...unless you wanna work in retail.
At my sons' school there was a Mum who worked for a major portrait studio chain. I remember her because she complimented me on my work, which was very appreciated. But then she said something that kind of struck me as odd. She mentioned that she liked my work because I seemed to know about 'apertures and stuff' and how to use it to good effect.
I came to the conclusion that in the studio setting in which she was employed, technical knowledge like that wasn't as important. The lights were set to give her a proper exposure at f8 and she just had to concentrate on wrangling the kids and getting great expressions. A difficult enough task in itself without a doubt. Both the technical and creative sides of photography usually come into play, but sometimes one has more precedence than the other.
A couple of months later when I ran into her she told me that she had decided to quit her job and set up her own business taking portraits. Good on her I thought. Following her passion. She already has the experience shooting the portraits so it should be a cinch.
But then she floored me again. She told me that her whole business plan was to sell it cheaper than her old boss had at the shopping centre. As in the kind of place that charges you $9.99 for a sitting and a free print in the hope that you'll purchase more.
More after the jump...
Those who know me well will tell you - I'm no trendsetter! I like to think I'm pretty stylish in my red Converse and jeans but I'm certainly not on the cutting edge of fashion. I leave the really trendy clothes to my two boys - Mirai and Keyra - here seen in traditional Okinawan dress on our recent trip.