Photographer Spotlight: Tina Nitz
January 16, 2010 by Kim Hill
Filed under Photographer Spotlight
Tell us your name. Tina Nitz
Where do you live? St. Augustine, Florida
Please link us to your website. http://www.nitzphotography.com
Describe your area of expertise. Expertise – HA! I don’t consider myself an expert in anything, but I do specialize in maternity, newborns and babies. If I had to pick one of those three I’d say my newborn work is my strongest.
How long have you been a photographer? I’ve been a photographer since I can remember ! Way back in the day, I used to take my mom’s 110 camera and use a whole roll of film on a single flower, bug or whatever else caught my eye. She’d get so upset because I wasted a whole roll on one thing. I looked at it like I was shooting a bunch to get the perfect result. Did I? Probably not – I was like 10. But you are probably asking more from a professional standpoint. I’ve officially been a business for almost 6 years now.
What did you do before pursuing photography? Growing up I never said “I want to be a photographer when I grow up.” It changed frequently depending on what was of interest that year. But, after high school, I made the decision to hit the university for a degree in elementary education. I never quite finished. Along came the birth of my first son… and then a few years later a second son. Never went back and somehow I ended up as a photographer.
How would you describe your style? Simplistic.
Do you prefer to work in the studio, on-location, or both and why? I prefer to work in a studio with my “fake light” mostly because I can control it so much easier. I know it, I’m comfortable with it, and it works for me. Which is why I’m working on learning natural light out on location now – getting out of my little box.
What is your standby pose (the one that everyone tends to want from you)? EVERYONE wants the newborn sound asleep with the little legs/arms hanging over the side of the basket/bucket/chair. And lately the “fish bowl” shots are quite popular with the toddler moms.
Do you have a favorite tip or trick that always gets a smile from your young subjects? Every child is different and responds to different things. What works for one doesn’t work for another. So I guess I’ll have to say no I don’t really have a favorite trick that works. But I have a whole list of things I try to get those smiles and when I find something that works for that child I play off it for a while. Singing, laughing, talking silly, jokes for older ones, making fun of mom and dad’s “stinky feet” works VERY well for the 4-5 year olds. You just have to take cues from the child and keep working until you catch their attention.. then roll with it!
What gear is in your bag? Nikon…..always Nikon. I currently shoot with a D300 and 90% of the time I have my 85mm lens on. I’ll sometimes also shoot with my 50mm and then, if I’m feeling crazy, pull out the 105mm macro for some close ups (like those little bits on a newborn).
If you could only use one lens what would it be? 85mm of course
What is your go-to camera shop? I try to buy all my gear locally – and that happens to be at Ritz Camera. I like to keep my business local and support those around me. If they don’t have it B&H Photo here I come.
Which album company do you recommend? My session albums are the Addison Elite slip ins by J. Lee Albums.
What are your favorite props? I’m not big on a lot of props. But I do love me some hats!! And baskets!! My husband thinks I need to go to Hats and Baskets anonymous.
How do you stay motivated? By shooting for ME every once in a while. Whether by working with my own kids and doing something different or just getting in the car and driving around until I see something of interest. Sometimes even just sitting in the yard and snapping shots of the lizards. It’s so important to have time for yourself and to shoot for fun when you are running a business. Otherwise you’ll get burnt out and wanna scream!
What makes your job easy? The resulting images and the smiles on mom and dads faces when they come in to view and order. Makes chasing their toddler during the session or getting peed on by a newborn all worth it!
Do you fully process all the proofs you show to clients or do you show soft-proofs and then finalize once you know which images they will be ordering? Depends on how much editing is required. I pretty much process all proofs before they are shown to the client. Of course, a final once over is done before sending to the lab to get rid of little stray hairs and minor things that bug me but probably were not noticed by the client. For those times when some extensive detail work is needed during editing (such as a newborn with a bad case of baby acne) then I’ll work up a handful of my favorites completely to show clients what will be done before ordering. Then I do the major touch-ups before sending to the lab for them on the images they order.
If you could choose anyone to do a photo session of you and your family, who would your choose? Oh wow…..that’s a loaded question. You know I’m not really sure. I have so many photographers that I know and admire. I’m just not sure if I could choose just one.
If you were not a photographer, then…then my life would be pretty empty because I LOVE what I do.
What does photography mean to you? It means a lot and it always has. I’m a firm believer in capturing memories. Time goes by way too fast and kids grow up even faster. You never know what the future holds and having special images of the ones you love and hold dear is ever so important.
Best advice for new photographers breaking into the business? There are 3 major pieces of advice that I give to newcomers to the business:
- Have knowledge about photography itself. How to achieve proper exposure, white balance, etc. If you don’t know what a shutter speed is, then you might want to take a class or do some research online. LEARN all you can about photography before you go to the next step.
- Know your camera and how to use it properly.
- Price yourself fair to the clients and to your fellow photographers. Don’t undercut the established photographers in the area in order to gain business because, in the end, all it does it hurt the entire photography industry – and it doesn’t gain you great clients. Find your magic happy number and work backwards to find your fees.
Magazine must have? Professional Photographer is my favorite right now.
What’s your guilty pleasure? Reading, actually. I love to read. However I often feel guilty when I do because I know I could be doing other things either with the business or with housework, etc.
My weakness is…I have to have Dr. Pepper first thing after rolling out of bed in the morning. Sad, but true.
My strength is…Hmmm – I can tell you all about my flaws and issues, but ask me this and I get stuck.
Finish this quote: When it rains……it pours… LOL!
Who do you love? My hubby and my 2 boys.
Blog addiction… Nope – don’t really have one.
Tattoos… Ick.. no. Not on me. But they are fun to photograph on dad’s with newborns!
MAC or PC… PC
80’s Music… Yes!!!
What’s on your iPod? I actually do not own an iPod. Sad, isn’t it?
Morning or night? NIGHT!
On my day off… … and the boys are at school.. I like to curl up with my kitty and read a good book.
Thank you Tina for sharing a bit of yourself with us. I’m sure our readers will enjoy your work as much as I have.
