Mistakes I’ve Made In The Beginning + Best Decisions Along The Way

 

As I’m approaching another anniversary of my professional career a lot is on my mind. Random things like, “What kind of cute decor can I bring into my office?” to “Which school should I get my Master’s Degree at?” And, more relevant to this post, things like, “Am I on track for this year’s goals?” and “What can I do to improve and make the most out of life?”

It’s brought me to make a list of mistakes I made when I was a beginning photographer and the best decisions I’ve made along the way.

Mistakes I’ve Made

  • Compared myself to others
    I did this when I browsed awesome websites and then told myself I sucked. It’s weird how we can bully ourselves sometimes. I had to learn to grow up and find what strengths I could offer and remind myself that life isn’t better when you overlook your own potential.
  • I didn’t make specific goals for what I wanted out of my business, especially for the years down the road
    I pretty much jumped in wildly when I first launched and didn’t really think ahead. I only knew I wanted to make a living with photography.  I could’ve used a lot more structure by creating a 5-year or even 10-year-plan to see the bigger picture (pun definitely intended). I think I spent twice as long getting to where I am now because I didn’t seek out constant guidance or write my plans in stone.
  • Listed too many things in a photo package
    I see a lot of newbies including a mouthful of things in their packages, but I did this, too, when I first started. In fact, this is exactly what I used to include in my biggest package: 10 hours of wedding coverage, an engagement session, a brag book, small photo handbag with bamboo handles or an 8×10 framed portrait, and digital negatives with shared copyright release. No joke. I made no profit that first year in business. 
  • Emailed clients in the middle of the night
    It was great that I kept up with my inbox and emailed people right away, but I lost the distinction of when I was working and when I was off work. It felt like I was working all the time. I didn’t set any boundaries for my business and that can take away from your quality of life. You can read more about this from an older post where I talk about how to avoid getting your butt kicked.
  • Said “Yes” to everything
    This sometimes creeps back into my life if I’m not careful. I was brainstorming this list with another photographer and we agreed that we used to blur the line of doing free or low-paying gigs because it was giving us experience. It’s not entirely bad to do this (just weigh out each situation), but it’s not good practice to take on every single project, especially if it’s irrelevant to the type of business you want to build. For example, I used to photograph interior homes and furniture for the extra cash, but it really didn’t lead me anywhere.

Best Decisions I’ve Made

  • Be yourself!
    There’s a better state-of-mind to be in and that’s celebrating the uniqueness of being you. If you catch yourself trying to be like someone else because their branding attracts thousands of fans, but end up forfeiting your own ideas you’re losing your own race. Think of what you like, what you want people to experience while they’re with you, and build your business around that.
  • Maximized social media tools
    Back when I first started Facebook wasn’t popular and Twitter didn’t exist, but I had Myspace and was a Blogger. The ease of sharing photos within a network of people I knew, kind of knew, and didn’t know at all and for a cost of nothing was perfect marketing. Nowadays there are plenty more opportunities to connect with a community and share your brand and work.
  • Made friends with professionals and creatives who cared about good work ethic
    I believe the crowd you surround yourself with can significantly impact and influence the decisions you make. Much of the things I consider as accomplishments were initiated through conversations that sparked big ideas and were followed through because of their support, guidance, and mentorship.
  • Wrote personal thank yous to clients and collaborators
    I make sure that everyone I work with gets a handwritten note that tells of my gratitude for them. A business is nothing without its happy customers that hear they’re appreciated.
  • Took risks, the scary ones
    Everyday you run your business is a new opportunity to bring something good to the table. I never really know if every idea I have is going to work out, but if they’re sound and have a good reason behind it I give them a try. For instance, I thought my move from L.A. to Visalia was going to hurt my business, but I ended up moving into a downtown office and have traveled more for work out-of-state than I did when I was living in a (way) bigger city. In fact, last year was the best year my business has ever had! With the risks I took I was able to shape my business into something that fit my lifestyle, but it cost me to sacrifice comfort and convenience.
  • Constantly kept my website updated with new work relevant to my brand (just added!)
    Maybe I’m a little obsessive, but I think it’s important that the work you share represents the work you want to do. I make it a point to redesign and change out my portfolio every new year. Is it worth all the time I put in? As Napoleon Dynamite would say, “Heck, yes!”

You’ve got only one life! Go after the biggest dream you can think of, because if you don’t do that and, “aim for nothing you’ll hit it every time.”

P.S. My business turns 6 next week! What fun things can I do to have you celebrating with me?

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Liane Tominaga – Music Video

 http://youtu.be/80G55vcLxGs

This was my first time exploring the making of a music video. I had a lot of fun working with Liane and playing around with (very) basic video techniques. I filmed this with a Canon 7D, 24-70mm lens and edited this with iMovie along with You Tube’s 1960s video effect.

Liane drove up from L.A. and spent a few days here in Visalia for the shoot. It took us three days to get all the shots, but the majority of the shoot was done in one day. I treated the session almost like I do with my photography clients: chat and conceptualize, build an inspiration board (or in our case, a storyboard), shoot, eat a lot of yummy food and have some time for play.

Thank you to The Lunch Box for letting us use their cafe, my dad for letting us borrow his car, and my friends for being extras in the video!

You can download Liane’s song Helpless on iTunes  http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/liane-tominaga-ep/id389223093

 

Visit her website at: www.lianetominaga.com

Thanks for watching and sharing!

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Sprouse Family

 

 

This was my last family session of 2011. Kate (of Sugar Me Portland) wanted to give a special Christmas gift to her in-laws and knew that getting photographs made together would be a unique bonding experience. So glad to have documented their first family photo session!

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Goals for 2012- Cheers to a new year!

Happy new year!! There are a couple of things I’ve been working on this month to improve the visitor’s experience on my website. Check out the new front page of my site!

 

www.jenmayphotography.com

 

This month I’m launching new features for my clients that I’m really excited about. One of which is a private tracking page that will allow them to view how they’re moving along in the different stages of product completion, something that’s particularly useful for my wedding and design clients. I’m also working on a comprehensive virtual guide for prospective clients to see what’s included in their experience with working with me. Kind of a like an interactive show room!

And like some folks I’ve started thinking about what I want out of the new year and what I can do to get there. I pulled up my goals that I shared last year and crossed out what I actually accomplished. As you can see below I didn’t get to all of them (insert excuse here), so I’ll be carrying it over into this year.

  1. Publish a photo book
  2. Bike around town more than I drive around town
  3. Create a trilogy of photo series involving: 1) family  2) friends  3) strangers I meet
  4. Establish a forum between photographers and NPOs
  5. Plan a family vacation
  6. Create more, buy less
  7. Travel nationally and internationally at least once
  8. Get a new DSLR
  9. Spend more time reading books than time spent on the computer
  10. Worship, seek, and love God. More of Him and less of me.

 

Here’s what I put together for this year. I did my best to not list things down that looked like something that belonged on a to-do list to keep things challenging.

 

Goals for 2012

  1. Photograph a series of strangers and of people I know
  2. Publish three more photo books
  3. Be in a band or setup a home music studio/get back into practicing music daily
  4. Learn how to speak Tagalog
  5. Get around town without a car (get a bike)
  6. Research how to start and run a social enterprise
  7. Pursue artist-in-residence programs
  8. Create more, buy less (a favorite goal to repeat)
  9. Travel somewhere new with my family
  10. More of Him, less of me (another favorite)

 

What are some of your goals?

 

 

 

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My Top 11 Highlights of the year

At the beginning of the year I chose the word “transform” to help guide my goals and perspective for the year. Looking back it truly was one where transformation took place in my business and myself.

 

 

My Top 11 Highlights of 2011

 

1. I landed my first international wedding in the Philippines where we rode in horse carriages and ended the night by releasing floating lanterns into the sky.

2. The mentioned trip above tripled as a very emotional visit back to my parent’s homeland: a bonding time for me and my mom, a time to honor my grandpa, and quality time spent with family I haven’t seen in 15 years.

JOURNEY HOME TRAILER from Jen May Pastores on Vimeo.

3. I got a new DSLR!

4. I moved my office into a downtown photo studio called Photo Menage.

 

5. Photographed a wedding that was televised for Oprah Winfrey Network, a show called “Don’t Tell The Bride.” (I haven’t blogged the full-post for this event yet, coming soon!)

 

6. I participated as a Thirst Relief Mentor, raising funds to give 21 people clean water–for a life-time–via Thirst Relief International.

 

7. I started a SMUG in Visalia, the first and only SMUG  group representing central California.

Photo by Michael Alvarez.

 

8. I visited my best friend Nadia in Philadelphia. We bonded over cheese steaks (a lot of it), biked along the Schulkill river, and toured the Amish land.

 

9. My family had our first ever photo session!

 

Photo by CJ Hopper Photography

10. I organized the biggest Help-Portrait L.A. team yet that gave away over 400 free portraits to the community with nearly 200 volunteers!

 

 

11. My grandma moved to my home for a few months, and I gave her her first studio photo session.

 

and one more…for the new year!

12. I had the most successful year my business has ever had! Not only that, but I had the most out-of-state weddings and got to reunite and spend time with wonderful old friends and stellar new ones. Truly amazing.

of course, an honorable mention: I spent the majority of my birthday on a plane traveling to North Carolina to shoot a wedding. I arrived there late at night at the airport, was greeted by the groom and his groomsmen (during their bachelor party), and while we were in a fast-food drive thru to get me a shake they sang me “Happy Birthday”. It was all too good!

 

May your 2012 be the best year yet! Add on quality time with those who you love, pursue what matters, and don’t go a day without giving thanks.

 

P.S. A shout out to my favorite vendors/collaborators this year:

- Smug Mug
- Look and Sound
- Showit
- Pinhole Press
- Photojojo
- BorrowLenses
- Blurb
- Bay Photo Lab
- Accucolor Imaging
- Photo Menage
- The Lunch Box

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