Almost a year back, I posted 5 Reasons You Should Attend The Mystic Seminars. If you don't remember it or want to go read it, I'll be waiting here when you get back.

Good? Hope that made sense.

5 MORE REASONS TO GO

This time I wanted to give you 5 more reasons to attend the Mystic Seminars, which take place on January 5, 6, 7 and 8.

1) Though Jerry Ghionis‘ workshop is all sold out, Joe Buissink and the WedRockers still have a few remaining spots open. (I signed up for the WedRockers, by the way). Joe is a phenomenal presenter and teacher. I've always enjoyed his super quiet yet powerful approach to explaining why he does what he does. He always speaks from the heart and that my friends is a huge reason in itself to listen to a master photographer. The Wedrockers see things very very differently. Let me just stop there because to describe them in any other way would be nearly impossible. Go check out their work. I think you will get what I am saying. They are super nice guys (video of them coming up soon right here).

2) If you are a vegetarian like me, or have dietary restrictions, the diverse and ample helpings during lunch are not to be missed. Walter van Dusen, the event's founder and host, has promised me that it will be just as good as last year if not better. So, if you are a foodie like me, you won't regret your lunches. Check out this year's menu here. Yum!

3) If you live in a part of the world that hasn't and will never see snow, well, you will more than likely get your fill. Tell yourself that it's an opportunity to test your camera's white balance settings. [grin] On a more serious note, you will get to experience winter like most New Englanders and that just may be on your list of things to do in life. Don't forget to bundle up. Walter and his wife will always make sure there is enough coffee to keep you warm and water to keep you hydrated.

4) Andrew “Fundy” Funderburg is buying us beer. Who is Fundy? One of the sharpest minds in the business, who is always looking for ways to make our lives a little bit easier with his software programs. Check out Fundy SOS. Even if you don't drink beer, tap him for business advice or about his next amazing product for photographers. Have you seen the new Fundy Album Builder v4.0? It's slick! I am sure he'll demo it and you can ask him lots of questions (which you can't really right now, right?) about how to design and sell wedding albums.

5) The ultimate reason to go is to listen and watch some of the best in the industry. This year's speakers include the following: Joe Buissink, Jerry Ghionis, Ben Chrisman, Sergio, Susan Stripling, DQ Studios, Becker, Andrew “Fundy” Funderburg, Jeff Newsom, Michael Greenberg, WedRockers (Fer Juaristi, David Josue, Daniel Aguilar, Rafa Ibanez), Tony Corbell, Stephanie Zettl, Melissa Ghionis, Joseph Switzer, Ray Prevost, Jacklyn Greenberg and Walter van Dusen. Yes, these speakers may appear at other conferences but they won't be as accessible. That's a promise.

WALTER DISHES OUT ADVICE TO 2ND SHOOTERS & MORE

Walter just told me that he is closing all new registrations on Wednesday, December 14. So, if you want in you'll have to sign up by Tuesday, December 13.

DINNERS ON TIFFINBOX

Every person who has registered for either the seminars or the workshops AND mentions “Tiffinbox” (when registering) will be entered into a drawing. Dinner is on Tiffinbox!

Here is the ONE STEP you need to take to win your dinner (up to $60) for the first three nights, from me:

Comment below. Tell me if you are going to the event. Tell me what you think you will get out of going to this conference. To win, you have to attend the entire event. I need a name and a valid email address when you comment. If I don't hear back from you, the prize goes to the next person I will also randomly pick.

Increase your chances of winning when you take these two steps:

a) Tweet this: “I entered into a drawing to win dinners at @MysticSeminars thanks to @PicSeshu and www.tiffinbox.org – http://seshu.me/vkDcl1”

b) Fill in your Facebook status with these words: “I entered into a drawing to win dinner at @Mystic Seminars thanks to @Seshu Badrinath and www.tiffinbox.org – http://seshu.me/vkDcl1”

I am looking for ONE winner among 100 unique comments between now and Tuesday night. So, no multiple entries. I'll be double checking with Walter if you are indeed registered. You get to collect your prize (up to $60) in person. You have the option of joining me for dinner.

PLUS … woah!! Andrew “Fundy” Funderburg has offered to giveaway Blog Collage, to the winner. This $79 software program helps you create collages for your blog or for sharing across social media platforms like Twitter or Facebook. Check it out, snap it up!

Winner will be announced here on Tiffinbox on Tuesday at 11.59 pm EST! So come back and see if you won!

Disclosure Of Material Connection

Andrew Funderburg is the founder of Fundy SOS, a software company that creates remarkable tools for wedding and portrait photographers. His Fundy Album Builder [affiliate link] recently won the Hot One Award by the Professional Photographers of America.

Most couples seek photographers who can deliver beautiful wedding albums. Most often, though, photographers find themselves hitting the breaks when trying to sell those wedding albums. What prevents them from making the sale?

“Fundy” as he is known has some advice for wedding photographers looking for ways to increase their profit margins. Check out this video that I created when I met up with him at the Mystic Seminars event in early January.

Please note that Fundy's is one approach to selling wedding albums to clients. How do you approach it? Would you be open to sharing your thoughts with us? Please comment below!

This is guest blog post by Michelle Loretta who loves to talk shop and discuss business strategy. So, in 2009 she started a blog: Sage Wedding Pros. This blog would evolve to cover all things business in the wedding and event industry. She has a background in finance, having armed herself with a BS in Accounting from University of Southern California and having spent her early career working for Deloitte LLP. She spent 5 years in the fashion industry as a sales manager for DDLA, and a visual merchandiser for Coach, Inc. In 2008, Michelle co-founded the wedding industry not-for-profit Get Hitched Give Hope.

Oh … the agony! Writing a business plan! It takes blood, sweat, tears… weeks turn into months turn into years. What a grueling process!

OR – that’s what people think.

Listen, I teach people how to write business plans daily. It doesn’t have to be this way. Let’s get some things straight here …

A Business Plan Is A Set Of Goals

Yep – that’s all it is. And, goal-setting challenges us to be better business owners. Goal-setting gives us a target to aim for. If you don’t have a target, how can you ever hit the bulls-eye?

Cover All Your Bases

The beauty of the business plan is that it forces you to look at four areas of your business: your company vision, your marketing, your operations, and your finances. So often we set goals with only a couple of these in mind. But a strong business needs to build on all four areas.

– What do you want your business to be known for?
– How are you going to sell that?
– How are you going to run your business to provide that?
– How are you going to make money doing it?

Make It Your Own

Unless you are seeking investors or financing, the business plan should be for you. If it’s 3 pages or 30 pages – just get some thing down on paper. It can be paragraphs or lists. Make it your own. And make it easy for you to write. Better yet: make it easy for you to USE.

Find a Buddy

Things are always more fun with friends. Find a coach, a friend, or a mentor to help you with this. Whether you meet monthly with an industry colleague to work ON your business plans – or whether you attend a workshop. This accountability makes it easier to get it done if you can have a little social interaction along the way.

USE IT!

What good is a plan if you don’t use it? (This is the real importance of making it your OWN.) Goals change and evolve over time. This plan isn’t set in stone. Refer to it daily. Make it a part of your business life. And, make the business plan a continuously evolving, living, breathing document.

About The Simple Plan

The Simple Plan is a no-sweat, no-fuss, piece-of-cake, easy-peasy approach to writing a business plan. We've taken out the dirty work and made this fun and collaborative. It is open to all wedding industry professionals: from start-ups just getting their feet wet to experienced pros who are looking to take their business to the next level.

Read all about The Simple Plan for event and wedding professionals

New York Workshop:
The Simple Plan – May 10-11, 2011 – 9:30am-4:30pm
At Jason Groupp Studio
Register now for the New York workshop!

Dallas Workshop:
The Simple Plan – March 22-23, 2011 – 9:30am-4:30pm
At Holiday Inn Express – Galleria
Register now for the Dallas workshop!

UPDATE: Michelle Loretta is offering Tiffinbox newsletter subscribers $50 off towards the NYC workshop. 1) Sign up for the Tiffinbox newsletter, 2) Send me an email to seshu at tiffinbox dot org so that I can confirm your email matches and 3) I'll email you back with the special code. Deal?

Based in Los Angeles and Washington DC, Justine Ungaro has been photographing weddings and portraits in her own clean, classic style since 2003. This is her first guest blog post on Tiffinbox.

“The pictures are so small on the page and there is too much white space”.

Every time I receive one of these emails, I die a little bit inside. You know the ones I'm talking about because you all get them too. Usually from the mother of the bride or groom about her album design that you labored over for hours. Sometimes even from the bride or groom themselves. And as much as it just drives me crazy it's really not their fault. As photographers we are highly visual people. We notice the tiniest nuances and subtleties of light. We stare at compositions and dissect how we coulda, shoulda done it better. We are very hard on ourselves.

But sometimes we need to remember that our clients (usually) are just not as visually sophisticated as we are. Sometimes we need to educate them, try to change their minds, show them that we know what is best for them. And sometimes it's better to just give in. It is their album after all. But rarely do I give in without a little bit of a fight. I want my white space. But whether or not I win or lose any particular album battle is beside the point. It brings up a very good question. Why is negative space important?

Now although I do design albums, I don't consider myself a designer. Still, despite being a non-designer I do try to incorporate what little I do know about good design into my albums…and that is balance, tension and flow. I want to lead my viewer across the page in a way that makes sense. I also want to make them work for it just a little bit and I want the pages to feel nice and balanced. Generally this is not accomplished by just cramming tons of images onto a page. Simple and clean is elegant, sophisticated and classic.

(Both images above are of Queensberry‘s newest album offering, the Musee)

Why else is negative space important to us? If you look around at advertisements for various products, you can tell immediately which ones are cheap, mainstream or just unabashedly pedestrian. They are the ads that are full of stuff: pictures, clunky logos, too many fonts & colors; they look messy. If you look at advertisements for luxury products or services, they are almost always clean and simple and full of what? That's right, negative space.

So I know that we're all in different positions in our various markets. Not everyone serves a high-end market. But if you do or if you're a social climber, consider the types of visual stimulus that appeals to your ideal clients. Speak to them non-verbablly through your branding and through your albums. If you want to reach a wealthier clientele, consider whether or not you're using the power of negative space to your advantage.