The money segment.  I was really on the trade show floor for about 4 hours.  I know.  How sad.  Being at WPPI for such a short time I knew the booths that I wanted to hit. The Finao booth was visually stunning and I didn’t even step inside. Shame on me. Sorry Finao. I still heart you and I am sure I missed a killer deal on album swatches. I didn’t wander around aimlessly this year picking up pamphlets for everything that looked like I needed or would maybe need over the course of the next year. I was there to knock this out with purpose. The Places I did hit. Jessica Claire’s Shoot Sac booth. Hoodman. ShootQ. Red river Paper and my technological love machine… Nikon

Jessica’s Shoot Sac:  I have heard mixed reviews on these things. It seems more people swear by them than not.   I am a girl who loves a good lens change but doesn’t care to lug around a big crazy bag. So, I think it will be a nice addition for me.  I purchased the actual shoot sac and two of her new covers for $209.  So, the deal worked out that I got the bag and two complimentary covers.  Works for me.   The gray and pink cover pictured here was given to me at her work shop. (Thanks Jessica)   I can’t wait to use one of these when I shoot with Miss Chenin in a few weeks.

Hoodman CF Cards.  These things are a pretty penny but with a lifetime warranty and being the fastest card out there so I was happy to invest.  I got three 4GB cards for $180.  Basically it was buy 2 get one free.  Not only is using smaller cards a good exercise in shooting smarter but spreading your info over several cards  in case of card failure.  You never know and I would hate to tell a bride… sorry my CF card died.  Worst nightmare. That and getting sick at a wedding.

ShootQ. This was a virtual purchase but this is a photo I took (30 seconds ago) of my complimentary t shirt they gave me.   I signed up for the full blown  version of this studio management software for a $1 a day for 12 months!  Normally this package would be $80 a month.   This was by far the deepest discount I  scored at the show.  It integrates with everything I need to keep track and make things run as smooth as possible.  Integrating with Quick Books, Merchant Services and much more.  It’s a Customer Relationship Management tool and comes complete with an iPhone application.   It will build packages, deliver quotes and contracts and all kinds of other things.  I am super stoked on it an hope to have it integrated into my business work flow very soon.

So there you have it folks.  I did pretty good considering in I came home with a D300  in 2008.

Up next Airhorns & Lasers, The power of making connections and a conversation with Nikon.

After a lot of requests from clients for digi files and after much thought I decided to go with the masses. As an artist it was hard to come to grips with the thought that my images may be printed off your personal ink jet printer. It’s the things my nightmares are made of. Similar to the restaurant nightmares that consisted of running around unable to find the ketchup or something ridiculous. So, to meet you all in the middle I have loosened my death grip on the digital files. I have a preferred public print vendor and do my best to point you in the right direction. All Digital Collections include prints as well so that you can see the quality of a professional print vendor.

Two things to always remember:
Never color correct!
Crop wisely and as little as possible.