Imaging USA Stresses Need for Both Artistry and Profitability

Can I stay true to my artistic spirit and make money, too? That question tends to crop up in January, as you start analyzing the financial results of the previous year and figuring out how to do better next year.

For ideas on how to give your business a boost in 2010, check out the conference program planned for the Imaging USA Conference, Jan. 10-12 at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, TN. Along with sessions that focus on technical proficiency and photographic artistry, conference organizers have lined up sessions that explain how to differentiate yourself in a crowded market, sell new types of photo products, and fine-tune your marketing efforts.

The titles of some sessions speak for themselves. For example:

Standing Out from the Crowd-Guaranteed
Achieve Amazing Results Against the Odds
Facebook was Made for Photographers
The One-Two Punch: Rockin’ Images + Social Networking = Business Explosion
Take Your Studio to the Next Level
What It Takes to Make the Salary You Need: New PPA Financial Benchmark Survey
Stop Wasting Your Time: Mange Your Workflow
Creating the Red-Hot Wedding Studio

In a session entitled Standing in the Shallow End of the Pool and Looking Good, Parker J Pfister will suggest many ways to differentiate your studio, including new shooting styles, unique products, and sales techniques.

During a session entitled Making the Most of Your Talents, photographers Tina and Michael Timmons of The Portrait Gallery will discuss how to diversify your portrait business by photographing, manipulating, and selling customizable portraits as interior décor. As they point out in the course description: “Every home and business is an opportunity—each has a need for imagery to be part of their surroundings.”

In the class called A Cut Above, Julie Klaasmeyer will talk about custom wall art and ways to create a demand for products that are cut above your competition. In the workshop entitled Product Design: Plain, Simple, and Profitable, Allison and Jeff Rodgers will discuss how to present clients with photo product designs that work in their own personal spaces.

If you get burned out on business talk, you can attend inspirational sessions such as Where Have All the Artists Gone? and The Portrait as an Art Form. Other sessions will cover the latest trends and techniques in baby and children’s portraiture, wedding photography, and sports photography.

Plus, you can visit the world’s largest annual print exhibit, which will include more than 2,300 images from PPA’s International Print Competition.

The Imaging USA Expo will be held from 11 am to 4:30 pm on Sunday, Jan. 10 and Monday, Jan. 11 and from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm on Tuesday, Jan. 12.

One of the many new products you’re likely to see is Canon’s Studio Solution Software, which was demonstrated at PhotoPlus Expo in October. The Studio Solution is based on Express Digital workflow software, but incorporates Canon’s DPP plug-in for high-quality camera-to-printer output. Designed to enable anyone in the studio to run the printer, the Studio Solution consolidates scheduling, contracting, invoicing, image capture, ordering, minor retouching, and package printing in a single program. An online storefront enables customers to submit reorders and analysis tools let you see which packages are selling the best. The client-presentation interface lets you show how different size prints would look on a living room wall.

You can keep up with all of the plans for Imaging USA 2010 through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and the RSS Feed from the Imaging USA website.