Take & Talk Pics

Monday Message 010 – The Snooze Button

“Just 5 more minutes” Rob thinks to himself, as he rolls over. His phone, rudely blaring, interrupts the perfect dream.

BEEP- BEEP- BEEP- BEEP-

“nooo” he utters, thinking about his dream, being keynote speaker at WPPI 2016.

Swipe. Such a simple move to earn a bit more time of rest, no work, no problems, and an overwhelming guilt trip for wasting that time.

So many of us do it though. We sneak by reality and think we just earned something because we are tired. There are enough things happening day to day to justify the 15 minute crave for rest each morning.

At what cost? I would argue one of the worst parts of my day are those brief moments in the morning; that transition from laying down snoring my brains out to sitting up rubbing my eyes.

It is one of the worst parts to my day!

If I hate waking up so much why do I hit the snooze 3-4 times? It doesn’t make sense.

I hate it… let’s do that 4 times.

Now Photo World is this Monday Message really about waking up each morning? Did I really just spend the last 4 minutes to tell you about a 12 second routine I conquer each morning? – No. I want you to understand how often we hit the Snooze Button in our business every single day. I know I do it all the time and I feel like there is a later time where I can pick up the slack. 10 weeks ago I started the Monday Message and introduced many of you to the book “Do the Work”. I would like to take a second and remind you that nothing gets done if you don’t put in the time. Nothing gets done well if you do not do the work… all the work. We find these excuses in our business- these Snooze Buttons. It is a way to blame everything else for our mishaps in our systems.

I don’t care if it is family, friends, a job, a prior commitment, or anything else we can justify reasoning for our lack of commitment to a job task… By blaming others you give up the power to change. Change and therefore grow.

Tomorrow when you wake… and I will do this too set your alarm, turn off the Snooze Button option, wake up on that first try and spring out of bed. Find a mirror and smile at you. Say out loud “by blaming others I give up the power to change.” Acknowledge that change is good and you are ready to do something today without hitting that Snooze Button.

Just one day is all I ask in this challenge. As silly as you may feel and tired as you might be; do this and as you look back on your day before you go to sleep reflect on your day and how well you felt by choosing a fresh fast start. Analyze that task where you wanted to hit the Snooze and see how you feel about it.

If you don’t feel at least 10% better about that day and all you accomplished (be honest you probably did a ton) I will give you your money back. 100% all of it.

Every cent you paid for this knowledge and new challenge goes right back in your pocket if you are not 100% satisfied with the outcome. (To be clear this refund will amount to the exact investment of $0.00)

Make the small changes in your business and life today so you can expand upon the growth tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Shooting!

Hey Photo World!

I am so excited about the next chapter here on Take & Talk Pics and I hope you are as well.

First of all a reminder: I will be conducting the first ever webinar here on Take&TalkPics.com and I want you to be a part of it. Click HERE to register!

Friday interviews are saying good bye for now as I want to respond to the countless emails and connections asking for a different addition to the show and blog.

Introducing the Fundamental Friday’s!

Each Friday I will be bringing us back to the basics and walking through a new segment each week. I am serious. Shutter Speed, Aperture, I.S.O., White Balance, Grey Cards, Composition, Full Frame vs. Cropped Sensors, etc…

This change will help educate the introductory and hobbyists photographers out there. Heck I feel like I learn something new each time I teach a Photo 1100 class at the College of DuPage. Also I would like to invite you intermediate and professional photographers out there to join the conversation. Leave helpful tips and tricks in the comments below each show notes page to help contribute to the learning photographers out there. You never know… you may have the perfect way to say something – if it resonates with one person you have done an excellent thing.

Lastly, I want to share another grand change, rather, an addition to Take&TalkPics.com. I have invited several photographers to become contributing writers for the blog and share their take on photography within their specific fields. Yes, I am a professional photographer but I am not an expert in every aspect of the medium. I have a handful of excellent photographers who will be sharing their expertise and broadening the scope of Take&TalkPics.com.

Thank you Photo World and Happy Shooting!

-Rob Krueger

I’m really excited about all the changes that are happening here on Take & Talk Pics I believe it will all be huge growth for the podcast and contribute to the photo community at large.

Thank you for hanging out today. I will see you next week Photo World – Happy Shooting!

Be sure to Subscribe to our newsletter and automatically you will be entered into our weekly iTunes gift card giveaway!

2015 © Take&TalkPics

#HeyPhotoWorld

#PhotoWorld

Today’s featured guest is Lauren Kinsey

Lauren is a wedding photographer based in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida who has been featured in Martha Stewart Weddings, Style Me Pretty, Weddings Illustrated, The Knot, and many other luxury wedding resources for brides. Lauren is a unique wedding photographer compared to most these days as she shoots on film 100% of the time!

Weddings are a living, breathing phenomenon. Every couple has a love language that is unique to them and I am privileged to be able to capture that language on film. I live for it. The organic nature of film allows me to slow down and turn a discriminating eye to detail and real moments that tell the story of you. I want my art to express beauty, life, and most importantly- love. My vision and aesthetic are so important to who I am as as artist. I want to tell your story in a way in a meaningful and pure way.

I have been honored to have my work featured in Martha Stewart Weddings, Once Wed, Style Me Pretty, Weddings Illustrated, The Knot, Southern Weddings Magazine, Utterly Engaged, Belle Lumiere, and many other luxury wedding resources for brides.

The Gulf Coast of Florida is home to me; the idyllic seaside community I grew up in strongly influences my work today. I regularly photograph weddings all along the panhandle of Florida and the Southeast, but have also been fortunate to travel the world, photographing weddings in destinations across the U.S. and abroad.

052 Monday Message 009 - Grey Market

Grey Market equipment... should you buy should you pass by? Rob shares his take. Also he reminds us of the first ever Take & Talk Pics webinar. 

Hey Photo World -- Big Changes in the Works - Honoring 50

So today is a bit different because I don’t have an interview for you.

I thought about making a bonus episode and releasing this information on a Thursday but I felt this was too big of an announcement and too big of a time in the Take & Talk Pics Photography Podcast that this needed to be a true episode on its own.

First of all I would like to thank each and every one of you for your dedicated support and continuing to follow along. Sending me questions, sharing things you are finding within the photo community, and getting to know the amazing photographers and business owners we have on the show. When we launched on April 6th 2015 I never gave a thought to an episode 50 existing. You can hear it on my end with the early episodes for sure… I had no idea where this was taking me. Getting to know the amazing team over at ImprovePhotography.com, being introduced to many of the instructing photographers associated with Out of Chicago conference, connect with the guys behind Mirrorless Minutes, and meeting photographers I have followed for years; such as: Jared Polin and Lee Morris.

Episode 50 is truly a milestone for the show and for me. I have stared 4 or 5 blogs over the past 6 years and have never come close to 50 posts. I can honestly say I love doing this and I am passionate about it.

However, it is time to evolve.

I have been getting a lot of feedback from you Photo World and I hope what I’m about to say doesn’t tick anyone off, but rather get you pumped about the next chapter for the show.

As of June 1st I pulled the interviews back a bit and made it 2 interviews each week. I didn’t drop the 3 episodes weekly, no… I introduced the Monday Messages. Much of the feedback has been due to that change. In short the Monday Message each week has been a hit!

Because of this, I have a few more alterations in the works. I don’t want to announce everything just yet but I will tell you: starting the first week in August I will reduce the interviews to only Wednesdays and I will have something a little different set for Fridays. No worries I will be sticking with the Monday Messages. Fridays are the new thing to look out for.

That’s one announcement. The other big announcement is… Webinars!

I will be conducting my first ever live webinar for you photo world. Head to Take & Talk Pics to register for the webinar today!

I’m really excited about all the changes that are happening here on Take & Talk Pics I believe it will all be huge growth for the podcast and contribute to the photo community at large.

Thank you for hanging out today. I will see you next week Photo World – Happy Shooting!

Today’s featured guest is Anna Jaye Goellner.- goal-ner

Anna is a wedding photographer based in Portland OR. Her photography career started with photojournalism and that is the story telling approach she uses in her wedding work. Anna stays somewhat quiet and in the background while capturing authentic love stories, at each wedding she has throughout the world. As her approach and style is constantly honest; her weddings are far from consistent. Each love story she captures is unique and keeps her on her toes from start to finish.

Anna tells us that passion is everything and we talk about how being honest and keeping a good heart combined with a positive genuine attitude truly drive passion.

Resources:

Google Drive

W: annajayephotography.com

Blog: annajayephotography.com/blog

Monday Message 008

By: Rob Krueger

I recently received an email containing 6 questions about starting in Wedding photography.

This Monday Message is just my thoughts on these questions. I am just one photographer in thousands so I do not try to act like my answer is the 100% best choice, but I am completely honest is saying what I think.

The Questions:

1) What is the most versatile lens?

2) What size should the images be that you give your clients?

3) What is the best way to fins a photographer who will let you second shoot for them?

4) Is it unreasonable to charge $1000 or so when getting started doing weddings?

5) Someone told me I should put an ad on craigslist. Is that ever okay?

6) Best way to light up a dark reception hall?

Listen up for my answers

Most Versatile Lens Ever!

Today’s featured guest is Tom Phelan.

Tom is an artist using his photography to document the changing Midwestern landscape. Although he does this in a way like I have never seen before. His subjects include dilapidated barns, rusted out cars, and a variety of objects accosted with rural life.

Shot In The Dark

  I like to explore.  Since just about everything in the Midwest has already been "discovered," my journeys of exploration, such as they are, tend to have as their aim the rediscovery of things either forgotten or existing in relative obscurity.  Whether old cars or farm buildings, I am fascinated with objects that have essentially outlived their usefulness, but whose presence says something about the society that generated them, as well as the individuals who once used them.  In this sense, my photographs comprise a record of some of the places and objects I have encountered during the course of the past several years.  I find greatest satisfaction in the discovery of objects that might well be placed in a museum, but which have remained in their original context.       My preference for night photography arises primarily from the unique qualities of light that are available, particularly when the moon is present.    This more subdued lighting makes it much easier to bring time in as a photographic effect.  For example, the use of long exposures allows the cumulative effects of wind to be visible on objects like leaves and clouds, and creates opportunities for seeing things in a slightly different way.  A lesser but still important consideration is that shooting after dark also lessens some of the tension created by a society always on the lookout for new and potential threats.  That is, I am less noticeable by night, and there are fewer people around to notice me.       My photographs are by no means a random sample of what can be found in Illinois.  They are dependent, above all, on the sorts of things that grab my attention.  Nowhere is this more true than in the case of old vehicles, and particularly cars.  To me, many of the vehicles of the 1950s have a sort of character that is simply not present in modern vehicles, given the emphasis on aerodynamics and efficiency of the latter.  Abandoned farms, which occasionally include old cars, are another favorite subject.  Since unusual atmospheric conditions (e.g., storms, fog) also appeal to me, many of my photographs bring these in as ancillary subjects.  And of course the stars frequently make their appearance, acting as a perpetual reminder that there is a much broader context to our individual lives.       A primary goal in my photography is to bring the viewer to contemplate the redeeming qualities of objects that may not otherwise seem to possess any, and to perhaps feel a bit of the excitement that I have felt upon their discovery.

Today’s featured guest is Ben Chernivsky.

Ben is a wedding photographer and owner of ThisIsFeeling.com. Ben’s philosophy is quality over quantity. He uses this strategy in the building of his business and Ben along with his team of 3 photographers capture nearly 100 weddings per year with that same high standard.

"It's Not About You" - Ben

Ben understands all the problems that come when trying to plan a wedding and going into every email, every meeting, and every phone call knowing that it is not about him, but about the client in need of his service and this has been a game changer - not just in his business but in his life. The ability to visualize yourself in others shoes can help build stronger business relationships and personal relationships.

HELLO, I’M BEN // BOSS-MAN, PHOTOGRAPHER, CONSULTANT

I’m a man of few words until I begin talking.  I feel many, many things in life.  I am a blubbering blob of body and bone, full of passion and positivity.I like cats.The ocean both fascinates me and scares me beyond belief.I wake up each day and look forward to watering my grass, tomatoes, and basil garden.But I usually scamper towards the espresso machine first.I adore my wife.I love photographing love.

Rob Krueger here with Monday Message 007

[email protected]

Stay cool Photo World! And Happy Shooting!

-Rob

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2015 © Take&TalkPics

#HeyPhotoWorld

#PhotoWorld