Today I’m pleased to feature some actions from JHP Actions!   John Horn who lives in Japan and contacted me about a year ago and wanted to know if I’d try out his product.  (In full disclosure, he provided me with a copy of the actions and I tried them out)  I’ve always believed that I am a photographer first and I use actions to help me achieve what my eye saw at the photo shoot.  Since I shoot in the RAW format, all photos need a little something in post processing as the image is just data when shot in RAW.  The camera doesn’t apply any kind of processing to the image as it might when shooting in JPEG.  Actions help speed up my workflow AND produce great images for my clients.  Sure I could sit and dodge and burn manually, or create lots of masks, but if an action will speed that process up for me, I’m all for it.

Here’s a few examples of the actions I loved from this set…

First off I have a lovely black and white conversion.  I’m always looking for the best black and white look for my photos as I love black and white images.  I think they are classic and stand the test of time, as well as go with any decor.  Put up a bunch of black and white photos in black frames on your wall and it’s instantly chic!  This shows the beautiful conversion from color to black and white.  I used “Easy B&W” from JHP and really loved the outcome.  Here’s some examples from Katie’s bridal session at the Bellevue Botanical Gardens near Seattle.

Next I wanted to try out a vintage effect.  From time to time I get clients that ask for this, and I like to find an effect that isn’t too drastic.  I was quite happy with “Crossfade-1″ here.

Here’s some more information from John himself, all the way from Japan!

Tell us a little bit about you John :

I am a portrait photographer who current lives in Japan with his wife and 3 kids. I love photography and enjoy spending my free time behind the shutter of my camera or in the digital darkroom creating memories!

 

How did you decide to start the business? 

Before I became a photographer, I was a photo retoucher who used Photoshop since version 5. As soon as I found out about the automatic awesomeness of actions to speed up my daily workflow I never looked back. It wasn’t until about 3 years ago as I was getting into photography and attending workshops that other photographers started to take notice of my work and how I went about the process. From the encouragement of a good photographer friend that used my actions, I decided to make them available to anyone, thus JHP Actions was born. 

How can your actions benefit photographers?

The JHP Actions give you the flexibility and ease of enhancing, color-correcting, sharpening, retouching, texturizing and adding that extra boost to all your images with One Click! JHP Actions are Non-Destructive meaning they keep your original image intact and allow you to mask, control opacity, stack actions and adjust blend modes to create a limitless number of awesome effects!

• Easy to Use
• 100+ Photoshop Actions & Presets to Choose From
• Unlimited Photography Possibilities
• Complete Detailed Instructions Provided
• Get More for your Money

You are only limited by your creativity in what you can achieve with JHP Actions and Presets.

Tell us a little more detailed information about the product (price, etc)…

You will find everything you need when it comes to processing images with JHP Actions. From retouching, to black and whites, vintage, softening, sharpening, creative effects and much, much more. I even have a complete workflow set that is simple and easy for any user needing a quick process for taking their photos to the next level! 

Photography is an expensive business. Cameras, lenses, tripods, lights and software. It all adds up quick. I wanted to offer something more to the photography community that didn’t require a loan to get.
JHP Actions are probably the cheapest premium actions you will find with most sets costing less then your average sitting fee. I even offer a lifetime plan for a one-time payment that entitles you to everything JHP forever! All new sets, actions, upgrades textures and anything else I come up with.  You can go to www.jhpactions.com for detailed information on the product you’re looking for.

Welcome to my very first NEW Feature Friday on my new site!  I’ve been doing Feature Friday for a while, but it’s been sporadic and few and far between.  So today is the first of a weekly Feature Friday!  As you can see from my title image, it’s all about ideas, inspiration, products, and people that you need to know about.  I’m also being brave this year and incorporating some video very soon!

So today I wanted to feature a company that I am so excited about!  It’s brand new and my friend Laura Zander created it.  I met Laura in 2009 at a workshop- my first workshop to be exact.  Back then it was called “Out of the Box”…..but since has been rebranded to DREAM.  We sat through the day, interacting with each other, sharing, then we had lunch and did our afternoon model shoot.  When we came back in and shared images for the editing and workflow portion of the day, I saw Laura’s images.  They were wonderful and I knew she was going to be a very talented photographer.  I wasn’t wrong and Laura has gone on to be a very successful and sought after Newborn and Maternity photographer in Silverdale, WA.  Seriously friends, GO CHECK OUT HER WORK!  You won’t be disppointed!

Well, time went on and  I noticed that she was announcing a new venture.  I was interested and when she finally launched Holding Art, I knew that I had to feature it here on my blog.  This is a great tool for all kinds of photographers…..but I’ll let Laura tell you more-

How you decided to start Holding Art?

As a photographer I know how important it is to be able to display work or deliver a piece to a client. After trying to carry a few canvas to display at an event, I dropped one walking up the steps. My heart sank!  As soon as I came home, I searched for a tote that was large enough to hold a couple 16″x 20″ canvases…when I couldn’t find one that fit my needs I thought it was something that should be available and that’s how Holding Art was born.

How this product benefit photographers?

Holding Art offers products for photographers and artists.  Basically we’ve developed simple solutions to hold art. Created out of a need for something lightweight, affordable and durable, the Canvatote is perfect for delivering a canvas (or a framed print) to a client, or carrying a few for an art installation. Its so versatile, you can easily pack samples to show clients during a meeting or take out a large sketchbook to draw – it even has a little pocket inside for business cards, colored pencils or pastels, etc.  Another product we offer is the Canvalope.  It was created as a companion piece to the canvatote, though it can be used on its own to help protect your art. Both the canvatote and canvalope are eco-friendly, made of strong natural cotton (the canvatote has cotton-webbed handles). They are all made in the USA and they come in a few different colors with classic black as the goes-with-everything basic.  I believe if you have a go-to tote to carry your art, it makes it easy to show your work and leads to your success.

Laura would like to giveaway a Classic Black Canvatote to one lucky reader.  How generous is that???  If you’d like to win a Canvatote, please comment below and we’ll randomly draw a winner and announce on Tuesday October 11.  Good luck!  You can find out more information below!

Find Holding Art on Facebook

Or check out the Website

A little more about Laura:

Laura spent over 12 years as a graphic designer and has an eye for composition, color and creativity.  She is a daughter, sister, wife and mother as well as a maternity and newborn photographer.  Through photography she gets to tell a story, evoke an emotion, or simply reflect details she sees.  It’s that love for artistic and narrative photography that keeps her driven to not only take a great picture but to also create an  exceptional experience just for her clients…

Well, actually this isn’t Friday, but I’m going to write it anyway.  As I was getting some images prepared for some sneak peeks of the recent weddings I did in Seattle, I came across an article on MSN.com for the hottest wedding trends around today.  I thought I’d give my perspective on what they mention and maybe add a few more. Here’s a link to the original article HERE.  All of the images posted are from prior weddings I’ve shot around the country.  Hope you enjoy these wedding trends as much as i did!

1.  Food Choice:  As the article talks about Food Trucks and fast food chains becoming popular at weddings, I’m seeing some of this trickle down.  My last wedding served some brazilian BBQ, candy bars and ice cream bars are always a favorite.  One wedding even had a pie bar of home made pies.  I know a friend who just celebrated their 10 year anniversary with a vow renewal and it was all Hawaiian themed with guava cake and traditional Hawaiian food.  One of my very first weddings did a pig roast and in lieu of a traditional wedding cake did s’mores!

2.  Finding things for the kids:  More and more weddings are welcoming the kids, after all it’s a celebration of those people we love in our lives right?  But then there’s the task of finding something that will keep the kids busy.  Well “kids tabels/areas” are a big hit at weddings.  From paper table cloths with crayons and art supplies for them to draw on, to special favors just for the kids, it’s a big hit (even for the adults)

3.  Photo and Video Booths:  There are almost a staple at weddings these days.  It a fun way for guests to congratulate the bride and groom and show how much fun everyone is having.  Of course I prefer the Photo Booth with a chalkboard or white board to write messages and fun props, but video is great too!  This gives a fun element to your wedding and you get personalized memories!

4.  COLOR!:  This season and well into next color is the chic way to add personality to your wedding.  Pink or Magenta and jewel tones is all the rage right now, as well as pairing it with chartreause green, vivid orange and purple.  You may not think that those go well for a wedding, but believe me, it makes things pop and everything looks vibrant and elegant at the same time!

5.  Ribbon Details:  All sorts of ribbon details are all the rage right now.  It adds a different element to the decor.  At my very last wedding they used ribbon to hang all the guest table seating and it was great!

6.  Shoes:  Long gone are the standard white or ivory wedding shoes.  Modern brides and grooms are wearing brightly colored shoes and socks that match their wedding colors.  I don’t see this trend going away any time soon:

7.  Signs:  You will find all sorts of signs at weddings these days.  From directing the guests to certain areas, to wall art that the couple can hang in their home, signs are a hot trend going on right now.

8.  Sparklers and Bubbles:  The traditional rice and confetti is no longer the standard send away end to the wedding.  Sparklers have the the rage for a few years now and I’m seeing more and more bubbles at my own weddings.

There’s some awesome ideas in the article on seating for the ceremony (I’m absolutely in love with the “winding road” placement!), and incorporating rainbow colors into the wedding.  I’ve seen dresses of all different colors, and also the dress color the same but different styles with different shoes.  Whatever it is that makes your wedding unique, definitely try and incorporate a few of these great trends for your wedding!

This [b]school is an amazing place that my friend Chris Becker created!  His whole mantra is “Photographers helping Photographers”.  I say friend loosely, but I’d like to think that we’re friends  I feel like if I was stranded in southern California ( or anyplace where he’d be at really) and needed something, that I could call him up and he’d

(a) know who I am, and not think I’m a random weirdo calling him, and

(b) if he could help me out, he would do it. And willingly

So those are the kinds of things that qualify people as “friends” in my book.  Plus I adore his girlfriend Keats, who is just about the easiest person I’ve ever been able to carry on a conversation with in my life!  She is seriously is so engaging!

I totally  remember like it was yesterday,  coming across his blog in the spring of 2007.  You know when you start reading things and they just connect with you?  They just make sense?  He had almost daily video posts about different things pertaining to photography and business and he also had a little notice about “summer school” up at the top of his blog.  I was hooked and I haven’t looked back since.  If you’re looking for a place to connect with other photographers in your area, or you think you need to BUILD that network, then this is the place to be.  There’s a great forum for learning and answering questions, there’s great clubs when you can get even more in depth into different topics, there’s amazing videos on topics pertaining to your business and photography, and it’s just a great and positive oasis of positivity, that I think is greatly needed.  We also can refer clients back and forth to each other, share images with settings to learn and grow, and just have the opportunity to not only connect with local photographers in your area, but also photographers on a worldwide level.  I know that I have photographers that I talk with daily in the UK, Australia and all around my own country of the USA.

Anyway, Becker does a weekly chat which is FREE to everyone!  You can tune in on Thursdays at 4pm pacific time to check some stuff out.  He either has on a guest or chats about photography stuff.  Stay tuned to Twitter or Facebook for reminders on those days to tune in.  If you think that you like what you see, or just think that you might want to try the [b]school out, you can sign up by CLICKING HERE.  It’s one of the best monthly or yearly investments that I make pertaining to my business:

Tomorrow we have another whirlwind day of visiting and going places and then a baby blessing on Easter Sunday.  Then it’s back to Seattle!  Catch you on Monday!

Many of you know I met Sarah back in 2008.  She was my very very first “non-friend” client.  She contacted me through Oplove and the rest was history.  I did the Oplove shoot, the homecoming shoot, her wedding.  I’m bummed she moved before she had her first baby.  But Sarah has been up to lots of things.  She’s a busy lady.  In the last two years Sarah has gotten married and adopted her husbands little girl, finished college, had another baby girl, and moved down to California. AND she’s still going to school to get her Bachelors!  Whew!….and I thought I was busy!  I recently found out through Facebook that Sarah started her own company called The Ribbon Room.  For all you friends out there with little baby girls and those of you who are photographers, give Sarah a call and order your ribbons and bows today!  Here’s a little more about Sarah and the Ribbon Room:

1.What made you decide to start The Ribbon Room?

I would go into “cutesie” little boutiques and see all these bows I LOVED and wanted for my girls but then I would see the price tags. I couldn’t realistically see myself paying $8-$10 for a single bow! So I decided to make bows for my girls, I posted a few pictures on my facebook just to show my friends and family how cute they turned out, and those same friends and family loved them and decided they couldn’t live without them. What started as a single order has blossomed into 2, then 3, then an order for 60 for an entire cheerleading squad. I decided there are a lot of other moms and obviously other people that don’t want to pay boutique prices for boutique style bows.

2. What kind of products to you carry or make?
Right now I offer 7 different Ribbon Room bows as well as bow holders. And if I don’t have the style of bow you are wanting I am sure I can learn it. I offer 32 different solid colors and I can get pretty much any pattern or print you can think of.

So let’s talk about this weeks topic- Staying Busy during “down” time.  This doesn’t have to only apply to photographer’s.  We’ve all had jobs where there’s super busy times, super slow times, and then just regular workloads.  I remember being a manager in the retail industry at a couple of different stores.  When I was managing Aeropostale in South Bend, IN, “back to school” time was CRAZY!  Like; out the door, steady stream of people, wiped my merchandise tables clean for hours, kind of busy.  The kind of busy when I was closing the tills at night and would make bank deposits of $50,000+ in cash and checks.  THAT kind of crazy busy.  Then, a couple of weeks later when school was in session we’d die down, I mean it was like a ghost town!   No one in the store, time to perfectly fold every stack of graphic tees with a folding board, $150 TOTAL sale days slow.  It was during those slow times that I was able to catch my breath, refocus on goals, sales and merchandising, work on my recruiting skills and teaching associates ways to move forward in their career.

I’ve always talked about how my business management background has helped me in more ways than I could ever imagine in my own photography business.  I started managing stores when I was 19 years old, working my way up into upper management at some of the biggest department stores.  I learned many things along the way, including how to stay busy during slower times.  It’s hard to sometimes not get discouraged when your business slows down for whatever reason it may be.  Maybe it’s the off season if you’re a wedding photographer, maybe the weather directly impacts your business because you are a mostly on location photographer, maybe your family life has changed because you’ve had a baby or you’ve moved to a different location.  Whatever the reason may be, there will be cycles of crazy hectic business and then times of slow down almost to a trickle.

In my particular case I’ve been SUPER busy this last year shooting weddings, portraits,  and traveling.  I decided to raise my prices to meet current industry standard and to really include the products, and time that I feel my clients deserve.  I’ve also learned a lot over the past few years about the importance of getting paid for my time.  Even after a photo shoot.  Because when I’m done with a 1-2 hour portrait session or a 10-12 hour wedding, I still have a LOT of work to do.  Anyway, since I’ve raised my prices I’ve found that I’m still booking sessions and weddings even into next year but not at the rate I was, in fact just this week I had 4 people ALL ON THE SAME DAY, turn down my services for one reason or another.  These were clients that I was pretty confident I was going to be working with, but it just wasn’t to be I guess…….it’s an odd feeling having all editing caught up and all lab orders in and only a few sessions scheduled.  But it’s also exhilarating!  Sure I could get down and out about not booking those clients, but I’m not.  Instead I get to work on some projects that I’ve had at the back of mind for a long long time!  Here’s some things I’m working on during the off season and “down” time and hopefully it might give you some ideas:

1.  Branding: I get to work more on refining my brand.  A lot of you may ask what is a “brand” but it’s so important in any business industry.  Your brand is what tells the world what YOU are about, what your business is about.  Some great brand examples are Nike, Tiffany, Jasmine Star, McDonalds.  You see those business logos or pieces of their brand, like packaging and you know right away what it stands for and the quality you’re going to get.  You have instant recognition of the business through how they brand.  So everything we do as business owners speaks our brand to our clients.  How we interact, how we deliver goods, how we price, the products we offer, the presentation of our business through business cards, website, blog, meeting space.  ALL of that is our brand, and that’s one thing I’m working on in the down time.  If you’re wanting to get your brand together, spruce it up or want to browse some truly inspiring stuff check out these 3 companies that I’ve been researching and who in my opinion are experts on honing in a brand for someone:

luxecetera.com

reddoorla.com

identitykitchen.com

2.  Marketing: I work on marketing ideas for the next year.  I’ve decided in my business that my fiscal year runs from January to December.  So during the slow time of the fall, I like to plan out what I’m going to be doing for marketing for the next year.  This might be seasonal ideas, holiday ideas, etc.  To me, marketing begins with an idea and then I have to go out and be active on that idea to sell it to other’s.  Marketing for me is anything that I do that is going to bring business in for the business.  Maybe it’s working on sample albums for vendors, maybe it’s regrouping my senior reps at a dinner and setting up incentives and goals, it can really be anything. But you have to make time to think and plan ahead and I do that during slow times.

3. Financial Organization: Getting my financial and client data base in order.  As we get busy sometimes some of us- ahem ME- put things off that maybe we shouldn’t.  This planning time I’m really trying to work on getting a tight schedule down so that I don’t end up like I am now- with a pile of receipts in a basket waiting to be sorted and entered for expenses, etc.  My tax time this year is going to be a bit hectic.  I need to go through my studio management software and organize my clients etc, maybe follow up with potential clients that never booked for one reason or another.

4. Learning: Lastly I want to work on skills or ideas that I’ve been wanting to get better at but never really had the time when it’s super busy.  For me this is experimenting more with OCF (Off Camera Flash), maybe attending a workshop or seminar or two.  Learning how to use a certain program more or technique. It’s learning time for me, because I believe that we should never stop learning and trying to improve our own skills.

So there you have it!  My little Friday night book.  Was it a boring read?  It was relaxing writing it as the rain poured down outside and my kiddos are all tucked in their beds.  I hope that these Feature Friday’s help at least one person out there.  If you have ideas or questions you want covered in any upcoming Feature Friday, send me an e-mail and let me know.  I have a running list of my own and other’s suggestions, and remember, we ALL want to succeed at our businesses.  It doesn’t do anyone any good to get down and depressed about not being busy, look at that slower time as an opportunity to refine other areas that you don’t necessarily have time for when it’s hectic.  I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend and here’s a collage of snapshots, showing what our family has been up to these last few weeks, enjoying fall with friends……..

A little background- I started loving photography back in 2001 when digital first became available to the masses.  Before I started using Photoshop, I used Jasc Paint Shop Pro, which is very similar to Photoshop.  So I’ve been working with images and the “digital darkroom” for  quite a while.  You’ll see a LOT of debate out there on whether to use actions or not, but this Feature Friday post is MY opinion on actions.

I use actions to enhance my photos.  I know what I see through my viewfinder and with my own eye and I try to get each of my images from each session I do, to reflect what my eyes saw and what the feeling of the session was.  Texture can add to that feeling, color can as well as well as black and white conversions.  Today I’m going to show a few “before” and “after” images to show what I’m talking about.  Actions for me shorten my post production time.  I’m a photographer first, and although I understand what’s going on when I use ying/yang from Totally Rad Actions (dodging and burning) it’s faster for me to get to the final result by using an action.  I guess that’s what I’d like anyone reading this to take home with them……actions are great tools to help you deliver your final product to the client.

Ok, so let’s get started.  If you’ve been around here any longer than 10 minutes, you’ll know that I love Totally Rad Actions.  I have all of their collections and I love each one of them.  One of the reasons I love them so much is that all of thier actions are customizable- meaning I can control the strength, I can combine them into different “recipes”, and my MOST favorite thing about these actions is that it doesn’t flatten your image when I’m running certain actions and they’re fast.  I have some other actions that do this and it bothers me because I like to see all my layers and tweak them how I want the image to look.  I also use two actions from Kubota actions quite a bit.  I’ll explain below…..

So first let’s talk about the actions that I use a LOT……like on almost every photo a lot.  I’ll list them and tell you what I use them on and give examples.

1.  Daily Multivitamin from Kubota Actions:  This action is something I run on ALL of my images when I’m converting from RAW to JPEG.  It just gives an extra little boost.  Here’s an example

As you can see, it just gives the image a little pop and a good starting place before I start fully re touching.  Here you can see Ashley’s colors have more contrast and richness.  So I love this action because it gives me a great base after my RAW edits are done, to start the other creative edits.

I show my clients actual proofs for most of their images.  I will fully edit my favorites from a session so that people can see the difference between a “proof” and a fully retouched image.  I say retouched instead of edited because in all actuality I do edit each and every one of my images.  That’s what happens in the RAW edit stage.

2.  Ying/Yang from Totally Rad Actions: This is another one of those staple actions that I use on all of my images.  All fully edited images get a little Ying/Yang love from me.  All it is, is a selective dodging and burning tool without changing your ACTUAL image.  Here’s an example of using Ying/Yang

ok, as you can see here I lightened up her skin just a little bit and then I darkened the background a little to emphasize the subject.  Using light in the real world AND light in photoshop can make all the difference in your images.  So this image above is turning out nicely and I haven’t really done that much to the image, just enhanced it a bit.

3. Select-o-Sharp from Totally Rad Actions: I don’t know if Doug made this action directly from my input, but when he had the forum for Totally Rad, he had asked for what people were looking for in actions.  I responded that I would LOVE to have an action where you could selectively choose the area you want to sharpen in an image and “paint” on the sharpness rather than use the unsharp masks, etc in photoshop.  This action works GREAT for me as you’ll see in the example below.  I use this all the time on eyes and then sometimes in my ring shots for weddings.

You can play around with the opacity of the brush you want to use with this action.  But as you can see it makes a huge difference and as I like to have my eyes very sharp in my portraits, I use it all the time……..

3.  Pro Retouch from Totally Rad Actions:  This action is one the I absolutely love.  It helps skin look the best it can without much effort and I get to control how strong it is with my own brush.  I do have other skin smoothing plug ins, but for the most part, I use Pro Retouch for almost everything.  If you’d like a tutorial on how to use this action better, click HERE for Doug Boutwell’s tutorial on Pro Retouch and click on Pro Retouch.  Again just using Ashley’s image from above here’s a before and after using ProRetouch and the Eye Bump that comes with that:

so those are the actions that I use in almost all of my images they’re part of my post production workflow .  Other actions I use a lot are:

Pool Party, Green With Envy, Big Blue, POS Lens, F-zero, Select-o-Pop, EZ Burn, A Better Web Sharpen, and now TRA’s Dirty Pictures for any texture I want to use in images.

Here a few before and afters…..Proof images vs. Fully Retouched images:

There you have it…..I’d love to know if you use actions and what your favorite ones are.  Leave a comment with some of your favorite things to use to stamp your style on your images.  Happy Friday and have a great weekend

Having said that, marketing is a huge part of your business too.  I’ve been thinking a lot more on my marketing and have decided a couple of things.

1.  I will market to other business and network with other businesses that will help not only my studio, but their company too.  This means networking and sharing a working relationship with other vendors and businesses in my chosen area of expertise.

2.  Facebook.  Facebook has been such a huge part of my business growth.  I set up a page….under my own name….but use it for primarily business purposes.  I friend clients, I tag images for them to use in their profiles and share with other people, and I link in Twitter (more on that in a minute), my blog, and other things.

When I was growing up my family moved around a lot.  I mean A LOT.  We lived in Texas, Idaho, Utah and California before I started grade school.  I spent most of grade school back in Texas, then junior high in Cincinnati, Ohio, and finally high school in Dillon, Montana.  Needless to say I know a lot of people around the country.  Not to mention all my relatives that are spread out in different states accross the country.  As I was planning my marketing strategies I knew that I had to branch out to get my name out there.  Why not ask that long lost friend in grade school to consider me for a wedding photographer, or engagement pictures, or family pictures?  A big part of business is making those relationships and fostering them.  If a client sees your work and likes it, and they also have a history or connection with you, then the relationship and trust is there, and most importantly the relaxation.  I have a strong belief that in order for you to get great images, your clients need to be comfortable and relaxed with you.  So Facebook has literally opened up the country to my photography business.  Now I’m on Facebook Wedding Pro, click here to become a fan or leave a review if I’ve worked with you!  Weddings on Facebook is a place where brides can search for different vendors, get answers to questions and have their own special page integrated with Facebook for their special day.  My friend John Mitchell of John Mark Photography is the creator of this cool app and it is the NEW thing for brides and vendors a like.  Please check it out!

3. and finally is Twitter.  This other form of social networking helps me to build a personal relationship with my clients.  By choosing carefully what I put online, that is personal, I still let people into that part of my life.  My kids first day of school, my woes of practically getting locked out of the base because I left my military ID at home, all that stuff, helps people to see that I’m a person with a life too, and that has also helped my business grow. So come follow me here

So there you have it.  Three basic things that have helped my studio grow more than I could have ever imagined in the past year and a half.  I love love love my job, and the clients I work with!  Please, if you like my work, and you’re not a friend of mine on Facebook then send me a request.  Come be a fan of my photography page on Facebook Social Weddings! or follow me on Twitter.  If you’re looking for a way to grow your business don’t be shy and shoot me an e-mail with whatever questions you may have.  I don’t think I’m an expert on anything, but I do love sharing what I do and helping other’s find something that they love too and making it work!  I’ll leave you with an image I’m working on from a wedding I helped 2nd shoot last weekend.  Have a great weekend- I’ll be takin’ it easy with the fam- ahem, I mean folding that mountain of laundry that’s magically appeared!

Ok internet friends, this week’s Feature Friday topic is some of my favorite places online. I’ll be mentioning a few, and then this week we’re all very lucky to be able to hear from Simon Revill, a fantastic photographer from the UK, who has an awesome forum that I am so happy to be a part of. And although we discuss it a little more in depth in the interview below….you can click HERE to learn more about Simon’s workshop on September 15th.

When I’m online I’m mostly there to learn, to seek out things I want to know more about, meet other cool photographers, and just be inspired by different things. I read about 30 different blogs (another Feature Friday post) and I’m very active on three forums: the [b]school (which I will feature another week), NW Photo Forum (a regional forum with lots of photographer’s local to me) and a new forum called Drama Free Photography Forum (or DFP as I like to call it for short). The name pretty much says it all, but it’s a place “FOR PROFESSIONALS, BY PROFESSIONALS” I’ll let Simon explain his vision and what it’s all about below.

First let’s go over some background of how I know Simon. I’ve gotten to know him over the past year and a half after meeting him on another forum that he was very active on. He is just an awesomely cool person who tells it like it is, and is always willing to help people out, to learn and grow. I’ve sort of coined him my “mentor” even though he’s never formally taken credit OR the title.

Simon has a quote on his blog that says “Do what you love and you’ll never have to work a day in your life”. I don’t know where it came from, but I LOVE it! I have always felt this way and this positive statement kind of sums up my whole feelings about my job right now. I really enjoy being able to give people from all walks of life, some lifetime treasures! Anyway, his work is truly inspiring and I’m going to let him tell you about this great place he’s carved out of the big internet world, for people who are serious about their photography business…..and friends, it doesn’t matter if you’ve been in business 1 day, 30 years, or are just starting to think about becoming a business, this place is for people serious about becoming better and learning! So without further adieu…..here’s Simon….

1. First off tell us a little bit about you Simon…where are you from, what do you shoot, how long have you been in the business, do you have a family?

Born and raised in Chesterfield Derbyshire which is on the edge of the Peak District National Park. I’ve lived all my life in Chesterfield but would have loved to have been born in 50′s America ……

Photography started for me many years ago with my first camera – a Zenith – and I have progressed on and off since then. I am now predominantly a wedding and portrait photographer and this is my core business.

I am married to Debbie (who does a great job of putting up with me) and have two grown up sons from my first marriage – Darren and Christopher. We have two dogs – Bilbo a Newfoundland and Bubba a St Bernard.

2. What’s the one thing you love most about photography?

I love capturing the moment – even sometimes at the expense of technicalities – and probably the reason why I love shooting weddings as they are always where people are most happy. I love shooting Fine Art and creating single pieces of work that will stand the test of time.

3. Ok I have to ask it, who are some of your photography role models and inspiration?

I think they change over time but current ones would include Jeff Ascough, Aleksandras Babicius, Mike Fulton – and all for different reasons. Jeff is the master of capturing the moment, Aleksadras uses light beautifully to create natural images and Mike just is inspirational in the way he is always pushing boundaries.

4. You seem to have a real gift for helping other photographers out, where did you get that drive to help others?

I received much help when starting and over the years – without it I wouldn’t have got to the position I am now – so I think it only fair to try and give a bit back. There is room for everyone in this business – so we should all try and help each other to become the best there is.

5. What motivated you to start “Drama Free Photography”

It was more a case of firstly seeing if I could do all the technical bit – on an idle Sunday afternoon. I’m always up for a challenge and then it sort of evolved and I could see a niche for Professionals to help each other.

6. What’s your vision for the forum and it’s growth?

I really don’t mind if we have 100 members or 10,000 members – they will all be professionals and will all hopefully share their experiences and problems for the benefit of the others. So numbers aren’t a requirement- what is though is that those that sign up and join actually participate. I really can’t see the point of joining something and then not taking the effort to help it develop.

Apathy – I hate it and hope the forum doesn’t become a home for those with no desire to share or grow in their business

7. Since it’s a closed forum, can you tell us the reason behind that and the guidelines for gaining access?

Pure and simple – you need to be a working professional – or be a excellent amateur (the latter decided by me). It is that simple – and is a place that all can share business ethics and ideas and problems – safe that it doesn’t get back to any clients. This closed type of forum I would hope will be one of its greatest assets.

8. It seems that there are a few people out there that are really embracing this idea of photographer’s helping other photographer’s, what’s your take on this?

I’m all for it – and as I’ve said without it I wouldn’t have progressed as I have. Why stumble in business on your own when you could listen and learn from others who have made some of those mistakes – thereby you avoid those and make some new ones !!

9. Ok I heard that you are going to be hosting a workshop over there in September for some of the forum members, tell us a little about it so those that join the forum and are interested can get the low down!

Workshops are always full of too many people and don’t really aim themselves at the working professional. Here in the UK wedding photographers get very little quality time with a bride and groom – so trying the new and inovative can sometimes be a struggle. So together with brilliant contacts in the form of Rob and Mandi from Formal and Fabulous I have set my own workshop up. Found a beautiful venue – Riber Hall Hotel – and booked the event. We will have the latest gowns / suits – A beautiful wedding car in the shape of an Austin 10 and models for the whole day.

The idea is to try those new poses / layouts that are in our minds – but that may or may not work. Also as we will be all professionals together we avoid some of the pitfalls that other workshops have when people take part that are perhaps there to learn more of the technicalities – which uses up valuable time.

You can find out more about it HERE or e-mail Simon@simonrevill.com if you are interested in attending, it is September 15, 2009! There are going to be some GREAT prizes and incentives for attendees!

10. All right, we want to know, what do you shoot with and what is your favorite lens? I know you just recently switched from Canon to Nikon, so fill us in on that too.

Most of my life was shooting with Nikon …. but as the Canon 5D came out and Nikon was seemingly behind, I switched for the full frame system. Yes I have gone back to Nikon and D3′s as I suppose I am more used to their layout – I do think that they have actually got a better product but that is for another argument.

Whichever system I use my favourite lens is the same …… 70-200 f/2.8 – and I would say that 75% of my work is taken with it. I just love shooting wide open with it and not having to be in peoples faces as I think that kills the spontaneity that I’m trying to capture

11. What’s been the biggest struggle for you in your photography career?

The business side – I’m a poorly organised businessman – as I love passionately my ability to record moments through the lens…. and this sometimes means I’m less than attentive on the number crunching bit – I’d rather give a client an extra image – just because I know they love it – for free than see them not have it at all.

12. Lastly we want to show off some of your AWESOME work! Please tell me the first thing that comes to your mind when you see these images.

The first was a beautiful moment after quite an emotional one …. the bride and her father had been to the grave of her departed mother ….. so tension was high – then the wind picked up and it all went away ….

The second was just a beautiful setting with a great couple – so clearly in love

The third just says so much in the eyes – love it

Well folks, thank Simon for sharing a little about him with us, and if you’re interested in growing your business and becoming a better photographer, and collaborating with other professionals who’s mindset is to help you in your business, head on over to DFP and submit your website or blog for access…..remember to follow the rules and use your real name!

Same thing happened when I graduated from high school and met Nathan.  I wanted to work in retail, but not just work in retail, I wanted to be a manager.  I didn’t care if it was department manager at ZCMI (now Macy’s) in Provo, UT, or store manager at a specialty retail shop like The Limited or Victoria’s Secret, I wanted to be a manager.  I worked my booty off at ZCMI and became a sales lead and when Nathan and I got married at the ripe old age of 19, we moved to Texas and I marched into the Dallas Galleria Limited and told them I was looking for a management job, and I got it!  I got an assistant manager job, worked very hard again and at the age of 20 was managing my first store- MINE, I was in charge, and it felt good.  I bounced around at a few other companies managing stores as I was offered bigger and better stores and then I started having kids.  My first child was born when I was almost 24.  I felt like everything was going great, I was on top of the world!- and then I held that little baby in my arms and started to panic.  I didn’t want to leave him at daycare, but I still wanted to be successful in my jobs…..what was I to do?  And here is where so many people find an inbalance in their lives.  When I want something to work, I work at it 100%….ahem….100% focused on THAT particular thing at the moment.  Does anyone else struggle with this?  I mean, when I’m focused on my work I’m TOTALLY focused, when I’m focused on, let’s say, folding clothes and cleaning, then that’s my obsession.  Needless to say I’ve been really focused on my business for the past year and a half and it’s paying off.  I’m doing things I couldn’t have imagined when I first started, and who knows what another year will bring.  But I’m still feeling that pull…..work, personal, work, personal……

Yesterday, I joined my weekly ritual of “Study Hall” at the [b]school.  I treat it like an online class that I attend every week when I can.  Sometimes I just listen to [b]ecker talk about whatever the weekely topic is, sometimes I join in and ask questions.  Yesterday there was a guest speaker on, Joe Photo.  What a cool guy!  My question for him was with his kids and personal life, what were tips that he had for balancing his work and family life.  His answers didn’t surprise me and many of the things he suggested I already do.  I happen to have 3 small children- all boys, but other’s of you may have another full time job, more kids than I have, or other obligations.  What did Joe Photo suggest to do?

1.  Wake up earlier to get stuff done before the kids get up

2.  Stay up later when they go to bed to have quiet time to get things done- This one I DO……have you noticed the 2:30am posts, tweets, etc?

3.  Set Goals that are attainable

The truth is, if you really want to make something successful, it doesn’t matter what it is, you have to live, breath, and eat it, but I truly believe that I can still be successful in my business and still have plenty of time for my family, the cleaning, and of course my own personal time (that is the one that gets neglected the most!)  We all have priorities and choices to make in our lives.  WE determine what we will each be and become in this life.  My definition of success may not be yours, but we each should step back, and take time to enjoy our lives too.  So thank you Joe Photo and [b]ecker for solidifying that, yes, it’s hard to build up your business and be successful and sometimes there are things that are sacrificed, but I’m so glad for a supportive family and for my Nathan who is my cheerleader….most of the time  Love you baby!

Here’s some snapshots of what I’ve been doing the last few months to enjoy the little moments….a local baseball game with the family on one of the hottest days of the year, and some pics from our trip to Great Wolf Lodge.  Now THAT was a hit with the kids AND the adults…indoor water park, Kid Kamp Suite and a game in the hotel?  MagiQuest was tons of fun! (and please excuse the red eyes!)

Lastly here’s a SP of Bill and Amber’s wedding in Dallas!  I can’t wait to blog it!