Call Of Duty – How I Had An Epiphany At A Wedding August 20, 2012

I had a revelation this weekend that I probably always subconsciously knew, but never confirmed until now.  Being a photographer is not only what I do, it’s who I am.  It’s what defines my life.


My wife and I attended the wedding of one of her college friends this past weekend in Baltimore.  A very sweet woman who had been an integral part of my wife’s college life.  Together, they sang for Pope John Paul II at Camden Yards.  She is as far from a Bridezilla as you can get.


I’m not going to lie; it was nice to go as a guest for a change instead of working one.  I had my camera with me of course, but at least I wasn’t on the clock.  I’d be happy to document some reunions, group pictures…maybe a shot or two of the wedding.  But I wouldn’t get in the way of the photographers working the event.   They’d have enough problems with people who had their cell phones up and waving around.  They didn’t need me in their way.


When we got to the ceremony, I casually eyeballed the photographers to superficially gauge their level.  Pro-level equipment and a few too many toys that were completely unnecessary, but overall I at least felt confident that at first blush, on the surface, they appeared to be the real deal.  Not the new breed of “fauxtographers” that have invaded our industry.  I could breathe easy.  They’d hired pros.


Now…this blog is not about all the things they did wrong.  I won’t go into how the second shooter spent the majority of cocktail hour planted near the crudité table and just ate.  I won’t bore you with the fact that the lead shooter was most DEFINITELY in the poor video people’s frame the entire first dance.  I won’t even get into the horror of the lead shooter leaving long before the end of the reception without even saying goodbye to the Bride & Groom (who I’m sure paid handsomely for their services).  I won’t do any of that.


I am just going to repeat the words the Bride said to me in a VERY apologetic manner as I was enjoying some of the meal she had been so kind to pay for; “Brian, we can’t find our photographers anywhere and I REALLY need a shot of some people with me before they leave.”  My heart immediately sank…and then I got angry…and NOT because I had to stop eating my filet.


I got angry because the people that she PAID to be there that day had let her down.  I got angry because these are people in MY profession…they are PHOTOGRAPHERS.  They were hired to document and tell the story of what arguably was one of the most important days in her life.  They were hired to be there for her and now she couldn’t find them.


I smiled, grabbed my camera and started taking some shots that she wanted.  I immediately when into work mode, and didn’t stop until she needed me to.  I didn’t stop when the people that had been paid to be there finally meandered back into the room.  I would never DREAM of doing this at any other event, or to any other photographer, any more than I’d hope one wouldn’t do that to me.  But these people forfeited that right the moment they disappeared.  The unspoken code normally understood between photographers was broken the moment the bride had asked me to step in and help on her big day.  They were nothing more than fauxtographers in professionals clothing.


It’s not my place to say how I would have done things differently had Chorus Photography been the company hired.  I don’t know the details of the contract, and I don’t know what had been understood between the Bride and Groom and the studio.  I will say that at two or three things that should be normal…


–          The old adage of “if you have time to lean, you have time to clean” always has its place in any industry.  If you have enough time to sit there and support a wall, or shove your face full of food, then you should be getting detail shots; group shots.  You should NOT be just standing around.


–          Dinner breaks are mandatory with most studios for long days.  However we (as I’m guessing most other studios) leave one shooter on the floor while the other shooter eats, then swap.  Yes, chances are you don’t need many shots of people eating their dinner, but we should be on standby if the bride or grooms needs us for anything.


–          If you’re contracted for X amount of time, and you’re leaving your second shooter there, then have the common courtesy to THANK the people who have hired you before you leave.  Phantom fades are never acceptable.


People ask me all the time why I always have my camera with me.  “Why don’t you just leave it at home for once and enjoy yourself?”


Because I’m a photographer.  It’s what I do, and it’s who I am. 


 

As always, we’d love to hear your thoughts or experiences – EMAIL US!


 

About the author: Brian Miller is the owner of Chorus Photography in suburban Philadelphia.

I Don’t Want To Be A Rockstar, I Just Want To Be Me… July 31, 2012

About a month or so ago, I attended an advanced education workshop for photographers.  It’s an annual 2-day event that I try to go when my schedule allows.  I find some new techniques that maybe I hadn’t paid enough attention to before, hang out with some fellow photographer friends (and hopefully meet some new ones), and to get my portfolio reviewed by a well-respected industry pro.  I look forward to the review, because it’s nice to have feedback from someone that does it for a living, and is also a practitioner vs. just a critic.  A fresh set of eyes never hurts.


In this particular case, the gentleman (who shall remain nameless because he really is a nice guy, and this isn’t really about him at all) who reviewed my portfolio had ALSO reviewed my work a couple of years ago at a yearly conference in Las Vegas.  I had taken much of what he had said back then to heart, and have worked hard to incorporate a lot of, not only what he told me…but what I had learned in that week during masters classes with the likes of Jerry Avenaim, and others.  I was excited at the fact that it would be the same set of eyes.


During the review, he oohed and aahed over some pictures, shrugged at others, and then gave me his critique –


“You have some REALLY great stuff here.  This is your bread and butter.  You could sell images like this all day long.  But then you have some of these other images here that are just regular old portraits.  I think you have a schizophrenic shooting style.  You need to choose what you want it to be”.


I thought on this for a second, and then said to him, “Ok…I totally see what you’re saying.  But not every shoot is the same.”


He said (and it’s a month later, so I’m paraphrasing) “Right, but if you’re going to be known for a certain style, then you can’t have this other stuff out there as well.” We then went over a couple of other things, and shook hands and smiled.


I went off to have a beer with friends, and he went on to review other work from other shooters.


I’ve chewed on those words for the last month or so.  I wasn’t totally behind what he had said, but I had to think about why.  WHY is it so bad to have various styles based on different shoots?  The style that works for one, doesn’t necessarily work for another.


It wasn’t until today that it really came together for me.  I drove down to (what we Philadelphians call) “The Shore” to do a portrait session for a family who wanted to have it done while they were on vacation.  The kids weren’t super jazzed about the shoot at all, and the parents weren’t overly keen about being anywhere down on the sand.  “We’re just looking for basic portraits, but we’ve seen your work and we want you to do your thing with them.”  (It took me all of 5 minutes to get the kids loosened up…no one can resist being an “assistant photographer” who gets to do some shooting!)


BOOM!  It smacked me over the head and it all made sense to me.  The answer to the question that had been nagging me for the better part of a month.  Why is it so bad to have a “schizophrenic” shooting style.  I’ve come up with the answer.  It’s not.


In our industry, especially when it comes to weddings, everyone is clamoring to be the next big “Rock Star” photographer.  To get the edgiest shots, the artsiest shots, the ones that really grab the attention of people willing to spend a redonkulous amount of money on their images.   And that’s fine…it really is.  I’m not knocking ANY of my fellow photographers.  We all work hard demanding hours, long before and long after the wedding day.


But here’s the thing about that….that’s not what we’re about.  We’re just out to get great images that our clients will love.  That they’ll be proud to put on their desk at work, to hang on their wall at home.  To put in an album for future generations to see.


Not all of our clients are willing to get down in the sand and get gritty.  They’ve spent time on getting their kids cleaned up so they can have a “nice family portrait”.  They didn’t want artsy, or taken so far away that it pulls the entire background into the image with them.  They wanted the picture to be just about them and their family.


Sure, I had some fun with the kids and let them be themselves.  I got some stuff that will probably make it into the next round of marketing materials, and some of those “wow” shots that I still surprise myself with from time to time.   But out of all the sneak peek images I posted up a few hours after the shoot, the one that has gotten the most comments and “likes” isn’t the artsy one of the kids.  It isn’t the pretty one of the Mom & Dad.  It’s the straight ol’ family portrait.  It is…in its simplicity…the picture they had hired me to capture.  It may not be what any other photographer would shoot, but it’s what the client asked for, and at the end of the day, that’s what matters.  My job is to use my talent to capture their vision.

The “M” Family on the beach in Ocean City, NJ.

Now, with that being said…there is a time and a place for those “bread and butter” images all photographers hope for.  But they can’t ALL be like that.  When a client tells me what they want, I’ll do my best to give them their wish.  I’ll ALWAYS put my two cents in on what will make the image better, and nine times out of ten…they’ll go along with it.  Hell, after a while they get so into it…that’s all we’re doing the rest of the shoot.  But I have to let THEM lead me there.


I love what I do for a living.  I eat, live, breath photography.  I can’t look at the world without thinking of what the proper exposure settings would be, what lens I would have used and how I would have composed it.  Some days it drives me insane!  I would love to be able to enjoy a sunset as just that… A SUNSET!  But I can’t.


In my opinion, not every photograph needs to be filled with dramatic lighting and artistic posing.  Sometimes what’s missing in the artistry is more than made up for by the simple contentment of people looking at the camera and smiling.


If that makes me schizophrenic than so be it.  All of the voices in my head are in agreement with that…AND one other thing…


Duck lips.  That trend needs to end like…yesterday.  Why would anyone want to willingly look like Snooki?


About the author: Brian Miller is the owner of Chorus Photography in suburban Philadelphia.

5 Easy Steps To Avoid Losing Your Pictures! July 1, 2012

With another holiday fast approaching, I can hear that train whistle in the distance.  It’s more accurate than an atomic clock.  It’s faint at first…but then it gets louder and louder.  “I lost all my pictures Brian…I don’t know what to do!”


As a photographer (and ultimately a historian) it stabs me in the heart to hear.  Pictures of birthdays, holidays, vacations and all the stuff that happens in between (everyday life) are gone in an instant.  Your family history captured in those images are now nothing more than stories…watered down with each telling because your memory isn’t quite what it used to be.


While digital cameras and smart phones have definitely made photography easier for everyone, they have also managed to put those images in peril more than in the past.  Life has become digital.  There was a time when you took a roll of film, shot it, took it to the local Fotomat, and got it back a few days later.  You’d look at them once or twice…make some notations on the back and they’d end up in a box for posterity.


Nowadays, with phone apps like Camera+, Instagram, etc. etc. etc…pictures are taken on the fly (and normally with some type of a filter that oddly enough, makes them look like pictures from your youth), and forgotten about until you need to clear off your card, or you must make room on your phone for the latest version of “Angry Birds“.  Never before has an accidental swipe of a button, or a pair of clumsy hands (or “fat fingers”) had such a devastating effect on family photos.  How many times have you heard of your friends throwing their phone into a bag of rice, because it made an unfortunate journey into the toilet? (I for one don’t care HOW dried out it gets, there is no way in hell a “toilet phone” is ever going anywhere near my ears or mouth!)


But I’m here to tell you there are a few easy steps to prevent this from happening to you!  I want to help ensure those pictures are there for your future generations.


#1 – Dump Isn’t a Bad Word

When was the last time you actually transferred the pictures from your camera to your computer?  Dump your cards regularly!  “Dumping cards” is an industry term for transferring them to your computer.  You should be doing this every time you shoot new pictures with your camera.  I’m SHOCKED to hear from friends and clients that they’ve never done this!  It only takes a few minutes at most, and ensures the safety of your images.  IMPORTANT NOTE:  When you do this, make sure you reformat your card.  This too only takes a minute out of your time, and lessens the chance of card failure.  It is also a good idea to have more than one card.  There is nothing worse than having a card fail…especially when you’re on vacation!


#2 – CHARGE!

Recharge or change your batteries regularly.  I personally use the Ray-O-Vac Hybird rechargeable batteries, and they’re fantastic.  Charge them up before your big event, and throw them in your camera bag.  There is NOTHING worse than being in the middle of a big day, and having your batteries crap out on you.


#3 – BACK UP!  BACK UP! BACK UP!

Redundancy is your friend.  Once you transfer your images to your computer, back them up to an external hard drive or to a CD.  And once those are backed up…do it again and put them in safe place.  Either a safety deposit box, or a fireproof safe.  You can even upload them to the cloud if you insist.  This is a good method if you’re an iPhone user…make sure you have your images being uploaded to your Photo Stream…which brings me to the BEST form of backing up:


#4 – PRINT!!!!!

Remember 3.5 inch floppy discs?  Got a drive on your current computer to put one in?  Exactly!  Digital Media is always changing, and who knows what the future holds.  That’s why it’s important to print out all the GOOD pictures you want.  Remember I said GOOD, not ALL.  While the fine people at Kodak or Shutterfly may not agree with me…it’s true.  You don’t have to print out every picture you take.  But you DO want to print out the important ones and put them in a box, or some other safe place.  You future self and your children will thank you in 20 years.  I PROMISE!


#5 – TOO LATE!  I was doing what you just told me and formatted by accident!!!

Don’t worry.  Even formatting a card doesn’t always clear every image from there.  Here are a couple of great software solutions you can use:


If you’re a PC User (such as myself) you can try Card Recovery.  If you’re a MAC user, then I suggest Card Rescue.  I’m not promising it works every time…but it’s ALWAYS worth a shot.


Accidents happen, digital media will fail from time to time.  It happens to us pros all the time, and it will happen to you.  But there are small things you can do to help prevent it.


Besides…if you do this for no other reason…it’s always important to have that one embarassing picture of a friend you can share with the Facebook populace.  If I hadn’t printed this picture out from when I was a teenager, would I be able to share it with you now?

ah yes…the “acid wash” phase of my youth

I encourage you to share this post with your friends…after all…knowledge is power!


Do you have a horror story you’d like to share?  Make sure you email us or comment on this!


 

About the author: Brian Miller is the owner of Chorus Photography in suburban Philadelphia.

Fat & Photography, not a healthy mix! February 29, 2012

I’ve never been what you would call a “health conscious” person.  In so much as I never really thought about living healthy.  I ate what I wanted, when I wanted and rarely exercised.  The only time I was ever in any real shape is when I was in the Army about 20 years ago. Needless to say my weight went up over the years, and while I would feebly attempt dieting from time to time, the scale would continue to go up and up and up.


So, it’s no real shock that when we opened going on 5 years ago, I never gave any thought to my health and how it might (if ever) affect the way I shoot, or come to have any bearing on our day to day operations.  If anything, I was rather excited at some of the gastronomic delights I would partake in at various events.  My clients are very thoughtful like that.


It only took me about 4 years to realize I was wrong.


Slowly but surely, it was getting tougher and tougher to keep up with what was happening around me.  By the time I’d grunt my way down to children’s level, the sweat would immediately begin to flow.  During portrait sessions, I noticed my feet would start hurting within a half an hour, or my back would give me little wake up calls with a sharp pain.  To say this was slowly starting to impede my ability to get the type of shots I’d like is an understatement.


Most people don’t understand what happens AFTER we’re done with your specific event.  Most photographers will spend hours upon hours in front of their large bank of computer monitors culling, correcting, (and it seems more and more) wrinkle removing.  Sitting in that one position for hours on end isn’t healthy for anyone, much less a big boned individual like myself.  Then for you bridal types, there are the hours of designing albums, going over your proofs with you, etc. etc.


When I topped out at a hefty 315 pounds at the end of January, I decided it was time to make a drastic change.  Not only for myself, but for our clients.  We both deserve better.  But I couldn’t approach this the way I had approached dieting in the past.  It would have to be a complete game changer.  I would not only have to lose weight, but I would have to teach myself how to eat in limited amounts and be satisfied.  I needed to completely relearn how to eat.


So on February 1st, I started a program called Medifast.  Like other programs, I eat 5 of their meals a day, and one “Lean & Green” meal.  This normally consists of 6 ounces of a protein of my choosing along with a healthy “green” side dish.  I meet with a nutrionist once a week and have started to hold myself more accountable on a daily basis.  My total caloric intake ranges anywhere from 800-1000 calories a day.  After the first 3 days, my body adjusted and I started on my road to better health and being a more nimble photographer.


I walk at least two miles a day now (most times with my camera slung around my back) and am considering actually joining a gym.  I haven’t had any bad carbs or sugar for a month and my energy level is through the roof.  To say I’m already feeling the changes is once again an understatement.  I head into shoots now with more energy, ready to tackle the task in front of me, whether it’s a portrait session, wedding, or whatever else!


Now I won’t lie and say it’s been easy.  There are some days that are more difficult than others.  Two weeks into the program I shot a Bar Mitzvah that had (among other things) a mashed potato bar which the clients offered me to partake in.  I thought my head would explode!  But I set forth to get some of the best images I could with my newfound energy and made it though the day.


So how do I feel one month later? My back doesn’t hurt anymore after shooting for just an hour, and my feet once again are feeling close to their teenage youth!  My overall outlook has never been better, and as of this publication…I have already dropped 25 pounds.  My goal is to lose 85 more by this autumn,  just in time for the second part of wedding season.

In early December at 315 pounds, and on February 17th

I certainly am doing this for my own mental and physical well being, but I’m also doing it for our clients.  I truly love being a photographer.  I love the feeling it gives me, and also the lifetime of happiness it gives to our clients.  I know that living and thinking healthy will not only allow me to be better at it, but to do it for a much longer time.

It’s A Major Award… January 9, 2012

“Congratulations, you’ve won The……”


I immediately thought it was Spam.  How many of us have gotten emails telling us we’ve won this incredible prize, or that the Nigerian Finance minister wishes to inform us of a big inheritance, as long we send X amount of dollars to secure blah blah blah.


I almost deleted it, but for some reason…I opened it.  SO glad that I did.  We’ll get to that shortly.


About a week or so ago, I was informed by BridesView (a new industry online magazine) that Chorus Photography was voted as one of the top ten most loved photographers by their readers for 2011.  It was a nice surprise to start off 2012.  But I could hear my father’s voice in my mind telling me his best piece of business advice (which we’ll get to)…and so I reveled in the fact that our little dream that was born a few years ago is getting some recognition and I moved on with my day.


Then an email arrived today from another wedding industry publication.  But this time, from a large and well known bridal companion,  WeddingWire.  It read…

We are excited to announce Chorus Photography has won the Bride's Choice Awards™ 2012. This prestigious award is determined by reviews from your past clients and recognizes the top 5 percent of local Wedding Professionals from the WeddingWire Network.

Well hey now, this is a bit of good news!  I’ve got to be able to enjoy this a little bit right?  The top 5% is right up there with the cream of the crop!  We’ve  been praised by our clients and they like us…they really REALLY like us!  This is the second time in as many weeks that we’ve been recognized by a publication that we don’t even pay to advertise with!  We didn’t have to beg and plead for our friends to go and vote for us.  This is a legit win fair and square and we as a company are going to celebrate it and run naked in the streets if the mood strikes us!  We EARNED this!


But then, I heard my father’s voice again…


When we first opened up, I sat with my father to talk to him about certain advice.  He is well known and well respected in the industry that he’s worked in for the past 56 years.  So he knows something about good business practices.  People pay hundreds of thousands of dollars at Ivy League schools to learn the type of business savvy he was about to lay down on me.


“My best piece of advice is to not read your own press clippings” he said.  “It’s nice to be recognized, but it’s very easy to start believing your own hype.  Read it like you would any other piece of news, and move on with your day.  The more you think about it, the more you celebrate it, the more you set yourself up to become lax.  Remember the work you put in to making the press take notice, then go back and do it again.  No one remembers a one time winner.”


While I kind of understood what he was saying, I didn’t appreciate the full grasp of it.  Why the hell shouldn’t I relish in some recognition?  Isn’t that why we do what we do in life?  To be respected?  To be known as a leader in our respective fields so we can make oodles of money and retire young?   To be recognized, loved and adored by the powers that be in our own industries?


But today something came into full focus for me.  Something that I realized drives me far more than a pat on the back or a nod in our general direction.  Being a photographer isn’t for ourselves.  We give OF ourselves to bring joy to others.  We use our talents to make people happy.  When we as a company work hard to obtain the business of a prospective client, our job isn’t done when their event is over.  There’s selecting favorite images, editing work, album design, meetings, and if we have done our jobs well…we may JUST get hired by them again for a different job, or even BETTER…they’ll refer us to one of their friends or colleagues.


While I personally will celebrate our win with our staff, as soon as I’m done writing this blog it’s back to work I go.  We have to work just as hard if not HARDER than we did last year, because now we’re an award winning studio.  The stakes are higher, and we can’t rest on 2 wins.  We can’t rest on 20 wins.  We can’t rest ever.  There’s always another level of success to strive for because our clients don’t deserve anything less than that.


And I know I can’t do that if I’m sitting around reading my press clippings, can I?


What are your thoughts?  Feel free to chime in, or even better… EMAIL US!

Our Holiday Thanks….To YOU! December 20, 2011

In our yearly tradition of keeping it “green”, we wrap up our year in a nice little 4 minute bow of thanks to our friends, family and most importantly our clients for helping to make 2011 our best year yet.

Whether you are having a Happy Hanukkah, celebrating a Merry Christmas, having a Heri Za Kwanzaa or celebrating a Cool Yule….from all of us to all of you.

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

Charity & Giving – Why It’s Not Just For Christmas Anymore December 5, 2011

Last week, an annual event called the “Camp Out For Hunger” was held here in Philadelphia by the iconic radio institution 93.3 WMMR and their morning show team of Preston & Steve.  For one week, they make camp in a large suburban mall parking lot and collect food and money for Philabundance (who also happens to be one of our clients).

Philabundance Staff at the Camp Out For Hunger 2011...from L-R : Shira Rosenwald / Marketing Manager - Marlo DelSordo / Director of Marketing & Communications - Lindsay Bues / Public Relations Coordinator - Bill Clark / Executive Director

At a recent event, I was talking with Philabundance’s Executive Director Bill Clark.  Bill is by far one of the nicest and most humble men I’ve ever spoken or worked with in my career.  In casual conversation, and knowing the Camp Out was fast approaching, I had asked him how much the event helps their food bank.  The words came quickly, because he already knew his answer…  “In a normal year, it’s enough to help us for about five or six months in addition to what we normally bring in, but with the economy being what it is, it’s not nearly that much.  But it’s the biggest help we get all year.” (You can see some select images from the 2011 Camp Out HERE)


That got me to thinking about charity and what defines it.  Is it a bag of food?  Monetary donations to charities, or a persons tithing at their place of worship?  People give away their own personal time for organizations that have meaning to them.  People walk 60 miles in 3 days, all in the name of donations to help find a cure for cancer.  So the thought entered my mind; “does donating a photography package to an organization, or to a family constitute a charitable act?”


I’m approached by no less than 50 organizations and/or friends every year who ask me if I’d be willing to donate a photography package for their particular organization.  Some offer in-kind advertising opportunities, others are just looking for a straight donation.  When we opened our company, I made a decision that I would give to the first 20 people who asked.  After that, it would be decided on a case by case basis.  There’s only so much free to go around, but I do make the occasional exception when the situation warrants it.


Giving back to our community has always been important to my wife and I.  We both feel to be successful business owners, you have to give back to those that support you on a local level.   Our business is personal, and how we act and portray ourselves in the community that surrounds us is important – in letting people know who we are and what we’re about.   Giving away 20 packages a year allows me to sleep at night knowing that we’re at least TRYING to make a difference.


Every December we pull out the stops.  We ask people to nominate a friend or family they know who has gone through a rough year.  Be it personal issues, finanacial stress, sickness, what have you.  Anyone can be nominated and the one selected gets the following:

• A full 1-2 hour photo session with hair/makeup, the whole bit.
• A print package filled with various print sizes, including a framed 16 x 20
• An in-home catered dinner for up to 8 people from Casual Catering (which was an addition this year by one of my good friends who owns the company)

Did I mention the person who NOMINATES the winner also gets a free 1 hour photo session?


We started this 2 weeks ago.  Do you know how many nominations we’ve gotten?  Take a guess.


Two.  Two people have written.  That’s it.


To say I’m shocked is an understatement.


I talked with one of my friends about it recently, and they said this to me; “Well, you’re not FEEDING people for crying out loud, you’re just taking their picture.  It’s a nice gesture, but really…other than giving them an hour or two away from their problems, what real charity aspect is there?”  I was stung a little, and I doubted what I was doing.  But the more I thought about it, the more the (excuse the pun) picture came into focus.


We are feeding people.  We’re just feeding their soul.


If you ask any of our clients after a portrait session if they or their children had a good time, the answer most times is a resounding YES!  (Read here about how we involve children in the shoot).  When doing one on one portrait sessions, they’ll tell you they normally HATE pictures of themselves, but they LOVE how these turned out.


We’re feeding families memories to last them their lifetime – every time they look at their pictures.  We’re providing individuals with some pampered “me” time that they otherwise wouldn’t have had or even thought they could have. We have all come across rough patches, and sometimes it’s easy to lose sight of the beauty that surrounds us every day while amidst stress and other personal heartache. But the small, simple joy of seeing the smile of someone you love should not be underestimated. That moment will take all other moments and make them seem just a little bit smaller.


So, my friend is wrong.  But it still doesn’t change the fact that with only two weeks left, we’ve only had two people nominated!


I encourage you to take a look around. Someone you’ve encountered along your journey this year could use a special opportunity to celebrate their family. You can help give them this gift. We hope to hear from you.

Bank On It…Or: How I Learned To Love The Bank November 18, 2011

I’ve sat in front of my computer for the better part of half an hour trying to figure out how to best open this article.  I’ve done the 21st century version of typing something, looking at it, and “ripping it” out of the typewriter and deep sixing it in the trashcan.  This is a first for me.  The blogs I write normally come to me pretty easily.  But not this time.  And I think I know why.  It’s the topic.  I don’t even like to say it in public, for fear of starting an argument.  It’s a word that’s become so vile and stands for so many things wrong with our economy at the moment, that I risk being censured by the blogging community just for breaching the subject.

Banks.

Now, you may be asking yourself why a photographer would be writing about a bank in his blog.  It’s not the reason your mind defaults to these days.  It’s a good reason.  I promise!

Growing up the son of small business owners in the 70’s & 80’s, a trip to the bank with my mother was a regular routine.  I remember very well the local bank they used, the people who worked there, and Barbara the Bank Manager, who would always go out of her way to give me my favorite flavor Dum-Dum lollipop (Pineapple) as we’d walk out the door.  When I was old enough, I remember being congratulated by the entire bank staff one by one when I opened my first account and was given my first passbook.

But as time marched forward, those small institutions started to change.  Large multinational banks came in and bought the small banks.  One by one, the people that had known me since I was a child were gone.  The friendly vibe you’d feel when you walked in, replaced by sterile uniformed people who didn’t bother to call you by name;  just a curt “next’ as you waited in line to make your transaction.  Don’t even get me started on what happened to my beloved Dum-Dum’s.  It still hurts to talk about.

Banks have most certainly gotten a bad rap in recent years, and deservedly so.  But as I stated earlier, this is to be an uplifting column….so up we go!

About 7 years ago, I was a disgruntled account holder of a large national bank in Philadelphia.  Just another number among numbers.  A friend of mine told me about the resurrection of a local bank from my youth that his father had been instrumental in recently bringing back.   A small locally owned institution called Continental Bank.   That was enough for me to hear.  I immediately closed out my account at The 1st Sterile Bank Of Anonymous and haven’t looked back.

Continental embodies what banks used to be.  Go into any of their 10 locations and there is coffee and fresh baked cookies waiting for you.  Each teller and manager makes an effort to greet you by name with a smile.  There are no uniforms here.  If there’s an issue with your account, you get an actual PHONE CALL from a real live person from the branch.  But this isn’t a commercial for them.  Let me get to the point.

About a month ago, I went in and noticed that there was a large sign in the lobby that had the name of a local restaurant along with information about them.  I asked Jill (the branch manager) what it was about, and she proceeds to tell me that they’re showcasing local business account holders at all the branches.  The only thing I had to do was make an appointment to sit down with Jill and allow her to ask me some questions about our business.

When I came in for our appointment, she had done research into our company, looked at our website, and even presented me with some information about our industry that she felt I may not have known.  We talked for nearly half an hour about everything and anything photography.  I was waiting for the “now here’s what we want from you” portion of the meeting.  I naturally assumed that you would have to have some kind of balance qualification for this, or you’d have to pay to have your business advertised to every person that walks through the doors.

Nope…nothing.  Nada.

All Continental wants to do is showcase some of their local business customers to their entire customer base.  They want nothing in return.  I didn’t have to agree to a variable commission rate on any business I may get out of it.  There was no first born to sign over…I didn’t even have to give them collateral to put out there.  If I didn’t already have leave behinds, they would have put one together for me!  It was raining Dum-Dums!!  I hadn’t felt this good about belonging to a bank since I was a kid!

From L-R: Annette, Heather & Jill (Jaclyn not pictured)

In a world where just about everything is a commodity, it makes sense to me that my allure of my bank has everything to do with anything but the products. The reality is, every business out there is trying to do the best they can right now. But without a friendly face, a smile, and a little something extra that lets me know you’re genuinely interested in helping me, I may not give you a second glance. And there in lies the difference.

And even today as I continue to grow my own business, this feeling follows me, reminding me of the reasons why I love and support local businesses. This is my way of thinking locally and acting globally, by encouraging you, wherever you are in the world, to notice these small businesses and give them the opportunity to prove me right.

From all of us here at Chorus, we wish you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving!

Do you have an experience you’d like to share with us?  Feel free to chime in with your thoughts via email, or on our Facebook!

“I’m Sorry for My Kids…They’re Normally SO Good!” November 1, 2011

Now that’t we’re fully into the Fall Family portrait season, we just recently booked up every available slot we had.  It’s inevitable that people wait until the last minute to do this, because the holiday season creeps up on them SO fast.  Didn’t summer just end?  Didn’t the kids JUST go back to school?  When did Thanksgiving get into view?


And as much as you can count on the leaves changing every year, you can count on families dragging their children kicking and screaming to their portrait session.  That train is just never late…and I am always on the platform waiting for it to pull in.


Family portrait sessions have gotten a “used car salespeople” vibe to them over the years.  For the last 30+ years, unless you had a local photographer whom you had a relationship with, most people would go to Sears, JC Penny, etc. to get their family portraits.  My family included….tell me that 70’s bowl cut didn’t rock?   Of course, many of those images in the 21st century have made it up to Awkward Family Photos.  (Ed. Note – you have to take a free moment of your day and check out that site.  It’s totally worth it.  Just don’t drink anything while you do it.)

Our author....in full on 70's bowl glory

Anyway…time marched forward and now you get these places in the mall that hire people with little to no experience with using a camera.  They offer “great” deals only costing you $9.99 (provided you don’t want any prints) and a marvelous family bonding experience.  Some will go so far as to promote the experience as “once in a lifetime”.


But anyone that’s gone to one of these places knows better.  It’s long lines, crying children, the smell of fried whatever wafting up the noses of said crying children and so many bright and shiny things that what little attention span they had for this endeavor is LONG gone.  All of this for one halfway decent posed picture?


STOP THE INSANITY!  IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE LIKE THIS!


We strive to make a family portrait session a TRUE family portrait session.  Our number one rule is to let KIDS BE KIDS!  Think about every picture you have ever taken of your children.  Are they posed, or are they genuine candid shots that automatically take you back to that day?  If you’ve ever looked at a posed picture with a child surrounded by a million props, did it ever evoke the same feeling?


Kids want to run around, jump in puddles, throw leaves on each other.  So why not let them?  We hardly ever book family studio sessions.  They just don’t work as well as being outside in a park, or even in your very own backyard where the child is comfortable just being themselves.  The only “prop” I tend to bring is an old camera that I don’t use anymore with an old lens.  Whether there is only one child, or multiple children…they get to become a “photographer” for a little bit.  We involve them in the process!  When the client gets their proofs, they get all of the pictures their children took.  The only potential caveat (for the parents) is that chances are, their child is going to want a camera!  Even your family pet is encouraged to be a part of the session.  They are family after all, arent’ they?


Here are some other tips to help make your family portrait session stress free:

1. Make sure your children are well rested!  A tired kid is a cranky kid!  Schedule the shoot around THEIR sleep patterns.  It makes a huge difference.
2. DO NOT give your children any type of hyper-energy boosters.  Kids are already a natural source of energy.  Giving them a sugary cereal in the morning, or a soda and cookies in the afternoon before a shoot is a sure fire way to decrease their already short attention span.
3. MAKE SURE THEY’VE GONE TO THE BATHROOM SHORTLY BEFORE THE SHOOT!  ‘Nuff said.
4. Kids are still kids, no matter WHAT you scheduled for them.  If before you leave for the shoot, your child is in a “mood” (fussy, crying, won’t listen to you at all) don’t force the situation.  Reschedule your shoot.  This is not only for your sanity but for better images.  If a child doesn’t want to have their picture taken, that’s the last word.  It’s so much better to reschedule than to try and make something happen that has no chance of being a success.
5. FINALLY – let us do our job!  I truly mean this in the nicest of ways.  It’s a natural instinct to want to help corral your child and try to get them to laugh.  And it’s appreciated!  But when you’re standing to the side of us, your child is going to instinctively look at you, and not at us.  So now they have two adults vying for their attention.  Not only does it confuse them, but it inevitably gets them upset.  We know tons of tricks to get them to smile.  I’ve eaten my fair share of leaves to get a kid to smile and it works every time.

The most genuine advice we can give is make the experience as memorable as the pictures themselves.  Life is full of spontaneous, wonderful moments. Your family photo session should be as unique as you are.  The environment, location and photographer you choose will have a huge impact on the final product.

Sometimes, we just keep shooting as we're setting up the shot because they turn out just as good, if not better than the posed ones.

He was just walking around picking up leaves and looked up at me.

If you’d like to see more recent family portraits, feel free to head on over to our Facebook or Website!  We’d also love to hear some of your favorite family portrait stories!

It’s Not Personal, It’s Just Business… October 11, 2011

As a small business owner, you can’t help but take it personally when you lose out on a job.  You sit there and replay in your mind from start to finish, every snippet of communication you had with that potential client to figure out what went wrong.   Did I sell too hard?  Was my work not up to snuff against other photographers?  DID THEY NOT LIKE ME?!


It’s tough to separate business from personal.  After opening our business shortly before the worst economic flame out since the Great Depression, any time you lose out on potential business you can’t help but take it a little personally.  It’s YOUR blood, sweat and tears that help drive the company.  It’s YOUR endless hours (in our case) photographing, editing and meeting with the right people to get your business known to a wider audience.   In the beginning it’s YOUR money that funds the start of said business.  How is it NOT personal?


In this day and age, the reason you can lose a client can be based on SO many different things – economics, competition, or even lack of connection with the client themselves.  You have to do something hard to find out the answer.  You have to make contact ONE more time with the lost client and ask.


It’s not easy.  Especially if you’re making the phone call yourself.  Human nature compels us to be positively reinforced.  Who ever truly believed when you broke up with someone, the words “It’s not you, it’s me.”   When you heard those words, you knew it was you.  If it wasn’t…you wouldn’t be having that conversation.  The same thing applies as a business owner. Relationships are still just as important and it’s still upsetting to see one end.


Ripping the band-aid off can be as quick and painless or slow and painful as you want it to be.  But either way, it needs to come off.  Some people will refuse to answer, and hurry off the phone.  But I promise you, more than a few will take the time to answer your questions.  GOOD customer service in this day and age is a relic.  Those of us that go out of our way to serve our clients (or potential clients) will be greatly rewarded.


We’ve won back clients because of our quest for betterment.  It shows that even if we didn’t get the job for whatever reason, we’re still interested in finding out where we fell short so that we can constantly improve.


If it’s economics and/or competition, there’s really not a lot that you can do about it.  If I’m only off the competing quote by a small margin, I can normally make it worth it for the client.  But if I’m pricing way above someone else that doesn’t have the experience or skills that we offer, lowering our prices to match them ultimately DEGRADES our services.  It would be like Morton’s Steakhouse lowering their prices to match Outback Steakhouse.  The meat may come from a cow, but that’s where the similarities end.


If there’s a lack of connection it’s important to remember something.  90% of the time IT”S NOT YOUR FAULT!  As a race, we don’t always get on with each other.  It happens. You’re not going to be lovey dovey with everyone that walks through that door.  Is it tough when you’re rejected?  Of course it is.  But when you’re in the business of being in business…you can’t take it 100% personally.  It’s something I struggle with and always will.  Rejection has a way of making us strive for bigger and better things.   The day I stop taking things personally on some level is the day it’s time to find something else to do for a living.


What are you thoughts?  We can’t get better without your feedback!