BEHIND THE LENS: WITH JENNIFER PARK GIDEON

Your Name: Jennifer Gideon
Your studio/business name: Gideon Park Photography
Location: Salt Lake City, UT
Website: www.gideonparkphotography.com
Blog: http://gideonparkphotography.blogspot.com
Twitter/Facebook: jwgideon123 / Jennifer Gideon
Other: Mother, Wife, Engineer, Photographer, Knitter

Your Style

• In 50 words or less, how would your clients describe your photography? Clients would describe my photography as real. I try to connect with my clients to put them at ease and capture their trueness. I don't do a lot of posing or editing and I try to capture the spirit of the subject. My objective is to tell a story in the client’s images – their real life story. I want to capture little moments that will last forever. A majority of my images are in black and white because I think that it makes the images timeless. It allows more emphasis on the “feel” and less on what colors are around (clothing, wall paper, etc), but I do also provide color images.
    
• Are you self-taught or classroom trained? Self taught through the help of other professional photographers and photo clubs.
    
• How many years have you been a professional photographer? Two
• Where do you want to take your photography business in 5 years? Weddings and Babies - I would like to photograph weddings and lifestyle photography full time. I also want to help introduce true Lifestyle photography to various parts of the country!
• Is there a photographer who inspires your style? Who would that be? Amber Holritz - she is the original lifestyle baby photographer. She has been teaching lifestyle photography in seminars and classes. Her blog / delivery session is what made me decide that I wanted to capture beautiful moments for people and tell stories with images!
    
• Favorite location to take photos? A family's home because I am really able to tell a true story in an environment so real.
    
• Favorite vacation spot? There are too many, but my favorite would have to be Ireland.  

Your Business

• What was the pivotal moment when you decided to become a photographer? I was reading a photography blog on a delivery session and the images and story brought tears to my eyes - it was so beautiful - and I didn't even know the people in the photographs!
    
• What’s the best marketing tip that has worked for you? Word of mouth
    
• What’s the most surprising thing a customer has asked you? I don’t have much that surprises me…so I can’t think of anything!
• Favorite print lab? http://www.pictage.com/

Your Gear 

• Are you Canon or Nikon (or – gasp--“other”): NIKON - ALL THE WAY!!
• If you could only have one lens on a photo shoot, what would it be? 17-55, 2.8
• What brand bag do you carry your camera in? Currently in the process of switching over to a local brand (The Vest Guy http://TheVestGuy.com/default.asp) in Utah who custom makes bags and camera gear.
• What gear would we find in your camera bag? Not much - I shoot with natural lighting for lifestyle sessions. Extra batteries, extra memory cards, gum and tissues (for weddings!)
• Are you a natural light fan or strobe fan? Natural light all the way.
• Are you PC or Mac user? Mac 

Your Tips and Tricks

• What post processing tools do you use? Lightroom and a tiny bit of Photoshop for logo addition.
    
• Do you shoot in Raw or Jpeg? RAW
• Best advice you would give your 20-year old self? Be patient and don't rush so much to grow up
• Best advice you would give a new photographer? Be patient and network, network, network.
• What site do you use for your photography and why? Pictage is linked through my photography website and is SO useful. Pictage color corrects, prints and ships prints directly to my clients and clients can also order a variety of other products through them (books, greeting cards, etc). A photographer’s dream service if you’re not into printing. 

What Else Should We Know? 

• What was your worst, funniest or most rewarding photography experience? The most rewarding experience I’ve had to date was photographing a child’s birthday party. I got several images of the child and his grandmother. The family called a few weeks later to tell me the grandmother had passed and the photos that I took of her were the last images that were ever taken. They thanked me for giving them lasting memories of their grandmother.
• What would surprise people most about you, whether it is photography related or not? People intimidate me. I am overly critical of my work and am in the process of figuring out how to lighten up on myself!
• Tell us something else you’d like us to know: I want to get into the business of people (even though they scare me – this is my way of conquering it!). Photography is a way to get to know people and how they work! With people, you are constantly learning and evolving. Being able to capture an individual’s or family’s personality is all about knowing the business of people! :)

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