Cooney - Boutique baby photography: the digital photographers guide to success in maternity and baby portraiture

My family in June 2010.

A humongous thank you to my supportive husband and loving children. You complete me and make my life full of love and happiness. Thank you so much for allowing me to be me. Thank you to my family for your love and encouragement over the years, and for believing that I can accomplish anything I put my mind to. I thank the Lord for His good grace and His guiding hand for allowing me this life. Im so grateful.

Copyright 2012 by Mimika Cooney.

All rights reserved.

All photographs by the author unless otherwise noted.

Published by:

Amherst Media, Inc.

P.O. Box 586

Buffalo, N.Y. 14226

Fax: 716-874-4508

www.AmherstMedia.com

Publisher: Craig Alesse

Senior Editor/Production Manager: Michelle Perkins

Assistant Editor: Barbara A. Lynch-Johnt

Editorial Assistance from: Carey A. Miller, Sally Jarzab, John S. Loder

Business Manager: Adam Richards

Marketing, Sales, and Promotion Manager: Kate Neaverth

Warehouse and Fulfillment Manager: Roger Singo

ISBN-13: 978-1-60895-259-5

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011924265

Printed in The United States of America.

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No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopied, recorded or otherwise, without prior written consent from the publisher.

Notice of Disclaimer: The information contained in this book is based on the authors experience and opinions. The author and publisher will not be held liable for the use or misuse of the information in this book.

Check out Amherst Medias blogs at:

http://portrait-photographer.blogspot.com/

http://weddingphotographer-amherstmedia.blogspot.com/

None of us can claim credit for what we know; we learn from every person who crosses our path. Each nugget Ive unearthed has been a building block in my knowledge bank and I thank everyone who has shared their knowledge and experience with me. A special thanks to these photography mentors, speakers, and talents for inspiring me: David P. Macdonald, David Sault, Colin Goodwell, Rob Cooke, Richard Walker, Paul Cooper, Ray Lowe, Steve How-dle, Sandy Puc, Sarah Petty, Gerry Ghionis, Bambi Cantrell, Jeff Smith, Jeff and Kathleen Hawkins, Ed Pierce, Mitche Graf, Lito Sy, Tamara Lackey, Lori Nordstrom, Ann Monteith, Dennis Orchard, Gary Fong, Jesh de Rox, Joe Buissink, Kevin Kubota, Lena Hyde, Vicky Taufer, Jed Taufer, Mary Fisk-Taylor, Shane Greene, Lois Greenfield, and Anne Geddes.

Mimika Cooney is an international award-winning photographer who owns a home-based maternity and baby portrait studio based in Charlotte, NC. Born in South Africa, Mimika received her photographic training in England and is an accredited licentiate by the British Institute of Professional Photographers and the Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers.

Along with her husband, Mimika has owned four businesses in three countriesSouth Africa, England, and the United States. With six years experience in web-site design, public relations, and business administration in South Africa and England, Mimika studied photography part-time and now enjoys focusing her artistic talents on offering a boutique portrait service to her American clientele.

Mimika began her photography career as a wedding photographer and made the change to a primarily portrait-based business to spend more time with her family.

M any of us fell in love with photography for the same reason: we loved seeing our vision come to life with the click of a shutter. For some of us, myself included, photography really became our passion when we had our first children. As a sentimental romantic, I felt compelled to capture and preserve every memory of my new family using my camera. Over time, my passion and love for this craft developed until I eventually decided to turn my hobby into a career.

However, the leap from hobbyist to professional is a big one. We go from taking pictures because we love it to taking pictures to pay the bills and theres not much pizzazz in that. Once the honeymoon stage is over, we have to be real with ourselves and get down to making choices that will help us keep our boats afloat. We have to figure out how to stay self-employed. After all, who really wants to admit defeat and go back to that boring old desk job?

Unfortunately, for many photography business owners, that dreaded scenario becomes a harsh reality. Statistically, we know that roughly 50 percent of new businesses dont survive their first five years.

If we can learn something from these failed ventures, its that all the love in the world simply wont cut it. Simultaneously designing memorable moments, capturing them in an artistic way, and keeping all the technical aspects of your craft in the back of your mind takes practice and time. As the saying goes, It takes years to become an overnight success.

Anyone can take a picture but it takes an artist to envision and capture the perfect moment.

First and foremost, photography is a people business; you are selling your talent, but above all you are selling your personality. If you dont already have an easy-to-like personality, youll have to find a way to cultivate those warm, friendly aspects of your character. This is especially true for those of us who choose to work with young children and hormonal moms-to-be. In this market, youre not selling a product but an experienceand people buy from people they like.

Only 50 percent of businesses survive past five years. Offering a specialized boutique approach can help your business thrive.

Creating portraits with a story can contribute to your success.

So how does this relate to the photographer just entering the market? Well its a good thing youre reading this book. Well go through every aspect of building a business so that you can confidently approach the market with a plan.

Having run two of my own businesses in two countries, and having helped my husband with three of his businesses on three continents over the span of thirteen years, Ive learned a great deal. My early years working in web site design, public relations, and business administration in South Africa taught me a lot about myself and my abilities. Then, building a new business in Britain forced me to learn about human psychology and to adapt to a different culture. Our third move to the United States proved to be another huge learning curve in terms of believing in myself and approaching a new cultural mind set.