I’m a jack of all trades. You name it, I’ve probably done it. And, in all modestly, I can say that in most cases I have done it well.
One trade I’m especially fond of is photography. I’m a photographer who loves to take portraits of people. But not just any portraits; I strive to take those that involve art as well as skill. You know the kind—the ones that evoke an emotional response, not just from the person being photographed, but from all who see the finished print.
Looking back, it was obvious that photography would play an important role in my life. I was taking pictures of anything and everything I could as I grew up. In my teenage years this progressed to creating things out of pictures. Here’s an example, although an embarrassing one: I recently found a collage I had created prior to the release of Adobe Photoshop. I had cut my own image from several photos and created a collage of myself. Then I scanned and printed it onto a single photo at the film developing company I worked for at the time. I realized that a photograph by itself could tell a story; but how much more could several photographs combined into a single one do?
As I entered the real world of making a living, I found myself working for a rather well known Fortune 500 photography company. This was during a pivotal era in the industry. At the time everyone was using film; but digital cameras had been introduced and were being marketed to professional photographers as a viable alternative.
However, like most new things introduced to an industry or marketplace, the digital camera was met with hesitancy and criticism.
Why the caution? Because digital was an unproven medium for business. Sure, the technology worked. The camera captured the image and showed you a preview in real time. You could then edit the digital image on your computer or immediately print it.
Still, there was hesitancy. No one had gone this route before; everyone was content with the way they had always done things. They were used to it. They were used to the process of shooting pictures and capturing their images on film. To sending the film off to a lab to be developed. To waiting for the proofs to be sent back to the store. To calling the customer to schedule a time for them to view their proofs. To waiting for the scheduled day to arrive to show the proofs and make a sale. To sending the order back to the lab to have the photos printed. To waiting a couple of weeks to receive the finished prints. To calling the customer back to let them know their photos were completed and ready for pickup. All in all, it was a very long process. It could take weeks from the day the photos were captured until the final prints were in the customer’s hands.
There was also criticism—of the quality of a print from a digital image, of the ability of the camera to capture the correct colors, of the clarity and durability of the prints …
To make a long story short, I looked beyond the perceived potential problems, saw the opportunity and seized the moment.
There was a tremendous business opportunity in the proper use and marketing of digital photography. I realized that and intuitively knew that change was coming, and that he who embraced change first could gain a tremendous market share.
I knew the photography business; I realized that the huge studio cameras that used film were cumbersome, heavy and not very practical for quickly growing a photography company. Those costly cameras could not produce a quick cash flow and they didn’t provide value to a customer through respecting their time.
I quickly purchased my first digital camera and studio light kit, grabbed my desktop computer and printer, and began to market myself to industries of busy professionals who used their photos on business cards. I embraced the new, and struck out on my own.
My competitive advantage and marketing angle was to go directly to my customers and provide them with the convenience of having a professional photo shoot from the comfort of their work environment. I was able to show them their photos immediately following their photo sessions and deliver the product instantly in the form of high resolution images on CD. This enabled the client to go to any one-hour photo developer and print the pictures they wanted in the quantities they desired.
This new business model allowed me to be in a new location with a whole new set of prospects every day.
Here is what was really exciting about this:
Through this I realized what has since become my