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4 • www.ppmag.com
PROFESSIONAL
senior editorJOAN [email protected]
features editorLESLIE HUNT
editor-at-largeJEFF KENT
art director/production managerDEBBIE TODD
creative services manager/publications & SSACHERYL [email protected]
circulation MOLLIE O’[email protected]
eastern region ad managerTARA TRUITT,
404-522-8600, X230; [email protected]
central region ad managerBART ENGELS
847-854-8182; [email protected]
western region ad managerAMY WALLS
404-522-8600, X279; [email protected]
publications sales staff
director of sales & strategic alliancesWAYNE JONES
404-522-8600, x248; [email protected]
EDITORIAL
director of publicationsJANE GABOURY
[email protected]’s your client?There’s no single answer
This issue presents an interesting topic for professional photographers,
one worthy of discussion and debate: Who’s your client?
In our interview with Lori Nordstrom (“Senior Momentum,”
page 84), she’s very clear that while her goal is to delight the
students who come to her for senior portraits, these young adults
are not her clients. Nordstrom has forged a notable career not
only with the quality of her photographic work but with her business
savvy as well. They don’t call the ties that bind the wallet “purse
strings” for nothing. “Moms are my market,” Nordstrom says. By
all means, inspire seniors with images they’ll love and love to
share, but it’s Mom who makes the purchase. It’s Mom who
decides where the portraits will be hung and the albums displayed.
By contrast, there’s Jim Lersch, who also has a successful
studio and is likewise sought after by his peers as a source of expert
photographic advice (“Through Their Own Eyes,” page 116). Like
Nordstrom, he didn’t initially intend to take on senior photography
as a business line, but when he did, he found satisfaction both
creatively and financially. Now here is the point of divergence:
Lersch doesn’t want to just delight his senior subjects, he wants to
give them a creative outlet to express their truest selves. His pre-
shoot consultations are akin to counseling, getting seniors to open
up about their likes, dislikes, personality, and dreams. After the
portrait session, Lersch allows students to help drive postproduction
choices to further express their inner life. Sometimes the resulting
portrait reveals a self much different than the one Mom and Dad
expected to see. For Lersch, connecting with the senior portrait
subjects opens creative and financial doors.
Just as there is no law of senior portraiture, there’s no single
best answer to the question, Who’s your client? Successful
businesses are built and sustained through a variety of methods.
Read, learn, and understand how prominent peers have made
their name, but don’t discount your own instincts and
professional passions. It’s the things that make you tick as an
artist and an entrepreneur that set you apart, reveal your own true
brand, and get clients to your door. �
Jane Gaboury
Director of Publications
Discover new products, share yourfavorites, and join the community.
PPMAG.COM/SHOP
contributing editorsDON CHICK, LORNA GENTRY, ROBYN L. POLLMAN, ELLIS VENER
editorial officesProfessional Photographer
229 Peachtree Street NE, Suite 2200, Atlanta, GA 30303-1608 U.S.A.404-522-8600; fax: 404-614-6406
Professional Photographer (ISSN 1528-5286) is published monthly subscriptions
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Advertising materials contact: Debbie Todd at [email protected]
Subscription rates/information: U.S. Print: $27, one year; $45, two years; $66,three years. U.S. Print and Digital Combo: $37, one year; $65, two years; $96, three
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Periodicals postage paid in Atlanta, Ga., and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to Professional Photographer magazine,
P.O. Box 3606, Northbrook, IL 60065-3606Copyright 2012, PPA Publications & Events, Inc. Printed in U.S.A.
Article reprints: Contact Professional Photographer reprint coordinator at Wright’s Reprints; 1-877-652-5295.
Microfilm copies: University Microfilms International, 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48106
Professional Photographer (ISSN 1528-5286) is published monthly for $27 per year by PPAPublica tions and Events, Inc., 229 Peachtree Street, NE, Suite 2200, International Tower, Atlanta,GA 30303-1608. Periodicals postage paid at Atlanta, Ga., and additional mailing offices.
Acceptance of advertising does not carry with it endorsement by the publisher. Opinions expressed byProfessional Photographer or any of its authors do not necessarily reflect positions of Professional Pho -tog raphers of America, Inc. Professional Photographer, official journal of the Professional Photog raphersof America, Inc., is the oldest exclusively professional photographic publication in the Western Hemisphere(founded 1907 by Charles Abel, Hon.M.Photog.), incorporating Abel’s Photo -graphic Weekly, St. Louis & Canadian Photographer, The Commercial Pho tog -rapher, The National Photographer, Professional Photographer, and Pro fes sionalPhotographer Storytellers. Circulation audited and verified by BPA Worldwide.
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THE WHOLE PACKAGE Beth Jansen invites clients into her worldfor a premium baby portrait experienceBy Jeff Kent
SENIOR MOMENTUM Lori Nordstrom serves the senior marketwhile staying true to her unique styleBy Jeff Kent
LIGHT QUEST Megan Squires photographs seniors bathed in the beautiful California sunBy Lorna Gentry
BABIES: LOVE AT FIRST CLICK
Nicola Toon dives into the dreamBy Stephanie Boozer
BABIES: CULTIVATING A LIFESTYLE
Jennifer Dell uses props and toys to yield genuine, engaging responses By Lorna Gentry
SENIORS: THROUGH THEIR OWN EYES
Jim Lersch believes in expressing one’s self as an exercise in self-awarenessBy Stephanie Boozer
IMAGE BY: MEGAN SQUIRES
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112
116
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84
Features
PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER AUGUST 2012
CONTENTS
DepartmentsCONTACT SHEET22 Under the bridge24 Pin-up portraits28 Giveaway of the month28 PP asks: Favorite vacation spot30 The Coiffure Project30 What buyers want30 School calendar
PROFIT CENTER33 What I think: Jennifer Dell36 Ask the experts38 Starting over: I was a rocker once
by Kalen Henderson42 Making money: Profitability
by Bridget Jackson44 The pros and cons of Pinterest.com
by Carolyn E. Wright48 Prepping the parents
by Robin Long
THE GOODS53 What I like: Jim Lersch54 Roundup: Baby portraiture products
by Robyn L. Pollman56 Pro review: Photogenic
PL5R-Fresnel Reflectorby Ellis Vener
58 Pro review: Photogenic CL500by Betsy Finn
62 Pro review: Lastolite Joe McNallyTrigrip Kitby Ellis Vener
64 Roundup: Continuous lightby Joan Sherwood
68 Photoshop: New spot fixesby Martin Evening
ON THE COVER: Beth Jansen captured the coverimage of her niece with a Canon EOS 5D camerawith a 50mm f/1.4 lens at f/1.4 for 1/6,400 sec-ond, ISO 400. “She has been a princess from theday she was born,” says Jansen of her niece. “Iwanted to show off how soft her skin tones were,how feminine she is, and how well gorgeous lightradiates in her beautiful blues.”
8 • www.ppmag.com
14 FOLIO
49 IMAGING USA
125 PPA TODAY
138 GOOD WORKSPROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER | AUGUST 2012 | WWW.PPMAG.COM
As Lori Nordstrom watched her clients’ children grow up,
she faced a dilemma. She’d built special relationships with customers through her
maternity and baby portraiture, and now those clients wanted her to do their kids’
senior portraits. Could she do that without compromising her style?
IMAGE BY: LORI NORDSTROM
CONTENTS
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I especially love the BXRi's built-in Skyportwireless control and triggering system,because it lets me change power and lightingratios right from the top of my camera (nomore climbing up ladders, or pulling downbooms, or getting out of "the zone" just tomake a simple adjustment). I do all right frommy camera position, and it saves a ton of time,frustration, and money.
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Photoshop was notused to place any elements in this image.Learn more about cameras, photography,Photoshop, Lightroom and many otherphotography related topics atwww.scottkelby.com
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Professional Photographers of America229 Peachtree St., NE, Suite 2200Atlanta, GA 30303-1608404-522-8600; 800-786-6277FAX: 404-614-6400; www.ppa.com
2012-2013 PPA boardpresident*TIMOTHY WALDENM.Photog.Cr., [email protected]
vice president*RALPH ROMAGUERA SR.M.Photog.Cr., CPP, API, [email protected]
treasurer*SUSAN MICHALM.Photog.Cr., CPP, [email protected]
chairman of the board*DON DICKSONM.Photog.Cr.,Hon.M.Photog, [email protected]
directorsDON MACGREGORM.Photog.Cr., [email protected]
MICHAEL GAN M.Photog.Cr., CPP [email protected]
ROB BEHM, [email protected]
LORI CRAFT, [email protected]
MICHAEL TIMMONSM.Photog.Cr., [email protected]
RICHARD [email protected]
STEPHEN THETFORDM.Photog.Cr., [email protected]
AUDREY L. WANCKETM.Photog.Cr., [email protected]
industry advisorKEVIN [email protected]
PPA staffDAVID TRUST, CAE Chief Executive Officer [email protected]
SCOTT KURKIAN, CPA, CAEChief Financial OfficerChief Operating [email protected]
JANE GABOURYDirector of [email protected]
KRISTEN HARTMAN Director of MemberValue and [email protected]
WAYNE JONESDirector of Sales & Strategic [email protected]
SCOTT MORGAN Director of [email protected]
WILDA OKEN Director of [email protected]
CARLA PLOUIN Director of Marketingand [email protected]
LENORE TAFFEL Director of [email protected]
CLAIRE WHITEDirector of Allied [email protected]
SANDRA LANGExecutive [email protected]
*Executive Committee of the Board
12 • www.ppmag.com
Discover more online at
Natalie LiciniFine Art Photographer
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Natalie Licini of Je Revele Fine Art Photography's work can be viewed at www.jerevele.com
14 • www.ppmag.com
folio| Comprising images selected from the files of the PPA Loan Collection, Folio is a monthly sample ofaward-winning photography selected from PPA’s annual International Photographic Competition (IPC),which is open to non-PPA members. The Loan Collection is a select group of more than 500photographs chosen for distinction by the IPC jurors. ppa.com/competitions/international.php
THOMAS J. HENNWhile shooting on assignment for the Wyoming Office of Tourism, Thomas J. Henn, M.Photog.Cr., CPP, of TH Photographic in Monument, Colo.,created “600 Lbs. of Determination” with a Nikon D2X camera and Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 G ED-IF AF-S VR Zoom lens, with an exposure of1/1,250 second at f/3.5, ISO 320. Henn got down low and set his camera to high-speed continuous mode for rapid fire. “These 600-pound steersare fast, strong, and hard to bring down,” says Henn. “This image truly tells that story.” In Adobe Photoshop, Henn removed a hoof from a corner ofthe frame, performed minor color corrections, and used a Topaz filter to increase detail and contrast. thphotographic.com
©Thomas J. Henn
DANIELLE AUSTENDanielle Austen of Danielle AustenPhotography in Hillsborough, N.J.,
was kayaking along the shoreline ofthe Merrill Creek Reservoir when she
passed this group of trees. With aCanon EOS 5D Mark II camera andCanon 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM
EF lens, Austin exposed “Remnants”for 1/125 second at f/13, ISO 250.
She performed minor retouching inAdobe Photoshop. “I was captivated
by the dozens of weathered treesreflecting in the water to the
contrast of the fall colors in thebackground,” says Austen.
danielleausten.com
©Peter Burg
PETER BURGWhile strolling the grounds of the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance car show, Peter Burg, M.Photog.Cr., CPP, of Burg Photographix in Maitland,Fla., captured this curvaceous Talbot-Lago with a Canon EOS 5D camera and Canon 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 II USM EF lens, exposing the frame for1/60 second at f/16, ISO 100. In Adobe Photoshop, he clipped out the car and created a new studio-like background. He used Topaz filters toenhance areas of the car for the final image, “The Art of the Car.” burgphoto.com
©Danielle Austen
16 • www.ppmag.com
PAUL ERNEST“All of this started with a singular idea for a personal project, owing to atug of the heart,” says Paul Ernest of Paul Ernest Illustrative Photographyin McKinney, Texas. With a Nikon D3 camera and Nikkor 70-200mmf/2.8 G ED AF-S VR lens, Ernest exposed “Chasing Butterflies,” below, for1/160 second at f/11, ISO 200. Influenced by painters such as NormanRockwell, Jean-Francois Millet, Winslow Homer, and Andrew Wyeth,Ernest used Adobe Photoshop to create a painterly look. paulernest.com
PENELOPE PALUMBOPenelope Palumbo, M.Photog., CPP, of Studio p3 in Pasadena, Calif.,created the two-image composite “Arrangement in Black and White”for a commercial assignment. Palumbo shot the model in the studiowith a Canon EOS-5D Mark II camera and Canon 85mm f/1.2 L USMEF lens, exposing the frame for 1/125 second at f/11, ISO 100. A 500-watt-second Profoto D1 500 and 4x6-foot Profoto soft box was themain light, with a second D1 500 and 60-inch Photogenic Octagonsoft box for fill. The second image of the wall portrait was taken in abedroom setting lit with one Profoto Acute-B light. Palumbo combinedthe images in Adobe Photoshop, adding a fine layer of smoke andperforming minor retouching. studiop3.com
©Penelope Palumbo
©Paul Ernest
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Interstate 91 cuts through the heart of New
Haven, Conn., effectively segregating several
neighborhoods and creating a cultural dead
zone. Dark underpasses are the only thing
connecting the residential areas on either
side of the highway.
New Haven residents Ben Berkowitz and
Miles Lasater initiated a community project
to beautify the bridge underpasses and bring
a sense of connectedness to the bisected
neighborhood. They began piecing together
a project inspired by Inside Out, an interna-
tional art movement that uses public por-
trait displays to tell the stories of various
peoples around the globe.
Berkowitz and Lasater acquired approval
from the local government agencies, set up
funding through Kickstarter, and enlisted
volunteers.
Photographer Ian Christmann joined five
other volunteer photographers. Over the
course of three Saturdays, they created por-
traits of passersby, community volunteers,
and local residents, then printed some 100
4x6-foot prints. Along with 50 volunteers,
they hung them on the underpass walls with
nontoxic, biodegradable paste.
“The project model is relatively simple
and can be applied anywhere people are
invested in improving their community,"
says Christmann.
All images ©Ian Christmann
What’s New, Cool Events, Interesting People, Great Ideas, Etc.
Under the bridgeBeautifying a cityscape with portraiture
BY JEFF KENT
In 2005, the Orlando Museum of Art issued
a call for artists to submit work reminiscent
of World War II-era pin-up posters. Erie,
Colo., photographic artist Iman Woods, who
was living near Orlando at the time, was a
fan of the genre, and she decided to recreate
the style through a combination of photog-
raphy, digital painting, and acrylic painting.
Woods photographed three women, styling
and posing them with a vintage look reminis -
cent of 1940s pin-up art. Then she loaded the
digital images into Corel Painter and applied
hand-painted effects. Next, she made giclée
prints of each image and hand-applied acrylic
paints to add depth and tactile brush strokes.
The museum accepted all three of Woods’
works for the exhibit. The local newspaper
published a story about the show, generating
publicity for Woods’ studio. Commissions
for pin-up portraits started pouring in, and
Woods soon became one of the nation’s
most recognized pin-up artists.
Delving deeper into the style, Woods real-
ized she had a golden opportunity to make an
impact on the way women see them selves.
Woods’ process requires her spending time with
clients prior the session. She learns about their
self-perceptions, what parts of their bodies
they like and don’t like, then she accentuates
the positive through posing, lighting, and
painting. She employs hair and makeup
artists to style the subjects into hyper-glam-
orous retro-pin-up girls.
The resulting images idealize the women,
but the portrait experience itself has proved to
be a self-esteem builder—almost therapeutic,
according to Woods. She consulted a few
therapists about ways to boost a sense of
empowerment in her clients. “I wanted to take
women who saw themselves only by their
flaws and shake all that negativity away so
they could say, ‘I look pretty,’” says Woods.
Part of doing it was making a rule against
self-criticism. While they’re in the studio,
her clients are forbidden to say negative
things about themselves. “Some people are
shocked by this at first,” says Woods, “but
they feel better when they are not constantly
putting themselves down. It gives them the
space to feel pretty.”
The pin-up style has grown in popularity
in recent years. Woods, who started her busi -
ness trying to explain the concept, now finds
herself trying to explain why she’s different
from other practitioners.
“It’s definitely not just about the photog-
raphy; that’s the icing on top,” she says. “I try
to make this a once-in-a-lifetime experience
for my clients. Yes, I’m creating an heir-
loom-quality piece of art, but at the end of
the day the women are more thrilled by the
experience than anything else.”
—Jeff Kent
See more from Iman Woods at imanwoods.com.
CONTACT SHEET
Pin-up portraits
24 • www.ppmag.com
Iman Woodspackages thepower of experience along with photographicprints
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CONTACT SHEET
PP Asks …We love hearing from all ofyou on our Facebook page.We ask the questions; youanswer with brilliantinsights. This month, inthe thick of the summer travel season, wetalk about vaca tions. These are just a few ofthe responses readers posted on our wall. Clickthe Like but ton to join the conversation atfacebook.com/ppmagazine. This month’s post:
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE SUMMERVACATION SPOT? DO YOU TAKEYOUR CAMERA EVERYWHERE ORSET IT DOWN TO LOOK AT THEWORLD WITHOUT A VIEWFINDER?
The Monterey Peninsula and much of theCentral Coast region of California. I take mycamera always, but I still enjoy the views. Nosense photographing something to remem-ber it if you don’t take time out to enjoybeing there in the first place.
—Lauri Baker
The ocean. I pick a day or two to reallyphoto graph and then take snapshots.Experiencing the world through my chil-dren’s eyes is my new favorite way to seeour vacation spots.
—Dana Michele Heisler
The Florida Keys. Once I’m actually downthere and enjoying the view, it’s extremelyliberating. It puts things in a whole new per-spective when you know you can’t capturethe moment on film, only in your mind.
—Ruth Shepherd
A spot in Hawaii on the Na Pali Coast. It’s an11-mile hike to reach it. I saw the picture ofthe beach when I was serving in Afghanistan,and it was the most beautiful thing I’d everseen. It was even more amazing in person. Idid have my camera. The pictures are great,but the experience was heavenly.
—Albert Moreno
My vacations often incorporate miles of dirtmountain roads through the amazing andwild Wyoming and Montana wildernesses. Ioften visit the same spots good ol’ Mr.Adams did, chasing just the right light. Ienjoy seeing life through my viewfinder andwouldn’t want it any other way.
—Stacy Boisseau McIntosh
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If If you work with media outlets, advertising agencies, book publishers, or otherclients who license images or assign photo projects, you’ll want to consult the recentlypublished guide, “What Buyers Want from Photographers.” PhotoShelter and AgencyAccess released the free report earlier this year. It’s based on data from 1,000 surveyresponses given by photo editors and commercial photo buyers.
Among the highlights of the guide is the kind of technology photo buyers are find-ing most useful, such as Bluetooth tethering, which allows the production team at ashoot to view photos on laptops and other portable devices as they’re created. Thereare also details about the skills and personal traits buyers look for in a photographer aswell the biggest turn-offs they encounter when choosing one: a lack of passion was acommon response, as was mysterious or confusing pricing.
The majority of the buyers surveyed said their photography budget for the year wouldremain the same as last year’s. When looking for images to license, the vast majority ofbuyers search the major stock agencies first, followed by searches on Google or othersearch engines, then searches on the websites of independent photographers. Mostphoto editors ask colleagues for recommendations when hi r ing a photographer for anassignment rather than respond to queries from photographers or their reps.
The majority of buyers check Facebook to discover new talent, followed by Pinterest andLinkedIn. Social media preference varies somewhat by field; Facebook, for example, is popu-lar with advertising agencies, editorial publications, and design agencies. The top mis-takes photographers make in reaching out to photo aggressive and showing workirrelevant to the buyer’s needs. “What Buyers Want from Photographers” is amongthe free downloads at photoshelter.com/mkt/research.
What buyers want New study offers insights for commercial and editorial photographers
THE COIFFURE PROJECT:
BIG, BOLDBEAUTIFULThe Coiffure Project began as a series of
casual cell phone pictures taken by
Baltimore photographer Glenford Nunez
of his assistant, an African-American
woman who wears her hair au naturel in
voluminous hairdos. Nunez became
inspired. Over several months, he con-
ducted a series of shoots with women
sporting natural hair, building a collec-
tion of hair-focused portraits. The first
exhibition of this work opens Sept. 15 at
Silo Point in Baltimore. See more from
the project in our Web-exclusive feature
at ppmag.com.
30 • www.ppmag.com
©Glenford Nunez
Aug. 6-9
Long Island Photo Workshop, Sheraton Long
Island Hotel, Smithtown, N.Y., Jerry Small,
516.221.4058, [email protected],
liphotoworkshop.com
Aug. 12-16
Evergreen School of Photography Summer
Session, Ft. Worden, Port Townsend, Wash.,
Rich Breshears, 509.586.6695,
[email protected], ppw.org
Aug. 26-31
Georgia School of Professional Photography,
North Georgia Technical College, Clarkesville,
Ga., Kevin Jiminez, 706.854.8885,
[email protected], gppaschool.com
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August 2012 • Professional Photographer • 33
Professional Photographer P R E S E N T S Business, Marketing, and Sales Strategies
What I thinkJennifer Dell’s path to success includeshard work and personal responsibility
What advice would you give to someone just starting
out in the photography business? Make sure you’re
creating a quality product and pricing to be prof-
itable. Take advantage of things like the PPA Studio
Financial Benchmark Survey, PPA business work-
shops, and networking. You need to be able to pay
yourself a decent salary as well as cover your taxes
and other costs of running a business.
What’s the greatest challenge your business has
faced in recent years? Moving into a retail
location. I had to weigh the pros
and cons while looking at my
profit margins and the way I run
my business.
How has professional photography
changed in the past few years? We’ve seen
an influx of new photographers. I hope they
continue to seek guidance from organizations
such as PPA so we can keep the industry stan-
dards intact.
What’s the secret to running a successful photogra-
phy business? A lot of hard work, well-made deci-
sions and planning, like any other business. Keep
your head down, do what you need to do, and
don’t worry about what everyone is up to; only
you can make your business successful.
IMAGE BY JENNIFER DELL
JENNIFERDELLPHOTOGRAPHY.COM
Q. How much should I edit the files I showclients? I understand that by doing theediting, I’ll have a better chance at sellingthem, but I don’t want to waste time onfiles that won’t be purchased.A. Some studios edit down the images prior tothe sales session and do quick routine touchingup as needed, maybe picking an image toenhance as an artist’s favorite. Clients tend toorder the artist’s favorite as they know theartist has a pretty good eye and because theimage looks “finished.” This works well formany photographers.
At our studio, we like to have the sales ses -sion immediately following the session, so wedon’t have time to retouch the files. We shoota raw+JPEG format, and after down loading, weedit for expression, make our ProSelectfolder, and present the images. After thesales session, we simply process and retouchonly the files the client ordered, which savestons of time in the course of a week.
Getting it right in the camera is key to sav -ing time in your editing. Having solid expo-sures and keeping your eye on compositionwill allow you to shoot with a purpose andmaintain a low image count so you can focuson the sale and not overwhelm the client.
Jeff Dachowski, M.Photog.Cr., CPP
Q. My studio has been in business since2000, and I have focused on portraits. I’vedecided to do some weddings and havespent a year doing research. I have only twoweddings for my portfolio, and I’ve lost acouple of bookings without more to show.How do I build my portfolio?A. That’s a difficult question to answer with-
out knowing more particulars of your situation.Building a wedding portfolio is not the sameas booking weddings. Most wedding photog-raphers started by doing family weddings,maybe a couple of weddings at a discount, orworking as an assistant or second shooter
with an established wedding photographer.Presentation is everything. With your two
weddings to draw from, you now have to assem-ble them in separate albums that cover the entirewedding day. I prefer to make albums that tella story from start to end. Mixing the two wed -dings would lead to a discontinuity that wouldnot represent what the bride can expect.
Along with the albums, you also need toshow any ancillary products you plan to offer,such as parents’ albums, save-the-datecards, and thank-you cards. I’d have somekey events from both weddings made intoframed wall prints. These should be displayedin a dedicated wedding section of your gallery.They can also serve as displays in bridal fairs.I’d then top this off with a slideshow on DVD.
These items are the basic tools you needfor presentation. Adding wedding-specificbrochures and forms to the mix is also impor-tant: You don’t want weddings to look like anafterthought in your lineup.
Finally, it comes down to you. Listen to cou-ples’ needs and ask open-ended questions; bothare essential in selling. Show confidence inyour presentation, and you’ll have what you needto start your journey. The forums on ppa.comare an excellent resource for further info.
Vance Wagener, CPP
Q. I’m looking over a contract for a freelancejob and there’s a section that concerns me.It asks me to “indemnify and hold harmless”the company in the event of serious problemsthat arise in the job. They ask me to do thesame should a third party cause a problem. A. Such “indemnification” or “indemnity”clauses are often used to help share or redis-tribute the risk among contracting parties.This kind of clause often asks one party toassume the majority of the risk associatedwith performing the assignment. It can soundscary, but you might think of it as a way thecontracting party (in this case, your client)
can ensure that you’ll perform the job safelyand with minimal risk to their firm.
Before you sign an agreement containing anindemnity clause, you should evaluate the scopeof the indemnification you are providing againstany insurance coverage or other protection youmay have. Depending on the extent of theindemnification clause, you may have coveragethrough your general or business liability insur -ance, professional liability (malpractice) insur -ance, or PPA Indemnification Trust. In addi tionto carrying at least one of these policies, youmay want to consult with your broker.
Knowing how you are protected againstpossible risks, you can assess whether or notyou can commit to such a clause or whethermodifications may be necessary. It’s importantto note that contracts are two-way streets. Ifthe firm regularly hires photographers under astandard agreement, they’re likely presentingyou with a boilerplate agreement—somethingthat broadly meets their needs regardless ofthe specific working relationship they havewith each photographer. You can always askfor amendments or edits to the agreement,especially clauses like these. �
Maria Matthews, PPA Copyright & Government Affairs Manager
Got a question? The SMS team wants to hearfrom you. E-mail our panel of experts c/o PPeditor Jane Gaboury at [email protected].
36 • www.ppmag.com
GURUS FROM PPA STUDIO MANAGEMENT SERVICES ANSWER YOUR BUSINESS,MARKETING AND SALES QUESTIONS. FOR INFO ON WORKSHOPS, GO TO PPA.COM.
Ask the expertsEditing images, breaking into weddings, indemnity clauses
STUDIO MANAGEMENT SERVICESPROFIT CENTER
©Veer
If you’re expecting this month’s column to
be a revelation on high school senior por-
traits or a poignant piece about newborn
photography, you’re going to be disappointed.
The thing is, I’m beginning to feel old.
Ours could be one of those cruel profes-
sions in which the age of the artist might influ -
ence the buying public. After all, how could
a 50-year-old photographer possibly ride the
same creative wave as a 25-year-old? The
elder photographer probably gets her creative
inspiration from The Weather Channel, reruns
of “Full House,” and (gasp) Fox News, as
opposed to the younger photographer’s MTV,
“Swamp People,” and The Black-Eyed Peas.
Let me be clear: There’s nothing wrong
with being young. We were all there once upon
a time. However, potential clients’ discrimi-
nation against me for my age is beginning to
bug me. Sure, I probably did their parents’
senior portraits, but shouldn’t that say some -
thing about my longevity, experience, and dili -
gence? I’m not sure today’s seniors understand
those words, let alone appreciate the concepts.
With these feelings in mind, I’m ques-
tioning whether to celebrate our studio’s 25th
anniversary. For most businesses, that land-
mark would signify the survival of economic
fluctuations and various acts of Congress,
the growth of the business, and having enough
cash on hand to launch a paean to this mile-
stone. But in the photography business, it
seems to convey that your backdrops smell
like mothballs, you still use a standing view
camera with a drape over your head, and
your fanciest prop is a rusty wagon wheel.
Such was my frustration. Until I gave myself
a good swift kick (and fell down, but that’s
probably an age-related thing) and got my act
together. I recalled the cardinal rule of market -
ing that’s based on features and benefits. I had
somehow lost sight of half of the equation.
The rule works like this: For every feature
your business offers, there’s a benefit for poten -
tial clients. Sell the benefits. Pretty simple.
That’s the part I’d mislaid, and I think other
photographers have as well. We go to great
lengths to tell you how cool and hip and young
we are, and—dig this—we have a couch to pose
you on somewhere in the tall grass. The
reply to that is generally So what? A good
marketer will respond with a list of benefits.
For example, you might want to blast out
over your social media that you have a couch
in tall grass. So what. Well, to comfortably
pose your family in a casual, outdoor envi-
ronment and give you an original and
unique family portrait to cherish. Listing
features without benefits is like bragging
about yourself—kind of obnoxious.
Taking my own advice, I grasped a handy
No. 2 pencil and my Partridge Family note-
book and made a list of the features and bene -
fits of being in the business for 25 years. I
succeeded in making a relatively lengthy list,
but even more important, I convinced myself
that age doesn’t have to be a factor. It was
apparent to me that, examined in the right
perspective, it’s impressive that I’m on my
second generation of high school seniors,
especially in this economy.
It says not only that I believe in what I do
but that I’m dedicated to making it work
regardless of software updates or any other
obstacle thrown in my way. It also says that
my clients trusted me then and they trust
me now to be professional, contemporary,
affordable, and maybe even fun to work with.
Take that, naysayers. If my age is one of
my features, then the benefit of that feature
is my extensive experience. If there was a
mistake to be made, I’ve probably made it,
and chances are that I’ve learned from it and
won’t make that mistake again. My customers
should find comfort in this. They should also
consider the millions of exposures I’ve taken
and the hundreds of thousands of prints I’ve
sold to delighted customers over 25 years.
One day, when historians are digging up
old homesteads and dinosaurs in this part of
Iowa, they’ll unearth portraits with my logo
on them and wonder, Who the heck was
Henderson? Until then, age is a number on
my driver’s license. And that, my friend, is
both feature and benefit. �
Kalen Henderson’s Studio K/HendersonPhotography is located in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa.
38 • www.ppmag.com
I was a rocker onceAnd I’m not ready to retire in one
PROFIT CENTER: STARTING OVER
BY KALEN HENDERSON, M.PHOTOG.MEI.CR., CPP, API
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This marks the launch of a monthly business
column by Bridget Jackson, CPA, manager
of PPA Studio Management Services. Her
mission is to explain step by step how to take
advantage of the data gathered in the PPA
Studio Management Financial Benchmark
Survey—real-world financial info provided
by successful real-world professional photog-
raphers. The analysis of that data by certi-
fied professional accountants is nothing less
than a formula for business profitability.
Whom to market to, what to sell and at
what price—addressing these concerns
effectively is essential to running a profitable
operation. No matter if your studio is the
primary or secondary source of your family’s
income, you are in business to make money.
The first step is to understand how to record
financial data so you can com pare it to the
proven, studio-specific business standards,
or benchmarks, established through the lat-
est PPA Studio Management Financial
Benchmark Survey. The benchmarks are
based on the principles of managerial account -
ing. This method of accounting organizes
financial data in a way that helps you evalu-
ate your company’s financial health, pin-
point problems, and make adjustments to
ensure profitability. The studio benchmarks
are a means to do that. Honestly, you’ll see.
MANAGERIAL ACCOUNTING:INCOME
In managerial accounting, a business’s
income and expenses are based on what
those figures relate to as opposed to what
they are specifically. For example, income is
categorized by each product line and its cat-
egories, not by actual products:
Product line: Studio portraits
Product line categories: Children, fam-
ilies, babies
Product line: Senior portraits
Product line categories: West High School,
Riddell High School, Sycamore High School
Product line: Weddings
Product line categories: Platinum package,
Gold package, Silver package
Once you know how many sessions you’ve
done in each product line and the total amount
you’ve collected in sales for the sessions, it’s
easy to come up with the sales average for
that product line. For example, if the total
sales from 10 Platinum wedding packages
was $150,000, then the average sale per
session would be $15,000 ($150,000 ÷ 10).
Do the same for each of your product lines.
MANAGERIAL ACCOUNTING:EXPENSES
Business expenses are grouped into cate-
gories based on function. The expense func-
tions established in the Benchmark Survey
are cost of sales and general expenses.
Cost of sales is the amount you spend to
produce products and associated services:
• Retouching, printing, print finishing
• Production labor, contract labor
• Job-specific costs
• Frames, albums, packaging
• Commissions
• Freight
• Credit card fees
At this point, never mind about the par-
ticulars of each item. The important thing
is how general expenses fit into the big
picture. The Benchmark Survey found
that for a studio to be profitable, for every
dollar of sales it takes in, it should cost
no more than 25 cents to produce the
product and associated service. So the
benchmark for cost of sales for any photog-
raphy business is 25 percent: cost of sales =
25 percent of sales.
For example, if your total cost of sales is
$37,500 and your total sales are $150,000,
42 • www.ppmag.com
Formula for profitabilityKnowing the benchmarks puts you in position for success
PROFIT CENTER: MAKING MONEY
BY BRIDGET JACKSON
BENCHMARK DATAThe PPA Studio Management Financial Benchmark Survey offers recommended finan-cial guidelines based on data compiled from hundreds of photography studios. Thefindings of this industry-wide survey give insight into why some studios are successful,why others fall short on profitability, and what pitfalls to avoid. This survey, the mostrecent of which was published this summer, is the only comprehensive financial analysisfor professional photographers.
The full data set and self-evaluation tools are available to PPA members atwww.ppa.com/benchmark.
then your cost of sales is 25 percent
($37,500 ÷ $150,000). If your answer is
higher than 25 percent, you need to discover
the reasons why. Are there inefficiencies that
are driving up your costs? Are your prices
too low? But much more on those issues in a
later column.
General expenses, also called fixed
expenses, represent the cost of doing busi-
ness aside from the cost of sales. These are
costs the business incurs whether or not it
makes any sales. General expenses are
expressed as a percentage—this time based
on cost of sales as well as total sales. How-
ever, the benchmark is different for home-
based studio businesses and retail-location
studios because the cost of doing business is
simply more expensive in retail spaces than
at home. The benchmark for home studios is
30 percent. The benchmark for retail stu-
dios is 40 percent.
General expenses are:
• Administrative costs (accounting/legal
services, auto expenses, education, interest,
office expenses, props and camera costs,
taxes and license fees, telephone)
• Employee expenses (non-production
workers’ salary and benefits)
• Advertising and marketing
• Depreciation (capital expenditures less
than $500)
• Building overhead (building mainte-
nance, rent/mortgage interest, property tax,
utilities, insurance)
If you’re a home-studio owner and
you’re wondering if you can afford to move
to a retail location, these benchmarks are
critical to making an informed decision. If
the business is not operating at or below
the benchmarks for both cost of sales and
general expenses, it would be difficult (per-
haps impossible) to operate with the added
general expense.
With your product lines and cost of sales
organized in the managerial accounting format,
take a deep breath, give yourself a pat on the
back, and drop in next month for another
step toward greater profitability. �
Bridget Jackson, CPA, is Studio Manage-ment Services manager at ProfessionalPhotographers of America, where she helpsmembers build more profitable businesses.Reach her at [email protected].
August 2012 • Professional Photographer • 43
Years ago, when a woman got “pinned” by a
college fraternity member, it meant they
were going steady—there was a mutual com -
mitment. For a photographer these days,
getting pinned means someone has copied
one of your images onto Pinterest.com,
which comes with certain advantages and
disadvantages. Knowing both can help you
protect your work, minimize risk, and enjoy
the benefits of this social media website.
When a photo is pinned from your web-
site, Pinterest provides a link that takes
viewers to your website when they click on
the image. Pinterest also posts the Internet
source adjacent to your photo, which is a click -
able hyperlink. That makes Pinterest a
market ing outlet for your photography busi -
ness, since the feedback is largely (although
not necessarily) positive. This contrasts
with review sites such as Yelp that include
both positive and negative feedback.
Unfortunately, Pinterest’s linking sys-
tem doesn’t always work the way you want
it to. For example, one wedding photogra-
pher’s photo was pinned from a Google
search in Canada, so the source is identified
as google.ca, and the hyper link sends viewers
to the Google search results. Fortunately,
the Google search links to the website
where the photo originated (Figure 1).
But it gets worse. Digital images may
have properties or metadata written into the
file to identify such information as the pho-
tographer’s name and contact info, a copy-
right notice, the camera model and lens
specs used to capture the image, and
descriptive keywords to be used by search
engines. In this example, the photo’s meta-
data included the photographer’s name but
no copyright notice, and the original file
name (Figure 2).
44 • www.ppmag.com
Are you ready to go steady?
BY CAROLYN E. WRIGHTPROFIT CENTER
The pros and cons of Pinterest.com
Figure 1
Figure 2 (top); Figure 3 (bottom)
When the image was pinned, Pinterest
automatically changed the filename and
stripped its metadata, even the photogra-
pher’s name (Figure 3).
Of additional concern, some Pinterest
users pin photos from their desktop, so no
original source or link is provided. Poten-
tial clients have no idea who took the
image or how to contact the photographer
(Figure 4).
Does pinning images cause copyright
infringement? Copyrights give the owner
the exclusive right to do (or to authorize oth-
ers to do) specific things with your photo-
graphs, effectively giving the copyright
owner a legal monopoly on the image. Sec-
tion 17 of the U.S. Copyright Act specifies
those exclusive rights as the right to:
• Reproduce the copyrighted work.
• Display the copyrighted work publicly.
• Prepare derivative works based on the
copyrighted work.
• Distribute copies of the copyrighted
work to the public by sale, rental or lending,
and/or to display the image.
Copyright law contains an exception to
those rights called fair use. It permits the
limited and reasonable uses of an image
without the owner’s consent as long as the
uses do not prejudice the copyright owner’s
rights or inter fere with normal exploitation
of the work. In sum, fair use is limited to
nonprofit uses such as criticism, comment,
news reporting, teaching (including multi-
ple copies for classroom use), scholarship,
or research (Section 107).
Courts have held that Google’s display of
SAYING NO TO PINNINGYou can prevent images on your website from being pinned by adding this small
piece of code to the head of any Web page: <meta name=“pinterest” content=“nopin” />Pinterest users who try to pin images from blocked pages will see the message
“This site doesn’t allow pinning to Pinterest. Please contact the owner with any ques-tions. Thanks for visiting!”
–Source: Pinterest
August 2012 • Professional Photographer • 45
photos for Internet searches is fair use, but
it’s difficult to determine whether a court
would hold that pinning a photo to Pinter-
est is a fair use. Pinterest does link to the
original source but risks liability for remov-
ing the metadata from the image file and
for physically copying photos to its server.
Professional photographers understand
the importance of sharing photos on the
Internet. Some may want to add a “Pin It”
button (available at pinterest.com/about/
goodies) to their website to invite others to pin
their work. You can, however, take steps to
minimize the risks of the relationship.
First, register your copyrights with the
U.S. Copyright Office so that you can
collect the maximum damages due you
from the infringer.
Second, embed your copyright notice
and contact information as a watermark in
each of your images. It might stop someone
from copying your photos at all. And when
you post a copyright notice with your regis-
tered images, the infringer cannot claim
that the infringement was innocent (reduc-
ing the damages you can collect to as little
as $200 per work). Pinterest does not crop
photos to remove water marks, so even if
your photo gets separated from your web-
site, your business infor mation will remain
visible to potential clients.
Third, enter your copyright management
info (CMI) in the metadata of your images.
CMI includes the title and other informa-
tion identifying each work and your name
and contact info. Section 1202 of the Copy-
right Act makes it illegal for someone to
remove your CMI from your photo to hide
an infringement. The fines start at $2,500
and go to $25,000 in addition to attorneys’
fees and any damages for the infringement.
If you decide that Pinterest is not in
your best interest, you may ask Pinterest
to remove any of your pinned photos.
Follow the takedown provisions found at
pinterest.com/about/copyright. You also
may block pinning of your Flickr photos
through your privacy settings by selecting
“No” in the area where you “Allow others to
share your stuff.” Finally, if you don’t want
your website photos pinned, you may add
the Pinterest html blocking code (see “Say-
ing no to pinning,” previous page).
Take advantage of the benefits of using
the Internet to promote your work but
make time to minimize the hazards. The
information provided here is for educa-
tional purposes only. If you have legal con-
cerns or need legal advice, be sure to consult
with an attorney. �
Attorney Carolyn E. Wright specializes inthe legal needs of photographers and is theauthor of “The Photographer’s Legal Guide.”
46 • www.ppmag.com
PINNERS ARE BUYERSBefore you write off Pinterest as a copyright nightmare and block pinning entirely, con-sider this data point: More than one in five Pinterest users has pinned an item they laterpurchased. And that correlation is even stronger between offline purchases than online.
—Source: Harvard Business Review Blog, May 11, 2012
Figure 4
Parents often don’t know what to expect in a
new born’s portrait session. It’s up to the
photographer to tell them exactly what to
anticipate and how to pre pare for it, helping
to ensure a happy experience.
Plan to spend an hour in a pre-session
consultation with the parents. You’ll not
only be discussing details, you’ll also use this
time to build a trusting relationship.
Remember that they’re putting their most
precious gift in your hands.
I give all my clients a packet of informa-
tion with details of everything they need to
know about the session, including the tem-
perature of the room, feeding the baby
ahead of time, how to dress the baby, and
many other instructions. The session may
have been booked six months out, so I ask
parents to revisit the information right
before the session to refresh their memory.
Explain the importance of creating a calm
environment for the baby, how it will help the
baby to feel relaxed and comfortable. Assure
the parents that you have everything under
control and they can sit back and relax.
Quite often, parents fall asleep on my couch.
SHOOT TO SELLWhen I go into a session, I’m well prepared.
I know exactly what I’m shooting because I
gathered appropriate information at the con -
sultation. Parents don’t always know what
they want, so I guide them. Show what you
want to sell. Have examples of your products
in your studio so they can see and feel the
quality. I generally shoot for albums, as this
is what I love to sell. It’s fine if the parents
want wall hangings. I ask them where they’ll
hang them and about the colors and theme
of that room. The answers help me choose
props and sometimes poses. I’m shooting to
sell. If there’s something my client wants,
then I’m going to shoot it.
I also want to know what colors and
poses the clients do not like. There’s no rea-
son to shoot something the parents aren’t
going to buy, so ask ahead of time. If they
want a storyboard with the baby’s little fea-
tures, such as the hands, eyes, nose, and
mouth, I make sure I shoot for that product.
I do have clients who will let me express
my creativeness with images and props of
my choosing, and I prepare to shoot for those.
Some parents want sleepy, curly poses, while
others love the awake shots. Organizing all
the details ahead of time shows that you care
about making the clients happy.
The pre-session consultation is also when
I ask about photographing the parents and
siblings with the newborn. I always take
family and sibling shots at the beginning of
the session when all parties look their best.
Then I can concentrate on the newborn
alone.
A lot of preparation goes into a newborn
session, including juggling the session date,
setting up all the baby posing tools and sup-
plies you’ll need, and washing and cleaning
all the fabrics and surfaces. Being prepared
and shooting to sell will not only save you time
but will also increase your sales. �
Robin Long Photography is in Salem, Ore.
48 • www.ppmag.com
Prepping the parents
BY ROBIN LONGPROFIT CENTER
Ease anxiety before a newborn session
©Robin Long
10 TIPS FOR PREPPING THE PARENTS• Schedule the session before the baby is born.• Plan to do the session within two weeks of the birth. • Ask the parents to feed the baby before the session.• Dress the baby in loose clothing that zips or snaps, nothing that goes over the head.• For family shots, parents should keep their clothing solid and simple.• Bring extra milk if the baby is bottle-fed.• Stress the importance of a calm environment.• Discuss poses, products, and colors.• Nursing moms should avoid foods that can make the baby gassy.• Circumcisions should be scheduled after the session, or at least early enough to
allow the baby at least five days of healing.
August 2012 • Professional Photographer • 53
Professional Photographer P R E S E N T S Products, Technology, and Services
What I likeJim Lersch learns that bigger is better
What’s the best equipment investment you’ve
ever made? My Hasselblad H digital system. It
gives me superbly sharp images, and it’s paid
for itself several times over.
Little thing, big difference ... My Zykkor Fader
ND Pro filter. On location I often want to shoot
at a wide-open aperture, but there’s too much
light. This filter allows me to shoot the way I want.
What hot new product are you going out of your
way to use? My new Nikon D800 and MB-D12
battery grip. I’ve done some tests pitting the
Nikon against the Hasselblad. The D800 may
not be quite as sharp as the Hasselblad, but it is
truly amazing, especially in mid-tone areas.
Has a piece of equipment ever changed the way
you approach your photography? The first time
that I exposed an 8x10 transparency with a
Deardorff view camera changed my life forever.
I learned that bigger is better and that I needed to
control and craft light to do justice to the images.
What’s the one piece of gear that would have to
be pried from your cold, dead fingers? My AF-S
Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G ED lens. It provides
some really interesting looks for senior portraits,
and it’s always in my camera case for commer-
cial jobs. For interiors and exteriors, it is the
finest lens I’ve ever owned for my Nikons.
IMAGE BY JIM LERSCH
LERSCHPHOTO.COM
THE GOODS ROUNDUP BY ROBYN L. POLLMAN
Oh, baby
54 • www.ppmag.com
Clients will go gaga over these products for baby portraiture
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SAFETY LIDThe Jamie Rae WHITE SUN HAT WITH WHITE RASPBERRY PEONY is asfunctional as it is adorable. A chinstrap keeps it secure, and built-in UV protectionshields tender skin from the sun’s rays. Jamie Rae Hats; $26; jamieraehats.com
PHOTOGRAPHER’S BLOCKMade from durable material, CUBE DÉCOR blocks are 4-inch-squareimage panels laminated onto solid wood. The blocks combine to createa one-of-a-kind home decoration. Artsy Couture; starting at $24.99;artsycouture.com
ROYALLY APPEALING
Handcrafted in the United States, REGALCROWNS frames are custom made of
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WORRY-FREE MESSESAs small as 5x4 feet, SIMPLY CHALK BOARD backdrops arewell suited to infant and baby shoots. Write on the backdrop withchalk or let the little ones get messy with a cake, then just wipe itdown with a damp cloth for easy cleanup. Simply Color; from$98; simplycolorlab.com (Use code PPABD12 for 20 percent offthrough Aug. 31.)
DEEP PERSPECTIVEIMAGE BLOCKS allow you to create custom displays that highlightlife’s milestones. Available in 26 multi-block configurations and a varietyof sizes, the units are wrapped with photographic luster or metallic printsaround 1-inch-thick base blocks. WHCC; from $26; whcc.com
PLAN FOR SUCCESSThe COMPLETE BABY PLAN presents a detailed formula to help photographerscreate profitable marketing campaigns. The kit balances tools for success with ele-gant design in fully customizable templates that include professionally crafted textand graphics. Design Aglow; $195; designaglow.com
(IM)PERFECT LUXURYThe distressed details on LUXE FRAMES are a natural feature.Available in four shapes and colors, they are sized in 8×10- and 10×10-inch formats and are ready to hang with a styrene-mounted print.Miller’s Professional Imaging; from $53.91; www.millerslab.com
August 2012 • Professional Photographer • 55
One sure-fire way to make your photos stand
out from your competition’s is masterful use of
light. Broad lighting, whether done with
bounced light, soft box, or umbrella, is func-
tional and can be truly beautiful, but you can
precisely draw the viewer’s eye to the spot you
intend and define the shape of the subject by
narrowing the angle of illumination. A versa-
tile spotlight can be an attention-getting
key, fill, or accent light to do just that.
Enter the Photogenic PL5R-Fresnel
Reflector. Unlike many solutions for narrow-
ing the angle of illumination, the PL5R is
not large, fragile, bulky, or expensive. The
PL5R kit consists of two light modifiers:
an 8-inch deep narrow-beam reflector and
a removable Fresnel lens. The combination
works the way a grid spot does, with a
secondary modifier—in this case the
Fresnel lens mounted at the open end of
THE GOODS: PRO REVIEW
Go Hollywood without hefting the bulk with this beaming modifier.
BY ELLIS VENER
Spot on PHOTOGENIC PL5R-FRESNEL REFLECTOR
56 • www.ppmag.com
NARROWING THE ANGLE OF ILLUMINATION
There are several ways to narrow a light’s angle of illumination. For flash equipment, themost common method is to use a grid spot, an anodized black honeycomb-like modifierthat fits into the front of a wider-angle reflector. The angle of illumination is determinedby the size of the individual cells, which generally come in sets of 10, 20, 30, and 40 degrees.
There are also sport or long-throw reflectors that concentrate a soft-edged, rel-atively narrow beam of light over a long distance. Some have a highly polished interior,others a softer silver finish that’s more suitable for portraits. Celebrity and beauty pho-tographer Matthew Jordan Smith makes excellent use of the soft-silver Profoto Magnumreflector in his portraits.
Then there are highly polished parabolic reflectors such as the Paul C. Buff RetroLaser reflector, which throws a very narrow, very intense beam of light a long, long way.
Occasionally you’ll see an ellipsoidal-type spotlight. It’s similar to both the lensin a projector and the spotlights used at concert performances.
Finally, there are Fresnel-type spotlights. In those dramatic 1930s-era portraitsby Hollywood master George Hurrell, the key light was usually a large-lensed Fresnelspot. Most Fresnel-type spotlight modifiers for monolights, and pack-and-head flashsystems are large, bulky and expensive gizmos that few photographers outside the fash-ion industry use.
With the exception of grid spots, the trouble with most of these solutions is thatthey’re bulky and difficult to drag along for location shoots and so require even bulkierand heavier cases. Combined with broader light sources for fill, the
Fresnel Reflector makes a nifty key light.
Photo courtesy of Photogenic
©Ellis Vener
a reflector—to concentrate the light. Like
a grid spot, and unlike other large Fresnel
and ellipsoidal spotlights, the beam cannot
be focused.
A Fresnel lens is a single element, glass
or plastic, with the front side cut or molded
into a series of concentric prisms. The cut
of the concentric rings greatly reduces the
depth, mass, and weight of the lens com-
pared to the smoothly curving surface
of a conventional plano-convex lens of the
same power.
The Fresnel lens in the PL5R is remov-
able from the reflector, which has a 5-inch
opening. Sans lens, the reflector still nar-
rows the beam to, as Photogenic describes
it, a 20-degree beam spread. I didn’t meas-
ure it, and Photogenic does not provide
the specs for the beam angle with the lens
installed, but it is a tighter pattern, and
because the lens concentrates the light, it
projects that narrow angle over a relatively
long distance.
The glass Fresnel beam concentrates the
light in a different way and gives it a unique
cha racter. It’s still soft-edged, but the
edges have a crisper quality than light from
a grid spot.
The kit also includes a two-side barn
door assembly and a filter holder that can
be added to the combination to further
shape the beam. Because heat can rapidly
build up in a closed-end light modifier, the
PL5R reflector is vented around its narrow
base. The vents are baffled to keep the light
inside the reflector.
Fresnel spots are typically used for Hol-
lywood glamour-style portraits, but I found
this one also makes a nifty key light for still
life when it’s combined with broader
sources for fill. Used at a caterer’s showcase
dining room, the narrow beam and the
quality of the light imbued the scene with a
sense of streaming daylight, adding a nice
edge and sparkle to low-contrast subjects.
Another way to use a Fresnel spot to add
inter est to a shot is to use a gobo—Hollywood
shorthand for go-between—meaning any-
thing that breaks up a light pattern. Gobos
can be made from virtually anything. If it’s
positioned closer to the lit surface than to
the light itself, the gobo will project a
sharper-edged pattern. The closer the gobo
is to the light, the softer-edged and subtler
the pattern will be.
The Photogenic PL5R-Fresnel Reflector
Kit retails for $183.50 (photogenic.com). �
August 2012 • Professional Photographer • 57
Whether you’re working in the studio or on
location, there are times when it’s better to
use continuous light rather than strobes.
The continuous light Photogenic CL500
(rated up to 500 watts) has a quick-change
mounting system so you can use various
light modifiers as your shoot requires.
This compact, lightweight unit is simple
to operate. On the back are a handle, power
cord, on/off switch, and vent openings for its
4-inch, whisper-quiet fan. The front features
only a heavy-duty ceramic 26mm Edison
socket and the mount release for the quick-
change system adapters.
I tested a two-light travel kit that
includes two each CL500 units, 7-inch
reflectors, umbrellas, and air-cushioned
stands. The kit came efficiently packaged in
a rolling travel case. You could also pair the
CL500 with a 24x32-inch soft box; Photo-
genic sells a travel kit that includes two soft
boxes rather than umbrellas. Soft boxes
mount to the unit via a quick-change
adapter, and umbrellas mount directly.
Working mostly in-studio, I tried the
lights with both live and inanimate subjects.
The light quality was pleasing, and the units
were easy to operate. When photographing
potentially skittish subjects such as pets or
infants, the harsh pop and flash of a strobe
could upset the shoot. With a continuous
lighting system, there are no such distrac-
tions. Using the CL500 in a newborn ses-
THE GOODS: PRO REVIEW
Continuous light frees you from the jarring pop ofstrobes and sets a more intimate studio session.
BY BETSY FINN, M.PHOTOG.CR., CPP
Working hotPHOTOGENIC CL500
In this two-light setup, one CL500 unit with an umbrella is the main light, and the other bounces lightoff the ceiling for fill (above). Notice the soft, even light in the final shot.
58 • www.ppmag.com
Photo courtesy of Photogenic
Making clients insanely happy
Not worrying about marketing
Generating revenue online
Saving time for the stuff he loves
Selling prints & downloads
Licensing stock photos
Attracting search engine traffic
Creating a social media sensation
Backing up his archive
Protecting his images online
FTPing photos to 5 clients at once
MULTITASKINGRIGHT NOW, THIS PHOTOGRAPHER IS:
Try PhotoShelter websites and tools FOR FREE at photoshelter.comYOUR PHOTOSHELTER WEBSITE’S GOT YOUR BACK.
sion, I was able to preserve a quiet, intimate
atmosphere, and with a baby, the added
warmth from the bulb is welcome. Do be
extra careful to secure the light stands and to
place the lights at a safe distance: You don’t
want to burn anyone or melt your props.
Overall, I loved working with the Photo-
genic CL500 units. I’ve relied primarily on
studio strobes in my current work, but the
CL500 makes it a joy to work with continu-
ous light again. I appreciate the flexibility of
being able to mount most any Photogenic
light modifier so I can use a mix of Photo-
genic strobes and hot lights without having
to purchase separate adapters. I liked the
CL500’s light weight, and its rugged alu-
minum housing should stand up to a rea-
sonable amount of rough handling.
The only drawback is the unit’s fixed
light output. To change the output, you
have to either change the bulb or move the
light farther away from the subject, but
that’s just part of working with continuous
light—there’s not always a dimmer. If you
love the results, it’s a minor inconvenience.
The CL500 retails for $160, the two-light
travel kit for $620 (photogenic.com). �
Betsy Finn owns a portrait studio in Michigan.
60 • www.ppmag.com
THE GOODS: PRO REVIEW
An umbrella mounts directly to the unit. Simplyguide the umbrella shaft through a hole in thereflector and secure the end in the slot on thelight’s mount.
I used a single-light setup for a family portrait during the same session. The pullback shot shows my main light, the CL500, modified by an umbrella andplaced fairly close to the subjects. The soft box at camera left serves as a reflector, bouncing fill light into the scene. I was pleased with the even quality of illu-mination and the unobtrusiveness of the lights. Working without strobes creates a totally different studio dynamic that’s perfect for this kind of session.
I appreciate the flexibility of being able to mountmost any Photogenic light modifier so I can usea mix of Photogenic strobes and hot lightswithout having to purchase separate adapters.
With his experience, talent, geniality, educa-
tional outreach, and inspiring creativity, Joe
McNally is the Michael Jordan of photogra-
phy’s first digital era. It was inevitable that
some manufacturer would not only feature
him in its advertising and marketing cam-
paigns, but start licensing his name as well.
The Lastolite Joe McNally TriGrip is one of
five Lastolite products bearing his name.
There are other Lastolite TriGrips, but
this one is different. All of the TriGrips are
collapsi ble triangular reflectors with a han-
dle in the triangle’s apex. When collapsed
for storage, a TriGrip coils down to nearly
a third of its unfurled size. Setting it up
could not be easier: Remove it from the
protective bag, grasp the handle, pop
your wrist, and it’s good to go—just make
sure to have plenty of space around you.
The McNally TriGrip is 35.4 inches (90
centimeters), a useful size for diffusion, reflec -
tion, or light blocking, and it’s far easier to
handle than the 48-inch Lastolite Jumbo, but
generally more useful than the 18- or 30-inch
models. The basic material is a two-stop dif-
fusion fabric, and the kit comes with two
sleeves. On one side, the first sleeve pairs sil-
ver and Softsilver—alternating silver and white
stripes with wider silver stripes. Inverted, the
sleeve has two options, Sunlite (alternating nar -
row gold and wider silver stripes) and Sun-
fire (wider gold stripes, narrower silver ones).
The black window mask sleeve has remov-
able 15x21-inch panels held in place with
Velcro strips. The strips extend beyond the
edges of the window so the panels can be
used to make smaller windows of different
shapes. Gels or black wrap can be easily
clipped to the edges of the window opening
to change the quality and nature of the light.
With the slightly loose fit of the black
sleeve, you aren’t limited to using the diffu-
sion material. Put the reflector sleeve on
first, put the black sleeve over that, and
you’ve got a small reflector.
While all TriGrips work well with small
speedlight flashes, this one is also suitable
for more powerful monolights and pack-and-
head systems, or tungsten, HMI, fluorescent,
and LED lights. The size of the McNally
model makes it easier to put multiple lights
behind it when it is used as a diffuser.
THE GOODS: PRO REVIEW
This modifier kit delivers portability and versatility bycombining reflective surfaces, diffusion, and masking.
BY ELLIS VENER
More thanmere reflection
LASTOLITE JOE MCNALLY TRIGRIP KIT
62 • www.ppmag.com
Joe McNally (left) is shown using the TriGrip branded with his name in a configuration with the blackwindow mask sleeve over the two-stop diffusion fabric.
Photo courtesy of Lastolite
This portrait uses sunlight reflected off the Soft-silver sleeve on the TriGrip as the key light.
©Ellis Vener
While photographing a private collection of
dolls and figures for a catalog, I used the
McNally TriGrip with three Canon 580EX
II Speedlites behind it as my main light. Most
of the time they were clustered to create a mod -
er ately large, uniformly diffuse light source,
but to fine-tune the quality of the light I used
several variations: aiming the lights to create
a larger source, moving them apart to make
a better highlight reflection pattern, and
chang ing the E-TTL setting on individual
lights to create a subtle fall-off pattern. I com -
pleted the light setup with a Canon Speed-
light on the opposite side of the camera and
another in a Chimera Octa 2 Beauty Dish over
the top of my set. The TriGrip-diffused lights
served as either the key or the fill light. Using
smaller E-TTL-controlled lights rather
than larger monolights made it easier and
much faster to change the quality of the light.
An outdoor portrait shoot of author and
New York Times reporter Drew Jubera helped
me appreciate the quick-change versatility of
the McNally TriGrip. With Jubera sitting in a
shady spot of his backyard, the Softsilver
sleeved TriGrip created the key light, reflect-
ing a large triangle of crisp sunlight back at
him from a low angle, producing a nice
catch light in his eyes. A Speedlite in the
Octa 2 provided fill. The shoot lasted a half
hour, and the different qualities of the Tri-
Grip surfaces allowed me to work in three
different locations in and outside of Jubera’s
house, alternately using the TriGrip as a
reflector or a diffuser.
At $245 MSRP, the McNally TriGrip kit
isn’t cheap, but given its versatility, it’s an
investment that pays immediate dividends. �
August 2012 • Professional Photographer • 63
Continuous light offers many potential applica -
tions for the innovative photographer. It can
cozy up the scene for a napping infant. It can
beautifully light video interviews with ecstatic
clients or capture a few heartfelt words from
the father of the bride before the wedding cere-
mony. And if you’re just learning lighting
technique, then starting out with a what-you-
see-is-what-you-get method of adding light can
help you master the basics. Check out these
options in a spectrum of styles and price points.
A COOL HALF KDesigned to run on AC power, the Flash-
point 500 LED dimmable light racks up
500 daylight-balanced LEDs controlled in
two groups, allowing you to fine-tune the
output. The built-in barn doors can be
adjusted to flag or spill light. The light
comes with a yoke for mounting on a stand
or 5/8-inch stud. $199.95; adorama.com
GO BOTH WAYSYou get everything you need for portraits,
interviews, or product shots with the Smith-
Victor K48 3-Light Portraiture Soft
Box Kit, which includes two heavy-duty
765-UM quartz halogen lights with safety
glass, two 24x32-inch heat-resistant soft
boxes, an SV840 AC/DC constant light with
barn doors and daylight filter, two 600-watt
and one 100-watt quartz halogen lamps,
stands, cables, and a rolling soft case. The
765-UM lights have high-efficiency pebble-
finish reflectors for a 30-degree beam and
umbrella ports. $949.95; smithvictor.com
HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOODThe Cool-Lux Hollywood Combo Light
goes anywhere and does it all. It can be used
directly as a broad light, indirectly as a soft
light with the scoop reflector, or with a soft
box (sold separately). The Combo Light uses
a color-neutral metal bounce reflector to
provide soft illumination for interviews and
close-ups. It provides a flattering light that
produces excellent skin tones and dimin-
ishes wrinkles and blemishes, while deliver-
ing soft shadow edges. $299; cool-lux.com
FLUORESCENCE IN THE BANK The Photogenic HorizonLight CF2 (two-
tube) and CF4 (four-tube) fluorescent con-
stant light panels
have a removable
translucent Plexi-
glass panel that dif-
fuses the light,
simulating a strobe
and soft box look.
The panels produce
a pleasing soft light
for photography
and videography,
and they’re made in
the United States. A
larger CF8 panel is
available as a special
order item. $582.50
and $797.95;
photogenic.com
THE GOODS: ROUNDUP
Sometimes flash isn’t the right solution for your light.
BY JOAN SHERWOOD
Beaming up CONTINUOUS LIGHT
64 • www.ppmag.com
BRRR, IT’S COLD IN HEREThere must be some Westcott Ice Light
in the atmosphere. This handheld LED day-
light-balanced light source brings you fluid,
spontaneous lighting composition with a
dimmable 1,600-lumen LED. The frosted
diffusion front delivers a beam angle of 72.6
degrees. Power it with the rechargeable
lithium-ion battery for one hour’s use at full
power, or plug it in and run it continuously.
$599.90; fjwestcott.com
STEADY DOWNSHIFTThe small, sleek Luma from Litepanels
keeps its daylight-balanced color steady even
when you use the 0 to 100 percent dimmer,
and it can be powered by six AA batteries, an
AC adapter, or off the D-Tap on a pro cam-
era battery pack, so it’s good to go anywhere.
It’s great for high-illumination fill light with
a 50-degree spread that’s flicker free at any
frame rate. $396; litepanels.com
READY FOR PRIME TIMENew from Tiffen Co. is the Lowel Prime
LED System, including the 200 and 400
models that are available in dedicated day-
light or tungsten renditions. Though designed
for studio use, they also make a versatile add i -
tion on location. They have a 90+ color ren-
dering index rating, run without a fan, and
come with a hanging clamp or stand mount.
$2,150 and $2,775; lowel.com
HMI-STOUNDINGThe new Profoto ProDaylight 200 Air
and ProDaylight 400 Air HMI lights are
not for sissies. They’re smaller and lighter
than the ProDaylight 800 Air but still power -
ful and robust. They come with Profoto’s Air
radio remote function for light control in the
palm of the hand. HMI lights run cooler and
use less power than incandescents, and they
don’t use fans, making them great for video
work. The kit includes ProBallast 200/400
multivoltage ballast for flicker-free perform-
ance. $4,473 and $4,803; profoto.com
RADIO REMOTEThe ikan id500 and id1000 come with an
RF remote control that allows the user to
turn the light off
and on and dim
it from up to
100 feet away.
The remotes
may be pro-
grammed to
control each
light individu-
ally or in groups.
This series fea-
tures LEDs
selected for their
color tempera-
ture and color
rendering index
performance in
daylight temperatures. The units are very
mobile, with several power options. Chimera
is developing a soft box kit for these. $499
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DELICIOUS PAIRINGThe awesomely named RayD8 c3200
Tungsten Kit from Lastolite fits the
August 2012 • Professional Photographer • 65
bill for an entry-level studio system. With
tungsten light balanced at 3,200K you get
two heads, two soft white 31.5-inch
umbrellas, two 50-degree reflectors, two
500-watt bulbs, and two stands. $488;
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HALOGEN ON ZOOMThe Elinchrom Zooming Scanlite Halogen
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its zooming function. It makes use of a
300-watt or 650-watt halogen lamp and
comes with a transparent glass dome for
safety. The fan speed is electronically tem-
perature controlled. The light features an
umbrella mount, and all Elinchrom reflec-
tors, umbrellas, and soft boxes (except
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NOW THEY MAKE LIGHTSManfrotto has long been lauded for its
quality tripods and supports. Now it’s
introduced a line of LED lights, including
the ML840H Hybrid-84 Hybrid+,
which offers a flash function that creates a
burst of light four times the continuous
output for 1/1,000 second. It’s a ball head-
to-hot shoe system that can be pivoted,
angled, and turned. It’s stackable with
other ML series lights and is suited for por-
traits, close-ups, and low-light conditions.
$329.99; manfrotto.us �
August 2012 • Professional Photographer • 67
The following is an edited excerpt from the 10th
edition of Martin Evening’s “Adobe Photo-
shop CS6 for Photographers” (Focal Press,
$54.95). View CS6 video tutorials based on
the contents of this book at ow.ly/bGz6C.
SPOT HEALING IN CONTENT-AWARE MODE
The Content-Aware mode was added to the
spot healing brush options in Photoshop
CS5, and it intelligently works out how best
to fill the areas you retouch when you use
the spot healing brush. The spot healing
brush default is Proximity Match mode, and
with that you have to be careful not to work
too close alongside sharply contrasting areas
because it may cause the edges to bleed.
Let’s look at what the spot healing brush is
capable of when used in Content-Aware mode.
In the Figure 1 example, there were a lot of
electric cables and wires in the photograph
that spoiled the view. By using the spot heal-
ing brush in Content-Aware mode, I was
able to carefully remove them to produce the
finished photo. Although the end result was
quite effective, I should point out that a cer-
tain amount of skill is required in brush-
work and choice of settings in order to use
this tool effectively.
Note that content-aware healing makes
use of the image cache levels set in the Pho-
toshop performance preferences to help
speed up the healing computations. If you
have the cache limit set to four or fewer lev-
THE GOODS: PHOTOSHOP
The Content-Aware patch in Photoshop CS6 adds control to your healing powers.
BY MARTIN EVENING
68 • www.ppmag.com
New spot fixesBOOK EXCERPT
Figure 1: This shows before (top) and after (bottom) versions, where I used the spot healing brush inContent-Aware mode to retouch the photo.
All im
ages ©M
artin Evening
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els, this can compromise the performance of
the spot healing brush in Content-Aware
mode when carrying out big heals. It is there-
fore recommended that you raise the cache
limit to six or higher.
The Normal blend mode worked best for
retouching the cables that overlapped the sky
since it uses diffuse edges to blend seamlessly
with the surroundings. I also mostly used long,
continuous brush strokes to remove these from
the photograph and achieve a smooth, blended
result with the rest of the sky. When retouching
the rocks, I applied much shorter brush strokes
using the Replace blend mode to gradually
remove the cables bit by bit. I find that you
need to be patient and note the result of each
brush stroke before applying the next. Drag-
ging the brush from different directions can
also influence the outcome of the heal blend
retouching, and you may sometimes need to
carry out an undo and reapply the brush stroke
differently several times until you get the best
result. You can disguise the retouching better
by adding extra, thin light strokes 90 degrees
to the angle of the first, main brush stroke.
PATCH TOOLThe patch tool uses the same algorithm as
the healing brush to carry out its blend cal-
culations except the patch tool uses selection-
defined areas instead of a brush. The patch
tool operates in a lasso selection mode when
selected. (Holding down the opt/alt key tem -
porarily converts the tool to a polygonal lasso
with which to draw straight line selection
edges.) The selection can be used to define
the area to patch from or patch to. You don’t
actually need the patch tool to define the selec -
tion; any selection tool or selection method
can be used when preparing a patch selec-
tion. Once you have made the selection, select
the patch tool to proceed to the next stage.
Unlike the healing brushes, the patch tool
has to work with either the background layer
or a copied pixel layer. What is useful, though,
is that the patch tool provides an image pre-
view inside the destination selection area as
you drag to define the patch selection.
The patch tool works in a way that is
similar to the healing brush. In the next
example I want to demonstrate how to use
the patch tool to repair a large area of an
image quickly in one go. When you select
the patch tool, you can use it just like the lasso
tool to draw around the outline of the area you
wish to patch and loosely define a selection
70 • www.ppmag.com
Figures 2 and 3: Make a selection and use thepatch tool in Source mode to drag it to anotherarea. The results will be previewed in the destination selection.
STROKING A PATHA really useful tip is to use the stroke pathoption in conjunction with the spot heal-ing brush to apply a precisely targeted spotheal brush stroke. For example, to retouchthe cables seen in the Figure 1 photo, youcould try this alternative approach. Selectthe pen tool and use it to create an openpath that follows the line of one of thecables. With the path still active, you cango to the Paths panel options and chooseStroke Path. This will open the StrokePath dialog, where you can select thedesired tool from the menu. If you selectthe Spot healing brush and click OK, youwill apply a spot healing brush stoke thatfollows the direction of the path.
Figure 2
Figure 3
THE GOODS: PHOTOSHOP
area. However, you can use any selection tool
method you like to define the selection as you
prepare an image for patching (Figure 2).
Having defined the area I wanted to patch,
I made sure that the patch tool was selected
(and was in Source mode) and dragged inside
the selection to locate an area of the image
that could be used to patch over the original
area (i.e., remove the matted hair). Dragging
the patch selection created a second selec-
tion area, which I could use to define the
area to clone from. Meanwhile, I was able to
see a live preview in the original patch selec-
tion, indicating which pixels would be
cloned to this selection area (Figure 3).
As I released the mouse, Photoshop began
calculating a healing blend, analyzing the pixels
from the source area (that I had just defined)
and used these to merge them seamlessly with
the pixels in the original selection area. The
patch tool repair will usually work effectively
the first time. If it doesn’t look quite right, I
suggest deselecting and using either of the
healing brushes (or the clone stamp) to
fine-tune the result. In this final version, I
repeated using the patch tool to remove some
of the matted clumps of hair (Figure 4).
THE PATCH TOOL AND CONTENT-AWARE FILLING
Photoshop CS5 saw the introduction of con-
tent-aware filling. This is where you can make a
selection, choose Edit > Fill and use the
Content-Aware fill mode. Now in Photo-
shop CS6, there is also a Content-Aware
mode when working with the patch tool. The
following steps show a comparison between
the use of the Edit > Fill command and the
patch tool in Content-Aware mode. Note
that when the Sample All layers option is
checked, you can apply a patch tool content-
aware fill to an empty new layer.
Figure 5 was taken at sunset, and you can
see the shadow of the tripod and camera. To
remove this from the image, I first made a
rough lasso selection to define the outline of
the shadow.
I then went to the Edit menu and chose
Fill… (shift-F5 is a shortcut). This opened
the Fill dialog, where I selected Content-
Aware from the pop-up menu in the Con-
tents section. When I clicked OK, this filled
the selected area. You can see the result of
this fill at the top in Figure 6.
I undid the content-aware fill, selected the
patch tool, and chose the Content-Aware
option in the patch tool Options bar. I added
an empty new layer and with the Sample All
Layers option checked, dragged the selection
to the left and released the mouse. With the
selection still active, I was able to go through
all the different options from the Adaptation
menu, finally settling on the Very Loose
option (Figure 7).
When you use the Content-Aware Fill
feature, you have no control over the adapta-
tion mode that’s used. Even so, the Content-
Aware Fill feature works well in a lot of
cases. If you don’t get a satisfactory result
straight off, there are a couple of things you
can try. For example, expand the selection
slightly before applying a content-aware fill.
Use the Refine Edge command or go to the
Select menu and choose Modify > Expand.
It can also sometimes help to apply a con-
tent-aware fill more than once. As you apply
subsequent fills, you may see the filled area
improve in appearance each time. �
Martin Evening is a London-based photog-rapher and Photoshop Hall-of-Famer whohas worked with the Adobe Photoshop andAdobe Lightroom engineering teams formany years. He is one of the founding mem-bers of Pixel Genius, a software design com-pany producing automated production andcreative plug-ins for Photoshop.
72 • www.ppmag.com
THE GOODS: PHOTOSHOP
Figure 4: In this final version, the patch tool has successfully removed the mats of hair.
Figure 5: Removing the tripod shadow is a goodtest of the patch tool in Content-Aware mode.
August 2012 • Professional Photographer • 73
Content-Aware Fill Very Strict Strict
Very LooseMedium Loose
Figure 6: Examples of content-aware fill outcomes using different adaptation methods.
Figure 7: The Patch tool in Content-Aware mode eliminates the tripod shadow effectively.
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and services, from beginning to end.
All images ©Beth Jansen
The whole pack
ageBeth Jansen invites clientsinto her world for a premiumbaby portrait experience
BY JEFF KENT
ometimes you sell your art. Sometimes you sell youroverall aesthetic. Sometimes you sell your per -son ality. Sometimes you sell it all in one package.
For portrait photographer Beth Jansen, business, life, and art are wrapped in a single bundle that she happily
shares with clients. Her blog is just as likely to display pictures of her redecorated bedroom as her latest baby portrait
shoot. Her home studio is a colorful representation of who she is as both an artist and an individual. From her sense of
design to her clothing, she’s a walking embodiment of her artistic approach to photography. “Everything I do relates to
everything else, from my photography to the decorating of my home to the way I dress,” says Jansen.
Jansen began her photography business in earnest about six years ago, after relocating from Omaha, Neb., to Oklahoma
City. The move was an ideal opportunity to reinvent herself after having done a bit of experimentation in professional
photography back in Nebraska. In her new environment, she focused on a particular type of clientele that would help
define her business—affluent customers who appreciate art and a little bit of flair. Not every client fit this description, but
Jansen worked to attract the market she was after. She displayed only images of the kind she wanted to sell, bought
‘‘’’
Some photographers’ work
looks completelydifferent from one
shoot to another. That’s
not me. I consider it a big
complimentwhen someone can
recognize my work
from one session to another.
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advertising in local media that catered to her
target, and networked in the areas where her
ideal clients worked and lived. Six years
later, she’s built a reliable referral base, and
her portrait studio is known for fine quality.
One of Jansen’s effective marketing pieces
is the video bio on her website. She promotes
the entire experience of working with her, so
she thought that showing herself in action
made perfect sense. “As a photographer, part
of what you’re selling is your personality,”
she says. “If you’re willing to put yourself out
there and say, ‘I’m an individual,’ you will
draw reactions. I’d rather you have a nega-
tive opinion about me than no opinion at all.
I like people to know about my daily life—
what I dress like, what my house looks like—
because it’s all wrapped up in my work. It’s
all me, my style, and it’s all about the mod-
ern woman. That resonates with my clients.
The video intro wraps it all up in a format
that communicates clearly.”
PORTRAIT DESIGNJansen’s creative process revolves around
designing portraits as complete compositions,
styling the subjects, the background, and all
peripheral elements into a coordinated image.
It’s akin to designing a room, she says: “When
I go into a new situation, I look for things
that I can piece together. I don’t like mixed
and matched. I like coordinated. I style all
my clients, even babies. I view the subject as
a design element coordinated into a space.”
For newborn and baby sessions, Jansen
creates a scene in a safe, controlled environ-
ment. She prefers to work in places that are
special to the client, and for these subjects,
it’s often the client’s home, where children
are most comfortable.
Each session is distinct, but there’s con-
sistency in color, composition, lighting, and
style. Jansen rarely shoots at the same loca-
tion twice, even with the same client, yet
each collection of images is cohesive. “Some
photographers’ work looks completely dif-
ferent from one shoot to another. That’s not
me,” she says. “I consider it a big compli-
ment when someone can recognize my work
from one session to another.”
In postproduction, Jansen applies
enhancements that complement her style.
She uses Adobe Photoshop and Bridge but
seldom uses actions and automated process-
ing. The result is skin tones that are not
overprocessed and eyes that remain vivid.
The key to Jansen’s sales strategy is prompt
follow-up. Within two weeks of the session,
the enhanced images are posted online, and
clients have a week to place an order before
the gallery expires. “It’s important to get the
images out quickly, especially for newborn
and baby sessions,” she says. “A newborn is
completely different from a 6-month-old, or
even a 3-month-old, so if you postpone the
sale, the parents are in a different mindset
with a completely different child. You lose
the excitement and you give up sales.”
No photographer can risk that in this topsy-
turvy market. But it’s about more than the
money, says Jansen; it’s also about building
client loyalty through a positive experience.
People will bounce from photographer to pho -
tographer for child portraits unless they’re
motivated to stay with one provider. Jansen
provides that motivation with top-to-bottom
attention to service and sharing herself openly.
“I gain energy from the people around me,
and I share that energy with my clients,”
Jansen says. “People get excited about the expe -
rience and the process. That’s helped me attract
the kind of clients who appreciate my work and
what I’m about. When you can build that type
of clientele, then you’re in a good place.” �
To see more from Beth Jansen, visit bethjansenphotography.com.
August 2012 • Professional Photographer • 83
All images ©Lori Nordstrom
MOMENTUMLori Nordstrom serves the senior market
while staying true to her unique style.
BY JEFF KENT
S E N I O R
hen Lori Nordstrom, M.Photog.Cr., CPP, opened her studioin Winterset, Iowa, in 2000, she specialized in maternity andbaby portraits. As her clients’ children grew up, she began to get inquiries about senior
portraits. Nordstrom had never considered photographing seniors. High school kids seemed
a world apart from her cozy work with moms and babies. Would her style translate?
Would she need a new professional identity,
new branding, a different marketing strategy?
After she’d done a few senior sessions to
appease her clients, Nordstrom realized
something important: Senior portrait clients
spend a lot of money. “I started re-examin-
ing that side of the business, and I decided
to invest in it,” she says. “I looked at how I
approached the work and what I needed to
do to develop it into a real product line.
Going through that process made a big dif-
ference. Now I love photographing seniors.”
Nordstrom calls her seniors line Real Sen-
iors, which describes both her branded prod-
uct line and style of photography. As with
her baby, maternity, and family portraits,
the senior style is casual and relaxed. She likes
the lighting to be natural or augmented by a
single light. According to Nordstrom, she
avoids trendy tricks that some students
gravitate toward. “I’m shooting for the
moms,” she explains. “My goal is to make
the seniors love us and talk about us, but the
moms are my market. My images are about
the subjects’ personality and my interactions
with them, not elaborate setups or effects.”
The consistency in the style of Nordstrom’s
specialties unifies her brand and creates a
recognizable identity in her market. “If you
can be true to you, you won’t have any com-
petition because there’s only one you,” she
says. “You will change and evolve and grow,
but if you keep your work consistent with
who you are, it will always be unique.”
As in other areas of her business, the
sales process for Nordstrom’s Real Seniors
begins with the first phone call. Nordstrom
and her staff script every client communica-
tion from the initial inquiry to the ordering
appointment. Throughout, she coaches
clients on portrait presentation options,
steering them toward a set of items that will
work best for them. Then the ordering
appointment is just that, a time for clients to
select what they want without pressure.
The key to selling this way, says Nordstrom,
is to find common ground during the initial
contact and initiate a conversation about the
client’s family and home. If someone calls in
order to shop price, Nordstrom clearly states
the studio’s pricing, then redirects the conver -
sation to the portrait subject. She wants to
change the conversation from How much is
an 8x10? to How can we create memories?
Nordstrom asks questions such as, “Could you
tell me about the person we are going to photo -
graph? What is he like? What is he interested
in?” Then she asks about the client’s plans
for the images: “Have you thought about
where you are going to hang your portraits?”
“My goal is to makethe seniors love usand talk about us,but the moms are mymarket. My imagesare about the subjects’personality and myinteractions withthem, not elaboratesetups or effects.”
“Ninety-nine percent of the time, the answer
to this question is ‘No,’” says Nordstrom. “It’s
our job to let them know that we specialize
in wall concepts, that we focus on producing
collections for their home.” The next step is
to get the client talking about his or her
home, where the family eats dinner, where
they hang out, where people gather when
the family entertains. Once the client begins
discussing the important areas of the home,
Nordstrom can start customizing products.
By the time of the ordering appointment,
Nordstrom has already created customized
products to show the client. To help the
client choose what to purchase, Nordstrom
uses her four-step “Build-a-Collection”:
Step 1: For the wall. A discussion of big-
ger prints for wall displays
Step 2: Set it out. A look at smaller prints
up to 11x14 inches
Step 3: Mix it up. A presentation of mul-
tiple-image pieces, including desktop dis-
90 • www.ppmag.com
plays, wall folios, image boxes, and 20x24-
inch designer collections
Step 4: Make the cover. Choosing an
album, which comes in three different
styles and pricing tiers.
Clients who make a purchase in all four
categories are rewarded with a 20 percent
discount on the entire collection. Nord-
strom’s bonus schedule encourages the pur-
chase of certain other specialty items, such
as DVD slideshows or unmounted proof
prints at various purchase amounts.
Nordstrom developed her system over
time as an alternative to selling pre-determined
packages. She used to offer packages, but
she felt she was missing opportunities at the
end of every sale. Her Build-a-Collection
concept increases sales while also giving clients
more of what they truly want. After its imple -
mentation, she noticed a substantial uptick
in sales. “The system improves sales averages
because we are walking clients through exactly
what we want them to buy,” says Nordstrom.
To keep things fresh, Nordstrom has been
increasing her video line-up, now adding fusion
video DVDs. She’s been incorporating video
with her sessions, capturing footage between
still shots for a full-featured representation
of the session. “It’s all about the experience,”
she says. “People are willing to invest more if
they feel like they’ve had a part in the creation
of the image. Video helps them remember
that experience and be engaged in it.”
Though she schedules only 40 high school
senior sessions each season, this product line
makes up almost 40 percent of Nordstrom’s
gross revenue. She doesn’t do traditional mar -
keting for senior portraiture, relying instead
on referrals. To cross-pollinate family and
senior portraits, she offers a free family ses-
sion to the family of every senior portrait client.
Those family sessions always yield high aver-
ages because the parents have already been
through the sales process with the senior
portrait, and they understand the system.
To photographers interested in ramping
up their senior portrait business, Nordstrom
recommends looking inward to find what
unique attributes you bring to the market.
Also consider the products you can design
that will work for your clientele. “For my
seniors clients, those products are wall con-
cepts and large displays,” she says. “For your
clients, it may be something different. The
key is to ask them, ‘What memories do you
want to see when you sit down for dinner?’
If you can provide those memories for them,
you will always stay busy.” �
To see more about Lori Nordstrom’s seniorportraiture, visit nordstromseniors.com.
92 • www.ppmag.com
Lori Nordstrom presents “Pricing for Profit”at Imaging USA in Atlanta, Jan. 20-23, 2013.
All images ©Megan Squires
Lightquest
Megan Squires photographs seniorsbathed in the beautiful California sun.
BY LORNA GENTRY
he sublime light of Northern California is legendary. Goldenor crisp, it’s a photographer’s dream, and Megan Squires usesits magic to create beautiful portraits. And yet, the Folsom, Calif., family portrait photogra-
pher admits that when she started in photography she was afraid of light: “I only wanted to
shoot on cloudy days so I wouldn’t have to worry about the sun. Then I realized photographyis all about capturing light. Allowing light
into my lens creates a natural feeling. I fell
in love with backlighting, and I’ve come to
be known for that. Now that I’m out of my
‘open-shade’ phase, I’m loving color.”
That’s evident in Squires’ high school
senior portraits. Alongside a posting on her
blog of photos from a senior session,
Squires writes, “I wanted to give you all an
idea of how . . . just one hour can provide
such a variety: bright, bold images, hazy
sun-washed images, and gorgeous golden
light shots. Don’t be afraid to try different
things with lighting. If you’re an open-
shade shooter, step out into an open field
and play with backlighting. If you’re strictly
a golden-hour photographer, schedule your
session one hour earlier than usual and
play around for the first half of the session.
Push yourself to learn a new technique, and
I promise you won’t be disappointed!”
For senior portraits, Squires is partial to
end-of-the-day light, so she often asks sen-
iors to arrive at her studio two hours before
sunset. “We go through their wardrobe first
and talk about where they want to be pho-
tographed. Around my studio is urban, but
nature is nearby. The kids are usually up for
anything. Most of my work is referral and
word of mouth, so they know my work from
seeing their friends’ pictures. They trust me,
which is a huge compliment to me. When
seniors don’t have anything particular in
96 • www.ppmag.com
mind for location it frees me to be creative.”
Squires uses primarily natural light.
“Although I have AlienBees and a reflector,
I seldom use them,” she says. “When I
started out I was photographing friends’
children and it wasn’t practical to be
running after toddlers with a reflector. If I
have a mom with us on a shoot I’ll some-
times get her to hold the reflector, but for
the most part I use natural reflectors, like
sidewalks.”
Specializing in newborns to seniors,
Squires got her start in photography seven
years ago when she was a young mother
armed with a camera and a drive to capture
her son’s childhood frame by frame. When
she lost her father to kidney cancer four
years ago, she had an epiphany. “I realized
all I had left of him were photographs. One
of my best pals, who started in photography
at the same time I did, took a picture of my
family 10 days before my dad passed. Every
time I look at that picture I think about him.
“My dad had been an amateur photogra-
pher. When I was in high school he wanted
to teach me how to use his camera,” she con-
tinues. “I humored him but wasn’t interested.
Now, oh, how I’d love to sit down and talk
shop with him! When he died, my daughter
was a year old and my son was 3. I wanted
them to have a relationship with him, but
these photographs are all they have. I cannot
think of a better job for me than to provide
photos of loved ones for other people.”
Folsom is a suburb of Sacramento, the
state capitol, where competition is plentiful.
“The market is saturated; within the past
year I’ve gotten to know more photographers.
If anything, we have all benefited from hav-
ing so many photographers in this area. We
have Facebook groups, and we communi-
cate outside of photography. I don’t consider
them my competition because we refer each
other for jobs if we can’t do them.”
Squires shoots a Nikon D700 digital
SLR. When photographing newborns she
most often reaches for her 50mm lens, but
for seniors her lens choice is the 70-200mm
f/2.8 zoom. “I love that lens because it’s so
sharp and I love the compression. Some-
times for close-ups I’ll use the 85mm, but
usually I stick with the 70-200mm, even for
close-ups. And I love that I get a workout
with it because it’s so heavy!”
For now, Squires’ business is part time.
With 7- and 5-year-olds at home, she feels
it’s important to limit time away from them.
“When I first started shooting professionally
four years ago, I would do any job that
came along, like birthday parties. Then I
realized it was better for my own family,
myself as photographer, and my clients if
I specialized. So I now specialize in new-
borns through seniors. I cut back on the
number of sessions I do to 10 to 12 sessions
per month, a third of which are seniors.”
Both of her children will be in elemen-
tary school next year, Squires says, so she
may get a little more done, not to mention
grabbing a little more sleep. “I do all my
editing after the kids go to bed, so I’m usu-
ally up until midnight. The beauty of being
a small business owner is that I can set my
own schedule. And I have found that
because of my limited sched ule, my clients
adjust their schedules around me because
they really want me to take their chil dren’s
photographs. That’s a great feeling.” �
To see more of Megan Squires’ images, visitmegansquires.com.
“I only wanted to shoot on cloudy days so I wouldn’t have to worryabout the sun. Then I realized photography is all about captur-ing light. Allowing light into my lens creates a natural feeling. Ifell in love with backlighting, and I’ve come to be known for that.Now that I’m out of my ‘open-shade’ phase, I’m loving color.”
here really isn’t much rhyme or reason in
what inspires Nicola Toon’s baby and child
images. The ideas just come to her. Out
driving her car, something as ordinary as a
weedy, overgrown patch of grass will spark
her imagination. Once, while walking her
dogs and kids through fresh snow, the path
led to someone’s crude attempt at a teepee.
Toon rushed her brood home, grabbed a
camera and piece of white fur, fashioned a
paper crown, and ran back to the teepee
with her son for a portrait shoot.
“It was a very Narnia-Where-the-
Wild-Things-Are kind of shoot,” says
Toon. “It all happened in about an hour.
The snow, the teepee, and the beautiful
overcast light that morning—I was like,
Wow! I have to do it!”
Located in Cambridge, a small town
nestled between the Great Lakes in south-
ern Ontario, Toon’s studio, HulaHoop
Children’s Photog raphy, specializes in por-
traits of families, babies, and children. Her
story is not unfamiliar: Holding an unin-
Nicola Toon rushed headlong into a new career and couldn’t be happier—with both her well-earned success and the creative satisfaction.
BABIES BY STEPHANIE BOOZER
Love at first clickDiving into the dream
TAll images ©Nicola Toon
’’‘‘I look back at how far I’ve
come in two yearsand I just can’t believeit. I’m lookingat my
images the way I had looked
at otherphotographers’
imagesnot so long ago.
spiring job with a young family at home,
Toon wrestled with a strong desire to do
something more rewarding, some thing she
loved. Always creative, Toon would pore
over wedding and baby photography with
pure admiration for the artistry and feel that
matching it was beyond her untrained grasp.
About three years ago, providence inter-
vened on a vacation, when the family camera
slipped from Toon’s hands and smashed. She
resolved to replace it with a “real” camera
with a shutter and lens fast enough to keep
up with her constantly moving children.
She bought a Canon Rebel. She’s since moved
up to a Canon EOS 5D Mark II, but it was
that Rebel—the right tool at the right time
—that opened a realm of possibilities to her.
BABIES
©Im
age
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udio
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“It allowed me to evolve from pictures of
my kids saying ‘Cheese’ to capturing my chil-
dren as they were, doing what they enjoy,
not even looking at the camera,” says Toon.
“Parents love images of such moments more
than anything else.”
When she posted her images on Facebook,
people noticed. Friends of friends wanted
Toon to photograph their children, and the
circle kept widening. Riding a wave of excite -
ment, Toon dove in headfirst. She took com-
munity college courses in photography,
attended workshops and, most important,
continued chasing her ideas with the camera.
“I look back at how far I’ve come in two
years and I just can’t believe it,” says Toon.
“I’m looking at my images the way I had
looked at other photographers’ images not
so long ago.”
One defining element of Toon’s style is
her natural approach. She shoots on loca-
tion, either outdoors or in the client’s
home, except when the subject is a new-
born. She photographs the wee ones in her
home studio, cur rently housed in a second-
floor bedroom; she’s in the process of con-
verting the basement into a roomier studio
and consultation area.
“For most babies and toddlers, being in
their own home is best for them and for me,”
says Toon. “They’re so much more relaxed
in their own environment that I really get a
sense of who they are, even at that young
age. I just follow them, and the images
aren’t forced because they’re engaged.”
She prefers shooting in natural light on
location and never takes along a flash or
even a reflector, as she didn’t like the
results she got when she tried it outdoors.
She knows that some pro photographers
would disagree, but Toon feels strongly
about “Mother Nature’s lighting.” She
schedules outdoor shoots for the evening,
starting around 6 p.m.
“Often, the parents are a little worried
because the kids go to bed at 7,” says Toon.
“But they discover that when kids are out-
doors or in a new environment, they’re usu-
106 • www.ppmag.com
BABIES
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ally happy. The littler ones especially are just
so curious, and you can see that in their faces.”
While HulaHoop Children’s Photography
gains momentum, Toon is trying to maintain
a life-work balance by controlling its growth.
For now, she limits sessions to two a week, as
she’s doing all of the postproduction herself.
When it’s feasible financially, she plans to out -
source the editing and shoot five sessions
weekly, still low volume but producing
high-quality work. She has images in doc-
tors’ and midwives’ offices in the area,
and she’s not afraid to pursue magazines
and other media for exposure. She gladly
donates time for charity events, making
sure to inform the local paper and unleash
a social media blitz. She avoids the Easter
mini-sessions but pushes Valentine’s
Day specials, in which clients get 30
personalized photo valentines with candies
to hand out to friends and family.
“I don’t pay for marketing,” says Toon. “I
just get myself out there the best way I can,
organically, and it’s working. I’ve pushed to get
where I am, and I’m not going to stop. I am
so over the moon in love with what I do.” �
See more of Nicola Toon’s work and read herblog at hulahoopphotography.com.
Stephanie Boozer is a writer in Charleston, S.C.
BABIES
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Although she prefers location shoots, Jennifer Dell finds her new studiomakes clients more comfortable and is helping to grow her business.
BABIES BY LORNA GENTRY
Cultivating a lifestyleProps and toys yield genuine, engaged responses
112 • www.ppmag.com
All images ©Jennifer Dell
riving to her newly opened
studio on a recent hot sum-
mer morning, Jennifer Dell
pulled over when a butterfly
floated past the car as her two
young children squealed with excitement from
the back seat. Taking a few minutes out of a
busy morning to marvel at nature with her kids
is worth everything to Dell, who for three years
has been balancing motherhood and a grow-
ing family photography business. Earlier this
year, Dell opened her first studio in an historic
district in Tomball, Texas, a suburb of Houston.
Professional Photographer caught up
with Dell to talk about her new digs and her
beautiful newborn and children’s photogra-
phy, on which she’s building a reputation.
Professional Photographer: Why did you
pick this neighborhood to open a studio?
Jennifer Dell: My studio is located among
boutiques in historic buildings, which reflects
my brand of heirloom photography. The
studio is 1,200 square feet, open, and homey
with tons of windows. I don’t plan on shoot-
ing here much, except for milestone shots of
babies in mini sessions. I still prefer location
work, but the studio provides a place to
meet with clients before sessions and for the
ordering appointments afterward.
You’ve been in business for three years. What
made you decide to open a studio now?
I’d gotten to the point with my clients where
I wanted to be more interactive before sessions
and to meet with them somewhere other than
Starbucks. I’ve found that the more they meet
with me, the more comfortable they are with
me. And if I’m asking them to invest in pho-
tography, then I want them to feel as com-
fortable as possible. I had a good year last
D
year and saved enough money to pay for my
first year’s rent, which was one of my stipu-
lations before opening a studio. I’d liked to
have opened one sooner, but I waited until
businesswise it made sense to make the leap.
You went to the Art Institute of Houston,
where you studied both graphic design and
photography. What made you chose photog-
raphy over graphic design as a career?
Good design makes me incredibly happy,
but I prefer working with people. When I do
albums and marketing pieces, I get to use
my graphic design background, but when I
work one-on-one with people, I really like
the connection. I love creating family heir-
“I don’t do babies on beanbags anymore.My clients find that the pictures they valuemost are more of a lifestyle approach.”
BABIES
looms that people will pass down to their
children. That’s the coolest part.
Who are your clients?
Most are moms in their mid-30s to mid-40s.
They are very involved in their family, com-
munity and [children’s] schools. It’s a 50-50
split between stay-at-home and working moms.
These moms know what’s cool and what’s
happening. They come to me typically because
they’ve seen photos their friends have. I get a
lot of bookings for my stylized sessions. My
clients are creative, but they don’t know how
to create what they want, so they come to me.
How do you market to them?
I do a lot of social marketing and joint mar-
keting with area boutiques. I get a lot of refer-
rals from my joint marketing. I print VIP cards
for the boutiques to hand out, and I hang
photographs in their stores. In return they
get perks, such as discounts on photography.
In fact, a lot of the times the prints that go
into the stores are of their own family, so they’re
even more apt to talk about them. I put as
many pictures on their walls as they let me.
You use a lot of props in your children’s pho-
tography. Why?
I get genuine reactions from children when I
use props, and it helps get them involved in the
shoot. When they’re learning something new
or just playing with a new toy, they get excited.
It’s a technique that’s evolved over time with
my clients. It helps the sessions flow better.
How do you come up with new creative ideas?
Many times a prop will give me ideas to cre-
ate a shoot around it. I’ve even gone through
books of fairytales to come up with ideas.
I’ve been building a set to do “The Princess
and the Pea” with my daughter for her 4th
birthday. Sometimes my clients mention
that their child is into a particular item or
idea and we build upon that. I’ve had clients
bring things the grandparents have given
them, like little cowboy boots, and we build
the session around it.
How do you work with babies and young
children?
I don’t do babies on beanbags anymore. My
clients find that the pictures they value most
are more of a lifestyle approach. During a ses-
sion, I follow the child’s lead and do what
they want to do, which keeps them happier.
If I’m shooting for an hour and a half, I want
them to be as happy as they can be.
I prep parents as much as I can before a
session. My website has a section that explains
to parents what to expect during a session so
they’re prepared. Then they’re more relaxed
and the little ones pick up on it. With older
kids when they aren’t into the session, I give
them the camera and let them take a picture.
They get so excited and then they’re into it.
What equipment do you use?
I use a Nikon D700 camera, but I’ll soon be
getting my hands on a D4. I use all prime
lenses, no zooms. I have a 50mm f/1.4,
85mm f/1.4, 105mm f/2.8, and the 135mm
f/2.0D, which is my favorite—I waited a
year for it. For lighting, I prefer natural
light. Right now I’m really into the warm,
dewy, hazy look of backlighting for its
dreamy feel. �
To see more of Jennifer Dell’s work, visit jenniferdellphotography.com.
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aving a high school seniors line of
business was never on photog-
rapher Jim Lersch’s radar. In fact,
he had dismissed it with a laugh
when his wife suggested it.
“But the more I thought about it, the
more I thought it wasn’t a bad idea,” says
Lersch, M.Photog.Cr., API. “I could do it as
a break from my commercial work. I wasn’t
really thinking about making money at it.”
Based in Nixa, Mo., Lersch has been pri-
marily a commercial photographer for over 30
years. An active member of PPA since 1974, he
cut his teeth in the industry at a large com-
mercial studio in Chicago. After opening a
second branch of the studio in Michigan,
Lersch made his way to Missouri, where he
started his own business and became one of
the main photographers for the entertain-
ment industry in Branson.
Business was booming, but he was look-
Jim Lersch gives seniors what they want—the more fanciful and flamboyant, the better. But first, they have to open up to him.
SENIORS BY STEPHANIE BOOZER
Through their own eyesExpressing one’s self as an exercise in self-awareness
H
All im
ages ©Jim
Lersch
“WHEN MY BUSINESS PARTNER (MY DAUGHTER) DECIDED TO PURSUE ANOTHER DREAM, SMS WAS THERE TO HELP ME RESTRUCTURE MY WORKFLOW…AND RECLAIM TIME TO THINK CREATIVELY AGAIN!”– CINDY CHRISTANTE / NATURAL IMPRESSIONS PHOTOGRAPHY
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ing for something different, a creative outlet
that wouldn’t curtail his bread-and-butter
work. Sometime around 2005, Lersch heeded
his wife’s advice and gave seniors a go.
“Having this commercial background, I
knew the best thing to do was to go in and
analyze the market,” says Lersch. “I wanted
to see what seniors were getting and what
they did or didn’t like.”
Lersch met with a principal and teachers
from a local high school, who gathered a
group of seniors for a discussion with him.
“Right off the bat, I asked how many of
them were happy with their photos, and less
than half raised their hand,” says Lersch.
“The number one reason was that their pho-
tos looked the same as everyone else’s.” Ler-
sch established his prime directive there and
then: He’d create portraits that said exactly
who the senior was at this stage of life.
To find that out, Lersch has 13 questions
he asks each senior client. In addition to dis-
covering subjects’ favorite colors and hobbies,
he wants to know what they’d change about
themselves and how friends perceive them.
“In a college psychology class, I learned
the relationship between colors and the mind,”
says Lersch. “I pick up a lot about the person
from the answers to these questions—every-
day things can say a lot.”
The studio’s consultation room has two
chairs and a love seat. That arrangement is
tactical: The way senior clients and their
parents seat themselves reveals much about
the family dynamics. That insight, too, helps
Lersch craft a portrait session true to that
senior. The session is, he says, a chance for a
student to express who he or she is.
Lersch lets the senior drive the session, from
choosing the props and sets to postproduction.
Rather than a sitting fee, he charges what he
calls a “creation fee” that covers the initial ses-
sion or sessions. Postproduction is billed by the
hour. He limits senior sessions to 25 a year,
so he has the flexibility to take as much time
as needed on each client. The senior often
sits alongside Lersch as he works on the
images, and he loves their involvement.
“I never duplicate an idea. I’m shooting
seniors their way, which is what draws
them,” he says.
118 • www.ppmag.com
SENIORS
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120 • www.ppmag.com
For example, in an image of a brother
and sister with their shiny new Camaros
superimposed before the Louvre in Paris,
Lersch has incorporated elements from a
dozen conversations with the subjects. A
lightning strike in the background repre-
sents the brother’s love of storms, and the
Louvre pays homage to the siblings’ first
European trip—a Parisian escapade that
changed their worldviews.
In another image, the subject is wrapped
in chains beneath a giant lock, an expression
of how the senior felt caged by his parents.
That image provoked a family dialogue that
led to a healing understanding. “This was a
good kid, an honor roll student,” says Ler-
sch. “But he felt his parents were holding
him back. When he explained the image to
them, it opened their eyes.”
The most profound story Lersch shares is
about a session with a morose, detached girl.
After a few unusable takes, Lersch invited
her behind the camera to view the images.
She started crying uncontrollably. He put
the camera away and began to talk with her.
“She said she wanted to die, that her dad
had cancer and her mom was an alcoholic,”
says Lersch. After gently nudging her to seek
help from the counselors at school, Lersch
didn’t hear from her for a while.
Then one day she called the studio, ready
to reschedule her session. “At the appointed
time, she bounded in and gave me a big hug,
saying she finally had an idea for her portrait.
She wanted to appear in a black zone in the
far corner of the image, her face half lit, to
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show how trapped she felt before she got help.”
It’s connections like these that give Ler-
sch immense satisfaction in a genre of pho-
tography he thought he’d never try.
“I’ve gone from laughing at my wife
about this to loving it,” he says. “I’ve never
regretted it. It does my heart good.” �
See more of Lersch’s senior portfolio andcommercial projects at lerschphoto.com.
Stephanie Boozer is a writer in Charleston, S.C.
SENIORS
Jim Lersch is among the specialty track presen-ters at Imaging USA 2013 in Atlanta, Jan. 20-22.
122 • www.ppmag.com
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ARE CONTRACTSMAKING YOU CRAZY?©Farrah Braniff, Cr.Photog., CPP
As an artist and business owner, you have your hands full. We know the last thing you want to worry about is business legality. And we have a solution: PPA offers members free online legal resources, from sample model releases to copyright licenses and independent contractor agreements. It’s one more way PPA helps keep you and your photography business safe and sane.
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Download your free sample contracts and forms today*
PPA.COM/CONTRACTS*This is an exclusive PPA member benefit.
Some things have never changed for us at Walden’s
House of Photography, such as connecting with the right clients with the right message at the right time. The only thing that has changed with that is the method, going from direct mail and community exhibits to the use of social media and more proactive, creative marketing. For example, we are…
More Focused on Proactive MarketingWe spent our set-aside marketing money on a professional marketing/talent agency that specializes in social media and how to reach today’s consumer. They helped us with:
effectively.
After a few weeks, we asked the agency to teach us to do that work ourselves, and now we control and work our social media marketing! To keep our momentum, we devote half of each Tuesday to marketing meetings, discussing ways to stay proactive and brainstorming for the future. We journal everything in Evernote (evernote.com), so nothing falls through the cracks. Everything we do now is with the thought that it must bring us business and not waste our time, energy
understand the trends and how to successfully proceed in
the future. Then we develop marketing to replicate those efforts. We note the failures and successes of those efforts in Evernote, too. So if an idea doesn’t work, we can make an intelligent decision about trying again or dropping it.
Using Technology to Our Advantage& to Save MoneyOur studio is open only four days a week now, but we haven’t lost the personal element of a real person versus an answering machine. Even though we are closed on Monday, we roll over the studio phone to a staff member’s cell phone so she can take calls. We pay her for three hours as opposed to a whole day, and she is required to answer the phone from 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., along with other duties. Because our studio management system is online, she also can book appointments from her house. With computer systems at home and in the studio, we also are able to work from home if we don’t have appoint-
have a staff member work from home instead of driving 45 minutes into the studio every day.
Not Afraid to Think DifferentlyThe E-Myth Blog (e-myth.com/blog) says it best: “Just because things have always been done one way doesn’t mean that must continue. Even one new idea—something you’ve been considering but haven’t had the guts or time to act on—could reenergize your business if you implement it right now.”
thanks to our willingness to try new ideas and methods. If you have decided to rest on your past accomplishments and ways of doing things, you are not standing still; you are going backwards. Even if you are at the top of your game,
revealed!
PPATODAYAUGUST 2012
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGETim Walden, M.Photog.Cr., F-ASP - 2012-2013 PPA President
PPA
MEM
BER
NEW
SLET
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www.ppa.com
© M
onic
a C
ubbe
rly-E
arly
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SLETTER
BE SOCIALLY SMARTPPA MEMBERS SHARE HOWBy Angela Wijesinghe
Harnessing social media is harder than it sounds, especially for a photographer who is wearing
so how can you best use these ever-changing communica-tion tools? Here are a few pointers from PPA members who have successfully hitched their studios to social media.
Be Where Your Clients AreDetermining which social media channels your clients
or commented on an image helped John Pyle of Georgia realize that Facebook was where the majority of the parents and even grandparents were active; Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest were where his high school senior clients spent their time. Both are important audiences for Pyle, who is a senior, lifestyle and fashion portrait artist.
Brian of New Jersey focused his social media use for his more mature clientele. He uses Facebook, blogs and Pinter-est to a degree, but he doesn’t use Twitter at all.
Separate As NeededSometimes separate accounts or pages on the same social media platform can be smart, too. Brian is expanding his family portrait side and plans on adding a separate blog and Facebook page for those clients. That will allow him to target posts to each audience, rather than bombarding them with irrelevant content. Pyle also advises clear separation in communicating to your clients and peers. “I’ve seen too many blogs where photographers post something for their customers and, immediately after, post about how to upsell clients,” he notes. “I wouldn’t want my clients to see that!”
Know What Works Best WhereWhen using more than one platform, it’s tempting to link all the accounts you can and auto-update. While it may feel like saving time, it might not the most effective use of those spaces. Selective posting may be a better bet.
Blogs—Both Brian and Pyle post longer, educational pieces on their blogs. Brian and his staff create articles for brides in-house (or share what vendors send) on topics like how to time the hair and makeup sessions.Facebook—“It’s all about engaging with your clients,” says Brian. So instead of giving online images to the clients, he asks them to tag themselves on his Facebook page, even in the behind-the-scenes images and video slideshows.
blog. He’ll post teaser images from a session (linking to the blog), make announcements or even share the accomplish-ments of his senior clients, such as when one signed with a college baseball team.Instagram—Pyle’s favorite social media, Instagram, allows him to share behind-the-scenes images on Twitter, Face-book or email without having to log in to a separate site. He likes to show the client just arriving, picking out the wardrobe or trying to get in position for the shot. “With Instagram, it’s easy to build excitement around what we’re doing,” he explains. “I am able to keep everyone updated on my destination shoots, and I get comments back instantly with seniors saying, ‘Can’t wait until my session!’”Twitter—Because his senior clients check this site often, Pyle also uses it to keep his name top of mind. He shares his music and cool products he sees—anything to put himself in the “cool crowd,” as he says.Pinterest—Brian shares tips and suggestions for wedding photographs, along with detail ideas from weddings he’s covered. Pyle even created a Pinterest Style Guide to give models and seniors ideas of what to wear to sessions. Show Personality & Values“If you just post pictures, prospects still don’t know what makes you different,” Brian says. “So brainstorm ideas for unique things to post. How are you as a person different?” He shows his quirky, fun personality by posting “photo-bombs” on Facebook. These are tangents to his photo shoots where he randomly pops in the family portrait or starts photographing his bridal couple with strangers (who agree to it) in the park.
to align himself with brands that share similar values. On Pinterest, for example, his pin boards showcase various brand-name products. “If I’m going to demand an invest-ment for my photography, why should I use social media to pass on coupons or ways the beat the system?”
Make It About the ClientAlthough you want to show your personality on social media, you don’t want to get caught up in self-promotion or lose sight of your purpose. “Keep it fun and behind-the-scenes, but don’t spiral down into depressive, way-too-personal topics,” advises Brian. Pyle stays on track by always turning the post back to the client. “Even if we win an award, I want to put the client on the pedestal, not my image,” he explains. “My social media isn’t for bragging; it’s for celebrating my client.”
Manage Time Wisely“My wife would tell you I don’t manage my time,” admits Pyle. “I’m always on my iPhone.” That’s the danger in using so many social media platforms for a small busi-ness. However, Pinterest recently added the ability to allow
-ing this option. He’s having a past client who follows the fashion blogs pin to his Style Guide board. Creating a systematic process about what to post where could help ease the strain too, as could focusing on only one or two social media platforms. Using a few tools wisely is a better option than misusing them all because you are stretched too thin.
Use ItDespite the potential drain on time, most photographers do agree that some form of social media is necessary. “It’s hard to draw people to my website every day, but I know my ideal clients will check Twitter or Facebook,” says Pyle.
When he went to replenish business cards at a boutique he partners with, he shot an Instagram image of a staff member holding some boots and posted that he was “hanging out with the girls” at that store. Within 30 minutes of the post, three people had called the store asking about those boots. “For me, it’s brand recognition—John Pyle is in that store with the cool clothes you wear,” he explains. “It also posi-tions me in a good relationship with a store that caters to the targeted market I want to reach.” Getting that kind of reaction takes time, though. It takes building up a follower base, smart uses and timing of posts, and so on. But it can happen. Social media is word of mouth on steroids when used correctly. Learn more about PPA member Jordan Brian at jordanbrian.com.
Learn more about PPA member John Pyle at johnpylephotography.com.
KEEP IMAGES SAFE ONLINEWhatever social media you use, don’t forget to keep your images as safe as possible. Any online use of an image means your rights as the creator could be infringed. Help protect your images in these ways:
at copyright.gov.
images.
if you prefer. (Visit ppa.com/ppa-today-blog/ and
(if the social media platform offers that option, like
SHARE SAFELYPPA BENEFIT TO PROTECT YOUR WORKBy Cassandra Gulia
Social media platforms like Facebook, Pinterest and Flickr allow creators and users to meet in new, changing ways. The growth and popularity of casual
social sharing—and work online in general—introduces
makes protecting members’ work a priority by offering discounts on services that can help, such as Digimarc® for Images.
help protect your images by placing visible or imperceptible digital watermarks on your images—or both. “We provide a complete solution for the professional photographer’s true ownership rights,” explains Ben Boun-keth, Digimarc’s Product Line Manager. In fact, Digimarc can assist a photographer from the early prevention stages all the way until an infringement is found in their automated system. “Often, photographers themselves do not have the
like that,” he adds. Digimarc’s notice for a takedown of the image also provides added leverage in such situations. Bounketh recommends that pro photographers take advantage of Digimarc’s Professional Edition. With it, photographers can:
-
Photoshop® or a URL of your choosing.
visual integrity of photographs.
or the free Digimarc Reader for Images software.
crawls the Web to identify digitally watermarked images. (You’ll know where your images are being used online, ensure you are fairly compensated for their use, and be able to better manage your brand online.)
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DISCOUNTS FOR DIGIMARC & MOREPPA has partnered with Digimarc and a host of other companies to offer members the best deals on products and services that make a professional photographer’s life easier!
Get all your PPA member discounts here:
Communicate ownership and usage rights without affecting the visual integrity of your images.
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August 2012 • Professional Photographer • 135
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PROFESSIONAL
or 10 years before she was a pro -
fessional photographer, Andi
Diamond of Tampa, Fla., was a
child life specialist working with
hospitalized children to make the
experience less frightening. She practiced thera -
peutic recreation and coached kids through
surgeries and other scary procedures.
While she enjoyed the work, Diamond
yearned for a more artistic outlet, which she
found in photography. Yet when she embraced
photography as a career, she missed giving
back to her community and helping chil-
dren. When she found out about Flashes of
Hope, a nonprofit organization that uses
photography to change the way children with
cancer see them selves, Diamond felt she’d
found a perfect match.
Flashes of Hope stages daylong profes-
sional portrait shoots at hospitals, turning
public areas into studios. The organization
sponsors every aspect of the session, includ-
ing makeup and styling for the young sub-
jects, and donates the final portraits to the
children’s families. The idea behind the proj-
ect is to help children with cancer feel better
about their changing appearance. Flashes of
Hope also raises money for cancer research
through a separate fundraising arm.
So far, Diamond has volunteered to be
the photographer at four portrait days at
hospitals in the Tampa area. An example of
how life can come full circle, she has
worked closely with the hospitals’ child life
specialists in selecting subjects and coordi-
nating shoots. At day’s end, Diamond edits
the images and sends them to Flashes of
Hope, where the portraits are printed and
burned onto discs, then disc and prints are
sent to the subjects’ families. Everything is
provided at no cost to the families.
“Cancer is not biased in terms of who it
strikes, but many of the families we serve are
from [low-income] socioeconomic groups.
There would be no way they could afford a
custom portrait session,” says Diamond.
“For some of these kids, this is the only pro-
fessional photo shoot they’ve ever had. Some
of the children pass away, and the images we
create are the only portrait their family has
of them. And some kids get better, go into
remission, and the images serve as a positive
way to look back on the experience.”
To other photographers interested in vol-
unteering their talents, Diamond recom-
mends looking into your heart to discover
what you’re truly passionate about, then call-
ing local organizations that are involved with
that cause—they almost always need profes-
sional photography. “Do it with the inten-
tion of giving freely,” she suggests. “If you
share yourself and your talents without
expectation of anything in return, it comes
back to you tenfold, not necessarily monetar-
ily but emotionally.” �
Flashes of Hope needs professional photog-rapher volunteers at several children’s campsit serves yearly, including locations in Utah,Idaho, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, andOhio. For more information, visit flashesofhope.org.
See more work by Andi Diamond at andidiamond.com.
138 • www.ppmag.com
good works | Images wield the power to effect change. In this monthly feature,Professional Photographer spotlights professional photographers using their talents to make a difference through charitable work.
Flashes of HopeANDI DIAMOND’S PORTRAITURE BOOSTS THE SPIRITS OF CHILDREN
Share your good works experience with us by e-mailing Joan Sherwood at [email protected].
©Andi Diamond
F
Bambi Cantrell and Profoto D1. Overpowering the Sun
© Bambi Cantrell
Profoto.com/US · 914 347 3300 Distributed by MAC Group
Educational video showsBambi's lighting techniques:Profoto.com/US/Cantrell