For Photographers: How to Win Friends and Influence People Week 8

After finishing this week’s chapter in How to Win Friends and Influence People, questions popped in my mind. Dale Carnegie shared the principle: Talk in terms of other person’s interests. This sounds like a great idea and I definitely agree, but I wanted to go deeper. Why do we focus on the other person’s interests? What is the motivation behind this principle? What makes this principle profound?

We talk in terms of other’s interests, not as a means of manipulation, but out of sincerity and genuine interest. We do this because we really do care about the work we do and the people we work with. This is what makes us better photographers.  Because it isn’t about the photographs, it is about the people.

This genuine care and love for the people we work with creates what I will refer to as, “Rich Moments.”

These moments might last hours, or just a few seconds. They normally unravel when the shutter is silenced and our agenda is folded away. It happens when our own voices cease. In this silence, our lives change, as this Rich Moment blooms. The moments unfold when I begin listening. The conversation shifts from sharing my interests to what makes their heart beat. [link to blog post] This makes us better photographers.

What’s the key to unlocking these rich moments in life?

First we must find a connecting point. 

Second, we give them the platform.

The rich moment begins when our mouths drip with questions about their passions.

Bottom Line: Our work is only as rich as the relationships we build. If we go shallow then our work only splashes the surface. If we go deep, then our work dives into the ocean. This is crucial as photographers. If we want to capture great images, we work to understand and know the person standing in front of us. That is why we talk in terms of the other person’s interests. We want to get to know them, so we can do our jobs to the best of our ability.

“The royal road to a person’s heart is to talk about things he or she treasures most.” –Dale Carnegie.

This week’s exercise:

Pick. Find a person or organization you are interested in learning about.

Type. Type up an email or call on the phone to schedule a time to meet with them.

Research. Between now and the time of the meeting, research, research, research.

Listen. Now it’s time for the meeting. Whether this is a couple interested in engagement photos, or an organization interested in hiring you for an event, your job is to sit down and listen. Focus on their interests, not just interests that are related to the photography assignment, but their personal interests. Get to know what they enjoy doing. Build a relationship that goes deeper than just the photography they are hiring you for. 

For Photographers: How to Win Friends and Influence People Week 7

Principle of the Week: Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.

In the winter, the birds silence, the leaves crumble, and the animals run for cover. We all run for cover. We run for fire to warm up our hands. We crank up the heaters in our cars. We sneak our space heaters under our cubicles at work. The birds, the squirrels, the adults, and children alike, we all scurry for warmth. We look for blankets to bundle in, music to fill the cold, silent, winter air, and socks to cover our toes.

I love dressing warm, pulling out my big coat, tying up fluffy scar, zipping up my boots, and heating up a cup of hot tea. Months pass and winter starts to melt away. The Spring tip-toes in. My all-time favorite season simmers into existence. The flowers burst open. the leaves splash the sky. The birds break the winter silence. The squirrels run rampant like in a game of tag. The winter becomes warm, just like those moments we meet people.

Cold, awkward moments turn warm when we smile and get to know a person’s name. A moment with no heartbeat comes to life when we start that conversation. This winter-like moment springs forward. With active listening the conversation blooms. When you listen to a person share their story, it’s like a black and white image splashed with color. When we listen with our ears and our eyes the winter silence breaks with spring conversation.

It’s this idea of actively listening and encouraging others to talk about themselves that Dale Carnegie shares for this week. I have written up a couple exercises to practice intentional listening. Would love to hear your thoughts!

1.     Pen, Paper, & Lamp: Journal each evening before bed and reflect on your conversations of the day. Did you do most of the talking? Did you learn something new about someone? Did you meet someone you can follow up with? If you met with a client or organization, did you talk mainly about your work or focus on them?

2.     Calendar, Pen, & Phone: Grab your calendar and pick 2-3 events coming up and put a reminder in your phone to go off when you arrive at the event. Going to a bridal show? Perfect! Meeting with an organization about a photojournalism assignment? Great! Getting coffee with a friend? These are all fantastic opportunities to practice.

What are your thoughts?

For Photographers: How to Win Friends and Influence People Week 6

“Remember a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.” –Dale Carnegie

Here is the image that immediately popped into my mind as I began reading this chapter. In my mind all the instances that I forgot someone’s names flashed in my mind like a movie. Confession, I am horrible at remembering names. When I have to ask for someone’s name more than once, these words always fall out of my mouth, “Sorry I am way better with faces than names.” This is the truth. Names are the hardest for me.

Last week, I closed the book feeling pretty spiffy. I thought to myself, I like smiling. I can do this. I already do this. This isn’t hard! Then I read on and embraced this new chapter and thought, Oh crap.

I have no problem asking for someone’s name or reading his or her nametag when I am placing my order for lunch, but when it comes to remembering it…well it requires some focus and intentionality.

At the end of this chapter, Dale Carnegie shared a fantastic example that I plan on mimicking. And it is my challenge to all of us for the week: intentionally engage a client, friend, or a random person you meet and practice these four steps listed below.

Napoleon the Third, Emperor of France was known for remembering the name of every person he met, in spite of his royal duties. And here is how he would do it.

1.     Ask his or her name upon meeting

2.     Intentionally repeat their name during the conversation while talking

3.     During the conversation he would associate his or her name with the person’s features, appearance, and expressions

4.     When he got alone he would write the name down

In light of all this, I closed the book with a conviction. I forget names as easy as I can turn on my TV. But when you decide to remember a person’s name, you are showing that person how much you value he or she has. A name sets each one of us apart. A name is wholly and completely owned by the person we are dealing with. It makes people unique. This is a small example of a greater truth: each person deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. No matter what he or she believes, or how difficult he or she may be, every person deserves respect and our full attention. Taking the time to remember something as simple as a name, is a small yet profound way of honoring the person.

So how you do handle remembering names? Would love to hear how you all do it!

For Photographers: How to Win Friends and Influence People Week 5

This week Dale Carnegie discusses the importance of a smile and what all it entails. As I flipped through the pages, underlining some quotes, I got to thinking. What makes a smile so significant isn’t simply the smile itself. The smile reflects upon something greater. This is what I call the Smile Lifestyle.

Picture a busy New York City street. Cabs weaving in and out of lanes. People rushing out their apartment doors and to the edge of the street, whistling down their ride. If you hear people talking, it’s either about meetings, who wants what in their coffee, or about who’s picking up the kids from school. The cars keep honking and people rush by so fast that coffee drips out the lids. But in the midst of all the noise, we see the people without the headphones tightly snug in and their phones down in their pockets. They are the Smile Lifestylers. They got their heads up. Their emails can wait. They figure walking fast isn’t going to get them to work any faster. And when you talk to them, you see that little grin. 

Those that life this lifestyle stop to talk to the security guards when they walk in to work. They ask their cashier at Starbucks about their days. Whether their neighbors live a few blocks over, two floors down, or across the hall, they know them by name. It’s not about the networking for them. It’s just because they love people.

And when we encounter these people, there is something that calms us. The weight on our shoulders disappear for a few moments. Getting upset at your husband this morning doesn’t seem near as important anymore. Simply being in the presence of a Smile Lifestyler relaxes you.

Reality Check. My idealist side of me loves soaking in this idea world, but my realist taps my shoulder and chuckles. I will be the first to confess, I don’t wake up every morning with a smile on my face ready to talk to anyone and everyone around me. Most days I actually roll out of bed, after hitting snooze at least twelve times. I barely have time to boil the water for my hot tea, scribble on my make up and then I scurry out the door. 

So with this in mind, let me add this last sidenote: For all you perfectionists out there who are just like me, know that we are not looking for perfection here. We are looking for small steps of change. 

Let’s put this goal in perspective of the bigger picture: We've got to realize as photographers, we are dealing with people. We are all human, all deserving of respect, compassion and grace. So when we meet with a client and they seem irritated, short, or stressed, we get and opportunity to be that breath of fresh air. We get to be that Smile Lifestyler that is invigorating to be around. It’s not about getting through the introductions to get to the agenda. It’s about getting to love on some people who are probably fighting battles we have know idea about. 

So for our challenge this week we will put into practice Dale Carnegie’s Principle to smile. I have created two exercises to implement this. You can do either one or you can go for both. It is up to you. 

1. Pull out a piece of scrap paper, pen, and a timer. Set the timer for 5 minutes and jot down everyone you can think of that you run into during the week. Security guard, people waiting to get on the elevator, photography clients, husbands, wives, kids, etc. Select a handful of these people that you want to be intentional to engage this week. 

2. Keep on your desk or nightstand a few sheets of paper this week. Each evening spend some time reflecting on your conversations. Were you critical in most of them? Were you condemning or praising others? Were you busy talking about what you want or how to help someone get what they want? 

What do you think of these of these exercises? Share your comments and questions below!

Story Behind the Photograph: Cochabamba Air & Jasmin

After forty-eight hours of flying, layovers, and an overnight stay in Santa Cruz, we finally made it. The seat belt lights went off. We landed in Cochabamba, Bolivia. I looked around me. My mind felt frozen. I had the jitters and I already dreaded the day I would have to leave.  These were my first few moments in a developing country.

 We loaded the bus and drove out to our hotel. I hurried to a window seat, pulled out my camera and captured everything I saw. I never thought the air back home seemed polluted, but when I smelled the Cochabamba air, it was freshness unlike anything I had smelled before. We weaved around cars on the dirt roads. Stands with umbrellas cluttered the sides of the streets selling fresh fruit, vegetables, and meat on sticks. Everything seemed so new and so fresh, yet so fitting. It was a whole other world to me, but at the same time it felt so familiar and so much like a new home.

 The main roads in the city seemed chaotic like all cities. But when we drove out to our village, everything slowed down. Men herded their cattle through the streets. Boys strolled along on bikes. Women and children worked their village’s convenient-like stores selling bags of water, sodas, and candy. We pulled into the drive away of the home of one of the families we would be working with.

 We gathered every morning with the men, women, and their children. I had never seen such eagerness, energy, and excitement to start a church in a village. The energy was contagious. I felt it not just among the adults, but among the kids too, especially my dear friend, eight-year-old Jasmin.

 Each afternoon, our teams would meet back at one of the families’ homes to share stories over hot cups of green tea and pastry breads. After we finished our meals, Jasmin and her friends would pull Kendall and me down to the floor. Sitting Indian style, we gathered around with the girls as they taught us Spanish and giggled at our attempts. Kendall brought with her a bilingual Bible stories book. The girls loved it. They would press their fingers to the pages, read the Spanish words, and make us repeat after them. On the last day in the village, Jasmin’s mom let her accompany us on our last visit walk around. Those next few hours play in my mind like a old timey movie reel. So vivid. I could never forget what would happen.

 Jasmin led the way. She took me  by the hand and guided me and my interpreter, Sindy out to her friend’s house.  Once we reached the door, Jasmin knocked and shouted over the wall, asking her friend to come outside. Normally I would talk with the families and share the Gospel story, but this time I took a backseat role and watched Jasmin do her thing. This little eight-year-old friend inspired me. Jasmin began telling her friend about Jesus. Sindy stood by her side to help her with any details she might forget. As the minutes passed, I saw Jasmin and her friend bowing their heads and closing their eyes fiercely tight. Her friend wanted to give her life to Jesus. Sindy stepped back. With a big grin, trying to contain her excitement in a whisper, Sindy told me what happened. Jasmin and her friend turned to us and smiled so big. We all just looked around at each other and laughed.

 There was no other way I could imagine ending our time in the village. We headed back to the house, so Sindy and I could catch my taxi back to the airport. I realized that day, some of the most difficult experiences happen for some of the best reasons. As we all hugged and shared stories of God’s work in the village. Jasmin stood near the back waiting to see me. She came up to me, wrapped her arms tight around my waist, and we cried. She handed me the best gift I have ever received, a framed photo of herself. I didn’t know what to say. I had no words. My sweet friend opened my eyes to so much. Her energy and excitement for Jesus revived my life, just like that Cochabamba air. 

For Photographers: How to Win Friends and Influence People Week 4

Become Genuinely Interested in Other People 

You know when you go through one of those icebreaker exercises and everyone goes around the group and says something unique or memorable about them.  I used to get frustrated trying to answer that question on the spot. Well over the last few years, I nailed my answer. I am a hot tea lover. And let me tell you, do not take this lightly. I enjoy reading about teas, smelling teas, hearing the stories and  learning the myths. And one of the principles of tea drinking is this: Enjoy it sip by sip rather than gulp by gulp.

This is how we genuinely enjoy the people around us, fellow artists, and clients. We enjoy each other sip by sip. And what I mean by this is that, we slow down. We don’t try to crack someone up quick and have them spill their deepest parts of themselves. No, we sit down, relax, and spend hours with a person. It is in these hours of listening, asking questions, and just hanging out that we show genuine interest in others. This is the principle Dale Carnegie shares in this chapter.

So how can we enjoy people sip by sip?

1.     How do I feel when people put me first? I like starting off with reflective questions. It puts me in the other person’s shoes and see differently. When people put me first, I always notice in myself this excitement and freedom. Feeling that someone cares makes me want to open up and say more than, “I am good, how are you?”

2.     How can we intentionally place others before work? For me, I am seeing that its as simple as talking. Whether I am on assignment for an organization or out doing a senior portrait, talking and putting my camera down builds a relationship. When we put people in front of our cameras, we are asking them to trust us.  With that said, it is important to build trust, be patient, ask questions, listen, and get to know the parts of the person that makes them unique. This takes time and is convicting for my task-oriented self. This reminds me to slow down. Sip by sip. Enjoy the moment. Enjoy the person.

3.     How can we make sure our motives are pure? In the book, Carnegie shares the story of a man, who was a professional speaker. Every time before he stepped up to the stage, he spent a few minutes, reminding himself who it was all about—his audience. This was a refreshing method for me to hear. For me this looks like before I go out on a shoot, I either get up early or I spend my moments in the car getting focused and remembering what it is all about.

What about you? How do you plan on showing your clients or even just your family and friends how you care about them?

Portrait Session with Joshua

Guest Blogger, Aaron Vance on the First Steps to Pricing

Pricing.  The topic that new photographers are always asking about and the topic that seems to be the hardest to find information on.  In this article I am going to provide you with first step in pricing, determining your Cost of Doing Business or CODB.  I will also provide you with links to other articles and tool for setting up your pricing.  Before we get started to you need to accept three things:

There are no correct price you have to charge.

If you are meeting your financial goals with your business, then your pricing is correct for your business.

Your prices are not determined by what you would pay.

If you are able to something yourself, you usually are not willing to pay a lot for it.  For example, I can work on cars, so I really do not want to pay a mechanic to work on my car.

Your prices are not determined on what other photographers charge.

After reading this article this will be clearer, but my experience has been that most photographers have no idea what they need to charge to be profitable. 

Now that is out of the way, let talk about Cost of Doing Business. 

Whether you have been in business for a while or are just starting out, determining your CODB is a critical step.  To help you through this process I recommend that you download my COBD Calculator.  The best way to define CODB are expenses that are inquired for running a business, regardless if you have a photo session.  Some examples are website fees, rent, insurance, camera upkeep, etc.  Remember that you need to pay yourself, so include a salary!  Do not confuse CODB with expenses that are directly tied to a specific photo session. Some examples are printing, credit card fees, parking fees, etc.  So the first step is to write down all the expenses you inquire annually or monthly.  Be sure to write down every expense no matter how small.  If you are just starting out and do not have past year expenses, estimate.  The next step is to put all the expenses into the calculator.  At the bottom of the calculator in yellow you will see the monthly and annual expenses.  This is the minimum profit you need to make.  The last line of the calculator is a handy tool, it show how much profit per client is needed every month.  So enter the number of clients you hope to have per month.  Remember the more clients you have per month will drop the profit needed, but at the same time will means you will work more hours. 

Once you have determined your CODB, you now know what you need to make.   This is the first step in determining pricing.  Since pricing is a multi-step process, there is no way to cover all the steps in one article.  If you are looking for information on this topic I recommend that you visit my site Addah’s Advice.  There you will find articles and tools on a multitude of topics to include a 5 part series on pricing.  

COBD Calculator Link:  http://www.addahsadvice.com/?page_id=2601

Addah’s Advice:  www.addahsadvice.com

Aaron Vance name is the owner of Addah’s Advice along as well as the business manager for his wife’s photography business, Donna Gail Photography.  He is located in Waldorf, MD which is right outside of Washington DC.  He started Addah’s Advice so he can share the knowledge I have gained running Donna Gail Photography.  His goal is provide tools and knowledge to make business decisions, not a specific model that needs to be followed.   Every business is as unique as the person running it.  Be sure to check out his website and if you ever have specific questions feel free to contact me.

For Photographers: How to Win Friends and Influence People Week 3

I hope the past couple weeks has encouraged you and challenged you. I have been busy editing some shoots and mailing out the finished products and these past two chapters have really influenced my process. Now I keep jotting down ways to get to know my clients on a more personal basis. I have a couple new things I include in my packages, when I mail them their photographers too. This book has really got my thinking about ways to love on others, in small and large ways. This chapter was no different!

Week 3: Arouse in the other person an eager want

When Carnegie dove into this principle, there were several other factors that I realized influenced this principle and that is what I have created these questions based on.

1. How do I find out what others want? My favorite quote from this chapter: "If there is any one secret of success, it lies in the ability to get the others point of view and see things from their angle as well as from your own." This is such a simple question and such a simple answer. Yet it makes a huge difference. Asking questions, actively listening, and jotting down physical or mental notes is crucial. If I am prepping for a photojournalism assignment, this involves heavy research before I connect with a client. This includes checking out the website, asking around, viewing their photos and seeing how I can help better this area. If I am working on a portrait shoot, this includes asking questions in email correspondence, getting to know them at the consultation and not just going over contract details. 
2. How can I help others get what they want? Listening and asking questions. One of Carnegie's main points in this chapter was the importance of focusing on them, not your own issues. I know sometimes if I am tired before a shoot or have had a long week, it's hard to do this. If I want to be serve them with my best, I need to find out what they want, and that requires my full attention. This means I take my focus off how can I make my business grow and I focus on how can I make their heart, passions, and vision grow. 
3. How can I create an eager want in my clients? This requires a heart check-- an intentional reminder before every assignment or photoshoot that this my time to put myself aside and serve them. Sometimes this looks like taking a few minutes before the shoot to put the phone away, get alone, and regroup in a sense. Once the heart is set in place, the actions follow. Some other practical things to do would be showing my previous work to clients, sharing stories and letting them see my passion in order to create trust. Transparency breads transparency. 

If you would like to receive these discussion questions as well as other tips and shares for all storytellers in your inbox, click here for Your Focus Friday Exclusive.  

Comment below with your thoughts or questions! This is an open discussion to share your frustrations and inspiration. What have the questions above prompted you to do? 

Senior Portraits with Miss Krysta

My one word for this girl: vibrant. She's bold and I would not say she is without fear.  But she is with courage, and no matter what scary things comes her way, she faces them with full of hope, energy, and strength. Love knowing this girl and all her sass that comes with it. We had a blast out on our shoot and I am thrilled to say I have found my new favorite spot in the DFW area. Spent hours out there exploring before and after our shoot. I think it will be a future writing location for upcoming projects! 

For Photographers: Week 2 How to Win Friends and Influence People

Another great chapter to discuss for this week! I have decided to add something to these posts. It will help me process, as well as help all of you to see how I am processing to help you reflect on your photography businesses. With each of the questions I put forth, I am going to share some of my ramblings about how I am looking to be intentional with my relationships revolving around photography. When I am reading these chapters I am thinking not just about my clients, but other fellow photographers as well. So here we go, week 2!

Principle 2: Give honest and sincere appreciation

1. Everyone desires to feel loved and appreciated. How can I make others (clients and others in my photography circle of influence) feel important/loved/appreciated? As I began to chew on this question, I started realizing throughout the chapter the value of listening. He does not directly address it, but I cannot help but think that in order to give sincere appreciation, we must listen and ask questions. Practically what this looks like for me is when I am emailing with clients, I will ask friendly, light-hearted questions to get to know them. I try my hardest to schedule a face to face consultation with each client before a shoot to not just brainstorm ideas, but get to know them as a person and develop trust and a comfortable atmosphere. Also I think giving sincere compliments and not just flattering them stems out of listening and asking questions. Something I want to do now is make a list of about 3-5 questions- some of them deep, some light-hearted to get to know the person I am with on a deeper level and serve them better. 
2. How can I show others that I appreciate them? I've got two thoughts for this one. First, this is something I have realized I have to be very intentional about. I am an introverted, task-oriented person, so I sometimes get so focused on an assignment I forget about the people I am doing it for. Also, as I am typing this I realize I can use my introverted nature as a strength. I love one-on-one over group situations.  This is great because I can use this in my consultations with clients. Second, I have seen several photography friends do this and I am taking this chapter as a challenge to start it myself.  I like the idea of giving little gifts and a handwritten note when I deliver my products. Handwritten notes mean so much to me, so I feel like it would mean much to others. 
3. Here is a reflective question: What is it that makes me feel important/loved/appreciated? When I think about this, it helps me learn how to appreciate others. Here is a bit of honesty for ya, a pet peeve of mine is when people compliment me by just saying I am "sweet". I hear that word so often, I now wonder what people mean by it. Sometimes, not always, it cam come off as an empty comment, a space-filler. All of this to say, I appreciate compliments that have thought put into them, that shows they have seen a part of the depths of who I am. I also feel loved when people ask me questions. Im not talking about the "how are you?" that you blurt out real quick while passing in the hallway, I am talking about the lets-talk-for-a-few-minutes-how-are-you-really-doing, full eye contact and everything. 

So there are my thoughts! Can't wait to hear what all of you think. Again, I encourage you if you would like to dive further into these principles from the book, go buy it! It is a great read and I have had several photography friends and mentors recommend this to me. You don't need the book to partake in this discussion, but it would certainly enhance it.

Please comment below and let me know what you think about these questions and this principle. I would love to hear your thoughts!

Stay tuned for next Friday's discussion!

For Photographers: How to Win Friends and Influence People Discussion

For the next few months, every Friday I will be posting discussion and application questions for photographers based on my reading through Dale Carnegie’s, How to Win Friends and Influence People.

I have noticed through several photography circles now, that we are finally getting something right: it’s about the people not the pictures. This idea is the foundation of the book. Each week I will address some of the main principles and provide a few reflective questions for us to discuss and brainstorm about how this will influence our work as photographers. So excited to start this journey with all of you and can’t wait to see how this book will transform our perspectives!

Carnegie begins the book with this first principle: Don’t criticize, condemn or complain.

 Are you ever out on an assignment, shooting a wedding or scheduling a session and their requests just bug you? Carnegie suggests this wonderful and extraordinary idea on how to respond to situations like this.

 “Instead of condemning people, let’s try to understand them. Let’s try to fight out why they do what they do. That’s a lot more profitable and intriguing than criticism; and it breeds sympathy, tolerance, and kindness.”

 So with this in mind here are a few questions for us to consider as photographers:

 1.     First, let’s take a look inside ourselves. How do I respond when people criticize me? How does it make me feel?

2.     Step back. What would I do if I were in their shoes?

3.     How can I better improve myself, rather than focusing on trying to improve my clients or fellow photography friends?

4.     Next time someone irritates me, how can I try to understand them better? This is an opportunity to get to know others better. Think of some specific goals you want to put in place. Example, next time a client says something that rubs you the wrong way, put yourself in their shoes, take a few minutes to process before responding, ask a friend for a fresh perspective, etc.

 Share your thoughts below! Would love to brainstorm and discuss this with all of you. Also if you would like to purchase the book yourself to follow up, you may do so here. 

Story Behind the Photograph: "Mugumu Men"

I just recently had the privilege of displaying this photograph in an art exhibit and my caption read, “One man gave me an arrow, another man preached, but this one listened.”

 I never got his name and I never understood a word he said. You’d think with my interpreter, Joyce, just across the room, I would have asked her to come over and help, but for some reason I didn’t. My time with this man was brief. He uttered a couple words, but I could only translate his hand gestures. Yet even with the lack of words, a few minutes with him changed my life for eternity.

 After taking this photograph, I sat down next to him and we began to sift through my photographs. He pointed at his photograph, and then pointed to his chest, as if he was asking “Is that me?” I nodded “Yes, yes it is.” with a big smile. We let out a few chuckles and smiled at one another. Nothing else needed to be said. We continued looking through more photographs together as the time passed.

 Every time I look at this photograph, I remember the short time with him. Being with people like him, well, let’s just say no matter how short the time, it becomes a life-giving and invigorating memory. We didn’t need to speak the same language to understand each other. A simple photograph would do. Without any words, we bonded.

 As a writer, I believe words have an unbelievable power. Yet the photographer in me would say, sometimes you don’t need words. Sometimes words are not enough. And so much of the time, photographs connect us in ways words cannot. In a situation where we cannot speak to one another, grace arrives in the form of photographs, forging a bond deeper than any word could create.

 Every time I see this photo I remember why I do what I do. I believe in the power of photographs. They freeze memories in time. They open our eyes to things we overlook. They slow us down. Photographs are a means of grace, allowing us to be with people and relive memories that we once rushed through. 

Documenting Muslims in London: The Pay-Off of Persistence

Any seasoned photojournalist will tell you, no two assignments are ever the same. In my thirty years of shooting, there’s never been another gig anything like my three weeks in England.

I was working for a Christian publication, doing a story on Muslims in London. This was pre-Internet and pre-iPhone. I flew from Los Angeles with a few contacts written down in my reporter’s notebook. Upon arrival, all of them fell through. No one, and I mean no one, wanted to spend a few days allowing a photographer record their lives for a Christian magazine.

Day after day, I met with people, followed up on leads, took lots of exterior shots but felt no closer to my goal. Finally, in desperation, I walked from the west side of London to east side, praying the entire way. There I found a small mosque in the Bengali section of the city. I tentatively walked in, asked to see the imam, and explained my situation. Miraculously, he told me I could spend 24 hours with his family.

Two days later (and a mere three days before my flight home) I arrived at their flat in a high apartment building. They were lovely, hospitable, kind, informative, and non-defensive. Their only restriction was to avoid photographing the teenager daughters without their head covering. I photographed them praying, preparing ablutions (the ceremonial washing), going to the park as well as the mosque. They treated me with respect and dignity.

Because everything was shot on film (five rolls in 24 hours), I really had no idea whether I had successfully nailed the shoot. Once I printed up the contact sheets, I met with a new friend who worked at Geographic to ask him for some input. Together, we chose ten images that accurately and beautifully captured this amazing family. The image of the eldest daughter praying is perhaps my favorite. (It’s printed full frame on Portriga fiber paper.)

Though I sent them copies of the magazine, I never heard from them again. I am still grateful for their hospitality and trust.

Find more of Dorothy’s photography or writing on her website or by following her on Twitter or Facebook. 

Since graduating from Boston University in 1983, I have worked as a photographer, journalist, home-schooling mom, and pastor. A rather eclectic combination which actually reflects the diversity of my soul. Perhaps the common theme of all four “professions” is the desire to tell stories: mine and others. I feel incredibly grateful for the trust that men and women have extended to me: the Bengali family who let me spend 24 hours with them, the teenage runaways in Hollywood, the CEOs, and the many folks in church settings. Regardless of the demographics, my goal is always to find beauty and redemption in the lives of the people I spend time with.

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DTS Creativity Cafe

This was my first art exhibit to ever be a part of. It was an honor and a humbling experience. Nothing can quite describe getting to not only have your work displayed in an exhibit but getting to watch people interact with your pieces and share your stories with them. Such an inspirational night getting to know other artists and listen to their artistic journeys. Listed below are the pieces on display.

"Mugumu Men". Mugumu, Tanzania, 2012. 

"Serengeti Sunrise". Mugumu, Tanzania, 2012. 

"Serengeti Hunt". Mugumu, Tanzania, 2012. 

"End of a Day's Work". Lilongwe, Malawi, 2012. 

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

It rained all day, but we found a few minutes for our photo shoot that evening! Check out Dallas Fashion Blogger, Lauren Spann, rockin' her St. Patty's Day outfit. For more information about her style, check out her website, Southern Elle.