Category: Educate

Making a homemade reflector

7/4/2019

Don't want to spend money on a reflector? Here's how to make one at home - for free!

Apologies for the video quality - I wanted to take a helpful clip from another video I recently made for a workshop! :) Also, I shared some additional reflector tips for portraits in another blog post.

Happy Friday!
Autumn

0 Comments

If you think hiring a professional is expensive, try hiring an amateur

6/27/2019

0 Comments

Hiring an amateur is sometimes a great choice since you need to save money and they need more experience. Your project might not have the budget for a professional, so you consider your options.

And there's nothing wrong with it at all - and it's how everyone starts out their new career path, including me - I was an amateur photographer for 4 1/2 years prior to being self-employed!

However, there are some additional expenses that come with hiring an amateur that you may not have considered.

Here are three reasons to consider whether to hire a professional or amateur:

You may have to schedule a re-do (either with the amateur, or with a professional).
Amateurs may not yet have good communication or organization skills, therefore lengthening the process.
More creative direction might be needed by amateurs

The lesson: hiring an amateur costs you not only money, but time. Two very important commodities in life are time and money - which one do you want to save?

Happy Friday!
Autumn

0 Comments

Getting better event photos

6/21/2019

0 Comments

I work with tons of companies who need corporate event photography. My contacts are the folks in charge of event photographer procurement - usually meeting and event planners, communications managers, or marketing directors.

I wanted to share a quick list of how to be sure your photographer gives you exactly what you need on the day of the event!

Way ahead of the event
Ask your photographer to do a walkthrough with you - they will be able to share insight into space setup and lighting - which directly affects their abilities to provide professional images. (Because you don't want photos to turn out like this.)

Days ahead of the event
Provide your photographer with a shot list - it can be as broad or as specific as you like. Plus, if you let the photographer know how the images will be used (website? social media? print materials?) it will help them capture what you need.

After the event
Like their photos? Is this an annual event? I bet if you ask them to hold the calendar date for the next year, they will. :) Easier to ask now than scramble trying to find a new photographer at the last minute.

Happy Friday!
Autumn

0 Comments

Why your headshot should be on your website

6/14/2019

0 Comments

Such a simple concept! (And no, I'm not trying to sell my services. I'm educating!)

"I hate having my photo taken."
So do I.

"I don't want my picture to be the "face" of my brand."
It doesn't have to be, but you also shouldn't really be hiding your face, especially as the owner of a small business.

"No one want's to see my face."
Yes, they actually do. If someone is about to meet with you in person for the first time, knowing what you look like will prepare them to find you in a coffee shop, AND set them at ease that your'e a real, live human being.

Happy Friday!
Autumn

0 Comments

What is your "side?"

6/4/2019

0 Comments

Is there a certain "side" of your face that looks better for a portrait? Watch my new video to find out!

How to create hair volume in 30 seconds!

Happy Friday!
Autumn

0 Comments

Simple ways to maximize your time with a photographer

5/31/2019

3 Comments

(Written by guest blogger Julie Ohlemacher)

If you’re someone who uses platforms like Instagram to share your blog/business/personal-mission message multiple times a week, you may have come to a similar conclusion I have:

Coming up with content is easy - when you’re passionate about it! Pairing the content with photos...well, that’s another story.

I like to mix professional photos with my own “real-life” amateur photos.

Thankfully, I have Autumn in my back pocket. And after our last photoshoot, Autumn remarked how well I take advantage of our time together, and asked if I’d share my tips with you all. So here we are.

I typically work with Autumn around four times a year to do seasonal photos to refresh my webpage and gather photos for my instagram/Facebook pages.

When we do shoots, they’re either 30 or 60-minutes and I always have one mission in mind: get as many different photos as possible.

When thinking about instagram, I have to think about how the photos look together on the 9-photo grid that you see when clicking on someone’s profile. So it’s not helpful if I have 9 photos of me, in the same outfit, in the same location, in the same pose. I need different outfits, different poses, different locations to get as many different photos as I can to have a diverse collection to use on my instagram.

So before a shoot with Autumn I consider a few things:

Location. I want to use a location where I know we can get multiple different backgrounds quickly. Driving from place-to-place takes time. Autumn works with an hourly rate, so we don’t have time to waste, ya’ll. If we’re using my house, I think ahead of time about all the different places we can take photos to maximize unique photos. If we’re going outside, I think of an areas with lots of different backgrounds. For instance, in the fall we went to McPherson Commons. We took pictures at Arch Park, walked down by the pavilion, took photos by the river and on the bike path. So many different options! So many different looks! Yes please!
CLOTHES! This is huge. One of the easiest ways to make photos look different is with your clothes. I don’t worry about changing my hair. Changing clothes is easier, quicker, and makes a more noticeable difference between photos. I’ll typically pick out at least four different outfits that I can easily change into. The quicker the change, the more photos I get! (Note from Autumn: dang this girl is good at different outfit looks! Last summer, she went from shorts and a tank top to a dress within 10 seconds by keeping the shorts on under the dress - then bounced back to another t-shirt. Three outfits in less than 15 minutes!)
Location + Clothes. Combine the two and BOOM. So many options. Say Autumn and I are doing lifestyle photos at my home. I’ll take photos all around the house in all the different outfits and then get to mix-and-match locations with clothes and create a ton of different looks with ease! If we’re doing an on-location shoot, like the one we did at outside at McPherson Commons, I think in layers. I may have the same jeans and top on, but I’ll have a scarf, a vest, a jacket, etc. that can still give the same outfit entirely different looks.
Planning. Doing all of the above comes down to simple planning. I spent a summer interning at a national women’s magazine as a photo intern, so I learned about things like “shot lists.” A shot list is simply a list of the different photos you want to get. You plan for the photos you desire. Now, I don’t always have an actual physical paper list in my hand, but you better believe I have it all planned out in my head. The more you plan the shoot, the more ideas you have before Autumn (or any photographer!) arrives, the more clear you are on your vision for what you need: the more photos you get. (Another note from Autumn: Julie's shoots often include some food items - which she ALWAYS has laid out on her kitchen counter ready to go. This provides time during the shoot to get more photos rather than waste time pulling stuff out of the fridge or cabinets.)

So there you have it my friends. Simple ways to maximize your time with your amazingly talented photographers to make the most of both of your time and get as many unique photos as possible. Happy shooting!

3 Comments

Instagram profile tips for businesses

5/24/2019

0 Comments

You know I can talk to you all day long about how to get better photos - but did you know I also do some consulting for web design, user experience, and social media management?

I've been seeing some troubling things about many businesses' Instagram profiles recently that 1) have nothing to do with photography and 2) are SO EASY to fix.

Problem 1: your business Instagram doesn't have a business account
What?! Why? This unlocks your ability to display more info about your business as well as view analytics.

Problem 2: you aren't giving users easy ways to contact you
Like I said, switch to a business account so that you can create quick links for users to call, email, or get directions to your business. (How to switch? Google it. Details are everywhere.)

Problem 3: (this one drives me crazy) your brick and mortar's address isn't listed
I came to your Instagram, loved your brand, saw the great photos, and want to visit your physical location to eat/buy/do/see all the things...why isn't your address listed? I don't want to have to now go to another webpage or app to Google your business name and try to find your address. MAKE IT EASY FOR YOUR WANNABE CLIENTS. You do want their money, right?

Problem 4: your bio doesn't talk about what you do or who you are
One time I went to a really cool instagram with gorgeous images of people inside homes - I couldn't tell if it was a travel magazine, a clothing retailer, or a lifestyle blogger. Since I didn't want to spend the time doing my research, I kept scrolling. If you want people to connect and engage with you on social media, be clear about who you are and what you do.

Problem 5: you want to link to your website but also share another link (for an ad, a special product, an event ticket link, etc.) but don't want to replace your website link
Try something like linktr.ee to post several links from your profile page.

As always, I hope this is helpful!

Happy Friday!
Autumn

0 Comments

Why is this picture so grainy?

5/17/2019

0 Comments

But seriously...why?

Events are sometimes hard to shoot. This event was the perfect example of how a client's needs and my needs don't always overlap. (And who is right? The client, of course. I just have to educate them about what will happen if we go with their choice.)

I've written about the exposure triangle before. There are lots of things I can do to take a photo in a dark situation. However, the more I use those techniques (without flash), the grainier the photo will become. (Because my camera is basically trying to suck the light into the photo, but can only do so much if the room is dark.)

So why wouldn't I use flash? Well here's the difficult part about some events I shoot: the client wants a dark room because, hello, ambiance! I don't disagree. However, I need light, and there are only two ways I can get it: turn up the lights (clearly can't happen based on the preferred ambiance), or use flash - which is sometimes even MORE obtrusive than having lights turned up higher. So what does a photographer do? We do the best we can. We educate clients and let them choose what to do. Sometimes this just means grainier photos.

Happy Friday!
Autumn

0 Comments

What's a speedlight vs. a strobe?

5/3/2019

2 Comments

Ever wonder what the difference is between a speedlight and a strobe? Each is a type of flash that could be used for various purposes. A tiny intro is featured on today's PhotoVlog!

As always, if you have any questions, feel free to comment below or shoot me an email!

Happy Friday!
Autumn

2 Comments

Please don't edit photographers' photos

4/19/2019

1 Comment

Last week, I talked about what I actually do when I edit photos.

This week, I'm going to ask a favor on behalf of most photographers out there:

Please don't edit our photos - especially with Instagram filters.

Here are the two reasons why it's so hard to see our images edited:

Why didn't the client tell us they wanted a different style? Communication helps us best serve clients, helping them get what they want. That's our job!
Why do clients tag us in these edited photos on social media? This is no longer our work. Authors wouldn't want to be quoted for poems that were rewritten by readers.

My dream is to give clients exactly what they want. Lots of communication ahead of time helps me do that. ALWAYS feel free to share your style, thoughts, preferences, and usage goals. I'm more than happy to work efficiently and effectively to get photos that you need!

As always, I never want to speak for ALL photographers. I just like to share some common industry thoughts. :)

Happy Friday!
Autumn

1 Comment