Magical Motherhood Photography with Sherida Rae Taylor

03/10/21 • 26 min

The Art & Soul Show - Photography Podcast for Newborn and Family Photographers

Discover more about Sherida Rae Taylor
Website: www.sheridaraephotography.ca
Facebook: @SheridaRaePhotography
Instagram: @sherida_rae_photography
Bio:
Sherida is a motherhood photographer living on Vancouver Island in BC, Canada with her husband and four children.
She is a ClickPro, Offset Artist, and a volunteer photographer with Spectrum Inspired, which is a non-profit organization that gives free sessions to families touched by autism.
Sherida's work has graced the cover of Click Magazine.
She has been named one of the Top 100 Female Photographers to Watch list in 2019.
Sherida has been a finalist in the VOICE collection gallery -- twice.
She has been on the LooksLikeFilm Best of Birth, family, and maternity lists and featured in Huff Post.
Resources shared in this episode:
Myrtle and moss

ReclamationAuthentic Relationship Building in a Digital World with Trista Smith

Free people

Jen's pirate booty

ReclamationAuthentic Relationship Building in a Digital World with Trista Smith

Free people

Jen's pirate booty

Previous Episode

Staying Creative - Handling Slow Times in Business with Tamarind Spender

Today, Tamarind shares some valuable advice on what to do with those slow times in business, especially during the lockdowns and restrictions we have to deal with these days.

Introduction (2:20)

What drew you to newborn photography? (4:00)

I’ve always enjoyed photography, but was envious when I saw other people starting businesses. I asked myself what I would want my daughter to do – take the risk or not?

How long did it take for you to feel confident in your work (7:24)

4-5 years. I still identify new things to try, and will still feel unsure about those.

What tricks do you have to get toddlers to cooperate? (9:35)

I start with family shots, then encourage toddlers to leave. If toddler isn’t cooperative, I send them to the park with a parent and ask them to come back at the end to try again.

How to deal with dads that are not engaged? (13:27)

Take control of the situation, in a nice way. Talk a lot, and find something to connect on.

What’s your favourite newborn pose? (15:20)

It changes. I tend to obsess about one pose at a time, and then will work on it until I perfect it and move on to the next thing.

Tell us about your most memorable session (17:31)

I photographed a big baby who lost it after being wrapped. I only later figured out that he had a rash, and the sweat from being wrapped up made him itchy. It was challenging to think on the fly and come up with ways to work through the session.

Biggest posing mistake you see (20:21)

Posing in the wrong direction to the lighting.

What business model do you follow (22:54)

I used to include both digital and prints so clients would have reference prints. Lately I switched back to all digital, with option to print.

Your worth shouldn’t be tied up in how you offer your products. You should do what works for you.

What is your client onboarding process? (30:48)

Enquiries through my website goes straight into CRM (17hats). I then send them to a Pixieset gallery that has all pricing info so I can track when they’ve looked at it.

Do you have special touches to make your sessions unique? (32:20)

I dabble in composites with digitals for clients.

Advice on how to grow creatively while also growing your business (33:53)

Keep track of new ideas. When you have slow times in business, do model calls to try new things.

Which activities can you pursue during slow times in business? (36:04)

When we were shut down recently, I also shut down my business in my head. I took the time to do self portraits, and enjoyed figuring it out.

What are you creatively curious about? (38:54)

Fine art portraits of children

Discover more about Tamarind Spender
Website: www.azurephotography.caFacebook: @azurephotography3 Instagram: @azurephotog
Bio: Tamarind is the owner and photographer behind Azure Photography.
She has had a camera in her hands since she was 17 years old and has been so excited to grow her amazing business in Guelph, ON since the summer of 2013.
Photography to her is capturing moments, from the beauty of her client's pregnancy to the fun-loving connections within a family and everything in between. Resources shared in this episode:
17 hats

Brooke Shaden

Leanna Azzolini - podcast

Next Episode

From Frazzled to Focused - Creating Photography Workflows and Systems with Iris-Works Founder Meredith Gradle

Meredith shows how mastering photography workflows and systems allow you to bring the fun back to your business, and connect to the reason you got into this industry in the first place: taking beautiful photos.

Introduction (2:28)

How did Iris Works come to be? (4:34)

I had an unhappy client after forgetting to send important communication, so I realized that I needed to do better. Iris Works was built around my brain, after finding other systems too complex and too technical. It is built by photographers, for photographers.

Advice on getting organized and creating photography workflows? (9:35)

The hardest part is to know where to start, so start with pen and paper, and write down every step you need to take with a client. Then it is easy to translate it to a system.

What do you wish more photographer knew about running a business? (13:59)

Most of us get into this business because we love creating art, not because we love business. I wish they would know that just as much education and investment needs to be put into the business side as knowing how to shoot and edit.

Why is clear communication integral to creating happy client relationships? (16:51)

What we do as photographers is relational. We want clients to trust us. We want to give a client experience, which starts with communication, well before actually taking the photos. Communication also continues and pushes the relationship forward, allowing clients to come back, and you to have more money in your pocket.

How do you stick with the systems you create? (19:14)

Once you have a CRM set up, with photography workflows, you can actually be lazy because you don’t have to come back to the steps.

What is an automated email and how do they save time? (22:07)

The emails you sent to clients are typically the same, just slightly personalized. In a CRM, you can say when you want an email to go out, and add customization before sending. The beauty of automation is that you don’t forget to do it.

How to get over the embarrassment of not having any systems in place? (25:47)
There will be more embarrassment when things go wrong because you forgot vitals steps in workflow. So there is no shame in saying things are not running most effectively, but then take action and create workflows.

How do you find time to make these business upgrades? (32:38)

Easy to get stuck in the Shoot-Edit-Deliver cycle. Have a hard conversation with yourself and know that it takes hard work to keep the clients coming. Other photographers who are successful in the long run all have systems in place. It just takes energy and focus.

Where do you start when you have no photography workflows in place? (35:26)

YouTube is a great resource for free education. Then, try a system like Iris Works, which has a free trial, as well as starting points with templates that you can keep or modify.

What are you creatively curious about? (38:24)
Creating creative solutions for other creatives based on how they like to do things.

Discover more about Meredith Gradle:
Website: www.iris-works.comFacebook: @IrisWorks
Instagram: @iris_works

Bio: Meredith Gradle is the Founder and CEO of Iris Works. She created Iris Works out of necessity, not only for herself at the time, but for many of her colleagues and counterparts in the professional photography industry. Iris Works is now known for being the simplest studio management platform available, serving thousands of photographers.