Unleashed Follow-Up

I just wanted to follow-up on the Unleashed workshop I talked about the other week. They are sold-out for the Chicago workshop that I am attending!

If you missed out on getting in on the Chicago workshop, be sure to check out their website about the workshop in Dallas April 18-20, 2010! There is also a third workshop planned for the DC area in 2010, but no dates have been posted yet.

Professional Photographers of America

I just renewed my PPA membership and realized that I haven't talked about them. A membership to the Professional Photographers of America is a huge benefit to photographers! For the first two years as a PPA member, y ou can sign up as an "Aspiring Member" for $194 per year. Or you can also sign up as a Professional Active Member for $323 a year. It is a great investment in your business, that's for sure.

The inital reason I signed up for PPA was to get the discounted Business Liablility and Equipment Insurance. PPA helps to get a great group rate on these plans. The best part about their equipment insurance is that you cover what you want and the amount of equipment you cover determines your yearly rate. I checked with my homeowners plan, and they were about $400 more a year for both equipment and liablility than the plan I got through PPA!

Some of the other benefits of a PPA membership include discounts to various products and services, subscription to Professional Photographer Magazine, an online resources area that includes sample forms and contracts, and much, much more. PPA also has a full-time copyright staff. The staff works with members when any copyright infringements come up. That in itself is a huge bonus!

I haven't even tapped into half the resources that PPA offers members, but definately check them out to see how they can help build your business!!

PhotoVision

I absolutely LOVE PhotoVision Video Seminars. I'm not even sure how I found out about these DVDs, but they rock! The annual subscription fee is $149 (but if you're a PPA member is much, much less and there might be other discounts out there too) and well worth the money.

DVDs are sent bi-monthy to you for a year. Each DVD has six two-hour videos with various photographers giving you tips and showing you how they work. Everything from workflow to lighting to sales is covered in these DVDs. I've found that the senior and portrait work have been the biggest asset to me. Just being able to watch these fabulous photographers work on location with clients will give all kinds of new ideas. And a great thing about them is that the target all aspects of professional photography including portrait, commercial and event photography. I signed up late in 2008 and have been so busy that I'm not even through the entire year yet! The 2009 cd includes lessons from Sarah Petty, Lori Nordstrom, Parker Pfister and a ton more!

These are great DVDs for those just starting out and seasoned professions!

Unleashed | fine art pet photography workshop

I'm SO excited about Unleashed | fine art pet photography workshop! I just signed up for the September workshop in Chicago. Unleashed is a 2 1/2 day workshop put together by 3 wonderful photographers - Barbara Breitsameter, Teresa Berg and Bev Hollis.

Sit, Stay & Learn is the motto for this great weekend. This workshop is hands on and we'll actually have four legged friends to modeling for us! The number of attendees is limited so the gals can do personalized learning in break out sessions, talk about marketing and business practices and a lot more. For anyone even thinking about adding pet photography to their services, this workshop is a must!!

The cost is only $695 OR if you register before August 1st, you save $100 and it's only $595. Be sure to check out the Unleashed site for more information at unleashed2009.wordpress.com and hopefully I'll get to see a few of you there!

Photoshop Actions I Can't Live Without

There's some things you just can't live without. Totally Rad Actions are one of them for me. I invested in TRA before I even started my business. And when TRA 2 came out, I was quick to pickup that set as well. TRA has really changed my workflow. I typically have 4 of the actions that I use on a standard image. I've created keyboard shortcuts for those actions and can whip through an image pretty fast. When I have time, I like to play around with the different actions to come up with new effects for photos. I do believe that you can always over photoshop an image - so typically don't use the actions at 100%. I also believe in getting it right in camera and not trying to fix the exposure in photoshop!

If you are thinking about picking up TRA, be sure to visit the website and click ont he Try Em tab - you can download a few actions to try before you buy. And be sure to check out the new TRA Recipe site. Photographers have uploaded their images, along with their TRA recipes. Great combos to try out on your own images.

Below is a before and after of a photo that I used these actions on to give you an idea of before and after!

Little Whimsy Update

Just saw the below info in my email and wanted to pass along the sale with everyone!! Great way to stock up on studio samples if you don't have any yet! Check out the post below this one if you haven't read the info about Little Whimsy!

It's time to stock up for summer with our shop more and save sale! Starting Saturday June 27, 2009 through July 4, 2009, the more you spend the more you save.

Orders of $50-$99.99 enter code savemore10 to save an additional 10%.
Orders of $100-$149.99 enter code savemore15 to save an additional 15%.
Orders of $150+ enter code savemore20 to save an additional 20%

Coupons must be redeemed at time of sale, not valid on prior purchases. Coupon may be used more than once, but valid for the promotional value of each individual purchase. This offer can be combined with professional discounts.

Photo Jewelry & Gifts

I've been meaning to talk about Little Whimsy for awhile now, but I keep getting sidetracked. As I'm getting ready to run out the door right now, I thought I'd quickly share with you guys.

I came across Little Whimsy for a group buy from one of the forums I was on. Last fall I decided to order a few sample pieces to offer my clients. Her work is AMAZING!! I have a few different items to offer my clients - the mother of pearl pendants, they keychains, bookmarks, maple ornaments and magnets. All of which everyone loves!! She does offer a wholesale account for photographers which includes a discount on the items, which I feel are priced very reasonably to start with. Great customer service and the processing times are quick considering the work that is put into each piece.

I don't do much of a markup on my gifts, jewelry and cards for my clients. Why? Well, I feel like they are marketing pieces for me. When a client sends out my cards, I always have my logo and website on the back of the card - which means it's making its way into the hands of potential new clients and how many folks that receive those cards are sharing them with others? As for the jewelry and gifts, what mom or grandmother isn't going to showcase their cool new piece with a beautiful photo of their little one? Those items become another marketing tool as well. Keep that in mind when you are pricing out your speciality items!

Follow Up on Facebook Advertising

I wanted to follow up on the post from February about my Facebook advertising. Well, I'm glad I didn't spend big bucks on it. It did work out slightly for me. I had a lot of hits on my ad - so I was pretty excited. My ad was strictly for Senior Reps, I wasn't looking to book any regular sessions since I still needed to build my senior portfolio. I spent almost all of my $100 advertising credit - I think it was about $95. I had 4 girls contact me (no guys) and 2 apply to be reps. Both girls were selected (two different schools) but only one followed through. And we just did her session 2 weeks ago. It turned out great and she doesn't even have her proof book or rep cards yet and she's already sending folks my way.

My low turnout could have been from my lack of senior images on my site. Or the fact that I was advertising to Juniors in February and March to be reps and it wasn't even close to the end of the school year. I'm glad I did it and it was free - I did get one rep and that might be all I need to get the senior side of my business off the ground.

I plan on doing some additional senior advertising on Facebook mid-summer when the kids will really be looking to get there photos done. Especially since I have built up some additional senior images since my last round of advertising. And I just created a Facebook Fan Page for my business.

If you're thinking about doing it - just be careful that you watch what you spend. I can see that it could easily snowball into some big bucks!

Have you advertised on Facebook? Let me know how it's gone for you in the comment section below!

Great Posing Books!

A quick share on two posing books that I really like. The first is 500 Poses for Photographing Women: A Visual Sourcebook for Portrait Photographers it's a great inspiration right before going out on a session. The book is divided up into chapters based on the type of pose - head and shoulders, full length, seated, etc. Not much to read in this one - more for inspiration. There is a brief section in the back that has the basic tips for those just starting out.

The other is Mark Theil's Ultimate Posing Guide. Mark is actually located pretty close to me in Central Ohio. This book has been highly recommended on many photography forums that I've been on. With so many rave reviews, I decided to pick it up. It's been really helpful. Mark's book also has tips and tons of images. Mark's book also focuses on female posing.

Now ... if I could just find a book on posing guys, that would rock! Both books are a must have for your collection. They've been great in getting inspired right before some recent senior sessions!

{how to sell} guide - great handbook for achieving you're online sales goals!

I picked up the {how to sell} guide from Joyce Smith over at Wordsmith the other week but just had the chance to read it yesterday. Amazing! This is a great product for those photographers who do online sales only. Joyce has taken her proven method of online sales and come up with an easy to read and easy to understand workflow for you to implement in your own business. My readers probably know how much I love Joyce's products. I also own the {what to write} and {what to wear} guides, and adore both of them.
Joyce goes through each step of her workflow from booking the client session to the final sale. With a ton of great tips on how to make the sale work for you. She also offers access to both a PhotoCart (which I use) and a PickPic Gallery so you can see exactly how she's set-up her online sales.

If for whatever reason you have to do online sales and cannot do in-person sales - this guide is for you. As always, I highly suggest Joyce's products, they are well worth the money to help you start achiving more money in your sales!

Full Disclosure: Samples received from WordSmith.