Say you need to hire a craftsman for a very special project: refinishing an ornate antique armoire that belonged to your Great Grandmother. Who would you trust? A specialist who painstakingly restores antique wooden furniture, or a generalist who lists “furniture repair” along with 20 other services in a yellow pages ad? If you care about getting the very best results (like I do), you’d hire the specialist, even if it costs more.

When I first opened my photography studio, I was very much the generalist— I’d take any kind of session I could get. Over time, I learned that I could create better photographic art by specializing, and creating art makes me happy! So I decided to set my sights on becoming the best photographer in my area in a particular niche: high-end fashion sessions for senior girls. I wanted to create a premium product and boutique experience that set me apart from other photographers, and this has taken focus and discipline. As a first step, I stopped accepting sessions for guys, and I started including professional hair and makeup with every session for the girls.

This year, I wanted to take it up another notch by offering something really special for my senior girls who want a truly unique experience. I already had two session types for my seniors: The Fabulous Session and The Ultimate Session, differentiated by the number of locations, outfits and finished images included with the session. I decided to add a new high-end session above these two. I had seen some of the top senior photographers post cool conceptual sessions from time to time, and I wanted to do something like that. I didn’t think that “conceptual session” was very easy to understand for my clients, though. After some playing around with various ideas, I hit upon a high-end session idea that I absolutely love…

Introducing: The Cinematic Session!

For inspiration for my premium, styled sessions, I’m turning to the silver screen for inspiration. My new Cinematic Sessions include everything you’d expect in a high-end senior session: professional hair and makeup, imaginative locations and props, classic and modern poses and premium image processing. On top of this, I bring in a stylist to help recreate the look of a particular film, Hollywood star or era. I brainstorm ideas with my clients via Pinterest, and once we land on a concept we love, I go to work with the stylist, chasing down props and locations, and gathering specific iconic images to use for inspiration.

In a recent Cinematic Session, I played up my senior’s blonde bombshell looks and styled a Marilyn Monroe look-alike session. Using several classic images of Marilyn for inspiration, we went to work, finding vintage jewelry, clothing and accessories at a local antiques shop, matching hair and makeup and setting up poses to evoke memories of the actress. The resulting images are stunning, and best of all, we had a blast!

Tips for a Successful Cinematic Session

1. Find a great stylist or two who shares your vision: Troll the Facebook pages of local stylists, hair & makeup artists. You’ll notice some that have a flair for vintage retro looks. Others will have a high-fashion, red carpet style, while some may do cool special makeup effects. Awesome. More options for you!
2. Make friends with local business owners and barter photography services for props and locations. For my Marilyn Monroe session, I hit the jackpot with City Antiques in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I felt like I had stumbled into the wardrobe department at 20th Century Fox!
3. Be imaginitive! Movie-inspired session ideas are endless. The Great Gatsby; Snow White and the Huntsman; Breakfast at Tiffany’s; you name it! Best of all, trendy new movies are bringing fresh style ideas to the fore all the time.
4. Do your homework: study production art, movie posters and iconic scenes from films you love. Dissect the images you collect and reverse-engineer the shots. Pay attention to the composition, lighting, posing, props, etc. Details make a difference!
5. Don’t get hung up on recreating a particular shot. This is a senior session, and you’re still focused on capturing the beauty and style of your client. Better to go for a variety of shots that coordinate with your theme and keep moving. The best shot from the session is often a surprise.
6. Price your cinematic session high enough. To get great results, you have to bring a lot to the table. This may include paying a professional stylist for a special one-off look or renting a special prop or wardrobe item. Make sure that you have the budget you need to deliver.
7. Do great work. This is a high-end product. You should be confident in your ability to produce high-quality results on a consistent basis before offing this to clients. If you are unsure try a session or two with models first and make sure you can pull it off.

Business Results: Raising the Bar

I honestly didn’t know what to expect when adding a new high-end tier to my session types for senior girls. Would clients gravitate to the lowest-priced session and ignore this new option? It’s very early on (senior season runs from June through September in West Michigan), but the early results are very encouraging. The first two sessions I booked for this season are Cinematic sessions; the next two are Ultimate sessions, my prior high end tier. Last year, 90% of my seniors chose my entry level session, so I am thrilled with this! I had hoped that by adding a new top tier, more clients would step up to my middle tier session. So far, it appears to be working even better than I hoped!

Photography: Carrie Anne Photography
Hair & Makeup: Rebecca Gohl
Wardrobe & Accessories: City Antiques of Grand Rapids

About the Author:  Located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Carrie Anne Chaffer specializes in creating high-end photographic art for high school seniors and for busy families. Carrie Anne has gained national recognition in magazines and numerous web publications, where she is admired for her use of vivid colors. “I dream in color,” confesses Carrie Anne. “Every part of my day— my home, my artwork, my clothing— is fully saturated and dripping with color. Some people live perfectly content lives in Kansas, but I’ll take Oz every day of the week!”

Visit Carrie at her WEBSITE | FACEBOOK pages today!

About the Author: I spend my days trying to balance work, quality time with my husband and son (plus two dogs), laughing on the phone with my wonderful friends and “ME” time which consists of really good TV shows, music and books. I love that I live in my hometown of Franklin, Tennessee and that it’s not a place I am trying to escape. I am so thankful to be able to follow my dreams and share what I learn along the way with other photographers!

Visit Brenna at her WEBSITE | BLOG | and FACEBOOK pages!

by guest contributor Nicola Toon

I truly believe that, as artists one of the most empowering endeavors that we will make are the ones that force us to feel afraid. You know what I mean – throwing ourselves under a bus, putting ourselves into a situation that makes our hearts race and our palms just a wee bit sweaty. It’s that fear of the unknown that sharpens the mind and keeps us on our toes. Keeps us fresh.

I like to think of myself as a versatile photographer. My focus is on families and children and I can deliver on a number of looks that my client might have in mind. Outdoor, lifestyle, styled sessions, sets. I think versatility is important I do pride myself on it.

No matter what the type of session though, I am nervous going in. If I ever find myself heading to a shoot and I don’t feel nervous – it’s in that instant that I know something has to change. I never want to feel too at ease about what I’m doing because it’s in that moment that I will fail. I never want to be on a road to comfort ville where I end up shooting on autopilot and producing images that I don’t love. Epic Fail.

Here’s a little secret…My biggest fear has always been being too boring. A shoot always has to have something extra right? A field of dandelions, cherry blossoms, a beautiful home…a pony. So recently, in the spirit of letting go of the familiar, I faced my fear and did a shoot in the raw. I’m not talking about an image file with a wide colour gamut. I’m referring to shooting in a way that left me painfully exposed. No props to hide behind, no gorgeous backlit landscape to fall back on, no fluff, no puff and no stuff.

I agreed to do an entire family session entirely on a bed. The whole shoot was done in, on and around a white bed, with white bedding in a white room. There was nowhere to hide, just the clients, my camera, a bed and me. It was certainly a session that would push me to my limits as a photographer. I would spend the next two hours with this family. The session was intimate and the blank canvas of the room definitely sharpened my mind. I found that without any other visual distractions I was really forced to connect with my clients. They looked to me for more direction and I had to deliver. There would be nothing in the images but them and the essence of who they are would really have to shine.

I found this exercise absolutely exhilarating. It was scary, for sure, but since the concept was foreign to me I found myself putting in 150%. I considered the session before it happened, put myself there. Envisioned what I would do. How I would have them engage, what would be natural for them to be doing? After all, the bed would have to belong. It was the only other character in my play and it needed to make sense. Posing was definitely a big part of the equation. The session would be about connection, emotion and should be playful and soulful, but since those are not natural states for anyone to be in with a camera in their face, the onus was on me to ensure that the message was communicated loud and clear.

I found that I loved every frame from that session. It was a journey that I needed to take. A ‘naked’ shoot that forced me to think and to go somewhere I never really wanted to go in the first place. The reality is that we never know what a shoot will throw our way so we need to be fluid and have the ability to take it as it comes.

I conquered my fear that day in the white walls of that room. Did it make me a better photographer? No, probably not. But what it did was force me to think in a place that makes me squirm and that is always a great place to end up if you want to grow.

“Courage is the power to let go of the familiar.” – Raymond Lindquist

Definitely words to live by in an industry where we need to be on our toes. I encourage each of you to dig deep and find your fear and shoot it. It will enlighten you, educate you and ensure you avoid a one way ticket to comfort-ville.

About Nicola Toon: I am a Mother of three.  I love my children, my husband, my wiener dogs and my Canon.  I find the smell of wet sand nostalgic, I don’t drink enough water and I occasionally enjoy a good big mac.  I love life – and I love seeing life through my lens.

Visit Nicola at her WEBSITE  and  FACEBOOK pages today!

by guest contributor Jennifer Tonetti-Spellman

When I first started in this business almost 5 years ago, I wrestled with what to call my style. The term ‘lifestyle’ was just starting to be tossed around but I always felt like what I was producing was more photojournalistic and ‘raw’ if you will. I found myself documenting the ‘moments in between’ during shoots and getting most excited about those shots than some of the more traditional shots I’d capture.

The term lifestyle has become a catch all these days but for me my end result is always the same: telling a family’s story.

So how do you shoot to tell a story? First off we need the proper setting to tell the story. 99 percent of my shoots are what I call ‘indoor/outdoor’ and happen in and around a client’s home. You can’t get more personal than being in someone’s everyday space where lives ‘happen.’ An added bonus of shooting in home is that it makes them super relaxed which is always half the battle when filming.

The indoor portion is always first (because most children don’t want to come in once they are out!) then we head on out for a few outdoor images.

Here are my top 3 tips for shooting to tell a story INDOORS:

1. Never put the camera down.

Not for a second. Not to check your phone real quick while Mom is changing baby (you probably don’t want to be doing this regardless ;)), not zoning out while a child puts on another shirt, or ‘chimping’ (the act of peeking at your screen to see what you captured) when Mom gives baby a bit of food. THIS is where those moments in between present themselves. You have to be quick and ready for them, because they are fleeting.

And not only should you always have your camera ready to go during a shoot, but don’t put your camera away until you are literally out the door. I cannot tell you how many times some of my most favorite shots are taken after the shoot is ‘over.’ Like this one. I was packing up my cameras upstairs when I looked over the railing to see this moment…

2. Think beyond the detail shots. Back up, shoot wide, and get the whole scene.

In the past I may have focused a lot of shooting time on detail shots, and while I still think they are a vital part to the ‘story,’ I pull back a lot more now. Getting the family around the table and even documenting a quick refuel snack or finishing up their breakfast, in the case below, produces some fun moments.

Watch the crops too- whenever I mentor, I stress the importance of cropping with purpose. Most want to ZOOM right in and get a close up of the action. Pull back. Get the entire scene.

Here are two examples of pulling back to tell a story from an indoor/outdoor NYC shoot.

3. Don’t discount places in the home that are not the ‘norm’ to film in.

A child doesn’t always have to be sitting on their bed facing the light. Get the child in the depths of their room. Back up and film them playing through the doorframe shadows and all. Shoot them in a dark hallway and embrace the shadows and light.

{This image was shot in a laundry room because the light was fantastic coming from a skylight above Mom’s head.}

{This little boy’s train set was set up in the hallway. Most would discount it because it lacked light, but I say embrace light AND dark.}

Now it’s time to head outside!

Here are my Top 3 tips for shooting to tell a story OUTDOORS:

1. Toss the blanket.

You don’t need to have everyone sitting on a blanket outdoors all the time. Switch it up. Let the kids lay right in the grass. Roll in the grass. Get tickled in the grass. Look up at the planes. Think about it- when you go outdoors with your family to hang in the backyard you aren’t always toting a blanket.

2. Incorporate fun activities they normally do outside.

Take shots of them on the jungle gym. Let them have a race. There is always some activity each family does when a camera isn’t on them. Ask them what it is and run with it. Again everyone doesn’t need to be looking directly at and smiling at the camera.
Summertime? How about a water hose fight? You cannot help but capture true emotions when people are active.

3. Change up your angles to tell an interesting story.

I’m known for getting down on my belly and shooting up at a child on the swings. Climbing up the ladder to the slide with them, then shooting as they go down from behind. Interesting perspectives tell interesting stories. Make your viewer feel like they are right there in the action viewing it from all sides.

Every family has a story. By telling it, you dig deeper into the ‘personal’ side of shooting and connect in a way far different than you may have before when shooting for more traditional images.

This also works well for introducing a client to a ‘storytime’ album. When you shoot to tell a story, you have a defined purpose.

It’s a very different mindset than you normally would approach a shoot in that you have to let go of ‘perfect’ and embrace the perfect in the imperfect.

Besides, isn’t that what real life is all about after all?

About the Author: Jennifer Tonetti-Spellman, owner of JellyBean Pictures is a die hard, natural light photographer based in NY. Her goal at every shoot is to capture awesome in a documentary style with little posing and props  work has appeared in Professional Photographer Magazine, New York Family Magazine, and on strollertraffic.com.  Her manual {don’t} say cheese was written to address the importance of capturing real smiles along with other tips + tricks she picked up along her journey thus far.

Visit Jennifer at her WEBSITE | BLOG |FACEBOOK pages today!