Pinterest: Another Tool in the Photographer's Gear Bag

My Prop and Backdrop Wishlist Pinboard

I'm sure most of you have heard about, or are using, Pinterest, the website that allows you to curate collections of your favorite things from across the internet.  Pinterest is a visual feast for the eyes, a gorgeous collection of images, ideas, and inspiration.  I love it.

It's no surprise that I use Pinterest for keeping track of a number of photography and business related topics.  I have a pinboard for Marketing, several pinboards for session and pose ideas, pinboards of little tips and tricks to make my life easier...the list goes on and on.

A sampling of my (many, many) pinboards.

My Pinterest account is good for my clients, too!   Browsing through my boards gives my clients an even better idea of what I'm all about.  My style, my vision, the direction I'd like to take my business...it's all there for everyone to see, making it even easier for them to decide if I'm the right person to capture their memories. 

Recently, I've discovered a great new use for Pinterest that brings me even closer to my clients - collaborative boards!  Collaborative boards are pinboards that allow more than one user to add or subtract images and ideas.  Kind of like a community bulletin board, but with as many or as few people allowed to post as you want.  How does something like that enhance the Client-Photographer relationship?  Like this:

I'm shooting a wedding in June.  I don't do many weddings, but I'm super excited about this one because I've known the bride for a couple of years and she is as fun and funny and quirky and great as they come.  Her wedding is going to be a blast!  She has so many fantastic ideas for her special day, and her enthusiasm and great sense of style have inspired me so much that I just can't wait to get behind the lens and capture some of these great ideas we've cooked up together.

Because this bride knows her style and knows exactly what she wants, she's got list and lists of photos she'd love to have from her wedding day.  Because her taste and style matches my artistic style, I am only too happy to work hard to give her what she wants.  Enter the Collaborative Pinboard.  We take turns posting ideas to her wedding photography board, giving and receiving feedback, and over time the pinboard has developed it's own theme and tone.  Basically, we're setting the stage for the wedding ahead of time.

For the bride, this kind of collaboration gives her confidence that I know exactly what she wants from her wedding day photography.  It's lets her know that I'm paying attention, that I'm excited about photographing her big day, and that I'm going to give her my very best.  That's a lot of bonus client goodwill gleaned from surfing Pinterest! Which, lets be honest now, I'd definitely be doing anyway!

This kind of approach isn't a one-size-fits all kind of thing.  It won't work for all photographers, and it definitely won't work for all clients.  But for this photographer?  And this client?  It's working like magic, and magic is what we're looking to create when I step up with the camera on June 2nd.  It's not a tool I'll try to use every single time, but I love knowing I have it up my sleeve if I want to pull it out.

What about you?  As a photographer, how do you use Pinterest to maximize your business, or to interact with your clients? 

Oh, yeah, and if you're on Pinterest, come follow me!  I love, love, love having great new people and their mix of styles and voices show up in my pin feed.  

Facebook Fan Success, and a Freebie!

Wow!  It's been an amazing week for me over on the Facebook page.  In just seven short days, my fanbase expanded from 70 to 197!  More than double, which is so exciting and so humbling.

As promised, I'm here now with a freebie for all my clients and fans, as a thank you for all your business and your wonderful feedback.  I'm grateful for each and every one of you!

To celebrate surpassing the 100 fan mark, I'm giving away this simple and sweet 12 x 12 story board collage!  Perfect for Valentine's Day and all year long, this storyboard is a digital download that you can use to showcase some of the sweetest photos of your loved ones.  It also works great as a digital scrapbook page!

Your photos are easy to add to the storyboard in Photoshop, Elements or any other imaging program, and I'm happy to help out if anyone has difficulties.

The download is a high resolution, layered, .TIF file.  

You can see the storyboard below including a super cute couple from one of my engagement portrait sessions.   

Want this storyboard to hang on your wall, or for your scrapbook?  Download by clicking here!  And again, Thank You  for all of your support!

(Don't forget to drop me a note if you like the freebie and plan to use it!)

Brittany, Class of 2012 | Huntington, WV Senior Portrait Photographer

This post could be alternatively titled: "What I've been up to since August."

When last I left the blog, I was taking a small break to concentrate on family and homeschooling my kids. Now that the Christmas holidays are over and life is a littler calmer, and my little one is a little more grown up, I definitely feel ready to jump back in!!

I can't wait to get back into the swing of things, and I have lots of new products and ideas to share with all of you. Until then, I want to share one of the portrait shoots I did on my mini-haitus.

My fantastic Senior Model for the 2012 school year is a bright, smart, funny, vivacious girl who was an absolute DREAM to photograph! Brittany was up for anything, and had quite a few fantastic pose and shot ideas of her own. And really, any girl who carries a fedora as part of her wardrobe changes is A-OK in my book!

Brittany and I had a great time shooting her senior portrait at Harris Riverfront Park in Huntington. It was my first session at the park, and I'm glad to have another good location to add to my shoot list!

 These are just a few of my favorite shots from Brittany's shoot. And believe me, it was hard to choose!

Haitus

Wow, this year has been a busy one for my family and I! 

In May, we welcomed the newest member of our family, Logan Alexander, and have spent the past few months getting to know him and how he fits in with the rest of the bunch.  He's a spunky, bright personality and we all just love to squish on him! 


September is almost upon us, which means my oldest will be starting Kindergarten!  We homeschool, so that means Mommy is starting Kindergarten, too! 

All of these happy events are wonderful for our family, but they leave very little time and energy for running a successful photography business!  It's always been my goal and my mission to put my family's needs before anything else I have going on, and with that in mind, I've decided to take a step away and hang up my "entrepreneur" hat for a short while.  My babies are only babies for a teeny, tiny span of time, and the best place for me to be right now is concentrating on them 100%. 

I'm not stepping away from photography altogether, just taking a break from the day-to-day, time consuming aspects of being a business owner.  Marketing, advertising, networking....these are all great things, but they are things that take me away from my family in a time when they need me very much.  For those who might be interested, I am definitely still shooting portraits for any clients who would like to book sessions.  I just won't be as "present" on the blog, the facebook page, and the website. 

I'm hoping this next year or so will lead me to explore and develop my photography skills even further, to push my creativity, and to make the most of the time I've been given to teach my children.  I'm not exactly sure when I'll be ready to take up the reins again.  Only time will tell.  But rest assured that when I do, it will be with much excitement, enthusiasm, and many, many, many fun things to share!

Announcing the 2011 Sweetheart Sessions

 

Yep, that's right!  In February only, you can save $30.00 off of the normal session fee ($75.00).  

Sweetheart Sessions are perfect for lovebirds, but are great for other occasions too.  Every Sweetheart Session includes all the same great perks as the Freedom Portrait Session: a 90 minute session, online gallery proofs, a selection of enlargements, and a fun, personalized portrait experience.  Plus, every Sweetheart Session will include a free 12 x 12 customized collage that is perfect for framing.  Clients will be able to choose from three finished collage styles.  

Sweetheart Sessions MUST take place in the month of February, so if you're interested, book fast!  Times and days are very limited, and once booking slots are gone, they're gone for good!

Changes are coming!

Heather Harris Photography is approaching a new stage, one that I've been excited for and nervous about all at the same time.  

For about two years now, I've depended on the kindness of friends and family to help spread the word about my budding photography business.  And to build my portfolio, I photographed families, friends and complete strangers at prices that allowed me to cover my costs but not make any money for myself or to invest back into my business.  


In 2011, quite a bit of that will change.  Thanks to all of the wonderful clients who have allowed me into their lives over the past two years, my portfolio and my photography skills have grown significantly.  So, hesitantly, I'm taking my first steps out into the world as a "professional" with real world prices.  It's scary, making such a large change, but my goal someday to be photographing so many sessions a month that I can justify leaving my day job behind.  

Starting January 1, 2011, the new portrait session package will include:

• The time, talent and creativity of me, the photographer  
• 90 minute portrait session for up to 6 subjects, in a location of the client's choosing (Within reason, extra time is allotted for sessions with small children)  
• Professional editing and retouching of all images, including black and white conversions 
• A minimum of 20 digital proofs uploaded for viewing to a password protected proofing gallery 
• Two 8x10s, two 5x7s, and one sheet of 8 wallets from any two poses from the session

New 2011 pricing for the Freedom Portrait Session will be $75.00.  

Anyone who would like to prepay for a 2011 portrait session before December 31, may still do so at the Portfolio Builder rate, which is $30.00.  Payment must be received before the 31st to qualify for portfolio builder pricing, otherwise the funds will be considered a deposit toward the full session fee of $75.00. 


Up to now, I've given away a disc of all images with each session.  Discs will no longer be included with each session, but will be available for purchase separately after a minimum product purchase.  I'll be posting more details about new print and product pricing as we get closer to January.  


As a thank you to all of the fantastic clients I've had throughout the past two years, all clients who have given me the honor of photographing their families will receive a 50% discount on session pricing in 2011.  I'm happy to offer that discount in return for all the help and encouragement I've been given as I embark on my journey as a professional photographer.  


I'd also like to thank everyone who has commented on my blog, my fan page, or any images I've posted.  All of your kind words, and even constructive criticism, has helped lead me and my business to where we are today.  


It's been a wonderful two years so far.  Here's hoping for many, many more!

Zane, Ritter Park, Huntington, WV

After rescheduling several times, I was finally able to meet this cute little guy for a nice fall session in Ritter Park.  I've photographed Zane several times, and each time is more fun than the last.  

While photographing toddlers is definitely challenging, it is also some of my favorite work.  They might never cooperate, or look at the camera, or even smile sometimes, but it makes me work that much harder to capture their little personalities.  

Here are a couple of my favorite images from Zane's session: