PPT - Powerful Presentation Techniques

Photo Resources - SnapVillage, PictureNation and PhotoShelter

I haven't posted on low cost online photography sources for awhile.  One of the newer ones is SnapVillage, a microstock photography company owned by privately held Corbis.  They allow the "amateur" photographer to upload images, select their selling price from $1 - $50 and go to town.  The site allows you to search by price, recency, snappyness and relevance.  Here's a fact sheet on the site.

Another photo resource that I've come across is PhotoShelter.  They also offer a marketplace, although their pricing is significantly higher than SnapVillage.  On a less costly note you can buy web quality photos at UK-based PictureNation on a subscription or per image basis.

I'll be adding SnapVillage to version 8 of my resource listing for presenters.  If you have other photography or presentation related resources that you feel should be part of this resource listing send them to me.

Note: this is one of my photographs taken at the Bean in Chicago last summer.

UPDATED - PowerPoint & Presentation Resource Listing (REV 7)

I've updated the PPT - Powerful Presentation Techniques Resource Listing to include several new books, web sites and article links that I've come across or have been submitted to me.  The Resource Listing is now in its seventh revision. 
Download PPT-PowerfulPresentationTechniquesResourceGuideRev7.pdf

If you have additions or changes that should be made to the listing, please send me an e-mail. 

If I can be of any help in assessing your team's current level of presentation or PowerPoint skills or assist you with your training needs, please let me know.

Paul Gibler
(608) 255 4092

Book Reviews - presentationzen

Elegant.

That's the word that I'd use for an overall descriptor of Garr Reynolds' new book "presentationzen - Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery".  The book is beautiful with a "zen sensibility", great graphics and lots of good examples of before and after or just plain good presentations.  The book is well organized into 5 major modules:

1. Introduction
2. Preparation
3. Design
4. Delivery
5. the Next Step

From its foreword by Guy Kawasaki, cleverly "written" using PowerPoint slide to its sharing of the top Slideshare show for 2007, he's got a winner in this book for those looking for a clean overview of what makes for creating and delivering good presentations.  If you're looking for a book on techniques to use PowerPoint 2003, 2007 or Keynote you'll need to look elsewhere.  This book is not software specific, a benefit if you're reading it while on the road as a passenger en route to Minneapolis which I did earlier this month. 

I like how he reminds the reader that presentations involve 3 tools - the slides, the speaker notes and the handouts.  While many people think of these as all of the same, he effectively deconstructs the role of each of them in making a presentation effective.

Another comment, I'd make is that while Garr is very big on the use of striking and memorable photography, something I generally agree with, the reality of corporate budgets, presentation topics and the nature of internal presentations often intrudes and makes these visually rich presentations difficult to pull off.   Plus, not every presenter has the technical knowledge or software to manipulate images in the way that the presenters showecased are able to do. 

Garr does direct the reader to iStockphoto, and includes a special offer for readers. 

All in all, I'd rate this book and his blog an A for your reading list and as an addition to your presentation skills library. 

Off Topic - Wisconsin Flooding

Some of my regular readers may know that I live in Madison, Wisconsin.  Madison is the beautiful capital city of Wisconsin.  This year we've faced unprecedented weather conditions that have led to severe flooding in the Southwest corner of the state and rivers and lakes that are at all time highs.  I happen to live on a lake overlooking downtown Madison and our classic state capital.  Needless to say all the rain has led to lake levels almost 2 feet above normal, standing water in the basement and a sump pump working non-stop.  I thought you might enjoy seeing the results of this rainfall in the underwater piers of two of the neighbors on our street.  Given that we don't have a pier this aspect of the overfull lakes hasn't impacted us. 

New Photo Databases

ResearchBuzz reports on the launch of a couple of specialized photo databases that you might find interesting as your looking for specific photos for use in presentations or other media.  The sites that were reviewed includes

• UPINewsPictures - Database of over 300,000 UPI (United Press International) Photographs available for license
• Philly History - Database of over 25,000 Historic Philadelphia pictures

Stock & Other Photography Resources Updates

Looking for another source for stock images for your PPT presentations?

Why not take a look at LuckyOliver - a community of artists, buying and selling photographs.  The web site states that the images sell for about a dollar.

For full disclosure purposes, I have an affiliate marketing relationship with them.

Stock Photography Updates

Periodically I come across additional stock photography resources.  I'll be updating my PowerPoint & Presentation Resource listing guide with the new information, but will also make it available immediately on PPT.

One of the stock photography sites, I've identified is Awesome Presentation Pictures.  You can purchase all of their images on a CD ROM for $299, purchase them individually for $5 or buy 10 for $40. 

In other stock photography news, Photo News Today announced that the Stock Artists Alliance, a global trade association dedicated to representing the rights of stock photographers has released a "Guide to the Business of Stock Photography" for those wanting to understand more about the business from the perspective of the photographer (PDF, registration required).

Photo Sharing Sites

Take a look at my post on the Web Chef's e-Bytes about photo sharing site YouREP including links to comparison tables on different photo sharing services.  These services could be of use to presenters looking to inventory their images.

In One Ear...

In One Ear...
Originally uploaded by Auntie K.

A striking image that evoked the failure in communication that can occur during a presentation.

Stock Photography Updates

Here are some stock photography resources for presenters that are worth exploring;

• Dreamstime - plans with different levels
• iStockPhoto (now owned by Getty Images) $1/photo for small sizes
• Shutterstock - monthly, quarterly, yearly plans