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The One Where They Deep Dive Into Portfolio Building
Episode 410th May 2022 • Cowgirls with Cameras • Kimberly Beer, Cara Taylor Swift and Phyllis Burchett
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Your portfolio is a curated collection of your very best images and represents the types of work you hope to create in the future AND the type of clients you hope to attract. In this episode of Cowgirls with Cameras, Phyllis, Kim and Cara take a deep dive into the importance of curating a portfolio, how to best structure your portfolio, and provide some tips on how to put that portfolio to work for you.

In addition, they discuss their recent experience at Animal Image Makers.

Mentioned in this episode:

Learn more about our Horses in the Snow Photographers Getaway

https://cowgirlswithcameras.com/horses-in-the-snow-photographers-getaway/

Transcripts

Jaz:

It's time to laugh, learn, and take your photography to the

Jaz:

next level with your favorite cowgirls with cameras, Cara, Kim

Jaz:

and Phyllis.

Kimberly Beer:

Hey there photographers It's Kim with Kim

Kimberly Beer:

Beer photography

Cara Taylor Swift:

and Cara with Fast Horse Photography

Phyllis Burchett:

and Phyllis with Phyllis Burchette photo.

Kimberly Beer:

Welcome to Cowgirls with Cameras. So

Kimberly Beer:

today's episode is going to be devoted to learning all about

Kimberly Beer:

how to create and use and curate a portfolio which is a huge

Kimberly Beer:

important piece in any photographers professional

Kimberly Beer:

appearance and professional business standing. So it's very

Kimberly Beer:

important whether you're brand new as a photographer, or

Kimberly Beer:

whether you are a photographer that's really established your

Kimberly Beer:

portfolio is something you've got to go back and visit with a

Kimberly Beer:

lot. So that's going to be our topic du jour today. And we do

Kimberly Beer:

have a lot of information to cover with that. But, before we

Kimberly Beer:

dive into that Cara and Phyllis have had an interesting

Kimberly Beer:

adventure that I think they would like to share with you

Kimberly Beer:

guys. They got to go to the Twin Cities and visit with some other

Kimberly Beer:

photographers. I unfortunately had to miss out but I'm dying to

Kimberly Beer:

get a report y'all on what happened at AIM.

Cara Taylor Swift:

Well, we really missed you. I mean,

Cara Taylor Swift:

Phyllis and I we didn't know what to do without our third

Cara Taylor Swift:

Musketeer running around with us. But I think we had a good

Cara Taylor Swift:

time. Didn't we Phyllis? We had fun?

Phyllis Burchett:

Yeah. It was just sad to not have Kim with

Phyllis Burchett:

us.

Cara Taylor Swift:

That's right. But you know what? We

Cara Taylor Swift:

represented Cowgirls with cameras well, I still believe

Cara Taylor Swift:

that we did that. So it was a lot of fun. This was the first

Cara Taylor Swift:

year that I think I know for me, I don't know about you, Phyllis.

Cara Taylor Swift:

But it's the first year I got to go in person.

Phyllis Burchett:

Me too.

Cara Taylor Swift:

Yeah, you were okay for you, too. Yeah.

Cara Taylor Swift:

So,

Phyllis Burchett:

Of course we all signed up back in 2020 and

Phyllis Burchett:

they had to cancel of course,

Cara Taylor Swift:

Right. So we did the virtual last year, which

Cara Taylor Swift:

was pretty neat. And I was so impressed with how they ran

Cara Taylor Swift:

over. I'd never had attended a virtual conference. I felt like

Cara Taylor Swift:

that was ran so well. It was really amazing. So the in person

Cara Taylor Swift:

conference was a lot of fun for me, I was able to attend a few

Cara Taylor Swift:

of the breakout workshops, got to chat with a lot of new

Cara Taylor Swift:

photographers. But the part I was most excited about was the

Cara Taylor Swift:

trade show and getting set up for the trade show. And then I

Cara Taylor Swift:

ended up not even being able to stay for it. I had to get home.

Cara Taylor Swift:

So I abandoned Phyllis at Animal Image Makers. Did you want to

Cara Taylor Swift:

talk about how the tradeshow went?

Phyllis Burchett:

Well, yes, but I was just thinking maybe we

Phyllis Burchett:

should let people know what Animal Image Makers is. It

Phyllis Burchett:

basically brings together pet and animal photographers from

Phyllis Burchett:

all over the world for a great weekend of education and

Phyllis Burchett:

networking. The love of, of everyone that attends that we

Phyllis Burchett:

all have for animals really creates a great instant bond

Phyllis Burchett:

between each other and a great energy at the conference. It's

Phyllis Burchett:

100% about animals and the business of photographing our

Phyllis Burchett:

furry friends. Some of the top animal educators in the world

Phyllis Burchett:

had been brought together. It was just a great experience for

Phyllis Burchett:

everybody. I really enjoyed it. I got to meet some people that I

Phyllis Burchett:

had always wanted to meet. So everybody left me alone for the

Phyllis Burchett:

trade show. I had to run the booth all by myself

Cara Taylor Swift:

You were abandoned

Phyllis Burchett:

Poor me. It was terrible. No, it wasn't it

Phyllis Burchett:

was great. I had a great time. I got to meet a lot of wonderful

Phyllis Burchett:

people. We got a lot of interest in Cowgirls with Cameras and got

Phyllis Burchett:

our name out there and got to talk up our Cottonwood Ranch

Phyllis Burchett:

event. I think it was well worth being there. And I really

Phyllis Burchett:

enjoyed it. Like I said I got to meet some wonderful people, some

Phyllis Burchett:

other vendors and people that were attending the conference. A

Phyllis Burchett:

lot of great photographers, animal photographers, so had a

Phyllis Burchett:

great time. Oh, and our T-shirts were selling like hotcakes.

Cara Taylor Swift:

That's right or over shooters anonymous

Cara Taylor Swift:

T-shirts. They are pretty much sold out at this point. Yep. And

Cara Taylor Swift:

both Kim and I are wearing Cowgirls with Camera shirts

Cara Taylor Swift:

today. So yeah, they're pretty much sold out at this point. But

Cara Taylor Swift:

we'll have another run coming sometime soon. But you know, one

Cara Taylor Swift:

of the other things I thought was really neat about that event

Cara Taylor Swift:

is that we got to see our pal Terri Cage of Terri Cage

Cara Taylor Swift:

photography, talk about equine photography, so we got to go and

Cara Taylor Swift:

support her. And that was pretty neat. She did a great job.

Phyllis Burchett:

She did a great job getting the word out

Phyllis Burchett:

there about telling people how to go about doing equine

Phyllis Burchett:

photography safely and how to present the horse well in your

Phyllis Burchett:

images. And also another really great highlight of my trip. And

Phyllis Burchett:

I think for you to Cara was to get to meet someone that I've

Phyllis Burchett:

been friends with virtually for years is Shelley Paulson. So

Phyllis Burchett:

Shelley came and picked us up Thursday, Cara and I, and we

Phyllis Burchett:

headed over to the Minnesota Horse Expo in a blizzard. And we

Phyllis Burchett:

had a great day. So I was freezing. Of course Cara from

Phyllis Burchett:

Florida was freezing. I think we had a really nice day we get to

Phyllis Burchett:

see some a few horses that we hadn't seen before some breeds

Phyllis Burchett:

and it was really cool, cold. It was it was a great day. It was a

Phyllis Burchett:

fun day we spent we spent a lot and not probably not all day we

Phyllis Burchett:

went maybe three or four hours at the expo and then we went and

Phyllis Burchett:

sat in a coffee shop and talked the rest of the afternoon. So we

Phyllis Burchett:

had a great time and then Shelley came back the next night

Phyllis Burchett:

and took Cara and myself and Terri out to dinner because

Phyllis Burchett:

she'd never met Terri before. So we had a really nice time.

Cara Taylor Swift:

Don't forget, we got to go to Mall of America,

Cara Taylor Swift:

which I found super fascinating that they had an amusement park

Cara Taylor Swift:

in the mall. So that was pretty amazing. I'd never seen anything

Cara Taylor Swift:

like that. So yeah, we had an amazing time with Shelley big

Cara Taylor Swift:

thank yous going out to her for entertaining us and getting to

Cara Taylor Swift:

meet her for the first time and just the four of us getting to

Cara Taylor Swift:

sit around talk shop was a lot of fun. So it was it was really

Cara Taylor Swift:

cool.

Kimberly Beer:

I'm so bummed I missed that.

Cara Taylor Swift:

Yeah, you really missed a good time. I'm

Phyllis Burchett:

We did not

Phyllis Burchett:

telling you,

Kimberly Beer:

But I'm more bummed that I missed the

Kimberly Beer:

amusement park in the Mall of America. Did you go on any rides

Kimberly Beer:

in the Mall of America?

Cara Taylor Swift:

We had an amazing charcuterie board at the

Cara Taylor Swift:

restaurant.

Kimberly Beer:

If I would have been with you, we would have had

Kimberly Beer:

to have gone on a ride.

Phyllis Burchett:

We almost did the carousel.

Kimberly Beer:

That's way too tame.

Phyllis Burchett:

Yeah, we almost did the carousel ride but

Phyllis Burchett:

none of us really we were close.

Cara Taylor Swift:

They had a roller coaster

Kimberly Beer:

That's why you need me there, is to go on the

Kimberly Beer:

roller coaster.

Phyllis Burchett:

Oh, I so would have done the roller coaster.

Cara Taylor Swift:

There was another reason you were in

Cara Taylor Swift:

Minnesota as well. Or another another fun thing you got to do

Cara Taylor Swift:

when you were there. Did you want to share that?

Phyllis Burchett:

Yeah, I met a friend of mine Karen Blenker

Phyllis Burchett:

that I think you and I had met before doing the Outer Banks,

Phyllis Burchett:

the horses, the wild horses in the Outer Banks years ago. And

Phyllis Burchett:

I've gotten to be friends with Karen. I had been up to

Phyllis Burchett:

Minnesota to shoot great gray owls with her. But this time we

Phyllis Burchett:

had she picked me up at the airport and we headed up to

Phyllis Burchett:

Wisconsin to shoot sharp tailed grouse. And then we came back

Phyllis Burchett:

down and got to shoot some more owls. I got to see some long

Phyllis Burchett:

eared owls and great horned owls. Well, I had never seen

Phyllis Burchett:

long eared owls before. So that was a first for me. So it was

Phyllis Burchett:

pretty cool. We got to do that in a blizzard too.

Cara Taylor Swift:

It was a great time, I would totally do

Cara Taylor Swift:

it again. So anyone who's out there that's thinking, should I

Cara Taylor Swift:

go to Animal Image Makers, if you're really focused on animal

Cara Taylor Swift:

photography, whether you're a horse photographer or a dog

Cara Taylor Swift:

photographer, cat photographer, I didn't feel like they talked a

Cara Taylor Swift:

lot about wild animals. At some of the presentations, mostly

Cara Taylor Swift:

domestic animals, I would just suggest if you're into

Cara Taylor Swift:

photographing pets or equines, that it is worth going and

Cara Taylor Swift:

enjoying and the trade show was a lot of fun to you got to

Cara Taylor Swift:

really spend some time talking to the folks at the trade show.

Cara Taylor Swift:

So I mean, the different vendors that were there, so Kim, I know

Cara Taylor Swift:

you missed it. But we did the best we could to represent and

Cara Taylor Swift:

to bring back tons of awesome information and sent, we sent

Cara Taylor Swift:

you your swag bag and all of that. So your swag box and all

Cara Taylor Swift:

of that. So I know you receive that this week. But what have

Cara Taylor Swift:

you been up to anything you want to chat about since you missed

Cara Taylor Swift:

us?

Kimberly Beer:

I did get to go to an expo on my own. So I did a

Kimberly Beer:

one day table at the networking event that I belong at. And I

Kimberly Beer:

was actually there representing my Gestalt business, not as a

Kimberly Beer:

photographer. But my booth was right next door to a wonderful

Kimberly Beer:

photographer. And so we got to talk shop and they actually do

Kimberly Beer:

senior portraits and headshots portraits for corporate folks.

Kimberly Beer:

We got to talk about the fact that occasionally they cross

Kimberly Beer:

over into the equine world. So I got to share some tips and

Kimberly Beer:

tricks about how to get good pictures of the horses for them.

Kimberly Beer:

Very talented photographer and her husband that run a business

Kimberly Beer:

and just really nice people. So it's always nice to connect and

Kimberly Beer:

do that. Otherwise, I have been home taking care of my health,

Kimberly Beer:

which is why I had to miss AIM. Just trusting in my own process,

Kimberly Beer:

being an entrepreneur sometimes means you have to slow it down

Kimberly Beer:

and make sure you take care of you. And that's where I've been

Kimberly Beer:

at for the past month or so is just focusing on one step and

Kimberly Beer:

one day at a time.

Cara Taylor Swift:

It's right where you need to be.

Kimberly Beer:

Right where I need to be. So now let's switch

Kimberly Beer:

over our topic here to growing your portfolio. And I cannot

Kimberly Beer:

stress enough how important having a portfolio is to a

Kimberly Beer:

photographer. And I know we have a lot of young photographers,

Kimberly Beer:

maybe not in age, but experience per se, listening to the podcast

Kimberly Beer:

and following us and looking to us for suggestions. And

Kimberly Beer:

portfolios are such an important place to begin and to build to

Kimberly Beer:

get your career in the direction that you want it to go. Now if

Kimberly Beer:

you're a more established photographer, it's also

Kimberly Beer:

something that you can't just put a checkbox that by and say

Kimberly Beer:

you're never going to touch it again, like your website, like

Kimberly Beer:

all your marketing, like all the things you put out into the

Kimberly Beer:

world, you really need to pay attention to it. So hopefully,

Kimberly Beer:

if you are a more experienced photographer, you will hang out

Kimberly Beer:

with us here and listen, because there's ideas that are going to

Kimberly Beer:

be coming your way about how you can improve the portfolio that

Kimberly Beer:

you currently have, and be able to utilize it even more. So I'm

Kimberly Beer:

going to turn this over to Cara because she's got some fantastic

Kimberly Beer:

ideas in true Cara form a beautiful list of suggestions

Kimberly Beer:

for you. So Cara, you take it away.

Cara Taylor Swift:

Well, I know Phillys will have a lot to chime

Cara Taylor Swift:

in here too, but one of the things that when I think about

Cara Taylor Swift:

my portfolio is that it's a constantly evolving collection

Cara Taylor Swift:

of work. So it's changing and it's changing as I continue to

Cara Taylor Swift:

grow and learn in my photography. So my portfolio

Cara Taylor Swift:

from when I started shooting regularly six years ago, it's

Cara Taylor Swift:

very different than what it looks like today. And there's a

Cara Taylor Swift:

lot of reasons for that, not just that my work has changed,

Cara Taylor Swift:

and I hope it has gotten better, but that I have different needs

Cara Taylor Swift:

for my portfolio. And it needs to fill kind of some different

Cara Taylor Swift:

buckets that it didn't need to fill back when I was first

Cara Taylor Swift:

getting started. I think I have some tips that I thought would

Cara Taylor Swift:

be helpful for folks. And the first one that I can think of is

Cara Taylor Swift:

that a lot of times when you're in the early days of portfolio

Cara Taylor Swift:

building, you don't have a lot of work. So you don't have a lot

Cara Taylor Swift:

of paid shoots. Maybe you don't have a lot of unpaid shoots,

Cara Taylor Swift:

you're just trying to get out there and shoot. And that's

Cara Taylor Swift:

honestly the best thing that you can do. So even if you don't

Cara Taylor Swift:

have sessions scheduled, you have to find a way to keep

Cara Taylor Swift:

shooting and keep getting people in front of your lens. It needs

Cara Taylor Swift:

to be, to me, whatever you're photographing, whether it be

Cara Taylor Swift:

people or just horses, or animals or horses and humans

Cara Taylor Swift:

together, it needs to be something that you see yourself

Cara Taylor Swift:

wanting to photograph in the future, because you want to show

Cara Taylor Swift:

what you hope to sell one day or show what you hope to shoot one

Cara Taylor Swift:

day. So you really need to be thinking about who is your

Cara Taylor Swift:

audience, who are you going to be and I put this in quotations

Cara Taylor Swift:

"speaking to with your images", so that you can start thinking

Cara Taylor Swift:

about putting together shoots that will represent that. So it

Cara Taylor Swift:

needs that needs to be your target audience, once again,

Cara Taylor Swift:

show the what and the who of what you hope to photograph in

Cara Taylor Swift:

the future. Another thing that I think sometimes I see is that

Cara Taylor Swift:

it's so important that the images that you're showing that

Cara Taylor Swift:

you're using in your portfolio, or that you're putting on your

Cara Taylor Swift:

website are really only your best images. With social media,

Cara Taylor Swift:

it's so easy to get caught up on showing everything that you

Cara Taylor Swift:

might do a photo dump of every image from a session or your top

Cara Taylor Swift:

10 favorite images from a session. And really, you don't

Cara Taylor Swift:

need to show those things unless they're your best. Because every

Cara Taylor Swift:

image you put out there, I hate to break it to you guys, it's

Cara Taylor Swift:

going to be out there forever, I have some images that will pop

Cara Taylor Swift:

up in memories, and that my clients will share because they

Cara Taylor Swift:

love them. But I'm like, oh no, that image is gonna haunt me for

Cara Taylor Swift:

the rest of my life. Because it's not an image that is the

Cara Taylor Swift:

best representation of my portfolio. These days. Any

Cara Taylor Swift:

photographer that's out there in the time of social media, and

Cara Taylor Swift:

the ability to share and be super proud of your work

Cara Taylor Swift:

probably feels that way too, at some point. And they just never

Cara Taylor Swift:

go away, I would definitely spend some time once again,

Cara Taylor Swift:

thinking about the audience and who you're trying to speak to

Cara Taylor Swift:

and then look at your portfolio and say, Do I have holes in my

Cara Taylor Swift:

portfolio buckets that I need to fill by creating images that

Cara Taylor Swift:

really are going to go to work for me. So you know, go through

Cara Taylor Swift:

your images look for that, that unique eye that you have that

Cara Taylor Swift:

unique asset or your unique point of distinction that is

Cara Taylor Swift:

represented in your images that will really set you apart from

Cara Taylor Swift:

other photographers in your field. It might be a way that

Cara Taylor Swift:

you shoot, the type of shooting that you like to do, or even the

Cara Taylor Swift:

way that you process your images when you're done. You're looking

Cara Taylor Swift:

for that thing that really defines you and set you apart

Cara Taylor Swift:

from every other horse photographer that is available

Cara Taylor Swift:

to be found on Google. I would love it if we talk about this

Cara Taylor Swift:

more in detail maybe on another episode, but definitely go out

Cara Taylor Swift:

and actively plan shoots just for the purpose of portfolio

Cara Taylor Swift:

building where you sit down and plan out the concept, you

Cara Taylor Swift:

determine your end goals, hire models, and collaborate

Cara Taylor Swift:

potentially with other business owners to make sure that you're

Cara Taylor Swift:

creating images that are going to work for you. And you're not

Cara Taylor Swift:

just creating when you're being hired to create. I also

Cara Taylor Swift:

recommend if you can do a portfolio review. So take those

Cara Taylor Swift:

existing images that you think best represent you and sit down

Cara Taylor Swift:

with a mentor or another photographer in your industry

Cara Taylor Swift:

that you really trust and that understand your industry and get

Cara Taylor Swift:

some feedback from them. Anytime I have done this, I have found

Cara Taylor Swift:

it. so eye opening to see how my images are viewed by other

Cara Taylor Swift:

people. I think we get caught up in being afraid of criticism,

Cara Taylor Swift:

and being afraid of hearing that we could do better or do

Cara Taylor Swift:

something differently. And if we can get past some of that I

Cara Taylor Swift:

think our work just goes to a whole nother level. If we can

Cara Taylor Swift:

take the criticism and actually like process it and think it

Cara Taylor Swift:

through. I think that's probably the biggest thing. I think the

Cara Taylor Swift:

last thing I would say just because I love doing this is I

Cara Taylor Swift:

love to team up with another photographer and do shoots

Cara Taylor Swift:

together. It's a great way to get creative and bounce ideas

Cara Taylor Swift:

off of each other. You can split the cost of model hires or some

Cara Taylor Swift:

of the props that you bring in and it's just a really fun way

Cara Taylor Swift:

to get creative. And I think some of that's what we bring to

Cara Taylor Swift:

the table with Cowgirls with Cameras workshops.

Phyllis Burchett:

I think you really covered a lot of bases

Phyllis Burchett:

there. I was just going to add also that I think attending

Phyllis Burchett:

workshops, whether it's ours or anybody's it's a great way to

Phyllis Burchett:

build your portfolio. So I'm going to talk a little bit more

Phyllis Burchett:

about how to structure your actual portfolio and your visual

Phyllis Burchett:

portfolio, I guess is what I'm talking about on your websites.

Phyllis Burchett:

Back in the day, of course, we used to have a portfolio book,

Phyllis Burchett:

you know, but I think one of the biggest things is, whatever you

Phyllis Burchett:

do is make your passion very prominent in your portfolio,

Phyllis Burchett:

what you really want to be hired for and to make sure that that

Phyllis Burchett:

interface on your website or in the portfolio, that you're

Phyllis Burchett:

showing that it's clean and very visually attractive for people

Phyllis Burchett:

to look at. Maybe even try to inspire your audience a little

Phyllis Burchett:

bit by combining words and images that make people want to

Phyllis Burchett:

act and respond to what they're seeing. Again, like Cara said,

Phyllis Burchett:

choose only your best images, ask someone to look at your

Phyllis Burchett:

portfolio that you're wanting to put up and give you some

Phyllis Burchett:

feedback and but make sure it's someone you trust their opinion.

Phyllis Burchett:

I would also say choose photos where each image stands on its

Phyllis Burchett:

own. You can do a story building portfolio, but I think it just

Phyllis Burchett:

depends on if you're being hired by a client and you're showing

Phyllis Burchett:

them this portfolio, you can read your client, you can read,

Phyllis Burchett:

do they want to do a story building series? Or do they want

Phyllis Burchett:

images that stand on their own? When you're doing it for a

Phyllis Burchett:

client, think about creating a portfolio that's focused on

Phyllis Burchett:

images that will show them that you're the right person to hire.

Phyllis Burchett:

And if you do shoot a different photography niches, like you

Phyllis Burchett:

know, maybe you shoot landscape, maybe you Shoot horses, maybe

Phyllis Burchett:

you shoot portrait. It's okay to make multiple portfolios, you

Phyllis Burchett:

know, to best suit your audience. So I think it's good

Phyllis Burchett:

to show the client that you can do a variety of jobs. I know

Phyllis Burchett:

back years ago, I got hired to do, I was wanting to do a lady's

Phyllis Burchett:

ride and or look at a place was actually a cabin for hire in

Phyllis Burchett:

Colorado. And I actually got the job because they wanted somebody

Phyllis Burchett:

that could do architectural images along with landscape and

Phyllis Burchett:

horses. So it's good to be able to show that you can do a

Phyllis Burchett:

variety, a client will be looking for variety. And I

Phyllis Burchett:

think, lastly is, gosh, take risk. I think risk are a really

Phyllis Burchett:

important part of the world of art it extends and this extends

Phyllis Burchett:

into your portfolio, don't be afraid to take a risk that you

Phyllis Burchett:

think is going to show examples of your creativity and

Phyllis Burchett:

innovation and stay current and modern with that be sure to

Phyllis Burchett:

update your work, which I'm bad to not do.

Cara Taylor Swift:

That part about staying current and modern

Cara Taylor Swift:

can be really huge. Because I've seen photographers really date

Cara Taylor Swift:

themselves and date their work by using types of editing or

Cara Taylor Swift:

shooting that is maybe just not done as much right now. So if

Cara Taylor Swift:

you've got some of that in your portfolio, and it's not

Cara Taylor Swift:

currently the trend, you know, really think about how that fits

Cara Taylor Swift:

in with what you want to shoot. I'm not gonna give any examples,

Cara Taylor Swift:

but that's, you know, just something to really think about.

Phyllis Burchett:

I think that's really important too, because

Phyllis Burchett:

photography does go through trends, just like fashion. Just

Phyllis Burchett:

this morning, I saw somebody's work that was which is great

Phyllis Burchett:

work. Don't get me wrong, but they're kind of living in what

Phyllis Burchett:

was current five years ago, which isn't that way now. So

Phyllis Burchett:

yes, look at the modern trends, just like reels is a trend on

Phyllis Burchett:

Instagram right now, but it's not really a trend. I think it's

Phyllis Burchett:

gonna be here for a while. So

Cara Taylor Swift:

Do you guys want me to talk about model

Cara Taylor Swift:

calls right now? Or do you want me to save it for the end? What

Cara Taylor Swift:

do you think

Kimberly Beer:

Models are something I think that newer

Kimberly Beer:

photographers are really afraid of, right? It's a scary thing to

Kimberly Beer:

put out a model call for the first time and working with

Kimberly Beer:

models can get really complicated. And I do know we do

Kimberly Beer:

need to do an entire episode on it Cara, or at least that's what

Kimberly Beer:

my feeling is. But I think here it's really appropriate to talk

Kimberly Beer:

about when you're building your portfolio, having a model and

Kimberly Beer:

making sure that you have your t's crossed and your i's dotted

Kimberly Beer:

you know, have your model releases and stuff. But just the

Kimberly Beer:

the asking and planning part. And we have some friends that we

Kimberly Beer:

hang out with, and it's a true privilege to hang out with them,

Kimberly Beer:

that have really good model ideas and ways to get models

Kimberly Beer:

into their business and also to work with models. So yep, go

Kimberly Beer:

right ahead.

Cara Taylor Swift:

I do agree with Kim that this could be an

Cara Taylor Swift:

entire episode in itself. But where models are concerned for

Cara Taylor Swift:

portfolio building and model calls, I have definitely used

Cara Taylor Swift:

them in the past. And I've had some successes and some failures

Cara Taylor Swift:

with that. One of the things I realized when I was first

Cara Taylor Swift:

starting out and I would put out a model call is I would have a

Cara Taylor Swift:

ton of interest 50, 60, 100 inquiries would go through my

Cara Taylor Swift:

website and want to be on the model call. So what I found was

Cara Taylor Swift:

happening is that I would go through when I would pick who I

Cara Taylor Swift:

thought was a great fit for the project I was trying to create,

Cara Taylor Swift:

I would go through the process of setting up a date and a time

Cara Taylor Swift:

with those people and talk through what I needed from that

Cara Taylor Swift:

shoot. And then what would happen is I would drive out and

Cara Taylor Swift:

to meet them on the day of the shoot and no one would be there.

Cara Taylor Swift:

They just wouldn't show up. And so that was a lot of time and

Cara Taylor Swift:

energy invested other people could have taken that out what I

Cara Taylor Swift:

thought was a great opportunity and participated in that. One of

Cara Taylor Swift:

the things that I started doing in the early days of model calls

Cara Taylor Swift:

is I created well actually I didn't create this part of it is

Cara Taylor Swift:

I participated in an online program called in person sales

Cara Taylor Swift:

mastermind and there was a workshop that was called the $50

Cara Taylor Swift:

model call. And when I went through that program, I realized

Cara Taylor Swift:

that even on a model call situation sometimes your models

Cara Taylor Swift:

need to have a little skin in the game in order to go through

Cara Taylor Swift:

your entire process. And for me in that model call, I wanted to

Cara Taylor Swift:

test my workflow. So it wasn't just about shooting and

Cara Taylor Swift:

portfolio building. For me it was the initial inquiry working

Cara Taylor Swift:

with clients, getting them prepped for the photoshoot, the

Cara Taylor Swift:

actual session itself, meeting with me afterwards to view the

Cara Taylor Swift:

images. So I needed them to go through that whole process. So I

Cara Taylor Swift:

actually started charging my models to participate in the

Cara Taylor Swift:

model call. And then that is when I realized I really was

Cara Taylor Swift:

able to slim down the amount of interest to people that were

Cara Taylor Swift:

really interested and were going to show up. And then also get

Cara Taylor Swift:

them to a place where I was learning, I was going through my

Cara Taylor Swift:

process, I was testing my process, and we were shooting,

Cara Taylor Swift:

and they were getting images. So the way that I always structured

Cara Taylor Swift:

that was that any money that I requested for them "to book",

Cara Taylor Swift:

I'm putting that in quotations book their model called spot

Cara Taylor Swift:

they got back when they completed the process. So they

Cara Taylor Swift:

got the money back, but they could go through the process.

Cara Taylor Swift:

And all that did was encouraged people to actually participate.

Cara Taylor Swift:

And it worked out really, really well for me, in the beginning, I

Cara Taylor Swift:

got a ton of portfolio work, I got a ton of new sessions. And

Cara Taylor Swift:

then from that, I was able to build much more of an online

Cara Taylor Swift:

content presence and actual good portfolio work. Now I'm not

Cara Taylor Swift:

saying that I think every model call needs to be paid, I'm just

Cara Taylor Swift:

throwing out some ideas out there that you don't have to

Cara Taylor Swift:

offer it for free all of the time. And you need to remember

Cara Taylor Swift:

that when you're offering a model call for free, you are

Cara Taylor Swift:

directly potentially undercutting other photographers

Cara Taylor Swift:

in your area. So you really need to think about how you do that.

Cara Taylor Swift:

And be really just be super thoughtful about when you're

Cara Taylor Swift:

advertising free photo shoots, as model calls Phyllis, and Kim

Cara Taylor Swift:

did you guys want to add anything to that?

Kimberly Beer:

When you offer something for free people take

Kimberly Beer:

it at the value that you offer it. So that's nothing. And even

Kimberly Beer:

if you don't want to, let's say you charge them a $50 fee or

Kimberly Beer:

$100 fee, you don't always have to give that money back to them.

Kimberly Beer:

It can be prepayment, and you can say I'll exchange this for X

Kimberly Beer:

number of prints or two or three digital files that you can share

Kimberly Beer:

out with you. Because let's face it, if people are showing up for

Kimberly Beer:

model calls, that means they have an interest in making money

Kimberly Beer:

in this too, or getting something else out of it. And if

Kimberly Beer:

they can see more of that benefit of what they can get out

Kimberly Beer:

of it in the future, then they're more likely to be

Kimberly Beer:

participatory in the process, they're more likely to show up

Kimberly Beer:

where they're supposed to be, they're more likely to be more

Kimberly Beer:

engaged with making sure that it's done right that they're in

Kimberly Beer:

our case that their horses are groomed and everything looks the

Kimberly Beer:

way that it should for the same way a potential client would

Kimberly Beer:

look. So it's to me, it's important that they do have skin

Kimberly Beer:

in the game, I have had zero luck with free model calls. In

Kimberly Beer:

my career, what I have had luck with was charging a set fee

Kimberly Beer:

that's much reduced from my normal fee in exchange for the

Kimberly Beer:

fact that I have to have X number of shots. And I'm really

Kimberly Beer:

very upfront with the people that I ask to help me build my

Kimberly Beer:

portfolio, I will simply say I am building my portfolio, I am

Kimberly Beer:

looking for these shots, when I first got into reining, you have

Kimberly Beer:

to be able to shoot a stop if you're going to do reining

Kimberly Beer:

shows. And that's what the show staff wants to see in your

Kimberly Beer:

portfolio. So I contacted really high end what I would, high end

Kimberly Beer:

for my area, mind you I'm in the middle of the Midwest, so barns

Kimberly Beer:

that had good reining horses and said here's the deal, I will do

Kimberly Beer:

you know, X number of stallion shots, which already had a good

Kimberly Beer:

portfolio for but I need stop shots. So I need you to be able

Kimberly Beer:

to stop that horse X number of times I need an arena that looks

Kimberly Beer:

good, I need to have dirt that's going to fly, these are the

Kimberly Beer:

things that I need to have, I need you in your show gear. So

Kimberly Beer:

you're gonna have to outfit your horse the same as you would for

Kimberly Beer:

a show. No jeans, no braided tails, you know, I need you to

Kimberly Beer:

be like really on top of it. So I'm asking a lot of that model

Kimberly Beer:

and giving it something back.

Cara Taylor Swift:

That's 100% I think you can't just do a

Cara Taylor Swift:

blanket model call. Like I just I personally have never been a

Cara Taylor Swift:

big fan when people just say I just want to take pictures

Cara Taylor Swift:

people like let me know, you know, if you want your picture

Cara Taylor Swift:

taken, like you need to be super specific about what you need for

Cara Taylor Swift:

your portfolio. So if you're trying to build the commercial

Cara Taylor Swift:

side of your portfolio, you need to be working with small

Cara Taylor Swift:

businesses and looking specifically for the types of

Cara Taylor Swift:

products and services that you want to photograph. And that's

Cara Taylor Swift:

who your model call needs to be targeted at. If you're trying to

Cara Taylor Swift:

photograph a certain type of horse, a certain breed, or do a

Cara Taylor Swift:

certain type of discipline, you need to be super specific about

Cara Taylor Swift:

that. And that's going to help other you know, it's going to

Cara Taylor Swift:

help you get what you need for your portfolio. It's going to

Cara Taylor Swift:

help narrow down and make sure that you've got the right people

Cara Taylor Swift:

and it's going to help other photographers in your area

Cara Taylor Swift:

respect and understand what you're doing. I would add one

Cara Taylor Swift:

more thing about that. Yeah, I mean, I've spoken about how you

Cara Taylor Swift:

want your model sometimes to have skin in the game on the

Cara Taylor Swift:

flip side of that there are times when I have paid models to

Cara Taylor Swift:

get access to a particular breed of horse or a particular person

Cara Taylor Swift:

that I really wanted to photograph. So I think as

Cara Taylor Swift:

photographers, you have to balance what that is that you're

Cara Taylor Swift:

looking for and where you are in your game of portfolio building.

Cara Taylor Swift:

And horses, are property

Kimberly Beer:

Exactly. Do make sure that you have your

Kimberly Beer:

Horses are property. Well, I wanted to

Kimberly Beer:

legalities taken care of though, when you're doing this, because

Kimberly Beer:

there's nothing worse than getting into you know, go going

Kimberly Beer:

and shooting and getting the exact shots you need for your

Kimberly Beer:

change this conversation over unless you have something you

Kimberly Beer:

portfolio. You use them for a little while, and then all of a

Kimberly Beer:

sudden, the model comes back and says, hey, you're, you're doing

Kimberly Beer:

really well after those shots you took of me, I need XYZ now.

Kimberly Beer:

And you're like, yeah, there's model releases all over the

Kimberly Beer:

internet. I mean, they're not hard to come by. So grab a

Kimberly Beer:

model, release and familiarize yourself with the process of

Kimberly Beer:

that. And I also encourage people to definitely get a check

Kimberly Beer:

mark on a property release, especially if you're going to

Kimberly Beer:

somebody else's facility to take those photos. I know I did that

Kimberly Beer:

want to add here into how to use your portfolio because I think

Kimberly Beer:

that's a place though to building the portfolio is like

Kimberly Beer:

a lot. When I was building my portfolio, I was at nice

Kimberly Beer:

the fun part for most people. They're all down for that let's

Kimberly Beer:

facilities of famous people. And I needed to have some ability to

Kimberly Beer:

be able to know I could use those images legally and without

Kimberly Beer:

strings and horses, our property horses our property, well, I

Kimberly Beer:

wanted to change this conversation over unless you

Kimberly Beer:

have something you want to add here into how to use your

Kimberly Beer:

portfolio because they think that's a place though to

Kimberly Beer:

building the portfolio is like the fun part. For most people.

Kimberly Beer:

They're all down for that let's let's build our portfolio. Let's

Kimberly Beer:

let's build our portfolio. Let's go shoot. You know, people even

Kimberly Beer:

go shoot, you know, people even kind of bite the bullet even if

Kimberly Beer:

kind of bite the bullet even if they're shy about you know,

Kimberly Beer:

they're shy about you know, finding people to photograph and

Kimberly Beer:

finding people to photograph and that kind of stuff. But when it

Kimberly Beer:

that kind of stuff. But when it comes to actually using your

Kimberly Beer:

comes to actually using your portfolio, I see some feet

Kimberly Beer:

portfolio, I see some feet dragon. Now we used to back in

Kimberly Beer:

draggin'. Now we used to back in the day have printed portfolios,

Kimberly Beer:

the day have printed portfolios, and I'm sitting over here

Kimberly Beer:

and I'm sitting over here thinking I still have printed

Kimberly Beer:

thinking I still have printed portfolios. I have several books

Kimberly Beer:

portfolios. I have several books that I carry around with me when

Kimberly Beer:

that I carry around with me when I am in a target rich

Kimberly Beer:

I am in a target rich environment that people can just

Kimberly Beer:

environment that people can just pick up and thumb through. And I

Kimberly Beer:

pick up and thumb through. And I have to tell you, I have booked

Kimberly Beer:

have to tell you, I have booked more jobs off of those

Kimberly Beer:

more jobs off of those portfolios than I can count.

Kimberly Beer:

portfolios than I can count. It's it's absolutely the best

Kimberly Beer:

It's it's absolutely the best way to sell stuff. And it makes

Kimberly Beer:

way to sell stuff. And it makes sure you curate your portfolio

Kimberly Beer:

sure you curate your portfolio for the audience that you are

Kimberly Beer:

for the audience that you are going to be showing that

Kimberly Beer:

going to be showing that portfolio to I believe that was

Kimberly Beer:

portfolio to I believe that was Phyllis, you had that piece of

Kimberly Beer:

Phyllis, who had that piece of advice, which I also think is

Kimberly Beer:

advice, which I also think is super important. So if you're

Kimberly Beer:

super important. So if you're looking for commercial work,

Kimberly Beer:

looking for commercial work, what you can do is you can take

Kimberly Beer:

what you can do is you can take your digital portfolio, usually

Kimberly Beer:

your digital portfolio, usually in the form of your website, or

Kimberly Beer:

in the form of your website, or in the form of maybe a video

Kimberly Beer:

in the form of maybe a video that you can send to people via

Kimberly Beer:

that you can send to people via email or snail mail, if you're

Kimberly Beer:

email or snail mail, if you're going to print it, send it to

Kimberly Beer:

going to print it, send it to the people that you'd like to

Kimberly Beer:

the people that you'd like to especially work for if you have

Kimberly Beer:

especially work for. If you have shot some of their items for

Kimberly Beer:

shot some of their items for that particular brand, either on

Kimberly Beer:

that particular brand, either on purpose or by accident, and if

Kimberly Beer:

purpose or by accident. And if you would like to look at maybe

Kimberly Beer:

you would like to look at maybe doing some work for that

Kimberly Beer:

doing some work for that organization or brand, then

Kimberly Beer:

organization or brand, then definitely include that in the

Kimberly Beer:

definitely include that in the portfolio, do your research on

Kimberly Beer:

portfolio. Do your research on the brands that you're going to

Kimberly Beer:

the brands that you're going to approach to see if you can work

Kimberly Beer:

approach to see if you can work with them. You want to make sure

Kimberly Beer:

with them. You want to make sure that you capture the look, the

Kimberly Beer:

that you capture the look, the feel the emotion of that brand.

Kimberly Beer:

feel the emotion of that brand. All of those things are really

Kimberly Beer:

All of those things are really important to commercial

Kimberly Beer:

important to commercial businesses. And it's important

Kimberly Beer:

businesses. And it's important that they have photographers

Kimberly Beer:

that they have photographers that they work with that

Kimberly Beer:

that they work with that understand that and a lot of

Kimberly Beer:

understand that and a lot of small businesses and a lot of

Kimberly Beer:

small businesses and a lot of big ones for that matter, they

Kimberly Beer:

big ones for that matter, they need commercial imagery. So if

Kimberly Beer:

need commercial imagery. So if that's the place that you're

Kimberly Beer:

that's the place that you're wanting to look for, to me, that

Kimberly Beer:

wanting to look for, to me, that particular line of showing your

Kimberly Beer:

particular line of showing your portfolio is the most curated

Kimberly Beer:

portfolio is the most curated line that you're going to find

Kimberly Beer:

line that you're going to find you're always going to choose

Kimberly Beer:

you're always going to choose just exactly the most specific

Kimberly Beer:

just exactly the most specific images to be able to show to

Kimberly Beer:

images to be able to show to those potential clients. If you

Kimberly Beer:

those potential clients. If you are wanting to work in the fine

Kimberly Beer:

are wanting to work in the fine art world. You can take your

Kimberly Beer:

art world. You can take your portfolio either digitally or

Kimberly Beer:

portfolio either digitally or printed and you can approach

Kimberly Beer:

printed and you can approach galleries about doing a show or

Kimberly Beer:

galleries about doing a show or having some of your images

Kimberly Beer:

having some of your images featured in their space. I've

Kimberly Beer:

featured in their space. I've done this on a couple of

Kimberly Beer:

done this on a couple of different occasions and had some

Kimberly Beer:

different occasions and had some really nice luck with it. If you

Kimberly Beer:

really nice luck with it. If you get to know the gallery pretty

Kimberly Beer:

get to know the gallery pretty well a lot of galleries like the

Kimberly Beer:

well a lot of galleries like the gallery where I have a small

Kimberly Beer:

gallery where I have a small studio space in Kansas City they

Kimberly Beer:

studio space in Kansas City they have member only shows several

Kimberly Beer:

have member only shows several times a year that I will also

Kimberly Beer:

times a year that I will also participate or hang other images

Kimberly Beer:

participate or hang other images throughout their seasons in the

Kimberly Beer:

throughout their seasons in the gallery and there's a lot of

Kimberly Beer:

gallery and there's a lot of galleries in that little area

Kimberly Beer:

galleries in that little area that I have approached about

Kimberly Beer:

that I have approached about having my work displayed in so

Kimberly Beer:

having my work displayed in so you can take your portfolio and

Kimberly Beer:

you can take your portfolio and show it there. You can also

Kimberly Beer:

show it there. You can also approach businesses about

Kimberly Beer:

approach businesses about showing your images in their

Kimberly Beer:

showing your images in their spaces. So I work with a lot of

Kimberly Beer:

spaces. So I work with a lot of visual artists other than

Kimberly Beer:

visual artists other than photographers in helping them

Kimberly Beer:

photographers in helping them market and I've not seen a

Kimberly Beer:

market and I've not seen a photographer do this personally.

Kimberly Beer:

photographer do this personally. I know there are some that have,

Kimberly Beer:

I know there are some that have that I have seen a lot of my

Kimberly Beer:

but I have seen a lot of my visual artists that I coach and

Kimberly Beer:

visual artists that I coach and work with and mentor that have

Kimberly Beer:

work with and mentor that have approached restaurants and

Kimberly Beer:

approached restaurants and offered to hang their work in

Kimberly Beer:

offered to hang their work in that restaurant or coffee shops,

Kimberly Beer:

that restaurant or coffee shops, I've had a couple they've been

Kimberly Beer:

I've had a couple they've been very successful with coffee

Kimberly Beer:

very successful with coffee shops or even corporate

Kimberly Beer:

shops or even corporate businesses. Now I've had a lot

Kimberly Beer:

businesses. Now I've had a lot of my work is displayed in

Kimberly Beer:

of my work is displayed in corporate offices, but they've

Kimberly Beer:

corporate offices, but they've purchased it through different

Kimberly Beer:

purchased it through different channels than me showing up with

Kimberly Beer:

channels than me showing up with a portfolio, there's always an

Kimberly Beer:

a portfolio. There's always an opportunity to get your art out

Kimberly Beer:

opportunity to get your art out in places. And that becomes a

Kimberly Beer:

in places. And that becomes a living portfolio for you as well

Kimberly Beer:

living portfolio for you as well because whoever is coming in and

Kimberly Beer:

because whoever is coming in and out of that space is also seeing

Kimberly Beer:

out of that space is also seeing your work, whether it's in the

Kimberly Beer:

your work, whether it's in the gallery or the restaurant or the

Kimberly Beer:

gallery or the restaurant or the coffee shop or the corporate

Kimberly Beer:

coffee shop or the corporate building. If you're looking to

Kimberly Beer:

building. If you're looking to do a portrait or private work

Kimberly Beer:

do a portrait or private work taking your portfolio and

Kimberly Beer:

taking your portfolio and printed form, or on a tablet to

Kimberly Beer:

printed form, or on a tablet to a booth or a table at local

Kimberly Beer:

a booth or a table at local events where your ideal client

Kimberly Beer:

events where your ideal client will be like my new friend that

Kimberly Beer:

will be like my new friend that I met at central exchange, she

Kimberly Beer:

I met at Central Exchange, she had a booth right next to mine,

Kimberly Beer:

had a booth right next to mine, she had it done up really nice.

Kimberly Beer:

she had it done up really nice. She had her portraits, her

Kimberly Beer:

She had her portraits, her portfolio stuff all laid out all

Kimberly Beer:

portfolio stuff all laid out all over the table, and she had a

Kimberly Beer:

over the table, and she had a couple of really fun doors. She

Kimberly Beer:

couple of really fun doors. She does a lot of her headshots with

Kimberly Beer:

does a lot of her headshots with doors in the background. And so

Kimberly Beer:

doors in the background. And so they had some really colorful

Kimberly Beer:

they had some really colorful doors there. And it really drew

Kimberly Beer:

doors there. And it really drew people over to the booth, I

Kimberly Beer:

people over to the booth, I thought she did an outstanding

Kimberly Beer:

thought she did an outstanding job. And another thing I thought

Kimberly Beer:

job. And another thing I thought she did really, really well was

Kimberly Beer:

she did really, really well was a printed piece, which I'm going

Kimberly Beer:

a printed piece, which I'm going to show Phyllis and Kara, where

Kimberly Beer:

to show Phyllis and Cara, where she does high end senior

Kimberly Beer:

she's does high end senior portraits. It's like a lookbook.

Kimberly Beer:

portraits. It's like a lookbook. It's like a lookbook. It's a

Kimberly Beer:

It's like a lookbook. It's a little portfolio of her work. It

Kimberly Beer:

little portfolio of her work. It features local kids that people

Kimberly Beer:

features local kids that people are going to recognize it has

Kimberly Beer:

are going to recognize it has suggestions about how to book

Kimberly Beer:

suggestions about how to book your senior sessions, and about

Kimberly Beer:

your senior sessions, and about what to expect and little fun

Kimberly Beer:

what to expect and little fun sayings that are very

Kimberly Beer:

sayings that are very appropriate to the current

Kimberly Beer:

appropriate to the current generation that's out there. And

Kimberly Beer:

generation that's out there. And all of her photos are mixed in

Kimberly Beer:

all of her photos are mixed in with it. So it just makes it

Kimberly Beer:

with it. So it just makes it really easy for her to be able

Kimberly Beer:

really easy for her to be able to hand what I call a walk and

Kimberly Beer:

to hand what I call a walk and talk piece. You can talk with

Kimberly Beer:

talk piece. You can talk with people and then people walk away

Kimberly Beer:

people and then people walk away with it. And it's printed on

Kimberly Beer:

with it. And it's printed on some really fun to feel paper.

Kimberly Beer:

some really fun to feel paper. It's too bad you guys can't feel

Kimberly Beer:

It's too bad. You guys can't feel it. It's very fun to feel

Kimberly Beer:

it. It's very fun to feel paper. So you actually really like

Kimberly Beer:

paper. So you actually really like touching it. So it's just a

Kimberly Beer:

touching it. So it's just a really nice way to be able to

Kimberly Beer:

really nice way to be able to display the portfolio of her

Kimberly Beer:

display the portfolio of her work. And I can tell you she's

Kimberly Beer:

work. And I can tell you she's very talented. If I had a senior

Kimberly Beer:

very talented. If I had a senior I would definitely hire her to

Kimberly Beer:

I would definitely hire her to shoot my senior.

Kimberly Beer:

shoot my senior.

Cara Taylor Swift:

I was just sitting here thinking I'd slap a

Cara Taylor Swift:

QR code on that and make it a digital lookbook so people can

Cara Taylor Swift:

take pictures of it and pop it onto their phones.

Kimberly Beer:

Yep, well actually they picked up the

Kimberly Beer:

Cowgirls

Cara Taylor Swift:

I'm very QR Cody right now

Kimberly Beer:

You are but they picked up so I took our stuff

Kimberly Beer:

over to their booth and handed her our stuff because I'm like,

Kimberly Beer:

you never know when a photographer I did the same

Kimberly Beer:

thing at a horse expo, there was an equine photographer had a

Kimberly Beer:

booth at the horse expo, and I went over and introduce myself

Kimberly Beer:

and said I was Cowgirls with Cameras. But anyway, the lady I

Kimberly Beer:

met her name is Rye, by the way. And she's a photographer in

Kimberly Beer:

Stillwell Kansas. When I handed her our card her husband

Kimberly Beer:

immediately saw the QR code and was like, oh, how do you get

Kimberly Beer:

these I need to put them on there. So Cara, they're already,

Kimberly Beer:

already on to the next step.

Cara Taylor Swift:

They're on it. They beat me to it.

Phyllis Burchett:

Cara has turned me on to the QR code.

Phyllis Burchett:

I've already created mine in canva, so

Cara Taylor Swift:

I know between my QR codes and my

Cara Taylor Swift:

digital business card. I'm having people scan me all day

Cara Taylor Swift:

long. Scan me baby scan me.

Phyllis Burchett:

Yeah, that's all about staying current and

Phyllis Burchett:

modern. Right?

Kimberly Beer:

Well, I think that trips us over into another

Kimberly Beer:

topic that we wanted to bring you guys today. And that is our

Kimberly Beer:

gadgets, gear, and software section of the show where we

Kimberly Beer:

want to talk to you today about alternative input devices when

Kimberly Beer:

you're working on your computer. And I know that sounds really

Kimberly Beer:

fancy and fun, but basically it means a Wacom tablet and both

Kimberly Beer:

Phyllis and Cara have Wacom tablets, I have one as well. But

Kimberly Beer:

I'm going to reserve my comments for the end because I want to

Kimberly Beer:

talk about some of the things that I've been up to with a

Kimberly Beer:

tablet of a different color.

Cara Taylor Swift:

Well I'm new to Wacom tablets so I've been

Cara Taylor Swift:

only using mine now for about three months and it has been

Cara Taylor Swift:

touch and go literally the whole time and I have enjoyed it and I

Cara Taylor Swift:

do use it I would say 80% of the time for my editing now because

Cara Taylor Swift:

I'm getting more and more used to it. I still think there's

Cara Taylor Swift:

some kinks I have to work out in like my pressure sensitivities

Cara Taylor Swift:

and and stuff like that. But I really do love how detailed I

Cara Taylor Swift:

can be with stuff. So Phyllis, I know you've been using a Wacom

Cara Taylor Swift:

tablet for a very long time. Can you talk more about it?

Phyllis Burchett:

Well, my current Wacom tablet is pretty

Phyllis Burchett:

old but it's very similar to the one that I did a little research

Phyllis Burchett:

on just finding out what the latest and greatest is is just

Phyllis Burchett:

the Wacom Intuos Pro mine is a Wacom Intuos mine's pretty

Phyllis Burchett:

similar to the new one because it does give really accurate

Phyllis Burchett:

results. It has a lot of customizable buttons on it. It's

Phyllis Burchett:

perfect for Photoshop. I really don't have anything negative to

Phyllis Burchett:

say about this particular Wacom tablet. It is a little pricey.

Phyllis Burchett:

It's about I think it's a little over $400 It does take time to

Phyllis Burchett:

get used to I think you have to give yourself two to four weeks

Phyllis Burchett:

to really dive into it.

Cara Taylor Swift:

They say you have to put your mouse

Cara Taylor Swift:

completely away, like just get rid of your computer mouse and

Cara Taylor Swift:

use nothing but your your pen or what do they call it a stylus or

Cara Taylor Swift:

something, use nothing but your pen, I call it the pen

Cara Taylor Swift:

That's the one I have

Phyllis Burchett:

That would probably be helpful. I have both

Phyllis Burchett:

my mouse and my Wacom tablet sitting here. So I use both but

Phyllis Burchett:

I don't do a lot of meticulous work like I used to. When I used

Phyllis Burchett:

Is that the one you have? Yeah, it's about

Phyllis Burchett:

to do a lot of background replacements and stuff like

Phyllis Burchett:

that. I don't do as much of that anymore. Like I used to, gosh, I

Phyllis Burchett:

don't think I could have lived without it back when I was doing

Phyllis Burchett:

a lot of that. I mean, you can you can you can do it with a

Phyllis Burchett:

it's only about $150 or something like that. It's great

Phyllis Burchett:

mouse. But it just makes things so much easier and so much

Phyllis Burchett:

faster to have the tablet there is a Wacom Intuos medium, it's

Phyllis Burchett:

it's smaller, it's about

Phyllis Burchett:

for beginners, I highly suggest that if you find that you're

Phyllis Burchett:

really loving the one you have Cara you may end up wanting to

Phyllis Burchett:

step up to a more expensive one, just because it it will give you

Phyllis Burchett:

more sensitivity. And I think you'd really like it. And I

Phyllis Burchett:

think being able to customize it is a big plus too. I think the

Phyllis Burchett:

less expensive one use, there are some customizable buttons in

Phyllis Burchett:

it. I'm not sure I've never seen it before. But you could talk

Phyllis Burchett:

more about that than I could. I think if you would like to do

Phyllis Burchett:

photoshop work and you're into doing that and you love doing

Phyllis Burchett:

some editing and being creative that I highly suggest you get a

Phyllis Burchett:

Wacom tablet.

Cara Taylor Swift:

Yeah, I have found when I'm doing things like

Cara Taylor Swift:

cloning, or trying to if there's like an edge, say like around a

Cara Taylor Swift:

horse, and there's a fence I'm trying to get rid of, and it

Cara Taylor Swift:

edges right up to the side of the horse that I can make such a

Cara Taylor Swift:

cleaner line and it's it seems to flow so much easier with my

Cara Taylor Swift:

Wacom tablet than it does using the mouse. And that's probably

Cara Taylor Swift:

been one of the biggest features that I've enjoyed from it so far

Cara Taylor Swift:

is the detail work seems less clunky than it did with the

Cara Taylor Swift:

mouse.

Phyllis Burchett:

Yeah, definitely, if you're doing a

Phyllis Burchett:

lot of fine detail work, I highly, I highly suggest you get

Phyllis Burchett:

a tablet

Kimberly Beer:

about it that if you tried a tablet years ago,

Kimberly Beer:

and you decided it wasn't for you, you need to try it again.

Kimberly Beer:

Because Photoshop has made amazing strides in being able to

Kimberly Beer:

offer pressure sensitivity to their brushes, and to all of the

Kimberly Beer:

tools that has gotten better as well. So it's not just that the

Kimberly Beer:

tablets have improved some but the software that you're using

Kimberly Beer:

has dramatically changed. Even in the last 24 months, it has

Kimberly Beer:

made big strides in being able to make that pressure

Kimberly Beer:

sensitivity a real key attribute in how you can utilize it inside

Kimberly Beer:

of the software on your images. And so much of Photoshop and all

Kimberly Beer:

of the tools that we use really, that are digital that will take

Kimberly Beer:

advantage of a Wacom tablet, they really have all come a

Kimberly Beer:

really long way. All of that said, I chose to go with a

Kimberly Beer:

different type of a system where I use my iPad Pro. And it's the

Kimberly Beer:

same concept, you're still using a stylus and you're still

Kimberly Beer:

utilizing that versus a mouse for your input to be able to

Kimberly Beer:

alter the image. And I absolutely love doing my editing

Kimberly Beer:

on my iPad Pro. Now, if you have an iPad, and you want to dabble

Kimberly Beer:

to say with this pressure sensitivity would a tablet

Kimberly Beer:

actually work for me and you do have an iPad at your disposal,

Kimberly Beer:

there is a software that you can download. It's not very

Kimberly Beer:

expensive. I think it's like $20 it's actually available for

Kimberly Beer:

Windows tablets as well. It's called Duet, D-U-E-T, like a

Kimberly Beer:

duet in music. And it will let you use your tablet, your iPad

Kimberly Beer:

tablet, as an input device. So you can kind of experiment with

Kimberly Beer:

it. You can utilize your Apple pencil if you have one if you

Kimberly Beer:

have an Apple device and be able to use it as a pressure

Kimberly Beer:

sensitive input device to edit your photos with so that's a

Kimberly Beer:

another opportunity if you if you want to dabble in this and

Kimberly Beer:

you're not quite sure you want to invest in a dedicated tablet.

Kimberly Beer:

It certainly is a way for you to experiment and to try some new

Kimberly Beer:

stuff.

Cara Taylor Swift:

I love that there's so many more people I've

Cara Taylor Swift:

seen doing edits on their iPads, if it's not something that

Cara Taylor Swift:

they're doing, maybe they just need to do quick edits, that

Cara Taylor Swift:

they're using their iPad a lot. And so to know that there's that

Cara Taylor Swift:

option. That's a pretty cool feature. I think a lot more

Cara Taylor Swift:

people probably have iPads already, especially with some of

Cara Taylor Swift:

the newer ones that are coming out. So that's fun idea.

Kimberly Beer:

Yeah. Someday we'll have to just chat all

Kimberly Beer:

about my iPad work.

Cara Taylor Swift:

Yeah, no kidding. There's probably some

Cara Taylor Swift:

people that'd be interested.

Kimberly Beer:

It took me a year. I spent last year figuring

Kimberly Beer:

it out. I was, yeah, I was throwing things it was it was

Kimberly Beer:

ugly for a minute but now I love it and don't want to ever go

Kimberly Beer:

back.

Phyllis Burchett:

I remember those days

Cara Taylor Swift:

I know, I kind of remember those days too.

Cara Taylor Swift:

Well, I think that what we wanted to do here was just to

Cara Taylor Swift:

throw out another idea give you our take on using a tablet for

Cara Taylor Swift:

your editing. So if you guys have given it a try and you love

Cara Taylor Swift:

it, let us know, we definitely want to know more. Should we

Cara Taylor Swift:

move on to our final segment the challenge?

Kimberly Beer:

Yeah, Cara, why don't you issue the challenge

Kimberly Beer:

this episode,

Cara Taylor Swift:

Since I'm the one that came up with this

Cara Taylor Swift:

challenge, I'll chat a little bit about it. I thought maybe

Cara Taylor Swift:

that for this time period, we could do a challenge on creative

Cara Taylor Swift:

framing. So framing refers to using elements of a scene to

Cara Taylor Swift:

create a frame within your frame. And I love that because

Cara Taylor Swift:

I'm a big goof for looking for foregrounds looking for frames

Cara Taylor Swift:

all over the place to frame my subjects in. So a great example

Cara Taylor Swift:

might be that you shoot your subject through a barn door or

Cara Taylor Swift:

over branches or fences or on a trail or you look for arches and

Cara Taylor Swift:

buildings, some things are really highlight the focus of

Cara Taylor Swift:

your subject as the focus. So with this composition, you can

Cara Taylor Swift:

really create depth in a photo and make it a little more

Cara Taylor Swift:

interesting. So we would love to see your creative framing. If

Cara Taylor Swift:

you've done some creative framing, share it with us. If

Cara Taylor Swift:

you haven't done some creative framing and you want to get out

Cara Taylor Swift:

and give it a try. This is a great time to do it. Share with

Cara Taylor Swift:

us online at #CWCPhotoChallenge. And our goal is that if you tag

Cara Taylor Swift:

us, we're going to try to share it. We would love to share it

Cara Taylor Swift:

and get some folks to see your work out there.

Phyllis Burchett:

I think that's a great challenge for the week.

Phyllis Burchett:

I like that.

Kimberly Beer:

It is a fun challenge.

Phyllis Burchett:

I think we all love framing. That's always

Phyllis Burchett:

cool.

Cara Taylor Swift:

That is a fun challenge. Alright, so that

Cara Taylor Swift:

wraps us up for the week. You guys. It's been awesome. If you

Cara Taylor Swift:

haven't checked us out online, we are on Instagram and Facebook

Cara Taylor Swift:

at Cowgirls with Cameras. You can also go to our website and

Cara Taylor Swift:

see some of our upcoming events. Did you two want to give a plug

Cara Taylor Swift:

for any events you have coming up that you are looking to fill?

Phyllis Burchett:

We still have some space left in the Art of

Phyllis Burchett:

the Cowgirl summer event that we're holding in Big Timber

Phyllis Burchett:

Montana at the end of August. And then we also have I think a

Phyllis Burchett:

couple of spaces left for the Cottonwood Ranch.

Cara Taylor Swift:

That's right, we sure do. Go check those out

Cara Taylor Swift:

online. I think that's it for us. So I hope everybody has a

Cara Taylor Swift:

great couple of weeks of shooting and we'll be back in a

Cara Taylor Swift:

couple weeks.

Jaz:

Thanks for listening to this episode of Cowgirls with

Jaz:

Cameras. Don't let the laughter and learning stop here. Join our

Jaz:

community on social media. And be sure to visit our website for

Jaz:

more opportunities to fulfill your photography goals head to

Jaz:

cowgirlswithcameras.com. That's cowgirlswithcameras.com See you

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