Christine Sheeren

I attribute my success to knowing my worth and not underselling myself. It took years of doing photography to build the confidence to say, okay, I know where I'm at, I know I'm above average, and I'm not going to cave on my pricing. The biggest lesson I learned was to stick to my guns and not bend on what I charge. I've been doing this long enough to know my value, and I won't negotiate - this is what I'm worth, so if you want me to do it and you want the experience that I'm going to give you, then this is what you're going to need to pay. Part of my job is also education - helping people understand why I charge what I charge. I've taken classes, I've continued my education, I've been doing this a long time. Some people get it and understand the value, and if they don't, then they're not for me. There are plenty of photographers in this city. I also believe deeply in the importance of continuing education through programs like Texas School of Professional Photography, which has helped me grow tremendously as a photographer and build my confidence and community.

The best career advice I've ever received was to know your worth and not to undercharge. Most photographers struggle with this when they're starting out because they're not confident. I was told from the beginning that you've got to stick your ground, stick to your guns. It takes a long time to build that confidence - the first couple years, I wasn't that confident, but it took years of doing it to really understand where I was at and to stand firm on my pricing. The advice was that you can't go to a grocery store and argue about the price of bananas - you just pay it, and when they go up in price, you still pay it if you want a banana. Why should somebody question what my prices are? These are my prices, they're not up for debate. You're welcome to go somewhere else, but that's a hard thing to do, and being told to stick your ground from the beginning was crucial.

My advice to young women entering photography is to not undersell yourself and to know your worth. Don't be one of those photographers who goes out there saying you're going to shoot and give all the files for $200, because you're taking the whole rest of the community down with you. People won't understand why one photographer charges one price and another charges something different - and yes, you get what you pay for. There is a certain price point you should be at as a new photographer, but you need to know your value. It takes time to build confidence - the first couple years, I wasn't that confident either - but you have to learn to stick to your ground and not cave on your pricing. Your prices are not up for debate. If people don't see your value, they're not for you, and there are plenty of other photographers in the city. I would especially urge new photographers to go to Texas School of Professional Photography to find your community, build your network, and gain that confidence. Keep going and keep learning, because there's always something new to learn, and this will help you become a better photographer.

The biggest challenge in photography right now is that some people find it hard to see the value in what we do, especially with AI where you can just pop a photo in and tell your computer to do it for you. People don't want to pay a lot of money, and the economy isn't great right now. They want certain things, but they don't want to pay for it because it's hard for them to see the value. My value is my experience, my time, the education that I've put in, my knowledge of editing and lighting and posing - and that's not tangible. They see the hour that I'm with them where they have a great experience, and then they have the files which they see no tangible value in, and then the piece of paper it's printed on. The biggest challenge is getting somebody to understand why I charge what I charge. Some people get it, and some don't. If you don't get it, then you're not mine - there are absolutely cheaper photographers out there, and you get what you pay for, especially when you're talking about events. But I've been doing this long enough to know my value, and I'm not bending. This is what I'm worth, so if you want me to do it and you want the experience that I'm going to give you, then this is what you're going to need to pay. Sometimes it's hard to stand your ground, but part of my job is education - letting people know why I charge what I charge.

The most important value to me in my work is preserving memories and understanding the profound impact that photographs have on people's lives. I'm a big believer in printing photographs because we're living in a digital age where everybody wants to share everything digitally, but if someone only gets the files, their grandkids will never see those images. Even if you just print a 4x6, that means it will live on. I can't tell you how many times accidents happen and people are either so grateful that they printed their photos or have deep regret that they didn't. It's so much more important than people realize to capture these moments and have them around to see every day. They're doing studies on children and how it's affecting them that parents aren't doing family portraits and printing them anymore - kids aren't seeing themselves and their families on the wall like we did when we were growing up. I take my job very seriously - not only to preserve these memories for people, but to give them an emotion. If I can make somebody cry looking at my images, that's a win. Part of my job is education, helping people understand that it doesn't even have to be me - you can print from your iPhone photos at Walgreens - but it has to be printed. Mom can't be in the photos if she's the one taking them all, so she needs to put her phone down and be in the photo. Kids don't see fat, they don't see gray, they don't see wrinkles - they see mom and dad. Don't wait to lose weight or do this or that, because then it'll never happen, and then there's regret. In my personal life, my friendships are very important to me, and I can donate my time and my talent to causes I care about, like helping animal shelters and my church community, even when I can't donate monetarily.