Sometimes You Just Need a Rubber Chicken

Janet Hall started out like most shutter happy moms by snapping pictures of her kids. Her photos were so good that friends asked her to take pictures of their kids too, and in 2003, Photograhy by Janet was born.

Hall is now a full time portrait photographer with a professional studio in her house and mobile equipment for location shoots. She specializes in family portraits and also does team photography.

She says she has a knack for making kids smile and always takes time to capture the perfect shot. Her secret? First, she allows plenty of time for each client. She can take time for little kids to take a break to have a snack or play a game until they get comfortable in her studio. She tells older kids not to smile, using reverse psychology on them until they relax and grin.

“Or I just get a rubber chicken,” she joked.

Three years ago she was forced to rebuild her business after her husband’s job moved the family from Oklahoma to the Fenton area. She said it’s been tough finding new clients with a small advertising budget and depends largely on word of mouth. She’s fond of handing out business cards to everyone she meets and has advertising on her car.

“I have a website and I get business from Google Search,” she said. The site, which she built herself, has a gallery with dozens of examples of her work: expectant moms and babies, kids of all ages, families and couples. She’ll also include pets in a portrait, either at her studio or in the field.

When asked if most of her clients come to the studio or request mobile services, she said, “It depends on the time of year. In winter we’re here in the studio, but in spring seniors want to go to the park.” She also does a lot of family portraits in outdoor settings in the summer.

Hall’s own children are 8 and 12 and often the subjects of her work. A photo of her youngest, Sophie, decorates her business card. She said she’s lucky to have their grandparents close at hand so they cab watch her kids when she needs to schedule a photo sittings away from home.

“I love what I do. I can’t tell you how many times moms have come here and it’s complete chaos,” she said. But her skill, backed up by a rapid fire camera, allows her to capture even the active children between outbursts to deliver amazing shots.

Hall doesn’t use a lot of props in her sessions and prefers to fill the frame with close-ups. She works hard to find that perfect image and capture a person’s true personality.

Despite her skill as a professional, Hall admits that she’s terrible at taking causal family photos of her own kids.

“Jimmy has to take the birthday pictures,” she jokes. “I’m terrible at snap shots.” She said she spends too much time worrying about distractions in the background in order to relax and take everyday photos.

She said there’s a big difference between those family snap shots and professional portraits. “Everyone with a digital camera thinks they can call themselves a photographer,” she said.

It’s not just expensive equipment, lights and professional photo processing that separates the pros from the amateurs. Hall points out that even really good hobby level cameras have a delay between pressing the button and when the shutter snaps.

“There’s that delay, then they miss the moment. With little ones, you have a limited amount of time—a very small window—to capture the moment,” she explained. A pro knows how to set up the shot, get a subject to relax then anticipate the right time to take a picture.

She provides retouching as part of her sitting fee and can clean up anything from blemishes and wrinkles to skinned knees or dull teeth. Knowing just how much retouching to apply to a photo is another skill best left to professionals and she said that too much digital enhancing can make a photo look fake. She prefers to use a light hand with Photoshop, a favorite tool for photo enhancing.

Hall charges $75 for a photo sitting, which includes up to six people and unlimited wardrobe changes. There’s a $10 charge for each additional person and a $30 travel charge for location shoots. She knows that her photos are more expensive than taking the kids to a discount studio, like JCPenny.

“There’s no set amount of time for a sitting. I’ll do whatever it takes to get that shot to hang on their wall, if it takes an hour or three.”