Opinion

Photography is an art and a wonderful hobby to get yourself involved in. There comes a point where many hobbyists decide to turn that passion into a full-time career, and when that happens, it is imperative to have a solid strategy in place to be financially stable. Photography can be a volatile career, more so than most businesses, so here are three strategies I use to make sure I stay profitable.

When I wrote "Seven Things About Being a Photographer I Wish I'd Known Earlier," I wasn't expecting such a strong response. I had far more than seven things I wish I'd known, but I tried to trim the fat and keep the article lean. Well, I liked the fat. So, now I'm compiling the trimmings into their own article, although I don't mean to infer that these eight are less important than my first seven; they aren't. I also can't guarantee there won't be a further set in the future. Make of that what you will.

Branding yourself is probably one of the most important things you can do as a photographer. It is important to showcase your work, whether it is your best work at the time, your best work overall, or even some of the work you just like most. I personally put up the images I think are best, but a lot of the time, I can be very picky, and I tend not to like certain photos when other people still really like them. This is something that is 100% up to you. You are the person choosing what you want to show as a reflection of you and what you do.

For many of us, photography is a form of art, or at least there is an artistic process behind it. More than that, each of us strive to have a "style" that is an artistic consistency to our work. Photography, however, is quite different from your traditional art-making process. There is as much technical knowledge required as artistic or creative inspiration and thinking. This separates the process into two distinct parts: the shoot and the edit. These two parts are equally important to your identity as a photographer.

Let me preface this article by saying that I LOVE Billy and the rest of the team at Resource. I’ve shared quite a few hung-over mornings with you guys at misc. photo conferences and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I would also like to note that I disagree with much of the article that they just ran.

You can have the tools, and you can have the know how, but what is one of the most powerful skills that most photographers, videographers, and just about anyone else will swear by in a creative industry? The power of forethought and pre-planning. Granted, for some this step isn’t as important as it is to others. However, whether you sit down and make a shot list, sketch out some rough ideas for shots, or just develop a really strong concept of what you want to accomplish on a project, most people do pre-plan in some way shape or form.

I keep seeing Community Over Competition everywhere. People get upset at another photographer for "stealing" a client or undercutting their prices, and go on tangents about how creating community is more important than competing with one another. While I do agree that community is extremely important, (I mean who else is going to listen to us gripe about the industry and let us bounce ideas off of them?) I also believe that competition is healthy for the industry, and for you.

When SLR Lounge Founding Partner Pye Jirsa, noticed his studio's IT needs had grown to 'beast' levels, he decided they should perform a series of tests to find out which machine was best suited for their needs. Taking two similarly priced boxes, a $4,431 iMac, and a $4,370 custom built PC, they set to the task of testing each machines' speeds in Adobe's Lightroom.

The mania surrounding food photography is a pretty recent phenomenon. In the last decade, what used to be a niche in photography took social media by storm and ever since has been one of the favorite topics for a huge amount of accounts. It is supposedly the second most popular subject of photography fanatics on Instagram after the selfie tsunami. I sat down to talk with Hein van Tonder, a food photographer carving his way into the food royalty.

New York City-based photographer Arne Svenson spent a lot of time in the news after he pointed his telephoto lens at his neighbors' windows and began photographing them for the sake of art. Understandably many of his subjects were outraged when they learned that they had been secretly photographed and put on display for Svenson's profit. The resulting lawsuits spanned two separate courts and several years, during which, Svenson had remained mostly silent.

Do you spend more time researching photography gear than shooting? Do you believe that you can’t achieve a particular look without buying the latest shiny product? Then you might be suffering from G.A.S., also known as Gear Acquisition Syndrome. Step into my office and let me share some prescriptions that can help you cure this debilitating disease!

We are living in an era that everyone complains about their bulky camera gear and how hard it is to carry it all day. Many photographers are now switching to mirrorless cameras for this reason. But hey, there is another solution for that: You can minimize your lenses and other gear, rather than changing your main camera body. That's what I did.

I’m probably not going to be winning any friends by sticking up for the undercutters, but I just don’t think that they’re hurting you as much as you think they are. In fact, I think they might actually be helping you.

I recently posted an engagement photo in a Facebook group and immediately got a comment on it. The comment said: "Awful expression on her face... would not keep this picture." Although I have pretty thick skin when it comes to snide comments and CC on my images, this comment really got under my skin.

Conducting a smooth running photo shoot is a challenge. You need to create the right set conditions, manage the equipment, and deal with the models. Thankfully, there are several steps you can take in choosing the right models, while providing them with a relaxed and smooth-running environment. Having relaxed models can make or break a photo shoot because they’ll give you a more natural performance, which translates into memorable photos. Here are ten tips for working with models and managing the set in order run an efficient shoot and produce natural imagery:

COOPH Video Director, Matthew Rycroft, continues to make my job easier by sending me engaging content to share with the Fstoppers' community. Their latest video focuses on the ability, we all have as photographers, to capture unique, iconic, and fun moments. Watch "The Power of a Photograph," as it highlights twenty-two iconic photos that depict loss, depression, defiance, bravery, triumph, love and respect.

Canon has announced a hilariously boring and ambiguous camera, just in time for NAB: the ME200S-SH (catchy, right?). They want it to be an all-rounder, but it may just be subpar in every single category.

It's an unavoidable topic in American conversations. In the photography world, it seems to pop up on the forums and Facebook groups often enough to warrant further consideration: guns. Not necessarily in the heated, political debate sense, but to ask this question: In a world where carrying a concealed weapon has become more normalized and photographers spend more time in remote and urban locations, do firearms have a place in your business?

With great photography comes great responsibility. Taking photos can be fun, yet challenging at times, especially when you hit a creative rut. Remember, you don't need the most expensive camera or years of experience to have fun and create amazing images.

We love our images. We put our heart, soul, sweat, and tears into our work and we can't wait to share it with the world! But one of the more popular practices in the photography industry is watermarking. The concept behind watermarking is understandable and useful, but in reality, is it really a necessity? I will explain why for my third installment of my community discussions.

The previous article about the processed image ended with similar arguments both for and against digital manipulation, and the artist’s disclosure of such actions. But how does the motivation for creating art through both photography and creative editing arise? I’ve gathered a panel of fellow international landscape photographers to expatiate on the power of the processed image. Professional landscape photographers Ryan Dyar, Felipe Gómez, and Simon Roppel are here to help us understand why certain decisions in editing process are made, as well as in the field.

Human beings have rendered images of themselves in one form or another since the beginning of our species. The desire to try and capture the human essence in something that will outlast the physical body is universal; the need to encapsulate our understandings of “self” and “others” is found in every culture throughout the world. But have digital cameras, selfie sticks, iPhones, and Snapchat made such a pursuit so mind numbingly easy, that it has now completely lost it’s value?

In this series, I'm tying philosophy, post-processing and the nature of beauty together through the genre of landscape photography. We're going to take a closer look at what beauty actually is, before I propose a new definition for photography.

When we think what defines our brand as photographers, we think of our logo, website, and even the style of imagery we create. But, everything that is related and connected to us and our company is a representation of our brand — from the way we answer our emails, interact with our clients, down to the pants we wear, the bag we carry our gear in, and the overall way we present ourselves to the world. Every detail reflects back on our company and in the end reflects back on our bottom line.

As a studio owner I am privileged to see many different photographers working in my studio space. I have a chance to observe their individual working styles and to see what results in success. Over the past couple years I have noticed some rather interesting trends. Let me give you some insider tips after observing how some of the top photographers work.

It's true that doubt can be so bad it’ll make you want to stop creating or showing your work to the world. But if you flip it on its head, it can actually help you become a better photographer.

You might find today very interesting for Instagram. It seems like everyone on your feed is posting a hefty range of different photos telling you to "turn on notifications" on their feed. If you missed Andrew's regarding Instagram changes, check it out to find out the latest on how Instagram handles feeds. Changes will definitely be happening whether you like it or not. But is that something to worry about?

The processed photograph is growing more popular. Whether that has to do with the technology involved in image processing becoming more accessible to many is up for debate. Maybe it is a gradual shift of the human perception of what we call the art of photography. I have asked a handful of professional landscape photographers to contribute to the case of the processed photograph, making this second part in this series more practical than the rather philosophical first article.

A few weeks ago, we asked the Fstoppers Community to submit their best Concert Photography, you all rocked out! It took us a little longer to get the Critique back in front of your eyes with Lee Morris' wedding and finishing up the new Joey Wright Swimwear tutorial, but we finally have it ready for you. We selected twenty of our favorite images to review. Take a look at the selections and add your thoughts in the comments below!

A lot of photographers are afraid to put their work out into the public eye for fear that its not perfect. A lot of work goes unseen because the photographer wasn't comfortable enough to show what they created. Chase Jarvis interviews Austin Kleon, the author of the book Show Your Work!: 10 Ways To Share Your Creativity And Get Discovered, and delves in 3 reasons not showing your work is a bad idea.