A Full Service Industry

2015 brought MHP  new goals, a new business plan, and a fresh face. However, I've noticed a trend with the same question coming back from clients this year: What is a "full service" photographer? With 2016 on the horizon, I want to explain what exactly it is you are investing in when you book your session.

 I am the same person I always have been when it comes to photographing you, your family, or your event. The foundation of my business is, and always will be, the same. I am laid back, I am easy going, I crawl on the ground with your babies, I jump up and down to make them laugh, and I soothe them when they are crying. I make real connections with your family so that I can get the best images possible, I want you to genuinely have a good time during your session, I sing the ABC's better than anyone I know, and I take pride in creating this stress-free atmosphere while documenting your memories. I hand your mom tissues as your dad walks you down the aisle, I fluff your dress more times than I can count, I make sure you have eaten, and I hold your dress above your head while you pee. I happily drag a van-load full of blankets and props into your home, I rearrange your furniture and then move it all back, I rock your baby to sleep, I encourage you to nap, and I gladly clean up poo explosions. I am the soul of MHP and this is the rock on which my business was created.

A string of similarities was brought to my attention last year. Three clients in a row mentioned they never printed their images from the previous session. I provided the digital images in one form or another, yet they had no pictures. Nothing hanging on walls, nothing sitting on desks, and nothing hanging over the mantle like we discussed during the session. Two wedding clients came to me for their newborn sessions. Neither one had any wedding pictures printed, nor did they create their album like we had mentioned. A client from 2012 contacted me asking if I had a backup of her files. The CD I gave her had been badly scratched in a recent move. She had not backed up the files, and hadn't printed a single one. While my career is based on a service I provide, I must take pride in the service I am offering. If you come to me wanting portraits, then I should be offering you portraits. Until 2015, I was not giving you what you were paying for, and I apologize for this.

After months of research and development, I am able to take pride in what I am offering my clients. Not only am I offering the portrait experience, but I am offering the portrait. I have gathered products from dozens of professional printing companies and have narrowed down specific items that I love and would happily display in my own home. I have weeded out companies that do not fit my standards, and I have selected only the highest quality in materials. You are not only receiving a piece of paper. You are receiving a product that will withstand a lifetime. An item that can be passed down from generation to generation. You are receiving an heirloom.

So, in answering your question, "what is a full service photographer?", I am all of the above. I create your portrait experience, I manage your portrait experience, and I place your portrait experience on the top of my list. I travel to you, I talk you through the process, I help you measure your space and decide exactly which product is best for you, I mail your Christmas cards, and I hand-wrap and deliver your product. By the time I leave you, you have art on your walls, in your hands, and you still have images you can share with your friends on Facebook.

Megan Hile: Full Service Photographer

Cheers!

Megan

Have more questions or opinions on this topic? Start a discussion below!

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Kentuckiana's Biggest Baby Fair

Over the weekend, I participated in a fabulous local event and I wanted to share a few of the other vendors who were there with me. On a day-to-day basis, Louisville sometimes feels huge. Then you step into a room and suddenly you feel like you've seen all of these faces before. That's the feeling that makes me know Louisville is my forever home.

The event was hosted by Heartland Music Together and The Mommy Nest, a non-profit group designed to help and support local families with young children. This group is not just for play-date matchmaking and much needed adult interaction, but they also give back to our community in a huge way with their Storking program. Members are able to nominate families who may need a little extra help with diapers, grocery shopping, cards with encouraging messages, cooked meals, formula, or even just a night out. Their current goal is to help 1-3 families per month, and I encourage you to visit their site to read more about it!

Have a look at the links below. So many fabulous people, small business owners, and vendors under one roof!

I know I'm missing several of you, so if you are reading this, PLEASE comment below and I will happily add your link to the list!

Baptist Health Louisville
The Diaper Fairy
Thirty-One Gifts
Happy Family Organic Superfoods
Babyology
Birth Care Network
Intact Kentucky
Louisville Kids Fair
Heartland Music Together
Kentuckiana Babywearers
Infant Swimming Resource
Personal Opinion, Inc
CPR Solutions of Louisville
Petite Princess Parties
ICAN of Louisville
Placenta Encapsulation by Julia Pickett
Louisville Mothers of Twins Club
Milk and Baby
Full Circle Holistic
Paint It Sweet

 And now, for the goodness that you really visit for...

Follow the Leader

We all need mentors. Whether you are self-taught (like me!), or have been through years of school, you need someone to lean on. Someone to chat with. Someone who will answer your super "dumb" questions. Or, in this digital age, someone to stalk study on the web. I happen to have SEVERAL of these in my business circle (yes, I'm a very lucky lady and I am fully aware). Since I have plenty of photographers whom I follow religiously on Facebook and blogs, I have decided to share the wealth with you guys.

First up: Rachel Vanoven Photography. This woman is A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. I actually found her through another one of my favorites (to be mentioned in a moment). Rachel is a newborn and family lifestyle photographer and mentor in Indianapolis. She started out just like I did... as a mom with a camera. What I love the most about this woman is that she has built a HUGE following for her business. As in, her business is so big now that she doesn't take new clients, unless they are newborns. Also on my list of loves about Rachel is the fact that she is totally herself when it comes to her business. Her Facebook posts are often very personal, she includes her family on her page quite a bit, and I kind of feel like she's just someone I've always known (Creepy? Oh well. It's the internet.).

Second on my list of "Follow them now"s would be Oh So Posh Photography. YOU GUYS. The colors. Oh.The.Colors. Massive inspiration here. Not only is this woman a mother and a photographer, but she is also a breast cancer survivor. You should seriously click that link there and read her story. Lidia is full of passion, and in the dog-eat-dog world of photography, this is incredibly refreshing to me. Another little funky part of Lidia is that she's from Romania, so all of her posts are written in this gorgeous broken-English dialect. It's beautiful, really. Elegantly beautiful.

This blog was one of my very first to actually follow and stick with in the beginning: Natalie Norton Photography. She is based in Hawaii and everything about her work speaks to me. It's so very raw, natural, and true to life. She uses very few editing techniques and was the first photographer to introduce me to the world of lifestyle photography. I found Natalie through the Digital Photography School (this is a GREAT place to find tutorials and get answers to questions). Just like Lidia's story, Natalie's just spoke to me. Heartbreaking and powerful. And real.

Are you recognizing a trend here? All mothers. All photographers. All very real people. My kind of people.

  While I have a Facebook news feed FULL of awesome photography sites I follow, those three up there are on the top of my list. I have learned SO much from each of them. Not just about photography, but about life in general. Life as a mom. Life as a business woman. Life as a photographer.

Are you on Instagram??? Follow me! This awesome image of my city was snapped while driving. Please don't tell my mom.

Small Business Tips and Tricks

When beginning my own small business, I had NO CLUE what I was doing. My father owns his own business, so I felt I had a little bit of support in that area. But he doesn't own an art business. I was starting an art business. Come to find out, his business and my business? Nothing alike. Nothing. But he's an excellent sound board for my rambling brain (Thanks, Dad!). My brother came in next. He's an accountant (jealous?!). He was able to advise on the business taxes (PAY YOUR TAXES, PEOPLE), and banking topics (Thanks, Bro!).

MHP Blog Readers, meet Dad.

                               

                        

MHP Blog Readers, meet Bro (J-town Baby 1979)

 
But when it came right down to it, I was left with me, myself, and Google. And from there, I grew (and am still growing), a successful small business (YIPEE!). Here's what you need to know to get going:

FOCUS: Pick one subject and drive it home. If you have a talent, craft, or skill, USE IT. Don't try to start up a business doing something you know nothing about. This is an automatic fail. If you think you just want to do it because it "looks easy", DON'T DO IT. If it's not something you love and feel passionate about and think you could spend the rest of your life doing, DON'T DO IT. Take your talent and create based upon that.

EDUCATION: While you may have a special skill, there is ALWAYS room for improvement. Don't settle. I learn something new EVERY.SINGLE.DAY. about photography and the business. I strive to know more and do better. There is only room for growth in my art, and in order to grow successfully, I have to continue my education.

MARKETING: Although marketing was a topic I was highly interested in during high school, I never pursued it until I began my business. *this also falls into that category above*. I research (and still do), the best marketing strategies for my type of business. Not only did I research it, but I tested it. I once handed out 100 business cards in 3 days (I booked one session off of it and ended up breaking even on the cost of the business cards...This was a success though!). I discovered this thing called FACEBOOK! Who would have known what a success this idea was? It was PERFECT! And free (my favorite kind of marketing)! But the best marketing strategy ever? WORD OF MOUTH. By far, I have booked more successful, returning clients by simply making someone else happy. If you have a happy client, it is guaranteed they will tell someone else.

SUPPORT: This should actually be at the top of the list. I know it sounds kind of cheesy and all, but I would not be where I am today without my support system (all 48 of them!). My family has backed me 100% of the way. And that dude down there? Well, he is the one behind the scenes fixing my computer issues, raising our babies, doing the laundry, cleaning the toilet, and holding my hand through all of this. He's my rock.

                                                         

MHP Blog Readers, meet Burr.

These are definitely not the only four things it takes to run a business. And, to be perfectly honest, I find lots of new tips and tricks to implement every day. It's all in the trial and error. But if you are patient, consistent, and honest, you can grow into something pretty freakin' amazing.

“Opportunities don’t happen, you create them.” - Chris Grosser