Dustin Steller

Spring is in the air....Do-do-do-d-dooo...fa-la-la-la-laaaa....

I am stoked about the green I am beginning to see. The wheat is sprouting up full force in the fields. Allergies are kicking up. Daffodils (at least, that's what I think they are) are popping up everywhere. Bugs are beginning to make an appearance (I hate bugs, but still). Rain storms smell like they are supposed to and not like another blizzard is on the way. I am happy!

The other really cool thing about Spring this year is my more aggressive photography approach. I am going to start shooting more sessions than before. I have been inundated with requests for sessions but have held back for a long time due to lack of time. I am now ready to shoot a bit more....not full force, by any means, but a little bit more. Maybe up to twice a week. It is not much, but it is better than once a month....and I still have a busy design firm to run.

Kicking off the Spring sessions, I shot some family friends...they have been friends for a long time to my wife and I and they have two boys. Randy and Moreé really are a cute couple. Moreé's sister-in-law was in town (with her daughter) from Japan where her husband is stationed in the military, so they wanted some photos of the kid's together. I shot for about an hour and got lots of fun photos.

Enjoy...

20x10 Storyboard Samples

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Okay, so the past 7 days has been nuts.

Design Business: From start to finish...
- 2 website mockups (home, tier and subtier concepts)
- 3 web project detailed quotes (4-7 pages each)
- 9 large format banners (individual designs, 300+MB each)
- 4 full and half page advertisements
- 1 banquet cover (FOUR revisions!...I couldn't get it right)
- 2 full websites (Seniors and Weddings)
- 1 full day of meetings and Quickbooks Pro setup
- More wedding, senior and portrait promo materials worked on
- 1 full-color 4 page mailer

Photography Business:
- two sessions (my first newborn and my second senior)
- 1,200 pics processed in Lightroom
- 1,200 pics culled down to 140 selections (for both shoots)
- 140 pics fully post processed
- 2 new events added to instaproofs
- responded to 5 (FIVE....yes - FIVE) interested brides from this past weekend's expo
- 18 new pics added to my Flickr stream

Still to do today:
- Switching banks (meeting in half an hour)
- Finalizing the plans for Valentine's Day (most was ordered over a month ago! woot!)
- Two small design projects
- Clean office
- Fix Senior portrait gallery
- Add pics to products in instaproofs and on both photo websites
- Start design of Portrait specific website...and hopefully finish it.

Whew...

This week in pictures to enjoy (MORE ON FLICKR):

Dayton - 3 days old

Jaimee - HS Senior - yes, we shot in 25 degree weather...brrrr...

So things seem to fall into my lap...yes, I work hard to enable that, but God has blessed me and I am grateful.

I canceled my exclusivity with iStock nearly 30 days ago due to some exciting business opportunities which I can vaguely share a little later on. It is a little sad for me, but it is the right thing for this stage of my journey, so I am excited.

Tomorrow a new phase of targeted promotion is beginning for my photography business. I am not a marketing guru nor do I claim to guarantee spectacular results, but I do know and try to apply what makes sense to me. I also try to give 100% effort in to every detail of every project. Giving any less than that is a let-down for me and giving that little extra something-something to every detail is what (at least in my mind) sets my work apart from the rest...ANYWAY....So ensues kind of a funny little short story as to how powerful the simplest of marketing can be...

My email signature for my design company was promoting my new photography division, Steller Photography. Because one of my smaller design clients paid attention to this little line in my email, I am now being promoted at a local Bridal Expo as the only photographer recommended by two hotels in their Bridal Guide! Get this! She had never even seen my wedding photography! It was because of the wording about my "new premium portrait photography division" for Five Loaves Creative and it had my web address...She saw my site, liked my pretty slideshow and pics and called me asking for permission to exclusively promote me at the event, seeing if I would be interested in giving some raffle "gifts" and something for their display or to hand out. This was last Friday. I said "sure, I'd love to!". (duh!)

I had previously designed the cover and some promotional materials for the event. Here's what it looked like...

Bridalguide_cover_sm

When I sent my final proof to my client, that's when she saw the email signature.

Now that I am becoming an actively marketing wedding photographer, I had LOTS to do! Promotional materials for this event and *gulp* a website to finish!!

Okay, so I had NO TIME to put these materials together, so please don't laugh. Real quick I had to go home, dig up wedding photos from my first and only full wedding, and put together some promotional materials for it... I decided on a mounted 11x14 for their table, a stack of wallets for handouts, and three "raffle" giveaways for the show. They are below. I got the prints from whcc yesterday and they look awesome.

11x14_wed_promo_sm

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5x7_wed_promo_sm

Sp_wallet_plain_wed1_sm

Next time, I will make them more consistent with the website look and feel, but I didn't have the time to spare this time around.

Oh, the website! Sneak peak...I am working on the wedding site quickly tonight. Hopefully, tomorrow, the pricing and the info will be in there. The expo starts at 10. Anyway, I duplicated the production of my High School Senior production site and changed the CSS styles to adapt to my wedding design and now I am adding content and pics....later I will add a gallery of images, but I just don't have the time tonight. Without further ado.... Steller  Photography Weddings (at least the general look).

Okay...so it's no so shocking or even a venture, but I was just trying to come up with a catchy title... :-)

Edited to add: Here are some pics from my first wedding as seen on flickr.

My Sister's Wedding

I was tagged by nan!
5 in and 5 out....

I am extremely infatuated with my wife...

I am a mac snob. PC's are pointless.

I have more close "online" friends than I do close "real-world" friends.

I have an obsessive tendency to remember pointless but exact details about random things, but seemingly never the important things that I should remember.

While I think I come across as a fairly driven and kind of organized person, in reality I still like to veg on the couch and put off cleaning my office.

This workflow pertains to my paying clients only. I have about $1.75 in each package unit.

Look at the large resolution of the picture to see the notes. Feel free to ask questions...

Quick n’ Dirty Workflow:
– Process RAW in Lightroom, touchup in Photoshop
– Run Actions for watermark (flickr) and smaller size (instaproofs)
– Setup Event on instaproofs. Give client password. Wait for orders.
– Print order comes in from instaproofs.com.
– I fulfill the orders through white house (whcc.com)
– 2-3 days later, I have prints in hand.
– Get out junk (see #1,2)
– Make Junk pretty (see #3,4,5)
– Got to instaproofs and tell client ready for pickup.
– Get compliments and more business from pretty junk.

steller workflow

5 comments

Photography + Design = No time.

I am in a pickle, of sorts. I own a design business. I love design and that business keeps me very, very busy. Another thing that I am equally passionate about is photography. I have no idea where photography is going for me. Stock photography got me back into photography a few years back. I have done okay at the stock thing (it is what allowed me to start my design business), but the overall key is that I have rediscovered a love for photography since college. So, I developed my photography business as a division of my design company. I think I want to get into it even more by dedicating a bit more time to it.

My pickle is that I can't delegate design or photography responsibilities or hire anyone to do it for me, because both require me in order to achieve the results I want (my style, influence, skill, knowledge). So, I need to figure out the best way to maximize my time, getting to do what I want to do, while still making a living.

The solution to my desires, I think, is going to be dedicating a day or two per week to photography, while maintaining my design business as the primary. For me, I get the best of both worlds. The way to make it work, however, will be scheduling, organization, goal-setting/achieving and prioritizing...and as a creative, these are not my strong suits.

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If I am going to juggle these two huge balls...hehe...two huge balls being design and photography, people...sheesh....I need to first and foremost make a living, so my photography has to be prioritized by what makes me money.

Stock has made me money. That's good. I love shooting senior portraiture and models. I think I like shooting weddings...currently, I am working on individual websites/marketing for each genre of photography and an overall pricing platform for all my photography and prints. I am currently deciding whether I want to do weddings or not, and what to charge for those as well.

For pricing, my first inclination for pricing is to be cheap to get the business and continue to do work for friends/family. I'd love to shoot models and friends all day long and I love to share my imagery, but sharing doesn't pay the bills.

Where does that leave me? [rhetorical]

Being more exclusive and higher-priced. I have found that my time is extremely valuable. I have also found that my images are not your run-of-the-mill Sears pictures-while-you-wait. I think, and correct me if I am wrongly thinking, that since my time is very valuable, my images are above-average, and I already have a busy business that I should be charging more for my photography in order to not become overloaded, maintain an exclusive stance, and put a demand and value on my time. Not in a snobbish way, mind you, because that is not me, but more in a business stance.

My goal is not to grow my photography business quickly. I do not need to have more clients. If people don't like my rates and they go to the affordable person next door, it really doesn't bother me.

Thoughts, anyone? [NOT rhetorical]

My long-term goal: I think I would be good at and enjoy fashion photography and editorial work and build a booming Senior and children's specific photography studio.

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Below, you can see a breakdown on my perspective of each niché I would like to work in...do you think they are worth it or should I be more selective or am I nucking futz? Should I promote them? My plan is to pick several and focus on printed and online resources for marketing them.

Stock:
Stock is what brought me to my current learning place. I love what it has done for me, and how I am able to utilize it for my design. I don't want to spend the rest of my life shooting/creating it, but it is nice extra income.

Models:
The model thing. It's my favorite to shoot. It's exciting, intense, and powerful. The creativity is inspiring. The imagery is breath-taking...or at least I hope it becomes so. BUT, that said, there is not a heck of a lot of money involved unless you are a 'known' photog. The models all want to build their portfolios...for free. That means TFCD (trading Time for a CD of images).

My solution to this dilemma (no money) is very limited TFCD shoots. I can only afford to do this occasionally and for a signed stock release (to get some kind of return). The benefit for the models is seeing their picture, possibly, in use for tearsheets. I have had covers of international magazines and even national advertisements with my photography featured. That's a cool thing.

When the demand increases, which I think it will, then I also plan to have rates specifically for models. I am currently there, i think. i am currently booked for TFCD shoots through March.

Seniors:
Seniors are fun. I enjoy the age group. I can make them look hip and trendy. It lends itself well to my style. It is kind of like shooting models (only they are not experienced or comfortable in front of the camera).

The money is decent. With appropriate marketing and promotion, I think I could make this work well.

I'd like to offer more products to parents and have a little sales piece for selling the products to parents, by selling them on the "investment" they are making in their quickly-growing-up child.

One of my weaknesses in the area is a lack of studio space, but it is easy enough to make it work on location.

Children:
I like to shoot them. They are energizing and tiring. Chaotic and controlled. The results are amazing and precious. The niché factor is huge.

I want to market them in such a way that it builds a sense of parents "investing" in their children so their parents are willing to dish out the dough to make it worthwhile. I want to make them feel the "need" to have their child's photos taken by me.

It seems that many "east coast" photogs are making this work well for them by charging an exorbitant amount of money for high-quality amazing imagery and I could see it quickly developing into the same for this region.

Portraiture:
Not so much do I enjoy the typical "family" portraiture. I would love to break ground in an innovative way to do these, but haven't put that much thought into the subject, yet. It pays decent, but it is not as fun for me. Maybe later...who knows? I'd rather almost, not even offer it. The more people in the photo, the worse it gets for me.

On the other hand, I love dramatic portraiture with one or two people that breeds a true creative element. Usually this is invoked best in the studio, which I don't have, so I am limited in this realm, too. That, and there is just not a market for it.

Yet, i get asked about it ALL the time. If i raise my rates, maybe they will all go away?! :-)

Blegh...

Weddings:
That brings us to weddings...
I have shot three weddings.

Wedding 1:
The first was a distant friends' small wedding. They had a photographer already and I wanted experience, so I asked if it would be okay if I tagged along and shot along-side a pro to learn a bit and assist where necessary.

The "pro" turned out to be another friend of theirs that had only assisted a few other weddings before. They showed up and were uprepared equipment-wise. I had a better camera and lighting gear than they did and some of their gear shot craps prior to the ceremony so I ended up taking point and shot most of the important parts of the day (including the formals).

I was not paid (nor did I ask or expect to be). I hated it during the day and later (when reviewing the photos) because I thought I bombed (and I actually did bomb many of the formals, because I had no idea what to do!). Later though, looking at the finished photos, I was pleased with the results that I pulled out of my butt. Who likes their RAW files anyway? :-)

I had a small print sale and was pleased with the photos I presented to them. That says something, doesn't it?

Wedding 2:
The second wasn't really a wedding, so much as a ceremony and reception. It was for my brother-in-law's sister, who got married in South America (she's a missionary) and came home to have a formal celebration with her large family.
 It went much better. I did it as a favor and learned a lot. The pictures came out great overall.

Wedding 3:
The latest wedding was my little sister's wedding...yes, the blonde. She got married and moved to Hawaii, the lucky little dog.

I shot it from beginning to end. It rained all day and it was an outdoor wedding. I rented a new lense (I hadn't used a zoom in over a year...I love my primes) and it was dark by the time I took the bride & groom out for their "couples" photos. I learned a lot that day, but the photos came out wonderfully and the day wasn't too hard overall.

From this wedding, I have gotten interest in me being the photog for over 5 weddings next year.

This wedding is what has spawned me thinking of this entire post. I am working on my pricing and packages for weddings and deciding whether ior not I want to persue it on a regular basis...

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Help me, people!

So, as Kelly pointed out, I lied. I haven't blogged any more as I said I would...

In my defense, I was in Colorado for a week for the Thanksgiving holiday and was working my tail off the week before I left. The week off was great! We spent a couple days in Colorado Springs and then the rest of the week in denver at the inlaws. I think I would really like to move out there in a couple years when Carrie (my wife) gets done with her school business program (finishing school).

Now, I am working may tail off trying to hit all the end of year deadlines (which means all the print projects need to be complete the first week of December for printing in time for January 1!). The holidays come at such a poor time.

For the first week of December, I have 16 print projects, 2 logos, 6 website update/edits, 5 website designs, a small photo shoot, and a couple photo orders to get done. PLUS, my own darned Christmas cards!

I promise to post about my photography ordering workflow later this weekend when I get my latest photo order in. I am taking pictures of it so it will be illustrated. Yes, the ultimate over-achiever...

Gosh, I'm tired.

Yes, I promise to start blogging more. I just get so blasted busy.

Well, speaking of busy, I finally completed editing ALL of the 7,000 shots in 22 hours. I narrowed them down to 1,200 shots and sent off the DVD to the manager (Brian DeMint at eyeworks). His wife, Dena DeMint, was the MUA. What a trooper!

I posted a few to my flickr account and plan to upload many more soon. There are many to peruse below.
(Sidenote: Avery is 15. Audrey is 17.)

Avery

Avery

Avery

Avery

Avery

Avery

Avery

Avery

Avery

Audrey

Audrey

Audrey

Audrey

My businesses are going extremely well. Steller Photography is starting to make money (outside of my usual iStockphoto income). I am booking portrait sessions, shot my first real wedding (my little sister's), getting my business plan fully developed, getting a long-term gameplan in order, and putting marketing materials together.

iStock has been a little slow compared to previous months, but I think I need to disambiguate my portfolio for it to jump. I also need to upload more there, and have about 100 shots sitting in the wings just waiting to be fully processed and freed.

Five Loaves Creative is taking off, as well. I have done a number of website designs lately for a wide range of clients. I have had the opportunity to work with some great friends from iStock and from my previous employer (First Baptist Raytown). I am spending about the same amount of time in web and print and identity, which falls right into my business plan.

Blessings abound.

What TV show(s) will you be watching this season? Why? 
Submitted by ducnly.vox.com.

Ah, yes...TiVo. Some of my close friends know of my TiVo/CompUSA vs. Dustin headaches. I was a little mad, to say the least, but we won't get into that.

Anyway, my wife and I got a TiVo about a month ago and we are really getting used to it now. We love
 the service. The thing is just too cool for words.

This Fall Steller Lineup:
For the girls:
- Dora
- Max & Ruby
- Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
- Little Einsteins
- Maisy

Mom & Dad:
- CSI
- CSI: Miami
- NCIS
- House
- How I Met Your Mother
- The Class
- Two and a Half Men
- Brothers & Sisters
- Close to Home
- Two-a-days
- Laguna Beach
- Grey's Anatomy
- Desperate Housewives
---and probably more that I am forgetting...

We really don't watch all those shows. The ones for us, we split. Carrie, my wife, has the ones she watches and I have the ones I like and then we share a few of them. The ones for the girls, we save for rainy days and play when my wife or I are cooking dinner.

Fun times...saves on movie rentals and time. Lots of time. :-)