***All images in this post are copyright Bambi Cantrell.***

NEXT WEEK: Jaclyn Kaiser of The Image is Found

{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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We have a little different format today!  Click on the link below and you can hear the interview that I had with Bambi.  You won't want to miss it!  She says it like it is, with energy and so much zest for her craft and the industry.  You'll love it.  I've also included a few of the highlights from our conversation just to tempt you into listening to the whole interview.  (Let the interview load before clicking play and you'll have a better listening experience.)

Click here to listen to: Women and Business Interview with Bambi Cantrell*

(*thanks to David Perry for the quick audio edit) 

Favorite Bambi quotes from the audio interview:

 “I’m first and foremost a photographer of humanity.”

 "This is a craft.  It’s not just an accident.  It’s a profession…an artistic craft.”

 “You have to know an f-stop from a bus stop. 

 “If you have the burning desire you just do not accept defeat.”

 “I don’t look at failure as a negative thing.  I look on it as a positive experience that shows me what I’m not going to do the next time.”

 “It’s inconceivable to me that I’m not going to win.”

 “I surround myself with people that are smarter than me and better than me.”

 “My motto:  Humility over ability.  You can teach a humble person anything.”

 “There’s no secret sauce.”

 “If you wait until you have confidence you’re never going to do it.”

 “If someone gave me one 4 gig card I could shoot a whole wedding on that one 4 gig card because I know what I’m doing.”

 “I don’t concern myself with what other photographers are doing.”

”After being in the industry for 25 years what ideas/approaches do you see that have lasted?  And what has already come and gone?”

What has lasted is personalized wedding photography that is exciting.  Photography where the client really looks like they are having a good time.  Something that is really energetic and bold and striking.  What has passed is static posing and using backgrounds, the checklist of poses mentality has gone, it no longer makes sense anymore.

Photographers who have lasting value are the forward thinkers.  They’re the kind of individual who doesn’t get stuck in a mold or put themselves in a category…I’m first and foremost a photographer of humanity.

What are some of the things that you believe women have brought to the table that has changed the industry over the years?

Women have changed the industry a great deal….women bring a [different] perspective to photography.  Back when I started in the industry… all three of us women…men were very nuts and bolts.  They were very logical.  Women are very intuitive.  Women are feel-ers.  I tailored my style to being very intuitive…being visually observant to who the bride was.  I started collecting brides’ magazines in about 1992 and one of the things I started thinking about was, “how do they get brides to buy bridal gowns?”  This was a completely new way of thing for the men in the industry!

Men were thinking, “if I give the most 8x10, I’m going to get the business.”  But women don’t necessarily buy logically, we buy quite often because we think emotionally.  So I started tapping into that emotional experience.  And when I did that is what really caused my reinvention and caused me to excel as a wedding photographer.

There’s quite the influx of people coming into the industry thinking having a great camera is going ot get them somewhere and at the same time I hear you saying you need to go with your gut…

Yes, but you have to have a foundation before you can go with your gut.  You can’t go on blind instinct and shoot your guts out!  I don’t think that’s productive at all.  And it’s not art.  It’s an accident.  There’s no craft in it.  It makes photography look like an accident.  Instincts come after [technique].

How do you know when you’re ‘good enough’?

I’ve never felt that I’m good enough….

(this is a question one of you women wrote to me and I love her answer.  I didn’t want to write it here because she answers this so wonderfully on the audio…you must listen to this entire answer on the audio version of the interview…and don’t miss her first job interview story).

What should women do when photography just feels like work and I don’t want to do it anymore?  Can it be fun again?

Yes!  This is what I do. 

1. I schedule one day about every 6-8 weeks to fall in love with photography again.  A day to just go have fun.  I plan with Lori at Wild Orchids Salon.  We get together and play dressup and barbies for the day.  She brings the models in and does hair and makeup.  We play around with different weird concepts that I wouldn’t get to do with clients.  We play and enjoy.  It’s so much fun.  It’s so inspiring.

2.Make sure to listen to the interview for this idea!

3. Don’t become a sloppy photographer.

4. Learn to delegate, especially us as mothers.

5. Write a list of things that steal your joy and get someone else to do them.

6. Designate time for your family first…and then work your schedule around your family.

Do you have your studio in your home?

(If you have an in home studio you have to hear on the audio what Bambi says about an in home studio…she had one for 17 years!  She gives all kinds of great tips!)

What should women absolutely NOT do? And what should they absolutely DO? 

Here are just a few from her list on the audio interview:

1. Never say never
2. Never let fear rule your life.
3. Don’t associate with negative people.
4. Don’t waste your money on cheap equipment.
5. Don’t cut corners on your finished product or your marketing materials.

Here are some of the products that Bambi mentioned:

ProSelect

ProShow

Triple Scoop Music

Big Folio

WPPI

MEI500.com

Skip’s Summer School

WPPI Roadshow

And make sure to listen all the way to the end of the audio interview…Bambi’s got some excellent business tips.

To see more of Bambi's work:

Website

Blog

Bambi's products

***All images in this post are copyright Bambi Cantrell .***

Click here to listen to Women and Business Interview with Bambi Cantrell