"Oh What A Picture"

Photographing balloons is a challenging task, but I believe it is also an essential part of our business. I come from a family of photographers, I have always understood the difficulty of capturing the beauty of balloons in a single image. I regularly spend hours at home creating and refining new balloon designs, and I would never want to do my work a disservice by taking quick, sloppy photos.

Imagine spending hours crafting a masterpiece, only to snap a quick photo of it in a cluttered and messy environment. It would be a waste of time and effort, and it would not represent the true quality of your work. The photograph is often the thing that customers will see, on social media and on your website, you need your balloons to look at their best for this reason.

That is why I take the time to carefully compose and photograph my balloon designs. I want to create images that capture the magic and wonder of balloons, and that showcase my work in the best possible light.

I am a huge fan of the idea that it doesn't matter what camera you have, you may have a smart phone or a cheap digital camera, it's not the equipment that matters, it's how you use it.

Over the years, I've developed a handful of tricks to help me capture my balloon work in the best possible way. One trick in particular is simple to apply and ensures that your photographs look their best.

Here's what to do:

1. Set up your balloon and take a photograph.
2. Leave the balloon set up and walk away.
3. Spend some time looking at the photograph, taking in everything about the scene. If possible, open the photograph on a larger screen so you can see all the details.
4. Pay attention to the positioning of the balloons, the background, and whether everything is straight. Look at every single detail. Make notes if necessary.
5. Now it is time to go back to your balloon and make the adjustments. Reposition any balloons that looked out of place, move any objects that were in the background, and clean up any popped balloons. Make all those fine adjustments.
6. Now time to retake that photo and repeat the process again. I sometimes repeat this process 4 or 5 times, each time making little adjustments. You'll find that you can't see all the little details that need changing until you view the balloon sculpture in a photograph.

I hope you found this photography tip informative and helpful. What is your favourite tip for taking great photos of balloons? Please share it in the comments below.

Unicorns and Candyfloss

I have developed some wonderful friends in the party industry, and one of my most recent friends has become one of my closest friends. For the purpose of this story, let's call her L. We met at a balloon event and bonded quickly. I could see she had an amazing talent, and I wanted to help her on her journey. L often asked me for advice and shared her worries with me, and I was more than happy to help.

One of L's early worries was that a local woman had started up a party balloon business with a very similar name to her own: Unicorns and Marshmallow Balloons, compared to L's Unicorns and Candyfloss Balloons. I could instantly see the problem: the two businesses had very similar names. I chatted to L about this and asked her a few questions about the other business. To our surprise, the businesses were somewhat different. Yes, they were both party balloon businesses, but this new competitor offered a lower-end service, whereas my friend L was supplying a very high-end service.

As time went on, a few other instances arose with L and even with some other friends. Essentially, another person or business has done something to make them angry, such as copying a balloon design or starting to advertise in the same area. In fact, this is a common complaint on social media. It's a common problem that will likely continue, unfortunately, that's the nature of business.

My advice to L and to anyone else who is facing similar competition is always the same: ignore them. Getting angry or upset about a competitor is a waste of your own precious energy. Instead, focus your energy on your own business. Why waste it on someone else?

I have made some lovely friends in the local balloon industry, but one thing I make sure to do is not follow them on social media. I don't want to see what they're up to, when and where they're working, or what balloon designs they're working on. I've always made this clear to my local balloon artiste and entertainer friends. By not following them and not seeing what they're up to, I can focus 100% on my own business and be unique.

Have you ever had to deal with competition in your business? How did you handle it? Share your tips in the comments below!

How to Get Customers to Love You

I am more of a balloon entertainer rather than a balloon decorator but there is one little trick that I have been doing for about 20 years which I think when applied to any industry makes our jobs so much easier and it is a simple method I use to get customers to like me. 

The trick I use is simple: it takes no effort and can be used anywhere, anytime. The key is that I always use it when I first meet a customer face to face.

The first time I usually meet my customers is when I arrive at their venue to entertain, since I don't have a shop, I rarely meet them before the event, and most of the time, my work comes through an agent, so I may have never even communicated with them at all. It can be daunting not knowing who you're going to meet or whether they'll like you.

Here is the trick - I pay them a compliment, lets say I am arriving at a customers house to do a balloon show, as I pull up to their house I scan the area, I am looking for something, anything that I can pay them a compliment on. It could be their flowers, their car, the colour of their front door, It could be literally anything, just find something that you think they may have had a hand in. I ring the doorbell and they open the door and I say "hello, I love the colour of those flowers in your garden, I am Rob, your entertainer for the party today, how are you?".

What if the customer has hired a venue? well the same applies, find something to compliment them on, "Wow what an excellent hall this is", " Hey I love what you have done with the decorations" (no matter how much you dislike them) or maybe even "Thank you so much for the directions, they made my journey so much easier" (I never follow customer directions, they are usually terrible).

Some other examples I have used in the past are "wow you certainly have picked a lovely day" (as if they have control over the weather) "I love the colour of your car" (I have no interest in cars but they do) and just recently I used "Hey I do love a freshly mown lawn"

The key point here is to find something that THEY have had a hand in, by paying THEM a compliment you - put them at ease, - increases their and your happiness, - decreases stress, - create and strengthens the relationship you have with your customer, - creates a ripple of positivity

Here are some things to think about, If you are a man then I would avoid commenting on the appearance of a women, telling a lady you like her dress COULD be seen as slightly creepy and may set you off on the wrong foot, always best to play it safe. The same COULD apply to women commenting about a mans appearance, the last thing you want to do as a woman is to compliment a husband and then have a disgruntled wife think you are trying to steal him. I do generally avoid saying anything about a customers appearance so usually pick something else. And lastly try not to go too over the top with your compliment "Hey that cat is the most beautiful cat I have EVER seen in the entire UNIVERSE" just makes you sound like a complete weirdo, the idea is for your compliment to be short, natural and almost a throw away line just to get you onto the right track in the first few seconds of meeting.

As they say 'First impressions last' and I am a firm believer of this phrase, why not give it a try?

Achieving Your Goals

Some of you may know that I enjoy setting myself small challenges. One such challenge began many years ago with a project I called "365." I had recently purchased a new DSLR camera, and while it was a powerful piece of equipment, I didn't know how to use all of its features. I'm a firm believer that the best way to learn is by doing, so I decided to take a photo every day for a year.

I decided to challenge myself to take a selfie every day for a year and share it on social media. I vowed to experiment with different camera functions, ideas, and editing techniques, publishing the results to my blog and social media platforms.

The daily challenge of using my camera and editing my photos helped me learn new techniques and come up with creative ideas. It was hard work, but I persevered and achieved my goal of taking a daily photo for a year.

My successful 365 project inspired me to take on other challenges, including many balloon-themed projects. The first was called "My Daily Balloon.

Over the Christmas holidays, I mentioned to a friend that I was looking for a new project. They suggested balloons, and I was immediately inspired. My goal was to create a different balloon sculpture every day for a year.

I have developed a specific way of planning and implementing my projects. This is my tried-and-true method for success. I will use one of my other balloon sculpture projects as an example to explain my process. 

First, I define my goal. For example, in my WWF project, I wanted to highlight endangered animals.

Next, I set constraints for time and duration. For example, I decided to make one sculpture per week for 26 weeks (one animal per letter of the alphabet).

Finally, I develop a detailed plan. I take notes, plan each sculpture ahead of time, and give the project a name. In this case, the project was called "An A to Z on Endangered Animals."

An A-Z of Endangered Animals

Now that I have a fully formed project, I have clear goals, a plan, and the knowledge to make it happen.

The most important step now is to tell the world about it.

Imagine that your goal is to speak Spanish by the end of the year. If you keep it a secret, only you will know if you fail. But if you tell your friends and family, you will feel accountable to them. You don't want to disappoint them, so you're more motivated to succeed.

That's why I tell the world about my projects. I announce them on social media, tell my friends and family, and share them with other balloon enthusiasts. I want everyone to know what I'm doing and to expect. This motivates me to keep going and achieve my goals.

The point is this: everyone should have goals. Whether you want to learn a new balloon design, get fit, learn how to bake a cake, or walk more, goals help us learn and grow. And I believe that telling others about your goals makes you more likely to achieve them. Not only will you want to succeed to impress your friends and family, but you'll also have their support.

"Know what you want to do, hold the thought firmly, and do every day what should be done, and every sunset will see you that much nearer to your goal.” — Elbert Hubbard