balancing business and art

artist/photographer: primarily concerned with producing excellent work
business person: purely profit minded
artist/photographer in business: producing quality work while still being profit minded

the goal is to be an photographer/(artist) in business. being a staunch business person will take out the emotional element that brides are looking for and being purely an artist/photographer will leave you broke.

therefore with every wedding your goals should be:

a) make the wedding party comfortable and have them love the photographer

b) produce solid work
c) turn a profit and sustain a profitable business
d) keep a relationship with clients after wedding

all the goals listed are equally important and interconnected, if one is to be a successful artist in business. look at it this way: if the photographer makes the bride comfortable and she loves you; she will recommend you to others and in return this means more profit.

a purely business minded photographer once said to me "my goal is to turn an 80% profit, i don't care if people think i am a shitty photographer."

as photographers our primary product is emotions, which are tied to the photographs we sell. a photograph when viewed by a bride incurs how she felt  in that moment. since photographs are the vehicle of emotions, then my rationale is this: someone who does not care about the quality of their work, generally does not care about the emotions they are selling. therefore a shitty photograph may reflect a positive emotional moment but it will never make her love your work or you.

to balance these 4 goals can difficult, because as one may be developing their photographic style while they are in business. there is a few ways it can be done. e.g. have some skilled business person(s) take care of the business if you are purely artist minded. if you are business minded, one way is to outsource your post production. 

or find a balance by putting in double time:

a) master your craft: photographic technicals and post processing

b) learn leadership skills

c) study and learn to market, sell, advertise, brand

d) work on being friendly, genuine, sociable.

e) learn to network

f) know when you need help and knowing where to find it

the key is not to let profit out weigh quality work or the emotional element outweigh profit or vice versa.

keep kewl!