Last night I worked FOREVER to get the full wedding gallery posted for Dawn and Scott’s wedding. For some reason my computer was running realllllllly slow, so it took awhile. However, I’m pleased to say that it is now posted, and was posted using PASS software – the new concept and software from David Jay, the mastermind behind Showit.

For anyone who is unaware, my website and blog header are created using Showit. It’s a software package that allows you to create beautiful websites without having to know all of the code behind it. I know minimal HTML and CSS, and can get around when I need to, but this software is so easy to work in that I feel free to really create instead of worrying about the technicalities. I’m a photographer, not a programmer! Another awesome thing about Showit is the community. It is full of people who are genuine, who are real, and are sincere in their desire to help. There is no backbiting, negativity, or nastiness – and that positive attitude is what I try to fill my life with.

Showit was created by David Jay, and he amazes me with the ideas he comes up with. He is a true visionary, a forward thinker. Someone that thinks outside of the box, and strives to do what may not be popular or “cool,” but is necessary and right. And along with these amazing business ideas, he’s a pretty awesome guy too!

When I saw the post on Facebook that Showit was launching a tour for the PASS Premier, I got tickets immediately. What was it? I don’t know. Where was it going to be? I don’t know – all I knew was Denver. Why the heck was I getting tickets to something that I knew nothing about? Because I knew that coming from Showit and David Jay, it was going to be awesome. I didn’t know anything else about it, but I knew that would be the case – and I was right.

Last week I had the opportunity to attend the PASS Premier, with David Jay of Showit, Zach & Jody Gray, Promise Tangeman from Sitehouse, and Shaun Gordon from KISS. I purchased tickets without realizing the very cool things that I would take away from these people! The night was definitely inspiring and fun. We laughed, we were amazed, and we walked away with our minds wandering like crazy! I couldn’t sleep because I was trying to process it all – and the next day, a fellow attendee asked me if I slept on Facebook because he couldn’t sleep either!

Onto some photos!

I don’t know why, but I really liked that silly scale. It was just cool! We had the red carpet treatment for photos too! Promise Tangeman was the first to speak, so she was getting ready while we messed around a little bit.

I’ve never really had the chance to talk with Promise before, or to hear her speak. She is booked through like FOREVER for design, and we haven’t ever met before. I loved what she had to say about branding and making your business really YOU. And while she was talking, something hit me like a ton of bricks. I feel like it’s something that God has been telling me for a long time, but I didn’t want to hear it. But for some reason when she said something, it just hit me. I even wrote in my notes “Holy crap I just realized something!” Yes, I realize that I’m a little bit of a dork. Just a little, right? ;)

Promise had amazing input, and even though she was talking to everyone, I felt like she was sitting across the table from me, talking directly to me. She is so darn creative!

David Jay came out briefly to give away a T-Shirt and introduce others, but we had to wait to hear what PASS was all about. I’m not a patient person, except with my son… and  I wanted to see it NOW! Thankfully the other speakers were so engaging that I forgot that I was being forced to wait. ;)

Shaun Gordon showed us a new tool – the KISS SWAT Designer. It’s an album design tool online, and it’s SO fast and easy! I’ve played with it a little bit, and I’m so impressed with what it can do. No more counting pixels baby, yeah! And while I was there I saw KISS books for the first time. I’ve been going back and forth on what albums to offer my clients, and the KISS books are SO nice! They’re super high quality, and I really, REALLY love the little ones!

Before Zach and Jody came out, we had a break to take get water, coffee, whatever. And pictures. Because you can’t have a room full of photographers without cameras, right? So all of the girls lined up, and apparently I missed the memo about the whole James Bond theme. At least I wasn’t the only one!

Tom and I took a photo with Zach and Jody. This is the fourth photo taken, I think… that’s what happens when you hand a Canon to a Nikon shooter haha! She had to figure out where to find the settings! I would be lost if someone handed me a Nikon!

Andrew came out to introduce Zach and Jody, and in the process, told us that he had just gotten engaged yay!!! Congratulations Andrew, how exciting!

Zach and Jody came out, and just as I expected, they’re freakin’ rockstars. As demonstrated by Zach. I have a really funny photo of both of them, a kind of outtake photo, but ya never know how people feel about less than flattering photos so I decided not to post it. Maybe I will post it later. After getting permission of course! Or maybe on Facebook.

Zach and Jody talked about the customer experience. This is something that I’ve been thinking a lot about as I move into weddings. Being exceptional, not just good! Their ideas and insights were amazing, I have like 5 pages of notes just from them alone!

And then, the PREMIERE! David Jay came out to talk about PASS. At first I was kind of wondering if it would really be as cool as everyone said it would. After all, there are websites (TwoBrightLights.com) designed to allow downloads of images for vendors, and really, anyone can send an image via email to a client. But this is truly awesome.

PASS means no more DVD’s. It means sharing on Facebook directly from the website. It means the ability to download photos based on the photographer’s preferences. It means full screen viewing in Facebook, with all of the slideshow capabilities that PASS offers – directly in Facebook! It is really, really cool, and I’ve already set up my most recent wedding with a +site, integrating PASS.

The client capabilities, the vendor capabilities… PASS is really a game changer. Completely seamless and SO easy to use.

I had to have my photo with the Man Himself, David Jay!

I hate that I put my tongue between my teeth in photos. I don’t know why I do it, it’s automatic and involuntary, and it sucks.

I’m so excited that I was able to attend this event, and that Tom was able to go with me. He got a lot of awesome ideas too, and he even asked a question – which TOTALLY surprised me! I won a book – Today We Are Rich – by sharing what I do for clients, and as soon as I’m done with another that I’m reading I will dive into it!

Overall it was a really, really fantastic experience. Tom isn’t happy that I discovered a new coffee maker that I HAVE to have, but hey, it is what it is right?

The tour only has a few stops left, primarily on the East coast. You can check out the map here. If you have the chance to go, GO! You will leave inspired and full of ideas to take your business to the next level, I’m 100% positive of it!

By the way, if you haven’t found me on Facebook yet, come on over and “Like” my business page!