30 Day Photographer Challenge: Day 15 “Laura Gordillo Photography”

30 Day Photographer Challenge: Day 15 “Laura Gordillo Photography”

Laura Gordillo Photography, located in Goodyear, Arizona has been chosen as the featured photographer for Day 15 of our 30 Day Photographer Challenge! As with some of the other photographers who have been featured during this 30 Day Challenge, I have liked Laura Gordillo Photography’s Facebook page on my personal profile because I so enjoy seeing new images of Laura’s show up in my newsfeed. When one of Laura’s images does show in my newsfeed, I know that it is her work without even having to see the name of the person who shared the image. Just as with any great photographer, Laura has her own style that, no matter what she is photographing, shines through and makes it just that much more special.

While I was thinking of what all to include in this post, I remembered something that I had seen Laura write when sharing and adorable picture of four siblings. “It’s ok if a picture doesn’t turn out “perfect,” to me it’s more about the moment you capture.” This basically sums up the images you will see come from Laura Gordillo Photography. She doesn’t just take a picture of a newly engaged couple, a family who’s father is being deployed or a precious newborn baby. Laura captures MEMORIES. As far as I am concerned, that is what makes the difference between a great photographer and a good photographer!

Laura describes herself as a “Natural Light Photographer”. The main word that really jumps out at me is “Natural” because that is what she captures. Laura is proof that the photographers who do not go crazy about having the “Perfect Pose”, create the most beautiful work. By allowing the subject to act naturally, rather then directing them where to put every single body part, she is able to highlight their personality through her lens. When she is working with more then one subject, this allows real relationship with one another to show. At the end of the day, that is the entire purpose of a session. Whether it is a wedding, a birthday party, a birth or a yearly family picture, her clients are coming to her to allow Laura to help them remember a special time in their lives. By allowing them to act like themselves and to do what comes naturally to them, Laura is capturing the truth, thus ensuring her clients never forget how they were truly feeling at this time in their lives. 

Looking through the website and the Facebook page for Laura Gordillo Photography, it also quickly becomes clear that Laura is willing to go above and beyond to make her clients happy. In one case, she photographed a family, a husband & wife, along with their four children. She explains that the father is in the military and was being deployed just a few days after the portrait session. After editing the images, the wife asked Laura to create a slideshow of the final images so that she could forward it to her husband. Not only did Laura create beautiful images of this family, she also placed them in a slideshow, with music, so that this brave man could look at the family he was missing and remember the fun they had during their session. In this slideshow, there is an image that touched my heart, so I know that it had to have really pulled at the father’s. When you go to Laura Gordillo Photography’s website and Facebook, be sure to take a look at the slideshow. The image I’m referring to is a black & white of the four children. They are not posed and are looking in all different directions, but it is crystal clear just how much fun they are having and how much they love each other. I can only imagine how much this image alone must help their father get through his deployment. 

After reviewing hundreds upon hundreds to photographer’s work, I have found that sometimes, a photographer will go overboard with the props if they are not comfortable in their talent. This is not to say that every photographer who chooses to use props feels this way, as I have seen some amazing work in which the photographer included props. However, I do think there is a thin line between what is just right and what is too much when it comes to props. Thankfully, Laura is aware of this line and she never crosses over it when she does choose to include some extras in the images. She has some very beautiful items. I especially love the baby carriages and the headpieces that she chooses for newborn sessions! An amazing example of this is an image from a One Year Old session that was posted in May. In the image, the one year old baby girl is sitting in a colorful hat box, wearing a blue hat and strings of white pearls, while a vintage clock sits next to her showing the time as 12:20, the exact time she was born. I love the creativeness and the personalization of the image.

Speaking of personalizing an image, Laura also shares an image taken of her niece at her Quinceanera. During the celebrations, her niece danced the Waltz with all of the important men in her life. Sadly, her grandfather had passed away the year before. In memory of her “TaTa”, she danced the waltz alone. Wanting to do something special for her, Laura took a shot of her niece dancing alone and then added a somewhat transparent image of “TaTa”, making it appear as if he was there, dancing with her in spirit form! This image was wonderfully touching and actually made me cry. I would love to have something like this on my wedding day for my grandfather who passed.

Although several of the photographers I have featured have shown support for charities through their work, none have gone quite so far as Laura. On her website, you can learn about the Photography Missions in which Laura Gordillo Photography participates. The first of these is “Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep”. NILMDTS’s mission is “to introduce remembrance photography to parents suffering the loss of a baby with a free gift of professional portraiture.” I recall first hearing about remembrance photography when Michelle & Jim Bob Duggar, of TLC’s 19 Kids and Counting, lost their child and their niece released images that were taken by a professional photographer as a gift for the family. It caused much debate as to whether or not this is right. But, I believe that if it allows the family to gain some sort of peace and begin to heal from such a great loss, why should anyone disapprove of it? Having lost a child at 6 months gestation myself, I would have cherished a photograph of my daughter and I wish I would have known that “Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep” existed. To learn more about NILMDTS, click on their link on this page of Laura’s website: http://lgordillophoto.com/?load=flash

Laura is also involved in “Maple Leaf Mission” which offers a “Final Moment Session” as well as “Your Moment Session” and “Military Moment Session”, all free of charge. Maple Leaf Mission states that they want to offer “The gift of life in pictures” to the families of those who have been diagnosed with a terminal disease, are suffering from a debilitating or life limiting illness, or those who have been deployed overseas through the military. From what I understand, those who participate in Maple Leaf are attempting to make a hard time a little easier by providing those who are going through a difficult time with a beautiful memory. It is really quite beautiful. You can learn more about the services offered by clicking on their link on this page of Laura’s website: http://lgordillophoto.com/?load=flash

I am so glad that I chose to featured Laura Gordillo Photography for Day 15. I don’t believe I have ever experienced so many emotions while looking through a photographer’s website. Laura is not only an extremely talented photographer, she is also an amazing person who is using her passion for photography to give back to those suffering. With all of the horrible things we see on the news nowadays, it is uplifting to discover that there are still people in the world who are willing to give a little bit of their lives to help others. Kudos to you Laura!

Make sure to check out Laura Gordillo Photography’s Facebook page and website. You’ll probably need hours, so consider yourself warned! 🙂

 

 

30 Day Photographer Challenge: Day 12 “Kidz Unlimited Photographic Studio”

30 Day Photographer Challenge: Day 12 “Kidz Unlimited Photographic Studio”

Kidz Unlimited Photographic Studio, located in Margate, England, has been chosen as the Featured Photographer for Memory Lane’s 30 Day Photographer Challenge. There are several reasons why Kidz Unlimited caught my attention. I LOVE babies and everything about babies. They are so beautiful and it is so amazing to look at a newborn and imagine where their life is going to take them. Nothing is more precious! It appears as if Tracey-Anne, the photographer and owner or Kidz Unlimited, agrees with me on this, as the entire Facebook page is all about babies!

Anyone who has been reading my posts for the Featured Photographers in our 30 Day Photographer Challenge knows how I feel about props. I’ve never been a big fan of them because I feel as if they take away from the subject, who should be the main focus of anyone viewing the image. After finding several photographers who have proven that this is not always the case, I was starting to think that maybe I just hadn’t been looking at the best examples of prop use. Now, I know this to be the case. Tracey-Anne has a larger assortment of props and backgrounds then any other photographer I have ever seen. And, its not just the typical props you expect to see either. Some of her bigger props include a baby-size claw foot tub, a HUGE teddy bear big enough to lay a newborn in his lap, coffee/tea cups large enough for the newborn to lay inside and even ginormous lego blocks! I’m pretty sure that you could ask Tracey-Anne for just about anything to be in the picture, and she would have it!

Not only does she have an obvious talent for posing her subjects in or around these props in a way that allows the props to compliment them rather than taking over the image, she also has an eye for colors. Tracey-Anne places colors and patterns together that I would never think would look right. But, somehow, she knows that it is okay to place polka dots, stripes and animal prints all together as long as the colors compliment one another. Even if Tracey-Anne is using the same props in one session that she had used in another, the finished product is always different. Often when using props, the photographer will place the props in the same position each session, only replacing one subject with another. But, she moves the props around, coming up with new unused ways to use them. A great example of this is several of the “year to year” images that she has displayed on her profile. When a client is returning to her to do two year pictures, and they have also worked with her for the child’s newborn and one year pictures, Tracey-Anne will use the same props and backgrounds in a least one shot of the session, but she adapts the props to fit the child’s age. Whereas the subject was lying in the wicker carriage for their newborn session, they are sitting in the carriage for their one year session and then pushing the carriage for their two year session. In my opinion, Tracey-Anne has so many fans and return clients because they know that they are always going to get something unique from her.

All of this talk about props and background may give you the idea that every single image from Kidz Unlimited is bright and busy. This is not the case though. Tracey-Anne knows when to keep it simple. While I have several favorites out of the images using the props, one was just posted today of a newborn girl named Esme, I also have favorites of the simpler images, such as on of a newborn girl named Rosie Anne, who has on only a gorgeous headband in front of a plain pink background. It’s clear that Tracey-Anne knows when to spice it up and when to let the subject take over. I am grateful to her for helping me to fall back in love with props! Other photographers should definitely refer to her work when trying to decide how and when to use props during a session!

If I had to choose one word to best describe the feeling I get when I look at the work of Kidz Unlimited’s Tracey-Anne, it would be giddy. Looking through her work just makes me happy. If I were having a bad day, I know that I could look through these images and they would put a smile on my face! While I was writing this post and looking back through all of her images, I decided that Tracey-Anne should definitely make her work into a calendar! I know so many people who would love to hang a calendar on their walls and get to enjoy 12 different images throughout the year. Go take a look, and I’m sure that you will agree with me! And, if for some strange reason you are not a baby lover, you will be by the time your through! It has made me want another baby so much more than I already do! I may just have to fly to England once I get my wish so I can work with Tracey-Anne! We’ll see! 🙂

A Tale of Two Photographers- Part Two

Mike’s Story

                Mike is a photographer located in Pennsylvania who specializes in wedding photography. He typically photographs weddings in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware & New Jersey, although he has traveled as far as Hawaii and Niagara Falls in order to photograph a client’s wedding.

                From the age of 15, Mike had been obsessed with the art of photography. After taking Intro to Photography in high school, Mike had spent most of his free time developing his skills as a photographer. By the time he graduated high school, he had become a well know hobbyist photographer. Despite his passion and his obvious talent, his parents insisted he go to college to get a “real degree”, since they felt photography was not a way to make a good living. Being 18 and completely dependent upon his parents, Mike had no choice but to enroll in college to obtain a degree that his parents approved of.

                Seeing as he had no way to support himself, and therefore no other choice, Mike agreed to earn a degree in Business Management with a minor in Marketing. Although his parents were unaware at the time, Mike decided to earn these degrees because he knew they would help him to make his photography business a success. Despite doing well in all of the required courses, he could not see how anyone could enjoy working in an office at a random corporation. Had it not been for the photography courses he was able to take as electives, he believes he may have died from boredom. Throughout all of the courses he was taking, Mike took notes on how to apply what he was learning to his future business. By the end of his freshman year, Mike had a 5 subject notebook full of ideas.

                By the end of his Junior year of college, Mike’s reputation as a photographer became well known around campus through his work on the school newspaper and yearbook. His fellow students and teachers began to recommend him to friends and family who were looking for a photographer. The fact that his prices were fairly low, with a higher quality of work, compared to other local photographers helped him to book repeat clients. He had learned throughout his years in college that you have to start off reasonably priced and once people know you and your work, higher pay is sure to follow. Mike knew once he had a solid business set up, he would be able to charge an amount that he could live off of, but that his clients could still afford. Over the next year, as he completed college, he continued to book clients in his free time.

                After graduation, Mike’s parents expected him to get a job in a big corporation and to do the “9 to 5 Thing”, just like they had. How else, they asked, could he make good use of the degrees that they had paid good money to see him earn? Much to their disappointment (although disappointment is actually a HUGE understatement), Mike had no intention of following their dreams. Over the past few years, he had amassed an extensive clientele, much larger than the minimum it is recommended one have when starting a client-based business. These clients were well aware of Mike’s desire to turn his hobby  into a successful business and they were willing to pay the increased fees he needed to charge as a professional photographer. Two weeks after graduation, using the money he had earned from his photography throughout college, Mike filed for a business license and began aggressively advertising. Within seven days, he had booked four portrait sessions and a wedding. It has been 18 years since these first sessions were booked.

                When Mike was married at 21, he couldn’t resist picking up his camera to take a few shots of his bride. Although his wife Becky had never been interested in photography (she went to college to become a nurse and was never attracted to anything artistic), after she and Mike were married, she began to take an interest and even took a few courses on photography. The couple would go on photography adventures together and after several years, the photography became a crucial part of their marriage. Mike taught Becky everything he knew and marveled at how quickly she picked up the different techniques. Once Mike was satisfied with the quality of her work, he began to allow Becky to act as a second shooter at weddings. This allowed them to spend time together that they normally wouldn’t and they both began to dream of Becky being able to leave her job (as a labor & delivery nurse) in order to work as a photographer full time.

Financially, they knew that this just wasn’t possible. Weddings are typically only booked on the weekends, except on rare occasions when the bride or groom want to marry on a specific date that happens to fall during the week. Mike had begun to focus on wedding photography. Not only did he just enjoy photographing weddings so much more, but the fee for a wedding is much more than what you can charge for a portrait session. Although he no longer scheduled portrait sessions on a regular basis, he began to offer “theme sessions” to his clients during months when his wedding bookings are slow. Over a 6 month period, he offers one or two of these “theme sessions”, which can be anything from “A Day at the Beach” to “Princess for a Day”. These sessions allow him to make up for lost income if it is a slow month for weddings. He would offer 10 time slots on a specified date and if there was more of a response than he anticipated, he would schedule another date with 10 additional time slots. Mike doesn’t mind doing these types of sessions, but he would prefer to only photograph weddings since he enjoyed them so much more.

Two years ago, Becky approached Mike with a way that she thought she could leave her nursing job in order to be a full time photographer. While she was at work the night before, the husband of a woman who was delivering their first child came out to the nurse’s station to ask if there was somewhere he could purchase a disposable camera. The gift shop was closed, so Becky offered to run to her car to get her camera. Once she got back to the room, there was no time for her to show the husband how to use the camera, as the baby was crowning. Instead, Becky acted as photographer and captured the birth on film. After everything calmed down, the new father asked if he could pay Becky for the memory card with the images of his son’s birth on it. Becky refused, insisting that he just take the memory card as her congratulations. It was then that she realized how she and Mike could make their dreams come true. She would be a birth photographer. They agreed that this would be the perfect solution, so long as they could book enough birth sessions to cover the income they would be losing from Becky’s nursing job.

After two months of trying to book birth sessions, they were disappointed that they only had 3 clients so far. The problem was their advertising, or their lack of advertising.  Mike had begun to advertise the birth photography on his website and social media sites, but they needed something more than this. Local hospitals and OBGYN offices would allow them to hang sample images in the waiting areas and patient rooms for a monthly fee. There were several local monthly newsletters which offered advertising as well. They just weren’t making enough money to advertise the way they needed to. If they were going to make their dream come true, they needed to find a way to increase their profits quickly.

While researching online, Becky came across an advertisement for Memory Lane Porcelain Portraits. She was instantly intrigued and called the contact number to schedule an in person meeting. Two days later, Sara from Memory Lane was at their house to sit down with Becky and Mike to discuss the porcelain portraits. Initially, Mike was apprehensive, as he didn’t think it was possible that there was a company who would offer a product that would allow him to make such a large profit without requiring a large investment or a minimum yearly commitment. However, after reviewing all of the documents and seeing and holding the sample porcelains, he began to agree with Becky that this may actually work for them. 

Becky purchased the sample package that Sara had brought with her and within two hours after Sara had left, she was uploading images of the three completed porcelains to their website and social media sites. She and Mike went through the price list and decided on the prices they would charge for each shape and size. Since they wanted the funds to advertise as soon as possible, rather than just waiting to offer the porcelains to their scheduled sessions, they began to reach out to past clients. Within a week, they had contacted every client they had worked with over the past three years. While they knew their clients would fall in love with the porcelain portraits, they did not expect the response they got. Thanks to their aggressive advertising of the product and the reasonable prices they were offering them at, Becky and Mike were able to sell 20 porcelains within the first two weeks, with commitments from their clients for another 14 within the next month.

Mike and Becky have been working with Memory Lane Porcelain Portraits for 4 ½ months. The increased income they received from the sale of the porcelain portraits allowed them to advertise in two local newsletters, as well as in all the local OBGYN offices. Becky began receiving calls regarding the birth photography immediately after the advertisements were placed and was called for her first client went into labor 6 days later. At this time, Becky is still working as a nurse but has cut back from full time to per diem. She hopes to be able to leave her nursing job completely in the near future, because, other than a scheduled C-Section or induction, there is no way to know exactly when a client will go into labor and call her to be there. If their business continues to grow at the rate it has been, she should be able to leave the hospital within the next 3 months.

Both Mike and Becky credit Memory Lane Porcelain Portraits with the success they’ve had over the last several months. They have shared with Sara that if they had not decided to begin offering the porcelain portraits, its more than likely that they may never have been able to bring enough income to advertise the way they needed to in order to ensure that the birth photography was a success.  Since beginning to offer the porcelain portraits, Mike has not needed to schedule a “theme session” in order to make additional income. Not only because of the income directly from the sale of the porcelain portraits, but also because he is scheduling at least 5 weddings per month, every month.  Offering a product that is so unique has put him a step ahead of all the other wedding photographers in his area. When potential clients go to his website, the images of completed porcelains he has provided his clients make him stand out amongst his competitors.

This photographer couple is well on their way to achieving their dream. They are only weeks away from being able to support themselves solely off of their photography. The staff at Memory Lane Porcelain Portraits is honored to have helped this amazing couple to be able to support themselves by doing something they love every day. Not many people get to go to work and love every minute of it. It seems as though many professional photographers start off as a hobbyist photographer, who begin to schedule sessions in their free time, eventually hoping to quit their job to be a full time photographer. The main thing holding them back always seems to be money. How else could you increase your profits enough to allow you to be a full time photographer, while providing your clients with a beautiful and unique keepsake? The answer is simple: There isn’t another way!

Now Offering Laser Etched Marble Portraits!

Memory Lane is now offering Marble Portraits! The images will appear in black and white because they are laser etched into the marble. We currently have 5×7 and 8.5×11 oval and rectangle marble tiles. The 5×7 oval and rectangle are priced at $59 and the 8.5×11 oval and rectangle are $99. Contact us for any additional information!

A Tale of Two Photographers- Part 1

Several of our professional photographer clients have been kind enough to fill out a questionnaire in regards to the type of business they have and the changes that they have seen (if any) after they began offering Memory Lane Porcelains. With their permission*, we have decided to share the stories of two photographers with you. We selected Jess & Mike’s stories because they’re businesses are so different from one another, showing that no matter what type of photography you offer, a great deal of success can come from partnering with Memory Lane Porcelain Portraits. First we would like to share Jess’ story and will continue with Mike’s story in PART II (coming soon!).

Jess is a photographer located in Northern Maryland. She photographs clients in Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Virginia. At the time she approached Memory Lane to request a Sales Kit, she had been running her own photography business for just under 6 months. She was booking an average of 2 sessions per week and would book a wedding once every 3 months. There were 4 families who returned to her for any milestones reached or specialized sessions they wanted to take advantage of. Two of these families had encouraged her to begin to take photography more seriously and were the reason that she had decided to turn her hobby of photography into a business. Jess did not “specialize” in any one type of photography, as she booked a variety of sessions, from weddings to boudoir. Although she preferred to use natural lighting, she let her clients decide whether or not they liked the natural lighting. For those clients who were not familiar with the differences or who did not know which lighting they would prefer for their specific session, Jess would take a few images using different lighting and then show the images to the client in order to allow them to decide which they wanted. In order to ensure that she would be able to satisfy any one who came to her to book a session, Jess kept all of the different photography effects open, rather than choosing one type and only offering this type of photography to her clients.

Jess does not have a studio, so all of her sessions are done either at the client’s house-indoor or outdoor, or at another outdoor location of the client’s choice. If a client did not want to have the session at their home, Jess would suggest that they go to the state park or the beach, depending upon the type of session and the look they were going for. However, her goal was to eventually build a studio in the partially finished basement of her house. When she started the photography business, her husband had made her promise that aside from the initial investment in equipment and advertising, all money spent on the business would come from her profits only. So, in order to create a studio, she was putting as much money aside as she could afford. After 6 months, she had only managed to save $320. If she continued at that rate, it would take her nearly 10 years to have the $6500 she needed for the studio. Prior to starting the business, Jess had thought that going to a client’s house or meeting them at an outdoor location would be just as easy as having an in home studio, but after doing this for 6 months, she had come to realize a studio was the way to go. Having to pack up all of her props and equipment, taking it to the client’s house, unpack and then repack, was much more time consuming and frustrating then she had thought it would be. At this point, she was looking for a way to increase her profits in order to have the money to build the studio as soon as possible. Luckily for both her and us, she just so happened to learn about Memory Lane at the moment she decided that she needed the increase to her profits.

After calling us to request a Sales Kit, Jess decided that this would be the perfect way to increase her profits. Not only would she be selling a product that she actually liked, she would be able to increase her profits quickly without having to invest a large amount of her own money. We mailed the Sales Kit out to Jess and she received it 3 days after she had called. Once she had reviewed all of the information, she was positive that this would work for her and contacted us to order the $100 Sample Package. At this point in time, we had not begun offering to include your own images on the samples for free, so Jess paid an extra fee to have her own images on her Sample Package. She informed us that she had a meeting to book a wedding in two days and that she would really like to have the samples in time for the meeting so that she could attempt to sell the couple a package which included Porcelain Portraits. In order to ensure that she would have the Sample Kit in time for her sales presentation, we completed them and shipped them out overnight. Thankfully, she was able to sell a wedding package with 2 rectangle porcelains and 1 heart porcelain. Within a week of discovering Memory Lane Porcelain Portraits, Jess had made more profits off the sale of porcelains than she was able to save over a 6 month period!

In dealing with so many photographers, we have realized that just as each photographer has a different style of photography, they also have a variety ways to approach their sales presentation. Once she began offering the Porcelain Portraits, she only made slight changes to her existing presentation. Immediately following a session, Jess would sit down with the clients to go through her sales presentation. To begin offering the Porcelain Portraits, she simply displayed her porcelain samples and informed the clients that they could add a porcelain to any print package for an additional fee. It was at this point of the presentation that she would also inform the client of any sales or specials she was offering on the Porcelain Portraits. As far as weddings go, she would meet with the clients a week prior to the wedding in order to go over what exactly the couple wanted her to capture during the wedding. At this meeting, she would present the different wedding packages which she offered. Rather than advising the client that they could add a porcelain portrait to the existing packages for an additional fee, she automatically includes the porcelain in the different package levels. In doing this, she has found that it is easier to sell the porcelains. While there are some clients who ask to have the porcelain removed from the package, more often than not, they leave the package alone and are more than happy to have their favorite image from their wedding day reproduced on porcelain.

As of today, Jess has been offering Porcelain Portraits to her clients for just over 4 months. For the month of May, she already has 15 sessions and 2 weddings booked. Once she began to notice a significant increase in client calls and emails, she started to ask new clients how they had found her. While there were a few who had just come across her website or Facebook page or had been referred by her original clients, a great deal of them had seen a Porcelain Portrait displayed in the home of a friend or loved one and asked where they had purchased it. Over the past 4 months, she has been able to save $5200 of the $6500 needed to build her in home studio. Jess credits her decision to begin offering Porcelain Portraits to her clients as the reason for the increase of monthly booking and of profits and estimates that she should have the funds to build her in-home studio within the next few weeks!

*NOTE: Please keep in mind that while these photographers have given us permission to share their stories with you, they have asked that we only include their first names and the state they live in to ensure that their clients do not come across this blog post and then discover the profit the photographer made off of them by going to our website. Obviously clients are aware that any product a photographer is offering them is being marked up to ensure they make a profit, but if a client discovers the exact amount of that profit (and believe that it is too much) it can cause some tension, which is never good for business. It is because of this that we have only included the photographer’s first name and location.