How To Take Better Pictures

Have you ever wished you could take better pictures?

As a photographer, I know you love taking photographs. You probably bring your camera everywhere, ready to snap the candids every chance you have. But what about posing people for a more professional portrait. Can you easily jump in and set up groups easily? Or does it put a touch of fear into your heart?

Andrew and I have been busy creating a wonderful new program for everyone that nodded their heads when they read that last question.

We both understand that feeling well. When we first started out, posing was hard. When you have a group of people looking to you for guidance, where do you start? And before you ever get started, where do you meet them? Can you really find places right around your studio that will create great backgrounds?

That’s the idea behind 9to5PhotoTips.com Head over and watch our first few videos. We take the complex and break it down into very simple steps. We want you to be able to take one idea, learn a little about it, head out into the field and apply it immediately.

9to5phototips

Head over to 9to5PhotoTips.com and watch the videos. Then leave me a comment or send me an email – I’d love to know what you think.

Increasing Your Awareness In Slow Times

What are you doing to stay in touch with your customers?

Every business is seeing a changiStock_000003693793XSmalle this year. What you sold last year may not be selling this year. Your sales and profits are probably a bit different too.

But its not that there isn’t business to be found out there. There are a ton of photography studios making money – good money – even as you read this.

In the words of Jeffrey Gitomer:
“Business is not down, it’s different.”

So what are you doing to “be different” as well?

One of the greatest assets of my business was my quarterly newsletter. I filled it with a ton of information and dozens of photographed. My clients cherished these newsletters – they really were almost like a mini magazine.

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Photographing By The Page – The Only Way To Shoot A Wedding

How did you photograph your last wedding?

If you’re new to it, you may have taken along a checklist to make sure you take the top wedding photographs. (I’ve seen a ton of courses recommend the checklist style of photographing.)

If you’re new to wedding photography, it may help you stay on track. But if you’re concentrating on “the list”, you may end of missing some of your best images.

The bride doesn’t know what she wants. This is her first time getting married. She only knows she wants great images.

As a photographer, you should be thinking both from what she expects, and what she doesn’t.

If you think from building an album, how do your pages play together?

Instead of allowing the bride to select a few images, and the photographer puts them together in a book as best as possible, show your clients how they come together.

wedding page layout 1

I always included a two page spread of how the aisle looked. The couple spent a lot of money on the details, and this is a great, artistic way for them to remember how everything looked.

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Online Photoshop Alternatives – Picture2Life

As a professional photographer, you probably have Photoshop and use it regularly. But as a professional it’s also fun to try other sites and services, just to have alternatives every once in awhile.

The thing I like best about some of the online editors is that they are online. It doesn’t matter if you have your computer with you for access to your own version of Photoshop. From any computer, you login to your account and start playing with your photographs.

Today I decided to play with Picture2Life. Picture2Life is an easy to use online image editor that allows you to manipulate your photographs, and create collages and animations. It also interfaces with all photo sharing websites and blogs, such as Flickr, Photobucket, Facebook, Blogger, WordPress, etc.

picture2life2

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Photoshop Tutorial – Faster Color Adjustments

Photoshop Video Tutorial – Faster color adjustments in Adobe Photoshop CS4. See how modifications to this amazing program will streamline your color adjustments. Check out this video: [Read more...]

Celebrating Earth Day Through Photographs

Happy Earth Day! As a way of celebrating Earth Day, I decided to share photograph tips, sites, and strategies that have caught my eye this week. Enjoy! earth

Earth: From A Different Point Of View
Think its hard taking photographs here on earth? Try taking them from space. Not only does this post have amazing images taken from space, you even get a tutorial on how it was done.

Kodak and Earth Day
What is Kodak doing to make planet Earth a better place to live? Find out how Kodak is focusing on environmental issues.

2009 Earth Day Photo Contest For Students
Have a child in grades 5-8? Have them create a photograph showing our changing world. They may win a digital camera.

Earth Day Photo Project
Have a Flickr account? Join the EPA in putting together a photo project showcasing the many aspects of Earth Day.

Earth Mosaic
What are you doing today? Now imagine one large photograph showing what everyone in the world is doing in honor of Earth Day. That’s the premise behind Earth Mosaic.

Photojojo – Recycled seat Belt Camera Straps
I love this place – where do they find those funky ideas? Check out these recycled seat belt camera straps, an interesting idea.

image source sachyn

A Common Theme – Taking A Photo One Moment In Time

I’m seeing a common theme throughout the web lately. It’s about documenting one moment in time through the eyes of as many photographers as possible.

I first wrote about the 4am Project earlier this year.

worldwide moment

Now I’ve just run across Worldwide Moment. Worldwide Moment will take place on 09.09.09 at 09:09. The idea is for everyone to capture one moment of peace simultaneously from around the world, and share that image that was taken in celebration of this event.

What does your world look like at that moment?

If you want to participate, you can join in many ways.

Website
Twitter
Facebook

And if you want to start early, start with a mini-moment, that will post photos leading up to the big day. Email worldwidemoment@gmail.com with your photo, and it will be uploaded to the Flickr page.

Can You Really Grow Your Photography Business With Twitter?

Is Twitter really a way you can grow your photography business? Or is it just a passing fad?

I’ve been on Twitter now for over a year, and I must say it’s my number one source for online growth. I find clients that way. I find traffic to my sites. I find new friends. I’ve found speaking opportunities. And I find a ton of resources every day.

I’ve even mentioned using Twitter on this blog before. (Wedding Photographers Can Fill Up Their Calendars With Twitter)

So today I thought I would show you a new angle to using Twitter.

If you’re active with Tweeting, meaning you post regularly to your Twitter account, you can move traffic anywhere you choose. On any given day, we use Twitter to share tips and information with our followers. And with several thousand followers, we have quite a bit of people to direct to different locations.

We usually share resources all over the web – not just to our blog or website. But as we were looking through our stats today, we noticed a huge spike – on the day we released a post about a new product we were offering.

twitter-stats

We talked. And people listened. And we drove a ton of new traffic to one page on our blog in a short period of time. And we also had a ton of people take action on that new product that day as well.

How you can really use Twitter
Twitter is very easy to use. Sign up. Put in your bio. Upload a photograph. And start tweeting.

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One Great Idea: Meet Jennifer Bowen

I move in and out of photographers’ sites all day long. But every once in awhile I find a photographer that really “gets it” and holds my attention for a long time. And in this case, I was on there for 30 minutes when I decided to email her and include her in my One Great Idea section.

Meet Jennifer Bowen

When I first clicked into her site/blog, I could tell immediately she understood how to reach out to her clients. The image that greets you says WOW. It has a clean style. And the posts are amazing. When you see the images, you have to read the copy as well – you really want the whole story.

The post I was greeted with was Kaoife & Josh’s Wedding At Sassi. I was pulled in immediately by the photograph. And as I started reading, I actually clicked around to the links to the various vendors. What vendor wouldn’t love to be connected to a site like this!

jennifer bowen

Now imagine a bride viewing this instead – couldn’t she gain a ton of ideas from a post like this? How about gaining ideas from the many other posts Jennifer has on the site as well? What bride wouldn’t love to find Jennifer as a resource for planning her own wedding!

All of that – and more – captured my attention. And that isn’t even my takeaway idea!

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How Much Do I Charge For A Second Photographer?

Every morning I sit down at my computer and spend the first hour or so out on social sites answering questions and sharing information with my followers.

Today as I was out on one of the many photography forums I visit, I started answering a question:

If I add a wedding package that has a second shooter, how much should I charge the client?

There are actually several issues to this question.

First, there is a big difference between an assistant and a second photographer.  

An assistant is your “gofor” – they go for this and go for that. In other words, they are there to carry your bags, make sure your cameras are ready for you, help set up the family shots, gather groups for photos, etc. They may shoot, but only as an added bonus. And only if things are slow and it’s the best use of their time.

A second photographer should be capable of shooting the entire wedding by him or her self. You should be able to leave them specific duties, knowing full well their images will match your quality.  You can place them in an album next to yours, and the client will never know which photographer took the image.

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