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Thursday, February 22, 2007

Starting a photography business

What would life be like for you if YOU could do anything you would like? What if you had more time to spend with your family, and be available when they needed you most? What if you could make enough money to support you and your family, and have the extras in life you've been dreaming of (like that new car, and the two week vacation)? What if you could work on a schedule that is convenient for you? What if this dream could become your reality in just a few short months?

If photography has always been a passion for you; one that you would love to make into a full time career, maybe its time to make that dream a reality. Maybe you've been photographing your friends and family for years, and they've been telling you to go into the business. Or maybe you're having a harder and harder time going to that job every day that just doesn't seem to have a purpose. Why should you work for someone else when you can build something lucrative on your own?

The truth is over 75 percent of people contemplate starting their own business at some point in their life. And of those 75 percent, one in three will actually take the steps necessary to start their own business.

Will you be one of them?

You see, it takes a special personality to decide to go into business for him or herself. You have to realize that it takes more than a love of what you do. It also takes commitment because a business doesn’t grow by itself. It takes work.

The cold hard facts are most business owners will go out of business in a short period of time. Over 66 percent of business startups fold after only four years.

But there is a way to give you an edge over other business owners. It's a "secret" that every successful business owner has followed over the course of his or her own entrepreneurial life. And I'm going to share that secret with you … in just a minute.

Does This Really Work?

First, let me introduce myself. My name is Lori Osterberg, and I've been a successful entrepreneur for almost 20 years now. But I didn't start out that way. In fact, I would say I was taught to be anything but an entrepreneur.

I came from a traditional family: two kids, dad worked 9 to 5, mom stayed home. I was pushed to go to college and get a good job; one that would take care of me throughout my life.

Can you relate?

After watching my dad struggle to keep his job the last few years before retirement, I discovered having a "job" wasn't the risk-free thing to do. So together with my husband, Andrew, we started our first photography studio.

And what an amazing business it turned out to be. We did astonishing things with that business. We would double – even triple our sales year after year. We were recognized with some of the finest awards in local, national and international competitions. We discovered the power of the Internet in the 90's, and became one of the premier photography studios online (which means we flew anywhere our clients wanted us to be).

As we became more recognized, we started having other photographers ask us, "How'd you do that"?

And that's when we discovered "the secret".

What is "The Secret"?

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Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Swim Lessons Colorado

Training For A Triathlon: Improving Your Swim Skills

Triathlons commonly include three events; swimming, cycling and running. While all three events challenge your stamina and endurance, it s the swimming event that creates the greatest angst in the participants. Because all three events are completed back to back, the swimming event will set the tone for the rest of the race. Proper training will allow you to take control, and finish comfortably.


5 Ways To Help Your Child Enjoy Swimming

One of those gifts is the enjoyment of being in and around water. Exposing babies to water at an early age will benefit them throughout their lives. It gives them the desire to swim and reduces the chances of developing a fear of water.

Swimming World News

Are you looking for in swimming lesson news in Colorado? We have a huge list of swimming news, all the latest event in the swimming world.

How To Add Swimming To Your Exercise Routine

For a routine to work, it has to be easy to implement, and easy to keep in your schedule. If you find it difficult adding a variety of classes and techniques into your seven day week, you may wish to consider swimming.

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Monday, February 19, 2007

Putting The "Service" Back In "Customer Service"

By Sean Cohen

The future of customer service is here. Technology has made seeking out support faster and easier than ever. But, has your digital age company sacrificed true service in the name of automation?

Today, finding customer support is as simple as writing an e-mail or picking up the phone. But, even though you're not face-to-face with your customers, you still leave a lasting impression. Do you come across as caring and competent, or menacing and mechanical?

Offering stand-out service on the Internet isn't as hard as it is rare. Take these simple steps towards old-style service in the digital age:


Give Each Customer a Personal Response
Be Clear, But Sincere
Offer Live Customer Support
Make Sure Your Support Reps Have All the Answers

Give Each Customer a Personal Response
When a customer sits down to e-mail your company, it's because he needs help. He chooses e-mail because it's quick, but his request still warrants a satisfying and personal response!

Companies eager to save time and money often take automation too far in their customer support. Each customer has a unique question, and deserves a unique answer. Even if you save time by copying and pasting stock replies, change the opening and closing to make the message sound less robotic.


Be Clear, But Sincere
When responding to customers' e-mail, be sincere and to the point. Before sending a message, try turning the tables. Ask yourself, "Would this answer satisfy me if I were the customer?"

Take that extra moment to give your customer the help he deserves. It might mean the difference between a satisfied customer and a credit card chargeback!


Offer Live Customer Support
E-mail has become an acceptable form of communication. But, live customer support is still necessary. The plethora of information available online can be overwhelming to customers, especially those new to the Internet!

Single your company out from the crowd by providing customers with a real person to talk to. Live phone support is an invaluable way to foster trust. When your customer has reached the end of his Internet rope, and just needs help, your toll free number is the answer he's looking for.


Make Sure Your Support Reps Have All The Answers
The presence of phone support will do no good if your staff doesn't know your product! Customer support reps should be warm and friendly, and willing to help with any aspect of your product.

What a good feeling it is to talk to someone who feels confident in his product. It's even better if he's knowledgeable enough to solve your problem without transferring you all around the company!


Provide Stand-Out Service; Gain Lifelong Customers
Too many e-businesses skimp on customer service, hiding behind web sites and message boards. Customer support is an integral part of every company, even those operating solely online. Be one of the few to offer stellar service, and gain customers for life!

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Friday, February 16, 2007

Are You Taking Care Of Your Investment?

Do you look at your website as an investment? If not, it's time to start. Your website is not only a tool in your business, but it's a major sales force waiting to bring you in leads. The more efficient it operates, the more it will work for you. Take a look at these 7 tips, and see how your website stands up.

  1. How many people visit? Do you track how many people visit your site? Do you know how well your site is doing today relative to one month ago? Or even one year ago? These numbers provide you with growth potential, and let you know how well you are doing with your online marketing. The numbers are important. Start tracking today to determine how to proceed with your marketing for the future.
  2. How fast does it go? Look at every page of your site, and see how fast it loads. Does your home page load quickly? How about the supporting pages? How about the order page? Or the request more info page? People are more impatient now than ever. If something doesn't load properly in seconds, they back out or hit the button again. The faster you can make it go, the more responsive you'll be to your clients.
  3. What happens with errors? Error pages make you look bad. They tell your potential customer that you don't have the time to test your website, and make sure it's fully operational. Do you have any 404 Not Found errors? These can easily be rerouted. How about bad links? Again, these should be monitored and corrected.
  4. What do they like? Do you know what your customers like about your website? What pages do they spend the most amount of time on? If you think they are always coming in through your home page, think again. Many times people will enter on an internal page, and spend a vast majority of time within one section. They may never even get to your home page! The more you know, the more you can enhance.
  5. Where did they go? One they enter your site, what path did they take? This is important for two reasons. First, it can show you what information is of interest to potential buyers. Something is capturing their attention, and if you concentrate on that, you can market to them even better. Second, where did they exit? If people always leave on a certain page, maybe its time to rewrite that page.
  6. Are your visitors happy? Listening to your customers and prospects can quickly tell you if you're on the right path. Survey them either with online tools, or with a follow up phone call and determine how well they liked your site.
  7. Did you meet your goals? Do you have clearly defined goals for your site? Did your site bring in more leads, customers, sign ups, etc? The only way to improve on your site is to have clearly defined goals, and the ability to track in a way that will tell you when you reach your goals.

Need help on your website development or website design and marketing?

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Photography Business increased sales with a quality website presence

Websites allow a photography studio an effortless solution to display sections of their work and present information to potential customers 24/7.


One item that we all face in our photography business is the need for an online presence. Having a website is very important for your clients to locate information pertaining to your services and viewing a portfolio of quality images. Too often, we find websites that are constructed by novice designers using a boxed website solution with very unpleasant results. Imagine if you viewed a website of poor quality, would you want your wedding photographed by the same studio? I know that I would look at other wedding photography studios. Budgets are tight on most businesses just starting up and locating a great product and an affordable price can become unpleasantly difficult. For websites, a template solution could avail your situation and allow your studio to create a professional online presence without elimination of your entire bank account balance. Quality photography website templates are created as great starting solution and can help relay the proper message to entice larger events and increase your sales.


Increase you Photography Business Sales with a New Website


Don’t fall victim to accepting sub par website displays in relation to your photography studio, make it look pleasing and professional. Take a quick look at the many hundreds of photography business website template solutions.


Helping your photography business, how to start a digital wedding photography business and wedding photography business visit virtualphotographystudio.com and keep up-to-date with all of the photography happenings via our free newsletter.

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Monday, February 05, 2007

SuperBowl Ads from the Big Game

Knowing that many of you read our blog for photography information and we thank you for it, we find some fun items to post in it as well. One of the items that has always intrigued me is the great minds and creative thought in which Super Bowl ads are produced. If you missed any of the Superbowl advertisements, we have located them. Here is the link: SuperBowl Ads

Helping your photography business, how to start a digital wedding photography business and wedding photography business visit virtualphotographystudio.com and keep up-to-date with all of the photography happenings via our free newsletter.

Thursday, February 01, 2007

Photographers Adobe Photoshop Keyboard shortcuts list

Every photographer wants to become faster and more efficient at handling digital files in Adobe Photoshop. From a seasoned wedding photographer to someone just opening his or her photography business, we all want to get it done quickly. Here is a list of Adobe Photoshop Keyboard shortcuts list:


Tools Shortcut

Rectangular Marquee Tool M

Elliptical Marquee Tool M

Single Row Marquee Tool

Single Column Marquee Tool

Move Tool V

Lasso Tool L

Polygonal Lasso Tool L

Magnetic Lasso Tool L

Magic Wand Tool W

Crop Tool C

Slice Tool K

Slice Select Tool K

Healing Brush Tool J

Patch Tool J

Color Replacement Tool J

Brush Tool B

Pencil Tool B

Clone Stamp Tool S

Pattern Stamp Tool S

History Brush Tool Y

Art History Brush Y

Eraser Tool E

Background Eraser Tool E

Magic Eraser Tool E

Gradient Tool G

Paint Bucket Tool G

Blur Tool R

Sharpen Tool R

Smudge Tool R

Dodge Tool O

Burn Tool O

Sponge Tool O

Path Selection Tool A

Direct Selection Tool A

Horizontal Type Tool T

Vertical Type Tool T

Horizontal Type Mask Tool T

Vertical Type Mask Tool T

Pen Tool P

Freeform Pen Tool P

Add Anchor Point Tool

Delete Anchor Point Tool

Convert Point Tool

Rectangle Tool U

Rounded Rectangle Tool U

Ellipse Tool U

Polygon Tool U

Line Tool U

Custom Shape Tool U

Notes Tool N

Audio Annotation Tool N

Eyedropper Tool I

Color Sampler Tool I

Measure Tool I

Hand Tool H

Zoom Tool Z

Default Foreground/Background Colors D

Switch Foreground/Background Colors X

Toggle Standard/Quick Mask Modes Q

Toggle Screen Modes F

Toggle Preserve Transparency /

Decrease Brush Size [

Increase Brush Size ]

Decrease Brush Hardness {

Increase Brush Hardness }

Previous Brush ,

Next Brush .

First Brush <

Last Brush >


Helping your photography business, how to start a digital wedding photography business and wedding photography business visit virtualphotographystudio.com and keep up-to-date with all of the photography happenings via our free newsletter and receive your very own copy of our keyboard shortcuts layed out for easy reference

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