Vote Now: "Terri's Rose" entered for Professional Photographer magazine cover contest!

Finally, after only months of building up the courage to do this, I have entered a photo into the annual Professional Photographer Magazine cover contest! Leave it to me to wait until the last minute...all entries are due June 1!

But it's done. And "Terri's Rose," my top print seller, has been entered into the 2010 contest. Please click this link to vote for me! I appreciate your support. Wish me and Terri luck!

In addition to a magazine cover, winners will receive a host of amazing prizes including:

Canon EOS 5D Mark II Digital Camera Kit with Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS USM AF Lens
Canon's update to the wildly popular full frame EOS 5D is here, and it's better than ever. The EOS 5D Mark II has a stunning 21.1-megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor with DIGIC 4 Image Processor, a vast ISO Range of 100-6400, plus EOS technologies like Auto Lighting Optimizer and Peripheral Illumination Correction. It supports Live View shooting, Live View HD videos, and more. It can shoot up to 3.9 fps, has 9 AF points plus 6 AF assist points, a new 98% coverage viewfinder, a 3.0-inch Clear View LCD and a rugged build. Full-frame shooters rejoice!
Retail Value: $3,299.95

Canon Powershot G11
Image quality that's better than ever. New 10.0 Megapixel sensor coupled with Canon's DIGIC 4 Image Processor designed as the High Sensitivity System for improved low light image performance. The PowerShot G11 features RAW mode for unlimited editing options, a 28mm wide-angle lens, and a 2.8-inch Vari-Angle PureColor System LCD. Add to that Canon's new High Sensitivity System and high-speed ISO for incredible image quality, and Canon's top-range compact digital camera is a truly groundbreaking successor.
Retail Value: $499.00

Get Out There: Your Photo on the cover of Professional Photographer's Magazine

Talk about the ultimate in marketing and world-wide exposure! Here's our chance to get one of our images featured on the cover of Professional Photographer!

The magazine is hosting it's annual cover contest. In addition to landing the cover of a 2009 edition of Professional Photographer, the winner will also be awarded a selection of prizes from our generous sponsors: Bogen Imaging, Canon, Eastman Kodak, Emotion Media and White House Custom Colour.

Click here to enter. But take note: you can only submit one image! The magazine was overwhelmed last year by all the entries it received for its 2008 contest, so they will only take one pic per entrant, showcasing an example representative of the work you sell for your clients, be it portraits, weddings, commercial, sports, events, etc.

Upload digital files by MONDAY, JUNE 1, 2009.

I looked over previous years winning entries and studied past covers to get a better idea of what kind of photos the magazine could be looking for. A vertical perspective seems obvious, but I was trying to figure out what I could offer that hadn't already been done before. Then it came to me...I didn't see any shots related to boudoir or artistic nude photography. I'm guessing that's because it's difficult for a shot to be artistic instead of pornographic.



But since Teri's Rose has been such a great seller, I'm thinking I might turn that one in. Plus, there is tons of open space on the sides of the Teri's body where a magazine cover can put mastheads, titles and other layout essentials. It might behoove all of us who are entering to spend some time studying a magazine cover layout and what kind of images suit this better.

Best of luck to everyone!

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."

Growing Pains: New Business Slogan?

I have watched "I am Legend" at least six times (especially since it's been playing on HBO!), and every time I get something new out of it that I didn't catch before. Now, I wonder if I may finally have a slogan for my business:

"Light Up the Darkness." What do you think???? I like the dual meanings of bringing life and goodness to the world as well as using lights creatively to enhance photographic composition.....hmmm.



I've been doing a ton of research on developing my business plan, a logo and a brand in general. An article by photographer Sarah Petty in Professional Photographer Magazine talked about "owning your brand;" marketing to distinguish yourself and creating tag lines like:

"have a Coke and a smile"
"we bring good things to life"
"because you are worth it"

Petty shared a list of ways to help entrepreneurs brainstorm a business slogan:
1. Carry a creative journal at all times to sketch images and jot down ideas and words as they pop into your mind. They become a stockpile of prompts when you sit down to brainstorm.

2. Keep a running list of words that evoke emotion. If your wedding client says something warm and fuzzy during your presentation, write it down.

3. Subscribe to magazines (tax-deductible business expenses!). You never know when you can spark an idea from Rachael Ray’s Everyday or Real Simple. As you go through them, write down words, phrases, advertising and article headlines in your creative journal. You can’t steal someone else’s line, but you can farm the inspiration.

4. Read the copy in catalogs and awaken your inner copywriter. The Land of Nod and Sundance catalogs are two of my favorites. Get on mailing lists of companies who market beautiful and expensive products.



5. Ask friends, family, clients and prospects what they think makes you different. Ask new clients to put into words what brought them to you. Write it down immediately.

6. Reading kids’ books puts me in the playful place I need to be when I’m writing emotional copy.

7. Find the time of day or place where you feel the most creative. If you do your best thinking at a computer, transfer your journal notes daily.

8. Most truly creative people need to find inspiration, too, so they become sponges of the world around them— flowers, buildings, clothing tags, in-store signage, store windows, fonts, color combinations, textures.

9. Travel. Observe, even the pretzel packaging on the airline’s snack. You never know what little element will inspire you.

I love watching movies, and I can draw insight from great ones. Since I'm a reporter, I don't go far without having a pen and paper near by. So when I heard that phrase uttered in the movie "I am Legend," it resonated with me differently than it had all the other times. I don't know why. Maybe I'm just at this point in my life when I think the world needs more light in this time of financial and hence emotional darkness. I wrote the phrase down and started to think about how it could correlate to my photography.

In my photography, I've noticed that I often center subjects in front of a dark background. Common portrait techniques explain that a photographer should use a hair light or a light shining on the background to separate the subject from the background. But I don't do it, choosing instead to have the subject appear as if he or she is stepping forward out of the darkness. I think it makes the subject seem more mysterious. I like the idea that I have just thrown a light on them, capturing who they are in that one moment. Oh well, maybe I'm just being overly sentimental this morning. If I still think this way by this time tomorrow, then maybe I am on to something. :)