The career of a photographer keeps evolving over the years. It reaches a point when it is time to take the next step in the profession logically. One of the ways to generate referrals and establish your expertise as a photographer is to host photography workshops. By organizing workshops, you can connect with upcoming photographers.
Besides hosting photography workshops for creating a network, it can be an added source of income. For instance, many well-established experts these days organize workshops.
When you began your journey as a photographer, you would have invested much in yourself to learn the craft. For instance, you have read many books, attended many online and offline courses, and finally invested in good equipment. The knowledge and experience you acquired enabled you to capture breathtaking pictures.
Your knowledge and experience are a goldmine for the students attending the workshop. For instance, the attendees of the workshop would be taking pictures casually. They may not know the correct techniques to capture an image. You can teach them the proper methods to capture the best images possible.
Before you begin to promote the photography workshop, there are various aspects that you have to consider. Without proper planning, you may deliver what you have promised. That would disappoint the attendee and somewhat hurt your brand’s reputation if you are trying to build a brand. Therefore, it is essential that you carefully plan the minute details of the workshop.
This article shares a few tips for hosting photography workshops to establish yourself as an expert and generate referrals.
1. Restrict the number of slots in the workshop
While organizing a photography workshop, it is tempting to accommodate as many students as possible. From a financial standpoint, the more, the merrier. But if you attempt to accommodate a more significant number of attendees, that will drastically reduce the learning experience of the students attending the workshop.
Students attending the workshop want to learn new skills or polish their existing skills. If the number of attendees is extensive, you cannot pay attention to everyone attending the workshop. Remember that the attendees will have many questions, and you will need time for a one-on-one session to answer.
Tending a significant number of students during the workshop can be seriously challenging. If you limit the number of slots in the workshop, you can answer the doubts of the attendees. Such a workshop will be very productive and add value to your brand and your reputation as a photographer.
2. Promote the photography workshop
When planning to host a workshop, you have to develop a plan to market it to the potential audience. It is much easier these days, courtesy of technology. You can, for instance, create a website and email list and leverage social media to market photography workshops to the audience. You can establish yourself as a band by promoting the workshops.
The email will allow you to communicate with the students directly. Sending personalized emails will increase the likelihood of students signing up for the workshop. If the potential audience hears of the photography workshop, they will likely check online to know more about it. The website should contain all the information that potential attendees require. You can utilize photography scheduling software like Picktime to ease signing up for the workshop.
The booking page and widget can be easily customizable and integrated into the website or social media platforms like Facebook. They can sign up for the workshop from the website or social media 24/7. Since the website contains all the relevant information, potential attendees are less likely to contact you directly. That gives you more time to plan the workshop to deliver on the promises.
Suppose you have planned workshops back to back. That is when staying on top of the daily schedule becomes a challenge. The calendar within the software gives you a detailed overview of the daily schedule. That makes managing and organizing the daily schedule so much more effortless.
Following up with photography workshop attendees to ensure full participation is another challenge you may encounter. The automated reminder feature of the software enhances communication by sending email or SMS. Suppose the attendees cannot attend the event for some reason. They can cancel their participation in a few steps. The software lets you create a secure database of the participants. That will protect the information of the participants.
3. Online photography workshops
Besides organizing physical workshops, you can venture into hosting virtual workshops. Many career photographers who begin to teach photography highly consider this approach as a way to expand their reach nationally and globally. You can host an online photography workshop with the same commitment, devotion, and precision as a physical seminar.
The virtual workshops are highly flexible, and the participants can join from anywhere with internet access. Suppose they cannot attend the workshop. You can record the session for them to watch later.
However, if you want to focus on hosting online photography workshops, you have to produce high-quality content. During the virtual sessions, there are less likely to be any personal interactions. That is why you have to create content with as few distractions as possible. If the content created lacked critical information, the participants would not find the workshop blade and even demand a refund.
4. Plan the photography workshop you want to host
If you are planning to host the workshop, you will likely begin with the technical aspect of organizing one. Before going into such details, you have to determine the workshop you want to host. The workshop caters to the audience who are interested in the work that you produce. The participants attend the workshop because they get inspired by your photographs. They may also want to learn the techniques you utilize to click the pictures. For that reason, you have to host photography workshops that fall within your areas of expertise. For instance, if you are a fashion photographer, you should conduct a workshop in your niche.
Hopefully, the few tips we have shared in the article will help you host successful photography workshops to establish yourself as an expert in your niche and generate referrals.
