WOW tour and Beyond....

Greetings, friends! I’m just back from the city by the Bay (San Francisco) after the WOW Tour, and I have to say, it’s one of my favorite places to visit! With us on this leg of the tour were Curt Littlecott, Kavan Lee, and Hanson Fong. As always, Curt brought his brand of high voltage fashion/wedding fusion photography to a pumped up group. We were honored to have a true master join us for the first time in Hanson Fong, who was accompanied by rising star, Kavan Lee. Kavan and Hanson share a wonderful student/mentor relationship, and brought a daylong program to a group of both veteran and novice photographers. Though it was his debut speaking engagement, Kavan was a true professional. He talked a lot about the business side of running a successful studio. His advice? By making the most of your time with clients, utilizing package pricing, and focusing on your communication skills, you can positively impact your bottom line. He also illustrated how age-old principles in lighting and posing techniques can make all the difference in the world in today’s digital marketplace.

Speaking of just that, the master, Hanson Fong, really drove that message home. Hanson spent considerable time sharing what he has learned over his stellar, 30-plus years in photography. Aside from his astounding talent, what struck me the most was how much he relies on his technical ability and real world knowledge of classic portraiture. According to Hanson, lighting and posing are key to capturing beautiful, saleable images. ‘Capturing an image that’s going to blow away the client is not something that happens in Photoshop. Setting up the shot and getting it right in camera is what separates the great images from the merely good ones. Having that ability is essential in today’s competitive climate. During the seminar Hanson broke it down to the basics, demonstrating with hands on posing and lighting instruction for the attendees. According to Hanson, these simple, yet critical skills are more important than ever, and the foundation for being a true professional photographer. Hanson and Kavan both realize that today’s photographers are competing in a market against “Suzy Soccer-mom” and “Uncle Harry.” Holding fast to the fundamentals is crucial to surviving their impact.

Now that tradeshow season is over, we’re beginning to think ahead to next year already at Albums Inc. My focus will be preparing the 2008 catalog, and stocking it full of the products that our clients are looking for to run their businesses. It’s always a challenging task, but one that I take very seriously. So, if there’s something out there that you’re looking for, drop me a line and let me know. Or send me an email at mcardello@albumsinc.com.

We’re always here to help you find what you need to stay on top!

Ciao, Miche

Welcome to Michelle's Albums Chat!

Welcome to the AI 360 blog section! Here at Albums Inc., we've always prided ourselves on our relationships: the relationships that we have with our vendors in the industry; the relationships between our employee owners; and, most importantly, the relationships that we have with you, our valued clients. I've grown up in this industry and I'm proud to be one of the many second-generation employees of the AI family. So, the AI blogs are a modern, technology-induced means of keeping those relationships strong. Especially today, when change is all around us, it's good to share, discuss and stay current with what's new and now!

In the last several years, we've all seen a tremendous amount of change in our industry: some good; some maybe not so good; and some we're not quite sure whether it's good or bad just yet. We have also seen astounding innovation in technology, which has been both part of the evolution and revolution shaping photography today.

I have the distinct pleasure of meeting and having wonderful relationships with many of our industry's best and brightest talents. From industry legends, like Hanson Fong, who I just met, to Kavan Lee, an emerging talent, I get to meet some amazing and inspiring artists. My job here at AI takes me to many events across the country. National events, such as Imaging USA (yes, I got stuck, too) and state events, like TPPA/Southwestern Convention in Arlington, Texas. Even across the pond to the mother of all shows, Photokina. Through all of my travels, I'm always struck by all of the wonderful people I meet and the amazing relationships that have come as a result.

One of our latest adventures at Albums Inc. is the 2007 WOW tour. Our very own west coast "sunshine" ambassador, Brenda Harper, came to me with the idea of doing an educational tour. Okay, so I must admit, I was a bit hesitant at first, but after listening to her and recognizing that photographers are hungry for information on how to navigate the changing tides of "digital photography"...well, I thought, what the heck, let's see what we can do to help. So, after hopping a plane to Los Angeles, I met with a group of local California photographers and had a round table discussion. The goal was to bring real, practical knowledge on everything from marketing and branding... and Photoshop (the kind that does not involve spending 20 hours designing!!)... to running a studio from a-z and, at the end of the day, still be PROFITABLE!! We tried to bring together new talents, like San Diego photographer and Lensbabiologist, Lisa Smith, to Master Photographer and internationally renowned legend, Hanson Fong. The WOW tour began on February 26, 2007 in North Hollywood, California at Calumet's state of the art center. WPPI 2006 Grand Photography Award recipient Curt Littlecott gave a daylong class on everything from album design to marketing a successful studio. The second day Oscar Afsahi taught his mastery of Corel Painter to a group of photographers. What impressed me about both Oscar and Curt was how everything they taught came down to the very practical idea of making it work for your business. Or in other words, how to meld the art and craft of photography into a profitable business model in today's rapidly changing landscape.

WOW is starting out in California and runs through September of 2007. Along each stop, we'll be sharing part of our adventure with you through photos and fun stories (like having cocktails after Curt's seminar became a sighting of Al Pacino!!). And if all goes well, we might take WOW across the country in 2008!! My travel companions, Brenda, Nicole (my assistant and sister), and Patrick Bates, our co-sponsor from Bay Photo Lab, and I sure had a blast! We met some awesome photographers! It was fantastic to see people excited and engaged, talking and sharing what it is they love about what they do. I gotta tell you, it was great to be a part of that!

So, with that, my friends, I'll sign off. My next adventure takes me to Las Vegas for WPPI, Atlanta, Georgia for SEPPA, and then to San Francisco for the second session of the WOW tour. I hope to see some of you along the way!

Ciao,
Miche Cardello