Episode Transcript
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Cassy (00:07):
Hi, and welcome to the South Central PA
mom, Fireflies and Whoopee Pie podcast, where
we discuss motherhood, local events andeverything in between right here in South
Central PA.
So sit back, grab a coffee a while, and settle
in for the show.
(00:28):
Hi, everyone, and welcome to another episode
of Fireflies and Whoopee Pie.
Today we have a special guest with us, miranda
eorio.
She is a local photographer who actually did
our team pictures last year when we launched.
Miranda, thanks for being here.
Miranda (00:45):
Yeah, absolutely.
This is so much fun.
I love just, like, connecting with otherpeople, especially local moms and parents.
So I am so excited.
Cassy (00:58):
So you are a photographer.
How did you get started?
Miranda (01:06):
So I have a nine year old and a five
year old, and when my nine year old was just a
baby, I'm like, I need to start capturingthese memories, and I'm so tired of doing it
on my crappy phone.
And I thought, you know what, I'll just get a
camera.
It's not that hard, it's fine.
(01:26):
And that was a lie.
So I ended up just capturing these really bad
pictures of my own daughter.
And then I'm like, you know what?
I could do this for other families too.
So then I started capturing really bad
pictures of other people's families if you'renot honest with yourself.
(01:48):
I love my clients now, but I really love myfirst clients because they put up with a lot.
But after that, after I realized how terribleit was, I'm like, you know what?
I need to get better at this, and I reallyenjoy doing it.
So I just spent the next couple of yearshonestly learning everything about the
(02:12):
technical side of photography, and I reallyfell in love with it.
And then from there, I just startedsnowballing into working with local families
and actually providing good portraits, andthen I really started to love it, and then it
just really took off from there.
Cassy (02:31):
Well, and one thing that I've noticed
is that you actually provide education for
other local photographers, right?
Miranda (02:38):
I do, yeah.
Because for me, I learned a lot doing it
myself, and I'm like, this is so much harder.
It takes, like, ten times as long.
I don't know what I'm googling to learn how towork this camera.
So I said, you know what?We're going to skip all of that for other
people, and we're just going to give them theinformation from the get go so that they can
(03:03):
provide not only beautiful portraits forthemselves, but that they can create a
sustainable business for themselves and theirfamilies.
And let me tell you, I am having a flippingblast.
Cassy (03:19):
I would imagine that photography is
it's got to be a lot, kind of like being a
hairstylist, where continuing education hasgot to be so important.
Miranda (03:29):
It really is, because Canon and
Nikon, which are two big names, they're just
always coming out with new equipment.
And I'm going to nerd out here for a second.
But we recently just moved to mirrorlesscameras, which is a whole new ballgame, and
it's basically forget everything you learnedand we're going to relearn this whole system,
(03:53):
which is awesome, hilarious.
And it kind of makes me want to cry.
But overall, it's just always keeping you onyour toes.
And yeah, it is definitely like continuingeducation.
No matter how good you are, there's alwayssomebody who can teach you something.
Cassy (04:13):
I know that we had a lot of fun when we
did our pictures with you.
It was freezing.
Miranda (04:18):
Oh, my God. I know.
I remember it fought terribly.
Cassy (04:25):
But it's so weird to me.
Whenever you do these pictures, we have you
telling us these goofy things that feel socrazy, like, sit there and look into each
other's eyes and laugh and you feelridiculous.
But the pictures always come out.
They all came out so well.
(04:46):
It's like having to press the process that youfeel ridiculous, but it's going to look good.
Miranda (04:53):
Yes, and that's so true.
This is what I use for my families.
I always try to focus on the parents, too.
And I look at them and I say, you guys are
going to go belly to belly, look at eachother, and I want you guys to kiss with your
teeth.
And they're like, you want to do what?
And they just look at me like I'm crazy.
And I'm just like, I promise you.
(05:14):
It feels so silly.
But this genuine smiles that you guys get from
this, you're going to look at those picturesand be like, I get it now.
I finally get it.
And that's always, like, the goal for me,
especially when working with families, is towork on those candid moments.
Because if you sit kids in front of the cameraand you're like, all right, guys, say cheese,
(05:36):
they're like, yeah, great, we're having ablast.
And you can see that on their faces.
So I'm like, we're going to throw all of that
out.
We're going to start using these fun, cute new
poses and prompts, really, to get thosegenuine smiles.
And it works for kids, it works for adults.
It works for me and my husband.
So it's funny, it's a process, but like yousaid, you have to trust that process.
Cassy (06:06):
And there's definitely been a major
shift in family portraits.
And it's so funny because I'm 40, and I feellike over my lifetime, just from family
portraits that I took with my family as a kidand then comparing up till when I was around,
I think when I was around 20, is when theystarted doing less, like the super Sears
(06:32):
portrait type stuff.
I remember place in the mall called the
Picture Place, I think it was called.
Miranda (06:39):
Oh, my God, I remember that.
Cassy (06:40):
Yeah, they had the bright colored
backdrops and they had props and stuff, and
they did funny poses yeah.
Miranda (06:51):
And then people are actually
recreating them now in their studios, but it's
like, you guys sit together, and then you lookoff into the distance, and then there's that
floating head beside you, which is that onebig portrait of one person, like a close up.
And I'm just like, oh, my gosh.
I am not upset that I missed that, but looking
(07:18):
back, I'm just like, oh, my God, these arefreaking golden.
Cassy (07:22):
They really are.
And then what I think was great was we started
moving away from that, but it was in the mostcringey way.
Do you remember when the trend was what wasit, like, the early 2000s, where everyone wore
jeans and a white shirt?Yes.
Miranda (07:40):
Oh, goodness, I do.
And I was just a baby myself then.
But I remember that I see pictures of that,and it's like, oh, yeah, look at these family
portraits.
I mean, I remember doing that ourselves.
When I was, like, nine or ten, we would go tothis woman's studio jeans.
We were all wearing these weird, uglysweaters, and we would just sit and just stare
(08:06):
at the camera, and that would be it.
That's, like, framed on the wall.
Perfection.
Send it to Grandma and Grandpa.
Everything.
I'm like oh, no. But it's definitely come a
long way, like leaps and bounds.
I'm not saying that the white T shirts and the
(08:29):
jeans are a bad look now, but it's just Ithink they are.
No, I always tell my families, I'm like, wewant to be complementing each other, not
matching.
So when we're picking out outfits and stuff, I
had this style guide, and I don't encouragethem to do the jeans and white tees now.
(08:51):
If they're going for a look, if they're tryingto be funny or cliche, they want to do that.
And I'm like, hey, more power to you.
But normally we go for complementing styles,
not matching.
Cassy (09:08):
And even just the thing that you
mentioned a minute ago about having the mom
and dad take pictures together, I don't feellike we used to do that in family pictures.
I don't feel like there was an emphasis on theparents or even just the kids by themselves.
It was everyone sitting, like, superposedaltogether.
(09:30):
And I love that.
Now, there are opportunities I shouldn't say
opportunities, but that there's an emphasis onincluding mom and dad, because it's like, hey,
or mom and mom or dad and dad, whatever it is.
Miranda (09:44):
Right?
No, definitely.
Cassy (09:47):
But it's like your love story is what
started this whole family.
Right?Like, that should be acknowledged.
And I love that.
Miranda (09:54):
Absolutely.
And as a photographer, when you start getting
more comfortable with posing and prompts andthings like that, for me personally, I
realized I'm like, okay, this whole doing justthe full family and all of this stuff, it's
fun, but it's not the only thing you should bedoing.
(10:14):
You should be getting those individuals ofeach kid.
You should be getting the parents, like eachparent with their children, you should be
getting just the parents because they do needto feel special.
They did start the family, like you said, andit's so easy to overlook the parents in every
way.
(10:34):
When the kids start getting fussy and start
crying, a lot of photographers will say, okay,kids, let's smile.
We're putting so much pressure and so muchemphasis on the children when we should turn
that to the mom and dad, mom and mom, theparents, and support them so that in turn,
they can support the kids.
(10:55):
So it's like this whole thing where the most
important people that you should bephotographing and supporting are the parents.
And I feel like we always forget that asphotographers, or at least a good handful,
they don't put that emphasis on the parentslike they should.
So we're also trying to shift that focus fromjust the kids back to them in the education
(11:20):
space, too.
Cassy (11:22):
Well, and one thing that I think a lot
of parents would want to know, too, is that
how do you plan a family session with yourlittle kids?
Because I've had a lot of family sessionsthroughout the years, and I always love the
pictures, but it is so stressful.
Miranda (11:43):
Yeah, like I said, I'm a parent.
I have two and a half kids, about six, seven
months pregnant now.
So I'm trying to plan ahead for three kids,
and I'm already over it.
It's definitely a lot to it's easy to feel
overwhelmed.
(12:05):
So when you decide, hey, I want to do a
portrait session, I always suggest finding aphotographer that you like first.
That should be the first thing because let'ssay you and I decide to host or to have your
family session, what I'm going to do is I'mgoing to say, okay, here's a style guide.
We got the dates worked out great.
(12:26):
Amazing first step, style guide.
So you can decide again, we're going to comeback to those complementing colors, not
matching outfits, and we are going to decideon your outfit first.
I always say let's decide or plan on mom'soutfit first.
Well, what if there's two moms?We're going to plan both of them.
(12:47):
If there's no moms, we're going to pick reallywhoever wants to kind of make that really the
person who's making the portrait session, thatis the person who it's obviously most
important to them.
So they should be the one to pick their outfit
first.
I love that, too, especially because I read
(13:07):
somewhere, and I feel like it's.
Cassy (13:09):
So true that you should always plan
around the mom's outfit.
Miranda (13:13):
Because if the mom is not
comfortable.
Cassy (13:14):
And she does not feel I don't mean
comfortable, comfortable with what she's
wearing, but it's like if she doesn't go intothis feeling, I am beautiful, I am confident.
Miranda (13:25):
Yes. And 100%.
And again, we're not shifting that focus to
the children.
We're shifting that focus to the parents
because we need to offer them that support,because they offer the children that support.
And it's a whole domino effect.
So definitely we'll just use a nuclear family
(13:47):
for this one, like mom, dad and kids, just asthis example, we're going to go ahead, plan
mom's outfit first, then from there, we can goahead, add the children, add the dad.
But I am so guilty of finding a beautifuldress for my kids and being like, this is it.
This is what we need.
You're getting a dress in this, like a picture
(14:09):
in this dress.
And then I feel pressured because I have to
match this little five year old, and I'm like,this isn't how it's supposed to be.
So we need to sometimes remember to just putourselves first, take that step, pick out our
outfit, and then after we decide on thecomplementing, not matching, just stressing
(14:32):
that one more time, outfits for everybody.
You're going to go ahead schedule this session
for around nap or bedtime because holyguacamole.
Oh, my goodness.
Yes.
So the photographer is working out around yourschedule.
You are not working out around ours.
We are here to help and to serve your family,
(14:54):
and we are not serving your family to the bestof our abilities.
If your daughter has a nap at 02:00 and wesay, well, sorry, it's 03:00, it's like the
best lighting, we have to do it now.
That is not serving your family.
See, I always felt like lighting was soimportant.
(15:16):
Okay, well, 530 is the best light of day, sothat's the best time.
Cassy (15:21):
To do it is.
Miranda (15:22):
Absolutely.
So, yes, photographers have and it's just for
us.
I don't mean like we have this, but we use
this lighting.
It's called golden hour, and that is about an
hour before sunset.
So let's say this time of year, it's probably
going to be closer to four or 05:00 p.m.
As we get closer to the holiday season.
(15:47):
And that light is beautiful and it'swonderful.
And yes, photography is all about lighting.
But if you are a seasoned, confident, good
photographer, it's not going to matter whatlighting you're shooting in that much.
You can always get a different vibe, but youwon't be able to not serve your family because
(16:10):
they don't want to do golden hour.
Sometimes I see photographers say, well, I'm
only going to shoot at this time of day.
Well, what happens when little Tommy needs to
go to bed at 07:00 and you're trying to startthe session at six because you don't feel
confident in any other lighting?It's just not serving the families.
So if there's light in the sky, guess what?You can host the photography session.
(16:37):
I always tell my clients to work out aroundtheir children's bedtimes, nap times, things
like that, because if we have little Tommyscreaming and crying his head off because you
need to push it over his nap time or an hourbefore his bedtime, you're probably going to
have to offer to shoot that session all overagain.
(16:59):
It's going to leave a bad taste in the parentsmouths.
It's just very like me when it should beclients, clients, clients.
I always encourage my clients to do that.
And I don't know, maybe I just am a little
crazy, but I'm a big fan of playing out what'sgoing to happen in totally different scenarios
(17:26):
with my kids.
For a while, my daughter was terrified of the
doctor, so for like three days in a row, wesaid, okay, well, we're going to walk in.
We have this appointment coming up, and I justplayed out every aspect of what was going to
happen.
Now with our own maternity photos coming up in
about two weeks, I've been prepping them.
I'm like, hey, let me see your smile.
(17:48):
We're going to tickle and we're going to do X,Y and z during the session so that they know
what to expect, because kids like to be incontrol.
There's very little in their lives thatthey're really in control of because they are
so little.
So to just say, hey, this is what's going to
happen, to give them a little bit more of thatcontrol, they feel more comfortable,
confident, and they're not going to act up asmuch.
(18:11):
I don't want to say act up like it's a badthing that kids, right, and you have to be
ready for anything.
But if they know what to expect, they're going
to be a lot happier and you're going to be alot happier as a parent.
Cassy (18:27):
That makes sense, actually.
And it's not something I would have thought of
doing before, but it does make a lot of sensebecause, again, thinking back to our family
pictures, I never thought to kind of prep themfor it in advance.
I mean, they knew that it was happening, butas far as what was going to happen, it was
like, well, we're going to go and someone'sgoing to take pictures of us.
(18:48):
What do you mean, what's going to happen?
Miranda (18:50):
Exactly.
But you in your head, you're probably just
like, okay, I want to make sure that we getthis picture and me and my husband together,
and me and all the kids.
So you kind of already have this plan of
what's going to happen, but the kids are goingin totally blind, right?
It's like jumping them almost, and they don'treally know how to manage or control their
(19:11):
feelings or emotions as well as adults do, sothey get overwhelmed very easily.
Cassy (19:17):
That's such a great tip that it's just
one of those things that you never think of,
but then you explain it's like, oh, my gosh,that makes perfect sense.
Miranda (19:27):
Yeah. I have a degree in social work,
so let me tell you, when I think about little
children and their habits and how their brainswork, yeah, best 40 grand I ever spent.
But two other things that I always encouragemy parents and my families to do, having
(19:50):
snacks on hand, like in the car, gummies,nothing messy, no ice cream before the
session, but just something that they can kindof snack on, maybe like little cheesets just
to hold them over.
Because there is nothing worse than a grumpy
toddler because they're hungry, they'remissing their snack time or anything like
(20:13):
that.
So just keep them, just hold them off.
But there's nothing wrong with having a rewardplanned at the end.
Now, I'm not above what is that called whenyou not threaten, when you tempt your children
(20:34):
with like candy and gummies and stuff.
Cassy (20:37):
Bribe them.
Miranda (20:38):
Not threaten.
Bribe them.
Yes. I'm not a rub.
Like bribing my kids.
Cassy (20:43):
I have totally done that during photo
sessions.
Miranda (20:46):
Yes, but instead of saying during
their meltdown and things like, oh, well, if
you stop, we'll do ice cream or something.
Tell them that ahead of time.
Give them that plan.
Say, hey, once we're done with pictures, we're
going to go get ice cream or we're going to goto dinner, we're going to go to the park, et
cetera, whatever you guys are actually goingto do, but just kind of give them that plan.
(21:08):
So then when they start to get a little overthe session, you can just say, hey, remember
we have like 15 more minutes, which is liketwo Bluey episodes and then we're going to go
to the park after this.
Just breaking it down for them so that they
understand that timeline.
Cassy (21:26):
Yeah, and I will say that the best, in
my opinion, photo session that my family and I
ever did.
It was at a park that had these really
gorgeous trees but there's also a playgroundthere and our photographer specifically
suggested it.
And one of the reasons that I love that
(21:47):
session the most is because we had yourtypical, oh look, we're in nature and we're
all happy and posed.
But then afterwards she was like, okay, we got
all these post pictures.
I want you guys to just go play on the
playground.
And she followed us around and she just took
pictures of the kids playing and it was sohaving spontaneous pictures was just amazing.
(22:13):
And I mean there's pictures of me and myhusband, like with know there's this picture
of me with my son Wyatt, that's our son withdown syndrome and I'm holding him and we were
just like playing around but it was great.
And there's these hilarious pictures of my
husband on those little horse things that arelike the size of your skin that you rock back
(22:35):
and forth.
He's on those with like our daughter.
But they were so great and it worked out sowell because our kids didn't get as grumpy
because it was like we weren't just standingaround underneath the tree for 2 hours.
Miranda (22:51):
Yes, exactly.
Cassy (22:52):
A little bit and then it's like, go
play.
Miranda (22:55):
And they're yes, I love that.
And those are those candid photos.
That is your family.
That is how you guys interact with each other.
And the kids are not being forced to dosomething that they're just totally over.
So I love that your photographer did thatbecause that's really just like getting to
know that family on such an intimate level.
(23:18):
And that's beautiful.
Cassy (23:20):
So one thing that we did that I would
love to know your thoughts about too, it was
harder, but we did an extended family sessiononce and it took a lot of planning because my
mom and dad and her siblings and mygrandparents and my cousins and all of our
(23:42):
kids and stuff, we have this big extendedfamily portrait.
It took all this planning.
It was a pain in the butt.
It's totally worth it because how often do youget to do those kind of things?
But it was hard.
So what are your tips for stuff like that?
Because I think that's another thing.
We're seeing more now, too, that we didn't
used to see in the really.
Miranda (24:03):
Um, because you know what we were
talking earlier, we're thinking just like one
family unit, which know parents and children.
And it's not really grandparents, aunts and
uncles, cousins, everything like that.
Because honestly, I don't think that that
amount of people could have fit in a studiolike JCPenney's at the time.
So it just didn't really happen.
(24:26):
But I love extended family sessions as a
photographer, and I love the opportunity thatit gives to my clients.
Because we'll take my pricing, for example.
You're going to take a full session, which is
$500.
And let's say you have two other siblings.
You're going to cut that three ways, boom.
(24:48):
After taxes, what, $175 per family to get
portraits of everybody.
And I am such a huge fan of I can't get my own
family to do it.
But I would love that.
Cassy (25:07):
That was actually what we did that you
mentioned is we all split it so that everyone
and we just shared the pictures.
And so I think it was something like $700.
Yeah, because we had a few sets of kids there,but we were splitting it between let me see,
(25:27):
my parents, my parents, my grandparents, myaunt, us, my cousin.
It was like between six people.
It wasn't really that bad.
Well, not six people, six families.
So when you break it down, it wasn't that bad.
Miranda (25:41):
No, it's really not.
And then you have these beautiful portraits
and I mean, financially, it's something youcould do year after year after year because
it's manageable.
And I am all about saving money,
affordability, all of that stuff.
(26:01):
So I love it.
This is probably one of my favorite ways touse a full session.
Normally when it comes to extended family,you're not all living in the same know, so
it'll be during a vacation, like if you're allgoing down know, Ocean City or Sea Isle or
you're all meeting in one localized area,maybe know, somewhere like that you guys come
(26:27):
up with two or three days before you even pickyour photographer.
Like, hey, I know we're all getting togetherat Kenobi's for a know, let's say we could
either do Thursday, Friday or Saturday.
Does that work for everybody?
Yes, it works for everybody.
Great.
So you have two or three dates that work foryou.
Then you find a photographer in the area thatyou love.
(26:49):
I always suggest finding a photographer in thearea unless you are head over heels in love
with somebody and you want to bring them downto meet you.
But again, affordability, we're just lookingat add ons and additional costs and things
like that.
So you say to your photographer, hey, these
are the dates.
What do you have available?
(27:10):
Because again, their schedule, depending onthe time of year, may be a little hectic.
And they say, great, you know what, I havethis one date, I have Thursday available.
You say, awesome.
So again, we are going to get the style guide
from the photographer.
We're going to decide on a color scheme.
Remember, complementing, not matching.
And your photographer is going to have
(27:32):
options, style guides, maybe even a clientcloset so that we can dress some of the
families and you don't have to worry aboutthat additional cost for all of the outfits.
And then after that, basically you carve outmaybe 60, 90 minutes, have your family
portrait session.
Boom.
(27:52):
It's not going to be as complicated.
You're working with that professional
photographer who can help coordinate outfitsand everything.
And to me I think that's probably the mostdifficult part because if you have six parts
of the family all coming together, it's goingto be that much more difficult to like, hey,
(28:12):
your aunt's asking, is it this shade of blueor this shade of blue?
What are we doing here?So just to have that style guide available for
everybody to be on the same page is so veryimportant when you're talking to 25 different
people.
Cassy (28:28):
Yeah, I think ours were around the
fall, and so we had a color scheme, and so we
had like, I want to say like maroon.
I remember I wore purple.
My kids were yellow.
And I remember my grandfather wearing like
(28:48):
maroon.
And I think there was like navies and stuff
like that, but it looks complementary oldcolors.
Miranda (28:55):
I love that.
I am already a fan of that.
I haven't even seen the pictures, and I cantell you I love it.
Cassy (29:02):
But it was so much more helpful to just
be like, hey, this is our color palette.
I think I even looked it up.
I was like, fall picture color palette.
And then just kind of picked one anddownloaded it and sent it.
Be like, hey, anything in here?Or a neutral what's a neutral, denims, navies,
blacks, browns, whatever.
(29:23):
Beyond that, go crazy.
Miranda (29:25):
Yes.
Cassy (29:26):
It was so much easier because then
everyone kind of wear what they felt
comfortable in that worked within thosecomplementary colors.
Miranda (29:35):
Exactly.
And what is so nice is that with everybody on
the same color palette when we break you guysup.
So first we're going to start with the fullfamily grouping.
And I love doing that because the kids are notfeeling crazy.
They're still feeling a little reserved, like,oh, I don't really know who this lady is
taking pictures.
And I hate to say it, I'll say it with my
(29:56):
kids, they behave a little bit better.
They're like, okay, we're going to stick close
to our parents.
So they're okay with being held, especially
toddlers for this portrait.
They're not running around being super crazy,
feeling very comfortable with you just yet.
So when we break it down, we do just
grandparents with all the grandkids from maybefive or six different family units.
(30:17):
That color scheme, it still complementseverybody.
It's not, oh, well, a different shade of bluethat doesn't match, and it's not crazy.
We can break you guys up however we need to.
And everything looks so uniform.
And that is so important, honestly, becausewe'll do grandparents and grandkids.
(30:40):
Okay, now, grandparents with just their kids.
Then we're going to add in significant others.
And nobody looks misplaced.
Everybody looks like they belong.
And it's just one large family unit, and itjust looks so good.
Cassy (30:56):
How do you decide how you're breaking
up the groups with these big family sessions?
Miranda (31:05):
So I think about what the
grandparents would want because we're doing
this session with, let's just say those sixdifferent family units.
But at the end of the day, who are thesepictures for?
These pictures are for grandma and grandpa.
So I'm going to keep in mind not just what
(31:27):
moms and dads or moms and moms and thedifferent family units want, but also the
grandparents.
So I'll run you through a quick list of what
we would do.
I'd bring everybody together, full family or
full family photo with all 25 people.
Then we would break it down.
We'd throw the adult kids out.
(31:49):
I'm like, all right, you guys, you're out.
We're going to throw the little kids in.
Then we'd do grandparents and all the
grandkids.
Then we'd switch to we do grandparents with
all of their kids, add in significant others.
So we're getting everybody.
We're going to do just grandparents.
Then we're going to give grandparents a break.
We're going to break you guys into separatefamily units.
(32:10):
Then we're going to do the full family, justthe parents, individuals for the kids, and
then all the kids together.
And then we're going to move on to the next
family unit.
We're going to run through that list.
Then we're going to do just the grandkids, andthen we're going to do each individual
grandchild.
And I. Only know how to whip that out of my
back pocket because I've done weddings for somany years and how to organize 50 different
(32:37):
people.
It's like boom, boom, boom, boom.
We are on a timeline.
People want to get out, people want to go
drink.
So you got to be efficient, you got to be
good.
And it really comes in hand or handy when
we're talking about those extended familysessions because once kids start to lose
interest, forget about it.
The parents start to get frustrated.
Nobody wants to stick around.
(32:59):
So you better be quick, you better be
efficient, and you better do it with a smileon your face.
Cassy (33:09):
And when is the best time of year?
I mean, I guess this would go for anyone, but
are there better times of year, do you think,to do family pictures?
Miranda (33:20):
Yes. So it all depends on what you're
going for.
Are you doing something in the spring or thefall or are you looking at Christmas, things
like that?
Cassy (33:33):
I noticed you didn't say summer.
Miranda (33:36):
Okay. Yeah, summer is so difficult
because everybody is going on vacations and if
they are doing portraits, they're doing themat the beach, they're doing those extended
family sessions during the summer.
If you really hate your photographer and your
family, do it in August because you're goingto be sweating bullets.
(34:03):
The kids are not going to be happy.
But you do what you got to do.
Honestly, at the end of the day, personally,August not a fan.
I will sit inside with air conditioning allday.
I wouldn't want to work a single day thatmonth.
But that's a lot of the time when I have myportrait sessions at the beach, things like
(34:26):
that.
Cassy (34:28):
But at least the wind off the ocean
makes it a little easier.
Miranda (34:33):
It's so nice.
It is probably ten degrees, maybe even 15
degrees cooler there than it is here inLancaster central PA area.
And I love it.
But honestly, don't try to curl your hair.
Do not try to curl your hair for a beachsession because it is so humid.
Those curls will last two minutes and thenboom, done.
(34:57):
Just a little tip when you decide to do familyportraits at the beach.
Cassy (35:05):
Yeah, former Florida girl here, I can
even say that.
You know what, all of that wind and the saltspray in your hair, it's going to give you
some nice little beach waves anyway.
Miranda (35:17):
Yes, exactly.
Don't even need to bother you.
Don't frustrate yourself.
I know a lot of people get so frustrated when
people and marketing and big companies talkabout Christmas starting in October, because
(35:37):
let's face it, we haven't had Halloween, wehaven't had Thanksgiving.
Why are you trying to push Christmas down ourthroats?
But the best, best time in my professionalphotography opinion to host or focus on
Christmas mini sessions is going to be inNovember before the rush of the holidays,
(36:01):
before everybody starts planning theirChristmas tree, cutting their decoration,
planning everything.
And I do hate to say it.
Here's a little photography tip though.
We always want to plan those Christmas mini
sessions four to six weeks in advance so thatwe fill up our calendar and guess when that
(36:25):
falls.
That falls in October.
So that is why right now you're going to seeme already advertising and marketing for
Christmas mini sessions because I want to bookup that calendar.
But I know right now, at the time of therecording for this podcast, we are in October.
And I am sorry and I love you all, pleasedon't be mad at me, but with my years of
(36:50):
experience, christmas minis, you want to bookthem for your family in November.
Now that gets a little bit complicated.
When you also want to book fall sessions, you
better be ready to do it back to back, maybe amonth in between, because fall, especially in
central PA, guess what?October and November, the best time of year to
(37:13):
get the changing leaves.
The absolute best.
Depending on budgets and things like that, youmay have to decide, okay, well, I want a fall
picture over a Christmas picture.
Or honestly, if you want to do them both, I'm
just saying just be ready to go boom, boom,boom.
October, then late November pictures becauseit's just where we live.
(37:39):
It's so beautiful and it is so colorful, butit happens a little bit later in the season
than I'd like.
Cassy (37:46):
Would you say it's like too stressful
if someone wanted fall and Christmas pictures
to do it?Like in one session?
Miranda (37:55):
In one session, yeah.
Cassy (37:57):
Like, okay, we're going to go change
out of our fall clothes and put on our
Christmas clothes really quick.
Miranda (38:03):
I don't think that's stressful if you
wanted to do something.
So, like for photographers, we normally havemini sessions, so I'll explain the full and
then the mini sessions of when that would workand when it wouldn't.
If you decided to do mini sessions, that's 15minutes in and out, boom, boom, boom.
(38:23):
You don't have time to change outfits, so thatwouldn't work.
But if you booked a full session and you toldyour photographer like, hey, this is the goal,
half an hour fall portraits.
And then the other half of that portrait
session, you would switch into Christmas stuffand you would kind of shift to just move the
(38:45):
background a little bit.
You could totally make it work and then boom.
It's still probably the same financialcommitment, same time commitment.
But I had never thought about that.
That is so funny.
Cassy (38:59):
Wow, that's definitely not something I
have done.
I don't know, more just with all my kids.
I'm trying to think.
I think what you mentioned about doing just 30minutes, that would make it a little bit more
doable.
Miranda (39:15):
Yes.
Cassy (39:15):
As opposed to a full one two hour
session?
Miranda (39:22):
Yeah. Do you mean like for your
family, they would probably only last like 30
minutes.
Cassy (39:27):
Well, they would maybe last the hour or
two, but if you do that and then you turn
around and say, okay, we've done an hour oftaking pictures, now we're going to go change
and do another hour, I think that they wouldjust die.
Miranda (39:42):
Yeah, no, my gosh, you are not.
Again, as a photographer, I would not be
serving my families to the best of myabilities if I even suggested that, because
then you have to start getting into, okay,well, that time limit, and then it's
technically booking another session.
So why do all that?
Why not just be efficient?Again, the efficiency, especially working with
children, use that 30 minutes, 30 minutes,boom, boom, boom, serves your families.
(40:07):
They're happy, the kids are happy.
And if you have happy kids, you're probably
going to have happy parents.
And that is the goal.
Cassy (40:17):
So you also did not mention winter in
your best time of year to take pictures.
Miranda (40:23):
Is that just did I just mention so
winter is great.
Born and raised in Pennsylvania.
I'll just be honest, I'm over the snow.
I'm over, like I hate it.
But if you decide to have that January
(40:45):
portrait session, you're going to want to finda photographer who has access to a studio.
Nothing ever wrong with being outside, Iguess, in January in the freezing 28 deg
weather with children, but from my personaland professional experience, that is a
(41:07):
disaster, honestly.
Now if you're thinking about, oh my God, I
would love snowy pictures in our backyard withmy kids, and it's more of a lifestyle session,
we're drinking hot cocoa, we're doing thingslike that.
That is totally right.
Maybe I want that.
(41:28):
But that's just because you guys have accessto the indoors, it's in your backyard, you
have that access to cocoa, and you guys areonly going to be outside for maybe 1520
minutes, get what we need, boom, boom, boom.
And then switch to like a lifestyle session
indoors or maybe on your patio.
And that's when we bring out the hot cocoa and
what life is really like for you guys, alifestyle session.
(41:52):
So in that case, if you were hoping to dosomething like that, january is when we get a
lot of snow in February as well.
Unfortunately, that would probably be the best
time for that.
But if you're just looking for, hey, this is
kind of downtime.
The kids are off school the first week of
January or anything like that, just jump onit.
(42:14):
But always consider booking a studio orthinking about how your kids are going to be
doing outside in the nippy, nippy, nippyweather and how frustrated they're going to
get and how quickly they're going to getfrustrated.
Cassy (42:31):
Yeah. And then when is the best time
for spring portraits?
Because we start getting spring weather inMarch, April, May.
But is there like a particularly good time.
Miranda (42:45):
Personally, I think May is going to
be the best because by May, everything has
bloomed.
You have nice warm weather.
You're not going to be surprised like youwould be in April by a late snow shower, and
then that's just roding.
Like, this isn't spring at all.
It doesn't feel like it early May.
Cassy (43:07):
In your nice spring dress and you're
freezing.
Miranda (43:09):
Yeah, I'm like, why don't just
schedule flipping winter session?
Why don't you?So it's definitely May, and I was born in late
May, so maybe I'm a little biased, but it is awonderful and beautiful and warm month,
especially if you decide to go somewhere likeLongwood Gardens where everybody is focused on
(43:31):
having these beautiful blooms and they reallyplan out their designs.
And by May, everything is just stunning.
Longwood Gardens impresses me at every single
time of the year, even in winter.
But in spring, you're really missing out if
(43:54):
you haven't had the opportunity to check thatout.
Cassy (43:59):
So this is something just general.
This isn't time of year related, but where are
your favorite places to shoot?Like, where do you think are the best places
for portrait sessions?
Miranda (44:11):
Okay. All right, here we I already
mentioned Longwood Gardens, white Cliffs of
Connoy.
If you've never been out there, that's out
towards Columbia area, and it's about half amile, maybe like a mile hike.
(44:33):
And there are beautiful white, literal cliffsoverlooking the water, and it's amazing.
My husband's not impressed because he's beenthere so much.
I'm like, whatever, dude.
This is this is.
Cassy (44:54):
That'S again.
Florida girl.
I moved from Florida to Nebraska and.
Miranda (44:59):
Then oh, my goodness.
Cassy (45:00):
So that's a lot of flat, flat places.
Miranda (45:03):
Yeah.
Cassy (45:04):
When we had our first house that we got
here, when we had a mountain view, my husband
and I were freaking out everyone else aroundhere.
I'm like, oh my gosh, wait till you see theview from our house.
It's a mountain, like, right there.
And they're like, yes.
Miranda (45:18):
They're like, this is our every.
Cassy (45:24):
Everyone'S got a mountain view.
What are you talking about?
Miranda (45:26):
That is so fun.
My husband moved from California, and when he
saw snow for the first time, he was like 16.
He was outside without gloves with his little
sister for like, 3 hours.
He loved it.
And I'm just like because we met in highschool and I'm like, you did what?
Do I even want to be associated with youanymore?
Because I'm so over snow.
(45:47):
I'm 16, have an attitude.
I'm like snow.
And he was like, I love this so much.
So yeah, I definitely feel you there.
Cassy (45:57):
I think the White Cliffs sound amazing,
personally.
Miranda (46:00):
Oh, my goodness.
They truly are.
We're actually doing our maternity sessionthere.
That's how much I love them.
So what?
We have the White Cliffs of Connoy.
We have the what did I say?
Cassy (46:17):
Gardens.
Miranda (46:18):
Yes. Longwood gardens.
Thank you.
Personally, I'm a huge fan of Stoner Park,which is a very small park here in Mannheim
Township in the Lancaster area.
And of course, again, a little biased.
My studio, it's pretty cute.
Love shooting there.
(46:40):
And Longs Park.
There's so many opportunities.
It's so many diverse backgrounds.
So those are probably my top four.
Also, most all of them are fantastic walks.
The only one being not is my studio.
(47:01):
Everything else, go check it out with yourfamily.
Go take 20 minutes, like 90 minutes.
Just walk around those areas.
You are going to absolutely fall in love,especially this time of year, even as it gets
colder, there's so much that it offers and itis so fun just to go.
(47:22):
We go for family walks almost every night atStoner Park.
And wow, it is beautiful.
And here's a little tip.
They just added a new walking path at Stoner,and you're probably thinking like, it's a big
circle.
What do you mean?
Well, if you park in the back and instead ofgoing on that big circle, you go off to the
(47:46):
side.
There is this huge open area.
I don't know, it's like a tree nursery.
And it's so well taken care of.
They have wildflowers growing everywhere, alarge path that you can walk down, and then it
(48:06):
leads you to this little creek.
If one of my families doesn't book that creek,
oh, my gosh, it's so beautiful.
And the kids love it.
The dogs love it.
By the time we come back, we're exhausted.
And I'm like, good, because that was the goalof taking you feral little children out on a
walk is to make you guys want to just pass outfor bedtime.
Cassy (48:31):
Yes.
Miranda (48:32):
Very true works.
Those are definitely my top five.
Cassy (48:39):
So here's what I want to know.
The tea, I want to know what.
Miranda (48:43):
I love filling it.
Cassy (48:46):
What drives you crazy?
What are you like, please don't do that.
This is terrible.
Miranda (48:54):
Oh, God, let me think about that.
Cassy (48:56):
We all have those things.
It doesn't matter what field you're in.
There's always customer drives you crazystories.
We all have them.
Miranda (49:05):
It's so true.
I don't know.
I have these types of clients that I workwith, and I'm not trying to pat myself on the
back or anything, but for years I've tried toget into this pool of clients that are willing
to pay that 500, $700 for those familyportrait sessions.
(49:27):
And I find that the more that people arewilling to pay for the portrait sessions, the
less likely they are to be difficult.
They kind of hand everything over to you and
they're just like, you know what?I trust you.
So I think when I was doing one, two $300sessions, I would have families that are very
(49:49):
difficult.
Probably the best word.
And those would be the families that are justlike, okay, well, I want to do the identical
matching clothes.
And I'm just like, okay, I'm happy to do it
because this is your family portrait, but I'mjust like, okay, but this is buffalo plaid
(50:10):
with dark blue jeans.
And they're like, I know, I love it.
And I'm like, awesome.
I love you for loving it.
I love you for being so passionate about it.
This is not going to go on my style guide.
So that but I don't know.
My goodness, I don't have too many.
(50:33):
Maybe I put them out of my head because theyfrustrated me so much.
And I'm like, I can't think about you anymore.
But probably when parents are just like, all
right, you guys, just go play.
You kids can just do whatever, and we're not
going to listen to the photographer, and we'rejust going to like, whatever.
(50:53):
And I'm like, all right, that really hurts myfeelings.
Thank you.
But I was like two years into it, and I didn't
know how to take control of a session.
But now even the kids I don't know what these
parents or how these parents are raising theirkids now with the cool clients that I'm
working with now, but I'm like, bravo, becauseeven kids are better than some of my worst
(51:18):
clients.
But I think what makes an ideal client for me
is the attitude.
They're so positive.
They're like, you know what?We trust you.
We see your vision, and I want you to take thereins.
(51:38):
And I'm like, yes, love this, love you.
You're coming back three times a year.
And they do.
They come back two or three times a year and
I'm just like, oh, my God, I love you.
That's my ideal client.
Like, hello.
Yeah, I'm going to have to dig up the old
memory bank and remember some of those you'regoing to give.
Cassy (52:01):
Me, even if they're not like, maybe
terrible clients.
Okay, but just what can make a session not gowell, you don't really know on the other side.
You're just kind of, okay, I'm going to get myclothes on and hope everyone looks cute and
(52:22):
hope my kids don't freak out and go for it.
Miranda (52:24):
Yeah. So as a photographer, you think
that you have such little control, like, you
just show up.
So I think that as a photographer, if you do
not prep your clients to prep their childrenor even if you just don't prep your clients at
all, that's when it goes off the like, becausethey don't know what to expect.
So again, they show up in buffalo plaid for aspring session, and everybody is just so
(52:51):
miserable and angry or they know prep theirkids and the kids are just feral.
Like mine, without any prepping, my kids wouldbe feral.
Or again, if we're doing it right during naptime, the kids are screaming their heads off.
(53:13):
They're so upset, they're angry.
This is why I have all of those.
I don't know if you are thinking back to inthe beginning when I mentioned, okay, we're
going to do x, Y and Z to have to prep thekids for the family portrait session.
Because I've learned the hard way, if youdon't do any of this stuff, you as a parent,
miserable, me as a photographer, miserable.
(53:35):
And guess what?
Your kids, oh, my God, they're going to makeeverybody around them miserable.
So I kind of put those into place because I'vebeen the photographer that doesn't prep their
families.
And then everybody's so angry all the time.
Just so angry.
The kids are crying.
Mom and dad are feeling so upset, defeated.
(53:57):
And then they ask know, hey, well, this just
went really poorly.
Can we just do this again in two weeks?
And we're just like, sure.
And then guess what?
You don't prep them.
And then it goes terribly two weeks from now.
And at some point, you have to ask yourselflike, is it really my clients or is it me?
What am I doing wrong to not prep my clientsenough that they come with this negative
(54:21):
outlook and everything every single time?So I never blame my clients for any of that
because I'm just like, I should have steppedup.
I'm the professional.
They're following my lead.
So I feel like when you don't have aphotographer that offers you that lead, that's
when everything starts to fall apart.
Cassy (54:43):
So another, I think, good question,
which maybe a little bit of a conflict of
interest because obviously if you want familypictures, you should talk to Miranda because
she's amazing.
And I'm not just saying that because she's a
guest on our podcast.
We did our PA mom pictures, and they came out
fantastic.
But let's say you are looking for a you.
(55:08):
What would be your tips to find someone that'sgoing to work for you and your family?
Miranda (55:13):
Yes, because I just went through this
not too long ago, picking our maternity and
newborn photographer.
So first off, you're going to figure out what
kind of session you want to have becausenewborn photography is a specialty.
(55:34):
It takes so much.
So if you're looking for a newborn
photographer specifically, you're not going towant to go out and look for somebody who does
landscape photography.
So figure out what you want, let's say, okay,
well, we're going to do a family portraitsession.
Okay, great.
You're going to look for family portrait
photographers or family legacy photographers,which is what I classify myself as.
(55:58):
Then you're going to decide what kind of styleyou want.
You can Google central PA familyphotographers, right?
You can go check out everybody's website untilyou find a style that you really resonate
with.
Some of the more common phrases are light and
(56:20):
airy or dark and moody, bold, things likethat.
So if you are really feeling like, oh, I wantsomething bold and colorful and a little bit
moodier, you're going to gravitate towardsthose photographers, right?
Cassy (56:36):
That's what you're feeling.
You don't want someone whose portfolio is
filled of like people running in the beach.
Miranda (56:43):
Exactly. Yes. Really figure out what
kind of photography you're looking for.
Like I said, family photography.
Figure out what style you're going for and
then find somebody whose portfolio not onlycatches your eye, but really tugs on those
(57:03):
heartstrings.
If you are hoping for candid portraits of your
family, find somebody who offers candidportraits in their portfolio on their website.
If you're looking more for that cliche 80sstyle portraiture, then go for somebody who
has that in their portfolio.
(57:24):
Because if you go to somebody who is not your
style at all and you say, hey, I really havethis vision in my mind, I can guarantee you
they will not be able to recreate that.
They will not be able to recreate that for
you.
Like, you want something that's light and airy
(57:45):
with a pop of color.
You're not going to go to a photographer who
only does bold, dark, moody styles becausehonestly, you're not going to get what you
want.
The photographer is not going to be able to
deliver that to you because that's not theirspecialty.
Now, that's not to say that they don't havethat talent, but their talent is directed and
(58:10):
focused on their style.
So you really want somebody who matches what
your vision is.
And then, of course, because I know so many
photographers in the industry, I know who'sbeen in the business for a little bit longer,
who I can go to and say, I know you have astyle guide.
I know you are going to make this really easyfor my family to do.
(58:36):
And those are the people that I gravitatetowards.
Because you don't have to like yourphotographer, but you really should because
they're going to be interacting with you in avery stressful time.
Because pictures, you want everything to goright.
They're going to be interacting with your kidswell.
Cassy (58:55):
And in my experience, it's somewhat
almost intimate too.
They're getting in your face and they're liketouching you and moving you around and stuff.
Miranda (59:05):
They are.
It's so true.
Cassy (59:08):
So if it's someone that you don't like,
I mean, how are you going to feel when you're
sitting there with your husband?They're like, okay, I'm going to take your arm
and move it here and let me get your hair outof the way.
Miranda (59:18):
Touch me, just put me in a bad mood.
Automatically, I'm like, no, you're going to
feel awkward.
It really is.
So I always tell my photographers to focus onthe experience that you give your families
because that is going to top everything else.
They are going to look at those portraits, and
(59:41):
yet you could be the best photographer in theworld.
They could be the most stunning portraitsever.
But honestly, if you do not give them a goodexperience, they're going to look at those
portraits and they're not going to feel joy.
And I always, always want my families to feel
joy when it comes to their portraits.
So if they make it easy, if they have that
(01:00:03):
style guide, if they understand posing versusprompts and things like that, it's so much
easier for the families to feel comfortableand confident with that photographer.
And I'll just name drop for our newborn andmaternity photos, we're going with Keaton
McCord, and she has a style that is completelydifferent to mine.
(01:00:24):
I am more bold, like pops of color.
I'm a lighter, more colorful photographer.
She is also bold and colorful, but she'sdarker.
She has a beautiful style, obviouslybeautiful.
I want those pictures in my home, but vastlydifferent to what I offer my families.
(01:00:47):
And I know that she's going to take care ofus.
She's going to make this entire process feelgreat and comfortable, and she's already made
us feel very confident.
And I feel like it's always harder to work
with other photographers as a photographerbecause they know what's happening behind the
scenes.
(01:01:08):
They're a little bit pickier.
So I'm trying not to be that client.
Cassy (01:01:12):
Like how doctors are the worst
patients.
Miranda (01:01:14):
Yeah, exactly.
And I try not to be that pain.
I'm just like, you know what?I'm handing the reins to you.
You take the most stressful part of it, youtell me what to do, and I'm just going to show
up.
And honestly, that's what you should do.
As a family or as the parents.
You hand the reins over to them and they say,
(01:01:34):
great, I'm going to give you a checklist.
Boom, boom, boom, you're done.
We're going to come here, it's going to besmooth sailing, and I'm going to send you on
your way.
So I've had parents tell me that I am
efficient, and I'm like, that is my favoriteword.
Yes.
I want to make this process so easy for you
that you want to come back, that you look atthose pictures and you're just like, wow, I
(01:01:56):
don't hate everything about them.
Cassy (01:02:00):
I don't know that I would say, like,
efficient.
And I'm not saying that you're not efficient.
Miranda (01:02:06):
No, you're good.
Cassy (01:02:07):
But when I think back, one thing that I
noticed that you said was it's like you look
at those pictures and the feeling thephotographer gave you is going to be there.
And I will say that when we did our pictureswith you, I definitely remember all of those
things as a mom, for example, you carry allthis baby weight, and so you're always nervous
(01:02:28):
about how you look and am I going to have abig double chin?
And so on and so forth.
Especially when you're taking pictures.
Right.
But when we did our pictures with you, our
team pictures, I still remember one of thepictures I chose to put on our website.
Like, you sitting there talking about like,oh, my gosh, this is so beautiful.
(01:02:48):
You look so gorgeous.
And it's like, that stuff, it stands out and
you remember it.
And I remember you doing that for all of us
and making everyone feel like just a millionbucks the whole time.
And I feel like we all left, like no, I'mserious.
I feel like we all left feeling confident andjust beautiful and not like, frumpy moms.
Miranda (01:03:13):
Yeah, no, it's so true.
I've had portrait sessions before where
they're just like, can we just hurry up andget this over with?
Because your kids are difficult.
And I'm just like, I know she's difficult, and
it did not make me feel confident, beautiful,anything.
And I look at those pictures and I'm justlike, I missed such an opportunity with my
(01:03:39):
kids to actually be present with them.
Instead, I was so worried because I was being
made to feel not beautiful.
And I don't know, like, this monkey kind of
and I'm like, if I've ever given any of myclients that impression, I want you to smack
me right now, because that is one of the worstthings that you could do for somebody who's
(01:04:00):
investing not only financially in you, butthey're investing their trust and their time.
And let me tell you, time is more valuablethan money in every single sense of the word.
You can make more money, but you cannot makemore time.
So to give that photographer even an hour or 2hours of your time and for them not to turn
(01:04:23):
that into a beautiful experience for youshould be a crime.
And I'm sorry, I'm very passionate about that.
Yeah, absolutely.
Cassy (01:04:33):
This is the moment in time of your
family, who they were.
That little gap in your tooth that your sevenyear old has is not going to be there next
year.
Miranda (01:04:42):
Yeah, exactly.
Cassy (01:04:43):
Or whatever it may be.
Miranda (01:04:45):
Yeah. And it's so frustrating for me
to think back to our experience, and I'm just
like, you know what?It could have been a beautiful time, but I
didn't feel like I was being supported as themom.
I felt like everybody was just like, okay,well, let's try to get the toddler to do X, Y
and Z. And I'm just out here left in the cold.
(01:05:05):
And I'm like, I needed that support.
And the experience overall was just, like,terrible.
So I always preach to my photographers, mystudents, and the ideal client experience.
It is all about the experience.
You could be a beginning photographer, working
(01:05:26):
your way towards being a professional, andyour pictures might, technically speaking,
need a little bit of work.
But you're giving that family that beautiful
experience where they feel confident and theyfeel like they're just so happy, then it
doesn't matter.
They're going to look back at that experience
(01:05:47):
and be like, this was so much fun.
I want to do this again next year.
And I can't stress that enough.
It's all about the client experience.
Cassy (01:05:56):
So we already went way later than I
plan to.
Miranda (01:05:59):
I know.
Cassy (01:06:02):
No, this has been.
Like a great, really informative conversation
for me at least.
I have one more question that I want to ask
because I feel like this is something a lot ofmoms show interest in.
Maybe because you set your own hours and buildyour own business.
But I see a lot of moms that have interest inlearning photography.
So if someone wants to get started, what wouldyou tell them to oh.
Miranda (01:06:27):
Okay, so this is good.
So I would say to purchase your first camera,
of course you're always going to hear, oh,Sony is better, or Nikon or know, do your own
research.
What's going to work best for where you want
to see yourself, purchase that camera now.
(01:06:49):
Do not do what I did.
Do not try to learn everything on your own.
Do not waste time and years or months or
anything and trying to do all of this on yourown.
Because like I said before, time is morevaluable than money.
I would much rather shell out, let's say, $500to learn everything that I dragged out for a
(01:07:16):
year.
So I know you're going to hear me say like,
oh, invest, invest money and blah, blah, blah,and you're going to probably roll your eyes
and that's okay, you're allowed to.
But if I could go back and do everything in my
business again to start earning that $40,000 ayear just in photography money, I would say
(01:07:38):
that invest in a course that makes you feelconfident.
And I'm not saying that you have to invest inthe ideal client experience course, but hey,
it's out there.
But just like finding a photographer who fits
you, like your style and makes you confident,you need to find a mentor that makes you feel
(01:08:00):
confident.
Because somebody who puts you down all the
time is not going to have your best interestat heart and they're not going to teach you
everything that you need to know.
So just invest in, you'll hear, quality glass,
like good lenses.
So just invest in a camera and then get the
education.
And after you have that education, after you
(01:08:21):
already know all the technical things, thenyou can go ahead, invest in more glass or
lenses, invest in a better camera.
But let me tell you, the camera does not make
the photographer.
I could take beautiful and stunning portraits
on an iPhone because I understand all of thetechnical pieces and you can too.
I don't want you to go jump out and startspending $3,000 on a camera right away.
(01:08:44):
My first camera was $500 and by the time I wasdone with that $500 camera, I was already
making $400 a session.
So it is not always the equipment.
It is the education and the knowledge that youhave that is going to make or break you as a
photographer.
So like I said, you don't need that $3,000
(01:09:05):
camera.
It's okay.
You need to prioritize that education.
Cassy (01:09:13):
Well, thank you so much for giving us
your time today.
I mean, I feel like I learned a lot becausethere are really a lot of things that I didn't
think about before, like explaining your kids,the steps and the processes of a photo session
and so on.
This has been so great.
I had a lot of fun.
Miranda (01:09:32):
No, that's fantastic.
That makes me so happy because like you said,
we did go on a little bit longer and I am sucha talker.
Those conversations and those words actuallyhad so much value to them.
Makes me so happy.
And this is so much fun for me too.
So thank you so much for having Is.
(01:09:54):
I hope we get to do this again sometime.
Cassy (01:09:57):
If you would like to know more about
Miranda Eorio's photography or learn about her
education services, we will put those in theshow notes.
And in the meantime, thank you for tuning inand we'll see you next time.
That's our episode for this week.
(01:10:17):
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