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All that is about to change.

I have discovered a new canvas supplier that not only is super-affordable, but the quality is out of this world!

I’m always on the lookout for a sale and a $15 off coupon code was sent my way for a vendor I’d never heard of, CG Pro Prints. Usually $15 off is not too much of a deal, but I decided to check out the vendor anyway.

Although CG Pro Prints only caters to professional photographers with the appropriate documentation, their pricing was viewable without having to have an account approved first. On the plus side, I *DID* like this, since I like to know what the COGS are going to be prior to applying for an account, BUT on the negative side, I’m not too crazy about my clients being able to see this pricing.

The pricing itself absolutely astounded me. Canvases start at $12.99! Here, see for yourselves:

I ordered a 20×20 canvas & designed something more on the “fun” side. For the price, I could take the risk. Here’s the end result:

I’m an east coast girl and CG Pro Prints is located in Longmount, CO, so I was a bit concerned about transit time for my order. Not to worry, though, I ordered the canvas on Saturday, March 31 and received it on Tuesday, April 10. My account shows that it shipped on Wednesday, April 4th. So, for a canvas of this quality in 10 days – I’ll take it! CG Pro Prints advertises that your canvas will ship in three business days, and they lived up to that promise.

These canvases are professionally finished on the back, with hardware already installed

and have the neatest wrapped corners I have ever seen.

All in all, I give it five Wootness points!

REVIEW DISCLAIMER: Reviews done by Wootness are done on a whim with no advance notice given to the person or company being reviewed. Items reviewed by Wootness have been purchased and used by Christine in her photography business. Christine has not been compensated for her reviews and has not been offered a beer or any other alcoholic beverage in return for a favorable review.

Image: Kenrockwell.com

Oh dear.

Yeah, THAT. The reaction you get when you tell someone what lens you used for a session or a particular photo. The face that is made may as well imply that you grabbed Thin Mints off the table outside the grocery store being manned by munchkins wearing green and RAN.

The dreaded KIT LENS reaction.

Frankly, I think it would be great if camera manufacturers started pairing bodies with 50mm 1.8 lenses. That’s how it was in film days. You pretty much got a 35mm lens with your body. That’s how it should still be. Yet, I digress…

So, if you own a kit lens, that pretty much means that you bought a package deal when you bought your camera body. You didn’t know about the “body-only” deals, or else it just didn’t make sense to go that route because buying a lens on top of it was more than you wanted to spend.

So, you have a lens that is sneered at. What to do?

Ignore the sneering. It’s a viable lens. Really. It doesn’t have the versatility of a lens that can go from f/1.8 to f/22, but right now, you probably don’t need that, anyway. Learn to use your kit lens. It will be restricting in some instances. You’re not going to be able to get good bokeh out of it, no matter how hard you try, but you’ll be able to get some great usable images out of it early in your journey.

When I started out, I bought a kit lens, the lovely 18-55mm. After a year or so, I heard a story about a newer photographer who had something tragic happen to her kit lens and she just couldn’t swing the cost of a new one. She was dead in the water. So I sent her mine. And just told her to pay it forward some day.

So, quit yer whining about your gear and learn to use it to the fullest capacity you are able. After you replace it, keep it as a backup (you all know about having backup gear, right?). After you have a better backup – find it a new home with someone just starting out.

Pay it forward, freckles and all.

Image: Witthaya Phonsawat / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

For the past few years, the photography industry has been flooded. Absolutely flooded. With photographers, with choices, with product lines ranging from the dirt cheap to the merely ridiculous.

When I began analyzing the market for my entrance into it, it didn’t look like this. But while I was busy learning and prepping to open my business, it changed drastically and I entered the market at the same exact time as all the other newbies.

Yes, I’m a newbie. One that worked her freaking ass off and reached major heights within a handful of years. But unfortunately, professional heights do not equal income heights.

And I find myself and my high quality technical photography having a pity party of two.

Business is not good. There, I said it. Frankly, it sucks and it’s not anywhere near what I projected it to be.

I have a little boutique studio, let’s call it Tiffany’s. But unfortunately, Tiffany’s is placed smack dab in the middle of a county that shops at WalMart, K-Mart and Goodwill. Heck, even *I* shop there.

So, while I’m running my little tiffany-boutique with tiffany-products sporting tiffany-prices, my competition has chucked together some WalMart products with Goodwill quality and KMart prices. And the community that shops at those stores feels right at home.

So, while I’m sitting up on my tiffany-throne, catering to the occasional client, my competition is running blue-light specials 24 hours a day. And staying as busy as a one-armed paper hanger.

So, what to do? I imagine I’m not the only throne-sitter in this predicament.

The way I see it – if I don’t stock the items that people want to buy, they’re not going to shop at my store. I can either keep up with the tiffany-inventory, making the old boys happy to have me in their midst, or I can start carrying some mart-inventory and pulling clients away from my competition.

Are you thoroughly confused at this point? Here it is in simple-speak. I’m too expensive. I don’t sell digital files/CDs. My prints are more expensive because they’re mounted and sprayed and I constantly have clients asking if they can have their prints without these tiffany-features in order to make them more affordable. I keep sticking to my guns and not complying with these requests. And why? So I can make the old-regime happy? Frankly, they’re not paying my mortgage payment, so why do I care?

I need to change the stock carried by my little tiffany-boutique in order to attract more clients . No amount of explaining the difference in quality is going to make them change their minds about what they came in to purchase. The last time I walked into a store, looking for a particular item at a particular price point, I walked back out if it wasn’t sold there. I shop around until I find what I want. The only time I will bend on this is if I just *CAN’T* find it anywhere else.

Photography clients *CAN* find it anywhere else. Multiple places, in fact.

So – the tiffany-stock in my store is going to be somewhat reduced. It’s going to share shelf-space with some lower-end popular items. Prints will be available without all the bells and whistles if that’s what the client desires. Digital files on CD for portrait sessions will be available for the first time ever. Clients are not going to find bottom of the barrel quality and prices, but they’re going to find a refreshing new inventory that will capture their interest.

And I’ll be making some trips down the road to the bank. Thank God.

Image: David Castillo Dominici / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I remember it well. It was 2008 and I had made the decision to transition to full-time photography. Until this point, I had been a freelance newspaper photographer and had also photographed weddings for several years. Now I was going to change my focus to studio photography. I decided to learn all I could before making that leap.

I began attending every workshop and class I could. Luckily, there were a multitude of opportunities available. I’m midway between Cleveland and Columbus, and seminars in those cities were abundant.

I began plopping down $49-$79 dollars on a consistent basis, thinking the price was such a deal. After attending every single seminar offered in 2008  using this model, I began to question their worth.

I was so excited. I was going to network and meet other photographers and soak in the brilliance of the speaker for the evening. I just knew that my work would improve by leaps and bounds. But I was mistaken. Very mistaken.

I was seated in large room with 200-400 other photographers. For the next 4 hours, I was fed small doses of information in between large plugs for the speaker’s product line. There is nothing more disappointing than being told that an additional $400 purchase of tutorials and actions was necessary to churn out the same look as work of the photographer on stage. One speaker flew through their posing and light setups so fast that to this day, I cannot decipher the stick figure diagrams that I was scribbling out. Yes, I could have purchased the presentation on  DVD and reviewed it at my leisure, but I refused to pay the $199 price tag.

I understand that leaving a studio to do a speaking tour leaves one upside down on studio income. But getting anywhere from $5 – $30K for admission fees for one night of speaking, topped off by sales of several hundred dollars minimum is absolutely ridiculous. If you can’t take the studio income loss without raking in the dough from fellow photographers, then I suggest you stay at the studio.

From DVD recordings, lessons and tutorials to CDs of templates, actions and posing guides, I was constantly encouraged to purchase. Most often, the minimum purchase was $199 or so. Sure, I’ve got that right in my back pocket.

Since that summer of non-learning, I have looked around and discovered that there is quite a market of photographers selling to other photographers. Backgrounds, clothing, gear, templates, actions, senior rep programs, posing guides, camera bags, websites etc. The list is endless.

How does one make the jump from photographer to educator to salesman?

Here’s an idea: If you have that much to say and desire to teach and share your knowledge with other photographers, but can’t do so without selling a line of products…how about you sit down and write a book? A real book of paper. With a cover. Sell it for somewhere in the $29 range. I’m a sucker for books. I have quite the library and value photography business and technique books highly.

If you’ve got something so all-fired important to say, that you just HAVE to share it with the photographic community, write it down. It sure beats you trying to hawk your wares under the guise  of teaching a class.

Image: nuttakit / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I see a lot of photographers advertise that they are “award-winning photographers.” Heck, I even say that. Furthermore, I also say I’m a published author.

When folks read that, they’re going to assume that I’m good, that my photography for them will be on par with previous works that have won awards. And gee whiz, if I’m a published author, then I must really know what I’m doing.

But what if you did a little investigative work and found out that all of my award-winning images were not done in the studio, were not done of people and won awards no one has ever heard of? On top of that — what if you learned that my “published author” schtik was a few recipes I had included in a local church recipe book?

Wouldn’t you feel a little gypped? A little deceived? Wouldn’t you feel as if you decided to choose me based on false pretenses?

Fortunately for me, my award-winning images were all done in-studio of previous clients and my writing experience was as co-author of a photography book. *Whew!* there’s some relief, right?

In this day and age, it’s easy to try and pull the wool over peoples’ eyes. On the other hand, in this day and age, it’s also easy as heck to verify or disprove information.

I’d like to caution my fellow photographers: Don’t lay claim to what isn’t true about or relevant to the work you are doing. Don’t risk the embarrassment of being “found out” and don’t employ practices that make it hard on the rest of us.

It’s all fine and good if you are an exceptional nature photographer and have won a multitude of awards for your wildlife photography. I congratulate you on your accomplishments. Just don’t pass it off as an “award-winning” title for your maternity & baby photography business.

M’kay?

I’m teaching a workshop at my studio in Dover, OH on May 14th.

This is NOT a money-making venture on my part – it is sponsored by the PPA as part of their Super Monday series.

The title of the workshop is “Amateur Photographers Anonymous: A 12-Step Program to Going Pro.”

*Sigh*, yes, I heard of the 10-step “system” that was released last week. No, this is not a joke. In fact, I submitted this course on February 6th to the PPA, far in advance of all of this 10-step mumbo jumbo. Yet, I digress…

This workshop is specifically designed for the new photographer. It outlines the 12 steps *I* took to get where I am today. 4 years ago I was employed full time as a quality specialist, doing some freelance newspaper work on the side with the occasional wedding here and there.

Today… well – click HERE and check it out yourself. I think my resume speaks for itself.

I think I have a lot of guidance that will be valuable to the new and struggling photographer. I know how it is out there. You have many questions and no one will give you answers.

Well, let’s cut the bullshit and sit down and talk. I don’t even care if you are in my area. I’m a mentor and a teacher, not just a photographer. The knowledge I received is not something that I should protect and shield from others. Seriously. Give me a break.

It’s time. It’s time to stop making it tough on people that are trying to make the same journey. It’s time to stop being a jerk and take a few photographers under our wings and help them out.

And you know what the bonus is? I don’t have a thing to sell you! You’re not going to sit in class and get some kind of hard-sell from me. I’m just going to be open and honest about how I went about going into business and the lessons I learned the hard way. There’s no sense in you learning them the hard way, too.

I’m all about Karma, baby. Let’s rock and roll!

Workshop information is here: Amateur Photographers Anonymous.

Image: Simon Howden / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Suck it up.

Seriously. Stop the bitching and whining and STFU.

Competition is healthy, it’s normal, it’s an Economics 101 fact of life as a business-owner.

Yes, the new sites that make fun of new photographers and/or their work can offer some light-hearted relief, but let’s not make them the focus of our every waking moment. The only thing you are doing by spending so much time moaning about the newbies is taking time away from upping your own game.

While you are busy submitting newbie websites to YANAP, they’ve shot 3 mini-session at the park and have pocketed $100. Is that loss of time and money worth it? Don’t tell me you’re going to sneer at making money over hanging out on a photographer bash-site. Nope, it’s not the money you think they should be charging, but since when are you the photography price-fixing police?

If you’re complaining, that means you’re scared. It means that these newbies are making your nervous. If you’re a professional, you shouldn’t have anything to be nervous about. If your skills are up there, what’s your issue?

Quit stalking the Facebook pages of your so-called competition and mind your own business entity. For the most part, these new business-owners are going to go by the wayside. Only so many business make it past the 2,3 and 5 year mark. Mostly because they have no business background and are not running their businesses with solid financial practices in place.

On the off-chance that some bright new photographer knows what he’s doing, both artistically and business-wise, and *gasp* actually succeeds – GOOD! You’re sitting around whining that the industry is going to hell in a hand-basket and the quality bar is being lowered by all of the newbies – well, here’s someone who is raising the bar. FAN-FLIPPING-TASTIC!! Call that boy up and congratulate him!

Lately, there has been an influx in professionals that are writing programs on how to succeed as a photographer. Heck, I’m writing one, myself. But, oh, here we go again….more whining, gnashing of teeth and beating breasts. Get over it! People will do what they do without any regard to what you personally think. Obviously, you are NOT their target market. If their program doesn’t interest you, do the same thing as I do at the grocery store in the produce section – don’t look, don’t pay any attention, especially to the asparagus. It’s not for you.

Come on, folks, lighten up and get back to work. You’re not doing the industry any favors with the constant drama.

Image: David Castillo Dominici / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

At some point in time, you decided you could make some money at photography. That’s great. Really. Photography is a cool occupation. I like it a lot and I’m glad when others discover they like it a lot, too.

At the point that you begin to accept money for your work, you have entered the realm of professional photography. Some people say it’s as soon as you make your first dollar, some people say it’s when photography brings in a majority of your income.

Now, let me depart this line of thinking for a moment and talk about CPAs. Somewhere along the line, someone decided that they would like to be an accountant. They went to school, got the proper schooling, passed whatever exam is required and now they’re a CPA. The world does not dictate how much money they need to make before they call themselves a CPA – it is what it is – they studied – they do it – they’re a CPA.

So why is it – that professional photography isn’t so clear cut? Well, because it’s not a regulated industry. It would be nice if it was, but it isn’t. So instead of determining education and skills that you need to possess before you can call yourself a professional photographer – we hold mumbo jumbo conversations about levels of income earning.

Here’s what I think. If you say you’re a professional photographer, that’s fine. I don’t care if you do it 2 hours a week, 20 hours a week or 80 hours a week. It’s not up to me to dictate and judge the requirements to give yourself that title.

I call myself a professional and I certainly don’t work at it full-time. I’m also an author, educator and book designer. I’ve got more than a few irons in the fire. I’ve also cut back on my studio hours severely so that I can help care for an elderly family member. The title of professional is mine because I’ve earned it through education and skill. Not because of how many hours a week I do or don’t devote to it. So, I’m not going to put that as a requirement on you or anyone else I come into contact with.

What I *DO* expect, is that you are as knowledgeable and educated as you can be. Measure yourself against others who you consider to be professionals. Did they buy a camera 2 weeks ago and then go into business? No, they did not. Did they go to every class they could and practiced a bunch before they hung out their sign? I’d bet a big “yes” on that one.

I’m seeing more and more newer photographers who are charging money, but saying “oh, I”m not a professional, I’m not really doing this full time” – well, we don’t make that distinction with CPAs and we’re not going to make it with you. If you charge money, you have placed yourself into the realm of “professional.” Now, it’s up to you to deserve that title.

Image: njaj / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

“What a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.”

I’m sure you’re all familiar with this little saying. And you’re probably going to think I’m crazy if I tell you to clean up your web-making habits.

As we totter along on our photographic journey, we’re going to come across people who ask for advice. Or people who show us their work and ask us what we think.

This is not the time to be kind. Don’t be mean, but certainly don’t compliment photography that shouldn’t be complimented.

The sooner you learn to critique softly, the better. If someone asks your opinion, they trust you to be straight with them. Otherwise they wouldn’t ask. You’re not doing them any favors by ignoring obvious technical deficits in their work.

Always couch criticism with positive comments. Sometimes your positive comment will have to be “what a cute little girl!” but always try to find ONE redeeming quality in the image. This will help any criticism you give to be a little more palatable. Remember Mary Poppins? “Just a spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down!”

Being more honest with photographers that are still working on their technical skills at this stage of their development will help them immensely.

On the other hand – do NOT criticize in an unhealthy manner. When I talk about criticism, it should be understood that I mean constructive criticism. None of us are “all that and a bag of chips.” I don’t care who you are, we all have room to grow and improve and we should stay humble. When someone asks for our input, we should be flattered. Don’t screw that up by being a jerk about it.

Never, never talk down to another photographer. They have already acknowledged your “photography superiority” by asking for your advice – don’t make them regret their request.

If the person in question shoots in a different style than you and you have nothing but negative thoughts when looking at their work, let them know that you don’t have similar styles and recommend someone who does that may be able to help. Ignore the style and critique lighting and posing, but don’t put down their skills just because they are developing a style that doesn’t trip your trigger.

So, back to the spider web thing. I’ve been thinking lately – that part of the problem with the rampant “bad” photography being offered up these days is perhaps we didn’t take the opportunity to be helpful in the past. It’s really easy to give a non-committal “nice work,” but it wouldn’t have killed you to say  “Your locations are very nice and this is a nice example of creative posing, but I”m thinking your white balance may need some adjusting. I have a link to a great article on that if you’d like me to send it to you.”

So, let’s get on a little bandwagon and do our part to raise the quality of work out there, even if it’s only indirectly. Okay?

And if you’ve not been very helpful in the past because you were afraid of educating your competition, then shame on you. You’ve got bigger problems than spiders.

An H&H rep shows a product to recent tradeshow attendee Mark Fundak. An example of a good tradeshow vendor experience.

Sit right here ::patting seat beside me:: We need to have a chat.

I haven’t been to a multitude of photographic tradeshows. I’ve never been to WPPI or IUSA.

But, I have been to a variety of trade shows on a smaller scale – some with 5 vendors, some with 150.

So if you frequent smaller shows like this, I’d like to fill you in on  a few things…

Yes, I “get” that this is probably a weekend and you’re not all that keen to be working on a Saturday.

And  I “get” that you spent all day yesterday and most of last night setting up this lovely booth.

And people are walking through, touching all your stuff. And messing it up. And taking catalogs you’re pretty sure will wind up in the trash. And “oh my god lady, how many trips through my booth are you going to make so you can swipe another tootsie pop out of the candy dish?”

I “get” it. I really do.

But suck it up. Slap a smile on that face, look at my name tag , shake my hand and greet me by name.

If my name isn’t familiar to you – ask if I’m presently a customer of your fine firm.

If I’m not, give me your business card and a catalog. Or a flyer. Especially a flyer with a discount code. I like those.

If I am already a customer, thank me. And ask me what my favorite product has been that I have purchased from you.

Why? Because you need to make a little conversation with me. Don’t just say “hello” and let it melt into awkward silence.  Also, because it tells you what your customers like. You don’t necessarily get that from sales figures.

It could be that I’ve purchased 50  8×10′s from you in the last week. But, I’ve only purchased 4 bevel mounted 10×10′s. Oh hello! I LOVE those 10x10s and talk them up all the time – but my wall can only hold so many samples. So, now that you know what my favorite product is, you will know to bring samples of that with you if you haven’t already. And you can bet, I’ll spy those 10×10′s, squeal in girly excitement, pick one up and show it to my BFF with me and say “you have SO got to try these, they’re FAB!”

OK, I don’t use the word “FAB!”, but you get my point.

I’m sure, for every ten people that walk in your booth, nine of them are “just looking.” But one of them has money in their pocket and are looking to spend. Hey, that’s what trades hows are all about – shopping! It’s like going to a mall for geeks!

The trouble is, you don’t know which one of us has money, so you have to act like we ALL do.

If I’m not interested in your product, I’m not going to waste your time chit-chatting. I’m not going to take your free tote bag and one of every printed piece you have. I may take your business card, though, for future reference.

If I have been a long-time customer of yours, and I have spent a substantial amount of money with you, and you can’t remember my name, or don’t make an effort to be social with me when I remind you of my name and that I’m a current client, I just might be tempted to go to a different vendor in the future.

I’m that way.

You have been warned.

Stay tuned for features on two vendors who impressed me at a recent show, Buckeye Professional Imaging and Wildcat Photo Packaging.

Image: photostock / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Do you feel under pressure? Now that you’re a photographer?

Or now that you’ve loudly proclaimed to all who will listen that you have a passion for photography and you are going into business? Yeah, guilty.

Truth #1: Sometimes I just want to take a photo like a tourist.

I’ll make sure everything’s in focus, but really, it’s a cookout for crying out loud.

Do I really need to lug along a tripod so I can get good “fire” photos?

Or the low-light lens collection? Which consists of one 1.4 lens, one 1.8 lens, and three 2.8 lenses. Oh, and don’t forget the fourth 2.8 – the FISHEYE! I love that lens and wouldn’t dream of doing fire photos without a fisheye! So that’s 6 extra lenses.

And the bag I have to carry that will hold them all.

The big bag. You know the one. It weighs like 30 pounds and I wind up schlepping it around all night because I’m afraid to set it down. It’s insured, but I don’t take chances.

And sometimes….yes… sometimes I can’t fit it all in the big bag and I carry a second bag. Yes, I am *that* person.

Truth #2: Sometimes I feel pressured to be “working”

and to produce “artistic” and “competition-worthy” images.

And I wind up not enjoying myself. No one wants to be “on” all the time.

I’m thinking of that song from “Rent” – the on that talks about how many minutes there are in a day (525,600) and inside I’m screaming “and not all of them are photographic moments!”

So, if you see me walking around with my hands in my pockets because I didn’t bring a camera at all, smile and know that I have chosen to enjoy myself & would be happy for you to share your cell phone pics with me or your “amateur” camera photographs of the event.

And before you get in a hissy about the above – I’ve had people apologize for their cameras. Don’t worry!

Truth #3: I don’t have the latest and greatest gear!

Right now a D4 costs more than my car is worth. You know? Hey, it’s 10 years old, holds all my gear and is running fine (check with me after this article hits the www, sometimes I’m a jinx like that). It does the job for me. I’m kind of the same way with cameras. If there’s not something actively wrong with the camera. I’m not upgrading unless I have a specific need for the camera and have the extra $. Or I’ve saved for it. Right now I have 3 Nikons and one of them just developed a dead pixel. One. That’s not “sick enough” to ditch in my book.

Don’t be embarrassed and apologize for your photos. I had someone tell me once that “of course this isn’t as good as you” and I said – no, it’s better, I didn’t take any at all!

Truth #4: Sometimes, I worry.

It’s not all happy,happy, joy, joy. I know, I know, but we make money at something we LOVE!!!!

Give me a break. Please.

I worry.

Sometimes I have weird worries that you can’t relate to, especially if you’re not a photographer.

A couple of months ago I submitted a proposal to teach a workshop the title containing “A 12 Step Program”. And just days ago, a well-known photographer released a 10- step program and a popular photographic comedienne  has a 3-step program. Not that either of these people copied off me (seriously, no), but what an utter BAD coincidence.

But… I know you’re not going to “get” that, so instead, I may say “oh thing are just fine!”. Even if you’re not convinced. That’s ok. I won’t bore you with the story.

It’s not because I don’t like you – it’s because I DO. I won’t subject you to my boring photographer-talk all night. After all, I don’t have to hear about all of your escapades as a pole dancer.

Yes, I have a friend that is a pole-dancer. So there.

Truth #5: I don’t like Kool-Aid.

We are not the same.

Yes, sometimes we have the exact same problems. But I don’t believe the exact same solution that works for me, will work for you. I can head you away from the wrong direction, but the answer FOR YOU cannot be determined by anyone else other than YOU.

So, when I teach, talk or write, I try not to hold myself as a “holier-than-though” guru on the subject. I try to give options. I try to brainstorm with you.

I’m not going to say “Do EXACTLY this, and you will succeed!” We are different. What worked for me may not work for you.

So, I can share MY path with you and tell you what *I* did.  I worked my ass off. And to be honest, I could have worked harder.

But, my path may not apply to you at all. That’s okay.

Maybe you’ve already got it figured out in a way that works for you. Fantastic! That’s a “Wootness!” right there.

We’re different. So don’t be drinking any kool-aid.

So, those are my truths. In this moment.

What are yours?

Behold! I have just found Planet Jill,  a photography jewelry company with a sweet line of products AND they are allowing me to give you a 50% discount on the reseller setup kit! How cool is that?!

All you need to do is supply a scanned copy of your business license/reseller’s permit (vendor’s license) and the digital file you would like made into a sample sterling silver necklace.

The reseller kit is normally priced at $50 and includes selling materials and a sample sterling silver charm necklace that retails for $80. BUT…drumroll please… you can get it for only $25 (plus shipping) by using my special code at checkout. My code is CWNPJ.

After your account is approved, you may continue to purchase from Planet Jill at 40% off retail. What’s really cool is that you can send your clients to the Plant Jill website to check out your offerings as the retail prices are shown there and not the wholesale numbers.

So, go to THIS LINK  to get started and don’t forget to use the code CWNPJ to get your reseller kit for $25!

If you would like to put my name down as your referral -please do so (Christine Walsh-Newton).

Peruse all the lovely products at: http://www.planetjill.com

I’ve been a busy bee around here lately, getting ready to attend the Professional Photographers of Ohio’s Annual Convention, but I haven’t forgotten about you! Several weeks ago, I introduced a new design company, Blue Bubble Designs. Since then, I’ve had to opportunity to peruse their offerings and purchase a few items for use in my photography business. I am especially impressed by a set of actions that will allow you to show your clients what their photos will look like as a canvas gallery wrap.

Check this out! Here is an image I recently shot, shown as an 11x14vertical canvas gallery wrap:

And here is one in 11×14 Horizontal format:

I am really excited about these actions and I will be using them to show my clients what their gallery wrap will look like. I’ll also be using them to put examples on my website – there’s nothing like having example photos of your own work to show potential clients!

These actions can be purchased separately for $5 each in the following formats 16×20, 11×14, 10×20 and square. The measured actions come in both vertical and horizontal formats. Blue Bubble has a special price for the entire set for $15, but for a limited time, through Monday, March 19th at noon – Wootness readers can purchase the entire set and will receive a FREE mousepad template. These things are da bomb and so is Blue Bubble Designs! Thank you, Heather for this special Wootness deal!

To get in on this fantastic $15 deal please go to this special link just for Wootness readers: Blue Bubble Designs

To get in on this fantastic $15 deal please go to this special link just for Wootness readers: Blue Bubble Designs

REVIEW DISCLAIMER: Reviews done by Wootness™ are done on a whim with no advance notice* given to the person or company being reviewed. Items reviewed by Wootness™ have been purchased and used by Christine in her photography business. Christine has not been compensated for her reviews and has not been offered a beer or any other alcoholic beverage in return for a favorable review.

*Advance notice for this review was given to Blue Bubble Designs so that a special freebie offer could be obtained for Wootness readers. The content of the review was not disclosed to Blue Bubble Designs in advance of publication.

Life got a little bit overwhelming because yours truly had WAY too many irons in the fire and then was hit with a health issue that required rest and care. Nothing serious and things seem to be fine, now, so I’m carrying on.

While I was MIA, I did some reprioritizing. What started out as business revamping, studio clean out, website upgrade and new pricing for the year turned into a reprioritizing of my personal life.

Huh?

Somehow I had let my life become overwhelmingly photography-based and was neglecting my role as mother, wife, grammy, sister, etc…

Or perhaps I was not taking the time to enjoy my role as mother, wife, grammy, sister, etc…

So, for the past month or so, I’ve been relaxing and enjoying life,  taking LOTS of naps and eating fruit. If you know me in person, you’ll understand the fruit thing. I have been surviving on fried food & junk food for the past 20 years, so popping something fresh and nutritious into my mouth is just not something I do. The closest I get to fruit are tropical flavored life-savers .

I’ve taken the time to just enjoy life.

I’ve laughed, I’ve cried, I’ve just sat and looked out the window at the sky.

I’ve cuddled with my kitties and given WAY too many treats to the dog.

I’ve increased my husband’s hug-dosage by 300%.

I bought plane tickets on the spur of the moment and traveled to meet the newest grandbaby and then spent an entire weekend holding her.

I made a cake.

I picked out a project on Pinterest, pinned it and actually made the danged thing. It’s not perfect, but it’s hanging on my wall.

I went through my underwear drawer and finally threw away all those expensive underwire bras that were falling apart and poking me in the you-know-what.

I’ve let go of people and things that were not healthy for me.

So, while I’ve neglected Wootness, it was a temporary measure in order to revamp my life a bit.

I’m back and will be around on a semi-regular basis. And if you read yesterday’s post, you can assume that a kinder, gentler Wootness is forthcoming.

Smooches,

Christine

For now, I’d like to tell you about an epiphany I had the other day. February 25th, to be exact.

On that day, I was part of a birthday gift to a young woman who had started a photography business. Her good friend was planning a special day for her and booked a mentoring session with me.

I spent about an hour and a half talking to this young lady who was exceptionally sweet and loved photography. She was a stay-at-home mom of three and was using photography to supplement the household income.

Yes, she was an MWAC.

I set aside my reservations (how is this going to go?) and talked to her about wedding photography, baby sessions, camera and lens information, background and prop information and a multitude of other subjects that she wanted to know more about. And yes, we talked about the proper licenses and insurance she needed.

And my preconceived ideas of MWACs were shattered.

She was nice, she was sweet, she was thirsty for knowledge and soaked it up like a sponge. She was excited, enthusiastic and horror of horrors… passionate.

She had NO CLUE that her pricing model was one of the many that have pros gnashing their teeth and beating their breasts.

And I realized something…MWACs are not purposefully trying to screw us over. Really. They’re not.

They got a camera, took a lot of photos and people that don’t know better told them they should be in business. So they went into business. Illegally, but they did. And they’re happy. They’re making some extra money and their husbands are happy, too. They haven’t yet learned to do the math that makes it obvious that they’re working for less than minimum wage.

Instead of picturing MWACs as these nasty, disrespectful women who are trying to screw me out of business, I am now picturing them as happy women with a hobby that they love and making some extra cash.

They’re still wrong, but they’re not being evil and vindictive about it.

I’d like to challenge my fellow pros out there to try and give these ladies a break. The key is education, not ridicule. They’re naive, that’s all. And we can help them learn a better way.

Blue Bubble designs is having their grand opening as we speak, and Heather has kindly posted a free digital paper set to celebrate.

Go to this link and scroll down to the Pink & Gray Paper set. Add it to your cart and it will automatically be discounted to $0. While you’re there, check out Heather’s offerings. I highly recommend you check out the B2B Marketing Set, at $40, it’s a steal! And a brilliant concept for your business!

Please leave Heather some blog love and let her know that Wootness! sent you!

Visit the Blue Blubble Designs Facebook Page HERE

Seriously, how HARD is it to change the color of the blocks so that they look nice? Don’t give me the blah blah about not knowing how to do it. The Photoshop technique for this is REALLY simple. Much more simple than the skills required to take care of skin smoothing and stretch marks.

And if you don’t know how to take care of stretch marks on a maternity client, you should NOT be shooting for pay at all. Mkay?

HERE is what I’d rather see:

THIS is MUCH better! It looks great AND your maternity clients will be SO grateful!

Here are the step by step directions on how to achieve this. I don’t usually post tutorials on this site, but the crazy block colors are driving me nuts, so I’m going to pass on some helping hints to ease my suffering.

1. Duplicate the background layer. You know you should always do that, right? You’re inviting trouble by making edits to the original layer. Always make your edits on a duplicate layer.

2. Using your selection tool of choice (I used the “magic wand” tool) select the colors on ALL of the blocks. Hold down the shift button while you do this so that you can select multiple areas. If one of the blocks is already the color you want, select it anyway – you want ALL of your blocks to be the same exact color and this is the only way to assure that you can do it.

3. After you have selected the colors you wish to change and those areas are surrounded by the “marching ants”, do a copy and paste maneuver to create a new layer. This will be JUST the colored areas you wish to change.

4. Select your new layer and then go to the blending options area and choose “color overlay”. Then choose the color you wish the blocks to be and finalize it.

There, all done.

What? Where are the screen captures ? Oh, hello! I’m not here to hold your hand. If none of the above directions make sense and you need further instruction, that means that you don’t know Photoshop well enough to be using it and if you don’t know PS well enough to retouch your client photos – YOU SHOULD NOT BE CHARGING MONEY. OK?

If you think you do know what you’re doing and I’m just being mean – then utilize the “help” section in PS and you will find the instructions you need.

But soon, heretics began worshipping at the feet of the kit lens and its goodness and proclaimed its glory throughout the Kingdom of Photographic.

The prophets confronted the existence of the kit lens and smote them. The heretics saw the sin in which they had become immersed and turned their backs on the kit lens and looked to the prophets for guidance in replacing their current lenses of worship.

The prophets decried the existence of the kit lens and proclaimed the glory of the “fast” lenses. The heretics repented and rushed to find altars of f/1.2  at which to worship.

And all was good. For awhile.

But soon, the prophets saw that the heretics were abusing the lenses at the altars of f/1.2. The goodness and glory of the creation of the 1.2 lens had been desecrated by the heretics.

Gone were the crisp focus of points of interest. Portraits of little sweet little children no longer had both eyes in focus and sometimes not even one was crisp. Instead, the the 1.2 lens was being used to focus on hair, or ears, or teeth, or noses. Or nothing at all.

The prophets wept and beat their fists loudly upon their breasts. (ouch!)

They were saddened and tried to lead the heretics back into the proper worship of the 1.2 lens, but no one listened. And the creation of out of focus portraits continued. And it was not good.

The Kingdom of Photographic soon lost some of its power and glory. The heretics became false prophets of the 1.2 lens and soon there were more false prophets than teachers and elders in the churches in the Kingdom of Photographic.

And thus the 11th commandment was borne:

Thou shalt not purchase a “fast” lens before learning the prayers of Depth of Field and mastering the lessons of Aperture and Focus.

Have you ever heard this? If not, it’s CB-speak for “What’s your location?”

I’d like you to go to your website and pretend that you are not you. Pretend you are a potential client. Pretend you want to know what city your photography business is located in.

Look. Keep Looking. Look some more.

Did you find it?

I didn’t think so.

This is one of the biggest falldowns I see when looking at photographer websites. More often than not, there is NO indication as to the geographic location of the photographer.

Do yourselves and your clients a favor and update your website immediately.

Have a nice weekend!