Intro by Skip Cohen

Finding a guest post in Photodex's blog archives  recently gave me an idea so many of you could incorporate to extend the services you offer your clients. Most of the time I'm always suggesting slideshows should be part of your lineup for your normal family, portrait and wedding clients.  Reading this guest post from Amanda Deer Jewelry got me thinking about all the small businesses in your community.

From small gift stores, boutiques, clothing, realtors, caterers, bridal salons, spas, contractors, restaurants and even doctors there's an almost never-ending pipeline of privately owned businesses. They're all trying to figure out how to be more involved in social media, and spread the word about their companies. While the guest post below is suggesting Proshow as a tool for small businesses, as a professional photographer you've got an opportunity to take it a step further. Your skill set gives you the ability to offer a turnkey application capturing the images and video clips for the story and then putting everything together in a short commercial video.

Think about all the small businesses in your community and then find one or two to contact for a freebie. That's right, just like ambassador programs for seniors, you need a couple of clients to show examples of how you can help them tell their story. Then take it one step further and help them get the word out with Facebook and Pinterest for example.

There's that old expression about a "match made in heaven." Well, it doesn't get much easier to pitch than being able to offer your services to a new client base that takes full advantage of everything you know how to do, matched with everything they need!

Today’s guest post comes from Amanda Deer Jewelry

Video has become a huge part of how small businesses market their goods and services. But, as a small business owner, there’s usually very little time to allocate to actually making and producing a video. That’s why tools like ProShow are so incredibly handy – they do most of the work for you and produce stunning quality results.

A little about me…I run a handmade jewelry line called Amanda Deer. We make necklaces, earrings, and bracelets in our studio in Austin, Texas and sell our products through our website, and sites like Etsy and Amazon. Having compelling visuals is key to making our brand successful and ProShow helps us do that.

We typically release a new line every quarter. Along with the line, we shoot a stylized lookbook to show off new pieces. The finished photos are used to sell our products online and we also create a few different video slideshows with ProShow for marketing on social media.

Instagram VideoProShow helps us make short, 10-20 second videos for Instagram. We’ve even done a few stop motion videos to promote some new necklaces, they are very well received and help us say so much more about our products in a short amount of time.

Lookbook VideoAlong with the click-through lookbook we provide on our website, we also put together a slideshow of all the images. This can be used on YouTube, Vimeo and even on Etsy, which has recently allowed members to upload videos to promote their products. Woohoo!

This slideshow was made in ProShow Web. Sign up for a free trial.
FacebookThe same lookbook video can be used on our Facebook page which gets tons of views and clicks when you add a call-to-action link at the end if we choose to use the video as an advertisement for our page.
These are just a few ways ProShow helps us market our products. If you haven’t tried it yet, give it a try!

Intro by Skip Cohen

One of the things I love about Photodex is their philosophy on education. They don't just sell you a product and walk away. They're always there with the support you need to create high-impact presentations and develop a stronger skill set as a storyteller.

I found this post about Halloween slide shows in the Photodex blog archives. It was written by Amanda last year, and with Halloween right around the corner it's the perfect post for Photodex Friday. However, there's a much more important reason to share this post.

We're in the fourth quarter, typically the strongest period of seasonality for photography. You've got all the fourth quarter holidays to draw from and an opportunity to demonstrate your skills as an artist and a film producer. Okay, so "film producer" might be stretching it a little, but if you think about all the tools you have at your finger tips today in terms of capture, and then bring in the stunning impact hybrid technology brings to the party, in the eyes of your clients you can be a film producer!

Check out Photodex's new ProShow 8 with a click on the banner at the end of the post. Then, wander over to the Photodex blog and you'll find hundreds of posts, each designed to help you raise the bar on your presentations and build stronger brand awareness.

by Amanda
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Halloween is one of my favorite holidays and such a fun time of year. With all the effort that goes into costumes and decorations, making sure you capture great photos of all the festivities is key! Below are some helpful tips for taking great Halloween photos and how to put them together in a fun and memorable video slideshow that you can share with friends and family. Happy Halloween!

1. Taking Great Halloween Photos

Since most Halloween activities happen at night, you’re faced with a lot of low-light situations. With a few tweaks to your set up, you can get great photos in any low light setting. Check out the links below for some really helpful tips for capturing great Halloween photos. And don’t forget the video button! A few short videos of the kids trick-or-treating will be a perfect addition to your Halloween slideshows.
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• Simple Tips for Better Halloween Photos
• Get Better Photos in Low Light
• How to Take Spooky Halloween Photos
• 5 Tips for Taking Better Halloween Photos

2. Halloween Slideshow Music

As a slideshow creator, you know your soundtrack can make or break your entire production! Make sure you pick a song that’s perfect for the mood you’re trying to create. Check out our round-up of Halloween songs for slideshows. There’s something for everyone including our top picks and great royalty-free options.
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3. Halloween Slideshow Effects

Halloween is one of those times where I think it’s OK to go a little over board on special effects. A few flying bats and spider web transitions add a ton of fun to your slideshows. Be sure and download all of our free Halloween and Fall slideshow effects for ProShow.

• Free Halloween Transitions for ProShow: Includes a flying bat transition, spider web transition and a scary jack-o-lantern transition. Perfect for your trick-or-treating photos!
• Free Halloween and Rustic Autumn Slide Styles for ProShow: This set of slide styles offers several framed border slide styles complete with cobwebs and flying ghosts. You’ll also love the Rustic Autumn slide styles that are perfect for your pumpkin patch photos.

4. Outputting Your Halloween Slideshow

Once you’re done creating your show, you’ll need to decide how you want to share it with your friends, family and co-workers ProShow slideshow software outputs to pretty much any format you can think of, so burning a DVD, posting on Facebook or Youtube, uploading to your iPad or iPhone is all easy and totally do-able.
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Got the right tool to build your slideshow?Planning to make your Halloween slideshow? With ProShow, it literally takes just minutes to make a beautiful video slideshow using the automated wizard and instant effects.

I can't think of a better way to wrap up a week than plant a seed of an idea, especially for all of you who are wedding photographers and have events you're covering this weekend.  Check out these two recent videos from good buddy, Sal Cincotta.

And while his bio line has him down as the founder of Shutter Magazine, throw in ShutterFest, a few other companies and one of the finest educators and artists in photography today!

Images copyright Sal Cincotta. All rights reserved.

If you're not offering slideshows as part of your product line, you're missing an incredible opportunity for increased revenue and goodwill. Even better is how it helps brand awareness as each couple shares their video with their friends and guests. Remember, the younger the bride, the more friends she has getting married - all who will be looking for a photographer!

Check out the latest from Photodex and the new ProShow 8. There are lots of new features all dedicated to making your presentations more professional and helping you build a stronger brand!

Click on any of the covers above to find out more about Curious Critters.

Intro by Skip Cohen

When Photodex and SCU started this new series it had one goal, to help you build a stronger business model thanks to some very special guests. We've covered a lot of different topics, but this one with David FitzSimmons might be one of the most fun ones yet. 

David and I are sharing ideas on the importance of special projects to help you stay focused on your passion as an artist, regardless of what you photograph to pay the bills. However, in David's case, his passion and his special projects are one in the same. In fact, the only thing more impressive than his photographic skills is his love for nature and helping kids connect with nature and the environment!

David is an award-winning free-lance photographer, educator and writer. He photographs and writes for various magazines, including Outdoor Photographer, Popular Photography, Professional Photographer, and Shutterbug.  His works have sold over 150,000 copies and won 15 national book awards, including IBPA best first picture book (2012) and best picture book (2016). One of nine Sigma Pro photographers in North America, David presents seminars and workshops to a wide variety of audiences. He regularly visits schools, helping connect children with nature through reading.

Check out David's website to see more of his work along with his other publications and his workshop schedule. You'll never be disappointed. 

And, checkout Photodex and the new ProShow 8 just released in July. David's video below is the perfect way to introduce people to his new book, and for you, a slide show like this is the perfect way to introduce your work to your target audience and your own "curious critters."