Small Business Spotlight // Liz Fogarty of Elizabeth Fogarty Photography

I don't typically blog at night since don't all the experts say it's best to blog early in the morning on weekdays? Well, blah blah blah. It's time to make an exception. My friend Liz Fogarty is not only hosting her very first fine art photography workshop but she's decided to offer a huge registration discount via a flash sale. The 24-hour sale was scheduled to end tonight but I just talked her into extended it until tomorrow night along with a little Q&A session with me. Her love and passion for her craft are apparent and I just think everyone should get to know her!

You see, the first time I ever worked with Liz was on a Valentines Day styled shoot and I knew immediately that she was special. We shot at a private home where the lighting that day was far from ideal and we didn't exactly have our choice of furniture to use either. Instead of having a bad attitude and quickly shooting to get it over with and move on with her Saturday, Liz refused to give up. She moved furniture from room to room and we're talking up and down flights of stairs even! She voiced her opinion on lighting and where exactly we needed to shoot which involved unexpectedly emptying out bedrooms of the family that lived there. Awkward? Yes. But ultimately the right thing to do. She cares deeply about her art and it shows. I'm dying for you all to learn more about her and if you haven't already, jump on this flash sale and get registered! You won't regret it.

Oh and by the way, did I mention Marigold & Grey is designing the workshop attendee gifts? So excited!

1/ Tell us a little about yourself and how you got into wedding photography?

I feel like there is nothing really special or glamorous about my story. I never loved photography as a kid. You won’t find any pictures of little me holding a camera. In high school I skipped all the art classes and never took a photography class. I actually thought the kids who carried those big cameras in high school were kind of dorky (sorry guys).  I was actually a biochemistry major- surprise! I worked in lab and always thought I would go to medical school. Today I can’t stand the look of blood so I guess I made the right career choice. I got accepted into University of Maryland Pharmacy School after I graduated, but since I was in debt and still considered out of state, I decided to take a break.

During that break I met a wonderful guy named Gavin and decided on forever with him in 2012 (minor detail). At that point I was still thinking of going back to school for a masters in science. That is, until my friend Jon sold me his Nikon D90. It was my first time holding a DSLR and I was instantly hooked. I just LOVED taking pictures of everything. At that point, I knew nothing. So I immersed myself in everything photography. I read tons of blogs, watched lots of tutorials, and pretty much taught myself. I was still working at a construction office as a secretary so during downtime I practiced on office supplies like the stapler and pens. I hope my old boss is not reading this (oops). So I pretty much taught myself how to shoot on manual mode. From then on, I carried my camera everywhere. My first subjects were family members, the hubs, and my dog Oodles.

2/ Your career has taken off very early on. What do you attribute your quick success to?

I am grateful first and foremost that the Lord has blessed my business. I absolutely love what I do and sometimes it's still surreal that I actually get to do this for a living. The main thing that helped was finding my style very early on. This helps my work be very cohesive. My brides tell me they love how bright and warm my images are. I also hate posed and awkward pictures. My goal is to capture lots of candids and real smiles and my clients really appreciate that too.

3/ What do you love the most about shooting a wedding?

Where do I even start?!? There is so much emotion on a wedding day and I love to capture it all. I actually feel honored to be the one to make memories for my brides and grooms. It's such a big deal. I get to tell their wedding day story. And one day their kids will look at my pictures and glance at mom and dad's happiest day of their lives.

4/ Why did you decide to do your first workshop?

I have waited a while to finally put a workshop together. I am finally ready to teach other photographers and to help this local community of wedding photographers. I feel like I have found my voice. I also feel like this industry can be very competitive and lonely at times so I want to help create a community of photographers who help each other out.

5/ What's the agenda for the day?

We will start at 9am with the teaching part. During this part, I will go over running a business, posing, finding the right light, shooting details, and finding your target market. We will take a quick break for lunch and head over to the styled shoot after that. During that portion I will go over how I pose my couples in a natural way and my approach to get those fine art images. After the shoot, I will show how I edit my images and put a blog post together. I am SO excited!!!

6/ What do you look forward to teaching your attendees?

I most look forward to teaching my attendees to value their art. We are in an area saturated with photographers so we can get desperate for work and consequently are tempted to cheapen our art. But I want to help my attendees find their target market and wait for their perfect clients. I want them to not be scared to dream big.

7/ Give us a little hint on your vision for the styled shoot?

I am so excited for what Jenna from Pop the Cork Designs is cooking up for us. One little hint I am giving is that we will be incorporating lavender into our shoot since at our venue, Springfield Manor, there is a field of Lavender. That's all I'm saying!

I just love Liz! Are you planning a workshop? I would love to design welcome gifts for your guests!

Note: Valentines Day styled shoot mentioned above featured on Bayside Bride as well as The DC Ladies.