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super cool sites!
summer photo ideas….
Category: Uncategorized, free friday
Jun 10, 10
looking for something fun to do this summer with the kiddos? i have compiled a list of 100 activities to do with your children this summer. this free download is full of 100 ideas that will lead to some wonderful memories and some wonderful photo opportunities. the file will be emailed to you once you enter your info. have fun!!!!
download your free pdf link here:
the file will automatically be emailed to you. have fun!!!!!
please note: this file does not contain photos, just the prompts for the ideas. i’ll be sharing my summer photos throughout the summer.
keepin’ it real october 2010 workshop dates…
Category: keepin' it real, workshop
Jul 31, 10
registration is NOW open for the october 2010 keepin’ it real workshop.
the workshop will be held
saturday, october 9, 2010 and sunday, october 10, 2010
in historic downtown norfolk in the historic early 1800s taylor-whittle house.
details and registration info is here: http://www.willettedesigns.com/photocart/index.php?do=accessories&viewItem=1020
this workshop is ideal for the photographer who is comfortable shooting in full manual on their digital slr camera and who is ready to launch a business or make more money with their business.
registration is limited to 10 participants. the link will be pulled down once we reach capacity.
soooo….what are you waiting for, register now.
willette’s new look/style statement
Jul 28, 10
courtesy of my reading: Style Statement.
if you’re in my circle of trust, then i know you’re sick and tired of me talking about this fabulous book. i’ll probably be talking about it for the rest of my life. it is that good.
i read this book back in march, and i have been slowly (and diligently) working on my style statement. i’m now ready to unveil my own, personal style statement, and i highly encourage ALL of you to order this book (it is only $10 on amazon!)…..and create your own style statement. This book is also a great tie in to the class i’m teaching in september: finding YOUR joy.
i see so many well-branded photographers and companies….it warms my heart to see good use of branding and marketing. A good use of branding is an issue near and dear to my heart, and though i love to see other people’s branding, i have felt that mine really didn’t reflect who or what i was all about. so i read this book. and i am sooo happy that i did.
when i originally branded willette designs, i settled on an owl motif (before owls were cool again). my grandmother collected owls, and i launched my business immediately after her death in 2004. i think starting this business was my way of dealing with the immense grief i felt (and with which i still struggle daily…tears welling up in my eyes as i’m typing this). then everyone and their mother (literally) starting using owls. my “branding” was not unique. the faux bois i adopted also became mainstream. so…..i’ve been mulling over my personal style statement and wanted to create something that best reflects me and my interests/likes.
part of my skill set is graphic design, so changing up my look is easier for me than it is for most. i just play around in adobe illustrator and photoshop for a while…then BAM!….new branding! But just because I can throw together some graphics does not mean that the branding is TRULY me or willette designs.
I have spent several weeks searching for just the right look….and I feel that I’m nearly there. I’ll be adding new elements as I can (I have to work around nap schedules these days!). So I can do a little each day.
Soooo….what is my style statement?:
bold legacy
it took me FOREVER to come up with this. I may do a longer post one day that shows my process in coming up with this (if you all are interested in seeing that).
to understand what my style statement means (or what a style statement is) read the book. You will thank me later. and if you’re taking my finding YOUR joy class in september, this is a perfect tie in to what we’ll be covering.
New components for my branding include:
- Use of a strong header font (bold)
- Along with a soft/script font that harkens to my intense love of my heritage and legacy
- A birch motif….continues with my woodsy/faux bois theme, but is a tree that symbolizes strength, renewal, family.
- Subtle colors (brown, cream, grey). If you know me, then you know that I really only wear jeans, black, white, brown, cream and grey. To have a site with loud colors just isn’t me. These colors also are present in my two favorite seasons: fall and winter. I’m not a huge fan of summer AT ALL.
As mentioned above, I’ll slowly be updating my site daily as I can find pockets of time.
i hope you’ll explore your own style statement. get the book. read it. work on your own style statement. then watch as you become more decisive in your branding.
the willette affiliate program is now live….
Category: willette affiliate
Jul 27, 10
are you a willette product lover? are you looking to earn some extra income and you have a blog/website?
well….we are happy and excited to FINALLY launch the willette affiliate program!
here is how it works:
- visit the willette affiliate webpage: http://willettedesigns.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-affiliate-platform/affiliates/register.php
- create an account.
- select the banner code you wish to display on your blog/site
- track all sales you make on your site via the affiliate log in site.
- you are able to earn 10% commission off any willette sales!!!! (extra income for you to earn some cool willette products….and we have some sweet ones coming your way this fall!!!).
it is seriously THAT easy!!!!!
so what are you waiting for? get those banners/badges up on your site…do a blog post/facebook fan page post, and sit back and earn commission on all willette sales!
you can also log into your affiliate info on the right sidebar at the bottom.
amazing song….
Category: iMix, the willettes
Jul 27, 10
picked up the eat, pray, love soundtrack at starbucks yesterday on my daily “date” with my hubby….LOVE track #7 on it. it is hauntingly beautiful. can’t stop listening to it. here is a youtube link to the live version:
this is why….
Category: the willettes
Jul 25, 10
i’m so thankful that i usually DON’T put my cameras away as i should. you can usually find them randomly laying around my house (along with lenses that don’t have lens caps).
and today is one reason why i’m glad i’m not as much as a neat freak as i wish i were…..i caught a moment.
as i was eating my dinner next to the baby, i gave the baby a baby mum mum to keep her occupied (great tip from my cousin courtney). of course, our dog is no dummy. she bellied up to that bar immediately. and, she totally benefitted. baby girl learned how to lean over in the high chair and feed the dog.
my camera happened to be right there on the dining room table (not sure why) so i grabbed it and just snapped. this is what i got. and i’m so thankful that i captured this.
to me, this is a quintessential baby moment….learning that the dog truly is your best friend when you have a snack that you’re just not digging. and learning to share.
keep your cameras out, my friends! you never know WHAT you will capture when the camera is handy. this is why we photograph….to capture our lives and document this place in our lives.
photo album update after a very hot weekend
Category: photo organizing and storage, the willettes
Jul 25, 10
it has been a very quiet….VERY hot weekend here in virgina. we’ve hit record highs in the low 100s. i’m looking forward to the cold front of 90 degrees that is coming our way tonight (and i’m really disturbed that we’re referring to 90 degrees as a cold front). it has been the perfect weekend to keep at it with my photo organizing goals.
an update for all of you:
- i created a template for a photo card that you insert into your photo album with your photos on which you can record any important information. you can download it if you wish at the end of this blog post.
- i reorganized (and cleared out a lot of clutter) on our living room shelves. still working on this, but i’m making this my “photo” storage central headquarters. see the diagram below. eventually i’ll have a TON of albums on the shelves.
- i’m attempting to create my first photo book. i designed a template for all the finding the joy students as a way to house all of the photos we captured this summer. i’m going to finish mine up this week. i’ll be sure to post photos of the finished product when i get it back from the lab.
this is a photo of the photo info cards i designed along with the photo writing instrument i picked up at target this weekend. it is a Zig memory system permanent photo pen. i LOVE it. it was in our target’s little scrapbooking aisle. and it writes beautifully on the template i had printed. i just ordered the photo “info” template/card at my photo lab (printed on 4×6 matte paper). it cost me 13cents per card. not sure if it would be cheaper to print at home, but i just wanted to give them a try, so i ordered them with my latest batch of photos.
a shot of how i am using these “photo info” cards. i inserted it into the album with a series of photos. and you can see that i printed the photos on matte surface paper with a white border (showing a detail of that for you, hilary!).
once again…i have resigned myself to the fact that i will not be scrapbooking (i cannot seem to commit to the actual act, though i wish i could). this is my solution. i print the photos, insert them in chronological order, label them on the back with a photo safe pen, then write a little bit on the card i designed.
here is the card for you to download. enter your email and the jpg file will be emailed to you. please download the file immediately upon receipt (as the file expires shortly after it is emailed).
a willette photo organizing update!
Jul 23, 10
well…it has been one week since i embarked on the super ambitious goal of organizing all of the family photos (that i have not printed since 2006…i’m such a BAD mommy and photographer).
you can read my first post here: http://willettedesigns.com/2010/07/will-you-join-me/
here is where i am in this task:
- i printed 900 photos (these are just my 2010 photos so far) at costco. i used costco because i could get them quickly, they were inexpensive, and these are just my family photos going into albums. i made sure to turn OFF the color correcting option when placing my order.
- i printed all of mine on matte paper with a thin white border (just as a personal preference).
- and when i placed my photo order, i had the entire photo order placed on DVD so i can slip these in with the albums (in the event my children/grandchildren want to make copies, etc. in the future)
- i organized the photos by date and placed them in stacks (see image above).
- and the fun began….i managed to get all 900 into three exposures albums! phew…glad that is done!
- then i realized that i take photos with my phone (i have a verizon droid phone) AND that i have a ton of photos in which i have been tagged by friends on facebook.
- SO, i plugged my phone into the computer and saved all the photos on my photo drive, and printed all of these at costco
- then, i saved all the photos on facebook (only for 2010 so far) that i have been tagged in and printed these.
- i still need to get all the photos off of my husband’s phone (since he takes quite a few of the kids with his phone as well)
- the beauty of using the exposures albums is that i can easily add pages (since they are three ring albums) as i need to if i forget photos. (they are super expensive….that is the only drawback for me….but it is worth it for me to be organized for my family).
my goals this week:
- place all the camera phone and facebook photos into the album
- print all my 2009 family photos
- go back to my son’s baby albums and transfer them to the exposures albums so they all match.
- get the dining room table cleared off
- wish me luck!!!!
soooo….how are all of you doing with your photo organizing? have you made any progress? i SO enjoyed reading your suggestions on my first photo organizing post. many thanks to all of you super organized people.
finding YOUR joy….
Jul 20, 10
you have asked…..and here it is!
answer this question HONESTLY….how many photos of you are in your family albums? how often do you look back at your family photos, only to see that you are not in one single image? well….we’re gonna fix that! no more will you be the absent parent behind the camera. we focused on our children in our last finding the joy class….NOW, we’re gonna focus on YOU!!!! that’s right…..you are going to be in pictures, my friend! your life will be documented for a change.
the much anticipated follow-up to finding the joy is here!!!!!
finding YOUR joy (<<<——— click here to register)
i will begin this mini three week e-journey september 7th, 2010. this is a great follow up to the finding the joy e-journey we just finished.
the cost for the three week e-journey is $45 USD.
the class will last three weeks on-line, and it will be presented in a forum setting with a gallery within the forum to share images if you choose. i will email weekly lessons as well to participants (lessons for the last class were only available on the forum). the class will have weekly lessons, video tutorials for your camera/shooting and tutorials for photoshop or elements. all levels of photographers are encouraged to participate (as the class is focused not so much on technique as it is on encouraging you to focus on yourself in photos for a change).
class topics include:
- getting in the frame..how to.
- documenting YOUR life….areas of your life you would like to document
- capturing your everyday/routines
you may take the class at your own pace….there are no deadlines.
sign up….start your autumn focusing on YOU once the kids are back in school. you will thank yourself, and your children will thank you in 20 years when they get to see how beautiful you are (and when they actually get to see some photos of YOU).
recommended class materials include:
- a camera
- YOU
- a tripod
- a computer
- photoshop elements or photoshop (not required…just recommended)
seven year old style….
Category: the willettes
Jul 15, 10
i just don’t get it. star wars lego tshirt, elastic waistband shorts (they’re comfortable), and silly bands (and, more specifically, only animal silly bands…organized by animal type).
