FAQs
- What should the customer know about your pricing (e.g., discounts, fees)?
I try not to make it complicated. I bid according to what the client has set for parameters and strive to give the same quality (may not be same quantity) for a $99 three-dog portrait shot as I have done for a $2,500 3-day wedding event, Bachelor's party, Bride's party, rehearsal and the dinner, wedding, reception, and the drive away. I have a valid passport and have gone with the "group" to take pictures in places where is was sunnier and drinks came with little umbrellas....and two of the bridesmaids asked me to do their weddings later on. (positive observers).
- What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
Yes, I subscribe to three top-photography magazines and I keep current with what pre-teens and teens use their camera-phones for and I voluntarily teach Boy Scouts at summer camp so they may earn their "Photography" merit badge. I am now routinely communicating with them years after the lesson with pictures they have taken and ask my thoughts on it and ways to improve. I even have to keep up, and do hold one-on-one walking tours with parents and grandparents, so they can use their "new" camera.
- How did you get started doing this type of work?
It began as a hobby when an aunt gave me a Brownie camera for my 14th birthday. The man next door was a retired Air Force photographer and he taught me about, speed, f-stops, and ISO interactions. I learned using the MANUAL method (the hard way) to shoot, develop film, and print pictures in B&W and color. It helped his daughter was my age and was also into the hobby :) At 18, I joined an arts and crafts club and soon found myself being asked to teach on Saturdays the knowledge-based criteria, prepare darkrooms, and lead field-trips for classes (and was PAID) to apply classroom ideas into shots, darkroom procedures, and printing methods. I liked getting pocket money for a hobby and haven't stopped since.