Nobody Follows This Story But All Photographers Should!

US Congress
Originally uploaded by RoloDelCampo

That includes me too. I got this "heads up from one of our DPT readers, Bill Zaspel over at Black Tie Photography - here is Bill's article link. After checking further, I thought I would give our readers the same "heads up." It has to do with the Orphan Works bill now on the floor of Congress. Please read these excerpts from some of the major photography associations in the country.

The Professional Photographers of America warn -
"The Copyright Office has suggested legislation that, in its current form, could have a devastating impact on the professional photographers." Here is the article link right here.
Again, from the PPA -
"In it's present form, the proposed statute creates an orphan works regime that is both unworkable and inaccessible to individual creators." Article link here.

An excerpt from a letter from the general council of the American Society Of Magazine Photographers -
"I am writing this message while on the train to Washington to meet with Congressional staffers on both the Senate and House sides. The subject is the proposed legislation dealing with so-called "Orphan Works." If you write to your congressional representatives only once in your lifetime, I urge you make Orphan Works legislation that "one time" and to take the action outlined below." Article link here.

I could list several other links here too, but these few are our wake-up call for action. This new legislation affects all of us shooting out there as well as all creative types working. You could lose the rights to many of your images if you are not paying attention. Why? - the current Orphan Works bill now back on the floor of Congress. We need to keep an eye on what's happening. Animation Magazine News featured the urgency of the situation for all creatives right here. Give them all a read. Be informed.

A Quick One From The Rumor Mill - New Life For XP

We all use computers, most of us are on PC's. Most of us that use PC's don't want to switch to Vista because of all the horror stories we have heard from many who have switched. I love the Apple commercials with Windows Vista vs. Mac. Anyway, the official "end of life" of XP is scheduled for June 30. Rumor has it, over at Engadget right here, that XP's demise may be put off till 2012. That's good news for a lot of us - heck, I just got XP figured out;~)

Hey gang, that it from me for today, I've got a class to teach. See everyone tomorrow. -David

"First Kiss Of The Evening"

"First Kiss Of The Evening"
© David A. Ziser

I think this is a great image of the wedding couple alone in this magnificent ballroom moments before the guests arrive and begin the reception. The light, colors, and composition all combined to make it a favorite for the couple. Camera specs; Canon 5D fitted with Sigma 12-24mm lens at 12mm, F6.3 @ 1/8 second - handheld, ISO 800. And yes, my remote Quantum flash was being held by my assistant behind the couple. Enjoy! -David

Fabulous Inspirational Fridays

Good Afternoon Everyone,
Here we are again with another installment of "Inspirational Friday." Sorry for the late post today - Blogger has been a little "flaky" today. I have tried to remain calm as it has taken quite a while to get all the images uploaded, but we finally made it about 3:30 P.M.

Anyway, off we go. Today is a wedding centric day, so all wedding photos, be sure to check out the links. Also, don't miss the post on Lynn Blodget. He does amazing B&W work of the homeless. His book is truly a peek at the other side of the tracks that makes you stop and think about the misfortunes of so many people in our country. Lynn is on the radio tomorrow. Also, check out Joe Sartore's video, "Fragile Nature," at the end of the posts - very inspiring! Anyway, let's get to it...

Stop the Presses - Be Sure You Tune In Tomorrow

"Finding Grace" photographer, Lynn Blodgett, will be featured in person on Photo Talk Radio tomorrow - here is the link. I think Lynn has a great message with his stirring photography. I blogged his story a few months ago right here on DPT - here is that link. Lynn is also the President / CEO of Affiliated Computer Services, a Fortune 500 company.

Lynn has been called by some, "An Avedon For The Poor," and Finding Grace was named as one of 2007's top ten best photo books by American Photo Magazine. I really think this is a great opportunity to get a peek into a great project and a creative mind. Be sure to tune in, you might find me there, too.

7 Inspirational Wedding Photog Sites

In one of my Internet cruises I came across this sampling of pretty cool wedding photography sites. I'm offering you the list, not just for the photography which is beautiful, but also for creativity behind the site's presentation as well.

Here is the list:

1. Jesh de Rox's site right here. I really like how Jesh's site draws you through the navigation process. You actually become involved with the site as you peruse the choices. It's very well done.


2. Jeff Newsome's site right here. Jeff has about the most creative introduction of any photography site I have ever seen. It's fun, it's clever, and it's engaging.


3. Jessica Claire has a really popular site right here. Jessica's based in Southern California and runs a successful studio there. Jessica has pulled something off that I mentioned in my blog last November - here is that link. It's a great idea and Jessica has done a good job pulling it off. I really like her "Spread Rumors" link on the bottom right of all of her pages, pretty clever. Check it out and you see what I mean.


4. Bobbie and Mike site right here is full of images with accentuated color - probably the best use of color I have seen in a wedding photographers website. They hail from Central Indiana - hey, that's right here in the great Midwest. Maybe that's why I liked the web soundtrack - kind of made me feel at home.


5. Jose Villa site right here has beautiful images. I also like the "PR blurbs" that pop up as you are viewing his galleries.


6. WhiteBox Weddings right here has a nice site here powered by LiveBooks. The images are juiced a bit with added contrast and color, but they all have a great feel of spontaneity and reality. I also like the ability to download a PDF of the images, too. I think giving the viewer an opportunity to their own sample album of your work is a great asset to booking the job.


7. Chris and Lynn Jakso's site right here features some of the best wedding photography I've seen. Chris and Lynn hail from British Columbia and are a highly awarded team. They even won an Emmy in 2006. I also like their intro with the script coming up as part of the image presentation. Many of their images are simply stunning. Give a peek.

One thing I noticed on each site was a link to their blogs - this is important marketing stuff gang and should be part of everyone's web site. Again, read my article right here on "To Blog or Not To Blog." Do you have any favorite sites to add to the list? Please share your recommendations so all our readers will be informed by posting your comments below. Thanks....

Don't Hold Your Breath Now, Because These Images Will Take Your Breath Away

Unbelievable Black and White photography!! That's all I can say! It's all related to water scenes. The images, their tonalities and composition all add up to some very beautiful photography.

Wayne Levin has been honored by having his work displayed in galleries around the world. He has also garnered a very large number awards and honors over the last 25 years as well. His impressive black and white images speak to that level of accomplishment. Check out Wayne's site right here - visit any number of his web galleries - I promise, you will not be disappointed.

Thanks to The Online Photographer for the heads up on Wayne's site.

Take Five Minutes and Enjoy Joel Sartore's Video - "Fragile Nature"

What a nice guy and what great photography. I watched a National Geographic special featuring Joel's story, earlier this week. You may remember my reference to Joel in my sales post yesterday - here is the link. After yesterday's post, I trucked back over to Joel's site to see what I could find and came across this very inspirational short video. I invite you to view it below. I know you will enjoy it - it's tickles the right parts of the brain and gives a little food for thought for the weekend.

Anyway, on that note gang, I'm out of here - things to do, places to go, pixels to see - have a great weekend, -David


Fragile Nature from Joel Sartore on Vimeo.

"The Littlest Groomsman"

"The Littlest Groomsman"
© David A. Ziser

This image was made during a recent wedding. The light was particularly dim so I switched to my 50mm F1.4 and kicked the ISO to 1600. The father's hand on the son's shoulder is more than just one more wedding image. It's the story within the story about "fatherhood." The gentle touch of the dad's hand on his son's shoulder affirms the love the father has for the son as he stands there confidently with the rest of the groomsmen. Camera specs; Canon 40D fitted with 50mm F1.4 lens, F 1.4 @ 1/40 second, ISO 1600. Enjoy! -David

[B]Business Day Thursday 4.24.08

Good Morning Everybody,
We are getting closer to my Master Class next week and everything is about ready to go. We are putting the final tweaks on the class workbooks and CD, wrapping the class schedule and printing up a few new samples. LaDawn makes me do this every workshop as we feel it important to keep things fresh you know.

I am thrilled with our first location for our shoot on Monday. We have permission to shoot at Plum Street Temple - one of the most beautiful sanctuary's not only in the United States but thru-out the world. It just also happens to be is the third largest Reformed Jewish temple in the world. It is simply magnificent and should be a kick for the class to visit. But hey, I'll keep you updated on that next week. How about we hit our stride with Business Day Thursday. Here we go.

"Better understated than overstated. Let people be surprised that it was more than you promised and easier than you said." Jim Rohn

10 Ways To Keep Your Clients Coming Back - Building Your Business - Part 4

Everybody spends way to much time looking for new business by putting their marketing focus on new clients. Hey gang, the new business is sitting in your backyard. Turn around and invite the past clients back into your studio. They know you; they love you; they would be happy to come back if they were only asked.

Too many of us fall way short of staying connected with our past clients and consequently are always in super hustle mode shaking new customers out of the trees. As Jim Rohn said, "One customer well taken care of is worth $10,000 worth of business." So how can we keep our clients coming back?

Here are 10 ways to begin.

1. Personally deliver and present their wedding album or portraits to them. You have a captured audience who loves your work and this is a great way to re-affirm that they are important to you. We even offer to hang our portraits for them when we deliver them.


2. Every client should be given referral cards. Each card that finds it way back to you signed by that past client rewards that client with a $25 - $50 credit with your studio.


3. Every wedding album should be delivered with a complimentary family portrait session. It can be used for portraits of their first baby or any other family portrait needs they may have.


4. Never put an expiration date on a gift certificate. Why would you slam the door on a potential client by saying, "This offer expires 12 months from date of purchase." I call it Brain Dead marketing.


5. Send anniversary cards to your wedding clients on their first anniversary. Let them know that you are still thinking of them.


6. Send every past client from the previous year, every current client, and every new client on the books a holiday card with a hand written personal note inside.


7. Don't forget to say "Thank you" in a personal note to your client's after you deliver your product.


8. Follow the local news and specialty publications in your area and be sure to send congratulations to your clients who have received any special honors or awards. Just two days ago, we had two of our best clients named as women of the year here in Cincinnati, OH. Flowers and champagne will be on the way to them by the end of the week.


9. Periodically follow-up with your past clients with special offers just for them. We talked about this in two other posts right here on DigitalProTalk. See the related links below for those stories.


10. Stay involved with your clients. If they are involved in any kind of charity event, offer them your services to help with their event. They really appreciate your effort and it also puts your name in front of the other volunteers too.

OK, how about one more for good measure - Try at least 5 of these ideas and watch your business take a jump to the bottom line.

Hey gang, if you have any to add to the list, please write them in the Comments section of this article - Thanks! -David

DPT Related story links:
10 Ways To Blow Your Own Horn - Or How To Build A Better Press Kit - Building Your Business - Part 3
15 Ways to Create Vendor Buzz - Part 2 of 4Building Your Wedding Business Series – Part 1 of 4

Also see DPT earlier articles here :
Customer Service - A New Paradigm
CPR For Resurrecting Your Old Client List

Why To Stay Pro-Actively Involved With Your Client During The Sales Presentation

Earlier this week I had a meeting with one of our wedding clients to review their wedding images. So many wedding photographers just upload their images to the Internet, spin the wheel of misfortune, and hope for a good sales result. They continue doing the same thing over and over and constantly complain about their sales averages not meeting their expectations.

I believe it's really important to be with the client during the selection process, sharing with them what you were seeing in your mind's eye and feeling in your heart as you were covering their wedding. It's only with this client connect that you could ever hope that your delivered album is truly a reflection of your heart, soul, skills, and talents.

Last evening I was watching a National Geographic special on master nature photographer, Joel Sartore. What struck me the most were the words of his editor as he echoed my sentiments exactly. Here is what he said - "If you don't allow the witness to be there with you (the editor) to help you put those pictures into a framework of understanding, when you start making decisions over which ones you are going to use and which one's you are not going to use and in what order, you have lost a tremendous opportunity to elevate the quality of the work."

I couldn't have said it better myself. It is only when your delivered product is a combination of client and photographer effort, energy, and creativity that you are really able to deliver the best of your work to your client and be rewarded for your efforts. End of sales rant #46.

It's Collections Not Categories

Hey gang, sorry for referring to "Collections" in my Lightroom article on Tuesday as "Categories" - I must have been editing too many images that day and was getting a bit blurry eyed when I wrote the article. I've since corrected the post.

Today is studio "catch up day" so I'm out of here till tomorrow. Tomorrow I'll be sharing with you some great wedding sites to inspire with great images and great design. So until then, keep those pixels smilin' -David

"Tomorrow's Child"

"Tomorrow's Child"
© David A. Ziser

This image was taken as part of a portrait session on a very young child. I went in close for several images and was intrigued with this crop. What works for me in this image is the gentleness of the eyelashes in the scene. That coupled with the symmetrical presentation of the eyelashes, eyes, nose, cheeks, and mouth, but interrupted by the asymmetrical chin says to me that we are not perfect. Yet the gentleness of the image, I hope involves for the viewer, that our future is hopefully in good hands. Camera specs: Canon 40D with 24-105mm IS lens at 85mm, F11 @ 1/200 second, ISO 200. Enjoy! -David.

Another Hoppin' Wednesday

Good Afternoon Everybody,
We have had marathon sessions these last few days. One of my wedding clients came by on Monday to make final selections for her wedding albums. We sat for about 4 hours but heck, we were reviewing 7000 images. We had a great visit and she is thrilled with her selections. I can't wait to get started on the design. Yesterday, I gave my first presentation with Lightroom as my point of sale program. Read below about my +/- experience. Some more interesting information here today, so read on.

I Love Lightroom But...

Editing is easy, prepping the presentation is easy, the slide show works great, images look wonderful on my 9 foot screen, I love the virtual copies, I love that Lightroom works with PSD files transparently. I love, love, love so many things about Lightroom, but the finger gymnastics to keep it all going while sitting with clients was quite a balancing act not to mention a minor inconvenience.

All in all it was a positive experience but here are a few things I wish Lightroom could do in a point of sale situation. I need to explain that I use Lightroom a bit differently than most. I set up a different Catalogue for each client. This is much more manageable for a wedding/portrait studio generating 100,000 to 150,000 images a year. Having said that, here is a quick 7 wishes for Lightroom;

1. I would like to be able to grab the image in a neutral zone and drag and drop a full screen image directly into my Collections as I move through the images with my client. Touch it anywhere and it zooms the image.


2. I wish I could set up standard (default) sets of Collections that I activate with each client for their presentation instead of having to retype the Categories again for each new client.


3. Why can't I still put the images in the parent Collections into a new user order. The minute you create a subcategory, the parent freezes it's order. The minute I delete the "child" the functionality returns.


4. Delete a custom crop from the aspect ratio list if I "goof it up."


5. I wish that when adding music to a slide show, the folder select would persist to each Catalogue till I changed it.


6. I wish looping the music was an option.


7. I wish the music would fade at the end of showing the images selected for the slide show.

By the way, here is the list of most of Lightroom's keyboard shortcuts right here.
Matt Kloskowski has a quick video on his favorite shortcuts right here. It's worth watching.

So, Should You Do A Bridal Show?

OK. It's not you typical Wednesday post, but I'm throwing it on the table for it's scintillating implications. Read this photographer's Bridal Show experiences right here and see if it's right for your business model.

I, personally have participated in a few bridal shows over the years, but the show qualified the clients as part of its promotional posture, so we were seeing only the clients we wanted to book. The message here is vendor beware - depending on your target market and advertising budget.

Jamie Hack - a brand new photographer has a few thoughts and insights on the subject right here. The comments to his post are great advice for anyone contemplating the move to weddings. Feel free to share a few of your bridal show experiences in the comments section below.

High Five To The Top Five

Kudos to all the blogs listed on Scott Kelby's "Top Five List." It's a great read right here. DigitalProTalk was listed in the top five blogs to read everyday. Here are the other four;

Five blogs I read every day:
John Nack on Adobe (link)
Terry White’s Tech Blog (link)
David Hobby’s “The Strobist” (link)
Moose News Blog (link)
DigitalProTalk (link)

High Fives to Scott, a master blogger himself, and everyone else in the his very cool collection.

Hey gang that's it for today - we are pretty well booked solid for the day. I'll come up for air long enough to hit [B]Business Day Thursday tomorrow . See you then, --David.

"Red Carpet Ride"

"Red Carpet Ride"
© David A. Ziser

Another image from my 14 minute photo-walk on Sunday and one of my favorites. I love the graphic components of this image - the rich red colors receding away from me with the top of the image accented with small touches of yellow. It's just a nice image just to gaze upon, and into, for an enjoyable viewing experience. Camera specs; Canon 40D fitted with my 70-200mm IS lens with 1.4x tele-extender set to 85mm, F16 @ 1/85 second hand held, ISO 800 with minimal tweaks in Photoshop. Enjoy! -David

Technique Tuesday 04.23.08

Good Morning Everybody,
Well, we are off and running on another Technique Tuesday today. It's kind of a geeky and tekkie (not trekkie ) day today. So, sharpen up those ole' brain cells and read on...

Size Does Matter - Here's the Proof

Sure RAW is king of the hill when it comes to recovering blown out highlights. We've known that for years, but nobody even wanted to consider the lowly Jpeg's capabilities for highlight recovery - until now, right here on DigitalProTalk, so here we go.

But first to get a little background on dynamic range and CMOS sensors, I'd like you to read Xinqiao Liu's PHD dissertation on, "CMOS IMAGE SENSORS DYNAMIC RANGE AND SNR ENHANCEMENT VIA STATISTICAL SIGNAL PROCESSING" right here . It's only 139 pages long.

OK, just kidding, but you need to know that all the chips in all the cameras out there have differing amounts of dynamic range inherent in their design. This is another way of saying that some cameras do better than others in capturing the highlights without blowing them out. Why is that - it's about the size of the photo receptor - our friend the pixel. A bigger photo receptor, means more light (photons) can enter the photo site during the exposure, and the greater number of photons relative to the inherent noise associated with the CMOS sensor means a higher Signal to Noise ratio - read, higher dynamic range.

You can read a fascinating article on the subject and a lot more on Canon's site right here. Sony's echoes the same claim here for larger pixels. Nikon has a easy to understand article on the dynamic range right here. Armed with this new knowledge, let's see just how far we can push the pixels around in today's video tutorial entitled, "JPEG Showdown - Saving the Pixels" in the next post.

JPEG Showdown - Saving the Pixels!

Alright gang, what is the best way to save those pixels - let me tell you. I'm an adamant JPEG shooter as you know, so this challenge pops up for me on 3 or 4 images out of 3000+ images I shoot at a wedding ;~) All kidding aside, it's not much of a problem at all with my Canon 40D set to "highlight tone priority" enabled these days. (See earlier DPT article on Highlight Tone Priority - Image Salvation right here.)

If you are a JPEG shooter, you know those super bright pixels sometimes rear their ugly head. In today's Technique Tuesday I want to discuss what has become my favorite highlight recovery strategy when this happens. I use Lightroom's magic for my fix. I'll show you all the settings I use in Lightroom's DEVELOP module to get the best results. The "whip cream on top" - I'll show you how easy it is to save those settings as a Preset for future problem images. Hit play below to see what I'm up to. Enjoy! -David

I'm In Recovery Today

So many times in Photoshop, we just click away on some of the Photoshop tools and hope for a reasonable result even without a thorough understanding of the tool in question. I do it, we all do it - so little time, so much to learn. One tool most of us feel we know well enough is the Highlight/Recovery tool in Photoshop, but how well do we know it.

I found this really good article on the subject right here. It's by Andrew Rodney - Photoshop guru and NAPP Hall of Fame inductee - over at The Digital Dog.net.

Want more, check out this Highlight/Shadow recovery technique over at DigitalGrin right here. The author even used the fabled LAB mode to make final tweaks to the image. OK, one more for the road. You walk out of the shadows of your life into some better illuminated detail - then check out this last and final article on shadow recovery right here.

OK, it wasn't the last - OutbackPhoto had a contest on Highlight/Shadow recovery right here. Check it out - you get 8 solutions for the challenge. I've posted the BEFORE here and followed up with my favorite AFTER - give a peek below.

Before

After

Looking For Something Different In Your Flash Photography?

Then add a little tungsten to make it sing. I love this shot of this trumpet player and I really like the photographer's creativity in how it was pulled off. He used a really slow shutter speed - like 1 second - to blur the highlight reflections combined with electronic flash to freeze the action. Great result - you can read Michael Ray's great article on just how it was done, along with diagrams and F-Stops and Shutter speeds, right here. Give it a read - I'm trying it on my next job. Way Cool Factor - 5 (out of 5)

On that note gang, I'm out of here for today - Have a good one, -David

"Luscious Beauty"

"Luscious Beauty"
© David A. Ziser

While driving home from yesterday, we passed this beautiful field of tulips. Even though there was a slight rain coming down, I still grabbed the camera with my macro lens and headed for the flowers. Fourteen minutes later and a five minute tweak in Photoshop gave me the finished result - I love it. Spring can be so beautiful! Camera specs; Canon 40D fitted with 100mm macro lens, F16 @1/160 second, ISO 800. Enjoy! -David

Monday's Upon Us And I'm Ready

Good Morning Everybody,
Well, we had a slightly rainy weekend, but that didn't stop me from getting the shot above - plus a few more. LaDawn and I were heading to the Cincinnati Zoo for a little Photo-Walk when the rain started and we decided to go with plan B instead and headed home. Oh well, maybe next weekend. Anyway, preparations are gearing up around here with my sold out Master Class next week.

LaDawn spent the weekend putting together our 150 page class workbook, student CD's, and goodie bags for everyone and we are nearly ready to go. The week is shaping up as another good week here at DigitalProTalk with most of the stories almost set. Be sure to check out tomorrow's Technique Tuesday - "JPEG Showdown With Overexposure - How Far Can You Go?" It's shaping up as a pretty cool post. Anyway for today, on with the news...

My Bridal Image Featured In NAPP's Latest Ads and New Brochure

I have to say, I am so honored to have one of my favorite wedding images featured in the National Association of Photoshop Professionals new brochure and ad campaign. You may have seen the image in the latest Photoshop User Magazine and the Professional Photographers of America monthly journal.

If you have seen it published, here is the rest of the story. This beautiful image I made of one of my favorite brides was created in about 5 minutes right before the ceremony was due to begin. Parents and wedding party scrambling about talking, laughing, making their requests for photos, rushing with last minute details......all the normal wedding day hustle bustle. Camera specs; Canon 20D, fitted with a 70-200mm lens at 70mm, F3.5 @ 1/30 second - hand held, ISO 800. Light was supplied, as always, from my off camera Quantum flash, no umbrella this time, coming in from the right and the ambient light supplied the fill illumination.

Just Updated My Irfanview

Hey gang, if you are not using Irfanview as your default image viewer, you are missing the boat - it is, hands down, the best tool available. Another incredible feature; it's practically free - just make a small donation. Anyway, why do I bring it up? Because I was just updating the student disk we use for the class which contains some of my favorite shareware and freeware.

I checked for the latest Irfanview update and found I was a few versions behind, so I grabbed the latest version - Version 4.10. Man, I couldn't believe the added features and folks, it's already jammed packed with features. New stuff like easy browsing of RAW images - click on one and up it pops on the screen. Just hit the space bar to view all of the images in your folder.

It also now supports three image viewers - I only use one, Photoshop - just hit Shift-E and up pops the image in Photoshop - way cool for a quick adjust. How about Shift-H and you get an image Histogram. Way too much stuff to list here - check out Irfanview's main page right here for all the info, updates, and downloads - don't forget to gram the plug-ins too. Now for some bad news for a few of our readers ...Irfanview is PC only.

Hey, if any of our MAC readers got a suggestion for an Irfanview look-a-like let me know.

I Don't Want To Start Any Rumors, But...

New Canon 5D Mark II in August - yep, that's what I'm reading. Check out the extensive post over at 1001 Noisy Cameras right here. They have a bunch of links to lots of sources.

The best one I read though was over at the On-Line Photographer. This post is apparently an official leak directly from Canon. Here is a quick blurb, "The real news is that the full 31-MP is reserved for a "big print" mode, usable only up to ISO 800; the real meat is a half-rez 15.5-MP mode in which the camera gives it highest image quality and best high-ISO performance. In this mode, the camera is said to better the sharpness and resolution of cameras that have no anti-aliasing filters (think Leica M8). The 4D will be 19% lighter and approximately 30% smaller than the current 5D. Although the eventual cost will be $2,995."

You can read the entire story right here. Looks pretty cool to me, but I am concerned about the post date - but, I'm not trying to start any rumors or anything ;~)

Quick News Notes

Real quick gang, then I'm out of here. DPReview just posted their full review of the Nikon D3 (which I still have in my hot little hands.) Here is the link. If you are a high ISO speed freak like me, you may just want to jump to the discussion about the usable ISOs up to 12,600 right here. And so we don't leave out the Canon fans, check out the full review of the Canon 1Ds MarkIII over at LetsGoDigital right here.

That's it for today everybody - clients arriving in minutes so I've got to get going. See everybody tomorrow, David

"Surreal Desert"

"Surreal Desert"
© David A. Ziser

For me, this was an exercise in design and color. I loved the original arabesque lines and the deep desert like colors. After a little image manipulation in Photoshop, I had the result I wanted. Camera specs; Canon 30D fitted with 17-85mm lens at 47mm, F5.6 @ 1/6 second - hand held, ISO 1250. Enjoy! -David

Friday News and More

Good Morning Everybody,
The sun is shining and the breezes are warm:~) What a day it's shaping up to be. I have a client meeting later on this afternoon, a little housekeeping to do around the studio and one more free weekend before we really start to get busy with the spring wedding season.

On a different note, I had a meeting with my Lacie representative earlier this week and will be getting to try out some of their very cool products. I'm not letting the "cat of the bag" here, but one product in particular looks very, very exciting. So stay tuned. Lacie makes some of the best monitors, large hard drives, and NAS storage devices available.

Next week is a busy week too as it is the last week before my Spring Digital Master Class and the prep for that week of instruction is pretty intensive. We had such a wonderful response to our Spring class - six people on the waiting list - that we decided to add a Summer session as well. It already about 1/3 full so if you are interested don't procrastinate just read the blurb below about the class or go right to DavidZiser.com for all the info. It promises to be an intense informational week as well as a great time for all.

You know, I have been calling Friday "Inspiration Friday" for several weeks now. I've tried to feature some fabulous photography sites with stunning images, and I think you would agree that we found some real pearls out there. But being inspired is more than just photography. Being inspired hits us at all levels - personally, professionally, photographically, and creatively just to name a few. I'm posting some things today that I hope will inspire you in other directions too. Enjoy!

Read Any Good Books Lately - How About Some Frank Bettger and Dale Carnegie Readings

If you want to build a successful business, you have to work on more than your just photography. You have to work on yourself too. You have to fine tune your people skills, sales skills, self motivation skills, self discipline skills, problem solving skills, and patience skills.

If you want to be successful, you have to learn how to act the part. Many have said it - "To be successful, just do what successful people do." I'd like to add to that, "Successful people hang out with successful people." And the easiest way to do that is reading good books or listening to tapes and CD's from successful people.

The first sales book I ever read was "How I Raised Myself From Failure To Success In Selling" by Frank Bettger. The book was written in 1947, has been translated into 11 languages and it has a perfect 5 out of 5 star rating from Amazon's 78 reviewers! The information is as current now as it was then and it's only $11.20 thru Amazon - here is the link.

Wait, there's more!! Dale Carnegie's books, especially "How to Win Friends and Influence People" was also a great resource for me in those early years. You can pick that up at Amazon too right here. Amazingly it's available for only $11.20. Check out the related links below to review the highlights of four of the Carnegie books.

Related Links
How to Win Friends and Influence People
How to Stop Worrying and Start Living
The Quick and Easy Way to Effective Speaking by Dorothy Carnegie
Don't Grow Old - Grow Up! by Dorothy Carnegie

Get Blown Away With Some Gorgeous Portrait and Wedding Photography

Rick and Deborah Ferro run one of the most successful studios in Jacksonville, Florida. Check out their studio site right here - it will knock you socks off. Now for some really good news, they are coming to a city near you - or at least pretty close to you with their "Making Money With Portrait Art" 21 city seminar tour which kicks off in Chicago on May 5. Here is the tour link. Good stuff here gang. I'm going to try to catch one of their stops myself. Maybe I'll see you there.

Please Place One Hand, Palm Up, Under Jaw Before Viewing

OK gang, one more for the road on this "Inspirational Friday." Check out the images featured over at Fotoviva. This is actually a site where you can buy the artwork. It showcases some outstanding images and is worth the visit just for the viewing of so many inspiring images. One of my favorites was the Seascape Gallery right here. Browse the other galleries too - tons of inspiration available.

Shameless Self Promotion - My Digital Master Class

New summer dates just announced - July 7-11, 2008.
Classes held near David's studio in metro Cincinnati, OH area.

Here is the blurb;
If you want to improve your flash technique, your photography expertise, your Photoshop and Lightroom skills, and build a more profitable business then David's class is for you. Nobody puts more down to earth, practical, usable ideas into a week long course. He's been running a very successful studio for over 20 years. By incorporating David's class information; you will quickly see improved results in your lighting, imagery, and bottom line. Your cost - only $795. Call 800.292.2994 to register - class size limited to only 25 participants. Additional info and suggested schedule at DavidZiser.com. Plan to fly into the greater Cincinnati, OH airport - CVG. Hope to see you there!

Hey gang, that's it for this week. Keep the shutters clicking, and remember, pixels are our friends! Have a great weekend, -David

"A Beautiful Bride"

"A Beautiful Bride"
© David A. Ziser

This image was made a part of the series of wedding day bridal portraits taken shortly before we left for the ceremony. I wanted the bride's beauty captured in the natural surrounds of the beautiful room. I also adjusted the exposure to push the outdoor foliage into a pastel key complimenting the rest of the interior scene. My close proximity to the bride in the composition clearly made her the point of interest. The close focus point on my subject also softened the surrounds which very effectively put the rest of the scene in a subordinate yet still beautiful supporting role within the overall composition. Camera specs; Canon 20D fitted with 17-85mm IS lens set at 38mm, F6.3 @ 1/125 second, ISO 400. Key lighting on the subject's face was the result of my 36 inch shoot through umbrella off-camera flash directing the light from my right creating the perfect loop lighting on my bride. Enjoy! -David

[B]Business Day Thursday

Good Afternoon Everybody,
We are off and running with some terrific posts today. Thursday's topics are always about business building and I think the first article on developing your press kit is key. Give it a read below. Don't miss the piece on differentiating your business, too - good stuff. Also, I've posted some great advice actually about 75 pieces of advice on brochure design. Don't miss it below. I also found a good article with seven ideas to building a better business.

Also, only one suggestion was posted as a result of last week's post entitled "15 Ways to Create Vendor Buzz". I hope we get several more - readers helping readers, you know. So please post your best ideas in the comment section on that article. I'll keep you posted. Anyway, lets get right to it for today.

10 Ways To Blow Your Own Horn - Or How To Build A Better Press Kit - Building Your Business - Part 3

So what do you do to promote your business? Most people use brochures, business cards, newsletters and the like. These are all good ideas, but you know, most everybody and their mother are doing the same thing. My entire business focus has been about differentiating myself from the competition. If 95% of my competition are going to use brochures, I'm going to find an alternative. My alternative for over 20 years has been our Information Packet.

That's the term our clients know it by - internally, it's our press kit. It is our "best foot forward" on every front. It details our philosophy of business, list past successes, list high profile events we have photographed, and includes a few samples of our work. What are the key ingredients in producing a strong press kit for promoting your business - here they are:

1. A smart looking cover. We purchase ours from NEBS, New England Business Services. They run about $2.75 each including custom imprinting, shipping and handling. We feel these folders give a very professional look to materials included.
   
2. A letter of introduction to the potential client. This letter emphasizes our commitment to producing exciting photography for our clients, an archival museum quality finished product, and unbelievable customer service. It is a strong statement about what we stand for professionally in our business. It could be your Mission Statement.
   
3. A list of high profile events in which we were involved - For example; Mr. Ziser recently photographed the nuptials of Dr. and Mrs. Colin Hertzberg. Dr. Hertzberg in the president of Cincinnati Medicine, the premiere health facility in the city.


4. No high profile events yet, then do a little coat-tail riding on the reputation of high profile vendors that were involved. The bride and groom, Mr. and Mrs. Smith may not be high profile clients in the community, but they sure did have a great wedding. Your press kit may read; Mr. Ziser recently was invited to photograph the wedding of Mr. and Mrs. John Smith. The beautiful affair was held at Peter and Chains Cathedral in downtown Cincinnati with the reception taking place at the historic Netherland Hilton hotel. By including these very high profile locations in your press kit, you are showing your potential clients that you hang with the big boys in town.
   
5. Include a list of awards and honors. Depending on where you are in your profession, these could include something as simple as; Mr. Ziser's photography was recently recognized and ribboned at the 2008 Cincinnati Art Fare. OK, it might have been a third place finish, but the work was still recognized with distinction. Hey, and third place is at the top of the heap, not the bottom. As you continue growing in your profession, the awards, honors, and recognitions will follow and should aways be included in your press kit.
   
6. No fancy locations and no awards and honors yet. Then solicit letters of recommendation from past clients regardless of how small or large the job was. The whole point here is to instill in your potential client a sense of trust, professionalism, and competence. And, if your past clients loved ya' they are happy to help spread the word. You might offer a complimentary 8x10 to them in exchange for their permission to you to use their comments.
   
7. Include a few examples of your work. We include approximately 3 or 4 4x6 prints in our press kit. They are laid out to look like mini posters with the studio name, address, web address, and phone number. These are similar to an over sized business card only the emphasis is on the image.
   
8. We also include a playable CD of our favorite images.
   
9. Include a cover letter to your prospective client thanking them for their inquiry and express how you are looking forward to visiting with them on their upcoming event.
   
10. Make it look important when it arrives. I have a friend who sends all his press kits out next day FedEx to the prospective client's place of business. When it arrives, the whole office knows it, and when Mary receives the package she looks important too.

That's about it. Remember, it has to make a great first impression. As you start putting your Information Packet / PR Kit together, always think "first class" presentation all the way. And the most important thing you need to keep in mind about your press kit is to keep it constantly updated with your latest achievements, honors, awards, images, etc. Now you have one of your strongest, most powerful sales pieces in your marketing arsenal and it blows your competition away.

Related Links
15 Ways to Create Vendor Buzz - Part 2 of 4
Building Your Wedding Business Series – Part 1 of 4

OK, OK So You Still Want A Brochure

But don't know where to start. Well, ladies and gents, do I have the mother of all links for you today on designing your own brochure for your business. Hit the link right here for "Brochure Designing Tips" and your cup will runneth over with, count them - 75 articles on the subject. Read the titles, pick and choose, and get designing.

Need a little inspiration along the way. Then hit this link right here for the "Best Brochure Designs and Examples." You now have no excuse for not having a knock out looking brochure. Enjoy!

It's Always about "The Difference Making The Difference."

Hey gang, that's been my battle cry for over twenty years. Here is a nice piece right here on defining your niche that echoes my sentiments exactly. Check out these related links for additional information on this subject. All a good read if building your business is important to you.

Related Links:
Niche Marketing - How to Find and Master a Niche Market
Marketing Strategy - Sell To Your Target Market

Quick Hit Business Building Tips - Secrets Revealed

I stumbled upon these two well written articles on building your photography business over at Digital Photography Secrets Revealed. The information was not pie in the sky information. The articles include simple, practical, workable tips that would be of benefit for anyone wanting to build a better business. Here are the links to 7 Steps to Building A Successful Photography Business: How to Finance Your Habit – Part 1 and Part 2

Hey everybody, got to run, so I'll see ya' tomorrow. Have a great one. Signing off for today, -David

"Petticoat Junction"

"Petticoat Junction"
© David A. Ziser

This image is from my very first digital wedding shot December 30, 2000. And I must say, I was scared to death to make the switch. It was really about me over-coming my own self made obstacles. The results.... all the images looked great and the client loved them. This is one of my favorites. We had a little snow the day before. I love how the white snow accents the white chiffon under the bridesmaids dresses as the scurry up the church steps to get out of the cold. Camera specs; Fuji S-1 fitted with Nikon 18-35mm at 18mm, F 4.0 @ 1/70, ISO 400.

Enjoy! -David

Wednesday News and Tips

Good Late Afternoon Everyone,
So did everybody wind up going through their supply of Visine while watching all those video links I posted yesterday? I thought there was really a lot of good information and resources going on with many of them.

Well, hey, we have one more today with our Technique Tuesday on Wednesday. This week it is on low light level wedding reception coverage. So check it out below. Also, check out the story about all the Photoshop effects - very interesting. This will get your thinking cap a tinglin' There's more good stuff too, so on with a DPT Wonderful Wednesday...

Flavored Lighting - Ziser Style

I hear the comments from many photogs at the shows and conventions I attend each year that wedding coverages are looking pretty much the same. I've covered a lot of different ways to spice up the coverage - just search DPT for "lighting techniques" and watch all the stories pop.

Today, lets talk about a different flavored lighting for your weddings. It's time we explore low light shooting at the wedding reception. I'll discuss technique, lens selection, F-stops and shutter speeds, recommended ISO's, and how to handle noisy images. Hit the play button below for the tutorial. Enjoy!

Hollywood, Here I Come

I'm your new special effects wizard! Not really but after looking at these following links you might be sending out your applications;~) Check out this link right here to 100 Photoshop effects - there are some really creative ideas available to browse and think about. Hey, if you happen to be into the horror, blood, and gore effects, check out 70 horror effects right here. I know what some of you may be thinking.... Why do I need to know that stuff?" It's about technique, technique, technique. For me, it's a fascinating trip down Creativity Lane, anyway, worth a peek.

So What's The Best Color To Use Here?

Ever have trouble working out color schemes for your web site, design pieces, or maybe even your living room decorating project? Check out this nifty little site right here. It's called ColorSchemer and with a click of a mouse, it will show you all the related colors to work with the main color of your choice - kind of a cool little color resource. Here is the link to their blog.

Seminars In Your Area - If It Happens To Be Knoxville

I received a note from Steve Chastain, one of our DPT readers, telling me about a wonderful workshop that will be happening in Knoxville Tennessee on June 16th and 17th. He has arranged for Rob Hayman from Australia to come to Knoxville and present a two day hands on workshop on Rob's style of shooting. The cost for the two day presentation is $450.00

Here is a quick topic hit list:
-Improve your portraiture and create masterful images.
-Your increased sales will pay for the seminar in one job.
-Lighting, natural lighting indoor and outdoor you can adapt anywhere.
-Composition

-And more.

You can check out Rob's work right here . He has beautiful photography to browse. Anyone interested in the workshop can sign up right here.

Hey gang, time for me to hit the road. I've got a few thousand wedding images to edit, so it's off to Lightroom I go. See ya' tomorrow. --David

"Rock's Of Eden"

"Rock's Of Eden"
© David A. Ziser

This is a highly manipulated image. It was taken with a fisheye lens pointing directly into the sun. I wanted to preserve some detail in the sky, but lost a lot in the rocks. I recovered a lot of detail back into the rocks, de-noised the image, and popped a highlight here and there. Anyway, it's always about the finished result that counts. I love the tonal range of the image as well. Camera specs; Canon 40D fitted with Sigma 12mm Fisheye, F13 @ 1/3200 second, ISO 400. Enjoy! --David

It's Technique Tuesday - Well Almost

Good Late Afternoon Everyone,
It's been a really busy morning and afternoon today at the studio. That coupled with a Photoshop problem while working on my image, "Rocks of Eden," - just now resolved - meant I didn't get started on the blog until quite late this afternoon. Anyway, let's see what we can get up at this point in time. So here we go...

P.S. I'll post my regular Technique Tuesday segment tomorrow. -David

TV Will Rot Your Brain

But not this TV - it's the new Adobe TV channel right here on your computer with 53, and counting, shows you can watch. Check out Adobe TV right here - it's like way cool. Why? Well there are some great tutorials by Julieanne Kost and George Jardine, just to name a few.

This is where the "coolness" factor kicks in - you can watch the videos in "full screen" mode and they look really good. Streaming does not seem to be an issue. I'm on a DSL line and the quality holds up really well at my 1680x1050 screen resolution even viewing in "full screen" mode.

All the episodes are well produced with great production value. Give them a peek - it's like a treasure trove of training DVD's for free. Hey, if you are a blogger, you can even embed the videos on your own sight as I've done here. Really great information - gang! So much to learn and so little time.....

The Complete Picture With Julieanne Kost - Adobe TV

Take a Quick peek at Julieanne's Adobe TV show - about 30 minutes long. Blogger unfortunately cuts off some of the video, so just click anywhere on the video to see it on Adobe TV where you can quickly pop it to full screen view.

And Speaking Of TV You Missed

How about over 9 hours of photography presentations from MAC world. Here is the MAC World video link. These are the complete presentations from Chris Orwig, Derrick Story, Ben Chen, Lesa and Shawn King.

Topics covered include Five Shooting Techniques To make Your Pictures Look Great; The Art and Craft Of Digital Photography, How To Capture Killer Sports Images, and a full day for the beginning digital photographer. Thanks to Bruce Vigneault, one of our DigitalProTalk readers for the heads up link.