in living color

Today is jam-packed full of “pretty” and creativity! First up, we have a guest / vendor post and giveaway from Vintage U Creations. And don’t miss the color-inspiration discussion at the end of this post!

Looking for some goodies to add to your prop collection? Here they are! Vintage U Creations is your one stop shop for photography needs! From vintage inspired headbands, to camera necklaces, actions, tutorials and more you won’t be disappointed while browsing through this site. This darling little shop was started by Shannon, a fellow photographer herself. She wanted to add some fun to her sessions with some cute headbands, they were a big hit!

Each piece is hand crafted and made with love. The headbands are SUPER stretchy, so instead of buying the same headband in different sizes, you can save you money and get a variety with one headband and use it for a newborn and adult!

Every headband is different, each one has it’s only style so it fits the needs of every customer.

That’s not all Vintage U Creations offers… Want to be the envy of all your photographer friends? Then you need to pick up one of these “Vintage Camera Necklaces” with your choice of center gem in red, purple, soft pink, and clear.

We love these necklaces SO much that one lucky reader is going to win their very own camera necklace with choice of center gem!

So what do you need to do to win?? Head over to the Vintage U Creations shop at vintageucreations.bigcartel.com and comment here which piece in the shop is your favorite.

Then for a second chance to win “like” Vintage U Creations on Facebook – tell them that Paperie Boutique sent you – and then come back here and let us know you did so.

Each entry requires its own separate comment. (In simple terms: If you want TWO chances to win, you have to do both things listed above, and then make two separate comments here telling us how you did them.)

Comment(s) must be posted here by 11:59 p.m. EST on Friday, March 18th. You can enter up to two times total. Post that you have met both requirements in separate comments to have multiple chances to win!

You can enter / post twice – one entry each for the options listed above. (PLEASE NOTE: Comments are held for moderation and may not appear immediately. Please be patient! They will show up eventually.)

You have two chances to win, but only one chance PER OPTION – 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 number will be chosen by Random.org, and the winner will be contacted within 24-72 hours of contest’s end to claim their prize.

Good Luck!!

Thanks to Vintage U Creations for stopping back by with another incredible giveaway for Paperie readers!




One of the hardest parts about deciding what ‘branding’ look you are going for is picking out a color scheme.

I recently ran across a site colorschemedesigner.com that will help you do just that with ease.

First you select a color from the color wheel and then it will show you similar coordinating colors.

Here I’ve selected another color from the wheel, and clicked the compliment tab – it will add in additional color families that go together well.

You can also view your color schemes (another complimenting set shown above) how they would look together on a webpage – in both light and dark combinations.

Web page demos are also offered in light (and dark) when more than one color group is selected. You just have to play around with all the dials and have fun!

The Colors Palette Generator allows you to upload any image and view a color palette based on the image’s primary colors. I uploaded one of my recent photos as an example. It even gives you the hex # to duplicate colors in web designs.

Similar color generators of note:
1. kuler.adobe.com
2. colorhunter.com
3. colorcombos.com

These color sites would work great in conjunction with “inspiration boards” on Pinterest to design an entire brand and web presence around the things (and colors schemes) you love!




Quick reminder – you have until 11:59 p.m. EDT tonight to win a maternity session ensemble from TAoPaN.

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.

get it together

Today’s guest post is designed to help you “get it together”. Take it away, Millie!

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.

pick a color – any color!

My recent aqua / aqua photo boxes from HB Packaging have caused quite the Internet stir. The company is actually considering offering that combo as an option now. Raise your hand if you’re interested in the comments!

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.

Roy G. Biv

One of the most difficult things about launching a business or rebranding is deciding “what” looks like you. And defining your brand / logo also involves selecting the colors that will in turn make you stand out above all the rest. Be it classic, funky, timeless, modern, elegant, or shabby-chic — the colors you choose will be the exclamation point to finish the statement.

So what’s a photorapher to do?

A great site to check out is colorcombos.com. The site will allow you to view various color-combos together, or create your own. You can enter a color hex value and find related color-libraries. (For instance, this is the combo library for lemon yellow.) The site even has a color combo tester.

Another big help is the “color index: Over 1100 Color Combinations, CMYK and RGB Formulas, for Print and Web Media“. And the follow-up “color index 2: Over 1500 New Color Combinations for Print and Web Media – CMYK and RGB Formulas“. (Or you can buy both of these books combined in the “complete color index: Over 2600 Color Combinations“.)

From Amazon.com: “Each color palette includes a swatch, an example of the colors used in a design, and accurate CMYK and RGB formulas, making it easy for you to find appropriate colors and implement them immediately. The palettes in “color index” are divided into categories based on the moods they evoke, while the palettes in “color index 2” are based on color families. No matter your preferred method for searching, you’ll be able to easily reference hundreds of hues at a glance.”

I have The Designers “complete index” set myself (which includes the “color index“, the “idea index“, and the “layout index“). They’ve been invaluable to me during my years as a web designer, then photographer.

UPDATE: Don’t miss another great link / site review posted in the comments!

So what are you waiting for? You have all the links. Now go play!

If you’re interested in having your own business packaging, marketing ideas, or photography-related products featured please contact me (my e-mail is in the sidebar and is robyn @ this domain – or you can leave a comment).