Handling Feelings of Discouragement - Audio 1

I'm trying something new today and I really want to know what you think! I recently received a question on formspring, that really got me thinking and feeling. So today I want to try offering an audio post, if you like these and have ideas on what to talk about let me know! I may do these once a week, so please let me know what you're thinking!

The Q: How did you handle any feelings of discouragement when you first started? Wait... did you even have those kind of feelings?

The A: 

Q&A's!

I have to say that I am so excited with the amount of feedback we've been getting and Leah and I are pumped in taking that next step to getting certified.  I sat back while reading the comments yesterday and I thought I should give my two cents now.  When I first heard about the certification process I was a little intimidated by it and let the moment pass.  Then seriously a week later I heard about Certify with Sam Puc.  That was it!  I HAD to do it!  Why?  Because she just raised the bar.  She just announced that she is making sure 1,000 photographers are going to certify.  That means 1,000 photographers are going to have a leg up on me if I don't.  Did you know that there are less than 8% of photographers in the world, less than 1,725, who are certified?  We are constantly being counseled to differentiate ourselves from our fellow photographers and I know this will do just that for me.  I did, however, have five minutes of hesitation.  The artist in me, which is the bigger part of me, was talking me out of it.  Who do I have to prove myself to?  What's the need?  Honestly, I have to prove myself to myself.  I want to say I am a Certified Professional Photographer.  I'm not somebody who picked up a camera and decided to put the word Professional in front of Photographer.  Somebody else declared that for me because I worked hard for it.  Nobody can Knight themselves.  If I had graduated from college in Photography I probably wouldn't be doing this but because I always feel insufficient saying that my most formal education in photography was two years in high school, I'm doing it!  Seriously why not?  Is it going to hurt me or the industry?  Heck no!  If I know my camera like the back of my hand, if I know how to properly expose a photo, the best lighting techniques yada, yada, yada, then why would I be afraid to become certified?  I should only be afraid if I don't know these things and calling myself professional.  I'm not saying that if you're not certified you don't know these things but I know saying I'm a CPP it's telling my clients and myself that I do.  That's assurance right there.  

But actually the real reason for this post is to announce a new Q and A form!  Ask us anything and we will answer!  That way if you have the same question as somebody else... voila!  It's right there for you!

Formspring.me/go4prophotos

So ask away!

The Photographer's Phone Consult

I'm really excited to start offering the phone consult! This is an opportunity for me to share exactly how I've grown my business and discuss ideas and strategies to help you grow yours! These phone consults are available to help you develop a plan for your business, answer questions you might have and even pose questions to you to help you start thinking in new directions! If you're wanting to take your photography business to the next level, I'd love to help you do it! 

I just had some new work-time windows open (trading  baby-sitting with a friend) so I'll be able to have more flexible time slots for those of you in other time zones! :) 
If you have questions or want to schedule your consult just EMAIL ME! 

Q&A Wednesday - 01/06/2010

I'm typing this from my lap top in Seattle so forgive me if this is short and sweet. It's been one crazy thing after another. I'm very happy to report that my neice is doing much better and should be comming home as early as tomorrow. I delivered her brothers safely back home and am now staying the night in the city with my sis before heading back to my end of the Northwest. So lets get to the questions...

1. What ground rules did you set in place for yourself in regards to family and buisness?
I'm still very much in process of setting those ground rules and would love to hear what others have implemented to help keep the balance. Balance. Thats something I'm going to be bringing up in future posts because it's definitly worth talking about over and over. But here are a few....
1. Deligate out some of the workload (i.e. got a house cleaner)
2. Less clients, more money
3. Set a schedule and stick to it. I'm now scheduleing when it's best for me, not them.
4. Date night with my hubby every Friday (period).
I'll elaborate more on this question tomorrow- but that's a start.

2. I want to and like to carry my camera with me everywhere. But I don't want to take a diaper bag, purse and camera bag all places. What do you do?
I baught a P&S. Seriously! I tried to carry everything nd it was rediculous, I just couldn't. I wasn't taking pictures of my own kids because by the time I got my camera out I'd lost one of my kids. ;) I also have huge hand bags! I love that big hand bags are so in - when I really want my camera with me, I for go the camera bad and just put in in my hand bag and the rest of the time I have teh point and shoot.

3. What course would you want plotted out? What questions would you ask yourself? What answers would you have? What would you have in order BEFORE calling yourself professional? (From this post)
Pretty much I woke up one day and decided to call myself a photographer. Doesn't really work that way and it doesn't take much to notice those calling themselves pro who shouldn't be. I'm now only starting to be at the level I want to be at and I'm restructuring everything all over - so basically I'm starting my buisness over again. I should have had a business plan in place (at least some kind of plan). Known what type of photographer and business I was wanting and waited till people were ASKING ME to take their pictures not be ASKING THEM!

4. What is Matt Clayton's Favorite Lens to use? 
"I only use/own one - a 28-135 mm"

Okay. Back to my family. See you tomorrow!

Q&A WEDNESDAY - 12/02/09

I was going to post a few questions but if everyone doesn't mind... I have my own question that I would really love to get your feedback with!!

How do you get it all done and stay organized? And I'm not just talking the business, I'm talking the whole entire balancing act!! I know it's the busy time and just as the phrase may or may not hint... That means I will be more busy then usual (duh me!). But I want to know if you have found any helpful hints, tricks, secrets, magic spells... PLEASE SHARE!

Between shoots, editing (and that the biggest part of the pie), print and album orders, the kids, a great hubby (who is often waiting for me to finish "just one more thing", social engagements, doctors appointments, laundry, dishes, grocery shopping, and unfortunately being required to fit in sleep at some point... I'm struggling. Mainly because there just isn't enough time to do it all right now and the very last thing I want or am willing to do is neglect my family. Add to that trying to keep up with this blog and well my plate is over flowing. The thing is, although I do want to take less clients (and have already put everything in motion to do that) I don't want to stop doing any of what I'm doing. Except the cleaning, and that is being taken care of now so I do get to at least take the deep cleaning off the "to do list".

So I'm putting the question out here... How do you keep things in balance?

(yes, after running up stairs to check a date I returned to that... All I could do was laugh, oh yes! And buy a fridge lock!)

Q&A WEDNESDAY

This weeks Q&A is devoted to this HUGE question that every photographer has at some time...

Do you have any hints/tricks for photographing children? Every age has their difficulties. Namely 2-3 year olds? Sometimes they are shy, too rambunctious, won't look at the camera, crying. Also, young siblings are my ultimate nemsis at the moment. I can't seem to get a 1 and 3 year old (general ages), to do any sort of interacting together without one or both of them crying, running away, etc. Let alone look at me and smile. Any great tricks that have helped you?

Hahaha! I don't know if I'd say I have GREAT tricks? I'm constantly reaching back into the bag to try something else. Okay lets see... A lot of these ideas came from other photographers and often their wonderful books too.

1. You gotta EARN IT FIRST! Before you even take out your camera become friends with the family and kids. Learn their names, give them high fives, compliment their cute dress or awesome hair do. Kids love compliments just as much as the rest of us. You have to get them back into their comfort zone. Go down on their level and look at them eye to eye. If you are in their home ask them to show you their room. When you feel like the ice has broken a bit, and you've become friends, then take out your camera. Instead of being scared or shy, they may be interested and excited. SOMETIMES taking a quick picture and showing it to them can help break them out of their shell. Sometimes things would be better if you didn't give them that privilege, all just depending on the child. :)

2. SILLINESS! I have found that the best thing I can do is be ridiculously and utterly silly! You may feel embarrassed but the kids will love it and the parents will eat you up because of it. When you're shooting just the children have a parent (the sillier of the two) stand behind you and tell them to pretend to do silly things to you. Don't be hesitant to bring toys or puppets to make them laugh. I placed a squeaky toy on my lens for a shoot this Saturday to keep the attention of a 6 month old but I soon had the whole family laughing as they watched my uncoordinated attepts to squeak the toy, press down the shutter and hold the camera still.

3. The NEW factor! Kids LOVE bubbles and it can make for a good prop too or a clean duster to tickle the kids' noses. It doesn't have to be fancy, sometimes all you need is a new element. When kids are having fun they tend to get along with each other better. Before you ask the siblings to pose together use your Jedi mind trick. You love your brother don't you? I bet you're a good older sister huh? Show me how much you love each other. Give them a hug! Children want to please adults and it helps if you tell them how much it would make you happy to see them hug. Something else I've learned is that you need eyes in the back of your head. While you're taking pictures of say, mom and dad, be on the look out for the kids in their natural state. You may just get a better picture while they are least expecting it than if they were posed. With all this said sometimes everything you try still doesn't work. You still can get a great picture of a child crying or running around. If that's the child's personality then what would be more fitting?

4. PREP THE PARENTS! It's also important to prep the parents and tell them not to get stressed out. Once mom's stressed the whole family is. I've seen so many shoots go south fast because mom starts getting stressed about the kids refusal to sit, hug and love on each other. Next time the kids are starting to act out, pay attention to the parents and see if thats whats setting it off. Sometimes the best thing you can do is to ask mom and dad to step out of the room for a few moments. Politely explain that you've noticed that kids often open up best when know one else is watching. When they see the results they will thank you for the suggestion! Plus when mom and dad are out of the scene you can talk to the kiddos about making a really great picture to surprise them with... This always seems to work for at least a few frames.

5. PERFECTLY PEZ-ERIFIC! I'm not kidding, the Pez machine is magic!! I'm working up quite a little collection so that the kids can pick who they want to smile at. You have to trim down the sides just a little and they fit right into your hot shoe. Just make sure you have a large supply of the yumminess to go with it!

6. Know THE LINGO! It helps a lot to know the really popular songs and characters that kids are in to. Sometimes I will email mom before the session to ask what the kids fav characters, movies and shows are. I become EXTREMELY cool when I start singing the song from their favorite morning cartoon!

7. SHARE IT! Let us know what works for you!!!

Q&A WEDNESDAY

OK - This one is going to have to be very short. Yesterday was my hubby's birthday so I had no time to get this done and I'm swamped in editing right now... If I didn't get to your question this week, I'll try for next! Thanks for understanding!

For your phone consultation/get-to-know-you before the shoot, do you have set questions that you ask? I think I am guilty of jumping into the photographing too fast. But I really don't know what to say. Can you help?

I too was very guilty of this same thing. Recently I realized that I'm only an email name up to the day of our shoot when we actually meet and once again after our session. I didn't like this at all, and I wanted to make things much more personal. So thats the reason for the change. Everything usually starts via email (because thats how they contact me 99% of the time). Once the deposit is received I give them a call, introduce myself and just reiterate to them a little about my style and talk about the emphasis on how clothing makes such a statement, I ask if they have chosen wardrobe and if they have any questions. They want to tell me what the were thinking and ask my opinion. Of course this is a great time to give it! I really don't have any set questions. I'm a chatty one as it is so it's pretty easy to just go with it. Really my main two prerogative are this; 1. have a say in what they wear and 2.

help them get a little taste of my personality and get excited about the session!

For your cd that you give to clients, you said that it is high definition. What does that mean? Is it a special kind of cd that you purchase? A certain way to put them onto the cd? I just download files to the disk. Am I doing that wrong? You also give pictures that can go up on facebook and other sites. What do you do special for those pictures?

Hmm? This is news to me! ;) Where did I say high def? I don't even know what that means? I should probably take that off! ;) I use Cd's sometimes but usually I just use DVD's. Here is an awesome tip for buying your DVD's and CD's. Day after Thanksgiving Sales! I absolutely hate doing the day after sales, but that is one time it's really worth it!

So all I do is give them a folder with the final images, a folder that had all the sneak peaks (sized for web with my watermark and framed) it's usually only about 5 images. And a print release document. Sometimes I include a slideshow for them that I created from Animoto (just the web version). I use a Mac so I just create a burn folder, pop the DVD in and press burn (love how easy it is!)! I'm sure you are doing the disk properly I just need to make sense of my terms!

Do you have to resize your photos? My photo says it's 78 x 52 inches. That's huge right? What am I supposed to do to make my image smaller but not crop? And what about printing? Can you explain this to me?

First off. I have started trying to take images from my camera as I would want to print them, or in otherwords so I would not have to crop it at all. Not always possible but because I don't know what size a client will order, I want to keep it as large as possible. But yes, you can resize images. Lets say you have a photo - love everything about it (so you don't want to crop it) you just want to resize. Go into IMAGE --> IMAGE SIZE. And you have a box that looks like this. Now for this image the first thing I notice is that the resolution is at 72. So yes the image seems large at 54x36 but it's at a web quality resolution right now.

Lets change the resolution to 300 (where you want to print at) and check Resample Image (or if checked, just uncheck and recheck the box). This brings me to about 12x8. So for printing purposes it's much smaller. I could hit OK and it would than resize to the new 12x8
Lets say you want to change it to an 8x10 for printing. This is NOT the way to do it and let me show you why. Our cameras do not capture in a one perticular aspect that fit's to our printing (if it did the closest would be a 5x7 ratio).

Because this is actually (in ratio) closer to a 12x8. If I try to resize it as an 8x10 it will condense it. Notice the condensed image below. To change it to an 8x10 at 300 dpi you would crop the image and will have to choose what part of the image you want to loose the head or the chest.

This is why I have started trying to shoot so that I will not have to crop. Each size has a different look to it. If you have not noticed this, open an image in photoshop and crop it is a 11x14, 8x10 and 5x7 and you will see what I mean.

Q&A WEDNESDAY - 11/3/09

It is so great getting your questions, many of them really get me thinking! I'm getting lots of feedback that Q&A Wednesday is extremely helpful, so keep them coming! Here are a few from this week...

1. What is your dream lens?

Are you buying? ;) How about the whole collection, for a proper review of course! My dream lens... Hmmm. Well it was the Canon 24-70L. But I have since got it and absolutely love it, it's versatile and works great for my kind of photography! I use it 75% of the time! I guess maybe the next lens I'd like would be the 70-200. Often I wish I had a little more zoom capability so that I could step back while children are playing or get in closer when it's not reasonable (like at a wedding) and this is the next step up. Plus I always think the photogs with the white lens look so cool! It would be that or moving up to a higher quality 50 mm lens. I have the one in the $100 range (it was my first lens) and would love to see the difference between it an say the $500 range or higher!

2. Where do you feel you have learned the most from?

Hands down FORUMS! However not all forums are created equal! I was on 2Peas Forum a lot in the beginning but I started to find it wasn't quite what I was wanting. Don;t get me wrong it still has a lot of useful stuff and is worth checking out! My favorite forum is NAPCP, it's all professional photographers who I feel I can learn a lot from! The threads are extremely relavent and useful and it's been an awesome learning tool for me finding everything from what should I price at (and encouragement) to the turn around time for a new vendor I'm using. I guess I'm so in love with The NAPCP forums because it has got me thinking in great new directions to really build my business - and that truly equals value to me! The NAPCP Forum comes with your yearly membership.

3. When do you schedule your photoshoots? How close to sunrise/sunset is your favorite?

I don't shoot anything at sunrise! Neither I nor clients want to be part of that! ;) Sunset is a whole different story and I actually ONLY schedule engagements around sunset! I love the romantic, warm, soft (everything an engaged couple should be) light! In the summer I would start at about 4:30 to 5pm and end just after sunset, this time of year I would need to start around 3 probably. I have actually stopped shooting based on light and started shooting based on schedule more. Newborns are scheduled on Monday and Thursday only in the morning around 10, which just happens to work out for nice soft light. Families and kids are scheduled later Saturday morning or after-school on weeknights

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4. I always shoot on shutter speed priority. I've had situations where my ISO is up to 800 (which I hate going that high--how high to you allow yourself to go?), my shutter speed is barely making the 1/100th mark, and my apeture is too large to focus everybody. Is my only other option photographing out of the shade and into the bright sun?

I have no problem shooting at 1000 ISO. My own personal opinion is that DSLR's are made to go into high ISO now and can usually handle it. The real thing is this... You have every option, shade, sun, snow, whatever. It's all in that M setting! You have to switch to Manuel so that you have complete control! I shoot a lot in AV mode when I'm in nice even good light but often my camera sets the shutter speed unreasonably low where I'd need a tri-pod. Chasing a baby with a tripod is just not going to happen so thats when I need Manuel to dial it in myself!

5. What resolution of JPEG do you take your photos in. You know like what size of pixels L M or S?

I only shoot in L Fine Jpeg. (I wouldn't say that thats better than RAW! But it's just what I do). If you are not in RAW you really must be in L JPEG. The S, M, L represents the number of pixels:

"L" = 15.10 megapixels (4752 x 3168)
"M" = 8.00 megapixels (3456 x 2304)
"S" = 3.70 megapixels (2352 x 1568)

How awful to get an amazing image and not have the pixel res to do what you want with it! Remember that Raw+LJ is another option if you want to transition over to Raw but it will take a lot of space on the memory card.

7. Do you book sessions year round, or do you take a break during the cold winter months?

I do book sessions year round. The cold weather may seem intimidating but if your clients are willing you should be too. And you can crate the cutest all bundled up images with beanies and scarves. If they want pictures that bad, and if you aren't taking them, they'll find someone else to do it. I'm not willing lose that business. The great thing about winter months is the sun is in that perfect place aka Golden Hour, longer during sunset and sunrise, giving you more opportunity to get those perfect shots. One thing to know about your camera is that condensation can build in it when you go from a cold setting to a warm setting quickly. To prevent this before you enter into your house, car or other warm setting, put your camera in a sealed plastic bag. Then when your camera has adjusted to the heat you can take it out. If condensation has build up in your camera or lens, remove your lens and let them both air dry before you use it again. If the cold just does not sound good to you, think of places indoor that can give you the look you are wanting. A Candy shop, restaurant with barstools, someone's nice home, or maybe rent studio space. You don't need much space at all to make something fabulous happen! Get creative and don't let good clients go to waste!

Heather Ward already has snow and definitely knows how to embrace it!

7. I am struggling to use my flash in outdoor settings. I can't seem to get a very natural look. Do you have any pointers?

You can't alway shoot during the Golden hour so to get rid of those shadows underneath your subjects eyes you use your flash. The frustrating thing about using your flash is that you have an easier tendency to overexposure your photo. There are a couple of things you can do to prevent this. You can use a diffuser. Look for my post on my diffusers soon. I've seen people who will never buy a diffuser but will cut ketchup bottles or mayo bottles and use the bottoms to go over their flash. I've even seen a women use rubber bands to secure paper towels around her flash so it's not so harsh. And these people swear by their inventions. I've never tried any thing like that before so I can't tell you personally but if you're looking to save money, why not give it a try. Another idea is using a reflector. Again you must be careful with using a reflector to not overexpose even the tiniest bit. If you look at your photo and can tell a reflector was used, you didn't use it properly. I also tend to notice that the metallic ones, silver and gold, well do just that, reflect more of a metallic look. If you're leaning towards a reflector I would buy one that is soft and white. When you position it, put it slightly under and to the side of your subject. This is one of those tools you need to play with before hand. Get a friend that is willing to sit for you, and test it out. You may need to pull it back or put it to the side more depending on the light but know that reflectors add to the subjects catch lights. It's still more subtle than obvious. Next idea is to switch your camera to full manual. Then set your camera's meter to 'spot meter' mode. Next you're going to want to zoom in and meter part of the scene you want to meter for. A good idea would be to meter something lighter so you don't over expose. If you do meter something darker use your exposure compensation. Take pictures, take notes, and adjust accordingly. Sounds more complicated than it is but here might be a better explanation! The last option I'm going to suggest today is the most expensive and it's purchasing and using PocketWizard's wireless radio slaves. I'm not going to lie, I've used one once and it was yesterday but I hear you either like it or you don't. Here is a great review and I know there are a lot others out there. Practice, practice, practice and find what works best for you!

Q&A WEDNESDAY

Is it Wednesday already? Where oh where does the time go? As always, thank you for your questions, keep them coming! Here are a few from this week...

What is Bokeh?

Bokeh is the Japanese term meaning blur or haze. It is the blurry or out of focus part of a photograph.

There is good and bad bokeh so to speak. Good bokeh is when the blur of the photograph is silky and pleasing and makes your subject that much more attractive. Bad bokeh is when the blur is harsh and might take away from your subject. And if your whole photograph is in focus and has no blur then you have no bokeh.

How much does a second shooter hire for?

Well it all depends. First if you are going to hire someone you have to make sure they can take sellable photographs. Can they edit and do color correction by themselves? If the answer is yes and if that's something you want them to do, anywhere from $300 - $600 for the entire day or $25-$35 an hour. There are a lot of green photographers out there that would love to second shoot just for the experience. If you are looking for free - cheap this might be your only choice. A nice idea, if you're trying the free - cheap route is to let your second shooter get to use some of their photos to build their portfolio. Just be careful because in a lot of cases you get what you pay for but remember we all have/had to start somewhere. I lucked out and had an incredible first time 2nd for my first time wedding but I would say most are probably not so lucky!

What do you, the photographer, wear to a shoot?

It completely depends on the type of shoot as to what I'm going to wear but I do always want to look well put together. For a typical family shoot I wear what ever I want. Uusally slacks and a nice light weight top. The stress is on light weight or at least layers because I get so hot chasing after kids or when the heat is cranked for a newborn so I try to make sure I'm not going to be sweat'n! The 2 things I never wear... skirts or loose cut tops. I'm up. I'm down. I'm laying on the ground... And the last thing I want is to make Mrs "Smith" feel uncomfortable while Mr. "Smith" is getting a free show!

For weddings it's a bit different. For my wedding in November I'm planning to wear black slacks, FLATS and a stylish black top (have not found the top yet). Oh and at EVERY shoot my hair is up in a ponytail so as not to be in the way even if I hate my hair up cause of big ears. The ears loose because I need to see my clients not my hair in front of my lens! ;)

Just always dress so that people take you seriously. I just figure that if you push what your clients wear (and I do), you should practice what you preach if you know what I mean. If you want to be considered a professional, dress the part!

Do you use a UV filter or any other filters for that matter?

Yes. I have UV-Haze filters on all my lenses! First to protect from finger prints. Have you ever noticed that when you get them it's SO hard to get em back off? And second is in hopes that the colors will have more vibrancy. In all honesty thought, I have not noticed much difference from when they are off to on. I think I need to invest in some polarizing filters. Here is an article I found if you want to know more.

What do you think about matching outfits like where everyone wears a white shirt and khaki pants?

Can I be totally and completely honest here? I despise when everyone matches and I can't stand when they all wear white! The idea of it seriously makes me cringe. Is that terrible of me? I just feel like you can add so much to family dynamics with great clothing choices, why ruin that by doing a bad 80's flash back where everyone has on a neon-green over sized t-shirt. I ask clients to stay away from white (besides it captures terrible) and pastels. I encourage bright color, great texture and layers.

As always email or post in the comment box your thoughts or questions.

We want to know what you're thinking about!

Q&A WEDNESDAY just a tad late

Sorry I'm late with this! I was out of town the last few days, got home yesterday with every intention of posting but my husband had a surprise for me and suddenly the last thing I was thinking about was Q&A Wednesday. ;) But better late then never....

I'm pretty short. How can I not let this effect my shooting?

Hey me too! I think I may qualify as really short! I'm 5'2 and a HALF! I run into short problems all the time! So I do a few things to help even out the playing field. With adults I'm on my tiptoes ALL the time. I've brought a ladder with me for group shoots and 2 step foldable stool and this handy little light stool from Ikea ($6).

It really is critical that you are not shooting below your subjects unless it's on purpose. So having a small step stool that's easy to transport is a great idea. This one from Ikea does a little double duty as I can flip it over to help me carry props and such up to the location before hand.

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Do you use a lens hood and do I really need one?

Yes I do! No it's not a necessity, but it is a really good idea. My Canon L Series Lens came with the hood making it very easy for me - if your lens did not it still might be a good investment. Here's why... First of all to protect your lens. I spent a lot of money on my lenses and I want to keep them protected and away from finger prints. Working with little kids - they often reach for my camera/lens. The hood has saved my lens several times. Another reason to use a lens hood is for richer color and deeper saturation you can read more about that here.

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I am wondering if you shoot in JPEG or RAW. I've heard that RAW is the professional way to go, but I am afraid of how difficult it is. Just wondering if you have any input on the transition.

I shoot in JPEG. I have heard all the same arguments as to why you should/shouldn't shoot in RAW. Bottom line - You do have more post editing control with RAW! It does take up a ton more space on your cards and your hard drive. If you want full control in post processing RAW might be right for you. You will get 2 to 3x less images on your card if you shoot in RAW so thats important to think about with card space.

My own little personal idea is that I would rather shoot as close to a perfect exposure as I can from the get go and not spend even more time in post editing than I already do. I'm happy shooting in JPEG, I still feel like I have plenty of control and my harddrive in filling up faster then I can keep up as it is. I was wondering if I was the only pro shooting in raw, did some research and found than a ton of pros agree, and of course some do not. Here is a great article to give a much better understanding about RAW vs JPEG.

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The WORST part of a photography business for me is weather. I hate that my body is constantly stressing about what the weather is going to be like over the weekend. How do you handle this? Do you reschedule often, work in the rain, etc. Do you have a stress-free protocol you do? I am praying that there is a way that I can not be so stressed--about weather!

I completely understand. It use to stress me out a ton too, but as time has gone I've just stopped worrying about it. I'm not even sure when and why? But thinking about it now, here are maybe a few of the reasons why. I've only been rained out once and I would have been HAPPY to do the shoot but the clients asked for a reschedule. I guess I realized that all that worrying was often for no reason. If rain is in the forecast, I plan at parks that have nice coverings (like a gazebo) and suggest fun rain boots and cute umbrellas. Another easy fix is using the doorway. The light is usually great and so I often pile the family in the doorway and I stand outside and shoot inward. I also keep the time tentative and this is just one more reason. It may rain in the morning but be fine in the afternoon or vise versa. Of course you do not want to be in a torrential downpour but there are a lot of things you can do to prepare yourself for rain so I'll devote an entire post to that soon!

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Do you need contracts for just a newborn shoot?

You always need a contract! I firmly feel thats it's important to always have a contract and model release!! I have never had to pull one out and I really think that part of the reason is that I have it all spelled out clear as can be so that there are no questions. Also if you are using the images on your blog, website or anything else you need to have a model release to protect yourself. You may find out you have a client that does not want their children on your blog, I had one that did not want their sons name on the posting. You will know about any such conditions with a model release and contract. I send over my packet before the shoot and make it clear that contracts and payment must be received before the shoot can start. I got all my contracts from Photographic Foundations.

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