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However, Mrs. Bickford-White, who has lived in Danbury for the last 17 years with her husband, David White, and their children, Nicholas, 20, and Rachel, 17, opened a studio recently at 270 Federal Road, saying that it is an ideal location since it is easily accessible for the bulk of her clients, who come from Danbury, New Milford and Brookfield.
She said that she received a good response at her grand opening Oct. 10, which featured prizes and an appearance of Y105 Brookfield morning air personality Bill Trotta and that she sees indications that the economy, which reportedly has been in a recession since late 2007, is showing signs of recovery.
"I'm anxious to see what happens during this time of year," Mrs. Bickford-White said in a recent interview, noting that, as is the case with other photography studios, the holiday season and the spring are two of the busiest periods.
She initially opened her own studio after working at and then managing a similar facility at the Danbury Fair Mall.
"I really didn't like the whole atmosphere of it and thought that I could do this myself," Mrs. Bickford-White said.
She said she recently has done more head shots for Realtors and other businessmen in addition to her concentration in children and family portraits.
Mrs. Bickford-White, who lived in Northampton, Mass., before moving to Danbury, said that she has been noted "for the props that I bring in" to enhance the photographs.
"My clients are still coming to me because I can do the special things that they cannot," she said.
Mrs. Bickford-White said that she encourages clients to bring in personal items "that can help make the picture special."
"I want to make the picture as much about what they care about," she said.
Mrs. Bickford-White books clients for an hour and since most of the shoots take about 20 minutes they can view the photographs on a computer and make their selections at the studio. She said that if they're not happy with the images she will take additional shots as long as they don't extend beyond the appointment period.
Mrs. Bickford-White noted that she has an online photo gallery, which enables clients, particularly those with small children, to leave immediately after the shoot and then view the photographs at home and send their order online.
"When I opened in 2002, I didn't even have a Web site," she said. "Now I can do a lot of my sales from my Web site."
"It's important to keep up with the technology so that I have a state-of-the-art studio," Mrs. Bickford-White said.
She said that it sometimes can be difficult, particularly when there are three or more children at a shoot, to get "the perfect photo," so she utilizes PhotoShoot, an online system that enables her to cut and paste people from different photographs from the same shoot into one picture.
As is the case with some other photographers, Mrs. Bickford-White said that lighting is one of the most important components in taking a good photograph.
She said that she often has to adjust the lighting as a result of the props that are used and "conducts a test prior to every shoot so that we don't have any surprises."
To contact A Pocket Full of Poses, call 203-740-9500.
