Phillip Colwart Photography, located in Hammond, Louisiana focuses on wedding, portrait and commercial photography for the New Orleans area. (I don’t know about you but, I am very jealous of the amazing locations he gets to shoot. ) A veteran in this budding industry, Phillip has been honing his photography skills since his teenage years in Uptown New Orleans.
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A graduate of Loyola University, Phillip has enjoyed past careers as a radio personality, television camera man, corporate audio visual producer and more…. He began his photography career in 1993 and worked as a corporate photographer for Neill Corporation in Hammond, LA for almost fourteen years. He opened his own studio in 2003 and became a full-time professional photographer in 2005. Phillip has been a Certified Professional Photographer since 2007 and is working toward his Craftsman Degree.
Phillip enjoys giving back to the community and is on the board of directors at the Hammond Regional Arts Foundation, and has donated his photography services and artwork to non-profits including OPTIONS, TARC, NILMDTS, Junior Auxiliary, Richard Murphy Hospice and others.
He received awards from the New Orleans Fashion Council in 1997, 2000, 2003, and 2004 and was named the Greater New Orleans Professional Photography Guild 2008 Photographer of the Year.
For weddings, it’s a combination of posing when necessary and just letting it happen and documenting the event. David A. Williams describes this as “asked for” shots and “found” shots.
My commercial work has helped me to bring straight, perpendicular lines to even candid images – being short (5’5”) sort of helps with this! My portrait photography has some elements of “breaking the rules,” but knowing and successfully executing the rules of portraiture is so incredibly important. Study the Masters and take the time to learn the standards that Monte Zucker so succinctly defined for us photographers.
Nothing inspires me more than the motivation that comes from being a one man show. I am truly grateful for the ability to do this work and to make enough money to continue. There’s great satisfaction in knowing that I am good enough, but I am driven to improve and get better.
My goal is to make a living while making a difference for people – these photographs will outlive us all, and we’re documenting the history of families. It’s very important work, and I consider it a great honor and privilege to be chosen by my clients to be their photographer!
David A. Williams, Hanson Fong, Dina Douglass, Jerry Ghionis, Storey Wilkins, and so many New Orleans photographers: Michael P. Smith, David Spielman, David Richmond, Bryce Lankard, and many more.
The Hoodman loupe – for looking at your camera’s LCD screen. It works great under the full sun, has a built-in diopter for glasses wearers like me, and really helps in checking focus and compostion.
Paul McCartney, the French Quarter and green tea. For me, Paul is one of the greatest living musicians/composers – his songs speak to me like nobody else’s. The French Quarter of New Orleans is a living, breathing neighborhood as well as tourist attraction. There is always something new there to photograph; I always find inspiration there. And green tea – a daily staple of my diet. Cannot live without it!
Tons of backup equipment, a great sense of humor, passion and knowing my business is in it for the long haul. I am focused on customer service, reputation and providing a quality product. This includes being reliable, consistent and generally a good value.
Keeping the business end organized. My bookkeeper’s nickname is “The Babysitter.” She’s always asking for lost receipts and reminds me several times a month to bring my paperwork to her!
My office looks like the Lower Ninth Ward after Hurricane Katrina… if the idea, “messy desk, busy mind” applies to anyone, it would be me. I know where everything is, but – I guess we all need a little bit more organization in our lives.
Facebook is a wonderful marketing tool, and I totally believe in local business networking. I am involved heavily in our local Chamber of Commerce, and I enjoy contributing to local charities with photography and silent auction items. I also contribute photography to local publications in exchange for a photo credit. I think so many photographers expect to simply have clients show up. They forget, you’ve got to have name recognition (branding) and ask for the jobs. Always participate at all times in your own success story! Constantly sell yourself – and this includes email blasts, facebook and yes, lots of thank you notes.
Shoestring marketing, as laid out by Kammy Thurman in the July 2008 issue of Professional Photographer, the PPA magazine …
The Web Galleries Pro are easy to use and looks great! Love the new look. The customers really like the convenience of their web galleries, and I am a huge fan of Digilabs’ proof books. So are my brides!
It was actually forgetting completely about a location session for a Mardi Gras krewe – formal court photos. I was forty-five minutes late! The queen was steamed, but as it was, the later afternoon light was an advantage. We finished indoors with strobes anyhow, and they placed several large print orders, and retained me to document their entire reign. I was never late again!
To paraphrase Jerry Ghionis, and I loved how he said this, if you don’t have a personality for photography, you had better buy one or find one quickly. You’ve got to entertain your clients and subjects, keep them happy and smiling, and you’ve got to make them feel comfortable and special. I totally schmooze my customers! You’d think I was a standup comedian at times, but it’s great when the best man is telling me he hates photographers but I’m “okay…” or when the Mother of the Groom calls a couple of days after the wedding to thank me for handling her requests with such grace.
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