Best Image Photo Contest June 2009
411marketsource | June 1, 2009
Category: Daddy and Me (any ages)
Deadline to Enter: June 24, 2009 at 5:00 p.m. EST.
Click Here to Enter: Enter the Best Image June 2009 Photography Contest
The prize for the winner:
- How to Sell Guide (for online sales) by Wordsmith
- Award Winning title for website:
Award Winning (insert your state) Photographer in Art & Design at 411marketsource
About the How to Sell Guide for Photographers
by Wordsmith
Photographers–regardless of how they sell–who find it difficult to “sell themselves” and hate feeling like a salesman will love this guide! Joyce’s techniques are low-key and refined yet extremely effective, and apply regardless of the dollar amount your target market can afford to spend (i.e. even though Joyce’s business is a low-volume, high end boutique business, the information within the guide applies to all business models). Please note: the guide does not cover every single selling style or scenario under the sun–that would be impossible! It details Joyce’s style with an eye toward being applicable to many circumstances. With that said, if you have a question that is not answered in the guide and Joyce can answer it for you via e-mail, she will! :) Click here to learn more!
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Topics: Contests | No Comments »
Product Review: {how to sell} the complete online sales workflow
411marketsource | June 1, 2009
I recently had the pleasure of reviewing Wordsmiths {how to sell} the complete online sales workflow by Joyce Smith. I must admit that I have been waiting for someone to do this for quite some time.
Joyce Smith has taken from her own personal experience with successful sells and shares with us how her sales maintain a consistent average of $2200. She takes you through her step by step process, including the psychology of her thinking, and even recaps it all into a helpful quick glance guide at the end for you.
I know that for whatever reasons some of us do not want to give up online sales. Every where we turn all we hear is that we will never have high sales if we do not. Joyce shows us how it is possible to do one without sacrificing the other.
One thing I did especially appreciate was how Joyce taught me the importance of the step-by-step process and the psychology of a sale. I had definitely dropped the ball in “the details” and will definitely be making some changes. As someone who has been connected to the photographer community for many years, some of the things Joyce mentioned in her guide I “knew” already. Some I did not know, though. It was also nice to see it all in one place and in order. It saves a lot of time in trying to pull this information together from many different sources and putting it all together. I have to admit even though I had heard some of these things, the importance of every little detail had not clicked for me until I read the guide. It all made sense. I can see why Joyce gets the high sales!
The only thing that I think could make this even better is a photo cart that helped sell for us. I agree with Joyce here. If I were a techie, I would not be sitting here writing this….I would be making the perfect photo cart for us. It would have incorporated wall designs and with ease clients could see any images in any wall design, and it would suggestive sell.
I LOVE products like this because for a nominal fee someone has put together a complete package (information and templates) that can make me a lot more money. They just make good business sense. It has the potential to earn you a lot more on every sale. Will I be making some changes in my online sales workflow after reading this? Absolutely.
Thanks again, Joyce, for seeing a need for online sales help and creating and product to meet that need. I love that you even included templates for us!
Click here to see for yourself.
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Topics: Product Reviews | No Comments »
May 2009 Best Image Photo Contest Winner
411marketsource | June 1, 2009
Our winner is….
Rhonda Stark Photography specializes in on-location custom lifestyle portraiture for children, ranging from newborns to graduating seniors. Her style is natural and she loves interacting with children to elicit and capture their true spirit. Those images are then presented with many artistic touches, from storyboard and collages, to paintings, to coffee table books. Rhonda Stark Photography serves the Minneapolis, Minnesota area, including Plymouth, Wayzata, Maple Grove, and the western suburbs.
The runners-up:
 |
Debra Rantilla |
 |
Beth Cardwell |
Category: Mommy and Me (any ages)
The prize for the winner:
- The Professional Touch Display Proposal for Photographers by Wonderfully Made Designs
- Award Winning title for website:
Award Winning (insert your state) Photographer in Art & Design at 411marketsource
About the The Professional Touch Display Proposal for Photographers
Network with other businesses in your local area to promote your work and get new clients with The Professional Touch Display Proposal. It’s easier than you ever thought!
The Professional Touch Display Proposal is a win-win proposal for both you and that business that you have been wanting to partner up with for some great exposure opportunities for your photography business.
We take you through the complete process including:
- The Proposal Letter (including an actual sample letter and a psd template)
- The 5 Primary Parts of a Successful Proposal Letter - We take you through the complete process of the critical components of your proposal letter making it easy to tweak to suit your business.
- Complete List of Various Types of Businesses for Successful Partnerships
- Knockout Ideas of What to Send with Your Display Proposal - Getting their attention is key, so it’s important to set yourself apart
- Display Ideas - From very expensive to even a low budget idea or two
- Gift Certificate PSD Photoshop Templates
- Display Card PSD Photoshop Templates
Apply for Membership - Art & Design for Photographers at 411marketsource
Topics: Contests | 1 Comment »
Best Image Photo Contest May 2009 - Enter Now!
411marketsource | May 27, 2009
Category: Mommy and Me (any ages)
Deadline to Enter: May 27, 2009 at 5:00 p.m. EST.
Click Here to Enter: Enter the Best Image May 2009 Photography Contest
The prize for the winner:
- The Professional Touch Display Proposal for Photographers by Wonderfully Made Designs
- Award Winning title for website:
Award Winning (insert your state) Photographer in Art & Design at 411marketsource
About the The Professional Touch Display Proposal for Photographers
Network with other businesses in your local area to promote your work and get new clients with The Professional Touch Display Proposal. It’s easier than you ever thought!
The Professional Touch Display Proposal is a win-win proposal for both you and that business that you have been wanting to partner up with for some great exposure opportunities for your photography business.
We take you through the complete process including:
- The Proposal Letter (including an actual sample letter and a psd template)
- The 5 Primary Parts of a Successful Proposal Letter - We take you through the complete process of the critical components of your proposal letter making it easy to tweak to suit your business.
- Complete List of Various Types of Businesses for Successful Partnerships
- Knockout Ideas of What to Send with Your Display Proposal - Getting their attention is key, so it’s important to set yourself apart
- Display Ideas - From very expensive to even a low budget idea or two
- Gift Certificate PSD Photoshop Templates
- Display Card PSD Photoshop Templates
Apply for Membership - Art & Design for Photographers at 411marketsource
Topics: Contests | No Comments »
Designer Opportunity - Banner/Logo Design Contest
411marketsource | May 27, 2009
Design Contest - Great exposure for those entering and the winner. The prize is HUGE for this!
The winner will receive a one year professional membership on our resource site PLUS a one year professional membership for their design business on our photographer site. That’s twice the exposure for a whole year!
Award Banner for our Photography Contest Winners
- size: 150×150
- possible words to use: top professional photographer, award winning, etc.
Member/Logo Banner
- size: 200×75
- possible words to use: top professional photographers, member, photographers, artists, designers, etc.
General information:
- Professional looking banners that members or contest winners would proudly want to display on their websites.
- Winner must submit the psd file.
Current banner samples:
http://411marketsource.com/artanddesign/cindex.asp?id=link_code
Both banners should look professional and need to be designed in a way that members and winners will proudly want to display them on their site.
Deadline to be announced. If we do not feel that one of the entries will work for our site, the contest will close with no winner.
NO limits to the number of entries you can submit.
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Topics: Contests | No Comments »
Spring Cleaning - Spruce Up Your Artist Profile
411marketsource | May 27, 2009
Your photographer profile on 411marketsource is sometimes the first impression that a client has of you. There are four things you can do to increase the chance of potential clients clicking through to your website.
- Use your BEST images. Take a minute and review your images. It is worth the little extra time and effort to put your best foot forward here by updating with you absolute best images.
- Include testimonials. This lets them know great things about you without you having to tell them. Let your happy clients tell them. It also reassures them that you are a great choice.
- List the types of photography in which you specialize. We have updated the site to include a list for you to answer yes or no to make it easier for you and easier for potential clients, so now you may use the convenient list and also include them in your text description.
- List the cities where you work. Potential clients are not always from the area and are not sure of the surrounding cities, so it’s a good idea to list the cities in which you work.
It is important for your profile to have curb appeal. Just like with selling a home, if the house doesn’t look good from the curb, they won’t go in. We do see this happen. This is also why it is helpful to have more than one profile to tailor your images, titles, and descriptions to a particular area and/or type of photography.
A word of caution regarding your title. Be careful about changing it up often. Occasionally, a profile itself will come up in search results instead of a particular category. If this is the case and you change your title, it will be an incorrect link until the search engines reindex it.
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Topics: News | No Comments »
We have a new LOGO banner!
411marketsource | May 18, 2009
We now have banners for your websites! All you need to do is include our code, change the wording to your particular area, and you are all set! Please click here for your text and banner code.
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Topics: News | No Comments »
Free Ads for Photography Vendors
411marketsource | May 5, 2009
If you sale a product or service designed for photographers, list it on our photographer resource site for free! It even includes 5 images! For a limited time, our basic membership on the resource site is FREE!
Click here to register and begin posting your ad!
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Topics: Sales | No Comments »
April 2009 Best Image Photo Contest Winner
411marketsource | May 4, 2009
Our winner is….
Virginia, Washington DC Photographer Ruthi David
Ms. David specializes in artistic heirloom-quality portraiture that captures the nuances and details of everyday life, and believes that your portraits are an investment in your family’s history. She serves Northern VA, Virginia, Washington DC, and the MD Maryland Suburbs, including Fairfax County, Prince William County, Loudon County, Leesburg, Middleburg, Chevy Chase, Potomac, Bethesda, Rockville, Great Falls, Oakton, Vienna, Mclean, Tysons Corner, Georgetown, Alexandria, Arlington, Ballston, and all surrounding areas.
The runners-up:
 |
Amanda Maynard |
 |
Debi Gomez |
 |
Donna Welch |
Category: Children (ages 1-4)
The prize:
- Easy As Pie Pricing Guide for Photographers PLUS forum access to the pantry for question and answer sessions!
- Award Winning title for website:
Award Winning (insert your state) Photographer in Art & Design at 411marketsource
About the Easy As Pie Cookbook - A Common-sense pricing strategies for the modern portrait photographer.
Just like in any cookbook, there are recipes and formulas that can lead to success included in your download (approximately thirty-something pages).
You might want to buy this bad boy if you want to pull your hair out every time you get another measly $150 sale from an absolutely fabulous portrait session. It’s also ideal for the photographer looking to push into a more exclusive, high-end market - and leave the cheapies behind forever!
You’ll be introduced to Alicia’s pricing philosophy, then shown how to implement it in your own business. The book covers how to determine pricing for your portrait products, how and when to raise pricing, how to build portrait collections, and how to maximize every sale. Step by step, and bit by bit, you’ll conquer pricing!
PLUS….access to the “Pantry”, a forum format question and answer session with the chefs!
Apply for Membership - Art & Design for Photographers at 411marketsource
Topics: Contests | 1 Comment »
Best Image Photo Contest April 2009 - Enter Now!
411marketsource | April 26, 2009
Category: Children (ages 1-4)
Deadline to Enter: April 29, 2009 at 5:00 p.m. EST.
Click Here to Enter: Enter the Best Image April 2009 Photography Contest
I love finding new resources for photographers and as someone that seems to always be “redoing” my pricing, Alicia’s new website advertising her pricing guide for photographers looked like it could be helpful, so she was wonderful and donated this for our prize!
The prize:
- Easy As Pie Pricing Guide for Photographers PLUS forum access to the pantry for question and answer sessions!
- Award Winning title for website:
Award Winning (insert your state) Photographer in Art & Design at 411marketsource
About the Easy As Pie Cookbook - A Common-sense pricing strategies for the modern portrait photographer.
Just like in any cookbook, there are recipes and formulas that can lead to success included in your download (approximately thirty-something pages).
You might want to buy this bad boy if you want to pull your hair out every time you get another measly $150 sale from an absolutely fabulous portrait session. It’s also ideal for the photographer looking to push into a more exclusive, high-end market - and leave the cheapies behind forever!
You’ll be introduced to Alicia’s pricing philosophy, then shown how to implement it in your own business. The book covers how to determine pricing for your portrait products, how and when to raise pricing, how to build portrait collections, and how to maximize every sale. Step by step, and bit by bit, you’ll conquer pricing!
PLUS….access to the “Pantry”, a forum format question and answer session with the chefs!
Apply for Membership - Art & Design for Photographers at 411marketsource
Topics: Contests | No Comments »
The Professional Touch Display Proposal for Photographers
411marketsource | April 22, 2009
The Professional Touch Display Proposal for Photographers
Network with other businesses in your local area to promote your work and get new clients with The Professional Touch Display Proposal. It’s easier than you ever thought!
The Professional Touch Display Proposal is a win-win proposal for both you and that business that you have been wanting to partner up with for some great exposure opportunities for your photography business.
We take you through the complete process including:
- The Proposal Letter (including an actual sample letter and a psd template)
- The 5 Primary Parts of a Successful Proposal Letter - We take you through the complete process of the critical components of your proposal letter making it easy to tweak to suit your business.
- Complete List of Various Types of Businesses for Successful Partnerships
- Knockout Ideas of What to Send with Your Display Proposal - Getting their attention is key, so it’s important to set yourself apart
- Display Ideas - From very expensive to even a low budget idea or two
- Gift Certificate PSD Photoshop Templates
- Display Card PSD Photoshop Templates
One caveat here….
Do not send too many at once. I got a very good response to my first run and did not need to send anymore. You can always do a second or third run if you want more responses.
Apply for Membership - Art & Design for Photographers at 411marketsource
Topics: Featured Vendors | No Comments »
Backup Software Review
411marketsource | April 19, 2009
I recently went on the search for backup software, and it was not a pretty sight. I ended up making a list of what was important to me.
This was my wish list:
- will copy hidden files - I have no idea where these are or what they do, but I know they are needed and want them copied, too.
- will do a mirror backup/copy - For my file backup, I really want to be able to take that external hard drive backup and plug it in anywhere at anytime and be back in business with all my files. I also want to be able to update just the files that have changed…including any deletions I made from the primary hard drive. I want all changes reflected on my backup copy. I also want something that will quickly backup just last changes I made.
- system backup - I’m not really savvy here and really just want to be able to take a new hard drive and be able to restore my system to it.
- outlook backup
- bookmarks backup
- ftp capabilities (in a perfect world with enough server space, it would be nice to have off-site backup capabilites)
- not compresses option (I worry about compressing images, so I wanted the option to not compress)
- open or locked files (just in case I need to be working while it is backing up, I want it to be able to rise to the occassion.)
- verify backup - I want to know it backed up with good copies
- won’t lock up after x number of files (not sure what this meant, but I sure didn’t want mine locking up…I knew enough to know the words “locking up” were not good.)
I narrowed my search down to 3 programs.
Acronis
Genie
PC Backup Pro
I have to admit that was quite overwhelming.
Acronis
Acronis I did not do a lot of research on because, honestly, I felt it was a bit over my head. When it talked about backing up your system and began talking about partitions, my eyes just glazed over. I do wish some of these places would realize that most of us are not computer geeks. So that kind of eliminated them from the beginning. I will say, though, that other users much more qualified than myself obviously thought this was the best system backup program out there. Many used this just for this purpose and purchased another software program for their file backups.
Genie
Genie had a lot of potential, but it became ludicrous the more I talked with tech support. It went something like this:
Me: (several wasted CDs later) It won’t let me make a boot disk.
Genie: We need to see the screen.
Me: (wasting yet another disk) Here it is.
Genie: It seems the sonic engine for the CD/DVD burning is conflicting with the firmware you have. GBM v9, which is scheduled to be released in Q3 of this year will have a completely different a burning engine. I have arranged that you receive a free upgrade once it is released, and have went ahead and put you in my calendar to follow up with you.
Me: Ok. I can deal with that.
Me. I can’t complete my mirror backup.
Genie: It should work fine.
Me: It doesn’t.
Genie: Show us.
Genie: Please also make sure you have the latest OFB build 4.1.0 from PreferencesàOFB
You may download it from the link below: http://www.genie-soft.com/download/download.html
Me: (twenty-some hours later) Here it is.
Genie: After investigating the log file it does show that this is a memory management issue due to the fact that you’re trying to backup a huge amount of file count. Please try splitting the job and let know what happens.
Please also try the following:
From GBMs tools menu -> global preferences -> General -> temporary files folder -> please make sure to use a specific location which is an internal drive formatted using NTFS file format with the most free space.
Try the split backup jobs under this option and tell us what happens.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Please don’t hesitate to ask any questions; we are here to help.
Me: The only problem with this is that target drive will no longer be an exact mirror as the directories are setup on my source drive. Each backup creates its own folder, so I will end up having my “mirror backup” divinded into several directories with having to navigate several folders down. That would be extremely cumbersome and difficult to navigate. This is not an adequate solution to the problem.
The fact that it only gets to less than 200GB before it gets the error makes the mirror feature not very useable as a “mirror” backup at all.
Example if what a mirror backup should look like:
my-backup
GRename
MF
actual backup files begin here
So if this method just runs backups separately, my target drive will look like this:
my-backup
GRename
MF
actual backup files begin here (for 1st backup)
my-backup
GRename
MF
actual backup files begin here (for 2nd backup via post job command)
my-backup
GRename
MF
actual backup files begin here (for 3rd backup via post job command)
Is there another way to work around this so that my source hard drive will be an exact mirror on my target drive with the directories and folders being setup in the exact same way?
Genie: Unfortunately, if splitting the backup is the only way to solve the memory management issue, there will be no way to have the exact mirror of the drive and the same folder structure; but when restoring you will be able to restore your data to the exact folder structure they were.
You can use this option as a workaround until we release GBM v9.0 which has the solution for all of this problems.
Genie: I’m confused. One it is really hard to buy a product on a future update…which I will have to pay additional for, plus I downloaded the special open file backup program (which I was told to do by tech support), which I am just seeing is apparently not included in this program?????? What is up with that? You are advertising it as being able to copy open files but then telling me I need to download this…which costs extra?????? Are you guys serious? This is getting ridiculous.
My Genie experience: As you can see I corresponded with them and worked on these various issues over a couple of weeks. By the end, I was really quite frustrated. They did seem to be offering a free upgrade…once the magical v.9 was released, but I really did not understand the additional Open File Backup Program that I needed to buy when it was advertised as being able to do that.
PC Backup Pro
This program has major potential, but I will be honest. I do feel they dropped the ball on their copy backup. I backed up my hard drive and was feeling pretty good that 10 hours later I was safe should something happen to my primary hard drive. However, this is where I had problems, I ran the job again with settings to override only older files, and the program still took forever. I really do not want to take 10 hours every day when I am only backing up files that have changed.
Their customer support did not seem professional. I did get a relatively quick response (couple of hours) on a weekday night, but “ctrl alt del” is not my idea of a solution to end a print job. I e-mailed them back Saturday only to be met with a “mailbox is full” error message.
This software honestly does confuse me. It seems to have a mind of its own. I would attempt to run one backup, and something completely different would be running, and don’t even get me started on trying to stop it once it has started. You can press stop until the cows come home, and it keeps going. The only way to actually stop this program is to Ctrl-Alt-Del and figure out the file names in applications. Totally ridiculous if you ask me.
That being said, I did purchase this program and will use it to backup my C drive. That is all I want or have enough knowledge to operate…something that will just backup my c drive (hidden files and all). Also, I really do not get the reason behind partitioning the C drive. I’m not sure if it is to keep me from accidentally deleting something or what. This program just seemed to back up a hard drive which is all I wanted to do.
General notes:
Could not find anyone that did not offer phone support without paying an additional charge.
Summary:
I purchased PC Backup Pro (for system backup) and am still up in the air with what to do for a file backup program. Honestly, I think it is ridiculous how complicated it is. It seems everyone just wants to sell you their program but have really not put enough thought into making it work. I will keep you guys posted should Genie step up to the plate and make this work the way it is supposed to or should I find something else. Trust me, if I find something that works the way it is supposed to, I will be shouting it from the rooftop.
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Topics: Product Reviews | 1 Comment »
March 2009 Best Image Winner
411marketsource | April 7, 2009
Our winner is……
Michigan Photographer Jess VanLue
Think laid back, casual, natural and riveting. Think bright colors, spontaneous smiles, sparkley eyes and moody stares. Think treasured moments, everlasting art and memories to savor. This is Jess VanLue Photography.
Click here to view more of Jess’ beautiful and inspiring work!
Category: Close-up/Macro
The prize:
- A CD of Music Made Just for Photographers by Music4photographers!
- Award Winning title for website:
Award Winning (insert your state) Photographer in Art & Design at 411marketsource
About the Music CD: The First CD made just 4 Photographers!
The great part about it- it’s HYBRID! That’s right! The CD includes both WAV and MP3 files. Whats the big deal? You can insert the CD into your computer and have easy access to MP3 files. No converting software needed! Simply drag and drop them into any slide show software. BUT, you can also put the CD into your stereo and listen to music just like the CD’s from the store!!
Use the music for advertising, slide shows, your web site, or play the music in your studio to liven up the mood! We use our CD for all our senior slide shows, and we play the music in their dressing rooms and during their session! The seniors LOVE it!
Music created by musicians from all over the country. Includes a vast variety of genres. Pop, rock, acoustic, jazz, techno,and many others. The CD has 3 songs without lyrics, and 9 songs with! Perfect to fit your needs for anything! CD ALSO includes a bonus feature! Two music intros which last 15 seconds. The intros are a few seconds of intense music. Somewhat like what you might here at the movie theater in the beginning of the movie. Click the Slide Show Tab to view a slide show that highlights one of the intros. At our studio we play the intro and put our studio name on the screen. Use it for a great “drama builder” at the front of any slide show. Or use it at the end.
Select songs have been featured on MTV, NBC, The E! Channel, and more!
This would be especially great for teens and seniors (individual or for a group of friends)!
Apply for Membership - Art & Design for Photographers at 411marketsource
Topics: Contests | 1 Comment »
How to Create a STUNNING Photography Blog for Photographers
411marketsource | March 23, 2009
If you don’t have a blog, you are missing out on a great marketing and SEO tool! A photo blog is a great way to show off your latest work and keep your site updated and fresh for your clients and search engines.
TOP 5 SMART THINGS TO DO WITH YOUR BLOG
- Post sneak peeks for your clients. Let them know it is a sneak peek to share with all their family and friends.
- Feature local businesses on your blog. This is a great way to partner with other businesses to network and develop a working relationship for more exposure for both parties.
- Update it regularly to keep your site fresh and new for your clients and search engines. Search engines love fresh content. They like to know your site is staying active.
- Add a local resource area to your blog. Click here for an example.
***Great Little Tip***
Did you know you can post your sneak peeks on your blog as slideshows? Yep, it looks great, keeps all images for your client in one viewing space on your blog (eliminates a lot of scrolling), and it is a little harder to copy your images!
We use the NextGen Gallery. Click here for an example.
We also found another flash slideshow creator that looks like it would work great for this. Click the image below to see some great examples of this flash slideshow builder in action:
The best way to blog is to install Wordpress on your server. This way the hits and traffic are going to your domain name. It also makes it easier for clients to associate it with your business name.
If you choose to go with an online method (the only reason I can even think to do this would be just because it was simpler to start), there are a couple of online ways to do this:
wordpress.com (online version)
Again, we like the idea of installing a blog on your own server with Wordpress.org.
This is the link to the Wordpress 5 minute installation, but I will admit that it took me longer than 5 minutes the first time I installed one. lol
Wordpress 5 minute installation
What’s so great about Wordpress?
- A bazillion (yep, I just made up that one) themes from which to choose (many are free).
- Great plug-ins to customize and optimize your blog.
- So customizable that it can actually be used as your website, too (depending on the theme you choose)!
Start simple with your blog and grow it as you become more familiar with Wordpress. It takes time to gradually learn the ins and outs of the program. Just take baby steps, and you will be fine.
We looked high and low for you to find some of the best photographer friendly blogs for your websites. We know how hard it is to pour through tons of sites looking for themes that will show off images the best, so we thought we would help you guys.
TOP 10 WORDPRESS BLOG THEMES FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS
- PhotoPressPro
- Graph Paper Press
- Photo Blog
- Grain
- Reflection
- Monolit
- Photo Gallery
- Cloudscape
- Nashita
- Tofurious
TOP WORDPRESS PLUGINS FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS
- NextGen Gallery -Turns your galleries into slideshows. This also allows you to make a gallery for your images without a slideshow. Click here to see an example.
- Askimet - This helps with spam. You do need to have a Wordpress API key to use, but it only takes a few minutes and is so worth it.
- All-in-one-SEO - Incorporates your titles and other information into your meta tags.
- Google XML Sitemaps - Easy way to create a Google friendly sitemap to help Google find your pages.
- ExecPHP - Allows you to insert PHP code into your pages or posts.
- FlickrRSS - Allows you to integrate the photos from a flickr rss feed into your site.
Things to Blog About
- Latest session
- Upcoming specials or promotions
- Local happenings
- Feature a local business
- Use your blog to educate (copyright, tips for clothing, custom portraiture, etc.)
- Share things to help your clients (upcoming local events, movie reviews, fun things to do in the area, etc.)
A Blogsite for Photographers
When I started this article, it was meant to be just about blogs, Wordpress blogs to be more specific, but while I was researching and tweaking mine, I realized that for many reasons it would make a GREAT website. Wordpress blogs have come a long way and can be seamlessly integrated into a blogsite for photographers.
The advantages:
- I no longer have to go to two separate places to update my site (blog and site). It is now integrated into one site.
- It has all the ease of the content management systems in the expensive websites
- Many themes from which to choose.
- Easy to change your theme when you want a new look.
- Many plugins available to enhance your site.
- Great SEO.
- Since they are html, they load quicker and easier for clients than flash sites. In all honesty, I’m not sure that clients really care that much about flash sites.
- I can now see exactly where potential clients are going on my website. If you have a flash website, you are losing valuable information.
If you haven’t already clicked on some of the links below, click here to see how seamlessly this can be done.
Wordpress is easier now than ever with the new version incorporating automatic upgrades. It even allows for automatic plugin upgrades, too.
Happy blogging!
Permission to use or share on forums granted with proper credit given to author and source:
Author: Tammy Cobb - Wonderfully Made Photography
Source: Art & Design at 411marketsource.com
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Topics: News | 6 Comments »
TOWARD CREATIVE DISCIPLINE
411marketsource | March 4, 2009
by Columbus, Ohio Photographer Shannon Williams
Early winter months like January/February tend to be the time when most wedding photographers re-tool their websites and re-structure their business approach for the coming wedding season. This has certainly been the case for me so far in 2009, along with editing late 2008 weddings and booking new 2009/2010 clients, of course. But in the midst of all this busy-ness, I’ve found my creative discipline lacking. Like any other creative-pursuit-turned-business, the business of photography can sometimes crowd-out the creative interests that first sparked the idea of even pursuing it as business. That being the case, I’ve decided one of my daily disciplines for the new year will be a 15-minute shoot-out. Just me and my camera for 15 minutes, shooting for the mere pleasure of it, and crafting images that interest me artistically. My goal everyday is to shoot subject matter that is immediately accessible - around the house or studio. Since this narrows the field of available subjects, it forces me to see mundane, common objects from a different point of view. This is a great artistic challenge for a wedding photographer, because some of the best moments that happen on a given wedding day are unscripted - and can be missed entirely if you’re not “seeing” them more than one-dimensionally.
So far, this has proven to be more difficult than I imagined - primarily because it can be tough to turn off the commercial-mindedness that drives and builds a photography business. Regardless, I do find my creative batteries being re-charged by taking time to shoot some of the simple things you see here. I love detail when it comes to photography, so even shooting a bent bottle cap or a textured, dried flower can be fun. I’m sure as the weeks and months progress, I’ll shoot more than just macro images - but for now it’s a good place to start. I’ll be posting some of my favorites here, for you to enjoy as well. And I hope that whatever your creative interest may be, you might find some inspiration here to push the boundaries of what you do artistically.
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