PUG Leaders

McLellan Style speaks at Nashville PUG

2009-09-30T16:30:00.000-07:00

It doesn't look like many of the PUG leaders have been posting here lately. I know I am guilty of not posting.

I wanted to inform all of you about the great response we had for Sean & Melanie McLellan of McLellan Style. DWF and Finao's "Photographer of the Year" spoke at Nashville's PUG for the first time. Their presentation was titled "Shooting with Purpose, Shooting with Style: Pushing the envelope and delivering amazing results, no matter what!" This much anticipated talk brought out a surprising number of photographers making our attendance close to four times the normal amount!

I asked Sean & Melanie if it was alright to promote their presentation to the other PUG leaders and they said they would be willing to come speak for you. They will be guests at the Atlanta PUG tomorrow night. If you would like to have them join your PUG, drop them a line at sean@mclellanstyle.com.

Peter Carlson
Nashville PUG Leader
Dove Wedding Photography

Here are some photos from last month's meeting:

Gigbooks comes to LA

2009-06-19T03:04:00.001-07:00

This month, I want to thank Shani Barel of Don't Smile Now Photography for being our Studio Spotlight and Justin Kifer for sharing a little bit about his online-business management software, Gigbooks, with us!

Does anyone read this blog? The first person to email me and put "watermelon" in the subject header wins a prize.

And thank you to June Ungaro for taking this cute pic of me and Marty.

Jason Kiefer at the LA PUG

2009-05-03T14:34:00.001-07:00

On the last Wednesday of April, the Pictage User Group I lead in Los Angeles was REALLY lucky to have Pictage founder, Jason Kiefer as our speaker for the night. Jason gave a very informative Powerpoint presentation on the state of the photography industry and what Pictage was doing to keep up. There were a few others from Pictage who came to the meeting, and all were really open to our comments and suggestions. I love that Pictage is willing to change and create an environment that is perfect for its members.

Thank you, Jason, for taking the time to speak to us! I think you should speak to a few of the other PUGs, too! You did a great job.

March PUG in Los Angeles

2009-03-19T15:58:00.001-07:00

I'm planning a v-e-r-y slow PUG tour this year. I'm going to try to fit in travel and speaking in between my weddings because I just want a chance to go out and see new places and meet new people. Last night, I practiced my talk, "Getting from I Do to I'm Done" on my OWN Los Angeles PUG. It was really fun! Thank you to Justine Ungaro for taking the photos.

I want to thank Kolo Albums, Tamrac Bags & Kubota Image Tools for providing such great prizes for the group!

Also, thank you to Christa Meola for being our Studio Spotlight! She shared some really cool information and showed us a stunning slideshow of her current work.

Here is Christa, our Studio Spotlight:

Then I took over to give my talk:

We have a really great group in Los Angeles! If you are a photographer in the area, please feel free to join us!

Los Angeles PUG gets personal!

2009-02-26T18:43:00.001-08:00

On Wednesday, we had the pleasure of getting to know our Studio Spotlight, Heather Kincaid. Heather showed us a stunning slideshow of her work and told us a little bit about how she started and where her business is going.

The rest of the time we talked. There was no speaker or program for the meeting because the goal was to share things we'd learned at the WPPI Convention. We were there for over three hours, and I was so thrilled with the amount of helpful and insightful information that was shared by everyone. I have a great group.

This is the lovely Heather Kincaid.

Philadelphia Photographers Video

2009-01-23T12:45:00.001-08:00

Last month a few of us got together and hung out and shot each other. We decided to have Pete Malone of First Floor Films videotape it. We plan on posting it everywhere to build more buzz about our Philly PUG.

The video stars some Philadelphia based wedding photographers: the always happy Joy Moody, show me the moves Ryan Estes, the queen of budoir and dudoir Jenn Childress, Yours Truly ,Sofia Negron and Pete "no pants" Malone

Phun with Philly Photogs from First Floor Films on Vimeo.

LA and OC PUGs go to LACMA

2009-01-20T00:08:00.000-08:00

We decided to start the year off with a field trip to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art to see the Vanity Fair Portraits that are currently on exhibit. It was so much fun to see the photographs with so many other photographers! Afterward we all headed down to Life on Wilshire for appetizers and drinks and to just catch up with each other. (You'll have to check my Facebook page for those shots since I just shot and uploaded them from my Blackberry.)

THANK YOU to everyone who attended, and thank you to Mark Barnes who sent me this image for my blog!

-Jules

CT PUG Holiday Party

2009-01-09T13:45:00.001-08:00

Here's a video of everyone trying to cram into one picture: CTPUG

PGH PUG Holiday Party!

2009-01-01T10:49:00.000-08:00

We had an enjoyable time at our 3rd Annual PGH. PUG Holiday Party! Most of the usual PUG subjects joined in the festivities with a few extra shooters thrown in the mix and one new PUG member! All in all, it was nice to sit around, have a few drinks and talk shop together.
Thanks to Pictage and to my fellow PUG members for another wonderful year! Now let's make 2009 our most successful PUG year yet! Looking forward to all our PUG meetings this year!

BIG love, Joanne Bartone Photographer | www.joannebartone.com | www.joannebartoneblog.com

LA, Long Beach and OC Holiday Party!

2008-12-11T19:24:00.001-08:00

Last night instead of having our regular monthly meeting, the Pictage User Groups from Orange County, Long Beach and Los Angeles joined at Life on Wilshire for a Holiday Party!! We had a fantastic turn-out and so much fun. There was a great band, an amazing close-up magician and free food (Thanks, Pictage, for the appetizers!)

Philly November PUG

2008-11-21T03:52:00.000-08:00

This month in Philly we talked about second shooters. We talked about whether second shooters should keep the rights to their images or not. Should they be able to use the images for whatever or be restricted. There were definitely two schools of thought. I think most of us fewlt that second shooters are work for hire, they shoot for us, we keep the copyrights, some allow usage on the blog if they plug the studio and make it very clear who they were shooting for. Some photographers felt like they created the image, they should be able to do what they want, whether it goes on their website, they submit to a contest etc. They did agree the main photographer could sell the image to their clients but felt like they shouldn't use it on their website as their own creation.

Personally, the second shooter is a work for hire. They would not have gotten that image if I hadn't advertised, networked, schmoozed and sold myself to the client.

How do the other PUGS feel about second shooters?

We also discussed a second shooter agreement, which I can link to if people are interested. Of course, have your lawyer look at it too.

We also talked about elevating the wedding industry on the East Coast specifically Philadelphia. We have found there are three groups. The ones who have been around, successful, teaching and speaking at conferences that rarely if ever share in the area. They never come to the meetings, they don't really mingle with other photographers except maybe within their own 5 or 6 people group. Then there is a good group of us, successful but are not teaching and speaking nationally and we get together at these PUGS and share, talk, learn and grow. Then there are the weekend warriors who sometimes come to the meetings but don't have a lot of time.

Do other PUGs have these issues. Is there an elitist group among your community that if they shared and hung out could elevate your local market? How have you encouraged these photographers to speak, share or at least be social? How have you educated the weekend warriors that undermine the industry? How do you build local buzz about different photographers?

We would all love to have the fun, comraderie and elevation that California photographers have done for their local industry and the industry at large.

Long Beach PUG for November

2008-11-16T19:29:00.001-08:00

Well, due to a bad case of the flu going around our house we had to move our November PUG meeting to Pictage HQ!

We had Dane Sanders and Roberto Valenzuela as our featured speaker and studio spotlight.

Your lovely and talented PUG leader, yours truly!

Roberto and his presentation

We had a great group show up!

Dane Sanders and his presentation

Even Bob Davis showed up for this special event!

Illustrating the idea of breaking barriers, Dane broke some drywall...

I figured he needed to make amends to our owner & CEO Jason Keifer

All in all we had an awesome evening!!

October LA PUG

2008-10-30T02:43:00.000-07:00

Hello! greeting from Los Angeles.

This month's Studio Spotlight for the LA PUG was the lovely Meg Perotti. She shared a slideshow of her stunning work and told us that she's quitting her day job TOMORROW to become a full-time photographer.

Our October speaker was switched to November at the last minute, so I stepped up and took the role of speaker for the evening. I brought my computer and gave the Keynote talk that I presented last month at both PartnerCon and Channel Islands Professional Photographers Association. I love my PUG - everyone is so open and willing to participate.

I want to start traveling a lot more, so if you would like to have me speak at your PUG, please let me know!

Dennis Reggie in Chattanooga!

2008-10-15T10:41:00.001-07:00

Ok, so I'll admit that this is the first time I've posted to this blog. With so many blogs and forums to be involved in though, I have to say it gets pretty crazy!

Anyway, I thought this was blog-worthy, so we go!

Amber and I have spent time with Dennis Reggie in the past, even away from the crowds, but I have to say that the PUG at our place in Chattanooga a couple of weeks ago was a treat! We had PUG members from the Nashville and Knoxville groups as well, with a total of about 35 people crammed into the bottom level of our home!

Very rarely do photographers have a chance to interact with Dennis in a more relaxed setting, but this was so low-key and up close and personal, and I think we were all excited for the opportunity! I think Dennis felt the freedom to speak with even more passion than he normally does, as well as throwing in jokes here and there - it was brilliant!

The following are a few images from the evening. It got pretty dark in the room as Dennis was showing slides - hence the silhouette images.

2008-10-13T01:26:00.001-07:00

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Posted via Pixelpipe.

Great September PUG

2008-09-28T15:58:00.000-07:00

Opps, I posted this in the wrong blog! Sorry!

Dane Sanders at my PUG!!

2008-09-26T12:38:00.001-07:00

Hello! This is Jules reporting from sunny Los Angeles about my fabulous PUG.

This week, our Studio Spotlight was the wonderful event photographer, Bill Alexander, of For-Success.com. I love learning about the lives and businesses of the different members of our PUG each month, and Bill, who has been in the business for 20 years, had a lot to share.

Our speaker this month was the articulate Dane Sanders. Dane was one of the Pictage PartnerCon speakers, but his talk last night was new. I could listen to Dane talk for hours. He is so incredibly intuitive and nurturing. Dane wrote a fantastic book, Fast Track Photographer, that is a must read for anyone in the wedding photography industry. He sold a few at our meeting, so we were able to get signed copies!!

Thank you to both Dane and Bill for making the meeting great.

Pictage PartnerCon and the Tacoma PUG Martini Party

2008-09-22T19:05:00.000-07:00

It's my first time posting here, and due to time constraints, I thought I'd just copy and paste the post I just finished for our personal blog. I hope that's ok! Airika

A couple of weeks ago, I headed down to the Pictage Partner Conference in Los Angeles for three awesome days of learning and "talking shop" with some of the best and brightest of my peers in the wedding photography industry. A few of my highlights:

1. Shopping in Manhattan Beach with my friend Christy. VERY relavant to photography. ;)
2. Having a heart to with Katie Humphreys and Rachel LaCour Niesen about the blessings & challenges of working with your spouse.
3. Being inspired by Will Jacks to step out of my comfort zone & pursue some personal photographic projects.
4. Being challenged by Dane Sanders and Mike Larson to be even more intentional about letting our business be a reflection of who we are & things that we value the most.
5. Gleaning new ideas from the fabulous Justin & Mary Marantz on how we can better express our love and appreciation for our wonderful clients!
6. In 'N Out with Rachel, Christy & Andrew (who took this photo with his iPhone)

Upon returning from L.A., we started busily preparing for our PUG's annual Martini Garden Party, which ended up being a total and complete blast!

A HUGE THANK YOU goes out to all of the amazing people/businesses who donated prizes for our party--Jared Bauman sent a copy of his DVD, Shooting the Perfect Wedding, ShootDotEdit donated a 25% off coupon, Me Ra Koh donated one each of her 101 Kits for Photographers, and Ami Davenport brought two copies of Dane Sander's book, Fast Track Photographer.

Even though Gerald and I (sadly) did not win any of the fabulous prizes, we had an awesome time hanging out with the 50+ photographers from Seattle/Tacoma who came down to celebrate the end of summer together! If you're interested in joining us, our next meeting is on October 29th, at the home of JFK Weddings. All photographers and aspiring photographers are welcome. Email me if you'd like to be added to the mailing list. We look forward to meeting you!

Airika (& Gerald)

Tacoma Pictage PUG Leaders

August San Francisco Bay Area PUG: Shoot 2 Send

2008-09-02T19:24:00.000-07:00

This month we had a great meeting! Ron Fulmer at Shoot2Send put on an amazing
presentation. For those of you who missed it, Ron and his wife talked about Right Sourcing, which is in a nutshell outsourcing that allows the business owner to still maintain a strong level of control and oversight of the outsourced service. In the case of Shoot 2 Send, the company offers editing and post processing services for your images, but their unique business model allows the photographer to give constant feedback on individual images and events, via an online soft proofing system that they set up. In this way, photographers who are reluctant to give up control over the look of their images can benefit from the outsourcing model, without having to place their trust in the editing company to get it right all on their own.

Shoot 2 Send works closely with each photographer throughout the working relationship (as opposed to some other outsourcing companies where the photographer's profiles are set up only at the beginning, and only adjusted later if the photographer is unhappy with the results), building profiles for each individual photographer's preferences that include both written descriptions (warmer whites, cooler skin tones, etc.) and actual reference images for different types of lighting or different types of events, so you don't have to rely on the editor's interpretation of a written profile.

Shoot2send would like to especially thank the people who
participated in the presentation by giving them a coupon code worth
10% off of their service:
Coupon Code: S2SWPPI01
www.shoot2send.com

For more info on Shoot 2 Send, please check out their website: www.shoot2send.com

Don't forget to mark your calendars for the September 24 meeting! Couture Book's Dave Luebke will be coming to talk about their unique albums and show samples of all of the different book types they offer, including the newest styles such as the "Earth Book", the industry's first 100% recycled, wind powered, carbon-neutral album.

LA Party! fun fun fun!

2008-08-31T12:35:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles BBQ and Headshot PUG!

2008-08-28T23:21:00.001-07:00

This month's LA Pictage User Group marked the Second Annual BBQ/Headshot PUG. I pair photographers up to shoot headshots of each other, and everyone brings food to put on the grill. I try to pair photographers who don't know each other because the idea is to get a new headshot by another professional while getting to know someone new. its really fun, and this year's party was a big success!

THANK YOU to Laura from Beautiful Day Photography who took my headshot this year. I thought she made me look quite glamorous.

Michael & Anna - Raleigh, NC

2008-08-22T22:22:00.000-07:00

This past Tuesday's PUG brought in Michael & Anna Costa! We had a great turn out due to a BIG email boost a couple of weeks before along with lots of reminders leading up to the meeting. Our group is growing and we had lots of new faces this week. This was also our first meeting at a member's studio. We have been meeting at a Sports Bar in a private room, a welcome change! I am hoping to meet at studio's more often, I think it lends to a more personal setting than the restaurant. We ordered pizza and drinks for dinner and just enjoyed chatting, people also seemed to enjoy seeing another studio.

I am looking into changing our meeting to another night because a lot of our members have church small groups on Tuesday and are not able to make it. Would anyone care to comment on what night they have found to reach or not reach higher attendance in their group? I am thinking Thursday nights would work well but I am totally open to suggestion!

So far it has been quite a challenge for me to grow the group. I live two hours from Raleigh, so I don't really know a lot of photographers in the area. I have just been focusing on growing relationships with people in the group and counting on them to help me invite, reach out, and tell me who I should call myself to invite... it seems to finally be working! I think we are off to a great start for building a really solid group here!

- Millie Holloman

Dallas/Ft. Worth PUG-August Test shoot

2008-08-20T15:27:00.001-07:00

The DFW area PUG got together for a very laid back shoot for August. No models, no fuss! Although some of our members look like models! We agreed to bring equipment and ideas to test out on each other. We tested a variety of light sources from small bare strobes, using umbrellas, some genius electrical tape snooting, homemade ring flash (less than $1 go Jenna!), various flashlights, mirrors (for bouncing light), video light, and strip-like work light!

members in action:

Here we tested the idea of white balancing with our Fong Lightspheres (idea found on http://cutframetv.com/view_video.php?viewkey=68e1840a1324e839230d from Trevor Brucki)

auto:
fong white balanced:

Some off-camera strobe fun:

Some Home Depot work light strip fun:

July- Santa Barbara PUG

2008-08-11T14:37:00.000-07:00

I have to appologize for not added anything to this in so long! Now that I'm almost 4 months pregnant, it's been hard enough staying awake to shoot weddings and have time to run my business :)

...LIFE COACHING PUG...

I asked my friends Sue and Tracy to come speak to our group. Sue and Tracy used to be clients of mine in my fitness Boot Camp a few months back. They are now certified life coaches, and I thought it would be great for the other photographers in our group to get assistance from them in creating more balance between work and everyday life.

It was great hands-on meeting and we all got to know each other a little better while sharing our hopes, dreams and even fears. I had such a great time with all of there fun exercises.

I've already gotten emails from the people that attended saying how this meeting really helped them find direction in their crazy lives...

PUGS not Drugs

2008-07-25T09:20:00.000-07:00

Emily found this shirt online and we HAD to share with you all!

Check it out here :)
~Becky & Emily

Michael & Anna Costa at the LA PUG.

2008-07-18T17:49:00.001-07:00

We had a GREAT Pictage User Group this month in LA. Thank you to Rudy Arpia for being our Studio Spotlight. I was so impressed by the Spanish Wedding Photography Forum he created, Foro De Fotografia.

Our speakers, Michael & Anna Costa gave a lot of great information! Thanks for coming down from Santa Barbara to speak to our group, guys.

Anna was getting ready to sing for the American Idol auditions, so we asked her to sing for us, and she did!! She has such an amazing voice. Best of luck, Anna!

Long Beach PUG & Michael Costa

2008-07-18T10:25:00.000-07:00

First off....we are no longer a Puppy PUG!!! We are a full fledged PUG!! I am VERY happy about that!

The Long Beach PUG wants to thank Michael Costa for stopping by and sharing his work with us! We had an awesome time!

Here are a few photos that Leo Flores, Photographer and Pictage Employee took for us! Thanks Leo!!

PGH PUG info GALORE!

2008-07-10T11:44:00.001-07:00

Where do I begin...we have so much going on here!!!

I'm not going to re-post all details to all happenings that are already at our Pictage Forum Pittsburgh PUG page link and at our PGH_PUG Google Group - check the links out for all the detailed info on what we've got going on in Pittsburgh... but here's a snapshot of our progress and events to come:

We've created our Studio Spotlight list for the remainder of 2008 and into the Spring of 2009 - which is so cool for everyone involved! And I've posted the Studio Spotlight Guidelines on our Google Group and at the Pictage Pug Page for all members to have easy access on how to prepare for their "15 minutes of fame."

We have a follow-up event tonight at www.photoforthepeople.com from our June PUG and 2nd Annual Cookout where Justin & Mary Marantz came into town to speak with us!

August brings us Justin Kifer and Jared Bauman with their BookIt / ShootIt Workshops on August 13 and 14 respectively!

And then in September - I know it's a little way off, but I am so excited to have them with us - Michael and Anna Costa will be here with us in Pittsburgh speaking too!

Hey DJ! How can we get you to come back again? We miss you...!

I have a feeling this summer is going to fly by as we are rockin' it out in PGH!

BIG love, Joanne Bartone, Photographer

Los Angeles PUG

2008-06-21T16:32:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles' June Pictage User Group was very informative with Justin Kifer of Gigbooks as our speaker. I thought his ONLINE business organizational software was very comprehensive and I definitely want to check it out further.

Thank you to Jennifer Disney for being our Studio Spotlight for June. She is so talented and it was great getting to hear her story and learning a little about her.

As usual, our host, Ann Kelley made an amazing spread (including rootbeer floats!) for us to snack on.

Jennifer Disney

Justin Kifer

Pittsburgh PUG / J+M Marantz Visit

2008-06-18T06:35:00.000-07:00

We had our second-annual Pittsburgh PUG Cookout last night and Justin & Mary Marantz came down from CT to join us and share their love! Thanks for coming - it was wonderful to have you with us and great to hear about all the marketing pieces you've got in place that have helped you grow your business.

It was a great time with a great group of people who gathered together to eat, drink, be merry and listen to some great ideas for building relationships with clients and other photographers. It was held at Kelly Crawford's home in a beautiful country setting - a BIG THANKS goes out to Kelly, his wife Nancy and their family for opening their home to all of us...it was a late night...

Here's a couple of images from the night...

We're planning another picnic in the Fall, so Justin and Mary or any other PUG leader or member is more than welcome to join us!!!
Best, Joanne Bartone, Photographer

2ND Annual Pittsburgh PUG Cookout Tonight!

2008-06-17T06:33:00.000-07:00

We are having our 2nd Annual PGH PUG Cookout!!! TUESDAY, June 17th, 2008! This is a bring a covered dish and your own chair and special drinks affair! I (Joanne) will supply the vege and regular burgers/dogs/buns and baked beans.

BONUS: JUSTIN & MARY MARANTZ ARE SCHEDULED TO SPEAK TOO!!!! SO GET YOUR BEHINDS THERE!!

PLEASE RSVP through the Pictage PUG registration link:
http://www.pro.pictage.com/pug/Pittsburgh_Pennsylvania.html
AND TO ME (joa...@joannebartone.com) AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!!! So I can get a heads-up on food needed.

DETAILS:
WHEN: Tuesday, June 17th, 2008
TIME: Starts at 6:30 PM until Kelly kicks us out.
WHERE: Kelly Crawford's Estate!!! ...he calls it a farm, but really,
let's call it as we see it!
Directions & Google Map:
Here is Kelly Crawford’s info:
221 McWreath Road McDonald, PA 15057
Kelly’s cell 412-818-8889
Google Map Link:
http://maps.google.com/maps?sourceid=navclient-ff&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1B3GGG...

KELLY’S OWN DIRECTIONS:
OK general directions out by Robinson township area,
get on 22 west (like your going to StarLake pavilion)
go two exits to Hankey farms exit
off exit turn left
go about 3 miles you will come thru a tight s bend, as you come out of
the bend, take immediate right over little bridge, that is North
branch road, go 3.1 miles to McWreath Rd on your left come up little
hill and as you come over you will see the house on you left Yellow
with white trim, It’s the only one on your left in the middle of a big
field, yes this is a farm

Las Vegas's 1st PUG meet!

2008-06-06T08:56:00.000-07:00

Tuesday we had our first Las Vegas PUG meet led by myself and good friend Ashley Bartoletti. I decided from the beginning that whether 2 or 15 showed up for the first meet we'd have an awesome time. And we did (ending up with 11 people)!

The smaller group allowed us to go around the room and really get to know each other. We also discussed networking with vendors, and looked at Pictage’s art book. And of course, the fridge was packed with drinks and there was lots of munchies for a great time!

Thanks to Jayse for taking these photos. You can see me leading the meeting with my puppy in lap and brownie bite in hand:

Fun group photo!
Above: Josh, Eric, and Chris. Below: Rafael, Ashley, Keny, me, Rachel, and Trish.

I can already tell we’re going to have a strong Vegas community and can't wait for the next meeting! They will be the 1st Tuesday of each month at 7:00pm - located at my house in Tuscanny Ridge at Mountains Edge.

Chelsea Nicole | chelsea-nicole.com

Los Angeles May PUG

2008-05-29T14:32:00.000-07:00

We had a fantastic turn-out at last night's Pictage User Group. Our speaker was accountant Mark Varshawsky of Mark S. Varshawsky & Associates. He really knew his stuff, and if you are looking for a great accountant, I recommend giving him a call.

Thank you to Juan Turcios for being our May Studio Spotlight. He showed a slideshow of really lovely work and told us a little bit about himself and how he became a wedding photographer.

I really appreciate Ann because she allows us to use her home each month to host the PUG. Here she is introducing Mark.

Also, congratulations to Michael Andrews who won the Jules Café Kevin Kubota DVD RAW workflow contest by sending us the best tip or trick. Visit Jules Café to see some other tips and tricks that were sent in!

Jules Bianchi & Robert Evans.

Asheville PUG - May

2008-05-20T20:26:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday night was the Asheville PUG meeting. Charlotte photographer Critsey Rowe was our guest speaker. Critsey is a partner of Indigo Photography and has recently launched her own boutique style company. She has been published in many local and national magazines and had her first international magazine feature in the current issue of UK’s “You and Your Wedding”. She photographed Carolina Panther Thomas Davis’ wedding that will be featured on the WE channel show Platinum Weddings and published soon on the cover of a local magazine. Critsey talked about how she stepped up marketing her business and meeting with event planners outside NC. She founded The Next Set, a group of photographers networking to high end vendors. She photographed celebrity planner David Tutera in his NYC apartment last month. Critsey and Thomas Geist from Germany just recently got married. Critsey is also sponsored by Kambara Albums and brought a gorgeous sample. It was great having them up for the PUG and dinner afterwards.

May 20th PGH PUG Lighting Demo!

2008-05-01T19:18:00.000-07:00

I, too, really enjoy being a PUG leader and getting everyone together for our fabulous PUG meetings here in Pittsburgh! It is such a great experience to meet new and experienced shooters and stand with each other in support of one another. It is simply a great feeling...

Our PUG will begin at 7 PM and probably go until about 9 PM with a detailed demo on studio lighting from Kim Reed, who has also graciously agreed to be the studio spotlight...well, since we were at her studio already, I asked her to "shine" for us and she agreed!

THEN, after Kim's studio spotlight and studio lighting demo, Terry Clark will be demonstrating on/off camera flash lighting with multiple flashes!

So: We'll start w/ the studio spotlight and move to the lighting demos. Everyone will be on their own for food and drink, with one suggestion: if you must drink something, please make sure it has a cap on it for the sake of Kim's studio - thanks!

Should be a great PUG, so I look forward to seeing everyone then and there! I'll be sure to blog with photos when I update this post!

Time: 7 PM - 9 PM
Place: Kim Reed's Studio: 3702 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh PA 15201
Here's a Google Map link:
http://maps.google.com/maps?sourceid=navclient-ff&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1B3RNF...

Thanks everyone! Share the love!
Joanne Bartone, Photographer
www.joannebartone.com

Pictage on Blip.tv

2008-04-24T12:37:00.000-07:00

We thought we'd share this with you guys! We're also starting to upload to Cut Frame TV as well so check us out :)

~Becky Shaffer
Pictage Community Coordinator

Los Angeles PUG

2008-04-18T16:51:00.001-07:00

I love being the Los Angeles Pictage User Group leader. Its such a great way to meet other local photographers and hear great speakers. Last night we had our April meeting. Thank you to Ann Kelley for being our Studio Spotlight. The PUG always takes place at Ann's house, so she was able to show us all of her cute products and how she uses her house to demonstrate to her portrait clients how their prints might look when hung on the walls.

Thank you, also, to Erik Johnson who was our speaker for the night. His discussion on the key categories of a balanced life helped us to identify what would really lead to our increased happiness and success.

Thank you to Michael Andrews for these cute photos of me leading the group!

Boston PUG Rocks!!

2008-04-17T15:42:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share with you a great note sent over by a brand new Boston PUG member :) She attended the April PUG where they had "Spring Training" this month. The group met at a local church and shared shooting techniques that they use in difficult lighting conditions.

"I have to tell you that this was my first PUG group mtg... and I LOVED IT.
I fell in love with everyone there... they are the best group of people ever and i am holding my breath until our next meeting!
thank you - I HAD to share!

-Jess" By Jessica Echavarria

Also, Great work and awesome creativity in gathering over 70 PEOPLE at the March PUG!! Boston won the March attendance contest and will have $500 to spend on a future PUG meeting of their choice. Congrats Boston! Thank you Matt and Enna!!!

~Becky Shaffer
Pictage Community Coordinator

April PGH PUG

2008-04-11T12:08:00.000-07:00

It was a great turn out in Pittsburgh for our PUG this month! I haven't been up to snuff since January - I tore cartilage in my knee and had to have surgery the end of January, so February was a bust and no one seemed inclined to come in March, but we were definitely stoked for our April meeting!

We had a great conversation about branding, the business in general and encouraged the shooters new to the field to be mindful of their pricing for the sake of our industry. Then, we discussed how we could continue to make our PUG a great experience, despite consistency issues from the group.

After the meeting, I sent out a survey to all the PGH PUG members via survey monkey and I'll be analyzing the results by the end of next week specific to people making a commitment to come to the meetings and for making the meetings interesting and full in the future. We'll be having a studio lighting demo in May and be getting on track with studio spotlights too, when Kim Reed will both host the studio lighting demo and be the studio spotlight!

Look for more exciting updates...and photos too...in the upcoming PGH PUG spotlights!

Best, Joanne Bartone, photographer
www.joannebartone.com

LA PUG

2008-03-27T13:20:00.001-07:00

As many of you know, I am the leader for the Los Angeles Pictage User Group. Last night's PUG was really fantastic. Every single person participated and we either shared something we learned at WPPI or shared a gadget or gizmo that we use at every wedding. I was thrilled with how much I learned!

Our speaker and Studio Spotlight was Roberto Valenzuela, a fantastic photographer who had 11 award winning prints (including first place for the "wedding photojournalism humor" category) and two award winning wedding albums at WPPI!

Roberto compared practicing music with practicing photography to become perfect. We were thrilled with the bit of music he played for us. His presentation was very thoughtful and chock-full of fantastic images and information.

One great thing about having the PUG in LA is that we have lots and lots of samples of the latest Pictage products. Last night we got to check out first hand their cool new "Art Books" now available for consumers!

Thank you to April Rocha for this cute pic of me facilitating the meeting.

Nashville PUG Group Shoot

2008-03-11T17:34:00.000-07:00

So, I am probably posting this a little late. Considering this event took place last August. However, being we are currently in between wedding seasons, I have a little time to play with iMovie and use my poor knowledge of web-design to create a webpage for the group photo shoot the Nashville PUG had last summer.

If your PUG has not done a photo shoot together, I highly recommend it. It was a lot of work to put together, but it was the coolest things we have ever done.

Check out the video and some of the photos we took at:
www.doveweddingphotography.com/trashthedress/pug.html

- Peter Carlson / Dove Wedding Photography

San Francisco Bay Area February Meeting: How's Biz?

2008-03-11T14:44:00.000-07:00

"see everyone, this is a TV. You can use it to while away all those endless summer hours that you would normally spend working, if there weren't all those other photographers out there stealing your clients."

;)

Seriously, this month's PUG was really informative. We discussed the myth and reality of market saturation, how to survive in a busy market and how to build your business so that you aren't as susceptible to what "everyone else" is doing. We had a great variety of experience in our group, from photographers who have been around for 20+ years to people who just opened up shop this year, and everything in between. We discussed how important it is to understand who your prospective clients are to building a strong niche brand, and how being a part of the high end market isn't something you earn after "paying your dues" in the lower facets of the market; it's a strategy that affects everything from your pricing, to your image, to your customer service, to your shooting style. I was very happy to have a number of well spoken, intelligent, veteran photographers at the meeting who were all too happy to share what they've learned in their 10-20 years in business. Their comments really helped put things in perspective.

Stay tuned for the March meeting on Wednesday, March 26th at 630PM, in which we will have guest speaker Linda Russel from Mugshots Photography here to share her exciting new vision in documentary portrait and school photography. Linda will be encouraging the group to develop the portrait side of their business, and showing us how her model can offer every photographer an excellent recession-proof diversification of their income and marketing. Same bat-time, same bat-channel.

-by Lauren Cohn-Frankel, Cohn Frankel Photography. Photo by James Sanders.

Help grow our community! Leave a comment about why you come to the PUGs, something you learned at a meeting, or something you've accomplished thanks to the networking and educational opportunities the PUG meetings provide! Everyone who comments between now and March 25 will be entered in a drawing to win a cool mystery prize!*

*please make sure to leave your email address in your post to be eligible for the prize. Prize winner must attend a meeting of the San Francisco Bay Area PUG between March and May to claim prize

TN PUG - March Meeting

2008-03-08T19:06:00.000-08:00

A couple nights ago Nashville had another great PUG meeting. It was a lot of fun seeing the many new faces as well as some members we have not seen in quite some time.

Gregory Byerline was our feature photographer for the evening. He was kind enough to invite everyone to his studio in Downtown Nashville. Studio 219 is located in the historic Marathon Village. The building was once an auto assembly plant, which housed Marathon Motor Co. The long-abandoned building is now being converted to loft-style artist studios and commercial space. Gregory’s studio definitely has a cool vibe.

Gregory is a fashion photographer who brings his eye into the wedding market as well as family and pet portraitures. As you can see from the photos posted, Gregory loves dogs. His little Sundae joined us for the meeting. As you look through his portfolio you will find some amazing photos of canines mixed in with models and recognizable Nashville musicians.

Our guest speaker for the night was Phil Thornton of Thornton Photo. Phil is a free-lance web designer for large commercial companies as well as a wedding photographer. He knows a LOT about search engine optimization and was very willing to share some of his knowledge with the group. He explained his love/hate relation with Flash-based websites. He loves how they are visually stunning and the perfect first impression for potential clients. He hates that they are horrible for when it comes to utilizing search engines. He also leaked out that in his “free time” he is working on a photography website that will end this dilemma. We will defiantly let you know when his sites are available for purchase.

Phil looking very professor like.

Sundae listening to Phil’s presentation very intently.

- Peter Carlson / Dove Wedding Photography

Denis Reggie and Joe Buissink at the LA PUG!

2008-02-29T13:52:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was an entire day of photography networking. Hello its Jules Bianchi, the leader for the Los Angeles Pictage User Group! This month's meeting was a little different in that the highly regarded and well respected talents of Joe Buissink and Denis Reggie graced our PUG with their presence. There was no real agenda, just two hours of questions and answers, and we combined the OC, Clairmont and LA PUGs for this event. We had a turn out of over 100 people!

My day started out with a VIP (Very Important Photographers!) lunch that was organized by Pictage. In attendance were photographers Denis Reggie, Joe Buissink, Jon Barber, Jared Bauman, Dane Sanders, Robert Evans & Jules Bianchi, Pictage employees Lisa Allen, Scott Anderson, Debra Gerson, Jason O’Hare, Betsy Hirayama, Ian Siegel, Renata Dionello, Jason Kiefer & Michael Caro. The very talented Ron Dawson was there to videotape the event.

Joe, Jules & Denis.

Clairmont's PUG leader, Julie Weaver, and I introduced our speakers.

The first speaker up was Christine Smith of CLS Photography, our Studio Spotlight for the month. She shared how her business really started to take off after her mentorship sessions with Mike Larsen and her Tea for Two session with me! (Thank you, Christine!)

Then Denis and Joe were on! Ron Dawson of Cinematic Studios videotaped the entire thing to feature on his site, F-Stop Beyond. You should be able to check it out there soon! Denis and Joe answered countless questions on many topics including marketing, albums, how to keep your work fresh, the direction wedding photography is moving in, lighting, as well as sharing their own personal stories. Both remarked about the importance of community and sharing. They both had amazing insight and were so open to everyone's questions.

Afterward, you would think there were movie stars in the house! Everyone wanted to talk to them and have their photograph taken with them.

This picture of Denis Reggie and Veronica Slavin cracks me up because Denis is pointing to where he wants me to "foof" my flash.

And to wrap up our day, a bunch of us went out for sushi afterward. This is a shot of me, Debra Gerson, Robert Evans, Jay Goldman & Julie Weaver that I captured in the mirror of the bar!

Love has been spread to DC and Baltimore

2008-02-26T20:35:00.000-08:00

This month we were lucky enough to have Justin and Mary Marantz visit our Washington, DC PUG and combined with members of the Baltimore PUG we had almost 50 photographers in attendance - our largest group ever!

Justin and Mary were so awesome and they had such a great impact on our audience - and me. It was so nice to see two genuine people talking honestly about the simple yet thoughtful strategies that have made them successful. It is clear that they love each other, their clients, and what they do.

Their message of spreading the love really hit home and has made me examine our entire client experience to ensure we cultivating the right atmosphere, exceeding expectations and wowing our clients

Don't know how we can top this for the March PUG attendance contest, but we're plotting right now...

Here are a few pics from the night.

Geoff Chesman

asheville pug - february meeting

2008-02-13T21:49:00.001-08:00

At our February meeting, we did a panel discussion. The PUG has so many new members that I thought it would be great to have a format that allowed them to ask questions to a panel of "experts". Honour Hiers, Corey Cagle, Corey McNabb and I answered questions and got to know some of the new people better. Out of the 13 people in attenance, 8 have been in business about a year or less and 4 were at the PUG for the first time. Questions that we will explore further in future meetings include second shooters and the expectations both from the primary and second photographer, advertising, studio task management and websites.

The group

Sage, Christy and Suzanna

Alicia and Corey McNabb

Corey Cagle and Honour

Mark Block asks a question, Christy, Suzanna, Peter and Zac

regina holder - asheville PUG

asheville pug - january meeting with the marantz

2008-02-13T21:08:00.000-08:00

In January, we had the privelege of having Justin and Mary Marantz guest speak at the PUG meeting. Their presentation on client "loyalty beyond reason" left all of us thinking of how we can improve how we treat our clients, how going above and beyond on customer service brings clients that rave about you and how to be more exclusive, having the clients wanting you instead of trying to sell yourself to them. They are genius at branding, marketing and setting themselves apart from the "competition", which is really their network of friends that refer weddings to them. By creating client loyalty, resulting in super-referrals, and networking with other photographers, they have been able to shift the dynamic and actually pick and choose which clients they want.

We had the biggest turnout ever, even with the snow that arrived just as we finished dinner. I really appreciate the ones that braved the weather, especially with long drives home and a massive THANK YOU to Justin and Mary that spent 15 hours driving home in a snow storm.

Another big THANK YOU to Corey McNabb and his lovely wife, Jill, the queen of the martini. A few of us headed over to Corey's studio for some chocolate martinis and fun times with awesome friends.

Look at that group shot! Awesome turnout for a snowy night!

Justin and Mary with Detra Dowling

Martini-maker extraordinaire - Jill McNabb

Regina's BFF - Mary!

Zac Thomas

Cheers!

Corey and Justin

"Say cheese"

Zac, Mary, Corey, Sarah Henry, Honour Hiers, Justin and Regina in front

regina holder - asheville PUG

Feb Philly PUG

2008-02-13T17:22:00.000-08:00

Todays Philly PUG was a huge success. we had over 30 photographers come out and listen to a panel of 5 vendors, or as they would like to be called, partners. our topic was improving the experience our clients have and how to work together to build the industry. The biggest thing I got out of it was communication. Communication with everyone involved cures many problems we have as photographers.

Once we know who the players are we should call them about the timeline. Call them and tell them what we need. Ask them what they need from us. Call the videographer, introduce yourself, talk about your style and ask them about theirs. On the day of, communicate with them. Tell them what you need, "I am shooting wide and getting this" find out what they are doing.

Call the caterer, tell them what your contract says. Ask them to feed you when they drop salads. Let them know what you need and they can tell you what they can do and what they need.

Talk to the band or dj. Go over the schedule. If they like you they will make sure you don't miss the cake cutting. So will the videographer and maitre d.

Another big thing. Give them detail photos. Yes, maybe 1-3 cool images of the bride but give the vendors photos they can use to sell themselves. Include your photo credit. Include their credit in your blog post. Scratch each others back.

Finally socialize with them. Go to industry events, take them to lunch. build meaningful relationships. People always like referring their friends.

We also had other sponsors donate gifts. I think that really helped. We teamed up with a venue. They donated some food and their space at a much much lower rate.

I find, at least on the east coast, that the photographers want to make connections with other vendors. When I have a wedding planner or florist or venue come speak, it draws a crowd. It gives them an excuse to connect with someone.

Our very first meeting, a wedding planner came and spoke. he met a photographer and they have done several weddings together.

Hope this helps with ideas and gives you a little info you can use in your business.

CT PUG Prom

2008-01-31T12:19:00.000-08:00

January 25th marked the One year anniversary of our first PUG meeting in Hartford, CT so we decided to celebrate right back at the same studio where it all began!! Here are a few shots from our "cheesy" PUG prom photobooth.

= Justin =

2008-01-26T00:26:00.001-08:00

I am the leader of the Los Angeles Pictage User Group, and I wanted to share some pics from our monthly meeting which was this past Wednesday. The crazy talented Jay Lawrence Goldman was both the Studio Spotlight and the speaker. His presentation "To Shoot or Die in LA" drew an enormous crowd despite the fact that it was pouring rain.

I just LOVE Jay's studio space:

He's got these cute little birds that live there!

Here's me making Jay's introduction:

Here's Jay doing his thing. If you ever get the chance to hear him speak, I highly recommend it. He's not only incredibly informative, he's so funny!

J Sandifer ROCKED the CT PUG!!

2008-01-22T10:34:00.000-08:00

J Sandifer was so awesome to come down from Maine and speak to our PUG a couple weeks back (can't believe we're just getting around to posting about this now) and he ROCKED the house!! We had by far our largest turnout yet- 54 PHOTOGRAPHERS!- and everyone was so blown away by J. He talked all about how to get the most out of our websites and then ended the night by giving away one FREE website and a $500 gift certificate for another one!

We met J this past May at the Chicago PartnerCon and he has quickly become one of our absolute favorite people in the industry. You will not find a more genuine, kind, generous heart around. He's just one of those people you instantly fall in love with and hope to know for a very loooong time. We love you J!!!

Here are some fun pics of the night's festivities stolen from the adorable Joy Moody's blog...who also was the big winner of the night!

us, Joy, and J

Miami Pug, Christmas (12-16)

2008-01-21T09:18:00.000-08:00

Better late then never.

The Miami Pug Holiday Party was held at our home. As you can see, we are definitely a family affair down here. Lot's of children, lot's of food, and lot's of laughs.

Thank you everyone for coming. I know not everyone is in the photograph, but a few had to leave early, sorry we missed you.

My wife Alison wants to thank everyone also for bringing so much food, we had left overs for days. Our son Carson had so many kids to play with, he was thrilled. See you next year, or at WPPI too.

Raleigh NC PUG Group

2008-01-19T09:23:00.000-08:00

We have been averaging about 10 people at each of our PUG meeting and at just 5 months old, I was pretty happy. This past week we met at a different time of the month because New Years Day fell during our regular meeting time. Justin & Mary Marantz came out to talk to our group and I advertised the meeting in advance through email, we had a SUPER turnout. I believe there were 21 of use total (OUR BIGGEST PUG GROUP YET!). One guy said he had no idea what he walked into or what PUG meant and at the end of the meeting he told me how much fun he had and that he would be back.

I feel like we are finally beginning to establish good relationships with one another in the group and just this week we started up a nice email dialogue with our opinions on what someone in the group was dealing with. I am also working to get some things lined up in advance because I find we have better attendance when we advertise what we will be discussing in advance. In Feb we will be given a demonstration of Lightroom by Elizabeth, who is a PUG group member and in March we will have a CPA come out and chat about taxes and what we are doing right or wrong. I am excited about the relationships we are building and our growth over the last 5 months.

We have several people driving in from 1-2 hours away to be with us.

Justin and Mary did an awesome job and I continue to hear how much they inspired everyone in the room. Here are a few shots I grabbed at the meeting, Justin actually asked our waiter Bo to grab the group shot. A neat little note: Bo has been our waiter has served us since we started and he even came in on his night off to wait on us this week... We love him!

SB UGLY SWEATER HOLIDAY PARTY!

2008-01-17T08:03:00.000-08:00

IT'S BETTER LATE THEN NEVER! Sorry I'm just now posting about our holiday party. I finally have some down time after the holidays.

We had a great night at DJ's amazing ocean view home. We usually only have 5-8 people at each PUG, but I knew if we had it at DJ's house, we'd have a great turnout. I think throughout the night, we probably had close to 40 people there. We had great food, drinks and some even enjoyed the hot tub overlooking the ocean!

We set up a "photobooth" and got some fun shots of everyone.

Unfortunately most of the people thought they were too cool for the "Ugly Sweater" theme, so myself and a couple others were the only ones dressed like dorks! :)

A big thanks to Pictage for driving all the way up here to join us for our party!!!

Philly January PUG

2008-01-10T12:46:00.000-08:00

Well we started off with a nice little group of 6 people

I asked the group what they wanted from our meetings and if they had ideas for topics

An insight from a friend who never has attended a meeting said that he felt like the invitations needed to really express community and the building of a strong network and the offering of a strong network

It is good to hear from others because I thought I had expressed the goals of the monthly meetings in the evite but now know that others are not feeling it. Does anyone have suggestions for expressing the strength and opportunities we will have if we build a strong community? I think the people who attend on a regular basis feel this but we need to do more to attract more.

On another note:

some ideas our group came up with:

- have a panel discussion with other people in our industry- videographers, florsits, planners, caterers
-do a lighting demo
-exchanging "press packets", what we send and give to clients who meet with us
-have someone do demos on retouching - skin retouching, thinning people out, removing objects etc
-posing demo- ways to work with heavier clients or awkward clients to get the most out of their portrait
-accountant to come in and talk about tax stuff
-pricing seminar
-model shoot, workshop
-SEO, blog and website design

anyone have good ideas for topics?

Philly/NJ PUG part 2

2007-12-14T06:05:00.000-08:00

Yeah, we had a really great time. Here are those pics from the photo booth.

Philly/NJ PUG Holiday Party

2007-12-13T18:21:00.000-08:00

We had our holiday party last night. While we did not have near the showing we would have liked the people that did show up had a blast. We bowled two games, had lots to eat and drink and were very merry. It was a great time had by all.

Here I am concentrating hard, straight down the middle! I am not good at bowling.

Heather Fowler showing her stuff

Ryan Estes, master bowler.

Sofia Negron and her sparkley ball.

Chris, who won both games and was very nonchalant about the whole thing. He was good.

Ryan again, a full succession depicting his true form of bowling.

Los Angeles, OC & Clairmont Holiday Party!

2007-12-13T12:34:00.000-08:00

Los Angeles, Orange County and Clairmont PUGs had our holiday party at the very cool Life on Wilshire. The party went from 7:30 to 11:30pm... it was great!

One of my PUG members, Zephrine Hanson, came up to me as she was leaving just to tell me how much she has appreciated the monthly meetings. She told me that not only has she really grown in her business because of them, but the community that Pictage and the PUGs has provided her as a photographer has been invaluable. Hearing her say that made me so happy!!

PUG leaders Lauren Hillary, Julie Weaver & Jules Bianchi

The party people!!!

Phoenix PUG Holiday Party!

2007-12-12T11:58:00.000-08:00

Last night was the PUG Holiday party! So fun!! This concludes our second year together meeting monthly as a community. I've made so many great friends through this group and continue to meet new ones! Phoenix has so many amazing photographers who are also great people and I feel so blessed to know many of them.

Here's a fun group photo. Everyone got together and hung out in this pose for about 10 minutes while Tod ran out to his car to get AA batteries for my flash. I got a good lesson in being prepared!

Melissa Jill :)

PGH PUG Holiday Party Recap: 12.04.2007

2007-12-12T11:17:00.000-08:00

Wow! We had a blast! Thanks soooooooooo much, to Pictge for having PUGs in the first place, and for supporting us throughout the year and with the party! It was a blast!

The usual suspects came: (left to right in the photo) Sommer and Mike Purvis, Terry Clark, Kelly Crawford, Kim Reed, Dana Scheller, Melody Farrin, Tony Araujo, Karen and me. Buca di Beppo was our choice for our dinner; re pleat with great food and even a Baritone-singing waiter! It was full of great conversations, lots of laughter a few toasts for success in the new year and lots of conversation about how we wouldn't know what we'd do without the great services and products Pictage provides us.

Honestly, it was so nice to relax and enjoy each others company, talk a little shop and laugh and let our hair down it made me wish we could do it all the time. OH! Wait; we DO do this all the time! Every month at our PUG meetings!

A BIG thanks goes out to Pictage for supporting us through our second year of PUG gatherings. It's my pleasure to be involved in such a great community with such great shooters on the local and national levels.

On to 2008 with continued and abundant success for all of us!

Best, Joanne

Just a Little Bit Crazy

2007-12-05T20:14:00.000-08:00

I'm not much of a blogger. My wife, Whitney, takes care of our studio blog page. However, I would like to share an activity of the TN PUG group.

A few months back we spent the evening at Lifetime Portraits. As our local topic, we were supposed to take head shots of each other. As you can see, things did not really go as planned. We had a lot of fun and learned a little from each other in the process. We were also reminded what it was like to be on “the other side” of the camera.

- peter

Peter Carlson - Dove Wedding Photography

Whitney Carlson - Dove Wedding Photography

Mindy & Phil Thornton - Thornton Photo

David Pavol & David Wright

The Gang

Pittsburgh PUG Holiday GetToGether!

2007-11-29T08:39:00.000-08:00

It's that time of the year, the holidays, and the end to our 2007 season. I hope everyone had a great year - let's talk about it!

We are having our 2nd Annual PUG Holiday GetToGether:
WHEN: Tuesday, December 4th
TIME: 6:30 PM
WHERE: Station Square / Buca di Beppo
LINK: http://www.bucadibeppo.com/locations/location.aspx?location=3802

As a PUG member, please feel free to bring your significant other and another photographer who may not be a member of our PUG - let's get them into the fold!

Pictage is expensing $150 for us to cover expenses for our GTG - WHICH IS GREAT OF THEM!...be sure to tell them so and thank them for it...so, I'll probably be asking that everyone chip in maybe $20+ bucks per person to help me cover the remaining costs after the Pictage contribution, depending on the final bill, of course.

Wanna hang out after our meal? Weather permitting, we could go to the ice rink in PPG plaza, or see the window decorations at Macy's, or head out for more celebrating, if you know what I mean ;-) !

I'm really looking forward to some relaxing, so drag another shooter along and I'll see you there!

Best, Joanne

Knoxville PUG Christmas Party Info

2007-11-15T07:01:00.000-08:00

Location:
Oodles18 Market Square, Knoxville, TN 37902 US
When: Thursday, December 13, 6:00PM
Cost:$30 per person

It's that time of year again!!! Time for us all to get together and celebrate!We have planned a great party to take place in downtown Knoxville at Oodles in Market Square. We have reserved the Green Room, so come and enjoy a fun and relaxing time with your peers as we reflect on 2007 and look forward to 2008.

MENU
Homemade Foccacia Bread w/ Herbed Olive Oil
Choice of House Salad w/ Balsamic Dressing or Caesar Salad
Choice of Entree: Iron Skillet Ribeye, Morocan Braised Chicken, Wild Mushroom Pasta or Fresh Fish of the Day
Choice of Beverage (alcohol can be purchased separately)
Choice of Dessert: Classic Tiramisu or Holiday Spiced Cheesecake

Cost: $30 per person
RSVP and payment is required by December 1

After dinner, you can even enjoy some shopping in Market Square or we can all have fun skating around the ice rink! I hope you all can join us!!! I look forward to celebrating with you!

Jamie Weiss
(865) 233-2257
jamie@jamieweiss.com

Philly November PUG

2007-11-14T19:53:00.000-08:00

We had our November Philly PUG today and I filled in for Sofia who got a job at the last minute. We had a great time at Josh Gardner's Studio. Josh went over Lightroom and I think everyone learned something they didn't know about it today. We talked about the new products that Pictage wants to roll out in 2008, everyone was on board with the canvas prints, but nobody wants the client to be able to order them. There was concern about quality control and packaging though.
Everyone was on board to allowing their clients to purchase framed prints on Pictage of any size.
We covered a lot of Pictage topics and I have a ton of feedback to share. We also talked about what we would like to cover in future meetings. These topics are:
copyright issues
accounting/book keeping
insurance
marketing

There may be a few more I am not thinking of at the moment. But those are all great topics. So I think we will work on covering them, bringing people in to talk. I would like to try and get someone in from ASMP to talk to us.

I believe we are going to combine the New Jersey and Philadelphia PUGs for the holiday party. I have to chat with Laura but I think Dec 13th is the day set for Philly. We are going to have it at North Bowl, an awesome retro bowling alley in the hip neighborhood of The Northern Liberties. Should be a lot of fun.

-Joy

Coming to a PUG near you!! :)

2007-11-09T15:40:00.000-08:00

Hey guys!

Justin and I are going to be visiting some PUGs this winter to talk about relationships and how important they are for our businesses, especially our relationships with other photographers and how amazing PUG is for that!! We're trying to figure out the schedule and where all we're gonna be able to go, so if any of you leaders think that's something you'd be interested in for your group please feel free to shoot us an email at justin@imagine-imaging and we'll see if we can get it set up. It would be such a HUGE help in trying to figure all this out! Serioulsy, thank you guys SO much in advance! I feel so blessed by all of you that I already know and I can't wait to meet even more of you!

xoxo
Mary:)

Lightroom: Huge Success

2007-10-31T08:43:00.000-07:00

Lightroom.

We just had our PUG meeting for October on Monday. When I arrived and saw that the room was completely packed my jaw dropped. I knew we had had a LOT of rsvps but wasn't sure that all of the people would actually come out. We had the most well attended PUG meeting I think we've ever had. We counted 30 people although somehow they didn't all make it onto my list. We had at least 10 people show up who have never been to a PUG meeting. I've had a number of people email me about what a great time they had, how much they learned, and how surprised they were to find so many other photographers so willing to share. The photographers who presented about Lightroom were so helpful and hung out afterwards to help answer any additional questions. I'm thrilled with the turnout and what a success it ended up being.

Next month.

For next month we're considering doing a library night similar to what Pictage suggested. One of the photographer's has a software program that will track barcodes and all kinds of things to actually set up a library among all of the Utah photographers. (Not sure if this is going to fly yet or not...) We're planning to ask everyone to bring one or two of their fave photography or biz books and give a review on them mentioning how the book has helped their business, creativity, etc. It will be the launch of having a short book review every month. I'll let you know how it goes.

Next year.

One of the big things I'm doing since the year is winding down and I've had the last bit of the year to get a feel for being PUG leader is to sit down and make a plan for next year. I'm hoping to come up with topics for each PUG meeting over the next 12 months so that I can get in touch with guest speakers for next year. If any of you PUG leaders are going to be in the Utah area in the upcoming months, let me know, I'd love to have you be a guest speaker at our PUG. My only concern is that I want the meetings to cater to the people who attend the PUG so I'm hoping I'll be able to have a schedule that will be flexible enough to change if necessary.

Tell me.

What are some ideas you have for the upcoming month?

Have fun!

Happiness,
Davina

Nov. '07 Pittsburgh PUG: contracts & pricing

2007-10-30T11:34:00.000-07:00

Yes, we are nearing the 2007 season end; end of photographing weddings perhaps, but there is never an end to evaluating our businesses, from work flow to contracts and everything in between!

Our Pittsburgh, PA PUG will be focusing (pun intended!) on reviewing contracts, booking policies, cancellation policies and cancellation contracts, delivery memos and all the C-Y-A involved in operating our business. We plan to share documents then discuss, add to and advise and I'm hoping that a friend of mine that does contract law and mediation will attend as a guest speaker!

Our December PUG will be for networking purposes between all of us and we will be inviting as many shooters from around the area to join Pictage and our PUG!

Share the LOVE! ~ Joanne

November workflow in Philly

2007-10-29T17:12:00.000-07:00

So, I have had a lot of requests to talk more about workflow. i think as the season is almost over people are really drowning in work. The big wedding push is almost over but the squeeze before the holidays for portraits and the orders are rolling in and we can't seem to make head nor tail. For those that had DJ visit their PUG last year with his workflow seminar, have made huge strides with their workflow but there is still a lot that needs to be worked out. We will be discussing tips on what works and doesn't and we will have a lightroom and bridge demo. If anyone is like me, I learn much better by doing and hate having to read books and manuals on how stuff works. So, I think the lightroom and bridge demo will be really great for everyone who may not be familiar with one of these programs or at least some great shortcuts.

As things begin to slow down, it may be a really great time to revisit your workflow and see what worked and didn't work during the season. it really helps to share so that next year we can do even better and have more time for family, friends and our business. Besides we want to have plenty of time to party in December.

Pictage Pumpkin Carving Contest

2007-10-29T15:39:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, we thought you'd enjoy this! We're holding a contest tomorrow here in the office to see which department can carve the best pumpkin. We decided to enter our "Pug'kin". Wish us luck!
~Emily and Becky

November Meeting Ideas

2007-10-23T06:42:00.000-07:00

It seems my scavenger hunt idea was just that... a good idea. Getting the NJ folks motivated seems to be a real chore or I can just chalk it up as a bad timing thing. Most if not all probably attended PhotoPlus and we are still winding down from a really busy wedding season. So sadly Laura and I made the call to cancel the hunt last night as we only had 4 confirmed participants and none of them were Pictage members. I would still liked to have done it, but after hearing Laura out she made the point that 2 teams of 2 wouldn't be much of an event. So we'd be better off saving the clues for a better run at it on a later date.

The idea I have for Nov came from a conversation with one of our local guys. John Schafer was at Jason G's Pre-PhotoPlus party and we were catching up on his experience on the Revolution workshop. He said his favorite part was being able to try out new lenses. So my lightbulb turned on (if you know Laura she'd say candle) and I have this new idea.

I'd be willing to bet all of us have bought or wanted a lens without realizing it's not what we need, only to regret it later. So Laura and I are gonna try and get some lenses together for the next meeting and have a hands on, try before you buy, kinda setup for the next PUG. Basically we want to give folks the experience we wished we had before we blew some money on lenses we now collect dust with in a closet.

So if anyone is looking for an idea for their next meeting, try doing this. For those of you within driving distance of us I'm open to a combined meeting, especially if we can get Canon on board by sending us a rep with some glass as they are only about 30mins from us.

Let us know your thoughts and your ideas for the next meeting!
- Paul & Laura

unofficial San Francisco Bay Area PUG mascot

2007-10-11T17:38:00.000-07:00

shows off his new T shirt.

Hi everyone! Make sure to note that our Oct PUG will be taking place in Oakland, not San Francisco, at our alternate location--the home studio of AGB Photographics. Here is the address:

5040 Daisy St
Oakland, CA 94619

And a big shout out to Angela for opening her home to us.

This month I had planned to continue some of the business basics stuff we talked about at last months PUG...but those of you who watch the Pictage forums (or OSP, or Fred Miranda, or DWF) will know that a more immediate concern has come up. This issue is multifaceted; involving such topics as marketing, client communication, studio reputation and branding, as well as the future of the industry and the role that each individual photographer and studio can play in it. I think it's vital for the photography community to talk about this stuff, and to turn a learning experience for one into a learning experience for all.

...and that's probably as much as I can say on the topic right now as I am technically on Pictage turf. Check the aforementioned forums to find out more.

I look forward to seeing all of you there! Remember it's Wednesday, October 24th, at 630PM.

Philly PUG has guest speaker- marketing, business plans and pricing

2007-10-04T11:11:00.001-07:00

We will be having a guest speaker talk more about pricing, marketing and business plans. Three meeting ago we had a business guru come in and I was surprised how little people actually understood about branding, business plans and target marketing. The biggest question from that night was, how do we get people to book on us and not on price. Well I am hoping that this question will get answered more in depth at theis meeting.

I also sent out a survey to get feedback from all the Philly photographers so that we can increase attendance. Our numbers are usually steady at around 5 people.

Any ideas on how to increase attendance? Do you find people like a more social atmosphere or when you really present something related to biz or technique?

NJ PUG Scavenger Hunt

2007-10-04T08:56:00.000-07:00

Tuesday Oct 23rd @ 6:30pm we're meeting at the Princeton Panera Bread to kick off a fun scavenger hunt.

We are asking everyone to bring their favorite camera, a lens capable of around 50mm or something similar, basically something good for low light and candid type shots. Brin your walking shoes! AND FLASHES! & wireless triggers if you have them.

Jason Groupp and Paul Eaton will be teaching those that don't know, a little lesson on rear curtain sync and off camera flash to use in the hunt. Then off ya go!

We're gonna break eveyone up into a few teams and then send you out with a list of clues and things to photograph. We're gonna set a time limit on the hunt so we don't have people wandering the streets of Princeton into the wee hours of the night. Then we'll reconvene for scoring and/or judging and award prizes.

I'm awaiting further news on prizes but so far Pictage has been very generous to offer up $100 credit.

This is going to be an awesome break from the norm in NJ. We hope to get a great turnout.

-Joy

Lightroom next month. What are you doing next month?

2007-10-04T08:15:00.001-07:00

We've started having our PUG meetings at various studios and as much as I thought our attendence would diminish it's actually increased.

This past month the spot light studio introduced us to his work as well as showed us few images from his trip to Africa. Everyone was interested to know how he planned for the trip, what he took, etc. Now we're scheduling him to speak again on how to plan a photo safari trip. We also had another member present on getting organized and staying organized in your studio and in your life. It was a huge hit and people stuck around to talk to her.

During the course of our meeting everyone was asking questions about lightroom. We decided it should be our next meeting. We told everyone to bring their laptops with at least the demo downloaded. Three people in our group love and know lightroom very well. They are each going to teach a portion of how to use lightroom next month.

Everyone was feeling so excited about the next meeting that there were people that hung out until past 11pm. For our PUG that's pretty late.

Thanks to Justin and Mary for getting this blog started. I'm so excited to check it out for more ideas about what you're doing to make your pug awesome!!!

What are you doing next month?

Happiness,
Davina

salt lake city, utah pug leader

Ideas for the Holidays

2007-10-04T07:50:00.000-07:00

Hey PUG Leaders and PUG-ees!

We had a fun, small meeting last night here in Atlanta and had some GREAT ideas thrown out on ideas for holiday portraits. I'll list a few out here:

Sarah: She's planning a few days of "mini-sessions" for the holidays and will be shooting in B&W so the pictures can be sold ALLLLL year round, not just for the holidays. She'll be offering colorful holiday card designs with the B&W pics for cards.

Gary Idea#1: He's having his Boy Scout troupe doing the selling for him! He'll be donating a bunch of portrait session shoots (coupons will be made up) and the little guys will sell them for $20 for a mini-portrait-session in the park. The Boy Scout Troupe gets all the proceeds but Gary will still make all of his profits off the product sales.

Gary Idea#2: Get in with a Country Club. It's the only time to catch a lot of dads for family portraits! He's arranged it before with a Club so that he just takes their member # down, the club bills the family, then cuts Gary a check. Brilliant!

Jennifer: She and her husband are doing some fab portraits of Themselves! The idea is twofold: a great holiday card, and also to let friends and family promo them as they are new to full-time photography.

Jody: Jody is new to Pictage, so he'll be sending a TON of past events to Pictage for upload so they can be a part of the Holiday Promotions.

Me: Thanks to a massive computer crash this week, my bright idea had nothing to do with the Holidays except to make SURE you're sending ALL Pics to Pictage for double-back-up and have a solid recovery/back-up plan in place. ;)

Can't wait to see more fun stuff up here! Any ideas on what you all are doing for November and December meetings!?

Cheers!

Liana

Spread the Love

2007-10-04T05:54:00.000-07:00

Mary and I just wanted to share with you our CT PUG video that we made for PartnerCon LA. It's just a bunch of us being silly and having a great time! Check it out up on cutframe.tv (or if you have an iPhone you can see it on youtube also)

= Justin =

Welcome!

2007-10-04T05:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the new PUG leader's blog! This is a place for all of us to share ideas, images, news, and any other exciting PUG info you might have. It's also a great way for us to get to know more about each other and other groups across the country. If you are a PUG leader, please send me your email address (to justin@imagine-imaging.com) so I can add you as an author to the blog. This way everyone can login and post!