The Creative's Corner

I will have one of my photographs on display at the Phoenix Art Museum (1625 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, AZ) during the  First Friday Art Walk (February 3rd, 6:00 pm – 10:00 pm).

I entered several images in the Phoenix Art Museum’s Iconic Arizona: Celebrating The Arizona Centennial With Photographs From The Center For Creative Photography contest. A total of 585 photographs were entered, and from these a museum committee selected 60 images. One of these images was my Rainbow in the Red Rocks of Sedona.

Rainbow in the Red Rocks of Sedona

I was really surprised when their e-mail arrived today telling me about this. I thinks it’s very cool!

Tempe Camera will print the winning images and put them on display at the museum for the Art Walk. The photographers are invited to be present, and I will be there to answer any questions about my photograph.

During the Art Walk, the public is invited to vote for their favorite photograph. The winner will receive a $100 gift card for Tempe Camera. The three images that receive the most votes will be displayed in Tempe Camera’s in-store gallery.

I hope to see you there.

Have Fun,
Jeff

I just added over 20 photographs to my Fine Art site. There are new photographs of leaves changing color, night shots of Jerome’s Hogback Cemetery and more. Check it out at http://www.JeffColburn.com

Have Fun,
Jeff

Hogback Cemetery after dark

Veit Springs, an Old Growth forest

If you like my photographs, you’ll love this! I’m now offering free desktop wallpaper of my photographs for your computer, and the wallpaper contains a calendar too. Check it out at http://www.jeffcolburn.com/wallpaper.html

Have Fun,
Jeff

Bookmarks, almost everyone has a few lying around. You can use them to mark your place in books and magazines and to promote your business.

The most natural tie-in is for businesses that work in the publishing of books and magazines, or if you’ve written your own book. But that’s not using your imagination. Any company can successfully promote themselves with these little billboards.

People can use bookmarks in many ways.

• Display beautiful photographs
• Put a great recipe on them
• Used as a ruler, if a ruler has been printed on one side
• Offer useful information about medications, health, first aid or some interesting fact about your business
• Offer coupons; cut off the coupon printed on it, and bring it in for a discount or free gift
• Promote an upcoming event

Your imagination is the only limitation you have when it comes to bookmarks. Some unique things you could do include:

• Attaching small gifts to a bookmark, such as a toy (in a bag) or temporary tattoo
• Make them out of dry erase material, with your information on one side, and the other side blank so people can write notes, and pass them out with a dry erase pen
• Design them like a puzzle, where several bookmarks must be put together in the proper order to make a complete picture or message. Give people a bookmark every time they visit. Finish the picture and win a prize.
• Provide entertainment by putting mazes or crossword puzzles on them
• Have them cut into any shape. You could make a bookmark shaped like a camera, wrench, dragon or anything else.

I still have a bookmark I picked up over twenty years ago from a Japanese store in California. It’s die cut metal that’s gold in color and has a nice red tassel. They passed them out with every purchase. Some of my other favorite bookmarks include comic book art, lenticular images, samples of my favorite artist’s work and inspirational sayings.

Last week I even bought some bookmarks from two young girls who were going door to door, raising money for an upcoming class trip.

Bookmarks offer advantages in that they are:

• Inexpensive
• Easy to carry
• Light weight
• Small
• Come in many sizes
• Can have a perforation applied, for the above mentioned coupons

They can be distributed in a wide variety of locations.

• Pass them out at your office
• Have the sales staff give them to clients
• Freebies at trade shows and special events
• Anywhere you would pass out a business card, or even use these as your business card
• Don’t forget to offer a pile of them to local bookstores, libraries and schools

Think about where your clients are, and what tie-ins other businesses may offer. A photographer could give a stack to local photography stores and schools; an exterminator could put bug facts on them and give them to schools and gardening stores; an art gallery could pass them out to art supply stores and schools. Do a little thinking about how your products and services impact your community and you’ll have lots of places to hand them out.

Who would have thought that the humble bookmark could do so much?

Have Fun,
Jeff

Hi Everyone,

I’ve made the jump to the international market. I have an article in the current issue of Photography Monthly,  a publication in the United Kingdom.

This month they’re doing a retro issue, dealing with the days of film. Black and white photography, adapting old lenses, and my article, “Digital Photography Is Not Free” are all part of this look back at photography before digital.

An editor from the magazine e-mailed me and said he had read my blog post, “Digital Photography Costs More Than Film Photography” and thought it would be great for the retro issue. He had me expand the article, and they loved it.

This blog post was very popular too. Besides having my blog hits increase 15 times above normal, that post had:

• 42 comments
• 163 Facebook likes
• 38 Tweets
• 17 LinkedIn shares
• 110 comments on a LinkedIn Group

Check out my article and let me know what you think.

Have Fun,
Jeff

Following is some of my favorite Holiday music. You’ll find traditional, and unique, selections. I hope you enjoy them.

I’ve always been a big fan of Jewel’s music and poetry, and was fortunate enough to see her in concert in Phoenix, Arizona. To hear what an amazing voice she has, listen to her sing Ave Maria.

This little ditty is about 30 years old, and is a favorite of Linda-Ann’s. Remember, drink responsibly. Listen to The 12 Daze Of Christmas by Fay McKay.

My favorite irreverent Christmas song is The 12 Pains Of Christmas. Have a listen.

Karen Carpenter was an amazing singer, and left us all far too soon. Listen to Merry Christmas Darling by The Carpenters.

I’ve always liked Gloria Estefan’s voice, and I have most of her CDs. I was even a member of the Press when she dedicated her statue to the Wax Museum in Buena Park, California. I have some great pictures to remember that event.

Christmas is more than presents and parties. It’s about reaching out to those in need, righting the wrongs in the world and putting the Christmas Spirit in all we do, all year long. In this video you’ll see wrongs that need to be righted, and successes that have been achieved. We can all do something, big or small, to help others. Go out and help others. Hear Silent Night by Gloria Estefan.

Many years ago there was a great Christmas special called “A Claymation Christmas.” It shows the amazing things that can be done with this form of animation. I hope you enjoy these videos, and remember, it’s all done with clay.
Rudolf The Red Nosed Reindeer and Joy To The World

People aren’t the only ones who enjoy the Holiday Season. Animals get into the spirit of Christmas too, look here.

And finally, for those of you who think you have a great light display on your house, watch this.

Have a Great Holiday Season! Party on!!!

Postcards are a great way to promote your business’ products and services. When it comes to direct mail, postcards have one unique feature; you don’t have to open them. The recipient will see your message without doing anything. It can simply be lying on their desk, and without even touching it your message is presented in all its glory.

Besides this powerful feature, postcards have other great attributes too, including:

• They’re inexpensive
• Postage costs less for standard size postcards than letters and other direct mail pieces
• They come in various sizes and shapes
• They can have a color or black and white photograph
• Their message can be humorous, serious or convey any other emotion
• They can be printed in small quantities for targeted mailings, or in huge quantities to saturate your market
• They can have a powerful message on the back

Here is a humorous postcard I created several years ago for a website design business I had. I wanted to present a humorous message to lighten the mood as so many people are intimidated and nervous about making a website for their business. By putting half of the message on the front, it builds curiosity that will lead the viewer to turn the card over to see the rest of the message.

There are other options too.

Show a variety of products or services.

Since you can print small quantities of postcards, you can make different ones to target specific parts of your client list.

• Prospective clients who need to see your entire product line
• Clients who buy from you frequently. Send them a postcard with the products they purchase most frequently, to remind them to buy more.
• To announce a new product

Include a message on the front of the card.

Your message on the back of the postcard needs to meet all the requirements of normal advertising copy. This includes:

• Presenting benefits, not features
• Educating your client
• Having a message that makes the client feel an urgent need to use your products or services

You don’t need to send cards out often. Three to six times a year is plenty. You want to remind clients that you exist, without crossing the line of being really annoying. You want to be thought of as a friend, not a pesky salesperson.

Use the incredible flexibility of postcards to create the exact message you want. Be creative when designing your cards, and have fun with them.

Have Fun,
Jeff

In our digital, electronic, Internet, instant update world, the humble business card is still one of your most valuable marketing tools you have.

A business card is the one marketing piece about your company that people will gladly take, and keep. They project your business’ image, and are a vital form of communication. Not having a card projects a lack of professionalism.

One time I was meeting with a CEO in his office. I asked for his card and he said he didn’t have one. None had ever been printed for himself or any of his senior staff. My perception of him and his company dropped a few points on the spot.

Business cards offer many positive features, including:

• They’re easy to carry
• Don’t need batteries
• Can show photographs of art, personnel and products
• Provide an easy source of contact and company information
• You can drop in into a bowl by a cash register or event, and win all kinds of free things, including: a meal, dessert, toy, message, haircut and door prizes. Over the years I’ve won meals, a coffee maker, admission to amusement parks, jewelry and more. Wining will also result in free publicity for your business.
• You can even win a drink at a bar by saying that you can cut a hole in your business card, and stick your entire head through it. If you’re skinny enough, you can fit your entire body through it. Try that with your smart phone app. See how it’s done at http://www.JeffColburn.com/trick.html

Be sure to take your business cards with you everywhere you go. I never leave the house without them. I’ve passed cards out at concerts, coffee shops, in elevators and even three miles into a hike when I started talking with another hiker.

Don’t forget to use the back. Here you can have additional information, but don’t go crazy. Showing too many skills will look like you’ll do anything for a buck, and none of it well. If your business is hard to find, put a map here.

You have a tremendous amount of flexibility when designing a card. You are only limited by your imagination and budget.

Customization you can do includes:

• Putting a photograph of you or your product on the card
• Die cutting the card to make an interesting shape
• Design it to be folded to display artwork, a pop-up cutout or some other feature
• A pull tab, like in a kids book, to change the information seen on the card

Here’s what I have on the front and back of my business card.

Front of card

Back of card

Do a Google Images search for business cards, and you will see some truly amazing designs.

There are a lot of places to have your business cards printed. I use Vistaprint http://www.vistaprint.com to print my cards because they often have sales that let me order 250 cards while only paying for shipping.

Moo cards http://us.moo.com lets you submit up to 50 different images to be put on the back of your business cards. If you have 50 cards printed, then each image will be used once, for 100 cards each image is used twice, and so on. This gives you a huge number of images to choose from when handing out a card.

I know a photographer who did this, and it let him have a portfolio in his pocket. He fans the deck of business cards, and asks which photo they like best and that’s the card they get. You know they’ll hold onto that card.

For a manufacturer, put images of all of your products on the back of the cards. When someone asks about a specific product, you can give them a card with a photo of that product. They will easily remember who you are and why they have your card.

Create a business card that is exciting, highlights your products or services and lets clients easily find you. And don’t be afraid to use this little blank canvas to create a card that will shout your praises from the highest mountain.

Have Fun,
Jeff

Photography impacts its viewers like no other medium. It drills directly into both the conscious and subconscious mind. It imprints a message directly on the viewers mind. And since people get most of their information about the world around them visually, photographs are a perfect way to communicate a message.

“What about video?” you may ask. Video is a series of still photographs. If you blink at the wrong time, you could miss the entire message. Video requires concentration, and time. Time that many people in our hectic society don’t have.

A photograph is one still image. The viewer can merely glance at it, or study it in great detail. Whether the message is bold or subtle, viewers can customize it to their own schedule and needs.

Including photographs as part of an advertising campaign will increase your campaign’s impact and make the message stay with the viewer longer.

If you’re looking for a great way to promote your business with photographs, try calendars. People look at them every day for an entire year, or longer with 13 month calendars. You can have them printed by a local printer, or online, very easily.

You can show photographs of:

• Your products/services
• Your products/services in use
• Famous/popular/wealthy/successful people or companies that use your products/services
• A mood you want for your clients, like landscapes for calm; lightning or erupting volcanoes for high energy, etc.
• Any benefits people receive from using your products/services. Always stress benefits, not features.

Using photographs of your products will imprint them, and your company name, on a client in no time. And the same image can be used both online and offline, offering greater flexibility in your advertising campaign.

Go on out there and make some calendars, to impress your current, and prospective, clients.

More tips on promoting your business will be posted soon.

Have Fun,
Jeff

Photographing the Fall colors this year was a bit of a challenge. The colors changes later than usual, and started falling off the trees, or turned brown, while much of the tree was still green. But that’s all part of the fun of photographing the leaves changing colors.

You try to second guess the trees, battle wind and rain storms and track down where the best colors are. It’s a real adventure every year.

I’m in the process of Photoshopping about fifty images for my stock and Fine Art sites.

Here are a couple of the images I’ve worked on.

You can see others at www.StockPhotosArizona.com and www.JeffColburn.com

Have Fun,
Jeff

Changing colors in Oak Creek Canyon

Aspens changing color in the Snowbowl area of Flagstaff