Interviewer:  Today I will be asking Ron about some of the tidbits in his business and different topics that maybe he has run into in his 30 years of photographing.

I: We see all the good things that you do with your exceptional photography, can you describe any of the hard or tough things that are involved in your business?

Ron: Yes, we do have fun in our business. And most of the time it is pleasant, fun and exciting. Whether that be a childs portrait, or a wedding, or a high school seniors portraits. But there’s times we end up photographing things that have happened to people for insurance or court cases. These usually aren’t too pleasant; but we do our best to help out our clients in every type of situation they may have.

And getting to know our clients makes them part of our family. So when a person is sick or injured we feel that with them. And there are clients or clients families that have deaths in them. And that is very hard on us. Especially if they may have a family appointment scheduled and one of them passes away. While many people think it’s just a snapshot, we get requests each year to restore and remake family portraits where that’s the only photograph they have of a certain ancestor. You don’t realize how important that Portrait is to you until someone passes away. So if you haven’t had a family or individual portrait taken in awhile, it might not be a bad thing to have done. The psychological effect can help families in ways we don’t even understand.

I: From a standpoint of giving back to the community; is there anything you do in your business that sets you apart?

Ron: We just finished a benefit portrait promotion for Hospice in Jamestown at the Stutsman Harley-Davidson store. Bikers were able to receive a portrait with a donation to the Hospice in Jamestown. I think they raised over $600 this past weekend. 

We also do 2 Humane Society benefits in Fargo and at our Grand Forks Studio location. They are coming up the end of September and in October. With a donation to the Humane Society, clients are given a choice of many backgrounds and we provide them with a session and a FREE 5×7 for their donation. There are many other products available for them to order, but they are under no obligation to buy; and the Humane Societys Benefit from the donations.

At this point we are looking to connect with a couple other needy groups in the future; but because of our schedule, a couple more is probably all we could fit in.

In addition, my wife and I just came back from donating our time and talents to ‘LifeLight’; a ministry based out of Sioux Falls (see previous Blog post), and I also donate my time and talent to “PULSE”, a campus-based ministry out of Fargo.  It is truly a great feeling to help out in anyway possible to worthwhile groups and organizations.

I: Ron, thank you for your time and explaining some of the ‘little’ things you do to make a ‘big’ difference.

Ron: You’re welcome.