Hagerstown MD and PA newborn baby photographer

Blogging is not my favorite part of this business, in fact, I could do without it completely.  I love posting images of the sweet babies and children that I am fortunate to be able to capture, but since I am more of a visual person, words are not my forte. 

But, as I have a few moments to reflect on my past 6+ years in business, I thought I would share some random thoughts and answer some questions.

How did I start my photography business?  I have always loved pictures and art.  My favorite artist (outside the photography realm) is Edward Hopper; mind you I am not one who can draw one bit.  Luckily this inability skipped a generation and I fully expect my oldest child to go into art as a field of study.  Going to college, I never considered art or photography as a major – I was strong in math and my studies focused on Finance and Business Administration as this appeared to lead to a good career path.  And, it did.  I was a financial analyst with the Department of Defense for many years.  I am the type of person that will make anything work and do it well but my heart was not in it.  I was fortunate enough to be able to stay home with my children when they were born and like most new moms, I picked up my camera more than ever before.  Yes, I was/am an MWAC (mom with a camera).  I really despise this term.  Mostly because it has such a negative connotation in the photography business world, but I know some of the most revered photographers today too started as MWACs.  The negativity comes from moms starting a business before they have perfected their craft or learn any business skills to make it a true business with a profit (and not just a hobby.) 

I did go back to school to learn photography fundamentals to include learning my camera(s) inside out, lighting, posing, compostition, and processing.  I have attended workshops with top artists in the industry.  For the business side, my finance background has helped; however, I have also continued to learn in this spectrum as well via classes, books and workshops.  And, I am not finished learning – with technology today there is always something new on the horizon.  I continue to hone in on my processing as love to experiment with lots of finishing techniques.  I enjoy applying textures, haze, and changing images to my version of black and white.  But, I also know these are trendy and don’t apply them to all my images.  I struggle with this as I want to have a distinct style and I want someone to look at my work and know that was a snips and snails photography image.

When I first started, I photographed everything but weddings.  Today, 6 years later, my business is about 90% newborn, 7% young children, 2% maternity and 1% family (and this is just as I prefer it.)  Personally, I feel if you photograph everything, you can specialize in nothing.  I have found my niche and newborns are it.  I think it goes well with my personality as I don’t have to worry about getting a smile and it is a very relaxed atmosphere!  Very warm, but relaxed!

Why have I been so reluctant to offer digital imagery?  I have not embraced this change in the industry for one reason.  I am a control freek and want my customer’s images to be perfect.  I have my computer calibrated to my lab and know the color will be spot on and the quality will be impecable.  Giving the images on a CD to a client forces me to relinguish this control as they can print wherever they want, including walmart or target or other mass production printer.  Sure, I can recommend where to print images, but I can’t guarantee a client will follow it and in the end, it is my name on a product that other’s see.  Primary reasoning aside, there is a money aspect as well.  It is important that consumer’s realize that in a profitable business, images on CD must be priced for profit that is lost from print sales.  In 2012, I now offer digital files, and hope that clients will take my recommendations on where to have them printed and understand the price structure for them.

Finally, what would a blog post be without an image to accompany it?  So, I hope you have found my ramblings to be informative or amusing at best and enjoy seeing a behind the scenes on how I capture one of my most requested newborn images!  Safety first!