Jeff and his wife, Allison, opened Allison Rodgers Photography in 2004, and in four short years their business has exploded!  Their growth has forced them to move four times, and they presently occupy a 3600 square foot building with six people on staff.  Since opening their studio, they have managed to double their sales each year and are presently regarded as one of the most profitable studios in the United States due to their design skills and marketing strategies.

After years as an Art Director/Web Designer for several agencies in Memphis, Tennessee, Jeff  took his vast computer knowledge to ARP.  Now he oversees all post-processing, file management, orders, quality control, online marketing via twitter, Facebook, and the ARPblog.  Of note, Type Pad, the largest commercial blogging software company, has featured Allison Rodgers Photography on its home page and has listed their blog as one of its Top 10 sites.

Because of his commitment to the idea of creating buzz with viral marketing, clients and peers really get to know ARP before they ever step in the door.  And they do create a buzz!  Just today Allison Rodgers Photography was featured on the front of Marathan Press blog for their work on the show Extreme Makeover Home Edition.

Now YOU can get to know Jeff a little bit more.  Jeff, thank you so much for taking the time to answer these questions, and I really loved what you had to say.   Oh, and thanks for the pennies (you’ll see when you read further).  We start off the interview with some critical insights:

Since you are a superhero in your mind you have to answer this:  Would you rather be able to fly, turn invisible or have the ability to read people’s minds and why?

Good question and an important one. If I turned invisible I suspect that would lead to way too much trouble on my part. Does the invisibility extend to my clothes? Might be awkward in cold climates. Reading peoples minds? That would be very cool but I don’t think my ego could withstand that level of brutal honesty. I would rather live in my fantasy world where my wife actually thinks I am a cutey and comic books are cool. Flying is definitely the best way to go. What better way of getting around than to fly?

LEARN:  What’s something that you feel like you’d like to learn more about, something you are continually learning?

Something I want to learn more about? Photography, videography, bookkeeping, running a business, teaching, speaking, social media, being a better husband and father, God, and maybe one day poetry. These are all things I want to always be improving on. Well, all of them except the poetry.  I can’t really back that one up.

I view photography from a Graphic Design perspective so the things that intrigue me are the more artistic design driven works–surreal photo illustrations, unique lighting techniques, innovative uses of composition and color. This is just what I am personally drawn to. When I was in art school the thing that influenced me the most was seeing the opening credits to the movie Se7en. Kyle Cooper (Imaginary Forces) designed them, and I remember sitting there in awe! It changed the way I looked at design. I have been thinking about this recently because of the hype over the 5D markII and all the talk about the merging of photo/video. I have a lot of photography friends who laugh when someone says “fusion.”(If you listen closely, you can here them laughing right now! )  I think that there is a way to make video more integrated with photography. You just have to be open to new technology and not dismiss new notions because it pushes you out of the little bubble of what is comfortable to you. I don’t know what the future holds for this. I believe it is something everyone needs to be at least familiar with even if it is partnering with someone knowledgeable who can offer this skill set.

What is something that you wish someone would have told you before you had to learn it the hard way?

A happy wife equals a happy life.

Oh, you probably mean photography related. OK!  Get software to track your business. It should be something that tracks your cost of sales, invoices, billing, client database, and some type of scheduling calendar. I don’t care how good you are at Excel spread sheets– that just does not cut it. Maybe it will work for the first six months, but the system you start out with needs to be flexible and able to be easily scaled up to accommodate your growth.  There are a lot of nice apps for this out there. We have been using Successware at the studio for 4 years and are happy with it.

GROW:  How have you grown in the past five years in your business, in your own personal quest for growth, in your awareness of the world around you?

We have grown a LOT over the last 5 years. People tend to get caught up in only focusing on shooting and not even thinking about all the other things you have to do in order to have a successful business. If you want to have a serious viable business that will be around for a long time, then you should join PPA and attend the IUSA pre-con meetings, as well as going to hear the platform speakers during the convention. This is the most cost-effective way of hearing all the big workshop speakers for a fraction of what it would cost to see them at workshops outside the convention. Shooting pictures is maybe 25% what is involved in running a business. Allison and I will be speaking at IUSA2010 in Nashville. I would love to meet all your readers there.

How would you recommend others grow—do you have a favorite marketing tip, workshop suggestion, or convention to attend?

My marketing tip is to get a free twitter account and put a twitter badge on your blog where your clients can choose to read what you are doing.  This tends to add more personality to your blog. You can even carry it a step further and make your twitter feed replace your Facebook status which again spreads your name around. Social media is a broad term, and people HAVE to understand it. Do you want your competitor knowing more about what the “kids” are up to than you?

SHARE:  How do you feel that you contribute to the industry?

I don’t know if anyone has noticed this or not, but I have been going around putting a penny on your front doorstep every Monday morning–just my attempt at getting all my photography buddies excited about the often maligned Mondays.  Beside the Monday morning penny treats, I enjoy speaking on Webinars, speaking at IUSA, and next year’s super secret multi city tour thing for a large non-profit photographer organization that I like a lot but I can’t really talk about that yet. I have been really pushing the whole social media thing for the past year. I feel it is just something that is here to stay, and it IS reshaping the old ways of marketing everyday. Investigate it.

Allison and I offer one on one phone consultations. It is called “He Said : She Said, The Creative Consult”. Consultation time is offered in 1 hour increments. Consults can be weekly appointments with screen share. Topics we cover: Viral Marketing, Shooting, Sales, Marketing, Post-processing and Studio Management.

What is something you would like to share with your follow colleagues?

Sort of playing one tune here BUT get on Facebook and twitter. Seriously, if you have a question, you ask it and in real time get answers. It’s really that easy. I was in a store the other day and ”twittered” a question about an off-brand battery for Canon. I immediately started getting friends’ opinions and ideas about cheaper places to buy them.

How can they turn around and do the same for others?

When you do get a twitter account, don’t just lurk around. Join the conversation, make it your own. This really applies to any of your favorite forums or online communities. Don’t be afraid of getting involved. Your opinion does matter.

Here are a few twitter playground rules to remember: Be nice, treat others how you want to be treated, use appropriate language, and don’t always be negative. Now, for my pet peeve.  When you reply to someone make a complete sentence out of your reply. I mean stop with the one word replies. How is that helpful for me to read?

Favorite charitable contribution?

A television producer friend of mine, Billy Roberts, has a charity that I am wanting to get more involved in. It’s called 5multiplied.

http://www.dropinthebucket.org/5multiplied

Excelsior!

Thank you Jeff!  I am already addicted to twitter and facebook, so I concur with everything you’ve said!  Join the conversation, people.   If you are looking for some help with your studio and want to bump it up to the next level, check out their consulting work here!

I really love Jeff’s perspective and the way that he sees life through his photography.  Check it out for yourself:

Seshu (say it like “say shoe”)is a documentary wedding photographer based in Connecticut, specializing in multicultural, ethnic and interfaith weddings in New England and around the world. He is happy to call himself husband to his beautiful wife, Sangeetha, and father to his two sons, Rohan and Ketan (seen below– aren’t they cute!?). Seshu was born in New York, grew up in India, then returned to go to high school and college in the US. His cosmopolitan perspective helps him bridge cultures and traditions for his clients, but his disarming and charming personality both online and off is what makes him a success.  

To put it in his own words, “Even the best equipment can’t guarantee a powerful image… for that me and my client, we need to, well, click.  Before I snap a photo — before I even pick up my camera — I get to know them, their family, and draw inspiration from the relationship we build.”  Seshu is all about relationships — he even names his blog.  His current blog, Saffron, is a bold red blog that colorfully demonstrates his Indian heritage.  Some of his work shown below are wonderful images of the grandparents in his family, another sign of how important relationships are to him, and how that spills out into his photography.

Most photographers feel like they have enough on their plate keeping their own businesses running, and I’m always impressed by those who take it one step further and use their talents for good to the community. Make sure you check out the Good Works article in this month’s issue of Professional Photographer magazine– you’ll learn all about Seshu’s charitable project, “Phases & Faces: The Kids of Connecticut” a portrait project designed to benefit Connecticut Children’s Medical Center.  The project will culminate in a Coffee Table book published by Seshu Photography in time for the Christmas Holidays!

Just reading Seshu’s Coffee Break will give you an idea of just how generous and thoughtful he is… his answers read like a blogroll with all of the connections and websites he shares.  I love his  advice as well…”Always seek to inform yourself. If it doesn’t help you directly, it may just help someone you know down the road indirectly…Look for ways to help people, with absolutely no expectation to get anything back in return.”  Well said, my friend, in the true spirit of Learn, Grow, Share of Jules Cafe.  Read on, you’ll be glad you did!

LEARN: What’s something that you feel like you’d like to learn more about, something you are continually learning? What is something that you wish someone would have told you before you had to learn it the hard way?

A: Other than lighting, it’s the business side of photography that I am continuing to learn about. I started out as a business major in college and a part of me wishes I had a business degree now. Instead, I graduated with degrees in History and American Studies, then spent two years in Japan trying to learn Japanese. Whether it is marketing, sales or accounting, there seem to be new ways to approach each one now and so I am “in school” perpetually trying to figure out what would make the best sense for my business. It is about adopting and adapting best practices because what someone down the road is doing will rarely work for your own unique situation. I think that’s something to remember.

GROW: How have you grown in the past five years in your business, in your own personal quest for growth, in your awareness of the world around you? How would you recommend others grow—do you have a favorite marketing tip, workshop suggestion, or convention to attend?

A: As I tell people, I don’t live in a bubble nor operate in a vacuum. I have a great many people to thank for either directly or indirectly bringing me to where I am today. Given the rapid growth in blogs, workshops, online seminars, podcasts and video posts, I have learned a great deal in the past five years. My lighting has improved a great deal thanks to people like Zack Arias (onelightworkshop.com), David Hobby (strobist.com), Joe McNally (joemcnally.com), The Wiebners (thewiebners.com) and of course the Digital Wedding Forum (digitalweddingforum.com). That’s the technical side of things.

On the business side, I have followed Dane Sanders (fasttrackphotographer.com), Laura Nowak (strategyavenue.com), Dave & Quin Cheung (dqstudios.com), Anne Ruthmann (photolovecat.com) and of course Jules Bianchi (thank you Seshu!). I also follow Anna Kuperberg (kuperberg.com), David A. Williams (davidwilliams-heartworks.com), Punam Bean (punambean.com), Huy Nguyen (f8studio.com), Carla Ten Eyck (carlateneyck.com), Brooks Whittington (brookswhittington.com ), David Murray (murrayphotography.com), Emilie Sommer (emilieinc.com) and Marc Climie (climie.com) for inspiration.

But there is another type of growth, the kind that is internal and that one rarely has the capacity to teach because the willingness to learn to become a better person comes from within. Four people who have influenced me in that regard are my friends Paul Gero (paulfgero.com/), David duChemin (pixelatedimage.com), Jesh de Rox (jeshderox.com) and Storey Wilkins (storeywilkins.com). They are just incredible at what they do because they approach their photography with such conviction and resolve.

There are various ways one could grow. The obvious are taking workshops, reading a lot of books, following a lot of blogs and simply getting involved in any photography related gathering near you. But it begins with having an open mind about it all. There are workshops I have attended that were at face value a rather waste of my time and money, but weeks or months later I had light bulbs go off that made it all worthwhile. Always seek to inform yourself. If it doesn’t help you directly, it may just help someone you know down the road indirectly. Extend your hand out at a party or gathering and introduce yourself. Carry your business cards and give them away at the right opportunities. Look for ways to help people, with absolutely no expectation to get anything back in return. Be there for a fellow photographer. I have learned quickly that this is a very small community and what goes around comes around … and fast.

One thing in common among all of the photographers (and those I haven’t mentioned) above is that they are all GIVERS. That might give your readers a hint about how to succeed in this business!

SHARE: How do you feel that you contribute to the industry? What is something you would like to share with your follow colleagues? How can they turn around and do the same for others? Favorite charitable contribution?

A: I enjoy connecting people or guiding them to the right resources. It gives me great satisfaction in knowing that I have helped solve someone’s immediate problems. It could be local or someone living on the other side of the planet. It doesn’t really matter. Stepping up, when you can, to lend a hand is perhaps the best thing one can do.

I grew up in a household where voluntary work was encouraged. With two kids of my own now, I wanted to put my skills to use to help Connecticut’s largest children’s hospital. So, I recently launched a portrait book project called Phases + Faces: The Kids of Connecticut. This was inspired by Tero Sade, an Australian photographer and Paul Gero, who I mentioned earlier. Both have connected with their communities and helped them raise a good deal of money for some very worthy causes. There is nothing stopping other photographers to define their goals, approach a non-profit of their liking and start producing images for that cause. It’s win-win-win for all.

I feel my contribution to the industry is still in its nascent stages. As an Indo-American photographer, I feel I understand both cultures and expectations well. When I am asked about Indian weddings, I am totally an open book. I am happy to share whatever I know. Down the road, I would love to teach and write a book about multicultural and ethnic weddings.

———————-
Thank you Seshu for your inspiring answers! I really appreciate the time you took to invest in Jules Cafe, and all of the photographers who visit here for inspiration. Make sure you check out Seshu’s blog for photographers, Tiffinbox.org. Seshu is trying to develop it as a go-to site for those photographers who are interested in South Asia. Recently Seshu was featured in a local article, and you can read more about him here.

And finally, in the spirit of sharing, here are two of Seshu’s favorite blog postings for you!

20 Giants of Photographic Lighting
31 Must Follow Photographers On Twitter

Seshu Photography
Elegant. Memorable. Real.
Website - http://www.seshu.net
Saffron – http://www.seshu.net/saffron
Twitter account – http://twitter.com/picseshu
Facebook account – http://www.facebook.com/seshu

p.s. I know a little secret about Seshu.  He really wants to photograph a wedding at the Oberoi Udaivilas in India, so much so that he’ll do it for free if you take him along!  So if you are looking for an amazing location for your destination wedding, and a photograher who can do the job… look no further.  :-)

Check out his amazing work here!

Although she calls Los Angeles home, Justine can be spotted working all over the US and sometimes abroad.  She has studios in both Los Angeles and Washington DC.  Many of Justine’s clientele come from the music industry, and you can see  Justine’s images in People magazine for her work on singer Lisa Loeb’s wedding.

One thing Justine is known for in the photography industry is her amazing method of portrait sales — she has developed an incredibly effective system for big sales with big projection, and is happy to share her secrets with colleagues.  Justine had gained quite a cult following on some popular photography forums with her willingness to share about her method of projecting portraits, and suddenly she was finding herself thrust out in the limelight with speaking requests and workshops!  A second generation photographer, Justine now hosts The Modern Portrait (http://themodernportrait.com) workshop alongside her mother, Diana Adams to share their projection-based sales system with other portrait photographers.

I started following Justine on twitter and we began a cyber-friendship before I ever met her in person, and by the time we met it was like we’d been friends for years.  Justine is incredibly talented, and really, just a cool person.

Justine recently learned what it was like to be on the other side of the camera when she became a bride in October of 2008.  Her wedding was photographed by Greg Gibson, a photojournalist on the east coast who has a great eye for capturing the moment.  Justine’s experience in planning her own wedding prompted her to create The Unbride (http://theunbride.net), a blog offering advice and inspiration for the non-traditional bride.  This season, Justine looks forward to spending a little more time at home with her husband and a little less time on JetBlue.

Make sure you check out Justine’s new site at  http://justineungaro.com!

I was thrilled when Justine agreed to participate in our Coffee Break series. I really like her advice about giving back to the industry, and that it will return itself to you even more.  I believe that — that is the concept of Jules Cafe! I think you will enjoy learning more about Justine in her thoughtful responses below.

Here are some fun facts to start off with:  When Justine was 13 years old, she got her black belt in Tae Kwon Do, so you’d better be on your best behavior around her!  Something near and dear to my sister Jules’ heart is the fact that Justine also has a furry baby in the form of little Oliver, her dog.  Ah puppy love.

Justine’s new husband works in television, so I asked her if she was going to be on any TV show, what would it be?

A: I probably know a little too much to answer this one honestly. But if I had to be in any show, I think I would want to be a judge on Top Chef or some other cooking show. I really enjoy eating so any sort of professional eating would be an excellent job for me if I wasn’t a photographer.

LEARN:  What’s something that you feel like you’d like to learn more about, something you are continually learning?

A: I’m always studying and trying to learn more about lighting. It’s one of those skills you can keep on adding to forever and if you continue to challenge yourself, it prevents you from getting bored with your own work. Because even if you do everything else the same, changing your lighting will completely alter the look and feel of an image unlike any other aspect of your shot.

What is something that you wish someone would have told you before you had to learn it the hard way?

A: I wish I had invested in more business oriented eduction early in my career. I feel like I was always trying so hard to grow as a photographer that I neglected the business part which is just as important.

GROW:  How have you grown in the past five years in your business, in your own personal quest for growth, in your awareness of the world around you?

A: Since I started out in this business a little over 6 years ago, the past 5 years have certainly been an enormous period of growth for me. The most dramatic had to have been my move from Washington DC to Los Angeles 2 years ago because I literally had to start a whole new business from scratch. So the past 2 years have been all about trying to establish a well-respected brand and style in an already oversaturated market that is full of incredibly talented photographers. That just takes some creativity on the business side.

I think that the network of friends and clients that I’ve built around my photography business has actually taught me a great deal about how small the world really is, how connected everyone is in this day and age. I learn from every client whether it’s a family celebrating a marriage or the birth of a new baby or just getting together for some portraits that when you take away all of the stuff, all you really have left is family…whether bound by blood or friendship. It really makes me feel even more deeply for my own family and how valuable they are to me.

How would you recommend others grow—do you have a favorite marketing tip, workshop suggestion, or convention to attend?

A: A favorite tip? I’d have to say that when it comes to photographing people, flatter them first. So many photographers these days are trying so hard to make a photo “cool” that they forget about making their clients look good which is sort of the whole point of portraiture for most people. A workshop? Well mine of course! For anyone wanting to make the jump to projection sales, I invite you to come hang out with us (me and my mother) for a couple of days and we’ll teach you everything about the portrait business that we learned the hard way over the course of many years. I also urge photographers to invest in at least one workshop or convention per year. I find that I need that in order to stay fresh and continue to move forward. I also attend the WPPI & DWF conventions every year, I think they are both well worth it.

SHARE:  How do you feel that you contribute to the industry?  What is something you would like to share with your follow colleagues?

A: Recently most of my contributions to the industry have been in educating other photographers through online forums, speaking engagements and workshops. I genuinely believe that when we share our knowledge with one another, we are helping to strengthen the entire industry and increasing the perceived value of photography in the eyes of our clients.

How can they turn around and do the same for others?  Favorite charitable contribution?

A: Since photographers tend not to have oodles of money to give away to charity, I suggest offering your time and talents instead. I donate portrait sessions to dozens of school auctions every year. A lot of the time I’ll get great new clients out of it but more importantly, I like the fact that I’m investing directly into my own local community.

***

THANK YOU Justine for your insights!  I really appreciate your taking the time to share.  Your thoughts about lighting, and about flattering your client first are dead on.  I also love your comments about appreciating your family.  I look forward to more inspiration from you in the future!  Now for the fantastic work of Justine Ungaro.  Visiting her home studio was a treat, since it embodies the cool vibe of Justine, and is covered with enormous canvas wraps of her clients.   Check out some of her amazing work below.  Justine is planning a move into a bigger studio space soon, and I can’t wait to visit!

Known simply as The Becker in photography circles around the world, Jules & I were thrilled when our good buddy Christopher agreed to be a part of our Coffee Break series.  Becker is a wedding photographer from Southern California who specializes in capturing relaxed portraits, amazing details and real moments for discerning brides worldwide. His unique gift for putting people at ease in front of his lens has helped him become one of the most sought after wedding photographers in the world.

Becker also co-founded www.thebschool.com which is a social referral network that helps photographers connect with their “competition”, exchange referrals, learn, inspire, be inspired, build their businesses and make more money. It’s only $10 per month for membership or you can check out over 150 videos for free on www.thebschoolblog.com

Becker has a personality that is larger than life, and a following on his blog that is the envy of many a photographer!  I’m so happy we are friends, and I always enjoy the times when I get to hang out with him.  I admire the way Becker pushes himself to learn, to grow, and to share.   No wonder Becker’s blog is so popular, he’s always got something new and interesting to share, and he is very real about it all.

Check out his blog post dated March 16, 2009.   Becker writes: ” I love my life… Between now and the first week of June, (that’s the next 80 days… go ahead, count it) I’ll be jetsetting around the globe for weddings, speaking engagements, workshops (teaching and attending), photographer get togethers, poker tournaments, photo field trips and a little fun and personal growth too. It’s going to be a crazy schedule but I’m really looking forward to it.”  Here are the places he’ll be heading:  Arizona, Santa Fe, Canada, Colombia, Denver, Sweden, Connecticut, Vegas and it all ends in Disneyland for his nephew Caden’s 4th birthday in June!

Way to go, Becker!  I’ll be keeping up with your travels from cyberland.  Thank you so much for taking the time to answer these questions for the Jules Cafe readers, especially with that crazy schedule you have.  I really appreciate it, and so do your fans.

LEARN:  What’s something that you feel like you’d like to learn more about, or something you are continually learning?

Being from California where there always seems to be a plethora of natural light, and I specialize in shooting in natural light, I often feel that I want to learn about using my flash more effectively. I’ve been dying to go to Zach’s One Light workshop, but it always sells out by the time I find out about it. Also, even though I think I have a pretty solid workflow, I am always looking to learn new tips and tricks to shave off precious time that I spend working on my images.  Lately I’ve also been learning quite a bit about video editing, Final Cut Express in particular. The industry is changing and I like to be on that cutting edge.

What is something that you wish someone would have told you before you had to learn it the hard way?

I do feel as if I figured out my workflow the hard way. Back in ’01, very few photographers were 100% digital and it was hard to find the answers so we just had to figure it out ourselves. People are lucky now because a lot of folks are sharing knowledge.

GROW:  How have you grown in the past five years in your business, in your own personal quest for growth, in your awareness of the world around you?

I always like to think of myself as growing. Once you feel you’re reached a place where you know it all, the game is over. Each year I love looking back at my blog and the previous years weddings. I feel like my work is constantly evolving and my business continues to grow every year. In fact, my goal each weekend that I shoot is to try to outdo the last wedding that I shot. I shoot several thousands of images each wedding and I experiment a lot. I am my own biggest critique and I am always critiquing my own work and try to figure out what I can do next time to make the shot even better. I just got home from  the Blend workshop in Sante Fe. I was truly inspired inspired by some amazingly talented photographers, Jose Villa, Jesh De Rox and The Image is Found.

How would you recommend others grow do you have a favorite marketing tip, workshop suggestion, or convention to attend?

The other part of growth that is important to me is growing my network. After all, it’s not what you know, but who you know. I love using Facebook to connect with my brides and their bridesmaids (a.k.a. my future clients). I also love the community that we are building at thebschool.com. I truly believe we are changing the way photographers are connecting on the web and feel as it is the coolest site on the net for photographers to connect, get referrals and share knowledge. julescafe.com is a close second!

SHARE:  How do you feel that you contribute to the industry?  What is something you would like to share with your follow colleagues?  How can they turn around and do the same for others?
Well, I feel like I’ve been doing a pretty good job sharing with the industry for quite some time now. Long before the [ b ] School or even my blogs, I have always tried to contribute through various online communities and I have also been active in connecting with my fellow local colleagues in real life on a regular basis. My message has always been it’s better to look at other photographers as referral sources than competition. That’s one of the major messages we are trying to preach over at the [ b ] School and people are really starting to catch on.

Thank you, Becker, for taking the time to stop by for a cup of coffee with us today.  I love what you said about trying to outdo yourself at every wedding.  You are always setting the bar higher, and the industry thanks you.  Make sure you take the time to check out thebschool and tell them that Jules Cafe sent you!

You can see that Becker is all kinds of fun…

Ah, a delicious Bianchi Sandwich with Becker.  He might have coined the term, I’m not sure…

Sara France, Becker, and the lovely Jules Bianchi

And finally, I want to give you a taste of the kind of work Becker produces.  This is a peek at some of his latest images.  Gorgeous stuff!

One photographer who has literally been shooting all around the world is the fabulous Gene Higa. Gene’s  engaging personality and beautiful photography has taken him to places across the globe as one of the industry’s premiere destination photographers.

Recently named one of the top 10 wedding photographers in the world, Gene Higa travels the world doing what he loves, photographing weddings near and far, and is one of the most sought-after destination wedding photographers today. Originally from Los Angeles, Gene makes his home in San Francisco, but calls the world his office. Gene has been commissioned to photograph weddings all over the world, including Spain, Philippines, Peru, India, Italy, Greece, Hawaii, Jamaica, Thailand, Brazil, Barbados, Mexico, as well as across the United States.

I was thrilled when Gene agreed to be our initial interviewee for this series, as I have always admired him and consider him a very good friend. Gene is always looking for the next big thing for his business, and for himself. He is constantly pushing himself to do better, and yet he also is very interested in helping his colleagues around him. Gene has an easy-going and friendly personality that just makes you want to hang out with him and get to know him more! His rise in the industry is not by chance, this photographer works hard at what he does and strives to be all he can be.

Gene, thank you so much for taking the time to answer these questions. I appreciate you and your honesty!

LEARN: What’s something that you feel like you’d like to learn more about, something you are continually learning?
Video. Since the birth of the Canon 5D mark 2. “Video”, is the buzz word in the industry. I have to be open to the possibility of incorporating video into my business. If I don’t do it now, I may fall behind the times in a year or two. The time is now for video to be a part of my business. I used video in my marketing plan several years and ago and I am glad I did. I always want to be on the cutting edge of technology. It’s important to my clients, the industry and my business.

What is something that you wish someone would have told you before you had to learn it the hard way?

Learning things the hard way creates integrity. I have always been a hard worker and have no problem failing at something. I maintain focus and find another way to achieve my goals. But, If I had to do it over again, I learned the hard way how to invest my money and take care of the financial part of my business. Everything is fine now, but that was the most important part of my business. How to make money, save it, and invest it.

GROW: How have you grown in the past five years in your business, in your own personal quest for growth, in your awareness of the world around you?

I grow every year. Maybe not taller, LOL, but I am very curious being. I ask questions, I listen and I learn from everyone I meet. You can learn something from everyone. Remember that. I have found true friends in this industry. I have always stayed true to the friendships I forge. I never forget that I photograph weddings for a living. That is not what defines me as a person. I will continue to create new relationships personally and professionally.

How would you recommend others grow—do you have a favorite marketing tip, workshop suggestion, or convention to attend?

Growing is simple: Be the most responsive to change, be fearless in your approach and be willing to fail.

SHARE: How do you feel that you contribute to the industry?

Photography is the one thing in my life that has been good to me. So I am good to it. WPPI changed my life over 5 years ago. Its time to give back what I have learned, things I have failed and give inspiration to others. The answer to that is Gene Higa workshops.

What is something you would like to share with your fellow colleagues? How can they turn around and do the same for others?

To always help one another. Don’t hold your cards too tight. Once you learn to give what you have and expect nothing in return, you will find that it comes back to you, 10 fold. There are no secrets in business and certainly no shortcuts.

Favorite charitable contribution?

My mom has in the past battled cancer. I have lost family member to this terrible disease. So a portion of my workshops income goes to the Susan G. Koman foundation.

Thank you, Gene, for taking the time stop for a cup of coffee with us today.  We really appreciate your time and valuable insight!  For further inspiration from the charming Gene Higa, check out the following links:

http://www.genehiga.com : web | http://www.genehiga.net : blog | http://genehigaworkshops.com : workshops

Gene is offering workshops around the world, so make sure you visit his website to get in on one near you! As you can see below, Gene’s workshops are not your average workshop!

Gene gets some love with a Famous Bianchi Sandwich!

Gene’s images have been featured in Grace Ormonde Wedding Style, Elegant Bride, Your Wedding Day magazine, Modern Bride, The Knot Weddings, and the last 15 consecutive issues of Destination Weddings & Honeymoons magazine, including landing the cover image of the magazine’s 2008 special issue. In 2007, The Knot voted Gene as the “Best of Weddings Pick” for Northern California. A WPPI platform speaker, he has been profiled in Rangefinder magazine, Photo District News and Studio Photography magazine. He is sponsored by Bay Photo Lab,Cypress Albums, Pickpic, Boda Bags, Albums Unlimited and liveBooks. Gene also teaches and shares his approach to shooting weddings with professional photographers across the country, inspiring a new generation of photographers to reach for the stars.  Be inspired! Here are some images of Gene’s stunning work: