We try to get as much feedback from customers of students who take a franchise.
The following about one of our newer franchisees folllowing a Portrait sitting is fairly typical:
"The whole experience was more than excellent. Julia is a credit to Barrett and Coe. Nothing was too much trouble for her. She took her time with us to choose the photos we wanted and went out of her way in every aspect. Even though my partner was sometimes a pain in the neck! She never got flustered! Julia is a nice lady."
Barrett and Coe ....Fantastic Photography........Nice People.
Wednesday, 22 December 2010
Monday, 20 December 2010
Baby of the Month
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| Baby of the Month Winner |
To view the winning image for 2009 click here
Weather
My visit from an interested customer was cancelled not because the train to Norwich was cancelled, but because he could not get across London through lack of tube services.
My daughter texted from Los Angeles and said her Virgin flight to Heathrow was cancelled and she can't get another one till after Christmas! I suppose there are worse places to be than LA.
Tomorrow we are due to travel to Ware to check out the venue we have chosen for our courses starting January and hopefully we will get there without a hitch.. We will be packing flasks and shovels!
We are all learning that the weather can effect us much more than we ever realised giving us a quick reality check. Fingers crossed for a return to normal soon.
My daughter texted from Los Angeles and said her Virgin flight to Heathrow was cancelled and she can't get another one till after Christmas! I suppose there are worse places to be than LA.
Tomorrow we are due to travel to Ware to check out the venue we have chosen for our courses starting January and hopefully we will get there without a hitch.. We will be packing flasks and shovels!
We are all learning that the weather can effect us much more than we ever realised giving us a quick reality check. Fingers crossed for a return to normal soon.
Friday, 17 December 2010
Top Sales
Following yesterday's post these were our top ten photographers (all ex-students) sales last week.
Many have been operating for only a few months:
Photographer 1 £6,175
Photographer 2 £3,905
Photographer 3 £3,323
Photographer 4 £3,160
Photographer 5 £2,000
Photographer 6 £1,500
Photographer 7 £1,330
Photographer 8 £1,310
Photographer 9 £1,105
Photographer 10 £995
Many have been operating for only a few months:
Photographer 1 £6,175
Photographer 2 £3,905
Photographer 3 £3,323
Photographer 4 £3,160
Photographer 5 £2,000
Photographer 6 £1,500
Photographer 7 £1,330
Photographer 8 £1,310
Photographer 9 £1,105
Photographer 10 £995
Thursday, 16 December 2010
The Photography Market
I have just put the phone down from a fairly typical enquiry that we recieve at B and C.
The enquirer had been looking at our courses, but had met a photographer in London, who told him that there was not enough portrait photography around to have a business, and that a course was not really worth while..... just to start up on his own!
Well, lots of photographers do struggle because they do not charge enough, and do not take images of a suitable quality. They also have no idea of marketing.
In our final quiz paper on our Portrait Course one of the questions asks how much time, and how much marketing budget is required to set up a photography business from scratch. The answer is up to 80% of your time in the first year, and 15% to 20% of your projected sales as a marketing budget.
Yes, it is possible to be very succesful, but only if you do the right things and realise that a marketing budget is more important than extra gadgets!
As we noted a few days ago on this blog one of our ex students achieved sales of £25,000 in November. Not enough business?!
The enquirer had been looking at our courses, but had met a photographer in London, who told him that there was not enough portrait photography around to have a business, and that a course was not really worth while..... just to start up on his own!
Well, lots of photographers do struggle because they do not charge enough, and do not take images of a suitable quality. They also have no idea of marketing.
In our final quiz paper on our Portrait Course one of the questions asks how much time, and how much marketing budget is required to set up a photography business from scratch. The answer is up to 80% of your time in the first year, and 15% to 20% of your projected sales as a marketing budget.
Yes, it is possible to be very succesful, but only if you do the right things and realise that a marketing budget is more important than extra gadgets!
As we noted a few days ago on this blog one of our ex students achieved sales of £25,000 in November. Not enough business?!
Wednesday, 15 December 2010
Weather Proof Sales
One of our graduates from the portrait course who lives near Durham wrote to us on Dec 6:
" I'm amazed at how much I salvaged from last week. Many of the outlying villages are still cut off and all the businesses in town suffered really badly. I think the sessions we have had have played a huge part in me rescuing the situation. I offered shoot and view sessions to tempt people to make the effort as they would only have to come once, and this worked well. I even did one baby sitting where the family came in off the street with no planned appointment. I did a shoot and a view and had £200 within two hours. I dont think I would have had the confidence to do this prior to our session, thanks alot."
This student finished his course a few months ago.
" I'm amazed at how much I salvaged from last week. Many of the outlying villages are still cut off and all the businesses in town suffered really badly. I think the sessions we have had have played a huge part in me rescuing the situation. I offered shoot and view sessions to tempt people to make the effort as they would only have to come once, and this worked well. I even did one baby sitting where the family came in off the street with no planned appointment. I did a shoot and a view and had £200 within two hours. I dont think I would have had the confidence to do this prior to our session, thanks alot."
This student finished his course a few months ago.
Monday, 13 December 2010
November portrait competition results
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| 1st - Photographed by Phil Cole |
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| 2nd - Photographed by Sara White |
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| 3rd - Photographed by Mhari-Clare Green |
The portraits shown above are taken by ex students who completed our Portrait and Wedding photography courses. Each had no previous experience or expertise in photography before enrolling.
Our courses for 2011 begin in January at our new location in Ware, Hertfordshire, dates are as follows:
Sunday 23rd January - Option 1 - Portrait Course, (seven seminars in total) one Sunday a month, spread over six months, with the final two seminars being held on a Saturday and Sunday
Sunday 23rd January - Option 1 - Wedding Course, (seven seminars in total) one Sunday a month, spread over six months, with the final two seminars being held on a Saturday and Sunday
Friday 21st January - Option 2 - Portrait Course, (seven seminars in total) one Friday and Saturday each month, spread over four months, with the final seminar held on a Friday
Friday 21st January - Option 2 - Wedding Course, (seven seminars in total) one Friday and Saturday each month, spread over four months, with the final seminar held on a Friday
Limited availability for each course, to book call 01603 629 739
Tuesday, 7 December 2010
Successful sales for ex student
The pictures above are from the studio of an ex student now operating in Colchester.
In November alone he achieved sales of £25,000. This was mostly from portraits although he does a few weddings. He had no experience at all in photography, having been a banker, before taking the Barrett & Coe Portarit and Wedding course.
New courses starting January 2011, to book call 01603 629 739
Monday, 6 December 2010
Course Finals
Another Course Final weekend with the awards of the much coveted Barrett and Coe Diplomas.
I nearly did not make it owing to cancelled flights coming back from Switzerland after an early start to the skiing season. In all it took more than twenty four hours but I eventually made in time to score all the entries with Brian.
Shown above are a couple of the award winners. Pictured top, Alan Willingale (attained grade 2 for the portrait course), middle, Sue Burton (attained grade 2 for the wedding course), pictured bottom, Melissa Quinn (attained grade 2 for the wedding course)
Taking place here this morning is an Emmas Diary Focus Meeting with nine interested parties including photographers, tele call staff, and admin etc. A real brainstorming meeting to make sure we get the most out of these leads.
Sunday, 5 December 2010
Weddings
One of the major modules on our Wedding Course is about 'Reportage Photography'.
All brides want spontaneous images from their wedding day, and all photographers think they can do it. They can't.
It is not just a question of picking up a digital camera and snapping away. Any of the guests can do that. So why would they pay you?
Ask yourself could a guest have taken that image, and if they could the photographer is just not good enough.
A pro photographers 'reportage' shots should stand out, and to achieve this he or she needs specialist knowledge which we concentrate on giving each student on our Wedding Course.
On Barrett and Coe wedding courses you learn to take images like this from your very first wedding. We dont rely on artificial created shots not taken at a real wedding. You also have the opportunity to go on actual weddings as an assistant.
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