Winter Get Together!

Hello to All,
I hope you have been having a wonderful holiday!
I wanted to let you know that myself and Jess are planning a
get together for this Saturday January 3rd.

The amazing Shawn Reeder will be in town visiting for the holidays
and we would love to show him a warm DC/NOVA/MD welcome.

Are plans so far include a possible trip to the Corcoran to see the
Richard Avedon exhibit.
We would also like to scout around the city for some shooting/play
time.
We welcome any ideas and of course would
love to see you, for all or just part of the day.

We will list a schedule here and on the Pictage forums when
we have a finalized the plans.
So please send me an email and let me know if you are interested in joining
us. sarah@blinkdc.com

Hope to see you all!
Sarah and Jess

November Meeting Recap - Weathering the Economic Downturn

We had a great meeting about the state of the event and portrait industry as we weather the economic downturn. I've always felt that professional photography for weddings, events, and portraiture has been a recession-proof industry. People are always getting married and celebrating life events, and new babies are born every day - creating a seeming limitless supply of clientele.

Our conversation centered on marketing and customer service and how the two combined can help your business stand-out amongst the competition all the time. These two become even more important when people are guarding their money more and doing much more due diligence before making their purchasing decisions.

We discussed ways of getting more return on the time and money we invest in marketing, obviously using Pictage helps us generate additional sales, but also helps to get our name and work in front of potential new clients from those events as well. Traditional vehicles like magazine advertising now take a backseat to search engine optimization and good old-fashioned networking with professional organizations. Amie Otto added some great tips on using social networking like Facebook to help get the word out as well.

Look out for info on our December meeting - our social committee is working on a fun get-together!

Best,
Geoff

Michael + Anna Costa

Big thanks to Michael and Anna Costa for visiting us yesterday on their multi-city PUG tour and to everyone from Baltimore and DC who showed up to hear about standing out in the photography industry. We had a great crowd who thoroughly enjoyed learning some of the strategies that have made this duo an almost overnight success. Stay tuned for info on October's meeting.

--Geoff

PUG Dinner before Michael and Anna Costa

As many of you already know, Michael + Anna Costa will be joining us for a combined DC/Baltimore PUG on a special night, Tuesday, September 16th. You will hear this dynamic duo discuss "Standing out in the Photography Industry."

I will be setting up a dinner at the Austin Grill before hand should anyone want to join me.
We will be meeting between 5:30-6pm.
Please send me an email at sarah@blinkdc.com if you would like to be added to the reservation list.
Emails must be received by 2pm tomorrow (9-16).

Looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow, and hearing what I am sure will be a sweet presentation from Michael and Anna!

Sarah

Michael + Anna Costa for September 16th Meeting

Michael + Anna Costa will be joining us for a combined DC/Baltimore PUG on a special night, Tuesday, September 16th. You will hear this dynamic duo discuss "Standing out in the Photography Industry."

In the sea of wedding photographers how can one hope to stand out in the crowd? It seems a daunting task, yet Michael and Anna have managed to catapult their business into the high end in three short years and will be sharing their secrets of success in this information-packed presentation! Be ready to make small changes in your business that result in big rewards by learning how to:
• Get noticed through your amazing artwork
• Shoot BOTH digital and film/create an edge
• Hire associate photographers to increase revenue
• Create Branding that puts you at the top
• Outsource the things that are weighing you down
• Become a champion sales person
• Don't "Run" your business "Build" it!

This presentation is perfect for photographers wanting to get their business onto the fast track and achieve a new level of success!

Michael + Anna Costa
Michael and Anna Costa have been recognized by some of the most prestigious companies and publications in the photography industry and will be seen in the fall of 2008 on the We Network TV show "Platinum Weddings." Michael and Anna are honored to actively speak at international conventions - previously at Pictage Partner-Con 2006-7 in Chicago & Los Angeles, in 2008 as Platform presenters sponsored by Fujifilm for Wedding & Portrait Photographers International in Las Vegas and have been invited to be presenters in January of 2009 for Professional Photographers of America.

"Whats the Big Deal with Wedding Photography Anyway?"

Ok folks...Time for the teacher in me to come out. With the economy in the state that it is now, wedding clients are becoming more aware of what they are spending on that special day. While this is normal and I would be the same way if I where going through this process, some folks are questioning the value of the photography itself. So, after hearing this a few times recently, I have some thoughts that might help other photographers and brides.

When you think about the expense of a wedding, it can get rather overwhelming and you start to weigh out what is most important to you when you choose vendors. Here is something to think about; when your wedding is over and you have gotten back to your routine, what elements from your special day will remain with you for the rest of your life? The food and the beverage will be gone and forgotten, the flowers will be gone, the music won't be playing any more and your friends will have gotten back to their routines as well. The only elements that will remain is your wedding dress and the memories that your photographer had captured. Now I'm not saying that those other things aren't important. They help make your day fun and enjoyable! But they don't last any longer than a day. The memories from that day are the only thing that will last forever. Just some food for thought...

August Meeting Follow-up

Thanks to everyone who joined us for this month's meeting. We look forward to hearing more of your experiences with the new Canvas prints from Simply Canvas and Pictage. Stay tuned for more exciting developments.

Special thanks to Adam Levner of Critical Exposure who shared with us the great work that they are doing combining the power of documentary photography and youth voice to strengthen campaigns and organizations working to secure a quality education for all children.

Here's a link to the show we saw of students' photos, writing and statistics from the project in PA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcRWnQZDP8g

For more, here is Link to student-created video from a teen pregnancy prevention project in Alexandria, VA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc7GQqOi62Q

You can contact Adam directly at:
Adam Levner
Critical Exposure
1816 12th St. NW, 3rd Floor
Washington, DC 20009
202-745-3745 x19
www.criticalexposure.org
alevner@yahoo.com

Look for September meeting preview shortly.

Geoff

Picnic Success

Despite the rain and crazy location of Fletcher's boat house, the DC PUG picnic was a success.
Thank you to everyone who braved the rain to join us!

We look forward to seeing you all at the next PUG in August.
For some fun photos check out Armin's blog .

PUG Picnic!

Hello All You DC Puggers,

Are you ready for a good old fashion BBQ?

We have thought long and hard about how to make our first annual DC PUG picnic a memorable one... and while we are still figuring out just how to do that, we would love to know if you are able to join us or not.

We can promise lively conversation (we may even talk about stuff other than photography), good food, kid and grown-up friendly out door games and much more.We hope you can join us in creating some DC Pugradery! :D

This will be a pot luck picnic so please check the list on Evite to see what you can bring. Here is your chance to show off the fact that you are more than just masters at photography! We may even have a prize for the most creative/tasty side dish.

If you have any questions you can contact us via email or phone.

Sarah - 703 851 8463 sarah@blinkdc.com
Jess - 202 744 3746 jessica@jessicadelvecchio.com

We will be updating the Evite shortly with a location site so stay tuned! Please RSVP and let us know you are coming!

GigBooks coming to our June PUG

At our June meeting, next Monday, June 16th at 7:00pm, we will be discussing some marketing ideas that really work and we will be joined by Justin Kifer of GigBooks, an online business management system for photographers. Also, Rob Holley will be in the studio spotlight.

Hope to see you there.

Geoff

Couture Books coming to Bethesda 6/13

Friday, June 13th from 1:00pm - 4:00pm, our friend and former Pictage Pro Consultant, Dave Luebke, now of Couture Book (http://www.couturebook.com) will be in our studio showing these amazing products. For those of you who missed these books @ WPPI, they're probably the hottest new books out there - so stop by and check 'em out.

We look forward to seeing you next friday.

pDNA - See what you're made of!

As mentioned last night's PUG meeting, Dane Sanders - Pictage Evangelist, Community Leader, Founder of Fast Track Photographer - has offered us a 15% discount on the pDNA.

What is the pDNA you ask? Great question!

The pDNA is a personality profile assessment built uniquely for photographers to both identify your unique strengths as well as to offer a custom prescription on how to best leverage your DNA as a photographer ... to build a killer business around your best resource ... you!

Imagine someone asking you some questions and a few moments later getting a totally tricked out report detailing what only you do best ...
Then, imagine if it went one step further and also gave you a list of super practical "to do's" to totally take your business to the next level ...
Finally, imagine the power of a small community doing this and being able to help each other really make their mark together!

That's the kind of edge the pDNA offers to both the newer photographer as well as the established pro looking to take their success story even further. What's so cool is Pictage has endorsed this program so that you get an exclusive PUG benefit! Let me explain ...

The pDNA normally costs $20. With our exclusive Affiliate Code you will get an automatic 15% discount ($3 off).

go to: https://fasttrackphotographer.com/buy/pdna/dc

And you'll automatically receive the discount at checkout. Isn't it worth $17 to help understand some fundamental issues central to your business?

I'm about to do it myself and I'll update you all at next month's meeting.

Geoff

May Pug

First, another big thanks to Robert T. Williams for visiting the April PUG combined with the Baltimore group. We had a strong showing of over 40 photographers - you can see some great pics on the Love Life Images blog.

Last night the crummy weather could not hold back a great crowd who came to learn a little more about finding their target market and how they should be establishing their pricing. Most of the information I presented comes from our friends at photo lovecat who really have some great information on their blog for fellow photographers.

Click on the marketing link to find both the formulas for pricing your products and services, as well as the why questions you should be asking yourself to help shape your business.

Thanks also to M.J. Love of Studio of Love for sharing some of his work and showing us his new Justin and Mary Marantz-inspired "close box" with gifts for the bride and groom to be.

Don't forget the Professional Photographer Magazine Cover photo contest - go to ppmag.com. It's free and you can enter as many times as you want.

See you next month for an exciting meeting - details to come.

Geoff

April PUG Meeting Update

To those of you that will be meeting up at MBK studio right before heading up to see Robert T. Williams this is our plan....

We will meet at MBK at 5pm which will get us up to Love Life by 6pm at the latest, which will give us the opportunity to hang with some of the Baltimore PUGgers for happy hour.

There are two places that might work for longer term parking:
1. There is a paying lot across from MBK that closes by 11pm (which of course we will be back in time for) and 2. Geoff was saying that on the East side from Wisconsin there is a big public parking lot that is for the Bethesda Farmers' Market that might be an option.

Hope to see you all tonight.
If you have any questions feel free to give me a call or email.
Thanks!
Sarah

sarah@blinkdc.com
703 851 8463

Party "bus" to see Robert T. Williams

Monday as most of you know is our trip up to Baltimore to see Robert T. Williams, and I wanted to check in once more to see who will be wanting to car pool from MBK (party bus style) up to Baltimore?

I have 6 people so far who are game for the bus. Is there anyone else who would like to join us?
If so, please email me ASAP (before Friday April 11th) to let me know if you are in.
sarah@blinkdc.com

Thanks, and see you all Monday!

Robert T. Williams confirmed for April PUG

Robert T. Williams is on for the April Pug, to be held next monday April 14th at 7:00pm. For those who do not know Robert, He is not only an accomplished photographer with a great success story, but also a great guy. He'll be talking about pricing, finding what is right for you and your business, and improving your client presentations. Robert has been a featured speaker at Pictage PartnerCon and WPPI as well as others. This will be another combined DC/Balto PUG and will be hosted by Jennifer Domenick and Mary Gardella of Love Life Images.

We may not have enough budget for a true party bus - but I would encourage everyone to be green and carpool. At least some people can party that way...

Address:
8600 Foundry St. Suite 217C
Savage, MD 20763

Here are directions:

From 95 North or South:

Take Exit 38, Rt 32 East toward Fort Meade
Exit at Rt. 1 South
Turn right at light at end of ramp
Go through 1 light
Turn right on Gorman Road
Go about 1/2 mile
Turn right on Foundry St.
Pass red railroad bridge
Pass building with Savage Mill sign and turn left immediately after the sign
Park in lot near Ram's Head Tavern, overflow parking is in a larger lot at the top of the hill (follow signs)
Once you are in the building, look for signs posted in the building pointing you toward the studio. It's an old mill and the signs are not well marked. Go towards the Spinning Building. We are right near the Paymaster's Office, the Red Door Studio, and Madeline Metz Studios. Feel free to call if you are lost. 410-491-5433.

March Recap and WPPI Product links

Thanks to everyone for the great turnout for the March PUG meeting and judging by the response so far in the dc pug blogosphere sounds like everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Kudos to Sarah "Social Committee" Hodzic for sharing with us her struggles and recent successes in building her photographic career. Loved the video!

I also want to give a shout-out to my March birthday mate, Jess and thank Armin, Jenn, Sarah, Paul and Ralph for a great pre-PUG dinner.

In case you weren't taking notes, here are links to the best stuff I found @ WPPI:
Pictage Art Books - best new product (not just cause they told me to say so.)
www.Couturebooks.com - Amazing hand-made art books
www.liveretouch.com - 24hr turnaround at competitive rates
www.finaoonline.com - awesome albums to rival other leather album makers
www.digineg.com - film archiving of digital images. confused? learn more here
www.waxworksphoto.com - unique creative artwork from your images

Thanks and look for an announcement shortly about the April PUG meeting.

- Geoff

Rock Star Road Trip Dinner

The Rock Star Road Trip post workshop dinner, drinks and festivities will be taking place at...

Bailey's Pub and Grille

2010-A Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA 22202

703-416-0452

We will gather as a group, form a line and hold hands as we walk down the block the the restaurant. :)

Please do drop me or Jess and email to let us know if you will be joining us!
Thanks!
See you all on the 31st.

Great March PUG Meeting!

Thank you to everyone who came out for the March PUG meeting. It was great to see everyone and be able to share our excitement and enthusiasum from our WPPI high.
And a big thank you to everyone who stayed to listen to my Studio Spot Light chat.
It was great to share a bit of my story with so many amazing photographers!

Just wanted to let you all know that Jess and I are working on finding a place for the post Rock Star Road Trip workshop lets see if we can get Amber to pass out festivities! :)
Ok, well we really don't want Amber to pass out, but she did put forth a pretty great drinking challenge...
We would love all of you who are going to be at the workshop to join us afterwards for drinks and general merriment.

We will post the details on the DC PUG Blog very soon.
Stay tuned.

And in the mean time... you can enjoy these lovely photos of Jess, Geoff and I in Vegas.
Photos taken by the fabulous Justin Marantz.

WPPI Recap + Celebrating Geoff and Jess's birthdays!

What a time we all had at WPPI!
I can't wait for our meeting on Monday, there is so much to share.
Not to mention the fact that we have at least 2 March birthday's to celebrate.
Geoff's birthday was on the 20th and Jess's birthday is actually on Monday!

We will be getting together Monday the 24th at Cafe Deluxe to celebrate our March babies.
5:30pm sharp, be there or be square.
And please do let us know if you will be coming so we know how many people to make a reservation for. :)

Can't wait to see you all on Monday!

Photo Nights for Charity Lecture Series

Jennifer Domenick and Mary Gardella of Love Life Images have started a lecture series that they host at their studio in Savage, Maryland. The Photo Nights for Charity Lecture Series kicks off on April 9th with Rita and Joel Wiebner - check it out!

- Geoff

See you Monday for Vegas recap

What a whirlwind trip to Las Vegas for WPPI this week. Michael and I enjoyed every minute of the seminars and fun events, including two events hosted by Pictage. It was great to see so many familiar faces from the area!

So many amazing photographers, such great seminars, and cool new products. My head is still spinning. We'll have a complete wrap-up at Monday's meeting including: lessons learned, exciting new offerings, and news about upcoming events for the pug.

- Geoff

For Future Reference

We have received a number of inquiries about bringing guests to the meetings. I want everyone to know that this should be encouraged so we can expand the community. We will continue to focus on finding good information to help you run your business and the ways that Pictage can be your partner in those efforts. Everyone is welcome.

-Geoff

Our largest PUG ever!

Thanks to everyone from DC and Baltimore for coming down to make this month our largest attended meeting ever! We had photographers from DC, MD and VA to hear Justin and Mary Marantz share their success story and practical strategies for taking control of your business and exceeding client expectations.

The group was eager to hear some of the brilliant marketing strategies that have helped these newlyweds create buzz and turn clients and other photographers into great friends and referral sources. It's always nice to hear a fresh perspective and the passion that these two exude is inspiring.

We'll be following up this visit with a discussion on the secret formula for pricing at next month's PUG meeting on Monday, March 24th following WPPI. Hope to see you there.

- Geoff

February PUG *New Date*

Monday, February 18, 2008, 7pm

We've changed the date of February's PUG meeting to the 18th in order to accomodate special guests Justin and Mary Marantz who are currently on a PUG tour discussing "loyalty beyond reason," as well as turning clients and competition into friends. They'll share the secret behind their success and talk through their entire wedding client interaction process from initial consultations through and after the wedding.

Here's a post from their blog about their PUG tour (We weren't part of the original plan until Jessica Del Vecchio connected with them. Thanks, Jess!): http://justinmarantz.blogspot.com/2008/01/kickin-off-tour.html

We look forward to seeing everyone. Please RSVP at the PUG Homepage so we can accommodate - this is sure to be a packed house.

Thanks,
Geoff

Upcoming Photography Industry Events

I thought I would post a list of all the upcoming events I mentioned at January's meeting and a few more that I have come across. Some of these events are specific and some more general, but take a good look to see if any of these may be right for you. We can always find ways to learn more and be better photographers, so check it out:

Maryland Professional Photographers Association Annual Convention
January 25th-28th, Sheraton Columbia - Columbia, MD

Four days of competitions and educational seminars. Guest speakers Hanson Fong, Mark Campbell, Mary Fisk-Taylor and Jamie Hayes.


Bruce Hudson's New Directions Reality Check Tour
January 27th, 2-7pm Hilton Garden Inn - Greenbelt, MD

Powerful strategies to thrive and NOT just survive in this ever changing market place. Covers a lot of ground including how to separate yourself from the competition.


Bob Davis and Mike Colon - Master Your Craft Tour
February 8th, 9am - 6pm BWI Marriott - Baltimore, MD

Intense one-day workshop covering everything from camera settings, workflow, and marketing.

The Modern Portrait - portraitseminar.com
February 23rd-24th at the Fairfax Marriott at Fair Oaks in Fairfax, Virginia.

Our friend Justine Ungaro and her mother Diana Adams created this seminar to help photographers make more money from their portrait work. Some of the topics they will cover:

- Branding & marketing

- Finding the right clients

- Products & pricing

- Consultations & pre-selling

- Selling with projection

- Getting referrals & repeat clients

WPPI - Wedding and Portrait Photographers International
March 13th - 19th at Bally's Las Vegas

The best convention and tradeshow for wedding and portrait photographers. be inspired by amazing speakers and see all the latest and greatest products.


Ed Pierce - Captivated by the Light Tour
April 30th, May 1st, May 4th

Lighting, workflow and marketing for a full day seminar and a mini tradeshow. Offered over three days in Baltimore and DC.


Sandy "Sam" Puc, Bellies & Babies Tour
May 30th, 5-11pm

Marketing, shooting and selling pregnancy and baby portraiture.

January PUG Meeting

Thanks to everyone who came out last night and contributed to a great evening. I hope you will all be scheduling your events on pictage well in advance to capture pre-registration from clients and generate excitement about each event - even before the photos are online.

As we discussed our goals for 2008, a recurring theme was marketing. Obviously this pre-registration is a great way to market your services to the clients, but in order to obtain consistent referrals, you must be marketing to an even wider audience. A great web site is a start, and two companies can help you do that inexpensively: BluDomain and BigFolio.

Another great tactic is to put your images into the hands of the people who refer you. Try a CD with images, or a great little 7x7 willow book showcasing your work. We'll have more tips as we go through the year and hope that every little bit helps you build your business in '08.

Please join us for our next meeting, Monday February 18 @ 7pm.

Thanks,
Geoff