Marketing

As of Lately I have been reviewing and editing the lectures for my advanced class. The class is created to help photographers with the business and marketing aspects of photography. I have been reading a couple of books on the subject and have made some very profound discoveries. The first book that I have been reading is a book by Selina Maitrea called "How to succeed in Commercial photography". Selina is a leading photography consultant that will work with all styles of photographers. Here technique on success starts with the photographers vision. This is the most important business quality that a photographer can develop. A photographers vision is what defines them in the market place. By developing a distinct vision the photographer will have a marketable product.
The next book I am reading is called "The Brand Gap" by Marty Neumeier. Neumeier Is a leading brand consultant and takes a more inside out approach to branding. He wrote "The Brand Gap" to help businesses get on the same page (so to speak) with the brand message that they are sending. His approach is more of collaboration of individuals giving input and working together to define a brand. This book has changed my view of branding all together. Most people think of brands as logotypes or design work to make something feel more professional... not at all! A brand lives inside of its customers. It is the gut feeling that people have about your service or product. ultimately we are not the ones defining our brand, our customers are!
I could get really carried away writing about this subject. If I did, I wouldn't have much to teach to my advanced students! Come take a class and learn how effective branding and marketing will really help your business. In the meantime I recommend purchasing and reading these two books.