This Simple Strategy Sells More Photos
Put your camera down. Over there. Immediately. You don't need it if you want to earn more money as a photographer.
Put your camera down. Over there. Immediately. You don't need it if you want to earn more money as a photographer.
It’s officially hot outside in my neck of the woods, but that doesn't mean I can to take a break from shooting outside! I still have to sweat it out, hauling my gear around from location to location and that means my clients have to feel the sting of the summer heat as well. Although it’s steaming out, I don’t want my images to look like they were taken inside the nearest oven set to broil. Thankfully, there is a super quick and easy way to fix those heat flushed skin tones.
As photographers, we all have our strengths and weaknesses. But there’s one disadvantage that almost every photographer has in common.
Before today’s launch of the Sony a7R IV in the U.S., I had the opportunity to use the new 61-megapixel camera on a few occasions. Ultimately, these hands-on experiences led me to purchasing it for animal photography and in this article I list a few reasons behind the decision.
Remember the Nikon D600? It's a great camera other than the fact that the shutter would spray oil all over the sensor. The oil can't easily be seen at wide open apertures but it's a major problem when you stop down. Due to a class action lawsuit Nikon is replacing D600s with new D610... For some people.
Earlier this year Lukas Renlund, a 30-year old professional photographer from Scandinavia, sat down and tried to imagine what the photography industry might look like in 5 or 10 years. That imagination-session lead him to quickly start a new photography/media company named 'Not So Fast | Media'. Instead of offering still photographs to their clients, the new company focuses only on creating motion photographs- Beautiful moving images.
James Cameron graces this months cover of National Geographic for good reason. Not long ago, Cameron took his solo manned submarine Deepsea Challenge, to depths no other human has traveled into Challenger Deep.
In the behind the scenes video, we get to see photographer Marco Grob working through pre-production with the team, how the shoot came together in a couple of hours and the tracking down a huge tank (apparently from America's Next Top Model) for the shoot.
The new iMac is here, and of course, it’s sporting the fancy new M1 processor that’s inside everything Apple these days. That’s great news all around, but I have a feeling that Apple’s got something even bigger up its sleeve for the real creative set.
One of those most important parts of any portrait sessions is what happens after the shoot is over. In the last part of this series I want to talk a bit about the end of your photo session, and how you can ensure you have a happy client that will not only come back for more but will tell their friends how awesome the experience was. Almost every day I get a call from someone asking me to advertise on Google. I simply reply “no thank you” as I don’t feel that Google can compete with word of mouth. As I have mentioned in first part of this series, word of mouth is one of the most powerful advertising weapons you have, with the ability to grow your business exponentially. This will be a bit different for everyone, but I think you can take this and apply it to any type of photography session you do.
One of the most important compositional decisions to make when photographing pets is choosing a focal length. Due to perspective and lens distortion, ultra wide angles (generally considered to be less than 24mm on a full frame camera) can yield unflattering results when photographing humans. However, when photographing pets, shooting with an ultra-wide angle lens can do wonders in making your photos stand out.
I owe a lot of the success I’ve had in my career to the critique I’ve had from other photographers. Since specializing though, I’ve had to unlearn many of those lessons. Specializing has proven to me that critiques from photographers are often wrong.
It is pretty common knowledge that photography is based on understanding the principles of good lighting. It's also pretty common for the average photographer not to have the budget to afford a studio and light their subject from 8 different directions. Instead of worrying about not having enough, use the natural light you do have.
Long exposure photography is a powerful technique in landscape photography, allowing you to capture the smooth, dynamic movement of clouds and water while keeping stationary elements sharp. One challenge we often face is dealing with moving subjects, such as boats, which can result in blurred images if not properly stabilized. Ensuring the stability of boats is crucial to achieving sharp, high-quality long exposures.
Canon's mirrorless lenses have been esoteric, exquisite, and... expensive. While they're certainly spectacular pieces of glass, some photographers have been waiting for the more standard workhorses to come along. The good news is that they are on their way quite soon.
Let's address the elephant in the room right off the bat, this monitor is absolutely massive. I have a fairly large desk and plenty of space at home to house this beast but it still seems large when viewing in the open. Though, it really comes down to how well it feels when working on it. To be blunt, it feels freaking amazing.
As always, I would like to preface this article with a bit about my background in commercial photography as well as my technical knowledge, or lack thereof.
As a wedding photographer, the engagement session is probably one of the best ways to get to know your clients before spending 8 or more hours with them on their wedding day. These sessions are about the two of them as a couple and how they fell in love. Most of my sessions are held about 2 hours before the sun sets, but what about when you have a couple that wants to shoot at sunrise? I have to admit, I hardly ever get up any earlier than 9 AM most days, so the thought of being functional at 6 AM was terrifying. But the results? The light was beautiful and completely worth it.
Like Photoshop, Lightroom is a powerful piece of software. Sadly most of us learn the basics and don't take advantage of all that is has to offer. One powerful feature is called the "Survey View." Are you taking advantage of it? If not, take a couple minutes to watch this two minute video where I go over how to use the tool and the shortcut to get there.
This month we teamed up with SLR Lounge and Kelly Moore for an awesome Facebook Fan giveaway. With an overwheleming number of entries, I'd say this contest was even more successful than last month's. Without further adieu the winner of this month's Facebook Fan contest is....
It is World Photography Day, and to celebrate, Apple has shared some of the most impressive photographs from their #shotoniPhone campaign from around the world. Not only are they beautiful, they are an important reminder that the best camera is the one you have with you.
In my old hometown of Houston, Texas, residents and officials are assessing the damage left in the wake of Hurricane Harvey which has left entire highways underwater, small towns decimated, and approximately 30,000 people evacuated. When a tragedy like this happens in our own backyard, we have a plethora of photographers to thank for capturing the aftermath. Erin Trieb is a Texas native who lives in Turkey but happened to be visiting family in Houston when Hurricane Harvey hit. Trieb has a history of documenting trauma left by war and conflict in the Middle East due to her role as a conflict photographer for National Geographic.
Personal feeling: we don’t give our websites enough attention. It’s usually a “good enough” situation. It shows our photos, gets our name on Google and it serves as a place for us to send clients and prospects. That attitude tends to result in an attitude of “settling.” We settle for what we find and it is, again, good enough. Or is it? I wasn't ready to just be happy with "good enough" on my website.
Earlier today, we posted about Target forgoing the use of Photoshop in their latest ad campaign, when one of our eagle-eyed readers pointed out that it may not be true that Target went Photoshop-free, which would not be the first time the company was caught in such a fiasco.
Mastering any craft takes a lot of time, intentional practice, and dedication. However, getting out of the blocks quickly can put you further along that path, sooner.
When it comes to deciding how good a particular image is, there are three aspects that I think are most important: composition, lighting, and colors. These three properties could be described as the technical attributes of an image. There are those who have compared this image to The Birth of Venus and the Virgin Mary, based on a number of styling choices, one can see some similarities.
I have been fortunate enough to be on the receiving end of some great advice over the years. In this article, I go over the five bits that have resonated the most with me and that I think of on every shoot.
Photographers — myself included — love using wide-open apertures of fast glass. If we need something more in focus than that can offer, we'll use around the sweet spot of the lens, or from f/8 to f/11. But what about all the apertures in between?
Known for combining functionality with aesthetics, Olympus is also synonymous with innovation. Their unique features, great design, and ergonomics result in an increasing flow of photographers, both young and old, from other brands to their stable.
As a headshot and portrait photographer, I'm always looking to streamline my process and create consistent results for my clients. With that in mind I want to share with you my "bread and butter," super-simple setup I've been using for the last two years.
The favorite plug-in amongst many photographers just got a little better, which is great news! In case you haven't read my last article covering what JPEGmini does and what it's all about, it's both a software and plug-in that cuts the file size of every high-resolution photo in half while still retaining photo size and resolution. Sounds impossible, right? We put it to the test and the results did pleasantly surprise us. With that said, JPEGmini listened to what customers had to say and are finally sharing updates to all. Let's dive into what they've added.