Visual Inspiration Studios

Help a Friend or Family Member Out, and GET PAID!

sl33stak — Tue, 10 May 2011 07:21:23 +0000

I know that sounds like some late night infomercial sales pitch but it’s not. Well.. It IS 2:40 a.m. and I am pitching a cool idea, but trust me, this will make a lot of people happy!

I have decided that from now on I am going to pay a finders fee to anyone referring a paying client. This will apply to ALL types of clients and the referral fee will be based on the type of session being referred. Plus, from today May 9th until the END of August the client that was referred will also get a gift! Keep reading for details.

The following are the referral rates, and client gifts I’ll be giving away from now on.

Weddings: If you refer a wedding party to me, and once it has been paid in full you the referrer will be paid $75 for the referral. The bride and groom will also receive a gift. They will be given a complimentary 16×20 print of their choosing after placing their first print order.

Family and Children’s Sessions: If you refer a paying client for a family or children’s portrait session you will receive $20 and they will receive complimentary 8×10 print of their choosing after placing their first print order.

Senior Portraits: If you refer a soon to be graduate to us upon the completion of their photo session I’ll pay you $25 and they will receive their choice of a complimentary sheet of wallets or 2 5×7′s after placing their first print order.

And as an added bonus, if they bring along another paying senior I will knock off $25 from EACH of their sessions!

Event Photography: If you refer an event planner or organizer to me and they book my services to document the event, upon completion of the assignment I will pay you $45 and provide the client with a pair of free 8×10′s of their choosing after their first print order.

So how does that sound to you? I figure if I can put a smile on as many faces as possible by offering commissions and free products…Then why not!?!?!?

So go spread the word, and start getting a little extra spending money for your time!!

Take care.

Jamie.

I think it’s time to repay the favor!

sl33stak — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 23:59:31 +0000

I was inspired to start this promotion by a fellow photographer but decided to add my own little twist to it. Curious about what it is? Let me explain….I think you’ll like it.

From now until the END OF JUNE I am going to start paying out a finders fee for wedding referrals. Simple isn’t it? Here’s how it works.

If YOU refer a wedding couple to me for their photography needs, and they sign with me for ANY of my packages, YOU will receive $75 cash and the bride and groom will receive a FREE 16×20 print from their wedding package! All THEY need to do is let me know that YOU referred them on or before the day we sign.

Great isn’t it?!?! And I am also getting ready to announce a similar promotion for my family and senior portraiture! I think this series of promotions will make a lot of people happy!

Take care.

Jamie A. MacDonald

Giving Blurb a test run…

sl33stak — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 20:27:51 +0000

So I joined Blurb, and now to see what a hardcover book full of my flora photos will look like.

Want to order one?

Flora by Jamie A. MacDonald | Make Your Own Book

The Opportunity of a Lifetime

sl33stak — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 07:07:32 +0000

As any of my readers will know I am an Olympus shooter. My first dSLR was an Olympus E-500, and my current cameras are an Olympus E-520 and an Olympus E-3. I have worked my way through the world of photography with the help of a strong community of Olympus users on Flickr, and also through many many hours of trial and error. I have gone from crooked snapshots of my kids, to being paid to shoot large weddings, and most recently to being paid for my nature photography. And along this journey I have watched as Olympus got involved with the social side of the web. They started up a Twitter account, a Facebook and Flickr account. They engaged their users, they asked questions, they answered questions. And most of all they were there for us users.

I myself have always been a socially active person on the web. So when I saw that a company whose products I loved was engaging users online I decided I better get involved. I started posting on Facebook and linking my images on Twitter using the #olympus hashtag and always including @getolympus in the post. I did it because I wanted to show them I am a fan, I am a regular guy using their equipment every day. I wanted my voice to count.

And it did. They noticed me. They noticed and reached out to an average every day guy like me. And one day while I was camping with my family (and out shooting actually) I received a phone call from Olympus’ P.R. people. I almost passed out on the spot! In a nutshell I was given an opportunity to be loaned some Olympus gear that I would probably not be able to afford any time soon. And before I knew it I had two big boxes on my porch full of gear and prizes to be given away at a photowalk I had put together. What was the catch? What did I have to do with this gear as payment? NOTHING. I was told to just shoot and enjoy and keep doing what I had been…Being social.

How is THAT for a company that stays involved with its customers? I won’t drag this out any longer other than to say thank you from the very core of my being to Olympus and the PR people at Mullen for making this past fall one I will not soon forget. I am deeply indebted to you guys for the opportunity of a lifetime.

The loan package is being picked up by Fedex today and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t deeply saddened to see the gear go. I will especially miss the Zuiko Digital 7-14mm That lens moved me.

Take care Olympus and I hope one day to get to experience this again!!

I feel bad…I haven’t shared this wedding with you yet!!

sl33stak — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 19:22:55 +0000

Hey everyone,

I’ve been rather busy this summer shooting and spending time with my family as most of you are doing I suppose. But I find myself with a bit of free time this afternoon, OK so maybe it isn’t free time but it’s time I gave myself to write this post. I’ve decided to share a few shots from my last wedding in June. It’s the wedding of Rich Brown and Maggie Collins, otherwise now known as Mr. and Mrs. Brown.

Let me start by saying that Mrs. Brown chose an incredible venue for this wedding. It was at the Grand Ledge Opera House located in the charming Lansing suburb of Grand Ledge. It’s situated right along the Grand River and features some beautifully manicured grounds. The bride also chose a very classy chocolate brown and creme color theme for her wedding that complimented the class of the opera house.

It was such a fun event full of family and friends who traveled from all over the country to attend. The day was full of excitement and laughter and reinforced all the reasons I love to shoot weddings.

I’m keeping the post kind of short so I can get to finishing up their website for them but just wanted let you see a few shots here, and the full gallery is located here at The Brown Wedding.

Digital Holster 40 and Pro Speed Belt Review

sl33stak — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 23:18:20 +0000

I recently acquired the Think Tank Photo Digital Holster 40 and Pro Speedbelt V2 after a lengthy amount of research online. I’ll start this by saying that I was looking for a convenient and comfortable way to carry my Olympus E-3 dSLR with the HLD-4 battery grip attached. The bag or whatever it was I was going to get had to also be able to carry the camera w/ the Zuiko Digital 50-200mm SWD lens attached to the camera. This I was thinking was not going to be an easy task. I wasn’t even sure what exactly I needed when I started my search to be honest. I looked at messenger bags, back packs, and shoulder strap systems. While all this searching was going on I happened to see a post on Twitter referring to Think Tank Photo and their new line of bags that was due to come out, the Retrospective series. I thought, “well maybe this is what I am after”. After seeing the Retrospective bag, and deciding it didn’t address my immediate need (but I AM considering it for my next purchase!) for a quick access out of the way solution I decided to take a peek at what else they had to offer.
Behold, the Digital Holster line of products! Genius..That’s what these are…Pure genius. I had never even heard of holsters before finding them on Think Tank’s website. After reading the specs for the holster, and after doing some reading of reviews online I decided to go for it.
The Digital Holster line come with a shoulder strap already so you can carry it that way, but I wanted something that wouldn’t necessarily be hanging off my shoulders. I saw that Think Tank carried a line of belts to hold their products and decided that would be exactly what I was looking for. So when I ordered my Digital Holster 40 I decided to get the Pro Speed Belt V2. Having this belt would allow me to add on a few more Think Tank products that I am going to get in the near future such as the Digital Holster 20 which will hold my Olympus E-520 + a lens and maybe a few smaller pouches to carry a flash and some miscellaneous items like CF cards and spare batteries. I also want to mention that through some of my Google searches for reviews I found out that Think Tank has some promo codes available that give you your choice of a few items as a free gift if you spend $50 or more. So I got the —— for free! Cool little case that will hold my iPhone and some business cards while out shooting.

Arrival…..
When my order arrived it was packaged very minimally, but that is a good thing. It’s nice to see a company who understands that filling up the landfills with packaging materials isn’t wise..Kudos Think Tank! I opened up the Speed Belt V2 first. First impression? WOW! This is built VERY well. It is a piece of kit that will not wear out any time soon. It is a heavy knit nylon belt encased in soft neoprene that has ample padding (my body says thank you) and heavy stitching. There are “loops” stitched in all around the belt to secure your modular components to and the buckle is heavy duty. To get an idea of the build quality take a look at the images in this post.
The next package to open was the item that I was most eagerly awaiting…The Digital Holster 40. I’ll just say that one might not think that designing and making a camera bag/holster is not rocket science, and you’re right it’s not rocket science. But the folks at Think Tank have a design team that may just be be rocket scientists! This holster is so well thought out and designed it blows my mind. The build quality is far above and beyond what I could have ever expected to be quite honest. It almost feels strange to be so excited and so impressed by a camera bag, but if you see one Think Tanks products you’ll understand my enthusiasm.

Below is the Digital Holster 40

Directly above you can see my Olympus E-3 w/ grip attached and with the Zuiko Digital 12-60 SWD mounted sitting comfortably in the DH40

And below is what that gear looks like.

Above you can see the Digital Holster 40′s pop-down extended. With it in this position I can accommodate my Zuiko Digital 70-300mm easily. Or I can put a second lens in there and cover it with the included padded spacer!

It’s the little details that count. Above you can see the business card holder in the lid. Very cool.

Here is a detail shot of the Pro Speed Belt V2.0 Notice the loops? You can mount the modular components to these keeping them in a fixed position, or bypass the loops so the modular components are able to slide freely around the belt. And that squishy neoprene? So comfy!

Sorry I don’t have any action shots of me using the gear but, I’m the photographer…who shoots me?

Wedding Season Has Begun!!

sl33stak — Tue, 18 May 2010 12:54:47 +0000

Living in Michigan offers many unique opportunities for brides. Unlike many states Michigan has four very distinct seasons, and each of those seasons opens a multitude of possibilities for wedding themes. If I were to choose a favorite time of year to photograph a wedding I would have to say the fall in Michigan is my first choice. The colors, the sun sitting a little lower on the horizon and the cool air are all things that make photographing in the fall more enjoyable for me. But that of course doesn’t mean that spring or summer weddings are any less spectacular in our wonderful state!Spring has the cool moist air filled with the smell rich earth new growth. Summer is ablaze with flowers and the sounds of nature at its zenith. So I would say that any bride in Michigan is blessed with four very incredible seasons to get married in….And winter. LOL

So if you are a bride in Mid-Michigan (Jackson,Lansing,Eaton Rapids,Charlotte etc.) and have a wedding this season, but no photographer lined up, please feel free to give Jamie at Visual Inspiration Studios a call. His numbers are (517) 441-3048 or his personal number (517) 2820-7473. He’d be glad to accommodate a a late booking for you! Jamie and Visual Inspiration Studios are also to available to shoot outside the Mid-Michigan area for a small fee.

A time for joy and love……Not stress.

sl33stak — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 15:40:42 +0000

Hello brides and grooms,

I’ve been speaking with some of you about your wedding photography needs over the past few weeks and wanted to let you all know that I feel your pain during these tough financial times. In the past I have kept my pricing for wedding packages very simple, one package, one price. But that price in this economic climate just doesn’t make sense to many, nor is it fair to expect the most incredible day of your life to be overshadowed by a financial burden. After speaking with a few clients about what they would like to see from a photographer regarding prices I found out that not everyone wants or needs the same thing.

For some it may simply be having a photographer there to capture the wedding and delivering a basic set of prints on a disc with a release allowing the bride and groom to print off their own photos. Other photographers may frown upon such an idea, but we are going to make that option available to you!

For others the event just cannot be complete without large format professionally printed images, a wedding album, and a way to share the event with the world via a custom website. That option will still be available, but now at a reduced cost to the bride and groom.

And as a final option we are going to offer you the option to customize the wedding package A La Carte. We will sit down and custom tailor a wedding shoot to fit your expectations, and most importantly fit your budget. We will start off with a base price that covers the cost of the photographer for an 8 hour day, and then add items to meet your needs and stay within budget!

So stay tuned, we’ll be announcing the options and adding them to the website very soon!

Take care.

Jamie A. MacDonald

The toughest models are……………

sl33stak — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 01:45:25 +0000

When you are a photographer I find your own children are the toughest models to work with. It isn’t for lack of stunning looks or charisma in front of the camera, so long as it is done without their knowledge. I have hundreds, literally hundreds of what I would consider excellent photos of my kids. Photos that are what you would expect to see from a photographer, only they were almost all taken on the sly.

The reason I am even writing about this is because this past Saturday my wife informed me in the morning that I had a shoot to do that day. The shoot was of my own kids. She wanted a shoot. Not candid shots, but an actual shoot where we go to a location, and I request of my children to sit for posed shots. Let me tell you, for kids who are in front of the lens more often than not they sure acted as if I were wielding a spinach rifle and not a camera! I took 156 shots that afternoon and only got what I (some people may think otherwise) would consider 5 good shots. Five….156 shots and 151 BAD shots. My worst client shoot wouldn’t even come remotely close to that many non-keepers. It was depressing and made me start to question my abilities. But then I remembered…These are MY KIDS! Of course hey are going to resist posing, of course they are going to want to keep their own agenda and make me feel un-prepared! Hah! How could I expect anything less?!

So I’ll end this by posting a few shots from my “shoot” and with a bit of reassurance that if I do a shoot for you I can guarantee that your kids will do so much better than mine!

Take care.

Jamie A. MacDonald

The final steps have been made.

sl33stak — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 01:00:07 +0000

It’s taken a little while longer than I would have like but we are fully online and ready for business. The website is up and running but may be subject to minor alterations over the next week or so. So with that said I’d like to ask you to take a peek at http://www.visualinspirationstudios.com and let me know what you think.

Thank you for your future business, and to those of you I have already worked with thank you for your business!

Take care.

Jamie A. MacDonald