Portrait and wedding photographers, listen up! You have WPPI, Imaging USA and a slew of other conferences you can potentially attend year in and year out. While there is some merit in going to those events at least once to see what they are about, I wholly recommend you check out The Musea Gathering. It will take place from February 4th, 2013 through February 8th, 2013.

It's an event that promises to be free of hype, free of rockstars and free of gear talk. Can I hear an “Amen”?

Musea, as some of you already know is an online proofing site but Michael Howard, its founder will quickly correct me to say, “for now.” The man has all kinds of ideas of where the photography industry should be going, what photographers should be focusing on, how photographers can elevate their businesses without going broke and keeping it all real. In some respects, Musea is a kind of rudder on a very big ship. So, look for more under the Musea brand in the years to come.

In the 7 months I have been using the service, I have seen tremendous growth in its features. If you are looking for an online proofing solution that also has a strong “give back” component built into it, look no further. Musea supports Water.org and soon, photographers pursuing personal and meaningful projects. A full review of it is coming soon.

Before all of that can happen, however, Michael is very clear that Musea needs to grow without going into debt or become tied to a bee hive of investors whose only motive will be to milk the system for profit.

I spoke with Michael yesterday and he describes how an event he has called The Musea Gathering will help him achieve his goal to fully fund his vision and help a bunch of photographers grow their craft and or their business too. It's a win-win for all.

For more information about The Musea Gathering click here and if you are a photographer looking for an alternative to one of the standard industry conferences, please sign up right away. If you sign up for any of the workshops, the entry to the opening day and the day full of presentations is FREE. And there are so many wonderful photographers coming to Nashville, Tennessee to teach at this new event.

If my schedule will permit it, I hope to attend. I think I would really enjoy Spencer Lum's workshop. His Ground-Glass blog is a must-read for all photographers and has prompted me to rethink my business.

There are photo workshops you should attend and then there are photo workshops you should avoid. That's just a fact of life.

I have been to a great many of them and in a future post, I'll list them all. I've always been careful about picking the ones I've wanted to go to. The instructors are all typically working professionals, not professional workshop instructors. Each had something to teach me that I could incorporate in my business or craft immediately. Every instructor promised me their full attention and delivered on it. I of course did my research. I asked my peers through forums, Facebook and Twitter. I checked their websites, blogs, forum posts and their public persona. I took mental notes on how they explained topics. Were they patient with people or did they cut people off? Did they invite discussion and conversation or was it all about them?

The ones I chose to attend seemed like they would be a good fit for me at that time. They taxed my premium resources – time and money – but I chose to spend it because I was convinced I would be a better photographer or better businessman.

But in the past few years, I have read a spate of bad press by frustrated photographers attending workshops, produced by those with little experience and clearly “rockstar” motivations. In one workshop review, I read how the instructors made more time for the video crew filming them than the workshop attendees who had paid top dollar to learn from them. That's plain appalling.

Photolovecat, a blog I respect a great deal, has occasional reviews of workshops and their presenters. These are unbiased and not anonymous, which I think gives the feedback some credibility. So that's one place you can go to see how a workshop you may be considering fared in terms of meeting or exceeding or failing expectations.

FishEye Connect, run by Kristy Dickerson, is also a great place to research workshops. So check that site out too.

Today, on Twitter, I saw Gary Fong Tweet this:

Before you sign up for anybody's seminar or workshop, protect yourself with this and please RT tinyurl.com/garyfonginstru…

— gary fong (@garyfong_REAL) July 5, 2012

Gary calls it a “Disclosure Declaration” and it's for workshop attendees to send to their workshop instructors. Will workshop instructors fill it out? Can they handle the truth? Will workshop attendees forward this form to their instructors to fill out prior to signing up for a workshop? Hard to say how far this will go, but I think Gary is on the right track.

I suspect that the PDF Gary has started to distribute is either a part of his third book – “So You Want To Be A Rockstar Photographer” or it is meant to lead up to it. At this time, I don't know what the book is about and I haven't read Snaps or Accidental Millionaire: How To Succeed In Life Without Really Trying, his first two books. If you have read them, post a comment below and let me know.

What we need to get back to is a promise or a commitment from the teacher to the student – to freely impart information without bias, malice or agenda that will in the end be of benefit to those who have come to learn from them. When workshops are covers for flimsy work or shady business practices, credibility and trust for all workshop instructors suffers. Do you agree? Sound off below.

Would you like to see a Tiffinbox branded photography workshop? If so, what would you want it to be about? Go on, humor me!

Emily Buchanan is a writer and blogger working for Howling Basset, a network of wedding photographers in Kent, UK. She'd cautiously call herself an amateur photographer and prefers to shoot with film (she, too, has a serious case of OCN and it is contagious). Follow Howling Basset on Twitter and Facebook.

By now, it’s a dated debate.Does the ease of a digital dark room hinder the legitimacy of an image or are we all just suffering from a strand of OCN (Obsessive Compulsive Nostalgia) bought on by digitalisation and social anxiety? Has the accessibility of photography served to dilute its artistry? Is this affected by the contemporary culture of cataloguing life online? Well?

In this ever-updating age, questions rotate in a perpetual thought-storm like transient objects of wonder. We are barely granted the time to form an opinion before the Next Big Thing has flipped the industry on its head and it’s time to reassess contemporary culture again. But whichever side of the fence you find yourself on, it’s important to take a balanced approach.

In 1936 Walter Benjamin wrote, “In the age of mechanical reproduction, art gradually loses its traditional and ritualistic value.” This theory bridged two states of human progression and so two states of art. The dust had barely settled since the Industrial Revolution and the Second World War was about to provoke an accelerated fast-forward into the modern age. What, then, would Benjamin make of art and mechanical reproduction today and which party would he align himself with?

Andy Stonier of Howling Basset defines one school of thought, “I believe there's no real difference between digital and analogue photography in terms of photographic art. They're merely different techniques for capturing a scene. Whether the image created is on film or a CCD it matters little; what counts is the idea.”

And sure, there’s a lot of weight to this argument. Quality photography is dictated by a certain compassion and understanding of the subject, alongside an innovative idea that challenges social conceptions or embellishes a moment, not to mention composition and technical now-how.

The trouble is, quality photography can be achieved using both digital and analogue cameras, it’s just that one instrument is distinctly more convenient than the other. Long have photographers bemoaned the loss of romanticism and solitude that came hand-in-hand with a day in the dark room. And indeed, it just doesn’t feel quite as poetic to plug a camera into a laptop and fiddle with exposure on Photoshop. Rick Adam of Destroy Everything shares this second school of thought, citing the skill involved in analogue photography compared to the point-and-shoot culture that’s now encouraged by social networking, “You have to be a lot more resourceful when shooting film,” says Adam in an interview with Digg Magazine, “for one you shoot fewer photos, but in doing so I think you learn a lot more about composition, lighting, etc… Looking at the bigger picture it’s not hard to see that technological advancements have affected photography drastically. Digital cameras have given people the chance to take and upload images to the Internet instantaneously. These days it’s easy to take some photos, build a website and call yourself a photographer.”

So where’s the resolution? Does the accessibility of photography make it easier to feign a career in the industry or, to put it another way, if one can afford professional gear, does one become a professional photographer? No, say many, for the tools don’t make the photographer. A good photographer needs ‘the eye,’ and that cannot be bought or sold.

Personally, I think the medium is evolving, just as all art forms have evolved and continue to do. If that weren’t the case, we’d still be painting stoic portraits of monarchs or eroticising reclining nudes. I think our online sharing habits have promoted a rebirth of photography as art. Sure, some would argue that this has diluted its quality, but the same can be said for every creative outlet. The internet provides a platform of expression for everyone, whether they’re good or not. This is something that shouldn’t be chastised, it should be celebrated. After all, the cream will always rise to the top and whether a traditionalist likes it or not, digital post production has the power to transform a moment in time into a work of art.

To quote Tolstoy, “Art is a human activity consisting in this, that one man consciously by means of certain signs, hands on to others feelings he has lived through, and that others are infected by those feelings and experiences them.”

So, tell us, do you think digital photography is disposable? Do you photograph with intent more with film versus digital?

Angela Pointon is the founder of Steel Toe Images. She inspires photographers and other creative people to kick major butt through her consulting sessions, blog, emails, workshops and her first book (coming soon), called “ A Swift Kick In The Pants: Business Smarts For Us Creative Types”. Follow Angela on Twitter or on Facebook.

Should You List Your Prices, And If So, Where?

Pretty much every photographer I meet asks me this question. And whether you’re just starting out or have been around for years, it’s something that challenges many.

Never In Expensive Print

A photographer I met with recently was about two years into the business. They thought that glossy brochures were a mandatory marketing “must” and printed a boatload when their business first launched. That was mistake #1. Mistake #2 was printing them with prices mentioned. When you need to increase prices (which they did), those brochures become useless. Ouch.

Price sheets should be printed off one or two at a time, never more. As your business grows, your price will typically increase. You never want to have a price written somewhere that isn’t easy to change.

Maybe On Your Website

If you receive most of your business through referrals, these consumers already have a price point in mind, because they probably already asked your past client. But if your business is a blend of referrals and completely fresh clients, you might be thinking that pricing can help attract them to you.

Consumers are busy these days. If you do not list your pricing, some will be frustrated that your price isn’t listed publicly for the entire world to see. So if you aren’t going to list prices (more on that in a minute), make it very easy for them to request it. Have your phone number and a quick form on the website (asking just a 3-4 questions… not a gazillion) and respond within 24 hours with an unbelievably well written and remarkable email or amazing phone conversation about what makes your business different. Attached to that, include your most recent price list.

But Seriously, Why List It?

Now we get to the why. Why… I mean, really… why list pricing on your website? What do you feel it is going to accomplish? You do not want someone choosing you based on price. So why go there right away?

If you and I were going on a date, I wouldn’t ask you how much you were planning on spending on me the first time we met. And you shouldn’t let people be so rude as to judge your value from a website visit alone, either. After all, what makes your business unique and what establishes your value is so much more than a price.

But ignore me if you must. If you’re going to list prices, be a tad vague. List starting prices and clarify that exact pricing will be provided. Give yourself the opportunity to at least engage with them, discuss your style and what you have to offer before you can have the only deciding factor be price.

Don’t Wait Too Long

If you do decide to remove pricing from your website, telling a potential client your pricing at a face-to-face meeting is too late. You’ve already invested time in them, and remember: you are qualifying them as much as they are qualifying you. Before you sit down with anyone, communicate how you’re unique and what you have to offer, and state your typical pricing range or send them your pricing sheet. Ask them if it’s within their budget. If it’s not and they aren’t willing to adjust their budget to afford you, you’ve saved yourself a ton of time. Spend that precious time on more qualified clients, instead.

How has listing or not listing prices worked for you or against you? I’d love to hear your stories!

Today's guest post is by Nate Grahek, a professional photographer and founder of StickyAlbums.com, where you can create branded photo-album apps for your clients’ mobile devices. Follow Nate on Twitter.

We all know that to compete with other photographers, we have to differentiate ourselves. We have to have a competitive advantage: something we do that sets us apart.

Buisness textbooks talk about three main competitive advantages: Product, Price and Service. The most successful companies are really good at choosing one – and executing really well on that area. Apple is a great example of this. Their number one competitive advantage is Product innovation. They consistently introduce new products that are markedly better than their competition’s.

It’s nearly impossible to compete in all three of these areas. Of course there’s no way Apple could release amazing new iPads AND also compete on price. Why would they even try?

Contrast Apple with a company like Walmart, who focuses exclusively on Price. For better or worse, Wal-Mart’s obsession with bringing customers the absolute lowest price is core to the success of the company.

For either company, trying to do both Product and Price really well would mean giving up the thing that sets them apart.

To clarify: just because you’re focused on one area doesn’t mean the others can be garbage. Apple has their Genius Bars, Walmart sells organic veggies … but that’s not what those companies are known for. Apple makes the coolest devices. Wal-Mart has the lowest prices.

As pro-photography becomes a more and more saturated market, picking your competitive advantage becomes more and more crucial to your success. Like Apple and Wal-Mart, your competitive strategy needs to be baked into your brand.

Next week I’m going to explain WHY customer service should be your competitive advantage. Then I’ll give you some concrete action items–things you can do today or this week–to make your customer service so good your clients can’t help but tell their friends about it.

Meanwhile, I am giving away 3 – $100 credits towards StickyAlbums PRO. Enter using the widget below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Please Note: Contest & $40 Discount ENDS Tuesday 6/19 at Midnight

(Don't wait to see if you win) Winners who are already StickyAlbums-Pro members win the $100 in cash.

The albums are a great marketing tool: they’re like rep cards or brag books, but they’re always at hand and your clients won’t run out of them.

Mobile devices are changing how we live and how we do business. However, word-of-mouth referrals are still our most valuable currency. StickyAlbums gives you a way to leverage this mobile revolution into wow-factor referrals. StickyAlbums also helps you target clients who can afford premium photography – people who use iPhones and iPads have already demonstrated their affinity for premium/boutique products.

If you choose to check out StickyAlbums and end up upgrading to the PRO subscription level, contact me. If you provide them with my email address as someone who has referred you to them, both you and I receive TWO additional months added to our account. Pretty sweet, eh? Here is the email address to enter: orders AT seshu DOT net. Cool?

Good luck!