**All images in this post are copyright the last 40 percent.***

{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.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...

IN 2 WEEKS:  Carrie Cook

You can check out the rest of the series by clicking here. Tell a friend!
 

Brianna,  You are an amazing woman in the way you see and write about the world.  I love your regular posts that include a break down of the week and the funny, inspiring, and real insight you have into family and business life.  You are adept at pulling the meaningful out of the mundane and appreciating the beautiful in what others would pass without noticing.  Your work pushes your own limits and the ease with which you and Ewan conduct life and business is fantastic.  Thanks so much for being on Women and Business today.



How long have you been a professional photographer?
How did you and Ewan come together and create your photography business?

These two answers so go hand in hand. In 2002 I met Ewan. We were in the same philosophy class at The University of Western Ontario and were both pursuing teaching as a career. Ewan always told me that if he won the lottery he would be a photographer instead of teacher. I honestly think he was going to work in education just so he could have summers off!  He kept talking about how he would pursue photography full time if he won the lottery so I encouraged him to just do it. Just live his dream. In August 2004 we were married and in December 2004 we shot our first wedding together. In 2005 we shot 25 weddings. The following year we were both shooting full time together and photographed 50 weddings.

I took some time off from shooting while having our daughters (Rachel and Sarah Elizabeth) and only worked in the office. I came back again alongside Ewan this year and love every minute of it. It’s amazing how easily we work together.


Are you in a retail space or home studio? What made you decide to have retail space?

When we first started the business we were living in a 2 bedroom apartment and met clients at their homes. With the move to full time we bought our first home and gutted the 2nd floor, running the business from there. In 2010 we made the investment in a studio outside of our home.  While we loved working from home (the convenience, no commute) we knew it was time to take the business outside. Our girls were getting bigger (and louder) and required more room. Our boudoir business was continuing to grow and we wanted a permanent place to shoot these sessions instead of booking hotel rooms and using client spaces. And we needed a permanent space for mentor sessions and teaching.

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

We have an awesome team who make our business possible. Ewan and I work full time in the office (and shoot). Rebecca is our office assistant and works full time at the studio with us. Ewan and Rebecca’s duties include loading and backing up photos, culling images, editing images, sorting, choosing photos for blog posts. I answer emails, phone messages, do all client meetings, organize time lines and wedding day details, design albums, fill print orders, write blog posts and take care of all administrative tasks. Yaira is our associate photographer and assists in the office part time. Sara is a part time office assistant and helps with culling images and general administration. We have two assistants who rotate at weddings with us. And bring on one co-op student each year.

All of our post production work is done in-house. It’s taken us a few years to perfect the perfect work flow, but we’ve finally found it!

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

We have a lot of interaction with our clients from day one. The average bride emails me 50+ times, so we get to know our couples really well before the wedding day. And we do an engagement session with all of our couples before hand too. This helps us to get to know their personalities, see their style, how they interact together and if they’re shy/nervous in front of the camera. It’s kind of like a trial run for the wedding day.

When I first meet a bride and groom we look through full engagement sessions and weddings together. We chat about our style and what to expect during a shoot. Because our style is unique we also set expectations about sitting on the ground during a shoot, being adventurous and trusting our vision. Our main goal is for the couple to have fun!

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

Meet other people in your area. Network. Meet vendors. Ask questions. And get involved. When Ewan and I started out we were young (only 21 and 22). We didn’t know about any online photography forums, workshops, mentor sessions or networking events and everyone in our local industry was 25+ years older than us. I’d suggest going to local photography events and getting to know other people in your area. Don’t be afraid to meet people, ask questions and get involved.

Set goals for yourself. Where you want to be six months from now, 12 months and 5 years. If you have a clear vision of where you want to go, you can set out a plan on how to get there.

Also, be realistic. You need more than a passion to be successful in this industry. Learn about running a business and the administrative side of things. Knowing how to make a business ‘run’ will allow you more time to do what you love : take photos!

You are a mom, what do you do to keep from being a stressed out mom and have fun with your kids?

Sunday is family day. No ifs. No buts. Every Sunday is designated as a no-work day. We sleep in. When the girls wake up they crawl into bed with us and we watch cartoons. Read books. Eat breakfast in bed. Then we go out and do something fun together. Sometimes we go on a picnic. Or to the park. Storybook Garden (it’s like a kid’s fun park). The beach. The Children’s Museum. Anywhere fun where they can just be kids. I’m also a master of lists and have at least 2 or 3 on the go at all times. This really helps me balance everything that needs to get done and prioritize things. So when we go home at the end of the work day I can leave everything behind and pick up on the list again the next day. I refuse to work in the evenings – that time is just for Ewan and the kids. It did take me a long time to learn how to ‘turn off’ work, but it really helps me enjoy family time and keep a balance between work and home.

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

I love reading! I loved reading growing up as a kid and even went to school for English, Language and Literature. One semester I took 6 English courses all at one and actually thought it was fun to have to read so many books (yes, I’m a dork). But reading for pleasure helps me escape busy days and escape into a different world. I also love cooking. During our off season (after the kids have gone to bed) we love to open a bottle of wine, make a fresh meal and listen to some good music. I’m always on the hunt for new recipes.


What do you do to keep your marriage fun?

Honestly, we get asked how we work together 24/7 at least once a week. But we really are best friends and have learned how to separate work and home life. At work we’re business partners. At home we’re husband and wife and mom and dad.  We have a weekly date night for just the two of us. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, but it’s a set night each week where we do something special. We’ve been doing this since our oldest daughter was born and it’s always Thursday night. Sometimes we rent a movie. Sometimes we go to Chapter’s. Or Starbucks. Or for a walk. Just sit on the back deck and talk. Play a board game. Go out for dinner. Anything. As long as it doesn’t involve a cell phone, internet, computer or the words wedding or photography.


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

We always make our relationship with our couples beyond just showing up on their wedding day to take photos.  We want them to feel like they can come to us for anything – vendor suggestions, etiquette questions, sharing their dress choice with us and helping with their planning (I love when our brides send us photos of their shoes!) This is their first time planning a wedding, but we do this 365 days a year, so we really encourage them to involve us in their planning. We want our couples to have a great experience with us from start to finish and feel as stress free as possible with all of their planning.

You are a mom , how old are your children? What do you do to help them feel part of your business life?
We have two girls – Rachel is 3.5 and Sarah Elizabeth is 22 months. We try really hard to separate business and home life, but want our girls to know what we do for a living too. We’ve had picnics at the studio before so that they can see where we go every day. Recently they watched Ewan from far away while he photographed an engagement session (and loved it!) We also run into past/current clients all the time in public because we’re from a smaller city. So the girls are always meeting people and we make sure to explain how we know them/the connection.

You and your husband run your business together. How do you divide the work?

You might laugh at this, but we have a board. We have designated roles in the business and have a giant white board in our office. The work flow is divided by each step and there are deadlines listed for each step. Ewan knows he has to have job X done before X date. And then I know the next step needs to be done by date Y. This works really smoothly and makes sure nothing gets missed or overlooked.

How do you keep from making each other crazy?

We laugh a lot! We have a lot of fun together and are both realistic people. We know that some days are going to be long and hard work. Some days are going to be easy and a lot of fun. We talk to each other all day long at work and are still talking at 11pm at night. Typing that now I realize that maybe we are too talkative of people 

How do you keep business from invading your personal lives together?

Honestly, it’s sometimes hard in the busy season. I’m not going to pretend it doesn’t because sometimes you just can’t help but ‘take work home with you’ when work is crazy.  And I think that’s okay. Sometimes you need to vent about your bad day, even if you spent it together. We do have date nights and refuse to work during ‘kid time’, but it does happen where there are nights we start working again after the kids go to bed. I’m pretty sure I’m not alone in saying that.

What do you do to keep your family strong?
We have a lot of fun with our kids. We have random dance parties in the hallway. One day painting pictures turned into full body painting. We bake. We go for walks. Watch silly cartoons. Play dress up. Let the girls give me silly hairdos. Make faces at the cats. Make huge splashes in the bathtub. Build forts. And make shaving cream beards. We really try to let our kids be kids and have fun together as a family. I hope when they’re all grown up that they look back on their childhood and smile 

Do you travel very often? How do you make this easier on your children? How do they feel about how often you travel?
We just started taking destination/distance weddings again this year because we were busy popping out babies! We only accepted 5 of these away events for 2011 to test out being away from the kids. I’m not sure if we’ll take more in years to come or cap at 5. For now it’s a good number.

What do you do to keep from feeling overwhelmed?

Lists and the board in our office.  I also keep a notebook beside our bed because I have always been a light sleeper and get most of my ideas at night time. This way I can just jot things down and get them out of my head. I usually remember what my random scribbles mean in the morning, but not always 

What three products or things help you stay organized?

To-do lists. Notebook. Big board of deadlines. And a giant calendar that’s colour coded (again, realizing that I’m a dork!)


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

Don’t be a superhero. You’ll just end up burnt out in the end. If you need help, ask for it. If you’re too busy to take a booking, say no. If you can’t promise a due date on an item, don’t promise it or you’ll just disappoint. There are only so many hours in the day and we need to remember to allot some of that time for things other than work. Don’t forget to give yourself some time too!


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

Meet other women. We’re all in the same boat. Lots of us are moms or wives and trying to juggle different roles. It’s good to know that other people out there are wearing the same hats as you. I have a colleague (and friend) who is a mother of 5 and her kids are all older than ours. I love knowing that she’s likely been through every single strange mom moment that I have and I can ask her anything.

I love the way you see the beautiful, sweet, painful, humor, good, bad, etc. in your life. What do you do to help you see those moments and appreciate them?

In our wedding vows Ewan and I talked about loving each other through the sour and the sweet. I think about those words all the time and try to remember them in our day to day life. We need to experience the sour sometimes so that we’ll appreciate the sweet.

We often get asked what our business name means and the answer is that it comes from Ewan and I : you only show so much of yourself to the outside world and you save the special details for the person you love (the things that no one else would ever even see or notice). But those are the things that make you who you really are. So, you only show 60% of yourself to the outside world, but it’s the last 40% that counts.

We try really hard to enjoy those little details and quirks. That’s what makes us us! Every night Ewan and I ask each other what our favourite parts of our day were. I love to remember/notice little things that no one else would ever think twice about, but that really make our family who we are. Like how Rachel only has freckles on one of her cheeks, not both. The way Sarah Elizabeth sleeps with two identical teddy bears, but seems to know the difference between them. How Ewan sets our alarm a few minutes before we actually need to get up so that we can cuddle in the morning. Driving with the windows down. Picking flowers in the park. These are things that I try to freeze in time and hold on to. They make us the Phelan family.

What five suggestions do you have for women who are trying to have a more whole, content and blissful life?

Eat well. Sleep well. Take care of yourself. If you don’t take care of yourself, you can’t take care of anything else or anyone.

Dream big. Live fully.

Give back when you can. Remember all of the people who helped you out when you were just starting and do the same when you get to a place where you can.

Laugh. A lot. Even if it’s at yourself.

Take notes. So that when you’re 80 you can look back and remember what you were feeling throughout each stage of your life.



A little dorky chunk of info about us from our blog :

He only wears black belts. Not brown. He was a Chef in another life. He loves Star Wars. Sci-fi novels. And sports movies (Rudy, Rudy, Rudy). He won’t drink milk unless it’s in a bowl of cereal. Or mushrooms unless they’re on a pizza. Gives the best bear hugs. Uses his hands instead of a measuring tape. Hates taking out the garbage. Loves cleaning bathrooms. Thinks watching our girls play together is the sweetest thing on the planet. Has an infectious laugh. And tells the best knock knock jokes. Meet Ewan.

She likes the colour blue. But always prefers to wear black. Has a slight obsession with shoes. Loves to wear jeans and a pearl necklace. Still sleeps with a teddy bear. Gets a refill at restaurants and never drinks it. Only ever paints her toe nails silver or red. Is fiercely proud to be Canadian. Hates the word bologna. Loves the word onomatopoeia (Sizzle, whoosh, swish). Story time with the babes. Super long showers. And thinks mail time is the best part of the day. Meet Brianna.

So, that’s us. A random mix of Lucky Charms and Fruit Loops all in the same bowl. We love our family. We love each other. And we love what we do for a living!

To see more of Brianna (and Ewan's) work:

Our studio

www.lastfortypercentblog.com (our main site)

www.lastfortypercentboudoir.com (our boudoir site)