Moving Forward
Me with one of my favourite folks who loves to print. If I recall correctly, I am telling her that I am trying not to fall, but it's OK to laugh if I do!
Thanks to Liz C for the fun photo!
Back in the day
Phot0 from January 23, 2015
When I used to do all those hockey games from 2011 to about 2018, I spent HOURS editing each game’s images from those dark arenas before anyone saw them. (Everyone thought I just had a great camera LOL.) They were all cropped, brightened and colour/contrast adjusted. It was some of the best on the unpaid job training ever!
As the years progressed, I continued to educate myself about the best gear for professional work, and then combed the online classifieds to find that equipment. I watched and followed along with countless online tutorials and and bought books about retouching, lighting and composition which became filled with sticky notes. My goal was to start my own photography business, and I wanted to be ready!
Fast forward to today. You won't find a lot of hockey images in my portfolio anymore (OK, once in awhile), and the emphasis in on portraits of people, of pets and of people AND their pets! I've been a member of the Professional Photographers of Canada for the past few years and have earned a couple of accreditations for my photography with that organization. I STILL do online courses to stay current and to keep improving, but that's all part of the job!
Who knew that having a photography business was actually way more marketing and "business" than actually taking photos? After a few failed attempts at setting prices (a few were seeing me lose money instead of making it) I had to educate myself further about costs of good, profit margines, the value of my time and the intrinsic value of the images and all things entrepreneur. Learning is good, though, and I needed it to move forward!
Moving forward
This July, I'm putting the finishing tweaks on how I want to move forward: No more stand alone small collections of digital files and no more individiual small prints outside of the occasional Special Event sessions. (Remember I mentioned losing money?) Will that cut down on the number of people who hire me? Probably, but that's OK as those who do will feel as I do about the importance of photography, so we'll be a really good fit 😊
What will change? Not much, really. When we do a session together, we’ll still plan the locations around central Nova Scotia, discuss wardrobe selections and talk about the “hesitant” people who will be in the session and how we can help put them at ease. You’ll notice changes in the pricing menu with some products being removed and others, such as framed prints and photo books, offering more quality and choices. You'll also notice new Packages (Session and products combined) to start with instead of just Session times. For the digital only devotees who really just want to share the images online, there is one Digital Package with 80-100 files for sharing online/making small prints which will be great if you need me to photograph an event or an extended family or other special event. You'll also find a Starter Package, my Signature Package with a photobook (my favourite!) and a Studio Portrait Package for folks who need a few images for business or personal use.
I'm excited to be moving forward with my business and hope you'll join me!