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No BS Photo Success Digital Photography Shop Talk
Today's Guest: Judy Cormier of Elementz of Fotographie in Toronto, Canada
Today's Host: John Bentley

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ANNOUNCER: Welcome to No BS Photo Success Digital Photography Shop Talk brought to you by NO BS Photo Success Photography Forum. Dedicated to the portrait and wedding photographer who has the passion and desire to grow. Now here's your host, John Bentley.

JOHN: Today on the No BS Photo Success Digital Photography Shop Talk, we have Judy Cormier of Elements of Photography joining us via telephone. Welcome to the program today, Judy.

JUDY: Thank you, John, I'm glad to be here.

JOHN: Well you have a photography business up in beautiful Ontario, Canada. Why don't you tell us a little bit about your business.

JUDY: Well, my business is going into it's 9th year. I initially started with just weddings. I've expanded to doing a lot more portrait work over the last two years. It's fully digital. I am it. I literally touch everything. I shoot the images, I process the images, I design the albums, I mean, basically the buck stops at me.

JOHN: Let's talk a little bit about your background. What kind of background in photography do you have?

JUDY: I am not a formally trained photographer. My background is actually business management. I have a degree in business and information management, and I worked in the corporate world up until 1999. And then at that point, I started exploring the photography side of my I guess you could consider an avid amateur. So I went out and I started shooting portrait sessions for friends and family. I did a couple of weddings for friends and family. I really enjoyed it. So I started the business, but I did go to night school so it took some courses so I'd have a further understanding of photography. Learning your equipment and learning about ISOs and Fstops and exposures and all that wonderful stuff that we all need to know as a photographer, and it kind of blossomed from there. I didn't really start out as a photographer that wasn't, obviously, what I thought I was ever going to do with my life. I actually thought I was going to be in the corporate world forever. It just didn't work out that way, and I'm actually really glad it didn't work out that way.

JOHN: Sure. Certainly the background in graphics is going going to help you in the post production isn't it?

JUDY: Yes, it does. A lot of what I did in going through the corporate world, I was involved in marketing and advertising, designing of brochures, putting together advent type product. So all of that has definitely translated to this, because I have an idea of the rules of design and how to best present my work which I think is a challenge for anybody new to this sort of thing, and that means I don't have to outsource what I do. I can do it all in house.

JOHN: Yes, certainly. That's a big advantage, isn't it.

JUDY: Yes, it is.

JOHN: Now you have a studio that you work out of. Tell us a little bit about your studio in Toronto. JUDY: Well it's a home based studio. I have always preferred that. I actually had an off site location for a year, and I came back to working at my home. I do some portrait sessions here at home, but it's mostly for meeting the clients, and everything else I do is on location.

JOHN: You had mentioned something in the pre-interview about you like to use natural light, don't you?

JUDY: Yes, I do. Very much so.

JOHN: What advantage does that give you as opposed to being in a totally enclosed and controlled light environment of a regular studio?

JUDY: Well it just has a different look. I don't know that it's necessarily an advantage. It has a particular look and feel to it that you can not get with studio lighting. That's why they're hard to duplicate it with studio lighting. And it can be manipulated any way I want which means that through the use of reflectors, I can direct the light whichever way I want it to go. So I'm not in a dark and closed environment. I find people like it because it's fresh and it feels homey and it they're used to that sort of thing, and maybe it's not quite make them as conscious about what you're doing with them, and it's especially important because one of the things that I do a lot in my studio is my budoire photography. So it's very important that they feel comfortable.

JOHN: Speaking of your budoire photography, you have some very nice photos on your website. Obviously, you have a real style, flair for kind of the fashion look. Tell us a little bit about your perspective on that kind of a photo session.

JUDY: You're talking specifically in relation to the budoire stuff, right?

JOHN: Yeah.

JUDY: I use as my inspiration fashion magazines and Max magazine and that sort of thing, and what I'm trying to do is I'm trying to give women a feeling of powerful and that they look terrific, and they love that idea of that glamour magazine sort of look. So I'm kind of injecting that into the budoire sessions. I think that's maybe what makes my style a little bit unique. I actually get all of my inspiration from fashion magazines, even for my wedding photography. It has really kind of worked well on the budoire side. I didn't particularly plan it that way, it just kind of developed that way.

JOHN: Well our listening audience can check out some of the wonderful photographs you have on your website. Why don't you give your website and contact information for us, Judy, before we take a break.

JUDY: Ok. My website is www.elementzoffoto.com and my email address is judy@elementzoffoto.com.

JOHN: And what about a phone number?

JUDY: Phone number is (416) 886-8240.

JOHN: Alright. We are in the studio with Judy Cormier. She is a photographer out of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Her business is the Elementz of Fototography, and you're listening to the No BS Photo Success Digital Photography Shop Talk. We will be right back after these important messages.

ANNOUNCER: This program is sponsored by NO BS Photo Success Photography Forum. Visit them on the web at www.nobsphotosuccess.com. NO BS Photo Success dedicated to the portrait and wedding photographer who has the passion and desire to grow.

ANNOUNCER: VTalk Radio.

ANNOUNCER: www.morephotos.com helps professional photographers manage their digital images online in over 20 countries. They can help you with domain names, websites, shopping carts, and online proofing solutions. Please visit them at www.morephotos.com. Mmorephotos.com the online sales solution for professional photographers worldwide. We now return you to the NO BS Photo Success Digital Photography Shop Talk show with your host, John Bentley.

JOHN: Welcome back to the NO BS Photo Success Digital Photography Shop Talk. We are in the studio via telephone with Judy Cormier. She is a photographer out of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Her business is the Elementz of Fototography, Welcome back to the program, Judy.

JUDY: Nice to be back.

JOHN: Now we've been talking about different Elements (pardon the pun) of your photography business. I know that a lot of photographers are heavily involved in the wedding industry. How big is that in your business?

JUDY: It's still probably, I would say, 70% of my business at this point. It was 100% up until about 2 years ago, and then I started growing the portrait side. So weddings are very important. They keep me going.

JOHN: Sure. I noticed that you take the same type of spin that you do on your glamour or budoire shots and kind of throw that into the wedding shots too, don't you?

JUDY: Yes, I do. Quite a bit. I guess I'm well known by my clients for not only being a photo journalist which is something that I do, but also in giving everything sort of that fashion magazine feel. I think it's part how I shoot it, and part how I process it.

JOHN: Well you have some very nice shots on your website, and that's not all you do though, is it?

JUDY: No. That's not all I do.

JOHN: What else do you do? You do some portraits?

JUDY: Yes, I do my portraits. I'm getting very heavily into maternity and children's portraiture. I do sort of a baby's first year thing which is three shots during their first year after they're born. And I do large family type coverage, but my style is a bit more what you call lifestyle type photography as opposed to traditional portraits.

JOHN: And you have some very nice family portraits on your site too. Let's talk about No BS Photo Success now. This is a wonderful website that aspiring photographers and the professionals can go to, isn't it?

JUDY: Yes it is. First of all, it's almost like a home, so to speak. It's like you can go in there, and you can sit down, have your coffee, and talk to other photographers, and it's a great way to meet other people that are in your industry which is fabulous, but it's also a way to...I like to think...give back to the photography industry a little bit. I mean, you learn and you learn and you take, but then you can also give back. So it's like a two way sort of street.

JOHN: It's kind of a nice community of photographers where you can throw some things out there and get some feed back on it, isn't it?

JUDY: Absolutely. You know you post your work and you look for critique and you really get a good idea of whether or not you're going in the right direction. For the new photographers starting out, I really wish I would have had this when I started.

JOHN: What is the biggest thing that No BS Photo Success has done for you?

JUDY: Well, I met Rob and James who are the masterminds behind No BS back about 5 years ago, and at the time, they were one of the few photographers that were shooting digital. And if it hadn't been for them, I never would have went digital.

JOHN: That's, I see the majority of the photographers are now doing digital. It just seems like the way to go, isn't it?

JUDY: Yes. It absolutely is. I mean, you know, it gives you much more freedom with your work. You can be so creative. You're not worrying about whether or not you're wasting a shot. You're just going to go for it and you're going to try it whereas when you were filming, you were a bit more leisurely, not leisurely, but careful about what you were shooting, because you didn't want to lose that frame. With digital you don't have to worry about it, ever.

JOHN: Now you said something to me during the break about the encouragement you get from Rob and James.

JUDY: Yeah, they really encouraged me to explore my creative side with digital. Like really get into it and see the potential that I had with my photography in digital. It was taking it way beyond what I was doing before, and moving into something that, honestly, I don't think I ever could have foreseen that I could have gotten to the level that I'm at now with my photography, and my processing skills without them. I couldn't have done it without them.

JOHN: So it's safe to say that the No BS Photo Success site has helped you in leaps and bounds, hasn't it?

JUDY: Yes, in a huge way. Technically and creatively.

JOHN: Well I hear that a lot from people that we interview. It's a wonderful site, and we certainly appreciate you joining us on the No BS Photo Success Digital Photography Shop Talk radio program.

JUDY: It was great. I really enjoyed it too. Thanks. Thanks for the invite.

JOHN: Yes, you're very welcome. Before we let you go, though, why don't you give your website address and contact information again, Judy.

JUDY: Ok. My website is www.elementzoffoto.com and my email address is judy@elementzoffoto.com and my phone number is (416) 886-8240.

JOHN: Once again we've had Toronto, Ontario, Canada, photographer, Judy Cormier, of Elementz of Fotographie joining us on No BS Photo Success Digital Photography Shop Talk radio program. I want to thank everybody for tuning in and have a great afternoon.

ANNOUNCER: No BS Photo Success Digital Photography Shop Talk is powered by www.vtalkradio.com. Radio for the 21st Century.



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