Time: 7:00 p.m. (Social)

7:30 p.m. – Presentation begins

Where:

KMS Photography Studio

22312 Garrison St.

Dearborn, MI 48124

313.278.7171

Contact Info: Kristina Sikora (313.278.7171) or e-mail Kristina at kristina at kmsphotollc.com

Get a jump on your tax preparation for this year and your tax planning for next year with Candice Vallone, CPA of Vallone Accounting and Tax Services.   Candice will be with us to answer your small business tax questions, like should you incorporate or should you be paying sales tax to the state?

About Candice:

Candice is a CPA and the President of Vallone Tax & Accounting services a Full Service Accounting and Tax Firm offering accounting, bookkeeping and tax services to both Corporations and Individuals. We also provide Incorporation Setup for Corporations as well as QuickBooks training and consulting.  Candice is also the President and Principal Event Designer at Metro Luxe Events.

Check out the Detroit PUG Facebook page and become a fan to learn more about our monthly meetings.

Time: 7:00 p.m. (Social)
7:30 p.m. – Presentation begins

Where: Danielle Murphy Photography
628 E. Parent
Royal Oak, MI

Contact Info: Kristina Sikora (313.207.7857) or e-mail Kristina a kristina at kmsphotollc.com

Join us for an evening with Amanda Freeman from Bliss Weddings & Events.   Amanda will be talking about her successful company, her involvement in the community and industry.   She will also share tips for photographers on working with wedding and event planners.

About Amanda:
With over 5 years with Bliss Weddings, certification as a Professional Bridal Consultant, a background in corporate events and the time she spent as a banquet manager, Amanda’s excitement and love of being a part of such a memorable event is what keeps her motivated to excel in wedding and event industry. To date Amanda has become a true asset in her field. As the State Advisor & mind behind the Michigan Wedding and Event Professionals Network, she has brought together industry professionals in a fun and exciting networking group. She also acts as President of the Board of Directors for the Michigan Chapter of Wish Upon A Wedding and has organized many other charitable projects, and has been featured in some of the hottest web publications and magazines. She has developed life-long relationships with clients and vendors alike and couldn’t imagine her life without Bliss.

Check out the Detroit PUG Facebook page and become a fan to learn more about our monthly meetings.

Time: 6:30 p.m.

Location: KMS Photography Studio 22312 Garrison St. Dearborn, MI

Contact Info: Kristina (Studio) 313.278.7171 or e-mail kristina at kmsphotollc.com

Open to all photographers

Please make sure to RSVP, so we make sure to have enough chairs and snacks.

Non-Pictage members disregard the Studio ID field on the RSVP form

We are having a good ol’ fashion shoot out, photography style.   Bring your camera and a friend.   We will be roaming the streets and photographing.  We are working on securing a model or two.  See you there!

Time: 7:00 p.m.

Location: KMS Photography Studio 22312 Garrison St. Dearborn, MI

Contact Info: Kristina (Studio) 313.278.7171 or e-mail kristina at kmsphotollc.com

Open to all photographers

Please make sure to RSVP, so we make sure to have enough chairs and snacks.

Non-Pictage members disregard the Studio ID field on the RSVP form

Join us as Adobe Certified Expert (and fellow Pictage member) Chris Clements shares with us some of his time saving Photoshop tip and techniques.   Chris will also share with us how to use Adobe’s In Design to design your albums.  In Design is quickly becoming the photographer’s choice for designing albums.   You don’t want to miss this!    Plus, there will be plenty of time for questions.

About Chris:

Chris Clements is a full-time Creative Developer for an Ann Arbor based medical imaging company.  In addition to his 9-to-5, he co-owns Kaufman Kramer Productions, an Ohio based wedding photography studio.  Chris earned his BS in Technology from Bowling Green State University with a Degree in Visual Communications.   He also maintains Adobe Certified Expert status with Photoshop.

Please join us for a great night of chatting with new and old friends at our annual Detroit PUG BBQ or Pizza-Q if I can’t get my grill over safely

When: July 14, 2010

Time: 7:00 p.m.

Location:

KMS Photography

22312 Garrison St.

Dearborn, MI 48124

313.278.7171

I will provide the burgers and hot dogs(or pizza) and beverages, please bring a side dish or dessert.

Open to all photographers – Please RSVP : Non-Pictage members disregard the Studio ID field on the RSVP form

When: May 18, 2010

Time: 7:00 p.m.

Location: Laurie Tennent Studio

929 South Eton

Birmingham, MI 48009

248.822.3040

Open to all photographers – Please RSVP : Non-Pictage members disregard the Studio ID field on the RSVP form

Time: 7:00 p.m.

Location: KMS Photography Studio 22312 Garrison St. Dearborn, MI

Contact Info: Kristina (Studio) 313.278.7171 or e-mail kristina at kmsphotollc.com

Open to all photographers

Please make sure to RSVP, so we make sure to have enough chairs and snacks.

Non-Pictage members disregard the Studio ID field on the RSVP form

Join us for an evening of networking and learning at our April Detroit PUG Meeting.   This month “New Media Photographer” Rosh Sillars will be joining us to discuss social media, the best ways to use it and some tips to maximize your exposure.

Rosh Sillars is a veteran photographer with a photojournalism background specializing in people, food and interiors. He earned his BFA in photography at the College of Creative Studies (CCS), Detroit.  Rosh offers his services to traditional media, new media and corporate clients.  He owns the creative representation firm The Rosh Group, Inc. and teaches photography at two universities and serves as a social media consultant for Synectics media.
Rosh started his first podcast (audio over the internet) in 1999 on business tips hosted by the Rosh.com web site. His first social media business relationship began in 1997.  Sillars has co-hosted the prosperous artists podcast and blog with writer Dean Ladouceur since early 2007.  Other related projects include Citynet Magazine (2000-2001) and mysuccessradio.com (2003-2004). Rosh has currently combine his two passions new media and photography to host NewMediaphotographer.com.

Rosh’s new book entitled “The Linked Photographers Guide to Online Marketing and Social Media” will be released May 4th.

The PUG’s mission is to facilitate communication and education among professional photographers at a regional level in order to allow photographers to learn from each other and share experiences.

Time: 7:00 p.m.

Location: Epic Motion Studios: 628 E. Parent Ave. Suite. 102, Royal Oak  (Phone: 1-866-408-3742)

Contact Info: Kristina (Studio) 313.278.7171 or e-mail kristina at kmsphotollc.com

Open to all photographers – Please RSVP : Non-Pictage members disregard the Studio ID field on the RSVP form

Join Ryan Koral of Epic Motion as he talks through techniques that will help improve your working relationship with wedding video-film-cinema-ographers.   He’ll also be talking about his studio’s transition to shooting events w/ DSLR’s (specifically the 5D Mark2 and the 7D) and how diversifying your offerings (photography AND video) can either help – or hurt you.

Epic Motion has  filmed events all over the country including some fancy destination weddings, they’ve won multiple awards, blog for an international filmmaker site (infocusvideoevent.com), and have presented at some of the biggest event video associations in the world.  Ryan Koral is the owner of Epic Motion.  He has been filming weddings for five years and LOVES his job.  More than his love for his job – he LOVES people.  He has an awesome wife and is a dad to an almost 3 year old little dude and a brand spankin’ new little girl.

We will also have a sneak peek at Pictage’s new photographer portal!!

Time: 7:00 p.m.

Location: KMS Photography Studio : 22312 Garrison St. Dearborn, MI

Contact Info: Kristina phone: 313.278.7171 or e-mail kristina@kmsphotollc.com

Open to all photographers – Please RSVP : Non-Pictage members disregard the studio ID field on the RSVP form

We are pleased to have Ann Arbor photographer Dustin Francis presenting at our meeting.   Dustin will be speaking about  workflow and workflow efficiency.

How long does it take you to turn around a wedding?  The longer it takes, the more money you aren’t making and the less emotional attachment your clients and friends and family have to their images.  Learn how to turn around a wedding in less than a week including; downloading and backing up, culling, editing, blogging, creating a slideshow, proofing, Facebook’ing, and album design.  That’s right folks…all you need is about 12-18 hours and you can be done with a wedding before the next one rolls around!  Ultimately, time is money and we all want to make more money, so we need to spend less time.  Dustin will be sharing all of the software/hardware he uses as well as the products he uses to get master his workflow quickly and efficiently.  He will also be showing you a little bit of each step of his workflow and will be around to answer all of your questions after the presentation.

About Dustin

Dustin is from the home of Photoshop, Ann Arbor, MI where he lives with his two cats, Moxie and Bokeh and is a lifestyle wedding photographer.  It addition to photographing weddings, he has taught both privately and publicly for 3 years through public school systems, Universities, through the web, and from his own home.  His goal with his imagery, is to capture simple and timeless images and approaches teaching and sharing with an “open book” mentality.

Date: Thursday, January 28, 2010

Time: starts at 6:30 p.m.

Where: The Fairlane Club

5000 Fairlane Woods Drive

Dearborn, MI 48126

Contact Info: Email Kristina at kristina@kmsphotollc.com OR call (313) 278-7171

Open to all photographers – Please RSVP Seating is limited

Non-Pictage members disregard the studio ID field on the RSVP form

Details:

Live Night shoot Demo & Innovative talk: Excelling in client relationships, Trust, 100% referral biz, UN-commoditizing yourself, Mastering your art, Excellent times. We’ll do a LIVE Night (flash) shoot of a couple going over practical examples of how to relate to clients and get amazing images during a casual portrait shoot OR a wedding. Mike will share how he relates to clients to build trust, and confidence with your clients and yourself to separate YOU from other photographers. Its important to know where you stand in comparison from the rest of the industry Are you a commodity or a highly desired artist? How to become that unique artist you want to be. Then a final inspirational slideshow & stories with open Q&A

Mike will be meeting before hand in each city for breakfast or lunch to share his heart of where the industry is now, what trends are developing, what the future holds for successful photographers growing a business in todays economy. You are invited to come, hang out and participate in this dialogue and open conversation, as an intro the the Pictage sponsored evening!

About Mike:

Developing his style from an editorial/catalogue photographer, and shooting surfing & lifestyle, Mike had the opportunity to work with multi million dollar ad campaigns which gave him a perspective on quality, mastering his craft, and real world marketing. Big clients such as Roxy, Bodyglove and Swell.com like these, don’t accept anything less than perfect. Shooting slides for immediate editorial demanded shooting right the 1st time. Traveling the Globe and getting things done required excellent management, and closing leads and maintaining excited clients became his number one job. in 2004 Mike jumped back into weddings with both feet and within 2 years had shot 80 weddings. His mindset to fast track and develop a big client base in 2 years paid off.

Now in the last 2 years Mike’s business has grown and so has his outlook on business & life. He has a team of 6 photographers who photograph 80+ weddings per year. Their volume has given them the freedom to grow and pursue exciting opportunities. His business has allowed him to travel the world. Using his business growth and buzz he built a brand new studio on the coast of California.

He maintains an amazingly blessed marriage with his sweet wife Rachel. Striving to always be learning, reading, sharing & encouraging others. He believes that one’s business should be a vehicle for a more abundant life. Have your business support your ideal lifestyle. Recently he has photographed weddings in Singapore, Brazil, Italy, Ireland, Hawaii & the West Indies as well as having a recent wedding published in InStyle Weddings and another upcoming feature on Style me Pretty.

“Business success & profits should be just scalable as your freedom in life”

REMEMBER: You DO NOT have to be a current Pictage member to attend our meetings or get-togethers…..the more the merrier!