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10 Tips On How to Build Your Photography Empire

by Dan Bailey on November 2, 2011 · 32 comments

With so much to see and hear at PhotoPlus Expo, it’s a real challenge to balance looking at new gear, networking, and making time for the seminars. It’s impossible to see every one, but I did manage to catch the seminar on Building Multiple Revenue Streams by Derrick Story.

You might recognize the name, Derrick is the social media face of @LowePro. He’s also a working photographer and writer, and he gave a great talk about how widening your net of photography-related income is key to succeeding in the business these days. Visit Derrick’s blog The Digital Story.

Here are 10 tips on how to build your photo empire in the new economy…

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The New Fujifilm X10 Compact Camera

by Dan Bailey on November 2, 2011 · 8 comments

The age of true high-end point and shoot cameras has finally arrived.

If you’re like me, you keep waiting for the next level of compact cameras that don’t cost a fortune, that produce great imagery, and that don’t have horrible shutter lag. You keep waiting, all the while just keep shooting with your iPhone.

This year at PhotoPlus Expo, we saw a new generation of compact cameras from every manufacturer, including the new Fujifilm X10. I only got a brief look at the very end of the day, but I really liked what I saw.

First of all, this camera looks and feels awesome in your hands. It reminds me of a small, classic rangefinder. All the dials and controls are laid-out in a really obvious and ergonomic way. You turn it on by rotating the zoom barrel on the lens, and adjust things like shutter speed and aperture with a small thumb dial on the back.

Image quality is pretty standard for what we’re seeing lately: 12MP, with a 4x zoom and a lens that effectively covers a range of 28-112mm. It shoots Jpeg, RAW and H.264 video with stereo sound. And it has impressive macro capabilities, focusing down to about 1cm away from your subject.

And the best part; virtually no shutter lag, which means you won’t miss the moment. Oh, and just to make sure you don’t miss it, the X10 will fire at continuous high speed mode ar 10 fps (M and S file size) and 7 fps at full resolution. That’s faster than my D700!

This is what we’ve all been waiting for, right?

The Fujifilm X10 costs $600, and in my quick look, I’d say it’s worth every penny. For $1,200, you can pick up its big brother, the new X100, which has many of the same specs, all packed into a beautiful, rugged chrome chassis that will make you think you’re carrying a fifty year old classic.

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Senior contributor Dan Bailey is a professional adventure, outdoor and travel photographer based in Anchorage, Alaska.

 

 

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Profile: Kevin Kubota Photography and Kubota Image Tools

by Dan Bailey on November 1, 2011 · 6 comments

Successful photographers understand the need to “recession-proof” their businesses so they don’t crash hard when then economy dips.

Of course, there’s no stock way to do to this, and it’s always interesting to see how different people build and adapt their specific business models and find success. Today, I present a case study with a profile of Kubota Photography and Kubota Image Tools. I sat down with them at PhotoPlus Expo to find out how they’ve found success in a vey dynamic industry.

20 years ago, Kevin And Clare Kubota started their wedding photography business in Bend, Oregon. When the industry began moving towards digital, Kevin embraced the new format, became highly proficient with Photoshop and began selling custom retouching action sets to other photographers.

A few years later, Kevin expanded the teaching side by launching his Digital Photography Bootcamp workshops and other software preset packages. Today, he’s recognized as a leading Photoshop expert.

About six years ago, a Japanese company approached the couple about distributing a line of photo books in the US. This deal turned into their AsukaBook line, which offers gorgeous, high-end photo presentation solutions to other wedding and portrait photographers.

In order to further serve their book customers, Clare and Kevin formed Red Boot Design. This sector of their business offers graphic design that helps photographers create presentation albums, books, and cards. Although Red Boot offers templates and custom options that are geared around their AsukaBooks, they’ll do design for other projects as well.

By building a line of separate companies that all relate to each other and revolve around Kevin’s mastery of image making and processing, Kevin and Clare have developed a solid business model. While many photography-based businesses suffered greatly during the recent downturn, the Kubotas rode through the crisis with relatively smooth sailing.

Their business keeps expanding into the new decade with photo workshop tours in Italy and a recent book, Kevin Kubota’s Lighting Notebook, published by Wiley Press. His Dashboard photo action series and software tool sets continue to rate highly with other photographers.

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Senior contributor Dan Bailey is a professional adventure, outdoor and travel photographer based in Anchorage, Alaska.

 

 

Interview with Photographer Career Coach Dane Sanders

by Dan Bailey on October 28, 2011 · 13 comments

Although Dane Sanders is a wedding photographer, his introspective Fast Track Photographer coaching method is applicable to just about any style of shooter. I’m an adventure guy, and I found it to be an incredibly useful and inspiring resource for coming up with new business ideas. (Read my personal analysis here.)

I caught Dane after his PhotoPlus Expo business and career seminar and asked him what brief bit of advice he’d give to working photographers. Here’s his answer above.

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New From Lowepro: Lens Exchange 200 Lens Case

by Dan Bailey on October 28, 2011 · 11 comments

In many ways, PhotoPlus Expo is all about the gear. We all want to see the coolest new toys from the manufacturers: gear that inspires us or solves problems. Or that makes us feel really cool.

Here’s one from Lowepro: the brand new, innovative Lens Exchange 200 lens case. It addresses the problem of… well, let’s just put it this way — How many times have you almost dropped a lens while changing them? Yeah, me too.

I could try to explain how it works, but why don’t you just watch this video and see for yourself.

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Senior contributor Dan Bailey is a professional adventure, outdoor and travel photographer based in Anchorage, Alaska.

 

 

PhotoPlus Expo 2011 Report: Canon Idea Mine iPhone App

by Dan Bailey on October 27, 2011 · 13 comments

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We creative types are always looking for those little pangs of extra inspiration, whether it comes from books, software plugins, or smartphone apps.

Today at PhotoPlus Expo, Paul Pierson Apps announced a brand new iPhone app called “Canon Idea Mind.” Created by graphic design and branding whiz Paul Pierson of NYC-based Carbone Smolan Agency in conjunction with Canon, this cool little app is designed to inspire pro photographers by distilling creative ideas into condensed visual flash cards you can save and use to help drive inspiration for your shoot.

The app’s home screen presents you with a set of fields where you specify what, where, and when you want to photograph. You then fill in fields that correspond to conceptual ideas about your proposed shoot and what feelings or moods you want to convey. Or, if you need additional ideas, you hit the “randomizer” button and let the app fill in concepts for you.

When all the fields are complete, you hit “Done,” and the app spits out a graphic visual promo that matches the parameters of your shoot. You can save this image to share with fellow creative conspirators and/or use it to come up with specific ideas that might help you motivate and plan for your shoot.

Drawing from the notion that a picture is worth a thousand words, Canon Idea Mine comes at it from the other side, using words to inspire images. It’s definitely an original, idea-provoking machine, and even better, it’s free. I wondered where Canon actually fits in the mix, since their name is associated with it. Apparently the final release will include a link to the Canon Digital Learning Center. It’s designed as a portal into their brand; a PR piece, as it were.

Canon or not, I see this one being pretty popular with just about every style of photographer. I like the format, and it’s a fun, well-executed design. I’m a Nikon guy, and I’ll definitely get this one when it comes out.

Don’t tell Nikon.

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Senior contributor Dan Bailey is a professional adventure, outdoor and travel photographer based in Anchorage, Alaska.

 

 

7 Tips for Building Blog and Social Media Success

by Dan Bailey on October 27, 2011 · 8 comments

Aside from booth after booth of all the latest camera gear, PhotoPlus Expo offers an array of informative seminars with industry experts, covering everything from technique to marketing.

On Wednesday, I sat in on a social media seminar by wedding photographer turned family/children photographer and instructor Me Ra Koh. Her business model relies heavily on social media and blogging, which she uses to drive her workshops.

 

Here are 7 blogging tips and a few vital stats about Facebook Koh shared that can help you improve your social media reach.

1. Have a single, specialized focus.

People will read your blog if they see you as a expert. Having a consistent message and style will keep bringing them back.

2. Post consistently.

The hard fact about blogging is that your traffic will be higher if you write regular posts. By giving your readers regular and interesting content, they’ll actually work your blog into their daily/weekly schedule. If your posts drop off, so will your readership. Always have new content ready to go by writing and banking extra posts whenever you have time.

3. Have searchable categories.

Readers stay with you if they can identify with the topics that you cover. Having regular, searchable categories lets new readers dig deeper into your archives to read posts that they might have missed.

4. Hyperlink.

Linking to your own deeper material, as well as to other sites, makes your site a reliable resource for expert information, whether it comes from you or not. It helps build trust with your readers.

5. Use SEO and searchable post titles.

You want people to find your site, and search engine traffic is one of the best ways to make sure that happens. Write blog titles that give Google something to grab, with words that people are likely to use.

6. Run contests.

People love to win stuff. Give them this chance and I promise you, your traffic will climb big time. Prizes don’t have to be big — even things like gift cards and free prints or downloads will get things moving.

7. Engage your readers.

Make your blog an interactive experience. Get to know your readers. Talk to them. Ask questions. Answer their questions. Incite discussion. Be personal. Be you and your blog will take on a personality of its own.

Lastly, here are a couple of interesting stats Koh shared about Facebook that will hep you determine what and when to post:

Posts before noon get 65% more feedback.
Image posts receive 22% more engagement than video, and 54% more than text.

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Senior contributor Dan Bailey is a professional adventure, outdoor and travel photographer based in Anchorage, Alaska.

 

 

PDN PhotoPlus Expo Day 1: Media Event

by Dan Bailey on October 26, 2011 · 4 comments

Welcome to PDN PhotoPlus Expo 2011! I’m here in New York covering the event, and during the next three days, I’ll be posting right from the show floor, highlighting new products and passing on technical and industry insight that I pick up at some of the awesome seminars that mare going on all weekend.

I’ll kick things off by featuring a couple of items that I got to preview at the pre-show media event.

First is a really nice set of CD/DVD cases by American-Digital. These aluminum jewel cases don’t add much to your presentation cost, but they’ll greatly increase your presentation value. They come in a number of different styles, all of which look way cooler than plastic cases or paper sleeves.

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Second is this extremely innovative camera clip system by Peak Design. Founded by outdoor enthusiast, traveller and photographer Peter Dering, it’s basically a quick release system for your belt, waistbelt, shoulder strap… Anywhere you can fit the little bracket.

The Arca compatible QR plate that screws onto your camera allows you to securely clip your DSLR onto yourself. Makes it so that your camera is literally right at hand when you need it. Looks like a great option for shooters who go light and fast! Think I need one of these! Watch this short video to see how it works.

Lastly, remember last year when I wrote about the great photo sharing community 500px? Well, this evening, I ran into co-founder and technical director Oleg Gutsol, who told me of the company’s continued growth and revealed that they’re continually working to refine and expand the site.

They’ve also got a brand new iPad app, which is a great way to browse their awesome collection of imagery. Get it at the iTunes store. (I’ll be downloading it right after I finish writing this blog post!)

Much more to come, so stay with us all week and follow along on Twitter with hash tag #ppe2011.

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