My thanks go out to club president Greg McMillan, who not only extended the invitation to come and speak, but who was also my personal host throughout the early evening, and even quite late at the coffee shop!

It was a pleasure meeting all of the members that I had a chance to speak with personally.

Not only was the presentation fun to deliver with so many good questions and observations, but the impromptu Q & A that occurred afterwards was fun as well!
Thanks to all those who submitted images for critique, as well as everyone who participated with some great thoughts and discussion points.
(Hey Brian! I can’t wait to see that ‘Frogs of the Acropolis’ exhibit!)

Congratulations to Bert on his Winning Image from the contest that Greg shared!
A great example of simple yet powerful composition there for sure!

Thank-you Liz for the lovely card!
Thanks Randy for keeping me laughing with your insight and your razor sharp wit!
Thanks Juergen for sharing your enthusiasm, even after a brutal weekend of emergency plumbing in Sudbury!
Cindy….WOW! Keep up the great work!

You have some great camaraderie and teamwork forming up in your group!
I see some great things in store for you all this summer shooting season!

Keep shooting and experimenting with your composition!
Looking forward to seeing more from this great group!
I respect how eager you all are to learn and get better at your craft!

Regards, and best wishes…
Peter

Club Links:

The Club Flickr Page

OSCC Blog

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Here’s a business tip for today!

Have you noticed all of the folks who walk around proudly displaying their team t-shirts, jackets, bumper stickers, or even tattoos on their bodies?

Some of their commitment is hardcore! And without being nasty… some of them are passionately committed to teams which are obviously not committed to winning at all!

These are the teams that grind it out year after year, but even the coach (when interviewed), sounds like someone has let all of the air out him or her. Their language and their attitude indicate across the board, that they aren’t doing anything more than “Playing NOT to LOSE.”

Winning isn’t even part of the equation. What they say and do indicates that it isn’t a priority. Maintaining the ‘status-quo’ and not ‘venturing out too far’ has become an obviously entrenched mindset. Fans groan and howl when they hear it in the interviews and excuses that come after losing yet another game!

It’s the same in business and marketing…

The question to be asked is “Which team are you playing for?”

The Team that is “Playing to Win” or the team that is “Playing Not to Lose?”

There’s actually a huge gulf between the two.

If you’re on a team that is playing to win, you are making a press to get things done. You have clear and compelling goals! You have defined targets to hit, and the motivation to make moves that create results. You don’t just ‘say’ you’re motivated… Your actions prove your words! You’re prepared to take consistent action and adjust your course when needed. You are always looking forward and looking to maximize your investments.

Contrast that mindset with a sports team that is playing defensively and is ‘playing not to lose.’ If we use a hockey analogy, that’s a team that is on the ice for 60 minutes without any real drive to score. They play defensively for most of the game, they don’t take reasonable risks. When they have a ‘power play’ they set up, set up, and set up some more, and never get around to shooting the puck at the opponents net!

If they get the odd chance to shoot the puck, they might… but not with any specific goal of winning in mind. If the mindset isn’t on winning the game, it’s easy to see how a team with this mentality can be outscored by the second team quite easily.

How does this apply to business?

If a business is not playing to win the attention of new clients in this ’noisy’ world of information that we wade through every day, they disappear into the digital ‘fog’.

If a business is not working to maintain the interest of established clients through their various communication channels, there’s a good chance the client may be wooed by another service provider who is working harder.

While the downturn of the economy did create some cause for caution a few years back, there is a great opportunity for those companies who are actually playing to win in this current market.

When others are ‘playing not to lose’ and are leaving their marketing to chance, a company in this climate can really stand out and get noticed by simply taking visible steps to engage their audience and show their clients they’re still moving right along! In other words, they’re choosing to be ‘out there and visible’ and are playing to win!

So…which team to you play for?

The post Which Team Do You Play For? – Business Tip appeared first on Biffspandex Photography - Toronto Commercial, Food & Drink, Event, and Custom Portrait Photography.

Hi gang.
Just a note to advise that an article I penned has just gone live on ePhotozine UK.

The Value Of Time For A Professional

Thanks to Emma and ePhotozine for passing the info along to everyone!

Cheers!
Peter

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The lads asked me to come out and shoot their set on Friday Dec 28th as they were on the bill with Die Mannequin.

Evan, Marshall, Pat and John had the place jammed with fans who were jumpin’ and rockin’ along with their original material, both old and new.
There was a great response to songs like ‘Attention Span,’ ‘Plastic Man,’ and ‘Space Mountain.’
You can check out some of their tracks on their website here.

Here are some shots from the show…

Congrats lads on a kickin’ show!
P.

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It has been our pleasure serving our clients over this past 2013 year. We are very much looking forward to a new year with tremendous possibilities for everyone.

Here’s a great quote that should guide our days over this next year…

Finish every day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense. This day is all that is good and fair. It is too dear, with its hopes and invitations, to waste a moment on yesterdays. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

As a photographer and an educator at heart, my aim is to have this blog be a pivotal point for many people over this next year.

I’ll not only cover the goings on here at Biffspandex Photography, but my aim is for this little spot on the web to be a thought and productivity provoking for people who want to get the edge on having a powerful 2014.

Our Twitter feed will be loaded with daily quotes and points to ponder. This blog will hit on topics that will aid photographer’s with their planning, their techiniques, and their business thinking.

Our Facebook Page will have tips and items that will aid photographers and clients and stimulate creative ideas.

My hope is that the content planned will accelerate your pace and your excitement about crafting a great, creative 2014.

I’m excited to launch this new phase of content for people who are excited about learning as they express their creativity.

Best Regards,
Peter Finnie

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A special thank-you goes out to the Ajax Camera Club for their very warm welcome, and the invitation to come and share a presentation on Portrait Photography.

I thoroughly enjoyed visiting your club, sharing the seminar, and answering your questions regarding this vast topic.

I’d like to thank a few folks specifically:

Thank-you to Ron Pereaux and Steve Dunn for their insight into crafting a presentation that would fit with the Club’s current teaching objectives.
You guys were very helpful in this regard.

Thank-you to Club President Roy Robinson for your help with setup and being such a willing ‘model’ for our demo part of the evening!
You were a great sport!

I’d like to thank both Malyar Nahil (for his technical support with the audio and setup), and Laurie Taylor (for her help with the reflector during the demo,
and for being such a good sport with the shadow example!)

Thanks also to Jeff Kitchen, Steven, and Bob for their welcome and the engaging discussion we had.

Thanks also to those who purchased my new ebook on “Powerful Portraits” (The expanded version of the talk).
My hope is that it helps you further enhance the great work your club is already doing!

Keep up the great work and thank-you for the recognition certificate!

Regards,
Peter

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Have you cracked a good book lately?
That’s a question that might sound strange in this age of the web, however I’m going to issue a challenge to couples/clients/photographers to get out of the blogo-webbo-techno-sphere for a few hours a week and begin to read a bit more.
Ok sure, you can download the books to your shiny new iPad or Playbook, but engaging with the content is the big point.  Most web articles amount to nuggets which may be useful, but they often don’t allow you to truly engage with the author.
I think many people surfing for information in this day and age tend to ‘gloss over’ concepts that will serve them for a lifetime.

I’ll never forget when a mentor of mine said to me…”Reading is valuable because you can learn in a day or two what took someone a lifetime to figure out.
Reading from people with success in what you want to learn can save you years of time and grief.”  This has proven time and again to be great advice.
It also doesn’t take a brain scientist to figure out that a “marriage expert” on Oprah, who has had 5 failed marriages, isn’t the place to go for advice on how to have a successful long-term marriage.

A great place to start is an oldie but a must read classic if you want to improve your way of communicating and working with people.
Get yourself a copy of “How To Wins Friends and Influence People” – by Dale Carnegie. Then, read it at least once a year.

It never ceases to amaze me that this book isn’t required reading in any high schools I’m aware of…?
How many friction points in life might be reduced if people were to take an active interest in people and learn to truly listen when they are first learning to deal with people?
I learned how to colour maps and discuss the transportation system in Paraguay…but nothing about how skilled adults communicate.
This type of skill-set learning must take place after high school since it simply isn’t being taught.

Young engaged or newly married couples will probably benefit greatly from reading Gary Chapman’s “The 5 Love Languages”.
Can you imagine how much better married life will be when you understand how you and your spouse express and receive, love and affection?
What if you just make assumptions and don’t bother to learn how each other tick? Did you know that you can express love and affection to your spouse but they may not understand at all, your way of doing so?
Chapman outlines 5 Relationship ‘Languages’ of relating to one other that can save “New Married’s” a ton of communication misunderstandings.

Another ‘must read’ is “Positive Personality Profiles” – by Dr. Robert Rohm.
In this book, Dr. Rohm relates how different personality styles tend to work and communicate. He lays out a system for people to understand their personality tendencies,
and how to better relate to those with different approaches to work and communication.

We’ve all experienced friction when working with people. This book is a massive eye opener and has been incredibly helpful to Christine and I, not only in our relationship, but also in our business dealings with clients.

Immersing yourself in a good read allows you to connect with the author’s thinking for more than a nugget blog post or a web ‘how to’ article.
Give these reads a try…You may find they serve you and your interpersonal relationships way better over a lifetime than a reading of the umpteenth Harry Potter book!

In life (or in the business of photography), everything works better when you can effectively relate to, and work with people.

Remember: Good people skills NEVER go out of style!

Cheers,
P.

Please leave some comments re: what you’ve been reading that has been helpful with people skills.
Let’s get a dialogue going which may help some folks out with expanded perspective….

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