Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted. John Lennon Well, here I am on another Sunday when it seems like I just wrote last Sunday's "Reflections" post yesterday. How fast time flies takes me right to my topic this morning - time.
Now and then Facebook does something thought-provoking. On Thursday I got a congratulations post for ten years on Facebook. I remember getting started and being told by my kids it was creepy seeing their old man on Facebook. Now, we're all on it! But my thoughts aren't about FB but looking back over the last ten years. The older you get, the faster time seems to fly by, and there are two things I'm thinking about. First, look back over the last ten years. Think about your life in 2008 versus today and all the things that have changed in your personal life, business and your passion and skill set as an artist. So often we get so involved in chasing our dreams we miss all the progress we've made along the way. Second, what are you doing to make the most of the time you've got in front of you? Just about three weeks ago Sheila and I lost a great friend, Tony Ballionis. He and his wife Dana have been in our lives since we moved down here in 2011. He went to sleep the night before and just didn't wake up. It was a complete surprise, and we were crushed, but Tony's passing makes the point that we never know when the clock is going to stop. And there it is - full circle on my thoughts this morning. What are you going to do to stay focused on whatever journey is in your heart? We all procrastinate and waste time. There are even times when wasting time is the right thing to do because it's part of the decision-making process. So, take a little time this morning with a short look in the rear view mirror. Look at how far you've come over the last ten years and then let yourself daydream a little over the path ahead of you for the next decade. In 2028 what do you want to see in your life as you look back? Chamira Young and I did our "Mind Your Own Business" podcast on Photofocus.com a short time ago with Jen Rozenbaum, who talked about her philosophy to live her life backwards, picturing the end of her life and wanting her trip down Memory Lane to be filled with things she wanted to do and no regrets. It might seem abstract for me to explain here, but listen to Jen's explanation. Wishing everybody a day filled with the people you love the most who make every minute of every day worth being alive. Take the time for those eleven-second hugs with those friends and family who merely make life beautiful. It's really that simple...stop wasting time on the naysayers, projects that don't make sense, and the energy drainers that leave you exhausted. There's a point in life where you need to stop watering dead plants. Happy Sunday everybody!
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Images copyright Sallee Photography. All rights reserved. EDU10 is all thanks to ProfotoUSA. The Profoto team never stops working to help you raise the bar on the quality of your images. They not only believe in manufacturing the finest lighting gear in imaging, but they stay focused on education, and helping artists create and capture some of the most beautiful images in photography. JB Sallee joins me on this new episode. He's a photographer, an artist, an educator and a good friend to so many of us in the industry. Working together with his wife DeEtte for the past fourteen years, they've built a reputation for unmatched quality. Their specialty is primarily on people - families, children, brides and grooms but the list goes on and on. And, spend just a few minutes with him and you'll find his passion for the craft is pretty much unmatched. Repeatedly in WPPI print competition, he's led the way with top honors, year after year. Just recently he returned from a Profoto trip to Alaska with some of the most talented artists in professional photography today. It was an introduction to Profoto's new B10, but in addition, an exchange of ideas and creativity. In this new episode, JB shares some terrific insight into how their work has changed thanks to Profoto's Off-Camera Flash Systems. They now have the ability to truly control the light - no matter what time of the day, or for that matter where they are. Click on any of Salle images in this post to visit their website and see more of their work. I've only grabbed a handful of my favorites, but you'll see how hard it is to do the minute you "scroll" into the Sallee galleries. And, check out the new B10 along with Profoto's complete product line with a click on the B10 above. Then, get yourself into a Profoto dealer and check out what all the buzz is about! This is the 29th Fast Food Friday feature and just about everything on the menu has been about components for a stronger business. There are so many things you can fine-tune to establish a more powerful brand and create a better business model. However, today's "blue plate special" is a little different cuisine than what we usually offer. Indirectly it's about better utilizing your time, but directly it's about staying out of time-wasting discussions that drain your creativity and take you away from your core goal - building your business. The idea was influenced by a series of stupid, inflammatory comments on a Facebook Forum where I'm an administrator. Dozens of artists got into a series of senseless battles accomplishing nothing. Then, as I was scrolling through the SCU archives, I found a rant from four years ago on a similar topic. Like any good diner from my days living in New Jersey, I brought back a favorite, but with some new ingredients. Next week we officially hit the fourth quarter and if you're going to capitalize on seasonality, you can't be wasting your time-fighting battles and dealing with trolls. It's Time to Stop the Madness!Time is your most valuable commodity, so let's stop wasting it on things that don't matter! Let's start with the way, so many of you get involved in battles on Facebook: Read the complete thread before you comment. By the time there are 20-30 comments, more than likely whatever you're going to add has already been said. So, why bother? Don't respond to the most recent comment, but to the request from the person who did the original post. Somebody says something that's less than politically correct, and all hell breaks loose as one blowhard after another decides to show he/she can enter the battle of wits to see whose sarcasm can take the trophy...the truth is, most of you are terrible at this game anyway. In the end, you just make a fool of yourself. "There are no erasers on the Internet!" Unknown "Act as if your grandmother's watching!" It's from my buddy Levi Sim, and I've used the quote at least a dozen times over the last few years. You don't need to shred people when you don't like an image. You also don't need to sugar coat your criticism, just be honest, but do it under the umbrella of being helpful. Get a thicker skin! The problems on Facebook go both ways. A few of you love to play the bully and crush people because they're just not as smart as you. On the other side of the coin, some of you get offended over somebody's "tone" when they've told you your image is bad. Seriously, everyone knows when they post an image whether it's a "wow" print or simply sucks! Let's get a thicker skin and accept that nobody matters except your clients. "Beauty is in the eyes of the checkbook holder." Dean Collins Learn to communicate! The hardest vehicle for communicating is the printed word. It shows no emotion. You can't hear the inflection in anybody's voice. It's just what you wrote, and a lot of you are not very good writers - you don't express yourself the same way you would if you were face to face with somebody. You write what you feel, and what's in your heart never makes it to the printed words. Stop reporting posts just because the topic offended you. Not everybody likes the same things you do. It's important to report posts that truly are offensive, and they range from the porn mongers to sunglasses ads. However, there's nothing worse for an administrator than one of you deciding a comment about a bride's ugly dress was off topic, and you choose to defend her "say yes to the dress" choice. It doesn't mean the thread wasn't appropriate. Don't believe everything you read! Just because it's on the Internet doesn't mean it's true. Yet, every day somebody posts something that sets off hundreds of photographers. I'm not talking about the challenges we all deal with in hearing things from Washington, but about changes in technology, rumors about new and old products, information about our favorite photographers and educators, just to name a few. Check the sources before you react. "The problem with quotes on the Internet is that no one can confirm their authenticity!" Abraham Lincoln Social media has given us a platform for communication and education our parents never had, but it's only as good as we make it. Don't waste your time and everybody else's fighting battles over moot points...or as Joey from Friends once said, "Moo Points." (Is there nothing that can't be found on YouTube?) Wishing everybody a terrific Friday and a great weekend! Fast Food Fridays are brought to you by: Need help better utilizing your time? Click on the banner above to visit the Excire website. Take Excire Search Pro for Lightroom Classic CC for your own FREE 15 day test drive. And follow us on Facebook for the latest information on this exciting software and time-saver.
Check out the special Photokina promotion just launched on September 26 - Excire Search is just $49 and Excire Search Pro is $99. Earlier this week I was thinking about what I wanted to share for Throwback Thursday, and I was stumped until Cindy Smith shared a memorial post about Don Blair, yesterday on Facebook. Don passed away fourteen years ago. Well, there it was, the perfect topic for today's Throwback Thursday. I'm guessing at least half my readership never knew Don Blair directly, but indirectly, you probably do something today you learned over the years from somebody who did know him or was influenced by his style. He was a remarkable photographer, educator and somehow became the older brother I never had! Loved by an entire industry, if ten of us who knew him well got together right now and started telling "Big Daddy" stories, we'd still be sharing the laughs tomorrow morning, and with more material to share. So, in keeping with Throwback Thursday here's one of my favorites: I joined Hasselblad USA in July 1987. In 1988 I attended my first PPA convention, and on the first morning of the show, we were in the coffee shop of the hotel. On my way out I was introduced to the legend himself. Knowing who he was, I was totally star-struck and close to speechless. This was also back in the days when I wore nothing but double-breasted suits at every conference, doing my best to look the part of the president of Hasselblad USA. Don gave me a warm welcome with a big handshake and smile and looked me up and down and said, "My man, that's a good-looking suit, and I love that tie!" I was flattered and responded with, "Thanks, it's one of my favorites." With a completely straight face, he looked at me and said, "Hang on to it - one of these days it's going to come back in style!" That was it - he nailed me and complete with an audience of his "nieces" at the table behind him. Little did I know that short "gotcha" would kick off an incredible friendship that would continue for the next sixteen years! I can't top what Cindy Smith wrote in her post yesterday: 14 years ago the photographic industry lost a dear friend....Wanted to share some words of wisdom from Don Blair...
When Don's beloved wife Donna passed away, there was a whole bunch of us from the industry who attended her funeral. We were all sitting together, having lunch at the repast, when Don walked by and said to somebody in the group, "Hey Numbnuts!" All of us turned around and said, "What?" A year or so later somebody made up golf shirts, and I was proud to be "Numb 1," and I've still got the shirt! Wishing everybody a terrific Throwback Thursday and memories as wonderful as the ones I have with Don Blair. There's a great line from Alfred Lord Tennyson that I've shared before, "I am a part of all that I have met." I learned so much from "Big Daddy" and like many of you who met him, he's a part of us. Happy Throwback Thursday! And to the man himself, I love ya and miss ya, pal! Images copyright Annie Griffiths. All rights reserved. In the Spring of 2016 I was teaching a workshop and mentioned one of my favorite artists, Mary Ellen Mark, and nobody knew who she was. Although she passed away in 2015, she was an inspiration to so many of us in the industry and to say it bothered me that my class didn't know of her work would be a huge understatement. So, that kicked off an idea to launch this series, and John Sexton was the first to be a part of it. Since then there have been 105 more artists who have shared a favorite image together with the backstory. Each photographer has brought something different to "Why?" While the original purpose was to introduce you to some of the most respected artists in imaging, it's now become a substantial body of work reflecting the passion and dedication of many of our industry's very best. Annie Griffiths joins me on this new episode, and what a kick to catch up to her. She's a photographer, author, speaker and educator with a signature for being warm and approachable. She was one of the very first women photographers hired by National Geographic and has traveled all over the world. She's also a firm believer in being involved, using her skill set as a photographer to help raise awareness for a variety of issues and make the world a better place. Annie is the Executive Director of Ripple Effect Images, a collective of artists who document programs empowering women and girls throughout the developing world. There's one other fun aspect to this episode of "Why?" Annie is a LUMIX Ambassador, and the two images she talks about in this episode, photographed with a LUMIX G9, will be available as posters which she'll be signing in the Panasonic booth (829) at the upcoming PPE show in New York, October 25-27. To see more of Annie's work and visit her website, click on either image above. And while you're there scrolling through her galleries, check out her books. Annie Griffiths needs to be on your radar! Click on either banner for more information
Images copyright Ben Grunow. All rights reserved. Intro by Skip Cohen Five years ago I was introduced to Panasonic's LUMIX line of cameras, and life just hasn't been the same since. I'm never without a decent camera and have been delighted with so many of the images I've captured. Panasonic revitalized my love for photography. My passion has never diminished, but I was shooting less and less. LUMIX changed all that, but along with the equipment and incredible technology came the LUMIX Ambassadors. Obviously, all working with LUMIX gear, they're one of the most diverse teams in photography today. Ben Grunow is one of the Ambassadors, and I caught up to him recently on an IM on Facebook after his return from Iceland. His images were stunning, and these are all "right out of the can." Ben's shooting with the GH5s and the LUMIX G LEICA DG VARIO-ELMARIT 8-18mm, F2.8-4.0 lens. Click on any of his images to see more of us work on Instagram and follow him on Facebook! You'll never be disappointed in the photographs and information he shares. by Ben Grunow I had an unforgettable trip to Iceland recently, and I figured I’d like to share these images completely unedited straight out of the Lumix GH5s using the 8-18 mm lens. On my way back from a month long trip in Switzerland, I only had four nights to capture the beauty of the Northern Lights. I traveled all over Iceland. The weather looked terrible just about everywhere on the island but using weather maps and common sense I was able to see the Aurora every night. These particular images are from one night, captured with the GH5s. They looked so good on edit it in the camera; I wanted to share them clean, exactly as they came out of the camera. The GH5s did such an outstanding job; it’s important for everyone to understand what LUMIX technology is capable of capturing. These images are shot at ISO 3200 to 6400, with shutter speeds ranging from five to fifteen seconds. The light painting was with my headlamp. It’s so hard to explain the stunning, breathtaking beauty of the Northern Lights as they dance above in the nighttime sky. But, this is where the power of imaging plays an important role, especially if you've never experienced this incredible natural phenomenon. When Chamira Young and I were asked to consider doing a podcast for PhotoShelter, while we knew it would be fun, we had no idea what we'd learn, or the incredible artists we'd meet along the way. Each artist has had a different background and story to share about their journey. They've also shared some incredible insight into ideas to help you build a stronger business and brand awareness. Christian Vizl joins us in this new episode, and it's special for two reasons. First, he's our first overseas guest being interviewed while in the U.K. and proving that between the Internet and Skype the world is getting to be a tiny place! Second, I got hooked (obsessed) with scuba diving in the 90's and learned early on; it's not a hobby but a sickness. LOL At the time Hasselblad had an underwater housing, so I convinced myself there was a logical connection between my career and underwater photography. As a result, I have an incredible appreciation for Christian's images as both a diver and an artist. His work is remarkable. There's one more fun aspect to this podcast. The photographic industry is very small, but even smaller when you specialize in underwater photography. Christian just recently returned from a trip with Ernie Brooks, who many of you know from Brooks Institute, his speaking engagements over the years, his books and images. I remember Ernie telling me years ago, I should learn to get every image I wanted underwater with one A-12 magazine rather than the seventy exposure rolls where I was struggling to get a handful of acceptable images. As I wandered through Christian's galleries, I had a difficult time picking out my favorite images. Each one was stunning, so I did my best to give you a good representation of his work and hope you'll visit his site and check them out for yourself. Click on any image below to visit Christian's website. A BIG thanks to Christian for taking the time to join us on "Beyond Technique." And, these podcasts would not exist without the support of PhotoShelter. As Christian mentions in the podcast, the PhotoShelter team makes it so easy to show your images the way they deserve to be seen! Images copyright Christian Vizl. All rights reserved. Start your 14 day FREE trial of PhotoShelter with a click on the banner below,
plus 20% off a Standard or Pro Account for a year. Use the coupon code PHOTOFOCUS20 I love Sunday mornings because I never know what I'm going to share. If you're new to SCU, then Sunday Morning Reflections are my way of going off track and stepping away from photography. It's a little ironic that it's become one of my most favorite posts, allowing me to empathize with so many situations we all experience. Each one of us is unique. We all have different experiences, challenges, passions, dreams, and goals, but this morning I want to write about a common denominator we all share - dealing with people who make assumptions. This past week I had a couple of truly stupid conversations, one with a photographer and one with an old friend. One discussion was business related, the other personal - but they both involved the individual taking partial information, making an assumption and then acting out in a manner that could have been damaging or hurtful. And that brings me to my point this morning and one of my most favorite quotes: "Don't judge my story on the chapter you walked in on!" Unknown That says it all. Don't spread rumors. Don't share information that's wrong or for that matter not yours to share. None of us know the real story on anything except those people directly involved, and it doesn't matter if it's personal or business related. So, if you don't know the facts then either shut up and don't pass them on or pick up a phone and call the person or people involved. Ask for clarification before you share something hurtful. Most of you are sick of hearing about "fake news," yet as individuals so many of you actively engage in the process, drawing the wrong assumptions and never talking to the people or companies involved. So, the next time somebody throws out a statement you know isn't right, let's grow a set and challenge them. Let's all start to question the "experts." Just maybe, if they caught a few times they'll learn to examine their opinions a little more and in the end, help make the world a happier place, or at the very least, more accurate. And there it is, I'm out of gas for this morning's mini-rant. There's another quote I love that seems to be perfect this morning: "You've got two ears and one mouth, so listen twice as much as you talk!" Unknown Wishing everybody a perfect day, and one filled with a sense of accomplishment, even if it's for your ability to step away from the business and take the time to appreciate your family and friends. For me it's going to be a perfect day with friends coming up from Naples and just hanging out and appreciating life...along with the grill and a batch of margaritas! Happy Sunday everybody...or Monday if you're on the other side of the world. About the photograph: There's always another perspective to everything. Sunsets don't have to be horizontal. I was late to the beach and missed the sunset facing west, but the light behind me as the sun, then below the horizon, was spectacular. Captured with a LUMIX FZ1000, f2.8 @ 1/250 ISO 125. #MadeWithLuminar
For years I've talked about the best thing about this industry - the friendships that come out of everyone's love for the craft. And, thanks to social media those friendships that get started continue to grow, even when we don't see each other that often. Meet Fran Ruchalski, a photographer who I first met at an evening program in Jacksonville in 2012. The evening program I was doing at a local library had to shut down early when a tropical storm flooded the area all around us, and we needed to evacuate before everyone's cars floated away. Fast forward six years and he and I have stayed in touch through Facebook. He left Florida in 2014 and today is in Logansport, Indiana, but the Internet keeps making the world a smaller place. A couple of weeks ago Fran posted some fun news about a recent award. That hits one more fun aspect of social media - being able to share news with each other. Fran's shooting for the Pharos-Tribune and recently won first place in the HSPA contest for sports action photography. So, being one of Fran's fans I made the request to see the image and permission to share it in a post. I know most of you aren't sports photographers, but what a kick to share an image that's completely out of the norm from what most of you shoot. A big congrats to Fran - sure is a kick to be following your career! You can check out more about Fran with a visit to his Facebook page. I started Fast Food Friday to help more of you think about those things you need to do to build a stronger business. With the seasonality of the fourth quarter right around the corner now is the time to be fine-tuning your business to be proactive rather than reactive! Today's special isn't fast food at all. I'm sticking with bigger entrees, giving you more to work on. While these new lunches are more extensive, they also have the potential to provide you with bigger and better results. We've got a guest "chef" today. My good buddy Scott Bourne is sharing an archived recipe for building traffic on your blog, but we're "cooking" today's special together! He's got the entree, and I'm throwing in dessert! Remember, this is only one "meal" - building a successful blog is about great content, consistency and paying attention to your target audience. Too many of you have let your blogs become nothing more than an extension of your galleries with image after image from client shoots! Building Traffic for Your Blog - Five Primary Tipsby Scott Bourne If you're attempting to become (or already are) a professional photographer, in my opinion you need a blog. But not just any blog will do. Your blog needs to be an extension of you. It needs to show off your work for sure, but it also needs to show off your personality. Once you build a blog, it won't do you much good if people coming to it don't stick around, because you aren't giving them a reason. So here are five ways to increase your blog's audience. 1. Avoid too many ads, too much sales talk, too many banners and too many commercials on your blog. Make sure there is a nice content to marketing ratio. Read your blog as if you were someone else and ask yourself, would I find this blog to contain enough helpful, valuable information to put up with "X" amount of marketing. 2. Publish your blog on a dependable and regular schedule. While publishing new posts every single day will get you a bigger audience faster, it's not a requirement. What is important however, is publishing with consistent frequency. Publish every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for instance and let your audience know the schedule. Whatever day(s) you promise to publish, stick with it so people know there's a reason to come back and more importantly, so they don't forget your message. 3. Tell stories. Be engaging. Talk more about your subject expertise or your clients than yourself. Make sure your content solves a problem for someone else, not for you. Narrative is a powerful form of communication. Use it. 4. Be yourself. You can't make a blog work unless it's honest, transparent and truthful. It has to be written from your very own true perspective, NOT the perspective you THINK people want to hear. It's way too hard to be someone else and to keep it going. Just be yourself. Not everyone will like what you do. Don't worry about that. There's a big world out there. You only need to reach the people who DO like what you do - the rest can head on down the road to find someone or something else. Life goes on. 5. Be helpful. Make sure every blog post provides the possibility of help to your audience. Your content has to be useful, or nobody will care about it. The more targeted, and niche oriented, the better. The more problem solving the better. Staying on Targetby Skip Cohen Scott's shared five outstanding tried and true tips, but I want to add to his list.
Can you survive without a blog? Of course, but here's why I believe it's so important. Your website is about what you sell. Your blog is about what's in your heart. The two work together just like publicity and advertising to help you establish a stronger brand. And, if you're stuck and need a little help or have questions, then you know where to find me! I may not always have the answers, but I've got a fantastic network, and we're all here to help you thrive, not just survive! Click on the banner above to visit the Excire website. Take Excire Search Pro for Lightroom Classic CC for your own FREE 15 day test drive. And follow us on Facebook for the latest information on this exciting software and time-saver.
Last week and right on time, Profoto introduced the new B10. I shared the trailer video for the launch featuring Two Mann Studios and Joseph Radhik last Wednesday. But, there's a lot more to the story, and I like the way Profoto's put this backstory video together about the B10 and why it's a significant part of the family. Going back to my roots at Polaroid and working with many other companies in the industry over the years, so often new products were introduced by accident, rather than through research and defining an actual need and benefit. I love this background video on the new B10 because it introduces you to the thought process behind the product. It's not an accident but is well-defined with a purpose and benefit to helping photographers control the light. The video gives you a chance to meet the people involved, and they've made sure they don't miss anything in the development process from the B10 itself to the compatible accessories and even the design of the backpack. I love the comment from Jacob von Matern, the designer of the pack, "Because like the B10 the bag too has to work flawlessly. It's a combination of all the details in perfect harmony." It's time to get yourself into a Profoto dealer and check out what all the buzz is about. Just click on the banner below to learn more about the B10. Profoto never slows down in helping photographers raise the bar on the quality of their images and their ability to control the light wherever they go!
Life is all about timing...the unreachable becomes reachable, the unavailable becomes available, the unattainable...attainable. Have the patience. Wait it out. It's all about timing. Stacy Charter We live south of Sarasota, Florida a mile from Nokomis Beach. I've written about the beautiful sunsets and last week even a sunrise. Well, this summer because of the red tide and thousands of dead fish, we never made it to the beach. Stimulated by man's pollution, the red tide took over the ocean this summer, and while it's usually a couple of weeks, this year it's gone for months. The smell of dead fish up and down our favorite beach takes away from going over there, even to photograph a sunset. Well, last night after a summer of being absent, I headed over to catch a sunset and missed it! As I got there the sun had already dropped below the horizon. As I walked down the path to the water with a couple of cameras, a couple who was leaving said to me, "You missed the most beautiful sunset by fifteen minutes!" True, I missed the "main event" but the image above was looking south-east and the sunset was still in its glory. The couple who wanted to let me know what I'd missed, never even looked up as they walked to their car. Then, ten minutes later it was gone, with just a hint of the previous light show. Years ago I wrote an article for PDN, interviewing Kirk Voclain about his work with seniors. One of his secrets is to get them talking about their friends, goals, and dreams. As they relax and talk more, he looks for that sparkle in their eyes when they hit something they genuinely love - *click*, and he starts to get the beautiful expressions his work is known for.
Joe Buissink talks about the same thing with bridal couples. The engagement session isn't about expanded coverage, but getting to know the couple and they, in turn, get to know him. Building trust and a relationship make him a welcome addition on the wedding day. At a time that's always chaotic, he's a welcome friend. The couple knows Joe already, and their trust becomes a pivotal ingredient to natural expressions in the images Joe captures to tell their story. Back in the film days, photographers hung in their longer to make sure they got the shot. Well, digital came along, and a quick chimp and too many people move on. They think they got the shot, but the best one might still be coming! So, here's my point...timing is everything and together with remembering to stay with a scene to make sure you captured the decisive moment add to the formula for success. Just a few days ago on their YouTube channel, Tamron shared this short video featuring Australian photographer, Glynn Lavender at work with the 17-35mm ultra-wide-angle lens. I love sharing these short videos for several reasons.
I love the tagline on Tamron's page for the 17-35mm lens, "Wide-angle photography just got easier." "The 17-35mm F/2.8-4 Di OSD (Model A037) is an ultra-wide-angle zoom lens that combines superb image quality with outstanding portability as the lightest and smallest size in its class.* It uses four LD (Low Dispersion) lens elements to minimize axial chromatic aberrations. And with two GM (Glass Molded Aspherical) lenses not only can it provide the sharpness and contrast demanded by high-end lenses, it can also handle peripheral point image reproducibility." Check out more about this remarkable lens along with Tamron's complete product line with a visit to your Tamron dealer. And, get to know Glynn Lavender with a click on any of the three images I chose for this post. Tamron never slows down on their goal of helping photographers raise the bar on the quality of their images through great optics and a dedication to education and support! Intro by Skip Cohen Remember the word "fun?" It's one of those extraordinary words so often lost in business today. We're all so wrapped up in results, efficiency and defining success that many photographers simply forget to have fun. Yet, being able to take time to have "fun" is one of the definitions of being successful - in anything you do. It's Mirrorless Mark Monday, and our good buddy is out and about having fun with the new Lensbaby Sol 22 and a LUMIX G9. And, just to set the stage - neither Mark or I have any sponsorship/business relationship with Lensbaby. We just like the company, the people and the products. Going back to my early days at WPPI, they were regular exhibitors. Over the years I've watched them grow, and today they've got a whole family of creative tools for photographers. Follow Mark and the LUMIX Ambassador team and put their Facebook page on your radar. Mark never slows down in sharing his passion for imaging, and he's never without a LUMIX camera. Check out his site and blogs with a click on any of his images in this post. Click on either thumbnail above for more information. by Mark Toal
When the first Lensbaby was announced more than 10 years ago I was the first one to buy it at my local camera store in Palo Alto. I remember the owner saying, “only you would ask for something called a Lensbaby”. A few years later I moved to Portland, Oregon and got to know the creative, fun people at this company that fits Portland perfectly. Over the years they have invited me to try new lenses before they are released. They recently wrote me about trying out a new lens designed especially for micro 4/3 cameras. Since the idea behind a lot of the Lensbaby lenses is to create a blurry edge around a sharp center they lost some of their affect when the lens that was designed for an APS sensor cropped the image in a micro 4/3 camera. The Sol 22 is designed to fit the micro 4/3 sensor perfectly - Panasonic LUMIX and Olympus users can get the full Lensbaby affect. Just click on the Lensbaby thumbnail to the right to link to the website and these remarkable creative tools. In 2013 with a lot of help from my good buddy Scott Bourne, I started Skip Cohen University. At the time I had three different blogs, was consulting and was a feature writer for two different magazines. Like many of you, I was still trying to figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up. (I'm still not sure! LOL) I remember Scott asking me a critical question, "Skip, what do you think would happen if you put all your energy into just one main project?" Here we are almost six years later, and SCU just keeps growing. Over the years some of the very best marketing advice on this blog has come from Scott. It's Marketing Monday, and so appropriate to share a podcast Chamira Young, and I recently did with Scott on "Mind Your Own Business." Scott wears many different hats, which is appropriate because a great hat is one of his trademarks and you'll rarely see him without one! He's an author, writer, artist, environmentalist, educator, public speaker, and executive as President of Skylum in the U.S. with additional responsibilities in Asia. Through everything he does there's always a common denominator, he never compromises on quality - not in his images, friendships or for that matter anything he has an interest in. In this new podcast, Scott shares a lot of great insight into marketing, education and the importance of staying cutting edge while continuing to love what you do. Click on any of Scott's images in this post to link to Scott's Facebook page and stay on top of his latest adventure in photography and business. Scott Bourne needs to be on your radar! It's an almost typical Sunday morning, except for the fact that Molly the Wonder Dog had me up three times during the night - something she never does. So, unlike my usual early start to the day, I slept in. In the process of waking up I thought a lot about what I wanted to share this morning. I started thinking about the seasonality in the business of photography. That took me to think about the ups, downs, and seasonality we go through in our lives, along with some personal family challenges. Lastly, I found myself thinking about a few new projects, the artificial seasonality in the business with the Photokina show coming up this month, and new products being introduced. As I sat here at the computer, trying to figure out how to write what I was feeling, I picked up Melody Beattie's book. So often I've found her thoughts to be right on target. Well, 2-3 times a year I share a post from Melody. She never lets me down, especially when reminding me to trust the process, life and the journey we're all on. The Real Magic is About to Begin by Melody Beattie As some point in the journey, we may become tired, weary, and confused. Homesick. All the mountains, the scenery, the food, the people, the experiences just don't do it for us anymore. We want to go home. What am I doing here? we wonder. Nothing worthwhile is happening. Yet another part of us knows the truth and whispers, Yes, something is happening, something worthwhile. Feeling homesick is part of the journey. It can mean we've reached a turning point. "When we get to that place," a friend once said, "it means the journey has really begun." Stay present for yourself and all your emotions. You've worked through so much. Don't stop now. Getting through this place, this point, will turn your life around. You've learned and grown, you've worked so hard healing your heart and cleansing your soul. Your spiritual growth has been profound. But until now, all the work you've done has been to prepare you for where you're going. You've seen only a little of what life has to offer. You're about to walk through a door. Now that your heart is open, you'll see, touch, and know even more of life's wonders. It's the reward for where you've been. Keep feeling your feelings and trusting your guidance. Let the magic begin. And there you have it - the importance of listening to our heart, and trusting the process whether it's personal or business. When things don't come together with the way you've hoped it's hard to get to that point of trusting the path you're on. It might not be easy to always do, but Shakespeare's "To thine own self be true," couldn't be more appropriate. The journey we're all on is never-ending, and it's filled with changes and surprises, many outside our control. All we have to do is stay focused, listen to our hearts and trust. If you've had doubts about whatever journey you're on - give yourself the opportunity to think things through before you change your path. Draw strength from great friends and family and make it a day that allows Melody Beattie's suggestion of magic to begin. Wishing everybody a terrific Sunday, or Monday if you're on the other side of the world. Always go for those long eleven-second hugs and cherish the people in your life who believe in you and have become part of your journey. The image above: Sunrise with a LUMIX FZ1000 f3.7 @ 1/1000 ISO 125 shot in IA mode and processed in Skylum's Luminar 2018 #MadeWithLuminar #WhereLumixGoes
Last week we turned up the volume on Fast Food Friday with a new "menu." Each blue plate special since February has included things photographers need to do to fine tune their business. Now it's time to get into some bigger entrees! Remember the reason I started this series - there's so much you can be doing to strengthen your business and secure a stronger market share in 2018. I'm staying with the new menu, and this week let's put together a time-sensitive list of things you should be doing NOW! Every year many of you do the same thing, you think of great ideas too late. Let's make this the year that none of you should on yourself! The seasonality of the fourth quarter is right around the corner with great potential for increasing business, but why not be ready? Let's turn 2018 into the year that made you a "showstopper" in your community! Ready for the Holiday Season in Professional Photography?While this has the potential to be one of the SCU Diner's best entrees, it's up to you to make it all work. So, here are some things to be thinking about NOW to capitalize on business during the holiday season.
Since I'm having fun with the diner analogy, your dessert with today's entree is the added strength to your brand awareness and eventually your bottom line revenue! Most important of all, remember to include your family in discussions about what you're doing to create more excitement this holiday season. Food tastes better when you eat it with your family! Anonymous Fast Food Fridays are brought to you by: Click on the banner above to visit the Excire website. Take Excire Search Pro for Lightroom Classic CC for your own FREE 15 day test drive. And follow us on Facebook for the latest information on this exciting software and time-saver.
Every morning, usually around 6:30 am, Sheila and I head out for a walk. The sunrises have been spectacular, but I never take a camera with me. I think of it too late, and the lens fogs up the minute the camera hits the morning heat and humidity. This morning was another stunning sky, but I was ready for it. Well, these two images got me thinking about the way we often look at our lives. For example, we're so conditioned to appreciating beautiful sunsets we rarely notice a sunrise. Then there's one other perspective. We're so occupied by the brilliant light in front of us that we rarely turn around. The image above was facing east, and below looking west. The reflection of the sunrise in the clouds behind me had the same beauty, and minutes later the color was gone in both directions. There's a point this morning following something my good buddy Tony Corbell used to talk about - saving that one last frame on the roll and doing something different from how you usually shoot. Neither of these images are award-winners, they're just shots of a beautiful morning sky - but from two different directions. There are too many of you who are so focused on whatever is immediately in front of you that you fail to see what's going on around you. You miss some spectacular moments because you didn't look in another direction. And, it goes well beyond having a camera in your hands. Think about any challenge you have in your business, and then take the time to look for other solutions. The answers aren't always as easy to find as the other side of a sunrise, but the answers are all out there. Don't be a business owner who only sees things from one direction - there's always another side and along with it other solutions - often more creative and rewarding. Didn't mean to turn this into a sermon, but had I not turned around I would have completely missed the other half of the morning sky! Note: Both images are right out of the can. The only thing I used in processing was the clarity booster in Skylum's Luminar 2018. Anybody can tweak the color in an image, and I wanted to keep it clean, as I saw it. Shot with a LUMIX FZ1000. And that spec that looks like dirt near the top is one lone bird. Wishing everybody a terrific Thursday!
Intro by Skip Cohen
Last Friday I announced a new menu in the SCU diner, and a different "cuisine" with more extensive "entrees" to help you build a stronger business. Fast Food Friday has received a lot of nice feedback, but it was time to start serving more sophisticated recipes. Well, little did I know that my co-host on "Mind Your Business" and "Beyond Technique," Chamira Young not only loved the concept of an open house, but has her own recipe for success going to back to her move to Port Huron, MI a few years back. ​As a new photographer in the area it was important to meet the community and at the same time have them get to know her. Part of the success of the event included a short video clip which she turned into a promotional piece on her website. Check out her guest post below and then think about your own needs in the community. Remember, success in any business, especially photography, is about relationship building and establishing trust. Hosting an open house, even when you don't have a "house" is one ingredient so many of you need to either kick off brand awareness in a new community or jumpstart an established business that needs to stand out more!
By Chamira Young
​Little did I know the decision to throw an Open House would revolutionize my struggling photography business. It's a big part of how I built my client list from virtually nothing after moving to a new town and having to essentially start my business from scratch. Was an Open House outside of my comfort zone? Yes. But was it worth it? Absolutely. A classy Open House event is a great way to build credibility, momentum within your community, and a solid contact list for you to keep in touch with in the future. At my event, I not only had a handful of folks sign up for headshots beforehand (which required them to register with their email address, phone number, make payment, etc), but the people who stopped by just to check things out also had to sign in with their basic info. I was ecstatic over how many of these "freebie" folks later signed up for a full photo session once they met me and had a chance to see me working in action at the event. That's why it's so important to greet every single person at your Open House. They need to get to know you and it's the first step to establishing trust and building relationships. Below is a short video, just over a minute. I created it after the event, which served as a great marketing tool for social media, future events, and even on my About Page on my website. Don't forget, if you're doing any kind marketing video keep it short.
I underestimated the impact this video would have on social media, especially with folks who were not able to attend but watched the video to get the "experience" of the Open House. Not only did I get comments ranging from "Amazing!" to "Congratulations!", I received emails and phone calls from folks who wanted to schedule a shoot because they got to see me work with clients through the video.
​Another surprise came in the form of a steady stream of questions from fellow photographers asking how I put it all together, which led me to create a podcast episode going into detail about it. ​While it takes some time and effort to throw an Open House together, it's definitely worth it!
Fast Food Fridays are brought to you by:
Click on the banner above to visit the Excire website. Take Excire Search Pro for Lightroom Classic CC for your own FREE 15 day test drive. And follow us on Facebook for the latest information on this exciting software and time-saver.
Last week I shared a post from Profoto that was just a teaser about something new coming on September 12. Well, true to form and always keeping their promises, meet the new B10! Just a little bigger than a medium-sized zoom lens, here's Profoto's opening description: Size matters, it does. Because how much gear you have to carry matters. How much space you have to set up and work in matters. Being able to move fast, getting in, getting out and nailing the shot matters. That's why when Profoto set out to create the Profoto B10, their brand new cordless off-camera flash, the company first considered size. Or rather, a lack of it. “We designed the B10 to be small,” said Göran Marén, Product Manager at Profoto. “Just a little bigger than a medium-sized zoom lens. That means you can fit it in your bag with the rest of your gear and because it’s cordless and lightweight, it’s easy to bring and set up anywhere. That said, this is in every way a Profoto light, so the power and quality of light is essential.” Two of my favorite images shared with the B10 announcement are from Two Mann Studios and Joseph Radhik. If you've followed the SCU blog, their work isn't new to you. They're award-winning wedding photographers who never compromise on the quality of their images. Click on either image to see visit their website and see more of their work. In Profoto's new B10 section on their website, there's a statement that combined with Profoto's legendary reputation for quality and performance says it all: Designed to make life easy! And, this short two-minute video will give you an even better perspective on the size of the B10 and how it really is designed to make life easier! Click on the banner below and meet the newest member of the family. Then get into a Profoto dealer and find out how the B10 can join your family!
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Our Partners"Why?"Check out "Why?" one of the most popular features on the SCU Blog. It's a very simple concept - one image, one artist and one short sound bite. Each artist shares what makes the image one of their most favorite. We're over 100 artists featured since the project started. Click on the link above and you can scroll through all of the episodes to date.
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