Jaimie of Jaimie Nicole Krause Photography

* Why you love photography?

“I’ve always loved photography, ever since I was a small child. When I was about 2, I had a picture book about horses. I insisted on taking the book with me everywhere I went. My family assumed that it was because I loved horses, but it wasn’t the horses that I loved. It was the photographs that I loved. That book was the only book I had ever seen that wasn’t illustrated. I love the way photography can capture the emotion and energy of a moment. There a few things that have the power to move people the way a photograph can.”

* Your favorite type of photography?

“Hmmmm. Am I being paid or doing it for enjoyment? My dream photography job would be photographing beautiful resorts for brochures and websites. (Does anyone know how to get me that job? Lol.) But in all honesty, I really enjoy shooting senior portraits. Every senior wants his or her pictures to be different and edgy. When I shoot senior portraits, I can be more creative and crazy with my angles and poses than I can when I’m shooting a wedding, or family portrait. I can really pull from my background in fine arts photography, especially after the session when I’m editing.”

* A funny/interesting photography story?

“I once photographed a stripper’s wedding, but those stories aren’t appropriate for, well, anything. Aside from that whole fiasco, I once had a groom fall into a pond during an engagement shoot. He was a really good sport about it. No one laughed harder than his bride to be though. I can now warn all of my clients not to walk on rock ledges and to stay far, far away from the pond when we are changing locations around the pond. And telling the story is a great way to loosen clients up and get them laughing.”

* Photography tips or tricks?

“The biggest tip I can give is to not only look at photography, but to study it. Look at Imogene Cunningham, Garry Winogrand, Lee Friedlander, Yousuf Karsh, Walker Evans, Edward Weston, Minor White, Paul Strand, and Cartier-Bresson with his decisive moment… Study the old and study the new. Find local photographers that you admire. Join Facebook forums and follow blogs. See what people are doing now. Study their lighting and composition. Really narrow down and hone in on exactly what it is that you like about their style of photography. This is how you find inspiration and how you learn to grow in your own work. Understanding strong composition and what effect lighting and shadow can have on an image is worth more than any set of Photoshop actions.”

* Comments about your web site design?

“I don’t have a lot of free time. SmugMug makes it easy for me. I don’t have to have a separate website and photohosting site. I can upload my images to one place and set my own prices. It’s a huge time saver. I love that I can upload directly from Lightroom and that I can manage my galleries from my iPhone. SmugMug’s blog is a great resource, and their customer service is truly awesome! Although SmugMug makes it easy to customize your own site with their templates, JR Customization allowed me to make the specific tweaks and changes to make my site exactly what I wanted. Other designers wanted me to use a different web host and link back to the galleries… I love that I was able to keep everything with SmugMug.”

~ Jaimie

Visit Jaimie Nicole Krause Photography at Jaimie Nicole Krause Photography to take a look at Jaimie’s photos!