What’s New This Week

Howdy! It seems summer is coming to a close and the smell of school supplies is in the air. Love me some Mr. Sketch Markers!!

The team at Pink Ink Studios has been busy all summer and designing fabulous, new products to help you boost your business.

Anything that says rockstar is usually a hit in my book. Check out Amy’s Square Accordion Mini. Perfect for seniors!!

Speaking of seniors, here is an awesome senior rep card by Jackie. They have senior contact info on the back so they’ll love handing these out to their friends. You can include your website and have them knocking at your door!

Holly has a great storyboard that you can use for any session, but seniors are another great audience for this one as well. Showcase lots of images with this one!

Kim Hill has a mini accordion book in her store as well. Papers are included but you can swap out with your own. Check out Mariella’s Press Printed Album with 10 spreads. Great for weddings, seniors … anything you’d like. It makes your job sooo much easier! Last but not least, if you’re looking to take the next step, here is a premade logo from MadiLu Designs. Bonus stamp included!

Have a great week!

August Poll

This month’s poll is about watermarking your photos. Check it out to participate and give us your answers.

July Poll

This month’s poll is based on Charitable Marketing practices. Charitable marketing is a marketing effort for social and charitable causes. Many photographers donate their time, services and expertise to worthy causes to give back to the community, network and possibly gain referrals.

July Design Trend Watch & Freebie

Following trends and staying current is one of the keys to a successful business. It’s important to stay on top of consumer trends and to strike when the iron is hot. Trends help keep your business stay relevant to the times.

I recently noticed the return of the peace sign & symbol in the design world although I’m not sure it really ever went away. It seems everything from clothing to home decor to jewelry is decked out in these fun loving peace icons. Even many major companies like Target, Pottery Barn Teen and Old Navy just to name a few have a ton of retro peace related products in their stores. Pottery Barn Teen has some great peace related ideas that would make awesome props for your photo shoots including pillows, 3D peace signs and various backgrounds.

So the next time you need to funk up your photo shoot or designs maybe you’ll consider incorporating some peace icons into your next project. And to help your designs get groovy you can download my Peace Symbol Brush Set for FREE! Link expires August 26^th. (Link has expired!)

I hope you enjoyed this Design Trend Watch report for July. Be sure to stay tuned next month for more pop culture trends to help your business stay up to date and in the know. If you spot any cool trends you want us to feature please leave a comment on this post.

What’s New This Week

If you’ve been browsing the store, you’ll see quite a few new holiday templates added for the 2010 holiday season. Too many cute ones to list so make sure you head here and check all of them out!

A few of the latest and greatest …

Holly’s Rustic Lexie Senior Set

Holly’s Business Magnet

Carrie’s Holiday Mini Session Marketing Pack

Carrie’s Build a Proof Book –  2

Amy’s Rockstar Template Set

Carrie’s Order From – 2

This rarely happens, but I’m at a loss for words. It’s so blasted hot that it’s possible my brain is fried. Hurry and check these links out because all of it is awesome … I promise!!

The Drop Shoppe Giveaway!

We have a winner! Scroll to the bottom to see!

The Drop Shoppe (thedropshoppe.com) sells thick, matte, high quality vinyl backdrops in large sizes that are affordable for photographers. You can use these with studio lighting or natural light. Each image is created in Photoshop or Illustrator to be the absolute sharpest possible when it’s printed in large format. Currently we sell two sizes; 5 feet by 8 feet and 10 feet by 8 feet. The 5′x8′ drops are $90.00 and the 10′x8′ drops are $150.00 All prices include free shipping to the continental United States. If you are out of the country you do have to pay shipping, but we work hard to find you the fastest and most affordable shipping solution. Each backdrop has an extra 1/2″ white border around the outside, which is perfect for you to clamp to your backdrop stand. This way you’re not clamping directly onto the backdrop image.

Here we have a simple set up of hooks screwed into the wall, a metal pole and three large clamps holding the backdrop.

There’s a variety of ways to hang these backdrops. You can just clamp them to your horizontal pole on your backdrop stand (with large clamps you can purchase at a hardware store), or you can hang hooks on your wall with a pole and clamp to that. We used the hooks/wall method in our small office since we couldn’t fit my larger backdrop stand in there. A quick Google search will also turn up quite a few do it yourself backdrop stands that you’re able to make at home for very little cash.

We have all sorts of patterns and styles for you to choose from. There’s plenty of grunge, messy paint, realistic background photos, wallpaper, doors, floors and much more. The possibilities for these backdrops are endless. Use them in your studio, use one for the popular ‘photo booth’ set ups at weddings, even hang them outside for big parties or family get togethers. The backdrops arrive in a shipping tube, which we ask you to keep so that you can store your backdrop in it when not in use. The best ways to store these are either rolled up, hanging or laying flat. If you should wrinkle them, usually laying them flat in a hot room or outside in the shade will remove the wrinkles. These also wipe clean with mild soap and water. No worries about that baby or toddler making a mess, just wipe it up!

I’ve also included a size chart for the 5′x8′ drops, showing the size of an adult woman and the size of our backdrops – a good way to show how big these drops really are:

Here’s an example of our backdrops in use! The following photo was taken by Holly McCaig with our Aged Red Doors backdrop.

Another backdrop photo by Chrissy Avila.

The backdrop I want to give away here on Pink Ink Studios today is our Watercolor Whimsy shown above, sized 5′x8′. It’s one of my favorites and works well when shooting just about any subject…from kids to women to men.

Winner will receive one Watercolor Whimsy size 5 feet by 8 feet backdrop with additional 1/2″ white border around it. Backdrops do not come with any kind of rods, clamps or pockets to hang them – you must supply your own way to hang it up. Backdrop will be shipped to the winner 3-7 days after the contest ends.

There are three different ways to enter between now and 8:59 p.m. on Sunday, July 18th – each entry requires its own separate comment:

CONTEST CLOSED! WE HAVE A WINNER! SCROLL TO BOTTOM!

1. ‘like’ The Drop Shoppe on Facebook, come back and post here that you did so

2. post on Twitter (then leave the link here):
I entered to win an Watercolor Whimsy backdrop at Pink Ink Studios by @pinkinkstudios from The Drop Shoppe.

3. leave a comment here on the blog about what your favorite backdrop is from the shop (thedropshoppe.com/store)

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Congrats to Candice Henry! She posted on our blog: “I love the red door. I just discovered these and I am in love.”

Candice is the winner of the watercolor whimsy backdrop! The company will be in touch on shipping to you!

July Sale!

Starting Monday July 12th Pink Ink Studios is having a SALE on NEW DESIGNS! Be sure to stop by and save 25% off!!

What’s New This Week

If you love blues, greens, yellows and turquoises, check out these new products!

Carrie has a piece that serves several purposes. Her thank you/referral card bookmark is a great leave behind piece. She also has super cute save the date postcard templates available. Love these!

Kim Hill has a gift certificate in her store. Encourage happy clients to purchase and pass along to their friends and family.

Here is a new premade logo from MadiLu Designs. Remember, these are only sold once so grab it while it’s available!

Holly has another template that you can use for wedding pricing. This entire collection is gorgeous … check it out!

That’s a wrap for this week! Off to decide if I’m Team Edward or Team Jacob. I’m kind of more of a “Team Couch” girl, but sure won’t turn down popcorn! Have a good one!

What’s New This Week

This summer is shaping up to be a hot one! Like fry an egg on the sidewalk kind of hot. I now remember why I got married in January, but I think summer weddings are absolutely gorgeous! The wedding season is busy with shoots and wedding albums are to follow. Check out Kim Hill’s new wedding album templates. This one includes text and papers and makes it easy to put together a beautiful album.

Another great wedding product from Tara is a thank you card. Your bride and groom will love sending out a personalized note with one of the images you’ve captured on their big day. Customize this one right down to their wedding colors. Gift certificates are also nice to have on hand. These make great gifts for showers and upcoming fall weddings. Thanks Carrie!

Carrie also has a fun portrait session pack in her store. This is a great resource … check it out! Wrap up those sessions with fun products, including this circle storyboard from Jackie. Mariella also has some photo masks that can dress up storyboards or albums. Try these with senior images and see what you come up with!

Watch for upcoming sales and the release of more new products! Have a great week … stay cool!

June Poll

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