17/05/2021

To share or not to share. That is the question. Deciding whether to include a full price list on your website has been a long-standing conundrum for photographers. Visit some of your fellow photographers’ websites and you’ll see some take the transparent route: they dedicate a page to detailing precise prices for specific services. Others […]

14/04/2021

Hear the word ‘psychographics’ and what immediately springs to mind? A terrifying shadow slowly creeping across a shower curtain? The crazy swirly pattern on Austin Powers’ wallpaper? Nope, this has nothing to do with movies, horror or otherwise. And everything to do with getting scarily high numbers of enquiries to your photography business. Welcome to […]

29/03/2021

Friday 2nd April and Monday 5th April 2021 are public holidays in the UK, so we’ll be taking some time away from our desks on those days. Our regular email support will be available until 6pm BST on Thursday 1st April and will resume at 9am on Tuesday 6th April.

15/02/2021

Ian spent some time chatting with Michelle Szpak recently for her training hub and community for photographers. Below is a little taster of the topics we covered in our chat. It’s near impossible to only market to clients on dates that you can fulfil, so how can you cut down on waste from enquiries that […]

11/01/2021

Brand Identity can seriously improve the success rate of your business efforts across the board, if it’s harnessed correctly. It’s true, photography itself speaks volumes, but your branding will provide prospective clients with an indication of your price point, the experience you offer… and ultimately whether you are the right fit for them or not! […]

06/10/2020

The coronavirus pandemic is affecting all of us in a variety of ways. We’re a small company and the whole Light Blue team is either currently or previously a professional photographer, so we understand the difficulties that you are going through at the moment. Being able to measure the impact that the pandemic has had […]

03/08/2020

What’s the one thing that you would do to make yourself stand out to your clients? Running a successful photography business relies on delivering a great service to your clients in a timely manner. There’s many steps involved in doing that and it’s important to make sure that you know what your process is, including […]

06/07/2020

We speak to wedding and portrait specialist Suzanne Black about how to conduct viewings remotely without losing that crucial personal touch. When it comes to viewing sessions, we’re all familiar with the ideal scenario. You invite clients to your studio at a mutually convenient time, put the kettle on, pop some biscuits on a stylish plate and […]

05/05/2020

In the first of a series of chats with accomplished photographers, we speak to Scottish Wedding & Portrait Photographer, Suzanne Black about how to successfully but subtly persuade clients to buy an album of images celebrating their big day. What do professional photographers and the world’s biggest music stars have in common? They all like selling albums. […]

03/04/2020

Do you find that you’re ending up with more than one enquiry for the same date, and that you aren’t able to fulfil both of those enquiries? As shoots are being rescheduled and postponed as a result of the ongoing pandemic, it’s very likely that you’ll have more than one client interested in booking you […]

01/04/2020

While shoots and projects are being postponed, rescheduled or cancelled, you will find that there’s a need to alter existing financial arrangements with some of your clients. This article covers some of the more common situations you may face for refunding money, cancelling invoices or deferring the date when you’ll be asking for payment. There’s […]

25/03/2020

You might need to reach out to your clients to give them an update on your policy regarding the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. We’ve seen some of these emails that photographers are sending out being reported as spam by the recipients, which can damage your ability to get emails delivered to clients’ inboxes. We’re […]

20/03/2020

The Covid-19 pandemic sadly means that many couples are having to postpone their weddings and are looking for alternative dates. In order to make it easier for your clients to select a date on which you are going to be available, you may wish to share a calendar of your available dates. Should that be […]

19/03/2020

The Covid-19 pandemic is having an unprecedented effect on photographers and many of you are having to postpone some of your bookings. This guide shows you how you can reschedule sessions in Light Blue in a way that makes them easy to identify layer. That will leave you in a good position to quickly finding […]

19/03/2020

The coronavirus pandemic is affecting all of us in a variety of ways. We’re a small company and the whole Light Blue team is either currently or previously a professional photographer, so we understand the difficulties that you are going through at the moment. We’re here to help people run a successful business, and one […]

19/03/2020

Getting a clear picture of when you’re going to receive income is very important and helpful at the best of times, but during this unprecedented period of uncertainty your businesses ability to forecast its income is essential. No forecasting model is going to be iron clad, but the ability for you to look ahead will […]

20/02/2020

As a photographer, you understand the importance of using the right tool for the job; the right lens to give you the desired field of view, the right editing preset to give your image the right look, or the right flash modifier to shape your light to fall how you like.  That doesn’t stop with […]

10/02/2020

Martin Cheung is a wedding photographer based in Nottingham & Derby. As well as being a superb wedding photographer he also has 25 years of experience in the IT industry, specialising in networks, firewalls and internet connectivity. With that experience and knowledge, Martin’s kindly provided this guide to help prevent your emails from being marked […]

06/01/2020

Your business is constantly evolving as you introduce changes and improvements, investing time now in order to enjoy benefits well into the future. Let’s explore a few ways that Light Blue can make your business easier to run and to be more effective. Light Blue is a flexible and powerful tool that offers a great […]

19/12/2019

We’re really looking forward to attending The Societies’ of Photographers convention again this January. As well as an extensive trade show with exhibits from a wide range of industry suppliers, including Light Blue, there’s also an array of classes presented by industry experts. Meet Light Blue at the convention trade show We’ll be on stands […]

01/04/2019

Ian is going to be on the road with The Societies of Photographers, attending their roadshows in Falkirk, Carlisle and Wigan on the 9th, 10th & 11th of April. There is a great range of free master classes from three excellent speakers; Damian McGillicuddy, Robert Pugh and Panikos Hajistilly. There will also be an opportunity […]

07/01/2019

The Societies of Wedding & Portrait Photographers convention is one of the highlights of our calendar. We’re looking forward to talking to photographers during the extensive trade show on the Thursday 17th, Friday 18th, & Saturday 19th January. There’s a wealth of talks and masterclasses being held during the convention, and we’ve listed a selection […]

13/12/2018

Making Tax Digital (MTD) is part of the UK government’s plan to make the country’s tax system more efficient. It’s something that we’ve been keeping a close eye on for a while, and it will (probably) start to come into effect in 2019. You only need to pay attention to MTD in 2019 if you are […]

19/11/2018

It’s that time of year again when The Societies of Photographers open voting in their trade awards so that photographers can choose their preferred trade suppliers in a wide range of categories. We work hard to develop our indispensable business management software to help keep photographers organised & productive. We’d really appreciate your vote for […]