Mini Magazines have arrived! There are 3 styles to choose from. What a great way to show off all the personality of our Graduates!!!! Here's a sample of one of the styles using 20 of our 2010 grads. Samples of the other 2 styles will be posted here as soon as I can create them. Enjoy this one while you're waiting! (Click on the cover image below.)

Take a peak at this "mini mag" with a spotlight on one of the grad's favorite sports! (Click on the picture to view the whole magazine.)

The races were fast, challenging, fun to watch and fun to photograph!

All the photos are now published - note that we did not photograph the 2nd GS race due to the effects of the weather on our cameras. Here are links to all:

• 3/14/2010 Men's GS race 1 published 3/16/2010 (1,104 photos)
  
• 3/14/2010 Women's GS race 1 published 3/16/2010 (1,233 photos)
  
• 3/13/2010 Men's slalom race 2 published 3/16/2010 (1,858 photos)
• 3/13/2010 Women's slalom race 2 published 3/16/2010 (1,788 photos)
• 3/13/2010 Men's slalom race 1 published 3/16/2010 (2,176 photos)
• 3/13/2010 Women's slalom race 1 published 3/16/2010 (2,438 photos)
• 3/13/2010 CT and WI team photos published 3/16/2010 (26 photos)
• 3/12/2010 GS training published 3/12/2010 (1,915 photos)

Since the weather has been so beautiful and Max and Sophia came tot he studio for (late) 10-month-old portraits, we decided to make an outing of it and go to the park. We saw 4 turtles soaking up the sun and a crayfish out for a swim! And we got some lovely portraits made. Here's the Photo Video version of our session. Enjoy!

For any of the Snow Ski racers we photographed this season, here's a sample of what your own Photo Video could look like. And there's more.... This video comes on a DVD, ready to play big on your TV along with a gallery of all of your photos which can be viewed (still big on your TV) as stills. It's an awesome combination. We're offering it for a limited time for $99 (will be $149). Check it out and let us know if you're interested in ordering one of your season! (info@MindWorksPhotography.com or 262.679.7900.)

Bravo to the Lake Denoon Middle School for their performance of Twinderella!  It was AWESOME! The singing, the dancing, the acting - fantastic. The whole production was entertaining! Here's a little photo video tribute to the event.

Let's see...

Green is a color - and a way of expressing commitment to the environment. Our business practices have always been Green - from our packaging to our marketing materials (98% online) - we keep our footprint small.

Savings - with 2 economical programs packed with inclusions (like web-worthy digital and free yearbook submissions and more), and no packages or minimum purchases, the savings are built in and tailored to your needs. 

So the answer is MindWorks Photography's Senior Portrait Programs for 2011 grads!  We're green and packed with savings!

• Help us stay green this year by spreading the word. Tell everyone you know about our awesome programs (and prices). Send emails and post on your favorite social networking sites (like Facebook and LinkedIn).
  
• If we can get fully booked by word of mouth, we can save the 4-7 mailings that marketing experts tell us are needed before clients will take action.
  
• Those mailings end up in landfills and cost us money that, sadly, we pass on to you.
  
• By using your network and word of mouth we can stay green and keep costs down - ours and therefore yours!
  
• It's all good - for the planet, for you and for us - not to mention for the stars of the Senior Portrait story - the Graduates who get an awesome experience and awesome images!

Here's your link to more information!

Package - a word with two meaningful definitions as it applies to portrait photography.

First there's the package in which the prints are wrapped when you receive them. We are as green as we can be, so our packaging is as minimal as possible, as reusable as possible and as environmentally friendly as possible when it becomes waste. Look for plain wrappers that can be reused. Look for simplicity. You'll find it here and the planet thanks both of us!

Then there's Print Packages. That's where photography studios decide what is most convenient and cost effective to produce and will bring the highest price. Packages favor the studio and rarely fit the client. We just don't do that. All prices are a la carte - you get what you want and need when you want it. Nothing more or less. And, when you're purchasing more than one of a single pose in the same size, there are volume discounts.

No matter how you look at it we don't do packages. We provide the portrait sizes and quantities you want wrapped in earth friendly, cost friendly, portrait protecting covers. No more and no less!

Senior Portrait season is nearly upon us and that always brings questions about cost.

Each year I open up my spreadsheet from the year before and study the programs, prices, costs and effectiveness. Then I rename the spreadsheet with this year and begin modifying to keep what has been working (for both my clients and my business) add the new exciting products that are available and to hit a price point that will delight my clients.

OK, OK, OK, I hear you. Free is the "delightful" price point. I get that. But free has no value. It doesn't honor the experience, energy, gear, studio and time that it takes to achieve not only beautiful portraits, but portraits that represent a life and a very significant milestone in that life. With free off the table, I bring back as many memories of client conversations about cost from the year before as I can. Again, I look at what was most favorably commented on by my clients and find ways to do more of that. Then I look at what was most distressing to my clients and find ways to eliminate that. Finally I do a reality check looking at what my competition is doing.

After all that, here are some themes that have come up year after year:

• Some people will not pay for photography. (Hundreds of reasons and the fodder for an entire blog series someday.)
  
• Some clients really don't want much - either time in the studio or prints.
• Some clients want Senior Portraits done well, at a reasonable price and will pay for it.
• Some clients want Senior Portraits done well, at a cheap price and believe that they can pay very little and get "everything".
• All clients want to look great in their portraits.
• All clients want value for whatever they end up spending.
• All clients dislike the sales call.
• Most clients want education and suggestions.
• The only clients who like Portrait Packages are the ones who want something for nothing even if the something is useless to them.
• The competition likes to offer tiny prices up front and sell their clients into big spending.
  

Had enough? Me too! So, with all the above points in mind, here's what you need to know about pricing:

Question	MindWorks Photography Answer
Ask what the sitting fee is. Ask what is included in that fee.	All our information is posted in our FAQ. Click here to read! No hidden fees, no additional purchase necessary.
Ask what prints cost. If there are packages, what sizes and how many poses are included for the price. Ask for a la carte pricing for the print sizes you are most likely to order.	All our pricing is a la carte. Packages are convenient for the photographer and are constructed to save them money - not you. We have no minimum purchase, no packages and volume discounts when you purchase more than one print of the same pose in one size. All our information is posted in our FAQ. Click here to read!
Ask how proofing works - in the photography industry, proofing is often another way to say the hard sales pitch.	Proofing is handled 2 ways depending on the program you select - both are digital and both are included. We stay green by not printing images that you'll throw away. We keep cost down by not printing images that you don't want but are paying for in some way. Proofing at MindWorks Photography is unlimited. Look often!
Ask about the prices for re-orders and how long the photos will be available.	Re-orders or multiple orders are at our standard prices. The photos of 2005 grads are still online, so you will be able to order for a long time. No rush other than your time line!
Ask what other costs you will incur by the time you have your print order in hand.	None - Pay for your program, live the experience. Purchase prints - when you're ready, as much as you need.

I can't tell you how many potential clients have come back to me after their experience elsewhere to tell me that in the end, information that was not made clear caused them to spend far more than they would have at MindWorks Photography. We are up front about prices. We want you to get a great deal and more than that, to have a great experience making the images that mark this significant milestone of life.

While we don't want it to be all about price, we know that it's part of the equation. When you've done your homework, we believe that we'll be the hands down winner on value for the dollar and we know that we deliver the best experience and portraits! 

 Celebration is a part of the graduation experience. To that end we send announcements to share the news, we have parties to share the experience and we just find a way to tell everyone. It is a good thing!

MindWorks has developed 4 designs to help you spread the word. Each can be a flat card (4x8) which can be included with another piece or used on its own. The color of each can be matched to the graduate's clothes or the photo's background or to any theme you may have in mind.

Price: pack of 25 single sided cards with envelopes for $49.
Designs: Circles, Iris, Curly and Hummingbird
Text: custom content provided by you, font can be changed
Photos: You may select 1 per pack. If additional photos/card are desired, contact the studio!
Ordering: I don't think we'll get these included in our formal ordering system in time. So here's how to order them:

• Select the 4x8 card option below the photo you want on your card.
• Select any vertical or horizontal design from those offered (holiday)
• In the comments tell me which of the 4 designs (Circles, Iris, Curly and Hummingbird) you want.
• In an email, send me the text you'd like on your card.
• I'll create your proof and send it to you via email.

Here are the 4 designs. All can be made vertical or horizontal.