still pausing

The past week has been a crazy one in my household—our oldest son’s first day of kindergarten, husband’s business trip to Vegas (he left at 4 a.m. Tuesday), a “big boy bed” for our youngest son, my husband’s return from Vegas (flight arrived after 4 a.m. on Friday because of a hydraulics issue), my husband’s birthday, and a migraine over the weekend that I didn’t think I would live through.

So as I struggle to return our lives to something somewhat resembling normalcy, I ask you to please continue to hold. Your site visit is important to us!

In the meantime, check out “Photo Packaging for Professional Photographers – an online magazine filled with tips and tricks for presenting and packaging your photography”: http://www.photopackaging.com

put a ring on it

(Originally posted to Flickr forums in June 2009. Announcement template design shown below is by Diana Hall.)

Since I’m only taking packages at this time, most include either a holiday card or birth announcement selection. I have online galleries of the designs I offer, and each "client welcome kit" includes a paper sample packet. I use this card design to print on five different paper types (when my lab runs its annual press-printed sales, I stock up in bulk):

I’ve found that red changes the most between the paper types (because not all paper is “true white” before printing). This gives them a pretty good example of the color-shifts between their available choices. Two envelope paper selections are included as well. The back of each sample has the paper type listed:

I bring accordion albums along with me to the newborn (or holiday) sessions – they are filled with samples of previous clients’ flat and folded press items so they can see paper types and styles with the other designs I offer for their own birth announcements and Christmas cards:

Quick tip if you’re on a limited budget to start… Design your sample template with 3-4 identical “strips” either horizontally or vertically. Like basically fitting 3-4 bookmarks on a card — instead of designing an announcement or card here, you’d be designing a bookmark and then printing multiple ones uncut on one flat postcard. When they arrive, take a paper cutter and slice into your bookmark-sized strips. Voilà! Paper sample pack for clients, with 3-4 more times the samples for you to give out. (If you don’t know where to begin, I now offer a template for this at “Fit to Print“!)

P.S. Don’t forget the Moo.com code exclusive to Paperie Boutique viewers expires on August 25th, 2009!

it’s a Small world

It’s time for another guest post! Everyone say “hi” to Carrie Small of Carrie Small Photography in Fayetteville, NC. She has one of the cutest logos I’ve ever seen, and some of her ideas have really inspired me to step up my game!

This is the folder that clients get when they book with me. Right now it includes a price info sheet, business card, trifold brochure with the contract on it, and a client info sheet/model release/contract signing.

I bought the folders from paperpresentation.com.

UPDATE: My amazing logo and marketing design are by Tiffany at OTSS (onthespotstudio.com).

This is the Trifold brochure. I print this myself.

This is the price sheet and the client info sheet.

Here is a photo of all the things used in my packaging. The boxes are from WHCC, stickers from WHCC. I include a CD with web sized images, referral cards, a print care/copyright card, and a folded business card in each order.

On top is a 5×5 Pano Album from Millers.

Referral cards, copyright / print care, and business cards – all printed from WHCC.

This is a bound inspiration guide that I send home with my clients for them to get ideas for wall portraits. They are printed as 3.5×5 proofs and then hole punched and bound together with a ring.

The 5×5 Proof book from WHCC.

And last but not least, all my new baby clients get a gift of a bib, printed at cafepress.com.

Are those bibs seriously not the cutest thing you’ve ever seen? Kudos, Carrie—and thank you so much for sharing with the class! You can see her blog here, and even more of her amazing photography at her website.

Don’t forget to check out the special Moo business card promotion and pre-sale going on now if you missed the last post! And if you’re interested in having your packaging, marketing ideas, or products featured please contact me (my e-mail is in the sidebar and is robyn @ this domain – or you can leave a comment).

a very special proMOOtion

(Make sure you read ALL THE WAY TO THE END of this entry for a special promotion / coupon code from Moo.com!)

It’s no secret I’m a Moo-oholic and there are several reasons why… Besides exceptional customer service and product (a thick, matte cardstock finish to die for and the cutest stickers you’ve ever seen), rarely can you find a printer that will allow you to print as many designs with one order as are included with that product. If you order a pack of 100 business cards and want 100 different images on them, knock yourself out! There’s no extra charge for that!

For my latest Moo business card order, I decided to take care of several upcoming seasonal and holiday promos at once. I had designs printed for an autumn special, a Thanksgiving thank you, a Christmas gift, a special Valentine, and a “baby’s first birthday” present—I will be tucking these promotional business cards into my client orders and correspondences over the next several months.

This is where the special gets “special”. I am making three of these designs available here at Paperie Boutique, and Paperie Boutique only, as a pre-sale through 9 p.m. EDT on Friday, August 21, 2009. (After that they will be available over at “Fit to Print“.) All pre-sale template orders will be e-mailed by 9 p.m. EDT on 08.21.09.

UPDATE: As Friday, August 21, 2009, the pre-sale templates have been sent to all of those who have pre-ordered thus far. If you did not receive yours, please contact me ASAP with your order number. The rest will be sent out as the orders come in. Please allow 3-4 hours for processing from time of order placement (extra for overnight orders).

To participate in this pre-sale, first visit Fit to Print and then register here. Then click the “Find Gallery” link at top right. You will then enter the code “ten” as shown above. At the next screen, click the thumbnail-image and you will be taken straight to the ordering gallery for this product.

Moo allows you to add a full-image to the back of your cards with your logo and contact info (not included) or use their design templates: “The reverse of the cards has up to 10 lines of text available – and a variety of different design templates. You can choose a landscape or portrait card, upload your company logo, or another image – or, if you have a design already, you can upload a design for the complete card back.” (Recommended full-image size 1039 x 697 pixels – 300dpi.)

So great! You’ve got your card front designs. You know what you want to do on the backs. What’s next?

Well funny you should ask because Moo is offering a special promotional code for Paperie Boutique viewers. Go to the Moo.com website using this link. Use the code H7DNEK for free shipping on a pack of 50 Business Cards.

The fine print: The Moo promo code H7DNEK expires on August 25th, 2009, and it is only valid for new MOO customers. You must use this link to begin your order with Moo. You are NOT required to purchase the designs shown above to take advantage of the Moo coupon code—it is available to all new Moo customers!

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask in the comments. Now get MOOving. These sales won’t last forever!

beginning to look a lot like…

I’ve been sitting on my fingers all weekend long to make sure I didn’t spill the beans on this new guest post. Melissa Davis of Melissa Davis Designs dropped by to spread a little Christmas cheer.

Make sure you get all the way to the end for the very special gift!

I’m so excited to be sharing my Holiday templates with you! I know it’s only August, but people are starting to think about family pictures and Christmas cards right? You probably have some clients booked right now who want their holiday session done before the mad rush! So as the holidays approach and clients are wanting Christmas cards, keep Melissa Davis Designs in mind!

My card templates are fun and unique and really are different from what you will find everywhere else. I love bright colors, polka dots and fun patterns, so I try and work those into my templates as much as I can. But on the flip-side, I love soft classic colors, so you will see that in my templates as well.

All templates come in both .png and .psd format for your convenience and colors and text can be changed. If you love the holiday ones, I offer them in sets or as singles so you can mix and match to make your own favorite set. I’d love for you to come take a peek!

As a special favor, Melissa Davis Designs is offering paperieboutique.com viewers a special “20% off discount” until the end of September 2009.

Just enter code PB0809 at the website when checking out (enter code at the website and not in PayPal)!

Don’t forget to bookmark the Melissa Davis Design Blog and follow her on Twitter. There are frequent weekly giveaways and surprise free template downloads.

Spotted over at the Stacey Bishop Photography Blog: Need a new photography-based template for your Blogger / blogspot.com account and can’t afford a designer quite yet? Check out the free Photoblog templates at “Our Blogger Templates“.

There are more guest features in the queue for the week ahead so please stay tuned! If you’re interested in having your packaging, marketing ideas, or products featured please contact me (my e-mail is in the sidebar and is robyn @ this domain – or you can leave a comment).

they’ve got style!

So excited to present another guest post! This one was written by Heather Lickliter. Heather and Frankie Wylie own Stylized Portraiture in Athens, GA.

When we were designing our ‘look’, Frankie and I couldn’t agree on anything. I had just merged my dreamy looking biz and logo with her edgy one, and nothing fit either of us or the photos we needed to showcase. Since we do a wide range of very traditional to very non-traditional, we needed something plain, but still nice and bright enough to be eye catching.

We settled on a rounded corner logo, the middle of the road for an edgy rectangle and a dreamy circle we’d come from. Then we picked three colors we knew would go together: a warm brown, an ivory and a grassy green. More importantly, we knew we could find fun stuff in all of those colors.

The website was first, we made everything out of the rounded corner rectangles to make sure everything had a consistent look. We carried that over to the blog header as well as the inside of the flash itself; we bought a template that allowed us to make each slide one big picture, then I designed each slide in Photoshop to be a montage of photos in rounded boxes.

That pretty much made everything else easy. Our logo went perfectly onto a square sticker from GotPrint or a Moo sticker, allowing us to put them on the bags. Our rounded corner business cards are also from GotPrint. The bags and tissue come from Nashville Wraps, but the photos are also inside of brown portrait boxes from Rice Studio Supply. We tie each with green and ivory raffia.

Our appointment card is a 4×6 postcard from Marathon Press, we just circle the date and hand it to them, or the reverse has space enough for an address and a stamp. The “Thank You” cards are also from Marathon, a nice lined texture. I really like them. The client info packet is also from Marathon, double sided 5×5 cards that we ordered 500 each of all 8 pages. Then we hand hole punched them and put a ring through the hole and tired an ivory ribbon in it. The info packet has prices, a gift guide and a few wall gallery options.

Thank you so much Heather for sharing such wonderful photos, vendors and pointers! This entry is going to help a lot of photographers pull their final look together! Don’t forget to visit the Stylized Portraiture blog and let Heather (and Frankie) know how much you appreciate this guest post!

Have a question? Something you’d like to see featured here? Wonder where something on this blog came from? DON’T BE SHY! Leave a comment!

As mentioned over and over and over again now…I’m working with a handful of photographers to add more guest posts to this site so it’s not filled with my ideas and photos/demos only. If you’re interested in having your packaging, marketing ideas, or products featured please contact me (my e-mail is in the sidebar and is robyn @ this domain – or you can leave a comment).

eye candy

This is part two (of two) of yesterday’s guest post by Kimberly Kyle Photography of Augusta, GA. You can find yesterday’s entry here.

“Why I chose my business colors…”

That question made me do some thinking. I began KKP using black, white and hot pink which I used for two years. I loved the combination but felt the colors limited me in some way to girls so I began the journey to find what colors really suited me best.

I began looking around in my life, paying attention to what colors caught my eye in stores, and looking at color collections using paint sample cards. I also contacted the fabulous Amy Grace with Candy Apple Studios. She helped pull the “new me” together. I asked her to use red, brown and blue or green when developing logos. I gathered those colors mainly from the colors I have painted our home. We have a red kitchen, brown living room and green dining room. I heart color.

I ended up being drawn to the logos using aqua…I’m guessing my love of the beach caused that. Something about aqua blue is calming yet so fresh.

So there you go… My colors are now red, aqua and brown which I am thoroughly enjoying. I love the “pop” the aqua and red give with my packaging. Choosing to use the two brighter colors for envelopes, ribbon and boxes give the packages a unique look. I use the natural wrapping paper mainly because it is easily found at the local craft store and is great for wrapping large prints. The aqua ribbons I use are found here and there.

Packaging doesn’t really have to be the same each time. It’s fun to make it personal just like we do with our photographs.

I also throw in a lollipop…sometimes three depending on how many kiddos are in the family…on each package to add to the fun. Who doesn’t like candy?!

Please drop by Kimberly’s blog and thank her for the amazing two-part guest entry!

As mentioned over and over and over again now…I’m working with a handful of photographers to add more guest posts to this site so it’s not filled with my ideas and photos/demos only. If you’re interested in having your packaging, marketing ideas, or products featured please contact me (my e-mail is in the sidebar and is robyn @ this domain – or you can leave a comment).

bold and the beautiful

This is another “May We See Your Packaging, Please?” guest post. Showing off their amazing packaging today is Kimberly Kyle Photography of Augusta, GA.

Some of the products / vendors Kimberly has used to tie her look together:

♦ Envelopes – Paper Source
♦ Proof box – Paper Source
♦ Ribbon – Michael’s
♦ Natural wrapping paper – Michael’s
♦ Stickers – Moo
♦ Thank you cards – WHCC
♦ Logo – Candy Apple Studios

I’ve invited Kimberly back to discuss how she chose her business colors and overall “look” to brand herself. Make sure you drop by her blog and tell her how great this all looks, and thank her for sharing!

UPDATE: You can view part two (of two) of this guest post here.

As mentioned previously…I’m working with a handful of photographers to add more guest posts to this site so it’s not filled with my ideas and photos/demos only. If you’re interested in having your packaging, marketing ideas, or products featured please contact me (my e-mail is in the sidebar and is robyn @ this domain – or you can leave a comment).

I’ll pencil you in…

I pretty much book packages exclusively now. It’s become a part of my business model. I’m constantly getting asked how I keep it straight, how I remember to book the remaining sessions…and do I forget upcoming sessions and overbook sometimes?

It wouldn’t be kidding to say I have an elaborate system of graphs and flowcharts to keep me on track. (In an addition to constant iCal pop-up reminders.) The photo above is an example of the first half of my monthly schedule print outs for 2009-2010, and also one my package booking sheets by client for 2009-2010.

The sheet on the bottom is one of my monthly schedule lists. If you look really closely you can see the names checked off for each session completed in the early part of 2009. The sheet on the top is one of my package bookings lists.

Each client has every session in their package broken down by “completed”, “scheduled”, or “schedule”. Dates already on the calendar are in Tiffany blue. Each of the package types I offer is jewel-coded, and a client doesn’t get a jewel by their name until their contracts and model releases have been sent back.

Both systems remind me, by month, that it’s time to schedule upcoming sessions. As does iCal. The monthly breakdown also allows me to see when any given month is full and lets me know to close it off for future bookings.

If you’ll look to the left of my monitor in this old office photo from 2008, you’ll see one of these multi-schedules poking out. I keep copies posted to the wall in my office right behind my desk, and also in the kitchen near the phone. That way all I have to do is cross-check a given month (right now through November 2010 as I already have holiday sessions on the schedule for next year) when a potential client inquires about my availability.

I always remember to pad a weekend off in the schedule every few weeks, not only because time with my children and husband comes first and foremost to me (and my boys are not getting any younger – one starts kindergarten this month). But also because when dealing with births, babies never fail to surprise you and all arrive at once, be it early or late. I had six newborns in May 2008 because two from April went late, two from May were born on time, and two from June went early. It was like the perfect storm. Without that extra padding, I would have been doomed. It also allows me to catch up on my processing / orders and guarantee some much-needed “downtime”.

I took most of July 2009 off as a mini-summer vacation with my boys. Of course, it took me until the last week of the month to finish proofing sessions and fulfill print, product, and canvas orders. But now it’s August and I’m mentally ready (especially now that I’m “caught up”) to dive head first into the holiday season, which for me begins in September on my shooting calendar.

If you’d like to see more of my office, I have a group of photos tagged on Flickr. And don’t miss this photo by Pinkletoes—she single-handedly defines office organization.

I should have another guest-post up on the site this week so stay tuned! It’s in the final tweaking stages!

As mentioned previously…I’m working with a handful of photographers to add more guest posts to this site so it’s not filled with my ideas and photos/demos only. If you’re interested in having your packaging, marketing ideas, or products featured please contact me (my e-mail is in the sidebar and is robyn @ this domain – or you can leave a comment). It’s always fun to share and “pay it forward“! Not to mention improve your SEO in the process… Win / win!

to be or not to be…

Settling on a business name was hard for me. I didn’t want to put it up for public debate because those always seem to result in half the group saying they love it and the other half giving reasons and issues dating back to grade school why it’s the worst. idea. ever. Using my name (as in “Robyn Pollman Photography“) wasn’t really an option because no one can ever spell “Robyn” right — nevermind trying to get the combo of “Robyn” + “Pollman” correct. I do own every version of Roby/in Pollma/un and have them all pointing to my business site. But when I started up, I didn’t want to constantly have to spell out my name over the phone. My own grandmother (who I ultimately named my business after) can’t even write it correctly half the time.

After a lot of brainstorming I thought back to what I remembered most about my grandmother’s business. Without fail, it was her wrapping / packaging. I hopped up to that wrapping table just as soon as my little hands could hold safety scissors, and had a giftwrap tip-cup filled during the holidays for every year that followed. My business name was born out of what set her children’s boutique clothing store apart…the presentation and delivery.

It also has the plus of two very common elements — buttons and bows. They are relatively inexpensive to add to packages and product presentation, and they are instantly recognizable symbols pulling my look together. In a sea of Firstname Lastname photographers in my local market, I have the unintended bonus of brand-recognition. That’s not to say Firstname Lastname doesn’t work well. Not having your name in the title seems to be the exception, not the rule and one size does NOT fit all. But again, see “Robyn Pollman”. Thanks to Martha Stewart (a Firstname Lastname business), I’ll never be short on buttons and bows!

(Just don’t forget the downside of using something other than your name: In Florida you need a separate “doing business as” / fictitious name license.)

So what symbols have you tied into your own branding?

P.S. Don’t miss the big SALE over at “the vibe” through Tuesday! You can own everything in the store (let me repeat…everything in the store) for just $50.00! This includes actions, borders, business forms, templates, marketing kits, textures and more. See this blog post for more details.