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The Special Non-specialist:
Bob Coates
By Linda L. May
Sedona, Arizona, is known worldwide for its spectacular red rock mountains, year-round
mild climate, and high-energy magnetic vortexes. Tourists and artists from all over the
globe flock to this cultural mecca, located in the central part of the state about 120
miles north of Phoenix. Sedona is also an extremely popular site for destination weddings,
of which Bob Coates, owner of Bob Coates Photography, takes full advantage.
Of course, Bob prides himself on "specializing in not specializing." Diversity is his
watchword. While weddings provide the bulk of studio revenues, Bob also shoots a variety
of other work, including commercial, real estate, product, tabletop, jewelry and all
types of portraits. After a local hotel hired Bob to shoot and install 300 large prints
for wall décor in its rooms, he decided to market his landscape and scenic artwork as
well. Bob will soon launch a new website, www.sedonavista.com, to promote this type of work.
"Doing a large variety of work is a good way to remain recession proof in a small town.
If one area declines, like the present drop in real estate photography, it doesn't affect
my bottom line because I can shoot other types of work, like weddings, to make up for the
loss," Bob explains.
Background/History
At age 12, Bob's first experience with photography was a huge disappointment. "I borrowed
my older brother Bill's 35mm camera and loaded the film wrong, so none of my pictures turned
out," Bob says. "I never touched a camera again until I was 28 years old and going on vacation
with Holly, my wife. Again, I borrowed a camera from a friend, but this time I got the film
loaded correctly. Coming from an art background, I had some decent composition and a few
lucky lighting situations, so Holly thought I had potential as a photographer. She bought
me a Nikon FM2 camera, and I played around with photography for about 13 years as a part-time
hobby. I built a darkroom and entered contests, did some stringer work for local newspapers,
the Associated Press, and had a few one-man gallery shows, but I never took it seriously.
It was an enjoyable hobby, something I did for personal pleasure."
In fact, Bob had several other careers before he settled on photography. For a time, he
was a radio announcer and program director. Bob also managed many different restaurants in
the Caribbean for several years, where he also taught windsurfing. In 1995, he opened his
first studio in the Caribbean because of his wife, Holly. "After 13 years of mucking about
with photography, Holly threatened to throw away all my photo gear if I didn't do something
more with it," Bob says. "So I got into it again and took it more seriously because I wanted
to keep my gear. Holly can be very persuasive."
In 1999 Bob and Holly moved to Sedona and opened a now very successful in-home studio,
which is run out of an extra room built onto the house to keep the business separate from
the residence. Bob and Holly operate the studio without additional employees. However,
he does hire subcontractors to assist and second shoot at weddings. The two he uses most
often are Shane DeLong and David Weingerton.
Equipment
After a career shooting film, Bob switched to digital in 2001, when he was testing the
Fujifilm S1 Pro camera for a PEI magazine technical article he was writing on
the camera. A local client needed images shot and delivered overnight. Bob knew he could
never do it that fast with film, but since he had the S1 on hand, he decided to accept the
assignment. This experience taught him the benefits of digital and after that, he gave up
film. Now he uses Fujifilm S2 Pro and Canon EOS 5D cameras with a variety of lenses; the
Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 IS is his favorite.
When lighting his images, Bob prefers available or natural light when possible,
supplemented with reflectors. For just a kiss of light, he also uses a Quantum Qflash
or the Canon 580EX flash off-camera with an infrared remote trigger connection. At wedding
receptions, Bob uses the 580EX on-camera and bounces it off the ceiling.
For his Photoshop work, he uses Power Mac G4 and G5s, and a MacBook Pro. Holly uses a PC
for the business end of the operation.
Marketing & Promoting
Because Bob Coates Photography is well established in Sedona and Arizona, Bob gets most
of his clients through referrals and word of mouth, which is a great way to operate. He
has built long-term relationships with other wedding vendors with whom he has worked
through the years.
"I ask brides to give me a list of all the vendors they are hiring for each wedding,"
Bob says. "Without the vendors even asking, I'll show up at their businesses a few days
after the wedding with an artistic folder with one of their images on the cover, which
also has my name and logo embossed on it. Inside are several beautiful pictures that
will help them promote their flowers, cakes, food or venue site. I also deliver an
invoice with the folder stating the retail price of these photographs. Of course,
I don't charge them for the pictures, but it lets them know the value of my gift.
I noticed a huge difference from when I used to just hand over the images to vendors
without the invoice. Most people don't know what pro images are worth because they
are used to going to Wal-Mart or one-hour labs and paying much cheaper prices. When
they see the invoice, the images become more valuable."
The website is another good source of new clients, especially those coming to Sedona
from out of town to be married in the breathtaking location. Bob personally shoots
about 15 weddings per year, and his associates (David and Shane) shoot about another
15 for the studio.
Bob's work has been published in many magazines, including Caribbean Travel
and Life, Cruise Travel, Scouting, National Geographic,
Sailing World, New York Daily News and many others. Bob has written
two books that are available for purchase at
www.successful-photographer.com
for $15.95 each, including shipping: Photographer's Guide To Wedding Album Design and
Sales and Strategies and Techniques For Digital Photographers.
WPPI Membership
Bob joined WPPI in 2000 and is very active in the organization. This coming March, Bob
will be teaching a MasterClass titled "Wedding Album Design Using Photoshop" at the WPPI
Convention and Trade Show in Las Vegas. He says WPPI has been a great asset for him in
his photography career. He loves the trade shows for networking and building friendships
with other professionals from around the world.
Future Plans
Bob Coates is constantly thinking of new ideas and ways to market his business and help
other photographers in the process. He has just launched a brand-new informative newsletter
for professionals titled "Successful Photographer," which can be viewed and purchased
online at
www.successful-photographer.com.
He also has instructional DVDs and CDs available for sale on his website.
Parting Shot
"I enjoy photographing many different types of subjects. I'd get bored if I only did
one thing all the time. I take lighting and various techniques from my commercial work
and apply them to weddings, and vice versa. Not specializing in any one type of work
keeps me fresh in all of them," Bob concludes.
Visit www.bcphotography.com.
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