Today on Photography Fireside, I am thrilled to welcome back Suzanne Rothmeyer. Rothmeyer has twenty years of experience as a professional photographer, which includes the publication of her editorial work in over a dozen magazines. In this episode that continues the COVID-19 intimate talks, we discuss Rothmeyer's recent publication with Medium. A timely publication on Rothmeyer's series Melancholia on the topic of depression.

Today on Photography Fireside I am thrilled to welcome back Marika Moffitt, owner of Dirtie Dog Photography, Founder of the Seattle Pet Collective podcast and Co-Founder of The Limelight Pet Project. This continues the ongoing series of COVID-19 intimate talks about life and business in the photography world today. Don't miss this inspiring episode with this very special woman.

Today we welcome astrophotographer Mike Mercer to talk about his journey into astrophotography, the process of shooting the night sky and how the effects of the COVID-19 crisis has impacted his life.

This is the second episode of the COVID-19 Intimate talks with photographers

See Mike Mercer on instagram @mikemercerphotography

Welcome to Episode 024. This has been a trying time for photographers.I have seen my fair share of small and big businesses faced with big and in some cases devastating challenges over the past month. I'm happy to have the talented wedding photographer Courtney Bowlden back on to talk about her business experience navigating COVID-19. It's so important for us to hear and share stories as we navigate a situation that doesn't have any experienced answers. We have not been faced with something like this in our lifetime,  but we do have each other to find creative solutions.

See Courtney Bowlden's amazing work at courtneybowlden.com

We all have those times when we aren't sure if we should shift our business model. Asking ourselves, "Is it too risky?" "Will it pay off?" "Will I lose clients and find new ones?" The fear is real, but we have to face it in order to move forward and find out what's on the other side.

Sometimes we get stuck in the rythem of how we got somewhere in business, but reassessing how we are doing and how we are thinking about our progress can be key to switching gears into profit mode.

If you are familiar with the expression time is money, it certainly works here. But also time is valuable. If you find yourself all too often in a grey area of negotiating pay, fees and products, you may need to sit down and reassess your business boundaries. Get control of what you are willing to negotiate and your hard no’s.

There isn’t anything wrong with paying attention to client needs, but your client can’t know what happens in the other 99% of the hours you function without their contract.

If you really care about the longevity and profitability of your business you need to set your business boundaries. No one knows your business and what it needs better than you.

How do you develop your personal style, keep up with trends and still work towards the longevity of your business? We know that trends are in today out tomorrow. How do you know the difference between a photography trend and a long-lasting technique?⁠⠀

Tom is the founder and CEO of TV Photography, a Massachusetts based real estate photography and videography company.  Tom got his start in real estate after his military service. Working as a real estate agent listing properties, Tom decided to start taking high-quality photos for his listings after a few bad experiences with local photographers. After the long and tedious work of learning how to conduct a photoshoot, he realized that this wasn't just going to be for his listings alone. When he knew that he was ready, Tom built his real estate photography business from scratch. Ever since building this 6-figure photography business, Tom has developed a passion for sharing lessons learned from the years of practical experience, training, and trial and error. Tom is the host of the Full time real estate photographer podcast, and author of the full time real estate photographer book. You can find the book by searching for its name, or "Thomas Vargeletis" on Amazon, and you can find the podcast here: https://anchor.fm/realestatephoto or by searching the name on your favorite podcasting app.

There is a lot of self-assigned gatekeepers in the photography industry who feel like they have a say on who gets a pass into the professional elite. In this episode, I discuss real-life stories as examples of gatekeepers without keys. The world of photography has changed so rapidly since I started two decades ago, if I had followed the rules of the gatekeepers in my career, it would have been over many times.