J Sandifer Photography

Please make your way over to my new BLOG!

2007-06-16T17:03:00.000-07:00

http://jbrides.wordpress.com/

Tip of the Week #4 : Custom Sign in book for Weddings.

2007-06-14T14:05:00.000-07:00

How do you make more money off your weddings?

Sell your clients more products! Yes, sell...they want you too and you should be! I know photographers who are supplementing their wedding photography income with invitations, frames and custom sign in books. Below is an image you can grab to make a custom sign in book. I have used it with Pictage's 7x7 proof book and it worked well. The idea is to put an image from the engagement session on one side and this image on the other...and so on.

This might be just the thing that separates you from your competition!

Feel free to grab the image and put it to use for your business...

OK...my mom sent me this on Slate!

2007-06-12T14:06:00.000-07:00

If you have a few minutes there are some pretty funny articles in this issue.
I particularly liked the one on Traditional Photography! :)

Thanks Mom!

RUN don't Walk!!!

2007-06-12T12:52:00.000-07:00

Get 0% financing for 24 months on new Mac systems and software.
Hurry — this offer ends June 30, 2007.*

The New York Times : Is This Any Way to Treat Vera Wang

2007-06-10T08:02:00.000-07:00

Trash The Dress has gone mainstream! NYT reported on the growing trend today featuring one of Alt F's images...and many more in the slideshow.

I really like what del Sol pulled off with their mayan trash the dress couple in Mexico. You can see the video on Cut Frame of that shoot below:

Mozy online backup

2007-06-08T10:11:00.000-07:00

Unlimited Online Backup

Looking for an inexpensive way to store your files outside of your computer, office or general area? Mozy has a solutions for just $5 a month for unlimited online backups.

Elevate with Garrett and Joy

2007-06-07T10:13:00.000-07:00

So much fun to find this video and see all the amazing people that made it to Elevate! Sorry I missed it and will certainly be looking forward to getting down to the next one!! Go Garrett...

Tip of the Week #3 : Business Cards

2007-06-07T09:34:00.000-07:00

So for this weeks tip I have decided to let you in on a bit of my work flow for keeping track of other vendors information from a wedding. I simply shoot the business cards as they are handed to me and then throw them in a folder with the wedding. If I ever forget the name of the vendor I can always go back to the wedding.

BTW...KC of Vox DJ's was great! One of the best I have worked with in a while!

So for this weeks tip I have decided to let you in on a bit of my work flow for keeping track of other vendors information from a wedding. I simply shoot the business cards as they are handed to me and then throw them in a folder with the wedding. If I ever forget the name of the vendor I can always go back to the wedding.

Emilie Sommer : Photojournalist

2007-06-05T08:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Em received a call from a local reporter doing a story on young professionals in the Portland area. About an hour later the crew was at the house to shoot the segment. Destin and Dakota made guest appearances too! So proud of you sweets!

Click on the pic or the banner to see the video!

A little more info on EM'S BLOG.

Old, New, Borrowed, Green?

2007-06-04T15:45:00.000-07:00

A recent trend in society has been showing up and becoming more popular in the wedding industry--- Green Weddings. "Every day, about 6,000 couples tie the knot in the US, and some of them are taking the opportunity to say "I Do" to eco-friendly values. " Check out the article and links to green resources.

Fun New liveBooks Site

2007-06-03T13:41:00.000-07:00

CHRIS+LYNN PHOTOGRAPHERS went live with a new site through liveBooks. This was the customization they had asked for and I think it turned out pretty cool!

Code Name : Surface, TED, Milan

2007-06-02T12:20:00.000-07:00

This is some amazing innovation for our industry...can you imagine an album designer on this platform! :)

If you think is something that will affect our industry leave a comment on how!?

Michael Franti and Spearhead : Time To Go Home

2007-06-01T11:01:00.000-07:00

Franti has been on the forefront of the political music scene for years...he's played in the streets of Baghdad, Palestine and puts on The Power to the Peaceful show every year in San Fran. I think his crew has done an excellent job with this video:

Webbed Bliss:Brides and Grooms Tell All Online

2007-06-01T10:24:00.000-07:00

Lately Em and I have been doing some consulting...more on that later, but one of the photographers Sam at I Do Click has posted a cool article on her blog. This is a trend in the industry of B&G's having their own website for their wedding. A place to encapsulate the details of their wedding for friends and guests.

Check out the article on The Wall Street Journal Online.

How Come All Wedding Couples Aren't This Fun??

2007-05-23T12:41:00.000-07:00

Today I stumbled across this on Stacy Cross's blog and thought I would share...it's pretty funny!

161 Billion Dollar Industry

2007-05-21T11:40:00.000-07:00

Today I came across a radio interview done on NPR with Rebecca Mead about the wedding industry that was quite insightful and certainly worth the time to take a listen. From brides hiring personal trainers to new wedding traditions--monogrammed aisle runners??

Find the interview HERE.

Hijack! Second Shooters

2007-05-16T09:18:00.000-07:00

I found this post on one of the blogs I frequent...Luke Walker's. I have had this conversation with a ton of people in the past and thought it was relevant. I enjoy having a 2nd shooter with me and I certainly enjoy 2nd shooting! I always learn something by shooting an event with a fellow photographer, sometimes it is a lighting technique and other times it may be just the way they communicate with the wedding participants. Second shooting can be beneficial to both photographers!

April 30, 2007
the value of a second shooter

I used to get asked the same question a lot when people were interested in my services.... "do you come with a second shooter?" It's now written into all my packages so people know upfront that they will without a doubt get a second shooter, but it still to this day surprises me that some photographers actually shoot weddings without another shooter. I don't want to seem like I'm putting that down, because everyone works differently, but I think a second shooter is extremely important to me. I used to explain to people that as much as they love my work, I can only be in one position at a time. I can only get one angle at a time. I'm still only one person, and because I am human I have to do things like go to the bathroom, eat eventually, talk to people at the wedding who have questions or want to see the cool cameras or who want cards, and sit down for a quick breather a couple times a day (even if it is only for 15 seconds). It's valuable to me knowing that someone has my back during these instances.

One of the responses I used to get from potential clients would be "yea I'm glad to hear that, because so and so says they don't use a shooter because no one else can see a wedding like him or her." My response would be that I agree, no one probably sees a wedding exactly like me either, but that's a very good thing :) I like having that other perspective, that different eye shooting with me. I've always liked it, and always placed importance on it, but even more so now that Alisha and I shoot together so much. We did a wedding together recently and pulled the couple outside for a couple cool night portraits. Alisha set up a few shots first, and then I set up the shot below. The shot on the left is my shot and the image on the right is Alisha's version. Both of these shots were taken at the same time. While I set it up for the final version on the left, Alisha saw something totally different and nailed a smokin image... an image that I never envisioned. When I saw it on the back of her camera later in the evening I was blown away, and it was just another one of the many times that we've shot the same couple, in the same light, in the same pose, and come out with images that look 110% different... but equally beautiful and unique.

There have been numerous occasions where I have wanted to blog about this, but once it happened the other night I finally told myself I'd do it. Another prime example of the same exact moment captured with 2 totally different views.

02:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Blog Delay

2007-05-15T21:06:00.000-07:00

OK...OK, sorry about the blog delay!

I have been traveling a ton and recently had a great time at the Pictage PartnerCon in Chicago. Everyone there was really receptive to what we had to say and were quite interested in the demos of liveBooks editSuite.

More to come soon!

Little Poker Information:

Hello Wedding Poker Stars,

Tomorrow nights game is all set up! So under Tournament tab, then Private, the ID is 18076959 and password jsandifer. The past two weeks laguanaalbums has taken the 1st prize...about time to have a new winner(sorry Tony). I will be doing my best to take him out and look forward to seeing everyone at the table!

Here is how how the series stands:
photoinla 20pts
laguanaalbums 20pts
term76 19pts
usadrill 7pts
cmphoto 7pts
Niiice 5pts
shadowrock 5pts

Please feel free to let anyone else know about the series. I spoke to a few people this week that will be joining us!

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns, email me at info@weddingpokerstars.com

See you at the table!

Shuffle up and deal...

David Jay Stokes us out with some Photography Textures!

2007-05-02T13:21:00.000-07:00

Found this today and thought it would be great to share. DJ is always coming up with great tools for the photography community!

Thanks DJ! See you in Chicago...

LightRoom

2007-04-28T18:06:00.000-07:00

Lightroom blog with some killer tip! Check it out if you have been using Lightroom...

San Francisco!

2007-04-28T17:15:00.000-07:00

This week I will be in San Francisco with the liveBooks team. My time there always goes by so fast...it is such a beautiful city and the team is great! If you are going to be in town let me know, so we can grab a coffee or drink in the evening.

Cinco de Mayo wedding in Los Angeles! I am really looking forward to shooting Carrie and Patrick's wedding in LA. Carrie is the one person that I think I know that travels more than I do...she has been all over the country this year with auto shows. They are getting married in Redondo Beach, my old haunt, so I am looking forward to catching up with some old friends there.

PartnerCon Chicago! If you are going let me know...would love to hook up there. I have been to all the PartnerCon's and there is always terrific information being discussed. Looking forward to seeing Me Ra Koh, David Salomone, Davide Greene, Brody Dezember, Mike Colon and of course Mr. David Jay! I will be manning the liveBooks booth, so if you are thinking about buying a site I can show you what we have to offer.

Tip of the Week #2 : Photographer Chris Humphreys

2007-04-28T17:02:00.000-07:00

This weeks tip is taken from my photography buddy's blog...Chris Humphreys. He really does well to describe what we are looking for as wedding photographers. Sometimes you can't conceptualize it, but you know it when you see it...the Essence of the situation, person or day.
Thanks for your insights Chris!

April 26, 2007

Essence

Alright, I'll warn ya right now.... this is the artsy side of me coming out. Proceed at your own risk. :)

You've been warned. (but don't worry, no nudity!) :)

As I was editing today, I was thinking to myself about the different factors that go into making a great image. First, there are images that are just plain cool to look at-maybe they're kind of original, something we haven't seen before, so they catch our eye. Then, there are images that are fun to admire because of the technical aspects that went into getting the shot- maybe some funky off camera lighting or use of slow shutter speeds. There are also images where the post processing is really well crafted in a mature way and really adds to the impact of the image.

Yet, it seemed as I thought more about it, that these are sort of all after-thoughts, and while these factors certainly add to an image, they don't seem (to me at least) to be what really makes an oustanding image.

As I was thinking of those images that I've seen in both my own work and from other photographers that really pop out to me the most, I was trying to reflect on what it was that really turned me onto them. Suddenly, a word came to mind.

Essence.

It seems that the images I'm drawn to the most capture something beyond the surface-they capture some sort of deeper essence in either the person or the moment being captured.

Again, this isn't to say technical excellence or creative post processing isn't important, but rather, these things are the icing on the cake, not the cake itself.

This is definitely a tricky subject to talk about, because I don't think there's an easy, magic forumla for capturing the "essence" of people or of moments. I'm certainly not going to venture to define what constitutes capturing essence or give a "3 easy steps" list, but here are a few things that you might consider....

1. Be Prepared. It's not just for boy scouts! :) Being ready and anticipating a certain moment before it happens is vital. It's tough to capture the essence of a moment while you're changing lenses or fidgeting with your exposure.

2. Be Receptive. Particularly when shooting portraits and when the subject is aware of your presence, it's critical that there is a certain amount of trust involved. If your subject doesn't trust you and isn't totally willing to let down their gaurd, it's unlikely you'll be able to really capture the essence of who they are.

3. Don't be in the way. There's so much to be said for being able to capture a moment without affecting the moment. It's one reason I shoot with available light as much as I can (and use flash as a last resort), and also why I shoot with long lenses. Allowing a moment to unfold as it will, without trying to influence or affect it, will almost always allow the essence of the moment to shine through.

"Essence" is a tough thing to put your finger on. It's subjective, for sure. One person may totally think an image communicates the essence of a person or a moment, while another person looking at the same image might yawn. The point probably shouldn't be to convince everyone you come in contact with of the "essence" you captured in your images. Rather, maybe the point should be to strive to find the people who naturally do connect with your art and your ability and allow them to preach your art for you. It's what just about every sucessful artist and photographer does so well.

Perhaps this post is somewhat of a call for photographers to bring this to the forefront of our consciousness at our next shoot. I know for myself, I can at times get lost in trying to create something cool, or original, or technically interesting or complicated, and at times I need to remind myself to put first things first. To focus my photography on capturing the heart of what is going on, either in the people I'm shooting or the moments they're existing in.

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4.25.05 Wedding Poker Series

2007-04-26T12:50:00.000-07:00

Hello Wedding Poker Stars

Fun game last night!

Winner and still leader in our series:

Photoinla with 10 pts
term76 with 7 pts
Niiiice with 5 pts

Series:

Photoinla with 20 pts
term76 with 12 pts
usadrill with 7 pts
Niiiice with 5 pts

Next week same time...same place! If you didn't make it this week, we look forward to seeing you at the table next week. Don't lose all your money online before then!

Shuffle up and deal....

The Coming Earthquake in Photography

2007-04-25T16:55:00.000-07:00

The Coming Earthquake in Photography

April 2007

by Dirck Halstead

If the change from film to digital was the equivalent of a magnitude 5 earthquake, the changes to photography in the next 10 years will be equivalent of a magnitude 10.

The Digital Journalist, the monthly online magazine for visual journalism, has been predicting many of these changes for the past 10 years. In 1997 we stated that the days of the use of film were coming to an end. We also said that in the future photojournalists would no longer be shooting still pictures, but instead would be using video as their prime medium of acquisition.

All those things have already happened. Still cameras that shoot film have already been abandoned by most manufacturers. Increasingly, newspaper photographers are being asked to shoot video for Web sites.

These seismic shifts, as we are already witnessing, will literally change the way photographers take pictures and how they are displayed.

Of course, in the next 10 years there could be a third world war, in which case all bets are off, but certain evolutions are already too far along to make it unlikely they will be stopped.

First, most of the major camera manufacturers that are now associated with still photography will probably be out of business by 2016. Of the majors now selling cameras, I would put my money on only Canon to survive. That is because they have a farsighted video division, which will provide the research and development that will be a key to their survival. Already, Sony is moving to become the number one still-camera company. Their newest top-of-the line digital still cameras are based on designs from Konica, a company they absorbed.

However, it is video that will undoubtedly become the main means of acquisition in photography. Today, almost all the manufacturers of prosumer video cameras have moved to High Definition. These cameras, off the shelf, are capable of delivering a 2-megapixel still image. The Dallas Morning News is now equipping their still photographers with Sony Z1U video cameras, and they have created an algorithm that allows those frame grabs to be boosted to 16 megapixels, which only two years ago was the maximum you could get out of a professional 35mm camera. The Dallas Morning News is regularly running 4- and 5-column front-page pictures from these video grabs. Then, they put the streaming video on their Web site.

The financial imperative to newspapers is clear. Their salvation, in a time of plummeting ad revenues on their broadsheets, lies with their online versions. Online demands video. For this reason, we can comfortably say that in 10 years photojournalists will only be carrying video cameras.

Because video cameras now all feature a 16:9 "wide-screen" aspect ratio, the old 4:3 box that we used to associate with movies will be gone. This has enormous implications for how still photographs will be displayed in print. The standard 8x10 aspect ratio now commonly used will be dropped. Why waste all of that horizontal information in the pictures? Eventually, you can expect to see wide-screen pictures not only on your TV screen, but in print as well. We predict that magazines (those that still exist) in 10 years will be bound on the top or bottom, not on the sides as they now are. That will allow the magazine to be opened to display a horizontal rather than vertical layout. This will accommodate all those "wide-screen" photographs. However, it is more likely that paper printing will be long since gone, and instead newspapers, magazines and books will be delivered on "electronic" paper, in which case the visual presentation would most likely be video in the first place. Today, if you go to The New York Times online, you will notice that right on the front page is a box displaying video, not a still photograph.

Don Winslow, the editor of News Photographer magazine, has noted that vertical photographs have almost ceased to exist in the photography lexicon. It used to be a maxim of photojournalism that it was important to get as much information as possible into a small space. Verticals were the best way of doing that. However, for a generation of photographers who grew up watching television, and editors who wanted to display a photograph across a double-truck spread, the rules changed.

With video becoming the prime tool of acquisition, audio of course now enters into the picture. In fact, it becomes as important as the video. This means that a whole new set of skills must be developed by the photographer. Every photographer has already become a computer technician, spending more time on the "post" process, such as Photoshop, than on taking the picture. In the future, editing will be done in such programs as Final Cut Pro. All of this means that photographers will have to be smarter.

However, ultimately, the classic need for talent – the "eye of the photographer" – will never change.

Editor and Publisher of The Digital Journalist

Email Dirck Halstead

Dirck Halstead was Time magazine's Senior White House Photographer for 29 years. He now is the Publisher and Editor of The Digital Journalist, the monthly online magazine for visual journalism, and a Senior Fellow at the Center For American History at the University of Texas in Austin. His new book, MOMENTS IN TIME, published by Harry N. Abrams, is in bookstores, and available from Amazon.com.

This topic has been gaining traction and I have had this discussion with a few people in the past few years. Should we be preparing for this? If you want to stay ahead of the curve, do you have to buy a video camera?

Carolyn and Todd

2007-04-23T14:13:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure of shooting with Em this Saturday in New Hampshire. The bride's family was super nice and the whole event was terrific. Here are a few images that I made from the day.

Hijack! Your Thoughts on Website Music

2007-04-22T02:31:00.000-07:00

I found this on Charlotte Geary's blog and thought I would throw it up. I have long wondered about music on websites and I always turn it off, so interesting to see these poll results!

Your thoughts on website music

What's your opinion of background music in websites?

View Answers

When the music is right, I like it.
8 (4.4%)

It's ok, but I often turn it off.
62 (34.3%)

No way.
111 (61.3%)

EDITED TO ADD:
Wow, what fascinating results! I'm not a big fan of music on websites, either, and I had already decided not to use music on our new site. Thanks for validating my choice, gang!

Thanks for pulling off this poll Charlotte and your new site looks great!

Tip of the Week #1:: Veteran Photographer Gerard Tomko

2007-04-20T09:30:00.000-07:00

Last night I spoke with Gerard Tomko and we had a lively discussion on the state of the industry. He has been in the biz for the past 25 years, so I listened carefully to what he had to say. Jerry has been there, done that and won a lot of awards along the way! As we chatted I asked Jerry to come up with my first tip of the week and he was game, so today I start Tip of the Week.

Little background on Jerry...after shooting for years, he accepted a position with an album and framing company working for them as a sales rep for 7 years. Leaving that company in 2004, I will let him take it from here:

Faced with rebuilding my business in the midst of the “photojournalism” and digital revolution, I built my business from 22 weddings in 2004, 36 in 2005, 55 last year, and almost the same amount this year – all at the upper end price range!

How did I do this?

Well it helped that people did know me before and I have a very good reputation. However, one of the single most important ideas that helped build my business was my now infamous Guest Book. Picking up the idea while visiting a trade show booth at WPPI. I use the Leather Craftsman 7x10 3500 series album, with design templates I have created within Photoshop. I started to include this “getting to know you session” which included the guest book for engagement sessions in both Philadelphia and the New Jersey Shore. When I delivered this to the brides, I did not expect what would happen next. You see all brides go to their reception venue the week before their wedding, so everyone in the Banquet and catering offices of the venues I was working at, had this “guest book” at their disposal for almost a whole week! So they viewed it, some showed it off to prospective couples looking at the venue for their wedding, etc. So when I appeared to photograph the reception, I was met with smiling, friendly faces at the venues – wanting to know if I had business cards with me, saying that “the guest book was the greatest thing we had seen in a long time”. So with this idea, and of course happy brides and grooms, I am now recommended by about 5 high end venues in Philadelphia and New Jersey. Just think, without providing not one table or place setting 8x10 like everyone else is doing. Now I shopw up at venues and they are “expecting to see the guestbook!”

Gerard Tomko Photography

Here is a slideshow from one of his recent weddings: Macchione Wedding
He also sent over a slideshow of one of his guestbooks: Tomko Guest Book

Thanks for the inspiration Jerry and I think you have a lot to share with new pool of photographers coming into the market. I look forward speaking with you again soon.

My Dream Ticket '08

2007-04-19T16:55:00.000-07:00

Never too early to start thinking about the '08 ticket. Unity08 has set up a cool spot on their site to choose your own.
Check out their site and choose your ticket!
http://www.unity08.com/dream_ticket

WPS 4/18/07

2007-04-18T20:28:00.000-07:00

Hello Wedding Poker Stars

Great game this evening!

Winner and new leader in our series:

Photoinla with 10 pts
usadrill with 7 pts
term76 with 5 pts

Next week same time...same place! If you didn't make it this week, we look forward to seeing you at the table next week. Don't lose all your money online before then!

If you would like to get into the game...just email me for instructions at info@weddingpokerstars.com.

Series prizes will be announced soon...meaning in the next couple months! The bigger this gets...the bigger the prizes!

Power of the Few Series

2007-04-17T14:50:00.000-07:00

If you haven't heard of the power of the few series by Dane Sanders on Simple Photo Minute, you should take a few minutes to watch the videos below. Building your business isn't necessarily about brides coming and going, but more about creating a community of photographers around you!

Some terrific photographers: Jules Bianchi, Mark Adams and Erin Reed of LaCour,[B]ecker, Dane, Jessica Claire, Jim Kennedy, Ryan Phillips, Joe Photo and The Boutwells contribute to the discussion.

Episode 1

Episode 2

Episode 3

Episode 4

Episode 5

Check out more videos and contribute to the community at Simple Photo TV.

Hijack! -- Cup of Joe

2007-04-16T18:35:00.000-07:00

So I found this on Joe Photo's blog Cup of Joe and thought it really struck a chord...thanks Joe.

Lady, Are You Rich?

Life is about so much more than money. May this day reveal to you how much you can truly be grateful for.

Lady, Are You Rich? by Marion Doolan
They huddled inside the storm door—two children in ragged outgrown coats.

"Any old papers, lady?”

I was busy. I wanted to say no—until I looked down at their feet. Thin little sandals, sopped with sleet.

"Come in and I'll make you a cup of hot cocoa.”

There was no conversation. Their soggy sandals left marks upon the hearthstone. I served them cocoa and toast with jam to fortify against the chill outside. Then I went back to the kitchen and started again on my household budget.

The silence in the front room struck through to me. I looked in. The girl held the empty cup in her hands, looking at it. The boy asked in a flat voice, "Lady . . . are you rich?"

“Am I rich? Mercy, no!"

I looked at my shabby slipcovers. The girl put her cup back in its saucer—carefully.

“Your cups match your saucers."

Her voice was old, with a hunger that was not of the stomach. They left then, holding their bundles of papers against the wind. They hadn't said thank you. They didn't need to. They had done more than that. Plain blue pottery cups and saucers. But they matched.

I tested the potatoes and stirred the gravy. Potatoes and brown gravy, a roof over our heads, my man with a good steady job—these things matched, too.

I moved the chairs back from the fire and tidied the living room. The muddy prints of small sandals were still wet upon my hearth. I let them be. I want them there in case I ever forget again how very rich I am.

Style Me Pretty

2007-04-16T15:31:00.000-07:00

While surfing the blogisphere today I ran across this site dedicated to style obsessed brides and thought I would share it with you. Style Me Pretty Possibly a good site to share with your brides!

Wedding Poker Stars

2007-04-13T15:42:00.000-07:00

The Wedding Poker Stars series gets underway next Wednesday night at 10pm EST. This series is a weekly online event that will culminate in a 10 person table in Vegas at the 2008 WPPI show to determine the Wedding Poker Stars Champion! This virtual poker game is open to anyone that is in the wedding photography world and will be played on a private, secure table online. Each week points will be awarded to the top finishers and the top 10 will play for huge prizes(yet to be decided) in Las Vegas!

Point will be broken down weekly like this:
1st place gets 10 pts
2nd place gets 7 pts
3rd place gets 5 pts

The buy-in is $10 each week with the weekly top three players getting paid. If you would like to play in a tourney that doesn't cost anything...let me know and we can possibly set that up as well.

The blinds will increase every 10 minutes to facilitate play.

We have 900 seats...so tell your friends!

Email me to get more info and get into the game: info@weddingpokerstars.com

Shuffle up and deal!

The Maturity of Web 2.0 and The HDTV is the PC

2007-04-12T20:04:00.000-07:00

I found this article on one of my favorite blogs... Blog Maverick. This is Mark Cuban's blog and although he really likes to concentrate on just a couple of themes, lately it's been bashing Gootube, I think this post is interesting enough to share.

Teaser:
That is what has made Web 2.0 so interesting. Web 2.0 isnt about technology. Its about ideas implemented around simple applications that have been around for years. The maturity of the technology makes the implementation of ideas simple. That is the key to success in Web 2.0. The technology always works. It may sound crazy to some, but thats the reality. The internet as a connectivity utility and the browser are mature application platforms.

Not sure I agree with everything he is saying here, but it's always interesting to know what a self-made Billionaire is thinking. You can find the rest of the article on Mark's blog.

Embedding Video in your Blog

2007-04-11T13:00:00.000-07:00

So in my previous post Ron described some reasons for video blogging...here's how!

The best way to upload video to your blog is to first publish the video on Simple Photo tv and then use the embed feature to grab the code. This way the whole community gets to benefit from your knowledge or experience. Dane Sanders has really lead the way in the video blogging photography world with Simple Photo Minute and TV.

Here Dane is describing how to do it himself:

I found a blog post by Chris Watson of Watson Videography on BanquetBuzz that talks about uploading directly from a file on your computer:

Get an FLV encoder: If you have the latest version of Flash, you should already have this. If not (like me), you can get a standalone encoder called the Flix On2 Encoder Standard (www.on2.com) for $39.

Encode your movie: The On2 encoder accepts just about every file format out there except for (sadly) HDV files.

Upload your .flv movie to your server

Go to www.freevideocoding.com to get your player and html code: Another videographer turned me on to this site and it's great for web dummies like myself. Just give it your file type, dimensions, embed options, etc. and it will make the html that you can copy and paste. Just make sure to uncheck "autostart" as it will automatically play once it's loaded which is not what you want.

Copy the html and paste in your blog and that's it!

Click here to check out this article on BanquetBuzz.

To edit your video or do a voice-over on a presentation I use some cheap software I found online called iShowU.

Hope this helps and gets you video blogging!

Build Your Business with Video Blogging

2007-04-09T01:25:00.000-07:00

I found this article by our new friends Ron and Tasra Dawson of Cinematic Studios in San Francisco. Ron is a terrific videographer and is taking some of the marketing techniques being applied in the wedding photography market to the videographers. With Ron leading the way we had better watch out!

This is a segment of his article:

Five Goals of a Blog
The first thing you need to decide when you build your blog is what you want to accomplish with it, and what it can do if successful. Here are five things you can expect a good blog to build for you and your business:
• The Traffic: Every small business wants to increase traffic to its site and gain more qualified leads. Blogs build traffic through higher search-engine rankings and results.
• The List: The reason to generate traffic is to begin building a list of qualified clients or prospects. These leads are low-hanging fruit, and small businesses are much more successful when they cultivate their current client list.
• The Expert: A blog is your calling card. It showcases you as an expert and can help you achieve expert status in the eyes of your readers. In The Weblog Handbook, author Rebecca Blood writes, "Individuals whose weblogs focus on a particular topic become known as experts in their field. Providing a reliable resource for news about a certain topic is enough to gain you a dependable following among fellow professionals or aficionados."
• The Brand: The reputation-building blog is vastly more concerned with its audience than any other type. Celebrities and pro athletes, newspapers and mass media outlets are bloggers too. It's not about equipment; it's about personality.
• The Sales: Blogging builds connections—sponsorship from manufacturers, referrals from other vendors, and new clients. If you have loyal blog readers or fans, when they need your service, it will be a small step for them to choose you for the job.

Build Your Business with Video Blogging

Ron & Tasra Dawson | Blogs are here to stay. Every day, they become more popular and more embedded in our society. Particularly if you’re in a socially oriented business like wedding and event videography, blogs will be both an invaluable and, dare we say, mandatory addition to your marketing repertoire.

Thanks for your continued inspiration Ron!

Link Up on Linked In

2007-04-08T17:24:00.000-07:00

If you are on Linked in...search my name and let's link up! Search J Sandifer. If you are not on Linked in you should think about it. Linked in is a professional networking site, mainly used by technology companies.

Beverly Hills Hotel Wedding

2007-04-08T08:18:00.000-07:00

One of my 2006 wedding at the Beverly Hills Hotel ran as a Feature in the Orange County Brides magazine. They do a section called Real OC Weddings and even though BHH is not in OC...they ran Camile and John's Wedding!

Click on Camile and John to download the PDF... or HERE.

VegNews : 2007 Vegan Wedding Edition

2007-04-06T20:48:00.000-07:00

My wedding for Gretchen and Peter from last year at Animal Acres ran in the 2007 Vegan Wedding edition of VegNews Magazine! Click here for the online article with more information on this terrific event.

Gretchen Schaper & Peter Ryan
July 8, 2006
Acton, California

Let me know if you have a special Vegan wedding in the next year...especially if it is on Maui!

PDN Features liveBooks

2007-04-05T11:09:00.000-07:00

Hello...we live in Maine!

2007-04-05T06:57:00.000-07:00

This morning we awoke to over a foot of fresh snow! I am use to snow, living in Tahoe for 5 years, but this caught us a little off guard. There were golf courses open last week...now spring will just have to wait.

Even my FJ is California dreaming at this point!?!

Luckily Maine is quite neighborly...our neighbor Tim brought his snow blower over to help with the driveway. Thanks Tim!

Hijack! Continuity Marketing to Previous Clients with Skip Cohen

2007-04-04T06:41:00.000-07:00

This post was on the After Capture blog and I thought it really hit home to the fact that our current clients can also be future clients. Do you have a marketing plan?

AC Blog

Continuity Marketing to Previous Clients

Posted on Mar 9, 06:37 AM by Skip Cohen

All professional photographers face the same challenge:

“What good is creating the greatest image of your life if you can’t sell it?”

Unfortunately the majority of professional photographers spend too much time focusing on their subjects and not enough time on a marketing plan. What’s even more pathetic is how simple it really is to go through the process. It’s just a matter of establishing a few goals and setting a few benchmarks to track how you’re doing.

Let’s start with a basic premise that everyone can relate to. Let’s assume you’re a wedding photographer with an interest in diversifying into children and family portraiture. Think about all the brides you photographed over the last year.

Here are some simple assumptions:

1) The majority of newlyweds start new families
2) The majority of newlyweds have their first child within 2-3 years
3) This only works if your brides have loved your work and the albums you’ve created

Now start thinking about the last time you did any serious marketing. If your clients loved your work, why not think about targeting all those new moms out there who already know you and trust you? Why wouldn’t you want to become this new family’s photographer for the rest of their lives?

Newlyweds start families – children create a need for professional portraiture – children become high school seniors – seniors become new brides and grooms – mom and dad become grandparents and the cycle starts all over again. Meanwhile, all along the way there are some ideal opportunities for portraits of soon-to-be moms, new babies, children, seniors, families and business headshots as Mom and Dad’s careers blossom. Sooner or later you’re right back to another bride in the cycle from a new generation.

Just like the family doctor, why shouldn’t you be the family’s photographer for the next few generations?

Remember, this is only a blog, but doesn’t it make sense? Next time, let’s take a shot at actually putting a marketing plan on paper.

HOW TO GIVE A DYNAMITE PRESENTATION by Gary Fong

2007-04-03T13:02:00.000-07:00

Our presenters were great in Vegas, but I just thought I would pass along this post by Gary about giving a great presentation. Gary has traveled extensively and spoken to thousands of people on the photo business!

HOW TO GIVE A DYNAMITE PRESENTATION by Gary Fong

I have a number of friends who either are now or are on the cusp of becoming really famous photographers. Truth be known, you can't really make a huge name for yourself if you don't have the ability to project your message to a large crowd, effectively. I learned a few things giving programs around the world over the last 20 years, and I thought I'd share some with you. If you are a photographer and are thinking of giving seminars, I would highly recommend doing so. The reason is - the best way to learn is to teach. I know that sounds backwards, but when you have to explain to somebody how/why you do something, you actually improve. OK here's the tips:

1) SKIP THE THANK-YOU'S - going through a list of thank-you's is a great way to put the crowd right to sleep. They aren't here for that, they're eager to absorb. That's the operative word - they want to soak in whatever knowledge you are going to impart. If it isn't something they can use, skip it, even the thank-you's. Put that on your flyer or something, but skip the thanks.

2) WHEN WRITING THE PROGRAM, ASK YOURSELF, WHAT DO I HAVE IN COMMON WITH THE AUDIENCE? - the most important compliment you can hear is, "boy he really connected with the audience". This is the goal - to connect. You have to find out what you have in common with the person in the chair, and then connect with that BEFORE you start your dialog. In last year's "One Step Ahead Tour", I didn't really have a ton in common with the wedding photographers in the audience because I no longer did it. However, I did know how to make EVERYBODY in the room way more successful, but if I didn't connect right away, I wouldn't have a shot of them hearing my message. This is why I started with a videotape of Jessica Strickland talking about the all-too-common pressures of being a wedding photographer in today's market. I could just see the crowds all across America nodding along as she was talking about life as a wedding photographer. And then, when I walked on the podium, I asked "how many of you recognize a little bit of Jessica Strickland in you?" and the hands all went up. That made the connection, and from there, I could deliver the message.

3) DELIVER THE MESSAGE REMEMBERING THAT YOUR AUDIENCE HAS A SHORT ATTENTION SPAN - something should POP in their heads every three minutes. Or their minds will start to wander. Here's where your homework and research come in - make really simple charts and powerpoint slides to make your communication clear. And here's the biggest biggest rule of them all - NEVER EVER EVER SAY ANYTHING IN THE CONTENT THAT IS ALREADY SOMETHING THEY ALREADY KNOW! That is super important. Saying, "Making a living as a wedding photographer is tough..." that will lose them every time! But if you say, "If you give the client ANYTHING tangible before you deliver the finished album, your sales will only reach 1/3 of their common-sense potential..." something like that - OK now I'm listening!

4) DO NOT ALLOW QUESTIONS - this frustrates the audience like crazy! OK here's a little secret. If you came early in my tour, I let you ask questions. Do you know why? Because I don't know yet what is making super simple sense to the regular audience listener (things that make perfect sense to me may not instantly make sense to you) - so early in the program I'll allow questions so I can rephrase the topic so it hits the target more effectively faster. Then as the tour "ages", I'll allow fewer and fewer questions because I know that I have the topics ironed out. This is why when I videotape a tour, it's always on one of the last cities. It always gets better with age.

5) DON'T SUM UP YOUR PROGRAM AT THE END - PRESENT A DAYDREAM - don't go, "OK so that's the end of my program, so let's summarize..." that is so boring! PAUSE the program, and say, "Imagine a world where...." Help the audience member OWN your concept. Give them a call to action and present a challenge. Say something like, "you have the knowledge, now the rest is up to you. Next year this time, will your life be more incredible as a result of what you know, or will it be exactly the same as it is now... year after year... until they close the box over your dead body and bury you six feet under the cold, worm-filled earth?" Something like that.

Anyway, if you ever have a chance or an opening to teach, by all means, go for it. It's not about the recognition or the fame, it's about you becoming an expert at you.

If you want to see a fantastic seminar, buy my DVD. I am pretty sure that it is the best instructional DVD out there anywhere.... CLICK HERE

French David Jay

2007-04-02T09:36:00.000-07:00

Found this video of my friend David Jay talking to a group of photographers recently in France and I understand he is back on his way over there soon. Seems DJ is expanding his circle of influence to Europe! Great work DJ!

If you can read in French then you can also check out the article: Article in French.

Vegas 2007

2007-03-30T15:52:00.000-07:00

Here is a great video put together by Ron Dawson...great work Ron!

This is the newest Simple Photo Minute!

WPPI -- One Long Week

2007-03-30T12:37:00.000-07:00

WPPI in Vegas was one long week of success! liveBooks had a terrific showing at our booth and our speakers were top class...thanks to you all! I should have some pretty cool video in the near future. On Tuesday we had a film crew in and got some great footage that we will be putting together over the next week. I didn't even have time to pull my camera out but will showcase some other photographers photos below as I can find them.

This is a fun picture of Em and I at a party...taken by the Infamous Mark Adams who is below:
Is this guy cool or what...his LaCour crew is amazing and was so much fun to hang with them in Vegas! Hope we can do it again soon...

In this case I hope what happens in Vegas does not stay in Vegas as I would like to everyone to continue talking about liveBooks!

Found this on Tim Halberg's blog...funny stuff!

WPPI -- Vegas Baby!

2007-03-23T19:46:00.000-07:00

Will be in Vegas this weekend and for the next week for WPPI. This is the premier tradeshow for wedding and portrait photographers and an absolute must for anyone involved in the industry! I have spent the last couple years there working for Pictage and this year I am very excited to have liveBooks making it's wedding debut there! The liveBooks team is just top notch and full of class, so I am looking forward to see what our draw is there. If you are going please stop by the booth #701.

If you need a tradeshow pass...there is a free one in a previous post!

Me Ra Koh releases DVD Set

2007-03-22T08:45:00.000-07:00

Me Ra is having a pre-order special on this new DVD set.
For the last nine days of March, we are doing a Pre-Order special! We’ll be giving 10% off to those that pre order! Order DVD 1 or 2 for $29.99 each or BOTH for an even better deal of $49.99! And for those who order their DVD’s before 5pm tonight, we’re offering FREE SHIPPING! **Click here** to order! (I seriously can’t believe I’m saying this b/c we’ve been working on this project for so long!

Me Ra and Brian are such good people and I recently was at their home in Seattle, they have a beautiful family. Looking forward to seeing both of you in Vegas!

OpenSourcePhoto: Real Ultimate Power

2007-03-21T19:52:00.000-07:00

OpenSourcePhoto: Real Ultimate Power
Then why can't ninga's swim?

Interesting use of the lightsphere!

2007-03-20T17:39:00.000-07:00

Found this video on KillTheFill.com, which is Zack Arias's blog. I have not met Zack, but understand from some mutual friends the Nudds that he has some great insights to share.

Looking forward to seeing what Zack's modification pulls off...

7/7/7 Wedding Date

2007-03-16T17:24:00.000-07:00

Found this article on US couples make beeline for 777 wedding date!

ARTICLE

Gotan Project Inspiration

2007-03-16T11:03:00.000-07:00

Gotan Project - Diferente

Just a cool video to inspire!

The Power of Balance

2007-03-15T17:30:00.000-07:00

"This week's show is a tough one for me. It's tough because I see the wisdom in it and how much room for growth I have in the category of balance. As I think about it, I'm not sure "balance" is the best word for what we're going after but I think you guys get it. We could have easily called this one the "Power of Refining Personal Priorities", but that would have sounded silly. Check out the fourth episode of The Power of the Few series and stay tuned for our final installment next week."

Dane Sanders of SimplePhoto.tv, SimplePhotolife.com and danesanders.com

I personally am taking the idea of balance to heart and will be working on that in my life. I to often find myself working late into the evening and need to take some time off to concentrate on what's important to me. We all can probably look at what we are doing in our daily routines and find places to balance...

Hijack! Blogging Tips to Increase Traffic

2007-03-14T14:12:00.000-07:00

Blogging Tips to Increase Traffic Hijack'd from the Great Me Ra Koh's Blog

Do you have a blog and wonder how you can increase your blog’s traffic? The other night we had the privilege of having Steve Makofsky come and speak to our PUG group on blogging. His website, www.furrygoat.com, gets 100,000 hits per week. Amazing!

Here’s a video with some of the highlights from the night. With four blogging tips, the rest are below!

A few other tips from Steve that have helped us!

#5 Make Categories! This way people can easily find a recent post or have their interest perked at going through your archives. This advice has totally paid off since I know a number of you check the “Photography Tips for Moms” category to find exercises and tips to try. Some of our blog visitors are brides and want to go straight to our Wedding Slideshows, or they want to know the latest on Fabulous weddings. All they have to do is click the VH1 category. Big time saver for your visitors!

#6 Good Titles! Google and other search engines specifically use the titles of our posts. So make sure you title your posts with key words to help those search engines find you.

#7 Link, Link, Link! I know it was said in the video, but it’s such a big deal for your Google rankings. Link to others and have them link to you. Hyperlink words within your blog. All these things get you higher on the totem pole when someone does a search.

#8 Do ads work? From Steve’s experience they don’t do much. He has ads on his archived posts only, and with the amount of traffic he gets, he still only gets a couple hundred a month from his ads. Definitely not something to quit your day job for. :)

These are great tips to take to heart and put into practice...word of mouth advertising is the way to go in the Internet Age! Increasing your website views by blogging only takes a few moments a day.

Thanks for putting this together Me Ra!

Stay tuned for a Photo Blog Party, more details coming soon!

Canon Mark III

2007-03-13T11:27:00.000-07:00

This video is making it's way around the internet and thought it was pretty cool:

This sounds like fun!
That's Chuck Westfall of Canon who was holding the camera.

WPPI Platform Speaker : Gene Higa

2007-03-12T11:38:00.000-07:00

This is the promo video that Cinematic Studios put together for our photography buddy Gene Higa. He's going to be a platform speaker at WPPI 3/27 and he wanted a killer video to introduce his presentation. Gene will also be speaking at the liveBooks booth: Mon 3/26 3:15 - 3:30pm and Tues 3/27 12:30 - 1:00pm, so please stop by and check out his presentation on Destination Weddings: Going live(Books) From Anywhere in the World!

Lightroom 1.0

2007-03-12T10:50:00.000-07:00

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom

Have been playing with Lightroom over the past couple days and have been quite impressed. You can download a 30 day trial to check it out: HERE.

There are some really good videos posted on Simplephoto.tv on how to use some features and functionality by Matt Antonio:

Lightroom Introduction

Viewing Options in Adobe Lightroom

Lightroom 1.0 Library

Lightroom 1.0 Develop

Matt has a few more and I am sure will be making even more soon, so search Lightroom on sp.tv to see more!

March Madness!

2007-03-11T23:47:00.000-07:00

March Madness is one of my favorite times of the year... Not only is there non-stop basketball action, but spring is almost here! Cheering on my Hoosiers this year, but have Ohio State taking the title...Oden is a man among boys out there on the court!

Hijack! -- LaCour

2007-03-10T06:58:00.000-08:00

Friday, March 09, 2007

Photo Studio Time Lapse

Last weekend, Erin and I photographed the wedding of our good friends, Jen Sens and Eric Larson. Eric and Jen photographed our wedding in August. Check our their wedding photography website.

There were about 50 pro photographers at their wedding - which is always a challenge to shoot, because you feel like everyone is watching what you're doing to see if you're getting the best shot/angle. But it was fun to have so many talented photographers there. The coverage of their wedding should be nothing short of spectacular!

I wanted to share an awesome movie clip that Eric put together and emailed everyone. You HAVE TO SEE THIS! It's hilarious. Cy Cyr set up a photo studio with a remote trigger for the guests to shoot pictures of themselves. As you can imagine, we didn't have to shoot very many group pictures ourselves, we just sent them to the photo studio! The resulting movie clip is a time lapse of all the pictures taken at the photo studio. 1300 images at 10 frames per second.

**Click Here to watch the clip!

posted by Mark Adams | LaCour at 3:01 PM 2 comments

The Whaletail

2007-03-10T05:06:00.000-08:00

Gary has just released the Whatetail! He continues to bring revolutionary products to our industry and I am looking forward to seeing it in person at WPPI!

Click on the "Play" button for the unveiling!!!

Visit GARY'S SITE

tags technorati : whate tail, whaletail, fong, gary fong

liveBooks at PPE

2007-03-09T14:40:00.000-08:00

We are going to make a video similar to this for WPPI and working out some of the ideas now. If you have any feel free to email me: j@livebooks.com !

Foundation 5 Website

2007-03-09T13:46:00.000-08:00

Recent workshop site for Foundation 5 in Texas:

There are some really talented photographers who mentor this workshop and the participants have really come through...check out the site.

DWF's Honest Answers

2007-03-08T20:50:00.000-08:00

Here is one of the better questions asked in the FAQ:

16. So many wedding photographers say "we do photojournalism." I don't get it! Are they all photojournalists?

Are we all photojournalists? Would we make it at USA Today or the NY Times?

Or is photojournalism just the catch all phrase right now...I hear a lot of people calling themselves photojournalists---really, what was your training?

There are some true photojournalists in our midst though...see if you can find them!

Going Live with LiveBooks v.5

Version 5 of this Website creation and management system lets you control your own site with sophistication and ease.

By Russell Hart
March 2007

This is a great article on a commercial shooter's experience designing his site with liveBooks.

To see more on the functionality of liveBooks: CLICK HERE

WPPI Vegas 2007

2007-03-04T20:35:00.000-08:00

Thinking about going to WPPI? Well now the tradeshow is on liveBooks!
Click on the Tradeshow pass below and bring it to Vegas!

Canon Mark III

2007-03-04T15:55:00.000-08:00

While on tour I had many questions about the new camera that Canon was going to come out with, so I thought I would post some information here. Canon's site here. There is also some terrific information on Rob Galbraith's site, really in depth!

Not sure I will be running out to get one...really like my 5D, but will certainly check it out at WPPI!

Hijack! Adobe goes Web 2.0

2007-03-03T21:10:00.000-08:00

News

Scoop: Adobe to offer Web-based Photoshop

By Rafe Needleman – February 28, 2007, 11:40 AM PST

Adobe CEO Bruce Chizen, in conversation with CNET News.com Senior Writer Martin LaMonica, dropped a bombshell this morning: Adobe will release a Web-based version of Photoshop within six months. See the News.com story, Adobe to take Photoshop online, for details.

There are other online photo editors already (see our coverage of Fauxto, Picnik, Pixoh, Pxn8 , and XMG), but an online version of Photoshop is sure to capture a lot of users due to name recognition alone. We hope the online product lives up to the standards that the traditional version has set. The service will likely be free, and have ads in it.

Photoshop online will not be a direct copy of Photoshop. Even though Adobe's Flex technology allows developers to deliver graphically rich applications over the Web, there is still much one cannot do over a broadband connection. The online product is more likely to be a consumer-friendly, de-featured editor, perhaps even less capable than Photoshop Elements, Adobe's editor for consumers.

It will be interesting to see how Adobe begins to blend online and offline image editing. Chizen spoke of "hybrid" applications that are part traditional software and part Web-based. He expects that Photoshop online will eventually compete with a hybrid version of Picasa, Google's photo editor and organizer.

Adobe recently released an online video editor, Remix, via partner Photobucket.

3 comments

Category: Content & Publishing, Digital Photography, Web Design Tools Tags: Adobe, Photoshop, photo editing, Picasa

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Seattle PUG

2007-02-28T20:34:00.000-08:00

Tonight we met up at Me Ra Koh's house for the last PUG of the tour. Me Ra and Brian showed me some true hospitality and everyone that came to the PUG was great! Some familiar faces including Ron Storer, who I spoke often with when I was at Pictage.

Me Ra took some images, so I will have to ask her to send them soon. I know she is busy though...

The PUG Tour has been a terrific experience and I certainly thank Pictage or the opportunity to speak to their community. So many places to go in one month, but in the end it was worth it to see all the familiar faces and meet so many more. Looking forward to seeing everyone in Vegas at the end of March!

Portland PUG

2007-02-26T23:25:00.000-08:00

Tonight we met at the studio of The Photographers The PUG turnout was minimal but the group was great and we all went out afterwards. We ended up playing bingo at a local bar---you never know what your going to get into on the road!

Thanks to Kevin Meyers for showing me around Portland and leading the PUG!

Portland...OR

2007-02-25T23:37:00.000-08:00

In Portland to speak at the PUG on Monday evening. Tonight I spent with some old friends who have a successful business here in dog snacks.

San Francisco!

2007-02-23T16:33:00.000-08:00

San Francisco has to be one of my favorite cities! So much to do, eat and see...

Today, I had the pleasure of meeting in person Gene Higa and Ann Hamilton. We grabbed a quick lunch and chatted about the industry. Gene has some great insights on marketing, the value of search engines and destination weddings. Really like Gene's slogan: Dare to be Different!

Thanks to Ann for grabbing this shot of Jon Lucich(liveBooks), Gene and I!

Hijack! -- Storytelling

2007-02-22T19:25:00.000-08:00

February 21, 2007

Tell OUR story to make your point

In the game of life and the biz of business, story telling is the key to being understood. When someone is able to relate a story to you in the context of a conversation, you get engaged. This can lead to a breakthrough understanding on your part and maybe even empathy.

Even stickier, when someone can recollect a story from their life, it gets more engaging. There is a hierarchy of stories that progressively increase engagement. Check out this clip (never before seen online or anywhere else) of my faculty appearance at the 2001 Think About conference on this subject of strategic story telling.

This is helpful when you think about internal presentations where there is an abundance of shared stories to recollect and tell. It is also helpful to hone your story telling skills if you want ANY of your ideas to be sticky.

Recommended read: Made To Stick by Dan and Chip Heath (a runaway best seller and must read for anyone who loved The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell.

Email this • Add to del.icio.us • Digg This!

Posted at 08:06 AM in Business Effectiveness, Leadership, Marketing, Public Speaking | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

I Hijacked this post from Tim's blog...

LA PUG

2007-02-21T23:00:00.000-08:00

The LA photography community was well represented last night at this PUG. Jules Bianchi is the leader of this PUG and had us all into her home. Thanks Jules and thanks for the images!

The furthest traveled award for tonight was Mellany Miller! Mellany traveled from Palm Springs and we certainly appreciate her time.

OC PUG and a quick Hijack!

2007-02-20T23:55:00.000-08:00

Tonight I met with some terrific photographers in Orange County. Great to see some familiar faces, like Rick Rosen and Lauren Hillary. As well as meet some people I have been speaking with for years but never has the pleasure of meeting, thanks for bringing us into your studio Blake!

Tonight I am also going to feature another Hijack! There is a group of photographers meeting in Texas this week to hone the art of photojournalism...now there is a lofty goal and with the talent involved, well...wish I was there!

Wednesday, February 21, 2007 ---Check it...they are even a day ahead of us...

Sparkly Glasses

A glorious shot of Mark Adams by the talented Emilie Sommer

Posted by Mark Adams | LaCour at 12:48 AM 1 comments

Foundation Workship 5

Hijack! Destination Portrait Weekend

2007-02-19T19:15:00.000-08:00

Found this on Holcombe Photography's Blog

What a unique idea for their brides and grooms booked for the next year. Gives the B&G a great reason for a fun getaway, with Peter and Kathy getting some terrific images for their session. This is what we talk about when we say the difference is the difference(borrowed from David Ziser). Unique ideas like this will show your clients that you are indeed ahead of the curve!

The fourth annual destination portrait weekend in Redstone, Colorado.

October 3rd, 2006

I am going to have to get a new and improved thinking cap to improve on the results of this year’s images. We had a great time with Jen and Dave and Julie and Nick. The fall color was at its peak, the weather was perfect. We used the amazing color in the mornings and then had fun running around Redstone in the afternoons. It is great getting to do two sessions in one day and achieve so much variety.

We borrowed these great cruiser bikes from Changing Gears in Redstone - thanks Joan!

This destination weekend will be on the first weekend of October next year unless we are booked for a wedding. We already have interest from a few couples who couldn’t make it this year. Call ASAP to book this great get away and chance to make some very unique images.

-Peter

Posted in Weddings, Engagement, Portraits, News

Thanks Peter and Kathy!

2007 Wedding Statistics

2007-02-17T13:20:00.001-08:00

Knowing your industry is key to making your business successful. Recently I subscribed to The Wedding Report, which gives you some great insights into the industry as a whole and specific information for your city.

Here are a few statistics that may be of interest to you:

2,290,578 :: Number of estimated weddings in 2007
$14,250 :: Average budget for weddings in 2007
$27,690 :: Average estimated consumer spending for 2007 weddings
17 Months :: Average time the couple will be engaged
81% :: Say they will use the use the internet to help plan their wedding

The online wedding market worth over $7.9 billion.

How much of that is going to be yours and how will you market to get the brides that you do get?

Make sure you website is up to date with your freshest work!

Statistics taken from The Wedding Report

I am finally back home after a trying week of traveling from Denver to Portland ME!

Stuck in Denver

2007-02-16T05:19:00.000-08:00

Or watch it on Simple Photo TV

Have to say that I have always flown and enjoyed Jet Blue...but this time they really let us down! The final straw was last night when they had a plane sitting at the gate and still had to cancel the flight because they didn't have a crew...I had them book me on another airline. Blogging still from DIA but now with United and there is a plane here at the gate, so looks like I will get home today...

Hijack --fun with widgets

2007-02-15T15:21:00.000-08:00

Thursday, February 15, 2007
fun with widgets
Click on the photo to check out this cool widget from goodwidgets.com

Labels: tidbits

posted by emilie at 8:26 PM 0 comments

This post was Hijack'd from http://www.emilieinc.com/blog/ I may be biased but she is my favorite photographer by far! Check out Emilie's blog and site.

Valentines Day!

2007-02-14T01:24:00.000-08:00

Make sure your website is up to date!!! 10's of thousands of engagements will take place today!

I am currently stuck in Denver, with the snow on the east coast grounding most flights to NY.

Happy Valentines Day Sweets!
Image found at www.kate.net

Denver PUG

2007-02-13T01:17:00.000-08:00

We had a great time this evening in Denver! Katie Van Buren is the PUG leader and was so kind to have us all to her studio. It was great to see some familiar faces, including the great Travis Broxton. Thanks so much for coming out on such a cold winter evening.

Found this today on SimplePhoto.tv :

Erin of LaCour Photography gives us a great marketing idea! These guys have built a terrific business in Atlanta.

Chicago PUG

2007-02-12T16:46:00.000-08:00

Freezing temps and a call for snow, caused the photographers of Chicago to stay home. Tonight we had 8 studios represented at the PUG. The group was small but the discussion was not. Everyone contributed including Jeff Wros the Pictage PRO Consultant for the region and Dave Wittig a terrific Chicago Photographer.

Hijack! Quiet Minds - Miksang Photography

2007-02-10T22:03:00.000-08:00

Today I happened upon http://beautyandhappiness.com/ which is Kevin Reed's blog. I don't know Kevin personally but will be Hijacking his recent post!

Thanks Dane!

2007-02-09T20:14:00.000-08:00

Philly...

2007-02-08T23:20:00.000-08:00

I spoke this evening at Philly's PUG. There was about 15 photographers from Philadelphia and New Jersey. We meet at Drexler College and I enjoyed hearing the stories about everyone's businesses, especially Josh Gardner's...who I consulted with when I was at Pictage. This is a growing group headed by Heather Fowler.

Thanks to Em at emilieinc.com/blog for the great pictures!

Today was also a BIG day for liveBooks on SPM! Dane did a terrific segment on his new liveBooks site: CHECK IT OUT HERE...
OR:

The big apple!

2007-02-08T08:13:00.000-08:00

Last night I visited the NYC PUG hosted by Shari Silk at Phil Mantas and Dasha Wright's studio in the financial district. About 30 photographers attended, as did my LiveBooks colleague Corey Miller.

The group

David Salomone

Chloe the dog

Thanks to Emilie of emilieinc.com for taking some fun shots of the evening!

Boston PUG at Doyle's

2007-02-08T08:07:00.000-08:00

Tonight we met up at Doyle's in Boston with a fun group of Pictage clients. Enna Grazier led the meeting and we had a great showing for how cold it was there!

Hijack

2007-02-05T17:39:00.000-08:00

http://www.julesbianchi.com/blog/2007/01/pump-cups.html

Once in a while I come across a post on another blog and will post it here...a hijack!

Jules Bianchi is a friend of mine in Los Angeles and a great photographer!
Stop by her blog and she what she is up to today: http://www.julesbianchi.com/blog

Colts are Champs!

2007-02-04T19:49:00.000-08:00

This was not the best game of the season,
but sometimes just doing enough...is enough!

Go Horse!

2007-02-03T18:38:00.000-08:00

Have to say that I am really excited about the Superbowl! I have been a big fan of the Colts for years and we have finally made it to the big game.

OPPORTUNITY AT HAND

This one is for you!

Images were taken from: http://mirror.colts.com/defaultplayoff.cfm

Nashville PUG

2007-02-01T23:43:00.000-08:00

Tonight I was in Nashville to speak to the Pictage User Group there. They had the largest showing for their PUG tonight and everyone was excited to hear about how to keep their most important marketing tool...their website, fresh!

It was great to see some friends who drove up from Chattanooga-- Nathan and Amber Holritz! Amber took some fun images of the night below. Thanks Amber!

Thanks also to Allison Bynum who is the Nashville PUG leader.

More PUG Tour Information

2007-01-31T17:11:00.000-08:00

Click on image to see larger...

PUG Tour!

2007-01-28T17:02:00.000-08:00

I will be on the road for the next month speaking at Pictage User Groups throughout the country.
Here are the cities I will be visiting on the tour:
2.1.07 Nashville
2.6.07 Boston
2.7.07 New York
2.8.07 Philly
2.12.07 Chicago
2.13.07 Denver
2.20.07 Orange County
2.21.07 Los Angeles
2.26.07 Portland OR
2.28.07 Seatle

These meeting are for Pictage users to get together and talk about the industry. If you are not a Pictage user please let me know that you would like to attend and I will make sure you have information on how to get to the PUG.

Ana Y Jose

2007-01-17T19:06:00.000-08:00

Spent the week on the beach...in Mexico!
Ana Y Jose is an amazing little resort about 75 miles south of Cancun. If you need a getaway I would suggest it for sure...feel free to contact me about any details. Dinner at Posada Margherita is a must and reservations are too!

New Years Wedding

2006-12-31T18:51:00.000-08:00

Spent the New Year shooting a wedding in Jackson NH!

I was 2nd shooting for Emilie and really enjoyed the the bride and groom, as well as the small town atmosphere of Jackson.

Here is a picture of each of us wondering around Jackson...

Slideshow: http://www.emilieinc.com/karenmatt/
Book Emilie's package A or B and get me too!

New Position with liveBooks!

2006-12-15T17:33:00.000-08:00

I have accepted a new position with a company out of San Francisco called liveBooks! I am excited to be working with such a talented group of people. I will be working from home in Maine and traveling the country to pitch the product to the wedding market. My new position is the Wedding Marketing and Development Manager...click HERE to get to liveBooks!

Moving from LA to Porland ME...yes Portland Maine!

2006-11-11T16:38:00.000-08:00

Currently on the road...3098 miles of travel to Portland ME!
Visiting parents in PHX, brother in Steamboat, grandma in Louisville and my sister in Cincy on the way. Here are some pics of Em and I in Moab--if you haven't been there, you're missing one of the most beautiful places in the country.

Absence from Blogging...

2006-10-29T10:57:00.000-08:00

Recently I have been shooting quite a bit, while also putting together a new website so hopefully that will explain the recent lapse in blogging!

I have shot at the Beverly Hills Hotel, in the Yosemite Valley and right here in my backyard at the Redondo Beach Historical Library in the past weeks. Images from those and the rest of my year will be included in the new website to come out next year! Also look for my images in the Orange County Bride magazine next month.

Thanks for all the kind words lately from recent brides and grooms. Great to hear from you all.

Have a Great Holiday Season!

J

Avalon Island Wedding

2006-09-29T14:46:00.000-07:00

I attended a beautiful wedding on Avalon Island. Emilie Sommer of Emilie Inc. was the photographer and I was lucky enough to help her out!

Back on the Road with David Ziser

2006-09-14T23:10:00.000-07:00

Have been out on the road with David Ziser's Digital Wake Up Call. Once again David is enlightening photographers on the digital revolution and making many new friends along the way.
On this tour we have been to Columbus(OH), Pittsburg, Cleveland and Buffalo tonight... I catch back up with the tour in Texas in a few weeks. If you have the opportunity, I would suggest to take a night out of your busy schedule if he is coming to your town! Check Here

David, LaDawn and myself...yes...it is LATE!

Wedding of Polly and Jeff

2006-08-26T23:16:00.000-07:00

Polly and Jeff had an elegant celebration that everyone in attendance will remember! The afternoon was spent on the beach in Portugese Bend, Racho Palos Verdes, CA. The day was coordinated terrificly by Mary FitzGerald Events of Beverly Hills.

J Sandifer Photography

Please make your way over to my new BLOG!

Tip of the Week #4 : Custom Sign in book for Weddings.

OK...my mom sent me this on Slate!

RUN don't Walk!!!

The New York Times : Is This Any Way to Treat Vera Wang

Mozy online backup

Unlimited Online Backup

Elevate with Garrett and Joy

Tip of the Week #3 : Business Cards

Emilie Sommer : Photojournalist

Old, New, Borrowed, Green?

Fun New liveBooks Site

Code Name : Surface, TED, Milan

Michael Franti and Spearhead : Time To Go Home

Webbed Bliss:Brides and Grooms Tell All Online

How Come All Wedding Couples Aren't This Fun??

161 Billion Dollar Industry

Hijack! Second Shooters

Blog Delay

David Jay Stokes us out with some Photography Textures!

LightRoom

San Francisco!

Tip of the Week #2 : Photographer Chris Humphreys

April 26, 2007

Essence

4.25.05 Wedding Poker Series

The Coming Earthquake in Photography

Carolyn and Todd

Hijack! Your Thoughts on Website Music

Tip of the Week #1:: Veteran Photographer Gerard Tomko

My Dream Ticket '08

WPS 4/18/07

Power of the Few Series

Hijack! -- Cup of Joe

So I found this on Joe Photo's blog Cup of Joe and thought it really struck a chord...thanks Joe.

Style Me Pretty

Wedding Poker Stars

The Maturity of Web 2.0 and The HDTV is the PC

Embedding Video in your Blog

Build Your Business with Video Blogging

Link Up on Linked In

Beverly Hills Hotel Wedding

VegNews : 2007 Vegan Wedding Edition

PDN Features liveBooks

Hello...we live in Maine!

Hijack! Continuity Marketing to Previous Clients with Skip Cohen

This post was on the After Capture blog and I thought it really hit home to the fact that our current clients can also be future clients. Do you have a marketing plan?

AC Blog

Continuity Marketing to Previous Clients

HOW TO GIVE A DYNAMITE PRESENTATION by Gary Fong

French David Jay

Vegas 2007

WPPI -- One Long Week

WPPI -- Vegas Baby!

Me Ra Koh releases DVD Set

OpenSourcePhoto: Real Ultimate Power

Interesting use of the lightsphere!

7/7/7 Wedding Date

Gotan Project Inspiration

The Power of Balance

Hijack! Blogging Tips to Increase Traffic

Canon Mark III

WPPI Platform Speaker : Gene Higa

Lightroom 1.0

March Madness!

Hijack! -- LaCour

Photo Studio Time Lapse

The Whaletail

liveBooks at PPE

Foundation 5 Website

DWF's Honest Answers

Popular Photography Article on liveBooks v.5.0

Going Live with LiveBooks v.5

Version 5 of this Website creation and management system lets you control your own site with sophistication and ease.

WPPI Vegas 2007

Canon Mark III

Hijack! Adobe goes Web 2.0

Scoop: Adobe to offer Web-based Photoshop

Seattle PUG