Archive for photography basics

Marketing Campaigns for Photographers – Teach Photography Basics

By Michael Shilling
Friday, November 18th, 2011

Let’s face it, everyone today is an aspiring photographer whether they are taking pictures of their kids with a camera phone or shooting over your shoulder at a wedding with an entry level DSLR.

Photography tuition and training is a busy marketplace, especially at the semi-pro level (these are the ones with the spare cash after all) but I think some photographers often overlook people that could potentially turn into photography clients as well as tuition clients. It’s all very well training other photographers who want to go pro but at the end of the day what is the likelihood of them asking you for a family portrait session?

Back in the days when I was working as a cruise ship photographer I hosted a series of photography basics classes aimed at people with very little knowledge of their camera other than knowing that the big button makes the picture (that’s not a typo it’s a direct quote).

The first class we offered (which was free) would always attract a full house of up to 200 people. That was about 10% of our rather uniquely captive audience.

Follow up classes, for which we charged a rather modest $20 for, would usually be compromised from about 10%-20% of the freebie crowd.

$400 might have been a drop in the ocean (excuse the pun) when it came to our $60,000 weekly target but it did help us build relationships with our clients in a different way than we had before. Most of the time we were hassling the passengers for pictures on gangways and in the restaurant so this sort of interaction was a welcome change.

We sold cameras and probably more photos than we did before so it did prove a success. Read More→

Categories : Grow Your Business, Marketing Campaigns
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Photography 101: How to Break a Photographic Rut

By Chris Nitz
Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011

Hitting a photographic slump can happen to even the best photographer. You shoot the same subject matter, process with the same techniques, fill client requests, and work day in and day out doing the same thing. This maybe great for the bank account, but sometimes that can destroy your creativity. Hitting the creative wall can be detrimental to your mood. However, there are some solutions to help break free from this black hole.

One of the easiest things you can do is try something new. This can be anything from shooting different subject matter, processing a photo with a new technique, or even just changing up your normal shooting times. Simply altering one aspect of your photography can not only inspire you, but it may also open your eyes to a completely new photographic world you may not have considered before. Change can be a very good thing!

While we are on the subject of change, why not change up your style for a week. In fact, why not combine several styles into one photo. There are no rules that say you cannot shoot a black and white HDR macro image of a bottle cap. Maybe you want to shoot some long exposure street photography. Again, you are dabbling in something new and foreign, yet that can lead to new tools and personal styles you draw upon at a later time.

Another thing you can do is start some sort of photography project for yourself. Maybe you want to shoot a self-portrait every day for a year, or maybe you roam around your state taking photos of churches. The key to these projects is to make them something that interests you on some deep personal level. When you start to tire of the everyday normalcy and find you just don’t have it in you to press that shutter button, look at your project list and work on some of your personal projects. Read More→

Categories : Make Better Photographs, Photography 101 - The Basics
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Photography 101: Five Things I Learned on My First UrbEx Trip

By Chris Nitz
Tuesday, April 26th, 2011

A couple of weekends ago I was able to take a day away from all my moving and packing shenanigans to hit an abandoned hospital for a little bit of photography fun. Urban Exploration photography is something I rather enjoy to look at, so this opportunity to go on my very first UrbEx trip was rather exciting, and nerve racking at the same time. While I had a ball, I learned a few very important lessons from this trip.

Ghostly Lights

Ghostly Lights

Lesson number one was to pack plenty of lighting options. When we (there was a group of 12 of us) started roaming the hospital, we started in the basement. If you had no lights, this would be an extremely dark area to play in. I had a headlamp and four flashlights to use as I saw fit. The issue I had was that all but one of these lighting options was LED lights. When you have an opportunity to get creative with lighting like this, being limited to only the cold blues that LEDs emit was a tad frustrating. The next time I go, I plan to either get various colored gels for my flashlights, or bring a few different lighting options. Read More→

Categories : Grunge Photography, Make Better Photographs, Photography 101 - The Basics
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Photography 101: How To Break The Fear Of Shooting In Public

By Chris Nitz
Tuesday, January 11th, 2011

Photography is a splendid vice. So many things in this world are just begging to be the subject of your camera. Yet, some of those shots require you to shoot in public places. This can be quite nerve racking for quite a few new photographers. How does one break free from this fear? Breaking this fear maybe easier than you think.

Size matters
This might come across as trivial at first. The size of your camera can help immensely. What do you do though? First up would be to grab the biggest lens you have. This might not be the proper lens for the job, but it will be the lens to help you conquer your fear. Put the lens hood on for that extra bit of size as well.

The reason this helps is due to how people perceive you when you have a monstrous camera. The reason a big camera helps is people tend to take you from the tourist category and put you into the professional category. You may not be a professional, but it is amazing how people see big camera and instantly think pro.

Second is the camera itself. Those of you lucky enough to have multiple camera bodies should consider using the largest camera you have. This helps to increase the size and perception you will receive on the street. Remember, we are breaking a fear here, so it might be bulky but it will help you get over your fear. Read More→

Categories : Make Better Photographs, Photography 101 - The Basics
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Photography 101: 5 Essential Tools For Better Photos

By Chris Nitz
Tuesday, January 4th, 2011

One of the most common responses for obtaining better photos is often to purchase a better lens. There is a ton of truth to this, but there are items you can add to your camera bag that will also help you achieve great photo results. These are not overly expensive items and deserve a home in your camera bag at some point.

1. Get your white balance in order. Correct white balance is crucial in this new digital age. The subject of white balance is a completely new article (taking note for a future piece), but it is essentially how your digital camera views the lighting of the world. Yup, your reading light gives off a different color light than the sun nicely tucked away behind some clouds. This is where correct white balance comes in.

There are a few items you can use to aid you in setting correct white balance. A tool such as the X-Rite ColorChecker not only gives you a target to set white balance to, but you also have an abundance of options for post processing. However, what if you don’t have $100 to blow on this handy device? Have no fear as you can go cheap here. I walked around for a good year with a gray paint chip in my camera bag. You want something as close to an 18% neutral gray as possible here. A quick Google search will help you narrow your choices down for what ever brand of paint chips are available in your area.

Once you have your white balance device you have two options. If your camera has the ability to set white balance off a target, fill the frame with your gray card and fire off a shot. Those who like to set white balance in post processing can take a photo of the gray card and then use that photo to set white balance in your post processing software of choice. This simple device will help you keep colors as true to what you saw as possible. Read More→

Categories : Make Better Photographs, Photography 101 - The Basics
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Photography 101: What Is Your Photographic Voice?

By Chris Nitz
Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010

I am going to venture down my road of experience once more. This time I am taking on a question that many people asked me when I was first walking down the road of photography. That one dreaded and ridiculously tough question is what is your voice?

When I first took up a camera, I was a happy man behind the lens. I took photos of everything and anything. Dogs, birds, plants, the ceiling, my toes, and whatever else I could finagle into my viewfinder all became my subjects. Then I decided I wanted to make a living of this, and the first question I received repeatedly was what my specialty/angle/voice was. To this question, I always answered, “ummm, good question.” So how did I finally come to answer this? It was not easy lemme tell ya.

The first part to finding your voice is to pinpoint the style of photography you like. Style is different from voice as style is the genre. Your style might be nature, animals, portraits, sports, architecture, or any of the other umpteen dozen styles that exist. For me, I found I really enjoyed macro, grunge, HDR, and landscapes. Keep in mind these don’t all really fit together as one cohesive style. I was able to finally pinpoint this by simply paying attention to the images I spent the most time gawking at. Read More→

Categories : Make Better Photographs, Photography 101 - The Basics
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