goals. fear of the unknown. comfort.

last months goals were...

1. lose 5 lbs

    i lost 3 out of the 5 pounds which is a pretty good start   especially for not really changing my eating habits! i work out at least 4 times a week with pilates and power-plates and walking. going to make a more conscious effort to make good food choices next month!

2. create a website/blog...something that reflects me, my style,etc.

    i purchased SHOWIT! i am super excited about this...now i just have to bare down and get my creative juices flowing and get my website ready and launched! for those of you who don't know about SHOWIT i totally recommend that you check it out...

3. post at least 1 blog a week

     i did just that...now i think it's time to up my game a bit and try for 2 a week...and come up with a schedule...like a "fashion friday" the first friday of every month and then 1 personal blog post and at least 1 session blog post.

i really can't believe that March is OVER! it went by so fast...it's crazy to think that a month ago i was just in Vegas for WPPI...it's amazing how busy life gets...i really need to take the time to slow it down and really get in tune with what God has planned for me and follow his direction...let him lead me down the path that he has made specially for me instead of worrying about the unknowns. just have the faith and trust that he will be there no matter what...i can't be afraid of failing or not doing things right...i just need to go for it! my devotional today was about fearing the unknowns and I loved the verses referenced...

"Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before" - Joshua 4:3

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you" - Psalm 32:8

"'For I know the plans I have for you' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future'" - Jeremiah 29:11

i really love Jeremiah 29:11...it's always been one of my favorite verses! these words were very comforting to hear today as i embark on a new month with new goals! :)

so now on to April's goals...

1. launch my brand new SHOWIT website and blog

2. lose another 3 lbs & be more aware of my eating habits and food choices

3. focus on booking sessions for the next month

4. blog at least 2 times a week - blog more in detail about my mission trip to Africa, "fashion friday", get my session images posted within 24 hours consistently 

5. design & order a coffee table book of the Africa trip, for my personal enjoyment

6. create the video from Africa for Circle of Hope International

7. research and purchase the perfect lighting equipment...

8. i am not a big reader but i would like to read at least 1 book this month dealing with business like "the purple cow" or the "22 immutable laws of marketing" etc

well...cheers to another month down in 2011 and a great april coming our way! what are some of your goals for the month of april?! let me know in the comment area below or at 

Brandy Dawson Photography or my twitter account! looking forward to hearing from you! 

have a blessed weekend!

b

pictures are from our zambian safari...africa mission trip january 2011

yes...those are hippos! :)

For Japan With Love

I know a lot of you, like myself, have watched the event in Japan unfold right before our eyes this past week. All the videos and images streaming in via the news and internet and social media avenues obviously not compare to what is really going on there. My thoughts and prayers are going out to those in Japan and all the families affected by this tragic event. I saw on the news earlier today where 13,000 people were deceased or missing. It's so sad to think about but there is a way that we can help! I am choosing a bloggers day of silence to help raise awareness for FOR JAPAN WITH LOVE. See the information below and please, please, please DONATE if you feel led to help!

DONATE

ShelterBox is an international disaster relief charity delivering emergency shelter. It was one of the first organizations asked by Japan to help and were on hand on the Saturday after the quake.  Each large, green ShelterBox is tailored to a disaster but typically contains a disaster relief tent for an extended family (up to 10 people), blankets, water storage and purification equipment, cooking utensils, a stove, a basic tool kit, a children’s activity pack and other vital items. If you would like to help donate please do so by clicking this link For Japan With Love and going to the top right hand corner and click DONATE! Please check it out and whatever you can contribute will be so appreciated.

BLOGGERS DAY OF SILENCE

Anyone that has a blog can help out with this one. The aim is just raise awareness and respect and acknowledge the devastation going on in Japan. The guidelines are simple.

1.  This coming Friday, March 18th, no posts at all on your blog.

2.  Please post a blog post about what you will be doing this Friday whenever possible in hopes to spread the word and whoever else would like to join in. 

3. Tweet and Re-Tweet the link to http://www.forjapanwithlove.com please.

4. Encourage your readers to contribute to donate shelter to Japan.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and please help out in any way you can...If you are not monetarily inclined to give...just PRAY for them! ANYTHING HELPS! Be a part of this great cause!

Blessings,

B

PART 2 - WPPI 2011 Overview

So, here begins part 2 of WPPI! I ran back through my notes and found a few more snippets of information that I thought might be useful! A friend and I attended a class by Kay Eskridge. She was really informative...She had a lot of great ideas about successful marketing and reinventing yourself as your business progresses. Below are her tips for a successful marketing campaign!

K A Y  E S K R I D G E

SUCCESSFUL Marketing Campaign - THE 3 D'S

Define Your Target MARKET - Price driven vs Product driven? Do you want to have a lot of photo sessions at a lower price? Or do you want to shoot a low volume of sessions at a higher price? Either way you have to sit down and figure out what YOU want and what works best in your market at the time!

DECIDE HOW To Reach That Market - What type of advertising will you use? 

           - Word of Mouth - authentic but slow...

           - E-Newsletter - cost effective

           - Social Networking sites - Facebook, Twitter, etc.

           - Partnership Marketing?

           - Displays - Costly?

DETERMINE the COST - DO your research? See what's out there and compare your options! Whether you are putting together printed pieces or sending out mailers or putting together an internet publication, etc. Figure out what works best for you and your company! e-newsletters, twitter and Facebook are all FREE PUBLICITY so put your best work out there and see what happens!

New York! in Vegas!

Now, on to the 15 ways to make money in the next 60 days! I really enjoyed this class too! It was the longest class I took but I really got some great info from the speakers. Sondra and Jerry own BUZZWORTHY SUCCESS which you should definitely check out their link if you are a photographer in need of marketing help! There was a guest speaker in the middle of the presentation who had amazing images...totally different than what you see every day and I believe that's why he's so great! He's DIFFERENT! Check out MARK ROBERT HALPER at HALPER FINE ART and be inspired!

B U Z Z W O R T H Y  S U C C E S S & M A R K  H A L P E R

MARK talked a lot about being different...What fits me? What do I do? Where do I find my inspiration? Once I have "IT" then what do I do with it? Inspiration is everywhere and it can be many things for different people! Once you are inspired ......................................................................................................

GET OUT THERE AND PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE! 

Get the fundamentals down...know the f-stops front at back...become "technically competent" giving you the ability to create your vision/imagery with ease! Find the photography community in your area and get with a mentor! Someone who with be real with you and tell you that your images "suck" when they do then tell you why they do and how to go about fixing them! 

Find YOUR VISION...photograph what you love, what you find interesting, what you find compelling, what you find beautiful! Shoot for the beauty and interesting features you see in your clients! Finally, MAKE THE BASIS OF YOUR BUSINESS YOUR STRONGEST WORK POSSIBLE! Don't put images on your Facebook, blog, etc if it's not what you enjoy photographing or if it's not your best work! PUT THE BEST YOU POSSIBLE OUT FOR THE PUBLIC TO SEE!

15 WAYS TO MAKE MONEY IN THE NEXT 60 DAYS

1. Find and HONE Your UNIQUE Voice - Find your niche and tell your story! Why do you do what you do? What's behind your success? Once you do that then get REALLY GOOD at telling your clients story! It's all in the details! Get to KNOW YOUR CLIENTS!

2. ACT FAST - Speed of implementation! Quickly take your ideas and ACTIVATE them...Establish your objective and strategies then list the objectives starting with the end result in mind! "What does my life/business look like 12 months from now? 6 months, 3 months?"

3. DO NOT DO WHAT OTHERS DO!! - Be the leader! Set the trends! Don't forget the CLIENT! they are the reason we are photographers...they pay our bills! Don't me a MEMEME or a WEWEWE...Use YOU and YOUR on your sites!

4. Involve Your Clients in The ARTISTIC Process - give your client a voice! The shoot is not about you as a photographer...it's ALL ABOUT THEM! Give them the best experience possible!

5. Treat EVERY Client Like VIP - Get to know them and send out handwritten thank you cards, birthday, anniversary, motivational/inspiration, etc. Make it a point in your business just to call 10 clients per week to say "Hi! Just thinking about you guys and hope your family is doing well! Ask them questions, get to know them better... You want your business to stay fresh in their minds! Send them a gift! COMMUNICATION IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS is what my father would always tell me! And it's true! I ADMIT IT DAD! You were right and I love you! Anyways...stay in communication with your client base...send out e news letters letting them know about promotions and things going on throughout the year!

6. It's ALL About the Client! 

7. Make Friends in Your COMMUNITY- Find local business owners with the same target markets and PROMOTE EACH OTHER! Give of YOURSELF YOUR TIME and YOUR TALENT! DONATE to local charities and auctions...BE KNOWN!

8. Start Your Own PERSONAL PROJECT...IMMEDIATELY! - You can stick with your strengths but why not focus on your weakness...find an area you need to grow in as a photographer and get creative! Maybe you want to try photojournalism...maybe you are a natural light photographer but want to try flash, Maybe you are a landscape photographer and you want to try portraits. Or maybe you just want to get better at what you do best...find a new way to interpret your style! Figure out what turns you on CREATIVELY and go for it! Ask yourself, HONESTLY, If you had a million dollars what would you photograph and why?

9. Turn Your Calls Into SALES - Many people talk more/better than they listen! As a PROFESSIONAL, you should LISTEN! People will give you clues to what they want, like, expect, etc.  After hearing what they want TELL THEM what you want them to do, what you expect from them, etc and you get what you want! 

10. LEARN 1 NEW photographic technique a week! Search through magazines, books, music, albums, etc and look for specific poses and new lighting that you LOVE or just maybe wanna try and get a model, your sister, your mom, your brother, your friend and get them in front of your camera! Find someone or something that inspires you and get CREATIVE!

11. Schedule an EVENT Exhibition - Remember that Personal Project I spoke about earlier? Well, here is where it comes into play! Have a theme, a specific type of model, CULTIVATE and create YOUR PROJECT! Once your project is complete, Set a date/time/place and get your invites out there via mailer, email, twitter, Facebook events, etc. and get your Photographs out there for the community to see! I bet you book a few people during your event! :)

12. BUILD YOUR TEAM! - Look for people who are where you want to be...POSITIVE people! Ask questions and always be willing to learn and take constructive criticism.

13. Learn and Refine Your Basic Tools - Be consistent with your pricing, policies, and procedures! What you show your clients MUST BE BEAUTIFUL!

14. A Happy Photographer = A PROFITABLE Photographer - Create a motivational library for your self. Create a rewards list and figure out what you want on it...Example! When I sale $2000 worth of product I am going to gift myself the 85mm 1.4 or the awesome pair of Christian Louboutin PUMPS I have been eyeing since the end of last season! MAKE TIME FOR YOU! You are in control! 

And last but not least...

15. Within the next 48 hours you should...

DUMP THE BAGGAGE! Clean...get the things out that don't make you productive and keep the things that help you on a daily basis!

START WRITING THE "WHAT'S"! - What is going to be, What do I want, What will I do with? etc.

MAKE A PLAN OF ATTACK! - Say Monday of next week you start all over again and you have to catch up on email and check your Facebook "for business purposes" of course! Update your blog with the awesome pics you just took and then what?! What do you do after those? How do you grow? How do you create an awesome business? How do you keep moving forward? 

"You make a plan...I am going to accomplish these 3 things this week" and you mark em off as you go! some weeks you will get all 3 taken care of in a day other times it may take you more than that week to accomplish! Just keep marking those items off your list and adding a new fresh one to it! Success if just around the corner for you once you ATTACK your passion!

Thanks for sticking with me through these 2 posts! I know they are very long and have a lot of information but I hope they in some way helped you, motivated you, inspired you to be proactive and to get out there and follow your dreams and your passion!

Until next time...good night!

Blessings,

B

PART 1 - WPPI Vegas 2011 Overview!

Hey! So I just recently got back from WPPI (a photography conference) held in Las Vegas! This was my first time to attend and it was a lot of fun! I got to learn from some of the best in the biz and grow as a photographer as well as meet some pretty amazing people! There were classes held everyday and a HUGE trade show! I think overall there were about 16,000 photographers in attendance! CRAZY BIG! :) So, What is one to do when she comes home from a mega conference feeling overwhelmed with tons of new information and way to many options and few images to post because she spent all her time in class?! Well, I have reviewed my notes a couple of times since being back home and I have a plan!

I will be posting a new set of goals at the beginning of every month! Since it's a bit past the beginning of this month I will go ahead and give em to you!

~ MARCH 2011 GOALS ~ 

~ Lose 5 lbs (just started doing pilates and I love it...GOODBYE 5 lbs!) 

~ Create a website & blog...something that reflects me and my style...I am excited to start this process!

~ Post at least 1 blog a week :)

It's a short list but it's a full list! Definitely things I need to accomplish before I can move forward with my business! Back to WPPI! 

Below are some quick notes from some of my favorite classes!

B E C K E R 

BECKER is a wedding photographer and head of the [b] school. He is a very funny guy with a lot of great information and an awesome photographer! 

ABC's of Success

ATTITUDE - people skills are more important than photography skills/ more important to me personal than professional (to a certain extent)

BRANDING - Once of your most valuable assists as a photographer...BE CONSISTENT! Your brand lives in the consumers mind and what they think really matters! You need to figure out what sets you apart, what makes you special/unique/a standout? FIGURE OUT WHAT THAT IS AND LET PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT IT! :)

CONNECTIONS - be it with clients, vendors, or competition...get to know these people! Find 4-5 friends in town and trade referrals! This is a simple process just get out there and get to know the people in your community!

BASIC SUCCESS FORMULA - Take AWESOME photos! Develop YOUR brand! Deliver an EXPERIENCE! Cultivate RELATIONSHIPS! :)

L I N D S A Y  A D L E R

LINDSAY ADLER Is an AMAZING fashion and wedding photographer from NYC. Seriously check out her stuff! I LOVED her class! Definitely learned a lot but I real liked her style of photography...she is super creative and I had a great time learning from her! She enjoys teaching and she has class notes on her blog so for all you fellow photographers out there seriously check out her link!

Her class was about lighting and posing...she talked about natural vs artificial light and all the edges possibilities of posing! She had "SHOOTING" tips and "BUSINESS" tips so here we go!

SHOOTING TIPS

Try shooting up or down on your subject...not just straight on!

Shoot WIDE OPEN!

FULL LENGTH - shoot from the ground up

Try Unusual ANGLES - don't be afraid to move around...take risks!

Vary EYE CONTACT (smile/no smile/eyes at camera vs away from it)

Framing - VOYEUR(shoot through things)

SILHOUETTE - create interesting poses, graphic shapes, strong profiles, etc.

BUSINESS TIPS

ANALYZE your audience - What do you want to say? Who do you want to say it to? How and when can you get their attention?

Marketing COLLABORATION - Find vendors to market with!

Target the Gatekeeper - If you are a wedding photographer make nice with the wedding and event planners...they are watching and interacting with you and they could possibly recommend you to future clients of theirs! 

Utilize SOCIAL NETWORKING - Update your blog and Facebook and twitter, etc. Your blog is an extention of you as a person and as a photographer and your style...it's your branded identity and you need to keep it updated and keep putting your brand out in the world! Hold competitions, team up with vendors, do give aways, etc. Keep the local community buzzing about you! Create targeted ads via a Facebook...make it work for you!

Be EXCLUSIVE - Charge what you are worth! Market to high end clients if that is the type of clientele you wish to have. Comfort your clients...Pamper them! Off UNIQUE products and services...do the little things! Remember your verbiage in your packaging and when speaking with your client. Instead of a "viewing" ask them to set up an appointment for their image investment consultation! 

J A M I E  S C H U L T Z

JAMIE SCHULTZ is an AWESOME PORTRAIT photographer and graphic designer from Wisconsin! Her class was also on my list of favorites! She spoke about where to make investments in your business and where to hold back! It's not about the props you have, the many blankets you own, or the little newborn hats that you've spent hundreds on! It's not about all your expensive equipments or the fact that you are doing "everything right" according to the numerous other photographers you've spoken with...This business is not about YOU...IT'S ALL ABOUT THE CLIENT! EXCEEDING THE CLIENTS EXPECTATIONS IS YOUR GOAL! How do we do that? Well, we figure out what they want!

GIVE YOUR CLIENTS A VOICE

Give them a questionnaire - What Things Are Most Important To You?

What type of photographs do you want? Child, Siblings, Family, Interacting, All of the above?

What type of displays do you like? Wall arrangements, 8x10, Wall portrait, Album, Canvas, etc?

What products interest you? Digital, Gift prints, Wall portraits, Collages, Cards, etc?

Do you prefer - Black and White, Color, or Both?

She starts every session with this questionnaire knowing that in the end the client will be happy! She is giving them EXACTLY what they ask for! How smart and awesome is that!?

J E S S I E  P A V L I C S

JESSIE PAVLICS is one of the top BOUDOIR photographers in Doug Gordon's studio...She is all about FLOW POSING which is totally genius! 

FLOW POSING allows you to refine your images in camera, shoot fast therefore giving you more opportunity for more poses which means more profit for you! It's is a a fairly easy process to use once you go through it a couple of times! She went through about 20 poses in an hour and ended up with some really amazing shots and everything goes so smooth because she already knows what's going to happen next. BOUDOIR is a progression and usually every room has the same 3 things a CHAIR/SOFA, BED, and CURTAINS. GO IN WITH A PLAN...Planning gives you CONFIDENCE and YOUR confidence inspires your client! :)

This concludes part one of WPPI VEGAS 2011! Part 2 will be posted later this week! It is 15 WAYS TO MAKE MONEY IN THE NEXT 60 DAYS from Buzzworthy success!

Below are a few images from the STRIP!                                          

Went URBAN OUTFITTERS! LOVE that store! :)

WELCOME TO PARIS!

No seriously, welcome to PARIS!