Last week I had the pleasure of learning from the best of the best in the photographic world in Chicago through the Showit Freedom Tour! I have been a Showit user for over a year and I love the freedom it allows me to not only display my work in a unique way, it also allows me the ability to offer more value to our clients. Showit offers an elegant drag-and-drop user interface that allows me to create any kind of website that I want. If you have not heard of them be sure to check out their website and if you would like a completely free trial of the SHOWIT platform, be sure to click here!
Anyway, the founder of Showit, former photographer David Jay, and his crew put together a 9 city tour of the USA during June and July to bring Showit users together in community and put in front of that audience some of the best photographers in the world. In Chicago, Showit featured Showit Founder David Jay, lighting expert Bob and Dawn Davis, philanthropic photographer Jim Davis-Hicks, award winning Nashville photographers Zach and Jody Gray and entertainment provided by the wonderful Molly Jenson.
The evening started off with a 2 hour support session where Showit Support Studs Andrew Barlow and Kevin Sturm. They did a 2 hour Q&A session about Showit and what can be created through the amazing software.
Molly Jenson and David Jay kicked off the night. David brought to the room the idea of a need to be confident in ourselves and what we offer to clients. David Jay: “Conversations are the future of marketing”
Bob and Dawn are a couple that stormed onto the wedding photography scene just a few years ago. In Dawn’s words, “Guys, we are from Lamont, if we can do this, anyone can do this. We surrounded ourselves with other vendors that we could lift up and we knew in turn they would lift and encourage us as well.”
Bob recently wrote his first book called “Lights, Camera, Capture: Creative Lighting Techniques for Digital Photographers“. I would highly recommend picking up the book as he showed just a few examples from the book in a very hands on manner.
Jim Davis-Hicks is a self proclaimed entrepreneur at heart. His wedding photography business began more than a few years ago, but soon realized that he wanted to have a bigger impact on the world. This dream to have a big impact led him to create Thirst Relief International, a worldwide organization that helps bring clean drinking water to over 140,000 people daily! Jim is also the creator of action_runner, a tool designed to help photographers streamline their workflow. I am excited to test out his new software and I will be sure to report back on how the software system helps our workflow.
Up until last week I had not heard of Zach and Jody Gray, but after hearing their story, I know I will be hearing about them more and more as time goes on. These two are based out of Nashville, TN and recently burst onto the photography scene just a few years ago (2007). Since then they have created a niche for their business in serving clients just like them. They have fun in everything they do and not only does their work show that, but also in who they are and what they believe. Jody Gray: “Create walking talking billboards for yourself through clients, vendors and other photographers.”
It was a pleasure meeting all the folks in the greater Chicago area that are using Showit to showcase who they are and what they do. I am very excited about not only the tips and techniques learned during the event, but also the relationships that were started. In a world of social media and people hiding behind a computer to connect with others, kudos to Showit for putting on such a unique event that brings people together and allows new relationships to be built.
As for the Showit Freedom Tour 2011 — it will be a ‘can’t miss it’ event for us!
If you’ve gotten this far, check out Chicago photographer Lauren Wakefield’s take on the tour stop along with a few photos of Michigan City photographer Erin Watson on Facebook.
Tiberius Images is a Grand Rapids wedding photographer that photographs people, places and events. Based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, they serve clients throughout the world and are available for travel.
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