Week 6

Photo Challenge

Week 6

Last week's challenge was "pets".

We had so many cute entries and it was hard, but we decided on this one from

Anna-Elizabeth

I love the composition-beautiful!

This week's challenge (and possibily with a prize!) is

Family

Post your favorite family shot. This could be your family, a client, your sister's family-whoever!

My photo is of a maternity session I did.

.

I love the fall colors that day.

Post your entries here.

Winner will be announced next week.

Good luck!

I'm back!

I took a week off to get affairs in order AND I had major issues with one of my computers-the one that I keep my emails on. Big bummer. I think I got a virus and now I have no Internet on it. That is not cool when you have hundreds of emails saved and lots to send out. I'm still behind, so if you are waiting on a prize to be sent out, I have not forgotten you!

I do have some uber good news-I just rented a studio!!!

(doing the happy dance now-be glad you can't see me)


It needs some paint and stuff, but I really see the potential in it. It's a cute little house (I'm renting the upper part). It's owned by a super nice older couple and it's in a prime area.



Here is the front of it- I know, it's cute!






I love the photo opps outside, like this built in bench.


This is the main room where I will be shooting.


This is the viewing/meeting room.



I'm not sure yet what I want to do with this room. It's a three season room that might work for newborn photos. I like the wood walls.

I can't wait to fix up this bathroom.

This will be the prop room.

This will be the office-love the loft look.

It already has the tracking lights which is nice. My colors will be grays, blacks and a splash of pink. Oh yeah, I never showed you my new logo design that I went with. I changed from black and red to black and pink.

I will still have to put together new business materials and packaging.

I will post the before and after photos when I get done. We are thinking two weeks. Hopefully, you won't even recognize it!

I have decided that I will "work for props" for awhile to build up my supplies, so if you sell backdrops, newborn or other props and would like to advertise with me, send me an email!!

Also, because of the holiday, I will do this week's challenge tomorrow and announce the winner of last week's!

Have a great day off!

Friday Photog Finds

Have you ever gone to a workshop or online seminar?As photographers, we can always use some additional training, marketing advice, or if you are a newbie, you may need every kind of help. I've often thought about signing up for a workshop I see on the web to learn something new.

This week's Friday Photog Finds is all about photography training. These are some places I thought were interesting, I've used, or would like to. Feel free to check them out and let me know what you think!

Workshop:

Small Strobes, Big Results

June 19 - June 25, 2011

Location: Santa Fe
Instructor: David X. Tejada
Tuition: $1,095

Details:
Lectures, demonstrations, and critiques in the morning; the remainder of the day is spent practicing lighting techniques in the studio and on location around Santa Fe. Participants leave this workshop with confidence in their new lighting skills and with a strong foundation for developing their own lighting techniques and style.

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Workshop/Book:

Jodie Otte Workshop
Location: Baltimore Maryland
Instructor: Jodie Otte
Tuition:$1,895

Details:

Instructor basically covers using lighting to achieve natural lighting look. She also covers post processing, business, and commercial photography. She also includes her book-good deal! Check out her studio photos-you'll die of envy!

Note:
She doesn't always offer her workshops, but you can still purchase her book, Studio Lighting Naturally for $395.
Way cheaper then the workshop and you don't have to travel!

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Member site/Workshops/Books

TaoPan

Owner: Ana Brandt:
Prices: Varies
Workshop Locations: Varies.

Details:

This is an awesome source!Ana Brandt is a well known baby photographer. Her online magazine is full of great information and she has a variety of learning sources. You can sign up for a workshop, become a lifetime member, purchase one of her books, or just read her magazine (blog). If you are interested in newborn photography, you have to check this site out!

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Online:

Jasmine Star-Building Your Wedding Photography Business

Instructor: Jasmine Star
Price: $99-already started, but you can watch the videos for free that they have on the site, CreativeLive.com.
Location: Online (videos)

Details:

If you do wedding photography, you might know about Jasmine Star. She is a well known wedding photographer and awesome! I stalk her blog and website to get great pointers and ideas for my weddings. I love to find sites that interview her,or when she does something like this. Google her name to find when she will be a guest on photography info sites.

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Learning is fun-I hope you can use one of these sources to further your photography skills!

Is the client always right?

The customer is always right.

This age old saying is one that businesses are taught to live by. While this should be good business advice, you can't always make it happen when you are a photographer.

As a photographer, I think that we are too eager to please the client that we end up being taken advantage of. We are artists and vulnerable of our work, so we can sometimes let our clients walk all over us.

One incident that always stand out in my mind is when I shot an 80th birthday party. The lady that hired me was throwing it for her mom. She (client) was so nice and we actually had a nice time and everyone treated us well. The bad part came during the proofing.

The lady actually had her brother and sister going in with her on the expenses of the party and photographer. I did not know this until later-not that it mattered. They wanted a book that show cased the party, so I put together a nice 8x10 and was happy with my work.

I put a proof of the pages online for the lady and waited for her approval for me to send it off to print. She quickly emailed me back and said she loved it and was excited to get it-awesome!

As I was replying with a thank-you email and in the process of ordering the book, I get another email from her asking if I could make a quick revision. Okay?? What happened? I was thinking to myself. I agreed to do the quick revision and sent the new proofed page to her. I got another email from her letting me know that she liked the revision BUT, could I please change one more thing?

What the heck is going on here? I was confused at this point. First, this lady loves my book and now she's slowly tearing it apart? I made the second change and quickly sent the third proof to her. This time, I did not look forward to her reply.

She replied back, stating once again that she loved the new page, BUT, could I add a photo that someone else took to the book?

Are you freakin' kidding me?!?

I had to put a stop to this before this woman had me designing a totally new book. I replied back and told her that I would add the photo, BUT, any more revisions would add additional fees. This time, when she replied back, she did not ask for anymore changes. I also found out that it was the older sister that was demanding all the changes.

Had I not said anything, I'm sure her sister would have dragged this on for weeks, costing me time away from other clients, and had I figured cost per hour, I'd be doing it for pennies.

This situation made me realized that, while I believe the client is always right, you do have to set your limits.

That's why we need sturdy contracts that limits the freedom of the client to a point. Yes, we need to make them happy with our work, but we don't need to lose control either.

After that chaos, I did one more revision-to my contract. I added one complimentary revision when the client orders a book, and if they want more, additional fees will incur.

What are your thoughts?

Pro-tography 101 Photo Challenge Wk 4

Photo Challenge Week 3 Winner:

I am excited to see more entries for last week's photo challenge! Last week's challenge was "babies" and that brought out a lot of members. It was hard, but we picked Sheri from Mommys Adventures baby photo:

I love Christmas hats on babies. So cute!

I also have a surprise!

Sheri wins a $10 gift card from Target!

(please contact me for your prize, Sheri)

It's not much, but it's a start.

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This week's challenge is "bokeh".

Post your best bokeh photo and submit it here.

Leave a comment on here to let me know you entered.

Please post on your blogs if possible to help spread the word. The more entries, the bigger the prize!

Here is my photo:


I didn't have too much time to find my best, but I like to do closeups with that pretty blur in the background.

Winner announced on Monday, May 16th

Friday Photog Finds

I am a little late posting my Friday Photog Finds because I spent the morning going on my daughter's class field trip to the park to learn about trees. I don't get a chance very often to go to school things, so I was happy to be able to go today! :)

I wanted to devote this week's finds to fun. That's right. FUN. So, I wanted to introduce you to Photo JoJo.com. Have you heard of them? They are like the geeks of photography's one stop shop. They sell fun stuff and stuff you can actually use.

Here are some cool gadgets to consider getting:

The lens bracelet.
$15 for two.

I so need to get one of these.

The SLR Sloop, camera bag.
$149

These are styling.

The Camera Lens Mug
$24

You need one of these.

I'm trying to get them to let me host a contest. You should tell them to let me. I will be your best friend if you do.

Check back on Monday for our Photo Challenge winner!

Featured Vendor AND contest!

Giveaway has ended:

Winner:

Lara

The Gowder Family

If you are looking for some new props for your newborn/children shoots, check out our Featured Vendor Sonia McCutcheon of

Milk Money

(cute name!)

AND...
She's giving something away!

Tell us about yourself, Sonia!

Hi! I am Sonia McCutcheon the fiber addicted owner of milkmoney http://soniamccutcheon.etsy.com/ I taught myself to knit about ten years ago, I needed a stress relief from my insanely paced job as a production coordinator for a media company. I had no idea that I would become so impassioned for all things fiber! Since launching milkmoney almost three years ago, I have also taught myself to spin yarn.

I absolutely LOVE THAT TOO! My wonderfully supportive husband bought me drop spindle about four years ago and my fabulous mother in law bought me a spinning wheel for Christmas about a year and a half ago. I love getting lost in the process of spinning yarn and love everything about making my own yarn. I am hoping to add a line of products to my shop that are made from wools that were spun and knitted by me. My latest adventure is learning to dye my own fiber. I am currently experimenting using natural and food grade dyes to color my wools. It is important for me to use something safe since my products are used on children.

What type of product do you offer to photographers?

milkmoney has a wonderful selection of hats, wraps, knitted bowls and am currently in the final stages of launching a line of tutu's and knitted cocoons

What made you want to start this kind of business?

milkmoney was launched at my sister's urging. I had inundated my family and extended family in hats and scarves. Living in the south there obviously isn't that great a need for these items so, in an effort save herself and others she suggested I check out Etsy and seriously consider opening a shop. I did, and haven't looked back. It is fulfilling and humbling to know that items made in my studio, with my two hands are being used by photographers and moms in places as far away as Vietnam and all over the United States, wow!

Are you a photographer as well, or at least a photo-taking junkie?

I am not a photographer but rather a great fan of photographers work. I am the mom that shows up at birthday parties and forgot the camera, thankfully my husband brings his! I love looking at Flickr and seeing the talented work posted there.

Do you have a favorite photographer that you drool over their photos?

I have to say that I adore all things creative. I love and appreciate how two people can look at the same item and not see the same thing. I have a close working relationship with Lisa Slate the owner of Lisa Slate Photography. She approached me when I first started out on etsy and has provided me with the most adorable photos to use in my shop but more importantly honest feedback on how my items work and fit. The feedback that I get from her allows me to make my items adorable but functional.
What do you do like to do when you aren't running your business?

When I am not running milkmoney...I have been married to the most wonderful and supportive husband. We have two children, my son is five and my daughter is four. I stay mostly at home, but do teach at my children's preschool, it's great for us to leave and come home together. My little one's play soccer, they love to do art and we spend a great part of our day covered in paint of some sort and/or markers, playdoh. We love to sing and dance and play outside. We read and have been known to jump on the bed.

Any advice to someone wanting to start a business?

Follow your dream, don't be afraid to take chances! Ask for advice and be willing to listen, sometimes we hear things we don't like but feedback isn't personal. The world is what you make of it!

Win it!

Would you like to win a product of YOUR CHOICE?

That's right!

Sonia wants one lucky reader to win one of her wonderful products!

How to enter:

Required.

-Leave a comment stating your favorite product from her store.

-Like milk money.

Three Extra Entries:

(leave three more comments)

Add my blog to your favorite blog list.

While you are waiting to see if you win, she is also offering a 15% discount to her shop!

Use PROTOGRAPHY101 for discount.

Thanks, Sonia!

Contest ends:

May 12th.

Photo Challenge Week 3

Ok, we are getting better with entries! Please keep them coming so I can start giving out prizes ( I need at least 10 entries).

Last week's winner of "Color" is Hayley!

I love the colored locks.

Congrats!

For this week's Photo Challenge, I want to see babies! Yep, this should be an easy one to enter. Who doesn't have a favorite newborn shot, or a first birthday shot?

I'm excited to see what turns up!

Here is my pick from my collection :

You can post your entry here.

Leave a comment on here as well to let me know you entered.

Good luck!

Winner Announced!

I'm so sorry about the delay of the announcement of our huge contest!

I meant to do it yesterday, but I had a wedding from hell on Saturday (more about that later) and just was so behind in getting things done.

But, enough of that!

The winner that I chose randomly is:

Kara Janelle!!

Congrats, Kara!

If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new winner will be announced.

Thank you to all who entered!

Please come back for more contests-I like contests! ;)