We are so excited to be featuring Sarah Cornish of My Four Hens Photography! She is an amazing photographer, read on to learn more about Sarah and her business!
I am a Jesus Lover, Over Sensitive, flighty, annoyingly optimistic and completely obsessed with my family. I stalk light and love pretty things. I am a total introverted people person. Yup. That’s how I roll.
When did you first realize you wanted to be a photographer? I have always had a huge creative inclination whether it be towards writing or even drawing. When I was 15 I got to backpack across the US with my Aunt who is an awesome nature photographer and I was completely inspired. I also remember asking for a Polaroid camera for my 9th birthday! I really think those that chose this field whether professionally or strictly as a hobby has it in them on some level. Photography for me is such a lifestyle. It embodies so much that I love and believe in. I got serious about much later in life than I wish I did but I am completely fascinated.
When and how did you start out in photography? I got my first DSLR in 2006. After many broken point and shoot cameras at the time I really just wanted a way to express myself and take good photos of my children. Pretty cliche but that’s how I really began. The one thing I can say I did right was I put the camera in Manual from day one and forced myself to learn. It really pushed me. I absorbed every little bit of material and information I could get my hands on. I used my camera every single day. At the time my husband was working 70 hours a week and I was home with our children and needed something for myself. It really provided a creative outlet that I needed so much.
How would you describe your style? I think my style is a good mixture of real and whimsical. I never seemed to lose my imagination which seems to be a common adulthood curse. I try to see things from my children’s perspective and am totally inspired by life in general. There seems to be two sides to me. There is the lighthearted happy go lucky, hopelessly optimistic side and then yet there is this introverted deep and emotional almost gritty side. I try to marry those two.
What’s in your gear bag? I am a Canon Girl through and through. I have three different bodies (I use two of them) The Canon 5d Mark III and Canon 5d Mark II and the Classic 5d which my 10 year old daughter has inherited. I also have a bevvy of L glass. I shoot only prime so I find to satisfy my creativity I like to keep a bunch of different focal lengths on hand.
One lens you can’t live without? Just one oy! My 35L for sure. It is my favorite door for indoor photography. I am a lover of all things lifestyle so it works perfectly for me!
How did know when the right time to start charging was? I am a crawler and I totally own that. I knew I didn’t want to go into business until I really knew, not only as much as I possibly could about my camera, but as much as I could about business as well. I knew I wanted this to be sustaining. I wanted to be able to really help my family and supplement our income!
I did the whole take photos of your friends and family for free bit but that was all for practice. I didn’t charge at all. I then did portfolio building when I was confident I was ready and charged what I felt I needed to make a living and be taken seriously right off the jump. From the time I bough my DSLR and then went into business I would say was a good two years!
How much did you charge for your first session and how much are you charging for the same type of session now? My pricing has slightly gone up over time of course as I have learned so much in the past almost 4 years I have been in business. The one mistake I didn’t make was setting a minimum order so even though my prices were higher I didn’t “make” that much in my print order. I guess I wasn’t very good at selling myself then. I think my grand total after my print cost overhead etc was about $300.00.
Now I probably average about $700.00-$1000.00 or so per session. I suppose that isn’t A LOT compared to what I am sure others make but I don’t take a ton of sessions either. I make most of my living from the resources I sell to other photographers such as Photoshop Actions, Lightroom Presets etc. I have, of course, made more or less then these figures too but that’s probably my running average.
How did you market yourself when you started out? Facebook and word of mouth. I had an online presence going into business because I was already selling Photoshop Actions at the time and shared quite a bit of my images as a hobbyist. I will say business is still 90% word of mouth if not more. Most of my client base is also other photographers.
We are going to play a game… name the first person that comes to mind when you think of…
· Newborn photographer: Baby As Art
·Wedding photographer: Jasmine Star
·Lifestyle photographer: Becky Earl
·Most inspiration person: My husband.
Did you go to school for photography or were you self- taught? Purely self taught. I would say beginning out there really wasn’t as many workshops or online communities as there are now. I began on a forum called Ilovephotography back when I started though and I admit even though I wasn’t brave enough to post much for feedback it helped me tremendously to read the feedback and constructive criticism threads others posted.
It helped me identify the flaws, etc. I was making because starting out I believe we really do make a lot of the same mistakes! It was also reassuring to know I wasn’t alone. Using my camera every single day helped too. I did things in steps. I learned how to shoot in Manual, how the Exposure triangle works, what composition works and most of the “rules.” Then I learned how to break them! 🙂 After I was pretty comfortable with my camera I delved into Raw, Photoshop etc. etc. etc.
What has been some of the hardest things to overcome in your business? Being soft hearted. Truly I am a pay it forward kind of gal and a major people pleaser. You really have to wear your business hat sometimes. I don’t ever want to get “hard.” But I do remind myself constantly this is how I support my family so I need to make sure that I run my business as a well business.
Do you have any tips for photographers just starting out? DON’T compare yourself to others. Work towards finding your own voice. Don’t be afraid to take risks and chance things sometimes. Learn your gear. Use it as often as you can. Stay true to yourself and know this isn’t a race. Most of the photographers that inspire me seem completely oblivious to the “competition.” You are going to have times of burn out, times of frustration and that is completely natural. I actually encourage those types of things because I find right after is when I grow the most!
If for some reason you couldn’t be a photographer what do you think you would be? Probably just home with my children. I am a family first girl and I own that a million percent. You can even call me a “mom with a camera” It doesn’t offend me in the least! 😉
What’s the best lesson in photography that you’ve learned so far? Be kind. Help others. Pay it forward when you can. Karma exists. I know I should add some insightful photography tidbit here but that is truly my motto. People ask me how I have managed to grow my fan page numbers. I would love to think it is because my photography appeals to the masses and touches everyone in some profound way but I truly believe it is because I do my best to go out of my way and help others. I try to respond to everyone that posts on my wall. I try my best to respond to every email I get. I slip sometimes. I am human and it happens but my ultimate goal is to really be the kind of woman (not just photographer) I want my girls to be.
What are your thoughts on lifestyle photography? My thoughts on Lifestyle photography (something I am majorly passionate about) is to let children be little. Let them have messy faces and bed head. Try not to intrude or impede on their play time or whatever it is doing. Just capture it. Think outside the box on angles. Watch the light. Think about your focal length. I actually wrote a post on this recently here.
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