Originality is Still the Key

When I was thinking of what to write about, I started thinking about what has been one of the main keys to our success, and that elusive thing is originality! We discovered the concept of being original when we started shooting the black and white Relationship portraits 15 years ago when everyone else was shooting only in color! Wow, was that different! Then, adding to that, we cut people’s heads off! Well, not in a real life-threatening way, but in our imagery. We wanted to cut through the clutter to get right into the child’s face or the baby’s eyes or whatever the subject might be. This concept was against all that was being taught at that time which was to back way up, make the portrait pictorial and the subjects so small that you had to get a 30×40 to even see the faces! And then there was the fact that we set up a darkroom and hand-printed every image when everyone else was sending all of their work to a lab and you see why we stood out!
In today’s marketplace, you can see what we started nearly 15 years ago around every corner and the concept of “baby parts” in a 9-opening mat is not so odd, but it was original way back then! When the public caught on, we were on a rocket ride straight up and our sales went through the roof! Those were the days, as they say. The public really loved seeing their loved ones’ faces close up and they loved the drama and simplicity of our Relationship portraits.
In fact, here we are in 2010, still shooting Relationship portraits nearly 60% of the time. As the years have progressed, we have finessed our Color Studies and they are in high demand as well. As most of you know, we also added Beau Visage, a trading up division that offers painted portraits in 2005, and that division is coming along nicely, but it still has room to grow which we are working on right now. The important aspect is to be original, no matter what the medium.
Along with being original, you must try to be the first as well. Being first allows you to capture that particular “territory” in your client’s mind. With the Relationship portraits, we were both original and first, and we own that “brand” not only in our state, but virtually everywhere we go. In the book “Positioning, the Battle for your Mind” by Al Ries and Jack Trout, they lay out a complete strategy on how to position your business for success. I would recommend this book, and in fact, I just purchased a follow-up book about this topic called “Re-Positioning: Marketing in an Era of Competition, Change and Crisis” by Jack Trout and Steve Rivkin.
As I close this blog, I challenge you to find originality in your photography style. What makes you different? Why would a client choose you over a competitor? What do you offer that would entice a client to come to you? How can you keep your clients from leaving you for someone else they see as more original? I believe the answer to these questions may very well be the difference between the success and failure of your business in the coming years!
Have a great week! Bev
































