Adelaide Photographer – Sweet Chilli Philly Photography

This weeks business spotlight is Jodie from Jodie Greck Photography. Jodie is located on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia so if you are located there then make sure to check out her work, it really is beautiful.

I’ll leave you with an image of Jodie’s and here is her interview for you to read. I will announce the winner of the product competition towards the bottom of this post.

Question One: What made you decide to start a business and how did you start this journey of owning your own business:

Good question philly ) Ive always had a passion for photography & art, as a teenager I was always posing my 2 yr old siblings against walls with a bike of some sort come to think of it, I was that obsessive with it all that everyone would roll their eyes at me hahahha..

I’d have to say though in all seriousness that it really started for me when I had my own children about 5 yrs ago.. I eventually bought my 1st SLR which was a Cannon 400d (love that camera) and just continually shot images of my Baby and Tott’s.

Family & friends saw the images I took of my boys & asked wether I would take images of their children -where it all snowballed from there )

I continually sourced out Photography blogs and forums to learn anything & everything I could to develop this passion I had into a profession. I also did 2 online workshops through Sheye Rosemeyer which really helped me grasp the functions of my camera & how to apply these in our surrounding environments..

I am a HANDS on person Not a book reader I would of never have passed uni ” haha” – So after about 2 yrs of doing all these things – Jodie Greck Photography evolved & here we are today!!

Question Two: Tell us about your business and what you offer.

I am a natural Light photographer I specialise in newborn photography, tott’s photography & wedding photography!
I offer unique photographic sessions with my clients & cater to each individuals needs.. I have never had 2 sessions that were in any way similar!
Jodie Greck Photography  offers  ” relaxed, stylish, & modern portraiture to those individuals looking for a unique experience )

The style of products we have on offer are “stylish boutique products ” which all my clients are proud to display in their homes.
I order these boutique products from the states as I haven’t found the quality & style that I love over here in Australia, this also allows me to offer the products at reasonable prices.

Question Three: Have you faced any challenges and in what way do you think this has helped you and your business grow?

I would have to say confidence was a big issue at the beginning phase of my business… But once I put my business out their & begun producing consistent products & services to my clients,
my business took off in leaps & bounds as customers would reconfirm this to all their friends & family & business associates.

Word of mouth advertising is much more powerful than any print advertisement as it has been an experience for someone to share..

Question Four: What is your biggest goal you wish to achieve with your business in the next 5 years?

The biggest goal would be to have the business take off even further to have this passion of mine turn into a full time venture as my sole income provider.

Working from home part – time in the studio that my husband & I have built from scratch has been my dream come true- I can’t really ask for any more in regards to the direction  that Jodie Greck Photography has headed .. However we plan to make that dream even BIGGER!!!

Question Five: If you could give one piece of advice to someone starting a business what would you tell them?

I would tell them to think carefully about BRANDING their business I would advise not to get a pre-made logo or branding that they see that they  will only be happy with for now , ask will your business outgrow that brand? However if you do decided to go with the pre-made branding be sure that you will be happy with that brand for the duration of your business.

This way you are not changing your look, you are keeping consistency within your business & customers value consistency in a business which they will invest in…

I totally believe in having a graphic designer that understands your wishes for your business & works hard with you in having a brand that describes your business visually across the board – I have a graphic designer that has worked with me to get my my consistent branding & I just LOVE it!!!

I am very pleased to announce today’s winner of the complimentary product photography! This will entitle them to a session with Sweet Chilli Photography for their products/business and to 10 digital negatives on CD which can be used for marketing for your business. I haven’t included the comments that aren’t for business when I counted.

Anyway I am so excited to announce that Labs ‘n Life have won the competition for this package! I look forward to meeting this business and to see what we can come up with in the future!

Thanks so much to everyone that has entered the competition, you all have wonderful business and I wish I could photograph all of them!

Instead I am offering a special introduction package for business. You can have a session with Sweet Chilli Philly Photography for $100 and can purchase digital negatives for your marketing for $45 per file (This is strictly for businesss only) Feel free to email me at ssmoke@adam.com.au for further information. This special is valid September 31sr.

I’m feeling a generous tonight and would love to give away a complementary session along with 2 8×12 prints, the session can be for anything…whether maternity, newborn, babies, children or families…

To enter this competition I would love you to leave a comment on this blog and I will draw a random comment from random.org…

Make sure to comment between 7pm and 8pm and the comment must have some sort of meaning and can’t be a one worded comment.

Some rules do apply:

1. You must reside in Adelaide (travel time over 40 min may incur a travel fee)

2. You cannot have won a prize already or already have a session booked (this includes casting calls)

3. There is a 6 month expiry on the prize and date will be from the date the winner is announced.

4. Package is not redeemable for cash.

5. You must claim this prize and email (ssmoke@adam.com.au) me within 24 hours from wining the prize. If prize is not claimed it will go to the next person on the list.

6. You cannot win this for a friend (the friend must take part in the competition themselves (I have decided to do this to make it fair on everyone).

7. You cannot enter more than once.

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Wow I can’t believe we are in November already, hasn’t this year sped along so fast! Since this year is coming to close I have decided to have an awesome competition to ring in the brand new year!

It could be your chance to win a 16×24 Fine Art Canvas worth $310!

So how can you win this great prize?

Book a photography session in either January or Febuary in 2010 and on Febuary 28th I will draw a winner of the free 16×24 Canvas which will have an image from the session (of your choice) put onto canvas. This is not for sessions already booked in 2009 and all sessions must be had by Febuary 26th 2010.

To book a session you can either email ssmoke@adam.com.au or you can call me on 0433943775

I just thought I would tell you the fabulous news that I have made it into the Centro Smile Photography competition as a finalist! Now it’s up to the peoples vote to become a local winner so if you are feeling kind enough you can vote online here: Centro voting form.  The photo you need to vote for is at Centro Arndale in SA and it is number 16 (or number 1 in store) and the photo is called Flying high (which I thought would be the perfect title)

It’s actually one of my favourite family session photos too, just look at the joy in his face, certainly brings a smile to my face!

Thanks again for all your ongoing support and don’t forget when you vote online you also go into the draw to win a $5000 shopping spree! How awesome would that be!

First of all I would like to thank all those entered my competition and shared their stories with me! It was an honour for you to let me into your lives and to see you favourite photos.

It was definitely a hard choice to choose the winners as there was so many awesome entries!

First off we have Suzy with her entry:

“My favourite photo is my fiancé and our son, who sadly passed away aged just two months old, the only thing we have left now is photos of our beautiful child.”

Thanks so much for sharing your touching memory with me, it touched a very special part of me and I thought very deserving of first prize.

2nd prize goes to Liz:

“anzac day, old & young together.  i like this photo because it just looking at it you can see how much they love each other”

Thanks so much for telling me about this photo Liz, such as beautiful photograph and so very much Australian!

and last but not least 3rd prize goes to Renee

Thanks Renee for sharing this photograph of how you conquered your fear of heights, what an amazing accomplishment! If only I could conquer my fear of spiders!

“And why is it my favourite?  I overcame my fear of heights to climb this lighthouse with my 2yo – her looking up in awe is something I’ll never forget.”

Thanks once again for entering and I will be in touch with you soon as to how you can collect your prizes.
Of course I can’t leave this post without posting my favourite photo of the week! Doesn’t Ethan look so little! Not so little anymore but he definitely has his very own little personality!

Guess what! The weekend is almost here so that must mean that it’s Friday! So here is my favourite photo for you today. I did this session a few months ago for a gorgeous family and their eldest little girl was a bit shy when I first met her but I like a challenge and so managed to bring her out of her shell. Once that was done she was full of giggles and laughter and I enjoyed seeing her shine in the viewfinder . Another aspect of my job that I love  is getting to know the families and it’s great to get down to the kids level and interact with them and see the world from their viewpoint. Gosh I love my job so much!

Also don’t forget you only have one week left for the competition! You until the 28th of August (next Friday) to email me at ssmoke@adam.com.au with your favourite photo and I also want you to tell me in 25 words or less why it’s your favourite. First prize will receive a complimentary session with me or may choose a package with $100 off! How awesome is that! Second prize will receive a $20 gift voucher from Coles Myer and 10% off my session fees/packages and third prize will receive 10% off my session fees packages!

Entrants must reside in Adelaide, South Australia and have only 12 months to use their prizes (Coles Myer voucher may be different).  Winners will be notified by email and both photo and entry will be displayed on my blog.

I have received some awesome entries so far but would love to see more!

There is on thing that I love about photography and looking at the photos afterwards and thats the eyes, the saying that the eyes are the mirrors to the soul comes to mind when I look at my subjects eyes and see the light sparkling in them. There is nothing better than seeing  you captured in their eyes as they watch you or their mind so far away makes you wonder what they are thinking.

The photo below is my favourite for this week and it really has been a firm favourite of mine (so much so that I have it framed and up on my wall). This was taken of Ethan when he was just under 12 months old and it it certainly a photograph that leaves me breathless everytime I look at it.

Also don’t forget that there is only two weeks left for your chance to win a free photography sitting or a $20 gift card so make sure to get your entry in by August 21st by 12 noon! Please see COMPETITION to see all the details.

Yes it’s that time again…it’s Friday! Apart from having my favourite photo of the day for you I also have an awesome competition for you to enter! So you have from now until the 28th of August to email me at ssmoke@adam.com.au with your favourite photo and I also want you to tell me in 25 words or less why it’s your favourite. First prize will receive a complimentary session with me or may choose a package with $100 off! How awesome is that! Second prize will receive a $20 gift voucher from Coles Myer and 10% off my session fees/packages and third prize will receive 10% off my session fees packages!

Entries must reside in Adelaide, South Australia and have only 12 months to use their prizes (Coles Myer voucher may be different).  Winners will be notified by email and both photo and entry will be displayed on my blog.

Anyway to finish off here is my favourite for today. One of my most favourite sessions is newborns and as challenging as it is I just love to photograph them, all that newness to the world and that baby smell is just divine!