In Part One of this series, we began writing our business plan by focusing on the nuts and bolts of our business. In this section, we will start to expand on those roots and add to the "what" by knowing our "why".
Olympus has produced a beautiful series of videos on YouTube whereby its ambassadors visit some stunning locations, exploring Lapland, Faroe Islands, Iceland, and Namibia. What’s noticeable is that all of the Olympus Xplorers are men.
A lot of writers and experts in the photography world have been joining the chorus of “photographers should add video to their skill basket.” But, as far as business models are concerned, photography and video can be as different as sushi and gelato. So, before you jump head-on into video, consider my words of caution.
All books on economy may tell you that you desperately need to raise your prices, but the specialists and formulas may be wrong.
It's 2018 and I have no idea where I'm supposed to share photos anymore. There was a time though, when Google+ and its booming photography community was the clear answer.
One of the most expensive mistakes you can make as a photographer is to change brands after being fully invested in another brand. This article explores pros and cons of each brand offering a full frame option.
One of the most frequent types of questions I see on social media is about gear or gear recommendations. For the most part, photographers and videographers who are relatively new to the industry tend to ask about what gear they should or shouldn't buy. I think it's always better to ask than spend money on something that may end up being a waste.
Cheap, soft, and lightweight, with woefully slow autofocus and shoddy build quality; however terrible they might be, plastic lenses are great value. Quite why people get so agitated about this topic is a bit of a mystery because cheap glass can be amazing. Here’s why.
Today begins a three part series on building a successful business plan as a photographer. The topic deserves its own full book, but hopefully these essays will give those of you just starting out a primer on things you need to consider when turning your hobby into a profession.
For years, whenever I’ve traveled, I’ve gone through the trouble of dragging a MacBook Pro, charger, and cables along with me. I tried something different on my most recent trip, and I don’t think I can go back.
Bejamin Jaworskyj breaks down some of the biggest mistakes he sees photographers making in his workshops.
In my photographic world, it’s sometimes nice to remind myself that I’m often little more than a monkey pushing buttons on a very expensive box.
After a lot of thought and contemplation, I switched from Canon to Nikon five years ago. Each camera system has a lot of pros and cons, but the real question is do I regret the switch?
Recently, Squarespace announced a new partnership with Unsplash via their company blog. Before we dive into why this story is worth discussing, it’d help to explain who Squarespace and Unsplash are and what they do.
Finding clients to hire you can be a complicated and expensive process. This article explores a free and simple marketing technique that has proven to be extremely effective.
In a typical wedding, dozens of vendors come together to make the bride's day special. All these vendors have one thing in common: the photographer doesn't owe them a single picture.
I once was told the worst reason for liking a piece of art was for its beauty. I disagree.
With many of my fellow Americans preparing to sit down to Thanksgiving dinner, let’s take a moment away from turkey and dodging awkward conversations about politics to give thanks to those who provide us the motivation to persevere.
If you are thinking of taking a full-time photography position, you should read this first.
Everywhere I look, professional photographers are calling for people to put their portfolios on an extreme diet. Well, I'm here to defend my curvier portfolio and why this decision is entirely intentional.
We live in a time when photography becomes more and more commonplace but appreciation of the commercial value of photography is uncommon. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that copyright lawsuits from photographers are increasing.
You find priceless photography or filmmaking knowledge in online material. You start digesting it, but together with the precious free information, the author mentions a product or a service, which they obviously try to sell you. Do you feel you have been tricked?
As a photographer, I have many of my photos in people's homes, usually as metal prints, because people seem to prefer them. Like most of you, I've got a lot of my work scattered around my house too, either as framed or metal prints.
After reading thoughts on Victoria's Secret getting negative feedback for their choice of models, I have some thoughts on the matter as well and how it affects our cultural view of models and of course, the style that we photographers shoot. There're some critics who feel that Victoria's Secret should include plus-size or transgender models in their fashion show.
We have all made the classic gaffe of remembering everything except the crucial memory card. With flash storage cheaper than ever and features being pushed to the max, why have we not seen internal memory added to cameras?
Thomas Stewart made headlines back in 2015 when he posted a rant about wedding guests and their mobile phones. Fast forward 3 years and things don't seem to be getting any better. So should we put the cameras away?
Currently, one of the most discussed topics in our photographic community is if DSLR cameras are already dead. The Digital Single Lens Reflex cameras were indisputably the preferred ones until the mirrorless cameras step ahead into the game and showed how good they could be.
Unfortunately, photography is an expensive passion, but what do you really need to spend your money on? In this video, Marc Newton looks at four of the biggest photography rip-offs you should avoid at all costs, and he doesn't hold back.
Every coin has two sides, and today, we're going to take a look at the natural light side of the lighting conversation. Here are seven different reasons why I think that natural lighting for portraits is pretty damn rad when compared with using flash.
Photography is a challenging career. So, what pulls us through when it all gets so overwhelming?
If you're an aspiring professional landscape and outdoor photographer, it might be time to stop capturing those iconic landscape scenes.
In this video, Michael the Maven goes over shortcomings in the usability of the Canon EOS R mirrorless camera and contrasts them with what he has found as the superior usability design of the Nikon Z7 mirrorless camera.
Asking for feedback on your own images is a healthy practice and can help improve your work. Learning how to give quality feedback to other photographers not only contributes to the community and helps fellow image makers, but it can also improve your own photography.
It has been ten years since I started work as a professional photographer and I had the chance to survive in this crowded business over these years. Let me share some of my experiences throughout this journey.
With famous locations getting so crowded, working photographers often fall by the wayside. So should there be a pecking order?
Yes, photographers can and do have bad days. Following your favorite photographers on Instagram, it might seem that all the photographers in the world are cruising along while you alone battle horrible days. And guess what, bad days are more common than you might think. So, it is important that we as a community learn and help each other survive bad days. I’ve created an action plan for myself that has helped me overcome difficult days and I hope this will help you as well.
Do you ever feel like you are not reaching your potential? Learn why you need to stop thinking and just go out and start doing things.
With Photokina behind us and the unprecedented amount of new cameras and lenses announced over the past few months, we’ve had some time to let the dust settle, and there is something very interesting about just how differently Canon and Nikon are approaching the full frame mirrorless camera market. The question is: who is right?
Landscape photography used to be about discovering new places and creating incredible images that no one had seen before. Nowadays, it feels like it's more about checking the location tag of something spotted on Instagram and photographing a scene that has already been shot to death.
Apple don’t have a flagship product at the low end, so which one should you pick?
A little over a month ago, I got married. Now that the dust has settled, I thought I might share some realizations I had from being on the other side of the camera lens for a change.
Whenever a new iPhone is released, we start to see comparisons being made against "proper" cameras. Generally speaking, these comparisons are met with some hostility and the most frequent comment I see is about how iPhones will never replace proper cameras. I wonder, would it be a good thing if smartphones actually did replace our cameras?
By now, no one is surprised by the actions of reality television star, Kim Kardashian-West. With such a massive following on social media, it seems like she could wipe her rear, post the paper on Instagram and we'd have an instant Instagram hit. After all, art is subjective, right? Were the images she used in her recent campaign to launch her newest line of perfume used in good taste, or was the advertising concept a fail supported by her massive... following?
I recently wrote an article asking photographers to stop tagging locations of outdoor photographs. Here's a follow-up to that piece, with a great supplemental video from Vox.
"What if he falls?" That was the central question faced by filmmakers Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin when deciding whether to document Alex Honnold's historic climb of Yosemite National Park's iconic El Capitan. The duo examines their own decision-making process in this recent op-ed published in The New York Times.
Micro four-thirds is a sensor size with which companies like Panasonic and Olympus have developed a number of very popular cameras. The most popular being the GH series of cameras, namely the Panasonic GH5. Recently, Panasonic opted to develop a full frame camera system and many including myself feel that the days of micro four-thirds are now numbered.
Throughout the course of my creative career, I’ve overdrawn my bank account a lot, shed tears over stress, and stared in the mirror for hours in dejection. I’ve made my share of professional and personal mistakes and certainly learned the hard way from all of those choices. I’ve lost, I’ve won, I’ve sacrificed, and I’m blessed to have earned.
Every couple weeks we release a new episode of Critique the Community where Fstoppers members can submit their best images to a genre specific contest for a chance to receive feedback and win a free Fstoppers original tutorial. This week, we changed things up and selected only 5 star images to discuss.
If you’re anything like me, you spend half your time fighting for new business and the other half fighting your urge to spend the money you make from new business on gear. So, for a bit of fun, today I thought I’d share my own personal, self-directed pep talk whenever I feel the urge to splurge.
Photographers, artists, and Instagrammers. A common theme unites all: the use of a camera. But there's also a significant mindset and philosophy, in my opinion, that separates the three.
