Aspiring Photographer: Photography Advice and Inspiration

Imaging USA 2011

 Whew! What an awesome time. I had such a blast at Imaging USA 2011 in San Antonio last week, the first time I've ever attended in my 10 years as a professional photographer. And I didn't even attend the classes. I filled up my time there with a couple parties, the certification exam, the trade show, the print exhibition, and catching up with old friends. And that was plenty! Still holding my breath for the results of the exam. We were told to expect results in 3 weeks. I'm hoping that was their attempt to "under promise and over deliver," and that maybe just maybe we'll hear something before that. I was disappointed that it rained the whole time I was there, but the beautiful convention center and inspiration overload made up for the lousy weather.

So, I thought I'd share just a few of the highlights of the convention from my perspective.

Booth That Extracted The Most Money From Me

Oh yes, that would have to be Barbour Backdrops. Wow. The quality of these backgrounds is simply remarkable. They have developed a process that enables them to create the look and feel of a faux wall right on canvas. With many years of experience creating faux finishes, they are creating a product of the highest quality and craftsmanship. They tested it and got it right until they could create and roll the backgrounds, keeping them flexible and not cracking. I've looked a good deal online at the faux backgrounds that are computer generated onto a wrinkle-free poly fabric background, and am disappointed when I get up close and touch and feel them. Although people seem to like them and love the lightweight wrinkle free versatility, I can't get past the cheap look when they're hanging there, but the backgrounds from Barbour look really upscale and expensive. I think you really have to see them in person to appreciate the quality and texture. They almost have the look and finish of leather.

What I also love about Barbour Backdrops is the fact that this is a family run business, so it makes me happy to have my little family-run business support their family run business (which is not nearly as little as mine at this point!). One of the owners spent a lot of time with me telling me all about the product, and it's clear that he's enthusiastic about what they do.

I picked out a couple of backgrounds that I feel will both be universally great with families, boys and girls. It it so hard for me to commit to a background, but I feel these will provide me with good versatility while helping to set me apart from other local photographers. I really expected these backgrounds to be more expensive given the quality.

Booth With the Cutest Stuff

Design Revolution. Totally. And I got away with spending only $35 with them! Not quite sure how I pulled that off. Their booth was jam-packed with all these adorable little hats, tutus, tops and other baby clothing you feel like you have to buy right that second or else you'll die. I never actually really even got inside their booth because it was so crammed with female photographers clawing their way to the goods that you could barely turn around. But I got to see their stuff the night before in a little pre-show hospital suite hosted by Lori Nordstrom's PhotoTalk Forum, so that was cool. I thought I'd gotten some shots of the Design Revolution booth, but I'm not finding them, so you'll have to settle for this photo of Julie Klaasmeyer (famous baby photographer extraordinaire) being sweet and pretending she's my BFF while I hold up the super-cute newborn hat I bought from her.

Coolest Booth Design

Finao totally dominated the "coolest booth" category in my opinion. When you're walking the trade show floor for hours with a bag full of heavy promotional materials, you get exahasted. Coming across this huge booth with loads of  ottomans, sofas and papasan chairs was like finding an oasis in the desert! It was all set up to look like some hip hookah bar, and you could stay as long as you wanted by grabbing a seat and pouring through the countless albums that were on tables and shelves throughout the booth. The only problem is that they were a little off the beaten path, on the very far edge of the expo floor, so I didn't discover them right away.

 

Best Convention Inspiration

Since I did not attend any of the classes, which I'm sure were terrific, I drew most of my inspiration from the print exhibition, which contains the merit-winning and Loan Collection images from last year. It had me crying and laughing and staring in wonder. Wish I'd had a lot more time to go back through the exhibit a couple more times.

We observed that low-key character studies seem to do especially well in competition, and there were lots and lots of images of animals. Babies not so much! There was also lots of digital composite work that is totally beyond me, but way cool to look at.

[Mary Lynne Ashley is a Colorado Springs portrait photographer specializing in babies, children and maternity photography.]

Colorado Springs Camera Classes | Learn How to Use Your Digital SLR

Learn How To Use Your Digital SLR Camera
One Day, $99
NEW DATES: Saturday, February 19th OR Saturday, May 7th
9am – 2pm
Snacks and drinks included. Bring a sack lunch.

This is a group class for anyone interested in understanding how to get better results with their digital SLR, and will be especially geared towards those wanting to get better photos of people. You probably paid a lot of money for that camera, and a little training will help you get so much more out of it! This is a very hands-on class, where I’ll help demystify all those controls on your camera. We’ll talk about focusing, getting correct exposure through both manual and automatic methods by understanding ISO, shutter speed and aperture, white balance, lens selection, and more. With each discussion we’ll change settings on our cameras and get practice applying each concept. We will also cover some of the basics related to photographing with natural light, and "seeing the light."

No experience or prior knowledge is necessary. I usually cover this same information in my personalized two-hour one-on-one classes, but this class is great for those who prefer a group environment, or who would like a little extra time to absorb and experiment with each concept before moving onto the next one.

Contact Mary Lynne Ashley at marylynneashley@gmail.com, or 719-205-7236 (cell) for more information, and/or to register.

Mary Lynne Ashley is an award-winning Colorado Springs professional portrait photographer specializing  in babies, children and families.

You can see examples of her work at www.ashleyphotography.com, and also on her Ashley Photography Facebook fan page.

How NOT to Market Your Photography Business

So a few days ago I was at my studio listening to podcasts and painting away. We always have this need to redecorate our studios in January, it seems! Unshowered, dressed in my grubbies and covered in paint, I heard a knock at my door. I only take sessions by appointment, so I figured it was the landlord or the tenant next door needing something. I opened the door to find a guy standing out there. "Are you Ashley?" I said "Well, sort of. My last name is Ashley." So he says "well, what's your first name?" And I say "who are you?" He tells me his first name, and that he's from a company that helps photographers get more business. I tell him my name, and he says "Okay, well I just wanted you to be able to place a face with a name." He'd called and left a message on my phone the day before, and had sent me a postcard a week or two before that. I told him I was really in the middle of something, so he left.

I went back into the studio and thought "this guy went to the effort to find my studio's address and drive over here, but he didn't even bother to find out my name before he showed up?" Couldn't he have just checked out my website for two minutes? " How about approaching me this way instead?: "Hi, are you Mary Lynne? I was checking out your website, and you sure have some beautiful baby photography on there. January's sure a slow month for photographers, isn't it? Do you have a few minutes to talk about how our company might be able to help you with that?" Of course, I still wouldn't have been thrilled about him just showing up without an appointment, but he might have had a chance with me. A few days later I received an e-mail from a woman trying to sell me an Internet/phone bundle, and the first thing she said in the e-mail was how impressed she was with my photography, and how she wished she lived closer so she could bring her kids to me. I didn't need Internet service, but she at least earned a polite decline from me.

How would this lesson apply to your photography business? It took me back to the time I had a client show up to pick up her prints, and my new employee gave her a blank look and said "and your name is...?" completely acting like she hadn't just recently spent a couple hours in a session with her and another hour or two in the sales room! Knowing our clients' names is HUGE. They certainly deserve it after making the important decision to choose us as their photographer.

Well, that's my little rant for today! It just seemed like a relevant experience to share.

-Mary Lynne

Preparing for the Certified Professional Photographer Exam

Oh boy, just three days left until I take the Professional Photographic Certification Commission's Certified Professional Photographer exam. How's that for a mouthful?! I'll be taking the exam at Imaging USA in San Antonio. Thought I'd share what I've done to study for it. Hope I'm on the right track! I've already passed the image review, so the exam is all that's between me and certification.

The main recommendation on preparing for the exam is to get a copy of Photography by by Barbara London, Jim Stone, and John Upton. It's around $130. Did I get it? No. Hoping that won't have been a huge mistake! So here's what I did instead. I signed up for the Certify with Sandy website, which is a forum created to help you pass the exam. I sat through all the webinars on there, where an instructor walks you through all the different topics. Then I went into the Online Study Group section of the forum, where they link to a study guide for the ninth edition of the Photography book. It has sample questions for each chapter, and worked through all of those (except for the stuff related to film processing, which I keep reading is not on the test). I also read through each of the study guide posts created by Constance Rawlins, where she touches on the important points from each chapter. They have also created a set of online flashcards, so I worked my way through all of those as well. The flash cards are extremely helpful.

At this point I'm feeling pretty good about passing the test, but am going to continue to study in my free moments up until I walk in the door. I'll report back on how it went!