What is the best piece of advice you would give a new photographer who is just starting their own photography business?
Practice, practice, practice – network, network, network and find your focus. I think it is important to find your niche, for me it’s newborns. Once you find your true passion whether it’s newborns, weddings or senior portraits then target your clientele. Here’s where networking comes in…once you’ve found your business focus get in touch with other local businesses that also target your target clientele. I got in touch with other local businesses in my area that catered to moms expecting and with small children. I struck up a relationship with these businesses owners and we worked together to help promote each other. You might offer to display their business cards/fliers in your studio in exchange for displaying your work or you might team up to offer joint specials. It’s a win-win situation.
How do you best reach new clients? What’s your best advertising that you have found?
Well Facebook has been huge for me. Let’s face it, if you don’t have a Facebook page you need to get one. It’s a great tool to connect with your clients and potential clients.
I rarely spend money on advertising. As mentioned above, I have worked very hard to get my name out there by working with others mom-targeted businesses. In the beginning I offered joint giveaways with other local businesses and set up shop at local family fairs. Once the ball got rolling client referrals set in and that is now how I get 90% of my business. Some find me via internet searches, but I don’t pay for any online advertising.
Editing eats up so much time and clients don’t always understand the cost of that level of artistic investment in their portraits.
How do you get your clients to want to invest the money?
The business side is tough. Setting your prices and marketing yourself can be challenging. Bottom line, don’t sell yourself short. Keep your prices high and competitive. If clients value your work they will spend the money. I would suggest taking a look at other photographers in your area to see what the going rate is. You don’t want to charge way more than the photographer in the town over if their work is similar in quality.
You have to decide what kind of photographer you want to be. Do you want to set prices low and schedule several clients per week? Or do you want to set your prices high and schedule fewer clients?
Set goals for yourself. Decide what you want to make per session and set that as your minimum package or minimum order. You are running a business and customers should respect that. If they don’t, maybe you don’t want them as your clients…
What is your favorite lens and why?
My favorite lens is my 50mm f/1.4. Hands down. I always use this lens for my newborn work. It gives me that yummy depth of field that I love. When I am shooting macro I change out my 50mm for my 60mm f/2.8
How do you make everything look so natural and not posed?
Gosh, this is a hard one. Well, with newborns I pose everything…I mean everything, every last little detail…each finger, head position, feet, etc. I am very picky when it comes to posing. I want everything perfectly in place. My goal is pose newborns in a simple and natural way. I don’t want it to look “posed” even though I work so hard to get everything in it’s place – seems funny, I know. I want you to look at the image and see a baby snuggled up sleeping peacefully.
How do you setup a small studio on a budget? Do you have any budget friendly studio tricks for photographing newborns?
I was lucky in that I have a handy hubby. He built me my studio. My studio is 14×20. It isn’t huge by any means, but it is perfect for photographing newborns and children. I have one large sliding glass window and two picture windows that I use for my light source.
You really don’t need a very large space for photographing newborns. If you are fortunate enough to have a small studio space all you need is a large window, a large beanbag, a space heater, a noise machine, blankets, some baskets and maybe some backdrop stands with seamless paper. Yes, we’d all love a large studio space with floor to ceiling windows offering yummy light, a prop closet and a bathroom – but hey, we all have to start somewhere, right?
If you are an on-location photographer (which I once was), then you are going to have to get a little creative. I recommend having a couple of good faux floors, a beanbag, a space heater, a white noise machine and a few backdrops you can cart around to client homes. Keep it simple.
I would love to know how you get such perfect skin tones. Do you have any recommendations for the perfect studio lighting?
Great skin tones start in camera. Mastering proper exposure is key. Once you’ve got that down the rest is easy. Sometimes you get those bubs with red or ruddy skin – that is why I created my Take The Red Out action. It really helps reduce the redness. Lastly, I use recommend investing in a good skin smoothing action. I have tried Coffee Shop’s Powder Room and MCP’s skin smoothing set, but finally settled on the Portraiture Plug-in for Photoshop. The results are fabulous.
As for lighting, I use all natural light. My main light source is a south facing sliding glass window with two west facing picture windows. A south facing window is not ideal, but that is the way it worked out. Ideally, you want a west facing window in the morning and an east facing window in the afternoon to achieve that nice even light.
How do you capture such amazing expressions on the newborns?
Mostly luck, really. You have to be fast when babies start to twitch or smile. They will usually give your cues. If you start to see the babe squirm it usually means they are going to give you some choice expressions, so have your camera ready!
How do you balance it all?
Good question. I’m still working on that one. I’ll let you know when I’ve figured that one out! It is a constant juggling act and I am still working on the perfect balance between work and family. My best advice is don’t be afraid to say no. Sometimes you just have to. I know it’s hard to turn a potential client away, but don’t overwork yourself. We do this because we love it and we are passionate about our art. You don’t want the quality of your art to suffer because you are overworked and stressed about getting a gallery finished for your client. If you are editing at 2am half asleep – go to bed. Don’t risk compromising the quality of your work. Get some rest, that gallery will still be there in the morning.
P.S. if you’ve figured out the whole balance thing – send ME an e-mail! I’d love to know your secret!
What is one thing you have learned and would enjoy sharing with other photographers?
Gosh, I have learned so much over the very short course of my photography career. My best advice is to find your style and what reflects you as an artist. Try everything. If you are just starting out try shooting children, newborns, seniors, families and weddings. Experiment with different post processing techniques. You will soon find what you are most passionate about. Develop that passion and your style. Lastly, keep on shooting! Don’t get discourage if you’ve made a few mistakes along the way. I have become the photographer I am today because of the silly mistakes I made and will continue to make.
Happy Shooting!
Keri
Get in on the amazing giveaway from Keri Meyers by clicking here. Keri is giving away a ONE YEAR subscription to Rock The Shot. Giveaway ends at midnight on February 16th. Good luck!
8 comments