Tag Archive for 'children'

Ten ways to get your subjects to relax for you

Published
by
Tommy
on January 3, 2009
in Lists, advice on photography and customer service
. 2 Comments

Ever have problems getting your subjects to relax? Here’s a quick list of ten different groups and ways you can get all of them to loosen up a bit. After years of photographing each of these, I have learned what it takes to get each to relax for me, be themselves and even smile.

The thing you have to realize is that there is no set way to get any subject to smile, but the following ten groups will explain briefly how to get those individual groups to feel less nervous when in your presence. You think you’re nervous in front of your subjects? Trust me, they’re even more nervous than you! So here we go:

1 With friends or family - Remind them of something fun or funny that both of you would remember. Conjuring up memories that have fond memories work well. For example, “Steve, remember when you threw up on grandma!”

2 With your clients - Talk to them about their work. Also engage them about their families. If you dig enough, and I don’t mean that in a weird or intrusive way, but just talking in general will get your subjects relaxed and you can usually find something to converse about that you both will have in common.

3 With you young children - Pick your nose. Kids love when you’re willing to be silly and funny.

4 With pets - The best way for animals to relax is to exhaust them before you shoot. They behave best that way, so have their owners take them for a long walk before you photograph them. This advice complimentary of Cesar Milan aka The Dog Wisperer

5 With teens - Being silly, but not too childish will work. Though I am very silly and childish in my humor and teens do tend to appreciate it. I think however do not talk down to them or treat them like they are young kids. You can act silly but don’t treat them younger than they are.

6 Elderly people - Let them do the talking. They have a lot to share and lots of wisdom. Ask them questions about life in general or about their family and then let them take the wheel and steer.

7 With very shy people - Sympathize with them. If you’ve never dealt with shyness, then you have no clue, but if you have then you totally understand. Being shy really comes down to insecurity. So don’t do anything to make your subject second guess themselves. Just compliment and get on their level and make yourself very approachable and talk a lot. Talking more than them puts the pressure off of them to do the talking and this will usually relax them and help them open up to you. Also I find it helpful to “pick” on them a little and razz them a bit. I find if you don’t overdo it, it really helps them to loosen up a bit.

8 With babies and infants - It’s not that they are nervous, rather it’s that they’re fussy and need to be relaxed. Have mom cradle and soothe the baby. Take many breaks, as many as needed and give them all the time they need, but work quick. Timing is everything and if you miss the shot, you may not get it back.

9 With uptight people or those overly concerned about their appearance - These people can be a challenge to get to relax but the key here is to go with them where they’re going. In no manner, do you want to belittle them or their concerns. To them, whatever you may think is silly or overly concerned about on their part, is still big in their eyes. And after all, that is all part of being a good photographer, caring about what’s important to your subjects. However, engaging them in conversation can diminish the amount of thought they are putting into themselves.

10 Over protective mothers - Anyone whose photographed infants and babies before will know what I am referring to. Mothers, especially first time mothers and even fathers with their infant children, can be overly concerned that you’ll hurt their child or that they might get hurt in the process of being photographed. Other concerns may be that they will become cold if their children are being photographed with their clothes off. My suggestion to dealing with parents such as this, is to reassure them that you will keep their children safe and then actually do that. Take all necessary precautions to make sure that your studio is completely safe. Also, if you are photographing a baby nude, I suggest keeping the temperature up a bit by using a portable heater near the area where you will be photographing them.

I hope that this list, while simple and to the point has been helpful and beneficial to you. If so, feel free to leave a comment in our comments section. And join us again here on Pieces of the Picture, where we post at least three times a week with helpful, motivational and practical advice for portrait photographers.

Spotlight interview with Kerry Singh of Faerytale Photography

Published
by
Tommy
on January 2, 2009
in Spotlight Interviews, advice on photography, babies and children
. 1 Comment
The creativity and beauty of Kerry's children's photography

The creativity and beauty of Kerry's children's photography

Sometimes, and actually quite frequently you run across someone’s work that really inspires you and for very specific reasons. Today’s guest is one of those people for me. She is Kerry Singh and like many of the wonderful photographers featured here on Pieces of the Picture, I found her on flickr. Her work is amazing. She is fairly new at all of this, but she is already doing amazing work.

What drew me into her work was two things. The simplicity of her portraits. The fact that they were portraits. Many today try to evoke emotion through their post production abilities and while Kerry’s got that, she does it through her lighting abilities, her composition and her manner of getting rid of the distractions. Her work is powerful. It is simple. It is emotive. It’s a breath of fresh air. And that is why she is here today to talk about her work and she has much to share with us. I hope you enjoy the interview and feel free to check out her photostream if you haven’t yet. But read this interview first!

Artful, emotive, fresh, stunning, inspirational. These are all words used to describe Kerry's work... and with good reason.

Artful, emotive, fresh, stunning, inspirational. These are all words used to describe Kerry's work. And with good reason!

P.O.T.P.: First of all Kerry, I am unbelievably excited about having you here today. You are an inspiration to me. I am sure you inspire others with your work as well. I just love your portraits so much and feel that we can all learn something from you today. So, tell us a little about yourself and how you got started in photography.

Kerry

Kerry

Kerry: I got my first digital SLR when my youngest daughter was born. She is four now. A friend had organized for a local photographer to come take some newborn pics of Imogen and when i saw the black and white photos, I thought, “Hey, I want to do this!”. My first photos were snapshots obviously and i had a real hard time understanding the concept of shutter speed and aperture and ISO and how they all related to each other. It has been a long journey. I can work the camera like I drive a car now, without thinking…but i have become quite lazy in terms of being creative. Its my new year resolution… well, one of… to be more creative!

More creative?! Wow, the rest of us have some catching up to do!

More creative?! Wow, the rest of us have some catching up to do!

P.O.T.P.: That’s amazing, you’re attitude about being creative. I think your work is so creative! Where are you from? Where do you live?

Kerry: I am originally British and used to be a high school teacher there. I taught English and Drama to 11-18 year olds for seven years before I started dating my husband who i had originally met at UNI ten years previously. Long story but when we fell in love I decided to move back to his country, Malaysia, where I have been for eight years now. I live in Kuala Lumpur presently, but we have plans to move to Adelaide in Australia within the next five years. I cant wait to get out and about in Adelaide, specifically the beaches and the countryside, to get some really cool location shots!!

P.O.T.P.: So, how long have you been a photographer?

Kerry: I would say I have been “professional” for about a year now.

P.O.T.P.: Okay, let’s talk about your work a little. You have some great processing and textures in your photography. Tell me about your thoughts and ideas behind the look you’re trying to achieve.

Kerry: Thoughts and processes behind the looks I am trying to achieve?!! Hmmm. A lot of it is just playing around. I do use a lot of actions, but not all actions work on all images. There is a lot of trial and error and if nothing works, I end up just editing from scratch myself. I find actions easy to use and don’t want to pretend I DON’T use them. I love using textures…they can really transform an image. I preferred unadulterated images when I first joined flickr, but have since been desensitized and seem only to be happy with images that are super bright or brighter than life. It’s not a very natural look but rather more attention grabbing!! I prefer to play with my own images a bit now too. But I don’t spend HOURS editing an image. Perhaps I should. I will…this year. I don’t have a conscious LOOK I strive for. But I guess there must be some kind of look/style in the images. It’s a difficult thing to talk about really - it would be like trying to describe how other people see you. What I see in my images is probably totally different from how others see them! I tend to think of my own photographs as being quite boring.

When i am doing portraits, though, I just obsess about getting the eyes in focus. As crystal as I can. I like faces too. I like to get quite close. Probably not close enough though. A lot of clients prefer to see the whole head in an image so I tend to be quite boring with my crops now. I like to shoot quite wide open too. I am pretty much mostly shooting indoors, so really need that low f stop anyway! I think that goes some way to the look my images have.

P.O.T.P.: Your small series of images where the girl is dancing in that large room where the light is shining through is very beautiful and you can almost hear music coming from the photograph is so amazing. talk about that session and what you were trying to achieve there.

Kerry: The series of images of the girl dancing were taken on the top floor of our home which is quite an empty area. The sun was setting and streaming through the window and so I grabbed my then five year old and told her to spin and spin. She was getting a bit fed up but I bribed her with something or other (probably chocolate)!! I just knew I wanted some kind of silhouette kind of shot with sunlight and I don’t get much chance to shoot outdoors here…Then when I uploaded the images I decided to play with some textures, probably mostly from Ghostbones and voila! I was quite happy with those images. It was around that time that I changed my flickr name to Lightsongs too. The name was inspired by those images!! I do have an obsession with sunsets…and evening light which is why i wanted to get those shots. In fact as I speak, there is the most amazing evening light again…where is my camera??

P.O.T.P.: Who is your typical client?

Kerry: My typical clients are kids. Or rather, kid’s mothers! I am not a full time photographer so i do not advertise, but rely on word of mouth. Some weeks are quiet and some are busy. I like it that way. I would most likely get bored and overwhelmed if it was a 6 day a week thing. I do have to be careful though as I can be a bit obsessive with the whole thing. The most important thing to me is my two girls, and there was a time when I was doing nothing but photographing and editing, and I was neglecting them a bit!! But yeah, 99% of my photos are of kids!! The product stuff is probably a couple of handbag shots. I like bags. But I don’t shoot them professionally!

Kerry has an amazing ability to make her subjects look natural, relaxed and gorgeous!

Kerry has an amazing ability to make her subjects look natural, relaxed and gorgeous!

P.O.T.P.: Do you prefer shooting indoors or outdoors?

Kerry: I would LOVE to be able to do more outdoor photography! I live in the tropics right now and there are a lot of mosquitoes plus its super humid. The outdoor sessions I have done have been murderous and you have to work super fast as the kids get fed up really quickly and end up with rivers of sweat running down their faces. Thus I tend to do most of my sessions indoors but it can become really really boring. I just spent a fortune on a puff stool to sit families and siblings on as I am so sick of seeing the same things in my photos. That is why I need to get more creative this year and also why I tend to try to focus on faces. I would LOVE to do location shoots more and incorporate the environment into the images but cant right now…Shooting indoors can be challenging regarding light. Mostly I am battling too much light or too little. I have a room with two huge windows at 90 degrees to each other - they provide a nice flat light which is good for the type of editing I do. If I want a more moody image, or have older kids/teens, I move to a side light area, for example, one window so there is some shadow to add depth. I try to keep my aperture around 2.8 or smaller as I have problems sometimes with focus issues! A two year old kid being photographed using a shutter speed of 125 and an aperture of 2.0 is a difficult subject to capture well!! It took me a long time to lighten up on myself. I would be so disheartened with how many out of focus shots I had! They were not out of focus, just had the focus in the wrong place!!! I am a lot more relaxed about the whole process now! I guess I am getting a bit more experienced right?!

P.O.T.P.: Yeah, I think all of that stuff comes with time for sure. Okay, what photographers inspire you?

Kerry: There are so so many photographers that inspire me. Annie Leibowitz is my absolute favorite famous photographer. But most of my inspiration comes from flickr photographers! Nichole Van was my first inspiration and I use a lot of her actions for my client work. Gosh, where to begin…I am inspired by so many. Tamara B, Mistybliss, Vaneska Thomz , Proverbs, you featured her a couple of weeks ago, ianton, oladios You seriously have to check out this girl’s work. Unbelievable. Beth Jansen, jinky (barbara uil). The list goes on. I need to discover some more varied artists. Most of my contacts seem to be children portrait photographers!!

P.O.T.P.: Well, I’m the same way! I love others who love what I love. My flickr contacts are the same way! What inspires you?

Kerry: My kids inspire me. And light. I wish I could get out into the light more. When we move to Australia my photography will change. There will more light. Color inspires me too though I never seem to get it quite right!!

P.O.T.P.: Where do you want to go from here in terms of your photographic abilities?

Kerry: I would definitely like to improve my photography a lot. I know I have a long long way to go. In fact I am rather surprised you have asked me to do this interview as I do not consider myself to be a good photographer at all. Not in the least. In fact, the more I learn, the more I realize I have left TO learn. I would like to do a lot more “fine art” type photography. When my kids are a bit older. There is plenty of time. All in time…

P.O.T.P.: That’s really interesting. Which leads me to my next question. Your images of your young subjects really seem to capture them in their natural moods, not necessarily happy. there are some sober expressions. how do you find is the easiest way of guiding your subjects?

Her young subjects may be serious, but they look natural and amazing!

Her young subjects may be serious, but they look natural and amazing!

Kerry: I don’t really guide my subjects. I just talk to them. I have conversations. And I blow raspberries a lot. The more somber images are probably of Olivia, my oldest. She is my muse!! She is a happy, silly child but for some reason when I turn the camera in her direction, she starts to pull these crazy serious faces that come across all moody! Its good as it makes for an interesting image in my mind. Her grandparents don’t like those kinds of pictures though. They prefer happy smiling ones!

P.O.T.P.: Any quick photography tips you’d like to share?

Kerry: Tips? I really don’t feel qualified to give tips! Seriously!! Oh I know. Always take LOTS of shots. I used to take an average of 600 per session. Now I try to keep it around 400. Unless the kids are particularly difficult in which case I will definitely take more!! You just never know! Another tip…for portrait photographers, always over expose a bit. Its easier to edit. Also, the LCD is not a useful indicator of what you get in RAW. I always always shoot raw. Oh, another tip!! It took a while for me to really understand the importance of this. I used to think it was a snobbery thing. But I would NEVER shoot in jpeg now. Never. Even though my exposures tend to be pretty much spot on 99% of the time, I just really like to know I have the info for every single pixel!! Anyway, as I was saying, the LCD shows the images in jpeg, I think, and thus is not a useful indicator of how your image will look once you have downloaded it and opened the file. Thus, wherever possible, i always over expose by a half to a stop.

Even her baby portraits are serious, however, it isn't hard to see that she can make them look amazing as well.

Even her baby portraits are serious, however, it isn't difficult to see how she can make them look amazing as well!

P.O.T.P.: Your dream photography assignment.

Kerry: My dream photography assignment would be to quite simply accompany Annie Leibowitz on any of HER assignments!

P.O.T.P.: Photographic rule you find yourself breaking most often.

Kerry: Not sure about rules I BREAK, there are not many. Perhaps the one about not hand holding the camera below certain shutter speeds. I have taken shots at ridiculously slow shutter speeds, though always make sure I take a lot of pics. I know i DO stick to certain rules though. Like rule of thirds and stuff like that. I also like to keep things simple. I like uncluttered backgrounds. I like to focus on faces and try to make the eyes draw the viewer in.

P.O.T.P.: I think that’s about it for today. Wow, I have learned so much and am excited about my photography again just talking to you. Thank you for the time you’ve taken with us and we wish you all the best and we’ll be looking for big things from you in the future!

Once again folks, thank you for checking us out and supporting us with your visits! We look forward to bringing more interviews with fantastic photographers to you on a weekly basis here on Pieces of the Picture. Got a suggestion? Drop us an email or here in the comments section.

Just tell us what you want!

Published
by
Tommy
on December 24, 2008
in Ask The Petersons - Q&A, advice on photography and blog news / updates
. 4 Comments

Suggestions, I’m taking suggestions!

I’m taking time today to tell all our readers that we really appreciate all the time that you guys take to read our blog and comment when you do. We spend many hours each week preparing blog posts that we think will benefit you. If you’ve read more than just a few posts, you have probably noticed that our articles are tips and advice on photographing portraits of people, that range from birth to the elderly and everything in between.

We are now nearing the end of the year and our work is slowing way down. We have time now to spend writing blog posts and spend time working and improving the blog. The number one reason we are even here, is for you! We want to write articles that you will actually read and want to read and learn from. So what I am asking today is for your suggestions. Write us in the comments section. Tell us what you are interested in and tell us what you want us to write about. Be specific. I’ve got time to invest into this blog for the next few weeks, so we’re ready to get up some great content. Also, every Friday, we’re posting interviews with great photographers. If you have a suggestion for a photographer that you’d like to see interviewed, let us know!!! We’re not afraid or too shy to ask anyone for an interview. Of course, our interviews are with family friendly portrait photographers. So come on, let’s hear your suggestions!

I realize that many times we all read articles on blogs and never think twice about leaving a comment, but I really want to encourage everyone of you to leave us a comment today. I don’t use the word please here to frequently, but today I’m asking PLEASE!

Thanks again everyone and we look forward to hearing from you soon!

Finding your passion in photography

Published
by
Tommy
on December 17, 2008
in advice on photography, babies and children
. 3 Comments
When you are passionate about the subjects that you photograph, it will show!

When you find your passion in photography, you become much more excited about photography than you already are!

How do you find your passion in photography? You ask many photographers and they say their passion is photography. However, if you ask those photographers what their passion beyond that is, many do no know or they can’t really put their finger on it. All that they know is that they want to be photographers. However, I would like to argue the fact that while it may be true that you could still have a passion for photography while not knowing what you want to photograph, you will be much more passionate about what you want to photograph once you figure out what it is you want to be passionate about in the area of photography. I used to think that I wanted to photograph everything from weddings to children, families to landscapes, seniors to commercial, greeting cards to labor and delivery, and everything else you could come up with. However, the problem with this is that when you don’t focus your efforts in one area or at least begin to narrow down your real interests, you never really become focused and an expert in your field.

I want to make one quick point however, I do suggest when you begin photographing people, trying all ages and groups and types to figure out what makes you happy and who you enjoy photographing the most. Try photographing kids and families and teenagers and pets… You get the point. Try it all until you begin to see what it is that you enjoy the most.

I worked for a portrait company for many years where my daily task was to photograph families of every age and size. A large portion of my subjects were the elderly. And while I felt that I was very good at photographing elderly people, I never felt passionate about it. However, when children would come into our studio, I felt happy and excited to take their portraits. I loved interacting with babies, children and teenagers. If they were under 18, I had a good time, for the most part. However, while I liked photographing teenagers, I realized that photographing children was my real passion. I love being silly and when dealing with children, you can be as silly as you want and they will appreciate it and laugh at you often. They, for me, are the greatest source of joy for me as a portrait photographer. And while I enjoyed my job as a portrait photographer, I realized that it was not the fact that I was a photographer that I loved so much, it was the interaction between myself and children. Photography is only the outlet that I use to interact between the child and myself.

If you are not passionate about the subjects you photograph, you may actually grow to become uninterested in photography.

If you are not passionate about the subjects you photograph, you may actually grow to become uninterested in photography.

I feel that if you want to find your passion in photography, it won’t come if your passion is cameras. If it is, consider working in a camera store. I feel that your passion will come, in portrait photography specifically, if you love people, genuinely love working with people. The real question is what people? Do you love brides on their wedding day? Do you love weddings and the fanfare? Then weddings may be your outlet. Do you love the attitude and mood of teenagers. Can you relate to them and enjoy being around them? Then senior portraiture may be just your thing. Do you love being around older people? Then perhaps specializing in senior citizens may be just the right type of photography for you. Do you love acting silly and playing with kids? If so, you might want to consider being a children’s photographer. When you figure out what you want you want to photograph, rather than just saying, “I want to be a photographer”, then you will find out what your passion is.

I spent many years just going through the motions, photographing families, older people and couples and the entire time I never realized that my passion was photographing children. I was good at all these groups but had not real passion for photographing them. However, now I spend my days photographing just the subjects that make me the happiest and that is children. I love it. There is no other group I want to photograph. Give me children everyday and I’ll be content. I would never want to go back to the old way of doing things. This is my passion. I wish I would have figured this out much sooner, but it’s okay, because I know it now. So, my suggestion to anyone trying to figure out what they want to do in photography is not attempt to be a generalist. Rather, try to figure out what it is that would make you excited to photograph every day. Is it animals, then photograph pets. Is is it kids? Then be a children’s photographer. You get the idea. Do what makes you happy. Do what makes you excited to get up everyday and photograph. It will make you a much happier and more fulfilled photographer.


When you find your passion in photography, you become much more excited about photography than you already are!

When you are passionate about the subjects that you photograph, it will show!

Spotlight interview with Sara from Sadie Olive Photography

Published
by
Tommy
on December 12, 2008
in Spotlight Interviews
. 10 Comments
The very special vision of Sadie Olive Photography

The very special vision of Sadie Olive Photography

Several months ago while browsing flickr, I ran across a photostream that caught my eye. The photographer was Sadie Olive. Her photography was cute and natural. Her subjects seemed very real and unposed yet the images had great composition, really good lighting and the overall processing gave the images a mood and feel of times gone by. I guess what I was most taken by was her unique style and her simple yet powerful take on families and young children. I was really impressed by this photographer and the consistency of her large flickr photostream so I asked her for an interview and she was so kind to agree.

P.O.T.P.: Sara, I am excited to introduce you to the readers who don’t know you. You have an interesting photographic style and an interesting area of business. Would you please tell us a little about how you got started and a little bit about yourself.

Sara

Sara

I dabbled in photography while in high school and won an award or two, but it wasn’t until I started doing graphic design work and web design in 2007 that my passion for photography blossomed.  Part of being a good photographer is of course about capturing the right moments, but it is also about knowing how to edit those images to take them to that next level.  This is where my eye for design and love of all things vintage seems to play an important role.

I run a popular online boutique selling home decor and accessories and continue to offer web and graphic design services. The name “Sadie Olive” encompasses all three of my passions; photography, design and shopping! I feel very blessed to wake up each day and do something I love, and I am also quite honored that I am able to share my creativity with others.

My design interests change about as often as the seasons do, but generally speaking my photography is influenced by my love for:

Muted Color and Subdued Tones
Aged Textures and Worn Photographs
The Comfort and Warmth of Autumn
Sunsets and the Suns Golden Glow
The Sandy Shores of the Sea
Urban Lofts and Anthropologie Style
Rusty Train Tracks and Barn Wood
Sea Glass and Tarnished Silver
Wild Flowers and Unkempt Fields

P.O.T.P.: Your work has almost a retro feel to it. I like the processing. Talk to me about your thinking behind that.

Sara: I tend to gravitate toward “vintage” style. Be it in my home décor, my clothing and yes, even in my photography. I prefer a more muted pallet and will process my images to give them that same nostalgic feel. I find that there are a lot of clients out there who love the same look I do. Although I do try not to limit myself to only one “look” in photography.

P.O.T.P.: Who is your typical client?

Sara: So far I find that young mothers are my largest clientele. I think it’s because many of them are drawn to the same styles and muted colors I am.

P.O.T.P.: What else are you involved in respect to products and services with your business?

Sara: I started my business with an online boutique selling home décor and accessories. From there I branched out into blog and web design, and more recently into photography. It’s strange but it felt like a natural progression for me.

P.O.T.P.: How do you incorporate photography with the rest of your business or vice versa?

Sara: Many of my blog readers found that I started doing photography through my mentioning it on the blog, and that has been my main source of business up to now. I do sell prints, charms, and postcards that feature my photography through my online boutique. The postcards are some of my most popular products. I also have taken product photos for other online shop owners who have contacted me after viewing that I do both photography and run a boutique of my own.

P.O.T.P.: How did you come up with “Sadie Olive”? The name certainly fits your look I think. Do customers ever comment on that?

Sara: Sadie Olive is actually the name we picked for a daughter when we were going through fertility treatments. “Sadie” because it is a nickname for Sara (my name) which also means “A Little Princess”, and “Olive” because my husband loves olives and I love old fashioned names. It also has a special meaning to us because we were married in Los Olivos. I felt it was the perfect blend of both of us. Josh and I have battled infertility for several years, and I decided to use the name we picked for my business since it would become my “baby” for awhile. Many people often think it’s my name and call me Sadie, but I don’t mind. I haven’t ever had anyone tell me the name fits my look, no, but that’s good to hear!

P.O.T.P.: Do you feel your style limits you or do you feel very comfortable with this very specific look?

Sara: To be honest, I am very new to the whole photography as a profession world, and I don’t feel limited just yet, but my style (at least in decorating and other areas of design) does change often, and I expect my photography style will evolve and change a bit too.

P.O.T.P.: Let’s talk about your lighting for a minute. It’s definitely unique to your style and is very beautiful. Do you feel that you are where you want to be with it or are you continuing to refine it?

Sara: Thank you. I have a ton of work to do to get where I want to be with this. I practice more with lighting than I do with any other aspect of photography. I have much more to learn and refine.

P.O.T.P.: What gear do you use?

Sara: I started out using a Canon Digital Rebel, but recently upgraded to a Canon 5D.

P.O.T.P.: What is your biggest challenge in photographing people?

Sara: Nerves. I still get so nervous before every shoot. I’m always afraid I won’t get any good shoots, the customer will be disappointed, or the weather won’t cooperate. I’m hoping this will fade as time goes on.

P.O.T.P.: Do you prefer to shoot on location or in the studio?

Sara: On location. I don’t have a studio, but I prefer the outdoors and natural lighting to an indoor space any day!

P.O.T.P.: Any quick tips for getting your subjects to smile?

Sara: I always tell people to fake laugh, and I proceed to show them how to fake laugh loudly. This almost always gets a smile out of them, because they think I look so ridiculous in my example.


P.O.T.P.: That’s fantastic! I will try that certainly! What are your favorite photography related websites?

Sara: Flickr. I use it as a source for inspiration before every shoot!

P.O.T.P.: What photographers have influenced you?

Sara: Denise Bovee, Mandy with Skippy Designs, Jen Gotch, I found each of these ladies on flickr, and am so inspired by their creativity and amazing captures. I also adore and admire Anna Wolf.

P.O.T.P.: Where did you grow up?

Sara: Orange County, CA.

P.O.T.P.: Did you take photography courses in high school?

Sara: Yes, although I don’t remember most of what I was taught there!

P.O.T.P.: Besides portraits, do you photograph other subject matter for your business?

Sara: Yes. I take photos of objects I see beauty in and sell them in my online boutique. Most of them are made into postcards that I design for the shop.

P.O.T.P.: What was your first paying photography job?

Sara: Product photos for other online store owners.

P.O.T.P.: Myspace or facebook?

Sara: I have both, although I can’t say I stay on top of either one. I think I prefer facebook only because it doesn’t freeze up on me as often as my space does!

P.O.T.P.: Do you ever want to quit?

Sara: Heck no! Photography is something I whole-heartedly LOVE, and am enjoying every minute of it!

P.O.T.P.: Canon or Nikon?

Sara: Canon. Although I have never used a Nikon, so I can’t really compare the two. I purchased a Canon because my husband already had a Canon with a few lenses, and I wanted to be able to use the lenses we already owned.

P.O.T.P.: Coke or Pepsi?

Sara: I’m a Dr. Pepper girl.

P.O.T.P.: What would you say would be a dream assignment for you?

Sara: Shooting for the Anthropologie catalog.

P.O.T.P.: Are you on twitter?

Sara: Yes, I am “sadieolive” on twitter.

P.O.T.P.: Do you generally work off a tripod or own one?

Sara: Yes, I do own a tripod, and use it VERY often! I take it with me to every shoot.

Well, that’s about all the time we have today. Sadie, you’ve been wonderful and I’m sure our readers will learn a lot from your knowledge and expertise!

Want to see more of Sadie Olive Photography? Check out her website!

If you enjoyed this interview, let us know in the comments section. And look for more great interviews with wonderful and talented portrait photographers every Friday. Next week a photographer discusses a very moving photograph of her grandmother.

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