Contenplating

I don't feel as though I spend enough time in school learning as much as I can about portrait. I mean to say that a really enjoy class at Owens and the instructors and peers. Its just most of the concentration is on shooting products which is fine, but not enough is spent on areas in portrait. Every class that I have had has been very exciting (except B&W) I gotten a lot out of set designs, working as a team, learning lighting techniques   and how to use my camera. But when I comes to shooting people (which I enjoy most I haven't gotten enough out of it yet. Learning Photo shop and manipulation has come in handy. Without it I think my imagines wouldn't be as good as they are. I would really like to be able to shoot most of my images with out manipulation or as little as possible.
What I have learned is that although my main focus is portrait, I am very good at set designs and shooting products even thought it is not my focus. I feel good knowing that if I had to shoot a product I could and its going to turn out damn good!

Possitive vs Negative

Positive vs negative which one are you? What an inspiring article to read. I got in to photography to express my visual arts and to capture to the natural beauty that people have though a camera lens. I think that enjoy photography so much is because I’ve always had the desire to create. But honestly my drawing and writing frankly just suck. I can’t even draw a stick person without messing it up. So when the author said he went to a convention of photographers and found several shooters that were will to talk about their work and share ideas and not be afraid that someone what going to steal their Ideas or intrude into their business was great. Mainly because these photographers really enjoyed being photographers. They got into it not to compete on line or to show off what they could do to others. Because they had a passion for their work not the dollar. Sure I want to make money to live and do   things I enjoy. But when I snap a picture and capture the essence of beauty on the other side of that lens I come alive. Not even thinking about how much money ill make or if my picture is better than yours, but the true passion I feel at the end of the day is what matters most to me.

Quizs and Sef Evaluations

Starting a small business as well as my own business is going to be challenging. What I learned is while serving as a manager in the retail sector for the pas 25 plus year is that I have developed a awful of a lot skills necessary to run a small business. Although I don’t plan to hire any employees, I have developed the skills to me a leader. To train and motivate others to get the job done. I know that there are areas that I need to work on. For instance, I have never been to a seminar or running a small business. I have never ran a small business and had to depend on my business to pay the bills and support my family.

However the similarities between being a manager of a retail business are quite the same. Customer contact, making phone calls, planning your day as well as driving the business are skills I feel as though I have to be successful.

Where I lack is in the self-discipline category.  I know that I’m it’s going to take some planning and sacrifices with my spending habits. I need to also be more organized when it comes to record keeping.

Also setting prices and sticking to a schedule and routine are going to be one of my biggest challenges that I have to face. As much as I like competition, I hate that there is competition. I’ve really got to get over that!

Time Management

Using the prime time of your day or the golden time of day is when you should be creating. I.E. shooting editing, etc. put off or away those little things of none importance or things that can wait until you have your priorities done. Checking Facebook, reading emails, video games on the phone can wait. Try to write down everything that you need to do or things you thing you can remember. The brain is so busy that it tends to forget. In addition to writing everything down, create a “bubble”, a place to do all of your work to keep you from distractions and keep you focused and organized. Batch processing is important to completing task. By breaking things down into segments, putting them in smaller bites, it gives the brain time to rest. Work on task in 2-3 hour frames so you don’t become worn down on a task. Make task list. Put the priorities at the top of the list. Cover up the smaller none essential task so you don’t overwhelm yourself with thoughts that you cannot complete them. Track your time for a couple of weeks. This is a good method to see how you are really spending your time. Outsource work when necessary. Don’t feel as though you have to do everything. And finally reward yourself for a job well done, but only when you have completed the assignment or the task at hand.

I plan to work on my time management buy writing everything down and prioritizing my task from what needs to be done now and what can be done later. I also want to work on putting task in batches. I tend to been that person that will become overwhelmed by a project and try and complete it all at once rather than in blocks. I think this will improve the quality as well as quantity of my work.

Market Research

Although I intend on being a portrait photographer and selling my work to to particular client that hires me, I also would consider being a part of the photography world that sells or exhibits their work in various markets. Three areas of interest for me are in consumer publications, greeting cards, and art fairs. To sell to these markets, one you have to have a plan in place and be organized with your material. Research the publications as to what their requirements are and what they are looking for. In the consumer publication market, reading and researching several publications such as magazine issues allows you the opportunity to familiarize yourself with the magazine and ensure that your work is appropriate for that publication. Put together a list of images that you feel will fit the criteria along with a cover letter and resume. Research publications that you find interesting that are looking for images that you enjoy shooting. Either way your work has to be pristine.

Doing Art fairs requires an inventory of you work. Some displayed in frames some not. Art fairs are good ways of showing off your work at a relativity low investment. Meeting the fairs requirements and deadlines for entries is critical, but can be very rewarding for someone like me. I may not sell a lot of work, but you can display your talent and acquire clients as well as make contacts and network with other photographers in your area.

Almost There

My blog. What should I write? Oh, something about me. The present me. Hmm, let me think for a minute. Ok! I got it. Kenn Foley a man in his prime that currently works for 5^th/3^rd Bank in Oregon, Ohio as a Personal Banker. I recently switched from being a retail manger to banking. No nights, no weekends this leads me to why I switched careers. Along with being married to the love of my life, Heather who I have twin sophomore students that attend Start high school in Toledo, I am a college student that attends classes 3 nights a week in pursuit of my degree in commercial photography. {I’d rather say my degree in Portrait photography.} I say that because in addition to completely having my plate full with work, school and home, I have my own studio that I built from the ground up where my passion in life lies; “Shooting people that smile!” I currently run my own business and plan to one day in the very near future cut ties from the corporate world and go completely solo with my passion.

Did I mention that I also have  3 adult children, one that is a journalist that has been given a book deal to write about life in Detroit, and two beautiful granddaughters.

Well that’s me in a nutshell, no pun intended