I am so excited to get to show you this! I got the monthly giveaway idea from Emily over at the Jones Design Co. blog (check her out, I love it!) and well, I thought it would be so much fun to do them over here – but with a photography twist! Of course I wasn’t quite on it for January so we started by giving away my shop but now we’re moving onto the real vision!

So every month this year (at least that’s the plan, it is so much more work to put these together than you would think!) I will be showcasing some fabulous monthly giveaway! There will be an updating  link for it over to the right on the side bar of the blog and you’ll be able to enter for a chance to win everything you see! So fun right?

This is the month of amour and I’m sure you’re going to love what we have put together for you!

And if don’t mind, please help me spread the word and make sure you take time to check out these fabulous vendors!!

They are ALL seriously awesome! 

1.Red Camera Necklace by Barberry & Lace

2. Lucy Frame in Black by The Organic Bloom (like ‘em on Facebook)

3. Just some little extras from me because well we all deserve some delicious tlc!

4. Vintage Camera Art Print by Bilox Housewife

5. 12×18 Linen Pillow with Red VIntage Camera by Classic by Nature

6. ‘LOVE’ Garland by Devany’s Designs

LIKE the GO{4}PRO Facebook Page! And grab the FREE WORKFLOW BOARD while you’re there!

{If you’re already a Facebook Fan than you know it’s a great place and so you’ll need to update your status to say:

Are you following @go4prophotos If you’re a photographer, you can’t afford to not be there!

The Fine Print: Winner will be chosen via Random.org and announced on Monday, February 27th. We will verify the posting of the winning comment and contact them via the email address attached to their comment entry. The winner will have 48 hrs to respond with contact information and than I will send one fabulous box of awesomeness to their doorstep! Good Luck!

Should you have a Minimum Purchase Requirement? Let’s dive into what message “minimum order requirements” send to prospect clients. But if you don’t have a minumum order requirement aren’t you going to get a bunch of clients who only purchase a couple 8×10′s? I’ll also talk about how to get the sales that you want without scaring away your favorite prospects.

By the way… Friday will be the unveiling of the February Giveaway! I can’t wait for you to see everything inside so make sure we’re connected on Facebook so you don’t miss it! 

Lot’s to share with you today! First item on the agenda, we’ve reached over 7K photographers on Facebok! That means that seven thousand photographer’s have decided to Go{4} MORE PASSION, MORE PROFTS & HAVING MORE OF A LIFE! And we’re celebrating by giving everyone a FREE VALENTINE’S MINI PROMOTION CAMPAIGN KIT for the next 48 hrs. All that I ask is that you share about Go{4}Pro on your Facebook page so that we can continue to reach and inspire more photographer’s to go get their dream! Get your download here! 

I am so excited for everything that is coming to Go{4}Pro this year. I feel like this is truly going to be the ‘growing up’ year for this site! I’ve been doing some major planning over yellow curry and pineapple fried rice (my current favorite take out) trying to figure out HOW TO MAKE THIS SITE BETTER & MO’ BETTA FOR YOU. And you know what… I think I’ve got some big ideas that will truly bring you into having passion, profits and a life!

I’m also so excited for  Mariko (check out her website – wow!) who has won our January Monthly Giveaway! Thank you so much to everyone who shared their 2012 resolutions with me and helped spread the word! This giveaway was only the beginning of a wonderful line up of incredible month long giveaways. And we’re going to be featuring some very fun products and not just for your photography but also just to sweeten up your life! The February giveaway will unveil later this week and I think you’re going to really like it!

LAST CHANCE TO GET IN ON THE JANUARY MONTHLY GIVEAWAY – WHICH HAPPENS TO BE MY WHOLE SHOP!

Today’s post is really fun because I get to introduce you to Charlene! And why is that so awesome… Because I believe that Charlene truly embodies what Go{4}Pro is all about! Charlene and I met two years ago at my Seattle Workshop. She was quiet and reserved and she thought she didn’t leave an impression but she did! Charlene is one of those people who patiently and determinately works toward her goals. I work toward my goals too but it’s not a graceful site, while Charlene takes on the grace of some beautifully winged creature, I’m like the crazy bull rampaging through a China Shop. We can all learn from Charlene!

Will you introduce yourself? 

Hi my name is Charlene. I live in Kennewick, WA (eastern WA). We moved here 8 years ago from Michigan for my husband to complete post doctoral work and have decided to stay. I am a mom to 4 wonderful children, 3 girls and one little boy. I love my family and feel so lucky to be a mother and wife. When I am not doing photography related work, I am busy volunteering at my kids’ schools and running my three older girls back and forth to music and ballet lessons.

I am different from most other mom photographers. I started in photography before I had my kids but having kids changed my focus from seniors and weddings to children and families. I have been interested in photography since I was very young. My grandfather was a photojournalist, I learned so much from him and loved looking through his old photos. In high school I built a darkroom in my basement and enrolled in college level photography courses.

 Will you share your experience at the Seattle Go{4}Pro Workshop?

I attended the Go {4} Pro Workshop in August of 2010. Number one, Leah is a great teacher and has so many great ideas about the business aspects of photography. I learned so much from her and the other participants of the workshop. It is an amazing experience sitting in a room learning from an instructor and having the benefit of listening to other people’s ideas, thoughts and experiences. It was great to learn that struggles I was having were able to be resolved and were normal for different growth periods of your business.

I have taken business classes as part of the requirements for my degree but didn’t learn quite as much in a semester as I did in one day of Leah’s workshops. If you ever have the opportunity to talk to Leah, or attend her workshop, please do yourself a favor and just do it! She has so many practical, honest solutions for helping you and your business.

How long have you been a pro photographer?
I have been a pro photographer for many years! I earned a degree in photography and after graduation I worked as a custom printer and shot seniors and weddings on the weekends. I loved working in the photo industry and loved my early clients. When my husband finished up his Ph.D and we moved to Washington, I put photography on the back burner and concentrated on my growing family. During the 5 years that I was on break, I occasionally took pictures of my friends’ families and their children. Although I was taking a ton of pictures of my own children I was really missing the ability to create portraits for others. After much encouragement from my husband, I sold off all of my film equipment and bought a digital SLR. I spent the next year attending workshops and seminars about digital photography. I have been back on the professional level for four years now.

I wrote about getting certified last year! Can you tell us about your experience getting certified?

After returning to the work force, I found out about Certified Professional Photographers. Last year, I set the goal of becoming a Certified Professional Photographer. I spent the next few months working on getting a portfolio ready to submit and studying for the test. I finished the certification process in May.

I decided to become certified after taking the year to study and get up to speed on digital. When I first started out there weren’t very many photographers around and having a degree qualified me for many jobs. After I decided to start back up I realized that there were a lot more photographers out there creating a lot more competition for jobs. I needed to set myself a part from everyone else. This new competition forced me to improve myself and craft.

Becoming certified was a big step and huge commitment but I knew it would not only benefit me but also my clients. By taking every opportunity I can to add to my knowledge base and learn from other photographers, artists, and business people, I am enabling myself to deliver a better product to my clients. It has been amazing taking the time to study and really understand and review the fundamentals of photography. I have found so many small things that I can do to improve my photography by really understanding and remembering the basics of photography.

Three things that make you really happy?
My family, I love my family so much!!
Photography and the ability it gives me to capture spilt seconds of life and create art from those moments.
People helping each other out.

Three things that make you unhappy?
Artists being copied, not only photographers but all artists in general.

People not being honest.
And the fact that McDonald’s food tastes so good but is so bad for you, really is that fair?

Best thing you ever did for your business?
The best thing I did and continue to do is investing in myself. I take every opportunity I can to learn more about my craft. I find that by doing this I am constantly improving and evolving as an artist. I love the fact that the internet has closed so many gaps and there are so many opportunities to connect with other artists.

Favorite thing about being a photographer?

I love capturing the beauty in people, most importantly children. There is something about a child’s innocence that is so magical. I love capturing kids being themselves. I have also been so lucky to have had so many clients turned friends. I have met so many people through photography, that have inspired me to become a better person.

Where do you love to go for inspiration?
My inspiration comes from everyday life. I love watching people, observing how the interact and react to the world around them. This is especially true with kids who haven’t learned to be so guarded about their reactions. I love seeing how people fit and look in their environments whether they blend in or stick out. Life really is beautiful and I love finding the simplicity of things.

What is your best tip for balancing work and home?
Balancing work and home is a constant struggle for me. My husband is so supportive and helps out in every way he can, (currently he is with the kids at ballet lessons). My family comes first, I have 4 kids that are growing so fast and becoming such beautiful individuals that I really try hard not to miss too much life by sitting in front of a computer. I find that if I set a goal to get certain tasks done in a reasonable amount of time it really helps me out. I love the sense of accomplishment I get from checking things off. I take limited numbers of sessions and do most of my editing and computer work after the kids are in bed for the night. I have great clients who have been so great to work with me so I can still be a mother and photographer, two jobs I love!

Thank you Charlene for letting me introduce Go{4}Pro to you and for sharing your beautiful work and honest insights with us! You can connect with Charlene on Facebook. 

Somewhere between got it and together, I lost it. I have these moments from time to time, the kind where I want to scream, cry, jump up and down, kick at walls, you know… Normal sleep deprived, 2 year old type behavior. Whenever I have these moments it’s always, always, always because of the same thing. How do they define insanity? Attempting the same action over and over and over expecting a different result?! Ummm, yes – I believe that was it.

So here I am, feeling somewhere between anxious and crazy all because I did it again! I stretched myself too thin. Whenever I have one of these moments, I feel the need to tell you. I always want you to know that I am real… That was probably obvious with the incredible amount of grammatical errors you have to put up with but just in case you missed those… I need to tell you I’m here.

A real girl – a real mom, trying to be it all, do it all, take care of it all. Sometimes I gotta tell ya, I’m awesome. Seriously, I am! I mean sometimes I’m just a multi-task’n ninja ready to take it all on and I’m do’n it with gorgeous stiletto’s on my perfectly manicured tootsies! Other times though, my awesome sauce gets switched with weak sauce and well, I start to feel it all crumble.

The blogging world has a nasty habit of putting on a perfect face all the time, and I don’t believe in that. We are all imperfect people just trying to get it right. Sometimes we do and sometimes we don’t. What matters is that we keep trying. Every – single – day… We try, we hope, we believe and we go at it again.

 { source }

Just think of it this way… Your readers probably don’t check your blog every single day but it’s almost a guarantee that they check their email every day. Being allowed into someone’s email box is a huge compliment. It means they trust you and care about what you have to say! HURRAY YOU!

Now think about the next time you want to run a promotion… How much easier is it going to be to fill your schedule when you can start by reaching out to your email subscribers first and then follow up with blog posts! These people already know you, like you and trust you and you know for sure that they will see your promotion if it’s in their inbox. That’s a lot better odds than ‘I hope they check my blog’.

BEWARE! As much of an honor as it is to be welcomed into someone’s email box, you can also get your invitation revoked just as quick if you’re just pushing sales-y content that doesn’t make your client’s life better in some way! There is nothing wrong with letting your subscribers in on your latest promotion but also send fun helpful tips and tricks that your readers can use and enjoy.

So how do you continue to grow your email subscriber list? We’re not just looking for past clients, although you definitely want them on there! We are looking for new potential clients as well!

1. Just Ask! I always think we should exhaust the easy and obvious resources first. So start by asking past clients and those you know to subscribe to your newsletter. Also don’t be afraid to ask them to share your newsletter with friends and family that they think might enjoy your services too!

2. Opt In! Opt-In’s are those handy little widgets you see on the side of people’s websites. Look to the right and you’ll see mine (speaking of… Make sure you’re receiving my thrive newsletters). One great way to increase your subscriber rate is by offering something free that your readers will enjoy when they subscribe. Perhaps that might be ’7 days to better pictures of your kids’ or ‘every bride-to-be’s can’t miss list’. Offering something of value to your target clientele is a great way to begin your relationship with them.

3. Great Content! It’s really important that your content be high value. Receiving spammy emails that scream, ‘I really need your money’ is not the way to make friends! Offering fun, well made email campaigns that are a pleasant break from the day… Now that’s worth reading!

4. Sex Sells! Okay, we’re not actually talking about sex, we’re talking about newsletters which – well, are really unsexy – but… That doesn’t mean they need to be boring and bland. I created the newsletter templates to fix just that problem! These are fully layered psd files that you can customize to match your branding and will give you a beautiful finished email that your readers will love perusing!

5. Easy Share Options! At the bottom of each of my newsletters there are options for sharing the newsletters; either via email, facebook, twitter, etc. I use Mad Mimi for my email newsletters but I’m sure the other companies can do it too!

** Check out The Newsletter Templates in the shop! I designed these to be fully layered psd files that you can easily brand for your business needs!***

In case you’re wondering: I use Mad Mimi for all of my Newsletter Campaigns!

All Images Sourced to: houzz.com

While waiting for takeoff out of SeaTac airport last week, I read an article in the Wall Street Journal outlining the rise and what appeared to be the imminent fall of Eastman Kodak Co. Being that this is our industry, I was especially interested in understanding what happened to this once-iconic corporation? How could Kodak, with a history of over 130 years, fall?

The Storybook. As every company writes their history, they each hope to leave an incredible legacy behind and Eastman Kodak has done this. What the great company never expected at the height of its sensational story was to be writing into their tale Chapter 11. In New York early this morning, Eastman Kodak filed for bankruptcy.

How Does This Happen? I believe that Kodak’s fall stems from a choice to reject change. Jesh De Rox said it fabulously in his tweet this morning, “In a business world that moves so fast, standing still looks a lot like going backwards.”

The First Digital Camera. Eastman Kodak company is attributed to creating the first digital camera in 1975. So why then, if they are the founding creator of  the technology that changed an industry entirely, did they lose their strong hold?

They chose not to embrace change. With Eastman Kodak’s lucrative stock holdings being wrapped up in film, the company was concerned that introducing a digital camera could hurt film sales. So they sat on the technology.

The Needle. Kodak’s history boasts of an attitude of feeling untouchable in those glory years. The thousands of employees that made up the company seemed to believe that they were in a magical bubble. No one could stop them. In hindsight, we can see that slowly and surely other companies were working away at getting their footing in the industry and many began turning their focus toward digital. Sony, Canon and many other companies began developing and emerging with the technology that would later come to be in almost every Amercian home, the digital camera. And so the needle emerged.

What Can We Learn? Change is inevitable. Technology comes at us at a rate that is dumbfounding, and that’s never a comfortable situation to find yourself in. We have two options though… When change stands in our way, we can either roll up our sleeves and push forward… learning, adapting, evolving. -OR- We stand still, meekly looking for a way around the challenge. To do this is to allow fear, uncertainty and a lack of confidence to hold us back.. Ultimately, standing still really does leave us behind. Adaption is necessary for survival.

Their Fall. We watched a giant of a company with an iconic history of over 130 years fall today. They have had the brightest and the best at their fingertips with a budget that defies the lost treasure of the ocean and they still fell. You and I… We are single standing businesses. We wear every hat, we act in every capacity, and we are met with challenges beyond our scope – daily. How, then, can we stand any chance of survival? The answer is to JUST KEEPING MOVING FORWARD.

Your Rise. Know that every challenge that you face, every obstacle you overcome, every new skill you acquire makes you better and stronger for the next! Do not hide from change, defy it… demand it’s attention and write your history as the little photographer who could not be broken.

Thoughts? Leave a comment… 

These are excerpts from a wonderful article written by President Thomas S. Monson. 

Living the Abundant Life

At the advent of a new year, I challenge all, everywhere, to undertake a personal, diligent, significant quest for what I call the abundant life—a life filled with an abundance of success, goodness, and blessings. Just as we learned the ABCs in school, I offer my own ABCs to help us all gain the abundant life.

So many of you have been asking to here the update on what happened after THIS POST. Here you go… 

I never quite knew where I came from. Like an awkward silence I wondered who had come before me, if I could be proud of who they were, what my ancestors cared about?

And so I started searching… I was especially baffled by my dad’s dad’s line. As my family tree grew in every direction, that line stayed a mystery. Armed with a Christmas Card written to my Grandpa dated 1985, I sent a letter to South Charleston, Ohio. I didn’t know if I would hear anything back, or if anyone could possibly give me any answers but I pushed up the flag on the mailbox and sent it off with a prayer attached. And than I got the call. Four years ago, while pushing my girls on the swings my phone rang, and my introduction to Marian was made. …Read the full back story HERE.

This last Christmas, I asked my dad to go to Ohio with me to meet Marian. I didn’t really have any expectations. I was just so excited to meet her, Marian is 98 years wise and after 4 years of talking over the phone, email and through letters I would be blessed to meet her in real life!

After a day of traveling, my dad and I arrived in So Charleston at 4:00 pm local time. We laughed as we drove through the small town. We’d been planning to grab a quick bite to eat so as not to show up to the house hungry but there was nowhere to stop. This was a SMALL town.

As we drove down the quiet road of Main Street we found the house! This was the house that Marian had lived in, and her mother Leah had too. This home was rich with my family history and I was being given the chance not only to learn the stories but to stay in and explore the house for 3 days.

All I’d ever known was that I was named after two great aunts. Leah, was on my dad’s side and Remillet (my middle name) was on my mom’s side. Marian is the daughter of Leah.

What I found out… My family is huge and amazing! Pretty much I come from a long line of awesome, oh yes – that’s right! On the first night family came piling in to have dinner with us. There was at least 15 people there, all to meet my dad and I. They were as excited to meet us as we were to meet them which is really saying something because I was like a kid waiting to walk in a candy store.

The most wonderful and incredible part of all of it was how at home I felt. Both my dad and I commented on it over and over again, it was so natural. I didn’t feel like these were introductions, I felt like I was just getting together with family I hadn’t seen for a while. There were no awkward ‘wait to get comfortable moments.’ The whole night was filled with laughter and stories and a little bit of heaven placed on Earth just for us.

The following days were filled with more magical adventures of laughter, love and memories. I visited both family cemeteries seeing generations dating back to the 1800s! I asked sweet Marian question after question, prodding her to tell me more and more stories. Her memory is amazing and I learned generations worth of history from this one angel of mine. In Marian’s sweet way she casually mentioned as I prodded about her own career as a mathematician that she’s heard Albert Einstein speak, I had to pick my jaw up off the floor and then pick it up again as I shrieked and giggled like a little girl in front of Justin Bieber.

We talked about anything and everything I could think of… What her advice was for me in raising good kids, how she met her husband, what the great depression was like for her, what Leah (her mother) was like… What she thought was wrong with the world today, what it felt like to have seen the world go from horse and buggy to orbiting the Earth. What she loved about her childhood, what question she didn’t enjoy (which was “how are you feeling today?”). It was one of the most enlightening and enriching weekends I’ve ever had.

I visited and explored from basement to attic not only the home on Maine Street but also the original home that Leah raised her family in, which they refer to as the farm (bottom right). I climbed up in my first turbine tractor and the tires were taller than me – it was awesome. I learned about farming the hundreds and hundreds of acres that have never left the family.  I also had sauerkraut for the first time ever, which turns out to be delicious! Although it might only be because of the wonderful chef who cooked it for me! I’m told the trick is chicken broth, white wine, garlic and onions to calm the flavor. All I know is that I was really nervous about what was piling onto my plate and I ended up wanting seconds!

My trip was amazing! As I write this I find myself putting together all of the moments in my head to tell this story to you. I can’t help but feel in awe over the chain of events. I know with everything in me that Marian was kept here for me. I know now that my deep need and love for family comes from a long line of generations that needed, loved and took care of one another. And most importantly I know that prayers are heard and answered.

I feel so incredibly blessed to have spent this last weekend with Marian,our family and my dad. There is no question that angels were a part of all of this and I am grateful, so grateful to belong to this family! Family is the most important gift we have in this life. Families are meant to be together forever!