Saturday Artisan: Rae of Light Photography

Meet our Saturday Artisan, Rachel of Rae of Light Photography. What a talented artist, she is. You will agree with me once you take a peek at her shop. I just love the vintage and natural feel of her photographs, and the fact that she was able to capture things that are no longer exist, and sharing the history with us. 

Tell us a bit about yourself and what arts/ crafts that you make? 

I am a photographer and have, only in the past year, become pretty serious about it. 

Which part of creation process that you like to do the most? I love getting my film developed and 

ooking at my creation for the first time. I never know quite how they will turn out. It's like opening a gift at Christmas. 

For us who love to travel, could you share a bit about your beautiful town/ city?

Well I live in Joplin, MO It's two main claim to fame items are, The Bonnie and Clyde shoot out, side note any photos you see of them were all captured here in Joplin, and the fact the Mother Road Route 66 goes down Main Street. Just think of the song, Get your Kicks on Route 66 and you'll hear it mentioned.

Could you share on how your organize your products, we all can use a little tips here and there in this department?

Well most of my items are placed in similar style groupings, ie. if they are Nature Shots, Industrial shots etc. 

What is your best seller? 

Hmm probably my "Can I Have your Number?" print which was also recently displayed in the 35th Annual Photo Spiva competition only 80 out of over 800 got chosen. 

How does your day go in general? 

Well I work at a great place called Christ in Youth. I'm their Connections Coordinator which is a fancy way of saying their receptionist. I love my job because there is so much creativity in the building. You can see what I mean by going here www.ciy.com . Since I'm still learning about photography my job allows me to continue my hobby until I'm able to maybe go a little more serious with my work. 

How do you balance your personal and work life? 

My personal life consists of me hanging out with my slobbering Basset Hound Ralphie so there's not a whole lot of distraction, just a chance to take more photos of my nutty little guy.

Do you have a favourite Etsy seller?

I have two, the first is Neatbeading, not only because she was my first customer but because she does these great bracelets by hand that are stunning, and my second is a great photography bethretrophotographyaphy. She doesn't have anything up in her store right now but you can check out her flicker to see what I mean. 

What inspires you? I guess trying to capture things that go unseen by normal life. I have so far captured three things that no longer exist, two of which are in my store, my photo of the red barn and white cottage were torn down this past year, and the third was a lean to, little barn that was destroyed by a tornado a few years ago, so I see importance to taking photos to inspire and maybe document things that might not hold any value to anyone else.

What is your goal for 2011? And are you on the right track? 

To continue to grow in my field, I do this by talking with a lot of other photographers and taking workshops. It's amazing when you discover how many great photographers have never stepped foot in a classroom. 

What is your favourite tool that you cannot live without? My Canon Rebel 2000 35 mm, I would be lost without it. 

How do you promote your shop? I have a blog, facebook page and twitter. Any advice for others running their on-line shop? Keep up the hard work. It's taken a long time to get where I am but that's because I have kept pushing to the point of near annoyance to get my items out there. Don't be afraid of a little advice but also realize you're an artists and sometimes you know what's best for your product. 

Saving money is important; tell us one thing that you do to save money? I love for free anything. You name and I'll do my best to find a coupon. I have never fully paid for my business cards and have found great deals on getting my photos printed, sometimes for nothing. 

Anything else you would like to share? I love art, I may not always like it but I can always do my best to appreciate it : ) 

Any tutorial that you’d like to share? Well I have a blog post about watermarking your photos. I know there's a big debate on Etsy about how best to protect your product and whether or not watermarking detracts or protects, I say that the more your protect the better. It took a while to find a program able to do what I needed and he he I found it for free. Here's the link to my blog post so artists can check them out. 

Stay-tuned for tomorrow's giveaway!