Ooh, yes yes yes!!! A sure to be fabulous party thrown on Halloween (in the afternoon so you can still go to all your crazy parties at night), in a fabulous location and with fabulous people! If you would like to be in front of the lens for a bit instead of behind one and end up with some awesome images of yourself in costume – drop by the Tosti Studio Halloween party!

You might even see me there!

All the best,
Katie

There are so many words that float around in the photography industry that make me smile.

I shall now try to properly define (much thanks to Urban Dictionary) and credit 2 of my favorites — while they may not have been the first to use them, they certainly were the ones who in my opinion, made them what they are today.

EYEGASM – What happens when someone sees a sight so amazing their brain goes on overload. You may have to blink your eyes a few times to even comprehend the awesomeness that’s in front of you.

Many thanks to the many tweets from @imageisfound that solidified this as a term in my vocabulary – and to his images that constantly back up the definition by allowing me to experience the meaning. I can’t wait to know what the next word is that the awesome Nate Kaiser decides to grace our little industry with.

COMMANDIVE – A state of being in which the subject is telling people what to do instead of showing them – often causing a delay in a process and frustration for all involved.

I read the following on Jasmine Star’s Blog yesterday and it firmly placed “commandive” into my mental dictionary: “Of course I could tell her what to do, but this could take forever, become commandive (FYI, just made up that word), and frustrating for the subjects.”

Now, for me, my word of the day is RADITUDE: A rad or tubular state of demeanor or being. (Also the name of Weezer’s new album).

I think the best part about our Fotoworks Pro clients is their Raditude. I couldn’t possibly imagine having more appreciative and kindhearted clients – and their zeal for life, good humor and awesome outlook on situations makes me all the more happy to serve them.

I also liked one of The Urban Dictionary’s alternate definitions for Raditude: Having the right state of mind to be able to efficiently use the word “radical.”

Joe: Radical!!!

Matt: Joe, don’t use that word man. You don’t have the raditude for it.

What are your favorite words? Have a new one to teach me? Bring it on!

And in case you need a good laugh, click here to read The Urban Dictionary’s definition of Photographer.

Dear Wonderful, Fabulous, Amazing PROs,

It’s RUSH week here at Fotoworks Pro. And while we, on occassion, do enjoy getting a little Neil Peart up in us, we’re not talking about the band.

It’s time for you to tell your fellow photographers about the lab you love – for them to enjoy an amazing new client credit – and for you to earn some rewards.

So we’re offering our very own RUSH WEEK special – without the sweaty frat boys, stained futons, midnight streaking and beer pong. Well, maybe we can keep the beer pong. I’ll see what I can do.

Once or twice a year Fotoworks Pro offers a special increased discount to new clients – a $25 free credit for them to sign up and try us out at no cost to them. The credit covers any prints or services they want to try. If their order comes under the $25 there’s no shipping charge – and there’s no minimum. They don’t have to spend $50 to get the $25 … it’s just $25 – no strings attached.

This year, we extended our special discount for 6 MONTHS! But now this credit, like all good things, must come to an end.

But there’s still time for you to either sign up yourself as a new client or tell your friends and let them enjoy this special credit. All New Client sign-ups done before Saturday October 31, 2009 at 11:59 p.m. are eligible to receive the credit.

AND NOW: THE BIG BONUS: If you have a photographer friend sign up with us and on their new client form they choose “Another Photographer” and type your name in the box below – you’ll receive a $5 credit of your own when they use their $25 credit.

We want you to spread the good word about Fotoworks – take a minute and share your love for the lab that loves you back. Call your second shooters, tweet your followers, facebook your friends – there’s no limit to how many $5 credits you can have.

We love our Fotoworks PROs and we’re sure to love your photographer friends too!

Thanks for sending them our way!

Xoxo,

Katie

Thank goodness it’s Fotoworks Pro! ;-D

Okay, okay… Thank goodness it’s Friday! The weekend is here – lots of shooting to do, which means lots of orders for us next week! You’ve all been keeping us really busy over here and we’re loving every second of it.

One of my favorite parts about this job is that I get to see the work of so many fabulous photographers – and I get to watch them get even better over time.

I don’t have much time to blog this morning, but I just wanted to throw this out there: not to dig on her or anything, but I was really disappointed in Annie Leibovitz’ new portrait of the Obama family.

I was expecting something so much more – more unique, more vibrant, more…. well, more like the work I see pass through our printers every day here at Fotoworks Pro. I know it was a “formal” portrait and it’s not really like you can easily take the President of the United States and his family into a random field to have them run around or to a rundown industrial area to get edgy portraits (although the political backlash of those would be interesting) – but I just really looked at it and though “Eh, I’ve seen better.”

In other news, I greatly enjoyed the Angels win last night against the Yankees – and I’m looking forward to seeing what my boys do against them this weekend. I’ll definitely be watching the game from my favorite Historic Downtown Fullerton sports bar Heroes – cheering my team on with a pitcher of beer while I dump peanut shells on the ground (I think that’s why I love that place – because they WANT you to make a mess). And because I get WIFI there. So I get to watch the game, eat peanuts, drink beer & follow what ya’ll are up to on Twitter while you’re shooting! WOO HOO! Hm… beer, messy peanuts and my laptop. Maybe I’ll just stick with the twitter following on my CrackBerry.

To all our FABULOUS Fotoworks PROs: this weekend, go out and shoot your weddings and portraits and know that here in beautiful Southern California, your lab loves you – and thinks you’re just a tiny bit better than Annie Leibovitz. ;-D

All the best,

Katie

At some point in the process of packing up my apartment last night I reached a breaking point where I just really wanted to throw it all away. Where did all the cheap accessories, endless stationery and insane amounts of candles come from? Tragically: the number of never used shoes and purses that I packed up almost outnumbered the embarrassing hot pink glitter tchotchkes that filled my drawers.

Luckily, I have an amazing best friend who sat with me while I sorted through the endless clutter and tried to figure out exactly what was important to me – what had value.

While I truly am all about the little things – a hot pink glitter filled bouncy ball, the hot sauce packets at Taco Bell that make me giggle, twinkle lights outside of the holiday season and zebra printed votive candles – I’m recognizing that sometimes it’s all the little stuff that piles up and keeps us from seeing the things that have value. There needs to be a balance between the little and the big – between the urgent and the important. Balance – not the easiest thing to achieve – I know I’m working on it.

I disposed of about 12 trash bags full of stuff last night – passing the goods along to friends, neighbors and the real junk went in the trash. And when I stepped back into my apartment after the last run to the trash chute, I looked around and saw so many things that I was blessed to have – so many things that I hadn’t picked up or touched or used in a long time – but they were the things that I love the most.

As I stacked box after box against my wall trying to get it ready to be u-hauled (verb?) this weekend, I came across an old leather case that my grandparents gave me almost a year ago. At the time they gave it to me, I was rushing out the door and didn’t think twice about it. I brought it home and it got lost in the shuffle of junk.

I opened it last night and was in awe of what I found. Gorgeous, classy old leather lens cases, a tiny leather cylinder with a zipper that holds a roll of film, lenses and filters, cameras and cleaning cloths. All carefully cleaned, stored and protected by my Great Grandpa. My boyfriend Jon was over and he immediately helped me put film in the cameras and we shot a few frames of my dismantled apartment.

Jon reached into the bag to switch lenses and called me over to look. He pulled a ratty old camera strap out of the bag and handed it over to me. I stared at the worn leather and said, “well, it’s cool that it’s kinda old… but it’s not like I’m going to use it or anything. I should pack it away…” and Jon said, “Flip it over.” I turned the camera strap over in the hands and as it switched from the worn leather lining to the outer canvas shell, what I read brought tears to my eyes.

Something about seeing his name embroidered into the strap made it finally hit me that these were my Great Grandpa’s cameras – which he loved and which have been given to me. 3 Generations ago there was a photographer in our family. I’m not much for being sweetly sentimental, but I’ll just say it was a bit of a magic moment for me.

I’m going to try to stay uncluttered and unjunked – in the “stuff” I keep, my relationships, my workflow, everything. Hopefully by not focusing so much on the little things, the big picture will be clearer – and I’ll find remarkable things of value.

I hope you all have an absolutely fabulous weekend! Shoot hard, play harder. ;-D  And be excited for next week! Awesome new product announcement coming your way from Fotoworks Pro!

All the best,

Katie Johnson

Hello PROs,

We’re doing a big 25% off our album prints this weekend if you order through ROES. So make sure you get your orders in before Monday night at 11:59 p.m. and use promo code; RLX09.  Save yourself 25% and spend the money on something fun this holiday weekend!

This post was really just supposed to inform you about our weekend sale, but how fun would that be? You need more information, more dirt, more entertainment than that, right?

So here it is, my pros and cons as I look towards the weekend ahead — I’ll let you know Tuesday how it turns out!

PRO – going to see Gamer tonight (looks so good!), shooting a beautiful wedding tomorrow, relaxing at the beach on Sunday, and watching Sex and the City Season 4 on Monday (yes, I actually have that on my calendar).

CON – crazy Labor Day traffic will bump my usual commute as I travel home from work from 25 minutes to about 1 hour and 53 minutes, it’s currently 105 degrees here in SoCal and my apartments AC broke last night, I still haven’t found comfortable shoes to shoot in so my feet will be sore tomorrow, the beach will be terribly crowded on Sunday, as I get closer and closer to finishing the SATC series I find myself sad that it’s almost over.

This weekend I will still be blogging away so look for some fun weekend posts! I am beyond excited for a specific Photographer Spotlight feature that I’ve been looking forward to posting here for a full month now!

Enjoy this Labor Day weekend,

Katie

Hello PROs,

I’m a few days behind on my blogging – you all have been sending a ton of business our way and we’re grateful and catching up. So blogging went by the wayside so I could help make sure orders were still going out same day. I’ll make up for it, I promise.

One question I get asked all the time is “Who is your favorite client?” Like I’d tell you! Ok, fine, I’ll tell you.

I don’t really have a favorite. I mean, I don’t have one that I could singularly point to as my absolute favorite. There are some that stand out though.

I have a few favorites when it comes to their actual product and photography, a few when it comes to their attitude when I interact with them, a few because they spoil me rotten, and a few because I admire their branding and marketing so much… Really, we have the most amazing clients here at Fotoworks Pro and it would take me all day to write about each one – but I’m going to hit some highlights right here:

Jason Cohen, LA - Not only does this man tease me and make me laugh every time he calls, he is also incredibly thoughtful and gracious. There was a time when I first started here at Fotoworks where it seemed like his orders were cursed. Every single one we sent out ended up mutilated by UPS or we made a mistake that had to be redone. No matter how much effort went into perfecting an order of his, something still went wrong. And he was kind and gracious and forgiving. Jason also visits whenever he’s in town, made me feel very not alone when I went to WPPI alone, sends us the coolest spices from Lousiana and every year during Mardi Gras he sends us a King Cake. Jason, thank you for all of the above. You go far above and beyond the photographer/lab relationship and we, in turn, do our best to go above and beyond for you.

Joe Photo, CA – Joe is always a joy to have come in and pick up his prints and I relish the few minutes I get to talk with him and count myself lucky to even be an acquaintance. One time, he came in and took one look at me and said “Darling, you look like you need a hug.” And gave me one. Words can’t express how terribly I did need a hug that day and how much someone noticing and caring enough to comfort meant to me. Thanks Joe. Below is a photo of Joe being his awesome self in New Orleans shot by John & Dalisa of AltF (I rave about them below!)

John & Dalisa Cooper, NV – I thought nothing in the world of wedding/portrait photography could surprise or delight me anymore until I saw the Coopers work. AltF is a completely different brand of photography – with highly conceptualized shoots and a fabulous touch of high fashion, I ooh and ahh over every blog post and print order. Plus, they’re just about two of the coolest people I’ve ever met. When Jon & I drove out to Vegas to have them shoot some photos for us, we were delighted to meet a couple who we felt reflected a lot about what we loved about each other. Dalisa is the driving force behind John’s artistic genius. We both often reflect on those few hours at that shoot as being one of the best times of our lives and have only John & Dalisa to thank for that. Plus, Dalisa turned me on to French 75s & I shall be eternally grateful. You can see an image from the shoot they did for us below. Above is a photo of Joe Photo shot by John & Dalisa.

Amy Squires, CA – Bubbly, fun, girlie and patient, I absolutely adore Amy. Every interaction I have with her leaves me smiling and my day a little brighter. I love that she still does proofing for all of her wedding clients (I am a big believer in hard copy proofs)  – especially because it means I get to sit down for an hour or so and look over the gorgeous images she shoots. Plus, she entertains me after work when I get home and look at her blog for The Wedding Chicks.

There are soooo many more that this blog post could go on for ages, but I do have to do quick mentions of the following:

*Matt & Molly Snelson, CA – I don’t know exactly why, but I am smitten with this couple! I just think they’re the cutest. I love reading what they Tweet, I loved watching them shoot my best friend’s wedding and I cannot wait to meet Baby Snelson!

*Candy Cordes, CA – Sometimes Candy brings us cookies. Sometimes she just brings a listening ear and good conversation. Either way, I am always thrilled when she comes in to drop off or pick up an order. Her sweetness and support have gotten me through many a tough day.

*Jasmine Star – Can you believe this incredibly busy and talented woman takes the time to respond to her e-mail HERSELF? I am always blown away by her personal responses to even my simplest e-mail correspondence with her. Plus, as I’m sure the same is for you, her blog is always on my MUST READ list.

*Kusha Alagband – for giving me eyegasm after eyegasm. Her work speaks for itself. I truly think it is the most unique style of shooting out there right now. Her website does not do her work justice. And where I would normally rail on about how important your website is when it comes to booking, Kusha’s word of mouth advertising is SO good that she doesn’t need more than that.

*Joe & Mirta Barnet – always willing to share their vast knowledge and joy for photography – and I can’t recommend enough that you check out their blog and their workshop site. They get very natural and delightful expressions from their clients and I believe it is because they are such a blast to be shot by. I can only imagine – they always leave me smiling!

*Tom Baker – again, one who never calls or shows up without making me laugh. He’s kind, witty and does a fabulous job with his marketing and shooting of senior portraits.

*Gina Chiaramonte – I’ve known Gina since I worked at a retail lab in downtown Fullerton. I enjoy working with her and her personality fits mine really well. It’s been great fun to watch Gina make the transition between medium format film and digital shooting. She never got discouraged and now her work is flawless.

*Paul Gero – Sometimes when I see one of Paul’s portraits of a child I am blown away by how amazingly alive they look. His sweetness of spirit is what I’m sure allows him to do such a wonderful job capturing children. I am always excited when his beautiful wife and daughter come in to pick up prints and I cannot wait to meet his newest little one coming very soon!

*Ron Goodger – I know I can really let my guard down around Ron and I really appreciate that. Sometimes he’s not the best thing for my workflow as I end up spending a little too much time chatting with him, but he’s always good for my soul! Oh! And the days he brings in his gorgeous dog Andre are days I leave work with a smile.

*Jeffrey Neal – Jeff always makes me feel like more than just a customer service girl. He has encouraged me and supported me so much that my self confidence has vastly increased since I’ve known him. I really enjoy looking at his work and you HAVE to click on his name to check out his site – I love the way it navigates!

*Jon & Sheri Ogden – It has been a very unique joy to watch these two start and grow their studio. They have come such a long way over the last year and it has been an honor to stand by their side as their lab – helping them to find solutions and encouraging them in their business.

*Frank Salas – Everyone loves Frank. Simple as that. I never hear any of his peers speak poorly of him (and let’s face it, this industry is rife with gossip and slander) and I have never had a reason to be anything less than delighted with his images and his presence.

*Brian Khang – After picking up his first order from Fotoworks Pro, Brian went home and made a video blog post about his thoughts. We were thrilled! When our photographers become that enthusiastic about us, we become equally enthused with them. It has been fun to get to know Brian, his beautiful Helen, and his fabulous photography. Plus, I swear I heard his unique laugh above all others in a movie theater while watching Inglorious Basterds. Swear.

*Mark & Candice Brooke - I might just still be on a high from meeting them yesterday, but I get the feeling I’m going to have a lot of fun with these two as clients. Also, I was blown away by their unique imagery and their unique business relationship – they shoot separately! While I don’t know that husband and wife teams shooting together or apart is better one way or another, I know I’ll have fun watching these two work and seeing how they come together and how they remain distinctly apart.

*Jeff and Dana Sipper – Jeff participates in every contest we have on Twitter. Doesn’t matter how big, small or lame. And I LOVE that. Interaction, community, entertainment – he’s making it happen and I am stoked that I follow @sipperphoto

There are many, many more people I’d love to shout out to and tell them how much I adore them and how wonderful their work is – but it’s time for me to begin ending my day here and so I must end this show. Really, I just wanted to express to our readers how much we love our clients and are grateful to be a lab capable and passionate about one on one relationships with our photographers. We know and care about our clients here, on a business and personal level. And for that reason, I am grateful to be known as Katie At Fotoworks Pro.

See you tomorrow,

Katie