Photography by Mike Scalf - Seminars Programs Training and Workshops.

Contact us at the 405-485-3838 or 713-248-1000 to inquire about availability for future speaking engagements at upcoming convention and seminars. You can also send us an email to mike@mikescalf.com

The program deals with areas, concepts and perspectives of business and marketing seldom ever addressed in a photography related program.

The business segment shows what a business plan is and how to implement it, how to control time management and effectively set goals. Also how to develop systems and procedures to execute daily tasks in order to present a professional appearance to your clients. How to make customer service a focal point of your business and keep your customers coming back again and again. Integrated custom studio software is reviewed, comparing packages designed specifically for the photography studio to the normal "off the shelf" software many of us already have.

The marketing segment of the program explains how to identify your "Target Market Segment". We also address levels of professionalism, studio image projection, advertising, promotions, direct mail, sales and numerous other marketing ideas that cost virtually nothing to implement. Also covered is how to make community involvement work for you and become a benefit to your business. Also how to work with the community volunteers to support their fund raisers without hurting your studio.

Presented by Mike Scalf Sr.

Time Required: (3 - 7 hours)

The Killer B's - Basics, Business & the Bottom Line

(The Business Half of the 80% of Photography We Love To Hate)

This is the business segment of the above program.

Time Required: (2 - 4 hours)

That Dirty "M" Word - "Marketing"

(The Marketing Half of the 80% of Photography We Love to Hate)

This is the marketing segment of the above program.

Time Required: (1 - 3 hours)

[Children's Photography, Psychology and All.]

We address the many wonderful joys along with the frightening nightmares of photographing children. Learn how to embrace those fun times and successful sessions while developing an ability to avoid letting problem children and parents ruin your day.

We will address the concept of using psychology with the child and parents in order to capture the images you want. How to effectively apply the various methods of psychology that will enable you to work with children in order to stretch or break that invisible umbilical cord between the child and it's mother.

Understand the guidelines and rules needed when working with children in the different phases of their life; infants, toddlers, pre-schoolers, school age, puberty and teenagers. How to deal with problem or disruptive parents during a session in a manner that does not downplay the parents position while often putting them to constructive use.

Live models may be used to show methods of psychology applied during a random session in order to achieve positive results. Various tricks of the trade are shown including trinkets, toys, tools and attention getters used during the session. Also covered are lighting techniques for high key, medium key and low key set-up are discussed.

We address more than one method of how to establish an effective children's club program while putting marketing ideas into place that will allow you to tap into this wonderful and profitable market.

Presented by Mike Scalf Sr.

Time Required: (3 - 6 hours)

This program is intended to shock each of us into the reality of where copyright control is really headed and how we can pro-actively protect our interests as a portrait studio. The program is prepared in a manner to help us as photographers to pull our heads out of the sand and to aggressively address the problem from a realist's point of view. Also issues will be addressed that in many cases, we as photographers have not even considered ourselves.

It will address effective methods of protecting our images from illegal reproduction and will help you establish when and where to draw the line. It is important to understand when to pick your battles on control and when to simply ride the "roller coaster" for your own benefit. It will also address the brand new copyright laws and registration procedures enacted in 2001.

It will also cover how the same copyright issue relates to our use of music in our studio, with programs, on the telephone and in sales procedures as regulated by BMI and ASCAP. We will provide ideas on how to "cash in" on methods of personal control of your images and how to release various limited use applications of portraits and digital images files. This program is best scheduled to allow for a question and answer period following the presentation.

Digital Image Work Flow and File Management

This program addresses the challenges, problems and pitfalls photographers will encounter while trying to adopt digital photography into their studio. Mike will provide proven methods on how to painlessly transition from shooting exclusively film to a fully digital studio. He will also provide options on how to select a point anywhere in between in order to gradually make the digital transformation. Also addressed are the pros and cons between capturing in the RAW mode vs. capturing images as a high resolution JPEG.

Another big challenge is knowing here to direct your money, what kind of computers are best suited for your needs, software applications and the big question, "What level of a digital lab do I want in my studio?" Management, maintenance and control of your digital images is just as critical as managing and filing those old-fashioned negatives. Mike will share many tips and techniques that will make your digital file management as free from corruption as humanly possible.

The " S & M" of Wedding Photography

(Systems & Marketing)

This program deals with the art of establishing and maintaining a lucrative and enjoyable wedding photography business.

Every photographer who enters the wedding industry is first drawn to those attractive large, up front dollars. After a while you realize that all you are doing is working yourself to death while being used as a courier to transfer money from your customers pocket to your venders pocket. We address how to keep more of those dollars for yourself and the uncompromising benefits of being organized.

The program deals with how to target a specific market of brides and how to eliminate the undesirables. We will discuss actual studio experiences of how to set-up and maintain a single photographer studio and the multi-photographer studio. This will include covering the advantages, disadvantages, benefits, problems, customer concerns, interests and perceptions based upon your studios' presentation and reputation.

We will discuss methods that will assist you in creating your wedding packages, how to develop a profitable price for your services while controlling expenses. We will also compare the pros and cons of prepared packages vs. ala-la-carte selling. It also addresses methods to move toward a proof-less album using the internet to market and sell your weddings before and after the event.

This program deals with the basic needs to set up and maintain a pre-manufactured studio software program. We will also address what features are available in canned software packages and how it can streamline your operations.

This program is not intended to address the extensive potential options and general software packages available for your computer. It will also not address digital imaging systems, computer retouching and image manipulation, but will concentrate only on computer support of effective and simple business management applications and needs.

Specific areas covered are:

Creating Your Niche in Wedding Photography Industry

Blending Traditional Portraits with Images that are Uniquely Yours!

We will discuss methods that will assist you in creating your wedding packages, how to develop a profitable price for your services while controlling expenses. We will also compare the pros and cons of prepared packages vs. ala-la-carte selling.

Live models will be used during a segment to demonstrate posing techniques and methods of handling problems and conflicts. A series of fast moving poses that are sure sellers are shown. Also how to take time to create those dynamic impact poses that show off the environment or location while complimenting the bride and groom. How to create depth in your images, even in extremely low light situations.

We will address ways to control or eliminate the candid carnival that often appears at a wedding when all the family and friends show up with their point and shoot cameras wanting to also take photos. Other segments of the program will be devoted to various business, marketing and operational systems that will make working in this industry both fun and profitable. (See description of information under "The S & M of Wedding Photography").

Presented by Mike Scalf Sr

Time Required: (5 - 8 hours)

If you have a list of questions longer than Santa�s, about how to take the next step into the business of professional photography, then this is the class for you. Whether you are just starting out or have been photographing for a couple of years, Mike will provide direction that will assist you in making the countless decisions you need to make. He will address facts to consider when buying equipment such as digital and film cameras, portable and studio lighting systems, computers, software, props and equipment gadgets that will make your photographic life easier. He will also address the selection of business services such as labs and printers. Additional points to be addressed in the class are:

If you are looking to grow in the photography industry, this is the class for fun and learning. Mike will entertain you while overwhelming you with an unbelievable amount of practical information.

This multi-day seminar covers unique business concepts, smart and affordable marketing techniques, studio systems development along with policy and procedure design and applications as applicable to a photography studio. Also addressed are the use of computers in a photography studio as a business and management tool as well as it's use to support digital imaging. The pros and cons of both applications are addressed that will hopefully assist you in making tough decisions on where to go with your business and it's hardware and software needs as we approach the 21st century.

Photography areas specifically covered are family, children and individual portraiture. Wedding photography will also be covered and how to have fun and make money with weddings while developing sizable sales from the bride and groom's engagement and formal bridal sessions. We will discuss the advantages of location portraiture vs. studio sessions and how to make it enjoyable and easy. Actual posing demonstrations, with the use of live models, will be shown depending on time restrictions within the seminar.

We will also address methods on how to price your photography, establish profit margins you can actually make money with, how to develop a overhead rate for your studio, along with providing manual or computerized methods to track your expenses in order to see if your are really making money.

Presented by Mike Scalf Sr.

Time Required: (3 - 5 days)

For more information about our services, prices and programs,
please contact Mike Scalf Sr at mikesr@mikescalf.com