Thanks to Biff for those great thoughts about creating a brand and how it is more then just the logo and design of our products, it is the whole package of what we offer our clients.  I know I reallly needed to hear his message this week.

To end the week I have a wonderful Gift Certificate designed by Bobbie A, it is another totally customizable template that you can use in your business.  Be sure to check out some of our older posts for great templates and ideas on helping to create a brand identity there is a business card template and a postcard template - check them out!!!

Gift Certificate

It is Brand week here on the Pay It Forward blog. Perhaps the hottest buzzword in the photographic community right now is branding. What is a brand though? I will give you a hint. Brand is not your logo, collateral materials, or website design. Brand is simply what customers think about your company. While your logo may be a part of this equation, it is a very small part!

I have read many articles in photography publications and forums that concentrate on a very narrow piece of branding. Most often this slice discusses logo or design. Why? The answer is pretty simple. There is confusion between many authors about brand identity and brand. Many graphic designers use Continue reading →

One of the ways we all try and bring in new business is to give out referal cards.  We usually want something that is fun yet catches someone’s eye.  We have not one but THREE that Bobbie A has shared with us this week.  Two can be printed at double sided business cards and the third is a 4×6 that you can print as a plain card r as a4×6 photo. 

Red Referral

4×6 Referral

Girl Referral

And I need your input! 

Action Action Read all about it!

 Heres the dealio, There is going to be a special action set, created JUST FOR THE PIF READERS!!  Comment below what kind of actions you would love to see, The most posted of what kinds, will be created!! How awesome is that!

 The person doing this ROCKS! Give that person a special comment too, I’m sure that person will love reading what you say!

THAT person will be revealed along with the set of actions just for PIF.

 Today is a beautiful day everyone!! Hurray!!!!!

 Lots of love to the PIF readers, vendors, and contributors!!!

Lindsay

PIF OWNER

Ok so one of the most important parts about creating an idenity is to create a consistant look to your web site and galleries.  To do this I wanted to make sure everytime I prepared files to be viewed on my blog or weg site etc So that all my images were the same, I created a set of simple actions to help with the process of preparing files for web.

I created this set of actions to prep photos to work on my web site.  The photos are designed to work with TEam Steve template. The other key piece of information is that they only work in CS3.  Now if some Photoshop Guru out there would like to take the action and tweak it so that it works in CS2 and other versions — please do so and email it to me and I will post it along with my version.

There are several actions — grey keyline for high key photos (as my borders are white), resize with border, reisze without border, border after resizing, as well as two save functions.  Many of the steps can be changed — and made to suit your needs.  To change a step and you will need to do this for the save actions to work: Click on the arrow next to the action - to expand the steps out, then click on the step you want to change, it will start the action, but open the dialog so you can change things.  For example if you are changing the save actions you can then specify the folder to save them to or if changing the border can change the width and color of the border.

Action

This week we are going to be talking about branding and marketing.  What I couldn’t think of a better way then to interview Jodi B of Choclate Cactus Designs.  She talks about Branding and the importance of it~ and a few basics about logos.

Your name?

Jodi Bell, owner and creative director of Chocolate Cactus Designs

How long have you been in business? 

I have been designing for 9 years (does that mean I’m old?!)

What is the best advice (Pay It Forward Style) you could give a photographer starting out in the business? 

For someone just starting, by best advice is HAVE A BRAND!  Define yourself with a logo and brand that says YOU, one that can make you recognized.  When starting out, my best advice would be to do things the right way the first time! 

What defines a good logo?

Many things!  To name a few:

-Impact.  Does your logo make people take notice?  Do they go “ooh!” when they see it?  Will they remember it later?  That’s the goal.

-Non-Trendy.  Let’s stay away from the trailing dots and other trends that will be out the logo design door as quickly as they came in.

-Adapts Well.  WIll it look good on a billboard?  How about on a business card?  Everything in between?  Good.

-Simple.  ”Simple doesn’t always equal boring” is something I tell my clients often.  Try to stick with the basics - a solid graphic, easy-to-read fonts, good placement.  Too much is simply too much, and confusing for your target audience.

Lastly, keep in mind that logos are more than just something nice to slap on a business card - they are part of a [much bigger] marketing strategy.

Why is branding important?

For starters, effective branding has been proven to increase your sales by 20 percent.  Your logo, colors, packaging, and heck - even your level of customer service are what brands you.  Everyone can stand apart from the rest of their competition, it’s just a matter of what you choose to do with it, and how well you choose to brand YOU.  Think about Nike, Target, Starbucks, Apple - they have all branded themselves effectively enough that we associate their names (and logos) with quality.  This is what you want to do for your business.

How do you go about creating a “brand”?

That’s simple - with a great logo, great product, and a little elbow grease.

What three things do you think you need to look for when creating a logo/brand?

See question 4 above
 

One thing you just CAN’T live without (cameras and computer’s don’t count)?

Well, I was going to say the Mac but since that’s not allowed, let’s see….  Besides family (a total given!), probably music.  My entire life, I have been surrounded by great music.  It’s essential! 

Your favorite song? 

Okay, so I thought the last question was hard…  I like all types of music really, but I would have to say anything by The Eagles.  Love them!

What inspires you and why?

My clients.  They inspire me to work harder, learn more, and love what I do.  Who could ask for more?

Tell us a little bit about Chocolate Cactus?

When I started Chocolate Cactus, I had been designing for years, but was quite comfortable in my little groove.  To say the least, after the launch, it took off like wild vines and I have now worked with hundreds of clients from all over the world.  I specialize in anything from logo/identity design to templates for photographers to custom wedding invitations, etc.  I also offer consulting on branding and marketing and assist in business name creation.

BOOKMARK - This was something Jodi shared last week — but it really works well with the concept of branding.

Instructions -This layered psd bookmark template is 2×7, and based on the specs of WHCC (bleeds are added).  All colors are editable using the Color Overlay option which can be found in your layer options, at the bottom left of the layers palette.  When opened, it will default to a red color, just double click the red color square, change the color, and that’s it!Images are easy to insert as I used layer masks.  - Open your image, then copy it - In your layers palette, click on the image layer you’d like to insert the image into then use the magic wand tool to select the image area (you will see the dancing ants)  - Go to Edit/Paste Into and voila – there’s your image.  You can move it around as you’d like, and make smaller by holding shift while dragging one corner.The words “SENIOR” and “2008” have been rasterized, so while you cannot change the font itself, you can easily change colors (see above).  All other text has been changed to Times New Roman for ease of opening (this way you don’t get the dreaded error that you do not have a particular font I used).  J 

Front - Outside

Back - Inside

Nat B, its her birthday,…. I asked her for one song that spoke to her most, and its lovely. Perfection……….

It has huge special meaning to her, my heart and soul goes out to her, …….. as a VIP vendor, she is perfection…. Happy Birthday Nat, our love is with you from the PIF crew.

xoxoxo

Lindsay PIF Owner and Da’ Crew

I know we normally don’t do two interviews in one week — but we had so many great items sent in to the PIF blog that, well, we just had to add one last item.  This interview is with Leah of LCH Designs.  Leah has given us many great items here on the blog and I know we have not seen the last of her great offerings.  We are eding the week with a template AND a texture from her.  She totaly out did herself!

 INTERVIEW——————

Your name?  Leah Helopoulos

How long have you been in business?  About a year and
a half

What is the best advice (Pay It Forward Style) you
could give a photographer starting out in the
business?   Hmmm….I  am definitely still growing and
learning everyday!  But, I would say:  Practice,
practice, practice…..Shoot everyday!  Shoot from
different angles, different lighting
scenarios—really learn your camera.  Have fun!

What inspires you?  So much!!  Magazines, commercials,
billboards, blogs, retail tags, retail packaging—I
am a packaging nut! I love to see how things are
packaged and the details in them—Also, I love
looking at the new season’s fashion
colors/designs—definitely get inspiration from that!
 Color schemes can come from the aisle at Target or
Pottery barn….so much inspiration out there!
 One thing you just CANT live without?  Besides my
family—who I adore…..I’d definitely say that hazelnut
latte from starbucks…..yum!  And I definitely can’t
kick this photoshop addiction.
If you could give our readers one tip on creating
cards or templates what would that be?   Start looking
at different design lines and concepts—Magazines are
great—look at the page layouts—what grabs your
eye?  What is the focus on?  Are the elements pointing
you towards the desired focal point or away?  Simply
stated? Or busy?   As photographers, we always want
the templates to highlight our images, not take away
from them.  In a nutshell, sometimes less is more.

Wildest Craziest Thing you have done?  Okay— I am so
not wild and crazy—told my dh this was a question and
he laughed.     I’m just not that wild…..However, we
did travel 13 hours to Taiwan to bring home our
precious baby girl 2 years ago.  Not wild and crazy,
but definitely an adventure and a blessing.

What is your design process?  LOTS of coffee!!!
Seriously, I make a pot of Starbucks in the morning
and drink it throughout the day.  Movies—love playing
movies in the background….I usually have some ideas
kind of sketched out in my head—and then just do a lot
of playing in PS.  Images inspire me as well…..Certain
images can inspire me to create a whole new line…

Tell us a little bit about your website–  website
link  ? http://www.lchphotography.net
website blog:
http://www.lchphotographydesign.blogspot.com

Creating art to capture memories is why lch design was
born. I have been so thankful for the opportunity to
do what I love. It’s been a huge blessing!
With each new design a piece of my heart is expressed
on a canvas–ok, well actually a screen–but you get
the drift…..
I am constantly desiring to provide unique and
sophisticated products for photographers.

You can see my designs at:
http://www.lchphotography.net

TEXTURE

TEMPLATE

Today’s share comes from Bobbie– this gal is so talented and giving.  She does a freebies all the time, on every forum that she is a part of and on her blog. 

 Today she has shared not ONE but TWO senior items with us. The first is a border that can be used a variety of ways and the second is a grad card that again has many uses.  I know I for one am so grateful for the sharing tha occurs on this board.  I am not gifted in the design department and what everyone shares here is just FANTASTIC!

Border

Card

This week is “Senior Week” on the PIF blog. I have photographed a total of 8 senior graduates over my 13 years of professional photography. That is less than 2/3rd of a senior per year. Instead of faking it, I am going to post a tangent conversation this week.

I was on Sanibel Island, FL photographing a mid-week, destination wedding this week. As with any wedding, it is important to have contingency plans. One of the most important for me is arriving early enough incase unexpected delays occur. This is especially true when I am flying. If I am photographing a day after session, I may decide to stay an extra day if it is feasible incase the weather is poor. I have found this to payoff on more than one occasion.

While I was on Sanibel, the weather was perfect. As a bonus, I had an extra half-day all to myself. I ventured over to Thomas Edison’s winter estate on Fort Meyer’s. It has been beautifully restored and the tour provided much insight into the time Edison lived and all of his accomplishments. While every third grader could tell you Thomas Edison’s best-known invention was the light bulb, my inspiration came from the spirit in which he created. (Edison registered over 100 patents in his lifetime.)

I had a real sense that Edison took risks and gave Continue reading →