Visilia | 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!

Launch of the Visalia SMUG!

March 9, 2011 1 comment

The first EVER Visalia SmugMug Photography meeting was held on February 16 at The Lunch Box in Visalia, CA. Many thanks to Jen May Pastores for organizing this group. There were approximately 18 people in attendance. The main focus of the evening was to get to know each other and decide what direction this group would like to head in. There were many different levels of photography expertise present at the meeting, ranging from beginners to experts. The one aspect of the group that rang true throughout the conversation was that each person has a burning desire to improve their photography and hope that this group provides them with the support to accomplish that goal.

Our first activity was a Speed Meeting icebreaker. Each person took 3 minutes to get to know each person in the room. Obviously, this isn’t nearly enough time so I think we are all looking forward to getting to know each other better in future meetings.

Our second activity was Photographer Bingo. Finding someone to match each square was not NEARLY as easy as we thought it would be. Lyn Alvarez must have good ears because she was able to successfully find someone that could sign off on each square. For “bingo-ing”, Lyn won a $25 print gift certificate. Many thanks to Bay Photo Lab for supplying that prize!

And lastly, we had a photo critique session. Anyone could send in a picture ahead of time to be critiqued by everyone in attendance. People offered up both praises and suggestions for improvements on each photo. There was a lot of great discussion flying about the rules of composition, exposure, and off camera flash! In the end, each person in attendance was allowed to choose their favorite image submitted. The winning image was submitted by Deene Souza. She won a generous $25 gift certificate from Bay Photo.

Our next meet-up is on Wednesday, March 16 at 7:00 at The Lunch Box. If you’d like more information, please visit our information page at http://www.meetup.com/Visalia-SmugMug-User-Group-SMUG/