We Fix $7 Haircuts, or $7 Boudoir Photos As the Case May Be by Jen Rozenbaum

What a GREAT way to look at things. As soon as I read this article by Jen Rozenbaum of Jenerations Boudoir in New York, I knew I had to share it!

http://www.jenerationsblog.com/2011/04/we-fix-7-haircuts-or-7-boudoir-photos-as-the-case-may-be/

Have You Thought About Your Business Cards Lately?

Sometimes we are so busy trying to run a business, take better photos, figure out pricing etc. that we neglect the "little" things. Like our business cards. When is the last time you updated your business card? If you are due for a change, check out David Grupa's article below to make sure you don't miss anything.

http://campdavidphoto.blogspot.com/2011/04/anatomy-of-business-card-101.html

Finding My Way Out of Pricing Hell- by Lynn Clark

Off and on for the past decade, I've dreamed about being a full-time professional photographer. In my mind, I traveled to exotic locales to take exquisite photos of beautiful people in wedding regalia. I've crouched down with kiddos on vivid green grass, capturing looks of curiosity and joy in their eyes. I've put on a super-long lens to photograph wild animals in Tanzania. And most recently, I've hovered over women of all types, helping them to understand how beautiful they are by making sensual, gorgeous portraits. In other words, I've dreamed about the art, not the business.

I've been in business for myself before. I know that this is a business I'm starting, but it feels more like art with a business tacked on. I think I need to get over that pretty quickly.

Back in August 2000, I quit my career track job in public relations to become a freelance writer and give adequate time to my creative writing. I realized quickly that the first jobs I received--the OMG you're in business? How exciting we must hire you for a quickie kind of jobs--wouldn't sustain me for very long. I also realized quickly that I needed a real marketing plan, a list of "policies"--no, you can't pay my entire fee when I've turned over the work to you, so give me 50% down--and a good bookkeeper to keep me out of tax trouble.

I successfully ran my small business until October 2001, when the economy tanked and almost all of my clients pulled back their freelance dollars. The business quit me, not the other way around. I've always felt proud of myself for that. Over the years, I've done a dozen or so freelance projects [somehow my area of expertise has become bedwetting.] I thought, "I have this freelance thing down."

So, when in October of last year, I decided to put myself on a three-year plan to launch a full-time photography business, I knew there would be some business things to take care of. I'm on my way with my marketing plan, defining my niches, fine-tuning my brand. But then, I got stumped. Where? With pricing.

I have spent 20-plus hours building complicated Excel spreadsheets to figure out how much to charge for sessions, for packages, for individual items, for collections. And they still don't feel right. I have spent money on pricing guides that I've used to set rates I don't quite feel worthy of  ... yet. And I've given away a lot of my work, coming out of pocket [stupidly] in most cases because I overpromise by doing math in my head.

At least once a week, I go into my websites and tweak my prices. [I'm not getting much traffic yet.] I'm just not ... settled.

I know that pricing will make or break my business. When I do a writing or editing project, I know what the market will bear, how to charge, what costs to work in.

Pricing for photography is so much trickier. First, I have no idea how much it takes to actually run this business. I keep coming across things that I need to buy [I've now been through three $50 premium Wordpress templates and I'm still not happy] and things I want to buy [more accessories for my boudoir shoots, experts with the pros]. Second, while most corporate communications people understand the value of hiring a professional writer, most people don't understand the value of hiring a self-employed professional photographer. When I mentioned a $200 session fee plus $350 in minimum product purchase to my mother, she gasped and said, "No one is going to hire you at that rate!"

[OK, she said it out loud in my head, where she lives half the time, but that's another story.]

When I mentioned casually to someone that I'm building a photography business, he replied, "Oh, you're going to get rich. We paid our wedding photographer $1500. For four hours. I'd like to have that gig!" Which of course started me on a rant about $2400 70-200mm f/2.8 lenses and a minimum of three hours in editing, accounting, book building and meetings for every hour spent at a wedding. I don't think he finished his eggs.

I know I'm not alone in this conundrum. It seems like half of the posts I read in pro-photo forums are about pricing: who is undercutting the pro market with shoot-and-burn tactics; how women photogs, specifically, "need to demand what they are worth." Did I mention that I spent $150 on a pricing guide? I can't get myself to spend $50 on a new pair of shoes.

But here's what pricing ultimately comes down to: my self confidence and my target market.

My mother is not my target market [not even the one in my head]. Heck, I'm not even my target market. My target market is not going to blanch at a session fee and product minimum. And when members of my target market see the photos I make of them, they will buy more than my product minimum, because they value art, and photographic storytelling, and small businesses.

In terms of my self-confidence, well, there's a saying in the personal growth field: "Act as if." When you act as if you are already what you want to be, the universe will make it so. Even if I blanch at my own prices I will figure them out and post them until I know--through actually charging those prices instead of discounting them--that they are on target. Because people are asking me what I charge for photography, and that alone means they see my work as worthy of paying for.  

Thinking of Getting Into Boudoir?

For those of you who haven't heard, boudoir has made a comeback and is a very lucrative form of photography! Check out what Faith Hovde of Amore Boudoir by Emerald Photography in Kennewick, WA has to say about it here:

http://amoreboudoir.blogspot.com/2011/03/giving-your-groom-something-to-ooooo-la.html

Great PPA Article- Safety Tips for Protecting Digital Image Files

Here are some GREAT  tips for keeping your images and cards safe. I'm sure we're all guilty of one or two of these no no's =) You can find the original article here: http://www.ppa.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.fcgi/1583

Safety Tips for Protecting Digital Image Files


With the advent of digital photography and flash memory, a new set of potential data loss problems evolved. DriveSavers Data Recovery has assembled the following list of tips, which covers proper methods to handle flash memory cards and help prevent the potential loss of irreplaceable photographs.

1. BACK UP YOUR IMAGES!- Protect yourself and your images by implementing a regular backup plan to guard against data loss when (not if) your computer's hard drive crashes or your camera's memory card fails.
   
2. TRANSFER YOUR PHOTOS. - After a photo session, always copy the image files from the camera's flash memory to a computer's hard drive a soon as you can. We recommend that you do not delete images or reformat the memory card until all the photos are transferred and verified.
   
3. AVOID CORRUPTION. - Take care when removing flash memory from a card reader. Avoid corrupting images by using theeject command on the computer before physically removing the card.
   
4. MAKE MORE THAN ONE COPY. - Back up your backup. Whenever possible make at least two copies of critical files and keep a duplicate set offsite in a secure location.
   
5. PROTECT YOUR CARDS. - Always use the original plastic case that your card came packaged in, when transporting it. Without the case, simple static buildup can zap the card and make it unreadable.
   
6. DON'T STORE CARDS IN YOUR POCKET! - Although most flash memory cards are somewhat durable, it's best not to store them in your pocket. Cards can break in your pocket or worse--end up in the wash with your clothing.
   
7. REPLACE YOUR FLASH MEMORY CARDS. - The life expectancy of flash media continues to grow, but the likelihood of a card "going bad" during a shoot is still a possibility. Take extra precaution and replace your heavily used camera cards every six months.
   
8. AVOID EXTREME TEMPERATURES. - Extreme heat, cold and humidity can wreak havoc with digital equipment, especially flash memory. Whenever possible, protect your equipment from exposure by preparing in advance for expected climate conditions.
   
9. DON'T READ A WET CARD. - If your flash memory card gets wet, do not try and read the files using a card reader. If the card is wet inside its plastic housing, you will likely short out the electronics, which can make the photos irretrievable.

DriveSavers, Inc. was the first company to successfully recover data from digital cameras and is recommended by all digital camera manufacturers to perform data recovery on their digital media products. To learn more about DriveSavers Data Recovery services for digital cameras and special programs for digital arts, visit: DriveSaversdatarecovery.com/devices-supported/digital-cameras/.

3 Simple Things to Improve Your Photography- by Tammynize

Often it is the little things that can make BIG improvements in your photography. Check out talented wedding and glamour photographer Tammy's post on 3 simple steps to improving your photography skills! Tammy is a professional photographer in Northern California and you can visit her site here: http://tammynize.com/.

http://lovenotes.tammynize.com/2010/08/3-simple-things-to-improve-your-photography/

What I learned About Light From Hobby and McNally- by Lynn Clark

This is our first post from photographer Lynn Clark who will be a regular contributor to the blog. Thanks, Lynn!

What I learned About Light From Hobby and McNally

Since I took my first photojournalism class in college, I've been shooting with available light. I rarely turned on the flash on my early point-and-shoot digital cameras because I hated the harsh shadows and quality of light. If I wanted your portrait, I moved you to a window or to open shade. Not enough light? No photo.

I've recently dipped my toe into lights--small flashes with remote triggers, stumbling along as I learned how to use them on the fly. My favorite resource: the venerable strobist.com blog, authored by David Hobby. Hobby is the god of small flash photography. Following his tutorials and doing his assignments, I've gotten the hang of the technical aspects of using my flashes.

And yet something has eluded me. I can expose a photo just fine, but the effect is, well, kind of blah. Flat. Boring. I want to learn how to bend the light, make it dramatic.

That's why I ponied up $99 and attended Adorama's Flash Bus Tour on March 22, which featured Hobby in his khaki shorts and legendary shooter and author Joe McNally. I haven't yet applied what I learned--my brain hurts too much. But I can't wait to try.

I learned that the reason why my images look one-dimensional is because I've been using light like I'm a 4-year-old drawing with crayons. Pros use light like a sculptor.

1. Light is like salt. You add it to taste.

Hobby layers on light in four stages. That way, he says, when something looks horrible he knows exactly what to fix. He shoots in manual mode because that's what he prefers. (I prefer it too, I'm finding.)

• Assess for ambient. Expose for the background, then light your subject.
• Add a fill light for "legibility" of the details--often two stops down from the key light.
• Add the key light, modifying it with everything from a small softbox to a silk Japanese lantern--speedlight dangling inside by an eyebolt and hung with fishing wire.
• Add accent light: a splash across the background to separate it from the subject, a pop along an architectural or sartorial detail to add dimension. Sometimes add a kicker, flashing light to open up eye sockets.

2. Shoot in open shade on the north side of any building.

The darker it is, the more you can control the light, Hobby says. The north side of a building is almost always in shade. Make it darker by underexposing the background, then add lights where you want to pop or dial down the subject. This is exactly opposite of what I was trying to do. I look for the brightest area. But in retrospect, it's a DUH moment. Photography studios are caves for a reason, right? That reason: to put the photographer in control of the light rather than have the light control the photographer.

3. Take a photo of the person from the position of the light source to see where the light is hitting her.

Imagine you have a strobe in a softbox at 45 degrees to your subject's right. If you take a dead-on photo, you may be walking back and forth all day tweaking the light's position. However, Hobby says, if you take a photo standing right behind the softbox, you'll be able to "see what the light sees."

4. Find the balance between what light your eyes see in the scene and what looks "lit."

Hobby showed us many pull-back shots of lighting setups. One of my favorites was a guy playing piano on a huge stage. He walked us through different lighting scenarios until he reached a point that looked bright, natural--and not artificially lit using three speedlights (one in a softbox and two bare). While I know it will take me many years of practice to do that lighting setup, I know I can do it.

A little light philosophy from Joe

When Hobby was finished--leaving me breathless and brain-sodden--Joe McNally wowed us with his lighting chops, bringing out three assistants, C-stands with booms, multiple modifiers and at one point, a Nikkor 200mm f/2.0 lens that he said he paid "an extra $3,000 for the extra stop." (Wow.) I'd say I learned less application from McNally, and his philosophy about light is what I'll remember.

"Submerge your light into the condition that exists," he said as he walked us through the use of TTL with layer upon layer of flashes. "Lighting is not math. Light is feel. Lighting is gut. You have to take chances to make it work."

Lynn Clark is building a freelance boudoir and portrait photographer in Denver, Colorado. She blogs about what she's learning  as a newbie. Find her work at http://lynnclarkphotography.com.

Free Action Set by David Grupa

Whether you're a brand new photographer or you've been doing it for years, you've most likely used a Photoshop Action in your lifetime. But did you know there are some even more amazing actions that will improve your business? Check out this article below by one of our contributing authors and amazing photographer, David Grupa of www.DavidGrupa.com, located in Maplewood, Minnesota.


http://campdavidphoto.blogspot.com/2011/02/free-action-set-makes-editing-easier.html

PODCAST: The Business of Boudoir with Stacie Frazier

Have a boudoir business? Trying to break into this lucrative genre? Either way, you definitely want to give this Podcast a listen! An interview with a leader in the boudoir industry, and one of my personal inspirations, Stacie Frazier of Haute Shots Boudoir in Las Vegas. It is FULL of valuable information!

About Photography Podcast | Las Vegas Boudoir