Business

Have you ever had a client dismiss a project after you have already put in hours of work? What are you supposed to do when a client brings in a second professional to also work on your project? What can you do if a client says your work isn't really what they were looking for after you have already delivered the final project? Mike Monteiro is the design director at Mule Design Studio. During a seminar at CreativeMornings, Mike gave a really insightful and thorough speech about how a creative professional can protect his work and payment in the event that something goes wrong with the client or job. This video is long but it should at least make you aware of issues you might face on your journey to becoming a professional photographer. At the most this video will make you reconsider your contracts (if you even have them) and put the proper legal checkpoints in place to prevent problems down the road. If you've had a bad experience that a solid contract would have solved, let us know in the comments.

One of the first things you learn as a photographer is to get a proper model release when considering to sell your work commercially. However, simply having a model release still might not prevent you from litigation. A law firm recently published an ad looking to represent firefighters who were affected by the federal James Zadroga Act. The advertising agency used by the law firm photoshopped a stock image of Robert Keiley who was modeling as a firefighter. They then created a scene where it appeared as if he had been at Ground Zero on 9/11. The argument is how much can a stock image be altered before it becomes false advertising (the ad did clearly state that the image was a depiction of a 9/11 firefighter)? In this Fox News story, two attorneys give two different sides of the argument. I think the law might fall in favor of the law firm who hired the ad agency; what do you guys think?

Brandt Botes is an award winning graphic designer based out of CapeTown, South Africa. Just like photographers and other creative professionals, graphic designers struggle with creative and economic challenges when they venture out on their own and start a new business. Brandt recently started his boutique design shop Studio Botes and decided to take some advice from other creative entrepreneurs who have also dealt with going solo professionally. Many of the little sayings in this video are really clever but most of them are absolutely true. What points stick out the most for those of you who have had success with your own business? I think 5:00 is my personal motto :)

Going Solo. from Studio Botes on Vimeo.

I can't tell you how many photographers I encounter think being successful has to do with being at the right place at the right time. Sure a bit of luck on your side always helps, but if you are looking to quit your day job to become a professional photographer, increase your photography income over last year's earnings, or catapult your career as one of the industry leaders then you need to work hard and work smart. The guys over at Photoshelter sat down with professional photographer Brian Smith to talk about what it takes to push your career to the next level. You simply can't wait for your big break, you need to create them.

Harry How is a sports photographer without any prior photography training. With hard work, determination, and a pressing urge to create images that hold up against his peers' photographs, Harry now has a career shooting for Getty Images. In this video Harry explains in detail what it takes to make the transition from hobbyist to full time professional and outlines his gear and little tips throughout his own transition into a sports photographer. If you enjoy this type of candid interview, be sure to hit the full post to watch part 2 and part 3 of this video series.

About 95% of the time I can guess the quality of a photographer by the design of their website before the first image even loads. If you want people to take your work seriously a Flickr page isn't going to cut it. You may think that you can't afford a professional website; think again. For the next 18 days Creative Motion Design is giving Fstoppers.com readers 60% off their already incredibly low website prices. With this discount their websites start at just $38.00. I know there are other template websites out there that have notoriously bad customer service (I've experienced it first hand) but CMD actually posts their phone number on the front of their website. Still don't believe me? Well you can test out a website completely for free by simply clicking on "free trial" by any of their sites. We all work so hard to produce amazing images and now there is absolutely no excuse for not having a professional way to display them. Check out the full post to see a video on how easy these sites are to customize.

FS reader Jordan Murphy just sent us an email moments ago asking if we would post more videos about the business side of photography. His timing could not have been more perfect because a few days ago I watched a great video on just that by Allen Murabayashi. The video below is not going to be as fun to watch as a fast paced BTS but this is the stuff that will take a hobby and turn it into a profession. Most people think that I am a successful photographer because I take good pictures and that is simply not true. Having a solid product is important but getting it into the hands of a customer is the hard part. How dedicated are you?

Put More Business in Your Photo Business from PhotoShelter.com on Vimeo.

After starting off as a graphic designer, Jeremy Cowart stepped onto the photography scene with a sink or swim mentality. I love the series Chase Jarvis is doing over at Creative Live with real photographers, and this one with Jeremy is top notch. Chase definitely subscribes to our mentality of sharing knowledge freely, and I think you can learn a lot from this video whether you are a professional photographer or just someone who enjoys it as a hobby. I almost did not post this because the audio at the beginning is really rough on the speakers so be forewarned. Also while you are watching this video, head over to Jeremy's website to see a wide variety of images within his portfolio.

Are you planning to build your own studio one day? If not, this video probably won't interested you. But, if you do dream of having a studio (like most photographers do) then this video will get you one step closer. The incredibly talented Sam Robles takes you through the step by step process of building a cyc wall from scratch.

How to build a cyclorama wall from Sam Robles on Vimeo.

Are you a photographer and an iPad owner? If so, you are really going to love this. Are you a photographer who swore you would never buy an iPad because it's just an over-sized iPod Touch? Well you are about to change your mind. We have recently figured out that with nothing more than a jailbroken iPad and an Eye-Fi Pro X2 card, you can wirelessly tether the two without the need for a separate network. This "hack" is so useful that we have decided to give away a free iPad randomly to one of our twitter followers. Please read the full post to learn more.

How To Directly Tether Your Camera To An iPad By Lee Morris from FStoppers on Vimeo.

FS reader Teymur Madjderey just sent us this interesting video. Bill Frakes and Joe McNally stand up for an iPad interview. Strange yes, but worth watching.

Bill Frakes and Joe McNally iPad Interview from Manfrotto on Vimeo.

Chase Jarvis has started a really cool idea called Creative Live in which he gives back helpful information to other creative individuals. In this video Chase sits down with Jasmine Star who is one of the top wedding photographers in the business. I first came across Jasmine through David Jay and instantly fell in love with her. I love how they express their frustrations with living a typical 9 to 5 lifestyle and how professional photography allowed them to live the life they wanted to live. Just like them, I too went to school for something compeletely opposite of photography, and it was conversations like this that eventually lead me to change my career path to become the photographer I am today. Chase says it really well when he says, "There is no prescription for how you get to become a photographer." This video is not about fstoppers and shutterspeeds but rather about how to take control of your life and your passions and turn them into a business. I know wedding photography often gets a bad wrap but through wedding photography, I have been able to support myself financially every weekend and still have time to pursue other fields of photography during the week. Jasmine Star's story is about as good as it gets, and it's inspiring to hear her share her success story with everyone so candidly. I hope you guys enjoy this video as much as I have and I'm only half way through it! <

Chase Jarvis has apparently figured out the secrets of creating a viral video. I think he released this video 3 days ago and it already has 50,000 views. I don't mean to keep posting CJ videos but they are all really good so here another. Check it out! <

Earlier in the week we posted a quick video from Annie's photoshoot with Keith Richards. Today I thought I'd share an interview Time Magazine did with Leibovitz where she talks about some of her work, what it's like running a photoshoot, how she used to work with her assistants, and the whole Miley Cyrus controversy. There are no cameras or crazy lighting in this video but I think all of that stuff becomes secondary in comparison to being a confident photographer, having great ideas, and executing a productive photoshoot. Hope you enjoy <

I was just chatting with some people from Atlanta about which photographer to feature for the next FS video and Zack Arias seemed to be the hands down favorite. Well Chase Jarvis beat us to it so I'll pass this along to you. I have no idea how you can have a 2 hour video on youtube but if you have time to watch this check it out; they cover quite a bit of interesting topics that are sure to help you with your own photography and business. Enjoy <

Peter Hurley is a true inspiration. Not only is he an amazing headshot photographer but he is also one of the most fun, energetic, and encouraging photographers I have ever met. Click the post to read more about how we got in touch with him and what we couldn't show you in this video. <

Patrick and I shoot and edit all of our videos but we had to hire someone to do the animation work (our intro and outro logos). That someone was Dan Dawley of Swell Motion Graphics. It took me about 2 months and about 30 terrible animators until I finally found Dan. He works fast (each animation in a matter of hours) and his prices were more than fair. Since he has worked for us we have become good friends and he actually came out to CO with us to help with the Dave Lehl snowboard video. If you need any motion graphics he is your man. His show reel is below and his newly launched website is www.swell.tv

Today I am featuring a video that has hands down been the most important bit of information I credit in my own personal success as a photographer. Watch as Chase Jarvis encouraging young photographers to continue being creative and how to build success around your photography.

Chase Jarvis at PhotoShelter Event from PhotoShelter.com on Vimeo.

Patrick Hall is one of the founders and writers for fstoppers. In the summer when he is not shooting commercially, Patrick enjoys shooting weddings in Charleston. Check out this slideshow featuring his favorite images of 2009.