Jaime Rowe’s new Pet Photography Business Essentials E-Book is now available!

I had the pleasure of being able to preview this e-book before it’s release date today! It’s filled with valuable  information specific to photographers who specialize in pets. There is nothing else like it on the market. It’s a comprehensive guide to starting and running a successful pet photography business written by a leader in the industry. Jaime Rowe’s easy to read e-book is filled with all her secrets of the business… isn’t that what we’ve always wanted? To learn from the best?  As a pet photographer myself, I wish I had this guide when starting my business, but also found valuable information that I can use right now to improve my sales.

This book is available at a discount for a 12 hour period only. From 10am – 10pm today only, you can get this book for only $97.  After today, the price will be $197. Use promo code WOOF10 to receive $100 off!

It’s that time of year for springtime preschool photos and for a limited time, you can get 15% off!

The 15% off coupon is valid through February 15th. Code: BEMINE15

Get your preschool fundraising portrait program off to a great start with this easy-to-use set of business forms and PSD layered class template. Included are 4 customizable MS Word forms including proposal letter, parent letter, fundraiser info with package options, order forms and service contract. A 5×7 layered PSD template is also included to create your class composites. Helpful information is also included to guide you through the portrait fundraising program. DISCLAIMER: Please seek legal counsel to review each of these documents before using them with your business. Laws vary from State to State and these documents were NOT drafted by a lawyer so you may need additional language to protect you and your business.

These files were created using Adobe Photoshop CS3 and utilize layer masks, but do not have groups or smart layers so the templates are more likely to be compatible with most pro versions of Photoshop.

These files have not been verified with Photoshop Elements and cannot be guaranteed to work with that software.

Check out many of Kim’s other great products at Resources 4 Photographers.

This week we spotlight one of our talented members, Emily Krbec, a Caledon, Ontario photographer.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I’m a 20-something mama to one very spirited 2 year old boy. I am married to my high school sweetheart and polar opposite. Our family a little quirky, and very silly. I’m slightly obsessed with purple. I honestly believe in faeries. And I try to keep a smile on my face at all times.

Where do you call home?
Wherever my boys are. Right now, that is in Caledon, Ontario.

How long have you been doing photography?

My love affair with photography started in high school, but the business side of things didn’t come about until after my son was born. I am now in my 2nd year of business and am loving every moment of it!

How did you learn photography?

I studied photography in college, and learned a lot about the basics, but feel like the real learning started afterwards, when I discovered the awesome photographer community online. I realized that portraits can be so much more than I had ever learned at school.

Who is your biggest influence/inspiration?
I’ve got inspiration flying at me everywhere! I like to get my daily dose of pinterest, check up on my blog reader, and look for local talent to share on my site The Friendly Photographer. I also gain inspiration from the everyday shenanigans of my son, traipsing through the aisles at the thrift store, and just living life! I also currently have a photog crush on Michele Anderson (Pinkletoes Photography).

Do you specialize in a certain area of photography? What kind of photographs make your heart sing?
I love to photograph newborns, children, and their families. I’m in love with images that are honest, unexpected, and beautifully lit. I love colour, but can also fall in love with a gorgeous black and white.

What’s in your camera bag? If you had to choose just one lens, what would it be?
I love my Nikon D700, and like to pair it with my 50mm 1.4. What a divine combination! I’ve also recently acquired a 24-70mm 2.8 and have been loving using it for sessions with speedy toddlers!

What’s your favorite photography accessory/extra?
I pretty much love my new Kelly Moore hobo bag

What does 4TLOF do for you & your business?
4TLOF gives me a place to talk shop, so I don’t have to annoy my husband every second of the day! It’s a place where I can chat with trusted professionals about all the nitty gritty details of my business.

What does being a part of 4TLOF mean to you?
Being a part of 4TLOF means being a part of a fabulous group of women, all working towards similar goals and helping each other achieve them!

Random getting to know Emily questions:

sweet or salty – sweet
morning or night person – either, as long as there’s tea
if you could meet one person, living or dead, who would it be? – Myself, 20 years ago – that would be crazy!
favourite quote – Turn your face to the sun, and let the shadows fall behind you – Maori proverb
If you had one wish… – to be eternally happy
I could give up every food except for… – ice cream

Where you can find Emily on the internet:
www.emilykrbec.com
www.facebook.com/emilykrbecphotography
www.twitter.com/emilykrbec
www.pinterest.com/emilykrbec
www.thefriendlyphotographer.com

Thanks, Emily! It was fun getting to know you a little bit better!

A group of photographers from our forum got together and set up a monthly challenge we call Fine Art Friday. The last Friday of each month we are going to post photos that aren’t our typical portrait shots. They are ones that we consider fine art.

There is no universal definition of Fine Art Photography. Sometimes you just feel it when you see a photograph. A photograph that one person might consider fine art, might not say “fine art” to the next viewer. Fine Art Photography is more about the photographer’s creative vision for a photo.

We have members doing macro work, still life, florals, landscape and everything in between. It’s been exciting to try new things and see our visions unfurl.

If you’d like to see our photographers’ work, we’ve created two blog circles. Feel free to jump in and circle through the blogs. We hope you enjoy your trip!

Start here for Fine Art Friday Group One – Rachel Noah a Camas WA Photographer
Start here for Fine Art Friday Group Two – Story of Life Photography Bergen County NJ

We wanted to give a shout out to another fabulous Fine Art blog circle created last year by the talented Nichole Van. I have admired her work for years and been to two of her fabulous photography workshops. She is one of the most creative photographers I’ve ever met. She has some photos that, quite simply, just take my breath away. Nichole’s group is called Elevate-A Fine Art Exploration and the photographers participating in it have shared some amazing fine art photographs. Pop by her blog and check out their circle. This is my favorite of her Elevate-A Fine Art Exploration series and a great place to start.

Just because I can never write a blog post without adding a photo… here was my second choice for this month’s challenge, the photo that didn’t make the cut but still sings to me:

In the depths of winter I finally learned there was in me an invincible summer. ~ Albert Camus

Kay Pickens is a photographer in Columbia, MO and St. Louis MO. She loves to photograph the birds out her office window in all types of weather but as a sunshine, warm-weather-loving woman, photographing the birds in the snow is one of the few parts of winter she enjoys…

Twenty-twelve. The new year hits. Time to make goals and start fresh. I love a new year. It seems like you have a fresh blank slate to start over with…and create of it what you will.

This year many of the photographers on our forum are doing some kind of personal photography project. Time to up the artistic juices and refill the creative well.

There are all types of options for personal photography projects. 365-where you shoot a photo a day. Or a 52 week projects where you shoot a photo a week and post it online. Sometimes these 52 week projects have themes, or you can share them with a friend. A my world/your world look on life.

There are 50 days of taking a photo with your 50mm lens.  Britt Anderson, a photographer on our forum, is doing…85 days with her 85mm lens.   Or 35 days with your 35mm lens–you get the picture. (pun intended)

Many of the women on the forum are doing Project Life this year. Sometimes we are so busy taking pictures of other people and families for our businesses that we neglect to take photos of our own families.  Many on the forum are making a commitment to take time to capture more of their own families this year.

Other popular options for photography projects:

- macros
- self portraits
- pick an object that means something to you and shoot it in different locations in different lighting
- My town. Shoot all those sights around your town that you haven’t made time to go capture.
- One location in different seasons and different lighting
- Sunrises or sunsets
- architectural shots
- landscapes
- food photography
- night shots
- learn a new skill or technique like off camera flash
- pick a grittier topic like homeless, or single moms, or homecomings or any topic that grabs your imagination

There are so many options out there where you can forget your biz for awhile and just shoot a project that means something to you personally. Something that will light that creative spark. Share them on social media like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or your blog so people can follow along (and cheer you on).

Link us up in the comments if you’re doing a personal photography project in 2012. We’d love to see what you’re doing!

Kay Pickens is a Columbia MO photographer who has not quite made up her mind what her personal photography project for 2012 will be…but she swears she’ll make a decision just real soon now.

I asked all of our members to send me one favorite photo from 2011.  I know how hard it is to pick just one because I’m sure most are like me and have different things they like about different photos.

So here they are, our 2011 Favorite Photos!

Thanks Ladies!

Jolie Starrett

The Elf on the Shelf tradition has exploded this year thanks to Pinterest.  Our family elf, Fred, has been with us for 4 years.  And this year, he’s gotten a little more active than years past. 

Our members are getting in on all the fun as well.   You can see what some are up to by following us on Pinterest.

This is our Fred

And this is Laura Meeks‘ Elf

And this Kim Hill‘s elf

On November 11, 2011, each of us took a photograph to commemorate the 11th day of the 11th month of the 2011th  year since it’s a date that only happens once in lifetime.  Here’s a glimpse at what each of us was doing at that time.

Do you ever take the perfect picture then go to edit it and realize that all your angles are out of whack? Fear no more, use the SKEW TOOL in Photoshop! Here’s a quick tutorial.
BEFORE:

When you have your background layer selected, click Select>ALL or Ctrl/A.

Then click Edit>Transform>Skew

Then just use your mouse and drag the corners in the direction you need to in order to square up your picture and VOILA!

Here at 4 the Love of Focus, we are all professional photographers. We’ve legally set up our businesses, collect sales tax, pay our taxes and get registered in any way required by our city and or state or country. So, after you’ve gotten good at photography. You’ve practiced. You’ve learned photoshop and or lightroom. You’ve practiced some more. You’ve read everything you can to learn about photography and decide to start up a photography business. Where do you start?

First read this article on the MCP blog about pricing your work, and what you’ll need to earn/how many sessions per week to get the income you’re wanting to earn. If you’re still sure you want to start up a business then here are some steps I took when I started up my photography business a few years ago. Each step took quite awhile and it was often frustrating and confusing, but I kept plugging away at the list.

0) -Step zero is to really learn your camera, lighting, and post processing. Practice. Then learn some more. Practice. After that…

1) -Decide on a name for the business and register the domain name (I used GoDaddy. Make sure you don’t let a webhost register your domain name using the hosting company as the owner. You want to be the owner.)

2)-File a DBA (Doing Business As, also called fictitious registration) with the state. (This is needed in Missouri but varies by state.) If your city/state requires you to get a permit or register in other ways, make sure you do this.

3)-Apply for a sales tax number and send bond $$ for it if necessary. Find out what your state requires you to pay sales tax on. Prints? Session Fees? Digital file downloads? If you’re a lucky photographer who lives in a state with no sales tax, disregard this.

4)-Get quotes on insurance and purchase insurance–most/lots of homeowner policies won’t cover equipment used in a business nor cover you if someone gets hurt on your property while you’re photographing them if they find out you have a business. Get at least liability and equipment coverage. Try PPA (Professional Photographers of America), your insurance company, or State Farm (they have fairly reasonable small business policies). You can also get an errors and omissions policy, especially if you shoot weddings. This covers things like camera failure, CF card failure, etc.

5)-Set up accounting books. I used Quickbooks from the beginning so I could keep track of my start up costs (Tennille Kings Biz Books and Studio Cloud get good reviews too.) I would talk to an accountant at this stage of setting up your books. (I’m an accountant, so I talked to myself… I do run things past our tax guy too though.)

6)- Figure out your Cost of Goods sold and determine your prices. This step, in and of itself, is so important. Do research on what all should be included in your costs. I figured out a price list of where I wanted to be in the future, and came up with a PB (portfolio building) discount off of that.

7)-Decide policies and come up with a contract & model release. There are many of these available for free or for sale online. It would be good to run them past a lawyer in your state. There are many ways to handle your forms: you can have them printed on paper for clients to sign, as a PDF you email, or use Machforms,($39) or Google Forms and have clients fill it out online. There are also apps for the iPad or smartphone that have model releases that your client can sign right on your phone or iPad. As I said, check with a lawyer on what is legal for your state.

8)-Work on marketing/branding, get a logo, watermark, etc. Check out our vendor list at the bottom of the blog to get help with these.

9)-Set up a blogsite for your business. I use a self-hosted WordPress blog with the tofurious theme and a flash site for my portfolio with a mobile phone viewable option. At first you could use galleries on your blogsite and clients could email you their order.  You could choose to use Smugmug, Zenfolio or other online gallery options. I set up Photocart for ordering. ($329 one time purchase)

10)-Send test prints to labs and decided on a few labs to use.

11)-Get a Facebook Fan Page set up.

12)-I got a UPS Store P. O. Box at this stage. (I’m not always here to accept deliveries and I shoot on location a lot.) The UPS Store will accept deliveries from FedEx, UPS, mail, etc. This is totally not needed if you have a way to get all your photos, etc delivered safely and reliably.

13) Get a business phone number. I got a Google Voice number for my business phone #. It rings through to my cell phone, and I have it set up with a special ring so I know it’s a business call.

14)-Get business cards. I actually got a couple different styles of rep cards so I could have a variety of business cards.

15)-Get simple packaging supplies. You could try Rice Studio Supplies or Papermart or other paper and packaging supply companies. Be careful here though. It’s easy to get wrapped up (pun intended) in these kind of things instead of actually concentrating on improving your photography and growing and marketing your business.

16)-Start getting samples to show clients. Large sized photos, canvases, photo boxes, albums…whatever you’re planning to sell.

17)-Check out rules for photographers for different locations around town. Who charges a fee, etc. Scout out locations and make up a list of locations to suggest to clients.

These aren’t necessarily in any particular order, but I wanted most of these steps finished before I felt comfortable charging for my work. I’m sure I  have forgotten a few things, but hopefully these tips will get you started on the path of legally setting up your business. I freely admit I have no idea of how to legally set a business in other countries, but some of these steps should still be helpful.

My other advice would be to remember that sales tax, business registration, permits, ability to work out of your home, etc vary widely from state to state and city to city. Check it out for YOUR state and city. I am not a professional in any of these areas. Get professional advice from someone in your area.

Get professional advice (accounting, legal, insurance) wherever and whenever it’s needed. Get legal. Collect your sales tax. Pay your taxes. Operate as a professional. It’s confusing and time consuming to get set up as a legal photography business, but it’s a fabulous and rewarding career choice!

Once you get your business up and going, it’s time to concentrate on marketing your business. That’s what 4 the Love of Focus is all about. The forum has been a fabulous help in growing my business. We look forward to seeing you here in the future!

These tips were shared today by Kay Pickens, a photographer in Columbia and St. Louis, Missouri. Kay often combines her love of photography with her love of writing and her obsession with all things geeky.