January 23, 2009

by Gavin Seim: A problem people often have with HDR pictures, is getting a bold but balanced look. Often their images end up too flat, too fake, or too fancy and the entire goal (which is a vivid High Dynamic Range image) is lost. Here’s a few tips that apply to HDR nature as well as HDR portrait images on how I get a bold but not overkill look.

Below I’ve combined two – three image sets as HDR’s in Photomatix, but I’m just getting started. To bring it out, I need to mold them a bit and coax out the details I need.

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January 21, 2009

The big PPS Winter/Christmas contest ended on Jan 1st and the winners have just been chosen:
Special thanks to this years sponsors. Stop by and visit them:


I wanted this contest to be totally fair. First I gathered all the entrants email addresses into a single list, including doubles for those who earned double entries by linking to PPS. Then I randomized and numbered the list using Alpha B, and then used a Web number picker to choose winning numbers for more than $2000.00 in prizes. Thanks to all who entered and congratulations to all who won, you’ll be contacted soon.

Even if your not on the winners list, watch your inbox. All entrants will receive a special free effects pack from Seim Effects that has some brand new effects in it including the new Golden Sun presets. You can also fan Seim Effects on Facebook for more specials and freebies.

Stay tune for the next contest by watching the site. You can also become a PPS fan on Facebook. That way you’ll be notified when contests come up. Don’t forget click thru and check out the great products from our sponsors. You may want to buy them anyways since their all so cool.

An The Winners Are…. (insert drum roll here)

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January 21, 2009

by Gavin Seim: This weekend I had a booth at the Wenatchee Bridal Show. The confession I have to make is this. While I was happy with my setup and received great feedback, I ran into my typical problem. I was not a good enough salesman.

Now those of you that listen to Pro Photo Show know that I’m not a shy person. It’s as if like I sit in my booth making weird sounds as I flick my lip with an index finger making that interesting “buh buh buh” sound. Nope, I do fine interacting with people and being professional. Until it’s time to seal the sale that is.

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January 16, 2009

By Gavin Seim:  Being a fabulous photographer is great, but if you want to pay the bills with your passion you have to make sales and take great images. Here’s some great content from PPS and some other great sites to help out. I’ll be updating this post as I find great content on how to market and sell to your clients and a few posts dealing with shooting itself. If you know of some great articles on selling, post em up in the comments. For more good stuff see the Best Of Pro Photo Page

Good reads.

14 Steps To A Successful Sales Presentation:
Another good Ziser post. Fourteen steps David uses in his presentation to help him make great portrait sales.

How to Logo & Brand Your Images:
Branding is important and if you’re sending portraits out the door without it you’re throwing away money.

Selling to an out of town client:
Another Ziser classic. Full of tips on how you can keep sales high, even when you can’t meet in person.

The Portrait Consultation: Part1, Part2 A multi part series from David Ziser (we’ll update it as he publishes them). Selling a portrait is not just about getting a session booked. It’s about selling large prints and making the session profitable.

Large Wall Portraits. Why the 8×10 is stealing your thunder.
One of the host hotly discussed and perhaps the most valuable marketing articles ever on PPS. The ideas may be bold, but they absolutely work. whether you choose to listen or debate them is up to you. Join the discussion.

Copyrighting Your Images: It’s a part of the business that we tend to avoid, but it’s important and once you get the hang of it it becomes easy.

20 Ways To Appreciate Your Customers:
Can’t go wrong making happy customers.

Podcasts…

Pro Photo Show #60. Not Wearing Pants: A good episode overall, but starting at 1:34:10 we start getting into standing out and being something more than a weekend warrior. Then we move right into selling large portraits and how key it is. Be prepared for a few Gavin rants.

Pro Photo Show 53: This episode is a favorite and it’s full of good stuff. The whole show is well worth a listen, but starting at time index 44:28 we’re joined by Kevin Swan. Listen through to the end because the longer he talks the more you’ll glean.

Pro Photo Show 51: Another fun roundatble. At time index 52:33 guest photographer Scott & Adina Hayne talk about the marketing they used to build their wedding business in record time. This is also where they share info on leveraging Facebook to held build your business.

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January 14, 2009

Here in Minnesota, the wedding season slows down quite a bit this time of year.  Why?  Let’s just say I woke up to -18 F this morning and leave it at that.  Now is a perfect time for those of us working in “cooler” locations to take a moment to wrap up any loose ends from 2008 and get refreshed for the 2009 wedding season.  I suppose “refresh” could refer to mind and body but I’m mostly talking about your business literature and images in this case.  Let’s focus on the latter for this week’s tip.

Start sifting those “Wow!” shot gems out of the hundreds, thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands of images you and your staff snapped off last year.  “What do I do if I have like 250 great shots picked out?” Well then I would suggest going into your closet, pull out your “World’s Most Awesome Photographer” T-shirt, put it on, pat yourself on the back and get your butt back in front of your computer ‘cause you’ve got more editing down to do!  Be tough on yourself.  Pick out what you think are your ten to twenty best “Wow!” shots from 2008.  Much like Kevin Kubota touched on in PPS Episode #47, select the images that best represent the kind of shots you truly enjoy doing and want to do more of.  Choose the images that best define you.

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