gm photographics in Mosman

Graham Munro & Lauren Mills from gm photographics in Mosman

Graham gave a very inspiring talk to we students on Tuesday. He owns & runs a very successful wedding and portrait photographic business.

First of all Lauren (Graham’s studio manager) gave us an overview of the business. They have 6 photographers whom they have trained up to Graham’s standard. When they go out to shoot, one of them is put in charge & one goes as an assistant. When they return, the photos go to a postproduction team who are on site. The numbers of photos is considerably reduced so as not to confuse the client too much.

They interview the possible clients in the white leather couch room where they can see all the images on the wall & also face a large screen which is flipping through lots & lots of images. They charge $150 to take the photos, then the client is asked in to view their photos digitally. There are quite a few types of product in terms of books or framed photo to chose from.

Then Graham took over. He is Mr Personality who was extremely stimulating and incredibly passionate about his chosen field of work.

He started off photographing motor bikes; moved into the non-girly side of Playboy magazine, but eventually went from his asking the editor whether their was work for him to the editor ringing Graham & asking him if he had any ideas for the magazine. Eventually ha was talked into doing a wedding & became good, then very good then excellent at that. He set up business & from there it grew. He is an AIPP Master photographer II & is enormously respected Australia-wide as well as having a clientele worldwide.

He is always looking for something different in his photography. He always has a camera with him just in case he sees something that takes his eye (like a new location). His products are always on the change as non-professional photographers catch up with technology in terms of cameras & things like canvas photographs. His products are always a step above everyone else’s. He is a little weary about sharing his newest ideas with local photographers (but will if there is give & take in the deal) but shares them readily with photographers in other locations.

His main tool of marketing is purely word-of-mouth. An excellent photographer is admired & the word spreads. Interestingly he does very little studio work. He has a small studio out the back but far prefers to shoot on location. His images are very creative, casual and warm feeling.

He considers his success is due to a three things. First he is a business man. Second he is an excellent photographer. Thirdly he has the personality that draws people out. You need all three to really succeed in a photographic business. He treats all his clients equally and with great respect whether they spend $500 or $10,000. Sometimes someone who was initially unwilling to spend very much comes back with more requests & some even buy his fine art photography.

He did not let on how he charged for his services.

Reference:

http://www.gmphotographics.com.au/