CREATING NEW ART - ALWAYS MAKE NEW IMAGES!!!!!

Hutchinson and Reid: Keep making stuff. Never stop learning. Never stop trying new things. You are only as good as the last thing you made. Work with people that make you better.

I can't agree more with the saying above. As a creative it is our job to CREATE!

I created this with photos from a series I did with Carly and the Blue Balloon. I'm planning on continuing this in Las Vegas. Stay Tuned for more Blue Balloon.

Love ~ Light ~ Life
Jana

Natural Daylight Editorial shoot in Beverly Hills, CA with Brit & Cris

I photographed Brit Suer of CRISTOPHE Salon of Beverly Hills in her home in Los Angeles, CA. The one thing I love most about living out west is the beautiful natural light out here!
I went to school in Rochester @ R.I.T. where we learned to light everything because we had to ... it was gray there and overcast all the time.

When I moved to California in 2003 I realized how lucky photographers are out west!

Nothing compares to the light west of the Rockies ... at least that's my opinion. It has opened up a space in my work for new images and a new opinion of natural light and the beauty it can bring to an image.

Email Marketing and Promotional Time for Photographers

Email marketing is a huge help in the constant effort to keep my work in front of those who can hire me. Marketing as a freelancer is vital! However many things can get in the way of being consistent. I think it is something that every freelance creative & photographer might struggle with until they pay someone else to be consistent for them. Or their rep takes over and ensures that Epromo is in the inbox of the targeted art buyer the second Tuesday of every month at 2:46pm EST.

Its April and I just sent out my 1st Epromo for the year. I know it was late, I try to get one out every 5-6 weeks with new work and info. However a lot got in the way. I was waiting for website revisions and logo revisions until I could not wait any more. This is part of a new look for me. It will tie into the new Logo design and eventually the new web re-launch or janacruderphoto.com/3.0

This months promotion was a little longer in the making then previous Eblasts.
I've been working with an amazing creative consultant Rashell Roberts @ Get Invision and she brought up a very good point after seeing some other Epromo's of mine. She said, "Why not share some of the interesting stories behind the images, or the creative problem and how you went about solving it."

What a great idea!

She later pointed out another very valid point. That I'm being hired for how I see first and foremost and that needs to be communicated visually. However it is also very important to communicate how I problem solve?

To do this, I worked closely with my designer friend Carly Hebert
to make my Epromos visually more interesting design wise as well as feature copy to tell more of the stories behind the images.

The result, well I have to say this has been one of my most well received Eblasts to date. I received great feedback as well as direct responses from creatives commenting on the new promo layout and interesting things to read. I even got a in query for a shoot. Now that is exactly what we're after folks!

Thank you everyone for your amazing feedback and keep it coming. I'm always open for ideas and tips on how to keep my marketing fresh, and stand apart from the masses.

~ Jana

EMERGING photographers in this economy need to WORK SMARTER NOT HARDER

~ new character portrait "PROBLEM CHILD" ~

The saying goes, "WORK SMARTER NOT HARDER".

Well these days you have to do both especially as a freelance creative. I'm a commercial / advertising photographer in the starting blocks of my career. I've been very fortunate to get some great gigs with national clients that have helped me build credentials and portfolio pieces that advance my career. I've been shooting for 6 years, full time freelance and shooting for 3 years now. I'm loving every minute of it, however it is a business.

Creative and all it is still business. So when costs are getting cut and photography budgets are getting slashed all over, how do you still get a decent creative fee and create work you can be proud of and help move your clients brand forward with such monetary restraints.

YOU WORK SMARTER! Some things I've personally done to make my business more efficient and capable of more flexibility.

1. Drastically reduced my over head in location, I have a small office outside my home and rent studios when I need them.

2. I own my own cameras and lights. This can go both ways, I have my own equipment that is paid for so when I'm asked to do an editorial portrait for $200 I can take it and not have to pay the rental house $175 to rent the equipment needed to do the shot.

3. Know a clients budget first hand so I can problem solve the best way possible to do the shoot up to my quality standards and still keep it in their budget.

4. Networking, its all who you know and who knows you

5. Refocus marketing to include more cost efficient marketing, reduced printed promos and increased email promotions and personal meetings.

6. Recession diet, drive less, eat less, drink more & do more things outside that are free and thing twice before spending on UN necessary business needs.

7. When traveling to show my book around stay in hostels in stead of hotels unless crashing at a friends house.

At this point I'm doing everything I can to keep growing my business and still create some amazing creative images for my personal portfolio and for my clients. At the end of the day, you have to love what you do & I LOVE WHAT I DO!

Love ~ Light ~ Life