Roger writes about his own experience of weddings that he has covered and gives good tips on how to manage other difficult situations including lighting and weather.
Wednesday 23 April 2014
Book Review
This book has good basic information regarding setting up in wedding photography. It starts with basic equipment that is required and has good clear images of things to avoid and how to photograph indoors against natural sunlight and stained glass windows and also how to get the best angle under these situations.
Roger writes about his own experience of weddings that he has covered and gives good tips on how to manage other difficult situations including lighting and weather.
Roger writes about his own experience of weddings that he has covered and gives good tips on how to manage other difficult situations including lighting and weather.
Book Review
I found this ebook quite useful as a beginners guide to exploring and marketing photographs.
The book takes you through the basic stages of equipment, resolution required, types of images that sell and how to upload your photographs. the book even provides a list of websites that have stock photos you can sell your photographs to. Everything is covered in great details and it even gives you ideas on which keywords to use when uploading your photographs.
The book takes you through the basic stages of equipment, resolution required, types of images that sell and how to upload your photographs. the book even provides a list of websites that have stock photos you can sell your photographs to. Everything is covered in great details and it even gives you ideas on which keywords to use when uploading your photographs.
Memberships of Professional Bodies
There are various organisations offering membership to become registered with a professional body such as the SWPP in the photo below.
These sites are often used to search for different genre of photographers, located in different parts of the country. There are also training opportunities and chance to attend seminars or shows.
Some organisations even hold regular competitions, this will help raise your profile as a photographer.
These sites are often used to search for different genre of photographers, located in different parts of the country. There are also training opportunities and chance to attend seminars or shows.
Some organisations even hold regular competitions, this will help raise your profile as a photographer.
SWOT - Personal Development Plan
SWOT Analysis helps a person realise where they are and how they can progress from here, but I think it's about being honest with yourself and identifying your own strengths and weaknesses.
Strengths
confident
practical
good communication
good contacts and networks
good cultural background
speak few languages
Weaknesses
time management
prioritise work over photography
need to develop better camera skills and gain more experience
Opportunities
business opportunities available
partnership opportunities available
marketing and promotional tools available
Threats
other people in the business
cheaper business by unqualified photographers
Strengths
confident
practical
good communication
good contacts and networks
good cultural background
speak few languages
Weaknesses
time management
prioritise work over photography
need to develop better camera skills and gain more experience
Opportunities
business opportunities available
partnership opportunities available
marketing and promotional tools available
Threats
other people in the business
cheaper business by unqualified photographers
Asiana magazine - research
Asiana magazine is the top Asian Bridal Magazine in the UK, selling thousands of copies. Asiana magazine is available at most Asian shops but also available in WHSmith across the UK. Asiana magazine contains the latest styles with shops advertising Asian fashion and Asian wedding outfits as well an Asian Wedding Directory with adverts from photographers to hall and equipment hire and catering. Having looked through the magazine it seems that the majority of the adverts are placed by people based around the London area and I didn't find any for the North East of England.
Asiana has also expanded their services as as you can see from the photographs below they now offer a web design service starting at a thousand pounds.
Asiana has also expanded their services as as you can see from the photographs below they now offer a web design service starting at a thousand pounds.
Tuesday 22 April 2014
Methods of Communication and advertising
Social media is being used more and more as a means of promotion and communication as it reaches a much wider audience worldwide.
Blogs - Becoming more and more popular with photographers and people linked to the photography industry to showcase their work.
Websites - Individual websites I believe are a must to showcase your work and talent and makes you look more professional rather than just telling people the type of work that you do and giving out business cards, which seems to be a thing of the past.
TV. Satellite Channels - are an excellent way to promote your services as audience is worldwide and reaches millions of people without them having to search for you. This is a more expensive way of marketing and promotion, however, it has become increasingly popular and Asian channels such as B4U and Star Plus now feature many makeup artists and wedding services from the UK.
Facebook - Most photographers are now on Facebook with many followers, this is good to showcase work, however, in my own experience Asian Photographers tend to share other posts and comment on general articles more rather than focus on advertising their photography.
Twitter - Good for keeping people updated and informing them of your services, but again people would need to search for you and follow you to have access to your updates.
Email - More personal and selective as I find that this would be a much slower process of marketing and networking as it takes time to build contacts and establish relationships with people.
Networking - I found that the ideal way to establish good networking links for Asian Wedding Photography is to attend an Asian Wedding Exhibition. There are many Asian Wedding Exhibitions around the country with the more popular ones being held in London, Birmingham and Bradford. I attended one at Birmingham and found that there were people from different parts of the UK including Bradford and Newcastle there to showcase their work and approach potential customers. Wedding Exhibitions include: Stages, Henna Artists, Makeup Artists, Cinematographers, Photographers, DJ's and Dhol Players.
Blogs - Becoming more and more popular with photographers and people linked to the photography industry to showcase their work.
Websites - Individual websites I believe are a must to showcase your work and talent and makes you look more professional rather than just telling people the type of work that you do and giving out business cards, which seems to be a thing of the past.
TV. Satellite Channels - are an excellent way to promote your services as audience is worldwide and reaches millions of people without them having to search for you. This is a more expensive way of marketing and promotion, however, it has become increasingly popular and Asian channels such as B4U and Star Plus now feature many makeup artists and wedding services from the UK.
Facebook - Most photographers are now on Facebook with many followers, this is good to showcase work, however, in my own experience Asian Photographers tend to share other posts and comment on general articles more rather than focus on advertising their photography.
Twitter - Good for keeping people updated and informing them of your services, but again people would need to search for you and follow you to have access to your updates.
Email - More personal and selective as I find that this would be a much slower process of marketing and networking as it takes time to build contacts and establish relationships with people.
Networking - I found that the ideal way to establish good networking links for Asian Wedding Photography is to attend an Asian Wedding Exhibition. There are many Asian Wedding Exhibitions around the country with the more popular ones being held in London, Birmingham and Bradford. I attended one at Birmingham and found that there were people from different parts of the UK including Bradford and Newcastle there to showcase their work and approach potential customers. Wedding Exhibitions include: Stages, Henna Artists, Makeup Artists, Cinematographers, Photographers, DJ's and Dhol Players.
Costing and Selling Work - internet prices
Below are samples of price lists from various photographers across the UK, unfortunately the majority of Asian photographers do not have a price list on their website.
Both Shahed and Flash Shots do have their own websites that display their photography work but unfortunately don't display any prices.
http://www.sharontruemanphotography.co.uk/PRICELIST.aspx
http://www.shaanphotography.com/packages.html
http://www.kayahphotography.co.uk/prices.html
http://sromel.com
http://www.ovoma.com/?gclid=CJiF4IaF7b0CFefMtAod8mUArg
http://www.shotbyshahed.com/site/#/page/a945/documentary-wedding-photography-in-newcastle-by-asian-wedding-photographer-shahed/
http://www.flashshots.co.uk
Both Shahed and Flash Shots do have their own websites that display their photography work but unfortunately don't display any prices.
http://www.sharontruemanphotography.co.uk/PRICELIST.aspx
http://www.shaanphotography.com/packages.html
http://www.kayahphotography.co.uk/prices.html
http://sromel.com
http://www.ovoma.com/?gclid=CJiF4IaF7b0CFefMtAod8mUArg
http://www.shotbyshahed.com/site/#/page/a945/documentary-wedding-photography-in-newcastle-by-asian-wedding-photographer-shahed/
http://www.flashshots.co.uk
Saturday 19 April 2014
Research and marketing - copy of email
Copy of email
I feel it is important to continually view the work of others and also to keep in touch with the latest news and tips in photography in order to understand the field better and continually keep in touch with what's new and hot for the market. This way I can improve my work continually and produce work that is in current demand.
Copyright
Copyright
Copyright Designs and Patents Act came into force in 1988 and is the current copyright act in the UK that is used to prevent copying, distributing or publishing work without the creator/owners consent.
Photographs are the property of the photographer unless they have been commissioned or employed by a company to take them in which case they belong to the company giving the company the copyright to the material. Copyright was invented to give creators of art/media work the right to how it is used or distributed. Work protected by copyright can have more than one copyright i.e. an album can have more than one copyright as the artwork and songs could have separate copyrights. Work does not have to be registered or recorded anywhere to be copyright protected as it will automatically be protected but the 'Intellectual Property Office' recommends that you add the copyright symbol and the year of production to safeguard it. Copyright work maybe sold or licensed to others for use (if it is licensed the ownership rights can be retained) to make money. Copyright lasts for 70 years after the death of the creator. Websites such as the intellectual property office 'www.ipo.gov.uk' contain facts to cover all aspects of copyright.
Nowadays a lot of photographs and artwork are uploaded via social media sites such as Facebook or Twitter. In understanding copyright laws one must also understand the terms and conditions that such sites publish especially when signing up to such sites. It is also important to understand that once material has been uploaded onto such sites, even if it is removed by the person that uploaded it, it may still be on the internet as other users may have shared it.
Organisations such as DACS (Design and Artists Copyright Society) have been created to help protect the rights of artists, help in obtaining royalties and acquire licenses to use works of art. This website is extremely useful and contains information on schemes on how to claim back for work that has been used in magazines, TV or books and also fact sheets on how to use social media safely to upload work.
'In a Telegraph article, Callum Sinclair, Partner in the Intellectual Property and Technology group of law firm DLA Piper, says that Twitter's terms to which every new member must agree "grant extremely broad rights over your content… With these terms companies are saying 'you own your content, but we can just use it however we want.'"
Mr Sinclair explains "In reality there is little difference between your ownership and their licence when the terms of the licences over your content are this broad."'(https://www.dacs.org.uk/knowledge-base/factsheets/understanding-social-media-terms-and-conditions)
Social Media should therefore be selected and used very carefully for uploading and promoting work.
Copyright Designs and Patents Act came into force in 1988 and is the current copyright act in the UK that is used to prevent copying, distributing or publishing work without the creator/owners consent.
Photographs are the property of the photographer unless they have been commissioned or employed by a company to take them in which case they belong to the company giving the company the copyright to the material. Copyright was invented to give creators of art/media work the right to how it is used or distributed. Work protected by copyright can have more than one copyright i.e. an album can have more than one copyright as the artwork and songs could have separate copyrights. Work does not have to be registered or recorded anywhere to be copyright protected as it will automatically be protected but the 'Intellectual Property Office' recommends that you add the copyright symbol and the year of production to safeguard it. Copyright work maybe sold or licensed to others for use (if it is licensed the ownership rights can be retained) to make money. Copyright lasts for 70 years after the death of the creator. Websites such as the intellectual property office 'www.ipo.gov.uk' contain facts to cover all aspects of copyright.
Nowadays a lot of photographs and artwork are uploaded via social media sites such as Facebook or Twitter. In understanding copyright laws one must also understand the terms and conditions that such sites publish especially when signing up to such sites. It is also important to understand that once material has been uploaded onto such sites, even if it is removed by the person that uploaded it, it may still be on the internet as other users may have shared it.
Organisations such as DACS (Design and Artists Copyright Society) have been created to help protect the rights of artists, help in obtaining royalties and acquire licenses to use works of art. This website is extremely useful and contains information on schemes on how to claim back for work that has been used in magazines, TV or books and also fact sheets on how to use social media safely to upload work.
'In a Telegraph article, Callum Sinclair, Partner in the Intellectual Property and Technology group of law firm DLA Piper, says that Twitter's terms to which every new member must agree "grant extremely broad rights over your content… With these terms companies are saying 'you own your content, but we can just use it however we want.'"
Mr Sinclair explains "In reality there is little difference between your ownership and their licence when the terms of the licences over your content are this broad."'(https://www.dacs.org.uk/knowledge-base/factsheets/understanding-social-media-terms-and-conditions)
Social Media should therefore be selected and used very carefully for uploading and promoting work.
Starting A Business
Starting A Business
Before setting up a business it is important to research your area of interest, understand current market trends, products and your client group and its needs.
When setting up a company you need to choose and understand which structure is right for you:
The following structures are the most commonly used ones:
1. Sole Trader - as a sole trader you work for yourself and own the business, however, you may employ other people to work for you. A sole trader is classed as self employed and will need an Insurance Number and need to register with HM Revenues and Customs for self assessment, all income and expenditure needs to be recorded and Tax and National Insurance will be calculated and due on any profit made. The risks associated with being a sole trader are that outstanding debt from your business can be met from your personal assets. It is suitable for small businesses with very low or no financial risk. To register with HMRC you need to fill out and complete Form CWF1.
2. Limited Company - There are two types of limited companies:
i. private limited company - LTD, privately owned company with limited liability. The company can buy things, incur debts, sue and be sued but any action would only affect the company's investments and assets not anybody's personal assets. By forming a Ltd company you are separating and protecting your personal assets from that of your business. Your company must have the following:
a. A company name
b. A registered UK address where official documents can be sent to
c. Payment to Companies House
d. At least 1 director and 1 share holder
e. Articles of Association - rules about running the company
f. Set up the company for corporation tax within 3 months with HMRC providing a start date, company name and number, address and business type in order to receive a UTR (Unique Tax Reference) number.
examples of private limited company's: Warburton's, New Look Retailers Ltd
or
ii. public limited company - PLC, which are normally large companies with limited liability but have the power to sell shares to the public and have the possibility to enter the stock market, raising the profile of the company. A PLC must have the following:
a. A company name and address
b. A minimum of 2 directors
c. A minimum of 1 shareholder
d. A qualified company secretary
Initially at least 2 shares need to be issued in the statement of capital section and then an SHO1 form needs to be filed to be able to issue up to 12,500 shares. There is generally more administrative work associated with a PLC.
examples of PLC's: Microsoft, Mc Donald's and Starbucks
3. Business Partnerships or LLP (Limited Liability Partnership) - Business partnership is 2 or more partners are running a business and share all responsibility for it. This type of approach is more suited to professionals such as solicitors, accountants or architects that are prevented from forming limited companies due to restrictions from their professional bodies but whom require the benefits of limited liability. There is no need for governing documents, however, partnership deeds are highly recommended. LLP's are taxed differently as profits are treated as personal income.
examples of business partnership: Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Wakeel Partnership, Ernst & Young
Director
In order to be a Director of a company you must be aged over 16 and not be declared bankrupt or disqualified by a court from holding a directorship.
A director's responsibility is to ensure that the following paperwork reaches companies house registrar:
Annual accounts, annual returns, notification of any change of directors' secretary and any notification of the change of the registered office.
Before setting up a business it is important to research your area of interest, understand current market trends, products and your client group and its needs.
When setting up a company you need to choose and understand which structure is right for you:
The following structures are the most commonly used ones:
1. Sole Trader - as a sole trader you work for yourself and own the business, however, you may employ other people to work for you. A sole trader is classed as self employed and will need an Insurance Number and need to register with HM Revenues and Customs for self assessment, all income and expenditure needs to be recorded and Tax and National Insurance will be calculated and due on any profit made. The risks associated with being a sole trader are that outstanding debt from your business can be met from your personal assets. It is suitable for small businesses with very low or no financial risk. To register with HMRC you need to fill out and complete Form CWF1.
2. Limited Company - There are two types of limited companies:
i. private limited company - LTD, privately owned company with limited liability. The company can buy things, incur debts, sue and be sued but any action would only affect the company's investments and assets not anybody's personal assets. By forming a Ltd company you are separating and protecting your personal assets from that of your business. Your company must have the following:
a. A company name
b. A registered UK address where official documents can be sent to
c. Payment to Companies House
d. At least 1 director and 1 share holder
e. Articles of Association - rules about running the company
f. Set up the company for corporation tax within 3 months with HMRC providing a start date, company name and number, address and business type in order to receive a UTR (Unique Tax Reference) number.
examples of private limited company's: Warburton's, New Look Retailers Ltd
or
ii. public limited company - PLC, which are normally large companies with limited liability but have the power to sell shares to the public and have the possibility to enter the stock market, raising the profile of the company. A PLC must have the following:
a. A company name and address
b. A minimum of 2 directors
c. A minimum of 1 shareholder
d. A qualified company secretary
Initially at least 2 shares need to be issued in the statement of capital section and then an SHO1 form needs to be filed to be able to issue up to 12,500 shares. There is generally more administrative work associated with a PLC.
examples of PLC's: Microsoft, Mc Donald's and Starbucks
3. Business Partnerships or LLP (Limited Liability Partnership) - Business partnership is 2 or more partners are running a business and share all responsibility for it. This type of approach is more suited to professionals such as solicitors, accountants or architects that are prevented from forming limited companies due to restrictions from their professional bodies but whom require the benefits of limited liability. There is no need for governing documents, however, partnership deeds are highly recommended. LLP's are taxed differently as profits are treated as personal income.
examples of business partnership: Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Wakeel Partnership, Ernst & Young
Director
In order to be a Director of a company you must be aged over 16 and not be declared bankrupt or disqualified by a court from holding a directorship.
A director's responsibility is to ensure that the following paperwork reaches companies house registrar:
Annual accounts, annual returns, notification of any change of directors' secretary and any notification of the change of the registered office.
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