter the term SEO (Search Engine Optimization). You can rely on blog plugins and built in SEO tools on your website or you can do some research and actively build your website around SEO. For best results I suggest a combination of these options mixed with great photos and general connections with people.
In the end it is going to take time and energy to build your web presence, but if you want to build your business and give yourself a shot at going pro, it’s time and energy that you are going to have to put into your business!
p.s.
I’m currently working on a package for you with an artist-techie partner to help you set up a professional wordpress.org hosted blogsite solution which will be suitable for photographers and artists. Stay tuned.
Don’t forget to give us some comment love, and Tweet this post for us too! Thanks!
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Good article.
I wouldn’t ever recommend a Flash based ‘site though, it’s simply not easy enough to maintain on a daily basis, and unless something’s changed in the ability to SEO a Flash ‘site then it’s still a bit of a pig to wrangle with.
I’m still trying to get my Facebook page a wider audience, and I’m trying to get momentum going on Flickr.
Thanks for the article, as it help to focus on the areas that are currently lacking – which in my position is pretty much everything! *laugh*
Mark, I must say I agree with your comment about Flash enabled sites, which is why I’ve personally avoided them.
Truth is, most professional photographers have flash sites, especially those targeting the high end ad agency creatives, and the wedding photography clients. Adding SEO capabilities to Flash sites is also easier now than it used to be in the past. That used to be my main argument, but may also explain why photographers that have Flash based portfolio sites, often have a separate html blog with lots of text incorporating keywords.
I’m going to ask Nikki our post writer to weigh in on this. Nikki what do you think?
You’re absolutely right Mark, Flash sites are not super fantastic as far as SEO goes BUT it is the industry standard which is why I suggest to pair your flash website with a blog. When people are looking for a photographer they are sold based on presentation. Although google bots can’t read the flash content you can get around that by having a content rich splash page as well as using proper meta tags and page titles. If you purchase a template from sites such as bludomain and Into The Darkroom it’s actually quite effortless even without being computer savy to update your site even on a daily basis if desired.
Thanks for the comment!
Great and informative piece, thanks.
I know I’ve been avoiding adding yet one more social media chore to my to do list every day, but you’ve made a solid case for a better blog than I have, and adding Twitter or Tumblr.
I just added FB this year and haven’t got the returns or audience I thought I would by now. But I must say, shooting for a living, running a business AND keeping up with the social media is some days a lot to do.
Thanks again, excellent. Cathie
Well it is a chore to keep up with it all, especially for a busy shooter such as you. Something you can do with Twitter is to schedule your Tweets ahead of time using Hoot Suite and similar applications. You can then add other live Tweets when you have time. I guess what I love most about Twitter is that it’s so easy to use and set up. Plus I think you’ll love TwitPic. You can Tweet your favorite shots directly to your Twitter stream for immediate attention. Thanks for your comment, Cathie!
Hey Cathie, Thanks for reading!
I’m glad I’m turning you on to the joys of social media. I definitely encourage you to spend your time on a blog or twitter rather than your facebook page. You may already know this but you can also preschedule your blog to post ahead a time as well. I usually schedule myself a day to prepare and schedule 4 or 5 posts at a time. I also swear by my iPhone. It’s easy to send off a tweet or to reply to someone while standing in a line in the grocery store or walking the dog.
In my experience your facebook page is great for existing clients or friends but doesn’t bring in any new business or clients. The only reason I have a facebook page is because I figured I’ve got everything else so I might as well.
Great post! Have you come up with the wordpress blogsite solution at this point? I’d love to check it out and see if I can improve on mine. Thanks!!
Christy, nothing official is in the works. I thought I found someone, but it wasn’t the right fit.
I’m still a WordPress advocate myself, but my business is different now that I’m teaching for a living. Nikki (who wrote the article) has gone full out recently with a new site design. Her blog is still separate and in WordPress but she’s using showitfast.com for her main site, and let me tell you: it’s fast.
There are a number of great options for photographer’s sites on the market now, and there may no longer be the need for me to create another. I’m always researching alternatives, so I’m glad you brought this up. (Perhaps that’s a great blog post topic!)
One name that’s popping up a lot in many photography circles is Graph Paper Press. They are a WP theme developer with a focus on photographer’s websites. They also have a fully hosted and supported service called: Graph Paper Press Pro which is great for people who want one stop shopping for their website hosting, themes, plug-ins, backups, and tech support.
If I was just starting out, or wanting to up my game with a professional looking gallery site, I’d choose a Graph Paper Press theme. They are beautiful and give a full screen view – which clients love!
I don’t see any mention of the company I decided to use (ifp3.com), but I suppose there are enough players out there that you can’t focus on everyone.
I’m curious about any thoughts you guys might have about them however, if any….?
thx!
Thanks for the tip. I’ll check it out when I get back from holidays. Limited access to things right now.
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