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Being a company that specializes in providing solutions, tools, and information for photographers we focus mainly on what happens behind the lens. This article, the second in an ongoing series, aims to broaden this horizon. Each article will have a unique, and somewhat whimsical, insight into an area of photography that you may have not considered before. We hope you enjoy them and welcome your comments. You can read the first article here. I come from a long line of famous photographers. In fact, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that I come from photography royalty. Throughout the 20th century my family has worked with some of the most famous photographers in the world, capturing events that literally defined history. You might even say that were it not for us these photographers never would’ve gotten the photos that went on to become so well known globally. That might sound like boastful talk to you, but as they say in Texas: “That ain’t brag; that’s a fact.” The Beginnings My family line can be traced back to Germany in the early 1920s. My great-great grandfather actually was involved with photography as early as 1914, but it wasn’t until 1925 that he really took the world by storm. It was then that he produced the very first 35mm images. Prior to that, photographers would use big, clunky exposures that required cumbersome equipment that took a lot of time to set up. My great-great grandfather solved this by shrinking the image to the compact 35mm, which could be enlarged later from a negative. This in turn meant a more compact system that made it easier for photographers to transport and shoot on the go. From here on out when I’m referring to a member of my family I’ll just say “we”. That way I won’t confuse you with all my aunts and uncles, etc. For clarification purposes I will provide a family tree at the end if you’d like to see who worked where, and when. Now, having solved this issue of portability we began teaming up with forward-thinking photographers around the world. Unencumbered by the new, lighter equipment, they began going out into the streets and chronicling the world around them in real time. In this manner we revolutionized the way photographs were taken. This led to what can arguably be called modern photojournalism, as one of our earliest partnerships was with Henri Cartier-Bresson. 1930s-40s Taking to the streets of Paris, Henri Cartier-Bresson would merely look at what he wanted to photograph and we captured the image for him. We were, in effect, an extension of his eye. This also was a break from how photographers had worked before because for the first time we provided them a frame for what they would be photographing. As Cartier-Bresson’s fame rose, so did ours from our partnership with him. His close association with Robert Capa prompted him to start working with us as well. In 1937, we traveled with him to Spain to capture the horrors of the Spanish Civil War. It was during this trip that we helped him capture the image of the “Falling Soldier” which showcased the horror of that war. Unfortunately, our work during the Spanish Civil War was just the opening salvo. We spent the majority of the next decade traveling the globe, as the whole world convulsed with warfare, capturing images. Happily, the war ended in 1945, and again we were on hand to document history. This time, as jubilant crowds roared through Times Square in New York City we were working with Alfred Eisenstaedt, of Life magazine. Suddenly, right in the middle of the street, a sailor grabbed a nurse and we captured it. The Kiss, as it is now known, has gone on to become one of the most iconic images of the 20th century. Are you starting to believe me when I say that we’re photography royalty? In 1947, our longtime partners Capa and Cartier-Bresson joined with David “Chim” Seymour and George Rodger to form Magnum Photos. This was a watershed moment for us all because it enabled us to continue making fantastic photographs while documenting the world around us. Throughout the years, many now-famous photographers have joined Magnum and covered nearly every major milestone that has happened in the world since then. Our family’s collaboration with Magnum continues to this day. 1950s-60s Though World War II was over, there still was plenty around the world to keep us busy. When China began to unravel in civil war we traveled with Cartier-Bresson there to capture that event. Another family member went with Margaret Bourke-White to India to document Gandhi as he led the struggle against colonial rule. Our close relationship with him enabled us to take this photo of Gandhi spinning thread, just hours before his assassination. On a more positive note, back in Paris we were also working with famed street photographer Robert Doisneau. Much like Cartier-Bresson, we roamed the streets of Paris, capturing the lives and loves of the city. It was during one of these jaunts that we captured the image of  “Le Baiser de l’Hotel de Ville”(Kiss by the town hall). This is one of my favorite images of all time, and I’m so proud that a family member took it. The ‘60s were a time of great upheaval, with revolutions, movements, and change everywhere you turned. Fortunately, we always seemed to be in the right place at the right time to capture the moment forever on film. For instance, we were with Alberto Díaz Gutiérrez, better known as Alberto Korda, in 1960 when he captured the iconic image of Che Guevara. Titled “Guerrillero Heroico,” this photo has gone on to become both a symbol of youth in revolt and a pop art icon. Despite our gallivanting around the world, we were also very busy in the United States. Roaming the streets of New York City with Garry Winogrand, we captured the frenetic street life in motion via thousands of photographs, much like our forefathers did in Paris with Cartier-Bresson. Another family member was always with Bill Eppridge as he kept a visual chronicle of Robert Kennedy during the 1968 presidential campaign. Back then, candidates weren’t surrounded by the media and handlers like they are today, so we had exclusive access to Kennedy immediately after his speech in the Ambassador Hotel. Following along behind him as he walked through the kitchen we were witness to his terrible assassination. Fortunately, our work wasn’t always so grim. One of our favorite partnerships was with Jim Marshall, whom we began working with in 1959. Together we photographed the Beatles, Janis Joplin, Miles Davis, The Who and more musical greats of that time. Our photo of Jimi Hendrix burning his guitar at the Monterey Pops festival in 1967 and Johnny Cash flipping the bird in San Quentin prison perfectly embody the rebellious nature of music and culture at that time. The Family Tree As I mentioned earlier, it isn’t wrong to say that I come from photography royalty. If you want proof, here’s the family tree I promised to show you earlier. In addition to all the photographers mentioned above we’ve also worked with Annie Leibovitz, Ernest Hemingway, and Ilse Bing (known as Queen of the Leica, how’s that for royalty?), and many other famous photographers. Just as important, people around the world know that when you choose to work with us you’ll get the best photographs you can. Now that you and I are better acquainted, why don’t we go outside and take some photos together?     Peter Urbick has more than a decade of experience as a professional writer and manages all aspects of content for Zenfolio. In addition to being an amateur photographer he enjoys history and was inspired to write this story after looking through an old box of photos his grandfather had. Originally from Seattle, he wears his Evergreen State pride on his sleeve, much to the amusement of the rest of the office. show less

I admit it: I'm part of the horde. I, like every other photographer I've ever heard of, love getting new photo gear. New lenses, bags, even the little things like blissfully pristine screen covers are really exciting! However, having tried out a slew of new photo editing programs since college, I have to admit that new software usually feels a bit more like a test (the 'Can I Figure it Out Without My Brain Exploding?' test) than something straightforward enough to be fun. There's an amazing amount of things you can do to images digitally these days, and I've experienced my fair share of copycat editing environments and unintuitive controls. So, when the day came that I opened up DxO Optics Pro 8 (my new editing software), I will admit I had my very best skeptical face on. But, I was pleasantly surprised! To give a little backstory; my favorite ultra-wide lens can capture an incredibly large area (it's a 10-20 mm) so I love to use it to photograph big buildings and epic-looking scenery, skies, etc. But, I can't say I looked forward to correcting the inevitable distortion issues that crop up when using such a wide lens. A few lucky photographers might have access to a multistory building across the way, a handy-dandy 15' ladder, or a tilt-shift lens to correct perspective in-camera, but most often when I find myself in these situations unplanned, I have to instead tilt my lens upward. Now, while tilting the lens away from center may not be a big deal for 50 mm or telephoto lenses, the more my ultra-wide tilts, the more distorted the image perspective gets. This means straight lines keystone (tilt inward or outward), the visual distance between me and the subject starts looking VERY far away, and for some lenses, straight lines actually bend into curves along the outer edge of the frame. Plus, wide-angle lenses in general have a tendency to add extra vignetting on corners, which can darken the whole look of the image. Fortunately, with DxO, I discovered two things: 1) new software CAN be intuitive, and 2) these edits can be quick and painless! DxO corrected all of the issues with the images in this post, just by moving a couple of sliders. Full disclosure here: I'll be the first to admit that sometimes really messing with perspective and pushing the images to the extremes of distortion can yield some fun, artistic results! But, the average viewer usually prefers a more realistic-looking image that better matches what the eye sees. Same goes for preferring evenly bright images with lots of detail in both shadows and highlights. Optics Pro 8 is great because it helps bring images back to their original gloriousness in a couple of clicks and definitely doesn't take a gigantic, scary-looking user manual to figure out. The total editing process takes place in three tabs:     1.    Organize - select the folder of images on your computer that you want to edit (no importing necessary)     2.    Customize - where the editing magic happens!     3.    Process - select a file format etc. and save the finished edit After selecting my folder, the software checked for which lenses I used on the images, and auto-provided downloadable modules with correction presets for those specific lens profiles. Very handy for quick editing! Since I wanted to adjust the images manually, though, I clicked over to the Customize tab. The options here include some really powerful general editing adjustments, like white balance, a very cool feature called “Smart lighting,” and contrast. In my first image, a lot of things were going wrong, and not all were the fault of my lens. Despite being an 80 degree, beautiful summer day, the image looks cold, dark, and like it's entirely possible I was in the middle of falling backward when I snapped it. So my first step was to use the Smart Lighting feature, which simultaneously brightens shadows AND brings detail back into highlights. Then I correct the color balance to match how the warm afternoon rays had made the scene look in reality, and used the awesome “micro-contrast” slider to get back some details. Next up: fixing those tilted lines.   When it comes to wide angle lens correction, the most important tools I need are keystoning correction, distortion control, and vignetting adjustment. I did have trouble locating where the keystoning controls were initially, but a quick visit to their Getting Started help guide showed me how to switch out of the basic workspace called First Steps and into the advanced workspace. You can switch between the two at any time, or customize each workspace to include more (or fewer) options. In another image of some pretty epic clouds completely dwarfing the Golden Gate Bridge, I straightened the crooked horizon line, added some correction for pin-cushioning, and used the keystoning tool to fix the seriously skewed lines of the bridge. This automatically cropped out the outer portions of the image that extended out of frame as a result, while retaining the original aspect ratio. That last bit is a GREAT time saver, as programs like Photoshop require users to crop images manually after making similar lens corrections. One feature that's hard to miss when using this software is their before-and-after correction preview. Instead of having to hunt for a previous point in a history panel, or click on an eye check box to reveal the original image, you can check this just by clicking on the image itself in the central window. While you're still holding the button down, this shows the image “As shot.” As soon as you release, the customized image displays again. I really loved this and found myself previewing constantly, which helped prevent accidentally going overboard on any one adjustment. Plus, when you're using the keystoning tool, you have the option to use a side-by-side view of the image (pre-correction & post-correction), which updates in real time as you move the sliders. After that, a quick adjustment using the vignetting slider takes care of the darkened corners, and I was ready to move on to my next photo. Once all of the images were edited, I just clicked-and-dragged them into the Process panel, where DxO applied my preferred save settings, and saved the finished edits. In the end, correcting the images took all of about 2 minutes, and I'd have to say my skeptical face was replaced with what was probably a pretty satisfied-looking smirk. I passed the test! And in turn, DxO passed mine. ? Not only is Rebecca one of the awesome ZenMasters who helps Zenfolio users with their accounts on a daily basis, she is also a very talented photographer. Having grown up in West Africa and Montana, Rebecca is no stranger to breathtaking scenery. Her images, whether they are landscapes, interiors or portraits, showcase the subject in the best way possible. Take a look at her stunning images here: http://rebeccaherem.zenfolio.com/   show less

  An Interview with Mary Beth Koeth How did you get started as a photo assistant? When I started the photography program at Miami Ad School, I remember telling myself, “You need to start assisting as soon as possible.” But how do you assist without knowing the equipment? I was eager to learn but intimidated by the whole process. Everything was so new to me. I would ask the second year students if I could go to their shoots to sit in and observe. I’m pretty sure this is how I learned to use a reflector. Eventually, I started interning for a local photographer. I’d help him with his website, blogging, and social media, and even wax the floors in the studio on occasion. A few months in, he began hiring me on as a second assistant. Two years later, I still feel like an amateur. Why do you enjoy being an assistant? I enjoy assisting on jobs that don’t require octabank assembly and/or disassembly. One day I’ll hire someone to give me private lessons. Until then, I’ll leave it to the strong, man-handed folk. In all seriousness, even if you’re working with a photographer who shoots something completely different than what you shoot, there’s always something valuable to take away from the experience. The key is to be observant: watch, listen, and learn. See how the photographer interacts with the clients and how he or she communicates with the subjects. Pay attention to the light setup, the equipment being used, etc. If you’re open and observant, you’ll come out learning way more than any school or course can teach you. Is there an upside to working as an assistant or is it all drudgery? There’s an upside to everything. If you go into something thinking it’s going to suck, it’s going to suck. I love that I’m able to be on set with photographers that I admire, observe how they do what they do, and apply all of those lessons learned to my own work, in whatever capacity that might be. Do you have any horror stories you can share with us as cautionary tales? For some reason, I’m highly susceptible to accidents. I think it’s a tall girl thing. Put a cord in front of me, I’m going to trip over it. A near accident occurred a few months back that was totally unrelated to my tallness. I was lowering a light on a boom and it almost fell on a major film studio exec’s head. All eyes went straight to me. I don’t even know what happened after that -- I’ve been trying hard to forget that moment. Fortunately, I was in a room full of men and passed off any future lifting/lowering to them. That was a low point in my interning career. Have you worked with any noteworthy photographers who really impressed you? Ginny Dixon, my photo teacher at the Ad School, would always bring up names of different photographers during class. I’d jot them down in my notebook, go home straight away and look at their work. Joe Pugliese was one of the names that she threw out there. When I looked at his website, the first thing I thought was, wow, I need to learn from this man. I was fortunate to get to spend three months interning for him in LA. I think it’s important to work with people who are producing the quality of work that you aspire to. It’s both humbling and inspiring at the same time. Can you share any dirt with us on working with celebrity clients? It is very interesting being in the same room, observing everything that’s taking place. Every celebrity has his or her own groomer, hair & makeup artist, publicist, agent, BlackBerry-it’s a strange world. My Nokia and I just got a little glimpse of it from the sidelines. It's also pretty amazing how fast these photographers have to work. A lot of time is spent pre-lighting the set, but when the talent actually arrives, they might have a half an hour to shoot, if that. If you have one piece of advice you can give photographers on how to best work with their assistants, what would it be? Everyone has a different way of communicating. I’ve always worked well with photographers, and people in general, who are relatively calm and easygoing. When a photographer displays high standards as far as work ethic goes, the people who work alongside them will most likely be inspired to live up to that. Is there anything specific you have learned by assisting that you otherwise would not have? One of the things they don’t teach you in art school is the business side of photography. The majority of creatives I know are not business minded. We just want to create and not have to deal with self-promotion, invoicing, marketing, bidding, etc. At one point or another, this is something that you have to face if you want to pay the rent and eat. The people that I’ve worked with would always tell me, “It’s something you just pick up. You learn it because you have to learn it.” Between interning, assisting, and reading the ASMP Professional Business Practices in Photography, you really do just figure things out as you go along. Have you ever saved the day? Back in high school, I went on a few jobs with an editorial photographer in Dallas. I knew absolutely nothing about strobes/equipment, but I’d meet him at his studio and help him pack up and get ready for whatever he was shooting on a given day. He’d point to things and tell me whether to pack it or leave it. On one occasion, he told me to leave something, but I packed it anyway thinking, he’s going to want this. Sure enough, we got to the location, started setting up and he panicked and was thinking we left the soft box, or whatever it was. It was nice to be able to say, “No worries, we got it.” Never question your instincts. They’re usually right. Do you have any advice for people who want to start assisting? Well, first off, start lifting weights. Seriously. Second, always be aware of everything that’s going on around you. A lot of times, I’ll watch the photographer and try to think ahead of them. Pay attention to what he/she is doing and try to anticipate what they're going to need. Then when they make eye contact, you’ll already have whatever is needed in your hands ready to go. Thirdly, drink a lot of coffee and always be on. What resources are available to new assistants? There isn’t really any formal process to follow to become a photo assistant but there are a few resources out there to get you pointed in the right direction. The ASMP/American Society for Media Photographers has a Photo Assistant roster that they maintain for ASMP members. You can also check out A Photo Assistant, which is an informational blog on how to find assistant work and become registered with organizations in your area. No matter which course you take, good luck!   Mary Beth Koeth is a portrait photographer and video artist living and working in Miami, Florida. As a top photo assistant she has interned for some of the best shooters in the industry. Her dedication and hard work make her stand out in the industry as a person you can count on. Check out her impressive online portfolio and video works on her website. show less

Announcing the first ever really big exclusive print sale. From midnight 22 April -- 11:59 pm 25 April (all times PST) save 50% or more on prints when ordering via your Zenfolio account. When was the last time you were able to buy a pro quality 8x10 print for only $1? This sale is available worldwide exclusively through Zenfolio and includes rock-bottom prices from professional labs around the world including Mpix, Nulab, and One Vision Imaging. Prices vary by location (see details below) and include large prints in the following sizes: 8x10, 11x14, 16x20, and 20x30. Current Zenfolio customers, no coupon code is necessary for this sale, just login to your account and place your orders. If you do not have a Zenfolio account you can still order by starting a free trial with Zenfolio and then: 1. Upload your photos (no software download required) 2. Select the print sizes you want 3. Place your order We’re not sure when we will do another sale this big, so place your orders now. The sale ends at 11:59 pm on Thursday, April 25 (Pacific time). Also, please note that the base lab prices are the ones that are discounted. If you would like to offer this sale to your clients you can either create a percentage discount coupon for them to use and set the expiration date for when the sale ends, or you can manually change your prices in your price list.  The following sizes and prices are available for orders placed in the United States via Mpix:  Customers in Canada will enjoy these great prices from Mpix: Customers in the UK can order One Vision Imaging products in the following prices and sizes. For Europe, One Vision Imaging products will be priced in Euros, as follows: Australian and New Zealand customers can order through Nulab: The sale begins 22 April at midnight PST and ends 25 April at 11:59pm PST. Sale prices are for prints only (no canvas wraps, frames, or other special items) with the finishes indicated above. Sale prices apply to prints sized 8x10, 11x14, 16x20 and 20x30 only. Discount prices will be reflected once you place them in your cart for purchase. Offer only available to Zenfolio account holders and cannot be combined with any other offers.   show less

We’re happy to announce that the ZOOM tour is back! This year’s tour includes events in 11 cities across the United States and one in London, England. Each stop on the tour will include informative seminars tailored to photographers looking to maximize the power of the Internet to grow their photography business, plus presentations by industry experts on how to sell, brand, and market your work online. The first ZOOM tour hit the road in 2011 and was immensely popular. One attendee raved “I loved your presentations, they were really helpful in giving me ideas on how to get more out of my Zenfolio subscription”. This year’s tour will capitalize on the successes of our prior ZOOM tour, combined with new presentations and information.   Each stop of the tour will be a one-day event that consists of two sessions. The morning sessions will be for new and potential members and the afternoon sessions for existing members. Both will feature Zenmasters demonstrating all the features Zenfolio offers and answering questions about the service. There will also be industry professionals presenting on site design, order fulfillment, marketing, and more. Attendees will also have the opportunity to partake in breakout sessions that cover key areas of the photography business. Following the formal presentation portion of the event will be a question and answer session for you to ask any questions you may have from the presentations. Industry experts and special guest speakers at each event will also be there to provide you with the most comprehensive tools and information to help vault your online photography business ahead.   “I had a great time at the ZOOM event. I learned a lot. Initially I wasn’t sure what to expect, but came out with a task list that will make my website much more effective”-ZOOM attendee Reserve your place for the ZOOM event near you by registering soon. Registration costs $10 for the events in the US, which you will receive back to you as a $10 Mpix credit when you attend the event. Your registration also nets you a goodie bag with hundreds of dollars worth of gifts and discounts from sponsors. There will also be valuable prize giveaways at each event. We look forward to meeting you in person at an upcoming ZOOM event! show less

Thanks to everyone who partook in our 2012 User Survey. Our design team has done a great job putting together the results of the survey into a cool info graphic. Want to know where the majority of Zennies live? Curious what types of photography the majority of our users do? The answers to these questions and a whole lot more is in the graphic. Please click on the attached image to get a larger view.   show less

Marketing Strategies for Your Photo Business Whether you are an established professional photographer or are just getting started in the industry, creating and maintaining comprehensive marketing efforts is a very important part of keeping your business vital. Marketing yourself as a photographer can seem like a daunting task with so many things to consider. Here we break down the most important elements to keep in mind when developing marketing strategies for your business.  Increasing Visibility As a working photographer, it is paramount to have a professional, well put together website. However, it is just as important that people are able to find your website when searching for a photographer. Luckily, there is a lot you can do to make sure that your site is optimized for search engines.  Zenfolio has many built in features that will automatically optimize your website to be visible by search engines. In addition to this, there are quite a few manual things you can do to ensure search engine success.  The first thing to consider is whether you have relevant and clear text on your site. It cannot be stated enough how important text is to search engine optimization (SEO). Search engines require that your website contain useful, well formulated, and organized text in order to be indexed. You can create an amazing website filled with photos, slideshows, and useful interactivity, but without informative text, web crawlers may determine that your site is not worth indexing.  With this in mind, it is vital to label your images as much as possible with titles and keywords. It is also a good idea to create an informative About page. The Zenfolio help center is a great resource for info on how to use keywords for your galleries and photos. Additionally, within the Zenfolio interface, there are search engine tools available that allow you to keep a close eye on this area of your business.  Within these tools it is important to create a website description that will display on search engine results pages and let potential clients know what type of photography you do as well as where you are located or based out of. Also within these tools you can enable website tracking that will allow you to view page visits and let you know where your traffic is coming from. This can help you analyze the success of your marketing initiatives once they are underway. Check out this section of the Zenfolio Help Guide for more information on search engine tools you can utilize within your Zenfolio account and step-by-step instructions. “Since moving my website to Zenfolio I’ve had more local enquiries and business through my website than ever before. Having a beautiful website is great, but it’s not a lot of good if potential customers can’t find you! By making use of the SEO and social media tools Zenfolio provides I have been able to attract more traffic to my website generally, but specifically more local customers searching for images of their county. By simply giving my collections, galleries and pages relevant titles, captions and search-engine friendly URLs, as well as appropriate ALT tags for my images, I have been able to reach a wider audience both locally and further afield.” – Adam Edwards, http://www.adamedwardsphotography.com/  Grow Your Following Another way that you can drive traffic to your site is by taking advantage of social media networks. Sharing your latest news and images on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc, can be a great way to get word of mouth traction. As your followers share your content, you are able to get more and more eyes on your updates.  Zenfolio makes this easy with integrated sharing options built in. Every image and gallery you upload can be quickly shared or exported as needed to your favorite social media outlet. Social networking websites are so popular these days that it would be a mistake not to consider them as a way to get the word out.  Don’t discount allowing your visitors to market for you. Enabling the option for your clients to Pin, Tweet, +1, and Like directly from your site into their friends’ newsfeeds can be done in a few swift clicks. As a result, your clients’ favorite images are virally spreading throughout their social networks. “One of my favorite marketing features on Zenfolio is the ability to share images on Facebook and Pinterest with just a click of the mouse. This helps my marketing efforts immensely!” - Erica Peerenboom, www.ericapeerenboom.com These days no website is complete without a well put together blog. It has become an industry standard to have a blog as part of your website. The blog acts as a news page with updates on the latest projects and images you are working on. Also, your clients and followers can subscribe to your posts via an RSS feed to stay up to date on you and your business.  Zenfolio makes blogging very easy with professionally designed layouts and many options for customization. Your blog can be a great place to display an embedded slideshow, a promotional video, or photos. The sky is the limit! See step-by-step guide for more info on how to create a blog within your Zenfolio website.  “I use the built in Zenfolio blog to display my latest work, stay connected with old clients as well as introduce myself to new ones. It's a great way to keep my content engaging and prevent me from becoming stagnant.” – Sonny Cao, http://www.sonnycao.com/ Building Your Client Base One way that you can ensure that you are actively growing your client base is to keep track of who is visiting your galleries and add the information to your contact list for future use. For example, you can enable the Zenfolio Visitor Sign In feature so that every potential client who visits your galleries is required to register with their contact info. This way when you are analyzing sales for a gallery you can review who has visited it and who has purchased from it. You can then use this information to contact those who have not yet made a purchase and offer them a special promotion or incentive to place an order. This approach has been successful for many photographers using Zenfolio, especially for events and weddings.  Another approach for a wedding or event is to create a gallery for your client ahead of time and assign a friendly URL so that the web address is easy for the guests to remember. You can then pass out the URL to the guests at the actual event. Within the gallery, turn on the Visitor SIgn In feature and ask for the visitor's contact info to let them know once the photos are ready to view and order. This way before your images are even posted online you'll already have a list of potential customers to market to. By considering every person who visits your galleries as a potential client you can grow your list of contacts and have a wider reach with your sales promotions.  "I especially appreciate the ability to create Friendly URLs and Client Access Codes with my Zenfolio account. I can setup a page for my clients with a link and access code they can easily remember. I have them create a User ID and password for themselves and apply it to the page I created for them if they want it private. Most of my family and model clients prefer that.  For weddings we leave it available to the public and they can share the address/access code with their family and friends and they are taken directly to their page. It's a simple and effective way for my clients to find and share their pictures, and keeping it simple to find translates to better sales...both selling my clients on my services, and selling prints and products after the final images are done. I can also use the contact list created to send out emails to any or all clients of my choosing to notify them of special pricing or promotions that I will be running. It's really a win/win situation!" - Kevin Thompson, http://www.thompsondigitalimage.com/ Once you have a contact list ready you can send email blasts out to announce specials, travel dates, new products, etc. One feature you can utilize within Zenfolio to make email blasts easier is the gallery invitation. This beautiful invitation features images from your gallery with the cover image front and center. The easy to use system follows the look and feel of your site pages and looks very professional and clean.  Using this in combination with the contact list allows you to filter client lists by event as needed, so that you only reach the relevant contacts. Many photographers also use this feature to let clients know when their gallery of images is ready to be viewed.   “One of my favorite features of Zenfolio is the gallery invite. I love that I can send a beautifully formatted email to clients with their images featured right in the email. This is way better than a text based email with just a link to click. The stunning invitation email gives my clients that wow-factor that I want them to have when viewing their images for the first time.” – Laura Tillinghast, http://lauratillinghast.com/ Driving Sales We all know that sales are what matter the most to keep your business successful. There are a few ways that you can drive your sales efforts and encourage clients to get their orders in on time.  When your clients first see your images, this is when they are the most excited about them. If you can get your client to place an order before the excitement wanes, this can help your sales totals a lot. One way to give clients a sense of urgency is to make the gallery of images available for a specific time period only. Within Zenfolio you can set a gallery to “expire” after a certain period of time. Some photographers even choose to charge a fee if a client wants to order after this time period has passed.   Another great way to drive sales is to offer limited time promotions. For example, if you are hoping to get all your holiday orders in on time for delivery on Christmas morning, you can create a coupon within your Zenfolio account that expires before the lab cut-off dates. Many photographers choose to bring back their "expired galleries" for a short time to run pre-holiday promotions and encourage clients to order with some added time pressure with a well timed discount.  "I've had a lot of success running sales for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. I'll email everyone who's logged into my Zenfolio site (because I collect emails of people who login) on Monday before Thanksgiving and let them know I'm running a 30% off sale on Black Friday. Throughout the week I'll use my Facebook Business page as well as my personal page to remind clients of the sale. I create a 30% off code and name it something like "turkey" and wait for the orders to come in. This has been great for us!" JP Elario, http://elariophotography.com/ Maximizing Sales When sales start to come in, it is important to get the most out of each client while they have their wallet in hand. One way you can do this is to create a perception that your clients will get more for their money by buying in combination. You can do this by selling prints and products in packages. Packages allow you to sell items together as a group, giving the perception of a quantity discount. One example of a package would be an 8x10, two 5x7’s, and eight wallet-sized prints. Whether there is a discount for this is up to you but many photographers find that even a small reduction in price for buying more items as a package works very well to up-sell each order. Another way to maximize your sales is to pre-sell as much as you can before an order is actually placed. If you sell your services bundled together, for example a sitting fee with $100 print credit, then you can really use this to your advantage.  Many photographers find that when using a pre-sold print credit clients are more likely to spend higher amounts as the credit they have was paid for back when they booked the session. So if they have print credit up to $100 and they really want $175 in products, it is easier for them to spend the extra money as they feel like they are spending just $75. Within Zenfolio you can use the built-in gift certificates feature to allow your clients to cash in their pre-sold credit. Gift certificates act very much like a gift card, allowing clients to use them over and over until the balance is used up. The system keeps track of usage automatically and you can always track your gift certificates as needed.  You can also use the gift certificates feature as a way to drive sales by making them a product in themselves. By allowing sales of gift certificates you can encourage your existing clients to refer their friends to you, thus growing your business with each referral.  "I love that I have the ability to sell gift certificates through my site via the self-fulfilled option. It's really useful when using in combination with the visitor sign-in feature. I can search for who signed in to a particular gallery and then send a mass email letting my clients’ friends/family members know that I offer gift certificates for sale, and how these would make a great gift." – Sune Palladay, http://www.resplendentphotography.com/ The fundamental principle behind marketing is that, like most things in life, you get what you put into it. If you work hard at creating a strategy and follow it through, you will see results. We hope that the ideas we have gone over in this article inspire you to work hard at your marketing efforts and reap the rewards of a successful photography business.  show less

  Mpix is offering Free USPS shipping on all orders $10 and above April 8-10. To qualify for this offer the order base price must be valued at $10 and above and placed via 1st Class and Priority Mail. Why not take advantage of this special offer to order something special for Mother's Day such as an accordion mini book, a framed print, or a photo calendar? As is customary, there is no code needed when ordering through your Zenfolio account. This offer is valid Monday, April 8 until 11:59 pm (Central Time) Wednesday, April 10. Offer does not apply to framed orders with glass or orders over $500.00 in value.  show less

Now through the end of April we are going to double your referral credit. That means you’ll get up to a $50 credit for every person that uses your referral code when opening a paid account! Don’t miss this opportunity to maximize your referral credits. The last time we did a promotion like this some users boasted upwards of 50 referrals. Plus, taking part in the referral program is easy and benefits both you and your friends. You’ll get a 20% credit for everyone that opens a paid account and your friends get a 10% discount off their account. So get the word out and post away on Facebook, Twitter, G+, and your blog. You can also send out referral emails to your friends using the form provided under “Your Referrals”. Zenfolio will format and send these emails on your behalf, and you can preview and edit the message before sending. You can also add referral buttons in email signatures or on your website to get even more referrals. One area you shouldn’t share your code is on public forums as they frequently do not allow this practice and might ban you. If you’re unfamiliar with the referral program, for every new user you refer you receive a credit to your account that can be used toward renewing or upgrading your account, purchasing prints or photo products, and even gift subscriptions. You can find your referral code, and the number of people you have referred, in the Toolbox of your account’s Edit View after you login. Start spreading the word today to get as many double credits as you can by April 30th. And don't forget to mention to your friends that they must use your referral code when upgrading from a Trial to a paid account to get the discount. show less

Being a company that specializes in providing solutions, tools, and information for photographers we focus mainly on what happens behind the lens. This article, the first in an ongoing series, aims to broaden this horizon. Each article will have a unique, and somewhat whimsical, insight into an area of photography that you may have not considered before. We hope you enjoy them and welcome your comments. Don’t call me paparazzi. Not only would it be extremely unfair, but it would be incorrect as well. Strictly speaking, paparazzi run around taking pictures of celebrities, whereas for me they always (well, almost always) sit or stand patiently and allow me to take their shots. But I’m getting a little ahead of myself. When I’m taking my shots, my goal is to capture the subject in their most basic, pure state. To accomplish this I have a set of rules that are absolutely ironclad. They are: 1. I choose the time and place when the shot is taken. This means you have no prep time to look good or get gussied up for the camera. What you see is what you get. 2. I only take one shot, facing forward and looking directly at the camera. There is no hiding from my lens. My sole purpose is capturing your image in a pure form. Depending on the circumstance I may take a profile as well, but again, I decide if I want the profile or not. 3. No posing. I’m not taking yearbook photos, holiday card photos, or portraits. 4. Only one subject at a time. When I’m taking a shot I don’t want anyone or anything to distract from the focus on you.  5. This one surprises most of my subjects, but you can smile if you want. However, I have found that when I enforce my previous rules few of my subjects choose to do so. One of the first shots I took that became really well known was a black and white of Frank Sinatra. Though only 23 years old at the time, he already sported the dark suit and light shirt that he would always be found in throughout his heyday in Vegas. He also has the slightest bit of smirk that almost seems to say, “I can get away with anything.” Even though I’d taken countless shots before, it was this one that really set me on my way.  From here I worked across the country, taking more shots than I care to remember. As often is the case, the majority of these were mundane in nature and not really worth public review. Then came the ‘60s and suddenly I became the it place to get your shot taken. Something about the turbulent nature of that time drove everyone from rock stars to celebrities to seek out my lens. In ’61 I captured a young Al Pacino on his way to an acting gig. In the shot his shirt collar is sticking straight up, marking perhaps the first time someone popped their collar in a photo. Despite the rules that I outlined above, I also allowed a couple of gestures in my shots that I never would permit today. One was a peace sign and the other a closed, clenched fist in a symbol of rebellion. The subjects were Steve McQueen and Jane Fonda, and it might surprise you to know McQueen was the one throwing the peace sign.  Other rebels of that time that I captured include Dennis Hopper, Mick Jagger, and Jim Morrison. The shots that I took of Jagger and Morrison have since gone on to become popular posters found on dorm room walls around the country. Lest you think my best days are behind me, my work with musicians has continued to this day and includes shots of 50 Cent, Eminem, George Clinton, Willie Nelson, Flavor Flav, Vanilla Ice, Snoop Dogg, P. Diddy, Marilyn Manson, James Brown, Amy Winehouse and the King of Pop himself, Michael Jackson.   My work hasn’t been exclusively limited to musicians. In fact, my shots of actors have become news in and of themselves. My work with Robert Downey Jr. captured his struggle with substance abuse, and the ones of Heather Locklear and Charlie Sheen created an interesting timeline of their personal strife. And no one will ever forget my shots of O.J. Simpson, which perhaps mark the last time public images of him still elicited feelings of sympathy. As I stated above, since I choose the time and place of your shot, when I come you won’t always be ready. In my opinion, no images better convey this than the shots I took of Nick Nolte and Hugh Grant. With his ridiculous hair, the shot of Nolte spread like wildfire and became a favorite of late night talk show hosts in their monologues. The same goes for the shot of Grant – you can so clearly see his discomfort in the image, it’s almost like he’s trying to get away. But, unfortunately for you, by the time you’re in front of my lens it’s too late to get away. Scheduling a time to have your photo taken by me is both difficult and easy at the same time. There’s no website to visit, agency to contact, or number to call (well, maybe 911). Simply break the law and get arrested. Before you know it, the local police department will have you lined up in front of my lens and you’ll be the one getting a mug shot. Who knows, in time maybe even it will become famous.   Peter Urbick has over a dozen years experience as a professional writer and manages all aspects of content for Zenfolio. He enjoys travel photography and still marvels that he has gone from working in a dark room developing high school sports photos to working at Zenfolio. A native of Washington state, his die-hard enthusiasm for all Seattle sports teams amuses the rest of the office.    show less