I am so bad at getting around to the eye candy (please for give me Michelle).  However, this week’s eye candy is from Michelle Wells, a photographer in Calgary.  Her work is fresh and fun and always reflects the personality of her clients.  Please take some time this week and check out Michelle’s blog and her wonderful work.

I have been absent from blogging due to life – which is no excuse – but it happens. Washers die, then require you to schlep all your clothes to a laundromat to dry them. Kids have to be here there and everywhere and somewhere in all that you have to work.  I know this sounds familiar to so many of us.  We all juggle so many different things in our lives and keeping things straight can be a challenge.

So here are a few of the things that have been saving me time lately, some are fun and pretty and others are just practical.

The first is PROOF MAKER.  This action makes it SO EASY to get my clients galleries loaded. I LOVE that I can add the image/file numbers right to the image and they are also a watermark deterrent too!  Who wants to print an image with #101 right on it.

The next time saveer for me is Backblaze. It’s an online backup service.  What I like about it is that it backs up my main drive AND externals (as long as I connect them to the hub).  This has been a lifesaver in terms of peace of mind. It does not replace doing a manual back up to disc for client images, but it does help in the long term should I have an issue with my drives or computer. At just $50 a year it’s one of the least expensive but they have been great to work with.

Another time-saver is my new desktop planner, this planner from Mom Agenda is a life saver. IT’s pretty but also practical. I love it so I note everything in it.   It helps to keep me on time and organized.  The best part is the planners are now 30% off but there is still much of the year left and better yet sign up for their newsletter e: to get a 10% additional discount.  If the washing machine had not broken I would be all over this as gifts for friends this month!

For online organization I love the Flock browser. It  designed to let me view all my social media feeds at one time, this is blogs, facebook, twitter, flickr you name it I can put it there!   I love seeing it all a once, this lets me decide what to respond to quickly and easily.

More later –
Shannon

Information for the Workshop is now loaded onto the Banff Page, linked above…check it out…and the awesome speaker lineup! RedLeaf Studios, Danna Bowes, Ali Hohn, Anastasia Chomlack and more! Come join us!

I know that so many of us work from home and the biggest challenge that we face is that we often have to figure out how to do this and stay organized as well as find that dividing line between work and non working hours. I am sitll working on that myself, but have begun to follow a few sites that are geared just at getting organized and staying organized.

I love Organizing your Way and their post today is so great — tips for working from home!

Then through there I found Penelope Loves Lists — well who wouldn’t love lists!

Finally I am just drooling over all the supplies on this site, See Jane Work — but they are so FUN and will give my office make over those final useful but fun touches! Like this file box that can sit on a shelf –pretty but functional!

Enjoy — leave a comment with your favorite sites for organization and office inspiration!~

I know that most of us struggle with skin tones, in particular with those of a newborn.   The fun thing about photoshop is that there are a million ways to get to the same results.  I stumbled across this tutorial the other day, and it was a way of working with color that I had not seen before. What I loved about it was that she pointed out what we all know, or well we should know, is that color issues are more prevalent with improperly exposed images.  So the old adage of get it right in camera is so true!

Tutorial

Enjoy!

Shannon

This is the time of the year that we all look into updating things with our business. This can be as simple as doing face lift using current branding or envolve a project to completely redo everything from head to toe.

It can also be when we buy new equipment, plan to attend a workshop or just acquire new skills or photoshop actions.

There is now the added appeal to every purchase by those offering to send funds if you purchase X to one of hundreds of charities providing releif support.   However, before you click buy (with or without the relief effort) take a few seconds to do your homework.

There is not a one stop fits all for finding out information, but there are a few ways you can get constructive feedback.  The first is to post on a forum you trust.  The people there will give you their honest opinions and help guide you in your purchase.  The next thing is to check out their review on Photog Vendors.

Just be safe and make sure you are careful about your purchases — which can only help you give more in the end!

Blog Etiquette is something that is evolving.  I thought today I would just outline a few guidelines that I think make blogging and reading blogs fun.

The first is try to leave a comment on the blogs you read.  Search engines use the number of comments to help rank the relevance of a topic, so this is important not only as feedback for the blog writer, but it will also help them with their search ranking.

The next question asked is do you leave a link to your website.  This will depend upon the blog and you own personal feelings. Leaving your url and using your business name can help you in your search rankings.   It can also allow the blog writer to view your site and also give you some “blog love’. However, you want to also be careful that if you comment on photographers who are local to you that not leave your website out of respect.  I have not concrete reasons for this belief other then professional respect.

As a blog writer there are some things you can do for those who leave comments.  You can activate your comments to allow search engines to follow the links left, this will help both you and your readers get a better rankings.  You can take the time to follow the links left by commentators and comment back on their blogs.  This alone is one great way to acknowledge that you appreciate their blog support!

The final thing is if you find a blog/photographer you just love, give them the ultimate compliment by not only commenting on their blog but blogging about them and linking back to their website.
Shannon

Happy New Year everyone!  This is the first official work day of 2010 and I have lots of exciting things to share with you.  This is the time of the year everyone should be thinking about their business and getting things in shape for the new year.

One of the things I was thinking about getting (but did not get to yet) was to subscribe to the website My Photography Business.  This is a great website. George is a fantastic photographer and an amazing business person.  He is giving you training videos that range in topics from how to see light to how to manage your business. I think this is a must for getting yourself ready and your business in shape for the new year.  It is just $15 and you can access all the videos he complies for the entire year (for an extra fee I think you can get access to last years as well).

This entire month I am going to bring your resources, ideas and ways to organize your business for the new year!

Take care and let me know what you think of Georges site!

Till next time -

Shannon

Congrats Alanna & Addie!   Email Dawn via the link below and she will send out your hats!

Christmas Eve today…so off to do the crazy Grocery thing!  Aarghhhhhh, I so wish I had gone at midnight last night!   Now I have to face the hoarding crowd, I’m hanging out for  a StarBucks Frappacino, I mean seriously….that would involved me driving to a Mall on the other side of the city….on Christmas Eve!  …and yet I’m still contemplating going!  What is about Starbucks that has us so in love?  and don’t say branding…I’m not going for the logo!  They really do have a great product, unique out here, worth driving for…and there in lies a lesson for all of us in 2010.   Do great work, do it well, and offer such a unique product/service that people will drive crazy distances on manic days to get it!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!