Get Connected: My studio featured on an event center website!

It's been a long wait, but the results are fantastic: Picture Your World Photography is featured on The Bella Sera's event center in Brighton. The Bella Sera launched its newly developed website yesterday, and it includes "Real Weddings" photo montages. My studio is featured on the second page, showcasing images taken during Patience and Jack's wedding in January.



This is a fantastic honor and I can't thank event owner Elisabeth Montoya enough for her support of my photography. The Bella Sera limits its preferred vendors to three per category. But her inclusion of my photos in her website's montage as well as her own word of mouth referral will undoubtedly expose hundreds of her clients to my services!

"Your photos look amazing, and I truly hope this will bring you more business at Bella Sera. I would love to work with you again and see you capture even more beautiful shots here. Although we limit our preferred vendors to 3 per category, I will be recommending you to clients who I KNOW will be a great fit for you."

Thank you so much Elisabeth! I can't wait to shoot more events at such an amazing site filled with sweeping staircases, balconies and plenty of Tuscan old-world flair.

Get Connected: My wedding photos appearing on a website next month!

Bella Sera Event Center owner Elisabeth Montoya is poised to unveil the center's newly developed website on May 3 and will include a large collage of 12 of my best images from Patience and Jack's Wedding. The collage will showcase my logo, website link and contact number too, offering accessibility and convenience to clients who will be thankful that the Bella Sera is a one-stop shopping center, complete with preferred vendors including photographers and videographers.

Elisabeth sent me this sneak peak of the site that should be live the first week in May:



Tomorrow morning, I will be using YouSendIt to email Daniel Harrington of Alpha Bee Design based in Massachusetts a dozen photos which he will place and format on the webpage. The hardest part has been narrowing down the nearly 600 wedding shots to just a dozen of not only my personal best, but those shots that will resonate with potential wedding clients as well as those highlight event center features such as the grand staircase, the chandeliers in the ladies dressing room, the wedding altar and the reception hall. So far I've gotten them down to 17 but I have to have 12 ready for Dan.

BREAKING NEWS: My photo to appear in upcoming magazine editions!

An email I received today just blew me away: One of my photos has a chance to appear in upcoming editions of Digital Photo, Digital Photo Pro and Outdoor Photographer magazines!

Back in August 2007, I won the Digital Photo Academy Assignment for "The Allure of Water" with this image of a little girl running through a fountain at Northfield Stapleton:



My photo along with images from other monthly DPA assignment winners were featured in a traveling exhibition in 10 museums and art galleries where DPA classes are held around the country.

And I thought that was cool!

This new development is simply amazing!

The DPA recently secured plans with Werner Publishing to feature my image in upcoming editions of Digital Photo, Digital Photo Pro, and Outdoor Photographer magazines. Six previous assignment winners' photos will appear in the magazines beginning in June congratulating each DPA assignment winner, says DPA's Mike Zeiler. Not only will the displays advertise the great work DPA is doing but expose its students' works to a world-wide audience!

What's so amazing to me is that that photo was one of THE FIRST images I ever shot with my then Canon Rebel XTi in my first digital photography class taught by Efrain Cruz when he worked at the Denver Darkroom. Since then, Efrain started his own company called Illuminate Workshops. I can't even remember what the class assignment had been...shoot outdoors, or urban photography or some such other thing. But I do remember this little girl following me around the shopping center while I was fumbling with and trying to learn how to work my new camera. I told her that if she didn't stop following me, I was gonna shoot her! She and her friends didn't stop, so I shot them while they were getting soaked in the fountains. The image was definitely a foundation for the kind of captured moments I now look for as my professional photography career has progressed. You can even see my feeble attempts at trying to burn out distracting elements (I was taking my first Photoshop class at the time too!)

The exposure opportunities that DPA continues to make available for their students is just unbelievable. If you haven't become a part of this program yet, then do so now. It continues to grow by leaps and bounds, has secured some amazing sponsors, including Panasonic Lumix, has the best teachers available and is always finding ways to get more exposure for their students. For example, students can have their work be showcased on webinars and online classes hosted by instructors for an international wide audience. Our photos appear in online galleries. And the networking possibilities are endless. DPA is available in more than 20 US cities, so there is bound to be one close to you!

This will be the second time some of my photography has been featured in a magazine. This image appeared as a full page feature photo in the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation's magazine, BUGLE!

Get Out There: Google Map Results

I just noticed something on Friday: When you type in "event photographers denver" in a Google Map result, Picture Your World Photography comes up on a prominent list of local businesses.

I'm not sure how that happened. I remember signing up for free account with Google's Local Business Center, but I haven't really looked it since then. had know idea what happened after that. One thing I also noticed though is that I'm the only business listed in my area in far Northeast Denver, so it could be something that's based on having diversity in locations around the city. I'm number I on the list. Either way, I think that's pretty darn cool!

Want to write a review about your experience with Picture Your World Photography? Sign into your Google account, look up your business and then push the "More" or you can leave it here.


Congratulations Jim Turley from Sweetwater Images for having his name in the number one A spot on that list as well. Hey Jim, if you read this post, how did you do that?

I would love to know what you need to do so that my studio pops up when you search under "Denver photographers" or "Denver portrait photographers," etc. etc. I've been spending some time adding my studio to just about every photography directory or networking list I can find online. Can anyone share any information on how to accomplish this?

Get the Job Done: Big Prints Commissioned!

Two of my cityscapes will be used as background scenes for the Metro State News Room where the "The Met Report" is broadcast.

The Met Report is an Emmy award-winning student television and internet newscast at Metropolitan State College of Denver. It's mission is to cover breaking news throughout the Auraria Campus that interest Metro State students. Every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 11:30 a.m. the Met Report’s newscast produces a 20-minute news segment, which can be viewed on the Internet using this link, on campus channel 20, or on Denver cable channel 54.



Cheryl Carter, my client with the Auraria Campus Student Auxilliary Services, said the students wanted some local artwork of Denver night scenes to serve as the backdrop during the broadcasts or as the final screen image while credits are running. In the screen shot above, you can see the gorgeous aerial photograph of the campus right behind the anchors that now serves as their backdrop.

I think it's another great way to gain exposure for my business, especially since I will be credited as the photographer. But I have to admit being a little nervous too...I've been asked to supply digital files that are large enough to print canvases that are 42x72. I've never seen one of my images blown up to such a commanding size. Talk about letting it all hang out!