Original subtitles

So today's lesson, we are going to be

focusing on how to officially start your business.

And this is great because this is bonus

material for those who have purchased the course.

So not only is it a more relaxed

approach, it's definitely an approach for people who

have drank the Kool-Aid at this point.

So the questions that you ask are going

to be fantastic.

They're going to act as fodder for where

we're moving in this direction.

So over breakfast a few months ago, I

asked JD, did I have a business plan?

Because I couldn't really think, like, optimally, like,

I have a tendency of looking back with

rose-tinted glasses and being like, of course

I did.

But in my mind, I also probably could

have attempted to run the Olympics and made

it in my childhood because I look back

and think, I was a really fast runner.

No, that was not the case.

But his certainty surprised me because he just

simply said, yes, you did have a business

plan.

And his certainty surprised me because I still,

even after he told me that I did,

I felt unsure.

A business plan, in my mind, was formal

and legit, and I'm sure there was a

certain way to do it.

So one of the things I wanted to

do, because I did not feel certain and

I did not feel legit when I started,

I wanted to just cross my references.

So I did some research on Google and

discovered that a business plan, as simply defined

by Wikipedia, is a formal statement of business

goals, two, a list of the reasons why

they are attainable, and three, the plan for

reaching those goals.

So a business plan is a formal statement

of goals, the reasons why you can do

them, and the plan for reaching them.

It was then, when I read this and

I was at my laptop, I realized, hey,

I truly did have a business plan.

But it didn't come out in the way

that you might think.

I didn't sit down at this big oak

mahogany desk with a little quill and tap

my tongue and let me quill out all

of my goals.

I want to talk about how I created

a plan for my first year of business,

and here were a few things in that

plan.

So remember, we're going to talk about business

goals, we're going to talk about the reasons

why I think they're attainable, and the reasons

why the plan for reaching those goals.

So the first thing on my business plan,

my first year business plan, was I wanted

to second shoot or assist five to ten

weddings.

That was a goal.

So I said, I want to second shoot

five to ten weddings.

Well, I ended up second shooting over 30,

over 40 weddings, my first full year of

business.

I wanted to book one wedding that year.

Well, it ended up being great because I

ended up booking three, so I was trending

pretty well.

And I wanted to attend a photography workshop,

and I ended up attending five.

So my first year of business, to attend

five photography workshops, one might wonder and question,

well, how did you get the money to

afford to go to those workshops?

Well, because this is the pre-Creative Live

days when they weren't free, you had to

pay to actually go.

Well, I paid to go to a few

that I could afford, but then there were

other photography workshops where photographers came into town

and they were traveling, and so I emailed

them in advance and I said, hey, I'm

really connected in Los Angeles or in Orange

County.

If this is where you're having your workshop,

how can I help you?

How can I offer my service to you

for free?

And of course they took a free worker,

and while I was setting up paper cups

and running and grabbing Subway for lunch, I

was still getting the workshop for free.

Let's be real, right?

So I'm all about the hustle.

So let's talk about attainability.

Why did I think that my goals, second

shooting five to 10 weddings, booking one wedding,

as well as going to workshops, why did

I think they were attainable?

Well, first things first.

I second shot my very first wedding in

April of 2006.

I was an active participant in an online

photography group, and there was a photographer who

said, I'm shooting a wedding on my own

for the first time.

The client did not pay for a second

shooter, but I'm a little bit uncomfortable doing

it on my own.

Would anybody be interested in joining me for

free?

Now, if you come for free, you get

to use the images in your portfolio.

Now, if somebody puts an opportunity out online,

so many, hundreds of people threw their names

in the hat.

They were like, I want this, I want

to do that, and I want to do

this.

Well, I took a risk.

I made myself vulnerable.

I said, I would love to second shoot

with you.

And would you believe that of all the

names that all the people that had put

out there, my name was chosen?

And then we had a conversation after at

the wedding.

We had like a break.

And I said, hey, Sean, how did you

choose who was going to be your second

shooter?

Because one day, if I'm in the position

to choose a second shooter, what would you

suggest I do?

And he said, well, of all the people

who put their names in, I didn't recognize

a lot of them.

So these people were going and they were

being a part of the group, but they

weren't participating in the group.

So they were essentially strangers to me.

Why would I invite a stranger?

And though we hadn't met in person, you

were always offering something nice or helpful to

somebody.

And even though I was not technically sound,

somebody could be like, can somebody talk to

me about chromatic abrogation?

And I would be like, what?

I didn't know what the heck they were

talking about.

But when somebody said, this is how I'm

feeling, I would just try to participate in

the conversation in a way that I felt

I could.

And he said that that struck him as

something as nice and that if I was

nice on an online forum, well, then there's

a probability of me being nice in person.

I was like, hmm, I was chosen because

I like to talk a lot online.

Wow.

OK.

But he also said that for him, which

is ancillary, which is awesome that he actually

admitted it, but he had said that it

was his first wedding and he did not

want to work with somebody who was so

far advanced that they would make him feel

insecure or inferior as the lead photographer.

And I was like, wow, that was pretty

deep.

So no matter where you are in your

spectrum and whether or not you feel like

you're in the shoes to actually go out

and second shoot for somebody, you might be

a really good fit for somebody who's looking

for just the things you possess.

So put yourself out in a personal capacity.

Now, if, for instance, I lowered my second

shooting fees, I could shoot more.

So when I say lower, I started off

doing it for free.

You can't get any cheaper than that.

But I did know that I would put

the price that somebody would pay to hire

me in their court.

I did not say this is my hourly

rate.

I was just hungry.

I wanted it bad.

Now, if they were not going to allow

me to use the images in my portfolio,

however they allowed me to, you know, I

had to wait six months or I couldn't

blog them or I couldn't do this or

couldn't do that.

They would set those stipulations.

But if I could still use them in

some capacity, it didn't matter that I wasn't

getting paid because that experience far superseded anything

that I could be doing out on my

own.

Now as the business grew and as people

became depending on me more, my rates went

up naturally.

I didn't have to ask for them.

I didn't have to say, you know what?

I'm $300 for the day.

People were paying me to be there for

$300 a day.

Now this is Southern California.

It might not be that rate in different

parts of the area.

I know second shooters who will get $500

to $800 a day for second shooting a

wedding.

It depends where you are in the market

that you're doing.

So I believed that my, my goals were

attainable because I believed that I could book

one wedding based on the marketing that I

was doing based on the networking and by

networking I have explained in previous lessons.

By the time you get to this lesson,

you will know that I'm not very good

at networking because I am socially awkward and

I'm an introvert.

So when I say networking, it was me

just like peeling myself off the car chair,

walking inside and finding the other single person

by the fried food station.

Well those people all hang together and we

bonded over our commonality and love of food.

We got to know each other and I

think to myself, hey, we could potentially bounce

referrals back and forth.

So I believe that one wedding was in

my future based on the marketing that I

was doing, based on the networking that I

was doing and let's just face it, based

on all the praying that I was doing

because I believe in miracles.

My mom was healed from cancer.

Surely God could give me a wedding.

You might disagree, but that was my philosophy.

Thirdly, I was, um, I believed that I

can, the attainability of me going to a

photography workshop was attainable because as I started

second shooting other weddings, the $100, the 150

was being put into a savings account, was

being put into a savings account, was being

put into a savings account so that when

I actually had the money to invest in

either a lens or going to a workshop,

I was afforded that luxury.

Anything that I need from shooting went directly

into this bank account.

Now you can read more about the details

and how all the finite details worked out

in Exposed Magazine, but this is just the

loose outline of why I thought the goals

were attainable.

Now here is my plan for reaching those

goals.

First, I needed to participate more in the

photo community.

If I wanted to second shoot more, I

needed to get my face out there more.

And by face, I mean basically online.

We live in a digital world.

This is what we're doing.

I worked part time so that on my

lunch break and on my break and when

things were really slow, I was just getting

online, being like, what can I do?

Who can I be talking with?

Now, I want you to make friends.

I want you to help others and I

want you to create trust because just like

Sean told me that first wedding, he simply

trusted me based on the amount that I

was participating.

So if you go to photography groups and

you're not saying anything, it means that you're

just taking from the group and you're not

replenishing the group.

Secondly, another plan for me to book my

weddings was that I planned to take any

wedding if it came my way.

So I did not let price get in

the way.

I did not let expectations get in the

way.

My goal when I set out was I

want to get busy and I want to

get busy fast.

Now some people will say, oh, being away

from my family or my children is valuable

to me.

I work a full-time job.

I'm tired.

So if I go out, then it really,

I need to be around $3,000.

If that is your goal, awesome.

You rock your goal.

For me, I was just like, I need

a hustle.

I want this to be my career.

I'm hungry.

I will do it for whatever.

I will pay you to shoot your wedding.

Not exactly, but you know, I was this

close.

Now, I worked part-time.

So when it comes to actually my plan

to actually get to workshops was that I

worked part-time.

I worked Monday, Wednesday, Friday and I was

picking up shoots.

I was picking up shoots and I would

shoot anything.

I would shoot portraits and I would shoot

family shoots.

I knew that portraits and family shoots were

not my cup of tea.

In fact, when I got to family shoots,

I realized I'm really bad at these family

shoots.

So I necessarily should not be taking things

that I wasn't so good at.

So I took, if my memory serves me

correctly, about 30, oh, excuse me, about three

to four family sessions.

Now what I did with that money, I

applied it to my educational fund.

I would get there and I'd be like,

I don't want to do this family shoot,

but I'm 50% closer to booking my

retainer for a photography workshop.

And when I thought in those contexts, I

thought I can actually do this.

Now these are just three examples of what

my first year plan was.

So this is my business plan, what my

goals were, why they were attainable and my

plans to get there.

Now what I want to talk about is

that I just didn't have hope.

I just didn't have a loose plan.

I had a goals, an action plan and

a deadline to make these happen.

So now that you know what was outlined

for my business, I want to talk about

the logistics and how we made it happen.

Because so often, photographers start a business and

they're like, weee, and without doing all the

technical, formal stuff to go on behind.

And so then you get so deep into

your business.

Here's a common thing that I see often,

is that photographers will charge prices and for

some reason they omit to charge tax.

So a photographer who had just started his

business, I was talking to him, I think

they're a wonderful, amazing couple, this was a

few years ago, and then they got slammed

with a $27,000 tax, it wasn't tax

evasion, they were just like, oh, we didn't

know for the past couple years we actually

had to pay taxes on this income.

And they had to go into a payment

plan and it was such a jarring shock

for them.

And I can't help but think, had we

prepared ourselves to know what was going on,

we could have avoided a very, very tough

decision.

It was a hard time.

Nobody wants to get smacked with a bill

like that.

So here is how things went down for

me.

So you might be well-oiled machine, you're

well on your way, but for those of

us who are kind of like starting in

the beginning or want to go back and

make sure that all our T's are crossed

and our I's are dotted, this is the

brief outline.

Oh, excuse me.

In March of 2006, I went to the

Los Angeles County Registrar's Recorder's Office and I

filed for a DBA, Doing Business As.

Now, I didn't know what kind of, I

just simply went in, I was like, I

need a DBA, and I wasn't sure if

I should be a sole proprietor or an

LLC.

So I filed to be a partnership because

I just assumed, oh, me and JD are

partners, duh.

I mean, this is how little I actually

knew about it.

So I filed for a sole proprietor partnership.

And this could be risky because people can

come after your personal assets in case there's

a direct discrepancy in the way that the

business is handled.

Now, I have talked to my accountant since

then, and I still remain a sole proprietor

partnership, but I have taken out a much

higher personal insurance policy.

Because he said it didn't make sense for

my business to go into the form of

an LLC because it would cost more money

to change, and it wasn't going to be

any tax benefits.

So in light of that, I've taken out

a personal insurance policy that goes up to

X amount.

I don't want to tell you because people

are like, I'm going to sue that girl.

So that's kind of where we've decided, and

I have approached it from both a legal

and an accounting perspective, and it works for

me.

So after that, that same month in March

of 2006, I filed for my DBA, and

they made me require to put in that

my business had started in a local newspaper.

Totally random.

I still don't know if that's a thing,

but I had to do that.

In April of 2006, I applied for my

first business credit card.

Now, at the time, I wasn't really making

money, but I sure as heck was spending

money.

So I looked and checked out what business

credit cards were going to be advantageous.

JDA at the time were not traveling as

much as we wanted to, but we dreamed.

We dreamed of traveling, so in faith, we

got out a credit card for every dollar

it equals a point, and then the points

can parlay into travel.

And so that's what we had decided to

do.

Now, everything went on that business card that

was business-related.

So we were renting lenses first, and then

when we could afford lenses, we were buying

the lenses on the credit card.

We were paying for websites and blogs and

computers and tax services.

We were paying to buy Photoshop.

We were paying to buy, at the time,

as Bridget has now transitioned to Lightroom.

So all of those expenses had to go

on that single card so that I could

track them.

I never wanted to use my personal card

for business expenses or use my business card

for personal expenses.

Now, in May of 2006, I scored my

first second shooting opportunity.

You guys know how that went down.

Now, I knew that even though I didn't

get paid for that gig, there was a

possibility for me to get paid for future

gigs, so I needed to get my ducks

in a row.

I filed for a business checking and savings

account that was separate from my personal checking

and savings account.

All the money that I made, all, like

I was like Diamond Jim, all, like the

couple hundred bucks I made my first year,

went into that business checking account.

I needed a clear, clear, clear, clear outline

of what I was making and what I

was spending.

So in June through September of 2006, I

second shot weddings for almost every weekend, and

I was second shooting weddings multiple weekends.

So like I said, I started off getting

paid like nothing, and then $100 and $150,

and slowly worked my way up to be

in between $150 and $300 range.

All of that money went into my business

account, and I was also picking up small

side gigs, family shoots, portrait sessions, that money

went into those business accounts.

In October of 2006, I shot my first

wedding, and then I got my first official

payment of $1,500.

Now, she had originally told me that her

budget was $1,000, and I said, great,

well you can have everything you want, which

was 10 hours of shooting, an engagement session,

and she wanted the disc of digital negatives,

but I said that that was going to

be an additional $500.

Well, after some deliberation, she agreed.

So my very first wedding I booked, I

booked for $1,500, and that money went

into my bank account, and you might think,

woohoo, that's great, except for the fact that

I had to rent all of my gear.

In addition to renting all of my gear,

I had JD come along to shoot the

wedding with me, and we rented all of

his gear.

So basically, we shot that first wedding for

about 14 cents, and that's okay, it was

my wedding, and boy did we leverage the

heck out of that in regards to marketing,

and we'll talk about that in another marketing

lesson.

Now, in December of 2006, when it came

time for me to file taxes, I had

booked that first wedding in 2006, I had

booked two other weddings for a total of

three weddings.

So in 2006, I second shot somewhere around

30 to 40 weddings, I picked up a

couple family shoots, a couple portrait sessions, and

I booked three weddings.

Well, it was time for me to file

taxes, and then what I did is I

filed for an EIN number.

I did not want to use my social

security number when it came to filing for

business things.

If you go to Google, you type in

EIN, it'll take you to the federal government

website, and you can file for the EIN

instantaneously.

That is what I put in all my

documents when I fill out W-9s, and

that is stuff that's related directly to my

business.

Now that year, if you could imagine, I

had booked weddings, I'd done a couple shoots,

but I also bought gear.

So I didn't end up profiting that year.

That year, we took a loss for the

business, but it was an educated loss.

And furthermore, we didn't get into debt for

buying things we couldn't afford, because making an

investment for your business is really scary, and

it's absolutely terrifying.

So I only really know how to talk

about investments in regards to my business, and

I have a very cautious approach.

I know that my cautious approach stems from

the fact that I grew up very poor.

I saw my parents lose not one, but

two homes.

We had had things given to us and

donated to us.

We rode the bus as our formal, and

I mean, well, here when you say in

Seattle, you rode the bus, it's like, yeah,

and?

Okay, in LA, when you ride the bus,

it's a clear distinction of like a socioeconomic

status.

It is not like we're trying to be

green.

It is literally, that is what you can

afford.

So we did all of that.

So then when it comes time to make

investments in my business, I'm extraordinarily cautious.

I would only buy things that I could

afford.

Now, I am not saying that there is

a photographer who shouldn't take out a business

loan to start and pursue his or her

dreams.

I am just saying that I would be

very, very cautious because how hard do you

have to work to break even on taking

out a $15,000 loan?

Do you think in your first year of

business, you will profit $15,000?

For those of you guys who have been

experienced, we're all shaking our heads no.

The first year, you're not profiting $15,000.

So you're going to be paying interest.

So you're not really paying $15,000 on

that loan.

You're going to be paying $17,000, $18

,000 to start a business without doing it

right.

And I think that in this industry, and

I should say not right, doing it smart.

There's amazing websites where you can rent lenses

and they are delivered to your doorstep.

They're for larger cities.

There are camera stores that you can walk

in and you get a three-day rental

for $25 to $55.

That is exactly how we started.

You can rent a 50-millimeter 1.4

for about $18 or $20.

Now you can rent a 70-200 for

somewhere in the ballpark of $60 to $75

depending on where you live.

That $75 is so much better than spending

$1,500 to buy the lens on credit.

Now, we're going to move into how I

invested for my business.

So now we've walked out to how to

start a business and most of you in

this room, I'm guessing, are at that point.

But then it comes to, well, how do

I invest back into it?

Once I get the momentum, do I go

out and buy all my gear?

This is exactly how it happened.

Now, I have mentioned that we started with

very little, but here's an abbreviated version of

how it happened.

In January of 2006, well, okay, really, I

received my camera December 25th, 2005.

It was a Christmas gift in 2005.

But me just being weird and awkward me,

I was like, no, no, I can't open

the box to the camera until January 1st,

2006 because I'm all about new beginnings.

I'm all about fresh starts.

And 2005 was just not that great of

a year, but 2006 is going to be

my year.

So I opened my camera, Canon 20D, on

January 1st, 2006.

So that's when I say that is when

my business, I was in business.

Not so technically, but technically.

March 2006, I had had my camera and

the kit lens for about three months and

then I realized this kit lens is just

not going to cut it.

So we had invested, we had, I probably,

we had a little bit of money after

our wedding.

And we had a little bit of money

because I was on scholarship at UCLA Law

School.

And so I had taken the scholarships and

that's what we survived off of.

And so I just thought, I'm going to

be paying back these scholarships anyway.

I'm going to use this money and bought

a Canon 24-70 2.8 IS.

And that was the lens that I used

the most.

It was a pivotal foundational lens in my

business.

April 2006, I assisted a photographer for the

first time and I rented the 70-200.

So I went to that first second shooting

gig with two lenses, the 24-70 and

the 70-200.

So my range was 24-200.

At the core of it, you can shoot

an entire wedding and get an entire scope

of the day and be proud of your

portfolio with two lenses.

Now, I am not saying that's what you

should do, but that is what I did.

It is possible and we rocked that setup

for a long time.

I also rented a flash.

Sorry.

So I rented the 70-200 and a

flash because I did not have one.

In May through July, I assisted other photographers

and I shot their weddings.

And by the payments that I received from

them, I saved up to buy the 70

-200.

I also bought the Canon 550 EX.

I actually first and foremost went because y

'all know by this point in time, I

have issues with money and I can be

very cheap.

I bought the 480 and the guy at

the store was just like, you should really

invest in the 550.

It's going to be worth the extra money.

And I said, no, no, I'm fine.

After the first wedding that I shot it,

I was like, oh, I made the worst

decision.

Went back, bought the 550.

I wasted money because I was cheap the

first time around.

So what does this teach you?

You get what you pay for.

If you can't afford it, save up for

it.

It really, really makes a big difference.

So in August of 2006, I second shot

two weddings for a photographer friend and she

said she couldn't pay me, but I could

use the images in my portfolio.

And I said, great, I'm done.

But what she did was she had an

extra Canon 50mm 1.4 and she gave

it to me.

So that was my payment.

I was like, okay, I would definitely shoot

two weddings for a 50mm 1.4. Then

what we did in the second lens that

I bought on my own was the 16

-35.

This lens is so wide.

And some of you guys are like, why

would you get that lens?

I don't know.

I saw the cool kid photographers were using

it.

I really did.

I based my entire judgment on that lens

based on, you know what, all the cool

people that I follow are using wide lenses.

It did not reflect my style, but that

was a mistake on my own, which is

why we started off this course with how

to define your photographic style.

It should be a ellipse so you don't

spend money on lenses you won't use, like

me.

Now, at this point in time, I saved

it to buy the 16-35.

So in September of 2006, I opened my

camera in January 2006.

In September, nine months later, I have four

lenses.

I have the 24-70.

I have the 70-200.

I have the 50-millimeter that was given

to me.

And we bought the 16-35, in addition

to two sets of flash, one that was

really only working.

In late September of 2006, early October, we

booked our first wedding.

And I asked JD to come along with

me and we rented the lenses that he

needed.

Because by this time, I was shooting with

the four lenses.

I was more than covered.

I had flash.

I was more than covered.

But now we had to rent everything for

JD.

So you're seeing kind of what the pattern

happened.

I did not go and get three or

four lenses all at once.

I only bought what I could afford.

So, I think that's what this boils down

to, is not to buy what you can't

afford.

We profited very little from our first wedding.

But we set up a savings account.

Now, the money that we made from the

first three weddings, we used any sort of

profit to put towards buying a computer.

So my first setup, because a lot of

times photographers will start a business and they

say, I need a full, legit setup.

I need this.

I need the RAM.

I need X, Y, and Z.

I started off with a 12-inch MacBook

that I used for work.

And then I would plug in a hard

drive.

And I didn't have a mouse.

I had a trackpad.

So I edited all my photos on a

trackpad.

And I didn't know how to use Lightroom.

So I opened up each photo in Photoshop

and edited on a trackpad.

And the first wedding that my clients got

had about 900 or 1,000 images.

And that's what I edited, one by one.

I didn't know any better.

And I was like, is this what everybody

does?

This sucks.

And then my life changed when I found

batch processing.

And then my life changed when I found

out that I can outsource that.

But that was how it worked.

So first we went to lenses.

Then we went to basic gear set up

for computers.

Now, I think it's important not to get

caught up to wanting to say you want

to use the nicest gear.

There's an illusion.

We would go to weddings.

And I was shooting with the Canon 20D.

And there would be a photographer there with

a 5D.

He would kind of be like, oh, how

sweet.

And I was just like, I felt like

saying, you know what?

You're shooting in auto.

You know, me shooting manual with my Canon

20D will be far superior than you shooting

auto in your 5D.

And whether or not that was the truth,

I don't know.

But that was the thing I told myself.

I think it comes down to photographers jumping

off into the deep end.

And then they use a credit card.

And then they hope that things work.

But I can't help to really emphasize the

importance of making smart decisions.

Because smarter decisions aren't always the coolest decisions.

But understanding there's a complex relationship between starting

a business and being a photographer.

If push came to shove, I could absolutely

shoot a wedding with a 24-70 and

with a 7200.

That is what I started with.

I could still shoot a wedding just to

that day.

Take time to understand what your style is

and then own it.

Don't feel under the gun.

Rent until you can afford.

Now, it was very emotional to kind of

be buying things and not really seeing a

return.

And that was the hardest part about starting

a business and feeling like you go slowly.

I want to read an email that I

got from a girl.

And I wondered if...

I know I've been in her position.

So I wonder if there's some of you

guys might feel the same way.

Dear Jasmine, I've been frustrated lately.

I'm not booking clients.

I get so many inquiries but no bookings.

I second shoot and I assist a lot.

I feel like maybe being socially awkward as

I am is hurting me during my consultations.

I've gone and reduced my pricing and I

try to get busy but nothing.

I'm slowly losing faith that I will ever

become successful.

I don't plan to give up but something

has got to give.

I've tried offering complimentary sessions for portfolio building,

passing my business card out and having friends

and family model for me.

I don't know what else I can do

to gain more experience.

Photographers around here only want to hire experienced

second shooters and assistants.

But how do you get experience that they're

looking for?

I feel like I'm whining.

I guess I am.

I'm just so darn frustrated.

I want to share the beauty I see

in the world.

I just need a chance.

Sincerely, not ready to give up.

Have you ever felt that way?

I have.

Like I read it and I was like,

I feel you.

Because momentum is the hardest thing to get

when you are starting a business.

Because once you have momentum, even the tiny

bit, you can find ways to leverage it.

But I read this and my heart went

out to her because I'm just like, I

feel you.

I will tell you some of the things

that I did or my suggestions.

Dear ready not to give up, I'm sorry

you're so darn frustrated but I want to

crawl through the computer and shake you.

You're talented and you're hungry for more so

stop whining.

Does that sound mean?

Yes, likely.

But life is good even when it feels

like it isn't.

The worst part is that life feels like

it's moving too slowly.

I get it, totally.

When I first started my business, I felt

like I was getting shoots at a snail's

pace.

But in retrospect, I just needed more time

to research and practice my photo skills.

And no, you can never get enough of

that.

So then I went on and then I

explained what I'm going to get into now.

I went on and I continued what I

think she should do.

First, she needs to ask the second photographer

she has shot with for feedback and a

critique of her work.

She will never, most photographers, if you are

a first photographer, there's very, it's unlikely that

you're going to turn to your second shooter

and be like, so let me tell you

a few things you can improve on.

We as first photographers will only say those

things if we are given the permission to

speak to other people in that way, or

at least I am.

I'm too uncomfortable to be like, let me

give you some unsolicited advice.

That's just not really me.

You ask me for advice and I will

definitely tell you and be honest with it.

It might be uncomfortable to hear, but the

only way you will get better as a

second shooter and as a first shooter is

if you have somebody speak into your life

in a way that may or may not

hurt.

Next, I told her to join a photography

group because by her getting into a photography

group, one, it makes her feel less alone.

Two, she could put her work out for

a critique.

These are the things that are so wildly

uncomfortable.

Just the notion of putting out my work

to have people, actually, this is totally off

my notes.

There was this contest of sorts and somebody,

and the guy, he contacted me and he

said, can you judge this contest?

And I said, no, I don't judge contests.

And he's like, you just pick a few

of your favorites and then people vote on

those.

And I said, okay, let me try it

out.

And he said, if you have to be

a judge, you must submit three photos so

that you can create a profile.

And I said, okay, fine.

So I submitted these three photos.

I didn't know that the audience was voting

on my photos.

I didn't get it.

I was just like, oh my God, instead

of getting these emails and it's just like,

your photo was passed, or this photo, it

was like some European organization and you can

choose one or two photos.

And my photos just never got picked.

How embarrassing that I'm a judge and ain't

nobody choosing my photos.

And then I thought to myself, it's all

good.

It is all good.

Why?

Because there are differences between getting a critique

and getting criticism.

I don't care about winning contesses, contesses, contest,

contest, contesses.

I don't care about winning contests.

I don't care about awards.

Yes, they're nice.

Yes, I would never turn it away, but

award don't pay the bills.

You don't like my work?

That's fine.

There are brides who do.

And if we can change that perspective, we

care less about what other people have to

say.

Now, once you have heard from your peers,

either the people you have second shot with

or the people within those photography groups, what

I want you to do is you'll have

to outline distinct ways for you to grow.

So if somebody says, you know what, your

green casts are a little too strong.

Or maybe your focal point is not where

it should be in this collection of images.

Or maybe it just seems like things are

underexposed or that they're grainy.

Does it hurt?

Yes, but if they're offering insight, now you

know I maybe shouldn't shoot with so much

ISO.

I may need to navigate how to shoot

backlit.

Maybe I need to kick back on like

that color tonality for my green tones.

Whatever it is, you now have a path.

Now, one thing that I want to clarify

distinctively is that there is a difference between

getting a critique and getting criticized.

And here is the difference.

A critique should be helpful.

It should be an educational opportunity.

When people criticize, they are trying to tear

you down.

When you put your work out, you must

be able to, to the best of your

ability, see what is the critique and what

is criticism.

Because when I think about people who criticize,

I say that they, they shout from the

sidelines.

And when I say that people shout from

the sidelines, it means that they're tucked behind

their computers.

And when people are tucked behind their computers,

boy, are they brave.

Oh, they can say whatever they want.

In fact, there was one particular person, I

said this over lunch a couple days ago

to a few students.

There was a photographer who was talking so

much trash about me.

I mean, ugly, dirty stuff.

Like this man must not have a life

at all based on the things that he

was talking about.

I'm in Las Vegas for a photography conference.

I'm in the elevator, the door's open.

I see the badge and I'm like, oh,

that's you.

And he walks in and he turns and

he just waits.

And he just waits.

I was like, months.

Months, homie, you're talking trash and you're standing

two feet from me and you ain't gonna

say a thing?

Talk a big game.

Go behind the glow of your computer.

See how good that does for you.

Because I'm right here and you won't say

anything.

So be brave on the opposite side of

the coast.

I know you, I smell you, I'm no

longer intimidated.

If you have a problem with me, you

email me.

If you have a problem with me, you

say something in the elevator.

And if you will not say something to

my face, if you will not give me

the courtesy to send me an email, I

ain't got time.

I ain't got time.

Because when we know what these people do,

they have too much time, they have endless

opinions.

You know these people are present because when

they criticize a photographer, all they do is

tear them down.

And as any creative can attest, that developing

a craft is hard.

If you're a painter and you have to

paint a picture, that is hard.

If you're a writer and you have to

write a book, that is hard.

If you're a photographer and you're trying to

learn how to take a photograph, it's hard.

And it's time consuming and it's frustrating.

So when you put your work out online,

you hold your breath and you hope that

people are nice to you.

And I hate to break it to you,

but the chances are they probably will not

be nice.

Why?

Why aren't people nice?

Well the answer changes.

But it boils down to the negative climate

in the photographic industry.

Because those who do are different from those

who merely think about doing.

The people who just think about doing, well

they have opinions.

Those who think about doing, they insist they

can do it better.

They would have done it differently.

They would have used off-camera flash.

They would have left room for cropping.

They might have photoshopped the sky back in.

Could have, would have, should have, but they

didn't, right?

Because those who do, those who do, well

they make mistakes.

They trip, they overexpose, they underexpose, they fall

flat on their faces, they clip highlights, they

crop out toes, they blow out the sky,

but they embrace their missteps and they know

that it's making them better.

To fail publicly and grow is far better

than staying in a point of stagnation doing

nothing.

So basically those people who do get better.

So what I'm saying is if you're afraid

of failing and you're doing, you're getting better.

For those of you who are doing, be

great.

Stand strong in the negative choppy waters of

criticism within the industry.

Trust that your mistakes are stepping stones to

your dreams and continue to learn from the

past and extend yourself grace when you realize

I'm not really where I want to be.

Because those who do move confidently in the

directions of their dreams and those who simply

don't watch as life passes them by in

mere hopes that life will change and get

better for them when it won't because they

do not have the hunger and the desire

to do.

So as you do, go confidently and I

wish you guys the best.

Having said that, are there questions in regards

to starting a business or things that you

might have navigated and tried to figure out?

Am I doing this right?

So we're gonna get a mic to Tara

and then if there's another person with a

question, we'll get the mic, we'll go back

there and then we'll bring the mic back

up here and bring it right up here.

Okay.

So this might be really nitty gritty, but

I wanted to know how you decided how

much to pay yourself once you started making

more money?

Great question.

Like how frequently and how are you saving?

Great, great, great, great, great.

Okay, so because you guys know the history,

my history is I'm very conservative.

I only afford what I can buy.

I grew up very, very, very poor.

So we have learned, J.D. says, you

shouldn't say the word poor.

You should say economically disadvantaged.

I was like, baby, my parents were so

poor we couldn't even afford the O.R.

We were just poor.

Like, it's okay, it is what it is.

You know what?

And guess what?

Nothing tastes as good as government-issued cheese.

I'm just telling you, it melts in a

way that it's just like sheer oil.

So people can clown on whatever they want.

It's like, I grew up good.

I'm fine with it.

I'm fine with it.

So because of that, here's how it worked.

So I shot my very first wedding in

October of 2006.

And then in 2007, we booked 38 weddings.

But the way that it usually works is

that you get a retainer.

Now, a difference between a retainer and a

deposit.

Do not call what you get paid a

deposit because a deposit in legalese is fully

refundable.

A retainer is not.

So I would receive retainers, and I require

a 50% retainer in advance.

So in about April of 2007, it was

then when I realized I could forecast how

many weddings I had for the year.

I knew how much money I had and

how much money was coming.

All I needed to do was make sure

that I can cover the exact same amount

of money that I was getting paid for

my part-time job.

That was how I figured, if I can

save for this year, and then the risk

became, well, I don't know if I'm gonna

hang in for 2008, but I'm gonna take

a risk, a cognizant, calculated risk.

The money that I had booked by April,

I had indicated I can continue paying myself

the same amount, still renting my gear, still

paying my bills with this amount of money,

and it was very little.

I think the best thing was me to

have the most simple job.

I will be honest, and I got paid

about $2,000 to $2,300 a month

because I work part-time.

If I can take that amount from my

business checking and putting into my personal and

not go shopping and not veer off, that's

what I did.

Now, as the business progressed, I was then

able to give myself a raise here and

there, here and there.

So every three weddings I booked, I raised

my prices $300.

And so at the end of the year,

when I saw our profitability, I might give

myself a bonus.

Be like, it's Christmas time in the city,

you know?

Like, I was going to go do something

nice for myself, or we were going to

go on vacation.

But that was the strongest point.

And now, what I pay myself is actually

silly.

Technically, on paper, what I pay myself, I

could make more at Starbucks.

And I'm okay with that because my bank

account, I'm a saver.

That's what I do.

I don't need a big profitable personal account.

I need to pay my bills.

I need to have a little time for

going to movies, doing pleasurable things, shopping, put

a little bit in there.

And other than that, everything else.

So it's a personal thing.

In order to figure out how much you

need to pay yourself, you just need to

create a baseline, and then you need a

state of the baseline.

And budgets really suck.

But they're really, really good for entrepreneurs the

first two years of business.

Cool, we're going to go back to there.

Yes?

Hi, sorry, I'm Jen.

Hi.

So second shooters, I guess I'm kind of

a snob, mostly because it's uncharted territory for

me as a, I guess, lead photographer.

How do I find someone, because I've been

searching, how do I find someone who shares

the same views as me as a photographer,

but yet make them kind of feel special?

But anyways, sorry.

Second shooter, how can I find one that

will match my style and me as a

person and mesh with the bride and groom?

Great.

Well, I'm going to venture to say that

I do not choose a second shooter.

If I was, and this is a function

of the assumption, I have second shot with

other photographers when JD was not available, or

at the time where he was my third

shooter and I would hire a second shooter,

because we did that for a while.

So two things.

I never am concerned if my second shooter

gets along with my bride and groom, because

quite honestly, I don't want my second shooter

talking to the bride and groom.

I make that very clear.

Like, this is our show, and I need

to be in control of our bride and

groom the entirety of the time.

So once that's the case, I then think

to myself, finding a second shooter is like

online dating.

You need to try a few before you

find the one.

But in order for you to expedite that

process, what I would challenge you to do

is to put more of yourself online.

I want you to write more about yourself

in your blog.

I want you to update Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

from your perspective, your point of view, because

you can't say, like, why don't these people

know me?

Well, they don't know you because you're not

putting yourself out there.

That's going to be the main thing.

The more you put yourself out there, the

more you're going to attract the type of

second shooter that you want.

It's going to take some time.

Give yourself grace and a little bit of

patience, but it's definitely worth getting a network

of two or three other second shooters that

you can call on in a pinch.

I want to do one last question if

there is the mic that I passed.

I think that there was, did you have

a question?

I think the mic was going here.

So, Tara, we're going to pass the mic

here.

Hi.

So, is there an advantage to getting an

EIN rather than using your social security?

No, there is not.

It is technically the same, but I'm just

weird.

I also don't like to put my thumbprints

anywhere that they don't have to be.

This is like, you know, my one semester

in law school, boy, did it teach me

a lot.

No, I just, like, at the gym, they

gave you the option to use your card

or, like, scan your thumb.

I was like, oh, no, I don't want

to scan my thumb.

Like, where are these thumbprints going to go?

Where are we going to, you know?

It's like, I'm that person.

So, for me, I really wanted to have

a clear distinction between my social security and

my EIN.

The EIN is indicative of just solely, which

isn't an issue so much now, but before

where I had a job and that income

was filed under my social security number, and

then I had started my business, and I

really wanted a clear distinction.

But thank you guys so much.

Encourage others as they build business and feel

free to share information out online.

What you know can definitely help others.

Thank you.