*** GIVEAWAY: You will LOVE this!!! Tamara Lackey has offered us the hugely popular Inside Contemporary Children’s Photography DVD which we are awarding to one lucky winner —>
Join Tamara Lackey for some detailed hands-on instruction as she photographs a variety of children and families in the studio, on location, and at a client’s home. Along the way, Tamara will explain – and show you – what you need to know to run a successful portrait photography business, including studio and lighting set up, interacting with a diverse mix of children, shooting specifics (composition, posing, technical settings), digital workflow and how to manage the growth of your business. Produced and directed by the Emmy award-winning Rex Ballard.
TO ENTER THE RANDOM DRAWING, simply share your comments below. Drawing will occur next Tuesday, 9/07/2010. ***
She’s all that, I assure you. Timeless, lively, full of heart, playful, warm, compassionate and genuine. When I started to describe this photographer and her images, it struck me that they are one and the same. Seriously.
Tamara Lackey’s photography shares her subjects beautifully while giving us an unintentional glimpse of Tamara herself. I’ve come across many talented photographers but know so few who are intertwined with their images like a storytelling, double helix the way she is. They are inseparable.
I’m warning you. Meeting Tamara is a bit electric with her bubbly enthusiasm, southern charm, and quick wit. She emits a positive, real-deal energy that breaks down barriers makes you instant friends. She’s free of guise the way children are naturally. She’ll make you laugh. Here’s the Q & A with one of my heroes.
{Leigh} Tell us about what lured you into photography and what keeps you passionate about it now?
{Leigh} Tell us about what lured you into photography and what keeps you passionate about it now?
{Tamara} I was lured into photography because it requires little emotional investment, only a few hours a week of focused time, a huge guaranteed salary, and the always comforting consistency of knowing that the industry never changes. Also riding unicorns to work was a nice perk.
What keeps me passionate today? All kidding aside, the fact that I happen to know I’d shrivel up with boredom if that fantasy land were actually true. (Well, the unicorns would be awesome – but, y’know, the rest.). I think we naturally tend to yearn for solid ground when things are really unsettling – yet rarely feel truly joyful in a moderately content state. Photography is a profession that many choose because it IS a passion. It consists of a whole lot of ups and downs, financially and emotionally. We can pull off a killer shoot and be thrilled with our results one day and then tumble into a major unexpectedly client issue the next day that leaves us reeling – and it’s so up and down because it’s our work and our reputation and our profession and, in the end, that really, really matters.
That’s one big reason why I feel passionate about photography now.
{Leigh} What part of being a photographer, business owner, writer, teacher, and mom makes you think “dream job” and what part makes you want pull your hair out?
{Tamara} Hah. Let’s start with the hair.
I’ve come to terms with recognizing that my biggest problem is that I want to do a great many things – be there for my children and watch as they change daily, engage in some very meaningful conversations with a lot of people, travel all over this world, write, write, write – and shoot some damn fine photographs along the way.
The dreamy part is that I actually get to do these things I love – I was going to either be a teacher, writer or photographer. And I was always, always going to be mommy. Somehow I’ve found a way to naturally blend these roles. I just want to tear my hair out when I make the mistake of trying to perform all those roles at the exact same time – it’s not very enjoyable to try to do so, and I get worse at everything when I try to pull that off. I’m tuning into that now more than ever.
{Leigh} Having watched your fabulous DVD Inside Contemporary Children’s Photography countless times, I find that it serves as a tremendous reveal for photographers in all areas of portraiture, not limited to children. In fact, I’ve taken your advice and have started chasing/play fighting with the grown ups I photograph and I can tell you that is working very well. (kidding. kind of.) But back to you, tell us about the expeirerience of making the fabulous DVD with Producer/Director Rex Ballard and your reaction to it’s rave reviews.
{Tamara} First of all, thank you. I quite love that you’ve enjoyed it.
Basically, we wanted to create an experience that walked viewers through the in’s & out’s of contemporary children’s photography, presenting either new ideas or just re-invigorating shooters to experience their sessions differently. We wanted to offer the entire production in a “shadowing the photographer” kind of way.
We both needed it to feel very real, which is why Rex just filmed me in everyday shoots in the studio, on location and at a client’s home. We had zero scripting – Rex would ask me questions, I’d answer them, he’d edit out my awkward/inappropriate responses (my sense of humor can get weird) and what was left provided much of the content of our voiceovers and walthroughs. He basically pointed the camera at me, said go, and the cut it all together in a way that seriously surprised me. In such a good way
{Leigh} What quality would you consider paramount to your success as a photographer?
It’s funny, the things we take for granted about our intuition, our ability to read people and respond in a way that’s deeply true to what they’re constantly telling us. ~Tamara Lackey
I don’t get visions or messages transmitted to me from the spirit world, mind you (although omg it would be AWESOME if I did/could), but when I really focus on observing and emotionally responding to all my subject isn’t verbalizing … that’s when I capture images that I know have led to my success in this field.
{Leigh} Not many people can pull off wearing braids during a photo shoot but believe me it works for you. Tell us what keeps you so young.
{Tamara} Good question! My 8 year-old went through a big phase of wearing braids all the time, for years – and she often wanted me to wear my hair that way, too. So, um, I did. Now, of course, she’s moved on to more elegant hair fashions – yet here I remain. It does keep my hair out of my face on shoots, though, which I appreciate. In terms of just youthful energy, though, so many of us know that like acting like a kid is just more fun. But of course we also know we have responsibilities and deadlines and bills to pay and mountains of emails to climb through and it’s sooo easy to get stuck in the exhausting cycle of overwhelmed and over-busy. I call it the rabbit hole of negativity, and goodness knows I have peered in quite closely. But the type of work I do and the type of relationship I want to have with my children doesn’t allow me to stay stuck in super adult for long, and it’s simply not in my nature to have much patience with the dryness of it.
My 8 year-old went through a big phase of wearing braids all the time, for years – and she often wanted me to wear my hair that way, too. So, um, I did. Now, of course, she’s moved on to more elegant hair fashions – yet here I remain. It does keep my hair out of my face on shoots, though, which I appreciate. In terms of just youthful energy, though, so many of us know that like acting like a kid is just more fun. But of course we also know we have responsibilities and deadlines and bills to pay and mountains of emails to climb through and it’s sooo easy to get stuck in the exhausting cycle of overwhelmed and over-busy. I call it the rabbit hole of negativity, and goodness knows I have peered in quite closely. But the type of work I do and the type of relationship I want to have with my children doesn’t allow me to stay stuck in super adult for long, and it’s simply not in my nature to have much patience with the dryness of it.
{Leigh} When you were a little girl, what did you dream of being? Now what do you dream of being?
{Tamara} I used to dream of riding my horse to my busy office, where I’d sit at my desk and stamp on papers and type out memos.
I’m dead serious. I had an imaginary horse that I’d ride everywhere (and I will not even tell you how long my imaginary friend existed, but let’s just say I was often seen riding an invisible creature past the age of 10) and I found the business-type work of paperclipping documents to be deeply satisfying.
Now I dream of simply being myself without apology – I know I’m a better person to those I love when I am.I just have to keep reminding myself to do that.
{Leigh} Your talk with Dane Sanders on {ASKDANE.COM} about the notion of stopping the multi-tasking madness was very intriguing. Was there a balancing act tipping point for you? What made you hone in on single-task thinking?
{Tamara} Absolutely. I started realizing that the tight feeling I’d get in my chest when I was trying to juggle everything at the same time was a flippin’ alarm bell that was telling me to stop. Mostly, I realized that I had a created this illusion with my family and friends that they could always jump right into whatever I was doing and ask a question or hand me something to review, or start a full-on discussion while I was mid-involved-task. It had been my fault, because I had successfully projected this image of myself as someone who could really do everything without missing a beat. I was feeling overwhelmed but just kept saying, “I got it, sure, what’s up?”.
It took me a while to recognize that I had to change my behavior and better communicate to everyone around me, “Sure – but, in a minute, please. I’d love to finish this first”. A small thing, but it really helped to know that was even an option. Once I realized the difference that felt like internally, to be able to finish one thing before the next task, I got really interested in studying single-task thinking – only to learn some dramatic things about how multitasking is making us all a bit (more) crazy.
{Leigh} Clearly you contribute generously to your community of photographers and organizations like WPPI, PPA, NAPCP and DWF leaving the industry better because of it. We adore that in you. What impact has your work with these organizations had on you, personally?
{Tamara} I don’t think you can underestimate the value of community. There’s all kinds of talk out there about online communities, social media, etc. But at the heart of it, we feel less alone in this world when we can genuinely connect with others. I don’t think that receiving a handwritten note in my mailbox is necessarily more “real” than a heartfelt email I receive from someone in any number of these communities. The feeling that others care about you, the work you produce, and your relationship with them …. that’s a really big deal.
{Leigh} Do you mind sharing with us your bag of tricks (camera & goodies.) What might we be surprised to find in there? …
{Tamara} I shoot with Canon gear – the 5D Mark II and the 1D Mark II (which I joke is actually a vintage camera, now that it’s five years old). My favorite lenses are the 24-70 2.8 and the 85 1.2, although I’m kind of a lens junkie. I have nearly the whole line
I use a reflector quite often and am using scrims more and more. I carry backups of everything. Lens cloths & cleaners are mandatory because something is always licking my lens. Feel free to read into that whatever you wish. And Lipstick! I tend to interact a great deal with my subjects, and I’m addicted to lipstick, chapstick, gloss.
I use a reflector quite often and am using scrims more and more. I carry backups of everything. Lens cloths & cleaners are mandatory because something is always licking my lens. Feel free to read into that whatever you wish. And Lipstick! I tend to interact a great deal with my subjects, and I’m addicted to lipstick, chapstick, gloss.I firmly believe that dry lips lead to out-of-focus shots.
{Leigh, who is searching for lip gloss…} Your myriad of portrait subjects ranges from children, families, celebrities, orphans, brides & grooms, heads of state. Your images all end up full of personality, depth, poignant emotion, exuberance, and calm. How do you approach a photography session with President Barack Obama and one with a reluctant child differently? What remains the same?
{Tamara} First of all, a sincere thanks for that kind assessment. What is different typically tends to be the amount of time you have with a subject, which can affect the pace of a shoot. With a reluctant child, I can wait them out and still get what I’m seeking. When I’m granted 15 minutes with a high-profile individual who cannot veer 2 minutes off their schedule, then I need to make it work in that time period.
What remains the same is that you’re approaching a human being on this planet, and it’s really as plain as that. I will definitely feel the sensation of “I want to get this right”, but I rarely feel intimidated photographing more high-profile individuals because I have yet to meet one person who doesn’t feel the all of it – the hype of their branded name is there, sure, but the other side of what makes them human doesn’t show up in the glossy press. The discouragement, the embarrassment, the disappointment, the loneliness. We all share that lower range of our emotions, and it is the great leveler between us.
Since I see so much more of the emotional body of an individual rather than anything formally written up about them … well, I just photograph what I see.
My images may have personality, but my subjects are the goldmines.
{Leigh} Who/What inspires you? Who/What energizes you? Who/What fills your heart with laughter?
{Tamara} I’ve said this before, but it’s the base of what inspires me and it’s incredibly true for me:
I am inspired by individuals who uplift others through their kindness, courage, and strength.
I am inspired by people who care less about what is socially acceptable and more about what is true.
I am inspired by people who try.
I am energized by heart and spirit and people doing more than they thought they could.
And my heart is flooded beyond measure with the laughter of my three astonishingly beautiful children.
{Leigh} Tell us what’s around the corner for Tamara Lackey in the coming year?
{Tamara} Well, in early October, my production partner Rex Ballard and I will finally be releasing a consumer-based project that we’ve been working on all year. Even longer, with all the planning.
A very different thing than I’ve ever done before, full of potential but absent of sure-thing-ishness.
I have no idea what will happen, but we’ve been working really hard on it – and we’re going to try
We are so grateful for the opportunity to get to know Tamara better, to share that with you all here on the Pay It Forward Photography Resource blog and to get to give away this yummy gift to one of you lucky people. Here are a few ways to connect with Tamara:
Written by PIF blogger,resident social media evangelist,
Leigh Caraccioli { @fleurdeleigh }
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