As a working photographer, having a web presence is now a much needed tool, almost as much as owing a camera. The web is the best, easiest and cheapest way to get your photography in front of millions of potential customers. Social media is also changing how we use the web, and many photographers and small business owners are caught up in how exactly they should be utilizing it.
First lets look back. As a working photographer of say, 20 years ago, you got clients through advertisements in newspapers, the yellow pages for local work, magazines for national work. You’d also attend industry related events and pass around business cards and promo cards, relying on word of mouth and referrals to grow your business. It was slow, painful and costly to print cards and portfolios.
Website
Everyone has a website today, even your Mother. The question isn’t whether or not you have one, it’s a matter of how good it is and, does it really serve the purpose of getting a potential client to become a paying client. That alone is often overlooked by many creative photographers. Think of your website as an online portfolio that explains who you are, what you do, where you’re located and shows some examples of your work. I was always taught a solid portfolio should be 8-14 photos. Any less and your ability to complete a task is questioned, any more and a client can become bored. This, to me, still holds true online, only now you can separate your site into several categories with groupings of 8-14 photos. [click to continue…]
In an on-going series aimed at finite techniques to perfect in order to become a well-rounded photographer, this second set focuses more on light. The first part was a bit broad and encompassed several techniques used in one shot, for this we’ll simplify things, and prove that simple doesn’t mean uncomplicated or non-complex.
Photography should be about being creative, showing your emotions, capturing moments and having fun. In order to do all of that though, one must mater the basic concepts of photography which are often exemplified in certain specific photographs. Mastering techniques should be a focus of your photography learning, but I don’t think it should define your exact journey to becoming a better photographer. One of our Twitter followers, Ross Vernal inquired, What would you say are the 10 essential shots a photographer must perfect before they can start to develop their own style? Here are some examples of the shots I’m talking about, and the concept to shooting them. This should in turn, lead to more parts in this on-going series to help answer Ross’s question, because it’s rather complex.
The Internet has changed just about every aspect of our lives, and for photographers the doors have been opened for millions of new people to view our work. Photographers have a multitude of ways to showcase work online, including photo sharing sites like Flickr and Deviant Art, to social media sites like Facebook and TwitPic, to forums and even our own websites. For the purpose of this article, we’re going to focus on how to get your photographs the most visibility, to new viewers, and why you need to spend time doing a little extra work behind the scenes.
Perhaps one of the loneliest accessories in photography is the hand held light meter. When DSLR cameras became more affordable, photographers on a large scale stopped using hand held meters and started to rely on the histograms in their cameras for feedback on scene readings. Because in-camera light meters really started to make some technological advancements, they became a more viable option. In-camera meters are far from perfect though and many photographers, both new to shooting and seasoned vets, are now dusting off their meters and using them.
Since I’m an avid iPhone user now, why not try an app to replicate a light meter on my phone? I already stopped carrying my point and shoot digital camera in favor of my phone, maybe my light meter would be one less thing to carry. The Pocket Light Meter app looks to do just that, and it’s free, how could it get any better? [click to continue…]
So far, I’ve been really happy with the iPhone 4, regardless of what people may say about dropped calls, the camera in it has all but replaced a point and shoot camera for me, and I take photos almost every day now. Furthermore, the HD video isn’t so bad, but there are limitations to it. One thing I mentioned in a previous article is that the video function on the iPhone would probably be used most by people who happen to want to record a spur of the moment event, not so much a planned out short movie. In doing so, this often means several short clips only a few seconds long, not really that appealing to watch. This is where the iMovie app for the iPhone comes into play.
Just over a week ago I got an iPhone 4 and hoped that it may replace my point and shoot camera, filling the gap between somewhat crappy cell phone photos and hauling a separate camera out. With nearly 300 photos snapped already, many filling my random photo blog, I haven’t had a second thought about bringing a point and shoot with me. In addition to the much anticipated 5mp camera with 5x zoom and LED flash, the iPhone 4 now sports a 720p capable video camera.
Truth be told, over the 10+ years I’ve been doing photography, I have never much played around with video . While I’ve had video capable point and shoot digital cameras for eight years now, it wasn’t until recently that I even had the inclination to try and record video, it simply wasn’t something that interested me. Having a video camera in my pocket all the time now has me thinking about video and I wanted to put the iPhone 4 through some paces.
Light is what enables us to photograph, and manipulating light is what makes us photographers. With the bevy of ways to create artificial light, then modify, diffuse and alter it, natural light often takes a backseat. It’s a shame too, because exploiting natural light can very often lead to some stunning photographs.
To exploit natural light, knowing when and where to shoot and the mood to go along with it will take some careful planning. Unlike artificial light, natural light changes, sometimes by the minute and you might find yourself glued to the weather channel and Doppler radar more than your favorite photo blog. Likewise, knowing the directional relationship to where you are, the sun is rising and setting and what the cloud cover will be can help determine your shoot. Because all this knowledge is needed before shooting, it’s often best to scope out potential spots days or even weeks ahead of time.
