Minneapolis PUG

SUPRISE!

2009-05-15T06:56:00.000-07:00

(Thought I'd sneak in and change this darn thing!)

I had the pleasure of attending this month's PUG.
Not the breed, Joe Dickey, the group...Pictage
Users Group! :)

Stacey and Jason Thon, Mpls. PUG leaders, invited
Joe Dickey of Generation Photography to pop in
and speak to the group about his ideas, his work,
his style and a little bit about his family.

He started with a slide show packed with stunning
images and then shared with us his philosophies and
his opportunities thus far in his career.

All this in front of a packed house!
This month the Minneapolis PUG was the largest to
date...tons of new faces and I might add, as a
former member, that it was awesome to see everyone
again...I may just hop on that Pictage Lite for a hundred
bucks a year how could you not, right? :)

Well, thanks for checking out the Minneapolis
PUG blog. Perhaps I'll hijack it again...soon.

Peace.

Actionize with Dave Johnson!

2008-06-11T06:51:00.000-07:00

(I uploaded this to my blog from my phone while attending
our PUG, last night, and then pasted it here.)

Staja Studios hosted Dave Johnson from Nat'l Camera. He went over
actions and work flow.

It was so cool to see all the fresh faces last
night! Our group is growing and it's just
awesome! Thanks everyone for attending last
night, I hope you gained a ton of information
from Dave. He loves to help problem solve and
trouble shoot so when he gave out is phone
numbers last night that is his invitation to
have him come along side when you are in a jam.

Thank you so, so much Dave for taking the time
to share your time-saving ideas and worksheets.

Check back for the pdf link....

Imagine if you will.....

2008-05-22T13:41:00.000-07:00

You're photographing a wedding in China
when the earthquake hits!
This is CRAZY!

Meet Seth Godin.

2008-05-16T06:52:00.000-07:00

This is a blog that we should subscribe to.
This is Seth Godin. I found him on Twitter and now
I check in everyday...VERY good marketing
advice...neat guy too!

Today I see that he writes about word of mouth.
Why it works and why it doesn't.

Here's what he wrote....

"Why word of mouth doesn't happen

Sometimes, what you do is done as well as it can be done. It's a service that people truly love, or a product they can't live without. You're doing everything right, but it's not remarkable, at least not in the sense of "worth making a remark about."

What's up with that?

Here's a smorgasbørd of reasons:

1. It's embarrassing to talk about. That's why VD screening, no matter how well done, rarely turns into a viral [ahem] success.
2. There's no easy way to bring it up. This is similar to number 1, but involves opportunity. It's easy to bring up, "hey, where'd you get that ring tone?" because the ring tone just interrupted everyone. It's a lot harder to bring up the fact that you just got a massage.
3. It might not feel cutting edge enough for your crowd. So, it's not the thing that's embarrassing, it's the fact they you just found out about it. Don't bring up your brand new Tivo with your friends from MIT. They'll sneer at you.
4. On a related front, it might feel too popular to profitably sneeze about. Sometimes bloggers hesitate to post on a popular source or topic because they worry they'll seem lazy.
5. You might like the exclusivity. If you have no trouble getting into a great restaurant or a wonderful club, perhaps you won't tell the masses because you're selfish...
6. You might want to keep worlds from colliding. Some kids, for example, like the idea of being the only kid from their school at the summer camp they go to. They get to have two personalities, be two people, keep things separate.
7. You might feel manipulated. Plenty of hip kids were happy to talk about Converse, but once big, bad Nike got involved, it felt different. Almost like they were being used.
8. You might worry about your taste. Recommending a wine really strongly takes guts, because maybe, just maybe, your friends will hate the wine and think you tasteless.
9. There are probably ten other big reasons, but they all lead to the same conclusions:

First, understand that people talk about you (or not talk about you) because of how it makes them feel, not how it makes you feel.

Second, if you're going to build a business around word of mouth, better not have these things working against you.

Third, if you do, it may be a smart strategy to work directly to overcome them. That probably means changing the fundamental DNA of your experience and the story you tell to your users. "If you like us, tell your friends," might feel like a fine start, but it's certainly not going to get you there.

What will change the game is actually changing the game. Changing the experience of talking about you so fundamentally that people will choose to do it.

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Posted by Seth Godin on May 16, 2008 | Permalink

NIKON

2008-05-15T08:13:00.000-07:00

What's going on with the Ashton Kutcher
commercial for Nikon stating that
"anyone can be a photographer"????
Big news on the PPA site. Photographers
pulling ads from magazines....more to come.

WOW!!! Yea, like it's the camera! HA!

Do you TWITTER?

2008-05-14T06:38:00.001-07:00

Recently, I began to "Twitter".
I like it. It fills that gap between
blog entries. Here is a really terrific
video by the BUI brothers on Twitter
that may convince you to start.

It's really perfect for those of you
that always tell me that you don't have
the time to blog....Here's the LINK

Sorry I missed the meeting last night.
I have all future dates on my calendar
now so I won't miss another one.

Enjoy this sunny Wednesday!

Sandy (Sam) Puc'

2008-05-04T17:45:00.000-07:00

I got the pleasure of working the NILMDTS
booth at Sam's "Bellies & Babies" tour
last night at the Airport Hilton.

I saved a seat for Jason Thone and Heather
Lombardo in the front row and never did I
look at my watch! You know what I mean...
when's this gonna be over...when's the next
break...I gotta get home....NONE of that.
I loved every minute.

Now this was strickly, Bellies & Babies
as the brochure states....
Sam shared from the business aspect & the
initial phone calls down to her marketing
materials, schedules and of course posing,
lighting and baby wrangling tips! :)

Great time and I even got a couple of shots
during the live shoot...no cameras were
allowed but, what the heck...
I really brought it along to get a shot
with Sam.

This gal gets up at 4:14 every morning,
She shoots 10 sessions a day, employs like
24 people and has 4 children of her own.
She is amazingly talented and shared everything.
Jason took great notes and I'm sure he can
share at our next meeting some of his thoughts
from the evening...Sorry Stacey couldn't make it.

April Meeting - Summary

2008-04-17T18:58:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone!

What a great meeting we had for April. Not only did we have a great round-table discussion on WPPI and any accompanying elements, but we also had an out of town guest, Victor Sizemore. I met Victor while at WPPI and I knew he was going to be in town for the April TCPPA meeting. While talking with him, I said that we should get together while he was in town. When I got home I thought he may enjoy meeting some additional people and invited him to our meeting. Not only is he a great photographer who is building a really successful business, but is simply a really likable guy. He had a lot of good points that he shared with the group as a whole and some that he gave out on a more one-on-one basis. I thought it was a lot of fun having a guest and would like to say thanks to Victor for coming, and those of you who gave him a warm welcome (Picture compliments of Sue Austin).

As for WPPI, all the attendees tried to share some of their experiences. I talked a bit about the importance of WPPI from a networking standpoint and the sheer number of people you can meet. Not only is it my contention that you should network with new photographers but also your vendors. It is always good to strengthen any relationship (business or otherwise). David Drufke shared his thoughts on some common themes: branding, business savvy, "finishing" vs. outsourcing, etc. The number one thing he came away with is that you have to be true to yourself. Do what you want to do. If you are setting your own trends and walking that path, your only "real" competition is yourself. Bjorn Meisner talked about how he always gets a lot out of WPPI plus and the business institute. He also mentioned that after attending the David Williams presentation on architectural album design, he has started to look at the entire wedding process differently. All in all, I think everyone who went got a lot out of it and came back with new thoughts, ideas, and friends.

As an aside, we found out that our PUG had the second highest attendance increase for the March contest, plus we won $250 towards a meeting for having the most creative idea. Stacey and I along with Pictage would like to thank all of you who attended and getting the word out. I would also like to once again thank Janet from Minnesota Bride and Mike from Mike Colon Photographers for helping make the contest such a success.

Items of Interest:
1) Be sure to participate in the April Gift Card contest! The region with the highest percent of events released in April with preregistered gift credits win Joe Buissink! How cool would that be?!
2) Don't forget to wish Tanya Villano a happy birthday on Friday the 18th. Hope you have a GREAT day Dear:)
3) Wendy Blomseth would like to encourage everyone to attend the St. Paul Art Crawl (see image below)

4.) Shared studio space available:

Wendy is also looking for someone to share space with her in St. Paul. Here are the
details...

Lastly, Katrina Hannemann mentioned that there is shared consulting space available at
the CW Lofts on Stinson Blvd. Contact Heather@adagioinc.com if interested.

Thank you to all who attended. It was great seeing all the usual suspects and a few new faces too.

Stacey and Jason Thon

Victor Sizemore.

2008-04-15T06:09:00.000-07:00

WOW.
If you missed it last night, I'm sorry.
Victor Sizemore did a fabulous job of
inviting us into his world of wedding
photography. Didn't start that long
ago and has built himself a pretty nice
collection of weddings near and far.

His work is tasteful and fun, his ethics
are spot on, and yes, his boots were
sexy!

Victor is a family man and makes time
for that as well.
He travels a ton and gets the job done.

We were lucky to have him schedule
this speaking engagement for our TCPPA
(Thanks Amy Zellmer) and I hope he comes
back for more in the future.

I won a pack of "Totally Rad" actions
for being the only one in the audience
with a Mark III (yay me!) and I'm looking
forward to playing with them.

Victor also go into the basics of
Lightroom. That was cool. I'm not
using mine just yet but I will now!

Many of us PUGgers that were
in attendance want to get together
soon in a group and discuss what works
best for us and what actions and presets
we like best..a show and tell, if you will.
Let's get that on the books!

Hope you all can make it to tonight's PUG!
We'll be going over some WPPI stuff.

TCPPA's Super Monday

2008-04-01T07:13:00.000-07:00

(the following was pulled from my blog today)

Yesterday, TCPPA put on "Super Monday".
A day dedicated to education and all proceeds
went to our TCPPA chapter's charity,
Operation Smile.

I met Dave Johnson from National Camera yesterday
at the Hopkins Hennepin County Library to go
over work flow. The weather kept the other guy from
showing so I got at private 1 on 1 lesson from
a master of task handling. It was awesome!
We went straight from 10am to almost 4.
I learned so much and can't wait to start putting
my new found actions to work for me.
Dave is a folder guy and a list guy. yay!

I'm also now armed with the resources to leave
and delegate someone to do my work for me.
Well, should it come to that someday. God knows
I'd love to get someone else to do my post for me!
Hey, perhaps Gary would like to help me out
in the winter months when he's off (HA!).

Anyway, I was surprised to see that no one else was
signed up for this class. Maybe everyone else
has a perfect work flow or is outsourcing their
post. I'll be able to do it now on my own, faster
and get to the next project.

Dave recommends that you list what you do and
how much time you spend doing it...like a daily
time clock, so that you can see where your
"bottle necks" are and if you can actionize them.

What are your biggest tasks?
From start to finish...can you actually divide
how much time you spend on each event into the
money your are charging and determine if you
made money or lost money? CRAZY, I know..
Start with the first call and go to final delivery
of product. Where do you sit?
What's in your wallet!?

Don't get FOOLED today!

March Meeting wrap up

2008-03-26T13:52:00.000-07:00

Sorry this is so late in coming guys. WPPI got in the way.

What a great turn out we had on the 11th! Many of our regular attendees plus lots of new folks showed up to listen to our guest speaker.

Janet Mclaughlin, art director for "Minnesota Bride" magazine and Tiger Oak Publications was kind enough to come and talk to us about submissions and advertising. Some of the topics covered were: what makes an effective ad, submission guidelines with MN Bride and general good practices when submitting for consideration.

In a nutshell, Janet explained that it is very helpful to include a contact sheet (9 or more up) of all the images you have included on your submission cd. Also, it's very important to edit your events to about 30 shots each. Entire wedding collections are just way too tedious to sift through and therefore will not be considered.

She also explained that because of the publishing deadlines, it is vital to be timely with submissions.

Here are some shots from the night

Areas that they are looking for photos to use are:

Real Weddings

Photos from Friends

Bon Voyage (last page of the magazine)

On the advertising side, we talked about elements of an effective ad. Janet believes that the easier it is for a bride to read your information, the better off you'll be. Even small ads, when designed well, can be very effective. Ads with too many images and verbage can look cluttered and unattractive.

As a group, we looked through and discussed a number of ads. It was interesting to hear everyone's views on what they liked and didn't like about each one. Lot's of good questions were asked and answered.

If you would like more information on advertising with MN Bride or get on the email list for submissions, please contact Dena Alspach at dena.alspach@tigeroak.com

Even though we didn't win the Pictage challenge for most increased attendance, it was a great meeting and so much fun to see some new faces! Jason and I truly believe that we can all gain so much from each other. Friendly competition is always the best kind!

Thank you to Janet for speaking and thanks to you all for coming. Hope to see you in April. Details to come...

Best,

Stacey

April Meeting.

2008-03-25T19:19:00.000-07:00

Our PUG meeting is being scheduled for
Tuesday, April 15th. Tax day...UGH!

Details forthcoming.

See you all there.

AWESOME MARCH MEETING PLANNED!!

2008-03-05T19:44:00.001-08:00

Hey everyone,

Fellow Photographers, check out the AWESOME meeting we have planned for March!

We are lucky enough to have Janet Mclaughlin, art director for Tiger Oak Publishing and Minnesota Bride magazine coming to speak to us. Janet will be speaking about what makes an effective ad, what trends they are seeing within weddings, and the editorial submission process. Not only is Minnesota Bride a great local magazine, but as a part of Tiger Oak, Janet has the additional insight of what is going on in places like Wisconsin, Seattle, and Arizona. It is not everyday that we get the opportunity to pick the brain of someone in her capacity, so this is very exciting!

As a bonus, internationally acclaimed photographer, Mike Colon of Mike Colon Photographers (and educational resources) has been kind enough to donate two "On Location With Mike Colon: Toronto" DVD's. This is this a great way to watch and learn as Mike shoots the fabulous wedding of Veronica, the daughter of famous gown designer Ines Di Santo. Each of these DVD's are valued at $199 and will be given away as a drawing at the end of the meeting.

Finally, I know that some of you have inquired about getting free tradeshow tickets for WPPI. We will have them available at the meeting as well. If you are interested, please send us an email, so I can tell Pictage how many we will need.

We hope to set a new Minneapolis PUG attendance record, so please help us out and spread the word! Pictage members and guests are welcome.

Details:
March 11th, 2008
6:30 Social hour
7:00 Meeting Starts

email either of us for additional information
jason@stajastudios.com
stacey@stajastudios.com

Real or Rumor...

2008-02-13T06:20:00.000-08:00

Okay, I just received an e-mail from a photography
enthusiast friend of mine...tell me what you think.
This is the first I've heard of this.
Canon is working on this new technology for
watermarking inside the camera
Pretty cool, really but I have created a watermark
action for my images for when I place them online.

Thoughts?

Here Comes the Bride?

2008-02-12T05:38:00.000-08:00

Getting a bunch of photographers together to
discuss their game plans for shooting in the
sanctuary was a great idea!

Every Church is different, all lighting is
poor and some of the Church coordinators have
some pretty clear cut agendas that we must
abide by making our highly respected jobs
even more challenging for today's savvy brides!

We gathered at Excelsior's Mount Calvary Church
last night and everyone on hand brought along
their "bag of tricks".

We began by discussing our favorite lenses
and light modifiers. We then even shared where
we like to stand and how we move around the
sanctuary but what was most fun, I think everyone
would agree, was watching Jason and Stacey walk
arm & arm down the isle while we all jockied for
position and shot them walking in as bride & groom.

Our newest member, Jason, set up a remote flash
in the pew and fired it as they passed by for an
awesome lighting effect to jazz those run of the
mill isle shots...and less confess, we've all taken
those, am I right?!

After each run we huddled up and compared notes,
shutter speeds, f-stops and ISO's as well as images.
It was nice to see everyone sharing, caring and
respecting others opinions...awwww, can you feel
the love? Seriously tho', this was a terrific
idea and I want to thank Stacey & Jason for putting
it together and picking up the tab at Jake O'connor's.

For those of you that missed it, I'm waiting for
some of the attendee's images to post so in the
meantime, I'll throw some of mine up...

See you in March..details to come.

I think Jason looks like he's waiting for his
confessional in this shot! :)

Diary of a Washed Up Rock Star Wedding Photographer

2008-02-04T20:57:00.001-08:00

Anybody who has ever had the opportunity to meet Joe Photo, will love this video. Cinematic Studios and WPPI have teamed up for this video series. For those who don't know who Joe is, or haven't met him, he is a very talented photographer from Orange County, who has found a way to bring his inner rock star to the world of wedding photography. Pretty sweet if you ask me! Stay tuned for when part two shows up. In the meantime, have a laugh and a good day!

P.S. All photographers interested in learning more about this project, go to the following link.

Happy New Year 2008!

2008-01-13T12:39:00.003-08:00

Shame on me.
I was given a task...no, I requested the
task of taking care of this blog and I'm
afraid that I'm slipping and shirking
my responsibilities as an author!

THAT said, I would like to wish all of
our PUG members and their families a
righteously, prosperous new year!

I was not able to attend the January
meeting in that I was in Arizona celebrating
my father-in-laws 80th birthday...
So I will need to rely on Jason or Stacey
to write about this passed weeks meeting.

But, I CAN give the low-down on the December
to remember PUG gathering for those of you
that missed that one...

It was a night filled with food, wine, cookies
and board games....my favorite?....
Apples to Apples!

Altho' we had a really competitive round
of Cranium going also.

Jason tried to win back some money that
he lost to [b]ecker by encouraging people
to play some poker with him....

We had a great time, as usual...
including when Bill tried to draw
"creative cat" instead of "salute" when
his turn came around to draw!

See you at the February meeting!

PUG Holiday gathering..

2007-11-26T07:09:00.000-08:00

We are looking into the possibility of holding
the PUG party on the 11th, which is the date
that our PUG would take place anyway.
Please send either me or jason & stacey a
response if you can or cannot attend that
evening and we'll go from there....
thanks and have a blessed holiday season.

sue

November 13th wrap-up...

2007-11-14T07:13:00.000-08:00

we had an intimate group last night and
we talked a LOT!!! at times, in groups.

discussions were about goals mostly.
where are you now? where to you want to be?
where have you come from? things of that nature.

inspiring input was given by everyone and ultimately,
we all want the same things:
~more life!
~more financial freedoms and less guilt.
~to quit our day jobs and still provide for ourselves.
~respect from family
~respect from the industry
~to continue to do awesome work and maintain selfworth!

it all boils down to making choices. the right choices.
define your goals! i mean, really define your goals!
write them down, have them at your work station always
so that when faced with a decision you can look up and
ask yourself "will this bring me closer to my goal?"
sounds so simple doesn't it?

i'm attaching a form from mike larson on goals...

oh, and a photo of baby ian who was also in
attendance last night...

i'm working on getting information on how to
allow people to subscribe to our blogs. i'll perhaps
e-mail that out when i hear back so you don't have
to keep checking here! :)

have a great week everyone.
photograph something you haven't.

November meeting....

2007-11-11T20:16:00.000-08:00

our next PUG meeting is this Tuesday, the 13th.
I believe that we had discussed the possibility
of meeting at Bill Clark's home in Minnetonka
but I actually think that it's a "go" at the
studio.

we seriously need a photo of our group!

i would like to get a re-cap of erin johnson's
gallery extravaganza that i could NOT get to!

see you all on tuesday.

Stacey says that she just turns her phone off
or to silent when she rests so if you need to
contact her please dial her cell phone and or
contact jason for further updates on this meeting.

enjoying your fall?????
tell me about it in an e-mail with your favorite
images! PLEASE!!!

educational information...

2007-11-04T09:03:00.000-08:00

i met bob davis last summer at a tcppa event
here in eden prairie. he is truly an amazing
human being and a terrific teacher and he
wants to share his knowledge.
here's proof....i subscribe to their (he & his
wife dawn who happens to do all the post for him)
blog and this morning dawn posted about his
educational videos (DVDs) that are coming out
later this month or december at the latest.

please check out the lastoria blog and watch
for the upcoming release of this educational
materials and subscribe to their blog!

if you aren't familiar with bob's work....
you should be. change that today! :)

bob was planning on coming back up from chicago
this coming summer to speak again for tcppa.
i pray he still can make time to come.

tcppa is also holding their print competition
tomorrow...monday november 5th at the hennepin
technical center in eden prairie. you all should
come!

Welcome Ian Jason Thon..

2007-10-31T09:21:00.002-07:00

Hey everyone,
If you are interested in more details about the new
Thon, please head to their blog!
Ian was born around lunchtime on Monday the 29th of October.
They have posted a photo on their blog...
Super precious! :)
Congrats Stacy & Jason!

Liz Banfield...

2007-10-10T13:37:00.001-07:00

Sorry for the delay in posting my wrap for
our PUG meeting Tuesday evening 10/9/07.

Liz Banfield graciously accepted our invitation
to come and speak to the group regarding
getting your work published as well as sharing
her background and bits of her personal life.

Liz came in, sat down and ran through her program that
she will be sharing with tons of other photographers
attending the photoplus expo so she said
that it was good for her to come see us first as
she wasn't certain how she was going to organize
her thoughts and images.

Liz was laid back and really just explained that
we should all start to shoot our weddings to the
caliber that editors would want to place in their
magazines...i mean not that we don't all now do
that but that we should be submitting weddings for
publication whenever we can. like for me, and maybe
you too, i just really wanted a to shoot for the bride
and be certain that she was thrilled with my work.
it never really occurred to me to go after publishing.
Liz says locate the photo editor's name and address on
the inside of magazines and just go for it!
simple enough, right?
let's do what we can soon and then report back to
the group when we hear back from some of these
editors and cheer one another on...even if ours does
not get selected. we are a very talented group
of individuals with different life goals but the
same professional ones...get hired, do great work and
get more great work from that and so on...grow as
photographers and share our God given talents with
those around us.

another way to support one another within our own group
is to attend showings of our PUGmates whenever we can!
here's one of the first...erin johnson
erin passed out invites last night but if you could not
attend...here's the information. see you there!

Bruce Dorn

2007-10-08T09:43:00.001-07:00

First, I'd like to thank Bjorn and David for sitting with me
even tho' I still smelled like a campfire from the night before!
I was standing in the lobby waiting to be allowed in the
auditorium when I spotted the guys...fellow PUGers...
then Stacey called me. "Hey Jason and I are so bummed
we can't be there for the Bruce Dorn program, can you take notes
for us?" and I was like, "Bruce Dorn?" who's Bruce Dorn?"
You see, I purchased this ticket so long ago and paper clipped
it to my calendar as to not forget to go and nowhere on this
ticket does it say anything about the speaker..just that it
is "IDC presents: Digital Photography Edge". clearly, I hadn't
a clue but Stacey steered me straight...the 3 of us went in
and grabbed a seat in the front row.

So, the big news, and I know you won't even believe me,
is that there as been a HUGE flood of interest in FILM coming
back into the market. Apparently brides have gotten savvy and
have discovered that the photographers that used to shoot film
have an edge over those that have only shot digital!
i know, crazy, right?

Well, okay..you all just failed my bull~sh*t test! :P

okay, moving on....just wanted to see if i could get you!~

Here is some points that i saw fit to write down...

3-things that they look for in lighting:
1)Quality of light
2)Direction of light
3) and the least important but considered is Intensity

When putting together an album they make certain that they
have covered the wedding day like a "3 Act Play"~
*****Preparation, Ceremony, Celebration*****

Bruce loves to couple natural light with artificial for a
more well rounded image.

He also loves to tell the couples to "almost kiss".
Bruce says this, more often than not, creates more for them
than they imagined. I know I'm going to try it next wedding!

Bruce suggests exploring commercial photography and
attract more types of clients. He strongly feels that
you can not just say you do one thing or another in
this business cuz you'll market yourself right out of it.
Interesting.

Bruce brings to the still camera quite a bit of cinematic
style photography from the Hollywood days (where he met
his wife, Maura).
He likes to look at light as an actual character in
the image...I think we all knew that but never really
looked at it that way, am I right?
Use a lot of back light with a bounce...(that's a no
brainer!) to get rim light and fill with minimal
equipment.

Another suggestion Bruce shares is one of being aware
of your surroundings by simply keeping your left eye
open when shooting (I do that a lot, do you?).
Train your left eye to be comfortable open whether
with a wide angle or a zoom while shooting.

Movies he recommends watching for just lighting ideas
are "The girl with the Pearl Earring" (Scarlet Johanson)
and "Pride and Prejudice" for posing ideas
also Baz Luhrmann's "Romeo & Juliet" (Leo DeCaprio)-ugh!

Okay, one last cool thing...
shoot one "pro~bono" wedding a year for, say, that client
that maybe just can't quite afford you...then let them
know that you get all creativity! I like that idea!

Wouldn't it be fun if we, as a group, could call on
one another to shoot a pro~bono wedding and use the
images for whatever we wanted and create an album
without any constraints!?? Who's in with me??!

See you all Tuesday night.

gary fong moves to wisconsin

2007-10-06T09:09:00.002-07:00

well, not gary, but his fulfillment operations.
check his blog for 10/5.
Who would like to head over to Madison and take
in a tour? wouldn't that be fun???

Trash the Dress...

2007-10-03T13:03:00.000-07:00

Ever want to get together to do a "Trash the Dress" session?
Well, in case you didn't see in on Gary Fong's blog...here ya go...
trash the dress

oh, and don't be afraid to leave a comment.
and ummm, i haven't gotten ANY fall images from anyone so
i may just elect myself the winner and eat the candy corn! ;)

Greetings Fellow Photographers!

2007-09-25T08:10:00.000-07:00

Sue Austin here...
I have been given the distinct privilege
and honor to tend to our PUG blog.
I accepted willfully!

I would like to begin by perhaps asking
anyone that is interested to e-mail me
a fun fall image...either simply gorgeous
color or a favorite outdoor family session
image. The colors should be popping in the
next week or two and i thought it might
be a nice way to color up our blog.
All entrants will receive a bag of brach's
pumpkins or candy corn! ;)

here is some inspiration...
the first one is a shot my neighbor took
last year up north...not bad!

and this tree is down the street from my
friend gerri's house...it looked like it
was on fire!!

If you haven't already, please mark your
calendars for Tuesday, October 9th for our
next PUG meeting. Topics are forthcoming.

Have a great day and check back often!

And The Winner Is??????

2007-08-30T20:29:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Tasha with f8 design photography, who won the first Minneapolis PUG contest and will be moving on to represent our group in the national competition.

It was a very tight contest with honorable mentions going to Melissa Johnson

and Sue Austin, who made it anything but a run-away!

I would like to thank everyone who participated and voted. You all did a great job.

PUG Photo Contest

2007-08-19T09:52:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,

Here are the entries for the PUG "People" Print Competition.

If you all could send your vote to jason@stajastudios.com with the number that you would like to vote for. Please remember not to vote for your own image. The winner will be entered into the national PUG contest. Each PUG will have one representative and the winning image from those will win a gift certificate.

With that in mind, "drum roll please", here are the images!

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

#7

#8

May 15th PUG Meeting

2007-05-13T20:43:00.000-07:00

TUESDAY, MAY 15, 2007
7:00PM

Staja Studios
5205 West 73rd Street
Edina, MN 55439

Local Agenda:

* Melissa Hasson will be here from Pictage to demonstrate the album designer

Pictage Agenda:

* New proof books
* Companion books
* Pictage learn site

We look forward to seeing you all there.

- Jason & Stacey

April 10th Wrap-Up

2007-04-13T19:20:00.001-07:00

Stacey and I would like to thank everyone who was able to make Tuesday's PUG meeting. One again we had double digit turnout!

In review, for the month of April we went over the following topics:

Paul Fletcher - Spotlight Studio
Pictage's new proof books
Pictage's new companion albums
Pictage's learn site
and we held a roundtable discussion on blogs

The majority of the roundtable discussion focused on the purpose of using blogs, the approach to take toward a blog, and how to increase exposure and viewership.

What were the themes we came up with?

#1) A blog serves photographers very well because it allows our clients to keep up with us and see our latest work very quickly.

#2) Should your blog be personal or business? The general agreement was that it should be a combination of both. The business portion helps clients see some new work and that you really are a photographer where the personal side lets people into your life and gives them an idea of who you are as a person.

#3) Post as often as you can. This helps make people want to come back more frequently

#4) Find a niche/become an expert - try and find something unique to post about. Incorporate that idea into your blog, it will make people want to read more frequently (one very successful blog is about a guy who talks about being boring).

#5) Look for unique features and things to add to your blog.

#6) LINK, LINK, LINK - Linking helps you in the google search engine. There are countless ways and things you can link to.

#7) Use keywords in your posting titles - The search engines look at these posting headings.

Some photographers blogs that were mentioned that various people like
simple photo life
[b]eckers blog
gosip - jessica claire
me ra koh
open source photo
cup of joe photo

I hope everyone enjoyed the conversation and were able to leave with some new ideas.

For those of you who may be interested, I am attaching a PDF of the Agenda for the Pictage topics.

Housecleaning items:

#1) Who would be interested in attending a 1 day workshop if I am able to set it up. I am thinking of trying to get Zack Arias bring his one light photogrpahy workshop to town. The following are various links to what he is doing.

www.onelightworkshop.com - workshop site
www.usedfilm.com - Zack's Music Photography
www.KillTheFill.com - Zack's Blog

The cost would be $325 - $350/person for the day. This would be open to anyone you think would be interested and we would be looking for 8+ people to attend.

Zack does a lot of music photography and typically lines up a band or two in the area to shoot.

I think it would be interesting a different yet somewhat minimalist way to approach lighting.

#2) Does anyone have ideas as to what they would like to have for topics in the next year? Two things we are looking at so far are storage ideas (External Hardrives, Raids, etc.), a workflow discussion, and a group shoot; however, we are always looking for additional ideas.

In closing, congratulations to Bjorn Meisnerr for winning the $100 in Pictage credit, and the reward of doing June's Studio Spotlight. We are also hoping to have Noemi do next months spotlight. Stacey and I hope you are all doing well and we look forward to next month's meeting.

Take Care,

Jason and Stacey Thon
Staja Studios

April 10th PUG Meeting

2007-04-08T20:48:00.000-07:00

TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2007
7:00PM

Staja Studios
5205 West 73rd Street
Edina, MN 55439

Local Agenda:

Studio Spotlight: Paul Fletcher

* Are you using a blog to MARKET your business?
* The points we are going to be looking at include:
- Are you currently using a blog?
- Should your blog be strictly business, personal, or a mix?
- What do you want to accomplish with your blog?
- Is your blog sending a consistent message with your site?
- What blogs out there do you enjoy reading (if any)

Pictage Agenda:

* New proof books
* Companion books
* Pictage learn site

We look forward to seeing you all there.

- Jason & Stacey

March 20th Wrap-Up

2007-03-28T20:07:00.000-07:00

First off, Stacey and I would like to thank everyone for showing up. This has been the second month in a row where we have had our best turnout yet! It is great to see a core group of people coming on a regular basis, along with new people coming to check out the meeting for the first time.

For this month of March we went over the following topics:

*Tom Ekblad - Spotlight Studio
*Pictage's order by text function
*Pictage's new 2-for-1 automation promotion
*Pictage's new event owner releases
*"The Wedding Report"
*Roundtable discussion on what parts of a wedding give you trouble.

The majority of the roundtable discussion focused on formals, and the following ideas were tossed around:

#1) How do you prevent yourself from getting bogged down/off-track/and losing momentum when doing formals?

Some of the ideas to help in this area where to be very prepared, have a list of the shots you need to get, and start posing your groups from bride and groom and then adding people or vice versa so you remove people from the frame and end up with just the B/G as the last shot

#2) What do I do if I find myself consistently shooting more formals than I (yes the key word is I) want to?

Some of the ideas:
Set a time limit per wedding/package on formals
Put a limit on the number of groupings per wedding/package
Put a time value per grouping and explain to the couple how time can really add up
Cut down on the possibilities you give your couple (don't fill their head with ideas).

#3) Any suggestions on using fill flash for outdoor formals?

An idea that was brought up is to use a flash lower than the camera to help fill in the shadows set on manual at 1/16 power.

Congratulations to Paul Fletcher for winning the $100 in Pictage credit, and the reward of doing next month's Studio Spotlight. Stacey and I hope you are all doing well and we look forward to next month's meeting.

In closing, we would like to thank everyone for helping making this group a fun and informative evening every month. One thing to keep in mind is that we all come to these meetings with a different background, style, experience level, etc. With those diverse backgrounds, there are bound to be different approaches that work for everyone. My goal is that we all can learn from one another's experiences, be open to new ideas, and above all be patient and willing to share! I want this to be a place where we all can foster new relationships and feel comfortable in giving and asking for advice. I know that we are all very passionate about photography, and hopefully we all can remember that there is more than one way of doing things.

Take care,

- Jason and Stacey Thon

February 13th Wrap-Up

2007-02-17T21:24:00.000-08:00

February's meeting resulted in one of our better turn-outs. We had 13 people attend the meeting and had the privilege of having Glenn J. Schwartz (Attorney and Counselor at Law) as a guest speaker.

Glenn talked to us about the importance of a sound contract and how it can help protect you. Some of the highlights included:
- Get the terms of the agreement in writing
- Make sure both parties are identified (names and addresses)
- Don't be afraid to get additional signatures (ie. bride or groom's parents)
- If you collect a retainer or deposit make sure "non-refundable" is stated and why

In case you might be interested in Glenn's services, he practices business and real-estate law along with estate planning.

After Glenn's discussion, Stacey and Jason Thon of Staja Studios were this month's Spotlight Studio. They talked about their business and showed a couple of slideshows. One of the main highlights was about how they strive to create some fine art pieces for each wedding, and how they incorporate various media applications in their marketing.

Rounding off the night was the monthly drawing for $100 in lab credit which went to Tom Ekblad . Congratulations Tom!

We are looking forward to having someone in from Pictage next month to give a demo on their Album Designer 3.0. We hope to see you there.

MNPPA Technology Camp 2007

2007-02-01T11:43:00.001-08:00

For all of you who could use a little help in the Photoshop area, don't miss this opportunity to learn from one of the best. Kevin Kubota of kkphotodesign and kubota image tools will be instructing at the MNPPA 2007 Technology Camp. Not only is he an accomplished photographer and photoshop guru, he is an excellent speaker. I would strongly encourage anyone to attend.

For more details visit the MNPPA website.

Studio Spotlight - Staja Studios

2007-01-28T13:09:00.000-08:00

February's studio spotlight will be on Stacey & Jason Thon of Staja Studios. Stacey and Jason are primarily wedding, and lifestyle portrait photographers based in St. Louis Park, MN. At the next PUG meeting (Tuesday - February 13, 2007), they will be showcasing some of their work and discussing their business. Be sure to come and check them out!

Be sure to check out their slideshow, and the sample images below.

January 9th Wrap-Up

2007-01-17T21:51:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone! Our first PUG meeting of the year was a lot of fun. It wasn't as segmented as usual, but it was more interactive. We conducted a branding exercise in which everyone brought in work samples, and all of the members that were in attendance gave 2-4 words that they felt described that persons work. I thought it provided some excellent insight into how others perceive our work, which can be helpful in explaining our work to a client. If it matched up with your own perception, great. If not, it gives you something to think about.

The nights activities finished with the drawing for $100 in lab credit, which went to Sue Austin of Austin Images. Congratulations Sue!

We look forward to seeing everyone next month.

Happy Holidays Everyone!!

2006-12-13T19:58:00.000-08:00

Well 2006 is in the books for the Minneapolis PUG and we are looking foward to 2007. Our last meeting was actually not a meeting at all, but a fun dinner party. There ended up being a total of 17 (11 members and 6 spouses) of us who got together and had a great time. It is always fun to see everyone and hear what they are doing and how their business is going, etc. We really have a good group of regulars and seem to be picking up some new members along the way.

For 2007 we hope to have some fun and interesting things in mind for the meetings. If all goes well, we will be having more speakers come in and have some more interactive things planned. In January (Tuesday the 9th), we are all going to be bringing in samples of our work to get feedback for a brand building exercise. I think everyone has an idea of how they would describe their photography, but it should be interesting to hear how someone else would define your style, or the feeling it portrays. We are hoping everyone will find it beneficial, and we should all be able to walk out of the meeting with some ideas.

In closing, Stacey and I want to wish you all a great holiday season and we look forward to seeing more of everyone in 2007!!!!

November 14th Wrap-Up

2006-11-16T19:39:00.000-08:00

Well, November's meeting seemed to be a real success. We had about 12 photographers show up, and it seemed like they all enjoyed themselves and walked away with some new ideas at the very least. This was our first meeting under the new format, which included our first studio spotlight.

Sue Austin of Austin Images was nice enough to volunteer to do the first studio spotlight. It was fun to hear about how she has worked her way into the photography business and the kind of things she enjoys shooting. She does primarly portrait and wedding work. I think one of the most interesting things about her business is how she has aligned herself with a couple of wedding cooridinators in Mexico and does some destination weddings there. I think everyone thought that Mexico sounded awfully nice come the winter months. Here is a picture of Sue during her presentation along with a few of the group members taking it all in.

Next, Erin Johnson gave a recap of the Denis Reggie Conclave workshop that she had just returned from. This was an excellent opportunity to hear a few pieces of advice that she picked up from one of the industry's best. For those of you who haven't heard of Denis, he is essentially the godfather of "wedding photojournalism". I think we all left with some great information. Erin did a fabulous job articulating some of the topics he had discussed, one of which was knowing who your target market is. If you know who you want to attract as clients, it allows you to approach your marketing in a more precise manner. Here is a shot of Erin, and another of Erika McCauley diligently taking notes.

Erin also talked about an on-camera flash technique that Denis calls "foofing". It is essentialy using available walls (usually natural tones) as large reflectors to bounce light off of. This allows you to get a directional lighting effect while still using an on-camera flash. The one thing you want to make sure of is that your flash can swivel 360 degrees in order to use your available surroundings. This same effect can be used off of drapery, or linens. Here is an example using a wall to Erin's right.

If you notice, the one side of her face is nicely lit while the other side is shadowed, helping provide some dimension. We thought it would be fun if everyone practiced this method and sent us your favorite couple of pictures using the "foofing" technique. We can then run them as a slideshow at an upcoming meeting.

We also wanted to congratulate Elaine Wallace who won the raffle for $100 in Pictage credit.

All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed the meeting and it is always nice to get together to talk shop! Once again, we would like to thank Sue and Erin for speaking.

Notes:
In preperation for 2007, please think of any pictage related guests or photographers that you may be interested in hearing speak.

We look forward to seeing you at the next meeting and will be sending out information soon regarding the holiday party.

- Jason & Stacey Thon
Staja Studios

The Next Minneapolis PUG Meeting Is On November 14th!

2006-11-02T04:55:00.000-08:00

Come, Experience, and Learn.

There will be a PUG meeting held on November 14, 2006, in Minneapolis hosted by Staja Studios. We encourage you to join us for this mini photography workshop!

Every PUG meeting is a tremendous opportunity for you to learn and make valuable industry contacts, and this meeting promises to deliver. We'll be talking about the latest industry buzz, marketing tips, shooting techniques . . . the sky's the limit. Most importantly, you'll be able to meet and network with a lot of photographers in your area.

Join us for this PUG meeting, and help cultivate a community of photographers in your area from which you can draw support, inspiration, and knowledge.

PUG LEADER: Jason and Stacey Thon

WHERE:
Staja Studios
5205 West 73rd Street
Edina, MN 55439

WHEN: Tuesday, November 14, 2006 at 7:00PM

Local Agenda:
* Studio Spotlight: Sue Austin of Austin Images Photography
* Erin Johnson will do a recap of the Dennis Reggie Conclave workshop
* Wedding Discussion: What flash and/or lighting techniques do you use during a typical wedding day?

Pictage Agenda:
* Prepare your business and our PUG for 2007

PS. Mark your calendar for the next Minneapolis PUG Meeting (Holiday Party) on December 12th

Studio Spotlight - Austin Images Photography

2006-10-29T21:14:00.000-08:00

November's studio spotlight will be on Sue Austin of Austin Images Photography. She is a wedding, senior, and portrait photographer based in Eden Prairie, MN. At the next PUG meeting (Tuesday - November 14, 2006), she will be showcasing some of her work and discussing her business. Be sure to come and check her out!

Here are a few of her images from a wedding in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico.

Argente Photographie Open House

2006-10-12T18:51:00.000-07:00

One of our members (Argente Photographie) will be having an open house on the 21st of October from 6-11pm. There will be art, music, refreshments and some food.

Chris Prideaux wanted to make sure that everyone knows they are welcome. The address is below.

Argente Photographie
2800 Lyndale Ave. S.
Minneapolis, MN 55408

It sounds like a good time!

October 10th Wrap-up

2006-10-12T18:30:00.000-07:00

All in all, I think our October meeting was a success. To start things off, everyone got acclimated to the new surroundings. This was followed by an Art Leather presentation conducted by Stacey Goodell, which appeared to be well received by everyone. It was nice to have someone come in and give us a demonstration of some new products that are available.

With all of the changes that are taking place, we felt it would be good to get an idea of what everyone would like to accomplish with our monthly meetings. We are going to be conducting studio spotlights which will be a great chance for everyone to learn more about each member and how they conduct their business. In addition, some good ideas that were brought up included:

Bringing in more vendors (Canon, Nikon)
Business speakers (West Photo, an accountant, contract lawyer, etc.)
Group Photo-shoots
A Couples Roundtable
Media and Technology segments (monthly to quarterly)

Any additional ideas are gladly accepted. The more active our members are, the more informative and informational the meetings will be. Rounding out the nights festivities was our first Pictage raffle where Erin Johnson of Erin Johnson Photography won $100 in lab credit. Congratulations Erin!

Overall, it was good a good meeting and is always fun to see everyone.

Stay tuned for details about our next meeting and who will be speaking.

The Next Minneapolis PUG Meeting is on October 10th!

2006-09-29T22:21:00.000-07:00

Come, Experience, and Learn.

There will be a PUG meeting held on October 10, 2006, in Edina hosted by Staja Studios. We encourage you to join us for this mini photography workshop!

Every PUG meeting is a tremendous opportunity for you to learn and make valuable industry contacts, and this meeting promises to deliver. We'll be talking about the latest industry buzz, marketing tips, shooting techniques . . . the sky's the limit. Most importantly, you'll be able to meet and network with a lot of photographers in your area.

Join us for this PUG meeting, and help cultivate a community of photographers in your area from which you can draw support, inspiration, and knowledge.

PUG LEADER: Jason & Stacey Thon

WHERE:
Staja Studios
5205 West 73rd Street
Edina, MN 55439

WHEN: Tuesday, October 10, 2006 at 7:00PM

Local Agenda:
* Art Leather will be here to discuss and share products.

Pictage Agenda:
* Partner Conference Post Script

PS. Mark your calendar for these upcoming Minneapolis PUG Meetings: November 12th and December 12th!

Woof Woof

2006-09-29T19:01:00.000-07:00

Welcome Everyone to the official blog for the Minneapolis PUG. As you may have read, we are a group of local photographers that have met through the common use of an online lab and hosting site called Pictage. We meet once a month to help one another learn, grow, and improve. Please continue to visit us, as we will be spotlighting our members and keeping each other up to date on what is going on in the ever changing industry of wedding and portrait photography.

Stay tuned for more to come!