Okay it’s Friday and I need a little pick-me-up. So here’s to having FUN on FRIDAY!
I’m posting 2 videos that absolutely crack me up. The first one, Shtuff People Say to Photographers, is more about the “client” perspective and the second one, Shit Photographers Say, reminds me of my days as a graduate student at SFAI.
Hope these make you laugh! Enjoy your weekend.
We are our own worst critics! We spend so much time focusing on the negative, we forget our own beauty and greatness. As a photographer I am often saddened by the horrible and judgmental things that clients say about themselves. We all need to be a little easier on ourselves because it keeps us from leaving a legacy of photographs for our children. When they look back at photographs as they get older, they will CHERISH images of themselves with their mom (and their dad too!)
So why DO women hate to be have their portrait made?
1. I need to lose 10 pounds. This excuse comes in a few packages… I’ve heard “Ugh, I hate my double chin!” “I have tummy pooch.” I’ve even heard someone exclaim “Eww my arm looks fat!” Really? Smacking with sarcasm, I want to say, “Yeah, that’s the first thing I noticed when I looked at that picture too!” NOT! Our personal body image issues all sound that ridiculous to others. Seriously. Let’s agree to learn to practice acceptance and embrace where we are now. You look great and you are the only one concentrating on those minor details and making that judgement. Everyone else just sees you for the amazing, beautiful, talented person that you are. Be comfortable in the skin you have today.
2. I don’t like my smile. Well I’m here to tell you that everyone else loves your smile! What you might be responding to is the forced smile you make when you stop to pose for a photograph that you’re dreading to have taken. The job of a professional photographer is to help you relax and get comfortable and bring out a natural a beautiful smile that shines from the inside out and lights up that natural sparkle in your eyes. But if you’re interested, here’s a tip: Keep your chin down just slightly and turned a little to one side. And try to RELAX and HAVE FUN!
3. My teeth aren’t white enough. Your kids won’t care.
4. I need a haircut. Don’t over complicate it! When you look back, what will you really remember? What was happening in your life at that point. Some of the big milestones for the kids. Maybe you’ll be reminded of a specific memory because of the location or setting. More than likely you’ll have an emotional response and experience a feeling. What you WON’T remember is that you needed a haircut!
5. I don’t know what I’d wear. This is the easiest one. And the most complicated. The easy answer is wear something that makes you feel good! The complicated answer, well that’s another blog post, maybe even a webinar. I’m in the process of putting something together with Lee Heyward of Style with Lee about this topic. STAY TUNED.
So what’s the bottom line? Women are often blatantly absent from photographs of their family and children. Myself included. Why? Because we have a list of excuses for why we don’t like to have our picture made. But how does our family feel about photographs of us? They will absolutely LOVE THEM and cherish them. They won’t put us under a microscope and judge what we see as flaws. All they will see is that we are wonderful and fun and quirky and cute. AND they will see how much we LOVE THEM. They will one day know that we loved them enough to get over it and get in a portrait session.
I hear too many sad stories of people who wished they had a great photograph with their mom or dad. Even as adults and as our own parents begin to age, it’s nice to revisit the idea of family portraits.
Pick up the phone and call your photographer and book a session with your kids, before they’re grown, before it’s too late. Give them the gift of a lifetime! It truly IS priceless.
Do you have a photograph you cherish? Or a story of a missed opportunity?
Credit for the following blog post goes to author Marianne Drenthe of Marmalade Photography. You can find the original post at her website.
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Image by Tanya Boggs Photography
Custom photography is more of a luxury than your entry-level cookie cutter chain experience. Custom photography truly is not for everyone as it requires a level of commitment, investment in time and money, forethought and planning on the part of the subject/client and requires a larger time commitment for the photographer as well.
Clients who enjoy taking a more active role in the creation of their families’ memories have the desire to have portrait art that is truly personalized. These more discerning clients budget and allot time for a custom photography session. Many clients opt for it to be a once a year special experience, some opt to have custom photography sessions done to record their child’s stages in life. Having said this, it is clear that custom photography is not in everyone’s budget. It is something that some families save for to splurge on from time to time to memorialize their children as they really are (not posed and primped in the cookie cutter studio setting).
There is a great deal of time involved in creating high-end custom photography sessions for a client. But really, what’s it all about? It’s about the luxury of great service, better choices and a superb end product. The result of all this are heirloom images and a family legacy. The time invested at the session is only a small portion of time involved in this process.
Custom photography has been likened to purchasing a fine vehicle. To get from point A to point B, let’s face it, even a bus ride would suffice. But if you want to luxuriate in a finely appointed vehicle, customizing your own experience by listening to smooth jazz while sitting in a climate controlled setting adjusted purely for your comfort in a body hugging leather interior, perhaps that Lexus you so desire is your cup of tea. Custom photography is the Lexus of the photography world. It is where the intangibles make the experience truly wonderful and the images themselves make the investment of money and time truly worthwhile.
Custom photography can be broken down into even more levels. There are on location, studio, mixed studio/on location, specialty location and destination type photographers. The beauty of custom photography is in the choices and in the luxury of those options. The customized service level you are sure to experience will be amazing. The knowledge that your final images are the result of someone caring about those moments so much that they take extra time ensuring that the artwork you receive is good enough to put their name on it. That level of quality and commitment is all but lost in the age of “mass-produced,” “mass marketed,” corporate “everyone is a number”. Custom photography is based on being unique to you. How great of an experience would it be, to be able to sit back and allow a photographer to do this highly custom work for you and create images that you will most likely cherish for a lifetime?
One last thing to consider, the Lexus will never appreciate in value the way your portraits will. The portrait art you become invested in from your custom photographer will no doubt increase in value and become more priceless to you as the years pass.
Image by Tanya Boggs Photography
Credit for the following blog post goes to author Marianne Drenthe of Marmalade Photography. You can find her original post at her website.
The photographic art you choose to place on your wall is ultimately the result of the vision of the photographer. This vision, coupled with what you wear to your session, the environment, the lighting, even the mood the subjects are in at the time of photographing, creates the work that you will want to proudly display on your walls forevermore.
Your first step in the process is more about determining who you are, who your family is and then seeking a photographer that reflects your style. For instance let’s say your family is extremely outdoorsy and loves playing on the beach. To start determining what style you like, browse through photography website portfolios and determine if any of the styles shown there would be a good fit with your life and family style.
Finally after a bit of internet research, you narrow it down to two photographers who do what seems like solid work, the sort of outdoor look you desire. It is now time to ask yourself: Do you like photographer A’s style over photographer B’s style? Is it because the people in the images of A’s style are having a great time and it seems very caught up in the moment vs. B photographer’s images that are more posed, looking in the camera? Whichever photographer you decide is right for you, make sure you clearly communicate what your desired outcome is with the images. Do you want fun spontaneous images or a more formal and posed portrait. Also have a discussion about how you intend to use the images. Are you looking for wall portraits – art to showcase in your home, or do you simply want some prints to put in an album.fh
So what is custom photography? Ultimately it is about choice and expertise. Custom photography is about finding someone with the right experience who will photograph your family, give you devoted one on one attention without the feeling of a crowded portrait studio, and with the confidence that you will get a great product you’ll be excited to display proudly in your home.
A custom photography experience should have you, the client, and your experience as the central focus of all they do!
Here at Tanya Boggs Photography our number one priority is your family and working together to create a legacy that will bring you joy for years to come.
The following blog was written by author Marianne Drenthe of Marmalade Photography from the website Professional Child Photographer. Please feel free to chime in with Comments at the end!
The digital revolution has brought amazing flexibility and ability to control various factors during the image taking and making process. Photographers, the hobbyist, the professional, the amateur all benefit from this ability to manipulate pixels. However, with flexibility comes a price. Digital camera equipment is still considerably more expensive when you factor in its’ lifespan, the need for additional resources for processing those images, the time it takes to get a usable image and the effort that goes into creating a work of photographic art. We all know that you can go to the local Walgreen’s and pay a $1.99 for a print – as a client you may wonder why you may pay upwards of $50, $70, $90 for a custom 8×10 photography print. Photographers hear this statement every once in a while:
“How in the world can you charge $60 for an 8×10 if it costs me less than $2 to print at x store?”
The truth of the matter is the answer to this question is multifaceted. Much of the cost of a photographic print produced by a professional photographer has a lot to do with the time, equipment costs, artistic vision and reputation of the photographer not to mention expertise and the usual costs of running a legitimate business. The cost of TIME Approaching it from a time standpoint, let’s imagine that you have hired a photographer who has work that you love. This photographer is traveling an hour to your destination to photograph your session. Here is an example of a time break down:
In this example, the time spent per client can range from just under 13 hours to 19 hours – dependent on the photographer’s level of service. This is time dedicated only to ONE session. When the photographer charges $300 for the photo shoot you are not just paying for the two hours of session time, you are paying the photographer for 12-19 hours complete time for your session.
The COSTS of Maintaining a Custom Photography Business:
Regarding equipment costs, a good quality professional camera with a selection of good optical quality lenses and digital storage mediums and computer set up can run from $10,000-$30,000 costs dependent on the photographer. Even though you can purchase a really good quality digital SLR for about $2100 there are still other costs related to photography. A good lens for portrait photography can run from $900 to $2500. A dependable computer system with software loaded for business and creative usage can run $2500 to $8000 dependent on the photographer. Then come lab costs for specialty products. A good photographer knows their professional lab is an integral part of their success. These labs often cost more and offer a range of products that allows the custom photographer to continually offer new, innovative products for the discerning client.
Discussion on other costs of running a photography business could take a while so we’ll skip many of the intricate details. An overview: the costs of running the business, taxes, studio rental/mortgage if the photographer has ownership of a dedicated studio, vehicular costs, costs of advertising/marketing, costs of sample pieces that the photographer will likely bring to your session, etc.
APPLES to ORANGES to BANANAS: Often times clients will mention to their photographer that X studio in the mall/department store only charges $19.99 for an 8×10 “sheet” or they may mention other things related to discount photography chains. The fact is those discount chains make their money on volume, not on customized 1:1 service. In February 2007 a company who has leased photography retail space in a rather well-known discount retailer closed down 500 of their portrait studios across the nation. The reason it happened is simple, you cannot make money on 99¢ “professional” prints if you do not sell enough of them. Interestingly enough – those same studios that offer the loss leader packages often charge much much more for their a la carte pricing vs. many custom photographers (as high as $40-50 for an 8×10).
A little history – the whole reason the big department stores began offering portrait services in the first place was to get you, the savvy consumer, in through their door so that you could spend more money with them in other departments. Your “PORTRAITS” are considered the “loss leader”. Your portraits that are meant to symbolize a once-in-a-lifetime stage in your child’s life are part of what a store considers a way to get you in their door to spend more money on goods that you might not really want or need but because you’re there “anyway” you buy.
Also keep in mind that when you go to a chain studio, as a consumer, you don’t have the benefit of 1:1 attention for 2 hours at your home where your child is allowed to explore, play and be comfortable in their home environment, nor do you get the experience that many custom photographers are known for as well as the lovely captures of natural expressions. You simply get a bare bones, “SAY CHEESE” experience.
REPUTATION/EXPERTISE of the PHOTOGRAPHER: There is an old story about a ship that cost a company millions of dollars. Something went wrong in the engine room and the ship was stuck in dock. They called various “experts” who spent weeks trying to fix the issue to no avail and at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars. Finally an older gentleman was called in who simply brought in his small tool bag and a hammer. He set about pinging on various parts of the vast engine with his hammer, finally settling on one area. He spent a few minutes pinging in that area, took out a few tools and fixed whatever what was wrong. After a few moments the man straightened up, looked at the captain and instructed him to “start her up.” The captain disbelieving, went to get the engines started while the man sat in the engine room listening as the engine roared to life. The man tipped his hat as he exited the ship to the staff who sat dumbfounded because they had seen all the experts come on board for days with their expensive equipment only to have the ship not fixed. This man did it in a few minutes with a few pings of his hammer!
A few days passed and the man sent the shipping company a bill for $10,000. The accounting department contacted him immediately. Why all the rumors mentioned that this man had only spent “a few minutes” fixing the ship “with his hammer and a few other random tools”. When questioned about why his bill was for $10,000 – did he accidentally leave an extra zero on the bill? The man confidently responded: “In fact the time was worth the $1,000. The other $9,000 was for the years of experience and the ability to discern the issue as quickly as possible for the company.”
Now I’m not saying that photographers fix large ships but being in demand, being well-known for quality work, having a good reputation often costs time on the photographer’s part (years of practice, study, experience, etc). A photographer’s expertise comes at a cost, their time learning their craft and learning the intricacies of lighting and the commitment put forth on their end to create a persona about their business that oozes professionalism. A great number of photographers go a very long time from the time that they purchase their first good camera to making money at the business of photography. Many photographers, when first starting out, rush in thinking that the business will be easily profitable in no time, how expensive could it be to get a camera and use it to create their dream? These photographers often undervalue what they do because they have the realization that they do not have experience or expertise but are very adept at pushing the shutter on the camera. Many times these casual “professionals” neglect to factor in the cost of business, the cost of equipment, software, back ups, etc.. When you hire a photographer of sound reputation, you are hiring an expert, one that knows that they must always reinvest in their business to create the reputation of being top-notch. To create good work a photographer possesses not only sound knowledge in the technical and creative aspects of photography but also good, reliable equipment and back up equipment.
The photographer who desires to be known as better/best/unparalleled reputation-wise knows that the most important thing they can do for their business is reliability and dependability. This is how reputations get built. Good work often is a wonderful side product of building that good reputation.
I hope this (lengthy) article helps shed some light on WHY a custom photographer is a better choice for your family’s memories. The photographs that are produced as a result of the professionalism and dedication that your photographer has will be cherished for a lifetime (or more) and great thought and consideration should be placed into hiring who is right for your family’s most precious investment.
The above blog was written by author Marianne Drenthe of Marmalade Photography from the website Professional Child Photographer. Please feel free to chime in with Comments!
So recently I’ve been bumping up against an interesting professional hazard. I call it a hazard because I’m not sure how I would feel if photography wasn’t my business.
A little history and a little personal ranting…
Digital Photography has already created enormous changes in the photography industry and continues to do so. With social media taking over the world comes new complexities to issues that are already heated and often difficult to navigate.
When professional photographers just shot with film, life just seemed simpler. There was less education required because the client didn’t need to understand much more than the idea that the photographer owned their negatives. Now everyone wants the images on disk and most people think photographers charge too much. And since everyone has a camera, they think they can produce the same high quality product as a professional photographer. I mean why not, right? Just snap some photographs and download them. Easy enough, right? NO! There is SO MUCH MORE TIME and energy that goes into what we do. Once we click the shutter our job has only just begun!
Now add SOCIAL MEDIA to the pot and people think it’s open season. Many people don’t know or understand anything about ownership issues when it comes to photography. It’s on the internet, so I can use it whenever, where ever and however I want, right? It’s on the internet so it’s free, right? WRONG!
Now back to our regularly scheduled program… My most recent issue:
I’m not sure if this is a new phenomena or just new to me, but this has happened to me a few different times in the last couple of weeks. I have uploaded my images onto Facebook and have discovered them used on other people’s Facebook pages. And no, I’m not talking about when people “share” your photos, links, etc. I love it when people press SHARE and show others. It’s good marketing, it’s a nice little nod to the ego… you know! No, I’m talking about people who have (I assume) downloaded my images, and uploaded them up on their page into an album. I didn’t even know you could download images from Facebook until a few months ago. Now I’m not sure how I feel about posting images anymore. After it happened the first time, I left the copyright info in the description of my photos (my photo software embeds metadata in my images that default into the description field of photos when I upload them on Facebook.) The second time I noticed it happened (different person) the copyright info was no longer present and clearly was NOT honored or acknowledged.
Tag yourself, share the album, knock yourself out! You can even ask me for a copy of it. But somehow having my pictures show up in someone else’s profile in their photo albums makes me feel unappreciated and a bit like someone stole them and claimed them as their own.
What do you think? Am I overreacting? Has something like this ever happened to you? Help me out! I need some opinions.
EVERYONE seems to a “Professional Photographer” these days. If you have some nice digital camera equipment, it has become easier to make the claim that you too are a professional. But before I tell you how to know when a so-called “professional” photographer probably isn’t a pro, let’s start with my working definition of a “professional” photographer:
But what if you don’t claim to be a professional photographer and you don’t understand all of this technical jargon? How would you spot a fake?
A good photographer knows their craft! Anyone can buy nice equipment and let the camera make all the decisions. But if you’re going to spend good money to hire a photographer, make sure you know what you’re paying for and that they have experience with the field you are requesting.
And if you are a budding amateur, FANTASTIC! Begin to learn how to use the technology. Geek out about it! The idea is to eventually be in the driver’s seat, and understand how to be in control of the images you capture. If you want to gain experience to increase your knowledge base, begin by offering free sessions to friends until you are comfortable and build a portfolio.
Don’t just take photographs, MAKE great photographs!
Have you ever had a bad experience with a so-called professional in an industry, only later to realize that they may have misrepresented their experience? What do you wish you had done differently? What could they have done to be more forthright?
Since relocating my photography business from the San Francisco Bay Area to Charleston, SC, one trend I’ve noticed in the Charleston market is that none of the photographers specialize in any one type of photography.
Many of the websites of local photographers I’ve viewed, boast a long list of different types of photography. I recently stumbled across a site from a local photographer that read: “From engagement portraits, weddings, family portraits, school portraits and sports photographs to architecture photos, corporate photos, marketing photos and much more!” Is there anything this photographer DOESN’T do? Oh yeah, SPECIALIZE! They don’t specialize in ANYTHING.
Coming from the Bay Area, where most photographers have developed a niche market for themselves, I think it’s a smart business strategy to specialize and set yourself apart from your competitors. Even more importantly, it’s crucial to know what you do well (and maybe not so well!)
I am not only a portrait photographer, but I teach college as well as photography workshops. As an educator with almost 20 years of experience in photography, I can easily spot what it is that people do well which, as it turns out, is usually what they love to shoot. It’s easy to recognize because it stands out in the images. It also takes different kinds of personalities and skill sets to be a wedding photographer vs. an architectural photographer or even a portrait photographer.
Although I LOVE to shoot all kinds of photographs, what I have learned about myself over the years is that I have a knack for connecting with people, and capturing what is authentic and unique about them. That’s what makes me a portrait photographer. Specializing in portrait photography is also what distinguishes me from my competitors.
Tanya’s Tip: As the old saying goes, “You can’t please all the people all of the time!” So I say don’t bother trying! Be true to yourself. Specialize and do one thing well.
