Shoot The Baby is Changing!!!

It’s been quite a while since there have been any updates with ShootTheBaby.com. Mostly because, about 2 years ago, I started moving more into commercial photography, and am completely loving it. It gives me the chance to be totally creative, and having clients hire me for my particular vision!

Last December, I was evaluating where I was with all of the various web properties (doggettstudios.com, shootthebaby.com, boxofficebaby.com). What I figured out was that while I enjoyed sharing the kind of tips and thoughts that I was posting at STB, I really enjoyed those on a more general photography level (as opposed to just focusing on babies).

So, I’ve decided to rebrand all of my outside blogging efforts into a new site : KillTheAmbient.com, which just launched today! This site will focus on providing ideas and tips for photographers, but told in a casual, humorous style. For example, some of the initial stories that I’ve posted include:

Want New Camera Gear? Get Pregnant.
Are You A Travel Photographer? Pack Some Heat To Protect Your Gear.

There’s also an Off-Camera Flash 101 series which has its first installment posted.

Down the road, I may offer some training opportunities for those interested in working with lights, post-processing, etc. Overall, the information I will be posting will apply to almost all photographers. There will be occasional ’specialized’ topics (like an upcoming rant I have on vendor meals at weddings).

So, when you get a chance, head on over to KillTheAmbient.com and take a look. If you like what you see, sign up for updates. These will be written by me (as opposed to emailed blog posts) every week or two.

** Also **, since I am not an approver of reusing email lists, I won’t be migrating the STB email list to KTA. You’ll need to go there to sign up. But, I promise it will be worth it as I have a lot to share (over 80 blog story ideas are already set aside!).

All of the existing content here at STB will remain.

Thank you so much for your support, and see you over at KillTheAmbient.com!

Oops - You’re Already Subscribed!

Looks like you are already subscribed with that email address! But we certainly do appreciate the extra interest in Shoot The Baby!

Thanks - You’re Signed Up!

Thanks for signing up for ShootTheBaby.com updates! You are now part of the STB family

If you haven’t already, you’ll soon receive an email with a link to verify your email address. After that, you’ll get the first 3 tips of the “10 Tips To Shoot Your Baby Like A Movie Star” PDF file that we mentioned. Rock on!

Once you’ve soaked up the knowledge from those first 3 tips, head over here to pick up the full version! And if you use the discount code SHOOTMYBABY on checkout, you’ll save an extra 10%!

What Is RSS

What is RSS?

You might have seen this little icon around the web and wondered, “What’s that?” It’s RSS, and I am going to give you a little tutorial on what it means and how to use it!

Imagine This

You have 10 or so websites and blogs that you love, and you have them bookmarked. You check them almost everyday to see the latest posts.As you discover more sites, you continually add to your bookmarks, and before you know it, your “Baby Tips” folder has 50 sites listed in it. Who wants to open all of those sites everyday? Enter RSS.

Alright Stop, Collaborate and List-en

RSS was designed to help you get through this mess. Today, blogs and websites publish what is known as an ‘RSS feed’ on their site. Think of it as a minimalist announcement that says “Here are the latest posts.” Every time a blogger posts a new story, the feed gets updated automatically. All you have to do to get in on this action is subscribe to the feed in something called a ‘feed reader.’ My favorite is Google Reader. Once you set up an account, you simply paste the URL of the feed into the feed reader, and it does the rest.

Where Do I Get This Feed?

For this site, the feed is at:

http://www.ShootTheBaby.com/feed/rss/

Click that link and you’ll see what the feed looks like! Now, just copy the link, go to Google Reader, and click ‘Add Subscription’. Then paste the link in and you’re done!

Or, you can simply click the “Subscribe” bar in the upper-right of this page, and a new window will appear to get you subscribed.

Ok I Added Your Feed, But How Does This Help?

Once you’ve subscribed to the feeds in Google Reader, Google will collect all the posts and consolidate everything in one window, so you have easy access to all of the latest posts from your favorite sites! Google Reader will show you the story and you can click through to the website if you prefer.

Cool! How Do I Find The Feed At My Favorite Site?

Visit the site and look for something like “RSS” or “Subscribe in a reader”. That will link you directly to the feed. Some links (like ours on the right side of our homepage) will actually add it to Google Reader directly for you, saving you a few steps.So give RSS and Google Reader a try - I am pretty sure you will become addicted rather quickly!