Links, Ads, and You

When it comes to Photography, there are so many places to spend your advertising budget on, it is hard to know where to start. Even if you narrow your search down to Wedding Photography. It can be very difficult to know where and how to advertise. No matter how you look at it, and no matter how much you think you don't like it, the truth is you gotta do it.

Starting out, I have been looking for some free listings to get my domain out there. Having a redirect as my main domain for advertising makes it pretty tough for SEO (Search Engine Optimization). This mean I have to work a little extra harder for the technical side of the internet to see my www.rolsenphoto.com domain. The free listings are fine if you are a Google spider. However, no one really looks at the free listings unless there are just a few in your area. Even in the town of Hannibal (and often considering Quincy, IL) there are many artists who have also taken advantage of free (and paid) listings online. So, if you want to be seen by people, you'll want (almost need) a paid listing.

There is nothing wrong with having a paid listing. As long as you have an advertising budget. "Pass the buck." "Bill the client." I hate stuff like that. In order to keep costs down, you have to keep your expenses down. We shall see how that goes. In the meantime, I will do what I can to advertize and keep expenses low, to keep my prices low.

Site Changes

So I changed my website. The site is SeanRolsen.com I didn't really do much with it before, and I certainly didn't log in that often. Nonetheless, I am paying for it, I might as well put something useful up there. It was just time, I guess. It needs work, but I don't need to tell you that. Hopefully, like this blog, it will remain an updated online presence. We shall see.

In the future, I would like to move my blog there, too. I don't know for sure what plans for the site lie ahead, but I do know that there a almost limitless possibilities. There is so much fun you can have with your own site! If you have any suggestions, hit me up in the comments.

Paso Robles

Although it has been a while, I was recently at a photo workshop in the beautiful city of El Paso De Robles, California. The photography workshop was hosted by photographer Syl Arena. The instructor for the week-long class was David Hobby, AKA "Strobist", from strobist.com. David taught his first more-than-one-day class with us at the end of April. One of the great benefits of the workshop was the small class size; only 15 students total.



Here you see model Sophia from the Workshop. During this shoot we were in a small Victorian house in Downtown Paso Robles. The models were very patient with us as we were learning and practicing.

We learned about lighting, and then we shot. And then we learned some more, and then shot some more. It was definitively not an easy week. Fun, but not easy. I really strive in the crash course genre of learning due to my short attention span. Previously to the Paso Robles Workshop, I received all of my educational photo input from blogs (like Strobist.com), books (of which I will read 5 at a time!), DVD's, and online forums. The idea for this workshop was go go go. Overlearning and immersion in the subject matter. I have to say it works very well.

I made some friends, leaned a ton, and came home with new enthusiasm. I can't wait to use my new skills. Images from the shoot made it to the current model portfolio on my Wedding Photography site's "Model Portfolio". Check it out.

Julie's Kitchen Camera

Update: Justin.tv really needs to get their act together. The embed codes have been flaking out quite a bit lately. The downtown Hannibal, MO HannibalCAM.com website, the problem has been very similar.

Now I see that they have disabled the autoplay feature. That means that you now must click the paly button to see the live feed. Bummer.


Watch live video from restaurantcam on Justin.tv

This video feed is of the Garth Woodside Mansion's Woodside Restaurant. It is located in Hannibal, Missouri. The restaurant is directly attached to the Garth Mansion.

Wish List

This is my current wish list. I have to try very hard to only buy gear when I have money from paying photo gigs to pay for it.

Could use more Hi-Cap Ni-MH batteries

Canon 5D Mark II
Wide angle zoom lens
Flex Pocket Wizard
Mini softbox for flashes (36x36 inches)Westcott Apollo?
Large softbox for flashes (50x50 inches)Westcott Apollo?
1 or 2 more small Bogen nano lightstands
Fold up medium gray background large enough for 2 people
Lumiquest Softbox III
LumiPro LP120 flashes
Westcott double-fold 43"shoot-thru umbrellas
2 Bogen Super Clamps
Sensor cleaning kit

I am sure that this list will be growing!