This is COMPLETELY unrelated to the topic of this post but I just HAD to tell you all that my AMAZING and FIT friend Julie got me out of the house this morning at 5:50am for a two mile run/walk. I had to add the /walk part b/c I can’t run two consecutive miles yet. YET. Because people, I WILL! We ran/walked yesterday too and although I can barely move my legs I got up today to go with her again. She read on here that I wasn’t comfortable in my own skin, which I’m not, and was inspired to help me out!

THANK YOU JULIE! You are a rock star!

And now back to the awesomeness I get to share on here today!

PASCALE WOWAK!

Have you heard of her? If you’re a photographer I’m sure you have but just in case HERE IS HER BLOG and HERE IS HER WEBSITE!

She’s awesome. And has been a blog-friend of mine for a while now. But I’m not telling you this just so you can go read her blog, which you should, but because she wrote a book about starting a photography business and she’s giving one away today!

This book is not just for those of you considering starting your own business, it’s great if you just want to learn more about photography too! Here’s a description…

Getting Started in the Photography Business – From Head to Toe

This is an 80 page full color book that covers all the basics of digital photography in simple, easy to understand language. I cover everything from shutter speed, aperture, ISO to focal length. I also cover such topics as all the steps I took to launch my successful photography business as well as tips on juggling motherhood and running your own business. I talk about the big stuff and all the nitty gritty details that no one tells you about! I also delve into tricks of the trade for photographing pregnancy and newborns, including little known secrets that will save you time and money! This is four years worth of experience that can help you avoid some simple mistakes I made and get right to the good stuff! This book is just as valuable as a beginner photography course book whether or not you plan on launching your own photography business down the road. Most photography manuals are incomprehensible when it comes to the technical side. This is the book that I wish had been out there when I was learning everything from scratch by myself.

Doesn’t it look amazing?

I love that Pascale wrote this book! I love that there is a book out there by someone actually LIVING the crazy life of MOM/PHOTOGRAPHER and who’s super successful at it all! Although I’m sure she would be the first to tell you she struggles with everyday life just like everyone else! If you are in or around the Santa Cruz, California area give her a call to capture your family!

AND… in an effort to let you get to know Pascale a little more I asked her some questions for our blog about BLOGGING!

Blogging about blogging. I love it!

AND I am seriously interested in the world of blogs so it was great to read her answers!

1. Do you love blogging

For the most part, yes, but it can definitely be a double edged sword.  If I don’t update my blog every other day I feel tremendous guilt because I have a fair amount of people who check in every day and I don’t want to “let them down,” so to speak.  The pressure is completely self imposed and I know this, and yet, I can’t help but feel the need to get something out there on a very dependable and reliable basis!  On the flip side, I truly do LOVE sharing and expressing myself on my blog.  It’s a great outlet for me to communicate with people whom I know appreciate great photography and specifically moms who know all too well  the trials and tribulations of being a mommy and juggling three thousand balls in the air all at once.  We’re way better than any circus act!

2. Why do you blog

For several different reasons.  One reason is for my clients.  The blog is a place for me to showcase a sneak peek of their session with me and make those images available for all their family and friends to view.  My clients LOVE this and it’s such a great treat for them.  They just send a mass email to all their friends/family linking to my blog and they get a great preview of some of my favorite shots from their session with me in the process.  My blog posts tend to be REALLY long, too.  We’re not talking 5 or 6 images here…. oh no, I post between 25 and 35 shots for each client blog post.  I know, it’s a bit ridiculous, but I have the hardest time narrowing it down.  It’s just easier for me to post more!  The second reason I blog is to share stories from my personal life.  I love posting shots of my kids or activities we’ve done and so on.  It’s a great way to show my readers that I really am a mom dealing with all the same daily chaos they deal with every day too.  We’re all in this together!    The last reason I blog is to share some of the great stuff I find out about!  I’m all about sharing the 411 on the great theater play that is going on locally or a super neat item for your kids’ lunches, etc.. basically, anything that is going to enrich your family life or make your mommy life easier is something that NEEDS to be shared.  I feel totally compelled to showcase these things….it’s my duty. 🙂

3. How has your blog helped your business

I haven’t advertised in years.  I do absolutely NO marketing whatsoever and yet I book out up to 8 months in advance.  This is due solely to word of mouth.  My clients basically ROCK.  They are awesome.  And I provide zero incentive for them to share my information with their friends too.  I don’t believe in doing that.  I want them to recommend me because they WANT to recommend me, without any strings attached.  I want it to be 100% genuine, and not just because they stand to benefit from it.   And my clients are truly the best, they make it possible for me to book out so far in advance thanks to the wonderful things they say about me to their family and friends.  And, of course, I work my tail off for my clients and give them my very best at every single shoot.  And the way that all ties into the blog is that the sneak peek is invariably shared with everyone they know and love and then those people find out about me through the shared link to my blog post.  After every blog post I do, I get inquiries from family/friends of the client whose images I just posted.  My images speak for themselves and then my clients bolster that interest with the wonderfully kind things they say about me and how I run my business.  It all works together in a very symbiotic way.

4. Who is your target audience

I’m not sure I have a target audience per se, but I do know that the majority of my readers are my clients, who are mommies with young children, just like me.  A great deal of my clients are all friends with each other and I’m fortunate enough to be able to call them my friends too.  I’ve been photographing their kids for years now and I feel very close to them.  We attend a lot of the same local events together, we chat on facebook regularly, we support each other and cheer each other on.  I get to hear about what their kids are doing throughout the year, not just on our annual photo shoot and I LOVE that.  I’m very attached to my clients to the point of feeling weird about even calling them clients.    I love the feeling of “community” I have with them and that extends to my blog followers as well. 

6. Do you open up on your blog or is it all business

I haven’t the faintest clue!  I would hope they come  to see my pretty pictures and then stick around because they like what I write about and feel a connection with me and my work.   It’s all about a vibe, really.  The photoblogs that I bookmark and follow are not just great photographers but, almost more importantly, great people.  They are the folks I’d actually want to hang out with in person.  People I could totally see myself clicking with.  I need to feel that if I am going to take time out of my busy day to read someone’s blog on a regular, committed basis!  It is a “sort” of relationship when you think about it.  In a weird, information-age kinda way, granted, but still, a relationship no less!

Thanks Pascale for answering my bloggity blogging questions!

Interested in this awesome book??? Go HERE to buy it! Makes a great Christmas gift for those in your life that want to learn how to take better photos!

And NOW for the giveaway!

We are having our very first NAME THIS PHOTO contest! Leave your photo title on THIS post today (as a comment) before midnight and be entered to win one of Pascale’s books!

HAHAHA! I can’t believe I am putting this photo on the WORLD WIDE WEB! HA! It is SO awful I wouldn’t let my mom print it! But it’s also hilarious so go ahead! NAME THIS PHOTO and WIN!

I will pick my favorite title and announce the winner tomorrow morning!

Thanks for the great giveaway Pascale!!!

Now I am off to hoist myself off this couch and head to the shower where I will pray to the muscle gods to help me walk today!