With love and patience, nothing is impossible. Daisaku Ikeda I ran across the quote above recently, and it's one of my favorites, but on this Sunday morning, even though I've always believed nothing is impossible, there are times when it just isn't true. Here's an example: We're out of town this weekend and took a ride over to Headlands Beach. With a major storm coming in, I spotted one wishful surfer. He was ready and waiting. Each time there was a swell, I'd patiently watch, camera ready to capture his success. He'd paddle out to catch a wave, but there was nothing to ride. No matter how hard he wished for his board to catch "the big one," nothing happened. He had set his goal, made his wishes, focused on his dream but no matter what he did things weren't going to change. I guess it comes it comes with thinking you're going to surf on Lake Erie! While now and then the surf kicks up and you can have some fun, it's not the California coast and yesterday just wasn't the day for surfing. Stay with me because there's a point with this Sunday Morning Reflections. I've met so many photographers and business owners over the years, who have a dream but a lousy plan to get there. They get frustrated over the same old results and haven't recognized the need to change their plan. Sound familiar? There are things we want in life and we're so over-focused on the dream we lose sight of what it takes to get there. We keep trying to reach our goal over and again without stepping back and simply asking "What am I doing wrong?" We can't see the forest through the trees. Finally, frustrated over not getting the results we hoped for, we give up, often demoralized and drained of the energy and spirit to start over again. Here's the solution - step back, and bring a friend with you. You need somebody by your side who you trust and who knows you better than you do yourself. You need a goal navigator, to help you see the need to change the route to your destination. And often, it really is that simple. You don't need to let go of your goal, just change the plan you've chosen to get there. A goal without a plan is just a wish. Antoine de Saint-Exupery Wishing everybody a perfect Sunday and time to think about your dreams and goals. And, if you're struggling with how to turn them into reality, take a step back. Bring that special friend along and appreciate how important they are in your life. You don't have to do everything alone.
Always go for those eleven-second therapeutic hugs and appreciate the people in your life who make it so unique. Happy Sunday everybody...or Monday for my readers on the other side of the world! Note: Image captured with a LUMIX FZ1000 f3.2 @ 1/1000 ISO 125 (shot in IA mode and processed in Skylum's Luminar 2018)
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Since February, I've been sharing Fast Food Friday - posts about things photographers need to be doing to build a stronger business and help make 2018 an outstanding year. The SCU diner has served up twenty-five different "blue plate specials" covering your website, blog, marketing, networking, and demographics, just to name a few. This week the SCU diner is taking on a new cuisine, thanks to Excire Inc. Excire's Search Pro software helps photographers save time when it comes to searching for images through Lightroom Classic CC. For many of you it's going to be a huge time saver, helping you find important photos faster. Keeping with the theme of things that can save you time, I decided it would be fun to change our menu, and start giving you ideas to help you become more efficient in marketing. We're going to expand this series to focus on specific promotional ideas to help you grow your business. We're going to mix up the "fast food" with some bigger entrees! Fast Food Friday is going to give you bigger ideas on how to better utilize your time starting with this week's promotion: putting together an open house. Between part-time and full-time photographers there are thousands of you who don't have a studio. To that point - whether you have a bricks and mortar business address or work out of your home, these next couple of months are the perfect time for you to host an open house and introduce the community to your work. Hosting an Open House...When You Don't Have a StudioLet's start by getting rid of the stigma of not having a full-time business address. Obviously having your own studio gives you something more to talk about, but this is about showing off your work together with your personality. It's about getting your community to know who you are.
Whether you have a studio, full-time business address or not isn't important. What is important is getting people to know who you are and understand your love for the craft. Fast Food Fridays are brought to you by: Just 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.
I LOVE teaser campaigns and nobody does it better than Profoto! We've all heard the expression, "good things come in small packages." Check out the short video tied in with this announcement that came out yesterday and then circle September 12 on your calendar!
All of us know technology never stands still, and that certainly sums up Profoto's never-ending focus on groundbreaking lighting products. Click on the light above and link to the announcement, then watch the twenty second video! Another game-changer is about to hit the industry! Each time I share one of these short Tamron videos there are always two points to make. First, pay attention to the way they tell the story. So many of you would benefit from a short marketing video, but you'd take too long to make your point, and the ideal length is two minutes or less. As you watch this video about the new 28-75mm lens for Sony full-frame mirrorless cameras, pay attention to how they're telling the story. You're not a lens, but the elements you'd share about your style of photography combined with showing you working with a client requires a stellar presentation. Second, check out this new lens. The video, in just one minute, takes you through the key features. Mirrorless technology is changing the way we shoot; what gear we travel with and most important of all, the quality and diversity in the images everyone can capture. As the year winds down and we head into the seasonality of the fourth quarter, Tamron's tech team is still on the road helping photographers raise the bar on their skill set. Check out the schedule for the rest of this year with a click on the van to the right and then get yourself into a program in your area. This is your chance to check out Tamron's complete lineup of outstanding lenses and find out what all the buzz is about. The fun of Throwback Thursdays goes way beyond just finding old photographs. Throwbacks are all about the memories they bring back. Whoever said you can never go back, didn't spend enough time looking at old photographs!
I'm not sure I'm right on the dates on this one but I know it's in the early '90's and I remember the show being WPPI. Jim Morton is the first one on the left and did an incredible job at every show getting the booth set up and giving each convention a more professional look for Hasselblad. I also found out when I left Hasselblad that Jim used to leave something easy to fix just to keep me out of his hair. There were always some prints to hang or straighten out, and for all those years I thought it was my talent for displays he needed! LOL But that's one more thing about Throwback Thursday, it brings back some incredible memories about the friendships that grow out of working together. Mike Bowen is next to Jim. Mike and I worked together for many years at Polaroid. He came to work at Hasselblad and passed away much too young, 7-8 years ago. He was the Sales Manager for New England, and did an outstanding job. This was one of his first conventions in his new role. And that brings me full circle to WPPI. I think this was the first year WPPI was at the RIO Hotel but it could also be the Tropicana. If somebody wants to challenge me on that, feel free. I noticed Art Leather's booth in the background. They were a powerhouse in the album business at that time and in fact, one of the biggest in the country. Plus, that year there were probably only 6-8 album companies doing business in the US. Ten years later there would be 40+ albums companies exhibiting at WPPI. It was a fantastic show in the early days, even with attendance at approximately 3000 people. It was all about family. Every show was a reunion of great friends, educators, and attendees. Years later I'd have people tell me how the Hasselblad guys were always too well-dressed. I was told we became less intimidating when we went more casual. Take the time today and dig through a box of old pictures. If you use it for your blog content, make a point to remind "Mom," the target audience for most of you, how fast the kids are growing, and her family is changing. Plant the seed for a new family portrait this holiday season. And, if you don't want to share your throwbacks, still take the time to appreciate those old photographs. We're in the business of helping people capture memories, and while that's such an over-used expression, so often we forget about the importance of taking our own trips down Memory Lane. Intro by Skip Cohen There's an incredible amount of wisdom in the SCU archives, a lot from my good buddy, Scott Bourne. A lot of great marketing ideas are heavily rooted in plain old common sense. Sadly, so many of you get wrapped up in the technology, and you miss the basics. When the post originally ran there was a question from one photographer asking for a more in-depth explanation of his last point. Whether it's your website, blog or printed material, people want to know why you're a photographer. They don't care about how you got started, what awards you've won or how long you've been an artist - they want to know why you love this business. They want to know if you can be trusted to capture images they're going to love. Sure, showing your skill set is important, but for most of you "Mom" is your target. She doesn't care about anything but your passion for the craft, excellence and your ability to meet her mindset. We're ramping up for the seasonality of the fourth quarter and this post from Scott five years ago is right on point with seven reminders to help you become more successful. And, they're all easy to spot and fixable, but only if you take the time to examine your business. Scott and I have worked together on a long list of projects for almost ten years, and we've never slowed down as a team or individually in wanting you to thrive, not just survive. by Scott Bourne
I rarely write posts like this. Usually I tell you what I think you SHOULD do, but once in a while it's easier to make a point this way. If you want to be successful at marketing your photography, do NOT do these things… 1. Don’t get caught imitating other photographers in the market - This is a surefire way to wipe away your credibility. It's also a fast track to becoming a commodity. If you're just like everyone else, then there's no incentive to hire you. Be yourself. Period. 2. Watch out when selling “packages” - I know, everyone does it. Everyone sells a "package." This is again the fastest route to becoming a commodity. If everyone has a package that includes XXX 8x10" prints, XXX wall portraits and XXX albums, then the person with the cheapest package wins. Professionals sell their vision, their service, creative fees, etc. NOT packages. 3. Don’t work for free unless you are literally brand new - Quick, name three people you know who work for free? NOBODY works for free. Why should we? Unless TODAY is your first day and I mean your first day on the job, don't work for free. You have my permission to work for free for two weeks if you're brand new. Build up some experience. Then start charging SOMETHING. "Oh but Scott I'll get exposure." Try paying your rent with that. 4. Don’t become a commodity - I've talked about it above but it deserves its own category. This is the fastest way to starve I know. If a Diet Coke is $1 at the place on the left and $1.24 at the place on the right, you'll buy it at the place on the left because a Diet Coke is a Diet Coke is a Diet Coke is a Diet Coke is a Diet Coke is a Diet Coke. It's all the same. If you allow people to view your photography as the same as the person's photography down the street all you have left is bottom feeding, and competing on price. Not fun. 5. Don’t conspire w/other photographers to fix prices - It's against the law. It may seem like a good idea at the time. It may be something "everyone does," but it's a violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act and it carries stiff penalties. If you're not good enough or confident or professional enough to figure out your own pricing you belong somewhere else. 6. Don't use day rates if you can avoid it - How many doctors, lawyers, accountants and other professionals do you know who charge day rates? Nuff said. 7. Don't concentrate on what you have for sale - Instead concentrate on why you sell it. People do not buy what you do, they buy why you do it. Images copyright Rick Gerrity. All rights reserved. Intro by Skip Cohen Rick Gerrity and I first met at Skip's Summer School in Chicago, when Tom Curley brought the LUMIX Ambassadors together for one of their very first meetings. Well, here we are five years later with a great friendship. I'm always amazed at Rick's non-stop passion for the craft, people and his love for literally driving the highways of America with 493,000 miles currently on his vehicle! All along the way, no matter where he's traveling, he's documenting America, with his camera and his heart! Check out more of Rick's work with a visit to his Instagram page and get to know all of the LUMIX Ambassadors by following the LUMIX Community Facebook page. They're one of the most diverse groups of artists and educators in photography! And, check out the new LX100II with a click on the thumbnail below.
by Rick Gerrity Growing up in my Mom and Dad's tavern in Newark, NJ in the 50's and 60's and watching how they interacted with people has given me a gift! The ability to relate to just about everyone. Aside from my corporate assignments my goal is photographing real people doing their own thing. I was given a pre-production sample of the LX100ll and decided to push it and see how it would perform under extreme conditions. With these particular photographs I tried to incorporate both an industrial shoot with the people behind the scenes. This foundry has a special place in my heart because early in my photography career they employed me to do what you see in the photos! It was like working in Death Valley every day but it never phased me. So, now being part of the Lumix Global Ambassador team, I travel all over the USA trying to find regular folks on their own turf and get a story. Driving instead of flying to my assignments also allows to explore more territory and create more personal presentations with stories to go with the photographs. "A Photograph Without a Story is Just a Photograph" I will continue my quest to engage the men and women that make this country tick! More to come with the LX100ll stay tuned! I'm not sure where the year's gone, but it seems more evident than ever that time never stands still! Here it is Labor Day, and the summer just flew by.
Like many of you I'm taking the day off, and in fact, this is my only post today. We're spending a quiet day at home and later firing up the grill for a traditional Labor Day barbecue. It will be followed by the usually anticipated indigestion and me mumbling something like, "Why didn't you top me on that last hot dog?" Then comes the search for Pepto Bismol. It's a day that brings back a lot of great memories. As a kid, this meant a barbecue at my grandmother's house. Family would make the "long drive" out from Cleveland, always arriving just as the food came off the grill. Sweet corn, burgers, and dogs were always on the menu, along with bets over how many ears of corn my Aunt Sarah would eat. And, the day always meant the end of summer - because unlike today where school starts in August, the Tuesday after Labor Day was our first day back to school. With a little help from Wikipedia, I thought it would be fun to share the origin of the holiday for those of you who don't know how it got started or are readers from outside the US. Labor Day in the United States of America is a public holiday celebrated on the first Monday in September. It honors the American labor movement and the contributions that workers have made to the strength, prosperity, laws, and well-being of the country. It is the Monday of the long weekend known as Labor Day Weekend. It is recognized as a federal holiday. Beginning in the late 19th century, as the trade union and labor movements grew, trade unionists proposed that a day be set aside to celebrate labor. "Labor Day" was promoted by the Central Labor Union and the Knights of Labor, which organized the first parade in New York City. In 1887, Oregon was the first state of the United States to make it an official public holiday. By the time it became an official federal holiday in 1894, thirty states in the United States officially celebrated Labor Day. Canada's Labour Day is also celebrated on the first Monday of September. More than 80 countries celebrate International Workers' Day on May 1, and several countries have chosen their own dates for Labour Day. May 1 was chosen by a pan-national organization of socialist and communist political parties to commemorate the general strike and events that took place around the Haymarket affair, which ocured in Chicago on May 1 through 4, 1886. Whether you celebrate Labor Day or not, wishing you a terrific Monday! It seems like I just wrote a Sunday Reflections post yesterday, and here I am on another quiet morning, and as always, off track from the business of photography. In my Fast Food Friday post, I wrote, "You can't capture images that tug at people's heartstrings if your own heart isn't in it." Well, it applies to everything we do. On a personal level, for the last two weeks, I've been dealing with some challenges with a couple of my own family members. The issues themselves aren't relevant, and too personal to share in a blog. However, some of the things I did to stay focused are relevant to today's post. My parents always taught us to "do our own dirty laundry." You never shared anything personal with a friend, and often I'm not sure they shared stressful issues with each other. I remember being shocked but also proud of my Dad when he'd go with me to the Caregiver's Support Group meetings while we were dealing with my mother's Alzheimer's. Opening up about what he was feeling to a group of people he didn't know wasn't something his generation ever did, let alone cry during the process. So, when it comes to your own "dirty laundry," what do you do? Here are three things that helped me get back on track:
Here's my point this morning - I grew up as a right-fighter from a long line of genetically dominant right-fighters. I'm still work in progress, and while old habits die hard, my life is richer letting go of the need to prove I'm right. There's a terrific Dr. Phil line, "Would you rather be happy or right?" The last couple of weeks reminded me, the need to be right is a cumbersome commodity. It accomplishes nothing but takes away from the energy you need to be happy. The next time you're in an emotional crisis and digging deep to find the strength to focus on your own well-being rather than the challenge itself, do your best to step back and remind yourself of all the good things in your life. Start with that one person you trust the most to help you through the moment then focus on the one person you always forget about trusting, yourself! Wishing everybody a day filled with peace, and respect for the love you have for your family and friends. And, if coincidentally you're in crisis mode like I am now, take the time to look back at the good times. Run your own "Throwback Thursday" moments through your head and enjoy the process. As always, go for those eleven-second hugs, but during the embrace, think about how much that person means in your life. Happy Sunday everybody...or Monday if you're on the other side of the world! |
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