***All images in this post are copyright The Image is Found.***

NEXT WEEK: Angela Anderson

{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...

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* How did you create such a strong marketing/branding presence?

            when started our business 7 years ago we had a "fake us" brand and had three years of dismal bookings and zero job satisfaction.  after our third year of disappointment we said "F" it and threw a hail mary pass...which is basically our brand as you see it today. we committed ourselves to looking outside of the wedding/portrait world for branding and image inspiration and instead looked at the brands we loved and images that actually moved and inspired us. most importantly we decided from then on to be 100% true to ourselves and let our brand and business be totally transparent.

* What does your workflow look like?  Do you outsource or keep everything in house?

            we strongly believe in outsourcing. my philosophy is that i don't want to do anything that i don't love. i use colorati for our raw processing because they are way better and faster than i could ever be ;) i delete through the wedding, give them the raw files to edit, and 5 business days later, it's back in my hands. it's brilliant! i still love (most of the time ;) ) designing and editing albums so i still do it. along these same lines, we have an intern. she handles shipping/packaging, uploading files, ringing credit cards, running errands, filing, cleaning, and so much more. if you're swamped doing stuff that someone else could easily do, get yourself an intern. all our interns have been friends (a good place to start) but you can also find one by checking out your local college. lots of students need to intern somewhere for a class credit and would highly benefit from a hands on experience.

* What do you do to help your clients be so comfortable with you during a photo shoot?

            lots of talking and laughing, little bit of shooting. repeat.

*What are you most proud of creatively?

            the ability to be consistently inconsistent. i love that two clients don't receive the same images and they give us the freedom to do whatever we want.

* You have a great style that has become highly sought after in the last couple of years.  Tell me about your style, how it came about, what you did to create it, and your thought process in making it your own.

            a huge component of our brand is applying the fundamentals of our brand to all of the images we will show on our blog, website, etc. everything we show MUST go through the filter of our brand...if an image doesn't fit within our brand, then it doesn't get shown.  everything we show is EXACTLY the type of work we want to be known for and do more of.  by showing only what we like and are passionate about, we send a very clear signal to our clients about what we do, and what we don't do, thereby attracting the types of clients that are in love with our vision.

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

            there are so many resources for people just getting started. forums, blogs, workshops, second shooting, assisting, interning. oh, and shoot, shoot, shoot!

*What do you do to keep your love fresh and fun with Nate, especially when stress may be high?

            we go on a date every tuesday :) sometimes we go all out and go to dinner downtown or go go-kart racing. other times, we just spend a few hours sitting in a restaurant talking. it doesn't really matter what we do or where we go, just some time away from the kids and the business is all we need :)

*What do you do for fun…that has nothing to do with photography?

            i love to cook. we recently became vegetarian so i'm learning all kinds of new things to cook. i also play the piano (it gets all the stress out) and i'm a big fan of good tv. it's always sunny in philadelphia, lost, 30 rock, the office, project runway and so many more :)

*What are you most proud of as a business woman?

            i am so proud of the fact that i have a successful business and two kids and have not gone crazy :) in all seriousness though, right now, i am most proud of our shootshops. i love that we have the opportunity to teach other photographers and help them progress with their images and their businesses.

*You have a gorgeous studio, tell me about that process and what made you decide to get a retail space?  What did you do financially to make that leap?  Has is been worth it?  In what ways has it been worth all of the effort?

            i love our studio! having a place to go to work helps me leave it there when it's time to go home. for me, just that's worth the money. we actually started with a much smaller studio that cost about $300 per month, and back then even that was a huge leap for us!  the monthly investment in that studio quickly paid off though, with a higher percentage of clients booking, those clients booking higher packages, and our portrait sales increasing because we had a place to do sales sessions.

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

            other photographers. whenever we're booked, we refer potential clients to photographers in our area and they do the same for us. it's a great way to get work and make friends :)        

*What do you do that your clients rave about most?

            take awesome photos that don't look like all the ones their other married friends have :)

* The Image is Found is extremely busy!  It looks like you make time for fun, though.  How do you do that and not feel guilty?

            by outsourcing our raw conversions, we're able to deliver clients their images quickly so i have no problem taking a time out for some fun. last week, we took a family trip to portland. while we were there, colorati was editing 3 weddings and our intern was holding down the fort at the studio.  we also only take a limited number of bookings each year...just enough to be financially comfortable, but not so many that we go crazy and are slaves to our business!

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

            we formed a brand. oh and blogging. branding and blogging...they make the world go round.

* What do you do to keep from feeling overwhelmed?

            i'm a working machine on mondays, wednesdays, and fridays (and saturdays for weddings) and a stay at home mom on tuesdays, thursdays, and sundays. setting my life up this way was the best thing i ever did.  oh, and we try to vacation in one way shape or form at least once a month :)

* What three products or things help you stay organized?

            if you're on a mac, you must must must get "things." we use it to organize all our workflow as well as other projects like print orders, branding/design, trips, and even home improvement projects. heck even the mammoth men have their own category ;) you can set due dates, create different projects, and assign tasks to different people. this is particularly helpful with an intern because she always has a to do list.

            secondly, i'm obsessed with quickbooks. i think it's my inner high school math nerd coming out. i love how i can see where we are at financially today, last month, last year etc. it helps me keep track of how our money comes in and where it's going.

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

            care about what the rest of the industry thinks.

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

            enjoy your job...it's a good one :)

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***All images in this post are copyright The Image is Found.***