9 Things To Photograph Before You Die continued

Should You Photoshop Your Photographs Before You Show Your Clients?

Photoshop is no longer an added extra that helps with a little retouching. Photoshop in itself can be an integral part of who you are as a photographer. using photoshop

But how do you decide how much time you should invest in Photoshop before you present your work to your clients?

Ultimately it depends on the type of photography you do, and what your clients expect.

As wedding photographers, we never used Photoshop on any of our work before we presented our album design ideas to our clients. Our goal was to sell large albums – all cropping and manipulating was done after the customer made choices. That was we still left the idea of proof versus final image in their minds, and we could justify the costs after final production.

Similarly, if you provide natural portraits and you’re using projection to sell your photography, you might not necessarily need to use Photoshop before the presentation. You should be able to show your clients what finalized prints will look like after you complete production.

Yet for many of you, Photoshop literally transforms your photography to a whole different level. You’re not just softening fine lines, and smoothing out the skin. You’re actually using Photoshop to completely change the way the image looks.

Is there any right answer?

What Would You Do If You Could Photograph Anything?

by Virtual Photography 3 Comments

If you’re like most photographers, you always have your camera around ready to snap the perfect image.

But what’s your dream? Do you dream about traveling half way around the world, and taking exotic photographs in a remote location?

If you’ve ever had a dream, now is the chance to get rewarded for it.

Name Your Dream Assignment is a new contest opening up on March 3, 2009.

Come up with the most creative, inspiring photo shoot idea, and you’ll win $50,000 to bring that dream to reality, plus the Lenovo ThinkPad W700 with Windows Vista to help you along the way.

You don’t have to be a professional with a large portfolio. Anyone with a love of photography, from amateur to seasoned professional can submit their ideas, and have a chance to make their photography dreams a reality.

I know I’m on the list for more information … are you?

Filed Under: Blog, Just For Fun Tagged With: name your dream assignment, photography contest

Top 10 Ways To Fail As A Photographer

by Virtual Photography 17 Comments

Every once in awhile I find something while out searching that gives me inspiration to write a new blog post. Today was one of those days. While I would never name names, I decided to give photographers some ideas on how to change their business around.

I just read that under normal times, the 80/20 rule applies. So in normal times, 20 percent of businesses will thrive and prosper, and 80 percent will hold steady or slowly go into decline.

But in today’s economic times, we move to a 95/5 rule. Meaning only 5 percent of businesses will thrive and prosper, and 95 percent will hold steady or slowly go into decline or failure.

And I know why.

You can’t give up; you have to work a little harder.

You can’t quit marketing; you have to market more efficiently.

You can’t do what everyone else is doing; you have to clear your own path.

So with those thoughts in mind, let’s discuss the 10 ways you can currently fail as a photographer, and hopefully you’ll see some ideas that can help turn around your own business.

1. Create a website like your competition. A ton of photographers use Flash presentation sites where they can input a little content and a selection of their favorite photographs. And yes, I’ve been to multiple sites that look exactly alike – the colors, photos and logo change, but they’re all so similar, they immediately lose their impact. Do something new and fresh. Make them say wow. Create a web presence that knocks the socks off of your prospects.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, Business Tagged With: growing a photography studio, marketing your photography business

Photographing shapes – Circles

by Virtual Photography 2 Comments

Photography can become tedious and daunting if you shoot the same thing again and again. Next time you want to get out and adventure in a new direction, set your self up and do a challenge project.

I always like to challenge myself with a photography project. What would your mind do if all you had to think about is one thing. A shape. A shape that is everywhere you look. A circle!

Here are some ideas for creating a project into a finished work of art -

by Mark Berry

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, Get Inspired Photography Tagged With: Circle, Get inspired, Photography

Getting Personal With Your Blog

by Virtual Photography 4 Comments

I’ve been talking with a lot of PTCO groups here in my local area about jumping on to Facebook, and using different social networking tools. While my main focus with these groups is to talk about security when their children use them, we also touch on how beneficial they are for businesses.

At each of the meetings, one question always jumps out at the beginning.

“How personal should you get?”

The answer of course is different for an adult versus a child. But from my perspective, being personal is what makes you human. It’s what gives you personality. It’s what helps you build relationships.

No matter what you buy, chances are you buy it because of the relationships you have with the workers at the store. You shop at one grocery store over the other because they seem friendlier as you’re heading through the checkout lane. Or you visit one discount store over the other because you like the interaction with the workers.

You have a preference because of the way you perceive the surroundings of the area.

It’s Time For Your Daily Laugh

by Virtual Photography Leave a Comment

I found a great new site that I’ve just spent way too much time on (I thought I was supposed to be working today

Anyway, any photographer will love WhatTheDuck.

Make sure you sign up for his RSS feed so you can get every single comic.

Filed Under: Blog, Just For Fun Tagged With: comic strip for photographers, whattheduck

Finding Your First Five Photography Clients

by Virtual Photography 6 Comments

After years in the business, sometimes its difficult to think back to the very first day you opened your doors, and waited patiently until the first client came in.

Chances are even if you’re brand new, you’ve started out with friends and family. I remember doing a ton of friends, just to gain experience and to get my portfolio up to where we had something to show other prospects. That’s the best way to start.

I remember one of our dreams was to do love portraits, or photographs of two people in an image that portrayed a scene of romance. In order to get exactly the right look, Andrew photographed his brother and myself in a variety of photographs, which we used to show potential clients what we had in mind.

You have to have samples of what you truly want to do. A potential customer can’t read your mind, and they can’t picture what you describe. They have to see it to believe it, and want it. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, Start A Photo Business Tagged With: finding clients, marketing photography business, start a photography business

Being The Storyteller And Getting Paid To Do It

by Virtual Photography 3 Comments

How do photograph your weddings?

Are you a portrait taker, that has a list of shots your bride wants taken at the wedding and reception?

Or do you go with the flow, taking photographs throughout the day based on what’s happening?

The key buzzword in the industry in photojournalism. Yet few photographers are actually photojournalistic. Photojournalistic doesn’t mean taking a few snapshots between the formals. It means you look at the entire day as an artistic experience, and document what’s happening with very little posing, very little communication, and very little interaction between the photographer and the clients/guests.

It means becoming a storyteller, and watching for things that happen around you to make it a memory. It’s about constantly watching for action and reaction. It’s about turning away from the main focus, to find out how people are reacting to it. It’s about being aware of everything around you, and being ready for that magical image.

Everyone gets the cake image.

But how about the cake after the bride and groom have cut their first piece together?

Using Professional Photographic Products – What It Takes To Look Like A Professional

by Virtual Photography 1 Comment

When you call in a professional, do you expect them to do more than you can do on your own?

For instance, when we called in a local plumber to fix a drain that was clogged, we expected him to show up with more than a bottle of Liquid Plumber in his hand. We expected him to show up with a series of tools, and to completely clean the drain so we had no more problems.

Or when we hired a caterer for a party, we expected him to show up with more than a few paper plates and a pan full of simple appetizers. We expected the entire event to be elegant and have delicious food presented in an elegant way.

They are the professionals. So we place the expectations above what we could reasonably do ourselves.

The same applies to a professional photographer.

9 Things To Photograph Before You Die continued

by Virtual Photography 2 Comments

Thanks everyone for your great ideas for my last post 11 Things To Photograph Before You Die.

I thought I’d continue the series with some of your suggestions, and give you more to think about before this coming weekend. If you’re out shooting, hopefully this will open up your mind to more of what’s possible.

1. A family portrait that’s a true work of art. (Thanks to our friend Crystal for creating this portrait of us 10 years ago – its still above our fireplace.)