So I retouch things myself. In order to do so, I need a tablet. While it is possible to use a mouse, I have been working with a tablet for seven years now. After seven years of such precise control, going back to a mouse is just not a plausible option, not if I want to do my very best work. Word to the wise, if it’s not my best, it doesn’t happen. So without a tablet, I’m not retouching a darn thing unless it doesn’t require that level of work.

That being said, my tablet of seven years is officially dead. I’ve been nursing it along for at least three years now. Just little things to help keep it going, since tablets aren’t exactly cheap. The tricks to keep it working however have stopped being effective, and nothing I tried would stop my little light on my Graphire 4 from blinking so it could connect fully, so it is no more I suppose.

In my que, I have prom portraits and stuff I did for fun during the super moon. Neither of which will be going anywhere for the time being. I have to first get my hands on a small Intuos tablet from Wacom, and then and only then can I start the retouching process.

I’ve decided to hold out until my birthday before ordering though. It’s a week away, and I put the tablet I wanted on my wishlist (I have a family that demands one), so there is a slight chance I could get it as a gift. If not, I have some money set aside for such an emergency, and will order the tablet pronto at that time.

Lesson to be learned from all this? Always, always, ALWAYS have some money set aside for the unexpected. Equipment is not cheap, and it does not last forever. Eventually, you have to replace it. And if it’s that one piece you absolutely cannot do without, you’re going to be very upset if it breaks and you don’t have the funds to replace it immediately.

The workshop itself was fabulous. But before I tell you about that, let me tell you about the behind-the-scenes preparation for this event.

Prior to the event, everything had to be set up. This started with a trip up north to see Suzanne. My friend Gwen and I cruised on up there (enjoying the drive the entire way, gorgeous scenery!), and she started cleaning. It was her barter for other classes Suzanne had held prior, and it was incredibly beneficial in the preparation leading up to this event. And besides, Gwen LOVES to clean. I don’t quite understand it myself, but hey, more power to her! In the mean time, Suzanne and I chatted about organization ideas, and then she said she had a question for me related to Photoshop. This was, in all honesty, the beginning of everything.

What she showed me was a completely pink photo of a flower. The petals were blown out, the soil was under exposed… over all it was one of those photos you just look at and go “Oh honey…”. But this was not a user-with-camera error. What happened was Suzanne had used a little 35mm slide scanner to get it on the computer, and while the first three she had scanned came out fine, for some reason the scanner could not expose and white balance properly after that, and thus we had the photo described above in front of us. To give you an idea, not only was the photo not pink (in fact, it had whites, greens, browns, and other colors in it), but the white flower was beautifully exposed.

So I offered to scan them for her. Why not, I had tons of time (or at least I did, soon as I made the offer life exploded on me, of course), and I had the equipment to handle it. That evening I left with 114 35mm slides to be scanned and made digital, and in high spirits. The next day I would spend five hours scanning every single one of them, and then for the next two weeks Suzanne and I would go back and forth via Facebook Messages to get everything right.

Why? Because I found out from my friend Rick how to make a slideshow DVD that would play in a DVD player, which meant we could set everything up to be just-so for the event. Well, scratch that, we decided to go one step further when I visited on a Thursday and make a DVD-Booklet set to sell. And why not?  So for two weeks we worked diligently to complete that project, and come Sunday it was a big success. For right now we’re not looking to turn this into something huge that will turn millions of dollars in profits (but we certainly wouldn’t complain if it did!), but rather getting it out to people who are genuinely interested. The project is expanding to become a bit of a series, and Gwen is tasked with part two. Eventually, it will become something bigger, but everything has to start small.

So, Sunday arrived, and we all crammed around the TV to start the event. There were so many wonderful and interesting people in attendance, and we all had a little something to contribute to conversation and the information being presented. Even though it was an event for us to learn about the plants native to the Adirondacks (our home area), Suzanne runs a very laid-back gathering so that fun can be had by all. If schools could teach in this sort of informative manner, I bet kids would enjoy it more.

Between colloquial speech, the playing of “Wild Thing” by The Throggs (yeah, we went there), getting to actually go outside and see some of the plants mentioned for ourselves, and just having wonderful conversation; the day was a huge hit and I’m sure the next one will be just as big a success.

Now, I have quite the collection of books to get my hands on, and a host of new friends to get to know better. Thank goodness for Facebook in that respect, right? Haha.

While we were out exploring the plants, I was taking photos (of course). This unfortunately meant I wasn’t able to record all the names of the plants we were viewing, so I don’t have identities for everything. However, I do have a good portion so where I could I shared that information in the captions within my Facebook Photo Album. If you happen to have an identity for a plant that I currently don’t know, please, feel free to share.

These photos may eventually become part of a second informative slideshow, we aren’t completely sure yet. As of right now, we’re trying to take the project one volume at a time, and volume two is dealing with the video that was recorded by Rick at the event. So we’ll see what comes from it.

In the mean time, feel free to enjoy the photos!

At least, that’s the dream.

In reality, if you generalize like that you’re only going to hurt yourself. While it seems like it’d be a great way to get a lot of business, in the end it typically backfires. When someone is looking for a photographer, they want to choose the candidate that seems to best know what they need. That client will most likely pick someone who specializes in a field, rather than someone who can do everything.

Why?

Well, that’s simple really. It’s because a specialist is going to know everything there is to know about that particular subject. A generalist probably only has the bare necessities. When you specialize, you become one with knowledge worth paying for.

It’s like a doctor. If you’re having severe ongoing lower abdominal pain, you don’t want to just see your general practitioner. You want to see a gastroenterologist who specializes in the area you’re finding to be excruciatingly painful. You want the best knowledge there is to get better sooner, and not just mask the symptoms.

Photography is no different. If someone comes to you looking for food photography, they want to know that you know all the sweet tricks to keep that chocolate from melting under hot lights, the whip cream from disappearing, and the strawberry looking plump and delicious; not just that you can set up an appetizing composition of their food. That client will certainly look for a food photographer, rather than a generalist.

There’s another added benefit to specializing, too. Believe it or not, it’s cheaper.

Think about it, depending on the type of photography, you’re going to need a particular lens setup. This will determine what sort of lights you want to use, the quantity, and even how the quality of light is controlled. It’s going to completely determine the kind of equipment and props you invest in, and if you’re doing multiple fields of photography, that’s just all the more equipment you need to get any job done right.

So specialize. Pick the field you love the most, and go for it. Sure, you can dabble in something else on the side for fun, but when it comes to your professional image, definitely be known for something. That way when Jane is talking to Madeline about needing a portrait photographer, she can immediately roll your name off her lips rather then them having to do a google search. Associate yourself with something specific.

It doesn’t mean you can’t accept a job to do some architectural shots just because you specialize in product photography. So long as you have the knowledge, accepting a side-job here and there is okay. Ideally though, you will know a group of varied photographers, and you will network.

Just think, if Jim is an architectural photographer, Ashley does weddings, Nancy loves her food, and you’re a portrait photographer; then when Jim gets a call for portraits he’ll refer that client to you. And if Ashley is asked to photograph food, she’ll call Nancy. And hey, if you hear about someone who needs their wedding covered, you can always drop Ashley’s name. It’s a great way to build confidence in clients, and to support your fellow artists.

So definitely, be a specialist. Pick your passion and photograph it. I did, after many years of trying to be a generalist and finally realizing it’s just not worth it. Now I specialize in portraits of people and pets. And for fun, I play with fine arts which I offer as prints. Hey, if someone purchases one, that’s great. If not, well, I had fun anyways. And that’s what it’s all about in the end, having fun (and specializing).

Where do you specialize in photography?

Heading north is simply breathtakingly beautiful. I mean, right around my house is gorgeous too, but I don’t have a lake practically at my back door in the manner that Suzanne does. So for me, it’s a bit of a treat.

Right now, it’s just the beginning of spring, and we’ve been having some rather odd seasons. So it has come of no surprise to me that there is still color among the trees, and that the image I captured is not the typical blue and green that I expected. Spattered in it are yellows and golds that are just as delicious and provide some wonderful contrast. All because of those strange seasons.

Something I had to remind myself when selecting this photo though, because for me it was “Aww… I didn’t get anything special, this is what anyone could see…”, is that not everyone can see something like this all the time. Yes, I’ve seen a lot of mountain views down into water. Yes, I love them all and want to photograph them all. And then usually I decide they’re just no good and never share. But this idea comes from the fact that this is my natural landscape. I grew up in it, it’s second nature, it’s not as interesting to me.

So I have to remind myself that if someone from a different environment, like a city or a desert, looks at this, it’s probably very exotic to them. This is something they don’t normally see, and so to them it’s beautiful. I have to try to look at my own photos from the eyes of someone who had never viewed such a landscape before. It’s not easy.

However, I did manage it and so here is an image. I scouted this location and this photo for three trips. I knew what I wanted, it was just a matter of achieving the proper weather conditions. That morning when I went up the mountain, or rather across, there were no clouds. There was beautiful light, but the sky was empty. If I was going to get this photograph, I needed clouds. I had already decided that. Lucky for me, there also was a forecast for rain, which meant there should be clouds by that afternoon.

So I cruised along to Suzanne’s house, and we enjoyed the fine weather, the birds in the trees, chatting, and just generally had a nice time in between getting stuff for the slideshow done. And sure enough, by the time I left my clouds had formed! So back I went, and when I stopped at my predetermined destination, it looked good. So I pulled out my camera and tripod and went to town.

There was only one little upset with the whole thing, and that was when someone else stopped who gave off some rather unpleasant vibes. He was a bit of an older gentleman on a motorcycle, and typically that doesn’t bother me. But something about how he was carrying himself, perhaps it was his aura, gave me bad vibes. Luckily, I had all the shots I wanted by now and was starting to pack up. He did start to talk to me, and I just tried to be polite but not friendly. The more I tried to leave, the more he tried to get me to stay. It was not a very enjoyable experience, and it reminded me why it’s always good to use the buddy system. Right then and there I was definitely wishing I had a second person with me, because this is also an area without cell reception.

Sure, I know self defense, and he hadn’t attempted to get any closer to me at the moment, but if you don’t have to use self defense then that’s the best way. So my lesson from this little incident was to try to always have a friend with me when stopping at remote locations like that.

I did eventually leave without any trouble, but I was nervous for a bit.

Anyways, I came home and didn’t look at the photos for a bit. All that occurred on Thursday the 19th. Today, I finally had time to sit down with my imagery. It was a bit of post-work in Photoshop thanks to some black flies in the frame, and dust on the lens (better clean that), but overall it wasn’t too bad. Tablet, unfortunately, is on the fritz so I either need to get it working (again), or think about getting a new one. Honestly, I probably could use a new one anyways considering the age of my current one, but why spend the money if you don’t have to?

But, without anymore rambling, here is the photo. Enjoy!

Among this is digital restoration and conversion.

A lot of people don’t really understand everything that goes into making a beautiful image necessarily, and so they don’t realize that the tools we use as a photographer to retouch their photo can also typically be used to restore that photo that has started to yellow, or that has a tear in it, ect. Granted, some photographers can’t; either because they choose not to, or because they aren’t one to retouch. That’s not a big deal, as it’s simply a different style of photography. And there are those who don’t want to do the work. The big thing though, is if they have the equipment, as you need a good scanner to make it work.

Digital restoration aside, the other thing we’re rather good at should we so choose, is digital conversion. Yes yes, it is possible to get a small little film converter that costs you $200 or so. However, they often lack the ability for the user to really control what’s happening, and will sometimes misinterpret the image presented and the user ends up with something that looks nothing like what their film does.

This reason alone justifies the job of working to convert film to a digital medium for people. With higher-end equipment, and with the knowledge of photo programs, we as photographers have the ability to translate someone’s film into a digital medium accurately. We really understand what we’re doing, and we know what to tweak if something should go wrong. And it’s something that we are easily able to do, making it a nice niche to get into if you’re so inclined.

I am one who is so inclined. Here in my area the number of places that will do this for you are very small. So for me, it’s a great opportunity. It takes almost no effort on my part, either, except time. I have an Epson Perfection V700, which is a flatbed scanner that allows me to scan both documents and film. I can completely customize the size at which I scan, the DPI, and I can preview everything before I send it through. It even separates the images out of the film for me. With it, I have the ability to scan 35mm, 120/220mm, 4×5, and slides. That’s a lot of film sizes! But, because I have so much at my disposal, I’m not just an asset to families looking to preserve their memories from the days of film; I’m an asset to other photographers who began in film and are now going digital who either don’t have the knowledge (never forget, technology is a learning curve for many who did not grow up with it!), or don’t have the equipment.

There’s also the idea of convenience. If the price is right, there are people out there who would rather pay me to do the work of scanning for them, then spend the time doing it themselves. And that’s a valid reason, because even though I can scan 12 slides at once for example, because I need them at high resolution so that whoever is receiving these files in the end can print them up to at least a 16×20, if not larger, it takes thirty minutes just to scan those twelve slides. That doesn’t sound like much, but typically I am handed 100+ slides at a time to be scanned. Suddenly, you’re looking at almost five hours just to scan some slides. And remember, most consumer-grade film scanners cannot handle that much at one time, so it could potentially take the person who hired me even longer to scan than what it will take me.

So it’s definitely an interesting little niche that I’ve found, but I enjoy it. It’s peaceful work, and allows me to focus on creating marketing materials in the mean time while I let each set scan. You just can’t beat multi-tasking, right?

It’s not something most people think about, the end product that the client is going to see. And this isn’t the prints we’re talking about. They’ve already seen the proofs, they have a good idea as to what they’re getting (but everything looks better once printed, as we all know), but how are they receiving them? If you haven’t asked yourself this question, you need to.

Appearances count, and presentation is everything. The care you take when preparing those prints to send to a client, or to hand over, is going to speak volumes about you in ways you aren’t even thinking about.

An example. Say you order a beautiful necklace from a crafter, either for yourself of someone you care about. What’s going to make a stronger impression? A beautiful necklace that comes in a plain box with a receipt; or a beautiful necklace that comes in a plain box with a receipt, a thank you letter, a business card, a nice ribbon around the box, and perhaps a little promotional piece about upcoming sales or coupons.

Naturally, the beautiful necklace that came with more than just a box and receipt is going to make a stronger impression. It might even make that necklace look better than the one that just came in a box with a receipt. Why is this? What makes the difference?

It’s actually very simple. The difference comes from the fact that the person who took the time to do a little bit extra is showing that they not only care about their product, but they care about you who has decided to purchase that product. Going that extra mile shows people that you care, and in turn they will care too. It will also give them something to talk about, and since they’re talking about it, now your name is going to come up. Remember, the #1 way to get clients is by word of mouth and referrals. Getting people talking is a great thing, just make sure it’s for positive reasons.

So as a photographer, I realize that my prints and photography will be far more appealing to those I have worked with, and those I hope to work with, based on how things look when the client receives them. I typically mail my prints out, because I do not (at the time of writing this) have a studio at which I can meet with them to hand them over personally. I never just put the prints in a mailer and send them out though. When I send prints, I make sure they’re protected by tissue paper (yup, same stuff you wrap gifts in. Inexpensive and highly effective). Everything is always accompanied by a copy of the client’s receipt, and any other paperwork they had to sign. So all the cover-my-butt forms about where I can share their photos (aka the model release), and what will happen if their check bounces, ect, they get a copy of. I also include a thank you letter, because they didn’t have to work with me. There are a lot of other photographers they could have chosen. Therefore, I am always thankful to my clients, because they chose me out of everyone else. And this letter isn’t just printed on paper. I make my own letterhead, just to give it that little bit extra. Attached at the bottom of every thank you letter, is a business card. And in that thank you letter, I include care instructions for the prints they have purchased to help ensure that those prints last them a life time.

Yes, it takes me forever to actually get prints out to clients. I will spend at least an hour packaging prints, if not longer. But by going the extra mile, I’m showing people that I care about my work, and that I love what I do. When they receive their photos in the mail, they’re going to feel confident that I did everything in my power to make sure that those prints arrived to them safely. And, they’re going to feel appreciated because of the thank you letter. Remember, they’re giving you their money, the least you can do is appreciate them.

Appearances, make it happen, make it good.

Or rather, they’re big pains in the butt for people like me who started coding years ago the hard way – in Notepad with constant saves and the dummy page open in Internet Explorer, hoping against hope that you didn’t totally forget just one semicolon and screw the whole thing up. Mostly because figuring out which semicolon it is isn’t easy. Since I started out coding this way, with just basic HTML at my fingertips and a cute little beginner’s guide that explained to me what a hyperlink was and how to create it, it has now become habit that I will code my website by hand (website, not blog. WordPress is a whole different kettle of fish).

What’s sad though, is because I have the knowledge of code, I can’t use a What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get (WYSIWYG) site builder, where you basically drag and drop items and fill in the text or images. I can’t even do it in Dreamweaver (though that is what I use, just in the source code area instead). Once you understand code, it gives you a level of control that a WYSIWYG editor just cannot compare with most times. Well, at least not for me. Maybe I’m just too picky.

So, I’m working by hand. Right now I’m moving into version 3.2 for my website. I’m calling it 3.2 instead of 4 simply because I’m not making huge changes to the design. I’m really just trying to move things around a bit so that there’s more emphasis on my photography, so that it’s more SEO (search engine optimization) friendly, and so that it doesn’t just look like a huge smattering of photos of everything. I’m also rewording a lot of it, because I came to a realization the other day while suffering with the flu (isn’t it odd how that happens when you’re sick?) My realization was this: I write fabulous website content for other organizations and businesses to use, but when it comes to my own stuff I really dropped the ball. And it’s not because I was being lazy, either. It’s because when I look at my own work, I’m not necessarily thinking like a business person. I’m thinking like an artist, and so I wrote like an artist. I wasn’t telling people why they needed to hire me, so much as why my art was pretty. That’s no way to go about things.

Basically, I was treating my website as more of a cute gallery instead of a functioning storefront. Can’t have that.

So first things first, I had to update the design. That is pretty much done at this point. It took me a while to figure out how I was going to accomplish it, but I am satisfied with the results. The next two steps are going to happen over a span of time. I need to re-write content (which I have begun a bit of), and I need to overhaul the galleries.

The content is for the above reasons. The galleries on the other hand are because I need to reorganize my photos, and really narrow down some of the selections. That, and I have a watermark that should be universal. Before I was just leaving old watermarks on images to save time, so at this point I have three different watermarks showing in my galleries. This is a really sloppy thing to do, don’t make this mistake. However, it is going to take time to go through and place my current watermark on all the images that will be featured in my galleries, so it will be a bit to make happen. However, the end result of uniformity and a professional appeal will be worth it.

In-between placing a uniform watermark across all my imagery, I will work on the verbiage on my site. I want to include key phrases people might search for (this is that SEO stuff), but at the same time I want to better communicate just what it is that sets my work apart. And to do this, I have to wait until friends are online especially so I can have them proof my work. I’m someone who can answer questions better than make an opening proposal. So if I can get chatting with a close friend about my work, I’ll have a much easier time of coming up with content for my website.

For most people, getting the imagery is the difficult part. For me, it’s crafting a proper selling point instead of artist whining.

And of course, none of it can just be simple. It all has to make me want to curl up in a ball of avoidance. But, it’s just another part of being in business as a photographer, instead of just creating art I want to share. And I know in the end the sense of pride from having completed what I set out to do will be worth it. I just have to get there.

Some people will tell you that it’s okay if those people are undercutting the market, because your work will speak for itself. I’d like to debunk this myth by saying that no, your work won’t necessarily speak for itself. Not right now, when the economy is basically in shambles and photography is very much a luxury. A lot of people are looking for a deal, and to them that’s it. The other issue lies in the fact that everyone has a digital camera these days, and for many people if they feel you take a better photograph than they do, you’re worth hiring. Yes, there are still those out there who appreciate a truly fine photograph and who cherish the relationship they have between themselves and a photographer they’re compatible with, but they’re rapidly diminishing. Part of this is because of how we view art as a career, but that’s a whole different story.

Now, if you are one of these people who is doing this, and undercutting the market, STOP. I say this out of concern for all parties involved.

STOP. You are hurting other photography businesses. It’s okay to be competitive, but don’t screw everyone over either. When you offer that disc, you’re telling customers that they’re entitled to a disc. The rest of us then have to explain to people why we don’t hand out discs, and it often ends up with bruised feelings in the end. You’re also cheapening the product, and your own value. It doesn’t matter if you’re still a student, just starting out, or a veteran photographer. You are an artist PERIOD. The minute you picked up a camera and said to yourself “I want to create something”, you became an artist. And as an artist, you need to have pride in your work, and you need to price accordingly. Never work for free, and for goodness sakes, don’t just give away the images like that.

STOP. You cannot run a business that way. When you set prices, you need to set them according to your operating costs. When I go out to photograph someone, my sitting fee is covering expenses. There is little profit in it. Because remember, it takes gas to get to the client and then back home (if you travel to them/with them like I do. Or to get to your studio, and if you have a studio, that’s a whole different fee set). If you need an assistant (and you usually do), then they must be paid. Is your equipment insured? It should be, and that also costs monthly. How much are you making for your time processing and retouching those photos? And if you’re doing this, how much did your programs cost? Do you have a website? What are the hosting fees? How about business cards and other marketing materials? These are all business expenses.

So you have to look at that disc, and decide if that’s a good idea. The disc itself only costs you about $1.00, including the disc and a case to hold it. So that’s about a $49-$74 profit. Is this going to adequately cover the above expenses? Can you make this into a solid income to pay your bills? Probably not. If you can, more than likely you’re working harder than you should have to.

STOP. You own the copyright! As soon as you give the client that disc to print the photos as they see fit, you have given that away. As an artist, this is the single most foolish thing you can do. That is like an old film photographer giving away the negatives to the client. Now they own them, and can do as they please, and he looses out. Sure, it’s the digital age and you still have copies, but they’re not just your own anymore. You don’t want this.

STOP. It’s your image! When you give that disc away for people to use, they’re going to print and share these photos at their own discretion, and they may not put your best foot forward. When you go into business, you have an image to keep. Don’t let someone else create it for you without any say in it at all. Don’t let them print on poor paper, and have the photos start to fade, then tell someone who did the photos and let that person have the assumption that your products don’t last. You don’t want that. Word of mouth is your best friend, and potentially your worst enemy. People will draw conclusions based off the presentation too.

Part of this image is also going to be your interaction with your clients. Just handing over a disc is great, but when you go through the trouble to guarantee the prints, send a thank you letter that also includes how to properly care for the print to maximize life and color, and communicate the entire time; it makes a difference. Not only that, but if you do a set of proofs and print yourself it also allows you to only share your best work (it’s like putting your best foot forward), and to make sure they’re printed as they should be.

STOP. You’re destroying your future. If you start now with the disc, thinking “Oh, well when I have more experience I’ll stop discs and start doing prints. But I’m just a beginner and can’t do that yet”, you’re going to end up in trouble. People are going to know you from those beginning years as someone who gives out discs. They’re going to expect it of you. They will become very unpleasant when you try to switch business models like that, and chances are you will lose a lot of clients and they will give you bad reviews to their friends. If you don’t feel like you can charge for prints yet, then don’t go into business just yet. Don’t market yourself. Practice with close friends and relatives, get better, and then come into the business side of photography with the type of business model you want to use ultimately. You can always raise and lower print costs accordingly, people expect that a bit. But completely flopping your model will cause issues, and you want to avoid those as best you can.

DO. Look at these points. Think about it. What kind of a photographer do you want to be? Do you want to actually turn a profit off of this? Chances are that’s a yes. If that’s the case, you then need to price accordingly. You need to take into account everything that goes into making this work, right down to the paperclips and pens. If you’re going to be an artist in business, you need to really think about the business half.

If you’re someone who hires photographers and are reading this, I hope that seeing this helps you understand why photography seems so expensive when you come to an individual instead of a Sears Portrait or JC Penny. We’re not giant corporations that have other parts of business to support the photographic aspect. We aren’t just taking a few poses and sending you on. We’re going to spend at least an hour with you, and probably close to five or six behind the scenes working on your images and preparing them to give to you. And we are trying to do this to make a living, but in this case we have to pay ourselves and that’s difficult to do.

However, what took even longer was the fact that thanks to the wacky weather (seriously, going from 78 to 38 degrees in the course of 24 hours is not cool mother nature!) helping compromise my immune system (without fail I always get sick at season changes), plus all the fun bugs going around; I got the flu. But it couldn’t just be one flu, oh no. First, I got the sniffley one. Running nose, fever, cough, sore throat, sleep all the time… yeah, miserable. Then, directly after that one I got the stomach bug one. The kind that produces nausea so bad you just want to die.

Now, for some people this is a blessing, because they need a quiet activity to do, and retouching and processing prints might be just that for them. I, however, am a perfectionist. Since this is the case, I will not work on photos for clients while sick because I am not at the top of my game. So needless to say, everything came to a screeching halt for about two weeks.

Illnesses seem to be gone though, so here we are! Back into the saddle, let’s fill in the gaps from the event!

The event itself was fantastic. I was a little worried walking in because of two things. First of all, we were located on the 3rd floor and had a lot of equipment to get up there. Second, there was going to be a photo booth set up as well, and I wasn’t sure how this whole thing would work out. I shouldn’t have worried. There was an elevator, thank goodness. I think the DJ and photo booth guys said the same thing (especially the photo booth guy, since he was on the 4th floor). In regards to my worries about the guy with the photo booth, I didn’t need to because what he had was of far more appeal to the kids than the adults. So we were marketing to different crowds and in fact complemented each other very nicely.

Becky, who organized the event, was wonderful in that she set me up right near where everyone was being shaved. So they had to walk past me to get their haircut, meaning I had some extra exposure. I also spoke to the DJ, who was more than happy to provide periodic reminders as to what I was doing, since it was often crowded and loud. I was also assigned an assistant by Becky, which meant I had two people to help me. This was a blessing because I honestly underestimated what I was getting into.

The event was scheduled to run from 12pm to 5pm. When I saw that there were 67 people signed up to be shaved, I figured maybe three hours. I never would have guessed five! But, it ended up only being about four hours total, and the last hour was more for the final shavees to wander and participate in the activities on the fourth floor.

Thanks to having two assistants, I was able to leave the one I brought with me, Gwen, at the computer. She was monitoring that everything was in focus, well exposed, no one blinked, ect. Along with that, she was responsible for recording file names to faces, so that when I returned home I could match things up. I saw at least 30 people that day for photos, if not more since some had grandkids, siblings, ect join them. There was no way I could memorize who everyone was, especially since some of them looked very different after their shave. So knowing who was who via filenames was essential. And thankfully, I had a very organized assistant who did a fabulous job of keeping it all straight. Seriously, you are only as good as your help. Trust me when I say you cannot do this alone.

The assistant assigned to me ended up being a wonderful woman too who was very friendly, and much better at handling customers then my organized assistant. So she was quick to learn about the forms I needed filled out, and to help draw people over and assist them with the forms. Not only that, but she was more than happy to help with the money too (especially in making change for large bills, someone actually paid with a $100 bill!), which turned out to be a very necessary function. I don’t know why, but I assumed for some reason that people would be carrying small bills on them. I couldn’t have been more wrong!

So the event went fantastically. I met so many different people, and not once did I see an unfriendly face. There were even a group of older men who enjoyed watching the process trying to convince me to shave my head as well. There’s no way that would happen though, as I am very selfishly attached to my hair. I am not afraid to admit this. It has taken me 12 long years to get it as long as it is, and I’m not done growing it yet! Haha.

After the event, I treated my assistant to dinner at Ravenous in Saratoga. It was about a block or two away from where we photographed, so it wasn’t a bad trip to get there. And naturally, by the time we arrived we were starving! Events take a lot more out of you then you’d think!

So I arrived home that evening with a lot of photos to retouch, and a lot of different permissions granted.

My first step before I even began retouching was to organize the information. I copied Gwen’s master list over into an Excel Spreadsheet so I could see exactly what I was getting into. This allowed me to do three things:

1. Determine who ordered prints. These would be the photos I retouched first and foremost.
2. Determine what photos could not be published online.
3. Determine what photos both could not be published online and had no prints ordered, and mark them off my priority list at all.

It also allowed me to get all addresses, phone numbers, and emails securely into one place. This is important, since I don’t want to constantly be trying to guess at some handwriting. One guess, write it down in excel, and be done with it. Plus, when the prints arrive to be signed and mailed to individual recipients, I’ll only need to print my spreadsheet out to make magic happen. I’ll have no need for referencing tons of different papers instead. Workflow organization, it makes a difference.

In regards to the workflow, I’d like to also offer thanks to those who offered to help me organize things if I should need it. It was a very generous offer, and I’m proud to say I have friends like you. You guys know who you are.

So once the photos were retouched, and I wasn’t sick anymore, it was time to order the prints. This, in theory, should be the easiest part of the entire process. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Ordering prints I have found requires meticulous cross-checking and organization to make sure you’re getting the proper quantity at the proper size for each one. And to have so many different faces and sizes only makes this process more complicated. On average I spend two hours processing a batch of photos for an order. This particular process took me four hours to do. Part of this time though is because my computer decided that it was going to lock up, and I had to wait about fifteen minutes for excess programs to finally end so that more physical memory could be freed up and allow the computer to run smoothly again. Patience, you must have it.

The prints have been ordered though. And when they arrive, I will then be sorting through each of them to send to the proper persons. Along with them will be personalized thank you letters and business cards, meaning my job isn’t done yet. I need to make sure I have enough business cards, and I also am going to want to make sure I have enough photo mailers. Then I get to go to the post office and make them hate me with my large order to Saratoga County addresses. Thankfully, it’s a smaller post office so I shouldn’t create a line of angry people, either.

Overall, I made $123 in profit, all of which was donated to the St. Baldrick’s Foundation that day. It seems like a rather small amount in the grand scheme of things, but it’s still $123 more than what they had before. I would do this event again in a heartbeat.

Without further ado, I give you some images from the event!

First and foremost, you have to contact the right people. I did this back in January, so that was a check. It was simple enough to find her information thanks to the website, and she was very friendly. I believe that most people who are organizing a fundraiser are like this (since this isn’t my first fundraiser or event) so long as you’re polite and respectful and understand that they are busy with a lot of things. It may take them a bit to respond (she was that odd one out who responded at light speed o_o), but if you wait you will hear back most likely. Provided they are still in need of your service, the response should be favorable.

So I signed up. I advertised about it where ever I could, because I don’t want to just participate at the event. No, by making it public I  am further helping the event because people can then donate pre-event. That’s important for a fundraiser, so always remember that your dedication starts as soon as you get approved to participate – no matter what the capacity your participating in happens to be.

These last couple of days have been a bit more hectic though, as the event draws closer. I had to make sure I had an assistant lined up, my equipment in order, forms ready and printed, and so much more.

First things first, an assistant. Sure, you can try to be a one-man-show, but I don’t recommend it. It’s not easy doing every single task. It’s far easier if you can delegate things so that you mostly stay behind your camera. That’s precisely what I have done. I took the time to have my chosen assistant come over and learn the tethering software she will be working with. Not only that, I answered any questions she had, and we decided on a format for keeping all the names to the proper faces so that we will order the correct prints for each person when the time comes. Since she’ll be the one behind the computer doing all this, I made sure that this system was going to work for her too, not just me. A system is only as good as its operators after all. Lastly, I fed her a home-baked cake. Something about cake makes everyone happier… Haha. C:

So my assistant was good to go. Next came the list. What did I need to bring? Here’s what I decided needed to go with me:

• Forms
• Lightkit
• Tethering equipment
• Camera
• Backdrops
• Background stand
• Extension cord
• Power strip
• Pens
• Money box with change
• Business cards
• Business card holders
• Laptop
• External harddrive
• Calculator
• Tablet

I state the obvious, and more importantly, I state the easily-forgotten items. It is very easy to walk out the door without extra pens, for example. Everything matters. Sometimes I also bring sample photos for a small display, but I have decided that’s not necessary this time due to the nature of the event. The print sales should generate themselves since it will be the profits from those that get donated.

So, now that I know what I’m bringing, I need to print forms.

I actually did that last night. I typed them up, and printed them out. I opted for one that would give permissions for the use of the photos online, and one that was just an order form for those who were attending out of support and might just want to purchase some of their relatives. The permissions, for those who are curious, are a release that states I can publish a photo of a given person in certain places. Legal stuff, I’ll make a separate post to explain later.

Then, I made a master list for my assistant so we can cross check.

Lastly, I printed some extra just in case. You never know.

So, everything is together. Today I’m just double-checking everything, making sure it’s all in order. I’ve left myself plenty of time to arrive and set up, so if I get a bit of a late start out the door I don’t have to panic. I’ve allowed for that possibility because life is funny that way (especially when Mars is retrograde). Importantly as well, I know my assistant is punctual, so I know that the chances I’ll be waiting on her to arrive are pretty much non-existent.

That leaves just one thing left to do, that many forget.

I’m sitting down, enjoying a nice cup of Earl Grey tea, and some breakfast. Events do not run on empty stomachs after all.