L
ast night on the Facebook page, I opened up the floor for questions... about anything!!! To say that the questions were GREAT questions would be an understatement!!!! If you'd like to see more posts like this -- please let me know in the comment section below!!! If this is beneficial, I'd LOVE to make this a regular post for the blog!!! Thanks in advance for letting me know =)
Uhm.... this question made me smile SO big. You're awesome for still being here if you saw my work before 2012! HA!
EVERYTHING has changed!!!! The biggest (and scariest) decision I made at the beginning of 2012, was to announce that I was officially "specializing"! I announced that I was no longer the photographer for 'everyone'... I wasn't a family and child photographer... and I didn't want to photograph guy seniors anymore.. of course there are always exceptions for close friends and family... but these were not my specialties!
I'm pretty sure that I turned down and referred more clients this year than I actually photographed.... THAT has been the biggest change for me... and my business.
When you follow your passion.. people can see it... And what I love hearing most is when someone says that they can 'see' the passion in my work... that they can 'see' how much I love my job... Gah!! I just love that.. because I do love this 'job' of mine... and I am sooo passionate about it!
I was tired of photographing things just because people were asking me.... thinking I 'had' to be a photographer for 'everyone'...
So, I learned how to say 'no' in 2012!
EVERYTHING has changed!!!! The biggest (and scariest) decision I made at the beginning of 2012, was to announce that I was officially "specializing"! I announced that I was no longer the photographer for 'everyone'... I wasn't a family and child photographer... and I didn't want to photograph guy seniors anymore.. of course there are always exceptions for close friends and family... but these were not my specialties!
I'm pretty sure that I turned down and referred more clients this year than I actually photographed.... THAT has been the biggest change for me... and my business.
When you follow your passion.. people can see it... And what I love hearing most is when someone says that they can 'see' the passion in my work... that they can 'see' how much I love my job... Gah!! I just love that.. because I do love this 'job' of mine... and I am sooo passionate about it!
I was tired of photographing things just because people were asking me.... thinking I 'had' to be a photographer for 'everyone'...
So, I learned how to say 'no' in 2012!
Gah... such an important question!!!! Like I mentioned above, I learned how to say 'no' this year... and that in itself is KEY to not overworking...
But uh..... it's 12:26 am and I'm still working! So I'm still trying to give myself a 'work curfew'! But my advice is to schedule in advance... Want a date night... put it on the calendar! Photographers live their lives by a calendar -- so if date night.. or cuddle time isn't on the calendar, you'll likely fill up that day with a shoot or a wedding!!!!
This isn't to say you should have to put 'cuddling' on the calendar every day to snuggle up... but be realistic!!! Chase just switched to second shift so I'm able to work later at night... mornings will now be Chase + Sharon time!!! I used to write my blog posts in the mornings, but now that he's on night shift -- I can write my blog posts at night for the next day!!! This will ensure I get my morning love-time!
When it comes to wedding season -- this past fall burnt me out!!! I was so nervous about going full-time, that I just kept booking.. and booking.. and booking! That is NOT happening in 2013! I am taking on a very limited number of weddings.. and forcing myself to stick to it!!! If I start wanting to book more -- I'll remind myself that I got no 'Chase' time this past fall... we barely spent any weekend time together... with my weddings.. and his hunting... it was game-over! hee!
And because I'm feeling a need to ramble (ha, sorry) -- if your kids or your husband say they miss you... That's your cue to get the heck off the computer and go spend time with them.. No ifs ands or buts!!!! And if this happens often -- revisit your calendar because something isn't working well enough to keep the balance! =)
But uh..... it's 12:26 am and I'm still working! So I'm still trying to give myself a 'work curfew'! But my advice is to schedule in advance... Want a date night... put it on the calendar! Photographers live their lives by a calendar -- so if date night.. or cuddle time isn't on the calendar, you'll likely fill up that day with a shoot or a wedding!!!!
This isn't to say you should have to put 'cuddling' on the calendar every day to snuggle up... but be realistic!!! Chase just switched to second shift so I'm able to work later at night... mornings will now be Chase + Sharon time!!! I used to write my blog posts in the mornings, but now that he's on night shift -- I can write my blog posts at night for the next day!!! This will ensure I get my morning love-time!
When it comes to wedding season -- this past fall burnt me out!!! I was so nervous about going full-time, that I just kept booking.. and booking.. and booking! That is NOT happening in 2013! I am taking on a very limited number of weddings.. and forcing myself to stick to it!!! If I start wanting to book more -- I'll remind myself that I got no 'Chase' time this past fall... we barely spent any weekend time together... with my weddings.. and his hunting... it was game-over! hee!
And because I'm feeling a need to ramble (ha, sorry) -- if your kids or your husband say they miss you... That's your cue to get the heck off the computer and go spend time with them.. No ifs ands or buts!!!! And if this happens often -- revisit your calendar because something isn't working well enough to keep the balance! =)
So.. back to the question... I can honestly say that the challenges you face with Sony are less than they were. Sony used to have low ISO performance -- which isn't a big deal to portrait shooters, but for us wedding photogs - it's a big deal. BUT their incredible new technology paired with awesome high ISO performance is hard to beat these days!!! The new a99 camera is an INCREDIBLE camera -- the viewfinder even has an electronic view-finder.. GAH!!!! Sony got camera of the year last year -- and they're well on their way to doing it again! -high five-
BUT... Sony doesn't really have a great line of flashes and up until the a99 -- the hotshoe brackets have been opposite of Canon/Nikon making it 'annoying' to use off camera flash (OCF)... before the a99 you had to purchase a hotshoe mount adapter to use the other brand's flashes (which are definitely better quality than Sony's) !!!! It's definitely 'doable' but more of a hassle!
I could write an entire post on this question -- suchhhh a great question!!! Let me first preface this by saying, by no means am I a 'tax guru' and yes I have hired an accountant. I could hug him -- he keeps me sane!!!
He keeps track of my books year round -- every month I give him all of my statements and records and he figures up all of the numbers for me (the hard stuff - whew thanksweetbabyjesus)... and he even files my sales tax every month (hallelujah)!!!! At the end of every year, he's even my hubby's tax guy!!! I don't outsource much in my business -- but I realized that because taxes and all of that mumbo-jumbo wasn't my strong suit... I had to outsource!!! I'd rather pay each month then have something go terribly wrong in that department!
So when I first started out -- I was shooting 'for fun'... anything that I made I listed it on my end of the year taxes under "hobby"... It was maybbeee a hundred bucks or so from people tipping me for the crappy pictures I gave them (ha - love them for that).... as soon as I started charging though, I got a business license... had no idea what I was doing.. but I was 'officially' a business!!! I was so scared the IRS was going to point me out and come get me... so I 'got legal'!!!
He keeps track of my books year round -- every month I give him all of my statements and records and he figures up all of the numbers for me (the hard stuff - whew thanksweetbabyjesus)... and he even files my sales tax every month (hallelujah)!!!! At the end of every year, he's even my hubby's tax guy!!! I don't outsource much in my business -- but I realized that because taxes and all of that mumbo-jumbo wasn't my strong suit... I had to outsource!!! I'd rather pay each month then have something go terribly wrong in that department!
So when I first started out -- I was shooting 'for fun'... anything that I made I listed it on my end of the year taxes under "hobby"... It was maybbeee a hundred bucks or so from people tipping me for the crappy pictures I gave them (ha - love them for that).... as soon as I started charging though, I got a business license... had no idea what I was doing.. but I was 'officially' a business!!! I was so scared the IRS was going to point me out and come get me... so I 'got legal'!!!
Love this question Erin!!! The best way to become a second shooter -- is to simply ask!!! Make sure you know your camera gear inside and out... make sure you can operate under a ton of pressure -- because weddings are super stressful.. but other than that, it's really just about putting yourself out there!!! I would recommend emailing photographers that you love and offering to assist them at weddings... in fact, don't even bring your camera -- sit back and watch... soak it all in... I learned things the hard-way.. I really wish I had just tagged along for a few weddings.. then went on to second shooting.. and THENNNN starting shooting weddings on my own.. but because I'm stubborn, I didn't ask great questions like this one!!! As a matter of fact, I am often looking for assistants at weddings -- so feel free to shoot me an email =)
Yayy -- really glad you asked this... this is by far the number one most asked question!!!! So, I've written a few 'business' blogs recently... you can check out how I got started... how I branded myself... and what I think the mistakes photographers make are....
BUT.. beyond those things.. Make sure you really really want to do this professionally... when you become a professional photographer (run a legal business) -- you become 20% photographer and 80% business owner!!! Taking pictures will actually be mini-vacations for you... the rest of your time will be spent in front of the computer!!
If you've decided this is definitely what you want to do and you're ready to start charging money... you need to get legal... get insured.. get your business license and get permission for the locations you shoot at!!! If you operate professionally, you'll be viewed as a professional!
(Calculating costs of doing business is an entirely different topic - but this needs to be thought about too)
I strongly strongly suggest building up your portfolio though before you start asking for someone's money!!! Do some 'model calls' and build up your portfolio -- only showcase photos that portray what you WANT to shoot... So if you want to be a family photographer -- share photos of families you've taken pictures of... but if you don't want to be a pet photographer, don't post photos of your cats all the time! (hee)
Lastly.... know your camera inside and out... Take workshops... Read books... Look at online tutorials -- nowadays the resources are endless!!! No reason to be an uneducated artist anymore!!! Of course there are SO many other things to take into consideration, but these are the most important things in my opinion =)
BUT.. beyond those things.. Make sure you really really want to do this professionally... when you become a professional photographer (run a legal business) -- you become 20% photographer and 80% business owner!!! Taking pictures will actually be mini-vacations for you... the rest of your time will be spent in front of the computer!!
If you've decided this is definitely what you want to do and you're ready to start charging money... you need to get legal... get insured.. get your business license and get permission for the locations you shoot at!!! If you operate professionally, you'll be viewed as a professional!
I strongly strongly suggest building up your portfolio though before you start asking for someone's money!!! Do some 'model calls' and build up your portfolio -- only showcase photos that portray what you WANT to shoot... So if you want to be a family photographer -- share photos of families you've taken pictures of... but if you don't want to be a pet photographer, don't post photos of your cats all the time! (hee)
Lastly.... know your camera inside and out... Take workshops... Read books... Look at online tutorials -- nowadays the resources are endless!!! No reason to be an uneducated artist anymore!!! Of course there are SO many other things to take into consideration, but these are the most important things in my opinion =)
AHHH! Lightroom has definitely changed my workflow!!!! Lightroom allows you to batch edit easily.. sort and cull images easily... you can quickly make your OWN presets/actions... Lightroom should really put me on the payroll, because I get SO excited talking about how awesome this program is!!! I can edit a session within 30 minutes in LR... in PS it used to take me hours upon hours... and with LR, because you can batch edit -- the images are more consistent looking... Stopping now.. because I will...keep...talking....
Well... Ashley.... ninja-kicking doesn't really involve my hands.. unless things get REALLY serious....
This video is pretty much the best description of 'me'...
Sharon Elizabeth... the ninja-kicker-weird sound maker... photographer girl...
And oh my word, listen to Chase's voice.. I can't wait to hear that sweet sound again!!!
Add a Comment
