In my home, I have a big glass jar that is about to spill out with hundreds if not thousands of business cards I collected over the past few years (mainly from photographers). I kept all of them because one day I wanted to talk about how important it is to have a good business card. I have seen some well-designed cards and I have seen some ones that made me ask myself: “What were they thinking when they made these cards?!” Having been a graphic designer in my previous occupation I have learned a thing or two about organizing information and have created some corporate identity materials for various clients. Having said that, I wanted to take this time to share some tips for having a good business card.

1) You never get a second chance to make a first impression. Have you bought a book because you liked a way the cover looked? How often do we make perceived judgements on people we meet based on how they dress? This is exactly the same for photographers and your business cards. Your business card is the first impression people have of you as a photographer. A well-designed card makes people think you are professional, increases your perceived value, and make them think that you are a darn good photographer.

2) Include necessary contact information such as name, email address, website and a phone number. I have seen so many cards that did not have either email or phone number. I asked several photographers what their reasoning behind this was and their reply was: “they can come to my website to get the other information.” This is true but why add another step/obstacle from them contacting you? On the same token, do not oversaturate your card with information.

3) Being a specialist does not mean you are good at portraits, weddings, commercial & sports. Stick to one thing and mention that on your card if you wish to. You cannot be a specialist in everything. Just because you can do it does not mean you have to mention it. If possible, have separate cards for different things you specialize in.

4) Avoid “do-it-yourself home-printed business cards”. Again invest some money and get some quality cards. Your perceived value will depend on how nice your cards are. Why ruin it by trying to save money by either doing it yourself and/or use those inexpensive services that out in the market? People may not tell you this in person, but when they get a poorly designed or inexpensive cards, they already have a preconceived value about your photography and your business.

5) Make them unique. You are, after all, one of a kind. Rather than using a predesigned template cards, have one professionally designed that represents your photography. There are many ways to make them unique (die cut, sewn, letterpress, foil stamping, etc.) Work with a professional designer to get this done.

6) Never apologize for the card that you have. Your cards represent who you are and you should be proud of it. I have received numerous cards and as people are handing them to me, they are automatically apologizing to me because of the quality, not up-to-date information, etc. Be confident and proud of your cards when you hand them out.

7) As important as it is to exchange cards, more importantly, it is essential to follow up with the people you exchanged cards with. Rather than letting it go to waste, enter their contact information in an address book. Then shortly after, send them an email thanking them for the opportunity to meet together. It will go long ways.

Finally, I am proud to share my new business cards with everyone. These were beautifully designed by Studio Z Mendocino out of California. My photographer friend Patty Hildebrand gave me a card that really stood out. I then had to ask her for the contact information for who designed her cards. So big thanks to Patty for introducing me to Studio-Z!

Letterpress cards designed by Studio-Z for Kenny Kim (http://www.studio-z.com/)

Letterpress cards designed by Studio-Z for Kenny Kim (http://www.studio-z.com/)

Letterpress cards designed by Studio-Z for Kenny Kim (http://www.studio-z.com/)

Letterpress cards designed by Studio-Z for Kenny Kim (http://www.studio-z.com/)

Letterpress cards designed by Studio-Z for Kenny Kim (http://www.studio-z.com/)

Letterpress cards designed by Studio-Z for Kenny Kim (http://www.studio-z.com/)

Letterpress cards designed by Studio-Z for Kenny Kim (http://www.studio-z.com/)

For more, visit: My Portfolio | Facebook Page | contact@kennykim.com | 800-539-1294

I met Justyna & Craig at a bridal show hosted by the Metropolitan Club earlier this year. After our initial meeting, I’ll admit that I secretly kept my fingers crossed hoping that they would commission me as their photographer. Justyna is a beautiful girl and Craig and I have a same brand watch – which told me that we’ll get along just fine. On top of that, they are the nicest people you’ll meet and Craig has an affinity for photography so it was such an honor to be chosen for their wedding day.

Here are some photos from our shoot that day. To see the video from the shoot, scroll down to the bottom:

Boys will be boys!

Check out the video below made by Chris & Oliver Cinema. You can contact them via email. If it does not load, visit Vimeo directly.

craig + justyna // fickle weather. fast cars. fair water from Chris & Oliver Cinema on Vimeo.

Thank you Justyna & Craig! Look forward to your fabulous wedding in the Fall!

Well at least that was my initial thought. But after perusing through some of these days I captured today, I felt like I would be robbing the experience out of the ones that have been faithfully following out blog and facebook updates. So in my guilty conscious, I am staying up again to give you a quick update about what happened today.

Just when we think today can’t get any better, tomorrow it gets better with more and more different things we are experiencing here. (By the way, please pray for Jim Hicks. He spent the first half of the day with us then the second half of the day he had to stay in bed – we are not sure what he has right now but he’s been feeling pretty ill)

Please bear with me as these 30 images download. They will be worth the wait. We would love to hear from you or answer any questions about our trip as well. Feel free to leave them in the comment section.

We decided to pull off the side of the road to capture some common daily life activities along the road. We stopped near a stone querrying site where construction companies would come, exploit the land of various rocks then leave them empty.

After the land has been excavated they are often taken over by the people who need homes. They will build houses using what ever the materials that they can find. This photo shows a typical style of homes that you would expect to find in these sites.

Along the road we stopped again to find a group of guys working in the trenches. They have been digging since the morning. At first we thought they were digging water trenches. Turns out they were building cable lines for local phone company and also using the rocks that they excavate for stones which will be broken down into little rocks that can be sold for various uses.

That man you saw above working hard – his name is Hamad. He is 28 years old and he works all day without shoes. Most of these guys don’t get water breaks so until it is their lunch time they are constantly working digging trenches along the road.

We were led down to the lower part the town where women & children were sitting around crushing the big stones into little rocks.They also work all day.

This is the kind of environment that the people down here live in. Did you know about 80-90% of workers in Tanzania work for about a $1 per day?

The stones are crushed into these smaller rocks which are using for gardening, road paving, etc.

This child was left to attend the food for lunch. Their typical mean consists of rice & beans. Today they added a little anchovy fish to their meal which the boy was excited about.

This woman is 65yrs old and still works daily at the excavating site. She was such a sweet heart and gave me a big smile when I met her. Then she posed for me to take this shot of her.

Ever wish what kind of toy you want for your next Christmas present? Why not just make it at home like the kids in Africa do? It doesn’t take much for these kids to have fun.

One of the missionary families that is hosting us, The Buckleys, had us over for lunch. We were treated with fresh brewed, french press style coffee using coffee beans that were locally roasted. Man this was so good!

Their son Elliott was such a cute boy. He is playing with Bob Davis’ iphone here. He found the lightsaber app so he was running around the house swinging he phone like a lightsaber.

Here’s Bob experiementing with different angle for the car mount shot. I saw a sneak peak of this and it looks awesome!

Then we visited the Kigogo area in Dar es Salaam. We partnered with the Vineyard Church group that also partner with Thirst Relief. When we arrived on site, we found a group of local kids drawing water from a main pipe that was broken. The water looks clear, but it is almost always not safe to drink straight out because there are many cracks in the pipes which contaminate the water. This boy was so thirsty that he didn’t care whether the water was contaminated or not. Having clean drinking water is the most critical problem that these people have out there. I’ve heard it many times but seeing it with my own eyes changed my perspective quite a bit!

Albino kids are precious & also endangered here. Many witch doctors will convince people that their organs will bring healings. So it is common to hear about albino kidnapping stories around this area.

Here’s Bob & Anton with Edmond – the local Vineyard group leader in this region. He is Tanzanian but went to live in the US for over 13 years. He is now back at his homeland leading the group of Vineyard staff workers here. He was such a gentle and charismatic man.

Everyone loves taking photos here. I gave my camera to one of the boys to take this picture of us. I don’t know why I decided to do that cheesy post!

Waters are filled with random buckets and constantly being carried back to their homes.

I fell in love with this wall so I did some random shots and snapped some interesting compositions:

Most kids run around here in bare feet. Their idea of a soccer ball is an old cloth clumped and stuffed with various materials inside.

Edmond conducted the childrens’ ministry during the afternoon. Many kids came and gathered around him.

Everyone could use a little push sometimes.

These kids don’t have much but their faces convince me that they are content with what they have as well.

We are going to be attending a local church service tomorrow. I am looking forward to worshipping with fellow African brothers and sisters. Good night everyone!

For more, visit: My Portfolio | Resources For Photographers | Twitter: KennyKim | Facebook Page
contact@kennykim.com | 800-539-1294

Hey! I’m out here few days early with my good friend Jenn & we explored the city of Rome together! Here are just a few photos from today. Will post more from the trip – but once the workshop starts, not sure if we will be able to update much as we will be in various remote places away from the onilne world. Major good times!

Until you take a step inside the Sistine Chapel, you can’t appreciate what Michaelangelo accomplished laying on his back for over 5 years to complete the ceiling art. No photos were allowed so I had to sneak this one from my hip using P mode (not professional – more like say a PRAYER mode) and hoped that I got something decent:

Got to mail out some post cards at the Vatican City – a popular tourist activity near St. Peter’s Church. Some of you lucky folks will be getting a post card from me.  

 Threw a coin into the Trevi Fountain. Legend says that you will guarantee a return trip back to Rome when you do this. You can also make a wish – so I wished that the Cubs will win world series next year. Is that too much to ask?

Having dinner in front of The Pantheon – the oldest building in Rome and highly acclaimed architecturally. The night life in Rome is pretty much amazing. Perfect weather, delicious food, live music and people watching. Perfect evening after a long day of adventuring. 

Colosseum still stands tall and mighty. It is recognized as the main symbol of Rome. Rather than a typical day time shot, here is one at night.  

Ok back to rest for another full day tomorrow. Buona sera!