"The Biz"

Well... I have said more than once that I SWEAR Im going to keep this blog updated. That was a lie I guess. I try, and I mean to, but I always end up too busy. So Here I am after midnight- on date night (baby is with my parents)...blogging ;) I just received an email from a repeat (and one of my fav's) client asking why I don't keep up with my blog- and that she and her husband love to read my posts and would love to hear more about the business side of things. Really?? Well "A"..you asked for it! :) Photography is a very "catty" business. But.. a business none the less. As well as an art. So sometimes I am swimming in sessions, which, in all its glory, leaves me swimming in a nice paycheck-which most of goes right back into the business. It is a business that requires constant training, workshops, learning, and upgrading. BUT. Being an art as well.... sometimes I am twiddling my thumbs for a week with no sessions. (Undoubtedly catching up on editing from previous sessions- but there isn't an extra paycheck for that). And- a lot of people don't count any art form- unless you are extremely famous...or dead- a "job". So there is that aspect as well. "Ohhh so you get to take pictures all day??" (Please dont ever say that to me by the way) Oh and the "competition". Everyone is so concerned with what other photographers are doing, and while it is a great learning tool, they don't hold your camera in front of your clients, so it isn't THAT important. I have said it before, but I am from a small area where "professional" (and I use that term loosely here) photography is seemingly a growing trend- and that is a breeding ground for snide remarks and whispering. But I don't feel any competition. I feel like my clients are loyal to me, and I am comfortable enough with my work, that I don't feel threatened by anyone else around me. I practice my weaknesses, and I know my stregnths, and I play to them. So that is the business side of things for now. (I know it ended a little abruptly, but it was sounding too serious for me) So on to regular BLOG things. To shoot, or not shoot. THAT is the question...I am talking about weddings by the way. They are what I started out with, and I had an amazing mentor. And I recently did my first wedding under my own name, and I loved my clients, and I loved their wedding. And after they booked with me, the weddings came rolling in. One after another. Some I turned down, some I kept. So I have quite a few lined up. And while it is great money-is it?? I can;t bring myself to charge people $4,000-$5,000 per wedding. I can't and I won't. But how much of my fee gos to prints? A good chunk. And then there is weeks and weeks and weeks of editing. And I love it all. But I feel like I am centering more around a certain "genre" if you will. (To be discussed at a later time) Not that I dont LOVEEEEEE my weddings-because I do. But I am thinking about only taking on one or two weddings a year, that way I can give them a million percent of my attention. This will not in any way affect my 2013 weddings, so noooo worries. Just something I am thinking about, :) What have I been up to lately? Lots of sessions, lots of editing, dealing with a new attitude from my 2 year old- mostly. He is so my child that it scares me. :) Off to bed now- I hope that saitisfied your itch to read about my awesomely interesting (not so much haha) life "A" and I cant wait until your Holiday session, which I will FOR SURE be Blogging about ;) xoxox

Oh the world of Photography.

First of all- HI! I wanted to quickly let everyone know that I re launched my new website FINALLY. You can find the link on the right side of this page under Heather P. Photography- just click on that and it will take you right there! If you have had a recent session with me, theres a good chance that you may see your images there :) Now on to some annoying business stuff. I have been thinking about this for a while, and then a fellow photog friend of mine, Scarlet, got me thinking about it more tonight after I read her blog post.(Check her out BTW, if you are in the Columbus OH. area, shes a real treat!)She blogged tonight about how Photoshop doesn't define a GERAT photographer. So I want to chat a little about that, and branch out from there. Photography is an extremely competitive industry, and unfortunately, a lot of photographers have placed themselves on a very high stool to look down upon others. EVEN beginners do this. And it gets under my skin- ohhhh does it ever. Photography is an art, and each person has their style, their THING. And most importatly, WE ALL started somehwhere. What is a GREAT photograher?? There are SO many self taught photogs out there that are AHHH-MAZZZING- I cant even put into words. I myself, am an educated photographer- but guess what- that means NOTHING when it comes to the editing process that is now involved in digital photography. When I was learning all this, editing involved a paint brush in a dark room for selective color (ok people we are talking 2003 here fyi, I am not ancient) I taught myself PhotoShop and it.was.HARD. Because I did it right, I took the time to learn, and boy was I reluctant to do so. (Digital SLR's were just becoming the "in" thing when I was in school and we snickered and whispered about the sellouts bringing in their new DSLRs to class. [cheaters] so I SWORE I'd never do so. And I didn't- for another 8 years.) So I aplogize to my first "digital" clients that had to be part of that disaster- but look where it got me ;) Anyway, I stayed up until ridiculous hours of the night tinkering around with PhotoShop and editing, and re editing, and watching tutorials. And more tutorials. And throwing things because I am SO imapatient. But I did it. YAYYY NOW- I am a GREAT digital photographer.....no. If I am great (IF- I'll let you be the judge of that)it's because I KNOW my camera. I know light. I know how to manipulate my camera, and light. I MAKE my photographs. Not the camera. NOT PhotoShop. "Ok Heather, so why are you boring us with this chatter about cameras and software?!" Ok- so here's the thing. I live in a small town. (Just a little while longer ;) I watch people crash and burn trying to "be" photographers all.the.time. And it's not just here. I belong to a few different forums and online groups. Especially in this economy. People think that if they own or buy a "good camera" and have some editing software, BOOM- they're in business, its easy money right?! "ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS TAKE GOOD PICTURES AND THEN BUMP UP THE SATURATION RIGHT?!" <----No. If you want to be a photographer, that's GREAT! I LOVE what I do. But it takes work. LOTS of it. CONSTANTLY. That means, watching any new tutorials you see, researching new equipment, just see what is going on in the camera world. Attending workshops, and networking. It is non stop renewal. Editing software changes, cameras, lenses, flashes, filters, it ALL changes, and picture styles change. Look at your family photos from when you were 10. Would you want that re created? You start with an entry level DSLR (Canon Rebel t2i or t3i- I know nothing about Canon- or Nikon- D3000,3100, and what is with this new D3200 with 24.2 megapixels for only $699.00?!-LOVING that!!) And you LEARN YOUR STUFF. You learn every aspect of how to work a camera, how to edit your images. And then you upgrade. And upgrade again. And again, until you get where you want to be. NO need to run out and by a top of the line camera when you have no idea what you are doing, because guess what? It's a waste of money. Take your time. LEARN. Go outside and take pictures of EVERYTHING. Develop your EYE for the art of photography. Change your SS, FStop, ISO, WB. change it again. and then another 10 times. Do it EVERY DAY. THAT. Is what makes a GREAT. Photographer.