One thing photography has taught me is that you can never stop learning new tricks of the trade and yes, you can teach an old dog new tricks. In an industry that is peppered with new technology and techniques on an artistic fast track, it's helpful to split up the uncharted and swap answers much like a grade school vocabulary assignment. If we weren't constantly learning and evolving, we'd all still be posing the wedding party for 6 standard shots, snapping a photo of the cake, and calling it a day.
Networking and exchanging ideas is a key player in what keeps our art fresh and makes our photos pop. Ed Davis and Sandi Korshnak of Your Pixel Perfect Studio in Moscow, PA have been one of many contributors to our continued education. We met at a photography workshop in Oklahoma and our networking has truly paid off. Aside from learning the importance of throwing away old 'to-go' coffee cups to avoid mistaking them for a new one (Ed), we've been charmed by their inventive ideas like bringing a photo booth to a wedding shoot. How whimsical and fun! In an effort to stay current and share our network, I've interviewed our friends at Your Pixel Perfect. Here's what Sandi has to say:
How long have you been a photographer?
We opened our doors in 2007.
How did you develop your photography into a business?
We took online courses because we both worked night shift at the time. We were on a rotating schedule 4 on, 4 off, which made it difficult to do classes at a school somewhere. We did this for 2 years while we introduced ourselves to the marketplace, bought equipment and backup equipment in preparation of becoming full time, which we did July of 2009.
Tell me about your favorite experience as a photographer.
Honestly, I just love getting to be the person who captures the memories that someone will cherish for a lifetime; whether its someone getting married, or a newborn's first photo, or a family hanging out together at their favorite place. I love the fact that in 50 or 60 years, someone will be holding one of my images in their hands, telling a story about it.
What is your favorite tactic to getting clients to relax?
For little kids we just talk to them at eye level. High fives and silly faces or noises work too. Since we work as a team, one of us plays with the child, the other shoots. When the kids are older, Ed does the "girlie poses" and we talk to them and joke around with them. For adults, we just act like ourselves, and I can usually get them to pick on Ed with me. If these don't work, we threaten to make them ride the rocking horse til they smile. The thought of being on that usually makes them laugh.
How do you separate your business photography from your personal? Do you still have time to shoot for you?!
That's a tough one. Sometimes we are so consumed with the business end, trying to get new business or trying to do something for our current clients that we forget to shoot for ourselves. We try to schedule some fun shoots. We go through Model Mayhem, or sometimes just post on facebook that we are looking for models.Most of my shooting for myself ends up being snapshots on my phone.
What is the strangest thing you have been asked to photograph?
A body laying on a table in a funeral home. haha. We did the still photography for a film company who was doing a web series for Nickelodeon. The show was about a girl who lived in a funeral home. She could see the dead people, and had to help them fulfill their last deed so they could move on. It was shot in a real funeral home. One of the actresses had to play a dead girl, so she was on the table with her dead makeup on.
Check out Your Pixel Perfect' s blog http://yourpixelperfect.blogspot.com/ and website! http://www.yourpixelperfect.com/
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