Up until now we've talked mostly about how to shift your thinking away from the unfortunate standard of the professional artist. However, we can't really talk about how to build a thriving business without addressing the stretches when nobody is walking through the door. In fact, many of us are probably running head first into that season right now.
We see mass evidence of poor goal setting once a year without fail. New Years comes around and people resolve to change their lives in one fashion or another. Why is it that statistically only about 10% of resolutions are ever actually completed? Are the goals impossible? Probably not, most of us don't set goals we know we can't achieve.
The process by which small businesses develop is changing. Thanks to the "lean movement" people are realizing that the same strategies governing large companies simply don't work with startups. Make no mistake, you are a startup. Maybe you've been in business for 20 years, that's fine. I've been a pro now for over a decade and I still consider myself in the same startup category. Why?
Perhaps it's only my opinion but I believe that one of the fastest ways to fail in business is to try to do too much, for too many people. Right behind that is producing a product that nobody wants, but we'll get to that beast later. When I talk with photographers looking to go pro, the first thing I ask them is what they intend to shoot.
I still remember this conversation from several years back. A fellow photographer was about as stuck as you can get. He worked perpetual fourteen (or more) hour days, never got much of a day off and was struggling hard with a record-setting case of burn out. He was making good money, but it wasn't enough to justify the time being put in...and this had been the same story for years.
It's no secret that most photographers are really bad at actually running a business. After all, the idea is to make a living making art and art doesn't require you to know what ROI means. All you need to know is how to create with your chosen medium right? Yes, if you love Ramen noodles.
If you haven't had the opportunity to attend one of Greg Heisler's lectures, you really need to find a way to do so. I realized after saying this that I have no idea how to help you do that because I can't seem to find touring information anywhere.
Before you ask how this relates to photography, let me just put it out there for you. I'll be honest, I'm not sure yet. My first reaction is that this product is using photography to potentially save lives...but let's break it down and see how likely that is. The product is called The Defender.
I'm not usually a huge fan of action sets or other kinds of preset applications, but I am a big fan of free stuff. From now until May 12th OnOne software is giving away free licenses of their photo-effect software, Perfect Effects 8 . I took it for a spin earlier so I would at least know what I was talking about when I went to write this, and it's not bad!
As far as product photography instruction goes, it's not too common to see a good (free) tutorial video that breaks down the tricks behind capturing challenging cosmetic products. Nikonian Academy trainer Andrew Boey not only makes this topic very approachable, he shows you how to do it on the cheap.
It's pretty common knowledge by now that flying drones around can easily go wrong. To date I have no idea how many videos I've seen of pilots that, either out of silliness or stupidity, have crashed one into someone else's favorite head. Obviously being a cautious and responsible pilot is a given but, do you still need to be concerned when it's sitting innocently on your floor?
Talk about doing advertising right...wow! As part of their "What do you see?" campaign the spot takes a unique approach to selling camera gear, by never mentioning it once. Instead we are treat to closeups of peoples eyes as they look at the things most important to them.
The camera movements in modern timelapses are impressive enough to me. However for some, like Piotr Wancerz, it's just not good enough without these movements being matched over the course of fourteen months. Using tripod timelapses, hyperlapses and a motorized slider, Piotr was able to capture the passage of time over all four seasons.
I'm going to be honest with you right off the bat. As far as behind the scenes videos go, this one leaves a lot to be desired. However, as always there is still some information to be gained from it. The first and most important being that this entire series appears to be lit with one Profoto Acute2-D4 head nestled snugly in a Softlighter.
When I sat down to write this, its was originally going to be a pretty solid list of 5 crucial apps for traveling. However, when I got going I realized that most of what these apps did could be done in no time without them. Which led me to wonder...What is the most complicated thing you have to deal with when you're traveling. The itinerary? The packing? Getting everything booked?
There is obviously no shortage of camera apps out there in the world but, every once in a while something new hits the market that actually seems a bit useful.
You gotta love a good copyright blunder and horrid damage control story. Thankfully, there's a new one still in development (totally unintentional photo-pun, I'm sorry). What makes this one even better is not only the completely intentional watermark removal, but the colorful email the photographer received after asking that the photo be taken down.
Late last month Mac turned 30. This might not seem like a big deal, but I remember when Apple sucked...and I'm sure many of you do too. I'm not talking about the way a lot of people believe they still do. I mean, like hardcore terrible products and corporate direction.
Dan Schawbel, a contributing writer for Forbes online and author of the best selling book "Promote Yourself," recently met up with famed photographer Chase Jarvis. The interview that resulted is an interesting look at how he became such a force in the photographic world.
When a photographer wants to start expanding their lighting options they usually look to something beyond their pop-up flash. However, if you are one of those stubborn ones that simply must use what is probably the worst possible flash option...you're in luck. Preston Vance has launched a Kickstarter campaign that attempts to make your mostly worthless pop-up flash somewhat less so.
You would think with the incredible amount of knowledge out there (not just on Fstoppers but on the whole of the internet) that there would be no shortage of incredibly successful, monumentally wealthy photographers in the world. Yet for some mysterious reason, only a small percentage of us ever make it to a real sense of success. Why is that?
The internet is up in arms about a recent law enacted in Overland Park, KS. Professional photographers are now required to obtain a permit to photograph clients in any of the 83 parks under the jurisdiction of Overland Park Parks and Recreation. For some reason photographers worldwide are upset about this.
I don't think many small business owners would ever describe their lives as stress free, or simple. The process of growing, running and maintaining a business is a difficult and time consuming endeavor to say the least. Does that mean that we as creative entrepreneurs are doomed to have endlessly complicated lives? Not in the least.
If you haven't heard about the Socialmatic already, let's get you up to speed. A while back there was this crazy idea to make an actual Instagram camera. Something that would not only share your images on the popular service but, allow you to print that same image with the device (like a Polaroid camera). Originally it was just a what-if concept from ADR Studios.
I had the opportunity to hear Greg Heisler speak a few months ago about his book 50 Portraits. I hadn't even thought of it at the time but once it finished I immediately regretted not filming it for our readers here. As luck would have it he repeated a similar lecture in NYC Ilford, and they recorded it!
We each do it every year saying the same thing. "This year it will be different, I'm going to actually complete my resolutions!" We may make it and complete a couple but, very rarely do we have the stamina and discipline to keep going until the list is done.
Creativity is not some mysterious, elusive attribute that only the lucky people get. It is a skill that can be learned and developed. A muscle that can and will get stronger with work.
Since the very beginning of my photographic career I have been completely opposed to the use of scenic backdrops. I had always felt that they were cheesy and needed to stay within the confines of cookie-cutter yearbook studios. Please feel free to criticize that opinion, because I was completely wrong.
Of the things photographers should consider not putting into their carry-on luggage, the Giottos Rocket is pretty high up there. Generally the reason is that it somehow resembles a bomb. Even if the resemblance only exists in Looney Tunes. However, that isn't why CanonRumors user Surapon lost his. Nope, this reason is legit even dumber.
2013 is coming to a close and in this author's opinon, one of the greatest things to happen this year has been the release of hordes of public domain images by major institutions. From the Getty Open Content program to crazy macro photos of bees. We've seen a massive surge in public domain contributions.
The ability to film a timelapse video with a GoPro is something I would think most of us are familiar with on some level. What you might not be aware of however, is the interval limitations they are programmed with. At it's longest interval the GoPro can only be set to take one photo every 60 seconds.
This video from Golf Digest's latest cover shoot is pretty much all about stroboscopic photography. If you're unfamiliar, this is a technique for depicting the changing features of subjects in motion.
It should be surprising to hear about the same person getting robbed in one day. It should be even more surprising when you hear that the victim, Christopher Morris, has photographed wars in over 18 countries including Afghanistan, Somalia, Yugoslavia, and Chechnya. He is obviously no stranger to dangerous situations.
The latest release from NikonHacker brings with it some awesome news for D5100 shooters, and apparently the feature was there all along. Now you shoot manual in LiveView! When it comes to why the feature wasn't enabled in the first place NH member Coderat has this to say:
When I ran across this earlier today I assumed that it was going to be some sort of hilarious disaster. A herd of cats running around a furniture store completely unchecked? Bring on the mayhem! Imagine my surprise when it turned out to be as beautiful and heartwarming as the final commercial is.
