Intro by Skip Cohen

This post only needs the shortest introduction because Kevin Dooley has shared his thoughts on a topic everyone can identify with. Sadly, it can be challenging for some of us to live by. So trust me, and read his guest post below, which he recently shared on Facebook.

In terms of knowing Kevin - he needs to be on your radar! Kevin and Tricia Dooley own IDUBE Photo Safaris. Click on Kevin's image above to visit their website. Based out of New Mexico, if you've met them, you easily understand why they're considered one of the premier companies in photo adventure safaris.  

Kevin and I have been saying hi to each other for many years at various conventions but never found the time to talk. But at IUSA, I was able to meet both Kevin and Tricia, and while our time together was short, they epitomized the definition of passion for the craft, combined with the building blocks for a great friendship.

Spending time with them is one more reason why everyone needs to get out more! The recent IUSA convention was one of their best. Great programming, lots of new faces, passionate vendors, and excitement in the air. Lots of time to network and catch up with old friends while meeting new ones! Next year's show is January 28-30 in Louisville, KY. Here's the link - YOU NEED TO BE THERE!

A big thanks to Kevin for letting me share his post beyond his FB page.

by Kevin Dooley

​One of the things I talk of in my programs is the value of forgiveness. The opportunity of second chances and hard earned lessons. I touched on this thought this last week as I spoke in Nashville. I find it to be a very important part of maintaining creativity. A mind free of sadness and negative thoughts is a mind that has space and time to be creative. To find happiness.

I suppose I don't know a single soul that has not made the occasional mistake. In fact I would say some of the best people in the world are those who have learned a lesson or two. Of course some lessons come the hard way. Imagine being so perfect that you never make a single mistake, you never have the need to learn to be a better person.

What if there were no second chances given in life? What if you took everyone else's opinion of another person and never had the opportunity to develop your own? I have no doubt that some of the best friendships come from forgiveness and the ability to give out second chances. Or better yet to have the opportunity to make your own opinions without the help of gossip, jealousy, or a difference of opinions.

Gossip and misunderstood opinions are simply killers of great opportunities to learn and spend time with some of the most talented and wonderful people in the world. May I never fall prey to the inabilities of forgiveness, the cold hearts of no second chances, or overlooking my own ability to discover another. I can only think of the many many great people and friendships I may not of had.

Please may my heart be loving, kind, and giving. May I have the guts to find my own opinions. May I be brave and clever enough to stick up for the underdog when the gossip gets thick and muddy. For I know that so many amazing people are just a moment away from being great friends.

by Skip Cohen

​As I've written so many times before, the fun of this industry is in the friendships that come from everyone's love for the craft. Meet Dave DeBaremaeker. Although we had talked on the phone a few times over the last couple of years, we finally met in person a few months back when he joined me on Scott Kelby's show, The Grid. It was a kick!

Dave's passion for photography is all about toys, but as I watched this recent video on his YouTube channel, I realized how many of his applications work in other specialties. From rings and detail shots at weddings to closeups and macro images of flowers at home through the winter months - the common denominator is the gear behind the scene.

Obviously, wearing the hat of CMO for Platypod, I love this video, but it goes beyond toys. So many of you have a diverse collection of demands on your skill set. You need to be prepared for different challenges, and Platypod is often about solutions and gaining a new perspective.

Click on any Platypod Pro below to check out the rest of the "family." There's an incredible variety of images being captured with Platypod as part of the gear to get the shot! And you'll notice Dave is in the third row down in the photos below. The "family" on our website includes forty-four artists shooting virtually everything from macro to landscape to toys, food, portraits, real estate, night skies, and the list goes on and on.

Dave needs to be on your radar. You'll find more of his work on his website and check out his YouTube page too!

by Skip Cohen

In between the holidays, I always have a hard time figuring out what to write about. The year is closing fast, and there's not a lot of marketing ideas to share that I haven't covered numerous times already. But then, along came Moose Peterson yesterday.

On his blog he shared the post below and the idea is perfect for this time of year - capturing winter images for next year's holiday blog post - although I'm expanding his idea to your holiday card! I'm old school and still love a printed card that people can hold, as well as appreciate a hand-written message on the inside for special friends and associates.

I've written so many posts about photographers and the importance of a holiday card. Here's the short version:

• No photographer should ever use a store-bought holiday card!
• The front of the card is one of your favorite images; the inside whatever message you want to share, and the back, just like the Hallmark logo is your contact info - your name, studio, email address and phone number...and if you have an office or studio, that address should be included.
• You're photographers - why would you use somebody else's image on your holiday message? It's up to you to remind people what you do for a living!

And there you have it - to Moose's point - start building your stash for next year's use NOW.  And to pick up on more of Moose's wisdom - follow his blog. (Click on either image in today's post to link directly). Success in photography is about passion and love for the craft, and nobody does it better than Moose!

​A big thanks to Moose for permission to share the two images and his post.

​Happy Holidays!

by Moose Peterson

I know I know, the wrapping paper from this year has barely hit the floor and I'm talking about Christmas 2023! This is an old editorial photographer habit, taking photographs this season in preparation for photographic needs for next. If your client asks for fall themed photos from you right now, being winter, you can't go out and take them. This means that if you didn't take them the last fall, you don't get the opportunity for a payday. That kind of thought process runs through my own photographic needs, and one I have every year is the photo for my Christmas greeting blog post. This years was taken last year so now I'm working on next years.

These are the two runner ups for this year's post. There are a couple of tricks I used in the process to pass along. Most important is to create the message the year, that you want to use next year. What does it look like, say and what type font?  This is needed to determine in part the elements in the photograph. And it's a lot easier to create this now while you're still in the Holiday mood, than next fall. 

With that, I take the photos and this trick is really important. Photos I take this year for next year: I make a copy of the finished photo and change the file name to Xmas '23#1, #2, etc. I do this so I can FIND the photos a year from now. All I have to do next Christmas is to select the photo I like best, maybe make some tweaks and post. The panic is on in my mind, I only have 364 days left!

by Skip Cohen

​When my buddy Scott Bourne posted the image above on the new community site for Platypod Users, I was blown away because it looked so real. The information about the portrait is below, but I still wanted to call him. It was our phone conversation that prompted me to want to write this post.

The star of the image is a toy, and while it was done in the studio, Scott gave credit to everything he ever learned about portrait lighting, starting with Monte Zucker. Monte's name is sadly not recognized by many young photographers. He was a master of lighting and portraiture and blazed a trail for so many of the techniques in lighting and posing today.

As we talked, the depth of Scott's understanding of lighting kept going deeper with names like Clay Blackmore, Tony Corbell, Bambi Cantrell, and Matthew Jordan Smith, just to name a few. And that brings me right to my point and why I wanted to share this image in today's post.

Intro by Skip Cohen

​As I've written so many times in the past, the best thing about this industry is the friendships that come out of everyone's love for the craft. Sure, it's about imaging, but it's also about the community, sharing, creativity, and respect. 

Rick Sammon and I have been friends for easily thirty-plus years, going back to my early days at Hasselblad. We've worked on many projects together, sat next to each other at rubber-chicken industry dinners, and share a long list of mutual friends. Rick's newest book is loaded with great content to get you thinking about not only your business but ways to maximize your skill set.  

While I'd love to share more, let's start with part Rick's introduction, which will give you and idea of the framework of the book. There's so much good content!
​
Anybody can start a business. Anybody can get their first few sales. But the key to longevity is creativity, paying attention to your business, building relationships, and having an earning strategy that's always working...even when you're sound asleep!

by Rick Sammon

​The quote by Warren Buffett that opens this blog post was the inspiration for my latest book (paperback and Ebook), How To Make Money While You are Sleeping: A photographer’s guide to passive income – and other savvy business strategies.  

I want to share with you part of the Introduction from the book. As you will see, if you put in the effort while you are awake, you can indeed make money while you sleep.

The book is dedicated to the memory of my dad, Robert M. Sammon, Sr., who, through his example, showed me the importance of paying careful attention to one’s income, expenses, and investments . . . as well as the benefit of living below your means.

My dad, an amateur photographer who got me started taking pictures, also gave me some invaluable advice when it comes to making money: “It takes a lot of peanuts to feed an elephant.” In other words, he was saying that all those pennies and dollars can add up, which is the theme of this book.

​“Dad, you’re not only a photographer, but you are also an entrepreneur who happens to be a photographer.” – Marco SammonThat’s what my son Marco, seventeen years old at the time, said after I introduced myself as a photographer at a neighborhood party.

Marco, who has since received his PhD in Finance and is a finance professor at Harvard Business School, was making the point that although I take pictures for a living, I spend a lot of time—the majority of my work time actually—on the business side of my profession. I’m always working hard on new projects—writing books, setting up affiliate programs, cultivating sponsorships, recording online classes and podcasts, and so on.

That’s what my son Marco, seventeen years old at the time, said after I introduced myself as a photographer at a neighborhood party.

Marco, who has since received his PhD in Finance and is a finance professor at Harvard Business School, was making the point that although I take pictures for a living, I spend a lot of time—the majority of my work time actually—on the business side of my profession. I’m always working hard on new projects—writing books, setting up affiliate programs, cultivating sponsorships, recording online classes and podcasts, and so on.

Marco also observed that I spend a lot of time promoting those projects on social media, and then tracking the results. We’ll talk more about tracking sales later in this book, but for now, if you self-publish a paperback or Kindle version on Amazon.com, you can actually track sales on an hourly basis – which I don’t encourage because it can become addictive. However, I have to admit that I do track sales quite frequently when I release a new book.

So, the message here is this: as much as you love photography (as I do), and as much as you want to save the world (its people, wildlife, environment, and so on) with your craft, it’s important to understand that in order to succeed you must also be a good businessperson—which involves generating income while you are both awake and asleep.

Zzz

If you know me from some of my other photography books, photo workshops, tours, seminars and online classes, you may be thinking, “I like Rick’s photography and I’ve learned some cool things from him, but what could he possibly know about sound business practices?” Well, believe it or not, before becoming a professional photographer I spent ten years (1980–1990) at Bozell & Jacobs as vice president/group supervisor on the Minolta camera account.

At that time Bozell & Jacobs was one of the largest advertising and public relations firms in the world. At that agency I learned about the business side of photography, as well as how to promote Minolta photographers, including famed Beatles’ photographer, Harry Benson.

When I left the agency, I had the “ammo” to promote myself through advertising and PR. I had also learned the business side of a professional photographer’s life from working with other famous photographers like fashion photographer, Robert Farber, and United Nations photographer, John Isaac.

The lessons I learned at the agency were invaluable, as were the business lessons I learned as editor of Studio Photography magazine (from 1978 to 1980). Having been hired with no editorial experience, my boss and the publisher of the magazine, Rudy Maschke, said this to me when I asked him for my first raise: “Sammon, you are learning so much that you should be paying me.”

Zzz

On these pages I will share all I know about the business side of photography with you, which of course includes making money while you are sleeping. These lessons have helped my wife, Susan, and I run our business for more than thirty years—and I can tell you, there is nothing like running your own business. As a small business owner, you learn very quickly that you are both the “chief cook and bottle washer,” as my dad used to say.

When thinking of generating income while you are sleeping, please don’t get me wrong, I still work my butt off during my waking hours—because I love what I do. And as the saying goes: “If you love what you do, you never need to work a day in your life.”

Zzz

Generating income while you are sleeping starts with your waking time, something we’ll cover in Chapter 1.

Before You Doze Off.
If you are new to generating passive income, the cool thing is that after you put in the work, you can doze off (take a nap during the day or go off to bed) and wake up a little richer than you were before you closed your eyes.

The key phrase here is “a little.” Before I explain, here’s another expression my dad shared with me: “Everything is relative.” In other words, “a little” means something different to different people.

For example, “a little” passive income each day from different sources (including books, online classes, and crowdfunding projects) could possibly add up to a very nice source of income. In fact, I know several well-known photographers whose major source of income is generated passively.

In subsequent chapters, you’ll see how you can generate “a little” income while you sleep with different money-making projects that you can create during your waking hours.

​Here’s a look at the table of contents (topics I cover) for the book:
Acknowledgments & Networking
Author’s Preface
Introduction
1.   Before You Doze Off
2.   Your Website: Your 24/7 Store
3.   Socialize or Succumb
4.   The Advantage of Affiliate Programs
5.   Buy Me a Coffee
6.   Start a Facebook Group
7.   Write or Narrate a Book
8.   Offer a Downloadable PDF EBook
9.   Join the Crowd with Crowdfunding
Intermission
10.  Start a Podcast
11.  Record an Online Class or Classes
12.  Offer a Newsletter
13.  Strive for Sponsorship
14.  Create Content for a YouTube Channel
15.  Get into Webinars
16.  Sell Prints Online
17.   Launch an Online Forum
18.   Suggest a Product to a Company
19.   Take Stock of Stock Photography
20.   Your Money Can Work Harder for You Than You Can

by Skip Cohen

What I love most about Seth Resnick's Facebook posts is they're always so relatable. This past week, he shared the post below about losing his Dad. Just to say it "hit home" would be a huge understatement.

Time does heal wounds, but the scars don't go away, and they shouldn't. Like Seth, I lost my Dad seven years ago this month. While we lost my Mom, physically a few years earlier, Alzheimer's robbed us many years before.  But Dad never slowed down being by her side and fighting to savor each random lucid moment of joy. 

And with me, through all of life's challenges, he was always my best buddy. He was always there for me, and I miss the conversations, stories and especially the laughs. I love those memories of him laughing. Something would hit him that was so funny, he'd laugh until the tears started to roll. I have so many wonderful memories that bring the smiles and the tears.

Just like Seth, there are things that catch me off guard and a tear appears...usually it's something outrageously simple. For example, seeing the snow storms back east on the news this week, got me thinking about our gas grill when I was a kid.

We had a hard-wired gas grill. With that first snow storm in November, Dad was surprised. "Look at that - there's a 12 foot circle around the grill where the snow didn't stick!" It was then he realized the grill had been on low since Labor Day! Remember, this is back when gas was cheap and I don't think he ever noticed the tiny spike in the bill.  

It's the memories, combined with those old photographs that gives those loved ones we've lost their immortality. And to quote Seth...Tears and a smile.

​Wishing everybody a terrific day ahead.  Take the time to appreciate not only the people you love who are here for you, but those who are no long around for those eleven-second therapeutic hugs. But here's the thing, they are around in your heart, and they are watching over you. The tears are simply gateways to memories and smiles.

Happy Sunday or Monday on the other side of the world.

​My heart and mind are in a myriad of thought pointing back to Japan. It was 7 years ago that I was teaching a workshop in Japan and received a call that my dad who was healthy died in his sleep. When my father died, I tried so hard to be strong and show everybody how resilient and tough I was but that act doesn’t last. Pushing the pain below the surface so no one can see it is exhausting. We take a lot of strength from our parents, so when you lose one of them, it’s crushing.

Sometimes, you will be doing OK and managing your grief, when something catches you off guard. And then suddenly a surge of powerful emotion hits you like a tidal wave.

​For me I think the most challenging times have been when something has reminded me of my dad. The difference seven years later is my tears well up but so does a smile. It is a beautiful experience and I think about both my mom and dad and then I am OK until it happens again.

Someday’s I think I should be past this by now and I don’t know why I still cry at random times, all these years later but it is ok. As I am writing this it becomes one of those moments. Tears and a smile.

I miss my parents so much but I am I’m grateful they both touched my life in such a powerful and beautiful way.
​
Love you DAD!

Don't downgrade your dream to fit your reality.
Upgrade your conviction to match your destiny.
Author Unknown

by Wesley Simpson

The Perfect Sofa.

Manifesting the life you want is like ordering the perfect sofa. You can choose to have a cheap one fits all next-day delivery or you can choose to understand that if you want your dream bespoke sofa that matches your perfectly designed interior and vision, things might take a little longer, and you might have to focus and work a little harder.

The same applies to your life, work, health and relationships.
​
Remember, when things are falling apart, they might be falling together. Sometimes you lose, and sometimes you learn. But keep going.

by Skip Cohen

​It's Sunday, and I'm getting a little help from a good buddy in the UK, Wesley Simpson. And while I did try and track him down on the other side of the world to ask permission, I decided to go ahead and share it anyway.

He posed these three shots yesterday on Facebook with his post above, and I loved how to the point he was. Then, I did a little fishing on my own for the two quotes.

Most of us need to spend more time visualizing our dreams. But then, things get busy, life gets in the way, and suddenly a front and center goal is on the back burner with the heat on low!

Wesley and I have never really met. We've been following each other on Facebook for years. In February, he won Wedding Photographer of the Year 2022 and Wedding Photographer of the Year North West at The English Wedding Awards. We catch up on short IMs now and then, and I'm hoping one of these days, he shows up on my doorstep here in Florida. 

And here's my two-part point this Sunday morning - First, never let anything or anyone stand in the way of chasing your dreams. Take some time today and dig a few of those dreams out of storage - we've all got them, often allowing time to bury them under what we think is reality.

​Second, the world has become a tiny place thanks to social media. It doesn't matter that Wesley and I have never had a beer together - the friendship is built on a foundation of respect and admiration. And today, when I needed a little help, his post was right there for me! 

And for those of you who are part of the more senior crowd...

You're never too old to set another goal or dream a new dream.
Clive S. Lewis

Wishing everybody a perfect day ahead. The kind where you get time with the people most important to you. And make it a goal to find time for the most important person in your life...YOU! You need time to feed your soul in order to be there for everyone you love. Always go for those eleven-second hugs with those special people - you'll feel the therapeutic action right around the seven-second mark!

Happy Sunday or Monday on the other side of the world.

Intro by Skip Cohen

This post by Seth Resnick yesterday really hit home! It's got absolutely nothing to do with imaging directly, but it has everything to do with the quality of life we all want.

A good buddy used a great line many years ago in talking about his health challenges: "You can't hide from bad genes!" Well, I'm right in that category with a personal history of hyper-tension, as well as with my Dad. There are days when I'm wound a little too tight, and those ups and downs Seth talks about take a toll.

I'm sharing his post because it deserves to be read by EVERYBODY. Very few people ever learn to truly chill out and "roll with the punches," as my Dad loved to say. Ironically, it's not something he ever figured out how to do!

Whatever pressures/challenges you've got in your life, Tylenol won't cure everything. Staying mellow is a team effort between your heart, brain, and family. And when you feel like you're about to crash and burn, take a break and chill!

by Seth Resnick
​
We all experience ups and downs in life and when the roller coaster of life delivers that emotional pain we believe it is purely emotional but research shows that the pain is indeed very real. So many people use the term roller coaster but technically it is more like being hit by the roller coaster rather than the ride.

The concept of heart ache, heavy heart, pain etc. are not that different from real pain. Brain scans of people who experienced emotional pain have revealed that social pain experienced share the same neural pathways as physical pain.

In a recent study 60 people who had recently been through an unwanted divorce had their brains scanned while they looked at pictures of their ex and thought about the breakup. As they stared at the photos, the part of the brain associated with physical pain lit up.

Research by Kross concluded, ‘We found that powerfully inducing feelings of social rejection activate regions of the brain that are involved in physical pain sensation, which are rarely activated in neuroimaging studies of emotion.’

Based on the concept that emotional pain and physical pain may not be that different in terms of the pain centers of the neural pathways led to another study on relief of that pain. In a controlled study it was shown that taking Tylenol for three weeks resulted in less hurt feelings and social pain on a daily basis than those who took a placebo. A further study showed the effect was also evident in brain scans. When emotional pain was induced, the part of the brain associated with physical pain lit up in participants who didn’t take Tylenol. Those who took Tylenol showed significantly less activity in that part of the brain.

The human brain loves happiness and when there is happiness, new love for example there is a release of dopamine and oxytocin and the brain smiles…. When however there is loss or other emotional pain there is a release of cortisol and epinephrine.

Too much cortisol in the brain sends blood to the major muscle groups. They tense up ready to respond to the threat (fight or flight). However, without real need for a physical response the muscles have no opportunity to expend the energy.
​
Muscles swell, giving rise to headaches, a stiff neck and that awful feeling of your chest being squeezed.
Getting through emotional pain is as much a physical process as an emotional one but the answer isn’t Tylenol as that can lead to liver and stomach issues. Just know that emotional and physical pain are not all that different and not really just in your head.

​Intro by Skip Cohen

I've shared this a couple of times over the years, but with what would have been my Dad's 100th birthday coming up, now's a perfect time. My Dad passed away almost seven years ago, but his birthday was on Halloween. This is going to be the kick-off of "Ralph Week." 

It's funny, when I was a kid, he was in the wholesale candy and tobacco business. I had access to a full warehouse of candy, but nothing tasted as good as what I collected with friends every Halloween. So, between trick or treaters hitting the doorbell every few minutes and me heading out with friends, he never had a focused birthday until we were older.

In 2010, just after we moved to Sarasota, I talked him into write a couple of blog posts. He wrote the piece below for me that November. I love the relevance - there is no expiration date on running a good business, building trust with your clients, and creating a brand based on integrity.  

When Dad started in business just after WWII, he didn't have Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or for that matter, the Internet, but he did have a telephone. He didn't go to any conventions to network, but he did have time to meet people and talk to potential clients. He didn't have workshops to go to, but he did have books to read and ideas to share with his associates over lunch.

He started out in the lumber business; moved into the vending world with candy and tobacco and into his dream of commercial/industrial real estate when he in his early forties. He loved bringing people together to build things that lasted, and everything he did was always on foundation of integrity and good business sense.

Right up until he passed away at 93, he still did a lot of his business on a handshake. He might have slowed down physically as he got older, but he never compromised those standards my grandfather taught him many years earlier. So as you think about 2022 and into the new year, everything he talks about is right on point! Pay attention to your business, and keep an eye on your competition, but don't get so obsessed with what everyone else is doing that you lose focus on your own marketing plans.

I have been happily retired for many years, and unemployed for almost twenty.  I am not a plagiarist, but I must quote my father who spent the last months of his life writing advice to his children:

“Conduct your business in an upright manner and remember, the most important thing in one’s life is to be honest with one’s self. Maintain the high standard and dignity that your business requires. Do not go into deals hastily and be visible in your business as much of the time as is possible.  If you take time to play, do it away from your business, because your livelihood needs all the attention you can give to it.”

Early on, I concluded that the best testimonials came from my many friendly competitors.  We didn’t really compete with each other, in the true sense. True, we were in the same field of endeavor, but we all knew we were there to help each other. Happily, the “tough competition” fell by the wayside. 

I remember giving Skip driving lessons and I told him, “Watch the left front fender…..the rest will take care of itself!”  I’ve found this is really true of everything in life.

An old axiom says, “If you tell the truth, you never have to remember what you said.”  That is all part of reputation-building. I found that, sadly, in the field of real estate, truth is hard to come by for many. In our case, it was a major building block in the reputation which we enjoyed, and helped us to thwart the competition.

Goodwill is all of the above, plus a lot of caring for your clients as well as your competitors.  If life is a give-and-take situation, giving is the more important of the two.  The taking will come with time and be far more appreciative.  Just remember – you heard it here!  

Ralph Cohen, Founder and 1/2 the Creators of Skip Cohen!

by Skip Cohen

There's so much you can learn simply by taking a scroll through the notifications that come up on your Facebook page. It's time to meet Corey McDonald. The image above pulled me into the photographs he shared, but the other two were just as remarkable.

I know it was a long time ago, but I was a band nerd, playing the French horn for many years. Back then, nobody did senior portraits the way they do today - everybody got the same shot - guys in jacket and tie, girls in a v-neck black shroud. There was simply no personality shared in any portrait. I would have killed for a portrait like this of me.

And here's my point: you have so much power with every portrait you capture. Boudoir photographers often talk about the power of increased self-esteem a portrait session can create. Senior photographers talk about how they feel knowing they've captured the essence of their subject, especially when they've done a sitting involving their personal interests, usually cars, motorcycles, sports, and animals.

Today's post is about the power of a remarkable portrait of a kid in the band! But it's also about Corey's goal to give each kid his very best. Remember, for a lot of seniors; it's their first interaction with a professional photographer. Do it right and build the relationship, and you'll have a kid like this as a client for the rest of his life!

And to Corey, who I cold-called for permission to share these images posted in Gary Box's Facebook Forum - nicely done. Thanks for allowing me to share three portraits that deserve to be seen by more people. You can check out more of Corey's work with a visit to his website. It's just a click away.

Intro by Skip Cohen

If you're not following Seth Resnick on Facebook, he's only a click away. He's sharing a lot of outstanding content covering everything from technique to calibration to his "why" when he clicks the shutter. It's simply great stuff.

What I loved about this post was its simplicity. The image is stunning, but it's Seth's honesty and ability to laugh at himself that made it perfect for a Friday share. In his post the following day, after another self-inflicted challenge, he wrote:

BEING ABLE TO LAUGH AT YOURSELF. In a world where we strive for perfection, sometimes letting go and simply laughing at your own mistakes is the best way to move forward.

And here's my point - I'm not sure when the world became so serious, but we're all wound a little tight these days. As a result, we miss those moments when we should kick back, laugh a little, and hit the reset button.

Wishing everybody a terrific weekend ahead. Take the time to laugh. ​

by Seth Resnick

​Yesterday we got up before the sunrise and headed to the beach. Nina a young US ranked dancer was practicing and she put on quite a show. While the images came out very nice, there were of course a few issues.

The biggest issue was that my camera equipment came from my air-conditioned house to a humid extremely hot beach. As the sun started to rise my lenses were all so fogged that I couldn’t see through them. It took almost twenty minutes for the lenses to warm up enough to shoot.

One might think that with 40 years of experience I would have avoided this issue but …….Lucky for me Nina never runs out of moves or energy and the light was still beautiful. The lesson here is that even with all the experience etc. Sh** still happens.

 Intro by Skip Cohen

Over the last few weeks I've shared a number of Seth Resnick's posts. He always manages to get me thinking about something related to imaging, and today's guest post is a perfect example. Posted last week, he talked about Dall-E. Over a million people signed up, just to try it out.

A big thanks to Seth for allowing me to share his thoughts here on the SCU blog. If you don't already follow him on Facebook, he needs to be on your radar. And if you'd like to share your thoughts about this specific post, scroll down his FB page to August 4 and comment.

by Seth Resnick

​​Yesterday Dall-E became available and there were over 1,000,000 people who signed up to try it. I was not one of them. So for those who don’t yet know, Dall-E is an AI application that can ingest both language and text and create a single image from the stream. I am a big fan of technology and the technology behind this is incredible.

That said it also raises a stream of questions including the very concept of removing the very experience of photographing. The idea of creating an image by writing a text stream is indeed fascinating but at the same time quite scary.

There are an incredible amount of questions and problems I foresee with this type of software that go way beyond the issues of social media. What will happen with violence, racial, sexual or gender issues? Is this the final death to stock images? In fact is this a death to assignment photography? AI is programmed by humans so how this reacts will be in part based on the programming.

It also immediately raises a giant question. Who would own the copyright? One could easily argue that it would be the artist but one could easily argue that it would always be the software company.

While I always welcome new technology, I look at the image chosen today and would never want to give up the experience of being in this sacred place and experiencing this first hand.
​
Thoughts ?

by Skip Cohen

​As I've written so many times before, the fun of this industry is in the friendships. Well, meet Erik Cooper. Erik and I met when I was wearing my Platypod hat. He was a new member of PPA, and at the time, there was a new-member benefit to receive a Platypod.

What started as a purely customer service phone conversation has grown into a great friendship, multiple calls, and finally catching up to each other LIVE at ClickCon last year. Erik is a fashion and portrait photographer, although I doubt there's anything he can't photograph. He's based in Colorado Springs. We're a perfect example of how Facebook is sometimes the mortar that holds so many friendships together, especially during a time of limited conventions and travel - combine social media with a phone and it's easy to stay in touch.

Meanwhile, today's post isn't about Erik but the importance of understanding great lighting. Whenever I hear an artist say, "I'm a natural light specialist," right from the start, I know they're afraid of studio lighting. They've never taken the time to learn lighting and expand their skill set.  The truth is, all of us love natural light, and that's what understanding studio lighting is all about - creating stunning photographs with whatever light source you have!

But there's another point to today's post - a reminder of the power of a black and white image, especially in portrait work. Bringing a few black and white images into your portfolio/galleries also shows diversity in your skill set. Learn to see in B&W. It's about your thought process from the beginning and learning to see the highlights and shadows in your mind as you create and capture the portrait.

And for on-location wedding and event photographers, B&W also gives you more creativity in tough situations. For example, one of the early books I co-authored was with Bambi Cantrell. In the book she talked about shooting B&W when you're photographing in "the First Church of Uglyville!" We even did a stunning bridal portrait in the restroom at a hotel. It was shot in B&W, and was stunning, hiding the ugly deep pink tile walls!

A big thanks to Erik for sharing these images with me, and if you'd like to see more of his work, his Instagram page is just a click away.

by Skip Cohen

Seth Resnick is back with what may well be one of my most favorite of his posts. To take it a step further, it's a post I wish was mandatory for every artist to read. The issue isn't whether you agree or disagree with him, just the importance of understanding your "Why?" Obviously, there are times when just clicking the shutter has no deeper meaning than contributing to your revenue stream...but I can't help but feel there's always an underlying explanation for why so many of us love this industry.

I've met so many artists in my career and the ones most successful, to Seth's point, speak fluent photography. They don't have to have a camera in their hands to shoot "neurochromes" and still see something most of us might miss. Their images tell a story, capture a memory, and often have a much deeper meaning than just what is shared in print. And it carries further into who we are and why - Seth got me thinking about my writing as well as each time I click the shutter.

Seth is sharing a lot of great concepts on his facebook page. He needs to be on your radar!

by Seth Resnick

Photography isn’t easy. Learning software applications like Photoshop and Lightroom are hard, and understanding all the buttons on the cameras can be confusing to say the least, but the hardest of all may just be understanding your own work. Photography is a language. Do you speak it fluently?
​
I find that by writing down my thoughts I am better equipped to speak and write the language of photography. Like any language that is studied practice and time certainly help. In developing your skills about photography as a language it is critical to overcome the concept of what your work is about rather than what it is of.

When I first started writing about what my photography was really about I thought it was about entering personal space. I interchanged the word breaking personal space and entering personal space and thought they were the same. In fact a good friend and student Jed Best suggested that I have a show called Breaking and Entering. I thought that was quite clever. For several years my description of my own work started with breaking personal space. After all I started as a journalist and much of my work was about people and to capture them in a personal manner I was either very close or used a long lens to isolate emotion.

The more I started to write and as my work progressed I was bothered by the statement and one day while photographing a rock and writing about it I came to understand that it was really about an energy connection with my subjects or rather my subjects energy connection with me. The more I wrote the more I understood and writing led to my own discovery of Clairsentience which really put my understanding of the language in perspective.

Certain people are born with a mystical sixth sense that allows them to pick up on information about the past, present, and future. We typically call it ESP but for me it is an awareness of additional senses. While we all have five basic senses that help us observe the physical world around us it doesn’t end with just five. There are a variety of ways that people can experience ESP. For me one of the most fascinating is clairsentience, which is the ability to literally feel and acknowledge energy.

This week several things happened that weren’t coincidence. I looked at Leslie and said her son was thinking about her. She looked at her phone and her son just texted her. Three sand hill cranes that have been coming to my house suddenly flew in and they came right up to me as if they were telling me something. A dragonfly then landed on me. I showed Leslie the dragonfly and he stayed on my hand. I thought about him flying away and sure enough he did. No big deal but then I called him back and the dragonfly kept coming back to my hand for over an hour. At the same time there was no wind but the chimes in my back yard started to ring. There were bluejays and cardinals and all of these things were things that my mom loved.

Life comes down to energy and as I continue to write I continue to increase my knowledge about the language of photography.
​
Many photographers never figure it out and think it isn’t important. I hear so many photographers say that their work isn’t about anything they just like taking pictures. Well maybe, but learning what my images are about has helped me immensely.

Intro by Skip Cohen

It's Marketing Monday, and while this might seem a little off the topic, from my perspective, it's right on target. Anybody can market well enough to get their first client - the challenge is getting that client to keep coming back, as well as telling all their friends to check you out. 

That boils down to creating images that leave people in awe of your skills. Sure, it's about creating an experience and being fun to work with - but in the end, you have to create images beyond expectations.

I've recently shared a few of Seth Resnick's posts from Facebook because he's writing outstanding content. He's posting information to make you a better artist, regardless of your specialty. I loved this post because it hits one aspect of adding POWER to an image. 

I've written a lot about your galleries as past Marketing Monday posts. Every image in your gallery should be a "Wow" photograph. It needs to be so powerful that you'd only need to show that one image to get hired, or have a picture editor want to look at more of your work. 

When was the last time you cleaned up your galleries? Is there work there that anybody's Uncle Harry could shoot? Are you sharing too many images and not showing your very best?

Seth needs to be on your radar. He's regularly sharing great information covering a wide variety of topics on his Facebook page. And he's only a click away.

by Seth Resnick

​The silhouette from yesterday reminded me of the concept of balancing technical knowledge and aesthetics. There are photographers like the great “god” Jay Maisel who could care less about a lot of technicals and there are photographers who are so technical that they place the technical merits over the aesthetics.

The answer for me is almost like a right brain, left brain combination or rather meshing together both aesthetics and technicals.

All of this comes to mind as I think back to the days of Shadowland and the beginning of Lightroom. I remember some of the lead engineers thinking how to process a raw file and looking at all files as if they were the same only caring about technicals. Along comes my dear friend Greg Gorman and the engineers are blown away that the blacks in some of his images have no detail. They question whether this is correct and Greg explains how he intentionally slammed the blacks. For all the rules it is critical to understand that the first rule is that there are no rules that are always 100%.

Crushing blacks is the process of taking relatively dark areas typically shadow areas and making them even darker by increasing contrast in those areas. It removes any areas of light within those dark areas.

For photographers who grew up with darkrooms we talked about toes and shoulders where the highlights block off to white and the shadows block off to black on a given tonality curve so to speak. The toe would be the bottom part of any curve and the shoulder the top part. I remember discussing with the engineers what we were going to call curves in Lightroom. When we raised Toe, and Shoulder we got "huh" because while some of the engineers knew a ton about programing and pixels they weren’t necessarily photographers.
In fact one camera manufacturer automatically did this intentionally in their processor because it minimized seeing noise in the shadows.

I remember when I worked at the Syracuse Newspapers that we would have to fight like mad with the executive editors when we shot a silhouette because the art department was instructed to airbrush and open up shadows. The idea being quite literally that silhouettes don’t exist because shadows need detail.

​Anyhow, my point is silhouettes can make very powerful images and the crushed blacks do not need to be opened up……..

by Skip Cohen

​Sometimes being out for a "scroll" in cyberspace leads to some truly fun discoveries. "Fun" is one of those words too often lost in business today. It's buried underneath the barrage of stress from dozens of things we all worry about. Yet, we're all responsible for finding the balance between productivity, success, and fun without stress dragging us down.

Meet Jim Graham, who many of you probably know already. He posted the image above on July 4 on his Facebook page with the comment:

Within minutes of seeing this image I called Jim. We spent the next hour sharing stories about artists we both know and this crazy industry we love dearly. In the process I asked for permission to share this image on Throwback Thursday, but with a unique purpose in mind. And Jim offered to share a little of the backstory below.

"At Rest" - Made 16 November 2009 

I’d been traveling to Nantucket since 1974. In this case I’d gone on island for the first time during the fall. It was a very opportune choice as instead of green there was color everywhere. I’d gone out to Madaket in hopes of catching a sunset. As the season was really over, most of the boats had been hauled in. I was left with only a few in the water leading me to a minimalistic approach thinking pure composition and color.  

I was also reminded of the Nantucket painter  Robert Stark, Jr. Many times he painted his nautical scenes with dark blue skies and a red unfurled sail. The image that presented itself was the opposite in every way.

Revisiting work over the years offers so many opportunities. New applications have added editing advantages that simply weren’t there when the original image was made. You simply don’t know what you’ll discover. Additionally, as I print my work, both printers, inks, and papers have evolved. All allow both the image and my creative instincts to continually evolve.

Nikon D3X, Nikkor 70-200mm 
​1/160 @ F/2.8 200 ISO

Printed in 3 sizes, in editions of 25 on Moab Somerset Museum Rag

​Here's my point. I share an image with a backstory every Thursday. In part, it's because searching for old photographs reminds me of the value of what we do as an industry. The memories that old images bring back recharge my battery, put a smile on my face, and lift my spirit a little higher.

But the other reason behind sharing old photographs is to remind you to head out on your own safari to hunt for old images, with two benefits. First, share them as a marketing tool to remind clients it's time for a new family portrait or headshot. Second, talking with Jim reminded me of the common denominator we all share - a passion for creativity and capturing memories.

Trust me on this one - take thirty minutes and go back to a file of images you captured at least ten years ago - the older, the better. Find an image you love or one that completely missed the mark - it doesn't matter. Now, think about the way you photograph today. Think about the technology you're using now versus what you had back then. Savor the backstories those images bring out - and simply appreciate the career path you chose when you decided to be a photographer.

Remember the tagline for Oldsmobile years back? "It's not your father's Oldsmobile!" Well, your eyes, heart, and skill set today aren't the same either, but you can't appreciate the journey until you realize how far you've come.

  “When you dance, your purpose is not to get to a certain place on the floor.
It’s to enjoy each step along the way.”
Wayne Dyer, 

For most of us we've become so obsessed with building a business, and getting to that place on the floor, that we missed the beauty of each step in the process!

P.S. And to Jim - thanks for you help on this post. As I've written dozens of times - the best thing about this industry isn't really about photography, but the friendships that come out of everyone's love for the craft!

Intro by Skip Cohen

​The real benefit of Facebook often has nothing whatsoever to do with being social but raising the bar on the quality of your craft. After all, the common denominator most of us share is our love for imaging. 

Wandering through my notifications on FB just now, I ran into this post by Seth Resnick. I've admired his work for many years, and the image he shared drew me to the post. To his point - I'm amazed at how many artists don't calibrate their monitors. Yet, they view, share and print thousands of images.

One ingredient to calling yourself a professional photographer is the quality of your images. Not only do you deserve the best, but let's think about your clients. They deserve the best you can create.

There's no need to introduce this post further because Seth says it all. So put Seth on your radar; follow him on Facebook and check out his website, especially his upcoming workshops! They'll change your life and raise the bar on the quality of your work!

by Seth Resnick
​
Last night we went out to dinner before going to see Elvis. Leslie and I went to get a bite to eat and the restaurant had at least 25 television screens. On each screen is a Lion Fish from a live feed and Leslie notices that the color is different on every screen and asks me which one is correct? I start laughing and said likely none of them and go on to explain the concept of profiling a monitor and what that means. Ironically I had just gotten off the phone with Eric Meola who had purchased a new Mac with the M1 chip and had a tough go of profiling his NEC/Sharp Monitors.

As a photographer you spend your life producing images and processing them but unless you have a calibrated monitor, color becomes a crap shoot. It amazes me how many clients and photographers are making critical judgements about color and are doing so on non profiled or color deceptive monitors. In general, most screens are too bright, and have whatever default color the monitor happens to ship with.
Ambient light, the colors of the walls all have an influence on how we perceive color.

The bottom line to ensure the colors you see on screen are the same colors from your file, you simply need to calibrate and profile your monitor. Personally I use an i1 Display Pro which is a puck like device or spectrophotometer. I profile once a month and by doing so I am able to create a color guarantee. This helps ensure that when I print, the print can easily represent what I see on my screen and when I send a file to anyone, if they too have a profiled monitor, the image on my screen will match the look they get on their screen.
​
Of course the reality is that many clients and many photographers do not have profiled monitors and the reality is every screen will portray the image differently much like we experienced in the restaurant seeing the same Lion Fish on 25 different screens, each one different.

Intro by Skip Cohen

Nine years ago this week, Amanda from Photodex shared the blog post below. Well, it's perfect for this time of year, as well as this time in business history. To say most of the last few years were tough on business owners would be a colossal understatement. 

Photodex, who closed their doors a few years ago, was on fire back then! Thousands of photographers were not only using their products but benefitting from outstanding support and advice on how to keep building a successful business and their brand awareness.  

This post features statements from five different wedding photographers, each sharing an essential tip for success. And while it's wedding-centric, the tips by these five artists apply to just about every business! So, whatever your specialty, if nothing else, pay attention to the bold tips leading into each quote.

Remember that today with social media, one customer has the ability to influence thousands of other potential clients for your business. At the start of last year, the analysts estimated almost 300 million people were on the Internet in the United States. In fact, how many of us even know somebody who's not Internet active?

The key to building your brand is in great service, which includes EVERYTHING from the quality of your work, to the way you build a relationship with each subject. It includes keeping your promises, responding quickly to communications, and being more than just another vendor in the community. 

And in terms of Amanda from Photodex, who's been a great friend to so many of us - she always walks the talk. I catch up to her every now and then, because I love her online store, and she was so terrific to work with for so many years. Check out this post from last year about her award-winning jewelry business in Austin, TX!

Courtesy of Amanda and Photodex

We're right in the heat of wedding season! So, we reached out to a handful of seasoned pros and asked them to share what they do to go the extra mile and really ‘wow’ their wedding clients. Read their advice below!

1. Be More Than Just Photographers      

One of the ways we wow our wedding couples is to just do all the little things better, not just be photographers. We show them that we really want their day to be the best ever. That means being there for them when things don’t go as planned. Maybe the groom could use a hand with cuff links or his tie. Maybe the cake table doesn’t have dishes and forks when it’s time to cut. Maybe the bouquets could use water when they are placed at the wedding party table. Maybe we nudge the DJ to get things going when we sense the guests are getting bored. It’s all the little things that add up. The better the wedding, the better our pictures will look. As photographers, we’ve seen lots of weddings, we know when it’s time to step in and give a hand. – Stacey Chance, Discovery Bay Studios Wedding Photography

2. Under Promise and Over Deliver       

Brides are extremely excited about the work and anxious for everything. The worse thing you can do is promise something and not deliver on time. For example, we like to post a sneak peek on Facebook shortly after the wedding but when the bride’s asks about it, we always say it should be a few weeks after the event. Usually, it’s a few days! That’s the same for delivery of the proof set, products, you name it! It’s not a matter of lying or making up things – be realistic about all of the things that could go wrong with your business (or god forbid your personal life) and take that into account before making promises! – Steven Somfalvi, Artage Pictures

3. Surprise Them       

Similar to under promising and over delivering, always have some surprises ready for your client. It definitely enhances their experience with your studio and it reconfirms that they are important to you. It can be a free print, product upgrade – really anything. We advertise in a national magazine and they send us a box of them to hand out. Every bride who comes through the door gets one and they just love it! – Steven Somfalvi, Artage Pictures

4. Create Excitement at the Reception       

We produce same-day slideshows at every wedding. It’s a total surprise to the couple. The bride, groom and their guests are totally floored and I’ve booked weddings of bridal party members because of them. I use ProShow Producer to output to MP4 on to a flash drive and loop it on an LCD flat screen TV at the reception.   Joe Pulcinella Photography

5. Be Passionate       

My secret to wowing the bride and groom and the complete wedding party is being passionate about the wedding day. To me, a wedding day is the most important day in a couple’s life, just after giving birth to their child. I want the experience to be memorable. Quality of photography is very important to bring to the wedding, but your personality is the secret to making the day more memorable. I never demand anything from the wedding. I work with what I got and I make the magic happen. Ego and attitude should never be part of a wedding photographer’s personality. – David Zumaya, Weddings at California
​

by Skip Cohen

One of the fun things about having spent so many years in this industry is the friendships that have come out of everyone's love for the craft combined with their creativity. Glen Clark has been a long-time buddy going back to the early 90s when we were first met on a project to help Kodak. I've written a lot about metal prints, especially outdoors for home decor and restaurants.

​Thanks to Glen, here's another application, expanding your potential for creativity and even additional revenue! His list of suggestions in the last paragraph is just the beginning.

Guest Post by Glen Clark

​I was just sharing an idea for displaying MetalPrints with a photographer friend, and it occurred to me that you might also find this interesting (if I haven't already shared this with you?). It's a bit of a story, so please bear with me.

​When Robin and I moved into our home here in South Carolina, we discovered a large metal circuit breaker box in an alcove between the kitchen and the master bedroom (see photo). Naturally, Robin thought it was ugly and wanted to cover it up.  

Rather than having her disguise the box with decor items or a wall hanging, it occurred to me this might be an excellent place to display a large MetalPrint. So, I found a suitable image of a doorway in an Irish castle we had visited. I measured the metal circuit breaker panel/box. Then I ordered a 38 "x 18 "Metal Print to cover the box (I think most homes and businesses have a similar ugly panel somewhere). I ordered a Float Mount hanger on the back side of the MetalPrint to raise it off the surface, making it easier to hold onto when it was necessary to remove the print (i.e., to flip a circuit breaker).
 
Then Robin and I went shopping to find suitable magnets and adhesive tape, which we located at our local Lowe's. When the MetalPrint arrived, I attached the magnets, and the print has been covering the panel/box for the past year and a half, and it looks fantastic. This has even become a conversation piece with my visiting photographer friends.
 
I'm mentioning this because I thought some of your followers might have a similar opportunity in their homes, offices, basements, garages, patios or wherever they have their studio, man-cave/workshop, she-shed, etc. For example, I could see people using metal prints to decorate gym lockers, home appliances, office file cabinets, furniture, etc. The list could go on and on.