My first restaurant photo shoot!

I am a portrait photographer right?  Well yes I am and then some....  

This week I got an opportunity to photograph an Italian Restaurant in the Mukilteo, WA area - Amici Bistro.  

I have been presented with challenges of low light in the past but working in an intimately sized restaurant in low light was a new experience. 

I learned a lot during the shoot and I rather enjoyed it... here are some photos from the shoot.  I will be back this weekend for dinner and to photograph some of their tasty dishes, will share those photos when they are ready. 

 

Divertiti!

Snow is the theme for week one of my 52 week project - Enjoy!

I was so incredibly lucky to have had the opportunity to get up into the mountains two days last week!  So of course for my first week of my 52-week photo project I decided my first theme was SNOW.

Some of these were taken from my Canon Rebel and others with my iPhone.

I hope you all enjoy these photos as much as I enjoyed taking them.  

Coming up next week - Water 

Wedding Photography Pricing – OH MY!

As a photographer I initially struggled with pricing out my wedding packages and what I would offer a bride and groom.   I did what any new photographer would do and I researched my competitions prices, services and overall quality to help guide me in creating my packages and prices.

I considered everything from my quality/skills, time spent at the wedding, time spent editing, cost and time of printing, etc…  In the end I kept my rates very low to get exposure and experience.  In doing this I got a ton of experience, confidence and great clients.  As time went on I started increasing my prices to what I thought was a fair offering based on all of the factors listed above and my skill level increasing. 

Now today is a different day, I am an experienced wedding photographer and I now have much more time to focus on the details of the job having made the transition to full time… does that mean I should double my prices?  Some photographers would say yes and how dare you to not increase your prices.  But I went back to the drawing board to decide how I should approach this pricing “elephant” in the room.

What I decided was that my prices will raise slightly now that I am a full time photographer, lets be honest I need to pay the bills.  However my motto will stay the same…  “Everyone deserves a great wedding photographer”!  With that I will work on keeping my prices lower than some of my competition to accommodate the folks who cannot afford $3000 - $10,000 for a wedding photographer.

I gave up wedding photography for my day and wish I hadn’t don’t let it happen it you!

I would love to hear your thoughts on this subject.

www.swehlaphotography.com

Farewell Corporate America… Hello Photography!

I am entering my fourth week of self-employment and I honestly love it!  Not having to be up at 5:00 am, scrambling to get out of the house only to end up sitting in traffic for an hour plus is beyond words for me.  But don’t get me wrong it isn’t as easy as it sounds my friends.

I am getting a crash course in true time management; working in an office environment forces that on you on a daily basis.  What I am learning in my adventure is that there truly are not enough hours in the day to accomplish everything you want to most of the time.    I had this grand vision of getting many projects done around the house in my first few weeks and easing myself into the new role of business owner, sounds nice doesn’t it.

Actually my first few weeks ended up in a tremendous amount of time at the computer exploring creative ways to advertise my business.  I must add that this was with much success and that is what this is all about and I am happy to have spent that time.  My next steps are to balance work and life…

The plan for the next few weeks is to determine how to allow for the flexibility in which my work needs and allow for time with my husband, friends, self and getting some of my much-needed home projects accomplished.  I will be sure to share with you in the coming weeks on what is working and what is not. 

In the meantime feel free to enjoy my upcoming posts surrounding my work… this week I am starting 52-week project.  Each week I will photograph a different subject and will share with you my favorite shots from the week.

And we’re off!

Welcome!

Hello Friends and welcome to the Swehla Photography blog!

For those who do not know I recently quit my full time job in information technology to pursue my photography business.  My blog will follow my photography work while sharing my story on making the transition from corporate america to self employment.

For my first post I want to share a special set of photographs taken this week.  I know this is a sad and tragic story to start with but what I experienced taking these photos and sharing them has had such and impact on me that I feel it is the way to begin.  This is why I am pursuing photography.  The power behind these photos are indescribable.  After all this is life... we get some good and some bad.

Officer Biendl was murdered in the Monroe correctional facility on January 29th 2011 by an inmate who was planning an escape.  These photos follow the motorcade for fallen Officer Jayme Biendl

RIP - Jayme Biendl (February 6, 1976 - January 29th, 2011)

Click the link below to view album
Jayme Biendl Memorial Album