18 Oct October 2010 Member Spotlight: Sarah Lane & Giveaway!!
Well hello Autumn, you snuck up so quickly with your lovely foliage and late night editing. This time of year when mini-sessions marathons abound, clients are booking with holiday cards in mind and seniors are entrusting you to capture their finest hour. So how do you keep things rolling like a well-oiled machine in the studio? In this month’s Member Spotlight, Napa photographer Sarah Lane of Sara Lane Studios shares how her recent addition of a studio manager has freed her up to concentrate on marketing her trademark senior brand, Studio 12 Seniors, and gives us tips on how to rock your next senior session on the forum!
Hi Sarah, we loved meeting you at the NAPCP Retreat! Where do you see yourself and your business in 3 years? In 5 years?
Still loving what I do and having the right perspective. I pray that God will still be blessing the studio and that we will still be honoring Him with the work that we do. Also, I am really excited to see Pics for Packs get it’s feet and be a fully functioning program! Pics for Packs is a program that we are launching with Studio 12 Seniors that encourages each senior to bring in a new backpack to their session (they receive an 8×10 if they do!) and in the summer we fill those backpacks with school supplies. Our plan is to have a backpack drive (and the seniors are invited) to pass out these packs for underprivileged kids in the community!
Who or what inspires you and your work? How?
Love, confidence, fashion, movies, music and anything vintage.
How do you maintain your balance with work and home? What is your secret?
Ha! I am still trying to figure this out! I have recently hired a studio manager which has been a HUGE relief! Although training has been a bear! I have come to the understanding that I cannot do everything on my own. Or at least everything well. When I was, my family was the one who paid the price. Now that I have begun to build a team, it has allowed me more time at home with my family. Granted, I am still at the studio 40 hours a week but I have given up my 3am editing sessions! Gosh, I don’t miss those!
Take a peak of Sarah’s gorgeous studio below!
Studio 12 Seniors came about earlier this year, honestly from the frustration of new photographers popping up in our area and naming their business with their name and studios attached to the end. Since seniors are such a big part of our clientele, we wanted to make a branding that was all their own. Something that was cool and relevant and that’s where Studio 12 was born! It also gives us the freedom to bring on additional photographers if we choose to go that route in the future.
What are some of your client’s favorite products? (photos also great!)
I LOVE a company that I recently came across called The Frame Guys. They make really cute custom shabby chic frames. The above studio pics feature the blue and yellow collection, and they come in a large selection of colors and styles. Roger is my contact there and the number is 601.625.8156.
What is the best advice you have received regarding photography?
Be YOU and shoot what YOU love 
What advice can you give to those starting out?
Try not to get caught up in being the next so and so! Be yourself and love what you do. Your love and passion will shine through your work! Don’t fear failure. It’s in our greatest failures that we truly grow
Sarah, we loved meeting you at the NAPCP Retreat! What is your desire and hopes for our very specialized and unique industry?
I seriously LOVE NAPCP and think that it is a great resource for any photographer that specializes in child photography.
To see more of Sarah Lane, check out her website here, and read the latest on her blog here!
Overwhelmed with the number of Christmas cards to design for clients this year? Art-Is Design was conceived out of Heather’s insatiable desire to create! Heather is a portrait photographer out of Texas who loves designing custom cards from scratch for her clients as well as other photographers. Her designs touch on all different styles & tastes while incorporating vintage, modern, whimsical, and contemporary designs that will surely fit all of your photography clients desires – product templates designed specifically for photographers by a photographer!
Want a chance to win a free set of Heather’s delicious holiday designs? Here’s how!
(you must be a fan of NAPCP on facebook AND be following us on twitter to enter)
1. Facebook: “I want to WIN Art-Is Design templates from @NAPCP (National Association of Professional Child Photographers because….” (and fill in you reason!)
2. Twitter: I deserve Art-Is Design templates from @napcp_tweets because (and fill in your reason!)
3. Leave a comment HERE with your reason AND to let us know that you’ve completed steps 1 & 2!
Deadline: TODAY at 11:59 PM EST!
UPDATE: The winner of the Art-Is Design giveaway is Katherine Forbes! She writes: I SO want to win the Art-Is Design templates because my Walgreens Christmas cards just aren’t going to cut it this year!! That, and of course her work is BEAUTIFUL!!! 
Thank you to everyone that entered!
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