I run my little studio out of my home. My favorite question as people are looking at my sample photos on my walls is; "Did you take these photos?" My answer: "Oh, no... I only display my competitor's photos."
Regards,
Mark
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
Often times, I help design wedding albums with my couples that hit $3000 - $5000. Occasionally, a couple will get upset with me because of how expensive the album ends up being. I tell them we can go through the album and eliminate photos to get the cost down. After going through the album once or twice and having a difficult time cutting photos, they usually say something like, "There are too many good photos, I just can't cut anymore."
Well, gee whiz, what an awful problem to have. I guess they'd be happier if I did a POOR job capturing their wedding day so they would have LESS pictures they'd want to own.
Regards,
Mark
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
The number one question I get - always with new customers whom are unfamiliar with our setup - is "How does this work?" I usually give them a straight answer, but sometimes I say "We take pictures, and you buy them."
I have plastic 4x6 frames that are attached to our viewing station monitors with Velcro. In the frames I put any special information or advertise specials we'd like to promote on that day. It does no good; people prefer to ask questions rather than read.
When using a long telephoto (I have a Canon 400/2.8L) I usually get "How far can you see with that thing?" I still don't have a standard snappy answer, but I usually have some fun with it: "Exactly as far as I can see without it, only more so." or "I can see Baltimore through this thing!" or "You couldn't imagine just how far I can see with this thing." or I might point and say "You see that tree over there? I can see it through this lens." Sometimes, if she's really cute, I'll just play it straight and provide a little education. :P
The name of my business is "Event Photo Now". When I chose the name, I thought it was pretty self-explanatory...but time has shown that people don't seem to grasp the concept. When I answer the phone, people usually say "Is this Event Photos?" I ALWAYS respond: "Nope. It's Event Photo Now. This is Terry. How can I help you today?" I don't chalk this up so much to my customers being dumb, but perhaps ME being dumb when I picked a name people would have a hard time with. Still, it's annoying. I mean, the name is spelled out on my business cards and website. Are three words in a row just too much for some folks?
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
Last weekend my wife and I visited a local heritage site. I had my camera over my shoulder while we watched the fire hose buggy races. My camera was being bumped by the shoulder to shoulder crowd so I cradled it in my arms on my chest. The lady in front of me saw my camera and asked if I was a photographer. I replied "No I only carry this camera so people will let me go to the front so I get a good view" She dutifully moved aside to let me through. - Here's your sign -
Great thread Norm - keep stimulating our brains cells.
Cheers
Chris
__________________ "Never Stop Learning"
All Nikon Digital www.photos-now.ca
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
Just yesterday at the practice session for a KART race I was handing out my flyers. I explained how I work to the father and son, photos will be on the web by Sunday night after the last race (I know Norm , the dreaded web!). As I was walking away the son ran up to me and pointed to my $89.00 package and said "I'll take this one". I guess I did not explain it well enough.
__________________ Jim
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
And what about loony offers to pay with competitor coupons, swaps/trades, autographed programs...
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Story time.
About 20 years back I was a doing grocery delivery round; invoices left with goodies on Fridays and $$ collection on Mondays. One very "rough" old lady was only getting a single loaf of bread, on Fridays. Poor lady. On the first and only occasion I successfully collected she was acting weird, she stank, and she was talking to herself. Senile maybe. I was suspecting she was a hermit type, living on the street and just hanging around this yard of a dumpy old place; complete with junk overload and cast of a 100 smelly cats. You've seen these places on the news.
Then the 2nd account was ignored, it mounted up over a coupla months. It was a sheer headache, a PITA. I left notes in her mailbox etc.
Comes a hot hot summer day, whilst out and about with my boss, he sees a glimpse of the old lady going in the front door. The know-it-all boss says "Come and watch me kid. I bet we'll get the money right now!"
We pull up like the SWAT team, and he sprints to the door. Luckily I walked. The front door of the home opened and from my vantage point, perhaps 30 paces behind, I saw his legs sort of give a bit. He let out a gagging noise and a hand grabbed a hankerchief out of his pocket to hold over his mouth. His other hand grabbed at a wall to brace himself. He briefly faced in my direction, took a mouthful of air, and then faced the lady again.
I cross the front yard, dodging piled up junk, and get to within 10 foot when this stench rips me up. Never in the field of human endeavor etc... but I keep walking toward the open door. "Hello" he says, "Time to pay the bread bill." That was it, the boss has finished asking for money and now he's heading OUT of THERE. "She's getting her purse. Get the money" he says going past, both hands on his face now.
"I'm coming" she says from inside. I'm holding my breath. She takes too long.... My eyes wide open, I say "While you're findng your purse, I'll check your mailbox for you Mrs _______." This was a brilliant-life-saving-neuron moment. I cannot over possibly over-exaggerate the scale of this stench.
The boss is in the car, in the driveway, next to the mailbox on the front fence, motor running and no doubt he's in gear, dreaming of the fresh air thats gonna come at him with his face out the window.
I stand by the mailbox and she appears with the purse and starts shuffling out across the front yard toward me. I'm calm and resolute, the Defcom level has dropped to just "smelly yard" again. She comes over and asks me to open her purse. "Arthritus" she says. I open the clip thing and hand it back to her and I hold out my open palm. She's squinting her eyes because of the bright sun and she reaches in the purse and says she can only afford 5 dollars. She carefully pays me -one at a time- 5 used and dried out tea bags. I kept a straight face.
We gunned it and we never went back anytime, summer or winter. Apparently the boss got a heap of beers at the Rotary clubs for his story. I kept the dried out teabags and taped them to a teamwork-motivational-endurance-type wall poster in the staff room.
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