An Aside: Best compliment ever!

Helen Richardson/The Denver Post: Alic Nemirovskiy bakes fresh rye bread at The Bagel Store on South Monaco Parkway.

Today I got an amazing compliment from an equally amazing photographer that really helped it hit home for me just how far I've come. I ran into Helen Richardson today, a staff photographer from The Denver Post and someone who's work I've admired for many years. She told me that she was talking about me to other staff photographers, saying namely that she thought I was probably making more money at photographer than they were! After assuring her that wasn't the case since I'm not full time, it sunk in that this celebrated photojournalist had been talking about ME...to the rest of her colleagues who are equally fantastic photojournalists!!!!

Helen is interested in doing more freelance photography herself outside of her day job at the Post. You can find some of her most recent published work here. She asked me about my pricing structure and what kind of work I do outside of my normal full time job at the Denver Post. She took the time to look at my work on my website and was amazed that I had done so much shooting!

I can't tell you how much this five minute interaction brightened my day and encouraged me to keep going. This will be my fourth year as a freelance photographer, and I know I've come such a long way and still have much more to learn. I think many of my print colleagues at the newspaper thought photography might be a passing phase, especially since the joke is most print journalists long to be a photographer and most photographers long to be a print journalist. But this was not just a hobby for me. Photography has become an integral part of my life and my camera is just as much an extension of me as my pen is when I'm interviewing sources or writing an article. To have someone of Helen's caliber notice my work and compliment me on it was amazing, generous and just plain cool! It's always fun for me to be able to "talk shop" with Denver Post staff photographers and totally understand what's being said or done.... and not just be faking it! I can't wait to see what new stuff I learn this year, and thanks Helen for your kind words and support.

An Aside: If at first you don't succeed...New watermark design Take 2!

I've been experimenting with more potential watermark samples, and I would like your opinion once again on which one you think works best. I plan to use these only when I upload images to the web. The key here is to keep the photo size small enough that it can be viewed but not high enough in resolution that it can be copied and stolen. I'd like to thank the gals from Coffee Shop Free Stuff for the templates and watermark actions that have inspired me to create these new designs.

Here is sample one:


Here is sample two:


Here is sample three:


and here's sample four:



Tell me whatcha think!

An Aside: Which new watermark should I use?

Sometimes I admit, I'm a little slow when it comes to graphic design. After wringing my hands for more than a year trying to scrape up enough money to pay a Photoshop Guru to help me create an official business logo, I realized something. I already LOVE the one my buddy and fellow photographer Paul Martin and AM/PM Photography designed for me!

After asking dozens of clients what they thought about the design as it appears on my splash page of the world map with my pictures inside of it's continents, I was convinced that I should keep it. Everyone remarked how much they loved it. Didn't get a single negative comment! Other than my signature "Teri's Rose" image continuing to draw in new clients, the logo as it appears has become it's own brand for my company. Yes, it's true. It can be argued that it's not a traditional logo in a sense because it wouldn't work small. But I think I may have solved that problem if you can help me choose which watermark I should start using to really nail my branding.

Which one do you like more?

Option A with the watermark appearing as a white world map on a transparent background in a corner, side, bottom or top of the image.




Option B with a transparent world map outlined in black right in the center of the photo, most likely lowered in opacity so it blends in while still being able to be seen.




Option C with a white world map, placed in the center, and it's opacity lessened to help it be a little see-through?



I will hold my initial gut instinct until I hear what others think. Appreciate your help!

An Aside: Info on old hard drive can't be recovered!

Well, it's official. All of the information I had on my old XPS 710 hard drive can't be recovered unless I'm willing to pay an arm, leg, several toes and maybe an ear to get it fixed by a RAID 0 recovery specialist.

Of course before this whole catastrophe struck, I had no idea that my hard drive system was a RAID 0, nor did I know what a RAID 0 meant. I'm not very computer savvy, but I'll tell you what...becoming a photographer has definitely forced me to become more technologically sound than I ever thought I could be. I just wish all my new learning didn't come at the cost of so much loss and heartache.

To try to understand exactly what happened with my old computer, I turned to my trusty photo colleague Sean Donnelly who has always been an walking encyclopedia for all things photography/computer/technology related. Sean is definitely a "teacher in the making" because if he can get my feeble brain to understand his techno-babble he can teach anyone!

So my initial system on the XPS 710 was a: RAID 0 which sounds like a good idea on paper. You use 1 or more smaller disks to make 1 bigger one and get a performance gain because it can read from 3 different disks. But there's a big downside. There are now also 3 points of failure for the volume instead of 1, and even though RAID stands for Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks, RAID 0 had 0 redundancy. So if a RAID 0 fails, it can not be rebuilt or recovered. Sure, it's a great to have with gaming machines because of the performance increase, but it's a really poor choice for archiving and storing things I care about as a photographer, including contracts, invoices and of course PHOTOS! EEEEK! Two drives acting as one means the chance of losing everything increases with no redundancy in place.

And that's exactly what happened! When my motherboard died in the old XPS rendering me unable to even turn on my computer, the data on my hard drives because virtually unrecoverable. The Geek Squad said I might be able to send to a data recovery service, but it would likely cost me more to recover the data than I spent on it.

Thank God I had just taken the time to backup all of my photos on two new external hard drives. And the most recent shoots I had were still on their original CD cards, so they were easy to recover. Unfortunately, I lost all of my contracts and invoices dating back from 2008 and about 3,000 songs. Most of those contracts were printed, so I can scan them in and resave them.

"I would never put anything I couldn't easily re-install on a RAID 0. Programs that I can re-install or re-download fine. Music, photos, things I can't replace? Never," says Sean.

Of course I went to the manifest for the new Alienware Aurora Dell replaced my old XPS 710 with and discovered I'm cruising for yet another bruising unless I make a change. Yep, it's a 1TB Raid 0 2x 500GB SATA-II, 7,200 RPM, 16MB Cache HDDS. Basically I'm in the same boat even with a new computer!



Sean suggests a couple of options to protect my data.

1) Add an additional 1 TB drive to an empty bay (I have four more empty slots in my Alienware!) and use a Carbon Copy Cloner type of backup to make identical and bootable backups of my RAID 0. That way if it fails, I have an exact clone I can replace it with. This can also be achieved with an external drive.

2) A second option is you could buy 2 more 500GB drives and set up a RAID 1+0 array with the 4 drives. This is basically two RAID 0 arrays mirrored as a RAID 1. In this set up one RAID 0 mirrors the other, so you have redundancy if a drive fails.

3) A third option would be to make a clone type backup to an external drive, convert the two hard drives to a RAID 1 and restore the clone back to the RAID 1.

4) A RAID 1 setup. While it halves the capacity of the disks (ie, if you use 2 1 TB drives you only end up with about 1TB of storage), there is redundancy, so if one of the two drives fails, you simply replace it with a new one and the RAID is rebuilt.

"In any case you definitely want to have some sort of constant clone type of backup for a RAID 0, because while slightly faster, they are a problem waiting to happen," says Sean. "Honestly I would rather have 1 single 1TB drive than a RAID 0. RAID 0 has double the chance to fail with only about a 10% performance gain. Unless hard core gaming is all you use the machine for, it isn't worth the trade-off."

So here's what I'm gonna do: I will get an extra hard drive and then use the Carbon Copy backup since it's the cheapest and easiest one I can work with right now until I can afford something else better. Carbon Copy works for Macs, so I will try Arconis instead for the PC. Arconis does disk imaging (carbon copy clone) and constant backup! Works for me, especially at only $50! Check out this great website to get more tips on how to prevent a hard disk failure. I totally agree that "Prevention is better than a cure!"

I'm loving this system from LaCie. I might consider getting this later on.

An Aside: How do clients find me?

It never ceases to amaze me how new clients find my photography services given the hundreds of professional photographers they have to choose from in Colorado. I've made it a habit to ask all of my clients how they came to find my studio during our initial consultation, primarily to gauge how the success of my Google or Facebook Ad campaigns. It lets me know where I might want to beef up money for my ads or change some keywords to help make finding me easier. For instance, since most of my recent clients have found me just by typing in the words "Denver event photographer," I would want to make sure to optimize those words by having them appear all over my website or blog items so Google picks me up.

This past weekend, I shot a family reunion for The Dermers. I asked my client about how they located me and was shocked and pleased by the results. Turns out one of the family members (based out of state) was on a forum asking about photography services and how much he could expect to pay for having his reunion shot. A comment led him to a photographer directory site where I had added my studio's name to the list. He checked out my photos, liked what he saw and suggested his Colorado-based mother to contact me.

Ian found me on photography directory and persuaded his mother, Janet, to hire me.

Voila!

It's good to know all that time and effort I put in to diligently adding my studio to various photography directors or even links I post to my website in photography forums can help lead a trail of bread crumbs directly to Picture Your World Photography!

An Aside: Snowmobiling with a professional photographer

Image by Steven Willis Photography

During my National Brotherhood of Skier summit coverage in Winter Park this year, I carved out some free time to have some fun! I tried skiing for the first time. (Hated it, but I'm thinking I may do better if I take a private versus getting lost in a group class that's too large). I tried snowmobiling for the first time. I ROCKED IT! Can't tell you how much I loved it. Well, actually I can....since I did it TWICE!

I took a tour through Grand Adventurers. A tour guide teaches you how to operate the snowmobile, then leads you through a ride to the Continental Divide on trails through lovely scenery. Tours top out at nearly 12,000 feet with views of the entire Winter Park Ski area and the Fraser Valley. The second time I did the tour, I lucked out: turns out tour guide "Snowmobile Steve" was also professional photographer Steven Willis. All week, I had been seeing these fabulous photos showcasing the ski area, portraits taken in the mountains and other great winter experiences by Willis. I thought to myself how wonderful it would be to meet him.



Snowmobile Steve took several photos of me on my vehicle with my trusty Canon G9. But when he whipped out a professional grade Nikon and started shooting landscapes, all the pieces fell into place. I asked him what his name was, and he said, "Snowmobile Steve." "No! What's your real name? Is your last name Willis?" Yep, I was right! I felt honored to be having such a good experience with another photographer and I can't wait to purchase some of his tour shots. Here's a photo of Steve with the remnants of an old train track in the background:

It's so rare for me to actually get caught in front of the camera. So I was thrilled to have my photos taken by a professional during one of those rare moments when someone finally got to shoot me. Several of my friends say I look "hardcore Colorado" in these photos. I agree, and I hope this year will be the start of even more firsts that I really should have done ages ago: including camping, skydiving and white water rafting!

An Aside: My Brother's Wedding

My brother John and his lovely wife LaKisha

After much consideration, I decided I was going to be a guest at my brother's wedding rather than a photographer. But man....it was a very hard decision to live with! Not only was I being plagued with "big sister protectiveness," but "backseat driving photographer" syndrome to boot!

I definitely need to work on learning how to let go already and stop trying to control things. I must have "lead photographer disease."

Even though I had decided long before the 14 hour drive to Texas that I wouldn't be shooting the wedding, I STILL couldn't make the trip without taking my Canon 5D with me along inside my extremely heavy camera bag overflowing with all of my lenses and other photo equipment. It was like a security blanket; I didn't quite feel the same without having it with me. I literally had to drag my eyes away from watching (more like critiquing) every move the photographer at my brother's wedding made so I could concentrate on the ACTUAL wedding. Even Patience, my last wedding bride, commented that I'm going to make things hellish for my OWN wedding photographer (should I ever be blessed with marriage) if I don't learn how to let go and let God, or in essence -- let the professional do their thang!



Once I succeeded at that, I really enjoyed the experience! I cried and laughed along with everyone else. My brother was crying before his bride even walked down the aisle. He was shaking so bad that we were afraid he would fall off the altar...or maybe he just appeared to be shaking because I was crying so hard I could barely see through my own tears. I just know our mother, God rest her soul, was sitting right next to me in my pew seat crying along with me and my little sister. Our little brother, my mother's son, is MARRIED!

By the time we made it to the reception, I barely felt the need to whip out my Canon G9, my trusty backup camera which fits in my purse). The battery ran out during the wedding anyway, and sure, I tried taking a couple of shots with my cell phone to no avail. But EVENTUALLY, I was able to fully relax and just have fun, dancing the Electric Slide and the Cupid Shuffle, eating way too much, and wondering who I should kill in order to make sure I caught the bouquet during the traditional toss. :)

Congratulations, John and Kisha. I love you!

An Aside: Congratulations Russ, Outdoor Photographer's Newest Tipster!

Photo by Russ Burden

I want to congratulate photographer Russ Burden for an incredible career coup that is long overdue and greatly deserved. Burden's fantastic photo tips and techniques are now being featured on Outdoor Photographer's website!

My blog readers will recognize Burden's style and seemingly infinite fount of knowledge on Monday's regular "Instructor's Tip." Now, readers can find 16 of his articles each illustrated with one of his photos.

Go to the site and just under the top banner on the left side of the home page is a HOW-TO button. Click on it and drag to the Quick Tips title. You'll be brought to a page that has nine of his articles. Click on page 2 and you'll see another seven.

To thank Russ for his willingness to help other photographers grow, I encourage you to read the articles and please leave comments. The more positive feedback he gets, the better it will be for him to continue having his work appear on the website.

"The more people who read the articles, the more will know just how much photography means to me," Burden says. "I'm hoping this helps reinforce to everyone just how important our wonderful art is and that I'd love to share my knowledge, enthusiasm and passion for it with each and everyone of you on a nature photography tour. I need to fill them all, especially in that I have to send my son to college this fall!"

Nice job Russ! You rock, and I'm so happy for you!

An Aside: Major catching up to do...

The last few weeks have been incredibly busy...so busy that I had to use every extra minute or hour of the day I had handy to finish editing Patience and Jack's wonderful wedding images, drive to Texas for my brother's wedding, and attend my first photo meet-up -- this one being a high key Valentine's themed shot.

Here's some quick sneak peaks of upcoming posts to let you know what I've been up too:

Patience and Jack's Wedding








High Key Valentines Day Meet-up with Bill Murphy

An Aside: A Christmas Day without photos

Christmas 2009 for me and my family was one spent without me taking photos. A part of me regrets that I won't have any photos to document the day, but the other part rejoices that I have memories of good times that I actually participated in! Can I live with the regrets? I guess I can for as long as I can remember all that transpired, which I pray will be for the rest of my life. I think this blog post will help too!

Last week I blogged about whether or not I should be the professional photographer taking photos of my brother's upcoming wedding. I got some great feedback from fellow friends and shooters, one who has dealt with similar questions, another who says he would never take photos at his sister's wedding, and yet one more who said maybe I could shoot a little bit, but still enjoy the day as a guest experiencing the event and not always working like a professional would be. Thanks for your help Jeff, Mark and Jim!

To test the idea of what it would be like to leave my 5D at home and my G9 in my purse during a major family event, I decided not to shoot any images Friday during my first Christmas Day spent with my sister and new nephew, 1-year-old Elijah. Even though no one said anything, I had a feeling that everyone was wondering why I didn't have my other appendage attached to my hands and my face. Maybe I was MSU (making stuff up) in my head. I bet no one other than me, and maybe a passing thought, cared that I didn't have my camera out!

There were times when I literally had to force myself to stay seated and resist the urge to run for my G9. For instance, before dinner, Elijah and I were spending time together in front of the Christmas tree, with him earnestly trying to "speak to me" in that cute baby language of his and me not being able to understand a word of it but enjoying it anyway. It became clear that he was "talking" to me about the tree when he crouched down in front of it and put his face so close to the lights that he was almost kissing it. The red colors reflected on his questioning, probing face lit from the tree lights was so amazing it just about broke this photographer's heart not to shoot it. Instead, now, I have it etched in my mind's heart. And I won't tell anyone that my nephew stole a candy cane from the tree either! ;)

Elijah's insistence that EVERY present was "Mine, Mine!"
Elijah kissing Mama Jessie, the family elder, over and over again just for the fun of it.
The fear in D.J.'s face when he thought we would get set while playing spades, and the thrill of his kiss on my cheek every time when we won!
Watching Kevin, the skinniest family member, wolf down plate after plate of food.
Soothing a newly awakened and cranky Elijah from his mid day nap.
Fighting over the best leftovers.
Hugging AJ when the inevitable family argument broke out.
Modeling in front of an appreciative crowd in my new furry scarf and hat set that showcases my facial features
The hidden joy I felt when everyone dug into my dressing.
The thrill of meeting someone new.
Cheering on the Nuggets and laughing when Elijah dances during the hip hop commercials.
Reveling in new family members who have become a part of my own thanks to the birth of one little boy.

I could have tried to shoot all of this in my camera, but I'm thinking whatever I took would have paled in the comparison of actually experiencing it. And I would have been ticked off anyway if I tried to shoot it and failed miserably in capturing the moment the way it actually played out. I wish I could find some middle ground so that it's not all or nothing for me. I was so tired after being "on" and shooting during Thanksgiving, trying hard not to miss anything, that I was exhausted and ended up taking a nap alongside Elijah! I missed out on so much while I was sleeping. I didn't want that to happen again. Sure, I'm envious of all the beautiful photos my friends have been sharing of their holiday. But now, at least for once, I will let memory guide me and see if I'm closer to making a decision about whether I should shoot my bro's wedding or not.

An Aside: Photographer or guest at my brother's wedding?

Something occurred to me while I was photographing Jessaca and Nathan's wedding earlier this month: is my own life passing me by while I photograph pivotal moments in others lives? It was just a passing thought, and I spoke briefly to my friend and second shooter Sean Donnelly about this feeling I had where I wondered if I would forever be documenting the joys and happy times that happened in my clients lives without truly experiencing them for myself.

I don't usually have a problem with stray thoughts like this because I generally DO feel as if I'm experiencing at least a portion of what my clients are feeling when I photograph them. Whether they are cuddling with their loved ones during engagement sessions, romping with their kids in family portraits or sharing that first dance during the wedding reception, I'm the kind of person who can empathize with their emotions so it makes it easier for me to capture true life experiences in my photography.

But my brother's upcoming wedding on Feb. 14 in my hometown in Texas has been troubling me.

Should I shoot the wedding as my gift to him and his bride or should I be a guest and just revel in the fact that my little brother has grown up and is getting married to the love of his life! I'm torn. I would never forgive myself if my brother hired a photographer who didn't do less than an excellent job on their photographs. I almost feel obligated and honored bound to do it myself for that reason alone!

But then, I think to myself, I want to experience some life too. I will be taking my camera along with me of course, shooting that wonderful time when my brother meets his nephew for the first time, and when all three siblings reunite. The three of us, my brother, baby sis and I, haven't all been together in several years since our mother passed away. We all needed to find new lives in the wake of our Mom's death. My sis is now a new mother herself. My brother is in college and due to be wed. And I am pursuing a dual career as a print and photojournalist. We are slowly finding our way, and when we see each other again, now with our hearts nearly almost healed of grief, it will be a moment that I can't yet express in words. I definitely want to take some shots of my brother with his fiancee, whom I've yet to meet. And I can't forget that this is supposed to be my vacation too...shooting a wedding is hardly taking time off!




My sister, her boyfriend and my nephew

What should I do?

An Aside: Heidi's Deli photo display comes down

Today, I'm mourning the imminent loss of friendship gained at a Heidi's Deli where several of my photos have been on display since August.



A lot of changes have taken place at the deli, and not all of them happy ones. Marty, the store owner, is fighting cancer for the second time. Marty requested I hang landscape photos in the deli to get exposure for my business and add life to the shop. Oddly enough though, the only sales I made was of my top portrait seller, "Teri's Rose." If you remember, a Heidi's crew member bought a print as a present for her husband who couldn't stop drooling over it every time he came into shop. Then, the editor of the Denver Post surprised me when he purchased a framed print as well and hung it up in his office in the newsroom. When Marty became ill, I donated one of my framed images to a charitable event to help raise money for Marty and his family. Sadly, the Heidi's deli is being sold to new owners, and new managers will be taking over on Friday.



I can't thank Marty enough for his kindness and faith in my abilities. He took a big risk to display my work, even to the extent of possibly angering his higher ups. Over the months, I noticed that many other artists asked Marty to allow them to do the same (and I even tried to hang up several photos shot by friends and members of my Mile High DPS social group!) but Marty always shied away from those offers, saying that he was doing this for me and my business. The experience and confidence gained is immeasurable. Hearing customers comment about my photos, watching all of my business cards disappear, getting accolades from my colleagues at the Denver Post and just having my work out there for people to see and know about was fabulous! Many of the deli staff are going to be leaving on Friday, and I'm so sad to see them go. They've become like family too me, constantly offering support and encouragement.



I pray that Marty and his family are strengthened during this time of need and that the staff will find work and new direction. Thank you to all of you for what you've given to me!

An Aside: Clients allergic to my studio!

Image credit: thecatzine.com

I never expected anything like this: Both of my clients on Saturday had allergic reactions to what I can only guess are my dogs and cat! My studio is in my basement, and while my pets aren't allowed down there, poor Mike and especially young Tyler were coughing, sneezing and having trouble breathing by the second hour into the shoot. I felt so bad, and I had no idea what to do.

Because of my own allergies and recently diagnosed asthma, I vacuum nearly every day during my pets shedding season, and I keep my medicine cabinet stocked with Claritin and Advair. Tyler was doing much better after a quick puff on his Advair, but I ended up cutting Mike's time in studio down before he had a full blown attack.

Thank goodness the last part of their shoot is scheduled to be outdoors on location. It boggles my mind that after two years of shooting in studio in my home, this is the first time I've ever had this situation happen. From now on, I will have to make it a normal part of my consultation to find out if potential clients may be allergic to my pets, because it definitely puts a terrible damper on their photo session experience. If you have pets, knowing how your clients will react to their dander is an important thing to consider! My client's mother is pleased with the shots, but that situation could have gone south very quickly! Pet owners, plan ahead!

An Aside: Coping with unreasonable client requests

They say adversity is the building blocks of character. As my photography business continues to pick up steam, I keep having to cope with some of the more difficult aspects of studio management that will hopefully help me grow a more successful company.

Lately, I've been trying to address specific client concerns that deal with customizing more affordable photography packages based on their individual needs. For example, when a potential client called to say she needed more wallet sizes than was included in her package, I saw no problem with trading out some unwanted 5x7s for a couple more pages of the wallets she wanted. Another client wanted to have all of their images from an event, both edited and unedited, while yet another wanted to trim their budget, cutting out the photo album in exchange for a lower session charge.

Usually I don't have any issues working with the client to deliver the best services possible. But I'm sure we've all been there when a customer tries to overstep boundaries that are (hopefully) clearly defined in a contract or service agreement. Because I know times are tough, I often find myself wanting to cave to requests that other photographers wouldn't even consider. And sometimes I throw in a few freebies as well, say for example, some unedited snapshots I took during the wedding rehearsal which wasn't included in my coverage, but was something I attended anyway as a fact-finding mission. If you are like me, it's just hard to say no. But I found this video that may be helpful to all of us:



While humorous and outrageous, I think I need to work harder at taking these steps shared by wedding photographer Sean Cayton to stand firm as a professional:

1. Just say no. “No” is a word that when used appropriately, draws boundaries that otherwise might not be apparent to the client. Being mealy-mouthed when you should just say no is an invitation to a negotiation.

2. Offer an unconsidered option. Customers are often single-minded when it comes to telling you what they want. But if you understand the reason behind their demands (e.g., they have a limited budget), you may be able to offer an alternative that works for you and still makes them happy.

3. Pre-qualify your clients. In my initial phone calls or e-mail correspondence with prospective clients, I ask them almost as many questions as they ask me. I want to find out if the couple places a priority on their wedding photography. I want to understand their budget. If they value photography and have a workable budget, I’m in. If not, I refer them to another photographer who might be a better fit. Pre-qualifying your customers saves everyone a lot of wasted time and effort.

To add to this, one of the things I've been doing is to have my clients explain to me what kind of services they want instead of concentrating on the price. This helps both professional and client prioritize what's important instead of getting paralyzed by the fear of cost. Once those desires are all laid out, then we can come up with a package that fits their needs.

4. Create a set of policies and include it in your contract. Sometimes problems arise after you’ve already taken on the client. The best way to combat this is to create a list of policies and include them in your contract. Our company’s standard contract is a direct reflection of our previous client experiences. Clients who waited years before fulfilling album orders, for instance, generated a new policy: a time limit of one year from the wedding date. Every time I get the client to sign off on a policy beforehand, it helps me to avoid future problems.

In this vein, new procedures I'm going to be instituting include having all payments made before each session (a deposit and then the balance due before the shoot begins) to avoid having to be a debt collector in the future. Galleries on my website will only be up for a specific amount of time before they are taken down and only reuploaded at additional fees. And clients will only be receiving edited photos, trusting in my education, ability and professionalism to capture their treasured events.

5. Maintain your professionalism. When working with a client who is being unreasonable, stay professional. Some customers think that the harder they push, the more they will squeeze out of us. While it can be frustrating to work with this type of client, you should never take things personally. Simply stand firm. Patience and professionalism are the best response when clients overstep their boundaries.

An Aside: Local photography instructors in the news!

Photo Credit istockphoto.com

An article I wrote in today's Denver Post "Inside & Out" section features four local photography instructors! My editor thought it would be a great idea to write an article explaining to readers how to take better vacation photos. And since I'm the budding photog in the department, she thought I would have the perfect perspective to help demystify the process.

I turned to nature and people photographer Russ Burden, who's weekly photo tip appears on my blog on Mondays, Efrain Cruz, the director of Illuminate Workshops, Jeffrey Rupp, an instructor at the Denver Darkroom and Greg Cradick, executive director of the Working With Artists photography school and gallery. What I found interesting about these interviews was how each photographer was able to offer a specific piece of the photographic pie in an easily digestible format.

An Aside: Consult a Tax Expert

I've been getting several questions over the past week from readers who are anxious about getting their income taxes done, and they've asked for more information. I totally understand your anxiety especially as we march closer to the due date, but I just want to stress that I'm not an expert.

Be sure to consult with your own CPA or tax advisor who has knowledge about current tax laws. It's a slippery slope out there, and I'm not talking about the blizzard that hit the Denver metro area yesterday! There are so many ways to make mistakes, especially when you graduate from an EZ form to an itemized deduction format. I've worked with my CPA for more than a decade. He's quite aggressive, but I've learned to trust in his decisions. Find someone in your area that you can trust in too!

An Aside: Another photography related dream

So last night I dreamed that one of my photographer instructors, Efrain Cruz, was telling me that I tend to oversharpen my images, and that I need to cut back on all this fancy smanshy Photoshop work I've been doing! Cruz is the director of the Illuminate Photography workshops where I have taken two Photoshop courses and can't wait for Part III in the series with instructor Armando Martinez.

It's funny because one of my fears is that I DO tend to oversharpen or overdo just about everything in post processing with PS. I want to have a gentler touch but at the same time, I am just LOVING all the cool techniques I'm learning. Maybe after a while when I begin to integrate all these things into my work flow on a regular basis, I won't feel like a kid in a candy store so overwhelmed with all the possibilities that I get sick from lack of moderation.

As far as the sharpening goes, I used to use Unsharp Mask alot but I'm starting to use Smart Sharpen more (on a separate layer) because I can tweak the changes better and then change the layer's opacity if I overdo it. I can't seem to stop thinking about photography and how I can get better at it even while I'm sleeping. Is that dedication or what? Well, dedication or obsession, but when you are trying to run a business is there a difference between the two? ;)

An Aside: Great Intentions

As it turned out, I was so exhausted that I only did one of the three things I was hoping to accomplish this weekend. My maternity session client was a no-show, so I waited for an hour and then promptly went back to bed. The next day, I overslept again and didn't wake up in time for the photographers luncheon with Mile High Photographer members, so I will have make time for another meet and greet with this group at some other point. But thankfully, I made it to the David X. Tejada session arranged by the Colorado Strobists Flickr group! It was wonderful and I will post up some great tips and philosophies I gained from Tejada later this week.

During dinner, I asked Tejada if he was ever as tired as I seem to always be after an assignment. Somehow I had been thinking there must be something wrong with me. After an immense immediate high I get from shooting, I then feel drained and exhausted for a day or so afterward. Tejada, and other photographers who attended the dinner, all said they feel the same way. We must be using a different part of the brain as well as different muscle groups in our bodies when we shoot. When I'm on assignment, I am totally focused on trying to get the shots that both I and my client have agreed are the most important images to capture that event, and I wonder if I even tense up my body to try to stay alert. I know during the last week in Snowmass, I was pretty much on my feet for several hours at a time "working" a room, constantly moving from different angles to shoot new perspectives. Add the weight of my Canon 5D with a battery grip, as well as my 70-200 or my 16-35, flash, Gary Fong diffuser and Stroboframe and it's almost like a workout with resistance!

An Aside: Had to Cancel My Session

What is it about me and maternity shoots? I woke up with a fever and a splinting headache. I thought I would be able to soothe those symptoms in time for my maternity photo session. My client even called to say she was going to be an hour late, so I thought that would give me more time to rest. But as the morning wore on and I was feeling worse instead of better inspite of the medication I had taken, I knew I had to make the call I hate having to make: I would have to cancel and reschedule our session.

I can't tell you how terrible I felt having to do that, both physically and mentally. I could hear the disappointment in her voice, but she could hear the congestion in mine. I couldn't imagine infecting a young expecting mother with whatever virus de jour I had picked up from the newsroom. Thankfully, she accepted my apologies, and we are rescheduling for later in the month. I will give her a free print for her inconvenience.

An Aside: A Cold Chill Down My Spine

OMG! Today, I discovered exactly how easy it is to copy one of my images online by taking a screenshot. I am still very new to learning how to use my Mac Book Pro, so I admit I didn't know how to take a screenshot until I was asked to do so in order to submit my blog to the Professional Photographer Magazine's "Freshest Photoblog 09 Contest." I did a quick Google search to explain to me how to do a screenshot of my blog, and the ease of it was astounding. That's when I felt that cold chill down my spine: I realized how it would be possible for someone to do the same thing with one of my photos, especially if it wasn't watermarked.

Up until now I'd always believed in the perspective that said "If anyone really wanted to take your image, they would." Somehow I never thought anyone would be interested in taking any of mine because somewhere down inside I feared my photos weren't good enough. But as my self-confidence grows in my own abilities and talents (and my sales and client base continues to grow); I'm realizing that someone may indeed desire one of my images. Am I making it easy for them when I link to an unwatermarked Flickr image? Yes, when you click on the image, it takes you back to the Flickr photostream where it appeared and once there, the image is right-clicked protected (when you upload the image, all you get is a blank black square). Many of my friends have created actions to help them more easily watermark their images when they are placed on public photography sharing sites such as Flickr or Photobucket.

How can I protect myself? If you take a screenshot of an image, can it be enlarged or can it only copied at the size it's viewed? Maybe I should start watermarking all of my images the same way I protect images on my business website. When I upload images there, SmugMug automatically watermarks them for them with a PNG file I created. I would appreciate it if someone could explain this to me, because to be quite honest, I'm still scared.




I turned to my friends on the Mile High DPS Social Group and asked them for tips to protect my work:

From Cuchalainn:

"Even easier than a screen shot are programs such as Grab. They let you capture a screenie, a selection of the screen or a time screen if you wanted to capture a slideshow. Programs like this may it way to easy for someone to grab your stuff, even bypassing the disabling left clicks as some web masters try to do. If you care about about protecting the image, be aware that there are programs like this out there.

Oh... and also be aware of programs such as Blue Crab as well. These programs allow people to download your entire website to their hard drive including images, pdf's, video etc."

From Dizzle:
"And there is the argument that if you do nothing to attempt to protect your image that you are in essence saying it is free to use. A watermark at least shows you have the intent of protecting your images and they are not free for use just because it is posted online."