A day "off" as a Memphis photographer.
Focusing on focusing.
It can be shocking to see the price tag on a portrait session that only last 30-45 minutes. Photography must be so lucrative! Just get a nice camera, shoot, and rake in all the moolah!
I wish it were that easy. I don't think anyone gets into photography for the money. If you enjoy photography enough, you may get to the point of monetizing it through a legitimate business. And when you get to that point, it's a delicate balance between your love of the art and the business.
The average life span for most photography businesses is 2 years. If your are truly dedicated to providing a quality and consistent product for your clients, your cost of doing business goes well beyond the time you spend with clients.
Let me explain...
Today I brought in zero dollars in revenue despite working nearly a full work day.
What does that have to do with my clients?
Well, even in the Mid-South, we have winters that can bring a lot of cold and plenty of rain. I am blessed to have a home studio, but that's not always what my clients want. So today I spent about an hour prepping my gear including a new 35mm 1.4f Sigma lens. That probably doesn't mean much to you if you're not into photography. But I hope that in the year ahead it becomes a valuable tool in my tool box.
I have spent a few months researching a new indoor location for special sessions, a public library. I emailed the library to ensure I had permission to shoot. I searched Instagram tags and Google for the building to get a better idea of the spaces. And today, I got my two oldest chickadees dressed up and ready to go. We drove 30 minutes to the site. We tried out different spaces. We tried out new poses. We tried out different camera settings and lighting. All so that when I finally offered this location to a client I could be confident in it.
We shot for about 45 minutes. We drove 30 minutes home. I uploaded my images. And EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. WAS. OUT. OF. FOCUS. (Cue the crying emoji!!!!)
I immediately knew the issue. My new lens was front focusing. That means it was focusing about 6-12 inches in front of what I wanted it to. I knew this could be an issue with new lenses. And just my luck, I had previously purchased a calibration docking station.
But I had never used it before. So I spent about 30 minutes on YouTube. It turns out, calibrating the focus on a lens is not a quick fix. Adjust some settings, take some pictures, zoom in on pictures, adjust some settings, take some pictures...and on and on for about two hours until I got it right.
The good news is I got it right. My new lens is now ready to take on a real client.
But tomorrow, I'll be back at the public library with my amazingly forgiving teenagers to take more test shots at this new venue. All so that when I have a client in front of my camera there, I can capture portraits they will cherish for a lifetime without any hesitation or concern about the quality of the product.
I love photography. I am slightly obsessed with photography. And this obsession guarantees that for the 30-45 minutes you are in front of my camera I am giving you the best possible experience.
Love,
Amanda Rae
Three Chickadees Photography
