1,000 Facebook Fans and a drawing for a free photo shoot!

I have news about an amazing achievement: My Facebook business fan page has secured more than 1,000 likes. I am celebrating by offering a free 90 minute long photo session. Here's my solution: Leave a comment under this blog post about why you think you should win a free photo shoot. I will assign everyone a number and then use a random number generator to decide the winner. It's the only fair way I can think to do this. And what do you get: a free 90 minute portrait session valued at $150. You can use your winning entry for any type of photography you need including high school seniors, family, business headshots, boudoir). You pay for prints or CDS of edited images. Usually, I would have just printed off a list of all of my fans, assigned everyone a number and used a random number generator to pick the winner. But I can't do that and here's why: last year when Facebook disabled my account for three months after I posted some artistic nude maternity photos, I lost access to the 500 or so fans I had secured then. Since the page was restored, I've earned about 500 more new likes. But I don't think it's fair to do a drawing if all of my supporters who are eligible don't have an equal shot of winning. I thought about having people leave me a recommendation in order to qualify for the drawing, but that seems to take some of the fun out of it, especially when so many of my new fans are potential clients I have yet to work with. You have until Sunday to leave a message telling me why you deserve the free drawing! Good luck!

Breaking News: Facebook pages disabled because of nude maternity photos!

Both my personal and business studio Facebook pages have been disabled after I posted several artistic nude maternity photos of model Cellista. I apologize in advanced for this inconvenience, but I hope it's only a temporary set-back, as I have contacted Facebook to re-enable the pages after I delete the images. With more than 1,000 friends and nearly 500 studio fans, my Facebook pages are of great importance to me and have been instrumental in my personal and professional life, as I often post about features articles I write for the Denver Post as well as promote my studio.

The photos in this blog post had been on both pages for nearly two days. I received numerous accolades for the beauty of these images, however Facebook sent me two warning emails earlier this evening letting me know two of the images had been deleted (although I don't know which ones were). But because I was shooting a wedding at the time, I could not delete the rest of the images before the account was disabled. Facebook's policy says it prohibits sexually explicit photos showcasing nudity. However, I do not see Cellista's images as explicit in nature, especially given the fact that I have bee able to successfully post numerous boudoir images that would be considered far more salacious than those showcasing a mother-to-be. But Facebook apparently has a no tolerance policy for nudity of any kind, and I would adhere to those rules from now on if my account is re-opened to public access.

Breaking News: Close to 400 Facebook Fans!!!

The studio is just 9 people away from 400 FACEBOOK FANS! Once I reach 400, I will do another drawing for a free photo session! Become a fan today to be eligible for the drawing!

Breaking News: 300 Facebook Fans!

Photo credit: www.blogtrepreneur.com

Just today, the Picture Your World Photography Facebook Fan Page experienced a major accomplishment: We now have more than 300 FANS!

In celebration of this feat, I will host a drawing in which one lucky fan will win a free two hour photo session! My studio wouldn't be where it is today were it not for the continued support of friends sharing the world about my business to their friends. More than 95 percent of my clientele have been referrals. And my business income has doubled since last year! Thank you to everyone who has and continues to support.

I've been considering offering this exclusive drawing once a month for a while, but I wanted to hit another advertising milestone before I did so. It's the least I can do to honor my fans.

Check back this weekend to see who wins! I will use a random number generator to choose one winner! If you haven't become a studio fan, do so TODAY for your chance to win a free photo session.

Get Connected: Facebook targets advocates for your business

I have been doing a lot of research on how to utilize Facebook for growing my photography studio. Now, I have a first-hand experience about how amazing Facebook can be for creating advocates for your business. It's so simple, you just might smack yourself. When people on Facebook become Fans of your company, they also become its advocates. Think of gaining Facebook friends or business fans the same way you think of increasing your email subscriber base to help build your network.

I got a message from Jenn, a friend on Facebook, wondering how I knew her best friend Alexa? Turns out Alexa became a Fan of my studio Facebook page because her best friend Jenn did. Just by coincidence, Alexa actually won a free 8x10 digital download of one of my cityscape photos during a randomly generated drawing from among my Fans List.


Unbeknownst to Jenn, she became an advocate for my business. When she interacts with my Facebook Page, stories linking to my page go to her friends via the News Feed. As these fans interact on my Page, News Feed keeps driving word-of-mouth to a wider circle of friends. And I think this instance is a great example of the fact that new Fans are more likely to become a fan of a page if they see their friends have already signed up for it too. It's one of the reasons I have more than 200 fans since creating my page a few months ago. Your friends also become advocates because an ad will show up on their page saying for "Jenn is a Fan of Picture Your World Photography," for example, enticing their friends to join as well. Plus when someone becomes a fan of your page, your updates on the page show up on their wall giving additional exposure.

For more exposure, set up an advertising campaign for your page with Facebook Ads paying for clicks or impressions showcasing your page to targeted audiences on Facebook. So far I've successfully run several ad campaigns on Facebook, paying no more than a set amount per day for running my ad.

Facebook Fan winners choose their free 8x10 digital downloads!

Alexa and Ian have chosen their free 8x10 digital downloads! Those two lucky fans of the Picture Your World Photography Facebook Page were randomly selected to pick one favorite image from my Cityscapes, Landscapes and Flora and Fauna website galleries. Garnering 200 Facebook fans triggered the drawing. The next free giveaway will happen once I reach 300 fans!



Ian's pick of this cute little chick I found nesting in a bush in front of my house really took me back. This was one of the first images I ever took with my then brand new 75-300 Canon lens two years ago. Studying this photo again after all that time has helped me see just how far I've come. Back then, I wasn't even really sure how I got that image because I was still trying to figure out basic photo concepts including shallow depth of field, isolating a subject and framing, not to mention how the heck that lens worked anyway. Since then, I've not only grown technically as a photographer, but I've focused my business on what I do best -- shooting portraiture and special events. This little feathered guy hasn't seen much action among viewers. So it was fun to have Ian chose this one.



Meanwhile, Alexa's pick is one of my personal favs. This shot of the Platte River in downtown Denver was one of my first captures ever taken at night. I and several others were attending a free night shootout coordinated by Efrain Cruz's Illuminate Workshops. I remember the evening well because it was also one of the first times I had to force myself to use my tripod to steady long exposures. My friend Tiffany Trott and others were laughing at me because I didn't even know how to attach my camera to the tripod, and spent most of the night fearing the camera would fall off, crashing to the ground. Yep, fun times!

It's good to know I've progressed, and I'm proud to be sharing these images with two studio supporters. Become one of my Facebook fans today to be eligible for future giveaways, photography session discounts and fans-only specials.