Summer of Senior Portraits

     Summer is here and that means it’s time for the class of 2019 to get the glam on in front of the camera before they graduate next spring and head off into the great wide world as adults. First, there is one more year high school, reports, tests and as some young women love and some young men dread the senior portrait session ahead of them.

     For most it’s their chance to show a more adult side, be the jester for one last time or just be the person they really want to be. It is all meant to show the world I have arrived. At Vagabond Photography we strive to help bring those dreams to the photos we create with our Seniors.

     We understand that sometimes what our Senior’s has in mind for an outfit is not always what the parent had in mind or will approve of. Recently with changes in the fashion industry to push young kids to dress more like adults (not necessarily always in the best ways) we have seen that trend reflected in our photography industry as well when clients bring outfits. The one thing we always recommend to all our clients (seniors, families and engagement couples) if it’s not something grandma and grandpa would hang on their walls at home or mom and dad would put on their desk at work because it might be seen as a little to provocative maybe it would its best also if you bring an alternate outfit so both parties are happy in the end.  

     The great thing about senior portraits is that is doesn’t just have a be a quick simple headshot for the year book like in years prior where we all lined up sat for a minute and a half and then were back in class. We can feasibly go anywhere and do almost anything (but not hanging your photographer from a rope off a cliff). Vagabond Photography is nestled out in East Troy, WI we are 40 minutes from the lake front & downtown in Milwaukee, 50 minutes from our state capitol in Madison and all around us in the perfect lake and nature settings. If there is another place outside of those areas that holds special meaning to you and your family we can travel there as well.

     Including sports and hobbies into our photo sessions is something we have always tried to get our clients to do more of. It brings the feeling of this is part of who I am into the photos and allows our Seniors to experiment with different poses that include their passions.  If possible bring your pets as well. While we understand at some locations it is not possible to have them there but when they are it always brings in the possibility of unexpected hilarity which translates into beautiful photos.

     Dates book fast we only do few sessions a day at Vagabond Photography and we do this to give out Seniors the right amount of time in front of the camera to bring their ideas to life. We are also able to do group sessions so if you want to incorporate a senior portrait session with your friends. We have all had that one friend we have grown up with who might as well be family and it is always a fun time when we can bring friends like that together.

     We look forward to hearing from you.

Sorry we can’t help, let’s try and find a photographer who can.

To fellow photographers:

As a photographer, we would love to be able to assist every client that walks in the door, sends an email, or calls us on the telly. The sad truth is though, through bookings and other obligations we are not always able to accommodate all our potential client’s requests for photography services.

Just before Thanksgiving I had a perspective client call asking if I could photograph his grandparents 60th wedding anniversary (married 1956). The problem being as he had stated to me, the few other photographers he had already talked to said they were unavailable due to the anniversary falling on Thanksgiving and didn’t want to help point him in the right direction. I explained to him I was already out of the area for an extended holiday week away and that I would not be able to help him.  Before hanging up I asked if he would kindly give me his email address I would send him the links to a few other trusted photographers I know and that one of them might be able to help him in his quest to find a photographer.

Some might say this is not the brightest of business moves sending a person to the competition. As I see it, we should be striving to help others even if it doesn’t necessarily help us. When I tell a client “no” it does leave a bit of an unsettled feeling. I would truly love to be able to cater to the client’s needs. When I suggest them to other photographer (competition) we should only sending them to photographers we trust. For me these are photographer who are competent, that we would ask to cover our own wedding, anniversary’s and family photos.

If you think about we are not really losing out on anything but maybe the three to five minutes of time to send the email and collect the links to our other trusted colleagues. Also as photographers we a providing a service that it relatively quick and does help a potential client find someone who can help them with their request. It can also help us in the long run, other photographers who we recommended might in return recommend us when they are busy or the non-client we helped find another photographer for might come back to us because we helped.

So consider not just saying “NO” and hanging up the photo but say “NO” and be willing to maybe take five minutes of your time and help out.

Learning from our mistakes: Stay true to what make you, you.

Learning from our mistakes: Stay true to what make you, you.

As the summer roles on and heat and humidity set in, frustration, compromise and the need to please clients tends to hit higher levels as well.  At some point in time one has to reevaluate, if what one is doing is leading you away from who you are.

There is a lesson to be learned here and it is one I learned not all that long ago. This being, it is impossible to please/accommodate everyone all the time and that sometimes no matter what one does to try accommodate a client or perspective client,  we may have to send them to another photographer who specializes in that area of photography.

I learned that it is important to stick to your discipline/style and there is a time and place to expand outside of our comfort zone and try a different photography discipline. I am a good portrait photographer but even thought I know a fair amount of product photography it is not my strong suit and having to tell a client “no” it is not something as a business provider I currently don’t accommodate does happen.

It stinks, it truly does, to have to turn away work/potential customers or returning customers. If the final product you are going to give a potential customer something that is not your best quality work it will not only hurt the customers currently because they do not have the best quality photo of their product but it will hurt you and your business in the long run because you let it be known you are willing to do sub-par work just to make a dollar.

As photographers we have our areas of expertise. Some of us are good portrait photographer where others are great at architectural photography and so on and so forth. While it is great to expand our horizons, to learn and become better in other disciplines of photography, it is important to remember what areas of photography we are good at when we do contract work for others. We should not be so quick to jump to another discipline of photography because a client begs us to or just to make earn extra money until we can prove ourselves that this new area of photography is up to the standards we have in our primary discipline.

Learn, practice and promote is the way expanding into a new discipline of photography should be handled. In the long run it will be more beneficial for you than just saying hey I can do “that” and then in the end give the client sub-par work. Also know it is okay to say “no” to a perspective client because sometime we are not the best fir for their needs.

Family Photo Sessions Walk Though

We were recently asked by a client during a consultation how their family portrait session would play out the day of their session and here is a run though of how a day would typically go and what we like to see from our clients.

When we first meet with our client preferably at their homes, we like to decide on a location that has special meaning your family. It can be any place that from your home, family farm, a park, or a vacation spot. No place is out of the realm of possibilities when it comes to creating your lasting memory that will hang on the walls of your home.

From deciding on a location we then like to move onto clothing options. Normally we like to try to get families to wear the same color options. We like to do this so we don’t have a rainbow mash up of colors and distracting patterns pulling away form the overall image. This can be done a couple of different ways. First we can divide it out by parents and children, so the parents would be in one color style and the children would be in another. Another way we can do this is by separating out the genders so that mother and daughter are in one style and father and son are in another. Also the one thing we really like to emphasize is that we like to have each induvial family members keep their own clothing styles. So as long as it is looks presentable that is great. This way someone is not stuck in a clothing option they hate and are uncomfortable during our session.

Also we while we are meeting to set up your family photo session we would like to know if you are going to be bringing your family pet along. In any family Sparky is just as big of a part of the family as the children or your partner is. We also love animals so we would be really happy if you did decide to include them on this day..

On the day of the photo session at the location of your choosing we will arrive early and make sure the site is clean so when you and your family arrive we are not having to waste time. If the session is being conducted at your home, we will still arrive early and assist you with making sure everything is the way you want your back ground to look and maybe help with a few suggestions. In addition to shooting the main family photo we will also be doing pairs and individual photos so we can give you and your family options to choose from.

From the time we have our visitation/planning session to the day of the proof viewing we would like you to start thinking of where your family portrait is going to hang.We will ask you where would you like to or think you might want to present the finished photo in your home?  We do this because it gives an idea of how to compose the final portrait to better utilize your space. Also in the long run it means more to be able to see your family photos on a wall or in an album rather than on a screen. We say this because in the long run the print will last longer than the digital media that is always changing very rapidly.

Once as a family you have made your decision on what photos you want and what sizes and mediums you would like them produced on we will begin production on your photos. This can take up to three to four weeks depending on order size and prior client orders in front of yours.

We also get asked if we offer digital files with our photos, we do have a policy of the photos you purchase for print we will give our clients those photos in digital format for use on social media or other personal projects. We also offer a variety of ways for you to obtain those photo though, data drive, CD/DVD, could server or email.

Come delivery day we will deliver to you so you and your family can see the finished product all at once and to make sure everything is to you and your families liking.

We look forward to hearing from you and help you create your next beautiful family portrait.