Black Widow

Photo Shoot Location: France,

Stylization: By Niki (vintage goods),

Model: this you should already know…

Happy guessing!

XoXo

Niki

 

H.A.P.P.Y.

Welcome to Business Wednesday no.5.

Continuation on choosing the best location for your business. Today main street location pros and cons.

Main street advantages:

• Ease of public access,
• Walk in traffic,
• Higher visibility,
• More respectability,
• More signs, front window displays etc.,
• When you’re closed, you’re closed. Nobody knocking on your door on your day off and after hours,
• More usable space than average home.

Main street disadvantages:

• Expensive (more than home business, less than shopping mall, in general),
• Two rents to pay your home/apartment and your business on the main street (unless you are a lucky owner of your place),
• Time and cost of travelling,
• Parking can be a problem.
• No kids at work (so additional money for Nanny or dropping them off to grandparents – time and cost of travelling again! Unless you are creative parents and you design small playground space for your Little Ones).
• If this is photography studio business then  must be managed during regular business hours requiring at least two people most of the time (one shoot, one to be a receptionist).

Having more ideas? Share your thoughts and experience!

P.S. How about Business Wednesdays as a video ?

You can vote what is better to read or to watch…

Have a great happy day! 😉

(All e-cards are made By Niki)

I Do…

 

This week I am going to work on amazing pictures from this romantic place where one couple said “I do” for a very 2nd time! It was an honor to be there as a ‘camera witness’ 😉 Perfect place to say ‘I Do’. Location: Houston, Texas.

Looking for a photographer for your ‘I do’? Drop me a line to: by.niki@yahoo.com

International Day of Happiness !

Want to wish absolutely everybody Happy International Day of Happiness (March 20)! Hope your rest 364 days will look like the happiness on the photograph above! Model: Beverly, Location: Houston.

Interested in a happy photo shooting? Drop me a note to: by.niki@yahoo.com 😉

How to choose the Best Location for your Business?

 

Business Wednesday no.4.

Decisions, ah decisions! If you are the lucky one who decided to open your own full-time business you have to think about what is the most important. Location.

You have few choices:

Your home,

Main street business,

Business outside of town, like industrial area,

Shopping centers,

Online business.

Today I am going to look closer at number one. Nowadays there are so many mothers who stay home with children and they are really creative ones. They make cloths for children, take a courses for beautician, write blogs etc. For them would it important to stay home with young children while doing business at the same time.

Home Business advantages:

• Cheaper than renting a main street location,
• Less investment in furnishing,
• Save a lot of time and expenses for traveling every day to your main street location,
• Less time away from your family and a lot of work can be done while watching TV with the kids at home (if you have divided attention).
• More time spent with your children especially when they are young, and you always (almost)  know where your kids are.

Home Business disadvantages:

• No walk-ins,
• Limited space for your business,
• Some clients are not going to feel the same level of respect than for a main street business,
• Difficulty in finding location your business deters potential clients.
• Usually little space for your sign, parking etc.
• People will come or call you after regular business hours, intruding into your private family life (what happens to me: phone calls after 10 p.m. or at 7 a.m.and not to mentioned about  text messages after midnight – and I do not even have home business 😉 ).
• Your kids and family will intrude into the business at times. Here make sure when you are meeting your customers to do not allowed your youngest family members to run around the table, you should give your all attention to your clients. You do not want to be sitting there with your kid on your lap. Make it look the professional you can.

Where is your business located at?

Cause maybe not on this list at all?

What are other places worth to recommend?

Share here your opinions 😉

Next week pros and cons of main street location.

Because Your Day Deserves a Place Just For You

 

I had a pleasure to photograph future Bride to be in an amazing castle. Place is perfect inside and outside, offering many great spots for lovely images. I am in love with those windows and palm trees behind! Location : Chateau Polonez, Houston, Texas.

Would you like a similar photo shooting? Drop me a note : by.niki@yahoo.com

Surfside Beach

 

Weekend with my boys at the beach. Great place to forget about it all, if there is something you wish to forget about 😉 Accommodation is quite expensive for a weekend here so it is better to stay in a 5 star luxury hotel for a night. What will be still cheeper. However any hotel does not look so cute like those beach houses.  Surfside Beach, Texas.

How to Value Your Time in Business?

Business Wednesday no. 3.

Did you ever think about how much time you spend doing your business? I guess you noticed that there are many types of times where you work but you actually do not sell. Let’s make it clear.

Management time – your time spent preparing contracts, agreements, answering e-mails (that may take forever!), planning your schedule etc.

Selling/marketing time – while you prepare marketing offers, time spent with customers (other than photo shooting time), order taking, delivery of your ready products etc.

Education time – time spent at workshops, conventions, reading books to learn about new ideas and techniques, watching educational films online (a lot of that is for free).

Production/finishing time – postproduction (may take forever too!), creating prints etc.

Pre and post-shooting time – time when you are getting ready for a shoot (charge batteries, delete all pictures from your memory cards, prepare your bag) , the time after (downloading the files).

Finally Photography Time: when you are actually taking photographs.

Do not forget about vacation time in your schedules 😉

After dealing with all of that think about how much is your time worth. If you do not value your time no one will. I guess many customers do not realize all of that. And I do not only think about photography in here. It is good to educate them when you have an occasion. They will more appreciate what you are doing. Before you value your time make research with your concurrency. Get to know maximum and minimum rates in your area. Think who you want to work for. Few days ago I was thinking to add one more offer to my photography services. I thought I can save my time and money of my Clients and give them cheaper product without any post production done. But here I stopped myself! I do not want provide something not finished. Something that I would not be happy with. I imagine people seeing this style of images and thinking “I could do the same or even better”. I absolutely do not want that! Plus nobody would recommend a person like this or even more I could have a bad reputation. There is always a border line you can not cross. I want to give only Wows, Ohhhs and Ahhs 😉

Share your ideas about time valuation!

Flower Princess

 

Happy International Women’s Day Ladies! I had a pleasure to photograph this cute girl lately. My model was left with me without her parents for a while. I believed she felt comfortable and she started to play with flowers.  Location: Houston, Texas.

Looking for a children photographer? Drop me a note to by.niki@yahoo.com