Another Special Calendar

Last year one of the things I used for a business promotional tool were pocket planners. I'm not sure why they refer to them as "pocket" because they're definitely too big for most pockets, but you'll find many women carry these in purses or handbags, and men and women use them in briefcases.

You can buy fancy ones for a lot of money, but you can also buy inexpensive two-year planners in this size at most dollar shops - sometimes for as little as 2/$1.00. These make an excellent tool for low cost advertising, and make a useful gift for a bride-to-be. You can easily personalize these with an engagement photo of your couple, put your business information on the back of the calendar, and tuck a business card inside. When your couple come to pick up their engagement photos, give them one of these with their photo on the cover to use for tracking their wedding plans.

Simple to make, and inexpensive - but these personalized calendars will provide exposure for your photography business for two years.

The work is a little "finnicky" and if you've got a large wedding photography business then you might want to consider having your own printed, but if you are a small business operator or just getting started, you can do these at home.

Buy the planners/calendars that come with a removable clear plastic cover - there is usually a photo or design printed on the cardboard cover of the calendar, but we'll be covering this up. Open the booklet part flat and measure the length and height. This is the size you'll want your photo to be printed at, with perhaps an extra 1/16" of an inch around all 4 sides for trimming.

Select a good photo of the couple from your engagement shots and print it to size, cropping if necessary. Remember when selecting your photo that half will be the front (the right side of the photo), and half the back (the left side of the photo). In your photo editor, create a new layer and make a selection to place your advertising text in. Fill the selection with whatever works best for your photo - I found white to be the best for most of mine. Now using the text tool, type out whatever information you want to include. The name of the couple if you like, the date and place of the photo, your copyright and business details such as the business name, address, phone number, website and/or email. Flatten the layers.

If you are printing your own at home, you must have an excellent photo printer, and good quality print paper - heavy print stock in a semi-gloss or matte finish usually works best.

Print the copy with your advertising on it. Lay the opened planner over your photo and cut around it with an exacto knife, leaving a slightly larger edge on the photo. Remember that when the book is closed it's thickness will require these extra edges in order to cover up the entire planner cover.

Try a fitting - slip your photo into the plastic cover that you removed. If it fits properly, then slide the planner's front and back cover flaps back into the plastic. Close it to ensure your photo covers all the other edges. If you need to, you can trim the edges of the planner itself.

Now slip one of your business cards under the plastic flap inside the planner and you've created an excellent advertising tool for very little cost. One that is also a useful and practical tool for the bride and groom.

Bridal Planning Calendar Template for Photoshop

Here's a template for a 1-page calendar that you can use to create a unique and useful gift for the bride to be. This calendar template is designed so you can use it over and over again, regardless of the year. Each set of calendar numbers can be moved every year as necessary because every single number is on it's own layer.

That means if you are really determined, you can also change the font style, size, colour and placement of every number, as well as that of the months and the year header.

To make this useful for our bride, we can customize it with her name, and the date of the wedding, as well as any dates already known (bridal showers, meetings with the wedding planner, etc.).

You can use a single background image, like the one shown with the yellow bridal rose, or you can put individual images behind each calendar month. There's a lot of customizing options with this particular calendar - more than most of the others I've made.

The bride can use this along with her wedding planner to set out the time frame for the various arrangements for the wedding: she can track the dates things need to be done by, set dates for shopping for the dress and her bridal attendants dresses, shoes, meetings with the officiant, the venue, dj, photographer and just about everything. This large (18 X 24) one year calendar makes it easy for her to see at a glance what needs to be done, and when.

Wedding planners and photographers might also find this a useful tool for tracking their own appointments.


The Forever Calendar template for 2010 (and every year after that) can be downloaded free from Free-3d-Textures.com

New 2011 Calendar Templates for Photoshop can be found on these related posts:

More 2011 Calendar Templates

A Pair of 2011 Pocket Calendar Templates

2011 Photoshop Calendar Template

Monthly 2011 Calendar Template

2011 Calendar Template for Photoshop

MOST OF OUR TEMPLATES CAN ALSO BE DOWNLOADED FROM FREE-3D-TEXTURES.COM  (see the templates section)

New Stuff!

New stuff on a new site...I've spent the last little while working on my new site (which is why the tutorials have slowed down a little bit), and we're nearly done!



The new site is made up of products and articles from three (well, actually 4) different blogs I write. Rather than spread everything around, now it's on one larger site.

Besides the articles and photoshop & photography tutorials, you'll find free photoshop brushes (mostly texture brushes, but a few graphic brushes), free textures for 3D and backgrounds, free stock photos (that section not complete yet, but we're working on it...there will be 500 or so free photos to start with) for use in blogs, as artist references, in other projects like collage work, etc. Along with that are a few graphic files, and some png files (mostly created for use in games and collage, but still good for blogs).

Coming up in the new site will also be some additional calendar templates (none yet except the previous ones from this blog) and a few other goodies...and yes, they are still all free.

This current blog will get updated, but as you can see, less frequently and will carry mostly articles related to weddings and wedding photography for beginners. That's really why this blog started in the first place...to help beginners get a start in photography.

So, feel free to visit the new site because photoshop and regular photography tutorials will be updated mostly over there.

Thanks to all of you for visiting...because without you folks (readers and visitors), there'd be no reason for a bigger, better site. Bless you all.

Come visit us at Free-3D-Textures.com (and don't let the name fool you...there's lots more than textures)

Wedding Photographer Meets BrideZilla

Every experienced wedding photographer will have a pretty good understanding of the term "bridezilla", and probably some wedding planners too. So how do you handle the bridezilla when you've got one?

The first thing to remember is that most women don't set out be bridezilla, almost as many have no idea that they are being a bridezilla when it happens. It's a hard thing to be on the receiving end, but it can be equally hard to be on the giving end when you are feeling stressed and pulled from all sides.

Couples plan their wedding with one thing in mind; that this will be a "once in a lifetime" event, and they want it to be "perfect". Nobody plans their wedding thinking that if this one doesn't work out, they can do it again. So not only do they sweat the details and the costs, but the details become the stuff their nightmares are made of. For months before the wedding the bride and groom (and often their families) are walking a tight-rope, carrying stress that builds up a little at a time until there's no shoulder left to carry it on, and seldom dissipates until the ceremony is over and the festivities begin.

As tough as this can be for the wedding photographer, it helps if you can see it from a distance. While you might sometimes be in the way of some of the arrows and daggers, you probably aren't "the" target, most likely you are just there when it happens.

That doesn't mean you have to ignore it, but if you are prepared for it then understanding the reasons behind it make it less stressful for you deal with. If you are the type of person who can ignore the snipes and get on with the job, then "good deal", because you'll probably do okay as a wedding photographer. If you aren't, then plan for the occasion in advance.

How? The simplest way is to make sure all parties know well in advance what your responsibilities are, and what you will and won't do during the wedding day. Shortly before the wedding day (2 or 3 days at the most), a quick phone call to go over the details with the couple is helpful. At this time, you can make sure they haven't had a schedule change, and they are clear on your role for the day. You can ask if they have questions, require anything additional from you, and then confirm that you are well-prepared for their event.

Be clear. Be clear if there are things you aren't prepared to do on the wedding day - additional photos not part of the contract might be something you just don't want to undertake. Some photographer's are really flexible and easy-going when it comes to things like this, and some just aren't. Avoid any wedding day tantrums by ensuring your couple know ahead of time where you stand.

Keep your cool. If things start "going south" on the wedding day, keep your cool and your professionalism. Do your job in a professional manner, because sometimes projecting a professional attitude is all it takes to put things back on a comfortable level.

Step outside your role carefully. If it seems like the thing to do - calming an upset bride, or cajoling a spitting bridesmaid can take no more than a kind word or a kleenex, and in the end can make your job a lot easier. Don't make an issue of it, but do what feels right for your bride.

No matter what the day brings and how prepared you are, there are occurrences that you can't and shouldn't step into. It takes some experience to know when to stay out, and when to offer a hand. If you aren't sure, then don't do it. If the bride and groom are acquaintances, friends, or family members, then you'll have some idea of whether or not stepping forward and offering help outside your role is right or wrong.

What not to do - don't step into someone else's shoes. Let the other helpers do their jobs.

Every wedding is different, just as every bride is different. There will be those who breeze through the day with the sweetness of an angel, and those whose headpieces should consist of devil's horns, but underneath, they are just women looking for that perfect beginning.

Lastly...try not to take the bridezilla personally...and make some lovely music with your fantastic wedding day photos. After all, don't they say that music calms the savage beast?



Credits: wedding rings on money courtesy of "Penywise" @ morguefile