senioritis

The digital edition of the March 2011 Professional Photographer Magazine is now online for digital subscribers.

For this month’s article, I reviewed senior products and trends by Jamie Schultz Designs, Moo.com, Design Aglow, Pixel2Canvas, Miller’s Professional Imaging, ProDPI, and WHCC.

Click the magazine pages above for larger versions. You can find the article on page 68, page 70, and page 72 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.

I would like to extend a special round of thanks and kudos to Myra Klarman Photography for this column – without her, and her amazing senior photography, the issue would not have been possible! If you live in the Ann Arbor area, do not miss Myra and her work!




Ever wonder how you can get your hands on this magazine I’m always talking about? Well right now you can get a a one-year subscription (12 monthly issues) for $19.95 – and be entered in a contest to win up to $10,000.

Plus, when you subscribe you will receive a FREE GIFT INSTANTLY – Professional Photographer’s exclusive guide “How to Make More Money in Professional Photography“.




And to wrap things up, I have a few contest winners to announce! First up is the second winner in the HB Photo Packaging Contest….it’s Hannah G. Photography!

The winner in the LOKTAH Amazon Collection contest is…Moments by Kara!

And the winner in the LOKTAH Portfolio giveaway is…Life in Bloom Photography!

Congrats to all the winners, thanks to each and every one of you who entered, and thanks to HB Photo Packaging and LOKTAH for being such amazing vendors here at Paperie! I’ll be in touch with the winners to claim their prizes soon!

P.S. This is completely unrelated to anything Paperie, but will you please take a second to vote for regular Paperie contributor Heather Lickliter in the Crate & Barrel wedding contest? You can do so here. Thanks, and good luck Heather!

I would like to subscribe

The digital edition of the February 2011 Professional Photographer Magazine is now online for digital subscribers. And read on for a very special guest / vendor post givaway from the Photographer Cafe !

For this month’s article, I reviewed royalty-free, rights-managed and stock music options by: SongFreedom.com, Music Bakery, Frances England, JewelBeat, Ear Candy Digital, Triple Scoop Music, Red Beard Music, Stock 20, and metta audio.

Click the magazine pages above for larger versions. You can find the article on pages 60 through 62 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.

Photographer Cafe is known for its practical, stylish products that save you valuable time. From marketing materials to card templates to album templates to an inspirational blog, Photographer Cafe is a phenomenal resource for photographers of all levels and experience.

Photographer Cafe recently introduced its BASIC Newsletter content and templates. You instinctively know how powerful a newsletter is for keeping in touch with your clients and attracting new clients, and you understand how important it is to keep up your marketing efforts in this very competitive industry. However, if you’re like us, “send out newsletter” is always on your To Do list, but it somehow gets moved lower and lower down the list as other, more pressing tasks arise! Or, you may actually take the time to sit and draft a newsletter, only to find yourself plagued by writer’s block.

Photographer Cafe is here to rescue you! 2011 is the year you will send out the gorgeous newsletters you’ve always envisioned. Photographer Cafe makes it so simple – you can customize and send out a newsletter within a matter of minutes! With 12 beautifully crafted mini articles, you will have enough content for a year’s worth of quarterly email campaigns. Our content is especially designed for lifestyle child and family photographers and allows you to effectively communicate your style, expectations, and promotions with an upbeat, yet professional voice.

One especially lucky winner will receive a free Newsletter set of his or her choice. Choose from Retro, Curves, or Contemporary, whatever suits your style. Getting your newsletters done is going to feel soooooo good!

To enter:

1) Leave a comment below telling one marketing effort you plan to make in February

2) Become a fan of Photographer Cafe on Facebook (and report back here)

3) Follow Photographer Cafe on Twitter and tweet the following: Hey! @PhotogCafe / PhotographerCafe.com is giving away a Newsletter Set for photographers over at @paperieboutique / PaperieBoutique.com.
(and report back here)

Each action will earn one entry. A winner will be chosen by Random.org at the end of the day Thursday and announced Friday morning.

Good luck everyone, and thanks once again Photographer Cafe!

booking it.

The digital edition of the January 2011 Professional Photographer Magazine is now online for digital subscribers.

For this month’s article, I reviewed business catalog products by Design Aglow, FrancyPants Designs, TAoPaN, Sassy Designs, Inc., and The Designer Concept.

Click the magazine page above for a larger version. You can find the article on page 98 and page 100 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.

gimme an S! an E! an O!

The digital edition of the September 2010 Professional Photographer Magazine was released today.

(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.

eyes all aglow…

The digital edition of the August 2010 Professional Photographer Magazine was released today. (P.S. Keep reading for a special giveaway from Design Aglow!)

For this month’s article I paired with Heather Lickliter of Stylized Portraiture – we reviewed camera straps / accessories by The Strap Buddy, Photojojo, My Funky Camera, Priddy Creations, PhatStraps, Pepper, Capturing Couture, Black Rapid, and Abie.

You can find the article on page 46 and page 48 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.

Today’s guest post / giveaway is courtesy of one of our favorite vendors – Design Aglow.

Want to be the photographer EVERYONE wants this year, just to get this completely unique keepsake? You will with these ornament card offerings!

Hot off of the presses at Design Aglow, these innovative holiday cards promise to leave your clients hanging… in the homes of friends and family. Simply choose one of the five delicious two-sided designs, print, and add your own ribbon for an inspiring way to wish loved ones the best while earning a prominent spot in their homes (and their hearts). A revolutionary idea to create a bold new market for the holidays!

Not sure every client is ready for round? Design Aglow also includes a set of coordinating 5×5 flat square cards to help you sell a more traditional option too!

PERFECT FOR:
• Holiday ornament cards not offered anywhere else
• Round cards for birth announcements, save the date or any occasion
• Two sided square cards
• Your own studio greetings to clients and those who refer you

See more info about these lovely ornaments and printing pricing too, right here.

Now for the fun part…the giveaway!

Winner gets a $100 gift certificate to Design Aglow!

How do you win? Link to Design Aglow’s new cards on Twitter, Facebook, or your blog with the following text:

See the new Holiday Ornament Cards http://is.gd/dYrNP by designaglow.com / @designaglow and win $100 gift certificate at paperieboutique.com

Then come back here and comment 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 Wednesday, August 4th. You can enter up to three times total. Don’t forget to post your Twitter, Facebook, or blog links in separate comments to have multiple chances to win!

Please note: The links 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 the gift certificate. If we have to subscribe to your feed or page or request permission to see it, you will automatically be disqualified.

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 here!

Thanks so much to Design Aglow for another awesome giveaway, and to all the camera strap vendors that allowed me to review your products for the August 2010 issue of Professional Photographer Magazine

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!

bag lady

It has been so hard sitting on my hands waiting for the new July 2010 issue of Professional Photographer Magazine to be released!

This month you’ll find me in good company over in “The Goods” section (pages 60-63) and the topic is one that made me swoon – camera bags. I got to hug, squeeze and call every single one of ‘em “George“. It was amazing. And so are the bags! So keep your eyes peeled for the snail-mail copy, and download the digital edition now if you’re a PPA member.

Big thanks to Epiphanie, *emera, Kelly Moore, Jo Totes, and Photojojo for allowing me to review your bags!

publish or perish

I know what you’re thinking – TWO posts in one day? That’s just crazy talk! But it’s not every day a girl gets her own column in Professional Photographer Magazine! (June 2010 – “Profit Center: Roundup: Soup-to-nuts Marketing Kits“)

It features marketing kits by Design Aglow, GO{4}PRO, Photographer Cafe, Jamie Schultz Designs, Sarah Q Design, The Polished Photographer, and photoDUDS.

And don’t forget there’s a giveaway to win a cupcake-themed gift wrapping kit!