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Hark Nijjar of www.gtasportsphotography.com and www.harknijjar.com has been on my radar since receiving a message from another successful photographer during a Zoom training session last year.
That photographer said you need to get Hark on the podcast! He has a great business up in Canada — he'd be a fantastic guest.
Based in the Toronto area, with a beautifully large and well-equipped studio, Hark's business looks to be split into two halves. One part is more boutique and focused on headshots and corporate studio work.
The other half is high-volume sports photography under a different brand — GTA Sports Photography.
After exchanging a few messages, I learned that Hark is BIG on work-life balance.
He says… to be honest, I could take on a lot more work and grow my sports business, but I left a very well-paying corporate life to spend more time with the family, and I wouldn't trade that for anything.
In this interview, Hark shares why a high-volume sports photography business could be the best style of photography business available to you. The incredible business possibilities for this style of sports photography will blow you away and have you second-guess your genre of choice for profitable photography.
Here's some more of what we covered in the interview:- How Hark manages a volume-based sports photography business while maintaining a work-life balance
- How to have a successful photography business while handling multiple genres
- Hark's annual revenue
- The advantages of a volume photography business
- How to keep volume-based clients happy every single year
- Hark's concept of a service-oriented business model
- What is a sports league, and why they're so valuable over teams
- The benefits of signing a league for a successful photography business
- Data management process when working with high-volume sports photography
- Hark's photography set up for sports
- How to deal with different weather conditions during photo sessions in Canada
- Working with composites during post-processing
- How Hark gets paid for all league photo shoots
- Hark's after-sales and delivery process
- The importance of giving back to the leagues to build a business partnership
- Why there's no money in action sports photography
- Giving up commissions and referral discounts in exchange for adequate pricing to retain high-volume clientele
- Dealing with digital files and pricing in high-volume sports photography
- Trading cards can be highly profitable with high-volume sports photography businesses
- Why Hark doesn't want to focus solely on volume-based sports photography
- Why Hark prefers to work solo and not hire a team to help grow his business
- Why Hark doesn't see the need to chase a million-dollar sales
- How to live a comfortable life as a photographer
- How to build and maintain a successful sports photography business with zero advertising
- Hark's advice on photographers who want to start in the sports photography niche
- How to find new leagues to add to your client base
- How to find the right clients for your photography business
- How to get leagues to notice your sports photography business
- How many images to capture per person/athlete
- Hark's shooting process
- How to sync each individual's images with the database when in a fast-paced shooting session using barcodes
If you’re a premium member, you should have received an email with links to your version of this interview – the full-length and more revealing version where you hear the absolute best tips and advice from every guest.
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One of the best things about my volume [photography] side, is it's very seasonal and it's also very predictable. – Hark Nijjar
You'll also receive access to the members-only Secret Facebook Group where you can connect with other Premium Members and interview guests to help, support and motivate you to take ideas you hear in each episode and put them into action. There are also FB live video tutorials, role-play interviews and special live interviews happening in the group. You will not find more friendly, more motivated, caring and sharing photographers online.
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In addition to everything above, you'll get access and instructions on forming or joining a MasterMind Group with other premium members. These groups are super motivating, make you accountable and build friendships with other pro photographers with similar motives to you – to build a more successful photography business.
What is your big takeaway?Following this interview, I’d love to know if you're taking anything away from what Hark shared. Is there something you heard that excited or motivated you to the point where you thought, yeah, I'm going to do that! If so, let me know by leaving your thoughts in the comments below; let me know what your takeaways were and what you plan to implement in your business as a result of what you heard in today's episode.
I have a very service-oriented business model where I want the clients to get a lot more value than what I'm delivering to them as a product. – Hark Nijjar
If you have any questions that I missed, a specific question you’d like to ask Hark or if you just want to say thanks for coming on the show, feel free to add them in the comments area below.
iTunes Reviews and Shout-outsEach week I check for any new iTunes or Google reviews, and it's always a buzz to receive these… for several reasons.
Firstly, it's confirmation that I'm on the right track with the interviews and that they really are helping you improve your photography business. That's awesome!
Secondly, iTunes and Google are the biggest search engine when it comes to podcasts, and it's your reviews and ratings that help other photographers find PhotoBizX. More listeners mean more interviews and, ultimately a better show.
If you have left a review in the past, thank you! If you haven't and you'd like to, head to https://photobizx.com/itunes or https://photobizx.com/google, and you can leave some honest feedback and a rating which will help both me and the show, and I'll be sure to thank you on the show and add a link to your website or blog if you let me know the URL of your website and your name.
Be confident in your pricing. Be confident in your service. Be confident in the ability to deliver on what they're asking to deliver. If they say ‘No', that's okay. That's fine. That's part of the business. But you have to be true to yourself and stick to what you're comfortable doing, not reducing your pricing, not reducing the level of service just so you can meet their price. – Hark Nijjar
Alternatively, if you've left a review for PhotoBizX and are looking for more backlinks to help your SEO, leave a review for the new Photography Xperiment Podcast and email me your keywords or keyword phrase and where you'd like me to link to.
Another great way to get a backlink to your site is to send a video testimonial. It doesn't need to be fancy, and your phone will be perfect. Click record and tell me how PhotoBizX has impacted you and your photography business.
Links to people, places and things mentioned in this episode:GTA Sports Photography Website
GTA Sports Photography on Instagram
Thank you!Thanks again for listening, and thanks to Hark for sharing his thoughts, ideas and experience of running an incredibly successful high-volume sports photography business.
I don't want to go in and try to beat another photographer, lower my price to get a job because those clients, may stick with you for a year, two years, but guess what, there's going to be somebody else coming with a lower price that's going to bump you off your boots. – Hark Nijjar
If you have any suggestions, comments or questions about this episode, please be sure to leave them below in the comment section of this post, and if you liked the episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post!
That’s it for me this week, hope everything is going well for you in life and business!
Thanks, and speak soon
Andrew
The post 479: Hark Nijjar – The incredible business possibilities for high volume sports photography appeared first on Photography Business Xposed - Photography Podcast - how to build and market your portrait and wedding photography business.
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