I go to do a photo shoot for a special family. We met this family when they put their house on the market almost three years ago. We fell in love with their house, bought it, and they moved into the beautiful house right behind us. Isn’t that fun!
Meet the two sweetest neighbors in the world: Henry and Will.
This is little Will. Can you believe those eyes! Isn’t he a little Gerber baby!
And this is big brother, Henry. This is one of my favorite “little boy” shots ever. I love the stone he’s sitting on, and the ground cover with little blue flowers and the dark background almost makes it seem surreal. It’s as if he’s sitting inside a magical world. His expression could mean a 101 things.
We grabbed one of their chairs from inside and put it in the backyard. Kind of fun!
And oh my goodness, look at how dynamic all three are in this shot. Dad is totally laughing, Henry is giggling so hard it’s making his tummy hurt, and Will is definitely giving me a command of some kind. 🙂
And here are two more to encourage all of you aspiring photographers. 🙂
We went live with our new site yesterday, www.refusetosaycheese.com. (And yeah, the pages are all working and looking good! :))
One of the hot sellers for our first day was the much anticipated Portrait 101 Kit: The Essentials to Starting Your Own Side Business. If your new to the business of portrait photography, check it out. And remember, that every photographer wades through moments like this…
and this…
because they know this is around the corner, often minutes later.
What is one of the keys to a becoming a great Portrait Photographer?
Confidence.
Confidence that is gentle and strong when the parents are nervous that the session was a waste of time. Confidence that is quiet and kind when there is a temporary meltdown because you know kids go through these, and you also know the meltdown will pass. Confidence in your artistic eye. You really do see the moments of life and connection, it’s okay if you have to take a little longer to capture the shot–try to go easy on yourself if the waiting starts to feel to long. You’re okay, and your images will give more life than you could ever imagine.
How do you gain this type of confidence?
Build trust with yourself through experience. Shoot and shoot some more. You will learn to trust your creative spirit, and that’s when you realize your flying.
Thanks Henry and Will for letting me share my time with you.
Love, Me Ra
p.s. Brian is sleeping in this morning. Thanks for making him smile so wide all day yesterday! We celebrated the new site at took the kids to pizza last night. 🙂 I couldn’t believe Brian was still awake, but he made it. Love YOU Brian!
It always gives me confidence to know that there are ‘do overs’ in life (unless you are shooting a wedding, gulp!). Just knowing that I could do a full retreat and shoot that family on another day if I had to gives me confidence. I’ve hardly ever had to do it, but it’s nice to have that in my back pocket!
Hi MeRa,
When should I be expecting an email to download the Kits from the advanced workshop? I can’t wait!!
Tammy – I emailed Brian that question yesterday and he had me go back to the shopping cart and go through it again and it worked fine and I was able to download everything.
Is MeRa in my spam box? Because I didn’t received any emails from her but the auto replies 😛
Hi Me Ra,
I love reading everything you have to say about portrait photography (and I got the Portraits 101 kit yesterday!).
Long story short, we may be moving to a new state and then as soon as I can, I want to start my business on the weekends. I was doing research online, looking at other photographers in the area where we hope to move and one of them offers really inexpensive photo shoots ($100!) and gives the client a CD with all the photos shot at no extra charge. The same photographer is also charging up to $6900 for his wedding photography – so I don’t think he’s just starting out.
Am I wrong to let this freak me out a little bit? I certainly plan to make more than $100 for a photo shoot.
Me Ra
Thank you for words on confidence! I believe confidence is the key to success in anything you do in life. No matter what situation you are in, if you believe and trust in yourself and in your talent you will always shine a little brighter.
Hopefully some of the ladies reading this will get the inspiration to be more confident and to trust in themselves! Trust and confidence inside you is the best gift you can ever give yourself!
LOVE the elegant chair outdoors! Glad the family is so awesome and will work with you!
They have some spectacular photos to show for it!
MeRa,
Great shots and great advice! It is just what I needed to hear!
I found that the best way for me to build confidence was to start with shooting family and friends. Before I knew it, word got out and clients where calling. The more shoots I did the more confident I became in myself and in my ability. I was able to gain experience with out a whole lot of pressure at first and build my portfolio at the same time. I started out with a few freebeez and also did a few $100 deals for starters. Currently I am struggeling with confidence in doing weddings. I have never shot a wedding and have recently been asked to do several. The first wedding is small, so that should be good for a beginner like me. The second wedding is larger and I will be co-shooting with another photographer. The third I just flat chickened out on…. to much pressure for my level of experience and or confidence level at this time. I am all about daily baby steps in the pursuit of this photography dream of mine. Reading Me Ra’s Blog, taking her workshop and purchasing her DVD’s has helped build my knowledge level and confindence by leaps and bounds. I can hardly wait to get my hands on those 101 kits! Thanks so much for sharing your wisdom Me Ra and Brian. What a blessing you are for sharing and truelly inspiring others to make their dreams to come true. I am so grateful to you both!
HI Me Ra! Love what you do and how you approach everything! I downloaded 101 portrait with ease yesterday. I am DYING to buy the DVD set, but it won’t let me finish the transaction because there is no shipping method available. Do you not ship international??? I sure hope you do! I am dying to get my hands on those dvds!
Cheers
Rita
thanks for that lil uplifting note about confidence…itz always something that creeps up! needed to hear that!!!!!
thanks a bunch!
Stumbling onto your blog a few weeks ago was definitely an eye opener. I started out in b&w landscape and thought Ansel Adams was my idol. I was not interested in taking pictures of people, let alone children, until I came across websites like yours that captures a child’s emotion and personality. I realized children’s photography can be more than posed shots and the boring background.
That was a few months ago and I’m currently working on building my business, getting my website started and harassing all my friends to let me take their pictures. I’m beyond excited about purchasing the 101 Kits and hope that one of your 2008 workshops finds its way to Atlanta. Though I’m not new to the photography world and I still love Ansel Adams, I absorb any piece of advice you have to give regarding making your passion become your career. Thanks so much for not being a stuffy, intimidated photographer who isn’t willing to share your gift with other photographers. We all certainly appreciate all that you and your hubby do!
I loved your post today; your gentle words of encouragement were quenching to thirsty ears.
I’m a perfectionist, so making mistakes is a little nerve racking for me. LOL That said, I’m constantly reminding myself that if I didn’t ever make a mistake, I would never have the gift of the joy I feel when I finally get it right.
I like this quote because I think it captures this lesson pretty well. “I will love the light, for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness for it shows me the stars.” Og Mandino
Love the pictures. I am laughing at my self because when I saw the word portrait, I said outloud “oh it’s Justin” not! LOL!!!
I am totally joking here. 🙂
Me Ra, I love how you guys always are so willing to take the time to let us all know how you got those great shots. You two are the best!
Me Ra,
You totally nailed it on the head with your words about confidence and just being patient to know that “this too shall pass” and the great shot will come…When we as photographers have that confidence and patience it helps our parents to feel assured that everything will be okay. 🙂 Now, if we can just have that same patience and confidence when we are shooting our own children!!!! 🙂 he-he
Yes, confidence is HUGE! I did a shoot a couple weeks ago that I have gotten rave reviews on, but I thought I had done a crappy job on at the time. I actually refused payment before I even processed the photos. Now, come on! What a rookie mistake! I’m sure that made my friend totally lose confidence in me not to mention my husband was there shooting too and I took his credibility away with mine.
It’s all fine now. I learned my lesson. I got back on the horse and went and shot a BEAUTIFUL baby the next day and booked another baby the day after that. Miraculously, I got a call today from someone who loved the shoot I did of the family I refused payment from. So thankfully, they didn’t completely lose faith in me!
I just had to share that I have been REALLY working on my confidence and not selling myself short. It’s not all about selling confidence in my work, but in ME as well! Thanks Me Ra!
PS My awesome hubby just got me a BEAUTIFUL new mac today so I can get rolling on my photog business! I just posted photos on my blog of us opening the box so you guys should help me drool over it!
I’m so glad that this post connected with so many of you today. Isn’t confidence the key in so much of life? I love your quote Marianne! That’s the type of quote I need tape to my computer!
Rita, sweet Rita, I got your phone message from Australia and listened to it three times! You have no idea how wonderful it is to hear that we are reaching and inspiring people internationally. An international tour of workshops is such a dream of mine.
We are currently not shipping the DVD set internationally b/c the shipping turned into this crazy mess. SO…we are working on having a download version available for sale for our international friends. I don’t know when this will be happening, but we are working on it. Oh Rita, I’m so sorry I can’t do better for you right now! If any thing you keep us inpspired to figure out the download option.
Hi Me Ra,
I’m off to do a photo shoot, but your message here is exactly what I needed today. Thanks for just knowing what to say and how to do it. You are greatly appreciated. 🙂
Being a friend with this little family, it was fun to see them on your blog! Will is so cute with his big blue eyes! I photographed their wedding and some portraits here and there withthe kids. It was interesting to see a different perspective! You have to LOVE the mid- photo shoot meltdown! It is the unexpected moments that make photography interesting. The moments you aren’t even sure you captured until you review your images. That is what it is all about!
Hi Me Ra!
I contacted Brian via email and he explained that too me also. HUGE BUMMER! You have no idea how excited I was when the new website went live and DVD 2 was available to purchase and then whenit came to that dreaded shipping question my heart just sank!
I emailed Brian back with a couple of suggestions. You have truly inspired me to get off my butt and do something with my business that has been registered for one year, but have been too scared to develop further. 2008 is the year! no ifs ands or buts!
You and Brian should hold your heads high and be proud of what you have accomplished and how super dooper bright the future is for you both. You take business to the next level with outstanding customer service (that is what successful businesses are remembered for). You can’t put a price on that.
I can’t wait to see how this develops. If you do decide to branch out internationally, please consider Melbourne! Or if Sydney has the popular vote (it always does!) Let me know well in advance so I can save my pennies to attend!
Rock on!
Cheers
Rita
Love Mr. BlueEyes. Great looking picture!
[…] Keys to Becoming a Great Portrait Photographer! I go to do a photo shoot for a special family. We met this family when they put their house on the market almost three years ago. We fell in love with… […]
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Greetings! I recently read your blog and We loved it. I was wondering if you’re going to publish more posts to go in conjunction with this blog?
I’m greatful for sweetening my daily routine. Yeah, hard era but everybody remember that we need enjoyment also in our lives.
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