We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dylan Bauer. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Dylan below.
Dylan, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s start with what makes profitability in your industry a challenge – what would you say is the biggest challenge?
When I was first getting started in commercial photography everything about pricing felt very obscure and like there was no foundation to come up with a pricing model that worked. It can be intimidating when you’re putting together a bid for new clients with little budget information. I often found myself thinking what if they feel like my day rate is too high, are they going to be turned off by my usage rights, will they have room for me to hire out a crew? Looking back at my early days there are definitely shoots that I way undercharged for and left a lot of money on the table. It’s important to tap into your network and talk through the bidding process with other trusted photographers especially if they have been around a lot longer. Being open with other professionals has helped my feel comfortable bringing my rates up to a place that is profitable and make me confident that I can back those numbers. The more people in the photo world are open with each other about prices the better off everyone is. It helps everyone come in closer and set client expectations for what to expect when they ask for estimates,.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I’ve been into photography ever since I took it in highshool to fulfill the art class requirements. That time in the dark room led me to pursue a degree in fine art photography at Northern Kentucky University. My last year there one of our classes was studio photography. I instantly fell in love with the amount of control over the final image working in the studio gave me and learning to use artificial light was something that just clicked in my brain. Through some of the alumni I was able to get a gig as a photo assistant/digital tech at large studio in town. My time there was a crash course on all things commercial photography and I was working with photographers and stylists from all over the country which quickly gave me an immense amount of learning. From there I continued both assisting and teching for as many photographers/studios as I could and taking in every aspect of how they worked.
In my own studio or on location I draw on all of that experience to help me craft images for my clients that are exactly what they are looking for and help elevate their ideas. I love when projects are a complete collaboration from the whole team. At the end of the day the images are coming through my business name but it really is a whole team effort between myself, assistants, stylists and art directors. I always try to leave any sense of ego out of the day and am open to learn from everyone on set. The best days on set are where we have time to explore and look at the creative brief to see if there’s anything else we can pull out of the set. Are there angles or compositions that we haven’t explored, ways to light it that might help make the shot feel more compelling? That feeling at the end of a project of a client saying they can’t wait to get the final images always makes the work feel worth the effort.
How do you keep your team’s morale high?
When you’re working with a team its so important to treat everyone as an equal. I couldn’t do what I do without the help of others. You never know who you’ll end up learning something from and if you come in acting like you’re above it you can miss out on so much. One of the other things I always strive to do is to take accountability for things. Its easy to lay the blame on someone else when things go wrong but that a surefire way to make people not want continue working with you.
What’s been the best source of new clients for you?
The best source of new clients for me has always been word of mouth and referrals. The personal connections you make with people will go farther than any dollar amount you can spend on marketing. I’ve had people who saw my work ethic on even the smallest jobs end up recommending me to other clients that ended up being some of my most successful.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.dylanbauerphotography.com/
- Instagram: @dylanbauerphoto
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dylan-bauer-a7a13830/
Image Credits
Dylan Bauer Photography