Category: Entertain

New podcast feature: Gooey

4/26/2019

I met Sam Oliver during a shoot for Luxe & Lemons. She's their social media manager and was so organized, helpful, and positive that it made the shoot fun and successful!

Sam is basically an expert of all the things: social media, communications, podcast editing, writing, relationships, AND she also has her very own podcast, Gooey!

What is Gooey? Listen to her first episode and she'll describe it in less than 4 minutes.

Why am I bringing all of this up? Because Sam so kindly featured me recently!

I'm honored to be on episode 19: Fostering Relationships + Cultivating Your Creative Business!

Thanks again, Sam! It was so fun to chat with you. :)

Happy Friday!
Autumn

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A weird thing photographers have to know

3/1/2019

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I love learning about others' professional experiences - everything from the macro to the micro details of their day-to-day work. Lots of things are more obvious (teachers teach, doctors see patients, attorneys work with clients), but there are always little details we never quite imagined certain professionals would have to practice on a frequent (and sometimes daily!) basis.

In case you also like to learn more about others' professional lives, I thought I'd share the least obvious thing photographers have to know when photographing people, products, or events.

We MUST have a sense of direction.

Why the heck would a photographer have to have a sense of direction? Well, there are a few reasons:

One of my clients likes me to take headshots of new hires within the first week or two of their start date. Their office faces east, and the specific location (near the windows) of the headshots matters since they need to look consistent with the rest of the team's headshots. The first shoot was done in the afternoon, when sunlight (hello, it rises in the east!) was not shining in through the windows. Sun on the walls/floor of a space makes a huge difference in what the photos look like especially if you're using natural light and not a flash setup.
Product photography functions in the same way. If a client wants lifestyle/brand photography for use on their website, social media, etc., we need to consider the shoot location and what direction it faces. If they want an indoor location in a building facing west, we need to do the shoot in the morning to avoid direct sunlight. Unless of course they want direct sunlight!
Event photography depends on sunlight as well, but this shoot (and its location) is much more about client education. If a client is having a lovely outdoor summer event on the west side of a building, I educate them on the fact that sun may be in people's eyes (causing squinting and strain) since the sun will be setting at that time. If a client is having a daytime outdoor event, I always recommend the north side of a building if they have control over the location (since the sun flows a bit to the south during midday here in Columbus).

Happy Friday!
Autumn

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I'm FINALLY done

2/8/2019

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After nearly 15 months of start-and-stop planning, collaboration, writing, design, and edits, you are viewing the updated version of my website! And I am SO pleased.

I'm really proud of the updates since they showcase more of my work. I created portfolio pages for each type of photography I provide (brand, portrait, event, and product), which include sample photos, client stories, and reviews. I also designed a new resource guide (in the footer of each page) which helps explain how to prepare for brand photography.

I could not have done this without Brandi Lust (for her amazing website vision/goal consulting skills); Kelley Engelbrecht (for her incredible writing skills); and Sandi Theodore (Mom!), Alida Smith, Andy Gottesman, Brittany McClaskey, and Jared Gibbons for their consultation/feedback/editing help. Thank you all!

Happy Friday!
Autumn

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Let's talk about creative portraiture

2/1/2019

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I recently shot "Portraits in Motion" at Columbus Museum of Art's annual Wonderball event. It was my second year in a row of doing an immersive experience where people could get their portrait taken in a unique, creative way. After these events, I'm encouraged to do more creative projects. To prepare, I'd love your help!

Here's what I want to know:

What do you like/dislike about this style of photography?
Would you feel comfortable being photographed like this?
What would make you want a portrait of yourself in this style?

If you could respond below, email me, or DM me via Instagram, I would LOVE to know more!

Thanks, and Happy Friday!
Autumn

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Best photos of 2018

12/28/2018

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Wow, this is somewhat surprising...and somewhat not.

I'm going to breakdown these photos on why I think they were the most liked photos of 2018. (The list will be in the order of left to right, top to bottom.)

It's very rare I share photos of myself, but this one was posted 13 days after brain surgery, explaining what happened, and that I'd be okay. The support I received was incredible. <3
Final photo of my 100 Day Project. Again, I don't share photos of me often, but my experience with social media is that it shows me way more support and love than anything else.
Megan Leigh Barnard took this portrait of me at Wonderball at Columbus Museum of Art.
A repost! Beginning in the Middle does truly stellar home renovation work and I am not surprised it received so much love!
A portrait of Allie Lehman was taken by me at Wonderball at Columbus Museum of Art. (I'm going to say this is definitely because of her beauty and not my skill!)
One of my favorite shoots this year was with Mello, a local athleisure company making the most dreamy yoga pants you could ever imagine. You should probably buy some. Now.
This photo was taken inside the bakery at Harrod's in London during a visit in February. (Who doesn't LOVE bread? Carbs!)
As I was about to walk out the door on a two-week trip to Europe with my mom, I took a photo of my ban.dō passport wallet. :)
Who doesn't love Mission Coffee Co.? No one, that's who.

Happy Friday, and Happy New Year! I hope you have a wonderful 2019!
Autumn

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PhotoVlog: Weird questions photographers get asked, Part I

10/5/2018

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We get asked so many weird questions that I'm splitting this into parts...and I don't even know how many parts there will be. :P Enjoy!

To be clear, when I say "editing photos within the camera," it just means that I test the light and composition (among other things) while I'm shooting so that the images are already close to where I want them prior to editing them on my computer. To explain my process further, check out my other blog post about why shooting is only half the work.

Happy Friday!
Autumn

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How to make it really hard for people to work with you

8/10/2018

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Over the past six years, I've learned a lot about the business side of photography. The part that might be surprising: I equally love taking photos and running the business!

I found where I had strengths and where I made mistakes (then fixed them!). What I've realized is that most of this information is applicable to so many industries - not just photography.

I'm feeling silly today, and thought it would be entertaining to share my 5 thoughts on how to make it really hard for people to work with you.

Don't answer client emails for a few weeks.
Clients can wait! They know you're busy and they don't mind feeling like a 37th priority.
Stop managing client information.
Keeping track of things like contact information (phone numbers, emails, addresses), scheduled meetings, payment preferences, etc. doesn't matter. When you work with them next time, they'll remind you.
Avoid creating templates for paperwork.
The paperwork I'm referring to? Estimates, contracts, invoices, and more. Just type up a brand new one each time you have a new client. It'll take time, and you might have lots of typos, but no one cares. Plus, if you ever have a legal issue, your attorney will understand.
Forget using a calendar to track upcoming work.
Why use a calendar? You don't need to remember you're having a client consultation or plans for client work. They'll forgive you if you stand them up...right?
Set clients' expectations.
Meet none of them.

Happy Friday! ;)
Autumn

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Should you buy the Annie Leibovitz MasterClass?

6/22/2018

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Annie Leibovitz is one of the most well-known portrait photographers in the world, and if you're unsure if you've seen her work, let me tell you that you have.

She recently created a 15-lesson video course for MasterClass, an online education platform, and I was super excited to watch.

The cost? $90 for about 3 hours of video and PDFs for each lesson. Do you think that sounds like too much? (To be fair, I was truly going to purchase it, but my dad gifted it to me for Christmas instead.)

THE BIGGEST THINGS TO KNOW:

YES you should buy this if you're a photographer looking for creative inspiration
NO you should not buy this if you're looking for technical tips (she basically gave none)

WHAT I ENJOYED SO MUCH:

Her story and how she made it to where she is (so inspirational!)
How she works (she's like me!); she's self-taught and not into gear or technical aspects)
She taught me that it's ok to tell people I won't show them images until after they've been edited (sure I already knew that, but sometimes I need to be reminded that "it's ok")
She also taught me that I don't have to love my work - I can just redo it, or be ok with it not being perfect (as a perfectionist, I also need to be reminded of that)

I'm not giving much of it away, but I do think that the above should be considered prior to purchasing the lessons.

Enjoy (or don't)!

Happy Friday!
Autumn

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This year's 100 Day Project ends today!

6/15/2018

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Thanks to everyone for participating in my 100 Day Project this year! (Yes, it's ending on my birthday - today!) All images are on Instagram. See the Instagram Story Highlights for details. :)

Happy Friday!
Autumn

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I opened a Print + Digital Shop!

4/13/2018

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I'm honored any time someone mentions that they saw one of my photos, and love it so much that they want to purchase a print or a canvas.

To make it easier, I've built a website where I've loaded the most commonly requested images for prints, canvases, and even digital download. Images of Columbus, Cleveland, Hocking Hills, Asheville, and the Total Solar Eclipse start at $25.

Print + Digital Shop

Below are some highlights of the images that have been loaded to the site.

I'll continue adding new images as I take more, but I'm also very interested in the type of images you'd like to see! Feel free to comment below. :)

Happy Friday!
Autumn

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<<Previous

Focus Friday

New podcast feature: Gooey

A weird thing photographers have to know

I'm FINALLY done

Let's talk about creative portraiture

Best photos of 2018

PhotoVlog: Weird questions photographers get asked, Part I

How to make it really hard for people to work with you

Should you buy the Annie Leibovitz MasterClass?

This year's 100 Day Project ends today!

I opened a Print + Digital Shop!

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