Professional Photographer August 2009

©Studio222 Photography

AUGUST 2009 | $4.95

Cover image by Studio222 Photography. 222's owners, Becka Knight and Nate Robinson, say Facebook generates 90 percent of their wedding leads. See article on p. 76.

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P ROF E S S I ONA L

EDITORIAL

director of publications

CAMERON BISHOPP [email protected]

Trumpeting the news

senior editor

art director/production manager

JOAN SHERWOOD [email protected]

DEBBIE TODD [email protected]

features editor

manager, publications and sales/strategic alliances

IN HONOR OF OUR UNSUNG HEROES

LESLIE HUNT [email protected]

Poor August. May has Memorial and Mother’s day, October has fall

editor-at-large

leaves and pumpkins, and December is an embarrassment of

JEFF KENT [email protected]

holiday riches. For a month with 31 days of blistering temperatures, August has a pretty low profile. It’s not like things aren’t happening in August. Kids are heading back to school and that’s big. But without a major holiday or noticeable seasonal change, August hums along without much fanfare. Fanfare is great. It’s thrilling to hear those blaring trumpets. In our industry, there’s always ample attention focused on the fanfare, like the high-profile studios that clear six figures and employ enough people to form a bugle corps. Those stories are inspiring, great entertainment, and terribly rare. Every bit as interesting and infinitely more prevalent are the dramatic tales of the smaller studios, like the one owned by James and Meridith Walters, who tell their story in “How We Did It” (p. 38). This couple had worked hard and smart. No one had more prudent spending habits, and it was paying off. Then, year before last, as the economy took a nosedive, the studio’s revenues plunged to 40 percent of the previous year’s. The Walterses made immediate and stringent budget adjustments. Business was still way down last year, but the Walterses actually came away with higher net profits than they had in the boom years. As James told Editor-at-Large Jeff Kent: “We were shocked. We’d done a lot less work, but we kept more money.”

Wait! Do I hear trumpets? � Cameron Bishopp Director of Publications [email protected]

CORRECTIONS • In our July issue review of Phase One P65+, the information about the development of Sensor+ technology should have read: “Sensor+ technology was developed under the guidance of Phase One—holder of the proprietary rights to its use—by Dalsa, one of the two companies producing sensors for medium-format backs.” For a detailed explanation of Sensor+ technology, download http://www.phaseone.com/apsis/160409Sensorplus.pdf. • In the Profoto Pro 8A review in our June issue, the color temperature variation over an 8-stop power range should have read 50 Kelvin.

4 • www.ppmag.com

KARISA GILMER [email protected] sales/strategic alliances assistant

CHERYL PEARSON [email protected]

technical editors

circulation

ANDREW RODNEY, ELLIS VENER, DON CHICK

MOLLIE O’SHEA [email protected]

director of sales and strategic alliances

SCOTT HERSH 610-966-2466; [email protected] western region ad manager

northeast region ad manager

BART ENGELS 847-854-8182; [email protected]

SHELLIE JOHNSON 404-522-8600, x279; [email protected]

southeast region ad manager

BILL KELLY 404-522-8600, x248; [email protected] editorial offices

Professional Photographer 229 Peachtree Street NE, Suite 2200, Atlanta, GA 30303-1608 U.S.A. 404-522-8600; FAX: 404-614-6406 Professional Photographer (ISSN 1528-5286) is published monthly subscriptions

Professional Photographer P.O. Box 2035, Skokie, IL 60076; 800-742-7468; FAX 404-614-6406; email: [email protected]; Web site: www.ppmag.com member services

PPA - Professional Photographer 800-786-6277; FAX 301-953-2838; e-mail: [email protected]; www.ppa.com Send all advertising materials to: Debbie Todd, Professional Photographer, 5431 E. Garnet, Mesa, AZ 85206; 480-807-4391; FAX: 480-807-4509 Subscription rates/information: U.S.: $27, one year; $45, two years; $66, three years. Canada: $43, one year; $73, two years; $108, three years. International: $39.95, one year digital subscription. Back issues/Single copies $7 U.S.; $10 Canada; $15 International. PPA membership includes $13.50 annual subscription. Subscription orders/changes: Send to Professional Photographer, Attn: Circulation Dept., P.O. Box 2035, Skokie, IL 60076; 800-742-7468; FAX 404-614-6406; email: [email protected]; Web site: www.ppmag.com. Periodicals postage paid in Atlanta, Ga., and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to Professional Photographer magazine, P.O. Box 2035, Skokie, IL 60076 Copyright 2009, PPA Publications & Events, Inc. Printed in U.S.A. Article reprints: Contact Professional Photographer reprint coordinator at Wright’s Reprints; 1-877-652-5295. Microfilm copies: University Microfilms International, 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48106 Professional Photographer (ISSN 1528-5286) is published monthly for $27 per year by PPA Publications and Events, Inc., 229 Peachtree Street, NE, Suite 2200, International Tower, Atlanta, GA 30303-1608. Periodicals postage paid at Atlanta, Ga., and additional mailing offices. Acceptance of advertising does not carry with it endorsement by the publisher. Opinions expressed by Professional Photographer or any of its authors do not necessarily reflect positions of Professional Photographers of America, Inc. Professional Photographer, official journal of the Professional Photographers of America, Inc., is the oldest exclusively professional photographic publication in the Western Hemisphere (founded 1907 by Charles Abel, Hon.M.Photog.), incorporating Abel’s Photographic Weekly, St. Louis & Canadian Photographer, The Commercial Photographer, The National Photographer, Professional Photographer, and Professional Photographer Storytellers. Circulation audited and verified by BPA Worldwide.

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CONT PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER AUGUST 2009

Features 76

NEW TALENT Out of the gate, Studio222 is hitting the mark By Jeff Kent

84

WHEN THE BOUGH BREAKS The profound value of a portrait in the midst of tragedy By Stephanie Boozer

68

WEDDINGS: TALES OF MANHATTAN

Brian Dorsey is one of New York’s elite wedding photographers Interview by Jeff Kent IMAGE BY BRIAN DORSEY

S

CONTENTS PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER | AUGUST 2009 | WWW.PPMAG.COM

14

FOLIO

94

CALENDAR

99

PPA TODAY

114

GOOD WORKS

©Megan Franks

Departments C O N TA C T S H E E T 20 Annenberg Space

for Photography 22 Business in the boondocks 25 The most elaborate proposal

PROFIT CENTER 27 What I think: Eric Sartoris 28 What’s in your bag?

5 studios’ best packaging by Kammy Thurman 36 Ask the SMS experts 38 How we did it:

James & Meridith Walters by Jeff Kent 40 Boosting after-wedding sales

by Kathy Brookshire & Lori Brookshire-Parrson 42 The sky and the limit: Sell boldly

by Todd & Jamie Reichman

THE GOODS 45 What I like: Sam Harnack 46 Asset Management:

Backup organization by Peter Krogh 52 Archiving: Duping with DSLR

by Ellis Vener 56 Pro review: Profoto D1 Air

by Ellis Vener

22

Could a move from a city of 100,000 to a tiny rural town with a population of around

300 translate into a viable business? It did for Megan Franks, who shares her experiences and advice on becoming a thriving photographer out in the boondocks.

8 • www.ppmag.com

ON THE COVER: This image of the groom, Pete, by Becka Knight and Nate Robinson was “taken completely on the spur of the moment,” Knight says. “But it’s become one of our favorites from that wedding.” It was taken in the last golden light of the day, as the wedding party joked and jostled on the beach between the ceremony and the reception. Camera: Canon EOS 40D with a Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L USM lens. Cover image retouched by Jim DiVitale, M.Photog.MEI.Cr., API, F-ASP

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chairman of the board *DENNIS CRAFT M.Photog.Cr.Hon.M.Photog., CPP, API, F-ASP [email protected]

Professional Photographers of America 229 Peachtree St., NE, Suite 2200 Atlanta, GA 30303-1608 404-522-8600; 800-786-6277 FAX: 404-614-6400 www.ppa.com

2009-2010 PPA board president *RON NICHOLS M.Photog.Cr., API [email protected] vice president *LOUIS TONSMEIRE Cr.Photog., API [email protected] treasurer *DON DICKSON M.Photog.Cr., CPP [email protected]

directors SANDY (SAM) PUC’ M.Photog.Cr., CPP, ABI [email protected] RALPH ROMAGUERA SR. M.Photog.Cr., CPP, API, F-ASP [email protected] CAROL ANDREWS M.Photog.Cr., ABI [email protected] SUSAN MICHAL M.Photog.Cr., CPP, ABI [email protected] TIMOTHY WALDEN M.Photog.Cr., F-ASP [email protected] DOUG BOX M.Photog.Cr., CPP, API [email protected] DON MACGREGOR M.Photog.Cr., API [email protected]

MICHAEL GAN M.Photog.Cr., CPP [email protected]

SCOTT HERSH Director of Sales & Strategic Alliances [email protected]

industry advisor KEVIN CASEY [email protected]

WILDA OKEN Director of Administration [email protected]

PPA staff DAVID TRUST Chief Executive Officer [email protected]

BETSY REID Director of Education [email protected] COREY B. SHELTON Director, Web Strategy & Development [email protected]

SCOTT KURKIAN Chief Financial Officer [email protected]

LENORE TAFFEL Director of Events [email protected]

THERESE ALEMAN Director, Marketing and Communications [email protected]

BING ZENG PPA China Managing Director [email protected]

CHRISTEL APRIGLIANO Director of Member Value & Experience [email protected]

SANDRA LANG Executive Assistant [email protected]

CAMERON BISHOPP Director of Publications [email protected]

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12 • www.ppmag.com

“When you’re photographing kids, you’ve got one shot at it. You have to be ready for the serendipity that kids do. It’s terrible to try to get great shots with a camera in front of your face. That’s why I use the PocketWizards all the time. They free me-10… not just from tripping over wires, which you have to be very careful about with kids… they let me have the interaction that gets the natural poses I want. I have a PocketWizard built into my strobes. I have a Plus II on my camera. And I can fire both from the PocketWizard in my hand.” Jack Reznicki on the PocketWizard Plus II Transceiver

© Jack Reznicki

See Jack Reznicki’s photo shoot > PocketWizard.com

0OCKET7IZARDCOMs Distributed by MAC Group

folio|

Comprising images selected from the files of the PPA Loan Collection, Folio is a monthly sample of award-winning photography by PPA members. The Loan Collection is a select group of some 500 photographs chosen annually by the PPA print judges from more than 5,000 entries.

©Lissa Hatcher

LISSA HATCHER “This image was one of the first fantasy images I sketched on scrap paper in the middle of the night,” says Lissa Hatcher, of Lissa Hatcher Photography in Virgina Beach, Va. “I use it in promotional work and my portfolio.” For the main image, Hatcher used a Nikon D2X Pro with a Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 F AF-S ED lens, and a Nikon SB800 electronic flash, exposing “Imagination Station” for 1/60 second at f/8, ISO 400. For the final composite, Hatcher performed several manipulations in Adobe Photoshop CS, including the first application of her recurring upside-down clouds. The image won both Kodak and Fujifilm Awards. www.lissahatcher.com

What the judge thought:

“This is a wonderful blend of reality and

fantasy. The maker combined many images to create the surrealistic feel of childhood whimsy. I enjoyed how the composition places the child in a strong position, allowing the supporting elements of the trains and the butler to draw your eye through the image.” —Dave Huntsman, M.Photog.Cr., and PEC Committee member. 14 • www.ppmag.com

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©Jeff Dachowski

JEFF DACHOWSKI While waiting for a family to arrive for an early morning beach session, Jeff Dachowski, M.Photog.Cr., of Dachowski Photography in Manchester, N.H., seized the opportunity to capture this stunning sunrise. With a Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II camera and Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 L II USM EF lens, Dachowski exposed “Edge of the Earth” for 1/15 second at f/16. He adjusted levels and saturation, and performed minor retouching in Adobe Photoshop CS. www.dachowskiphotography.com

CHARLOTTE PEARSON Struck by the window light pouring over this hibiscus blossom, Charlotte Pearson, of Carlson Studio in Spicer, Minn., grabbed her Canon EOS 10D, fitted with a Canon 28-90mm f/4-5.6 II USM EF lens and shot “Exposed” at 1/90 second, f/5.6, ISO 200. She converted the image to black and white in Adobe Photoshop and applied a small amount of sharpening for the final image. “I’m fascinated with how intricate, fragile and complex flowers are,” says Pearson. www.carlsonstudioinc.com

16 • www.ppmag.com

©Charlotte Pearson

Brianna Graham | Brianna Graham Photography

I am Brianna Graham. I Am Encouraged. Every photographer out there will tell you how much time is consumed by owning your own business. It is a delicate balance between managing my local customers, traveling nationally for my workshops, and spending as much time as I can with my family. My daughter and husband are my best friends, and my biggest source of encouragement. I Am Adventurous. I have always taken risks. I think it’s important to take every chance you get and never hold back. Moving into my studio 5 years ago was the scariest thing I’ve taken on, but with it came an incredible surge to my artistic freedom and a major leap to efficiency. I Am Aware. Design, colors, and pattern, everything that I see around me in my everyday life, is my inspiration. While others may see beauty in nature, I see it where the masses tend to avoid. I developed my style around this six years ago with my first urban shoot. My style involves color, composition, location, style, emotion, and connection. If any one of these elements is missing, then it really isn’t me and it shows. I Am Hard to Please. I love what I do and I am very passionate about it. I am always trying new products, as I never want to become complacent. Having tried many other album suppliers with little success, the new album line up and selections that Miller’s recently launched blows all of the competitors out of the water. There is no other lab out there that offers so many choices, with exceptional quality and impeccable delivery. And the fact that an album can be produced within the same week is incredible. I am Miller’s. My lab is Miller’s Professional Imaging because I Expect More.

Expect More

To see how Brianna uses Miller’s to grow her studio, please visit www.millerslab.com/BriannaGraham. For more information about Brianna’s workshops, please visit www.briannagrahamworkshops.com.

CONTACT SHEET

gallery What’s New, Cool Events, Interesting People, Great Ideas, Etc.

A new kind of

©Emilio Morenatti

The Annenberg Foundation redefines photography exhibition l BY LORNA GENTRY

The ASP has the capacity to exhibit more than 6,000 photographs a year in a state-of-the-art digital environment.

As an extension of its global philanthropic work, in March, the Annenberg Foundation opened the Annenberg Space for Photography (ASP) in Los Angeles. Like the International Center for Photography in New York, the ASP showcases work by internationally acclaimed and emerging photographers, and presents an ongoing series of lectures and workshops. But unlike the ICP, or any other institution for that matter, the ASP has the capacity to exhibit more than 6,000 photographs a year in a state-of-the-art digital environment. “We may present more photography in one year than all the collecting institutions in the country combined,” says Leonard Aube, managing director of the L.A.-based Annenberg Foundation. “It’s a new paradigm in presenting photography to the public.” It was the circle-in-a-square design of a camera lens that inspired the interior architecture of the 10,000-square-foot facility. The traditional print exhibition area that lines the outer square spirals down into a round digital exhibition space dominated by two 7x14-foot, 4K-resolution screens, where images, graphics and video combine with sound for a total digital immersion. There are also two coffeetable touch-screen displays, ©Katie Falkenberg

on which visitors can page through digital

the inaugural exhibit. “It will be a source of

photographs. Visitors not only see and touch

energy, conversation and exposure, bringing

the photography, they also hear the artists

to L.A. photographs that wouldn’t have come

talk about their work on video recordings.

otherwise and presenting them in a new way.”

The digital format enables the ASP to show

On view through November 2, “Pictures

up to 1,500 images by one photographer, an

of the Year International” showcases images

unprecedented volume in one space.

from the Columbia School of Journalism’s

“From conception, the Annenberg

annual photojournalism contest. The exhibit

Foundation felt that it was more contemporary

includes more than 80 prints and thousands

to put more emphasis on digital than [print]

of digital images.

exhibition space,” says Anne Wilkes Tucker, photography curator of the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, who was special advisor of

For information, visit www.annenbergspaceforphotography.com.

© 2009 Julius Shulman & Juergen Nogai

August 2009 • Professional Photographer • 21

CONTACT SHEET

Business in the boondocks Thriving as a rural photographer

l MEGAN FRANKS

my home to the location of the shoot. Know the prime locales. Take advantage of public property, and not just parks. A dirt road or the grounds of a library could be scenic backgrounds. Be especially careful not to trespass on private property, even if it

Location, location, location: It’s the key to

I soon had calls from clients who wanted

looks uninhabited. The landowner might be

business success. Imagine my panic when I

portraits taken on their front porch or over-

happy to accommodate you, if you ask first.

moved from an area of over 100,000 people

looking a pond on the family farm. Parents

Consider proposing a trade for use of the

to a tiny rural town with a population of

scheduled appointments for their children

site, such as a collection of fine-art prints

about 300. The only thing in sight for 40

… and their favorite horses, pigs or sheep.

showcasing the land. Ask the locals for

miles in any direction was the rolling plain

I traveled a 300-mile radius from my

and an occasional farm. I figured the move

small town for appointments, and eventually

would be the death of my business.

clients started coming to me. High school

countryside and keep a list of places or

seniors were especially excited to take a road

objects that have portrait potential. Make

the key to my studio’s success. But I’m

trip to our tiny town to try out the “exotic”

notes of the time of day for best available

getting ahead of the story.

environs of the boondocks.

light, the colors in various seasons, the

To my surprise, this location would be

Upon arriving, and doing a cost of

I did have to make a few changes in the

suggestions. Take periodic long drives through the

traveling time and any special equipment

business analysis, I began to abandon my

way I do business, but they were simple and

needed for shooting there. This cuts

dream of opening a studio. It just didn’t

productive adjustments that helped me

preparation time and helps you formulate a

make sound business sense in such a sparsely

survive and thrive. I recommend the

plan of action for the session.

populated area. But as I drove through the

following tips to any rural photographer.

rolling hills in the evenings, admiring the

Reset sitting fees. Setting a single sitting

Be easy to find online. Even the most remote locations are connected to the Internet

sienna sunsets, it hit me. Here was

fee doesn’t work when you live half an

now. Simple tweaks to your site can optimize

something far better than a studio. At my

hour from civilization. Some days, I

your chances of popping up at the top in

disposal were living backdrops of green

might travel over 200 miles for a location

prospects’ searches. Include a comprehensive

pastures, golden wheat fields, old houses

portrait session. My sitting fees are now

list of the towns or areas you serve on both

and rustic barns.

based on mileage or the distance from

your website and blog. In every blog post, mention the location of the session. Exchange links with other businesses in

©Megan Franks

your area for a mutual SEO boost. Boot up. Though I’d much rather don a pair of fashionable pumps, my outdoor boots have served me well in the line of duty. Together, we’ve tromped through muddy fields, climbed barbed wire fences and, yes, smashed a cow patty or two. I advise my clients to wear an old pair of shoes or boots and carry their photoworthy footgear until we reach our destination. Life as a rural photographer isn’t easy, but it’s never boring. With a little preparation, it can be a profitable and creatively rewarding experience, too. Visit Megan Franks and Four Seasons Photography, based in Leedey, Okla., at fourseasonsphotos.com.

22 • www.ppmag.com

You spend time photographing other people’s families.

Now spend some time with your own.

www.mpixpro.com

Going for a “Yes” Documenting the most elaborate proposal ever In late 2006, Atlanta photographer Ross Oscar Knight was at a party when he met a love-struck young man named Robert Gray Jr., who was planning an elaborate proposal

©Ross Oscar Knight

to his girlfriend, Keisha Williams. Gray had been planning the surprise for a year and

Word spread like a computer virus, and

on the map,” says Knight. “The publicity just

asked Knight to photograph the event. The

Knight was getting 10 to 20 million hits a

grew and grew … We still get e-mails every

hopeful suitor had booked 10 rooms on dif-

week on his website and blog. His ISP

day about the proposal.”

ferent floors at Atlanta’s Ritz Carlton Buckhead,

threatened to bill him thousands of dollars

Capitalizing on “Remember the Ritz,”

invited family and friends, and planned

in usage fees, claiming he was using more

Knight now offers photographing the marriage

scripture readings, music, gold-edged roses,

bandwidth than mega sites like CNN.com.

proposal as part of an all-inclusive engagement

and candlelight everywhere. He even named the event: “Remember the Ritz.” On the day of the event, Knight worked

The mainstream media soon got wind of

and wedding package. He covers the event as

the story, and Knight was fielding calls from Fox

he would a wedding, adding in engagement-

News, The Tyra Banks Show, and several others.

and portrait-style photography. —Jeff Kent

for eight hours, photographing every detail.

Knight even appeared on The Oprah Winfrey

Afterwards, he posted images on his blog

Show. Then his blog hits really spiked.

and invited people to view the slideshow.

“That entire experience definitely put me

To see more from Ross Oscar Knight, visit www.rossoscarknightphotography.net.

August 2009 • Professional Photographer • 25

Professional Photographer

P R E S E N T S

Business, Marketing and Sales Strategies

What I think Eric Sartoris balances adaptability and core values What do you wish you’d known when you were starting out? That it’s okay to sell! By the time the clients find you, they’re eager to buy. You don’t have to be a pushy salesman, just make the whole process easy and attractive. How do you keep your business in the black? You need to be firing on all cylinders. We’ve been pretty savvy at managing cash flow and increasing our sales for the past couple of years, so things are still going well. What’s the biggest business risk you’ve ever taken? Last year we left our established business in Seattle, at the top of our game, to start fresh in Austin, Texas. It’s also the best thing we ever did. I suppose our timing could have been better, though! How will the current economy affect the future of pro photography? It will get tougher before it gets better. It will take an individual with artistic talent, strong business chops and good people skills to survive. After the fallout, the remaining photographers will truly be the best of the best. What’s your secret to running a successful business? We keep abreast of the changes in our industry, and we walk that fine line between being adaptable and staying true to our core artistic values. In other words, keep learning and growing, but never lose sight of the things that brought you success in the first place. IMAGE BY ANTHOLOGY PHOTOGRAPHY WWW.WEDDINGPHOTOS.COM

August 2009 • Professional Photographer • 27

PROFIT CENTER

A

ccording to Geoffrey Hollows, a consultant at Heawood Research, there are two aspects to packaging, the physical function and the psychological function—“That’s the one you have got to get right,” he says.

Photographers have long been aware of

the psychological impact of images on viewers —the tears that spring to a bride’s eyes when she sees her wedding photographs for the first time, the horror that wells up at shocking images of war, the pride and sadness a mother feels when she pages through her son’s graduation album. Photography is all about using imagery to move people emotionally. Less apparent is the psychological impact of the materials those images are delivered in. For instance, compare how you feel when a Walmart clerk hands over your purchases in a thin plastic bag to when a clerk at Nordstrom hands over your purchases in a substantial paper bag with cotton-wrap handles, sporting a ritzy logo. Which makes you feel special? Making clients feel special is the motive behind the creative packaging used by the five studios in the United States and Canada we spoke with. The one thing these very different studios have in common is the belief that they don’t have to go all-out with elaborate or expensive materials to make an impact. Instead, in combining simple elements in a

What’s in your bag?

creative way, they actually do a better job of

AFFORDABLE PACKAGING MAKES A BIG IMPACT AT FIVE STUDIOS

caring that goes into handmade products. She

Brand it green

28 • www.ppmag.com

branding and the client experience.

1. LAYERING IT ON Layering is one of the secrets of Allison and Jeff Rodgers’ distinctive packaging at Allison Rodgers Photography in Olive Branch, Miss. Allison designs packaging for the Marathon Press BellaGrafica line, but she also loves the combines pieces from Marathon with her own,

BY KAMMY THURMAN ©Dawn Tacker

using their packaging to enhance both their

©Allison Rodgers Photography

to create a unique, custom-crafted look. She

SUPPLIERS: bellagrafica.com • Best Rubber

them inside sample albums for an added

Stamp, Memphis Tenn. • buttonsonline.com •

touch that’s inexpensive yet high on style.

dropcards.com • envelopemall.com •

“I use a ton of envelopes and paper-

laceheaven.com • marathonpress.com •

source products,” says Chenin. “Nice

sustainablegroup.net • bagsandbows-

envelopes are a good foundation for any

online.com • whcc.com

packaging, then you can add labels, ribbon, stamps or stickers to make the envelopes

2. GREAT EXPECTATIONS

your own.” She recommends choosing a

Chenin Boutwell, of Boutwell Studio, in

color palette and ordering envelopes in

Mission Viejo, Calif., loves her silk-screened,

those colors in a variety of sizes. She uses

die-cut logo tags. She attaches them to print

5x5-inch envelopes for DVDs, 5x7s for 4x6

boxes, slips them in with price lists, and mounts

and 5x7 prints, and 8x10s for larger prints.

©Allison Rodgers Photography

Allison Rodgers layers on tags, tissue paper and ribbons in the distinct colors of each of the studio's product lines.

©Boutwell Studio

uses recycled craft paper bags as the base, then layers on bag tags, tissue paper and ribbon. “We decorate the bag tags with a rubber stamp of a distressed-looking photo frame, and paste a wallet portrait of the client inside it. We also use brown portrait boxes accented with red ribbon and the tags,” Says Rodgers. Additional pieces include note cards, reminder cards and business cards that complement the packaging in color and texture. The studio’s product lines, beach and He Said/She Said, have their own distinct colors. Rodgers admits that handwork takes extra time, but she’s convinced that it shows clients that you care enough to create something special for them. And when people begin to recognize your packaging on the street, you know it’s doing a great job for your brand. Allison Rodgers’ advice: “Don’t make a big change in your packaging all at once. Start with the anchor pieces, like your box and bag, then go from there.” Chenin Boutwell uses an array of paper accessories in the complementary shades of her brand's color palette. She mixes and matches the finishing touches—tags, ribbon, stamps and labels.

August 2009 • Professional Photographer • 29

PROFIT CENTER

©Boutwell Studio

Chenin Boutwell’s advice: “Do a little soulsearching to figure out what message you

Large portraits are wrapped in craft paper. Rachel Marten points to an unusual part

want to convey with your packaging.

of their total packaging, the portrait display

Obviously, a photographer with a sleek

the client sees first upon entering the studio.

black-and-white website and a modern take

Because the studio sells a volume of wall

on photography would not wrap his reprints

portraits, after a session she frames the

in newspaper and tied up with twine. Good

portrait and sets it on ornate wooden or

packaging is about conveying to the recipient

metal easels near the door when the client is

what they should expect on the inside of the

due to return.

box. Try to give the recipient a little hint as to your style, approach and brand.”

“I want that first impression to be a big wow, and pulling the portrait out of a bag or box just wouldn’t have the same impact.

SUPPLIERS: etsy.com • Home Depot •

Once the client has enjoyed the portrait for

paper-source.com; paperpresentation.com •

a few minutes, then I’ll package it for him.”

Note: Boutwell also repurposes boxes, chipboard, peanuts and newspaper.

Boutwell loves the look of her custom silkscreened, die-cut logo tags.

3. REALLY TOP SHELF Rachel and Clark Marten, of Clark Marten Photography in Columbus, Mont., like a clean, elite brand look. They use black boxes

She keeps them on hand in her two

featuring the studio logo with gold edging, a

signature colors, and uses them as the basis

complement to the edging on their

for packaging.

portraits—gold for color images, silver for

“I can’t say I do it the same way twice,”

black and white. They layer the boxes with

says Boutwell. “I usually enclose the prints

tissue paper and finish off with a raffia tie.

in the envelopes, and depending on my mood, either seal it with a label (printed through whcc.com) or tie it with twine and add a die-cut logo tag.” Chenin’s been using special packaging for the last two years. She had started to feel a little embarrassed about sending out a $300 reprint order packaged between two sheets of cardboard taped together. She had put off designing something because she thought it would be pricey. Once she realized how to do it inexpensively, she jumped right in.

Rachel and Clark Marten start with classic black boxes gold-embossed with the studio's logo, a complement to their gold- and silver-edged frames. Inset: Clients first see their beautifully framed portraits prominently displayed on an easel.

30 • www.ppmag.com

©Clark Marten Photography

Marten’s main criteria for packaging: It

has to make a great impression; be substantial

©DQ Studios

so it holds together; be economical but look expensive; and be convenient to use. Instead of investing in costly packaging, she uses tasteful, affordable materials, then tucks a thoughtful gift inside, such as a small box of gourmet chocolates from a local shop. Rachel Marten’s advice: “Match your packaging to your product. If you deliver images, however beautiful, in a cheap-looking bag, it cheapens the value of the portrait and makes it harder for clients to accept the price. If everything about the portrait is top-shelf— the client experience as well as the portrait and packaging quality—price is not such an issue.” SUPPLIERS: kendalhartcraft.com • bagsandbows.com

that would stand out to clients; the beautiful fabrics in the wraps do that and more.

4. THE LAST TASTE

Quin Cheung’s advice: “Have a cohesive

Dave and Quin Cheung of DQ Studios, in

look with colors or an anchor piece, then

Calgary, Canada, have used branded pack-

add things around it that work together.”

aging since they opened their studio six years ago. They discovered one of their brides was

SUPPLIERS: joliewraps.com

a graphic designer, so they hired her to design their marketing and packaging materials.

5. ALWAYS PERSONAL

These start with a round metal tin for DVDs

Jasmine Star, of Jasmine Star Photography

and bridal giveaways, along with metallic

in Irvine, Calif., turned to a local designer

business cards, metallic-colored albums,

she’d collaborated with on bridal projects to

bridal pamphlets with a sueded feel, canvas

help design her packaging materials. Because

delivery bags and lime green accents.

a simple approach fits Star’s photographic

Dave and Quin Cheung favor a high-impact, contemporary look in packaging. Various textures work in harmony, and a dash of lime green adds just the right tang.

Quin Cheung loves how the pieces all

style, and because she’s loved stationery

says. “When clients pass along my name—

work together to create a contemporary,

products since childhood, she based the

and all my marketing is word of mouth—I

edgy and highly tactile image that fits their

design on a personalized letterpress look

know they confidently do so because their

photographic style.

that complements her brand identity. The

experience has been consistent in every

anchor piece is a handwritten card to each

element of my interaction with them.”

“Portrait packaging is the last stage of the purchase for our brides,” she says. “It rein-

client that she attaches to the package.

forces the quality of the vendor in the buyer’s

Leather Craftsmen assembles her wedding

what I wanted for my packaging was just as

mind. It’s the last taste left in her mouth,

albums and sends them out in boxes

important as the packaging itself. For a few

and we want to leave one she won’t forget.”

embossed with her logo and brand look.

months I collected packaging from boutiques,

The newest addition to DQ’s product line is

“In a world of photography studios,

Jasmine Star’s advice: “I discovered that

art houses and museums. When I was ready

canvas portrait wraps. Because the studio sells

packaging is another way to define your

to move forward in designing my packaging,

mainly large prints, Cheung wanted packaging

brand and differentiate your business,” she

I surveyed my collection of paper goods (my

August 2009 • Professional Photographer • 31

PROFIT CENTER

Jasmine Star's understated letterpress-style stationery whispers elegant. “Packaging is another way to define brand and differentiate your business,” she says.

©Jasmine Star Photography

husband said I looked like a trash collector) and analyzed what I liked about each design, and what I’d incorporate into my packaging. By the time I met with the designer, I had a good idea how I wanted to represent a division of my brand. I’m happy with the final product, and I know it looks and feels like me. And that’s priceless.” � SUPPLIERS: detailsalacarte.com • leathercraftsmen.com Kammy Thurman, principal at Anchor Creative and co-owner of Anchor Photography, is a direct-response copywriter/consultant and online sales architect.

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Press Printed Cards are available in 4x5.5, 5x5 and 5x7 sizes as folded and flat styles as well as 5x7 Wide Format, 5x5 Trifold and 4x5.5 Accordion. Cards come in quantities as low as 25, include envelopes, and are offered in five papers.

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WHCC stickers are a single sided press printed product printed on sticker material with a split liner for easy removal. Stickers are available in increments of 50 in three different sizes, 2x3.5, 4x5.5, and 5x7. Popular uses of Stickers include return address labels, studio packaging, and gift tags.

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PROFIT CENTER

ST U D I O M A N AG E M E N T S E RV I C E S

From left to right: Julia Woods, M.Photog.Cr.; Bridget Jackson, manager of PPA Studio Management Services (SMS); Scott Kurkian, PPA chief financial officer and founder of SMS; Ann K. Monteith, M.Photog.Cr.Hon.M.Photog., CPP, ABI; Carol Andrews, M.Photog.Cr., ABI.

GURUS FROM PPA'S STUDIO MANAGEMENT SERVICES ANSWER YOUR BUSINESS, MARKETING AND SALES QUESTIONS. FOR INFO ON WORKSHOPS, GO TO PPA.COM.

Ask the experts Reality-wrecked plans, bounced checks, attracting maternity clients Q: I’ve been working on my photography business for a couple of years as a hobby with some pay. With my youngest starting school this year, I wanted to get serious, but along came an unexpected divorce and financial issues. I’m out of time, and I need to get clients now, and do it with a tight income. A: I suggest you focus on your life priorities, and make a plan for your new life. Your personal well-being, and your children are the most important concerns. Project your cost-of-living expenses: kids’ education, health insurance, etc. Subtract any financial support you might get from your ex, and you’ll have the target amount that your business needs to generate in income to meet your expenses. Remember, your gross sales do not determine the income in your pocket. Your business expenses and cost of goods sold will factor in that. The toughest factor is that businesses and income can’t be produced overnight. The reality is that the number of hours you can dedicate exclusively to your business, the demographics of your market area, and the economic status of your community are all huge factors in determining how long it will take to reach your target income. First, come up with the figures mentioned above. Second, cover your basic living expenses with some kind of guaranteed income, which may mean working a job outside photography. Third, build your projections and a business plan based on these other factors. Plug in a reasonable timeline based on the actual hours and energy you can commit to your business, while maintaining your parental responsibilities and all other obligations. Based on this information, make a written business plan and chart its development on a calendar. This

36 • www.ppmag.com

will give you a firm, realistic outlook for you, your family, and your business. Study as much business as you can, align yourself with strong financial tools. Envision your business, and write a journal about your concepts, your images, and your clients. Creating a new life and a new business takes positive energy. It can be done with focus and action. And, most important, time. I wish you the best. —Carol Andrews Q: We take in four to eight bad checks a year. What’s the best way to handle this situation? A: All studio policies should be geared to increase revenue, and clear rules about returned checks should be among them. It will decrease the incidence of clients knowingly writing bad checks. A returned check fee policy should include reimbursement to the studio for all bank fees associated with the returned check. The policies should be clearly stated on all agreements, then signed by the customer: I commission the studio to produce copies of the photographs ordered and I agree to pay for the production of the work in accordance with the terms of purchase. I understand that final payment is due upon completion of studio production work. All requests for work shall bear interest (at 1.5 percent per month, or 18 percent per annum), which will be added to the unpaid balance until it is paid in full. The studio owns the images and all rights thereto, and permission to use reproductions of the images for display, publication, or other purposes is a condition of engagement and production of the studio. Digital files or negatives remain the property of the studio. (Source: Ann Monteith)

Installment plans can also reduce the number of bad checks and unpaid invoices. If you do get a returned check marked NSF, first give the client the benefit of the doubt and ask him to reach a resolution with his bank. Your fee for returned checks should be included in the final remuneration. —Bridget Jackson Q: What are some good marketing techniques for building my maternity and newborn clientele? A: Seeing photographs of other pregnant moms and newborns spurs expectant parents to get similar photographs. Think about where these prospects routinely go, then have a presence in those places. Attractively displayed maternity and newborn images in an obstetrician’s office and accompanying brochures are highly effective. These folks will also be shopping for baby necessities. You can ask to hang displays in specialty boutiques, and go further by networking with the boutique owner. Come up with a promotion that benefits both businesses, like a maternity session gift certificate to thank boutique clients who spend $500 or more. The boutique owner wins because her clients appreciate her fine thank-you gift, and you have a qualified, motivated prospect. How about the hospital? Throughout the labor and postpartum stay, the couple will make many trips along the hallway. It’s the perfect place for a display with brochures. Include brochures in the congratulations pack that hospitals provide to every new parent. The more seeds you plant, the more sessions you will grow. � —Julia Woods (portraitlife.com) Got a question? The SMS team wants to hear from you. E-mail our panel of experts via PP editor Cameron Bishopp at [email protected] and include “experts” in the subject line.

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PROFIT CENTER

BY JEFF KENT

James and Meridith Walters’ careful attention to controlling expenditures shows success isn’t how much you’re making, but how much you’re keeping.

Located in Raleigh, N.C., Walters & Walters is a family-run wedding photography business. Husband-and-wife team James and Meridith Walters began covering weddings in 2000 and officially incorporated in 2003. Going in, James and Meridith had several advantages. James had a degree in commercial photography and more than a decade of experience at a commercial studio. Meridith had a marketing degree and eight years of experience in branding. Good organization and work habits have helped the studio prosper. From day one, the Walterses focused on curtailing costs. They handle nearly all production in house, outsourcing only printing and album binding. For them, having no employees leads to an efficient, streamlined workflow. They buy high-quality gear and use it until it wears out completely. The Walterses also keep a close eye on the accounting. Meridith manages the studio’s finances, monitoring projected earnings, future expenses and current financial obligations. Meridith’s accounting is all about balance. If she projects a shortfall in one area, she and James make changes to compensate in another area. “Every decision we make comes back to the numbers,” she says. “It’s one of the toughest things we do, because we have to put emotion aside, which sometimes means delaying a purchase or putting off a fun project to repair a weak area of our business.” Everything revolves around avoiding debt, say the Walterses. They have a business credit card, but never allow it to carry a balance from month to month. When they want to purchase something, they save up for it, or sell something and buy the item with cash. When an unexpected but unavoidable major expense arises and they have to use credit, they make cuts where they can to pay off the balance as soon as possible. “With every new equipment purchase, I ask myself, ‘Is this piece of equipment going to make me money?’” says James. “Usually, the answer is ‘probably not.’ But if it’s something necessary to doing our best work for clients, or something

38 • www.ppmag.com

that will help us stand out from the competition, then we’ll budget the funds for the purchase.” In 2006, Walters & Walters had its biggest year yet. James and Meridith shot a record number of weddings and pulled in the highest gross revenues in the studio’s history. But when 2007 rolled around, bookings fell by 40 percent, causing a 30-percent plunge in gross income. The minute they recognized the situation, they began cutting back on expenses and refiguring budgets. Sitting down with their accountant at the end of the year, they discovered they’d actually made a higher net profit in 2007 than in the banner year 2006. “We were shocked. We’d done a lot less work, but we kept more money,” says James. “Right then, we realized we needed to better understand the relationship of our expenses to our income, as opposed to measuring ourselves by the number of weddings we shot.” “We learned that it’s not about total sales or bookings, but how much you’re keeping,” adds Meridith. “Understanding which numbers to look at to measure success is critical.” The Walterses called PPA Studio Management Services early in 2008. During the initial consultation, they saw their bottom-line profits (net profit plus owners’ compensation) increased from 45 percent of their gross revenues in 2006 to 57 percent in 2007. According to the latest PPA Studio Financial Benchmark Survey, for high-performing studios like Walters & Walters, the average is 37 percent. James and Meridith’s success in keeping more of their money was due in large part to their extremely low cost of sales—16 percent as compared to the benchmark 25 percent. COS became the new measuring stick for the studio’s success. Rather than evaluating their success purely by net profit, the couple had to consider all of their expenses, even incidentals like packaging, and how those seemingly small expenditures affect the bottom line. One big change they made was in album production. Prior to 2008, the Walterses had all album production expenses billed to their credit

James & Meridith Walters

card. Each wedding ran up $500 to $800 in material expenses, which they immediately paid off with money from the studio’s net profits. SMS helped them realize their accounting was backwards, making it more difficult to determine their actual COS and profit margins. They were paying off the expenses of one wedding with the profits from others. To fix the problem, the Walterses set up a separate checking account for paying lab and album fees. Their wedding clients pay them in installments, and packages include payment toward the album. Meridith deposits the payment directly into the lab and album checking account, before the production expenses are incurred. When it comes time to produce the album, she has the funds to pay the expenses by check. “This is getting in front of the debt, or in this case our album liability, instead of getting behind it,” says James. “We won’t get into a situation where 10 brides wanting albums all at once leaves us wiped out from up-front expenses.” With systems like this in place, Walters & Walters has been able to weather the current economy better than many of its competitors. In 2008, the studio maintained a 16 percent COS and improved the bottom-line profit percentage to an astounding 63 percent. James and Meridith admit that the slowdown has forced them to work harder than in years past, but having a firm grip on the studio’s accounting makes a huge difference. In fact, as of mid-2009, they’ve been able to cut COS even further, to a scant 12 percent. “Knowing the numbers—the right numbers—definitely helps,” says Meridith. � Go to ppa.com or e-mail [email protected] to learn more about SMS consultations, webinars and workshops. Visit James and Meridith Walters online at www.waltersandwalters.com.

©Walters & Walters Photography

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PROFIT CENTER

B Y K AT H Y B R O O K S H I R E , C P P & L O R I B R O O K S H I R E - PA R R S O N , C P P

Small changes reap big rewards for this studio, and include the couple’s friends and family in the fun.

Boosting after-wedding sales

after which it can’t be viewed. We typically set that date about two weeks after the couple’s viewing date. We enclose a letter with each CD explaining how to view the images (PC-only for an .exe file), when the slideshow will expire, and how to

©Brookshire Photography

order images. It also states that the couple will earn additional pages in their wedding album based on the total of the orders we receive by the expiration date, although we don’t disclose the actual salesto-page ratio. Most of the recipients are eager to help out the couple. We mail the CD and info packet the day of the couple’s in-studio viewing, so the recipients have adequate time to view the images and place their orders. We don’t want to give them too much time, as the enthusiasm and motivation of the wedding day tend to fade. At the couple’s viewing, we explain how we calculate the number of pages based on the total sale of the images. The bonus starts at two pages with the first $500 in sales and increases in designated increments. We count every order made by the Ever done beautiful photography at a

While the couple is honeymooning, we

deadline, including frames, DVDs, and

wedding only to be disappointed with your

prep their images and compile a CD slide-

digital products. The bride’s mother often

after-wedding sales? Here’s an idea that

show for selection purposes. Upon their

comes in with the couple, and she leads

worked for us.

return, they give us the names and

the way in helping her earn pages. We

addresses of family and friends who might

stumbled onto the fact that some mothers

several years, and were dissatisfied with our

be interested in ordering wedding images,

prefer a large album over a smaller one.

sales average. Sometimes sales were out-

and we set a date for them to view the

Such a simple thing, but it didn’t occur to

standing, but too often they were mediocre.

photos themselves. For the greatest impact,

us at first. Of course, when they upgrade to

We were phasing out proof albums and

we digitally project the images in the

the larger album, they spend more and we

going to CDs. Back then, online proofing

studio, and go over the important ordering

make more.

had yet to catch on.

information then. We never mail the

We’d been photographing weddings for

We decided to take on the challenge of both establishing a new system of viewing

couple image files on CD. We print order forms and pricing info

This program has worked very well for us, dramatically increasing our afterwedding sales and motivating people to get

images on CD and increasing our after-

for every person on the list. We use

their orders in quickly. We’ve given them a

wedding sales. We came up with a plan

PicturesToExe software to create a

compelling reason to order by the deadline.

that’s proved fruitful for us.

slideshow and give it an expiration date

Furthermore, the couple doesn’t have to go

40 • www.ppmag.com

from home to home to show off a proof

images before the wedding, so it was impor-

stay hands-on with our customers, which

album, and friends and family can view the

tant brides and other prospective customers

gives us the opportunity to talk up all the

images at their own convenience.

didn’t discover in advance they would be

extras we can provide. �

We had to factor in the cost of the CDs

rewarded for purchases after the wedding.

and the time spent burning them, the cost

We couldn’t determine a good way to

of producing the letters, envelopes and

control that information online so we didn’t

promotional items we include, and the

change to online proofing. And we prefer to

Brookshire Photography is in Fordyce, Ark. Visit www.brookshirephotography.com to see more from this mother-and-daughter team.

cost of the postage. The cost of the bonus album pages is minimal. We quickly realized that we spent far less with this system than we’d been spending to print the proof images and buy the proof albums. Now we’ve got a more effective way of showing the images that is less expensive and generates bigger sales. As online proofing became widespread, we had to consider whether that method would be as cost effective. We wanted good sales from our engagement and bridal

THE DETAILS Our CD slideshows are set to royalty-free music. We include not only a slideshow of the entire wedding (perfect for a first viewing), but also posed images of the couple right after the ceremony, images of the various groupings of the bridal party and relatives, and images made at the reception. We show only final cropped, retouched photographs. It’s now common for after-wedding sales to top $1,200, and it’s been double that on several occasions. In our rural area, that’s a nice little bonus on a wedding package that already included the bridal portrait and both the bride’s and her mother’s albums. Small changes often reap big rewards!

PROFIT CENTER

BY TODD & JAMIE REICHMAN

Clients can’t buy what you’re too timid to offer. You owe it to them and yourself to invite them to dream big.

©Getty Images

The sky and the limit Is it possible that it’s you who’s limiting your

Every day we’re offered many opportunities

financial success rather than your clients? Many

to make bigger and better purchases. Restaurant

photographers seem to have stopped fanta-

servers ask if you’d like to add a salad or

sizing about what they and their art could be

extra fries—has the offer ever offended you?

to focus solely on the bottom line. Is it possible

Would you be offended if those options were

that you’re worrying over the minimum

offered to the next table but not to you?

sales rather than reaching for the maximum?

Don’t you sometimes say sure, I’ll take that?

As fledgling business owners, we were

What does that imply about selling your

lucky to have found PPA’s business education

photography? Allow yourself to think big,

programs early on. We understood cost of sale

bigger than you ever have before.

and had a general understanding of how to

Take a moment to calculate the largest

price our products effectively. However, when

conceivable purchase one wedding or

it came to sales, our averages were dismal.

portrait client could make. Now look at your

We were afraid of offering our clients products.

sales averages. Are they anywhere near the

We had a modest a la carte price list, and

maximum sale? If you have packages, is

would hand it to a client with a nervous grin

your top package priced near the maximum

and a silent prayer, Please buy something!

amount? If not, could you add something

When we put packages together, we

grand to it to get it there? If your averages

remained extremely conservative. We were

or packages are near the maximum sale

afraid of big price tags, and our clients

amount, could you increase your maximum?

followed our lead, purchasing the bare

Diversify your product offerings? Offer a

minimum: “A couple of big 8x10s and a few

wall gallery of four or five canvas prints

5x7s, please.” We were in heaven if someone

rather than just one? Challenge yourself to

purchased a true wall portrait, which did

push beyond your self-imposed limits.

happen, but not with any regularity. Then one glorious day, a client who came

You’ve probably heard photographer business instructors talk about the “whopper,”

Clients are under no obligation to buy everything we offer, but not offering it pretty much guarantees they won’t buy it.

in for a sales session never once looked at a

an offer so extravagant that you never

price list. Instead, with each image we pre-

actually expect anyone to buy it. It’s okay if

sented, she asked, “What can we do with this?”

the top option is scary to you and to your

She bought one of everything we offered.

clients. It still makes a statement to your

someday somebody’s bound to surprise you.

That sale was four times greater than any

clients, defining the upper limit. It helps

Your maximum offer affects your earn-

previous sale. That experience got us wondering

clients understand what you expect them to

ings, your clients’ satisfaction, and your own

if we had been limiting ourselves. What’s

purchase, shows them what they could own

creative satisfaction. You owe it to your clients

wrong with saying the sky’s the limit? Clients

from the session. It’s likely they’ll choose

and yourself to dream big, even now. �

are under no obligation to buy everything

something a bit less than than the max, but

we offer, but not offering it pretty much

until you offer them everything, how will

guarantees they won’t buy it.

you know what they’re willing to buy? And

42 • www.ppmag.com

Reichman Photography is in Dunlap, Ill. Visit www.reichmanphoto.com to see Jamie and Todd Reichman’s images.

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Professional Photographer

P R E S E N T S

Products, Technology and Services

What I like Sam Harnack vis-à-vis the wireless network What is your favorite piece of photographic equipment? Light. With the right light, it doesn’t matter what camera you use. Okay, it’s really my Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II camera with a 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens. When I’m with a client, 95 percent of the time, that combo is with me. What computer platform do you use? The studio is 100 percent Apple, all networked. We even use Apple TV for our client presentations. What’s your most exciting recent discovery? My iPhone, though it’s not such a recent discovery. It just keeps amazing me. Did you know there’s an app from onOne Software that will turn your iPhone into a wireless remote for your Canon camera? You can change all your camera settings from the phone. The coolest thing is, if your camera supports live view, you can get a live stream of your viewfinder on your iPhone. What one thing do you wish you’d known when you were starting out? It’s not about the biggest, baddest gadgets. Save your money, make what you have work, or at least rent before you buy. On the flipside though, you can’t have the father of the bride come with a better camera than yours. Especially for high-end clients, image is everything. IMAGE BY SAM HARNACK WWW.HARNACKSTUDIOS.COM

August 2009 • Professional Photographer • 45

THE GOODS: ASSET MANAGEMENT

DAM expert Peter Krogh describes his structured system of backing up and archiving images. BY PETER KROGH

Backup organization DIGITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT

This is a slightly condensed excerpt from

• It’s scalable: just add buckets to add

“The DAM Book,” second edition, by Peter

images. And you can easily combine smaller

Krogh (O’Reilly).

buckets into larger buckets if you upgrade your storage media.

My system, which I call the bucket system, is

• It provides an orderly progression of

a deceptively simple technique that addresses

your image files from the recent archive to

a number of the challenges that the digital

the deep archive as the images age.

photographer faces. Images are put away into sequential folders as they are prepared for

• It’s easy to confirm the existence of backups.

archiving. These sequential folders correspond

• It’s easily restorable in the event of calamity.

to the write-once media component of the

• It’s a file structure well suited to migra-

backup (CD, DVD, or Blu-ray). This struc-

tion through multiple data storage con-

ture makes it easy to determine that all images

figurations over the life of the archive.

have been backed up, and easy for you to restore the archive in the event of drive failure.

BUCKET SYSTEM BENEFITS: • It’s simple and it lets you put images into their permanent homes quickly. • It’s visually orderly.

Putting images in buckets is a handy way to organize, and it helps you address the challenges of long-term storage.

46 • www.ppmag.com

Figure 1: I keep my original files in buckets that live on a series of drives labeled Original_01, Original_02, and Original_03. The Blu-ray-size buckets of images live on the drive. Small assignments are grouped together in a bucket like 116_Misc. Large assignments, like the Africa pictures, can be spread across multiple buckets.

By structuring your directory in this way, MAKING BUCKETS. At the heart of the

you create a natural progression from old

bucket system is a very simple idea: Put

files to new. As you add new images to your

your images into folders that line up in

collection, they show up at the end of the

numerical sequence (Figure 1). When a

sequence, and older images are pushed

folder becomes full, you simply make a new

deeper into the archive. This makes adding

folder with the next number in the sequence.

files easy and logical. It keeps your files

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THE GOODS: ASSET MANAGEMENT

Primary archive

Offsite backup

Write once backup

Figure 2: The bucket system enables easy confirmation that your image files are backed up, even if you’re using storage devices in different sizes—or different media entirely—for your backups. From left to right, these images represent the primary drive with the master original files, the hard drive backups of the originals (on smaller disks), and the second backup copies on optical media.

makes for an easy correlation between the

once media backup hard to implement. If

original bucket and each of the backup copies.

you generally shoot no more than, say, 3GB

Each bucket is a self-contained group of

per month, most months will fit on one

files, and it’s easy to see that a copy of each is

DVD. But how do you handle months where

present by its sequential organization.

you shoot more than 3GB? You have to move

Obviously, before you determine how

to an inconsistent bucket system, where

much data to put into each folder, you should

some buckets represent one month and

decide which backup media you’ll be using.

some represent part of a month. This can

When I backed up my images on DVDs, I

get messy, particularly if you need to restore

limited the size of each folder to fit com-

the archive after some kind of failure.

fortably on a DVD, or about 4.3GB of data.

If budget allows, you could move to a

If you shoot only JPEGs, you may want to

write-once backup that will always be over-

use a CD-size bucket (about 700MB). I’ve

sized, as Blu-ray would be for many people.

organized, provides easy confirmation of

now gone to Blu-ray as my write-once

With Blu-ray disks costing $5 each—and

backups, and simplifies the workflow.

backup media, so I make my buckets 23GB.

the price is falling—it wouldn’t be terribly

BUCKET SIZE. There are a number of

DATE BUCKETS WITH OPTICAL

extravagant to burn a disk monthly,

strategies for determining the bucket size you

DISKS. Organizing your bucket folders by

regardless of how much data is in the folder.

need. You’ll need to take into account how

date is a common way to archive images,

Of course, you could forgo write-once media

you shoot and what your storage medium is.

since it provides an orderly sequence to the

altogether, but I think that’s risky.

We’ll start by looking at a system that

photos. You can create a set of folders like

employs optical disks, and then look at some

the ones shown in Figure 4, which provide a

up for some people—I know it would for

other ways to set up your buckets.

sequence and a hierarchy for the image

me. It can be inconvenient to process things

folders. There are a couple of issues to

in the order they were shot. I have sometimes

consider if you want to take this approach.

done shoots that sit in the Working folder for

I recommend using write-once media as part of your backup strategy. So that this works as cleanly as possible, each of your

The first challenge is that for most

There’s another challenge that will come

quite some time before they are ready to archive

buckets should fit neatly onto your chosen

people, date-limited folders are going to be

because I get busy with other work or with

storage media. As shown in Figure 2, this

of different sizes, which will make write-

travel. The result is that sometimes images don’t make it all the way through the workflow

OKAY, SO NOW HOW DO I FIND MY PICTURES? Some of you may be scratching your heads, wondering how to find your images if the folders are split up as described here. The short answer is that I strongly suggest that you use a program to organize your pictures. In “The DAM Book” I outline how dedicated digital asset management (DAM) software like Adobe Lightroom or Microsoft Expression Media lets you organize and find images much better than folder-based organization can. The basic concept is that folders are best used for storage (how you stack up and store your stuff), while metadata is a

48 • www.ppmag.com

much better tool for organization (What are the pictures about? Which ones do I like best?) You can also use DAM software to help you split your images into the right size bucket. Expression Media has the capability to tell you how much room a folder of images takes up. In Lightroom, you can add on a plug-in from John Beardsworth that lets you know the size of a folder. It’s available at www.beardsworth.co.uk/news/ index.php?id=P1375.

pipeline for months, long after later shoots have been processed and archived. By insisting on a date-based folder hierarchy, I would make the workflow and archiving process less flexible, and more subservient to the unyielding governance of chronology. UNMATCHING DISK BACKUPS. For photographers who want the structure of date-limited buckets in their archives and want the protection of write-once media, there’s another option. You could burn a backup CD, DVD, or Blu-ray disk early in the workflow process and keep it as a disaster recovery copy without worrying too much about making it match the primary storage structure (Figure 5). In the event

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that you lose the primary and backup hard Primary archive

drive copies of the archive, you will still have

Offsite backup

a copy on optical disk. If the files on the disk had the same unique names as the files in the archive, it might be reasonably easy to put the collection back together the way it was. It also might be very difficult to reconstruct the archive, depending on how complete the optical disk archive is, whether there is any duplication, and how your DAM software handles finding files in different directory structures. If you’re going to take

Figure 4: If you use date folders for your buckets, it’s easiest if all of the time chunks can fit onto the same size write-once media. You’ll also want to make sure to get each month’s files processed before burning that month’s disks.

this approach, you need to be very

Monthly backup Primary archive

consistent about exactly when you burn your

Offsite backup

images off to disk, since it will be difficult to cross-check the completeness later. FOLDER STRUCTURE WITHOUT OPTICAL BACKUP. If you don’t use optical media as part of your backup plan, you have unlimited flexibility in terms of folder size. You can use whatever organizational structure you want—dates, job numbers, whatever. While I’d still generally suggest some kind of Ingestion backup

“The DAM Book,” 2nd Edition, By Peter Krogh ISBN: 9780596523572 http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596523572 Copyright © 2009 O’Reilly Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

50 • www.ppmag.com

Figure 5: You can make backups that don’t correspond exactly to the way your images are archived.

structured, sequential folder hierarchy, it can

without much risk of data loss. Digital tape

be more free-flowing. You also don’t have to

has the advantage of saving changes to

worry about segregating old and new work

image files without losing the previous

since you can back everything up from the

version. This adds significant protection

primary to the backup drive(s) as you create it.

against viruses, volume corruption, and

If you are depending only on hard drives

accidental deletion. But it comes at a price

to store your backups, however, you need to

—currently between $5,000 and $10,000.

realize that viruses, volume corruption, or

It’s a reasonable amount for a company to

possibly human error could cause the loss of

spend to protect a corporate image

the entire archive or a large chunk of it. As

collection, but a lot for an individual who

you consider whether the hassle of burning

just wants to avoid burning Blu-ray disks.

optical disks is worthwhile, take a moment

WHAT ABOUT THE HARDWARE?

to consider the value of the collection as a

In September, we’ll look at how to choose hard-

whole or what you might be forced to pay

ware components for your system. We’ll look

for data recovery in the event of catastrophic

at hard drive storage systems, as well as optical

loss (think: second mortgage).

disks such as CD, DVD and Blu-ray. �

If, however, you are in a network environment with a backup like LTO digital tape, it’s likely that you can forgo buckets altogether

“The DAM Book,” second edition. Find more information, workshop dates and resources at www.thedambook.com.

THE GOODS: ARCHIVING

Want to preserve the gems in your film archives? Digitizing your slides and negatives may not be as hard as you think.

both made specifically for film duping. The next best method is to use a bellows system like the Nikon PB-6 with its acces-

BY ELLIS VENER

Duping with DSLR FILM TO DIGITAL

sory film holder for 35mm negatives and slides, and a lens to mount on the front end of the bellows. Digital asset management expert Peter Krogh and Really Right Stuff (reallyrightstuff.com) teamed up to design a variation of this tool. Krogh uses Nikon DSLR and an AF-S Micro-Nikkor 60mm

There are two ways to get your film archive

of the components you need, a bright and

f/2.8G lens. Others have adapted this

into digital format: Scan the images or have

evenly diffused light source, a film holder,

system for use with a Canon EOS DSLR

them scanned for you, or use your digital

and the camera and lens held in perfect

and Canon EF 50mm f/2.5 Compact Macro

SLR camera and a couple of other tools as a

alignment with the film stage. Each handles

and dedicated Life-Size Converter EF. The

digital duplicator.

35mm film, and the Beseler also holds film

advantages of Krogh’s rig are that the film

formats up to 6x7cm. The Beseler and the

and sensor are held in parallel alignment and

designed for film duping; you can some-

Illumitran both have built-in flash, and each

that you can use your camera’s autofocus and

times find them now for sale online at a

requires a lens, so if your eBay find doesn’t

TTL lighting system.

fraction of the original price. The best are the

include one, you’ll have to supply one. The

Beseler Deluxe Dual Mode Slide Duplicator,

best lens for this purpose is either the

inexpensive film duplicators you can find on

the Bowens Illumitran 3C and the

Rodenstock 75mm f/4 Apo-Rodagon D or

eBay. Some models connect directly to a

ChromaPro. Except for a lens, they have all

its sister, the 75mm f/4.5 Apo-Rodagon D,

camera body, others attach like a filter to the

There once were many tools expressly

A low-budget method is to use one of the

©Ellis Vener

The original shot was taken in 1998 using a Nikon F5 with 80-200mm f/2.8D at f/4 on 35mm ISO 50 Fujifilm Velvia. I deliberately focused on bird on the right. I digitally duplicated the image using Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III, Beseler Deluxe Dual Mode Slide Duplicator and Rodenstock 75mm f/4 ApoRodagon D enlarging lens. Exposure: 1/200 second at f/8, ISO 100. 52 • www.ppmag.com

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THE GOODS: ARCHIVING

©Ellis Vener

the savings in time and expense. Digital

DPP and utility software for tethered

duping takes less than a minute per negative

shooting with a Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III,

or transparency, as opposed to at least 5

as well as Nikon’s Capture NX2 and Capture

minutes per frame with scanning.

Control software with a D3X. Canon’s

You’ll also save on storage space if you shoot raw. Using the best scanning practices,

system so that I can import directly into

you end up with a large 16-bit-per-channel

Lightroom and convert to the DNG raw

TIFF file (preferably in a large color space).

format as part of the import process. When

A Nikon D3X lossless compressed NEF weighs

you organize your files by subject, you can

in at about 36MB and a .cr2 raw file from a

also speed up the keywording task by

Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III or 5D Mark II

applying the general keywords during the

averages 33MB. Using your DSLR’s raw

importing.

format to dupe allows for ultimate control

Beyond speed and image quality there

over the sharpening and color, and you open

are other benefits. It makes it easy to create

the door to non-destructive editing.

a cataloged, keyworded archive of your

Another reason to digitally duplicate is

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III with Beseler Deluxe Dual Mode Slide Duplicator

software is free, Nikon’s is not. I set up my

work, and to back it up for safekeeping

that film scanners have notoriously limited

and for registering your copyrights. Using

depth of focus, and unless you fluid-mount

keywords to classify and describe a

the film, it rarely lies flat, and that compro-

photo’s content in literal, emotional,

mises the focus. With an actual lens, you

and metaphoric ways adds value and

have control over the depth of focus by

functionality to your archives. Finally, a

choosing the best lens aperture.

good digital dupe, whether shot with a

I need to point out a problem with

camera or made with a scanner, is a hedge

using your DSLR for duping. You have to

against the inexorable fading of your film.

manually clean the files once you import

If you’ve put off digitizing your film

lens of your choice. Depending on your

them—there’s no Digital ICE to

because of the time and expense, consider

needs and the quality of the optics in these

automatically suppress surface dust and

doing it now with digital duping. Your

systems, these could work well enough.

minor film scratches as there is with many

great work, no matter how old, deserves

scanners. The larger your eventual prints

to be seen. �

With a system without a built-in light, you’ll need a light source. Electronic flash is

and the more important the photo is to

the best tool for the job, as it’s reliable and

your portfolio, the more meticulous you

produces the best spectrum and color match

have to be in dust-busting the image.

for a digital camera. You could use 3,200K

The size of your successful reproductions

quartz-halogen hot lights as well, but the

will somewhat depend on your camera’s

color has an inherent red/orange bias, plus

resolution and the quality of the lens. With

you’ll have to use longer exposures.

careful raw processing and a +20-megapixel

Whatever light source you choose, the key is

DSLR, the results can at least equal the results

having even illumination across the frame.

you’d get from a 4,000 ppi desktop film

The best way to get it is to bounce your light

scanner. Of course, nothing beats a really well

from a large white surface a few feet from

done drum scan, but that’s very expensive.

the film holder. Why not simply have your film scanned? The best reason to go with digital duping is

54 • www.ppmag.com

I get the best results when I tether the camera to a computer and precisely adjust the framing and focus. I’ve used Canon’s

Film scanners have notoriously limited depth of focus … With an actual lens, you have control over the depth of focus by choosing the best lens aperture.

THE GOODS: PRO REVIEW

Profoto’s new monolight delivers the control and smart engineering you pay for, even if the remote is lacking. BY ELLIS VENER

Bright ideas PROFOTO D1 AIR

Three quintessential, high-end characteristics are inherent to all Profoto lighting

high quality doesn’t come cheap. The Profoto D1 monolights are a com-

products: rugged reliability, distinctive

pletely new design, stem to stern. The

quality of light, and understated, func-

internal Profoto Air wireless receiver is

tional design. Profoto’s array of modifiers

standard on the 1,000 watt-second (WS)

steady 5,600K color temperature (+/- 30K)

let you shape light virtually any way you

model, optional on the 250WS and 500WS

at all settings. In my X-Rite target tests and

can imagine, and all Profoto heads except

units. All models have a 7-stop range,

real-world assignments, when I used up to

the ring light feature the best reflector and

adjustable in 1/10-stop increments, an

modifier attachment system in the business.

optical slave, a 300-watt 3,200K modeling

The clamping collar design allows you to

light, automatic bi-voltage switching, a

precisely move and control the angle and

UV-light suppressing coated flash tube, and

fall-off pattern of the reflector before

fan cooling. From flash to flash in my tests,

locking it into place. The only downside to

the output was consistent to within +/- 0.1

Profoto products is that this standard of

f/stops at all settings. Profoto’s specs claim a

©Ellis Vener

56 • www.ppmag.com

Four Profoto D1 Monolights were used for this action portrait of martial arts student Rick Goldstein. The key light was placed low, fitted with a 30 degree grid, the fill came from an above the camera with the D1 aimed into a medium-size umbrella, and the rim lighting came from two more D1 units toward the back of the dojo.

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Internationally acclaimed American photographer, long-time photojournalist, and former LIFE magazine staff photographer.

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THE GOODS: PRO REVIEW

four 500WS D1 units in a single setup, all set to different output levels, the results confirmed shot-to-shot consistency in both output and color. The 500WS models recycle in less than 0.8 second at full power. The most distinctive feature of the D1

Profoto’s array of modifiers let you shape light virtually any way you can imagine, and all Profoto heads except the ring light feature the best reflector and modifier attachment system in the business.

Air is the flash tube and modeling light in the reflector system is built into the body of

handle, and the umbrella mount embracing

the flash. The head comes with a remov-

the rear portion of the tube. The weight

ticated device that lets you control many of

able frosted glass cover that integrates the

ranges from just under 5 pounds for the

the head functions over a 1,000-foot range

beam patterns of the modeling light and

250WS model to 6.5 pounds for the 1,000WS.

(according to the specs), and triggers any

the flash tube, diffuses the light over a wide

The stand mount structure, located slightly

Air-equipped or Air-synced Profoto lights.

angle, and protects the tube. This is a boon

ahead of the tube’s mid-point, also contains

(I did not test the Air Remote USB and

for anyone who shoots on location or with

the AC connection. This placement frees up

Air Studio software.) The Air remote is

umbrellas. Profoto’s engineers told me that

real estate on the back of the head and keeps

small, and though it fits comfortably in a

the illumination angle of the D1 head is 77

the weight of the cord close to the light’s

hot shoe, the size is problematic for me. Its

degrees; but based on my work with the

center of gravity. The D1 is fan cooled to avert

small buttons are crowded into a tiny area,

D1, the angle must be close to twice that

heat buildup, and for safety, the fan will run

and there’s practically no information

wide with the glass cover in place. It’s easy

for a few minutes after you turn off the unit.

displayed on the remote, making it far too

to remove the disk to change out the flash

The location of the handle at the lower

easy to accidentally change a setting when

The Profoto Air Remote is a sophis-

tube or modeling light, and it can be

rear of the unit makes it easy to aim the D1

you meant to do something else. The

replaced with an optional dome-shaped

with precision, even if it’s held at arm’s

only way to discover an unintentional

glass cover, which I presume would work

length overhead. The sync cord connection

change is to shoot a test. The Air Remote

nicely with a ProGlobe Chinese lantern-

is on the inside of the handle facing the AC

would be vastly improved with a more

style modifier.

connection, which forces you to use sync

functional and informative user interface,

cords with a right-angle plug design when

like the Nikon SU-800 controller interface,

you’re not working wirelessly. A straight

and if it had control locks for all but the

sync cord would be hard to fit alongside the

test-fire button.

The D1’s nearly 12-inch-long body has support structures for the stand mount, the

power cable. If the placement of the sync Back panel controls.

connection were slightly left or right of

Air monolights perform exactly the way

center there’d be no conflict.

you’d expect a high-end electronic flash

Centered in the back panel is a bi-directional

58 • www.ppmag.com

Aside from the remote, the Profoto D1

system to—reliably and easily. The quality

knob with a single LCD display below it.

of the light and the color consistency are

These are for setting the output level and

excellent. Even combining multiple D1s set

modeling light intensity, and selecting an air

to widely differing power levels won’t alter

remote channel. Slave-type settings are

the white balance consistency from light to

radio (Air) or IR/visible light. The readiness

light. The Profoto D1 is not cheap—a single

indication can be set to beep and/or dim the

1,000WS unit costs $1,699 and the Studio

modeling light while recycling, to be switched

Kit with two 1,000WS heads, umbrellas,

off. The modeling light control offers

light stands and case is priced $3,719—but

proportional, manual (free), or off. The rear-

it offers real value if you want a powerful

face controls also include a test-fire button

pack and head system or to supplement

and a power on/off switch for the head.

your existing Profoto system. �

Get up close and personal with the industry’s latest products, tools, and technology Discover how to make more money doing what you love Share the limelight with some of the biggest names in photography is brought to you by:

Whether you join us early or right on time, you’ll find true rockstar treatment all under one roof. Once you arrive, you’ll never have to set foot outdoors: » All classes from pre-convention to the main events » Tradeshow happenings » Parties & special events Relaxing after filling your brain to the brim at Imaging USA is easier than ever—there’s so much available right here: » 20,000-square-foot resort spa & fitness center » 13 unique restaurants & countless on-the-go options » Nightclubs & lounges – sports bars & an Irish pub » Boutique shopping experiences » Nine acres of fabulous atrium gardens » Indoor river and Delta flatboat (we’re not kidding) » All the on-site entertainment you can handle

© Ernie K. Johnson, M.Photog.Cr, CPP, API

© Ernie K. Johnson, M.Photog.Cr, CPP, API

WWW.IMAGINGUSA.ORG

The Grand Ole Opry® may have put Nashville on the map, but music here is global, and the sounds (and the fun!) are as varied as the musicians who come from all over the world.

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Nashville nightlife is the stuff of legends—from the world-famous Printer’s Alley to Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge. » Listen to up-and-comers at the Bluebird Café » Rock on over to the Wildhorse Saloon » Party all night in the lower Broadway District

Eats & Treats

From Cajun to continental, you’ll find every kind of restaurant and cuisine to satisfy your tastes…and how about eye candy for dessert? From the Parthenon to Belle Meade Plantation, the Nashville area offers a wealth of beautiful landmarks and scenery.

Y’all Come and Stay a While

Get all the business benefits of Imaging USA and the personal pleasure of a well-deserved day or two to relax, shop at Opry Mills, and enjoy down-home southern hospitality in this friendly river city.

READY TO ROCK THIS WAY? Register and book your rooms now—www.ImagingUSA.org

Also Appearing:

Jose Villa ✮ Jed & Vicki Taufer ✮ Denis Reggie ✮ Tamara Lackey Michael & Tina Timmons ✮ Jeffrey & Julia Woods ✮ Dane Sanders ✮ Frank Donnino Jerry Ghionis ✮ Gregory & Lesa Daniel ✮ Rod Evans ✮ Tony Corbell ✮ Jim Garner Elizabeth & Trey Homan ✮ Michele Celentano ✮ Allison & Jeff Rodgers ✮ JuliAnne Jonker Yervant ✮ Rose Coleman & Nancy Emmerich ✮ Drake Busath ✮ Gayletta Tompkins Mark Garber & Jennifer Gilman ✮ Robert Lloyd ✮ Ann Monteith ✮ Joe Buissink Julie Klaasmeyer ✮ Jeff & Kathleen Hawkins ✮ Joseph & Louise Simone ✮ David Stoecklein

And plan ahead for our opening acts—intensive, pre-convention classes like… » Speed Shooting with the Pros (January 9)

Bryan (Bry) Cox, Dennis Craft, Andrew Jenkins & Jackie Palmer, Jamie Hayes, Don Chick, & Lori Nordstrom (Moderated by Louis Tonsmeire) Spend the day going from one professional to another to see how they shoot bridal, children, family, individual, senior, & baby photography (complete with live demos and models). You’ll walk away loaded down with ideas!

See the full lineup: WWW.IMAGINGUSA.ORG

WWW.IMAGINGUSA.ORG

S ara images ©

Frances,

M .P ho tog.

C r. , A P I

Take advantage of this first chance in the U.S. to get up close & personal with the industry’s latest products, tools, & technology: » Browse the LARGEST PHOTOGRAPHY EXPO in North America. » Grab special deals in 196 PRODUCT CATEGORIES – fantastic quality and diversity. » Watch experts give LIVE, IN-BOOTH DEMOS on the tradeshow floor. » Find inspiration in the INTERNATIONAL PRINT EXHIBIT, the world’s largest annual photography exhibit (free and open to the public).

Now, isn’t that music to your ears? images © Sa

ra Frances, M

.P ho tog.Cr., AP

I

» NETWORK with thousands of photographers and » » »

industry vendors from around the world. START PARTNERSHIPS that could take your business further. FIND NEW MENTORS as you discuss issues that affect your business and art. LAUGH & RELAX WITH FRIENDS old and new.

im

a Fran ages © S ar

ces, M .P ho

tog.C r. , A

PI

© Danny Clark

WWW.IMAGINGUSA.ORG

PPA CHARITIES CELEBRATION January 9

Eat, drink, and be merry as you support the charity created by photographers.

ROCKIN ‘ NASHVILLE January 10, 8:00pm - 10:00pm

Bring your backstage pass and ROCK the night away after your first full day of Imaging USA! Sponsored by

IMAGING…OLÉ! January 12, 8:30pm - 11:30pm

Drink in San Antonio’s southwestern flair (Imaging USA’s next stop) as you unwind and celebrate another great convention. Sponsored by

SHARE YOUR IMAGING USA LOVE!

Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn by visiting www.ImagingUSA.org

WWW.IMAGINGUSA.ORG

We’ve made it even easier for members to get the best deal on the best education and networking around: $219 – TWO-PERSON BUDDY PASS (2 full convention registrations) $318 – THREE-PERSON BUDDY PASS (3 full convention registrations) $149 – ONE-DAY SINGLE PASS (A great new way to get the education you need in the time you have)

$35 – EXPO ONLY (Experience the Imaging EXPO… but without access to any classes or parties)

NOT A PPA MEMBER?

Registration prices at www.ImagingUSA.org.

By providing superlative service and aiming for 100-percent satisfaction, this corporate guy turned pro photographer created a reputation that made his services into a must-have experience for the in-crowd. WEDDINGS

A

Interview by Jeff Kent

t one of his first major bridal shows a few years ago, New York photographer Brian Dorsey was approached by the mother of a groom-to-be. She looked through his albums and asked about his services and prices. Dorsey described his

standard package and told her that everything was included for “45.” “Okay, that sounds good,” the woman

said, as she walked away. Pausing, she turned and said, “That’s 45 thousand, right?” “Hundred,” said Dorsey, thinking, I must be doing something right. Dorsey made the leap from corporate day job to full-time professional wedding photography about six and a half years ago. This was after years as a hobbyist, taking classes and honing his skills on his family. Through superb customer service and an attentive approach to the details, he began building an elite clientele and a reputation as a premier wedding photographer. Cited among American Photo magazine’s top 10 wedding photographers this year, Dorsey is now covering weddings with price tags of $150,000 to $250,000, all told, and even some in the seven-figure stratum. At one private party he photographed, the music was provided by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. Professional Photographer recently zeroed in on Dorsey to learn the secret of his rapid success.

All images ©Brian Dorsey

Tales of Manhattan Brian Dorsey is one of New York’s elite wedding photographers 68 • www.ppmag.com

Professional Photographer: Tell us about your beginnings in this business. Brian Dorsey: Photography was a hobby, but I was a corporate guy. When my first son was born, I found my muse. I started

WEDDINGS taking classes and working on a portfolio. One day I met a guy in a fashion photog-

‘‘ ’’

raphy class who had left his corporate job to start a wedding photography business. He suggested I check out one of his events and see if I liked it. I loved it. It was perfect for me. My photography is all about grabbing happy moments. I assisted him at several

more weddings, and within four months I’d quit my day job.

How has the business has evolved since then? My clientele changed dramatically and quite quickly. My philosophy was to spare no expense,

to deliver the consummate high-end New York experience. Right away, a few people liked

what I was doing and spread the word. Ever since those first referral sources, most of my business has come through word of mouth. I bring a second photographer to every

event, as well as a producer who downloads

images, quickly [edits] them, then creates a

slideshow for the reception. I set up a 23-inch high-definition display and run the images

throughout the night. That’s been one of our biggest promotional tools. Rather than looking at small pictures in online galleries weeks later, people who are there in the moment see the images right away. My vision is right there to compare to the reality they saw happen only a few minutes before. People get a sense of what a good photographer can do. I’ve gotten quite a bit of business from people who were impressed by those event slideshows. What steps have you’ve taken to cultivate the New York clientele you desire? It’s happened one person at a time, one connection at a time. Along the way, I made sure everyone was absolutely satisfied. My approach from the beginning has been to go for 100 percent customer satisfaction. I wanted to go above and beyond. If a client didn’t like something, I’d do it over, no questions asked.

70 • www.ppmag.com

My approach from the beginning has been to go for 100 percent customer satisfaction. If a client didn’t like something, I’d do it over, no questions asked.

WEDDINGS

My interaction with clients is consultative. I never give a hard sell. I give my sincere opinion on what will work for them, and what won’t. I don’t try to push extra products. I build a level of trust, so that when I do recommend something, they’re more likely to accept my advice. The client experience is more important to me than the photography. I would miss a shot to ensure that the client experience on the wedding day is all it can be. So in as much as photography is what you see, what I’m really selling is a wedding experience. Your work has appeared in top-tier magazines, newspapers and even TV specials. How do you get coverage in these various mediums? To make initial contact with editors, I bought ads in the magazines, then asked to meet with the editors to show my work. I’d offer to help them with images or coverage or whatever they needed. Several editors took me up on the offer, and I’ve maintained my relationships with them over the years. Now the requests come from the editors. How do you think the economy will affect professional photography? I think the market’s going to bifurcate. There’s going to be a lot of shoot-and-burn people with digital cameras and quick, cheap websites that make them look established. Consumers who don’t do their homework will be eager to hire these people. On the flipside, there will be the full-service people who provide soup-to-nuts service with high-quality albums and products. They will be valued, but they will have to demonstrate what makes them different and worth the premium. Educated consumers will be the best customers of these higher-end photographers. �

To see more from Brian Dorsey, visit www.briandorseystudios.com.

72 • www.ppmag.com

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Minimum Shipping USA (Except AK & HI) $7.95, up to 1 lb. Add 95¢ for each additional lb. For insurance add 50¢ per $100. © 2009 B & H Foto & Electronics Corp. Prices are valid thru August 9th 2009. Not responsible for typographical errors.

All images ©Studio222 Photography

Out of the gate, Studio222 Photography is hitting the mark

talent new

BY JEFF KENT

‘‘ ’’ We priced ourselves so that people could work their budget around us, and we made sure we weren’t out of reach for fun, younger couples who appreciate good photography.

Last year, when Becka Knight and Nate

Obstacles be hanged. Knight and

consistently raised their prices to three times

Robinson started a new wedding photography

Robinson went from reluctant shooters of

the original ones. They went from six

business, the odds were stacked against them.

their friends’ wedding to becoming one of

weddings in 2008 to 23 in 2009, and along

They’d never run a business of their own. They

Orlando’s hottest wedding photography

the way, were cited by a local TV news

didn’t have a client base or a full set of profes-

outfits. Over the next year, they built a solid

station as one of Orlando’s top five wedding

sional gear, and they didn’t know that much

client base among Central Florida’s young

photography studios.

about shooting weddings. Oh, and then there

professional set, upsized the magnitude and

How’d they do that?

was the small matter of the tanking economy.

complexity of the events they’d cover, and

It started with those friends who asked

78 • www.ppmag.com

Knight and Robinson to shoot their wedding. Robinson was a part-time photo hobbyist with a full-time job with a computer company. Knight had dabbled in pro photography as a photographer’s assistant and had a small side business in portraits. This was the first wedding shoot for both of them. Curious yet skeptical, and working with skeletal gear, they tackled it as a team. They had a blast. When they looked at the images afterward, they found they weren’t half bad. “We decided that this was something we really wanted to do,” Knight recalls. “I knew I wanted to shoot weddings with Nate, and to have fun doing it. I got very serious about it and dedicated myself to it full time.” To kick-start the business, Knight, who’d once worked at a network marketing company, launched a network media marketing blitz. She set up a website and built a brand for the new company, Studio222 Photography. She also began communicating with her target market via blogs and social networking sites. Facebook, in particular, proved to be invaluable. In college, Knight and Robinson had played in a band, and they’d already developed a large Facebook network to promote it. Knight tapped into that existing network. She posted images, gave updates on shoots and looped their friends into the world of the budding studio. The work paid off. Knight and Robinson quickly established a following, and parlayed their online network into 28 wedding bookings in the first 12 months. About 80 percent of the studio’s leads now come from Facebook. “A lot of photographers think that Facebook is too good to be true,” says Knight. “But if you spend time on it like a blog and build it up, it can really pay off.” Knight and Robinson are focusing their business on the client experience. Their primary objectives are to establish good relationships and to help their clients have

THE CHANGING FACE OF MARKETING A quick guide to Facebook l

BY BECKA KNIGHT AND NATE ROBINSON

Facebook has grown from being a way to keep in touch with friends to being one of the best free marketing tools of our time. In the last six months, 90 percent of our studio’s leads have come from Facebook. We haven’t paid 1 cent for that advertising. We do maintain our business and personal pages daily.* 1. JOIN FACEBOOK AND CREATE A PERSONAL PAGE. Define the privacy settings of your profile, but keep in mind that basic aspects of your profile will be visible to everyone, so use discretion. 2. SEND FRIEND REQUESTS. Invite friends, family and clients to be your Facebook “friends.” Finding your clients is key! They will become living advertisements for you later on. 3. CREATE A BUSINESS PAGE. Your business page is separate from your personal page, although they are linked together. When people join your business page, they are called “fans” instead of “friends.” 4. STAY ACTIVE. Maintaining active pages is crucial to your success on Facebook. The more active you are, the more your name will show up in the Facebook News Feed, the up-to-theminute report on the activity of everyone’s friends on every Facebook member’s home screen. 5. SHARE YOUR BUSINESS PAGE. This is how you start building your fan base. Start by sharing your page with all of your personal friends, including the clients you’ve invited to be friends. When someone joins as a fan of your business page, an update shows up in his Facebook News Feed telling everyone that he became a fan of your business. That’s the beauty of the news feed! 6. MASTER TAGGING. Tagging is a way of linking your images to the personal pages of the people in each photo. Once your clients are your personal friends, you’ll be able to tag them via your business page. When you tag a client, News Feed reports it to everyone in your network and your client’s network. The average Facebook user has more than 100 friends, so for every person you tag, roughly 100 people will see a News Feed update and thumbnail image alerting them that their friend was tagged by you in an album on your business page. This prompts them to visit your Facebook business page, where you can share more information about your studio or point them to your main website. *We suggest that you read Facebook’s copyright policies before you begin adding your professional images. The system allows users to take images and repurpose them, so we recommend watermarking any image you put on the site.

August 2009 • Professional Photographer • 81

fun. In their mid-20s and engaged, the

They understand that word of mouth refer-

and a more affluent clientele, Knight and

couple relates well to their clients, and they

rals are precious, so providing images that

Robinson are also playing up the sophisticated

don’t mind building a personal connection.

exceed expectations is also a major objective.

and artistic nature of their work. “We are

“We treat new clients as if they’re new

“One of our goals was to make good photog-

very serious about clients looking at our

potential friends,” explains Knight. “It’s a

raphy fun and attainable,” says Robinson.

images as more than pictures,” says Robinson.

more relaxed approach. We’re a team. We’re

“We priced ourselves so that people could

“We aspire to give people a new perspective

going to have fun. If clients want someone

work their budget around us, and we made

when they look at their wedding images.

who won’t make jokes, who just shows up,

sure we weren’t out of reach for fun, younger

Our long-term goal is to have people hire us

takes pictures and leaves, we’re not the

couples who appreciate good photography.

to produce art for them, not simply to

photographers for them.”

That’s helped us book a lot of interesting

document their wedding.” �

events that have built our reputation.”

To see more from Studio222 Photography, visit www.studio222photography.com.

Knight and Robinson have always targeted clients who appreciate good photography.

“We treat new clients as if they’re new potential friends. It’s a more relaxed approach. We’re a team. We’re going to have fun. If clients want someone who won’t make jokes, who just shows up, takes pictures and leaves, we’re not the photographers for them.”

As they progress toward higher-end events

“Having a financial management program that lays everything out in front of you so that you can get the information you need, when you need it to make good business decisions is vital...the bottom line for us is that SuccessWare puts us in control.” Jed & Vickie Taufer | VGallery | Morton, Illinois

What do top studio owners use to manage? These owners have all chosen SuccessWare to help the manage their business. Other software may track but they all fall short when it comes to managing your business. SuccessWare is the ony studio management software that will assist you with; creating a business plan, pricing your products, preparing financial reports and tracking client information. SuccessWare manages all your day-to-day operations giving you the knowledge to make solid management decisions necessary to achieve your goals and take your studio to the next level. You can’t get that with just tracking software.

TRACK. PRICE. PLAN. PROFIT. MANAGE. Don’t just take our world for it, see what Jed, Vickie and other successful photographers have to say at: www.successware.net/success_stories

SUCCESSWARE.NET | 800.593.3767

©Andrea Hills

Images Courtesy Sandy Puc’

The profound value of a portrait in the midst of tragedy BY STEPHANIE BOOZER

WHEN THE BOUGH

BREAKS

t’s the middle of the night in a hospital delivery room. Nurses are rushing around. There are exhausted new parents, and a tiny baby is fighting its way into the world. Suddenly, everything goes wrong. Exhaustion turns to concern, then worry

(NILMDTS), a network of volunteer

and finally desperate hope. Everyone

photographers who will come in at a

with a healthy child there is silently

moment’s notice to capture an intimate

thankful it’s not happening to them.

memorial portrait of an infant.

This scene plays out in every

The tradition might seem strange

hospital around the world. Calling in a

and morbid to some, but it was com-

photographer doesn’t sound helpful or

monplace more than a century ago,

even reasonable, but it’s often the best

when daguerreotypes were used to

thing to do for the grieving parents.

make “mourning portraits” or “death

The photographer who steps up

portraits.” The photographer would

might be affiliated with the organ-

often compose an infant as if sleeping,

ization Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep

an older child with a beloved doll or

It was totally surreal, like we left the Earth. There was this mother, holding this beautiful, naked newborn. He looked like an angel. It was beautiful and sad and awe-inspiring.

‘‘ ’’ I understand now just how important it is to document each day in a child’s life. I feel a huge responsibility to provide images that evoke strong emotion, and will be cherished for a lifetime.

toy at his side. Deceased children were also photographed in an open coffin, surrounded by schoolmates with bouquets of flowers. “In the days of the daguerreotype, this was the norm,” says NILMDTS co-founder, Sandy Puc’, M.Photog.Cr., CPP, ABI of Littleton, Colo. “Then the country went through a cleansing, put death in a hospital and made it go away.” NILMDTS began four years ago when Puc’ received an urgent call from a distraught father. His newborn was on life support and the family desperately wanted a few images of him. “I offered to come the next morning, but he said it would be too late,” says Puc’. She cleared her schedule and headed to the hospital. The father said they’d made the excruciating decision to remove him from life support. “Then he asked me a favor,” says Puc’. His wife had seen my work displayed on the hospital walls, and what she really wanted was an intimate portrait of herself with her baby, skin on skin, nothing separating them. Of course, it would have to be done after he passed away. It was like a wrecking ball going through my heart.” Before the life support was removed, Puc’ captured every angle of the infant she could think of before stepping out of the room.

88 • www.ppmag.com

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Some 45 minutes later she was called back in to make the final portraits. “It was totally surreal, like we left the Earth,” she says. “There was this mother, holding this beautiful, naked newborn. He looked like an angel. It was beautiful and sad and awe-inspiring.” The next morning, Puc’ got a call from the infant’s mother, Cheryl Haggard, who wanted to see the images. “She called every day until they were ready, it was so important for her to see them,” says Puc’. “She stayed in our presentation room for about three hours, watching the slideshow over and over. Then she bounded out of the room and gave me the biggest hug of my life. I’ll never forget it. She told me, ‘You’ve given me my son.’” It wasn’t long before chance brought Puc’ another family in distress, the sister of a client. After that session, Puc’ connected the two mothers, hoping they could help each other through their grief. Puc’ and Haggard kept in touch, and they discussed helping other grieving parents the same way. “Cheryl had all of this pain, and she turned it into effort and progress,” says Puc’. “We took advantage of my thousands of contacts in the industry and got in front of photographers and asked them to help. Word just kept spreading and spreading, and now, less than four years later, we have 7,000 members in 28 countries.” Bobby Carlsen, CPP, of Bobby Carlsen Photography in Danville, Va., is an area coordinator for NILMDTS and also holds a Courtesy Bright Bytes Studio

doctorate in psychology. He heard about the organization at the 2006 state convention as Puc’ was wrapping up her speech. “I was so moved by Sandy’s presentation and the service she was providing that I just sat there and cried,” says Carlsen. “I knew immediately this was the way I wanted to give back to my community.”

90 • www.ppmag.com

In the 1800s when child mortality rates were much higher than today, daguerreotypists would take “mourning portraits” for families who often didn't have a portrait of the living child.

At the time, there were no NILMDTS

as an initial contact for services, and recruits

is that they offer plenty of training opportunities

photographers in Carlsen’s area, so he was

area photographers, in addition to shooting

and a great support network,” says Carlsen.

instantly designated area coordinator. He

NILMDTS sessions himself.

maintains relationships with hospitals, acts

“One of the things about the organization

That training includes how to emotionally prepare for a session, how to interact with the family, how to portray the child, and how to present the images afterward. The

MODEL SEARCH CONTEST RAISES FUNDS, VISIBILITY FOR NILMDTS

©Katherine Wynn

both photographers and families. “These sessions have given me a whole

The first National Charity Model Search was a smashing success as a fundraiser for the Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep Foundation and a gesture of goodwill and giving for the photographers who participated. Sandy Puc’ designed the America’s Cutest Kid contest marketing campaign to promote studios in their community. The contest also gave thousands of kids and their families a sense of pride and an opportunity to give back to a meaningful cause. Participating photographers submitted porFirst Place Winner traits of children 18 months to 14 years and the finalists were determined by online votes. Each vote was cast along with a $1 contribution. In just four months, the foundation collected nearly $165,000 from the 2,000 model images that were voted on. This money will be used for the ongoing support of the foundation. Katherine Wynn of Kats Eye Photography took the winning photograph of her client Leah Matthiessen of Tampa, Fla., who was chosen from a pool of 50 finalists. “The competition was so much fun. We were thrilled to enter our community’s cutest kids in the contest. The feedback from clients has been overwhelmingly positive,” Wynn wrote in her blog. As grand prize winners, Matthiessen and Wynn walk away with more than bragging rights. Matthiessen receives a U.S. Savings Bond, Canon PowerShot G10 digital camera and a special visit from Sandy Puc’, who will conduct an interview and video shoot for PhotoVision. Wynn receives a Canon EOS 5D Mark II with EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS lens. Photographers who would like to participate in next year’s National Charity Model Search can start planning now and spreading the word to clients. The marketing kit for next year’s contest will be available in November 2009 from www.sandypucmodels.com. ©Jennifer Bresnahan

organization provides online support for

new perspective as a photographer,” says Carlsen. “I understand now just how important it is to document each day in a child’s life. I feel a huge responsibility to provide images that evoke strong emotion, and will be cherished for a lifetime.” Carlsen sometimes hears criticism, that this kind of photography is morbid, and he’s quick to point out that the parents involved don’t see it that way. “These parents have no other options for capturing positive memories of their little ones, and I’m glad I can help them heal, and later fondly remember their baby,” he says. Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep Executive Director Kathleen Miller says the organization hears from grateful families almost every day. “We hear from the moms and dads, the grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends of the family,” she says. “All have been profoundly touched by these beautiful portraits of their angels.” For Puc’, there’s no question about the importance of the work. “We can’t change what is happening to these families,” she says. “Whether we show up or not, they will

©Sylvia Fife

leave without a child. But we can change the way they heal for the rest of their lives. To be able to provide a gift that powerful is pretty awe-inspiring. We know we’re touching people in a profound way. This is the true meaning of charity.” � Second Place; model Mason Ekstrand

92 • www.ppmag.com

Third Place; model Jessica Imlach

For more information about NILMDTS or to find out about becoming a participating photographer, visit www.nilmdts.org.

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calendar

September 18-22 C: Texas PPA, Arlington, Texas; Doug Box, 979-272-5200; [email protected]; www.tppa.org September 19-21 C: PP of Nebraska, Midtown Holiday Inn, Grand Island, Neb.; Teri Funk, 402-991-4413, [email protected]

January 10-12, 2010, Nashville www.imagingusa.org

Submit your organization’s convention, workshop, seminar or exhibition dates to Professional Photographer at least six months in advance. Editors reserve the right to select events to be announced on these pages, and to determine when announcements will appear. Editors are not responsible for conflicting or incorrect dates. For readers’ convenience, each event is identified by a code preceding its name: C=Convention, W=Workshop, S=Seminar, C/E=Approved PPA Continuing Education Seminar, E=Exhibit. Send all Calendar of Events to: Marisa Pitts, Professional Photographer, 229 Peachtree St., NE, Suite 2200, Atlanta, GA 30303; FAX: 404-614-6404; [email protected].

September 20-22 S: PP of Michigan, Crystal Mountain, Thompsonville, Mich.; Scott Green, 248-3185182; [email protected]; www.ppm.org September 26-29 C: PP of Colorado, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Denver International Airport, Denver, Colo.; [email protected]; www.ppcolorado.com October 4-6 S: PPA of Pennsylvania, Radisson Hotel and Conference Center, Camp Hill, Pa.; Scott Weldon, 610-641-9025; [email protected]; ppaofpa.org October 14 S: PPA of Massachusetts, Natick, Mass.; 978-664-3811, www.ppam.com October 18-21 C: APPI, Decatur Conference Center, Decatur, Ill.; Jill Sanders, 309-697-9015; [email protected]

PPA Certification Exam October 9: Certification online image submission deadlines. For a complete list of exam dates, go to www.ppa.com and click on Certification.

October 18-21 C: Wisconsin PPA, Chula Vista Resort, Wisconsin Dells, Wis.; Carl Caylor, 906-779-1535; Jim Nelson, 608-647-8180; Deb Wiltsey, 866-382-9772; www.wppa-online.org

Current Events

October 26-27 C: APPI, Wyndham-Lysle, Ill.; 800-838-2774, www.appillinois.com

September 13-14 S: Indianapolis PPG, Spring Mill State Park, Ind.; Nancy Bailey-Pratt; 765-643-2500; [email protected]; www.ippgonline.com

November 1-2 S: PP of Iowa, Airport Holiday Inn, Des Moines, Iowa; Chris Brinkopf, 563-578-1126; [email protected]; www.ppiowa.com

PPA STUDIO MANAGEMENT SERVICES WORKSHOPS Maximize your profitability and build your bottom line by attending one of the upcoming small-group business workshops. PPA members receive merits for attending. To learn more, visit www.ppa.com or contact us at 800-339-5451, or [email protected]

August 24-26, Dallas SMS 3-day Business Workshop Ann Monteith & Julia Woods

August 22-23, Dallas SMS 2-day Business Basics Workshops Carol Andrews & Doug Box

November 9-11, Atlanta SMS 3-day Business Workshops Carol Andrews & Ann Monteith

94 • www.ppmag.com

November 7-8, Atlanta SMS 2-day Business Basics Workshops Carol Andrews & Ann Monteith

November 1-2 S: Northern Light/MPPA Fall Seminar, St. Cloud, Minn.; Nicole Bugnacki, 763-390-6272; [email protected]; www.mnppa.com November 6-8 C: PP of Indiana, Marriott East, Indianapolis, Ind.; Terry Bateman, 317-253-6245; [email protected]; www.ppofi.org

Future Events January 23-25, 2010 C: PP of Nebraska, Grand Island, Neb.; Bob Alberts, 308-284-6471; www.ppofn.org February 5-8 2010 C: Connecticut PPA, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Cromwell, Conn.; Harvey Goldstein, [email protected] February 6-9, 2010 C: PP of Iowa, Airport Holiday Inn, Des Moines, Iowa; Chris Brinkopf, 563-578-1126; [email protected]; www.ppiowa.com February 7-8, 2010 S: PPA of Pennsylvania, State College Days Inn, State College, Pa.; Scott Weldon, [email protected]; ppaofpa.org February 18-21, 2010 C: MARC, Marriott East, Indianapolis, Ind.; Terry Bateman, 317-253-6245; [email protected] February 19-23, 2010 C: PP of Michigan, Troy Marriott, Troy, Mich.; Scott Green, 248-318-5182; [email protected]; www.ppm.org February 19-24, 2010 C: Virginia PPA, Holiday Inn Select Koger South, Richmond, Va.; [email protected]; www.vppa.org February 26-March 2, 2010 C: Wisconsin PPA, Radisson Hotel, Green Bay, Wis.; Carl Caylor, 906-779-1535; Donna Swiecichowski, 920-822-1200; Deb Wiltsey, 866-382-9772; www.wppa-online.com March 3-8, 2010 C: PPA of Rhode Island, Sheraton Hotel, Warwick, R.I.; Phillip Frink, 401-259-5425; [email protected]; www.ppari.com March 10-15, 2010 C: PP of Ohio, Dayton Convention Center, Dayton, Ohio; [email protected]; www.ppofohio.org

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PPA-APPROVED CONTINUING EDUCATION SEMINARS PPA members receive both merits and the best published prices. September-December C/E: Oregon Photo Safaris, Dwon Guvenir, 503-999-4321; www.oregonphotosafaris.com September 13-14 C/E: Colleen & Darty Class, Spring Mill State Park, Mitchell, Ind.; [email protected]; www.ippgonline.com October 26-30 C/E: David Ziser’s Digital Master Class; Cincinnati, Ohio; 800-292-2994

April 10-13, 2010 C: Heart of America, KCI Expo Center, Kansas City, Mo.; Stephen Harvey, 620-624-4102; [email protected]; www.hoappa.com April 11-13, 2010 C: PPA of Pennsylvania, State College Ramada Conference Center, State College, Pa.; Scott Weldon, [email protected]; ppaofpa.org June 20-21, 2010 S: PPA of Pennsylvania, State College Days Inn, State College, Pa.; Scott Weldon, [email protected]; ppaofpa.org

May 9-18, 2010 C/E: Off theBeaten Path Tuscany Workshop; JimChamberlain, 239-272-3321; www.chamberlainphoto.com June 23 - July 2, 2010 C/E: Off theBeaten Path Tuscany Workshop; JimChamberlain, 239-272-3321; www.chamberlainphoto.com

August 8-12, 2010 C: Tennessee PPA, Franklin, Tenn.; Ernie K. Johnson, 615-509-5737; [email protected]; tnppa.com September 17-21, 2010 C: Southwest PPA, Arlington, Texas; Michael Scalf, Sr., 405-485-3838; [email protected]; www.swppa.com September 25-27, 2010 S: PP of Nebraska, Grand Island, Neb.; Jes Galaska, 402-517-1436; [email protected]

October 3-4, 2010 S: PPA of Pennsylvania, State College Days Inn, State College, Pa.; Scott Weldon, [email protected]; ppaofpa.org October 31-November 1, 2010 S: PP of Iowa, Airport Holiday Inn, Des Moines, Iowa; Chris Brinkopf, 563-578-1126; [email protected]; www.ppiowa.com November 14-15, 2010 C: PP of Ohio, Hilton Easton, Columbus, Ohio; Carol Worthington, [email protected] February 5-8, 2011 C: PP of Iowa, Airport Holiday Inn, Des Moines, Iowa; Chris Brinkopf, 563-578-1126; [email protected]; www.ppiowa.com February 23-28, 2011 C: PP of Ohio, Dayton Convention Center, Dayton, Ohio, Carol Worthington, 614-2286703; [email protected]; www.ppofohio.org March 4-9, 2011 C: PP of North Carolina, Sheraton Imperial Hotel, Durham, N.C.; Loretta Byrd, 888404-7762; [email protected]; www.ppofnc.com

Professional Photographer Online’s exciting features At ppmag.com, we don’t simply recreate the magazine online. Professional Photographer Online goes far beyond that with loads of cool, useful and inspiring content. And it’s all yours free! • Web Exclusives: Fresh stories, tutorials and reviews you’ll ONLY find online! • Archived features, organized relevant to your specialty.

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PPA today AUGUST 2009 President’s Message P e Ron Nichols, M.Photog.Cr., API :: 2009-2010 R 9 2010 PPA President Pr

There’s something about Mary. Sounds like a movie doesn’t it? Well, this is no Hollywood feature, no big story. It’s all about name dropping. When you are on your way to becoming PPA President, your popularity greatly increases. Don’t get me wrong, I had friends before the president gig (I think). It could be that people let me hang out because I bring Carol, my lovely wife. But wait…this is not about Carol; it’s about Mary Fisk-Taylor. Why Mary? Quite simply, it’s because every time I see her, she asks, “When are you going to mention me in a President’s Message?” Well, Mary, this is it! The big mention, the name drop! As I began writing, I tried to think of great metaphors to use. What inspiration could I give that will bring it all back to Mary? I thought about all her designer shoes and handbags. I envisioned Jamie Hayes, her business partner, dragging her bags through an airport. But what’s the significance of a Prada moment in the PPA world? Mary is important! She’s the Chairman of PPA Charities, the charitable arm of PPA. It was the vision of then-president Bert Behnke, and it was created by the board as a way for members to give back. But without leadership (from Mary and others), these charitable efforts could easily lose the coordinated effect they now have. How do Mary, her board, and all of us photographers make that difference? We can help Operation Smile (www.operationsmile. org), the sponsored organization for PPA Charities. Operation Smile doctors perform hundreds of surgeries on children born with cleft-

palates and other facial deformities around the world. Watching the videos is simply heart-wrenching, but the successes are amazing. One way to raise money for PPA Charities and Operation Smile is though the fundraising event Family Portrait Month. Each October, studios can donate part of the proceeds from portrait sessions (or any session) to help a child—just $240 will pay for a child to have a much-needed surgery. Last year, PPA Charities donated $50,635.21 to Operation Smile, raising their four-year donation total to over $150,000! That translates into a lot of smiles. Mary and her PPA Charities board work very hard to make sure we PPA members can make a difference in a child’s life. Join us for Family Portrait Month; then celebrate the fruits of your labor at the great PPA Charities Celebration at Imaging USA in Nashville (you’ll probably see Mary there). See, there is something about Mary! As time goes on, you’ ll see more and more information about how to sign up and get marketing materials for Family Portrait Month. Stay tuned to www.PPAcharities.com for the latest. Follow Ron’s travels this year… visit http://blog.ronnichols.com.

Ron Nichols, M.Photog.Cr., API :: 2009-2010 PPA President

Family Portrait Month is brought to you by:

Images courtesy of Operation Smile

news from Professional Photographers of America — the world’s largest non-profit association for professional photographers | www.ppa.com

PPAtoday | August 2009 | news from Professional Photographers of America

2008 AN-NE MARKETING AWARD SPOTLIGHT: by Angie Wijesinghe, PPA Marketing Specialist An invention by necessity. That’s what David and Ally McKay called their 2008 “Fusion Marketing” campaign. I’d say they work well under pressure—that campaign not only won them the 2008 Best Family & Children Campaign from the AN-NE Marketing Awards, it’s also responsible for 90 percent of their business. “As the economic conditions changed, we felt a strong need to get qualified people in the door,” says David McKay. “We needed people who, as a whole, would be able to spend more money.” To address that need, the McKays’ fusion marketing concept took a different approach to traditional partnership marketing. Rather than a simple exchange of services, the McKays created a gift certificate program with a focus on benefiting a select, high-end business. At no cost to themselves, those partner businesses use the gift certificate as a loyalty and thank-you program for their best clients. In return, McKay Photography gets an exclusive client and potential referrals. “We want the client to see our partners as giving something very special,” McKay explains. “And so far, the business feedback has been excellent.” For this type of program to be successful, you have to choose the right partners and get the right clients from them. As the McKays’ target high-end consumers with families, they looked for companies that attracted those types of people. Luckily, one

of their current clients was a BMW dealership manager, and they started the program with him. When they decided to duplicate the program, they had a big name to use as reference. A children’s boutique, spa, dog boutique, and sports club soon joined the ranks, but it took a lot of planning.

Board Member Spotlight Kevin Casey :: Collages.net, President & CEO – PPA’s Industry Advisor :: PPA Member since 2003 :: Location: Langhorne, PA “My team and I look at 2009 as different times, not bad times,” comments Kevin Casey, CEO of Collages.net and PPA’s Industry Advisor. “Change equals turbulence, which can equal opportunity.” One good outcome of this time is that it forces photographers (and all business owners) to create more disciplined approaches to running a business. If you map out your time, are you

spending it in the right places? The answer may surprise you. “At Collages.net, we look at how every employee spends his or her time. Can we free up time to grow?” Casey explains. “We found that customer service was dealing with album design. If we had production handle all of that, customer service could spend more time with customers.” Casey is also a huge proponent of finding mentors. But to benefit from a mentor, photographers have to be

willing to listen and apply. As he says, “Photographers need to network, find out how other studios are surviving, and keep an open mind.” Such mentors don’t have to be other photographers. In fact, Casey strongly advises photographers to consider aligning themselves with photographic vendors who are thinking outside of the box. Those ties could help you get ahead of the curve, too!

news from Professional Photographers of America — the world’s largest non-profit association for professional photographers | www.ppa.com

cost you? In reality, it’s a lot less than a magazine ad. And even if a customer purchases nothing, the gifted portrait will be hanging on their wall, ripe for conversations and referrals.” In fact, the McKays now get 85-90 percent of their business from these gift certificates, and they have a 95 percent upsell rate! One customer said that she’d wanted to get a family portrait for three years, and this gift certificate made it the right time. Another couldn’t afford to buy anything else…but she referred someone who ended up purchasing almost $9,000 in products. “People really need a reason to come in your door,” explains McKay. “And this program gave us a positive way to approach them: we start with a gift!” David & Ally McKay McKay Photography – El Dorado Hills, CA www.mckayphotography.com © Cheryl Pearson

Key factors had to be worked out with each business. After all, these businesses are protective of their clients. How do you sincerely portray such a program as a win-win situation? McKay believes the biggest hurdle is how you approach the businesses. You need to detail the ways the program could benefit the business and their clients. “It’s all about working together, instead of the ‘what’s in it just for me’ attitude.” An important fact to keep in mind is the flexibility of this gift certificate program. All the partner businesses are able to use the certificates differently. The car dealership uses it as a gift to thank clients for their patronage. The children’s boutique uses it as a way to upsell their services (each amount spent earns a better gift). The sports club gives the certificate as a thank you for purchasing a family membership. In addition, part of the McKays’ success with this program has nothing to do with the generous gifts they give (like a portrait valued at $800). It’s the entire experience they provide the gift recipients—customized from the first phone call. The McKays actually call each client to help set up the appointment for the free portrait, mentioning that they are calling on behalf of XYZ Company. They treat those customers like royalty, which only increases their own reputation and that of the partner that presented the gift certificate. Yes, the McKays took the chance that no one would buy anything else. But as David says, “What does that gift really

You also have a lot to learn from your own customers. When was the last time you surveyed your past and present customers? Have you ever conducted a survey of prospects? It’s great real-time feedback. Consider ending a first phone call or informational e-mail with a survey. And, as Casey suggests, ask “Is there anything you had in mind (for your wedding photography) that you didn’t see today?” Another of Casey’s success pointers follows that line of

thought: constantly look for new products to offer. Changing up your products can keep you excited about business—like shooting for fun can. It can also excite and tempt your clients. Case in point: A large studio was talking about buying Collages.net’s Brilliant Collection Album (a full-bleed album that comes in metallic colors). The studio “tested” the album at a bridal show, and a line of drooling brides-to-be soon

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When the potential client receives the McKay gift certificate, the entire package is designed to create a “Wow—this is valuable” effect. » Letter – explains the reason for the gift (customized for each business) » Brochure – shows samples of large McKay Photography wall portraits displayed in homes (helps client visualize even larger images than the gift certificate provides) » Artist Card – provides the McKays’ biographies and credentials (more detailed and elegant than a business card) » Bronze Envelope – elegantly presents all the information

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According to David and Ally, you have to be tenacious in marketing and going after business. Want to learn how they do it? They have their business approach letters, e-mail explanations, and more…all on DVD and CD for you. Just ask the McKays!

grew at their booth. Needless to say, the deal was done. “That studio had been around for lots of years and had used the same album for lots of years,” Casey notes. “We got them as customers because we came up with something new, with feedback impossible to refuse.” The point is that you cannot be scared to change. If you are, you are scared to succeed, according to Casey. This way of looking at the world has helped Casey build

his own thriving business… and help photographers. How will you look at it? Finding Your Blue Ocean Kevin Casey hosts these educational (and motivational) business workshops to help photographers. The new tour starts in September, traveling to Charlotte, Atlanta, Nashville, San Jose, San Francisco, and Sacramento. See the benefits and register at: http://www.collages. net/blueocean/index.aspx.

news from Professional Photographers of America — the world’s largest non-profit association for professional photographers | www.ppa.com

PPAtoday | August 2009 | news from Professional Photographers of America

IN MEMORY

David Huff – Fayetteville, Ark. James Pierce – Brunswick, Maine John J. Gargus – Upper Arlington, Ohio Chloe Beeson Blom – Corona del Mar, Calif. David Huff, 59, passed away February 10, 2009. With a passion for portrait photography, he was the owner and second-generation photographer of Bob’s Studio of Photography. Also a past president of the Arkansas Professional Photographers Association, David received the PPA National Award for his outstanding service. As he was a big supporter of the Humane Society, memorials may be made to the Humane Society of the Ozarks in Fayetteville, Ark. James Pierce, 87, passed away on April 29, 2009. J Founder of the Pierce Studio in Brunswick, F Maine (1957), Jim is also a past president of the M Maine Professional Photographers Association M (MPPA), a three-time Maine Photographer of the ( Year, Y a Master Photographer, and even became an a accomplished artist in his retirement. One of MPPA’s early members, he was a mentor to dozens. M John J. Gargus, M.Photog., 94, passed away on June 14, 2009, surrounded by family (including his wife of 72 years). Active with PPA and the Professional Photographers of Ohio, he was also a Master of Photography and a past president of the Cleveland Society of Professional Photographers. The family wants to publicly acknowledge the loving care that was provided to John by the staff at Mount Carmel Hospice during his fight with cancer. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be made in John’s name to Christ Lutheran Church, 3323 Pearl Ave, Lorain, Ohio 44055.

Chloe Beeson Blom, M.Photog.Cr., CPP, C ppassed away in her home on June 19, 2009, ffollowing a year-long fight with cancer. She was aan accomplished photographer, dedicating the ppast 30 years to the art. Chloe and her husband JJohn owned and operated the successful studio, JJohn L. Blom Custom Photography, Ltd. An iinnovator with her breathtaking maternity iimages and figure studies, she was also a ddedicated instructor and a member of PPA, the Professional Photograph Photographers of California, the Professional Photographers of Orange County, and Wedding and Portrait Photographers International. Donations can be made in Chloe’s honor to: SPIN (Serving People In Need), 151 Kalmus H-2, Costa Mesa, CA 92626. They will be missed—not only by their family and friends, but also by the professional photography community. They spent their lives preserving the memories of others. Now it is up to us to remember them.

Image Imag ge courte co courtesy urtesy syy o off Op Operation perat eration ion S Smile mile

PPA CHARITIES IS SAVING MORE SMILES F For the past four years, PPA Charities, tthe philanthropic arm of PPA, has h helped Operation Smile (www. ooperationsmile.org) in their mission tto help children smile around the w world. And they’re back at it again! As photographers always ttry to capture the right smile ffrom clients, this is the perfect ccharity for us. Operation Smile is a w worldwide medical charity whose thousands of volunteer health care professionals treat children and young adults suffering with cleft lips, cleft palates, and other facial deformities. They help them smile…and we can help them help. Have you joined the effort? You can—the fundraising opportunities are endless and ongoing. For example, the everpopular Family Portrait Month is back. If you join and pledge to donate a certain amount from your sessions in October (as Family Portrait Month), you have a great event to market, get your community talking, and drive bookings for that typically slow month.

But don’t stop there! PPA Charities’ goal is to create ongoing donations, so consider sponsoring other small events (like a “Day of Smiles”) at your studio. Not only will you help those in need, you can create even more awareness of your services. Whatever you decide to do, make your charitable connection more visible with a few well-placed press releases and promotional messages. Tell reporters (and those following your blog or reading your website) what you’ll be doing to help children during a year when many have pulled back from charitable giving. You may create enough interest for a story about your business and promotions. Think on this: with the last donation in January 2009, photographers like you have raised over $150,000 for Operation Smile. It’s a testament to what PPA members can do together. Together we can change the world—one smile at a time. Visit www.PPAcharities.com to register as a PPA Charities/Operation Smile Studio, and gather up great charitable marketing ideas.

news from Professional Photographers of America — the world’s largest non-profit association for professional photographers | www.ppa.com

WHERE THE PROS GO FOR THE BEST IN REPRODUCTION SERVICES

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PRO FE S S I O NA L

Adorama (www.adorama.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67, 93, 95, 97 Advanced Photographic Solutions (www.advancedphoto.com) . .104 American Color Imaging (www.acilab.com) . . . . . . . . . . .26, 106 American Photo Resources (www.aprprops.com) . . . . . . . . .113 Animoto (www.animoto.com/go/vicki) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 ARK-LA-TEX Color Lab (www.altcolorlab.com) . . . . . . . . . .104 B & H Photo-Video (www.bhphotovideo.com) . . . . . . . . .74-75 Bay Photo Lab (www.bayphoto.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51, 105 Bogen Imaging Inc. (www.bogenimaging.com) . . . . . . . . . . . .53 Boulder Pro Photo (www.lifetimeinfocus.com) & www.boulderprophoto.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104 Buckeye Color (www.buckeyecolor.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107 Paul Buff Inc. (www.white-lightning.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 Burrell Colour Imaging (www.burrellcolourimaging.com) . . .104 BWC (www.bwc.net) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105 CPQ (www.cpq.net) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55, 103, 105 Candid Color Systems Inc. (www.candid.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106 Canon (www.usa.canon.com/dlc) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 Color Incorporated (www.colorincprolab.com) . . . . . . . . . . .104 Corporate Color/Prolab Express (www.prolabexpress.com) . .103 Contemporary Photography/J. Hartman (www.jhartman.com) . .111 Custom Brackets (www.custombrackets.com) . . . . . . . . . . .109 Dalmatian Lab (www.dalmatianlab.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108

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Denny Manufacturing (www.dennymfg.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . .111 Diversified Lab (www.diversifiedlab.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106 Draper Imaging (www.draperimaging.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . .110 Dury’s (www.durys.com/discpainter) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71 ESS Data Recovery (www.datarecovery.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . .111 ExpoImaging Inc. (www.expoimaging.net) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Fujifilm (www.fujifilmusa.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 GP Albums (www.gpalbums.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .110 GTI Graphic Technology, Inc. (www.gtilite.com) . . . . . . . . . .110 Graphic Authority (www.graphicauthority.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Group Photographers Association (www.groupphotographers.com) 105 H&H Color Lab (www.hhcolorhab.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . .Cover III Hallmark Imaging (www.hallmarklabs.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . .106 Herff Jones (www.hjpro.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106 Hollywood Fotofix Digital Studios (www.retouchup.com) . . . . . .15 Imaging USA—Nashville (www.imagingusa.org) . . . . . . . . . .59-66 JD Photo Imaging (www.jdphotoimaging.com) . . . . . . . . . . .107 Kelby Training (www.kelbytraining.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57 Kimberly Enterprises (www.kimberlyenterprises.com) . . . . . . . . . .104 The Levin Company (www.levinframes.com) . . . . . . . . . . . .109 Lustre Color (www.lustrecolor.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106 MPIX (www.mpix.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 Marathon Press (www.marathonpress.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . .44 McKenna Pro (www.mckennapro.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103 Meridian Professional Imaging (www.meridianpro.com) .Cover II Midwest Sports (www.midwestsportslab.com) . . . . . . . . . .108 Miller Professional Imaging (www.millerslab.com) . . . . . .18-19 Morris Group (www.themorriscompany.com) . . . . . . . . . . . .110

NAPP (www.photoshopuser.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89 Nikon (www.nikonusa.com/D3X) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 North American Photo (www.naphoto.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . .107 Onlinephotofix.com (www.onlinephotofix.com/magpp) . . . . .113 OnOne Software (www.ononesoftware.com/pp) . . . . . . . . . .37 Pacific Mount (www.pacificmount.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109 Photogenic (www.photogenic.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 PickPic (www.pickpic.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 Pictobooks (www.pictobooks.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109, 110 PocketWizard (www.pocketwizard.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Portrait City Lab (www.customcolor.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103 Portrait Professional Studio (www.portraitprofessionalstudio.com) . .6 Post Prints & Design (www.poshprintsonline.com) . . . . . . . .111 Profoto (www.profoto-usa.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Cover IV Pro Photo (www.prophotoimaging.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103 Reedy Photo (www.reedyphoto.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108 Renaissance Albums (www.renaissancealbums.com) . . . . . .109 Simply Canvas (www.simplycanvas.com/TheBest) . . . . . . . .47 Smith Studio Color Lab (www.smithphotographers.com) . . . .111 Studio Logic (www.studiologic.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43, 69 Successware (www.successware.net) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83 Tyndell (www.tyndellphotographic.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .111 United Promotions Inc. (www.upilab.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107 Used Camera (www.usedcameras.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41 Wacom (www.wacom.com/i4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49 White House Custom Color (www.whcc.com) . . . . . . . .10-11, 34-35 White Glove (www.wgbooks.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .110 Publisher not responsible for errors & omissions

Buyer’s Gallery THIS SECTION IS THE MONTHLY RESOURCE PHOTOGRAPHERS USE TO FIND THE PRODUCTS THEY NEED. PUT YOUR MESSAGE PROMINENTLY IN FRONT OF INDUSTRY PROS AND START TURNING BROWSERS INTO BUYERS.

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ClassifiedAdvertising CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING RATES Classified rates: • $1.50 per word; • $2.00 per word/ words with all caps or bold face. • $10.00 per issue—Confidential Reply Box Ads (Optional)—$30 minimum per ad. Closing date is 20th of the second month proceeding issue date. Remittance must be received with order. NO ADS ACCEPTED BY PHONE. Remittance to: Professional Photographer Classified Ads, 229 Peachtree NE, Ste. 2200, Atlanta, GA 30303; 800-339-5451, ext. 221; FAX 404-614-6405.

ACCOUNTING CPAs FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS. Business set-up, tax planning and preparation, business valuations and consulting. Decades of experience. Darryl Bodnar, CPA, 410-453-5500, [email protected]. Visit our website at www.nlgroup.com.

ARTISTIC ENHANCEMENT A WORK OF ART - DIGITAL PORTRAIT PAINTING. Offer your clients the look of hand-painted oils on canvas and watch your print sales soar. Fast turnaround, work guaranteed. We have 5 years’ experience in Corel Painter, working exclusively with professional studios. Featured in PPA Magazine, August 2007. Starting at $125. 724-5189069; www.bobnolin.com

BACKGROUNDS THE DENNY MFG. CO., INC. is the World’s Largest Manufacture of Hand Painted Backgrounds, Computer Painted Backgrounds, Muslin Backgrounds, Studio Sets, Props, Lift Systems, and related Studio Accessories. Contact us today to receive our FREE 180 page color catalog filled with exquisite products and ideas to help you succeed in Photography. Write P.O. Box 7200 Mobile, AL 36670; Call 1-800-844-5616 or visit our Web site at www.dennymfg.com. STUDIO DYNAMICS’ muslin and canvas backdrops offer quality and value at outlet prices! Call 1-800-595-4273 for a catalog or visit www.studiodynamics.com CHICAGO CANVAS & SUPPLY—Wide Seamless Canvas and Muslin, Duvetyn, Commando Cloth, Theatrical Gauze, Velour, Sharkstooth Scrim, Leno Scrim, Gaffers Tape, Primed Canvas, Gesso, and Deka Fabric Dyes—Fabrication Available. Curtain Track & Hardware for Moveable Curtains and Backdrops—Easily installed. Quick turn around time. Our prices can’t be beat. Visit our website or call for a free catalog and samples. 773-478-5700; www.chicagocanvas.com; [email protected] BACKDROP OUTLET, We are the Largest supplier of Backgrounds, Props and Studio Accessories. We have it all…. Canvas from $99.00 Muslin Backgrounds from $69.00 Scenics, Flex outs, Faux tex. Your options are endless. We also offer roller systems and Light Rail systems. Lights, Soft boxes, Stands and equipment. We have a huge selection of props and set systems. REQUEST OUR FREE 164 PAGE CATALOG 1-800-466-1755 or you can order online at WWW.BACKDROPOUTLET.COM 3540 Seagate Way, Oceanside, CA 92056.

CAMERA REPAIR HASSELBLAD REPAIRS: David S. Odess is a factory trained technician with 33 years experience servicing the Hasselblad system exclusively. Previously with Hasselblad USA. Free estimates, prompt service, reasonable rates and a 6 month guarantee. Used equipment sales. 28 South Main Street, #104, Randolph, MA 02368, 781-963-1166; www.david-odess.com.

CANVAS MOUNTING CANVAS MOUNTING, STRETCHING, FINISH LACQUERING. Original McDonald Method. Considered best AVAILABLE. Realistic canvas texture. Large sizes a specialty. WHITMIRE ASSOCIATES, YAKIMA, WA. 509248-6700. WWW.CANVASMOUNT.COM

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COMPUTER/SOFTWARE SUCCESSWARE®—Studio Management Software available for both Windows® and Macintosh®. Recommended by Ann Monteith, the nation’s foremost studio management consultant. Call today for a FREE SuccessWare® Tour 800593-3767 or visit our Web site www.SuccessWare.net.

DIGITAL DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHERS—Kessler Color produces STUNNING images from digital files. Try our rapid FTP site and get a FREE 16 x 20. New Service—E-Vents from Kessler Color. Get 8x10 units for $.90. [email protected]. 800-KES-LABS. SCHOOL PHOTOGRAPHERS—Kessler Color’s digital units start at $.90 each. Beautiful color and great value! Call 800-KES-LABS.

DIGITAL TEMPLATES PHOTOSHOP TEMPLATES. Portrait Pizzaz creates unique templates with the latest trends to wow your Seniors, Children and Family clients. Affordable and DOWNLOADABLE! Enter code 10906489 at checkout for 10% PPA discount. www.portraitpizzaz.com

EDUCATION/WORKSHOPS “The Art of Digital Photo Painting: Using Popular Software to Create Masterpieces” book is now available on Amazon. Join Corel Painter Master Marilyn Sholin in Asheville, NC and other locations at a workshop. Free tutorials and registration at the Digital Paint Shop. www.digitalpaintingforum.com/shop

FRAMES Frames, Hardwood Frames…custom sizes; Oak, Walnut, Cherry, Primitive & Painted www.giftsforhome.com or call 800-841-5511. CREATIVE DRAGONFLY—custom 4” & 6” wide solid wood frames. You design it, We make it. www.dragonflyframes.com

HELP WANTED HELP WANTED: Assistant photographer for contemporary photojournalistic wedding coverages in Orange County, CA area. Must have digital equipment. E-mail John at [email protected].

INCORPORATION SERVICES INCORPORATE OR FORM an LLC today! Your art is a business. Treat it like one. The Company Corporation can help you incorporate or form a limited liability company in as little as ten minutes. We are fast, accurate and affordable. Provide additional credibility to your photography studio or business at the fraction of the cost of using an attorney. Call 1-800-206-7276 or visit www.corporate.com today!

INSURANCE Instant Online Photography Insurance. Quotes. Tom C. Pickard Insurance. www.tcpinsurance.com 800-7263701, ext. 117. Lic. 0555411

LAB SERVICES ACADEMY PRODUCTIONS INC. INNOVATIVE PRINTING SOLUTION Complete Imaging Service for today’s professional photographer Processing—Proofing—Film—Digital Files —SOS— Self Ordering System powered by ROES • High Volume Packages—Kodak Products • Schools—Daycares—Sports—Proms—Seniors • Studios—Store Promotions—Fundraisers—Weddings • Composites—Collages—Other Unique Products • High Tech Printing Equipment—Scanning Services • Free Marketing Seminars—Expert Product Designers • Superior Customer Service—Detailed Technical Support • Competitive Pricing—Quick Turn Around CALL US TODAY: 800-421-3523 6100 ORR ROAD • CHARLOTTE, NC 28213 www.PicAcademy.com

HAND PAINTED OILS; Transparent, Deluxe, and Canvas Stretched up to 40x60. A complete photo art lab serving photographers since 1965. Traditional and Digital printing services. Fiber based B&W up to 30x40. Giclee Fine Art prints. Restoration. Free estimates & pricing guide. 800922-7459 Venetian Arts www.venetianarts.com “MYCLIPPINGPATH.COM—Get low cost, high speed help from our lab. Cut outs for catalog or background changes. Try us for FREE!” FREE 20X30 Wallets to 6ftx14ft Goldencolor 9020 W. Olympic Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90211 310-274-3445 • www.goldencolor.com

ONLINE PROOFING/SELLING NeatPictures.com. Are you short on time? How about your customers? Proof and Sell Your Images Online. Simple. ONLINE PROOFING Customizable, Affordable, Independent Easy to use; too many features to list! Supports Pay Pal and Authorize. Net From $19/month! www.ProofPositiveViewer.com

PHOTO RESTORATION 1st PHOTO RESTORATION FREE! Try us, you’ll like us! Point & click easy. No sign up cost. 100% guarantee. Online leader since 1993. Wholesale only to professionals. www.hollywoodfotofix.com or call 888-700-3686.

PHOTOS WANTED VINTAGE PHOTOGRAPHS from 1860’s-1970’s: Movie Stills, Celebrity Candids, Music, Sports, Crime, War/Political, Wire Photos, Negatives, Glass Slides, and Transparencies. WILL BUY ENTIRE COLLECTIONS! FINDERS FEES PAID! Ralph 800-392-4050 or [email protected]

PRESENTATION BOXES BOXES—FREE SAMPLE PRESENTATION BOX—FROM THE ORIGINAL BLACK BOX MANUFACTURE—Fast delivery, Finest quality 4"x5", 5"x5", 4"x6", 8"x10", 11"x14", 16"x20", 20"x24". AUFENGER BOX, 4800 COLLEY AVE., NORFOLK, VIRGINIA 23508; 757-4401147 (phone); 757-440-1149 (fax); 888-440-1146 (toll free). www.aufengerbox.com PRESENTATION BOXES available for immediate shipment; 19 sizes—4 stock colors. For FREE catalog & samples call 800-969-2697 or fax request 800861-4528. BUY DIRECT AND SAVE. NPD Box Company, 3000 Quigley Road, Cleveland, OH 44113. www.NPDBox.com H-B Photo E-Store Box Manufacturer, buy direct and save. Complete Line of presentation boxes, better quality at lower prices. Bags, Totes, Tissue, Ribbons, customize with your logo. WWW.H-BPHOTO.COM H-B PACKAGING GROUP CENTRAL FALLS, RI. Call 866-570-8915 for free samples.

RETOUCHING WHEN YOUR NAME is on the line, nothing but the best will ever do. Our retouchers know what you need: fast service, a retouch that looks like the photo was never altered and the lowest prices in the industry. If you demand the best log onto www.retouchup.com and your first 10 retouches are free just to prove our claims—the best—the fastest and the least expensive or call 888-700-3686. PORTRAIT PHOTOGRPAHERS You can retouch quickly with superior results. Guaranteed. WWW.3DLIGHTMASTER.COM

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August 2009 • Professional Photographer • 113

good works |

Images wield the power to effect change. In this monthly feature, Professional Photographer spotlights professional photographers using their talents to make a difference through charitable work.

proceeds went to the charity. The top 11 votegetters joined the auction winner in being featured in the 12-month calendar. From March 1 to April 2, viewers placed 15,000 votes! Pace used a PayJunction website linked from her studio’s homepage for the vote tally. The system updated the tally automatically, and displayed the results on a leader board. “People got excited watching the tallies, which prompted more voting,” says Pace. The printed calendars will be released September 1. Pace will sell them at her studio and place them in local boutiques. All proceeds will go to the MOD. To offset her printing costs, Pace sold sponsorships to six local

©Cynthia Pace

businesses at $500 each. In addition to

Angels and sweethearts PROMO LANDS NEARLY $20,000 FOR MARCH OF DIMES

I

being listed as official patrons of the project, the sponsors will each receive 50 calendars. Pace went even further. She held a gallery exhibition of all the images taken during the program. She got a discount on the frames and sold the portraits at a special reduced

n the weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day,

voting for viewers to select the images for

rate. The sales covered her production costs

portrait photographer Cynthia Pace of

the calendar.

with money left over for the charity.

Columbia, S.C., runs an annual promotion

The project began at a banquet for the

Pace has raised nearly $20,000 for the

called “Angels and Sweethearts.” Recently,

March of Dimes (MOD) in November

March of Dimes, and has plans to raise even

she decided to make it a charity event to

2008. Pace auctioned off a spot in the calen-

more next year. “To raise that much money

raise money for the March of Dimes, an

dar, raising about $1,000. Then she pho-

with only 25 sessions is amazing,” she says.

organization dedicated to improving the

tographed 25 Angels and Sweethearts sessions

“But we think we can do better. Next year,

health of babies.

over three weekends the following January.

we’d like to book 100 sessions. Just imagine

Her sitting fee was $80 for an indoor ses-

what we can contribute then!” �

Adapting the Little Angels fundraiser

created by Lori Nordstrom, M.Photog.Cr.,

sion, $100 for an outdoor session, with all

CPP, Pace held a portrait special, then used

proceeds going directly to the MOD. Parents

a selection of the portraits as artwork for a

could buy prints at Pace’s normal prices, which

calendar. The key to the program is to create

she used to offset the cost of the program.

multiple revenue streams. In addition to the

Pace posted all of the portraits to an

portrait fees and calendar sales, Pace raised

online gallery, and invited everyone in her

money through sponsorships, charity auc-

community to vote for his or her favorite

tions, additional print sales, and online

image. Each vote cost the viewer $1, and all

114 • www.ppmag.com

To learn more about the March of Dimes, visit www.marchofdimes.com. To see more from Cynthia Pace, visit www.cynthiapacephotography.com.

Share your good works experience with us by e-mailing Cameron Bishopp at [email protected]

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