(P.S. Keep reading for a special giveaway from photographers-seo.com!)

For this month’s article, I reviewed several digital media storage products by BellaGrafica (“Jeff & Julia Woods General Collection“), DNL Photo Packaging, JLee Albums, Loktah, Miller’s Professional Imaging and The Designer Concept, MpixPro, Pexagon Tech, Rice Studio Supply, and Verbatim.

Click each of the magazine pages above for a larger view. You can find the article on page 48 and page 50 of the print-version when it hits mailboxes. And you can also download the digital edition now if you’re a PPA member or digital subscriber.

And last month Heather Lickliter of Stylized Portraiture helped me write the August “The Goods” column. This month she’s escaped over to the new “Workflow Polish” column where she shares her post-session workflow, with added comments / critique by Audrey Woulard. Congratulations Heather!




Today’s guest / vendor post is by Zach Prez. He has freebies and a prize for Paperie readers!

Hi, I’m Zach Prez. I specialize in search engine optimization for photographers, although I’ve been helping small businesses rank in Google for about 10 years. There’s no better feeling than helping someone become successful on the web and grow his or her business. Okay, maybe there are a few things better, like cycling on the American River Bike trail near Sacramento, CA.

I wrote Photographers SEO Book almost 2 years ago now. What started as some informal phone conversations with my photographer friend quickly expanded into ninja tactics that boomed her business from Google in a matter of weeks. Everyone wanted to know her secret, so I turned those conversations into a non-technical how to guide that any level of photographer can follow. It has since helped hundreds of people understand and improve in search results.

Earlier this year I released Photography Blog SEO Zen. It’s an ebook for photographers, designers, or wedding vendors on how to update your blog infrastructure and write blog posts to rank more easily. Blogs typically output many more pages than a traditional website, meaning more chances to rank in search. Blogs are especially helpful in ranking very specific phrases (long-tail SEO) so I would hope you see about 3x the traffic from your blog compared to your photography website. My blogs and ebook help you get there.

I’m giving away one of each product above for Paperie Boutique readers. Enter to win by commenting on any blog post on either of my websites – photographers-seo.com -OR- photoblogseo.com – by the end of the day on Saturday. (We’ll notify and announce the winners on Monday.) You’ll learn something new and hopefully share your thoughts about the post, what you learned, or something insightful

If you want something FREE right now, check out my Search Engine Optimization Guide for SmugMug Sites -OR- Email SEO Class for Photographers.

UPDATE: The winners have both been announced here – check them out!

Thanks Zach for sharing such valuable information with our readers!

And don’t forget we currently have two giveaway-contests going on here at Paperie. Through midnight Wednesday you can have a chance to win your choice of camera bags from Jo Totes. And through midnight Thursday you have the chance to win a $50 gift certificate from Denny Manufacturing.

HB Photo Packaging recently launched a packaging design-it-yourself line called “Print Your Own“. They invited me to be a part of a packaging design test project, and I truly believe (*crossing fingers”) it’s going to take off like wildfire as the plans for it continue to develop.

I mean, look at the photos – and the quality – below! How can it not?

The images shown above are of my “Classic Stripes & Solids Collection” — box sizes shown are 11×14, 8×10, and 5×7. The Buttons and Bows Photography logos and button icons on the bottom-right of the boxes are NOT stickers. They are actually printed on the boxes!

These next two photos are of the custom CD / DVD cases in the “Classic Stripes & Solids Collection”. I cannot describe how fantastic these look in person! My clients are going to flip!

These next two photos are of the “Dots and Stripes Collection”. I think these will be great for newborn photography packaging. I can go from ‘classic’ to ‘whimsical’ whenever the mood strikes.

To see larger images of the “Classic Stripes & Solids Collection” and the “Dots and Stripes Collection” head on over to Flickr…

“Print Your Own” is now offering a more economical option as well — you can still design custom box tops, but use their regular line of stock box colors instead on the bottom.

You also might remember that a few weeks back HB asked Paperie readers to suggest new colors for their Boutique Color Line.

I’m excited to announce that four five new colors have been added to the lineup – Razzle Berry, Orange Fiz, Lemon Drop, Lime Green, and Titanium. You can also finally purchase the Aqua / Aqua combo! (Check out the Boutique Color Line for more sizes and colors.) And if you don’t see the size of box you want with the new colors, hang tight — more are on the way!

Plans are in the works for coupons and packaging-set giveaways for Paperie readers from HB, so stay tuned!

And don’t forget, just a few more hours to win a $200 gift certificate from Sassy Designs!

Have a great weekend —
Robyn

P.S. If you are interested in advertising with Paperie Boutique, please contact todd @ this domain. If you are a photographer and are interested in having your packaging featured – or are a vendor and are interested in having your business packaging, marketing ideas, or photography-related products featured – please contact robyn @ this domain to be added to the posting schedule.

Hi, Everybody! I am so happy that Robyn is helping me share the big news of what’s been happening over at Sassy Designs! I contacted Robyn back in May when Sassy Designs was celebrating 8 YEARS of business – and she helped me do a fabulous giveaway where one lucky winner won the ENTIRE Sassy Shop!

Now I am happy and proud to announce that Sassy Designs, Ltd. has become Sassy Designs INCORPORATED!!!!! This is a HUGE deal and a HUGE reason to celebrate, so I hope you’ll all join in on the festivities! I’ve been SUPER busy behind the scenes signing paperwork, updating the logo, and making website updates to reflect the new name – it’s been a bit hectic behind the scenes this month but I’ve still managed to get a bunch of new items in the shop regardless!!

I’m THRILLED to offer up a $200 gift certificate for one lucky Paperie reader!

What’s different about this giveaway? For the FIRST TIME EVER the gift certificate will be valid not only on ANYTHING in the shop, but all or some of it can be applied to a CUSTOM DESIGN order as well! So, if you’ve been pondering a new logo, or new business cards – or anything else for that matter – this is your chance to WIN it!!!

I want to send a HUGE THANK YOU to Robyn and all of the Paperie readers that have become repeat customers and awesome fans of Sassy Designs! I hope you’ll stick with me for the next 8+ years – it’s going to be one heck of a ride!!!

So how do you win? Just go to your blog, Flickr account, Facebook account, or Twitter account and post the following:

Go win a $200 gift certificate from Sassy Designs Incorporated / @sassydesignsinc / sassy-designs.net at PaperieBoutique.com by @shutterblog

Post the URL(s) to your link(s) in the comments for THIS ENTRY. Comment(s) must be posted here by 11:59 p.m. EDT on Friday, August 27th.

Please note: The links you post must direct to public accounts. We cannot verify links on private, friends & family only, or passworded accounts and they will not be eligible to win this item. If we have to subscribe to your feed or page or request permission to see it, you will automatically be disqualified.

You can enter / post your links up to FOUR times total – one entry each per public, non-private blog, Flickr, Facebook and / or Twitter account.

You have four chances to win but only one chance PER LINK – please do not post the same link multiple times – duplicate links will be removed. Each entry requires its own separate comment to have multiple chances to win!

Comments on this entry will be numbered in order of posting. The winning numbers will be chosen by Random.org, and the winners will be contacted within 24 hours of contest’s end to claim their prizes.

GOOD LUCK!!!!

UPDATE: The winner has now been announced here – go take a quick peek!

Thanks so much to Terry and Sassy Designs Incorporated for this fantastic giveaway – wish I was eligible!

There’s a new kid on the block that I wanted to share – photogfreebies.com.

Photog Freebies is the hottest place on the web to find free products and downloads for photographers! We also will offer giveaways, contests, and partner with photography vendors to offer exclusive free products for our readers! Follow us on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook, and share us with your photographer friends!

P.S. If you are interested in advertising with Paperie Boutique, please contact todd @ this domain. If you are a photographer and are interested in having your packaging featured – or are a vendor and are interested in having your business packaging, marketing ideas, or photography-related products featured – please contact robyn @ this domain to be added to the posting schedule.

Blog Inspiration Boards: The Simple Life
Like a kid in an eye candy store

As we all know, a beautiful blog is something no professional studio can be without. It is becoming more important every day to stand out from the crowd and really put on a show for potential clients. Your blog is one of the first things your client will see when choosing a photographer, so extra care should be put into every post to let your personality and unique style shine through.

Because most blog softwares don’t offer the level of layout creativity the average photographer needs, we have designed 15 stunning templates to make each blog post a little work of art.

The Simple Life collection is the perfect fusion of striking layout and a clean, simple look, suitable for any type of shoot. These boards will harmonize your blog design, keeping all your posts beautiful and consistent.

Create these simple beauties in seconds with the included Photoshop actions. A bonus InDesign file is included.

Click here to see more of Design Aglow’s “Blog Inspiration Boards: The Simple Life” with introductory pricing today! The special price is only good through 5 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, August 25th!

You can also read about these at the Design Aglow Blog.

Don’t forget you still have a chance to win this cupcake prop from Shimrit’a!

And check back tomorrow because we have a special giveaway planned that will knock your socks off! You snooze, you lose!

Hi, my name is Shellie and I – AM – A – PHOTOGRAPHER! If you are a Canadian you probably got that joke – if not – trust me – it’s funny! I run This N That Photography and I am a newborn, maternity and children’s photographer near Edmonton Alberta, Canada.

When I started photography – I was like most people, and shot anything that would pay me. I gradually learned what I love and what gives me joy as a person and as a photographer, and started to specialize in just little people, and all the special memories that childhood brings. I am mainly a studio light photographer, and have been since the beginning, however I do love natural light as well.

I have 4 children, all boys, and have often joked that they were 4 tries for a girl! It is just a joke – although I would have loved to have a daughter, I wouldn’t trade any one of them for a girl. They are pretty great. I am married to my hubby of 15 years. He’s about as far from being an “artistic” type as you can get, but we love each other – I get to be the drama queen and really – you can only have one of those per household right? (Another good reason to have only sons!)

I always loved art, and in high school and university I would fit in Art classes where ever I could. I always wanted to get a great camera, and take beautiful images – just as an extension of loving art, but I never really considered it as a career choice.

I eventually bought a camera just to photograph my kids, but quickly got tired of photographing the same people all the time… so I started taking pictures of my friend’s kids, just to have some variety! That was the beginning of the end… and 7 years later here I am with a business that I have been running for 5½ years.

Have you heard of the All Things Baby blog? It is a blog that I run just for baby photographers. It is dedicated to people who love babies, and baby photography. As I ran my business it really became clear to me that I needed to specialize. What you concentrate on you get better and better at. This blog is meant to be a tool to help baby photographers see what other photographers are doing, and to be a source of inspiration to them so that we can all improve and learn and grow together. I love all the blogs out there, but it is nice to have one to come to for inspiration and learning that focusing just on what I do for a living, and not all the other types of photography out there (as wonderful as they are). We have a flickr group where we can share our favorite images with each other daily, and once a week I post a few of my favorites on the blog. We also feature our favorite etsy sellers, photographers, and any new tips we run across.

At This N That Designs I sell the actual products and templates that I create and use for my clients. I love other designers work, and I still occasionally purchase templates from other designers if I think it is going to meet my client’s needs, but I really take a minimal approach to my photography. I love stark, simple images where the focus is on the person – not images with a lot of props.

I had a really hard time finding templates that would compliment my images and allow the focus to be on the image instead of on the cuteness of the template, so I created my own.

They are simple, and really allow the image to become the center of attention. Most of my clients are newborns, and I wanted them to see their baby albums, or their birth announcements in 80 years, and still find them timeless, elegant and beautiful. I hope that I have achieved that with my templates. I love them, I hope you will too!

If I am not photographing someone, or “playing on the puter” (as my youngest son calls photoshopping), you will find me reading, eating ice cream or spending time with my family.

So how would you like to win a $75 gift certificate to This N That Designs?

To win, post the following to either your public Facebook wall or public Twitter stream:

I want to win a $75 gift card from This N That Designs (http://www.tntphotography.ca/designs) at PaperieBoutique.com by @shutterblog

Post the URL(s) to your link(s) in the comments for THIS ENTRY. Comment(s) must be posted here by 11:59 p.m. EDT on Sunday, August 15th.

Please note: The link you post must direct to a public account. We cannot verify links on private, friends & family only, or passworded accounts and they will not be eligible to win this item. If we have to subscribe to your feed or page or request permission to see it, you will automatically be disqualified.

You can enter / post your links up to two times total – one entry each per public, non-private Facebook and / or Twitter account.

You have two chances to win but only one chance PER LINK – please do not post the same link multiple times – duplicate links will be removed. Each entry requires its own separate comment to have multiple chances to win!

Comments on this entry will be numbered in order of posting. The winning numbers will be chosen by Random.org, and the winners will be contacted within 24 hours of contest’s end to claim their prizes. Good luck!

UPDATE: The winner has been announced in the comments!

Thank you so much Shellie for this wonderful prize! Don’t forget to stop by All Things Baby and her Flickr group!

P.S. If you are interested in advertising with Paperie Boutique, please contact todd @ this domain. If you are a photographer and are interested in having your packaging featured – or are a vendor and are interested in having your business packaging, marketing ideas, or photography-related products featured – please contact robyn @ this domain to be added to the posting schedule.

I have just put the finishing touches on my packaging with the help of past photographers that have been featured on your site!

I’m a wedding photographer primarily so when I thought about my packaging I wanted it clean and elegant and reminiscent of weddings. But at the same time I wanted there to be a small pop of color because that’s just a little piece of me. Blue is my favorite color and of course it’s a small piece of my logo so added that pop of color in the ribbons I tied around my presentation boxes.

A very important part of my packaging is my thank you cards. It’s probably one of my favorite parts of all my packaging! It never matters how many weddings I shoot, I never feel any less grateful to be a part of such an important and special day. This is just one small way I can show my appreciation by writing a note of gratitude to each client.

My discs came from Discmakers (a huge thanks to Gail Werner for her referral to them). I love them! They were incredibly easy to order and the quality is great! And they look amazing in the white tin disc holders that I got from Effectuality, Inc.

Finally a brief word on my pricing and information guide, you may be surprised to find they were printed at FedEx Office. They were printed on their gloss text paper and I was pleased enough with the turnout not to turn anywhere else for them as of yet. It’s one of the only places I’ve found right now at a comfortable price that doesn’t require a minimum print order which I prefer, since my pricing and information is subject to change. But as you can see, they don’t look too shabby!

The full list of my vendors are :

• 5×7 and 8×10 White Presentation Boxes: Rice Studio Supply
• Small Round Logo Stickers: Zazzle
• Round Cornered Business cards: GotPrint
• Custom Discs: Discmakers
• White Disc Holders: Effectuality, Inc.
• White Presentation Folders: Staples Office Supply Store
• Black Presentation Envelopes: Paper Presentation
• Blue Ribbon: Michael’s Craft Supply Store
• Custom Address Labels/Folder Labels: WHCC (designed by me)
• Copyright info cards/Reproduction recommendation cards: WHCC
  (designed by me)
• Thank you cards and Envelopes: WHCC (designed by me)
• Wedding Pricing and Information Guide: FedEx Office (designed
   by me)

Thanks again to Courtney Reece – stop by her blog and let her know how great you think everything looks!

P.S. If you are interested in advertising with Paperie Boutique, please contact todd @ this domain. If you are a photographer and are interested in having your packaging featured – or are a vendor and are interested in having your business packaging, marketing ideas, or photography-related products featured – please contact robyn @ this domain to be added to the posting schedule!

I look forward to our Christmas in July Open House every year. It gives us a chance to celebrate my favorite holiday twice! Each year in July we build miniature versions of our three Christmas sets and invite our clients to come choose which one(s) they would like to reserve in November. It is great for our clients because they can actually see what their different options are, and it is great for us because it solidifies our November calendar in July when clients pre-book and pay for their sessions. This is a great way to get some momentum in the middle of the Summer and to market to our clients for Christmas before anyone else does!

Since this is our 4th year doing the open house, I wanted to add a little something extra to the celebration. I wanted to create Swag Bags to give the first 25 people to book their Christmas Session. Our premiere limited set this year is “A Peppermint Forest”, so we went with a red/white theme for our bags. Many of the components of the Swag Bag came from different posts here at Paperie Boutique.

I used the free Holiday MOO Tag design … but changed it a bit to fit as a tag for our swag bag. (Purchase mini cards at Moo.com.)

The snowflakes came from Paper Source.

The bookmarks were printed at WHCC and have the 2nd half of the year calendar on them from the free calendar template post last week.

The wine glasses are full of cinnamon candy and we made red/white wine charms for the bottom. The wine glasses I ordered from threadartfl.com and the wine charms we made out of jewelry making materials purchased at Michaels.

The lip balm was custom ordered in a peppermint flavor to fit our theme from threadartfl.com. We ordered enough so that during Christmas we can keep them out on the front desk in a pretty bowl.

Extra items included were a Christmas ornament, tea light candles and a set of 3 blank note cards that preview a greeting card line we will be releasing this Fall.

I hope this helps to inspire you guys to put some “Paperie Boutique” ideas for good use in unique packaging for your next special event.

Thank you so much, Jeanine, for not only sharing your adorable packaging – but also how easy it is to put Paperie’s free product downloads to good use! Stop by the Cloud 9 Studios blog and tell her how much you appreciate it!

Have a great weekend!
-Robyn

P.S. Don’t forget the Photographer’s Wall Display Guide giveaway ends late tonight! Hurry up and enter to win!

The Photographer’s Wall Display Guide is a Photoshop template system that uses clipping masks and images of real room interiors to help you create amazing examples of wall displays for your clients:

I was inspired to create this guide when my friend Sara commissioned me to take images of her daughter for her retail store. She wanted to order several images for the store walls, but had no idea how many or what size so she asked me for help.

And you know what? I had no idea either until I sat down and cropped and arranged the photos and saw with my own eyes exactly what photos worked together in what grouping and at what size. Which got me to thinking…

If WE as photographer’s don’t know without seeing it, how can we possibly expect our clients to have the imagination to see the possibilities on THIER walls?

How can they know unless we SHOW them that an 8×10 over their fireplace mantle will be practically invisible:

But a 30×40 will look this fabulous?:

Or that this three piece grouping would look amazing over their couch?

Or in their hallway?

There are several other wall display guides on the market, but there are none (that I know of) that use real room interiors.

There are some guides that are incredibly pricey and others are just flattened jpgs so don’t offer the ease of use of these templates which use clipping masks to make placing and resizing your images a snap. And, even better I’ve made these incredibly affordable!

There are so many possible uses for these templates, here are just a few:

• Create a visually stunning framed or canvas grouping to add to the end of your client galleries to encourage large size print sales
• Create a page on your website about canvas displays using your own images as an example for your clients
• Create a page on your website or blog showing the difference in impact between an 8×10 and a 30×40 in a REAL ROOM!
• Use to prepare for or during in person client ordering sessions to nail down the perfect scale and arrangement of an image grouping or even a single image
• Show the difference in terms of ratio and cropping that an 8×10 vs an 11×14 has on the same image.

Read about more of the product features or watch a behind the scenes tour of the templates here!

If you don’t know how to use clipping masks, don’t worry because I have created a video tutorial to explain it all.

I have priced these at $50 each for the couch, the chair or the fireplace template, but for a limited time am offering an introductory price of $40 each or $85 for all three.

Even better, I’m giving one away right here! But if you just need to have these RIGHT NOW, I’m also creating an additional 25% discount for Paperie Boutique readers that ends at midnight EDT on Saturday, July 24th! Use the code “paper” (without the quotation marks) at checkout.

To enter for the free giveaway, you can do one (or all) of these three things:

1. “Like” the Photographer’s Wall Display Guides “Facebook fan page”

2. “Like” Ariana Falerni Photography’s “Facebook fan page”

3. Follow becoming-mom on Twitter

Then come back and comment here that you’ve done so – each entry requires its own separate comment.

Comment(s) must be posted here by 11:59 p.m. EDT on Friday, July 23rd. You can enter up to three times total. Post what you have “liked” or “followed” in separate comments to have multiple chances to win!

Comments on this entry will be numbered in order of posting. The winning number will be chosen by Random.org, and the winner will be contacted within 24 hours of contest’s end to claim their prize. Good luck!

UPDATE: The winner has now been announced in the comments – congrats to her, thanks to everyone who entered, and huge thanks to the Photographer’s Wall Display Guide!

Huge thanks to Ariana and Photographer’s Wall Display Guide for this giveaway!

P.S. If you are interested in advertising with Paperie Boutique, please contact todd @ this domain. If you are a photographer and are interested in having your packaging featured – or are a vendor and are interested in having your business packaging, marketing ideas, or photography-related products featured – please contact robyn @ this domain to be added to the posting schedule.

You’ll have to come up with the front and back design (I used a business card front/back for mine), but I’ve attached a download for the inside-spread that includes the calendar. I have included the crop-guide layer. You’ll have to add your logo if desired and the month names, calendar dates, and month box background colors are not customizable (unless you delete the layers and add your own in their places) – but the background color and bar-stripe are easily changed with the click of the mouse.

The white background color can be changed with one click as shown in the Photoshop background color fill layer in the Layers Palette. The text for the month names, the date text, and the box backgrounds for each month cannot be changed. However, the top stripe CAN be changed and your logo can be added using the included lab crop-guide for ProDPI.

→ download link ← (please note this file was designed in CS2 and you must have Photoshop or Elements and know how to edit a .psd layered file — I do not provide technical support for this download)

And now as promised…the big giveaway by Heather Green of The Drop Shoppe! Heather has stopped by for today’s guest post…

The Drop Shoppe (thedropshoppe.com) sells thick, matte, high quality vinyl backdrops in large sizes that are affordable for photographers. You can use these with studio lighting or natural light. Each image is created in Photoshop or Illustrator to be the absolute sharpest possible when it’s printed in large format. Currently we sell two sizes; 5 feet by 8 feet and 10 feet by 8 feet. The 5′x8′ drops are $90.00 and the 10′x8′ drops are $150.00 All prices include free shipping to the continental United States. If you are out of the country you do have to pay shipping, but we work hard to find you the fastest and most affordable shipping solution. Each backdrop has an extra 1/2″ white border around the outside, which is perfect for you to clamp to your backdrop stand. This way you’re not clamping directly onto the backdrop image.

Here we have a simple set up of hooks screwed into the wall, a metal pole and three large clamps holding the backdrop.

There’s a variety of ways to hang these backdrops. You can just clamp them to your horizontal pole on your backdrop stand (with large clamps you can purchase at a hardware store), or you can hang hooks on your wall with a pole and clamp to that. We used the hooks/wall method in our small office since we couldn’t fit my larger backdrop stand in there. A quick Google search will also turn up quite a few do it yourself backdrop stands that you’re able to make at home for very little cash.

We have all sorts of patterns and styles for you to choose from. There’s plenty of grunge, messy paint, realistic background photos, wallpaper, doors, floors and much more. The possibilities for these backdrops are endless. Use them in your studio, use one for the popular ‘photo booth’ set ups at weddings, even hang them outside for big parties or family get togethers. The backdrops arrive in a shipping tube, which we ask you to keep so that you can store your backdrop in it when not in use. The best ways to store these are either rolled up, hanging or laying flat. If you should wrinkle them, usually laying them flat in a hot room or outside in the shade will remove the wrinkles. These also wipe clean with mild soap and water. No worries about that baby or toddler making a mess, just wipe it up!

I’ve also included a size chart for the 5′x8′ drops, showing the size of an adult woman and the size of our backdrops – a good way to show how big these drops really are:

Here’s an example of our backdrops in use! The following photo was taken by Holly McCaig with our Aged Red Doors backdrop.

Another backdrop photo by Chrissy Avila.

The backdrop I want to give away here on Paperie Boutique today is our Aged Copper Wall, sized 5′x8′. It’s one of my favorites and works well when shooting just about any subject…from kids to women to men.

Here’s a few sample photos taken with that Aged Copper Wall backdrop – first by Chrissy Avila Photography:

And one by me using more of a cross processed/vintage technique:

Winner will receive one Aged Copper Wall size 5 feet by 8 feet backdrop with additional 1/2″ white border around it. Backdrops do not come with any kind of rods, clamps or pockets to hang them – you must supply your own way to hang it up. Backdrop will be shipped to the winner 3-7 days after the contest ends.

There are three different ways to enter between now and 11:59 p.m. on Friday, July 9th – each entry requires its own separate comment:

1. ‘like’ The Drop Shoppe on Facebook, come back and post here that you did so

2. post on Twitter (then leave the link here):
I entered to win an Aged Copper Wall backdrop at paperieboutique.com by @shutterblog from The Drop Shoppe/ thedropshoppe.com/store

3. leave a comment here on the blog about what your favorite backdrop is from the shop (thedropshoppe.com/store)

UPDATE The winner has now been posted here – check it out!

And last but not least…everyone gets $5 off their purchase from The Drop Shoppe by using the code paperie at checkout!

Huge thanks to Heather and The Drop Shoppe for such a fantastic prize giveaway! Head to Facebook and tell them thanks ‘in person’!

And to wrap things up for today, I’ve been posting photos of my new office setup over at Flickr as things progress (including info on how to create the wrap station yourself, and the Photojojo poster). Here are a couple of teasers for now.

Stay tuned this week. More fun ahead!
-Robyn

P.S. If you are interested in advertising with Paperie Boutique, please contact todd @ this domain. If you are a photographer and are interested in having your packaging featured – or are a vendor and are interested in having your business packaging, marketing ideas, or photography-related products featured – please contact robyn @ this domain to be added to the posting schedule.

Loktah is inspired by the natural beauty of the earth, featuring products that recall the planet’s majestic form. Loktah’s essential element is the organic paper, a renewable source in the foothills of the Himalayas.

This green product rises from the earth to showcase your work to your client. Each product is dipped in bee’s wax to preserve the quality of the paper yet allow the product to age with natural beauty. Soft twine encircles the product with an organic bead completing the look. Created by hand, each case is slightly unique.

Portfolio folders feature sleek rounded edge corners on the cover flap and have the ability to hold a 8.5 x 11 size sheet on both sides, and can hold multiple sheets.

The mystery and beauty of the Himalayan region offers inspiration like no other place on earth.

Loktah cases will give your CDs and DVDs a gorgeous presentation that you and your clients will enjoy, and cases have the ability to order a logo add-on.

So now that you’re sold on Loktah, now you have the chance to win some of their products, too! Up for grabs are:

1. Two lucky winners will each win 5 Loktah DVD/CD Cases (any case)
2. One lucky winner will get 2 Loktah Portfolio Folders (any color)

First follow Loktah either on Facebook or Twitter.

Then post the following to either your public Facebook wall or public Twitter stream:

Celebrate your Independence from boring packaging – win from Loktah.com / @loktah at Paperie Boutique / paperieboutique.com by @shutterblog

Post the URL(s) to your link(s) in the comments for THIS ENTRY. Comment(s) must be posted here by 11:59 p.m. EDT on Monday, July 5th.

Please note: The link you post must direct to a public account. We cannot verify links on private, friends & family only, or passworded accounts and they will not be eligible to win this item. If we have to subscribe to your feed or page or request permission to see it, you will automatically be disqualified.

You can enter / post your links up to two times total – one entry each per public, non-private Facebook and / or Twitter account.

You have two chances to win but only one chance PER LINK – please do not post the same link multiple times – duplicate links will be removed. And post your separate links in separate comments to have multiple chances to win!

Comments are moderated and may be slow to be added today but they will be added by late afternoon or early evening.

Comments on this entry will be numbered in order of posting. The winning numbers will be chosen by Random.org, and the winners will be contacted within 24 hours of contest’s end to claim their prizes. Good luck!

UPDATE: The winners have now been posted here.

Big thanks to Loktah for such amazing prizes. Stop by their blog to tell them thanks in person!

Don’t forget you have until 11:59 p.m. EDT Friday to win a “Get it Together Kit“. Have a wonderful Fourth of July weekend!

In the Get It Together Kit, I share the systems, workflow and strategies I used to grow my business from a one-photographer studio that had me feeling constantly overwhelmed to a seven-person studio that has enjoyed exponential growth.

The kit is divided into six main sections (which follow an introduction). They are:

Brain Dump: In this section, I share my methods for clearing my mind, setting goals for the business, creating effective to do lists, and finding ways to accomplish those important goals that aren’t urgent, but are extremely important for growing a business.

Love Your Systems: Here, I give detailed examples of the day-to-day systems I’ve created to run my studio. I cover everything from office organization to tracking workflow to storing archived discs for clients.

Email (I Hate You): I get a few hundred emails per day. At one point, it seemed that email was controlling my life. I found a way to win the battle against my overflowing inbox, and I’ll tell you how. There are examples of how to automate your email, specifics on how to organize folders and subfolders in your email management system, and dozens of tips and ideas that will save you time!

Leadtracker: In this section, I cover my methods for tracking and converting leads. I discuss specifics on everything from the questions we ask future brides to the way we keep in touch with prospects to how we set reasonable expectations with a client once a contract has been signed. Even better, I’ll show you how we continue the sales process after the wedding and boost sales and referrals from our vendors.

Flowstand: What’s a flowstand? One of my proudest inventions. It’s an efficient fool-proof way to organize contracts, travel arrangements, payments, wedding details and more. I show you exactly how I created this system (there are even x-rays of my folders!) so that you can create your own.

Break it Down: This chapter takes you through my workflow step-by-step. I’ll explain the editing and production system we use to edit so many weddings at one time. The process is completely scaleable—it worked when I booked 15 weddings per year and it still works with a studio that handles 90+ weddings. We cover backing up files, rating files, editing, using actions, blogging, designing albums, and assigning tasks to team members to create a workflow chain.

But Wait, There’s More: Throughout the kit, I also share extra tips, resources, discount codes for my favorite tools and equipment, and worksheets that will assist you in starting to….Get It Together.

The Disc: In addition to our 100-page book, you’ll also receive a disc that includes the exact wording we use for simple client communications, the expectations sheet we send to brides, and a 90 Day plan to get you started on goal-setting for your own business.

If you think when you purchase the kit that you’ll just get a 100 page book then think again! The Get It Together Kit Disc has everyone raving about the kit even further. Some have said the information provided on this Disc is worth the price of the kit alone (as if there was not enough in the book itself). Take a peek at what you’ll find on the disc!

I’ve set up a discount code for $20 off the Get It Together Kit (the code is “paperie“). The code is good until July 16th, 2010.

But one lucky reader at Paperie can win the Get It Together Kit! Here’s how to win:

First, follow Get It Together Kit on Twitter.

Next, To win just go to your blog, Facebook account, Flickr account, or Twitter account and post the following:

Get it together now→win “Get It Together Kit” from @GITKIT / getittogetherkit.com at Paperie Boutique / paperieboutique.com by @shutterblog

Post the URL(s) to your link(s) in the comments for THIS ENTRY. Comment(s) must be posted here by 11:59 p.m. EDT on Friday, July 2nd.

Please note: The link you post must direct to a public account. We cannot verify links on private, friends & family only, or passworded accounts and they will not be eligible to win this item. If we have to subscribe to your feed or page or request permission to see it, you will automatically be disqualified.

You can enter up to four times total – one entry each per public, non-private blog URL / Facebook / Flickr / Twitter account.

You have four chances to win but only one chance PER LINK – please do not post the same link multiple times – duplicate links will be removed. And post your 1-4 separate links in separate comments to have multiple chances to win!

Comments are moderated and may be slow to be added today but they will be added by late afternoon or early evening.

Comments on this entry will be numbered in order of posting. The winning number will be chosen by Random.org, and the winner will be contacted within 24 hours of contest’s end to claim their prize. Good luck!

UPDATE: The winner has now been posted here – check it out!




And don’t miss our latest offering…

For years, we could not find an attractive dry erase board for the studio. Being a visual person, I work best when I can see everything laid out in grids or patterns. I wanted to see EVERY single client’s job in process at a glance. It was important to me to be able to know when every wedding was shot and where each one was in our workflow process. I also wanted to know just how much work we had left to do.

Ready-made dry erase boards available at office supply stores didn’t serve my needs and looked too institutional. I even tried customizing them: I purchased black tape and made my own grid lines, but the final product was an eyesore in my otherwise cute studio. Because I didn’t like it, I didn’t want to use it. Enter the “Flowboard“. We provide you with a downloadable PSD (Photoshop) file complete with a video link once purchased to walk you through making the Flowboard for yourself for just $75. This will allow you to create multiple copies of the board, print them as large as you would like and frame them however you wish. The options are limitless since you are in control of the finished product.

Thanks so much to Millie Holloman and the Get It Together Kit for such an amazing promo and contest!

Don’t forget HB Packaging is taking photo box color suggestions in yesterday’s post comments! This is your chance to talk them into boxes and accessories that will match your branding and color scheme!

And check out the new MOOsLETTER—my candy button bags are featured!

If you purchase MiniCards through Sunday you will get free shipping on your order with code A2MEEH.

HB Photo Packaging would also like to know, “Is there a color or packaging item you want for your business but can’t find?” If so, please post about it here in the comments – they are listening! If your branding is centered around colors like grey or orange that are impossible to find photo boxes to match, this is your chance to speak now or forever hold your peace.

HB does offer “print your own” packaging that you can design from scratch using blank templates—but these color suggestions on Paperie Boutique would be for their Standard, and Boutique, and Prestige packaging lines.

So dream it and post it! They’re waiting to hear from you…




And now the follow-up to yesterday’s guest post / photo teaser by Photoumbra Studios. Everyone loves the packaging posts here and this one will not disappoint!

Inspired by so many posts on the Paperie blog, I set out a few months ago to give my packaging, marketing, and price menus a good dose of consistency, simplicity, and of course some pretty! I didn’t venture far from what I had already been giving my clients, but I felt like I could vamp up my look and information a little better. I didn’t change my color scheme nor my logo, which I do think is important because as we all know, it is so crucial to be consistent and it was very important to me to incorporate my website and blog branding into my print and packaging.

Besides staying true to our current branding, it was also very important to me to be able to design tools that could help my clients make smarter and hopefully larger purchases by providing them with an easy to navigate price menu, a wall display design guide, and the ability to choose a portrait collection or build their own. As with any project, there are things I would do differently next time, but also things that I learned work great and I will continue to implement.

First lets start with the packaging. I’ve been using Kraft products to package with for some time, but what was new was some new little cards that I made up that I now include in every order. The cards include a blank “Thank You” card where I can hand write a message, a “Portrait Care Tips” card that is included with any enlargements, a “Spread the Love” card that talks about our referral program, and a “Copyright Info” card.

(If you are interested in purchasing the templates or a copy of our “Portrait Design Guide”) see the bottom of this post.

Our packaging includes:
• Boxes from Rice Studio Supply
• Stickers from WHCC (but I will soon be trying out
  Black River Imaging‘s die cut stickers)
• Bags, Tissue and Ribbons from Nashville Wraps
• Little stickers from MOO
• Thank You, Copyright Info, Referral Info, and Portrait
  Care Tip Cards printed by Overnight Prints

Next up is our “Portrait Boutique Catalog”. The version that I give to each of my clients is 5.5×11 folded press printed card with a 5x5x8.5 insert. The Catalog outlines each of our print and product lines with brief descriptions of each and standard size pricing. The insert features our “Portrait Collection” on one side (5 to choose from) and a “Build Your Own Collection” option on the other side. The BYOC has been very popular and I have found that most of my clients are enjoying the freedom of it.

Our Catalog and insert cards were printed by Overnight Prints.

Finally, is our “Portrait Design Guide”. This guide is given to select clients who are interested in investing in wall portraits. It includes a cover, an introduction to the guide, 14 inspiring designs for wall displays, a card for them to record measurements throughout their home where they would like to create a wall display, and a card where they can jot down any notes, or draw ideas. The cards corners are rounded an they are bound by a single hinged silver ring. Also included along with the guide is a 60″ measuring tape that we had custom branded for our studio with the tag line “Design Away – Photoumbra Studios“, they also receive a pen branded with our studio name and website. Each of these items fit into a nice 5×7 box decorated with our studio logo and a ribbon.

The “Portrait Design Guide” vendors are:
• Cards printed by Overnight Prints
• Wall Display Design purchased from Gradybug Designs
  but altered to reflect our studio colors and I also included
  some other design elements and text into these
• Tape Measures from American Bridal
• Pens from Ink Spot

If you are interested in receiving a digital or hard copy of our “Portrait Design Guide” we are offering them for sale for Paperie Boutique readers.

** Please note that I will not include the actual wall display templates in the sale of the digital copy because I purchased those from another vendor. However, I will include the cover pages I designed myself along with a digital copy of our Thank You, Copyright Info, Referral Info, and Portrait Care Tip Cards. You can order yours HERE. If you say you are a Paperie reader you will get $20 off the digital download price ’til July 4th – making it just $29 instead of $49.**

Huge thanks to Monica Burby and Photoumbra Studios. I learned of new vendors myself with this post, and have a lot of fun ideas swirling around in my head now! Don’t forget to stop by Monica’s website and blog to say “thank you”, too.

P.S. If you are interested in advertising with Paperie Boutique, please contact todd @ this domain. If you are a photographer and are interested in having your packaging featured – or are a vendor and are interested in having your business packaging, marketing ideas, or photography-related products featured – please contact robyn @ this domain to be added to the posting schedule.

More to follow soon. Stay tuned—you won’t want to miss it! Have a great week!
Robyn

You go through life trying to do good and just make it day to day. You stumble. Sometimes you stumble hard. Sometimes you even hurt people. You dust yourself off eventually, regroup, reprioritize, remember you’re not really all that (well maybe all that, but often minus the potato chips), and promise yourself that if you don’t learn from those past mistakes what’s the point of the future…so buckle down and get to it… That’s been my 2010. I’ve buckled down and got to it. I had another such gut-check / perspective experience on a CT-scan table just over a week ago to make me even more focused on what’s really important.

In my recent Rangefinder piece, I wrote about the photographer community and my close relationship with my vendors. While being interviewed about this website, the article opened and closed with the following:

I let ‘Fit to Print’ evolve into Paperie Boutique, a standalone blog, through which I’m paying it forward to those who helped me along the way…..What has this experience taught Robyn? “I’ve learned to never underestimate the generosity of people and their willingness to teach and share,” [Robyn] says. “Just when you think you couldn’t possibly be more proud of your professional community, something as simple as a ‘thank you’ or ‘I can help with that’ never ceases to amaze.”

I’m used to being on the organization and donation collection end of things. It’s been humbling to be on the receiving end to say the very least.

Then yesterday the latest ‘random act of kindness’ showed up on my door step.

It’s no secret that I love HB Photo Packaging, but this was just beyond unreal. This was a surprise just for me, just because. You can read more of the details over here at Flickr – please make sure to add to the comments and thank them on behalf of our professional community!

And shop their weekend sale—HB Packaging is having a 10% off summer sale!

And speaking of vendors, we have a winner in the recent Design Aglow contest! It’s Silvine Designs / Silvine Photography:

Congrats to Michelle and another huge round of THANKS to Design Aglow for being such big supporters of this site, and for donating such fantastic prizes! Thanks to everyone who participated as well, and have a great weekend!

I’m happy to announce we have an awesome Design Aglow giveaway this week – their new Studio Newsletter Collection magazine-style marketing tool. Read on and see more!

Want to get in front of your target market and stay in touch with your best clients in the most beautiful way? Our quarterly newsletter collection is a must for the studio who wants to stay at the top of their market!

Pre-designed, pre-written, yet 100% adaptable, we offer up a bounty of fresh ideas for topics that easily market all aspects of your studio. Show off new products, your most current images, and inspire with fab session ideas while you keep in touch with clients and prospective clients.

Four quarterly issues used for marketing with a luxury feel, printed as quadfold and mailed to best clients or used in high-tech yet cost efficient way, online. We have included instructions to make sideways scrolling online newsletter to blow your clients away via the web.

This beautiful product includes:
• four sets (winter, spring, summer, fall) of professionally written and designed pages complete with patterned backgrounds, design elements, and space to insert your own images
• A full tutorial

PRODUCT DETAILS:
• Fully customizable, consisting of unflattened .PSD files to customize all colors, text, fonts, and images
• Each brochure contains 8 – 4 x 5.5 inch pages – easily print as an accordion at your favorite lab
• Includes product images, but not portraits
• Contains directions to make an amazing online pdf with Photoshop, Acrobat and Bridge, and a slideshow with Lightroom
• Compatible with Photoshop CS or newer, Windows and Mac

How do you win? It’s simple! Leave a comment here with a positive testimonial why you love Design Aglow.

Then go to Twitter or Facebook and post:

I love Design Aglow / @designaglow – visit Paperie Boutique / paperieboutique.com by @shutterblog to win a new Studio Newsletter Collection

One lucky reader will be picked at Random by random.org from the numbered comments. Contest ends at 11:45 p.m. EDT on Friday, June 25, 2010. Good luck!

UPDATE: The winner has now been announced here – check it out!