portrait photographer

The Beauty Of A Headshot Photography Business

December 4, 2019 by Jon Meadows

I have shot one wedding. Friends asked me, I set expectations low, they knew their budget was low, everything went smoothly, they were happy, and that was the end of my wedding photography career.

There are a few reasons why I stuck with headshot photography and specialized in it, making it my full-time job.

One objective reason, and the reason for the name of this article, is the number of files I created in my first and last wedding: thousands of images to cull! Making selections is difficult to do with or without the client’s input. There are just so many images, so many people, so many stages of the day, pictures of the dress, pictures of the rings, pictures of the shoes, pictures of the program, pictures of the room, pictures of the food, pictures of the head table, etc. All that affects the workflow, and takes a lot of time after the wedding day.

In my headshot business, I am able to spend an hour or two with each individual client, and I take between 75 and 200 images, of the same kind of image, a headshot. We review on site since I am tethering with TetherTools and Capture One. The client makes selections at the end of the session, between 3 and 10 images, on average.

I work with two retouchers, so I send the files off to one of them and get them back retouched when they’re ready. I tweak them (2-5 minutes) and send them off. Client pushback or dissatisfaction is rare, since they chose the images, and they look even better than when they saw them straight out of camera.

That’s why a headshot business, particularly an in-studio headshot business is such a beautiful thing. It’s simple; each shoot is a discrete, relatively short time period with a low number of final images.

And I think headshot photographers and wedding photographers with similar skill levels in their specialties can make comparable sales numbers if they are full-time.

If you’re thinking about making photography a full-time thing, there’s a different, better genre for many photographers than wedding photography: take a look at headshot photography as a possible avenue.

I’ve done it, and it’s the best photography genre for me.

Learn more about headshot photography here.

Tamara Lackey’s Family Posing Playbook Supports “Beautiful Together”

November 18, 2015 by Seshu | Editor & Publisher

Thanksgiving is a week out and we have a lot to be thankful for as we gather around with our families for the holidays. Still, there are thousands of children who are waiting to be adopted into loving homes. Ever wonder what their lives are like as they wait to be adopted?

Tamara Lackey did. She is a photographer, speaker, teacher and author based in North Carolina.

As she went through the process of adopting her children, she saw first hand how challenging their lives were; lack of electricity, running water, working bathrooms etc. So she decided to do something about it. She launched Beautiful Together, to give these children better opportunities towards education and health, as they waited to be adopted by families around the world.

But running a non-profit takes money. In addition to raising funds through innovative auctions and local fundraisers, Tamara who just published the Family Posing Playbook, is giving 10% of the proceeds from the sale of the book to Beautiful Together.

We sat down to talk about the book, how it will help photographers like you and how the book's sale will help Beautiful Together:

So, if you are a portrait photographer who struggles to quickly create beautiful, loving portraits of families, you are going to want to buy the Family Posing Playbook. It's chalk-full of great advice and tips for family photographers like me who can sometimes find ourselves in front of clients who either feel awkward at the sight of a camera or simply don't know how to gather together as a family for portraits.

When you buy the Family Posing Playbook, you also receive a quick reference guide that you can presumably print and carry with you in your camera bag. Tamara walks you through 24 different options and the reference guide gives you easy to read bullet points for each pose that you may choose for your clients.

Tamara, I can tell, is natural teacher. As a Nikon ambassador she often speaks at conferences and trade shows, inspiring thousands of photographers along the way. She also hosts reDefine, an inspirational web series where she speaks with a wide variety of creative and interesting people about their passionate pursuits. Her courses on CreativeLive are also wildly popular (I think I own every one of them!). Also, are you looking for animal-friendly and environmentally responsible album company for your family portrait clients? Check out Tamara Lackey's Lush Albums by Finao now.

You can connect with Tamara on Twitter and Facebook.

Jason Grubb, On Pinterest Marketing For Photographers

May 4, 2015 by Seshu | Editor & Publisher

The number of social media tools appears to be growing each week, doesn't it? If you are just getting started in your photography business, you may be feeling totally overwhelmed like I do on some days. Where is the time to curate content and engage with prospective clients online? And is the ROI, or return on your investment (again, time), justified?

I guess what I am asking you is this: Are you booking paying clients through social media? If not, listen up.

The last time Colorado wedding photographer Jason Grubb stopped by at Tiffinbox we chatted about how photographers can use Instagram. Did you get a chance to take a look at that post? Did you register and listen to Jason's suggestions on using Instagram?

This time around, Jason and I talk about using Pinterest. If your target clients include women, sit up and listen to what Jason has to say about using Pinterest. While his perspective is from that of a wedding professional, as a family portrait photographer in Connecticut, I learned a few things too.

Jason is leading another free webinar, on using Pinterest, thanks to ShootDotEdit.com. Register here today. The webinar is on May 6th. If you have enjoyed the ShootDotEdit webinars, give my friends there a shout-out will ya?

[Tweet “Check out this new @shootdotedit webinar on Pinterest marketing for photographers …”]

So, what social media platforms are you on right now? Which ones appear to be working? Comment below!

Jared Platt’s Shortcuts & Speed Tips For Lightroom Users

January 12, 2015 by Seshu | Editor & Publisher

Jared Platt is an Arizona-based wedding photographer who is also highly regarded as a Lightroom instructor. He offers workshops to photographers who grapple with Lightroom and has created presets that help accelerate the time it takes to process a folder full of images.

Whether you are a wedding or portrait photographer, you should pay attention to Jared Platt. Lucky for you, on January 14th, he is offering a free webinar, thanks in large part to ShootDotEdit.com.

The topic for this webinar is “Top Lightroom Shortcuts and Speed Tips.” Register here.

Jared and I sat down to chat for a bit about the need for speed when using Lightroom.

As an early adopter of the program, he knows the program intimately – its strengths, its weaknesses, its hidden features. That's why I pay attention to Jared whether it is a free webinar like this one or if he is on CreativeLive.

I hope you will jump at this opportunity to learn from one of leading authorities of Lightroom from the comfort of your own home or studio.

The World Through Our Eyes, A Cambodian Project

August 25, 2010 by Guest

This is a guest post by Jen May Pastores, a lifestyle photographer and portrait photographer based in Los Angeles, California.

There’s a window by my desk and outside are two elementary boys peeking in with their smiles eagerly anticipating my returning glance. “Teacher! Study? 4?” is the question I heard everyday from them. “Chaa, chaa,” I reply with a nodding yes. The boys run over to their friends practicing headstands on the side of the center’s building and bring them over to my window. “Can I study, too?” asks a new student. “I’d love that,” I say to him. I check my watch to see I have only a few minutes to prepare the cameras for the next class, so I quickly download the rest of the memory cards to my laptop and head upstairs to the classroom.

This was my typical afternoon at the Tiny Toones center in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Three times a day 15-20 students met me in a classroom to learn and practice photography with each class split among age groups from as young as 10 to 24-years-old. The majority of the youth barely knew English, so the center hired a local translator to communicate for me. Imagine trying to explain f-stops and shutter speed to a translator who was new at photography, then having her explain it to the class! It was a month-long experience with lots of picture drawing on the chalkboard and grand gestures, but it led to creating images and capturing stories that no language barriers could trap.

One of my students once asked me, “Do you take pictures and get money for it?” My class knew I was a photographer in Los Angeles, but they were curious as to why I was there teaching them for free. “Yes, people do pay me to take their pictures. Why do you think they’ll want do that?” I asked. “Because they want to remember something important or special. They want you to tell their story,” answered a student. “So why are you here?” they asked. “Because no one wanted me to tell their story this summer. And, I love teaching others that photography is more than making money. It’s about showing who we are and what we care about.”

Last summer, I ran into my first season where I had no weddings or sessions booked. I decided to look at it as a season of opportunity instead of as a failure. I had never considered visiting Cambodia before, but–as timing can work out perfectly–I was invited by Tiny Toones to offer a photography program at their center. The only thing asked was that I needed to provide everything, including cameras and my airfare, and do it all voluntarily. I looked into who the organization was and discovered that Tiny Toones uses the elements of Hip-Hop like break dancing and djing as creative tools to empower the youth, especially so they could live healthy lives apart from drugs and violence. I then realized that photography could be a complimentary, creative class to educate the youth.

My decision to go happened only a couple months before my program start date. A season with a seemingly bleak outlook turned into one of the busiest, but fulfilling season I’ve lived out so far. My main obstacle was raising funds to buy classroom supplies like digital cameras, memory cards, rechargeable batteries, and chargers for the batteries. This led me to announce my first workshop held in L.A. (which so happens to be the same place where the L.A. Smug group meets every month) where all proceeds went directly to my endeavor. I also reached out to industry professionals requesting donations and out of this Shootsac, Dane Sanders, and local camera stores and photo labs gave items for my workshop and program in Cambodia. In less than a month I was able to raise enough money to purchase 10 cameras, my airfare, and other necessities to main the program for a month.

After the completion of my program at Tiny Toones a gallery in Phnom Penh invited to exhibit the student’s work where 100% of proceeds from sold prints were donated to the center. This began the international tour of what is now known as, “The World Through Our Eyes.” Since last year, the exhibit traveled to Philadelphia, is currently in California, and has plans to continue in Hawaii this fall. None of this would have happened if I didn’t take advantage of an opportunity to give back, especially during a time when I could have easily given up.

The program covered the basics of photography such as composition, lighting and finding good backgrounds for portraits. More importantly, the workshop encouraged students to exercise their voice in telling their story and how they see the world around them. A series of photographs taken during that workshop, “The World Through Our Eyes” is a vibrant statement by youth countering stereotypes of artistic, emotional and urban desolation in the developing world.

To further read up on this cause and how you can help please visit http://cambodia.jenmayphotography.com. You can also watch a documentary on the site that interviews students who participated in the photography classes and find out about upcoming exhibits to see the photos in person.