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It can be oh so tempting to go out and buy the latest and greatest camera model but it’s important to be smart about it too. 1. Consider Your Budget. First of all, don’t upgrade if you don’t have the money! Plus, it’s not always just the camera body you’re investing in. Be wise in your […]

Camera Bodies: Is it Time to Upgrade?

That dreaded client question: “Hello? Do you sell the digital files?” Everybody wants the digitals. But what most clients don’t realize is how un-valuable digitals really are. But clients buy what they KNOW. And digitals are what they know. So that’s what they THINK they want. But when you flip the switch and show them […]

How Products Elevate Your Brand

With the allure of shiny new things for photorgaphers to purchase at trade shows and everyone pushing this album or that metal print, it’s no wonder photographers often try to carry too many products. The next thing you know, you are juggling dozens of vendors, multiple turn around times and client orders start falling through […]

What Products Should I Carry?

Anyone who knows me knows I’m a voracious reader. Anything- from fiction to factitious- I’m all over it. I’m not sure what it is, but reading liberates me from my day and allows me to sink into a world that’s not my own – an escape of sorts. When I was young, my dad dragged […]

The Best Business & Self Improvement Books

If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s that this business is a roller coaster of clients. Some months you have so many sessions your head is lying off its axis and then, other months you can hear the crickets for lack of the phone ringing. The stress of slow times can be […]

What To Do When Business Is Slow

Sometimes, the light you shoot just isn’t quite the light you wanted. And you sit there, staring at the image in front of you in Photoshop, wondering HOW on earth you can make it better. Well, dodging and burning is your best friend. Dodging is simply adding highlights to an image and burning is the […]

Dodge & Burn

So, I can hear you now. Julia, “What is the sibling honeymoon?” In newborn photography, we refer to the sibling honeymoon as that time period when the older first-born child is still ‘in-love’ with their new brother or sister – aka the newborn. But sometimes that comes to an end all too quickly and you […]

The Sibling Honeymoon Is Over

We live in a technology age. Anything you get in the mail is typically a bill or junk–depressing and nondescript. So, an incredible way to endear your clients is to send them a hand-signed note! This simple, small gesture can set the tone for a beautiful experience for your customer and breaks the ice in […]

The Art & Importance of Snail Mail

M. A. R. K. E. T. I. N. G. I know to some of you that sounds like a four letter word. Or at least a word that makes you want to run and hide. Really, I know! Truly I don’t blame you. It used to make me want to bury myself under my covers […]

The Easy Way To Audit Your Marketing.

As a visual artist and creative in business, one of the best ways we kill time is by checking out other people’s art, right? I’m an Instagram junkie. What an amazing place to get visual stimuli! With so many people logging in and signing up to be an insta-famous fauxtographer, how do you find accounts […]

18 Fun Instagram Accounts

One of the most common questions I get about compositing storytelling imagery is: HOW DO I GET MY SUBJECT TO BLEND INTO THE BACKGROUND? Shooting a subject in studio, cutting them out and placing them into a different scene is one of the holy grails of Photoshop skill and expertise. Students of the digital age […]

The 5-Step Acronym You Need To Composite Like A Pro

The phone rings. It’s a number you don’t recognize. Your heart skips a beat as you realize it’s either a telemarketer or a potential client who’s curious about what you offer. Which one is it? Mustering up all the courage in the world, you answer. It’s a new client. The booking phone call is one […]