My name is Morgan Burks and I create editing tools, tutorials and educational resources for photographers at www.morganburks.com. I’m a married mom of two currently living in Manhattan, KS. When I first started my business as a family photographer, my husband was in the military and we were stationed in Tampa, Florida. Our babies were small then and photography was a way for me to not only capture photos of them, but also a way to support my family and have the freedom to stay home with my kids. I’d always loved photography, so deciding to pursue it as a career was sort of an aha moment for me. Honestly, though, the introvert in me secretly looked forward to the editing part of the session the most. For me, there was just something about getting home from an awesome session, popping in the memory card, and getting to add the finishing touches to bring your images to life. That’s how the editing side of my business got started. I loved to share my edits in photography groups I was a part of, and people would ask me questions about how I achieved what I did. I found that I loved teaching and sharing what I learned just as much as I loved the sessions themselves. I began recording quick tutorials to explain the things I was trying to share, and over time, it grew into what it is today: an education platform for photographers who want to learn more about editing their images.
What is one of your favourite products that you have ever created? What made it so special or exciting?
One of my favorite products I ever created was ‘The Magic Brush’ Photoshop Action which is part of the “MB Brush Pack Collection”. I was working on creating a new skin smoothing action, when some members of my Facebook group mentioned they wished there was a “magic” solution for cleaning up messy faces in children’s portraits. They lamented that they often had little subjects with messy faces and either didn’t notice the mess until after the session, or didn’t feel comfortable pointing it out to the parents in order to get it sorted out. They asked if it might be possible to create a time-saving editing solution for this, so I decided to test out the skin smoothing action on a messy-faced portrait of my daughter. It worked! And not only is it one of my favorite actions to use in my own editing, but the creation of it was so much fun because it felt like a group effort.
How do you come up with new ideas or where do you find inspiration?
New ideas and inspiration can honestly come from anywhere. I often find inspiration in the lighting effects or tones seen in movies. Sometimes I’m inspired by the colors or motion captured in travel photos. Whenever I get a new idea, I love spending time re-editing old photos with the new tricks I learn, and then finding ways to implement those new tricks into an editing product or tutorial. Sometimes new ideas come when I realize there’s a step in my editing process that isn’t the most time-effective. I’ll spend a little extra time coming up with alternative methods, and then sharing any that are helpful.
How can your business help our Maternity and Newborn Photographers?
I’d love to help anyone looking to improve their editing skills or get more comfortable and efficient in Photoshop. Photography can often feel like a lonely profession when you’re the sole owner and operator of your business, so my hope is make the learning process a little less lonely, as much as I can.
Have any favourite quotes/motto’s you live by that guide your business?
There’s a song by The Avett Brothers called “Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise” that really speaks to me on a business level.
In the song, there’s a part that says “Decide what to be and go be it. / There was a dream and one day I could see it. Like a bird in a cage, I broke in and demanded that somebody free it.”
I absolutely love that. It almost seems like the song could be oversimplifying the idea that you can be anything you want in life. But I think that’s what I love about it the most. With the tendency humans have to doubt or second guess themselves, I think the notion that you can simply *decide* to become what you want to be is actually a monumental concept. Do it. Be it. Whatever you dream up deserves to be given a valiant effort.
Anything else you would like us to know about Morgan Burks?
Oh gosh, this part is always the hardest. Lol. Talking about myself with no prompt. I can’t think of anything to add, but if you’re reading this and have questions, get in touch! I’m an open book.
To learn more about Morgan Burks you can find her here:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MorganBurksPhotography/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morgan_burks/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/morganaburks/
Website: https://www.morganburks.com
Thank you so much Morgan for taking the time out of your busy schedule to answer these questions for our APNPI Community! We look forward to spending more time with you in the future learning about photoshop tips and tricks from an expert in the field. Your passion for passing on your knowledge is invaluable and so appreciated!
And thank you APNPI Community for helping to create this amazing platform where we can share our ideas, our passion for the industry and uplift each other in our businesses and everyday lives. We are inspired by the tiniest of us all and APNPI will continue to be a community where you can safely connect, grow, learn and thrive!
Much love,
Jennifer Willard
#CommunityOverCompetition #APNPI #APNPIVendorShoutout #APNPICommunity
