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Web hosting can be defined by the depth of services it provides. This relates to concepts that range from a basic, free blogging page as supplied by your local IP service provider to a full featured and costly E-commerce web site.

Blog Pages

Web hosting in the manner of a Blog page is a limited but free Internet storage and data manipulation site. Blogs are established as sub-hosted web pages that are carried beneath the domain controls of a parent Internet web site. Though versatile in the nature and type of contents that they may contain, Blog pages are usually extremely limited in physical information storage space.

Here are some helpful hints for those of you who might have encountered some blogging terms and well, have no idea what do these words refer to:

What is a cPanel?

cPanel stands for Control Panel. The Control Panel is a software provided by your web host that allows you to manage your website. You use the cPanel to add content, remove/edit content, edit templates, and countless other website management tasks. Although this sounds like the perfect application to manage your website, some Control Panels can be hard to use. This is where the Tech Support comes in. A web hosting provider with good technical support can help you out with any problems you have regarding your Control Panel.

FTP and sFTP

FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. sFTP is the same thing as normal File Transfer Protocol except for the fact that it is built on SSL. FTP is a secure way to transfer larger files, namely web pages and web page code, over servers. FTP is used by most web hosting providers for transferring web site pages safely and securely. You don’t need to worry about sFTP versus FTP when looking for a web hosting provider; both FTP and sFTP are secure and will be smooth-running for uploading your files.

Free Web Hosting Services

Free Web Hosting sites come in just a step above Blogs. In concept, a free web hosting provider can supply clients with features similar to those of a fully functional, paid domain. However, numerous discouraging consequences are linked to a free web hosting providers. Without additional financial expenditure, the user’s web site will be limited in storage space and traffic flow. Furthermore, a web site that is parked beneath a free web hosting provider will suffer the same domain name characteristics as that of a blogger. Rather than being identified as “mydomain.com”, the web site will be identified as “mydomain.com.freehostingprovider.com”. Additionally, free web hosting sites often incorporate an html coding editor that effectively locks your web site into their hosting features. The greatest drawback to a free web hosting service resides in a requirement that the web hosting provider be permitted to post advertising units upon your web site.

Commercial Web Hosting Services

Quality web hosting services are not about overpaying. Compare prices. Cheap web hosting is not synchronous with poor web hosting. Seek out those reliable web hosting features and services that combine low costs, great support, and quality features. Here, beginning with basic necessities, is a breakdown of general commercial web hosting services:

1. Basic Web Site and Application Hosting. These are the fundamental resources needed to manage and display a website. For a flat monthly fee, the buyer is allotted a limited disk space, backed up by load balanced servers, and a dependable support team. The web programming environment will usually support any current web design languages;

2. Database Inclusion. For any form of intense data handling, a web site must have access to some type of SQL data manipulation features. This will usually come with additional storage space and some type of automatic backup and restore feature. Expect to pay more for this feature but remember that reliable web hosting quality can be found in a cheap web hosting service provider;

3. File Server Hosting Services. There are times when business owners lack the necessary time for dealing with file-server and web site activities. File Server hosting is a performance step below enterprise web service, yet it includes many like valuated features and at a lower cost;

4. Virtual Machine Hosting. Information exchange and the associated infrastructure place a huge demand for equipment and manpower. Virtual machine hosting permits a company to rent off-facility computer hardware and space.

Technical Support

When it comes to web hosting, using a hosting provider that provides good tech support is a must. As you might have assumed, a paid web hosting provider will be able to give you more dedicated tech support than a free service. There are exceptions to the rule, however. Researching and reading reviews of the web hosting provider you are considering(you might want to take a look on Just Host’s review here) is necessary to make a smart decision on whether or not to buy their service. Setting up your web hosting and implementing your website code can be very difficult without any help. Although relying on 3rd party tutorials is possible, it can be rather dodgy.

Benefits of Blogging

As you probably know, solid traffic comes directly from consistent, fresh content. While updating your site with new content and articles every day might not seem so hard in writing, finding worthwhile unique content every day for your site can quickly become quite costly. A great alternative to this is Blogging. Having a Blog on your website offers a platform for more informal, less “packed full o’ facts” writing. This means you can write your own fresh content every day easily, and not have to create new unique content every day.
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The phrase “It’s not always what you know, but also who you know” speaks loudly to those of us in the freelance community. We rely on word of mouth, referrals, and above all, our ability to network in order to grow our clientele. It is a stone cold, and sobering fact that without strong people skills, what we know can quickly become useless. But, talking to people is not a shared trait from one person to the next. For some of us, it is second nature to strike up a conversation with a stranger. For others, it can feel like a painful visit to the dentist’s office – you don’t like it, but it’s just something you need to do and you hope that there is something on the other end of the visit to make the situation less painful.

However, it doesn’t have to be this way. Good networking skills can be learned and obtained. A strong networker does not leave the house unarmed. They will carry with them practiced and perfected skills that will aid them in making their connections. Before you begin building your network, let’s go over what some of these skills are.

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The Art of Attitude

Attitude is the first and foremost an important skill that a good networker has to learn. That’s right, I said learn. It’s no secret that people are more prone to respond to, and ultimately do business with, happy and positive people. What is a secret however, is that these exuberant people, are no different than anyone else – they have just learned the art of attitude display. Attitude Display is a unique process of taking all of your emotions and inner dialogue and temporarily adjusting them to fit the current situation. The hard part is that, sometimes, this will mean having to put things like fear, anxiety, sadness, frustration, or anger on hold to be dealt with at a more suitable time. It takes time, patience, and a lot of practice to master. It is also, never easy. However, if learned, and practiced, then the art of knowing how to correctly display your attitude will become more natural you. Before you know it, you will be able to recognize the times when you will and will not, have to do this in order to grow your business.

Assignment: At some point today, ask yourself – ‘How am I feeling?’ then ask – ‘Do these feelings have anything to do with what I am doing at the moment?’, if the answer is yes, ask – ‘Are they effecting the situation in a positive way?’, if the answer is no, ask – ‘Can I put these feelings on hold to be managed later or do I need to address them right now?’. By asking yourself these questions a sense of awareness that is often ignored will develop. With that awareness, and the practice of adjusting yourself to fit, you will eventually master your own unique brand of Attitude Art.

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The Conversation Starters

Starting a conversation is the biggest stumbling block when it comes to networking. A lot of people have zero problems engaging in conversation once the ball is rolling, it’s just a matter of getting things going. The fastest way of doing this is by making your meeting all about the other person. This is basic psychology. Within all of us is a need to be noticed and liked for what we have to offer. And often, all you need to do to start a conversation is to pay a person special and positive attention and don’t try to sell them anything. By redirecting your focus to their world, regardless of your own, you will inadvertently make that person more comfortable about your presence. Once someone feels comfortable around you, the more receptive they will be to return the favor and make you feel comfortable around them. The key is not to expect anything in return and just let the conversation flow from that point. It’s much better to have them ask for your card, rather than you forcing it on them. Remember, the conversation needs to be natural and comfortable for both parties. If you find that you or they are struggling for things to say, then it’s best to politely excuse yourself and find somewhere else to be.

Assignment: Take a look at the next person you meet and see if there is something that you like about them. If there is, tell them, even if it’s completely random. Then wait to see if this begins a conversation, if not either walk away or just stop talking. This may feel awkward at first if you aren’t used to doing it, but the more you can get into the habit of giving out positive reinforcements at the start of your conversations the easier starting conversations will become.

If it’s a person that you see on a regular basis, see if you can tell them something that they have never heard from you before. For example try finishing one of these sentences – “I think that you are a really great at… and I like that about you.” or “It amazes me that you have the ability to… it’s such a great quality.” or “I like having you in my life because…” or “I think you are cool because…”

If it’s a stranger that you have never met try following your compliment with a question. For example try finishing one of these sentences- “Hi! That’s a cool …! Would you mind sharing with me where you found it?” or “I noticed that you have a really beautiful…. Would you mind telling me about it?”

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The Connection Hook

Networking is all about connecting people. It begins with finding a way of hooking your life to the life of another person and then builds when you can help that person hook to a new person. The resulting chain, is your network. The best way to do this is by sharing common ideas, experiences, or thoughts with another person. This kind of sharing then leads to the network connecting that we all long for. What most people don’t realize is that we do this every day with little effort. We just almost never realize that is what we are doing. From the basic “we are in the same location” to the more complex “we both like the same things” to the involved “we have a common goal”, people connect on many different levels at all moments of the day. All you need to do is to recognize it as it’s happening and then decide how the hook will be of the most benefit to you both.

Assignment: Make a written list of ten people you know well. Just put their names down. Once you have their names, go back and write next to each name what it is that majorly connects you to that person. Then, boil down each connection to one word that sums up the situation. Each one word summation is your hook. Check to see what hooks are repeating, and what hooks are unique. Then draw connecting lines between the folks that have things in common with each other. By doing this you will begin to consciously recognize where it is that you connect with people the most, and where your network can connect with each other.

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The Give & Take

Each successful network depends on a delicate and often intricate barter system of favors. The give and take balance you create between you and your network needs to be well thought out and carefully played out. Tip the scales too far in either direction and your network could fall apart before your eyes while you’re blinking. Be aware that the people in your network are not to be viewed as paying clients. Although some members of your network may one day hire you for a job, the beginning of each relationship must start out on common ground in order for it to build correctly.

Assignment: Make a written list of ten people that you would like to connect with. With each person, ask yourself what it is that you can offer them to aid them in their world. This could be things like introducing them to someone in your group, sharing a piece of helpful information, or even giving them a bit of assistance on their current project or business. Ask yourself – ‘Why would this person want to connect with me? How can my connection with them aid their business?’ Rate each answer on a scale of one to ten (ten being high, one being low) of how valuable you think this could be to that person.

Then, go through the list again. This time, write down what it is in their world that would help you out. Ask yourself – ‘Why do I want to connect with this person? How can my connection with them aid my business?’ Again, rate each answer on a scale of one to ten (ten being high, one being low) of how valuable this could be to you.

Then compare the numbers. If it seems like the give and take of the connection is evenly matched, then you know that is a great person to add to your network.

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The Follow Up Format

As any great networker knows, just making a connection with someone isn’t enough. You also need to follow up with that person and give them something to help them remember who you are and what you talked about. We, meaning the entire human race, are constantly meeting new people and taking new information into our brains. Without written or verbal reminders we can easily forget to show up in the lives of others. The Follow Up Format is unique to each individual freelancer, however it is usually a custom crafted routine. It can include a phone call, or an email, a hand written note, or even a quick face to face hello. Sometimes the follow up can even include a small token of appreciation. But, usually the Follow Up will include your name, the location of where you made your connection, the day or date, and a summery of what was said, followed by a sincere message of gratitude. Be polite, and be gracious. After all, no one person is required to like you, but your business may require it in order to survive.

Assignment: Try writing a follow up form letter or email and then save it. Think of this as a template. Leave certain sections of the letter/email blank, such as names, dates, and locations; but make sure to create a space for them to be filled in later. For example: “Hello <name>. I just wanted to drop you a quick note to let you know that I enjoyed talking with you on <date> at <location>…… etc.”

Also, make a list of things you can possibly “snail mail” to your top contacts. For example: postcards, a small photo, a gift card, a magnet, a sticker, etc. – making sure that all of these things have your contact information. These items can double as the above mentioned tokens of gratitude, as well as reminders.

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Remember, networking is the heart of your business and you need to keep it beating – no one wants their business to go into cardiac arrest.  The more you practice the above skills the more you will be able to build a strong and healthy network.

Yesterday, Twitter announced  that they are looking to hire a creative designer. I thought, how cool is that? I could work for one of my favorite companies! So, I click on the link and scroll through the list of requirements only to get a sinking, and all too familiar feeling in my gut. A quick glance back to the top of the job post confirms my frustration. “UI Designer” is the title. They don’t want a creative designer. They want a creative developer. And since I will forever be lacking software development skills, I am not that person.

DRAT! Foiled again by the muddy lines drawn around the ideas of what I thought my job to be.

Which brings me to the real reason of my frustration. By it’s simplest definition, a designer is one who will take an idea and turn it into a visual concept for others to see or use in their daily life. The problem is that “Designer” is a catch-all job definition and it can be applied to thousands of specialties in the creative field making the hunt for a job, or a job candidate to become extremely difficult.

It used to be that when you wanted to hire a designer, everyone knew that to be a person who was going to draw or create an image on paper. These were the people that never went anywhere without a sketch book just in case they needed to show a client a rough idea for their desired end result at a moment’s notice. Everyone on staff knew what it meant to hire a designer, and everyone looking to become a designer knew just what was needed of them in order to fill the job. Then along comes the Internet and suddenly nothing is what it used to be.

When you think about it, a website can really be defined as a piece of software. They move, respond to user input, and preform functions. And the more complicated ones, such as Twitter, require expert developers to keep them running. Can it be said that these developers are designing? Yes, it can. But what they do requires a set of skills and training that most traditional designers don’t have.

Yet, there is an assumption that resides within most companies that what they need – be it illustration work, print work, web graphics, web development, photo retouching, animation, 3D art, etc – falls under the umbrella of the word design and if you call yourself a designer, you had better be able to do all, or if not, most, of these things. And we, as a creative community, will bust our brains and butts trying to live up to this assumption out of fear that we might miss out on our next paycheck if we don’t.

I think it’s time that we began to separate the words designer and developer and get everyone on the same page as we once were. Let’s stop over using this umbrella of a word and start to really call it like it is. I know – easier said than done. But if this could be done, then a lot of us could quit wasting our time or energy on something misleading. If you are a company that is looking to hire, or an individual looking to be hired – wouldn’t it be nice to begin the communication with clarity?

As for my identity crisis, well I’m just your average “Brand Identity Artist/ Web Graphic Creator / Instructor / Consultant / Author” in need of work. In other words, I’m a Designer. What are you?

The advice I gave then, is starting to bother me now.

While I still feel that it was good advice to tell people to get involved in design communities and establish a solid network of like-minds around you – the advice is incomplete. I now realize that it’s not enough to say “go out into the world and meet people” – that idea could lead to a panic attack. What might really be more helpful is telling you who those people might be.

So, in order to help complete that thought, below you will find a list of creative communities that I feel are worthy of checking out. Some are design communities, some are photography communities, some have forums while others do not, but each has it’s own system of connecting with people and a few will open doors to even more communities.

My hope is that the list will help you find your village. And when you get there, please be nice to the designated Idiot – every village has one, and it’s always better to have them on your side.

——— click the pics below to learn more about these communities ———

One Eyeland

Graphic Design Community 2.0

Graphic Artists Guild

Photographers Guild

Operation Photo Rescue

Planet Photoshop

Adobe Community Professionals

Meet Up

Blellow

deviantART

Geek Girl Camp

Amateur Illustrator

Lightroom Forums

Adobe Developer Connection

Camera Dojo

]]> http://designbyfirgs.com/blog/2010/06/it-takes-a-village/feed/ 1 http://designbyfirgs.com/blog/2010/05/interview-corey-barker/ http://designbyfirgs.com/blog/2010/05/interview-corey-barker/#comments Wed, 05 May 2010 20:14:19 +0000 Firgs http://designbyfirgs.com/blog/?p=4122 Hey all! After PSW, the NAPP team got super busy with the release of CS5 promoting it and developing their live webinars to show all of the new and totally killer features. If you didn’t get a chance to see them, click the link, you still can! And if you do watch them, you will get to see Corey Barker take 3-D to a whole new level. He, in my eyes, is the next Bert Monroy and a true leader of innovation. He’s also, just a fun guy!

I am pleased to give you the man himself…

Corey “The Laddy” Barker

click the pic to visit Corey’s website

1. What’s a typical day like for you at NAPP HQ?

Well first of all there is no such thing as a typical day here at NAPP HQ. Working for Scott really keeps you on your toes. You just never know when he’s going to show up with the next big idea or project. To be honest, I thrive on the spontaneity. Not knowing what’s coming is rather exciting. Some people like working in a structured, corporate environment. I just couldn’t handle it. Part of being a creative involves a huge element of the unexpected and we get that almost every day here.

2. How did you come to work for NAPP?

I had been a NAPP member for quite a few years and even attended about half a dozen PSWs before joining the team. I always thought it would be so cool to do what these guys did. Then one day on the NAPP member page there was a short video by the Photoshop Guys announcing an open casting call for the next Photoshop Guru. At the time I was thinking, “this is my shot” but I was reluctant because I thought I wasn’t really good enough. So I spent an entire weekend and put together a whole portfolio presentation and sent it off. I eventually received an email and was asked to interview with Scott at PSW in Las Vegas since I was attending anyway. It went so well that I was too excited to attend any of the sessions for the rest of the event. I got the call about a week and a half later and the rest, as they say, is history!

3. Before you were NAPP staff, you would spend time in the NAPP Forum Battlegrounds – if you had time to take someone on in a Photoshop battle now – who would you want to be your opponent and why? -from a NAPP Forum Member

I would probably say either Bert Monroy or Felix Nelson. Those two are a couple of the very best digital artists I have ever seen. Would I beat them? Probably not, but I would learn so much more along the way!

4. When you first started, who inspired you the most? Who inspires you the most today? Why?

Well as I said earlier. Bert and Felix are two huge influences on me now. But when I started I was greatly influenced by Scott Kelby’s early books and even the WOW book series back when Jack Davis was doing them. I also learned a tremendous amount from Ben Willmore. This man bleeds Photoshop knowledge. Today these same people inspire me but as I have matured as an artist I start to seek my inspiration in things like movies, TV and web. There are so many ideas in the world, all you need to do is stop and look around.

5. Being the Photoshop Laddie has brought a certain amount of fame to you- are there times when you want your anonymity back? If yes, when & why? -from a NAPP Member

No, not really. The fame hasn’t really reached the point where it’s become annoying. In fact the only time I have been recognized outside of an industry event (i.e., PSW, seminar, etc) was one time when I was at the Apple store here in Tampa and someone noticed me and asked if I was Corey Barker from Layers TV. It’s weird when someone knows you but you have no clue who they are.

6. Are you currently working on a book? If so, what is it about and when is it going to be out? -from @StudioDee via Twitter

Actually, I am currently working on a book that is a collaborative effort among several other authors, one of them being Bert Monroy, on 3D workflows in Photoshop CS5 Extended. We are each contributing a chapter to the book. Due out mid-late summer 2010. Other projects are in the works.

7. What is your favorite part of the Photoshop World Conference?

The entire conference is my favorite part but, to be specific, I love when people walk up and show me samples of their work that employed a tutorial or technique they learned from me. It’s really gratifying and impressive to see how creative people get. Oh, and I love Midnight Madness. So much fun!

8. Is there ever a time when Photoshop is not open on your computer? What programs are usually open on your computer? -from a NAPP Forum Member

I always am running Photoshop but I also run Illustrator, Safari, Mail, iTunes, Quicktime Pro, and Bridge. These are the apps that are running on my machine 95+% of the time.

9. If you could swap places with any other NAPP staff member for a day, who would it be and why?

No one, all these guys are crazy! LOL! That’s not true. If I had to choose I would say probably Felix Nelson. I’d like to get inside his head and get a handle on his creative thought process. We are all unique in that regard but I’m curious how a fellow artist sees the world.

10. If you had kids or pets, would you name them after Photoshop filters? If yes, what would you choose to name them?

No, I love what I do, but having a pet named “High Pass” is just asking for ridicule. I do have a cat named Blue. Don’t ask where that came from.

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A big Thank You goes out to Corey for taking the time out to answer these questions in the middle of the PSW/CS5 madness and adding to the NAPP interview series.

So what are some of the top things we do that make us so hazardous? When I asked myself this, I could think of five right off the bat.

Number 1: We Design Our Work To It’s Death

I encourage people to play with their designs and see if they can take them a step further. I believe it can help a designer to grow and expand upon their skills and ideas. The problem with this is that all too often this can lead to the “Is it done?” syndrome. Signs that you are beginning to experience “I.I.D.S.” include a slight elevation in blood pressure, a sudden accumulation of large amounts of files or layers, destructive editing, saving without thought, and a total loss of time tracking. If you don’t realize that you are suffering from the syndrome before it’s too late, the end result is Design Death – killing your design so that you can start over from scratch.

Sadly, there is no cure for “I.I.D.S.”. Every designer gets it at one time or another. However, there are ways to ease the troublesome side effects. If at any point you feel that you are beginning to experience symptoms, stop working on the original file and make a copy of your current design – save the copy, close it, and go back to work. This way, should you reach the point of Design Death, you will be able to resurrect your work from the point before everything went wrong.

If you are a frequent sufferer of “I.I.D.S.” then I recommend investing in a history tracking program like Flow from Gridiron Software. No design deserves to die.

Number 2: We Attempt Things We Have No Business Attempting

A big part of design is experimentation. We have to try new things on a regular basis because if we didn’t, technology and our clients would fly right by us and on to the next person. However, like #1, although this is a good thing and something I encourage, it can also lead to trouble.

There are times when a freelancer will either fall into a rut, or try to score a new client and they will take on a job that they have no experience with, and ultimately don’t know how to complete. We do this because we have high expectations of ourselves, we have bills to pay, and more often that not – our egos can get the better of us. Either a photographer will attempt a designing job, or an image designer will attempt to code a website or program, or someone will do someone a photographic favor. I call these projects “valuable lessons.”

During that time we will quickly learn what we are good at and what we aren’t. And when I say “quickly” I’m talking at the speed of light. The trick is to recognize the good, the bad, and the ugly before it’s too late. Just after the time when you can recognize any of the sort, or the fast that it’s too late and all Hell is breaking loose, is when you learn your valuable lesson.

For the most part, we need to remember to stick to our specialty, but it would be really nice if some projects just came with DANGER written on them.

Number 3: We Undersell Ourselves and Our Work

In my opinion, this is one of the worst things we do as a freelance community. I don’t know what it is, but there is something that makes us blind to our real worth and value. Part of it, I think, is due to the ever growing popularity of the design field. We think that by offering the best value we will be able to wipe out the competition. Another part could be that we are often bombarded with stories of clients that just don’t want to pay what we are charging – which in turn makes us lower our rates.

The problem is, that each time we lower our rates, we are sending out a message to those around us that we aren’t worth much of anything. It’s not a loud message. It’s actually one that goes unheard for months and months until our business represents a virtual ghost town and we are wondering what went wrong.

This is one hazard that I wish we could put a permanent stop to. We need to start believing in ourselves and insist on getting paid what we are worth. Two books to help with this are “Get Paid What You’re Worth” by Robert Pinkley and Gregory Northcraft, and “Getting To YES!” by Roger Fisher and William Ury. Invaluable resources, both of them.

Number 4: We Teach Our Way Right Out Of Jobs

Did you ever have a client that said “Oh that’s cool! How did you do that?” and without thinking you instantly showed them every step? Next thing you know, your client stops calling you because you did such a great job teaching them, they don’t need you anymore. This is a huge problem and it’s a hard one to figure out. At the time, you don’t want to be rude, you want to be helpful. This is your client after all, and a happy client is a good client.

But, giving away all of your tricks is just not a good idea. You have to learn to be a bit evasive when you are happily explaining what they want to know. For example – I get the “How did you do that” question on a regular basis about the illustration work in my portfolio and especially my marbles or glass work. My typical response when this happens is a generalization of how I started, and then I’ll list the names of a few filters or layer styles that I used along the way. But I’ll always keep the conversation light and short and then thank the person for their interest and compliments. This makes them happy because I did give them an answer, and it makes me happy because my work stays a bit guarded.

Number 5: We Loose Faith In Us

For me, this is cyclical. When the jobs are rolling in I feel on top of the world. I think I’m great and awesome and my faith in my work is unbreakable. It’s as if I could sell ice to a penguin if I had to. However, if jobs are few and far between, I’ll instantly turn the blame inward and beat myself up for it. Suddenly, I’m a no-talent hack inside my head and when I think about it now, I realize just how silly this is. Did my skills change overnight? No. Did I get hit on the head and forget everything I know how to do? No. I just momentarily lose faith in me.

I’ve noticed that I am far from alone in this particular area especially and it’s the number one reason why we don’t do as well as we could. I admit that keeping faith is hard, but we need to remember that there are reasons why people did and do hire us. One thing we can do is to keep a record of the nice things people say to us when we are “selling ice to penguins”. That way, we will have something to remind us that we are great and that we need to hang on to that faith so that we can continue to sell our services and designs. It’s not a major thing, but it can have a major impact.

Another thing we can do is that when we are feeling low, is to stop thinking about us and instead give props to others. I did this one night. I was feeling low and annoyed because the two clients that I thought I had, suddenly evaporated in the same day. I was mad and didn’t know what to do about it. Then out of nowhere, I got this crazy idea to just pick a bunch of random people in my network to tell them the positive things I thought about them but never really said out-loud. In a matter of minutes I was on cloud nine. I felt amazing! And what’s better is that so did the people that I talked to. It not only helped me keep my faith, it helped them keep theirs.

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I know there are more hazards in our lives, but these were the first that came to my head. I would like to encourage whoever is reading this article to add a comment or thought below to tell us of your own hazard and how you are learning to grow. I think the more we talk about our hazards, the more we can stop yelling at ourselves in the mirror. Because really – what good does that do?

I had met V before because I had attended several Photoshop World conferences in the past; and as anyone that has attended a PSW knows, you can’t escape meeting him. Either he will find you, or you will find him. It’s just the way it works. But, although I knew him, I had never really hung out with him on a one-on-one basis. Watching him at the conferences was like watching a social butterfly flying around the room at the speed of a hummingbird’s wings. In other words – a total blur. But, everywhere he went, he was greeted with smiles and left the person, or group of people, grinning even bigger. It was marvelous. So few people that I knew of could have such an astounding and positive effect on those around them like V could. To be around that kind of energy made my own smile grow bigger. So when V asked me to come get a taste of his new adventure, I instantly said yes! I couldn’t wait.

And I continued to smile and feel excited right up to sitting down at his kitchen table only to hear Michael describe to V what kind of photo shoot he wanted to pull off…

“Sunrise?” I gasped, suddenly remembering all the times I had gone without sleep the week before due to the PSW conference we had all just come from. “You want to shoot at sunrise? Really?” I couldn’t get my head around it. I am not now, nor have I ever been, nor do I think I ever will be – a morning person. The thought of getting up before the sun was not my idea of a good time.

But, I was in it for the adventure. This, I knew, was a once in a lifetime event. So, I just shut up, kept my lack of sleep grumbles to myself, and tried to get to bed early the night before – which ended up being sometime shortly after midnight. I snuggled into bed, closed my eyes, and the next thing I know there is V standing over me in the darkness.

“Firgs, don’t get up. It’s only 2am. I just wanted to check on you. It’s ok, go back to sleep Firgs.”

Hummm… was I buying this? Groggy and not awake yet, I rolled back over because V had already left the room.

One minute later, he was back, with Michael right behind him. Both of them were now running around the bedroom – “Firgs! Get up! You over slept! We’re running late Firgs!!! Come on Firgs, get up! Get up! We’ve got to go pick up the model and we’re late! Firgs! Come oooonnnn!!!”

I contemplated killing the both of them. But it was hard to plot their deaths because I was laughing so hard. It was hilarious. They were like two puppies that were just over excited and couldn’t wait to see you and have you go play with them out in the great big wide world. The fact that I had only gotten 3-4 hours of sleep didn’t matter anymore. Their energy and excitement was contagious. I think I may have actually sprang from my bed and I couldn’t wait to follow them out the door.

We picked up our model, a lovely and beautiful woman that, naturally, was a friend of V’s. She was not a morning person either, but I noticed that she was also smiling through her rough snarky jokes about being awake before the sun. She was loving this just as much as I was. We were eager to see what this morning would bring.

We packed up the car and headed to the beach where we set up. I was appointed “Official Light Stabilizer” – meaning I was to use my whole 5’3″ body to keep Michael’s 7’4″ and very expensive light from crashing to the ground due to the high winds the early tide was bringing in. At one point, while I was standing there, bracing that light for all I was worth, V came by and put a camera around my neck. “Shoot with that, I’ve set it up for you, you’ll be fine.”

Feeling a huge gust of wind at that same moment almost knock me and the light over – I wondered if V was just a touch out of his mind. I didn’t have much time to think about it though. The sun was coming up and our model had changed into her dancing costume and was already gracefully moving along the shoreline with the ocean crashing behind her. When I looked up, I had to catch my breath. It was one of the most beautiful scenes I had ever witnessed. Somehow, I managed to fumble well enough to get the camera on, continue to hold and brace the light, and click the shutter.

For one morning, Vanelli had turned me into a photographer. It was a moment that I will never forget.

When we got back to Vanelli’s house, we eventually ended up huddled around the computer in his den talking about the days events and what we wanted to try next. It was then that I spotted an overly large stack of business cards. At guess, I would say there were at least 150 to 200 of them – all different, and all with hand written notes on them. When I asked V about them, he mentioned that they were all from the conference the week before. My eyes went wide. “What do you do with all of them, how do you keep track of all those people?”

“It’s easy. When I get their card, I’ll put a note on each one to remind me of what we talked about or what they looked like, and then I’ll come home and email them all.”

I was impressed, and humbled. I too had collected cards throughout the week, but I never really thought about what I was going to do with them when I got back. Outside of all the photography lessons I had received that day, I was learning a few more. How to correctly network, and how to really invest in others as a human being. The social butterfly was now a very impressive business man in my eyes.

My mini-vacation with V was, in the end, empowering, the most fun I’d had in a long time, and the word ‘amazing’ doesn’t even begin to cover it. If you get the chance, do yourself a favor, photographer or not, go on an adventure with V. You’ll never be the same again.

Once upon a time there was a happy freelancer.

One day, a stranger approached that happy freelancer and began to tell them how awesome they were and how much their work was loved. The freelancer, began to smile and blush at all of the attention and flattery. As the stranger continued, the freelancer began to feel alive and excited about this new person in their lives. They wanted to help them and make the stranger feel as just good. So when the new stranger said “Will you please come to work with me?” – the freelancer without a second of thought was ready to agree never once questioning what kind of payment they would receive because they were already feeling so great.

Once the freelancer began to work with the stranger, who now felt more like a friend, the freelancer began to realize something was wrong. That feeling that had made them agree to the project in the first place was fading away and something else was filling it’s place. It was a nagging sensation. One that began to slowly eat away at the freelancer as each day of the new project progressed. Before long, the nagging sensation turned into one important concrete question – “Why am I doing this?”

Before long, our happy freelancer had changed into an angry freelancer and was filled with resentment and darkness. The stranger client became very confused by this and also became filled with resentment at their freelancer’s new behavior. Eventually, the relationship between the freelancer and the stranger ended with a great big mess of emotions and cut losses. And each of them walked away.. alone.

Sound familiar?

If the above story made you cringe with memories, don’t worry. You’re not alone. Being approached by a new client is in itself flattering. Flattery is not only a wonderful part of living the freelance life, it’s also a major motivator. Many of us wouldn’t do what we do without flattery being part of the freelance package. The more awesome we hear we are, the more we will begin to feel awesome and that will then push us to create new and wonderful work that we can be proud of. This motivator is true for anyone, not just freelancers. The only problem with it, is that the feelings that result from the flattery never seem to last very long and can only carry us so far. Also, if we were to try calling our bill collectors in the hopes of paying them with flattery, I would be willing to bet that we wouldn’t get very far. But before you get too carried away with this sudden ego boost, you need to do one thing.

Start Your Negotiations!

Every project, big or small, should always start with a negotiation conversation – and preferably a documented one. It is the cornerstone of any successful design project and it’s your job as the freelancer to get the process started. It keeps everyone on the same page and helps to keep confusion and mixed emotions to a minimum. In the beginning, your client will most likely give you a general idea of what they would like to hire you for, but hidden within that generalization are lots of details that you will need to know about. And you find out those details through a negotiation conversation.

Start with an assessment of your new clients needs. In other words, ask lots of questions! Get to know your client and their project by asking about them, their company, their target market, their long term goals, their short term project goals including deadlines and budgets, and most importantly their expectations of you as their employee. Taking the time to do this will give you more control over the situation because within this assessment you will learn if this is a good job for you to be taking on.

Once you have this information, you can then begin to assess your part as the freelancer. Take into account how much of your time will be spent on the new project, your skill level and how it relates to achieving the final result, do you have the equipment/talent needed to complete the project solo or will you need to bring others into the deal and will you need to charge extra in order to do so, how much interaction you will need to have with the client and how that relates to “on” or “off the clock” time, and most importantly, how this project/client relationship will benefit you and them long term.

Then, once you feel like you have a good grasp of the situation – begin to banter. Throw out your first offer and see if they come back to you with a counter offer. In your first offer, don’t forget to include your expectations of them as your client. If you need them to provide something, by a certain date and time in order for you to complete the project – tell them this. If you shut off your phone or computer past a certain hour – tell them this. If you expect to maintain rights to discarded designs, or expect written referrals, or credit after the project is over – tell them this. By including your expectations you are setting clear messages of limitations to your client, and believe it or not, your client will respect you for this. They want a happy freelancer because a happy freelancer means a successful project.

Don’t forget – this is a partnership – not a dictatorship.

Neither one of you outweighs the other on the ego scale, so don’t let the flattery blind you. Your new relationship needs to come with a give and take flexibility and both you and your client need to be able to meet in the middle. It’s the negotiation process that will help you get where you want to be.

And then the happy freelancer was seen walking side by side with their new and happy client into a beautiful and bright future.

Because of that I am pleased beyond “punch” to give you…

Scott “Approved by Chuck Norris” Kelby

(click the pic to be taken to Scott’s blog)

1. We all know that you have a lot of things that you do- but have you ever counted all of the “job hats” that you wear? How many are there? What’s your favorite?

I think I have nine jobs (I only know because we always make the joke “Nine jobs—no sleep”), but actually I do get a decent amount of sleep—mostly when I’m driving.

My favorite hat is live instructor. I love to teach live seminars and the chance to meet other people who are as passionate about this stuff as I am. I also love the whole planning and execution of Photoshop World. It’s about the most fun “work thing” I get to do all year, but calling it work is a bit of a stretch. It’s more fun than anything else.

2. How do you plan your day? What are the secrets to your multi-tasking skills? -from @StudioDee via Twitter

I must look a lot more efficient and organized on the outside, than what really is on the inside. When anyone talks about me being organized, my assistant of nearly 8 years (wonder woman, Kathy Siler) just cracks up. She keeps a lot plates in the air so I have the time to do the writing and speaking gigs, along with sneaking in photography and travel when I can. She pretty much keeps me on track, but from what I’ve been told it’s a bit like herding kittens.

The one thing that takes a lot of time is writing book, and I kind of get in a “zone” and turn the rest of work out and just keep my head down on that. During that time, I don’t answer emails very quickly and I’m hard to reach by phone, but it kind of has to be like that because I’m easily distracted (Oh look—-shiny object!)

3. Pointy, choppy or jazzy? Explain them and then pick one and tell why you chose it. -from Erik Bernskiold via email

The Pointy, Choppy, and Jazzy things are what Photoshop User TV viewers have called my hand gestures. When we first started the show, I would sometimes make a pointy gesture toward the camera. Well, I did until someone wrote in, enraged that I was pointing all the time, and really let me have it. The problem is—that only eggs us on, so the next show, we all started pointing at everything, and now it’s just part of us.

Same thing with choppy. I changed to using an open hand to gesture (apparently I gesture a lot with my hands). I thought it was be safe to do the open hand gesture, and then people wrote in that they couldn’t watch the show because of all the “chopping” Scott is doing with this hands. I’m not making this up. So, it became a chop-fest, and it still is to this day from time to time, but overall I had to try and hold back the chopping.

“Jazz Hands” is really a Matt thing. He did it in a show and now he’s adopted it. So if anyone makes a gesture anything like it, Matt looks at us and says, “Did you just do jazz hands?”

Now, of the three—-I’m a choppy guy myself. I miss that one.

4. In the Digital Photography book series, you talk a lot about getting tack-sharp images out of the camera, yet I always hear you say on Photoshop User that all images need to be sharpened. I’m confused. What is your definition of sharp? -from Danelle via the comments on DesignByFirgs

My definition of sharp is—an image that is really sharp in the camera, and then made even sharper in Photoshop. You always need to add sharpening to every photo after the fact in Photoshop. Those two together make tack-sharp images, but if the image isn’t pretty nice and sharp in the camera, Photoshop won’t make it tack sharp. It can help, but you need both pieces—in camera, and in Photoshop, to create that stunning sharpness we’re all looking for.

5. Where do the ideas for the tutorials come from? How do you decide what gets used and what gets tossed? - from Wargy, a NAPP Forum Member

We’re each responsible for coming up with our own tutorials, so we’re always on the lookout for what’s happening around. What are other Photoshop users doing right now? What’s happening in popular design—in photography—in compositing, then we try and figure out: (a) how it was done, and (b) how to simplify it. If you don’t mind spending a few hours—you can do anything in Photoshop, but we see our job as making Photoshop accessible to everyone, so we always try to find an easier, faster way to do everything.

The job of finding which tutorial is both extremely fun and sometimes extremely frustrating. It’s a blast when you come up with an idea, or someone sends in an idea for a tutorial, and you can totally nail it. It’s frustrating when you’re on a deadline and don’t have a killer tutorial. That’s when it gets tough. We only want to put our best stuff out there, and so we’re constantly on the hunt for new ideas, especially when we get stuck.

As for what gets tossed—we pretty much make that call individually. Every once in a while, one of the guys will come in my office (or I’ll go to theirs) and we’ll show a finished project and ask “Whatdayathink?” If it doesn’t get a “Hey how’d ya do that?” we usually know we need to go back to the drawing board.

6. What is your favorite part of attending PSW?

Meeting all the people face-to-face that we do all this for. So much of our job is creating content that goes out to people, that it’s a real kick to actually meet these folks in person. This is going to sound kind of silly, but the people who come to Photoshop World are by-in-large really, really nice people. I’ve met some incredible people and have become friends with folks I’ve met at the conference. There’s a real sense of “We’re all in this together” that permeates the conference. You can feel it, and it rubs off on everybody. I’ve never had an experience like it (ask anybody that’s been to one).

7. What do you envision as the future of PSW – say 3 years from now?

Well, Photoshop World has to change as our industry changes. Right now we’ve been adding a lot more content for photographers, and we’ve been able to bring in some new faces, like Zack Arias for example this year, and I think you’ll see us evolving and growing the show in new directions based on where the industry is going. The conference has to mirror what’s happening out there, and it always has. Having fresh new content, instructors, techniques and of course a new Photoshop every 18 months doesn’t hurt.

8. Scott, do you ever give yourself time off? -from ecaps1 via Twitter

All the time. I take about six to seven weeks vacation a year with my family, but since my wife doesn’t want me to announce to the world, “Hey, for the next two weeks I’m out of the country—–the house is empty—-help yourself” I blog ahead of time, and don’t tell anyone I was gone until I get back. In fact, I could be on vacation right now as I’m writing this interview (but sadly, I’m not). Anyway, I have more free time than it must seem that I have.

9. If you could pick one Photoshop Tool to snag from the tool pallet and use in real life on a regular basis – which one would you pick and why?

I would pick the Clone Tool, because if I could clone myself, I’d be on vacation right now. I’d also clone a few key people at work. I’ve got some amazing people at Kelby Media Group and if I could clone a few of them, we’d be a Fortune 500 company by now.

10. If you could get Big Electric Cat signed up to play in the venue of your choice – where would that be and who would you want to open for you?

OK, this is a tougher question than it sounds. My first instinct would be to play Madison Square Garden in New York City, which is historically “the big time” or I think the Staples Center in LA would be cool, too. But then I started to think it would be better to play the “St. Pete Times Forum” in Tampa, because then all my friends and family could come, but then I realized if I got to play Madison Square Garden, I could take some of the gate and bring my friends to New York for the weekend, so I’m going with that one.

Now, the opening act thing is a bigger problem. I’d love to have Aerosmith open for us, but the problem is—they would blow us off the stage (Aerosmith is one of my all-time favorite bands), and then people would start throwing things at us (probably concession stand food) so I’d probably have to settle for a lesser group. Maybe the Village People? Insane Clown Posse? Air Supply?

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I want to thank Scott and all of the NAPP staff for helping me put together these interviews. It has been SO AWESOME having them all here!

Now originally I said one a week until PSW and that would mean that the interviews would stop here. But, I have been having so much fun with these, I say – Let’s keep going!! There are still some people on my “Interview Hit List” and I am determined to get them here! And I have a plan on just how to do that while at PSW next week.

The fun is not over yet so stay tuned!

This week contains a bonus Re-Tweet! Call it “one for the road” because next week is the Photoshop World Conference and due to the fact that I will be in attendance, next week there will be no Re-Tweets of the week. (However, there will be other surprise posts of goodness live from the conference so be sure to tune in!)

But for now, here are this week’s:

Top Ten (plus one) Re-Tweets Of The Week!

The popular portfolio site, Carbonmade,  is getting a total makeover! Brighter, more user friendly, and more fun. Go check it out and tell them what you think.

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OnOne made a huge announcement this week and Gavin was quick to catch it. If you have never played with the OnOne software (a set of plug-ins that work with Photoshop) now is your chance to get scaled down versions of them for FREE!

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This has to be one of the most surreal living art installments I have ever seen! Artist Alexa Meade painted people and their surrounding objects to make them look as if they just jumped out of free form impressionistic painting hanging on your wall. This is beyond awesome! You must see it!!!

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Guest Poster – Likah Roux showed up on bernskiold.com this week to talk about her Drobo and I have to tell you, this was a GREAT review! If you are still looking to learn more about this beautiful “Backup Robot” then this could be the article you have been looking for.

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Just to give you an idea of how big things can get at the PSW conference, I wanted to show you this tweet. Have you ever participated in a giveaway that was the size of a car?? Now may be your chance!

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Graham Smith always puts out fantastic design resource information and this week was no exception. One of the toughest things a designer has to face is the task of getting their client to start talking and opening their minds to new ideas. This simple little post by Processed Identity is a great jumping off point to help you do just that!

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The Sandpit is a day in the life of New York City as if it were in miniature. The photographer did an amazing job putting this together because although it at first appears to be all done in scale models – you will soon realize that it is the actual city. I highly recommend watching this video!

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Jeremy wins my vote for favorite Tweet of the Week! How he stumbled on to this gem I will never know, but I was actually yelling out “Now that’s what I’m talking about!” after viewing it. You want innovation and out of the box thinking? Jeremy found it in a bathroom!

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Glyn Dewis is not new to the world of Photography. Far from it. He is however new to the world of Twitter! His blog and portfolio are breathtaking to behold and I actually poked him on Facebook for the soul purpose of getting him to Tweet about it. Follow this man and his work! You won’t be sorry!

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Everyone knows that I love RC, but it never ceases to amaze me just how far this man will go to produce something amazing in a photograph. His Stroboscopic pool room shoot is not only one to learn from, but also one to gape at. I love it!!

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And now, our “One For the Road” Tweet! Joshua Smibert, like the rest of the Fuel team, has always got his hands on stellar information for designers. This week he tweeted a post about Developing Brand Imagery and it is awesome! When I saw it, I knew it had to be included here. Read it and take it with you!