I cannot even believe that I forgot to blog this earlier…
After attending WPPI in March (see my post about that here), I made the decision to begin using a great service for photographers called Pictage. If you are one of my clients, you are, or soon will be, familiar with this service as I am now using Pictage for all of my print order fulfillment and online gallery hosting. My experience with them so far has been great, and I have also had great feedback from my clients about how it is easy to use and convenient. So far, this decision has proven to be a great one! Check out this BlueHost Black Friday Deal 2016
Another perk of now being a Pictage member, is all of the extras they offer us photographers. One of those extras is the monthly PUG (Pictage Users Group) meetings that are hosted based on region. A couple weeks ago, Meg and I attended our first PUG meeting. On the agenda was all kinds of ::ahem:: ‘fun’ talk about taxes and how to deal with them as small business owners. And while I’ve never been fond of the business stuff (numbers, tax forms, blah, blah, blah), I realize how important it is to understand it all when running your own business. We are all creative types… its hard to get us to really be enthusiastic about taxes, but it’s crucial. So, I am so glad I went. I learned a lot about how to run my business more efficiently with regard to taxes, etc.
And, of course, the night was a great excuse to get together with Meg! Since we no longer live together, we don’t get to see each other nearly enough! So, we met for dinner and wine before the meeting with her cousins. Good times.
Thanks to Jules Bianchi’s post about the meeting, I have some photos of the event! Meg and I are in two of these photos, but you have to search for us. 🙂
Toward the end of the meeting, Jules talked Meg and I into being “Studio Spotlight” speakers at two PUG meetings in the fall. The “Studio Spotlight” features one photographer per PUG meeting who speaks to the group about whatever topic they choose. Traditionally they show some of their favorite images and then speak a little about how they approach photography, shooting a wedding, workflow, or whatever they choose. It’s pretty intimidating to speak to other photographers, but I’m very excited for the opportunity. If it’s one thing I’ve learned about being a photographer, I have to break out of my comfort zone in order to improve — and this will definitely be out of my comfort zone!
