We’re starting a new feature on Dress It Up.  It’s so inspiring to check out other photographer’s work.  I’m so excited – so so excited – to do these posts!

Our first photographer is Samantha from Two Little Monkeys Photography!

1. The obvious. -Name, location, business name, website, anything you’d like to add?

My name is Samantha Bachand, photographer behind Two Little Monkeys Photography. I live in Charlotte NC and serve all of it’s surrounding areas. For now, I shoot on-location but utilize natural and studio lighting. Hopefully some day I will have my own studio!! I am probably one of the younger photographers out there – I will be 20 years old in October. I am a full time mommy to beautiful 2 year old twins who are my reason for living and inspiration in everything I do!!

2. What is your favorite age to photograph? Why?

My favorite age to photograph is definitely less than 2 weeks old. Whether the baby is 2 seconds old at a birth or just a few days at their newborn session, I love EVERY minute of it! Something about a brand new baby just melts my heart. Even with all the time and hard work I put in at newborn sessions, it is so worth it and I hate even calling it a “job” because of how much I enjoy it!

3. Tell me about your favorite session…

Favorite session – That is a tough one! I think I have favorites in different ways. One that really sticks out to me was a birth in which the mother was a surrogate. Baby’s parents were in the delivery room, as well as his big brother! All of the love and emotion in that little room was overwhelming in the best possible way. Every birth is a miracle – but this baby was SO wanted and welcomed and his parents truly fought for him, such a happy ending to a really tough journey!!

4. Anything funny happen during a shoot?

Funny things happen often!! One specific time I remember was during a newborn girl’s session – I was setting up poses with the parents and baby was naked, and she started peeing all over poor dad! I actually got that shot on camera before any of us noticed she was peeing, so when I went home and started editing them I came across this picture, baby mid pee and parents smiling! I was cracking up, and so was mom when she saw the picture! Another funny thing is they ended up getting that picture printed pretty big for their wall – fit their family perfectly and they loved how it captured that experience!

5. Anything else you can think about?

Favorite props -  As much as I love simple beanbag shots, I LOVE props!! My house is slowly being overtaken by props…no seriously. It’s a problem! Everything from baskets to chairs to buckets and everything in between. One of my favorite newborn props (as of now…this could change any second!!) is my little doll beds. I also love any kind of fur, and knit stretch wraps! Of course the hats and headbands are a must have. Every time I am shopping, seems like there are so many things I can look at and think “hmm, that could be a cute prop!”. It’s just finding a creative way to use it, and not take away from the true beauty of the photo – the sweet baby. Above all, the most important thing I look for in a prop is safety. I ALWAYS put something heavy in the bottom of my buckets/baskets to prevent tipping and ALWAYS have a parent or assistant inches from baby as a spotter. Please, never put these tiny people in danger to get the perfect shot, it will NEVER be worth it!!

I recently bought The Photographer’s Guide to a Killer Web Presence by Zach Prez.  And I wanted to share with you my review of  this amazing book!  The tips are thorough and very helpful for any level photographer.  It focuses on your web presence and marketing aimed directly at photographers.  This is not some boring business book, this is a dynamic ebook.

Oh my Mr. Zach Prez, you are a genius.  This is a beautiful booklet.  My favorite part, I put it right on my ipad.  So I could read along, and even check out his tips and links online while I was reading.  The graphics really help with this ebook.  Because you can see what other photographers and designers have done that works for them.  And then you can apply those ideas to your own work.  Since I’m a pretty visual learner (photographer – hello!), it was perfect for me.

This Guide is perfect for photographers who are looking to make their site look unique and includes great tips from top photographers in the industry.  Zach teamed up with Design Aglow (simply gorgeous designs, must say, LOVE THEM!!) He shows you both live, current examples and shows you the best marketing strategy for this to work on your own website.

Some of the tips are so obvious, I can’t believe I wasn’t already doing them.  And he touches on social media also, so this isn’t just about your website or blog.  This is the total package.  Tips for your facebook fan page, tips for twitter, and tips for your website.

If you’re looking for some easy pointers and even design tips for your photography business, then this is the ebook for you.  Zach Prez wrote in an easy to read and enticing format.  And kept my interest from start to finish.  I hope you enjoy the book as much as I did.  I would love to hear from you!

You can check out Zach’s website here.

I have a box of these in my room actually, of gorgeous slides that my mom took and I can’t look at them.  I found Video Conversion Experts online, and the service  is fantastic!

They have a variety of options and will scan in your slides, photos, videos all to DVD for you.  And the prices are very reasonable.  They use professional motion picture scanners for your 8mm and Super 8 films.  You get the highest possible output onto a DVD.

The service is available everywhere in the United States and around the world, so don’t feel like your location can limit your options.  Video Conversion Experts has been transferring film, video and slides for over 25 years. They use Broadcast quality Hollywood film scanners and tape transfer machines. But, we don’t stop there. We also offer restoration services to make your 8mm, Super 8, 16mm & 35mm film, video tape and 35mm slides look like it did when it was first taken.

I think that I really like the fact that they not only can copy your family’s 8mm film and photos onto a dvd for archiving purposes, but that they also offer amazing restoration services.  And they have this fantastic reputation for high quality results.

I also love that they have pricing right on the website, with a fast online quote option.  That way you are not left wondering how much they charge for this service.   The ordering process to get your 8mm tapes transferred is also clearly outlined and easily followed.  They really take the guesswork out of the entire process.

If you’re like me, then you’re really worried about damaging those fragile 8mm tapes.  Lucky for me (and you!) this trusted source treats those tapes with up most care and even keeps a digital back up of your movies for 30 days!

Check them out today at: www.videoconversionexperts.com/convert-8mm-film-to-dvd.html

They will help you with all of your 8mm and Super 8 film to DVD needs.

We are so excited to have an interview with Sarah Ulrich today!!  Sarah is an amazing photographer, and template designer.  I have used her templates for collages for years.  She let us test out one of her holiday card templates, and oh man, I think I’m going to use that coupon code she offered to buy the rest of them!

My go to lens for 95% of my outdoor sessions is the Canon 135L.  The bokeh is so dreamy & delicious that it makes me giddy.  Indoors with studio work I use the Canon 50mm 1.4.

 Learn how to run a business and price yourself to make a profit…because the point of having a business (and working our tail off) is ultimately to be successful, right?!    Don’t determine your prices from what you think people will pay, sit down and really figure out how much you want to make, how many hours you want to work, and how much it takes to run your business…if YOU don’t value your work, your clients won’t either.

3. What is your favorite time of day to photograph?  Favorite subject?

Hands down it’s the “golden hour”…2-3 hours before sunset.  Favorite subject…hmmm…that’s a hard one.  I love newborns for the obvious reasons.  I don’t know if I could honestly pick a favorite, there’s great things about each age.  I love 6 months because they are so curious and just getting to that social age so anything I say or do is funny.  Age 2-3 is another favorite because I can just interact with them naturally and they each have their own mannerisms and expressions.  They are such genuine individuals, and I like a bit of a challenge. I really enjoy shooting families too.

4. Do you have a studio? If so tell us about it?  

I do have a studio, it’s in my home, and it’s half of my basement.  The space is roughly 14ft x 30ft with a sitting area for clients and a shooting area, it’s the perfect size since I only shoot newborns and some maternity clients in studio.  All other kid and family sessions are done outdoors from April-November.

Check out her amazing home studio!  I’m totally jealous!!

5. How do you balance photography/design work and your family?

To be honest, it’s a constant challenge.  Balancing sessions has definitely gotten a little easier over the past couple years.  My kids are all in school full days now, so that leaves my days to do office work or shoot a newborn session.  I normally shoot outdoors 4 days a week and those sessions are always in the early evening.  My husband is home from work in the late afternoon so he is able to be home with the kids. Photography is definitely my main business and I work on design work when I have the extra time.  Many of the designs are products that I have made for clients, and then are added to the store later.  I don’t have specific days for designing built into my schedule right now.

6. Where do you find your design inspirations?  What is your favorite card collection you have created?

Everywhere…clothing, throw pillows, magazine ads, bedding, clothing label tags, home design websites, Pinterest…always on the lookout for interesting color combos, patterns, or layouts.  As for my favorite card collection, probably the most recent holiday card set…Very Merry – Very Vintage…I’m loving the aqua/gray combo right now.

Go check out Sarah’s work!  Sarah recently posted on her blog, a fantastic color tutorial, in it she talks about color and how to achieve a clean edit.  I hope that we can get her back to do a tutorial on her editing style in the near future!

She’s generously offering Dress It Up readers a 15% off discount through 9/30!  Just use coupon code: FIFTEEN on checkout.

Website: http://www.uniquelyyouphoto.com/
Blog: http://www.uniquelyyouphoto.com/blog
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uniquelyyouphotography
Designs: http://www.uniquelyyoudesigns.com/
Design Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uniquelyyoudesigns

Here is a small list of the Freebies and Things I have found.

Actions/Textures/Templates: Note the offerings are subject to change or not be there as these are put up by individuals and not Dress It Up.

Two Pear Designs — Holiday Mini Session marketing set — this is a great one get it while they have it!

My Lil’Creations – Tina Parker shares a paper pack. If you are not a fan of her work, you soon will be. She creates templates and elements that are amazing and timeless.

Holly McCaig: Free template for a card!

Itty Bitty Actions (little products for big dreamers): Free blog templates

EW: Couture Collection: Templates: Vintage Frames. They also have a freebie each month in their newsletter!  You can also download past templates here — She’s a very talented designer and does so many great things.

Forabella: Free Action Mixer

Flourish Emporium: Nicole Van’s Fan page, free Vintage Tint action and Thank you Card.

Pure photoshop actions: A free action – Cream

Paint the Moon Photography: Web- action for sharing images

Jessica Drossin Textures: Free Textures

Photographer Cafe: Free Template with summer words in fun colors.

Pretty Presets for Photographers:  Free preset!

Jenn’s Fabulous Stuff: Tons of freebies — her work and her site is amazing!

Michelle Kane Photography: Free Monchrome Action Set

Modern Collective: Marketing Templates for Photographers

MCP Actions: Free Mini Fusion Set

 Isabelle Lafrance Photography — Free texture set!

Hello friends!

An important update from Facebook about custom tabs.  If your tab is going to be self hosted, meaning we create an app for your exact iframe – then starting October 1st, your site needs to have an SSL certificate in order for it to show up.

In short, it’s what you need for anyone using a secured server to see your tab.

Oh no!  You don’t have or what an SSL certificate.  What now??

Fortunately, there are a couple of options.   Soon we’ll be adding a monthly hosting option to our services.  So that your fan page tab will show up, and you won’t have to worry about the certificate.  The other, and more frugal, option, is to split up the files.  Part of them are hosted on your server, and part of them are posted in a static html application.

I think that the biggest question we get asked, is do I really need a  landing page?  Is this something I can do myself?  We have two answers. Yes and  Maybe.  I know, you thought I was going to say Yes and Yes.

As more and more businesses work at using social media you want to stand out and make an impression when someone clicks on to go to your facebook pages for the first time.  Having a custom Facebook page can allow you to carry your brand and look through to facebook, making sure your clients know they have landed on your page and not some other page.

As for doing your page on your own, that’s a maybe.  To start with if you have Static FBML tabs already you can easily do a basic landing page. In fact we have a tutorial on how to do make them.  However, under the new format things are a bit more complicated. You now have to make a Facebook application in order to have a tab.  This is a more flexible design model, but if you are not as code savvy as Laura is it can be harder to do and figure out.  There are services out there that will do this for you, but unlike our service you will either page a monthly fee (we have a one time charge per page) or you will have a large created by button on your page.  The created by may seem like it’s worth it  since it’s free, but you also will have a page that looks pretty much like everyone else’s or worse you will tell your local competition how to have a unique Facebook presence.

I know the number one rule of blogging is that you are not suppose to suddenly stop and that if you do come back, you should never express what happened.

However, Laura and I feel that we do owe our followers a bit of an explanation, after all of you can relate to our situation.  You are also Mom’s who are working from home and understand that it’s almost always impossible to find time to do it all. In fact, I am 100% positive that the women who ‘do it all’ hire out key tasks like cleaning and cooking. That no true work at home Mom manages to get the cleaning done, take care of kids and mange to do everything what we need to for work.

We let the one thing we said we wouldn’t happen happen, we just got too busy to blog.  It happens, we were focused on getting facebook tabs built, attending to our families and trying to carve out a few minutes for ourselves once in a while, that we both forgot to blog.

This is where we are going to remind you our readers, that when you blog consistently good things happen.  You have a better page rank and your stats look much nicer at the end of the month.  We can tell you from EXPERIENCE that blogging does make a difference, we have seen it with our own blog and the change in traffic in just one month, I can not image what would happen if we continued down this road.

Blogging is hard, it’s harder still when your blog is not the focus, but rather a by product or tool by which you connect with your clients and followers.  So our pledge to you, and ourselves, is to blog three times a week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, leaving the weekends to do client work and be with our families!  So you ask, how do you do that and remain sane?

We will let you know the answer when we find it! In the mean time Have a great weekend and we look forward to talking with you again on Monday!

Oh yes, we love them.  I can not tell you how much I love their color prints! I have two storyboards that I did with them recently and to say that these boards are something that I love is an understatement! The image above is one of my all time favorites I have ever done or printed and I can say that it’s all due to the color quality of Simply Color Lab.

I have put of printing many images of my kids –thinking that I will find better images the next session or just being able to decided which I want to print. I have to say I was very worried because anyone who knows my work, I LOVE COLOR! I  love it and it makes me happy.

To start with their staff is very helpful — it was great to have them hold my hands while I ordered my first prints.  I love that they have options not found other places making this clearly a PROFESSIONAL printer for PROFESSIONALS!  I just had to say that because while I want my clients to have the best printing options possible, I also want to know the lab I use only prints for professionals!

They are very customer focused. In fact one of my favorite products (one I know that Laura and I will both be ordering soon) is their custom bound book showing one image on several paper types.  This is a great way to up-sell your client on options that will make your art work compliment their home and lifestyle.  Even better then the fact that you get the book, it comes with a lab print credit for the cost of the book – you really can not lose in having this as a tool in your selling tool box.

As you can tell we are HUGE fans of Simply Color around here.  We are very grateful that they have given us $250 in print credits to give away during our launch contest. You can also earn some extra entries if you look at our blog post here!

Shannon

Have you entered the contest yet?
Want a bonus entry?  Of course you do, who wouldn’t want another chance to win a CUSTOM facebook tab!

So how do you get an extra entry?  It’s easy as:

1. Post about the contest on a forum or write about it on your blog.

2. Share the link on Facebook

3. Tweet the following : I want to win a Custom Facebook Tab – don’t you? http://tinyurl.com/dressedcontest

Then come back and add a comment to this post for each thing you have done — three bonus entries just like that!