Reply To: Wife and I Photography Business Just Starting Out

[EyeDocPhotog]

You’re giving your clients WAY more and MUCH better than JC Penney, Sears and all the other ‘budget photo stores’ here in NYC.

You’re also GIVING AWAY the store for the amount of work you are doing! But I also understand the competitive market for this kind of photography and that it is always safer to whisper advice from cover than to risk it’s merit at the point of attack.

If you’re shooting RAW and using Lightroom, be aware that you can spend quality time fine-tuning a few user presets for application to your imports. For example, I have 10 or 11 user-defined presets for Harsh Noonday Sun, Magic Hour, More Exposure, Less Exposure, +/- Saturation – you get the idea. This way, when done with a shoot, I can import the CR2 files with the a preset applied which usually takes care of 80% of the shots. Another 10% is usually 1 more preset, and the last 10% usually require more personal attention. For your studio work, it’s even simpler – your lighting is constant and requires only 3 or 4 presents depending upon your needs. (I don’t have a studio).

Aside from this, I’d echo Bill’s and Nesgram’s comments. Best of luck to you! Really good start… 🙂