Snow coated our neighborhood this morning. It was a forecasted dramatic change in the weather today in the DC area. Apparently, they have official names for winter storms now like hurricanes. This storm was named “Saturn”, but the local news stations have dubbed our weather event, “Snowquester”. Isn’t that clever?!
A heavy, wet snowy mix with rain fell this morning, and continues to fall this afternoon. I am continuing the editing of photos from the SingStrong event last weekend but took some time to get some photos of the falling snow. It was more picturesque in the morning before warmer weather turned it slushy, and winds took the snow off the branches. It looks like I’ll be shoveling in the late afternoon, early evening since it will continue to snow for a while longer.
Are you getting out to make some photos? Although this is a bad one, it is still a fleeting event. As a result, your images will change by the minute. It is important to realize how quickly things change with the precipitation and small temperature variation. I hope you are safe and warm!
What photos do you keep accessible to you? There are probably images scattered on your hard drive, on your phone, prints stuffed into drawers, and albums. I am obsessed with looking, reviewing, and critiquing the photos that I save in a portfolio file on my computer. Some stay in the portfolio because of the technique, or the composition, or overall quality of the images. I may be able to use them to sell my services to a client or use on my website.
Library Organization
The best part about organizing photography in the digital age is the ability to instantly access image files. This is true whether they were taken last week, or 30 years ago. You will revisit old places that no longer exist. Or you can see family and friends that have passed on, and (for better or worse) yourself. Going through Facebook, there have been many sad events reported. With this in mind, I wanted to go through some old photography this morning. I wanted to post some of things I can’t go back to, greet people that are no longer with us, to remember them, and share them with readers. These are not my technically best photos, and they won’t help me display my services, but they are special for me, and for lots of others that read my blog.
Take more photos – Share – Backup your photos! There is no point to having a huge collection of photo without having some way of sharing them with those that would enjoy them. With internet, blogs, Facebook, there is no excuse not to do this. Film photos will not last forever, make digital copies of them to preserve them in case of loss. I recently transferred videos and still photos, and I feel much better having multiple copies in case something happens to the originals. If you have any questions about how to do these, please let me know! As I get older, I appreciate these old photos more and more. This is a great time to use the digital tools available to get these out to share again.
My career as a photographer has grown leaps and bounds with the explosion of social media. I first saw the power of social networking in reconnecting with old school friends and previous job friends. Also I have family that reside across the globe. The next step was the ability to connect with other photographers that I admired. With photographers linking directly into their Facebook pages and their Twitter feeds it became easy to reach out and connect. As it became normal to communicate this way, I was able to introduce myself. Additionally I was able to let people know what I do. I asked them for business tips, photo technique tips, and ideas for other shoots.
Connected Marketing
Facebook and Google Plus in particular make sharing photography a top priority. These are the best way that I have used to show off my photos and current projects. Posting to these pages let not only my friends, but their friends that are not directly connected to me view some awesome images! When their friends view, like, and comment on images, my contact information will be easy to find. I have connected with clients this way and have been invited to shoot events this way too.
Event Marketing
As you have seen, I do shoot lots of ballroom dance events. I get so many action shots from these weekends, that I can keep posting images on this blog for a long time to come. These shots can be used by the organizers to promote future events, by judges that are marketing their services to other events, and to the teachers that use events as recruiting for new students and studios.
The organizers of the New Jersey State Open held in Atlantic City, NJ have used lots of my images in their routine postings on Facebook. Adding some of my photos that show their event as it was held has helped them to get over 4000 subscribers to their web page! They will be the first to know about any developments on their event, and the visual images helped to keep them at the top of mind for dancers planning their competition schedule this year.
There are so many resources available for small businesses that allow them to market their services to targeted audiences on social media. Having good head shots, environmental, and other promotional photography is important to convey your company on the internet. Show off your products, your culture, and your style through photos. If you have any need for these, contact me. I can be reached on social and traditional means below –
