On Becoming a Photographer - full-time and self-employed

My questions for you are this:
Do you enjoy your job, what's some pros/cons?
Yes. I love my job.
Pros:
1) I'm always learning and being creative
2) I get to spend lots of time with people and I meet new people ALL THE TIME!
3) I have a flexible schedule - there is no 9-5 (I don't like to have the same thing every day, I love that life changes...but I've gotten REALLY GOOD at using my calendar)
4) my photography "seasons" come and go (so I get some "down time" as well as a busy season)...lots of others, too.

Cons:
1) Being self-employed means everyone is your boss...you serve your clients and if you don't do it right, you loose business.
2) Your schedule really depends on what other people need - my summers are super busy and I'm booked almost every weekend.
3) When you have "seasonal work" you also have seasonal pay.
4) You are not only a photographer, but you are an accountant, graphic designer, costume picker-outer (for almost 80% of your portrait clients!), and office staff and you are CONSTANTLY working. There is no 9-5


How does one become a professional photographer as far as education/degree stuff?
I have a degree in Art Education. For me, this was a well-rounded degree. I train several photographers each year and my education degree has really helped me. If I were to do it over again, or go back, I'd get a double-major in Graphic Design and Business...but that would take a lot of work. I have really had to make up things and learn from talking with other photographers for the most part.

Would you recommend this career?
I would recommend photography as a career. My best advice though is to work for another photographer, someone you really admire and want to "be like when you grow up". Learn about the Art, the people-skills, and the business as much as you can. I worked for Kelly Brown Weddings for four years and I still entertain the idea of working for her again...it was an amazing and growing experience. I am really glad that I did it for so long because we worked through all kinds of things and I learned more than I would have any other way.


Where did you go to college? Did you take specific courses for Photography or did you simply fall into the job?
I went to Northwestern in Rsvl. I only have had 2 photography classes EVER! I took several graphic design classes while I was in college, but things change so quickly!

My first wedding was in 1999 and it was a friend's wedding in Rochester, NY. They asked me to do a slideshow for their MN reception and take candids that day. I LOVED it and they used my photos instead of their professional photographer's photos! I thought, "I can do this!" and I did. Then, I worked for Kelly for four years as I went to school and taught. The fourth year, my business was so busy and I was teaching full-time. I had 34 weddings that year. So, I quit teaching and quit working for Kelly. I shot 24 the next year on my own! Then, I was pregnant and shot 15 (by choice) and this year, I'm at 19 for myself and one for my associate photographer. I'm already booking for next year. God has truly blessed me.


What kind of camera do you use? Digital or Film?
Canon 5D
Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 30D (back up)
I shoot all digital. That's another LOOOOOOONG story.

I hope that is helpful.
Please, keep sending your questions. I love to chat with you all.
If anyone has other comments on this, please leave them! I'd love to hear from you.
ali

Sunshine and daytime pictures

Also - I've been having some trouble with sunny day pictures. Any advice - I know earlier mornings and later afternoons are better, but I've also heard some say to use a fill flash, some say no flash, a reflector, find shade ...... What are your best suggestions?

Bright, direct sunshine is one of the hardest "issues", I think. Great question.

A couple things you can do...

1) find shade - this is typically my #1 suggestion. But blotchy shade is almost worse than no shade at all.

2) shoot directly into the sun - utilize it! if you have an f-stop of 5 or higher, you get those beautiful hexagon shaped sunshines. you'll get silhouettes, so plan on it and use it to your benefit. if you don't want silhouettes, you can flash.

3) fill flash - this can work, but often there is less contrast and from my experience, lenses don't seem to focus as well when shooting into bring light.

4) plan on dramatic shadows! sometimes these can be really great in photos...experiment!

I haven't used a reflector, so I am not able to comment about it. Sorry.

Post-processing

Do you use Lightroom or Aperture to load and organize your photos? I've been using iphoto, but was able to get a copy of photoshop and am worried that iphoto does something to the color profile. Also... do you do much with "actions" in photoshop. I really am new at the editing process and am not really even sure what that is, but am curious about how much editing you often do with your photos.

Yes. I use Aperture. It's great for organizing...but I don't honestly use it for much else. I have a good friend, Noemi Photography, who uses Lightroom for most of her post-processing! It must just depend on your preference and experience with your programs.

I LOVE actions, but they can be somewhat debilitating. When you don't NEED to learn how to do it yourself, you can fake it pretty well, it doesn't make for great photography. Does that make sense? I started using PS and just used actions. Then, I took a class at MN Center for Photography (no longer exists) and learned SO MUCH! Being educated about PS makes a huge difference, even though I still use the actions (for time sake).

Format

What format do you shoot in? Do you set your camera to JPEG or RAW?

I shoot in RAW. The best reason to do this is because if you totally botch something up, you can usually fix it. But, that's not why I recommend it.

Truthfully, you should shoot like you're shooting film. Meaning: try to shoot it right the FIRST time! Editing takes a lot of time and effort, so you don't want to have to make MORE work for yourself.

Not only can you fix mistakes with RAW, you can make your images more dramatic. Use Lightroom, Aperture and/or Camera RAW to edit before you photoshop. It's AMAZING what you can do! Feel free to send an image or two that you'd like corrected or enhanced and I'd be happy to show some for demo.

Pictures in my head

When I take pictures, I see the kind of quality of your pics in my head, but my camera never produces such quality. Do you have any advise or direction I could follow to learn?

My best advice is...

Take lots of photos.
Critique them with trusted peers.
Print out ideas and try to simulate them - look at lighting, location, cropping

I always told my Art students "Artists Copy! The biggest complement one can receive is to be copied." It's really hard to see an image you shot copied, but I remind myself to take it as a complement. This means that people love what you do.

Feel free to send me images and I'll try to give some constructive criticism.

How did you get started?

How did you get started?

My first wedding was in 1999. I was a freshman in college and attending a friend's wedding. His mom asked me to take candids - they had hired a pro photographer. The couple (and their families) used my pictures instead of the pro's! I was honored and thought, "I loved that! I could do that more often..."

Then, once I had shot one, I simply told people and got more and more.

In 2001, I started assisting Kelly Brown. This was one of the best decisions that I have ever made! Working with Kelly was hard and a lot of work, but I learned so much information really quickly and got a lot of experience.

I signed a 3 year contract with Kelly and I think that was vital to the whole process. It would have been easy to go on my own after one or two years, but we had made and deal and both honored that. Actually, I worked with her for 4 years!

Kelly had very high expectations for me and I believe that it has made me a better photographer and mentor for others.

While working for Kelly, I taught Art and did weddings on my own. Finally, three years ago, I quit teaching and have been doing full-time photography. I went from 2-5 weddings in 1999-2001, to assisting 18 weddings in 2002, to lead shooting 23 weddings in 2003, 27 in 2004, 32 in 2006, 25 in 2007...in 2008, I got pregnant and was due in November, so I raised my prices a bit and cut back on the number of weddings.

This year, I've booked 18 and my goal is to be between 15-25...so I'm there. It's so good.

Just remember that it takes time. You'll have to do quite a bit for free or cheap...and really try to accept constructive criticism. When you receive criticism, grow from it. Figure out how to make the changes necessary and if you don't agree with what is said, chalk it up to experience.

We never really get to a point where we have no where to grow...remember to always find inspiration and continue to learn.