Photography and Business With Double Exposure Show

In this episode, Petro and Sophia talk about customer service and having integrity in your business. Sometimes things go wrong. You'll screw things up from time to time as a business owner. And you won't be able to make everyone happy 100% of the time. But when you take a moment to fix the problems you cause (or don't cause) you'll have even happier clients than before the problem arose. Listen to this episode to hear some of our stories. Links & Sponsors If you're looking for a new CRM for your new or growing creative business, we have a special treat for you! Get an extra 30 days with your free trial when you sign up with Táve! That's a total of 60 days free! Click this link to sign up with our favourite CRM for creatives. Do you ship or mail goods to your customers or clients? Well, for our Canadian listeners, we have the BEST online platform to help make that easy, save you time, gas, and money. Sign up for your free account with Freightcom using the promo code SOPHIA and start shipping with all the major national carriers, wow your customers, and make your life easier. Tap right here to sign up. Thanks to Benjamin Edward for our artwork and Bensound for our theme music.

Candra and Sophia successfully completed their first annual business building and planning retreat, and Sophia wants to share what she learned! Listen to this episode for a glimpse into what they did and some ideas for how you can do it for yourself and your own business. Links & Sponsors If you're looking for a new CRM for your new or growing creative business, we have a special treat for you! Get an extra 30 days with your free trial when you sign up with Táve! That's a total of 60 days free! Click this link to sign up with our favourite CRM for creatives. Check out Buffer and take your time back by scheduling your social media posts. Thanks to Benjamin Edward for our artwork and Bensound for our theme music.

In this episode, Petro and Sophia talk about how important your branding and content is. Is it best to agonize over every decision or get right to the point and get it out, already? You might be able to guess by the tone of that question what our opinion is. But there are a couple things you need to remember when addressing your branding and social media posts! First, you need to know exactly what your brand is, and next, that you adhere to that vision for your business in all of your social media posts, on your website, and in how you deal with people in general. We discuss the ups and downs of branding, what to consider, and what to relax about! Listen to this episode. Links & Sponsors If you're looking for a new CRM for your new or growing creative business, we have a special treat for you! Get an extra 30 days with your free trial when you sign up with Táve! That's a total of 60 days free! Click this link to sign up with our favourite CRM for creatives. Do you ship or mail goods to your customers or clients? Well, for our Canadian listeners, we have the BEST online platform to help make that easy, save you time, gas, and money. Sign up for your free account with Freightcom using the promo code SOPHIA and start shipping with all the major national carriers, wow your customers, and make your life easier. Tap right here to sign up. Thanks to Benjamin Edward for our artwork and Bensound for our theme music.

When was the last time you did any goal setting or planning for your business? Last month? Last year? When you started your business? So many creative business owners have done absolutely no goal setting or planning. But Sophia is making a point of setting goals and planning for 2020. Because if you don't have a goal in mind or a plan of how you'll reach that goal, then you'll just be floating through your business life with no direction or understanding of how to grow. Listen to this episode to get some advice on how to set concrete goals and how to plan for the year to come so you're prepared for success. Links & Sponsors Buy Masters of Sales: Secrets From Top Sales Professionals That Will Transform You Into A World Class Salesperson If you're looking for a new CRM for your new or growing creative business, we have a special treat for you! Get an extra 30 days with your free trial when you sign up with Táve! That's a total of 60 days free! Click this link to sign up with our favourite CRM for creatives. Do you ship or mail goods to your customers or clients? Well, for our Canadian listeners, we have the BEST online platform to help make that easy, save you time, gas, and money. Sign up for your free account with Freightcom using the promo code SOPHIA and start shipping with all the major national carriers, wow your customers, and make your life easier. Tap right here to sign up. Thanks to Benjamin Edward for our artwork and Bensound for our theme music.

Have you seen any Facebook ads lately for bringing in more clients, converting more leads, or generating billions and trillions of dollars of income all while travelling the world and living a life of leisure?! We all have. And they're annoying. The truth is that you don't have to do any of that crap to run a successful business. But so many of us fall into the trap of signing up for all the webinars, and buying all the courses, and paying for all the software... Listen to this episode for our permission to do your own thing and ignore all those exhausting, stress-inducing ads. Links & Sponsors If you're looking for a new CRM for your new or growing creative business, we have a special treat for you! Get an extra 30 days with your free trial when you sign up with Táve! That's a total of 60 days free! Click this link to sign up with our favourite CRM for creatives. Do you ship or mail goods to your customers or clients? Well, for our Canadian listeners, we have the BEST online platform to help make that easy, save you time, gas, and money. Sign up for your free account with Freightcom using the promo code SOPHIA and start shipping with all the major national carriers, wow your customers, and make your life easier. Tap right here to sign up. Thanks to Benjamin Edward for our artwork and Bensound for our theme music.

We talk a lot about wedding and portrait photograph on this podcast. But in this episode, Petro and Sophia are thrilled to speak with Jesse Dittmar, who photographs "people who are affecting the world." In other words, they're celebrities. Which we believe makes us famous adjacent adjacent! Listen to us totally geek out over Jesse's work, and hear all about how Jesse got his start in the industry photographing celebrities. For those of you who want to photograph things that are not necessarily "the usual," this is a must listen, and it's one of our favourite episodes to date. Links & Sponsors You can find Jesse Ditmar at his website and on Instagram. But we recommend that you purchase his latest book, Two The Book, right here! If you're looking for a new CRM for your new or growing creative business, we have a special treat for you! Get an extra 30 days with your free trial when you sign up with Táve! That's a total of 60 days free! Click this link to sign up with our favourite CRM for creatives. Do you ship or mail goods to your customers or clients? Well, for our Canadian listeners, we have the BEST online platform to help make that easy, save you time, gas, and money. Sign up for your free account with Freightcom using the promo code SOPHIA and start shipping with all the major national carriers, wow your customers, and make your life easier. Tap right here to sign up. Thanks to Benjamin Edward for our artwork and Bensound for our theme music.

We're back! Thanks for hanging in with us while we've been on hiatus. We didn't ask for permission. But Petro had a baby and Sophia has been busy, so we took a break! And now we are back. AND we've moved our podcast to a new platform (so you might need to resubscribe--tap here to find out where you can subscribe) and changed up our show notes, and we know you are going to love the new show just as much. And on that note, we want to talk about doing your own thing in business... With your own business, you should have your own policies and procedures. Catch Sophia's latest rant all about people complaining about doing the same thing over and over again that they hate, but neglecting to do anything any differently. Listen to this episode to get our permission to run your business the way you want to. Links & Sponsors If you're looking for a new CRM for your new or growing creative business, we have a special treat for you! Get an extra 30 days with your free trial when you sign up with Táve! That's a total of 60 days free! Click this link to sign up with our favourite CRM for creatives. Do you ship or mail goods to your customers or clients? Well, for our Canadian listeners, we have the BEST online platform to help make that easy, save you time, gas, and money. Sign up for your free account with Freightcom using the promo code SOPHIA and start shipping with all the major national carriers, wow your customers, and make your life easier. Tap right here to sign up. Thanks to Benjamin Edward for our artwork and Bensound for our theme music.

In this episode petro and Sophia are talking about delinquent vendors. As a small business owner, you'll need to work with all sorts of business people. And sometimes it doesn't go as well as you'd like it to. Here's the story: Sophia reaches out to each wedding vendor she works with prior to, and after the wedding. But recently she's been receiving automated responses from a few vendors which say something like, "We value your email and will get back to you shortly." But the hitch? They never get back to her. No! Vendors are ignoring emails, but promising that they will respond. This is not a good example to set, especially to people in your network who may refer you for future business. Some of these vendors were on Sophia's preferred vendors list, but because they neglect emails (and even direct messages on Instagram), Sophia doesn't trust them to respond to clients she sends their way. In fact, after recording this episode, Sophia has now hired one vendor for 2 jobs herself which she would have normally hired other vendors for. But because they are unreachable, she's moved on to someone else. The moral of the story is to respond to your emails! Respond to your DMs! And don't send use generic autoresponders for every single email that you receive. Let's talk about that for a minute... Imagine every time your clients email you, they receive the same autoresponder! It's horribly annoying and impersonal. So unless you're on vacation, switch off your autoresponders. So. Don't be a delinquent vendor. Respond to messages. Stay in contact with your network. It's the only way you'll build a good reputation. Share your thoughts in our Facebook community Double Exposure Show Group. Use code DELAUNCH to receive a free tshirt of your choosing with the purchase of a bag at our new shop F8 STYLE! If you're looking for a new CRM for your new or growing creative business, we have a special treat for you! Get an extra 30 days with your free trial when you sign up with Táve! That's a total of 60 days free! Click this link to sign up with our favourite CRM for creatives. Thanks to Benjamin Edward for our artwork and Bensound for our theme music.

This week Petro and Sophia take a deeper dive into marketing for your small business. Networking is so much more than just meeting someone and handing them your business card. So in this episode we tackle what we think are some key strategies to networking well: Being memorable. This means knowing your business, being kind, and being interested in the people you meet. No matter who they are! Don't just shove your business card in people's hands. Get to know them! Making casual connections. Never try to sell on your first meeting, unless you know for a fact that a person is interested. This can backfire. Instead, connect with people on a deeper level. Networking is about more than just business. It is about knowing each other. Following up with networking connections. Send emails, schedule coffee meetings, and write handwritten notes. Reconnecting with networking connections over the long-haul is an essential part of networking effectively. Catch the podcast in video form! Subscribe to our YouTube channel here. Share your thoughts in our Facebook community Double Exposure Show Group. Use code DELAUNCH to receive a free tshirt of your choosing with the purchase of a bag at our new shop F8 STYLE! If you're looking for a new CRM for your new or growing creative business, we have a special treat for you! Get an extra 30 days with your free trial when you sign up with Táve! That's a total of 60 days free! Click this link to sign up with our favourite CRM for creatives. Thanks to Benjamin Edward for our artwork and Bensound for our theme music.

In this episode, Petro shares a quick story of networking gone wrong, and the unexpected consequences of networking poorly. Have a listen, and tune in to the next show for our advice on how to network properly. Catch the podcast in video form! Subscribe to our YouTube channel here. Share your thoughts in our Facebook community Double Exposure Show Group. Use code DELAUNCH to receive a free tshirt of your choosing with the purchase of a bag at our new shop F8 STYLE! If you're looking for a new CRM for your new or growing creative business, we have a special treat for you! Get an extra 30 days with your free trial when you sign up with Táve! That's a total of 60 days free! Click this link to sign up with our favourite CRM for creatives. Thanks to Benjamin Edward for our artwork and Bensound for our theme music.

This week Petro wanted to talk about something a bit more positive than our last few episodes. So we decided to share some of our favourite non-business tools which we think give us an added edge in business. Here's our top 3's. Sophia's: My Kindle, which I use to read many business books including Networking Like A Pro and How to Win Friends and Influence People (which is $0.73 in the Amazon Kindle Store). I'm also currently reading Genius Foods: Become Smarter, Happier, and More Productive While Protecting Your Brain For Life. My Apple TV, which I use to watch Netflix... And also host in-person photo viewings and print consultations. I can use the Apple TV to use my TV as a second monitor, so I can show my clients their photos on a large screen. My Bluetooth Eye Mask which I use to block out light and sound. This is especially helpful when I'm travelling and want to get a good sleep. You know how I like my sleep, and as someone who grew up in the country with very little light polution and unexpected sounds, staying in a hotel in a busy city might mean that I don't sleep so well, but blocking everything out with one of my favourite podcasts helps me get a better sleep and feel more together in the morning. Petro's List: Audible and audio books, because sometimes you just don't have the time to sit down and read, but you really want to get through that business book. Some books are even offered on Kindle and Audible, and you can switch from reading to listening when you need to. I listen to audio books when I'm driving. Apple products. This might sound an awful lot like Sophia's Apple TV, but I'm a particular fan of the Apple HomePod, and how all of my devices sync and make my life easier. Rigid work lights! I've talked about these things on previous episodes. I've replaced my strobes with Rigid work lights because not only can I use them with my existing light stands and accessories like umbrellas and softboxes, but they are constant lights, light weight, and durrable. They run on rechargable batteries. And all of this put together makes them super easy to transport. You can find them at your local hardware store, and they cost a fraction of the cost of strobes and come with a lifetime waranty, so no need to replace expensive bulbs. Catch the podcast in video form! Subscribe to our YouTube channel here. Share your thoughts in our Facebook community Double Exposure Show Group. Use code DELAUNCH to receive a free tshirt of your choosing with the purchase of a bag at our new shop F8 STYLE! If you're looking for a new CRM for your new or growing creative business, we have a special treat for you! Get an extra 30 days with your free trial when you sign up with Táve! That's a total of 60 days free! Click this link to sign up with our favourite CRM for creatives. Thanks to Benjamin Edward for our artwork and Bensound for our theme music.

Have you ever been photographing a wedding, when in walks Uncle Bob with a massive camera rig, and sets up right at the end of the aisle? Guest photographers can be a serious problem for professional photographers. Recently, Sophia had this exact experience at an unplugged wedding ceremony. She had to diplomatically convince the man to put his gear away. Thankfully, the bride had been very clear prior to the wedding that no guests were allowed to be taking photos, so Sophia felt 100% confident relaying this message. But when she told the guest that the bride would be mad if he was taking photos he said, "She won't be mad at me. I've done this before." Though it took some creative fenagling, some stubbornness, and some reiteration, the man did ultimately spend the ceremony in his seat. Here's our best advice for dealing with characters like this: Have a conversation with your clients. While you might have a clause in your contract stating that there will be no other cameras present at every wedding you photograph, it is best practice to discuss this policy with your clients, because they might have different expectations. Know whether they want their family and friends to take photos, whether they want their family and friends to stay seated, or whether they want absolutely no electronics in the hands of their guests. Make a point to introduce yourself to other photographers and amateur photographers. Often couples will warn photographers of family members and friends who work in the field or who are die-hard hobbiests, because they tend to bring their cameras everywhere. With a clear understanding of your clients' camera policy, shake hands with each of these people. Often with a simple friendly discussions they'll say something like, "I don't want to be in your way. Just let me know if I'm blocking you," or will completely stay out of your path. Offer to hire amateur photographers for the day. If your clients say that there will be another photographer present who will be taking photos because "they're just starting out and want to get some porftolio shots and experience," offer to hire them for the day! Reach out to these guests prior to the ceremony, invite them to meet with you before-hand, and come up with a plan for how you can work together. This will give them real experience, you might pick up a future employee, and you'll have more photos to add to the clients' album. Stay positive, be courteous, and smile. Or as Petro says, don't be a rockstar. Throwing a fit and storming out of the wedding because Aunt Edna stood in front of you for the kiss will only give you a reputation of being a diva, and that will not bode well for future business. Catch the podcast in video form! Subscribe to our YouTube channel here. Share your thoughts in our Facebook community Double Exposure Show Group. Use code DELAUNCH to receive a free tshirt of your choosing with the purchase of a bag at our new shop F8 STYLE! If you're looking for a new CRM for your new or growing creative business, we have a special treat for you! Get an extra 30 days with your free trial when you sign up with Táve! That's a total of 60 days free! Click this link to sign up with our favourite CRM for creatives. Thanks to Benjamin Edward for our artwork and Bensound for our theme music.

This week we are talking about everyone's favourite topic, delivery! OK, I lied. It's not everyone's favourite topic, but Petro and Sophia do our best to make it as interesting as possible. We tell you all about how we deliver our customers' products and the goodies we include to make the whole experience positive. We also get into what you should do after you deliver artwork. Listen here to catch the details! How do you package and deliver products for your clients? And what do you do after they've been delivered? Share your thoughts in our Facebook community Double Exposure Show Group. Use code DELAUNCH to receive a free tshirt of your choosing with the purchase of a bag at our new shop F8 STYLE! If you're looking for a new CRM for your new or growing creative business, we have a special treat for you! Get an extra 30 days with your free trial when you sign up with Táve! That's a total of 60 days free! Click this link to sign up with our favourite CRM for creatives. Thanks to Benjamin Edward for our artwork and Bensound for our theme music.

This week Petro and Sophia weigh in with our opinoins on the Meg Bitton controversy. Meg Bitton, if you didn't know, is a talented child photographer. She frequently publishes series of photographs which garner a lot of attention and scrutiny, and recently came under fire for a series of portraits she did of children on the streets of New York City. She's being accused of sexualizing and objectifying young girls. If you have no idea what we're talking about, read this to hear our description of some of these photos and our response to the controversy. In short, we believe that every photographer is an artist, and deserves the right to explore her life experience through photos. We do not agree that these girls are being sexualized and objectified, and instead challenge those who are totally squigged out by these photos to ask themselves, "Why?" In fact, when we quickly compare Meg's photos to the promotional material for popular TV series Dance Moms, we think Meg's photos are quite tame. And more importantly, by not recognizing Meg's photos, we're sweeping the modern reality of many young girls across North America under the rug. By choosing to look at these photos as deplorable filth that shouldn't see the light of day we are simultaneously ignoring the fact that many in our communities live like this. And if we don't like it, we should do something productive about it... not post nasty comments on Facebook from the comfort of of our pjays. (As much as we love our pjays.) What do you think?? Join the conversation in our Facebook community Double Exposure Show Group. Use code DELAUNCH to receive a free tshirt of your choosing with the purchase of a bag at our new shop F8 STYLE! If you're looking for a new CRM for your new or growing creative business, we have a special treat for you! Get an extra 30 days with your free trial when you sign up with Táve! That's a total of 60 days free! Click this link to sign up with our favourite CRM for creatives. Thanks to Benjamin Edward for our artwork and Bensound for our theme music.

Charging credit cards is something every small business owner should consider at some point. Petro and Sophia both find the process very useful when it comes to getting paid swiftly for work because our clients find it convenient. But many small business owners do not like the processing fees attached charged to businesses for processing credit card transactions. There are a couple things to consider. Listen to this episode to learn about what credit card processors might be best for your business. We also explore whether you should charge a processing fee for credit card transactions, whether you should increase all of your prices to compensate for processing fees, or whether you should offer incentives to clients who pay with cash or free bank transfers. Use code DELAUNCH to receive a free tshirt of your chooseing wiht the purchase of a bag at http://f8style.com Use this link to get an extra 30 day free trial on Táve! That's a total of 60 days to set up your new small business CRM at https://tave.com/join/happyppl Thanks to Benjamin Edward for our artwork and Bensound for our theme music.

Use code DELAUNCH on checkout at http://f8style.com and receive a free t-shirt of your choosing with your purchase of a bag! This episode starts off with Sophia admitting that she's shifted to using the auto settings in Lightroom to save time while editing weddings... You may have heard us rant about focusing on things that make you money and getting off of social media. Well this is very much related. Think about it! If whatever you're doing is not creating the results you want it to, change it! The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. So when your business isn't creating the results you want, be prepared to make some changes. For example, Sophia is joining BNI to open herself up to new networking opportunities, and taking a step back from social media marketing. Tip of the week is to keep track of where your paying clients are coming from. Review those results regularly, and put your focus on building out your popular sources rather than trying to bring in clients through methods that aren't working. Schedule an annual assessment of your business each year to do things like this. You can track where customers are coming from in your CRM. If you don't have a good CRM, check out Táve! It's our recommended CRM of choice: https://tave.com/join/happyppl Join the conversation on Facebook at http://doubleexposure.show/facebook Thanks to Benjamin Edward for our artwork and Bensound for our theme music.

In this episode of Double Exposure Show, Petro and Sophia are discussing the type of photographer who stays up until 2am editing photos. Sound like you? Maybe you have a full time job, kids, and a partner, and the only time you can find to edit your photos is at night when everyone else has gone to bed. But we're here to tell you that this unhealthy behaviour will wind up with you feeling burnt out. Listen to this episode for our thoughts and advice. / Discuss this episode in our Facebook community at http://doubleexposure.show/facebook / Thanks to Benjamin Edward for our artwork and Bensound for our theme music. / You can find Sophia Lemon at http://sophialemon.com and Petro at http://luxephoto.co / And don't forget to subscribe!

Running a business requires endless patience. Inevitably you will work with people who don't value your work like you do, people who don't read their contracts, and a bunch of people who seem to ask the same damn questions over and over again. This week Petro and Sophia go on a rant about dealing with "stupid people," answering repetitive questions, dealing with hostile clients, and how to diplomatically respond to what we perceive as stupid questions. We also briefly discuss why it's so important that you don't devalue yourself by slashing your prices just to get more work. - Subscribe for more of our delightful rants and raves. - Join the conversation on Facebook at http://doubleexposure.show/facebook - Thanks to Benjamin Edward for our artwork and Bensound for our theme music.

In this episode Petro and Sophia are discussing professional courtesy, honesty, and transparency in business. Why? Because personal issues... Have you ever experienced social "drama?" Have you had a client come to after the job was done saying, "You didn't do what you said you'd do!" Well we have! People lie, people misunderstand, and people don't remember the original agreement. - Our best advice this week is to have a very specific and clear contract, to make sure that you are reviewing your contract with your clients, and to keep a paper trail. All of this can be done while remaining courteous and personable. For example, write things down! When you speak with your clients by phone or text message, follow up with an email outlining everything that was discussed. Always be clear. Always be honest. If you don't sell digital files, be upfront about it. If you require a meal be provided for you at the wedding reception, be clear about that before booking. If you only work with people with pools so that you can get a break from major heat waves (like we're experiencing right now in our part of the world), say that before booking so that everyone is on the same page. - Listen here for our advice on being clear and upfront, showing professional courtesy, and dodging major disagreements after-the-fact with your clients. - Join the conversation on Facebook at http://doubleexposure.show/facebook - Thanks to Benjamin Edward for our artwork and Bensound for our theme music.

This week Petro and Sophia are talking about how to ask, give, and take criticism as a photographer or creative small business owner. We find that, sometimes, people ask for criticism when what we are really looking for are compliments. How do you know when you're doing this? If you are disagreeing with the advice your peers are giving you, then you probably aren't looking for criticism. - If you have something to say about this topic, please join the conversation on Facebook at http://doubleexposure.show/facebook - Thanks to Benjamin Edward for our artwork and Bensound for our theme music.

This week we are talking about managing your client expectations and also behaving like a professional. - As you can imagine, you always, always, always want to do a good job for your clients. But sometimes we push ourselves too hard, saying that we are producing higher quality, when we are in fact doing our clients and ourselves a disservice. For example, if you're spending an hour editing each wedding photo you deliver, you're going to burn yourself out trying to edit each wedding and you'll likely be delivering each wedding to your clients late. - Listen to this episode to get some perspective on where to better allocate your time. - Join the conversation on Facebook at http://doubleexposure.show/facebook - Thanks to Benjamin Edward for our artwork and Bensound for our theme music.

This week, Petro and Sophia talk about shaking things up, changing our businesses, and reevaluating our routines. Because over the years as a business owner you're going to go through times when you're bored and lacking passion. But that doesn't always mean that it's time to move on from your business. It might just mean that it's time to tweak things just enough to bring that passion back into your life. - Join the conversation on Facebook at http://doubleexposure.show/facebook - Thanks to Benjamin Edward for our artwork and Bensound for our theme music.

In this episode of Double Exposure Show, Petro and Sophia sit down with former wedding photographer and entrepreneur Lee Mann to discuss his exit from his business. When Lee discovered he'd lost his passion for wedding photography he slowly put less and less attention into it and found himself making mistakes that hurt his clients. He knew it was time to leave, but leaving a business everyone associates you with isn't exactly easy. - We are constantly telling you to leave your full time gig and give your side hustle your full attention when it's what you're truly passionate about. But what happens when you grow out of that business? Listen to this episode to find out. - Check out Lee's new podcast The Infinite Game on iTunes. - Join the conversation on Facebook at http://doubleexposure.show/facebook - Thanks to Benjamin Edward for our artwork and Bensound for our theme music.

As a business owner, you are creative and engaged in many passions in life. But for anyone who has tried yoga, you know that when you start out trying to stand on one foot, you might fall over. Life is all about balance, and focusing all of your attention on your business and neglecting every other joy in your life will leave you tired, overworked, and unproductive. So this week Petro and Sophia are discussing how they find balance in life in order to keep on top of their personal lives and business lives. - Join the conversation on Facebook at http://doubleexposure.show/facebook - Thanks to Benjamin Edward for our artwork and Bensound for our theme music.

In this episode, Petro and Sophia take a quick look at the new social platform, Vero, and what implications it might have for small business owners and (deep breath) Facebook. If you're a business owner with a social media presence and a page on Facebook, you might want to have a listen to this episode! - Thanks to Benjamin Edward for our artwork and Bensound for our theme music.

This week Petro and Sophia are talking about a topic that is important to both of us. And that is bullying and cyber bullying in business. You know that we hate the fauxtographer movement, and that we both think it is important to open up and share with other photographers who are just starting out. With that in mind, we have seen too many business owners try to virtually clobber each other online. In this episode we are taking a stand and saying that it is not cool to be mean in business. Have a listen! - Join the conversation on Facebook at http://doubleexposure.show/facebook - Thank you to Benjamin Edward for our artwork and Bensound for our theme music.

Join the community on Facebook at http://doubleexposure.show/facebook - Find the links for this episode at http://doubleexposure.show/70 - If you're in a routine with your work and not advancing, then listen to this episode. We expect you've gotten a little too comfortable with your life the way it is and have stopped kicking the necessary butt to move you and your career forward. - So many people are afraid of change just because it might get a little uncomfortable. But that discomfort is so worth it when you can look back on your when you're 80 and not once regret that discomfort. - Thanks to Benjamin Edward for our artwork and Bensound for our theme music.

Petro and Sophia have more to say on the topic of breaking convention. This week, we ask that when you're asking for advice that double check with yourself that you aren't actually asking for validation. Because if you're really asking for validation, then you need to have a different conversation with yourself. Confidence comes from within. You're not going to get it right the first time, and if you do, you probably won't get it right the second time. - Get the show notes and links for this episode at http://doubleexposure.show/69 - Join the conversation on Facebook at http://doubleexposure.show/facebook - Thanks to Benjamin Edward for our artwork and Bensound for our theme music.

Get the links for this episode at http://doubleexposure.show/68 - Ship better with Freightcom. Use the promo code "Sophia" at http://doubleexposure.show/freightcom - Friend of the show, Candra Schank, recently had an idea! She wants to sell one frame. This one frame will come in a select number of sizes and colours, and this will be her bread and butter product. If her clients want a more custom piece, she'll turn it into an experience and take them to the framer to have their custom frame dreams come to life. However, when she presented this idea to the framer, she was told, "No. You need to have 4 options." And the options he gave her were nearly identical, with only a few variations that her clients wouldn't care about. This is what we are talking about this week. Petro and I are sharing why it's a great thing to break your own trail and forget about what everyone else thinks you should do. Listen to this week's episode for a few of our stories and shenanigans, and to hear the advice we give Candra. You'll also catch our friends at Carbon Based Business Units giving us some serious props at the end of this episode. - Thanks to Benjamin Edward for our artwork and Bensound for our theme music.

Get the show notes and links at http://doubleexposure.show/67 - Recently Petro had an unfortunate interaction with Tank's vet which included some name calling and slander on Facebook. In fact, it all took place on his vet's business page. We don't want to see this happen to you. Because as a business owner, you should be acutely aware of the impression your behaviour is giving off. As a listener of this show, we hope that you are giving off a professional and pleasant impression. In this episode we share a couple stories and tips on how to interact on social media when someone has a different opinion than yours. Here is a quick run-down: Leave it alone and cool off. Read the whole post. Don't just read the first thing that makes you angry and then respond. You need to grasp the full intention of the post first. Stop not helping. Especially if someone is asking for help. Also, if you want to disagree with someone else's advice because you don't like what they said or how they said it, refer to step one. Read your tone objectively. While you might think that you are giving important information to the conversation, others might read your tone as angry or rude. Be aware that you might offend people. You can't go through life making everyone happy at all times. Ask yourself, "Is this something I might want to delete later?" Don't post private conversations. Especially when you are just looking for someone to validate your feelings. If that's what you are looking for, chances are you're not sure that you were in the right to begin with. Remember you can't go back. Once it's on the Internet, it could be out there forever. Refer to #4 and #6, and reread your post or comment objectively. Be sure it's something you absolutely want to say. - Join the conversation on Facebook at http://doubleexposure.show/facebook - Thanks to Benjamin Edward for our artwork and Bensound for our theme music.

#66 Podcasts We Listen To by Sophia Lemon & Petro

Join our Facebook community on Facebook where folks just like you are sharing all about working in creative small business: http://doubleexposure.show/facebook - Save on shipping this year! Sign up for Freightcom with the code "Sophia" at http://doubleexposure.show/freightcom - We have a beef with you. Yes, you. YOU, the type of person who doesn't share your knowledge with "the competition," because you're afraid they might steal your ideas. Here's the truth: business competition isn't what you think it is. Especially in creative industries like ours. Take for example, small businesses like photography. Both Petro and Sophia believe that if a photographer can't succeed, then no one will succeed. If we are constantly dropping our prices to undercut our competition, then none of us will be able to pay our mortgages. Our clients will devalue our work, because we'll be telling them collectively that our time and talent is worth increasingly less. Instead of looking at your competition as people to be squashed, let's think of them as people whom we wish to succeed. Because if that new photographer on the blog improves and increases her prices to the same as yours, then you will both be telling your local market that what you do has value. OK, so what about sharing? Let's be realistic, no one has had a unique idea in 100 odd years. Mini sessions have been around forever, everyone can deliver prints on metal, and a wedding album has been a standard in wedding packages for, well, ever. If you have ever been on Pinterest, read a message board, taken a college course, or picked up a magazine, then you have been influenced by others in your field. Don't hoard all that information as if you're the only person who knows. (Shhhh!) Don't be afraid to share because you think your competition might do it better. Don't be afraid to share because you think your competition will put you out of business. Instead, share! Then bust your butt to provide your clients with a better experience. Treat them nicer. Send them more thoughtful gifts. Take a course on sales to learn how to better pitch to your leads. Learn how to make the booking process easier. Grow your mailing list. Connect with more people on Instagram. Hone in on your niche market and provide them with a better service than they could have ever imagined. Share more! Because we are doing ourselves a disservice by whining about not being able to bring home the bacon because there is too much competition. - Thanks to Benjamin Edward for our artwork and Bensound for our theme music. - Get the links for this episode at http://doubleexposure.show/65

Not long ago, friend of the show, Candra Schank, showed Sophia a local photographer's Facebook account which seemed to be blowing up. Candra thought something was amiss about it... and there was. This photographer had way paying for Facebook likes. And not only that, but engagement on her posts. Each post had the exact same number of likes, the exact same number of shares, and the exact same number comments from the exact same people. We have a problem with this! Because this means that this photographer is getting absolutely no engagement from real life people; her target market! Here is a very quick outline of how the Facebook algorithm works: When a a real-life Facebook user engages with your content he or she will start seeing more of it because, presumably, they like what you're putting out in the world. Not only that, but Facebook will start serving your content to more users like that person. However, if your content gets no engagement (or in this case, no real engagement), then your content will be shown to fewer users. Listen to this episode and don't let yourself fall into the trap of purchasing social media likes or engagements! - Join the conversation on Facebook at http://doubleexposure.show/facebook - Thanks to Benjamin Edward for our artwork and Bensound for our theme music.

This week we have a special guest! Malia Remtula is the Sales Director of Freightcom. You've heard us totally nerd out over Freightcom, but if you haven't here's what we think: it's amazing! - Use the promo code Sophia at http://doubleexposure.show/freightcom to have your account automatically activated! - Join the community on Facebook at http://doubleexposure.show/facebook - Thanks to Benjamin Edward for our artwork and Bensound for our theme music.

Get in the Facebook community RIGHT NOW... This week we have shared a screenshot from one of Sophia's favourite Facebook communities regarding refunds. We want to know what you would do if you were in this photographer's position. Join here: http://doubleexposure.show/facebook - Check out the show notes for this episode at http://doubleexposure.show/62 - Get Sophia's Picture Perfect Guide at http://pictureperfect.guide - Thanks to Benjamin Edward for our artwork and Bensound for our theme music.

Find the links for this episode at http://doubleexposure.show/61 - Join the conversation and ask YOUR questions in the Facebook group at http://doubleexposure.show/facebook - Get Sophia's Picture Perfect Guide at http://pictureperfect.guide - Thanks to Benjamin Edward for our artwork and Bensound for our theme music.

This episode is all about listener questions. We're answering how to advertise on Facebook and how to reach your target market for photographers, small business owners, and entrepreneurs. - Get the show notes at http://doubleexposure.show/60 - Join the conversation on Facebook and get your questions answered at http://doubleexposure.show/facebook - Get a copy of Sophia's Picture Perfect Guide at http://pictureperfect.guide - Thanks to Benjamin Edward for our artwork and Bensound for our theme music.

We are all about automation. For small business owners and professional photographers they are so integral in saving time and taking the thinking out of a lot of tasks that really don't need to be thought over. Petro and Sophia use all sorts of workflows and templates to take care of tasks from emailing incoming leads, to sending out galleries, to reminding customers of their print order quotes. Listen to this week's episode for examples of how our workflows and templates look and to get started working on your own. - Need a little more help getting started? Join the conversation on Facebook at http://doubleexposure.show/facebook - Get Sophia's Picture Perfect Guide at http://pictureperfect.guide - Thanks to Benjamin Edward for our aardvark and Bensound for our theme music.

Get the show notes at http://doubleexposure.show/60 - Join the community at http://doubleexposure.show/facebook - The truth is that in small business, accountability is a huge part of your success. If you cannot set a goal, map it out, and work towards achieving it, you will never achieve it. So in this episode Petro and Sophia are sharing our best advice for committing to projects in your business and working towards success. Here's what we talk about: Setting goals, mapping them out, and tracking them; doing what you say you're going to do; creating habits; and taking a chance. Because you don't have a chance if you don't take a chance. - Get Sophia's Picture Perfect Guide at http://pictureperfect.guide - Thanks to Benjamin Edward for our Aardvark and Bensound for our theme music.

In the last episode we told you that marketing is all about building relationships. What better way is there to do that than on social media. Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest make it so easy to engage directly with your target market without ever having to change out of your pjays. But how the heck does one get started? I mean, there's so many options, which do you choose? And after you set your profile picture and cover photo, and invite all of your friends, how do you use them to make money? That's what this episode is all about. Petro and Sophia go over the super simple strategies to transform your social media profiles into lead-converting machines without the headache or nervous breakdown. Listen to this episode to learn how to choose the right platforms, schedule your posts, choose the right content and captions, use calls to action, and engage your audience. - Get our action steps at http://doubleexposure.show/57 - Get Sophia's Picture Perfect Guide at http://pictureperfect.guide - Thanks to Benjamin Edward for our artwork and Bensound for our theme music.

Social media has changed how business owners market their products and services. Gone are the days of relying on Yellow Pages ads and car graphics. Today, in addition to investing in brand recognition, you need to invest your time in building relationships with your potential clients. It so easy for businesses to connect directly with their clients. If you are not on social media building those relationships, trust us, someone else is. Here is a quick rundown of what we get into in this episode all on marketing for small business owners: 1) Marketing is no longer about brand recognition. It is about brand relationships. 2)Know who you're talking to (your target market), and talk directly to them. 3)Know your elevator pitch, and be sure it resonates with your target market. Keep a database. 4)Automate as much as you can to keep yourself sane. 5)Use storytelling to draw your ideal client in and capture their imagination. 6)All of your marketing material should point readers, listeners, and viewers to contact you somehow. That might be a link to your contact page, a button to message you on Facebook, or a call to action to connect with you on Instagram. These basics will help you get started with your marketing and keep you focussed. We will be going into more detail on each of these topics in future episodes, and we want to know what you want to hear about specifically. Join the conversation on Facebook and let us know what you want to hear at http://doubleexposure.show/facebook - Get Sophia's Picture Perfect Guide at http://pictureperfect.guide - Thanks to Benjamin Edward for our artwork and Bensound for our theme music.

This week we talk about our favourite tools for managing our photography businesses! Get all the links to our favourite tools at http://doubleexposure.show/episodes/55 - Get Sophia's Picture Perfect Guide at http://pictureperfect.guide - Thanks to Benjamin Edward for our artwork and Bensound for our theme music

Check out the Ellen video at http://doubleexposure.show/episodes/54 - Tell us what you would do if you were in Darren's position at http://doubleexposure.show/facebook - This episode tackles the story of Darren Hatt photographing his groom saving a child from a river. The story has gone viral, and Darren is getting some attention himself. How would you handle the publicity? Tell us on Facebook! - Get Sophia's Picture Perfect Guide at http://pictureperfect.guide - Thanks to Benjamin Edward for our artwork and Bensound for our theme music.

Get the show list at http://doubleexposure.show/53 - We've been recording for one year! Yaaaaaay! And we hope you've been learning something about photography and business. In this episode we want to share with you our favourite episodes from the past year. The episodes we think you absolutely need to listen to in order to equip yourself with the knowledge to run a successful photography business. - Join the community on Facebook at http://doubleexposure.show/facebook - Get Sophia's Picture Perfect Guide at http://pictureperfect.guide - Thanks to Benjamin Edward for our artwork and Bensound for our theme music.

Join the community on Facebook at http://doubleexposure.show/facebook - Last year while at a wedding, a groomsman grabbed my (Sophia's) second shooter's butt. The guy had been drinking and seemed to think he had developed a rapport with Katie, so while she was doing her job fixing the bride's veil for photos, he helped himself to a feel. She jumped and told him to stop. Katie asked that we discuss this topic this week. It's not too uncommon that drunk clients and their drunken family and friends will make their photographer feel uncomfortable. This kind of behaviour is called sexual harassment and both Petro and myself agree that it is inappropriate under any circumstances. Listen to this episode to get our instructions on how to behave should you feel uncomfortable working with your clients' wedding guests. Feel free to translate this information to other professional circumstances like working with boudoir clients, or doing headshots in a private space with a member of the opposite sex (or the same sex, for that matter). - Get Sophia's Picture Perfect Guide at http://pictureperfect.guide - Thanks to Benjamin Edward for our artwork and Bensound for our theme music.

Review us on iTunes for your chance to win a copy of the Aardvark! - Join the community on Facebook at http://doubleexposure.show/facebook - Both Petro and Sophia admit to using our cellphones in some capacity for our businesses. Sophia mostly uses her's for Instagram while Petro actually plays with his at jobs with some great results. We're not the only ones, though. Is it possible that smartphone photography is becoming a real, recognized professional thing? - Thanks to Benjamin Edward for our artwork and Bensound for our theme music. - Get Sophia's Picture Perfect Guide at http://pictureperfect.guide

Join the community and tell us how you'd handle client tragedy at http://doubleexposure.show/facebook - Natural disaster and tragedy cannot be avoided. If the hurricane in Texas has taught us anything, that is it. In fact, Sophia has witnessed a tragedy strike 2 weddings just this year with the loss of close family members. In both cases my clients came to me asking for photos to use at the funerals. I sympathetically obliged. - As a business owner you might find yourself caught between a rock and a hard place when tragedy strikes your clients. You'll struggle with putting food on the table while also wanting to lighten the load these people are saddled with. - In this episode Petro and I discuss how you should respond to clients when tragedy hits, and how you can protect yourself from being out of pocket any money. - Listen to the full episode and get the show notes at http://doubleexposure.show/episodes/50 - Thanks to Benjamin Edward for our artwork and Bensound for our theme music. - Get Sophia's Picture Perfect Guide at http://pictureperfect.guide

Join the community at http://doubleexposure.show/facebook - This is a quick episode as Petro and Sophia have absolutely 0 time! But it's an important one nonetheless. When was the last time you upgraded your camera? 1 year ago? 3? 10? Sophia hasn't updated her cameras for years... because she doesn't need to. And the truth is that your clients can't tell the difference between the Canon 5D Mark IV photos and the Canon Rebel photos. So before you rush out and put the latest equipment on your credit card, listen to this episode! We talk about the latest gear, third party equipment, and even memory cards! So listen up and save yourself a few (thousand) dollars. - Download Sophia's Picture Perfect Guide at http://pictureperfect.guide - Read the show notes at http://doubleexposure.show/episodes/49 - Thanks to Benjamin Edward for our artwork and Bensound for our theme music.

Find the show notes at http://doubleexposure.show/48 - Join the community at http://doubleexposure.show/facebook - This week Petro and Sophia Lemon are discussing media relations for photographers. The media is a stellar resource for free advertising for photographers, and it's easy to harness their reach to establish yourself as an expert in your area. Listen to this episode for our tips! - Here's the basics: * Learn to write press releases. * Connect with media professionals online and interact with them regularly. * Create a media list in your database. * Blog content your clients will find interesting and share it on social media to establish yourself as a resource. *Engage in news discussions in online communities. * Partner with charities and other groups to hold special events. - Leave us a 5 star review at http://doubleexposure.show/iTunes - Download Sophia's Picture Perfect Guide at http://pictureperfect.guide

Join the community on Facebook at http://doubleexposure.show/facebook - Download Sophia's Picture Perfect Guide at http://pictureperfect.guide - Leave us a review for your chance to win a copy of the aardvark by Benjamin Edward at http://doubleexposure.show/itunes - There's so many reasons why you might want to work with a charity. And when you're first starting out you'll likely be approached to donate your time and services. You might choose to work with a charities because you're passionate about a particular cause, you'll get some publicity out of it, to meet new clients, to feel good, or to get a little bit of a tax break. However, photographing charity events might not be great portfolio-building exercises. Instead, when working with charities you need to consider how you'll make money in the long run. It sounds greedy, but you can absolutely be charitable while also building your business. Listen to the episode for the details! - See the show notes at http://doubleexposure.show/episodes/47 - Thanks to Benjamin Edward for our artwork and Bensound for our theme music.

Join the Facebook community at http://doubleexposure.show/facebook - This week Petro and I (Sophia) decided to have a little bit of fun and discuss some of the things we learned in college. These aren't the things we use over and over in our business. Instead these are the things we learned which were out of date when we learned them, or which we never needed o know. - Included in this week's episode: Dreamweaver and Flash, 3:1 lighting, Light metering, Background lights and hair lights, Rule of thirds, Diffused lighting, Selective colouring and other editing. - Listen for a little chuckle, and share the things you've learned on the Facebook community!