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She Does the City on Facebook
She Does the City Music PlayerEve Traetto, Photographer
Submitted by haley on Tue, 09/22/2009 - 17:53.
1. Be confident- When you appear confident people take you more seriously. Some people will purposely try to knock your confidence but stay strong and hold your head high!
2. Keep at it! A lot of people quit before they get ahead, this is because they don't see instant success. Very few businesses take off right away, you need to build up your client base. It can take years to get your business to where you have steady income. Just keep offering the best service you can and make sure you please the clients you have so they refer you to everyone they know!
3. Look and be professional. Wear the appropriate clothing, respond to emails and calls quickly and always be polite. It can be such a turn off to see someone in jogging pants chatting away on their phone while they are suppose to be helping you.
4. Be memorable! Whatever you do, make sure people remember you (in a good way). Whether it is by wearing funky clothing, having a great sense of humor, being extremely helpful or just doing your job really well, you want people to remember you so that when they are in conversation in others, if your profession comes up, they talk about you.
5. Keep in touch! Send Holiday Greeting cards, maintain mailing lists so you can send them your latest promotions and news, for important clients, send them gift baskets. Not only will you always stay fresh in their mind but they will pass your name along.
What does a typical Thursday look like for you, starting from when you wake up – to heading to bed?
It's really hard to say what a typical day is like for me as everyday is different. Usually during the week I am either recovering from working the weekend or editing. The majority of my (on location shooting) work is on the weekends so I usually try to rest up as well as do all the pre and post production work during the week. I wake up around 8am... okay, I lie, 9am, check my emails (and my celeb gossip sites) get dressed and then it ranges from designing wedding albums, editing images, meeting with clients or cleaning the house (and all that boring stuff). I also do a lot of Real Estate photography which most of the time is during the week so on those days I would go to the location and spend a few hours photographing, and then edit them right away and create a website for the property for the realtor. I am always on the go with my other business, Sensational Weddings which helps brides and vendors connect, with this company we host Bridal Shows and hold mini events, so we are constantly meeting lots of new people in the industry!
What was your first job out of school?
I started freelancing for a magazine back home in the UK, photographing the nightlife scene in the city I lived in, which was tons of fun as I could always get my friends into great clubs and events for free. It also helped me gain confidence in walking up to people and asking to take their picture as well as helped me build my portfolio in print.
What are the 3 skills you require most to do your job well?
Patience is key. Sometimes dealing with large crowds, Bridezillas, and people who think they can do your job (Uncle Bob and his point and shoot camera) can be quite frustrating. You just have to stay calm and be confident in your own work. Editing can also be quite time consuming and repetitive.
A good eye is the key to being a good photographer. You can be taught what F.Stop, ISO and aperture are but the creative aspect is not something you can learn in a classroom or under the teaching of another photographer. It is something you just have, and no amount of training can provide that.
You also need to know all the tech stuff. This ranges from knowing how to operate the camera itself to knowing what lenses are best for what situation or type of shoot, as well as being very familiar with editing programs. Seems obvious, but quite a few photographers out there don't and it can result in shoddy work. The technology changes constantly which keeps you on your toes, you finally get the hang of Photoshop and then they bring out a new version with lots more to learn. You have to be adaptable.
What do you love most about your career?
I am my own boss, I can make my own hours, and go on vacation whenever I want! I am also able to be creative and can photograph what I want. This is very important to me as I love to travel and I would get extremely bored if I had to do the same thing over and over again day in day out.
Do you have any warnings?
To have your own photography business you really need to be very driven, be willing to invest time and money. A lot of people think to be a photographer all you need is a camera, which is untrue. You need cameras, lenses, memory, back up equipment, lights, flashes, light meters, editing programs and much more.
If you could try a different career on for a year, what would it be?
I would be a helicopter pilot taking people on tours over the Rocky Mountains!
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