Successful Self-Promotion for Photographers [Book Review]
In this post Christina N Dickson from ChristinaNicholePhotography.com reviews the book Successful Self-Promotion for Photographers by Elyse Weissberg.
There are a number of inspiring books on photographic techniques from portraiture to lighting, travel photography to post processing. Depending on the type of photography you want to get into, and your level of experience, book resources can be largely based on personal preference. When it comes to the ins and outs of business contracts, or marketing, no matter what your photographic preference, there are some books that should absolutely be on your shelf.
One such book is Elyse Weissberg’s “Successful Self Promotion for Photographers” by AMPhoto Books. Over the years I’ve spent shooting, rarely have I come across a resource guide so packed with empowering information for helping me build my business.
Weissberg’s book is divided into 10 sections. Each addresses a unique issue in building, marketing and promoting your business. At the end of almost every chapter is a list of “dos” and “don’ts” as extra tips. Whether an amateur or professional, you will find this book well worth the $30 (actually it is currently on special at Amazon for just under $20).
Amod GPS Photo Data Logger Review
Peter Carey gives his impressions and a review of a simple and inexpensive GPS Data Logger, handy for geotagging images.
I freely admit to being something of a gadget geek. And as such, I’m always on the lookout for justification for acquiring cool new gadgets. This week’s acquisition is an Amod GPS Photo Data Logger with bundled software to help geotag photos. If you’re new to geotagging, check out this Digital Photography School article by Collin Spencer entitled How to Geotag Images where he explains the how and why.
My main reason for grabbing this fairly inexpensive device ($70US at Amazon.com)is an upcoming trip to Nepal. I’ll be trekking for a total of 19 days and would love to have my photos marked with location data for possible use in mapping. I’ve fiddled with it before and posted some photos on my Smugmug account which will show geotagged photos, but I don’t want to have to carry around my large GPS on this trip. Part of me wants to be without gadgets this trip and part of me wants to bring them all, so the Amod is my attempt at a compromise. The Amod device seems to fit the bill as not complicated, but still techy enough to get the job done. This then is an out of the box, day 1 review of the Amod AGL 3080 GPS Data Logger in use for geotagging.
The box the logger shipped in is pretty spartan. It contained the logger in plastic wrap, a USB cable, keeper strap and a CD. Except for the CD, they probably could have fit all of this in a large box of kitchen matches. The device requires 3 AAA batteries (not included) and then it’s time to start playing!
Read the rest of this entry
This Week in the Digital Photography School Forums
Weekly Assignment
We finished the Texture this week, and boy did we get a feel for things. dblaveino’s shot of the red door really stood out to all of us. The vivid colours, and strong textures that seem like you could just reach out and touch them made it a clear winner this week. But our runners up were really close too. KodiakStar’s picture, titled “What is texture, without touch” took the idea of texture to it’s extreme. Not only did the picture have the texture of the finger, but also a texture added on top with post-processing, and of course, what is texture if you don’t have touch? And last but not least, k9mom’s picture of the yellow lamp shade had a very strong texture that was backlit by the bulb. The primary colours and diagonal lines also helped to accentuate the composition.
Bubbles is our latest assignment. It’s a much more wide open assignment than you may think, and we think it’s a fun way to get us through the change in seasons. In order to be eligible for the mini-contest, your photo must have been taken between 1 - 15 October 2008, the EXIF must be intact, and your post must include the date the photo was taken as well as the words “Assignment:Bubbles” to show that you want your photo included in the contest. Next week’s assignment will be “Leaves” so whether it’s spring or fall, you should be able to enjoy a few leaves.
Hot Threads
- Are my prices too high?: What do you do when you lose a client because they complain your prices are too high. You may think that your prices are too high at first, but then what do you do? Do you keep your prices where they are or change them to make clients happy? Come offer your advice in this thread.
- Rule of thirds for panoramic: When you’re taking panoramic shots, do the regular rules still apply? For example, does the rule of thirds still work or is it ok to do more of an even split. One forum member asked this question about a shot they took, so come have a look and offer your suggestions.
- No flash - is it possible?:Is it possible to never use a flash in your photographs? One forum member wants to know. Is it realistic, or can you share some insight into why a flash may not be as bad as it seems? Come share in this forum thread.
- Very frustrating - Raw to jpg in CS2 loses EXIF: One of our forum members was having a very difficult time getting his EXIF to show up when saving his files to jpg. The usual “Save As” trick wasn’t working, but after some help from the forum, the problem was found and solved. If you’re having a similar problem, maybe this thread will help.
- What Would You Do (#72): Come join us in our ongoing post-processing thread, open to all levels of skill, where you get to try your hand at post-processing another member’s photo. The full rules are in the thread, but the goal is to show us what you would do if you were processing the photo.
Super Short Photoshop Lightroom 2.0 Tutorials - Straightening Images [VIDEO]
In this quick and easy video tutorial, Peter Carey explains a how to straighten images the easy way in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.0. Gone are the days of guessing the proper rotation to balance out your horizons. Watch as he explains, in less than 60 seconds, how to easily straighten any image.
Peter is an avid photographer who enjoys travel, portraiture and wildlife photography. A travel related blog of his past and current shenanigans can be found at The Carey Adventures. He also hosts a Photo of the Day RSS feed found here.
Reaching Out to Underpriveleged Children Through Photography
Today we have a guest post by Samantha Oulavong (founder of LOVE - Lens Of Vision & Expression) who shares some of her inspiring story of using photography to make difference in the lives of underprivileged children. While this post might not be one of our normal ‘how to’ tutorials I think it’s an amazing example of someone using the medium of photography to make the world a better place. Please check out Samanthas work and if you have the resources it’d be great to see DPS readers support as I know they accept donations to the cause.
Everyone who has ever been interested in photography might have seen or heard of the movie called, “Born Into Brothels” and how the photographer Zana Brinski transformed the lives of the children of Calcutta through the art of photography. That movie transformed my life. Humanitarian work has always been something that I was interested in. After hurricane Katrina tested the wills of Americans across the continent, I read about an art teacher that went to New Orleans from the east coast to do art with the children living in the stadium during her spring break. As an art teacher myself, I remembered thinking that I wish I could do something like that.
After receiving my master’s degree in art education, I started traveling to France to study painting and French. While waiting for my flight in Milan for my first trip to France, I met a director of a non- for- profit organization who works with children in Nicaragua. It was like a wish come true to have met her, so I told her we should keep in touch.
Two years later, I won a grant from Best Buy after explaining to them how I integrated technology in my art classroom. I got enough money to buy digital point and shoot cameras and necessary supplies to teach my middle school digital art students. “Born into Brothels” kept haunting me. After crying and sobbing with the children’s stories, I knew I had to do something. I remembered the lady I met in Milan a couple of years ago and emailed her, sharing with her that I would love to do a photography workshop with her children. After months of exchanging emails and planning, I was on my way to work with the children in Nicaragua. But before leaving to Nicaragua for the summer, I enrolled myself in an independent study course at a local community college to learn more about social documentary photography with an instructor I had from my first digital photography class.
5 Tips for Building Your Photography Portfolio
In this tutorial Hawaii photographer Natalie Norton offers 5 tips to building your photography portfolio from the ground up. Image by kk+.
Recently I walked into a friend’s house and saw, framed prominently on her wall, an image I took back when I was building my portfolio. Though the family is absolutely lovely. . .the image. . . yeah, not so much, and I was horrified to say the very least. I kept thinking, “Oh PLEASE NEVER, NEVER EVER tell anyone I took that photo!”
Here’s a type of “What I wish I’d known back then” guide to building your photography portfolio.
1. Shoot for free.
This is completely obvious, so if you haven’t thought of it, please knock yourself in the head with a hockey stick compliments of yours truly. When you’re working to build your portfolio, you need subjects to shoot. Chances are pretty good that you’re working to build said portfolio in hopes that you will be able to get more clients, meaning simply that you don’t necessarily have subjects knocking down your door at this point. So offer your services to select friends and family for free.
Read the rest of this entry
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar