Never guessed my photography biz would be like this... (a don't quit thread)

[HotHolly]

Hey! I haven't been around much. Business has been insanely busy. I just wanted to pop in and give the newbies out there a tip - a tip that no one told me.

During the course of your photography business you will get opportunities to do things - things that can take your business down different paths. Don't ignore these things. At least look at them.

My photography business has been nothing like what I thought it would be - it turned out much better and more satisfying than I could have imagined. Bonus!

Here is the drive-by version.

I started my photography business as a timid "helper." OMG. I remember reading the owners manual 3x, putting the book down, and feeling incredibly stupid. I'm technologically impaired. Give me a paintbrush, and I'm good. Hand me anything with a computer chip in it and my brain seems to fry. BTW - 80's robot in the Muppet Movie was hysterical.

Anyway, I'd been a commissioned painter, and wanted to learn photography. Mike taught me. He's very patient. Thank God. We started out shooting weddings and then children. We shot brides and high key bridal stuff that was the "thing" at the time. When I shot the first portrait of a sublime (aka sad) bride, people told me who will buy that? Turns out - lots of people. I continued to shoot my dark moody bridals. High end weddings. Affluent formal children's portraits. Then a wedding gown designer asked us to shoot some of her stuff. We did that.

Then another milestone came along, which brought me to a road I didn't think I'd take. Many brides kept asking me to shoot their boudoir portraits. One day I said yes. Now I have more boudoir clients than I know what to do with. Mind you where I live... It's the buckle of the bible belt in smallsville USA.



I'm not advocating shooting boudoir. Or not. Just that it isnt what I thought it'd be. Its a chance to show a woman how beautiful she really is and most women have no idea. They cry and hug me when they pick up their prints. Im not a hugger, but that doesnt stop them. Not only is it a great present for their guy, but it does wonders for their self-esteem. Its amazing. Bonus! Helping someone see that they are beautiful is awesome.

A few years pass, and I'm at another milestone. I still shoot boudoir, but I miss shooting gowns. I start writing again, mainly b/c I stopped. A few

books

books

pour out of my mind, and I notice that I can use my photography skills and photoshop abilities to make images for the books, including promotional stuff, and book covers.

This sounds so stupid - but I am in heaven! I LOVE making covers! It ties together everything I've learned so far. This is the last book jacket I created. When I realized that I could shoot scenes from the book... oh man!

It's so fun!


The shoot was fun. Processing it was fun. The dress was perfect.

I use Blu sites for my books, and my photography & marketing skills to promote them. By the time the final book in the series is released, I'll have 50,000 facebook fans! Woop! Woop! It's awesome. I'm having fun. Plus I get to shoot dresses, help young writers, and photogs. Its awesome.

And have I mentioned that I LOVE purple? I DO! And the shot below - when would I have ever gotten to take anything like that if I only shot children? I had no idea that I could even do stuff like this when I started. I didn't have the skill, but I didn't have the vision at that point either.



Anyway, when I started in photography, I wanted to shoot children. If I'd stayed on that path, I would have been blind to all the other opportunities - things that I would have never even thought of. I know there are lots of newbies out there that have a specific idea in mind of how things should be. I did. And I gotta tell you that what I have now is way the butt better than anything I imagined when I started.

Things that will help your business:

Be flexible.
Learn everything you can.
And keep growing.

And make sure you listen to that little voice inside your head. It's not always nuts. Intuition goes a long way in business. You'll find many threads about business practices and pricing in here from the HotHolly of years past. Some things didn't mesh with the norms of the time. Or the norms for small towns like mine. But it worked. And that's all that matters. Your business needs to make sense to YOU. And if you can throw your HEART into it, others can tell. Doing what you love makes a huge difference. I hope the new year is awesome for you and your business!

Back to work!

[Arcusmedia]

Thanks for Posting this!

[dracula02]

That's awesome, Holly! I remember you and Mike putting on the Bridal workshops in Dallas and Austin. Best of luck to you both in 2012!

[HotHolly]

thanks guys!

i remember u tommy! best of luck to u too!

[ka5txl]

Now if you could write some military High Tech, Tom Clancy type stuff maybe call it "the bride wore combat boots" Seriously it great how it's worked out for you.

[kayumangi]

Madam you rock!

[HotHolly]

thank u!

Do it larry! do it! :) You never know that you can't do something until you fail. lol. Thats my motto... for today.

[Bruce M. Morris]

The problem with what you are doing Holly is you dont spend enough time here!! We dont get to hear all about what you do and get motivated to do our own things....


Oops, I may have said tooo much.....

[HotHolly]

lol Bruce. motivation isnt the problem - its figuring out which crazy idea to try out next. my latest with the photography studio is skipping proofing. i ended my trial period to compare what happened with sale and um, my sales jumped 60%. strange but true. its like Ikea. whoever thought to dump ppl in a maze to buy crap was a genius. even more genius - sticking a food court in the middle. Ikea is like a crazy-ass idea showroom, in terms of selling.

And if you need inspiration, see my motto above. lol.

[Nikonfan]

Great advice Holly! One thing I love about most photographers that have a business is that they do it because it's what they love. They may not have found their particular niche yet, but they know they love photography. I have only come across a few photographers that got into it because they thought it was an easy way to make money.

[Susie_S]

This is a very sincere and passionate post- thank you for sharing it ;)

Susie

[Phisch]

Niiiiiice! Great encouragement, really.

[w9ctm]

Wow Holly. What a positive post. Reminds me why I do what I do. It really is about doing what you love, and if you make a few bucks while you're at it, what the heck. I am not in it just for the money, so I have a lot of fun doing what I do. Still interested in trying Boudior or something of that sort though.... I have a couple of ideas..........
Regardless, I am SOOO happy for you!