In the NAPCP spotlight this month is sweet Georgia peach Crystal James of Tiny Heart Studios. The culmination of many moments of love in her life, Tiny Heart Studios was born out of her belief that just like a tiny heart, a picture can hold so much more meaning than its size suggests. From home-based studio to studio space, Crystal shares the story of how her brand, and business transformed over the years.
We love the beautiful color in all of your images. Tell us a little bit about what you look for to get those fantastic images.
One word: Light. If there is one thing I have learned in the past five years, it’s that you have to start with a great image (in camera) to end up with a great print. With years of education, practice, and lots and lots of shooting, I have found many tricks to finding the best light in any situation. When I nail my exposure in camera, it’s easy to yield a beautiful and colorful final image.
Tell us your story. How you started and how your photography, brand, and business transformed over the year.
Previous to my photography career, I spent 12 years in Sales & Marketing with Renaissance Hotels. With all the knowledge of branding and it’s power, I tried very hard to be consistent with my branding, even from the beginning. I didn’t have much money starting out, but I paid someone a small fee to create a logo for me and I stuck with that logo, the colors, the font, and the overall look until I relaunched my business in 2010. This time I paid a much larger fee (to Luxecetera) to help me design and build a new brand that really came from my heart (no pun intended)! Tiny Heart Studios was born – and it’s all about love!
“It’s all about love” – what a great motto for life… How do you apply that to your work and your business?
To me, that’s what it ALL boils down to — love. The reason that we display or save any picture is because we truly love something about it. Whether it’s the memory of my newborn baby’s tiny fingers, or a tender kiss between siblings, or even the picture of my own beautiful mother hiding from the camera, the connection to my heart is powerful. I work with my clients to create images that are powerful and meaningful to them. Images they will truly love, and therefore cherish, forever. As part of my new business structure, I spend a lot of time with my clients. We talk on the phone, we meet in person, we discuss the session, their children, and their lives. I try to get to know them and connect with them on a personal level, which makes the entire experience more rewarding for me, and hopefully for my clients as well.
You changed to in person ordering last year. How has this been received by your clients?
My repeat clients have whole-heartedly thanked me for making this drastic change to my business. This has become another opportunity for me to get to know them and understand what they love about their images. In person ordering saves them time, and I am able to offer them my expert opinion for enlargements, wall displays, album design, and framing. I will admit, I was nervous about making the change, thinking that people might not want to take the time to come to the studio and go through the process. I have come to realize that people hire a professional photographer because they WANT to invest the time in creating and purchasing beautiful images of their family. This is an investment that many of my clients save up for and treasure for a lifetime. I want to create an experience worthy of that investment.
Many photographers consider adding studio space like you did last year, can you share a little about this experience?
It was a leap of faith for sure. I got a lucky break by taking over a cute (and affordable) little space that another photographer had been using. From a cost standpoint, I made sure that I could cover the one year lease up front and considered it “money gone” as part of the trial period for having the studio. I was able to create a cozy, comfortable environment with lots of samples for my clients to see and touch. I use the space to shoot newborns and non-mobile babies, as well as for in-person ordering. It feels like such a luxury to have everything I need for a newborn session right at my fingertips and my husband REALLY likes having all of my equipment out of the spare bedroom! The first year was a success and I recently asked my friend and fellow photographer, the fabulous Lisa Phillipson, to share the studio space with me. Because we are sharing the cost now, we have been able to expand the space to include an additional shooting room and a dedicated client consultation room.
Tell us about how you reach out to local businesses. How has that paid off in the growth of your own studio?
I have had my work displayed in several different places, but the most successful is a local gift shop. I have built relationships with the women that work in the store and they act as my personal sales agents when their customers ask about my photography. I also do some fun events at the store which brings them revenue and helps build awareness for both of our businesses. Not only have some of my most treasured clients come from these referrals, but the opportunity to shoot several covers for our local Our Town Magazine came from these shop referrals as as well. So, it’s not so much about my work being in the store as it is about the relationships created in the community.
What are currently some of the biggest challenges you face professionally?
Balance. That is THE biggest challenge for me. Some would have you believe that this is a glamorous business, snapping photos all day and getting paid to do something you love. I won’t deny that I love what I do, but the truth is, I only get to spend about 10% of my time “snapping pictures.” The rest of the time is spent editing, marketing, continuing education, bookkeeping (uggh!), doing taxes, blog and facebook maintenance, budget planning, and, of course, trying to take care of my two kids and husband while doing it! I wish there was a magic wand to help with this stuff, but in reality, it’s up to me to prioritize it all. It’s a work in progress that involves the true evaluation of how much time I have, how much money I make, the break-even point, and my sanity.
Who are some of your favorite vendors?
I use ProDPI for my prints, the quality is amazing. Design Aglow always has unique, innovative, and beautiful products – I usually want to buy everything! I also really admire Jamie Schultz. I love her designs and I also love her business style. I had the opportunity to see her speak at the PPA Imaging Conference in January, and she captivated me with not only her amazing work, but her persistent attention to detail. She is constantly striving to give each client a unique experience and she customizes her products to match the needs of her clients – before they even ask. Love that!
Tell us about some of your products.
I offer my clients beautiful custom products, including Gallery Wrapped Canvas, Luxury Albums, and Image Boxes. I also mat every gift print with an archival mat and backing, then I sign each one and wrap them individually. Something I love to do is “gift” my clients with free stuff. My gift items are not on my product list, but I offer them after our ordering session or I just surprise my clients with these gifts based on their loyalty and investment. Some items that everyone loves are the wallet accordions (to keep handy for bragging about their kiddos), the custom iPhone case (also great for bragging), custom note cards, mini 5×10 mounted display print, and beautiful Kotori jewelry.
What is the best advice you have received regarding photography?
I absolutely must credit the amazing Dane Sanders for this advice. He did a presentation at the 2010 NAPCP retreat in Napa and the gist of what I took away from his talk was, quite simply, be yourself. It was a total ah-ha moment for me. YES, be MYSELF – DUH! I decided at that point to make everything more personal. My website includes personal information, my BIO has pictures of me and my family, along with personal tidbits about myself. I can honestly say that since then, I have spent very little time looking at other photographers blogs or websites, and a lot more time working on who I want to be.
What advice can you give to those starting out?
Reach out. Join a community of your peers. Don’t spend your time alone scouring the internet to find out what everyone else is doing. Be inspired by the open communication on forums such as NAPCP. And most of all, share what you know. Everyone has something to share, even if you are just starting out.
We love how open and honest you are on the NAPCP forum, our child photography community. What is your desire and hopes for our very specialized and unique industry?
I can only speak for the last five years, but in that short time, the child photography industry has changed drastically. These days, the price of entry to become a professional photographer appears to be as simple as buying a DSLR camera. But we know the truth. We know about all of the nights and weekends away from our families, the countless hours learning how to use Photoshop, Lightroom, Quickbooks, FTP, and WordPress (to name a few). Not to mention the time spent creating a stellar website, unique brand, and competitive pricing. And, then let’s add all the time we spend learning about our camera and lenses and how to take the VERY best pictures; all while reading about the hundreds of other AMAZING photographers in the industry and wondering…. HOW DO THEY DO IT ALL? So, my hope is that we can share some of this invaluable information, make friends, and create a community of mutual respect and trust so that people don’t have to make all of the same mistakes that I know I made in my first couple years.
To see more from the lovely Crystal James, visit her site here!
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