Are You My Father?..

Shutterbugs - as much as you may be enjoying the back side to that camera, you may one day wake up to see that you have no visual history of your own. I say this as a voice of an unfortunate experience with one of my own kids.

 I have three daughters, each about five years apart in age. While all three of them have been, in their own unique ways, my teachers, there's one lesson my youngest (Gretchen) taught me, that I will never forget! 

By the time she was born, Prints Charming was six years old, and we were in dire need of more space. Her mom preferred not to work, so I did my best to amplify my business to a level that would allow that to be. 

The consequences of doing weekday studio, and weekend weddings and events, was “making Jack a very dull boy”. The most adverse affect, however, is something that I know many of us are equally guilty of, as we THINK we’re selflessly being the family historian by staying on the backside of the camera. 

After much effort to avoid, we made the difficult but amiable decision to provide the girls two happy homes, vs. the one home that was lacking harmony (a.k.a. divorced). Since the two younger girls were more mom-dependent at the time, it was agreed that a larger portion of their time would be with mom, and their detailed (and she REALLY detailed them) photo albums went with them. 

Over time, the girls were asking for "more time at dads", which we all mutually agreed should now be 50/50. I had heard from older sisters, that Gretchen LOVED flipping through her album often.

The first night on the newly balanced parenting schedule, I was tucking Gretchen in. I couldn't help but notice that she was a bit down. It took a bit of gentle persuasion, but eventually she shared what was troubling her. 

“I don’t understand why I need to be here more. I don’t want to sound mean, but I should be with the one who made me.” We had an abbreviated discussion about the way things worked (biologically), and I explained that she was half me. 

At moms - photos cover the walls and their albums, at dads (in my then home-based business)… The only people portraits that hung were of my clients. I had never imagined from a 2nd graders perspective, just how odd it must be to go stay with this guy that was far less familiar to her photo-filled life. 

I explained “Gretchen, when you look through your album next time, try something different. Try and image that what you are doing is looking through my eyes. When you are looking through your album, that is what you are doing.” While I did self-time-and-run for a few family portraits, it just didn’t happen that I ever showed up in the photos.

Perhaps the most ironic thing, is that when she about three, her favorite book for me to read was "Are You My Mother". As much as I loathed that book, she loved my animated - "SNORT!"  

That next day her stepmom and I took our full clan shopping at the mall. I’ll never forget Gretchen running ahead of her siblings to grab my free hand as we walked. It felt like the first time she held my hand and that she never wanted to let go. 

From that day forward, I decided that I would not only show up in photos more often, but would bang this drum as I speak to other photographers. Show up! More than just a come-and-go selfie on Facebook, but a portrait, a memory a connection to those that are most important in your life! Get used to looking AT the camera, and not just through it.


Thank you to ALL of my kids for knowing that I was there, and thanks to you Gretchen - I have a little more proof that I was!  

Brian
 









PS - Just to make sure it's affordable for you to jump in your own, we're giving you $100 toward ANY portrait service! (and you don't even need to print/bring this in - just mention the deal when you book BEFORE May 31, 2014 and it's yours!) 

Call for details.

Creating Smiles While Receiving FREE Portraits - NO STRINGS ATTACHED

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Dedication, Dharma & Decade-long Relationships...

Sitting in the Choir Room at the Tigard High Music Department early last week, it was easy to imagine who to blog about this month.

Every year (since the late 90's we estimated) I get a call from one of the few schools I know that pick quality over quantity for "team photos" if-you-will. This is not a service I tend to offer, because it is a great deal more work for these small amounts of money. It can only be offered cheap when you get "hourly shooters" thus random results.

Instead, Choir Instructor Sue Hale & Band Director Jim Irving opt for something just a tad bit higher, but a WHOLE lot more custom. Beyond this benefit to me, is the most important element - how they benefit their students with THEIR craft and passion.

I grew up in Pendleton, went to Pendleton High School and confess to be a late-starting band geek.
I didn't desire to be in the drum section until my sophomore year, too late to get a snare to call my own.

I was instead HEAVILY influenced with some over-the-top enthusiasm by my instructor to join anyhow. "You can play the cymbals, and we really need someone!". "That would be a 'no'..." was my obvious expression, but this instructor (Mr. Herbig ?sp) had a contagious passion, pulled out a catalog, and showed me these "cool swivel handles, that will allow you to spin them while marching".

I'd like to say I'm above chasing after shiny objects, but his energy was inescapable for me - I said yes and I joined. That put me in a league of die-hard perfectionism with that particular drum section. Why?, because it just so happened that our co-major was none other than "Mr. Irving", the now-instructor at Tigard High. (Yes, he is THAT young - students who are reading this!)

The day we bumped into each other, I was leaving the football field at Tigard, cameras dangling, just as Jim was entering the field with a marching band behind him. After 20+ years, it was a "pinch me" moment, as I audibly said - "Of course!.. Of course this is what you're doing..."

I'd never seen a student more passionate than Jim and his other co-major Jim (yes, two guys named Jim). It made PERFECT sense to see him instructing music for a living, and given my performance in band, and likely a reciprocal response for him. We grew up just two houses from each other for most of our childhood - likely he saw me more as photographer than professional cymbal player - ha!)

Each year as I set up for the shoot in the Choir room, I get to listen to more than just the instruction of his peer Sue Hale. The way she speaks to her choir students is more than just encouraging, she conveys that she cares as much about the students' growth as she does for the results.

Her quest for perfectionism is likely only troubling to someone who thought singing would somehow be an easy grade. I have not seen a higher level of commitment anywhere, than I have of these two instructors that I've worked with for over 15 years! In that amount of time, doing 2-3 full day shoots, I've had many "behind the scene" moments to see just how much she too cares about her kids and craft.

I could easily go on, but would be preaching to the choir. (oh - snare, snare high-hat - budda ching!)

While I was there last week, I saw a sparkly new, custom-painted music stand gifted to her from the Class of 2013. If that doesn't say it all...  (big shout to their Orchestra and Guitar instructors - I just haven't worked with them as long - sorry)

I am grateful to ANY client that will keep me on their radar for this long, but it makes me feel even better to know that there are teachers of this caliber clearly pursuing their dharma.

While many of their beneficiaries may not yet know, they are receiving some of the most dedicated training they will ever receive from Mr. Irving and Mrs. Hale.

My Wake-up Call To Preservation

Have you ever had one of those defining moments that remind you who you really are, and why you do what you do most hours of your day?

Last week, in the thick of my holiday portrait busyness, I received a call from a client who I knew for 16 years as my accountant. His daughter had just passed away, so he needed her portrait file to memorialize her in the weekend paper.

My heart stopped, and at once, I heard the voice of my deceased mentor Lou, defending his collection of client archives from the 1960's. Despite my respect for age, antiques and preservation, it didn't seem very cost-effective to warehouse images that just sat there.

"We aren't just doing this for the money, we are historians that remember the value of our work, long before it's realized by our clients. Most people won't realize the value of what we created until long after we delivered their orders."

 Call it a coincident, but within a few days of that lecture, I found myself digging through a 1969 box for the same reason I was about to open my own 2007 archives.

My priorities shifted in a heart-over-head moment of absolute purpose. I dropped what I was doing and pulled the archives. To see and feel the look in his eyes as he watched me prepare the image to submit, I woke up to the value of my work.


As a photographer in the era where "good enough" image quality became the sub-standard norm, I've joined thousands of "mom 'n pop" portrait studios in witnessing the unfortunate demise of our industry.

Editing, filing and archiving systems are a huge expense for a true professional. What used to be a box full of negatives on a hidden closet shelf or attic, is now a hard drive that we pray to remain readable or not be stolen by thievery or nature.

House fires prompt a bravery to seek out all living beings to free them from harm. Hurricanes wipe out all "things" that we posses. Loved ones pass, and similarly they drive us to the same longing to have a permanent memory of what was. Something that stops the clock, and allows us to remember how we got here, who we were with and yes, who we are in the sad case of dementia.

Printed photographs remind us to savor, love and my greater hope - PRINT!

December Specials for ALL occasions

The word of the year for 2013?.. Selfie - "A photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smart phone or web cam and uploaded to a social media website."

While that may be adequate for the news-of-the-day snapshots on our social media pages, take note of the sad rise of Alzheimer's Disease.

Having photographs to hang, if only for dementia recovery is important. It doesn't need to be our professional family portrait to mean the world to us. In times of reflection, when we shut off devices and close the lids on our laptops, those images that we can just pause to stare at - long enough to bring someone back to life in our hearts in a way that our busy minds cannot hold focus on.

Should this be something that you wish to share with a loved one, or gift to your future self, be sure to check out our December Specials.

I wish you the most amazing and memorable holiday season of your life. Take lots of pictures, back them up, pick a few favorites to print and share them!  We are not in this form forever, and one day someone may bring you back to life by simply looking at and remembering their dear YOU!

Branding - It's Not Just For Cattle

NO TIME TO READ? - SPECIAL IS AT THE BOTTOM...

I grew up in eastern Oregon, among countless ranchers and farmers, giving me a simplistic association with the term "branding"

NEW LOGO

If you are in marketing or self-employed, you likely know that it means more than burning a logo on the side of a cow. Like the "swoosh" on your shoes is a great reminder that color-coding your business can show your level of establishment and professionalism.

OLD LOGO

Last year I moved my business to Lake Oswego (suburb of Portland near my home) after several months of trying to finish my new business card design. A few months after the move, still no card designed, I invested in a business consultant. Subsequently he told me to invest in a graphic artist to "GET IT DONE!" Seems a no-brainer, but having 15+ years of doing my own, why would I, right?

Branded Brian Sporting New Cards...

I was on-a-roll, applying my favorite phrase "just because you can, doesn't mean your should". Applying it everywhere, that is, except to my card-designing-negligent, inner graphic artist.

Without questioning my investment in an arbitrary set of eyes to my marketing, I called our mutual chamber connection at Lake Oswego Graphics before he even left the office. I thought I was hiring her to finish the task of designing my business cards. Within a couple of hours, she had me in her office looking at my new logo. She gently persuaded me to look a little closer at the message of it. In doing so, I realized how dated (film strip - designed the same year as the game-changing Canon EOS 10d) and "color-reversal-unfriendly" it had grown. I believe the term is "Sunk Cost" and healing term would be "LET GO!..".

Insightful Marketing - Erin Preston

Before I even reached her office, the new "People Celebrating" crown was created, parked on her screen in three variations so that all I had to do was point. I loved the concept for my business, but it made me look even closer at my colors. I wanted something that would endure time better than beloved brown, tan and gold. (no offense if those are yours -  they just didn't radiate that feel of celebrating, never mind the diversity of photo colors that would be all over them...)

As much as I like to lay things out, I could easily shoot, edit and deliver about 20 clients jobs (earning a few thousand, while investing a few hundred = ROI) It set me out on an ambitious roll - studying my LinkedIn connections' photos, looking at their site or marketing materials, asking "what would I do?.."

I called another trusted adviser that I knew that specialized in branding and marketing. I offered her my input on what I would do for her headshots, in trade for her input on my new branding and colors before I had fully committed to new bags, packaging, ribbon, cards etc.

Our Portland Trailblazers had NOTHING to do with the color choices - they just worked with the new concept and especially with my images. My headshot business that month (call it a coincident if you must) was up 300-400%. My offerings were no different this year than the last 15+ years I've been doing headshots, so why the sudden spike?..

BRANDING!!! Alas, the aesthetic presentation matched the mood of what I was delivering... It increased the level of trust that my clients had in me. (not to mention I had some business cards after nearly a year of being out - "Brian, Brian, Brian!.."

Author Graham Salisbury Headshot

I've never been one to just go straight to the camera room with a client. I like to get into their world
enough to know what message they'd like to convey (I help arrive at that answer) and of course to study them enough to know how to extract that expression or feeling. When I'm getting a REAL smile v. merely what they look like.

So much concept and care for the essence of my product, yet I had to pay an adviser (thank you Gary Crawshaw), to tell me to pay a graphic artist (thank you Leslie), thus seeking another professional opinion (thank you Erin Preston) to design the presentation of said product.

Any photographer experiencing this, go stand in the mirror and say it with me - HYPOCRIT! Phew, now don't you feel better, more able to go out and approach your business with a fresh perspective. We've been guarding ourselves from dabblers, vs. doling out these duties to other professionals, so that we can get back into the camera room to SHOW the difference between "uncle Bob" or "Digital Debbie" or the "Cousin with a camera" and a true professional.

We work in an industry that anyone with a DSLR (and no back-up or lighting - YIKES) fancies themselves a photographer. We seek peace and rationale through the hilariously relevant humor of "What the Duck" (cheaper and healthier than counseling) and yet so few of us have probably invested in a graphic artist, marketing specialist and or branding consultant.

Unlike your Facebook selphie's, these images have to convey a message to your future clients/prospects or even your dating profile readers (and yes, some have been wise enough to share this as the use, thus allowing me to extract that "this-is-who-I-really-am" expression).

HEADSHOT DESIGN SPECIAL - BOOK NOW...

Is your image outdated? Does it say what it needs to say on your behalf? Do you keep putting it off because (like me) you hate to have your picture taken? Whatever your reason is, just keep in mind the importance of matching your brand, and take advantage of this end-of-year offer! (okay to wait until 2014 to use, but must be prepaid/retained in 2013)

For the balance of 2013, we'll include one free extra file (SAVE $99) embellished free of "incidentals" - blemishes, unwanted stray hair, evidence of a late night prior or anything else you desire. Pick the one that says Linked in, and pick another that says blog, Facebook or just another "look" that matches that novel you're about to publish.

Call Brian for a consultation, and we'll set you up with the best info for clothing, background, indoor outdoor or location. A quick phone consult, scheduling and 30-60 minutes (depending on the type of session) and you can get back to earning in the way that you do best!

Early to Rise, Longing For Fall...

 "If I had to settle on just one definition of my Purpose in life, it would be: 

'To create images and share stories that contribute to the betterment of this life experience for all...' but I hope to live long enough to discover even more." 

~ Brian Geraths

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