Inspiring Interview with Christie Hobson

Where do I even begin with Christie of Christie Hobson Photography…first of all, we grew up swimming competitively together and somehow became reconnected about 2 years ago on photography forum, very cool, right?!  Just goes to show, everyone really is a photographer these days, LOL!  I have watched Christie grow into one of the most amazingly talented photographers I know over the past couple years and that says a lot because I know quite a few awesome photographers!  The best part about Christie is her personality, she is insanely hilarious and just overall gives a warm, welcoming vibe about herself.  I think this 100% show in her work and I adore the connection, the serenity and the love that shines through her images.

I realized last night as I was prepping her interview for the blog that she “forgot” to send me a picture of herself to include.  I, of course, promptly emailed her telling her to send it over and she replied “just post a picture of Shrek” in it’s place.  She is crazy too, obviously.  HAHA.  Christie is totally gorgeous and so is her family, check them out!

What Christie has to say about herself:  I live in Orange County, California and am mom to 3.5 kiddos … Jake (10), Grace (7) Nathan (4) and Scout (furry).  Married to my best friend for 9 years.  I photograph mainly newborns and families, and watch a lot of Bravo TV.

1. If there was one thing you would want us to know about you, what would it be?

Oh geeze, one thing?  Ummmmm … I love laughter.  Sometimes when I laugh too hard, for too long, I start crying.  Not a few tears running down my face; but the full on ugly-face-someone-get-her-a-kleenex-omg-what-is-wrong-with-her-?-cry.    My husband is the master of eliciting this response in public places.  It is probably symptomatic of needing heavy medication.

Really hard to choose, I love different ones for different reasons.  This is an oldie I shot a few years ago, but I love it still.  These two brothers were a handful; running and jumping all over the place.  Suddenly they went from bouncing on their beds and screaming, to quietly chatting on their dresser, like they had forgotten I was there.  I love photos that make you feel like fly on the wall.

The idea of working from home, on my own easy hours, and making loads of money!

Bahahahaha!  Oh, man … hang on … gotta stop laughing … aaaaaah … I probably started out like many others, taking photos of my kids.  ALL.  THE.  TIME.  And it was fun for me; I loved capturing a stage/moment that would never happen again.  Gradually, people began to ask me to do the same for them.   It wasn’t like, “Whoo, Jimminy!  I’m gonna be a photographer!”  It was a long mildly torturous educational process.

I have been taking paid clients for just over two years.  Transitioning to professional … This was VERY hard for me, as I am sure it is for lots of people.  I would probably not recommend doing it the way I did (i.e. work a lot for free forever, never see family, speak to Photoshop as though it is living at 2 am because you are so delirious).  What I WISH I had done … set full pricing right away, and had “special” pricing during the portfolio building phase … would have saved me many headaches along the way.

Both newborn and family sessions.  If I have six newborn sessions in a row, I am super excited to shoot a family session.  If I have shot lots of families consecutively, I feel excited and refreshed for a newborn session.

Family sessions are fun because each one is so different; and yet they all want the same thing …  photos that say how much they adore each other.  Love that.  Newborn sessions are a lot of work, but I love getting to be a small part of the most amazing time for families.  They are handing you their days old everything, and asking you to help make sure they remember it all.  Pretty humbling.

On average, 4 to 6.  Fall is crazier.  I try to stay very part time, since I have three kids who keep me pretty busy.  They would probably argue with the part-time statement, but I try to keep a balance.

All of them!  Honestly, I remember every single session.  I crack up at these emails: “Hi, Christie, it’s Sue … Tommy’s mom, you photographed us two years ago?”  I knew exactly who it was when I saw her name in my inbox.  I remember that Tommy is partial to Pokemon, and laughs when you sing the ABCs all mixed up.  All of my sessions are different, fun and memorable.

Self-taught sounds weird because there was definitely a lot of help along the way.  No formal training though.  I took a photo class in high school, but ditched a lot because I really liked this boy and … well  (… sorry, mom ….).  Anyway, I learned a lot online and on a few forums, and sincerely appreciate every person who has taken time to help me grow.  It was definitely not a solo effort, there are so many good and generous people out there, who helped me along.

My clients.  They each inspire me to shoot something just a little different than my last session.

I shoot with a Canon 5D Mark ii, and the 24-70L almost all the time.  I only have that lens and a 50 1.4 which is awesome as well … when it works, ha!

RAW.  For security purposes. 

I still use Photoshop, though I’d love to learn Lightroom.  I sort and star images in Bridge, synch all the exposures and white balance in ACR, and the finish in CS4.

Ack, that’s hard … obviously the whole do it right/get things in order/price accordingly spiel … but I want to offer positive too.    This is an amazing job.  Don’t ever forget why you started this.  There is a reason you were drawn to providing keepsakes for families, and I promise it wasn’t because you know how to get good bokeh. You might lose sight of the good stuff when you are editing at 1:00 am, rushing to place orders in between soccer practices, or removing dog hair from the packing tape as you wrap up orders to get them to UPS on time.  So much of it is not glamorous or fun.  But when you get an email or note from a happy client, it is like a rush-to-the-tummy burst of joy.  I keep those emails in a folder and read them when I am spent or down on my work.  Helps to keep my head up. 

The best part, hands down, are the people I photograph.  The other day I started a blog post, and began with writing about how much I love my clients … I realized I had started 429 other posts the same way, and changed it, so I didn’t sound like a brown-nosing Pollyanna.  But it is true, they are the best part of this job.

The worst part is always being “on.”  If a client wants a line changed on their birth announcement at 9:00pm on a Sunday, or they want to see a different crop of image X,  I feel the need to deliver that new proof asap.  Sometimes you just want a break from emails and phone calls and packaging and ordering and editing … did I mention I am part-time?

Ack, loaded question!   I am inspired by the work of all the usual suspects, but try not to spend too much time looking at photo blogs, because it makes me feel all lousy about my work.  Ha!

Photographer, always.  Professional, not sure.  I’d like to say yes, but you never know.

I used to feel almost guilty for not knowing what my photographic “style” was.  Seriously, I would stress out, like “this blog post looks different than the last, I am a sham!”  I got over it.  I like different styles, and I like to try different things.  The same week I swore off seamless paper, I bought a roll and loved the simplicity of it.  I love a carefully posed newborn, and I love a newborn wearing a onesie on the bed and jamming her fist in her mouth.   I like a studio portrait of a child with a serious smirk, and I like a photo of a kid running and laughing even though she is barely in focus.  If anything, I do think I have a light, happy style, and I love photos with a bit of humor.  They are always my favorite from a session.

Crunchy shredded beef tacos.  I am a sucker for Mexican food.

Diet Coke.  And if you toss in a splash of rum, I won’t complain.

My super amazing black pajama pants that make me look like a cross between Batman and M.C. Hammer.

Rainbow sandals.  Every.  Day.  Of.  My.  Life.

Not one I am proud to admit.

 

HUGE thank you to Christie for this witty, fun interview and for the gorgeous images we are honored to share with our readers.  Your work is outstanding and there should be more entertaining people like you in the world.  I am so lucky to have been able to reconnect with you after all these years and to be able to share your work and your hilarious self right here on the LSI blog.  You rock Christie!