Up To Me

I've been reading the magazine/book `Exposed' by Jasmine Star over the holidays (thank you to my sister for getting it for me!). Jasmine is a well known wedding photographer and her magazine shows how she started and where is now. I think if you want to be a wedding photographer, it is a great resource. Photography is her life and it's definitely not mine, so we are different, but, it gives some great ideas of what to do and not do. I'm about halfway through but something I read yesterday really stuck with me.

When I come back from a session, my feelings are always different. Sometimes I'm like `That was so fun! I loved it!' but other times, well, I feel like, `That wasn't fun. That was a job'. Trying to differentiate between what makes one session fun and the other not so great, I can't tell you exactly what it is. I love it when the family/couple/kids have put time into their outfits. When they choose a fun location. When the lighting is good. When there are just great interactions between the individuals. When people feel comfortable and are willing to do anything. When people WANT to be there. Sometimes it's so `on' and other times, it's not.

Here is something she says, `If you're feeling unsatisfied with your photos, it's your fault. If your clients look awkward in their photos, it's your fault. If you feel stuck, that's also your fault.' (Exposed, pg. 116). If someone isn't comfortable, it's my job to loosen them up. Most people haven't had a photo session before, it's my job to explain it to them, have a vision (which coincides with their goals), and have fun with it.

I think I often worry about making sure I get what the client thinks they want that I put aside my ideas. I remember just a few months back, I was taking some pictures of sweet little Claire. About half way through, her mom, Estelle, said `What inspires you? What do you love to do?'. What do I love? I love taking pictures of kids with some awesome lighting. So, that's what we did and I loved those photos.

I need to trust myself more. Encourage clients to loosen up a bit more and try just a few more things. I need to get inspired by introducing new ideas. And, I do need to work on capturing more `moments' rather than set up smiles:)

I'm looking forward to 2012. Our plan is not to grow our business in the numerical sense, but to do what we do even better. I want to try new things and just produce images that I can be super proud of. I want to make sure that I incorporate what I want to do into each session and not just give what I think the client wants. Hopefully that way, there is a lot more, `That was so fun! I loved it!' going on.

Booking Ahead

It's hard to know how far ahead to accept bookings but I think I'm getting the hang of it:) The reason you don't want to book too far ahead is because you don't know what your personal plans will be, you might realize that 22 weddings in one year is too much on top of all those other sessions, AND maybe you'll realize that certain sessions, like extended family sessions, are just not your thing but you have 10 more booked.

So, we usually open bookings for the following year in January. Then, I accept bookings up to about 6 months in advance. I do try to have a back up date also scheduled in just in case the weather is terrible or something comes up.

In regards to weddings, they are usually about a year in advance. The problem with any more than that is you really don't know what life will hold for you (for example, we are having a baby!). It is in our contract that if one of us is unable to photograph the wedding, a second photographer will be available in their place. We are having to do this for 2 weddings next year as we'll have a newborn babe. Also, when I quote a price to a bride, it's a year before her wedding and when the big day actually comes, our prices have been raised so we are losing out on money. This is especially the case when they book more than a year in advance.

I have realized the importance of scheduling family vacation time way in advance so that you have time set aside just for family and nothing else. For us, Christmas holidays, Spring Break and 2-3 weeks in the summer is ideal. Also, this is a good time to rejuvenate and reflect on what you really do enjoy and what is more just `work'. When our kids are a bit older, I have a feeling that we will move away from summer weddings so that we have the whole summer to go on long road trips with the family:)

So, that is where I am now. I'm at the tail end of all the fall sessions with really just two more sessions to do this year and four to finish editing. Things will definitely be a lot different next year as we have only accepted 8 weddings. This will give us more time to focus on our baby and try to find the perfect balance between wedding, family, maternity and newborn photography.

If you have any more booking tips, please let me know!

Unplugged Wedding?

I know, I keep cheating by just posting links here but ya, I'm a little tired these days:) Anyway, this is a great article. It is unbelievable to me how many people spend time staring into their LCD screens rather than actually savouring the moment. What the heck are you going to do with all those photos you took at a ceremony as a guest?

Here it is.

Fall Photo Inspiration

I do love checking out Inspire Me Baby for different session ideas. Check out this cute fall themed session which I thought she captured so well!

How To Get Great Backlighting

I'm still relatively new to backlit photos but I LOVE them for their super warm feel and the lack of shadows and squinting. Hopefully we get a few more sunny days in the fall, I think it would look so fabulous with all the fall colours! Here are a few tips:

1. Have the sun lower in the sky (maybe an hour before sunset).

2. It is best if the sun is filtered through some trees or have part of the subject filtering the light. You don't want to be in total shade from the trees though, the light must be filtering through!

3. If you want a super sun flare look, put your aperture at about f/14 to f/22 (shoot in AV mode). If you don't want sunflare, use a lens hood:)

4. If your subject is looking darker, overexpose the photo a stop.

Here's hoping for some more sunshine:)

Love, Louise

10 Tips for Height Differences

Last weekend I had a session where the couple differed in height by over a foot. What are some things to remember in this case?

1. If you are photographing someone tall, it's often better to try to get a bit higher than them...especially if you are just 5'6":)

2. Have the couple sitting. This helps to equalize things a bit and get their heads closer together naturally.

3. Make sure that when looking up at the taller individual, that the shorter one does it more with their eyes rather than their whole head. Otherwise, there will be a lot of shots of just pure neck.

4. Instead of just `regular' kissing, a kiss on the forehead is cute:)

5. Have the shorter person walk in front and lead the other.

6. Find natural spots where there is a height differential and use it (stairs, sidewalk and curb, roots next to the tree etc). Did I mention stairs???

7. Tilting the camera for an angled shot.

8. Picking the other person up!

9. Stagger them.

10. Finally, heels.

Let me know if you think of something else!

Kid Tips

Being that I do lot of family sessions, there are a bunch of things to help make it easier on kids (and parents and you!).

First off, I have no problem with parents bribing their kids:) Secondly, if they are young, I will forego the most important time for lighting and instead, use a time where the kiddos are better behaved (ex. not around nap time!).

Here are some other ways to get kids to love you/the camera:

1. Get to know their name right away.

2. Let them know they will do a few smiley faces and then they get to do their silliest faces! And be prepared, after the funny face often comes the most sincere smiles!

3. Let them see their photos after you take a bunch.

4. Find out what they love and get them to shout that out or you can make the sound. I have choo chooed and barked and neighed and who knows what else. A lot of little ones love singing. I have the WORST voice in the world but somehow, `Happy birthday' can do that trick without sounding too terrible! Make sure the parents don't sing along if they are in the photos.

5. If they are not wanting to look at the camera, just get some candids following them around. Or, get them interacting with mom and dad...those are the best smiles!

6. Let them choose the spot they want their photo taken at, sometimes they pick really good ones!

{Noah picked this great spot!}

There's are just a few off the top of my head. Do you have any others?

Take The Time

One thing I have learned over the years is to take the time to look over your subject and scenery before shooting. I'm still not super great at this because I get in a groove, but here are some things to look for so that you don't have to do a bunch of photoshopping afterwards!

1. Gum-don't chew it!

2. Girls hair stuck to their lipstick due to the wind (I just spent time today editing this, that's why it's on my mind).

(It's not hard to fix but when you have 10 pictures like this, it would've been way faster for me to notice and fix her hair).

3. Collars that aren't out properly, ties that aren't straight.

(Half of our session had her collar tucked in and I didn't notice! I actually went back to re-shoot it rather than try to edit it at all.)

4. Bra straps showing

5. Garbage in the way or graffiti in the background (some graffiti is okay but make sure it's appropriate!!).

6. Necklace clasps showing

7. Two people next to each other with bold patterns.

8. Elastics on wrists. I am so guilty of this, I always have one on my wrist:)

This is just a quick list. Anything else you can think of?

Starting Out: 4 Tips

If you are starting up a photography business, read here. Here are a few things I would add:

1. Word of mouth is the best advertisement ever. You do a good job on a session and suddenly, 4 other people, connected to that family or wedding, would like to hire you. In the beginning, we put an add in a local newsletter and dropped off postcards to about 200 homes in our neighbourhood. We got two sessions from that which basically covered our costs. Word of mouth is best.

2. Recognize your community and let them see you in action. Fortunately, we are connected to a wonderful and huge community. Our jobs as teachers connected us so many people. If you don't have that sort of base, I know there has to be other communities that you are part of. Church? Play group? Fellow preschool moms? Neighbourhood? Gary and I volunteer our services to three places; church, school and then I also do NILMDTS. People at church and school then realize we are photographers and get to see our work.

3. Getting a website/blog up right away is so important. Facebook too. I know she mentioned it but I want to reaffirm that point. Have something that showcases your work. Show only your best work. Don't try to include as many photos as you can, make sure every single picture is good. I know I still include too many but you need to make sure that if someone saw just one of the pictures you posted, they would think it was great.

4. If you need to build your portfolio, and you are not busy, take some sessions for free of your family or close friends. I have learned my lesson on this one though...DO NOT OFFER FREE SESSIONS IF YOU ARE BUSY. Otherwise, those sessions just take away from family time or from sessions where you could make money. I was always thinking, `Well, they don't have any money so I'll give them a deal, or do it for free or...'. I have realized that if you give someone a deal, they will take that money they saved and just spend it on something else. This is not to say that I don't give gifts once in a while but they are now very, very limited and I'm a lot more particular on when they happen. Also, another exception is when you are trying something new. An example of this was my first birth session for a good friend. Very cool experience for me, so awesome to capture.

5. You can change your prices. You don't need to wait until the new year to change them. We raised our prices way too slowly. I think because I spent 5 years getting my Bachelor of Science and then my teaching degree, I felt like I was qualified. I had a hard time asking for money for something that I was self taught in. I think that where we started was appropriate four years ago. We started at $100/session with two photographers...it was a great time for us to learn together and build our portfolio and confidence. I think our first wedding was $500.00 but really, we weren't wedding photographers so I think that was fair. There are sooooo many costs involved (even just insurance, yikes!) so take that into account.

Okay, that's it for today:) Gotta get back to work here!

Louise

Great Professional Development

I'm back. I've decided to start posting on here again. Really, I think it's going to be super small tidbits here and there that hopefully one person will find interesting:) I had stopped because there are so many great photography sites out there and I felt silly. However, I feel like I have some stuff to share, so I will!

Recently, Gary and I booked a photo session with Megan to have a fun date for our 6th wedding anniversary. It was so fun and actually some great professional development. I would say that if you are a photographer, yet never experienced being the subject of a session, do it!

Here are some things I learned:

1. Each photographer has their own style and you hire them for them. If someone hires me, I need to be confident and do my thing. Sure, I ask if there are specific things they are looking for, but really, it's my work they've seen and want and so I'll do it. I don't need to worry about being `artsier' or `pose-ier' or someone else, I'm me. Megan did her thing and I loved it. It was 70% like us and 30% different and I liked that.

2. It is good to give couples a good idea of what to expect during a session and to give them little tips as well. Example: It will be one hour long, bring some lip gloss to touch up, we'll do an outfit change half way if you like, we'll be walking around to about 4 different spots, please let me know if there are any pictures you must have or things you don't like, close your eyes when kissing (GARY!!!) etc.

3. It good to let them know it's okay to be nervous and that actually it will end up being really fun. I was nervous being photographed but we had so much fun! Gary even gave that date a 9/10 which is pretty much the highest ever in his books:)

4. Let the photographer know if there is something to look out for. Gary's left eye is a little lazy and he blinks a lot. I should've told Megan earlier to make sure she got the shots she wanted with his eyes open:) Let the photographer know if you have a better side, or if you don't like your profile, or if you tend to blink a lot etc. I realized throughout the session that my smile is just way too big:)

5. Tell the clients to speak up if something feels awkward or they don't know what to do with a hand...nothing worse than an awkward hand/arm.

So, if you are a photographer, or an aspiring one, I recommend booking a session with someone you admire! Also, if you are looking to have a fun date, a photo session sure is a good one:) Talking about a fun date, I would love, love, love to capture a wedding proposal. Just saying. I've done a bunch of other types of session of natural, raw moments (like the birth of a baby) and I would love to candidly catch a proposal.

Have a great week!

Louise

Where Now?

Gary and I are a bit confused as to where to go from here. What do I mean? Well, we have the perfect amount of bookings. We have decided to have a limited amount this year in order to enjoy what we do a little more, and also, to have ample time with our family rather than our computers. Also, we are waiting for a little baby through adoption so we have no idea when that will happen. Therefore, we want to make sure that we are not too busy when it actually does happen.

What I am unsure about is whether or not we want to have a `professional' website. The purpose wouldn't be to get more clients, but rather to showcase what we have done in a better way. I would love various galleries etc but I don't know how to do that and I don't even know if blogger can do it. Gary says that we have programs to make one but I have no idea how many billions of hours (most of them probably in sheer frustration) would be needed. Gary has no time to do it (teaching and coaching basketball), so it would just be me. We would need a new domain, new host etc. I'm so not computer savvy.

We don't want to spend a lot of money on it because spending more money means charging more money. I like being a small business. I like the simplicity of it. It's probably the opposite of what any business person actually is supposed to be like.

Anyone have any input? Thoughts? Insight? If you don't want to comment here, you can always email at gcphotography@shaw.ca

Thanks for reading!

Louise