As many of you already know, those of us from the "East Side" have been dealing with just a little too much of that fluffy white junk called snow during the past few months. 18 inches at the end of December, and 30+ inches in February. Needless to say, most of us are ready for some warm weather so we can start shooting more. I've definitely got cabin fever and I can't wait to get to Vegas in a couple of weeks for WPPI. Over the past few weeks, I've had the opportunity to see just a few good movies and one that has really had an impact on me was the movie called "Food, Inc." The movie is basically about the advantages of organic eating and I'm not gonna go all Al Gore on you about the "inconvienient truth" that is our environmental state. But, I have been trying to think more globally and how I can be more environmentally friendly in my business life. To be honest with you, I've pondered this question before, but haven't really done much about it. Lets face it, the wedding photography business is alot about luxury and thats great!! We all want to offer our clients the best and they truly deserve it. But the luxury lifestyle doesn't exactly agree with the environmentally friendly lifestyle. Now, I honestly feel that everyone is entitled to live their own life and do what they want as long as they don't harm me, but I still want to be responsible and do my part to make this a better earth for my kids. 

 So.. how can I do this with my business? I have a few ideas.. First, I've been basically running a 90% paperless business for a year or so. I email all info (Quotes, Contracts, Price lists, etc.) to my clients and I take notes on my iPhone's note pad and email them to myself. Then when my clients choose their package, the contract is printed signed and scanned so I can create an archival copy. The benefit?.. less paper used, less paper thrown away. Second, I offer "Green" albums to my clients as an option. Couture Book offer an album called the Earth Book that is manufactured in a totally "Green" manner. For more info on these books, click on the link above. They are very unique and they look awesome!! Of course I still offer those beautiful leather albums that I always have, but I wanted to offer a "Green" option. Finally, I've been toying around with the idea of doing away with traditional business cards and replacing them with digital business cards. Sure, there are "Green" card options, but it still leaves more junk in the trash can. My prefered method of exchanging contact info is the VCard format or using an iPhone App called "Bump". You and another person with an iPhone just bump knuckles and the info is transfered to the other persons phone and address book. Pretty cool!!

So here is the "Million Dollar Question"... How do you feel about this issue and what ideas do you have to be more "Green" as a business. I really want to hear your feedback. Please leave a comment below so others can see it and/or send me an email at paul@psquaredphotographic.com Until next time...

Happy New Year everybody!! I know that its been a while, but things have been anything but idle. Lots of business planning has been going on for 2010 and there has been alot of workshop planning for 2010 as well. Back in the summer, PSQuared Photographic and Moshe Zusman Photography teamed up for our first workflow workshop and it went great!! Because of that response and our desire to teach and share with other photographers, PSQuared and Moshe are starting a series of workshops on photography workflow, website optimization, and business markting. There is website being designed for the workshop series and hopefully, these workshops will continue through the entire year. The next workshop is being planned for late January or early February. Then in March, PSQuared Photographic will attending our first WPPI convention in Las Vegas!! I'm so excited about this event and you can count on a report from me when I return.

So, you may ask yourself what wedding photographers do when the season is slowing down. While all of us plan for next season, work on website designs and next year's business plan, some of us get together for some photo excursions. This was the case for Moshe Zusman, Ron Jones and myself in November. Since its so cheap to go from DC to New York thanks to Megabus ($17 each way!!), we decided to take a day and head to NYC. The plan was visit the photographer's Toys R Us, B&H Photo and just hang out around the city. We had a blast and had some great food at Mesa Grill! Below is some photographic evidence of the fun we had. These images were shot with my newest equipment purchase; the Canon 1D MkIII!! This camera ROCKS!! Love to have the new MkIV, but this one will do just fine. Thank you Moshe!! Enjoy!

Just in time for the holidays, PSQuared Photographic is proud to offer family portrait sessions through the month of December 2009. These sessions make great gifts for your loved ones can be shot at the location of your choosing. Send us an email by clicking on the "Email Me" link on your right with any questions.

You may not know, but PSQuared Photographic also offers youth portrait sessions. These sessions are perfect for Seniors as well as any growing child. If you are interested in reserving your time slot or have any questions, feel free to contact me through this blog. Just click on the "Email Me" link to your right. Below are some sample images from a session that we did recently of Alyssa. Enjoy!

This past Saturday, I had the opportunity to shoot Amber & Brian's Awesome DC Wedding with my buddy Moshe Zusman. While the weather was rainy and dreary, I had a blast capturing some of the perfect moments of the day for Moshe. Amber & Brian were awesome to photograph and were a blast to hang with as well. Thanks again to my friend for allowing me to come along for the day. The following images were produced by PSQuared Photographic for Moshe Zusman Photography. Enjoy!!