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Marketing Images

Lesson 21 from: Senior Photography: Break the Mold

Blair Phillips

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Lesson Info

21. Marketing Images

Next Lesson: Packaging

Lesson Info

Marketing Images

we find ourselves a lot of times looking through magazines or we'll see other people's work and we say, Oh, man, I wish I had something like that or, you know, I don't have people that show up dressed like that. My clients don't come with makeup like that, and a lot of the reason they don't is because of the point that you said this morning. What you like yesterday is you said you can Onley sale what you show. So if you expect people to come in and look a certain way if you don't give them a go to and say, Hey, this is what we like to shoot So come looking like this, they don't know that it's available. You're not gonna have a girl that's going to come in with things glued to her face if you don't first advertise it, especially in my area. You start doing that, Meyer and people like me and this guy has really lost his mind. So I had an idea recently. I wanted some amazing marketing images, and I wanted to really kick it up a notch. I didn't want my regular, you know, my everyday work t...

o be on the forefront of my marketing images. I wanted to appeal to a client. There was a little more stylistic, a little more of fashion Easter, someone that was really vain, really cared about what they look and wanted to almost be involved in fantasy. Not that kind of fantasy, but a fantasy meaning fantasy style makeup. So I created a glam session and I said, All right, how can I create all these new images to get people talking about me? I want my name in the community even more I want I want to give them something else to talk about. People are going to expect that I do this. They stand back and wait to see what's next, and I like that. I like that aspect, but I didn't want to just create all these images for free, just for practice. I mean, everybody needs a little practice every once in a while, but I would rather make money, so I had to figure out a way to do a glam session, but also get paid to create images for me. Now that sounds really crazy, right? But that's exactly what we did, and I wanted to get images in the schools and on Facebook to get the kids really talking about something. One of them talking on one of my name in their mouth, whether they loved it or hated it, didn't care one of my name in their mouth. So the way that I did this is a charge there, there for their regular session. Anyways, they're gonna get their regular pictures made. I do this at the end of their session. This is a session add on. So they add this on to their session. You don't want to take every single image with stuff glued to their face and their hero. Weird. They're not. That's not gonna work, but they show up. It's $150 session fee on top of their normal session fee. Now what that does is that includes makeup, and I've got a girl that would do their hair's well. She's a hair and makeup girl all in one. She charges me 75 then we get 100 $50 session feet. So not making 150 obviously. But you take the 75 out of that. That's what I have left. But she's already paid for a regular session. Makeup artist that we use. We give her a 10 99 for tax purposes. That way she is responsible for taxing that, and we can use it as a write off like, Hey, we had to pay her to provide a service for our business. So again, I'm not being greedy, but I'm using our system in a way that is advantageous for me. Systems that were put in place to make it advantageous to be a small business owner, which there are very small advantages these days if somebody may well know of owning your own business. So for this, always use that three lights set up. I'll use a ring light. And these were some of the images that I'm talking about that I get from this out there. Remember the whole file cabinet? I'm getting paid to use the file cabinet on top of her normal session. This girl, this is a girl. She's a cheerleader, but she is very quiet, except when she's cheering. She's kind of shy. A little bit. She would never in a 1,000,000 years imagine coming in getting pictures made like this. But I showed her images like this of this girl. And she said, I want to do something very similar. That So he did it. She loved it. It gives these people a chance to feel like they're living a fantasy. So Google fantasy style makeup. Google that and see what you come up with. You come on, some wild ideas. You have to find someone in your community and knows how to do makeup. It can't just be a regular. They have to really understand makeup. It gives you that really exotic commercial. Look, it's something really unique. Really different key things. Anything about our false eyelashes, Rhinestones we can't forget. Run stones. Right. And then again, look at some of these images. You can get this image on the bottom, right? I would never in a 1,000,000 years have a client that would show up looking like that if I would have liked Oh, my gosh. This is gonna be the most awesome session ever. I'm gonna get such great marketing material from here. This is going to be great. But if I don't put something out there for people to see and know that it's available, they're not going to come in and say, Hey, can you tease my hair and put hair extensions in there? Because what I really want to do, I want to do some of my hair up with my hair down. I just want to get crazy. No, I may get a 40 year old woman that comes in and says that because, you know, she just left her husband. She's got a 20 year old boyfriend. She wants to do something crazy, But I don't wanna mess of that so you can't shoot. You can't sell it if you don't show it now, things that will really help you If he wanted to do something like this, go to a dance studio, find someone that you know that has taken dance for a number of years, asked them if you can have not by if you can have some of their old competition dance team outfits, something really crazy that dance uniforms and cost him too crazy. So the hair has to have a high contrast and you have a lot of color in their outfits. Everything has to be kind of almost over the top notch. Your everyday clothes, everyday clothes, just not gonna cut it in a big thing to his plenty of accessories dripping with necklaces, scars, airings, big watches, anything you can think of anything. Jewelry, the bird cage, veils, top hats, gloves, anything and think of and then put you together. An album of various various images from there. And then what about taking that to a very high in salon that does high end makeup that has clients. That's a real funky place. Like say, you know, like Mac cosmetics. They would probably groove on this. Someone like a Revlon. It's very upscale. Proper. They're probably gonna groove on this. I'm not gonna take it there. Obviously, Revlon would give me the time of day. Mac wouldn't either. But take it somewhere where they have loud where they have music plan, where they appeal to this type of client. And ask him if you can throw ones out there out there. So you know what I love Teoh Have a reason to send my clients here to buy makeup, to do things like this. You may be surprised at what could happen. Put that in there. You don't think every girl that comes in is gonna pick up that book and check it out the possibility and that I loved doing Extreme album. That's an eight by 20 panel album from H and H, and we do the Pearl finish pearl on the inside. I want to look as good as it possibly can. And they also do those and some other sides, like 10 by 10 12 12 8 twenties. All those marketing images make him make him different. We'll do standard sizes. People are used to that and again, all of my albums like that I would never in a 1,000, years imagine getting pretty anywhere else. But agencies color lab, uh, like to sell one with every glam session. So we tried to figure out a way to incorporate that in every single session that we do that Hey, you pay for and say, How does it work? Instead of saying whether it's tons of different options, you can figure that out as you go. I want them to buy an album. So that's what I say. I say, well, what most of our clients do, which may or may not be true. I say what most of our clients do is they find themselves wanting an album because you're not really probably gonna wanna be large Wall Porcher hanging on your wall and loose prints. You know, what do you do with those of images like these? So I think to solidify and really be able to take advantage of this situation, I feel like an album would be the absolute best thing to do. Okay, we'll go with an album. So now I've already sold him an album for their regular session at Wal Portrait. Small gift prints, wallets, everything else. Now I'm able to sell him a whole another album. Does it happen for everyone knew. But does it happen occasionally? Yes, I get amazing images that I love. Absolutely. I never in a 1,000,000 years. Imagine in my small town that people would let me print out moth wings on an inkjet printer and glue them to their face and pay me to take their pictures. I'm never in a 1,000,000 years that that was possible. And let me tell you something. I got this idea of these wings here from Martha Stewart, living for months. She must've had a lot. She had a lot of free time in her past to cook up some wild ideas, buddy, because she has got some amazing ideas. So I get that. I got that from that magazine, told me exactly how to do it. I cut it out, included her face, and I loved it. All those old TVs and stuff that I had at the rock quarry with the wild makeup. Why not, man? It's there. Put it together. Make it work. Is that extreme? Yeah. This extreme that people look at that doesn't get your attention more than it would a girl standing. Going? Yeah. So why not do it? And when I get paid for now, if you're not, that this isn't your style. I'm not saying everybody go out and put fantasy style makeup on people, but I'm giving you an idea of saying, you know, he does a glam session. Well, what about me? What could I do that fits my brand as a session? Add on to get me to another point of where I want to be Toe open up another avenue to get a Mork clientele into my business. So same thing here. This girl right here, all American girl, she goes Teoh, She goes to a Christian school Christian High School. She's been going there ever since she was in kindergarten, very straight laced girl, and she saw that and her dad actually attended one of my workshops and he said, You know what? I want my daughter to have that I want. I have that experience that you just explain. I wanted to break out of her mold and I want her to do it Well, they came in. We did her makeup, her hair, this girl. She cried because she loved the way she looked so much when she saw that, she said, Never in a 1,000, years thought that I would look this good, doing something this crazy. And then I talked to her. Daddy owns a fabrication shop, and I talked to him just a few weeks ago and he said, Man, let me tell you something He said. I think that really changed Britney's confidence level. You know, he said, I see her just not as timid anymore about stuff you know, So you can also do a lot of good in people's lives by things. Try and find the good and everything. Try and find something that's gonna be really good for you, but it's gonna also be good for your client.

Class Materials

bonus material with purchase

Senior Posing Guide
Blair Phillips Discounts

Ratings and Reviews

David - Muse 10
 

As an experienced photographer myself, this class was both helpful and inspirational…we're never too experienced to learn from someone. Blair is really a lot of fun to watch and listen to. He has a way of making things fun with his high energy and dry sense of humor. To be completely honest in my review of this class, the lighting and posing sections, while VERY good, have been done over and over again by lots of photographers and didn't offer much in the way of new ideas. The real value was in the customer service and marketing techniques presented here. Blair's use of video as a marketing and communication tool with his clients is very unique and sparked TONS of ideas I would like to implement in my studio. His simple pricing structure and the way he presents it to his clients is also unique and has helped me rethink some of my own methods. "That being said" (Blair should appreciate that phrase) this class is totally worth the price and will continue to be a good reference for me. Some photographers are excellent at their craft but are dry teachers; others are great teachers but their "real-life" work doesn't live up to their classroom presentations. Blair is the real deal and makes this class very exciting.

a Creativelive Student
 

Blair is great. This class is packed full of great info and is a genuine good hearted person.. Really like his approach with high school seniors. I recommend it.

a Creativelive Student
 

This has been my favorite class on Creative Live. I loved how Blair explained exactly how he landed dance and sports contracts. This class was packed full of ideas for marketing and selling products. There was just so much great information. Thanks, Blair!

Student Work

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