Add Video to Your Resume, Increase Your Income

What if you could increase your income from photography by providing a whole new, more expensive, product using your same old camera?
There’s a feature in your camera I bet you haven’t used very often — or maybe not at all: Video.
And whether you sell it on its own or use it as an add-on to your photography, it’s very easy to do.
Lately I’ve been talking to my photography clients (many of them real estate agents) about making what I call an “Electronic Business Card.”
It’s a short and simple video that tells who your client is and what he or she does. Pretty much like a regular business card — only by showing how your client sounds and interacts, her customers become much more connected without ever having met her in person.
Take a look at this short video:

This took me about an hour to film, including set-up and break down. Then it took about an hour to edit (plus render and export time). And it paid $450.
OK, it’s not exactly “Spielberg… move over” stuff, but it gets the message across. My client uses this on his website and on YouTube, which is now one of the highest ranked search engines on the net.
All you need to get started is:

• A tripod-mounted camera capable of shooting video in HD…
• A lavaliere microphone (wired $20)…
• Good light. If you don’t have lights, place the subject next to a window with the light falling on one side of the face and a reflector or whiteboard on the other side of the face to fill in the shadows…
• Video editing software.

Make sure to also film what are called “b-rolls.” These are the little clips of action happening outside of the interview. Later, you can strategically insert them where you need a transition… for example, if you change the focal length or the subject messes up a little, or at other points where you have to make cuts.
The other added benefit is that filming “electronic business cards” leads to other photo- and video-related gigs. Since the above interview, I have more than doubled my revenue from this client by providing video of some of his property listings instead of just photographing them.
[Editor’s Note: Learn more about how you can turn your pictures into cash in our free online newsletter The Right Way to Travel. Sign up here today and we’ll send you a new report, Selling Photos for Cash: A Quick-Start Guide, completely FREE.]