FAQ: How I Got Started

About four years ago, I sat in my cozy, red living room in Cincinnati scrolling through professional photographers' blogs on my laptop. I had become obsessed with editorial wedding and family photography and I just … wanted … to learn … how they made those beautiful images. It was yearning I was feeling. I've always loved taking photos—I was even one of the photo editors of my high school newspaper—but it wasn’t until I stumbled across a Cincinnati wedding photographer’s website and became enamored with her sun flares and the real emotions she captured that I truly became obsessed with photography. Every chance I got I would get to know new photographers … their stories, their styles, their clients.

I should note here that at the time I was just a year or two out of college and working in communications for the fraternity. I really liked my job, and I never had any intentions of starting my own business (mostly because I wasn't sure I could do it). At that point, photography was just an extracurricular.

So, I bought a DSLR camera, a Sony (obviously I had no idea what I was doing), and started practicing. I would walk around my Cincinnati neighborhood and take pictures of flowers and trees and benches and tried to get that blurred background that I so admired in professional photographers' work.

Some of my practice. I only had shoes as subjects!

I signed up for an online course through the University of Cincinnati. We got homework assignments every week and would post our photos on a dashboard so our classmates could critique our work. That was hard. Looking back I know it would have been so easy for me to quit then, but I wanted it so bad that I pushed forward.

Learning how to frame my subjects ... quite literally! Haha.

I signed up for another class, but this time in a studio with a real teacher, not a virtual one. Steph Carson (now Steph & Dave Photography) taught me so much; most notably something that wasn’t about my camera. One day after class I asked her how I could break into the market. I knew I wasn’t ready yet ... and I still didn't really believe in myself ... but I felt like I was at a dead end and I wanted any advice I could get. She said, “You really need to do an internship before you start advertising that you’re available for sessions or weddings.” Dang. How was I going to make THAT happen?

I had some friends and family that let me practice on them (thank goodness!). I cringe looking back on these photos but know it's so important to remember how far you've come.

You should know that I'm a very by-the-book girl. If someone tells me I should do something, I'm going to do it. I wasn't going to rush into a photography business until I was 100%, completely and utterly, ready.

*This next part has to be divine intervention.*

I was sitting in that same cozy living room not a month later scrolling through a new (to me) photographer’s blog: Amanda Donaho Photography. The first blog post read “Internship with Amanda Donaho Photography.”

You guys, I know that's way too easy. I know photography internships don't just fall out of the sky, but I guess I had some luck on my side. So, despite my already busy schedule, I applied. Amanda got quite a few applicants, but I was available to shoot a wedding with her the next weekend and so I put it on my calendar. This was my chance.

Or so I thought.

The morning of the wedding, I woke up extra early and left extra early to make sure I had plenty of time. I had my outfit planned, my camera charged and the addresses ready to plug into my GPS. I drove and drove out to the west side of Cincinnati. And drove. And drove. I couldn't seem to find the hair salon that my GPS was supposedly taking me to. My heart sunk. I was going to be late. A HUGE no-no in my book and any photographer's book, I was sure.

After a phone call to Amanda and more driving back the way I came, I arrived at the salon ... way late. I knew Amanda wasn't super excited about it and I really thought then that I had ruined any chance I had of working with her past that day. Thankfully the wedding went way more smoothly than the drive in and I learned a TON. I can't imagine agreeing to photograph a wedding before doing at least one with a professional photographer, and I'm so, so, so glad I had the chance.

A photo from that first wedding with Amanda. :)

Amazingly, Amanda picked me to be one of her two interns for 2010. I got to assist her at 12+ weddings that year and my photography skills (and even business and communication skills) shot through the roof. (I also upgraded to a Canon camera before 2010!) I learned SO much working with Amanda and I will always be indebted to her. I continued to assist Amanda through my wedding in 2011.

After getting married, Nathan got a job in Cleveland and we moved up north. I knew that if I wanted to continue with photography, this was my time to go out on my own. I was still scared but I also still wanted it badly, so I took a leap of faith. I had no expectations and continue to be blown away by your loyalty.

To anyone out there in the same position I was in four years ago, I encourage you to practice, to network with other photographers and even ask if you can shadow them at a wedding. In my opinion, getting experience is the most important thing; it will set you on the right path.

Thankfully the yearning I felt four years ago still continues, which is how I know I'm doing the right thing at this point in my life. I still just want to create beautiful, emotion-filled images that mean something to my clients. Thanks to you all I get to stretch my skills every day.

FAQ: How I Advertise

I feel as though I should preface this post by saying I am NOT an expert when it comes to advertising—all the different options, how you should use them, when you should use them. There is certainly not one right way to advertise; this is just what has worked for me. By now, you probably all know that I started out in the photography industry second shooting for Amanda Donaho Photography in Cincinnati. I know quite a few people in the Cincinnati area and I still get some referrals down there, but when Nathan and I moved to Cleveland, I basically had to start over. Yes, I am from the Northeast Ohio area so I did have some family and high school friends to get me started, but Cleveland was all new to me and I knew I had to get my name out there other than counting on referrals.

• Paid Advertising. My first and only (to this day!) form of paid advertising was and is Wedding Wire. Why Wedding Wire? Well, that's how Amanda got her start and she was successful, so I figured why not? Probably NOT the way you're supposed to pick your advertising channel, but so far it's also worked for me! I do pay for a "featured" spot, which means that I'll always show up on the first page of local photographers. When I was first starting out in the area last fall I got most of my inquiries from Wedding Wire, so that featured spot was totally worth it. You'll also notice that I have seven reviews, which also helps with pulling new people onto my page. I have NO shame in asking for a review on the site, and most of my bride's are happy to help me out.

• Word of mouth, aka REFERRALS. Amanda always says that she is lucky enough to have "chatty" brides who help market her business just by talking to their friends, family and acquaintances. I have to say, I've been equally as lucky and have the BEST clients. Last year, most of my inquiries came from Wedding Wire, but as I started photographing weddings this year, I noticed that more and more of my inquiries were coming from friends of friends or the cousin of a past bride. By being communicative, organized, professional, friendly and helpful at weddings, and an overall friend to my couples, I'm representing my brand and building loyalty at the same time. Plus, I'm turning over a good product in a timely manner. In my humble opinion, if the core of your business is strong, people will notice and spread the word. Obviously, there's a little more to it than that but that's for another day. :)
• Other photographers. I'm naturally someone who likes to be around people. I enjoyed working in an office and had a little bit of a rough transition when I started working from home full-time (tune in tomorrow for more on that!). So when we moved to Cleveland, one of the first things I did was e-mail other photographers to set up coffee dates. Some might say that getting friendly with the "competition" isn't something you should do, but I don't think it's like that in this industry. There are plenty of weddings and family sessions to go around, and every photographer has a distinct style, so I think it's SMARTER to work together! I've made some really good friends in other local photographers and I refer them to couples when I'm booked. They do the same for me.
• Other vendors. After I'm done editing my weddings, I make sure to send a disc of applicable photos to each vendor I worked with. Photos of the bouquet go to the florist, photos of the hall go to the reception venue and so on. By sharing my photos, I'm helping them further their business and building relationships simultaneously. Plus, when I work with really great vendors I want to share my experience with my clients so they book the same really great vendors. It's a win-win.
• Social media. Facebook is a wonderful thing for small businesses. It's free and you have a huge web of potential clients at your fingertips. I post all my weddings and sessions on Facebook and tag my clients in their photos (I make sure to ask before I get tag-happy though. Some clients want to stay private and I respect that). When I do so, their friends (and maybe even friends of friends) see those photos and my business name. If I'm lucky, they'll come "like" my page themselves, but at the very least I've planted a seed for the next time they're looking for a photographer.
• Features. If you missed it, I got my very first feature a couple weeks ago! Yay! From that feature, I saw a couple new likes on my Facebook page and new hits to my website and blog. My goal for next year is to make a pointed effort to get every wedding featured. Not all of them will be published, but the ones that are definitely won't HURT my business. Plus, it's just cool to see your name and your clients' faces on another blog. :)

Again, I'm not an expert, this is just what has worked for me. I hope some of these things work for you, and if you have questions or some fresh, new marketing ideas that you want to share, feel free to comment below!

FAQ: Organizing the Schedule

I definitely don't have everything figured out when it comes to running a business, but one thing I do feel fairly OK about is my calendar. Before I went out on my own, when I was still working with Amanda Donaho Photography, I researched, scoured the Internet and read everything I possibly could about photography. I started following photography blogs and to this day, I still read blogs for the first 15 minutes of my morning. I've always been drawn to lists and keeping record of what I do, so when I saw Katelyn James' blogging schedule, I knew I had to try it. As soon as I started booking weddings, I went to Target and picked up a Real Simple flexible planning calendar, which is basically a fancy way of saying that you get stickers with the calendar. I assigned each of those sticker colors a task on my list: blogs, meetings, shoots, admin tasks.

For the last year, all my photography "to dos" have lived on that calendar, while I've also kept a shorter-term to do list on a regular, old piece of paper. I found that the calendar was great for big, black-and-white things, but when I had 15 task items from a wedding, I had nowhere to keep track of each one. Enter regular, old piece of paper.

Once I had booked half of the 2013 season, I decided it was time to make the trek to Target and get another calendar. Only one problem: I couldn't find my beloved calendar anywhere! I've checked the Internet and everything and it's nowhere to be found. Sad.

So, new solution: The Simplified binder by Emily Ley. While I've had my schedule pretty well figured out this year, my client organization needed some help. I've kept contracts, lists, etc., in file folders in my desk, but workflows and receipts stayed in folders on my computer. While I was trying to be green with the whole computer thing, I've learned that if each client's workflow isn't at the tip of my fingers, I don't think to open it and update it. I needed a simpler solution.

In 2013, I'll keep everything in my binder. My calendar and also all my client documents. And because the sticker thing worked so well, I created my own stickers with washi tape.

I still need to figure out a better system for the day-to-day to do lists. I keep a schedule on my iCal, but I get a lot of satisfaction crossing stuff out, so I'm looking for something hard copy. Maybe a planner? What's worked for you? Any recommendations?

FAQ: What to Wear for Your Engagement Session

Cooler temperatures, lovely warm light and soon-to-change-color trees can only mean one thing. It's engagement season! And that means people getting engaged and getting their engagement pictures done. I have quite a few engagement sessions coming up and I've gotten lots of questions about what to wear. I think it deserves its own blog post, no? Stay away from match-matchy, but instead aim to coordinate.

You know those old-school family portraits where the whole family is wearing a white shirt and the exact same acid-wash jeans? Let's stay away from that look for your engagement photos. :) Don't feel like you both have to wear red, for example, instead maybe he wears red in his checkered button-down shirt while she wears gray and yellow and pulls the red into her details. The goal is to coordinate, instead of trying to match each other perfectly. This creates more visual interest. Take a look at a recent J.Crew catalog to see what I mean.

Pile on the layers and accessories!

Talk about adding visual interest. A scarf? Love it. A chunky necklace? Love that too. These things photograph well because you're dressing up an otherwise normal outfit with interesting statement pieces. Plus I love to shoot details and these things are perfect for that. Again, check out a J.Crew or Anthropologie catalog for inspiration.

Be comfortable and be you.

I can talk about accessorizing all I want, but if you don't feel comfortable putting on a big necklace, that's OK! The most important thing is to feel good in your own skin (and clothes). I generally tell my couples that if they want to do an outfit change, they should plan on doing one casual and one dressy outfit. But guess what? If you're a casual couple that likes to watch football and never gets dressed up, you can do two casual outfits! The most important thing to me is photographing you in your element because that's what engagement sessions are about. Telling your story.

Stay away from distracting logos.

That graphic T-shirt you have hanging in your closet should probably stay there for the engagement session. Unfortunately, logos are distracting and just don't photograph well. If you both love the Indians, however, and want to document that, by all means, let's do some photos of you in your jerseys. But the general rule of thumb is to leave logo-laden clothes at home.

Do your wedding makeup trial run before your engagement session.

Why get all dolled up just to go back home again? Plan your makeup trial run for your engagement photo day! I don't necessarily tell brides that they should go overboard on their makeup for engagement photos, but professionally done makeup is always a good thing. And since you're all dressed up anyways, you might as well make a date night out of the whole experience!