Yay, it’s Fotog Friday again and I am so happy to share Misty Smith with y’all! She is doing our family pictures in a couple weeks and we are beyond excited and CAN NOT WAIT!!!! Woohoo. Although I must say, I am more comfortable behind the camera I have a feeling Misty will make our session a blast!!!
First tell me a little about yourself….. I’m Misty Smith and I’m a photographer getting ready to be uprooted back to Central Va next month. I’m a wife, mother (to two kids and four furbabies) and I consider myself a pretty crafty person. I have a love for film, old cameras and black and white photos.
How long have you been shooting? I’ve been taking photos every since I could hold a camera but I started my business in 2006 while living in California.
What made you want to become a photographer? Honestly I’ve always loved photography but never thought about doing it as a career until my very first client contacted me after seeing my photos on my old Myspace page. I had put up a lot of artsy photos that I had processed in the darkroom or had just taken and scanned, since I was shooting film at the time, just to show off my work. I had photographed a friend just playing around and after posting those photos I got an email about doing a session. I had so much fun on that first session I knew that this is what I wanted to keep doing as a career.
What does photography mean to you? Photography has always been my way of clearing my head and having fun whenever I’m having a bad day so I hope that when my clients are having a bad day and need cheering up they can look at their photos and remember the fun they had in those moments and be happy.
What struggles have you faced on this path? A lot of self doubt, I think I’m my biggest critic a lot of times. (I have a great support system that kicks my butt when I get down though) Also being a military spouse and having to uproot my business every 4 years is proving to be a struggle as well but hopefully this next move will be permanent for a while.
Do you specialize in anything? Right now no, I love doing it all. Once I get settled I might but I think because I enjoy each type of photography for different reasons I’ll keep doing it all.
Describe your style in 3 words… Modern, Fun, Real
What’s in your camera bag? Canon Mark II, Canon 5D, 50mm 1.4, 24-70mm, Pentax MX with a 50mm, Diana Mini and a Argus Super Seventy-Five as a TTV
Whats on your gear wish list? The 16-35mm, the 24mm and the 135mm oh and a new Kelly Moore bag J
What’s your favorite piece of gear? I love my 50mm, but I also love my Pentax MX with the 50mm because I started my business with it so it holds a special place in my photography heart.
Where do you get inspiration from? Everything around me. We’ll be driving down the road and I’ll see and old building and think it would be an amazing location and build ideas from there or my clients will tell me something they love or love to do and we’ll build on that.
Whats your workflow like? After the session I upload my cards and back them up, then cull through the images and post a couple of my favorites on Facebook as sneak peeks, then get the proofing ready for the client to chose their images, once they are done I finalize the editing and get their products ready to order and deliver. I’m trying to get better about blogging so that’s going to be thrown in there somewhere.
Describe how you balance your life and your business… It’s still a work in progress. Jaxon came into our life 4 months ago so I’m still working on that perfect balance but I allot time for whatever I’m doing that day whether it’s editing or quilting or such during the day and also work and also work while the kids nap.
If you could work with any photographer in the world, who would it be? Oh gosh there is a ton. I love Tara Whitney her work is amazing, its so effortless and natural. I would love to shoot with Bobbi and Mike not only because I love their work but because Bobbi is short like me so I’d love to see her in action. Nate and Jaclyn from the Image is Found have always been a huge inspiration to me. I’ve been blog stalking them for ages it seems. I could really go on and on with this.
Where would be your dream destination location? I would love to shoot in New Zealand or Australia but in my travels in the states I would love to go back to Utah. I loved it the last time I was there and would love to go back when I could actually stay not when I’m trying to drive cross country and worry about having cell phone reception for a phone call from Iraq from Drew.
How many sessions do you usually do a month? It depends normally I just shoot on the weekends so around 5+ depending on whats going on. Sometimes only a couple.
Name one photography trend that drives you insane! Over saturation where skin tone turns orange is a big one for me right now.
Any secrets, tips or trick to get that perfect shot? Always be ready and don’t be afraid to try new ideas even if they seem silly or corny, if they are then oh well but chances are they can come out great, plus if you ask people to do silly things you get great candid laughing shots.
Whats your favorite subject to work with? Oh gosh I love everything for different reasons. I love shooting couples because they are in love and you can ask them to do more set up things. I love kids because they are so unpredictable and fun. Families are great because not only do you capture the love the parents have for each other but the love they have for their kids. Seniors are fun because they have so much personality and those photos are about them and what they are which is always fun. Newborns are so squishy and cute and weddings you are capturing a whole story of the couples day.
How do you market yourself? Right now, word of mouth. I think it’s truly the best form of marketing because potential clients will take what clients say more serious than just seeing an ad.
Do you take your camera everywhere you go? I have a camera with me at all times. Whether its just my iPhone camera, my point and shoot, some sort of film camera or my DSLR there is always one with me.
Have you ever had an embarrassing moment during a session or event? Oh yes, I tend to injure myself more than embarrass myself a lot of times but its worth it to get the shot.
What are some goals you have set for yourself? Right now rebuild my business when we move, I would love to one day have a natural light studio as well but mainly I want to never stop learning and always keep improving.
What advice would you give someone starting out in their photography career… Learn to shoot manual and once you know how to shoot a properly exposed and focused image then learn photoshop. Photoshop is great but it shouldn’t be the solution to fixing problems that can be fixed in camera. And mainly be yourself and keep going if it’s what you really want.
Check out Misty Smith for yourself!!!!
Website
Blog
Facebook
Also check out Misty’s Pictures for Paws. I myself are a huge animal lover so I just love this idea
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