We here at the [ b ] School want to wish a very happy birthday to our customer support guru Paul Edward. Since shortly after the [ b ] School first launched Paul has not only helped people with their customer service issues, but he has shared his vast knowledge of the photo business will all of our members. He has a passion for photography and a passion for people, and we are so lucky to have him on our team.
Despite being a Steelers fan, Paul is actually a pretty nice guy. He is always willing to share his thoughts and help photographers with whatever questions they may have. The guy always has a smile on his face and his enthusiasm is infectious. Those who know him, love him. Those who don't know him, are missing out. Please leave Paul some birthday love below or connect with him on the [ b ] School.
It's hard to imaging this guy is now 79 years old! ;-)
Hey Kids... NEXT FRIDAY, July 2nd, I am going to be attending this workshop here in the OC. Check it out:
What is this Workshop all about? The Speedlites Workshop is geared towards photographer’s that want to learn and have a better understanding of working with off-camera flash. The Workshop is a long day (10+ hours) that will be jammed packed full of off-camera flash learning!
How much? Tuition for the Workshop is $500- and includes all meals, beverages and snacks throughout the day. Each Workshop is limited to a maximum of 15 photographer’s to ensure a solid learning environment.
Discounts? [b]school members will receive a $50- discount by using Promo Code "BSCHOOL" when registering here.
Additional discounts are available if two or more from your studio wish to attend! Promo code discounts made not be combined with any other offers.
What will I learn? The 1 Day Speedlites Workshop starts with the basics of working with off-camera Speedlites and we’ll have you shooting with three Speedlites by the days end. You will learn to shape your Speedlites with grids, umbrellas, gels, parabolic reflectors, ring flashes and beauty dishes designed specifically for Speedlites!
Bonus! You'll also receive our 30 page PDF containing detailed lighting diagrams of everything you’ll shoot along with a gear list that includes every piece of gear used!
OMG... a couple of my friends, Edmund Prieto, Geoff Duncan & Morgan Taylor and a few of their friends put this rap video together about being a professional photographer. They did an awesome job and I love when people are creative. Enjoy!:
Here are a few more shots from Escalate. I forgot I took some with my point & shoot camera. FYI... all of these images were download and edited on my iPad. I found a program called Photogene (just search for it in the App Store). You can adjust color temp, contrast, saturation and even levels and curves. It comes with some built in presets and even some border options. The only thing I couldn't do on the iPad was add my [ b ] logo and url (like on the rest of my blog shots). Sure... it's not going to replace my regular workflow, but for some personal photos... it was pretty fun and easy to do.
By the way, if you missed Escalate, you can watch the Video on Demand starting June 7th.
I used the 70's preset on Paul since he's old! ;-)
FYI... Paul is the [ b ] School's "Hall Monitor" and he's awesome. And he's not really THAT old!
Check out the fancy movie poster:
Here's Jed setting up the WHCC booth. If Shrek had glasses and a beard they'd be twins!
Dane makes some last minute tweeks just before the conference kicked off.
At the wrap party, Jerry & I were rocking the trampoline. I kept trying to bump into him hoping some of his mad skills rubbed off on me.
FYI... here's a video about the Photogene program:
On Monday and Tuesday of this week, I was privileged to be a part of the first ever Escalate Live conference that took place in Newport Beach, CA. My good friend Dane Sanders and his crew put on a pretty impressive event and from the feedback I've been getting... it seems like everyone had a great time and got a lot out of it. I worked really hard on a brand new presentation and I am grateful for all of the feedback I've already received.
Here's my take on each of the speakers in order of which they presented:
Dane Sanders kicked the whole thing off and talked about collaboration. Dane is a true leader in every sense of the world and has been known for his writing and teaching about the benefits of photographers coming together in community. He passionately shared the vision behind the Escalate project which is similar to his philosophy about photographers "being for each other".
I went next and talked about the ABC's of Success. Attitude, Branding and Connecting. I did my best to motivate people to have a better attitude and shared a bit on the power of a positive attitude. I also tried to explain the value of branding and explained how branding is really all about feelings. Good, bad or indifferent. Of course I've been preaching about connecting with other photographers for almost 15 years and I also talked about the value of connecting with your clients and other vendors.
Jasmine Star talked about the power of social media and how she uses it to her advantage. She also shared examples of how other companies are levering their online presence through social media. I think one of the most important points she makes is to be yourself online. The great thing about J* is that when you meet her in person she's exactly what she seems like online.
Julieanne Kost closed out day one talking about Photoshop CS 5. It was great to reconnect with Julieanne. I met her back in 2003 and she is thee Photoshop guru of the world. Not only did she show us some cool new tricks and feature of CS5, she was absolutely hilarious and got more laughs than the rest of us combined. Granted they were geeky nerd jokes, but being a nerd, I sure appreciated them as did the rest of the crowd.
Jerry Ghionis kicked off day 2 and is my new hero. I've actually seen him speak before in the past, and I've obviously seen his work and I've always been a fan. But he just knocked it out of the park. I think it was amazing that he flew all the way from Australia just to come speak for an hour and a half because he believed in what we were doing at Escalate. It was also great to just hang with Jerry for a bit. He is crazy talented and also an incredible speaker. So inspiring. I am looking forward to attending his workshop next January which 100% of the tuition will be benefitting his charity, The Soul Society.
Jessica Claire had a tough act to follow, but as per usual... she just lays it all out on the line and did a wonderful job. I love how direct and honest Jessica's presentations are. She just tells you what is going on her head and why she does what she does. She shared some wonderful images, and even some not so great images to demonstrate her points. Good stuff!
David Jay is another hero of mine. He has a gift for story telling and inspiring others. I've seen DJ speak several times in the past and I am always impressed with what he shares. Unfortunately I had a long lunch and only caught the tail end of his presentation, but I'm looking forward to watching it on demand.
Jeremy Cowart anchored the entire event and brought the crowd to their feet. Admittedly, he hasn't had a lot of experience speaking in front of large crowds, but he was just so honest and authentic. He's a commercial photographer from Nashville and his work is amazing. You have to check out his Voice of Haiti project and I am looking forward to getting involved with his Help Portrait project this coming December.
Once again I want to thank all of you who tuned in online, and especially those who made the effort and paid the $ to be their in person. We all really appreciate it. I hope you will put my advice into practice and actually do something about it. Please keep in touch and let me know what you've implemented and if I can help out in any other way.
If you missed the conference and would like to watch it, it will be available through a video on demand service in just a couple of weeks. The low rez rough cut will be available June 7th and the HD fully edited version will be available June 7th. Sign up here:
I also want to thank my friend Regis Chen for capturing a few shots for me. Regis is awesome!:
Dane was no doubt hanging on my every word:
... then of course he was laughing at my funny funny jokes.
I am so excited that Escalate is almost here. There are still tickets left if you want to join us in Newport Beach next Monday and Tuesday. You can get your tickets here:
Also, because Dane Sanders, the events organizer, is such a cool cat, he's allowing anyone to watch it live for FREE! All you have to do is REGISTER. If you miss the live broadcast, you can download the videos and watch them on a pay per view basis after the event for a nominal fee.
Lastly, if you have any questions about Escalate or are on the fence about coming, be sure to tune into Ask Dane tomorrow (Wednesday, May 12th) at 4pm PST. I'll be on the show and Dane & I will both be answering any and all of your questions.
It's free for all photographers if they tune in and watch it live. You can ask questions during the broadcast in our chatroom or via Twitter and we just try to help people with whatever topic happens to be on our mind at the time.
If you don't catch it live, [ b ] School members can watch the archives in the Classroom at their leisure. Obviously they can't ask questions, but it's nice to just put in the background and listen to the show while you are editing or working on an album design.
In honor of our recently launched new Study Hall, we wanted to give everyone a chance to catch the replay for our "iPad review and ideas episode" to see what they are missing. Please tune in next and every Thursday at 4pm PST and tell your friends to do the same.
In this episode, I share my initial thoughts of my new iPad as well as go into ways that I think photographers can use this new tool. Feel free to add your thoughts or ideas in the comments below.
Here are a few images from our night shoot that took place during WPPI. I want to extend a huge thank you to Joe Photo, Nick Adams & JVS for donating their time & talent to teach some [ b ] Schoolers about flash photography.
Here are a few from JVS:
A couple from Nick Adams:
And finally a couple from Joe Photo:
BTW, JVS has some workshops coming up and he's offering $50 to any [ b ] Schoolers who'd like to attend. If you want to learn about flash photography from one of the very best... you've gotta go see JVS next month:
April 6th – Dallas, Texas
April 19th – Ann Arbor, Michigan
April 26th – Denver, Colorado
November 11th – Kansas City, Missouri
“The Speedlites Workshop is a long, 12 hour day that will be jammed packed full of learning, eating, shooting and more eating:) By the end of the day you’ll be beyond excited about shooting with your Speedlites. You’ll learn to shape your Speedlites with grids, para reflectors, umbrellas, snoots, gels, soft boxes and a beauty dish made specifically for Speedlites.” - JVS
...and more dates are coming:)
More info about the Speedlites Workshop can be found at JVS Workshops
