Thursday, January 21, 2010

RadioPoppers!

I just received my new Radio Poppers and a new Canon 580 EXII flash and stand. I'm going to develop my off-camera flash skills. The Poppers can fire a canon flash from over 1000' away. I am going to try some backlit silhouette shots after dark, and some nice side lighting for my wedding and senior clients.

I evaluated the Radio Poppers as well as Paul C Buff's Cyber Commander and the Sekonic Pocket Wizards. The Poppers have by far the best range.

Now I just have to figure out how to operate multiple flash units on my Canon rig. I have the 580 EXII, a 430 EX and two poppers (transmit and receive). Next I'll add the FPE-2 and another receiver so I can run two remote flashes off camera.

I'll post some sample shots once I get it all working.

Monday, January 18, 2010

New eBook: Dance Studio Photography


I just finished the first draft of my first book! It's titled Dance Studio Photography: A Guide for Professional Photographers. It covers these areas:

Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: The Many Types of Dance Photography
Chapter 3: Entering the Market
Chapter 4: Setting up the Commercial Arrangements
Chapter 5: Setting Up
Chapter 6: Conducting the Photography Session
Chapter 7: Post Production and Proofing
Chapter 8: Selling
Chapter 9: Order Fulfillment
Chapter 10: Troubleshooting
Chapter 11: Creating an Action Plan


Without images or diagrams, it's 34 pages of single space type. I'll be adding lots of embellishments, images and helpful charts and diagrams, so I expect it will finish around 50 pages at 8.5x11".


I'm leaning to release it as an eBook through Lulu.com. I know it's kind of a niche market but there is literally nothing out there on working with this market.

The first photographer who messages me gets a free preview copy. The only hook is that they must proofread it for me and offer critial feedback.

Click here to be that person.

Saturday, January 2, 2010

New Blog: Erie Weddings!

Today I launched a new blog, aimed at potential wedding clients in the Erie Area. This blog, called Erie Wedding, will discuss many things of interest for people getting married in the Erie area.

I intend to use this to create value for engaged couples getting married in Erie, independent of their choice of wedding photographer. This will create legitimacy and name recognition for my business, build strong links with partners, and drive eyeballs to my websites and other blogs.

Check it out...perhaps this type of content aggregation may work for you in your community as well.