MTPPA » Michigan Triangle Professional Photographers Association

We would like to introduce to you our June speaker: Skye Johansen! We are very excited to have her come all the way to Michigan to talk to us about newborn photography and balancing work and family! This is going to be another GREAT program!

1. Tell us a little about you.

I am 30 years old and have been married for 11 years, we have four kids ages 9, 8, 6 and 4. I grew up in Alberta, Canada and moved to Utah with my husband so he could finish school and we loved it so much here that we built our dream home and decided to stay here forever. I am a self taught photographer and started my studio about 7 years ago. My husband is an amazing finish carpenter that can build anything, which comes in super handy with my studio!

2. What got you started in photography?

When I had my first two babies, I took them to a few studios to get their pictures done and was so irritated with the bad experiences I had that I ordered my own equipment so I could take the kind of pictures I wanted to have of my babies. I experimented for a few years and had no intention of turning it into a business but it happened anyway and I’m very grateful it did!

3. What is the key to balancing work and family?

Sticking to a schedule that works for you (For me it’s booking only mornings so my evenings and weekends are free for me to be with my kids) and allocating things that can be done by other people (I do the shooting and editing and have assistants that schedule my sessions, answer emails, mail client packages and clean/organize my studio every week.)

4. What are your favorite kind of sessions and why?

It’s definitely 6 month old babies that have just learned to sit up by themselves. They can’t escape and they smile at every little thing, it’s such a fun age. I also really love shooting newborn sessions but not editing them, newborn skin takes a lot of time to edit!

5. What’s in your camera bag?

Canon 5D Mark ii, 85 mm 1.8

I also have the 100 mm 2.8L but rarely use it. I did just get the 5D mark iii but I’m too chicken to use it in an actual shoot since I’m so comfortable using the one I have now.

6. If you had to do it all over again, what would you change about your business?

Hiring someone sooner to do my emails! It was hard to let go of that control but it was the best thing ever. Emails were wearing me out and I couldn’t keep up, leaving me feeling hopeless, clients frustrated and taking all the fun out of photography. Once I trained my assistant, I was able to focus again on my creativity and put all my energy into the shooting and editing! Now I don’t know how I survived at all without her!

7. What are the things you struggle the most with in your business?

Definitely the accounting! I really really REALLY struggle with numbers and keeping track of receipts and such, so the whole accounting side of running your own business just kills me! I am getting better each year, realizing that keeping track of things as you go along sure beats trying to figure it all out at the last minute!

8. There are a million photographers in your area…what do you do to set yourself apart from them?

One thing I try to do is shop at antique/consignment stores so that my props/backgrounds are original and unique to me. I also think it helps that I specialize in newborns, babies and young children because they take so much patience and there’s a lot of photographers (many of them friends of mine!) that simply don’t want to deal with everything that goes into photographing and editing newborn sessions or chasing uncooperative toddlers around. But I LOVE IT.

9. How do you stay inspired?

I am inspired when I go shopping and come home with new things to put together and try. It makes me excited to have new things! My studio is overflowing with props, hats, headbands etc and yet I am always buying more! My husband thinks I have a hoarding problem, but it’s not really hoarding when everything is so dang cute. I also work with some AMAZING people that create beautiful things for me to use and getting little boxes of stuff from them make me so excited for the next session.

I have always wanted to go somewhere like Germany and explore old castles and mansions. Pinterest isn’t helping either, every time I see an amazing picture of a castle I think…..we need to go there!!