Phillip Blume On Building a Successful Photo Business in a Bad Market

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“We thought we had made it.”

Phillip and Eileen Blume have built a successful business in what many would consider a "bad" or certainly "challenging" market. Find out what they've done to make it happen.

“As photographers, we basically have superpowers.”

0:48 Who are Phillip and Eileen Blume?
2:27 The Beginning: A Common Tale
4:28 Coming to terms with a “bad market”
5:40 A Turning Point
14:11 It can be done
16:50 Not a commodity
19:01 The meat and potatoes
23:04 What does implementation look like?
25:19 What’s it like working with your spouse?
28:34 Micro markets, hard work, and integrity
31:24 One Last Picture

“People like to do business with businesses that have values they relate to.”

Phillip & Eileen Blume are award-winning photographers who believe in the power of art to change the world. Widely published, they work with wedding and portrait clients worldwide and are founders of ComeUnity Workshops for photographers. Their focus on humanitarian projects, such as their 2011 film Lost Boys of Paradise, benefits children in extreme poverty. As educators the Blumes have appeared on CreativeLIVE, shared their vision for more meaningful photography from the TEDx stage, and speak internationally. Phillip's published work can be found in Shutter Magazine each month at Barnes & Noble. The Blumes live with their children in Georgia, where they love hiking, good conversation, and spontaneous dance parties.

“A lot of times, we have to give up comforts in order to do the right thing.”