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SIMPLIFY THE PROCESS – 3 ways to use albums to guarantee sales!

Hey everyone!

I wanted to talk to you all the ease of using albums to guarantee sales. With my portrait work, I am definitely an album person, and this year, I am going to explore different ways to incorporate my album thought process with other products. Sometimes photographers feel that they can not sell albums.

Over the course of 3 days, I am going to post my top 3 tips regarding using albums to guarantee sales! So make sure you’re checking back each day!

Number one: SHOOT FOR THE ALBUM

Break your photo session down like a set if you do not already. Within each set, decide of a certain number of images. What is a set? It could be photographing within a certain location, a certain lighting set up, a certain outfit, or even using a particular prop! Think about how you can arrange each set within the album BEFORE you start shooting. I do this all the time, and it is a proven to provide enough variety to build an album.

Number two: HAVE AN INDECISIVE CLIENT? SUGGEST ALBUMS.

As photographers, we tend to push clients towards wall portraits. Now do not get me wrong, I am not telling you all to NOT do that. However, let’s face it…. we ALL run into the indecisive client. The one that isn’t sure what to blow up because they love too many images. Albums are a great way to help them with this dilemma! So my lab is H&H Color Lab ( https://www.hhcolorlab.com ), and they just created this product called the “Edge Wrap”. I literally just received my sample of this product and it is PERFECT! I call it the VISUAL album…even though traditional albums are visual! ha! Anyways, when I received my studio sample, I created a video review. If you haven’t seen it yet, here’s the link! H&H Color lab was nice enough to give me a 50% coupon code to pass on to all of you so that you can also create your own studio sample! It is AWEDGEWRAP! This code is good until 7/31/19!

Number three: ALBUMS SHOWCASE YOUR SKILL SET AS A PHOTOGRAPHER.

So we all know when you’re images are huge and big on the wall, that feels great to us as photographers right? We also believe that having a huge image on the wall is a talking piece. Do not discount the client who can showcase an album or even the new product I mentioned above that will show how you can create variety.

As professional photographers, how many times have you heard this… “I just want one good shot!” I mean… we can create a LOT of good shots right? I do not want to be known as the “one shot photographer”. By giving my client a product or product(s) that showcase my skill set as a photographer is a win/win.

So when a photographer states… ” I LOVE THEM ALL!!!!” Now you have an alternative!

…to be continued tomorrow!

Comparison is the Thief of Joy

KATC

“Comparison is the thief of joy” – Theodore Roosevelt

I am sure many of us have heard that quote before, and it makes sense to all of us when we read it. Does it help us NOT compare ourselves to others? No…no it doesn’t.

I used this picture of young tween girls because….I mean…isn’t this where comparison begins??  It begins at the tween stage. ::sigh::: I could go on and on here….

Since my mother passed away, I have had to really confront a lot of my natural everyday emotions. She was the one person that I could literally say anything to and not only would she under…but she had a way to advise me without coddling and judgement. It was a delicate balance she walked..and she did it well when I came to her with a vent.

I now know that it is ok to feel angry….sad…envious…jealous…defeated…proud….etc. All of those are emotions that I think are normal, and we should allow ourselves to FEEL them. I embrace all of those things…because I wouldn’t be normal if I didn’t. Now the tricky part is how you channel those emotions. I mean….as much as I love her..Im envious of Beyonce! How did she achieve all that she has?  ( those that know me know that I  love love Beyonce! )

Comparison isn’t going to stop. You need to figure out WHY you’re comparing…and then channel the energy.

Now here’s the channeling part….

Instead of wondering if she is secretly unhappy, or if she experiences things that I may in my everyday life, I focus on the positive things. What can I learn from her work ethic? Isn’t that one thing that I am envious of? What is she doing and/or providing that keeps millions of people interested, without giving away too much about who she is?

So…yes…I realize I am talking about a music artist…but the thought process is the same! When I think of my work…do I think I can improve? YES! Does that mean I don’t love my work? No way…I do love it. In fact.. AWTeaches ( and more importantly…the VP Box) was created because I realized that I am on a constant journey of improvement and change. I wanted to bring those that follow me into my mindset as I am always looking to improve…regardless of how good I may be doing at the time.

I realized that I have some photographer friends that I adore who are KILLING it both artistically and professionally, that have work that I would never created. I love to look at it…but is my mind ready to create that work? No. Are they more successful than me? Based on my personal business goals…some are. Are they more successful because of their work?

NO. That was such a huge eye opener for me. I love their work…but everything I love…doesn’t mean I should create it.

So this turned into a ramble as usual. I have a photo session shortly and I need to get on the road soon. However, comparing for the sake of comparing doesn’t produce a goal for you. Figure out WHY you’re comparing yourself, and tackle the “why’s” one by one.

– Do you feel you need to improve your creativity?
– Do you lack a plan?
– Are you just bottling a lot inside and it is just preventing you from moving forward?

Sometimes I feel like I am talking to air when I ramble…but…its a bit therapeutic for me..so I am going to keep at it! 🙂

Enjoy your weekend al!!

(Ignore the typos and grammar. This post was written from the heart…not perfection)

The Confident Photographer

 

That word… “CONFIDENT“.

The last FFT was pretty long, so I decided to go a light on you guys for the weekend!

Let me address an elephant that might be in the room… Do I consider myself confident? You all know I am honest….regardless of how my honesty may translate to others. So, I think I appear confident to most. Do I consider myself confident? No.

I do feel I have convictions.

Let me give you the definition of conviction…”a firmly held belief or opinion.”

I am fairly educated, but the first time I heard that word used freely was when my brother said it at my mother’s funeral. My mom passed away WAY too young almost 3 years ago to cancer. I personally wasn’t strong enough to speak myself at her funeral…so my brother wrote out a letter that he read to the church on our behalf for our mom. He said… ” Our mother held steadfast within her convictions”

My mother was very strong. She was extremely educated with multiple degrees…and went back to school to become an ordained minister by earning a masters of divinity when she left the medical field.

She encompassed everything I hope I can achieve….mentally, physically and spiritually.

My entire life I felt my mother was the true definition of confidence. When my brother said that…it made me rethink a lot of things…mostly about me. Having convictions isn’t necessarily confidence.  It is having a firm belief in one or more things. THAT’S IT!

THAT IS ME!

Then I looked back at myself…and photography. I have a LOOOTTTT of convictions!!!

– Full Sun

– Natural Light…well ALL LIGHT!

– My time

– My family

I mean the list can go on and on… but I have my beliefs and I stick to them. I grow and nurture those convictions of mine. As a result… they have helped me in more ways than one! I have convintions within my work. I have convictions regarding how I run my business.

Does that mean I am confident? No! Im insecure about a lot of things…but my convictions help shape me as a person. I would suspect that each and every one of you have your own convictions. I think it is important to really think about them and write them down. They shape and form who you are. They define your artistic vision.

Own them….

Remember…No one can tell you that your convictions are incorrect. Because of that fact alone….makes you appear confident.

Enjoy your weekend everyone!

~AW

( please ignore the typos and grammar. This post was written from the heart, and not perfection)

My Favorite Videos

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Embrace the Grain

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Musings About Color Casts

When editing our images, color has always been the bane of our existence. We wonder…

“Is my color off?”

“I still see a color cast!”

“My favorite photographer consistently has a magenta tone to their images, when is a color cast part of someone’s style??”

In this AW Musings video, I will discuss color casts and what the masses will deem as acceptable and why.

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Envision The Shot

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City Light Promo

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Creative Corner Introduction Video

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The Lightroom Challenge

Ok! This video is in response to my thread I created in my Facebook Group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/exposurewithaudrey/) about editing in Lightroom only. I asked posters to share with me an image of mine that they want to see me edit in Lightroom only. Many of the images didn’t qualify and in the beginning of this video, I go over those images. I also show you some of the similar controls in Adobe Camera RAW that match Lightroom.

I ended it with editing one of the images that someone listed, and someone also sent me an image to edit…and I edited that one as well in Lightroom.

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