Today's post is a post from a dear friend. This is worth every second of reading. Take a deep breathe and a moment to go to this site, watch the video, and think about it. Please.
http://thisbrazenteacher.wordpress.com/2011/03/21/you-cant-do-that/
Thank you.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Help spread the word!!
If you would like to share this website with your friends, associates, neighbor, mailman, etc. but aren't sure how, here is a great way to jazz up your blog and help keep the good karma flowing.
Look to the right of your screen.
Your other right.
There ya go.
See the black banner like button thing over there that says "I SHOOT PEOPLE"? See the one under it that says "Learn how to light"? Well, if you would like to have one of those of the fancy shmancy buttons on YOUR blog, here's how you do it.
If you want it to look like this:
If you are a non-violent person and/or don't get the play on words, you could also try this banner like button:
I hope that all made sense!! I appreciate the shout-outs and all of the support you guys continually show me! It gives me warm fuzzy feelings.
Seriously. Thanks for your support and I look forward to seeing these banner like button things on your blogs too! Make sure you leave your company name and website in the comment section if you use one of these! I'd love to see where they are gong.
Cheers.
Look to the right of your screen.
Your other right.
There ya go.
See the black banner like button thing over there that says "I SHOOT PEOPLE"? See the one under it that says "Learn how to light"? Well, if you would like to have one of those of the fancy shmancy buttons on YOUR blog, here's how you do it.
If you want it to look like this:
Go to your blog lay-out editor. Go to your gadgets. Add a new gadget. Select the one that allows for HTML/JavaScript. In the big white box that shows up, cut and paste this coding:
<a href="http://www.synergyimpressions.com/"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpsJSwMc5ugaVbVFj8kv9t7_DBnElZYi1LMeyKhdo80bsSItgpGAEIUMIuJB17b_BmnfyHRnjiLoWKpiMZDxrn2_vYO2oUMCqcfR7W1YKI_yhJ7w8Ft3DmmTnbtRM4So0QKg6rsqr_jhyB/s1600/I+shoot+people+copy.jpg" width="200" height="75" border="0" /></a>
If you are a non-violent person and/or don't get the play on words, you could also try this banner like button:
Prefer that one? Ok, follow the steps listed above and use this code instead:
<a href="http://www.synergyimpressions.com/"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ3hRwu-JQ9uNf-7SiiIPXhNC2wploHXN_cgMN6YbwoI3Ysvie8LCdrnz6JvFLK1ew1mPyRGePkiuhP4upNRVe834yem4qY0O3x4g8pwW5AiwoHU6MqUfz5zXA_psnZdftjoKB0pzCoBwB/s1600/click+here.jpg" width="200" height="75" border="0" /></a>
Still not your cup of tea?? Ok, how about this one?
Alright, alright. If you like this one, use the following code:
<a href="http://www.synergyimpressions.com/"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXvzRzE2HhqqPsUR5hAWneGd4S93W6EXUcQ6l_SFOBaL68FH0qXHNHO1AZ0XSodnqCsQCFosBATCRy-u65ksV-7ISOAoFY-fvNH9eIjxIg7gr9GVH-v8kR9RDrubzFQNOylwrWsOrYH1J0/s1600/Synergy.jpg" width="200" height="75" border="0" /></a>
Seriously. Thanks for your support and I look forward to seeing these banner like button things on your blogs too! Make sure you leave your company name and website in the comment section if you use one of these! I'd love to see where they are gong.
Cheers.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Creativity and Flexibility = FUN
We have all had our fair share of photo shoots that didn't quite pan out like we had anticipated. The best photographers I have known are the ones that not only were able to size up the situation quickly but maintain a flexible approach to getting the job done. They are the ones that rather than screaming and pulling their hair out casually make a reference to needing a beer and then MacGyver an entire lighting rig with chewing gum and a paper clip. Wait? Do we need to take a minute to bask in the glory that was MacGyver?? I think we do. Here you go: You know you thought his mullet was sexy- so click here.
Ok, now that we all went running down memory lane and are plotting just how many paper clips it would take to rig a lighting system, the point of this post was to suggest a flexible approach to photography.
For example, I was shooting a Hockey-Meets-Boudoir session that was intended for a Christmas gift. The secrecy that went into scheduling this shoot was second only to that of Air Force One. While making covert plans to shoot so that the model's significant other would know nothing about our shenanigans, we forget to update Mother Nature on our itinerary. Our outdoor shoot quickly turned into an evening scramble and we found ourselves making last minute adjustments that could have easily been embarrassing if we had not been able to find such humor in the situation.
The outdoor location(s) failed. Yes, we tried more than one. By that time, we did not have access to the studio either. So, we sent my assistant to Bed Bath and Beyond for a King size black sheet, more duct tape, and a six pack. (For the record, I don't suggest automatically resulting to drinking during a photo shoot)
With supplies in hand, we literally went to my apartment and created a makeshift studio in my kitchen. Here are a few pics of what it looked like:
Ok, now that we all went running down memory lane and are plotting just how many paper clips it would take to rig a lighting system, the point of this post was to suggest a flexible approach to photography.
For example, I was shooting a Hockey-Meets-Boudoir session that was intended for a Christmas gift. The secrecy that went into scheduling this shoot was second only to that of Air Force One. While making covert plans to shoot so that the model's significant other would know nothing about our shenanigans, we forget to update Mother Nature on our itinerary. Our outdoor shoot quickly turned into an evening scramble and we found ourselves making last minute adjustments that could have easily been embarrassing if we had not been able to find such humor in the situation.
The outdoor location(s) failed. Yes, we tried more than one. By that time, we did not have access to the studio either. So, we sent my assistant to Bed Bath and Beyond for a King size black sheet, more duct tape, and a six pack. (For the record, I don't suggest automatically resulting to drinking during a photo shoot)
With supplies in hand, we literally went to my apartment and created a makeshift studio in my kitchen. Here are a few pics of what it looked like:
(Yes, my cat really did decide this is where he needed to relax)
Ok, so once we got everything cleared out of this space and got the lights somewhat in place, the sheet arrived and it looked more like this:
Was it perfect? Nope. Was it anywhere near what we had anticipated? Hell no. Did we get some amazing shots and have an even more amazing story and experience from it? Absolutely.
The ability to rig things like this is why I will forever love duct tape and Speedlights. What was the gear used?
Nikon D200
Nikon Speedlight SB-800
Nikon Speedlight SB-900
Both were fired remotely through Nikon's CLS system with the help of two hot shoe mounts.
The stands were all super cheap. I picked them up when I bought my first "lighting kit" for probably no more than $150.00.
I probably could have gotten away without the secondary stand with the reflector, but I wanted to kill as much of the "super flattering" over head florescent light as possible. Since I was spatially limited in respect to light placement, I ended up doing a little more adjustments than usual so that I didn't get blown out images.
I hope seeing some fun ways around lighting and location difficulties makes you want to grab your camera and rip apart your kitchen, too!!
Happy shooting and remember that inspiration is contagious. Get out there and use that duct tape!!!
Thursday, March 3, 2011
I have a website, isn't that enough?
So we check our e-mail...
Still checking e-mail...
The frenzied e-mail checking slows...
So now what?
While I have often thought about making my website just a splash page that says, "I'm good at what I do" "trust me", I have a sneaking suspicion that a minimalist attempt at marketing would lead to a minimal return. Since my long term goals include eventual world conquest, I have begun to slowly take a hard look at SEO.
What is SEO? If these three letters don't mean anything to you, stop reading right here and do a google search.
If you are still reading this, I would like to share a few things I have found that have helped my Utah based photography company begin to get slightly more traffic to my website.
First and foremost, you need to be able to see the traffic to your website. Seems pretty basic, huh? Yea, it is. I want to know how much traffic I get when I post something, and I want to see where the traffic comes from. Google saves the day with Google Analytics.
"Google Analytics is the enterprise-class web analytics solution that gives you rich insights into your website traffic and marketing effectiveness. Powerful, flexible and easy-to-use features now let you see and analyze your traffic data in an entirely new way. With Google Analytics, you're more prepared to write better-targeted ads, strengthen your marketing initiatives and create higher converting websites."
This is a great place to start. Check it out. It's free and it's fairly straight forward to use.
Once you have your tracking in place, don't be afraid of Facebook and Twitter! Free is our friend. I'm sure you have a personal facebook page, right? Well, get one for your company. Facebook is doing an awful lot of work to promote business traffic. Their "insights" include a complete demographic break down on who is looking at your website. Guess what that means? Yup, there's your target market. If the people viewing your website is not your target market- you better re-evaluate your marketing strategy.
Ok, now streamline it! You have a twitter account, a personal facebook page, a business facebook page, and roughly 6 e-mail accounts. Make sure your website had "buttons" that link to your FB and Twitter accounts. People will click them. Also, make sure that your twitter/FB pages have your website on it. You will be surprised how much traffic you will see from FB.
Also, you can set up your FB page so that any status updates you post will automatically post to twitter. Perfect. Two birds with one stone. Then go even further and check out Tweetdeck . From here you can check FB and twitter at the same time. Of course, you can get tweetdeck for your smart phone. That's right, kids! Social Media on the go! Let's face it, less time spent in front of the computer can be a good thing too.
Ok, the structure is in place. (deep breathe)
Since this post is getting quite lengthy, here are a few links that will help you continue to make yourself and your company more visible.
Start with Simple SEO Strategies.
Once you have somewhat digested that site, take a look at This killer site. Yes, this site is for photographers. The content is great and guess what? Google search what else you would like to find information on.
I don't pretend to present myself and some traffic-driving internet guru. That is exactly why I wanted to share this stuff. If I can do it, you can to. There are so many ways to promote your business that just need a little bit of creativity to help shake things up a bit. Get out there and be seen!
Have other websites that you stumbled upon with more fun info about this stuff??? Share it in the comment section. Have questions? E-mail me :)
Happy world conquest!
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