Admitting failures

The Legal Handbook is DONE and danged did I learn some good stuff in there. I've got the Consent to Photograph and Publish all set up (aka. Model Release) but I want to get it done on some better paper and hopefully stored in a small folio (even just checkbook sized) for ease of travel, not getting crumpled, as well as professionalism.

I'm DYING to get to the farmer's market this Saturday morning and shoot a bit, but I'm not sure I'll do it on my own. I'll have to see how weekend plans work out. The D50 with the 50mm (not sure which one. 1.8 or 1.4?) is perfect for that, since it's small enough to not scream 'PROFESSIONAL' but still a step above the G10.

I've moved on to 'Mastering Nature Photography' which is really much more THE book I've been needing than I expected. It even talks about (when I get to those chapters), scouting out locations, dealing with the overwhelming choices available to you in nature, etc etc. Sporting events are cake next to this -- you focus on the athlete(s) and tune out the rest (except the background if you have any control over that). Nature photography? It's like dropping yourself into a psychedelic stew and trying to pick out the best ingredients to use. Let's not even get into composition or anything else.



Speaking of which . . . yes I admit it. COMPOSITION IS MY ISSUE. I've had enough of a 'natural' eye that I could compose a pretty decent photo. I rarely 'center' shot images and had some sense of aesthetics. However, I had a lot more to do and work on. The rule of thirds I understood for foreground/midground/background, but NOT as a grid for composition.

How did I miss learning that? *sigh* so be it. I'm aware of it, working on it, learning more, and yes . . . ordered a book about it. And another nature photography book.

Frighteningly enough, ALL my free time is spent reading these books. Tv shows? That's what dvrs are for (even when 88% full). Mail? Unopened on the sofa. Pets? Pet and snuggle them WHILE reading books. Breaks at work? Reading time. I think you get the idea of how self absorbed I've become in this. Many other things have been flung aside, unfortunately not all of them good.

Two nice days ahead, so I'll at least have a chance for some fun IR outside (strong light needed!) as well as perhaps some macro in my mini 'garden' out front before I mulch the heck out of it.

your first love

I got my baby back!

D50 all nice and cleaned and inspected and such. Thank you Nikon!

General check and clean (hahaha, after all those horse shows AND Moab? they must have been cursing me...)
Replaced rubber grip (oh neat!)
Cleaned CCD (eh?)
Repaired SC 201117 (eh eh?)
Checked exposure, shutter release, TTL Flash and aperture lever.

And can I say it's SO SMALLLLL????!?!? danged. still, love this baby and no reason to ever give it up.

Books galore!

Another book down, another one started. I might be devouring these, but also taking notes as needed and processing a LOT of this information for my own use.

This time, it's "Legal Handbook for Photographers" which had the benefit of being a thin book. But once I got into it, I'm finding it rather facinating. Then again, I did enjoy that Business Law class in school too and we had a full fledged Law Book for text in that class.



John Shaw's "Closeups In Nature" is done with and left me with an urge to crawl around on my hands and knees outside and see what I can photograph. It's an excellent book although he takes time to go over the basics, there's also a good reason for that. Regardless if you know the basics of photography, you need to understand how it changes when you get so close to your subject -- or start magnifying at 1.5x or more.



I did find a NEW book coming out from the 'Understanding Exposure' writer that's specifically about macro work. This will be fun/good since it'll be updated for the digital age and not go on and on about Kodachrome 65 vs. 25 usage (okok I admit that got a tad old). I'll have that at the end of this month and will review it asap to share on dgrin as well as update the book reviews there. Of course, that's only next week so it's not that far away.

Books and more books and geeks galore

Various stats:

D50: with Nikon and basic level review/repair approved and in progress

Finished reading: "Profitable Photography in the Digital Age". GOOD book and all the business geekery I needed, as well as more information on some important topics (model releases, copyrighting, marketing, etc) that I really needed. Oh, I don't agree 100% with him and I can see how C. said the author is rather full of himself (erm, or implied as much). He definitely has strong opinions but he backs them up with solid facts. Mostly his entire chapter on web models doesn't take into account the existence of services like SmugMug. For shame!

Started reading and 1/2 way through Shaw's "Closeups in Nature". Good stuff if a tad outdated -- but aside from chapters about qualities of film, it's a solid primer. I also found "Understanding Close-up Photography: Creative Close Encounters with or without a Macro Lens" which releases at the end of this month. So something NEW but a part of the same 'Understanding' series as 'Understanding Exposure'. Ideally that means it should be a 'winner' but I'll get it and see.

I also totally geeked out and found "Mastering Nature Photography: Shooting and Selling in the Digital Age". One, it's a 'new' book again (digital age) and it written in EXACTLY the way I like. Short concise groupings of topics, much like a solid lecture on the topic. There's an accompanying CDROM of images which I rather prefer to the excessive images other books have. I flipped through some of the more 'popular' ones and it was a 1:9 ratio of text to images. I totally 'get' learning by example, but most of it was the same thing over and over again while just saying what settings were used. Um, educate a bit more? Pontificate a bit less?

So I'm reading too much these days and loving every moment of it. And yes, still taking notes on the things I want to remember again for later. I need to reactivate/use my Amazon affiliation account a bit and unlock the 'books' page of my website. Why not, right? The visitors to my site are as much other photographers as they are potential clients.

not bad for a G10 !

the Art of the Market

My education continues. Marketing was the theme of last night's reading with some good ideas percolating as I took notes and read on.

Pull and Push marketing tactics -- and I can definitely see ones that are of both types, such as a flyer or mailer sent out that includes a promotional offer -- entice them to come to you next.

Whatever plan for marketing I take, I'm definitely going to stick it out for the long run, so this takes thought and time. Getting future value out of this is more important than anything else. In some ways, I can see how this is already working within the horse show groups out here. People are seeing my name (my business name) and connecting it with the quality of photographs I do. There's finally the start of a connection there -- and at least this book says a minimum of 5 exposures is needed to implant your name into someone's mind.

So to break into architectural/real estate photography? Flyers alone won't do it. I'll need to find out what trade magazines/etc they have out here and advertise in there. GET MY NAME OUT THERE.

Also a GREAT justification for mass quantity purchases of postcards, etc. Use them. Twice. Three times. Don't assume they'll read them the first time and not loose them or toss them away.

Course, I find it hysterical that this book feels the need to emphasis the tailored marketing approach. Then again, that's so obvious to me -- yet I do NOT see other people doing it. More of a 'I do photos' approach to everything. If you had that person's flyer with someone else showing off real estate photography and you were a realtor…. which would you go to first? duh.

Remaining relevant in your marketing is obvious to me, again. However, a few other ideas hit me as well. Real estate photography is appealing because I can arrange it in the afternoons and on free days. Realtors work all day, so it's not like a person who doesn't have as much time, etc etc.

Course, using my own animals as 'models' (and hitting up the neighbors for theirs too!), I can very very easily put together a 'pet portrait' portfolio and advertise …. in veterinary offices. Duh. That's so obvious I'm ashamed. But do I want to pursue this and the world of crazy pet owners? Erk. I'm not sure. But if I charge enough per session (time limit) ….. hmm. It's worth considering. Pets look good regardless of the time of year. (unlike horse commissions when fuzzy winter fuzz looks like shit).

Also - Sirens. It's a limited *known ahead of time* crowd. Individual mailers ahead of time? Plus packets in the reg packet? And cards available? I can definitely do this 'wrong' and just get photos for Sirens itself, or I can do this RIGHT and get some income (perhaps enough to cover the cost of the trip) from sales of images (even giving 50% back to the non profit). Shall consider/discuss/ponder.

So I will e-mail Janice and find out about Utah Real Estate newsletters/associations that have advertising. Not everyone has to be using a 'professional' group, right? ? ?


*** I cannot do these all. I have to decide where my time + effort is going to go and where my ROI (return on investment) will yield the most LONG TERM results.

And do I 'invest' more into the horse show photography? My sheer presence, signs, t-shirts and the onsite set up should be enough. I think? This IS the core of my business right now, so I should ponder on this a bit longer.

Clean like a baby's bum... erm or not

Tonight, I sat down to clean dust and such from the lenses and cameras.

A rocket blower? not enough.

Amazon.com later and on Friday I'll have the brushes I need. sigh! just when you think you have everything!

Something new, something creatively unleashed

IR Photography!

learning and redirection

1. Hmm. If YOU had a personalized photography instructor, what would you want to learn?????

2. new url to redirect to this blog! http://www.catspawphotoblog.com yehaw :)

Working on my weak areas.

Eeeexcellent. EXACTLY what I need and I suspect many willing participants for me at the barn:

http://www.equinephotographers.org/courses/portrait.php
"The Art of the Equine/Human Portrait"

Things I have learned:

IR Photography, or at least the basics. Expect a lot more of this from me soon!

The wide and wonderful world of masks in Photoshop. Including color masking, near/far, merging focuses and other cool techniques (some of which are CS4 only).

How to set up, take a deep breathe, and really try to STUDY the scene I have. *Then* decide which lens/camera to use to capture what it is that I see.

How to check the ISO. A lot. And then exposure compensation (which on the G10 just LOVES to get misdialed. Grr).

I've also gotten quite excellent playing with my f-stops. F-stop professional, thank you very much. I want something, I get it. I like this power, and it all comes from knowledge.

I'm still not shooting *great* shots, but they are there. They are coming. A few can be done simply from judicious cropping and playing with colors in LR or CS3/4. I'm rather curious to see what sort of shots I can pull out the more and more I work with Lightroom and Photoshop.

I've also learned about fill flashes, especially outdoors (who'd have thought?) in shadows, in close ups, as well as in macros.

March, the second half.

It's the second half of March, officially, which means it's time for me to amend the business plan. Again.

I rather enjoy doing these, as they are half status updates, half statements of intentions and half a list of goals accomplished. Yes, I know those halves don't add up.

I think the biggest things are to define the degree of wedding experience I want to get as a second shooter -- or as a primary shooter who does NOT specialize in portraits. Realistically, I have no time for this until autumn/winter so it is likely to stay on the back burner. Exceptions to this would be if I scrapped all of my own plans to show this summer and only did photography. I'm also likely to burn out completely.

Important but also for the fall/winter is membership into ASPP (American Society of Photoshop Professionals) and the classes that they offer. I have a lot of basics to do along with my own work and assignments. I cannot utilize everything they have to offer until I do my 'homework' first, so this is a longer plan.

Immediate needs are selling off excess equipment and deciding on a tax accountant. Yes, doing that. I know of so many who screw things up, but I'm shaky enough on my depreciation calculations and how I should set things up the first year to know that I'm better off seeking a pro. Now, a good pro? That's a question to debate.

Plans and projects.

Registered a second domain -- www.catspawphotos.com is my primary, but it's easy to think of catspawphotography.com, so both are now there with a redirect from the new to the old. Easy peasy. I love technology :)

There's a show coming up on the 4th -- I'd like to enter OR take photos but I'm not sure which is even possible right now. I'd contact them w/ the offer, but then if I get offered a ride to the show, I'll want to SHOW and then…. Yeah. Obligations are not fun.

Showing percentile is looooow. So I'll see if they need/have a photographer and go from there. Jumper show, so those are always a blast :) Unless it's raining :P April 4th could be ANY sort of weather.

To sell:
10-20mm Sigma DX lens
77 mm B+W cir. Polarizer.
Older Sigma zoom
Any other older Quantaray lenses
Older Nikkor zoom?
BOTH Nikkor DX lenses. One is 12-24, the other is 80-300.
80-400 Nikkor FX lens.
Lowe Pro sling bag? Haven't used yet to find much use.
Older Tamarack backpack .. um … where ever that is off at.
Green LowePro trekker backpack -- to be replaced by Crumpler backpack.
Older but still new Nikon remote (no need for 2).

~~~~~~~~

Otherwise last week was a crushing blow to my lack of creativity, which is a huge relief. I forgot to grab a camera yesterday as I ran errands, but I found myself eyeing walls and fences and debating composition. This? Is EXCELLENT and has been missing in my life/brain as of late.

I imagine the warmer weather has a LOT to do with this as well, since it's such a huge difference to shoot in the sun instead of the snow. I'd love to get back to Antelope Island again, as well as tromp around on some of the side trails (snow boots!) of the canyons.

Longer trips require more planning and thinking. Fortunately one I wanted to do : the San Rafael Swell & Capitol Reef , is one I'll be doing with my parents later this year. Perhaps not as much freedom to take off with the camera, but still a lot nice accommodations and eating.

Hmm. Where else can I venture too?

Learning to let go ...

I've done a lot of photographic study in the last week, as well as evaluating aspects of my business model. Who knew Customer Service would be one point I skipped over? Alas, I'm starting implementation now, but will write out some SOPs later on as I get a better idea on the level of customer interactions I have.

I've also looked into professional design of my website. I adore SmugMug, however their defaults are quite cluttered and hacks and such aside (I've used many of them so far), have left me with a workable website, but nothing outstanding.

And you know? I'd LIKE to have outstanding. While also an investment into the company, any investment requires due process and serious thought. My current perspective is that I need to see an increase in sales before jumping through such a step -- except I DO know what events I have booked for the year and an improved website will only make sales that much easier and come in faster. Chicken. Egg.

The use of the camera in the last week has meant that some lenses have been thoroughly explored and every aspect utilized … while others have languished untouched. Those untouched ones (including my once beloved 10-20mm Sigma) are due next for a review. There is redundancy in the FX and DX lenses, but it will be very rare to have the same focal length on the same bodies at the same time. I'm more likely to have a telephoto on one and a fixed prime on another, or at least two different fixed primes (20mm & 85mm).

* The 80-400mm is a nice lens but the speed is a factor, although the slowness is focusing is the biggest problem. This is not a speed event (horse show) lens, nor is it a wildlife lens. In fact, I'm not sure what good it is for at all, but that one I will be selling no doubt. I got nearly nothing decent out of it this last week and I suspect that wasn't just my ineptitude. The 70-200mm with a 1.4 TC on a bright sunny day will give me *almost* 300mm (280mm) and I'm more than find enough cropping horse jumping photos for the shots that I need.

* The extra 77mm Circular Polarizer can go as well. I can hand off the extra step-up ring as well if I'm feeling nice.

* I need to play with the 10-20mm again. When I used this, I used it at either 10 or 20. Rarely in between. I've the 20mm fixed now, which is awesome. And the 8mm fisheye. A non-distorted 10-14mm range is needed for architectural photos, but I'm NOT currently into those. And the 10-20mm is DX, which is really the death bell on it. I dislike selling knowing I only have to turn around and place that $$ elsewhere, but I'll see how that goes. *checks* and nothing seems to actually exist that isn't DX. I think my 20mm is going to be strong enough, especially on a FX body.

* So having said that, I have the older Sigma macro telephoto that should go. I haven't touched it in over year.

* I can't see using more than 2 bodies at any event, so the need for the 18-200 DX Nikkor is rather useless even as useful as it was as a lens. Fine. GONE.

* then there's the two DX lenses I picked up in error. I'll review details on both and see if either serves a purpose that my current bunch does not.

**** I *would* love the 14-24mm FX Nikkor but I still think the 20mm takes the market on that one. I did well with that choice. I can *want* it, but I don't *need* it. With the 24-70mm, I don't need anything else in there.

Post-weekend and the steps ahead

I'm still in process of uploading images from this last weekend as well as going along and creating a 'best of' album'. Apparently running 5 uploads from 3 different computers kills your net connection. Who knew? After last night, I know. I am starting with the horses and as time permits, I'll go through the last several years of photos and pick out the better stuff, post process as needed, and go from there.

Print wise, I decided on the ones to have for 'display' at events, so I just need to process those files and order them. Also decided on the two prints to get done *everywhere* to show quality issues between the printers SM offers and Target, Walmart, Walgreens, Albertsons, Inkleys and even Harmons. THAT's a project I'm rather curious to see how it turns out. I think I'll print 5x7 but crop big (not 100% but close to it) so the details really come through. These will also include my first metallic images from EZ Prints and Bay Photos, so I'm extra excited to see how THOSE turn out :) The 'display' ones at the show are going to just be lustre since I'm self-laminating them as the frames have no glass (lighter, less dangerous and on clearance at IKEA that way).

Page 1: EZ Lustre & Metallic - cat
Page 2: EZ Lustre & Metallic - flowers
Page 3: Bay Photos Lustre & Metallic - cat
Page 4: Bay Photos Lustre & Metallic - flowers
Page 5: self-print: cat & flowers
Page 6: Walgreens & Inkleys - cat
Page 7: Walgreens & Inkleys - flowers
Page 8: Walmert & Target - cat
Page 9: Walmert & Target - flowers
Page 10: Albertsons & Harmons - cat
Page 11: Albertsons & Harmons - flowers

I did finish the pricing plan yesterday, although the 'multiple gallery' implementation …. Yeah. Not so smoothly there. I'm not pleased at the idea of going gallery by gallery, but I think getting off the mini and onto a full screen will help, as I might have been mis-selecting some of the choices.

And I'm danged if I can find the Portfolio level pricing. THAT's hidden away somewhere good and secretive.

Otherwise the to do list continues to get chipped away and grow at the same time. Looking into Etsy, I don't believe printed canvases will pass the 'handmade' muster, which makes me wonder about collages …. Which I rather like the idea of. Ooo! So I'm going to get some canvas and materials and use some of my own prints (must get printing again) to see how creative I can be. This also has the potential to be much cheaper, so I'll see how it goes. There's also the possibility of painting the canvases first, but that's definitely later down the road. Etsy continues to be a work in progress.

Oh and the lensbaby? All it took was a call to the company -- who had the items in stock -- and mention that my local store had nothing and was reporting no delivery until June and BAM! Two days later, they had my order in and were fully stocked. It's nice to be an enabler. I should get a discount for helping them restock there! Ha.

Business Models and giving away for 'free'

This was an USDF teaching clinic for lunging assessments as well as lunging riders (that part is today, which I have to miss). Intriguing to learn about although photos of horses going around and around and around and around and …. Lots of circles, ok? I tried to be as inventive as I possibly could, but it definitely took a toll on the mental boredom (and sleep deprivation) after awhile.

I'm still working on my pricing model and business model, but these clinics are difficult -- the demand for photos is low and I'm much more interested in getting traffic TO my website. I have photos that I'm not even sure some people are aware of. With such a small horse community, it's easy to eventually get photos of nearly everyone -- but you have to GET them to come visit.

There's a good hack to change the 'buy' button into a download button for the website. I'd love to have both though -- download abilities for smaller versions (with watermarks) and purchasing larger ones. Alas, the hack *changes* the button from one to the other, and I'd prefer to do both. So for now, downloads are limited to right-clicking on images and making sure that they are available (although limited in size).

These clinics also make me think of the Siren's conference. For whatever reason, my mind skipped over to the topics of website traffic flow, costs, etc. I think a very similar model to the clinics but with a provision that 50% of any 'profit' from photography sales goes back to the Siren's folk (since they ARE non profit and therefore this will help them put on next years conference). Which also makes me think that perhaps I should get some business cards together JUST for the conference. Especially if I can get a card or flyer (or postcard size) into the registration package for the attendees (limited to 600). Hmm. In this case I just want my efforts to be appreciated by all who attend. Sales are so very secondary.

Colors are not quite colors are colors are

Calibrating a monitor is a good good good thing to do!

I'm a bit ashamed it took me this long to get around to it.

Done! and it shall be re-done monthly. Promise to all that's important to me. Upon the soul of my D3.

THE indoor test -- can the D3 cut it? answer.... YES!

It took a bit of work, but the 50mm f/1.4G does LOVELY in the indoor arena. Ok ok so every other photo is green, but this is very easily fixed with some Lightroom wizardy. I'll get more posted up in Catspaw Photos later on, but for now here's their best attempt (photographed, rest were video) of a 3 foot oxer at the end of a grid. Yay Alison! Yay Denali!!

lights, action and business

I love our local eventing association (Wasatch Evening Association") so was quite happy to donate photography services (portrait session or sales shots or action shots, however they want to use the hour with two prints included) for their silent auction. No idea how it sold but it just feels danged good to 'give back' to such. Course, I won a down jacket as Rookie rider of the year and fleece quarter sheet as BN horse of the year two years ago, so I definitely feel I'm due to give back :) I've I'd been in town I'd have taken some of the nicer but harder to sell on ebay items and donated them too, but alas i was in San Diego so missed this year's end of year banquet.

I'm also seeing if any horse rescues need some GOOD photos to help them adopt out horses, etc etc. Heck, I can even make mini web pages for them depending on what resources they do and do not have. I'm not sure who's in the area, but I know Nina knows a few and I can work from there. Giving back is good and this is something I CAN do and do fairly well.

This weekend is the USDF teachers lunging clinic at Promontory: still not certain if it's Fri-Sun or Sat-Sun but I'll figure it out soon enough. Sun is work, alas, but I'll take photos and perfect the exposure in the camera. Plus, hey! creative challenges abound. A horse that goes in a circle x 500 times.

I've started reading Strobist a lot recently and got into the LumniQuest line of items -- as well as their amazing secondary 50%+ discounted items on their website. GREAT customer service and I'll be getting a few there (fold flat, yay!). Gary Fong is the other 'big' name out there but they are hard plastic and a PITA to transport around. The ultra soft box should be WONDERFUL for horse portraits. Cannot wait to practice and play a bit with this.

Otherwise, the first few reviews have been upgraded into dgrin's book review section (yay! I feel important! :) ) and as I work on work those will be added as well. Nicely, they are amending them with other folks' reviews rather than replacing. This makes me much more comfortable, as we will obviously all have different words to say about the same books.

ALSO talked with Baldy (CEO of Smugmug) and his programmer who is working on the Packages product for release in the next few months. I'd reached out to them since I'd be in town in late May, but apparently that was just a tad too late. So an hour long conversation (which I believe went extremely well, given the 3-way nature of it), much was learned, must was shared, and I got to talk a bit about the business geek side of things, including ways that could be used to implement the interface to help those users who are less business inclined. Regardless, it was amazing to talk to two folks who have such a passion on par with my own and that alone made it quite worth it. I cannot wait to pick Andy's brain a bit more during Catalina.

the art of Learning

I'm officially turning into a geek, for not only am I reading, underlining and reviewing the books I read .... now I'm taking notes.

Yup, there's some good stuff in there and I sure as heck don't want to forget it! Into Dan Heller's "Profitable Photography in the Digital Age" which requires much thought but is also vastly stimulating.

It also calls me an insane photographer. Except that's a GOOD thing. Insanity = good, since you don't drop out or fade away or otherwise fail to put in the effort needed.

Although I cannot even recall the details of some of the business classes I took in college, this is still proving to be the perfect background for me. Without that? Who knows. I might pitter around like a regular photo hobbyist without ever getting anywhere. Instead I find myself creating *achievable* plans in my head and running through scenarios to get them to work.

###

On another note, Pictureline is running a strobe lighting class next week -- but I cannot attend. Woe! They are, however, opening a new store a stone's throw from where I live so I can only hope they start more classes there so I don't have to drive a half hour for them.

Educational opportunities abound, but I find they presume a full-time photographer who has free time say, noon to 1pm on a Monday afternoon. You know, when most normal folks are at work. PPA has a series of webinars (online seminars) for photography business but there isn't a single one that I want to attend that I can make, hour wise.

Yes, I feel thwarted. Me and the pile o' books will create our own little university for now.

Reading on - business books for photographers

Next up, PROFITABLE PHOTOGRAPHY IN THE DIGITAL AGE. I'm hoping this touches on some areas that PRICING PHOTOGRAPHY entirely skipped over (since that was printed in 2003). I'll see and update here with more thoughts once I'm done.

This book *is* by Dan Heller, who has some excellent FAQs and information on his website about business and photography. I haven't read all of it yet, but will do so eventually.

http://danheller.com/bizfaq.html for those not familiar with him.

Down Time is Reading Time

I've been hanging out in San Diego this weekend for people - not for photography. However, the down time (airports, lazy mornings, etc) has been fabulous for getting into more reading.

I finished up 'Pricing Photography' on the airplane and while the entire stock photo portion doesn't apply to me (not yet at least), it was worth the money spent in what I'll make up in the confidence in my own pricing.

Photographers really DO undersell themselves, I see this quite often in posts in dgrin and EPNet, especially from us newbies. If we're willing to do it for free or cheap, why not price it that way.... right? Erg, wrong. It's a hard mindset to break out of (especially when there's such competition in the photography world) but it's one that needs to be bashed about repeatedly. How much do you value your own photography? What are you offering that's unique and different? I have confidence in that, if anything just that I WILL get there even if I'm not totally there right now.

"Understanding Exposure" was next on the list (of those I brought with me) and it is quite perfect for where my brain is at in my own education. I am not learning anything exactly 'new' to me, but it IS putting concrete words and terms and logic to things I half intuitively understood from my own long experience with cameras.

Pricing and the art of managing SmugMug

Note to self:

Create empty albums for pricing per idea from the dgrin forums. This way I can inherit JUST these as needed. And yes, this means re-pricing everything I have, but provides me with more central 'control' over the entire process (adding in weddings later, etc etc).

1. Show Photos (higher cost, no upfront payment rec'd)
2. Clinic/Convention photos (cheaper, not in as high a demand)
3. Friends photos (friends and family rate)

then have the portfolio 'default' ones as well, which can use Bay Photos for better quality.

Draper Days Rodeo, 2008

CRASH.

FAQ v. 1

FAQ page:

when are photos posted online?
how do I order prints?
how do I order a package?
what equipment do you use?
what are the costs for prints (link to pricing page)
can I get a CD/DVD of images?
what are the return policies on the prints?
what are your hourly rates for portraits/special events/parties/weddings?
How long are photos online for?
How fast do I get my order?
I want to use my photos on my website, ad or other publication? What do I purchase?
Why do these photos cost more than one hour photo prints at Wal-Mart or Walgreens?
Do you have other print sizes?
I have another question that isn't answered here.

Cracked heads and flash brackets and networking

I know that my enthusiasm for "all things business" related will rise and fall over time. However, right now I enjoy the wave that I am riding and seeing where it takes me.

I've been debating more and more packaging 'deals' for customers. If SmugMug doesn't implement packages themselves, I can do them manually (more difficult but could be worth it). I could see doing coupons myself as well, but that almost makes it more complex than it is worth.

What I DO need to do is update the main page with the *basic* pricing for events and add in a more detailed "Pricing" page for Catspaw Photos. Details about the labs SM uses as well as guarantees are definitely important. It'll be tricky to not clutter, since the more simple things are, the easier they are to grasp in a quick read.

Networking wise, the Picassa and Flickr sites haven't been indexed yet. But I created a Vox site and it showed up within a few hours. Go figure! However, the ability of all sites to import data and photos from other locations makes cross posting much easier. Once I get more photos uploaded worth of 'sharing', I'll get more and more cross links out there.

The search for a decent rotating flash bracket continues. RRS has one that could work, but at $335 + bracket, it's insane. The hunter hunts on.

Lastly, I cracked the wall of domain transfers. At last! So of the three domains I hold, two are now officially transferred, so if www.catspawphotos.com is down for a bit, fear not. That's just me either working/sleeping/traveling and unable to update the CNAME and other files needed.

As for the third domain .... Verio can rot for all I care. I'll have to give them another call at some point where I have a few hours to spend on hold. Award winners? I think not.

and the girl, she read on...

At least now I can put even MORE of my 'homework' to good use -- writing up reviews for dgrin since I found their book section to be a bit lacking (NO business books, a CS2 book, etc).

And yes, I still consider this to be quite fun and quite the blast.

Go me!

Business Act(ions)

Business tasks:

Update the business plan with more specifics on pricing, when to discount and when to not discount.

Update SM website for different printing options, solidifying prices for this year

Generate price sheets to have available at events.

Get into the dgrin coupon thread discussions, since I'm seeing more and more ways I could successfully use these within the business (pre-payments, raffle prizes, etc). chimed in!

Complete banner exchange with Sirens - need to get a banner version for my website put together - http://www.catspawphotos.com/gallery/7343754_JcdMc already has their banner set up.

Insure equipment! Talk to Hartford as well as the PPA's agency. Include liability

Read through the PPA website in much more detail and find out what other benefits I now have.

Start collecting 'good' horse photos for the screensaver picture frame to use at shows. Includes post-processing.

Put together intro post for EPNet with some of the better horse photos. Create a presence.

Keep up Picassa and Flickr sites, using multiple link backs whenever possible.

Play through bracketting shots as well as multiple exposure shots

Mac mini: load CS4, load the HDR software, set up a GOOD backup program.

Decide what to do with the old mac mini? to Erwin

Enter most recent data into Quickbooks

Go through the Nikon lighting dvds - one section a day, let it absorb.

File taxes, schedule C

Research real estate contacts to determine how many packets I should put together

Find the right flash bracket before Jill's October wedding

Write up book reviews for dgrin/Ivar

Sell off extra lenses (old Sigmas, etc) - check with Adorama first

Send in D50 for maintenance ASAP

Integrate this blog with http://www.catspawphotos.com blog page.

fix emails for two domains and get them transferred to godaddy.com

transfer http://www.catspawphotos.com to godaddy.com

set up personalized domin (aka more professional) email account, even if all it does is forward to my gmail account for Catspaw Photos

Set up Etsy shop with details, ideally focusing on foam boards and other 'posters' for barns and barn offices

Work with Sirens' folks about registration packet insert and donations

Homework

It's been a long time since college and 'homework' still fills me with dread.

However? this is definitely a different sort of homework! These are things I love to read and ponder and figure out how to apply to my own business model and photography processes.

I've a number of business books waiting for me, but right now I'm focusing on the nitty gritty of photography itself. So, I present.... my homework pile:


http://www.catspawphotos.com in my daily portrait files

I love this stuff and look forward to getting off of work so I can go home and ... study. I really never thought I'd see this day!

Getting in with the pros...

Through information from another photographer, I was tipped off to PPA.com (Professional Photographers of America).

As of today, I officially joined. I can do two years with an 'aspiring' membership, which I find a rather descriptive term. Primarily, I see this as a great source for contacts within the industry (equipment insurance, business geekery, etc).

Another step forward!

http://www.catspawphotos.com/gallery/7002345_pof9B/1/466018186_MKoas/Small

a solid start

It's been almost a year since I first launched http://www.catspawphotos.com

While I've taken the business side of things seriously, I'm taking more and more of the photography and networking even more seriously. To say the least, this is not the way I ever expected to use my business degree, but it's one I rather like. I can be a business and photography geek all at once. Perfect!

Digital Grin (aka DGrin) is where I primarily hang out online, although I have also recently been directed to a network of equine photographers. Alas, they don't consider you a pro unless you've been in business for two years. Give me time then, I'll definitely be there.

Am I going anywhere? not any time soon! While this might have been a weekend hobby to start, it has grown into much much more. I am a horseback rider as well as photographer, so juggling both aspects of my equine life is always a challenge.

Depending on bookings and shows, every weekend in June, July, August and September is booked. That business is growing is an understatement! My next challenge will be tackling my own organization.... and doing taxes.

With the new D3 and the used D300 I picked up, plus getting into lighting (SB-900, monopod for light on a stick, etc), I find myself almost literally juggling lenses and accessories. Setting this up in a way that lets me grab the items I need for a shoot (and not forget anything behind) will definitely be the next priority.

Next week: San Diego with friends
Weekend after: USDF instructors lunging clinic at Promontory Equestrian Center, Park City UT