A few weeks ago I “met” Hughe Parker from ZaZa Gallery on Twitter.  Hughe & his wife, Senta, are photographers in California who started ZaZa Gallery to put their own artwork on canvas.  And now they use their skills to carefully put others’ works of art on hand stretched canvases as well.  Hughe offered a trial for an 8×10 canvas print so I just couldn’t resist trying him out.  I’ve been looking for a canvas company to recommend to my clients and I think I’ve finally found one.  His work is exquisite!  The 8×10 canvas arrived quickly, covered in bubble wrap and a protective cover.  I couldn’t help but gasp when I opened it.  I had simply emailed him a photo of my little Emma, and in turn, he provided me with a priceless canvas wrap!  Thank you so much Hughe & Senta for your loving handiwork.  I’ll definitely be recommending you to my family, friends, and clients.  Here are some photos of Hughe’s work.

Front view

You can see the depth here.

The corner carefully wrapped.

The back view.

More wrapping on the back.

I just finished reading It’s Sharing Day to my oldest daughter Emma.  But right before that, I was actually benefiting from what Dora preaches in her book…SHARING!  I just got off the phone with Ryan Swigert from Darkroom Branding.  Wanna know how I found out about Ryan?  Through Twitter!  I used to think Twitter was for techie nerds like my husband, but not so! (or I’ve just become a techie nerd, too)

Anyway, back to the topic of sharing.  Ryan offered, via his “tweets,” a 15-minute consultation for FREE on marketing goals and the business side of photography.  It was totally awesome and I am indebted to him for his knowledge, friendliness, and honesty.  He had me fill out a quick questionnaire and then we set up a 15-minute phone call to talk about his ideas for my business and my personal goals.  Basically he just pointed me in the correct direction.  Thanks Ryan!  I know how to take the photos, but Ryan reminded me that I want my photography to be an experience, not just a service.  He helped me realize that to set myself apart from others, I need to be offering photo sessions where I am real with my clients, where we connect, and where they and I both feel we’ve become friends, rather than just client & photographer.  He’s dead on!  We chatted about a few other things as well, and I will definitely be incorportating them into my business plan.

And lastly, I just had to throw out there a book that he mentioned reading.  I haven’t had the chance to read it yet, seeing as I just got off the phone with him 30 minutes ago, but the book is called Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi.  From the small amount I’ve read about it, this book is about the importance of networking and connecting with people and it’s vitality to success.  I’ll let you know what I find out when I read it.

So come look me, and Ryan, up on Twitter.  Happy Tweeting!

Oh no! I just realized that many of my photos in the “Client Proofs” section were not showing up. I apologize to my clients who might have been trying to view their proofs. I think I’ve fixed everything now and you should be able to see ALL of your pictures. If you have any trouble, please let me know at mandysroka@gmail.com.