To all my ProPs friends…

Thanks for worrying about me!    I’m still here, just trying to find a better balance between work and life.  As most of you know, I’m a single mom.  Something had to give, and for now, it’s the boards.  So consider me on vacation until things slow down a little more.

For everyone ELSE who reads the blog, I’ve been “kind of” on vacation from work for a few weeks.  I say “kind of” because I’m sitting here editing sessions I shot over the break.    But I will try and get to the next installment of the Top Ten Mistakes this week.

Christmas Season!

For those of you who are new to the portrait world, this may sound crazy, but we have been in the middle of Christmas season since early October.  The entire portrait process takes about a month from start to finish — shooting the session, having people come back in for the order, and then processing and receiving the order — so our Christmas ordering deadlines are always around Thanksgiving.  We’re getting a lot of late calls here this year… and trying to work people in, so that means that I’m doing a lot more sessions (both shooting and ordering) than I normally do.

So, now we come to the point of this post.  If you are a photographer and you’ve sent me an email over the past couple of months and have not gotten a reply, or have gotten a delayed one, I’m not trying to be rude.   When I speak, or even when I go to conventions just as an attendee, I always hear two or three snippets of conversation about “so and so photographer who I asked for help and she didn’t even reply.”  I think that most of us who get a lot of photographer email want to help, but because of the number of emails and phone calls we get from photographers AND clients a day, something’s got to give.  I have to tell you all honestly that if I’m at work, my clients are my priority.  And if I’m at home, my kids are — especially this time of year when it seems like every hour they’re home from school is an hour that I’m with a client or working on orders.  So during my busy times, if I don’t lose your email in the in box shuffle, a reply is likely to be very delayed.  Again, it’s not because I don’t want to help, it’s that right now I just don’t have the time.  I try to be as accessible as I can be, but for the next month I have to shuffle emails from photographers into the “when things slow down” pile.

I hope you’re all having a great Christmas season!

New Directions and Burnout

There’s a thread going on over at TPF about what to do when you’re burned out.  For so many of us, our journey into this business began with a hobby we loved and wanted to turn into a career.  The flip side of doing this as a business is that suddenly, your hobby is your JOB.  So what do you have left as a hobby?  And when do you have time for such things, anyway, between shooting and selling and processing and ordering and marketing and keeping up with all the other administrative tasks that we do as studio owners?

Personally, I’ve been fighting a serious case of burnout for about a year.  Part of it is for a good reason: we have a busy studio.  Part of it is from teaching: you never get away from this business, because all of your “fun time away” trips are spent teaching other people about photography.  Part of it, I think, is just cyclical.  As artists, we tend to go through a period of feeling like we’re doing the same thing, all the time, every day, and we just need some new challenges.  Changing things up a bit has always helped me fight the cycle.

Now that we’ve been in our space (which I really have loved) for the past two years, it’s time to either recommit or decide to take things in a new direction. I love my landlords.  They’re great and it’s been a good business decision to be in a historic complex where the other businesses are branded in such a complimentary way to my own.  But when you start thinking… for what I’ve paid out in rent for the past few years, I could be well into paying off my own small building, you start to think about planning for the future. 

So starting in December, the studio will be rebranding a little bit.  Restructuring a little bit.  Changing how we do things so that I can feel creative and fresh again.  Planning for some future goals (like owning our own studio space).  I like that with studio work in a retail space, I can do more sessions in one day.  But I also like knowing that, when I go out and do location work, there’s something new every day, whether I’m shooting outside or bringing some of the studio kit indoors.  And those clients who have been coming in for so many years that they’re sick of all of my backgrounds in the studio will now have new “backgrounds” to choose from. 

So what do you all do when you’re experiencing burnout?  Do you find that it’s a seasonal issue?  For me, that is part of it, although I never really got over the “holiday blues” last season.  What do you do to make things fun and new again?  Shoot me some comments.  I’d love to hear your ideas.

Thank you Abilene!

I had such a great time getting to know you all.  Thanks to everyone who came out and who came up and said hello.  We had a good crowd and I enjoyed talking with all of you!

Now that I’m back from Abilene, I’m done with workshops and speaking this year.  I’ve talked with a few people about trying to plan for 2009 but we’re so busy at the studio, with holiday sessions and some restructuring, that I have not had time to iron out details.  Thank you to everyone who has inquired about future dates and offered hosting!  Before we get to planning anything for next year, I need a chance to revamp the program a little… I have taught the same things in the same way so many times now that I’d like to take things in a slightly different direction for 2009.  Until we get through the busy season, the photographer’s blog is going to get a little quiet (I know: as if that’s a change, but I’m just sayin’.)

Bad Blogger

Yes, I know I’m neglecting the photographer’s blog.  I’m teaching on two different sites this month and that is taking up my extra blogging time.  The big learning is going on at ProPs and Phaunt Actions.  But we do have a few cool things coming up for you all here on the blog.

First of all, if you would be interested in a New Braunfels workshop this fall, email me at workshops at shelbylane dot net.  I will be doing some travelling and speaking AND it’s my busy season, so I’m not sure if we’ll really be able to make it work.  We’d need at least 10 people for a Sunday afternoon/Monday all day/Tuesday morning workshop.

Also, we’ll have a new featured photographer up on the blog later this week.  Another of our former attendees has kindly agreed to let me showcase her studio here on the blog.  So be checking back for that.

Hope you’re all having a great week and that things are picking up for you now that school is about to start again!

Quick Update: The Marketing Collection

We have a group buy going on ProPs, but only until Thursday night!  So if you’re a member over there, get hoppin and sign up. 

Texas Fall Seminar

I’ll be attending the Texas Fall Seminar this weekend in San Antonio — I love meeting other photographers so if you’re there, look me up!    I hate wearing my name tag but I’m keeping my eyes open for friends from the forums.  If you’re thinking, "what Fall Seminar?" here is some more info:

http://www.tppa.org

I’ve already talked to a few of you and I look forward to seeing you there! 

Back from Texas School

And some date changes.    The Dallas workshop will probably be in July now… we had some conflicts and are working out a new date.  But I have already gotten a ton of emails about that one so I will keep you all posted!  We have room for 25 in that class and we will cover the full workshop — business/marketing and pricing, the baby club, branding and positioning, and then lighting, set design, and posing ideas for the first year.  Everyone who registers will take home a kit with all the slideshows, marketing pieces, and diagrams to use as reference tools once you get back to your own studio.

We are about to open registration for the Georgia workshop in late June.  Keep an eye on the site!  I am updating it over the next few days to include new information and new images, if I can get caught up after being gone for a week.  I have about 30 client phone calls to return and a bunch of ordering sessions to set up… I love being at things like Texas School, learning and spending time with my friends, but coming home is always a little overwhelming.  I am hiring someone to help me manage the office, just part time, if anyone knows someone in the New Braunfels area who is looking for a job.

Texas School was fantastic!  I took a class by Colleen Gonsar and Darty Hines and came back inspired and ready to start marketing my senior 08 line.  If you ever have the chance to go to Texas School — GO.  Not only is it an intense week of instruction, but the bonds you form with other photographers are priceless.  Here is an image by the fabulous Jay Young.  He made me, Angela Gonzales of Schertz, Laura Wootan of San Marcos, Melissa Miller of Dallas, Kori Burkhead of Tennessee, and Teri Mason of Austin look fabulous.  These girls are fantastic photographers, wonderful women, and amazing friends.  It was great being able to spend a week hanging out and learning with them.  And thanks, Jay, for making us look so good. 

Baton Rouge Workshop Update

Since I am going out of town for a week, I have extended the early bird deadline till I get back.  So, y’all have till Feb 20th to get those registrations in.  Make sure you register for Day 1 with PPLA first (www.PPLA.net). 

And, if you are a member of ILP or Pro4um, let me know when you email about registration!

Hotel Info for Baton Rouge Workshop

Hey, y’all.  I just finalized the group rate for the hotel in Baton Rouge.

Amerisuites Baton Rouge.  $89 for Saturday and Sunday nights.  Call 225-769-4400 to book your room.  Group ID: Shelby Lane Workshop.

Our roundtable discussion on Sunday night and Monday’s workshop will both be held at the AmeriSuites.  Make sure you bring some marketing materials and some images to share for Sunday night’s get together… it is a great way to get some feedback on your own pieces as well as some new ideas from others.