***All images in this post are copyright NicholeV.***

NEXT WEEK: Lori Nordstrom

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You are married and have three kids. How do you do it all?

Haha! I think that my husband and kids would say that I don’t do it all. Many times, laundry doesn’t get done quickly enough and dishes stay dirty far longer than they should. I do think that it helps that my husband and I both have the attitude that “we’re all in this together.” He runs the business with me, so we split parenting and household duties as well. I make dinner every night; he changes dirty diapers and cleans bathrooms. It’s definitely a fair trade! The kids have their chores as well. I even have my 8-year-old help me with client packaging and promotional materials where he can. I think that it helps that my children see the business as our family business—something that they have a stake in too. It makes them more patient and understanding of the times when I have to be away.

You are doing workshops in Australia, Europe and the US and you shoot all of the time. How do you keep things organized and running smoothly?  How do you make your travel time easier on your children?

Again, I think that my husband would say that I don’t keep things organized and running smoothly, haha. I definitely receive a lot of help and I’m not afraid to delegate anything and everything. I have a part-time nanny who helps tremendously. She comes in 2 to 3 days a week and cleans and folds laundry and does all the little odd jobs that I just never seem to get around to. I would be lost without her. She is also the person who watches the kids when we leave town to shoot a wedding or do a workshop. It’s so nice to know that my kids are with someone who I trust and who I know loves them.

Additionally, we try to take the kids with us on our trips whenever we can. Our goal for 2010 is to take the kids with us nearly 100% of the time when we have to travel. Though it adds some stress, I think that it’s a valuable learning experience for the kids to experience different cultures and see different parts of the US. And it allows us to spend even more time together as a family. My family is definitely a top priority for me.

What do you recommend women do who are just getting started in the industry?

Learn your craft. You can spend an atrocious amount of time “fixing” mistakes in Photoshop. The best way to get more time with your family is to become a better photographer. If your images out of camera look amazing, then you won’t have to spend a lot of time perfecting them in PS. I go to great lengths to ensure that my images are as perfect as possible straight out of camera. If there is snot or a stray hair, I stop the shoot and fix it. I could fix such problems in PS, but why when I can fix them while I shoot?

This also means that the magic of my images happens when I shoot, not on my computer. The gorgeous light, the blur, the pop in the eyes, the beautiful skin tones—they are all the result of my understanding of photography and my gear. The images below are all straight-out-of-camera. I shoot RAW, so these are RAW images without any tweaks done to them, truly showing exactly how my metering and light was when I took the shot. When shots look this good straight out of camera, they don’t require much post-processing work.

What does your workflow look like? What have you done to make is simple and efficient?

The best way to simplify your workflow is to improve the quality of your images out of camera. Am I starting to sound like a broken record, haha? The better your images are out of camera, the easier your workflow becomes. It’s that simple. It seems that people are always chasing the latest gizmo that’s supposed to solve all their workflow woes. In reality, the best workflow solution is good SOOC images. That will speed up your workflow more than anything.

Additionally, I have reverted my workflow back to how things were done when we all shot film. I create proofs for my clients to choose from when ordering, not perfected works of art. I create the perfected work of art after they decide what they’d like to order. So with my current workflow, I create proofs for the clients in Lightroom and clients choose the images they want enlarged from the proofs. I then go back and re-edit the image in Photoshop to create a beautiful work of art for the client. Generally, the difference between the SOOC RAW file, proof and art print of an image is quite subtle, though it can be more dramatic. It really depends on the image and the shooting situation. (See images below for examples).

In addition, I show clients every useable image I take. This speeds up my proofing because I don’t have to choose what to show a client and they don’t wonder what I have. They see every image. Consequently, my proofing is extremely fast. I can sort and proof an entire wedding in around an hour.

You have a somewhat unconventional approach in your business model. How do you think that can help other women?

Well, as I’ve stated above, I show my clients every “useable” image I take (yes, I delete blinker shots and metering test images, etc.). Currently, clients pay a sitting fee and then they choose a digital package. All of my digital packages include a mid-res copy of every proof I create, as well as at least one fully retouched art print file. From there, clients can order enlargements. I offer typical mounted prints, fine art watercolor prints and gallery wrap canvases. I don’t offer albums, cards, photo jewelry or anything else that consumes my time.

There are many reasons for my pricing model. The biggest, of course, is that it’s what my market demands. My clients are scrapbookers and enjoy doing crafts; consequently, they want to make their own albums and cards and jewelry. It’s just the culture of where I live. That being said, my business model also saves me a tremendous amount of time. As photographers, I think that we tend to think in terms of how much money we make per client, not how much money we earn per hour. The more you can streamline photo editing, the more time you will save, the more money you will earn, the more time you will have with your family. And as I stated above, perfect SOOC images are the best way to streamline your editing.

You were recently featured in Rangefinder magazine and you are speaking at WPPI this year. It seems like the last couple of years have been a flurry of activity for you. What have you done to become so sought after and recognized?

Uhmmmmm, well, I think that there is a certain amount of karma to everything that has happened. I don’t think that there is a recipe for such success. That being said, I sat down about 3 years ago and decided to get my name out there. So I started submitting to international print competitions and really studied my craft to learn what made an award-winning image. Winning WPPI’s International Portrait of the Year award in 2007 was a huge honor and really jump started everything else, I feel. Since then, I’ve continued to learn and do well in international print competitions, proving (at least to myself) that I’m not just a “one-hit wonder.” Again, I think everything boils down to really, thoroughly understanding photography. The greater your skill set, the easier it becomes to make fantastic ideas in your head a reality.

You give quite a few workshops that I imagine are largely attended by women. After having the chance to see up close and personal the struggles that women have in our industry,

1. What is something that you think women in the industry should not do?

            Feel complacent, helpless, resigned!

2. What is something that you think women in the industry should do?

            Become angry, irritated, annoyed!

I love these questions! I see women repeatedly struggling with the same issue—too much to do and too little time to do it in. They feel that they don’t have enough time to devote to their families and their business. As women, we need to value our time more; we need to become irritated enough over unnecessary “time-sinks” (as I call them) that we do something to change them. Tired of feeling like clients don’t respect your time? Become angry! Indignant anger is a wonderfully empowering feeling! Channel that irritation into changing your policies; policies that you’re motivated to enforce. Tired of another insanely late night in front of the computer? Become angry! Use that anger as motivation to change the way you structure your business or to learn new skills that will speed up your editing time.

Change requires effort. Many times we know that we need to make changes, but life crowds in and we’re just too tired and overwhelmed to care. Anger and irritation are excellent emotions that inspire change. Often they can give you the motivation you need to take your business to that next level.

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***All images in this post are copyright NicholeV.***