The Enlightened Tripod 6
The Enlightened Tripod 6 The “Enlightened Action Word” …. Face: “Now wait a minute Chuck, how can face be an action word?” Simple, let’s face the facts, often we take things at face value, when in actual fact, we must face the truth and realize that we are not digging deep enough and getting the most out of the things we do. Ok, Ok, I tease too much! I have to face the truth myself – not many people have the warped sense of humour that I have, or don’t have. Face: 1. To confront, conflict, or trouble 2. to refinish, front, redecorate 3. To front, border, be turned toward.
The “Enlightened Quote” … Friends, if we be honest with ourselves, we shall be honest with each other. George Macdonald The “Enlightened Business Plan”… First Consultation: First consultation, yes first consultation implies that there should be a second consultation. But let’s deal with the first consultation. I don’t know about you, but almost every time that I ran in to any type of problem with a client it was because there wasn’t adequate planning for a photo session. It really didn’t matter what type of photograph needed to be taken, you need to have a clear and concise understanding between you and your client. You will need to know what exactly it is that your client wants and expects of you. By the same token, it essential that your client knows exactly what you are willing to do and what you are going to charge.
I can with confidence say that the only time that I had any challenge with a client regarding fees or payment was when I did not spend any time or enough time discussing fees.
A very helpful idea is to create a list with all the possible questions a customer may have. Then you can answer them in the best possible manner beforehand and write these answers down so that you and your employees, are consistent with these answers. By doing so, everyone will be prepared. Naturally questions that we haven't thought of will always popup; this process will be an ongoing exercise.
You should discuss how the photographer (use his or her name) takes the time and care to do something special. Then in general terms, you can share photographic ideas. You then can go on to discuss the different finishes and sizes that you have and explain the various prices.
This explanation of specific expertise impresses upon people how different you are from other photographers. It also impresses on your clients all the care and attention you give to detail. It is imperative to be educating the client and enlightening them about the various benefits they receive from you and about the all the products that you have to offer.
As well, it is better to give customers choices: three choices is optimum. Research has shown that people will usually choose the middle option. With this knowledge, you should price the finish that you want to provide in the middle. What I mean, is that some products either are much easier to produce or have a greater profit picture. With this idea in mind, we can choose whether we want to go for volume or higher profit. We always have three choices for packages, finishes, sizes and costs. Our preference is to go for highest profit ratio, rather than volume.
Then, you discuss price. We usually point to various sizes and indicating to our clients that this is our $ 1800 size in the Rembrandt finish, $ 900 in our Old Master finish, and $ 1350 in the Van Dyke finish; we not only give them the price but also the size in a fashion that they can assimilate more easily. Granted, the first few times you do this form of selling, it is rather un-nerving, but the more you do it, the easier it becomes, to the point, that you share this information with pride.
The key to this system is that when you talk in dollar sizes as opposed to physical size, your clients will find it easier to determine their budget. Furthermore, this method of presentation has more relevance to our clients. Sizes usually don't mean anything. Besides, this next point is crucial: we are not selling a piece of paper; and we are producing an investment. Their portrait is a piece of time that stands still and decorates their home. It is a "one of a kind" piece of art involving, them and/or their loved ones.
From there, we share with them that our creation fee, or as we prefer to say, "Professional Fee", for a family portrait is $ 100. We prefer the term "creation fee", because many people question the aspect of being charged for sitting down and having their picture taken. "Professional Fee", eclipses "Creation Fee", because it encompasses the consultation process as well as the viewing process. When we explain to our clients, all the time that is involved, they are impressed and more willing to pay the fee in advance.
We tell the customer that the creation fee is paid when we book the second consultation and at that point you ask, "Do you have any questions thus far?"
From there you go on to ask, "When would you like to have your portrait taken?"
If they set up a time, you then proceed to book a second consultation.
It is important to have a second consultation booked before we go on. This step is to insure that we aren't wasting our time on people who are "just looking" or who really can't afford our services. You then continue with, "Let me go through some ideas with you for location and appropriate clothes so that we can be better prepared for Mr. Groot. … (Go through some ideas then proceed with…) Make sure you have all the clothes laid out for Mr. Groot to look at when he comes to your home for the second consultation."
We then take the deposit for the creation fee, not forgetting to charge all the appropriate taxes. The transaction is then recorded our daily sales record sheet.
We do the same thing we any commercial session as well. Good planning is essential.
The “Enlightened Technical Corner”… Fill-In Light Additional light from a lamp, flash, or reflector; used to soften or fill in the shadows or dark picture areas caused by the brighter main light. Called fill-in flash when electronic flash is used. Let’s face it, rarely do we come across the perfect lighting situation. Often we can improve a photograph by utilizing some form of fill in light. That is, of course, unless we are doing outdoor landscape photographs. Pretty much every photographer understands lighting enough to know the concepts of main light and fill light. The main light gives the subject, whether it people, animals, or trees, shape and form. The other, lesser thought of light source, is the fill light. Fill lighting can be required indoors or out. The fill light softens the shadows by slightly filling them in while lightening up the dark side of the subject. This can be done with a flash unit, relflector card or board, or even a simple white bed sheet. The key is that the fill light should never be stronger than the main light. Our biggest culprit in lighting is contrast and by filling in the shadows with light we are reducing the overall contrast. Needless to say, how much we fill in determines the contrast ratio, and that is our major creative tool. The easiest way to determine what our contrast ratio is, is to take a reading of our shadow area and another of our highlight area. The difference is in stops determines the contrast ration. For example if the highlight area gives us a reading of 1/60 at f 5.6 and the shadow sides gives us a reading of 1/60 at f 4; that would gives us 1 stop difference which make a 2:1 ratio. Every stop difference gives us a 2X light factor so here is a quick ration scale. Stops difference Light Ratio 1 2:1 2 4:1* 3 8:1* 4 16:1* *Remember that in photography everything doubles each time. On little trick that I learned from my father many years ago was that on groups of three or less people you can control the light ratio and softness by diffusing the light before it hit the subject, The way that we did that was to take two dowels (or broom handles) five feet on length and then staple polyethylene sheeting (plastic sheets) spanning the two broom handles. Two to four layers worked depending on the opacity of the material. We left enough room at the bottom of the handles for our assistant to hold our invention. Then when we were taking our portraits outdoors we could photograph in full sunlight by filtering the direct sunlight through the screen and we would have the most beautiful, soft, wrap around lighting.
I did this with white rip-stop nylon and had the same effect in the studio and in small on location areas it would give the nicest lighting imaginable.
“Enlightened Marketing” Featured Clients Here is a cheap, easy, and effective form of advertising. Every month have a “featured client.” It makes no difference what type of photography you do, you can always feature a client on the front page of your website. Start by asking permission to publish their image on the front page of your website. Then try to find out as much information about the client as possible and put it under the image. For example, if it is a family find out who they are , their ages, what they do, what schools the kids go to and do a family vignette. The more “story like” or “newsy” you can make the feature, the greater impact it will make. From there you can send them a thank you email with the url of your page and let them know that they can send this for their family and friends to see. You can also send an email to your entire database of portrait clients inviting them to see your latest “featured” family. This can also be done for any fashion client, archetiectural client, food photograph, even stock agencies. The sky is the limit. Needless to say, more traffic going to your site, greater the chance of a new client. “Enlightened Living” Flax Seed The Health Benefits of Flax Seeds! The National Cancer Institute has identified golden flax seeds as a food product that deserves further study and attention because of its potential cancer fighting properties and many health benefits. According to the U. S. Department of Agriculture, golden flax seeds contain 27 identifiable cancer preventive compounds. Medical sources abound that have published clinical results concluding that golden flax seed can have a positive impact on your overall health. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute suggests adding flaxseeds, walnuts and canola oil to your daily meal plan. These foods are high in an omega-3 fat called alpha-linolenic acid and appear to lower triglyceride levels. Fatty fish, such as bluefish, salmon, halibut and sardines, also contain omega-3 fats. Including these fish two to three times a week may help keep triglyceride levels stable. Some of the potential health benefits of flax seeds that have been reported: Lowered blood cholesterol levels • Lowered high blood pressure • Increased energy, vitality, and stamina • Increased sense of calmness under stress • Reduced threat of blood clots • Protection against cancers, particularly hormone sensitive cancers such as breast and prostate • Better regulation of blood sugar levels • Eases inflammatory tissue conditions, including arthritis • Alleviation of dry skin, eczema and psoriasis • Enhanced immune system • Increased metabolic rate with a positive impact on weight management • Helps with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) • Natural laxative • And the list goes on Try this health tip: Use the golden flax seeds instead of the oil - although flaxseed oil contains omega-3 fatty acids, it doesn't contain the beneficial lignans and fiber that are removed in the process of making the oil. Dietary Sources of 1 gram of Omega 3 Fatty Acids Sources Amount needed Calories Flaxseed oil 1/2 teaspoon 20 Ground Flaxseed 1-1/2 teaspoon 40 Walnut halves 5 70 Canola Oil 2 teaspoons 80 Soybean Oil 1 tablespoon 120 Wheat germ oil 1 tablespoon 120 Salmon, herring, albacore, sardine, rainbow trout, eel 2 ounces 100 Other fish contain some omega 3, but not as much 9 - 12 ounces 300(or more) Broccoli, cooked 5 cups 220 Spinach, cooked 10 cups 280 Soy nuts 3/4 cup 285 Rice Bran oil 4 tablespoons 480
Ways to include flax seed in home cooking • Sprinkle ground flax seed on your cereal and salads. • Substitute flax seed mixture for eggs in home baking such as muffin and pancake (1 tbsp milled flax seed, plus 3 tbsp water = 1 egg). Final products will have less volume and taste gummier • Include in other recipe when nutty flavor is preferred • Substitute flax seed oil for other oils
Yours in Health, Happiness, and Success Your Friend Chuck Groot BFA, F/PPABC, MPA
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