Liz LaBianca
Liz LaBianca Photography
Site : Facebook
I am SO excited to featured a fellow Texas Photographer this week! Not only is she a fellow Texan, but we live in the same town and only a mile or so apart. It’s a small photog world out there. I can’t wait to meet this sweetheart in person very soon and get her help here on the Prop Junkie blog!
You are going to love Liz’s beautiful images and playful style. Please be sure to stop by her fan page and leave her some love and letting her know you saw her feature here on the blog!
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Q. Tell us a little about yourself in just two sentences and include a picture of yourself.
A. I am a wife to a bald Italian, a mom to two beautiful kids – and I am now a woman who is living her dream – that started when I had $ 1,000 and I decided it was time to start my own photography business.
Q. What do you shoot with and what is your favorite lens and why?
A. Nikon 700 – I am in LOVE my 50 1.4 so much lately. I love shooting at 1.4 and the creamy bokeh that looks like a painting. Just my favorite way to shoot.I guess next would be my 70-200. I love laying on the ground and shooting a child from far away. I use my 24-70 lens for my family shots and when I just want to be creative with the wide angle. A ton of my favorite images this year have come from using my 24-70.
Q. When did you start shooting for fun and then move to shooting professionally?
A. I have always loved photography – but I started shooting for fun when….yep you guessed it … when my son was born 6 years ago. A year ago – I decided to take that passion for photography to the next level. At the time I didn’t realize just how many levels there were to becoming a professional photographer. I truly thought a photographer took photos and then handed them over. I had no idea that photoshop was involved in turning those photos into art.
Q. Are you formally taught or self taught?
A. Self taught all the way and I am proud. It was a very long and exhausting year filled with a ton of mistakes. My camera was worn around my neck for every second of the day and once those images were downloaded – I was constantly editing so that I could teach myself photoshop.
Q. What is your specialty and how did you decide to specialize in that area of photography?
Q. How many sessions are you shooting a month?
A. During the Holiday Season I had about 6 sessions a week. I am still having clients call and I feel bad turning them away. This will the first January that I have an established business – so I am not sure what to expect in the coming months with how slow it will be.
Q. On average how long to do you spend editing each session and do you listen to music while editing or just enjoy the quiet?
Q.. What is the best marketing tool that works for you or was a total waste of time? Do you advertise in print? Do you offer referral bonuses? If yes, please share a little.
A. Facebook has been AMAZING!!! Next would be word of mouth. I haven’t started a referral bonus per say… but I did surprise one client during her shoot that she received a free shoot because of the amount of business she had sent my way.
Q. What do you do to “stand out” from surrounding photographers that you’re competing with?
Q.What was your biggest mistake and how did you fix it?
A. Not having signed contracts. Working on that in December. Hard Lesson learned – but 2012 there will be signed contracts in place.
Q. How did you find your style? Any advice to new photographers on how to find their own style?
Q. Please share your favorite image and tell us what makes this your favorite?
A.The photo of the kids on the beach jumping. This will always be one of my favorite. I just love everything about the photo, the color, the composition, the laughter.
Q. Can you show us your shooting space? If you are shooting inside can you show a simple pull back shot or lots of images if you have a large studio. If you shoot on location please share an image of you favorite location.
A. I use two of my front rooms that used to be a guest room and a dining room. They are now filled up with props for my newborn sessions. I typically don’t shoot indoors for my children shoots.
Q. Is there anything you would like to promote? Maybe a mentoring you offer or any side projects.
More of Liz’s Stunning Work:
Thank you again for sharing with us, Liz!
Fondly,
Tabitha
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