Meet Gretchen McFarland…a wonderful boudoir photographer and an AMAZING MOM!
I was so excited to interview Gretchen McFarland, a Boudoir Photographer from North Carolina. She attended a CONFIDENCE Workshop last November and look where her business is now! She took the leap and never looked back. Yay Gretchen!  We will be “talking” with Gretchen in the SOARority forum tomorrow night, Thursday, Oct. 19th from 5-7pm PST. If you were ever wondering how to get into the area of Boudoir photography, this is one you won’t want to miss. Obviously, she is also very focused and knows how to line up her Business Agenda and stick to it!
Q. When did you start your business and what was the turning point of taking it from a hobby to a business of charging people?
If you had told me a few years ago that I would be photographing women in their knickers every day, I would have told you that you were bananas.  I never intended to start a photography business.  It just happened. Boudoir photography developed naturally for me.  The business aspect unfolded and I needed to grab it by the reins.
Q. What inspires your photography? What made you fall in love with photography?
I have a strong ballet background.  It surprises me how much this reflects in my work.  Ballet trained my eye to want to create soft lines and shadows.  Intrinsically, women know how to move their bodies with grace.  I truly believe
this. Â Being behind the camera simply gave me the opportunity to capture what I see.
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On a light and fluffy note, I’m also a girly girl so boudoir photography gives me an open door to redecorate whenever I am staging a shot!  I can’t redecorate my house regularly, but I can redecorate a wall to make an outfit look fabulous!  I’ve even been known to buy set accessories to match a client’s outfit.
Q. What inspires you as a person, artist?
Well, that is a loaded question!  Tune in Thursday on the SOARORITY Forum from 5-7pm PST, where I will answer this one.
Q. What is one or two pieces marketing/self-promotion ideas that you can give our newbies?
One thing I have always done is photograph other established photographers… gratis (no stones please!)  I’m flattered when another photographer asks me to take her boudoir photos.  It gives us a genuine opportunity to get to know one another.  I would also say that about 40% of my referrals come from those same photographers.  I have never regretted doing this.  Word of mouth is a boudoir photographer’s best friend.
Q. If you are not behind the camera photographing fantastic people, what might we find you doing?
Oh my goodness, do I have a character limit for this?  We live a pretty chaotic lifestyle that is full of travel, homeschooling, horses, theater, music, dance, and craziness, in general.  The McFarland’s have never been a family to shy away from an adventure.  We can be a noisy bunch too!  We love our lives this way.  I can’t remember the last time we were bored.
Q. What is one of the best things you have done for the success of your business?
One of the smartest things I did early in this venture was realize that boudoir has its appropriate time and place.  For example, I make a strict business practice of never combining boudoir images with those of children through links, posts etc.  (This is why you don’t see images of my girls here!)  Also, recognizing that this market is entirely different than wedding and family photography markets.  Branding, marketing and pricing are 100% unique.  The clientele demographic narrows and you need to know how to reach them. Join us Thursday in the forum and I will talk more about this.
Q. What are the classes/workshops/DVDs/books or websites that you’ve watched or read to teach yourself photography? Were they helpful?
I love the CreativeLive series.  I’m a huge fan of Bambi Cantrell and she contributes greatly to this network.  Skip’s Summer School (Skip Cohen) was also great for tackling real world marketing strategies.  Oh, and Zach Arias!  I love his no fluff approach to lighting.  His OneLight workshop is the next on my list.  Hopefully, I’ll be attending his next Atlanta series!
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May I take a moment here to give a shout out to my CONFIDENCE Workshop NYC5 Girls?  Honestly, these women have become my heart.  They aren’t afraid to tell me when I could have done something better and I love them for this.  They are my “go to” girls when I need advice, constructive criticism or need to vent.  We have all been spreading our wings and have been trying to find our little place in the world since our workshop together.  The talent that is surfacing from these women is astounding…sniff sniff…
  
Q. What type of camera equipment did you have when you first started shooting portraits? And what have you added to your camera bag since then?
My first DSLR was a Rebel xsi.  I never intended to start a photography business with this camera.  I only wanted to figure out what to do with all of those little buttons!  Early on, I was asked to second shoot a magazine layout based on some prior work.  Sheepishly, I arrived with my Rebel.  The first shooter eyeballed it and I nervously created a lame excuse about my “real camera” being loaned to a friend.  I knew I would have to bump up my gear if I wanted to play with the Big Dogs… quickly.  So, I did!  Now, my 5D MarkII and I are in a committed relationship.  I call my 24-70 2.8L my Work Lens and my 70-200 2.8L is my Kid Chaser, as that is what I primarily use while shooting for my family and myself.  I also have a studio, so I’m adding lighting equipment as well.
Thank you so much Gretchen! Again, Join us tomorrow night for Boudoir “talk” in the SOARority forum Ask and Learn Session from 5-7pm PST.
Have a great day!
Wendy (Your SOAR! Coordinator)
Wendy (Your SOAR! Coordinator)
p.s.
Winter CONFIDENCE Workshops are happening on East and West Coast! Early Bird Registration and our Payment Plan is going on now! (Christmas is looking REAL GOOD for some special ladies!)  CLICK HERE to find the city nearest you and get ALL the juicy details!
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OMG!!! You ARE an amazing woman. Who would have know that after our reunion weekend you would SOAR to amazing heights. You figured out what the heck to do with the soft box and ran with it. Your work is fantastic! Now you are my inspiration for my photography revelation. It’s amazing how fulfilling your work becomes when you let go of all the mental junk weighing you down. Thank you MeRa for your workshop because I would never have met this woman I have grown to know and love.
Now get here to Texas so we can giggle over cowboys and boy shorts.
Luv ya lots.
Marcia
GRETCHEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!
look at you! awesome Q&A post & of course I love the images. you’re amazing & doing amazing things & I can’t wait to hear you type in the forum. we need to get together sometime soon & play with our cameras. love you, lady! so glad we met at the mera workshop. xoxo KRISTEN
~Rock on Gretchen!!,
totally looking forward to reading your answers on the forum
YAY! I’ve had some questions for you that I won’t feel like a “goob” emailing you out of the blue now!! 🙂 I can’t wait!
Girl. You know how I feel about you and this rocks my world…just like you do! I hope to get down there this Spring so you can make me feel fabulous! 🙂
Gretchen!
You are so wonderful! Your work is wonderful!! It is obvious how beautiful you make your subjects feel. You are lovely inside and out and your artistry is inspiring. mmmwwwaaaaa!
Fantastic work and it sounds like you have some real nuggets to share regarding how to understand our target markets…it’s very powerful stuff! I’m inspired!!
You are one amazing woman and I am SO happy that we met at Me Ra’s NYC workshop! I knew the minute I talked to you that we would be friends and I am forever grateful to you for that.
You have bloomed so much with you business and I couldn’t be happier for you! Your work is amazing! I am so proud of you!
You rock sista! xoxoxo
gretchen – thank you! i love that your background in ballet is a grounding element of your style and approach. can’t wait to see and learn more tomorrow night!
Thank you so much! These last few years have been a whirlwind, that’s for sure! I’m very flattered that I was asked to do this and I thank MeRa and Wendy for this opportunity.
Marcia, Kristen, Lisa, Jane and Marla – Love ya’ll!
Hope to “see” you tonight!
Gretchen
Great work Gretchen!!! Can’t wait to see where your passion & dedication take you!!!
XOXO!
Your skills and wonderful personality will take you where you want to be. Way to go!
Trudy
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gretchen your images are beautiful! so glad i went to the boudoir divas so i could meet you!! how cool you are featured on me ra koh?!?!? wow, way to work it girl!
Gretchen is amazing!!!!!!! I love that you are featuring her and her work!
Gretchen, your work is amazing and you are so real! I know for a fact that I would be comfortable in front of your camera after reading this and I’m sure all of your clients share that same feeling. I can’t wait to hear everything you have to say!
Go ahead Gretchen!!! You are so talented, I’m so excited to see where your photography takes you!
Thanks for your Q&A today Gretchen!
You’re welcome, Ajira! You girls are a riot! It took me forever to type and answer questions because I was laughing so much.
Hence, I stayed up late answering more of the questions too. (I couldn’t leave a job unfinished!) So, you might want to check back on the forum!
Hugs,
Gretchen