Wedding Rack Card

Posted on April 11, 2014 by Kaia Calhoun

I connected with The Armory in Janesville and am now one of their featured wedding photographers! I chose to connect with this venue in particular because I love the charm of the brick, historic building and I simply won’t beat the proximity to my home!

This new connection meant I needed to get some materials printed for them to put in the folders they give their couples. I chose this simple card as to give these couples the eye candy and some basic information without overwhelming them. The idea is that if they like what they see on the card they will inquire with questions or to book me for their wedding.

Bring it on The Armory brides and grooms! Looking forward to connecting with you!

RACK CARD FRONT

RACK CARD BACK

Graphic Design | Welcome Packet

Posted on May 9, 2013 by Kaia Calhoun

I’ve been collecting various marketing components all year. I started out with temporary solutions in every category until I could put my efforts into creating something unique and personal.

One of my most important pieces in my branding material is my welcome packet and the items I include in that. It is important because they are all the answers to any questions my clients usually have about a session. What should we wear? What props should we bring? What else do you need from us?

To my wedding clients I sent out a card with my “Style Tips” and “Photographer’s Checklist” postcards and a basic, handwritten greeting card. To all of my portrait clients I simply email the “Style Tips” PDF to them after they complete the contract and deposit.

To design these post cards I stuck with my design model: simple, natural, and colorful. To over complicate design makes it harder to read and messy. I decided I would stick to my two regular fonts for the little variety I wanted, my logo, and my colors. My natural component is the handwritten card and the envelope. My card is a natural brown like my disc packaging and the envelope is a stark white to go with my website (it is also the neutral color in my chosen color palette). And, since I have had my color palette all sorted out for several months now, choosing colors was easy. I had six choices to work with: stark white, natural brown, yellow-orange, rust red, leafy green, and sea blue. I always keep the yellow in the mix because that is my main color and then I chose the green because I liked the way that would pair with the yellow and I didn’t use it in my marketing materials yet.

A full blog post of what the whole Wedding Welcome Packet looks like will be coming soon 🙂

10 Things a Photographer Should Not Do

Posted on February 12, 2013 by Kaia Calhoun

Do not…

Spend too much time thinking about your gear. Equipment is important, but it is not the core of photography. In fact, I think it is good for every photographer to learn how to work well under the challenge of cheaper equipment. Remember, ultimately only photographing makes you a better photographer.
Leave your camera at home. To drive this incentive home for me I have committed to “a Photo a Day” and am working towards getting a Kelly Moore purse so I literally always have my camera on my person.
Forget to fuel your creativity. It is good to have a repertoire of “go to” ideas when you are stumped but you will only improve as you let your creativity continue to flow and the best way to do that is to be seeking for new ideas at every shoot. If you need help I suggest trying new lenses, new locations, or do some online research for new poses and great artwork to get your juices flowing. Remember, you want to separate yourself from your competition.
Ignore the value of your copyright. If your copyrights are not valuable, why are people working so hard to get them?
Take every assignment. The best photographers find their niche and build on that. At the beginning I found it valuable to take a little bit of everything. In my opinion, how else are you going to find our what you like and what you’re really good at? But as soon as you find that niche hone in on it.
Ignore the math. Are your expenses higher than your income? You can only do so much work so be sure you are charging enough per session.
Ignore blogging. Blogging is the most “Google friendly” way to get your material out there. I’ve found frequency to be the key. CLICK HERE for more info on how to blog for your business.
Ignore social media. Social media are the best ways to share your work with the world, especially if you get a network of friends supporting your work enthusiastically.
Think you can fix everything by editing. The bottom line of a great photographer is getting the lighting and the settings right first and only using editing programs like Lightroom and Photoshop to spruce it up.
Stop learning. Always be researching your field and looking for new ways to advance your work. Look at art, look at other photographer’s work, and look into all areas of your business and continually seek improvement. You will never know everything.

5 STEPS TO SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHING YOUR BLOG AND GETTING NOTICED

Posted on February 5, 2013 by Kaia Calhoun

5 STEPS TO SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHING YOUR BLOG AND GETTING NOTICED

DAY 1: Have several posts ready and ask for feedback.
Get recognition from other bloggers by carefully selecting who you want to connect with, make your request personal, and then comment or link back to their material.
Get involved in commenting on other blogs.
Encourage comments and trackbacks with provocative posts, by asking for input, and by making the process generally easy (no cumbersome forms), inviting (not letting discussion turn sour), and rewarding (respond personally to your commenters and trackbacks).
Maintain a presence by commenting like crazy on posts that others write, using Google groups to raise awareness about your blog, linking to other blogs, and getting your blog address out there by attaching it to all emails and adding it to your marketing materials.