What Is a “Fine Art Print?”

A “Fine Art Print,” often referred to as giclee prints, is a high-quality reproduction of an image using premium materials. These materials include archival-quality paper and pigment-based, acid-free inks, ensuring that the print remains vibrant and fade-resistant over time. The paper for regular photographic prints often contains acid, leading to potential degradation over time. This can result in fading, brittleness, or even cracking as years pass. Zno’s prints serve as a great example of a fine art print. They come in a wide range of sizes, are crafted using top-tier archival inks and printed on acid-free art-grade papers with advanced large format printers. In short, these prints stand out for their longevity and quality.

What Images Make Good Fine Art Prints?

While the term ‘fine art’ can be subjective, it often refers to high quality, high-resolution images that resonate with people due to their subject, composition, emotion, and technique. These are stories captured in a frame, whether of beautiful landscapes, artistic portraits, unique street photography, or even still life.

How to Post-Process for a Fine Art Print

Printing introduces challenges that digital displays can forgive.  Here are some tips on editing and submitting your image for a fine art print:

• The image resolution should be high, ideally at least 300 dpi for fine art prints.
• Ensure that you’re editing on a calibrated monitor and that color corrections are made, considering the color profile that the printer uses.
• Use software tools like Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom to refine and perfect your image, zooming in on each detail prior to printing.
• Sharpen your photo to taste if needed.
• Upsample the image if needed. If you’re creating a large print, consider upsampling, otherwise known as upscaling, your image.  Some printers will do this for you, but the advantage of doing it yourself is that you have full control, and you can do it easily in Photoshop.

Choosing Print Materials

Your choice of material can enhance or diminish the impact of your work. For a classic look, archival-quality paper with a weight of at least 230 gsm is recommended. While glossy paper can make colors pop, matte finishes reduce glare.

For something different, consider canvas or even metal prints that offer durability and a modern look. The type of ink used, usually pigment-based, also matters as it ensures longevity and fade-resistance.

How to Choose a Fine Art Printer

While home printing has come a long way, there’s a marked difference when partnering with a professional printer. Pro labs like Zno, for example, bring expertise, quality control, and often access to better materials. Research printers that cater to artists and photographers. Reviews and portfolios can also guide your choice.

Making Money From Fine Art Prints

Making money from fine art prints is challenging in today’s world where artistic photos are reproduced and sold by big box stores like Target and Ikea, and beautiful work is uploaded for free to download on sites like Pexels and Unsplash. However, even if you don’t have the name recognition and artwork of more established photographers, fine art prints can still have a place in your photography business.

Beginner and Amateur Photographers – For beginner and amateur photographers, fine art photography can serve as a rewarding, physical embodiment of your passion.  You can create fine art prints for your home and your family and friends.

Wedding and Portrait Photographers – For wedding and portrait photographers, adding fine art prints to your product lineup can create a unique product and experience for your clients.  With the right presentation, a limited edition physical print carries more perceived value than a digital image.

Consider adding fine art prints as an order option in your Estore. This can be found by Zno customers in their online photo gallery, Zno Gallery. Or as an alternative you can always create a Fine Art Album, which is the equivalent of multiple Fine Art Prints put together. A great way to design a Fine Art Album is through album design software like Zno Designer, which can be used to design fine art albums for Zno or any other printing Lab.

Marketing and Selling Your Fine Art Prints

Defining and understanding your target audience is foundational. Are they art collectors, enthusiasts, or individuals seeking décor?  Are they your wedding or portrait clients seeking a unique presentation of your images for their homes?

Harness the power of the internet. A personal website acts as a portfolio and store, while other platforms like Etsy can broaden your reach. Collaborate with local galleries for exhibitions, or look for space at art fairs.

Finally, social media is your friend, especially platforms that prioritize visuals like Instagram. Showcase not just the final print, but also the process, behind-the-scenes moments, and testimonials.

Limited Editions and Certifications

Limiting the number of prints can create exclusivity and demand. Consider numbering each print and even signing them. Offering certificates of authenticity adds value and assures buyers of their purchase’s uniqueness and legitimacy. When pricing, consider the exclusivity, cost of production, and comparable market prices.

Packaging and Presentation

The experience of receiving a fine art print should be special. Use acid-free tissue paper, sturdy packaging, and consider adding a personalized note or care instructions. Such touches elevate the unboxing experience, enhancing the perceived value of your work.

Conclusion

The realm of fine art prints is a challenging yet rewarding avenue for photographers. It offers a means to not only monetize one’s passion but also to connect deeply with audiences, to present work in a format that transcends the fleeting nature of digital consumption.

The journey into fine art printing is as much about self-discovery as it is about mastering technique and marketing. It’s about understanding the value of your work and presenting it in a way that resonates with others. So, as you embark on this adventure, remember to stay true to your vision, continually hone your craft, and embrace the opportunities that arise.

Imagen is an AI-powered post-production suite that integrates with your workflow using Adobe Lightroom Classic. It will cull and color-correct your images using AI, as well as applying cropping, straightening, and subject masks. Furthermore, Imagen’s latest major update now offers cloud backup that seamlessly and automatically handles your project backups in the background.

Imagen states that their post-production process can help cut down on your workflow time by up to 96%! So, let’s dive into this review and see what the app is all about. What is it capable of? Which types of photographers should consider it? We’ll answer these questions and more…

Imagen Review | Technology & Features

First, how does it work? Imagen starts as an app on your desktop. (It’s available for both Mac and PC) The app simply looks through a catalog (Lightroom LRCAT) of your photos and trains itself to process photos exactly how you like them. This trains the AI and creates a profile (you can create more than one, too!) …then you simply use that AI profile to edit any other photos you wish.

Imagen continues to learn from your current edits as you go along, too. From within the Imagen interface, you can update your profile at any time by selecting it and looking for the menu options “Adjust AI Profile” …as well as “Fine-tuning History”. The AI will keep improving so that it can save you more and more time in the long run.

The AI profile creation and the editing of subsequent Lightroom catalogs take place on Imagen’s servers, to which you upload your LRCAT files. Note, however, that you’re not actually uploading your raw files, just the LRCAT file and its Smart Previews; this makes the upload (and download) process very fast.

I found that with my home internet, which was about 10 Megabits upload speed, it took just a few hours, and at our studio, with 60+ Megabit upload speeds, the 3,000+ image training catalog uploaded in under one hour!

You can also use Imagen Cloud to back up either original raw images, or images in a compressed full-resolution format. If you’d like to save space (and upload time) yet still have a cloud backup of your active workflow images and catalog, this option can save approximately 75% of the filesize of your original raw photos, by using lossy raw compression and not reducing the actual resolution.

Imagen’s actual editing speed is about 1/2 second per photo, so it won’t really matter how many hundred or thousand photos you want to edit each week; the AI can handle any workload.

What you want to know about Imagen, of course, is this: does the AI work? Yes, it absolutely does! We’ve used Imagen’s AI at our studio for literally tens of thousands of photos, (weddings of all cultures, and virtually every type of portrait session) …and it has saved literally hundreds of hours of tedious work. Our photography team is much more free to focus on capturing more photos and exploring new creative possibilities! We’ll dive a little deeper into the actual advantages and disadvantages of Imagen shortly.

Lite Personal AI Profile

Of course, while many professional photographers have already color-corrected thousands of their own photos, plenty more have not. In order to remove this potentially daunting barrier to getting started quickly, Imagen has an excellent alternative: a Lite Personal AI Profile.

To create a “Lite” profile, there are two very simple options: you can save a preset of a photo that you’ve already edited to your liking, or use any existing preset that suits your style! Load that preset into Imagen, and it will ask you a few questions about your overall editing preferences/style, and then generate a profile for you.

This is a perfect way to get started because, of course, you can immediately turn around and apply that profile to all of your current images, keep working with it until you get to 3,000, and then turn around and put that catalog back into Imagen for a full analysis.

Although our studio already had literally tens of thousands of images to work with, I think the Imagen Lite Personal AI Profile is a genius idea to get new photographers up and running almost immediately.

Imagen Talent AI Profiles

If you’re looking to dive into expanding your creative style even sooner, Imagen also puts the talent of multiple acclaimed professional photographers at your fingertips. This is possible using Imagen Talent AI Profiles. Simply put, the folks at Imagen have partnered with some very talented photographers who have lots of experience developing a unique editing style, and made those AI profiles available to you. This essentially means that you have immediate access to a profile that has already been through the 3,000+ image training process, and most likely a significant number of Final Edits changes, too.

Plus, once again, Imagen’s AI training system will allow you to fine-tune the profile to your taste, as soon as you get to 3,000 of your own edits, and/or using the “UPLOAD FINAL EDITS” tool.

Imagen Culling

Of course, the color-correction process actually comes second in a professional photographer’s workflow. The first step is to cull (sort) the keepers from the rejects. Imagen’s AI can now aid this process, too! It can kick out the blurry photos and blinking faces, keeping only the “optimal” smiles from each different pose you capture. It can even use its AI to pick the better composition of two similar photos, too.

Imagen’s Additional Tools

Aside from the main tasks of culling, editing, and workflow cloud backup, there are a few more technical details that we should cover. Imagen’s editing capabilities include some pretty advanced stuff, namely Subject Mask, Crop, and Straighten.

These tools do exactly what they imply, of course. The crop & straighten tool is uncanny, it is just very good at leveling photos with even the slightest off-kilter horizon or other lines that ought to be horizontal or vertical.

The Subject Mask tool will automatically find the subject in the photo and apply a mask using brushes. While this may sound like a built-in Lightroom feature now, Imagen actually applies a local edit to that mask as needed.

Simply put, not having to worry very much about these two previously time-consuming tasks is one of the biggest time-savers, indeed.

Latest Imagen Feature: Imagen Cloud:

As I mentioned earlier, Imagen has also begun offering a cloud backup service that works seamlessly with your workflow. After all, you’re uploading your catalog to the cloud, so why not turn that into a backup solution?

The obvious benefits are clear: Your images get backed up from the moment you commence your workflow! You can choose to either back up optimized versions of your raw files or back up full-res raws. (The former gives a saving of ~75% on file size while maintaining full resolution.)

Note that Imagen cloud backup does come at an additional cost. 1TB of space has been free during its beta phase, and after that, pricing is listed at $3/month for 500GB, (about 50K optimized photos) or $10/month for 2TB. (About 200K optimized photos). Beyond that, Imagen will customize a package for you.

Also note that privacy and GDPR compliance are upheld; of all the photos you upload, photos are only “looked at” (by the AI alone) to create Personal AI Profiles or perform subsequent edits..

Imagen Review | Who Is It For?

Whatever kind of photography you do, the more photos you have to edit, the more you should consider an AI solution such as Imagen. We’d call it a must-have option for wedding or event photographers who need to color-correct literally thousands of photos per month. Also, for any portrait photographers who work full-time and create even a few hundred (or “just” one or two thousand) photos per month, there is also a good value.

Theoretically, any type of photographer could also benefit from Imagen; we tested it on our landscape & travel photography as well and the results were gorgeous! However, if you’re only ever color-correcting a very small number of photos per month, you will have to weigh the value of time saved against Imagen’s $7/month minimum account balance, which works out to about 140 images per month. It is worth noting though that if you didn’t meet the minimum quota, those $7 will be translated into editing credits that will roll over until your next project is ready to be processed.

Considering their variety of pricing options, it is safe to say that it almost doesn’t matter whether you are a paid professional or just a hobbyist; either way, you will have to spend many hours editing your photos if there are thousands of them; and your time is valuable no matter what!

Imagen Review | Pros & Cons

If you work efficiently during the simple process of importing and uploading your photos, and then just let it do its thing, then Imagen should effectively allow for speeds of editing as many as 1,500 photos in under 10 minutes. The quality of the edits is excellent, and the savings in both time and stress are undeniable for any photographer who has ever felt buried under a mountain of post-production.

Having said that, there are a few key advantages that ought to be mentioned, as well as some disadvantages.

The biggest advantage is, of course, the immense amount of time saved. However, considering that there are now more and more AI photo editing solutions available, we have to ask a more important question: What gives Imagen an actual advantage over its competitors?

Simply put: the level of dynamic control over your work, combined with the actual quality of the work the AI does, is one of the best choices on the market. On the one hand, if you have 3K+ photos to feed into the training program, you can expect your “automated AI assistant” to be up and running in half a day, providing incredibly accurate results to your own historic style.

Then, as you progress, the ability to feed your adjustments back into the AI and continue training it is another huge advantage. Imagen will effectively save you a lot of time right away, and then only get even better with time!

On the other hand, if you’re starting from scratch, Imagen offers one of the best varieties of options for getting up and running without having to color-correct thousands of photos first. Whether you start with your own single edit and create a Lite Personal AI Profile, or you start with one of their Talent AI profiles, the gap between having virtually zero work already done and being able to deliver professional results to clients has never been smaller.

All throughout the process, photographers maintain control of their creative style and technical preferences, too. The seamless back-and-forth aspect of the process is intuitive and fast.

As far as drawbacks are concerned, at first you might have thought it would be problematic to upload every photo to the internet. This is simply not a problem, however, because you only have to upload the LRCAT file. Even with thousands of Smart Previews in a catalog, the upload times are very manageable even with modest internet upload speeds.

Furthermore, Imagen’s Cloud backup service turns this potential disadvantage into a major advantage! As I mentioned, you can either backup your original raw files, or you can use the compressed raw option and save ~75% on space without sacrificing actual resolution.

Last but not least, it is important to note that today’s AI-based tools are very power-hungry. For example, the latest subject masking features in Lightroom are no exception. So, to have all this work performed by Imagen actually frees up your computer to do other things, instead of being bogged down for hours if you had done all your own editing.

In short, the fact that Imagen functions via the internet constitutes a major advantage, in multiple ways, versus other cloud-based backup solutions. Especially when it comes to backing up your workflow on the cloud; Imagen makes most alternatives feel downright clunky and outdated if they involve either backing up low-res JPG images or full-res uncompressed raw images.

The only other concern that photographers may have is related to the value, specifically, the cost. With a per-image pricing structure, you must monitor your workflow volume. If you’re editing too many more than, say, 1,000 images per month, it will become preferable to switch to a flat-rate plan, the pricing of which is custom-tailored to your workflow volume and other needs.

Imagen AI Review | Conclusion

We can honestly say that Imagen has saved our studio innumerable hours in post-production. The results speak for themselves, and the system works smoothly from start to finish. All in all, it’s a business expense that pays for itself almost immediately, both financially and in terms of reduced stress and increased peace of mind.

Therefore, we highly recommend checking out Imagen; you have nothing to lose considering that they offer 1,000 edits for free! (See below…)

Imagen Pricing & Availability

You can get started by training an AI profile and editing up to 1,000 images for free, just by downloading and installing the Imagen app. You can also try out the Talent AI profiles or use their new Lite Personal AI Profile.

For those who are ready to dive in and use Imagen more, pricing options start with a per-image price of 5 cents per photo. (NOTE: culling is unlimited during its beta phase.)

The additional AI tools for crop, straighten, and Subject Masking can be added for 1 cent each. Therefore, if you edit approximately 1,000 images per month, and apply just a few additional tools here and there, you could expect to pay between $50 and $75 per month as per their pricing calculator.

There is also a minimum monthly fee of $7/mo, which comes out to about 140 images per month, without any additional tools used. Again, if you go a month without needing to edit 140 images, that balance will roll over to the next month!

You can install Imagen on as many computers as you want, and even upload/download catalogs from multiple computers at once.

Beyond the first 1,000 free edits and the $7/mo plan, Imagen encourages you to consider one of their fixed annual/monthly pricing options: “Annual Commitment” offers 18K/36K/72K photos per year, and “Enterprise” offers a personalized plan with 500K+ photos per year, and a dedicated account manager.

How to Get Photography Clients

1. Understand Your Ideal Client
2. Create a Website That Brings in Inquiries
3. Understand How Clients Make Decisions
4. Go Above and Beyond to Get People Talking
5. Get More People to Hear About You
6. Stay Top of Mind
7. Refine Your Post Sales Process
8. Ask for Referrals and Create Incentives
9. Bonus: The #1 Mistake That Guarantees Your Marketing Will Fail

1. Understand Your Ideal Client

The more clearly you understand exactly who you want to work with, the easier it will be to get them to hire you. Put yourself in the shoes of your ideal client and think about their lives and answer these questions:

• Where do they shop?
• What are their interest and hobbies?
• What websites do they frequent?

These questions represent a starting point. The better you can understand your ideal client and their lifestyle, the more effective your marketing will be. To increase your effectiveness, base your marketing strategy on your ideal clients.

What works for one type of client will be very different from what works with other types of clients. For example, how you market newborn photography should be entirely different from how you market headshots for CEOs because you are trying to attract two very different types of clients.

When you understand your ideal client inside and out, you can create a marketing plan that makes them feel like you completely understand their needs. This makes them much more likely to book you.

2. Create a Website That Brings in Inquiries

Your photography website is a helpful marketing tool that many photographers take for granted. It is your virtual storefront where clients form their first impression and decide whether they’ll hire you or someone else. You need to be intentional about how your website is structured so that it turns more visitors into inquiries. If you only blog client sessions, show your portfolio, and have a contact page on your site, you’re losing inquiries you could be getting otherwise. Luckily, many website builders available today are affordable and easy to use, and they include multiple features that will allow you to build a formidable online presence.

3. Understand How Clients Make Decisions

If you don’t understand how clients make decisions about who to hire, you may be unintentionally turning away clients that might have loved working with you. When you understand how clients choose a photographer, you can adjust your marketing message to make sure you’re giving them the information they need to make the right decision about working with you. You’ll attract the kinds of clients you really want to work with, and you’ll repel the kinds of clients that don’t value you and are stressful to work with.

For example, if you educate your client about what to look for in a photographer, they’re going to see you as an authority. They’ll be thankful that you helped them understand how to make an informed decision, making them more likely to choose you when they’re ready to select a photographer than someone else who hasn’t helped them in any way.

4. Go Above and Beyond to Get People Talking

When someone hasn’t hired a photographer before, it can be overwhelming to try and decide who to hire. People trust the opinions of friends and family, so they look to them when deciding on a photographer. People are much more likely to book you if they know that a friend or family member had a positive experience with you.

When you go above and beyond to create a remarkable experience for your clients, they’ll be happy to recommend you when they know someone is looking for a photographer. We reached out to our community of professional photographers for their thoughts on how to get more photography clients, and many pointed to using social media.

5. Get More People to Hear About You

Fantastic photos aren’t enough to get you clients if nobody sees them. Word of mouth advertising ranks high on the list of how to get photography clients, but it’s limited by the number of clients you have. You need more people to hear about your business so they can hire you.

Here are a few ways to get people to hear about you:

• Optimize your website to show up in search results: Many people look for photographers by looking them up in a search engine. The better you understand how search engines display results, the more likely you’ll be able to show up at the top of the list.
• Network: When you build relationships with vendors, businesses, and other photographers, you’ll be the person they rave about when prospective clients ask them for recommendations.
• Tap into the power of social media: Social media is powerful if used in the right way. Each platform serves a different purpose, so you have to understand their differences and figure out what works best on each one. For example, you can use Instagram Guides as a key marketing tool to get more people to hear about you.
• Know when to use paid advertising: Unless you know exactly what you are doing, paid ads are generally a waste of money. That being said, paid ads can bring in a lot of clients for very little money when you understand how to create ads that appeal to your client and how to make sure only your ideal client sees them.

6. Stay Top-of-Mind to Get More Photography Clients

If you want to get more referrals and get them now, then you have to be Top of Mind (this not only works with clients, but vendors as well!). The way you get Top of Mind (you and your business are at the forefront of someone’s mind) is by doing something for them and getting on their radar. Many times you don’t get referred by a past client or vendor because you simply haven’t done anything for them lately.

With current clients, stay Top of Mind by doing something for them every few weeks. It can be as simple as an email, call or note in the actual mail, or better yet, a perzonalized gift which helps them focus on their relationship (date night kit, anyone?) and is NOT about you and your photography.

Click below to hear us talk about a practical way to stay Top of Mind with vendors!

7. Refine Your Post Sales Process

If done correctly, in the post sales process, you can really separate yourself as a business person. This is your opportunity to get creative and think of spectacular ways to get referrals from clients. Word of mouth is 10x stronger than most marketing campaigns you can create using Facebook, radio ads, or whatever form you chose. On the unfortunate side of things, if someone has a spectacular experience with you, they are likely to only tell a few people to hire you. On the flip side, if they have a bad experience, they will be happy to tell ten people not to use your service within a day. Even with the numbers skewed against you, word of mouth is a powerful tool for photographers, and initially, it is the best way to launch your newfound business. This is why it is very important to focus on first performing remarkable work and secondly having a great system that makes it easy for clients to refer more clients to you!

8. Ask for Referrals and Create Incentives

Ask immediately after the sale. Mention to your client that your businesses runs mostly off referrals and would love to help out any friends, family or coworkers of theirs.  I have always been a personal fan of rewards. If you want me to refer someone to your business, reward me with something I want. If you do a reward system for referrals, then make sure you build that referral system with the client in mind. Really think about what would excite them to refer people to you.

Bonus: The #1 Mistake That Guarantees Your Marketing Will Fail

When you apply these tips to your business you’ll get better clients and more of them. You’ll be able to charge profitable prices and only work with the clients you really want. However, there’s one mistake that guarantees all your efforts will fail: not creating a marketing plan

It can be hard to find time to focus on marketing when there are so many other things to do in your business, but if you don’t take the time to actually do any marketing, you won’t see results. Creating a marketing plan helps to ensure you set aside time to put these marketing strategies into practice. The marketing plan outlines what you plan to do and gives a game plan to reach your goals. It helps you decide exactly when you’ll be doing each task so you can schedule time to work on marketing. To make sure your marketing plan attracts the clients you really want, it has to be customized to your ideal client and market.

More Info

If you need help creating a marketing plan or growing your business in general to get more of the clients you want, check out the Photography Business Training System. In this workshop, Pye Jirsa shares ALL of the strategies, templates, and workflows used over the past decade to build his photography studio

Award Details

Here’s a quick overview of important details regarding the Awards:

• Categories: Wedding, Family, and Portrait photography
• Deadline: September 30, 2023
• Winners announced: November 15, 2023
• Enter here: https://narrative.so/photography-awards

Meet the 2023 Judges

The esteemed panel of judges bring decades of experience to the table. Here’s a peek at what they’re looking for in a winning photo.

Melody Joy

Melody Joy (Melody Joy Co.) is a Destination Wedding, Elopement and Editorial photographer based in Edinburgh. When asked what she looks for in a winning image, Melody says, “I would look for… a unique perspective from a photographer’s eye. So if I see the image and can imagine being there, and it’s not how I would have shot it…it’s a unique perspective, something that stands out.” She encourages artists to enter to push their creativity and realize that others appreciate their work.

Jonathan Zoeteman

Jonathan Zoeteman (Socality) is based in Calgary, Alberta, whose work focuses on capturing the story in the image while exploring the relationships between individuals and the world around them. He says the awards offer an opportunity for photographers to challenge themselves creatively by shooting something specifically for the awards. He says, “There’s a power in photography that lets you frame things and leave things out… I love an image that leaves me questioning something or evoking curiosity.”

Kyle Wilson

Kyle Wilson (Hinterland Stills) is a wedding photographer in Chicago and Narrative’s Head of Industry Insight & Education. Kyle believes capturing the emotions of the day is paramount. For him, a winning photo will make him “feel like I’m actually there in the moment… shooting the wedding from the inside out.” Kyle says that entering the awards allows artists to curate their work and identify what’s great and what they want to do better – an incredible opportunity for anyone at any stage of their career.

Why Enter the 2023 Narrative International Photography Awards?

There are plenty of reasons to enter your photos into the 2023 Narrative International Photography Awards. Here are just a few:

• Elevate your presence in the photography community.
• Use it to help market your business.
• Get used to looking through your work with a critical eye, and also celebrate the amazing work you have been doing.
• Plus, there are prizes.

Hot Insider Tips from the Masters

We asked a few of the 2022 winners to share their perspectives on the awards and what contributed to their success.

Sarah DeShields: Website | Instagram

Sarah DeShields’ winning shot came from one of her “creative play days,” where she wanted to explore working with mirrors. It was a tricky shoot, but the end result took her breath away. She offers three points of advice for anyone entering this year’s awards:

• “Take down any walls inhibiting you from trying new things.”
• “Look for the work that speaks to you and makes you come alive.”
• “Don’t think too much about what you think other people will want to see.”

Erin MacFarland: Website | Instagram

Erin MacFarland’s winning shot captured a sweet moment between twin brothers, a bond she recognised and related to. She entered the photography awards because she likes to see how others react to her images and that she can create an emotional response. Her advice to this year’s entrants is to “pick an image that really spoke to you, something that really touched your heart… it’s most likely going to speak to other people too.”

Caitlin Trainer: Website | Instagram

Caitlin Trainer was inspired to enter the awards because she connected with the categories and felt she had images to share with the world. Her winning photo captures a fun moment with her two boys. She focuses on children and lets them lead the shoot to see what happens. She says to everyone entering the awards, “Don’t second guess yourself. Put it out there… jump in with both feet and give it a shot.”

Nathan Walker: Website | Instagram

Nathan Walker started out in family photography when his first child was born. He says shooting weddings is an opportunity to shoot family photography on a momentous day, so he always keeps his eye on the children to capture that once-in-a-lifetime moment. He recommends entering to help promote yourself: “I know for a fact that I’ve booked weddings on the strength of the work that I’ve shared that’s been awarded.” He recommends only presenting work that you stand by and pushing yourself.

Your Turn to Take the Spotlight

Your art deserves to be seen, and your story needs to be heard.

Don’t miss the opportunity to submit to the 2023 Narrative International Photography Awards. You can potentially gain international recognition, get exposure in the photography community, and contribute to a global cause.

If this sounds great to you, then you can enter today.

About the 2023 Narrative International Photography Awards

Now in its second year, the 2023 Narrative International Photography Awards celebrate photographers and their creativity. Since 2018, Narrative has put photographers at the heart of what they do, with a mission to revolutionize how photographers interact with their art with cutting-edge software. Narrative would like to thank the awards partners: Archipelago, Unraveled Academy, Queensberry, Studio Ninja, Pic-Time, and SLR Lounge.

Benefits and Limitations of Posing on Instagram from Desktop

Before getting in to the different ways to post to instagram from desktop, let’s review the benefits and limitations of doing so. There are several reasons one might want to post on Instagram from a desktop:

1. Image and File Management – Photos stored on a server or on your hard-drive are often easier to find and upload on desktop.
2. Better Photo Editing –  Desktops often have more powerful photo-editing software, giving users more control over their image quality and editing options.
3. Easier Typing – Crafting the perfect caption or response to comments is often easier on a full-sized keyboard.
4. Bulk Management – Businesses and influencers managing multiple posts can benefit from the larger screen real estate and multitasking capabilities.

Though Instagram has evolved to include some desktop functionality, there are limitations.  For example, features like adding a collaborator are only available on the mobile app.  We’ll review more of these limitations as we dive deeper into the different ways of posting to Instagram from a desktop computer.

How to Post Directly on Instagram.com on Desktop

A straightforward way to post on Instagram with Desktop is directly through the Instagram website.  However, this method gives you the least amount of features, and you won’t be able to do things like schedule your posts or add collaborators.  To post from instagram.com, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to instagram.com and log into your account.
2. In the left menu, you will see a ‘+’ icon with the word “Create”. Click on it.
3. Choose the file you want to upload from your computer.
4. Adjust the size, add your caption, and hit the ‘share’ button.

How to Post on Instagram with the Creator Studio

Instagram’s Creator Studio is especially helpful for those with business accounts.  Creator studio lets you post to Facebook and Instagram at the same time.  You can also schedule your content one month ahead.  To get started with posting on Instagram on desktop with Creator Studio, follow these steps:

1. Visit the Creator Studio.
2. Select the correct Instagram and/or Facebook account at the top.
3. Click on ‘Create Post’ or ‘Create Reel’

4. Upload your content, and add captions
4. Click Schedule or Publish.

Using 3rd Party Apps like Planoly

Third-party applications like Planoly can be beneficial for managing all of your social media.  This can be useful for scheduling content on multiple platforms and planning your social media calendar months ahead of schedule.  Of course, it does come with a monthly cost, which may or may not be worth it to you.  If you decide to go with this route, follow these steps:

1. Sign up for a Planoly account and link your Instagram.
2. Use Planoly’s dashboard to drag and drop your photos, plan your grid, and schedule posts.
3. Add captions, hashtags, and choose a posting time.
4. Planoly will either auto-post for you or remind you to post at your chosen time.

Device Mode on Chrome

You can also use ‘Device Mode’ from within Google Chrome which will allow you to browse as if on a mobile device, therein allowing you to upload from a desktop to Instagram.

Device Mode is there more for developers to test various screen sizes, site performance and such things, but this is a handy feature. To access it go to View>Developer>Developer Tools, and then you’ll see a little icon that looks like a phone and tablet in the top right which allows you to toggle the mobile site version on and off. and it’ll look something like this:

Conclusion

The desire to post on Instagram from a desktop is evident and, thankfully, there are now numerous ways to do so. Whether you choose to use Instagram’s native desktop site, the Creator Studio, or third-party tools, you can comfortably manage and upload your content without reaching for your phone. Just remember to stay updated with Instagram’s features and policies to ensure a smooth posting experience.

SaveSave SaveSave SaveSave SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

Why Diversify with Passive Income?

As a successful photographer, do you need to think about how to diversify your photography income? The thing is, even if you’re doing great in your career, relying on one income stream is risky. A sudden illness, life changes, or another global pandemic can come along and change everything. 

Give yourself the freedom to pivot when life throws you a curveball. Future-proof your business by leveraging your skills into multiple earning streams. A passive income side hustle can also provide a creative outlet where you can just be you, an outlet that isn’t dependent on clients’ demands.  With that said, here are 7 ideas for passive income in photography.

Teach Education or Mentor Online

Teach a Course or Start a Community

Sharing your knowledge and expertise online is a great way to create a stream of passive income. Platforms like Udemy, Skillshare, Kajabi and Coursera allow you to create and sell courses on topics you are well-versed in.   Once your course is created and published, you can earn money each time someone purchases it, watches it or subscribes to it.

An example of this is our very own SLR Lounge Premium. A word of caution though, this is quite challenging. Due to the unprecedented number of content creators and the vast amount of top-notch content available for free on YouTube, the oversaturated market necessitates that you effectively teach a unique skill set and foster the community.  This will take time and can quickly become a full time job.  If you’re interested in pursuing this route, see our article on The Best Online Course Platforms.

Sell Prints Online

One of the best ways to add passive income to your photography business is to sell prints of your client work to the guests of your events.  Online galleries such as Pixieset and Smugmug streamline the process so that order fulfillment is automatic and handled by a third party.  This lets you earn money from your prints without the need for active involvement in the printing and shipping process.

While you will have to come up with a strategy that works for you, here are a few tips:

• Ensure that purchasing is enabled in your galleries.
• Ask your couple to share the gallery with their family and friends.  Consider adding incentives or bonuses if the do so.
• Consider passing out cards to guests with a QR code to collect their email and send them a notification when the images are ready.
• Cull and curate the images so that you’re only showing the best of the best and so that you’re eliminating the duplicates.  A great image can get lost in a sea of repeats and below average shots.  To help you cull, consider using a tool like Narrative Select, but be sure to take the time and manually scan the final selections as well.
• Send email reminders during the holidays with special promotions on prints.

Sell Presets and Other Workflow Tools

Many photographers and content creators are willing to pay for tools that will help streamline their workflow and enhance their images. Selling editing tools such as Lightroom presets, Photoshop actions, or other tools to run a photography business, such as email templates or contracts, can be a great way to generate passive income.

In terms of presets, this is exactly what we have done for years with our Visual Flow Presets.  However, just like with education, the market is very saturated and competitive. So if you decide to pursue this route, make sure you’re offering something unique and be prepared for a lot of work.

Start a Blog for Affiliate and Sponsorship Revenue

Starting a blog on photography or a related niche allows you to share your knowledge and passion while also generating income through affiliate marketing. By recommending products or services you trust and use yourself, and including affiliate links in your blog posts, you can earn a commission each time someone makes a purchase through your link.

Here are a few affiliate programs to consider:

• Amazon affiliates
• Adorama’s affiliate program
• B&H’s affiliate program
• Affiliate programs for software such as Lightroom, Skylum, Shootproof, Honeybook, and more
• Affiliate programs for your favorite lighting gear such as Magmod or Westcott
• More!  Search your favorite brand plus the words “affiliate program” to see if they offer something

Sell Stock Photography

Although the popularity and profitability of stock photography have been affected by platforms like Pexels and Unsplash, it is still an option for generating some passive income. By uploading your images to stock photography websites like Shutterstock, Adobe Stock, or Alamy, you can earn money each time someone purchases a license to use one of your images.

Start a YouTube Channel

Starting a YouTube channel is another way to share your knowledge and passion for photography while generating income. By creating and publishing videos on topics of interest to photographers, and monetizing your channel through ads and affiliate marketing, you can earn money each time someone watches one of your videos.

What can you expect?  In the photography niche, you can usually expect to receive $2-$5 for every thousand views directly from Youtube.  From there, you can leverage the audience to land sponsorships with major brands, which will pay a wide range of rates depending on your audience and engagement numbers.

Start a Related Business

You may have other creative outlets that you can lean into to diversify your photography income. You could find a way to express your brand and reach a broader audience through unconventional methods. There are obvious photo-related accessories like postcards or zines, but think outside the box – the sky’s the limit.  We’ve seen photographers go on to launch successful marketing agencies, tech platforms and more!

For example, married couple Chris and Ruth naturally progressed into an unrelated side business – making hats. In an interview, they told the story of how they always wore hats when shooting weddings, and people started associating that with their brand. Over the years, they bought a lot of hats and decided they wanted to create a better product, so they did. Now, they have a side hustle selling straw and felt hats. Watch the interview below.

Capturing New Opportunities for Passive Income

Earning a living as a photographer means succeeding in a competitive and unpredictable market. By finding ways to diversify your photography income, you can earn more while enriching your professional life and opening new doors for your creativity to flourish. We hope you have found inspiration to enhance your photography career for a long and profitable future.

Generating passive income as a photographer requires some initial effort to set up, but with some creativity and dedication, it is possible to create multiple streams of income that require minimal ongoing effort. By exploring the options listed above and finding what works best for you, you can create a more stable and diversified income as a photographer.

Who or What Is ShootWith.Me?

For context, ShootWith.Me was created by two wedding photographers in the greater Philadelphia area who were tired of the hassle of finding and hiring help for their jobs. Nathan Desch, one of the founders, recalls, “I remember one busy fall season where every other post on my Facebook feed was from photographers looking for second shooters for their upcoming dates. In the comments, one person would share their instagram info, another would share their website, several people would be 400+ miles away and want the photographer to fly them in. It was a total disaster.”

The reality is that when photographers need to hire help for an upcoming job, they want to be able to compare apples to apples and find someone who is local and in alignment with what they’re looking for. Co-Founder Mike Morby remembers, “I would post needs on Facebook and it would take days to filter through the responses. With ShootWith.Me I create a job, see who is available, and have the need filled within a few hours, sometimes within a few minutes.”

Who Is ShootWith.Me For?

If you’ve ever posted a job on Facebook, only to have one or two people out of forty respondents be a good fit, then this review of ShootWith.Me is for you. Oh, by the way, if you ever have weekends without a wedding, and want to fill the gaps in your schedule, you’ll be especially interested in what we have to share in this review also.

In just a moment, we’re going to look at the pros and cons of ShootWith.Me to help you determine whether or not it’s a good fit for your studio and goals. Before we dive in though, it’s probably helpful for you to have a 30,000’ view of how the platform works so that you understand the differences between it and traditional job boards that you may be used to.

How Does ShootWith.Me Work?

ShootWith.Me is a marketplace platform where those who want to get hired create a profile, upload a portfolio, write a bio, add gear, skills, and other helpful info to give hiring photographers a good representation of who they are. From there, they add their availability and working radius. They also set their own rate for the different roles they want to get job offers for (more on this later).

Creating a Job Listing

When a photographer has a hiring need, they create a job and enter the details for what they’re looking for. They then see everyone who is local, available and in alignment with their job needs. They can subsequently view profiles of different users, see their portfolios, read reviews from other photographers who have worked with them and more. Those who are a good fit for their job, they can add them to the “Job Queue”. Think of it like a master list of everyone you’d be comfortable hiring.

Setting Up a “Job Queue”

Once the photographer has a solid list of candidates, they put them in the order that they want, set a response time, and then start their job queue. The offer goes out to the person at the top of the queue and they have a certain amount of time to accept or decline the job. If they decline or run out of time, the offer goes to the next person in the queue. When someone accepts the job, you get a notification and can continue communicating the details through the app or via email/sms.

Two-Way Reviews

After the job, both parties review each other. “Having reviews be a part of the platform from the start was non-negotiable for us. We needed a way to bring accountability to this side of the industry. We heard stories from far too many photographers about times where they hired someone, or were hired themselves, where the other party acted in a completely unprofessional way. When you know you’re being reviewed by the person you work with, you’re going to bring your A-Game every time”, says Desch.

We cannot get into all of the other features and tools of ShootWith.Me now, but if you’re curious, we recommend signing up for a free trial.

Pros and Cons

I want to take the next bit of time to share some Pros and Cons about ShootWith.Me so that you can determine whether it’s a good fit for you. Of course, this is just one person’s opinion. You may find that one of the things I like about ShootWith.Me is a turn-off for you, or something that I consider a Con is actually a good thing in your book. Let’s begin!

Pros of ShootWith.me

Easy Access to Reviews & Responses with Minimal Distractions

To start, I love that there’s finally a company that has a laser focus on changing the way our industry finds and hires help for our jobs. Posting in Facebook groups can be effective at times, but you have no way to read reviews of others who have worked with them. You also get sucked into distractions every time you check the responses of those who comment. ShootWith.Me provides structure and a solid workflow to hire and manage quality talent.

Budget-Friendly Subscription/Access

I love that I can both hire help for my own jobs and use the platform to fill the gaps of my schedule. Look, no matter how long you’ve been shooting, you’re bound to have seasons where bookings aren’t quite as high and you need to pick up some extra work. ShootWith.Me has a “value-based” trial which means you can create your profile, make yourself available and get job offers without needing to pay. You only become a paid user when you’re ready to accept your first booking request. The subscription prices are set up so that, on average, one booking covers two years of your subscription. Co-founder Mike Morby mentioned that ShootWith.Me is launching an update soon that allows new users to accept their first job without needing to become a paid user. “We know how much value this platform brings photographers, but also know that for many people, it’s new and that getting the full experience prior to paying can give them confidence that this is legit”. The ability to make hundreds of dollars off of ShootWith.Me before committing is pretty solid.

Reviews from Other Photographers for Hired Help

I love that I can read reviews from other photographers who have worked with people I don’t know. Anyone can luck themselves into a decent portfolio of images, so it can be hard to vet people without reading feedback from others. Real talk, the reviews on ShootWith.Me alone make me want to use ShootWith.Me exclusively to hire help because I no longer need to cross my fingers and hope that someone’s full body of work is at the same quality as their portfolio. I also need to know that someone is helpful, professional, and will represent my studio well- Reviews accomplish this.

Opportunities for All Levels

I love that ShootWith.Me serves the entire ecosystem of photographers. It doesn’t matter if you’re a seasoned pro and are only looking to hire help, or you’re an entry-level photographer who wants to build relationships by assisting- ShootWith.Me is going to be a great asset for you.

Community-Inspired Updates

I love that the founders of ShootWith.Me are constantly working to improve the platform. Morby says, “I have a multi-photographer studio and hire a lot of assistants and second shooters, while Nathan uses ShootWith.Me to get hired and find help for his own jobs. When we’re working to find solutions to problems our users face, I typically represent the best interests of hiring photographers and Nathan represents those who want to get hired. We don’t move forward with new ideas unless it serves both sides of the marketplace well. Both sides need to feel that the tools and features we launch are a win for their goals.”

New Partnerships and Tools to Look Forward to

I love that the ShootWith.Me roadmap looks amazing. When I asked Nathan about what was in the pipeline, he shared some items they’re keeping close to their chest for now but said, “We’re partnering with some big names in the industry to onboard large networks of photographers to get whole communities to begin using the platform at once. We’re also going to be expanding ShootWith.Me to serve videographers soon. The tools and features we already have allow users to get a ton of value, but we’re committed to refining the process to make it even better.”

Certification

I love that for photographers who want to build momentum and get hired fast, they can get “certified” on ShootWith.Me. ShootWith.Me has three courses (one for each role type) and assessments to validate the user’s proficiency of the content. Once a user passes, they get a certification badge on their profile that gives other photographers confidence in hiring them. The course content is meant to be baseline info that users need to know in order to fulfill the duties of working for others. If you don’t have any reviews on ShootWith.Me, the certifications seem like a great way to gain an edge on getting job offers.

ShootWith.Me and SLR Lounge teamed up to curate the content for the Lead Shooter Certification. If you want to get Lead Shooter Certified, first you’ll need to sign up for a lead shooter profile. Then, from your dashboard, click the button that says “Get Lead Shooter Certified.” Enter code SLRL2023 to get 25% off!

Cons of ShootWith.me

And now for some cons, although most are mild and can be overcome pretty quickly.

Have to Learn to Use a New Tool

I don’t love that it’s one more thing I have to learn how to do. The industry is always evolving and helpful tools pop up all of the time. If you’re a photographer who only hires help for your jobs once or twice a year, and you have a go-to person for it who is always available, learning the workflow of ShootWith.Me may not be the highest leverage task for you even though it’s not that complicated. One thing worth pointing out though is that it’s free to find and hire help – No need to worry about paying for it, regardless of the number of people you hire.

Not All of My Network Is Connected

I hate, yes, I said hate, that my entire network of photographers isn’t using ShootWith.Me. I have a handful of photographer friends who I’ve worked with in the past. Several of them are not on ShootWith.Me at the moment, so if I want to hire them, I have to send them a text to spell out the details manually. Until they join ShootWith.Me, it can be kind of annoying to manage some of my jobs on ShootWith.Me and some through Google Calendar and other tools. As they start using the platform though, this will become a non-issue.

Occasional Issues with Pay & Expectations from Community of Users

I really don’t like that some users have ridiculous hourly rates. Listen, I get it, some people have an inflated view of what they’re worth, but I did a second shooter search recently for an upcoming job and someone who looked very entry-level-ish was wanting $125/hour to second shoot. There were a ton of others who were available with reasonable rates, but I guess with a marketplace platform, some people are going to have unrealistic expectations. Founder, Nathan Desch, spoke to this, “We preach to users that they need to have value-rate alignment. This means, the value they deliver needs to be equal to, or greater than, the rate they charge. If there isn’t alignment here, you might get hired once, but it’s unlikely that photographer will hire you again. Repeat hiring is what has led many users to making over $30,000 in the last couple of years by second or lead shooting for others on ShootWith.Me.”

No “Job” Postings

When we first started, there were wedding photographer forums and job posting boards, but none of them allowed users to passively get booking offers from others. You had to constantly hustle and apply to jobs. When I started using ShootWith.Me, I immediately searched the dashboard for a list of jobs people posted to see if any were a good fit. I soon realized that isn’t how the platform works. There are no “job postings” because that is one of the problems ShootWith.Me is solving. Job postings create a lot of extra work for hiring photographers because they have to slowly weed through the bad to find the good- whereas on ShootWith.Me, they can do all of that vetting in a matter of minutes and then get back to more high leverage tasks for their business.

Not All Users (Community Members) Are Up-to-Date

It can be annoying that there are still some users who don’t quite understand how to use ShootWith.Me yet. It seems as if some people created a profile at some point and then forgot about it. When they get offers, they either aren’t available or they don’t respond to the booking request. If there are a bunch of people in the job queue, this isn’t a major issue, but if it’s a really popular date and there already aren’t a ton of people available, this can be a bit annoying. My hope is that over time, people will catch on and realize that when they get booking requests, they’re legit. New platforms take time to build momentum sometimes because they require a network of users to adopt it in order for everyone to get value. It’s kind of like Uber. When it first launched, you may have had to wait 30 minutes for a driver to be available. But as time went on and more people started using it, more drivers signed up and it became a much more efficient tool.

Pricing

While I can’t say that I love paying for another subscription, I do love that ShootWith.Me offers a “value-based” trial. I hadn’t really heard about this before, but when I reached out to Nathan for comment, he said the following:

“Our goal in building this solution was to give our users incredible value and only charge them once they’re ready to accept a job offer. Photographers get total access to the platform for as long as they’d like and don’t need to worry about becoming a paid user until they want to accept a job offer. They’ll be able to see all of the info and details when the offer comes through. The only thing hidden is the studio info for who is offering the job. When you get a job offer, you are the only one who is getting it. It’s not a massive “post” where you’re still going to be vetted afterwards. Hit “Accept”, and the job is yours. Typically, one job covers the cost of the subscription for two years.”

If you build some momentum and earn reviews, it seems like this is a no-brainer just on the time savings alone. If your goal is only to hire help though, you can do that completely for free.

Conclusion

In summary, I am incredibly excited about the future of this platform because it’s one of those things that only gets better as more people use it. Also, I truly believe that the founders understand the problems photographers face when hiring help and filling the gaps of their schedule, and they’re committed to solving them. As this ShootWith.Me review has shown, it isn’t a perfect solution yet, but it sure beats posting jobs on Facebook. One tip I have if you’re wanting to give it a shot: Once your profile is complete, invite your immediate network to join also. You can set them as favorites so that they’re easier to hire in the future. Having a few familiar faces appear in your search results can be really helpful for your first few jobs and may make all the difference in this becoming a regular tool in your workflow.

Linkedin Tips for Photographers

LinkedIn stands out as a professional network that offers unique opportunities for photographers to connect, collaborate, and advance their careers.  In previous articles, we’ve covered Pinterest for Photographers, Instagram and Facebook for Photographers; and in this one, we’re going to provide essential tips on using Linkedin for Photographers to build their network and market their services.

Build a Strong Profile

Your LinkedIn profile is like your virtual business card in the professional world. Start with a profile picture that reflects your professionalism while showcasing your personality.  Keep the following in mind:

• Profile Picture – Choose a professional picture for your profile that your network can easily and quickly identify as you.
  Cover Photo – Choose a cover photo that resonates with your audience.  This can be a beautiful image, a team photo, or a graphic that showcases your style and brand.
• Headline – Craft a compelling headline that encapsulates your photography focus or lets the audience quickly understand what you do. Tell your story, highlight your skills, and share your passion for photography.
• Featured Section – Use the “Featured” section to exhibit your portfolio, giving visitors a glimpse into your creative world.

Network and Connect

LinkedIn for photographers is more than just a platform for digital connections – it’s a networking powerhouse for photographers. Start by connecting with colleagues, mentors, clients, and fellow photographers. Personalize your connection requests to show genuine interest in building meaningful relationships. Expand your network strategically to include professionals who align with your photography goals.

Showcase Your Work and Make Announcements

The “Posts” feature on LinkedIn serves as your personal blog space. Share your photography insights, behind-the-scenes anecdotes, and tips on mastering the art. Visual content speaks volumes – utilize images to captivate your audience. Whether you’re discussing the latest photography trends or sharing your personal experiences, this platform lets you establish authority and engage with your audience on a deeper level.

Try to work this into your workflow, just as you would Facebook or Instagram.  For example, if you post a new blog entry to Facebook or a collage or images to Instagram, why not take the extra 5 minutes and post it to Linkedin as well?  Continue to track the effectiveness with the built in analytics and see if your content resonates with your network.

Consistency is key when it comes to personal branding. Ensure that your profile, posts, and interactions all reflect your unique style and creative vision. Through your content, demonstrate your expertise and perspective. A LinkedIn for photographers strategy is to use these posts to promote your photography services, workshops, and any special projects, reinforcing your position as a trusted photographer.

Join and Participate in Photography (and other related) Groups

LinkedIn Groups offer a unique opportunity to immerse yourself in specialized communities. Seek out photography-related groups to connect with like-minded individuals, engage in discussions, and learn from peers. Participating in conversations showcases your expertise and establishes you as an active contributor within the industry.

Try to join various groups based on the following characteristics:

• Your Location
• Your Photography Niche
• Your Larger Industry (Wedding, Newborn, Etc)

Find Photography Job Opportunities

The platform isn’t just about connections – it’s also a gateway to job opportunities. Explore job listings, freelance gigs, and photography projects tailored to your skills and aspirations. Customize your profile and messages when applying for positions to showcase your suitability. Recommendations and endorsements from your connections further enhance your credibility.

Get Testimonials and Recommendations

Client testimonials and recommendations from industry pros provide tangible proof of your skills and professionalism. Request recommendations from clients and colleagues who can vouch for your work. Don’t hesitate to endorse others as well – it often leads to mutual endorsements, bolstering your profile’s authenticity.

Use Analytics and Insights

LinkedIn’s analytics offer valuable insights into your profile’s performance and post engagement. Track views, likes, comments, and shares to refine your content strategy. Adjust your approach based on audience behavior to maximize your impact.

Linkedin provides information on the following:

• Page Views
• Visitor Demographics
• Follower metrics
• Follower Demographics
• Leads
• Content engagement
• Competitor Analytics

Use this information to gauge your success and adjust your strategy over time.

Conclusion

LinkedIn isn’t just a digital address book – it’s a dynamic space where photographers can showcase their talents, foster connections, and seize unique opportunities. By crafting a robust profile, actively engaging with others, and leveraging the platform’s features, photographers can elevate their careers, solidify their professional reputation, and open doors to a world of endless possibilities.

I’m willing to bet that many of you reading this probably have a LinkedIn account and like me, probably rarely use it for anything except to update your work history and accept ‘connections.’ We are missing out! If your target market are upper middle-class professionals, LinkedIn is a place to be. With LinkedIn, you’ll be immersed with millions of other professionally-minded people who are marketing themselves and networking with one another. Plus, if most of the photographers are on Facebook and Instagram (which they aren’t; many commercial photographers market themselves on LinkedIn), then wouldn’t it be a great place for you to differentiate yourself and your photography business?