Most photographers will tell you that the winter months after the holidays tend to be a quiet time of the business year. Unless your business is taking beach portriats in Tulum Mexico, during the dead of winter there isn't much going on that needs a photographer. Little leagues and prom pictures are spring. Senior photo sessions and weddings happen during the summer. School photos in late summer, early fall. Holiday card sessions in the fall. But not a lot of call for winter portraits in sub zero weather! For people here in the Minnesota we tend to hibernate a bit and focus on surviving the onslaught of winter. The quiet time allows for the independent photographer such as myself to focus on other needs in preparation for a busy spring and summer. Winter is my time to update pricing, marketing materials and plan my focus for the coming year. I wanted to write about what is going on at the studio while the winter has been battering the country.
In January the Professional Photographers of America, (PPA) has the annual photography convention, Imaging USA. This year the convention was held in Phoenix. It was my first experience with Imaging USA, so I was excited to learn new skills and to spend time talking with other photographers. I also attended to receive my Master Photographer degree. For the past few years I have been earning merits towards my M.Photog degree by scoring high at photography competitions, and speaking about pet photography. It has been a lot of work but knowing I achieved a goal few photographers ever receive has been a real boost during the winter months. During the awards ceremony the PPA gave an Honorary Master Photographer Award to Kenny Rogers. A highlight of the week was to hear Kenny and his photographer buddies talk about the places they have photographed and the celebrities that he has had in his studio. He is a great singer and a very good photographer.
Find out what's happening in Edinafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
This winter has also allowed me some time to complete some much needed rehab to my studio. It's better to shut down for a month in February than in May when I have a number of sessions and need the studio. As some of my clients know, my husband and I purchased our home studio in 2011 when it needed a great deal of work. The home was large enough to have home studio and sales space. We also love the location in Edina and, so we didn't let the prospect of a lot of work hold us back. The building was structurally sound, but needed a lot of cosmetic update after years of neglect. The Mid Century bones of the space are great - beamed ceilings and large windows - but it has been hard to overlook the old tile floors and dated cabinets. We wanted new floors that would be modern but remain in the style of the architecture. We chose Cumaru, a Brazilian hardwood, that has a nice medium brown tone that ties in with the original wood in the ceiling. And it will look great in photographs and durable for many years to come. Next week our contractor will install our floors and I'll have an updated studio for the Pin Up Pets promotion in May. I'll blog photos of the studio work when the updates are completed.
Find out what's happening in Edinafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
This winter I've been working on some other projects in the studio. I've been shooting images for competition that I will share on the blog after the final scores are tallied. I've also been doing some landscapes in the area - Edina in the Winter. I recently had an unusual subject of a bearded dragon. I've wanted to get images of some exotic animals for years and recently had a chance to capture this interesting reptile. Since I can't share other images at this time, I thought the change of pace might be fun to show off.
Lisa Asp,
