Wedding Invitations & Planning Made Easier: Google Docs

Getting addresses for all of your wedding guests is probably one of the hardest things about wedding invitations & planning. Watch this video on how you can use Google Docs to send out a form to all of your friends & family to complete, making your job a hundred times easier. Of course, you can use this for so many other things too. I've always loved Google Docs for all it's sharing abilities, but this will certainly save a lot of couples one less headache.

Letter To A Wedding Photographer

I've always been fascinated by the power a letter carries. Call me old fashioned, but someone taking the time to write to you is nothing short of wonderful. What makes it even more beautiful is when you have moved someone by just doing what you love. A few days ago I received just such a letter and it made my day.

"Subject: Standing Ovations

Spring has hit northern california with blue skies and a lowlying chill in the air but for a brief moment I forgot it finding myself captured by your photography.

The moment you held in your hand: the woman in a wheel chair watching the young man, the couple in love, a busy dance floor and lingering cigar smoke, I am enthralled and in awe of you talent.

My vision of photography has been that which you possess: to capture the moments that flee us. The notions that exist while everyone is busy posing and smiling. That which makes up the experience of life.

You made me cry this morning and for that I am thankful. I needed to know that I was not insane for feeling passionately about photography.

Cheers, Amina"

Dear Amina, thank you for sharing your thoughts & kind words. You can never be insane for being passionate about you dreams. Regret only sets in when you don't follow them.

Pakistani Indian Wedding Photography Slideshow

Who doesn't love a sweet little slideshow? This is from a Pakistani wedding. Enjoy.

Upgrade to Aperture 3 or Not

Someone asked me on Facebook why I don't think it's the right time to upgrade to Aperture 3 from Aperture 2. I thought I'd share my opinion here.

Many of the features are not advantageous at this time to justify an upgrade. Looks are one thing, functionality is another. Cool brushes and gizmos sound great in A3, however A2 is still fantastic for its intended objectives. Things such as facial recognition and geotracking won't help much, especially if you're shooting weddings. If you need that, you can always use iPhoto '09, which has had these features for a year now. Video editing is nice, but you really have to identify your requirements before being sold on the novelty of it. If you're into the whole 'fusion' of photo & video, that's a different story, but then it's also safe to say your using video editing software already as well. The slideshow incorporation with video, photos, & music sounds lovely though.

At this time, I personally don't find it feasible to upgrade, especially with reports of it slowing down/crashing for users if you have anything 4GB or less. It's 64-bit, which makes it easier to add & utilize more RAM, however, this means you will need to purchase what?...More RAM because its made to utilize it knowing it will require it. What a conundrum. Another pain right now is migrating your A2 libraries to A3. If you try to do the entire upgrade in one go, it takes a crap and no one knows why for now. I guess the other option would be try migrating one project at a time, but boy that's gonna take up some time if you've got a bunch of those. It simply will not run fast enough or crash when on a MBP running at 4GB when you've cropped at 100% to edit a photo. So either upgrade the RAM or buy a new machine.

These additional stresses, headaches, & costs need to be considered and should probably be listed under *System Requirements* with "$99 for Software Upgrade Fee, Additional Hardware Costs Required, Motrin Optional." Best thing to do: Wait for all fixes or version 3.1, try a 30-day trial of v3, or explore other options such as Lightroom or Lightroom 3 Beta.

In closing, I see far too many photographers and independent businesses get sold on the marketing sheepdom of buying the latest equipment and the latest software. If you were running a 50-employee company all using the current software, you would make more logical assessments based on hardware/software requirements and costs for all 50 people. If you have to upgrade the hardware in addition to the software, you're talking more money regardless. You have to think like this even if you are running a one person studio. If you're in business, think and act like it.

How To Add Facebook & Twitter to Gmail

If you're confused about adding Facebook & Twitter to your Gmail interface, here are the step by steps:

1. Click Settings in Gmail upper right hand corner.
2. Click on Labs
3. Scroll all the way to the bottom and Enable Add any gadget by URL.
4. Hit Save Changes.
5. Hit Reload on your browser to reload Gmail just in case.
6. Go back into gmail Settings.
7. Click on Gadgets.
8. Paste https://twittergadget.appspot.com/gadget-gmail.xml
9. Hit Add.
10. Now paste http://hosting.gmodules.com/ig/gadgets/file/104971404861070329537/facebook.xml
11. Hit Add again.
11. Done. Now send out a Tweet telling everyone how fabulous @asimsoofi is ;)

Some notes:

-Both Twitter and Facebook will be on the left sidebar.

-Click on ">>" next to Twitter to expand/refresh the tweets. No number indicator shows up, so you have to hit it to see the latest updates if you're in gmail.

-Under each person's Tweet, there's actually a "RT" button to retweet the classic way, i.e. "RT @asimsoofi blah blah blah". Much easier then how Twitter does it now. The entry field opens up right there so you can edit it if you want as well.

-If you want to see the follow status and details of someone you're following, click on their name and you can see if they are following you, if you want to unfollow and more.

-For Facebook, you have to click on 'Expand' in the sidebar upper right hand corner to view your FB account.

The Dynamics of Pricing

Regardless of what kind of business you're in, whether you're a wedding photographer, a wedding planner, or an employee in a corporation, here's a very interesting yet short read on pricing that's worth your time.

The following link will open up a new window to display an e-book in PDF written by Todd Satterston forwarded by Seth Godin: http://bit.ly/dm004R

Ask Me Anything

Anything about weddings, photography, me, etc. Go ahead.

Use the form on the right side of this blog or go here and submit your question.

All answers are FREE :)

• Wedding bride or groom with a question about wedding photography?
• Photographer curious about something?
• About American / Indian / Pakistani / or South Asian weddings?
• What I ate for breakfast today, yesterday, Tuesday?
• Meaning of life??

All questions welcome and creative questions encouraged.

So ask something. Someone else might be wondering the same thing.

http://www.formspring.me/asimsoofi

p.s. If you don't see your question posted, that means it wasn't appropriate for public view. Sorry!