Getting a degree in photography can seem like a great way to get a college degree and still pursue what you love, yet many, many college graduates end up failing, despite having four years of intensive training in photography. This great video explores just why that is.
In the past few weeks, Nikon and Canon have released their new mirrorless offerings, the Z7 and R, to much fanfare. Despite the great specs and form factor, I won't buy either for one simple reason: neither one has dual card slots. I never shoot anything without dual card slots, and neither should you.
Wedding photography, like any business, is bound to have its bumps in the road, and it's always unpleasant when we have to deal with them. This cautionary tale will remind you why it's important to have the proper safeguards in place no matter what genre of photography you work in.
Providing a service to clients as a small business comes with risks. At some point during the course of photographing a wedding, every photographer will run into an unforeseen circumstance. Are you prepared to face the unexpected?
One of the most difficult aspects of professional photography is dealing with business. This will help.
As creatives, most of us know the value of a strong internet presence and what that can do to boost brand recognition and our business bottom-line, but we don’t always know how to make the best of that presence. I spoke with a successful web builder and graphic designer to get a glimpse of the most important aspects of boosting web potential for photographers.
One of the lies we tell ourselves when presented with a challenge — an opportunity to stride forward — is that we aren't ready or aren't prepared enough. Well, you never will be.
A lot of photographers are quite talented when it comes to using a camera and Photoshop, but being good at making money as a photographer is an entirely different skill. This helpful video will give you some very good tips for ensuring you're making the money you deserve in photography.
We have all heard the old adage: buy cheap and buy twice. Here are five things you shouldn’t skimp on.
Dear Thumbtack, you’ve been a major national player in service-sector networking, including the field I love, professional photography. I appreciate the jobs I accessed through you in the past. But the door on that past, I’m sorry to have to say, is closed.
It’s no secret that Instagram has been working on its algorithm for quite some time. Gone are the days of tricking the algorithm to get more visibility. Now, more than ever, Instagram values excellent content. Here are a few practices to avoid when posting on the popular social platform.
Deciding which images to keep and which to throw away is one of the hardest lessons to learn for new photographers. One would think that it gets easier with experience, but the more you learn the harder it can get.
There's no universal manual for becoming a professional photographer, and it can be a bit daunting trying to figure it all out on your own. This helpful video will give you nine tips to get you on the right track.
SSL has become the preferred way for all sites to be displayed as opposed to only being used for shopping carts and pages where you would enter personal data. For some time, there's been a transition from http to https, and it was a choice mostly based on the intended activities of your website viewers.
With 2018 being the year of mirrorless, it is tempting for many of us to fall into the trap of trying to spend our way to good photography rather than using our own talents. And while having appropriate gear is essential to the trade, it’s equally important to think twice before sacrificing your business for the latest trends.
Raising your prices will not only keep your bank manager happy, but it will also help to accelerate your career. Time to add a few more zeros to your next photography invoice.
I’ve been working as a full-time professional photographer — meaning that 100 percent of my income is from photography — for over eight years. For the most part, I know what I’m doing. But I still make the time to assist other photographers when I can, and here’s why.
There is a ton of information and so many great resources on how to raise money for a project with crowdfunding these days. So I’m going to skip the tips and show you proven strategies to fund your projects no matter what they are.
If you’re just starting off with marketing yourself and your photography business, building and displaying your portfolio is probably at the top of your to-do list. Here are a few aspects to consider when putting together your initial photography portfolio.
Staying afloat as a photographer means having several revenue streams. Here are seven ways I had not expected to be paid as a photographer.
When a photographer is desperate for bookings, an inexperienced business owner will turn to the only option they know of: lowering their prices. Before doing this, you should consider all of the other options you have before deciding to compete with others on price.
For photographers, taking pictures comes naturally. Marketing, creating content, and blogging, however, may not flow as easily. Here are a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing when creating content for your blog.
Most of you might be saying: "you're nuts! Haven’t you been sailing? Luxury car driving? Golfing all over the place?" And luckily, I have, and let me tell you, photography is the most expensive sport I have ever practiced.
We all get stressed about our gear at some point in our careers. Knowing how much and what quality of photography gear you need is complicated. This will help shed some light on exactly how much equipment a professional photographer needs.
Once you’ve had a measure of success in your business, the next step is to figure out how to sustain it. This video shares what areas to continue to focus on to avoid failure in our industry.
Have you ever wanted to step up and shoot high-end wedding clients? I am sure we all have that yearning to improve our clientele circle and keep progressing. Guess what? It is not all that difficult.
If you’ve done photography professionally for any amount of time, you’ve probably found yourself succumbing to the daily grind of the job, and in turn, it becomes an obligation. If this is you and you’ve found yourself in a creative rut, here are a few ways to climb your way out.
At some point in our career, we all have to deal with a nightmare client. Here are a few tips to help spot them and then avoid them.
Back in March, I got an email saying that my website had been taken down due to malware. Essentially, I got hacked. In the months that followed, I learned some things about being a photographer, about web design, and about myself.
Sometimes the lessons learned as a child are the most useful as an adult. Even if they were lessons to forget.
A recent anonymous social media post is being spread like wildfire all over many photography groups and pages. In it, a woman claims she has had all of her accounts frozen, has a lien on her home, is being held liable for over $45,000 in delinquent taxes, and might possibly be banned from doing business in her county, because for five years, she has failed to report income she has made from photography.
When it comes to sending an important email, timing can be quite literally the difference between success and failure. Take the following things into consideration before you next hit the send button.
Saying "I do" to a business partnership with your spouse or partner can be enticing. You love your spouse or partner, but does that mean you should be business partners? Is it worth risking the personal relationship for the business relationship?
If you’re trying to build your photography business, having a brand is essential to your success. Here’s why you need to focus on building your photography brand.
Sometimes there are lessons that can affect both new photographers and veterans alike.
In a small town in West Texas, one photographer has established a thriving business that rivals big city photography studios. “We’re in podunk Texas,” Kaleigh Horelica says with a spirited, self-deprecating laugh. Although Abilene isn’t an affluent market, it has been the perfect place for Kaleigh to grow a successful studio that earns over six figures in annual revenue.
Many photographers love spending time in the outdoors, photographing the natural world. But not everyone can sustain their passion into a full-time job. Watch this video to learn how one landscape photographer makes money with his craft.
Attempting to break into the professional scene is the same for most aspiring photographers, and any advice is welcomed by the novice. But, anyone who's more interested in photographing large inanimate objects than people might want to watch this.
Rapidly advancing photo and video technology gives us a seemingly endless glut of new ways to create our visions. As creatives, it's tempting to explore every advancement in pursuit of our ultimate vision. The question is, should you?
It’s likely that if you're reading this, you are interested in some aspect of photography. If you are interested in making an income from your photography, something you may be struggling with is marketing yourself and your work. This video from Don Giannatti will give you the kick in the pants you need to get yourself out there and get paying clients.
Building a skilled team is a sure way to up the production value of your shoot and improve the quality of your work, but if you’re collaborating with other artists, you’d better give them what they need.
Jared Polin uploaded his latest video, “The Harsh Truth About Photography, Business, Success, and Life.” The video details a conversation he had with a film student in Philadelphia.
Wedding season is in full swing in the UK. It can be a tiring and stressful time, so here are five tips to help you get through.
Social media is a powerful thing that can vault photographers into the spotlight overnight. It can also bring them down in seconds.
The photography industry and it’s consumers would both benefit from introducing the predominant mobile phone sales model.
If you know anything about SEO (search engine optimization), then you know that finding good keywords is, well, key. Here are a few ways to find new keyword ideas and how to implement them on your website.
Today, I state the obvious. But sometimes even the most obvious things can be easy to forget.
Once you learn how to make Parkinson's law work for you as a photographer, you'll be taking your career to a whole new level in no time.
Being a professional photographer is about more than just excelling at creating imagery; in fact, that's often only a small part of what goes into being successful. This great video talks about exactly the kind of mindset you need to have to make it as a professional photographer.
Straight to the point today: is photography, or the pursuit of anything creative or artistic as a legitimate profession, a thankless pursuit and vocation?