I just got back from Hawaii, and I’m excited. It was my fifth trip to Hawaii to teach, but photographically this was the best trip by far.

Why so? Well, this time, I had a couple of assignments.

On the drive over to the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, my daughter calls me and says, “Daddy, I need some photos of the volcano for my class at school. We’re studying the Earth’s crust, and I thought the volcano would be a good way to show it.”

Listen, with an extraordinary assignment like that; you give it all you’ve got! I knew I needed to do an outstanding job for this client. Besides, this allowed me to play with my new Nikon D3s.

I met this Park Ranger at the Volcanoes Park and decided to interview her since she was bound to know more about it than I did (it wouldn’t take much).

She knew just what to do when I told her about my assignment and the intended audience. We interviewed one take. I got the feeling she’d done this before – what a pro.

Here’s what we did in my daughter’s class. You can see it for yourself.

Here’s another assignment I did while on the island.

I’d been to the luau the Island Breeze produces in Kona. I asked the folks at the school where I was teaching if there was a way we could set up a shoot with these dancers. Don’t tell me luck has nothing to do with anything. One of the dancers with Island Breeze was actually in my class! Brooke Valle, the student, is also a professional dancer and travels the world full-time dancing.

I photographed the women dancers and one of the guys who is a fire dancer. They were excited. We photographed the women one night at the home of Kamehameha the Great, the first king to rule all the islands. The next night we photographed the fire dancer on the beach.

I used this to show the students how to silhouette the dancers and expose them to the sky at dusk, which makes for a great-looking sky but puts dancers in the dark. Then I showed them how to use remote Nikon TTL flashes to light up the dancers and make them pop.

Here are the examples:

These self-assignments, well one assigned by my daughter, forced me to preplan. The photographs were better than on past trips and were a lot of fun. Want better travel photos? Do some research and preplan. You’ll be glad you did.

Here are some of the student’s first attempts working with studio lighting and off-camera flash after a few days in class.

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In February, I go to Hawaii to teach at a photography school. We’ll cover Lighting, the heart of photography, and Business Practices in Photography, the lifeblood of the business. Below are some points we’ll cover that might work for your industry.

Finding Clients

Before you start building a database of names, determine your niche. Targeting the specific audience, you need to address will make your research and set-up time more productive.

Get Organized

Software programs such as Microsoft Office has Outlook, Word, Powerpoint, and Excel help organize your material. Also, these programs are integrated with Microsoft Word and facilitate merging your contacts into a snail mail or email.

You write one letter, and the software will merge your contact information into each letter personalizing it. Likewise, you can write one email and personalize it to a long list of contacts. 

It is pretty standard for me to think of a great tip that might help me get some jobs that I send out to a few hundred or thousands of contacts. Instead of the email coming to them with “To whom it may concern,” it is personalized with their name, like “Dear Steve.” 

What To Do With All The Collected Contacts

Set up files in a database for the company’s name, the personal contact’s name, their address and phone numbers, email, and website address. Assign each contact to a category.

I specialize in photographing people but setting up a category for companies who hire photographers who photograph people is too broad. By assigning a contact to a category such as “Education,” I can send a promotional piece to only those contacts in the education field. Assigning multiple categories to individual contacts further refines target marketing.

Contact management software has space for making notes. Keep this up-to-date as new information about your client comes to light. Use this field for their Facebook page and other information that doesn’t fit in any other field.

Parties (some parties) are an excellent way to build your database. Attend the “after-hours” events many civic and trade organizations sponsor that are designed to promote getting to know people and businesses in the area. Usually held monthly, these events are great ways to meet many folks and have fun doing so. It beats sitting at home with a computer.

Work The Room 

Be sure you know your two-minute “elevator talk” about your business. Find someone you know. Get them to introduce you to the person to whom they are talking. Exchange a business card and ask if you can follow up at another time for coffee or lunch. Be sure to give that person your full attention while with them, but move on after about five minutes. Remember, almost everyone in the room is there for the same reason you are, to meet people and find clients. 

Be Relevant/Current 

I recommend the students read industry magazines. Photo District News helps keep photographers informed on happenings in photography. It is filled with the latest trends and techniques, business and legal news, and new product reviews. Contact information for magazines interested in your work can usually be found on the masthead. Many magazines are online today. Read some back issues before contacting them. Offer a story idea to the editor. If you did your homework, your concept should reflect the trends that are going on in the industry or plug into the style of that magazine. 

Investigate – Dig Deep

Put on your investigative reporter hat and dig around for your niche. Use Google and type in your categories. Combine them with the word “organizations,” and you will find many trade associations. When you see their websites click on the “About Us” section. It often will help you know the image the company is trying to convey. This is invaluable if you contact them and land an appointment. Dale Carnegie said it best; “You can close more business in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get people interested in you.” 

Qualify Your Lead 

I know of a photographer who contacted a designer a few years. The photographer sent out beautiful newsletters and promotional material. One day the photographer dropped off a portfolio and met the designer. He asked if he was the person that hired the photographers. He said no, his boss picked the photographers; he just designed the pieces.

Connecting With A Client 

You can establish a business relationship if you find common interests with a prospect. In a prospect’s office, look at pictures and plaques on the wall, the books on the shelf, and anything that shows their interest. Commenting on that interest is an excellent way to start a conversation. People love to talk about their interests. Try to find common ground for a friendship. People are more likely to buy from a friend than a salesperson. Sales consultant Jeffrey Gitomer says, “If you establish common ground with the other person, they will like you, believe you, begin to trust you, and connect with you on a deeper level, a ‘things-in-common’ level. The best way to win the connection is first winning the person.” Finding clients is hard work. Keeping them is all-important.