Get the Job Done: Car show photo booth profitable!

Photo by Jason Peckovitch


I think Picture Your World Photography may have unearthed a business goldmine! I had no idea that holding a photo booth at a car show would be so profitable, but photographer Jason Peckovitch were even more successful at the Red and Jerry's car show last weekend than we did at the fair at Walmart the weekend before.

Maybe since it was our second time hosting the photo booth, Jason and I were just more experienced and better prepared. But we actually didn't take a portrait of anyone in our makeshift studio under a 10x10 tent. All the equipment we rented, including backgrounds and stands went unused, to my initial surprise.

Everyone at the car show was more interested in having their treasured and well-loved vehicles photographed with a bikini-clad model. Jason and I quickly adapted our plan of business, adding $5 extra to our prints to have a model pose with the vehicles. Jason worked the show, shooting and brought his CF cards over to me so I could upload images, edit them in Photo Shop and print them. We sold so many prints and I was so busy editing shots that Jason took that my fingers hurt by the end of the day. And the best thing about it for me: the job was done when we left...ie, no more post-processing to do and the clients took their items with them immediately.

If you ever do something like this, make sure to hit up Model Mayhem or something similar to have some models at your booth. Just having them stationed near our table caused a flurry of interest, making folks come over to see what we were up too. And it goes to show you how important it is to know your audience and understand what those clients might be interested in spending their hard earned money on.

Instructor's Tip: Picture Yourself

I hope you enjoy this week's "Instructor's Tip" by one of my favorite instructors, award winning nature photographer Russ Burden. To learn more about how Russ captured the above image, join him on one of his photo tours. Visit Russ Burden Photography to get more information.


Picture Yourself
Some of us who travel do so for the exclusive reason of trying to sell pictures. Some travel because it’s enjoyable and if a picture is sold, it’s a bonus. Some travel just to gain knowledge and education and have no intention of selling a picture. Regardless of the motives, what often happens to many travelers is they come back with cherished memories and lots of images of the scenery, architecture, people, and culture, but few, if any, shots of themselves. While it’s nice to relive the experiences through photos you’ve taken, it's more special to have a few of yourself to heighten the memory. To accomplish this, I’ve found it’s best to take matters into your own hands by setting up the camera on a tripod and using the self timer so you can get into the shot. The reason I say this stems from experience. I’ll never forget the time my wife, son, and I were skiing in Keystone, Colorado and I asked someone to take a few shots of us. I picked a nice location with a good background and nice lighting thinking I had all bases covered. When I got the pictures back, none of the images had any of our faces and one included only our torsos. Digital shooters can check the composition on the LCD right away to prevent this, but it’s still a good lesson.

Take a class with Russ or a fellow Digital Photo Academy instructor in your area, check out the Digital Photo Academy. I took Russ' intermediate and advanced courses last year, and he continues to be a strong source of knowledge and encouragement as I progress in my photography.

Don't forget to check Take Great Pictures for Russ' most recent tips. On the home page, click on the "Photo Tips And Techniques" button in the left hand column. Additionally, check out his "Digital Tip of the Month" found by clicking on the Digital Photography button.

Saturday Morning Cartoons

Here is my favorite "What the Duck" comic from this week. Rock on Aaron! "What the Duck" is an online comic strip created by Aaron Johnson. Viewers are welcome to link, post, copy/paste, or save the strips to their own sites, blogs, forums, newsletters, etc. Aaron also allows viewers to suggest titles for his individual strips, which I think is a great way to interact with his blog readers.

Get Out There: Attending a marketing workshop

Tonight I will be attending a marketing workshop hosted by Mile High Photographers. Presenter Kristy Chenell, co-creator of The Wedding Summit, shared ideas to move photographers outside of the "Can I take you to lunch," marketing concept to an actual targeted campaign. Since I hadn't even taken anyone to lunch yet, I figured I desperately needed to make it to this workshop.

The Wedding Summit is a hands on business workshop for wedding industry businesses and covers Branding, Marketing, Sales, Financial Acumen, Customer Service and Benchmarking in depth on a personal level. But Kristi has had a long career of consulting and is one of the nation's leading experts in the wedding industry. Known for her inspiring ideas and innovative concepts, Kristy is owner of Couture Consulting by Chenell, where she focuses on helping businesses achieve their maximum potential.

I will be getting all that for just a $5 donation to fund further MHP activities. That's an incredible deal!

An Aside: Clients allergic to my studio!

Image credit: thecatzine.com

I never expected anything like this: Both of my clients on Saturday had allergic reactions to what I can only guess are my dogs and cat! My studio is in my basement, and while my pets aren't allowed down there, poor Mike and especially young Tyler were coughing, sneezing and having trouble breathing by the second hour into the shoot. I felt so bad, and I had no idea what to do.

Because of my own allergies and recently diagnosed asthma, I vacuum nearly every day during my pets shedding season, and I keep my medicine cabinet stocked with Claritin and Advair. Tyler was doing much better after a quick puff on his Advair, but I ended up cutting Mike's time in studio down before he had a full blown attack.

Thank goodness the last part of their shoot is scheduled to be outdoors on location. It boggles my mind that after two years of shooting in studio in my home, this is the first time I've ever had this situation happen. From now on, I will have to make it a normal part of my consultation to find out if potential clients may be allergic to my pets, because it definitely puts a terrible damper on their photo session experience. If you have pets, knowing how your clients will react to their dander is an important thing to consider! My client's mother is pleased with the shots, but that situation could have gone south very quickly! Pet owners, plan ahead!

This (Past) Weekend: Actor Headshots, Senior Portrait and another photo booth!

This past week weekend was another busy one for my studio. I started the morning shooting a senior portrait for Michael, graduating from George Washington High School, and head shots of his brother, Tyler, a 10-year-old actor starring in "A Raisin in the Sun" presented by the Denver Center Theatre Company. The show runs Oct. 2 -Oct. 31 and Tyler's head shot is due in August. Because their mother Elrie accompanied her sons, I decided to take a few portraits of the family as well to help them relax in front of my camera. On Sunday, I was scheduled to help Jason Peckovitch host another photo booth at one of his events, a local car show. I'll report more on that later.





Saturday's set with Michael and Tyler were the first of a two part session, including today's shots taken in studio and another hour on location outdoors. It was a great way to get to know the boys and have them feel more comfortable in front of my camera. It was great working with Elrie, who herself is a burgeoning photographer who shoots film. But after I allowed her a chance to take a few practice shots of me with my Canon 5D, I think she has definitely been bitten by the digital photography bug.

Image by Elrie Archer

The key to shooting Elrie's sons was getting genuine smiles from them. Tyler, whose favorite actor is Will Smith, was shocked and happy to learn I had met Smith briefly and shot his picture ala paparazzi with my Canon G9. Tyler wants to be a comedic actor, so I focused my images of him trying to capture his signature laugh. It was fun and very helpful to have the older brother, Michael, give Tyler suggestions on poses, as I am still learning how to shoot male models.






Though shooting in a traditional studio setting, Mike clearly preferred the more urban look of him kicking back on a bench.





Another plus was shooting tethered, allowing Elrie, Michael and Tyler to see their images immediately on my laptop. That made it easier for me to confer with them to find out what shots worked for them and what didn't and make sure we were on the same page for the type of feel they wanted in those images. In addition, the larger 17 inch screen made it easy for me to check for details and note if my images were out of focused (which is often harder to see on a tiny LCD) and recompose them. This video from Jim Talkington (who is a Canon shooter like me) explained to me exactly how to do it.

Episode 29, computer tethered photo capture from Jim Talkington on Vimeo.

Instructor's Tip: Dawn and Dusk Photography

Image by Russ Burden

I hope you enjoy this week's "Instructor's Tip" by one of my favorite instructors, award winning nature photographer Russ Burden. To learn more about how Russ captured the above image, join him on one of his photo tours. Visit Russ Burden Photography to get more information.


Dawn and Dusk Photography
The light that fills the sky at dawn and dusk is magical yet the number of images taken at these times is few. Some probable reasons are it’s tough to get up extra early and a strong desire to want to get home or back to the motel after a long day of photography. Another may be the fact that the light at these times is subtle and its potential is overlooked by some photographers. Exposure times are long and many don’t want to be bothered. As evidenced, there are drawbacks, but the reward of making outstanding images far exceeds them.


REWARDS: Dawn and dusk photography provides the eager photographer with soft light. Worries about shadow and highlight detail don’t exist as all tones blend into a harmonious exposure of evenly lit subjects. Not only is the light soft, it’s pastel in tone and bathes its subject in a quality of light unobtainable at any other time of day. In addition, dawn and dusk often means little or no wind so the needed long exposures don’t impose the problem of subject movement. Finally, unless you’re traveling with others, you’ll have the place to yourself allowing you to become one with your subject.

Take a class with Russ or a fellow Digital Photo Academy instructor in your area, check out the Digital Photo Academy. I took Russ' intermediate and advanced courses last year, and he continues to be a strong source of knowledge and encouragement as I progress in my photography.

Don't forget to check Take Great Pictures for Russ' most recent tips. On the home page, click on the "Photo Tips And Techniques" button in the left hand column. Additionally, check out his "Digital Tip of the Month" found by clicking on the Digital Photography button.

Saturday Morning Cartoons

Here is my favorite "What the Duck" comic from this week. Rock on Aaron! "What the Duck" is an online comic strip created by Aaron Johnson. Viewers are welcome to link, post, copy/paste, or save the strips to their own sites, blogs, forums, newsletters, etc. Aaron also allows viewers to suggest titles for his individual strips, which I think is a great way to interact with his blog readers.

Breaking News: Photo Booth snags a new client!

I'm pleased to share that Saturday's photo booth has netted me a new client! A woman who stopped by and picked up one of my cards called to book a senior session for one son who is graduating as well as a headshot session for another son who will be acting in a local play. We have arranged to split the session up, shooting both sons for an hour in studio this Saturday and another hour on location outdoors in another week or so.

One of the things that I think is neat about this experience is that the client lives a few blocks from me! However, she would never have known that a professional photographer lived so near to her had I not been essentially marketing my services while working at the photo booth. It's good to know that I was able to benefit from the event even if people weren't interested in getting their picture taken that same day. Hopefully in the future, when any of the people I met on Saturday need images, they will remember the day they met me, shook my hand and asked questions about what I offered at a local fair.

Instructor's Tip: Strategic Angles

I hope you enjoy this week's "Instructor's Tip" by one of my favorite instructors, award winning nature photographer Russ Burden. To learn more about how Russ captured the above image, join him on one of his photo tours. Visit Russ Burden Photography to get more information.


Find a Strategic Angle to Eliminate People From Touristy Areas

Tourist areas are packed with people for a reason - what’s there is worth seeing. In an ideal world, we as photographers could temporarily rope them off, get our shots and then take down the barriers, but in fairness to the rest of the public, we need to come up with alternatives to maintain everyone’s happiness. Two options are open to us to overcome the hordes of people to produce successful photographs. One is to find a unique angle with something in the foreground that blocks out the tourists yet still shows the landmark. The creative use of a wide angle lens along with some leg work and a discerning eye to find just the right spot will solve the problem. The second way is to use long exposures so that moving people will not be recorded on film. The drawback to this method is that it may require the use of very dense neutral density filters to get a long enough exposure so that moving objects won’t be recorded. The other drawback to this method is that ALL the people in the scene must keep moving. Should someone stay stationary while the shutter is open, the image of that person will show up in the photo.

Take a class with Russ or a fellow Digital Photo Academy instructor in your area, check out the Digital Photo Academy. I took Russ' intermediate and advanced courses last year, and he continues to be a strong source of knowledge and encouragement as I progress in my photography.

Don't forget to check Take Great Pictures for Russ' most recent tips. On the home page, click on the "Photo Tips And Techniques" button in the left hand column. Additionally, check out his "Digital Tip of the Month" found by clicking on the Digital Photography button.

Get the Job Done: First photo booth a hit!

I had so much fun yesterday at my first photo booth hosted by my studio! It was a lot of work and of course my muscles were crazy sore and tired, but it was a great experience and I will be doing it again for one of my assistant's car shows on July 19 and for a local church event on July 26! I and my assistants raised nearly $100 in just a couple of hours, but storm clouds (and the threat of another batch of hail) scared off customers and closed down the fair early, so there's no telling how much more profit could have been made had we been able to keep the booth open until that evening. We had access to power! Yeah! Plus it was clear we caught a lot of people off-guard in that they didn't feel comfortable getting shots taken if they weren't well dressed, with their hair and make-up done, etc. :)



I couldn't have done it with my assistants, Jason Peckovitch, who runs his own studio called Illusive Dreams. Jason took all the shots, I helped with posing and did quick basic edits to each image. Inspite of all of my planning, of course something went wrong: my new iP100 Canon Mobile Printer was malfunctioning. Those annoying white lines kept getting scrawled across the image when we would try to print them straight through Photoshop CS3. Jason figured out that we needed to print the images through the software that came with the printer called Easy-PhotoPrint EX. When he did that, the white lines disappeared and we got some amazingly clear, crisp and beautifully colored images from the iP100. The printer is so tiny and easy to carry that it's amazing you can produce 8x10s. But the photos were gorgeous.



I was worried that the technical difficulties would make people hesitate about paying for the portraits. But I think the display I set up of several of my previous images spoke volumes about my abilities. It was such a thrill to see people walking by my booth and stopping to get a closer look at my photos. They were actively choosing to pick up one of my business cards and discount post cards. And they were asking if I was the photographer. It was amazing and humbling. I enjoyed being able to meet other small business owners from my neighborhood who had set up a booth (even the less than generous ones who fought over booth placement!). I got several new ideas for how I might grow and market my business from many of them. I felt like I was a part of something. It's kinda hard to explain, but we were all there early that morning setting up our work, putting ourselves on the line, hoping that someone would spend their hard earned cash on something we made or created. Several people who stopped at the booth said they needed family portraits, senior shots, a few boudoir images and some professional portraits for newly developed business websites. There was even one woman who needs photos of her horses shot!



I would like to give a special thank you to Cheryl Carter, who's public relations firm notified me about the event. I also do contract work for Cheryl at the Auraria Campus. Cheryl has been such a boon for my company since I shot her parent's rededication ceremony last year. Her faith in my abilities has helped take me to heights I would never have dreamed possible. And yesterday's event is testiment of your need to treat every client with courtesy and respect because referrals are the best advertising available. Cheryl helped me book my first wedding last year with a young couple you may remember, Tolisa and Jordan. At least half of the people who came up to my booth not only recognized several photos of the couple I had taken during their wedding on my display table, but each one had been personally told by the couple to choose me for their future photography needs!

I would also like to thank my photographer friend and colleague Christine Tydingco for arriving to assist during the late afternoon shoot, even though things were pretty much over by then. As always, she was extremely courteous and helped me break down all the equipment and pile it into my car. I would love to be able to do this at least two or three times a month because I think it's a great way to be out within the community and allow customers to have direct contact with the person they hopefully will be trusting to photograph their special moments.



One of the new things I was able to do this time was get contact information for each person who purchased photos yesterday. That allowed me to call them today, let them know that I had made their photos available for them to download from my website and give them a chance to ask any questions about the process. Their names will go on the customer list I'm creating. I learned another idea from a few vendors: many of them had products available for a raffle. When booth visitors signed up for a raffle prize, they gave the vendors contact information as well! I could raffle off a free photo session and get numbers for future clients too.

Maybe I could contact some festival coordinators and offer a deal: If they purchase my event coverage service, I could set up a photo booth at their event and take photos of their guests for free (free for them at least)!

In My Library: July 2009 Professional Photographer

I feel as if this month's issue of the Professional Photographer magazine must have been made just for me! The main features are all about the new genre of boudoir photography and it's impact on the photography industry. I have to admit, I sometimes feel as if I can't justify making boudoir a mainstay in my business because I do think the genre has had a bad rap thanks to old school techniques that made women look like mere caricatures of themselves instead of naturally beautiful and confident. As a woman who struggles with her own low self-esteem sometimes, it just makes my heart sing to hear a woman say "OMG! Is that me?" when they look at a photo of themselves that I just captured.

The articles and interviews in the Professional Photographer just confirms the reason why I've had so many recent viewers coming to my blog because of my boudoir discount I'm offering on Facebook: boudoir is back in demand.

Noted photographers Sam Harnack, "Pajama Glamour" sessions and "The Boudoir Divas" (San Fransisco photographers Marissa Boucher and Kimberlee West) are making what was once taboo tasteful again. The key for all three of these photographers is the careful consideration of how to make all women be at ease and look beautiful through posing and lighting.



The Boudoir Divas have created a great guide of 28 poses they say "work on all body types" based on the trial and error of learning to pose their own clients. At just about $130, the guide may seem costly, but all who purchase the pose guide will also receive an immediate quick reference download and a video.

If you've been wondering if boudoir photography is worth adding to your photography bag of tricks, or even if you could carve out a business of only boudoir shots alone (as I have been wondering) then definitely grab the PP for July 2009!

Growing Pains: Photobooth placed near the main stage

As a cub reporter for the Denver Post in the late 1990s, I can't tell you how many festivals and fairs I covered. It was always interesting to see how the many vendors set up their wares and did their best to standout among a sea of other businesses. I never dreamed that I might one day own my business, much less be one of those vendors at a festival, but my time to get out there and shine is just three days away!

It's very exciting to see my company name on a vendor table! If you look closely, Picture Your World Photography will be stationed at Table 5 on the left-hand side of the event map. The table isn't too far away from the main stage and seating area so that should help us in generating some customers.



All week long I've been getting tips from friends and colleagues about how to make this idea happen without a hitch. My iP100 Canon Mobile Photo Printer will allow us to bring 4x6, 5x7 and 8x10, which I think we should sell for $5, $10, and $15 respectively. Sean Donnelly, said it might be a good idea to consider offering a bulk "discount price" of all the images on CD, such as 6 for $45 or something like that. That's definitely worth doing!

Sean also thinks I should be good to use my Vagabond II battery pack as portable power my laptop and my printer.
Sean had his Macbook Pro plugged into a Vagabond II and running for approximately 2.5 hours and didn't notice anything unusual, including no odd smells or excessive heat.

I'm still a little anxious about using the Vagabond like that (as I've only ever used it for powering my Alien Bees). I will use a Canon PU-200U Printer Automobile Power Unit and a Canon LK-62 Printer Portable Kit Battery to keep the printer powered, and use the Vagabond for a last resort if necessary.

Canon PU-200U

Canon LK-62 Printer Portable Kit Battery.

Jason Peckovitch of Illusive Dreams let me know about a great deal going on at Vistaprint for numerous "free" offers, including a banner. At previous events he has hosted, Peckovitch has used a laptop to run a slideshow of his images, but said the sunlight made it hard to see. He suggested that a digital picture frame might work as well.

Christine Tydingco, my photography friend and colleague who will be assisting me at the booth Saturday afternoon, said a few framed prints on the table (even available for sale) and a postcard or flyer giving people discounts on a future photo session if they book a date with me that same day would be great too.

I thought Rachel Hawthorns' idea to put a sticker on the back of each purchased photo sending customers to the password protected gallery on my business website where they can purchase additional prints and enlargements.

Growing Pains: Preparing for my first photo booth set up

Photo credit: National Geographic

On Saturday, I will be hosting my first photo booth at a local community fair. So this week's blog coverage will be about how to set one up successfully. I've turned to several professional colleagues who regularly run photo booths at various events throughout the Denver metro area, as this state seems to have a festival nearly every weekend in the spring and summer months. I've also found some helpful resources online.

Rachel Hawthorne, one photographer in the Mile High Photographers group, said by printing 4x6s, she was able to generate $100 in two hours with a photo booth at a horse competition:

We do instant photo prints at horse competitions, and our typical setup runs like this:

Shooter swapping out cards (we don't have a tethered or wireless setup yet) as she shoots in Raw
I'm at the table - I dump everything into lightroom, and since she's shooting with a fixed setting, any additional post processing is done based on that setting, so I apply the changes en masse in the library.
I scroll through the pics of each rider, and apple+select the multiple ones that we're going to print, and send them to the printer (Epson PictureMate Dash 260)

While that's printing, I then take the photos and export them to iPhoto and run a slideshow of everything taken so far on another monitor facing the crowd. That keeps them patient while waiting for prints.

We charge $5 a print on site, and each print purchased has a sticker on the back sending them to our website to purchase more from our smugmug account. I'd love to hear what you do choose for your final setup!

Another MHPer, Sarah Cutright, suggested a wireless route to prevent customers from tripping over wires, shoot tethered to a laptop; stick to one background; and bring a stack of model releases. I definitely didn't think of the model releases, and I'm working on going the tethered route. That one will be tricky because one of my assistants shoots with a Nikon (and I a Canon) so all of the software we would be needing for teethered shooting would be different. He also has a PC laptop and I've got a Macbook Pro. Well, the day should be interesting, that's for sure.

Sarah pointed me in the direction of this great blog post at Photocrati.com about photo booths that was helpful as well. I love how Bill Millios, the photographer uses guests during an event to help lure in more victims, er, customers to the booth. And I think having the guests pick items out of a box of goodies glasses, feather boas, and party hats is a great way to get some genuine smiles, laughing, and a crowd gathering around to watch. These practical tips from Bill were great too:



People will want to bring more and more people into the picture – and your backdrop is only 9 feet wide. (Or rather, MY backdrop is only 9 feet wide. A 12 footer won’t fit in the minivan.) At the second event, I taped out a rectangle on the floor using gaffer tape, and said, “You can put all the people you want in the picture, but they have to fit inside the rectangle.” That made it self-regulating.

I recommend using a 50 mm lens or larger – this will prevent problems with the people on the outside getting squished around by the lens distortion. If you don’t have enough depth, then do what you can – but keep in mind not to go too wide, or it will look funny. More depth will also allow more people to fit on a given backdrop (since you are farther back, your angle of view is smaller to include the entire seamless, but the AREA for the subjects is wider.)
Equipment list

backdrop kit – two stands and a crossbar (I have this one)
White seamless
AB800
Large softbox
Camera
Tripod
Lightstand
Trigger cable

Make sure to read the comments at the end of the blog post for more ideas. One commenter in particular mentioned something about using a video feed to show customers their photos instantly. I think I'm going to use a second laptop and have a slideshow running the images. More ideas to come!

Instructor's Tip: Develop a system of organization

Photo credit: Russ Burden

I hope you enjoy this week's "Instructor's Tip" by one of my favorite instructors, award winning nature photographer Russ Burden. To learn more about how Russ captured the above image, join him on one of his photo tours. Visit Russ Burden Photography to get more information.


Develop a System of Organization
I’ve always been a fairly organized person. This is true partly by necessity as I taught for 27 years and needed to share organizational skills with my students. In that I practice what I preach, my system of organization simply evolved. During the years I taught, I was refining my photographic craft and I wound up having two professions. I’m now down to one as I’m no longer teaching but very thankful I did for it showed me the importance of being an organized photographer. The benefit is as the action starts to happen and I need a specific piece of equipment, I don’t waste time looking for it. It’s been proven to me many times that a difference of only a few seconds may mean not getting the shot. With this in mind, I want time and organization on my side.

Each compartment of my camera bag is reserved for a specific piece of gear that I can grab in a heartbeat should I need it. Having it set up this way allows me quick access leading to fewer missed shots. Organize your pack and memorize the layout. Don’t miss the once in a lifetime shot by a few seconds.

Take a class with Russ or a fellow Digital Photo Academy instructor in your area, check out the Digital Photo Academy. I took Russ' intermediate and advanced courses last year, and he continues to be a strong source of knowledge and encouragement as I progress in my photography.

Don't forget to check Take Great Pictures for Russ' most recent tips. On the home page, click on the "Photo Tips And Techniques" button in the left hand column. Additionally, check out his "Digital Tip of the Month" found by clicking on the Digital Photography button.

Tips of the Trade: Combat photography fears and insecurities

I was immediately drawn to this essay on the Take Great Photos this week when the newsletter showed up in my email. Photographer Catherine Hall offers tips to help combat fear on the road to developing a photographic style and identity. Looking at Hall's work, it's almost crazy to imagine that this extremely talented wedding photographer would ever have a moment of doubt.

But it's something that I cope with often, as do many of my photography friends. Insecurity and fear, like other emotions, are neither good or bad...they just are. Acknowledge them, master a new skill to help you cope with whatever that fear is, and move on. The only time that I get worried is when those emotions paralyze me and stop me from advancing, and I know you should never let that happen -- for too long anyway. ;)



Perhaps these tips from Hall will be of some help. They appeared in a great issue of TakeGreatPictures.com:

1. Don't be afraid to laugh and make fun of yourself.

People are often painfully conscious of being in front of the camera, especially at weddings. They get stiff and uncomfortable. I find that if I misdirect the attention from them to myself, they worry less about how they look. So don't take yourself too seriously. Don't be afraid to laugh at or make fun of yourself, because inevitably that's going to put people at ease.

2. Don't be afraid to experiment.

Photographers often ask me for advice on finding a personal style. My feeling is that you don't find your style; your style finds you. Be receptive to ideas that come to you as a photographer. You are never going to develop a unique style if you stick to what you know works and you’re too scared to let yourself experiment. “What you know works,' is basically what other people have already done.”

3. Don't be afraid to charge what you're worth.

This is a huge tip for new photographers. We all have difficulty with this because we love what we do. It’s uncomfortable, but my advice is just to start off charging what you're worth and eventually you'll get used to it. Ultimately we're selling something that's unique and that gives it demand, so we should charge for it.

4. Don't be afraid to make a mistake.

Your clients don't expect you to be perfect, but you don't want to waste their time, either. If something isn’t working during a shoot, you'll get more respect by admitting it and moving on than trying to save face and taking bad pictures.

5. Don't be afraid to succeed.

Fortunately, I've never felt that I don't deserve to succeed in business, and because of that many wonderful things have come my way. But we all have fears. I see a lot of selfsabotage that goes on, a lot of excuses people make that get in the way of their success. This is not something that changes overnight, but its important to think about that and how it might be putting up roadblocks.

6. Don't be afraid of challenges.

This is for new photographers in particular. A lot of times you will be offered jobs that you think you can't do, and you just have to put faith in the fact that if the person offering you the job thinks you can do it, you probably can. Never turn down an opportunity!

7. Don't be afraid to be vulnerable.

If you have the desire to succeed and be exceptional, you will inevitably be exposed to criticism and rejection. Don't be afraid to put yourself at risk and express yourself in a way that will allow you to grow. People are not going to pay a lot of money for a mediocre photographer. There are a million of them out there. You have to distinguish yourself, and in order to do that you have to make yourself vulnerable.

8.Don't be afraid to play in post-production.

Have fun. With weddings you have to be careful because the images should be timeless and you can't do crazy special effects, but just as you experiment when you’re shooting, allow yourself to experiment in post. Allow yourself to be creative when you're working on the images in the same way that you are when you're making them.

9. Don't be afraid to grow

It’s really important to constantly be challenging yourself in order to avoid getting stuck in a routine. Have fun with growing as an artist. I am continually reinventing myself, which has allowed both me and my work to grow.

10. Fear is the darkroom where all negatives are developed.

Get the Job Done: First gig as a "second shooter" a success!

Saturday's assignment as a second shooter during a wedding for lead photographer Jim Turley was a lot of fun, and I'm extremely proud of the images I captured. I will be giving Jim a disk with 100 of my best images this morning, several of which I have included in this blog post.



During the shoot, I was responsible for candids and detailed shots, both of which I love shooting. And it was good to let some other photographer take the lead and work with the clients so I could focus all of my efforts on getting great shots. Jim was also helpful in sharing new ways of streamlining my own wedding coverage when I have assistants working for me, including editing all of the images myself (instead of having assistants edit their work separately) for a more consistent look. Jim also requires his clients to pay in advance of their coverage...one portion paid at the booking and the second at least a month before the actual event. I will be adopting those same practices to avoid becoming a debt collector.





I loved shooting for John and Melinda, a mature couple each with two young children from previous marriages. Their laid back attitude without the usual anxiety often associated with wedding days made coverage easy and enjoyable. Their event was nontraditional in that they didn't have bridesmaids or groomsmen, didn't have "the toast" or "the dance," and didn't even cut their cake! But it was filled with love and joy, nonetheless as each parent walked hand in hand down the aisle with their children at their side.



I could definitely appreciate how low key (and quick...maybe less than 10 minutes long!) their actually ceremony was, so they could spend more time celebrating with their family and friends. To that end, it the couple asked that we try to take photos of as many of their guests as possible. So I found a great spot with greenery and a water fountain right in front of the Buell Mansion to shoot guests as they were leaving their cars with the valet. Here's a tip: when photographing guests, just put on a big smile and say "It's for the bride and groom!" and most people instantly relax and are more willing to pose for the happy couple.

From My Portfolio

originally uploaded by Sheba Wheeler.

Here is one of my favorite shots I took on Saturday during a boudoir session held by the Mile High Photographer's Femme Photographie group. In order to get this shot, I used a ladder so I could shoot down on the model from above.

Some general portrait post processing finished off the look. This shot was captured with two lights from Calumet, one to left and right front of the model. I used my Canon 580 EX II on a bracket for fill.

I love how the model's pink panties and the pillow add just the right touch of color to what would have been an otherwise nearly monotone color palette. Plus, that leopard skin toss blanket and velvet brown comforter add fun as well as texture to the shot.