Welcome to our newest project, made especially for fellow photographers and created by Ryan & Amy Parrish. Why the name? We’re big on puns around here, for one. Though this particular name brought up much debate. Our first thought was that if our “goods” (information, education & products) are perishable, they’ll spoil. And that’s rotten. On the other hand, perishable goods are where you get those raw nutrients for a healthy diet from fruits and vegetables. It’s where you get the meat.
And then, the more we were thinking about it, a lot of this information will spoil; and we’re okay with that. This is a fast-changing industry. There are always equipment upgrades and software upgrades, innovative trends and trends you can’t even believe would have ever caused such a buzz.
What you’ll find on this site is exactly what we’re learning and experiencing along our own journey. We’ll share our successes and we’ll share our failures. Of course, don’t forget that you’ve got to forge your own path. Just because we made something work for us, doesn’t mean it will work for you, and vice versa. This site certainly should not be your only source for inspiration and education. We urge you to delve into as much variety as you can, but then also take long breaks from all outside influences to ensure you’re following your vision and your passion to the fullest.
Great Content, I am launching a new social networking site here very soon; you should check it out at http://www.fatalmodels.com. I myself am a photographer and love getting quality content to read.
For those who tuned into the second part of our Asuka webinar series, here are two of the links requested that I promised to post here.
Studio Management Services (for those looking for more assistance in the logistics of starting/running your business…including pricing for profit)
…and a link to more information on the study Ryan mentioned in regards to giving customers some control in the form of Mass Customization (which we also try to incorporate a bit into giving clients a chance to voice input in their custom book designs). If you Google the title, you can pull up lots more: The “I Designed it Myself” Effect in Mass Customization by Nikolaus Franke, Martin Schreier and Ulrike Kaiser
Thanks so much for listening in! We’re both quite new at speaking to an audience that we can neither see or interact with, so if there’s anything that you want us to touch on more, just leave a comment here or send us an e-mail. Just keep in mind it may take several days for us to respond to fellow photographers and if a question is too sensitive, we may not answer here on the blog since this blog is open to the entire world. Though, if anyone knows how to easily manage a few levels of subscribers to Wordpress blogs, we’d love to pick your brain!
Thanks so much to everyone who came out to listen to today’s webinar! I didn’t catch how many actually listened in, but I know the number of registrants was estimated to be the second-highest ever for the Asuka series. Be sure to register again for next week when Ryan and I will get into all of the juicy details of our pricing and selling strategies for custom book designs.
In the meantime, as promised, these are some of our beloved resources for building a library of design elements.
HI There
I missed your webinar today and was wondering if you or Asuka has a breakdown of the ‘webinar’. I know that some sites post an online version after the fact and I was wondering if either you or Asuka does this.
Sorry, that I missed it.
Thanks Michelle
Thanks for writing! I’ve had some other people ask about the very same thing. Asuka will be posting a recorded version of yesterday’s webinar on their website: http://www.asukabook.com. When you click the “Resources” tab you’ll find links to all of their pre-recorded webinars. I think Lindsey mentioned she would try and get that up in about one week.
For anyone near or willing to travel to the Central Ohio area, I have held a mini workshop on book design here before. If enough people are interested, I can certainly put together another one of these as well.
A few weeks ago the battery died for the heart murmur box that I use as a form of white noise during newborn sessions. At the time, I found some audio on YouTube and looped the segment so I could play this from my computer (you might actually see a “private” post in an older entry called “Heartbeat”). It was a lifesaver for me and thought I should just post this publicly as well since it may be a lifesaver for you, too!
If your client has a computer nearby when doing a newborn session on location (or if you work out of a studio to use your own computer), you now don’t need to deal with extra equipment…just bookmark this post and you’re all set!
I just paid a visit to Jesh’s blog a few minutes ago and thought I’d pass this information along:
Monday, July 05, 2010 career opportunity (announcement)
hello amazing friends,,,
my company, Life As An Artform, is preparing to break ground on several new projects i’m thrilled about. i’m looking to add someone to our team who can be our resident visual voice, helping us breathe life into our projects by giving them bodies as beautiful as their hearts.
effective immediately, i’m opening a full-time or part-time (negotiable) satellite position for a designer who:
- is passionate about visual communication
- feels life intensely
- sees the deep beauty in people
- has a spiritual sensibility to their work
- understands the importance of balancing form & functionality
- keeps a finely-honed imagination
- wants to make work that means something
- is committed to personal and artistic growth
- has a child-like curiosity and fascination
- is highly-skilled in photoshop (or similar)
- has a strong knowledge of web-based design
- is self-motivated and takes pride in excellence
- can take direction and meet timelines
- can work remotely
- is an honest and open communicator
- wants to work with a company of people committed to improving quality of life
- is brave enough to imagine they could change the world
if this sounds like you, please forward your creative resume and portfolio to
support@jeshderox.com
if you know of someone who would be interested, please forward them this link
i very much look forward to hearing from you! many blessings,
jesh * Posted by Jesh de Rox at 7/05/2010 10:15:00 AM
Okay, I’m sure some days this site sounds like an ad for AsukaBook, but I am not an employee, nor am I being paid to write this post! I really loved the Zen Layflat book when I first saw it in Nashville, and swooned again in Vegas. When I described it to a client (without yet having any samples at the studio), she knew she wanted it, too. It just arrived, so I thought I’d share some pics & description for you.
As you open the book, it has a higher-end feeling with the pages laying down flat, as opposed to fanning out 180°. I ordered matte pages since the overall feel to my work, plus business branding, is more organic as opposed to sleek. I think decisions as small as paper texture can be a part of your brand, hence my selection. Now that I’ve seen my own book come through the studio, I think as these officially become a part of our product list, I’ll bump the price up a bit more and go for the EX version which comes with a black or red box instead of the plastic case. I’d like one more way that these can stand apart from our other hardcover books (though, we’ve already planned to also only offer the Zen books in larger sizes as another way to stand out from the crowd).
We’ve received lots of feedback regarding our sharing of workflow tips for custom book designs. If you missed the workshop, tradeshow speaking or WPPI Photographers Ignite presentation, you’ll have another chance to log in and get some fantastic information. Next month Ryan and I will be doing a couple of live webinars thanks to our awesome friends at AsukaBook. The first week I’ll be sharing the most helpful tips that really made custom designs an easy process from behind the computer. Come back the following week to also hear Ryan as he shares some of our selling and pricing techniques that have made photo books such a popular product at the studio. There’s a Q&A segment following the presentation, so if you have any questions, bring them along!
Did you read most recent issue of Rangefinder magazine? I was really stunned to read that nearly 85% of professional photographers taking part in their study reported having three or fewer employees (over 60% were one man/woman shows). To me, this clearly defines photography as an extremely personal business; not only in regards to having such close connections with our client base, but now even more so in terms of the voice of photography businesses coming from one, two or three people, as opposed to a melding of voices and personalities that a larger company would have. This also means that branding your business may not be nearly as important as branding yourself.
Earlier this week I sat on discussion panel on personal branding at the Ohio Growth Summit. While I just don’t have the time to expound on everything (an entire book’s worth of thought & text could be shared on this!), I do want to jot down a few basic concepts that our creator/moderator, Nate Riggs, brought to the audiences attention. You won’t find any answers or opinions here. Just take the time to come to your own conclusions on these issues of personal branding:
Where is the line between arrogance and humility?
How can you promote your personal brand aside from tools such as Facebook, Twitter, blogging and other online resources?
Is it vital to remain authentic to your personal self?
What if you do not match what you want your clients to be like? (disparity in income levels, religious or political views, gender, race, family life, or other cultural differences) Are there parts of your personality that should not be a part of your personal brand?
How important is privacy?
Are you always prepared for either a planned or unexpected sale/merger of your business? Would you keep the rights to your previous body of work, blog posts, client contacts, etc.? Is your business currently salable? (ex. “Amy Parrish Photography” is suitable for myself, but if Ryan ever enters the picture as a photographer or if a larger business would want to buy us out, our title may be a potential roadblock).
There’s so much more! I would love to open up a discussion to this among all types of creative professionals. Feel free to continue the conversation below in the comment box. Are there even other questions you’d like to add to the mix? Regardless, I’d love to hear from you!
While I don’t have anything to add to the discussion, I do want to say if you are ever looking for another photographer I would love to work under Amy Parrish Photography. Just sayin.
We stood on the other side of the fence recently and instead of featuring a guest blogger here, we were featured on the Ohio Growth Summit blogsite. I kept it simple with basic advice on personal branding for small businesses (in my case, specifically for portrait photography) and you can come hear a more in-depth discussion panel on June 9th during the OGS keynote presentation. If you’d like to take a look at the post, you can find it linked here.
Have you heard the crickets chirping? If you follow the blog on our client-side I’m sure you’ve noticed a slowdown in posts there as well. This nearly-every-day blogger is doing some experimentation on both our marketing and branding campaigns as Ryan and I prepare for a shift in our business (don’t flip out yet…we’re talking over a period of 1-2 years!). Some of this research comes in preparation for a keynote panel for the Ohio Growth Summit coming up this month. I’m sitting on a panel with several other small business owners around the state to dig into some pretty deep discussion about personal branding.
We’re just the kickoff for this event; there are other speakers/classes going on through the day that are specifically designed for small business owners. If you’re in (or near) the state, you should definitely come check it out!
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