Waldo Berry
Junction City, Kansas
Waldo Berry's Photography Business Is Doing Great
What Are His Secrets?
 Waldo Berry
At a time when many professional photographers complain that they can’t make a living in professional photography any more, Kansas photographer, Waldo Berry, is doing very well. But there are a variety of specific reasons for his success. His secret is in many ways simple Business 101. He is a highly creative photographer who works hard to please his customers with services and product his competitors don’t offer and results his clients cannot produce on their own. And, he is an avid user of virtual backgrounds to clearly enhance his work.
Waldo was introduced to photography by his grandfather who gave him his first camera and taught him darkroom techniques when he was just 11 years old. But photography got set aside while he earned a master’s degree in information systems and became employed full time by the Kansas State University as an IT support manager for help desk operations. However his enthusiasm for photography eventually pushed him to learn the basics of professional photography and in 1996 he opened his first studio in his home. When he moved to a new home in 1998 he made sure he had adequate space for his studio and specialized in weddings and then added portraits including seniors. He also got active in the PPA degree programs and the associations, earning the degrees of Craftsman and Master of Photography and he also served as President of the Kansas association, became a PPA counselor and received the National Award from PPA.  Image by WB Photography
Waldo later started in the event side of the business, photographing primarily military balls which are very popular in his area. He started with a single background but soon progressed to three. He wanted more options especially when clients would ask, “Is this all you have?” Waldo first saw Virtual Backgrounds at the Kansas school where he took a class with Joseph and Louise Simone. He bought his first Virtual Background system 5 years ago and quickly realized how great it would work for his military balls and dance recitals. He has used VB on location and in his studio ever since.
Quoting Waldo…
"Customer response to Virtual Backgrounds has been absolutely great. I tell them we can provide up to 75 background options for an event and that we use a professional portrait system. I shoot three shots of each couple at an event. They get to view their images on a large screen right there at the event." "Virtual backgrounds is very important to my business. I was shooting as many as 20 military balls a year which was bringing me very significant dollars. The system offers so many different applications…photographers just don’t think through the potential of all it can do. It enables me to push the boundaries. My pictures look perfectly realistic. I often balance the backgrounds with a foreground that provides more depth. I photographed my old studio backgrounds and now they are in storage. Virtual Backgrounds provides me with a major edge over my competition and I don’t have to labor over my computer as I would with green screen." "Photography is not my full time work but it makes a very significant contribution to my income and offers me a great deal of satisfaction. I love being independent and that is what photography brings me. My sales at a military ball range from 25.00 to 75.00 per couple. I mostly work in Kansas but have gotten requests to do military balls as far away as Nashville because my work is so unique." 
Image by WB Photography
NOTE: Waldo Berry is willing to show other professional photographers his studio and how he operates his virtual background system. Simply call him to arrange a convenient appointment time.
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Image by WB Photography
Image by WB Photography
"Seniors absolutely love my use of Virtual Backgrounds because of the unlimited possibilities and unlimited outfits…and they don’t have to go on location. I mostly work in my studio. I match their backgrounds to their clothing and pose. In a one hour session I might use 15 or more backgrounds and several outfits. Most of my sessions are an hour long but I sometimes go for 3 hours. I don’t leave the studio. Seniors prefer to stay in the studio although I am willing to go on location. It is much easier for me and them to stay in the studio which gives me more options for them. Other photographers and parents just shoot on location which greatly limits them."
"There is a lot of work out there for professional photographers who are willing to do what they need to do to satisfy clients with unique images. If you don’t innovate and if you don’t offer customers more, you will not be successful. This VB system is innovative and offers clients more options that they cannot reproduce themselves…even if they try using green screen. I invite any professional to call me at (785) 238-6944 or write me at waldo@wbphotography.com I invite you to take a look at my web site which is wbphotography.com " |
