frequently
asked
questions
mentoring
editing
I'm a photographer, do you offer one on one mentoring?
◦ Yes, I offer one on one mentoring where you are the only student. It's personalized to exactly what you need. We can cover anything you need help with be it marketing yourself, editing, finding your artistic style, pricing, equipment, shooting with industry model, etc. Please inquire for info + rates. Email me at info@sisiliapiring.com
How do you edit your photos?
◦ For my digital photos I edit with Photoshop and Lightroom using presets I've made and compiled together.
For instagram I edit with Lightroom and or VSCO and use various presets that I have customized throughout the years.
How do you edit your videos?
◦ I use Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2019
How do you add the special font to your stories?
◦ I use Photoshop for still images and Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2019 for videos. I add the text to the image/video then Airdrop it to my phone and post it to my Stories.
Where did you get your fonts?
◦ I bought them online. I must have searched through several websites and took me a few months to find the fonts that I loved. I recommend taking your time and look through several places them before you buy fonts and make sure you absolutely love them.
What cameras do you use?
◦ canon point + shoot
i use this camera for vlogging or outfit photos for instagram. an easy everyday camera that i always carry around with me. it has great wi-fi capabilities that enables me to immediately transfer photos from the camera to my iphone within seconds. it’s such a powerful camera, in such a small body. i love it! only downside— fuzzy jpgs, but i don’t mind it since it’s my carry around camera. these days my 8yr old son uses it since he’s taken a liking to photography.
◦ canon dslr
i use this camera for professional shoots i’m hired to do (campaigns, lookbooks, editorials, etc) and i mainly use these 2 lenses below
cameras
◦ canon video camera
this isn’t really solely a video camera, but i use it solely for videos that i post on my youtube or instagram. it has great autofocus and i just love all things canon so this is my go-to when i want to have a better looking video that is a level above my canon p&s. it’s not 4k, but i don’t mind. i use it with this lens.
◦ olympus micro 3/4 camera
another easy everyday camera is this one from olympus. my 8yr old son likes to use my canon point and shoot so i got this olympus for myself. great color rendition. feels great in my hands and easy to transfer photos from camera to my iphone. it’s not as fast as my canon p&s, but the images i get from this camera are some of my favorite images! it also has a cool retro look. always get compliments on it and sometimes people mistaken it for a film camera. it’s also small enough to carry in my purse. i use these 2 lenses below
FILM CAMERAS:
◦ olympus + contax point and shoot film cameras
i have had these for over a decade and carry these around as my everyday film cameras because they take great photos and are small enough to lug around in a small purse. i used this + this film to shoot.
camper life
◦ what made you decide to take the year off and travel across the country?
— a family member unexpectedly passed away and really put things in perspective for me. i started thinking of the things i’ve always wanted to do but never took steps to do so. it’s cliche but that saying “life is too short” resonated in me more so than ever. i decided i want to make this trip happen in 2019— to travel the country and experience it with josh and the kiddos, especially while they’re still young (before they’re angry tweens haha).
◦ what kind of camper do you have?
— we have a vintage 1966 terry travel trailer. she’s 10ft long. we named her Lulu :)
◦ how did you find your camper?
— we looked online for around 4 months. we were looking for a shasta and almost bought one but found out it was too heavy for our small SUV. while browsing Craigslist we found a listing that was too good to be true, it was a beautiful well kept camper that was under 1,000 pounds in weight— exactly what we were looking for and we drove to Arizona a few days later to pick her up
◦ did you have to build your camper setup yourself?
— no! we were lucky that the previous owner took really good care of the camper and we didn’t have to really do much except change the curtains, foams and upholstery on the dinette/bed cushions.
◦ how do you even start planning a year-long cross-country trip?
— we started planning for our trip around June of 2018 (about 6 months before our trip). we sold 90% of everything we owned and took that money and put it straight to savings. we sold our second car and took that money to buy the camper. we gave our 30 day notice to our landlord and we moved to my mom’s house for 2 months before our trip to save more money. i took literally all photography jobs (even ones i usually say no to) so we can put more $$ into our savings. we got the kids enrolled in homeschool 3 months before our trip and got them adjusted to that type of scheduling so by the time we’re living in the camper they’d be adjusted to homeschool. we forwarded all mail to my mom’s and did online bill exclusively so we didn’t have to mail our bills every month. got our SUV checked and tuned up. changed all 4 tires so we can start fresh. got auto insurance for our camper. upgraded our AAA to include our camper in case we breakdown, this allows AAA to tow our camper along with the car.
◦ do you homeschool your kids?
— yes! we started homeschooling them before we left for our trip.
◦ how are you adjusting to working remotely/from new places?
— i think this is the best part of working for myself as a photographer. nothing has really changed from my day to day work life. i’ve been a freelance photographer for 8 years and have always worked from home/remotely. i think the only real nuisance of working from the road is the internet. it’s spotty in some areas, especially when you’re in smaller towns. this is crucial when you’re uploading large files to a client. it hasn’t been too bad for us, we’ve only encountered it once when uploading images for a client and the upload time was 3hours when it’s usually 30 minutes. c’est la vie. you just have to plan things accordingly when you have a big job.
◦ how have you made money while traveling?
— photography jobs, working with brands on influencer jobs, video editing, closet sales :)
◦ can you show us your storage? how do you fit all of your clothes?
— number one question i get all the time! haha! i posted this in one of my instagram stories, if you care to see it. we have 2 closets— a big closet where we hang clothes like jackets, coats, and towels and we individually have our own storage within the folding closet. since i have the most clothes out of everyone in the family, i roll my clothes and put them in packing cubes and stack them in our closet. i also frequently do closet sales on my instagram stories and donate to thrift stores frequently to keep my storage balanced :)
