Photography Minute » Business

Photography Links for August 15 2010

Eric D. Brown — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 15:17:47 +0000

What Every Photographer Needs to Know about Social Media
Photographers are busy people. So too are our clients. More so than ever before we have an abundance of information available to us at the click of a mouse. It’s always evolving; full of opportunity and at times, a little overwhelming.
The Theory and Psychology of Framing Your Image by Diana Eftaiha on PhotoTuts+
Quote: Today, we’re taking a look at the theory and psychology behind the size, framing, and visual weight of different elements in your photographic composition. You’d be surprised how much there is to learn about this choice, and the impact your decision can have!
Products and People Over Process and Dogma « Photofocus
Quote: I can’t remember where I saw this quote, “Products and People Over Process and Dogma,” but I like it. I really like it. I think it describes the thinking that photographers need if they want to become really good at photography. Concentrate on the end product (the picture) and the people it impacts. Who will see your photos? What stories will they tell? What memories will they protect? This is the stuff that matters.
Self-Sabotage- Going Pro 2010
Quote: Most of the emerging professional photographers I work with are talented shooters. The rest have the chance to become talented if they just stick with it and invest in themselves and their dreams.What stops most of them is self-sabotage.

Photography Links for August 8 2010

Eric D. Brown — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 13:17:15 +0000

The Three Types of Photographic Criticism and How to Handle Them | Light Stalking
Quote: Part of taking photographs is the enjoyment you get with sharing them. Along with sharing, comes learning, and along those lines are criticisms. This article will show you how to handle the three types of photographic criticisms without getting overly frustrated.
It’s Risky- Going Pro 2010
Quote: Take a chance. Be risky. Take a stand. Hold your ground. Defend your position. Ignore the nay-sayers. Make images from your heart that show the real you. Don’t worry about rejection. Go for it. Don’t hold back – even a little. Show us who you are. That will make you a star!
Four Rules of Photographic Composition – Digital Photography School
Quote: So if you are like me and you haven’t yet considered composition, here are a few rules to get you going. Naturally, rules are made to be broken. But you can’t break the rules until you have mastered them. More on that another time. Here are four hard and fast rules of composition
Making Good Photos Isn’t About Following the Rules | Black Star Rising
Quote: The best photography is like jazz. It doesn’t overly concern itself with rules. It reveals the passion of the artist.
Looking for An Answer by Moose Peterson
Quote: I’ve been looking for an answer for over thirty years, ever since I picked up a camera and decided to make it my career. I remember all to clearly leaving a night college class and thinking out loud, “What’s the answer?” And here’s the problem. I don’t know the question. Seriously, I know the answer is out there, the one that will make it all work, make it all right, the one that will solves all the problems and put everything in its right place. But if there is an answer, shouldn’t there be a question?

Photography Links for June 20 2010

Eric D. Brown — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 12:57:07 +0000

Photographing Flowers – A How-to by Elizabeth Halford on Digital Photography School
When many beginners pick up a camera for the first time, it sort of seems like an automatic first step to begin photographing flowers. They stand still and do as they’re told while you practice. For some photographers, they begin feeling more comfortable with the camera and move from flora and fauna to people or other. Although for others, they really sharpen their talent and just get better and better at photographing flowers.
Art and Risk by David duChemin on the Pixelated Image Blog
The question that was asked was along the lines of the kind of advice I’d give to people starting out, specifically those wanting to make a living with their photography. My reply is the same whether or not you ever intend to make a dime at your art: Take more risks.
Seven Tips for Marketing Your New Photography Business By Scott Bourne on Going Pro 2010
There are many ways and many things you should consider when launching your photography business. This post is just a little idea starter. I’m not including every single thing I can think of here on purpose. It’s easy to get overwhelmed. Instead, I am concentrating on some things that are generally easy to do and that have worked for me. Give them a try.
12 Great Online Tutorials on Wildlife Photography by Mike Panic on Light Stalking
Shooting wildlife can be some of the most exhilarating photographic experiences of your life, it can also be downright frustrating and boring. Wildlife photography doesn’t need to happen on a safari in Africa, you can do it in local parks and wooded areas, but there is a lot to know about approaching the area, choosing your gear, setting it up and waiting for the wildlife to come to you, then actually exposing each shot.

Photography Links for May 30 2010

Eric D. Brown — Sun, 30 May 2010 14:00:49 +0000

If I Were Just Going Pro Today – Here’s The First Thing I’d Do- Going Pro 2010
“The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.”
Quick Tip: 3 Creative Uses of Slow Shutter Speed | Phototuts+
Experimenting with shutter speed on your camera is a simple way to achieve some great effects. We’re moving beyond the idea of simply capturing more light today, and showcasing three ways in which you can do something a little different with a slow shutter speed.
Don’t Give Up Hope Against Photography’s Dark Forces | Black Star Rising
For those photographers who stand for quality, for passion, and for maintaining a trade made by individuals with a soul, there is always hope.
Deconstructing Light on Digital Photography School
Learning to visually deconstruct light, its qualities, its temperature and direction can help you to better develop your photography skills. As light makes up such a fundamental part of our lives we tend to become used to it as it becomes part our subconscious understanding of the world. To develop your photography skills and your ability to identify suitable photographic situations, settings and composition, begin to deconstruct the light you see around you, and the light in other peoples photographs.

Photography Links for May 9 2010

Eric D. Brown — Sun, 09 May 2010 14:53:56 +0000

Survival Strategies for Photographers: Using Facebook | Black Star Rising
In this post in my video series on survival strategies for photographers, I offer a few tips for using Facebook as a low-cost marketing tool for your photography business.
How to Clean Your Digital SLR Camera and Lens – PictureCorrect
Quote: It is very important to maintain your digital SLR camera which involves cleaning it along with its related components. This article will assist you and provide some information on how to carefully clean the most important items. The cleaning process may sound simple but you really have to be careful. A clean camera is a happy camera. You’ll take better photos with a clean camera so plan to clean it regularly.
Tapping Into Your Creativity « Photofocus
Creativity is a way of thinking and a way of life. It requires loads of passion, motivation and dedication. Looking at something in a way that reflects your thoughts, ideas, and views is the start. The ability to express what you see and what you think takes patience and constant practice. Above all it’s using your imagination without bounds and having fun while doing it.
So You Want to Get Published?-Going Pro 2010
Quote: There’s no singular secret to getting published. It’s a combination of networking, quality, timing and patience.
How Hard Are You Working On Your Next Photo Project? « Photofocus
Quote: It’s fun being a photographer. But it’s also hard if you do it well.

Inbound Marketing for Photographers

Eric D. Brown — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 02:10:09 +0000

You take great photographs but nobody ever sees them.

You’ve got tons of high-quality images ready for sale…but nobody ever buys them.

You could shoot a wedding 100 times better than your competition…but you get few calls from prospective clients.

Why is that?

Well….assuming that you’re actually pretty good (and not deluding yourself), the only explanation is that you aren’t marketing yourself well. People just aren’t finding you when they’re looking for a photographer.

If you’re a photographer today trying to sell your prints and/or your services, you have to be found online. How you go about getting found will determine your success or failure in your business.

How can you be found online? You need an inbound marketing strategy for your business.

What is Inbound Marketing?

Inbound marketing is best defined as marketing done in such a way that your potential customers come to you. Inbound marketing is permission based marketing…it isn’t interruption marketing.

Jump over to HubSpot (THE authority on inbound marketing) to read more on the topic of inbound marketing and keep your eye on this blog as I’ll be writing more about inbound marketing strategies and tactics for photographers.

Inbound marketing can provide a tremendous boost to your business.

When was the last time you acted on some offer sent to you via a postcard, cold call or spam email? Probably been a while. While postcards are still a good way for some photographers to reach their target market, they aren’t ideal…the cost / benefit ratio is extremely low. The last research I saw showed less than 1% response rate to postcard mailings…not good.

Now…imagine if you take the money you’d have spent on those postcards and put it to use on the web building your inbound marketing platform. The money you spend on postcards (or other outbound marketing technique) is a recurring expense…you’ve got to keep spending to get new business. Inbound marketing spending is an ongoing expense but you really don’t need to invest heavily multiple times – in fact your largest investment might be your time when using an inbound marketing strategy.

Why is Inbound Marketing important?

Why is any marketing important…it means your future as a photographer.

Being a great photographer means something too…but if nobody knows about you, you’ll starve.

Sure, networking and outbound marketing will still work. In fact, working your network is an absolute necessity still…networking your way into a new project or shoot still works well. Referrals are key in the world of photography.

But…if you are just getting started in the business and/or your marketing hasn’t been working for you, take a look at building an inbound marketing strategy for your business.

This article is the first in a series of articles focused on inbound marketing for photographers. In future articles, I’ll be providing hints and tips on topics such as:

Search Engine Optimization – why it’s important & why it’s really not that difficult (actually…it can be but I’ll show you some basics that make it easier)
Techniques for setting up a website & blog for optimal SEO & Marketing
Techniques for using free and inexpensive tools for setting up your own gallery/portfolio
Hints and Tips for using Social Media for spreading the word about yourself and your services
Why you want to use Flickr and other online photo tools
How you can market yourself while not marketing yourself
+ more!

Look for more of articles on inbound marketing for photographers in the near future.

On Being Average

Eric D. Brown — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 01:53:06 +0000

I just read a post on David duChemin’s PixelatedImage that really made me think.

The post, titled “Doomed to Mediocrity“, and the follow-up posted titled “Doomed(?) Revisted” really hit home for me.

The basis for the original post was a letter received from a photographer who felt that they were doomed to mediocrity because they didn’t feel as though they were able to focus on anything. The photographer writes:

I don’t do expert well. I do bouncing around, try everything once well. Chalk it up to my being Gemini, too much coffee or ADD. I can get good, and focus for short periods of time but when the next shiny thing comes along – zoom, off I go..

David duChemin and his readers provide some excellent tips..jump over and read those.

As for me….I feel the same way as the person who wrote into David.

I have a lot of interests.

Photography (of course!) is a passion and has become a large part of my life these days but I’m also working on a doctorate in information systems and have a few entrepreneurial activities that I want to be able to focus.

But…do I have the time to do all this ‘stuff’? Can I do all of these things well? Can I really be a great photographer without focusing solely on the art and craft of taking great photographs?

So it brings up the question: Is it OK to be an average photographer?

For me, it is.

I don’t have time to be an expert at much….but I don’t really want to be. I’ll never be the world’s best photographer. I may grow into being a decent wildlife photographer and would love to be able to make a living doing that, but I don’t think I’ll ever be a world-renowned photographer.

So…it’s OK (for me) to be an average photographer. I love being in the outdoors shooting wildlife and landscapes and would love to make some money doing it but I realize there are people out there who are much smarter, much better photographers and who work much harder than I do at the craft of photography. They’ll be the experts.

Average isn’t great, but it isn’t supposed to be.

If you want to be a world-renowned photographer, you’ll need to work hard, study hard and catch a little bit of luck.

If you want to make a living at photography, you’ll need to be a bit better than average.

But, if you’re like me, and love photography for the sake of photography a, enjoy being ‘average’. Enjoy your shooting and enjoy your life.

No related posts.

Mockingbird with Canon 5D at 1600 ISO

Eric D. Brown — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 07:02:24 +0000

I’ve been away from the camera for a while with school, work, business and life in general. I found myself with some free time this afternoon and walked out to the pond with my Canon 5D and 400 5.6 L.

I saw a mockingbird sitting in a bush by the water and cranked out a few shots.

Now…I think of myself as someone who pays attention and i like to think I know what I’m doing with a camera…but being away from shooting for a month or so I forgot to check one thing. The ISO setting. For some reason my ISO was at 1600.

Now…1600 ISO isn’t bad if I were shooting in low light. But I was standing outside in the sun with a few clouds.

These aren’t bad at all for 1600 ISO.

Make your own Macro lens with old binoculars

Eric D. Brown — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:37:08 +0000

Lifehacker has a great write-up on how to make your own Macro lens for your DSLR from old binoculars using achromatic diopters from the binoculars.

Also provided on the Lifehacker page is a video showing you exactly how to make the macro lens…jump over to MetaCafe to view.

Back-to-back lens rings for macro on a budget (makezine.com)

Imagekind – A Review

Eric D. Brown — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 02:37:09 +0000

I recently placed an order with Imagekind (a CafePress company) and was pleasently surprised.

One day while goofing around on flickr, I noticed a few links on the page. One was for Moo (mini-cards and business cards…I’ll tell you more about that in a future post) and another was for Imagekind.

Imagekind is a photo printing service (with a few other options) and will let you import photos from your flickr account (see mine here..shameless plug). After selecting the image, you can select various options (framed, paper type, etc) and move through an easy ordering system.

I grabbed about 10 photos from my flickr account and placed an order for the cheapest option to check quality…and I’m impressed. The shipping was quick and the quality was outstanding.

That said, I don’t think I’d use Imagekind in place of a professional printer like Miller’s or WHCC but Imagekind is great for folks who want to convert their flickr photos to prints for use in the offline world.