Baltimore Photographers | The SMUGS Blog

SMUGs are looking for speakers!

December 16, 2011 5 comments

The SmugMug User Groups (SMUGs) are putting out a call for speakers for our 2012 monthly speakers series.

A SMUG is a place where you can learn, teach and meet up with other photographers who share your passion. It’s also how we can tell you what’s happening in our world and discover what’s happening in yours. SMUGs are a great way to connect with other photographers and add a few weapons to your creative arsenal. There are over 90 SMUGs worldwide. Rain or shine, it’s always a great idea to come to your SMUG’s monthly meetings. This way, you have a great collection of photos in every season!

We are looking for presenters that can speak about various photography related topics. Examples: Business topics, software, lighting, fusion, camera usage, portraits, photojournalism, sports, nature/landscape, commercial, boudoir, sports and weddings.

All types of photographers are welcome to present.

If you are interested in speaking, please send a short bio and course description and let us know why you would be great for our groups. We really want people with something interesting to say so let us know why this is you. These presentations are not sales-oriented so while you are more then welcome to mention products and workshops at the end, the bulk of the presentation should be on the chosen topic.

This is a great opportunity for anyone to get in front of a large, active group of photographers.

You will also receive a free SmugMug Pro account as a special thanks from SmugMug (for as long as you are a speaker).

To submit your presentation or if you have questions, please email Rocky Bowles at rocky@smugmug.com. Once we receive your email, we will send out a manual that explains all of the details for speaking at SMUGs.

All submissions will be kept on file and we’ll contact you if we choose your presentation.

SmugMug cannot thank you enough for your participation in becoming a speaker. It is the people like you that give SMUGs such a great reputation!

The Baltimore SMUG welcomes new members!

August 4, 2011 Leave a comment

After last month’s successful PhotoWalk through Baltimore’s Federal Hill and Inner Harbor, we met this month to do a constructive critique of some of the pictures taken as well as other member-submitted images. We had more new members this month so obviously everyone had not participated in the walk. No worries! We still had a lot of fun.

It is July so of course there was watermelon as well as yummy cupcakes from Caroline’s Cupcakery.

We started with introductions and welcomed several new members to the group. Our extremely organized leaders Liz and Ryan had slides labelled, index cards and envelopes numbered and ready for critiques. Ryan even had mood music playing during the slide show.

After written critiques were done and gathered, we critiqued each picture after the photographer told a little back story behind their image. We were given the option to not claim the image and have the critique be completely anonymous but everyone generously came forward and claimed their work.

Some images had surprises (“all three people in that image are you?!”), some benefited from a little back story and some, like this image from Marcella Treybig, were just gorgeous and hard to critique. Members commented that they found this session extremely helpful in not only critiquing their own work but learning what makes a good image and what can make a good image even better.

After the critiques we discussed some of the latest SmugMug developments like the SmugMug Vault price drop and the web site customizing options. And then another great SmugMug meeting came to a close. Luckily it was inside, have you ever been to Baltimore in July? It’s hot and muggy!

Submitted by the Baltimore SMUG Scribe: Jeff Dayton.

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Categories: SMUGs Tags: Baltimore Photographers, Landscape Photography, Photographer's Networking, Photography, Photography User Groups, Portrait Photography, SMUG, SmugMug, SmugMug User Groups, smugs, Wedding Photography

Baltimore SMUG Launch teaches photographers how to be “Younique”

April 25, 2011 1 comment

The Baltimore SMUG launch was a huge success. On March 4, 2011 about 20 photographers gathered at the Holy Cross Church Social Hall for the first of many regularly scheduled meetings. Elizabeth and Ryan Bower of Elizabeth Ryan Photography kicked off the evening by welcoming the group. They spoke a little about the history of SMUGs and discussed where they hope to lead the group. Everyone filled out a little survey to help lead the group in the best direction.

Once everyone was welcomed, Elizabeth introduced Jeff Jochum to the group. Jeff is an extraordinary business man and owner of Startup-Strategy. Jeff is highly regarded within the professional photography community. He spoke about business and the value of being “YOUnique.” He gave a lot of great advice and pushed the attendees to think about the “why” when making business decisions. The group was very excited to have Jeff in the room and embraced him with many questions during the Q&A period!