Here is a typical breakdown of the average client session of mine – just so you have an idea of what you are exactly paying for.

• 30 minutes – total e-mail correspondence from the point of booking the session to choosing final images
• 30 minutes – pre-session prep time (includes equipment and back up equipment checks + charging batteries, etc.)
• 15-30 minutes – driving time to the location choice
• 1 – 1 1/2 hour – on-location session photographing your pet
• 15-30 minutes – driving time back to my home
• 45 minutes – uploading images from the camera to computer and sorting through the best images to narrow down further
• 30 minutes – backing up images
• 2-5 hours – editing time to present you with a diverse gallery of edited images  – includes editing time to remove leashes and other elements to create the best images possible
• 30 minutes – processing hard copy print orders and/or burning images on CD and mailing to clients

The total time spent per client can range from 7-10 hours.  This is time dedicated only to ONE session.  The session fee that is charged is not just for the 1 + hour of shooting time. You are paying for the complete 7-10 hours of time for your session. Here are a couple examples of the extensive edits that most of my pet shoots require – especially for dogs that must remain on leash or are full of bounds of energy.

Below article courtesy of Marianne Drenthe of Marmalade Photography. Another helpful website I recently found is called Psychology for Photographers.

What Is Custom Photography

The photographic art you choose to place on your wall is ultimately the result of the vision of the photographer. This vision, coupled with what you wear to your session, the environment, the lighting, even the mood the subjects are in at the time of photographing creates the work that you will want to proudly display on your walls forevermore.

Your first step in the process is more about determining who you are, who your family is and then seeking a photographer that reflects your style. For instance let’s say your family is extremely outdoorsy and loves playing on the beach. You start determining what style you like, browse through photography website portfolios and determine if any of the styles exhibited there would be a good fit with your life and family style. You have already determined that you should probably seek out a beach type photographer (that is if you live near a beach) and then begin narrowing the field down a bit.

Finally after a bit of internet research, you have narrowed it down to two photographers who do what seems like solid work, the sort of outdoor beach look you desire.  It is now time to ask yourself: Do you like photographer A’s style over photographer B’s style? Is it because the people in the images of A’s style are having a great time and it seems very caught up in the moment vs. B photographer more posed, looking in the camera images? If this is a case, you probably like LIFESTYLE photography or perhaps even take it a step further and define your desired style as a PHOTOJOURNALISTIC photography style. The photographer you probably should choose is photographer A because their style is very similar to the style you desire.

What custom photography ultimately is all about is choice and experience. Custom photography is about finding someone who will photograph your family, give you devoted 1:1 attention without worry of who is next ‘in line’ or the feeling of a crowded portrait studio.

• A custom photographer will typically show you a fairly extensive gallery culled to only show the good images that meet the photographers’ creative sensibilities.
• Often the images are fully edited images-color corrected with blemishes and undereye circles removed.
• Custom photographers are also known as boutique studios, offering a range of products and unparalleled service. Think Lexus vs. Hyundai, think Nordstrom vs. WalMart.

A custom photography experience should have you, the client and your experience in mind.

Why Does Custom Photography Cost More?

The digital revolution has brought amazing flexibility and ability to control various factors during the image taking and making process.  Photographers, the hobbyist, the professional, the amateur all benefit from this ability to manipulate pixels.  However, with flexibility comes a price.  Digital camera equipment is still considerably more expensive when you factor in its’ lifespan, the need for additional resources for processing those images, the time it takes to get a usable image and the effort that goes into creating a work of photographic art. We all know that you can go to the local Walgreen’s and pay a $1.99 for a print – as a client you may wonder why you may pay upwards of $50, $70, $90 for a custom photography print.   Photographers hear this statement every once in awhile:

“How in the world can you charge $60 for an 8×10 if it costs me less than $2 to print at x store?”

The truth of the matter is the answer to this question is multifaceted.  Much of the cost of a photographic print produced by a professional photographer has a lot to do with the time,  equipment costs, artistic vision and reputation of the photographer not to mention expertise and the usual costs of running a legitimate business. The cost of TIME.

Custom Photography as something “special”

Custom photography is more of a luxury than your entry level cookie cutter chain experience.  Custom photography truly is not for everyone, it requires a level of commitment, investment in time  and money, forethought and planning on the part of the subject/client and requires a larger time commitment for the photographer as well.

Clients who enjoy taking a more active role in the creation of their families’ memories have the desire to have portrait art that is truly personalized.  These more discerning clients have been known to budget and allot time for a custom photography session.  Many clients opt for it to be a once a year special experience, some opt to have custom photography sessions done to record their child’s stages in life.  Having said this, it is clear that custom photography is not in everyone’s budget,  it is something that most families save for to splurge on from time to time to memorialize their children as they really are  (not posed and primped in the cookie cutter studio setting).

There is a great deal of time involved in creating high end custom photography sessions for a client.  The luxury of great service, better choices and a supberb end product.  The result of all this are heirloom quality images.  The time invested at the session is only a small portion of time involved in this process.

Custom photography has been likened to purchasing a fine vehicle.  To get to point B from A let’s face it, even a bus ride would suffice.  If you want to luxuriate in a finely appointed vehicle, customizing your own experience by listening to smooth jazz while sitting in a climate controlled setting adjusted purely for your comfort in a body hugging leather interior, perhaps that Lexus you so desire is your cup of tea.  Custom photography is much the same cup of tea.  It is the Lexus of the photography world.  It is where the intangibles make the experience truly wonderful and the images themselves make the investment of money and time truly worthwhile.

Custom photography can be broken down into even more levels.  There are on location, studio, mixed studio/on location, specialty location and destination type photographers.  The beauty of custom photography is in the choices and in the luxury of thoses options.  The customized service level you are sure to experience will be amazing.  The knowledge that your final images are the result of someone caring about those moments so much that they take extra time ensuring that the artwork you receive is good enough to stand by with their name on it.  That level of quality and commitment  is all but lost in the age of “mass produced,” “mass marketed,” corporate “everyone is a number”.  Custom photography is based on being unique to you.  How great an experience would be,  to be able to sit back and allow a photographer to do this highly custom work for images that you will most likely cherish for a lifetime?

Keep in mind more than anything that the Lexus will never appreciate in value the way your portraits will.  The portrait art you become invested in from your custom photographer will no doubt increase in value and become more priceless as the years pass.

Let me put a disclaimer here – the “before” photos you see posted were taken by the staff of KC PAWS where I regularly volunteer. These “before” photos are not meant to be an insult to the staff- but rather display what a huge difference that a photo can make by using the best resources and remembering the little details. I realize that most shelters and rescues do not have the resources to buy expensive cameras and many don’t have the manpower, time or volunteers necessary to create spectacular photographs. However, there are some small ways you can improve your photos of adoptables.

You can click here to read a previous blog post with tips and tricks to photograph dogs in a shelter environment.  Shelters and rescues can also look into purchasing an entry level DSLR camera such as the Nikon D60 which can be found on Amazon (used) for a little less than $400.  Even if you can not afford a DSLR camera, there are still great point and shoot cameras like the Coolpix L810 for around $279 new on the market by Nikon – just remember if you HAVE to shoot indoors (I recommend natural light outside) to switch the setting to a high ISO (1600) and do not use a flash! My biggest tip is to use TWO people when photographing dogs.  One person needs to be controlling the dog on a leash (for their safety and to calm higher energy levels) and one person photographing.  There is not a chance that I could take a good photo with the higher energy dogs if I did not have someone controlling the dog while I got into position to work my magic.  Sandi Outlaw is the owner of KC PAWS and is amazing with the dogs – I could not do it without her! So find a fellow volunteer and bring them with you when photographing dogs in a shelter environment – finding someone you have good chemistry with is key also – Sandi and I are a great team! So what are you waiting for? Grab a friend, your camera and volunteer at your local rescue or shelter and help save a life. Click here for a previous blog post with a list of local Kansas City shelters and rescues.

Below article courtesy of Marianne Drenthe of Marmalade Photography.

What Is Custom Photography

The photographic art you choose to place on your wall is ultimately the result of the vision of the photographer. This vision, coupled with what you wear to your session, the environment, the lighting, even the mood the subjects are in at the time of photographing creates the work that you will want to proudly display on your walls forevermore.

Your first step in the process is more about determining who you are, who your family is and then seeking a photographer that reflects your style. For instance let’s say your family is extremely outdoorsy and loves playing on the beach. You start determining what style you like, browse through photography website portfolios and determine if any of the styles exhibited there would be a good fit with your life and family style. You have already determined that you should probably seek out a beach type photographer (that is if you live near a beach) and then begin narrowing the field down a bit.

Finally after a bit of internet research, you have narrowed it down to two photographers who do what seems like solid work, the sort of outdoor beach look you desire.  It is now time to ask yourself: Do you like photographer A’s style over photographer B’s style? Is it because the people in the images of A’s style are having a great time and it seems very caught up in the moment vs. B photographer more posed, looking in the camera images? If this is a case, you probably like LIFESTYLE photography or perhaps even take it a step further and define your desired style as a PHOTOJOURNALISTIC photography style. The photographer you probably should choose is photographer A because their style is very similar to the style you desire.

What custom photography ultimately is all about is choice and experience. Custom photography is about finding someone who will photograph your family, give you devoted 1:1 attention without worry of who is next ‘in line’ or the feeling of a crowded portrait studio.

• A custom photographer will typically show you a fairly extensive gallery culled to only show the good images that meet the photographers’ creative sensibilities.
• Often the images are fully edited images-color corrected with blemishes and undereye circles removed.
• Custom photographers are also known as boutique studios, offering a range of products and unparalleled service. Think Lexus vs. Hyundai, think Nordstrom vs. WalMart.

A custom photography experience should have you, the client and your experience in mind.

Why Does Custom Photography Cost More?

The digital revolution has brought amazing flexibility and ability to control various factors during the image taking and making process.  Photographers, the hobbyist, the professional, the amateur all benefit from this ability to manipulate pixels.  However, with flexibility comes a price.  Digital camera equipment is still considerably more expensive when you factor in its’ lifespan, the need for additional resources for processing those images, the time it takes to get a usable image and the effort that goes into creating a work of photographic art. We all know that you can go to the local Walgreen’s and pay a $1.99 for a print – as a client you may wonder why you may pay upwards of $50, $70, $90 for a custom photography print.   Photographers hear this statement every once in awhile:

“How in the world can you charge $60 for an 8×10 if it costs me less than $2 to print at x store?”

The truth of the matter is the answer to this question is multifaceted.  Much of the cost of a photographic print produced by a professional photographer has a lot to do with the time,  equipment costs, artistic vision and reputation of the photographer not to mention expertise and the usual costs of running a legitimate business. The cost of TIME Approaching it from a time standpoint, let’s imagine that you have hired a photographer who has work that you love.  This photographer is traveling an hour to your destination to photograph your session.  Here is an example of a time break down:

• booking time: 30 minutes to one hour (client contact time + paperwork)
• pre-session prep time (30 mins – 1 hour, includes equipment and back up equipment checks + vehicle checks)
• one hour travel time TO session
• 15-30 minutes prep time at client’s home
• 90 minutes-2 hours with client photographing subject
• one hour travel time FROM session
• 30-45 minutes uploading time from digital cards from camera to computer
• 30-45 minutes time spent backing up the original images
• 2-5 hours editing time to present you with a diverse gallery of edited images
• 1 hour prep time getting ready for ordering
• 2-3 hours time with client for ordering images
• 1 hour sorting through and checking order
• 30 minutes-1 hour prep time for delivery
• 30 minutes-1 hour getting order shipped
• any additional phone time or time needed for add on ordering, shipment issues, quality issues

In this example, the time spent per client can range from just under 13 hours to 19 hours – dependent on the photographer’s level of service.  This is time dedicated only to ONE session.  When the photographer charges $150-$300 for the photo shoot (aka SESSION FEE) you are not just paying for the two hours of session time, you are paying the photographer for 12-19 hours complete time for your session.

Custom Photography as something “special”

Custom photography is more of a luxury than your entry level cookie cutter chain experience.  Custom photography truly is not for everyone, it requires a level of commitment, investment in time  and money, forethought and planning on the part of the subject/client and requires a larger time commitment for the photographer as well.

Clients who enjoy taking a more active role in the creation of their families’ memories have the desire to have portrait art that is truly personalized.  These more discerning clients have been known to budget and allot time for a custom photography session.  Many clients opt for it to be a once a year special experience, some opt to have custom photography sessions done to record their child’s stages in life.  Having said this, it is clear that custom photography is not in everyone’s budget,  it is something that most families save for to splurge on from time to time to memorialize their children as they really are  (not posed and primped in the cookie cutter studio setting).

There is a great deal of time involved in creating high end custom photography sessions for a client.  The luxury of great service, better choices and a supberb end product.  The result of all this are heirloom quality images.  The time invested at the session is only a small portion of time involved in this process.

Custom photography has been likened to purchasing a fine vehicle.  To get to point B from A let’s face it, even a bus ride would suffice.  If you want to luxuriate in a finely appointed vehicle, customizing your own experience by listening to smooth jazz while sitting in a climate controlled setting adjusted purely for your comfort in a body hugging leather interior, perhaps that Lexus you so desire is your cup of tea.  Custom photography is much the same cup of tea.  It is the Lexus of the photography world.  It is where the intangibles make the experience truly wonderful and the images themselves make the investment of money and time truly worthwhile.

Custom photography can be broken down into even more levels.  There are on location, studio, mixed studio/on location, specialty location and destination type photographers.  The beauty of custom photography is in the choices and in the luxury of thoses options.  The customized service level you are sure to experience will be amazing.  The knowledge that your final images are the result of someone caring about those moments so much that they take extra time ensuring that the artwork you receive is good enough to stand by with their name on it.  That level of quality and commitment  is all but lost in the age of “mass produced,” “mass marketed,” corporate “everyone is a number”.  Custom photography is based on being unique to you.  How great an experience would be,  to be able to sit back and allow a photographer to do this highly custom work for images that you will most likely cherish for a lifetime?

Keep in mind more than anything that the Lexus will never appreciate in value the way your portraits will.  The portrait art you become invested in from your custom photographer will no doubt increase in value and become more priceless as the years pass.

Raise your paw if this article helped you too!

Spanki posted on her blog in the past about “being nice.”   She says ” This is NO race. It is NOT a competition. You are an ARTIST, no one can or ever will be YOU…and it is okay to be YOU.  So join us. BE NICE.”

I think I am going to print out the above quote and paste around my office to remind me of these simple but true words. Spanki also personally wrote me an email with her perspective on dealing with competition.  She has dealt with the same issues of coping with competitors in her region, but says the minute she hid all her competition and quit paying attention to them – the more she grew, succeeded and felt content.  “Do not worry about what they are doing and what they are charging. Just do your best, offer the best service, give an experience (people pay for pampering) and rock your thing!” she says.

Lets be real here – these words of advice are easier said than done.  I am a huge fan of networking with artists all around the country – but when it comes to others in the industry in my exact location – it’s not exactly the same. I do think you should be aware of your competition but not dwell on it.  A good friend told me that “what you focus on grows.”  – so remember to focus on yourself and grow as an artist without being consumed with trying to compete with others.

Lately I have struggled with the issue of local competition because many new pet photographers have been popping up in my area since I began in Kansas City over 3 years ago – I should take this as a compliment that others are aspiring to do this -  but since I am keeping it real – the truth is that I can be jealous and controlling – and I have a 9-5 day job that sucks the life out of me on a daily basis.   Someday my dream is to be a pet photographer full time and never have to worry about the corporate world again, but in the meantime, remember your passion and follow your heart and keep going even when you feel discouraged. You will never know what you can achieve unless you try.  One of my favorite quotes since I was young was this one: “You can achieve anything you want in life if you have the courage to dream it, the intelligence to make a realistic plan, and the will to see that plan through to the end.” – Sidney A. Friedman

And of course this post was Remington Schnauzer approved!

1. Add a Welcome Page

There are many different applications you can use for this feature, but my favorite and FREE choice is by using a Wildfire application.

• First, login to Facebook and search for Wildfire I Frames or click here.
• Click “install app” and choose which business page you want this to be added to.
• Fill out the submission form
• Decide if you want to activate the “fan gate”. If you do, it means you will need to upload two separate graphics.  One graphic will be the image telling your visitors to “like this page to unlock content!”  The other graphic would be the image that only people will see once they actually “like” your page. You dont have to activiate a “fan gate”. You can simply upload the same image in both spots, without having to create two separate graphics.
• Once you are done with the Wildfire application, you need to ensure that your new welcome page is the DEFAULT tab that new visitors land on.  In order to set your tab as your default landing page, go to “Edit Page” at the top of your Facebook business page and scroll down to “Manage Permissions”.  You’ll notice a section called “Default Landing Tab.” From the dropdown list, choose your newly created tab called “welcome”. Then click “save changes.” Visitors who are not fans of your page will see your newly created Welcome page. Visitors who are fans will land on your wall.

Now how the heck do you create a graphic? First you need a program like Photoshop.  Second, you need to know the correct dimensions. Mine show below is 500 pixels wide by 1000 pixels tall. Get creative and create something unique to your own business!

2. Add a Like Box to your blog

Embedding a Facebook Like box in your blog or website is the best way to get more likes to your Facebook Fan Page. When people see the classic “like box” and are already logged into Facebook, it is too simple not to just click “like” and they are instantly a fan of your page!  Click here for Facebook instructions on how to create the code and insert a Like Box.

3. Engage your followers!
One really important peice of advice I read once was that to increase your success and fan base on Facebook, you must post content that engages your readers and post it consistently. Do you ever notice I post a variety of information on my page and I almost ALWAYS post something every single day? Keep it interesting… not just boring with photos only. For example, I not only post photos, but also videos, pet health tips, engaging or debatable questions, and I share a lot of information from other pages on Facebook as well.

4. Have contests!
Yes, there is nothing wrong with a little good ‘ol bribing now and then! I have contests periodically as an incentive to gain new followers and give away something for free.  Right now, my current contest is for followers to post their pet’s cutest photo on my page, have their friends like their photo and like my page! The photo with the most votes or “likes” by February 23 wins a FREE mini session + digital images! You can always come up with something along those lines for your own page, depending on your business and what services or goods you are willing to discount or give away for free.

5. Comment on other pages while under your business name.
Be engaging to other Facebook pages as well.  Network, network, network! And be sure to be logged in and commenting through your business name, not your personal name.  People will easily see your business name and your comments and may click on your name just out of curiosity and be intrigued to become a fan of your page. Especially if you have created a welcome page and entice them with some reasons why they should follow you.

I started out with a Nikon D60 DSLR. I upgraded to the Nikon D300 a year later and now I have the Nikon D700. (Shown below).  Of course my goal is to own the Nikon D3 eventually, but that is definitely going to cost a pretty penny!

Here is a quick comparison between some of the popular Nikon DSLR cameras.

I use two lenses primarily. My favorite for portrait shots is the Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor Lens  and my favorite wide angle lens is the Nikon AF Nikkor 20mm f/2.8.  If you would like to see reviews on various products, this is a great site for photographers: http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/

On DSLR cameras, aperture is indicated by a f-number value. The higher the F number, the more of the photo that will be in focus. For instance if you’re taking a photograph of a landscape, chances are you will want all of the foreground and background to be sharp and in focus. For this to happen you will need to set your digital camera f value or aperture as its known, to a large number, for example F/11. But if you are like me, I prefer focusing on the subject and blurring the background, so then you would choose a small F number like F/2. You should take this into consideration when purchasing lenses. As you can see, my two favorite lenses have low F-number values.

I only use natural light and I do not use a tripod. I have a Jill-E Camera bag that has seen better days – it has been drooled on, trampled, scratched and felt all the elements from blazing heat to bitter cold and snow.  However it wipes clean easily with it’s weatherproof material. If you are a pet photographer, I highly recommend something like this.

So, there you have it! That is my gear in a nut shell.  And just as a reminder that it’s not always about the most expensive gear, here is one of my all time favorite photos I have ever taken – and it was with my starter Nikon D60 camera and simple default lens that came with it. Happy shooting!

• Ensure the dog feels comfortable with you. Immediately pet them, sit down with them by getting on their level and talk to them. If you feel silly doing these things, then photographing pets is probably not for you.
• Take a moment to learn about each dog. What motivates them? Do they like squeaky toys or balls? What gets them excited? Do they react to silly noises? Are they food motivated? Every dog is different and you just have to reach out to them individually and figure out what makes them happy so you can capture it on film
• Bring a helper with you. I always have another volunteer with me who handles the dogs, holds them on a leash and helps me get them to follow basic commands. It really takes two people to accomplish the goal of a perfect photo in this type of an environment.
• Place the dog in a shady, grassy spot if possible. I like to use grass as a background because it’s the most natural and is a good contrast with most dog’s coloring. I also use a spot at KC PAWS with a nice blue metal wall as a background, so the color pops. If you are in a shelter environment, get them away from cages, chain link fences and other menacing backgrounds. We want the dogs personality to shine through, not the fact they may be depressed and in a caged environment every day.

Q. How on earth do you get active dogs to sit so still?
A. One important part of this is having a good camera. By a good camera, I mean a DSLR (digital single lens reflex) camera which is capable of having an extremely fast shutter speed and can capture a split second when you might need it most. For example, my Nikon can capture 7 frames per second. That means even if my subject doesn’t appear to be perfectly posing, my camera might just be fast enough to capture it. Especially in a rescue environment, I make sure I never rush the photo process and take time to pet and talk to each dog and ensure they are comfortable with me. I do feel I have a special connection with dogs and this helps greatly. Dogs can sense someone with a good heart and I feel the ones in a rescue and shelter environment must realize in some way that I am trying to help them find a new home. I have read that dogs communicate through telepathy or by sending “mental pictures”, so I can only assume that whatever I am picturing in my head (feelings of hope, finding them a new family) they must sense in one way or another and cooperate with my antics.


Q. Do you have any tips for photographing black dogs? They are often hard to do!
A. Photographing black dogs can be extremely difficult, because usually their eyes get lost in the rest of the fur and the end result can be a very dark photo without any clear focused area. To help prevent this problem, I always place dogs in a shady spot, which may sound contradicting to those who think you need bright sunlight. If the sun must be in the photo, it needs to be behind the dog, not in front of the dog. This goes for any color of dog really. And I never shoot with a background setup. I use only natural light and refuse to ever use a flash. If the photos still turn out too dark, I will edit them in post processing using Photoshop, by lightening certain key areas of the photo.

Q. Why do you not watermark or copyright your photos of adoptable dogs?
A. While most professional photographers watermark and copyright every one of their photos, including the ones of adoptable dogs, I chose to take a different approach. Since I began photographing adoptable dogs in 2009, I specifically chose not to watermark those photos (putting my logo and business name on the photo) because I want these dogs shared far and wide and I felt putting my logo on them would be distracting and take away from the ultimate goal which is finding the dog a forever family. Of course I appreciate a photo credit for my hard work, but I also want it to be very evident to everyone that I am only interested in the dog’s best interest and not plastering my logo on those photos to promote myself in any way.

Q. Are there any online sites or books that you have found really helpful?
A. As many of you know, I self taught myself everything regarding photography. Yes, I took classes to learn and improve my photo restoration skills, but when it came to handling a camera… I bought a DSLR camera, read lots of books and followed many well-known photographer’s blogs to learn what I have. I recommend Photo Biz which is an online community of photographers who share all kinds of tips and tricks. Two of my most inspirational photographers to follow are Melissa Jill (based out of Arizona) and Jasmine Star (based out of California). Yes, they are both wedding photographers, not pet photographers, but that really doesn’t effect their advice on a general level. They are absolutely amazing, inspiring and completely open and honest about everything in their life. They also provide FAQ posts to their faithful readers and I think every aspiring photographer can learn a lot from these talented women.

Q. So, if you self taught yourself everything photography-related, what did you study in school?
A. I have a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and graduated from the University of Central Missouri in 2003. This may give you a better explanation of why I enjoy blogging and writing so much. I have a passion for writing, but somewhere along the way, I listened really closely to my heart and it led me to volunteer at animal rescue organizations and teach myself about photography, long after I was out of school. Follow your dreams, listen to your heart and never give up. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.