For this month’s FBN Spotlight, we asked Ronnie Tierney to describe her work, changes in her trade, and her experiences before moving back to Flagstaff.
Q. Describe Fresh Focuses Photography for people who are not familiar with your work.
To describe my business I’d have to take a brief breeze to the past. In 2004 I was working for a design firm in Napa,CA where we lived at the time. Due to the economic effects of 911, the firm down-sized and I was laid off. I knew exactly what my next step would be….photography. I was doing a lot of cycling (my husband, Dan, and I put more miles on our bikes than our cars in fact) and had been taking pictures all over Napa Valley from my bike. Everywhere I rode my little Olympus point-n’-shoot was at my side.
While in Napa, we lived across the street from my husband’s work, Silverado Resort, so I also started taking pictures of the resort and especially its 36 hole golf course. We had access whenever we wanted, so I would jump in our golf cart and get some incredible morning fog pictures. Down the street from our home was William Hill Winery so I shot a lot of their vineyards. Lots of times I’d ride my bike up Atlas Peak (the street we lived on) and coming down I’d stop every 20 feet capturing the beautiful valley views.
When I stated Fresh Focuses Photography my impetus was to take these landscape pictures and manufacture magnets, bookmarks, and greeting cards with Biblical Scriptures. So I did. I got a business loan and bought a new Nikon SLR and all kinds of supplies. A friend who had lost her husband gave me all of his Nikon equipment which included some pricey prime and zoom lenses. I sold my products to friends and set up booths at conferences and shows. Then I had a request to photograph a wedding. The pictures were beautiful. Before long another wedding came along, then real estate shots, portraits and more weddings.
We moved back to Flagstaff in 2011 and within months I was contracted to shoot a wedding at Desert View at the Grand Canyon, it was the first licensed wedding at that venue. It was a really fun shoot. I also had the blessing of a Sedona wedding, Arizona Snowbowl and several others.
One of my tag lines is, “Patience, Professional, Passionate & Personal”, my goal for every client is to uphold these decrees. Another tag line is, “Precious is God’s Eyes”, because I believe that everyone has a good side and can be photographed beautifully.
Recently I purchased space at the new Touch of Comfort Massage and Art Gallery located off San Francisco and Birch in downtown Flagstaff. I sell my products and fine art prints.
Q. How has technology changed the business of photography?
While studying photography at NAU, I loved it so much I turned our extra bedroom into a darkroom. I photographed my husband hang gliding and published a lot of pictures in the local newspapers and magazines. I spent hours in the darkroom and loved the fact that I could take a picture and hours later have it produced in print.
Then came the digital era. One of the best changes for me is that I can shoot a picture over to the newspaper via email in seconds. Today’s technology also allows us to tweak our images so that our logos/copyright are embedded, size appropriately and create true black and white images.
I still spend hours in the digital darkroom but it’s more that I “want to” and not that I “have to”. I just love Photoshop. It was hard to learn and digest some of the actions and there’s always more to learn but I love it and I find it relaxing and fun. While I was in Napa I took classes at Santa Rosa Junior College and obtained a training certificate in Adobe Photoshop, it’s a great offering to my clients.
Q. Taking photographs is an activity important to many people. What is the experience of being a professional photographer?
Well, it sure is fun when I shoot for fun…I take my camera everywhere with me and I love photographing the world around me…all the time. Then there’s the work side of it. I still love it but there’s an added level of stress, especially weddings. You have to have back up to the back up…extra cameras, flash, chargers and the best equipment. You have to be fast, strong, personable, possess multi-task skills, be quick-witted, acute, fast on your feet, creative and be organized. Professional photography takes more time and planning than people realize. As a Christian, I pray before my gigs, and often ask friends to pray for me.
The general populace has this opinion that a professional photographer can take a picture upload and voila, job is done. Not so. The photoshoot is just the beginning of work.
I manipulate every photo I take, be it sharpening, taking out obstructions, softening skin, changing color balance or adding a creative edge…it can be time-consuming. Scouting location shoots is also a must. Studio photography is also fun but takes a lot of set up and break down.
Quite a few years ago I booked a wedding with a handsome couple. When I met them the groom had a hat on. Their wedding was to be held midsummer with noonday sun. When I got to the venue, which was outside, low and behold the groom had his hat off…he was mostly bald. Sure, I could have given him pictures with a bright spot on his head, but instead I worked on every shot. It was worth it, the pictures were gorgeous! This is one reason you should hire a professional.
I recently added a new service to my offerings, “wedding revamps.” It’s a service provided for those couples who couldn’t afford a professional so they had a friend or relative photograph. What I do is take photos of your wedding and spruce them up using tools and filters in Photoshop.
Q. Share a story with us about something interesting that has happened to you along the way.
A lady in Napa who liked my products begged me to go to attend an arts and craft show in Dixon, California. It was for motorcycle’s enthusiasts and what I was doing there, I’ll never know, but there I was buried among other vendors who were selling motorcycle paraphernalia. Most people passed my booth by, a few stopped but didn’t purchase anything.
I was feeling pretty discouraged, then toward the end of the day this lady approached my booth and picked up one of my prints. It was a picture of my husband riding up a steep hill in Colorado along with the Scripture¸´I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith,” from 2Timothy 4:10
She picked up the picture and tears welled in her eyes. She said this picture reminded her of her son who was a mountain cyclist. He had recently passed away. The Scripture, she said, gave her great comfort and joy, I could see it all over her face. Though that was my only sale (which I reduced to half off) I left that show feeling as if I had made thousands of dollars.
Q. What advice might you give someone just starting out?
Spare the pompous, “I’m a photographer” attitude and save the energy to become educated. Learn Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom, study great photographers but at the same time, know your style and go with it. It’s a competitive field, but don’t build walls with other photographers, instead respect their work and do your best to be the best you can be. If you know that you know that this is the field that you want to pursue, then give it all you got. On your down time market yourself. Charge what you’re worth but on the other hand, bless people and lower your prices every now and then to help others out. Donate your time to charities’ and such.
Contact info:
Fresh Focuses Photography
V. Ronnie Tierney
(928) 774-7928
(707) 738-6369
flagstaffphotographer@gmail.com or napaphotographer@gmail.com
Touch of Comfort Art Gallery & Gifts
120 North San Francisco
Flagstaff, AZ 86001