Ever thought about how to turn your photography setbacks into stunning comeback shots? Wondered how to maximize sales without losing your authenticity? We've got you covered. This episode is all about navigating the tricky terrain of professional photography, where adaptability is the name of the game. We share our amusing tale of improvising a softbox solution during a commercial job of Kira's - proof that a little creativity can turn even the toughest situations into a success.
But it's not all about overcoming obstacles. We also tackle the rewarding side of the photography business - expanding your product range. Hear about our journey of adding a unique black and white brush oil painting product to our studio portfolio and how it boosted our earnings. We'll give you a glimpse into Mary and Jayme's Charleston seminar experience and how it inspired us to kick our business up a notch.
Lastly, we delve into the all-important topic of pricing. We discuss the art of crafting tailored shoots to meet client needs efficiently and how setting boundaries adds value to your work. We touch on the role of storyboarding in portrait sessions and how it can make your client's vision come alive. We also share the benefits of pre-work, like the importance of wardrobe selection and using tools like Set a Light 3D software. And just when you thought we'd covered it all, we throw in a fun segment about pet photography. So tune in, grab a coffee, and get ready for a photography ride of a lifetime.
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.
Ever thought about how to turn your photography setbacks into stunning comeback shots? Wondered how to maximize sales without losing your authenticity? We've got you covered. This episode is all about navigating the tricky terrain of professional photography, where adaptability is the name of the game. We share our amusing tale of improvising a softbox solution during a commercial job of Kira's - proof that a little creativity can turn even the toughest situations into a success.
But it's not all about overcoming obstacles. We also tackle the rewarding side of the photography business - expanding your product range. Hear about our journey of adding a unique black and white brush oil painting product to our studio portfolio and how it boosted our earnings. We'll give you a glimpse into Mary and Jayme's Charleston seminar experience and how it inspired us to kick our business up a notch.
Lastly, we delve into the all-important topic of pricing. We discuss the art of crafting tailored shoots to meet client needs efficiently and how setting boundaries adds value to your work. We touch on the role of storyboarding in portrait sessions and how it can make your client's vision come alive. We also share the benefits of pre-work, like the importance of wardrobe selection and using tools like Set a Light 3D software. And just when you thought we'd covered it all, we throw in a fun segment about pet photography. So tune in, grab a coffee, and get ready for a photography ride of a lifetime.
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 Cura Dairyberry and I'm Mary.
Speaker 2:Fitz-Taylor. Hello, Mary Fitz-Taylor. Hello, it's been a minute. It's been a minute since we chitchat-ed.
Speaker 1:It has been a minute. I don't like it, I know.
Speaker 2:It's weird, I know it's so weird. I was thinking about that the other day. I was like I feel like it's been six years since I've talked to Cura.
Speaker 1:Yes, I know. Yeah, it's weird, it's weird. I'm just trying to get through every day. It's all under. You know what? I see that.
Speaker 2:I see that and I raise you. I'm just kidding. Yeah, you know it's just. Life is crazy. I can't believe the summer is almost over. Y'all Like this is insane. How did that even happen?
Speaker 1:I know school started back and we're in full swing, although it has been helpful to have Lucy somewhere during the day so that I can actually get work done and be a bit more flexible with some of my jobs. You know, yeah, yeah, oh, speaking of jobs, can I tell you what I did yesterday? That just makes me want to kick myself. If I could kick my own butt with the steel-toed boot, I would, oh dear yeah. So I've been so good about going out. You know I don't love going on location because it's just a lot of things to haul in with my wagon. You know, bringing all this stuff up and it's hot, and it's so hot. And I had this job at a two-day job at this. It's called the Digestive Disease Clinic and it's every, every that sounds terrible.
Speaker 1:They're actually really nice, they just deal with stomach issues.
Speaker 2:I'm sure they love it.
Speaker 1:That sounds awful, oh yeah, Well, they're nice, they're really nice, but yeah, they do deal with stomach stuff and but anyway, I had a two-day job there to go shoot. First day goes great. Second day I'm like, okay, I had to pull everything out of the car to do some shoots in the studio and then put stuff back in the car and I, you know, got everything out, got into the parking lot unpacked, got up to the stuff. You know, I'm like I'm just rocking and rolling, you know. And of course there's already a physician that he's there early, he's waiting, he's ready, and I'm not set up, but that's fine, and so I'm just setting up.
Speaker 1:And I realized I didn't bring the softbox. I didn't bring the softbox and day one, softbox. Day two, no softbox. And it is in like this green lunch room, slash conference room, just the light of vending machines, you know, lighting the room. I have an awesome picture of it and it's just, you know, it's a very well-used lunch room at this doctor's office and so because of my street smarts photography, street smarts I bounce, flashed into the ceiling my light and I only had one seven-inch reflector, so I had one fill light the day before.
Speaker 1:Here's how the setup was. I had a main light. With the softbox on it, I had the fill light bouncing into the ceiling with a seven-inch reflector on it right. So it was just giving me kind of a fill, but the main light for the face was, you know, on the camera left. So now I only have this one seven-inch reflector, as I did not plan to need two seven-inch reflectors with me. And so I, because why would you so fill light just goes bald up into the ceiling, just straight up into the ceiling. It's close as I can get it. And then seven-inch reflector goes on the main light into the ceiling and it is a little more contrasty, but it's fine. Wow, and you know what that's? That's gorilla photography. That's thinking on your toes. That's experience. Maryfist Taylor.
Speaker 2:Okay, but okay, so it is experience and it's like and good for you, and we've all had this happen, right, everybody.
Speaker 1:I mean, we've all like something.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Thank goodness it was just like a softbox because you could. You know you could pivot, but so, but just because just in case, and you're listening, what made you think that would work? Like? What was your reasoning behind that? I think I know, but I think if listeners are like, oh, that's interesting, but why did you do it Like, instead of having that softbox on your main light or your fill light, which?
Speaker 1:I'm sorry.
Speaker 2:My main light, your main light, I thought instead of having that softbox, you angled it towards the ceiling, because you turned the ceiling into a big softbox. Is that your?
Speaker 1:process. Yeah, that was my thought process, and I was lucky enough to have a ceiling that was white ish, white enough, white close enough, adjacent an accrue alabaster if you will, but certainly white like up in the ceiling and and not helped by several different like ledges and layers. You know what I mean. So it did take a little bit of finagling to get it angled right, but did I look like it fazed me to anyone? To that doctor, what Nope?
Speaker 2:Nope, it was it was, it was business as usual, as if you, friendly, ended that way right, just like you planned it like this. This is how.
Speaker 1:I did it. This is how I do it. This is how I did it. This is how I do it. This is this is how it was yesterday. You weren't here yesterday, you don't know, that's right and. And it just worked out just fine, and especially since we were doing we're going to be compositing these doctors and they're going to be cut out. Anyway, I was less worried about the background light. You know the light on the background being exactly the same. It was going to be because they're going to be cut out. So right, you know harder shadows, really nothing that the client is going to notice and experience, just seeping through my veins.
Speaker 2:I love it, I think that's amazing and I think it's great. I think that you know, and then we're not going to spend a podcast talking all about lighting, but it is a pretty crucial to what we do for a living. But that thought process, guys like if you're out there just think, okay, how can I mimic it? And that's just what you did. Instead of the soft box, you turned the ceiling into one huge soft box, which that's how we photograph in our studio, but obviously with our not with our main light, but with, you know, with those are bounce lights that we use yeah.
Speaker 2:And it is. It's a big soft box, that's all it is.
Speaker 1:Now, that's all it is, but I guess the the moral of the story is don't panic.
Speaker 2:Don't panic and just stop, take a deep breath and think okay, how else can I mimic that light? And there's lots of work around. That's why, like when you teach your eye, teach. I don't teach a lot of lighting, but you know other, see other people, like they have a system, but there's always another way, like one of the things I'm really passionate about. If you take the class for me, obviously we love our Profoto Lights. We love, love, love. You love your Godox lights, like we love our lights. However, if you're new or you haven't budgeted, take what you have and make it work, and that's what you did. So I think that's a great lesson that you didn't have all your stuff, but you still made it work.
Speaker 1:You didn't have all our stuff, but you know what also those are. It's not just experience, too, but it's also taken that time not to, not to. We always are a little bit of a commercial for becoming a certified professional photographer, but these are, these are tips and tricks. Yes, that you that come from, from that foundation on knowledge. So if you haven't done that and you're thinking I wish I could think on my toes in a situation like that well, being a CPP definitely helps you do that.
Speaker 2:Anyway. Anyway, how's your week? It's going great. I actually just finished uploading in order to our great friends that we touch up, so I'm going to talk about something that we added to our. I know we're going to talk about some like projects and different little cool things that we're doing in our studio, but let's, let's take a break first in here from our amazing sponsors and we will be right back.
Speaker 1:Hey, you is, it 2 am and you're still up retouching that one-year-old's 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 retouch up. Never tried retouch up? 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 retouch up, 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, and we are back.
Speaker 2:We are back. So we wrapped up a great seminar in Charleston, south Carolina, a couple weeks ago. It was amazing. We had such a great time, so many of our, so many friends there. It was amazing. We all painted for three days. It was brush, well, painted on canvases. It was great.
Speaker 2:But one of the things that I talked about when I was there that I thought that got a lot of attention was how to add things to your existing products. Okay so and I know we've talked about this before, but trying to make sure you stay on brand and all the stuff. So one of the things that we you obviously we sell painted portraits, guys. Right, that's what my studio does. We sell brush oil painted canvases.
Speaker 2:That's the majority of what I do at this point in our career, but we do a lot of. We do have us. We do have winter here, unlike you and guys in Florida, we do have times a year where we can't be outdoors. So I will quite often do signature sessions or a signature session promotion, where we're doing black and white relationship. Very, very Walden-esque Tim and Bob Walden-esque that. They taught us that years and years ago and I've they've made me tons of money. But something that we've elevated was when you, we would do these sessions. Is that's it? I could sell a canvas because nobody painted black and white. But do they? Yes, they do. So we added that to our, to our studio, oh my god, that's so hard About a year ago.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so it is because you're only painting with black, white, black and white and obviously mixing grays and tones, shades of gray, shades of gray.
Speaker 2:That's it. Wow, I'm gonna tell you what, kira, these are some of the most stunning portraits I've ever seen in my life. I take no credit. I photograph a lot of them and I've been doing painter on them for a couple years. We were able to sell at least a digital art piece, but Jamie has started brush oil painting and I got chills. Right now Our clients are going bananas. I and last month I had three sessions that all came in because of course we have something new. So of course I'm reaching out to clients that I haven't seen in a while, that have kids, you know, that are kind of those great ages middle school, high school and they're coming in when I tell you that I had the best, I'm sorry it's not September yet, but I have had the best August I've ever had in my life. Three sessions made my home. I mean, I'm I won't even crazy sales like selling three pieces, four pieces, and they're all being painted right now and they are stunning. Wow, can you imagine? You can see that in your head. I can.
Speaker 1:Well, I'm behind me as a black, and white portrait of my parents Correct. And as you were talking, I was looking at all the different shades of of gray and black and just the highlights in her hair and her black hair. You know, and I'm thinking God, there's so many levels to that and that would be you'd have to, almost like, shift your brain into monochrome and just like that's exactly right.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, I, like I said, digitally painting, it's not as hard because you're zooming in and I paint pixel by pixel a lot and I use photoshop, so that's not as hard. But actually using brush and paint on the canvas, Like I don't know how Jamie does it and he's in love with it. He actually said last this, earlier this month he said I honestly don't know if I love photography or painting more. I've never heard that man say he loved anything more than photography, like anything, anything more than photography.
Speaker 2:I can see that yeah, yeah, it's really cool, but sorry, my dog is drinking water. If you can hear that in the background, I'm drunk. Oh wrong, I mean to tell you something about that in a minute. But it has added to our bottom line, and the reason I bring this up is you started off talking about lighting, you know, getting creative and making it work. Well, because I always am looking for a way to maximize my sales and make more money and get clients to come in for something new that's not going to encroach encroach onto my brand, right? I don't want to start offering something that's just so off brand for me.
Speaker 2:This was something we did and I am so excited about it because my clients are loving it, because they've never seen anything like it. I've never seen this in our industry, and I'm not saying there are people doing it, I just haven't seen it. But on it was kind of on a whim. In July I had a session and I'm like I need to make more money. I was feeling a little strapped. Let me be honest, guys. It's been a little weird year and things have been. We're on target, but it's been weird Like we won't have nothing. It'll be like a desert, and then there's like an oasis and then another desert. It's just been very strange. But I was like, ok, how can this? And somebody said, oh, it's just a shame, I love your oils, but this is black and white. And I said, well, we could paint a black and white. And I know Jamie about dropped his teeth out of his mouth he doesn't wear false teeth, but that's how it's jarring. Can we? And I'm like sure we can, and yeah, let's do it and.
Speaker 2:I'm like, yeah, let's do it, we can and yeah, let's do it. And so that happened and they loved it, and now it's it's part of our rotation of our products. But just kind of stretching and thinking, ok, how can I not work any harder but make more money? You know what I'm saying. So that was my mindset on that and I know that I know in your world you have these opportunities as well. So, meaning in the headshot or corporate world, I know family portraits you certainly do that all the time.
Speaker 1:Yeah Well, every once in a while you get, you get an opportunity that is outside of the box, and I think that this actually happened a few weeks ago. What am I? My really good corporate clients that I work with monthly, you know, with all their new employees, and typically all they ever ask of me is just to photograph a guy full links, let the guy pick it out, retouch it, send it back to them, and then I never see it here from them again. Occasionally I'll see it at an ad or a billboard or something like that, and but it's just for their, their bankers, their like top level bankers.
Speaker 1:Well then they approached me with this project. I said we are going to the Chamber of Commerce Conference and we're a big sponsor, so we're going to have all this ad space and places to put stuff and we want to like have all of our big guys, like in the, in the company, dress up in like 80s rock star stuff and you know, just have them be wild and crazy and silly and kind of break that sort of like stiff banker idea, you know, and just like be a funny joke, just put it everywhere, put it on decals, put it on wall, you know, everywhere, and I was like, oh yeah, that sounds great. They're like, they're all really busy. We're thinking we're going to have to do this over three days. We're still putting together costumes. We only need one or two images per person. You know, can you quote it out for us? And I think my first instinct was to be like A flat sum for the whole project.
Speaker 1:You know and then I thought I thought they're used to paying a certain amount for everything from me and if I deviate from that, what's to say that they won't come back and say could we get a flat rate for the, for the ongoing? Like a con? You know what I mean and we have a good relationship. It's going great and I like the amount we charge. So all I did was I asked them how many they thought they were going to need per person. They said maybe two images per person and three shooting days, and I just quoted it, exactly like all of my corporate work.
Speaker 1:So it's. It was priced exactly per image, the same way it is when I do a headshot for them, because there was no extra work in it for me. They came in looking silly and I had them jump around and be silly, but I mean it was still on white, it was still just a regular retouch in in a deliver. You know what I mean and I was able to quote that project for a decent amount because of the volume that it was, but without compromising the, the regular rate that I had going on with them on a regular basis. You know what I mean and it was fun.
Speaker 2:You know, and you charged, you did just. You did charge them exactly like you would if it had been a regular quote. Unquote headshot.
Speaker 1:I did because it explained to me the difference. You know, they dressed differently.
Speaker 2:And so so I saw this, I saw, I saw I think I liked you posted it on your page and I thought, wow, this is really fun. Like this was really really fun. And even me and I like smacked my own hand when I thought it and I thought, oh well, that was a fun little side project. So and I immediately started thinking it probably didn't cost and I thought, wait, why? Of course not. I'm sure Kira's, you know she's too smart to fall for that trap. But I immediately thought that and it's funny that you even thought, well, maybe I need to price it different because it's fun or it's quirky, or it's not a quote, unquote, traditional headshot, it doesn't matter. You're exactly right, the work is the same, maybe even more because you're trying to have them be more creative and funny and bring an energy to it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, there was a little bit more. I burned a little more calories on that one I think just trying to get them to jump around, or like showing them what I thought would work, and but I mean just because it's more fun for me doesn't mean that it should be cheaper. You are.
Speaker 2:thank you, yes, and if you, because I and you know me, I don't normally go down that rabbit hole, but I saw it and thought, huh. And I thought I'm glad we're talking about it, because I was mad at myself for even thinking that, because you're exactly right. As a matter of fact, the mindset we probably need when we go into something like that, guys, is you know what? This is going to be a little more work, but I'm not going to charge you for it, yeah.
Speaker 1:I'll do it.
Speaker 2:It's different. You know what it's? Because it's different. My immediately thought go charge less. We probably should go charge more, but you know what? Because you're such an amazing client, we have such a great relationship and I'm excited about this. No extra charge for doing this. That's where our mind should go, and you know what? Even I fell to that trap that it should have been lower.
Speaker 1:It shouldn't have been, but it's not weird. Why do we go there? I don't know.
Speaker 2:It made me mad at myself, like I thought I am better than this. How in the world did I?
Speaker 1:but I know, I know our listeners have gotten quote, you know, gotten requests like that before and from a, from a good client, you know, and their, their impulse, you know it's like, oh, if a project, I'm looking at it as a whole rather than individual deliverables, you know, and I almost never do a half day or full day rate unless it is very specific, like my half day rate, I nailed down exactly how many files are going to get with that, because I don't want to get taken advantage of like, oh well, we've got her here for four hours, what rules pump?
Speaker 2:as much as you can, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, I don't want to do that because that's not quality. You know what I mean. Like I'm looking for quality. I want to know your storyboard. I want to know the images you need. I want to know you know that. So when I do commercial jobs, um and I know other people operate differently than me on this, but I like to have a lot of specifics from the client about the deliverable and what their vision is, so that I can nail that rather than just shoot a bunch of stuff we don't need Right, and then me work triple time is hard, trying to get any random whim that you thought of, like at the, at the shoot. You know what I mean.
Speaker 2:Well, just like our portrait sessions and you just said exactly what we should be saying for all of our sessions. You, you have those lines in the sand for corporate, but don't you feel like as a portrait photographer, we tend to vary, like we just photograph a bunch of stuff and hope they'll buy it, like you don't? We don't do that for commercial work. Why do we do that for portrait work? We do that all the time. Yeah, we do it for family.
Speaker 1:I mean, I had a. I have a headshot client I just worked with yesterday and I'm very excited to to finish these images when she's um went ready. But she, um, she's going into consulting and she's going to be doing more public speaking gigs and she's building a website that needs pictures of her doing public speaking. She hasn't done any public speaking. I mean she's you know she's getting into it, so she doesn't have any behind the scenes fantastic images of her talking to an audience. So I was able because we had this idea I was able to craft two different looks where it looks like she's on stage with like lights hitting her. You know what I mean. But it was so specific. We shot three of each, you know, of each look and that's what she you know what I mean. That's what she needs, rather than going, okay, well, what if we also do it this way and from this angle, and let's shoot it this way? No, in my mind, I'm trying to get one.
Speaker 1:She has a one website. She needs a couple of behind the scene images of her talking. She doesn't need 25 or 30. She's not going to buy 25 or 30 different versions of this, so we don't need to spend. We got the shoot done in 30 minutes and we were able to do branding images of her, just, you know, beautiful headshots and like three quarter length portraits of her as well in the 30 minutes. You know what I mean, because we know exactly what it is we need. She doesn't need, she's not going to buy.
Speaker 2:So let's say you storyboard that out, you storyboard that out with your corporate client. Do you do that with your portrait clients?
Speaker 1:You know, the only time I have really done that with my portrait clients is when we have like a large family, like a lot of times I'll draw out like the arrangement that I want to work on. I've done that where you know I say large family, six, you know something like that, where I'll sort of like build, you know, draw a little head, stick figures and storyboard it out that way, just so I can get a good arrangement. I have storyboarded for, you know, our magazine covers when we've done some good composite work. But I'm not doing a lot of storyboarding with with the family sessions, but maybe I should.
Speaker 2:Well, because I just had a vision of that and of course I mean I'm sure that your little stick figures are really better than I mean I'm sure.
Speaker 1:They're not, they're terrible.
Speaker 2:But you know, like, why aren't we visioning something? And how cool would it be? Okay, I just had an idea, so hold, hold on. So like yours would probably be, because we put together, maybe even digitally. Let's just say, you put it together, but for me, why wouldn't I take a piece of paper or storyboard it out with little like a some type of a signature stick person and then actually use a paintbrush and paint like the palette I feel like we're going to use for clothing or whatever?
Speaker 1:That's very specific, isn't it? Like I mean, like that's.
Speaker 2:But how, about? How? Let me tell you that if you, if you hired me and you're coming with your family and we talked, we had a Zoom, or we met, and then I showed you that this is what we discussed is this your vision as well? Would you be like? Wouldn't that add? How much value? How much more expensive do you think I was going to be after getting something like that?
Speaker 1:I mean that is actually. I'm sitting here thinking I have a consult today for a high school senior and I think I'm going to do it. I mean, you could use crayons, you could use paint you could use chalk. There is software and it's going to. I wish, because you know, when we talk it's always like so organic, but there is software right now.
Speaker 2:We just thought of this. This is new.
Speaker 1:But there's software out there right now that I know our friend John Grassi uses and my friend Jeff Carpenter uses when they're doing their behind the scenes of their lighting. Nope, there's software that allows you to plan your lighting and put in models that actually look kind of like your models. They're like little 3D renderings and you know I'll find it from them and we can post it when we post the episode. But it's relatively cheap and you can actually even plan your lighting and the light and you know you can put in which modifiers and the distance and you can do, you can do all the planning for it ahead of time and it actually in real time shows you what that light is going to look like on your subjects. You can put the color clothing that you're going to have on them.
Speaker 2:They can have the skin tone. It's pretty wild.
Speaker 1:It's pretty wild. Now it's like how much time do you have to do Correct?
Speaker 2:It's going to obviously be something that you're investing in Like this is something that you all are. It's for me, it would be what I would call an heirloom session. Right, this is one of my sessions that we are creating wall art, we're doing an installation. It's a commission, but I just feel like it would elevate the value. So, so you guys know that, and if I haven't mentioned it, I apologize, but if you buy a painting from me, when I, when I deliver the painting, I deliver a palette.
Speaker 2:Now, the palette is a fake palette, meaning I don't, we don't. Jamie doesn't actually use the old school wooden palette. What you think of when you think of a painter. He uses a big piece, it's like Plexi and it's anyway the acrylic one. Yeah, exactly, but we do that. So every color that went into that portrait is actually put on the palette. And then what we do on the back of the palette is we both sign it, because usually I've done digital work and Jamie's I may have photographed it, or Jamie, I do the digital work, he does the brush oil work, and then we also will write the song or the Dave Matthews concert that we listened to while we painted it. That's just become a part of our brand.
Speaker 2:That may sound silly but the funny thing is my last three clients all are huge, grateful dead or Dave fans. So it's, you know, you put it out there, they come. You know what I mean? Like, it's just kind of interesting, like, like Minds Attract, but we always write that on there and we deliver the palette with the install. So when you get the painting, we give you the palette. You can throw the palette away. I've had people want me to frame it whatever, whatever. So that's an elevated piece, so that that makes their 10, 12, $20,000 investment even more valuable. But what if they had the pre-piece and they could throw this away, by the way? But can you imagine you go to your neighbors and they're like, oh my gosh, that's beautiful. And they go yeah, look at this, this is what they use to design it and this is what they use to paint it Like. It becomes like that whole, the whole experience, from beginning to end, being so incredibly artistic and creative. I'm making.
Speaker 1:So, yes, you're making sense and you know what it's making me sad, and I'll tell you because I want to do this. So bad for my holiday, for for my family's this fall. When am I going to be, I know?
Speaker 2:I know, you know what this might be a next fall project. I don't want it to be.
Speaker 1:But you're going to do it now.
Speaker 2:Hey well, I don't know about you. My fall was not as busy for PPA stuff when I was pregnant.
Speaker 2:It's not as busy because there's not as many conferences and as much travel, and you know what? You don't do it for everyone here, it's just those special people. But you know what I would do, hey guys, pro tip, I would be going to do, to do. Looking through my, I'm pretending like I have a roll of X to do, to do, to do, and I'd be like, huh, I haven't seen them in two or three years. I'm going to invite them into model for this so that I can create these pieces, so I have them as collateral, so I can, you know, promote them on my reels or on social media or whatever. Or I can show the next person that comes in. So I would call someone I had the scene that I think I could sell a big install to and I would do the design with them. And then you have it done. And once you get one done, don't you think it's going, they're going to be easier to do, moving forward because you can build out a template 100 percent and then you can start to style it.
Speaker 1:I mean, honestly, I just I was just at a boutique up the street. I think there's this you when you were here, yeah, so my mom went to that street right.
Speaker 1:And when I was in there. I keep going in there and buying dresses like all the time lately and yeah, she's got so many cute things. But then I started talking to her about, you know, fall family sessions and like style, you know, because she's got some high end stuff in there and it would be great if, like, the women in these family sessions were getting their clothing styled here and we could just sort of fit in the guys' looks, you know, but the women's looks being like the more prevalent looks, you know. And but I mean, how could I? I'm just thinking like I could work on a template. I could send it over to her and say I'm going to send you people. Here's the template that I have. That's where I'm kind of looking for it and then kind of put it in her park to do it.
Speaker 1:Because she's going to work her hardest, because she's trying to make the sale right, and so it's it's behooves her for me to give her what I'm kind of looking for in the ball park, give it to her and like let it go Right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean that's a brilliant idea, because now you're partnering, so now you're putting part of the burden on her and you're now you're able to co-market, which is great for social media, as you know. I think I actually learned that from you. So now you all are partnering on social media, now you're partnering with your client base. I mean it's a win-win-win. But, guys, just trying to find ways to elevate the existing experience, and I saw those images and I'm glad we didn't know we were going to talk about it but saw those bank images and I thought, huh, my immediate thought was, oh, they probably were less than I thought. No, absolutely not. But then I start, my mind just started going now, wait a minute, how do we go down that path?
Speaker 2:For me, because I'm not, I don't do as many corporate, I don't do a lot of corporate work like you do, and actually the funny thing is is actually Jamie has two headshots today for corporate clients, but it's not normal for us. But I thought how can I elevate that experience? It's like adding the black and white brush oil painting. I grant it, guys, most of you guys are not interested in that or it's not something you're going to fit into your brand. But what can you do to elevate the experience? Kira's work does not lend itself to painting, but it would lend itself to. I feel like you're maximizing and creating a higher value by something that simple. Now, it is simple, but it is time consuming to build it out. I give you that, but I think when you build it out it wouldn't be that bad.
Speaker 1:I would Okay, here's a theory, or get on. You know the the the 80s shoot that you're talking about. You know what made that? There was not a damn thing different about the light or the way I shot, that. I didn't change anything from my corporate look.
Speaker 2:What made the difference was the wardrobe, was the style, of course, the bright colors and with the energy right, and so that was the only difference.
Speaker 1:I mean there was nothing creative about that lighting, it was a standard, commercially lit, high key, you know, work. So I mean it stands to reason that what takes, I mean what takes a family session from okay, like it's a family session to looking like it was, you know, done by some some high end photographer Exactly it's the wardrobeing, well it's like, how many times and I know you do this way more than me but how many times do you look at a vanity fair cover?
Speaker 2:You look at, like Annie Leibut, and they I love it when they show the inspiration of how like she's always sketch hers out and you would see how she designed it. Then you would see the finished piece, think from a social media marketing perspective. You show that and then you show the finished portrait. I literally just got chills. I just. It elevates us beyond being a photographer and there's nothing wrong with being a photographer, guys, I'm not. I'm not being negative, but it elevates us above everybody out there with a cell phone or a camera, you know whatever. It elevates us to and it puts us in more in the art world. I guess is where I'm going with that.
Speaker 1:I agree. And it well, I mean it makes yes, it makes you more of an artist than a commodity, Because we are, we're doing it already, we're just not showing the pre-work. The pre-work. My pre-work just looks messy though, so it's got to be polished enough to be shown.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, I mean or not you?
Speaker 1:know, sometimes the smartest artists have the biggest scribbles. You know I mean.
Speaker 2:So I agree, I mean it can be messy, I think it has to be perfect.
Speaker 1:I am. I did I cheated and I asked our friend, john grass what that software was so we could have it in here, and it is called set a light, set dot a dot light 3D software. And of course, john has a coupon code for everyone. Awesome coupon code to save 15% on that software is John john dash 15. So if you want to save 15% on the software, which I will, I want to set a light 3d software like 3d software.
Speaker 1:Yes, john 15. That's probably a John dash 15. That's probably a Bible verse. Yeah, it does, yep, john dash 15.
Speaker 2:John dash 15. Get you 15% off and closer to Jesus.
Speaker 1:No, it's been a day already, guys, the holiest of software, the holiest of software.
Speaker 2:Well, it's. You know what? Hey, I'm all, I'm all here for it. I love this idea and this is why this podcast is so great for me. It's because I never thought of this until we started rambling and I'm like wait a minute, there's an actual idea in here that I think will make, it'll add. It will at least add to the experience of my clients, which anytime you can add to the experience you continue to strengthen the relationship, and we all know relationships make money.
Speaker 1:It's just like we do and we all know I will get it done. You will get it done so bad, you will get it done.
Speaker 2:I mean, I'm sure there's automated ways to do it. I'm sure there's something in AI you could reach out to to help you do it, I'm sure there is something I could outsource someone on fiber to do it. I'm sure there's an.
Speaker 1:FC template I could find. I'm sure there's something. There's something I could yeah.
Speaker 2:I mean, I'm almost positive we didn't invent this idea, but no, I never. I haven't seen it. But I'm sure there's some work around skies, again, elevating that experience. And speaking of elevating experience, you, oh, I wanted to tell you about my dog. So we talked about how is Dan by the way, he's funny, okay so rookie, my, my senior corgi, my, my og corgi? Um, evidently he is developed, some sort of allergy in his pawpaws, his little paws, his little front paws.
Speaker 2:Well, he is like them to death, like it's bad. So I came home to where my husband has put him in one of those huge plastic cones and I'm like this is unacceptable. He's miserable, I'm miserable.
Speaker 1:This is not working.
Speaker 2:So I bought him these little socks. There's these little doggie socks. They have little grippers on the bottom I think they're for dogs, like probably in Florida, so they don't have to walk on the hot pavement for the hot, for the hot feet. It burns their pawpaws. So we are now wearing little black socks that he hates p? S but they're adorable because he looks like he's wearing like little tube socks on his paws and his waffles get the waffles. Just makes fun of rookie Waffles. Is in a bandana phase of his life. He went to the. He had to go to the doggie daycare while we were at the beach a couple weeks ago and he came home with a bandana and he about bit my face off trying to take it off because it was raggedy and it was gross, so I have bought him.
Speaker 2:He now has three new bandanas he has a gay pride one, he has a fall one and he has a University of Tennessee one go balls, and he loves his bandanas. Rookie wears bow ties and with those is where he's a gentleman. He's a gentleman with tube socks on his front, pawpaws and then waffles makes fun of him. But he's looking awfully dapper in his bandana. He's so cute. He runs around like it's like a cape, he just and if I try to take it off he loves it.
Speaker 2:He just loves it, loves it. I don't think he would be a fan of the socks, but the funny thing is is I laid rookie on his back to try to put these darn socks on him Flashbacks of having an infant trying to put socks on a baby and I'm like, oh my god, but I wrangle them in, man, I, you know. I'm like I bustled them down and I wrangle them in and he's wearing the socks. But, speaking of pets, you do not love dogs. No, no, not love dogs, do not. But you, your clients, you have clients that love dogs. Oh gosh, always ask me, can we bring the pup in? Yeah, so what you have found a really cool way of work around, a cool partnership that I have again is adding value to your client base and I truly believe you will book family portrait sessions from it.
Speaker 1:I think so and I think I'm going to come up with with something to do with it. So so our friend Erica Dorff I saw her a few months ago in Atlanta and she goes. She's a pet traveling pet photographer. So once a year she goes on a tour in her RV with her husband and they do pet portraits and family portraits with their pets all around the country. And I said, oh well, when you're coming down, because she's going to be teaching at the Florida school here soon, a week long class. If you're interested in that, you should definitely go check that out.
Speaker 1:But she is coming through and I said, oh, when you come through, we, you should. You should stop and tell a hassey and do. I'm sure I've got some clients that would be interested. So, fast forward, she reaches out to me and she says hey, I'm coming through in October, beginning of October, full disclosure, though I do think it's your family portrait season and a lot of my families want to be photographed with their pets and sometimes it ends up being their holiday portrait.
Speaker 1:And I don't want to take any of your great clients that normally would be coming to you because you're not really, you know, into photographing pets. And I think and that's an understatement and I was like oh well, you're right, maybe if you come back around in the spring, which I was like, oh, she probably won't you know, but you know, I'm sorry, didn't work out. Then she comes back to me and says what if we do a mini session day where we do it on a Monday and we do it all afternoon and it's just a single pet? Or well, she said that the pets can be in the world Just pets only yeah.
Speaker 1:Just pets only and no people in the portrait, because they're going to be very fast sessions and it comes with a specialty item and it's a special rate and you get a cut of everyone that we do. And how about we do it that way and I was like that'll work Right, because that doesn't infringe on anything that I would be doing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you're not going to just photograph someone's dog.
Speaker 1:No, occasionally I do photograph someone's dog when they have brought it to the portrait session, but it's by no means am I making the same. I don't feel as though I have a level of expertise in photographing the animal that somebody who actually enjoys being around animals does, and so I get, I do what I can. You know what I mean. Like, we get it done and they love it, but it's really just a side thing to the family portrait that we're working on.
Speaker 2:And I'm like the dog is a side chick. The dog is a side chick for your family portrait.
Speaker 1:And I rely heavily on the family being able to wrangle the dog. I in no way can wrangle the dog. All I'm doing is trying to hold it together to show that I'm, to not let them know how nervous I am around the dog. They sense the fear the dog sense the fear, so that's why I'm shooting with a very long lens very far away. So, anyway, this works out great, because not only are is it just an afternoon here at the studio, which is nothing, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1:I get to offer this to my clients so that they're not maybe seeking it elsewhere from another person who isn't as wily around dogs, and I'm getting to kind of see my clients during the time where we need to be booking some of the stuff, so I can you know, I can be talking to them while this is all going on from a safe distance, of course.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so no, I think that's great and I mean I would obviously like. So you're, you're offering a service, you're you're keeping your clients from going elsewhere because they really want a dog portrait. I totally understand that, right. So you're, you're doing that, and then I would obviously be having them sign up right there with some sort of incentive to go ahead and book your family portrait session, whatever that might be. Book your session today and you're going to wait the session fee or book your session today and get you know 10 free holiday. I don't know what it would be, but I would have some sort of incentive to get them to book a family portrait session right there with Sans the dog, sans dog.
Speaker 1:Sans dog. I'll set up a station in my office, far away from dog yeah.
Speaker 2:Every once in a while I, because something that we definitely do not offer, that I have had requests from is like really highly propped children or baby portraits, because you know, I don't have any of those things. I don't have nothing.
Speaker 2:I don't have it, I don't have any of it. So if there was a photographer that was traveling around that did that, I would do this, I think, because I was trying to. When you told me about this, I was like, what would I actually allow that? I would allow, you know, a really highly stylized newborn or child portrait that had all the stuff, the balloons or the whatever, the flowers, all the stuff that I think are beautiful. By the way, it's just not in my bandwidth to even handle. But if there was a traveling person that did that, I would put that out to my clients.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I would yeah, because I don't do it. Yeah, or maybe. I mean, maybe there's an opportunity for a newborn maybe that you know if you're not a newborn poser, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1:Like maybe there's an opportunity for Boudoir. Boudoir, yeah, like, we came there at the same time, right, yeah, like, oh, you know, I've got this colleague, she's coming in, she's doing a special day of Boudoir mini sessions. You know, at the studio and you know with everyone you book, you get a headshot session or this much off a headshot session for later. You know what I mean. I love it. But what if?
Speaker 2:there's an idea. There is an idea there, guys, and if you know someone, even if it's just something you don't do, and you know a photographer I know a photographer in Dallas I'd say, guys, one of my dear friend, amazing artist coming in from Dallas, Texas, it sounds amazing, by the way, it sounds very elevated. And again it just gets them in your studio and now you have an opportunity to discuss your plan, your next session with them with something that you actually do. So I think this is genius. When you first told me, I was like huh, but it's the more than it's. What are they saying? It's a slow burn, it's a slow burn idea.
Speaker 1:It's the kind of thing where you know you have to worry. Is this something that's going to infringe on my business or my sales?
Speaker 2:It's not, the person is out of town.
Speaker 1:I don't know that we have that many specialty pet photographers in the city. I'm sure we have photographers who have no issue, who are fine with pet photography, sure, but somebody who's dedicated to it and devotes their time and efforts to it probably not. And then, and so it's a medium I don't do, but it gets me in front of my clients again and it gets them in my studio space again.
Speaker 2:I love it. I think it's genius and again, it was a slow burn for me, but I'm thinking this is actually brilliant because most of the photographers in your area that do photograph pets are brought to say let's do the whole family. So you, this is ensuring you're not losing that family portraits opportunity.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's the key. That's the key I love it All right.
Speaker 2:Well, I feel like we've given you guys months worth of ideas here there's a lot of stuff. Now we got to go try to figure out how to implement half of them. But yeah, we're good, wrap it up.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm saying we're wrapping it up. I'm sitting here going, god, that was too much stuff. I can't. I can't do it. I can't do it all. That was a lot. How many of you guys out?
Speaker 2:there are rewinding to write stuff down or hopefully you're going to listen to it later to write stuff down. I know I will be. I'm like what are we doing? We have to listen to this one again. Remember that idea.
Speaker 1:Okay, you guys, you can follow us on Instagram I get your shoot together. You can follow us on Facebook Get your shoot together. You can email us at girl, get your shoot togethercom and subscribe to us everywhere we're podcast are played. We will see you guys next time. Thanks y'all.