Free Webinar from National Geographic and PhotoShelter

In case you're interested, PhotoShelter will have a free webinar on Tuesday, June 5, 2012 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM EDT:

What Photo Buyers Want: National Geographic's Senior Photo Editor, Elizabeth Krist 

"Simply put, National Geographic has the kind of photography that makes your jaw drop. This award-winning magazine is revered for its striking images from all corners of the world, and for that reason photographers dream of getting hired to shoot a featured story.

In this live webinar with National Geographic, Senior Photo Editor Elizabeth Krist will share what kind of photography grabs her attention, as well as a behind-the-scenes look at how she and her colleagues closely work with photographers to take the issue’s photos from inception to completion. Elizabeth will also discuss:

*How the magazine’s content dictates what photography will be commissioned vs. picked up.
*The standout quality that makes photographers most valuable to the magazine.
*What it’s really like to work as a freelance photographer with the photo department.
*And more!"
You can register here: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/632256098.  It's free but space is limited.

(I'm not associated with Photoshelter in any way.  I'm just passing on this information because it sounds interesting - unfortunately, I won't be able to attend but I hope they have it available it later on their website, http://www.photoshelter.com/.  If you haven't visited them, they have lots of down loadable free guides "packed with tips to grow your photography business".  They request your email address, but they aren't obnoxious about the number of emails they send.)

Photo Business Bootcamp Week 2

I just got the email for the second week of PhotoShelter's Photo Business Bootcamp. I haven't had time to finish week one's week one's  lessons as I've been working at my "day job" for about 10 hours a day this week.  But here's what's available for week 2. 

Week 2 - Growing Your Photography Business

1. The Typical Business Mistakes Made by Photographers - a 15 minutes Skype interview with John Harrington, author of the popular book Best Business Practices for Photographers
2. Photographer's Cost of Doing Business - a 5 minute audio interview with Greg Smith; this lesson includes a link to the NPPA's  Cost of Doing Business Calculator which Smith helped develop
3. 8 Ways To Get More Work From Existing Clients - a list of suggestions any photographer can use to market and promote their business, based on an interview with corporate/industrial photographer Martin Vargas
4. The 7 Ironic Truths About Successful Wedding Photographers -  a comprehensive and very interesting 10 page article by Missy Lamb, a very successful wedding and portrait photographer in North Carolina.    
5. 10 Ways a Photographer Can Improve Business By Trusting Their Clients -  an article on using the PhotoShelter's Trusted Client feature as a benefit to the client and photographer
6. Steal These Marketing Ideas - an article on using marketing ideas from other industries to promote your photography business
7. Negotiating with Clients Doesn’t Have to Be Scary - a one hour video presentation with Blake Discher about The Right Way to Negotiate with Clients. 

Next week's bootcamp theme is Your Website: Your Most Important Business Tool.

PhotoShelter and Your Photographpy Business

Yesterday I told you about a free magazine from PhotographyBB and that November's issue included a link to PhotoShelter's free photo business bootcamp.

I signed up for the bootcamp.  I got more than I bargained for.  The bootcamp lasts 5 weeks and consists of an email each week.  I thought each weekly email would probably consist of one or two articles, possible a pdf file, and some pictures.  Boy, was I wrong! 

I got my first week's email today - it looks like it is going to be a knuckle-down, buckle-up, set-aside-some-real-time-to-do-some-work bootcamp.  Here's what I got:

Week 1 - Inspiration: the Secret to Success

1. Brian Smith's Tips on Breaking Through  - an hour long Webinar
2. Ami Vitale on Finding & Pitching New Ideas - a 20 minute Webinar
3. Staying Focused on Your Passion Projects - a one and a half hour webinar with portrait photographer Tim Mantoani
4. Why Passion Matters - a 12 minute interview with sports photographer Ed Mulholland
5. Innovator's Bag: Up Close - a 20 minute interview with David Burnett, a photojournalist
6. 11 Things Photographers Wish They Learned in School - an article featuring answers from 11 well known photographers and some Twitterers answering the question "What do you wish you'd learned earlier in your career?"
7. Why Attitude Matters - an article on the 5 positive traits of successful photographers
8. Reinventing Yourself - a 7 minute interview (and article) with Robert Seale about changing your career direction.  Robert left his safe newspaper staff job to (successfully) pursue a freelance career in editorial and corporate photographer.  (This included a link to PhotoShelter's free 2011 Inspiration Handbook,)

Not to mention access to other free guides and webinars on the PhotoShelter Blog.

Even though I haven't seen all the webinars yet, in my opinion, this one week is worth as much as the "business kit" I recently purchased for $30.