
The Golden Tree
Since the inception of my company, I have run my workshops and tours under the banner of ‘Backcountry Photo Tours’. I wanted to do something different, specialize in an area that for the most part was non-existent in the industry. I thought it would be amazing to combine my backpacking experience with photography and take people into the backcountry to photograph scenes off the beaten path. Three years later, I’ve realized that it’s an incredibly small niche, and not a very marketable one at that. Every once in a while I have to explain to a potential client that my tours are car based and hiking is minimal. In order to do more strenuous activity, it has to be a private tour. In a nutshell, ‘Backcountry Photo Tours’ doesn’t describe the majority of my workshop and tour business.
That’s why I have changed the company to ‘Landscape Photo Tours’, which describes exactly what we do. My tours and workshops are about landscape photography in some of the most beautiful and photogenic regions in the States (and eventually beyond). I also think it will improve my SEO, as ‘landscape photography’ is a popular search term.
I also discovered a new niche. I’ve had the opportunity to participate in tours, observe tours, and talk to many former clients of tours to discover what works and what doesn’t. What I discovered was that clients are largely neglected in the majority of tours. Leaders often take too many clients and they shoot for themselves first, putting their clients’ needs aside. I take very small groups, currently at 4 participants, and I work extremely hard with my clients, giving them all the attention they deserve. I’m there for them, not for me, and that in itself is a niche in the competitive world of photo workshops and tours.
I hope the new name finds its way to more potential clients and I get the opportunity to share my passion for landscape photography with them! Visit landscapephototours.com for more information.