First Professional Photography Job

Over the summer, I was hired by a local family dentistry office to provide photography services. It was my first professional photography job. I was nervous of course, but was determined not to show it.

I rented the Canon EF-S 10-22mm so that I would have enough width to capture a dental office when there is not a lot of room. I was also concerned about the lighting, but in fact the office was very bright with big windows letting in natural sunlight.

I held two sessions at the office. The first session was to capture some of the basics of the rooms, equipment, and the staff. The second session had specific goals to capture. All of the participants signed model releases of course. As some of the models were children, this is even more critical.

The photos will be used on the web site, Yellow Pages and some advertising. The contract covered copyright, usage, and delivery mechanisms. I spent nearly a week researching pricing to ensure that I was within the correct range for photography.

The client was pleased with the results and so was I. I hope this leads to many future opportunities. As the web site is not active yet, I haven’t included a link.

I spent a long time thinking about a name for the business. I didn’t want to use my last name, as many people don’t know how to pronounce it. I eventually settled on Ottawa Photoworks. I had envisioned a sort of steampunk or industrial feel to it without being about a specific genre of photography (i.e. “Bob’s Cat Photos, Inc.”). It provides opportunities for a logo too. I want something simple to reproduce, even at small resolution, but easy to understand.

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