I lot of people would say that quitting a steady paying, secure job with a great small company in a time when our state's unemployment is in the teens is a stupid idea, like "sticking-your-hand-in-a-running-garbage-disposal" stupid, but on April 29th I said goodbye to 4 years at my day job and hello to an unknown future doing what I love.
It was a long decision but ultimately not a hard one; I knew I didn't want to be a project manager for a commercial door hardware company, I wanted to be a photographer, and the longer I stayed at the day job the less likely it would be that I'd ever leave. It wasn't a bad job, in fact if I had any real interest in doors, frames and hardware it would be a great place to work until retirement, but with the slowing economy came less work and with less work meant more time to obsess about photography from a place where I couldn't do anything about it. I knew something had to change before I got burnt out on both fronts and self destructed.
Maybe that's a bit dramatic.
In any event I'm now into my second week of self employment (read: NOT UNemployment) and I'm still trying to find my rhythm. Where do I start? How to I take SBI to the next level, to make it a real profitable, sustainable business and not just something I do on the side for kicks? I know the answers will come and I know eventually I'll have a workflow that keeps me on track and gets everything handled. I've got an amazing wife who, despite knowing she has to win most of the bread now, supports me and encourages me when I start to freak out a little. I have a growing network of supportive fellow photographers who give me insight and something to look forward to. It's going to work out.*
* he says to himself 100 times before falling asleep each night.
I had the opportunity to meet and shoot (photos of, not arrows at) Jennifer & Neil, a local couple who are were willing not only to pay me to do their engagement photos, but their wedding photos as well! It's a sweet deal for everyone involved and I pretty much love when it works out like that. I really enjoy engagement shoots and seeing a couple a few months later, it's like reconnecting with old friends.
We started out our shoot in a small neighborhood commons area, they had a great gazebo covered in little vines and a big grassy area. After squishing through a VERY soggy lawn we hopped in our cars and went down the road to Dawson Creek park and had some fun with trees, tunnels and taking leaps. The low evening sun gave me some great opportunities for some silhouettes and sunny, back-lit shots.
I left the shoot feeling great, I had a feeling the shots would turn out great and I was pleased to have that affirmed when I loaded them up that night.
I'm certain I'm not alone among fellow shutterbugs in slacking off from time to time and letting my cameras collect dust or wither away in their bags when going out to shoot just seems like too much trouble. For me, my excuses are always "fatigue" from a long day of sitting on my butt at the day job, too many obligations to family or household or the overwhelming appeal of another half-hour in front of the television. I'm a victim of Newton's first law of boredom; when I'm bored I tend to stay bored unless acted on by an outside force (usually my wife) and I get off my duff and pick up a camera.
Last Saturday could have come and gone without incident just as so many other days did if not for the encouragement of my wife; I'd been out painting my father-in-law's house for the third weekend in a row and heading back I was grumpy, frustrated and exhausted at the fact that not only had I missed out on those previous, precious weekends but also that I had even more work on the house to do. The last think I wanted to do that night was make pictures. On the drive home we passed by a little, ghetto carnival set up in a shopping center parking lot, the lights caught my eye and I off handedly mentioned how there would be some great shots in there. My wife said "why don't you come back out here after the kids go to sleep and just shoot it?" Instantly I threw one of my default excuses out, "meh, too tired. meh, my feet hurt. meh, fire ants..."
We got home and my choices were either go to bed cranky or go out shooting. Here's the result of my decision.
First off, let me say I seriously hope that I never end up in small claims court with a bride fighting for the quality of my photos, not to mention on a TV court show. I don't think I have much to worry about though as I try not to be like the photographers in this case for a number of reasons.
I don't know anything about these women other than what's presented in the video; they shoot with a Canon Rebel XTi, an entry level-dslr; an 18-55mm f/4.5-5.6 kit lens and a 70-300mm lens, the speed of which they don't know. The claimed to use tripods, which the bride denies; they claim that there was a strict flash restriction put upon them by the venue, which the bride denies; and they claim that there was inadequate lighting all day which resulted in poor images, though they claim the images are high quality. (More on that later.)
The first problem that I have with this trial is that it even happened at all. I'm not saying that a photographer should never go to court to defend his or her business, but the details in this case seem to be a disagreement over a refund and a disagreement over expected quality over delivered product. These are problems that all professional photographers face at some point; you can't please every client and there will be times when you are forced to concede a refund, agree to disagree on quality (unless their complaint is valid and deserved) and part ways with the client. If you handle it amicably you'll feel the sting, as will your client, over the unfortunate turn of events. You'll lose time and money and materials, the client will be left without a suitable record of their event. In any circumstance where the photography fails to meet the clients expectations and the issue cannot be resolved it's THE CLIENT who always stands to lose the most. As a photographer you will earn new clients (unless you behave like the ladies in this video) and you will, at some point, earn back your lost wages and credibility. For the bride, you lost something that cannot be replaced. No one is going to re-enact a wedding start-to-finish just to get a new set of photos and their walls will remain bare. Their children won't see mom and dad in their wedding clothes, the couples parents will have no 8x10 on their mantle to show off to friends unless they got the shot themselves.
The point is that as a professional shooting a wedding you have one chance to get it right. You MUST come prepared for anything. These women claim to be the victims of poor lighting and strict rules but if they'd done their job not only would they have walked the venue at some point before the ceremony and worked out the rules with the venue, but they would have brought with them the gear they would need to improvise in the event that something was missing or had changed. That means fast lenses, tripods, and complete knowledge of your camera and which settings can absorb the most light from a scene without sacrificing quality. These women couldn't describe their gear or settings and their gear was entry level kit stuff, which leads me to believe that they were most likely shooting in full auto and trusting the camera to do the work for them.
What it all comes down to is attitude. These photographers made some bad photographs, and I won't even bring up the flowery borders, selective color or tragic poses, they made bad photographs because they didn't know their gear, their venue, their client or the limits of their talent. It appears that they viewed their personal satisfaction over the satisfaction of their paying client, as is evident in the vindictive and argumentative manner in which they "defended" themselves in this case. They have a bad attitude and carrying a record of judgment of any kind, for or against your business, is a red flag. The fact that they were rude, combative and indignant only adds to the embarrassment of having your TV judge own you at every turn when talking shop then force you to give the refund you should have given anyway. It wouldn't surprise me if this were the last wedding they ever shot and maybe it's better that way.
One of the great things about being hired anonymously over the internet for short-notice gigs is you never really know what you're going to get. Obviously sometimes this can turn into a disaster; you could show up to a white supremacist rally or the Republican National Convention and get some great shots of something you're not sure you really want to show anyone. (This hasn't happened to me, yet.) Other times you get taken for a wild ride to places you may never have gone with people you may never have met and treated like part of the family.
This is what I got to experience new year's eve 2009 as I was the official documentarian of local Hip Hop record label Live Wire's outstanding party.
The night started out at the Heathman Hotel; a three room suite well prepared to ring in 2010. I was early so I I had the opportunity to shoot the guys getting ready, I felt quite under-dressed as each of them came out of their rooms dressed to the nines in tuxedos and suits. As guests arrived for toasts and some pre-party laughs it became clear that it was going to be a much different night than I'd invisioned in my head.
After everyone was ready and most of the guests showed up a small group of us piled into a stretch Hummer limo and went out to dinner at The Chart House restaurant. The inside of the limo was covered in colorful lights and reflective surfaces and luckily the lens I had for the ride was fast enough to capture some decent images without a flash even while the limo was driving around!
After dinner it was off to Urban Studios where Live Wire had a VIP area reserved, the place was packed and for the rest of the night everyone pretty much just partied straight through to the new year.
After the club kicked everyone out we boarded a party bus to drive us around for a while since no one was ready to call it a night. Well, some of us were. I debarked back at the hotel once the bus made a short stop and parted ways tired, sweaty and buzzing with energy.
Truly one of my favorite shoots of the year and a great way to end it. I hope to do some more work with these guys in the future.
For a while now I've been toying with the idea of taking a voluntary cut in hours at my day job to open up more time to develop Sky Blue Iris and at the beginning of December I worked up the courage to approach my boss about it. He seemed hesitant but agreed that due to the lack of real work and the fact that less hours = less payroll $ he couldn't see a reason why it was a bad idea. He asked for some time to think it over.
I had a meeting with him yesterday and he told me that he'd talked it over with the owner and they've agreed to give me the time I asked for. As of next week I'm working 3 days at the day job and 2 week days off, meaning that I'll now be home more days per week than not, meaning I'm super excited. I can't stop thinking about all the photography related things I'll be able to do on my "days off" now! I can seriously sculpt the business, advertise, meet clients, edit photos, actually TAKE photos, add to the blog, add to the site.... man, I'm getting all flushed and goofy just thinking about it.
The change does come with some equal and opposite reactions though; less hours means less pay and we're on a budget (who isn't) already. I've had to raise the price of my standard package by $200, which still puts it beneath the current market average (a number that I'm just making up right now), though it will mean I need to reevaluate the ads to add some more value. However more time for SBI means more opportunities for PR work from my sometimes-employer Media Maison, which will fill the gap when it can.
All in all it's a positive step towards independence; self-employment is my goal and that will mean that I don't have the stability of a 9-5 job with a steady paycheck (and benefits, yikes) but I'm ok with that. People have done it before, I've seen them, they look just like me.
Last weekend my wife and I were able to go out and buy Christmas presents for our selves and our kids, plus plenty of decorations for the house, because of the wonderful clients I've had this year.
The last few years we've been on a pretty tight budget and didn't have much to spare for the holidays and if it wasn't for my photography business we'd probably have to settle for a lean Christmas again. So I can't tank them enough for booking me, trusting me and encouraging me and allowing me to photograph their events. My wife and kids thank you, too. When my daughter opens her presents on Christmas morning and we're sitting by a tree surrounded by lights and presents and watching Christmas Vacation I'll be thinking of how my dream job and those who hired me allowed me to make all of it happen.
So thanks. Thanks to all of you whom I've photographed and those whom I have yet to meet but are already booking for next year.
