Fast Break Friday: FREE Kelby Training; Faster Editing In Lightroom; New Slide Shows From Animoto; and My Business Is Going to the Dogs

Good Morning Everybody,

First off I want to confess a BIG WHOOPS with yesterday's announcement of our "Captured By The Light 2010" tour coming up [link]. I made the big announcement but then forgot to give you the secret promo code to save you $20 off the registration fee. I’ve since made the corrections. Anyway, be sure to use the promo code below when registering to save the $20!

Use Promo Code CBLDPT10

Save $20!

I have to tell you, I'm pretty excited about all the VALUE we were able to build into this seminar. Everybody walking through the door gets Kelby Training FREE for one month.

Wow! You get the best on-line training available anywhere for one month just for registering. That's worth $24.95 right there! I've always tried to give our attendees the most value packed experience possible and I think "Captured By The Light 2010" is about the best ever!

After yesterday's super long post and launching the "Captured By The Light 2010” tour, we are all "fried" around here. That means today, I'm taking it kind of easy. Hope you don't mind ;~)

Just a quick note about the tour, I've already received a note or two from a few folks mentioning that we are not making it back to their city. Unfortunately, there are just not enough days in the week or months left in the year to hit all 60 cities like we did last year.

I know the 20 city schedule would disappoint some of our friends, but don't despair, 2011 is right around the corner. Let's see how things go in the fall and you may just see us in a few more locations in the Spring of 2011. LaDawn is going to kill me when she reads this;~)

My Quick Hit Monday post got set aside because of our Photo Walk recap. So why don't I share a few things I had planned to write about last Monday. Here we go....

Fast Break Friday:

Rocket Speed Editing In Lightroom:

I caught this post at fellow blogger, Gavin Seim's blog a few weeks ago. Here is the link right here. Gavin has some good tips up his sleeve when it comes to editing large numbers of images like we as wedding photographers deal with every day.

Gavin moves at a about a million miles an hour with all the projects he has going on. That probably explains why he developed his rocket speed editing techniques. We certainly are going to give them a try at my studio.

Best Little Cable In The World

On Wednesday of this week I did a post on shooting tethered [link]. I mentioned the the weakest link of the entire experience was the fact that the USB cable sticking out of the camera was an accident waiting to happen.

My thanks to those that commented about a possible solution to the problem. I checked them out and have to say, the USB cable offered by USBFirewire.com suggested by Robbie really filled the bill for me [link]. It is a left handed cable that plugs into the camera – Nikon or Canon, does a quick right hand turn, and drops quickly out of the way letting you attach the active extension cables. I've ordered mine today and can't wait to see how it solves my small problem. Thanks Robbie!

Animoto Announces Slower Slide Shows For Wedding Photographers

I've been a fan of Animoto since their beta days several years ago. They continue to enhance and improve their product. Their latest offering is their Elegance collection. Their are several templates you can choose from. The nice thing is that the tempo of the slide show is much softer than the M-TV style of years past.

Now I have to admit, I liked the M-TV fast, upbeat presentation, but it certainly was not everyone's cup of tea. These new shows fit the bill very well for any wedding/portrait photographer. Just think of it as the softer side of Animoto. Check it out right here.

My Business Is Going To The Dogs

Case #1:

I don't know what it is, but I've talked to two of my photographer buddies lately and both were telling me how they had begun shooting pet portraits - and they are loving' it! I just talked with my friend, Michael yesterday and he was telling me about a gig he did at a local pet store.

He set up his lights and camera, tethered his camera to his computer via Lightroom 3, attached a printer and was off to the races. As he shot, the images downloaded to his laptop where the client could view them instantly and select their favorite. He set up a few print packages in Lightroom 3, took their order, and printed them out on the spot. He hit 30 sales in 6 hours - not a bad way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Case #2

During a phone call with another buddy, Craig a few days ago he told me how his pet business has really taken off. I asked him what he was doing differently. He tells me that he is using his regular "people backgrounds" (my choice of words) for all his pet photographs and his clients are going ga-ga over the images. Craig’s images are simply beautiful – no kidding.

He sent me a link to a slideshow he has on-line. Here is the link right here. Check it out - great idea and beautiful photography. It will put a smile on your Friday face today ;~)

______________________________________________________

Hey gang, that's it for me today. With the CBTL tour launched, I’m spending this weekend gearing up for my "live" Friday Photo School  presentation next week in Chicago, Il.

We've really had our thinking caps on for a brand new presentation idea. If I can eliminate all the kinks to the process it’s sure to add a sizzle factor or two to the presentation. It should be a kick. Be sure to check it out right here.

Everybody have a great weekend and I'll see ya' on Monday.

Adios, David