We spent Monday evening with Bill Parsons and learned a very valuable set of skills that we’ll all be able to put to use as we interact with potential clients and buyers. Understanding how people think and how to quickly build rapport with those we interact with will certainly help us to increase sales and have more successful sessions. There was a ton of lively conversation and I think everyone had a great time. Bill is an incredible speaker and skillfully handled the peanut gallery up front.
Every once and a while in the group, we like to offer a program that is more business oriented. This month we’re bringing in Bill Parsons, a 20+ year veteran of the Dayton Police Department. While this may scare off some of you with questionable pasts and outstanding parking tickets, I don’t think you need to worry about anything. I mean it’s not like he’s from the IRS :-0. I first met Bill during a day long program on the topic about which he’ll be speaking and I learned a lot about how to be more effective when dealing with clients. I’m excited to put these solid techniques to use in consultations when I’m trying to get a bride to hire me, during a wedding when I’m trying to settle down a stressed out bride, and in sales meetings where I’m trying to sell a large canvas instead of an 8×10. Bill has scaled down the program for us and will share the following:
• The Ten Laws of Persuasion that describe the essential motivators of behavior and how to use these embedded traits to persuade people to do virtually anything we want them to do in very subtle ways.
• The Dual engine of persuasion and how both are used in conjunction with one another to cover all of your persuasion bases to satisfy your client’s needs & wants.
• The Foundation of building rapid rapport. Rapport = trust and without trust it is virtually impossible to get people to do anything, this block will cover the verbal & nonverbal ways to build rapid trust and get your client trusting you in record time.
These three topics are the foundation of persuasion and are a logical place to start, as all other techniques and tactics spring from understanding these three areas.
If you’ve ever said “I’m a terrible sales person”, this program is for you. If you’ve ever been frustrated with a client because the client just seems to be ignoring the advice that you’re giving them to make their session better, this program is for you. If you just seem to want to go to this program but you can’t figure out why, it’s because I already went to it. See you there!
In 2007, Jim received the ASP Gold Medallion Award from the American Society of Photographers for his Loan Collection album entry “Messengers to the Creator.” His album was also chosen as Album of the Year by Professional Photographers of America. In 2008, Jim was the first to receive the ASP Gold Medallion Award twice for his album entry “The Otter Family”.
In 2009, Jim & Deb received the ASP Regional Medallion Award for their multi-maker album “Great Coastal Brown Bears” Their entry scored a 100 at the Mid-America Regional Conference.
In 2010 Jim received a 100 for his album “Yellowstone: Backcountry Journey” at the Mid-America Conference. His was again the recipient of the Regional Medallion and the Canon Par Excellence Award.
In 2007, 2008 and 2009 Jim won Photographer of the Year at Professional Photographers of Indiana.
He has held the Indiana Digital Imager of the Year title 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2009.
In 2003, Jim won the Photographer of the Year title at the Mid-East States Regional print exhibit in Columbus, Ohio.
He is a three time Photographer of the Year at the Indianapolis Professional Photographers Guild.
Jim is also the recipient of the Imaging Excellence Award from Professional Photographers of America for over 13 Loan Collection Images.
Jim has placed in the Top Ten Indiana photographers the past eleven years.
Jim’s image “Majestic” was selected to receive the Foveon Award at the 2001 Mid-East States Regional Convention, then was selected to be a part of the American Society of Photographers’ Photographic Hall of Fame. Majestic was then selected to appear on the 2001 Loan Collection Book cover.
He is a four time winner of the Professional Photographers of Indiana Platinum Award for the highest scoring image.
In 2004, 2005 and 2008 he received the ASP State Elite Award for the highest scoring image.
Jim is a nationally approved photographic exhibition judge for the Professional Photographers of America.
Bio and Program Description
Prior to opening his portrait, wedding and commercial studio in 1988 Jim taught elementary school for 14 years. Jim began making the transition from film to digital in 1995. This was long before digital instructors, digital cameras and affordable scanners. Files were being scanned by service bureaus, manipulated and a new negative made for traditional printing.
He is fortunate to make his living as a portrait photographer, a dream come true. It is no secret, however, that his true passion is nature photography. He loves the challenge of the elements be it sub zero weather, snow, poor light, wind, rain, sweltering heat or insects. He cherishes his time in nature telling the story of animal behavior that most people rarely get to see.
Jim is dedicated and passionate about wildlife photography, patiently waiting for animals to share their life with him in the wild. It is his vision to capture and share the beauty of wildlife and nature with others.
Jim will demonstrate his postproduction Photoshop techniques that will make your images rival others. He will take you through the deep recesses of Photoshop. If you know Photoshop well enough to get around, but aren’t using many of the advance features, this program will prove invaluable in raising your awareness and skill level to new heights. The latest insider tips will teach you how to create and edit images with expert results. Learn how to apply techniques to real-world situations.
Feb 6
If you missed Monday’s monthly meeting with Lew Everling, you missed one heck of a lighting program. Lew drove over from Kokomo, IN and in a very friendly and open way, shared many tips on lighting. He showed the differences that arise from using various softboxes, how to analyze subjects so that you photograph them in the most favorable way, how to light a subject with glasses so that there is no-glare, and also demonstrated all of the classical lightforms using a simple two-light plus reflector setup. I think it’s safe to say that everyone took something away from his program and we’re super appreciative that he took time away from his busy studio to spend the evening with our group. Thanks Lew!!! We were also happy to see new faces in the crowd. Thanks Dave and Dawn, Rebecca and Meredith for stopping by. We hope to see you all again. Here are a couple of shots from the evening.
Jan 26
Wow! We are almost through the first month of 2010! January was a great meeting! Tom Walter helped us all to look at the business side of things. It’s the perfect time of year to look at our business, analyze the things that are going well and find the things that need improvement. January’s meeting was special for me since it was my first meeting as the President of PPSO. It is such an honor to serve this amazing organization. I know that I have some big shoes to fill. Looking back on the Presidents that we have had over the years, I feel very privileged to be part of such a special group. I hope that 2010 will be a great year for PPSO and for all of you as well.
Check out the information on our February speaker, Lew Everling, by clicking on February 2010 under the Meeting Information category. I hope you will join us for this special program. Don’t forget to bring a print for the print comeptition and start earning points towards becoming “Photographer of the Year.”
Dec 21
WOW! What a great meeting in December!! Great crowd! Great Food! and everyone had a great time with the Chinese Gift Exchange! (except for those who ended up with some “unique” gifts!) Congratulations to those Print Competition winners. We will attempt to show the winning images in future issues of the Focus. Your new board was inducted and are beginning their work for 2010 – and it is planning out to be a super year for all members.
Be sure to mark your calendar for January 4, 2010. The first meeting of the year will feature Tom Walter speaking on the subject “The Art of Business in the Business of Art”. If you want 2010 to grow and be a more profitable year than 2009, you need this information. Check out the January, Meeting Information Category for all the details.
Also, don’t forget to bring your entry for the “8×10″ Monthly print competition and get a running start on “Photographer of the Year” for 2010. Remember, the print does not have to be 8×10 in size – It just cannot exceed 100 square inches – so get creative with your content and cropping. And don’t forget to give your print a TITLE.
Nov 21
Last month we had a great Print Competition, all who attended and participated learned a lot about what makes a Merit print and what can be included in your images to improve the quality of images we provide our customers.
The December meeting will be our Annual Christmas Party and Chinese Gift Exchange. This is one of the most looked forward meetings of the year!! Enjoy the Social hour from 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM. The theme this year is “Island Paradise Holiday Bash” with door prizes and photos with our island paradie background.
Dinner is served at 6:00 PM. with the installation of the new officers for 2010, and the Awards Presentation where the winners of the Annual Print Competition are recognized.
Be sure to participate in the Chinese Gift Exchange!! This is a HOOT!!
Just bring a $15-$20 gift, wrapped but not identified in any way. It can be a gag type gift or even something useful – it does not need to be something photographic. The gifts are all placed in a pile in the center of the room and the fun begins!!
YOU DEFINATELY DON’T WANT TO MISS THIS MEETING!!!
Oct 22
I sure hope you made it to the October meeting!! John Dingo had a great presentation demonstrating lighting, posing and software he uses to create unique products which his studio is known for. Everyone there learned something they could put to practice back in their own business.
The November meeting will be our annual print competition meeting. Select some of your favorite images and prepare them for entry. You will find it a very valuable and educational experience. The whole meeting is geared to help everyone present learn what makes a strong, high quality professional image and what options are available to make images even more powerful.
Click on the Meeting Information – November category for more information and the print competition rules.
Sep 22
WOW – I certainly hope you were one of the crowd who were present to catch Joe DeFabis’ program at the September meeting!! What an AWESOME meeting. Joe brought his associate, Karen, who served as his model in wedding dress and all while he demonstrated poses and the use of a video light to create unique images.
The results of our “poll” indicated that the majority of you felt we should start our meetings one hour earlier – with registration @ 5:30 pm, dinner beginning at 6:00 pm and the program running from 7:00 – 10:00 pm.
Also, the top 5 subjects which you would like to see featured in programs were (in no particular order) posing, seniors, weddings, lighting and marketing. While other topics, such as photoshop & lightroom techniques and workflow will be included, your to 5 subjects will be the main focus of upcoming programs. Thanks for your input!!
We have another great meeting planned for October.
First Place – Holly Yurchison
Second Place – Peggy Steinberg
Third Place – Janne Peterson
