Creating the picture-perfect home-based business
Technology helps photo industry boom
It’s hard to think of many industries that have come farther in 15 years than photography. It wasn’t that long ago that you had to buy a few rolls of film if you wanted to take pictures of your families’ summer vacation.
After taking the pictures, you had to drop them off at a local business to get them developed, wait several days until they were developed, or do it yourself in your own darkroom.
This form of photography is pretty much obsolete thanks to the existence of digital photography and digital equipment.
“My oldest son will be 11 in April … and there wasn’t anybody taking pictures like I’m doing today (when he was born). I never even heard of it,” said Laura Thibodeau of Thibodeau Photography Creations in Gander.
There are more home-based photography businesses today than ever, and one of the reasons is because a photographer doesn’t need their own darkroom.
“With a digital camera, you can take a picture and look at it right away, whereas film, you had to wait about a week until it was developed,” said Alyssa Gillingham of Alyssadenise Photography in Gander.
“Back then, I remember paying something like $6 for a roll of film, so that’s 24 pictures. You can get a cheaper (secure digital) card for $7 that holds thousands of photos, which you can erase and use over again.”
No studio required
Both photographers work out of their home, with Thibodeau working out of her basement and Gillingham out of her living room.
In today’s age of technology, both can be successful without having to operate out of large studios, and they can save money on advertising because of one specific social media website.
“Facebook is a game-changer when it comes to promotion,” said Gillingham.
“You can reach thousands of people in a matter of minutes. During the day, if I post something on my photography page on Facebook, that posting gets viewed by upwards of 500 people sometimes.”
Not only has Facebook paved the way for advertising and promotion, but computer programs like Adobe Photoshop have allowed photographers like Gillingham and Thibodeau to work on their pictures from their home computer.
There’s no need to pay someone to crop or enhance photos anymore, as both business owners can do so themselves.
“When I was learning how to use Photoshop, my husband didn’t even want to live with me …,” Thibodeau says with a laugh.
“I learned everything on my own through a lot of hair-pulling and a lot of lost sleep. I’m a mom with kids, so I couldn’t afford to go out and take a course in Photoshop.”
“I don’t use it a lot,” said Gillingham. “I use it mostly for (colour) saturation … and maybe I’ll enhance the trees a bit to make them greener, just because most of my sessions are outside. I know a lot of people thrive off of Photoshop, but I’ll only adjust the curves on images or make them brighter.”
Good eye required
Although the technology is at their fingertips, both entrepreneurs share a common pet peeve — the
I think people believe the camera takes the nice pictures, and although a good camera is a big part of it, it’s the work that goes into it that makes for a good picture.
Laura Thibodeau, Thibodeau Photography Creations
notion that a good camera does all the work.
Gillingham said although a good camera can go a long way when it comes to taking photos worth selling, a lot has to be said for a photographer who sees what others can’t.
“I’ve heard so many people say, ‘Your camera takes good photos.’ I saw a quote going around on Facebook where someone said, ‘Your camera takes good photos,’ and the photographer replied, ‘Thanks, I taught it everything it knows,’” said Gillingham.
“Everybody says my camera takes good photos, but even my husband, I gave him my camera one time with all of the settings set up so he could take a picture of me and my son, and the background was in focus but we weren’t. It still takes skill that goes above and beyond a good camera.”
“I think people believe the camera takes the nice pictures, and although a good camera is a big part of it, it’s the work that goes into it that makes for a good picture,” added Thibodeau.
“People look at the prices I charge and ask if that’s just for taking pictures, but they don’t understand the work that goes into it after I’m done taking their pictures. I could spend hours on Photoshop. I learned everything pretty much on my own … the learning process
Alyssa Gillingham, Alyssadenise Photography
never ends.”
Both photographers focus on family, infant and newborn portraits, and both wanted to become better photographers because of family and their children.
If digital cameras and secure digital cards had not yet been invented, would both photographers be doing what they do with film and darkrooms and darkroom chemicals?
“I think I would,” said Thibodeau. “When I worked with the Wal-Mart portrait studio it was all film. … But I think that’s how you know if you love something. We went from film to digital, which is easier, but if we wake up tomorrow and all of the digital equipment is gone and we had to go back to film, I think I would still be doing it.”
“I got my first digital camera when I was 17,” said Gillingham. “So that was 10 years ago, so it’s hard for me to say because I was never really into film. It was all digital when I first started, so I don’t know a lot about film. However, I would like to think I would …”
Facebook is a game-changer when it comes to promotion. You can reach thousands of people in a matter of minutes. During the day, if I post something on my photography page on Facebook, that posting gets viewed by upwards of 500 people sometimes.