Monthly Archives: February 2011

New Services: Portfolio + Branding reviews

So my colleague Jamie over at Cowbelly Pet Photography and I have spent many months pondering some way to help pet photographers that aren’t able to make it to our Passport Workshops or who DO make it to our workshop but want more personal attention from us to ask specific questions about their photos or their business name, brand etc. Although Jamie and I both offer consulting services, we find that we get many of the same general questions over and over, and we often have the same answers. So we set about to come up with some way to answer these questions for more people, while keeping the cost affordable and also maintaining our ability to shoot and work with our regular clients (ie not spend our entire work lives answering emails). Well folks we’ve found it!  Portfolio Reviews care of Jamie, Branding Reviews care of yours truly!

Here’s the bullet-point deets on the postcard I whipped up for Jamie to hand out at WPPI tomorrow {if you’re going to her Masterclass be sure to grab one!}

These online reviews will be offered in PDF form, dressed-up with Cowbelly or dane + dane branding and chock-full of valuable information for YOUR business, all done through email, from your home, your “day job” or just about anywhere you have access to email. Unlike generic PDFs you can buy on photography, these reviews will be specific to you and your business (based on a whole gang of questions we ask of you ahead of time). We are confident this is the perfect way to help you move forward with your photography, your business and your brand as a whole – and we are SO excited to finally make these services available to you!

I should note that based on the feedback we’ve already received (and the list of emails we’ve already got for people waiting for these services) we expect our schedules to fill fast. Please keep that in mind and contact us well ahead of your hard deadlines so we can fit you in. We will only be conducting a limited number of reviews at one time, and we will each be conducting them personally, so there may be multi-week wait-times as we move forward, but we are dedicated to providing you with the most personal and complete information possible and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

NOTE: WE ARE ACCEPTING APPLICANTS IMMEDIATELY BUT REVIEWS WILL BEGIN AFTER MARCH 1st WHEN REGISTRATION FOR THE PASSPORT WORKSHOP OPENS.

To read more about Jamie’s extensive Portfolio Reviews – read her blog post about it here.

To read more about the custom Branding Reviews I will be offering… here’s the detailed information you can now find on the Brand Me page of this blog + some sample images from a PDF similar to what you will receive with your Branding Review…

By popular demand dane + dane is now offering a limited number of Pet Photography Branding Reviews every month. These reviews are offered on a first-come, first-served basis to pet photographers who need a jump-start or a refresher for their branding efforts.

What is it?

Nichole will spend several hours personally evaluating your new or existing brand, and will provide you with a multiple-page PDF containing the following personalized information based on her analysis:

  • Icon: In-depth review of your new or existing logo design or comps
  • Information: The 5 most essential brand secrets + ways for you to make minimal changes for maximum impact
  • Impression: Business name / tag line assistance: helping you pick one that sticks + sets you apart
  • Identity: Expanding your brand beyond your logo

Also covered: What is a brand and why is it important, quick psychology of color + insider tips to help you pick or revise your color story, determining your target market, font selections for print + web, Nichole’s favorite resources for stylish + affordable printing / packaging.

Here are a few sample pages from the PDF – the areas blurred are the most valuable little tidbits and will be based on your unique business, questions, goals and challenges…

The dane + dane Branding Review is based on years of Nichole’s pet business consulting {as well as her own experience in the general pet industry, and the pet photography industry as well} and covers the nearly every commonly asked branding question – as it pertains specifically to pet photographers.  In order to make the process more affordable, the Branding Review is conducted entirely via email.  Additional correspondence + consulting services are available at additional cost.

\What does it cost?

Each review is $350, payable upon acceptance of your application. If you’re participating in Jamie’s Portfolio Review it is possible to purchase both services {Branding Review from dane + dane and Portfolio Review from Cowbelly} for $650. You may purchase these services as a bundle from either Jamie or Nichole by contacting us at: info@passportworkshops

How does it work? 5 easy steps!

1. Email me with subject line “Brand Me” and tell me a little about you and your business. The more information you can provide about where you’re at and what you’re hoping to accomplish, the better.

2. If we determine that our services will be a good fit for you and your business, we will respond with our current review schedule and include a Branding Review Agreement.  This agreement outlines the process and provides us with even more information about you, your goals, your aesthetic and your existing or ideal brand.

3. Fill out the Agreement and either email it back.

4. Make payment in full for the Branding Review. There are three options for doing this:

a) Paypal. We can send you an invoice, or you can send payment to nichole@jnichole.com.

b) Credit or debit card. Nichole can call you for your credit or debit card number and process the payment that way.

c) Check. You can mail a check along with your Branding Review agreement to our studio address {provided upon request}

5. Within 10 business days you will receive your completed Branding Review PDF. {We may have more questions for you along the way, in which case, we will email you!}

Simple as that.

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Posted in Passport: pet photography workshop, Uncategorized, graphic design Tags: , ,

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2011 PASSPORT WORKSHOP

We’re finally ready to announce details for our 2011 Passport Pet Photography Workshop!  Thanks for your patience – as many of you know, both Jamie and I have had pretty nutty lives/schedules since our first Passport collaboration in August in NYC. We are so, so thrilled to announce that our last U.S. workshop will take place in sunny San Diego in May!

Read-on for more details and rest assured, we’re in the process right now of finishing up the new passportworkshops.com web site which will go live before registration opens March 1.

* * *

PASSPORT WORKSHOP:

Date: May 13th-15th, 2011. Friday morning through Sunday night.

(1-day Commercial Workshop Monday May 16th- more on that below).

Location: San Diego! Hotel TBD.

Content: Detailed course outline will include photography (both studio and location), branding, marketing, pricing, sales, business basics, photo processing, gear, and work-flow.

Teachers: Jamie Pflughoeft (Cowbelly Pet Photography) and me,  J. Nichole Smith (dane + dane studios).

Cost: $1695

Includes: Intensive, hands-on workshop (including lecture, mock client-shoot + practice shoots with instructors) lunches, snacks and beverages each day, 90-page workbook, resource CD filled with Cowbelly and dane + dane forms, all instruction and goodie bag. Does not include lodging, parking or transportation to and from workshop.

Registration opens: Tuesday March 1st, 2011.

Registration deadline: Friday March 18th. All registration fees are due at the time of registration. Because of the limited availability of seats and high demand for the workshops, spaces will not be held. Based on past registration, we expect the workshop to fill very quickly.

This will be our last Passport workshop stateside.

PASSPORT 1-DAY COMMERCIAL / EDITORIAL WORKSHOP:

Date: Monday May 16th. 8 hours.

Location: San Diego! Hotel TBD.

Content: photography, marketing, pricing, business ethics, agencies and organizations to use, and other aspects of photographing pets commercially.

Teachers: Jamie Pflughoeft (Cowbelly Pet Photography) and J. Nichole Smith (dane + dane studios).

Cost: $1195

Includes: lunch, snacks and beverages, 20-page pdf resource guide, all instruction, commercial photography books, and goodie bag with fun stuff from our sponsors. Does not include lodging, parking or transportation to and from workshop.

Registration opens: Tuesday March 1st, 2011.

Registration deadline: Friday March 18th. All registration fees are due at the time of registration. Because of the limited availability of seats and high demand for the commercial workshop, spaces will not be held.

Spaces available: 8 maximum

* * *

Passport Workshop Q & A:

Q. Where in San Diego will this take place?

A: We’re not sure yet! We are weighing our options as we speak. What we can tell you is that it will be held in the city of San Diego, as opposed to a suburb or outlying area.

Q: What is the difference between the Passport and Seattle Cowbelly Workshop?

A: The location for one, the items mentioned above for two, and the fact that the content of the Passport workshop is applicable to both beginners and intermediate photographers. There is also an overview of studio work, which dane + dane is experienced in, but Cowbelly is not. The Cowbelly workshop is designed strictly for beginning photographers and business owners. (see below).

Q. Can I register early?

A. Unfortunately no. To make things fair for everyone, early registration won’t be allowed.

Q. When is payment due?

A. The registration fee is due in full at the time of registration. We have a refund policy to allow for cancellations and also allow photographers to find another person to take their spot should something come up.

Commercial Workshop Q & A:

Q. Who is this workshop designed for?

A. Intermediate and advanced PET photographers. In other words, those who have solid experience photographing pets professionally (for profit). Those who have good technical mastery of their camera, and have been running businesses for long enough to understand the complexities of contractual negotiations, ethics in photography, and legal ramifications involved in working for corporations. We’ll expect each applicant to reply with an emphatic “absolutely” to the following statement: ”You feel confident in your abilities to produce outstanding shots in any situation with any pet under any lighting conditions given any shot list. Your technical skills are excellent.” We are very strict on who we allow into the commercial workshop, and would rather have an unfilled, small group than be training those who aren’t ready for the legal and business risks doing this kind of work inherently carries. If once you read the information online on the commercial workshop you’d like to attend but aren’t sure if it’s right for you, give us a shout and we’ll help you figure it out.

Q. Will there be discounts given on this workshop if you register for the Passport weekend?

A. Unfortunately no. Because of the extremely competitive nature of commercial pet photography work, and the potential for high revenue photographers stand to make with this information, there will be no discounts on the registration fee for the 1-day commercial workshop.

Q. Where will the commercial pet photography workshop take place?

A. Same location as the San Diego workshop- exact location TBD.

General:

Q: When will the websites be updated?

A: This month! Jamie and I will both be in Vegas at WPPI the week of the 21st, but we are planning to have the websites completely updated with all of the information live before March 1st.

Q: Will there be discounts on the hotels in Seattle and San Diego?

A: Yes! If you book at the hotels we are holding the workshops at, you will get a very nice discount, and also have the option of rooming with your fellow attendees. Of course, you are welcome to stay wherever you like if you have your own rewards program, but we will give each attendee information on how to book at our hotels with our group code after they register. The most important thing is to register first!

Q. Where will you be teaching in 2012?

A. Haven’t gotten there yet and don’t plan to until late 2011! What we can tell you is we have no plans to return to cities where workshops have been held recently- those cities include: Santa Monica, CA, Boston MA, NYC, Atlanta GA, Austin TX, Chicago IL, and Los Angeles.

Q. Where will future Passport Workshops take place? I remember reading something about them going overseas.

A. After 2011 we plan to take the Passport show on the road- hence the name- Passport. Out next destinations will be London, England or Australia. Those who are in those areas, we could use your help. The more of you who are interested in these countries, the better the chances we’ll come to your area. It looks likely that Australia will be the next stop on the itinerary, and if you are an Aussie getting this email, you can bet we’ll need your help! The planning that will go into a workshop like this will be HUGE, and we’ll take all of the support that we can get. Once we are done with the 2011 workshop we’ll start talking about what 2012 might look like.

* * *

Ok, whew, that’s it! That’s all we know right now! We’ll cover all of the details in the upcoming weeks, and you can keep yourself updated by following these websites:

http://www.cowbellyblog.com/category/workshops/

http://www.facebook.com/CowbellyPetPhotography

Thanks again for your patience photographers and we hope to meet you this year!

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Destination: Paris, France

Our decision to make a day-trip to Paris was more of an afterthought than anything… Upon researching train routes {since I’d never been on a train I was determined to find at least one good excursion…} I discovered that Paris is only 4hrs. from London by rail. Ok, so perhaps I am a bit slow, but how come no one told me it was that easy to get from London to Paris?? Obviously at that point, there was absolutely no way we could miss the chance to go. Originally our plans included only a whirlwind day day-trip, and a night-train home, but then fortuitously, days before our departure, Jetsetter popped up with a delicious sale at the Hotel le Bellechasse {an incredible Saint Germain hotel designed head-to-toe by French fashion designer Christian Lacroix}- done, and done.

By the end of our adventure we took a moment to do the math {not our strong suit but luckily the numbers were far easier than the conversion rates we’d been calculating} and we realized of the 24 hours we’d had in Paris, we spent 13 walking/sightseeing, 4 sleeping, 3 arguing with an insolent French concierge, 3 eating/drinking/cabbing and one precious hour at the Louvre – at least 98% of this time was spent in a state of near-hypothermia, which actually makes it all the more memorable… the sights, sounds and smells of the City of Light are seared into our sense-memory like frost-bite.

Without further ado – notre voyage à Paris….

  1. Night before: attempting French with helpful iPhone ap: s’il vous plaît, merci!
  2. 7:30 train station breakfast: eggs + prosciutto, toast and fresh mint tea
  3. My first ever train ride… sunrise over French countryside= beyond compare.
  4. French graffiti-stained tunnel walls
  5. Gare du Nord
  6. cold. cold. cold. frickin’ cold
  7. EPIC staircase over 300′ straight up
  8. Sacré Coeur against a flawless French sky
  9. First glimpse of the “Tour Eiffel” and all the rest of Paris sprawled below
  10. Metallic mimes
  11. Lost in Montmartre
  12. Moulin de la Galette
  13. Accidentally stumbling upon the Amélie grocery: Au Marche de la Butte… Collignon!
  14. Moulin Rouge {very underwhelming}
  15. Amy’s sporadic French Tourette’s: la boulangerie!
  16. Vespas everywhere, but no riders
  17. Dog poo everywhere, but no dogs
  18. Open-air double-decker: sunshine and ice
  19. Champs-Élysées, Arc de Triomphe, Place de la Concorde
  20. George Washington near the Trocadero {represent!}
  21. Finally, la Tour Eiffel! Second-level: Awe, Appreciation, Photos, Frost-bite
  22. Sunset over the Siene
  23. Parting is such sweet sorrow: Twilight view of the tower from below
  24. //hats off// services at Notre Dame: Gorgeous, Gothic, Ghostly
  25. Statues, candles, deep choral sounds of French devotion echo in ten-stories
  26. Captivating chandeliers: unearthly light absorbed into ancient stone
  27. Kneeling on the cold stone for the shot… and feeling compelled to stay on my knees
  28. Find Peter, Find food
  29. Parisians smoking outside= Good choice for dinner
  30. Bistrot la Grange: A pint of Leffe, a dozen escargot, a bottle of 2003 Château Garreau Bordeaux, chilly crème brûlée and an English server who named our snails after the Beatles
  31. Belly full of mushroom risotto { Supreme Poultry}, burger + frites {and the best mayo in history} and un-pasteurized cow cheese with French bread.
  32. Friendly cabbie, nice surprise
  33. Hotel La Bellechasse: Splendid.
  34. Tiny but impeccable room, wall and ceiling murals by Christian Lacroix – like being in a diorama
  35. Chilled vodka shots with lemon {followed by mint gum, a fine choice!}
  36. Giant Chanel ad on the Musée d’Orsay. Only in Paris
  37. Discovering the disco-ball Eiffel Tower – every hour on the hour?
  38. Louvre at night. Silent. Cold. Breathtaking.
  39. Long exposure moon= midnight sun.
  40. Walk to the tower, no cab to the tower, no walk… man it’s cold out here… ok cab.
  41. 12:00zm Eiffel Tower two-minute sparkle show, then lights-out
  42. Champs-Élysées: Hole in the wall bar for drinking, hole in the floor bathroom for peeing
  43. 2am: back to the hotel, 2 comfy twin beds for three, concierge drunk on power, gendarmes useless for non-French speakers
  44. 4 precious hours of sleep, one extra because of the time difference
  45. Sunrise over the Siene
  46. One hour Louvre mission: Mona Lisa, Winged Victory, Venus de Milo – go!
  47. Postcards from the train station… back to London.

* * *




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Destination: London, England

One of the many wonderful bits that came back with me from this trip was a habit of short-hand “happy thoughts” journaling. This cheerful listing evolved mostly from writing down fond memories in bullet-points instead of paragraphs in an effort to write as fast as possible, thus documenting the most important details before they slipped form our mind’s view. But also, Amy once kept a numbered “happy thoughts” journal and I found the idea both appealing conceptually and surprisingly easy in practice – so that is how I intend to convey our trip to you: with photos and happy thoughts.  If you’re interested in seeing Amy’s experiences, visit her London blog here. {Although be warned, there’s a lot of cross-over, we were pretty much together for every minute of every day, so you’ll see a lot in common in our recollections :) }

And with that, I’ll start at the beginning…

  1. Friendly-face: meeting long-time pen-pal in person, for the first time. Surreal.
  2. City and Colour: “I’ve seen a palace in London, I’ve seen a castle in Wales”
  3. Our first British meal: waffles
  4. Discovering just how perfect our flat was, and how it smelled delightfully of fabric softener
  5. Discovering that the aforementioned “perfect” flat did not, at the moment, have hot water
  6. Aldgate East tube station only blocks away
  7. Aldgate East tube station closed for “works”
  8. Tube map *gorgeous*
  9. Mind the Gap
  10. Piccadilly – an old, pint-sized Times Square
  11. Peroni: cold + delicious
  12. Pizza with a hole in the middle + salad inside and one very ambitious little tomato
  13. Strata: laughing, wine drinking, embarrassing story sharing, limoncello shot taking
  14. At last, sleep.
  15. 8am. Loud construction. “London is awake and so am I”
  16. Rain. “London is wet and so am I”
  17. First ever taste of bennie @ BAFTA - so good the calories don’t matter.
  18. Covent Garden, Trafalgar square, National Portrait Gallery, Big Ben, London Eye
  19. Lensbaby graffiti
  20. Realizing when you don’t tip for service, you typically have to pay before you get any
  21. Girl Guides
  22. Attempts to figure out the all-in-one washer dryer next to the dishwasher, under the sink
  23. Hairdryer + wet shoes = warm wet shoes
  24. two little black dresses + one “pimp”
  25. Comedy Store “Save the Rhino” – Spiffing good time!
  26. Tequila + “Dark Knights” @ Planet Hollywood, our last resort
  27. Red phone booth + Double-decker ride= shelter from downpour
  28. Ridiculous self-portraits
  29. Gigantic puddle splashing
  30. 4am Beastie Boys
  31. Still no hot water
  32. Petrol
  33. Sunset at the Brighton Pier
  34. The Great Eastern – Hoegaarden with orange + jenga
  35. Damien Rice: Volcano
  36. Ketchup on Lasagna, Jackets, Welsh rarebit and more Peroni
  37. Digestive biscuits
  38. Trying to explain S’mores to Mark and Adam
  39. Trying to make S’mores… digestives for grahams, in the back of Adam’s car while driving. Mmm butane
  40. Poorly-lit videos of S’more attempts and bad accents
  41. Foxes and roundabouts
  42. Frantic dash for mystery-train
  43. Sleep.  Sleep. Hot water repair man. Sleep.
  44. Post-shower trifecta: heated towel racks, heated mirrors, radiant floors
  45. Tower Bridge at night. Spectacular.
  46. Frozen, frozen hands
  47. { PARIS }
  48. Stuffed chicken and Egyptian Ratscrew at Carnival
  49. Mimosas + a fond farewell to our flat
  50. Hotel Teddington = Jen + Mike
  51. Ascending narrow, narrow, winding circular stairwell with big heavy bags = comedy
  52. The Bell, Free House
  53. Bambi Burgers + camera talk
  54. Windsor Castle followed by Sunday Pub roast {and chilli puffs}
  55. Banoffee Pie
  56. Southland via itunes
  57. the Tower tour a la Beefeater
  58. Crown Jewels and Ravens in cages
  59. More French Macaroons {thanks Paul}
  60. Keep Calm, Carry On
  61. Tube to Marylebone, Train to Gobowen
  62. { WALES }
  63. Authentic fish + chips
  64. Rudest bus driver, perhaps rudest British man… ever, like in history
  65. Terminal 1, Heathrow International Airport









Thank you to Mike + Jen our gracious hosts and Adam our patient tour-guide/photographer/chauffeur — London would not have been nearly as entertaining, comfortable, memorable or hilarious without you. xoxox

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Hello 2011, you smell like freedom

I should preface this post by saying that this is the back-story for the next few posts {London, Paris, Wales and Iceland} – it’s not really about New Years at all. This is partly because I am not really a fan of holidays that include fireworks… but mostly because it was my trip to Europe late in the month of January that was the most remarkable part of the new year.

In August of 2010, just after three weeks in New York {teaching a workshop and then working the gift show for Dog is Good } I thought to myself… “come January I am really going to need a vacation. I think, what I am going to do is just set the dates, walk into an airport, pick somewhere, get on a plane, and disappear for two weeks by myself.”

I thought about the places I might choose, perhaps somewhere warm and isolated, perhaps somewhere far and foreign, and then it hit me: London. I’ve never been, I’ve always wanted to go, and best of all, I have friends there I really should visit.

Fast forward one day, and I get a text from my friend/colleague/fellow dane + dane photographer Amy:

Amy: “Hey, is there any way you would consider going to London with me in January?”

Me: “Um, random… Yes!”

Amy: “Really???”

Me: “Yeah I had JUST decided I wanted to go there in January. I was thinking later in the month, like 1.20-1.30?”

Amy: “I’m SO in”

Me: “Me too! Let’s DO it”

And that was that. Two weeks later we had airline tickets {booked through REI adventures, who were awesome, by the way} and thanks to a stellar deal from IcelandAir, we had a 3 day layover in Reykjavik on our way back from the UK.

You’re thinking “Iceland, in January??” {which, by the way, is exactly what I said when Amy suggested we stay there for a few days} but after some google searches I saw breathtaking image after breathtaking image of the blue lagoon, the Northern Lights, puffins, glaciers and geysers and I was fully on board.

* * *

The following weeks and months ended up being rather surprising and life changing for me. Only a few short days later, on Labor Day, my wonderful boyfriend Colin asked permission from my dad the old-fashioned way and then proposed to me out at Seabrook. We immediately set a date {9.10.11} and began planning our wedding there by the ocean. Life was good, business was busy and the holidays rapidly approached.

Come November, two months, dozens of shoots, and a trip to Vegas, L.A. and Mexico later, my major deadlines had been met, Colin was off to India on business and I had a few days to myself with the dogs. I can’t explain exactly what happened, but basically I had an awakening of sorts. At the end of a week spent mostly editing images, starting work on a screenplay I’ve been dreaming up for a few years, spending many hours with friends I hadn’t seen much of in months and generally being still and quiet {those of you who know me know this isn’t a common occurrence} I came to the incredibly shocking and painful realization that I wasn’t on the right path. Once I was aware of this reality it was impossible and insane to ignore… and from there I embarked on the most difficult two weeks of my life to-date, over the course of which, everything changed.

By the time 2011 arrived I was no longer planning a wedding, I was no longer living at home and all I could think about was the trip I had so casually scheduled with Amy months ago… and all I wanted was for it to come sooner. After some arm-twisting {thank you for humoring me Amy} and flight finagling {thanks for your help Dan}, we upped our departure date from Jan. 20 to Jan. 13. Looking back, I am so very, very glad we did.

I spent my last stateside nights at Jamie’s doing a bit of workshop planning, had one last delicious American breakfast with friends {and a round of bloody marys} and then, as if in a dream, we were reclining with at 10,000 feet, destination: London/Heathrow.

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