Let me begin this post with an ad that I paid to have produced. I could have done it myself and saved a few bucks but hiring someone to do this layout was a smart move. There are phrases that come into play... "You get what you pay for." , comes to mind.

A new business operating on a shoestring might grab a tiny digital camera and take some shots for their new website. They would be smarter to hire me for a cheap rate and get some "partnership" on the marketing mission.

And now on to the talent agency...

It's time to lay a few cards on the table. TeamEffort Talent has just passed our one year anniversary. Please notice that I do not say we celebrated anything.

The great news is that we survived the first year. The fantastic news is that I know a lot more now than I did then and that TeamEffort will survive and thrive.

It always was a slow growth plan. I have some previous experience in the ad industry as I spent a few decades writing radio copy and voicing spots from Florida to Oregon. I probably had a commercial running in Honolulu but I don't recall it at this time.

Let me be very clear about what makes me so sure that TeamEffort is here to stay. The new promo piece above features Kayla, a model that signed up with TeamEffort about six months ago. Kayla is a perfect example of what we need and what we should be looking for as we add more talents. She is a true team player and has never shown any sign of what I call excessive model attitude. The phrase I have used often on Facebook is "Pretty is easy ... talent ain't."

The promo piece that I produced with Kayla's shots depict her across the top in a ghosted image that gets more solid and clear. It takes time and work. I tell new talents that playing softball takes practice so why would I expect a new model to step in front of my camera and be perfect in their very first photo shoot? Kayla's smile was more credible in her sixth photo shoot than it was in her first. Who is taking the time to work that long and hard to develop that talent? TeamEffort Talent Agency.

We've survived the first year. It will still take time to build this business. I am thrilled to be able to say that many ad producers are sharing their needs with us. I now get emails that say something like, "John, I am going to need a redhead that can show frustration and anger and then smile after we have solved her problem."

There are other ad producers that know we exist but have been totally silent. I understand that and I plan to simply court their business over time. And we do plan to solicit business in other cities but that growth will have to be slower than I had hoped. Memphis is our largest target market for many reasons and we have not yet said hello to anyone in that city. We will soon enough, but it will be when we are more experienced and have stronger talents to offer the ad agencies in Memphis, Phoenix and Las Vegas.

So, I am not celebrating our first year. It has been rough. My time was often abused and that will keep happening. But I am smarter now and I will guard my time investments and focus on growing TeamEffort so Kayla will always be happy to be part of who we are.

Ad people....

I know you will not need talent every day for every client. You may even be stuck using the clients niece in a production. Keep the communication with TeamEffort open and honest and you will benefit.

I booked a family portrait session and stumbled upon a great idea. Any family portrait project will also get (free of charge) a drop by your home after you have the tree and lights up for the holidays.

I had no paying projects so my wife and I went frolicking through Vermont. I will probably upload this shot to the site where I sell some landscape shots. For those tempted to grab this version... it is low resolution and will not print well at all. Contact me and we'll quote you a price lower than the rate I get from the publishing site.

Some New Stuff

This shot was just an experiment with adding items in Photoshop. I have not added it to my website http://picbymurphy.com and I am not sure that I will.

I may put it online at this location....

http://www.imagekind.com/MemberProfile.aspx?MID=8f5e7e94-9d39-4380-9554-f60566b4cd82

Where I have a few landscapes available for sale.

Some of the models I work with may like to develop some ideas for posters and I would offer those posters for sale and split the proceeds with the models. That is why we call ourselves TeamEffort after all.

Come see our new "Cover Shot" on our home page http://picbymurphy.com

A Mission Statement of sorts

I am seeking to build a solid business doing family and business portraits. As I continue to shoot family portraits, I hope to gradually become full time with advertising productions.

The above was written six months ago. I am leaving it for historical and context purposes. Photo By Murphy will never have the prettiest website. As we continue to build our business with advertising productions, we will hold our overhead down and offer full service to businesses. We mean full service.


Advertisers are controlling their cost by limiting the number of shots or how often we come to them to do a photo shoot.

We will be happy to come by and take four (insert your number here) pictures and we will quote you a very budget conscious fee for doing so.

Our full service flat fee will allow you to get everything that "might" have marketing value. Using images in your social networking is a strong, aggressive approach but most businesses will neglect that or take some shots themselves.

Go to our ugly website http://picbymurphy.com and click to the prices page.

Headshots of your staff, menu or product shots. Interior and exterior building photos.

Go with the guy that has decades of experience (prior to the camera) in developing strong, result oriented marketing messages.

Who Knows?

Photo By Murphy will always be a family portrait business. We are working very hard to develop more advertising projects to make use of my background in broadcasting. I am not going to identify our clients. There are a few I do talk about but most are not "published" in any way. You will only see a few identified on our website http://picbymurphy.com

So I will not identify the client that told me, "John, you always come up with great ideas !".

The point I want to promote with this blog entry is that we do more than snap a few "cool" shots.

This client was talking about tips I had given her for how to effectively use radio, what to do with her store front that would get more repeat business and the advice I had offered regarding a possible poster for the lobby.

While offering these little tidbits we always made sure the client was the final decision maker.

So, while I choose to keep client info mostly confidential, I did want to brag about Photo By Murphy being recognized for this type of client service.

The answer to the question in the title of this entry... the client is the one who really knows.

A Short Day Off - with camera of course

I think they call it a "busman's holiday". Due to a cancelled shoot, my wife and I decided to take in the Saratoga Battlefield. I am somewhat of a history buff and had read several books about the period. The feeling of the visit was powerful. I even commented to my wife that it was a very similar feeling to the one I had when we were in Dallas at Dealey Plaza and at Washington at Ford's Theater.

I couldn't help but take some shots and I have a thing for canons, I suppose. The small red cabin is my favorite shot of the day.

I encourage you to take the tour but budget about four hours. We took the driving tour but there is still a bit of walking to do.

To buy or not to buy... that is the question

Sales is the core of all businesses. Then there is the issue of controlling costs. Photography can be an equipment business in many ways. I was very close to buying an Apple Ipad awhile back when the 3G version was released and this past week I had a creative shot I wanted to do that would be best done with a lens I do not yet own.

Decisions, decisions.

Then you deal with the question.. If I buy the lens now do I use working capital or slap it on one of the credit cards.

Both the Ipad and the lens were tempting. In the end I bought....

Nothing.

I have both Canon and Nikon cameras. Multiple lenses for both. I have studio lights and backdrops with my car literally a rolling photo studio that I can set up almost anywhere.

My lighting options are very flexible.

So, I am buying no equipment for the time being and we will shoot what I can with what I own. At least for any purchase over a couple of hundred dollars as the lens I thought about was a $1,200 investment for a shot that I might do four or five times each year.

Still, running your own business is a never ending head scratching endeavor.

A video intro to our talent agency

Photo By Murphy and Event Photography

Photo By Murphy is a perfect match for events like this Bar Mitzvah. Click on my picture where I am hiding behind my camera to go, quick like a bunny, over to my website.

This is a sample of a few wedding shots. If anyone you know is planning a wedding have them contact by writing to photobymurphy@yahoo.com or call 518-596-3115






Photo By Murphy is driven to provide service so you will call us for all events and family portraits.




We can provide service for all types of events such as Bar Mitzvah and business conferences.












Visit our website for more samples http://picbymurphy.com


Also our talent agency, TeamEffort Talent at http://teamefforttalent.com

I should support this Blog with more stuff

If I maintain a blog I should do a better job of adding content.

It's kinda bizarre to be writing about the latest Bar Mitzvah but that is the business I am in.

I am currently working to build a brand new website for the talent agency ...

http://teamefforttalent.com

Nothing sucks time out of your life faster than this kind of computer intensive work.

I'll write more later... I hope.