TPX30: Michelle Szpak – The business of motorcycle and automotive photography

Photography Xperiment Podcast

Michelle Szpak of www.szpak.co.uk has been shooting for over 15 years and specialises in motorcycle and automotive photography. Not the classifieds type of car and bike phots, what Michelle creates are special, incredibly lit art pieces for her clients.

Her byline reads…

Unique, passion-fuelled professional Automotive photography of your pride and joy. Creating Artwork for your Walls that last a lifetime.

But it hasn't always been all about incredible images of beautiful motorcycles and fancy cars!

Michelle started with the idea of being a landscape and animal photographer before moving on to portraits – that was 12 years ago.

Then in 2013, she photographed her first motorcycle, and automotive photography has been the focus since.

The images our guest creates are works of art that require a fantastic imagination, expert lighting skills and an understanding of composition any photographer would die for.

You might be surprised at the lighting she uses to showcase the cars and bikes (examples below). Michelle shares techniques and more, including the business and sales side of her photography, in this interview.

Big thanks to ImagenAI for sponsoring and making this episode possible. If you'd love to have your post-processing after every shoot done for you – in minutes and at super affordable costs (around 5c/image) you need to take a look at ImagenAI.

Here’s some of what we cover:

• Who are Michelle's clients
• How clients find Michelle's work
• How the lockdowns affected Michelle's business
• What are automotive exhibitions and why are they so good for attracting clients
• Why automotive photography works well in the motorcycle industry
• What happens during motorcycle exhibitions that make them client attraction days
• Generating new photos to build your portfolio
• Being confident and upfront when talking about your photography pricing
• Michelle's booking process
• Scouting photoshoot locations for cars and bikes
• Michelle's lighting process
• Average client spend on wall art
• What equipment to use for automotive photography
• Michelle's shooting and editing process
• How long it takes to photograph cars and bikes
• The difference between photographing cars and bikes
• Using Photoshop and Bridge for post-processing images
• Michelle's reveal process
• Payment process
• Why Michelle limits her bookings to 20-30 sessions a year
• Dealing with burnout when running a photography business
• How long it takes to edit automative photos
• Do you need to hide number plates when posting on social media
• How the pandemic became an eye-opener for Michelle
• Can wedding and portrait photographers with the skills charge their usual rates for automotive photography
• What Michelle teaches in her photography course
• The importance of having the right mindset for a successful business

What is your big takeaway?

Following this interview, I’d love to read your feedback and comments. Was there something from this interview that struck a chord, inspired or motivated you?

Will you take any kind of action after hearing what Michelle had to share?

I've learned to be very confident with how much I charge for this because it's a very heavy process so I'm not scared of saying the price. – Michelle Szpak

Let me know by leaving your thoughts in the comments below.

If you have any questions that I missed, a specific question you’d like to ask Michelle or if you just want to say thanks for coming on the show, feel free to add them below too.

I look at a vehicle a bit like a boudoir photographer would look a female body. – Michelle Szpak

If you understand light, you can create anything you want. – Michelle Szpak

Covid forced me to realize that if I take a day off the world does not fall apart. – Michelle Szpak

Links to people, places and things mentioned in this episode:

Michelle Szpak Website

Michelle Szpak on Instagram

Michelle Szpak on Facebook

Michelle Szpak on 500px

Free Photography Mindset Worskhop

Loxley Colour

Basics of Motorcycle Photography with Michelle Szpak – Facebook Live video

Thank you!

Thanks again for listening and thanks to Michelle for coming on and experimenting with a new and different format for this photography podcast and for sharing her thoughts, expertise, views and ideas.

I'm looking for the lines. I'm looking for the shapes. I'm looking for the curves on the bike or the curves on the car that make it unique. – Michelle Szpak

Also, big thanks to ImagenAI for sponsoring this episode of the podcast! If you're looking for the easiest, cheapest, fastest way to replicate yourself in regards to editing your photography, you need to try this service for yourself!

The real beauty of this Artificial Intelligent way of editing is it really does learn your editing style and apply it to your files – in literally seconds! It continues to learn as you develop your style, it's a fraction of the cost of outsourcing to an image editing company or training a VA from any country to do your editing.

You need to try this to believe it.

When I first heard about ImagenAI, I didn't think it was going to work. After the free trial, I was blown away. It pretty much nails my editing style and has cut my editing a ton. I highly recommend you give this app a shot. – Anthony Guana

If you have any suggestions, comments or questions about this episode, please be sure to leave them below in the comment section of this post, and if you liked the episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post!

That’s it for me, hope everything is going well for you in life and photography!

Thanks and speak soon

Andrew

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