NoBs Digital Dogbowl

The NoBs Digital Dogbowl Newsletter:

Keeping you up to date and informed on the latest, coolest, and outrageous happenings inside the world of NoBS Photo Success.

Loaded with Free photography tips, Photoshop tutorials, photo reviews,
and other totally relevant essentials. Be sure to check out the whole thing!

Hungry for more? Visit our digital photography forum.

May 2007 Digital Dogbowl

From The Trenches by Robert Provencher

Let's talk about NoBS Photo Success for a second and perhaps dig into a few deep layers of what it takes to succeed in photography, life, or anything really. Y'all know that attitude is everything, right? Well, it's true. Attitude determines altitude. Keeping open, flexible, resilient, eager, and hungry are all attitudes.

Industry News

Adobe recently announced the release of Adobe Creative Suite 3 and Photoshop CS3, which has some significant improvements. For a detailed product overview of Photoshop CS3, read here.

Photoshop Mechanic by Bill Guy

Here is a neat little trick I learned from a seminar I attended a few months back and have been playing with more and more. It is a little tool that is hidden under Image menu, but first you will need to change the mode of your image from RGB to LAB. If you are not familiar with LAB (which, for you nerds out there, is not pronounced lab but as L.A.B. and, for the super nerds, means Luminous, A and B channels.) LAB color mode does not change the look or colors of your image but does allow you to do some pretty fantastic color and tone changes. In a future post, I will show you how to use this to remove haze from your landscapes, but first, the simple way of punching up the colors in an image.

Finding Your Way In The Garden of Eden We Call Photography

Temptations abound from every which way we turn. Who can resist daydreaming about getting a new camera body or lens? After all, isn't having the latest and greatest equipment a sure-fire guarantee to a successful career as a photographer?! And how about marketing? There are loads of promises, the proverbial 'silver bullet' that will cure our marketing woes and get us an endless supply of clients with no effort whatsoever on our part.

NoBS Member of the Month: George Dean

In one short year, NoBS member George Dean has been transformed from an avid amateur photographer to a successful professional and he credits NoBS with putting him on the fast track. As we have seen, his work is crisp and well executed. Congrats on being selected Member of the Month, George!

NoBS Members Strike Out On Their Own

It seems quite a few NoBS members have opened or are in the process of opening a studio. They've been gracious enough to share their ups and downs with us here.

One such member is Maria Sauserman. Maria joined NoBS in 2006 and through a combination of many factors (hard work chief among them), she is finally on her way. She recently wrote, 'Hey guys, a friend of mine sent me this link. I MISS being on here so much...I have barely been on NOBS since January...things have been NUTS! I used to get on a lot during lunch at work but they banned all forums so I was outta luck. The bowling allwy turned from a small project to something much larger. I am doing a LOT to it and will be movd by June for sure. Initially it will be a bit raw (decorating wise) but I should be good by fall....that's when I plan on having the open house...actually probably th first week of September. EVERYONE is invited. The studio is turning out awesome, 6300 square feet. We just redywalled the entire thing....my husband built three rooms, a dressing room, a plaroom and a show room....I will attach pics when it's done. I have been working a lot. Trying to get more weddings but not having much luck this days.....got lots of portraits though.....I love that you guys thought about me. Thanks you. It made my day! I will be sure to get on here more often...I truly do miss it and I wouldn't think of cancelling my membership! I am, without a doubt, a NOBSer!!!
Much love to everyone,
Maria

KrisG has also been working on putting together her dream studio. You can follow her progress here

Congrats to all of you and thanks for sharing your struggles and triumphs with us!

Hot Topic Of The Month: Sales and Marketing

Do you have the gift of gab for sales? Do you follow a script when trying to close the deal? How do you market your business? Do you allow someone else to market for you?

The answer to these and other burning questions can be found in the following links which were scorching hot this month on NoBS.

Sales

Marketing Basics

Do You Market Yourself?

NoBS News

We have lots of exciting stuff going on in NoBS these days. If you have been keeping up with your daily dose of NoBS, you probably heard that co-NoBS founder, James Hodgins, was recently honored with a 3rd place prize in commercial photography at WPPI. James also won a Best in Industrial award and achieved his CPA (Craftsman of Photographic Arts). Earlier this year, he received six accreditations from the Professional Photographers Of Canada in the following categories: child portraiture, underwater, commercial, wedding story, photojournalistic weddings, and pet portraiture. Way to go, James!

Also in the NoBS news, fellow member Jillian had her son, Elijah, a few weeks ago.

A big shout out to Jyotika, who was featured in the AsukaBook newsletter recently. Here's the blurb from Asuka:

Jyotika has been a full-time photographer for the past three years. Her photographic specialty is children and their loved ones. Striving to make children feel comfortable and relaxed in the studio, she aims to capture the expressions and personalities of her subjects, and create a story out of each session.

Jyotika Deshpande Photography is fortunate to have a great team: Jyotika's husband Suhas manages technical aspects such as the Web presence and e-commerce site, as well as taking care of many day-to-day tasks involved in running a business. Her assistant Catherine helps with various tasks, including ensuring that clients are comfortable during studio sessions.

"I have had the pleasure of creating many AsukaBooks for my clients over the past year. Everyone loves and wants them. AsukaBook has helped my business by offering an elegant product that compliments my story telling approach to children's portraiture."

Coming soon: The Cozumel videos are almost done and will be in the downloads soon.

And last but not least, Rob and James had been planning to visit member Danielle. Rob said, " James and I are off to the National Convention and will be leaving a day early to help Inner Circle member Danielle set up her studio. A few members will be there, and we are doing some live model shooting AND we are videotaping it and putting the whole thing on the forum."

Vendor Spotlight: Flip-it! by Joe Demb

NoBS member and vendor Joe Demb (aka flipitguy) offers a unique solution for problematic on-camera lighting. It is a unique variable flash reflector known as the Flip-it!, which attaches to virtually every popular brand of flash without the need for velcro. With the Flip-it! you can safely take photos with on-camera flash without harsh shadows.

The newest model is the Flip-it! 400 for use on the Nikon SB400. The Big Flip-it! and the DFD Pro will soon be available in retro-red color back with the front still in white. Classic black will still be available. Also available is a custom-made bracket for use with the Flip-it! To learn more about the Flip-it! and get one on one assistance directly from Joe here on NoBS click here or go directly to his website for more info. Joe offers a discount to NoBS members on select models.

By the way, Joe, congrats from NoBS on the newest flipitguy grandchild, Michaela!

Marketing Strategy: Displays

Word of mouth and exposure are huge factors in building a successful photography business. One such technique which has been very effective for Rob Provencher has been getting his work displayed in high traffic locations. This month Rob takes us on a tour of a couple of local businesses who have his work on display. Click here to get to this dangerous download.

Hot Idea: Senior Invitations

Not everyone on the forum does senior portraits, but NoBS member Brian certainly did inspire members with his creativity and use of graphic tools from Graphic Authority to design Senior Open House invitations. Brian was able to create incredibly edgy cards with an urban feel, which have been a hit with his Senior clients.

As a result of Brian's post, other members were inspired to invest in the tools from Graphic Authority to spice up their images. Thanks for sharing your outrageous invites, Brian! Click here to read Brian's post.

Over the "Hill"

Thanks to Photosensitive (aka Denise) for sharing her before and after images using Riff's "Over the Hill" action!

New Action

Here's an action I created a long time ago. It's one of those actions that you only use once in awhile and then forget about it. I have started using it on some landscape and architecture images with some good success. Play around.

Download the action here

April Photo of the Month

Talk about being in the right place at the right time! NoBS member photaphreak (aka Sandy) was out walking with her daughter when she ran across this father and daughter playing. Photaphreak saw a tender moment unfolding and snapped this image. As luck would have it, her husband knew this gentleman and she was able to send him and his fiance a complimentary 8x10 of the image. This simple gesture resulted in photaphreak landing a potential $5-6k job to do their engagement and wedding photos. Great thinking outside of the box, photaphreak!

Inferno 2007 Update

Sold Out???!!!

Only if you believed James' April 1 announcement. Here is the real deal from the horse's mouth:

"Ok, here's what we know. The dates are Nov 5,6,7 with a meet and greet on the 4th. It will be at the Best Western, where we had it before. The attendance will be limited (don't know exact #'s yet), and there will be an early bird registration to all past attendees (as we discussed at the last inferno), and we will let you know when that is. We will also send out a mass email and postings here when we open registration to all members. The cost of the Inferno will be between $250 & $300. Yes, more than last year, and that is because last year was "special" and this year will be much much better. We have some kick-butt speakers that you will not expect! Live shoots, awesome presentations, and a kick-arse fun night! Let's not forget the print competition that we are kicking up 10 notches with some REALLY cool prizes and awards!!! Anyways, that's what we know now. So stay tuned and we will fill in the blanks when all is confirmed. We will give you PLENTY of time to make travel arrangements."

That's it for this edition of the NoBs Digital Dogbowl Newsletter. We hope you enjoyed it, and thanks to all who contributed to it. We have a lot of fun putting these together for you, and they will just get better and better, so keep checking in.

Cheers,

James & Rob

Inside This Month

From the Trenches
My 1st Digital Experience
Marketing Downloads
Punch Up An Image
Industry News
Food Shot Video
Finding Your Way
Success Interviews
DIY Ringflash
Member of the Month
AC's Standard Workflow
Striking Out
Remember When
Battery Caddy
Innovatronix Bag
Sales & Marketing
Studio Max III
NoBS News
Displays
Senior Invitations
Over the Hill
New Solemn Action
Frappr Map
Vendor Spotlight
Photo of the Month
Inferno Update

My First "REAL" Digital Experience
Standing on the beach in St.Lucia, pearing through the viewfinder at a rusty old chain, just trying to figure out how I can make this interesting. Then I saw it.

Click......... Chimp............. OOOOOOOOOYA!!! My life & photography was forever changed.

Do You Remember When...

You were starting out as a photographer? How have your images/style changed? Share your evolution as a photographer with the rest of the gang at the revived forum, "That was then, this is now". Here's the link.

Battery Caddy
Is your camera bag filled with a mess of AA batteries? These battery caddies are a great way to keep them organized. Get a couple of different colors and use one color for fresh batteries and the other for used. Buy them here.

Innovatronix Bag
The Explorer bag is the ultimate photography bag in a compact shoulder bag and hand bag design that allows you to make outdoor shooting extremely mobile as well as protects your gear from just everything. With its heavy-duty PVC Nylon Oxford material, totally flexible exterior design, well-padded & insulated interiors will be a reason enough to safeguard your gear from rain, dust, sand and snow. The Explorer Bag is geared towards professional photographers demanding the best for his or her equipment as it is stylish, well crafted and supremely functional to the utmost degree.

Watch Hodgy's Video

The Tronix Bag

Don't forget, Nobs Members get a discount.

Studio Max III - Awesome!
Recently I picked up some Studio Max III lights from photogenic while attending WPPI. I purchased them through B&H who promptly delivered them a few days ahead of schedule. ANYWAYS, these little lights rock, and they have a few added beneifits too.Click Here to watch my review.

Monthly Success Interview

The Monthly Success Interview for April is now available for download. This month, Rob interviews Kevin McAlpin from MSI Mail who will show you an even easier and cheaper way to use direct mail to get your photography business up and going. Click here.

Wait! There's more! Keep watching the Monthly Success Interview forum for an upcoming bonus April interview.

NoBS Frappr Map
Want to see where NoBS members live? Check out this map on Frappr. If you're not on here, you can sign up for a free account and get your profile and photo on the map. Let's try to get everyone listed!!

Custom Print Comp Retouching

For the month of May, Nathalie Boisvert is offering NoBs Members 20% off custom retouching. If you're thinking of entering prints into competition, or want to give your clients a different type of product, then consider Nathalie for the Job. For those of you who attended PPOC's annual convention, you might have seen these images by Chris Stambough. All retouching was done by Nathalie Boisvert.

Some History of NoBs
Where did NoBs PhotoSuccess come from? Did we pluck it out of the air? Did it magically appear one day on the WWW? Well, there is some history behind NoBs. When I first got into photography I was like a sponge, trying to find as much information as I could. I would hit the library, the bookstore and buy/photocopy as much info as possible. I was also assisting Rob at that time. I just couldn't seem to get enough information, or information relevant to what I wanted to learn that particular hour of the day. Luckily, I just obtained internet access. READ MORE

The Grunt's NoBS Influence by GerBrent
There is a certain influence that affects all photographers and their work -- NoBS has been my influence. This year, I have been studying photography at Algonquin College in Ontario and just had my year end Student's Exhibition this past week. I had the opportunity to help organize the show and help 100 other students have their work displayed. I have to say that I did very well this year, mostly thanks to NoBS, Rob, and James. They personally showed me the way before I decided to pursue photography in college and the results are obvious. On my First Year Portfolio, I scored an A, the highest mark given, alongside two other excellent photographers. I am well above the average here and have been passing on the photo-kindness to my fellow classmates who are more than appreciative. I simply wanted to say...thank you Rob, thank you James, for continually helping me fuel my passion.