Advertising - Which style would you choose?
I wish I had more time to post fun photos on the ol’ blog. But business calls, and I’ve been working on amassing marketing materials lately. Since I won the free full page ad in Premier Bride, that project came first. After looking at the magazine, Jose and I came up with a plan for a slick, elegant, distinguished style ad. Here is the final result.
My next project was to design a banner for the Club Entrepreneur events. My dad hooked me up with a guy from work in Florida who has a small printing business. He hooked me up with a great rate and great customer service. So if you need a banner, call Eric Dundore at Simple SignMan’s Graphics.
The next project of the day (no I didn’t ride my bike in the 76.5 degree sun thank you very much) was to design a postcard that I can put in the Goodie bags at the Club Entrepreneur events. There is a kickoff meeting in Boulder tomorrow, although I have not received any kind of promotion for it. The next Denver event is coming up soon so I’m trying to get some postcards out to the printer. My plan was to have one side of the postcard be the above wedding ad, and the other side a collage of some of my other styles of work. The images on your screen below are nearly exactly the size that the printed ad will be.
But then I got to thinking … What if I did a wedding ad that was the same style as the 8-picture everything ad shown above ? I was watching the slideshow on my Wedding Site, and I wondered if I could give a bit of that story, a bit more of why my work is different in the print ad. Light on words, light on graphic design, heavy on the most important thing, the photography. Every photographer in the magazine banks on 1 main photo, with possibly some other tiny photos as accents. What if I had 8 evenly weighted photos, so that I could have a mini-portfolio to jump out and try and lure people into wanting to see more? Or should I go with the style of a more traditional, clean, simple ad, and leave the quantity of pictures for the website? The obvious benefit to keeping the top ad is, of course, that it is done.
Fashion Photography - Poise October Meetup at Space Gallery in Denver
Last week I attended my second Poise Meetup for models and photographers. It was held at the Denver Space Gallery. Here are some of the photos.
More images posted . . . Read more
Check out Photoblogs.org
Well here it is Friday and I haven’t posted any new pictures this week. I will try and cure your disappointment by sending you to Photoblogs.org, where you can check out some other people’s work.
Denver Street Photography: 7 images in 11 minutes
I’ve had a strange attraction to Cherry Creek this year. Considering that I’d never been there before this year, I’ve been drawn there a noteworthy amount. I was taking a seminar there a couple weeks ago, and we regularly got 15 minute breaks. On Saturday I was quoted as saying, “It’s hard to take pictures at a shopping mall . . .” Or something to that effect.
Well Sunday morning had some beautiful clouds and morning light. I was given the exercise to consciously shift my attention near and far. I thought about how a zen-like attention is integral with capturing great photography. A sense of peace and comfort can be achieved by tuning in to the infinite compositional permutations of landscapes and detail shots and portraits and moments that are around us every second of our lives. This peaceful feeling of oneness is what draws thousands of photographers into nature photography. I found that it is also possible to have a similar experience at a shopping center.
When I went to the parking garage to get my camera, this old woman was staring at me. She was quite surprised find out that she was to be featured on such a prestigious website.
My camera data tells me that all these images were taken in a period of 11 minutes.
All of the Photoshop was done in Camera Raw. Not much was done to the photos, other than color tweaking and a 4:5 crop.
He was very nice. He was a little upset that I didn’t have any treats, but I made it better by rubbing his belly.
This was a sculpture outside a furniture store.
And so was this.
I enjoyed taking some time on my Sunday evening to play with some random photos. I hope you enjoy. Coming up this week, plenty of pictures of pretty people!
This site is best viewed with Firefox, not Internet Explorer
It has come to my attention that when you click on the “view more” at the bottom of a post, the full page article does not view properly in Internet Explorer. This is quite unfortunate. I use Firefox so I never noticed the problem. I’m assuming Safari views it OK? I’ll try to get the problem resolved but I’m not sure how I’m going to do it, other than to switch to a new Wordpress Template.
Fashion Shoot in the Rain (Never give up!)
I had been planning a portfolio shoot with Crystal for over a week. By Saturday it was pretty clear that Sunday was going to be a washout. But Crystal has a busy schedule, and we weren’t sure when we were going to be able to shoot again. So we persevered, and despite almost running out of daylight, intrusions on our desired locations, and other setbacks, we made it happen. Lingerie photos in the 40 degree rain! Despite that it was getting dark and she has the tendency to ‘get cold easily’, we came out with some fun stuff.
There are more images after the break . . .
Premier Bride Magazine Party at the Phipps Mansion
Finally I have the tale of my second big win that occurred last week!
Premier Bride threw a party at the Phipps Mansion down in Denver. It was a super swanky affair. I think it was the biggest house I’ve ever been in other than a castle in Europe. I knew it was serious when I walked up to the front door and saw the Red Carpet rolled out before 2 vintage Rolls Royce’s.
There were 5 models in wedding gowns inside the front foyer. Sweet! I joined many other photographers by indulging in some pictures. Now I can say that I’ve shot bridal and wedding photography at the Phipps Mansion!
There was great food in every room, a band, and a selection of adult beverages. This ice sculpture was really cool. The bartender mixed your martini, handed you the glass and instructed you set it at the base. Then she poured the martini in the top of the ice sculpture, where it flowed and spun through the hollow spiral tube in the center before depositing in your glass. Trickery!
So the night was fun and all, then it came time for the raffle. After a long, long drought of coming up short in raffles; I finally cashed in on my biggest win ever: a 1 year, full page ad in Premier Bride magazine! Can I get a “HELL YEAH?” That’s a $3300 value. I do believe that 2008 is going to be a very good year!
Denver Christmas Portrait Photography
I haven’t been asserting my potential as a Colorado Children’s Portrait Photographer too much lately. I’ve been mostly focusing on the wedding portion of my business. The Winter Storm Watch in the mountains is a strong reminder that the long winter is on its way, and Christmas is around the corner. Now would be a great time to shoot Christmas portraits while the weather is still decent enough to shoot outside. Plus the leaves are at there best right now!
The above picture is what Maya looks like when she is the feared Tickle Monster, stalking her prey!
Ooooh! Another victim!
Business Portrait - Robin from Signs of Life Health
I was hired to shoot some portraits of Robin Peglow from Signs of Life Health. Robin is a certified Holistic Health Counselor, as was looking for some updated photos to promote her business. She wanted photos that evoke a feeling of positivity and health for individual clients, as well as portray an image of maturity and professionalism for her corporate clients. She knew that she wouldn’t be satisfied with a boring corporate headshot, so we headed down near Commons Park in Denver for some creative shooting.
Robin is psyched at her photos, and wrote: “I’ve never considered myself photogenic. Despite being pretty animated in my life, I get oddly shy in front of the camera. I needed some photos for my business that felt confident, professional, approachable and peaceful…a tall order for me while feeling wildly photo-awkward. You helped me relax and have fun with it, and were terrific at capturing those real moments where my personality actually came through. I got exactly the photos I needed! Thank you!”
Club Entrepreneur Denver Chapter Kick Off Meeting
I had a crazy week last week! On Monday I launched my wedding specific website, and posted my latest wedding slideshow. On Tuesday I headed down to Mile High Station for Club Entrepreneur Online Social Network National Launch Club, and the Club Entrepreneur Denver Chapter Kick Off Meeting . I almost didn’t go because I had more Denver events planned for Wednesday, but I am sure glad that I did! I brought my camera and started covering the event, mostly for some new blog content. I met up with the organizers and they are psyched to add my photography as part of their team. Steve Z Photography will now be one of the sponsors of the program, with all of the benefits and exposure offered to the big time advertisers. This could be huge!
The first event was a smashing success. 200 attendees and some big name speakers are giving the event some solid credibility. The first speaker was Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper. Using his down to earth demeanor, wit, and charm, he told his story about how he founded Denver’s first ever brew pub, the Wynkoop Brewing Company, and then went on to be the Mayor. As it turns out he never really intended to be a politician; he never even ran for Student Council in High School!
The second speaker was Ingrid Vanderveldt of CNBC’s American Made show. Ingrid’s story told the tale of making a TV show pilot based on Entrepreneurship as learned from a mentor. Her modest little pilot found it’s way onto the desk of a VP at CNBC, who loved the idea. Over time, after accepting the job of hosting and producing the show, word on the street got out relating to her lack of experience.
“So, you don’t actually have any broadcasting experience?”
“No.”
“So, you don’t actually have any interviewing experience?”
“No.”
“So, you don’t really have the production capabilities?”
“No.”
“But, you are going to host CNBC’s first ever prime time syndicated show?!!”
“Uh-huh!”
The headline speaker was the renowned entrepreneurial author and speaker Michael Gerber of the E-Myth. The main thing I remember from Michael’s talk (other than his pink tie), was how he poked a jab at small business owners. Do you know what the difference between a small business owner and an entrepreneur is? The small business owner is afraid to dream big.
All and all it was a great day, and I am super excited about thinking big about the future of Steve Z Photography. I feel like I really launched it this week. Tune in tomorrow to hear more BIG NEWS and excitement from my Wednesday events! Continued below is some more info on the Club Entrepreneur Network.
Club E is an “open source” online network for small business and entrepreneurs, run by some of the nation’s top entrepreneurs, offering the largest social network for entrepreneurs and web resources like blogs, articles, podcasts, videos and entrepreneurial television shows. As a combined media outlet, on-ground network and online social network, The Club E Network will empower the entrepreneurial community in an entirely unique and fresh way. Club E will leverage its broadband channel to distribute original and user-submitted content on-demand through podcasts, mobile devices, and DVD’s. Plans call for brand expansion to other distribution channels including cable TV and satellite radio.
THE PRIMARY OFFERINGS
• Video Programming – Short format programming online that first and foremost is entertaining, but also provides valuable information that business owners can use. Profiles of brand new and celebrity entrepreneurs, how-to type shows, reality programming and lifestyle shows all about following your passion and building companies.
• Online Community – With a growing need for entrepreneurs to interact with one another and leverage their collective resources to bring their businesses up to the big time, CLUB E will provide a trusted referral network for members to expand their network, learn from one another, and quickly find the resources and people they need to articulate and execute their dream and business plan.
• In-person community – Club E is launching physical chapters in 50+ cities over a 24-month period where members have monthly and bi-monthly meetings featuring speakers, networking events and activities that help/support current and aspiring entrepreneurs.
Colorado Wedding Photographer Website: SteveZWeddings.com
I’m announcing my brand new wedding-specific website, www.stevezweddings.com! I have added permanent links to all my websites on the sidebar of this blog page. It would be great if you could take a few seconds and click on the links, so that the Google search robots learn where the links are.
I still have some tweaking that I want to do to the site, but overall I am happy with it. Let me know any feedback or bugs if you see them.
Next up is a redesign of www.stevezphoto.com. I am going to update it to the new, larger template size, add new photos from the last 6 months, and increase my focus on portrait and event photography. I have many shoots coming up in the next two weeks, so hopefully I will find the time to getter done!
Wedding Photos and Slideshow from the Pastures of Plenty
.: CLICK HERE FOR PHOTO SLIDESHOW OF SARAH AND JEREMY’S WEDDING ON ITS OWN PAGE:.
Ah, the long awaited photos and slideshow from Sarah and Jeremy’s wedding are here. Well maybe you weren’t waiting for them, but some people have been. I wrote about the venue in an older post. Once again I was blessed with overcast skies for shadow-less faces for most of the day. I love it when that happens!
The flower girl walking down the aisle was pretty much the sweetest thing ever! She was handing flowers to everyone; sooooo cute. Then right behind her was her older brother, throwing a tantrum the whole way! Sooooo funny!
When in doubt of a backdrop for the groomsman shots, I opt for power tools or heavy machinery.
Right when Sarah, Jeremy, and I of us broke off from the scene for the Couple’s Photo Shoot, the clouds broke and the sun popped out for some dramatic lighting. I love it when the clouds part for me!
Both Jeremy and this guy were throwing down the breakdancing moves in the grass. I’ll be interested to know what the tux rental place had to say about the grass stains on his shirt and vest!
The day was a smashing success. Perfect venue, beautiful people, beautiful flowers, great food, and no one’s face got smashed with cake. Sarah agreed to participate in a post-wedding photo shoot in her wedding dress on their matching motocross bikes, and you KNOW Jeremy is all about it!
I’m back
Hi out there in cyberworld! I’ve been gone for a while, but I’m back without a vengeance. Did you know that’s how you spell vengeance? I didn’t, but fortunately Firefox has a built in spell-checker. Anyway, my dad was in town last week, plus I had an unexpected turn of events in my life over the last week and a half. That kept me from shooting and posting too much, but look for some new stuff coming this week.