thanks so much! i used to use LR pretty much 100% but now i do just a few exposure fixes or slight crops if necessary in LR and move onto CS4 for a quick s-curve or my favorite action.

my bw as of the last year or so have been with a blend of hand conversion & lilyblue's actions. love those to pieces.

so far, i've only bought the 600 film and use an ND filter on my sx70. i can't wait to try the push though!

currently? milk from luxe II :)

i think it depends a lot on what you define success as. do you have to work hard, sacrifice, put yourself out there in order to have business, to know your trade, and to make it financially possible? yes yes yes.

now? none :)

i do occasional freelance work now - when i was in business full time i was happy with 3-4 sessions/month.

i've never had anyone ask me that, actually. i am really open with them and let them know who *i* prefer to use - but with my collections being 90% digital it didn't come up much.

i've always used whcc in the past. though i'm looking forward to using invited ink next (http://www.etsy.com/shop/invitedink) just got their sample pack and have a friend who has used her - gorgeous gorgeous!

well thank you, thank you for sharing. honestly? i have notebooks of writing tucked away in boxes from as young as 10 or 11. i wrote stories and poetry and journal-ed my heart out. took writing classes in high school and college and they were always, always my favorite. then i got into scrapbooking which included a lot of inner journal-ling. it's snowballed. often times i can't relay an emotion through writing and that is when i'll use my camera or another art form.

keep putting that pen to paper, or typing away on your computer. having a writers block is the absolute worst feeling on earth. best of luck to you!

yes! i bring all my raw images into LR first, typically run a lilyblue preset and then export into PS to finish up - and yes usually with a Florabella action.

thank YOU for this note. it means a lot to me that you shared this :)

first of all, always be open to PBing in future. being in business and taking money comes, yet you will always evolve and grow, finding new situations, techniques, styles that you want to try. putting out a casting call to build your portfolio in that area is a great way to get to bring your vision to life!

as far as initially i see this was asked 8 months ago (so sorry!) so you may be way past this but i'll answer it anyhow.

i don't think there is a set time frame that works for everyone. for me it was about 4-5 months of shooting nearly weekly, for anyone and anything that would sit for me. learning my camera, staying afloat in tough situations, gaining confidence with clients, etc. i took my first paying client when i realized i had a solid amount of images for an online portfolio. i started to feel like it was time i get compensated for all the TIME i was putting into it. i started out very small, session fee of $50 and slowly raised as needed. hope this helps! :)

thank you! i made them in photoshop and then uploaded them to photobucket, linking to the appropriate location. then i saved the entire code to enter each time i blog.

however, there is a plugin for this that is MUCH easier - though of course i don't know the name. perhaps search for social media plugins in wordpress?

when i find a song i love, i will contact the artist to get permission. this has been successful so far! they usually have a contact page. myspace or craigslist might be a good place to find some good local artists you can support who would love to get their names out there!

the thing to remember is to pop your fstop up. shooting more than one person at 1.4 is going to result in one being in focus and another not (depending upon the plane they are on). i focus using back-button-focus so i will step back just enough so that they are both within the focus area of my choosing and depending upon the light situation will shoot them at 2.0 and up. really, really depends.

practice, practice, practice :) i absolutely love to backlight - and this isn't an easy one answers all question as each situation varies depending on the amount of light, the lens i'm shooting with, etc.

an example: just shot some photos of my boys on the couch. morning sun suning through the window behind them. 50mm 1.4 lens on my d300 body.

fstop 1.4
iso 640
ss 1/200

i'm not afraid to blow out the background, my focus is on the subject and ensuring they are properly exposed. hope this helps!

Sorry it took a bit for me to get back to you :) I did create them myself and you can actually purchase the template here: http://blog.angiewarrenphotography.com/template-for-sale-bay-area-photographer/

I am self taught in photography, therefore I definitely manipulate my settings to get the image I envision - but I don't rely totally upon getting the perfect triage of ISO, F-Stop or SS. I want my aperture and ISO to be spot on (how I want them) but don't pay terribly much attention to my SS.

If I want the background blown out I'll do it, even if it is "technically wrong". I much prefer to do my thing than the techy thing :) HTH!

I never show clients the RAW files :) Half of what they pay for is my artistic vision and post-session work.

I assume this works well with some photographers, but I typically end up with 30-40 that I'm thrilled with and they get to choose from those.

Not sure if you're asking what PBing is or how long to PB... :)

PBing = Portfolio Building
Meaning the time in which you 'typically' shoot for free, to learn and build up a portfolio in which you will eventually share with others (website, etc).

My own experience was - I decided I wanted to pursue photography as more than a hobby, so I started emailing and letting friends and family know that I wanted to built my portfolio and would offer a complimentary session fee and DVD of whatever images I got (no pressure, awesome) as a thank you for sitting for me. I did this FULL force for about 4-5months. I mean tons of shoots per week, I was intent on learning and growing.

The time frame and details will be different for every person, and to be honest I could have "PB" a lot longer than I did :) We are always learning and evolving as artists, even the "rock stars" offer PB shoots of sorts when they want to try something new or better their skills in an area.

Wow, this was long! Hope it helps! :)

Keeping their attention? I try to learn as much as I can about them pre-session, their likes and dislikes, fave TV shows or characters, etc etc. That way I have plenty to talk to them about. I also get really silly, sing songs, make them laugh.

I joke and let them know they are not allowed to say cheese (joking but I'm dead serious). I let them pick silly words to say (they love this) and then it usually gets everyone laughing. Sometimes taking them away on their own allows them to feel more at ease with me to be themselves.