Audrey Woulard

The important question I always ask potential clients is how they found me. This question gives me insight into what images they have seen, and what expectations they may have of me if they hire me as their photographer.
 
Transcript: "What are some of the important questions you're surprised that few photographers ever ask? Well, honestly, I'm not really sure what photographers ask other, I guess, potential clients, but I'm just going to tell you one question that I always ask as a portrait photographer when I am, you know, getting ready to work with a client. I always ask how they found me. And the reason that I ask how they found me because that lets me know what pictures of mine they saw, what clients they may have interacted with, because all of that gives me the expectation they're wanting from me should, you know, they hire me as their photographer. So asking how they found me gives me such an insight to what they may want. And you know, it just really kind of, I guess, answers a lot of questions, answers a lot of questions for me, rather than me quizzing them, if that makes any sense. So if they said they found me from like my socials, I know, you know, what images are there, I know the persona that I have there, the brand that I have there. If they said a certain client referred them, I know what my interactions were with that client what they purchased. If you know, just different little different things, they may have said I saw something on Pinterest. And I can say think to myself, well, I really don't have that much on Pinterest. So they're probably looking at old work. So just gives me a lot of insight about what they may want. Hope that helps."

Having a critique of your work can help you hone in on different aspects of your brain that you weren't aware of, while also allowing you to take the criticism and either go with it or scale it back depending on what you need.
 
Transcript: "What are the possible benefits of having a critique of your work? Only you know where you're trying to go. Wonderful question. And you're right. Only you know where you're trying to go. Only you know your intent. And that's assuming the person that is critiquing your work has not spoke to you, has not tried to understand where you're coming from as an artist. So that is very, very true. However, benefits from that are this. And I'm saying this as a judge of one of the, or the top international photo print competitions is that the way people interpret your work can either be right or it can be wrong. Meaning wrong is not what you wanted. However, having a different set of eyes and having them interpret your work in a way that you didn't think can help you kind of hone in on different aspects of your brain that you kind of weren't aware of. Like you may find that you're taking pictures or looking at light, approaching the subject, composing images in way you really weren't thinking about. But when someone points that out to you, good, bad, or indifferent, it does help you see that and you can either take that criticism and go with it, or you can scale it back like, no, that's not what I'm thinking. I need to work on this. So to me, having that fresh set of eyes can help you out."

When managing a client who is also a photographer, remember that they know what it takes to get the images that they want. Try to look at it from their perspective and understand why they hired you. Allow them to be the client and do your best to create the images for them.
 
Transcript: "Okay. So do you have any tips on how to manage a client? That is also a photographer? Well, in my experience, believe it or not, they are probably going to be some of your best clients because they know exactly what it takes and what's needed in order to get the images that they want. Sometimes I think you know as photographers we may be the one that has the anxiety and not the other way around. So I think that if you tend to look at it from the perspective of that client, who's also Photographer knows exactly what you have to go through and what you need to, you know, have an order to create the images that they are hoping that you can create for them. I think it would make it a bit easier on you and you'll be able to create the images that they hired you for. I also think photographers who are also clients will go a little bit, you know, like the extra mile. So take all of that into consideration and allow them to be the client So I think really that the the anxiety is more on our end and less on the person who is hiring you, that also happens to be a photographer. So look within and then understand why they hired you and then go out and do the best job that you can."

I am very adamant about achieving a good work-life balance and separate myself from work after a stressful day by setting boundaries, such as not answering emails or phones during certain hours. I also say no to anything that does not fit into my schedule. This helps me to be able to enjoy my family and play with my dog without worrying about work obligations.
 
Transcript: "The question is, how do you separate yourself from work especially after a stressful day? So I am really, really adamant about work-life balance. Meaning that, when I am at home, I'm at home. I don't really intertwine business with my personal life. It's something that I strived, you know, to do very very early on and I really don't mind. I'm telling people no, I think, you know no can be seen as a negative word but it's very very powerful and it allows herself to really have a good handle on who you are. It sets boundaries and I think everyone in life needs to have some sort of boundaries. So you know even after a stressful day I can completely shut off and enjoy my family. Play with my dog. You might hear her snoring in the background but I I can cut it off. I mean, immediately cut it off and then I decide when I want to incorporate it back, you know, I guess into my life. But yeah, I separate myself because I completely shut down anything like phones. I'm not answering the phone, I'm not answered emails. I give myself business hours. I stick to it and I say no and it works, that helps"

I prefer to use Photoshop over Lightroom for post-processing because it was the software I learned on and it offers more control when editing images.
 
Transcript: "So the question is, do you use Photoshop or Lightroom for post processing, which software do you use? And why I personally prefer to use Photoshop or couple of reasons? First reason is that when I started my business Lightroom was not even a thing, it didn't even exist. And the way that you process your raw images was Adobe camera raw. So, Adobe Lightroom is actually built off of the platform. Of adobe camera raw. So couple of things creature habit because I learned how to post process on Photoshop. That's what I stick with and all the things that you can do in Lightroom, you know, in terms of processing the Roz and you can sink and all of that you can do that in Adobe camera raw. So I tend to like stick with that but on top of that, I have more control with my editing in Photoshop, so it's just a lot easier for me to open up the images. Has using Adobe Bridge. Bring them into. They just automatically open up, adobe camera raw and then if I need to do any additional editing, I just bring it into Photoshop. So, easy peasy. I find it a lot easier than using my room, but I just think like, your mileage may vary. So hope that helps."

When shooting, I think about getting the shot, my light, composition, expressions, and the intent I was going for. I also think about keeping my subjects engaged when shooting in a busy location.
 
Transcript: "So the question is, what do you think about while shooting? Well, I think about getting the shot. My light, my composition, the expressions that my clients are giving me, and I guess more importantly, the intent that I was going for when I was getting ready to snap the shutter. I look at it this way. I'm very intentional with every image that I capture. Every time I snap the shutter, I have a thought process in mind, and that's the thought process. Sometimes it works, and I get it, and then I'll take a couple more to try to perfect what I captured or something that I was thinking about, it just didn't work, and then I move on to something else. So it's always about the intent that I have before I snap the shutter is really the first thing that's on my mind. Now if I'm in a location that's really, really busy, I may think about keeping my subjects engaged while I have a third eye on the background of what's around me since I'm in the city a lot. So it really depends, but everything that I'm thinking about has everything to do with the shot that I'm going for. Hope that helps."