I remember the very first time I saw Farrah Braniff’s work. I just read about her AN-NE win for her website in Professional Photographer and I wanted to see her site. It was breathtaking . . . beautiful, unique, intimate and soft. This was not, however, what drew me to her. It was not even her stunningly gorgeous imagery. It was her absolute transparent love for her boys. As a mother of a little guy myself, I immediately connected with how Farrah depicts them . . . messy, loud, impish and sweet. Little boys have this kind of amazing combo of wild (my husband and I say “his Y-chromosome is showing” . . . ) and smushy lovey-ness that makes my heart melt. Farrah’s writing and images surrounding her boys made me feel this instant, motherly connection that I can only imagine her clients must also feel when reading her blog. So, if you are still reading (and haven’t darted over to her site!
), here are some of the awesome pearls of wisdom Farrah shared with us!
© Danny Clark Photography
Hi Farrah! I am so excited to feature you on the blog! I have been a fan of yours for awhile now and am so happy to have you sharing with our readers! Can you tell me a little bit about your business? I started my business in the fall of 2003. My first son was born that year and I decided to quit teaching and stay home for a little while and focus on my own work. So, the business grew slowly at first. I remember, I had to rent equipment every time, and for each shoot I had to clear out the living room and pile it all in a spare room. I only scheduled sessions during the times of the day when I knew my son napped. I’d put him down and then rush and get ready (hoping he wouldn’t wake up during the shoot). When the shoot was done I had to clean it all up and return the equipment, LOL! It makes me exhausted just to type that! Now, years later, I have a studio space and my own equipment so my sessions aren’t nearly that hectic. I did grow it slowly though – acquiring equipment as I could afford it. I also signed up with PPA’s Studio Management Services early on and that really helped me understand what the numbers meant and how to make financial goals. SMS is a huge part of why I still have a business. I’m not sure I would have been able to keep up with it without understanding the financial side too.
Anyone reading your blog can tell right away that you love your family and you love your job. How do you maintain the work/home balance? How do you bring things back in balance when work starts taking over? For me, the work and home balance is one of the hardest parts of what I do. I have two little boys (ages 4 and 6). If they had it their way, they wouldn’t go to school and I wouldn’t work and we’d just hang out all day, every day. Of course, the thing they don’t realize there is that I’d be a crazy person! I do try very hard to keep their needs in mind when I am balancing the needs of my business. I try and not work very many Saturdays. I always try and be there for the school activities, plays and parties too, which means a lot to them. I also have a super supportive husband. There is no way I could do what i do if he was not supportive like he is. Lastly, when I’m at home with them, I try very hard to be in the moment with them and not on my laptop or on the phone, etc. I do bring work home but I work on it when they go to bed. We also started a summer vacation tradition where we go away for the entire month of July. That month is a great time to nurture our connections and our family time.
Your website is downright gorgeous . . . in fact, you’ve won an AN-NE for it! Can you give our readers some tips on creating a site that reflects their brand and is appealing to prospective clients? What factors did you take into consideration while having yours designed? I believe that your “look” and your brand need to be consistently represented at every turn. So, your business cards, postcards, packaging materials, letterhead and web all need to reflect a central look that supports and reinforces your brand. I try to pick a few key elements (a color, or a visual element) that is repeated whenever possible. So, my website actually started with my blog. I had designed that a year before and wanted them to be seamless. I designed both in photoshop and had the awesome team at Into The Darkroom bring them to life for me. Your website is so important because, in many cases, it’s your first impression. It needs to really shine. It is also really important that YOU can easily update your info. I used to have to wait on someone to do it for me and it was so frustrating. Lastly, you don’t need to have every picture that you’ve ever taken on there. Just focus on your very best work and the images that will attract the customers that you are looking for. If you don’t want to shoot something in particular, then don’t put it in your web galleries and vice versa.
Speaking of AN-NEs, you’ve won several, including Best Image Marketing. Will you share what makes your marketing so powerful? What do you think about when creating a campaign? What unique things do you do to make your pieces stand out from the crowd? I try to be very cohesive with my stuff. I want it to look and feel unified. My goal is that someone would see something of mine and, before they even saw the logo, they might guess it was mine. To do this, you have to really hone in on your unique style, which is a big challenge. I think it’s helpful sometimes to get your friends to give you feedback on what they think is “so you”. You also have to tread the fine line of adapting with the times and changing radically every time you get bored with the look. You need to be consistent but adaptable. I also keep an idea board at the studio. It’s just a big cork board with lots of things pinned up. It might be the tag from my jeans or an ad from somewhere else. I keep anything that inspires me and have those to give me ideas when I sit down to design. I also keep a journal in my laptop bag and, when I get idea, I write them down so I don’t lose them. I have to confess, too, that I am a big marketing geek. I look for and pay attention to how I am marketed to and learn from it.
Who or what inspires you? Do you have any favorite photographers, business-owners, humanitarians? I am inspired by so many things. It’s hard to pick any one thing. I love color, music, movies, catalogs, store displays…and more! I went to a fine art high school and was a fine art B/W film photographer before I ever started doing portraits. Many of my favorite photographers are documentary photographers. I love Robert Frank. Eugene Atget and Walker Evans. Currently I am completely in love with the images of photojournalist, Ami Vitale. She was actually at Imaging USA this year in Nashville and her presentation almost made me cry. Her images are so beautiful and compassionate. In our industry, my biggest mentors have been Lori Nordstrom and Ann Monteith. There are many others that have been inspirational as well. If I listed them all, my list would be way too long!
It is so obvious that you believe in giving back. You have several charities and projects you are involved with. Can you share about these? I think it’s very easy to get in the me, me, me zone. I fight it myself. For me, what helps get back into balance is thinking about something or someone other than myself. I definitely think that the energy you give away comes back to you tenfold. I have volunteered for NILMDTS and The Houston Area Women’s Center. I also have a project of my own called The Survivor’s Project (http://www.thesurvivorsproject.com/).
Your work is amazing! I even spied a few in the Loan Collections. Can you give some pointers for photographers who may be wanting to enter competition? Anything you look for in creating an especially spectacular image? I am new to print competition and it’s hard to know what will merit much less go loan. So, some of it is trial and error. A good place to start learning about competition is at your local photography guild and at your regional convention. Texas has SWPPA and you can sit in on the print judging and you learn so much! Entering competition is a great way to improve your skills. It pushes you to learn more and refine your lighting, posing and composition. In fact, it’s the prints that don’t do as well that teach me the most (especially if you get to hear the critiques).
One thing that stands out to me in your work is that it is so celebratory. You capture these very happy moments for your families. What is your favorite trick for eliciting all of those gorgeous smiles? The main reason that I love photographing kids is that they are so unabashedly themselves. In fact, it’s hard to get them to fake something (especially a smile). To get the really great expressions, you have to silly alongside them. I say silly things, make weird noises, tickle them and generally make a fool out of myself. My 2 boys are my training ground for what makes kids laugh. I wouldn’t be very good at this job without them.
Thanks so much Farrah for taking the time out to share with us! Here are a few of Farrah’s favorite (and gorgeous!) images. To see more of her beautiful work, go to www.farrahbraniff.com.
by Emily
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