5 Tips to Making Great Snow Photos with Your Point and Shoot Camera

I’m excited to announce a guest blog today from Teri Klinger – from Teri Klinger Photography.  Teri shares some tips on how we can all take better show photos this coming winter:

Whether you like it or not, the white stuff is coming!  And depending where in the country you live, you may have already been covered in snow.  I’m not a fan, but I’ll suffer through it to get to the nice, warm days of summer.

If you’ve ever been frustrated with your snow photographs, here are 5 quick tips to help you keep your snow white, and your winter photos looking good.

1.  Correct Setting

There may seem like too many different settings on your camera, but they are there for a reason.  Most point and shoot cameras come with a SNOW setting.  Some may also say BEACH/SNOW.  In either case, make sure to turn your dial to that setting or else your snow photographs may come back looking grey instead of white.

Because your camera’s sensor perceives the snow to be too bright [or white...like snow is supposed to be], it tries to turn your image into 40% grey.  Grey snow looks dull and drab, so turn that dial.

2.  Perspective

Creativity adds interest – so get on your back and shoot up at a subject, climb on patio chair and shoot down [unless, of course, you’re on the ball and already packed all of your patio furniture away for the winter], or shoot through a snow covered branch.  Think out of the box and you’ll come up with some images that are eye catching and unique.

3.     Simplicity

You’ve heard of the cliche less is more.  I like to apply this to my winter photographs as well.  Don’t forget to get the large picture [the housetops covered inches of snow], but then take a couple images of something simple.  A small twig covered in snow.  Or a snowflake on a black glove.  Maybe a stray fall leaf peeking from under the snow.

4.    Black and White

Snow photographs look great in black and white!  If your camera has a black and white setting, try it.  The contrast between the white snow and darker subjects looks stunning.

5.     Up Close

Try taking a photograph up close and personal.  Sometimes I hold my breath when pushing the shutter in order to keep the camera as still as possible.  Back to the settings…if your camera has a MACRO setting, try it.  As long as your snow isn’t turning grey, you can give it a shot [pun intended].

Get ready, because the white stuff is coming!  With these tips, you’re sure to get whiter snow and fun photos.  If you have any other thoughts or questions, you can always email me at teri@teriklingerphotography.com or visit my website at www.teriklingerphotography.com

Thanks, Teri!  I have a great camera, but these tips will definitely help!

Nickey Hollenbach

Personal Touch Concierge Service, LLC

info@ptconciergeservice.com

VA’s are NOT “just secretaries”

Frankly, I can’t think of a more insulting title.  But insulting it is, on many levels.

First off, the term”secretary” is pretty much passé and has been for a long time.  Instead, the term has been replaced by Executive Assistant, General Admin, Personal Assistant, and a few others.  And I’d like to see most businesses succeed without this type of assistance!

But I’ve been hearing that some people out there are trying to liken the term “Virtual Assistant” to “just a secretary.”  Funny – but if you go to a site like IVAA (International Virtual Assistants Association), you will find just about any type of VA services out there which include:

• Accounting and Bookkeeping
• Architect/Engineer
• Association Management
• Author Support
• Coaching Support
• Concierge Services
• Contractor
• Desktop Publishing
• Editing/Proofreading
• Event Management
• Graphic Artists
• HR Support
• Internet Commerce
• Language Translation
• Legal and Paralegal Services
• Marketing and Advertising
• Online Business Manager
• Real Estate Support
• Research & Development
• Shopping Cart
• Social Media Services
• Website Design

In addition to admin-type services.

In fact, their definition of a VA is “Virtual assistants are independent contractors who (from a remote location, usually their home or office) support multiple clients in a variety of industries by providing administrative, creative, and technical services.”

So, the next time you hear someone or read something about the term VA being “just a secretary,” set them straight.  They’re probably just trying to sell you their latest book/course/”certification” or whatever they’ve come up with as an attempt to be the latest fad.

Nickey Hollenbach

Personal Touch Concierge Service, LLC

nickeyh@ptconciergeservice.com

Blocking Someone on Twitter?

Yep – unfortunately, last evening I had to do just that.  The first person I blocked – ever.  Sure, I’ve unfollowed some people that were not following the code of ethics on twitter like foul language, talking bad about someone, being miserable all the time – you know the type.

But last evening after President Obama spoke, I had the poor mindsight to respond to a hater.  Had I known the extent of this person’s biased mindset, I surely would not have.  But you know, you feel sometimes that if you say something light or suggest that someone take a look at “the other side,” they may back off.  Not this guy.  I checked out his profile and found that he liked music (sounds nice) and that he was from TN.  OK – who knew?  I really expected that he would have something like “narrow-minded far right conservative Republican that hates liberals.”

Now it is true that I tend to lean toward the left a bit, but I am in no way a Dem.  As an independent I may have to register as one party or the other if I want to vote in the primaries (now there’s a wrong that should be fixed!), but it doesn’t change the fact that I vote for people – not parties.  This guy last night was vicious in his attack on me and branded me a liberal because I commented on the hate he was spewing against Obama.  He told me to get a job and get off of Welfare and that he was educated and I was not.  I found that completely reprehensible and, I’m afraid, very Republican-esque.  (Now I sound like I’m narrow-minded!)  But I think you’ll find – and I’m sure I’ll get tons of opposition on this – that right-wing conversative Repubs tend to be, well, just mean and nasty – just look at Fox – they are completely mean, nasty a$$holes.  And this guy just proved that is correct.

I used to work at a law office that was strictly Republican.  (we did have the token Dem and the token independent/me)  But I worked closely for a long, long time with tons of Republicans – planned fundraising events, set up meetings, attended all types of events, and I found that the higher up you got on the food chain, the meaner and nastier they were and frankly didn’t give a crap about anyone that didn’t meet their criteria (had money).  Would I feel that way if I had worked with Dems?  Maybe – not sure.  I just know that politics is not a good thing – no matter what party you’re affiliated with – and I’ve seen really good people who wanted to be in politics to help people, get eaten alive by it and end up not doing the right thing, but doing the thing that will get them re-elected.

What will it take to turn this country around?  It will take more moderates.  Will everyone please take a step towards the middle and use some common sense?  Yes – I lean towards the left definitely.  I have been a tree-hugger since the 70′s before it was cool – why?  Not because of anything political – because I could see even as a teenager that polluting our environment and destroying nature is wrong (no matter how much money you could make by doing that).  Simple as that.  BUT I certainly can agree with some of things the Repubs are saying and stand for, and I’m against some stuff the Dems say.

What we really need as politicians in this country are people who will get elected to do the right thing for the people of this great nation – not because they have the most money or because they want to be a career politician.  I understand that you need a “party” so we don’t have 100 people running for President – BUT why does there have to be any party affiliation once they’re elected?  Why can’t they then just become Americans who want to do the right thing for this country and ALL it’s people?  With term limits.

I sound completely off the wall because this will never, ever happen – and there are thousands of reasons that it won’t/can’t – whatever.  But if enough of us band together and just insist that the nastiness and partisan crap needs to stop, maybe – just maybe – someone will hear us and there will be less nasty, narrow-minded people in this country.

Let’s do something!  The world is watching … and frankly, they’re laughing at us right now.

Is Your Time Priceless?

“Time is free, but it’s priceless.  You can’t  own it, but you can use it.  You can’t keep it, but you can spend it.  Once you’ve lost it, you can never get it back.”

It seems we are obsessed with time: it flies by —  where did it go? — can you believe it’s the middle of July already?  I never have enough hours in the day…

We’ve all heard these statements – and have probably said them ourselves.  The one thing that is constant and unforgiving is time – you can never get it back or make more of it.  So the only way to manage time is just that – manage it!  Delegating is a fantastic way to manage your time, and it takes a strong business person to be able to delegate effectively.

Hiring a Virtual Assistant (VA) is your best bet to delegate effectively.  Remember, the right VA will be a business person just like yourself and will understand that delegation is key to running an efficient business.

Here are just a few ways VA’s can work with you to return precious time:

• Manage your schedule remotely and follow up on appointments just as easily as an onsite employee

• If you’re spending loads of time formatting your newsletter, hand it off to a VA; they can manage your newsletter in a lot less time

• Manage your blog and post new content on a regular basis

• Keep your social media profiles updated

• Track and manage your company’s online reputation

• Database management

• Travel arrangements

• Prepare program materials for your next event

• Article Submission to Ezine and other sites

• Write the press releases and articles to submit

• You want to sell products on your website; a VA can set up a shopping cart and monitor sales reports

• No more wasting time with data entry and bookkeeping; have any report at your fingertip

• Your VA can also send out your invoices and help with follow-up and collection of those invoices

• Keep your website up-to-date and looking fresh

• Help you keep up with your personal life as well; i.e., finding the best plumber/electrician/handyman, etc., and scheduling an appointment; keeping track of and sending out birthday/anniversary cards; ordering flowers, gifts

I could go on and on …

There is the right VA out there for everyone, so don’t put off finding that VA any longer!  Contact me for your FREE consultation to see how we can help you – and if we can’t, we’ll recommend an experienced, professional VA just for you!

Nickey Hollenbach

Personal Touch Concierge Service, LLC,

a Multi-VA Company

nickey@ptconciergeservice.com

484-919-0637

Book Signing Event with Elin Hilderbrand!

CBCC Women in Business Committee is producing an Exclusive Book Signing to Benefit the Women in Business Scholarships

June 22, 6 to 8:30 p.m.
At Aldie Mansion
Old Dublin Pike, Doylestown
 
New York Times bestselling author Elin Hilderbrand will speak about her latest novel, “Silver Girl.” A book signing will follow.
 
$30 is the cost of the book and admittance.
Doors open at 6 p.m.
 
Sponsors
Fulton Bank
Booktenders’ Secret Garden
& Heritage Conservancy
 
Wine is Courtesy of Chaddsford Winery
 
Ellen Mager, of Booktenders’ Secret Garden Children’s Bookstore & Gallery, is providing very special courtesies in support of this significant program.
 
Just In:
People Magazine gave the book three out of four stars and named it their choice for BEST SUMMER READING!
 
Elin Hilderbrand, the New York Times best-selling author with nine wildly popular novels to her name, returns this summer with SILVER GIRL (Little, Brown and Co., June 21, 2011). Called the “Queen of the Summer Novel” by Kirkus Reviews, Hilderbrand’s last novel, The Island, debuted at number 10 on the best-seller list. Hilderbrand also penned the critically acclaimed books The Castaways, A Summer Affair, Barefoot, Summer People and The Beach Club. A graduate of Johns Hopkins University and the graduate fiction workshop at the University of Iowa, Hilderbrand traveled extensively before settling on the beautiful, windswept island of Nantucket, where she lives with her husband and three children. The island is the backdrop for her works of romantic drama and illuminating insight into human relationships.
 
Pre-paid reservations are required:
http://www.centralbuckschamber.com/calendar.htm.  No books may be brought to the event.

Are You Running Your Business, or is Your Business Running You?

We, as business owners, run our businesses. We tend to protect it closely as if it were one of our children, and may truly believe that no one can do anything in our business as well as we can.
If this is ringing true with you, chances are you are performing tasks in your business that you should be delegating to someone else. If you are allowing your business to run YOU by not delegating, you may become one of the many businesses that fail because the business owner becomes burned out.

I know, I know – it’s hard to let go! But let yourself dream for just a second … what would it be like if you had a trusted assistant – on call – that you could depend upon to complete the tasks you don’t have time for, you don’t particularly like doing and are keeping you tied up when you should be growing your business?

Feel free to contact me to discuss how a VA can help and AND your business.

 

Nickey Hollenbach

www.ptconciergeservice.com

484-919-0637

@Nickeyh

Are You Stressed?

     Did you know that

     “Stress has been called ‘the silent killer’ and can lead to heart disease, high blood pressure, chest pain, and an irregular heartbeat.”

     Knowing that, and knowing the stress involved in running your own business – or for that matter working for a company that’s stressful – you would certainly want to alleviate that stress, right?

Enter the Virtual Assistant. 

     Virtual Assistants are a cost-effective way for businesses and entre¬preneurs to ensure that they have the help they need to successfully run and grow their business. With no payroll taxes to pay, no benefits to provide, no office space or equipment to purchase and maintain, it’s a wise choice for today’s busy and stressful world.

     An experienced, professional VA takes your business as seriously as her own, and your business’ success is her business’ success. VA’s work with solopreneurs, small to mid-size businesses, and even large companies are jumping on the bandwagon and using Virtual Assistants. 

     Virtual Assistants have been around for more than 10 years, but the industry has grown exponentially in the last 4 years.  The important thing to remember is to find an experienced, professional VA — someone who is taking theirVA business seriously and not doing it as a hobby.

Next post:   Tips on how to find an experienced, professional VA

 

 

Nickey Hollenbach

Personal Touch Concierge Service, LLC

info@ptconciergeservice.com

Another New Year’s Day

Every single year on New Year’s Day I try to do everything right; I clean, exercise, eat right, work a little, and do everything I feel I should as a way to ensuring a great year to come by doing everything the “right” way.

Today I woke up feeling less than well.  You know, the typical sick, body aches, stuffy head hoping we have some Nyquil in the house for tonight.  I did manage to walk the dog, go through some old mail, read some old Newsweeks, look at my email once – missing a client request – and made soup.  Other than that, I slept most of the day.

Briefly I went through the head trip – oh no!  I didn’t do everything perfect today – what will that do to 2011?  You know what it will do?  Nothing.  Nothing I don’t do this one day will change how well this year will go for me, my family and my business.  It’s what you do every day – every day when you wake up and decide that today will be a GREAT day and you will do everything you need to do to improve your life.  Every single day is a new day and you have the chance to improve your future – and that’s what I will do – starting tomorrow.

Nickey Hollenbach

Personal Touch Concierge Service, LLC

info@ptconciergeservice.com

We Can All Learn from the Grand Canyon

Looking up at Kaibob Trail

I finally gave in and went on a week-long vacation to AZ the beginning of November this year.  I hadn’t been on a vacation in years – how could I leave my business and my clients??  Thanks to some great team members who kept it all together for me while I was gone, I’m ready to go away again NOW.   Not that I will, of course … not with the new company launch in January.

But while we were in AZ we took the drive up to Sedona to see the red rock formations and then on up to the Grand Canyon, which was much more my style than in Phoenix where we landed and stayed.  It was a crisp 35 or so at the top of the Canyon during the day, and it was 16 the morning we got up to see the sunrise over the Canyon.  Very chilly indeed without the right coat!  While the Canyon is a beautiful miracle of nature, I do see more spectacular sunrises standing on my back porch at home.

Other than the spectacular views, I did learn some interesting things about myself – and I’m really glad I didn’t go to the Canyon when I was younger – I would have bounded down the trail, not stopping until I got to the bottom.  And I certainly would have tried to jump or climb on some rock formation that was not as safe as I would have imagined.  But here I am in my 40′s (the best decade ever, btw), and I have much more common sense and a sense of my own mortality – something that alludes many young people (as it did me).  They told us 10 – 12 people die at the Canyon every year – I would imagine it’s higher than that.

In any event, we chose to walk down the Kaibob trail, a rather steep trail that winds down to a fantastic jutting rock formation that you feel the need to walk out on – which I did – until I realized that there was a hole between rocks that dropped down …. I’m guessing the entire mile to the bottom.  (I’m exaggerating a little.)  I was having the time of my life and actually wanted to walk all the way down to the bottom!!  But naturally since we didn’t want to pay for a night at the Lodge and then trek all the way back up in one day, we wisely turned around and started the walk back up.  Didn’t seem like a big deal to me, until I realized that oddly enough, I couldn’t breathe.  I had to keep stopping to rest!  I wasn’t tired in the least, but I had forgotten that at 7,000 feet the air is a little thinner than I’m used to, and breathing didn’t come all that easy.  Plus I’m not exactly a marathon runner.

But I did re-learn something valuable:  a slow and steady pace to the top is the perfect way to get there and is more beautiful because you take the time to stop and look around.

Nickey Hollenbach

Personal Touch Concierge Service, LLC

“Virtual Assistance with a Personal Touch”

info@ptconciergeservice.com

How to Get the Word Out About VA’s

We virtual assistants know what VA’s are – and we have nothing to do with the Veterans Administration!!

But how do we get the word out to people who immediately think of veterans and who may not be tech savvy?

Your ideas would be greatly appreciated!

Nickey Hollenbach

Personal Touch Concierge Service, LLC

nickeyh@ptconciergeservice.com

www.ptconciergeservice.com