Set Yourself Up For Success

By: Jennifer Little

Today is all about making your shoots at home as successful as possible. I hope to offer you some tips that will make your family shoots work for you so that you are happy with your photos for years to come.

Clear the Clutter

Keep the background and foreground simple and free of distractions. Let the focus of your photo be on your subjects. Remove miscellaneous toys, laundry, snacks and groceries from the photo. Feel free to keep large-scale architectural elements such as lamps, accessories and artwork in the photo as long as they don’t render all the attention. Clean photos will give you a fresh modern feel.

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Alt Summer Conferences: Be Ready

By: Sara Urquhart

The Alt summer conferences offer so many opportunities for building your business and your network. Be prepared to make the most of them with these suggestions.

1. Know what you want. You’ll get the most out of Alt by establishing clear intentions. Are you hoping to meet new friends, collaborators, or business partners? Looking for opportunities to contribute on other blogs? Hoping to connect with sponsors? Or just seeking inspiration and advice from the Alt community? Approach Alt with one or two goals in mind, and use them to guide your conversations and interactions.

2. Be flexible. Remember that great things often happen when we’re least expecting them. Be open-minded about unexpected directions or conversations, and you might walk away with an opportunity you’d never dreamed of.

3. Share openly, and listen well. Introduce yourself and your work with confidence and listen respectfully as others share their work and thoughts. Offer assistance, connections and introductions in the spirit of helpfulness that characterizes the Alt community.

4. Plan for success. Shortly after Alt, make an appointment with yourself (and keep it!) to review your notes and create a plan to implement your new ideas. All the great things you learned will serve you best when you put them into action.

Great Inspiring Family Photography Blogs

By: Jennifer Little

Because you can never have too much inspiration, I have posted a few blogs that are amazing at capturing family at home.

1. The Glow
2. You are my wild
3. Katie’s Pencil Box
4. Pink Pistachio
5. Little Household (our family blog)

And because you can never read too much on how your camera operates, I am sharing a few wonderful, easy to understand posts on how to use your camera.

1. Picture Taking by Katie’s Pencil Box
2. Here’s Marla… by Fly Through Our Window

If you are really looking to get serious with photography, you should hop over to CreativeLIVE and you can learn everything you ever wanted to know!

5 Bloggers That Rock DIY Tutorials

By: Melanie Blodgett. Photo by: Oh Happy Day.

I have to admit when I was approached about teaching the new DIY Blogging 101 class, I was a bit intimidated. I mean, so many other bloggers have the DIY process down a lot better than I do. But of course they flattered me into doing it and as I prepare for the class, I’ve been so inspired to step my game up. I hope you don’t mind I’m learning along side you!

Here are just five (of the many) blogs that I admire for their tutorial game:

Oh Happy Day

I’m sure you’re already familiar with Jordan’s blog (if not already officially obsessed) but I could not not mention her. Jordan’s tutorials are a step above the rest because not only does she have a genius creative brain (that I’m sure we’d all like to pick), she has a talented team that helps execute her vision flawlessly.

A Beautiful Mess

I guess teamwork is a theme. A Beautiful Mess is run by the creative duo, Elsie and Emma. They’re constantly cranking out fresh ideas shared with well styled and well taken photos that make everything very pin-worthy.

Creature Comforts

Ez is a jack of all trades and it’s always a good day when she posts one of her tutorials. Consistent style, a variety of ideas and excellent photos make her the blogger to seek inspiration from.

Penelope & Pip

The fact that Rachael is a talented designer and illustrator shows. I think she can add photographer to her resume too because all her photos are crisp and clean, making her colorful and happy projects stand out.

The House That Lars Built

Brittany definitely has it. She’s the girl we all want to be friends with for her impeccable taste and the creative ideas she’s constantly coming up with and churning out. Plus she’s pretty darn nice too.

What is Your Unique Selling Proposition?

By: Monica Lee

I believe that your unique selling proposition is, in fact, YOU. Nobody else was made like you, thinks like you, sees what you see, you are a complete original. Read that last sentence again. Let it sink in.

What you really need to do is learn how to express your originality. Get comfortable with it. Learn how to get your originality down on paper or in many cases, onto the web.

I meet dynamic people all the time at Smart Creative Women. A consistent trait they posses is a unique aesthetic that comes from their individual perspective. I call it their “creative style.” They have it nailed down, they don’t waste days wondering if this opportunity or that motif or color will fit with their branding.  They have complete confidence in their creative style.

They don’t worry if they fit in with the next trend or if they have replicated someone else’s idea.  They know who they are which frees mental space allowing them to move forward in their lives and businesses.

So how do you gain confidence with your own creative style?

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