Category: testimonials

Should You Invest in Gear, Marketing, or Education?

by Stanley Learyteaching / testimonials

What is holding you back from living your dreams? This is the time of year we set goals for the year.

Often we are thinking budget and about making equipment purchases. I think just as important as investing in yourself and your people through education. 

While it is easy to point to so many things that are obstacles for us, most of these are out of our control. All is not lost.

Chelle playing at the mall

All the books and articles on this topic point to taking control of what you can do. That is your superpower. Decide what you will do in the face of all that life gives you. 

Borrowing from the great Ted Lasso, “Don’t let the wisdom of age be wasted on you.”  

This year I turn sixty years old. I have been working in communications since 1982 while in college. I want to offer forty years of experience to you and your organization. 

“Scar Tissue is stronger than regular tissue. Realize the strength, move on.” – Henry Rollins 

When I was younger, I broke my neck, was in traction for a month, and then in a body cast for eight weeks.

Through the years, I have many more events that I learned from that made me who I am today.

That scar tissue of mistakes through the years was one way I grew and learned what not to do and what to do next time.

The other way I was learning was from others. Formal and informal education is what taught me just as much as learning from my mistakes and success. 

I am now in a time of life where I want to give back and help others. 

I want to help you realize your dreams and aspirations. I have found that I do have a gift for teaching. It has a great deal to do with the empathy developed from the struggles of learning something new. Also, it came from learning from others.

While working on my master’s degree in communications, I had to take education courses. I had specific classes for Adults, Youth, and Children, as well as courses on teaching principles.

Teaching lighting with the School of Photography with YWAM in Kona, Hawaii. photo by Dennis Fahringer

What this means is I had to demonstrate that I could teach all these learning styles to pass those courses. By the way, I didn’t just get by with these studies; I was thriving. I made the Dean’s list almost every semester for my studies. 

I have learned through the years of teaching in different environments that students learn best when they want to grow and understand a topic. Workshops are where I discovered that almost everyone was highly engaged and wanted to know the subject.

“Stanley’s able to combine decades’ worth of experience in photojournalism and commercial photography with an acute sensitivity to the needs of my photo students. He teaches here in an efficient hands-on way on lighting as well as business practices. Those are just a small fraction of his expertise. It’s a joy each time we invite him back to teach.”

– Dennis Fahringer, YWAM School of Photography


Often in school programs, students are taking courses because they are required. They don’t understand why and usually are not engaged with the content. 

However, the best part of the workshop is that the instructor has the time to get to know you better than in a presentation one does, for example, the Rotary Club. 

The four core learning styles include visual, auditory, reading and writing, and kinesthetic. You will find many who might break this down into more categories, but I think this works pretty well for understanding that people learn differently. 

I have found that you can incorporate those styles in a workshop environment. I have also discovered that when working with a person one-on-one, I can customize my approach even more to that person.

Here are some of the topics I teach on through the years

Organizations     

  • Digital Asset Management – Learn how to spend less time organizing and more time being productive with your assets.·      
  • Photo Selection – Learn how to pick the best photos that communicate your brand. Also, learn about model releases, copyright, and usage concerns so that you do not get into trouble when using photos.

Photographers

  • One Light Workshop – Learn how to use on flash off camera. You will learn the difference between hotshoe flashes and studio strobes. Light modifiers will also be taught. 
  • Lightroom for the photographer – Learn workflow of shooting RAW with your camera to producing edited JPEGs.
  • Creating your own photo library – Learn how to use Lightroom or Photo Mechanic Plus to organize your photos for easy searching and finding of your photos.
  • Business [separate topics]
    • Basic overview of being a professional photographer
    • Marketing
    • Blogging
    • Newsletter
  • Sports Workshop
  • Posing Workshop

Ever hear of Referrals and Testimonials?

by Stanley Learytestimonials
YWAM School of Photography 1 2011 in Kona, Hawaii

I get Jeffrey Gitomer’s newsletters every week. This week’s topic, The 100-year path to a sale, is over: Road Closed. It will help if you read it. I have finally taken his advice about using referrals.

I took his advice mainly because Brian Hirschy asked me for referrals for the workshop we are putting on in Tibet.

Since the workshop is geared toward teaching, I contacted Dennis Fahringer, Mark Johnson, and Jim Loring, who have had me talk to their classes regularly. I figured they wouldn’t invite me back unless I were worth their time.

I also contacted Ken Touchton, who has been in this field longer than I and is a mentor to me. He has encouraged me, and I have listened to his advice.

Gitomer says

REALITY: The days of selling the old way are not only gone, they’re annoying! Not to me. They’re annoying to your customer and your potential customer.

Ever hear of referrals?
Ever hear of testimonials?
Ever hear of networking?
Ever thought about speaking at civic organizations?
Ever thought about writing a column for the local business weekly or your industry trade publication?

If you spent the same amount of time earning referrals as you do making cold calls, your numbers would increase, you’d close more sales, your aggravation factor would drop to zero, you’d make more money, you’d be infinitely happier on the job, and your job happiness would skyrocket … read more

Testimonials

“Stanley Leary’s been a guest teacher for me every year since 2006 in the School of Photography 1, which I lead at the University of the Nations in Kona, Hawaii. Stanley’s able to combine decades’ worth of experience in photojournalism and commercial photography with an acute sensitivity to the needs of my photo students. He teaches here in an efficient hands-on way on lighting as well as business practices. Those are just a small fraction of his expertise. It’s a joy each time we invite him back to teach.”

 
Dennis Fahringer-  Kona, Hawaii;  School of Photography

“Stanley has been a regular guest in my photojournalism classes here at the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. Officially, I bring him in to talk about business practices. But unofficially, I bring him in because the way he talks about business practices demonstrates so many of the skills I want my journalism students to have.

His level of preparation is staggering – his presentation is detailed and well researched, and his examples are meticulously culled from his experiences. He talks about the way that supports the what – why developing relationships with clients leads to what they will hire you for. His presentation style engages the audience, asks them to participate at a high level, and then adjusts his presentation to the level the students are at. (I must admit that my students are nowhere near as prepared for his visits as he is, something I now know how to fix based on his last presentation.)

Outside of his formal presentations, Stanley has become an excellent resource for me. Our conversations run the gamut from the technical minutia of photography to the overarching reasons why visuals communicate so well in some situations and not so well in others. His real-world experiences help me shape what I teach every semester; his blog entries help me fine-tune individual lessons; his friendship helps keep me sane and grounded at work and home.

So, why does Stanley come out to talk to my classes? Of course, there’s an easy and correct (if limited) answer: if everyone’s business practices get better, everyone in the industry will do better. But I think he does this because Stanley, at his core, is a sharer – he is programmed to share, help others, guide, and teach.

Exploring a new culture with Stanley, who sees it differently than I do, is enticing. I think the 10 participants who get to wander the backroads and villages of Tibet with him are in for an educational experience that will go far beyond lenses and light. They’re going to see the world in front of them very differently.”

Mark E. Johnson-  University of Georgia; Journalism & Mass Communication

“Sensitive and insightful photography can always inspire others and cut through to the heart of the issue. With a deep understanding of photography’s unique storytelling capacity, Stanley brings insight and depth as he shares from over 30 years of experience.”

Jim Loring – North Georgia Technical College

“Dedicated storyteller and visual communicator, Stanley Leary exhibits his enthusiasm and passion for photography with the large diversity of images he produces. His depth of skill, technique, and photographic knowledge is the foundation of his strategy to engage people at all levels and create dramatic images that demand dialogue. His methods and personal drive keep him on the cutting edge of the constant equipment, software, and computer upgrades, which increases his performance and production for his diverse clientele. Learning with Stanley allows you to increase your craftsmanship, expertise, and artistry as you develop an intense knowledge of your equipment. Then, when you engage that dramatic moment of light and artistry, your methods and strategy will deliver the performance you gained from spending time with Stanley.”

Ken Touchton – Freelancer in Washington DC