Sometimes you should stop looking at photographs. Look to other artists for inspiration, especially the old masters. Touring the Rembrandt exhibit at the Minneapolis Institute of Art recently reminded me of the importance of three things: His lighting style stands the test of time. No fad, here. Most people have heard of it. There’s something to be said about a technique that has stood the test of time by a few hundreds years. It’s good to know that wedding photography today won’t be shunned in 50 years. He shared as much as he created in painting schools. Like, he had ‘followers.’ His creative school shaped his vision. This blog shapes mine. I’m a proponent of the philosophy “Create. Share. Sustain.” He created portraits of people flattered
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A Lesson for Portrait Photographers: Keeping Clients for the Long Haul
We all know that the world of wedding and portrait photography has become more competitive than ever. So how do we create a business that continues to thrive even in periods of economic downturn and industry turmoil? How do we win lifetime portrait clients by collecting and keeping them for the long haul? Not by continuing to beat the pavement year after year, constantly analyzing ROI based on old school advertising and traditional marketing, struggling for every new lead that comes our way! This, my friends, is not how I want to live, not how I want to run my business. I believe there is a simpler way, one that I have been living for years. It sounds simple and it is. Our businesses can thrive
10 Tips for Making Beautiful Bridal Portraits on the Wedding Day
Gifted photographers approach making beautiful bridal portraits on the wedding day in myriad ways. Drawing on a long tradition of wedding imagery from the past, some are classical in style; some are fashion-oriented, creating images that are grandiose, theatrical and sexy; still others focus on an unobtrusive, authentic documentation of events and wait for impromptu portraits that do not require any staging. For every approach, there is an optimal client who resonates with and appreciates the style of work that is made. Our diversity in approach is what creates connection with specific clients. Regardless of what approach you take when making bridal portraits on the wedding day, there are several simple ways to improve your work. As I thought about the specific strategies I have
5 Simple Steps to Prepare for Professional Photography Workshops
Which professional photography workshop should you attend? It’s hard enough to sift through the overwhelming number of workshops available. When you actually choose one, you need to prepare so you’ll get the most out of your investment. Step 1: What type of education do you need? Hoping to learn to shoot in manual mode, build a successful brand, market your studio, master off-camera lighting, explore workflow systems, practice posing techniques…the list goes on and on. The critical step is identifying which specific topic you need to learn in order to improve your photography and your business. Make a list and review it a few times with a colleague or mentor. Ask them which topic seems to be your weakness. Constructive criticism will also prepare you
The Day a Natural Light Photographer Busted Out a Flash for a Portrait Session
I’ve always called myself a natural light photographer. If you visit my site and peruse my portfolio, you’ll be hard pressed to find a single portrait on the site where I used a flash. Like many other photographers, I’ll bring out aflash for the reception, but when I shoot portraits – whether at a wedding, engagement session, or family shoot – I prefer to find the light that exists naturally rather than create my own light. I’d even go so far as to say I have never used a flash during a portrait shoot of a couple. Until this past Wednesday. Christi and Ndu hired me a few months ago because they had missed out on having engagement photos done before their wedding, and wanted to hire me to
4 Photography Business Keys for Scalability and Sustainability
To build a scalable and sustainable photography business, you must first acknowledge that there’s a difference between “being a photographer” and “running a photography business.” Not only is there a difference, you can actually do either – without doing the other! You can be a photographer without running your own business, if you work for someone else. Or, you can run a photography business without ever clicking a shutter. For many of us, however, we find ourselves standing squarely in between both worlds. We are photographers who are balancing being creatives and learning to be business professionals who happen to be creative. The tension of being “both” is what causes us to struggle when it comes to growing our business. In fact, our roles
If Everyone is a Photographer, What Makes us so Different?
You can’t walk half a block down Times Square without spotting a dozen red stripes on L series glass. A 24-70 here, a 5D there, and the intrepid tourist toting a new D800. And let’s not forget the mirrorless cameras, the point and shoots, and, of course, the ubiquitous iPhones. And it’s not just Times Square. In any corner in any place, where anything is happening at all, you can be rest assured that life will be documented. Exhaustively. The question in the modern age isn’t who is a photographer. It’s who isn’t a photographer? And what makes us different? Here’s what’s NOT the answer: Professionals don’t get better bokeh, sharper shots, luminous light, cleaner composition, and exact exposures. If that’s the answer, we are
The Story Behind Millie Holloman’s “Shoots & Ladders” Sessions
It’s happened to all of us. You log in to Facebook and there is a status update from friends (who were once clients) saying they’ve added to their family with the arrival of a new child. To your surprise and sadness, they are posting photos of their little one taken by a large retail chain. Washed backdrops and cheesy props don’t match the quality of their wedding photos. What’s a couple to do when the cost of living is significantly increased by the arrival of a new mouth to feed, future plans for college, and don’t forget diapers! Grandma & Grandpa aren’t footing the bill for the rest of their lives; they gave up that luxury at the altar. Children grow fast, so it would
The Power of Projection
Projecting your custom-created portraits for your clients is not new. Back in the film days, photographers projected slides made from portraits prepared by their lab. When photography migrated from film to digital, the use of projectors came into vogue, especially now when the quality of projectors has improved dramatically as prices have plummeted. So while this method is not anything new, it is still considered by many portrait experts (like Chuck Lewis) to be not just the best way but the ONLY way to share your work with your clients. It may seem old school, or it may seem like an inconvenience to you and your clients. Those were some of my concerns about projecting when I started. Boy was I wrong! Now I’m a
How to Approach an In Home Sales Session for Portrait Photographers
We’ve heard it all before: Selling in person increases your sales and client experience exponentially. There’s a lot of truth in that, and I’m thrilled to be able to talk about why. My husband and I run a boutique-style child photography business in Atlanta and have been building and serving our clients for about 5 years now. We love the flexibility it allows, being able to work so intimately with our clients, and of course – not having a boss to report to 9-5 everyday! Unlike the wedding business, however – most of what we make comes after the photo shoot as opposed to everything upfront. The sales process is just as important, if not more, than obtaining new clients to shoot. Up until about