NOTE:  This new series, Women and Business, will be ongoing.  Every Thursday you can expect to meet a new woman who is managing more than just a successful business and doing it well.  Make sure you come back every Thursday (or more often if you'd like) to be inspired, motivated, get ideas, and so much more.  Thanks for stopping by.  Together we can make this a wonderful series! Who doesn't love comments? So make sure to let these women know what you think, if you  have a question, say thanks, or just to say you think they are fabulous in the comments...

Next Week:  Sheye Rosemeyer  

Coming soon:  Sarah Q, Kelly Moore, Carey@Barefoot Memories, Lisa Maksoudian, Stephanie Roberts, and more talented women!

Hello Amber, Thanks so much for being a guest today...our first guest... for the new Women and Business series!

You’ve traveled quite a bit in the past year or so. What tips do you have for moms when they need to travel and have to be away from their family?

Use technology to your advantage as often as possible.

My wonderful husband takes LOADS of pictures of my children on his iPhone, and emails them to me throughout the day. This really helps me feel like I'm not even gone.

You can (and should) also use the video chat functionality on your macbook pro (because I KNOW that's what you're using :) ) to help your kids have the opportunity to see your face as often as possible.

I also prep the kids way in advance, and tell them what I'll be doing on this particular trip. If I will be seeing or spending time with people they know and love, I make sure they know that.

When I return, I share pictures and stories with them, so they have the opportunity to hear what kinds of things I was up to while I was away. All of this seems to make things much easier. My kids have been wonderfully lenient on me as I've traveled this past year.

I'm blessed to have the most supportive husband and children one could ever imagine

What 5 things have helped you the most to manage being a mom, photographer, business woman, and writer?

1. The most supportive husband in the world....and the most well-behaved children inexistence.

2. The ability to seriously multitask. (This is either a blessing or a curse. I'm uncertain as to which.)

3. Photographer's Edit... www.photographersedit.com That sounds like a shameless plug, and maybe it is, to some degree, but honestly, at the end of this past year, I looked back, and I thought to myself... if I had to edit my own weddings last year, I would've never slept for even a second. I hope other people see the value in saving themselves a load of time.

4. iChat. Allows me to be in close connection with my husband and kids when I'm gone, allows me to have friends entertain me when I'm tired of working but need to keep going, allows me to haveimmediateaccess to many important people in my life merely by a click and a bit of typing, ultimately saving me insane amounts of time.

5. A nightly hot bath. 15 minutes of quiet restores me to some semblance of sanity.

Oh, I need a number 6, sorry.
6. Cleaning lady. Second best investment of 2008 (second only to Photographer's Edit). It's outsourcing at it's most basic.

You have 2 kids, what does a typical day look like for you?

Is there a such thing as typical?

As I've said already, I have an amazing husband. Very often, (and by that, I mean almost always) he takes morning duty, so I can get an extra hour or two of sleep.

Austen goes to school 5 days a week from 8-3 and Addison is in "school" Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9-2. I have sessions scheduled a random times throughout the week, usually an average of three times a week.

Lately, I also have at least one mentoring session or baby TAG-A-LONG scheduled during that time.

It seems that there's at least one night a week (often more like FOUR nights a week) that we have evening meetings.

We have date night every Monday and family day every Sunday. We try desperately to go to the gym 5 times a week as well.

All of those things make a specific schedule almost impossible. I'm not going to lie, we eat a decent amount of restaurant food and takeout... (and Tuna Helper ;) I am hoping to change that ASAP.

I just tried to write out a schedule for you all, but I couldn't even do it, there are too many variables!

My recommendation is just be as flexible as you can. I try to stop, even if I'm working, and help my children when they need attention. This isn't always easy, but if you're working from home a lot, it's very necessary.

You are among some very well known photographers. What is the best advice you’ve been given?

I'm gonna list a few different thoughts I've learned from various different people....

My amazing husband regularly tells me to stop working and go to bed. I think "Go to bed" is probably the best advice I've ever been given :) www.photographersedit.net

 

David Jay instilled into Nathan and I the power of the web and viral marketing.www.opensourcephoto.com

I've had the opportunity to listen in on my dear friend Corey McNabb's sales meetings/bridal consultations several different times. The knowledge gained from listening to such a successful sales person as he creates a rapport with his client is priceless. I'm not entirely certain how to encapsulate his techniques in a short paragraph, but he does have a platform class at WPPI addressing just this topic. www.mcworkshops.com

Kevin Swan continually reminds me of the importance of finding "which hill you stand on". KISS wedding books stands on the "hill of simplicity", and because of that, they're succeeding brilliantly. We need to figure out where we can stand that is different from everyone else, and that's what we need to focus on. www.kissweddingbooks.com

Robert Evans reminds me to laugh at myself more. He has so much to offer on an educational level, but what I learn from him the most is that I take myself much too seriously. Life is too short for that. www.photographymentor.com

I could go on and on, we have been blessed by so many industry leaders, but I think I'm going to get the "Go to bed" advice here, any second. Those summarized statements above barely scrape the surface of what we have been able to learn from our peers and friends.

You have had several articles in Rangefinder and you’re currently working on some others. What are your tips for getting published in Rangefinder?

For me, my first article in Rangefinder was just a leap of faith. I wrote an article about something I believed very strongly in, and I sent a direct query to the editor. I don't think this would always work, but it worked that time! If you don't feel confident enough to do that, try to make a connection with one of the writers or editors, and see if they'd be willing to query an article for you!

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

Invest time. Even just moments. I don't do it enough.

And photograph my family. I don't want to look back in 20 years and wish that I had done for my family what I do for so many others.

This includes scheduling official photo sessions by SOMEONE ELSE! I didn't do this until Addison was 2 years old, and I hated myself for it.

Is there anything you wish you would have done differently over the years as a mom/business woman? If so, what? and how would you do it if you had another chance at it?

I don't like looking backward... I want to focus forward. I don't think I would change anything, because then it would be possible that I would be somewhere else right now, and I'm quite happy with where I am. I can't wait to see what the next year, and the next year, and the next year holds for us.

To read more about Amber and see her work check out the following:

www.photographersedit.com

www.holritzphotography.com

www.mcworkshops.com- for the only full workshops I am involved with

http://www.rangefindermag.com/repository/rf/articles/pdf/Nov07_64.pdf - my first Rangefinder article

The image at the top is by Rich Smith.  Used by permission of Rich Smith.  See more of his images at  www.richsmithphotography.com

All of the below images are by Amber Holritz.  Copyright 2008.  Used by permission of Amber Holritz.  See more of her images at www.holritzphotography.com