Frequently Asked 5

I thought I'd mix things up a little bit and add a bit of fun to my Frequently Asked 5 feature and also enable you to get to know me a little bit better personally as well. Sit back, relax, and don't judge me too harshly =)

5 Things I'm Embarrassed to Admit:

•  I don't really follow camera news and improvements. I shoot with what I have, love it, and perfect it in Photoshop. I'm much more into the creative, Photoshop aspects than the technical, scientific camera side of things.
• At 28 years old, I am still terrified of opening a can of cresent rolls.
• I don't take nearly enough pictures of my own kids.
• I bought my first SLR camera (a D80) because I liked the pictures my friends took with theirs. I did zero additional research. Opps.
• I almost always forget the husband's name of a family I'm working with 5 minutes after they've told it to me. When in doubt, I refer to him as "Dad". Sneaky, right?

5 Things I Can't Live Without:

• My DVR.
• My iPhone.
• My 85mm lens. Best purchase ever.
• Chicken fingers and fries - my go-to meal just about anywhere.
• Coke.

5 Things About My Business:

• I designed my logo and branding my senior year of college as my final project.
• I'm at a place where I love my business structure - my pricing, my policies, my paperwork, etc. I'm past the "portfolio building" and "growing pains" of starting a photography business. I have a workflow that I've perfected and works for me.
• I'm legal. I pay taxes, have a federal tax ID number and my brain hurts come tax season.
• Right now I'm focusing on adding to my lens collection, not upgrading to the newest and best camera model. A great camera does not always a photographer make.
• The greatest reward of doing what I do is walking into a client's home and seeing my pictures in frames or on the walls.

5 Things I'm working on:

• Not chopping off limbs in weird places. I move so quickly to frame a shot that sometimes I don't realize this. I'm very critical of my work after the fact.
• Losing the baby weight. 10 pounds to go!
• Saving for the Nikon 24-70mm 2.8 lens so that I don't have to keep renting it when I shoot the occasional wedding!
• Managing an almost 3 year old. Terrible twos? Yeah, give me those any day over this 3 year old tantrum business!
• Not stumbling over my words at a session when trying to describe how I want the client to move or position themselves. When in doubt - act it out myself!

5 Things I Wish My Clients Knew:

• When it comes to kids, not to stress out or get frustrated when they won't sit perfectly still or smile. I can get a smile and their attention without them realizing it, but parents getting upset or frustrated make the child shut down and my job actually much harder.
• Wearing small stripes can make your prints look kind of goofy - almost like a mosaic. They don't photograph well, so it's best to avoid them if you can.
• I love what I do.
• It's okay to talk, be silly, and forget I'm there. Candids bring out the real emotions in your images!
• I can't tag you on Facebook unless we're friends on my personal account. I love it when you tag your own images so your friends can find your images on my page!

What happened to the rest of my images??

For an hour long session with a client I can take upwards of 100-200 pictures. Depending on the size of the family or number of clients, backdrops that I like, different viewpoints... I experiment to give myself a lot to work with. However, when a client logs in to view their gallery for the first time, I only supply about 30 of the "best images from their session". That may beg the question from a client, "What happened to the rest of my images?"

Imagine walking into a bakery full of cupcakes - cupcakes are in now, right? Imagine 100 different flavors and combinations of cupcakes. The amount of choices is absolutely overwhelming. Would you really want to taste every single cupcake? What if instead the baker had weeded out the recipes that didn't quite work and instead only offered you the 20 best cupcakes - melt in your mouth, sweet but not too sweet, delicious, amazing cupcakes. You'd be able to weed out your favorites right away. For me? It would be peanut butter and chocolate combination, hands down.

The same applies to your session photos. Most experienced photographers will tell you that giving a client too many options overwhelms them. Instead, as photographers we painstakingly sort through your session images to select the best photos. That way each of your photos is a "keeper" instead of a handful of great ones and a big pile of "just okay" images. You may think you want to see all 100 images, but trust me, you don't. You'll walk away much happier from your experience when every image leaves you feeling confident and happy about your experience during your session.

So, how do I narrow it down?

It's hard. When I come in from a session, I immediately delete the outtakes - the eyes are closed, I was testing the light, someone was mid-sentence... the obvious ones no sane person wants to send out on their Christmas card.

From there, I delete the "multiple images". I may take up to 6 photos of the exact same pose and I choose the best of those 6. The images are almost identical and I select the most flattering. At this point I've probably narrowed the gallery from 100 - 50 images. I still have a way to go.

That's when I walk away.

I leave it for a day or two.

When I come back to the gallery, I can really look at the images and decide which are the strongest. This is when you really have to trust your photographer. This is where I decide which images are composed the strongest, the most flattering to the client, variations of poses, the best lighting, and so forth. "Time and talent of the photographer"? You've heard that right? Time and talent certainly applies here. The time I've taken to study photography, experience I've gained working with clients and my talents in finding the best images all around. What a trained photographer and client see are two very different things. I'm going to be a lot more nit-picky than the average Joe. Or Mary.

So there you have it. That's where the "rest of your images go". In the end, all that matters if you've captured that perfect image for your Christmas card, that you'll display over the mantel, proudly beam to Facebook friends everywhere, and cherish for years to come. Sometimes, all that takes is one, beautiful image.

Frequently Asked 5

1. I loved your birth post about your son. Do you currently offer birth photography to your clients?

Unfortunately, it's not something I current;y offer or intend to offer in the future. I've toyed with the idea, but being on call and ready to shoot at any time just isn't feasible with my life as a mother of two.  The hours are long and time consuming and just not something I can devote myself to right now. I'd love to still knock "shooting a birth" off my bucket list someday, so never say never!

2. I know you're on maternity leave, but can you tell me when you will be booking clients again? Will you be offering a mini-session for clients on a more limited budget?

There was a part of me that almost - ALMOST - announced that I would be entertaining client inquiries for September today, but I held off when my two year old came up to me begging for "chickens". Motherhood calls! So, I'm not ready to commit to returning to work quite yet, but I expect to start looking at my schedule for the middle/end of September to start taking on clients again!

I am thinking about mini-sessions, whether they're small, quick sessions with clients or one day of multiple clients at a determined location. It all depends.

I'm not very decisive with these questions, am I?  

3. How do you compete with an area full of photographers? Do you ever worry about new competition in your area or sharing too much information for up and comers?

I try to only worry about myself as much as possible. The more you start to examine other businesses or other photographers work, the more insane you're likely to drive yourself. I am lucky that I don't depend on my business for income, but rather it's an outlet for something I love to do. With that mindset, I have tried to find a balance where I'm happy and fulfilled, I am making my clients happy, and that's all I can do.

Regarding "up and comers", I was once an up and comer too. I remember being rebuffed by other photographers, so I try to answer questions as best I can if anyone should ask me. I think there's a difference between someone wanting to learn and reaching out for help and someone trying to one up you or get access to information that would help another photographer under cut you and take your business.

4. Where are the newborn pictures of your little boy? Will you be doing them yourself or are you going to hire a fellow photographer to capture his first few weeks?

I went back and forth with these same questions for months as my due date approached. I've decided to take the images myself but I'm holding off for another few weeks until I revisit the beaches in North Carolina. What's more fitting for an August baby than a photo shoot on the beach??

5. Do you ever get tired of shooting at the same locations? Are you open to new suggestions or working at places you've never shot at before?

I wouldn't say I get "tired" of shooting at the same locations. Each client is different, so backdrops at each location can seem completely different and new. I like working at repeat locations because I know the locations and it's like I have a "cheat sheet", knowing my way around and places I want to photograph at. 

However, I love working at new locations. I love having a long list of places to choose from, so I'm always looking to add to it. It's also a challenge to work where I've never shot before - it keeps my creativity fresh and I have to work harder to find the "perfect spots" or see the end result before I've even snapped a picture.

*Note: I'm not an expert. I don't pretend to be! These are simply my opinions and experiences during my time as a professional photographer.
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My Birth Story

Since I'm on maternity leave, I thought I'd take a minute to blog some personal images that I just can't resist sharing with you, my friends and clients!

I should start by saying I absolutely love birth photography. I love the black and white images, the photo-journalistic quality of the images and of course, capturing the miracle of birth. My husband and I opted to capture the birth of our son ourselves, passing the camera back and forth throughout the day. Yup, in between contractions I'm busy snapping pictures or telling my husband, "Now take a picture of that. Bend down so you're at my level. Zoom in on this..."

Although my due date wasn't until August 7, some spicy Chipotle pushed my labor into gear and Brody Anderson Brewer arrived on August 1, 2012 and weighed in at 7.7 pounds and measured 22" long. The entire day was a blast (yes, a blast) and I'm so grateful to have added this little guy to the Kelli Brewer Photography family =)

 

(Just a quick note - this is grandchild #17 for my parents!)

There you have it! Thanks for letting me take a few minutes to share some personal photos with you. I'm not sure when I'll return from maternity leave (can you blame me, look how cute he is!) but I do look forward to capturing more memories with my clients in the fall. Stay tuned!
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Brody Anderson Brewer

He's here! Brody Anderson Brewer was born August 1, 2012 - a week early, thanks to a little help from Chipotle =) I'm ecstatic to add to my family and so grateful he made it to us safely! I forgot how much fun it is to have a snugly little baby to myself, instead of just spending a few hours with them on location at a newborn session. I'll be taking the next few weeks off to spend time with family and enjoy this little guy.

Thank you to all my clients for being so patient and understanding during my pregnancy and during my maternity leave!
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