Introduction to Pricing for Profit

Pricing yourself appropriately (and when I say appropriate what I really mean is profitably) can be one of the most daunting tasks for a photographer to undertake. COGS x A + B / mc² can leave us all remembering just how much we hated algebra, however it is still a very necessary task and I promise once you've found where you should be, it's also incredibly liberating!

Creativity... Passion... That most likely came as the easy part (it comes as pretty standard territory to us "artist" types) but operating a successful small business, well if you're like many you may not have put much thought into it. But the bottom line is this, there are 2 kinds of artists, those who define themselves and those who are defined and the reality is that those who starve have no choice but to be defined and those who thrive are able to define themselves! And it's not always about skill either! I have seen amazing photographers who lack the fundamentals in business and so find themselves trying to survive from job to job. I have also seen the flip side, photographer's who may not be as technically savvy or creatively inclined and yet their business is booming! Why is this? One gets the nuts and bolts of running and marketing a small business and the other does not.

Today, I'd like to try to help clarify just how you should and should not go about establishing your pricing. The most common price determiner is... Google (in some form or another) You know what I'm talking about, you Google a few photogs in your area check out the pricing and put yourself somewhere in the middle. While this may not be the very worst way to price yourself, it certainly isn't good either. Here are 3 reasons why:

1. You don't know the bottom line they are working from, and what (or even if) they established a profit margin on.
2. There is a really good chance that they came up with their pricing sheet exactly how you just did yours so now the circle of 'in the middle' pricing is growing but in actuality the pricing structure just keeps falling lower and lower.
3. Without knowing your numbers you can't know your profit and without knowing your profit (or loss) you won't know what adjustments need to be made until it's too late!

So, what should be considered when establishing your pricing? You need to know your Cost of Goods Sold or COGS (how much did it cost you to hand them that 8x10?) Are you considering the following:
1. Retouching time
2. Shipping
3. Packaging (Bag, Tag, Tissue, Box)
4. Time for assembling packaging (not just a bow)
5. Hourly wage for your time.
6. Cost of Print

Okay. Let say you have figured out all of that and you now know that your COGS is... Is there a special formula for marking up the product? I'd like you to think of 3 tiers for pricing...

Top end of market is 20% COGS

Midpoint would be 30% COGS

Low end of market 40% COGS

Should you ever go below 40%? No! Don't go below 40% {period!}

If you feel you have to be at 40% in order to sell your products you need to come up with a different solution. Either you need to cut down your cost by quicker retouching, cheaper packaging or a different print lab but one way or another you're going to want to find a way to drive down your bottom line.

I hope you have enjoyed this little bit of insight into pricing. I will be going into much greater detail on pricing for profit at the Seattle Building the Biz Workshop, August 20th and 21st.

Checking email while doing your business while planning for dinner

Image from here.

I'm serious about getting organized and actually feeling like I have it together. Not just a little serious, I'm super serious. Seriously. Sometimes I can't help but wonder if I'm the only one this crazy? The only person hard wired with traits that I both love and despise about myself. I'm intense, I do everything with a zealous vigor that rivals 2 young missionaries holding the Book of Mormon at your door (by the way - be nice to them, they are good boys who are far from home). I don't know how to do things half way, I'm not even kidding, I have no idea how to just roll with it. I'm either flat on my back or I'm running as hard and fast as I can with no intention of stopping until the treadmill throws me off. I was asked recently how I do it all, I've been avoiding the question because I'm embarrassed to say. Am I alone? I'll go ahead and jump off my soap box now. Today's post is a collaboration of ideas I've found and thought up for my personal needs about better time management. I wanted to pass some of them over to you.


1. Touch it once. I've talked about this before (it's something my dad taught me) and I think it's so obvious and yet so overlooked (especially by me) that I want to say it again. Ready? Touch it once! In other words when something drops into your hands, voice mail or inbox take care of it immediately and say no to unmanageable stacks of to do's that are cluttering your thoughts and workspace. Let's ALL say yes to this one, because - come on - we all know it's going to make life better, right? Of course we do!


2. Make a list and check it twice. Santa Claus is on to something and I think it's worth our taking heed. I'm proud to say I think I actually came up with this one all by my little ol' self. I can't usually take credit, inspiration is usually recycled on some level. Ever since I've started doing this I've been amazed at how much better my day starts off. Before you end the workday, make a list of what you need/want to accomplish in order of priority for the next day! Think about it! Instead of sitting down to your computer and trying to flip through the mental list to figure out where you should start - and take the chance of forgetting something crucial you needed to do (we've all done it!) have a plan before your day begins. You won't believe how your productivity will soar with this simple little idea. You'll be ready to tackle the day feeling in control and mentally prepared to handle what's ahead.


3. Stop Multitasking. According to Dave Crenshaw, "Whenever you try to accomplish more than one task that requires effort and attention, you are really switchtasking: switching rapidly back and forth between the tasks. Whenever you switchtask, you incur switching costs, the transition time and energy it takes to transition from one to the other. Anyone who can reduce the number of switches in their day will get more done in less time, with less mistakes and less stress than the person who switchtasks."


4. Use your down time. There are things I have to do such as write blog posts, answer emails, edit photos, fold laundry, clean the kitchen, etc. etc. etc. And there are things I want to do, like take the kids to the park, read a book, blog stalk, try a new recipe. But so often I let the have to's trump the want to's even though some of my want to's (like taking the kids to the park) are far more important. I have started looking for opportunities to use down time to make both happen. For example I've given up on paperbacks and gone to audio books - now they are loaded on my iPhone and I can listen and be inspired while I unload the dishwasher, sort laundry or make the 3 hr. drive to Seattle for shoots. Another way I'm making this happen is by using my laptop. I am very blessed to have a wonderful husband who understands and supports my desire to be able to "do" the 2 things I love - my children and photography/Go{4}Pro, so he has helped me find ways to make it all more manageable. The most recent being my new MacBook Pro that I'm typing on right now. I'm in love because I can work on a blog post while we sit at the park or search out blog ideas while I sit on the floor in the kids rooms and most importantly, work somewhere other than in my office.


5. I think I can. When I was in 4th and 5th grade I played softball. I was really, really bad. No really, they asked me not to swing and hoped that my tiny frame crouched in the batters position would be enough to get me to base because my skill certainly was not going to get me there. During these "sport" years, my mom bought me a little train, when you squeezed it he chugged, 'I think I can, I think I can, I think I can. Chooo, chooo. I thought I could'. Try self coaching yourself (out loud) as to what you are going to accomplish and that you know you can do it. And confirm to yourself after you've accomplished the task - tell yourself (still out loud) when you've done a great job. Self affirmation is a powerful tool to make your time positive and effective. Oprah said so. ;)


6. Pray. I know that we have a loving Father in Heaven who hears all our prayers and I believe that He loves and pays special care to mothers. My mother-in-law recently told me that when her kids were small and she had an especially difficult day ahead with way too much she needed to do, that in her morning prayers she would ask Heavenly Father to slow time and help her accomplish all that was required without creating negative affect on her children. It certainly can't hurt to try it!

5 Ideas for staying organized

Hello. My name is Leah and I'm a clutter-holic. It hasn't always been this way, actually I'm supposed to be more of a minimalist. It all changed when I got busy, really busy. It all started when I would get an info packet, a magazine or a letter that I wanted to look into but just didn't have time for, well they kept coming and I kept being short on time until before long - the piles had taken over my office and 1/2 pieces of information were taking up 90% of my brain power. I want to change, that's why I'm here. It's been 21 days.

If you can relate at all, here are a few ideas to help simplify your work life that I've been doing or am doing.

1. Clear your desktop! 
That's right, I mean close out of all other applications (especially your email and the internet) so that you only have ONE project on your screen at a time. When clicking all screens it should not appear to be a connect the dots game! Close everything else out and watch how it helps your mind do the same thing and stay focused. Multi tasking is not always a good thing. Take one project at a time, open it work at it and close it than move on to the next! I also suggest not checking any social media during designated project time! Every time I check an email while I'm working on editing there is inevitably a link, the link wants to be clicked and who am I to hurt it's feelings? But it always leads to more links and by the time I get back to editing an hour (or more) has passed. 

2. Know Your Schedule

How many times have you, your husband or someone in your family not known what was going on? It's stressful and chaotic and the absolute opposite of being organized! I'm great at putting those appointments into my iCal, I'm not so great at remembering to check that calender and that has most definitely caused some unneeded stress more than once! Finding a calender system that works great for you and your family is crucial! Taylor and I sync our iCal's on our iPhones, I forget to check so thank-goodness that he  knows me well enough to remind me and as back up Kathy (my studio manager) also knows my schedule and can remind me as well!

Here's an adorable way to know exactly whats going on for the month and the rest of your family only has to take a peak to know what's going on too! Found on MarthaStewart.com

Tip: Plan out your family time well in advance with your spouse! When you get busy it's easy to fall into a vicious cycle where you haven't left a single weekend or night open to just be a family. If you plan out special weekends, weeks or even months in advance you'll save your self and your family from burn out!

3. Touch it Once

This is a rule my dad was always trying to teach me and I'm only now truly starting to appreciate what he was trying to help me understand. For all those times you open an email that could have a very quick response but put it off till later, every time you open a letter, read over it in it's entirety and than push it to the end of your desk for a later response and each time you put off finishing the client order you just received you're making way more work for yourself in the long run! So the pile climbs, the emails accumulate and you all together forget to order the prints for 3 days after the order was received. You're creating drama, unnecessary drama and I completely disagree with Chandler Bing (old Friends episode) on the idea that woman enjoy and need this kind of drama in our lives! Quite the contrary! We need simple effective solutions to help maintain order in a life that's constantly set at turbo time! So touch it once. Don't open the mail till your checkbook is open and ready. Don't look at your email till you've carved out 30 minutes to respond. By scheduling time to complete tasks fully the first time, we can shave off a lot of wasted time in "get back to's".

Tip: Now of course there are things that come up daily that take time to handle properly. Thats okay! Put it in a folder for more time later and than actually carve out the time you need to get it done otherwise that folder will be bulging before you know it! 

Organization boxes from Martha Stewart.

4. Block out the time

This is actually something Kathy (my studio manager) suggested for me to do. And she's totally right to have done so. We were having a meeting and talking about how quickly I'm off on another tangent, doesn't that sound better than saying that I get side tracked easily? I can't help that I'm bursting at the seams with new ideas, can I? lol. As we were sitting in my office for this meeting, the pings of new emails kept coming in and I was commenting on how when I'm editing, curiosity constantly gets the better of me and I go check, and than the scenario from above plays out, "please click on me or I might cry". Kathy suggested that I work on one project at a time in 30 minute increments, after the 30 minutes I can decide if I want to set it aside or if I've gained enough momentum I can keep on keep'n on. 

Pocket Watch Image from Flickr

5. Plan ahead


Be a planner. If you're not acting out a plan all your doing is reacting to a problem! Think about that for a minute. How can you (or I) progress in our business, in our goals, in our dreams if we have no plan to take us there? By creating a plan (broken down into tangible steps to help get you to the end goal) you are telling your mind that it's achievable and you know just how to do it. Sure the plans may change, of course one road may turn out to be a dead-end and a little back tracking is needed but there is still a goal in mind and you've laid down the path to make that goal real! In contrast if you say that you want something but don't believe or see anyway in which it could be obtainable than you're mind will never seriously consider opportunities that could bring that dream closer.
Tip: Write it out! Start with 3 goals. One that you feel is a fundamental step in building your business (i.e. create a senior program), the second goal is where you would like to see yourself/your business (i.e. bringing in 40K take home at part time) and let the third be something that's part of your wildest dreams (i.e. travel thru Europe for 2 months). Now break down each of those goals into stepping stones, you may even need to create smaller goals with steps to bring you to your ultimate goal. Write it out and pin it to your wall so that you look at it often.

I'm very serious about getting organized. It's the only way that I will be able to manage Go{4}Pro, Leah Remillet Photography, a home and have the time I need to love my husband and children so get ready for a lot more posts from me and people who know a lot more than me on the eluding topic of... (insert sinister 'duh, duh, duh') Organization! If you would like to write a guest post on how you're staying organized, email me! 

Which lab is best for you?

There are so many different photo labs to chose from and when first starting you can feel overwhelmed when it comes to choosing labs.  Here are a couple of different tips to help you make the right choice for you!

1.  Test prints.  Every lab gives free test prints.  Try them all and see which labs quality and turn around time stands out to you.  Personally, I feel the best way to test the prints are choosing three distinct photos.  One high key, one low key and one with a lot of color.  See how all three compare with each lab.

2.  Prices.  What prices fit you best?  Does the more expensive prints actually have better quality?  If you went with a more pricey lab can you up your own prices without you hurting?

3.  Products.  Do they have the products you want to offer?  Paper options?  Framing?  It's great to look at all the different labs and see what they have to offer.

4.  Customer service.  This is a BIG one for me!  Can you call somebody and know you're going to get a person on the phone to answer your question?  If they mess up an order how would they deal with it?  How long will it take them to fix it?  I just found out that my lab will spell check my printed press cards for me!  Good thing too because I had a couple of misspelled words and some of my words were bordering the danger line.  Yup, they called to inform me.  They just save me a lot of money!

5.  Extras.  Do they do over night shipping?  Drop shipping?  Packaging?  Logo stamps?  How much is all of it?  Discounted specials?  What mounts do they offer like gatorfoam?  What ordering system do they use?  Roes?  Is it simple or hard to use because every lab is different.  Does their website or Roes annoy you?

These are the things to look for and if I've missed anything go ahead and leave a comment.  This list was in no particular order.  Also if you find a lab that meets all your needs then good for you and if not decide which is more of a priority.  Customer service or better products?  Hopefully both, right?  :)  I wouldn't recommend using two different labs.  As a photographer you want to be loyal with one lab and you may get rewarded in return but if you have two then it's less likely.  Also labs do print differently and if you're using two you may see the difference in your products and that's not good.  We want to be consistent.  I hope this helps you in scouting a lab if that's what you're doing and again if you have any other tips in finding a good lab leave a comment!

S.E.Ohhh...

We've been having a lot of questions about SEO lately.  Well what is SEO?


Search Engine Optimization - is the process of improving the volume or quality of traffic to a website or a web page like a blog from search engines via un-paid search results as opposed to other forms of search engine marketing (SEM) which may deal with paid inclusion.  Get it?  Yeah me neither...


No, it's how you can get your website to get more hits and to get more traffic without having to pay for an add.  So what I want you to do right now is google your photography genre in your area.  Example: Honolulu HI Wedding Photographer.  Are you on the first page that pops up?  The second, can you even find your name?  Seriously keep looking till you find it.  You need to know where it's at to record the process you'll be making to getting your website towards the first pages.  When you google do you choose anything on page two...maybe?  I know I hardly do and thats the whole theory surrounding SEO.  That you want to be on the first page because you'll get more visitors and hits.  


So now how to get your name towards the top.  There are many different ways. 


1.  You can pay for it.  This is SEM.  When I googled Photographers the top two things that popped up are highlighted tan.  These people are paying per click and you can do this through Google.  It depends on what phrase you use that determines the cost but you can decide how much you want to spend.  If a phrase like "photographers" costs $3 per click and you only want to pay $3 a day then your name will only be on the first page once.  If you put enough money into this then you'll eventually be on the first page and then you don't have to pay anymore to be on the first page.


Then the ads on the right of the page are google ads.  You can also pay for this until you're the first on the page then once you're there you can stop advertising.

2.  Google Maps.  This isn't google maps like getting directions, it's a map that has targeted businesses.  So I googled photographer and these businesses popped up.  Go into your google account and make one of these immediately!  Don't worry about being an on location photographer and not having a studio.  There's a place to state that but you still want to have one up.

3.  Key phrase your blog and website.  See the top circled bar.  Really describe what it is you're doing.  Use key phrases like your location, what type of photography.  And put the most important one first.  I can totally jazz this up more but I kept it simple for you to see.  When bookmarking someone's page the page title will also appear.  So jazz it up!

My bracketed business name is part of a flash slide show.  Check with your blog or web designers to make sure they are SEO optimized.  My ProPhoto3 blog is, do you know if yours is?  Also my header links to my website/portfolio.  Instead of linking my blog to my blog, which is still good, link it to another site to help get more hits and then link your website to your blog some how.  I do have a "home" button to still make it easier to get back to my recent posts.  Link your blog up!

Then I know you've seen people write crazy long titles next to their blog post titles.  It's because they want search engines like Google to find them.  If you repeat a key phrase enough, when somebody googles that key phrase your site is more likely to be found.  Don't just put "photographer" or "children's photographer."  Because you'll be competing with everybody who has either Children or Photographer in their title.  Get descriptive and be specific! 

Last thing is write in your blog post.  Don't just post pictures.  The more words you have the more key phrases you use the more likely you'll come up in the search engines.  Once you've done all these things and continue to do these things keep track of where your blog comes up on google.  I know you'll get closer to the top!

Calming the Sea: 5 Ways to (START TO) Find Balance

It's a fine line between working, keeping the balance and FEELING the success. I work an insane amount (work-a-holic style). Between my photography business and Go4Pro it never stops! It's 2am and I'm still not done and thats how it is almost every night. The most common question I'm asked is, 'how do you get it all done?' Although I say it smiling, I'm not joking when I respond, 'I don't sleep!' I'm not encouraging that! I'm simply saying I get how it feels to be non-stop, if you take a breath you could blow it all down, busy! What I want, desperately is to get to know what it feels like to know balance. Realistically that won't be all the time, it's just not in my personality. I'm an A-type who does all or nothing and always as if I'm in a race... But more of the time, that would be nice. 


This has been an on going battle for me. It's always on my mind and yet I'm embarrassed to admit that although I did take small steps to work towards a more even-handed lifestyle I've only just really begun to make big advances! If you've ever clicked on the label 'organization' you've noticed there are only 2 posts the simple answer being, I have nothing to give on this topic but everything to gain. So I'm changing it! I want to share and tell you what's working for me so far as well as bring on some guest bloggers who are better suited on the subject of organization! Because as you can see by the lack of content under the label, 'organization' I've been lacking!

Here are my first 5 ideas that I've implemented to help me love more and hate less.  

1. HIRE AN ASSISTANT. Before you tell me, Oh Leah - I can't afford to do that, just hear me out. I posted an ad on Craigslist for a SAHM who had Photoshop and bookkeeping experience, I said it was only for 3 to 5 hours a week to begin with, along with the specification of what I could budget. We would meet once a month and the rest they could do at home during naps or at night, whenever it was convenient for them. I got about a dozen inquiries. And I ended with the best new studio manager ever! She actually turned out to be a follower of Go4Pro so she already gets me! You may know her as Mrs. Soup from comments and past posts. Hiring a Studio Manager instantly put a pep in my step because I didn't feel like I had to do ALL of it alone anymore, I could delegate the stuff that took up valuable time that would be better spent in other areas of my business.

2. IF YOU CAN'T DO IT ALL - DON'T DO IT ALL. I'm trying to be a mommy, a business owner, the Go4Pro gal and a homemaker... I'm not super woman and I was struggling. I sat down and thought, 'well the only thing I'm willing to give up is the cleaning' and I laughed. But the idea stuck with me! I called around for house cleaners and was appalled at what the wanted to charge (you'd think they had doctorates in cleaning!) so again, trusty Craigslist came to the rescue! I found a Senior who now comes once a week for 3 hours and does the mopping, bathrooms, she even cleaned out the refrigerator last week! She is an investment in my sanity! I am a much happier person with a clean house and this has made it happen for me! My hubby definitely appreciates it too and fully agreed that it's well worth $30 a week!  

3. DOT YOUR "i's" & CROSS YOUR "t's". I needed to get my business super organized. After all, if the business side of things isn't organized then you're creating more work for yourself! And let's be honest, none of us has the time for more work! So now I'm all set up with Mobile Fotographer (I'm in love with it!!) 
It's web based so I handed all my hand-written contracts over to my assistant and gave her my login and now all of my clients are organized inside my new studio management software. It was something I'd put off for months and months - that is months and months of feeling unorganized, with time wasted trying to search out the info I needed from a cluttered desk of paper and sticky notes. But once I handed the stacks of contracts and paper work to Kathy (my SM), she had me up to date in 90 minutes! 
And I have great news, my friends Fundy & Focht of Mobile Fotographer are offering an awesome promotion for anyone who wants to get started with them, 50% off for 6 months (if you pay monthly) or one full year if you pay all at once. Just click HERE!!. The Promo is only for 2 weeks, so jump on it! I promise - you wont be disappointed!!

4. WORK LESS & MAKE WAY MORE! I am not a high volume studio, I never want to be a high volume studio! I love being a boutique style photographer who tailors everything to my clients. So I needed to find an answer that would help me take less shoots (I do one a week) but make more money then I was when I was doing 3 to 4 a week. It happened, I only shoot one session a week and keep myself booked out a couple months (typically). My average client is very middle class and my average sale is $1000. And I even offer digital negatives and they all buy those too! That is all thanks to in-person ordering. 
* My ordering program will not be discussed here as it will be part of my workshop that I hope to offer next year. If you want to learn more sooner, you may schedule a phone consult.

5. PLAN AHEAD. And I mean this in every aspect of your business. For me, it's been planning my Go{4}Pro posts weeks out so that I am not constantly feeling like a slave to Go{4}Pro. Too many nights, my husband asked me to come cuddle and watch a movie and I couldn't because I had nothing for Go{4}Pro the next day. But not anymore. Thanks to Noelle writing 2 days, I only have 3 days to write and I'm trying to have those written out 2 to 3 weeks at a time. Why not implement the same thing with your photography blog, your newsletter or your next promotion. The better you have it planned the faster it is to implement! So plan, sister plan!

Comments: Let me know what you've done to love more and hate less OR tell me what you're struggling with and maybe we can help you find an answer?! Bottom line... If we don't keep the balance, burn out will come. I don't know about you, but this is one fire I always want burning!

Product Feature - The Album Builder

This post is a fun one because it's being co-written by Noelle and I. I will be the BLUE text and Noelle will be Orange. Okay, me first...  


We both recently started using the Album Builder and no joke it's one of my most favorite tools (and super TIME SAVING) tools to date! Because it's saving each of us so much time and making our lives so much easier, we couldn't wait to tell you about it too! 

If ever there was a time that I just happened to run into the right person at the right time, the Fiano booth at WPPI was it! I was in the booth browsing albums when I saw 2 guys taking pictures with their iPhones of an album. When they looked done, I asked if I could see it. They told me it was their images, I smiled and gave an 'oh, awesome' and started to flip through. I immediately realized these images were taken in the great North West and asked where they were from, turns out they are in Portland too! 


Well as fate would have it, we ended up on the same flight back to Portland. I sat in-between Fundy and Focht of Left Turn Studios and we talked the whole flight home. Fundy pulled out his laptop to show me some of the awesome stuff they do - and - awesome in an understatement! Three of the things they showed me are my current favorite products (you know the type when you don't know how you lived with out it before) it's  the Mobile Fotographer-Studio Management, Touch Flow (but those are another post) for today, we want to tell you about the The Album Builder!


When I won the album certificate from Vision Art at WPPI the first thing I said to Leah was:


"Leah, I need to find some album templates!"


But Leah kept telling me no, (she does that sometimes). She kept saying that templates are too confining and that I would constantly find that the template wouldn't match how many pictures or sizes I was needing to fit for the layout.  She said that I'd find that when I'm trying to use a template sometimes it's hard to get the portrait photos to match the number of portrait boxes and then sometimes you have to leave out a good photo because it doesn't match the layout of things.


Oh...  I hadn't thought of that before but at the same time I knew I needed it simple and templates seemed like the obvious solution.  Then I thought about hiring out the design work.  I heard that Jasmine Star doesn't like designing albums so she hires out but after looking into the cost,that adds more then I can justify to my bottom line. With Leah making some strong arguments against album templates and hiring out tooexpensive the only option seemed to spend countless hours working at building albums from scratch. Not appealing!


Then the clouds parted and the sun shone down, and there might even have been some singing.


When Leah told me I had to get this Album Builder I thought to myself, "Really?  Do I really need it?"  But I trust Leah and I trust the man behind the product, so I got it.  Let me tell you what!  It is amazing!  You install Album Builder in Photoshop, where I make my albums, and it takes the major mechanical thinking out of it.  I'm a photographer/artist first so when I have to think of size of photos, to how many photos, to the size of the album, well all those ratios just hurt my brain.  I have to do lots of thinking and lots of trial and error.  With Album Builder I type how many photos I want on one page or a spread and it'll do it for me.  Then I just drag and drop my photo, without having to resize it, and it's done.  THEN if I want to add an action to that particular photo I can do it in Album Builder!  I can change the coloring of the background with a click and there are NO templates that I HAVE to stay with.  I can change how many pictures I want, and move the collage or row of photos anywhere on the page.  It gives you endless possibilities and the freedom to choose just how you want it.  I cannot even say how much of a time saver this is!  Album Builder will cut your time making albums, I personally believe, by 75% or more.  And as a photographer we are always in need of more time.  I firmly believe every photographer that offers albums, especially wedding photographers, need this product. 


I try to avoid wedding photography, my work is as a portrait photographer but albums are every bit as much a critical part of my business as they are for a wedding photographer. I want all my clients to have an album or an image box so that I know they have a tangible keepsake to remember this time in their life. I'm passionate about it so it's easy to sell, in fact 90% of all my clients order albums or image boxes so I do a lot of albums! I have been designing all my albums from scratch (you know from above why I don't like templates and I'm too neurotic to be able to let someone else design it for me). But despite how much i love handing over an album to a client,  I couldn't stand how long it took me to put it together, but I just didn't see a good alternative. Designing an album typically took me between 5 and 7 hours and as much as I don't want to admit it, sometimes longer, time consuming for sure!


Last week I had a mom call, she wanted two Senior albums in time for their graduation open house which was in 2 weeks. I needed to design 2 different albums for two girls and have them ready to send to print the next day if I had any chance at getting them in time. I was dreading the process until I realized I should try my new album builder. Each album only took me ONE HOUR to build!! So ummm yes, I'm a huge fan!  

The coolest part is that there is a 2 week Free Trial so go try it for yourself! You can thank me later! ;) 
And you will! :) 

tick. tock. it's the tax clock.

Nothing like sitting down with a nice big glass o' milk, a bag of double stuff mint Oreo cookies and having all the bliss removed cause it's time to fill out the 2009 tax forms! But seriously, taxes do have a wonderful way of giving me a great big kick in the pants to be much better organized and well documented for next year. And the great news... It's still January (at least for one day) and therefore completely doable for 2010! 

(image from here.)

My taxes are filed, the check has been written and surprisingly I feel excited about it. Something about knowing that this is MY business and that I dot my own 'i's' and cross my own 't's' feels empowering! But of course on the flip side as I filled out electronically (because my sun colored all over the form and was no longer usable - should picked a safer spot!) I realized that there were things I should be doing to be more prepared and even more in control, 


Here are a few things that I will be keeping better track of:


Filing receipts by categories based on write-offs! (here are a few)
Packaging
Equipment
Software
Travel
Computer
Services


Differentiating between Sessions and Sales!
In my state (WA.) the session fee is taxed at 1.5% as a B&O tax where as products (prints, albums, etc.) are taxed as Retail at almost 10%. At the last minute I was scrounging to separate the session fees from the products as I don't want to miss any opportunities at 1.5%. So this year I will make that easy to read and see. 
I also have lots of clients from Oregon and Canada I also need to mark them separately as I do not charge resale tax for them.