When it comes to exchanging gifts with friends or family members, we really are spoiled for choice. Ironically, this abundance of novel ideas makes it near impossible to hone in on that one perfect gift for a loved one. Whatever you chose, it is always the thoughtful and personal gift ideas that are the most touching and well received. And Continue Reading
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Your handheld device is nothing without apps, that lovely and beautiful software that lets you do much more on your smartphone than just call someone. If you’re a serious photographer, you just can’t pass up the chance to install serious photography apps on your mobile device. They will empower you to engage in your picture-taking passion when you’re on the Continue Reading
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As one of Flickr’s most active users, I’ve been watching intensively over the past 48 hours as the new Flickr design has been released. Personally speaking, I’m a fan. I think the new Flickr is the best version I’ve seen yet and agree with almost every design change that they made. That’s not what this post is about though; I’ve already given my opinion on the new Flickr here.
This post is about respect and civility.
As the drama of the new Flickr has unfolded, an element of what I consider to be the worst of the internet has taken to Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer’s *PERSONAL* Flickr stream to express their disdain. Sure, Flickr (the company, not the person) has a dedicated Forum for users to discuss the new designs, which is way more than many companies provide, btw, but for some people this isn’t enough. They need to take their displeasure out personally on Mayer.
Even worse, many of the attacks on Mayer’s *PERSONAL* Flickr stream are crude, classless, vulgar personal attacks of the worst kind.
This is just absolutely awful.
Whatever people may think about the new design, there is a way to go about talking about change. It saddens me to see the lowest element of the web react this way. It saddens me to see people in the help forum egging others on to go post on Mayer’s personal page.
Ironically, it was “the internet” that asked Mayer to “make Flickr awesome again” when she first started up as CEO of Yahoo. Flickr had been neglected for years and finally Mayer would be our savior.
Then, she goes and actually DOES make Flickr awesome again and people freak the fcuk out. Gee, thanks a lot! At least the page that asked her to make Flickr awesome again gets it right.
Now, whether or not you love the new Flickr or hate it is your own opinion; design can sometimes be subjective — but to post images of excrement on someone’s personal Flickr page over that design opinion? Really? Watching people in the Help Forum encourage the trashing of someone’s personal Flickrstream is disturbing.
Mayer is the first ever CEO of Yahoo to have a public Flickr page. She goes out on a limb and participates in the community and this is what people do? They trash her *personally* over design decisions?
These people should be ashamed of themselves.
I am all about healthy debate. I’ve probably been more vocal and critical of Flickr than just about anyone over the years. I’ve also been a huge cheerleader for Flickr when I feel like they’ve done well. I love Flickr and want to see it be the best place it can possibly be. I may get emotional and heated in my opinions sometimes, but there is a way that debate should go on on the internet, and trashing someone’s personal stream is not it.
Mayer is the youngest CEO in the S&P 500. Whatever your opinion on her and her work, every intention she has with the new Flickr design is to make it BETTER. Being a highly visible CEO means taking a lot of flak. I understand that — but Marissa Mayer is also a human being, and deserves basic respect and civility — like EVERY OTHER HUMAN BEING.
One of the reasons why I’ve largely quit Flickr Groups is because you can’t block people in Flickr Groups. I encountered some of the worst human beings I’ve ever met online in some Flickr Groups. Some of the folks who live on Flickr really are the worst of the worst. It’s disappointing seeing some of these same types take to someone’s personal Flickr stream.
Let’s try to show the world that there are still people on Flickr who can discuss and debate with dignity and respect. I think it’s fine to debate the new Flickr design. I think it’s fine to be strongly opinionated about it. I think it’s fine to attack the design itself and share why you dislike it. Attacking employees, though, is way over the line.
I have made my own mistakes on the web over the years. I, too, have, in the past, let my emotions get the best of me. It’s easy to get angry sometimes and I’m certainly capable of overreacting. I’ve tried to learn from these mistakes, though. It’s so much better to attack ideas than individuals. Hate is so ugly.
We are better than this.
Thomas Hawk Digital Connection
Photographing people often requires a completely different bag of tricks comparedto photographing landscapes or static objects. As someone who personally loves taking candid shots, it’s taken me a lot of practice to get used to working with models in such a way that I get the perfect look and feel I want for my photo shoots every time. If you’re Continue Reading
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“Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls.” – Joseph Campbell
If you are going to invest in a photography course/workshop do some serious research first.
It’s a huge investment so find out who the teachers are. Are they industry professionals that are going to be teaching you relevant styles and techniques?
Is the style of teaching suited to your personality and photography?
Who are the ex students that have gone on to create successful careers?
Consider weekend workshops and online courses held by experts in their fields.
A mentor should be someone who has had a successful career, whose work you admire and is passionate about what they do. They should be available for at least one hour a month.
Intern with as many different photography businesses as you can, both large and small. My first interning gig was with a food photographer. I’ve also worked with high-end commercial product photographers, car photographers, and fashion and wedding photographers. I came away with valuable skills that I still use today.
When you are looking for an internship it’s often easier to offer your services on a casual daily basis or weekends or even nights rather than trying to find someone who will commit to a long-term internship.
I landed a full time assisting job with a fashion and celebrity photographer because he noticed I scrubbed his toilet and cleaned his studio when I had nothing to do
Some of your friends and family are going to try and talk you out of pursuing your dreams.
They have good intentions but it’s your dream not theirs.
If you spend 3 hours a day photographing and editing photos you will become a master at it in 10 years. There are no short cuts or magic formulas, just hard work.
When you love what you do it never feels like work.
Some of the world’s greatest entrepreneurs had spectacular failures before they found success.
Henry Ford had 5 businesses fail before he founded the successful Ford Motor Company.
Thomas Edison failed 10,000 times trying to invent the light bulb and after the 10,000th time; he succeed
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes
The photography industry does not need another Ansel Adams, Annie Leibowitz, or Alfred Stieglitz. Develop a unique style that sets you apart from everyone else
Most people give too early. Building a business takes years, there will be set backs. Commit to the long haul.
Fact: the average entrepreneurial millionaire has been broke or nearly broke 3.2 times
It took me 5 years to actually make a profit. It took me ten years before that profit was enough to afford me a decent lifestyle
I worked full time in an Italian restaurant for the first 5 years
Having another job while I built my business had the following positive effects
I landed my first paid advertising shoot from waitresses I worked with. She introduced me to her husband who ran an advertising agency. One day he asked me to do a shoot for his agency. It was a simple product shot that should have taken an hour. I worked on it for 2 days, made a loss but earned a very happy and lucrative client.
Collecting new clients is a numbers game. In my early years I discovered that when I was showing my folio to Art Directors and Editors I was getting 30-50 “no’s” to every “yes”.
It took me many, many years to work out that this rejection is never personal. It often just comes down to potluck if you meet with someone on the same day they happen to have an assignment that suits you.
There are some very famous examples of people who experienced countless rejections before they achieved success
One of my greatest learning periods was during a 3-month stint working in a photo lab printing Black and white prints. Yes, last century when we marveled at the new mobile phone that was the size of a small refrigerator and twice as heavy.
I was shooting models tests all weekend and bringing them into the lab to print and process during the week. Two of my co-workers were 30+ year veterans who would critique my work and give me suggestions on improving technique and style.
Show your photos to as many industry professionals as you can. Ask for constructive criticism and learn from it. This is a great time of growth and learning.
Be grateful for all the praise your family and friends will always give your work but remember they will always love everything you do and may find it difficult to point out any faults.
If you want people to take you seriously then you should take your appearance seriously.
Never sign a contract before reading the fine print. If you don’t understand it then find someone who does.
Aim towards outsourcing all the things that take you away from earning money for your business like book keeping and web design. Your time would be better-spent blogging or marketing.
Blog, tweet, flickr, facebook, instagram, google+, linkedin do it all and do it often.
Share your work, support other artists whose work you love and be generous with your information.
Unless you are lucky enough to be working for cutting edge magazines or alternative clients who love to push the envelope shooting only paid work will give you a very generic looking folio.
Shooting personal projects give you a chance to test new lighting styles, lenses, locations and it’s a brilliant way to showcase your personality.
Name and number and file every shoot in a consistent way. If you’ve ever spent hours looking for an image or even worse lost files you will understand the importance of this point.
Keep one hard drive on location and another off site. Hard drives fail. Protect your files.
Use professional assistants. Having a great assistant means you never have to sweat the small stuff. Everything is taken care of. This means you can focus on getting the shot
Work with a variety of different Hair and Make Up artists and Stylists till you find the ones that compliment your shooting style.
A RAW image file contains all the original data that the camera censor captured.
A JPEG is a compressed file that only retains about half the data of a RAW file.
Give image the best possible chance from the start. No excuses. Just shoot RAW.
Pockets get holes in them and cards fail. I found out the hard way.
If you depend on your creativity for your living, then your most valuable piece of equipment is your mind. Taking time out everyday is a great way to do this and
The best advice on equipment and technique has come from spending time with other photographers. Social networking makes it really easy to connect with different photographers from all around the world.
“Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it.” -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
The first thing I did when I decided to become a photographer was to get business cards printed that said Gina Milicia PHOTOGRAPHER. Even if I wasn’t 100% convinced I was ready or good enough the simple act of printing cards made it real to me.
I started out with a basic SLR camera and a cheap zoom I borrowed from my brother. I photographed only in daylight for the first 2 years because I could not afford flash gear and worked hand held because I also could not afford a tripod.
There will never be a time when you are 100% ready. There will always be something missing. Just start. Today.
A few great books that inspired me.
Enjoy this post? Check out more of Gina’s advice in her new eBook – Portraits: Making the Shot (and get a bonus one free for the next 24 hours only).
Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.
Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.
30 Things you Should Know to Help you Start a Photography Business
On top of being an awesome hobby, photography is also a magnificent art form. You can produce professional quality photographs by experimenting with your camera’s setting, taking shots from different perspectives and using a variety of natural and artificial lighting techniques.
When preparing for a trip, pack your equipment carefully. Take all different kinds of lenses, and make sure you take cleaning accessories and enough batteries. You should avoid taking any equipment you will not use, and consider how each item you bring will be useful to your goals.
You do not want to risk missing a fantastic photo because you do not know which camera setting to use or how to adjust it properly. Do not pick a preset because you need to modify your settings. Experiment with your camera’s features to see how different settings affect your photos.
When you go travelling, look around for new ideas on all the different things you can shoot. If you do not know where to start, take a look at some postcards. There are also postcards highlighting the major attractions in town, so make sure you include these on your subject list.
Even with drastic technological improvements in cell phone cameras, lighting is still an issue for most of them. Cell phone cameras generally lack a flash. Therefore, you’ll need to compose your shot to take advantage of the available lighting. Zooming in is a great way to cut out some of the shade or shadows around the user.
One technique for capturing a great shot is to start taking pictures at a distance and then move forward, taking additional photos, until your subject fills the frame. The viewer will have the ability to more clearly see a shot’s details. Sometimes, these details can increase the interest of the shot to the viewer.
Always hold your camera at your eye level, or adjust your body so that the camera’s perspective is level with your own. This is a great way to pull the viewer to the photo because it creates a personal atmosphere. If you want to take pictures of children, kneel to their eye level.
If you are photographing a bride or another person wearing white clothing, make sure to use a contrasting background color. Majority of cameras have auto focus, so it takes in all the shades present in the full shot. White is almost always “washed out” in shots like this.
You can get free photo editing software, and have a little fun with it. All photographers use some type of photo editor, so you don’t need to feel bad about using it. It can make the difference between a so-so photo, and one you want to frame. with only a few minor modifications.
Though you may not think you need a flash outside, take a look and make sure. Bright sunlight can create harsh, dark shadows on your subjects’ faces. Set your camera to the setting that allows you to use a technique called “fill flash” when you see shadows. This setting will eliminate the shadows that appear in deep facial folds.
Don’t be afraid to break some photography rules with your camera. Good photography takes unique style, and you want to show the world a new view through your lens. Try to stay away from taking pictures that are described as ‘classic’. Experiment with new angles, and be creative.
Your photography skills will improve from a mere hobby to a work of art. Produce photographs that you are proud of and wish to share with the world by utilizing some of the tips here. It will take a lot of practice, but take some of these tips and give it a go.
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Thanks for reading. The author is an editor at camerashq
artoftheimage.blogspot.com – A look at the differences between the Canon T3 1100D vs the Canon T3i 600D.
Most of the posts I write about are posts about the creative process or the shoots I have done and how I achieved the results I get. You know, the fun stuff! But as photographers,we have to understand that this is a business, like any other business, and a strong knowledge and good practices are key to making it a successful one. Which should be everyone’s ultimate goal. We all want to do this for a living but in order to do that, we must have a sound business in tact.
One resource that EVERY photographer should know about is APA. APA’s mission statement is as follows: ”Our goal is to establish, endorse, and promote professional practices, standards, and ethics in the photographic and advertising community. We seek to mentor, motivate, educate, and inspire in the pursuit of excellence. Our aim is to champion and speak as one common voice for advertising photographers and image makers to the advertising industry in the United States and the World.”
There are many benefits of joining APA but one of the particularly key benefits is they offer an outstanding insurance program. Designed specifically for photographers, they have many packages to choose from that can be tailored fitted for your individual needs.
For instance, if you don’t normally rent $ 100,000 worth of equipment every time you shoot and only need insurance for the occasional Octabank rental, etc, they can customize your insurance plan to fit your specific needs. They even offer insurance for Students! You can click here for more information on their insurance plans.
Once joining APA you receive the APA business manual which includes a stack of helpful forms to help manage your business. This includes estimating guides, business forms which include estimate and invoice forms, model releases, property releases, assistant invoices, guides on copyright protection. I mean, the list is endless and so important to maintain and uphold your work in today’s market! It’s important to always operate your photography business in the most ethical way. APA offers endless help in aiding us photographers to maintain these practices. They even have a Find an Assistant board where you can list yourself to be considered by a professional photographer for possible work opportunities. And what I find really cool is they have an Assistant Basic Training ! A two day workshop includes getting real world answers from actual professional assistants to hands on training. Hone your skills so you can increase your chances at working for that photographer you’ve always dreamed of working for!
APA also offers products discounts on companies such as Agency Access, Apple, Adobe, Dripbook, Livebooks, Photoshelter and BlinkBid. And you get discounted or free admission to all APA events!
And if this isn’t enough, what APA really does is it gives us photographers a sense of community. Come on, you’ve all felt it….it’s one reason you probably kinda’ like blogs like mine: You can feel totally alone out there trying to figure out how to “Make it” or “keep it coming” because there’s so little help or assistance. At least with APA there is a place to get that help!
I was never particularly a strong business woman when I was first starting out. In retrospect, this actually hurt my business. This is why during my two day workshops, day 2 includes a strong business class where we sit down together and learn about marketing, promoting, copyright laws, estimating a job, what to consider when bidding a job, etc etc etc. I don’t want you to make the same mistakes I did in the beginning, so I hammer into my students the importance of understanding the business. It’s also an opportunity to ask me whatever questions that are really pressing for you. And just so you know, we have decided to hold one more workshop for this year at ROOT Studios in NYC. Actually ROOT is in Williamsburg which is just over the bridge from Manhattan and where I proudly call home. Williamsburg is probably one of the hippest neighborhoods in the world (and not just cuz I live here) So come join us November 10 and 11 at ROOT for another Fashion Photography Workshop! And since I LIVE here, I know the best bars in the neighborhood for a nice after-workshop drink! Hope to see you there! xoxo
36×48 inch corkboard.
Like any project around the house, I thought about doing this almost a year ago and finally put it up in my office last month. It turned out so well that I wanted to share it with you all.
This is a 36×48 inch natural corkboard, purchased at the Container Store with silver tacks. It took some time to plan out the sizes and make the prints, but it was a fairly simple project. To get a better sense of the size, the print on the top left is 8×12 inches. I found that instead of planning out the entire thing, it was easier to fill up a third of it with 8×12 prints and then plan how to fill in the rest of the space.
The best thing is that friends love it, clients love it, and most importantly, my wife loves it. It’s helped show off my work in an interesting way that engages people and it shows off the prints without any glass in front to show visitors the true quality of the prints and paper.
Also, framing can get expensive, and especially for areas like your office, your studio, or whenever you do your photo work, you will undoubtedly get the urge to change the photos on your walls constantly. Framing makes that tough to do, as I have learned the hard way. With a board like this, all you have to do is print and replace.
It is a fantastic way to work on a long term project of images that you can play with and change over time to see how the images work with each other. I chose to organize mine around a specific set of my street photography and even after a month I plan on changing it and adding to it. I am eventually going to add two more board and put painting lights above them all.
There are also many other ways to do this. After I posted about the board on my blog, an Australian reader named Kristen sent me a photo of a version she had created.
Here’s what she said:
“I bought three, 40 inch by 20 inch canvases. Then, I nailed the canvas frames together to make a single 40 inch by 60 inch canvas. Over the top of that, I attached mat black material and put a hanging string along the back of the frame.
I used hot glue to stick 4 velcro bits for each photo on the black material, then I put the other side of the 4 velcros bits on the back of each photo. Every 6 months or so I take down the 24 photos and I can put up new photos or re show old photos, because they all attach via velcro – so I can take down and put up photos to suit.”
There are so many ways to do something like this. So get started! And if you’ve done something similar, please share it with us in the comments!
Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.
Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.
Photo Project: Why You Should Create a Photo Inspiration Corkboard
Both the Nikon D90 and the Canon T2i have some great deals on right now, and I’ve been getting a lot of questions from readers on which one of these DSLR’s to buy. Here’s my answer… Visit us at the Art of the Image for more on the Canon T2i and the Nikon D90 www.artoftheimage.com
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