Shutterfly Coasters are here

I admit I am a junkie for Freebies..... I opened up that shutterfly acct and got all the freebies I could (i blogged about it 2 weeks ago) including my photocoasters. The value is $24.99 +tax and shipping. I paid 5.99!!! As soon as I get back to the house, I'll take a pic and show it on here.

http://www.shutterfly.com/

I wouldn't use these as customer sales, however, they are awesome and cheap for me!!! They do have great quality stickers as well!

Hope everyone has a happy and safe new year!!!

Deal of the Week!!!!

So Today I went to Walgreens and CVS didn't do to bad.

At Walgreens got all of the below Items and paid 39.81 out of Pocket - when it was all said and done, I left with all of those items  - a Mail in Rebate for $15 and $14.50 of register rewards. So basically it was like paying $10.31 for all of it!!!!
But I also got a free coupon for tide up to $8.99!!! So really for less than $2! I used a coupon for Everything!!! 3 Pepto - 2 Pampers Jumbo Packs - 2 boxes Tampax - 2 bags pads - 2 Olay Regenerist Wow Retail Value is appx $70 - so I watched for sales and deals and matched with coupons and oila!!

Then I went to CVS and got two bottles of Dawn and 2 Ivory 3-pack of soaps for $1.64 out of pocket (that includes tax) . We don't use IVORY, however, I had 2 coupons for $1 off each and they were 99cents on sale so they were free. I only really paid for the dawn. I have been making care packages for a friends grandson who is in the military and stationed in IRAQ. I am always getting free Saline Contact Solution and I don't use it so I send it over there. I always get the free items with my coupons even if we don't use them - grocery I take to the food bank and non-perishable goes to military care packages.

In the new year  - I will be splitting my blogging efforts to two blogs! One will be money saving and my new journey as a SAHM (stay at home mom sort of - still doing my photography on the side) and the other will be my photo blog. As soon as I have the web address for the new money saving blog will share it with you:) I'm very excited about this new adventure I am about to pursue!!!

One of my new places of Interest!!

Here is RowNine... They have designer boutiques open for a small period of time with savings up to 80%.... Mark Jacobs (my favorite) is coming up in the next couple days.

Click here to sign up (FREE) so you get the email alerts

Marketing Monday - Thank you cards for Repeat Business

I hope everyone had a happy holiday season. My little mans first christmas was the best. It is neat because he is 10 months now, so he was very into it:)

Now for marketing monday.......

Remember to send a thank you card to all clients after they complete, order and pick up prints. This goes a long way. When I buy something, if the sales professional sends a thank you card. It blows me away. With mega stores and the hustle and bustle of life, we sometimes forget our manners.

In my thank you card I send a coupon - whether it is a free 5x7 with their next paid session or $25 off session. Not only will you drum up repeat business, but you will make a great impression as well!!!

If you want to be green, send a e-thank you. Although I feel that this is a little impersonal for me , guess I am just a little old fashioned.

$$$$$ off on CANVAS AND OTHER PHOTO GOODIES

It was like Christmas today when I got this great news in my Inbox:) It was from GREG our last winner of the photo keyring -

Canvas on Demand (http://www.canvasondemand.com/) will give you a $80 or so credit if you open a new "pro" account with them. I did this and got a great 24 x 16 canvas and paid only shipping. Also, H & H Color Lab ( http://hhcolorlab.com/Studio/StudioHomePage.aspx) gives you a $50 credit to use on anything when you open a new pro account with them.

He also said that H&H has photojewelry:)

I am going to order a sample. There isn't a client who doesn't love photojewelry if it is tastefully done:)

Thanks for the Tip Greg!!!

My Canvas People Free Canvas is here

Just got it yesterday and was sooooo excited. Great quality and they were super speedy too. No complaints here:)

Here is my favorite pic of my little man on canvas with my other prints. Fits in nice:)

Their site is http://www.canvaspeople.com/freegift  I did have to pay for shipping and framing.


Not sure if the offer is still good or not. Worth checking out

Canvas is the top right

Picture Share - My little man's first big snow

Hi, all. Probably wondering why so many posts. Well two reasons 1. I now have my computer back - wooohoo was going through withdrawl! and #2 I now have a 10 month old who SLEEPS THROUGH THE NIGHT!!!! I thought this day would never come:) So now I can do work until the wee hours of the morn knowing that the little man will stay snug in his crib till 8 or 9 a.m. Instead of up at 2 and 5 and then. It's amazing now how more motivated and refreshed I am with 5 CONSECUTIVE hours of sleep:) And he takes a 2 hour nap in the middle of the day! Mommy can get housework done and photography stuff too:)

Here is a pic from our backyard and his first sledding expedition. yes it is a pink sled and yes he is a boy. My husband was busting my chops, however it did have a BLUE rope. LOL. One thing you forget to get until you have a foot of snow is to buy a Sled so this one was a borrowed one. I'll prob end up turning the pic to Black and White so no one makes fun of him later.... hehe He looks like the kid from the Christmas Story all bundled up! and he wouldn't give up the binky for the ride either:)

Awesome Deal on a Netbook

Last week I was at Shoprite in New Jersey (about 15 min from my house in PA) and they had a special on ACER Netbooks yes the grocery store sells electronics, too. Part of its charm! I had been looking for a Netbook for my husband so he would stop using my laptop:) This is the cheapest I have seen. I bought it last week and I see it is still in this weeks circular for $249.99 with your Shop Rite card. This is at least $80 cheaper than what I have seen anywhere else.

If anyone is in NJ, PA, DE, NY and you need a Netbook check it out. Ours is working great. I decided to give him his gift a little early. I have disabled the wireless on my laptop so we just use the netbook. I can always turn it back on when I need to upload picks. I spent $200 getting the viruses off this thing. Wish I would have just got a netbook and gave it to him a long time ago before he started downloading things on mine... oh well, we live, we learn.

I can carry this thing all around the house. It stays charged for about 4 hours which I love!

Tutorial Tuesday - How I got the shot:)

Since I know when I was first starting out I was soooo curious about photographs I saw and how the photographer took the shot. So I thought I would share my simple set up for the Xmas shots in my living room.

Here is the pull back on the set up....

I had my cheepy IKEA blanket, the Sled and my own (FAKE) Xmas tree. I did three sessions for people I know well in my home (I wouldn't reccommend it unless you know the people very well or are licensed/insured to have a studio in your home). Next year I plan to do full sessions at the clients home or I will do a Mini Session weekend where I will rent out the hall next door and set up a psuedo studio and let everyone come to me:)

So my light is coming from the left (however, even though it looked like it was bright out it was actually a little overcast so I wasn't getting as much light as I wanted) If it was full natural light I would have used a large white foam board on the right as a reflector. I actually just used fill flash to do the job. I put my Fong Puffer (see it in my Amazon store) which is great for portraits like this because it diffuses the light.

Here is the pull back on the scenario

I just cleared a small space in the corner near the window but without the sunlight hitting them directly - you can see where it hit in the left corner of the picture.

Here is a SOOC with a couple adjustments in LR (and cloning in the second one so you don't see my ugly wallpaper) - I also showed you one on a past post for my little man (also from the same set up)

TIME SAVING TIP  ***  my workflow to proof is usually very basic exposure and major flaw correction which I did with these in Lightroom (I love love love my lightroom), once they place the order, I go and do a skin smoothing to give that soft looking skin and do eye pops, and sharpening etc. This is pic is before all that. If you are looking for a great FREE action to make your subjects skin smooth or eyes pop - COFFEESHOP has a couple that are great. I use POWDER ROOM for every pic that I finalize for print and there is also BABY POWDER ROOM for baby touch ups. She is phenomenal over there at Coffeeshop. I just noticed that she and her sister are doing custom blogs, logos, and have a custom watermarking action, too. They have very reasonable prices. I am actually thinking of revamping this blog and having them add the menu bars and all that fun jazz:)

http://www.coffeeteaphotography.blogspot.com/

Marketing Monday/New Years Resolutions - Plan of Attack for 2010

Since it is coming to the end of the year, I have decided to work on my marketing plan and new years resolutions for 2010. I want to be a little more aggressive with my marketing. I plan on "hitting the pavement" and participating in more events (like fairs/festivals) and hitting the mommy groups. As a photographer starting out, you must be vigilant and market every day. I take the TAOPAN workshop with Ana Brandt who is a GENIOUS marketing whiz and AMAZING Pregnancy and Newborn photographer. She had us do a 21 days of marketing challenge. I passed with flying colors and basically launched my business off of it actually:) It is possible to market every day. Whether it is to create material, call or email a moms group, go to a business card exchange or just talk to people in your daily routine. Tell them you are a photographer. Most people are fascinated by that. When I tell people that I am, a lot of them say - I love to take pictures or I always wanted to do that or how fun!

I also am planning my mini sessions and charitable giving for the year as well. Each month I would like to offer a unique mini session idea for my clients - Portraits in the Park, Valentines Day, etc. Maybe designate one weekend for those sessions - pack them in and rent a studio space to save time and travel (and post processing because the lighting would be the same)

I plan on giving away a couple sessions at varius charity events that are high profile in my area. For example, They have a MASSIVE basket bingo at our high school. Usually between 250 and 400 people come. Probably will do a display, sponsor a basket and donate a $50 off print order or Free mini session for that one. EXPOSURE is key. People like businesses who give back. Maybe someone there was just thinking - Wow its been years since a family portrait or maybe I could get that for my grankids as a present.... hmmmm . Any school charity/function is good especially if you are a portrait photographer.

I also plan to market to pre-schools and day cares in the area. At least 3 that I know of within a mile of my house do not do any type of portrait photography. Need to do A LOT more research on that one. I would like to offer something different. Like take the kids to the playground and do them that way. More lifestyle, less stuffy. We'll see. Just a dream for now!

I'll share with you my plan as soon as it is finished (the new year has really snuck up on me!)

As far as a personal note, I plan on working on being a better mom in the new year. Will be leaving where I have been working to stay home, blog, and continue to build my business part time (for now). Don't get me wrong - I love being a mommy and feel that I am a great mom but there is always room for improvement! I will have more patience and understanding. I will enjoy every minute. We will go on adventures.

I plan on taking better care of myself 2009 was a tough year - difficult pregnancy, emergency surgery, complications from the surgery, then my back injury it has taken a toll. I plan on getting out and active and trying to reduce my stress level.And just stay healthy!

I want to be less of a worryer.

I want to renew my faith as sometimes we get busy and don't leave time for that.

I am going to read books again and relax (from time to time hehe:)

I'd like to stick to my blogging schedule that I made:) and if Santa is good to me maybe I will get that HD Cam under the tree so I can do video tutorials:)



Well that is about it. I wish EVERYONE a happy holiday to you and your families!

A BUNCH OF GIVEAWAYS AT ONCE:)

In honor of the holidays, I am doing the rest of the giveaways for this month in one shot. Each item is a seperate giveaway.


$50 Restaurant.com gift card
$25 Restaurant.com gift card
Leather Proof Book
Leather Proof Book
Hand Knit Baby Cocoon (soft blue) prop

You can only win one thing if you are picked via random.org. Here are the ways you can win

1. Subscribe to Newsletter/RSS then post a commment on this thread (this is one comment) If you have already just put a comment saying so
2. Become a fan on FACEBOOK - then post a comment on this thread. If you already are just post a comment saying so.
3. Leave a comment on what you would like to see on here in the future (this is another comment)
4. Tell me in a seperate comment what you have in your camera bag , favorite marketing tip, favorite blog or favorite money saving tip:)

So you have 4 chances to win

DRAWING WILL BE NEW YEARS EVE December 31 2 p.m. at and you will have until January 4th to claim your prize once winners are announced!

Computer Stuff and FREEBIE - PLEASE READ to save you some future time and hassle

Hi, all. Finally got my computer back!!! It was infested with Malware according to Office Depot. One thing that they told me is to Lay Off the toolbars. Apparently they say that it casues spyware. They also told me to never let a subscription to your Anti virus lapse (I didn't but there was two installed on my computer - double the protection?  Nope actually they counteracted each other and canceled some protection out). If you let it lapse there are viruses in your computer now, but the antivirus quarantines them but they sometimes stick around. If you let the AV lapse for even a day you are suseptible to Virus attack. Just thought I would pass this along!!!

Also make back up or RECOVERY disks. If I would have lost pictures I would have been devastated. I transfer all of my pictures personal and proofs to an external hard drive and back up with a CD as soon as I pull them off or make edits. It frees up space (If you shoot in RAW the files are HUGE) and also if your system would crash, you have back up.

Luckily, just lost a few non-essential programs.... CS3 and lightroom were saved.

FREEBIE ALERT!!!!

Today only Snapfish is offering a bunch of freebies for new customers. 50 free prints with an upload, Free photo stickers, Free Coasters, etc. If you sign up today, they will credit these. They will give you an expiration when you use them. To get them you must sign up today, you can use them all at a different time.

A "NEW" Customer means new email address/login:)

http://www.snapfish.com/ is the address

Winner!!!

Greg - you have one the Digital Keyring from Sharper image. Please email me at jensphotomojo@yahoo.com with your mailing address.

Well guys I am joining you from the library as my computer is in the shop... I will try to join you and post periodically for the next week as much as I can but my photo jewelry tutorial is going to have to wait till I get it back - was hoping to do it before the holidays so you can make your own gifts:)

Today I felt like a rockstar (plus a great deal at the end:)

Now that I am a mom, I must say I have really been struggling with getting everything done. My whole life I have always stretched myself thin, but now with one more responsibility - that girl who once had it all together can some days can't break even with the to-do list and the done list.... Today was the exception - I proofed and ordered all 3 Xmas sessions and placed my model call order, I called and changed our car insurance, caught up on all my emails, did 4 (yes 4) loads of laundry, made an awesome healthy dinner, went to work from 6-10 for a meeting, ordered our Xmas cards (I know last minute tsk tsk) Caught up on Clickin Moms and Bstudio, Cleaned the house (believe me it needed it), Sent in my mail in rebates, Caught up on my google reader, made it to the gym to swim, took little man for his therapy session and I even ate breakfast and lunch which usually is a luxury for me!

These are little victories but now at 12:12 EST I am going up to bed. I feel like I handled a whole week in this one day!!! Mission Accomplished. 

PS Walgreens has cheap collages 99cents each for an 8x10. I am using it for grandparents as a filler gift. The coupon said 1 per offer, however, I ordered 5 of the same collage and it took it. I did pay on line with the pick up at store option in case the store gave me a hard time about the coupon..... I'll see the quality as I usually use Millers or WHCC, never ordered from Walgreens before.

If you are interested the code to enter at checkout it is   COLLAGE99

So here are some pics of my little man.....Using My xmas tree, The IKEA blanket I talked about in a previous post, and a faux antique sled from Hobby Lobby (I think I paid $9 for it after my 50% off coupon). It was a tight fit, but he made it in:) I'm saving it for next year for Xmas Mini sessions.

These are great props - the sled and the blanket. It was easy to travel with and set up at others houses and I think that the end result is tooo cute for babies/small toddlers:)

I will work on a tutorial on this for an example of lighting set ups. This was natural light with a dialed down flash with a diffuser. Easy set up:)

Seriously Cheap Adobe Elements 8 Under $30 & Free Vista Prints Items

Here is the link.... Remember there was a $20 Mail in rebate offer (double check it is still valid before you buy - so it comes to about $26 with the MIR. I have never used Good Egg but know a couple people who has so you may want to ask around your circle, but this is SERIOUSLY cheap and Adobe Photoshop is an awesome program, if you don't have it already, here is a chance to have the latest copy for next to nothing!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?nm_mc=AFC-SlickDeals&cm_mmc=AFC-SlickDeals-_-NA-_-NA-_-NA&Item=N82E16832105667

This is a tip from Slickdeals.net (you may want to add them to your RSS a lot of electronics/photo pops up from them:)


Check out Vista Print via my affiliate link on the right  - From what I heard the following items are offered Free there

Wall Calendar


Desk Calendar

Photo Flip Book

Photo Mug

Photo Notebook

Photo Tote Bag

Photo Magnet

Holiday Stamp

140 Address Labels

10 Folded Photo Holiday 5×7 Cards

10 Holiday Photo 4×8 Cards

250 Business Cards

I ordered business cards and they were good however, they do have Vista Print on the back of the free ones. If you want to remove - it was like $3.99 or something around that. Depends on if that bothers you or not:) Worth checking out:)

Model Call Success

I had a maternity shot a few weeks back and didn't hear back from the mom - I thought how could she not love the pics - she was fabulous. Come to find out she just looked at the proofs because she had the baby early - she loved them!! Woohoo:)

The session took 45 minutes - I proofed online to save cost. I did session free as it was a model call (I outlined this on Marketing Monday #1). She ordered $375 worth of prints. From a free shoot. I also have a booking to do her newborn shots.... Even if you are just starting out and want to do these for "portfolio experience" or practice and you are giving your time for free. Do not give your prints away too. They may love them and want to order! Oh P.S she referred 2 of her friends to me.

Here is one from the shoot Close up style:)- SOOC with a couple lightroom adjustments for tones. Will just PS out the bra showing do a little skin softening and it is good to go:) Isn't she gorgeous!!!

P.S. This was done without studio lighting. Natural Light only. I do reccomend at least one light or flash as I did recently go to a house that was in the woods and had no natural light and ended up having to do White Balance adjustments!!!! I'm looking for a used light setup so if anyone knows anyone who has some Alien Bees they want to get rid of, just let me know:)

Giveaways, Marketing, and Freebies OH MY!!!

Don't forget to sign up for your shot to win the Sharper Image Digital Photo Keyring!!!! Find the post from last week and follow the directions....

I was having an issue with my feedburner and just had to ping so check back - we have had a lot of great posts - Marketing, Money Saving Tips, giveaway, etc:)

Hope you all are having a great Monday:)

Marketing Monday - a little early & Save $ on dinner out!

As the days are getting crazier decided to post this a little early:) Here is a quick Idea to generate new business. Offer a Restaurant.com gift card with a booked session. Send a note to your FACEBOOK, Myspace, Twitter, Email, Blog fans where the first 10 (you pick the #) people to book a January session will recieve a $25 Restaurant.com gift card or you can offer the card to all booked session however you choose. PS These gift cards will only cost you $10... I actually ordered them this afternoon because I got a tip that they are 80% through today. So I ordered them for $2 per card!!! So my promo cost me $20 for a potential 10 or more booked sessions. If the average session is $250 that is $2500 worth of business. You can always give them as referral bonuses or thank you for larger orders....You can even do a gift card a month giveaway... All sessions booked and finished in that month will get a chance to get a $25/$50/$100 gift card.... PS the $100 gift cards today are $8 OMG....

The customer then will go on the site to print out the certificate at the restaurant of their choice that participates.

 In our area 3 of my all-time fave restaurants are listed so today my husband and I did a dry run before I offered as a gift/promo. We eat at a place called the Blue Monkey - great Sunday football spot. Instead of buying a gift card. I purchased a $25 cert for the blue monkey direct for $2 (today only). I can then print it out. Some restaurants have restrictions - like has to be dinner or $25 cert has to be used with $35 or more purchase, most will have a set 18% gratuity - what we usually tip anyways. We called and checked because Sun they don't offer a lunch menu. They said we can really use the cert. anytime on the weekends. We got drinks, appetizers, 2 cheesesteaks, and desert and paid $19 for tax and gratuity and the difference of the certificate plus we had paid $2 for the $25 certificate. So basically we got a meal that would have cost us $40 + gratuity about $7 so we saved almost $30 by just going on and printing out first at this.

Check the restrictions on http://www.restaurant.com/ to see if it is for you or if the area you live in has a nice selection before you give to clients. If they can't use it then they will feel tricked and you want them to be happy:)

IF YOU ORDER TODAY, for the 80% off, Use the code SHARE  :) Enjoy

Saving Money Tip:)

I just signed up with a site called Coupon Carryout to be an affiliate... You can order coupons that you will use for that week. Right now I am ordering my pampers coupons for the little man. This is genius. I usually buy between 2 and 4 Sunday papers. I make back about 10 times that in saving so I see it as a good investment. However, a lot of the coupons go unclipped. Wasted the whole paper and because I am concerned about the environment that is really wasteful. So when visiting one of my favorite sights - Big Fat Piggy Bank I found this service. They clip the coupon and for a small fee (not selling - read the terms of conditions) for their time (8-20 cents per coupon) they will clip and ship just the items you want... Huge timesaver. I will still prob get my one paper and then match up sales. Items that are free or almost free I will order the coupons from this site so I can buy multiples and stock up. This past week there was a $2 off Pampers (certain kinds) TARGET coupon. I have a ton of Manufacturers $2 off Pampers coupons. Did you know that you can double up because of Target's coupon policy. If you have a MFG and a TARGET coupon, you can use both!!! That is $4 off per bag. If you can hit the $8.99 price, that is $4.99 per jumbo pack!!! I just learned this little tip and I have already used it to buy Hershey's Kisses (our favorite) I had a MFG coupon for $1 off two, a TARGET coupon for .50 off a bag, and a MFG coupon for buy 3 get one free so the math goes like this

$2.50 per bag on sale - bought 4
Take $1 for 2 MFG Coupon
Take $1 for 2 MFG Coupon (can use 2 because I am buying 4)
Take $.50 off

Then I gave my Buy 3 get 1 free and that took off $2.50

So I got 4 bags of Hershey Kisses for $5... That comes out to $1.25 per bag. I don't think I have ever seen them that cheap at any store...

Plus I got 2 free snuggle softeners at Walmart, 2 free Wet Ones Canisters (hand sanitizing wipes), Free Neutrogena for men face lotion, free Conair brushes, and free Olay Body Lotion (2) at Walgreens. This is all stuff we use. If it is for free I get it. I am getting together a package of freebies that I can't use to donate to the local shelter. We can't afford to give a lot this Xmas but I can do what I know best and shop:) and donate what we get for free to people who need it.  I am sooo addicted to the whole couponing thing, too.... I have a list of couponing and my favorite photography sites on the right. P.S. these sites I am not an affiliate just a big fan. I know on Dec 1 we need to start disclosing these things:)

I am now a affiliate of coupon carryout, so if you are interested, click below to check it out. If not, that is OK. When I find something I believe in i may decide to become an affiliate, however,the opinions are always my own. I will also never be an affiliate with a product that I haven't tried or don't believe in. I am here to provide a free service to you all and I am not here to make a quick buck. I will always disclose if i review or talk about something. So far, I think that this is the first one:) I have affiliate and free trial links on the side where you can see them. Even on your free trials, I will get credit (trust me - I think since I started I have made .25 , not even worth updating everyones banners) so the choice is always yours. Just wanted to put it all out there because I know some sites do not tell and that is dishonest....

Click here to check out Coupon Carryout

A different Perspective

This is our last contest winner Jolene. Check out her website www.krookedsmilesphotography.com . Since I love to meet new people as I said before and I love learning from others, I thought I would have a mini Q&A with Jolene......

How long have you been a professional Photographer? I am just starting out but I have offically been working at my business for the last year and I am on my way to the TOP!!



How did you get into this field?
I am sure you hear this quit often but I will say it again because it is true... I have always had a camera in my hand, ALWAYS! Everywhere I went a camera tagged along! About five years ago when my brother passed away is when I really started looking at and cherishing the memories we had created together and I thought I would love to help others have their memories! Then when my son was born two years ago...I became obessed! So here I am!

What is in your camera bag?
Currently a Panasonic DMC-FZ50 w/DMW-LW55, DMW-LT55, DMW-LC55


In the process of upgrading to a Canon 5D w/50mm 1.4 and 85mm 1.8

What is your specialty(kids, maternity, family, etc?)... How did you find your "voice" in photography?
Children and Family all the way! Since my "Family" is the most important part of my life it gives me great joy to help other families capture memories that will last a lifetime!

What is your greatest struggle with your business? What steps have you taken in this tough economy?
 I have not been able to focus 100% on my photography business, I work a full time job also! It is extremely hard but it is a passion and a dream of mine and I went for it!!

Do you have any memorable marketing strategies or any marketing tips for the readers?
Word of Mouth!!! I can not stress that enough! Every customer has been from a friend of a friend! I strive to make all my customers happy so they will send more customers my way! Not to mention I have become good friends with the owners of my sons daycare and they Market for me! Free Marketing! Gotta Love it!


Tell us a little about yourself?
I have the most wonderful and supportive husband ever he is the one who pushed me to pursue my dreams! I am a mother to "Gods Greatest Gift" Caleb Austin, he may be a Sour-Patch kid but I wouldn't trade him for the world! He is my inspiration...My life:Family+Photography=Happiness



Do you have any advice for the novice photographer or someone who wants to break into the field?
Do what makes you happy not what others are doing! Never let your friends walk all over you! Join groups and forums and get advice from other photographers Professional and JSO it can only make you "Stronger"

 
Thanks Jolene for letting us get a glimpse of your photography journey:)
 
I love how you mention FREE advertising and Word of Mouth. As I am taking my journey, I am putting my efforts into ways to promote my business for free:) Once I am raking in the big bucks (lol) then I may throw a chunk back on a new studio or a huge marketing budget. Right now I am just chugging along without one. Word of Mouth is a powerful marketing tool:)

Free 8x10 Canvas by Canvas People

I can't vouch for quality yet as I just ordered. The 8x10 size is free so I ordered that. You have to pick a frame and at checkout that goes down to $9.94 and with shipping it comes to $27 ish. Not bad for a framed canvas picture. Very easy to order too. Just upload your pic. It took me 3 minutes from beginning to end. I did notice that they have a money back guarantee so if you arent satisfied, I believe you can get $ back. I have heard good things on other forums so I decided to give it a try... I'll post how it came out. I don't know when offer ends so jump on this if you are interested:) Link below

http://www.canvaspeople.com/freegift

Freebie Friday - Trial Offers

Before I purchase or subscribe to anything, I see if that company offers a trial product. This way, I can test-drive it. You wouldn't buy a car before you drove it? Why invest money in your business without trying it? Here are some free trials that are out there for your photography business or some software trials if you are just clicking it for now:)

Software

Adobe offers trials on their photoshop products, Illustrator, and some others. I personally had taken advantage of the Lightroom trial. And now I have it and love it. $299 is a big investment when you are on a low budget so make sure that it fits your needs. Most people will find that all they need is Elements 7 or 8 (which is a lot less expensive) http://www.adobe.com/downloads/  If you decide to purchase any of the adobe photoshops, I have them set up on an Amazon store on the right column.

Noiseware and Portraiture are Plugins for Photoshop and are used by a lot of professional photographers. Portraiture is a very simple way to correct skin and give that creamy skin tone to your subject. It uses sliders and is a lot less complicated than using Photoshop to fix blemishes and skin tones. Noiseware is great for high ISO photos. You can check out before and after shots on this site and you will be impressed. However, they are both expensive software for us on low budgets, so see if they will fit into your workflow. Personally, I don't have either right now. I may invest in noiseware in the future as I am a natural light photographer and High ISO's are a given. Here is the link to the free trials

Portraiture http://www.imagenomic.com/pt.aspx
Noiseware http://www.imagenomic.com/nwpg.aspx

Portrait Professional

Very similar but with a lower price tag. This works as a standalone - so that is one minor disadvantage because it will require additional time. Right now the promotional price is $69.99 as opposed to Portraitures $199.99. Also read down to the end, because I included a link to a site I use for coupon codes!!! So if you do like any of these products or in the future any purchase you make, check out that site first:)
http://www.portraitprofessional.com/

Corel has a few free trials on their site as well... They have paint shop pro and also illustrator and some office software, too.
http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite/us/en/Content/1152796555406

*** Try them first to see what works for you. Personally I have the Photoshop CS3 which is great for me. I don't need CS4 - on the same respect I had Photoshop Element 5 when I started and I did fine with that at first. Sure Adobe CS4 is the bomb but it is not for everyone... See how it works into your photo flow - are you just someone who like to take pictures and wants to do minor editing - maybe photoshop elements or corel may do. ***

Business Management/Studio Management

There are some great tools for Studios out there. They have client lists, information, pricing information, keep your calendar, and some even have photo carts for your clients.

I personally like Phobrio. You will be able to track clients and prospects, manage scheduling, ordering, invoicing, online proofing, track clients throughout every stage of your workflow, create to do lists, and a whole bunch more all for $15 per month. The online cart leaves a little to be desired, however, the rest is PERFECT for my business. No more excel spreadsheets for me! They have a demo where you go and play around with the software. Click the trail button on the login page and you can play away.

Tave is another great photography business software. Click here for the trial page to register. It is a little more - $25 per month, but to me it has some additional features that personally I don't need right now. However, a larger studio may find that it works better for them.

Email Marketing

Want a email service to keep contacts and do mass mailings like newsletters and promotions?

Vertical Response has a free trial available. You can try it out. The benefit is if you are a small business (or growing) and your newletter only reaches a certain amount of people, you can pay per contact instead of getting locked into a high monthly rate. Click on my affiliate link on the right hand side and sign up for your free trial.

Constant contact is another company that will let you send out professional mailings. Click here to register for their free trial

*** Also before you buy ANYTHING - I always check out RETAIL ME NOT to see if there are any coupon codes for it:)

New Giveaway!!!!!

OK, have another giveaay for you all!!! I have been sooo busy - 3 Xmas Sessions, a maternity and trying to get the house decorated and shop for Xmas.... all with my bad back and a cold oh and sleep deprivation because my little man has decided not to sleep through the night anymore. He wants to play at 2 a.m.

Here is the giveaway...

Sharper Image Digital Photo Album Keyring!! It is awesome. You can load up to 60 images via USB. It has a FULL COLOR 1.4" High Resolution LCD Screen. It recharges via the USB cable. It is pink (my favorite color) and you can win it by

1. Sign up for RSS, subscribe or Fan me on FB (If you have already done that, leave a post for each and tell me you are a subscriber)

2. You can get extra credit by posting a comment on a subject that you would like to see on the blog. Do you want more freebies, photographer interviews, Tutorials (what kind)

3. Tell me what is in your bag (this is a seperate post)

4. Refer someone else to this blog and if they sign up for RSS and Facebook Fan - just post "I referred so and so (enter name here)

So that is up to 5 enteries plus one for each person you refer!!! Good Luck. Can't wait to read the posts:)

Winner announced!!!!

Hi, all,

Thanks so much for entering the contest and fanning me  on FB and subscribing. U guys rock!!!

The winner (thanks to random.org) is KROOKED SMILES - please email me at Jensphotomojo@yahoo.com to claim your prize.

Keep tuned - we have leather proof/photo albums, Digital Photo Keychains and a secret GRAND PRIZE at the end of the month!!!

Next prize will be posted later today:) So stay tuned!!!

Freebie - Great magazine!!!

Hi, all! Here is the link to Rangefinder magazine. They have a free subscription for US residents. Rangefinder is a magazine for professional photographers and they have some great articles:)

Click here to get to the subscription page.

Tutorial Tuesday (a little late:) - Adding color to B&W Photo's

One of my favorite things to use when doing maternity, wedding, and portraits is adding color to certain spots of the black and white photos. Back in the days of film, I actually handcolored (with special paints and pens) some of my fine art prints and loved the effect. Now in the digital days, it is sooooo much easier and if you mess up - just trash the layer you were working on, not the whole picture:)

Here is my Easy Peasy way to add color to a snapshot that is black and white. This will only work if the original file is in color…



First open your picture. Make a Duplicate Layer by Hitting Ctl + J

An easy way to turn pic your standard black and white, Go to LAYER – ADJUSTMENT LAYER – BLACK AND WHITE. Click OK – now you can adjust to your liking

In order to add the color I then merge down (do not flatten or you will lose your color layer) so that there are 2 layers. On the bottom should be color. On the top should be black and white.

Then Choose the eraser tool. If it is a large area, adjust the size, I used a small eraser to be more specific. You can also adjust the opacity to the amount of color to show through. I used 68% I like to make the color pop. Rub over the area that you want to be colored.

Oila! You can also use actions, or if you don’t have the black white adjustment layer, just run your action or turn to black and white your normal way. Flatten down to the top layer B&W and bottom layer Color and erase away!!


Here is my finished product (well minus some skin softening and sharpening)

Tutorial Tuesday - a little different spin:) How to be a coupon Diva

Guys so sorry that I am messing up the order of our weeks. Since I have a little man who has decided to skip his last two days of his 2 1/2 hour nap, I haven't been able to finish the tutorial (my easy version) of how I do selective color. Below is an example...

So In the spirit of being a coupon diva, like I am, I have found this new website that I have to share with you. They have great "tactics" on getting sometimes free and seriously discounted items.

Here are my tips - so far, I am up to $923 in savings on my Giant Bonuscard for the year. Plus who knows how much in coupons. In the new year, since I will have a little more time on my hands, I would like to do each week a post on saving $ and time.

I started clipping coupons about 10 years ago. My husband and I were just married without anything and more going out than coming in. I always got a Sunday Paper for the grocery ads. I started clipping coupons and watching sales and stocking up on sale items. I actually found it quite addicting. I would see myself saving 20% , 40% and one time my all-time best 75% and I would feel great. All I did was take about a half hour to hour of my time on a Sunday morning to organize and then the shopping time and off Iwent. Now as a mom, I never buy a diaper or formula without one. If it isn't on sale or I have a coupon for it I usually don't buy it until I do unless it is a necessity:)

Here are my tips:

1. Get the bonus cards for all the stores you shop. They are a deal and usually free.
2. Get the Sunday Paper, pull out the drugstore and grocery ads and the COUPONS (usually P&G, Red Plum, etc)
3. Organize your coupons. I usually clip them all (never know when you can double them up and get something for free. Even if I don't really need it, if it is FREE I can either donate to a shelter or friend/family who would need it)
4. Look through the sale papers you pulled and match the already discounted sale items with the coupons.

For Example.... This week Nyquil and Dayquil are 2 for $10 at Walgreens (this is a true example) They are offering $5 coupon for next order if you buy two. I have 2  $1.50 off one (which means $3 off two) so essentially I am getting 2 bottles of Nyquil for $2. That is ridiculous and took me about a minute to figure out. Even if you aren't on a limited budget, just do it anyways. Keep track of what you saved and make a donation in that amount to your favorite charity.

5. Sign up with companies online - like Coke, General Mills, Kashi, Pampers, Similac.... they either have free trial offers or will send you coupons for products in the mail or sometimes the manufacturers, when they have a new product may send you a free trial offer. It doesn't hurt. You can try freefly.com they tell you what companies are offering trial offers.

6. Go onto websites like Coupons.com . Beware though, some sites make you take a bunch of surveys and really don't offer you anything great. Coupons.com is pretty good.

7. If you are pregnant or a new mom (even if you think you will be breast feeding, just do it. I thought I could and ended up that I couldn't), sign up at all the formulas Similac , Nestle Good Start, and Enfamil They usually send you samples and coupons monthly for $ off the formulas. Similac was very kind for me.


Also, http://www.dealseekingmom.com/ is your friend. It will tell you how to get the most out of coupons at certain stores - including Walmart, Target, CVS, Walgreens, etc. She also refers to other sites that helps her out, so you can bookmark them as well. Every week they go through the circulars at these stores at match up to their coupon stash and tell you where to get the freebies at. It is definately addicting:) Sign up for her daily email you won't be sorry....


TIP: Since all of these will probably be sending you emails, you may want to open a seperate email just for your coupon habit:) There are free ones at yahoo.com or hotmail.com . That way your family or work, or business email is not bogged down with a million emails. Then you can tackle coupons when you want. My time is on Sundays. My busy husband is usually not working that day and he likes to spend quality time with our son, so it is a perfect time for me to plan my trip... Sometimes I will go shopping right away or just save for my newly instated "mommy day" where my newly retired father in law comes to watch my son, grandmother, and aunt(who now both live with us due to illness) so I can get my errands done, get work done around the house and also schedule dr appts.

It's here Jens Photo Mojo Grand Opening Contest Weeks!!!

Ok, so the wait is over. The first giveaway is here. We are giving away....
a Monopod!!! These come in handy because they allow you to take a steady picture without the big bulky tripod. This is a Pictures Plus Compact monopod by Sunpak. It includes a neckstrap and belt clip... It extends up to 60" but is a little over 12" folded. AWESOME for the photographer on the go or someone who needs a steady hand.
To enter yourself in the contest. Make sure that you subscribe to the blog on the right, take a moment to look over the site a little and then place a comment that you subscribed on this thread. That counts as one entry, then friend me on facebook and post a comment that you did so and that counts as the second entry - Then tell all your friends have them sign up as well. For each friend that you refer that SIGNS up, post a comment with their name (first) and each of those counts as an entry two.

If you are already on my original 10 facebook friends and subscribers from the last post, you can just enter two comments (one letting me know you are a subscriber, one to let me know you are already a fan.) and you can get one for each person you refer that subscribes and joins facebook:)

 Contest ends on December 8th at 12 p.m. EST.

Good luck.... keep posted we have ooodles of prizes to give away over the next couple days and weeks!

Marketing Monday - Hometown Heroes the Untapped Market

Police, Fire (volunteer or paid), EMT - these are all the people in uniform who are a new segment to work with. There are a couple of ways to market to them....

** Remember as always tweak this to work for you. Figure your price margin. It may not be the same as mine. Make sure it works for you, too before you jump in.
1. DISCOUNT SESSIONS - at your studio/alternate location

You can offer them to do a headshot of them in uniform and dress uniform discounted. Usually this is just a few poses and often will only take a few minutes.  My current discounted rate for them is $29 and they get a free 5x7. Make sure you capture information and add to your newsletter. Many of these professionals have families and they will remember you when it comes time for family pics! Make sure that you treat as any customer. Send thank you note with cards and referral cards. P.S. these all will work easier if you offer online proofing and ordering. Come up with a couple packages that seem to work. This would resemble how your kids school pics work. A la Carte and a few packages. Keep it simple.

How to market - Simple letter or promo card to station about the offer- you may want to call ahead or check the town/city website for chief or head name. The mailer should let them know that there is a discount price. In some towns they have conventions. If it is a small convention (like we have in our town) the booth may only be between 20-50 (in our town it is $25 for the firefighters trade show). Small price to pay to reach out to thousands of people. If you know any men (or women in uniform) it wouldn't hurt to do a couple shots for display and promo cards. 

2. Offer Picture Day at the Station

This would be offered on a specific date and time. You may have to be flexible as fire calls and police calls happen unexpectedly - trust me I know as a wife of a volunteer firefighter. Just ask me about the time I was abandoned at Target:) I would also have a day that would be for make ups only. I personally would have a signup. Keep the signups about 10 min apart. Take 2 poses. 1 head shot and one length. Either in dress uniform or their duty uniforms (if chief wants both to be offered, I would make the appts 15 min apart). Only one background, light set up and limited poses will make these consistant like school pictures. If there is more than a certain # signed up, I usually just charge for prints and a "handling charge" of $5 (you can charge what you like). I personally would do the prepaid packages and ala carte just like school pictures. I would not do online proofing as it is time consuming and you are not charging a session fee. I also do not retouch photos unless there was an error with white balance or color on my part. I order packages from my printer and deliver to the chief or my contact. They are responsible for getting to the people. In every pack, I include a discount card for a "full Hometown Heroes session" This will let them bring family, do multiple dress changes, will offer creative options - black and white, and retouching. I would give them $50 off my session fee. Also include referral program and your card. Make sure the ordering form includes a release and a spot where you can capture email.

How to market - Simple letter or promo card to station about the offer- you may want to call ahead or check the town/city website for chief or head name. The mailer should let them know that there is a discount price. In some towns they have conventions. If it is a small convention (like we have in our town) the booth may only be between 20-50 (in our town it is $25 for the firefighters trade show). Small price to pay to reach out to thousands of people. If you know any men (or women in uniform) it wouldn't hurt to do a couple shots for display and promo cards.  *** You may want to offer the chief/head low res cd of all the headshots (for badges/ID's) either for a low price or for free depending on participation. As a goodwill gesture, I do offer to take a group shot with the trucks or vehicles. I will give the station one as a donation, however, this is a add-on sale for the guys as well - they can order one for XX amount. I charge $15 for a group shot 5x7.


3. Offer to take pictures for a community event

Donate your time to go to the event and take pictures. I would set up a stand where the kids can take a pic with the fireman/firetruck, etc. Have parents sign a release get an email. Online proof them as a batch in one cart - use same password for all to make it easy. Send them email when ready. You can either donate net to station or send a fixed $ amount. That is up to you. Add them all to your newsletter list. Have a pick up day at the station. If they are not able to come, they pay shipping to their home. Simple, easy. And who doesn't want a picture of their kid with a firetruck? Great way to build your client list! In each pack - offer a % or $ off session coupon, a referral program promo card and a business card!

How to market - Simple letter to station about donating your time- you may want to call ahead or check the town/city website for chief or head name who to address to. You can also make a personal phone call or visit.


Numbers crunch - lets say there are 40 guys at a volunteer station and 3/4 participate. My cheapest package is $20 so if 30 guys participate at the minimum there is $600. for 30 guys - may take you 4-5 hours, less if you are more efficient and have helpers or you schedule 5 minutes apart - you can do in under 3 (or if you have second light set up and background and person- you can do in an hour or two. Plus you know have more potential customers!


I am working on a Freebie Friday with some of the promotional material that I talked about here. I am also working on the full package as well. Getting together all my material and writing a manual as well. Stay tuned!!!

Holiday Time is apon us

well i hope everyone had a great holiday. i sure did being with family is the best thing ever.
wanted to congratulate Jo Overton on winning the years clickin moms subscription. What a rockin prize. Since i love to meet new people and learn a little about them, i did a little Q&A with jo...

Q: How long have you been interested in photography?


I have been slowly upgrading my digital point and shoots as the years have gone by, and I decided I wanted a GOOD point and shoot. I did some research and came up with the Canon Powershot. I was surprised at the quality of the pictures, this was my first inkling that a good camera makes a difference with taking photos. This picture was a turning point for me.

This is the first time that I ever took a picture where it just took my breath away. And I loved it! I had not been able to justify buying a better camera, because I didn't think I had the "eye" or talent for photography. This picture convinced me that with a really good camera, i.e. a dslr, I could increase my level of ability with photography. I had the "eye" now I needed the skill set. I had some money come my way a year later and I ear marked a chunk of it for a Nikon D60, then a year later, I upgraded to a D90.


Q: Are you currently a pro or just loving taking pics?

A heavily invested amateur. I have just started taking pictures of people other than my own camera fodder. (My granddaughters!) I would love to get into it as a business, part time. I do not have the time to do it full time, but it is something I really enjoy!



Q: Tell us a little about yourself (if you have a blog or website and want to include it please do:), your interests, hobbies, etc?

www.tangled-me.blogspot.com

Wife of 29 years, mother to six, grandmother to five and and half. I have a degree in Social Work, but I am raising our youngest son who is quite disabled. He keeps me really busy. I love photography and needle felting. I am Native American, from a Lakota tribe in South Dakota. Because my family of origin lives on the reservation, I have a unique chance to photograph there and I do have a dream of someday having a photobook published with my vision and work from that perspective.


Q: What was your first thought when you found out that you won?


Whoo hooo! I have been drooling and debating with myself over getting a subscription. Now I can not worry about it for a whole year!

Q: What would you like to see here on Jen's Photomojo in the future?

More giveaways! Tutorials, free templates, actions, tips for posing people, lighting! ways to find my "voice" in photography, interviews with photographers. (Is that enough?)




we are going to follow up in a month or so to see how much she loves clickin moms - probably as much as i do! if you want to join jo and me on the forum please click on the banner below. There are many memeberships available for different cost. Worth every penny:)




so tuesday starts our grand opening month. going to be some great prizes for photographers and us who love to take pictures as well. so stay tuned:)
again i would like to perso nally thank everyone is tuning in. We have just begun so bear with me and i promise you wont be disappointed!!

AND THE WINNER IS

JO

 Jo, please email me at jensphotomojo@yahoo.com to claim your prize. Just have a couple questions for you:)

If you decide to join anyways please click on the picture below and sign up there - they have monthly (if you want to try it out first) and yearly memberships. Trust me worth EVERY penny - even if you are not a pro and just want to take great pics or connect with other moms:)




Guys, so sorry for the late post! I have to apologize because all day I have been going crazy because my cable is out, but a little boy with a cold couldn't go out and a husband who worked late and no cable= no internet- ARgh!!! Couldn't get online. Actually joining you from a neighbors porch freezing my butt off and stealing their WIFI - hehe:) Don't worry I told them I was going to!

If you didn't win - please stay tuned. To kick off my blog, I am having my Grand Opening MONTH in December - thats right I said month. I have a bunch of giveaways I am sure you will love:)

I just wanted to thank everyone for tuning in. My brain is bursting with ideas for articles and tutorials, so please stay tuned. I would also really appreciate you telling anyone that you know that is a mom or a photographer or just wants to be one to come on over, too. If you have anything to contribute, any freebies, any articles, please feel free to forward. I love getting tips almost as much as I love giving tips. Also if you have any photos that you want me to play with  that you feel just didn't get right let me know. I want to do a weekly "Picture Saver" Tutorial showing how we can take blah pictures and make them wow.

I'm going to be taking a short break, but will be back on Friday with some freebies and some sales that I found online - some photography related - some just random sales!

Hope each and everyone of you have an AWESOME Thanksgiving and enjoy every minute with your families. I know i will. This is my little mans first Thanksgiving!

Marketing Monday - Word of Mouth Referrals

If you don't have a lot of money in your advertising budget, as I did, I relied on word of mouth to get started. I told everyone... I mean everyone I know that I was starting my photography business. I also told them that anyone that they referred to me as long as that person told me who referred them, I would give them a $50 print credit for a future session. (P.s. they can combine that with other offers like when I started my GRAND OPENING BUZZ and I did 50% off session fees for one month) The $50 print credit would get you 2 5x7's and those cost me almost nothing, however, to a potential client that is a lot of money.

I also let every customer know that I have a referral program. I tell them at booking and ask if they have any friends, families or coworkers that need photographic services- because some people make appts a couple weeks in advance. If there referral sneaks in before them, they get $ off their session. Also, at the end of the session, I explain it again when we are giving instruction, when to view sneak peeks, online ordering, etc. Then I put a few referral cards in their order package and some business cards.  Since they are now on my mailing list (capture an email with every booking) I mention in EVERY newsletter about the referral program. A lot of successful photographers run completely off of their website and word of mouth. Imagine how much they don't spend on Advertising. Major newspaper and magazine advertising is EXPENSIVE! Plus who is better at advertising than a satisfied customer?

Coming Soon.... Download Freebies

Thought I would have had this done for this Friday, but reached a little snag. Someone is setting up a password protected area for me for my readers so that you can download some of the freebies I am working so hard on for you. Once that is up, I will have a sample press card, business card, and gift certificate to share with you all for your businesses.

Hope everyone has a safe and happy weekend. Off today to search for some holiday props for my Xmas shoots.

Want to leave a freebie friday on this note:

Please check out this awesome site and click here... it is a little bit of digital scrapbooking, a little bit of photo editing. There is Free Tutorials, Backgrounds, Classes, Kits (that have awesome backgrounds for templates) I love the Strawberry Lemonade Kit!!!

Why I Love Ikea

When I lived in philly, I had a happy place (which if you know me now it has been replaced by Target) where swedish meatballs are abundant and you can buy a chair for 19.99. A place where you can redo your home for a thousand dollars instead of tens of thousands. A place where you can buy cookware, appliances, paintings, swedish frozen food and plants all in one place. Where is this nirvana you ask? Well it is the big blue box - Ikea.

I decided to take a trip to my happy place and get some meatballs to make for my DH. I think I forgot just how much I love this place. It has been at least 3 years since I set foot on that concrete floor. While I was there I found an awesome blanket to use for newborn shoots. The picture doesn't do it justice. It is soooo worth $19.99 I heard about it on a forum that I am a member of and decided to buy one for myself:) I have a newborn shoot in a week. I am determined to work it into my maternity shoot this weekend. Just haven't figured out how yet! Pictures to follow.

 I also found a great down comforter in the as is section for $6.99 (normally $49.99) Click here to see the same one on the website. with nothing but a black mark. I'm taking the clorox bleach pen to it- my favorite tool at home next to the Tide Pen:) Its queen size. I like to use it under the newborn and the blanket I am using. I think it works a little better than a boppy. Plus it is sooooo warm for the little one. The shape of the boppy shows sometimes and I like the unrefined edge of the cushion and the way it makes them look like they are floating:) If I really need that support, I will put the boppy under the down comforter (which is under the blanket or whatever I am shooting on. I am still well below my $100 budget for props- by the way!

There are some awesome chairs if you have a studio and need that great fluffy chair you know that one that the young child sits on or the chair that the newborn in a swaddle lays on. There is a curtain system where you can hang backdrops and fabric and curtains that can double as backgrounds. I'll put the links below for all these items...

 Next week I will share my on location props and what I have for maternity, newborn and child props all on a budget stay tuned:) I spent less than $100 on  props.

Why I love photoshop... let me count the ways

I started out with the generic image enhancing software that came with my printer. The result was OK pictures. Then I bought Elements 5. It sat taking up space on my hard drive until one day I bought a book and joined a forum and the rest was history, I was hooked. I never had a mediocre picture that I sent to the photolab again. I had an arsenal of actions that I downloaded and away I went. Years later I upgraded to CS3, which is what I have now.

The following images are of my son. It was a so-so picture before and in two steps (plus a sharpen for the web) I drastically improved this pic.

Here is the before                                         Here is the after

I did an exposure adjustment layer (set the blackpoint first then upped the exposure a little) In case you are JSO with photoshop to set the black point - in the exposure pop up box that comes out, choose the black dropper and choose a spot on your picture that is or should be black and click. Then adjust your exposure slider.

Did a curves adjustment layer pulled up and to the left a little for a creamy tone to the skin.

There you have it. Anyone can do it. Even me:) This is basic. I'm sure some pros will cringe and I can normally put about 10 more steps in there when I proof for a session. However, if your just starting with photoshop or want a quick edit for your snapshots, this is a simple way to make them pop.

Clickin Moms Giveaway!!!

Hi, all. I have some great news!!! Kendra from Clickin Moms has graciously donated a YEAR subscription for me to give away on my new blog Jens Photo Mojo. This is a $50 value!!!

Clickin moms is a community of women who are passionate about photography with over 4,000 members!! There are forums, tutorials, Inspirations, Galleries, Contests and Prizes, and so much more. I personally have learned so much from the wonderful women that are on the forum! I owe so much to them. This membership is a must have if you are a mom and want to take great pictures of your child, or interested in photography as a business, or a pro who wants to connect with others. Joining Clickin Moms was one of the best things I have done. Money well spent for me:)

In order to win this you must be new to Clickin Moms (not a current member). If you are new to Clickin Moms and would like to enter your name in the drawing you need to do the following...

SUBSCRIBE (and confirm subscription) to Jen's Photomojo blog and newsletter via the box on the right of the screen, check out my new blog, and then POST a comment on this thread with your name and that you would like to enter the contest. I will be confirming posts with subscriptions. You will need to check back on November 24th after 12 p.m. and have until November 26th at midnight to claim your prize

BONUS ENTRY: Fan me on my new Facebook (see link to the right) and leave it on another comment on this thread and I will enter you twice:)

We will choose a winner on November 24th at 12 p.m. Please come back and visit us again.....

DECEMBER is the grand kick off of my blog. We will be having giveaways all month!!!! Stay tuned!

Marketing Monday -JSO (Just Starting Out) 10 Free and Low Cost ways to market

If you have a limited or non-existent marketing budget, like mine:) Here are a couple of CHEAP ways I got my name out and built a list of people to market to.


1. YOU NEED A WEBSITE, and a professional looking one. You can get one at Photobiz.com (tell them Jen Carl sent you if you sign up - my family appreciates it:) or portfolio sitez. I host mine through photobiz. I had to pay $125 upfront and just $15 a month. It is DEFINATELY worth it. You have hundreds of templates to choose from and you don't lose your work when you do. Make sure you only put your best images, professional images, and a nice selection truly showing your work as a photographer. This is much cheaper than radio, tv, magazine and newspaper ads trust me. You can hand out your business cards directing people to your site. Can I repeat again - You need a website!

2. Get a FACEBOOK PAGE for your business - make sure you get everyone you know on your regular page to fan you. Then get all of their friends to fan you. Then put a widget on your blog where people can fan you.

3. Get a free blog like mine from BLOGGER This will serve as a makeshift website for you until you can afford one. Make sure to make it as visually appealing and professional as possible. I got my template here from Shabbyblog.com . You can search around and find more free templates on the web, too.
There are great tutorials on Blogs like Coffeeshop and Blogger Tricks
4. Get a Twitter - make sure all your followers follow this as well.

5. Get a myspace:) Friend everyone and everyones friend, family, etc. get as many "potential" clients as possible.

6. Put on your facebook (once you get as many fans as possible and you have some images in your blog) that you are having a contest. The first 5 people to comment will get a $50 print credit (or you make the terms)with a paid session. (P.S. Most of the time, you will pay from 2-5 for a 5x7 personally I charge $25 for the 5x7 so That $50 print credit cost me $4. But it causes a buzz). You can come up with your own terms, but people love freebies.

7. Get on every photographers resource blog, or local blog, or mom blog in your area. Introduce your business and tell them a link to your blog. Some may post it on your site. I usually announce a contest for that blog or group(like $25 starbucks gift card or if it is a local mom blog maybe a half price session or print credit) however if you cant afford it, that's OK just introducing yourself and telling them about your blog or website will get your name out there.

8. Make a quality business card or promo card. You can do a simple one on your own with business cards from Office Depot (I reccomend the clean edge) or you can go to Vista Print - they have free and seriously discounted business cards. Click the link below to check it out.




Approach local businesses like dr offices, stores, childrens stores ask if you can put the cards out. Place your card in any bulletin boards that allow - churches, library, anywhere where people will see it.

9. Send email out to editors at local magazines and newspapers. Fashion it like a press release and explain to them why they should have an article about this new up and coming photographer. If they do an interview - TONS of free press. At the least maybe they will just have a little article or mention you as a new business.

10. Volunteer with an organization to take pictures of an event that can be sold with the proceeds going to the charity. For example, the fire company up the street is having an open house. You are a family photographer - these events will have hundreds of familys that show up. Little kids love firetrucks, parents would LOVE a picture of their kid in one. Approach and offer to set up a booth where you would take a picture of their child in the truck with the fireman. Have parents sign a release and give you their email address. Then you take images and put them in your proofing session of website and email all the parents with the passwords. Just do one large proofing cart and same password to keep it easy. They can view and purchase the 5x7 and then you could send them a special thank you with a coupon or gift certificate for a future session. Oila!!! Future customers! Don't forget to give the donation (after you have taken the cost of printing) TIP - give a deadline for ordering. Do not edit each proof. Just when they order and just basic - do a batch if you can. This will make life much easier for you. You can have them pick up prints at the station on a certain day.

You could also do the same basic thing with any charity event. Just use your creativity.

More to come.... for another Marketing Monday!

Freebie Friday - Actions

My favorite part of learning photoshop was discovering the wonderful world of actions. When I did, I cut my post processing time in half! Actions are specific sequence of photoshop layers/commands, etc. that are automated. Lets say that your normal post process is to curves layer, soft light layer, reduce noise filter, then sharpen - you could create an action so that instead of doing those steps independantly, you can do them all at once saving time. Actions can also be used to create certain effects, like black and white, vignette, lomo, HDR, etc.

There are some phenomenal FREE actions out there. My ultimate favorite free action website is COFFEESHOP! Most will run both on Elements and CS, CS2, CS3, CS4.  Pioneer Woman has a great action set and great photography information. Click on the photography tab on the bottom of the screen and take a look around. While you are looking - Texas Chicks is also the site you want to check out. There are a couple free actions and they also have a subscription that you can join for future actions. (The subscription has a fee, but well worth it - they have some great stuff!!!) I found these other links as well:

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/10/20/the-ultimate-collection-of-useful-photoshop-actions/

http://designm.ag/resources/photoshop-actions-touchups/


http://naldzgraphics.net/freebies/60-useful-photoshop-actions-to-enhance-your-photos-for-free/ Great Touchup actions

http://www.atncentral.com/download.htm this is the quick download page – no pictures

At first I was obsessed with downloading EVERY free action I could find. My action file was bogged down and it took me forever to find the one I wanted, actually making the process less efficient. I would forget which one was which! Then I started to sort through. I would download and keep the ones that I don't use on a regular basis in a file with others on my external hard drive, labeling with a description. Then I could just add as needed.

HANDY TIP: What I did was create a file where I actually had a picture I took with the action. My first photo was the Original and then I ran an action and that was file #2. I then went back to the original and ran another action this would be another file. I have an option to print with my document which allows me to print a contact sheet so I put the images all on one sheet and printed so I could quickly reference what action effect I was looking for.

Personally - I keep it simple - I have a photo retouching/eye pop (Coffeeshop glamour glow), I have a sharpen - MCP Crystal Clear, I have a black and white with optional vignette, I have a vintage, I have a color pop, and I have a resize for web/sharpen for web for my blog. These are the ones that I use 95% of the time when proofing for clients. Those I will keep handy in the Action folder in Photoshop. The rest I have stored away for a rainy day when I feel like playing:) I am sure when you ask different pro's, they will have different ways of doing it - this is how I like to stay organized and keep things simple - my new mantra.

The most important thing is to have fun and play around with the actions and see if you can fit them into your workflow. I will have a future Tutorial Tuesday article on Workflow and how to make your own actions so stay tuned!

Thrifty Family tip

I was doing some figuring and realized that my family eats out way too much - at least 2 times per week for dinner and usually breakfast and lunches on the weekends. Like most of us, I have been looking for ways to cut back on expenses and saw a huge money savings.

I figured out a way to save myself about $1,300 per year. Every Friday we order pizza we get two large at the pizza shop and a two liter of soda (sometimes some mozzarella sticks) and it usually comes to about $30. in my effort to be thrifty, I found a way to save some big bucks on pizza night. I buy Longos sicilian pizza crusts(i am in Pennsylvania so I'm not sure if that brand is national, however, most grocery stores have pizza kits in the prepared section or shells in the refrigerated section).  There are two in a pack (and one shell is dinner and lunch the next day). I freeze one and use the other. I buy a small can of tomato sauce and a 8 oz bag of cheese. Sometimes we'll throw some sausage or pepperoni's. It's actually kind of fun, we take turns making your own section of the pizza with what you want:)

Pizza Crusts $1.75(for one)
Sauce $0.89
Bag of Cheese $1.99

For about $4.65 I fed four adults and it comes to about $1.16 per person

Pizzaria pizza $30 per week x 52 weeks $1,560 a year
my pizza $4.65 per week x 52 weeks $241.60 a year
savings of $1,318.20 a year - thats a vacation, down payment to a car or a new dSLR (depending on the model.... hehe;)

If we would cut back to 1 time per week and lunches on the weekends - we would save about 5,000 per year or more! Crazy.... and I like to cook... Imagine if you eat out every night how much you would spend.

Just thought I would share!

Marketing Mondays - Generating Clients and Building Portfolio

Are you a new photographer or just starting out your business? Do you have a decent client base but long for more? Then here are a couple solutions for you:

MODEL CALLS

But I don't have money to hire models!!??

You don't need to. These are the models of the non-pro kind. People who are willing to spend an hour posing for you free of charge. Do these people exist? Yes they do!!! Trust me on this one. The best way to drum up business at the start is a model call. The model call works in two ways. The first is that you will get much needed practice in a professional setting. The second is that you can also build clients this way as well. If they are happy with the pics, they will share them with others and if you then treat them like a client instead of a "freebie" you may develop a client for life. I started out with a model call. My first "family" session was engagement pictures. I met them, treated them as a prized client. I lalso made them sign a no charge session model release so I could use all of their pictures for marketing in anyway including my website (which you ABSOLUTELY NEED AS A PHOTOGRAPHER). I then offered to make them prints at a discount price. I put these pictures up on a blog (a showing of the best) and sent an email of the link. I asked in the email that they forward the link to all their friends and family and have them offer feedback as well. I also strategically placed in that email that I am having a friends and family referral and for every one they refer, they will get a $50 print credit and the new customer will get a half price session fee. This got me two referrals. The print credit for two referrals cost me $10 to get two clients (who even at 1/2 price still is paying $75 for session plus the prints). When I delivered the prints, I also threw in a couple of my "referral business cards" so they could hand them out. I get a call they love the pics and need a wedding photographer and would like to hire me. Awesome! So the model call turned into new business. This is a Cinderella story and it may not always happen, however, this is an example of how you can use this to build your clientelle. PEOPLE LOVE FREEBIES. For example, people will buy things at the grocery store that they don't need just because they have a coupon.... The power of savings is a powerful thing! P.S. you don't have to be a newbie to use this method, you can also use this to drum up business. Just think - fresh pictures for your website and a few more contacts on your client list! Also a great way to use a new location or new props before you use them on a new customer who is paying a premium for their session fee.

Where do you post a model call?

The best one I did was on my friend list on FACEBOOK. Tweet it. Post in your local free papers, or on Craigs List. When you are photographing people you do not know, take utmost care. Do it in a public well travelled place of your choice where you feel comfortable. Take along your boyfriend, friend, etc. BE SAFE. If you know the person well you can do it at their home or location.

Tip:

Make sure that you designate a specific # of free sessions. If someone responds and your already booked. Tell them "I'm sorry, I am already booked for the model call but I would be willing to do a session for you for a half price session fee (or give you a $25 print credit.)" You are still getting either 50% of session fee (or full session fee if you use the print credit method.

Tutorial Tuesday - PHOTOSHOP BASICS

For the beginner. I found these really great tutorials to give you some more information. Starting with the explanation of tool bars and functions and layers. This is important as you will need basic knowledge of photoshop to follow my future tutorial Tuesdays:)





LAYERS



TEXT



TOOLS

On a more serious non photography related note...

Someone once told me you wear your stress on your back and your face. I never really thought that was true until I found myself hospitalized for a week for picking up my 7 month old son. As I sat in the office of the back surgeon a week later, I found this to be true as he explained to me that I had the oldest spine he had seen on a thirty year old. For so many years i have been running on empty - taking care of two sick family members, raising a family, taking care of a household, running a division of an international company. Somewhere along the way I stopped doing things for myself. As I looked at myself and the extra 50 pounds I now carry, the wrinkles on my face that should not be there,and the grey hairs peeking out from my auburn head, I realized that I not only felt older than my 30 yrs but looked it too. For the next 6 weeks as watched as my mom and my husband care for my little one, I had my epiphany. I had invested so much time into everyone elses care I forgot to care for myself. I needed to put myself first in order to be the best caregiver possible. It sounds selfish but how could I go on like this playing in bed watching my little guy grow up from afar not being able to hold him or lift him up when he falls down.


My solution was to join the club down the street from us. They have a swim pool, a hot tub, sauna a gym, and a a track. Most importantly 2 hrs of free childcare per day. I have no excuses now not to go. I haven't felt this good in years

I guess the moral of this story is we all have our responsibilities and people that we care for. We have our own businesses or jobs and a bout a million people who try to steal our time. please do something selfish for yourself whether it is that gym membership or a dinner with friends, or even something as simple as a half hour a day to read your favorite book and de-stress.

I wanted to pass this on, because someone shared the news that stress and not taking care of yourself will get you nothing good. It can lead to heart attack, stroke, injuries and how can you care and love your family if you aren't here anymore? This came from a woman who I had physical therapy with. She was in her early 30's and recovering from a stroke and her dr asked her to pass the news along to the people she would meet. That person who asked me to pass it on saved my life.