How to Make Money Taking Pictures
It should be simple. Take pictures. Make money.
Negotiation Katie (Question): Do you let people go if they say you’re out of their budget, or try to have some negotiation with them? Phillip Van Nostrand (Answer): Great question! If I feel like it is worth it for me I am always willing to negotiate, and even at the highest level of photography people are […]
Reflector JOHNNY (QUESTION): Thanks again for coming down and taking shots of Cohen. The few we seen so far are awesome. I’m wondering if you can tell me what that thing is called that you used to block/add light. Also, if there was a resource (webpage or book) that you would recommend. PHILLIP VAN NOSTRAND […]
Flashes and Lenses JOHNNY (QUESTION): Any advice on getting flashes and lenses for my Nikon? I have a couple Tamron lenses but I’m not sure they are doing the job my camera could do. It probably has to do with me not knowing how to shoot very well also, but I’ve heard Nikon is known for […]
How to Hustle in the Wedding Market DENISE (QUESTION): I want to shoot weddings in California! How do you hustle? PHILLIP VAN NOSTRAND (ANSWER): You can definitely break into the California wedding market! If you want to hustle, go look up Flutter Magazine and submit a wedding to them. Then go and set up a meeting with them […]
Photography Discounts JOSE (QUESTION): How do you charge for friends? I want to give photography discounts for my close friends, however I don’t want to feel like the services have to be free, cheap or even cost me. PHILLIP VAN NOSTRAND (ANSWER): Honestly, you should just charge what you would anyone else. Seriously, don’t give […]
Offering Incentives for Referrals TOM (QUESTION): Do you offer any incentives for referrals or anything like that? PHILLIP VAN NOSTRAND (ANSWER): No, at this time I don’t accept referral fees. For those who don’t know, referral fees are a somewhat controversial practice in the wedding industry where a venue or a wedding planner will take a 10-20 percent fee […]
Delivering RAW Photos Versus Edits TOM (QUESTION): When you deliver the final images to the clients, are you giving them duplicates of the ones you edit? In other words, delivering RAW photos as well as the edits? PHILLIP VAN NOSTRAND (ANSWER): As a rule I never give original images to clients, only edits. It’s like showing someone […]
Using SmugMug DENISE (QUESTION): Hi Phil, I am looking into SmugMug, is this something you have used before? PHILLIP VAN NOSTRAND (ANSWER): I used SmugMug for about 5 years or so! I canceled my account with them a couple of years ago! Only because I wasn’t using their service at all anymore, not because I […]
Editing in Lightroom RYAN (QUESTION): Hi Phil, what program(s) do you use for editing your photos? I’ve been using Lightroom, but I wanted to see if there is anything else that you recommended. PHILLIP VAN NOSTRAND (ANSWER): Lightroom is hands down the best solution for wedding, portrait, and event photographers. In Lightroom you are able […]
Starting Wedding Photography Bryce (QUESTION): Hi Phil, I was wondering how you originally got into wedding photography? Phillip Van Nostrand (ANSWER): Great question. Basically I did one wedding as a favor to a friend for 500 dollars and I was hooked from that moment on. [editor’s note: After that we met at a coffee shop […]