Q and A Wednesday...

I'm going to try to start making Wednesdays Q&A - So that means I need questions (anything - even not so photography)... So if you have a question, smart or dumb, (yes there are dumb questions but I've already asked them and I'm much more qualified to answer those over the smart ones!!) just email me or ask as a comment under a Q&A post.

One day I was stood up by 3 people--out of 3. I sat at a park for HOURS and 3 separate clients did not show up, nor did they call. Should I be charging a deposit?

I'm so sorry to hear that that happened to you! How rude! Absolutely charge a deposit, clients need accountability and a reminder that this is a professional exchange! I came up with something a little different for my deposit for 2 reasons. The first being that I wanted to make sure my clients saw their portraits at the very highest quality. If they go with their disk somewhere with low quality they see that it wasn't my work because they have the comparison. Second is that with out charging much at the beginning I needed to not have any extra expenditures (packaging, shipping, etc.) covered Here is exactly what I say to clients;

" To secure your spot I ask for a $50 deposit. This deposit will than become a print credit to be used with your online gallery. (You will get a special code to use at check out). To secure your date and time just go to the blog (blog here). After the deposit is recieved you will get your welcome info, contracts and helpful hints for your up and coming session with Leah Remillet Photography. You session will than appear under 'calender' on the website. "

It's been working so great that I won't change it!

What is the breakdown of your process of BEFORE the photo shoot?

It always starts with the inquiry, because my email comes to my phone I can email back immediately (clients love this about me). I get whatever information I may need (session type, style they want, etc.) and I recommend some possible dates. I'm trying much harder to delegate the time slots and not just except whatever they suggest. In the beginning I wanted the job so bad that I often excepted shoots at really inconvenient times that often interfered with my family. Now I'm much more specific. I would say something like, "I have an opening on (a week or 2 away) or I can get you in next month" of course newborns are different.

After the date and place is decided (I often tell them that the time may be changed depending on the light) and deposit is received I send them the welcome email. It has my contracts, info on what to wear, my cell, directions to the location and other details.

The night before the shoot I sometimes will check up on my favorite photographer's blog to get a little inspiration for that session type and make sure everything is ready. Charged battery, memory cards, extra battery for camera and flash and I pack my old rolling scrapbook case with whatever props, back drops I may need.

What kind of diffuser do you have and do you like it?

Diffuser... Ah. this has been my BIG personal topic. No I don't have one, I'm in the process of buying one right now. I'm going with the Gary Fong. I'm getting the lightsphere (cloud) and the Studio wale tail. I'm worried that with the wedding (Nov 28th) I will need the Studio to get enough light but that on a normal portrait basis I'm going to want the smaller one. I've read a ton of reviews and everyone seems to love what they have (a little bitter they didn't come up with it themselves) but I haven't found anything about if you really need both. I'll retouch on this once I have mine and let you know what I really think.

Do you have a tripod and if so what kind?

I have 3 tripods and they are all junk. I took the smallest to the fair (I didn't want to lug anything to big) and it didn't even hold up my camera. I would like to get a nice tripod someday but it's really not a necessity for the type of photography I do. I need to be handhold so I can move and keep up. Most photographers that I know of (I'm talking the big kids) don't use tripods either. So that makes me feel okay about it.

I dreamt about facebook... what does that say?

I woke up this morning ready to go! I'd had a dream that I was in an office space with 5 employees (why I needed 5 employes, I haven't got the slightest). None the less, 5 employees and I were sitting in the office (laughing mind you, I maintain a happy work environment) when suddenly I had a thought, I should buy these wonderful employees donuts! This thought was so ingenious that I was transported back to my car and was driving into work (because dreams have the fabulous advantage of do-overs when you get an even better idea). I'm sure I was driving something much cooler than my current mini-van although I didn't get a chance to pay attention because what I was thinking was this...

'This is SO COOL, I'm going to have to facebook it!"

Dreaming is a critical part of building a business. But don't just dream about it, create it! Where do you want to go, what do you want to see happen? I don't ever have the desire to need FIVE employees. One for office management maybe, 5 ... probably not! In my real dream, Im not heading to an office space but rather stepping outside my back door, walking across the adorable walkway (with hot chocolate in hand) and into my bright and beautiful studio. And my office will be in the home and will maybe look something like this...

only my walls will be COVERED in beautiful portraits!

Are you dreaming? Do you have your dream? Write it down, share (you can start right here!). I absolutely LOVE dreaming! As you write your dreams down think it though and make it your reality! Here's to a GREAT week!

Anne Geddes - INSPIRE ME FRIDAY!

Is there anyone more inspiring when it comes to baby photography then Anne Geddes? Just by saying her name images of little babies in pots come to mind and although she has not photographed a baby in a pot in 12 years her work continues on. The purity in her portraits is second to none, she is the original baby photographer and she has accomplished so much more then breath taking baby portraits! I came across this CNN interview and though it was the perfect way to set us off for the weekend.

Professional Portrait Albums

Everyone makes albums these days, anyone can go to their online print company an order an album. Because of this fact I wanted to make sure that the albums I offered were not the kind you could find anywhere else. I wanted something special that would scream professional. After a ton of searching I found a company who's products I fell in LOVE with, I just received my first album from THE DREAM ALBUM CO. and had to share.

This one above is a 6x6 mini created for one of my Seniors. I have a feeling these will be my most popular although I'm dying to get a 12x12 made to show off during session to my clients. I have my pricing set up so that with the mini the client will receive a free DVD slideshow (using Animoto) with the album. The quality is fantastic and it should be coming with a pretty steep price tag. With a turn around time of over 4 weeks it does take some patience and with your own design time you will probably have to give clients around a 6 week timeframe but I really do believe that The Dream Album Co. is worth the wait.

You got QUESTIONS, I've got some kind of version of ANSWERS!

Lately I've been getting a ton of emails asking questions. While I love answering them personally some of the questions come up more frequent so I thought I would go ahead and answer a few of them here.

How do you get it all done? This is my favorite and most commonly asked question by far!! The truth: I have no flip'n idea. :) With a 4, 3 and 18 month old, it is no easy trick to claim any other title but MOMMY. I have found that getting to have the title photographer is vital for my sanity and identity so somehow I make it happen! OK - If I'm trying to really think about it... I don't sleep. No, seriously thats how. I try not to schedule more than two sessions a weak. The problem is that I love to please so I never say no, I really need to work on that! But for me the crucial thing (in keeping the so-called balance) is not falling behind. I work (that means computer) during 2 time slots. The first is when my 18 month old naps, my girls know that this is quite time. They get to watch a movie, Paysen sleeps and I work. This is when I order prints, answer emails, make calls, get contracts out (more the business end of stuff). I fall into my next work zone at 8:05. The kids go down by 8pm sharp and I'm immediately on the computer to edit. I continue to work and edit and all that stuff till somewhere between 2 and 6am. I know it's insane - but like I said it's my "so-called" balance - or in other words, I have not found the magical balancing act yet. The good thing for me is that my husband is in grad school so he spends most nights at the library until 10:30 or so - so I don't feel like I'm missing out on our time. I have started trying to limit myself to how many time I do this a week. I'm trying to keep it at max of 3 nights a week and on the other two days I wake up around 5:30 to get stuff done before the kids are up. I schedule shoots during my girls preschool and Saturday mornings.

What's your workflow? I'm going to focus on the computer organization with this one. I create a folder with the clients last name. Next I create the sub folders. If the client was Smith, then I would create 5 sub folders; Smi-All Imgs (thats the whole memory card), Smi-Edits (those are the images I love and will consider for the gallery), Smi-Finals (these will be {obviously} the final images that clients will get, Smi-Proofs (these are all sized to 500 px x 750px for the proofing gallery hosted on my Blu Site. They are the same as the final images, just sized different), Smi-Web (these will be the sneak peaks, framed and watermarked). Once I get my edits picked out I start editing in CS4 (color corect, sharpen, actions, some textures, B&W conversion). I begin with my favorites that I want to use for the sneak peak (usually around 5), I try to get the sneak peak on the blog with in 3 days of the session. I will try to continue to edit abut 5 a night from each session until I'm done but I give myself 2 weeks to have them finished because I don't allow myself to work every night!

To help me keep track I have a grease board that has 5 columns. Client, Session Date, Sneak Peak, Proofs, Disk. I have the due by date and a slot to put the finished date in so I can try to stay on top of everything.

Who do you print through? I print with WHCC. And I love them. I've said it before and I'm saying it again. There customer service is awesome. They have great turn around (my prints arrive with in 3-4 days!). And the pricing is great too! Totally recommend them! When you get your account set up you get 5 FREE 8x10 to test print and check for color correctness. So if you haven't, give them a try!

How do you advertise? My best form of advertisement is my website & blog! When I get a client inquiry they are ready to schedule because they have already seen my work. My site is hosted and designed by the fabulous BLU (Love those guys!) My blog (I hate) but as soon as I get enough time that will be changing! Next is word of mouth. I offer a free 8x10 for both the referrer and the referred. Last Craigslist. Honestly when my sweet hubby suggested it, I thought it was kind of ghetto. But I didn't want to hurt his feelings and appreciated that he'd thought about it, so I gave it a try. Every time I post, I get at least one new client from it - so that's been really worth it!

I would LOVE to advertise on a bigger level but I'm just not sure what path I want to try. I don't have an advertising budget so any money I spend needs to be well worth the investment. I just haven't found that perfect investment yet. If you have, I'm all ears!!

If you have a question (smart or stupid) send me an email and I'll try to help!

What should I Wear for my session?

Do you get this question much? If you are anything like me, you get it A LOT! The fact is - it's a great question! What they wear can make as big a difference as wear we are for the session so being able to guide clients into great wardrobe choice can really make you (or me) look good!! And sadly a bad clothing choice can have quite the negative affect too. I have had clients show up and what they are wearing (in a not so good way) becomes my whole focus for how I had to shoot... In one case it was all I could do to keep prospective viewers to see her face and not everything else. And it wasn't coming off in a cool seductive way (in case you were curious).

These are my ideas on HOW to guide clients into great clothing choices.

First: And this is an easy one. It's always important to stay busy (or at least always appear busy) when you are slow or just plain love a new photo - showcase your kids! So next time you and the kids are trying to figure out what to do for the day, raid the closet dress them up from head to toe and head outside for a fun mini shoot. (Make sure you bring them some treats so it actually is fun for them ;) If your kids are anything like mine, they may just be your worst subjects! Don't have kids? Grab a cute friend, doll her up and snap away.

My Second idea, I actually got from Leah Profanik and after seeing hers and creating my own, I've now seen it on several other's blogs too. Create a What to Wear post. I was aiming for a weekly 'what to wear wednesday' but so far I'm not doing to hot. All the same, I do want to keep up with it. Showcasing a variety of options (fitting a variety of budgets) so that people can find what matches that particular families style.

Third. Accessories really add a lot to a photograph. So have some accessories of your own that you can bring along to a session. I have beanies for girls and boys in a variety of sizes (some are my kids, some just for session). I also have several tutus and leg warmers (I can use for arms or legs) and I want to keep adding to this. Some thoughts are ties, that I can put over boys (or girls) T-Shirts and maybe a little suit vest for boys (again super cute over a T-Shirt).

Last thing I do... When I send out my welcome email after I receive a deposit I have a little paragraph about what to wear as well. I think it's a great thing to nudge clients in the right clothing direction every chance you get.

WHAT IDEAS DO YOU HAVE?

Help-Portrait

Help-Portrait

Happy Monday - Here is a FREEBIE!

Last week I stumbled on Sassy Designs on Etsy! Her prices are fantastic, she had these great design elements I'd never seen before and I so I bought them both (she's added a third since) immediately knowing that this was going to make my Christmas designing go much faster! Than I thought of you! I shot her an email and asked if she would want to do something for the go4pro gang. Well... She rocks! She came up with a brilliant idea, she is giving all of you an exclusive page element just for go4pro as well as 2 of her awesome papers. So you have everything you need to try it out!

Happy Monday! And a huge THANKS to Terry of Sassy Designs!

FREE DOWNLOAD