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My First Speaking Engagement

So way back in October 2, 2015, I was part of a Business to Business Roundtable  at Mrs. G’s Appliances & Sleep Center. I spoke about the importance of professional photography for your business, Maggie VanDagens of J&M Marketing Communications and Sherry Tomaino of Women’s Healthcare of Princeton talked about good web design, Barbara Simpson of Muirhead Foods  talked  about e-commerce, and Rocky Romeo of The Romeo Group talked about turning leads into sales.

b2broundtable_OctDeirdreRyanPhotographyPresentationAtMrs.G'sOctober2,2015

DeirdreRyanPhotographyPresentationAtMrs.G'sOctober2,2015

The above and below photos were taken by Hilary Morris.

DeirdreRyanPhotographyPresentationAtMrs.G'sOctober2,2015

This was my very first speaking engagement. My friend Dolores DeGiacomo, worked with me on my presentation, helped to tighten up what I wanted to say and my delivery. Working with a slideshow was both powerful and tough at the same time. The questions during the Q&A portion were good. They were about copyrights, one was about how much I would charge for a certain type of job, (this I couldn’t/wouldn’t  answer because it requires an appointment and all jobs are different), how I prepare for what I do, and many more great questions. I got a lot of positive feedback because many in my audience had no idea what to expect or what they needed to do when hiring a professional photographer.

I had a lot of great points like:

  • When you hire a professional photographer, you’re hiring more than just someone with a camera. You are getting knowledge, skills, expertise, talent, tools, and adaptability.
  • How to best contact a professional photographer, budget, don’t be afraid to ask questions.

There was more to my talk, but one of the most important things that I did stress upon was this:

  • Like any professional you would hire for an important job you want the most bang for your buck…but you also have to bear in mind you get what you pay for.  
  • Anyone with a camera can take a picture.  But only a professional photographer has the skills and the talent to light and frame the image, to make on the spot adjustments, and to complete those adjustments behind the scenes, and still deliver on time.  

DeirdreRyanPhotographyPresentationAtMrs.G'sOctober2,2015

Thank you to everyone who spoke after I did and thank you to Mrs. G’s for hosting the event and Hilary Morris with our networking group, Coffee Talk NJ for putting it together!