Vendor Feature - Good 'Ol Fashioned Party

Its time for our first Vendor Feature and up today is an interview with Good 'Ol Fashioned Party owners, Heather and Kelly. 

Website: Good 'Ol Fashioned Party

Facebook: Good' Ol Fashioned Party

How long have you been in business?
Our website went live in September 2012, but we began working on our business plan early in 2012. So many times when working on a project,the planning becomes tedious and mundane and you can't wait to finish the planning and get started already. But I have to say that from the minute we conceived the idea of doing this, throughout the research, the networking, the meetings, and the creating it was a joyful process. And our excitement and love for this business has only increased with each and every event that we have been involved with.

What made you start Good ‘Ol Fashioned Party?
Kelly, my daughter got engaged early in 2012. Kelly and Jed had a very clear idea of what they wanted for their wedding and it involved a very vintage look. Therefore, we began early that year to haunt estate sales, vintage stores, and auctions. As our amazing collection grew, we knew that the items that Kelly needed to make her dream wedding come true would be perfect for other people wanting that vintage, shabby-chic feel for an event. My 20 year sales and marketing career with Warner Bros. was winding down and I had always dreamed of owning my own business. So, you might say it was in the cards to launch Good Ol'-Fashioned Party. We had the time, the desire, the creative spirit, and some perfect inventory items to start our business. And the rest is history!

What is your favorite part of owning your own business?
Honestly, what I love most about owning my own business is the industry itself. We have met so many amazing vendors, clients, venues, and other business owners. The event industry in Colorado is a very welcoming, helpful, and friendly group, and we have gotten some really helpful advice and support from so many people. Far and away, though, we have loved the families, couples, and corporations that we have worked for. Our 2013 events were all amazing and perfect, and the people that we met will always be a part of our business—they live on our website!

Since there are 2 of you, what are your primary roles in the business?
Although we have quirky titles, I think that our roles are very well defined, and Kelly and I work incredibly well together. Kelly is Director of All Thing Creative—she has the vision. Kelly will take a very abstract idea from a client and in a short amount of time expand it to every element of an event. My title is CEO—Chief Event Organizer. Drawing from my corporate event experience, I do the detail work of flawlessly pulling off the event. What has been interesting for both Kelly and I is learning how to work together as mother and daughter, and how her creativity rubs off on me and how Kelly has developed a great eye for organization and attention to detail, so our responsibilities are really interchangeable.  

Who is your ideal client?  Who inspires you in your design?
Our ideal client is someone who has a vision for their special day—that vision may be just a hint of an idea or a full-blown plan—and is looking for some help to pull it all together. We use our experience and creativity to make every aspect, every detail, a special and unique element a part of the whole. We are quirky and whimsical and our inventory for the most part is vintage, but we have worked with just about every style imaginable. We are inspired as our clients tell their stories, plus we're constantly using Pinterest as a repository for ideas and visions.

Describe the process of working with you.  How would a couple interact with you from start to finish?
We usually start with a phone call and a discussion of what services they are interested in—and many times even the couple isn't quite sure yet. Next, we will arrange an informal coffee meeting to get to know the couple, what their vision is, and how we can fit into their special day. Many times in that meeting we will share vendor suggestions, as in most instances we are one of the first contacts after securing a venue. (We've also done Day Of services with a 2 week notice, so this process can be very flexible.) We will be as involved as our clients want us to be, including helping with DIY projects, creating event timelines, running rehearsals, creating sitting areas, connecting with all vendors, and working with the wedding party. We are Girl Fridays when it comes to events. 

For fun:
What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?
Kelly had the Coaches Scoop ice cream truck at her wedding—it was her husband's one request—so I'd have to say 30 flavors.

Where would you most like to travel?
A better question might be, "Where would we not want to travel??" My daughter inherited my wanderlust. My husband and I recently went on a tour of Spain, which included my friend's wedding in the hills above Malaga, and Kelly and Jed took their extended honeymoon in the fall to Paris, where they spent 2 glorious weeks immersed in the culture and spirit of Paris. We are planning Italy and Greece for next year and in between a historical trip to Savannah and Charleston.

Kelly in Paris with her husband Jed

101 Goals in 1001 Days

For many people, setting goals can either be a challenge or an opportunity.  If your brain doesn't think in a streamlined way, you may get bogged down in the steps needed to accomplish a goal.  If you like checking things off a list, it might be a bit easier.  To help us all with our business goals-setting the Betties is holding their very own workshop on February 12!  Simply visit the 'Events' tab in our Facebook group for details!

But in addition that, I'd like to challenge you to turn setting goals into an opportunity by creating a 101 Goals in 1001 Days list for yourself.

The concept is not new, simply google 101 Goals in 1001 Days and you'll get post after post of people doing the very same thing.  I myself first came across the concept on two photography blogs I follow, Kern Photo, and Melissa Jill Photography.  Seeing two obviously successful photographers STILL setting goals for themselves was motivating to me just starting out.  It made me realize the power of thinking about what I want and finding ways to keep myself accountable as I worked to achieve them.  I started my very own list that same afternoon.

Now for a list of our own, here on the blog.

Reasons why a goals list and a goals challenge are good for photographers

1. A list of goals is a great way to hold yourself accountable (yes, I know I said that already). 
By identifying thing that you want to accomplish (and writing them down), you are one step closer to actually accomplishing them.  And they don't just have to be photography related.  Put some personal goals on the list too--a trip you've been dreaming of taking, a meal you're dying to make, a financial planning class you've been putting off for a year--anything!  The point is to think about it, write it down, then go back and reference your list periodically to remind yourself  of the awesome things you want to do. Then find ways to go about doing them!

2. Your list gives you something to blog about.
I think many photographers struggle with the blogging part of their business, especially when starting out.  You may not have a consistent stream of clients to create posts about, but that doesn't mean that you should let your blog lapse when you're slow.  Analytics say that blogs that frequently update (at least twice a week) rank stronger with SEO in search engines, AND you're more likely to maintain a continued readership.  Plus, in a market that is saturated with photographers, your blog is a great way to put your personality out there for perspective clients to get to 'know you'. 

Blogging about your list is a great way to kill two birds with one stone--you can increase your content stream as you accomplish and check off goals, and you let your readers know more about who you are and what kinds of things you like to do.  Win win!

3. It gives you an excuse to practice your photography.
Plan to not only blog about your goals, but provide photographic proof of them.  Maybe you don't think that 'Organize my 10 boxes of photos in a logical order' would be very fun to photograph, but challenge yourself to think creatively about how to best capture it.  Try new angles, pick a great backdrop, try a macro lens--find different ways to view a boring subject and you'll be sharpening your photographic skills for your actual paying clients.

4. You never know who you'll meet in the process.
Part of the fun of creating this list is to share it with others and to share your experiences as you check things off.  Do any of your friends have a list themselves?  Do any other Betties?  Make it a point to share your list with people and take a look at the lists of those you know.  See something on their list that you're good at?  Offer to help!  Maybe someone will do the same for you.  At the end of the day you may accomplish a goal a lot faster than you would have on your own and you might come away with a new friend.

So what do you say Betties?  Is anyone up for the challenge?  if you've already created a list, or if you're dying to give it try, post your blog link in the comments.  Lets see how we can help each other out.  I'll start!  You can see my list here.  Also, you can use this link to easily calculate your end date for your goals.

Member Feature - Lisa O'Dwyer Photography

Its time for another member feature!  Introducing Fine Art Film Photographer, Lisa O'Dwyer!

Name: Lisa O'Dwyer

Website: http://www.lisaodwyer.com

Instagram: http://instagram.com/lisaodwyerphoto

facebook: cebook.com/LisaODwyerPhotographer

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/lisaodwyerphoto/

Google+ : https://plus.google.com/b/111027669733700044246/+LisaODwyerPhotographer/about?hl=en

Genre of Photography: weddings mainly, but love portrait commissions and landscapes too

What's your 'photography story'? (How you got into photography, how you decided to go pro, etc): It's a long story! I have always been interested in art and history, and very nostalgic. My aunt and uncle were artists and lived a bohemian life in Pittsburgh. I always enjoyed going to their parties and listening to jazz music, and watching their slideshows of the places they had visited around the world. When I was in college, I studied Art History & Fine Arts. I took a B&W photography course and used my mom's manual film camera from the 70s. I really loved the magic of creating the image, developing the film in the darkroom, and making the prints. I ended up studying abroad a year in Europe and bought a nice film camera to take with me (1998). I loved taking photographs of the people and places I saw. When I met my irish husband while teaching in Japan in 2002, i was still a film shooter. I ended up moving to Ireland with him in 2003 and couldn't find work in Art History. I started my own photography business in 2006 with a digital SLR. I shot about 50 weddings with the digital cameras and then realized it wasn't my style. I had always hated Photoshop and missed shooting film. I went back to film in 2011, and started using it professionally in 2012. I am so happy now with my photography! Film just fits my style and personality! I feel at home with it and feel it is the best tool for my vision. I moved to Fort Collins in July 2013 and am looking forward to shooting Colorado weddings!

Tell us about your very first shoot: My first professional shoot was a wedding in Ireland. I had a friend who knew someone who was getting married. They hadn't planned on hiring a professional photographer. She mentioned I was going to start my own business and her friend hired me to shoot her wedding. So I jumped right into it! In hindsight, I should have assisted a professional photographer first so that I knew how the day would unfold and where I would need to be. I have some beautiful bridal portraits from that wedding as the bride was very elegant, modern, and a beautiful Japanese woman! Of course, I tried to make the photographs look like film (wedding was in 2006). So glad I did because the shots look timeless to me. Unlike some of the weddings I shot in 2009 when I played around with "digital filters"!. Those look very 2009 to me.

What 3 words best describe your style? Classic, timeless, artistic

What do you find most rewarding? I love that I can create art for my job! I love being able to give a gift of an heirloom…something that they will treasure for generations to come.

What do you find most difficult about being a photographer? Creating beautiful imagery in crappy light! Light IS photography. A photograph is only possible when the aperture of the lens is open and the shutter opens to expose light on film (or a digital sensor). Poor lighting is the enemy of photography! 

What websites/blogs do you visit often? I'm a nerd. I read books and love museums. I like social media though. I love Instagram!

If you could go anywhere and photograph anything, where would you go and what would you shoot? I would always choose to stay with my family and photograph my boys as they grow up. My dream was to photograph a wedding in Italy, and it came true! I get to photograph one in Rome in July 2014!

If you could be photographed by any photographer, living or dead, who would it be? Tough one! I love Julia Margaret Cameron. She photographed women in a subtle beautiful way. If I won the lottery, I would fly John Dolan here for a family session. He is a film photographer from Ireland, but based in NYC.

What one tip would you give a photographer starting out in your field? Assist a real pro whose style you love! And study about business! Taking photos is only about 40% of this job. You need to make a profit to continue to have this career if you want to last more than 5 years.

If you were stranded on a dessert island with only one camera, lens, and accessory, what would you hope they would be? My OM-1n camera which is totally manual and so I wouldn't be worried about batteries dying or getting it wet. I would have the 50mm 1.4 OM Zuiko lens. I love this length and I love the look of the old Zuiko lenses. They are very sharp, but atmospheric at wide apertures. I guess a lens cap for the accessory? Or lots of Fuji 400H, Portra 160, and Kodak Tri-X film!

Member Feature - Rhema Faith Photography

Introducing Rhema Peterson of Rhema Faith Photography!  This Month's featured Bettie!

Name: Rhema Peterson

Genre of Photography: Weddings, Engagements, Seniors

Website: www.rhemafaithphotography.com

Facebook Site: www.facebook.com/Rhemafaithphoto

Tell us about your very first shoot:

I actually didn’t even own a camera for most my first shoots. I borrowed my friends dads camera and took her Senior photos as well as a few photos of a group of friends. This was actually before I lived in Mexico. 

If you could go anywhere and photograph anything, where would you go and what would you shoot? 

I would love to go to India and photograph the people there. Really I would love to go EVERYWHERE and photograph people in their culture. I am extremely intrigued by Joey Lawrence who has some awesome documentaries about him photographing people groups. I don’t think you can honestly do the photography he does and not have your life changed by every person you photograph. Check him out! http://www.joeyl.com/ 

Also I am inspired by Steve McCurry and his portraits for national geographic.

What websites/blogs do you visit often?

Katelyn James blog! 

What do you find most difficult about being a photographer?

Comparing yourself to others work/skills. And trying to balance owning a business and having a life!

What do you find most rewarding?

Knowing that what I do makes a difference! I get to capture fleeting moments for my clients. Moments that mean the world to them! Its an incredible and amazing job!

What's your 'photography story'?

I have always loved photography but the moment I knew I wanted to do it for a living was when I was 18.

I lived in Mexico for a year after I graduated from high school. I was in the airport heading back to mexico after break waiting in a SUPER long line, The lady in front of me was editing wedding photos on her laptop while we were in line. We started talking and she said she was headed to Mexico to meet with her husband to photograph a wedding together. Something sparked in me! I knew that’s what I wanted to do! 

What 3 words best describe your style?

Real, Fun and Romantic! 

If you were stranded on a dessert island with only one camera, lens, and accessory, what would you hope they would be?

Canon Mark III, 50 mm 1.2 I try to be pretty low maintenance when I shoot, so I don’t even need the accessory! Ha!

If you could be photographed by any photographer, living or dead, who would it be? 

Oh man, this one is hard. Either Nate and Jaclyn from The Image Is Found mostly cause they are so fun and creative or Benj Haisch.

What one tip would you give a photographer starting out in your field?

Second shoot for someone before you shoot your own weddings and don’t worry about competition. Just be gracious and generous to other photographers!

Expanding your skills with Off Camera Flash

Looking to expand your Photography Skills?

This is the time of year when most of us photogs are busy spending all of our time thinking about the upcoming photography season.  Here in Denver, it's cold outside and many of our clients are just getting over the Holiday Sticker shock.  Many of us are also looking how we can further our photographic skills and expand our knowledge during our 'down season'.  

One thing that I've noticed lately is the increasing trend of "Natural Light Photographers" in our industry.  It is a wondrous thing to have that amazing, perfect light beaming down from the Heavens at just the right moment during your session.  However, more often than not there will not be perfect light.  We are all faced with lighting challenges, Photography is after all the art of capturing light!  One way to expand your photographic vault of knowledge is to learn how to control your lighting environment by adding off camera lighting.  

View fullsize

                                                                 www.SavannahChandlerPhotography.com

What is Off Camera Flash?

Off Camera Flash, or OCF, is the practice of using lights that are strategically placed to enhance the outcome of an image.  It is a common misconception to think that using any light source that is not "natural" will make your images look a certain way that is undesirable.  In fact, learning how to harness light will allow you to create some amazing images and can enhance your ability to differentiate your brand from others.  

There are many different tools available to us photographers in terms of off camera flash, from utilizing your speedlights to standing strobes and constant lights.  Each photographer will find some tools more useful than others, but try out all your different options!  

In Studio Off Camera Flash

                                                                              www.BrookeSummer.com

For those photogs who shoot regularly in a studio setting, you are probably used to the idea of off camera lighting.  Many times, the light coming into the space we've selected for our sessions isn't optimal (or there may be no natural light coming in).  To enhance your images indoors, try playing around with standing strobe lights with a modifier to help get images with soft, even lighting.  

For example, Brooke Summer of Brooke Summer Photography chose to use an Ailen Bee Strobe for these beautiful boudoir images.  The look she achieved is not over "flashed" or unnatural looking but instead very natural and flattering.  By pointing her strobe against a white wall and indirectly bouncing the light, she has created a nice, even light in her first image.  The same strobe was then used in a different manor with an Octabox modifier (a large softbox in an octagon shape) to achieve a the lighting similar to that of an exterior window.  

In a studio setting, understanding modifiers is just as important as the light source being used.  A modifier will allow the light to be evenly distributed (such as a soft box) or to be directed in a very specific manor (honeycomb grid).  Without modifiers, your light will "spew" out into your work space and is not easily controlled.  

                                                                             www.LisaODwyer.com

Lisa with Lisa O'Dwyer Photography takes a different indoor approach with very directional off camera lighting.  For this specific look, she places constant lights (such as a video light) on a stand with no modifier. 

Utilizing Off Camera Flash Outdoors

                                                                          www.Adore-Photography.com

The thought of using additional lighting outdoors is quite foreign to many photographers, a common thought being that your images won't look natural.  This outdated theory will only diminish your ability to get the images that you're after!  Adding off camera flash outdoors allows us to achieve a multitude of looks and feels.  If the lighting situation that you find yourself in is one where the exposure bracket between your subject and background is incomprehensible, add some light!

Shannon of Adore Photography was able to capture a beautiful image that looks very natural with both her subject and background properly exposed.  This would not have been possible without the addition of off camera flash.  She simply used a small pop of flash from her speedlight off camera to lighten her subjects with some fill light.  

Using off camera flash outdoors can be very tricky and time consuming.  Shooting by yourself with off camera lighting can prove to be most difficult, but is definitely achievable!  Investing in some heavy duty light stands and a form of transmitter/reciever (such as a pocket wizard or popper) will be necessary.  In situations where you don't have much set up time, such as a wedding, speedlights are usually the preferred form of off camera flash.  There are modifiers available for speedlights as well, so you can manipulate your lights just as with studio strobes.  

                                                              www.SavannahChandlerPhotography.com

Savannah with Savannah Chandler Photography utilized a speedlight with a modifier, a shoot through white umbrella in downtown Denver.  

Night Photography with Off Camera Flash

                                                                   www.RhemaFaithPhotography.com

We've all been stuck in that situation, photographing in the dark!  This is an obvious place to use lighting, but many of us have resorted to utilizing just our speedlight attached to our cameras.  Venture out into the world of off camera flash for your night/reception photography and you'll be amazed at the results.  

Using just your speedlight can be a fine solution when we have a white ceiling to bounce off of, but that is not usually a realistic situation.  For example, Rhema with Rhema Faith Photography was in a beautiful setting outdoors for this couple's first dance, but there is no wall to bounce off of and directional light from a flash attached to your camera can make your images look very flat.  Rhema used two 600RT speedlights (which are very nice, because you don't need a remote trigger with this specific speedlight model).  She had one speedlight on her camera and had an assistant hold the other light on a stand as if it were a boom mic.  Using this combination of on and off camera flash, Rhema was able to capture the star-like essence of the lights set up by her bride and groom.  

                                                                    www.UrbanSafariPhotography.com

Ashley with Urban Safari Photography utilized a similar technique with a combination of on and off camera flash for this image.  She placed the off camera speedlight behind her couple to illuminate the background and create rim lighting around her subjects.

                                                                  www.UrbanSafariPhotography.com

Night photography isn't just reserved for those of us photographing weddings... Take your clients out and get creative, beautiful night shots!  Two speedlights were utilized in these images.

Get out and Practice!!

This is the perfect time of year to perfect your skills!  Grab a friend and go out of your comfort zone and experiment with some off camera flash!  Keep perfecting your natural light skills, but remember that all photographers can benefit from learning how to harness and control added light.  

Are you already a Denver Betty?  Then keep on the lookout for an upcoming workshop that involves off camera flash!  I can't give away all the details just yet... but there's lots of great stuff on the horizon!

-Savannah

Savannah Chandler Photography