Autumn Theodore Photography

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  • PORTFOLIO
    • Brand Photography
    • Portrait Photography
    • Product Photography
    • Event Photography
  • BLOGS
    • Processed
    • Focus Friday
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT

Focus Friday

BLOG + VLOG of AUTUMN THEODORE PHOTOGRAPHY

There is a ton of work I do that I only share with the client...

1/6/2022

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I decided to change that by starting Processed, a new blog sharing some of my previously unseen work. The first post will make you hungry...
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see the rest of the photos
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The real reason you put off building/updating your website

12/27/2019

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(Written by guest blogger Allison Bowers)

​As a busy single mom with a thriving PR consultancy, I kept putting off one big part of growing my business — designing my own website. I was a little paralyzed by the idea of the task actually. Thinking about how to brand myself or if I should even bother because what if I choose to grow it into an agency format, and then I have to rebrand myself anyway.

I wasn't hurting for clients by any means, and literally ALL of my business comes to me through word of mouth referrals so do I really need to create a website?

​And oh by the way, how do I justify spending so much un-billable time on myself anyway when my clients need me?
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These were all the thoughts that would run through my head each time I would consider sitting down to design a site to promote my independent PR consultancy. But probably the biggest hurdle of all, what photos would I even use? 

I knew I needed to get headshots done, and so I looked to Autumn to pursue getting my headshots done with the idea in the back of my mind that once I finally had the photos, I would actually create my site.

​Autumn spent thirty minutes with me, took a whole bunch of great photos and within 24 hours they were back to me, edited and amazing. Within one week's time, I launched a website for my consultancy
 after being website-less for over 2 years. Having one set of consistent and professional photos to help illustrate who I am, was the fire I needed to complete this critical task to invest in myself and my business.

Photos are such a big part of telling your story in the digital age, and the quality of those photos really can bolster your credibility while the style can help you capture your voice. 

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I am part of The Six

12/20/2019

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Six Months. Six Coaches. Six Entrepreneurs. Six Businesses Leveling Up.

I am part of The Six! Five other women and I have created a coaching program for small businesses who want to reach their fullest potential. After building our own successful businesses, we will help others with a six-month intensive program. I'm proud to be joined by coaches with the same mindset, business, target market + pricing, messaging, and marketing strategy.
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Visit our website for more information about how we can help you grow!

Happy Friday!
​Autumn

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Production value: what's your money actually worth? (VIDEO)

12/6/2019

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Sometimes it's hard to actually show how budgets effect photo and video production value. In this example, Sandwich Video was asked to create three separate campaign videos about the same product - each on separate budgets of $1,000, $10,000, and $100,000.

While I don't do video, I found this to be a really helpful explanation of how a budget impacts what we (as creatives) are able to accomplish for our clients.

Can you tell the difference?
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I found these videos to be extremely helpful. What do you think?

Happy Friday!
​Autumn
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I'm teaching an online course soon!

11/22/2019

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Recently, one of my clients asked me to collaborate with her on a pet project of her own. It turned out, she wanted to hire me as a guest instructor as part of a series of business courses offered online for small business owners looking to beef up their business knowledge.

When I checked out the project, I realized just how great it really is.

It's called The Ladyboss Nation, and it's something that is sorely needed among small business owners like photographers and other creative outlets.

​You know how it is, we start our business to do what we love, but we may not know the first thing about the admin or behind-the-scenes work it takes to grow our business into a real living. 
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Liz London (photo by me!)

​Anyway, Liz ended up hiring me to offer a course in DIY product photography for start-ups trying to save a penny or in between photo shoots with a pro. It was too fun to be work, but either way I'm honored to be a part of the first year of this online academy for ladybosses.  I hope you'll take a peek at The Ladyboss Nation's Membership Academy - you can see the full schedule of coursework, including mine, right there on the website. It also includes group business coaching with Liz London, who is a certified business coach and the author of The Business Bible for the Unconventional Entrepreneur.
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One small reason of why you should become a member: my class includes a bonus of me giving feedback to members on photo skills learned from my lecture. :)

Happy Friday!
​Autumn
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How to spend less time editing photos

11/8/2019

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This video is for people who are new to photography and feel like it takes an overwhelming amount of time to edit photos. Or maybe it's for people who aren't newbies, but feel like they want to know how to reduce post-processing time.

Don't forget to check out my video about how I edit in Lightroom!

Happy Friday!
​Autumn
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Can you increase the size of an image without losing quality?

10/25/2019

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Any time I get repeat questions, I like to share the answers here because I assume that even more people would like an answer!

​Most recently, I've gotten this question several times:
Q: Can I increase the size and resolution of a digital photo?
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A: Unfortunately, you cannot enlarge an image - it will only highlight the poor quality of the low pixel count. The only options are to find the original large version (the photographer should have it backed up in multiple places) or use an alternate image.
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Watch me edit photos in Lightroom

10/11/2019

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I wrote a post about what I am "fixing"when I edit photos, but I thought it would be even more helpful to SHOW you! Today, I'm sharing a screen recording of me doing my work in Lightroom.
Happy Friday!
Autumn
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When photographers can't do it all

9/20/2019

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​Written by guest blogger Angela Fortin.

Hi there! I am Angela, a professional photographer in Columbus going on 7 years now. Throughout my photo journey I have photographed 150+ weddings, senior portraits, family photos, event photography, and created studio and on-location shoots. I've worked with companies as well as private individuals.

One big thing I've learned is the client/photographer relationship MUST have open communication and planning - which is how it yields the best results. Photographers get to prepare to do our best job to capture the event for the client to get great images!

As much as we like to hope for this best case scenario - it doesn't always work out that way and that's what I want to talk about: when photographers have no or very little control over taking some "not so cute" images.
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Whether its about location, hair & makeup, clothes, time of day, or backdrops - any one of these out of our control can diminish or greatly alter our typical style, which may cause issues if you hired us for a certain aesthetic from our portfolio...often times the inspiration images clients want to create and the lengths they are willing to go to get that look don't line up and here are some common examples. This is not meant to say anyone is "bad" for doing this, but the more we know, the better we can prepare.   

BACKDROPS
If an event or location chosen by the client has a backlit window or light up projector screen directly behind a subject (this often happens at weddings and conferences with tables in front of windows but the room isn't bright), even with flash arrangements, this can look not so hot. Consider cleaning unwanted clutter from behind any scene you are having in an image. In general, consider what's behind the subject being photographed at your event, is it helping the story or taking away from it? Is it busy or clean?

BOUNDARIES
If a church or arena or really any venue where the photographer is limited as to where to set up, this can alter your images greatly! There may be a good image in there if we were straight on, but not all things are possible with limited set up space. This can also be objects or people that stand in isles or columns blocking a certain view.

TIME
Consider that we cannot be two places at once and that to shift from one area to another or another part of a building or outdoor space means we have to change several settings as well as physically move around equipment and ourselves. Always allow for time to move from one scene to the next to ensure we can be there to capture what you need done. Time of day is also of great importance. Often times, clients will want to shoot at noon or 1 and if we are outside, without fill light or flash, or finding a shaded area, we can't always make this work...imagine those scary ghost stories around a campfire with the flash light under their face...see all the crazy shadows? That's what high noon light does but the other direction...not cool! Earlier in the morning or during golden hour in the evening are ideal for those soft golden-lit portraits. 

COLORS
This is a tricky one because this cannot always be helped, but consider this...the color your wearing will reflect onto your skin...red, green, yellow. Now consider the color of your backdrop: green trees, red brick, black auditorium, whatever it is, try wearing or decorating with a color that will stand out instead of clash or blend into a background. Contrast is key! I could have a whole post just on this topic, but we will cut it there.

CLIENT COMFORT
As much as I try, if you are not comfortable in your skin or the outfit/hair/makeup you decided on, you are most likely going to not like your images. This is probably the most overlooked key to great images. I recommend before getting photographed: record yourself in the environment or at least a 360 of your attire. (We don't pay much attention to things till it is too late and seeing yourself on video often will give you clues as to how you want to present yourself.) I must say, having a good and trusting relationship with your photographer always helps you feel and look your best, but there's other work to be done as well. I take this very seriously in my portraits and it always pays off. :)

STRAIGHT UP CONFUSION
This is a very common issue in photography. I can't say this enough, "We are not mind readers." Yes, we can guess what you want, but dang is it better when you get specific in order to ensure this! Whether that's a shot list of people grouped together, a certain crop you'll need for a website image, or if you want to look demure or wild, WE NEED TO KNOW, PEOPLE!! I think I speak for most photographers when I say that we want to make clients happy. Happy clients fuel my businesses and fill my heart up with satisfying work, but we can't do it alone because WE NEED YOUR HELP! So before you just say, "I trust you, just do whatever," think about these things:
  1. Have I communicated about the lighting and timeline I need for the day/session?
  2. Have I done everything I can to be comfortable for my session before the day comes?
  3. Have I communicated to my photographer about the best scenery for my event/session and shared my needs and desired outcomes?

Knowledge is power, and even though photographers are quite magical, we can't do it all, ALL the time, so help us help you! Now let's make some gorgeous images together!!
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How to avoid blurry photos

8/30/2019

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An image is blurry. But you were trying to hold the camera so still. Why? WHYYYYYYY? Let me help!

​Happy Friday!
Autumn
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