I had the honor of learning from
Tennille on the Phaunt Forum
when she was the guest speaker
last month. She is a wonderful
person and a great photographer.
Thanks Tennille!
What inspired you to become a photographer?
Growing up, my mom loved photography so there were always cameras around. I think I got my own camera in 5th grade and played with mom's SLR growing up. In high school I was the chief photographer for our school paper. I learned to more about shooting with an SLR and I developed black and white film and made prints in the darkroom. During college it was more shooting for fun and then I switched to the digital world. So I guess my genuine love for photographing people is what inspired me to make this happen.
What does your camera gear consist of?
The equipment that I use regularly: Canon 40D, 24-70mm f/2.8L USM, 70-200mm f/4L IS USM, Speedlite 430EX. (Adding the 580EX for some off camera flash soon.)
What are the top 5 things in your studio you just can't live without?
I shoot on-location only, and I don't use many props, so my necessities often have to do with post-processing and running my business. Wacom Tablet, Macbook Pro, Photoshop, Biz Manager (to keep my client data organized), Biz Books (to keep my accounting organized). I also have to cheat and add a few things marketing related - my blogsite, my email newsletter, and my referral program - those three things keep my calendar full!
How do you handle your workflow?
I'm actually being hounded by a few photographer friends to jump on the Lightroom bandwagon, so I may see that in my future. For now, I shoot raw and make minor adjustments in ACR. I open in Photoshop and use Noiseware or Portraiture as needed. I make any curve or color adjustments, artistic changes, or black and white conversions then save as a jpg. I then crop to a 5x7 ratio and save to a separate folder. I also save that 5x7 ratio in a web sized version with a watermark - this crop is what the client sess in their gallery. I use my Wacom Tablet for all retouching - not quite sure how I lived without it. The control and speed of using the pen and tablet has saved me so much processing time!
What is your advice for those new to the business?
When I first started, my husband gave me some advice that we've used for so many areas of our lives...See it, Believe it, Make it Happen. I used that theory to build the business and I use it any time I want to make changes, grow, or try something new. I also highly recommend that people understand the importance of running a legitimate business - register with your state, charge sales tax, pay income tax, keep your business organized, know your business - analyze when things happen and why so you can use that information to grow, price yourself properly, provide a service and experience that others do not give. Running the business is just as important as the quality of photography you provide.
What sparked your interest to create templates and goodies for photographers?
In addition to my photography business, I'm also the photographer behind iThinkTink. I've created a variety of business tools - for organization, accounting, marketing, and design - for my own business. After sharing ideas on a few online communities, I saw the need to offer these creations to other photographers. So many of us want to focus on photography rather than on business tools, so I provide these templates to make your job easier! Whether you have been in business for years or you are just starting out, these tools and templates will definitely save you time (and hopefully headaches!). Yes, I am weird - I love the creative side of photography, and I love the analytical side of business! I have a strong attention to detail that I hope shows in these products. So check things out at the site and the blog...and when your colleagues ask you where your templates came from...tell them "When it comes to business...I Think Tink!"
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