Tell me a little more about your photography for children?
I want for my portraits of the newborns I meet today to be hanging on the wall for the their children to admire when they visit their grandparents (just like the one of me that’s still on the wall!), so I aim for a timeless style and “try” not to get caught up in the next new fad… sometimes you need to try things out though 🙂
I work from home exclusively because it is what works for me and my family so I only offer in studio portraits and find that little kids warm up easier than the few times I’ve shot on location in the past.
I really love the shot of the child looking directly into my lens! I used to favor a casual lifestyle kind of portrait, but that was more to do with my confidence in posing people purposefully… something I’m more comfortable with now but still working on.
Do you have a favorite session to date? (please include a photo as a reference)
Gah yes!
Almost every session becomes my new favorite, but one particular one stands out it was a newborn for a family who requested I not share their photos… and I just love them and I want to share them… but obviously I won’t do that. So this photo was another recent favourite…
Any tricks / advice for us for a successful session?
Plan your session ahead of time, if something isn’t working moving on is easier if you already have something else planned. Adjust as you go, and relax, babies feel the tension!
What do you find is the biggest challenge when owning your own business?
Hands down, finding time. My husband has his own very busy business, averaging 100hrs in his working week, (thankfully he works from home otherwise we would never see him). I do a few hours a day in his business and we have three small children, two still at home full time. Finding time to do my own thing is really limited, as Mums do, I find myself tending to other things first and squeezing as much editing and other business related stuff into the 2-3 hours between kids going to bed and me dragging my exhausted self to bed!
I do have a long term plan though… I know it is just a few short years until our kids are all in full time school so in the mean time patience is what I’m practicing!
Do you do this full time? (if you work other jobs maybe explain what you do)
Opps I guess that is answered above! So no, not full time yet, I’d love to be but I have to sleep some time.
Your best moment so far in your business?
This was actually just last month!
I ran a competition that started out to collect leads at a local fair I attended. One particular lady was unsure about entering because her partner had been caught by a “Bait and Switch” portrait competition in the past and warned her off it. It turns out her friend entered, won and gifted the prize to her.
I had to talk her into using her legitimate prize… no catches nothing more to pay.
Finally we met for her maternity session, they were both lovely and went on their way.
I posted their sneak peek and this was her response “Oh my god I burst into tears, it’s absolutely beautiful !!!!! I never thought I’d say that about a photo of myself” her partner spent the afternoon raving about their experience, has had his faith in photographers restored and now can’t wait for their newborn session.
Now that made me feel pretty awesome 🙂
Who do you look up to for inspiration or admire for their Business growth?
Kelly Brown, obviously for inspiration but I also love her business model which had a lot to do with why I was so drawn to her I think.
Sue Bryce, my recent discovery of my love for maternity portraits is directly credited to her.
Erin (Hoskins) Elizabeth, I love all of her work! She photographed our family recently… another of all of us on my about page 🙂
Grandma, Me & Mum
by Erin Elizabeth Photography
Business growth admiration goes to my husband, when we returned to Perth he was promised a small contract by our employer to help get his business back up and running having spent the last three years working his guts out for their business, the GFC hit and while it didn’t truly directly affect them, it was their easy out and the contract didn’t eventuate, all of his previous clients had understandably gone elsewhere in the years we were away and he had to start from scratch only now with no safety net. He swallowed his pride and worked for some not so good pay with not so good conditions but that is what, one step at a time, lead him to be in the right place at the right time and now the fantastic position we are.
What is your advice to women wanting to start their own business or turning their hobby into a small business?
Go for it! If the risk worries you, start small. Seek out information from where ever you can find it and just like when you have your first child… listen to everyone’s advice, ignore the stuff that doesn’t resonate with you and take on the bits that do. Oh and don’t ask your husband (or partner) for their opinion on your favorite images :p
Finishing off with my then (2012) and now (2016)… newborn and maternity which I have only fairly recently developed a love of.
It took looking back through the years to really appreciate how far I’ve come!
Then 2012 v’s Now 2016
Then 2012 v’s Now 2016
