Well here it is the last day of the show. I’ve made some new friends from across the country and learned a thing or two. The speakers today more than made up for the poor speakers yesterday.

I managed to get a deal for my new sample albums. Wait until you see my new “CoolTure” line. There was some software I bought and then came the most exciting news of the show. I was talking to the publishers of many of the photography “how to” books and was invited to submit a book proposal. How I’ll find the time, I don’t know but I do know that it is now high on my list.

Also, I’m a little worried about getting home tomorrow. We’ve heard that many flights this afternoon and Wednesday morning have been cancelled. So far, my flight is showing on time. However, that can change in an instant. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

The weather around here continues to be rotten, even for Chicago standards. It is cold with a freezing rain. It has been this way ever since I got here on Saturday and shows no signs of relenting in the next day or so.

Today’s schedule of speakers was pretty weak. There were one or two which were interesting but nothing earth shattering. I’ve been walking the trade show floor looking for some new and exciting products to offer my clients. I think I’ve found a thing or two. You’ll just have to wait to see what I’ve found.

It is pretty late and I want to get an early start for the last day of the show. This is the day where I typically make my final purchase decisions and go from there. Also the last night of the show is known for its party to celebrate the next year’s show. Image 2008 will be in Tampa. Maybe we’ll have better weather there.

I arrived in Texas yesterday. The journey itself was a saga of a broken plane which I will not bore you with. Suffice to say, we arrived in Texas, three hours late. When I arrived at the hotel, I had a message from some friends from home who coincidenally were in San Antonio for another conference. We met for drinks and then they went to dinner.

Sunday the conference started. Wow, what a day. I started at 7:30, in a talk on how to excite your brides to get the best images. Sad to say, I disagreed with much of what the photographer was saying. My clients are excited enough and don’t need me to get them more emotional. However, I the point I did take from the talk is a wedding photographer needs to read the mood of the client and use it to create the images.

Next I went to listing to another photographer talk about marketing. He gave me some ideas and also confirmed that my new marketing plan is the right approach. There were no speakers in the third block who interested me, so it was off to the trade show floor to see what was new. I spent 6 hours there. I ran into many old friends. Saw some interesting new products. My plan is to go back in the next day or so when I decide what I will buy or add to my packages and get the stuff I need. The evening was spent networking at a couple of sponsored events (ie parties). Now it is nearly midnight and Monday’s events start at 7:00.

In just a few short hours, I will be leaving for the Professional Photographer’s of America annual convention. This year the convention is being held in San Antonio from January 14-16. This is a chance to see old friends, make new ones, learn some new things and see what new and exciting products are available. Furthermore, as a certified professional wedding photographer, I need to earn continuing education units to maintain my status. Attending Image provides me with some of the required CEUs.

I’ve got a lot to complete before I head off to image. So please forgive me for the brief entry. Also, while I plan to bring my laptop to Texas, I’m not sure if I will be able to connect to the internet. If possible I will update the blog while at image, if not, I’ll do it when I get back home.

The new year is only a week old but I’ve got to finish several albums from last season and then get ready for next season. One of the most important items to cross off the annual todo list is determine packages and pricing for the next year. In some ways I dread the process and in other ways I can’t wait to get to it.

The tough part is all of the pricing decisions. The fun part is deciding what to offer. This year I’ve found a really cool album to offer. What makes this album so special is the cover, a photo placed under, well the only way to describe it, is that it looks like somebody poured Future floor wax over the top and let it try. After deciding to add this album to my packages and pricing it, I needed to come up with a new name. After much thought CoolTure it is!

I’ve got the perfect wedding to feature in a CoolTure sample album, Amanda and Joseph’s wedding. I will be designing their album in a couple of weeks and then modifying it to create my new sample album. I expect to have the CoolTure sample albums available by the end of February.

Never do something today which you can do tommorrow. Eventually the day comes when you have to make time for some of those wedding planning tasks. If you are planning a wedding for 2007, you have about 3 more weeks before the 2007 booking season gets really hectic. This means that if you have a “hot” date with a lot of competition, you may not be able get your first choice of vendors if you wait too much longer.

In January, there are no less than 6 bridal shows. That is more than 1 per week. February and March are just as busy. So if you wait too much longer, you may hear there are several other couples interested in booking me for your weekend. To make sure I can provide the high quality service to each of my clients yet still have time to spend with my family, I limit myself to one wedding a weekend and forty a year. All wedding dates are booked on a first come first serve basis. To reserve your date, I need to receive your retainer along with a signed agreement. In this case, the early bird gets the photographer!

Merry Christmas to all

It is hard to believe but my last wedding of the year is coming up. It seem like just yesterday, the season was just beginning. So much has happened. I’ve been as far north as Milwaukee, as far south as Lemont, out to Starved Rock and Madison, to the shores of Lake Michigan and many points in between. No matter where I’ve gone, I’ve truely enjoyed the time I’ve spent with my clients and been honored to be your wedding photographer.

In early June, another photographer visited me at one of my weddings and let me try his new lense. Well, after that, I realized my current set of lenses was holding me back and I invested $2,500 to upgrade my lenses. It was money well invested as suddenly, the images I captured were better than I had ever been able to photograph. I can’t believe the difference Nikon lenses make over the Tamron, Sigma and Tokina versions.

Another major change this year, was the predesigning of wedding albums for the couple the week after the wedding. I was doing really well with that until Michah, my son, decided to be born. After that, I started falling farther and farther behind. While I was caught up, it really made a difference in the time it took to deliver a finished album to you. I was averaging about 4 months! Some people did not even have their thank-you cards completed by the time the album arrived! I’m going to spend the next several weeks catching up on my album design and preparing for 2007…. More detail to follow.