What happens in Vegas doesn’t stay in Vegas. Not when the Pounds team hits town. Our Marketing and Sales Manager Raquel Bowles tells all!

POUNDS: How many years has the Pounds team been attending WPPI?
RAQUEL: This is Pounds’ fifth year attending WPPI.

POUNDS: What made this year great?
RAQUEL: This year was great because we had the chance to spend time with existing customers but to also meet some new,exciting and interesting photographers.

POUNDS: What were the highlights?
RAQUEL: Watching photographers learn from our speakers. We want to educate photographers to grow their businesses so we pick speakers who can do that.  We actually had photographers that were working in other labs’ booths come over to learn from us!  Everyone loved wavy metal. We had so many photographers talking about it.

POUNDS: When you go to trade shows like this what do you learn that helps you do a better job for your clients?
RAQUEL: The feedback is phenomenal.  It is our chance to spend time with existing customers to learn what they like or don’t like.  We also get the opportunity to learn from new photographers what products they are looking for.

POUNDS: What sort of customer input and response did you get?
RAQUEL: The speakers were a big hit. We also found that our customers are very excited about how the lab is growing. Our existing clients are happy because, as we grow, we are able to offer more products. New clients are not only excited about our products, but our ability to streamline their work flow and present marketing solutions to build their business. We always hear about our great customer service and that is extremely gratifying because customer service—giving our clients more––is the heart of what we do.

See pictures on our Facebook page.

Brandi Nellis makes you smile. She also might make you jump, swing, dance, run, hang upside down or stand on your head, but you’ll be smiling the whole time.

This Austin based photographer has been shooting pictures since she was a kid and started her first professional studio eleven years ago.

She has a way of looking at the world with a different eye, a definite attitude and a dash of genius!

POUNDS: What inspired you to become a photographer?
BRANDI: Like a lot of photographers, photography has been a hobby and a passion since I was a little girl.  I knew from an early age that I wanted to own my own company and work for myself. Bottom line, what really inspired me to become a photographer was that I wanted to make money doing a job that I absolutely love.

POUNDS: What’s the best thing about it?
BRANDI: The best thing about being a photographer is that exact moment when you know you just got “the money shot.” I can call the shot every time.

POUNDS: How has your idea of “being a photographer” changed since you’ve been in business?
BRANDI: To be “a photographer” sounds so easy and fun. “Let’s go take some photos!”  However, I learned quickly that I had to be a marketing director, an accountant, a Photoshop and social media guru, a delivery and pickup driver, a video maker and oh we can’t forget, a comedian during the shoots. Yes, my idea of “being a photographer” has TOTALLY changed since I’ve been in business!

POUNDS: Has being a mom changed your way of shooting?
BRANDI: Yes, being a mom has helped me to relate to kids so much better and easier.

POUNDS: Tell us about your branding strategy.
BRANDI: I wish I had a great answer or 12 step program for this but I don’t.  I get ideas in the most random places and times…in the middle of the night, driving in my car, the shower and most recently watching the weatherman! Most of all, I really just want my photography business to be different and offer some fresh ideas.

POUNDS: Do you have a sort of “mission statement” about your photography business that makes you want to leap out of bed each day?
BRANDI: First of all, I NEVER leap out of bed.  I am not a morning mama! I don’t have an official mission statement but if I had to give one off the cuff I’d say I want to give clients happy, colorful & quirky imagery that they can cherish for life.

POUNDS: Where do you hope to be in ten years (yeah, we know, the beach!)
BRANDI: The beach is right! I guess 10 years from now I’d love to own a jazzy little studio with a really fun team of employees.

POUNDS: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given about business?
BRANDI: One of the best pieces of advice I ever got was that you don’t have to go out and spend thousands of dollars on new equipment to be a good photographer.  A good photographer can build a business on average equipment. I know because I have!

POUNDS: What do you tell young people today who come to you and say, “Gee I want to do what you do?”
BRANDI: Follow your dreams.  You can be anything you want to be.

Photography has always embraced women and women have always embraced photography. The first professional woman photographer, Antoinette de Correvont, took aim in 1843. Although photography has always been an equal opportunity field, women seem to have made a distinct mark on the industry. Margaret Bourke-White was the first Western photographer allowed into the Soviet Union back in 1930. Diane Arbus rocked the world with her stark, truthful portraits in the ’60’s. The last twenty years have seen portraiture taken to an entirely new level by Annie Leibovitz.

Today, more than ever, professional photography is filled with remarkable women making remarkable images. Kelly Moore Clark is one of those women. From the opening image on her website it’s apparent this is not your average gal. Think Patti Smith with a camera. Her work is beautiful, edgy, artistic, innovative and a little quirky, just like Kelly.

We nabbed Kelly for a little Q&A recently.

POUNDS: What do you think female photographers bring to the photographic party that may be different from male      shooters?

KELLY: I think women have the ability to relate to their subjects, especially their brides. Personally I know how I want to be photographed, so I am constantly mindful of my client’s best angles and all the small details. Everyone has a best side and I feel like I take the time to find it.

POUNDS: What inspired you to become a photographer?

KELLY: I actually didn’t mean to become a photographer, It just happened.  I had a boyfriend that photographed for our college yearbook and I thought, “Hey, I could do that!‚Äù Keep in mind I‚Äôd never  even owned a point and shoot. I talked the yearbook into hiring me. I bought a Rebel (the film kind) took a class that summer on darkroom photography, the rest is history!

POUNDS: Has becoming a mother changed the way you see things through the lens?

KELLY: I think it’s made me more confident in my decision to not photograph children. Give me a bride or a model any day! I want someone who I can control, and kids are tough! I respect child photographers more than ever!!

POUNDS: How do you keep your photographic edge?

KELLY: Keeping balance in my life, and not working too much keeps me excited about when I do photograph. I think the number one reason a person can be uninspired is from being burned out. Also, constantly trying new techniques keeps me excited about what I do.

POUNDS: What do you think attracts women to photography?

KELLY: I think there are many reasons women are getting into photography.  With the digital age, it’s easily    accessible.  Many women are staying home with their children, so photography is something they can do to earn a living.  I also think both women and men in general think that photography is the “cure for the common cubicle”.  It’s has the appearance of being the dream job. Many people are sorely disappointed to realize that running a photography business takes up more time than their old full time job!

POUNDS: Tell us about the Kelly-Moore bag. What was the Inspiration?

KELLLY: I began sketching and dreaming about coming out with a bag of my own 3-4 years ago.  When I got pregnant with my daughter, Posey, it was put on hold for a while.  About a year ago, it resurfaced, and I began pursuing it pretty passionately. My inspiration was the fact that I couldn’t find a bag to wear while shooting that was both fashionable and functional. I‚Äôm so excited about the future of this brand! I’m hoping to come out with many more styles and colors in the next year.

Be sure to check out Pounds on Facebook or Twitter to find out about our special give-away from Kelly at WPPI!

For more on Kelly: http://www.kellymoorephotography.com/

Imaging USA is one of the largest trade shows in America. Estimates on attendance this year in Nashville are hovering around 12 thousand. Numbers like these indicate that photographers are doing what they usually do, being proactive. In order to create new business you have to get out there and see what’s new. There’s no better place than ImagingUSA to keep your finger on the pulse of what is happening in photography.

Our sales executive, Sean Roach, who joined us nine months ago, was a newbie at Imaging this year.  “It was huge and it was great,” he said. “Photographers were looking for something new and we had a great response to our Chromalux and metal products.”

“The highlight of this years show were the three great speakers in our booth giving great information to others,” Roach said. Pounds hosted Eric Anundi, past president of the Professional Photographers of Oregon, Lewis Kencheloe, President of the Professional Photographers of Texas and Carrell Grigsby, PPA Photographer of the year in 2008.

“Tradeshows are a terrific opportunity to hear great ideas from our customers and get perspective about products that will help them. Building personal relationships is what it is about!”

Roach learned something else at Imaging USA. Look at the map.
“It took me about 20 minutes to walk to the tradeshow from my room. On checkout day I found a short cut that could have had me there in under 10 minutes.”  Newbies!

At the 2009 PMA Convention, keynote speaker, Jeremy Gutsche of Trend Hunter Magazine, ended his “Unlocking Cool” presentation with a video about cutting-edge photography.  We contacted Jeremy and asked if we could share it with the Pounds Community and he sent us the link.  Check it out, and if you are using any of these techniques, let us know.  We would love to feature you and your work on the Community Blog!