Tis the Season

A few months ago I got to thinking... I have all the equipment, and love taking pictures of people having a good time, so why not do photo booths? Its been silly fun. Below are a few samples of what's ensued. Parties include the Wikia holiday party, Yuppie Friday Toy Drive, Galvanize Ugly Sweater Party and the Guardsmen Tree Lot Party. 

Yelp! (in a good way)

Well... Snap-Shoppe is Yelp official. I emailed some past clients to see if they wouldn't mind writing a review, not realizing how I'd smile reading each one: http://www.yelp.com/biz/snap-shoppe-san-francisco

Positive Optimism: Over 1000

I was recently introduced to the term "Positive Optimism". The idea is to keep pushing towards a goal and believing in it. Part of it is skill, a bit of luck, and a lot of blind determination. 

When I started out, I met with a life coach who asked what the biggest goal I could think of accomplishing in 6 months would be. "Shoot for the moon" type of question. I thought... heck, it would be amazing to photograph 1,000 head shots in that time. It was an arbitrary number that seemed wildly far away. I think I had photographed 10 friends at the time. Two weeks ago I had an amazing event at Oracle photographing some beautiful ladies at a Women in Leadership event... afterwards I thought that it may be a good time to start adding up numbers to see how close to my goal I was. 1,061! 

I have a long way to go to bring this business as far as I'd like to take it, but am thrilled to have set a goal and accomplished it. Thanks to everyone that's participated thus far. I've loved photographing each and every one of you. 

Interns...

Had a busy week of intern fun. First, started out at LinkedIn with a photo booth for "Bring your Parent(s) to Work Day". Each of the interns were given a plane ticket for one of their folks to come out and tour the offices. At the photo booth we had some silly chotchkies for them to select from. Was awesome to see such proud mamas and papas. 

A few days later headed over to Genentech where all of their interns were given advice on how to spruce up their LinkedIn profiles, including a head shot. We were in a little bit of a pinch for space, so ended up using a hallway wall as the backdrop. I'm learning that improvising and flexibility are key. The interns were awesome and a really positive group, as I think their photos represent.   

San Francisco Sunset

I spend a lot of time chasing sunrises and sets. Below is from a rooftop on Russian Hill. It's a 360 panoramic of the city skyline and my first photo installation in about a decade. Feels great to be creating art pieces again. It's home is now at RocketStudios which is a part of the RocketSpace incubator downtown (and where I work most days). 

Style Guide

I wanted some clear samples of my signature looks and had a rad friend in need... Meet Matt:

Option 1: "Original"

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Option 2: "Classic"

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Option 3: "Dramatic"

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LinkedIn

I received a lead to help LinkedIn photograph head shots at two events. I almost fell out of my chair. What an opportunity. I was fortunate to get the job, but there was a hitch along the way... they have an internal audit system to ensure that any independent contractors are legitimate businesses. I received a phone call from their auditor asking all kinds of interesting questions: Can I verify that I'm in fact a small business.. Do I have insurance? A small business license? Verification of other clients? A Tax ID number? 

I dropped what I was doing to jumped in the car and head down to city hall to legitimize myself. I called an insurance person on the way and applied for a Tax ID number while waiting in line. This pup has her papers and is officially official! 

The first event was for the Professional Business Women of California (PBWC) at the Moscone Center. LinkedIn had a booth and was offering assistance for people to spruce up their profile. They estimated around 50-100 of the 5,000 attendees would come through. From 7:30am - 5:00pm I ended up photographing 522 people. It was electrifying. Talk about launching a portrait company by hitting the ground running! If you're wondering what 522 beautiful women look like see below. We've gone on to partner at events for the American Heart Association and WITI (Women in Technology)

More Drama?

A friend's startup had some head shots done that they weren't happy with, so they called me in to do a few sample shots with an edgier look. It was an awesome challenge to create something new and unique. I sent over a few samples and could tell right away that I wasn't hitting the mark. His feedback was: "be more dramatic". In high school, our group of girlfriends was nick named "the Drama Club" because we were so ridiculous. In my life, I've never been told to be more dramatic... it was a glorious moment. Below is the result. Since I've been having a lot of fun heading back every few weeks to photograph their growing company. 

Match Maker

In the 5th grade I met Carla Swiryn on the soccer field. She works for a dating site, Three Day Rule, which is a personal concierge service associated with Match.com. It has been many moons (and then some) since we played on a team together, but we're back at it again. She's amazing and passionate about helping people find love in this rigamarole of a city and I am having a ton of fun helping out by photographing her clients. I love the experience because I get to spend a fair amount of one-on-one time with each person.

Founders Field Day

On May 5th, I had the honor of photographing Rothenberg Venture's Founder's Field Day. They rented out AT&T Ball Park, invited hundreds of VCs and startup founders and let them run wild. There was batting practice on the field, group discussions led by industry big-hitters in the private boxes, pool and bowling in the secret speak easy, 3D printing, a remote control helicopter and an Indie Race car offering rides out front. Truly an epic day run by an amazing group of innovative big kids. 

 

 

 

Big (little) Bird

It's been 3 months since I launched Snap-Shoppe and thought I would take a little time to create this blog and reflect on the journey. I had two concerns starting out: 

1) I would struggle with both creating and "hustling". As an artist, its difficult to let go of your inner critic... let alone holler from the roof tops that you're worth hiring. I've felt a little like a peacock... huge feathers hiding a tiny bird. 

2) Setting out on my own. In my family I'm kid 3 out of 4... I work well in a pack. I've always been a part of a team and thrive on the collaboration. Luckily, I am surrounded by amazing and inventive friends and family. My sister works market hours and commutes an hour so there have been many 4:30am brainstorm sessions. I don't really know what I would have done without the support of those around me. 

The hurdles involved with starting by own business have been painful yet rewarding in a way that I don't have words for. I love this. I love the challenge of expanding beyond what I know. I love the interactions... people are wildly fascinating and having the honor of depicting them in a photo is something I relish. Each day is different, each person unique. I feel extremely lucky to be doing what I'm doing and am optimistic that this silly dream might just be working (chirp, chirp).