BOC Week 5: Competitive Analysis

Competition is never easy, but doing your homework and figuring out the strengths and weakness of that competition helps prepare you for what to expect.  Photography in Las Vegas is very “dog eat dog.”  The market is small compared to the next “Mega-City” of Los Angeles.  Here in Vegas everyone who wants to be successful must be able to produce something that another photographer doesn’t do or know how to do.  The market is swapped with photographers who picked up a camera and never had formal training or have no idea what classic lighting is or how to even use elaborate lighting setups on a consistent basis.  If they do have the skill it is because they finally learned it over time. 
I recently attended the Bridal Spectacular here in Vegas about two weeks ago and interviewed about a dozen photographers.  Some of them admitted that they had no formal training and others  were proud to say they did.  The quality of work was the elephant in the room.  Walking bye a display for photographers I noticed that the quality of work was substandard for about 75% of the possible competition.  Whose standard did I use?  Mine of course.  I feel that the what I have learned over the past two years at the Art Institute of Las Vegas has been very helpful and has given me a discerning eye when it comes to quality of work.  I look at lighting, post production and style.  The examples that were presented to the public were scary.  I know students here in town that can produce a better image.  Am I being harsh?  I am, but is necessary for the reader to know that just because someone owns a camera and some fancy lenses it doesn’t mean they know how to make an image.
Below I’ve listed some wonderful examples of work that I was impressed by.  Not only were the images beautiful but the faces of each one of these companies were knowledgeable and had a good understanding of what it takes to be successful. 
Orange Soda: a fun company that makes handmade albums for their clients.  Beautiful work bound by a beautiful album.  A great example of going the extra mile for the client.  They mentioned that the covers can be made of practically any material and usually come from something sentimental from the couple.

Lorenz foto:  A small “mom and pop” company.   a Married couple that has been doing business in the city for over 15 years.  Very simple concept but consistent in the quality of work. Plenty of experience that shows.

Alt-f: The originators of “Trash the Dress.”  From what I gather from this successful local photographer he is the Donald Trump of Las Vegas.  He has had much success but failures that have helped him build an awesome company.  A real trend setter and great example of never giving up.

John Morris Photography:  The most conservative and most business like model from the four companies I have chosen.  The company provides an exterior “image” of success and quality.  Beautiful photography that is followed with great customer service.