Featured in this week’s episode of Mike G the Photog from Leon Blue Studios is a discussion with fellow photographer Ray Briggs.
Ray is the owner of Okushi photography, and he got his start at 19 years old shooting for school picture days for the company Prestige. He started Okushi photography when his son was born ten years ago. It began as a side project while working for Prestige. He has since been working at his company full time for the past four years, and he specializes in weddings, portraits, and architecture photography.
Ray touches on the importance of organization from the beginning. Like Mike, he finds that a system and process of doing things will help keep the flow to your work more efficient. If you enjoy the process, the work gets better and goals become more attainable. He also speaks about the passion he has had for photography, and how that was one of the qualities that led him to hire Mike several years ago. Ray also admits that if he had been more organized when first starting out on his own, he most likely would have succeeded sooner in his business. His lack of organization and system flow affected him greatly, but now that he has both he has found it much easier.
Ray also dives into the importance of having a work-life balance. You need to set aside certain times or days that projects are reserved for. For example, Ray always sets aside weddings for the weekend, so he does not do architecture projects on the weekends. He reserves architecture for strictly during the week. This allows him the opportunity to balance out each of the projects he has. When you are able to prioritize your projects, it allows you to create a standard order of operations.
He also has a separate system for editing and uploading photos that allows him to work more effectively than when he first began. He admitted that he had trouble transferring files from his SD card, and so he set up a system to immediately take care of it as soon as he is done with his shoots. Following the uploads, he sets aside time to go over the photos and begin editing. However, with weddings he prefers to take some time off to refresh himself before looking over the content. Clearly, Ray has found a way to create a work-life balance that allows him to pursue his passion while also keeping his life organized to create a better flow and work ethic.
So, join Mike today as he discusses with Ray about dharma, organization, systems versus goals, and the importance of work-life balance. Find new ways to think about your business, your opportunities, and your purpose then go out and start changing your photos for the better.
https://www.okushi.photography/homepage
