We at Photography by Misty don’t have an average week, skipping all over the place, and really like it that way. Sure, we create a heck of a lot of headshots, but that doesn’t mean our work lives are predictable. I thought it would be fun, however, to give you a glimpse into just one of our weeks.
For the sake of entertainment, we’ll skip the blog writing, email checking, proposal sending, you get the idea. The business end of doing business.
Ready? Set? Put on your helmets, and let’s gooooo….
Monday: the stuff we’re going to skip. We take care of the behind-the-scenes stuff on the Mondays of life.
Tuesday:
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Jenny takes formal headshots of board members for an organization in McKinney. She then stays around for the board meeting, getting interactive images for a women-owned-business publication. Her afternoon is spent traveling to Irving where she has the privilege of taking branding portraits of a VIE (you know, a very important engineer) who has been nominated for a prestigious industry award. The final images will be used to don the cover of an internal magazine as well as used on the big screen the evening winners are crowned.
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Demi takes headshots of insurance professionals from across America, who have flown in for a three-day training course at HQ in McKinney. She and our assistant Leah interact and capture perfectly posed portraits of more than 50 professionals while popping into training sessions to get speaker images as well. Aside from meeting people from all over the nation, the best part of this regularly scheduled event is they feed us one fantastic lunch!!
Wednesday:
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Jenny works at our home-based Plano studio, offering one-off headshots. Client number 1 brainstorms, develops, and even sometimes orchestrates live online training courses on subjects that make Jenny’s head spin. Client number 2 works for Lamps Plus (what? Yes, that’s right, Jenny gets to talk interior design while taking headshots). It was so fascinating to learn a little behind-the-scenes of one of our favorite retailers. Client number 3 has a doctorate in electrical engineering and is a biologist. She works for a national law firm, where she spends her days delving into the logistics of the lawsuits: REALLY big ones that you hear about on the news. We don’t mean to brag, but OH the people we get to meet. Sometimes I think we should pay them for enhancing our lives. Jenny would disagree - she likes herself a paycheck.
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Demi can be found at our favorite fancy Plano hotel taking pictures of the glorious event set-up before the attendees arrive. The hotel will use these images to market other events. She then captures candids of the event, including attendees stuffing backpacks for area children and a fashion show where the models are rocking Tommy Bahama, complete with yummies, mid-day cocktails, and some grand giveaways. Sponsors will use the images for social media and future marketing purposes.
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Misty and assistant Haley take over for Day 2 in McKinney. We have just enough time at day’s end to pack up so Misty can head to Collin College, back in Plano. I have the privilege of teaching digital photography basics to a wide range of adults. It is so much fun teaching engineers (imagine that: me teaching an engineer something. Who’d have guessed?), school counselors, FBI employees, nannies, and IT professionals (just to name a few) a little about photography and watch them flourish over a 6-week period. This night, we’ll head to Dallas’ Klyde Warren Park with its wide array of subjects.
Thursday:
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Photo editor Terry tackles a product shoot of teeny tiny earrings. The fashion-inspired company will use his fine-detailed images for their online Amazon store, their personal company website as well as social media and other marketing purposes. I just love Terry’s attention to the finer details. He stays at the Plano studio for this one, although oftentimes he’ll pack up the products and head to his own studio set-up in Dallas. It’s easier for him to focus there. Life at the home studio is rarely boring.
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Misty and Leah are in Allen for the day. We kick off the day at the seniors’ center, where we’ll take headshots of city employees. Since the city has so many glorious facilities and parks, we like to take advantage of the plethora of background options. We pop over to a park for the lunch hour to use the natural settings as well as the skate park and BMX track for fun professional portraits. We then spend the afternoon at Allen’s aquatic and athletic facility. I am flooded with emotions, as my Rhylie was a HS swimmer and we spent many hours cheering on Plano Senior High here. The indoor pool makes a cool backdrop for the aquatics director and his staff. The high-tech workout facility upstairs, complete with a signature wall clock, lends itself as the perfect backdrop for other City of Allen leaders.
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Angela heads to Austin for the day to take branding images, headshots, and team portraits for a nutritional-based company.
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Jenny spends a few hours that evening taking candid (and a few set up) pictures of people interacting with Legacy West’s newest installation. She hands cards out to those in our pictures so they can go online and download them. It’s a little token of appreciation from LW. They also use the images to promote their Louder Experiences’ installations and share them with their investors.
Friday (when we start to slow our roll):
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Jenny heads to Dallas that afternoon with an assistant to create lasting memories for the mom of a high school senior. These are both Jenny and my favorite shoots: high school seniors. Full of life, full of ambition, full of themselves, and idealistic. The wall portraits will serve as a daily reminder of Mom and Dad’s whys once their offspring have moved out/headed off to university life.
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Misty heads to Frisco to meet up with John. He is celebrating 70 years on Planet Earth. We create a little picnic scenario, complete with a small cake, grapes, brightly colored candies, fancy cheese, and of course, champagne. We shoot just a handful of portraits, as the experience of it all is more important to J than the actual pictures. Then, we sit down, sip champagne (yes, in a public park. Ssshhh please), and chat for two hours. I just love this man. He is so fascinating.
Well, that’s a wrap, Ladies and Gentlemen. We try not to work the weekends. I’d love to hear about your week sometime.
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