Showing posts with label Announcements. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Announcements. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
I Have A New Blog!
You're seeing this because you loaded my RSS feed or my blogger address! Hey! Thanks! WOO HOO! Guess what? I moved my blog. The address is still http://www.rephotodesign.info, but the RSS link change. So head to the new blog then update your RSS!
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
And The Nominees Are...
Today I did my initial run through of all the wedding and engagement photos I've given out this year. After looking at 27,928 images from 25 weddings and many engagement sessions, the nominees total 556! This will be cut down further before the final vote for the top 100. I've already picked 2 of my top 3 weddings of the year as well! The third is too close to call. The final images aren't always my decision. In the past I have released the nominees for public vote amongst family and friends. I will be doing that again this year, so stay tuned for your invitation to vote!
Here's a sneak peak at the top 556. Get out your magnifying glass!
Here's a sneak peak at the top 556. Get out your magnifying glass!
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Pic _ _ _ _
Pictage or PickPic. Well, I did it. I stopped using Pictage and started using PickPic. I feel elated, but not ELATED!!!! There is some sense of walking away with my tail between my legs.
First, my PUG people. This is the Pictage User Group that I get together with every month. The good thing is that not everyone there is a Pictage user, so I'l still be seeing everyone every month! How could I not? If it wasn't for this group I wouldn't have some of the closest friends that I have today. I wouldn't have gone to or done some of the things that have grown my business and myself especially as a photographer.
Second, Pictage itself. I really don't want to get into detail all the reasons why I left. They are things that I hear a lot of complaints about amongst photographers and even the general public. I know there are other alternatives to Pictage out there, but they are not as in-depth, complete, and easy to use as Pictage, which is what makes Pictage so popular.
As all my clients are probably aware of by now, I have a new site for my online proofing and sales! It is rephotodesign.net. This site was installed with PickPic. Where do I begin with how great this is?
Although it is PickPic's system, it is really REPhotoDesign's system. All orders, inquiries, payments, customer service, etc, goes through me. The only involvement with PickPic is that I purchased the program from them and they installed it on my server. Unlike Pictage, PickPic has nothing to do with my sales, prints, products, and customer support. That's all on my shoulders now! I think this becomes more apparent since my .net looks just like my website and blog. It's all about branding! What do I want to put the REPhotoDesign name on or associate it with? Pictage was not the answer for me.
One reason why I chose the PickPic system is because they are now owned by the amazing lab that I use for my prints. Integration between the two is coming soon! Which will make things a little easier on my end. Also, my costs have been lowered. So much so that my print prices have been lowered! This is making my clients and guests of weddings happier and is generating more sales for me, which means more income. I love that I get to crop and check orders before they are sent to print. And your prints should be at your door in 3-4 business days!
This winter I will be putting all of my products on .net available for purchase. My clients and guests can pick out their photos for their album, and order their album, right through .net. My canvas prints are already available. I'll have more products on there for my clients to choose from soon. The best thing is that the products are the same products I show in my office!
So it was a tough decision to leave Pictage, but a good one at the same time. I think about what is good for my clients before I think about what works for me. For my business, PickPic is a better option for all.
Check out REPhotoDesign.net! Since you won't have passwords for the events, here are a bunch of screen shots.
Here's what .net looks like after the initial redirect from the splash page. I'm working on a new splash page.
Once into an event you can see the categories. At the top of the list is a link to a slideshow. Before this, guests rarely got to see the slideshow that I make for my clients online and on DVD.
It looks even nicer with a vertical image.
Each category has 30 images per page. It's a very simple clean look with just the image number underneath.
Once you choose an image you can pick an image size. It will even show you and allow you to adjust the crop for every size available. You can make the images black and white and preview that, and add borders. There's an easy to use cart to check your order and check out. And you can save your favorites too! When it's time to do your album, you can just send me the favorites folder.
If anyone is trying to access my events on Pictage, they have been expired. You can find it on .net. The password is the couples last name, something I never publish anywhere.
AND I made changes to the splash page on rephotodesign.com. My promo video was put in! I'm going to be reworking the video this winter. And I may add another section to go to and make the graphics smaller. We'll see what happens!
First, my PUG people. This is the Pictage User Group that I get together with every month. The good thing is that not everyone there is a Pictage user, so I'l still be seeing everyone every month! How could I not? If it wasn't for this group I wouldn't have some of the closest friends that I have today. I wouldn't have gone to or done some of the things that have grown my business and myself especially as a photographer.
Second, Pictage itself. I really don't want to get into detail all the reasons why I left. They are things that I hear a lot of complaints about amongst photographers and even the general public. I know there are other alternatives to Pictage out there, but they are not as in-depth, complete, and easy to use as Pictage, which is what makes Pictage so popular.
As all my clients are probably aware of by now, I have a new site for my online proofing and sales! It is rephotodesign.net. This site was installed with PickPic. Where do I begin with how great this is?
Although it is PickPic's system, it is really REPhotoDesign's system. All orders, inquiries, payments, customer service, etc, goes through me. The only involvement with PickPic is that I purchased the program from them and they installed it on my server. Unlike Pictage, PickPic has nothing to do with my sales, prints, products, and customer support. That's all on my shoulders now! I think this becomes more apparent since my .net looks just like my website and blog. It's all about branding! What do I want to put the REPhotoDesign name on or associate it with? Pictage was not the answer for me.
One reason why I chose the PickPic system is because they are now owned by the amazing lab that I use for my prints. Integration between the two is coming soon! Which will make things a little easier on my end. Also, my costs have been lowered. So much so that my print prices have been lowered! This is making my clients and guests of weddings happier and is generating more sales for me, which means more income. I love that I get to crop and check orders before they are sent to print. And your prints should be at your door in 3-4 business days!
This winter I will be putting all of my products on .net available for purchase. My clients and guests can pick out their photos for their album, and order their album, right through .net. My canvas prints are already available. I'll have more products on there for my clients to choose from soon. The best thing is that the products are the same products I show in my office!
So it was a tough decision to leave Pictage, but a good one at the same time. I think about what is good for my clients before I think about what works for me. For my business, PickPic is a better option for all.
Check out REPhotoDesign.net! Since you won't have passwords for the events, here are a bunch of screen shots.
Here's what .net looks like after the initial redirect from the splash page. I'm working on a new splash page.
Once into an event you can see the categories. At the top of the list is a link to a slideshow. Before this, guests rarely got to see the slideshow that I make for my clients online and on DVD.
It looks even nicer with a vertical image.
Each category has 30 images per page. It's a very simple clean look with just the image number underneath.
Once you choose an image you can pick an image size. It will even show you and allow you to adjust the crop for every size available. You can make the images black and white and preview that, and add borders. There's an easy to use cart to check your order and check out. And you can save your favorites too! When it's time to do your album, you can just send me the favorites folder.
If anyone is trying to access my events on Pictage, they have been expired. You can find it on .net. The password is the couples last name, something I never publish anywhere.
AND I made changes to the splash page on rephotodesign.com. My promo video was put in! I'm going to be reworking the video this winter. And I may add another section to go to and make the graphics smaller. We'll see what happens!
Monday, November 24, 2008
Everything is FIXED!
So in an effort to fix some DNS settings for rephotodesign.net, I threw off more than I thought. If you were trying rephotodesign.net today, it wasn't there. You also noticed all the photos on this blog are missing. Guess where those are hosted! On .net. Also if you were trying to sign up for the YMCA event, that wasn't working either.
As of 5:30pm this evening, everything is working! What happened was, basically, that my server company does not like certain changes made to your url settings with a certain other company. So I went back in and put everything back to the way is was when it was working. The thing about making these changes is that it doesn't happen instantly. It could take a few hours to change. The last 20 hours I thought I was waiting for the change to happen, when it was just the server not liking the change. Lesson learned.
So everything is working... the YMCA signup page, images on this blog, and most importantly rephotoesign.net
As of 5:30pm this evening, everything is working! What happened was, basically, that my server company does not like certain changes made to your url settings with a certain other company. So I went back in and put everything back to the way is was when it was working. The thing about making these changes is that it doesn't happen instantly. It could take a few hours to change. The last 20 hours I thought I was waiting for the change to happen, when it was just the server not liking the change. Lesson learned.
So everything is working... the YMCA signup page, images on this blog, and most importantly rephotoesign.net
Monday, November 17, 2008
Holiday Family Portraits to Benefit YMCA
On November 28th from 12-5pm, REPhotoDesign and the Soundview Family YMCA are having a holiday family portrait day at the Pine Orchard Yacht and Country Club in Branford. All proceeds will go towards the construction and services of the new YMCA in Branford. This new YMCA will support Branford, Guilford, Madison, and the surrounding area. This new YMCA is slated to have 2 pools, one being handicap accessible, a teen center, fitness center, child care center, and more!
Holiday family portraits are on the day after Thanksgiving, so all your family should be in town! Gather them up, pile in the SUV (gas prices are low again, it's ok), and come on down! You will see your photo immediately. Your photo will be e-mailed to you so you can make your own holiday cards OR you will be able purchase prints on site through REPhotoDesign.
The YMCA is a non-profit organization and they need your help! A suggested donation will be asked for (to be determined). Again, all proceeds will benefit the YMCA!
Please sign up so we know how many people to expect!! SIGN UP HERE http://www.rephotodesign.com/ymca
.info HD
I planned on working on this blog page this winter. The first things was to make it a more wider format. Since that's easy, I took care of it today! Now, first and foremost, I can put up some bigger images. The battle is finding the right size for image. I don't want to make them so big that you can't see the whole image on your screen, since everyones computer is different. Vertical shots are the most difficult to manage. So my next post will have images! I'll rework the graphic above when I can get to that. It may be another month or so.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Goodwin Hotel Closing!!!
This morning I got a few calls from fellow photographer friends, especially ones in the Hartford area, about the Goodwin closing. It was announced on Tuesday that the Goodwin will close it's doors at the end of the year. I'm hearing that any weddings booked there for next year will have their deposit returned to them. As many of you know, I have a relationship with the Goodwin. I have called my contact there to get some more information. I left a message. For the details on what's going on see this article.
It was a bit of a shocker for my friends and for myself to hear about the closing. The Goodwin is an iconic boutique hotel in Hartford. Especially being so close to the XL Center. The last time I was at the Goodwin, Kid Rock and Lynyrd Skynyrd were staying there during the Hartford stop of their tour. I just had my RE:WORKSHOP there!
So in memory of the Goodwin, here are a few memories.
It was a bit of a shocker for my friends and for myself to hear about the closing. The Goodwin is an iconic boutique hotel in Hartford. Especially being so close to the XL Center. The last time I was at the Goodwin, Kid Rock and Lynyrd Skynyrd were staying there during the Hartford stop of their tour. I just had my RE:WORKSHOP there!
So in memory of the Goodwin, here are a few memories.
Friday, October 31, 2008
PhotoExpo, RE:WORKSHOP, Drobo, Clients Albums
So I'm sitting here not being able to do much... so a rambling I shall go. I'll explain the work stoppage at the end.
-----------------------------------------------
NYC
Last weekend I went down to NYC for the PDN Photo Plus Expo. I took the train in with a few photographer friends. I walked the whole expo floor with my assistant Greg. The show was just ok this year. I did pick up a few products that I wanted to get, but didn't really see anything impressive on the album end of things. First, I'll continue to use Memory Link as my standard line of albums. It looks like they just finished their new website. I've been using them for years, pretty much since they started up. Their quality has been top notch and so have been their prices. This is how I keep my clients costs low on the albums while keeping the best quality. Then I wanted to see my high end album company and the 2 other high end album companies. Unfortunately all 3 were not at the show! I guess I'll see them at the WPPI convention in Vegas. Another no show was Apple! APPLE!!! There weren't there promoting Lightroom (not that any of us seem to be using it), nor there to promote their cinema displays. Every photographer I know (except 1) are using Macs. Plus photographers and videographers are using Apple TV to present their work on large displays! But don't worry, I went to the Apple store after the show.
Speaking of after the show, we had a reservation for 28 photographers at Carmine's on West 44th. SOOOOO Good. Then it was off to a bar with a few friends, and then to hang out with Kelley's friend Courtenay, and her sisiter, who live in the city. We got back to the hotel at 2:30am! It's New York!
The next day we shopped the city, stayed for dinner, and drove home. I found some AMAZING deals at the Macy's sale where we spent a good portion of the day. I don't even want to know how many miles we walked. OH! The biggest bummer of the trip was not getting together with Chris and Katie Humphrey's who were in town. Simply put, my cell phone battery died and I never got their messages until 2:30am. If you don't remember, Chris and Katie photographed my wedding in San Diego. Sorry guys!!!! I'll see you in February at WPPI!
-----------------------------------------------
RE:WORKSHOP
I had my Hartford RE:WORKSHOP / PPA Super Monday class on Monday! It was awesome. I got a lot of great response from it. What can I say, I'm a very giving person and I love to help out my fellow photographers. I give away my secrets! OK maybe not all of them. But thank you to everyone that came out. I have already heard that a few of you are implementing some of what I do, and are using the files that I gave out! As always, e-mail me any questions.
For those of you not in CT who want to attend the RE:WORKSHOP, why not host it yourself? I've already had one in Sacramento, CA host by Carmen Salazar which was a huge success. You supply the space, notify your area photographers (I'll help too), and I'll be there! Check the website: http://www.rephotodesign.org
-----------------------------------------------
Drobo
This is going to get technical... So this week I decided to check my RAIDed hard drives to make sure everything was going well. Well... no. Both RAID's failed. This isn't the first time they have failed. I've been doing it through Mac's Disc Utility with Lacie Drives. I've pretty much have had enough with this setup. It would probably take me 5 days to restore everything. So instead of dealing with all this, I bought a Drobo and all new hard drives to store next years files, backup this years, and to store last years files. 6TB total. So as I transfer this years files, I can't really use them. The changes may or may not transfer, depending on where the transfer is at the time of the changes. So I'll sit here and wait the 7 hours for the transfer. Then I have to transfer 2 other drives. Joy.
Now I have FOR SALE: Completely working, no issues, 2 - 500GB USB / Firewire 800 Lacie Desktop Drives, and 1 - 1TB Lacie Big Disk USB / Firewire (That could also be a 500GB RAID). Make me an offer. I may have 2 more 500GB drives in the closet.
-----------------------------------------------
Albums
Lastly, and I should probably put this first cause I'm sure your bored reading this by now, are my clients albums. I'm done editing photos for a month after this weekend. So now it's all about designing the albums that I have lined up to do. Believe me there are a lot. But work on them starts on Monday! I hope to have everyones designed by the end of November.
Why the backup? I didn't expect EVERYONE to choose a new option called the "Photographer's Line" which puts all the work on me. And I do mean everyone this year. But I can't complain because knowing that my clients trust me to do a good job has been the best thing ever.
-----------------------------------------------
So those are the updates! Tonight: A halloween party!!!!! What will I be for halloween?? wait and see!
-----------------------------------------------
NYC
Last weekend I went down to NYC for the PDN Photo Plus Expo. I took the train in with a few photographer friends. I walked the whole expo floor with my assistant Greg. The show was just ok this year. I did pick up a few products that I wanted to get, but didn't really see anything impressive on the album end of things. First, I'll continue to use Memory Link as my standard line of albums. It looks like they just finished their new website. I've been using them for years, pretty much since they started up. Their quality has been top notch and so have been their prices. This is how I keep my clients costs low on the albums while keeping the best quality. Then I wanted to see my high end album company and the 2 other high end album companies. Unfortunately all 3 were not at the show! I guess I'll see them at the WPPI convention in Vegas. Another no show was Apple! APPLE!!! There weren't there promoting Lightroom (not that any of us seem to be using it), nor there to promote their cinema displays. Every photographer I know (except 1) are using Macs. Plus photographers and videographers are using Apple TV to present their work on large displays! But don't worry, I went to the Apple store after the show.
Speaking of after the show, we had a reservation for 28 photographers at Carmine's on West 44th. SOOOOO Good. Then it was off to a bar with a few friends, and then to hang out with Kelley's friend Courtenay, and her sisiter, who live in the city. We got back to the hotel at 2:30am! It's New York!
The next day we shopped the city, stayed for dinner, and drove home. I found some AMAZING deals at the Macy's sale where we spent a good portion of the day. I don't even want to know how many miles we walked. OH! The biggest bummer of the trip was not getting together with Chris and Katie Humphrey's who were in town. Simply put, my cell phone battery died and I never got their messages until 2:30am. If you don't remember, Chris and Katie photographed my wedding in San Diego. Sorry guys!!!! I'll see you in February at WPPI!
-----------------------------------------------
RE:WORKSHOP
I had my Hartford RE:WORKSHOP / PPA Super Monday class on Monday! It was awesome. I got a lot of great response from it. What can I say, I'm a very giving person and I love to help out my fellow photographers. I give away my secrets! OK maybe not all of them. But thank you to everyone that came out. I have already heard that a few of you are implementing some of what I do, and are using the files that I gave out! As always, e-mail me any questions.
For those of you not in CT who want to attend the RE:WORKSHOP, why not host it yourself? I've already had one in Sacramento, CA host by Carmen Salazar which was a huge success. You supply the space, notify your area photographers (I'll help too), and I'll be there! Check the website: http://www.rephotodesign.org
-----------------------------------------------
Drobo
This is going to get technical... So this week I decided to check my RAIDed hard drives to make sure everything was going well. Well... no. Both RAID's failed. This isn't the first time they have failed. I've been doing it through Mac's Disc Utility with Lacie Drives. I've pretty much have had enough with this setup. It would probably take me 5 days to restore everything. So instead of dealing with all this, I bought a Drobo and all new hard drives to store next years files, backup this years, and to store last years files. 6TB total. So as I transfer this years files, I can't really use them. The changes may or may not transfer, depending on where the transfer is at the time of the changes. So I'll sit here and wait the 7 hours for the transfer. Then I have to transfer 2 other drives. Joy.
Now I have FOR SALE: Completely working, no issues, 2 - 500GB USB / Firewire 800 Lacie Desktop Drives, and 1 - 1TB Lacie Big Disk USB / Firewire (That could also be a 500GB RAID). Make me an offer. I may have 2 more 500GB drives in the closet.
-----------------------------------------------
Albums
Lastly, and I should probably put this first cause I'm sure your bored reading this by now, are my clients albums. I'm done editing photos for a month after this weekend. So now it's all about designing the albums that I have lined up to do. Believe me there are a lot. But work on them starts on Monday! I hope to have everyones designed by the end of November.
Why the backup? I didn't expect EVERYONE to choose a new option called the "Photographer's Line" which puts all the work on me. And I do mean everyone this year. But I can't complain because knowing that my clients trust me to do a good job has been the best thing ever.
-----------------------------------------------
So those are the updates! Tonight: A halloween party!!!!! What will I be for halloween?? wait and see!
Monday, June 2, 2008
Carlos Rivera's 13 Questions
While out in Vegas in March I made a few new friends. One of them being Carlos Rivera. He has this thing on his blog where he asks photographers 13 questions. CLICK HERE for his blog post about me! Thanks for the shout out! I'm planning my Sacramento workshop now!
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Look Ma! I'm On .tv!
I just launched my newest project, rephotodesign.tv! This is a place for photographers to learn about anything to do with photography. There will be video tutorials on the software we use, camera gear, products we offer, business practices, and plenty more. Here's what it's all about!
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
The RE Promo Video is here!!!!
I just put my promo video on my new website! Here's it is!
Thank you to all my clients who participated. It was a lot of work for a 2 minute video. And a very special huge thank you to the videographer who put it all together, Geoff Boka of The Light Mill. He's my #1 recommended videographer for my clients, and he's also doing my wedding! I put Geoff through A LOT with this video. I'm so thrilled it's done and out there! I'm going to do a few more tweaks with it and I'll have a larger version available sometime soon.
Thank you to all my clients who participated. It was a lot of work for a 2 minute video. And a very special huge thank you to the videographer who put it all together, Geoff Boka of The Light Mill. He's my #1 recommended videographer for my clients, and he's also doing my wedding! I put Geoff through A LOT with this video. I'm so thrilled it's done and out there! I'm going to do a few more tweaks with it and I'll have a larger version available sometime soon.
Monday, February 18, 2008
For The Bride
If you're in the magazine section of your local shopping store, pick up a copy of For The Bride. Turn to page 230 and you'll find a featured wedding that I photographed for Maria and Juan Garcia.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
We Moved!
So I guess your wondering what happened to the 2 years worth of blog posts that came before this one. Well, for now, they are gone. I do have a full archive of everything, but all the links for images, etc, wouldn't be good anymore if I moved the blog. And I couldn't get the blog transfered over to the new blog service here. So, if you were looking for something and you didn't find it, let me know! I'll get it out from in back of the closet.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)