Lessons

Lesson Info

Day 21: Shooting On Location: Client's Home

His day twenty one and we are going tio go through a segment on shooting on location again today we that's what we ended with last night but we had older kids that we were photographing and today it's three little kids so you're going to get teo come along with me on a session and then we'll show you the final product that we do from that tomorrow segment is adding video to your sessions and today session is actually a session that we added video to it's one of our video sessions we call it the art it's my life story session and so I'm not going to talk as much about adding the video, but you will see the videographer there with me and you'll get to see the final product that we give to the client both today and in tomorrow segment with tomorrow's session so it's fun it's a new product that we're super excited about, but today we're going to talk about shooting on location uh working with little kids and just getting excited about uh really what they're all about and their little perso...

nalities and what they're into and that's one of the big things that I want to find out right away from mom, I'm always asking right from the first phone call, you know, tell me about your kids what they into right now it's the newest thing and with this family that we're goingto be showing they had just gotten three they've got three little girls and they had just gotten three brand new puppies outdoor puppies for their house they've got they've got a little indoor dog that's kind of like they're part of their family but then they got three more that'll be outdoor your dogs for their farm and each one of the girls claimed a puppy and got to name um and it was pretty cute and that's what mom told me about on the phone and you guys are actually going tio when you purchased the course we've got several bonus segments that will be coming out on the days that the actual day is released during the thirty days and the first phone call in consultation call with this client you guys are going to hear the whole thing on that bonus video and so but one of the things that she told me was that they had just gotten these dogs are super excited about that so we want to make sure that we incorporated that and really and we talked about doing something special for the girls is rooms they just moved into a new house so going to kind of get to see that so I wantto when I'm going to somebody's home I want to always take the opportunity even though I've already worked with the client already to design something for them and preview they've walked through the home they've taken those snapshots for me I've shown them designs they've narrowed down to the designs they're going to choose when we do our order appointment but if I get to go to their home to shoot I'm always always gonna ask can I just walk through the house and you know, just see if there's anyplace else I might make a suggestion for hanging your portrait so I want you to enjoy them the best we might have the best placement for them and and so definitely taken manage of that if you're shooting on location or at someone's home that's to me one of the biggest things that change sales for me why I always always feel like I sell more if I'm going to someone's house and I love working on location at clients homes because I do I getto walk through their house and I get to make those suggestions and you know if you haven't taken the opportunity on the phone to really find out what they're all about you know make sure you're taking cues from even the yard or the home are you know whether it's props that are in the house that you can pull out maybe a chair and then one of the kids is bedrooms or whatever it might be or those new puppies or you know whatever is going to get them excited and into their session and then that's that I thought I was there s o making that suggestions for oh yeah also sorry guys, I'm I'm getting the old eyes this morning all right? So making suggestions for other products as well as the wall concepts that we've suggested to them so those albums is image boxes and the video sessions the video sessions aren't something that I would suggest after I get to their house but I'm also always going to tell even are previous clients that call hey here's something really new and cool that we're doing would you be interested? Not all of them will be and that's okay, but I can let them know what's new and going on and make those suggestions for other things the last tip for me for shooting on location is do not let your session go over an hour that's kind of the end of it for any age of kids and so we want to end it there and then we've got three little kids here we're out on the client's property you're going to see us driving around in their gator's getting teo different locations and even in doing that and this dad even he was they had just moved to this new property and he really was proud of, you know the place and wanted to show us everything and drive us all through the property and I knew even with that I needed to keep that under a now er of the session teo, you know, keep those girls excited and motivated and into what we were doing so you're goingto see some of that as well and let's go to that video, but here we are we are at the client's house and they've got the puppies out I've got the puppeteer who is the the part of the family but he's not going to be in this one they're going to have those three new puppies with them. Um lenny let's pick your feet back that way, okay for being at a drive. There we go. And, uh and I'm gonna get says you're they're all sitting right now we'll get this first and delaney, can you put your puppy a little bit further forward? Good that's perfect. Okay, who could make don't dog noises over here? I'm going to move through this just a little bit. We're not gonna watch this whole thing, but I just kind of moved to cem key spots here. I'm asking mom to come behind me for the dog's, not for the kids. I want those dogs looking at her, and now that I've got them in place will let you see a little bit about what's going on, all right, look how good they are, okay, a little weird and what I love about this family and you'll hear in the phone call when you hear it that this mom is just you know we talked about clothing suggestions and she's like I just want my girl's being girl being who they are you know what they wear every single day and two they are they're just in their sweatshirts and with their puppies and out on their farm she let him choose their boots a long way from me chasing you guys around the yard we're talking about the I've been photographing these girls since they were little and now they're all looking at me and not chasing them anymore okay do I any pick your chin up a little does that work is that ok? Ok let's get those tops their bottoms of those boots not staring right at the camera right before just whoa hey they're like well he just like me squiggly little couple pepys and you'll get to see some of these finished images in the final product video someone has kind of script through here there's are my videographer that stacy and when we're doing these video projects and you'll see this again in the next segment as well but I shoot I get the kids pose and shoot and then I back up and let her direct a little bit because we do want to just some storytelling going on with the videos here's the next little fighting for them dad bringing away how you handle any good job okay everybody look at your puppies and talkto mackenzie left your chin up a little bit there ago still look at your bubby good okay, now everybody look this way that's great yeah, it was great you guys and the good now we're going out on the gators out into the timber the girls want the oldest girl who has just turned ten is just now getting to drive thie gator and she's still excited and so so what we did the little video back of her and we're going through driving through speed this up a little bit and what's fun about this to the last session I've always photographed just the three girls in the last session I asked dad to get involved in you know what happened and I'm gonna pause this a second so I can tell you this story let me pause this here but what happened was is you know I really wanted them to have a family portrait together I've been photographing just the three girls for several years and they had just the three girls in portrait's in the home just the three girls on their christmas cards and when I went the last time I said you know I'd really love to get you involved and he's like no no no I'm just I'm not into that you know I'd rather just have the girls pictures of the girls and I said you know well well what are you into and you know just started talking to him and just kind of joking around with him and and I ended up finding that he had this vintage corvette that he loved and out on another property that they have he builds windmills and that's a big thing in the midwest right now is the are the mid will's windmills and that's like the energy thing and and so he was so proud of showing me the acreage where his very first windmills went up and so we parked that corvette in front of that field of windmills we photographed the entire family out there with the girls on the car and dad and mom out in front you know, snuggle in and loving on each other and this man was into this next session he was so excited and you know and even when his wife called she was like oh yeah he wants to be a part of this we're probably gonna do family sessions every time from now on and so you know, just really finding out more about your clients and what what is it that's important to them and incorporating those things and speaking their language? You know, I don't know anything about cars I don't know anything about golf I don't know anything about you know, a lot of things that men would be interested in but just by asking them questions and just letting them talk a lot of times he confined out so much and if you let them talk they you know it doesn't matter if you don't know anything about it if you let them talk to you about what they love, then all of a sudden your buddies, you know and and you can kind of incorporate some of those things, all right? Let's, move on with the video uh, my love, you know, stacy's directing here again and just kind of let them do their thing, you know, playing ring around the rosie run around and, you know, this kind of thing isn't something that I would be photographing, but it's so great for the video for mom and dad for later happy little faces will move through this again, this is still a stacy directing, and then I I'm going to get him into a spy's photograph all three girls together and were doing kind of, you know, the same thing that we would always do were photographing family together girls together and then we'll photograph girls individually. They also brought out a merry christmas sign and some fun blankets, there's the blanket kind of running around with those blankets and got some video that usually I love it yeah, I always always wanted for you dad by themselves don't forget that it's so important in your family sessions to make sure that you do something special for mom and dad and they really will appreciate it and so will the kids you know and it's something that I always tell them you know this is something that's really special for these kids and even to prize even if it's just a five by seven and the kids is rooms on an end table you know have mom and dad they're loving each other and they don't have to be super snugly people that's okay? We want to make sure that we capture their personality and not something they're not but but just getting them together and that's my mom and dad here they are those with the christmas sign and we're posing around they wanted to be and it was cold that day a cz you can tell but they wanted to be you know, I kind of have that warm winter christmas look and they're one of my clients who still like the black and white hand painted portrait's that I became known for ten years ago and now you know, fifteen years ago and kind and now a cringe a little bit about but they love that and so that was her idea was for us tto do black and white and hand paint that like blanket around them and then the third christmas sign for there their christmas card so typically I'm not shooting just for a christmas card but when it's a client that I have photographed years and years and years I'm going to do that for them this was her idea for her card fun girls and I think we did the little puppy back in again at the end stacy videoing me shooting and that's the end of that all right, so and a quick reminder for everyone out there that while we don't have time to watch the whole video of these they the full video is actually going to be included in your purchase of the core so if you want to see that whole shoot in its entirety listen, everything that is included with purchase I just want to make sure that people were aware of that that is true thanks for yeah, thanks for mentioning that you're gonna get to see the whole videos of everything that we shot we don't have a lot of time to go through every single thing and I also realize that not everybody wants to see the whole thing on dh that's okay too if you're one of those people that might be boring for some people but I know some people will want to watch the whole thing and that's me too so that we'll be there for you as well as like I said the phone calls that led up to it and some other of the bonus materials that will be releasing later when the actual days release alone. So any questions about shooting on location and then I'm going to show you the final product that we that we shot with them I'm in it I don't have that with me e I don't but I will share uh, lens choices and I know to us about that yesterday I'm shooting I was shooting with the five day mark three and typically outside I'm shooting that seventy two two hundred two point eight and I'm pretty sure that's what I used with this whole entire session so when you see that on our finished product here you that's what you're seeing when you see the still images and what you're going to see on the quote unquote finished product is you see video mixed with the still images, which just makes for this really nice and even if you're not shooting video you khun do you could do a great animo no slide show for your clients as a finished product. And so even if you don't have that motion in there but I would encourage you even if you have, uh if you've got a camera that'll shoot video just do little bits and pieces of it here in there and we'll talk more about some story starters and things in the and the next segment but america was on the top of stacey's camera for the video was that capturing sound I presume but what what exactly is it? We call it the dead kitten but but what it is is just a little and I don't even know what the tournament is or it what do you guys might know but it's uh it's just a little fuzzy thing that kind of diffuses the sound and so it's a microphone that sits on top of insisting the hot shoe and so our cameras will you know that will pick up sound but it's just not as good as having that little microphone that's on there and a lot of times we're not even doing sound for our sessions but we might we might put in kids giggles into the animal toe show or we might put in mom saying something about the kids you know it might be we hear her say something what were doing the session and we just go over and ask her can you repeat that for us? And we just add the audio into the video and it just personalizes things and so it's just a little extra audio tool but definitely not a must have item cool. All right, so I do have a question from debbie hp me we will just have time to take one more on this day I'm interested in hearing more about shooting also how many different shots do you take of the same pose? I spend a lot of time going through pictures that are almost too similar to tell apart yeah what is their reasoning behind taking more than one shot with the same settings of the same pose and how do you gauge that how do you know when you've got it? Wow, I wish I knew you know you know I'm an over shooter too absolutely I am definitely learned to shoot less because of the special events that we do and because of a lot of the sessions that we do we're showing the images immediately following the session and when you have that in mind you do your more careful and more intentional with your shooting but out on a shoot like this I definitely am shooting too much and just you know I mean it's just normal that we're just shooting away and but the key for me is in post when I'm editing I'm gonna pull up if even if I've got ten images that are similar I'm gonna pull him I'm not going to go through each one individually and try to go back and forth and figure out which one I like best I'm gonna pull up this those ten and the first one that grabs my attention that's the one I'm keeping and then I'm going to go to the next pose or the next whatever I can always go back you know the client is never going to know if we're showing them in a in a in their original order appointment if something's not perfect when I pull it in if that's the one that they order, I can't go back to one of the other ones that is similar and if I need to pull some eyes or switch ahead and it doesn't matter, they're never going to know, but I'd rather take the time on something that's I ordered then on before it's ordered you know, I'm just gonna pull my favorite I'm gonna put it up there, I'm gonna make sure it's the one that's best of everybody and I sleep it's not if there's not one that's perfect of everyone and it's a family I'm gonna switch ahead before they see them in the order appointment, so I will take that little bit of time, but it actually saves time in the end because I'm not going through every single image individually, and I had those days where I was pulling up and trying to make sure everything was in focus and, you know, I mean half of what I shoot isn't a focus, you know what I think that's just the nature of shooting outside and photographing kids and natural light and and maybe it's just me, I don't know, but you know, but it's it's okay because we've got those other image that we can go back to if they've been ordered but I think the key for me is doing it once I know that it's been paid for and that I'm willing to spend a little extra time on it absolutely so I think we would love to see the final video all right let's watch this and this this is fun on probably moved through this just a little bit as well but so you kind of some of the beginning on there's this shot still shot and shining all over the world all right, so you get the idea there my scroll through this but it's just uh with the final video you know we want to get those steel shots and I'm just kind of holding it there but we want to get those still shots but we want to show all the action that's happening in front of it and there's even dad getting involved and how cute is that? So we'll just go all the puppies even looking at no you know and of course like this you know, you never shoot that but how cute to have in the video I'm gonna back up a little bit you gotta see this puppy and you know, this is gonna be so nice for the family tohave because this is something that's really important to them and they they told me that they you know, especially on sunday afternoons that they all get in the gators and they drive around the property and it's just a family thing that they do together so now we've got it on video for him and here we are opposing the family and the still image you know and so even showing the colors and the timber and everything that's you know, so beautiful about iowa but I had to learn to appreciate I don't appreciate the cold, but I've appreciated the seasons and the colors now they're still image and I'll go through it a little faster again but you just those little family moments even like that that's not staged or captured and you know, some of this is directed just just run and play but it's not stages just the girls being girls and there's that little face that we saw and then here's the girls just playing running with those blankets and staying around, you know, moments like these and memories like these for the parents, you know, they're just they're price list and this mom they obviously have the money, you know? But I had to talk her into the video session and I had to tell her, you know, this is yes, it sounds like a lot of money twenty five hundred dollars sounds a lot to invest in a session but we're gonna be able to capture you know you guys were gonna be able to capture motion and you guys being a family and out on your place and you know really in the end you're going to save money and I always tell people that with the video sessions that they're going to save money because we're adding in additional product credit with that and all those little moments in between you guys this is kind of where it's go in making something you know special and unique for our clients they are the christmas sign I like that I get to be in their family video and you know and it's something like this is probably gonna end up that chris with that christmas card only I'm gonna hand pain it hand paint that blanket and you know dad's shirt doesn't match the blanket but it doesn't matter because he's gonna be in black and white and that that hand painted blanket I'm not hand painting anything until any more I used teo a lot but I don't hand pain anything anymore until after it's ordered my clients that want that they know the look and they trust me to finish it how they want it and my hand paining I do not mean campaigning I mean it's done digitally still by my hand with my walk I'm tablet running through the words and let some of this last bit play out you know and even there I am in the the end of that but you know but that's fine it was a memory for the family that they took the time out to do that photographing each of the girls individually here at the end just getting that little bit of motion in between e I go a little faster through here and of course for the family they're going to hear this all with music they're gonna hear it we've got a song freedom song on here for them to enjoy and we had already talked to mom about doing something individually for each of the girls is rooms and this is you know, this is one of those moments we talked about yesterday about hair in the face and I'm going to say to mom when this is happening and of course she's one that's not freaked out about it anyway she's worked with me long enough that she knows here is not going to be perfect in every image but I'll stop you know, when I've captured something like this and I'll actually say something about it also I'll say I love that they're just girls being girls and they're you know, hairs all over the place and the winds blowing and they're laughing and you know, this is so fun and I know this mom and I know she'll probably end up with this on her wall even though half a delaney's faces covered and there they are watching and how sweet is that I love that and another couple of still images and last of the family I love that too and then this was dad's idea he wanted to play duck dynasty so we got a couple good shots for him and you know and this is that thing you know this year last year was a corvette most here it's the gator and its he's out on his property with his kids and this is the shot that's going to make dad happy you know he's gonna end up with this in his office talking about it showing it off it'll probably end up on the back of their christmas card and the end so pretty fine, huh? Well, thank you that was not me that was stacy I don't put those together so we have to clap for stacy on that but yeah so I'm gonna show you what the download per day twenty one is it's another set of product templates and this is going to be six storyboards for you guys. The storyboards are multiple image pieces and we love selling these types of pieces for the story that we're telling just like this when we've got a little siri's of images and that's one of the reasons why you know when I'm shooting multiple things in the same area you know it's it's always when they're moving around our there doing something it's not going to be any. They're never going to see images that look exactly the same. They're always going to see a variation of something I don't ever want. My client, if I'm sitting there and I'm calling images, and I have to decide back and forth between two images and it's taking me, you know, three minutes to go. Is she going toe like this one better it's gonna like this one better. I know mom's going to do that. So I've got to decide, and I've gotta narrow it down. But I do want to leave enough images that we can tell those stories and the storyboard products like this or in an album.