July 24, 2008

Gosh, I sure made this cool fire look UGLY!

I really enjoyed the book Purple Cow. It’s a book about making your business stand out in an world where paid advertising is failing. It got me thinking about what we do here at Seim Effects. Aside from saving time editing, I use the effects to help me stand out more. I made the above photo bad to get your attention. It probably worked, but I wouldn’t suggest using that effect to get new clients and it’s not included with my collections.

I think  as photographers we sometimes feel that automating parts of our business takes away from our creative edge. That does not need to be so. If we did all our editing manually, we would use far fewer effects, and because they would take so much longer. In the end the results might not be as good because we would be in a hurry. Also by being fast in my editing my client gets their pictures fast. This is a Purple Cow in itself because clients often have to wait toomlong for their pictures to be ready.

So I for one am looking for more ways to stand out. Here’s a few things on my mind for Seim Photography as well as Seim Effects

  • 1. Am I being extraordinary in the products and services I sell?
  • 2. How can I make it even better?
  • 3. What does my target market really want?
  • 4. What can I do to give simple added bonuses? ( the prize inside)
  • 5. What can I do that’s daring and amazing?

I have various answers to these questions rolling in my head like marbles. We’ll talk about those later. The bottom line is this. If I can answer the questions above, and then take action, I can be a purple cow that everyone is amazed by and telling their friends about. That’s FREE MARKETING.

Do you do anything in your business to be the Purple Cow?

By the way. Here’s a good version of that photo.

Gavin Seim

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July 13, 2008

<<Click To Listen – Photography Roundtable #8 PPS#48

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Todays Panel…
Gavin Seim ~ Seim PhotographyEffects & Presets
Kerry Garrison ~ Camera DojoL7 Studios
Dennis Zerwas ~ DZ Photography

Show notes
Episode Forum Discussion

Nikon launches the D700, the Sb900 flash, and two new lenses.

A cool article about sharpening in Photoshop

What brides and clients think of photo websites.

Is NILMDTS (Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep) doing things right? (@27:10)

The Hassleblad H3d has 50mp. A nice camera.

Boda Bag. Looks interesting, but is it all that great?

Tamrac Modular Accessory Belt is what Gavin uses to carry gear during shoots. He just attaches MAS pouches to it.

Dynamic Photo HDR. A PC only HDR program that looks pretty cool.

Kerry has been reviewing out the Photo Basics Strobe Lights. from photobasics.net

Ken Rockwell has articles on setting up your camera.

Rocket Air for cleaning sensors.

Visable Dust is a popular cleaner for heavy duty cleaning.

Picks of the week.
Kerry Likes the Black Rapid R Strap.

Dennis says Phanfare is now his anti-pick because they have taken away features.
Smugmug is his new most favored one.

Gavin is excited about his MP3 Tape

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July 8, 2008

Drobo

For all of you photographers out there who got all excited about the Drobo when they first heard about it only to find out it was USB 2.0, it looks like you can quit your whining…for now. Data Robotics, Inc announced the second generation of the Drobo today. The new Drobo now includes Firewire 800 and a “vastly improved” USB 2.0. Their tech specs claim up to 52MB/s reads & 34MB/s writes and 30MB/s reads & 24MB/s writes respectively. Some other new features are a faster processor along with a quieter and cooler operation.

Drobostore.com is selling the new FW800/USB 2.0 for $499 as well as the original USB 2.0 Drobo for $349. I’ve been using my Drobo since the start of this year and couldn’t be happier with it. I truly believe this is a must have piece of technology for photographers, especially those who can’t afford to lose client’s images!

Dennis

DZ Photography

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July 3, 2008

 Happy 4th of July and Belated Canada Day! Lets’ shoot!

Firewors - Gavin Seim

For those in the USA, the 4th of July is near, and that means Fireworks. Even if your not in the US, your sure to have chances to shoot fireworks sometime.Maybe you shot a few on Canada Day.

Scott Kelby just posted a few quick and dirty tips the other day on getting good fireworks shots, Starting with getting out your tripod. I can say from experiance that these tips are great, and thought I’d pass it along.

Lets see some great fireworks on the PPS Flickr group next week… Gav

 Check out Scotts tips!

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July 1, 2008

Nikon D700

Canon users think… “What about us”

Nikon just announced the new d700, which will fill in the mid range of Nikon’s pro line that they’ve been lacking for awhile. Some more nice images and details on Engadget.

The 12mp D700 will be shipping with a live view 3-inch display, 51 point auto focus, scene recognition, four-speed active dust reduction, ISO up to 6400, 5 or 8 fps full-res shooting, HDMI out and more.

I‘m a canon user myself, and still waiting for Canon to get me that 5d MK II, but you Nikon user can expect this gem in July for about 3k.  Don’t gloat too much though. Canon will be getting us some goodies soon (we hope)

In similar news Nikon has also announced the SB900 flash, and a bit of new glass, including the PC-E Micro NIKKOR 45mm f/2.8D ED and PC-E Micro NIKKOR 85mm f/2.8D

Gav

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