Photography Tips | Virtual Photography Studio - Resources for photographers

One Great Idea – Meet Patty Hankins

I’m excited to start a new series here on the Virtual Photography Studio blog. I know I learn best by seeing working examples. It helps me see things clearer, and understand how to bring it into my own business.

That’s the idea behind Photographers – One Great Idea.

I’m out surfing everyday. And I find a ton of great ideas. So why not share them with you! You can meet other photographers who are finding success online, and grow your own business with some fantastic ideas.

Meet Patty Hankins.

I first met Patty on a social site (Facebook? Twitter? I can’t remember which one anymore). I loved her work, and click over to her site through Twitter whenever I see she has new photographs posted.

Patty is a fine art photographer, and travels around displaying her work at art shows. You can see her images here.

When I recently clicked over to her blog, I found a great post for an upcoming art show – my takeaway idea for this post.

9 Sites Every Photographer Should Know About

by Virtual Photography 2 Comments

1. David Bergman
Truly inspiring photography. I loved his work in January at the inauguration. And through this blog, you can share in a world of interest.

2. The Pioneer Woman
She has a very inspiring blog series. From home schooling, to photography, to living on a ranch, you’re sure to be inspired by her work.

3. The Big Picture
Their tagline – news stories in photographs. That’s the reason I love this site. Truly inspiring.

4. Twitter.com
Twitter is the fastest growing, amazingly simple site that can really give your business a boost. If you haven’t set up your account yet, do it now. Then start following photographers. @LoriOsterberg @PhotoshopTips @digitalps

5. Search Twitter
Once you’re on Twitter, you have to start following and connecting people. Use Search Twitter to find people to follow. Two recommendations: type in “photographer” and type in your city and state. You’ll find a ton of people quickly. (Follow a few at a time. Nobody likes an excited “spammer” who follows 1,000 people their first day out.)

6. Photo Editors
Okay, this isn’t really a site. But I found this article very interesting, and thought I’d share. We all use Photoshop. But what else is out there? What can you use for different photographs, in different situations? This compares 15 online photo editors.

7. World Hum
I love this site because of the beautiful photographs, and the chance to travel from the comfort of my home office. Use this site to get inspired.

8. Slideshare
Slideshare is a place for you to put all kinds of presentations. Even photography. Check out these amazing images.

9. Dieppa Photography
Aaron Dieppa has a wealth of information on his site/blog. I love his video blog posts, and his work is fresh and exciting. Make this one of the sites you visit regularly to stay inspired.

Filed Under: Blog, Online Resources Tagged With: photography resources, photography tips, top photography sites

Learn From The Best Through Alltop

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The Internet has made learning a lot easier. Simply type into Google (or your favorite search engine) what you want, and you’ll be handed instant results to thousands of resources.

But having access to a ton of information can also be what’s holding you back. How do you read everything? How do you know what’s good? How do you find the best in any given area?

For quite awhile now I’ve used Alltop.com to find resources and websites on, well, just about everything. Pick a topic and you’ll discover some of the best sites out there related to what you’re searching for.

As of yesterday, our own VirtualPhotographyStudio.com blog has now made it to Alltop.com as a recommended resource under the Top Photography News section. We’re so excited to be a part of this site.

If you haven’t had a chance to visit Photography.Alltop.com yet, head over and spend some time looking through the sites. I guarantee you’ll find a ton of information that can help you grow as a photographer, and as a business owner.

Filed Under: Blog, Online Resources Tagged With: all the top photography news, alltop.com, photography tips, searching online for photography resources

8 Ways To Cover Up Your Mistakes

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Have you ever been working with a clients files, and had a sinking feeling in your stomach? Maybe you were having a bad day, and the quality just isn’t there. Or maybe you had the wrong settings, and there’s no way you can recover the image and make it acceptable.

Whatever happened, what do you do? How can you make it up to the client? Consider these 8 strategies.

1. Admit your mistake. Sometimes hiding it is the worst thing you can do. Instead admit it up front, and continue on from there.

2. Ask what the client wants in return. I’ll admit it, once we made a pretty major mistake on a wedding early on. We messed up the entire cake/toast section, and didn’t have one image to place in the album. I was ready to give the client a ton. But instead we asked what she wanted. She simply chose a few pictures her guests had taken and we placed them in the album. She was happy. I was happy. And I learned to ask what they want before I impose my thoughts.

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Filed Under: Blog, Business Tagged With: customer service, photography mistakes, photography tips

10 Things To Inspire Your Photography

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How many times a week do you take a few minutes and just start surfing? Some say that’s a big time waster, but I use it as inspiration. I start with an email or a link from a friend, and just start following things.

So here’s my list of 10 cool sites to inspire your photography.

1. FlakPhoto is a photography blogzine that’s filled with photography projects from every corner of the world. You’ll find photo essays, book projects and gallery exhibitions.

2. Rocktographers has the most amazing images of, well, rocks. The diamond kind that is. This will help you think outside the box when trying to come up with that unique photo at your next wedding. (Or for your commercial shoot.)

3. MCP Actions has a lot of cool Photoshop actions, ready to help you make your photography more saleable, and shorten up the time you spend on your computer.

4. Want to see what the Canon EOS 5D Mark II can do? I was amazed.