Dates: February 16-23, 2012
Location: MGM Grand, Las Vegas, NV
Value: $399 (free for SLR Lounge Writers)

(Jim Garner, WPPI 2011 presentation)

Here is what would be expected in a written article:
• Attend eight or more lectures, and write articles for at least six of  those lectures.  (There are master classes, platform classes, and trade show classes.)
• Instead of 8 Lectures, you may also interview 8 tradeshow booths with the same word and image requirements as below.
• A minimum of 500 words for each lecture, with two photos of the classroom / platform.
• Written  within 2 weeks of WPPI.

You can see some previous WPPI lecture notes here:  http://www.slrlounge.com/?s=wppi+notes

If you were already planning on attending a bunch of classes, and if you’re a dedicated, hard-working person who can follow through with article writing, then please get in touch with me!  matt (at) slrlounge is my email, of course.  We only need 3-5 writers this year, and WPPI needs to know who we will be giving the press passes to ASAP, so please get in touch if you’re interested!

Take care,
=Matt=

(Jasmine Star, WPPI 2010)

On Thursday of WPPI 2011, the convention was definitely winding down, the halls were emptying, the trade show was packing up and most of the buzz of the week had dissipated to a low murmer. Most WPPI attendees had already made for the exits and skipped the late show from Jerry and Sondra, but it was one of the more insightful and honest of the entire week. Mark Halper spoke for an hour as a guest speaker and really got down to brass tacks. I’ll cover Mark’s presentation in a separate piece as it was powerful enough to stand on it’s own.

Jerry and Sondra started the class with the ground running and covered a week’s worth of topics in a two-hour span. The class and also their consulting business centered around giving photographers tips on business strategies that would help them take their inspiration and put it into practical application to help them grow. Their approach is one of professional efficiency – polite but realisitic in what works and what doesn’t in the world of business. Here are their 15 tips for helping your business grow:

1. Find and hone your unique voice – The major separator of you from your competition is your artistic voice. If you spend all of your time trying to emulate others, you’ll get lost in their wake. Spend that time instead finding out and perfecting your vision and how to encompass your clients in that vision.

2. Act fast – ideas are the fertile soil for your artistic vision. Focus on the speed of implementation; quickly take action on your ideas. Ideas that are not acted upon end up on the œisland of lost ideas  and soon fade into regrets.

3. Establish measurable objectives - Start with the end in mind and calendar your milestones. Where do you see yourself at the end of the year? What is your stratetgy for getting there? What resources will you need? How will you gauge if you’re going to meet your goals? Make a plan and actively achieve it.

4. Involve clients in your artistic evolution - Clients are the reason for your business so make them an integral part of your inspiration. Take the time to get to know them on a personal level. Find out why their wedding is going to be different than every other wedding. What makes them special and how can you incorprate that into your artwork?

5. Invite clients to work with you, don’t sell them - In something as personal as a portrait, no one wants to feel like they’ve been œsold . They should feel proud that they have invested their time and energy working with you artistically, not like they had been sold to. Focus on making a timeless portrait and positive experience with your clients, not a sale.

6. Treat your clients like gold - Your clients are the key to your financial success, so why not treat them that way? Spend the extra time to send them personal hand-written thank you or birthday notes. Send them an unexpected surprise. Communicate with clients often to maintain close relationships.

7. Make friends in your community - The best advertising is by word of mouth; personal indorsements of your business by someone else. One of the best ways to get referrals is through other related businesses in your community. Hold special VIP events where you can invite other businesses as well as your clients. Seek out other businesses that you can offer services to. Give back to your community by volunteering your services. Strive to be THE go-to photographer that people think of because you’ve shown your business is active and a contributing part of the community.

8. Stay inspired and don’t stagnate - The number one factor in success is enthusiasm. Great ideas and excellent skills go unused without the drive to put them to work. Develop a personal project that inspires you to be creative. Think about what you would shoot if you were independently wealthy. Use that inspiration to keep you sharp and inspired in your day-to-day business projects.

9. Tell your clients what you want them to do - So many business people confuse their clients into not purchasing items by being unclear in their expecations. Are you disappointed that everyone only chooses the minimum package? Are you clearly educating your clients to the benefits of add-ons? Are you setting a clear expectation from the start with your client on what the œnormal  client would pay for a particlar session and prints? Helping the client to understand your expectations of the experiencewill greatly relieve their stress and also yours when it comes to making the purchases.

10. Learn one new techniqe each week - Mark on the calendar what new skill you will learn each week. Make it something specific and clear that you can learn and effectively implement within a week. Do you want to learn more about dramatic lighting? More about Lightroom presets? More about outdoor daylight shooting with off-camera flash? Choose topics that will help your business and will help you stay inspired. Don’t choose topics that are too large to master within a week – don’t try to learn everything about Photoshop or everything about lighting in a week.

11. Schedule an event or exhibition within the next 60 days - A deadline is a great motivator. If you know that you will need to have 20 display quality prints in the next 60 days to hang and show, you will find ways to get the business you need to make that happen.

12. Build your team - So much of someone’s success depends on who they surround themselves with. Find mentors that will inspire you to their level. Find positive peers to discuss your ideas with and help maintain your inspiration and drive. Find honest critique in people you trust to give you constructive and purposeful feedback on your direction and work. Find people to help you with the tasks that you are not skilled at so that you don’t get bogged down and frustrated.

13. Master your business tools - Become an expert in œyour  business. Know your pricelist by heart. If you can’t tell your costomers what you charge for a service simplify your price list. Keep clear and manageable records so you can understand how your business is doing in an instant. Know your key porformance indicators and how they track from month to month.

14. Master your skillset and equipment - Become a ninja with your gear. Be able to snap the shutter in a fleeting moment instead of fidgeting with the dials to find how to increase your ISO. Know that in a moment you’ll need to set your flash and bounce it off the far back right wall to get the perfect soft lighting of the bride kissing her father for the last time as his little girl. Know that on an outdoor shoot with winds above five mph you have to have the 30 pound sanbags for your lightstands. Shoot in less than perfect conditions for fun so you can do it perfectly when it counts.

15. Stay motivated - Plan for successes and failures. If you’re not failing you’re not trying hard enough. When you have successes celebrate them by making a rewards list of things you are going to do for yourself when you have a win. When things don’t go well make sure you have an objective debrief of what happened so you can succeed next time. Plan for recharge time. Plan time for yourself and your family to enjoy your successes!

Watch out for this rising star.

Kenny Kim went from corporate graphic designer to professional wedding photographer 5 years ago. But, in just the last year, he skyrocketed and:

• Became the newest Kodak speaker (1 of only 20 photographers in the world)
• Got invited to WPPI as a Master Class Speaker
• Photographed several weddings in Italy, Arubba, New Orleans, Monterey Coast, Beverly Hills, New York, Korea, Haiti (including a celebrity American Idol wedding)
• Reached 100K status on United Airlines

When you talk to the people around him and other photographers who know him, they just can’t stop saying nice things about this guy.   We’d have to agree.   He’s a great photographer with a good heart.

You can view more of Kenny Kim’s work here.

His good friend and mentor introduced Kenny Kim to the stage, the world famous, Mike Colon:

œTHIRSTY FOR INFORMATION, LEARNING MORE ABOUT PHOTOGRAPHY, MORE ABOUT PEOPLE, MAKING FRIENDS, SEEING THE WORLD.   [KENNY'S] TOOL WAS BEING A SERVANT, HELPING AND PROMOTING OTHERS. 

- MIKE COLON

Kenny started out with his confessions on being a wedding photographer:

• He was very intimidated by the industry
• He had no education in photography

He wanted to learn the industry from the beginning.   That journey led him to the front of the wedding aisle at a local bookstore to research more about the wedding world.   Once magazine outshone the rest and he picked up a copy of Grace Ormonde’s Wedding Style.   Flipping through, it seemed like all the images were taken from some photographer named Mike Colon.

So he decided to email Mike Colon himself.

œIT NEVER HURTS TO ASK. 

- KENNY KIM

After reading every single blog post and looking at all his photos, he found himself constantly communicating to Mike Colon via email and blog to ask for time to learn from him.

The opportunity came when he took one of Mike’s 4-day.   He brought a little gift bag for Mike when he attended.   He went straight to wanting to help Mike out by taking photos, blogging, and networking during the time there.   After connecting with Mike and volunteering to help out wherever he could, he met key people in the industry Skip Cohen, the President of WPPI (who offered him a free registration to WPPI), Christopher Becker,   and the Pictage President, Jeff Jochum all in 2006.

All the money he made in 2007, he invested into attending workshops.   He went to every single one: Becker, Buissink, Bell, WPPI, PartnerCon, PhotoPlus, David Jay, Gene Higa, Jesh de Rox, Jose Villa, and Mike Colon.   In the coming years, he learned from and assisted other star photographers such as Bob and Dawn Davis, took on celebrity weddings, and never gave up on learning more.

He shared what he’s learned along the way.

1 | Being personable is being professional

It is important to improve your communication skills.   Know people’s names!   Listen to them.   Read How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie.

2 | Be prompt.

When they contact you, respond right away.   The faster you respond, the better your clients will react and decide.

3 | NETWORK!

Inspired by the book Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi, Kenny constantly meets with vendors every chance he gets.   Find out their needs and see what you can do for them.   Pick up the tab.   Build a relationship first before asking for work.   People have to trust you!

4 | Don’t be afraid to ask.

He asked Bob and Dawn Davis 15 times to meet over a period of 6 months.   It took 2 weeks of persistence to get his now girlfriend to go out with him.   Persistence works.

5 | Build your FUTURE clients NOW

Build relationships.   You never know where your referrals will come from in the future.   Spend time with former and new clients.   Attend events outside of photography to meet different people.

6 | Become a specialist.

By becoming a specialist, you become more marketable and desirable.   Turn down jobs that don’t fit your specialty.   You become more desirable by saying no.

7 | Build a strong brand.

Every successful photographer has a strong brand and identity.   The quality of your work is based on the quality of your presentation, so be creative with promoting your business!

œHAVE THE BEST GEAR, BEST DRESS AND BEST BEHAVIOR.”

- KENNY KIM

After investing in good gear, being presentable and professional, remember to be positive, nice and have fun!

Other Recommendations by Kenny Kim

• Engagement sessions are now a must.
• After struggling so long with prices, he just started raising them.   The clients got prettier and nicer.
• If you can, try to attend the rehearsals.
• Meet all the important players at the wedding.   Build trust and relationship immediately.
• Take advantage of the reception by sticking around! Use the time to backup your images, network and take advantage of the power and sales for grab and grin photos.
• Stay connected and keep up with social media: Use Facebook.   Post.   Tag.   Be the first to upload photos from the wedding with some teaser photos.
• Build a good team around you.
• Continue to learn and educate yourself.
• Travel: near or far.   it brings out the artist in you.   In fact, you can join Kenny Kim on one of his PhotoVentures to Italy here.
• Give back and serve without any expectation.

œWE HAVE AN ABILITY TO GIVE BACK LIKE NO ONE ELSE CAN.”

- KENNY KIM

Kenny Kim has a servant’s heart.   That is the biggest takeaway and desirable attribute we want to have in our business, in our character.   This is the lesson that is the foundation for everything else he shared during that class.

I hope we can all learn how to apply that to our daily living.

Kenny, thank you for sharing your confessions and your lessons learned.   It was truly an inspiring class and we feel so blessed to have met and spent time with you!   Can’t wait ’til we meet again!

Article and Images by Drexelle Park of D. Park Photography

We’re David + Drexelle – high school sweethearts, complete opposites but God amazingly brought us together, 2 kids who were scared of marriage but now passionate about a lifetime committed to love, the good, the bad, the crazy, the lovely.

Our desire is to inspire a generation of people like ourselves who were jaded about love through incredible imagery that celebrates marriage: love – lifelong, lasting, and lovely.

We’re D. Park Photography.   Modern classic wedding photographers for the truly original, authentic and timeless love stories.

Who is Jim Garner?

Graduating college as a psychology major, Jim Garner turned to professional commercial photography in 1993 in Seattle.   After marrying the love of his life, the other half of his photography business, he and Katarina started a wedding photography business.   Hundreds of weddings later, Jim Garner is now known as one of American Photo Magazine’s Top 10 wedding photographers in the world.

As he changed his style from picture taker to storyteller, the creative explosion that he unveiled in this WPPI 2011 Platform Class took place.

You can view more of Jim Garner’s breathtaking work here.

His Platform Class

How can we have creative explosions in our work?

œSMILING MOMENTS ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN IMAGE PERFECTION.   STOP WORRYING ABOUT THE TECHNICAL DETAILS BUT ON HOW TO CREATE A STORY. 

- JIM GARNER

For Jim Garner, the answers are simple.   But these answers will transform your photography to the timeless and extraordinary:

1. 1. YOU MUST CREATIVELY REINVENT REGULARLY

How do you release your inner creative genius?   Jim says there are 4 ways to do just that:

• Capturing: Preserve new ideas.   Write your ideas down when you get out of bed, out of the shower.
• Surrounding: Surround yourself with interesting people and ideas.   Take a 20-minute walk.
• Challenging: Take on tough problems.   Try something new.   Join competitions.
• Broadening: Expand your knowledge.   Have an outing or adventure once/week with personal projects.   Fail!   Failure stimulates creativity.

Make sure you take lots of breaks.   Sleep on it!   Surround yourself with positive stimulation.   Record ideas AS they come to you.

1. 2. YOU SHOULD BE CREATING ART, NOT PICTURES

œWE MUST STOP LOOKING FOR PORTFOLIO MOMENTS.   THEY’LL COME NATURALLY WHEN YOU FOCUS ON STORYTELLING 10X MORE THAN YOU’LL EXPECT IF YOU FOCUS ON JUST YOUR PORTFOLIO. 

- JIM GARNER

Jim argued against being just a picture taker and becoming a storyteller.

A Picture Taker:

• Captures the image WITHOUT design intention
• Takes MANY images in a short period of time (shoots like lightning)
• Lighting consistency is NOT considered while shooting (you need continuity)
• Nowadays, he challenges himself to never use flash, off camera, or alternative lighting
• Delivers images on a disc or as individual prints
• Relies on canned poses that worked in the past (stifles creativity)
• Usually subjects look at the camera (creates a posed/portrait look)

A Storyteller:

• Captures images with the FINAL art design in mind
• Shoots quick bursts and then allow for client interaction
• Lighting is consistent during the shoot
• Delivers images in albums/enlargements.   You’ll get paid for every image you retouch.
• Relies on client experience to create the REAL expression and fun
• Most images have a candid appearance with subjects looking away from the camera
• Focus on feeling, emotion, and natural moments
• Thinks in album spreads.   An album spread with well-designed images are as, if not MORE, impactful than a single WOW shot.
• Adapts to the style of the bride (To Jim, the more affluent the bride, the more candid they want their images to be)

Jim’s first goal is always to just get everyone moving.   Jim will have the limo park 4 blocks down to see what happens as the bridal party walk on the street.   He’ll use words such as:

• œWork that! 
• œHit me with that dress! 

Let your clients play. DON’T have them redo poses.   That drains their energy.

Then, change your website to show stories, not just single photos.

1. 3. YOU MUST DELIVER ART THAT HAS LONG TERM VALUE IF YOU PLAN TO HAVE LONGEVITY IN ANY CREATIVE FIELD

By delivering art, you’re structuring your business for profit.

1. 4. YOU MUST PROPERLY IDENTIFY YOUR CLIENT – THEIR STYLE, TASTE AND VISION

1. 5. YOU MUST CREATE IMAGES THAT REPRESENT YOUR CLIENT IF YOU WANT THEM TO FIND VALUE IN THOSE IMAGES

Study your clients’ personality.   You have to be in their inner circle to influence what they do.

1. 6. YOU MUST UNDERSTAND HOW YOUR CLIENT THINKS ON AN EMOTIONAL LEVEL-WHAT MOVES THEM EMOTIONALLY

Shoot less weddings so you can put more energy to get to know your clients.

1. DEVOTE MOST OF YOUR ENERGY TO THE EXPERIENCE OF YOUR CLIENT

The real money maker is your clients’ experience.   That is what will drive the profit.

NEVER take your eyes off of your subject.   It lowers their energy.

So how do you sell this storytelling style?

Jim recommends telling your clients:

• We’re concerned with how your day unfolds.   We don’t want it to feel like a photo shoot.
• Describe different cultures.   Did you know East Indian cultures have a whole week of moments?   In Australia, they’re celebrating in the morning and afternoon.   In Europe, they have 24-hour weddings.   Why do we have in the US to be so fast-paced?
• Communicate the value of your services.   We are very expensive at $450/hour or $225/spread.
• Give it away and it will come back to you tenfold.   If you assign the value of what you give away before giving it away, it will come back to you tenfold.   You hurt yourself by discounting.   Never giveaway money.

A few more rules on getting the best experience for your clients:

• You MUST dedicate time to enhance their experience, not just time for a photo shoot.   Tell your clients:   We’re going to give you this time. It won’t feel like we’re taking photos but it’s about your experience.   It’ll be all about the beautiful time that you have on your wedding day.
• Sometimes, Jim will even pay for drinks for the whole bridal party or for the limo to have an extra 30 minutes to create an experience with his clients.
• If you want to do it, YOU MUST SHOW IT!   Jim shows the clients 2 different albums: an experiential storybook, thick and full of spreads with storylines, and then a standard book of people who don’t see each other beforehand or have the storytelling emphasis.

œSTOP LOOKING FOR PORTFOLIO SHOTS.   START SHOOTING THE STORY! 

- JIM GARNER

Applying the Lessons Learned

After just a few hours of listening to Jim Garner, we had pages of notes of what we wanted to change or enhance in our business.   We had seen the experiential style of photography with our clients and saw the amazing results but had never really pinpointed the cause: storytelling, a real WOW experience rather than focusing on a WOW image.

We’ve since changed our emphasis to storytelling, which has significantly boosted our clients’ experience and our album sales.   This stuff works.   Not only does it make a better business, it makes it THAT much more of a meaningful work of art that your bride and groom will treasure for a lifetime.

So, I leave you with Jim’s final question.

œWHAT CHANGES WILL YOU MAKE? 

- JIM GARNER

About the Author

Article and Images by Drexelle Park of D. Park Photography

We’re David + Drexelle – high school sweethearts, complete opposites but God amazingly brought us together, 2 kids who were scared of marriage but now passionate about a lifetime committed to love, the good, the bad, the crazy, the lovely.

Our desire is to inspire a generation of people like ourselves who were jaded about love through incredible imagery that celebrates marriage: love – lifelong, lasting, and lovely.

We’re D. Park Photography.   Modern classic wedding photographers for the truly original, authentic and timeless love stories.

TRY

-                   BIGFOLIO (promo code VEGAS150 – 150% off premium site)
-                   PROOFBOOKS
-                   Advertise when you rebrand
-                   You must creatively reinvent regularly
-                   You should be creating art, not pictures
-                   You must deliver art that has long term value if you plan to have longevity in any creative field
-                   You must properly identify your client – their style, taste and vision
-                   You must create images that represent our client if you want them to find value in those images
-                   You must understand how our client thinks on an emotional level-what moves them emotionally
-                   Devote most of your energy to the EXPERIENCE of our client has on their wedding day and beyond

œB B B B-B B, B B B B-B B, Go [b]ecker! 

Ok, if you were about to chant œGo Bayside!  then you and I are kindred spirits. Call me and we’ll share Saved by the Bell quotes and favorite scenes!

Alright, there will be no talk of AC Slater, Zack Morris, and Kelly Kapowski from now on in this article. Let’s talk about someone who may be an even bigger star in our photography universe, I am writing of none other than [b]ecker.

Here’s the setting: extra large conference room, extra large video cameras, two extra large screens on an extra large stage. The room was packed and excited to learn from Southern California-based wedding photographer, and founder of [b]school, [b]ecker.   With all this fanfare and regalia, the thing that I liked most about Becker, was that when he came out and began his talk, I felt so comfortable and at ease, like he was a buddy of mine and he’s chatting with me over a pint at a pub. He was downright down-to-earth and likeable.

Becker was surely in his element on this afternoon at the MGM conference facility, he was talking about two of his favorite topics: wedding photography, and helping wedding photographers. His topic today, The Big Picture:

œDo everything it takes to deliver an outstanding and remarkable experience for your clients! 

According to Becker, this is the ONLY thing that matters. His talk was full of one-liners that can be made into bumper stickers for us crazy about wedding and portrait photography.

Becker’s love for photography started in high school photographing for the Yearbook and Newspaper staffs, spending time in the high school dark rooms and photo classrooms. His passion for photography ended up being a wedding business that brought him 61 weddings on his first year alone! For those newbies out there [like me!] whose jaws just dropped and are drooling over this statistic, his success right out of the starting gate happened because of his attitude and outlook. [bumper sticker alert!]

• Think Win-Win
• Kick-ass and Take Names

Becker realized early on that being a wedding photographer was a juggling act of IIAI:

• Image – brand, reputation, who you are
• Images – your work, style, skills
• Attitude – personality, people skills
• Infrastructure – business, workflow, policies

What Becker said we need to do as new, or veteran wedding photographers is to find our balance. How do we rate in each of the IIAI categories? What is it that we really want? For Becker, what he really wanted was to have lots of clients who love him and refer him to their friends. Having this in mind, he was able to focus his business on what he calls the ABCs of success.

A – Attitude

He asked the hundreds of people in the audience about our ambition, our drive, and our determination.

œIf you’re really passionate about this – - – JUST DO IT! 

Attitude not only means our own attitude toward our business, but also toward our clients. As he learned from some great photographers before him, he urged us to, œtreat regular people like celebrities and celebrities like regular people. 

B – Branding

According to Becker, this is our most valuable asset. Your branding sends a clear, positive message to the world. It is a person’s perception of who you are, and this is what lives in the consumer’s mind. His best advice about branding? [b] consistent! It’s what branding is all about!

C – Connection

The last element of success for Becker is your connection with clients, other vendors, and the œcompetition.  With no excuses, buts, or umms, your clients should always rave about you! Your connections will keep your datebooks full and your CF cards even fuller! One of his best words of advice for surviving this game? Have a photo BFF. In Becker’s words, œWho are your peeps? Who will back you up? Help you out?  Have 4 or 5 friends in your town who you can rely on and trade referrals with you.

Becker’s big game is in REFERRALS!

His number one source for referrals are from past clients, with referrals from other photographers coming in a close second. Here’s Becker’s formula:

1. Turn prospects into clients
2. Turn clients into raving fans!
3. Raving fans give referrals
4. Repeat as often as possible

Simple enough right? How can this be done? How does the venerable Becker do it? Keep in mind that the satisfied customer is no longer enough. You need to make sure that every last detail must be memorable and this can be done by focusing on the whole experience. To be completely honest, taking great photos is not his number one goal at a wedding. It is to make sure that the bride and groom are having an amazing time!

What I loved most about my morning with Becker, was that his passion radiated from every pore of his being. This passion ignited such an exciting buzz around the meeting room.

So much info to take in, right? Here’s the Cliff’s Notes version that you need to write on a Post-it note and stick on your computer monitor right now. Go and get the Post-it note and a pen. I’ll wait here.

Got it? Good.

Write this down:

[b]ecker’s [b]asic success formula:

1. Take killer photos

2. Develop your brand

3. Deliver an experience

4. Cultivate relationships

Excellent! Thanks for the fun inspiration [b]ecker!

Lindsay Chavez is a wedding and portrait photographer based out of Southern California.

View her site and blog at www.lindsaychavezphoto.com.

Be her friend on facebook www.facebook.com/linzchav

Follow her on twitter @linztakespics