So excited to announce that bookings for this Conference are now OPEN to non-members of the Beyond Forum.  Sorry it’s been so quiet around here lately!   After “enduring” (there really should be a special word made up for those folks that live in Canterbury, New Zealand), over 7,000 earthquakes (yes you read that right!), some big, some HUGE, some just minor tremors, we are back on track for 2012.

So come April we will be heading to Atlanta, Georgia……together with a number of photographer’s looking to learn off-camera lighting from one of the best in the business…..Neil van Niekerk.  Neil is the author of a Book on Off-Camera Flash as well as an experienced Workshop Teacher (be sure to check out the workshop video on this site!), and well-known photographer/blogger/mentor to many.  It’s a real honor for us to have him teach with us for THREE days!   (Making sure that you totally “get it” before you go home!).   Off-camera lighting can bring a whole new look to your photographic work, whether you use it a LOT or just a little, on those days when it is dull/flat or you have to shoot in a dark location….it’s a great tool to have in your bag of knowledge and expertise.

As if learning from Neil wasn’t enough, Amanda Andrews is also joining us to teach on newborn photography….posing/lighting with natural light/marketing and working with smaller children/parents etc.  Amanda is an experienced photographer (see a range of her favourites here)  who is highly sort after and has been featured on Framed, as well as being published several times.   She is not only a great photographer, but an amazing warm personality who is open and genuine.   On top of that she is a Mom to 5 children…meaning she can share the ins and outs of running a business while meeting the needs of being a wife & mom.

So what is all this wonderful going to cost?  and what’s included?    Well the cost is unbelievable!  and included is……..well pretty much everything!!!    Training, Food, Accommodation and even Models for you to shoot/pose/light…..the laughter, fun, excitement and chance to be with like-minded individuals for a whole weekend is FREE!!!      Ready to find out more and Book?   Click on the ATLANTA 2012 tab above,  and come join us!  We’d love to meet you!!!

Need to contact us?   Info@BeyondJustImages.com

Smiles, Mands

Recently I came across this wonderful new design group on Facebook Two Pear Designs .  What I loved the most was how giving they are and they also got me thinking about Holiday Mini Sessions.  They have a FREE marketing set — great to use for fall or holiday mini sessions.

I used their kit to make the example above. I love the colors they are so very much the hip colors this fall! — You can download the font used here: http://www.fontspace.com/kimberly-geswein/janda-snickerdoodle-serif Then customize the text to be what you want it to!

I also love the calender by My Lil’Creations – Tina Parker shares a paper pack. If you are not a fan of her work, you soon will be. She creates templates and elements that are amazing and timeless.

OTHER FREEBIES AND FUN THINGS

Holly McCaig: Free template for a card!

Itty Bitty Actions (little products for big dreamers): Free blog templates

EW: Couture Collection: Templates: Vintage Frames. They also have a freebie each month in their newsletter!  You can also download past templates here — She’s a very talented designer and does so many great things.

Forabella: Free Action Mixer

Flourish Emporium: Nicole Van’s Fan page, free Vintage Tint action and Thank you Card.

Pure photoshop actions: A free action – Cream

Paint the Moon Photography: Web- action for sharing images

Jessica Drossin Textures: Free Textures

Photographer Cafe: Free Template with summer words in fun colors.

Pretty Presets for Photographers:  Free preset!

Jenn’s Fabulous Stuff: Tons of freebies — her work and her site is amazing!

Michelle Kane Photography: Free Monchrome Action Set

Modern Collective: Marketing Templates for Photographers

MCP Actions: Free Mini Fusion Set

Isabelle Lafrance Photography — Free texture set!

or is it more politically correct to say the Red Leaf actions go to….. lucky number 28(sorry to number 43, I had done the random number thing first thing this morning)

counting from the top that makes it Carl Simpson from Line of Sight Photography  Congratulations Carl!  Please send me an Email with your email address so we can get which action set you’d like delivered!   thank you all who came and left comments!  Stay tuned for more great contests coming up next week on the beyond forum!  We’re going to be running a week long of contests with lots of prizes, the grand finale prize is worth over $700!!  We’re going to have one for new forum memebers as well as current so if you’re thinking about joining, now is the time!   

We will also have another set of Red Leaf actions to give away to forum members only…  or if you just can’t wait, go grab them at the boutique now!

cheers!
patti

I used the amazing  random number generator… I thought about the numbers in the hat, but this worked better!!

Congratulations to Carl!!

I know that a frequent topic on the forum is blogs.  What themes are good, which plugins give you the most value are topics that come up time and again.  The hardest part about blogs/websites and other things is that everything is personal.  What works for one person does not for another, but it’s always good to know what options are available and working!

It is important to note that as Word-Press is always updating their version, you need to check with each plugin to see if it’s compatible with the version you are currently using.  IF you want to insall them on your blog just click on the plugins tab on the control panel.  Then you will see a search box and you can search out the plugin and then click install. Word-Press makes this so easy for users  who are using Word-Press 3.0 and higher

Ten Plugins you May not Know about!

1. WpTap – this plugin will allow you to redirect visitors to a more mobile friendly website or version of your blog.  This is particularly important for those who have a flash header, as visitors from phones will not see past the broken flash link for the header!

2. Akismet the best spam blocker there is.  You just install the plugin, input your API key (you can get this from Wordpress.org) and tehn never worry about spam again!

3. All in One SEO – This is a great plugin to add so that your able to add even more SEO and optimize the power of your blog even more.

4. Word Press Stats — I have only recently learned about this plugin. Many users say it’s much easier to use for stats to your blog then Google Analytics, and anything that makes life easier is something I love!  This plugin will require you to have an API key, which you should already have as hopefully you have installed Akismet the best spam blocker there is.  The Akismet plugin is also on our list of top plugins!

5. Google XML Sitemaps This is a great plugin for helping Google to track all the pages and features on your site. The plugin will automatically create site maps of your blog!

6. Contact Form 7 — This is a plugin that allows you to create contact forms on your blog. The plugin is very flexible and easy to install and use.  The fact that you can customize your contact for to suit your needs is what makes this plugin a must for my blogs.

7. NextGEN Gallery — This plugin allows you to add galleries right to your blog, which is a must for any photographer who wants to have a fully integrated blog-site experience for their users.

8. SEO Friendly Images – This plugin will update all images with the correct alt and title tags, which are very important for SEO.  To make the most of this and your images themselves, rename them to descriptive titles, like Family Photographs at XYJ Park.

Today marks the first of what I hope will be many photography related reviews.

Today’s review will feature the film shift & signature film shift actions from Red Leaf Studios.  And please read through to the bottom for a chance to win a copy of either the film shift or signature film shift actions from Red Leaf!

Our good friends Richard & Amy McDowell from Red Leaf Studios from Victoria, British Columbia are the masterminds behind these photoshop actions that allow current technology to dip back in time to recreate the classic elegance of film. It is nothing short of incredible how similar the tonality and range in these film shift action sets by Red Leaf Studios mirror what we have come to be familiar with from images of the past when film was the only option.

One of the major attractions for me with film imagery is the raw emotion that speaks volumes I view them.
The film shift and the film shift signature series actions found at the Red Leaf Boutique pull from their viewers this same emotional response.

I have had the pleasure of exploring  these actions for the past month or so and I have to admit that they are by far my favourite and now “go to” method of processing all of my sessions. They work well for wedding photography as they do portrait work. The common thread to me is that they evoke emotion, something which resonates with clients and photographers alike.

I wanted to share some images too, some straight out of camera(SOOC), as well as a couple of processed images.

I especially love that these actions remain fully adjustable as they have their own layer in the  layer palette.   The most important thing however is to begin with a well exposed image.

The black & white actions resonate most for me as that is where my love of photography began back in highschool grade 11 photography class with the old Ilford paper and film.   Although I love the colour too though, it’s hard to pick a favourite.

Let’s get to it and see some images.

Here is an example of the actions used in a portrait session.  The change from the SOOC image to the colorplus process image is so subtle, but I adore it!  The black & white, well it takes my breath away.

Thank you Jennifer Armstrong for the use of this gorgeous image!

This above image was provided by Jennifer Armstrong  from Jennifer Armstrong Photography

This engagement series were taken by me Patti Miller; Patti Miller Photography Inc.   As much as I tend to prefer black & white, I prefer the cyan hues shift action for this set.  Just really brings the photo to life.

This next set is an example of the the film shift action used on an image in a studio setting.

The highkey setup that Cheryl Johnson used is perfect for these actions to give that old film look.

This image was provided by Cheryl Johnson from Feel Good Photos

Here are a couple of examples from wedding images.

These wedding images were taken by me Patti Miller; Patti Miller Photography Inc.

These wedding images were taken by me Patti Miller; Patti Miller Photography Inc.

This above image was provided by Jennifer Armstrong  from Jennifer Armstrong Photography

This newborn image was taken by me Patti Miller; Patti Miller Photography Inc.

This newborn image was taken by me Patti Miller; Patti Miller Photography Inc.

I hope you enjoyed travelling through these fully customizable series of Photoshop Creative Suite actions created by Red Leaf Studios.  Be sure to check out their boutique to see more examples of their work and to grab up  the other actions that they sell!  Be sure to join their facebook group here to stay up to date on all they offer.

Richard & Amy have very generously offered us a set of Film Shift OR the Signature film shift series actions to give away to one very awesome blog reader.

How do you enter???  Just leave us a comment below here on the blog!  This contest is open to all, forum members as well as non forum members.   We will randomly draw a name next week from all who have commented on this post and give you a set of these brilliant actions!

Fear not if you do not win this time as there will be another set to give away for forum members only. We are  launching  our way-cool-so-much-fun-contest-with-so-many-incredible-prizes next week!!!   The grand finale prize worth over $700!!  This contest and of course the aaaaahmazing prizes will be available to forum members only!   We are actually going to have 2 grand finale prizes one for current forum members, and one for newly joined members!!  SO make sure you come and check it out!  www.beyondjustimages.com

cheers & until next time!
patti.

What To Wear Guide

One of the topics that comes up in the Beyond Just Images forum frequently is what to wear for sessions.  I know that this is something I struggle with as I plan for my own family session each year. I can usually find one thing I like for one  member, but then struggle on how to put the rest of us in the right style/color or give the feel to the session that I want.  Just as I struggle so do clients, what is fantastic about this is that there are so many new resources for out there for photographers to use in creating what to wear guides.

We are going to start doing our own what to wear guide that hope to share once monthly on the blog, but until we have that up and running here are some great places to find inspiration and ideas.

The first is Wardrobe Wednesday.  This is a fan site on facebook, that is dedicated to presenting a new look each Wednesday. The group of bloggers that run the page each take turns creating a ‘look’.  The best part about this resource is that they list where they got each item from, and prices. That way if you want to create the exact look, you can do so easily!  The looks they come up with are fresh fun and affordable.

The second great site is Inspire ME Baby.  This is a blog dedicated to inspiring newborn and child photographers.  They have a great section of freebies, but also a section of what to wear guides. You can download them, and use them on your blog for your clients.  The looks do not list the source, but give a great idea of classic styling and ideas for putting together great looks.  Many photographers use them to inspire them selves and their clients.

What do you do when it comes  to clothing suggestions? Do you have a guide, do you do a wardrobe consult? Let us know.

What to Wear Guide

I know that the ‘down’ time is when everyone in the photography business regroups and updates marketing, websites and focus on all those tasks that they hate to do the rest of the year.The best thing about this time is you can take a few minutes to breath, read and update things.

One of the most neglected tools we have is our splash page. There is so much that can be done to optimize your page, and the best part is that FlashPalette has a tool to let you do just that! We have our splash page editor. This is an easy to use interface, that you use to create your custom splash page. The best part is you only pay for the months that you use the editor. So if you only update your page every few months, you are not paying for software and services you don’t use.

Creating  a great page visual is just the start. You next need to figure out what you want to do to optimize your page.  A great resource for this is the Photographers-SEO-Community!  This is a great way tool and since it is a community about SEO just for photographers there are bound to be so many who are in the same boat as you are!

What do you think? Is SEO important to you?

I love the Beyond Just images forum for many reasons, but the biggest is the willingness of the members to share with one another.  We share ideas, give critique and most of all provide for discussion of all sorts of business and photography related topics.

One of the topics recently was about photographers running Groupon deals.  The biggest questions were would you invest more time and money then you get back? Is there a way to run them so they actually work out to make money for you?  Well thanks to this article on Groupons by John Mireless, it provides an interesting look into if a Groupon Add can work for you. The article is full of great ideas on how to run a successful groupon add.

Another topic recently was why do all the action makers and designers have freebies, but you have to publish to your wall that you got something from them.  While I see their point, I thought you know Photographers can use this too. We can make exclusive download codes for our clients. So as much as you may hate the publish to your wall, you can use it to help your business to.  If you want to learn how to do this, check out the post by photo editor Laura Mitchum (she is also a vendor her at Beyond and fabulous to work with!). You can read the article on how to add an exclusives tab here add features and pages to your facebook fan page.

We have a great mix of photographers both portrait and wedding photographers at Beyond and a topic that comes up often is how to pick a photographer. I found this article on Calgary event planners blog — it’s a great way to view photography when it comes to weddings. Send potential brides there, because it’s a short read with some great advice. Since it’s not coming from a photographer it has even more weight to it as well!

Tina Parker of My Lil Creations has been a long time member and sponsor here at Beyond. This week she released an amazing new template for a custom photo planner. The planner is designed to be printed at CPQ (but you can do any vendor that will bind a double sided image for you). I personally see great gifts to be the future use of these. According to Tina she will do a 2012 book (no word yet when it will be available) and I am hoping it comes out mid summer so I have plenty of time to make some fantastic holiday gifts!

Just think you can stay organized and promote your work!  These would also make a great up-sell for your clients, who would not want a beautiful planner full of images of their family.

This is a great way to showcase your 52 weeks project photos as well!

I know we have taken a bit of a break — after all life can sometimes get the best of us. However, after our hiatus we are now back to blogging. Today I wanted to share a great site for Lightroom Presets.  In the Beyond forum lately there has been tons of discussion about creating faster and better work flows.  The one thing that seems to come up each time is that using Lightroom speeds up the editing process.  To aide in that everyone is using presets. One of the presets that everyone seems to like for clean basic processing is pretty presets, and today I found that you can test drive a few of her presets over at Presets Heaven, which is fantastic resource for FREE presents!  In addition to those she shared there, she has other freebies on her website, so it’s  worth heading over and checking out what she has! note: I was not offered any actions for this review except for those found on the web for free.

Here are some images I tried with the presets. I found them very easy to tweak, though the one drawback I have with lightroom is you can not make adjustments and then add a preset on top of them, you revert to the presets settings… if anyone knows how to stack them please let me know!