Good Morning Everybody, It may be the end of the week for many, but for us it’s the start of a two event weekend.  This afternoon and evening we are shooting a high school graduation for one of the prominent high schools in the area.  It’s kind of a cool shoot since I know many of the families.  I’ve photographed a few of the, dare I say, moms and dads weddings, of the graduating class.  And,

Good Morning Everybody,

We got into New York City late Saturday,  settled into our hotel, grabbed a quick snack and relaxed. I'll tell you, it's just what the doctor ordered.

Sunday was a Great day at B&H Photo and Video. That”s LaDawn, me, and my daughter, Elizabeth, standing among the crowds of B&H customers – the place was packed on Sunday. We had a full house and the program went off without a hitch.

Every time I give a program, I try to weave a few new things into the presentation - new images, a different take on a lighting concept, whatever. It just makes the presentation more fun to give and I think the audience enjoys as well. They sure did yesterday at 420 9th Avenue.

We are up here In the city this week for a little business but a little R&R. So before I get too long winded, let's get right to Quick Hit Monday. Here we go...

So What Have You Done Lately With Your Video Enabled DSLR?

It seems the new video DSLR features that started showing up on the latest Nikons and Canons have not been taken lightly by the video cognoscenti. Those who had the foresight to see and understand the possibilities of these new video DSLR capabilities jumped right on board. The onboard video capabilities

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Good Morning Everyone,

WOW! Thanks to everyone who has made the launch of my new 2010 Digital WakeUp Call Success Collection [link] so successful!  I still can't believe all the valuable items included in this collection, thanks to the generous support of our sponsors. I firmly believe that no educational opportunity this comprehensive and value packed has ever been offered to photographers before. If you give it a try, I promise you, you won't be disappointed.

Thanks again everybody!

I've a different kind of Business Day Thursday post for you today.  I hope you enjoy it.  Here we go...

Kick Starting Your Brand New Attitude!

You know, I've been in the photography business a fair number of years and have loved every minute of it.  Like many photographers, my beginnings were very humble beginnings. I'd like to share some of those experiences with you today. Like many folks wanting to start their businesses today, I was nervous, scared, hopeful, and for the most part didn't know how I was going to grow my business.

My Early Years

I was working as an engineer at the time and lots of my college buddies were starting to get married.  They knew that I was a part time photographer shooting weddings and sports events for a prominent studio in Dayton, Ohio and thought I would do an adequate

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Good Morning Everybody,

Today is our third day at Imaging USA - and we still haven't made it all the way through the trade show floor.  Hopefully we can finish the job today.

I was hoping to have more to report for you today but yesterday had me in meetings for most of the day and I didn't get a chance to take in as much of the trade-show as I’d hoped. I plan to remedy that today. Anyway, I think you will like what I've got in store for today's post.

Another reason for missing a good part of the trade show time was the fact that I was attending the ASP Fellowship Luncheon. Those holding the degree of "Fellow" - there are only 104 living members - are invited to the luncheon.  I received the honor from the Professional Photographers Association in 1988.

One becomes a "Fellow" by going through a rigorous application process with includes a submission, a portfolio, of the applicant's top 25 images produced during their career.  We had 44 attend the luncheon yesterday and it was good to catch up with many old friends.

This year we welcomed three new "Fellows" to our group. They were Barry Rankin, Michael Timmons, and Joe Campanellie.  Each had stunning images in their portfolio submissions.

I was thrilled to see my buddy, Barry Rankin, receive his "Fellowship Degree".  Barry and I have known each other for many years.  Not only is Barry

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Good Morning Everybody,

Here we are - at the end of the first full week of 2010.  I hope your year is off to a great start.  I spent most of the week - Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday with some of the favorite posts from DigitalProTalk.

Friday has many times been "Inspiration Friday" around here so I  thought I would finish out the week with some really inspirational photography for you to look at.  You know part of getting a good start is being fired up enough to make it over the first "hump" of the New Year. It's good to get a little "creative traction" and get our "brain juices" flowing.

Let me point you towards 10 sites featuring some great images to do just that.  Hope you enjoy the links.  Here we go...

1 - Susan Stripling [link] - Beautiful, dramatic photography, great use of light, great expressions in her candids.

2 - Flickr's "Inspirational Wedding Pool" [link] is always a great place to pick up some good ideas for the new year.

3 - Seven more great sites [link] that I posted way back in 2008 - still a great list to refer back to and gather a little inspiration.

4 - Two more great sites right here [link] - a little different view but still wonderful

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Happy New Year Everybody,

We made it - a brand new fresh year lies before us.  A new canvas yet unspoiled upon which we will paint our future.  How are you going to approach your new year?  What are your goals and your plans for success for 2010?  Too early to think about it you say. No, today is the day to begin. Start on Monday and you've already wasted 1% of the year!  Start NOW!

Don't know where to start, well, let me give you a kick start in the right direction.  Then you add to it, fine tune it to fit your business plan, make it yours, but MOST IMPORTANTLY, start today!

Ten Ways To Go From Good To Great in 2010

1. Design 10 new products for your studio.  This isn't just your job - ask your staff, ask your clients, ask fellow professionals.  But be sure you come up with 10 new, original products that will "turn your clients on" for 2010.

2. Come up with 10 ways to promote your business for 2010.  For instance, promise yourself to keep your blog up to date at least three times a week. Promise yourself to obtain a better understanding of the capabilities of Facebook and Twitter so that you can more easily spread

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Good Morning Everybody,

Yesterday the Cabo Geek Squad, myself and my buddy Kent, pulled out some new camera gear and headed to the beach.  We got some great stuff – I’m planning to use some of the images, one of which is featured in today’s “Image of the Day” post above,  for another episode of Technique Tuesday which will air next week – stay tuned.

Every Thursday evening the town of San Jose del Cabo hosts an Art Walk of all the galleries in the town.  Casa Dahlia [link] was featuring the work of artist/photographer Roberta Booth [link]. That’s me with Roberta with some of her photographic art pieces in the background.

Roberta images were wonderful abstracts, like the one entitled, “Flashpoint” featured here, that seemed to be taken from smaller parts of photographs she had made. The end result was an image with a subtle and not so subtle blending of tones and colors that was very beautiful. A perfect lead in for inspiration Friday, don’t you think?

Inspiration Friday: Art For Art’s Sake

You know, occasionally I run across a web site, video, or photograph that I find very exciting and yes, inspirational.  Many times these items have nothing to do with photography. It is the shear beauty or emotional impact 

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Good Afternoon Everybody,

We wrapped city #54 of my 60 city DWUC tour last night.  I can’t believe the tour is nearly over.  We have had such a good time meeting all the people all across America – thank you all for all your support and very generous enthusiast remarks.

As we were driving to Atlanta yesterday, I commented to LaDawn about what we were going to do after we wrap the tour. Her quick response was, “Sleep”. The pace has been fairly hectic, but still a lot of fun.  People are already asking about 2010 – I’ll keep you posted.

I starting this post in the Atlanta airport waiting to board a plane back to Cincy. Back home on Friday, shoot a wedding on Saturday, then back on the plane Sunday to Atlanta for Monday’s program – yep, another busy weekend!

After I land, I’m doing what we call a site survey for tomorrow’s shooting locations.  The client is wanting outdoor photographs. If the weather is willing we should be able to get some good shots.  Look for a few of them in next week’s posts.

But for now, let’s get on with today’s post.

5 Wedding Photography Sites You Don’t Want To Miss!

You know it’s been a while since I’ve done an Inspiration Friday post.  If you’ve been following the DPT blog, I’ve mentioned that I

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