Yes, inquiring minds want to know; the wait is almost over!
Monthly Archives: September 2013
I see it and hear it on one forum after another and in women’s conversations all the time: “You’re a saint!” “You’re my hero!” “You’re SUPER WOMAN!” And those comments throw heaps of weight onto every woman’s shoulders who hears them (real or imagined). I want to scream: No, no she’s not! And, no you’re not ! And and I’m not either!
Super woman is only a good thing fictitiously speaking, and only in the strange places my husband likes to visit every Wednesday when the ‘new issues come out.’
She, Super Woman herself, has done more to create havoc in our lives than we know. Funnily enough, she’s someone we really never talk about to anyone, but ah-we think about her every.single.day. And in those thoughts, she speaks to us.
*you’re not doing enough
*you should be more like Ella, Jim’s wife…did you see the way she…?
*or, Cody’s mom: president of the PTA, room mother, snack Queen etc
*you need to lose 50lbs, get your hair colored, drive another car…and then you can try to fit in with that crowd, but until then—consider yourself, loser
*you don’t spend enough time with your children
*you haven’t fixed healthy meals recentlly — like all good moms do
*who could blame your husband for looking elsewhere when you’re sooooo tired from working and cleaning and taking care of the children 14 hours a day; he works too
*when you were younger you could, did, were _____, and now look at you
*everyone else has: a clean, tidy and organized house, well dressed (and behaved) children, plenty of money, grand date nights out every week with their husbands who gush over them, new cars that shine and purr, a college degree or two, children attending the best private schools, dinner served nightly on fine china, time for a hot breakfast (and not of the oatmeal kind), delicious lunches to go and weekends free to entertain their friends
(Are you still with me?)
Do you hear her, too?
Well, I’m so far from Super Woman. As a matter of fact, I’m as imperfect as they come.
I am sitting in a room that I’ll have to be careful to not trip over something when I get up from my desk. I think, but am not sure, my laundry room has flooring in place. In a grand valor effort, I started an exercise program this week-yesterday to be exact; I now have shinsplints. My youngest was running the dog up and down the road this morning donning in his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Boxers; it was 50 degrees. We ordered in pizza for dinner, our bank account is screaming, lunch to go means go to the fridge and see what we have, my china has remained safely in its place since we moved in 12 years ago, and the last date I had with my (yes, adoring) husband was during a work function. I think.
I am perfectly imperfect. It’s who I am. I’m good with that. You should be, too.
To portray to our children that we are perfect-super women, if you will, only proves to set them up for certain failure. For we know, the surest route to failure is to settle for nothing less than perfection. I only know of one perfect person who has ever lived, and He loved me so much He died for me. Setting our sights on perfection is the path to certain failure. Don’t get me wrong; striving for excellence is noteworthy and a goal worthy of pursuing, but alas there’s a grave difference between excellence and perfection. Only one is attainable. Think about that.
Often times, I am afraid. I am disorganized where I used to be flawlessly scheduled. I get lonely. I can feel inadequate, and for no real reason. I wish better for my children, yet I’m doing my best. I would love to win the lottery (but I don’t play it!). Every day I ponder the thorn-in-my-flesh and my physical struggles. Every day! Not often do my plans for the day and the day’s end shake hands in affirmation. My to-do list is every growing and never ending. I am imperfect.
You know the most ironic thing about all of this?
There’s only one who expects me to be perfect. (That voice in my head I listen to.) Me!!
I have succumbed to the truth that while there will be perfect times in my life (thank you, Lord!), I nor anyone else will ever be perfect in life.
.jpg)
I am a professional photographer. You may be wondering why I am telling you. Believe it or not, it’s a common question from others: “How do you know when you’re a professional? When did you consider yourself a professional photographer?”
Welcome to my office!
The easy ways to tell:
1. I have a business license.
One morning my home phone rang and I answered it. There’s only one reason I did, because I was still asleep and didn’t know what I was doing. On the other end a woman from our county business office began questioning me. Before my mind caught up with my half open eyes, I was fumbling with my thoughts while trying to respond. The fact is, as far as my photography was concerned, I was shooting, but I was not charging anyone anything. I was past practicing, but just slowly building a portfolio for ‘what if.’ That was a hard sell. As I explained I didn’t have a license because I wasn’t collecting any money or doing anything beyond favors, really, the voice on the other end said, “I’m on your website and I don’t believe you’ve done these photos for free.”
Now I was awake. It occurred to me that she was harassing me, or at least it seemed that way to me. I told her I was not in business and that is all she needed to be concerned with. I’m a big believer in being upstanding no matter what I’m doing in my life be it personal or business. She informed me of Chesterfield County’s rule (unwritten?), “You need a business license if you’re pursuing clients or they’re pursuing you.”
By the time I hung up the phone that day, I was a bit shaken up. I had decided it wasn’t a good time for me to be in business and yet I felt like I was being cornered into it. And, so I did. Let it be known, what the IRS says is a hobby could very well be considered a business in your county…and never charge even a penny if you don’t have the license to do so.
2. I file and pay taxes
Check out your city, county, state and federal taxing requirements, and then pay them. Enough said.
3. I know the importance of insurance for both liability and equipment.
4. I support the industry in a professional way.
My husband works for a company who sells paper and corrugated. If another in their industry came in with quality material and sold them at a mere fraction of the price, it would be detrimental to the industry, to his company and to any hope of longevity for the other one. Same is true with photography. I remember thinking I would never consider charging $30, $40 or $50 for a single 8×10 print or why it mattered to any other photographer how I did things on my end…I was so naive’ and had zero idea how to run a successful business. Things have changed, and I now help other beginning photographers with just these types of things. It’s important to build your own clientele, your own business plan and your own success while supporting your peers in this business. Not only will they be thankful, they’ll support you, too with kindess, friendship and even referrals for work. There are a million stories I could insert here, but just take the high road as you start out. No need to dig out from the bottom and throw dirt on anyone. It’s much better for everyone to just do it right from the get go.
5. I have a solid mastery of the basics of photography.
While I’m learning all the time, I can walk outside (or inside) to a session in any given weather or time of day and know where I’m going to set my wb, meter, ss, ap and iso before picking up my camera and lens. I can make adjustments on the fly and create the style I’ve grown to love and make my own. I know what I’m going to hand over to my clients and I am confident that it’s going to be consistent with what I show on my site and fb page. I do not depend on editing to ‘save or fix’ an image.
6. I invest in education (vs cloning myself to become someone else or some other photographer)
I’ve invested time and money, and time and money, and time and money, and time and money, and time and money, and time and money…you get the picture. (Ha, I made a funny!)
More to come, but I want to stop and elaborate on point #3, because this was hard for me. I’d rather just give everyone everything. Reality check was looking at my youngest son one day and realizing, at the risk of being cliche’, time is money. This job I was doing was time intensive.
Every single day I see a local fb page announcing –photos for CHEAP, FAIR, BEST PRICES ANYWHERE….
So, what does one session look like in numbers?
I’ll take the infamous $50 for all edited images:
* Session is 2 hours (prep and travel to/from time bump it to 3 hours)
* Editing 30 images is minimal 30 minutes and I can say with confidence it’s probably 3 HOURS or more.
* Uncle Sam’s hand is out and an average of 30% is due him.
* Booking and delivering/uploading a session even without prints is another 30 minutes at least.
* So far, no problems encountered, you’ve done a 4 hour job…if you’re really good and have honed your editing skills and sooc shots (not likely as you begin). I wonder if any of you just starting out would be willing to tell me how long it takes you to edit one full session?
* That $50 is less $15 for taxes. Congratulations, you’ve got $8.75 an hour IF you got it completed start to finish in 4 hours and IF you didn’t have any costs of goods involved.
* How much did that camera, lens, computer, editing program, card, extra battery cost you? (gas???), childcare? insurance? fees? Oh and so much more. Double it, $20 an hour…still not going to make a profitable business out of it–can you imagine how many of these sessions you would have to do to just pay for one lens? I hope you can see some aspects of photography business to consider, and that you’ll reconsider your pricing if you need to. There are smart ways to build your business once you have #4 above solidified , and that includes pricing.
Email me; I’d love to help you out!
This is just like my life. And this week it was good-bye to summer, hello fall, and back to school time like so many others around the country. What’s new? This year, it’s back to one. My boys are 10 years spaced in birthdays making them 19 years old and 9 years old. Thank you, Lord, for YOUR perfect timing in our lives with the blessings of these two. Oh, so many stories to share there but for another time. Today’s post is a simple one: back to school with full attention to his 4th grade school year. Too much excitement to contain!
Happy back to school to you! Anyone else homeschooling? Stay tuned for the adventures we create, and create he will.
Dear Photographer,
It’s kind of like a slow dance-running a business and working for yourself. The music starts, you have hearts in your eyes as you take your sweethearts hand and you get lost in the euphoria of the moment. And then, the music stops.
These are questions that come frequently: When should I start charging? What is portfolio-building? How should I practice? What do I need to learn before I open my business?
Well, I’m so glad you asked! Again. 🙂
If we were to put these things in order, it would look like this: Learn, Practice, Build a Portfolio of consistent images and editing, *Start your business. (Note, check with your local county/city office to see when you need to be in business.) *I was told that I needed a county license the moment I was pursuing clients or they were pursing me. Therefore, I had to be legally in place during my pb’ing stage. Definitely, if you’re taking money from anyone, you should be certain that you’re doing so within the laws. I’m a firm believer in doing things the right way and respecting laws and other businesses (ie only using music I have the rights to, not copying other photographers words as they own those by copyright as much as they own their images etc), and in turn I like to expect that others will do the same. Integrity can’t be over emphasized.
Let’s look at a professional photographer in the making:
1. Learn
There is so much to learn in this business. I think it can’t be argued that when just starting out, the more you learn the more you realize you don’t know. Keep learning. There’s no shortage of information on the web and in the book store. A great basic start is Bryan Peterson’s, Understanding Exposure. Scott Kelby is a great starting point, also. If hands on is a better way for you to learn, find a class to take. I offer Getting Started Classes and Beyond GSS Classes locally. What takes a few months of ‘hunt and peck’ through websites and text can be easily tackled and learned with someone like me showing you what you need to know and then how to apply it.
2. Practice
Now it’s time to take those hours of learning and start practicing. Practice in every situation you can possibly think of. Is golden hour beautiful? Sure can be, but all sessions will not be happening at sunset. Learn to see and read light…practice, practice, practice. This is not a time to start charging people. I promise you’ll thank me later. Please, don’t start a ‘photography business’ when you can’t use your camera in full manual mode, or tactfully apply edits. How will you know? Ask a professional, or sign up on a forum such as Clickin’ Moms, or find a facebook group of pros who you could give you some insight. The average person has no idea what a ‘great picture’ really entails. Smile with those compliments, but don’t weight their opinion with any professional weight.
3. Portfolio Building
You’re getting the basics down pat. Your changing your camera’s settings in your sleep. You are sure that you can get some great shots for others given the chance. This is a time to branch out. After I was finished practicing with anyone who was willing (always for free!), I decided to charge a tiny bit, but again, this was POST learning and practicing. Be sure you are set up with your business in all things legal. Google ‘your county starting a business’ and the information you need will come up. Now that you’re ready, start getting the word out that you’re beginning a business. Because you’ve learned both your camera and the foundation of great images, you can be confident that you’re worthy to charge for your work. If I was beginning today, I would start with my prices where I want them after my folio is padded and I’m booking full paying clients and discount from there. Because I use a session fee plus packages, I would have lowered my session fee to a fraction of the cost and sliced my full price list in half, to start. There are two huge advantages to this method. First, you are ‘building’ a business that can sustain the longterm. Most small business fail in the first 2 years and this is numero uno reason why. (More later on a mapping out a good business plan). Second, you are earning the respect of fellow professional photographers around you. There’s a reason that Nordstroms doesn’t open another Nordstroms 6 miles from the first and sell the same thing for 70% less. They would kill their own businesses. Yes, photography is competitive, but undercutting the industry by giving away the farm for pennies is a no-win. In fact, it’s very much a lose/lose. You don’t want to do that.
4. Professionally Shooting
When you look back at your first sessions and see that you were taking 300 images and giving 65 of them to a client, you’ll laugh inside when you’ve come to the point that you’re shooting 1/3 of that and showing 30 great images. You’ll be able to shoot in any situation, use 80-90% of your images every time and sell what you show. Your editing has a style of your own and your foundation of basics is consistent sooc (straight out of the camera)…sale is over! Set your prices to full and away you go…congratulations! It’s not an easy journey. We’re always learning something new. Business is hard to do. But, the rewards are satisfying deep down.
**Extra, what about pricing?
While I won’t tell you what YOU need and what will work for you, I can show you what will not work.
Free won’t work. Sound ‘duh’ but so many have sunk ship just for this reason.
Cheap won’t sustain a business. Have you considered how much money you’re putting into this business venture? Here’s your homework, make a list of everything you have and need to buy for your photography business. I think you’ll be surprised. Self-employment, federal and state/local taxes take the top 30% of your income. Now, what’s left for all those expenses? How are you going pay yourself (or, are you working for the fun of it with no bills to pay)? You’re getting the picture. Stay tuned. More on business plans and pricing upcoming.
Central VA photographers, contact me now for my Getting Started and Beyond Classes. th_photography@ymail.com
