Learning from our mistakes: Stay true to what make you, you.

Learning from our mistakes: Stay true to what make you, you.

As the summer roles on and heat and humidity set in, frustration, compromise and the need to please clients tends to hit higher levels as well.  At some point in time one has to reevaluate, if what one is doing is leading you away from who you are.

There is a lesson to be learned here and it is one I learned not all that long ago. This being, it is impossible to please/accommodate everyone all the time and that sometimes no matter what one does to try accommodate a client or perspective client,  we may have to send them to another photographer who specializes in that area of photography.

I learned that it is important to stick to your discipline/style and there is a time and place to expand outside of our comfort zone and try a different photography discipline. I am a good portrait photographer but even thought I know a fair amount of product photography it is not my strong suit and having to tell a client “no” it is not something as a business provider I currently don’t accommodate does happen.

It stinks, it truly does, to have to turn away work/potential customers or returning customers. If the final product you are going to give a potential customer something that is not your best quality work it will not only hurt the customers currently because they do not have the best quality photo of their product but it will hurt you and your business in the long run because you let it be known you are willing to do sub-par work just to make a dollar.

As photographers we have our areas of expertise. Some of us are good portrait photographer where others are great at architectural photography and so on and so forth. While it is great to expand our horizons, to learn and become better in other disciplines of photography, it is important to remember what areas of photography we are good at when we do contract work for others. We should not be so quick to jump to another discipline of photography because a client begs us to or just to make earn extra money until we can prove ourselves that this new area of photography is up to the standards we have in our primary discipline.

Learn, practice and promote is the way expanding into a new discipline of photography should be handled. In the long run it will be more beneficial for you than just saying hey I can do “that” and then in the end give the client sub-par work. Also know it is okay to say “no” to a perspective client because sometime we are not the best fir for their needs.

Family Photo Sessions Walk Though

We were recently asked by a client during a consultation how their family portrait session would play out the day of their session and here is a run though of how a day would typically go and what we like to see from our clients.

When we first meet with our client preferably at their homes, we like to decide on a location that has special meaning your family. It can be any place that from your home, family farm, a park, or a vacation spot. No place is out of the realm of possibilities when it comes to creating your lasting memory that will hang on the walls of your home.

From deciding on a location we then like to move onto clothing options. Normally we like to try to get families to wear the same color options. We like to do this so we don’t have a rainbow mash up of colors and distracting patterns pulling away form the overall image. This can be done a couple of different ways. First we can divide it out by parents and children, so the parents would be in one color style and the children would be in another. Another way we can do this is by separating out the genders so that mother and daughter are in one style and father and son are in another. Also the one thing we really like to emphasize is that we like to have each induvial family members keep their own clothing styles. So as long as it is looks presentable that is great. This way someone is not stuck in a clothing option they hate and are uncomfortable during our session.

Also we while we are meeting to set up your family photo session we would like to know if you are going to be bringing your family pet along. In any family Sparky is just as big of a part of the family as the children or your partner is. We also love animals so we would be really happy if you did decide to include them on this day..

On the day of the photo session at the location of your choosing we will arrive early and make sure the site is clean so when you and your family arrive we are not having to waste time. If the session is being conducted at your home, we will still arrive early and assist you with making sure everything is the way you want your back ground to look and maybe help with a few suggestions. In addition to shooting the main family photo we will also be doing pairs and individual photos so we can give you and your family options to choose from.

From the time we have our visitation/planning session to the day of the proof viewing we would like you to start thinking of where your family portrait is going to hang.We will ask you where would you like to or think you might want to present the finished photo in your home?  We do this because it gives an idea of how to compose the final portrait to better utilize your space. Also in the long run it means more to be able to see your family photos on a wall or in an album rather than on a screen. We say this because in the long run the print will last longer than the digital media that is always changing very rapidly.

Once as a family you have made your decision on what photos you want and what sizes and mediums you would like them produced on we will begin production on your photos. This can take up to three to four weeks depending on order size and prior client orders in front of yours.

We also get asked if we offer digital files with our photos, we do have a policy of the photos you purchase for print we will give our clients those photos in digital format for use on social media or other personal projects. We also offer a variety of ways for you to obtain those photo though, data drive, CD/DVD, could server or email.

Come delivery day we will deliver to you so you and your family can see the finished product all at once and to make sure everything is to you and your families liking.

We look forward to hearing from you and help you create your next beautiful family portrait.

Backups, to your Backup!

So it has been a little while from my last blog post. In that time, I have learned to always make sure to have backups and if possible backups to your backup.

This applies to everything, have backups to your camera gear, editing and transportation. For example, my main camera is a Nikon D-800 and its backup is a Nikon D-300 and that cameras backup is an old film camera from the mid 90’s. For my files I backup them on external hard drives and on a cloud network and I don’t remove them from the memory cards until they are loaded on both. That way in case something happens to my files I am not out of the work I have just done for a client or for myself. As for transportation I have an 09 Dodge and that’s backup is a old tired 68 Pontiac Firebird its there if its need to but thankfully I have never had that need.

The lesson here is even though you may not be using your backup device never let it out of your reach because everything is going fine until, it’s not.  I ran into “IT’S NOT”, not too long ago.

I came home from an corporate event in Milwaukee, WI in the middle of June one night to find the black screen of DOOOMMM on my computer with a deadline looming quick. In the end we found out the video card had fried itself and took part of the motherboard with it but had left the hard drive intact with no loss of photos or business files.
It was at that point in time I realized the backup laptop was nowhere to be found. I had lent out to a friend whose computer shorted out and was waiting on a new one and need to keep their business going. So I had just broken my own rule number 1, “never let your back up out of reach because everything is okay until it isn’t.” Thanks to a local photographer friend Jeff Boomer Ernst who lent me his backup, I was back up and running the next day an able to make my deadline.
A day after deadline my backup was back and I was up and running and a few more days after that a new laptop arrived and business is back to normal.

In the youth of my business I had just committed a major foepaw and that was, I didn’t have my backup. Now I realize that for other photographers who companies are in their infancy, you may not have backups to your backup or backups in general, it can be expensive. Though it is something as you take on more and more clients, you do have to look into because if you screw up and miss a deadline or lose the work its can cost you in the long run. That client talks to other possible clients and it spiderwebs out and can cause more problem down the line. Even if you don’t really use your backups you need to have them. I got lucky and had the help of a friend and I was able to make deadline.

So I cannot express enough to beginning photographers, first to have a backup camera and second have a backup computer. If you cannot currently afford to do so make sure you have a backup plan in case the unthinkable does happen to you and that way you and your clients are not left out in the cold.

Helping Baby Zachary

Dear Clients, Friends and Readers,

As photographers we learn from other photographers with years of experience who help us grow and become better at what we do, providing cherished images for people.

When I first became a member of PPA I had the great fortune to run into and get to know several photographers who helped me with everything from posing and lighting set ups, to better business and contract practices. During that time they never asked for anything in return. Well now it’s time to help pay it forward.

A few weeks ago on April 6 our friend, Janaye, who runs Visually Speaking Photography & Design of Cedar Park, Texas along with her husband, welcomed their first child Zachary into this world. Little Zachary came into this world kicking and screaming like a true Texan, but since day one the little man is kinda having a bit of a rough go of it, with platelet transfusions and digestive problems. So with medical bills mounting Mom and Dad started a Go Fund Me page for lil Zachary to help offset the medical cost. They also have been using their blog site The Melsha Travels to give regular updates on how little Zachary is doing.

I would really like to see our clients, friends and readers at least take a look at their site, read their story and considering helping out, a new young family who is in a tough spot at this moment in their lives.

Best and kind regards,

Tim Gumz owner of Vagabond Photography

Links: https://www.gofundme.com/zacharymelsha
https://themelshatravels.wordpress.com/

Consider joining a photography group

I’d like to take a minute to invite any photographer who is just starting out or is a seasoned veteran to be more and join a photography association or local group. A while back I touched briefly in my blog post on "Finding the right Photographer" about being part of a photography group such as PPA, WPPI, APA or others. They are a great resource to belong too if not for networking with other photographers but also as an association helping especially new photographers avoid many pitfalls we tend to make starting out. Even if you do not want to join a large national group look into join a small photographers group in your local community.

I do belong to Professional Photographers of America (PPA.com) and have been an active member for the past two and a half years. I also belong to a small group of local photographers with no affiliations to any large national group. They have both helped me out greatly when I was starting out and still do several years later.

When I made the switch from being a sports, live events and news photographer to being primarily a portrait and live event photographer these two groups were there to help me navigate some of the pitfalls that beginning photographers or photographers who have been out of the business a while normally face. With the small local group of photographers I learned how to better light my clients along with better posing practices. Then with the national group they were better able to help with setting up better business practices and creating better contracts that protect both me and my clients.

The fun thing about being with groups like these, is that after being with them for so long and getting help from so many great people, it eventually becomes your turn to help other beginning photographers become and be more.

You may want to ask the question hey where can I find these groups? The answer is fairly simple go on Facebook use the search bar and you can find plenty there. Also for the national groups other than the ones listed below you can google them or for PPA just click “here” and you can learn about their mission to help and support photographers.

Professional Photography Groups:
American Photographers Association (www.americanphotographyassociation.org/)
Wedding & Portrait Photographers International – WPPI (www.wppionline.com/)
American Photographic Artists (www.apanational.org/)