A rather frazzled wedding photographer asked out aloud why her wordpress.com based blog/site was suddenly seeing advertisements that she hadn't approved. I quickly contacted her and let her know that because her site was (nameofherbusiness.wordpress.com) she was having WordPress dictate what goes on her site. What she has is a “managed” blog site. One easy solution would be to move to a self-hosted site.

Thankfully, there are ways to move your content over to a site that you have more control over. Also, if you are just starting out as a photographer and want to do it right, read on.

Full disclosure – not long ago, this site was hosted and managed by Typepad. In a future post, I'll go into more detail about why I moved from that managed option to a self-hosted solution.

I first came across this blog post: How To – Move From WordPress.com To WordPress.org. If that's a bit too geeky, check out the graphic below:

Like this infographic? Get more WordPress and hosting tips from Synthesis.

And, if that doesn't do it for you, you may want to sign up for this FREE 9-part course called Site Set-Up Kit. Produced by Wendy Cholbi and Pamela Wilson, it's targeted towards beginners and they promise that it will be jargon-free. Even though I publish this and other blogs using the WordPress platform, I signed up to learn something new.

Tiffinbox, for example, is a self-hosted site. That means, I pay to host it on a server owned by BlueHost.com [affiliate] and I get to decide on what gets published, including advertisements. When, not if, you start considering where to host your blog or your website, I recommend BlueHost as an option. They routinely rank high among website hosting companies and I have always found their customer service to be very prompt.

So, if you have a website or blog hosted and managed by say, Blogger, Typepad or LiveJournal, where you really do not have a way of controlling all of the content you see on your site, you should be going the self-hosted WordPress route.

Yes, there is a little bit of work involved in setting it up. So, if you have any questions about that feel free to ask in the comments section below. I am happy to help as best as I can, or, I will direct you to a resource who will address your concerns.

I just stumbled upon another blog post about setting up a self-hosted WordPress website by Michael Hyatt. Check it out too!

Portrait and wedding photographers, listen up! You have WPPI, Imaging USA and a slew of other conferences you can potentially attend year in and year out. While there is some merit in going to those events at least once to see what they are about, I wholly recommend you check out The Musea Gathering. It will take place from February 4th, 2013 through February 8th, 2013.

It's an event that promises to be free of hype, free of rockstars and free of gear talk. Can I hear an “Amen”?

Musea, as some of you already know is an online proofing site but Michael Howard, its founder will quickly correct me to say, “for now.” The man has all kinds of ideas of where the photography industry should be going, what photographers should be focusing on, how photographers can elevate their businesses without going broke and keeping it all real. In some respects, Musea is a kind of rudder on a very big ship. So, look for more under the Musea brand in the years to come.

In the 7 months I have been using the service, I have seen tremendous growth in its features. If you are looking for an online proofing solution that also has a strong “give back” component built into it, look no further. Musea supports Water.org and soon, photographers pursuing personal and meaningful projects. A full review of it is coming soon.

Before all of that can happen, however, Michael is very clear that Musea needs to grow without going into debt or become tied to a bee hive of investors whose only motive will be to milk the system for profit.

I spoke with Michael yesterday and he describes how an event he has called The Musea Gathering will help him achieve his goal to fully fund his vision and help a bunch of photographers grow their craft and or their business too. It's a win-win for all.

For more information about The Musea Gathering click here and if you are a photographer looking for an alternative to one of the standard industry conferences, please sign up right away. If you sign up for any of the workshops, the entry to the opening day and the day full of presentations is FREE. And there are so many wonderful photographers coming to Nashville, Tennessee to teach at this new event.

If my schedule will permit it, I hope to attend. I think I would really enjoy Spencer Lum's workshop. His Ground-Glass blog is a must-read for all photographers and has prompted me to rethink my business.

There are photo workshops you should attend and then there are photo workshops you should avoid. That's just a fact of life.

I have been to a great many of them and in a future post, I'll list them all. I've always been careful about picking the ones I've wanted to go to. The instructors are all typically working professionals, not professional workshop instructors. Each had something to teach me that I could incorporate in my business or craft immediately. Every instructor promised me their full attention and delivered on it. I of course did my research. I asked my peers through forums, Facebook and Twitter. I checked their websites, blogs, forum posts and their public persona. I took mental notes on how they explained topics. Were they patient with people or did they cut people off? Did they invite discussion and conversation or was it all about them?

The ones I chose to attend seemed like they would be a good fit for me at that time. They taxed my premium resources – time and money – but I chose to spend it because I was convinced I would be a better photographer or better businessman.

But in the past few years, I have read a spate of bad press by frustrated photographers attending workshops, produced by those with little experience and clearly “rockstar” motivations. In one workshop review, I read how the instructors made more time for the video crew filming them than the workshop attendees who had paid top dollar to learn from them. That's plain appalling.

Photolovecat, a blog I respect a great deal, has occasional reviews of workshops and their presenters. These are unbiased and not anonymous, which I think gives the feedback some credibility. So that's one place you can go to see how a workshop you may be considering fared in terms of meeting or exceeding or failing expectations.

FishEye Connect, run by Kristy Dickerson, is also a great place to research workshops. So check that site out too.

Today, on Twitter, I saw Gary Fong Tweet this:

Before you sign up for anybody's seminar or workshop, protect yourself with this and please RT tinyurl.com/garyfonginstru…

— gary fong (@garyfong_REAL) July 5, 2012

Gary calls it a “Disclosure Declaration” and it's for workshop attendees to send to their workshop instructors. Will workshop instructors fill it out? Can they handle the truth? Will workshop attendees forward this form to their instructors to fill out prior to signing up for a workshop? Hard to say how far this will go, but I think Gary is on the right track.

I suspect that the PDF Gary has started to distribute is either a part of his third book – “So You Want To Be A Rockstar Photographer” or it is meant to lead up to it. At this time, I don't know what the book is about and I haven't read Snaps or Accidental Millionaire: How To Succeed In Life Without Really Trying, his first two books. If you have read them, post a comment below and let me know.

What we need to get back to is a promise or a commitment from the teacher to the student – to freely impart information without bias, malice or agenda that will in the end be of benefit to those who have come to learn from them. When workshops are covers for flimsy work or shady business practices, credibility and trust for all workshop instructors suffers. Do you agree? Sound off below.

Would you like to see a Tiffinbox branded photography workshop? If so, what would you want it to be about? Go on, humor me!

As wedding or portrait photographers in business, we wear many hats. We are marketers one day, networkers the next. On some days we have sales and ordering sessions, on others we are busy coming up with blog posts or communicating with our clients. At our core, though, we strive to make images that mean something.

There are some things I know I do better than others. What I have no time or inclination for, I typically outsource. I'll confess when I was starting out, the draw of doing it all was much greater. I was convinced I could design my own website, business cards, logo and marketing materials. But I soon came to the realization that designing was simply not my forté. I know great design when I see it, but I can't say I know how to go about creating a concept or crafting it. So who does? Well, a graphic designer who has dedicated their life to that pursuit usually is the best option.

You can work with a graphic designer who will custom design your brand or you could opt to buy a template created by a graphic designer, that you can modify to fit your needs. The first option is an investment with great returns IF you know what your brand is all about and you are willing to stick to that brand for a few years. Downloading a template and changing it to fit your needs, however, gives you the flexibility to change things around as often as you would like, at a reduced cost. Just as there are a great many graphic designers, there are also a great many online options to download templates.

The one I have trusted to deliver the very best products is Design Aglow.

What makes Design Aglow special is that it was co-founded by Lena Hyde, a children's photographer based in West Palm Beach, Florida. As a successful photographer, she knows what works and what does not. She is also acutely aware of what the market (in her case moms) are looking for, in terms of products. In addition to offering design templates, Design Aglow has a bevy of sales tools (like their ProSelect plugins) for professional photographers and productivity applications to keep your studio's workflow in check. For a while Design Aglow was publishing a truly awesome magazine. Perhaps they'll get back into the groove again. The magazine, which is how the site got its start, showcases studios and leaders in the industry through in-depth interviews. I recommend checking out the first 11 issues of the Design Aglow magazine. I am hoping that one of their future issues will be dedicated to photographers who document multicultural weddings. [grin]

As you can tell I am a fan. Nothing more. If Design Aglow has an affiliate program, I am unaware of it, so rest assured this post has not been solicited, nor does it contain affiliate links. As a fellow photographer, I just thought you should give Design Aglow a look-see for your own studio's needs. The downloads are instantaneous and should you hit a glitch, the customer service is top-notch. They are quick to answer questions and engage with you through their very active blog.

If after reading my recommendation, you do buy a product through the Design Aglow site, please come back here and share with us what you bought and how you intend using it. Good luck!

Ever since Mark Wallace picked my name out of a hat to win a pair of PocketWizard Mini TT1/Flex TT5 units, I have been a fan of his.

Just kidding.

I always enjoy the way Mark teaches photography, especially lighting. His technical acumen about big studio lights or little on or off-camera speedlights is phenomenal.

While his YouTube channel is full of great videos explaining how he uses light, from May 18 through the 20th, he is going to be doing a bit of a brain dump through CreativeLive. So, sitting in the comfort of your home, you can tune in online to view Mark talk about Speedlights for FREE. On those days alone, it is a live event.

I have watched and bought several CreativeLIVE courses and they are all very well produced. Also, knowing Mark, I expect his attention to detail and his dedication to teaching to come through. What's truly awesome about CreativeLIVE is, as it is happening, you can ask the instructor questions or comment on what you are learning. You do need a Twitter account and the right hashtag to do so. If you enroll now for Mark's class, I am sure you will be emailed some instructions on what to do.

If you can't make the online event or the nightly re-broadcasting of the show, then you can buy the download for $99 – a small investment for your business or hobby. If you know the in's and out's of using your speedlights this course may not be a good fit for you. But if you are like me who wants to know all the functions, say, a Nikon SB900 provides, then I would recommend tuning in (hey, it's FREE) on May 18th, 19th and 20th.

If you miss Mark's CreativeLIVE presentations, you can hopefully catch him during one of his photography workshops this year. He is going to start in his hometown of Phoenix, then goes to Seattle, Los Angeles, New York, Dallas, Miami and Houston. Other cities may be added to the list. So, keep an eye out for that on his workshop site. Mark is offering 4 distinct workshops at each stop. Check them out! I hope to go to the ones in New York, unless of course, he decides to bring the workshop to Boston, or better yet, to Hartford, Connecticut.