Day in the life of
Portrait Photographer – Oksana Pali
I am Oksana Pali from Oksana Pali Photography. I have been a portrait photographer since 2008. Now I mainly focus on personal branding, which is a quick growing field in photography right now.
Not every day is the same for a photographer. They are usually divided into photoshoot days (2-3 days per week) and no shoot days, mostly for editing, consultations, and admin work.
Shoot day
A typical shoot day for me would start with answering email requests from potential clients and scheduling consultations. Then I prepare all my equipment, such as strobe lighting, camera cards & batteries, and go over different sets I would create for my client.
About 1.5 hours before the photoshoot my makeup hair & makeup artist arrives and we go over the looks we will create. Once the client arrives it’s all about keeping them happy and at ease. Most people are very nervous before the shoot so creating a conversation that keeps them engaged and hopefully makes them smile will create a better energy for the shoot. It’s super important in order to get them to feel comfortable in front of the camera! I also put on their favorite music.
Once the photoshoot is over I back up the images, go through them to pick the best ones I will edit. Then I check my email, post/engage on social media. I often take behind the scenes videos during the shoot.
Pros
The pros of the job is that I can create my own schedule. I give my clients a few available dates/times and they choose from those options. Another pro of branding photographers is meeting entrepreneurs of business people and networking with them. They often recommend me to their friends or colleagues.
Another pro is that I get to be creative since most people give me creative control of what the photos should look like since they already like my style.
Cons
Cons are if I travel to a client location, equipment is heavy and there is a lot of setting up & breaking down to create mini sets. Sometimes it’s hard working with people that hate their photos taken as they are super critical of themselves.
Another con is not knowing how many clients you will book in a year. Most branding clients book 1-3 months in advance some event sooner. So it is hard to predict how well your business will do further down the road. The bookings often come in waves with many people contacting at once or there is a slow period.
