so busy

I have been getting tons of first time clients in the past month. I've had at least one job every weekend. It's GREAT! With each shoot, my confidence and organization improves. I am fine tuning the details of my portrait sessions to get better results, and require less time post-processing and preparing proofs.

I am so lucky to have a husband who is supportive of this project, and helps me wherever he can. He is my complete marketing department, recruiting his co-workers and acquaintances, and passing out my business cards like crazy. 90% of my clients have come through his hard work, and confidence in my ability. I sometimes lack the confidence to go out and promote myself and my work. It is amazing to have someone who loves me and believes in me to brag about my work and bring in clients. I am so thankful to have him around during baby shoots as well. He is amazing with kids. He will do whatever silly thing it takes to get them to laugh, and kids just seem to love him. That allows me to focus on snapping the picture at the perfect second when their face explodes into a smile. This allows me to take less pictures overall of one pose, and helps me a lot with the decisions when I'm proofing them.

I launched a makeshift website a couple months ago, thinking it would do the job to convey pricing and contact information and show a little bit of my work. I have no flash skills, so it is pretty basic. I think my "non-business" is out-growing my website. I am feeling ready to take the next step and start trying to get business beyond only word of mouth. But I want to have a site to direct people to that I am proud of. I need to find somebody else to do that for me, I just don't have the time to teach myself. I'm sure I could do it, but that is time taken away from taking pictures.

Right now, the biggest obstacle in front of me is choosing a name for my business. I've been using my first name with my last initial because I had to have something to put on a business card. However, this was never what I wanted in a business name. I want something catchy and memorable, something unique and not too cutesy. I've tried to think of something that would be a tribute to my father, because his beautiful photography along with my parents always having the Konica SLR handy while I was growing up is probably what most influenced me to love and pursue photography on my own. But I am having so much trouble making a choice and feeling confident that I will want to stick with it forever. So I can't launch an official website until I have an official name.

Other than the name, there are a few more things I'd like to add to my portfolio before I "go public". I'd like to try some maternity portraits, and do a senior picture session this spring with a young lady who would like to take advantage of the flowering trees, and I'd like the chance to try another newborn session or two. If you desire portraits and are in the metro-Detroit area, and fit any of those categories, leave a comment, and I will send you my very affordable price list, and we can talk about some incentives or discounts for helping me out to complete my portfolio.