Take & Talk Pics

Hey Photo World!

I have done over 200 weddings in my 6 years as a photographer and I get one common questions from people I end up sharing what I do with. "Oh I bet you have some stories... What was the craziest thing you've seen?"

The truth is, every wedding has some hick-up. Sometimes big but most are small. I have seen family drama where the cops have been called, The wrong DJ showing up, and even the florist never delivering the flowers at all. Thins happen and we need to adjust quickly. Every once in a while it is a situation where we as photographers need to make a choice on what to do or how to handle this situation. Those times where we are Walking a Fine Line. Those small fight or flight occurrences. In this episode I walk through a story from this past weekend and awesome wedding. Not a big deal situation but enough to feel this is worth talking about.

here is the image I was referring to. Shot at: f6.3, 1/200, ISO 100

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#HeyPhotoWorld

Rule of Thirds

Today’s featured guest is Lee Holt.

Lee is a Google trusted photographer based out of Jacksonville Florida with his company Holt Media Productions. While the application to become a Google verified business is simple, being selected is extremely difficult and it becomes even harder each day. The process is based on merit as well as location availability. Being unofficially backed by Google is a great accomplishment and will boost to any business. Lee has a range of work and covers many genres of photography due to his location. The work available is a bit less than a major city and that makes it tough to niche down to one area of photography. Having been a pro photographer for only 3 years Lee has a lot to share with you Photo World.

3 key things to be open about with your clients.

   Who will be the photographer?

       Depending on how your studio runs it may appear that you are the only photographer and not have any others available to shoot for you. This can also raise some concerns in certain industries, with the fear that you may be sick and therefore who will cover for you? The answer to this subject has come up in more than a dozen episodes here on Take & Talk Pics. Get those systems in place! If you aren't the photographer for your business, you must have friends and network option to call upon someone else that could, in a bind, help you out and take over that job. Be prepared to pass most if not all of the money involved on that job for taking on such a task with short notice.

If your studio includes more than one photographer be upfront about how things run. With additional photographers included in your brand you are stating that they are just as capable as you, including your skill set and personality when working with the client. Regardless of what you call your studio at the end of the day if you are the owner of that business, it is your name on every job that passes through. Honesty, be upfront and deliver correct information right out of the gate. I do my best to say as much about what they may be thinking as clients and the questions they might have for me so that way when I ask them: "do you have any questions?" They come back with "I'm pretty sure you answered everything we could have thought of." This approach shows you are transparent and willing to be completely honest with your client. It also shows your level of knowledge in your industry that you know the answers to every question they may be thinking before it's brought up. Getting to the point where it's comfortable and easy to state so much in a clean concise format is no simple task. It takes a lot of research and even more practice.

   What they are going to end up paying? (total)

       Photo World you know what your job is worth for you. Your clients may not know all the details. It is your duty to layout the expectations for your client and honestly inform them on the pricing. No hidden fees Photo World! It makes me sick when I sit down with a couple to discuss their wedding and after we get through everything they tell me about a photographer they recently met with and question after question from them unveiled a multitude of fees they did not have an understanding about until they asked. That approach may earn you a little bit more money per job, but it will have the opportunity to scare the hell out of 90 percent of the people you meet with. As people, we fear the unknown. Think about when a bill shows up that you were not expecting. It seems like everything changes in a bad way for a little while. Don't become a reason for your client to be stressed. Many relationships are lost over the whole financial discussion, so don't add that to a client who may be setting up their relationship for the rest of their lives (a wedding).

   What is included with that fee?

       Now that your client knows who the photographer is exactly how much they're going to be investing in this particular job. They are going to want to know what they get. Up until about 2003/2004 it was very easy to sell your time for a large amount. The client understanding for film photography the way light works and the inability to see the product until days later was largely respected in comparison to today's photographers. Not to say that people don't appreciate what we are capable of in the digital age, but to be realistic the format of photography has changed so much that we can't always or easily cash in on our time, our prints, usage rights, and storage. Perhaps the expectation today, now that we are in 94% digital throughout the world (by the way I made up the stat), is to be a shoot and burn photographer where your images are captured and the delivery of everything that was taken as a high res file with endless usage rights is the common expectation from the unknowing client. There are many photographers who combat this in an extremely effective way and that comes with education and expectation.

       Not only is our job to be photographers, to understand light, to use the correct gear, take classes, attend seminars so we can learn what current and to date, have the appropriate post production software, and be able to deliver a pleasing product... (Take deep breath in and out) pause... We are now left with the task to educate these clients on the process. You must remember just about every client you have has been photographed digitally at some point. In those situations it is typically instantaneous for them, a quick selfie and the instant gratification that there we are in the still moment. To be honest in a client's mind a professional photographer should be as fast about delivering their images in an effective way.

Education is key and a saving grace for working with new clients. Photo World go out and inform your clients, make great work, and Happy Shooting!

Click HERE to register for the next Take&TalkPics.com webinar!

Fundamental Friday's - Equivalent Exposure

Today’s featured guest is Seth Lowe.

Seth is a lifestyle and portrait photographer in Peroria, IL. His portrait work always seems to host a unique perspective of his subjects.

His quote says it all. - "Get Shit Done."

It's about time we got blunt and got real for a change. If we can't get things done then what the heck are we doing. The 9-5 or part time job is honorable and there is no shame in it. If you want to go full time photographer do it right and do it gradually. Though, remember to get things done in all areas of your life to maintain order and a better end result by the end of each day. I can preach all day on shifting gear and moving forward but I think Seth expresses some great points in this interview. Listen to Seth Lowe on Take & Talk Pics and get the motivation to start or in some ways restart and crush your business.

I am a portrait and lifestyle photographer based in Peoria, IL.

I was born in farm town, and raised around people who work with their hands. My dad owned a construction company, and started taking me out on site from an early age. From that I learned what it meant to go the extra mile for people, to never give up, and how to creatively solve problems. I thrive on being challenged, finding new ways of accomplishing things, and connecting with people. Traveling, telling stories, and connecting with people are my passions. 

On a personal note; my wife is English, and I wish I was a rally car driver. My dream is to own a breakfast cafe with a studio above it that has an after school program to teach kids photography and video.

Gratitude is the direction to better life. It is a peaceful motivator to begin a day and to end a night; it is the inner strength we have but often forget and we need not be without Gratitude.

The growth of your business can come from Gratitude.

Your health both physically and mentally can be improved with a daily practice of Gratitude.

There is a wealth of information on Gratitude and it is no secret. However it is a friendly reminder.

Listen to this episode where I share a story that reminded to practice Gratitude more often.

Fundamental Friday's - Depth of Field

There are three factors for depth of field.

We discussed one of them two weeks ago... Aperture!

listen or watch the video to learn the other two factors and start making great pictures with these tools!

Today’s featured guest is Lyndsie Schlink.

Lyndsie is a portrait photographer based out of Normal IL. However she has a full time job in addition to her photography business. Today I want to speak with Lyndsie about her full time work. See… Lyndsie is the Senior University Photographer for Illinois State University. After completer her Mass Communication degree in 2004 Lyndsie continued with her photography and in 2007 started with ISU full time.

I was inspired by my mom to become a photographer. My mom always took a lot of photos of my sister and I growing up, whether it was playing in the yard, at summer camp, or family vacations. Her love of the art led to my love of the art.

My professional career began as a student photographer at ISU taking photos for the Vidette, which led to a job at The Pantagraph and later the Herald and Review.

For the past eight years I’ve worked full time as the University Photographer at ISU documenting student life, events, and activities. I love the variety of work, which gives me the freedom of a newsroom as well as the creativity of art.

When I’m not working for ISU, I enjoy photographing friend’s families, children, pets, and special events like birthdays and weddings. I love getting the chance to meet new people and capture their emotion and interactions through my lens.

You’ll likely see my smile peeking from behind the camera as I photograph children playing in a pile of leaves at the park or a couple in love staring into each others eyes during a photo session.

I also have a love of country music and enjoy photographing concerts, as well as traveling and taking photos of my vacations around the country.

Recommended Resources:

Get on social media! Instagram especially.

illinois state university - tumblr page

w: simply-lyndsie.com

The story she mentioned about a recent project. - Take a look HERE!

Hey Photo World!

Bonus episode today!

This is the second Take & Talk Pics webinar to date and it is all about failure.

I ask this question in every interview. "Tell Photo World about a time you failed." - this isn't to point out the times where a photographer messed up... No. It is meant to give insight to you Photo World on how to do things a little different that you maybe have been or to prevent you form making the same mistakes anyone of them has... or in today's case - mistakes I have made. I cannot count how many times I have failed it must be tens of thousands by now perhaps hundreds of thousands. Well, in this webinar I shared 3 failures/mistakes I made on my wedding photography contracts... 1 of them is such a big mistake it cost me thousands of dollars. Ouch! watch this webinar and tune in to future webinars for great content you don't get on the podcast right away. I have been toying with the idea of exclusive live content on the webinars only and not publishing them in any way. What do you think Photo World? Comment below!