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Mike Horn is acknowledged globally as one of the greatest modern day explorers of all time. In short his feats include traveling solo around the equator, ascending two 8,000 meter summits in the Himalayas without additional oxygen, circumnavigating the Arctic Circle, and being the first man to travel (without dogs) to the North Pole in permanent darkness. All of which were done without motor transport.

Canadian Arctic Ocean Expedition to the Magnetic North Pole

After 20 years of solo exploration, covering nearly every inch of the planet, Mike was ready to turn his dream into a reality: The PANGAEA Project (Pan Global Adventure for Environmental Action). The PANGAEA Project is a 4-year circumnavigation of the world through a series of 12-scheduled expeditions, each to different terrain including mountain, desert, ocean and the arctic. For each expedition Mike and his team select students between the ages of 15 and 20 to accompany him.

The African Expedition Team

The goal was to show the younger generation the most beautiful places on the planet, the fragility of the ecosystems and the impact that human activity has on the environment… and do something to improve it!

Working for the Pangaea Project I have had the opportunity to see, first hand, the most beautiful places on the planet and witness lives that have been positively impacted and changed forever.

A Pink dolphin as seen on our Amazon Expedition

When asked about the project, it’s virtually impossible to put in words all of the incredible experiences I’ve had. The great thing about the younger generation is that they have their own eyes, ears, feelings, personalities, and unique way of learning. What I take out of an experience may be completely different than the next person. Sometimes the only way to really express these things is through the photos we take.

Icebergs from the Clyde River on the Nunavut Expedition

A few months back we chatted with Chase Jarvis and team about how awesome it would be to put a book together with photos taken by our young explorers and team throughout the entire expedition. Then we would be able to see the 4-year expedition though the eyes of those who were involved.

I was thinking what a great idea, but impossible to get photos from hundreds of people and choose the best ones to properly tell the story. It would take months if not longer. Chase’s team told us about liveBooks and their affiliation with Pinhole Pro. Pinhole Pro allows the average photographer (like myself) to make beautiful photo books and have them delivered in as little as two weeks.

Initially, I was a bit skeptical, especially when Mike said it needed to be finished before the expedition finale in Monaco (which was 3 weeks away). With nothing to lose I decided to simply attack the project. I sent out 100’s of emails, shuffled though thousands of photos, (that could seriously make the front cover of any Nat Geo Magazine) and dove into Pinhole Pro.

Mike Horn and Luke Johnson looking at their Pinhole Pro photo book reliving some of the best memories from the last 4 years

After the photos were selected I started the creation process. First I downloaded Pinhole Pro’s Studio’s software then I uploaded the images. Next I chose the book size, number of pages, type of paper (recycled paper is an option) and the front cover. It wasn’t long before the book was finished!

I would highly recommend using Pinhole Pro to anybody wishing to document a special memory or occasion to treasure it forever.

Early in my career I attended Imaging USA. It was my first time at a major national photography convention. One of the companies I worked with asked me ifI would come to Imaging and work with them in their booth. I jumped at the opportunity.

I love big photography conventions like Imaging USA, WPPI and PhotoPlus Expo. The energy and camaraderie, the environment and the atmosphere, all blend together to create an electric feeling that charges my creativity.

Pinhole booth at a recent tradeshow

In recent years I have had the opportunity to speak at Imaging USA, both from the stage with platform presentations and also on the tradeshow floor at various booths.

As a speaker my perspective hasn’t changed. When I’m not speaking, I’m eagerly moving from seminar to seminar seeking nuggets of wisdom that I can apply to my business and further position myself for long-term success.

There are two things I find extremely useful to do when it comes to conventions:

1. My advice is to browse the speaker schedule now and pre-select two or three seminars each day. Bring a note-pad and go with the intent to learn. It’s January, the start of the year, the slow season for most of us and there is no better time to make adjustments and improve your business. Find inspiration and walk away in a better position than you’ve ever been before. There is no better investment than investing in yourself.

2. In recent years there seems to be a divide between the old-school photographer and the new photographer. Whether it’s a division based on photographic style or business style, it exists and anyone who doesn’t notice it is blind.

Many times I’ve heard young photographers say, “I’m not going to listen to this photographer because their work and my work couldn’t be more opposite.”

Point made, but the reality is, very few 90-minute seminars are going to teach you how to shoot differently. The old-school photographer is here today because of years of doing it right. Long-term success in this industry does not happen accidentally. And the inter-generational conversations that can take place between new and old-school photographers are worth their weight in gold.

My recommendation is to seek out photographers who are more experienced than you are, listen to them, learn from them, and if they’re willing to impart knowledge, be a sponge and soak it up.

It has been my good fortune over the years to rub shoulders with countless more-established photographers and numerous industry giants. It has happened sometimes at their seminars or sometimes through an introduction by a mutual friend. Some have taken interest in me and even invited me to dinner or coffee.

I remember one specifically, who casually invited me to dinner after we bumped into each other in the hallway. I graciously agreed and then walked around the corner, pumped my fist in excitement and called my wife back home to tell her the good news. That two-hour dinner changed my entire approach to business and gave me the focus and determination I needed to grow faster, push harder and climb higher.

Stop by our booth in Atlanta for a chance to get a Pinhole Pro swag bag.

My wife Joy and I are super-excited about Imaging USA 2013 and we hope you are too. Look us up and come say hello. I will be delivering a platform presentation on Sunday afternoon, and on Monday I will be speaking at the Pinhole booth. I look forward to meeting you!

Garrett and his wife, Joy, have their own photography business in Chattanooga, TN. They focus their attention on those who can help them continue to grow: wedding planners, venues, bridal salons, florists and other vendor partners. Their work has been published in more than 50 wedding and industry publications, and they were recently named one of the top 20 destination photographers by Destination Weddings & Honeymoons magazine.

Join Garrett Nudd and wedding planner Lisa Stoner at the upcoming Imaging USA in Atlanta when they deliver their platform presentation on January 20, 2013, at 5 pm titled Friends with Benefits, Leveraging Vendor Relationships to Grow Your Wedding Business.

The beginning of a new year is an opportune time to reflect on last year and set goals for the year ahead. We decided to check in with longtime friend and photojournalist Christopher Morris to see what his most memorable moment was last year and what he plans to do in 2013.

What was your most memorable moment from this past year?

From the past year, oddly enough the most memorable moment for me came, when I was able to pull off getting a model onto the floor of the  Republican Convention in Florida. Shooting for the French fashion magazine L’Officiel. Anyone who works or is involved in the world of politics will understand the near impossible feat of being able pull this off. Here is an image from the Convention.

Photo courtesy of Christopher Morris

What is your biggest goal for 2013?

To survive!

How has liveBooks changed your business?

liveBooks, is a very liberating experience for me.  The seamless ability to edit and re-edit my work, is priceless. It has given me the opportunity to showcase my work in a style and format that suits my ever changing workflow.

liveBooks has a long history of commitment to photojournalism, philanthropy and social change. Our CEO Andy Patrick took over the International Fund for Documentary Photography (IFDP) from Mother Jones Magazine in 2001. The IFDP was a grant program started by photographers Ken Light, Michelle Vignes, Marc Riboud, Sebastiao Salgado and journalist Kerry Tremain. In 2001, Andy integrated the IFDP into FiftyCrows, a non-profit he founded to support documentary and photojournalistic photographers that were documenting social issues around the world.

Andy and his wife contributed over a million dollars to assure that these important photographic essays made their way into the world and that great storytellers had an opportunity to continue their important work. FiftyCrows and the IFDP has supported many great photographers including Ed Kashi, Jack Picone, Marcela Taboada, Andre Cypriano, Stephanie Sinclair, as well as in the early years amazing photographers such as Joseph Rodriguez, Donna Decesare, Nan Goldin, and Shahidul Alam.

The grants have been used for many things including financing the continuation of a story that otherwise would not have likely seen funding from traditional means, to starting organizations such as what Shahidul Alam did in the early 1990′s in Bangladesh. From this was born The Chobi Mela International Festival of Photography and the DRIK Picture Agency.

In 2004 Shahidul Alam, Chris Rainier, Wade Davis, Andy and others formed the National Geographic All Roads Photography Awards. All Roads has supported countless indigenous photographers in their efforts to document their own cultures.

So today, it is with great anticipation and excitement that we share with you one of our favorite events, the Chobi Mela International Festival of Photograpy. If you get a chance – GO! The festival takes place in Dhaka, Bangladesh and opens on January 25th. What sets Chobi Mela apart from other other photo festivals is that it is not only truly international, but is also perhaps the world’s most demographically inclusive festival.

In keeping with ethos of DRIK, Chobi Mela has always symbolized a struggle against hegemony and oppression. The theme for Chobi Mela VII is Fragility. It will feature photographers from 23 countries and every continent except Antarctica. Exhibitors include well known photojournalists and new ones alike.

Mr. Alam said he created the Chobi Mela festival primarily so Bangladeshi photographers could be more widely exposed globally, extending to international audiences. “I wanted to create a bridge,” he said. “But it also gives us a chance to take stock of this remarkable transformation that is taking place within photography in Bangladesh.”

Congratulations to Shahidul and his amazing team… our hearts our with you!

Old are the days of post cards, rotary telephones, floppy disks and a slew of other media making devices,  and yet few disruptive replacements have solicited such an array of reactions as the cell phone camera.  Amateurs, prosumers, and experts alike now find themselves X-Pro filtering their way through Instagram; another form of social media that is hard to measure and even harder to monetize.  This week liveBooks wraps up its series on social media with a look into Instagram and the role it plays in a photographers’ social media mix.

Marketing across an all-mobile platform

The role of mobile devices continues to change the landscape of marketing for businesses and professional photographers.  Since Instagram is largely consumed on a mobile platform it is important to develop the dialogue around how mobile devices are influencing the landscape of social media and how it is consumed.

Mobile social media tends to be consumed and produced as short snippets of information.  Photos, links, videos and other manifestations of social content are viewed, shared or dismissed as quickly as they’re posted.  Unlike Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, which have both a web and mobile presence, Instagram only operates on a mobile platform and is therefore optimized for a primarily mobile viewing experience. Is your content optimized to tell a quick short story, or is your work better seen in a larger collection? This is an important distinction to make when deciding if and how to add Instagram into your social media strategy.

The goal with marketing on Instagram is to add followers and create awareness that will lead others to your web presence.  Because Instagram doesn’t allow outbound links on its commenting platform you will likely not see an SEO bump that you can directly correlate, even if you’re receiving a lot of attention.  With this being said, you can still include your website with your profile page and put a comment on your content that encourages your followers to view your website.  Hashtags are the most Instagram-friendly way to share your content and can be a useful way to spread your message.

Does Instagram fit your photography business?

With 40+ million total users and 2+ million users per day, maybe you want a piece of the action but are unsure of whether or not it fits your photography business goals.  The way it’s designed, Instagram is great for sharing your work and serves as another “free” venue for marketing; however, Instagram isn’t for everyone and as a photographer you will need to make some decisions about what types of content you feel comfortable posting. Check out this great article featuring liveBooks client Ed Kashi talking about what he likes and dislikes about using Instagram as a professional photographer.

If you find yourself on the rocks here are 5 simple ways to introduce Instagram into your social media mix.

1. Kill two (or more) birds with one stone: Use Instagram to easily share photos to Facebook, Tumblr, Foursquare and Instagram.
2. Align your material: Encourage people to visit your website by including your website as a comment under your photos and a link in your profile summary.
3. Create some buzz: If you have a new installation opening, book signing, or cause you want your fans to get involved in, encourage them to take pictures of themselves at your event and share under a hashtag that is unique to the event.
4. Create community: Instagram communities are popping up all over world.  Don’t be afraid to engage with these online and meetup communities to discuss photography and create more community offline.
5. Have fun!: Instagram is a fun community with no branding or advertising integrated into the platform.  Enjoy posting off-the-wall content and show others what you love to do!

This post concludes our series on Social Media for Photographers. Let us know how you felt about this series, send your feedback, ideas, comments, and suggestions to Resolve@livebooks.com. For the latest news from liveBooks, and for added information and access to tools that will help you grow your photography business, stay connected to liveBooks through Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.

The beginning of a new year is an opportune time to reflect on last year and set goals for the year ahead. We decided to check in with longtime friend and director and photographer Mark Fisher to see what his most memorable moment was last year and what he plans to do in 2013. (We are really looking forward to the documentary firm!)

What was your most memorable moment from the past year?

Aside from the birth of my son, my most memorable career moment was being selected for PDN 30. This is one of my favorite ski photos from this past winter. Griffin Post skiing Pyramid Peak at sunset in Valdez, Alaska.

Photo credit Mark Fisher

What is your biggest goal for 2013?

To continue to expand and grow my business in the United States and abroad. I’ve just launched an aggressive marketing campaign with the hope of reaching many new and diverse clients. But my most important goal is to complete my first documentary film, “64.5*North, an 1100 mile self-supported Alaskan Snowbike Journey”.

How has liveBooks changed your business?

liveBooks has grown with me. When I added motion 3 years ago, liveBooks was right there with me. Actually they were ahead of me. When I completed my rebranding last year, they were able to help me transform my vision into a reality with a custom designed website. liveBooks hasn’t so much changed my business, they’ve allowed me to seamlessly execute and share my business vision with the rest of the world!

As the end of the year approaches it’s an opportune time to reflect on the past year and look forward to the next. We decided to check in with longtime friend and director and photographer Justin Francis to see what his most memorable moment was this past year and what he plans to do in 2013.

Justin Francis shooting The Fray’s latest video.

What was your most memorable moment from this past year?  

I had a chance to travel to Argentina for a B.o.B. music video back in February. Normally when you direct a video you are given the job specs and the location is already decided. This, however, was one of the rare cases where my concept dictated the filming location. So I was there for a week – shooting, scouting, working with incredible talent in South America. I have been fortunate to travel around the world for one job or another. It is without a doubt the biggest perk of being a Director/Photographer!

What is your biggest goal for 2013?  

My goals remain the same from year to year –  to get better across the board and to do work that I can be proud of.

How has liveBooks changed your business?  

On a basic level, liveBooks has provided me with an incredibly versatile platform to view, edit and showcase my work. But beyond that, liveBooks has acted as a sort of loudspeaker – getting the word out about both me and my business. Most creative people I know would rather be creating stuff instead of talking about themselves. liveBooks allows me to focus on my work and I leave my marketing and web presence to them.

Check out Justin’s behind the scenes coverage of Carly Rae Jepsen’s video.

As the end of the year approaches it’s an opportune time to reflect on the past year and look forward to the next. We decided to check in with longtime friend and fine art and commercial photographer Claire Rosen to see what her most memorable moment was this past year and what she plans to do in 2013. We are looking forward to seeing the conceptual fashion shoot with real giraffes!

What was your most memorable moment from this past year?  

My most memorable moment of 2012 was playing with baby tigers while on a fashion shoot in Thailand. The photo below is from that shoot.

What is your biggest goal for 2013?  

To create a conceptual fashion shoot with real giraffes!

How has liveBooks changed your business?  

liveBooks has been an essential part of my business as it relates to my online visibility and the way I connect with people. Most of the time, sending a link to my website is the first point of contact whether I am requesting a meeting with a potential client or reaching out to a new stylist, modeling agency, location etc. With liveBooks I am confident that my work will look good on any screen or device, and that the site is a clean design that is easy to navigate. I also appreciate not having to spend time fussing with it and when I want to add new images or projects it is a super easy workflow for me.

Photo courtesy of Claire Rosen

Story: “A Leopard Among Tigers”

Credits: Photographer: Claire Rosen, Model: Josie of Red Models

Location: Tiger Kingdom in Chiang Mai Thailand, H&M: Chai Surasen, Styling: Kate Lee

As the end of the year approaches it’s an opportune time to reflect on the past year and look forward to the next. We decided to check in with longtime friend and celebrity photographer John Russo to see what his most memorable moment was this past year and what he plans to do in 2013. And the answers sound fabulous!

What was your most memorable moment from this past year?  

Shooting the Hugo Boss Fragrance Campaign and getting to travel all over the world to do it.

What is your biggest goal for 2013?  

To play more tennis and see the Greek Islands!

How has liveBooks changed your business?  

liveBooks plays a huge role in my business. My clients love how my photographs are displayed. We are constantly uploading new images to our site. It’s so easy and fast!

Photo courtesy of John Russo

As a photographer your time to devote toward social media may be limited. Most photographers I know have commented that they wish they had an extra hour (or 10) in their day to catch up on editing photos, updating their web page, or _______(insert 1 of a zillion things you are busy with). So why devote time toward social media if you can’t measure the effect it has on your business? In this post we’ll help you measure the value of your time and interactions so that you can make better decisions about how to market your photography business.

Time is one of your most valuable assets
Time will help establish a benchmark for measuring the return on investment of your social media efforts. How much time do you spend on social media and what do you value that time at? If we assume you devote an average of 5 hours a week on social media (20 hours a month, 240 hours a year) and your hourly rate is $25 your social media marketing efforts may be costing you at least $6,000 a year. This seemingly “free” form of advertising is not free. So lets be strategic and start measuring social media.

How do you measure social media?
Part of why it’s hard to measure the value of social media is that there is no universal unit of measure across the different platforms. If I may be so bold, I’d advocate that until some universal unit of measurement exists (share your thoughts) the only way to measure the value of social media is to value your input of time, research, and advertising funds for each social media platform and compare this to your possible return from other forms of traditional marketing.

Value of time invested + Investment in education/research + Cost of paid advertising and social media tools= The monetary cost of your social media marketing

Facebook offers some of the most insightful analytics tools of all of the social media platforms. Still the challenge is to understand what each insight actually tells you. Two insights that I have found helpful are “unique users by frequency” (clarifies within a specific time period how often each unique users engaged with your page) and the “friends of friends” (gives you total possible reach of your page). These are stats that any good media channel should be able to give you about their readership or viewership. Compare what your social media investment is to the coverage you could receive from other channels for a comparable investment.

Another valuable insight you can gather from all social platforms is the cost of social referral. By using Google Analytics you can see the amount of unique visitors you receive through each link you put up. Sum the amount of time, research, and advertising you invested in a specific landing page and divide this by the amount of unique visitors you received for each link to value your cost per referral. How much is it really costing you to get people to view your unique content?

Hopefully by now you have a better idea of how to make sense of what your Social Media results are telling you. Remember that unless you quantify your investment of time, research, advertising options and available funding, you won’t be able to accurately assess the true gain/or loss on your social media efforts.

Stay tuned next week as we focus on Instagram as part of your social media presence.  If you haven’t already, join the conversation and let us know what is working for you at resolve@livebooks.com. For the latest news from liveBooks, and for added information and access to tools that will help you grow your photography business, stay connected to liveBooks through Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.