...in Remembrance of Me...

We photograph newborns nearly every day we all gain great joy and satisfaction from that privilege. We get to witness the first or second day of the lives of precious babies. We capture several shots of baby alone and the get mom and dad in the mix. We get to meet several new families daily and we love knowing that we get a chance to join so many families on this special leg of their journey.

Usually the sessions are fun but a few days ago one of our photographers held her first bereavement session. She committed to provide beautiful heirloom portraits to a precious family who faced the untimely death of their newborn baby. One of the hospitals specifically requested one of our photographers and though the thought of sharing this moment gave us all chills she decided to take on this honor.

When she entered the room Dad stood alone with baby clearly holding back tears. Then he wiped his face, grabbed his smart phone and snapped a picture. No one spoke above a whisper. The nurses brought mom in and our photographer looked at her face as mom slowly opened her eyes and smiled. She had the strength to smile and that smile energized the room.

The nurses dressed the sweet angel in a christening gown and secretly we prayed for a miracle, hoping that the baby would take a breath but that didn't happen. After the session, we knew that session and those images serve as an important step in the family’s healing process by honoring the baby's legacy.

Escape From Poverty: Editing and Graphic Design

ByJRochelle provides a wide array of media production services including graphic animation, video production, and photography. The bulk of our time here at ByJRochelle for the past 4 months has centered on editing life skills classes for Escape From Poverty. Escape From Poverty seeks to "ignite a national movement inspiring people to break through racial and socioeconomic barriers so they will engage the impoverished in an effort to help them achieve success". We have appreciated involvement in this project and can't wait to see how the community is changed as the participants in this program implement the tools in these life changing classes.

 

The EFP team filmed these life skills classes in Lafayette, LA at Acadiana Open Channel. ByJRochelle has animated graphics and edited the classes remotely and now the life skills classes Curricula is available for sale! If you have filmed footage and now wonder what next, feel free to contact ByJRochelle. We will help you organize the footage and create videos that help you get your organization's message across!

Discounts

You own your own small business and you have a great meeting with a potential client. This person seems interested so you type up a proposal that summarizes everything that the two of you talked about and then anxiously wait for a response. Finally, the answer to your proposal arrives and this person asks for a discount!  Fight that nagging temptation to oblige and say no!

Discounting rates sets a bad precedent with the client. If you flake on your rate, the client will want to negotiate everything. If this person actually sticks around, you may end up haggling over every project. What's worse, you may start to resent the client for paying less than you are worth. This can be worse if this is an associate.

Don’t devalue yourself by charging less than you are worth. Thomas Paine once said that which we obtain too cheaply, we esteem too lightly. A person who fails to see your value also fails to esteem you. Quite frankly, asking for a discount is blatant disrespect. This disrespect can lead to several terrible outcomes. The most tangible negative outcome is financial distress. As a business owner you want to earn a living and accepting a lower rate could ruin your reputation and may cause financial problems for you.  

Let's face it, the more someone pays for advice or a project, the more they tend to value those services. It's up to you to know your value; don't let anyone put a price tag on you. You worked hard to obtain your experience and your credentials. Don't do business with someone who wants to discount the thing that makes you the unique person that you are. You were born to make a one-of-a kind impact on this world.

To learn more about ByJRochelle please click here to visit the website!