There are still a few details to work out, but in keeping with my promise of a February 1 announcement, here’s what’s in place so far…  

Dates: August 5 – 8, 2012. Plan to arrive Sunday afternoon. The mini-trade show starts at 4:00 pm, the first presentation at 7:30 pm with Summer School ending Wednesday at noon.

Format: Let’s talk about more hands-on shooting first.  We’re going beyond the two hours of shooting with each photographer we incorporated last year and give everybody two full days and then some. Every attendee will have their choice of two of seven different outstanding photographers. In addition, there will be a two day film-making workshop in which participants will work on the skill set they need to create a marketing video for their own promotions and website.

Hands-0n Faculty: This year’s faculty is top shelf for hands-on shooting. Imagine being able to spend a full day with photographers like Clay Blackmore, Michele Celentano, Tony Corbell, Jerry Ghionis, Kevin Kubota, Bobbi Lane or Roberto Valenzuela. 

Film-making and Storytelling:It’s a special addition to Summer School with Ross Hockrow and Jeff Medford, along with a ton of video gear from the MAC Group. They’ll be teaching an intense film-making program for the full two days. Some of you may have met Ross and Jeff on their Get In Motion tour last year. They’re outstanding instructors and the founders Cinestories.  Attendees will not only be learning the techniques of video storytelling, but learn how to create their own personal promotional video. 

Class Size: Classes will NOT exceed twenty people. There will be no exceptions. This includes the video workshop as well. We will not allow more than twenty people in any hands-on program! This guarantees everyone a more intense experience and the ability to learn from the very best.

Marketing and Business:  It’s at the top of everyone’s list and we’ll kick off Summer School on Sunday night with my new program on marketing and business with special guest, Melissa Ghionis.   If you’ve never heard Melissa present, a key part of her background is the lost art of customer service. 

Catherine Hall will join us for a special key note program on Monday night. As co-host for TWIT Photo she’s taken branding and marketing to a completely new level. She’ll provide attendees with great ideas on how to expand their reach in their own communities.

Website Review: Many conferences offer portfolio review, but the minute you register for Summer School, we’re going to review your website and give you some solid suggestions on your galleries and your ”About” section. These are two of the most important elements on every photographer’s site. It’s the equivalent of a portfolio review, but done ahead of time, before you get to Summer School. This will give you a chance to identify more of what you need to grow your skill set prior to working with your instructors.

Sponsors and Mini-trade show: There will be some incredible products and services offered by this year’s vendors, including the sell-off off all the lighting and video gear used in the various workshops. It’s a terrific opportunity for you to pick up the additional gear you need at dramatically reduced costs. The first trade show session will start right out of the blocks on Sunday afternoon from 4:00 pm to 7:30 pm. 

Location: We’re headed to Chicago this year! Chicago is one of the easiest and least expensive cities to fly in and out of in the country. Decent airfares make it an economical mecca for reasonable travel costs.  We’ll be at the Doubletree Hilton in Oakbrook, Illinois, just ten miles from the airport.  It’s a great property and we’re pretty much going to “own” the hotel, making the experience even better.

Everything else on this year’s educational event along with some additional surprises will be announced on February 9 when registration goes live! What a kick this year’s Summer School is going to be!

“Before the Internet I read five newspapers in the morning plus thumbed thru a few magazines or books on photography. Yes, it took a bit of time, usually about 90 minutes, but what a great way to supercharge the creative batteries! I preach this to all the young photographers who work with me and sadly I’ve found few, if any, do it and none do it daily. They’re always shocked when I say it only takes getting up an hour earlier to be inspired.”

I never really thought of it as a routine for inspiration, but that really is what more photographers need to do. You need a little breakfast to get things going every morning and feeding your mind for a little while is no different.  In GoingPro (the book, which starts shipping in a few weeks…sorry for the shameless promoting)  Ralph Romaguera makes a great point,

“So you want to go pro in the world’s greatest profession? First go to a baseball game, then go to a symphony! What happened before the game? What happened before the concert? They practiced infield, and batting basics; they played scales – the same thing they did the first day they picked up a bat or French horn!  I’ve made it for forty-two years as a photographer because of one daily routine – practice the basics.”

So what’s your routine? I do a lot of writing and in order to keep trying to build my skill set, I do a lot of reading, not of novels, but of various blogs and motivational material.  It’s the same as that ball player warming up before a game, except for you and me, there’s a new game virtually every morning. Every day is a new post, new email, new communications with different friends, associates and vendors.

For a professional photographer, it’s the potential for a new client, new files to work on, a new album or image to create virtually every morning. That means you need a warm-up routine and it should start with a little physical exercise just to get the blood flowing, followed by a little brain-food and then the start of your day.

• Start your day with something physical. Sheila and I started walking every morning and now it’s routine. I know a lot of you hit the health club or just jog, but whatever it is, you feel better after doing something more physical than just brushing your teeth.
• Isolate a few blogs from people who inspire you.  Some of my favorites in photography are Dane Sanders, Kevin Kubota, Matthew Jordan Smith, Joe McNally, Photofocus, Jerry Ghionis, Dustin Meyer, Bambi Cantrell, Roberto Valenzuela, Clay Blackmore, Doug Gordon, Jasmine Star,Joe Farace, David Ziser, Jose Villa,  Catherine Hall, and GoingPro, especially when Scott has a post, and the list goes on and on. These are just a few. Not everybody updates their blog every day, so it makes it easy to rotate through a fairly big list over a week of morning routines.
• Watch at least one video clip every morning! A number of publications have some great information being updated regularly. I mentioned RETV and Resource Magazine last week. Seriously, I can’t get enough of these short interviews, like Albert Watson from last week. I love content that brings great photographers right to my desktop! I’ve also mentioned just taking a trip through YouTube and searching for any photographer you enjoy by name. You’ll be amazed at how much you’ll find that’s previously been published.
• Last step of the routine…open your email and see what’s going on. This is more of a screening process and doesn’t necessarily mean you have to start answering. However, if you start answering emails and actually putting in the time to respond, then do your best to handle each email the first time. The greatest advice I was ever given in my career was “Handle each piece of paper only one time!” Okay, I’m dating myself, but this was before the Internet. Well, the same principle still applies – make decisions and move on. Don’t hang on to emails taking hours or days to answer. 

It doesn’t matter how you set up your routine as long as you at least establish one. You don’t necessarily need to get up an hour earlier as Terry suggested in the beginning of this post, just develop a routine that works for you and don’t let yourself go too long between feedings…of your head!

While the techniques of telling the story in a video format might be new, the importance of being a great storyteller has always been important to very photographer.  Award-winning albums by photographers likeJerry Ghionis,Yervant, Dawn Shields and Jim Garner have always been at the top of the charts, in part because of their amazing ability to tell the story.

I want to share a very special video this morning, one that’s barely been seen, but thanks to Jeff and Ross, is entirely about storytelling. As you watch Birth Announcement, think about how the same story would have been told with still images in an album. Your ability to capture memories and tell the story hasn’t changed, but the number of techniques now available to you have skyrocketed! 

I don’t want to make this post into an infomercial. However, there’s a special code, SSS2011, for you to use which brings the cost of Get In Motion down to $49.  Whether you emerge yourself in new technology isn’t as important as fine-tuning your storytelling skills and never compromising on the quality of everything you deliver to your clients.

I love the creativity that went into this video and the way it tells the story. Even more important is how the client loved it and how it represents one of the first heirlooms of a new family!

This morning I found three videos I was missing. Pulitzer Prize winner Vincent LaForet, our closing speaker on Wednesday morning, August 3 was the first. It’s brought to you thanks toCreativeLive, the leader in online education and a must for you to stay on top of. 

The second, and also part of CreativeLive’s arsenal of terrific educational material features Tamara Lackey having some fun putting together props on a tight budget. Her point is perfect – you don’t need to spend a lot to build props to put your studio together. In this video she takes on the $250 challenge – that’s all she’s got in the budget as Creative Live puts Tamara to the test.

Finally, I found a great piece good buddy Scott Bourne did on using AnimotoPro in your selling efforts. You need to listen to this video – this is about developing your selling skills and in less than three minutes Scott hits the basics that so many photographers miss!

And just in case you’re still on the fence about joining us at Summer School, especially if you’re in the Las Vegas area, here’s the rest of the series.  From the stunning creativity of commercial photographer, Bobbi Lane, to the last video demonstrating the unstoppable humor of Jerry Ghionis, this collection makes an amazing point: These are photographers with unmatched passion for the craft, who are willing to share their techniques, help you to recharge your battery and grow your skill set and business!

Note: While our room block at the Mirage is sold out, Treasure Island, right next door has rooms at a great rate as well as lots of other hotels in the area.

Hope to see you in Las Vegas. 

Here’s a prime example: I was able to talk Jerry Ghionis into coming to Ohio. Those of you who have attended his programs, know what I mean when I say they’re life-changing.  I guess a better word would be business-changing, but the reality is, Jerry helps everybody see the world differently.

Well, here’s the point I’m missing. We had a really good crowd, but there are so many more photographers who should have been there. We’ve got one group of photographers here, who will remain nameless, only to protect the gulity! They meet on Monday nights and refused to change one of their meetings to encourage members to come to Jerry’s program. I even offered them free meeting space at the hotel prior to Jerry’s program if they wanted it.  I never heard back from them. They missed an incredible opportunity to learn from one of the best speakers in our industry and will be the first to complain when photographers who did attend start picking up more business.

So that leaves me with a point to ponder, what is that secret ingredient that so many of you have that helps you stay focused on your education and growth?  From the emails, tweets and posts I’ve read following Jerry’s program here’s what I think you all possess:

• Passion:  Nothing seems to get in the way of your love for photography or education. You’re like sponges, soaking up every educational opportunity that comes along.
• Optimism: You’re all looking for new ways to find more business and you know it’s out there. Unlike the pessimists who have already given up.
• Kindness: It’s seems to be universal. I’ve received dozens of emails and phone calls just thanking us for bringing great programs to Akron. Everybody’s busy and it’s so unexpected, but the additional effort to give me feedback is so appreciated.
• Leadership: While I suppose the act of being a student, some would consider to be a follower, the truth is you’re all leaders in one way or another. You’d rather be part of the crew setting the pace than waiting for things to happen and then chasing a new trend.

Well, there it is for Sunday morning. Not particular deep, but therapeutic for me to write! LOL I’ll be the first to admit, a Sunday morning post is more for my enjoyment than yours, but I welcome all feedback!  Enjoy your Sunday and Happy Father’s Day to all you Dads out there!

So that puts me in a great position to hit on a topic near and dear to my heart and just have a little fun - helping photographers think about ways to give back…

This week we raised just over $3500, thanks to Jerry Ghionis (and Melissa too) helping us focus on Akron Children’s Hospital. That puts us over $10,000 since the Akron Photo Series started with Clay Blackmore, Doug Gordon, Bambi Cantrell and Jasmine Star. Thanks to a small group of photographers we raised a little money and everybody got the benefit of five outstanding programs that have helped each attendee be a stronger photographer and business owner.

While at Jerry’s program the other night, Bob Srdoch, a local photographer, asked if at the next program he could talk a little about NILMDTS, another great charity. I’m jumping the gun a little early, but they need help now and need photographers to get involved.  If you’re in the Akron/Cleveland area give Bob a call at 330-475-7166! Or, if you’re just looking for more information about NILMDTS and how to get involved in your community, Bob can get you to the right person at NILMDTS.

Get a bunch of people together with a common interest and it’s like a bunch of friends at a party, when one person tells the first joke. It sparks a memory for another and another.  Within a few minutes there’s a volley going of new and old jokes, as each story ignites another chuckle. Well, photographers are no different and in this case, had time allowed the other night and had I known Bob was active with NILMDTS, we could have gotten that volley going over charitable ideas.

So, what are you doing to give back in your community? The importance here is to just be involved. There’s no such thing as any project that’s too small, as long as it raises awareness. This is about you giving back, and I’ve written about it a number of times.

For me personally, I love projects that involve kids and it all probably started at the Lake County YMCA when I was in my early teens, helping to teach swim classes, which lead to being a camp counselor in the summers, (I was Bill Murray in Meatballs, before he even read the script!)

Hey, I warned you in the beginning, I had no plan this morning except to have some fun with the blog. The point is that it doesn’t matter where you get your inspiration from, as long as you’re doing something to give back to your community. You’re looking for your community to be good to you, so you need to be good to them.

And, if you’re stumped in trying to find a charity to tie in with, when I started doing this there really wasn’t very much going on in the photographic industry itself. Now you’ve got NILMDTS, Thirst Relief, Special Kids Photography and the latest new non-profit on the scene and a personal favorite, Cameras For Kids Foundation. CFKF was founded by fine art photographer, Betsey Chesler who’s dedicated to making a difference in the lives of the abandoned children by exposing the teens to the process of creating art through a camera’s lens.

Remember, the importance is to just be involved in giving back. Look for opportunities to help raise awareness in your community. There’s that old line about life not being a spectator sport – you need to be involved.  When your head hits the pillow at the end of the day, after doing something to help your community, you just feel great!

I respect generosity in people, and I respect it in companies too, I don’t look at it as philanthropy; I see it as an investment in the community. Paul Newman

My first six years in the business were hopeless. There are a lot of times when you sit and you say “Why am I doing this? I’ll never make it. It’s just not going to happen. I should go out and get a real job, and try to survive.

Things are ramping up for Summer School  and I’m seeing a lot of great comments from new and old photographers alike.  I also met a lot of new artists along with seasoned veterans this week when Jerry Ghionis came to town.  Seeing that quote got me thinking about how, regardless of our experience level, we all have our moments of doubt. That thought in turn got me thinking about the importance of community, networking and education to help stay focused.

There is no auto-focus button on life. We own the paths we choose.  While we might love to think everything is the result of devine intervention, we own our choices and the only true failure is when we don’t take the time to learn from our mistakes.

The point is, if we didn’t have moments of doubt that challenged and tested our conviction, we wouldn’t be human.  I’m reminded over and over again that without the challenges in life and losing a few “battles” here and there, we’d never develop a true appreciation for winning!

Just a short thought for this morning. Happy Wednesday!

…and oh yeah, the quote was from George Lucas!

On the Summer School Scene: This year’s sponsors are a pretty amazing group of companies and the first special offers for attendees are starting to roll in.

• WPPI will be offering all attendees a full registration for $75, which includes all platform programs, regular evening events and the trade show. Think about that one for a second – $75 for you to attend the biggest and trade show and convention in professional photography! 
• All attendees will receive a free copy of OnOne Software’s PhotoTools 2.5 FREE (a $159.95 value!) The redemption code will be in your registration confirmation email. For attendees already registered, I’ll be sending out an email to you next week with the code. Plus, OnOne will be giving away a free copy of Suite 5.5 during the event (a $499.95 value).
• Album Epoca will be working with each attendee to receive a free customized event book. You’ll just need to stop by their booth at Summer School and pick up your redemption certificate.
• Porter Case will be giving away one of their newly designed PCI cases. I’ve had them for years and the best feature of all is the way they convert into a hand cart. It’s saved my back on so many trips, being able to load all my gear onto one Porter Case!
• Photodex will be offering a 10% discount to attendees on ProShow Producer and ProShow Web, two awesome tools for creating professional HD video slideshows, for your clients.  All you’ll need to do is visit their booth to get a hands-on demo and the discount. 

These are just the beginning! We have approximately twenty sponsors who will be participating in Summer School, adding to the fun, value and networking experience of the best program of the summer! 

If you’re not yet registered here’s the link! And remember to make sure you have your room reservation at the Mirage with the $79 Skip’s Summer School rate.

New Events and Updates:

• There’s been a lot of great interest in some night time shooting and no place does it better than Las Vegas! You’ll be hearing more in the next couple weeks and Tamron will be set up again this year for a terrific loaner program. Imagine being able to have some fun playing with lenses you’ve always wanted to try!
• There’s a “rumor” going around about a very cool program on Tuesday night, but I have to use the word rumor, because the details aren’t solid yet. Stay tuned and just trust me!

Akron Photo Series:

• Today I’m headed out to spend the day with Jerry and Melissa Ghionis on an all day shooting program as part of the Akron Photo Series. The program sold out!
• Last night’s program was pretty remarkable as ninety people joined us for three hours of images and ideas from Jerry. For me, it was a pretty amazing night. I’ve never had the time to be able to sit and hear one of Jerry’s entire programs before. His approach is incredible. There are at least ninety people who will never say again, “I don’t have any place nice to shoot where I live!”

Akron Children’s Hospital:

• The day started out giving Jerry and Melissa a tour of the hospital. It’s an amazing place, helping over 600,000 patients a year!
• The new Expressive Therapy Center was a highlight and it might just be a first in the country. The in-house center utilizes the arts as part of the healing process and photography is part of what they’ll be offering. Best of all, thanks to everyone who supported this week’s program with Jerry, we’re going to cross the $10,000 mark from the Akron Photo Series in donations to the hospital!

Great programs and projects like these can’t happen without your support! Thank you for all your feedback, your participation in these programs and most of all so many incredible friendship!  I’m so looking forward to seeing so many of you in Las Vegas!

This past weekend was a perfect straight forward enjoy-your-friends weekend, as Jerry and Melissa Ghionis rolled into town on Saturday afternoon.  Jerry’s schedule is incredibly busy and we were fortunate to get him to take a few days off and just relax following two hectic weeks of back to back week long workshops in Portland and Atlanta.

He’s doing a three hour workshop tonight, here in Akron and then an all day hands-on shooting workshop tomorrow. The program is part of the Akron Photo Series and a huge part of the proceeds goes to Akron Children’s Hospital.  Yes, there are still a couple of spots in the all day program and a few seats for tonight, but I’m not writing this post as much to pitch the program as I am to comment on what it’s like to spend a couple of days with a creative genius.

For a quick background, I’ve known Jerry for nine years, since he first entered WPPI album and print competition. I’ve seen him every year at the convention and as his popularity grew, more times at other conventions and tours throughout the country.  Unfortunately, through all of this time, we’ve never gotten quality time together and I’ve never had time with Melissa.

Yesterday, in between wandering around the high spots of Akron, we had a chance to talk a little about business and the way Jerry shoots.  And, when I’m talking high spots, I’m talking BIG!  We hit one open house of a beautiful French colonial with Jerry repeatedly asking, “Come on Dad, are you going to buy us this house?”; Szalay’s Farmers Market with Jerry buying just about every fresh fruit they had while exclaiming, “We just don’t get stuff like this in Australia!” and a trip to CVS. We’re definitely talking about major points of interest!

Over breakfast, while looking at Jerry’s images, I realized something about him – it’s the ingredient that makes his images so strong and his albums so stunning – PASSION! Jerry doesn’t do anything half way because he absolutely loves life. So whether it’s working with a couple at a wedding or going nuts over all the different fruits at an outdoor market, the driving force behind the event is the same!  Nothing is done halfway and nothing takes the smile off his face.

His workshops and programs become life-changing because so many of us have allowed our passion to be buried under a wave of practicality. We worry about business, our families and anything that can get in the way.  Too often we allow these things to slow us down. It’s like carrying a backpack that just gets heavier and heavier.

Jerry teaches because he loves teaching. He’s already asked me if he can go longer on Tuesday’s all day workshop, because 9-5 just isn’t enough! He’s not just a photographer, he’s not just an artist and he’s not just a storyteller.  He’s an evangelist of passion, passion for life, for laughter, for the human spirit, for his friends, for his clients and for Melissa!

A few months ago when Jerry did a guest post for me. It had so much information, I had to run it in two days. It’s worth going back and reading, because it will give you a little insight into Jerry’s thought process. In that post he wrote,

Many would argue that creating spontaneity on a wedding day is contrived and unconvincing.  However, I believe in creating pictures, not just taking them.  I will wait for opportunities, look for them, anticipate, create and pursue them relentlessly to not just meet my clients and my own expectations, but to exceed them every time.  I am a proactive photographer.

Copyright Jerry Ghionis. All rights reserved.

All of you tonight and tomorrow are going to have an incredible experience and thanks to you, Sheila and I got to know two wonderful friends a whole lot better!

Jerry will be teaching at Skip’s Summer School as well, with more material.  Best of all, he and Melissa will be spending the entire three days with us, giving attendees a chance to not only learn from the very best, but get to know a remarkable couple and driving force in our industry.

“You meet people who forget you. You forget people you meet. But sometimes you meet those people you can’t forget. Those are your friends!”  Anonymous

But here’s the point, I have absolutely no complaints. Being on my own has given me the opportunity to work on the things I love doing the most. I can’t deny, when things were getting started I had all the same fears many of you have had starting a new business. Yesterday I found a quote by Melody Beattie that just hit home:

Do not allow fear of what if to ruin the joy of what is!

So here’s an update on what is!

• I was just asked to join the Board of Cameras for Kids Foundation. It’s a non-profit, founded by Betsey Chesler who’s doing some amazing work using photography to help underprivileged kids. You’ll be hearing lots more about this wonderful concept in the months ahead.
• GoingPro is growing more and more ever day.  The book, co-authored with good friend, Scott Bourne, hits the bookstores in mid-October. Nobody could be more excited than the two of us.
• Summer School is going into its third year with an incredible group of sponsors, many of them new to the program. Adorama, Album Epoca, Animoto, Asukabook, BayPhoto, Canon, Cameras for Kids, DWF, Finao, David Maheu , H&H Color Lab, ImageQuix, Kubota Image Tools, Marathon Press, Nik Software, OnOne Software, Photodex,Porter Case, Profoto, SmugMug, Tamron, WHCC, and X-rite.
• Another update on Summer School: The Tuesday programs are starting to fill up. Remember you can pick three of the eight instructors for your hands-on demo programs.
• The last program for the season for the Akron Photo Series is right around the corner with Jerry Ghionis coming to Ohio for an evening program on June 13 and an all day hands-on workshop on June 14. Remember, this is about Akron Children’s Hospital!
• Speaking of Akron Children’s Hospital: The money we raise now goes to their new Expressive Therapy Center. Sheila and I were there for a reception last week and it’s going to be amazing. They’re using the arts to help kids heal and photography will be one of the leading programs. This is an incredible way for local photographers to help kids and give back! And another event, Paws for a Cause is coming up on June 5 – hope you local guys will join Sheila, Molly and me for a great afternoon and the puppy walk!
• Skip’s Photo Network, the blog that a few friends and family members thought I was nuts to start, now has almost 700 posts and at least 50 guest posts from some of the finest photographers in our industry. It’ll be two years in July that it all started! Still, the most widely read post was by my friend Aurora in CT about her experience with NILMDTS. There were over 5000 reads over a 24 hour period of just this one poignant story.

Okay, no complaints whatsoever on limited free time.  Thank you for your continued support, your encouragement and your help! Damn, I love this industry!