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Scott Choucino

Leicester, GB
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Articles from Scott Choucino

How I Select my Lighting Modifier

Choosing the right lighting modifier can seem like an endlessly daunting task. In this video, I break down my thought process and show examples of how I use different modifiers for varying types of images as well as explaining the key differences in my equipment. 

Who Should Pay for the Reshoot?

At some point, we all mess up a photoshoot. It is part of being a photographer. However, when money comes into play, it can really complicate things. This is how I feel we should deal with the cost of reshoots in various situations.

Why I Won't Ever Price-Match

In this video, I talk about my rejection rate for jobs and my ethos on pricing and price matching. I also go over a real-life quote that I sent off and got rejected for and give a breakdown as to why this happened. 

How to Use Instagram to Get Commercial Work

There are loads of articles and videos about how to grow your Instagram following, but that doesn't directly correlate to getting more work. In this video, I go over how I use Instagram to get booked for ad campaigns.

How to Get Noticed as a Photographer in 2020

Getting noticed as a photographer in 2020 can seem like an impossible task with all of the millions of images being uploaded daily, but here are some proven tips that will work.

6 Business Mistakes Photographers Always Make

The photography business can be tricky to get a hold on, and as a group we all seem to make the same mistakes over and over, hopefully this video can help you avoid them.

Photo Usage and License Fees Explained

The majority of a commercial photographer's income does not come from their day rate, but from their license fee and usage. Let's explore this.

How to Build a Commercial Portfolio

Commercial photography is notoriously hard to get into. In this video, I go over my complete workflow for shooting commercially viable portfolios from inception, through the shooting process, and into post-production.

Do You Need a Studio?

In this video I look at if you need a studio to be a professional studio. From a traditional shooting studio through to a place for meetings and post production. I discuss different photographers requirements for a working space.

How Photography Prices Will Change After Lockdown

With the high probability of a large recession following a worldwide lockdown, every industry in under threat. Here is how I think photography prices will change in each niche as well as how I am adapting my work.

How to Edit Food Photographs

There are loads of tutorials out there for editing portrait photography, so I thought I would put together a reasonably comprehensive yet short guide to editing food photographs. 

Questions Photographers Should Stop Asking

The internet and forums have been around for long enough now that we have heard most questions regarding photography. Although repetition isn't the end of the world, we really need to stop asking these questions.

$20 DIY Paper Seamless Roll Storage System

Storing seamless paper rolls in your home or studio is always a bit of a task, especially once the collection has grown over the years. Although there are off-the-shelf options, I found that this simple $20 build does a great job.

4 Things I Do at the End of Every Photoshoot

At the end of a hard days shooting, it is easy to make mistakes, which is why I have this four part check list that I follow obsessively to make sure that I have everything I need before calling a wrap on the day.

How I Fix Underexposed Images

We have all done it. It doesn't matter how long you have been a photographer; at some point, you will take the perfect shot, but the flash will not fire, you will have slipped and moved the shutter speed, or any manner of blunders. Here is how I fix them.

Who Should Calibrate Their Monitors?

As a commercial photographer who shoots predominantly for print, I need a very well-calibrated monitor and camera profile, but does anyone else need this?

The Dangers of Hustle Culture in Photography

Self improvement, hustle, and gurus have been around for some time now. However, until recently, they hadn't fully infiltrated the photography industry, but that seems to have now changed.

How to Price Local Commercial Photography

In this video, I go over how I price local and small commercial photography jobs. The video covers day rates, license fees, and how they differ from bigger jobs.

A Tour of a Commercial Photography Studio

In this video I show you around my commercial food photography studio. This is very much a place to create and steps away somewhat from the pristine white, minimalist set up to complete and utter (organized) chaos.

Why Now Is the Best Time to Go Pro

The world has never been more uncertain in our lifetimes. However, now is a perfect time to start up as a professional photographer. And as a pro who started in the last recession, let me explain why.

5 Pro Photographer Hacks

There are many cool little tricks of the trade in photography, This video looks at some extremely useful and perhaps lesser-known photography hacks that pro photographers use.

How to Price Restaurant Food Photography

Pricing restaurant photography is something most food photographers will struggle with at the start. In this video I discuss how much you can charge as well as some of the negotiation pit falls to avoid.

How to Price Food Photography Campaigns

Working out how to price high end commercial food photography campaigns is incredibly hard, especially with no information online available. In this video I go over exactly how I go about pricing my larger shoots and everything that goes into creating the quote.

How to Select the Right Portfolio Images

Creating a portfolio is more than simply selecting pretty images. In this video, I go over three photographers' work who are at different levels and explain how they should build their portfolio and what they need to do to move up to the next level.

Food Photography Kit for Under $1,250

Photography gear is expensive. However, thanks to the used market and how good cameras have been for the past decade, for under $1,250, you can buy a really solid food photography camera setup.

A Long-Term Review of the Ben Q Screen Bar E-Reading Lamp

I am often wrong, and my initial impression of this rather cool looking light was no exception. I couldn't for the life of me work out why you would spend so much money on a USB lamp. A few weeks later, all became clear.

What Is the Highest Usable ISO?

ISO and digital noise are often a cause for concern with photographers. In this video, I look at how much noise is acceptable in an image and how that varies depending on the application of the photograph. 

How Much I Charge for My Photography

This is a bit of a taboo subject among photographers, but in this video, I look back at my work and how much I charged and what validated that rate at any given point in my career through to today.

Internet Photographers Versus Professional Photographers

I have been sent a lot of messages and seen a lot of comments on this topic over the last year, and it is something I have shied away from tackling, but in this article I am going to delve into the taboo debate around internet photographers versus professional photographers.

Why Photographers Hate My Images: Part Two

I recently published an article about why photographers hate my images here, and I think I may have missed a few points, as well as feeling the need to cover more about why most photographers don't understand person work.

The Differences Between Pro and Amateur Cameras

Photography is one of the few professions where the amateurs can have the same equipment as the professionals.  If you have the desire and/or money, then you can shoot on the same rig that the great names in photography use. But there are a few differences.