Hey Girl, Nice Shot

MCP Action Releases Finish It Actions Set

Last week I was a lucky recipient of the MCP Actions Finish It action set sneak preview.  I had a little time to use this new action set and am excited about it.

If you are not familiar with MCP Actions definitely check out their site.  Jodi Friedman has created a bunch of different action sets designed to help with both your editing and finishing of your images.

Not long ago she released the Blog It Boards which let you create compositions of photos in a web sized designs.  And while I liked them and occasionally use them - I still have a fairly narrow blog so I tend to show one image at a time.  Add in wanting to also upload the same images to my facebook fan page and I again, am stuck wanting to display individual images.

So her new action set is perfect really for me.  Here's her description...

As a photographer, your blog and website are two of your best marketing tools. So, make your images look the best they can online by using the Finish It actions. This spectacular set of actions makes it easy to prepare your photos for the web.

Included in this set is a choice of 35 finishing touches to make your images fit the style of your blog post. From thin frames to color bars to rounded edges, you can choose what is best for you and any particular image. Heck, you can even change the colors too! Within every action, your image is automatically sharpened for the web, converted to sRGB for best monitor colors, re-sized to fit a blog, and provides the option to include your logo if desired.

And finally, it also includes 8 actions that will re-size your final web image to fit most standard blog and site sizes from small to large photos. Yes, we have thought of everything you may need at your fingertips to make preparing beautiful images for the web easy and fast!

And she was not kidding.  I ran her actions on some of my photos from last week and I'm loving the results.  And they are so quick.  If you are thinking that you know how to create a color block yourself in Photoshop you might be rights...but there is a MAJOR time savings in having a bunch of them in easy and quick actions.

  

This image was processed using the Round It Oval action.

 

This one was using the Build It Color Block which allows you to choose the color of your block each time you run it.

 
And probably my favorite....the Build It Rounded Color Block!

Jodi launched these new actions today so they are now available for purchase.  And better yet...she even has them available for Photoshop Elements in addition to Photoshop CS!

The Barnwood Rug via Savvy Photographer

If you have been on the Savvy Photographer website recently, or visited their booth at Imaging USA, you may have noticed the insanely cool barnwood floor rug they are offering for sale.  

 

Barnwood rug?

Yep, that's what I thought too.  It looks like a real floor in the photos so I asked if she would take some detail shots of the edge because I was just having trouble envisioning how this could possibly have been a rug!!

And happily she posted some new picture with some of the details about the edge...

 

She described it as something more like a giant mousepad.  NOW I can see.  It looks like such a cool product and a great way to have a mobile flooring system for when you need it without the expense of actually putting in barnwood floors.  Learn more or order your barnwood floor rug: Barnwood Floor Rug (via Savvy Photographer).

The iPad - a New Tool for Professional Photographers?

As I sit in a Starbucks working on my Macbook Air, waiting for a call from my mechanic on my iPhone, it should come as no surprise that I'm already drooling over the new Apple tablet, the iPad.  Yes, unfortunate naming...they could really have thought harder about that one but all in all, it looks like a great internet appliance that would fit in perfectly with my increasingly Apple heavy technology.

 

In case you are living under a rock, yesterday Apple announced their new iPad - a tablet device based on the iPhone operating system. In a lot of ways it is like a giant iTouch (the iphone without the phone part).  It appears to be about the same size as the larger kindle but with a yummy color display.

As I watched the live feed from engadget yesterday, I was thinking about how fun this little item would be.  Here are a few ways...

• Showing client slideshows and videos on a device they can hold in their hand!!!  Since the iPad will run any of the iPhone apps, it seems that the Animoto iPhone app would work on it which means I could show any of my Animoto videos on it.  I love how they look on the iPhone and seeing them bigger but still in a hand held device would be really appealing.
• Reviewing client images!  Load up their gallery on there and be able to meet them anywhere...Starbucks, their home, a park, and show them their gallery without requiring any additional equipment.  And sliding through a gallery is way more fun than using a mouse, right?
• Help with ordering-Since the device is wifi enabled you would be able to connect to your online gallery system and help them place their order.  I know I have a few clients that just can't seem to place their order themselves but I like to get all my orders in the same way to make sure the go through the workflow.  With this it would be even easier to meet them for a quick ordering session.
• It is small enough to fit into your bag to carry with you to shoots so you can browse while you wait for your client, and also have access to review online information such as your policies or package pricing.  Also, I imagine it won't be long before there is an application that allows you to create contracts that can be signed using a stylus on the iPad directly (a paperless contract!!!).  There are already applications that allow you to sign for credit card transactions on an iPhone and this seems like it would be very close to that. How great would that be for contracts, model releases, policy acceptance?
• With Keynote, the Apple presentation software, you could just prop that baby up and show a presentation.  I am thinking about trying Keynote out for my talk at the Workshop on the Waterfront and possibly re-writing my class for moms using Keynote so I could see it being handy to have a portable version other than on my laptop that could be handy for more one-on-one teaching.
• And on the non-client side, being able to browse email, read blog posts, and catch up on facebook without using my laptop seems like a bonus.  Using the touch screen instead of a traditional keyboard seems like a great solution to someone like me that likes to scan online content while I watch TV at night.  
• With a camera connector kit option it seems possible that you could review pictures with clients in almost real time to make sure you got THE SHOT that they are looking for.  If that is your thing.  Not mine...I like to go home and live with my pictures a bit and edit them before showing a client.  But I could see this being a great feature for commercial photographers.
• There are mini-projectors out now that work with the iPhone so surely those types of things will come out for use with the iPad too! And with optional components it can be connected to your TV or projector for presentations on the go!
• And that is before the applications designed just for the iPad start showing up!  I can't wait to see what those look like!!

The negatives that stood out to me...

• I am surprised it didn't come with a camera but with my iPhone and my laptop both sporting them (in addition to when I carry my big mama camera around) that isn't really that important to me!
• No support for flash on website.  While I kinda understand not supporting flash on an iPhone, it seems that on something bigger like the iPad that is designed to be an internet device that they wouldn't build in support for flash. 
• No multitasking. Which means I can't be checking on my Facebook status via the Facebook app and reading tweets via my Twitter app at the same time. Just like on my iPhone when one opens the other closes.
• Right now the iPhone version of google docs is read only.  I wonder if with more screen real estate they would make it read/edit.  That would be sweet!

The pricing is a little confusing.  The base 16 GB model with wifi but no 3G is $499.  But is is $130 more for the 3G version (which will connect to ATTs wireless network) which seems like a big jump.  I'm actually wondering how much I would use 3G (don't forget you'd need to add monthly service).  I also wonder if there is any kind of service discount if you are already an ATT customer (which I am with my iPhone).  Or if I can tether it to my iPhone in those cases where I'm working somewhere without wifi.

In the end, I think the form factor is handy.  I do worry about my Macbook Air screen getting bent or something spilling on the keys.  I could definitely see room in my world for all three (the Macbook Air, iPad, and iPhone).  But I'm a little more gadget obsessed than most people.

What about you?  Are you drooling over this new device?  Do you have other thoughts as to how it could be useful with your business?

Jinkyart Workshop Giveaway

 

I absolutely adore Barb Uil's photographic style.  And her sessions always look like so much fun!

She just announced her schedule of workshops in 4 US cities.  And what could make it even better...you can actually win a seat at one of her workshop by buying an action set from her.  She has details on her site here.

I think Barb spoke at a Secret Workshop a couple of years ago in California.  I remember being totally bummed that I wasn't going to one of the California dates because I would have loved to have heard her speak. Her look is recognizable for sure.

A Confession of Losing at the Game of Chance

Sometimes you have to take chances to grow your business  And not every change will work. 

This year was a year of experimenting with my business.  For the first third of 2009 my revenue was up 38%.  Super exciting, right!?  But I was trying to look ahead and grow the business so I brought in some associate photographers.  The idea was that I would lower the per-shoot revenue but making it a package deal including the disk but that the associates would be taking on the lower-priced shoots and I would continue doing the higher end shoots.

 

Unfortunately my little experiment was a failure.  Clients were not lining up for these lower priced sessions like I expected.  It seemed that many people were nervous about paying more upfront and not seeing the photos before paying.  And they wanted to come to me - not to a new associate. And they didn't see the option of purchasing the disk ahead of time as a savings over the traditional portrait sessions.  And we ended up discounting the sessions further trying to build up clients for the associates which only made the situation worse by having sessions that were actually below cost.

We did do some great mini-session events in September which is why we had a spike in revenue in September but we also had higher expenses that month due to those mini-sessions.  And because  sessions were prepaid at a discounted rate, our revenue dropped quickly during the time that our revenue was on the rise last year.  So instead of finishing the year with a 40% increase in revenue over the year before, which was my goal, I actually finished out the year a little behind. 

The good news is I'm not afraid to make changes.  Clearly.  So I've decided to go back to my more traditional model with a session fee for the payment...then selling the prints and digital files after they see the proofs.  It was a better model for me and it allowed me to keep a much more reasonable schedule.  So I'll be going back to that for 2010.   In addition, I'll be subletting some of the space in the loft that I'm leasing to a design company since I'm not there that often and it is a lot of overhead to carry.  Actually, I was thrilled when I saw that suggestion to sub-let in the PPA magazine this month because it helped me feel better about reducing my overhead that way.    2010 is looking up already.  I have a bunch of newborn sessions scheduled between now and April in a time that is traditionally slow for outdoor portrait photographers.  

Don't be afraid to take chances but know what the risks are, the worst case scenarios, and plan for them.  I actually didn't plan my Fall very well because I kept thinking that suddenly people would realize the holidays were around the corner and book sessions  with the associates.  I really had no back-up plan.  So now I'm adding, "BETTER PLANNING" to my goals for 2010.   

What about you?  What mistake did you make in 2009 and what did you learn from them?  Or what changes did you make that worked great for you?

Planning for 2010

I'm sitting on the floor supervising my 3 year old's bath while she is home sick from daycare.  Probably a more common scene for Mom's who also run their own small businesses.  Multi-tasking is a fact of life when you have kids, a home, a husband, pets, and a business.  Unfortunately it is all too easy to have the "I want it all" approach and end up overwhelmed, overscheduled, and unhappy overall.

In 2009 I wanted it all.  I wanted to have a nice and organized house, spend fun quality time with my kids, grow my business, and maybe even sneak in a date night or two with my husband.  And you know what, I ended the year unhappy.  My husband, who is much more willing to ask the tough questions, made me face the reality that I just can't have it all...not right now at least. 

So for 2010 I'm going to make some hard decisions about how I spend my time.  And I expect, being able to really commit to a few things is going to make me much happier overall.  It'll make me a better wife, a better mom, and a better business owner. 

My number one priority for 2010 is to get healthy.  I've completely slacked in the last year on this.  After getting in great shape and loosing weight in 2008 when I was only working part time, I slipped into very bad habits last year because I didn't plan how I was going to exercise and eat healthy meals.  Instead I stopped exercising all together and pretty much ate some form of delivery or carry out for the majority of my meals.  NOT GOOD!  So the very first thing on my list for next year is myself.  Exercising and planning for health meals will be an essential part of my year.  I know I'll have more energy and feel better, and it is an investment in myself that will last much longer than almost anything else I do.

Also for next year my husband and I are embarking on a major software project together.  It will be a tool set for photographers.  Some of you may know that my husband is a very gifted software developer...the majority of the projects he consults on are multi-million dollar projects.  So while the stuff we've outlined is complicated...I'm very confident that we'll be able to take a completely different approach than anyone else!  So that will be taking up the majority of my time over the next year.  More about that soon.

Photography will still play a role in my life - and an important one.  It'll just be a smaller slice of the pie.  I'll be more selective about the clients I take on to make sure we are a good match.  And I know that will make me much happier about the sessions I have.

So as part of this planning processes I made a chart of my days of the week and my projected time for each task.  It was really eye opening.  The first time I did it I couldn't get the # hours to be under 24!  And realistically I need it to be more around 20 or so hours to give me some wiggle room for things that just come up (like kids sick at home!).

 

While I could adjust week to week, this would be a plan for getting though my week.  Have you tried this yourself?  I just made a google spreadsheet with the days of the week and the task areas....then put the hours per day for each task.  Then I created a chart from that because I like to see things visually.

Try this for yourself.  Ask yourself some hard questions about your year - and what is realistic.  You'll be happier if you do!

Get a Free Month of Animoto

I've written about Animoto before and my love affair with it continues.  I use it not only for client "slideshows" but I also make my own personal music videos with it after big events with my kids.  If you haven't checked it out recently it is worth a visit.

Here are some of the features of Animoto commercial account:

• Remove the Animoto logo/branding from your videos
• Choose music from their library of commercially licensed music (so you don't have to buy your own)
• Create an unlimited number of high resolution videos.  Great for burning to DVD.
• Add a button at the end of our video with a link to your site.

And with Animoto now you can upload video clips to incorporate into your videos...a great way to show some of the behind the scenes during your portrait sessions...or just to show the fun personality of the kid or family.  And you can add text now into the videos to assist with explaining the transitions. Once you download your video you can also upload it into Flickr, Vimeo, YouTube, and even Facebook if you don't want to use the embedded option in Animoto.

And the folks at Animoto are offering a great promotion until the end of the year...buy your one year commercial account and get an extra month for free!  Just enter the code "grievesholiday09" to get your discount when you sign up for Animoto.

What are some of the ways you can use your Animoto videos:

• As a client slideshow during review sessions
• As a bonus to clients when they place their order in a timely manner
• As an add-on to add value to packages
• As a thank you for VIP clients
• As an up-sell/add-on product
• As a way to feature a full session on your blog or facebook fan page
• As a way to create a "commercial" for your services
• As a way to add some "wow" to digital frames.  Many now accept videos too.
• As a way to show off your work at tradeshows or expo

Updated to add: thought it might be interesting to know that I've been a member of Animoto since Sept 2007!  In that time I've created 94 full length videos....most of which have been this year!

Reflections

Have you been feeling the squeeze of the holiday rush too?  I hope so!  Today I had my last scheduled session for 2009.  What a great feeling to have made it through another hectic season.  And with some editing left before me, it is getting closer to that time where I can catch my breath and reflect on the last year, and consider changes for the new one. 

 
Every year I consider my work/life balance.  Some years I work more, some I focus more on my home.  2009 was definitely a year of work!  I'm glad my children still remember me when I wake them up, and that I'm able to steal the occasional dinner out with my husband.  And right now I'm working out how I can swing the focus back a little towards my family and my home and find happiness.  What great timing for the new PPA magazine that showed up at my home this weekend.  In it is a feature piece talking about just this....having balance between work and home.  And Melanie Mauer - one of my fellow speakers at the Workshop on the Waterfront - is featured in the article.  I can't wait to meet her in person and hear what she has to say!  And I swear that PPA must have a bug planted in my house...their articles always seems to be speaking directly to me!

In the meantime, I'd love to have readers share what they are reflecting on, or maybe some words of wisdom for the rest of us?  What do you say?

Workshop on the Waterfront Registration Open

Today is the first day that seats are available for the Workshop on the Waterfront in St. Michael's Maryland!  This workshop will take place March 28-March 31st with an optional additional portfolio building session.    Located at the Inn of Perry Cabin, the location is ideal for beautiful waterfront portraits. 

I will be speaking at the workshop about using social media in your photography business (shocking, I know!).  There is an incredible line up of speakers including Jodie Otte who recently finished her second Symalac ad campaign (I've seen the first campaign everywhere from People magazine to video ads on Hulu), and Bev Hollis who was recently featured in the PPA magazine.

Go here to register!

 

Savvy Sisterhood: Workshop on the Waterfront

I am BEYOND excited to announce the Savvy Sisterhood: Workshop on the Waterfront being put on by the Savvy Photographer!  AND I'LL BE A SPEAKER!!!  Being held in the beautiful St. Michael's Maryland March 28th - March 31st.    Here is a list of the speakers for the Workshop!  I cannot wait to meet the other speakers in person!!!

Mika Beth Edwards 

Jessica Grieves <--- ME!!!

Bev Hollis

Marta Locklear

Melanie Mauer

Jodie Otte

Registration for the event starts on December 1st and there has been so much interest we think it'll sell out quickly so put this at the top of your Christmas list!