A Summer Escape, and One Last Pitch
Escaping the valley for a few days of cool weather... just before the start of Project 52 Pro System
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Phoenix has been very warm this past July, and we needed to get away from it as they begin to level the piles and piles of dirt to make a foundation. We have a bit of elevation to deal with, and we are making sure to keep the natural desert washes intact and running smoothly.
For the 15 days or so they are needed.
Per decade.
So the house will look northeast, over a natural wash (made even more beautiful by my wife’s planned landscaping, and will be about 6’ higher, and my studio will have a southwest view from the windows.
The amount of dust they will be kicking up will make a normal haboob seem like a gentle breeze, and we want none of that.
Up to southern Utah we trek.
The Dixie National Forest sits east of Cedar City, and north of Zion.
The high temps in the mountains hover just below 80F, and down to 50F at night. Thunderstorms are possible at any minute, and they keep you on your toes when you are out for a hike.
We are staying in a little condo in Brian Head, and as I write this we are over 10,000 feet in elevation.
There is air here, I am told, but after today’s hike, I am not sure they are getting all they need. Coming from Phoenix at about 1000 ft elevation, I can attest to the fact that the air is much thinner here.
But it is also beautiful, filled with all the charms of the forested American west; pines, aspens, creeks appearing from nowhere, animals, and dirt roads.
I really do love dirt roads.
They are a sort of filter.
Many people don’t want to go down them.
Many people don’t have a vehicle to allow them to go dirt.
Many people are ‘guardrail’ folks for whom the beaten path with signs and lane markers are fine.
Tomorrow we are taking a dirt road over the top of a mountain and into another county. Not a difficult one, just a lonely and wilderness bound one.
I’ll send some notes your way this week.
Today, I want to make one last pitch for Project 52 Pro System.
As the world of creative business seems to be in chaos these days, there will always be a need for visual solutions for business and advertising.
Photographers who can solve problems, deliver the right visual branded images, and do so with professional standards, will forever be sought.
Will we be one of them?
Will any of us?
Yes, indeed we will.
As we look at the changes in this business, we also must look at what has stayed the same. That part of the Venn Diagram is steady, tried, true, and still the place to make a difference in your business, or side business.
And that is where the magic is.
We focus on what works, how to build a portfolio, and get clients.
Project 52 will also show you how to make better images; YOUR better images. We don’t want you to make images like me or her or that guy over there eating a corn dog. We want YOU to develop your portfolio with your distinct twist on imagery.
I don’t teach from a position of “No, you did it wrong”, because there are many ways of doing anything, and you did it your way.
I will challenge you on whether the image satisfies what YOU wanted to do?
I will ask you to consider alternative approaches and ask you to think of ways you can make it better. I want you to get to these insights, not be ‘told’ what to do.
Your peers will help you, and we all share our lighting setups so we can learn the relationship between light and subject.
Imagine getting a dozen different lighting approaches every week.
Imagine getting a live critique, with ways to improve your work every week.
Imagine the portfolio of images you will have next August if you join this program.
And imagine what it would mean to have the means for a business - full or part-time - bringing what you know to the marketplace.
Good photography and visual solutions are literally needed everywhere.
The more professional your portfolio is, the more opportunities you will have to shoot.
The more professional your bids and business approaches are, the more opportunities you will have to get a gig.
The more professional your services and offers are, the more opportunities you will have to work.
Project 52 focuses on you.
We want you to succeed. Greatly.
At the end, you will have the tools, strategies, and systems in place to make your photography into a business.
Not weddings or families or birthday parties.
Not freebies for influencers.
Not one-offs for your brother-in-law for his plastics company.
A real client-focused photography business that knows the value of their work, and how to get things done to keep cash-flow moving, and sustainable.
And you will never look at light, think about making an image, or make that image without using the ideas you learned in this class.
So we start this week - Wednesday to be exact.
I’d like you to join us.
I’d like to see you thrive in your photography.
I’d like to help you achieve more and get there faster with a program that is based on systems and real-world experience.
Head on over to Project 52 Pro System and check the program out.
Now… back to the hiking trail… or was it the hot tub…?
When you are ready, here is how I can help you succeed.
Group Mentorship: a small group of photographers who meet to show images, work on their portfolio, and build their businesses with help from a wonderful group. Lifetime membership for one fee.
One-on-one Mentorship: You and me - working together in an intense 6-month push to get you on the way to over $30K in additional revenue. The work we lay down will help you increase and scale your business for years ahead.
And the brand new P52 one-year masterclass.
This is a very unique program. We will explore composition, color, lighting, preparing for a professional shoot, business best practices, and ancillary skills sure to make your business offering stronger. By focusing on real-world assignments and tying them into real-world clients, you build your portfolio, your business, and your future while taking the time you need for the transition with a gradual approach.
The entire year is less money than a two-hour consultation with a business coach, but it will take you farther than 4 years of schooling and apprenticing. The plan is for you to make all of the enrollment fee back in the first three months, then gradually build until you have the momentum to keep on working.
We do it with one real world assignment per week, which is then reviewed in a live meeting via Zoom. These meetings are recorded, so you can come back again and again to review your critique and get the answers you need.
This will be a small class of about 10 students.
If you need to break the payments out into three installments, just let me know.
Find out more here: Project 52 Pro System.
You will be glad you did.