The phrase, “That’s not my job” isn’t in my vernacular, so when clients who initially hired me for design and marketing help asked if I would take business photographs for them, I took on the challenge.
Clients (typically smaller businesses with limited time and resources) rely on me to come up with solutions to their needs and challenges, and I take being able to support them seriously. Being asked to dive into photography is a perfect example of this—clients felt comfortable with me and didn’t want to hire someone else on, so I got the job. As I took more photos, more clients began to ask for that service.
Before I knew it, clients were asking for me to come in take photos as part of an overall marketing package. I don’t outwardly offer photo shoots as a stand alone service anymore—my passion and energy are on creating videos that compel and sell. After all, once you shoot moving pictures (video), still photos kind of lose a little of their magic (at least that’s how it’s happened for me)! That said, if you brought me on board to have a video filmed, and you also needed photos taken, you’ll be able to count on me—we’ll work something out.
We all have certain things about our appearance that we wish were better. I know this first hand. In high school I had mild acne that I was embarrassed about. I didn’t like having my photo taken or being in a video at all. Mercifully, today that’s not something I worry about. However, there are certain camera angles I don’t like to be photographed from, and my skin tone is so fair that people can’t tell if I am wearing tube socks or not
Because of my life experiences, you can trust that I am going to be sensitive and respectful toward some areas of your appearance that you aren’t super comfortable with either. I understand completely. Clients have often bashfully asked that I hide their physical flaws. I admire the courage it took for them to say something to me, and I am honored they trusted me enough to say something. I hope that I’ve been polite, accommodating, and most important, I don’t make it a big deal.
You can always trust that talking about these tiny physical insecurities will remain confidential. You can always talk to me. However, you don’t need to say anything to me…whether I am doing video production for you, I am photographing you, or both, you can trust that I will already know what areas you might be self conscious about. I’ll never draw attention to them (I’ll never talk to you about them), but know that I am aware of them, and I’ll do everything to minimize them.
I want you to feel great about the video and or photos I take of you, so don’t worry if your skin isn’t flawless, if you’re fitting in a size 4 anymore, if you don’t have as much hair on your head as you used to. By the camera lenses I use, the lighting I use, the camera angles I use, as well as the post production software I use, they will all be focused on making you look great.
People often say that the camera adds ten pounds. However, I can take ten pounds off.
And whether I am shooting video production for you or photographs, just know that I’ll always throw in a little Photoshop and or post production magic to make you look great. However, I’ll never tell you I did, and I never admit that I use Photoshop to airbrush and beautify photos a little.