*Above image of Liz by Jenn Cress.*

***All images in this post are copyright Liz Banfield unless otherwise noted. ***

NEXT WEEK: Chenin Boutwell

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How long have you been in business?  What was the process you went through to get things running smoothly?

11 years as a full time photographer.  Learning to trust my instincts made a big difference in feeling confident with decisions I make for my business. 

Are you married?  How many children do you have?

I'm married and we have two children, age 4 and almost 3.

How do you manage all of the chores, jobs, and work of running a home along with being a small business owner and photographer? 

As a business owner I'm conscious of the value of my time.  Running across town for something I can order over the internet is just not worth it. I'm also keep an account with a courier service that perform all sorts of miscellaneous errands such as picking up orders at the lab or delivering items to clients. When a task can be delegated, I try to look at those instances as opportunities to free up my time to be creative or to be thinking about the big picture issues.  There are certain chores that I consciously choose to do myself, such as shopping for the kids or cooking dinner that I give me personal satisfaction.  I prioritize and chose those things that feed my soul.    

What do you do to help your children know that you are not too busy for them?

I have scheduled activities or ongoing projects with each of my children. For instance my son and I are participating in Suzuki piano lessons which has high amount of parent involvement.  I'm there for his lessons and practice every day.  He knows he can interrupt my work for an impromptu practice session.  Also, I'm very conscientious about how often I use my cell phone around my children.  It takes willpower but I avoid checking my phone for emails in front of them and always turn the ringer off when we are out together as a family.  

Do you shoot film or digital?  How has this helped to simplify your life, studio, and workflow?

I shoot both.  My film is batch scanned when it's processed so my workflow follows a digital model.  In some ways it’s more streamlined but I still struggle with spending too much time in front of a computer screen.  I miss the days when my contact sheets would come back from the lab and I’d pull out my lupe. 

You are a commercial photographer as well as a wedding photographer.  How do you juggle both?

It can be challenging to juggle both because my clients operate in different time frames; wedding work dominates evenings and weekends while commercial / editorial dominates the traditional work day.  During wedding season, I just have to accept that I'm working every day.  When possible, I try and leave town for very short vacations -- even 24 hours at a cabin can help me refresh and recharge.  

How often do you shoot?

In some capacity or another I'm shooting a few times a week.  Big multi-day shoots, such as catalog work, come around about once a month.  I shoot about 15 weddings a year, most of them out of town.  

What do you think are the top three things you must do as a mom every day?

1. I try and present a very even, unflappable presence that helps them feel safe and secure.  

2. I look for opportunities for us to do fun things together, even if it’s coloring while water is boiling for dinner. 

3. I workout every day to help manage stress.  It's not time that I spend directly with my kids but I feel more present around my kids for the remaining family time if I've had some exercise.  

It looks like you must travel quite a bit with your commercial work.  How do you make this easier on your children?  Do they travel with you?

I travel a lot for my job, it's true.  When my son was an infant I took him and my husband along almost everywhere.  When we had a second child, this became impractical.  But I do shoot in many beautiful locations, such as Charleston, SC so we sometimes look for opportunities to extend a work trip into a family vacation.  When I travel alone I try to minimize the amount of time I'm gone, even if it means getting up after only a few hours sleep to take early flight home.  Of course the whole thing wouldn't work at all if I didn't have a great support system at home; my husband, my sister, my parents, our nanny all pitch in on childcare.  

What top three tips do you recommend to women who are trying to raise children and run a business on their own?

1. Don't try to do both at the same time.  Carve out work time and mom time and decide how much time you want to devote to both.

2. Find childcare that you love and trust completely.  In our situation, a nanny was the best solution but I know lots of working moms who have had successful daycare or Au Pair arrangements.  The key, of course, is that you 100% trust the person who is in charge of your children when you cannot be.  

3. Pick one special activity that you do with each child and make it a priority.

Do you have a retail studio space?  If not, how do you keep work and home separate with a home studio space?  Is your studio separate from your home?

I have had home-based office for many years because my shooting jobs are primarily on location and I haven't needed a traditional studio.  When my children were babies, this seemed like the best way to be around for them even though I wasn’t their primary caretaker during the day.  I always had a door, however, and I believe that was critical to the success of our arrangement.  Now that the kids are becoming a bit more independent and also I want to expand my operation, I'm opening an office / studio about 3 miles from my house.  It was really important to me that I minimize my “commute” for their sake.  I'm excited and a bit nervous about my transition out of the home.  I'm confident the new setup will ultimately be more productive, providing clear division between home time and work time.  

You’ve been published in numerous magazines.  How do you get so many features?  How do they help your business?

Magazine work is great for business branding.  I think of it like free advertising.  Consequently I make it a priority to develop relationships with editors so I can be tapped into what they need and when.  Some of the work you see published is assignment based, meaning the magazine hires me to shoot something specific, but a good portion of the work is "stock," meaning I send it in after the fact.  The benefit to my business is that by being associated with good publications elevates my own brand.  In the wedding business I find that this has the effect of a third-party endorsement which boosts my credibility with planners or clients who weren't previously familiar with my work.  

I love the way you edit and present your images.  Seemingly unrelated images are brought together to be side by side on your website.  It ends up telling a wonderful little mini story and gives a wonderful, more emotional feel to your work.  Can you take us through your mental process as you’re editing and putting images together?

I combine images by feel.  It's definitely an intuitive process that is hard to explain.  I will say that I often try to tell a small story when I combine two images.  I usually respond to how the colors relate to each other, that is a main draw, but sometimes it will be a detail like textures or an emotional theme that ties the images together.  

I believe it's very important to learn how to edit your work.  Many artists are perhaps naturally prone to show too much; which is a weakness I often see on websites and especially blogs.  I make it a point to never post more than three images at a time for my blog.  A sage art director I used to work with at Fallon told me that "the difference between an amateur and a professional photographer is that a professional doesn't show you all their pictures."  

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

Digital really opens the doors for newcomers to get into photography and I think that's great.  I think if you really want to stand out, you have to get on top of the technical aspects.  Things like metering, lens selection or post production techniques can take your work to the next level.  Even if you are getting jobs as a professional, keep pursuing workshops or night classes to advance your work.  

Also, don't underestimate the power of great marketing.  Hire someone to help you make your website and promotional materials professional and cohesive.  

What is the best thing you’ve done to make your business successful?

Recognize what you don't enjoy doing and hire someone else to do it for you.  Before I could even pay myself a salary, I hired a bookkeeper to help me with set up systems for keeping track of payments and invoices.  She comes in once a month to handle basic accounting and pay sales tax, etc. In the end she saved me a lot of time and expensive mistakes.  

What three products or things help you stay organized?

1. I absolutely love how my iPhone synchs up with my address book and calendar on my computer.  When I want to save some information I make sure it's somewhere on my hard drive or iPhone.  

2. I have two credit cards, one for business and one for personal.  I charge almost everything so that it's easier to track my expenses and see where the money is going.   

3.  For travel I always keep a dop kit packed, even if it means having duplicates of things that I use day to day (such as cosmetics or toothpaste) and restock it when I return from a trip.  That way I'm always ready to go and never have to think about it.  

To see more of Liz's work:

Website

Blog

***All images in this post are copyright Liz Banfield unless otherwise noted. ***