Monday, September 27, 2010

1st Annual Son Run pics

Here are a couple of pics from the run.  I'm working on getting them together and posting them to my website later today for those who wanted to purchase prints of their run.


Here are the volunteers at work before the run started. 


And they're off.


I ran around the corner of the building in time to catch a few of them on the trail.

Way to Go, Tami & Starla and to all the volunteers who helped that day.  Thanks to the runners, these ladies were able to raise about $1200 for uninsured cancer patients.....and they even raised some money for Glacier Ice Rink as well.

Fabulous Job.
Chow for now,
Corbie

Saturday, September 25, 2010

1st Annual Son Run

So I got the awesome opportunity to photograph the Son Run 5K this morning.  What fun that was.  This was a benefit run to raise funds for non-insured cancer patients.  It was such a great turnout and everyone had alot of fun and people were already talking about "next year".  So it sounds like a hit.

I just got home from the run, so the pics will be uploaded later.  They will be offered in print and I'll post all that information when I upload the photos.

I feel a little inspired.  My hubby offered us up to participate in Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving.  I'm actually now looking forward to participating in it..  I believe that is a 5K also.  I better get training.....lol.

Now I'm off to the car show downtown and then to the Fruita Fall Festival and later this evening I have a shoot for a beautiful young lady in her formal for Homecoming.

Chow for now,
Corbie

Friday, September 24, 2010

Getting My Ducks in a Row

I met with my latest Senior and his mom the other day so they could show me which portraits they wanted for his Senior Package.  He is also my first Senior Rep, so I was nervous and excited, as usual.

While I was waiting for them to arrive at our meeting place, I looked through his offer so that I was sure that he gets all that I offered him and realized that he is going to get triples of some of the items.  OMG....Just when I think I've got it down, I find something else that I have overlooked. 

For the session itself, I was offering 24 proofs, then in each of my packages I was offering a brag book with 24 images, and as a Senior Rep I was offering him a brag book with 24 images.  LOL don't know how I overlooked that.  Now it seems pretty obvious.

I guess it's hard to think of everything and to see all angles until you go through a couple of deals and it gets pointed out to you.  It turned out good though, because they decided to go with the same 24 images for all three books and will give a couple of them away to grandparents.

I have since changed that, again.  I really think that my Senior Reps should get something that does not come in a Senior Package. 

In researching what other photographers offer their Senior Reps, I found our Forum through NYIP and there is some really valuable information there.  I found where many photographers get their prints made.  MPixPro and WHCC.  I signed up with them and sent off my test prints and wow, what a difference they are.  I am going to take those same test prints and get them printed in the same size from my usual local dealer and compare side by side, but I really think they are way better than where I usually go.

I started using someone local because of what I thought was convenience.  They are less expensive than what I have found online, quite a bit actually, but they don't offer all the different paper qualities, not that I have noticed anyway.  Decisions, decisions.

I will change for the better quality photos, of course.  And talk about convenient!  I uploaded my test prints on Tuesday, and I got them back on Thursday before noon.  And I never left my home.

Are you new in the business too and struggling with packages and prices?  Would love to hear how you are finding your way.

Chow for now,
Corbie

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Daryn & Jessie

Daryn, my son, and Jessie got married in May and asked me to photograph their wedding.  I was happy to do it.  May was a very busy month for me.  My daughter graduated and family was coming for the graduation so Daryn and Jessie decided to get married that week that all the family would be here. 

The wedding was at our church, indoors.  I still struggle a bit with indoor photography because of the shadows.  The wedding happened pretty fast, as the ceremony usually does, but I did get some pretty good photos...I just wasn't that happy with them myself.  So I took them out and about to a couple of our favorite outdoor spots here in town. 

I kind of felt bad because the wedding pictures weren't all that, but I remember back when I got married and my grandmother took our pictures.  She had us come to her house on a different day after the wedding to get our professional shots taken.  So all is not lost.

I've done a couple of weddings so far, but I don't advertise for it because I don't feel that I'm quite ready for that.  If I mess up on a local shoot, I can always go back and reshoot, but not on a wedding day....am I'm scared to death that something may go wrong and the bride will be devastated.  I just need some more knowledge and more practice before I feel confident for weddings, but that is definitely a goal. 

I actually have a friend who is in charge of organizing the Bridal Expo here where I live and she's trying to get me to do a booth.....I just can't right now, but I'm looking forward to maybe next year.  Wish me luck.

Anyway, below are a couple of shots from Daryn & Jessie's reshoot.  If you want to see the full album, I have them posted on Facebook.

Talk to you soon,









Monday, September 13, 2010

Over the weekend, we went out for another wilderness drive.  I love it!  We were actually looking for another camp site so that we can get one more camping trip in before the snow starts.  I wanted to be near Rifle Falls so that I can visit the falls shortly before dark and practice some techniques that I've learned in my photography class.  The last time I went, the sun was shining bright and washed out my photos.  I'm trying to get the hang of making the water fall a silky effect.  You've seen them in other photos.

Here's one that I attempted while we were out.  I shot this out the window and did not use my tripod, so it's a little blurry, but you get the idea.



Anyway, we did find a site that we'll go to in a couple of weeks.  We told the kids to take plenty of warm clothing because it will probably be cold over night.  I'll let you know.

Here's a pic of my hubby, my grandson, and my son. 





And of course, I always find flowers to shoot.




That's just a tidbit for now.  I really have to get off this computer and get downstairs to my canning.  Our garden is giving us a good harvest and I need to do the preserving.  I started on Friday, with my peppers.  Let me tell you....always wear gloves when working with jalapenos or any other hot peppers.  You won't notice it at the time, because I didn't.  I sliced enough for 3 quarts of peppers.  After I was finished canning for the day, I started dinner and could not even hold that hand close to any heat.  I did at least only hold the pepper with one hand while I chopped with the other, so only one hand was on fire.

While we ate dinner, I kept that hand wrapped in a cold damp cloth.  One of my sons told me to use mustard because it removes the heat.  So I squirted a glob of mustard in my hand and without thinking, I started massaging it into my hands like I would lotion.  Now, both hands are covered in mustard.  So now I'm sitting at the dining table, with yellow stained hands and smelling like mustard and still burning.  Only now it starts to itch as well.  The whole family is laughing, of course because I do look a bit silly.

I washed the mustard off, still burning, and remembered that my grandfather told me to use toothpaste on a burn.  I tried that.  It actually worked, and I ended up with only one tiny little blister the next day....oh and I still had mustard stained in my cuticles.

Anyway, now I'm off to preserve my tomatoes and peaches.
Talk to you soon, God Bless

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Blogging

Hi Everyone,

On my journey of becoming a professional photographer, I do alot of research.  One research topic is Advertising.   I'm just starting out so I cannot afford costly advertising.  Of course, on the other hand, how do people know that I exist, if I don't advertise?

I read somewhere that before we start paying for advertising we should be making some money first.  I'd agree with that.  But until then, I have found that there are several ways to 'advertise' or get your name in front of people without spending any money.  One of those ways is Blogging.

When I first heard this, I thought it kind of silly, to be perfectly honest with you.  I mean, what would I blog about...when would I have time to blog.....who cares what I'm doing....and so on.  I read that a blog is not necessarily a place for only advertising your product, so if I'm not advertising, really who would want to talk to me.  Do I have anything of importance to say? 

I belong to a couple of local networking groups and I had to do education at one of them recently.  I had already been doing a little bit of research about ways to advertise that didn't cost me and wouldn't commit me for a lengthy period of time so I thought I would share that with them.  Blogging was one of those ways on my list and I found that many of them don't blog either.

I joined the Blog Frog Community and found that many, many people blog so I thought I'd give it a try.  I'm actually getting in to this now.

I have found that blogging is not just a way to talk about your products and services but its a way to make new friends.  A way to share with people.  Believe it or not, we all have something we can teach others.

While researching, I came across some material that I'd like to share with you.  Blogs take time to grow and if we are patient and persistent, the rewards will come.  There are also 10 lies that cripple us new bloggers and I found this site that helps diminish that thinking.

http://pushingsocial.com/10-subtle-lies-that-cripple-new-bloggers#more-1116

If you are new to blogging and feeling a little lonely because you don't have alot of action on your blog, visit that site and just be patient with yourself.  It will come.

Till next time,
Corbie

Friday, September 3, 2010

Learned something New Today

Actually, I learn something new probably everyday, but today I learned how to syndicate my accounts.  I guess that is the proper term.  Now, when I post a new blog, it will go out to my facebook page and my twitter page.  How cool is that?

LOL...I know, I may be a little behind here but I am excited that I learned this because it will now save me so much time.

It all started with checking out some other blogs from BlogFrog this morning.  As I was introducing myself on a blog I noticed that they had a badge titled Networked Blogs.  So I decided to find out what that was all about. 

I attend a couple of networking groups in my town because I know how important it is to connect with people on a personal level and get known in my businesses at the same time.  It's a great way to get new leads for your business too.  If you don't already belong to a networking group, I highly recommend that you find one in your town.   And if you are in the Grand Junction area, we have some openings at Grand Valley Networking Group.  We meet on Thursdays at noon.  If you want more info, contact me, I'd be happy to fill you in.  My other networking group is Business Buddies and we meet on Thursday at 7:30 in the am.

So anyway, I know how important networking groups are, and if there is a blog networking group, what better way to get new readers.  So I joined, and through the process, I was walked through the syndication process painlessly.  Now my blogs have their own FB page and every post that I write gets noticed on my fan pages as well as my personal page.

If you are interested in joining too, just click on the Networked Blogs widget and it will walk you through too.

Enjoy,
Corbie

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Love That Shot Link-Up

Today I'm sharing a photo that I took this past weekend while we were camping.  It was our annual Church on the Mountain Campout.  It rained on us a couple of times but God shared this beauty with us as the rain was going. 




Shutter Speed 1/500
Aperture f/13.0
ISO 400
Focal Length 18.0

I just shot this photo in auto mode because I had just stepped outside, noticed the rainbow and it was disappearing fast.

I did tweek just a little bit in PSE 7

Come join in the fun and link with us.

Love That Shot

Just a bit of Frustration!

Hi Everyone,

The last few days have really been a bit frustrating.  I bought a new photo editing program...Adobe Photoshop Elements 7.  I usually do all of my editing in Paint Shop Pro but wanted to try Adobe simply because most photographers use Adobe and there are online tutorials. 

I've been following several other photographers on Facebook, reading their blogs and have been admiring their works.  It inspired me to push my creativity to the next level.   I looked online for some more tutorials for PSP that could get me close to what I've seen, with no luck.

When I read up on other photographers, almost all of them use Photoshop.  Well I'm not quite ready to budget for that program just yet, and besides PSP can do alot of the same things.  Then I heard that Photoshop Elements was a mini version that didn't cost quite as much.  I found mine on Ebay and purchased it a couple of weeks ago.

I joined Love That Shot online because they have several tutorials and I thought I'd give it a try.  Then I found out about Actions....?  Apparently, PSElements is really a mini version and doesn't have alot of the features that the full version has, so going through tutes and getting almost finished and then I find out that I cannot complete the tute.  Frustrating!

Anyway, these Actions are really cool because they cut down the editing time.  The steps are already completed for you and you just play the Action. 

Now, installing these Actions was another story.  I found several different tutorials about how to do this.  And they were each different.  Some were, I believe, incomplete because when I tried, I was not seeing the same things that were described in the tute. 

To make matters worse, I had a photo shoot this week and I'm trying to edit these photos in my new PSE program.  I have a deadline to meet in getting the proofs ready.  Photography is not the only thing I do either, I'm very busy with 2 businesses, 6 kids in the house, 4 dogs and a bird, a garden, I'm a singer, Sunday School Teacher, Ladies Minister, and I'm on the worship team and publish the church bulletin, AND I would not change a thing.  I cannot sit still for very long, if you can't tell, so I can be a bit impatient sometimes which I'm sure is the whole cause of my frustration here.

But there is definitely a happy ending to this story too, there always is.  I did get my Actions installed and have started the editing process from my photoshoot.  I think they're pretty awesome.

Does anyone else have PSE and are you experiencing difficulties?  Actually, one problem I haven't figured out yet is when I play an Action, I get messages on some of them that the command "transform" is not available, along with some other commands as well.  Does anyone know where to activate these hidden commands or if I need to download those too.

Help,
Corbie