I posted a screenshot of our old blog and a little about the evolution of my blog last week and today wanted to give you a sneak peek at whats to come soon! I am excited to have a brand new look and feel that will more match the fun, creative and natural style that I am known for.

So today just a little peek at whats to come shortly, the clean and classic black is out, color and fun in ….

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This year I wrote 3 photography learning apps for the iPad and want to share a little about the most recent one that was published! I started writing a few mini books awhile back to help educate photographers wanting to start shooting weddings or portraits. There are so many questions I get from people that normally are the same questions people have when getting into photography. I also see so many people starting out that lack a certain creative element in their photography. Normally some of the more advanced things like Lighting are missed by most people starting out. So over the past year I have been working on putting down on paper some of the many things in my head that I can share from my 11 years of shooting professionally and years of Art school before that.

I wanted to create some guides that were really easy to learn, easy to understand and covered the technical parts of photography but in a not so technical way. As a photographer I am visual, after college I would still keep up with my photo education and read books, attended seminars and workshops and usually was pretty uninspired by the way the information was presented. Normally it was so technical that it lost my attention after a few minutes and I put the book on the shelf never to be picked up again. So I set out to create some tools for people to learn and be inspired and also wanted to create them at a very good price, really a no brainer. When the iPad was released I was excited, it really is a perfect medium to learn on . You have a nice large screen as well as something that feels great in your hand like a book but can be so interactive. So far I have created a Portrait 101 and a Wedding Photography 101 guide that right now are only $1.99! I wanted to create some very useful guides to help people get more creative with their photography and also have them be so inexpensive anyone can buy them. These also are available as iPhone (or iPod touch) version and for those of you who don’t have an iPhone or iPad going to be available as eBooks coming out in the next few months.

Here is a excerpt from the Baby Photography 101 app coming this week. Watch Twitter for an announcement when it’s live @digitalphotobuz

Tips on keeping them sleeping

Nothing is more beautiful than a peaceful sleeping baby. But sometimes no matter how tired they are when you are ready to shoot them sleeping they just don’t want to stay asleep. I don’t know how many times a mom has fed, burped and changed a baby then rocked them to sleep and once I start clicking the shutter they start to wake right up. There are a few tips that I have found very useful to keep a baby sleeping.

1- Swaddle them up nice and tight. Especially for newborns up to 2 months old the swaddle can be your best friend.

2 – Pacifier. Although it might not look perfect in the image a pacifier can really help settle a baby down and get them to fall asleep. And I do think it’s cute to have a few images of them with the pacifier in their mouth. Normally after a few minutes they will let go of it anyway and it will fall out of their mouth or you can try to gently pop it out.

3- Make sure the room is warm. Babies are used to being in the womb where its nice and soft and warm. Make sure the room is very warm, especially if you want a shot of the baby sleeping without clothes. Keep them surrounded by lots of soft warm blankets and snuggled up.

4- Have some background noise playing. You can bring a small CD player or use your iPhone and play a CD of soothing sounds. There are tons of soothing type CD’s out there for babies and they can really help put the baby at ease.

Also check out all of the amazing apps that AppEzzy has been creating for the iPhone and iPad, AppEzzy – iPhone and iPad apps
For all of you non iPad people, sorry it’s only available for the iPad now but other versions may be coming next year… stay tuned.

– Mark

I am giving away an hour long mentoring session to help raise money for Thirst Relief. If you are going to be at WPPI it will include a lunch or dinner, and can be an hour one on one session about anything you need to know! You can bid online only today and tomorrow so get your bid in now: http://thirstrelief.shootq.com

Get mentored by mark

in the 2010 ThirstRelief Mentor Auction!

Grow as a photographer while saving lives!

I’m participating in the 2010 ThirstRelief Mentor Auction. Our mission is to save lives by tapping into the incredible talent and generosity of the photo industry.

Did you know that every 15 seconds someone dies of a waterborne illness? That’s 5760 people every day! You can help. Bid on a mentoring session with your favorite photographer!

100% of the proceeds directly benefit Thirst Relief. Add to that the incredible wisdom and talent that is being shared in the one-on-one mentor sessions and you have better and more
successful photographers! It’s truly a win win for everyone involved!

About me and my mentor auction

Here is a little bit more about my studio:

Passion is what its all about for us. True passion and love for photography drive our team every day (and a few Mocha’s along the way). Photography has been a love of ours since childhood and we shoot not only to provide our clients with the most awesome images they could ever image but to also fuel our creativity and need to capture compelling images.

We have been capturing weddings in the Bay Area for over 11 years. It all started with a passion by Award Winning wedding photographer Mark Stagi to create fresh, fun wedding images that reflect each brides unique day.

Mark has a degree in Fine Art along with a minor in photojournalism. This has given him a unique look into weddings, from focusing on capturing the emotion of the day along with getting creative with off camera lighting setups. Running a studio shooting over 50 weddings a year has given Mark many insights into what it takes to successfully market your company. He has learned how to keep a boutique style feel to his studio with a strong focus on his customers all while taking care of a good number of weddings each year.

Our mentor session will focus on finding your style and being true to that. We believe that the best long term way to run your business is to be true to your self and let your passion drive everything you create. We wear our passion for our work and our life with our clients and truly give them an experience they won’t forget. Mark will also focus on how to keep your marketing fresh and to keep buzz always around your studio.

My mentor session can take place at WPPI 2010 (Las Vegas), in my hometown of San Jose, ca OR on the phone.

We are running a discount for our workshop registration only to our readers this week. For any of our workshops (Weddings photography from A to Z and our Marketing in 2010) save $60 off the workshop cost if you register by this Sunday (2-14). You can view details about our workshops online here: Photography Workshops.

Weddings from A to Z
Our weddings from A to Z workshop is a full day intensive workshop all about wedding photography. With emphasis on finding your style, expanding your creativity and unleashing the artist in you. We will cover some basics in using natural light in an artistic way and start to get a little more complicated with bringing in external lighting to your weddings. We will show you how to turn the ordinary wedding scene into an amazing art piece. From using creative compositions to creative lighting and how you work with the bride and groom, we’ll show you how we turned our passion for the art of photography into a successful wedding studio. Its all about unleashing the artist in you and making your work shine!

These are full day workshops in our studio in San Jose. Our next wedding workshops are:
2/27
3/13
5/7
7/16

Sign up online at http://www.workshopsfromtheheart.com

Marketing in 2010
2010 is here and times have changed dramatically over the last few years when it comes to marketing. 2010 is here and if you want to have your photography business thrive in this age you have to learn many new ways to market yourself (as well as some tried and true methods that have worked for ages)

Are you just starting your wedding photography business and don’t know how to get new clients? Or just looking for new and fresh ways to increase your current business. In todays competitive environment marketing is key to your success. We will cover many aspects of marketing from websites, blogs, Podcasting, referral marketing, and social media. Learn all about Facebook, Twitter and other online ways to market your business. This will also include a portfolio review and insights on how to brand your image.

Our marketing workshops are 1/2 day workshops and limited to 8 photographers. Our next Marketing in 2010 workshops are:
3/19
5/21

I love teaching these workshops, they are a lot of fun and packed with great info and goodies from our sponsors.

– Mark

Workshop schedule for 2010. Wedding photography workshops by Mark Stagi.

Our wedding photography workshop schedule for the first half of 2010 has been finished! I am excited to meet a new group of photographers this year and help to inspire one another to keep raising the bar with our creativity. Our workshops are only limited to 8 photographers to give everyone a personal experience so sign up early! We are also looking into hosting our Weddings that ROCK workshop in a few other states depending on our travel schedule. If you would like us to consider visiting your city (or would like to host a workshop at your studio) fill out a contact form and let us know!

There are 3 different workshops we host:
Weddings that ROCK!
This is a full review on shooting weddings from planning the shoot, how to “pose” and light wedding shoots (we don’t traditionally pose but have a fresh way of working with the bride and groom), and ends with post production and marketing ideas. This workshop has an emphasis on finding your style, expanding your creativity and unleashing the artist in you. We will cover some basics in using natural light in an artistic way and start to get a little more complicated with bringing in external lighting to your weddings. Get more info and sign up here: http://workshopsfromtheheart.com/

Marketing in 2010
2010 is here and times have changed dramatically over the last few years when it comes to marketing. 2010 is here and if you want to have your photography business thrive in this age you have to learn many new ways to market yourself (as well as some tried and true methods that have worked for ages)

On Location Lighting
Brand new for 2010 we are doing a 1/2 day workshop on Location lighting. This will be a 1/2 day workshop in the evening from 7:00-11:00 on location in San Jose

For anyone who needs one-on-one training we are staring up a new idea
“One-on-one coffee talk” where you can get 2 hours of dedicated training time to cover any topics you would like. This can be live in the bay area or for everyone out of the area a conference call.

To check out the schedule and for more info check out our website, Photography Workshops

I am looking forward to meeting many of you in 2010!