The Importance of Presentation

 Whether attending a networking event, updating your website, sitting down in front of a prospect, writing a blog, creating a rack or business card, designing a newsletter, or just emailing an interested party, your initial presentation is your door of opportunity. At this critical stage you are given seconds for someone to judge you worthy of their time and treasure.

 Being in the image making industry for 46 years gives one the wisdom of age, experience, and yes miscues in putting yourself out there to the world of the client.

 First off you are always selling yourself! Make sure that your image is the best that it can be. There are no second chances to make that good first impression. People like to deal with someone they feel they know, so a quality image of yourself goes a long way to establishing a subliminal rapport with that still untapped client.

 Second, use promotional pieces that convey a clear message as to what you offer, showing images of the product or service offered if possible. Put a call to action in those pieces and offer something as a value added bonus that makes the prospect want to contact you.

 Third, the website is your portal to an endless stream of business. It is also the most powerful ally or adversary you have. It works for you if it has brevity, clarity, originality and imagery. It works against you if you have outdated text, excess wordage, bad imagery, and hard navigation. With a website you must capture a client's attention in less than a minute or they will move on.

There are seven more steps to presentation in the present world of marketing...

For a free copy of the full report email us at info@billrettberg.com.
This is a $25 value!

PS. For new clients of Images of Sommer, present a copy of this blog for any professional photography service we offer, and receive a 10% saving on that service.

Professional Head Shots At Your Convenience

 Social media, particularly sites such as LinkedIn are becoming the go to means for professionals to communicate with each other. Besides this format, the website you project, your marketing pieces, your resume, and a host of other avenues insist that you show your face.

 That's where we can help. Images of Sommer and Positive Images by Rettberg are starting a series of mobile head shot sites throughout the Baltimore Metro area. These will eventually be at fixed locations on certain days of each month.

 Whether you are in Baltimore City or Baltimore, Harford, Howard, Anne Arundel, or Carroll Counties, we will be in your areas.

 Our first scheduled mobile shoot is June 10th. See attached fliers for details.

 If you have an office of five or more people requiring portraits, we can schedule a convenient time right at your place of business! No extra charge for this service!

Don't delay, one great image is worth 100 text messages!

Let your first impression be your best impression.

The Value of YOU!

 With all of the Social Media outlets available today, the first impression one makes is not only a lasting impression, but has to be your best one. Having said that most clients impressions come from how you show yourself. In this increasingly impersonal environment your initial image can easily decide if people want to pursue a relationship, and to purchase your product or service.

 Observing LinkedIn and other professional networking sites it is obvious that some professionals get it and some don't. If you want to present a confident progressive style, be photographed by a professional and do it right.

 Two many images I see are shots on vacation, with their pets, families, or selfies from the cell phone.
While this may work for a casual posting on Facebook, it does not encourage in the professional world.

Think seriously about a studio style portrait or a location portrait capturing the product or service you are offering.

One great image is worth a hundred text messages, and can be the gate that swings open to greater profitability for you.

First Impressions last! Make your best impression with powerful imaging!

 There is no overestimating the power of Social Media in today's business world.  Virtually every interaction in the business world at one point or another crosses these outlets. The website of a particular service or product becomes the defacto gatekeeper for the client looking for what you have.

 To that end you have seconds to grab attention, create desire, and have that client go to the contact stage. Images of Sommer and Positive Images by Rettberg can create images that spur interest in your product or service. Bill Rettberg Jr. and Robin Sommer, with a combined 69 years of professional photography experience behind them, specialize in photography for websites, and any advertising form that you use to get your message out.

 Check out the multitude of galleries at our websites...www.billrettberg.com and www.robinsommer.com.  There are also many additional galleries available to you by going to www.pinterest.com and viewing the boards created under Bill Rettberg Jr.

  Establishing photographic ability with you is one thing, but what can we do specifically for you?
We offer in home, business, or location presentations at your convenience, to discuss your particular needs. Impressing you is what we are all about at that point, and our mission is to make you our future advertising. That can only be done if you are excited about the images and service given by us.

 Email us at info@billrettberg.com and tell us where you need assistance.

We do.... Professional head shots on location : Bed and breakfast photography: Product and food: Industrial: New home: Home restoration: Legal, and corporate events.

Our personal line includes family portraits, school seniors, weddings, new born, and anniversaries.

First impressions are lasting impressions! Make that impression your ticket to greater success!

Thank you and continued success!

Bill Rettberg Sr's last day on York Road...An era ends!

 On August 5, 2013 one of the longest running professional organizations in the country shuttered its doors forever. Bill Rettberg Sr. closed his York Road studio, the final peg in once was a three studio, full pro lab operation that at its peak in the 1980s photographed over 400 weddings, over a thousand portrait sessions,  dozens of commercial shoots, and took in outside lab work from other photographers every year. In addition, Rettberg Brothers ran until 1978 photographing thousands of newborns at Mercy and Saint Agnes hospitals. Throw in years of photographing yearbooks for several area schools, and one can grasp what a dynamic business spun out of Govans.

 From 1948 until August 5, 2013, Bill Rettberg has been a fixture on York Road, going from Waverly to the 5200 block of York Road, to 5802 York Road, and finally next  door to 5800 York Road. Bill has dedicated 65 years to his craft, and though some commercial photographers have shot into their 90s, there is not an active wedding photographer in the country who will still be shooting weddings at age 87. Bill will shoot his last wedding on September 28.

 He weathered fires, theft, family splits and all the normal pitfalls of running a business to stay vibrant and effective in a highly competitive field. In that time there were well over 150 people who worked there at one time or another as photographers, lab personnel, or administrative sales people.

  Retirement does not go down easily with Bill, and he will undoubtedly find new ways to exercize his still very active mind.

 Though Bill Sr. is out of the active pursuit of the photographic client, the Rettberg will go on. Bill Rettberg Jr. with 44 years under his belt as a full time professional will continue the family tradition along with wife and partner Robin Sommer. In the tenor of the times, the new business is Images of Sommer, a Bill Rettberg Production. It has been decided that the industry has taken on a decidedly feminine touch, and the advantages of a woman owned business cannot be ignored. Bill Jr. is many miles from a full retirement and will still actively pursue all aspects of photography coverage.

There is another Rettberg in the creative arts also. Bill Jr's son Jeff is at last moving forward on several projects in the video production arena. Jeff and his fiance Elena DeBold are forming their own production company, and Jeff is currently working on the set of the Netflix series House of Cards. Jeff is a graduate of the prestigious Vancouver Film School, and has a strong background in editing, producing and directing various projects. The Rettberg name will endure for many decades to come!

We wish Bill Sr. many happy years, and to him we say it was a great ride, and you are a credit to all those who ever called themselves professional photographers.

Baltimore wedding photographers on the Eastern Shore

Bill Rettberg and Robin Sommer, Baltimore wedding photographers went to the Eastern shore of Maryland to the beautiful Harbortowne Golf Resort bridal show on January 27. The show featured a great venue for weddings by the water. There were several other Maryland wedding photographers at the show, but Images of Sommer/Positive Images by Rettberg was the only Baltimore wedding photographer. Robin Sommer and Bill Rettberg workk weddings at the Chesapeake Bay Beach Club, and the Kent Manor Inn, and are now hoping to add Harbortowne to our list. Come see Images of Sommer and Positive Images by Rettberg at our next bridal show, Embassy Suites Hunt Valley on Sunday February 10 at 12 noon.
If you are looking for professional wedding photographers in Maryland, this will be the place for brides and grooms in 2013.

Weddings 2013

 Many changes have taken place in the wedding photography industry over the past few years. One thing that never changes though is the importance of hiring a professional photographer to record the happiest day of your life. As the years go by, a truly well crafted wedding album with exceptional images will not only let you relive the day your new family began, it will let generations yet born know their heritage, and feel some of the emotion that their ancestors felt on that most special day. It is a true time capsule of love and happiness. Images of Sommer and Positive Images by Rettberg will bring all of their creative powers into making your day last forever. We look forward to serving you in the coming year.