Nicole Papageorgiou

B r o w n - E y e d G i r l P h o t o g r a p h y

building a business

Senior Project 2013

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Table of Contents:

Project Overview............................................................................................... 3The Sessions....................................................................................................... 4Social Media....................................................................................................... 5Facebook............................................................................................................. 6-7Website................................................................................................................ 8Blogs.................................................................................................................... 9-12

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Project Overview

My project consisted of going through the necessary steps to launch a small photo business. I included everything from developing a website, building clients, marketing and social media.

My first goal for the project was to complete ten portrait sessions during the course of the semester. I knew this would be a challenging objective due to the amount of time that must be devoted to a portrait session (both pre and post session work). I was able to schedule ten sessions and so far have completed 8 of those.

I utilized two types of social media for my project: Instagram and Facebook. Because I had previously created a Facebook business page, I made the goal to update it and reach 300 “likes”.

I also created a simple website to help launch new business (for non-facebook users), and showcase previous work.

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The Sessions

**Two additional sessions scheduled for the coming weeks

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Social Media:I have created an Instagram account for my portrait business. I felt that this was an appropriate platform on which to display work and gain clients as Instagram’s main purpose is sharing pictures. In addition to this social media, I have also updated my Brown-Eyed Girl Photography Facebook page. Currently this is my main source of promotion and connection with future clients. This semester I have increased my “likes” from 207 to 318.

Instagram:

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Facebook

Click here to visit my Facebook page

My Facebook page has been instrumental in allowing my to promote my business without spending money for advertising. It also allows me to gain clientele with whom I have mutual friendships. This is key, as I am starting out and beginning to make a name for myself. When I started this project, my page had 207 likes. I set the goal to reach 300 likes by the end of the project. I recently reached 318 likes. In addition to increasing likes, I have personally increased the frequency of my posts. With the help of the Facebook insights feature available to page administrators, I have been able to track how successful each post has been (i.e. how many people it has reached, how engaged users were who viewed the post).

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Website

I created a website using a template generated Internet program called Weebly. The website features examples of my work, as well as information regarding photo sessions. I have linked this website to my Facebook page and vice versa to increase traffic. I have a long term goal to continue to update this webpage as my portfolio of work expands.

View my website here.

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Blogs

“It’s Not Personal. It’s Business”

One of the biggest challenges I have faced thus far deals with client relations. Up to this point, most of the people that I photograph I either know directly, or indirectly through a mutual friend. While I once thought working with people I already know would make my job easier or more “fun,” it has proven to be more difficult. On several occasions, people have asked me for special “friends and family rates” for their sessions. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not looking to nickel and dime each person I take photos of. I think it’s be-coming increasingly important to establish some consistency in my business. Session fees definitely fall under this category. How am I suppose to accurately evaluate whether or not I can make a living from this job, unless I set real prices and stand by them? This is where I must remind myself, “It’s not personal. It’s business.” I love to be friendly and make my clients feel comfortable with me, but at the same time I need to learn how to stand by the guidelines I have set up. I struggle with reducing the value my services. Professionals in other career fields aren’t expected to work free, so neither should I. I must also come to terms with the fact that monetary transactions are just part of the business world, whether or not you know the person on the other end.

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Mini-session: A No Go In my original plan for my senior project, I talked about setting up a “mini-session,” however, the execution did not quite go as planned. First, what is a mini-session and how do I set it up? A mini-session is a 15-20 minute photoshoot with a client. It varies from a full-length session, not only because of the shortened amount of time but also in the cost and products offered. These sessions are usually much cheaper and the clients get only a few images (pre-determined by the photographer). After doing some research based on what other local photographers do, I found that most charge a flat rate for these mini-sessions. The fee includes the time, and the prints or digital copies of the images. So, what was my plan? I planned a fall themed mini-session at Cider Hill Family Orchard in Kansas City. I set up the scene, promoted the event on my Facebook and waited. I received quite a bit of interest so I remained hopeful that this would indeed be a success. It was not. My mini-session failed miserably. It was the slowest day at the orchard that I have ever seen. So I decided to scratch it up to experience and give it another try. This time, I decided to do a roommate themed shoot at the Forest of Friendship. This time I contacted people with the information two weeks prior to the day and scheduled five groups in 20-minute increments. As the day of my mini-sessions approached, one-by-one people began to cancel their sessions. Their reasons varied from sickness to changes in their schedules. On the day of the event, I was left with one group who kept their appointment. The entire process, while frustrating, was definitely a learning experience. Luckily, I did not lose any money from the failed tries. I’m convinced that the unsuccessful attempts were not for lack of interest from my clients. That being said, I think I will wait until I have a larger group of clientele before scheduling any more mini-sessions.

Blogs

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Example of mini-session promotional piece

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Final Thoughts on Project

Choosing to promote my photography business as my senior project absolutely changed my entire semester. It was the most time-consuming element in my schedule. I think I may have underestimated the success that could come from actively promoting myself on Facebook. I never expected to attract the amount of interest that I did. In fact, I ended up having to turn down requests for a maternity session and a wedding.Not only was scheduling these portrait sessions a process, but I then had to travel to these locations (Kansas City, Lawrence, around Atchison) on the weekends. I would normally use the weekends to catch up on homework for my other classes. This was no longer an option. After completing these sessions, the post session work began. This included posting about the shoots on Facebook and Instagram, as well as editing the images for the clients. If I do the math, each session is at least two and half-hours (some lasted three). Add in roughly five hours of editing per session. Multiply this by the eight sessions I completed and it comes out to approximately 60 hours of work! Ultimately, I would call the project a success. I surpassed my social media goals, networked with new clients and made significant strides in getting my name out there as a local photographer.

Blogs