Hey Girl, Nice Shot

I <3 my iPhone

Last year I was one of those souls sitting outside an AT&T store waiting to get my hands on an iPhone...I don't even have one of the new ones and I still ADORE it.  It helps me manage my business when I am on the go.

What does your iPhone home screen say about you!?

 

If you are an iPhone user you may have already figured out how to move all the icons around.  As you download more apps (after all, there is an app for that) you'll want to organize your applications in a way that makes it more efficient for you!  For example, I have one whole screen for the games my kids play on my phone so they don't eve touch the other icons by accident.

But your home screen is your most valuable real estate. This is where you should put the apps you use most.

The very bottom row are your dock items that stay there screen to screen.  So I have moved Facebook there.  I'm so totally addicted to Facebook (although I am not loving the new layout).

I use Tweetie for twitter and I really like the interface.  I manage multiple twitter accounts and it is easy to do from this application!

Since I have a Ring Central account for my 800 number, having the app to connect to that at the front is great for when I want to go in and check my messages.

If you have not seen Chase Jarvis' Best Camera you must check it out!  It allows you to make quick creative edits to your iPhone photos and post them in one step to multiple outlets like Facebook and Twitter.

I use the online version of Quickbooks and so having the iphone version is handy to check it.  Which, you know, I should do more often.

Some others to note:

-Google: I like the Google iPhone app because it makes a quick two click option to get to my reader and calendar.

-PS Mobile: Photoshop mobile - lets you make some basic adjustments to your iphone photos.  It is pretty cool because you slide your finger back and forth on the screen to adjust the option just like using the sliders on your computer!

-Animoto: I love Animoto and am constantly making videos with it.  The app gives you quick access to view all the videos you've made and you can download them to your phone.  So next time you are talking to someone about your photography you can whip out your phone and show a video---and not wait for it to download.  You can also create videos from photos on your iphone.

-GoPayment: This app allows me to process credit card information from my phone!  Great for when you meet a client off-site and they want to make a payment with credit card!

Laura Novak, one of the instructors from LearnFest, recently released her PhotoPrice iphone application.  If you are struggling with how to set up your pricing...this application will help you.  Having attended Learnfest, and also gone through her Strategy Avenue disks, I understand SOOOO much better how to set up my pricing.  And I have a major spreadsheet that I have used to create my pricing model.  I promise you it does not look as pretty as the PhotoPrice application.

So there are some of the iPhone tools I use to help keep my business running even when I'm on the go.  What are some of your favorite iPhone applications that help you run your business?  Or maybe kill a little time waiting for a client.  :)

Now On: The Savvy Photographer

 
 What a fun morning....I returned from my photo shoot at a Christmas tree farm and found my guest post for The Savvy Photographer had been posted.  The article "Blogging the Business of Photography" is a reflection on my reasons for starting this blog...and encouragement to find your passion and blog about it too!  Check it out!

Shooting for YOU!

It is the holiday busy season so most of us are probably just trying to keep our heads above water.  Great! But what about those times of year when you are not as busy?  Have you considered shooting just for you?

What I mean is not going out and taking pictures of your own kids.  We know that comes with a different set of problems and you probably have taken their pictures a bunch of times.

What I really mean is think about something you'd like to try out - and go do it!

I'll give you one of my recent examples.

 

I was shopping in Target with my daughter and saw an incredibly cute little girl with her mom and I thought "I would love to photograph her!"  Well, it doesn't hurt to ask.  So I went right up to the mom, introduced myself, and told her I would LOVE to photograph her daughter for my portfolio.  Here's the thing, portfolio building doesn't have to end just because you have been in business for a while.  Sometimes it is great to get a model and shoot the way YOU want to shoot.  Or try out a new technique, or location!

So the mom said yes and as it turns out dad was a child model in his youth so it was no shock to them!  I was able to tell them where I wanted to shoot, when, how I wanted her to wear her hair, made clothing recommendations and brought some of my own.  It was great.  I got to completely control the session.  I got to take the photos I wanted to take, and in return I gave them the high res files as payment.  There was a new location I had recently gotten permission to shoot at so I was glad to have this session as my first go there to test the waters. 

I had a great time during this session and there were no expectations or requests for specific poses which gave me complete freedom.  In addition, I only edited a few of my favorites from the session instead of the standard 25-30 that I would from a paying session.  I'm thrilled to have the images for my portfolio.

Such a Joi from Jessica Grieves on Vimeo.

One word of caution...I do get asked all the time to shoot for free because someone thinks it would be good for me to build up my portfolio or get access to new clients. I consider these VERY different kinds of requests which are driven usually by someone wanting free pictures or not understanding my target market.  Unless for a very good cause I will usually say no to those kinds of requests because they are typically not the kind of photos I want to be taking.  What I'm really talking about is you creating a totally controlled session of you own imagining.

Have fun with it!  What are your thoughts on portfolio building after you have been in business a while?  Do you still occasionally do free shoots just because you want to?

MCP Actions: New Multiple Choice Actions

Today, MCP Actions releases their newest set of actions: Bag of Tricks.  These actions include some GREAT skin correction actions such as "Sunburn Vanisher" and "Shiny Skin Vanisher".  In addition you can give your color a POP with the color finder actions.  Add in come bleaching options, and some fun options for skies and you have a well rounded set of actions ready to help you give your photos additional life.

I'm currently loading the 1000 pictures taken today by my associates and I so I can't wait to go in and start using these actions as part of my regular processing.  I can definitely see the skin corrections and bleaching options as being a great addition to the actions I already use.  I was able to get a beta version of these actions to try them out and they are very robust.  I still need to actually go back and read the manual but I did do one play on a photo of my daughter to just get a feel for them.

  

I think I will go back and still do a little play with her skin but it was VERY fast going from the straight from the camera above to this vivid version below. I used: Magic Light, Magic Color Finder, Magical Clarity, Pot of Gold.

If you do not already visit the MCP Actions blog, you should definitely add it to your "must read" list.  Jodi gives out LOTS of tips and tutorials for post processing and many do not require you to have any other tools like these actions...but it does make the job go faster.  Definitely visit the MCP Actions site to see some FANTASTIC examples of photos edited with these actions, and the formulas that were used.

Animoto Special Offer

One of my first video-in-video Animoto videos is currently being featured on the Case Studies page on the animoto website for photographers.  And to help celebrate, animoto has given me a great deal to pass on to you!!!!  A free month when you sign up for the 3 month package.  Three months is plenty of time to learn that you are going to LOVE animoto, but 4 for the price of 3 is even better.  If you've been putting off signing up for your commercial account, do it now!

To get an extra month on a 3-month package, enter the promo code:

heygirl

at:

animoto.com/photography/upgrade

The code is good until October 16th.

When I was focusing on print sales, I included the animoto video as a bonus when they purchased one of my packages.  My packages were priced to be where I wanted to be with my average sales and this was a great way to add value.  Now that I am concentrating on digital sales, I include the music video only with the full length session which encourages clients to sign up for a full length session instead of the just a lower cost mini-sessions.  How are you using these videos if you have already signed up?