For many years, I made portraits of folks for a significant part of my living. Photograhy is my day job! I guess you can say I rat a traditional "bricks and mortar" portrait studio- in many geographic locations that's a thing of the past. Over the years, I have transitioned my business to more commercial industrial work but I still offer portal service because it's my "first love" in photography, and it's FUN!
Nothing like a good "challenge" to get the cardio-pumpin' in the morning because each portal cliet is individual with thir own personality, physical features, and motivation for wanting or needing a portrait of the unit level of vanity or not, and a million other variables, let's say the job ain't boring! To sustain business and maintain any degreeof sanity you goot be a damn-good photographer-possible professional, an amateur psychologist, a deced business person, and at a ton of people skills and a megaton of patience.
Many photograher, both amateur and professional, get turned off by portaoture because they feel ir is tiff, stogy, boring, etc or because they have had a bad experience with "subjects" who were dissatisfied with the aesthetics, that is, they didn't lkie how or how to look like in their results. Some photographers envision portrait work as lining up hundreds of school kids on picture day with fixed lightng- mass production-" look at the camera-say pickles-NEXT"! Been there-did that! and gotta admit that is the fast track to the preverbal lunatic asylum.
I decided to do my portraiture on a low-volume/high-quality basies rather that a high-volume shopping mall, department store,"kidnapping" or" low-price operation. I had to diversify into other specializations in photography in order to do portraiture on a more exclusive basis, If you are an amateur, without the responsibilities of running a business, you have the luxuries of time, patience and selectivity on your side.
So, where's the BEEF I mean FUN? I usually do a pre-session consult or meet with each client and fi out wahthe need/want, who for the int this, wahthe expect either of aesthetics, make=friends, get folks to relax and convicted that this is not like a visit to the dentist for a tooth extraction! Then comes the I have all the info and I am the director, producer, lightg tech. camera operator, editor, retoucher, production guy, and printer! BIG JOB!
I ee like to photograph babies and little kids. Believe it or not it's Ezey-Peezy as long as you know waht appeals to children of various ages. I could be
anything from smart or silly conversation to animal noises and acting like an idiot (my specialty), forbidden pleasures lie sweet treat and playing with the toilet paper! Doing this and fending off helicopter parents requires athletic ability! So photographs ask me" How do you get such great shots of kids- waht kinda gear etc"? I just tell them to get a camera and some lights and get down onhe floor with their toys and play with them! Not that's gotta be fun! The same technique applies to rushed executives with big egos and small attention spans. They can be a pain but at least they usually don't projectile vomit in the camer room!
Are we having fun yet? So, as I asked before. Waht do any of y'all think and can we have at the kida stuff here on the new forum?
