It's Feature Friday! This has to be my favorite part of this blog. I love being able to associate with other artists who have so much to offer; I hope you can take something from them to help inspire you, whatever direction you might be heading. Today I have the privilege of sharing with you some great tips from an amazing friend of mine and a very talented photographer, Val Dahlin. Enjoy!!
Hi! I’m Val Dahlin! And I own Valory Jean Photography! I’m a mom of three wonderful and crazy girls and the wife of the greatest guy on earth! I grew up in Oregon, and moved to Utah after my husband and I were engaged, and we have lived here ever since. I have always loved photography, but didn’t start investigating it more until after I had my first baby. I wanted to take photos of her so that I could remember all the things that she did when she was little. I’m a terrible journal writer so photography was how I documented things. I realized that I loved it and decided to start taking photos of families and children. I had someone inquire with me about a wedding and I said yes (I honestly don’t know what I was thinking…but that’s how it all began). I have had my photography business now for 6 years. It has been a lot of hard work, but I love it so much.
Photographing weddings and families is my passion. I love all the good feelings surrounding a wedding. It’s an all day celebration of love! Who doesn’t want to be in an environment like that for a day? I love my wedding clients so much. I have made some amazing friends throughout the years who started out as clients.
I’ve recently started going to people’s homes to photograph their family. That has been so much fun! I know from personal experience that family picture day is the worst day of the year. Hahaha! It’s stressful getting everyone ready, getting yourself ready, keeping everyone happy and trying to keep the kids behaved. It’s a lot of hard work. I feel like if I photograph families in a familiar place and not worry about the posing and just focus on the family and kids and having fun, that it goes so much smoother and isn’t as stressful.
There are a lot of things I wish I had known or had taken more seriously when I first started my business. Here are a few things I wish I would have known when I first started.
The first thing is to know the business aspect of having a photography business. There is so much information that you need to have when doing so. You need a business license, pay quarterly sales tax, keep track of all your receipts and income, come up with contracts, and so much more! I couldn’t believe all the things I needed to do and keep track of to be a legitimate business.
Second, I would have invested in branding, instead of just creating a logo in Photoshop. Your brand says so much about you as a person and your photography. It is kind of like a first impression of you as a photographer. Graphic designers are able to help you create something specifically for you that reflects who you are. I’m still working on this and hoping to fine tune my brand to bring in my ideal client and for people to see who I am and what I can capture for them, even before they meet me.
Third, I would have second shot weddings for other photographers, before I ever shot one on my own. When you are a photographer at a wedding it is much different than being a guest. I shot a lot of weddings before I ever second shot with a more experienced photographer and it’s one of my biggest regrets. I think I would have been a better photographer faster if I had taken the time to shoot with other wedding photographers first.
This brings me to number four; how important my job as a wedding photographer really is. Yes, I make pretty photos and capture memories for my clients, and it helps take care of my family. But it’s so much more than that. These are the photos that your clients will show their children and grandchildren. These are the photos they will look to when a close family member passes away. It’s easy to get caught up in the day and moving things along and staying on track with their timeline, but always have in the back of your head, “What more can I capture from this moment? Are there things going on around me that they will want to remember? Is there a family member who needs special attention and time with the bride and groom?” Especially grandparents, parents and siblings. This is difficult to do sometimes, but it’s so important.
Lastly, I wish I had known about Lightroom!! Photoshop is great, and I still use it for some things. But Lightroom changed my life. Once I learned how to use it properly it cut down my post processing by half the time! That’s insane, when you are editing hundreds of photos from a wedding. It took me several years to figure out that I was spending way too much time in Photoshop. So start with Lightroom! You will be happy you did.
