Lessons learned from other industries and more weddings

Photography News that's Fit to Blog (This Week)
by Kerry Raminiak

Three prevalent topic threads dominated the photography industry news boards in the past couple of days. For your enjoyment and quick review, we grouped them for you:

I. Good-ish Finds. Depending on Your Mood.

A primer on how to estimate a design project is being passed around on Twitter by the photography community because there are direct applications –despite the fact that our work does not require us to design websites (well, it does for ExpressDigital and our free PhotoReflect internet storefronts… but not photog per say). Part 1 is from Smashing Magazine (a designer’s source) that has inspired Part 2 from Konigi that has developed an Excel spreadsheet to take the Smashing post to the next level. I think it is brilliant for any small business owner to grasp these intricacies.

* Part 1 (from Smashing Mag)

* Part 2 (from a fan of Smashing Mag)

In another semi-related article, I found this goodie called What Fightclub [the movie] Teaches You About Freelancing. It’s semi-related in that it is not directed to or for pro photographers (just like those above), but it is still relevant, clever and useful with a keen eye. I appreciate this author/company’s tact on entrepreneurship and his willingness to share his insight. His business model is about passive income which is probably why you have to scroll beyond a litany of Google ads to get to the good stuff, but I can’t blame him and some of his advice is pretty good (you’re on your own if you dig deeper and find the stuff photographers would inherently disagree with).

II. Actual Photography News.

We are becoming big fans of DPS (Digital Photography School) and their article base. Last week I was surprised to find that I was posting them twice. So this week, I just link to their Portrait Photography inventory. Here you can find some great tutorials on using wind, using a fast lens for child portraits, and tips on maternity portraits among a very long list of good ideas.

Beyond that, here you will find their challenge to photographers to post 10 portraits in 10 shots using 1 focal length, which is a great idea. If you participate and use your PhotoReflect account to publish for the challenge please let us know with a link in the comments section. If we get a good response we will be sure to discuss the outcome in an upcoming newsletter.

In industry news Canon UK/Ireland has been honored with the Which? Award (a popular UK impartial review group). The press release posted first on ePhotoZine indicates: “Which? looked at value for money and believed that Canon's printers and associated running costs offer excellent overall value. They were also impressed with Canon's outstanding range of digital cameras where they decided that the company’s range offers excellent choice no matter what the consumers’ budget. In addition, Which? were also impressed by Canon’s Digital SLR camera range, deciding that Canon are leaders in making 'semi professional' cameras available to those with smaller budgets.” Congrats Canon.

III. The June Wedding Theme That Just Won’t Go Away
(ah, love).

In case you missed it, it is still June. Therefore, there are some great interviews and ideas for wedding photographers...

Below are the two articles on How to Find A Wedding Photographer and/or Videographer for Your Wedding published by The Knot. I post it because the The Knot has become the wedding planning bible to its industry and what they say, whether you agree with it or not, is what you should expect from your clientele. Don’t worry, btw. I believe their advice is accurate and reassuring for you… but if you are prepping for a wedding season or just want to get in the know, understanding you clients’ expectations is a good start.

* Your Top Wedding Photo and Video Questions Answered

* Getting Started Finding/Hiring Wedding Photographer

The next related article is our interview with Viva Las Vegas whom just posted their 5,000th PhotoReflect event. Their business model is inspired. Their photography business sales model is brilliant. Read about them here.

IV. Our BIG announcement this week is...

There are only two weeks left on the DARKROOM "We Heart Photographers" promotion, wherein anybody can purchase DARKROOM Professional and/or Core Edition at the lowest price ever offered. This is a big deal if you have ever considered DARKROOM or need to additional licenses for other laptops or CPUs. Learn more here.