Free Photography Webinar with Catherine Connor

Posted By on March 8, 2013

FREE PHOTOGRAPHY WEBINAR

With the recent BBC TV program ‘The Fixer’ featuring a photography studio and highlighting how important it is in this day & age to brand, market , promote yourself to get new work and to keep existing customers coming back for more, SF Photo School are thrilled to bring this exciting free webinar with one of the country’s most influential photography tutor & expert.

Aspire Photography Training

Catherine Connor of Aspire Photography Training needs no introduction. Catherine has been at the forefront of educating & mentoring photographers and has helped over 3,000 photographers to successfully set up and thrive in their business.

Free Photography Webinar

During this webinar, Catherine talks about how to promote your business, why it is imperative that you over deliver and pricing for profitability.

Catherine will also be taking questions from the attendees and will answer them for you. Spaces are going to fill up very quickly and you are advised to reserve your place now by clicking on the link below.]

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER YOUR FREE SEAT

Catherine ConnorAbout Catherine Connor

Catherine Connor Managing Director of Aspire Photography Training has created a training company with an international reputation for excellence. Over 3000 photographers and some of the best in business have travel through the programs designed by Aspire Photography Training.

Catherine Connor left a corporate management career to pursue her own dreams and aspirations for how to teach business and photography training. She leapt into the photographic industry offering a fresh and dynamic approach to photography, photography training this revolution the industry and how we see it today .Her contagious energy, and up lifting manner is very motivational, acknowledge as one of the best motivational speakers with our UK industry. Her intuitive for business, and how to run a business is refreshing.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER YOUR FREE SEAT

 

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Free Online Webinar: Foto SF v4

Posted By on November 1, 2012

We would like to invite you to a free online webinar  to showcase the brand new Foto SF v4. There are some brand new features which will make running your business even more faster & easier. Please do log in and see what Foto SF v4 can do for you and your business.

Reserve your Free Webinar seat here.

Is your business running you ? Not sure how to run your business and tackle the day to day issues of things to do, reminders, contact management, sending quotations, creating jobs, keeping track of sales & purchases? Not to forget how to market & promote your business!
Join in this free presentation and see how you can make running your business a breeze.
Title:    Foto SF v4
Date:    Monday, November 5, 2012
Time:    4:00 PM – 5:00 PM GMT    (Show in my Time Zone)

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.
System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server
Mac®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.5 or newer
Mobile attendees
Required: iPhone®, iPad®, Android™ phone or Android tablet

Filed Under: Webinars Tagged With: ,

Foto SF v4 is here…

Posted By on October 26, 2012

After 2 years of hard work and listening to you, our clients, we’re proud to release the latest version of Foto SF, the award-winning studio management software for photographers.

There are some amazing new features & reports which makes using Foto SF up to 60% more faster than v3. This increase in productivity & time saving will enable you to be more efficient & organised, hence more profitable.

We’ve uploaded some videos here which will give you a good overview of the new version. So why not grab yourself a drink, sit back and take the Tour.

We invite you to take the Free Trial and see for yourself how powerful this new version is. Just enter your email & first name on the form (on the right sidebar) for an instant download. As always, we are here to help with our free & unlimited support should you have any questions, queries, issues or problems. Just submit a ticket via our Support page or pick up the phone..

Filed Under: Business, News Tagged With:

Free Photography Webinars: Know Your Numbers

Posted By on October 2, 2012

SF Photo School are proud to bring this exciting new webinar series solely aimed at how to know your numbers.

Many photographers invest only in attending seminars / workshops & events to learn how to take better pictures, how to edit & process images, but what they don’t educate themselves is on the most important part of the business i.e mastering the numbers, profit margins, generating leads, conversion rates, etc

Running a successful business requires you to know what your numbers are. You’ve got to know your numbers to see whether the business is heading in the right direction or not.

This online webinar series are aimed at improving your business acumen so you can take better control of your business and have systems in place from the initial enquiry, to sending a quotation, confirming the job, workflow processes, invoicing and delivery of the job.

You will learn how to :

* strategies for lead generation
* conversion rates
* profit margins
* understanding allowable acquisition costs
* lifetime value of customer
* investing or spending?
* how to qualify your leads
* cost per lead
* cost per sale
* what’s more important: branding or leads?
* the raving fans
* your blog as the newsletter
* what is drip marketing?
* closed door sales
* upsell / cross sell / down sell checklist
* perceived value offers
* and much much more…

Don’t Leave Your Business to Chance

Without testing and measuring everything you do, you are leaving too much to chance. If you don’t test and measure, you really don’t know what works and what is burning your resources & energy.

Join us for this exciting series of webinars, they’re completely free.

Webinar 3: Conversion Rates: What they are…

Conversion rates should always be a great focus for your business. Conversion rate comes down to great sales ability, service & value for money.
Learn how to increase your conversion rates in this webinar.

Date: Tues, 08 Oct 2012
Time: 1600 hrs – 1630 hrs UK time
Place: Online
Price: Free

Places are limited, so book your seat on the link below:

SIGN UP NOW

Filed Under: Business Tagged With: ,

Video Marketing Seminar

Posted By on June 3, 2011

Ever wondered why video is the ‘buzz’ word when it comes to marketing your business online. I’m proud to present this very exciting and brand new seminar with Calumet and co-hosted with Martyn Greswolde.

The beauty of video marketing is you do the work once and keep getting free traffic / visitors to your website or blog…forever! Video marketing is fun and is one of the easiest ways to build relationships with your prospects and getting your message across at very low and quite often at zero cost to you.

CLICK HERE TO BOOK

CLICK HERE TO BOOK

In this seminar, you’ll learn:

- simple ways to get started in video marketing without shooting a video!!
– what equipment & software you need
– how to story board your video
– write scripts and planning your slides
– creating slideshows
– using software
– shooting & editing workflow
– how to use video on a DSLR
– lighting & audio tips & tricks
– using Green Screen
– how to promote your video to go viral
– using You Tube correctly to drive traffic to your site
– and much, much more…


Here are some examples of viral videos and putting your message across for free!!

This video has been viewed over 12,700 times

This video has been viewed over 4,800 times


This video has been viewed over 2,700 times…

Can you feel the power of video marketing. This is powerful stuff and now you have the opportunity to get your video marketing campaign off to a flying start. Join me & Martyn and we’ll show you all the tips, techniques & tricks you need to know.

CLICK HERE TO BOOK

Look forward to seeing you at Calumet soon.

Oz

Filed Under: Business Tagged With: , ,

onOne Software: Layers for Lightroom

Posted By on April 23, 2011

New product provides photographers with streamlined functionality for creating and working with layers, offering new creative possibilities.

Portland, OR – April 20, 2011 – onOne Software, Inc., a leading developer of innovative, time saving solutions for professional and advanced amateur photographers, today introduced the Perfect Layers Public Preview. Perfect Layers gives photographers the ability to easily create and work with layered files in their workflow application of choice. Perfect Layers supports the creation of layered files that can be opened and edited by Adobe Photoshop software and can be used directly from within Adobe Photoshop Lightroom software, Adobe Bridge and, with the shipping version, Apple Aperture.

“The impact Perfect Layers is going to have on photographers using Lightroom makes it a game changer!” said Scott Kelby, Editor-in-Chief of Photoshop User magazine. “This is the must-have plug-in for Lightroom.”

“Through our partnership with the National Association of Photoshop Professionals and from invaluable insight gained from Scott Kelby, we’re excited to get the Perfect Layers Public Preview into the hands of digital photographers everywhere,” said Craig Keudell, president of onOne Software. “We hear from photographers every day, that more and more of their image enhancement is taking place in applications like Photoshop Lightroom and they tell us they need additional tools to let them do even more like easily create composite images, retouch portraits and get creative with blending modes. Perfect Layers will allow photographers to do all of these things. That’s why we’re happy to make this Perfect Layers Public Preview available to the photographic community now so they can start using it to enhance their images.”

 

 

Top Features in Perfect Layers:
Add Layered File Functionality to Lightroom: The ability to have multiple layers in a single file is a great benefit and provides unlimited creative options when enhancing an image. With the Perfect Layers Public Preview, from directly within Lightroom, photographers can create or open layered files. This means photographers can combine multiple images from Lightroom into a single image. They can also open existing Photoshop documents from within Lightroom. Uses of Perfect Layers include merging two or more exposures of the same scene into a single image and masking in the desired portion of each exposure. Compositing multiple images, such as action shots, becomes a simple task with Perfect Layers. Also with Perfect Layers, Lightroom users can now have access to the power of blending images together with blending modes. Blending layers together is a great way to stylize and enhance a photo as well as to retouch a portrait. Files created with Perfect Layers can be opened by Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Elements later for additional editing if desired.

Masking Brushes:
Control how much of each layer is visible by using the Masking Brush created originally for PhotoTools 2.6 and FocalPoint 2. Similar to using a layer mask, the Masking Brush can be used to reveal or hide selected areas of a layer. The Masking Brush is non-destructive and can even be re- edited with Photoshop.

Blending Modes:
Perfect Layers brings the power and creativity of blending modes to Lightroom! Blending modes determine how two layers interact with each other. For example, you can blend a black and white version of an image with a color version to get a very dramatic and stylized look. Perfect Layers includes the following blending modes: Normal; Lighten; Darken; Screen; Multiply; Overlay; Soft Light; Hard Light and Color.

Adjust Layers:
The streamlined interface in Perfect Layers contains all the controls needed to size, align and reorder layers. A number of useful blending modes offer the ability to dramatically alter images by changing the brightness, altering the color or even creating special effects. All the adjustments can be easily modified.

The Perfect Layers Public Preview allows photographers to start experimenting now with a subset of the features that the complete, shipping version of Perfect Layers will provide. The complete shipping version of Perfect Layers will add more features including:

- Support for Apple Aperture
- The ability to adjust the image/canvas size
- The MaskingBug control from PhotoTools 2.6 to create smooth gradient masks
- Color fill layers and several other new features

As a public preview release, similar to a beta release, the Perfect Layers Public Preview is not indicative of the final performance and quality of the forthcoming complete shipping version. Technical support is not available for the preview release. Users can submit their feedback on this public preview from within the application.

Availability
The Perfect Layers Public Preview release is available immediately at onOne Software’s Website. The shipping version will be available, with additional features, by mid 2011 as a standalone product for $159.95 and as part of the Perfect Photo Suite 5.5. Owners of Plug-In Suite 5 can upgrade to Perfect Photo Suite 5.5, which will include Perfect Layers, at no additional cost. The Perfect Layers Public Preview is a time limited release and will expire on June 30, 2011.

EXCLUSIVE WEBINAR

Perfect Layers means Lightroom users (and soon Aperture users) can work in their favourite RAW processing software and now work in Layers. It’s a brand new technology from our friends at onOne Software and this is the first webinar anywhere outside the US. onOne will be here to share their secrets to what’s been described as “A Game Changer” by pundits in the business. Let’s see why!

Date: 5 May 2011

Time: 1800 hrs UK Time (Show in my Time Zone)

Where: Online

Price: Free





Filed Under: News, Offers, Webinars Tagged With: , ,

Free Webinar

Posted By on February 10, 2011

Is your photography studio business strangled by convoluted administration, hampered by poor event & job management and bleeding cash from lost assets and missed sales opportunities ?

For your photography business to succeed, you need to take care of mundane everyday work tasks, reminders, process & procedures – like VAT returns, invoicing, email marketing, keeping tract of your clients & jobs and much much more…

Foto SF is the business software for photographers to help you organise & market your business like never. The easy-to-use photo studio management software which gives back the control you need for your business.

Ideal for any home or studio-based photography business. Whether you shoot weddings, portraits, commercial jobs or events, Foto SF will help you keep your business on track.

FREE WEBINAR

Drive Your Business Forward With Foto SF

In this webinar, you’ll learn in easy and simple steps how to:

-generate leads
- send quotations
- make a booking
- send confirmations
- create sales invoice
- set your job worklfow and things to do in easy steps
- deliver the job

plus, you’ll learn how to:

- send targeted emails to your prospects & customers
- book keeping the easy way which will save you money on your accountant bills
- how to keep track of all your equipment, cameras, computers, software
- how not to be under-insured
- and much much more…

Watch the recorded webinar

 

Filed Under: Business, News, Webinars Tagged With: , ,

Photography Seminar | Apple Store

Posted By on November 24, 2010

Yesterday I presented my photography seminar ‘Extreme Weddings’ at Apple’s flagship store in Regent Street. The seminar was all about how I photographed two weddings in extreme temperatures & climate. From the icy conditions in the Arctic Circle of -30ºC to the tropical & hot climate in Malaysia where the temperature was as high as 30ºC.

Wedding Photography Seminar Apple Store

 

 

 

 

 

I enjoyed presenting to a very enthusiastic audience and it was a pleasure to be presenting here again. I’ll be back at the Apple Store, Regent Street in Feb 2011 for a fantastic new presentation.

Thanks to Apple for the invite and to Robin for the above image.

Oz

Filed Under: News, Training Tagged With: , , ,

Free Mini Portrait Workshop

Posted By on November 10, 2010

Date : Sun 21 Nov 2010
Time: 12 – 3 pm
Location: Around Leighton Buzzard, Beds

Lifestyle Portrait Photography Workshop

This is a hands-on mini workshop to help you shoot a portrait session quickly, easily & effortlessly. You will need to bring your partner, wife, husband, or a family member.

First you’ll see me in action taking images using available light & off-camera flash . We’ll then photograph each other rather than models. You’ll experience how it is like to be in front & behind the camera. The only request I make is that the images you’ve shot of other people, you process and forward it to them as a little thank you for their time. This way every one will have some great portraits of themselves and their loved ones created by a variety of photographers in their own creative way.
After the workshop you can contact each other and discuss the sessions as to what you liked, enjoyed & how did the images look, etc. This kind of feedback will help you in improving your shooting & editing work flow. You won’t get this from any other seminar or workshop.

Can you afford to miss out on this ? Best of all its completely free.

How to Book
Please send an email with the subject ‘Mini Workshop’ and your contact details. Places are strictly limited and is on a first come first book basis. So please send your email as soon as possible to info@sfdigital.co.uk

I look forward to seeing you soon.

Oz

Filed Under: News, Portrait, Training Tagged With: , ,

Free Is The Future

Posted By on October 21, 2010

OK, here’s a totally radical thought.

Could you imagine going to a restaurant for a FREE meal, going to the cinemas for FREE!! I mean totally 100% free – no catch. Believe it or not, this is being considered. Those of you who know me and have attended my seminars, you know how much I talk about & believe in the ‘Power of Free’. It once was a marketing gimmick – now ‘free’ is a full fledged economy of its own. The ‘Freemium’ business model now is more powerful than the ‘Premium’ business model. So as a photographer if you are thinking of raising or increasing your prices, think again.  Let’s have a look at a little known company called Google, heard of them ?

Have you noticed how they are one of the biggest companies in the world by letting everyone one of us use their product / service for free. Are you starting to understand how powerful ‘Free’ is. Google are masters at funneling us consumers for free and then introduce a variety of paid services and products like Adwords, etc to monetize the consumer and make money from them.

Giving away something for FREE at first is a key strategy for most successful companies these days. The list is long and endless, social media i.e Twitter, Facebook, low cost airlines, mobile phone companies and many many more. You really need to understand and implement this in your business model.

But does giving away something for free mean it will take you longer to make money ? I’d have to say yes. But does this strategy work ? Absolutely 100%. Lets take a look at blogs like this. If you have a blog, you can make money by monetizing it. I’m giving free content over here. The better the content, the more traffic I will attract and more money I’ll make.

I’ve got over here free trial for Foto SF, free report for my e-book ‘Portrait Photography Secrets’ &  Free Photo Surgery. What I’m doing here is delivering something of value to you for free. If you like what you see or read, you will buy it. This is how the game works. If you want to grow your business, this is the business model you need. You will make more money by upselling related products / services, but first, you need to target your customer’s attention first.

Free is also the best and easiest way to grow your database. Without a client list or database, you will NEVER make money. Its a fact.

A great example of the power of free is King Gillette. At the age of 40, he was a frustrated inventor and a bitter anti-capitalist. It was 1895 and despite ideas, energy and wealthy parents, he had little to show for his work. He blamed the evils of market competition. His boss gave him one piece of advise: Invent something people use and throw away. One day while shaving, he got the idea of disposable blades. A few years later, the disposable blade was born.

What he did was to change the shaving habits of men, he gave away millions of razors. Banks even gave away razors with new accounts and advertised them as ‘Shave & Save’. Razors were bundled with everything from chewing gums to tea / coffee. The freebies helped to sell those products but the real winner here was Gillette.

By giving away free razors, which were useless by themselves, he was creating a great demand for disposable blades!! A few billion blades later, this business model is now the foundation of entire industries:

- Make video games console cheap or free and sell expensive games

- Give away mobile phones for free but sell monthly plans or credits.

- Install fancy coffee machines in offices for free and sell coffee sachets.

- Make printers very cheap or free and sell expensive ink cartridges.

- How is Vista Print making money by giving stuff for free.

Are you beginning to see how the free business model can work for your business.

But a word of warning!!!

From the consumer’s point of view, there is a huge difference between cheap and free. Give away a product for free and it can go viral. Charge 1p for it and it is seen as cheap – and you’re in an entirely different business, one of clawing and scratching for every customer. Don’t do it. The huge psychological gap between ‘almost zero’ and ‘zero’ is why micropayments failed. This is why Google doesn’t show up on our bank or credit card statements, its why Yahoo gives away disk space for free, its why Craigs List made $50 million last year from the very few things it charges.

The moral of the story ? The successful & profitable companies make their stuff free first. Are you ? Can you give something for free ? Have you considered giving away portraits or even weddings for free and making money from it ? Sounds bizarre, but very soon this will be the business model every successful photographer will adapt. While all the noise on the forums, seminars, etc is all about raising prices and going ‘high-end’, I’ve gone the other way. It took me a long time to understand the ‘freemium’ business model, I just wish I had learnt & adapted this a long time ago. This truly is powerful stuff which you cannot afford to ignore.

If you’re not sure how to get started on the ‘Freemium’ business model, get in touch and see how you too can be on the way to building a profitable and growing photography business.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this whether you agree or not. Please leave your comments below.

Oz

Filed Under: Business Tagged With: , ,