I want to kick this Tuesday off talking about lighting. It’s the number one skill-set challenge, especially for new photographers. It’s also the number two request for workshop topics, right after business/marketing help. How you see the light, control it, even interpret it is one of the greatest ways to put some distance between you and [...]

At Summer School I introduced Helen Yancy as “the First Lady of Photography”. Helen joined us last week as an attendee excited to pick up new ideas, especially on marketing. You’ve heard me write a lot about how your education NEVER stops. Helen has done just about everything that’s on most photographers bucket lists, but [...]

With Summer School starting in just a few days, whether you’re joining us or not, you need to be thinking about your network. A good network doesn’t happen by accident – it takes work to keep it maintained, active and useful. In this Real World Real Lessons post from GoingPro, I hit on a whole [...]

Last October, just prior to the PhotoPlus Expo show in New York, I wrote this post. Well, with Summer School just around the corner and a few different programs coming up nationally, everything I wrote is relevant. Time is your most valuable commodity and you need to make sure you make the most of it, [...]

Last fall, and I’m embarrassed it was for the first time, I was able to watch Doug Gordon’s entire three hour presentation here in Akron. In the past it was always during my WPPI days and I was being pulled in a dozen different directions, so the chance to actually sit and listen for any [...]

Every now and then there’s a blog that’s the equivalent of the monster buffet at Mandalay Bay - no theme, just a lot of great stuff! Hey, you have your secrets and I have mine – there’s more meat on this breakfast buffet than anyone should ever try and consume! (And if “Three Buffet Brian” is reading this, Mandalay Bay [...]

The movie was Field of Dreams for the quote and we’re going to take a shot at “building it”. 
Here’s the challenge:  There are a minimal number of speakers who come to Ohio, yet we’re in an area with thousands of photographers, being only a couple of hours from Detroit and Pittsburgh, a half an hour [...]

Ever had a feeling maybe you were doing the wrong thing?  Everything seems logical in your mind.  All the reasoning behind a particular decision support what you’re about to do.  You’ve bounced the idea off of a few friends and they liked it.  Yet, there’s something nagging in the back of your brain, whispering, “Are you [...]

I’ve discovered, when you do a blog every day, material to write about can be found in the most obscure places, like the fortune in the cookie at Hunan’s last night:
“Don’t wait until your ship comes in.  Swim out to it!”
Yes, I’ve finally reached a new point in blogging wisdom and I’m quoting fortune cookies, [...]

A lot of you have already been to one convention or workshop already this year, but there’s a great moment in one of my all time favorite movies, City Slickers.  (Definitely go rent it this weekend – you’ll pick up a few great laughs and even a few great lessons in life!)  
Try this sage advice [...]