Focus Friday
BLOG + VLOG of AUTUMN THEODORE PHOTOGRAPHY
Two reasons - one about you and one about me:
Happy Friday! Autumn
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Happy Friday!
Autumn Happy New Year! Want to learn some new things about photography gear? Here's a video with a few tips! Random, but I hope they're helpful! :) Happy Friday! Autumn Actual photography is about 25% of what I do - and I have passion for 100% - here's the breakdown:
25% photography: Taking photos and editing them (most people think this is all photographers do). 25% business: Marketing, communications, project management, being a webmaster, accounting and finance, etc. So many things are involved in running a business - and I love all of them. 25% education: What's happening right now? I'm educating you. I very much enjoy the process of sharing details, tips, and information about my industry. 25% relationships: Don't tell the other 3, but this is actually my favorite part of my business. If you know me, you're aware that I'm an extrovert and enjoy spending time with people. I get to do that professionally during meetings/consultations, shoots, and even just chatting at local events. And sometimes, clients become friends and friends become clients. It's truly magical. Happy Friday! Autumn Sometimes I can't. Does that make me a bad photographer? Happy Friday!
Autumn The answer is no. And the list could go on and on. There are so many professions in the creative industry that seem to overlap more than they actually do.
Best bet? Just do your research and ask questions! No one will get mad at you for asking questions before trying to refer someone to you! We are grateful. :) Happy Friday! Autumn P.S. Do my photography skills overlap with anything in the list above? Nope. Happy to help you find someone though!
I met Brandi two years ago and within one month, we decided to begin working together. We started a small, intimate, monthly networking group. With photography and mindfulness, Brandi and I had no professional common ground - but we were excited, so we started with a group of ten women. The uncommon ground grew: holistic health, graphic design, art, consulting, writing, skincare, coaching, and education.
What we've been able to do with each other, for each other, and in support of each other is truly astonishing. We help each other grow our networks, we trade services, we have fun socially, and truly grow closer as friends each month. My point? Don't grow only within your industry. Grow outside of it. You might grow taller than you ever imagined. Happy Friday! Autumn
So here's where a client's mindfulness, planning, and communication come into play - events might be several hours long - and sometimes there's some sticker shock because of that.
I actually remind clients that my presence at an event that's several hours long potentially isn't the best use of a their money. (Wait, am I asking to be paid less? Am I hurting myself by doing this? No - they usually hire me because they see I'm just trying to be helpful.) Example: Client A is having a half-day annual conference at the Convention Center. They want photography of two speakers presenting, the crowd's engagement, and one large group photo. Speaker 1 is presenting from 8:30-10am, there's a break from 10-10:30am, and speaker 2 will present from 10:30-11:30am. Most clients would ask for a quote for 3 hours (8:30-11:30am). Before I go on with how this isn't my recommendation, especially if you have a budget, consider this: think about fireworks photos. While taking them, you think you're getting 50 excellent photos. But when you review them later, they kind of all look the same. That's the secret to event photography unless something special is happening at different times throughout the event. You might not need a photographer for the whole event - just parts of it. Back to Client A. I'd recommend that I be hired for event photography from 9:30-11am (1.5 hours). Why? I'd get 30 minutes of speaker 1 (and the crowd), I'd ask for 5-10 minutes during the break to take the group photo, then I'd stay for the first 30 minutes of presenter 2's presentation, and also get more photos of the crowd. Now Client A has all the photography they need at half the cost. And at least I get hired by staying within their budget. (And likely they refer me to others because not only do they like my work, but are so pleased with how helpful I was.) Make sense? Happy Friday! Autumn
I posted a message on Facebook that said "FREE HEADSHOT if you give me 5 minutes of your time for an upcoming project. Email me for details!"
Within 24 hours, 40 people emailed me - see the screenshot above! I linked them to a Doodle Poll registration with a 30-minute block on one single day. Fifteen people registered. Two emailed me the week before and said their schedule had changed. Three emailed me the day of and said something came up. Out of the ten remaining, four didn't show and six came to get a free headshot. So is this a fair exchange? My personal thoughts:
What about your thoughts - was it a fair exchange? Happy Friday! Autumn 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 |
Writing and vlogging to entertain, educate, expose, and encourage.
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