by successfulbob | photography education, photography marketing
As photographers we have to promote ourselves any way possible. One of the most overlooked is sending out press releases. When I offer that advice to other photographers I often hear, “Oh, I tried that and it didn’t work!” What needs to be realized is that getting press is not a one shot deal it is a process.
The process starts with writing a good release in the format that the editors recognize. When oyu do this the editor knows he or she is probably not wasting time in looking at it to see if there is something of use. Editors are very busy people and are constantly running up against deadlines to fill space with quality news their readers want to see. I’ve got some tips for you along with examples of press that has been published about Bob Coates Photography similar to the Kudos printing the information on awards I was fortunate enough to receive.
Sedona’s Bob Coates honored by peers and jurors for high-quality photography.
Here’s a quick tip for getting more space and exposure. Make sure you have photos of your work, the event and for sure make certain you have included a head shot.
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | photography, photography education
When it’s time to show my out of town clients images for proofing I’ve found Zenfolio to be a very solid platform. (use this referral code to get a 10 % discount – 5F5-S3Q-SAS)
I photograph ‘Elopements’ for the Creekside Inn Bed and Breakfast here in Sedona. The clients are pre-paid for the capture and are given a print credit. Then they have options to upgrade or ,additionally, purchase printable files. They are visitors from out of town and there’s no way to have their images ready for viewing and ordering before they leave for home so an online viewing and ordering system is mandatory.
Zenfolio allows you to work your price lists in many different ways. You can have the image order fulfilled through various partner labs choosing which labs and products to make available and adding your markup. You can also build your own product and price list for self fufillment.
Initial proof page. Notice that it is branded with my look colors and logos.
Ordering page from Zenfolio.
There are lots of features including slideshows, sharing and more. The web sites you can build from the Zenfolio system are pretty nice too. You can Take a peek here to see the wedding proof live. The password is 091814. If you have questions give me a shout.
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
PS – I got permission from my bride and groom before giving you access to this wedding…
by successfulbob | fine art photography, photography education, success education
As photographers we need to find inspiration and ideas outside of the photography family. I have been following the twice-weekly newsletter of Robert Genn for years and have occasionally shared some of his ideas with you. Unfortunately, Robert has passed and is no longer with us in body. Fortunately, his daughter Sara is picking up where Robert left off and is continuing the tradition by sharing some of his best letters and posting her own thoughts and ideas. Some really good thoughts here for artists. Thanks for keeping this alive Sara!
I post this with permission. And, I encourage you to sign up for the newsletter.
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
Robert & Sara Genn Twice-Weekly Letter
Click to read this letter online and share your valuable insights.
An artist’s mind
September 2, 2014
Dear Bob,
My friend Joe Blodgett said, “There’s two ways to walk this path–one for the path and one for the spirit.” In a cathedral of Douglas fir and alder, blown twigs from the night’s storm over a carpet of autumn, Joe crouches down and watches the steady miracle of a spotted woodland slug.
Joe says he feels an artistic moment coming on, surrendering to the need to make something: a guilt or work-ethic thing. He’s a guy in tune with “tuning in.” Joe works with water-soluble marker-pens which he augments with watercolour washes–a technique which diffuses lines not held with fixative. The can of fixative sticks out of his jacket pocket. His method is fast and loose. After only a few minutes, he moves on.
The artistic mind, flowing properly, sees the world differently. Call it what you will–a Celestine moment, synchronicity, serendipity. There’s a higher harmonic. It’s got something to do with receptiveness and alertness. Those who expect, receive. We can leave it to the gods where it comes from. The important thing is to give in to it–allow this dream mind to run free. My friend is a living example of one who trusts dreams, hunches and intuition. Joe’s not a child–he’s just curious. On the side, he’s a good businessman, father, bookkeeper, track-keeper. It’s not a pose–it’s a desirable and natural state of being. On the path he has wandering eyes. On the path his hand becomes busy because it has to. T. S. Eliot suggested that the paths we walk are made of hints and guesses. The artist says, “What can I make of this?”
Best regards,
Robert
PS: “Intuit higher meanings in mysterious happenings.” (James Redfield, The Celestine Prophecy)
“God is only another artist–like me.” (Salvador Dali)
Esoterica: Artists are often dreaming, wondering, wandering and idling in the fanciful department. It seems that artistic types can actually “live in” a world of their own creation, perhaps preferring it to the real world, their work being an extension of it.
This letter was originally published as “Artist’s mind” on December 1, 2000.
Included in this letter is an excerpt from “My idle mind” published on May 18, 2010.
Subscribe for free to the Robert & Sara Genn Twice-Weekly Letter.
This letter is always illustrated on The Painter’s Keys website.
by successfulbob | photography education, salute to business, success education
I want to salute Flemings Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar in Scottsdale, AZ. My wife and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary during an Arizona Staycation. We decided to do a little happy hour at Flemings restaurant. We enjoy the social aspects of dining at the bar and this was a great time.
Setting the stage, enter our bartenders for the evening, Brian & Erin. Our experience was wonderful all the way through. Greeted professionally and with pleasant personality. Given a very nice recommendation for wine choice. Food was well presented and flavors fabulous.
Gift box with our surprise sweets enclosed…
Remember, we enjoy the social part of dining at the bar and were chatting with a lovely woman named Jennifer and my wife mentioned in passing that we were celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary. A little while later Brian appears with a present of a box of chocolate truffles. He said, “Heard you were celebrating and here’s a little treat from Flemings… Congratulations.” (May be some paraphrasing here, but you get the idea.)
So a tip of the hat to Flemings in Scottsdale for a wonderfully memorable evening including stellar service.
But, that’s not really what this post is about…What are YOU doing to go above and beyond so your clients get so excited that they blog and tweet and share how excited they are about YOUR business??
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | photographers health
High Intensity Interval Training…
That sounds pretty intense. “No way I want to do something like that!” I know that’s what I was thinking when looking for a workout program that would fit my schedule yet still be helpful in getting me fit.
ALERT ALERT! *Lawyers type notice. I am not a health expert. I didn’t even think about staying in a Holiday Inn Express last night either. I recommend you see a doctor before adding any type of exercise to your daily activities. Also when you first start any new exercise routine you should either get together with an athletic trainer or physical therapist to ensure you are doing any exercises with the proper form. It doesn’t do any good to do the exercises wrong and hurt yourself. Understood?
OK, that’s out of the way I’ll tell you how I’m putting my workouts together.
After poking around the World Wide Web for ideas one kept popping up that seemed like it might be very doable. The Seven Minute Workout. You’ll find lots of variations out there but the APP The Official 7 Minute Workout from Johnson & Johnson is the one I choose.
Screen grab from the 7 Minute workout page.
This what your workout instructor looks like on the screen of your device.
Cool part of this system is you don’t need any fancy equipment or go to a gym. You need your body. A room. A chair. Smart phone or Ipad. A clear wall. And, maybe an exercise mat if you have a hard floor. As you exercise with the program it tells you the moves you’ll be making. Times you through 30 seconds of the movements then gives you 10 seconds of rest and moving into position for the next exercise and starts you with a new 30 second clock and repeats until you’ve done the full set of 12 exercises.
7 minutes? OK that sounds a little too good to be true… It is. In order to really benefit from the program you should do the cycle three times in a row. And it will walk you through all of that. It will also track your progress with feedback from you and as this set of exercises becomes too easy it will set you up with more advanced exercises and sequences.
Here’s a link to a New York Times article about the program.
I highly recommend trying this out! (after you have seen your doctor!)
It’s easy. It eases you to deeper levels of workout. It’s super portable and there’s no investment except for the time you put in. I recommend you make it part of your daily routine and pretty soon when you miss doing your morning exercise for some reason, you’ll really miss it. Here’s to your health!
Yours in Photography, Bob
