U.K. commercial photographer Karl Taylor takes us behind the scenes on a rather exciting and unique photo shoot where the goal is to create an animal portrait of a hawk during flight. There are so many variables to this concept that even with a trained bird of prey, Taylor still ran into a little bit of trouble at the beginning of the shoot.
This May, Rob Grimm from PRO EDU will be teaching two multi-day workshops perfect for still life photographers. The classes are interactive, hands on, and full of opportunities to take your studio photography & lighting to the next level. All workshop attendees that join will receive a $1000 gift certificate to PRO EDU.
For many, the 7’ parabolic umbrella seems like a one-trick pony. The textbook move of sandwiching the camera between the subject and the light for an edgy, high-key look is quickly growing old. In this video, commercial photographer Joel Grimes shows a different way of using the 7’ parabolic to create soft, high-key images best suited for beauty photography.
We've posted about commercial photographer Eric Doggett on here before. You may recall his popular post about how he put together his family's Back to the Future Christmas card. He goes out of his way to create some of the most creative holiday cards I've ever seen. Eric uses a creative arsenal including set-building, 3D modeling, Photoshop, photography, and graphic design to create unique one-off pieces for his clients. Read below to learn how he used ALL of these tools to create a fantastic Star Wars Christmas card.
I recently read a survey that said the average time a person spends driving a car is 4.3 years. Let me break that down for you. Let's say you live to be 75. That is 37,688 hours spent behind the wheel of a car! Most of us listen to music while we drive, but what if we took that time and devoted it to expanding our craft and making us better photographers? Over the past year I did just that, and the results speak for themselves.
San Francisco-based commercial photographer, Erik Almas, is known for his flawless composite work as well as shooting campaigns for many major companies such as American Airlines, Toyota, Microsoft, and Nike, just to name a few. In January he is offering a workshop where he will take you through his entire workflow, from shooting the background plate and model, to editing. What makes this workshop even better is the fact that 100 percent of your money will be used to help build a school through Pencils of Promise!
As an art director, I get hundreds of emails per week from photographers offering their services. When I received an email from Michael Ray, I was truly touched by the images he shot for Flashes of Hope, an organization where photographers go in and do pro-bono shoots at the local Children's hospital. These shots are gifted to the children and their families. I love the part about being able to do something nice for others as a photographer. Not too many professions have the potential of doing that. It is up to each and every one of us to decide what we want to do with this gift we were given. I spoke with Michael about this project, and here is what he said...
Although we’re often reminded of the importance of constantly shooting and developing our skills as photographers, is there a point where too often shooting actually becomes detrimental? Through observation and personal experience I’ve come to the conclusion that there is indeed a case to be made for shooting less if you’re hoping to properly develop your photography business.
Las Vegas based commercial photographer Michael Herb recently got his hands on Westcott's 59 inch Zeppelin to test out on location in the Nevada desert. The photoshoot featured three models in an apocalyptic theme at a salt lake bed. In the behind the scenes video he shows just how difficult it can be to put together the Zeppelin on the separately purchased speedring. Even with the problems at set-up Michael still quite enjoyed shooting with the Zeppelin and plans to use it in the future.
As a commercial photographer, I specialize in product, food, and architecture. One of the products we've been shooting a lot of lately is jewelry, specifically jewelry for catalog use. In my opinion, jewelry is one of the hardest things to photograph, and many photographers don't know where to start. Whenever we're tasked with photographing shiny, reflective, spherical objects, our studio sounds like a group of sailors on leave with all the profanity flying around (often times strung together to make complete sentences).
You read that headline correctly. After making a huge splashes in the motion-capture industry since 2005, Red has big plans to be the only camera system you use on set for both your motion AND still photography needs, and it's closer to being a reality than you would think. Prepare to have your minds blown.
12 years ago I assisted a commercial photographer and I fell in love with photography and decided to make it my career. I started little by little buying all of the gear from another fellow photographer in an attempt to go pro as soon as I graduated college. Tomorrow, all of that gear will be sold.
Fstoppers has partnered with the awesome folks at ViewBug to bring you sweet, sweet contests weekly! This week you can a solid year of SmugMug Pro by submitting your best photo taken way down at ground level. This contest is judged by commercial photographer Jessica Zollman.
For my inaugural post on Fstoppers, I want to run down of a few of the apps that my studio manager and I use almost daily to help manage the studio and keep things running smoothly. Many of these you’ve probably heard of, others may be new to you. The list is actually endless, but I’ve narrowed it down to these nine to get us started:
David Jay, founder of Shoot And Share a platform for photographers to share high resolution images with their clients, made a rather interesting comment on social media the other day. He proposes you ditch the rights to your work in celebration of freedom and claims it will make you a happier photographer and the world a better place!
One of the biggest frustrations any new professional photographer has is obtaining clients. I’m going to assume that at this point you have sufficiently nailed down your technique, you’ve built up a decent portfolio, and you have a website that is easy to navigate and shows off your work. So why are you not getting replies from your prospective clients? Well the answer may have NOTHING to do with your photography.
Here is a short, beginner level, video featuring 30+ year veteran, commercial photographer Bryan Peterson at work. It does have a couple of jarring advertisment cuts but AdoramaTV needs to make a buck too and heck, they are providing you with free education.
We've gotten quite a few e-mails from people that want to attend our workshop but can't due to financial constrictions. So this week we are giving away a golden ticket to all of our classes in the Bahamas for absolutely FREE. You are just responsible for your airfare and hotel. Follow the instructions in the video to find out how to enter.
The brand new book from commercial photographer David Molnar "iPhone Only Photography" is FREE for the next week, so grab your free copy right away! I had an interview with David this week about the launch of his book and I was thrilled to hear his responses! This book is put together so well, and would be a great gift idea as well!
Have questions you want to ask a creative industry professional, but wasn't sure who to turn to? I've been writing for Fstoppers for over a year now. I've been able to share my own BTS shoots, those of friends, reviews, tutorials, and more. I've had the chance to interact and meet some great people through here, and I really want to do something more for you folks. Rather than do a fresh article this week on something I find interesting, I am leaving the content completely up to you.
You want to know what's better than Erik Almås shooting Sports Illustrated Swimsuit models for Dodge Ram trucks? Me too cause I can't seem to find or think of anything that could possibly be better than this. The 2014 SI swimsuit edition is on news stands now and should be at the top of your reading list for the month. Erik has shot the inside cover for this magazine the last 2 years in a row. Check out the BTS of how he did it.
I recently came upon an exhibit entitled “Faces In The Crowd” by photographer Alex Prager and it really got me thinking. Not about the creativity, the concept, or the message. I wasn’t even thinking about any of the technical aspects that would have gone into creating these images. As my eyes wandered across the sea of people represented in her images I had but one thought in my mind; it took one amazing director to pull this off.
Demanding anything is a scary notion but the trend towards social and global responsibility is growing in 2014, and having the right voice and attitude can result in elevating your brand. As we enter the New Year it is no longer enough to make separate personal and professional goals. The distinction between the two is blurring for many businesses as the global marketplace looks towards feel good solutions. How can you be part of the change?
There are many hurdles that a new photographer tries to overcome early in his or her career, one of which is simply that we don’t have the funding and massive budgets that some of our more well established peers might have. When it comes to choosing a location for our photo shoots we often find ourselves restricted. Here are 7 places you can shoot on a budget!
Each week, we have a segment called "Fstoppers Answers" where we ask our staff various questions from the readers. Last week, we asked “How Did You Approach Your First Agency/Client?”. This week, we get festive and ask what your New Years Resolutions are.
Working as a commercial photographer, I have the opportunity to travel often with my work. In the year 2013 alone, I've flown over 25 thousand miles, and have a few thousand more before the end of the year. Here are some tips I've picked up over the years to help make traveling as a photographer much easier and far less stressful.
Tired of hunting for budgets as if they were unicorns? A few weeks ago I wrapped up our commercial pricing guide which is a great reference IF you can get a paying client. As many of us know, sadly, that can be a pretty big IF. Here are a few strategies to help you turn a client with no budget into a winner!
This shoot combines two things that I really love as a photographer: motorsports and incredible shoot locations. This comprehensive behind the scenes video captured by Ron Risman really gives you a great idea of how photographer Gregor Halenda put the campaign together. The resulting images were crisp and clean, showing off the bikes and locale.
Each week, we invite you to ask a question for our writers to answer in a segment called Fstoppers Answers. Last week, we asked how each of our writers found their niche, this week, we invited each of our writers to tell us about 'The Worst Mistake You Ever Made in Your Photographic Career?'
On November 7th, 8th, and 9th Rob Grimm of PRO EDU will be giving away a 2-day pass to the Fstoppers Bahamas Workshop in May of 2014. It's free to enter, just tune in live for your chance to win on CreativeLIVE next week where we will announce the instructions for how to enter. The pass we are giving away is for our liquids, liquor, beer, and splashes workshop that will cover everything we know about shooting liquids.
Chances are you have already learned what Frequency Separation (FS) technique is, as it became mainstream in the past few years. However, many FS technique users actually know very little theory behind it, thus have little control over its implementation. I've set out to research and collect all the important and useful information about it, so we can together learn how to become better at it.
Each week, we ask our writers a question submitted by the public in a segment we call Fstoppers Answers. Last week, we asked "What is Your Cancellation Policy?" and people showed some interest in the marketing side of things. So keeping with that in mind, this week we ask "If you could give ONE piece of advice on how to market yourself, what would it be?"
In the last segment of our commercial pricing guide we will tackle the least talked about and most misunderstood portion of your invoice; the licensing fees. I will go over what they are, why you should be using them, and my preferred method for calculating them no matter who my client is!
Max Riché, a commercial photographer based out of Paris recently shot a huge project for the Red Bull Media House using the same concept as his "Becoming and Athlete in One Photo" series. Shooting trail-biker Petr Kraus against a black backdrop and using light painting techniques, some strobes and then later bringing all of the images into Photoshop he created these awesome fluid-movement series of photos.
What am I worth? This is a question every new photographer ultimately asks himself. If you’ve ever wondered what you should be charging your clients and what the best way to go about it would be, keep on reading. I will go over how to determine your personal creative fee and how to present it to your client in a way that makes sense.
Every week, we ask our eclectic group of writers to weigh in on a question that is asked in the comments from our own readers. The questions can be anything relating to photography, and we invite everyone to participate in our segment called "Fstoppers Answers". This week, we ask "Corporate Headshots for Local Realtor Firm. Ten Clients, One Headshot a Piece. What do you charge and why?"
Welcome back to our series on pricing your commercial photography. A few weeks ago we released Part 1 of the series which explored the benefits and pitfalls of working for free. As we explored the topic it became evident that working for free has its place but in order to create a sustainable and professional industry we must educate our community on the importance of properly pricing their work. Thus in Part 2 we will begin by showing you my personal approach to laying out a commercial invoice and the thought process behind the layout.
Focus is a word we are all familiar with in photography, but is the same true in business? The purpose of focus as it relates to photography is to keep what we want to see, and to draw attention away from the things that might otherwise distract us. The concept is almost second nature to many photographers, yet seems so foreign when you see how they run their business.
Have you ever found yourself thinking: “If only I had <insert expensive camera body/lens/lighting gear>, I would be shooting better images/be winning bigger jobs/get better and higher paying clients”?
If you’ve never had this thought, congratulations, skip this article and move on because you’re already part of ‘The Enlightened’ few.
Kiliii Fish, Seattle-based commercial photographer, was always fascinated by how people interact with nature and how they use it to live their lives. Aside from being a full time photographer Fish is also an avid rock climber. Recently he decided to combine these 3 things he loves to a unique photography project showing the grace, power, beauty and vulnerability that goes into rock climbing. Kiliii spent days in each location and worked for months to complete the series. The results are absolutely amazing.
Dixie Dixon is a Dallas based badass and one of the sixteen "celebrated contemporary photographers" of the Nikon ambassador program. Dixie specializes in commercial fashion photography and is a prime example of how hard work, apprenticeship, and relentless dedication pays off in commercial photography. I recently chatted with her and stole all of her secrets of success for you, the reader. Because that's how much I love you, reader.
In our weekly Wednesday series, we ask our writers various questions from the public, and ask them to share their experiences working as full time professional photographers. Last week we touched on our favorite lenses, this week we're doing something different. We ask "What is the Worst Part of Being a Full-Time Professional Photographer?"
There are an endless amount of options to help organize your daily tasks. Whether you are a working professional or simply a procrastinator, we have all felt the suffocating feeling of projects as they slowly begin to pile up. Some folks might be lucky enough to inherit a photographic memory or super human organizational skills, but if you are like me, you possess neither of those. Here is the best $15 I have ever spent to help keep myself organized.
Over the coming weeks I will be releasing a series of articles that will guide you step by step through the process of pricing your photography for commercial work. I will show you how to structure an invoice as well as go in depth to discuss the different parts of the invoice itself. I will show you how and why you should be using license agreements on all your work. I will even explain how you should calculate your own rates in the commercial marketplace.
Keeping your models and clients happy on set is vital to creating images that evoke the full range of emotion. Part of your job as a photographer is to bring everyone on set to a mind space that is calm and comfortable. Here are a few tips on how you can play the good host.
Guest writer Felix Hernandez R. is a commercial photographer based in Cancún, Mexico. He is a very active member of our Fstoppers Facebook group and is well known for his stunning composite work and food photography. In this article he explains how accomplished his amazing series, 'Magic Moments' with the use of compositing and underwater photography.
In our newest series, we're inviting you the viewer to ask a weekly question for the writers of Fstoppers. Each of our writers are also professional photographers, in a broad range of categories and styles. Many of them are among the best in their respected fields and have been working full time as a professional in their industry for years. So who better to ask photography questions to?
To kick off the series, we're asking each of our writers 'What is Commercial Photography?'.
As a fellow commercial photographer I know that clients come to us for consistency and reliability. They hire us because when they are spending the big bucks on advertising campaigns they don’t want to leave things up to chance. It is part of our job to deliver the end product on time and free of flaws, but even a professional at the top of their game still battles with human error.
A few months ago we featured one of commercial photographer Michael Herb's tutorials on masking and composting. Michael is back with an awesome behind the scenes video of a national ad campaign he shot for Textile Designer Patty Madden. Michael set out to create some creative photos to showcase the unique advertising that hasn't really been seen before in a nation ad campaign for furniture.
Guest writer Josh LeClair is a commercial photographer based out of Marquette, MI. After seeing the stunning work done by Ian Ruhter with wet plate photography, he decided to try it for himself. LeClair does it on on a much smaller scale using a holga camera.
