This month’s Mom Boss Marketplace Spotlight is Whitney Beck, a local mom and photographer. I had the opportunity to do a Q & A with her to find out more about Whitney and her photography business and she shared some awesome tips on preparing for an upcoming family shoot and also tips on how to capture your own memories.
Q. Are you self-taught or did you go to school for photography?
A. I am pretty much self-taught. My love for photography began when my husband and I were engaged. We had an amazing wedding photographer back home in Arkansas. I remember after our engagement pictures and my bridal session thinking, that was a lot of fun and I would love to make people feel as special as she made us feel one day. When my first son was born, I became a stay at home mom and I felt like the opportunity to learn photography was sitting in my lap. I started my adventure taking some continuing education classes in photography at the University of North Georgia. At the time, I began doing some photography sessions here and there for friends.
We then moved to Mississippi for my husband’s job and had our second child. I continued playing around with my camera capturing moments with my two kids. This is when I realized I wanted to pursue my passion in photography and make it a business. Photographing my kids was a great way to learn. I then discovered an amazing community and online forum in Clickinmoms (www.clickinmoms.com). This is a community full of photographers all across the country, from hobbyists to professionals. There are membership perks and ways to take online classes from the Click Photo School. I have learned so much from some amazing photographers across the country and everyone is so inspiring. If you are interested in finding out more about this photography community, I would love to talk to you about it.
Q. What is your most memorable session?
A. To date my most memorable session is a session I did back in Arkansas around Thanksgiving for a family that I have known for a long time. My dad was a high school football coach and he coached with the husband of this family. Their kids were the same age as my kids age when we first met. One is now in college and the other a junior in high school which makes me feel super old :). The wife was diagnosed with cancer about a year ago and the volleyball team at the local high school held a huge fundraiser to raise money for two local families affected by cancer and this family was one of them. When I heard about this, I donated a family portrait session to the event. After the fundraiser I reached out to a friend who was putting the event on and she said she was going to present the photography session certificate to this family during the check presentation. I was honored she thought of doing this for the family and I was super nervous about photographing them. It was so rewarding for me to deliver the gallery and for them to say they “LOVED” their photos.
Q. Do you have any tips for parents to improve their own phone photos of their kids?
A. Get outside…this is the easiest place to find great light. Overcast days and when the sun is low is the best light. Try to avoid harsh sunlight in your child’s face by finding a shady spot. Capture the moment…a lot of times kids are themselves when they don’t realize they are being photographed. Instead of always trying to pose your kids, keep your camera handy to capture real moments. Get down to their level…this makes kids more secure and they see pictures as playful. DON’T say CHEESE! Tickles, peekaboo, snuggles and silly noises and faces all help bring out kids true expressions.
Q. What tips do you have for families preparing for a photo session?
A. My number one tip is relax and have fun! Family photo sessions don’t have to be stressful. This should be a fun and memorable experience for your entire family. In a photographers eyes the best time of day to have a photo session is around sunrise or sunset. My favorite light is the “golden hour” about 1 to 2 hours before sunset which makes for some dreamy light. It’s important to make sure you schedule your session away from nap time or bedtime. That being said photographers can find great light any time of day depending on location. Also, make sure kids get a snack before your session especially if the session is scheduled around mealtime.
Give yourself extra time to get ready prior to your photo session. Feeling rushed and disorganized will carry over to the session so make sure to give yourself plenty of time so you can head out the door on a good note.
Dad’s RELAX and HAVE FUN! I know this is difficult for a lot of dads so I ask them at the beginning of the session to make this a fun experience. These photos will be treasured forever and once you see how great the photos are and how happy your wife is, you will be glad you took the time to enjoy the experience.
Allow the photographer to interact with your family. Keep the “cheese” at home. Yelling and demanding kids to act a certain way or look at the camera will lead to a very stressful session for everyone (the photographer included) and will create unnatural photos. Try to interact with your family like you do at home, this will lead to natural smiles and your child’s personality will shine in the photos. Most importantly HAVE FUN! Play with your children, pick them up, laugh, snuggle, give your wife or husband a kiss.
You don’t always have to be looking at the camera! Lifestyle family photography helps bring out true connections. I love when families are engaging and interacting with each other and they forget about the camera. Most of the time these will be the photos you will cherish the most. If you are interested in learning more about the sessions I offer, email me at hello@whitneybeckphotography.com.
Q. What advice would you give to another photographer just starting out?
A. Practice, Practice, Practice! I feel like I am always learning and looking at ways to improve my photos and the only way you can do this is by practicing. Play with the settings on you camera, explore different light sources and be creative with composition. Reach out to other photographers either in your community or in another areas, we are all one big family. Having someone to lean on, critique your photos and ask question is a huge help when starting a business and growing as a photographer.
Q. A lot of people don’t print their pictures now that we are in a digital world - what resource have you found that is great at helping store digital pictures?
A. All of my sessions include digital images and I deliver all my photos through an online gallery website. For photographers this has become the easiest way to deliver galleries quickly to clients. That being said, it is important to download your images immediately and make sure you save your images in a few places, like to your computer/laptop and then burn them to a cd or use an online storage method. There are lots of options for this these days; dropbox, google photos, icloud storage and amazon drive, just to name a few.
Q. What are good apps or resources to print your pictures into books?
A. Printing your images is so important! I tell myself this all the time with my own family photos. I offer a $20 print credit with my portrait sessions and either a print credit or a signature photo book with my newborn and senior sessions. This is a great way to get high quality professional prints in your hand right after your session.
I recommend using mpix.com, a great commercial site developed from the professional lab I use, Miller’s lab. mpix.com produces high quality photos, they have a huge variety of products, from prints to photo books to cards. They also offer super-fast shipping.
