Photography Confessions » Not Another Photography Blog

I will admit I am a little scared of this post for a number of reasons!

This week I have been preparing my presentation for NLPPA’s annual convention. I have been pouring through thousands of images I have created this last year and attempting to seek an honest answer to the question’ “What makes a photographer successful?” It has resulted in many more questions than answers, but the journey has been enlightening. We all need to do some inner soul searching at times and ask those tough questions of ourselves.

As I was going through my image files, I came across an image I had tucked away deep in my library. This is the first time it has seen the light of day to anyone’s eyes beyond my own. It is not a great photograph. I am honestly not sure why I took it. By my very nature, I don’t consider myself an ambulance chaser. I held onto it though as an important reminder about what it means to be a professional photographer.

Anyone that has photographed a number of weddings most likely has run into those professionals that were not so professional. Whether it was a DJ that only played their favorite songs from hair bands from the 80’s, a wedding planner that thought it was their own personal wedding day and acted out the role of bridezilla perfectly, or a videographer that purposely steps in front of your camera at every turn, we all have our own war stories. My fear is there are too MANY photographers that do equally as bad if not worse acts than all those questionable moments I have seen from other not so professional professionals over the years.

To set the scene of the above image, I knew immediately when I introduced myself I wasn’t working with team players. They had an agenda (formula of shooting) and no one was getting in their way (including the couple) that day. I had a wonderful couple’s story to tell myself and wasn’t going to play anyone’s reindeer games. Immediately after the ceremony, I lost sight of the video crew. Guests enjoyed a short cocktail hour on the deck before making their way into the reception hall. Right before the toasts, what should I see from inside the hall? Ten feet from a window overlooking a beautiful landscape, a videographer with his eyes closed basking in a ray of light with an empty beer on a beautiful fall day in plain sight of every guest. To the luck of the bride and groom, most of their guests were enjoying each others company to notice the napping guest.

What makes a true professional? Everything! How do clients view everything you do? Are you committed to what you do? Do you enjoy photography? It is not wrong if you don’t have passion every moment of everyday day to create. Being a photographer is filled with highs and lows. However, if you feel like you would rather be doing something else most days than not, search for a new path. Life is too sort for mediocrity.

P.S. – The image above was not taken with a reverse tilt-shift lens, but a generous amount of Gaussian blur was applied to protect the identity of the not so innocent portrayed in this image.

Biff Ulm – VADA Photography

WARNING: This is a monster of a video!

I got a little long-winded about lighting, and ended up recording for twenty-four minutes. Sorry! So, if you are avoiding your own editing, and want to see a little deeper conversation into my editing thought process, press play to begin. I do think this will be my last before and after video for a spell. I think another one would become repetitive, and I would like to keep the diversity of the subject matter rolling along on this blog. While I have really only scratched the surface of the specifics of how my complete image creation process, I do believe there are some things best learned by doing and hands-on demonstration. This is especially true when discussing topics like scouting locations for the best angles, using light, and capturing emotion. (Do I hear details about a workshop on the horizon?)

If you have followed this blog from day one, hopefully you know I don’t believe in holding anything back. I don’t believe there are secrets in being a successful photographer. Those who make it over the long haul work hard and have persistence. If you do have any specific questions or content you would like addressed, please feel free to drop me a line. I truly appreciate your feedback. Otherwise, I will keep rambling away, which I am pretty good at too!

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A couple before and afters:

The left image above is the RAW imported directly into Lightroom. The right image is after we made out Lightroom adjustments.

The left image above is our before and after in Photoshop.

Happy editing!

Biff Ulm – VADA Photography

Last week, I had one of the coolest experiences ever. I was participating in a local bridal show when a young lady with a great smile and obvious personal style approached my booth. “I need to introduce myself to you,” she exclaimed! “You weren’t available for my wedding; however, I love your work and refer you to all my friends.” I was deeply touched. We went on to further discuss her wedding and the photographer she hired.

Chances are your number one source of new clients are referrals. More specifically, your number one source should be coming from past families and couples. When a couple chooses to hire you, hopefully they are already your number one fan. Work hard, deliver the photography you are known for, provide excellent service and you will be rewarded with many inquiries. The purpose of this conversation though is to go beyond the obvious and dig deeper into getting your work in front of others.

Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, I personally believe not all couples will be a perfect fit for your photography. If you spend enough time on any photography forum, you will hear a photographer bumming out because they met with someone, and they didn’t hire them. This is good! You want to create for couples that enjoy your work as much as you do creating it. These are people you will be spending an immense amount of time creating for. You want to click. If you have an occasional couple that has a negative reaction to your work, this is ok too. It means you have a style. If it happens all the time, you may need to define or refine your style.

The key to any referral is being an honest, open communicator. It is not about unethical sales tactics or trickery. It is simply about showing as many people your work and leaving the door open for communication at ANY time. This is my marketing strategy in a nutshell.

Let’s take a look at a couple of real-world scenarios. I receive an email inquiry for a wedding. A phone number or request to call is not left. I am available for the date and send out an email with my availability and basic price range information. I also pass along any detailed information I can provide about the couple’s venue and offer an invitation to meet to discuss their wedding plans and see my work in person. A few days go by, and I don’t hear anything further. I send a friendly “checking-in” email making sure all the information I sent reached them. This time, I do get a response that says,”We love your work. Unfortunately, you are not in our price range.”

This is where communications end too many of times. The simple fact is we really don’t know why the couple isn’t interested in my photography. I could be they truly don’t care for my work and are just being nice. I send one more communication though. I very much understand budgets. When my wife and I got married, we were young and didn’t have the budget to hire every professional we wanted. (I don’t say this in my response!) I do though offer to pass along a recommendation to a photographer that fits their style and budget. I will too. I have no problem referring to talented shooters even if I am available on a day if I am not the perfect fit for a couple. Not every couple will respond to this offer. That is ok! Some will. I promise this communication though will open up doors that will pay dividends.

Scenario number two: I receive a call for a wedding. The couple has seen my work. They are very eager to meet; however, I am already booked. I let them know, but continue talking and asking questions anyway. Where is your wedding at? Do you have a style of photography you enjoy most? What type of budget do you have planned for photography? My goal is simple. I never want to say no to anyone. This is a valuable rule I learned in my previous career as a retail. I really want to help the bride that is calling and provide her with an excellent experience even though I am unavailable for her date. Like the young lady at the bridal show, she may become an even bigger fan.

By now you are probably thinking, I have another motivation too. I do! I want to pass along as many good leads to my photographer friends, too. While it is not my sole motivator or end goal, my hope is they will return the favor at some point down the road. I will talk up any of my friends to future brides! Photographers are my number two source of referrals. If you are staring a studio, this may be your number one source. Just like when you communicate with brides and grooms, this only works if you are genuine about your intentions and you want to create true relationships with other people. Imagine the potential of combining forces with like minded people who put forth the same energy and commitment to the couples they create for. Imagine all the possible friendships too.

Who you refer is important though! I have found having a small, quality group of photographers is better than playing the numbers game. The same is true when giving referrals. I never pass along more than three names (often two). Who you refer directly reflects on you! NEVER refer anyone you don’t want to. My personal approach is to refer a photographer that is as close to me in experience, customer service, and price. If cost is the main factor, I will pass along names of up and coming talent.

We will discuss networking with other professionals at a later date.

Happy referring!

Biff Ulm – VADA Photography

As a group, photographers are passionate people. We are passionate about the reasons why we create, what tools we use, and how our life experiences influence our art. Today’s photographer has a wealth of information at their disposal to elevate their craft through workshops, trade magazines, online forums, and blogs. Everyone of the people behind these excellent resources are as passionate as the next about what is the best way to approach photography.

I couldn’t imagine a better time to be photographing. We are in a true renaissance period of our craft where so much is changing and evolving at an increasing pace. We have tools at our disposal that are nothing short of amazing. There is a large community committed to sharing and elevating each-others work. The clients we create for are more sophisticated than ever.

With all the good, there are still a number of challenges. As of late, one major challenge I have been struggling with is impatience. As a society, we want immediate answers and solutions. We want to be able to type a question into our computer and receive an answer. We want the answer to be fresh and new.

I was working on a project a few weeks ago where I needed to go through all my best images from the last year. After a few hours with my own work, I felt really down on myself. My images weren’t reflecting where I wanted to be as an artist at that moment. I have to remind myself during these times to slow down. Frustration is a part of the creative process. Don’t be afraid to take bad images. Make mistakes. Experiment. Learn from your successes. Push outside your comfort zone. Fail. Get back up. Shoot more images. Time is what develops vision. Shooting thousands of images builds style. Life experiences build artists.

When I first started photographing, I didn’t receive a technical education. I believe there is a big difference in art and craft. My photography education came from spare electives though a liberal arts college. That education emphasized developing a personal vision and voice with which we communicate through our images. Personally, that is the art of photography.

Where I wanted to take my work, I needed to be at least somewhat proficient with my craft as well. I consider one’s craft to be the technical mastery of their camera, digital processing (film and negatives in my college days), and execution of the final print or presentation. I spent hours in the library pouring through books and articles written by the masters of photography. (This was a pre-internet time.) Nothing about the process was fast. Mixing chemicals, souping film, and making test prints gave a person plenty of time to think about where they were going, what went wrong, or how yo do better next time.

This is where I fear I will sound like a grumpy old man. That is not my goal nor who I believe I am. Heck, I am only 34 years old.

A few years ago, I felt the speed of my photography slowing my art down. I spoke with many photographers I admire speak about needing to spend less time with one’s images. Some lectured on how to shoot more images faster. Others spoke about outsourcing color correction and album design. Many proclaimed miracle actions and presets that with the push of a button every image is magically perfect.

For many people, all of the solutions above are the perfect answer for their studio. If you truly hate post production, outsourcing could be the best money ever spent. Personally, I have learned so much from processing my own work. I used to be slow at it. What I learned was how to become a better photographer by not making the mistakes that were taking me so long to “fix” my images. The same is true with album design. By designing my own, I have learned how to document better by learning the images I need to tell a unique story. To this day, I have never seen an action that can connect to my brain, and reproduce the final image I see in my mind. (I am going to save my love/hate relationship with actions for another post. There is only so much grumpy old man one can take in one sitting.)

Embrace your craft. Push forward. Fail. Learn. Create.

Biff Ulm – VADA Photography

Welcome to my first post on the Photography Confessions blog. The idea for this site came out of an ah-ha moment I had one morning about a month ago. Over the last number of years, I have been asked numerous questions about photography and my thought process about creating images from other photographers. While I have been blessed with the ability to help many, I am always a little nervous giving definitive answers. This is not because I don’t want to help. It is quite the contrary. Like most things in life, photography doesn’t have one clean cut answer or approach. There are many ways to approach the craft and business of photography. Differentiating and celebrating one’s own unique vision has been a key to my success.

I taught my first photography class in 1998. I remember clearly a big mistake I made when teaching that class. I instructed a student in the class the worst light was high noon sun and to avoid it at all costs. Sometime later, I was talking with the same photographer about a recent photographic trip he took. He shared images he made on that trip. They were beautiful. He added there were a lot of images he didn’t take though because he shouldn’t shoot in full sun if he wanted to make good pictures. My stomach turned. I knew instantly where that came from. Images from his trip were not created because of me. Why? Because I passed on a rule I learned from an instructor that I never questioned. I had since learned full sun can definitely create wonderful imagery.

Since then, I made amends for the poor information I shared. I am happy to say he is someone I consider great friend today. That mistake though is a big reason for this blog.

What we are able to do with photography is evolving at a radical pace. Digital capture, Photoshop, digital proofs, shoot and burn, video capture, social networking, branding, and many more terms were not in most photographers vocabulary ten years ago. The creative tools we have at our disposal is nothing short of amazing. Trying to figure out how to use them in a meaningful way is another story. This blog is a compilation of random thoughts that enter my head about being a working photographer trying to balance creativity and business while creating the best client experience I can. I look forward to the journey!

Biff Ulm – VADA Photography