March Meeting wrap up

Sorry this is so late in coming guys. WPPI got in the way.

What a great turn out we had on the 11th! Many of our regular attendees plus lots of new folks showed up to listen to our guest speaker.

Janet Mclaughlin, art director for "Minnesota Bride" magazine and Tiger Oak Publications was kind enough to come and talk to us about submissions and advertising. Some of the topics covered were: what makes an effective ad, submission guidelines with MN Bride and general good practices when submitting for consideration.

In a nutshell, Janet explained that it is very helpful to include a contact sheet (9 or more up) of all the images you have included on your submission cd. Also, it's very important to edit your events to about 30 shots each. Entire wedding collections are just way too tedious to sift through and therefore will not be considered.

She also explained that because of the publishing deadlines, it is vital to be timely with submissions.

Here are some shots from the night




Areas that they are looking for photos to use are:

Real Weddings

Photos from Friends

Bon Voyage (last page of the magazine)

On the advertising side, we talked about elements of an effective ad. Janet believes that the easier it is for a bride to read your information, the better off you'll be. Even small ads, when designed well, can be very effective. Ads with too many images and verbage can look cluttered and unattractive.

As a group, we looked through and discussed a number of ads. It was interesting to hear everyone's views on what they liked and didn't like about each one. Lot's of good questions were asked and answered.

If you would like more information on advertising with MN Bride or get on the email list for submissions, please contact Dena Alspach at dena.alspach@tigeroak.com

Even though we didn't win the Pictage challenge for most increased attendance, it was a great meeting and so much fun to see some new faces! Jason and I truly believe that we can all gain so much from each other. Friendly competition is always the best kind!

Thank you to Janet for speaking and thanks to you all for coming. Hope to see you in April. Details to come...

Best,

Stacey

April Meeting.

Our PUG meeting is being scheduled for
Tuesday, April 15th. Tax day...UGH!

Details forthcoming.

See you all there.

AWESOME MARCH MEETING PLANNED!!

Hey everyone,

Fellow Photographers, check out the AWESOME meeting we have planned for March!

We are lucky enough to have Janet Mclaughlin, art director for Tiger Oak Publishing and Minnesota Bride magazine coming to speak to us. Janet will be speaking about what makes an effective ad, what trends they are seeing within weddings, and the editorial submission process. Not only is Minnesota Bride a great local magazine, but as a part of Tiger Oak, Janet has the additional insight of what is going on in places like Wisconsin, Seattle, and Arizona. It is not everyday that we get the opportunity to pick the brain of someone in her capacity, so this is very exciting!


As a bonus, internationally acclaimed photographer, Mike Colon of Mike Colon Photographers (and educational resources) has been kind enough to donate two "On Location With Mike Colon: Toronto" DVD's. This is this a great way to watch and learn as Mike shoots the fabulous wedding of Veronica, the daughter of famous gown designer Ines Di Santo. Each of these DVD's are valued at $199 and will be given away as a drawing at the end of the meeting.


Finally, I know that some of you have inquired about getting free tradeshow tickets for WPPI. We will have them available at the meeting as well. If you are interested, please send us an email, so I can tell Pictage how many we will need.

We hope to set a new Minneapolis PUG attendance record, so please help us out and spread the word! Pictage members and guests are welcome.

Details:
March 11th, 2008
6:30 Social hour
7:00 Meeting Starts

email either of us for additional information
jason@stajastudios.com
stacey@stajastudios.com