Sorry I am posting this so late in the day! I have been enjoying family in town for Spring Break and have been swamped with quality family bonding time. =) Here are the first questions for my Friday 5 segment - please submit a few of your own and it could be used in a future Friday 5 post!
1. What's the one thing you wish you would have known when you first started your business?
There is a level of self-consciousness that goes with being an artist. I am constantly evaluating and picking a part my work. I look back at some of my sessions when I was first getting started and I cringe!
A photographers style (and ultimately talent, execusion) is very personal - it's hard not to feel slighted when someone doesn't hire you and it makes you wonder if it's because you're not good at what you do. I am happy to say that at this point in my business I am now really proud of the work I am putting out and still love that I grow with every session.
2. Do you take a lot of photos in your personal life? Does it drive your friends and family nuts or are they used to it? I only ask, because I'm nowhere near a professional photographer and my friends always yell at me. Oh...maybe because I'm NOT a professional photographer so I don't have the magic touch that makes them all look fabulous :)
I do take quite a bit of pictures, but not as much as you'd think a professional photographer would take. Honestly - I'm so busy working on client images that my own images get forgotten about, which is something I am trying to be better about.
I really want to be "that girl" who brings her camera and takes pictures at the most random of moments, but I've not yet been that brave. I think people laugh and grunt when the camera comes out, but in the end I think they're happy to have that moment captured, whatever it may be.
3. Has a baby ever gone to the bathroom during a session?
Yes. I don't know that I've ever been shooting a newborn that didn't urinate while they were in their birthday suit, but I've only had one blow out. Sadly the mom was holding the bum for a picture and it went all over her! It happens though, which is why I never let a client get worked up over it!
4. What is more work - the session or the process afterward?
Post-processing by far. A session usually runs maybe 3 hours when you include over an hour shooting and the commute to a location. I easily spend 12+ hours sorting through images, editing my favorites, preparing a client gallery and then editing the selected images and preparing a final gallery/disc for the client. I don't think most clients realize the hands on work that goes on after a session.
5. What do you do to prepare to walk out for a session?
I always charge my batteries the night before. I clear my memory card and make sure I have extras in my bag. I grab all my lenses, clean them, and make sure they're tucked away. I pack my flash, "just in case". I always carry a lens wipe and dust-free cloth with me in case I need to clean my lenses in the field. I turn on my camera and put everything back to my session defaults to make sure nothing is left over from another session or personal pictures and I hit the road!
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