Sunday, January 23, 2011
Saturday, January 22, 2011
You know it's cold when...
The first thing my dogs do when they come in is to bed down in front of the pellet stove.
As if being blanketed with over two feet of snow in the last couple weeks wasn't enough, today high is supposed to top out at around 10 - 12 degrees. Oooooh, break out the shorts and sandals.
;)
It gets even better, tonight's low will hit (or sink to) -10! With Tomorrows high in the (low) single digits.
To make myself feel better I am placing my seed order today to start the process in motion for this years garden.
But I have to go, my dogs just signaled me that it's time to drag in a few more bags of pellets.
As if being blanketed with over two feet of snow in the last couple weeks wasn't enough, today high is supposed to top out at around 10 - 12 degrees. Oooooh, break out the shorts and sandals.
;)
It gets even better, tonight's low will hit (or sink to) -10! With Tomorrows high in the (low) single digits.
To make myself feel better I am placing my seed order today to start the process in motion for this years garden.
But I have to go, my dogs just signaled me that it's time to drag in a few more bags of pellets.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Holy $*#&! A Gitzo ball head for just $24!...
Yup, you read that correctly, a Gitzo magnesium center ball head for $24.95.
But wait, there's more, it also has free shipping! (sorry, but this offer does not come with any Ginsu knifes, pajama jeans, or snuggies)
This is not a mamby pamby ball head, it will hold up to 8.8 pounds and considering a Nikon D3 weighs under 3 pounds I can't imagine any body/lens combo that would exceed the weight limits of this ball head.
Now as usual the devil is in the details, the final price for this Gitzo ball head for $24 after an $80 rebate. The current Adorama price is $109, they give an addition $5 off during the order process, and then the $80 rebate brings the final price down to $24. Again, there is free shipping on this item as well.
You can find the product details here and information about the rebate (including the form) here.
The rebate is good through February 28th (of this year).
Did I mention the free shipping?
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Should you work for free?..
If it involves shoveling my driveway then yes, yes you should work for free.
;)
I saw this flowchart which made me smile AND think (the latter being a bit painful).
First about the chart, it is the brainchild (and work) of Jessica Hische, a designer, typographer, and illustrator. Be sure to check out her site as she does beautiful work.
Second, the thinking... "Should I work for free"...
My experience concurs with Jessica's chart, "NO!". For those who think I wasn't clear enough, "HELL NO!".
I promise you this, you will never turn a free client into a paying client, you may have given them stunning photographs but they hold little to no value to the "potential" client because they gave nothing of value in return (money).
Two studies that help support that statement, in one study the participants were given what they were told was new pain medications with one being significantly more expensive than the other (in fact both medications were the exact same placebo). In another study folks were asked to rank the quality of different coffees, again all the coffee was exactly the same, the only difference was what the study participants were told regarding the price per cup.
The results of the pain medication study showed that the participants believed the more expensive the pill the better it worked, and the coffee study was the same, the most expensive coffee was ranked the best, the least expensive was at the bottom.
That being said, let me share two instances when I worked for free and got paying customers.
1. I learned that there were several seniors at a local high school who could not afford to have portraits done, this was troubling to me so I called the person in charge of the yearbook and offered to do free portraits for those truly in need. Well, when seniors (who could afford portraits) came to this person and asked for recommendations for photographers guess whose name she gave them.
2. For those who have read this blog for very long know I love my dogs, which led me to a shelter to do some free photos of animals looking for adoption along with staff portraits. The word got out to some of their donors who liked the work I did which brought in several paying jobs.
In both cases I did the work for free because I wanted to, I was looking to help, I was NOT looking to make a customer.
Bartering is NOT working for free.
I did some food photography for a restaurant that was opening and was paid in "credit" in an amount equal to what I would have charged, this worked out great for me, great for the restaurant, and as the restaurant grew I was paid cash money for future work.
Sometimes I hear from folks who are planning to give away their work because they need to build their portfolio, if that's the case give your work to those who will appreciate, do the portraits for your friends and family, they will appreciate your efforts and praise you to those who see it.
Okay, move back, I am about to step off my soap box.
Here is the flow chart from Jessica, clicking on it will open it larger and in a new window... which will make it waaaaaay easier to read.
;)
I saw this flowchart which made me smile AND think (the latter being a bit painful).
First about the chart, it is the brainchild (and work) of Jessica Hische, a designer, typographer, and illustrator. Be sure to check out her site as she does beautiful work.
Second, the thinking... "Should I work for free"...
My experience concurs with Jessica's chart, "NO!". For those who think I wasn't clear enough, "HELL NO!".
I promise you this, you will never turn a free client into a paying client, you may have given them stunning photographs but they hold little to no value to the "potential" client because they gave nothing of value in return (money).
Two studies that help support that statement, in one study the participants were given what they were told was new pain medications with one being significantly more expensive than the other (in fact both medications were the exact same placebo). In another study folks were asked to rank the quality of different coffees, again all the coffee was exactly the same, the only difference was what the study participants were told regarding the price per cup.
The results of the pain medication study showed that the participants believed the more expensive the pill the better it worked, and the coffee study was the same, the most expensive coffee was ranked the best, the least expensive was at the bottom.
That being said, let me share two instances when I worked for free and got paying customers.
1. I learned that there were several seniors at a local high school who could not afford to have portraits done, this was troubling to me so I called the person in charge of the yearbook and offered to do free portraits for those truly in need. Well, when seniors (who could afford portraits) came to this person and asked for recommendations for photographers guess whose name she gave them.
2. For those who have read this blog for very long know I love my dogs, which led me to a shelter to do some free photos of animals looking for adoption along with staff portraits. The word got out to some of their donors who liked the work I did which brought in several paying jobs.
In both cases I did the work for free because I wanted to, I was looking to help, I was NOT looking to make a customer.
Bartering is NOT working for free.
I did some food photography for a restaurant that was opening and was paid in "credit" in an amount equal to what I would have charged, this worked out great for me, great for the restaurant, and as the restaurant grew I was paid cash money for future work.
Sometimes I hear from folks who are planning to give away their work because they need to build their portfolio, if that's the case give your work to those who will appreciate, do the portraits for your friends and family, they will appreciate your efforts and praise you to those who see it.
Okay, move back, I am about to step off my soap box.
Here is the flow chart from Jessica, clicking on it will open it larger and in a new window... which will make it waaaaaay easier to read.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
WINTER WEDDING INSPIRATION AT STONEFIELDS HERITAGE FARM
Every year we do an inspiration post on Winter Weddings and with the end of January fast approaching many have wondered... What are you waiting for? Well, we think you will all agree, this inspiration post was well worth the wait.
Ottawa photographer Melanie Rebane was the brains behind this styled winter shoot. After working with her on past weddings and seeing her creativity first hand, it comes as no surprise that she was able to round up a number of fabulous vendors at the drop of a hat and put this shoot together in a matter of days. For those not already familiar with Melanie, she offers a contemporary documentary style photography, documenting moments as they unfold naturally and spontaneously. Influenced by her fine art background, her images have been described as elegant, sophisticated and timeless. In Melanie's words "I truly believe a connection with my clients is essential to create beautiful images. I look to capture authentic moments in the day and veer away from contrived posing to a great degree. I focus on the interaction of my clients with each other, their guests and others they hold dear. Capturing the spontaneous moments is a real artform. Creating the space for my clients to be themselves, to connect with each other and truly be in their special moments is a focus of my work." Below are some of the breathtaking images Melanie captured. The details are to die for!!
Toronto Photographer Jon Rennie took the images below. Specializing in wedding photography that is contemporary and captivating, Jon combines wedding photojournalism with fresh ideas and delivers the kind of photos you will cherish for years to come. In Jon's words "I try to document every moment of a photo shoot from a creative angle, allowing the personalities of the bride and groom to shine through. Each image, to me, is a piece of art that lines up with the next to document the whole day."
These images were taken at Stonefields Heritage Farm in Carleton Place and yes, the lovely ladies modelling these gorgeous gowns from With Love Bridal Boutique should look familiar. They're none other than Sarah Walsh who has been a long time preferred vendor of ours when it comes to makeup & bridal jewelry and Melissa Johnston whom we had the pleasure of working with back in 2009 on Krystel & Ivan's wedding at Fairmont Le Chateau Montebello. Melissa's images of their wedding were later featured on Style Me Pretty. Other vendors whose talents were captured in these photos are Full Bloom Floral Design, Isobel's Cupcakes & Cookies, and The Cake Whisperer.
Sorry...
I have heard from several people that when they visited the Zack Arias blog they were bombarded with malware. It is my understanding that Zack is in the process of moving his site from his current hosting company for this very reason, they are unable to keep their servers clean and because of that their clients (like Zack) are suffering.
Pleas know that the links to CreativeLIVE and the OneLight Workshop are clean, so feel free to visit them any time.
His new website and blog are not yet live, but they should be shortly.
Sorry to those who took hits... really.
Pleas know that the links to CreativeLIVE and the OneLight Workshop are clean, so feel free to visit them any time.
His new website and blog are not yet live, but they should be shortly.
Sorry to those who took hits... really.
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