Kira takes a class that has little to do with her focus, but finds long awaited inspiration, we discuss purchasing equipment and whether or not we really need that extra special new gadget, and more. You don't need to break the bank to make impactful photos. We're pulling back the curtain on the challenges of investing in photography equipment and revealing the importance of staying true to your brand. Listen as we drive home the importance of setting goals, maximizing what you have, and seeking out the right mentors and coaches. We've got an exciting journey ahead, folks, and we can't wait for you to join us!
This week's episode is sponsored by our friends at Retouch Up! Use the coupon code GYST10 for a special discount!
This episode was written and performed by Mary Fisk-Taylor and Kira Derryberry, produced by Kira Derryberry and edited by Joel North.
Kira takes a class that has little to do with her focus, but finds long awaited inspiration, we discuss purchasing equipment and whether or not we really need that extra special new gadget, and more. You don't need to break the bank to make impactful photos. We're pulling back the curtain on the challenges of investing in photography equipment and revealing the importance of staying true to your brand. Listen as we drive home the importance of setting goals, maximizing what you have, and seeking out the right mentors and coaches. We've got an exciting journey ahead, folks, and we can't wait for you to join us!
This week's episode is sponsored by our friends at Retouch Up! Use the coupon code GYST10 for a special discount!
This episode was written and performed by Mary Fisk-Taylor and Kira Derryberry, produced by Kira Derryberry and edited by Joel North.
This week's episode is brought to you by our friends at retouchup. Retouchup works smarter, not harder. Welcome to Get your Shoot Together. The photographer's podcast where we discuss studio business life and keeping it all in line. I am Kira Dairyberry.
Speaker 2:And I'm Mary Fishtailer. Hello Hi, how are you?
Speaker 1:I'm hot, it's hot, and not in a good way no. It's not in that hot girl summer kind of way.
Speaker 2:It's a different hot girl summer.
Speaker 1:I'm not having. I am in fact having a type of hot girl summer, and it's the kind where the backs of your knees are sweating all the time.
Speaker 2:Okay, guys, you know we know no offense. We know that Kira has been known to discuss the weather in Florida quite a bit.
Speaker 1:It's a thing Sometimes.
Speaker 2:It's the weather, it's the heat, it's the storms, it's the stuff.
Speaker 1:But y'all, it's really bad. It's really bad.
Speaker 2:I was in Florida a couple weeks ago. My eyelids sweated. My eyelids were sweating, my wrist, my wrist, my watch almost fell off my wrist. Everything I had, things I didn't know I had, were sweating. So I will no longer roll my eyes, which is about the weather. Oh my God, it was terrible, kira. It was awful when I tell you, like y'all imagine this. I was at a Dave Matthews concert. I had to leave after the fourth song and go sit in the VIP lounge because it was air conditioned and I watched the concert on a screen because I couldn't Between the heat and the humidity.
Speaker 2:And then, you know, thousands of people crammed into seats that are meant for, like you know, you get half a seat yeah, no man, and the seats are no, yeah.
Speaker 1:No, yeah, I'm just. I like, literally, the other day, Lucy and I went, we did two errands. We went to Target to get school supplies, because school started today for us, and then we you know, I don't know, we we picked up something else when we got home. I mean, I was outside very little, Like it was just to park the car and to walk. Yeah, Just basic stuff, Basic stuff. We get home, we unload the car in one load because we're not going back out there. I get inside and I just, literally I just I just had to lie. I put on like a tank top and I just lied on my bed, lay on my bed under the fan for like 30 minutes. Lucy's like what are you doing? I was like I'm.
Speaker 2:Dying.
Speaker 1:I'm cooling from our outing. I was so tired. It just zaps all of your energy. It's just awful. Every ounce and forget trying to like have hair, a hairstyle and like I look awesome right now, but I mean honestly, it's just like PS. She does not look awesome. I don't Because why?
Speaker 2:Why, I don't know. I like an idiot the first night of the show, like put on makeup and I don't wear a lot of makeup.
Speaker 1:I mean I need to one of us do.
Speaker 2:But I don't wear a lot. I don't wear foundation, I'm just very lazy. It just, it literally just switted on off the face. What's the point? I wear hats a lot, specific because I I wear glasses and it's really contacts don't do well for me. So I wear a lot of hats, specifically when we outside, because I I taking on and off prescription glasses is such a pain, so I'll wear a hat to shave my face. Oh, no, no, ma'am, that hat hotter than Hades up in there. Like, yeah, at some point I just just said I was like a fat kid on the playground, like, just like just sweat was just dripping from my hat into my eye, like it was awful. God, oh, it was terrible.
Speaker 1:God, it was terrible.
Speaker 2:It was terrible.
Speaker 1:Well, enough of that. You guys don't care. Yeah, sorry, sorry. Sorry for all that chit chat, yeah, so gosh.
Speaker 2:Well, it is still summer and I hope you guys are having a great one. We are winding down. I've seen all the first day of school posts are happening. School's going back, college is starting. So many, many, many of you out there are going through huge shifts in your life getting kids back into school, new grades, new milestones, maybe shipping some off to college. You got an eighth grader, so you've got that junior high schooler in the house. I remember those years. I don't, don't envy you.
Speaker 1:It's going okay. She put on. If you know, she's gotten in the last, just in the last week. It's into a makeup phase like really consistently and she wants to do it herself, okay, and but she wants me to watch her do it and then assist where needed right.
Speaker 1:So and we're talking very little, you know she doesn't need anything, of course, but she got this like great palette. That's like really good eyeshadow, but it's like Disney themed, it's like Disney Rapunzel tangled theme or whatever. So it's like really pretty princessy kind of colors. And Anyway, this morning she was like okay, I'm wearing a purple dress, so I want to wear this eyeshadow and like, so she's yeah, she's wow, she's very girly. And she and she, she goes two days ago she goes um. So I went to my orientation and I looked down and I noticed that my nails were chipping, like this. Like my nails chipped like um, so I really think I need to get them done before school starts. I was like, oh, do we?
Speaker 2:I mean okay, okay, a same Lucy, absolutely the same. I mean mine are, yeah, disaster area, wow, okay, so that's where we are.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's where we're at with the baby needed her nails done. We she wouldn't got a good blowout the night before course night course and she is Applying makeup for her first day of eighth grade. So I mean I think it's on, I think, where that's probably about right, right yeah, but I got a girly girl. Who knew, oh, who knew that I would have a girly girl in that funny.
Speaker 2:Uh-huh, there you go. I think she gets it from her, gigi.
Speaker 1:She must be getting she definitely gets it from her, gigi. It's not for me.
Speaker 2:Yeah, she definitely must be in it for your mom. Well, so, eighth grade, so big times guys, and you know this is what we talk about a lot and we lean into this so much At least I do. I just got the phone with my you know, somebody I work with that helps me with a lot of my computer stuff and website stuff and we were just talking about you know pain points and this is a big pain point time. So just a friendly reminder from your story brand guide, leaning into that and talking about you know 13 first days of school and 18 summers and all those things which you know it's it makes some of us moms feel a little anxious is a really great pain point that we can lean into For family and children's portraits definitely a pain point for me.
Speaker 1:Yes, definitely a motivator for me, which is why you know, I do, you know I'm definitely I have. I have one child and she has spoiled, spoils world, right, like she's the sickle grandchild. But you know, when I start to think about, this is our last, we don't have, so we, we have middle school. So this is her Last year of middle school. Okay, we're starting Okay and I this, you know this morning I was like oh, this is the last first day of middle school.
Speaker 1:Yeah, like we're already through the majority of high schools next.
Speaker 2:Wow, that's only four years.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's all we got left, you know, and that started that's. I mean, that's that's enough. I mean I just, she and I did some pictures together this week.
Speaker 2:Yes, they're beautiful.
Speaker 1:Thank you, and, and we could talk about that some other time, but, but we did, and it was because I was having those realizations, like you know what I mean. Like, oh, this is, the summer is almost over. Have I done enough with her? Have I treated her to enough things? Have I made it? Have you know? Has it been fun for her? Have I tortured her being at the studio with me every single day? How could I make this more fun? So, anyway, I think it's a pain point for everyone and it's a good one to capitalize.
Speaker 2:I had a different topic for today, but I can hold that, I think let's. I mean, this might be a great topic and this is very timely. So you're so curious presidential message in the PP a magazine, if you guys have not read it talked about and I saw a lot of People responding to it about creating a new headshot, mm-hmm, correct. So Great, great article. But then it inspired you to do some of your own. You want to talk about that because I think it's kind of cool. It wasn't just the article in the response, but then it was also a result of you visiting with a friend of I would say ours, but more your mind and learning something new, and we kind of always talk about Not being inspired, but it seems like you got very inspired.
Speaker 1:I did get very inspired, so I'll be. I'll be honest, it's been. I kind of made a promise to myself earlier in the year that I was gonna like Really put an effort to get in front of the camera. If you've been reading those articles and guys, you're shocking me with how many of you are actually reading the article. It's been really nice to get there.
Speaker 2:It is, it's cool.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I mean, I know you experienced it too and it's like I didn't think anyone read this, so it's been really nice to hear your feedback on it. But I did make myself and everybody else, honestly an accountability promise that I would also put myself in front of the camera more, so you may see that every month I've had a different photo, which you did as well.
Speaker 2:I did the same thing and it was a big. It was hard for me because I wrote an entire thesis, as you know, about not being comfortable in front of the camera, but I forced myself and create 13 new portraits of myself.
Speaker 1:So hard, oh, so hard the worst but what I realized was is I've been doing a lot of these self portraits mainly because of my control issues, although I do have a new one coming that was done by my friend, dana Nehmeyer. So watch out for that and the magazine. But I have been in a rut, a creative rut, because I am so formulaic with the way I'm doing things, because because it's fast and it's Reliable and it's lucrative, and so I haven't had a whole lot of time to experiment. And I went to a one-day workshop with our friend, deanna Robles. Yes, and she teaches lighting, but it's primarily lighting opposing for maternity. That borderlines fashion and boudoir, very beautiful, and it's gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous and Very, very fashion inspired. And so I went thinking like I wanted to be there to support her and I knew I would learn something. But I was like you know, I'll probably never Do this kind of add this to my brand, because maternity if fashion is not really your brand not, really not on brand yeah you
Speaker 1:know for for what I'm doing and I would have to really work on a product for that. But I went there and I watched her do like very quickly Four or five different setups that weren't just lighting setups, they were minimalist, they were out there, were all up my alley as far as like easy to put together, very low on on propping and and set design and and space right. Don't need a lot of space to do it. Don't need a lot of space to do it. And it's in and angles that I have not been do. I have been pretty much Perpendicular to the floor, close up, far away, straight on.
Speaker 2:That's where I'm at work and it works.
Speaker 1:It works.
Speaker 1:But then I saw her do this beautiful, high and low-key you know sort of portrait where she uses V flats to block the light and just creates a sliver of white light, or, you know, against a white wall or a colored surface if you want to, and it creates this really high-fashion, beautiful, geometric, you know kind of look to the image and it also forces you to not shoot straight on.
Speaker 1:You got to shoot it from the side to Be able to get air, else you'll block this, this light, and it's with hard light. So all of these things are different, totally different. I'm always using very diffused light, very large modifier straight on to the camera and you know, one one kind of background. No, no deviation in that. And so, anyway, it forced me to break all of my normal comfort zone roles and I, the result was I was able to put together some beautiful self portraits of myself, which I may or may not post because they're they're sexy, and and some beautiful portraits of me and Lucy that I was able to get and I'm just, I'm just really which I have posted that posted yeah and the ones of her are not for Kira.
Speaker 2:They're sexy big guys.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I know. No, it's not like. It's like in a dress, it's not anything.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's correct, let's just. Yeah, let's be it's just me.
Speaker 1:it's just me being sexy for Kira. Yeah, it's sexy for high neck swim suit Kira yeah, it's the exact, it's sexy for long sleeve, completely closed.
Speaker 2:Kira, layered with a jacket and a scarf, but other than that, she's showing everything she's got. Her whole face is exposed.
Speaker 1:All right, all right, so maybe it's not that sexy.
Speaker 2:I think it is. It is, it's very, but it's provocatively photographed. I think is a way. And it has a very sultry mood, I would say.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes, yes, Beautiful absolutely beautiful. It's not as presidential as some of the other portraits.
Speaker 2:Probably, I would not use it as a presidential portrait. Fair, fair, fair.
Speaker 1:Absolutely fair. But but anyway, I am so happy. It was so fun. It was so fun to do. I have been I've been so stuck and I have so many more ideas, Like Deanna was awesome. So I had this dream the night before I shot them. I figured I would do it. I left very inspired from the, from the class. I mean, if you have an opportunity to take a class with Deanna, I highly recommend it. It doesn't matter what your genre is, just go take it. But I had this dream. You're going to laugh. I had this dream that I was doing this lighting setup with the V-flats and the sliver of light and everything. But it wasn't of me, it was of our friend, elizabeth Hohman, and I was doing and she was like in this like real fun, smart, cute outfit, and I was trying to take her picture and I was spending. I don't know why I was of Elizabeth, it just was Like that was so funny.
Speaker 1:I know I should tell her, but she it was like I was doing branding portraits or something for her in in a big studio space that wasn't mine and I had spent all this time like getting the everything lined up and it was just like I was never able to take the portraits because I kept moot tweaking everything you know, and then all of a sudden, all these photographers, like people that we know and people that we don't know, just sort of flooding the studio space and standing in the scene and kept going all right, let's get together for a big group photo.
Speaker 1:everyone, let's get together. And I got this very specific lighting set up with the V-flat so I could photograph Elizabeth and like it doesn't work with a group.
Speaker 1:obviously it doesn't work with a group and they're just like just everyone get in. And it's like it's like 65, 70 people all of a sudden just like pile in to these like rows, and I'm like, guys, I, this is going to require I have to break down everything to do this, and they just didn't care, just take it real quick, you don't need lights. And I was just like no, no, and I woke up so angry.
Speaker 1:Just woke up so angry Because I was just about to pull off this portrait of Elizabeth that was in the lighting. That I learned from Deanna and then I couldn't ever take it because, yeah, and it was the most bizarre dream. So I woke up that morning and I called Deanna and I told her this dream and I said I'm going to try this today in the studio and so just give me some pointers, because, like, I think I know how you pulled it off and she's the one that was like remember you got to be off to the side Because, if you stand, I didn't remember where she was. Her vantage point was for me. So she was so kind to like tell me that in the morning. And so I just I went and pulled it off. But it was really because this anxiety dream that is so funny.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I don't know. I've been having a lot of experiences like that lately where I'm just like this is a sign you should just go do it. You didn't get to finish in your dream, you didn't get to finish the shot in your dream, so we're going to do it, we're going to set it up and we're going to do it at the studio. And here's your sign that you need to do it, and I'm so glad that I did because it was such a fun, such a fun shoot and such a out-of-the-box opportunity, and I'm always looking for different ways to do some of my commercial jobs that are just you know, and so I mean I could see doing a lot of. I'm very excited for three or four other techniques that she showed in the class and she's so easy to learn from. I mean, I just loved it. It was such a great day Anyway. So that's where I'm at is like okay, well, all my new self-portrait work is going to be maybe trying these new things.
Speaker 2:I love that.
Speaker 1:Who cares if it fails? Honestly right, because it's just me. It's no one. No one's going to get let down, right right, right.
Speaker 2:Well, I have a question for you, but let's take a pause for our amazing sponsors. Retouchup, of course. And let's take a quick pause and then I'll ask my question when we come back for a break. Bear back.
Speaker 1:Hey you Is. It 2 am and you're still up retouching that one year old cake smash session because there's just not enough hours to get it all done. Stop what you're doing right now and upload that session to retouchup. Never tried retouchup? No problem. Sign up for a free account at retouchupcom and use the referral code GYST to tell them you're one of our loyal listeners. With retouchup, there are no contracts, no minimums, no complications and nothing to lose. For a limited time, all listeners of this podcast can save $10 with the coupon code GISTFALL10. That's G-Y-S-T-F-A-L-L-1-0 for all customers. That's enough to retouch like four headshots or get five extractions, or remove all the leaves out of the pool and the cards out of the parking lot on that real estate shot you just took. Get your life back with retouchup at retouchupcom. We are back, all right. What was your?
Speaker 2:question. My question is that? Darn it, I forgot my question. My question was it inspired you? You had the stuff. I don't have V-Flats. I've never used them in my life. Let's talk about this. This is why I'm not being shady here, but I've had several people reach out to me over the past couple of weeks and I've seen some posts about some people out teaching.
Speaker 2:Let's just leave it at that About them being let down or disappointed and saying are these people really in the arena? Are they real? You were there. I know Deanna is. How do I know that? Because I follow Deanna on social media and she's posting something new Her actually photographing clients not just workshops, by the way, clients. Every week there's at least one new piece of content at least that inspired you.
Speaker 2:A lot of us go and we scrape together and it's a big deal to go to the Florida State Convention or the Virginia Convention or Image USA, whatever it is. We see something and we want to try it. I feel like we need to kind of discuss when you, what would, what would New Kira have done with that when you didn't have this stuff? Would you have gone and just put a bunch of that stuff on your credit card, like, how can you responsibly do this type of stuff Is?
Speaker 1:that makes sense. Yeah, I think that the best workshops New Kira attended when she did attend, Cause I went to a lot of things Were the ones where I thought they were. I was gonna have to buy a lot of stuff and I was almost ready to, you know, and I got there and it turns out that they were like you could do this with a pizza box, Like Seth Miranda is always like his pizza box stuff, you know what I mean. Like you could do this with you, don't have to have this, you could. You know. And the ones I always think that that's such a wonderful sign of a great demo is when you get in there and they're like not telling you that you have to have this thing to make this shot.
Speaker 1:You know, and so that would be like one thing to put on your radar. If you're new and you're just learning lighting and you're getting to a thing, if the person there is being like, this is the only thing that's ever worked, this is the only way to do it. I don't know what I would do without this piece. It that feels to me a little salesy, right, because, honestly, the V-flat thing V-flats, you know, boards, they're not. There's a company that makes these V-flats, but the ones that she was using in her demo were the big long pieces that you can get at the art stores that were taped together with gaffer tape.
Speaker 2:You know what I mean. So, like fuzzy dunkel, years and years ago we used to get and I don't know guys, but he would buy something essentially from like Lowe's or Home Depot and he would tape it together and make V-flats Like I don't like that Lowe's.
Speaker 1:You can make. There's those big insulation boards that you can do, but there's also like if you have some cities, have like the big art stores where you can order these big panels in bulk and they're just like heavyweight cardboard or styrene stock and you can paint them, you can tape them together, you can do whatever you want. V-flat, the company V-flat, makes a product that is much more portable and easy to move around, and I have several of them because they are easy to move around but they're not the end all beyond. I mean, you don't have to have those. You know what I mean. And I there's. It's just like anything, like there's certain bells and whistles to certain products, but now she doesn't. She has V-flats in her studio, but she's using whatever she can, whatever the venue is providing for her, and in this case they provided her much taller V-flats than the V-flat company makes, right, and so that actually was actually better, because I mean, in mine my V-flats are only like seven feet tall, so or maybe six and a half, I don't know.
Speaker 1:But you, I still had to extend some of that in Photoshop because it didn't quite go as tall as I would have needed to go, like hers did you know so so I guess the answer the long answer to your question or the short answer to your question is that if you feel compelled, like, oh my God, I got to check all my lights and get all these new lights, or I've got to make this huge investment in this, this special reflector, I don't know, there are so many things you could do. You could use barn doors to create this, this light, without V-flats. You know what I mean, Like you could. You know there's just lots of inexpensive ways to cobble together stuff that doesn't require the expensive gear.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's the key, I think. And if not, then if you're part of your local, local or state affiliate, find people that y'all can kind of piecemeal together and go practice together, like if you have that community or that camaraderie. I just I see too many times where people go to these things and think because what you did is beautiful and you already have the stuff. But if you're newer and younger at it meaning in the business not necessarily age, but you're newer at it I think it becomes overwhelming. And then you know I don't ever and I know you feel the same way don't want to see people go into debt to try something new. There just needs to be another way to make that happen. That's responsible with your money, with your business' money.
Speaker 1:And the advantage that I have is that I'm a very experienced studio lighting person, right. So I know that, like I can look at an image and say if it's soft light or if it's hard light, like if it's been diffused. I can probably make a guess about how big the modifier was or if there was one, you know. And but that comes from a lot of study and experience. And if you're brand new to this, you might look at one of Deanna's images and say I don't even know where to start. I don't even know, like if I hadn't taken her class I probably could have taken a swing at it and not done as good you know, but I could have taken a swing at what was used or what I would use to do it. So I think that's where it gets overwhelming too is not having that baseline knowledge to know that, okay, I hadn't thought of that angle or that technique or that composition or that placement of the light, but you have the foundational knowledge to kind of get you past the overwhelmed by it part, you know.
Speaker 1:And so that my second piece of advice would be to get, before you take the super-duper creative workshops, is to have some foundational knowledge which you can get through certification. Not a sales pitch for certification, but that's certainly where I got a lot of money. That's a great point. Yeah, going through that process.
Speaker 2:I just feel like I love that you found this and that you could do it. But when we were early on and we would go see something and we did not have the money, like there was, just we didn't and I refused to just go, you know, just because I went to an amazing class like I remember going to see the Simonnes years and years ago and Joseph and Louise Simone and their work was so beautiful and I would say, oh, I just fell in love with it. And they used that rear projector and they used all the parabolic. I couldn't go and drop at that time like 10 or $15,000 on that rear projector I don't even know what it was called. And then all the but I wanted to so badly and, by the way, this is not on them, this is just what they did and I just fell in love with their work. They weren't selling it, they were.
Speaker 2:All this was sold by other companies but I couldn't do it. But what the challenge was was to go back to the studio and make it work with what I have and that kind of flashes me forward to like that Netflix show. You know that you nailed it Like sometimes, sometimes that's what it looked like I'm going to be honest. It's like, yeah, I didn't quite nail this one, but when you did, when you were able to take what little bit you had and make it work, dang, that felt so good.
Speaker 2:You know. And then you make a goal for yourself and you know me, I'm incredibly goal-oriented. Then you make a goal and say, okay, well, if I can sell this many of these at this average, then I can justify buying X, y and Z. Yeah, the funny thing is is that nine times out of ten I would either get tired of it because it was too much work, or I realized it was off-brand and I wasn't selling it. And I never think, goodness, pulled the trigger on that rear projector thing or those parabolic lights or whatever, because I Was so, I was so excited, and it always brings me and I know I've said this a million times, guys, but it brings me to that.
Speaker 2:Tim Walden, you know that lecture he gave me years ago Some of the best ideas I've ever seen. I had to leave on the table Because I would just want to hair, trigger, buy and then realize, oof, you know, I it's it's not gonna really work for me or it's not gonna be profitable for me and I can't afford to just buy stuff to play with, you know.
Speaker 1:Well, yeah, I mean there's. There are some backgrounds right now that are Trending. There are these like large floral prints, like like larger than life floral prints. Like that looks so beautiful on the work of the people. I'm seeing it on, like on Andrelson stuff, like she's. She's got some stuff like that that fits her brand, like it fits her brand and I'm so jealous of it because I'm like I want that to play with, I want to do some, but what it like in real life it's gonna deviate what I'm doing and known for here so harshly and it's such a pain to put up and set down and break. You know what I mean. Like, yeah, it doesn't, it doesn't match what I'm doing and so I'm not gonna go buy it and, honestly, I can drop these days, I can drop it in. You know what I mean like if I, if I need to, but but it's just not, it's, it's not enough, it's not, it's not gonna get enough use for me to buy it to play with for like an hour.
Speaker 2:You know exactly, exactly, and because now you are, we are at a much better advantage now than we were, you know, 20 years ago, because you can drop it in, start doing that and then if that becomes sellable, then you might want it. If that becomes, wow, this is really taken off. This is really integrated into my brand. You know really well, better than I expected. Now you can justify the expense. That's all I'm saying. Like, I love that you could do this because you had it and you you actively, are already using all these things and You're a pretty accomplished lighting person. So you, it wasn't as big of a stretch for you, but I just do think that you see this, you go oh, but guys, if you're just starting out or you don't have a full line of maternity brand or Boudoir brand or whatever, going and buying all this stuff is not gonna make a business.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, it's not gonna make a business. And in fact I, deanna, had to kind of like separate that because I think, you know, when she was in her class, her class was was advertised as a lighting and posing demo class. There was no, it was not a business class, right? Because there are times where I Think the what people have been going to see sometimes when they go to a demo is they're also, you know, being told had a market. And here's the turnkey thing, right, you know, and she's not doing that?
Speaker 1:what she's doing is teaching you lighting and demo and If for her to teach a whole other class on how she sells this in markets at whatever, that's a whole other thing. Like she spent a full day Just doing lighting and demo or posing demo and there were a lot of questions in the class. Okay, well, how do I market this and how do I go to did that. And we had to. I had to Feel like, hey, tell me more about how you're choosing your color palettes, like you're you've got so many color. But I mean I had to kind of dive in there with that question too, because it was it's out of scope for what this class is.
Speaker 1:And so I would also say, when you go to these classes, if you're going to a lighting demo class, go to learn the lighting in the demo Stuff. If it says that it's a business marketing class as well, then certainly you should expect to receive that. But you know it kind of I felt like it was kind of like Unfair to her because she's like coming with all these these, these tools, you know, and some of the questions towards the end of the day, like we're going towards Marketing, branding, the, and then the last thing I'll say about this is. I mean, I'm not a boudoir photographer. I'm not, I was, but I'm not a boudoir photographer anymore and I'm not a you know predominantly maternity photographer either, but I know that this girl knows her lighting.
Speaker 2:Right and.
Speaker 1:I went and took a class with somebody who knows lighting and posing, knowing that I'm probably not going to do the same subject matter that she does. But I got so much, so many fresh ideas that I can take to the things that I do do. So if you're going to take a class, it doesn't even really matter what the subject matter is right like. If it's going to be a demo, you're alert. You're there to learn lighting. You're there to learn the creative techniques. You're there to learn some posing. Who cares what the subject is like?
Speaker 2:I'm not gonna shoot, you know. I mean, and I do, I think that's fair. And, by the way, I just because I want to be very clear I by no means, by no means feel like Deanna is trying to sell anything, but just very clear that.
Speaker 2:I don't. I don't want to Make sure it doesn't come off that way. I just have you know. I just feel like a lot of times we as the participants get so caught up and I remember many, many years at Texas school, for example, because I'm with these people for a week and all of a sudden they're like, well, I'm just gonna go buy all these, this. You know the lights we happen to love and you know use for the lights, and then they actually do sponsor us. So I love proof of the lights. But I kind of sat down many a person and been like no, ma'am, you're not there, you're not ready.
Speaker 2:We did not start off in charge of a credit card with proof of the lights. We went through two other brands For years before I could afford these lights and I bought my lights. You know just like you're about to do, but do not. If you do not put it on your list of okay, when I hit this goal or when I hit this mark or when I hit this average, then I can just invest in these lights because I do believe in them. But I am never gonna be that person that stands on a stage and tells you buy this and you can be like X, y or Z, because it just is not true and just because you have, you can have the best lights, the best cameras and be working with the quote unquote best mentors or coaches or best software, whatever it is, it doesn't matter.
Speaker 1:None of that matters.
Speaker 2:Without all of it. It's again, we're gonna go back to our onion. There's so many levels. Deanna gave you posing and then she could probably do another whole day of the lighting and then another whole day of the marketing and another whole day of the sales and another whole day of the branding. Like there's no one stop shop. So anybody out there that's like hey, sign up, come here and I'm gonna give you everything.
Speaker 2:It's just not true. We had an amazing workshop earlier this summer still talking to most of the people that attended, or all of the people that attended and we were very clear this is the tip of the iceberg and I hate to say that I wish I had a. You know, I wish I had a little box I could sell you and say just add water and you too can have a profitable, sustainable photography business. But it just doesn't exist. It's like there's not a pill that's gonna take off that nagging 10, 20 pounds, 50 pounds you wanna lose. Like it's a process, right, it's diet and exercise and emotional learning about emotional. All the stuff takes time and I just I love the fact that you know we have so many amazing people out there sharing and giving this information. I just think we always need to remind ourselves that go and soak it all up, like when we teach.
Speaker 2:I'm gonna be in Tennessee with our friend Karen. We met at the workshop for a couple weeks, so I'll be with Karen and I'm very clear I have two hours to give you this much. You know, when I'm making a very little bitty bitty or little bitty itty, my fingers together, really small of what I can give you. None of this is going to give you. It's just, it's so little. You know what I mean. But I'm gonna talk about high-end, luxury portraits. But hopefully I'll give you enough information that, even if you're a volume photographer or a headshot photographer that you can say, okay, well, I don't do that, but I can take it and I can.
Speaker 2:I love how she talked about identifying your avatar. That's something I really need to do. Or what is my pain point in my studio that I need to aggravate in order to get business? Or you know all those those are things that should be universal. What Diana gave you which is why I think she's an amazing instructor, by the way, and hopefully, by the way, she's gonna be teaching in Virginia next year, because I have her on the list I'm going to cross. Gotta get the board. Haven't talked to the board Virginia yet, but that's.
Speaker 2:I feel like you can convince her? I hope so. Well, no, she's already said yes, I gotta take it to the board, oh, okay, okay. But you know, is that you know she's giving you something that, regardless of what you photograph a senior, a bourgeois, maternity headshots, branding, weddings you can take that and use it. But I think she also would be the first to say you can also do it with what you have. Make it work.
Speaker 2:This is the easiest way to do it, absolutely. I bet you can make it work using this, this or this, and that's what I would just think we need to challenge ourselves. And would you agree, because you've been doing this, you know you're much more adventurous with your photography than certainly that I am, and maybe even more than Jamie. But early on, when you didn't have all the stuff, how did it feel? Because you would take your magazines and you'd mark the pictures up, or you'd take a class and you'd go home and you had this how good did it feel to take what you had, which was not even close to what certainly the set photographers had or the teacher had, and make it work?
Speaker 1:It felt great. It feels so great, especially since you know it took the mystery out of it. You know what I mean, because I think so much of it seems so hard. Photography is hard. It is, but once you get some of these concepts it just becomes less and less hard and more and more second nature. I have so many modifiers that I purchased those first few years. I have a beauty dish, I have Ring lights, ring lights. I have a giant rectangular. You know huge softboxes 4x6, 3x4.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I have I have filters, I have all the grids, I have all the things and you know, at the end of the day I was just thinking I was just telling you the other day, actually, that my back room that's so just filled with equipment that I'm not using, it's gotta go, you know, and you just don't need that much.
Speaker 1:You know, you need a couple of modifiers that are the right size for the type of work that you do. You know, and not just the type of work you do, but for the size of your studio space, like that's how big and how far back you can pull your light. You know what I mean. You could get the same kind of light with a smaller modifier, as long as you could pull it back really far. But you know, but you're gonna have to work with a larger modifier if you have a very confined space because you can't pull it back as far. So those are those foundational pieces. That that'll be what makes you decide what modifiers you buy. Where are you shooting? What's the distance? That all that math, that math, that be mathin' that's the stuff that tells you what you need to buy and that's what's hard to know in the beginning.
Speaker 2:It is because it's hard, because it's just, it's so many cool things. I remember back when we were more in weddings, there were so many wedding thing gadgets, one's baby's in this and that, and you had to have it in for red kid. No, really, you didn't. I mean, really and truly. You sold the same things pretty much every weekend, but it was fun and I get it. You know what I mean. I absolutely understand it.
Speaker 2:It's just I feel like, specifically, this has been a tough year for a lot of small businesses in particular. But people, I mean the grossing prices, gas prices, all the things right, and I just feel like you know, with imaging right around the corner and it's so exciting, be really conscientious, like, be very conscientious what it is, and sometimes it's kind of like in cooking and you and I have had a lot of cool experiences in some really amazing restaurants. But what I find are the simplest recipes are the best dishes. When you can have that simple like and you know you go to Italy and that just ultra-simple carbonara and it's three ingredients and you know what I mean, those are the best dishes.
Speaker 2:So think of it in that respect. You know you don't need all the stuff. You know simply. You know just how can you simplify this to the point where A it's so easy for you to walk into your camera room or your space and photograph because you don't have 3,000 things. You're trying to think about? Number one I think that frees you to be more creative and, more importantly in my opinion, be more communicative and interact with the clients, because if they fall in love with you, they're going to buy more. You know Absolutely and it just takes that stress off, and not to mention the financial burden of buying a bunch of stuff that you now have a back room full of that. You feel guilty every time you walk by. Yeah, it's the junk drawer. We have junk closets. Photographers do. Yeah.
Speaker 1:All this stuff, or an entire room.
Speaker 2:Yes, it's where props and things go to die. And then you just shut the door because if I don't look at it, I don't help to feel bad that I've spent thousands of dollars on these things that didn't make me money, because I'm still doing the same thing I was doing for 10 years, 20 years, 5 years, whatever.
Speaker 1:When you came to the studio for the first time, I was just showing you around the space and I was like and then there's a room back there but we're not going to go there we don't speak of, we don't open that door.
Speaker 2:It's like the brother that they hid in the basement on the yeah.
Speaker 1:It's like no, we don't discuss it.
Speaker 2:We don't talk about Fight Club, that's what it is. It's the Fight Club of photography, but I love the images. You should absolutely. If you guys haven't checked out Kira's page, the one she did of her and Lucy is stunning, and I've seen the one that Dana did of you. I think it's your profile picture right now, that's beautiful so lots of cool stuff, but it's cool.
Speaker 2:I was really excited to hear you say how inspired you got, because that's not easy to do and that's not me sounding condescending guys, it's not, it's just A. Sometimes, because we volunteer so much, it's hard for us to even sit in a program and then to sit in a program and have the wherewithal to go oh, I don't even do this, but, dang, I'm inspired and now I'm going to go and incorporate that in and put my thumbprint on it and make it mine, and I think that's what you did and I think, as an instructor, that's always our goal with people that come in.
Speaker 1:Yeah, 100%. I mean even let's say I didn't get anything out of the lighting stuff, just the stuff. Even wardrobe, some of the stuff that she shared about how she thinks through wardrobe was invaluable. I'm not photographing a lot of maternity, but also the way her brain was thinking to match wardrobe to her set design. It was just a very fashion forward way of thinking that I thought. I love it, I love it, and so she Anyway take her class. It's basically been an ad for Deanna's class.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it really has. But hey, and I Excellent, I mean, and obviously, if you're recommending it, it's a no-brainer, but rave reviews, excited, it was really cool. Check out what Kira took from it. I think that's cool. I think we spend a lot of time talking about not being inspired, so I think it's good when we are to hey give a shout out.
Speaker 1:I was well overdue for some inspiration, so I'm very grateful for it and I know I'm going to tell her about this podcast and she can go and do it Be prepared, be prepared.
Speaker 2:Yeah, love print photography. Follow her, check her out. She's amazing. Yeah, all cool, cool stuff.
Speaker 1:All right. Well, you ready to wrap this up?
Speaker 2:Let's do it.
Speaker 1:Okay, you guys can follow us on Instagram I get your shoot together. Follow us on Facebook at Get your Shoot Together. Email us at girlandgetyourshoottogethercom and subscribe to us everywhere. We're podcasts with our playing. We will see you next time. Thanks, guys, lets