Adobe’s latest Lightroom update has made it possible for subscribers to continue accessing their images and edits, as well as some limited functions of Lightroom once a license for it has ended. Key functions, including the ability to use the Develop module, do go away once the subscription is out of date, but users retain the ability to view, organize and export images. Read more
Category: Uncategorized
-
Make Your Online Portfolio Stand Out
You’ve assembled all your best work in an online portfolio, but is that site getting you noticed? Taking great pictures is not enough sometimes. Your portfolio is on line to showcase your career, it should be creatively appealing but also concise, focused and easily found through the clutter of the internet. FashionPhotographyBlog.com invited Julian Dormon, the founder of BigBlackBag to share five tips to make your online portfolio stand out.
1. Define Who You Are
Have you always been passionate about one topic, like fashion or travel, or do you dream of branching into other fields? No matter what, showcase the work that will land your next assignment. You can easily group your photos into different categories, with each project telling its own story. Choose a strong “headline” image to draw the viewer in.
It never hurts to write a short caption that explains the process and what was accomplished. Fill each category with a dozen of your best pictures, keeping in mind that clients have little time to scan through all your work. Think of it as a visual resume that explains your key skills.
2. Function Before Form
The best websites are simple, clean designs that viewers can easily navigate. There are dozens of companies that can do the heavy lifting when it comes to crafting and hosting our online portfolio, but it’s ultimately up to you to organize it. Don’t clutter your site with too many pictures and avoid high-tech functions like Flash. The biggest drain on bandwidth should be devoted to your photos, especially as more and more people are viewing on mobile devices.
Include a bio and your contact information. Also keep a close eye on your colleagues. Websites evolve quickly and what was a popular design a few years ago may look dated now. Update your portfolio with your latest and best work to keep fresh once every month or two but definitely every quarter.
3. Make Sure Your Portfolio Shows Up In Searches
Keep your online portfolio to basic HTML, which shows up more easily on search engines. You can use specific tags and keywords to put your site on top of internet searches. Again, an online portfolio company can take care of this for you.
Google remains the dominant search engine and it’s better to work with them than against them. Consider using Google My Business to help draw local traffic to your site.
4. Use All Your Social Media Voices
Gone are the days where you could just message your friends about an event or show or add a link on Facebook. Tumblr, Pinterest and Twitter are all vying for people’s attention–and more social media sites are on the way. Use each site to promote your work, making sure to list the URL for your online portfolio consistently.
5. Don’t Forget the Old Fashioned Way to Promote
Reach out to friends and clients when you have something to share. Did your photo just get published in a magazine, or were you interviewed in a local paper? Send an email, tweet or post on Facebook about the news. It may not go “viral”, but word of mouth could help you land that next gig.
Contributor’s Bio
Julian Dormon is the Founder of BigBlackBag, specializing in professionally designed online portfolio websites perfect for photographers, artists, and other creative professionals. He’s an amateur photographer and professional entrepreneur with a passion for all things beautiful.
-
LensRentals tests Lomography’s Petzval lens
We recently published a look at the Lomography Petzval lens, a modern version of a 19th century portrait lens. It’s a niche product and not something we typically cover, but an interesting adaptation of a classic design. Roger Cicala and the team at LensRentals went one step further – when a couple of copies rolled through the door, they subjected the lens to their usual optics tests. Why? Well, because why not?
-
Impossible adds B&W ‘Hard Color’ Limited-edition Instant Film
Instant-print maker Impossible has added a new line to its ‘special’ and ‘limited’ editions with a 600-type film that features a colored frame surrounding the image area. Joining a line of tinted emulsions and animal-skin-printed frames, B&W 600 Hard Color features a warm high-contrast emulsion with frame surrounds in eight different vivid colors. Read more
-
Quick Review: That Steady Thing
The simple idea that tripods are inconvenient to carry for extended periods has given birth to a host of attempts to find an easier way to steady a camera during a long exposure. A new device that joins this list is That Steady Thing – a metal boss that sits between a monopod’s leg and its head, into which a pair of steadying legs screw. See if it lives up to its name. Read more
-
Behind the Scenes with USAF Thunderbirds Official Photographer
Sergeant Larry Reid Jr. is an official photographer for the US Air Force’s Thunderbirds display team, covering everything from mechanics working on the team’s F16 fighter jets to air-to-air shots at high G-loads. A new video produced by Jaron Schneider takes a detailed look at Reid’s job, which has everyone here at DPReview insanely jealous (albeit a little queasy). Click through for a look – and hold on to your hat!
-
Olympus takes Pen E-PL6 beyond Asia
The Olympus Pen E-PL6, first announced in 2013 for the Asian market, is set to be introduced to the UK kitted with a pancake-style zoom lens and a Wi-Fi memory card. The M.Zuiko Digital ED 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 EZ zoom lens is a pancake design, which Olympus claims is the slimmest of its type in this class. The 16.1 megapixel camera uses the same Live MOS sensor and TruePic VI processor as the 2012 PEN E-PL5 it replaces. It will retail in the UK for £429.99 from mid-July.
-
Camera Review: Samsung Galaxy S5
We’ve come to expect loads of camera features from Samsung’s high end smartphones and the Galaxy S5 does not come up short. The S5 offers a 16MP BSI CMOS sensor, F2.2 lens and 4K video recording. With claims of improved AF speeds and the addition of features like real-time HDR processing and Selective Focus, Samsung’s flagship device has a lot of potential as a photographic tool. Does its performance live up to its specs? Read review
-
Android L to feature Raw shooting and added manual camera controls
Details were thin from Google I/O last week about Android’s plans for camera updates in its next OS release. Now with a developer preview of the new OS available, more information has emerged about what we can expect from Android’s camera capabilities. Raw image capture is on the way, along with additional manual exposure controls. Read more
-
Canon and Microsoft sign patent agreement
It appears we can expect an increased interchange of technologies between imaging giant Canon and software maker Microsoft in the near future, thanks to to a patent agreement that was signed by the two parties on Wednesday. Though the brief statement issued by Microsoft doesn’t reveal much, it appears that Canon imaging technology may be used in future Lumia smartphones made by Nokia. Learn more