I’m totally superwoman, ya know….

August 10, 2012 by Jodie | Comments Off

Hey all.  So what happened?  Here I was going to do some more workshops around the US, and then I pulled back and decided not to do them.  Let’s discuss.

As a woman, I, for whatever reason, was born with the belief that I can be it all and do it all.  I’m superwoman, right?.  Why are women ingrained with this idea?  When women started going out in the workplace, they felt that they could still do it all.  All the things that they were taking care of at home – the kids, the house, the daily errand running, and work outside of the home.   I don’t think any of us are okay with thinking that we can’t do it all.  We want the nice perfectly decorated pristine McMansion, organic food on the table, laundry put away in our Martha Stewart organized way, and our “obviously gifted” children clean, beautifully dressed, and ready for playgroup and tea with the rest of the moms that you volunteer at the elementary school with.

HAHAHAHA  I’m sorry, that makes me laugh anymore.  Why do we put this pressure on ourselves?   Why are we so delusional?

Photography as a business is a blessing and a curse.  The blessing part is, you can dictate your own hours; however, it allows you to falsely think that you can still “do it all” and be everything to every one all the time.

At some point, you come to a realization that you can’t do it all.  You can’t be home doing laundry and dishes when you are shooting on location.  You can be home, but you can’t be as attentive to your child as you wish you could be, when you are stuck to the computer editing.   The closest you can get to utopia would be to only work during your child’s naptimes or when your husband is home.   Hmmm…. but don’t forget, your marriage needs nurturing too.  If you are spending all your husband’s time off out doing photo sessions, and not making any time for him in your life, then it’s your marriage suffering.

I promise, I’m not preaching to you, I’ve been there.  I’ve been in that exact situation.

“But you have teenagers!”  Yes, I do have teens, but don’t forget, from the time I was married 17 years ago, I only worked for myself.  I have run three successful business.   I used to actually take my work on vacation with me and work during my vacation.  I’m ashamed to admit that, but I was so obsessed with being superwoman, I was wearing myself out completely, and while business was thriving, my personal life was suffering.

So what am I getting at.  Here’s what I am getting at.  If you try to do it all, some areas are going to excel, and other areas are going to suffer.  You have to pick and choose which areas are most important to you, and focus more on them and come to the realization that you cannot do it all.

I run a full-time portrait studio and shoot the occasional commercial production.  I have teenagers.   You think toddler-hood was rough?  Think again.  At least with toddlers, you can control the schedule, not so with teens.  Many days this summer, I found my life like this:  Get up at 6:30 a.m., coffee, shower, breakfast, see son off to driving school, off to the studio to do a shoot, pick son up from driving school, make lunch, answer emails, maybe a little editing if possible, throw a load of laundry in, take daughter out for her riding lesson, come back to pick up son and take him to football conditioning, and then up to pick my daughter up from the barn, back to pick my son up from the school, and home by 9:30 p.m.  Here’s the hard facts – I have spent zero time with my husband with that schedule, and I haven’t done the client ordering, and didn’t finish up my editing and guess what?  Dinner was takeout every night.  What’s suffering?  Lots.  When they are in school, it’s a little easier, but that doesn’t stop orthodontist appointments, chiropractic appointments when something goes out of alignment in my son’s back during a quarterback sack, etc. etc.   What I would give to be only worried about the juice stains on my carpet from the tipped over sippy cup again.  haha!

I set up my schedule this year to include some travel thinking – well, heck, everyone else does it, why can’t I?  I’ve been teaching workshops for 5 years, surely, going out of town for a few won’t change anything.  Well guess what I realized?  I had a Colorado workshop scheduled the first weekend in August.  Oh no, Erynn’s County 4H show was the same weekend!  Sorry, but she’s going to come first.  I refunded money, and I have to say, she made it to Districts – her focus is making it to States now ;)  I wouldn’t trade it for the world being there with her.

I’m more protective of my family time than ever right now.  It wasn’t as big of a deal when they were toddlers, but my son will be graduating high school in 2 years – every precious moment with these kids is more important than anything else.

That’s why.  That’s why I chose to re-prioritize.

I am doing one last Studio Lighting Naturally (with newborns and maternity) workshop in a few weeks – August 25th at my studio just outside of Baltimore, MD. I’m retiring this workshop after five years.  If you are interested, I only have a few seats left.

You know, I have to add something controversial, right? as that is the kind of blog this is ;)   haha… no worries…. it’s coming….

So you know I always question what I read and see online.  My brain is never settled to take things at face value.  I rely much on my feelings, my gut instincts, and common sense…. but I know I get fooled as well.  I can’t believe that this industry still supports the “I can do it all!  I’m superwoman!” train of thought, and people fall for it.  When I see photographers who claim to have a full-time amazingly successful business with too many high-end clients to count “back home”, and their husband has a successful career too,  and they homeschool their 6 children, and are touring all over the world teaching workshops or doing seminars, and they get up before the masses, and the fake tears begin with their infomercials of how they are so blessed to be a photographer, as they declare their awesome superwoman status… well…..

I simply call bullshit.

That is all, thank you.  ;)

I write this, by the way, while sitting at the hair salon for the almost four-hour process of my daughter getting her incredibly thick hair colored and cut for the upcoming school year…. that’s my free time at the moment, and I honestly don’t know how I would have the time for the every day simple things like this if I added anything else to my plate.   And then there’s football season starting Saturday…. *gulp*

So to sum it up – When reading or listening to anyone in this industry, please keep common sense right in front of you; that’s how you decipher the truths accurately.  If it’s too good to be true, it probably is.  No one is superwoman (or man).

 

Posted in Photography Business Tagged , , , , |

Witch Hunts and Egos – Out of Control.

July 16, 2012 by Jodie | Comments Off

Thursday evening, I was at my studio, working with a lovely sleepy baby boy and his older sister who ran around singing the original Spiderman song which was as adorable as it was hilarious…. when, all of a sudden, my phone was blowing up:  phone calls, emails, and texts from other photographers.  Hmmm… I got a little curious as usually this means there’s some sort of interesting thing going on in our industry.  When I was able to find out what was going on, I was made aware that my Guitar Baby Image made the news.   I thought that was odd, and wanted to see.  While baby was being fed, I pulled up the interview on my smart phone, and my clients even got to hear it.   (As a side note, I have to say, when the clients found out that there are photographers putting babies in glass jars, their reaction?  “Are people stupid!!!!”  I love my clients, they get it! ;) )   By the way, that wasn’t my guitar shot.  It was a knockoff.

So here’s the gist of the interview (and you can watch it online HERE).  Joy Vertz, a professional photographer who has been a very successful professional for years, way before the huge wave of “everyone’s a photographer” was on screen, discussing baby safety.

Since this video went viral, there are photographers who are outraged.

 

Let’s address the issues that photographers have with this interview.

1.  Their images were used without their exclusive permission.  Yes, they were.  But isn’t this illegal?  No, it is not.  Please research for yourself, and stop taking the word of other photographers who do not know any better.    Research media fair use and educational fair use.   Easiest solution to the photographers:  If you do not want people to discuss your work, do NOT post your work publicly on this thing called the WORLD WIDE web.  If you have any images that you feel could spark negative controversy and you don’t want negative controversy,  why do you post them?  Many times, photographers post these type of images just to get their egos stroked.  Sometimes it goes all wrong, and then they are all upset.   My question – what did you think was going to happen?   I’ve had people email me quite a few times and state that my images were used at a university to discuss lighting.  Am I up in arms about this?  They don’t have my permission.  But I’m not angry because I have long understood -  fair use.   I don’t expect it to not be public if I’ve posted it publicly.

2.  But every image shown was not broken down to discuss whether it was safe or not!  What did you expect?  It’s like a five-minute segment.  To break down every single image would have taken hours.  Plus, the media has to dumb-it-down for TV.  Sad, but true.  People expect to be somewhat entertained by the news stories that come up on their precious TV screen and they don’t have very long attention spans.  If the reporters would have started discussing the intricacies of PhotoShop and composite work, they would have lost their audience.

3.   Identifying watermarks were removed.  Here’s where everyone involved in this report is damned if they do and damned if they don’t.   You really wanted your watermark to be left on?  REALLY?  Let’s think about this.  If your watermark was left on, you would have then been angry if your image wasn’t shown that it was indeed a composite.  How did you want this done?  Did you want to show how it was done?  Are you upset that you aren’t getting credit on TV?   This is a five-minute segment, people…. we’ve already addressed that this needs to be a clean, simple, easy-to-understand story.  The news station needed images that appear unsafe.  Public images were used to convey this off of Pinterest.  And keep in mind, lots of times, logos from brands are removed or blurred on TV where the company is not a sponsor or advertiser with the station.   Oh, didn’t think of that?  But a Coca Cola can can be on screen, red and white design in full view, but the logo removed or blurred.  *gasp*…. but why isn’t Coke suing the station as many of these photographers have threatened to do?  It’s THEIR product, and THEIR copyright, right?  *sigh*

Consider this:  Your client base has no idea that your images were used on Milwaukee TV.  In fact, what makes you think that anyone (besides photographers) might recognize your images from this interview?  Why do you think that your images do not look like everyone else’s out there.  There’s nothing new and extraordinary about what was shown on TV.  The images are beautiful, but they look like everyone else’s.  Sorry, but they do.  If they didn’t, why was everyone contacting me telling me that was my guitar shot?  Cause it’s been done, over and over again.

If you are worried that your images may appear unsafe to your customers because this story was shown somewhere that you do not live or work mind you, why not address it publicly on your blog, site, or Facebook? Just say – hey, I want all my clients to know, that I am seriously about baby safety, and address that you do composites.  Is this so hard to do?

4.   Joy is just jealous.   This is completely laughable.   Thousands of Facebook fans that are other photographers or drama-seeking gawkers does not make bank.  Joy has real clients and established herself a long long time ago as a success.  Did Joy claim these images as her own? No, she did not.  This is one of the biggest lies being circulated right now.  Get some Q-tips, clean out your ears, and listen to the story again.  She claims that these are the images that her clients are bringing to her from Pinterest.  The only image in that interview that was claimed to be Joy’s was the last one with baby awake.

Keep in mind, Joy is not the one that edited this story.  If you have ever been involved in a media story, like I have (TV and New York Times interviews – that was a disaster, if anyone remembers it), you know that you have ZERO control over the story.

So let’s sum this up.  What was this story really about?  If you are a photographer, you think it was some sort of conspiracy.  If you are a non-photographer, you see the following:   There’s a new trend in picture taking where newborn images are being created that look unsafe.  While beautiful and artistic, these images are all over Pinterest and photographers like Joy are getting clients bringing in their Pinterest images and asking to have these duplicated.   Because these images appear unsafe, Joy does not want to do them; however, it is mentioned that even though they look unsafe, many of these images are indeed a combination of images composited together in PhotoShop (oops, almost lost the audience by even mentioning that cause we’re getting a little too complicated there).  They wrap up the quick interview with this message.  Parents, please make sure that your baby is safe, and you aren’t risking your baby’s safety for a picture.  It also touched on the idea that many non-photographers may see these images and think they can duplicate them at home, not understanding that PhotoShop and safety precautions were used.  This is indeed something of concern.

I remember months ago, photographers were out with their pitchforks stating that babies must be kept safe, and something must be done.  We must get the media’s attention and get the message out that photographers are putting babies in unsafe situations.

Fast forward, guess what, we FINALLY have some media attention over this.  This should be one closer step to helping our industry.   Now everyone is out with their pitchforks again because instead of understanding that yes, this is good, we can finally get parents to start thinking about using a professional over an amateur, and we can finally start getting parents to think about whether or not their baby is safe in certain photographers’ hands…. well, instead, we are angry because we didn’t get acknowledgement of our amazing work on TV (on local Milwaukee TV which is probably nowhere near you).    I know you are used to getting pats on the back for your beautiful newborn work, and this comes as a shock to you that your images may appear, on the surface, unsafe.  But guess what, they do.  My images look unsafe as well.  Please put your egos aside and realize that baby safety is definitely more important than not receiving the praise of a beautiful image with your logo clearly emphasized.

This is my guitar shot, and yes, it does appear unsafe.  Why would I think it doesn’t?  I obviously have an entire article HERE on how it was done, but I do not expect when the average person looks at this, that they would think it was safe.  I mean, let’s face it, people believe magazine covers and photos of famous people are real with no PhotoShop used.

 

Posted in Baby Newborn Safety Tagged , , , , |

10 Steps and a Reality Check for Business

April 11, 2012 by Jodie | 89 Comments

I’ve waited quite a while to write something about a recent situation.  I wanted time to cool off and really think it through before I reacted publicly.  This is a reality check.  I know many will not like what I have to say, but we can’t walk around being dreamers and oblivious to reality if we want to be a success.

A recent well-known photographer put out some sort of steps to success in this industry.  One of the steps bothered me.  It basically said to make lots of friends because friends are how you are going to get business.  Oh really?  So in other words, make a whole bunch of friends and use them?  No thank you.  Is that morally okay?  Use your friends?  I could get into that, but I’m going to bow out of that one because another step really REALLY bothered me.  That step was something like “offer 100 free sessions”.

Let’s discuss free sessions.  Yes, when you first begin as a photographer, you are going to need practice.  Practice on your own family and close friends (if they are okay with it), and practice on your pets, and practice on stationary objects.  You can even practice lighting on your kids’ dolls and teddy bears.  Practice.  Practice.  Practice.  So what happens when you want to build an online portfolio?  Well, I’m sure you have some images from those practice sessions with your friends and your own family, but you can offer portfolio building sessions to strangers, not for free of course because it still costs you.  If you offer free PBing sessions, you are actually paying those people to photograph them because you do have expenses of your own.  That’s really not okay.  The best thing you can do to ensure that you are keeping industry standards high and you aren’t harming the industry when you are PBing is by putting your pricing out there.  Display your “regular prices” and make those prices what a custom photographer’s pricing should be.  How do you come up with your pricing?  We go over that in the workshops, but you can also read all about business management because here’s how it is.  It’s really black and white.  You don’t look at everyone else’s pricing on other websites in your local area.  You also don’t pull them out of thin air. You actually do some math based on equations and your own personal situation that you would know in basic Business Management 101.   I’ll go into that later.

So if you have on one side of your pricing, “regular prices”…. the other side reads “portfolio building prices” where you can give them a hefty discount.  Why should you disclose both pricing structures?  So that everyone knows you are PBing.  Start your business with honesty – it’s a good foundation that you can grow it on.  With PBing prices, they are well aware that you are new and are working on your portfolio but your very low prices are not normal for the industry (thus helping to keep industry standards up) and also they know your pricing is going to change as you finish up your practice and are ready to be a regular business professional.  That leaves no surprises.  Your current PBing clients won’t be mad when you start into regular prices because they know it is going to happen eventually.

Let’s get back to that idea of giving away 100 free sessions.  Do NOT give away 100 free sessions.  That is (I’m sorry, I may get a bit rude here) the dumbest thing I have ever heard.  If you give away 100 free sessions, where will that leave you?  With your starry eyes and delusions of grandeur, you assume that means 100+ people will be turned onto your work, and they will love it so much, they will all become forever clients of yours.  REALITY CHECK:  Get a grip.  Reality is, you are a dime a dozen.  There are thousands of photographers in your own backyard, and chances are, you are not producing pictures that are all that different than what everyone else is producing.  I’m sorry, I know you hate me for saying that.

A year ago, I had that same slap in my face with reality.  I had an art buyer say to me something very close to this after I quoted her industry standard pricing – “I can get anyone to do this for cheap.  Your industry is a mess.”  WOW… yes, that slapped me so hard.   She knew she had the upper hand.  Why?  Because photographers are giving away everything for nothing and the general public knows this.  We are a laughing stock.  Photographers are becoming a joke.  There are people who are just photographer hopping right now, looking for those who are building their portfolios so that they can get something for nothing.

I love my customers.  I have some wonderful full-paying loyal customers.   For every great customer I have, though, I will get some of the craziest inquiries.  Total strangers offering their baby or child to me to photograph for free.  What?   Would you call your local hair salon and say, “Hey, I have some long hair, I’m going to offer you the opportunity to cut it and dye it for free.”  Would you contact your local car dealership and say, “Hey, I have a driver’s license, I’d like to take one of your cars home for free and enjoy it for years.”   It’s not the public’s fault that they get this perception that it is okay to contact photographers and think they are going to get free sessions because yes, they can call around and find a photographer that will do it for free or for very little because the photographers are like vultures – they will do anything to work for free (doesn’t make sense, does it?).   They are being trained to think that photographers really will do anything for a bit of nothing…. because there are so many that are doing just that.

So let’s get back to what would happen if you did give away 100 free sessions.  What would you actually get out of that?   You would work a full year — hours and hours and hours away from your family to go photograph everyone, to edit everything, for what?  For free.  Yes, you will work a full time job for a year for free.  Is that what you want?  What about all the customers you think you will have?  You will have zero.  Okay, maybe you will get 3 customers that come back.  Maybe.  If you are lucky.

But I got all this exposure from giving away all those sessions!   Yeah, you got exposure – bad exposure.   We have a minimum wage in the US for a reason – so that people aren’t taken advantage of, so people can actually make a wage and not be used for free.  You didn’t even have the decency to respect your own self cause you didn’t even pay yourself minimum wage.  Are you that desperate to be liked that you would sacrifice all your time with your family for total strangers?   If you teach the public that they can get it for free, you have devalued your hard work completely.  You have told those 100 people that you are willing to work for an entire year for free, therefore, what you do is not work, and it is not worth a dime.  They will tell their friends what a great deal they got from you.  Now you are nothing but the cheap or free photographer.  That’s not the reputation you want, and your first impression is what is going to last.

What did you just work for?  Pats on the back.  ”Wow, your images are beautiful.”  Why are photographers content to work for only pats on the back?  That is complete lack of common sense.  I have teenagers, and they would never work for pats on the back.  Would you go work at McDonalds for free?  Why not?  If you are willing to run a photography business for free, why wouldn’t you go serve burgers for free?

Let’s go back to your personal teen years.  If you were getting your first job, and your boss said, “oh, we don’t pay in money.  I will just stand there and tell you what a great job you are doing.  That’s okay with you, right?”  You would have never taken that job, now would you?  You have car insurance to pay?  You need to buy clothes?  You need money to go out on dates and socialize, right?  There is no way you would have taken a job just to hear “You do such a great job.”  Then why are you as a photographer, accepting only pats on the back for income?

Oh, you don’t NEED the money?  Your husband pays all the bills?  Oh, let me tell you, you need the money.  You are just not looking beyond today.  Those little kids you have running around?  They are going to cost you so much more as teens.   Braces are around $6,000+ right now.  Sports equipment is not cheap.  Shoes?  Clothes?  They won’t want those Walmart and Target clothes once they hit middle school, and don’t get me started on their appetites! haha!  Every teen needs a computer every few years.  College tuition?  oh my…… Why not start some college funds with that income?  Why not plan some amazing vacations with that extra income that will create amazing memories for your children, if you don’t “need the money”.  Why not put that money in a retirement plan?  You think your marriage is going to last forever?  I hope it does, I really do…. I hope mine lasts forever too…. but reality is, aren’t we at like 50% of all marriages don’t last anymore?   Please think beyond today and don’t get wrapped up in being paid with pats on the back – your own kids won’t accept that type of payment either when they get their first job.  They are smarter than that.

To wrap up, here are my 10 steps to starting out in business.

1.  LEARN BUSINESS MANAGEMENT.  (yes, I think this is the first thing you should learn, even before your camera so you know what you are getting into).  Read about it, go to classes about it, live and breathe it.   You don’t like business management?  No problem, don’t charge for your work, and do this as a hobby only.  Enjoy it.  If you are in this to be a business, proceed to step 2.

2.  LEARN YOUR CAMERA.  Learn everything about it.  Sleep with it next to you if you have to.  Shoot manual only.  Learn it til you know when you walk into a room what basic F-stop, shutter, and ISO you will need.

3.  LEARN PHOTOSHOP.  Read books.  Watch tutorials.  Learn how to pop an image in PS.  Don’t use it  to fix photos.  If you have to fix it, scrap it.  Reshoot it and shoot it right, then bring it in PhotoShop to pop it.  Do not rely on photoshop actions.

4.  MAKE A BUSINESS PLAN.  Calculate your salary.  Calculate what your yearly expenses will be.  Calculate your pricing for profit.  It’s black and white.  It really is.  The answer is not on someone else’s website.  The answer is not pulled out of thin air.  Your pricing is black and white, calculated from figures that only you know.   You would know exactly what I am talking about if you completed step one.  If you don’t know what I am talking about, go back to step one.

5.  GET LEGAL.  Get a sales tax ID, get a business license, acquire insurance (liability and malpractice), an accountant, and a lawyer.  Have your lawyer draw up contracts and any additional legal documents you will need.  That costs money?  Of course it does.  Do you think running a business is going to be free?  That’s why you charge money as a business – enough money to turn a good profit – to cover your salary AND business expenses.

6.   LEARN LIGHTING.  Learn how to shoot in other lighting conditions, not just natural light.  Learn off camera flash or strobes.  I know some of you are going to fight me on that one, but you really need to be able to know how to shoot in ANY condition even if you prefer natural light.  That’s what a professional does – they know their craft, and they are not willing to stop learning.

7.  PUT OUT YOUR SHINGLE.  Create a website.  Design business cards.

8.   BUY A BACKUP CAMERA.  *gasp*, that’s a lot of money!!!  Yeah, it is…. and you are charging money, so you are a professional, and you should have already built that expense into your pricing and your business plan, shouldn’t be a surprise, and shouldn’t be a financial hardship either.   That’s why it is so important to plan your business, not just jump into it.  Professionals don’t show up on the job without having a backup in case something goes wrong.  Your clients rely on you to complete a task and produce a product.

9.  EMBRACE YOUR COMMON SENSE.  Learn quickly that the internet is only about 10% reality when it comes to the photography industry.  That amazing photographer that is touring the world year round teaching workshops and talks about their 6 children and the fact that their husband works too?  Don’t expect to learn how to run a real portrait business from her or him.  They are not running one themselves.  Common sense.  You can’t be running a portrait business and taking care of 6 children AND touring the world at the same time.

10.   HAPPY BUSINESS MANAGEMENT!   You thought I was going to say Happy Shooting, right?  Well no, 85% of what you are going to do now is business management.  Only 15% of what you do from here on out will be actually taking pictures.  Try to come to terms with that at the very beginning, and you won’t be in for disappointment.

 

…..and because I don’t have any photos of Mother Theresa, I figured I would share the cutest puppy in the world…. ;)  

 

 

 

Posted in Photography Business, Photography Pricing

The Photography Industry is Calling Out for Help

March 9, 2012 by Jodie | Comments Off

New article, but decided to place it on my main blog – come take a look….    http://jodieotte.com/?p=752

Posted in Uncategorized

If Everything is Your Style, You Do Not Have a Style

February 15, 2012 by Jodie | 16 Comments

A question I hear a lot in this industry is “How do I find my style?”   I must hear this at least once every workshop that I teach.  It’s a great question, really.  However, the answer is so simple that it’s answered with a question.

“How do I find my style?”  My answer is:  ”What do you keep circling back to? THAT is your style”

I’m going to discuss newborn photography because that is 85% of what I do and because of how overwhelming and over-packed the newborn photography industry is, it’s an easier analogy to finding style, but this can be applied to all photography.

Quick Disclaimer:  I know some think I am downing on the idea of buying tons of props and fad items, right?  Honestly, it’s not that I am downing it, what I’m doing is encouraging newbies that they don’t have to spend all of their profit in order to be successful.

I saw Missy MWAC (do you know her?  If not, search her on Facebook – she makes me laugh.  I know some people aren’t happy with her satire, but I’m not some people.  I’m me.  And heck, I like it….. a lot!  Finally someone is willing to put a face to some of the absurdities of the industry.  Sometimes she says stuff that even steps on MY toes… hahaha!  But we need to look at our industry with humor.  Our industry is in a mess right now, and don’t let anyone tell you any different.  I’m not saying it can’t be survived, but if it walks like a duck, and it quacks like a duck…. it’s a duck, damnit!    Haha! But enough about that…..  Anyway, Missy MWAC posted about going to WPPI and seeing huge crowds around anything to do with babies – newborn props galore.    That spoke to me.  It told me that there is a major obsession going on with the latest and greatest newborn props.  Why?

Women are drawn to babies and all the adorable things associated with them.  And naturally, the majority of newborn photographers are women.

Wait. Stop.  Don’t lie.  You can’t tell me you haven’t walked past baby shoes, turned around and touched them, marveling at how tiny they are, and you know you felt that urge deep down inside to buy them, even though you have teenagers, one with a size 13 shoe, and your husband rolls his eyes….oops… sorry, that’s me…….  but I know you have felt similar.  Women are typically wired this way.  If they weren’t, we wouldn’t keep having babies, would we?

So with all the prop choices out there – wraps, hats, headbands, fluff, blankets, backgrounds, baskets, bowls, buckets, etc., it gets overwhelming, doesn’t it?  What about baby poses? O.M.G.  Babies are curled, babies are hung, babies are stretched out, babies are pushed and prodded, balanced on their hands, on their elbows, on their sides, legs are being pulled and poked, and arms are being bent and squished.

Overwhelming, for sure.  Because of how overwhelming that particular subject is, I figured that is the best way to be a little more clear about how to find your style in an extreme such as that.

So how do you go about finding yourself  in this whirlwind of stuff….. and more stuff?  I’m sure you got into this industry going “I MUST DO EVERYTHING!!!!”  So you started buying everything in sight.  ”Oh that’s cute, I must have…”  ”Ahh!  The adorable-ness is killing me!  Must have that!” “Awwwww… my heart melts, how much is that?  Oh who cares, it must be mine!!!”

Whoah, wait, back up a minute.  You are going to lose yourself.

There are always a few things that immediately scream to you.  Start using them in photo sessions.  Get bored?  Add a few more things.  But after each shoot, while you are weeding through your images, take out the ones you immediately get a feeling of “oh I like this” and put copies into a favorites folder.  After a few weeks or months, you notice that you keep circling back to certain colors, to certain textures, even to certain poses.   Stand back and look at your work.    What are your favorite images?   Is there a common theme in them?  Put aside the props and colors and items that you haven’t shown in your “favorites”.  I dare you to not touch them for two months.  Revisit.   Did you miss them?  I bet you didn’t miss most of them.  If you didn’t miss them, toss them or sell them back to the photography community because what you are doing is narrowing down your style.  You are now so close to realizing your true style.

Let’s simply discuss colors.  Do you have to have one of every color of everything?  No, you don’t.  Only keep the colors that you have that feeling about.  You don’t have to offer every single thing that has ever been created and sold on Etsy to your clients.  By all means, if they bring something that is personal to THEM, use it for them; shoot it.  But everything does not have to be your style.  ***If everything is your style, you don’t have a style***.

I’ve noticed that my photography style carries on to my real life.  My entire house has been painted in the same colors that I use most in my images.  The way my rooms are decorated are the ways in which I crop and utilize props in my photos.  I even dress in those same colors and accent with the same textures in my boots (ahh yes… boots…..) and hand bags.

I encourage you to be true to yourself.  I remember when I started into studio work, I saw some images of little girls on hot pink backdrops that I found were really cute.  Well, I had to get one of every color.  So there in my studio sat hot pink, light pink, lavender, bright purple, teal, and aqua for years.  I tried using them once or twice, and ended up just realizing I didn’t get the same feeling about them that I did about my natural colors and wood textured floors, etc.   That was the lightbulb moment that I realized I had to be true to myself; what I kept circling back to, was my style.  The rest?  Can be disposed of.

Now that you have discovered your style, is it bad to box yourself in?  I use the same types of backdrops in my shoots almost all the time.  I use the same types of props, occasionally adding in something new.  Well that’s where the creativity comes in.  I have a set number of floors and backdrops, and I mix and match just those select ones back and forth.  I also use light to make them darker or lighter.  I use the lines in the flooring to change directions and pull to the subject.   So when I stand back and look at my collection of work I see that it all meshes together.  While all the images are different, the underlying feel is the same.  There are no images of mine that look like they are completely out of place with the others – even when I change locations and shoot outdoors.  When I’m outdoors, I naturally seek out a certain type of light, and a certain type of setting – all cohesive with my indoor use of light and sets.   It’s not something that you need to necessarily think about all the time.  It’s a feeling.  You FEEL it inside.  You FEEL what you are drawn to.  Acknowledge that feeling, listen to that feeling, don’t fight against it or ignore it.

So let’s talk about everyone else’s work.  Should you be constantly watching what everyone else does?  I’m not saying don’t look at others’ work if you are in the mood to, but that can be a hindrance to you finding your style.  Once you have your style, you get stronger in  your work.  You focus on making the images themselves stronger, not just worrying about what new prop you are going to use next.  You are searching for that feel of your style.  That is what makes you a strong artist.

When you look at someone else’s image, and you think “oh, I like that”… don’t mistake THAT feeling for the feeling you have when you look at your own work and say “I like that”.  Instead, look at your own work and examine it – acknowledge why you like something you did, or why you didn’t like something you did.  Sometimes inspiration from other photographers’ work will sway you away from what YOUR style is.

There are a few newborn photographers that I do truly love their work, although it is not my style; it’s still completely beautiful.  Unfortunately, I see many photographers copy it to the point where everything is starting to look the same throughout pockets of the industry.  If there are that many photographers with the exact same style, I really feel that some aren’t being true to themselves.  There should not be that many people with the same. exact. style.   We are all individuals.  If you want to stand out and be strong, focus on you.  You are selling you.  If you are true to  you, you will stand out.  Trying to do what other photographers do will hold you back.  Overwhelming industry?  You HAVE to find a way to stand out. Everyone circles back to something, something that they are drawn to – embrace it, embrace you.

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A little background information…. and newbies vs. oldies

January 29, 2012 by Jodie | 1 Comment

I’ve been asked multiple times my background so I’m going to start with that, and then drift off of that subject….

My background is art. I did not simply start out as a photographer.  I did not magically pick up a camera one day and decide I wanted to be a photographer.   I did not have a glorious angel appear before me in a moment of despair and declare my career fate.  (Although I have to admit,  I did see some golden rays of light and  hear a chorus from the heavens when I pulled my first Nikon D series camera out of the box…)

So yeah….going back quite a few years….  I bought my first film SLR (a Minolta – I liked the name ha!) when I was 16 years old.  I bought it because photography intrigued me, and I enjoyed taking photos, but my real love was painting portraits, sculpture, and building things, not pressing a button.  There is nothing I enjoyed more than taking a canvas and creating a portrait in oils (ahhh… how I loved the smell of linseed, oil paints, and turpentine), or carefully selecting my pastel colors (that I obsessive-compulsively kept in a certain hue order in wooden trays) to apply to Mi-Tientes paper.  I still have them… I can’t part with them even though I do not paint portraits anymore….


I’ve never had the artist brain completely, I also naturally had a business brain – I think it is because I studied realism more than anything else and applied realism in every aspect of my life.  I didn’t create abstract craziness, I focused on reality only.  I tried to “make a living” painting portraits, and soon discovered although people appreciated talent, they were not willing to pay for the 25+ hours that I would put into one 16×20 portrait.  I managed to charge $100 for that 25 hours.  I learned in my late teens very quickly that minus the supplies, I was barely earning $3/hour.   Art supplies are not cheap!  My business side of my brain, said – no way.  I soon dropped that and “got real” and worked “a real job” (administrative assistant, medical transcriptionist, etc.) until I began to burn out, bored out of my mind and needing to get back into art.   I contemplated again painting portraits, but unwilling to live the life of a starving artist, I picked up my camera, fine-tuned my craft, and opened up business knowing that a click of the shutter and “polishing” the images on my computer, was so much more modern than going back to the old hammer and chisel.

When I first opened my photography business, I was the only *visible* maternity/newborn photographer in the Baltimore area.  Now?  Now there are thousands in the Baltimore area.  15 years ago, Baltimore custom photographers once charged $250 for a session only, nothing included.  Many received regular orders in the $7,000 range.  Now there are hundreds of photographers in the Baltimore area selling it all for $150.   15 years, prices of everything in life went up, but prices for custom photographers went down.  What happened?  Oversaturation.  That’s a scary word for a lot of people including me, but —- Is that the end of the world?  No, it’s not.

There’s a little divide in our photography industry that I would like to address before I write more business articles.  The divide is between the “oldies” and the “newbies”.  The funny thing is, I don’t really consider myself an “oldie” as I have been full-time 8 years, and I know there are photographers out there that have been full-time two or three times longer than me.  However, I have watched the changing of our industry quite a bit.

Here are the problems between the newbies and the oldies….  with the advancing technology of DSLRs, the average consumer can own one.  Because we no longer work in the darkroom, but in PhotoShop, more people are getting into business, trying to “make a dime” in these harder economic times.  The problem is, many of the “oldies” are oldies because they have spent years refining their craft and developing their businesses with strong business ethics and full business management skills.   SOME (not all) newbies show up, and have the drive and passion to create beautiful work, but many really do not care to understand business management and therefore do not price for profit, but only price to support their hobby only without a salary, because many are so wrapped up in the glamorous vision of being a photographer.

I just heard a bunch of feathers being ruffled.  Bear with me?  Please?  ;)

With the popularity of online forums and social networking, the new photographers tend (and I know, I’m generalizing, that doesn’t mean all are like this) to get wrapped up into receiving pats on the back and “you are amazing” as payment for their work, not so much concern about receiving an actual salary for their hard work.

There is something to be said about the innocence of just starting out, having that drive and passion.  It’s a wonderful place to be in.  It’s very positive and glorious.  So when as a newbie, you see the oldies get frustrated and grumpy, you  may not exactly understand why.  Therefore you may bristle immediately and put a wall up.

Here’s what’s going on.  There are some amazingly talented new photographers out there, that truly do not understand their worth.  They get compliments for their beautiful work, but deep down inside, they feel “but I’m still new, how on earth can I command prices of those who have been in business for 30 years?”  I understand that, I really do.  If you are an artist, you are always your worst critic.  You feel like you are never good enough.  I’m telling you, I look at my work sometimes and go – wow, I love this… and two weeks later I say to myself – what was I thinking?  I don’t like this… it’s not good enough.  We ALL go through that, and if you are waiting for that feeling to go away, it won’t.  You will be waiting forever.

What the oldies get frustrated with is when they receive phone calls from a client, and the client asks “why don’t I get the digital files for the price of the session fee?  They aren’t included?”  So the consumer feels that they are being ripped off.  The photographer feels that they are being undervalued by the consumer because the photographer doesn’t want to make less than minimum wage by giving it all away for so little.  Many oldies have priced a certain way in order to maintain their business expenses (and photography equipment is EXPENSIVE) and give themselves a reasonable salary for their hard work.  Many new photographers are pricing very very low.  (I’m not going to get into pricing in this article – I go over pricing strategies in all kinds of markets in my workshop).   I don’t think any of them mean to undermine the industry.  I think many just do not understand their true value.  They don’t even realize how talented they are and amazing their work truly is, and they also may not understand how to price in order to keep funding the expenses of being in business, and also that their salary has to come separate and over above their business expenses.

It’s unfortunate that it becomes “bad blood” between the newbies and the oldies.   What I’m trying to do in my articles is express some basic industry thoughts and try to help new photographers understand the mechanics of running their businesses in order to be one of the 5% to succeed, and maybe we as an industry can eventually increase that statistic?   I truly do not have any problems with new photographers.  We were all new once, I get that.  I lost clients when I finally realized that I had to up my prices because I wasn’t turning a profit.  I’ve been through those hard times of being a newbie.   Now I do add a little fun, a little sarcasm to my posts, and I think sometimes the humor is not understood.  I hope to encourage new photographers to not put the walls up, and when they do read or hear certain things from the oldies, that they take what they say from the experience that they have and either listen, store it away in case they need it one day, or discard it but not to be so defensive.  And in turn, I hope that the oldies can get out there and find a way to educate and help this industry stay valued, but still understanding where the newbies are coming from.

But on the flip side, I’ve also seen newbies get angry with the oldies for not having that carefree passion anymore.   Why wouldn’t you want to do photography just to give back, just to give your gift of talent to everyone you come in contact with and make it available to all consumers…. you should want to give it away for free, because it’s amazing.

Well, it’s not as easy as that…

Years ago, a photographer told the dramatic story of why she was a photographer.  The crowd was riveted, hanging on her every word; I even saw a few tears.  As she wrapped up, she turned to me and said, “Jodie, why are you a photographer?”  I looked around, knowing damn well what was going to come out of my mouth before I could even think about how it may be received and I couldn’t stop myself.  I simply said,

“My name is Jodie.  I’ve been a full-time photographer for X amount of years.  I’m a photographer…. for the money.”

I heard a gasp… and a low rumble…. But I did see a few smiles….

There’s nothing wrong with going into business “for the money”.  Believe me, I love making a connection with a client, I love producing images that the parents love, but when it comes down to it, I’m working to pay my bills.  I have to.  I can’t give everything away for very little or for free, and then have my children look at me like  ”Hey, mom, what’s for dinner?”  or “Hey mom, where are you all the time? What do you mean I can’t have a new pair of shoes?  You are always working….”  For some reason, in the photography world, it is expected that we are doing this for “fun”, and the element of needing to pay our bills is somewhat lost.

But when you are new, it really is fun, isn’t it?  I get that.  I really do.   When I am writing these articles or teaching my workshops, I’m speaking to the photographers who are new, and who love what they do, but are ready to give themselves a salary.   The ones that are ready to take that next step, and turn their love into a business, a business that provides for them financially.    I’m not out to take the love or passion of photography away from you.  Enjoy it.  If you are doing this as a hobby only, again, as I always say, enjoy it, but understand that there are some that are working this into a business, and that’s okay too….

I am disabling comments on this post.  I do not want this to become a newbie vs. oldie battle.  It doesn’t need to be like that.  I encourage you, no matter what mindset you are in, or what level of photography you are in, or however many years of experience you have, to always value this industry regardless, because valuing it will only keep it a wonderful thing for everyone involved.

Posted in Photography Business Tagged , , , |

Simple… is underrated.

January 25, 2012 by Jodie | 40 Comments

Despite my umm…. shall I say “concern” for this industry that you will see come out on my personal Facebook as well as through other conversations I have with fellow photographers, I actually keep my head buried in the sand quite a bit when it comes to the latest fads and trends.  I really don’t spend time looking at other photographers’ work.  I ignore it for three reasons – ONE fads and trends annoy me,  TWO I want to stay true to myself , [yes I’m an oxford comma kinda gal] and THREE I flat out don’t have time.

But the other day,  I was looking for a specific prop online, and ended up on Etsy.  *Big Sigh*  Frankly, that is where I spent hours that day.  It actually made me just a slight bit ill but that may just have been from eye strain.  The same props being cycled over and over… same prop, different seller, over and over and over again.   I mean, it’s to the point where there are people buying adult leg warmers, splitting the pair up, and selling each one as a “newborn wrap” to the hungry masses of newborn photographers.  Is that what our industry has become?  I’d be a little afraid my client would say, “Did you just put my baby in a leg warmer?  I have that leg warmer at home!”

No, I never did find exactly what I was looking for, but I’m so surprised at the amount of props being used.   I personally keep prop use to a minimum during my sessions.  I use them, but you will normally see up to three prop items per session of 40-50 images.  It’s not that I don’ t like them – I mean, who wouldn’t love an adorable elf hat on such a sweet little baby, but I have found that unless the prop has a special meaning to the parent,  it’s not usually an image that sells well.

Buckeye Pro Imaging (check them out, especially if you love Fuji Paper like I do which I find is perfect for Nikon shooters) sponsored me to speak on newborn photography at the Professional Photographers of Ohio convention out in Sandusky last year.   I had a few canvases placed around the room.  Each canvas was a sleeping newborn with a cool prop.   After my speech, several photographers mentioned “That’s a beautiful image, I bet that sold big.”  I replied with a smile, “Nope!”  That was received with a slight look of shock, then confusion.   I said, “In all honesty, these do not sell well.  Do you know what sells well?  Babies with eyes open, centered, no props.”

That is against every regurgitated newborn posing workshop being crammed down everyone’s throat right now, isn’t it?   but it’s true.

FACT:  We as photographers LOVE props, cool posing, and sleeping babies.  I know I do!  Some photographers are willing to spend 4 hours (oh no, that’s not me) just to get sleeping shots.

FACT:  Images that have a connection with the parents are what sells big.  That could be eyes open connected with the viewer, that could be baby on blanket that grandma knitted before she passed away, or that could be mom and dad smiling lovingly down at their new precious little one.   By rare exception does that big sale involve baby wrapped in a….. a…..[eyebrows slightly raised]… a leg warmer with a big-eared animal hat plopped on her head.

Newsflash:  It is very important to be in tune with your clients and your trending sales, not necessarily the trending props.

My clients are great.  I have a lot of clients that are in the art field.  Having the art background that I do, I love this.  A client, who is an amazing graphic designer, recently contacted me and requested that I photograph his 3-week-old son with only a white background and black background, no props.  Awesome – or as he said when  I told him I could fit him in a last minute appointment, “awesomeness on a stick” haha!  I love concentrating on baby only, and leaving all the fluff out.  Babies are truly beautiful by themselves and really don’t need to be decorated.  Sure, have fun with some props here and there, but focus on what your clients REALLY want to see – their beautiful newborn, sweet and perfect.

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Posted in Photography Business, Photography Props Tagged , , , |

Business Pants

January 24, 2012 by Jodie | 18 Comments

I wanted to start out this blog with some order – meaning, when I discussed business, I wanted to start at more of a ‘beginning’ to business.  But that was all holding me back from just spewing what I’m thinking.   I tend to see something online that is a pet peeve of mine, and it triggers inner dialog with myself.  Yes, inside my head.  It’s true.  I talk to myself.  I promise not outloud, just inside my head….. Maybe they are voices, and you can just call me crazy or maybe it’s just the way my brain works – I try to understand what people are thinking and I analyze it.  So I figured what best way to write articles pertaining to the industry but just to type out the dialog in my brain.

I have been accused of being negative when I discuss the photography industry, and I don’t believe it’s so much negative as it is just trying to understand the whys – why do people do this?  why do people do that? and that turns into – why do I do what I do?  I think when you question different things, it resolves the whys but it also will either give you something else to apply to your business or it just solidifies your business practices or your take on business.  So I believe that my ramblings can be turned around to the positive in that, I’d love to help others get more business savvy.

So let my ramblings begin…  Starting with….  Business Pants.

There is nothing that grates on my nerves more (okay, maybe there are other things right up there too haha) than reading these words from a photographer, “My husband let me buy _____”   Lenses, new camera, you can fill in the blank.   When I read that,  I realize one very important fact.  This photographer does not have her Business Pants on.  I do understand that if you are a beginner, yes, you will have to make some investments that will come out of your pocket, and I do understand the excitement of buying something new, and how nice it is when your husband supports what you do, but more often than not, I see this from photographers who call themselves “professional” or are taking money from clients (which if you are charging, you are a professional).   Your husband, unless he is a business partner, really isn’t the one that should be “okaying” your business expenses.  YOU should be the one looking at your income/expenses/salary and after you have paid YOURSELF a salary  – you know, an hourly wage for the work you are doing (an hourly wage fit for a business owner, mind  you, not minimum wage).  Now that salary can help to pay your mortgage or used at the grocery store, or even for vacation, etc., but it should NOT be used to pay your business expenses.

Do I talk to my husband about what I spend?  Sometimes…. if it is a new $5,000 camera, I will probably get excited about it and tell him I can’t wait to use it, but I don’t ask him if I can buy it.  How would he know if my business can buy it or not?  He doesn’t know how much money my business brings in on a day to day basis and how much of it is set aside for business expenses.   He’s not a partner in my business.  He has his own career.  He is my husband, and I love him dearly, but unless he’s a legal business partner and gets a salary from J. Otte Photography, he is not the decision maker for my business.    He is, however, interested in my salary because my salary helps pay our personal bills.

Rule #1 – separate your salary from your business expenses.  Your business brings in money.  Not all of that is your salary.  You pay yourself first.   After you are done paying yourself  a reasonable and fair wage, you then have the rest of the money to re-invest into your business or in other words, buy those business toys you have been drooling over, like lenses, cameras, and those millions of props you are obsessed with.

and here come the butts…errr….. I mean buts….

“BUT if I paid myself a salary separately, I wouldn’t have enough money to buy lenses and stuff!”  Well if this is the case, you are not charging enough for your work to support your business, and I’m sad to say, you are heading down that road of being one of the 95% of small businesses that fail.

“BUT I love photography so much, it is my PASSION, buying a new lens is for ME!  It’s fun for me!”  Well if that’s the way you feel, please consider calling yourself a hobbiest, and be clear to your clients that you are not doing this as a professional business so that if you ever decide to quit photography, your clients won’t go to someone else and get shell-shocked that a professional is charging way more than you are.  It’s just a matter of respect for the industry really…   there is nothing wrong with loving photography and wanting to live and breathe it, but some of us are out here struggling to support our families on it, and it is very important in this digital age, to keep valuing what we do.  It’s good for everyone – the hobbiest to the professional to have this industry valued.

I get it, I love buying toys, I absolutely love lenses – in fact, I should show my entire arsenal of lenses haha!  (okay, I’ll post the last picture I took, so I’ve added to this since then….just to show I’m a bit of an addict too)

I LOVE buying new “toys”, but here’s the fact.  If you want to be a business owner, and you want to keep your business afloat in this shaky economy, you must separate your business from personal, and re-look at your bottom line figures and if your business is not bringing in enough to provide you with a salary and provide you enough money to purchase tools for your trade separately, you are going to have to make some decisions -  either designate yourself as a hobbiest (nothing wrong with this – if you want to do what you love and don’t care about the business aspect, have fun! ENJOY yourself!) or re-evaluate your pricing or methods of doing business to maximize your business profit so you can both pay yourself a salary AND afford business expenses, and the two of those should not mix.

An example of mixing the two — I had a photographer tell me that she was very happy with her salary – she made $50/hour (part time) and was so happy….. but she went on to say she was happy because she was able to buy that lens she wanted with the money she earned for the past few months.  Um.  Hold up, wait a minute…… No.  If you spent all the money that came into the business on a lens, that means that you have made a decision that those hours you put in WORKING (yes, anything that takes you away from your family or personal time is WORK and should be compensated)  for the past few months was worth $0/hour.  You just valued YOU and your hard work at $0/hour.   You put your business expenses before your salary.  Do you know anyone else that would work for a few months for $0/hour?  My kids won’t even model for me without compensation.  Can teens be smarter than adults when it comes to knowing simply that if they are going to work, they should get paid?  It is really that simple of a concept that doesn’t get lost on even children.

I’ve also seen “Guess what I got for Christmas!”  Good lord, ladies, ask for something that’s a gift for YOU, not a business expense!   :D

Disclaimer:  I’m not out to be harsh at all, these are things that I have learned over the years myself.  I have been a business owner for 15 years.  I’ve been in the same shoes as a lot of you.  I have learned that we as women tend to run our businesses with emotion and not as much with our brains.  It’s true.  I’ve been there.  I just want to help others see that you are worth a real salary.  You are a business owner.  You do real work.  You probably do more work than your spouse, am I right?  Running a business AND maintaining your household.  You are worth so much more than you give yourself credit for.  Get those business pants on and make some business decisions!

Jodie Otte

J. Otte Photography

Jodie Otte Blog

Workshops

Posted in Photography Business, Photography Pricing Tagged , , , , |

Welcome!

January 11, 2012 by Jodie | Comments Off

Hello and welcome to the workshop blog!  I’m excited to start writing articles, articles all about our industry.   I’m sure to ruffle some feathers like I always do when I tell it like it is, so stay-tuned.  I hope to get the first article out this weekend.  Some titles that you will see in the next coming weeks will be “Mad Scientist or Newborn Photographer?”, “Now Come On!, Do You Really Think That is Necessary?”  haha – yes, this will be a lot of fun.  Come back and check ;)

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