Essence of Memories Photoblog

Coffee and Random Thoughts

After being woken up at 7 this morning, I’ve had a lot of extra time to catch up on the news and drink coffee. Fox News being my channel of choice, it has only reinforced my thoughts that the World is ending. Yet another story on Balloon Boy has made my mind wander to its comical place of comfort. I was glad they found the kid, I almost thought that it was Michael Jackson trying to order take out from heaven.

A 15 year old was caught planning an attack on his high school set for April 20th. For those of you with a lagging memory that is the anniversary of Colombine. Police found gas, stuff to make bombs, and a black trench coat. I think minor league homicidal maniacs really need to update their wardrobe. I’m pretty sure he could have gotten away with it if he didn’t have the coat. Lets say they found all those items but then they found a frat boy looking kid in his pressed khakis and pink polo with a popped collar. Case would have been thrown out the window. I hate to sound racist, but you know it was a crazy white kid. One thing I’m never scared of is being part of a massacre done by a black person. Its just not going to happen. If I fear being mugged, yes my mind would resort to it probably being some black gang member, but we need to realize that crazy white people are so much more dangerous. Hell hath no fury like a crazy white guy.

Don’t taze me bro! Police are now using 50,000 volt tazers to bring down criminals. I’m pretty sure I could go down after a thousand volts, but whatever, the police know best. I suppose the best way to have this happen is to be having a heart attack right before the tazer. I get tazed and jumpstarted at the same time. Health officials have advised police to not taze people in the chest. It could cause “adverse heart events”….in other words you’re probably going to die. Maybe I’ll just avoid crime. Robbing a liquor store could result in the instant death penalty.

One last random thought before I enjoy some coffee and breakfast. H1N1 Vaccines are getting ready to ship out mid November. Is it just me or does this sound like the beginning of some zombie horror flick. Isn’t this the same way I Am Legend started? People get a vaccine thinking it will help them and then BOOM….zombies. I’ll be out buying my sawed of shotgun with extra hollow points and a 9mm today to keep alive when the zombies attack. You can never be too careful when it comes to a zombie apocolypse.

Photo Session for Interior Designer Hollie Wood

You can also check out her website at www.holliewoodstyle.com. Enjoy! I had the pleasure of working with this talented designer and I was amazed at her ability to really bring a room together. Her works can really make a house feel like a home!

A Few of my Favorite Pictures

These are from my trip to NYC. Enjoy!

Almost Famous

Distinguished followers, okay, whoever stumbles upon my blog (even better if its on a daily basis), I have an annoucement. Essence of Memories Photography will be an up and running business within a month. At least thats my own time frame. Big things have been going on, I must admit. I took some big risks and here I sit, meetings lined up, paperwork getting worked on, blog being written, and unemployed. Alright unemployed is such a harsh word. I prefer self employed…. pending paperwork.

The other day I saw the movie Almost Famous for the first time. I know, I live in a hole, but to my credit I HAVE seen Zombie Land and its amazing. My friend the Recruiter Poet (http://recruiterpoet.wordpress.com/) and myself saw this movie and I have to admit that it did change the way I was going to start looking at my life. In the movie a young man goes after his dreams and after wading through all the BS a band can throw at him he ends up learning a life lesson and gets the cover of the Rolling Stone. Everybody wins in the end.

So what if I take that same concept and apply it to my own life? Take the risk of giving up my current job and going after my own dreams. Its a very liberating experience. I did come out of it saving a lot of face and heard something that really meant a lot to me. “There are people here, that are just here. They have dreams, but are too afraid to go after them. It takes a strong person to do what you’re doing….and I’ll give you credit for that.” By far the best quote I’ve heard in a while. What makes it better is that the strong person in reference is myself. The whole situation reminds me of a line from the song You Might Die Trying by DMB, “To change the world, it starts with one step. How ever small, the first step is hardest of all”.

So this is a shout to all the people in the World who are living a life where they are afraid of their dreams. The best part of life is the chase. Whether its for a career change, a change of heart, or maybe you just need to step back and re-evaluate your choices, you need to take the time to go after it. You never want to look back and wonder “what if?”

Photography News (A tasty snack for your brain)

What do you think about Carl Zeiss taking on Canon??

2009: The Year of the Relationship Pt. 2

So the last blog I discussed how important it was to build long term relationships with your clients. This was followed by the first topic which was building the foundation in your business to, in turn, build that relationship. So today let’s focus on the second part. For those that are followers of my blog please feel free to add your thoughts on the subject.

Part two: Creating and Sharing the Company Culture

Every person has something they believe in, whether it be themselves, religion, science, or even the funnies in the news paper, we often find ourselves in a belief based society. Beliefs are also play a large role in shaping a company. It’s vital that you let the consumer know what you and your business are all about. So your company’s beliefs should be very sound and you should always stand behind them. However, one must not put themselves up to unreachable goals. Don’t promise miracles to the customer, but instead offer them piece of mind. If you make the claim “I will give you the best photos that you have ever seen EVER” you will only be setting yourself up for failure. If you offer the client an amazing, fun photography experience, not only will you be setting reachable goals, but, in backing up your offer you will be building trust with you client.

If you have assistants within your company you should strive to make sure that they not only understand your company’s values, but also support and demonstrate them to your clients. It is crucial to choose assistants that will reflect well on you. Someone that will be able to meet all your clients’ needs, as well as, address those needs in a positive way.

Talking with you client is a part of your job that you must always put extra effort into. It’s important in a career based on human emotions that you can relate to your client on another level. Simply talking to them as a friend, rather than a businessman/woman will build their trust in you and your company. Build the relationship before you start to talk about pricing. Yes, pricing is important, but, if it’s the first thing that comes out of your mouth you may come off as only wanted money out of the situation. Keep implying that you are interested in what they, the client, are about. What do they do for a living? What is their family like? What are they interested in? Asking open ended questions and understanding your client will only make the photo session go better. Who knows, maybe learning that little something extra will inspire you to try something new with them that will ultimately end up making you and your client very pleased.

Lastly for today, always remember to build good karma. I’m a strong believer in “what goes around, comes around” and I try to never talk badly about a competitor or vendor. It goes back to the old “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all” proverb. Make sure that if a customer brings up a competitor talking negatively about you or your business, you always write it off. Just say that that is their opinion and they are entitled to think or say whatever they want. If you take the higher road in a situation like this it will put your client at ease about your foundation and see that you are not in this to pick fights with competitors. Competition is part of society, but it doesn’t have to hurt your business.

Next blog will be Building a Foundation in your Community. Happy photographing!