{"id":2262,"date":"2009-11-17T08:20:03","date_gmt":"2009-11-17T13:20:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.elisalou.com\/blog\/?p=2262"},"modified":"2009-11-17T08:20:03","modified_gmt":"2009-11-17T13:20:03","slug":"key-fobs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.elisalou.com\/blog\/2009\/11\/17\/key-fobs\/","title":{"rendered":"Key Fobs"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"key<\/a> <\/p>\n

The Free Key Fobs are flying out the door so if you want to take advantage of our November Promo- act quick! Only while supplies last!<\/p>\n

Moving on<\/p>\n

I recently stumbled on these words of wisdom on PhotoDino’s<\/a> blog. It was written for photographers but could really be applied to any biz. She makes some excellent points.<\/p>\n

– Style is a voice, not a prop or an action. If you can buy it, borrow it, download it, or steal it, it is not a style. Don\u2019t look outward for your style; look inward.<\/p>\n

– Know your stuff. Luck is a nice thing, but a terrifying thing to rely on. It\u2019s like money; you only have it when you don\u2019t need it.<\/p>\n

– Never apologize for your own sense of beauty. Nobody can tell you what you should love. Do what you do brazenly and unapologetically. You cannot build your sense of aesthetics on a concensus.<\/p>\n

– Say no. Say it often. It may be difficult, but you owe it to yourself and your clients. Turn down jobs that don\u2019t fit you, say no to overbooking yourself. You are no good to anyone when you\u2019re stressed and anxious.<\/p>\n

– Learn to say \u201cI\u2019m a photographer\u201d out loud with a straight face. If you can\u2019t say it and believe it, you can\u2019t expect anyone else to, either.<\/p>\n

– You cannot specialize in everything.<\/p>\n

– You don\u2019t have to go into business just because people tell you you should! And you don\u2019t have to be full time and making an executive income to be successful. If you decide you want to be in business, set your limits before you begin.<\/p>\n

– Know your style before you hang out your shingle. If you don\u2019t, your clients will dictate your style to you. That makes you nothing more than a picture taker. Changing your style later will force you to start all over again, and that\u2019s tough.<\/p>\n

– Accept critique, but don\u2019t apply it blindly. Just because someone said it does not make it so. Critiques are opinions, nothing more. Consider the advice, consider the perspective of the advice giver, consider your style and what you want to convey in your work. Implement only what makes sense to implement. That doesn\u2019t not make you ungrateful, it makes you independent.<\/p>\n

– Leave room for yourself to grow and evolve. It may seem like a good idea to call your business \u201cPrecious Chubby Tootsies\u201d\u2026.but what happens when you decide you love to photograph seniors? Or boudoir?<\/p>\n

– Remember that if your work looks like everyone else\u2019s, there\u2019s no reason for a client to book you instead of someone else. Unless you\u2019re cheaper. And nobody wants to be known as \u201cthe cheaper photographer\u201d.<\/p>\n

– Gimmicks and merchandise will come and go, but honest photography is never outdated.<\/p>\n

– It\u2019s easier to focus on buying that next piece of equipment than it is to accept that you should be able to create great work with what you\u2019ve got. Buying stuff is a convenient and expensive distraction. You need a decent camera, a decent lens, and a light meter. Until you can use those tools consistently and masterfully, don\u2019t spend another dime. Spend money on equipment ONLY when you\u2019ve outgrown your current equipment and you\u2019re being limited by it. There are no magic bullets.<\/p>\n

– Learn that people photography is about people, not about photography. Great portraits are a side effect of a strong human connection.<\/p>\n

– Never forget why you started taking pictures in the first place. Excellent technique is a great tool, but a terrible end product. The best thing your technique can do is not call attention to itself. Never let your technique upstage your subject.<\/p>\n

– Never compare your journey with someone else\u2019s. It\u2019s a marathon with no finish line. Someone else may start out faster than you, may seem to progress more quickly than you, but every runner has his own pace. Your journey is your journey, not a competition. You will never \u201carrive\u201d. No one ever does.<\/p>\n

– Embrace frustration. It pushes you to learn and grow, broadens your horizons, and lights a fire under you when your work has gone cold. Nothing is more dangerous to an artist than complacency.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Free Key Fobs are flying out the door so if you want to take advantage of our November Promo- act quick! Only while supplies last! Moving on I recently stumbled on these words of wisdom on PhotoDino’s blog. It was written for photographers but could really be applied to any biz. She makes some excellent points. – Style is a voice, not a prop or an action. If you can buy it, borrow it, download it, or steal it, it is not a style. Don\u2019t look outward for your style; look inward. – Know your stuff. Luck is a nice thing, but a terrifying thing to rely on. It\u2019s like money; you only have it when you don\u2019t need it. – Never apologize for your own sense of beauty. Nobody can tell you what you should love. Do what you do brazenly and unapologetically. You cannot build your sense of aesthetics on a concensus. – Say no. Say it often. It may be difficult, but you owe it to yourself and your clients. Turn down jobs that don\u2019t fit you, say no to overbooking yourself. You are no good to anyone when you\u2019re stressed and anxious. – Learn to say \u201cI\u2019m a photographer\u201d out loud with a straight face. If you can\u2019t say it and believe it, you can\u2019t expect anyone else to, either. – You cannot specialize in everything. – You don\u2019t have to go into business just because people tell you you should! And you don\u2019t have to be full time and making an executive income to be successful. If you decide you want to be in business, set your limits before you begin. – Know your style before you hang out your shingle. If you don\u2019t, your clients will dictate your style to you. That makes you nothing more than a picture taker. Changing your style later will force you to start all over again, and that\u2019s tough. – Accept critique, but don\u2019t apply it blindly. Just because someone said it does not make it so. Critiques are opinions, nothing more. Consider the advice, consider the perspective of the advice giver, consider your style and what you want to convey in your work. Implement only what makes sense to implement. That doesn\u2019t not make you ungrateful, it makes you independent. – Leave room for yourself to grow and evolve. It may seem like a good idea to call your business \u201cPrecious Chubby Tootsies\u201d\u2026.but what happens when you decide you love to photograph seniors? Or boudoir? – Remember that if your work looks like everyone else\u2019s, there\u2019s no reason for a client to book you instead of someone else. Unless you\u2019re cheaper. And nobody wants to be known as \u201cthe cheaper photographer\u201d. – Gimmicks and merchandise will come and go, but honest photography is never outdated. – It\u2019s easier to focus on buying that next piece of equipment than it is to accept that you should be able to create great work with what you\u2019ve got. Buying stuff is a convenient and expensive distraction. You need a decent camera, a decent lens, and a light meter. Until you can use those tools consistently and masterfully, don\u2019t spend another dime. Spend money on equipment ONLY when you\u2019ve outgrown your current equipment and you\u2019re being limited by it. There are no magic bullets. – Learn that people photography is about people, not about photography. Great portraits are a side effect of a strong human connection. – Never forget why you started taking pictures in the first place. Excellent technique is a great tool, but a terrible end product. The best thing your technique can do is not call attention to itself. Never let your technique upstage your subject. – Never compare your journey with someone else\u2019s. It\u2019s a marathon with no finish line. Someone else may start out faster than you, may seem to progress more quickly than you, but every runner has his own pace. Your journey is your journey, not a competition. You will never \u201carrive\u201d. No one ever does. – Embrace frustration. It pushes you to learn and grow, broadens your horizons, and lights a fire under you when your work has gone cold. Nothing is more dangerous to an artist than complacency.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[401],"class_list":["post-2262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-elisalou","tag-key-fobs"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.elisalou.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2262","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.elisalou.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.elisalou.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.elisalou.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.elisalou.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2262"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.elisalou.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2262\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.elisalou.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.elisalou.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.elisalou.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}