***All images in this post are copyright Patience Salgado unless otherwise noted***

NEXT WEEK:  Bambi Cantrell

{To nominate women you'd like to see in this series please list them in the comments-or if you have a question you'd like to see in the interviews--make sure to include your info in the comment fields so that I can get in touch with you- or write to me at: davina at davinafear dot com }

As always make sure to leave comments for the women who are featured. They like comments as much as I do I'm sure...let them know if you have questions or just to say thanks! for their insight and wisdom...

Make sure to check out the rest of the series by clicking here. Tell a friend!

Patience sent me a little piece she wrote about being a birth photographer. I've included it here as the first part of her interview.

Shooting From Your Soul

It’s 9:30pm and the phone rings. “Tonight?” He says. My husband knows this means we all are in for a long one. I nod my head and smile wondering how I got us into this crazy life. This man knows what words like dilate, effacement and placenta mean. He also knows we are all in this together because it just doesn’t work any other way. I am a birth photographer.

After years of working with young families in various roles, it was my kindness work that lead me to this love of capturing birth. Being a young mom myself, it seemed I was always gathering kids in car seats to go deliver a meal to a new mom or dropping flowers on a door of some kind soul in postpartum hell. I knew these places myself and these tiny acts brought me joy in a way nothing else did. This way of life evolved over time and became known as my kindness work.

My trusty Rebel XT landed on my lap for an anniversary present and the little camera found its way into my kindness world of babies, kids and moms just trying to make it. My camera became permanently attached to my body. I felt like I was carrying around a magic machine that could show you a secret or something you had never seen or noticed before. In about 2 more seconds, I knew birth was where I was headed. It is a place that can show women’s power and beauty like no other. I am humbled and in awe every time.

In today’s lifestyle photography world, it is a completely untapped market. We are taking pictures of everything else, why not this? Truth be told, marketing, management and business were all secondary, it was just a call from that small place inside. A call that has grown every day since. My first birth session came, my husband was out of town and 2 of my 4 children were sick. I had a momentary freak out and then like every working mother, I found a way to make it work. The birth was dreamy, the photography challenging, my kids were fine and I was hooked.

I have to tell you though, nothing is easy and I found I’m kind of having my own re-birth. Each day I’m learning and finding my way on so many levels. There are moments of sheer panic that the most important shot will be blurry, hours of questioning my skill and the lack of a fine arts degree on my resume, days spent lamenting over other people’s amazing processing. And then there are times my eye saw the perfect angle, knowing I held space for hope in the room, or seeing the quiet moment of love no one else caught. I realize I’ve been preparing my soul for this work long before I ever picked up a camera.

Isn’t this the exact place where we all are, still learning? Whether you have been shooting events for 20 years, or your first small wedding in someone’s backyard, everything gets better when we let our souls look through the lens. I am grateful to be part of a greater tribe of women in this work, claiming and seeing beauty, joy and power everyday.

Interview

I found you through the shutter sisters blog because of your birth photography work. What drew you to birth photography?

 I had been involved with young families in a variety of ways in my professional career over the years, but there is something so magical about the beginning of being. The challenge of event photography mixed with a certain level of personal and intimate connection was a great fit for me. Mostly, I believe in the power of women and birth and feel honored to be able to be present to capture it.

You have a family, how does birth photography fit into your family life?

I have four kids so it’s definitely tricky, but every mother working is probably in the same boat. Dependable babysitters, back-up babysitters, back-ups to the back-ups. I have to have a multitude of options since my work is so unpredictable. I think this might be the hardest part of my job.

What do you do to help your clients be so comfortable with you during such an intimate time?

We meet at least once face-to-face for tea or coffee usually before the birth to talk and come up with a birth photo plan. I am a trained doula so I think it helps that I am familiar with women in this stage of life and birth in general. If she is having a rough time at the end of pregnancy, I might ding-dong-ditch her. I’ll leave flowers or a note on her doorstep, ring the doorbell and run away. Its very fun and an unobtrusive way to connect. I know what it is like to be 3 days overdue and feel like a cooked turkey. My work tends to be more personal due to the nature of this particular photography and my personality.

What would you say is your best way of bringing in new clients aside from word of mouth?

Social media can be a powerful tool. Facebook, Twitter and blogs allow people to be involved in your everyday work and life. People are interested in what we do and what we capture, they enjoy knowing us as part of a large community. It is an easy way to spread the word on who you are and what you do.

Many photographers have multiple streams of income. Do you have other streams of income in addition to photographing births? What do you do?

I am a writer and kindness worker. One pays my bank account, the other fills my soul.

I write for a PBS blog with my three sisters called the Supersisters. (Link-http://www.pbs.org/parents/supersisters/) My husband and I also write on parenting for a local hip online news source in Richmond, VA called RVANews. (Link- www.rvanews.com)

What do you do to keep from feeling overwhelmed?

Oh, I must tell you I still often feel overwhelmed. It reminds me to live in the moment before me, just like birth. One contraction at a time, one shoot at a time. Knowing that what we are doing is really special and important helps me to keep going. My kind partner and friend calls me from the edge when I need it most and countless girlfriends listen to my dribble on a day to day basis.

Thank you Davina, for including me among such amazing women doing such wonderful work. I still feel so small and humbled by the whole thing. May kindness and perfect lighting meet you at every turn.

To see Patience's work:

Blog

SuperSisters (I love all of the entry's by Patience!  awesome for moms...)

More

Updated to add:

website

***All images in this post are copyright Patience Salgado unless otherwise noted***

great line up.

Thanks for checking in with Women and Business!  Make sure to check back next week.

We have a lot of fantastic women who are coming up:

Sarah Petty

Brianna Graham

Patience Salgado

Bambi Cantrell

Susan Stripling

and many others.

I can't wait!

learn. LIFE.

***All images in this post are copyright Joy Thigpen unless otherwise noted***

NEXT WEEK: TBA

{To nominate women you'd like to see in this series please list them in the comments-or if you have a question you'd like to see in the interviews--make sure to include your info in the comment fields so that I can get in touch with you- or write to me at: davina at davinafear dot com }

As always make sure to leave comments for the women who are featured. They like comments as much as I do I'm sure...let them know if you have questions or just to say thanks! for their insight and wisdom...

Make sure to check out the rest of the series by clicking here. Tell a friend!

You are a wedding stylist, how is that different from being a wedding coordinator?

well, my team can actually provide all the regular planning and coordinating services, it's just that we take the aesthetics as seriously as the logistics.

What are the three most important things you do as a business woman?

follow my heart, surround myself with the right people, and work in my strengths

What are the three most important things you do as a mother?

1. listen to my kids

2.when i'm with them i'm as present as possible

3. try to be the kind of person i want them to become

When you are feeling overwhelmed with business, what’s the best thing you think you do as a mom?

get help. from my husband, my associates, my nanny, my family... we all need each other. i can't be everything to everyone all the time. i try to determine which hat i need to be wearing at the moment (work or mom) and delegate the rest.

I love your logo, what was the process you went through to create it and your style?

thanks! well, the logo actually came from a moment of self-employmentdespairturned hope when i saw a little old-school plane doing loops out of the corner of my eye. it felt like a promise of crazy good fun that was to come. that moment along with a pablo neruda quote: "i want to do with you what spring does to the cherry trees" gave rise to my little logo.

as for the creation of my style, i guess its just been a process of looking at good work and collecting the things i like in folders in my iphoto...slowly patterns start to emerge.

What are your three favorite creative tools and how do they help you to be inspired?

one i just hinted at is my iphoto. i just gather images i see from the internet (tool number two?) and file them away and put them back together again in new ways that inspire new palettes and projects and ideas.

What are you most proud of creatively?

well, there's a shoot I did in March that will actually be published this week, i think, on oncewed.com. it was the first time i really felt unleashed. i'll include a sneak peak. there were a lot of talented people involved from all over the country and it made me feel so alive. i loved the outcome and i loved that in the process i felt, "yes, this is exactly what i'm supposed to be doing."

What do you recommend women do who are just getting a small business started?

i'm sure there is a lot of good business advice out there but i have to seek them out. so i guess my first tip is to recognize when you need help, but my biggest piece of advise is to figure out what you love to do and do it well. eventually the money will come. i really believe that we were all put on the planet for specific tasks and that when we do what we were made to do God takes care of the rest. maybe not the best business advise but it makes me happy. and that's something!

What are you most proud of as a business woman?

really, just being a business woman is enough for me to be proud of. i still feel pressure around me that i should stay home with my kids because i'm a woman. its been a journey for me to realize, no wait, i don't have to be the parent while my husband works, we can actually both be parents and both work! simple, i know, but it was revolutionary for me. so i'm just proud of myself for stepping out and doing the work i love without feeling like i'm abandoning my kids.

What would you say is your best way of bringing in new clients aside from word of mouth?

good wedding blogs. i get a lot of my clients from being on once wed.

What 5 tips do you have for women to help them maintain a balance in their lives between everything they have to do?

ooh, this is such a good topic. i don't know that i have five tips but i'll give my two cents. there is this great book called Boundaries, you could read that if you want. i just feel like boundaries are so important in finding balance....knowing when to stop working is as important as anything. there are seasons when we have to spend more time in certain areas but i think just trying to pursue balance is the best thing. if pursuing balance in your life is on your radar at all, its a good sign. after that, you just have to decide what's most important to you and make sure you live like it.

What do you do to keep from feeling overwhelmed?

remember that i have brittany now! (see below.) basically, delegate. i can only do so much and i don't have to feel bad about that. if it more than i can do it means that someone else needs to do it or it doesn't need to get done...at least not yet. its that simple. remembering that isn't always easy but life is so much better when i do.

What three products or things help you stay organized?

not a product/thing but, the best thing I've done is to hire someone to organize everything...my calendar, clients, events, everything. i'm just not gifted in those areas and when i tried to do it all, things weren't getting done as well as they should be AND i was going crazy. now brittany does all the things i'm terrible at and its cake for her! life is much better now.

What is your favorite thing about being a business woman?

my job. most days that i'm out working i find myself saying out loud, "man, i love my job!" and "I can't believe this is my life!" you can ask the people i work with. i love being surrounded by really beautiful things and excellent quality and creativity...its soexhilaratingfor me.

What is your favorite part of being a mom?

snuggling!

Are you married? If so, what is the best thing your husband does to help your business be successful?

yes. the best thing he does for my business is that he believes in me. he's the one that encouraged me most to give it a go in the first place.

What daily things do you do to keep the flames burning in your marriage?

wow. i wish i had a great answer here.... i think it'd be awesome if i intentionally did things here. but i'm still working on being kind to my husband daily. that goes a long way and is harder for me than i like to admit.

To see Joy's work:

Website

Blog

***All images in this post are copyright Joy and Garrett Nudd unless otherwise noted***

Above image by Alice Park.

NEXT WEEK: TBA

{To nominate women you'd like to see in this series please list them in the comments-or if you have a question you'd like to see in the interviews--make sure to include your info in the comment fields so that I can get in touch with you- or write to me at: davina at davinafear dot com }

As always make sure to leave comments for the women who are featured. They like comments as much as I do I'm sure...let them know if you have questions or just to say thanks! for their insight and wisdom...

Make sure to check out the rest of the series by clicking here. Tell a friend!

How long have you been in business? And how did that come about?

Garrett started photographing portrait sessions in 2000 about the time we got married. He photographed his first wedding in 2001. He and I have been working together as a team since 2003.

I worked as a registered nurse until 2005 when our first daughter, Graycen, was born. At that time Garrett was still working his corporate job in marketing and public relations. That year we photographed about 30 weddings.

In 2006 I was consumed with being a mother and supporting the back-end of the wedding business. Garrett was still working, until about 1/2 way through the year, when he finally left his corporate job. That year we photographed 44 weddings.

Since then we've worked side by side. We've been fortunate that our work has allowed us to travel around the world and experience everything together. We've photographed weddings in Norway, Switzerland, Scotland, Italy, France, Anguilla, Jamaica and many other exciting places.

You have some amazing relationships with vendors, magazines, and so many other leaders in the industry. How did you create those relationships?

Anyone who knows us knows that we're not "surface" people. Most of our relationships run pretty deep. Sometimes it feels like it takes a while to develop relationships, but once we do, they are usually lasting. We both take the approach that we'd rather have a few really close relationships than lots of surface relationships.

You have been published like crazy lately! What do you do to get published?

About 18 months ago we determined that we needed to be much more proactive about getting our work published. Garrett used to work as a magazine editor so he's somewhat familiar with what they are looking for. We sought out the help of someone who was very familiar with wedding publications specifically. Previously when we would photograph a wedding, we would do so primarily with the client in mind. She taught us that we could continue that approach, but also shoot with publications in mind. When we started doing that everything changed. Our photography changed and consequently we saw an increase in the awareness of many of our brides as they realized that adding great details to their wedding increased their chances of getting published.

It's definitely a lot of work putting things together for publication, but clients appreciate it and recognize it as one of the marks of a great wedding photographer. Each time we submit a wedding we put together a nice folder, a disk of high-res images, contact sheets, and a questionnaire completed by the bride.

You’ve just had a baby, what was the process you went through to keep
things running smoothly?

We are blessed with many family and friends nearby who helped us so much with our new addition. We are really involved with the church community so we had so many people offering help with everything from making us meals to helping watch our 4-year-old-daughter to helping clean the house. When it comes to our business, we outsource our album design and post processing so, in that repect, our workflow didn't change much. Photographers from all over the country offered help and we are truly thankful for them.

Did you take a maternity leave? How did all of it coordinate with Garrett? What things did you decide to let go and what things did you decide to keep doing?

Yes, at least mostly with shooting. I shot with Garrett my last wedding when I was almost 8 months pregnant, (most of the remaining weddings were travel). The wedding was in Washington DC and the weather so bad that it took us more than 24-hours to get there (by plane), with what is usually a 9-10-hour drive. My first passion is the business side so it wasn't hard to give up shooting. We have had an associate shooter for awhile now and he second shoots with Garrett most of the time. We had so many photographers offer to shoot
weddings with Garrett while Irecovered and eased back into being a full time mom to a newborn, it was really amazing how much help we received. I did let go of a lot of travel, speaking/teaching opportunities, working with Garrett on a daily basis at our storefront studio, and in person networking, whether it was with wedding vendors and/or photographers. Garrett maintained all of that. I kept doing what I do on the backend for three months after having the baby: making slideshows, image uploads, followup with clients, contracts, marketing, etc, by pacing my schedule and giving myself longer deadlines.

You moved from Florida to Tennessee. How did you make that transitionand get your business going in a new area?

We moved from Florida to Tennessee in the fall of 2006. Garrett had grown up in Tennessee, all his family live here and that's where he and I met in college. When we went to Florida in 2003 we always knew we'd someday return to Tennessee to raise our family. We have a great community there and a wonderful church group. Since our work requires us to travel, we realized that we could live anywhere. We met with all of our vendor partners in Florida and carefully explained to them that we were moving to Tennessee, but we were keeping our real estate in Florida and we'd be there a couple times a month.

We continue to photograph the majority of our weddings in Florida. We're up front and forward with our brides and share with them that we don't live there, but we do most of our work there. Not once has it ever been an issue. And honestly, I think they find it intriguing to "fly their photographer in."
The only challenge is that the distance between Chattanooga is such that each wedding that we photograph is essentially a 3-day commitment: two days for travel and one day to shoot. Since the birth of our second daughter, Campbell, a few months ago, I've taken a significantly less active role in shooting weddings. So Garrett has a pool of photographers that he brings with him, depending on their schedules. We've been fortunate to have been surrounded by good friends and colleagues who have come to shoot with him. All the while knowing that we'd do the same for them if ever they needed it. When it came to launching the portrait business, it was an easier transition, since we have a large church community we stayed involved with even when we moved away. We knew more people in TN than FL including some of our wedding clients and their families when we first started and are now using our portrait services with their growing families, etc.

You have a new portrait side of your business. How do you do it all??

The "new" portrait business has been such an exciting adventure. We worked on a separate name and brand for our portrait business in mid 2007 and launched the website in 2008. We came up with a name that was inspired by the traveling we did in Europe for several weddings (2007). We really focused on marketing the portrait side locally as well as in FL (our main wedding market). Our goal was to do less weddings and travel and more portraits so that we could stay home more. We moved out of our first commercial space studio and we opened our new storefront studio space last September, after spending 4 months building out the space. We had tremendous
help from family, friends, and a couple of interns we had from the university we graduated from.

The portrait brand has allowed us to forge a new identity in Chattanooga while keeping our established identity in Orlando in tact. The name is intriguing enough that it keeps people interested. The buzz around town has been really positive. And when it comes to buzz, we don't do all of it. We surround ourselves with so many supportive and encouraging people, they spread the word and create buzz for us whether its family, friends, clients, vendors, etc. When we hosted our grand opening we prepared for 75-100 people and nearly 175 turned out.

Balancing the portrait and wedding business with our growing family is sometimes challenging. As you know, the photo business can be all-consuming. We work hard to carve out time for our family, taking long weekends here or there, and occasionally accompanying Garrett when he travels for weddings to fun and exciting locations. When I do travel with Garrett, the girls stay with the grandparents. They have been amazing and gracious with all the travel we have done. We are looking into hiring a part-time studio manager as well as associate portrait and another associate wedding photographer to help keep up with the demand.

What do you think are the most important things you do as a mom every
day?

Make myself available to my girls, emails and workflow stuff can wait. They grow up so fast and I don't want to miss out on any of it. Let them know how precious they are and instill confidence: tell them how much we love them, they are beautiful, intelligent and they can do anything!

Be a good example: language, etiquette, manners, high standards, common sense, learn about charity and giving, etc. Garrett and I are raising two girls and we want them to be a part of the future generation of nice and socially competent girls!

Laugh often!

Show to our girls their mom and dad are happy and in love. When Garrett hugs me, Graycen comes running to us and wants to be a part of it. She may not understand the meaning of a happy marriage, but I know that she will remember these moments. I think if she sees that we are happy she will really appreciate it when she is older. This is a big one for me as I come from a broken family and never met or even knew my biological dad.

What three products or things help you stay organized?

1) iPhone

2) Google Calendar and Gmail (anything Google...I am now trying out Google Voice)
3) ShootQ (http://www.shootq.com)

What 5 tips do you have for women to help them maintain a balance in
their lives between everything they have to do?

1) Have a mentor- its a must!

2) Outsource the work you do not enjoy. For us its album design and post processing...and bookkeeping.
3) I live in two worlds: church world and photography world. It really helps keep me sane to have friends from church, college, and within the community. we can talk about our kids, life in general, and be involved with non-photography ideas and projects. Its nice to not have to talk about whats going on in the photo
world everyday. That would be too much. And its also good to have photography friends who understand what its like to run the business, and talk shop.
4) Excercise: Yoga, Pilates, Aerobics... I hear it clears yourmind and its good for you ;) Its something I need to do more of!
5) Ask for help. You can't do everything especially those of yourunning a business by yourself. How will you have time for your family? if you do not work with your spouse or another person, ask for help (family, friend, etc) or hire someone whether it be an intern, part-time person, etc.

To see more of Joy and Garrett’s work:

http://www.garrettnudd.com (weddings)

http://www.garrettnudd.net (blog)

http://www.cobblestonerue.com (portraits)
http://www.twitter.com/joynudd
http://www.facebook.com/joynudd

***All images in this post are copyright Joy and Garrett Nudd unless otherwise noted***

*Below Family images by Amber Holritz.

.

**Image of the Nudd family on the bed by Tina Wilson

We have a lot of great women lined up for the Women and Business series.  I'm really excited about our features over the next few weeks.  Because we're getting into the busy time of year, for a lot of photographers, interviews are taking a little longer to be completed. 

Some of the interviews coming up:

Joy Nudd

Susan Stripling

Kara May

Me Ra Koh

Carey Schumacher

Bambi Cantrell

For this week make sure to check out the whole series here.