Elgin Bridal Show

And the winner is.... Samantha Jackson. Ijust thought I would get that out of the way right away. Earlier today, I was at a bridal show at the Elgin Holiday Inn. At most bridal shows, I hold a drawing for some sort of wedding related prize. Congratulations Samantha, I will be personally contacting you to arrange a time for your complimentary engagement session.

While there were not a lot of people at today's show, I did get more of a chance to speak with the brides as they came through. However, the couple that made the biggest impression on me were already married. As the story unfolded, it seems they got engaged on Tuesday and married on Friday! Talk about no time to plan a wedding. Wow!

Melissa and Dan's Album

I have just completed the initial design for Melissa's and Dan's album. I thought I might try something a little different. Rather than show you some my favorite album spreads from their book, I thought I would try a complete album show.



Were you able to view the show. Pretty neat, being able to put a slide show into a blog entry.

Getting Home

Getting home from Image was an adventure. I woke up early on Wednesday morning only to have a message from the airline saying my flight was cancelled. They would not be able to get me out of San Antonio until Saturday! Ugh.

Right after I gave up trying to get home, inspiration hit. I found a flight to Dallas for less than another night at the hotel would cost. From there I could get a flight to Chicago. Well I arrived at Dallas Love field with less than 45 minutes to get to DFW airport. When I found the taxi stand, there was a problem and no cabs were leaving.

I reverted to plan ZZ432 (well at least it seems that way), and called my best friend Julie who invited me to stay overnight at her house. Julie's husband Steve picked me up at the airport and we had a very enjoyable evening catching up. It was the same weather problems which kept Julie from getting to San Antonio the previous Saturday. So I guess it was just meant to be.

The next day, I caught a flight home. After I arrived home, a friend told me that had I been at the San Antonio airport 30 minutes earlier I could have caught a delayed flight home where they were actually looking for anybody going to Chicago. All in all it was a good trip and I got to see Julie.

Image Day 3

Well here it is the last day of the show. I've made some new friends from across the country and learned a thing or two. The speakers today more than made up for the poor speakers yesterday.

I managed to get a deal for my new sample albums. Wait until you see my new "CoolTure" line. There was some software I bought and then came the most exciting news of the show. I was talking to the publishers of many of the photography "how to" books and was invited to submit a book proposal. How I'll find the time, I don't know but I do know that it is now high on my list.

Also, I'm a little worried about getting home tommorrow. We've heard that many flights this afternoon and Wednesday morning have been cancelled. So far, my flight is showing on time. However, that can change in an instant. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Image Day 2

The weather around here continues to be rotten, even for Chicago standards. It is cold with a freezing rain. It has been this way ever since I got here on Saturday and shows no signs of relenting in the next day or so.

Today's schedule of speakers was pretty weak. There were one or two which were interesting but nothing earth shattering. I've been walking the trade show floor looking for some new and exciting products to offer my clients. I think I've found a thing or two. You'll just have to wait to see what I've found.

It is pretty late and I want to get an early start for the last day of the show. This is the day where I typically make my final purchase decisions and go from there. Also the last night of the show is known for its party to celebrate the next year's show. Image 2008 will be in Tampa. Maybe we'll have better weather there.

Image Day 1

I arrived in Texas yesterday. The journey itself was a saga of a broken plane which I will not bore you with. Suffice to say, we arrived in Texas, three hours late. When I arrived at the hotel, I had a message from some friends from home who coincidenally were in San Antonio for another conference. We met for drinks and then they went to dinner.

Sunday the conference started. Wow, what a day. I started at 7:30, in a talk on how to excite your brides to get the best images. Sad to say, I disagreed with much of what the photographer was saying. My clients are excited enough and don't need me to get them more emotional. However, I the point I did take from the talk is a wedding photographer needs to read the mood of the client and use it to create the images.

Next I went to listing to another photographer talk about marketing. He gave me some ideas and also confirmed that my new marketing plan is the right approach. There were no speakers in the third block who interested me, so it was off to the trade show floor to see what was new. I spent 6 hours there. I ran into many old friends. Saw some interesting new products. My plan is to go back in the next day or so when I decide what I will buy or add to my packages and get the stuff I need. The evening was spent networking at a couple of sponsored events (ie parties). Now it is nearly midnight and Monday's events start at 7:00.

Image 2007

In just a few short hours, I will be leaving for the Professional Photographer's of America annual convention. This year the convention is being held in San Antonio from January 14-16. This is a chance to see old friends, make new ones, learn some new things and see what new and exciting products are available. Furthermore, as a certified professional wedding photographer, I need to earn continuing education units to maintain my status. Attending Image provides me with some of the required CEUs.

I've got a lot to complete before I head off to image. So please forgive me for the brief entry. Also, while I plan to bring my laptop to Texas, I'm not sure if I will be able to connect to the internet. If possible I will update the blog while at image, if not, I'll do it when I get back home.

Out with the old and in with the New

The new year is only a week old but I've got to finish several albums from last season and then get ready for next season. One of the most important items to cross off the annual todo list is determine packages and pricing for the next year. In some ways I dread the process and in other ways I can't wait to get to it.

The tough part is all of the pricing decisions. The fun part is deciding what to offer. This year I've found a really cool album to offer. What makes this album so special is the cover, a photo placed under, well the only way to describe it, is that it looks like somebody poured Future floor wax over the top and let it try. After deciding to add this album to my packages and pricing it, I needed to come up with a new name. After much thought CoolTure it is!

I've got the perfect wedding to feature in a CoolTure sample album, Amanda and Joseph's wedding. I will be designing their album in a couple of weeks and then modifying it to create my new sample album. I expect to have the CoolTure sample albums available by the end of February.

Happy New Year

Well here it is New Year's Day. Last night Sheryl and I did not do much except take care of our kids, just like any other night. Sheryl made the mistake of telling them about the ball dropping so they had to stay up until 11:00 to see that. Then she mentioned the Chicago fireworks at midnight. So the great procrastination continued for another hour. The kids saw the fireworks and then went to bed.

Today, we visited the Shedd Aquarium. This was something new for the kids. Mathew really liked the dolphin show. In his own words, "They were funner" After the Shedd, we went to Navy Pier to watch the fireworks show which started at 7:00. The show was nice but all too soon the day was over, we were off to home and put the kids to school. Meghan wondered where her winter break went. Tommorrow she has to go back to school.