Marketing with Email Lists, Awesome Airshow and Indoor Sports Photography Tips, and Much More! [Podcast]

Summary: In Episode 26 of the Improve Photography Podcast, Jim and Dustin answer listener questions about when to get a pro lens, online photography portfolios, and marketing strategies for your photography business. If you are reading this post via email or RSS, be sure to click the blue title of this post so that you can come to the website where the free audio download of this show is available. If you're new to the podcast, you can see all the previous episodes of the Improve Photography Podcast here. How to Subscribe to the Podcast on Your Phone or MP3 Player (free!) For iPhone/iPad/iPod listeners - Grab your phone or device and go to the iTunes store and search "Improve Photography Podcast."  This will help you to download the free Podcasts App (produced by Apple) and then subscribe to the show from within that app.  Every time I produce a new episode, you'll get it downloaded right on your iDevice. For Android listeners - Download the Stitcher Radio app (free) and search for "Improve Photography Podcast."  Or, if you have already downloaded a podcasting client, follow the directions in the next sentence. For podcast enthusiasts - If you already listen to podcasts and have a podcatcher that you prefer, the feed you'll need to add is http://improvephotography.com/feed/podcast For those who don't have a mobile device - You can always listen to the show by clicking the audio file at the top of this episode. Guide to Episode 26 [1:31] Airshow photography: how do you acheive proper prop blur? If you have too fast of a shutter speed, you're going to get a shot of the plane's propeller blades frozen, and you won't get any blur. A good rule of thumb is to take a picture with a shutter speed of somewhere between 1/20 "- 1/100". Of course, the best time to get a good shot of prop blur is when the plane is moving slower (when the plane is on approach). [3:19] I'm going on a cruise. What gear should I bring? One thing a lot of people don't realize is that most of the time on a cruise you're still moving at sunrise and sunset, which is the best light of the day. Because of this, cruises aren't necessarily the best option for photography. Having said that, Dustin suggests taking a really good walk-around lens (a 28-300mm lens is perfect for this) and possibly some genre-specific lenses (like a nice wide angle lens for landscapes). But really, pack light. You don't need to bring everything with you, and you really won't get better pictures if you do. Bring the neutral density filter for sure, but don't overpack your photography gear. For a good tripod, check out improvephotography.com/tripods to see what we recommend. [7:37] Is too much variety in an online portfolio a bad thing? This is really a tough thing to decide. Dustin suggests having a specific gallery for each category of photography - a gallery for macro, a gallery for portraits, etc. Jim suggests on your homepage, have a slideshow of just a few of your very best shots (not necessarily of any specific genre) and then users can go to the specific galleries to see certain genres. You can check out improvephotography.com/site for a tutorial on how to set up your photography portfolio using WordPress. Jim is also trying Squarespace right now. It's easy and quick to get started, but the themes either have small pictures on some of them or HUGE pictures that go off the screen and the site crops them for you. The jury is still out on Squarespace. :-) [13:00] What are some things you've found that are the best marketing tools for your photography business and small businesses in general? Business cards are great, but really that's not where you need to focus your initial time, energy, and money. We teach a 30-day Business class on photoclasses.com where we take you step by step through the process of creating your photography business. (If you follow our plan, you can have a business in 30 days!!) A few important things we teach in this class: