Gear Acquisition Syndrome isn’t found in the New England Journal of Medicine, but it’s a reality for photographers the world over. But why?
It always starts innocently enough: you buy a new camera and start taking photos. Then someone you know asks a favor and you’re all too happy to oblige them with all the photos you can snap. Fast forward just a small amount of time later and you realize, with great sorrow, this phase of freebies doesn’t have an end.
Let’s address the elephant in the room: there are probably 1.2 trillion pieces of content about running a business. I’ve read maybe half of them myself, and there’s some outstanding information available, but let’s set a goal to create the top mistakes to avoid when you decide to go from hobbyist to professional.
Danish Siddiqui was no stranger to dangerous situations, having captured images of the Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar that garnered a team Pulitzer Prize in 2018. He put himself in harm's way during the tensions between the Hindu majority and Muslim minority in Delhi and again during the pandemic. His images of funeral piers in India were in stark contrast to the government's statements that the COVID response was well in hand.
There are endless articles and videos discussing the pros and cons of shooting in raw versus shooting in JPEG. I’ve long been a proponent of raw for the editing capabilities, but what's more important than file sizes and editing? Longevity.
Things are still topsy-turvy with certain restrictions around the world, but in New York City, clients are bringing me into their offices again for headshots, so I wanted to share what I bring and why.
There are endless apps and web services available for small business owners to build a CRM database. For those not familiar with CRM, it stands for Customer Relationship Management. Basically, it's where you store, categorize, and update your customer’s information.
On May 13, an illegally flown drone crashed on the nesting grounds at Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve in Huntington Beach, California. This isn’t the first time a drone has crashed in the protected wetlands. This time, it coincided with the breeding season for thousands of terns, and as a result, the birds abandoned their nests, thinking it was a predator.
Ever wonder what it would be like to cuddle with lions? Or how about watch owls dance to hip-hop? Action cameras are amazing tools to capture once-in-a-lifetime moments but what about capturing nature in all its wonder and weirdness?
We live in a world where if you have a need for something, almost without fail, there's an app for that. The trick is to find one that's useful now but that can also adapt to your needs over time. It'd be nice if it was free as well.
Let's be honest, surviving the dumpster fire of 2020 is a serious badge of honor. Regardless of where you are or what you had to do, you're here. A large part of that is due to a combination of passion and perseverance. There's a word for that.
Early on in our photographic career, it seemed as though every photo we took was a new masterpiece. It was clear that I was meant to be a photographer by the awe-inspiring photos I was taking of the streets of New York. Fast-forward a few years, and you couldn't pay me to admit those photos were mine, much less show them.
Everything is copyable in the digital age and that's not including copyright infringement or stealing imagery. Nor is it an indictment for following the popularity curve. When something is trending on any online platform, creators are going to jump on the bandwagon. It's not an if, but a when.
Staying focused is a premium in the 21st century, and nothing makes you feel more lost in the sauce than not knowing which way your lens is pointed. This method will help you stay focused and help create a system to save all the information you come across in a searchable database for future reference.
