by Guest Contributor Tara Butler

While I think there was probably a much faster route to my photography training, I can’t deny that my Masters Degree in musical theatre, my years spent performing professionally, and my current job of teaching in the Music Dance Theatre department of a University has influenced the way I photograph.

There is a recurring phrase is acting school called “The Moment Before”.  Sign up for an acting class, and you will hear this phrase! Its meaning is not complex – it simply means that when an actor is committed to what happens THE MOMENT BEFORE they begin a scene, what follows will be raw and genuine emotion.

In photography, I think the raw and genuine emotion comes “The Moment After.”  As a wedding and family photographer, I find that the “magic” is in the unplanned moments.

When I first started learning photography, I was lucky enough to be able to tag along with my instructors on some of their shoots. I had a great time shooting candids while they were hard at work posing everyone. I loved the fresh natural interactions I was capturing, and so I decided (before I had done any shoots on my own), that I was simply not going to pose people, and that would keep my shots fresh– none of these boring traditional poses.

Uh – uh. Reality Check. The lovely candid moments that were so easy to capture while I was shadowing were because someone else had done the dirty work! The actual photographer had set up the shot. They had taken care of pesky details like lighting and posing, and I was free to simply capture the moments in between.

So my journey back to my own personal style had a learning curve, and here is what I discovered.

You absolutely must pose or group people for the following reasons:

• It is your responsibility. Those traditional shots are traditional for a reason – people want them. You are responsible for getting the shot of the bride and her grandma, and the whole family together. Can you imagine telling the bride – oh, sorry, there was just never a moment where your whole family happened to be standing by each other, so I never got a picture of your family together on your wedding day. NO. You need to create those opportunities.

• Those traditional shots tend to be the ones that sell. Interestingly, I think my photojournalistic shots are the ones that attract my clients in the first place. But when it comes to that large photograph over the fireplace, the majority of clients will pick a more traditional one where you can see everyone’s smiling face. It’s just a reality. You want to make those traditional shots have your signature. Clients will keep coming back to you if you give them what they want, but also capture who they really are in a natural interaction. This article will show you it’s possible (essential even!) to do both!

• THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE . There can’t be a moment after, unless you set up a moment before! In other words, your clients will NOT give you a natural moment to photograph if they are awkwardly staring at you wondering what to do. So it’s very important to direct your clients in a way that will ALLOW those natural interactions.

I think the trick is to set up the clients in a “pose” or give them an “action.” Take that shot. Why not? But THEN be very watchful for THE MOMENT AFTER (or the moment in between, or the moment before).

I usually have a pretty good read on the client a few minutes into the session. That’s probably because I’m the nosy, people watching sort. Some tips at letting the natural interactions happen:  Match your energy to theirs; Don’t overpower them; DO talk to them; DO give them things to do; DO be positive about how their shots are looking. All of these things bring them out of their shell. It’s an ebb and flow. Guide them, but then let them do their thing. You have to know when to direct, and when to step back. Your job is to set that top spinning, then step back until it needs to be set in motion again.

All of the following shots happened the moment AFTER I posed the clients.

Of course I didn’t tell her to do that! I didn’t know WHAT she would do, but I had a pretty strong read on how PLAYFUL this couple was. I was shooting while I had the couple hold hands and walk toward me. Then I told them to go back and do it again. This is what happened when they walked back into place to start over. I’m just glad I didn’t put down my camera!

This shot was taken while I was gathering and posing a very large group of people at a wedding. And it was my favorite shot of the day because it shows how focused the bride and groom were on each other despite the chaos around them.
This was that cheesy 3 generational kiss shot – only this is what the bride and groom did after I got that shot. OF COURSE I didn’t tell them to do that! I couldn’t have dreamed that up!

This was taken while I was posing the family in a very traditional –everybody look at me and smile-shot. This shot is always easy to get – you just draw some sort of attention to someone in the family (a young teenager responds the best). Something simple works, like “everyone look at Lexie!”
We got lots of shots of this little girl smiling with her favorite doll. But this one is my favorite. She didn’t want to part with it. And it says so much about how she feels about that doll.
I did this shoot of these beautiful little girls on a Saturday morning. I got lots of great shots of those little girls with their balloons celebrating the upcoming birth of their 4th little sister. The girls had an action (toss the balloons), which is always best for capturing kids.
Since it was a Saturday, Dad was in his holey work jeans. Mom felt fat and ugly at 8.5 months pregnant. Neither wanted to be in the pictures. It was about all they could do to have those 3 girls ready for the shoot and those balloons blown! But I couldn’t resist snapping this one while the parents were holding a blanket full of balloons to drop over the girls. It says so much about that specific moment in this family’s life! One that will just NEVER happen again!

I told the little boy to kiss his mommies belly. Which was cute if not a little predictable. But this, the moment after, was magic! Even more magic if you knew how hard this family worked to get baby #2 here.

This shot happened while I was lining up the family for the picture you would expect. Turns out, it displays perfectly the teasing sibling relationship between the two on the left! The shot was taken about 5 minutes into our shoot, and I had definitely already picked up on how those 2 were together. I put them next to each other on purpose because I knew I would get some fun interactions. But I would never have thought of having her use the J like that! I was just lucky enough to notice “The Moment After”

I’m sure you are getting the idea but here is another example:  Does anything say love more than unabashed laughter?

This was captured during the “bride and her mother shots.” As I was shooting, I said “ Great! Beautiul! Kiss her on the cheek.” I always say it that way because it IS ambiguous.

And then . . .

So there ya go. The Moment After! It’s what makes traditional posing and photojournalism go hand in hand. They inform each other! I don’t think you can shoot one without the other!

Tara Butler is the owner of Tara B Photography, based in Utah. She also teaches voice in the Music Dance Theatre department of BYU. Her current hobbies include chasing her mischevious toddler, Downton Abbey, and consuming ridiculous amounts of sunflower seeds. She blogs daily at tarabutlerphotography.blogspot.com. Website: taraBphotography.com.

Visit Tara at her WEBSITE and BLOG

 

by Guest Contributor Brandi and Greg Schrader

There is something amazing about watching someone who is fast or strong or just plain excels at whatever activity they pursue.  Michael Johnson captured our hearts when he won the gold medal at the 1996 Olympics and set a new world record, Bobby Flay inspires millions of people to create new and creative dishes on Iron Chef America, and Madonna never ceases to amaze her audiences with high energy and high impact performances.  My son even creates a certain amount of awe for the audience when he plays soccer.  Mind you – he is only 8, but his speed, precision, juke moves and pure passion for the sport have caused many jaws to drop.  (Yes I am a proud parent!)

One thing each of these individuals have in common is a natural talent or ability, but even more importantly – they all train.  To get to the Olympic level athletes begin to train their bodies at a toddler level and the training NEVER stops.  Quite often they continue to train even after making it to the Olympics and even winning a medal.  Somehow 2 medals are always better than one.  Bobby Flay trains himself and creates challenges continuously.  My favorite is watching him on Throwdown when he makes an entirely new dish that he has never made before and comes out victorious over the person he challenges who has been making the dish their entire life.  Madonna certainly spends plenty of hours at the gym keeping her physical form in tip top shape and she is continually improving and evolving her art.  Even my son practices daily, and usually with older more experienced kids like his older brother.

When we conduct Schrader Workshops, one of the activities we do is called our “Training to the Extreme” challenge.  We pick a location (typically dull to average); set a timer for 2 minutes; send in a photographer and model.  The remainder of the group sits just outside the location and waits.  No peaking, no sneaking pose ideas, just wait and try to have a plan in place for their own 2 minutes.  When the timer goes off – that’s it – show us what you got.  Hopefully the photographer in the “hot seat” was able to create something unique and show worthy, but more often than not I have seen photographers freeze.  Something about the time limit, the lack of grandiose location, and the pressure of comrades waiting to see the finished product take their toll.  This is a perfect way to simulate the pressure of a wedding day timeline that has gotten off track – but you still have a job to do – and a mission to create a timeless and beautiful work of art.

Greg has a metaphor that seems to capture the essence of this activity.  If a weightlifter trains his body to  lift 100 pounds with each arm extended out to his sides (like a jumping jack) and trains until he is able to do 30 reps without breaking a sweat – when it comes time for him to lift 10 pounds by curling his arms up to his chest, he will be able to do it without thinking and without breaking a sweat.  Train yourself in this same manner.  Pick locations that you do not like, ones that give you trouble, ones that you do not feel inspiration from – and practice until you can make timeless and beautiful works of art.  Just like the above mentioned references, even the best natural talent and ability still needs to train in order to  be at the top.  Try this technique and the next time you find yourself in a “hot seat” – You will be amazed at how your work will soar.

– Brandi Schrader

Brandi and Greg of Schrader Photography are frequently asked, “How do you create such stunning images?” Their answer: “It is easy when you are on your right path, doing what you are meant to be doing, and loving what you do.” Photography wasn’t the first career choice for either of them. Greg used to go to work day in and day out – always with the same mantra, “I would rather work 18 hours a day for myself than 8 hours a day for someone else”, while Brandi on the other hand, thrived at being a Director of Operations, but quickly found that working outside of the home for 60 – 80 hours per week meant that she was missing a huge portion of her life. Then along came photography, probably the farthest career choice that either of them would have ever imagined, and the pieces of their life started to click into place. Now they are working 18 hours a day, but they are doing it on their terms and they are not missing one single moment of our lives.

 Visit Greg and Brandi at their  WEBSITE, and FACEBOOK page.

 

by Guest Contributor Spanki Mills

It is my turn.

I am not sure about you but I never really had a professional portrait experience. It was MANY MANY years ago since I had my own senior pictures done and surprisingly the experience just wasn’t what it is today.

(Then…and Now) Don’t laugh, you know in the back of some drawer sits a picture just like this of you!

Yes, I have had my pictures done, you know the kind where you sucker a friend into meeting you with her camera and as soon as you get in your first pose, you start blurting orders and commands at her… ” I kind of want a little sun flare, can you move to the right a little?”; ” Wait are you getting my legs in this…maybe you should scoot back!”; “What do I do, does this look funny?”; “Should I put my arm here? ” You know exactly what I am talking about. THAT kind of session. The kind that results in okay images but left you feeling like you just checked “head shots for promo” off your to-do list.

(Image 1: Hello unflattering outfit! Image 2: Why what do you know…my arm was amputated and I had no idea : / This is what you get when you try to direct your own session from the other side of the camera)

I am talking about a real deal, hire a professional, follow your own clothing do’s and don’ts, prepare outfits, locations, and have a hair and make up girl ready. REAL session! The kind you offer your clients.

Why did I even think I wanted to go through all this effort knowing how much I HATE being on the other side of the camera? I honestly didn’t know how important it was going to be until it was over… but we will get to that is a second. The initial reason I wanted to do it was because I DO offer a style guide to my clients, I have them text me their clothing ideas and we build each outfit prior to the session. It seems easy for me to tell others what will work and what won’t but I have never really done it for myself. I personally have never had professional hair and make up done so I thought it would be a great idea for me to experience what I strongly recommend my clients do. And well I needed good head shots for promo stuff that was a little more current than what I already had.

So, I called my BFF in the industry. Someone I trusted would make me feel comfortable, who had the same guidelines for her clients as I did mine so would offer me a similar experience that I offer my clients and someone I knew KNEW me and my insecurities enough to work with me…or at least laugh with me not at me 😉 So I called Angela with amrphotographystudio.com in Dallas, TX and we started the planning. I did EVERYTHING like a client would…

I sent her a few things I found for inspiration so she knew where I wanted my session to go style wise. I went shopping, texting her from the dressing room asking about outfits.

The night before I packed my LARGE suitcase FULL of everything that it could hold. Woke up early the next morning and drove to Dallas, three hours with NO MAKEUP! Yikes.

The Photographer Angela: “When Spanki started talking about doing a portrait session for her I was excited and nervous all at the same time. Excited because she is so photogenic and I knew we could do some beautiful stuff but nervous because

a) she is a fellow photog
b) she is my friend
c) she is a fellow photog
d) she is my friend

Yes, I repeated myself. I know. I knew she had not yet had that perfect portrait experience for HERSELF so I wanted everything to be worth the time, the drive, the money, the energy she was investing. We both had crazy schedules and she was driving a long way so this had to be awesome. She sent me some inspiration links so I could get an idea of what she wanted and then from there I chose a location and the planning started. I knew she wanted me to drive the ship and treat her like a client which is why I got her ideas and then ran with it. I didn’t want her to have the pressure of planning her own shoot. Since I couldn’t be there in person to do an initial styling consultation we did the “twenty thousand texts from the dressing room” styling consult which resulted in a huge suitcase of clothes/accessories/shoes for me to play with”.

Angela: “The morning of the shoot I packed my camera bag, put together my story board of inspiration (poses and ‘scenes’ that we had both looked through), and anxiously drove to the venue. Can I just say I was so nervous I wanted to throw up? Oh yeah. I get SO SO SOOOO nervous shooting friends. Can you imagine how horribly awkward it would be if they hated what you did for them? But once Spanki got there and I saw how nervous SHE was, it actually kicked me into professional mode and then my priority became calming her and putting her at ease rather than focusing on me. NOW, typically the way I work is that all the outfits are chosen and accessorized a week before the shoot but since this was long distance I put together everything while she got her hair and makeup done. I must confess this also made me nervous. I am a major planner for many reasons, one is that I’m so horribly indecisive, so having to finalize outfits right before the shoot put me a little outside my comfort zone. I’m kicking myself for not taking a ‘before’ pic of the inside of her suitcase because it was the most perfectly packed suitcase in the history of suitcases. I rummaged through it once and it looked like a tornado hit. Can you guess which one of us has clean closets and drawers at home?”

Angela: “After hair and makeup we did a run through of outfits to make sure she loved what was laid out and then we went to work!”

Once I was ready, Angela and I BOTH took a deep breath and got the session started. At first I was a tense wreck. I HATE being on this side of the camera. I felt like I was not allowing Angela to be in control. I had to remind myself I HIRED HER FOR A REASON. I wanted her to direct me, I want to be the client. So after about 10 minutes into the session, I was relaxed. I let the PHOTOGRAPHER take over and allowed myself to just be the client.

Angela: “I was so proud of her because she relaxed SO quickly and we only had literally maybe three minutes of her saying, “do I look dumb? what do I do with my hand? is this okay? should I smile? looking at you or not looking at you?”.  Hahaha!! BUT, she took a deep breath and relaxed and let go and rocked it like a model. We had so much fun”.

We had such a great time. We laughed and made jokes about my awkwardness but it was a REAL session. It was defiantly worth all the stress and planning!

Angela: “I have to say when I texted her shots of the first images I was about to post I almost threw up again but I was so happy when she loved what she saw.”

So did I accomplish what I set out to do? YES. That and a whole lot more. I personally know now WHAT it really feels like to be on the other side of the camera. I understand what all it takes to get through the stress of choosing outfits and making sure you have all the right accessories. I know that had Angela not been there for me to text from the dressing rooms at the mall I’d have been lost at what outfits would work or not. I now know what it feels like to get in the car knowing the anticipation and nervousness I had. I finally got professional hair and makeup done. I know what it feels like to give up control and be completely trusting of a photographers direction. I know what it feels like to BE THE CLIENT.

But even more… I know now what exactly I want to offer my clients. What experience I want them to walk away with and how to ease their minds when they get overwhelmed. I see things from a different perspective. I already encourage my clients to text me, email me, call me… whatever I can do to help walk them through the process from start to finish. But this shed some serious light on exactly where I need to step up my game as a professional photographer. It opened my eyes to things you and I think are something simple that maybe our clients who don’t get their images taken often might not deem as easy. I encourage everyone of you to go get your images done. Not only is it alway handy to have professional images of yourself incase you need it, but it allows you to really experience the process from your clients prospective. In the end helping you hone in on what you want to offer and how you want your clients to feel.

My REAL name is Spanki! I will go by just about anything…Stacy, Becky, and Sparky are what I get the most often. (I guess no one really thinks they hear right when I say Spanki).  I am a thirty “something” mother of 4 (if you don’t include my husband who acts 12 most of the time)!  I have 3 boys one 11yr old, twin 10yr olds, and a daughter AKA the “boss” who is 5 (and to think I was told I couldn’t have children) pshhhh!  I am no good at math, or spelling…I tend to make up words. My poor friends and family have learned they have to de-code me! I have no problem laughing at myself! I sing really good when my radio is REALLY loud, I still think I can cheer just as good as the girls who can actually FIT in their uniform, and there is never a dance competition I won’t break it down in!  I am a self taught photographer, who loves photography for the memories it captures. I wish I could be the “artist” that can cry over an image…nope, not me, I am just the one who had always had a camera in hand not wanting to forget a moment in time I knew I’d never get back!

Visit Spanki at her WEBSITE, BLOG, and FACEBOOK page.

 

by Guest Contributor Elizabeth Halford

Imagine a world where photography changes lives. Imagine a world where new life springs out of a session with you. Imagine your business, your art, your photography having the power to change the course of a couple’s marriage. Imagine finding out that the grand dreams that drew you into photography in the first place really can come true… enter “Beloved Photography”.

If you follow many other photographers, you may see the word ‘Beloved’ being used here and there. I think it’s one of the most important new techniques for photographers to understand. Beloved has changed my life. And it can change yours, too.

Beloved is the brain child of photographer Jesh de Rox. It’s not entirely simple to just tell you everything you need to know about it in one blog post. Even Jesh has a way of describing it in such a way that you’re left still wondering what it’s all about. I think this is because explaining Beloved to someone who hasn’t yet been changed by it is a bit like speaking to someone in a different language. But when you do get it, Beloved will blow your mind.

The main principles of Beloved are thus:

Not creation. Discovery. The Beloved state isn’t something you fabricate – it already exists in the people you work with.

Give everything. Give it first. If you want people to be moved when they see your work, you must be moved while you’re making it.

Invite into experience. You aren’t the director, you’re the stage.

Reading those three principles doesn’t tell you how to have a Beloved session. And this is the problem I ran across when I wanted to understand what Beloved was about. When I wanted to get past what I perceived as gushy mumbojumbo and find out how to create these extremely emotive images. But that was my problem. I wanted to take pictures. And with Beloved, you can’t just takepictures. You first have to give. In a Beloved session, you become as emotionally bare as your subjects and you must do it first before they will respond in kind.

The first time I heard about Beloved was when I saw this session from London photographerMarianne Taylor. I was instantly captivated. I began Googling this word “Beloved” and found this website. I clicked play on the bottom right and listened to the nearly 2 hours of Jesh presenting the Beloved concept. At the end, I felt so hungry to know more. So I purchased his field guide. When it came, I read each card and thought “how in the world will I ever be able to say things like this to people?!” They were deep, emotional, intensely personal experiential invites. The experiential invites {which I have also heard called “expression invites”} are the meat of the Beloved session. They set the stage for the intensely emotional images you see Beloved photographers producing. Some are lively and fun and the intended purpose is to invite your subjects into a light, joyful, happy place. Others will likely evoke tears. These less ‘fun’ ones I set aside and told myself “I’ll never say that gushy stuff to perfect strangers”.

So here I was with the Field Guide and not a single clue what to do with it. I scheduled to meet a lovely couple I know for a try at my first Beloved session. The session was lively, jumpy, lots of action and LOTS of laughter. It was super fun. But not deep. Or emotional. Or fulfilling like I thought it would be. I felt like having this field guide was like being given a powerful power tool with no training how to use it. In fact, I’d say I didn’t even fully understand its purpose in the first place. Because Beloved isn’t just about taking pictures or creating fabulous visual imagery. I was hearing that this was a life changing thing. And that first session really didn’t change anything for anybody.

I booked my husband and I for a Beloved session with Marianne Taylor. It was a few months until we could have our session and this left me with plenty of time to hunger and yearn to finally experience Beloved for myself. When we met Marianne, she was so calm and peaceful that all my nerves began to melt away. She really seemed to know what she was doing and this made me feel very secure that our experience would be wonderful. During that session, our cups ranneth over. You see, as a couple married for a decade, it’s all there. The love, the passion, the tension, all that. It’s there – no one needed to create smiles or tears during that session. Because they have been there for years. Marianne just invited us to push away the things that make us forget. The things that cloud our vision of eachother. We spent 2 blissful hours drinking eachother in and there just happened to be a photographer there to make it last forever.

And this is what I realised about Beloved in that session:

• It’s not a photo shoot. There just happens to be a photographer there.
• That gushy stuff I said I’d never utter to a stranger? It was powerful.
• Beloved isn’t about physical posing. It’s emotional posing.
• Beloved was life changing.

During the session, I became unaware that there was a photographer. There were times when I couldn’t hear her shutter, couldn’t feel her walking around us. I have canvases from that session allover my house. They’re not representations of something real. They ARE something real. Seeing them brings back the strong feelings I felt while we were there infront of Marianne’s camera. Having our own session helped me understand what my clients should feel like infront of my camera and how to actually put the concepts in the Field Guide into action.

I’m still on a huge journey of discovery. I’ve only done a few sessions as such and am still learning how to interact with people in this way. And because it starts first with me, Beloved has sent me on a journey of personal discovery and evolution. Although Beloved was originally intended to celebrate the marriage relationship, photographers are finding its power translates to all walks of life.Families, children, even solitary sessions. Beloved isn’t for everyone. Not for every photographer or for every client. But I believe that if you give it a chance to get in you, to show you that photography really can change the world, then it just might change your life, too.

{Further Reading}

Listen to the audio on this website from Jesh de Rox.

I highly suggest participating in these resources if you decide you would like training on the Beloved genre.

About the Author: Elizabeth Halford has been shooting professionally in the UK for seven years and using the Beloved method since 2012. You can find her work here and connect on Facebook here.

 

by Guest Contributor Valérie Jardin

I could write a book about traveling with kids in general but, as a photographer, I can certainly narrow it down to things that specifically apply to photographers on a family vacation.

As a photographer, going on vacation also means new photo opportunities. You leave home with one goal: to capture some amazing images! You are already setting yourself for some disappointment… Assuming you are the only ‘photography nut’ in your family, the rest of the gang probably has other plans in mind… No matter what, you will have to compromise. This doesn’t mean that you won’t be able to shoot some of your best work, just lower your expectations a bit and follow a few simple tips:

1. Learn to work fast. You can’t expect non-photographers, children or adults, to wait patiently for 15 minutes every time you want to compose the perfect shot. Leave the tripod at home and work fast! You can always do some cropping in post to adjust your composition later if you don’t have time to get it just right in camera. You’ll get fewer keepers with the distraction around you, but a few is better than none, so keep shooting!

2.  Get up early. Let the rest of the family sleep in or watch some cartoons at the hotel before breakfast (as long as there is another adult with them) and take advantage of the best light of the day!

3. Give your kids point and shoot cameras and take them on a photo walk. Depending on their age, give them a theme for the day (a specific color, dogs, street signs, etc). For them, the walk will feel like a treasure hunt and you may discover a natural talent in the process!

4. Include your children in the pictures. Let’s say you’re in Paris, instead of posing them in front of the Eiffel Tower, try to think outside the postcard. Capture images of your daughter pushing a wooden sailboat at the Luxembourg Gardens and your son eating a pain au chocolat from the boulangerie. Such images will still give a sense of place and you will treasure them forever.

5. Use your kids! In a nice way that is. Children can be a great ice breaker when you do street photography or street portraits. You will look a lot less threatening to strangers when you have children by your side. People won’t even pay attention to your camera. I’ve made some of my best street portraits and candid street shots with my boys in tow. It also opens their eyes to different people and cultures.

6. If you are traveling with your spouse or significant other, plan a day just for yourself and your camera. Then trade off. You get your day to do whatever you want and he/she gets a turn. The best part, you get your photography fix and you both get to spend some quality one on one time with the children!

7. Know when to leave the camera behind. Your children will grow up and move out. You’ll have plenty of time for photo adventures when you are an empty-nester. Enjoy every minute with them, with or without the camera!

8. If you are still suffering from photography withdrawal when you return from your vacation, make plans to participate in a photo workshop for a week or a weekend with a small group of like-minded people. It’s good to be among photographers only for a change. Make it a goal for yourself, it may be next year or in five years, no matter when you can make it happen, it will be something really cool to work for. You deserve it!

Please share some of your experiences with the Rock The Shot readers.

Happy travels!

Include your children in your pictures. There is no need to include a famous landmark in every shot. You can still give them a sense of place while ‘thinking outside the postcard’.

Bonjour! I’m Valérie Jardin and photography is my passion. It’s what I do to earn a living and for pleasure on my days off. I live and breathe in pixels. I love to share the passion and teach this beautiful craft. You can connect with me on Facebook, visit my website, or join me on my next photo workshop: A week in Paris in October!

 

 

by Guest Contributor Shannan Painter

You’ve taken workshops on Photoshop, how to use your flash, ways to improve your marketing, and how to pose newborns. Your photography skills and your business revenues are growing…BUT how on-track are you with your business finances?

It’s June, which means, in addition to it being warm and beautiful outside, the year is (gasp!) halfway over! At this point in the year, you should know how much money you have made so far. You should know how much you have spent on marketing, camera equipment, office supplies, travel expenses, actions & presets, prints, and any other business expense that has left your pocket (by pocket I mean separate business bank account of course)! If you can’t show me those numbers, it’s time to get it in gear!

Aside from the fact that you are REQUIRED by the government to keep a set of records for every business you own, you as a business owner absolutely must have a grasp on when and where money is coming from, and where it’s going. Here are three must-do practices for every business owner. Evaluate yourself, and if there is room for improvement, don’t wait until the end of the year!

SCHEDULE – Keeping track of business finances needs to be a priority, so schedule time to tackle it on your calendar, just like you would any other appointment. Then, KEEP YOUR APPOINTMENT! If you absolutely dread the accounting and tax portion of your business, plan a reward for yourself for keeping on top of it – hit up happy hour, splurge on a pedicure, buy yourself a fancy coffee, or anything else that might help motivate you to stay on top of things!

ORGANIZE – When your desk is a mess, so is your brain! No one likes feeling like clutter is building up. Since you need to keep business receipts for a minimum of two years, it’s a good idea to have a plan for storing them. Whether you use a scanner or an accordion file, make a designated spot for receipts, and file them away on a regular basis. You also need an accounting system. Whether you choose to use QuickBooks, Peachtree, or our simple & easy-to-use SNAPSHOT spreadsheet, you need to have a way to look at reports for your own sake, your CPA’s end-of-year tax filing, and in case you ever need to get a bank loan.

EVALUATE – Entering historical information (what has already happened) isn’t quite good enough. You need to constantly be evaluating your finances and budgeting and planning ahead for the future. Are you setting money aside each month to pay self-employment taxes? Do you have an idea of when your peak revenues come in so you can plan big purchases? If you feel a little lost, why not take a workshop, check out a book from the library or check with your local Small Business Administration office? Whatever you do, don’t just keep ignoring that part of being a business owner means understanding your finances.

About the Author: I graduated Magna Cum Laude with an Accounting Degree from the University of Montana. Instead of pursuing a career in public accounting and being stuck behind a desk for 70 hours a week, I turned down jobs at big accounting firms to pursue a different love. I chose instead to work from home where I live with my husband, two boys and a puppy named Growler. I live a glamorous, exciting life working from my living room in my pajamas, cleaning crayon off the walls, driving kids to school, playing superheros and taking care of a little dog that likes to refinish furniture with his teeth. I get to work with fun, creative & artistic photographers and help them understand that numbers can be our friends!

Visit Shannan at her website Accounting for Photographers, and on her Facebook Page today!

 

by guest contributor Gayle Vehar

I still remember the first photo I took where I swooned a bit and said, “I LOVE this. I want to take more photos like this!”  Do you remember your first great photo?  Here’s mine.

I still like this photo, but admittedly, if I took the same photo today, I wouldn’t swoon. It might not even make the I-am-going-to-edit-this cut!  THAT was the moment I “fell” for photography. That is the moment that made me want to learn more. From that moment on, I craved better photos! The deep-down kind of craved!
It didn’t come overnight for me. It came slowly. Day by day. Month by month. Year by year. It has taken weeks of discouragement and days of euphoria. It has taken hours of hard work and moments of bliss. It has taken practice and patience and, most of all, TIME.
What I didn’t count on was the discouragement that I would face along the way.  I didn’t foresee the feelings of inadequacy that would surface.  I hadn’t planned that I’d meet such a strong-willed inner critic that would continually remind me of all the reasons I should just give up and never photograph again!
The problem is that it is so easy to be discouraged.  It is the easier road. I’ve probably spent more time discouraged than not.  Just typing that is a little sad and discouraging :).
But if discouragement has you in its grasp, it isn’t the end of the world.  I want to share a few tricks I’ve used to beat discouragement when it has reared its ugly head!  Please share any other tips you have found helpful in the comments!

My 5 Tips for Overcoming Discouragement
• Look back at hold photos and take pride in what you have learned.  If you have only been shooting for a short time, look back as far as you can.  If you have been shooting for a while, look back to photos from 2 years ago.  Looking back will help you realize just how far you’ve come!

• Don’t Compare!  We begin by looking at others’ work under the guise of getting better.  BUT, what it often leads to is comparing our work to theirs—and then, ultimately, discouragement that our work isn’t as good as theirs.  Remember that when you are looking at others’ work, you are looking at their “highlight reel.”  Spend some time away (2 weeks is a good amount) from looking at others’ photography.  Use those two weeks to start a personal project that will help you improve.

• Be Patient with Yourself!  It sounds a little cliché.  AND it is harder to DO than it is to type.  Patience with yourself will soothe discouragement and allow you to keep getting better over time.  Hush the inner critic with words of encouragement and affirmation.

• Use Discouragement as Incentive!  How we deal with discouragement makes all the difference.  If you allow your discouragement to paralyze you and keep you from ever photographing again—it won!  But if you take the discouragement you feel and allow it to push you and challenge you to become better—then YOU win!  For me, writing out the discouraging thoughts and feelings helps “release” them into the world and out of my head.  Then I can look at things a bit more objectively and find my path to the other side.

• Have Faith!  Have faith in yourself.  Have faith that you have improved and that you will continue to get better.  Have faith that others before you experienced discouragement and fought it, and that you can, too.
I know I still have lots more to learn.  I know that there will still be days of discouragement and weeks of feeling uninspired.  I know my inner-critic will still whisper that I should just give up.  But I also know there will be those wonderful photos that inspire me and cause me to swoon a bit.  There will be strength that comes from not listening to the discouragement.  There will be inspiration and joy!

If you are looking for a resource to help you improve your photography, I have recently written an e-book, and even self-published a soft-cover version, putting down on paper a lot of what I have learned over the years about taking better photos.

Why on earth would I do this?
I hoped it would help someone else learn quicker and faster than I did. I hoped it would inspire others on their journey to better photos.  I hoped it would save others some discouragement.

I wish you much joy in your journey to take better photos!

Hi!! I am Gayle. I am a wife to my handsome husband and mom to 4 beautiful kids. In my spare time, I am a photographer and blogger at Mom and Camera. I have a passion for sharing my love of photography with others. I teach local photography classes and regularly share photography tips and tricks on my blog. I hang out there a lot—I’d love you to stop by and visit!

 

Visit Gayle on her WEBSITE and FACEBOOK pages here.

 

by Guest Contributor Sandy Summers Russell

I’ve been photographing this family since their oldest daughter, Sadie, was itty bitty. I’ve said it before, but it is such joy and an honor to capture a family as it grows and changes over the years.

You may wonder then, is it difficult to come up with something new year after year for the same family? Well, yes and no. Yes, it can be a challenge to make every session unique and capture a child’s changing personality. Yes, it can be hard living up to the images you’ve knocked out of the park for them at past sessions. But on the other hand, and I think more importantly, it gives you a freedom you don’t always have with brand new clients. You know what a returning client likes. You know their kids already, so you don’t have to introduce yourself and make friends in the first 20 minutes of the session. But even more importantly, it gives you the freedom to just be yourself and capture the art as it develops naturally.

For example, this session had all the components of a dream photo shoot. The location was amazing at the family’s working cattle ranch, the clothes were to die for, and the two girls couldn’t be more adorable and precocious. The rub, well little Miss Marlee was exercising her budding independence, and that day she didn’t want a thing to do with pictures or her big sister, thank you very much. No matter how we tried to get them together in a photo she was out of there in less time than you can say “cheese”.

Now most moms would be getting pretty stressed out by this point, so I turned to their mom, Kim, who has become a dear friend over the years, to let her know it would be alright, and not to worry. Kim, cool as a cucumber, then gave me one of my most cherished compliments to date. “Sandy,” she said. “I’m not the least bit worried. No matter what the scenario you always come back with beautiful photos. I can’t wait to see what you get this time.”

Well my goodness. What an honor to have someone place such faith in you. Yet what she really did was help me see something that I should have already realized. Perhaps it’s my journalism background, but it true, when things get the hardest is when my inner artist comes out the strongest. Some of my most difficult subjects have produced my absolute favorite images. And it’s not because I had to work so hard to achieve them. In fact, it’s the opposite.

There reaches the point where you cannot do a thing about it. Children are beautiful in not just their innocence and honesty but in their resistance to direction. You cannot force a child to do something they don’t want to. Not only will there be screaming involved, but the resulting pictures are not going to be something your clients will want to hang over their mantelpiece.

Instead you just have to let it go. Take a deep breath, turn off the thinking part of your brain, and let your inner artist come out. Take chances you might not have before. Why not, it’s not like the traditional photos are much of an option at this point anyway. Just capture what is happening in front of you from pure instinct. You’ll be surprised what happens when you do. This session, well it turned out to be one of my favorites from the whole year. And yes, the profile picture of the two of them running across the pasture went up big on the client’s mantelpiece.

About the author: Sandy Summers Russell is a former metro newspaper photojournalist who fell in love with a small-town farm boy. She married him, moved to the middle of nowhere, became a mom, and started Summerland Photography in exactly that order. Now, instead of shooting breaking news, professional sporting events, and heartrending human interest features, she photographs brand new babies, fleet-footed toddlers, and jubilant weddings.

Visit Sandy at her WEBSITE | BLOG | FACEBOOK  pages today!