Denver PUG Meeting with Mike Larson – February 18, 2010

We are hosting special guest Mike Larson this month, here are the details:

LOCATION UPDATED and TIME CHANGED!

When: Thursday, February 18, 2010

Where: First Location: Meet at The Press Coffee Company we will meet at 3:30 for the shoot!

The Press Coffee Company at 7150 W. Alaska Drive, Lakewood, CO 80226

What: We will be doing an on-location shoot at 3:30 at the Belmar Ice Skating Rink.  We will meet at The Press Coffee Company and then head out for the shoot.  After the shoot we will go to Blake Street Tavern to have the PUG meeting and listen to Mike’s presentation.

Second Location and PUG Meeting : Blake Street Tavern, 2401 Blake Street, Denver, CO 80205

Time: 6:00-6:30- meet and greet

Presentation 6:30-8:00 -presentation

Who’s Invited:  Anyone and everyone.  The presentation is open to all photographers in Colorado.  We would love to see you there.  As usual please RSVP so we can have enough seats for everyone. Don’t worry if you don’t have a studio ID just leave that field blank if you don’t have one or can’t remember it.

Mike will be doing a Live Night shoot Demo & Innovative talk: Excelling in client relationships, Trust, 100% referral biz, UN-commoditizing yourself, Mastering your art, Excellent times.

Details: 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’s Bio: 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”

PUG Meeting with Jim Collins

What:  Denver PUG meeting with guest speaker Jim Collins.  Kick off your New Year with a inspiring presentation from Pictage’s CEO Jim Collins.

Jim will be speaking from the perspective of someone who has a detailed view into the lives and businesses of more than 8000 photographers.  He’s not just some business guy.  He’s a photographer himself and a huge fan of what photographers can do.  His  whole existence is wrapped up in helping photographers succeed.  Jim has conversations with photographers every day on not just about ways they can work with Pictage, but about ways they can find greater success.

Jim has a philosophy that there are two reasons photographers fail.  Lack of talent – which really translates into a lack of willingness to work on their craft.  And lack of business discipline.  The business side scares people.  They rationalize.  The believe they’re losing business because of falling competitive pricing or changes in client preferences.  They figure out ways to justify bad habits rather than simply attacking the habits.  They retire into what is safe.  Mostly, it is fear that causes this and for artists this fear is natural.  However, figuring out ways to conquer those fears and pointing out some specific habits and actions that can dramatically change their effectiveness is the meat of this.

Jim is presenting to you to simply inspire – to try to help fill your sail a little as you head out into the world.

This is the BEST time of year to do this because your schedule is open.  You can focus on changing the things you need to change.

In the end – photographers who are successful are photographers whose clients don’t seek a photographer.  Your clients seek YOU.  They don’t say, “I hired my photographer.  They say, “I got (YOUR NAME)!”  When that is the case you don’t care about the competition.  You focus on what you do best and you go and do it.  There are photographers in every market who have reached that dynamic and they’re not all in the same price range.  We’re going to talk about the common traits that got you to where you are and about the simple steps you can mimic that should help you along the way.

Come with the mind set to be inspired and to set sail in 2010!

Date: January 6, 2010

Time:6:30-7:00- meet & greet

7:00-8:30 – Presentation

Blake Street Tavern

2401 Blake Street
Denver, CO 80205
(303) 675-0505

Who’s Invited:  Anyone and everyone.  The presentation is open to all photographers in Colorado.  We would love to see you there.  As usual please RSVP so we can have enough seats for everyone. Don’t worry if you don’t have a studio ID just leave that field blank if you don’t have one or can’t remember it.

December PUG Meeting w/Guest Speaker Dane Sanders

Date: December 10, 2009

Time:6:30-7:00- meet & greet

7:00-9:00 – Presentation

Blake Street Tavern

2401 Blake Street
Denver, CO 80205
(303) 675-0505

Who’s Invited:  Anyone and everyone.  The presentation is open to all photographers in Colorado.  We would love to see you there.  As usual please RSVP so we can have enough seats for everyone. Don’t worry if you don’t have a studio ID just leave that field blank if you don’t have one or can’t remember it.  Blake Street Tavern will provide a yummy buffet for anyone that wants to eat it will be $13 per person and a cash bar.

Some free parking otherwise bring some quarters for the meters.

Speaker Topic: “Standing Out from the Crowd”, with Dane Sanders. Dane Sanders is a photographer, author and speaker. He has been invited to be a platform speaker at Wedding & Portrait Photographers International (WPPI), Imaging USA and as a sponsored speaker at PhotoPlus East in New York City. He has been featured in numerous publications including Rangefinder andProfessional Photographer. Fast Track Photographer: the definitive new approach to successful wedding photography is Dane’s first book. Dane and Tami, along with their four children, make their home in Newport Beach, California.

Questions? Contact Katie Van Buren or read this review about Dane’s previous presentation.

One more note: Pictage is paying close attention to which regions are most active in their local PUGs, so whether you’re a Pictage user or not, be sure to mention the Denver PUG as your referrer when you sign up. This will help get the Denver PUG priority consideration for guest speakers (like Joe Buissink, Dennis Reggie, David Beckstead, and more!), as well as funding for fun activities and events at our PUG in 2010. I don’t know about you, but I love having awesome speakers at our PUG, so let’s show Pictage that we’re serious about community!

Holiday Party on November 12th

This year we thought we would celebrate the holiday season a month early.  We would love to have you join us in the celebration.  Please RSVP so we can order enough food.

Let the warmth of friendship

take the chill from the air,

and the spirit of the season

make winter easier to bear.

We would like to

invite you and your spouse or a guest (or family)

to our annual

Holiday Party!

Thursday, November 12th, 2009

6:00p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Hanson’s Grill and Tavern

1301 South Pearl Street

Denver, Colorado 80210Appetizers and sweets will be provided by Pictage.  We will have a cash bar.

I look forward to seeing you soon! Katie Van Buren

October 7th PUG Meeting

Hello Fellow PUG Members-

This months meeting is will be something a little different.  I hope you will be able to attend the meeting.  Check out the scoop below.  

Katie Van Buren

Meeting Info: October PUG Meeting

Date: October 7, 2009

Time: 6:00

Agenda 6:00-6:15 mingle

6:15-7:15 – Meeting

Address: Van Buren Photography Studio

1100 W. Littleton Blvd. #210

Littleton, CO 80120

Park in the back of the building.

Meeting agenda:  We are going to have a group discussion.  We will be talking about our favorite business or motivational books.  Bring any books or excerpts from your personal library that you want to share.  It’s that time of year when we could all use a little motivation to get us through the rest of 2009 and to start planning for next year.  We will also be talking about the latest and greatest happenings at Pictage.

See you soon!

Katie Van Buren

September PUG – No Meeting

Hello Everyone,

It was so great seeing all of you in August for the variety of BBQ’s and social gatherings.  It was especially nice to see the great turn out for Joe Buissink’s presentation.  I think any of us that were there could agree it was a very moving presentation.  I thought since the summer months have been so busy and September is such a busy time of year for all of us we are going to enjoy a month without a PUG meeting.  So, there will not be a PUG meeting in September.

We will look forward to reconnecting in October for our PUG meeting at Blake Street Tavern.  The meeting will be on October 7th at 6:00.  More details will follow.

Sincerely,

Katie Van Buren

Van Buren Photography

Joe Buissink – Denver PUG August 19, 2009

Joe Buissink will come and give a discussion about the psychology involved behind shooting weddings. Who we are when we shoot an event and how it shows in the work!

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Time  - 6:30 Meet & Greet 7-8:30 Presentation by Joe.

Location:
South Metro Denver REALTOR(r) Association
7899 S Lincoln Ct.
Littleton CO 80122 

Info: This event is FREE and open to all professional photographers we just ask that you RSVP (to the right)!

About Joe:
Joe’s photography is about capturing the moments, and the essence of the person in those moments. His work redefines wedding photography, and has been described as Fine Art by his most notable celebrity clients. Joe has become a world-renowned teacher in the photographic field. His teachings have taken him on an international platform from Japan and Australia to England, Scotland and Ireland, as well as in the United States. Joe has been profiled by Good Morning America, Entertainment Tonight, Extra, Lifetime Television’s Wedding of a Lifetime, and E!. His work is published regularly in InStyle Weddings, Grace Ormonde Wedding Style, and People Magazine.

For Canon’s full calendar of events, go to www.usa.canon.com/dlc

We hope to see you there!

Katie Van Buren

www.vanburenphotography.com

July 1, 2009 Denver PUG Meeting

Hello Fellow PUG Members-

This months meeting is will be photo-filled and a lot of fun.  I hope you will be able to attend the meeting.  Check out the scoop below.  

Katie Van Buren

Meeting Info: July PUG Meeting

Date: July 1, 2009

Time: 6:00

Agenda 6:00-6:15 mingle

6:15-7:00 – guest speakers

7:00-?? – group photo shoot

Address: 2401 Blake Street , Denver 80205

Meeting agenda:  We have two great guest speakers coming to speak to our group.  Mark Candler is a financial rep from Northwester Mutual Financial Network.  He will be talking about financial planning and planning for retirement.  He will be accompanied by Scott Sanford who will talk about suggestions on investing and the investing process.  They have a fun presentation set for us so be sure to be there.

Group Photo Shoot!  We are going to try this again, since the weather didn’t cooperate for us in April.  The group photo shoot will Has it been awhile since you updated your own profile photo?   Well I have good news for you.  It’s time to jump into action and help each other out.  We are going to break out into mini groups and take turns photographing each other.  Bring your camera equipment and lighting gear (if you want).  Each group will supply each other with the shots they took from the evening.  Bring your computer or jump drives to download your images.  Even if you don’t want to update your own photo it is a great way to shoot with your peers and have some fun.