Quick Hit Monday: Jasmine Star; Conversations; Image Stabilization Testing; and More

Good Morning Everybody,
We made it home Friday from a fantastic week in Florida, repacked on Saturday, and headed out on Sunday for Detroit. I'm doing a day-long program today and then we are back with the DWC Tour in Cleveland on Tuesday, Pittsburgh on Wednesday and Buffalo on Thursday. Maybe I'll even have an image or two to post from today's shoot.

While home over the weekend, I came across a few things I thought you might find interesting. Well, at least they were interesting to me. So, off we go with Quick Hit Monday...

Jasmine Star; Conversations; Image Stabilization Testing; and More
Jasmine Star - Wedding Photographer
I've never had the opportunity to personally meet Jasmine Star [link] but one day I hope too. Jasmine appears to be fun, funny, and a ball of energy. Oh, did I say a great wedding photographer too. Jasmine traveled to many cities with my buddy, David Jay [link] on his cross country Free To Succeed tour last year. I just get a email from David over the weekend saying that her part of the program is online - here is the link. She tells her story about jumping from law school to photographer and hits on all cylinders in telling what propelled her into her business and success. Definitely worth the listen.

Wedding Photographer, Ken Sklute Interviewed At ExpoImaging
Out of the clear blue over the weekend I also see that my buddy, Canon Explorer of Light wedding photographer, Ken Sklute [link], was interviewed by fellow blogger Thann Clark [link]. The interview appears at ExpoImaging on their conversations page right here. I've known Kenny for quite a while - even photographed his wedding a number of years ago.

I think these photographer interviews really give a nice insight into how others have grown their businesses, how they have met their challenges along the way, and why photography is important to them. Whether a seasoned professional or emerging pro, the insight to be gained here is always refreshing. Hey, don't miss a lot of good stuff over at Thann Clark's Thannalog.com [link ] too. His post will keep you busy reading for quite a while.

More Cool Stuff That You Can Shake A Stick At
I got an email from Ray Vilalobos over the weekend. Ray attended my DWC tour last week and dropped me a line about how much he enjoyed it. THANKS Ray. Anyway, he pointed me to his site - PlanetOfTheWeb.com [link] - and I was blown away by the images and all the stuff he has posted. Lighting, Photoshop, photography, and the list goes on and on - you've got to check it out. Anyway, Ray offered to do a guest post here at DPT and I gladly accepted. I'm not going to let the "cat out of the bag" just yet, but look for his post on Technique Tuesday next week. I'm looking forward to it Ray.

One More For The Road: Image Stabilization Testing
I always enjoy checking in with 1001 Noisy Cameras over the weekend - 1001 always has interesting sometimes non-traditional information to read and this weekend was no exception. He was pointing his readers to some new lens testing procedures over at Imaging-Resource.com. Seems Imaging-Resource has spent 2 years developing a way to test how well the image stabilized lens really work. Their first test was on Canon's 70-200mm F4 IS lens and the results looked pretty darn good [link]. Anyway, hit the links here in the article - it's a great "geek read."

Hey gang, that's it for me today. I've got places to go, people to see, and shutters to press. See everybody tomorrow for another episode of Technique Tuesday. See ya' then, -David

"A Sticky Situation"

"A Sticky Situation"
©David A. Ziser

I made this image while on a trip to Sedona, Arizona. Sedona is one of the most beautiful places on earth. We had climbed to the top of the mesa and were exploring the terrain. My self assignment was to make all my shots with my very wide lens - in this case the Sigma 12-24mm. The wide angle lens rendered the cactus with a very unusual perspective as I placed it against the distant horizon in my composition. With the camera focused at 2 feet together with the very small aperture in conjunction with the very wide angle lens kept everything in crisp focus from .7 feet to infinity. Camera specs; Canon 5D fitted with 12-24mm lens at 12mm, F16 @ 1/200 second, ISO 200. Enjoy! -David

Soapbox Friday -- Are We Doing Ourselves And our Clients A Disservice If We Deliver Wedding Images On A DVD?

Good Afternoon Everybody,
What a great time we had in Florida earlier this week. I thank each and every one of you personally for coming out to hear the program and I also thank everybody for your enthusiastic comments about the program here at Digital ProTalk.com and how much you enjoyed the presentation.

I have to omit, it was a fun last few days but we are certainly tuckered out at the end of the week. We arrived home safe and sound and LaDawn and I are going to try to have an easy weekend before we head out again next week for the next leg of the tour.

So for all you guys and girls in Cleveland, Pittsburg, and Buffalo – we are heading your way!

I mentioned I was starting a new series at DPT. I’m calling it Soap Box Friday. I plan to discuss various topics, raise a few concerns, discuss a few controversial subjects that you may agree or choose not to agree with me. I hope to generate further discussion on each weekly topic via the comment section following the post. Anyway, let’s give it a go and see where it leads.

Are We Doing Ourselves And our Clients A Disservice If We Deliver Wedding Images On A DVD?

I'm going to start this discussion by saying I'm not trying not to step on anybody's toes but, I’m really trying to bring a different perspective to the topic. I heard a statistic that about 30% of the weddings photographed these days are delivered on DVDs. Yes, you know what I’m talking about - the “Shoot and Burn” photographers.

Please hear me when I say I'm not trying to disrespect the photographers who choose to deliver their images to their clients in this manner. But what I am suggesting is that there's maybe a different perspective we can take on what we deliver to our clients and how we deliver the images to our clients.

Hit The “Read More…” link below for the rest of the story.

The fact is that when a photographer delivers his or her work to a client on a DVD that most often the photographs never get printed. In fact there is a slang term for the bride who never prints her wedding photographs - she’s called an “orphan” bride.

In talking with a large studio recently, they've told me that they’ve made a business of helping the “orphan” brides create an album of their images. I’ve interviewed brides myself that have told me the same thing, and that they do not want to go down that same path. So I wonder why in my heart of hearts why anyone would choose to deliver the images on a DVD.

Don't think I'm being naïve. I understand the main reason is that the photographer can get in and out of the job quickly and make a few bucks fairly quickly, without need of any follow-up effort. But in my mind, many of us are in the wedding business for more than just the money. It’s our craft, but more importantly – it’s our art, something we can take pride in. Wait, don’t start the emails yet – hear me out.

Sure, I'm in business to make a fair profit, but I take a different perspective of what I'm trying to do for my client. When I photograph a wedding, I'm trying to capture all the nuances, excitement, joys, emotions, reactions, romance, and beauty of the day. I try to bring my creativity to bear on every wedding I photograph. I try to put my heart and my soul into my wedding photography coverages. That said, why would I ever want to deliver those images on a DVD?

I mean, you hand the client a DVD and she holds it up to the light and hopefully she can see some images in it -- of course not. Are the bride and groom going to rush home, pop the disk into their computer and view those images as excitedly as they would had they been presented an album to view – I think not. Call me “old-fashioned”, but I do know that when my clients arrive at my studio and are presented with their wedding album(s) there is always a much different reaction.

I present album out of the box, place it on the coffee table before them, and let them open to the first page. You can just see them beam with the thrill of seeing their beautiful images as they browse through their wedding album.

I think this is where a lot of us differ from the photographer delivering images on a DVD. For me the product that I deliver to my clients is more than just a simple collection of images. I strive to deliver three things to my clients --

1 -- A beautiful collection of images that represent the beauty, spontaneity, romance, excitement, an actual story of the day in images.

2 -- I strive to deliver beautifully finished and enhanced images of all the photographs that appear in the album.

3 -- And lastly, I strive to deliver a beautifully designed album as well - an album that tells the story from the first opening photograph to the turn of the last page with classic elegance, flair and a timeless quality to it..

Images + Enhancement + Design = A Beautiful Wedding Presentation

I want my albums to be a beautiful representation of what I saw in my mind’s eye and felt in my heart as I photographed the wedding for my clients on their wedding day. I think this is where I differ from a lot of photographers that just deliver the DVD to their clients. As someone once told me, it's like a pilot flying a plane into the sky but never landing it. It’s like playing a football game and never crossing the finish line.

Most of us photographers work long and hard producing beautiful images that we create for our clients. But that is only the first part of the effort for me. The rest of our efforts, as I said, reflect around making those images as beautiful as we can make them for our client, and then designing beautiful images into the most beautiful album that we possibly deliver.

I think to do anything less is a disservice, not only to ourselves as wedding photographers, but also to our clients as well. Remember, our clients are hiring us because of our talent and visual creativity. As I said earlier, to deliver wedding images on a DVD is like running all the plays in a football game but never making the touchdown. And I guess I want to say is that making the touchdown takes a little bit more time and effort and creativity and expertise than just running the plays not making the touchdown. It’s a lot more fun and exciting making touchdowns – winning the game!

I still think of those many brides out there that take delivery of a DVD and never do anything with them. Not only does the bride fail to have a wedding album made, her parents never enjoy the opportunity of having an album made either. So what I see here is kind of a double whammy. To buy into the “shoot and burn philosophy” is to buy into never making a touchdown and maybe I say it too strongly here, but it’s like never winning the game for your client!

I think the ”shoot and burn” trend is really quite sad. What's happening is we're having more and more people having fewer memories to remember in their lives. Maybe life is just moving too fast these days to make up the finished album. Maybe this is true for the photographer offering images on the DVD and also for the bride who is even too busy to take these photographs and make them into an album.

I think it must be sad to for the mothers and fathers who never get to sit down and enjoy a beautiful collection of their daughter or their son’s weddings because nobody ever got around to making the albums. How sad, I know that as a father I'm looking forward to my daughter's wedding and also looking forward having a collection of images from her wedding day.

I think there are times when life needs to slow down just a bit. We need to take pause on occasion to sit and look and enjoy at the photographic memories of our lives. One of the most important memories people have enjoyed over the years have been those memories preserved in the beautiful wedding album.

Is it just that the album is not important anymore? Is it just about price? If that's the case then I think there's some other conclusions that need to be stated too. If we don’t want to take a few minutes to browse through our wedding albums on occasion then life truly is moving too fast -- in fact it's moving so fast that were probably not enjoying it as much as we should.

Secondly if having a wedding album delivered is too expensive for the client then that says to me that even these important memories are too expensive to preserve. Maybe our lives are moving way too fast but if they are moving that fast, then I to many people are letting the better parts of it slip away.

Anyway, in my business is always about putting our best foot. It's always about delivering the most beautiful images that I can for my clients, and it's always about delivering the best presentation of those images in a most beautifully designed album presentation possible.

When I shoot a wedding I give a piece of my heart and my soul to the photographic coverage. That piece of my heart and soul is preserved in the finished wedding album – never on a DVD. My images are always going to be delivered in the most beautiful and most elegant presentation possible. Why, because my clients are worth it.

Food for thought.

Hey gang, that’s it for me today. I’m going to try to smell the roses for a day or two and I hope you get a chance to do the same. See everybody again next week from the road. Have a great weekend, -David

"An Evening To Remember"

"An Evening To Remember"
©David A. Ziser

I made this image as the guests were enjoying dinner in the early part of the evening. We had completed our duties photographing all the guests at the tables and had a few minutes before the festivities really kicked off. I put my wide angle lens on my camera, took up my position behind the bride and groom's "sweetheart table", composed vertically to pick up the cool lighting on the ceiling and shot away. High ISO along with a Fill light and Vibrancy adjustment made in Lightroom completed the presentation of the image. Camera specs; Canon 5D fitted with Sigma 12-24mm lens at 12mm, F4.5 @ 1/10 second - handheld, ISO 1600. Enjoy! -David

Business Day Thursday: Bundling One More Time - One Print - Three Or More Images

Good Morning everybody,
We had another great crowd last night in Tampa and I actually finished almost on time. my thanks for everyone staying to the end - in spite of a very warm room at our Embassy Suites venue. It was a nice surprise to me and the attendees that many of the Kelby Media group came by and said "HI." Matt Kloskowski of Lightroom Killer Tips and RC Concepcion of Layers Magazine fame both came by and gave a wave from the back of the room.

Before we got started, Larry Becker and I did a little interview - look for that to pop up soon at one of the many NAPP sites. Anyway, we had a great crowd -over 200 attendees strong - and everybody, including me, had a great time.

Oh, by the way, we are still looking for a few more volunteers for Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Buffalo next week. If you would like to help with the tour set up and be part of the festivities, email LaDawn at ladawn@ziser.com and let her know. We will certainly compensate your efforts.
We are off to Ft. Lauderdale in just a few minutes, so let's get started with today's edition on Business day Thursday. Here we go...

Bundling One More Time - One Print - Three Or More Images
I mentioned last night in my presentation that many of us photographers have just become "order takers" instead of striving to be "order makers" when it comes to running our businesses. I remember when I was just an "order taker" too waiting for the client to order an 8x10 or 5x7. I was green as grass and my sales skills were not the best.

I began reading everything I could get my hands on back in the early days about sales. Slowly but surely, I was able to find out what the client wanted and show them how to get it.
Hit the "Read More..." link below for the rest of the story.

That, folks, is the real secret of sales - I always like to say - Selling is not a dirty word, it's a service to your client. So what are we going to do today to help our clients. We've been talking about "bundling" for the last few weeks - combining different separate products to create new products with added value. Well let's bundle products/images one more time today. Today we are doing things a little differently. Today we're going to discuss combining several images into one photographic product. This is like super easy in our digital world.

I was talking to my buddy Mark Zucker, president of Zookbinders and one of our tour sponsors a few weeks ago. He was telling me about his new Frame product just introduced at WPPI. His suggestion to his album clients is, "Why not sell one of the double page spreads from the album as a framed print?" Sounded like a great idea to me. We have been bundling two or three images into one image collage for years of our clients. This framed album page idea sounded like a natural evolutionary product for wedding photographers. We are now offering it to our clients. You can see what the Zookbinder Frames look like right here.

Don't stop there either. Today we can combine any number of images into a single framed image. Maybe you offer you client a choice of 3, 4, or 5 images into one beautiful collage presentation. Price would be less than 3 separately framed prints but more that one framed print. The client receives great value because they have three images they can display in their home or office at a cost substantially lower than the cost of the three separate images - what a deal!.

Think about what kind of combinations you could put together to offer you clients. Once you get thinking about it, the possibilities are endless.

How about our DPT readers offering some suggestions in the "Comments" section of this post for everyone's benefit. If I get over 20 suggestions, I'll pick a winner award them a $50 gift certificate from B&H. So put on your thinking caps and let's see what you come up with.

On that note, guys and girl, I'm leaving Tampa and heading down the road to Ft. Lauderdale. See everybody tonight in south Florida, -David

"Beauty In The Light"

"Beauty In The Light"
©David A. Ziser

Here is another image I made at Photoshop World last week. It was one of the last images from the precon shoot. We were on our way back to the class room and I was taken by how the leading lines presented themselves as I viewed the scene trough my very wide angle lens. I positioned the bride so that all lines were leading to and embracing her in the composition. The light was coming from a window to my right. I turned the bride's head into the light till I had light reflections in her eyes, a loop lighting pattern on her face and shot away. It's a bit different from my traditional bridal portrait but I still enjoy the composition. Camera specs: Canon 5D Mark II fitted with Sigma 12-24mm lens at 14mm, F5.6 @ 1/50 second, ISO 800.

Enjoy! -David

Wednesday Wonderfulness: How To Book, Shoot And Sell A Portrait - First In A Series

Good Morning Everyone,
We had another great crowd in Orlando last night - lots of energy and a ton of fun. The small problem is that the timing is a bit long - we ended 30 minutes late. I'm finding this the hardest part about the program is wanting to present 5 hours of information in 4 hours. I'm working on it again today and hope to end on time in Tampa this evening. Anyway, I guess too much information is a good problem to have.

Here is my bigger problem or let's say worry. I hear my buddy Scott Kelby and Matt Kloskowski may be in the audience this evening. So what's the big deal - I'm doing a Lightroom demo.... in front of the Masters of the Universe in the Lightroom department. I hope I don't shiver too much in my boots;~) Anyway, looking forward to the program tonight - hope to see you there.

A New Series Starts Today - How To Book, Shoot, and Sell A Portrait
We talk about wedding photography a lot here at DPT but today I wanted to shift gears just a bit and talk about portrait photography. This is going to be about an 8 part series that I hope you find fun and informative. I'm going to try to cover all aspects of the process - from booking the client, shooting, and finally selling the portrait. Here we go.

First of all, what kind of portrait photography turns you on? I have to admit I'm am kind of a traditionalist when it comes to portrait photography. I try to pose the subject in the beautiful surrounds of their home, sometimes in their home, or a location, for example a favorite park of their choice. We range the shots to cover several - at least three locations within the park to give a nice sense of variety to the session. That said, there are some photographers who offer what I'm going to call "freestyle" portrait to their clients. One of the best examples of this style portraiture is represented in the work of Vickie and Jed Taufer at VGallery [link]. I mean, check out this image they showed at their site - just a little different. But these are the kind of decisions you need to make when considering your style of portraiture.

I'm going to cover a variety of types of portraiture in this series - from high school seniors, families, executive portraiture, babies - the whole gamut. So here is your home work for today - cruise the net and check out the work of other photogs doing family portraiture. See what images speak to you and decide how you want to move forward. Here are a few sites to check out:

Gittings: One of the best out there. [link]
Kent Smith Photograph: Outstanding portraiture. [link ]
Busath Photography: Beautiful images. [link ]

These guys are some of my favorite shooters in the portrait department. This should give a good start. Next week I'll discuss how to get the clients coming through your door.

Hey gang, that's it for me today. We are on the road to Tampa for city #3 - hey, only 55 to go;~) See ya' there. -David

"Water Dance"

"Water Dance"
©David A. Ziser

Here is another image from my film days - similar to yesterday's post, but with a completely different feeling because of the sky's color. You can see from many of my posts I'm into sunset images. I had almost completely forgot about this shot taken around 1990. I was teaching at the Florida Photography School. Sessions were held at Daytona Beach Community College and I had photographers from all around Florida as class members. I ask if we could arrange an evening photography session and catch the setting sun in the shot. Once again it got quite late, the setting sun lit up the evening sky, and with my assistant behind the couple, I think we got a pretty cool shot. Camera specs: Hasselblad fitted with 40mm Distagon, F5.6 @ 1/10 second, Kodak Vericolor 400 film. Enjoy! -David

Technique Tuesday: Revisiting "Touch Of Color With A Twist"

Good Morning Everybody,
WOW! What a welcome in Jacksonville, FL with our Digital WakeUp Call - A New Dawn Tour. We had a great group of people that just brought a lot of energy to the program. I have to say, giving away $4000 in door prizes sure brought the house down! It was just a great evening. LaDawn and I are looking forward to Orlando tonight.

Technique Tuesday: Touch Of Color With A Twist - Again
Because of our tight schedule today, I'm going to revisit one of my favorite Technique Tuesdays from the early days which many of you may have missed. It's entitled, "Touch of Color With a Twist." It's a nice Photoshop tutorial with an interesting twist and turn at the end. Hope you enjoy it.



Thanks for bearing with me as we get tour routines established, schedules aligned with blogging schedules - it's a bit of a challenge. Hey gang, that's it for me today. Look for a new series to start tomorrow on "Shooting the Portrait - From Booking It To Shooting It."

See ya' then, -David

"Dancing In The Midnight Sun"

"Dancing In The Midnight Sun"
©David A. Ziser

I was trying to get the post up quickly this morning and stumbled across another image from yesteryear. This is another film image I made about 18 years ago in La Jolla, California. We headed to the beach to catch the setting sun which made for some great sunset photos. Well, I like to shoot far past sunset while there is still a faint glow in the sky. What happens is that the sun sets and this "cobalt blue" firmament covers the sky. The bright full moon in this shot supplied the "midnight sun". The strong wind added the dramatic element to the shot with the bride's veil blowing off to the side. The slow shutter speed was negated by the firing of the remote controlled flash from behind the subject. We wrapped the shot, tried to find the camera bags in the dark and headed home - a nice shot, I think. Camera specs: Hasselblad fitted with 40mm Distagon lens, F5.6 @ 1/4 second, Kodak Vericolor 400 film. Enjoy! -David

Quick Hit Monday: Today Is The Day - Digital ProTalk - A New Dawn Opens In Jacksonville, Florida

Good Morning Everybody,
I'm trying to get this post up bright and early this morning before we catch the plane to Jacksonville. We were at it all weekend ever since we stepped off the plane from Boston on Saturday. The prizes are ready, the bags are packed, and the program looks hot - can't wait to see everyone in Jacksonville, Florida this evening. If you haven't registered yet, here is the link to the Digital WakeUp Call - A New Dawn tour right here. Hey gang, before we hit the plane let me point you to some quick hits for the week.

A Few More Quick Hits For The Road

New Canon Rebel Shoots Video
So have you seen the news about the new Canon Rebel T1i - yep, 15.1 mega-pixels and it shoots hi-res 1080p/720p video too. Here is the link to the story right here. Now you can pick up an inexpensive second camera for all your wedding needs and have a back up to boot;~)

Some Good Marketing Tips Over At Graphic Authority
I was cruising Graphic Authority's website over the weekend. They offer about the widest variety of Photoshop templates, edges, brushes, and frames that I have ever seen. I'm happy to say that they are one of my sponsors and we will be showing how to use some of their products on my tour. Check out this link to their site right here. Go to their "Photographers" Corner and it's chocked full of cool design elements. But more that that, scroll down to Karyn Sarganis Fritz's images - she's the second one down - and check out her marketing articles - good stuff - couldn't have said it better myself.

My Kentucky Buddies - Tim and Bev Walden Launch New Site! I have known Tim and Bev for over 30 years. They are two of the best photographers in the country.

They are also two of the hottest lectures in the country and have traveled the world sharing their knowledge and expertise. Here is the good news - that are bringing their expertise to photographers everywhere and making it easily accessible through their new site. Check it out right here. Lots of good stuff coming down the pike from Tim and Bev.

Hey gang, that's about it for me today. We've got planes to catch, people to see, and programs to give. See everybody in Florida! -David

"Surrounded By Beauty"
©David A. Ziser

Here is another shot from my pre-con from Photoshop World Boston last Tuesday. I had framed this image both horizontally and vertically and, while both looked good, I preferred this horizontal rendition. I like seeing the couple flanked by rising stain glass windows on both sides. Those windows add a sense of the "dramatic" to the image. Again, it was the wide angle lens - always one of my favorites - that pulls off this composition. My off-camera flash from the left through a translucent umbrella. Camera specs: Canon 5D Mark II fitted with Sigma 12-24mm lens at 15mm, F5.6 @ 1/20 second, ISO 1600. Enjoy! -David

Saturday - Looking For Help In Florida

Good Morning Everybody,
As you know, we are heading to Florida on Monday kicking off my Digital WakeUp Call tour [link]. I am putting out a call today for two people in each city - Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa, and Ft. Lauderdale - who can help us set up and tear down the show and help LaDawn with miscellaneous duties in the back of the room.

I will comp your registration and throw in another goodie or two for your help. Please email LaDawn at ladawn@ziser.com with your contact info including phone number so we can get things arranged with you. I've never tried this before, but I thought I'd give our DPT readers first crack at participating in the adventure. I was suppose to post this earlier in the week but with Photoshop World going on - I missed it. Thank, -David

Soap Box Friday: To Much To Learn - I Don't Want To Learn Anything Else!

Good Afternoon Everybody,
We wrapped the whirlwind Photoshop World today. LaDawn and I were in the Tech Expo till 2 p.m. We are demo-ing some of the software magic bullets that bring a lot of efficiency to our studio operation. I plan to do a series on this as the tour progresses so stay tuned.

I also gave my first PeachPit program in the Tech Expo yesterday. Now you have to understand, my presentations are typically not from behind a computer. I think a lot of people were wondering, "What in the world was going on over at Peachpit?" - I had grabbed a microphone, jumped down in front of the audience and started to talk about lighting and composition - no mousing around here. Anyway, I think the audience enjoyed the presentation. My thanks to everyone for sticking around.

We had a great time in Boston this week but are looking forward to getting back home and hitting the trail with my Digital WakeUp Call - A New Dawn on Monday. Look out Jacksonville - here we come.

And speaking of Photoshop World one last time, I've got some thoughts about then whole educational experience. Please read on...

To Much To Learn - I Don't Want To Learn Anything Else!
I heard this remark from a photographer just last week. We were discussing all the new things happening in our digital world including cameras, software, digital products, in fact all things digital. He made the remark near the end of our discussion, "There is to much to learn - I don't want to learn anything else!" - I've been thinking about his comment all week.

Hit the "Read More..." link for my thoughts on the topic.

Is there too much to learn? It's my opinion that in this day and age, if we take that attitude, the competition will go whizzing right past us. There are a lot of people that really enjoy all the new digital technologies/latest greatest happenings out there. I have to admit, I'm one of them. I love checking out the new stuff really trying to see how it may save me time. Hey, none of us have enough time anymore, so anything that saves time is a really good thing.

But what's important here is that we MUST take the time to try the new things that may be beneficial to our business. If we become an "Old Dog" who can't be shown any new tricks then we will fade into the sunset with all the other "Old Dogs".

We need to think of these times as exciting times not trying times. Sure there may be some additional effort to get the new technologies under our belt, but we have to know that it is worth it - that our efforts will reap the rewards for our businesses.

As far as learning the new technologies, that's the easy part. Today the Internet provides VAST resources for training and knowledge - it's just waiting to be plucked from the vast regions of the Internet and put into our brains -so much of it is there for the taking for free. And, heck, for a few dollars a month, you can head to one of my favorite sites - Kelby Training - and learn just about anything you want to learn about photography, Photoshop, Lightroom, etc. Heck, you can even enjoy a "cold one" while you watch! That's better than my old school days ;~)

Most of the software manufacturers have available lots of tutorials showing how to use their products right on line. Take NIK for instance - everything you ever wanted to know about NIK software is right at your fingertips! That's my point - sure you might need to learn something new, but the resources to learn are readily available, and we need to take the responsibility and to make the effort.

So many times I see someone purchase software at a show and then come back to the booth the next day for a little hand holding even when there was available an hour of tutorials sold with the software! A little extra help is fine, but the answers were already at the person's fingertips if they would have only put forth a little effort.

Maybe it's just because our lives are so fast moving these days that people are looking for the quickest shortcuts to get up and running - most of the shortcuts are right in the box - we just have to make the effort to look. It's interesting to me that we have time for Facebook and so many other Internet diversions. Let's spend our time where it counts - learning what's out there that can save us time.

Folks, if we don't want this fast moving digital world pass us by, we have to make that effort and accept that responsibility to embrace the technologies that can save us time and free us up for enjoying a little more free time for ourselves, our family, our community.....

If we choose the alternative; if we choose to stop learning, then we choosing to let our businesses begin atrophying and dying. That's not and alternative for me. So set aside a little time each day to learn something new. Those hours a day will turn into a new found proficiency at what you study. A friend of mine told me he wakes up an hour a day to study something new - in this case it was Photoshop - he is now an expert on the program. Again, it comes down to each of us accepting the responsibility for our business's future - or let the others pass us by.

End of rant #17

Hey gang, I'm out of here today. Hope to see you on the road next week in Jacksonville. Have a great weekend! -David

"The Executive"
©David A. Ziser

I captured this image as we were leaving the church heading back to our meeting room. This view down one of the corridors of the Hynes Convention Center offered a dramatic background for my executive portrait. Notice how the wide angle lens renders the leading lines quite prominently in the scene. I placed the executive, my groom, directly in front of the intersection of the leading lines which, by default, leads the viewer's eyes directly to our subject. Camera specs; Canon 5D Mark II fitted with Sigma 12-24mm lens, F5.6 @ 1/40 second, ISO 800. From Tech Expo Boston 2009 Enjoy! -David

Business Day Thursday: Bundling For Better Sales - Part 3

Good Afternoon Everybody,
What a day yesterday was at Photoshop World Boston - non stop from 8 till 8, but a good time was had by all. The thing about Photoshop World is that it truly is non-stop all the time.

Tonight they have an event called Midnight Madness which has nothing to do with Photoshop but it just a good party time for all that attend. Needless to say, when you give a program at 8 a.m and are walking out of Midnight Madness at 1:30a.m. it's a full day. If you want to follow all the Photoshop World action, head over to the PSW blog right here.

There are a lot of cool things to see here. NIK [link] have some really exciting things happening in BETA right now that I saw at their booth. It's kind of a Preset "Dashboard" for using their products I'll try to report on it as soon as I can. I also saw their Viveza plug-in for Lightroom - really cool [link]. I"ll show that on an upcoming Technique Tuesday.

Wacom was also showing their brand new Intuous 4 tablet [link]. I received a personal demonstration - maybe it's time for me to give up the mouse. Anyway, hit the links to check them out.

Hey gang, let's get on with a quick Business Day Thursday. Here we go...

Bundling For Better Sales - Part 3
We have talked about bundling coverages and bundling albums. Today let's talk about bundling images. So many times we photographers just wait for our clients to buy something. We too often are simply order takers instead of order makers. Our goal is to find out what our clients want and then helping them get it - that's really what selling is all about. Selling is not a dirty word! Selling is a service we offer our clients to help them enjoy what we have done for them with our talent as photographers.

Hit the "Read More..." link below for the rest of the story.

That said, our clients our looking many times for more than just an 8x10 so instead of us waiting for them to order that one 8x10 why don't we suggest some options. Why don't we bundle a couple of images together in picture packages.

Follow my logic - we know the mother of the bride wants a photograph of the bride and groom.
But instead of just taking an order for one 8x10, why not offer your client - let's call it - a "For Your Home" special. The bundle includes an 8x10 of their favorite image, and 2 5x7's - one for their bedroom and one for the den all nicely framed and ready to go.

The individual pricing on all 6 pieces (3 photographs and 3 frames) totals just for an example $150, but when purchased together, the cost would only be say $119 - a $31 savings. Heck, that's about a 20% allowance.

What's happening here is that you are suggesting to the client some options they probably haven't even considered. You are showing them how they can more fully enjoy the photography of the wedding day. It's a win-win for your client and for you.

My suggestion to you is to produce several different multi-image bundles. You have to think it through and decide what works best for your clients and your photography. Here are a few quick suggestions:

1. "For Your Home" special described above.
2. "Don't Forget Dad" - 2 framed images for dad's office - one of the entire family and a second of the bride and groom or even one of dad with his daughter.
3. "Thinking of Grandma" - 1 5x7 of the couple with gram and a second image of just the bride and groom.

I think you get the idea. If the frames bring the costs in a little high, then swith to plan B and offer the same image combinations in less expensive folios easily available from many vendors.

Now you have three levels of pricing to sell to; bundles of images in frames, the best value, bundles of images in folios for the more budget concious client, and the individual prints for the clint that wold prefer to purchase their own frames. In any case, the sale has the possiblity of beening much more successful than just waiting for the client to buy and 8x10.

Hey guys and gals, that's it for me today. I've got a presentation at 12:00 p.m. and I get to do a quick 1-hour demo in the PeachPit booth at 3p.m. So until tomorrow - have a good one. See you on Friday, -David

"The Pianist"
©David A. Ziser

I made this image as part of yesterday's Wedding Shootout during Photoshop World Boston. The stain glass window, reflection on the piano, and organ pipes all combined to make this very striking wide angle portrait of my groom. Camera specs: Canon 5D Mark II fitted with 12-24mm Sigma lens at 12mm, F5.6 @1/40 second, ISO 1600. Enjoy! -David

Wednesday: A Cool Flash Trick From My PreCon & Photoshop World Opens Today

Good Afternoon Everybody,
Yep, I'm in late blog mode again today. We wrapped the PreCon yesterday had a great group of photographers attending, and got some terrific images. I have to say, shooting in the Old South Church was quite a kick. The place is gorgeous. We even pulled of a cool shot off outside. I'll post it tomorrow.

Anyway, I got to get scooting pretty quick as I'm in the middle of the The Tech Expo/ trade show trying to get the post on the air today. Let's get to it.....

Cool Flash Trick Wednesday
We came out of the church yesterday which was right down the street about two blocks from the Hynes Convention Center - can you believe it - we took a bus. Anyway, we came out of the church about 4:15 p.m. Across the street was one of those slick steel and glass buildings flanked by a beautiful blue sky with white puffy clouds - what a great background for a portrait. In this case, think executive portrait.

I had my executive who really looks like a groom step into the shot. Only one problem - he was standing in direct sunlight. I decided to shade him with a 36 inch panel I had with me. Now his face was in the shadows so I had to get light on his face. The problem was the bright surrounding light - I needed a low ISO and fast shutter speed to to get the sky a dramatic shade of blue.

I tested the shot at 1/400 second at F16 - now the scene looked great. I just had to get the light on my executive. I brought my Quantum in close - remember my small aperture and low ISO. I needed a lot of umph coming out of my flash. My assistant, a class member got the light just right on the subject.
Next problem - my Canon 5D Mark II only syncs at 1/200 second. That means only 1/2 of the sensor sees the flash during the exposure. Look at the first image - only the right side of the image area received the light. But, the groom was on the left side. Here is the easy fix - flip the camera 180 degrees so that his part of the image area catches the flash during the exposure. Check out the next image above- it worked. Pretty cool, eh? I love the shot.

Anyway gang, on that note, I'm out of here. See everybody sometime tomorrow. -David

"Man Of The Moment"

"Man Of The Moment"
©David A. Ziser

I made this image last year. We were doing a beach shoot in Florida. The plan was for a gorgeous sunset to happen with me getting all these cool sunset pics. Well, the best laid plans.... as they say were not to happen. We were presented with just a small sliver of color on the horizon and I had to make do with it. The challenge was to make that small sliver of sunset a very large sliver of color. The only option was a long focal length lens - say my 70-200mm lens at 200mm. By using the long optic, the background of the scene, in this case the sliver of sunset is magnified dramatically thereby creating this wonderful image of our groom. Light from the right, of course, from my off-camera flash. Camera specs; Canon 40D fitted with 70-200 F2.8 IS lens, F4.5 @ 1/160 second, ISO 200. Enjoy! -David

Technique Tuesday: Parents' Albums - A Cool Alternative

Good morning Everybody,
We arrived safe and sound yesterday, took in the city a bit, caught up with some of our Boston buds (not Budweiser's) and are ready to go with my Pre-Con today. We are headed to the Old South Church of Boston - man, looks good to me - I can't wait to get there. I'll give you the low down tomorrow along with a pic or two.

Just a quick note - yesterday I mentioned Gavin Seim's 3 Day Incrediable HDR workshop coming up October 19-21, 2009 In Central WA. I posted the incorrect link - since changed. Here is the correct link to the workshop info.

Hey gang, I went with a different kind of Technique Tuesday today. I targeted the topic to sales. Let me know what you think. Anyway, on with the show...

Parents' Albums - A Cool Alternative
I have to say, the wedding world - it is a changin'. The fact that many clients for all their images burned to a DVD - never to see them again - is in opinion, a cryin' shame. The fact that any images printed from the DVD, most of the time lack any kind of post production or enhancement, would totally be a disservice to my clients. Oh, Oh, I feel myself climbing on my soapbox again - let's save this "rant" for another day.

Back to the tutorial - today I discuss how to offer your client a very cool parent's album that is a very nice, elegant, and classy alternative to what many photogs have been offering over the years. The reason we can offer this new product is simply because of the new printing/binding technologies available today. Listen to how we position this album product in our studio and see how it might work for yous too. Hit the PLAY button below and enjoy the show.


Hey everybody, that's it for me today. I'll see everybody tomorrow with a quick re-cap of today's shoot and a note or two about what's happening up here in Boston. See ya' then, -David

"An Easy Afternoon"

"An Easy Afternoon"
©David A. Ziser

I really like the soft beautiful feel of this image. The soft lighting on the couple's was created with my flash through umbrella technique. What makes this shot work is the exterior foliage that completely filled the window in the background. That gave me the nice soft, higher key tonalities against which I placed the bride and groom. The trick was to balance the density of the daylight of the exterior with the axillary lighting on them. Too fast a shutter speed, the exterior would have been rendered to dark. Too slow of a shutter speed and the exterior would have been blown out. It's always about the balance and how that balance relates to the subject matter and the interpretation of the image. Camera specs; Canon 1D MkIII fitted with 70-30mm IS lens 230mm, F4.0 @ 1/100 second, ISO800. Enjoy! -David

Quick Hit Monday: Heading To Photoshop World; HDR Webinar; Understanding AI Servo Focus; and More

Good Morning Everybody,
We are on the plane bright and early this morning heading for Boston and Photoshop World. We get in early enough to have time to get settled and stroll around the local neighborhoods for a bit. Although checking the weather it looks to be a bit cold. That's one thing I love about Boston it's neighborhoods - it's the city's small little centers of energy like Back Bay or Beacon Hill spread throughout the city that make it such fun to explore.

Anyway, we should be good to go for my class the next day. But before we head to the airport, let me point you to a few things I found quite interesting on the net recently. Here we go...

HDR Webinar; Understanding AI Servo Focus; and More
Just a quick note - blogging buddy, Gavin Seim, has an HDR Webinar coming up soon. Gavin's work is outstanding, particularly his HDR work. His webinars are reasonably priced so this might just be what you're looking for. Anyway, you can check it out right here. Heck, I wish I could go, but the tour calls, you know.

How To Use AI Servo Focus
I tripped over this article last week while looking for something on the Canon website. Know in advance this article targets the Canon 1D Mark II user but most of the info is quite informative about how AI Servo Focus works and how to obtain the sharpest pictures with this feature on any camera. So many people want to know when and where to use the AI Servo focus mode on their cameras and how to get the best results, etc. Well even though the info is available on the Canon site it's a good source of information for anyone wanting to be enlightened on the subject. I read it and enjoyed the info - I think it's a good read. Check it out right here.

Testing And Anything You Wanted To Know About Any Piece Of Gear
That's right and it's right here at TestFreaks.com. I got an email from these folks last week asking me to check out their site. I thought it was just another one of those test sites that are all over the net. After my visit to their site, reading the press reports, and seeing their Alexa rating - these guys look like the "real McCoy" to me. It seems they aggregate over 4000 test sites from around the web and consolidate all the results on their site. Their site is not just cameras - they consolidate tests on everything from LCD TVs, PlayStation's, Computer gear, just about anything electronic. I think your find this a worthwhile visit and definitely worth a peek - here is the link. I've now have them tagged as a favorite on my browser.

Levitation - It's Real!
Yes, it true. My buddy, tech support guru here at Photographic Resources, Inc, and my ace second shooter, Nicholas V has pulled off the unbelievable feat of levitating himself for his series of images he posted on his blog last week [link]. I couldn't post them earlier because I was still in shock over his results. His photographic documentation proves beyond any shadow of a doubt that with the right scientific ingenuity, anyone can levitate themselves.

Folks, this is not trick photography; this is not super Photoshop, this is the real thing. The images prove it - just look how natural he looks - well, Nicholas is looking as natural/normal as he ever looks - just kidding Nicholas. Look how his clothes are showing no signs of weird manipulation - he is levitating. How did he do it? I had to know. I made a call to him hoping he was earthbound and I could track his location. He answered - I asked - he told - mystery solved. All kidding aside, Nicholas has decided to emerge himself with photographic assignments each week, each with a different photographic challenge. Last week was levitation. I thought he pulled it off quite well!

Here is how he did it - his blog is a no-tell sight which is why DPT is the only place in the universe where you will find out how it was done. It seems Nicholas owns a remote control camera trigger. He would jump into the air and just at the moment his upward direction started to transition downward because of the pull of gravity - literally when he was weightless - he made the exposure.

His timing is what gives the images such a natural look - except for the element of levitation of course. Here is the rest of the story - he took over 300 images to get the 7 he posted! He was telling me how little kids in the park were looking at him strangely as he tried to get it just right. Here is the link to his blog one more time right here. You can check out his outtakes right here in the short slide show at the bottom of his post.

You know, sometimes you've got to just go out and play. This idea of play can lead to learning and it looks like learning can be a good time. Hey gang, that's it for me today. I hear the jet engines firing up and we don't want to miss our flight. We are jetting out of here right now. See ya' in Boston tomorrow morning, -David

"Toes Of Giants"

"Toes Of Giants"
©David A. Ziser

This is another one of my 30,000 feet landscape portraits. We were crossing the country one more time and this was the view as we were approaching the Rockies. The contrasts of the highlights and the shadows rendered the foothills so interestingly that I could only think of what they might be - "Toes Of Giants." A final tweak or two in Lightroom and changing the image to B&W led to the final result. Camera specs: Canon 30D fitted with 17-85mm IS lens at 70mm, F14 @ 1/400 second, ISO 640. Enjoy! -David

Squeaky Clean Friday: Keep It Running In Tip Top Shape - Camera Stories and Gear Maintenance

Good Afternoon Everybody,
Man, it was a bear yesterday getting the post to view properly. Sorry, to all you folks using RSS readers - I think it popped about 6 times before it posted properly. Anyway, hope you enjoyed the info.

We are wrapping the week on a full run as we head to Photoshop World on Monday. LaDawn and I are looking forward to the visit to Boston - and get this, I get to do a guest appearance at the Kelby Media booth - I'm stoked!! Oh No! I just realized - I've got to get another presentation prepared for my visit. OK, no problem - I'll be featuring content from my book - Captured By The Light.

The book totaled about 80,000 words and about 500 images - Whew! I love the piece of advice I just received from another author - It's best if you can write your second book first - it's a lot easier. I would definitely agree with that;~)

Keep It Running In Tip Top Shape - Camera Stories And Gear Maintenance
This topic or a variation has been popping up on my Skribit Widget on the right of this blog. Yes, I do review your suggestions and I thought I would discuss one of them today. A little footnote here - I know I need to clean up the suggestion listing over at Skribit since so many of the questions have been previously answered at Digital ProTalk over the recent months. I'll see what I can do to point you to the suggestions that have already been answered. More later.

So how do you keep your gear in tip-top shape? Nothing to it really, just take good care if it. Sounds simple doesn't it? I have to say I was pretty abusive on my Hassey gear. One time I lost a $1200 penta-prism when I picked up camera and tripod, placed it on my shoulder, and the penta-prism slipped right off - I forgot to replace the film back which kept the prism in place - OUCH!

Hit the "Read More..." link below for the rest of the story...

Anyway, I take much better care of my gear now. I use a Lowe Pro Pro-Roller #2 bag which is sturdy and let's me fit all my gear in it quite compactly. When on the job, we are disciplined to know that each lens has its own home and nothing else hits the hole from which another lens came from. Just this little tip lets us work efficiently and much faster during the heat of the wedding with all the "lens swap".

Before each wedding I polish all the lenses - front and back. I remember back in my film days, I had an assistant hand me a lens and without me seeing it had placed a big finger print on the REAR element. Needless to say, several shots were highly diffused. A thumb print or smudge on the rear element is a MUCH bigger problem than one on the front element.

There was another time when one of my assistants was shooting a wedding and didn't remove all of the paper wrapper from the roll of film he had loaded into his Hassy. That little piece of paper floated all around the camera box inconveniently blocking out various portions of the image. I had a headless bride walking down the aisle with her father - little things like that. Fortunately, this photographer took so many shots, we had one image that was acceptable. The small piece of paper dropped out when he changed film after the roll. You new digital guys and gals have no clue how easy you've got it now ;~)

Lesson learned - I try to clean out the cameras before each job carefully blowing the dust out of the camera cavity. Here is another tip - when changing lens, always point the lens opening downward so dust can't settle easily into the camera. Also, keep your cameras wiped down to remove any cling dust that could find it's way into the camera.

Sensor cleaning is always a great topic of discussion. Check out this link I posted last year about cleaning the sensor at ByThom - here is the link right here in case you missed it. Thom went into quite a bit of detail on sensor cleaning. He made one remark which I think is incorrect. I've always been a fan of the "Artic Butterfly" by Visible Dust. In his article he references that the Artic Butterfly is used to clean the dust from the sensor by spinning it on the sensor - NOOOOO! Spin the bristles first, that charges then up, then carefully brush the sensor. The static charge of the bristles pick the dust right up. Luminous Landscape has a great review on the Artic Butterfly right here.

I will agree that the brush may sometimes pick up some of the lubrication as it brushes up against parts of the camera innards - so be careful. Spreading camera grease on your sensor is not a good thing. It that happens, you have to resort to Sensor Swabs which I have used too and like pretty well.

If I ever have a problem with a camera or lens, it gets sent to Canon Professional Services for quick turnaround at reasonable prices.

Gang, that's about it. Handle your gear carefully, a place for everything and everything in its place gear bag philosophy, keep lenses clean, sensor cleaning is not brain surgery so keep it clean (but not squeaky clean - that what I do around here - hope it helps.

On that note, folks, I'm getting ready for Boston. Come on up and say HI if you are at the show. See ya' in Bean Town on Monday, -David

"I'm Ready"

"I'm Ready"
©David A. Ziser

Preparing for one's Bat Mitzvah celebration takes many, many months. It is always a joy for me to watch these young 13 year olds give it their best on their big day. The young lady featured in this image is literally "Rabbi for the Day." She is the one who will lead the Saturday service with nearly 200 in attendance through the entire morning celebration. I have been photographing Bar/Bat Mitzvahs for over 20 years and I'm constantly amazed by the poise, confidence, and character these young kids bring to their Right of Passage into Jewish adulthood. This image was made on a Saturday morning about an hour before the service was to begin. One of my goals in this series of photographs is to capture the confidence of the young Bat Mitzvah against the beautiful surrounds of the magnificent Temple. Lighting is simple as always. My assistant is holding my Quantum off-camera flash shooting through an umbrella just to my left. Shutter speed is adjusted to pick up some of the ambient light and details of the temple. Camera specs: Canon 40D fitted with 10-22mm lens at 14mm, F5.6 @ 1/30 second, ISO 800. Enjoy! -David

Selling - Business Building, Adding Value, & Bundling - Part 2

Good Morning Everybody,

Wow! I can't believe the week has gone by so quickly. I was ready to do a Wednesday post today until I realized it was Thursday - I think I was thrown off by my Technique Tuesday actually being posted on Wednesday. Yep, some weeks it seems the days run together. This is one of those weeks.

About 4pm yesterday, I get a call from my team to head on over to the production area - my office is in an "Ivory Tower" you know ;~) They told me I had to see this really cool thing they wanted to show me. Well, it turned out LaDawn and my team of "angels" had popped the cork on a bottle of champagne to celebrate my book being finished and coincidentally, the Tour Handbook as well.

Jennifer had been working hard to complete and prepare it to specifications for the last several days. It was uploading to Marathon as we were enjoying the champagne and snacks! Anyway, lots to celebrate - might explain the late post yesterday. Anyway, how about on with another Business Day Thursday episode. Hit the "Read More..." link below - I know you will enjoy the read.

Here we go...
Selling - Business Building, Adding Value, & Bundling - Part 2

Last week I started a short series on how to sell more effectively in these trying times of our economy. A lot of photographers are feeling the budget pinch these days. Hey, it's not just because there are so many new photographers entering the market - even those new guys are feeling the squeeze, too.

It's always struck me over the years that businesses that are truly successful are businesses that are always on the move - one way or the other. It may be in new product offerings, enhanced customer service, or pre-packaging and polishing up their current product offerings.

How can we, the small studio owner learn from the big guys? Easy, copy what they are doing. What can we do to polish up our own product offerings. This is easier than you might think and I'm not necessarily talking about lowering the price. I'm talking more about raising perceived value for what you are offering.

Hear me out: Let's say you are a wedding photographer and the client is looking at their purchasing possibilities. One of those possibilities is a family album - notice, I didn't say parent's album. Why? Because only parents will buy parents albums. Any family member in addition to parents - godparents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, maids of honor, etc. - may purchase a family album. You get the idea.

OK, so we have some interest in someone wanting a family album - how do you "close the sale?" They may think the price is beyond their budget at this time. Heck, we all think that from time to time when we are buying things. What makes the decision "to buy" easier for us many times - it's that "perceived value". Yes, we will make a buying decision if we think it's worth it, don't we.

The deal is that when it comes to this family album, your client has to believe that the purchase is worth it. So, why not do this. Why not offer the client your new "Studio Special" - remember re-packaging and polishing your current product offerings as we discussed. What is that "Studio Special?

Let's give this a try. "Thank you Mrs. Smith. I thought Mary's images were beautiful too, I was really excited to have you see them. Have you thought about a family album for yourself?" We have a few new items together at my studio that we think our clients are going to be excited about." With this sentence, I am doing what the sales books call "building expectations." I say it not to trick anybody here - I really do believe our clients will like what I'm going to offer.

Back to my client conversation. "With the purchase of twenty or more images, we will include the leather cover at no extra charge. That's a $200 value." Value add #1. "Something else we are offering is one of our "Platinum Series" images with each family album with a minimum of 25 images - don't worry about the odd number of pages. Do you have a extra invitation? I'll be happy to mount it in your album with my compliments. Our new "Platinum Series" B&W images are printed to our exacting specifications and looks beautiful. (building expectations again.) We are even including our Onyx frame at a 50% savings."

How many times have I done a "Added Value" to my offer?

1. 20 or more photographs means the client receives a $200 value with the complimentary leather. Added value - $200.

2. We are including a beautiful 5x7 or 8x10 "Platinum Series" portrait. This is a new product offering. It's a B&W image printed on the Kodak "Metallic paper". It looks very contemporary, especially in B&W. This is something they probably have never seen before from any of the competition either. The image just shimmers in a black frame - Added value - $45.

3. Mounting the wedding invitation at no charge. Added value - $20.

4. 50% savings on the Onyx frame. Added value - $20.

So in all, if the client decides to make the decision to purchase 25 image family album for herself she will be paying for the 25 images plus $20 for the Onyx frame, but will actually be receiving a total of $285 in added value with everything else mentioned above. Now it does look like a really good deal - and better yet - it is.

So in review, what have I done? I've added substantial value - $285 - for the purchaser, offered to enhance the look of the family album by custom mounting the wedding invitation, introduced her to our cool and different new product offering - the "Platinum Series" B&W print, and gave her a convenient and stylish solution to framing her new "Platinum print."

Folks, I think you get the idea. But you have to develop your product offering, and develop more than just one. You need to rehearse your offer Value Add presentation being prepared with answers for any objections the client may raise, and lastly be confident and happy that this one business building process will add to your bottom line. You know, one of my favorite sales mantras is. "Stop being and Order Taker and start being and ORDER MAKER!"

Digital WakeUp Call Note:

My Digital WakeUp Call 58 city tour [link] is more than just about photography. Part III of my presentation is focused on "Business Building" for your photography business. The 20 ideas I'm presenting will have worked for photography businesses everywhere, large and small. Many of my attendees enjoy my business building sessions the best. I hope you will too. Here is the link to the tour's content right here. Hope to see you there!

Hey gang, on that note, I'm outta' here. See everybody tomorrow, -David

"Sunset Beauty"

"Sunset Beauty"
©David A. Ziser

Yes, this is exactly what the sunset looked like on the evening I captured this image. We had just finished a great series of images with the bride and groom and were getting ready to pack things up when the sun burst into this beautiful, exciting sunset. I asked my clients if we could just get a few more shots. Seeing the newly appearing dramatic sunset, they gladly agreed. We don't get sunsets like this too ofter in the Mid-West, but this one sure was a beauty and a nice bonus for our photography session. My assistant is out of range to the left of the scene with my off-camera flash. Camera specs; Nikon D1x fitted with 16mm Fisheye lens (I'm considering picking one of these up for my Canons - I still like the look of the image); F5.6 @ 1/320 second, ISO 640. Enjoy! -David

Wednesday Wonderfulness: Technique Tuesday On Wednesday

Good Afternoon Everybody,
And welcome to another late post Wednesday - or if you rather, a very late Technique Tuesday post. Regardless, Technique Tuesday is back on the air - and a mighty cool episode it is. I used cool here because I used "cool" about a 100 times in the video. Actually, I had some "roll over cools" left over from last month that I was trying to use up - so I used a lot of them today;~)

Hey gang, I think you are going to like my little Lightroom tutorial today. I've been using my Photoshop "Paint With Light" technique for years. In fact I featured it in a Technique Tuesday episode, "Our Emerging Future" right here. So I finish this baby shoot last week and after importing the images into Lightroom, I get thinking, "Can I make it work in Lightroom?" Well, the answer dear friends, is a resounding -YES! And now I can do it non-destructively - pretty cool. (Yep, I still have a few left.) Anyway, hit the PLAY button below and enjoy the show - "Painting With Lightroom."



Hey everybody, I'm back to the real world which means I'm back to real work here at the studio. I'll see everybody tomorrow afternoon and hopefully will be back on the normal schedule in the next few days. See ya' tomorrow, -David