Most photographers know that there are NIGHTMARE clients lurking around every corner.
Clients who want you to shoot a ten hour wedding, for $100. Clients whose uncle is a Pro because he got a good camera at Best Buy. Clients who want all the files on a CD included, free. Walking away from many of these clients is easy. Refining your business using the 80/2o principle can yield huge results.
If you have heard of the 80/20 Principle then you may already be applying it to your business. Simply put it says a few things
From 80% of your clients you earn 20% of your income.
From 20% of your clients you earn 80% of your income.
20% of your clients are dreamboat clients and the other 80% can sponge all of your time and resources.
“I have never made a shitty client, a great client” – Chase Jarvis
Las Vegas has known this for years that is why they will go out of their way to attract “Whales” the big spenders. Applying the 80/20 principle to your photography business can increase your profitability and decrease your time spend working. This could free up time for teaching, writing, blogging, or vacation. There are five things to consider when trying to streamline your business for the 80/20 Principle. Breaking your income down into earnings per hour can help you figure out which type of jobs are most profitable for you.
1. Clients and Job Types
The type of job can really make a difference in how much money you actually make per hour. It is best to keep a log of hours spent on certain jobs and compare that with your per job balance sheet. If you track your expencess per job then you will know exactly how much profit you have made per job and then it is easy to calculate how much you were paid per hour. Then I would keep a second log that looks something like this
Weddings
Smith Wedding – $41.05 per hour
Williams Wedding $55.80 per hour
Archer Wedding $39.75 per hour
Portraits
Stevens Senior Session $32.05 per hour
Franklin Senior Session $29.51 per hour
This allows you to see exactly what jobs are making you the most money. In this example you can see you make the most shooting weddings. Once you identify what kind of jobs you profit the most on you can focus on getting more clients in that niche.
We all know that there are great clients and nightmare clients in every niche. You will have to learn to identify the good ones and eliminate the bad ones. Come up with a system that allows you to identify them quickly, so that you can move on.
2. Time Shooting
This can often be a bear to cut. Most of the time you shoot for as little time needed to get the job done. However if you are having fun you may stay a little longer and capture a few more frames. Just remember that a few more frames can have a ripple effect in a photographers business. You have to think, post, print, and data transfer. This will all take a little longer if you decide to shoot a few more frames. That said, do not skimp on shooting. That is your raw material. You need great shots to provide your client with a great product.
3. Time in Post Production
Photographers can often get lost in post production. This is where most time is spent. It is so easy because you are in the quiet of your own office and working on photos is our thing. Getting lost in post is something every photographer is familiar with. Sometimes you do not do it on purpose, time just flies. There are many ways to cut your post time down. You will have to decide what works best for you in your niche. Things that have helped me are:
- Presets in your software
- Fast cards for fast data transfer
- Fast computer so you do not get stuck waiting for things to load. A fast processor can save you thousands.
- Developing a style. Your clients appreciate that you have a style. They want their pictures to look like the ones they saw of yours on their friends wall. So get familiar with a few great post effects and use them often. You can always throw in a wild card here and there but developing a style can save you hours and hours in post.
4. Time on Client Negotiations
This can often be where you identify if a client is going to be good or bad to work with. That said the faster you can identify this the better. Look for little ways to streamline your process. I would suggest doing a client interview and then once you decide you want to take on the job handling the rest of the contracts over email via PDF. Email cuts down on travel time, and any other waisted time that may happen when you have to deliver contracts.
5. Time Delivering Products
As print labs develop and realize that a photographers time is a hot commodity we are seeing better and better delivery services. Places like SmugMug, Zenfolio, and fotomoto are a great place to start looking for all in one print and delivery services. If you clients can log on to your website and order their prints and the entire process bypasses you all together that is a HUGE time savings. This allows you to shoot, shoot, shoot, and not have to worry about products at all.
Running a photography business is a challege. It can also be the most rewarding job in the world. What tools or criteria have you come up with that have helped you? Do you have something to add to one of the 5 criteria? Leave a comment.
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Thanks for these great tips. I really appreciate tip #2, the time you spend shooting and what the extra shots imply. I guess it’s wise to know when to be trigger happy, and when to be prudent and just get the shot.
Hi Alohal,
I agree it is smart to know when to just get the shot you need and get out. Photography is our passion and sometimes we keep shooting because we love it and we are having fun. This can be killer in post production if you get caught editing for hours.