Welcome to part two of what I thought would be just a few simple answers to a very direct question: “How’s business this year versus last year?”    David Ziser may have the best explanation of all: 

“Too many photographers wait for the phone to ring instead of making the phone ring.”  

No matter how you feel your business has performed in this bizarre economy, the reality is there’s business out there, but there’s a common theme from everybody I’ve talked to,

“I’ve never worked this hard in my life!”  

Cliff Mautner: There’s no question that the climate has changed a bit from last year. While I was able to meet my numbers, I was working harder than ever to maintain the status quo. The expression “flat is the new up” was an accurate assessment of the expectations of most businesses. In order to combat the apprehension of my wedding clients, I felt the need to add a bit of value to their collection in lieu of reducing my pricing – which I was dead set against. An added hour here, a flexible payment plan there, and things fell into place nicely. However, there was still a sense of trepidation, and each wedding booked felt like a monumental achievement.

Today, one year later, my clients appear more confident that their wedding won’t lead them down the road to financial ruin. It’s seems to be a bit more business as usual, and my numbers are, once again, up for the next year. My photo colleagues, venues, orchestras, floral designers, and industry pros are also seeing things ease up a bit.

However, I still believe there’s no substitute for busting your ass. I’m working harder than ever to stay working hard. I don’t think that will change. It’s the survival of the fittest out there and this is no time to chill. Sharp skill sets, innovative marketing, and top notch customer service will always prevail. The climate may indeed be changing, however, Wall Street has a short memory, so you never know when they’ll screw things up once again!

Fran Reisner:  For me, although business has certainly changed and slowed down a bit over the last several years, it nearly came to a screeching halt the fourth quarter of last year. I’m happy to report much better profits the fourth quarter of this year.  And I can’t say it has anything to do with new marketing techniques I’ve tried. It seems folks are a little less afraid to spend their money this year.

Joe Dallas: We’ve had a much stronger finish to the year than in years past. It’s not by accident though. We’ve been using creative marketing techniques to bring in kids and families. Our wedding bookings are on par with this time last year, although we’ve noticed that folks are waiting longer to sign.

Greg Schrader: We are on a different track from last year….We have learned so many new ways to approach our business in this down economy from places like Skip’s Summer School & WPPI, that this year blows last year out of the water. Although we may be down somewhat dollar wise from last year, it looks like 2010 will be spectacular! 

Scott Bourne: Business is up for me about 4% for the year. My typical annual growth rate is closer to 8%. My fourth quarter was up 1% from last year. Overall, looking at my monthly revenue, it was a strange year. I had spots where the activity was crazy out of control good. And then dead spots that didn’t mirror anything I’ve seen before. I chalk it up to an unsure public.

One thing I’ve seen very clearly is that the high-end clients still have money to spend. The recession simply hasn’t impacted them nearly as hard as it has middle-income families. I actually raised prices this year and it didn’t seem to bother 90% of my clients.

In a depressed market, there are only two places a photographer can make money. At the low-end, which will be VERY crowded, but will result in working income, albeit at the price of very long and hard hours which won’t feel like very much fun. Or at the high-end, which is still thriving based on my experience and under-served due to the fact that most photographers are still stuck in the middle, which is the worse place you can be in this market.

I think things are looking up, but the recovery will continue at a slow pace. We didn’t get into this mess overnight and we won’t get out of it that way either.

Kenny Kim: I did not see much difference in terms of quantity of weddings I photographed. I took other’s advice and stayed trued to my pricing without compromising. I did come up with a few creative ways to help the clients (additional hour to the package, rehearsal coverage, additional photos, etc. at no cost). I did notice that many clients booked me last minute (2-4 months) as opposed to booking way ahead of time (1-1.5 years ahead). I think mainly they wanted to ensure that they were going to survive through the difficult times while planning their wedding. The guests at weddings have been smaller. I’m also glad to see that my clients are not compromising on photography – they themselves have found creative ways to reduce their budget without compromising the quality of their wedding.

Kay Eskridge: We’re actually ‘up’ from last year. We are known for our unique holiday cards, so we get a lot of extra business this time of year. Couple that with an additional push towards extreme ‘black belt’ style customer service and it’s keeping us hopping. I honestly think people want to be happy and do happy things and reaching out to family and friends through holiday portrait cards are giving them the chance to do so. The cards have been more whimsical, the sayings more light-hearted, the sentiments more upbeat . . . spreading the good cheer and all that. I think last year everyone was ‘frozen’ because they didn’t know what was coming at them . . . this year they know and are adjusting. So maybe they don’t order 300 cards – they cut back to 250 but they are still coming and purchasing.

David Ziser: I want to answer your question from a different perspective.  I’ve just completed my 60 city Digital WakeUp Call tour, sit on the board of my state association, and have raised the same question around my photographer friends here in the Midwest.

Here are a few of my bottom line observations. Several photographers have quit their businesses in 2009.  One formerly successful photographer I know now drives a limo full time.  Another is now a full time over the road truck driver. Membership in most associations around the country is down.  Attendance at local and state meetings has also dropped off a lot too.

Then on the other hand, another friend of mine says they are “busy and can be – swamped this holiday season.”  I particularly like the comment of another good friend of mine, “Looks like we’re going to have another 2 comma year!”  Wow! That sounds like a great year to me!  The comments seem to indicate that the answer is all over the place.  So, what separates the successful photographer from the photographer who’s not in such an “optimum” business position?

I think the answer to that question is “many-fold” and surely isn’t going to be answered here.  But, maybe a little light could be shone on the situation overall.  Those who are waiting for business to happen are probably experiencing a business turndown.  Those who are making it happen are having a much better quarter than the same quarter in 2008 when the consumer in general was running scared.

Too many photographers wait for the phone to ring instead of making the phone ring.  Just my two cents.