Miscallaneous
Where Photographers Go Wrong in Photoshop
While the merit of Photoshop has long been debated by photographers, there’s little doubt that the decision is a personal choice. However, what is often overlooked from the conversation is the fact that photographers make mistakes which have the potential to undermine the impact of their work. So what are some of these mistakes? Continue reading to find out. Overprocessing Let’s talk about the elephant in the room first. Irrespective of whether you advocate for the use of Photoshop to edit your pictures, there is no bigger cardinal sin than overprocessing. One of the biggest areas concerns sharpness, where photographers seek to overcorrect for a very minor, and at times unnoticeable flaw. In turn, this often leads to the photo looking unrealistic. Other watchpoints concern adjustments to contrast, white balance and colours, plus poor bevel and emboss that again make the photo look less authentic. Not understanding layers… | Read the full article
Presenting Your Portfolio for Review
Portfolio reviews may be used as a showcase to prospective clients, and as appraisals that offer photographers an invaluable mechanism to receive feedback on their work. They can also form a critical step for photographers who are looking to monetise their work through art or digital enterprises. One of the first steps a photographer needs to acknowledge however, is whether they are ready to showcase their work for evaluation – be it by peers, partners or clients. After all, it is in our nature to create a lasting impression from our first encounters, so you want to be sure your work is a representation of your true abilities. At the same time, you also need to be prepared to discuss your work and create a strong bond with the other person. It goes without saying that you should put in the necessary preparation. But what exactly does this… | Read the full article
New Year, Same Bad Habits
It’s a new year and with that comes a refreshed and energised outlook! No doubt you set yourself some goals and resolutions, both personally and professionally. However, before you know it, you’ve gone back on your promises and fallen into your bad habits. Worse yet, you might not even realise that your old habits are weighing you down and preventing you from becoming a better photographer. So what are some of the bad habits you should be conscious of? You’re Distracted Too Easily Few things inhibit productivity more than electronics and social media. Do you really need to receive, yet alone respond to, those SMS messages while you’re in the middle of an important task? A little bit of trawling through social media can be useful to understand current photography trends, news and even advertise your business, but wait until the end of the day to browse through your… | Read the full article
A Cautionary Tale on Work Released into the Public Domain
Earlier this year, the photography industry looked set for one of the most high profile legal cases in recent times. Getty Images found themselves the subject of a $1bn claim, with photographer Carol Highsmith accusing the company of copyright infringement by licensing and selling her publically available work without permission. Furthermore, the media company also demanded the photographer pay to use the photos which she had in fact created. Sounds like a pretty clear-cut case, right? Another example of big companies pushing their weight around? The case was indeed clear-cut – but not as you might see it. You see, in this instance, notwithstanding the fact that Getty had no legal right to claim copyright ownership or exclusive licensing, the company did not infringe on any rights by selling the photographers work. And this is exactly how the courts saw the matter when they sided with Getty. Now, let me… | Read the full article
When Does an Unflattering Image become a Point of Concern
Earlier this month, a political minefield erupted in Canberra when the communications team for Australian Immigration Minister Peter Dutton took umbrage to his portrayal by the media. So what could have caused the ire of his team? One might think that perhaps it was a misrepresentation of the minister’s comments on the controversial topic of asylum seekers? Maybe the minister was taken out of context by the journalists in attendance? As it would turn out, the commentary and broadcasting was not the concern of the minister’s team – instead, there was a more pressing issue – a photo deemed ‘unflattering’, and which was requested to be removed from Twitter. This scenario is far from an isolated case – in fact, with the advent of social media, it’s no doubt a daily occurrence for many, including each of us. Think of that photo where you had your eyes shut. Or maybe… | Read the full article
Facebook for photographers
Without a doubt Facebook is the number one social media site on the internet. Most people dislike it, but everyone knows you need to be on it, especially if you trying to run a business, and even more so if that is a photography one. One of the very frustrating aspects of Facebook would be how it works and those algorithms. All of you who now use FB would know exactly what I am talking about. They seem to work in a world of their own and make no sense to most of us. There are some things that we can do that will help us to use FB effectively. Page vs profile The first thing you need to work out is whether to have a fan page or a profile page. According to FB if you are running a business then you must have a… | Read the full article
Taking a look at Social Media in a General Way
Social Media, it would seem, is here to stay, but like other aspects of like, it is constantly changing and just when you think you have it worked out, another one comes along. If we were to create a list of what is available, I suspect we would never get to the bottom of it. Take a look at the following list and see how many of them you use, or even know about: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube Google+ Instagram Tumblr Pinterest Snapchat The list goes on. Today we are going to take a look at some of these, perhaps the ones that could be more important to you as a photographer. Though, I am sure many of you are using them already. This is just an overview, and, as time goes on, in future posts we will look into them more. Facebook It… | Read the full article
Profiling Feature Photographer Natasha Lesonie
This is the start of a new series where we will be interviewing featured photographers and getting an insight into them and their photography. Today we start with the first person Natasha Lesonie. My name is Natasha, I am a portrait photographer. How long have you been taking photos? Why did you start? I’ve been taking photos for 7 years. It started when my first baby was born. I was eager to catch every moment of her life, hands, the passion to the photography. I quickly realized that it’s not enough just to have a professional camera but it also important to study photography as an art. Little by little people started asking me to take photo of their families. Then I received a few requests from agencies and photo magazines who wanted to use my photos for commercial advertisement and even put them on cover pages. That… | Read the full article
Social Media for Marketing the Photographer
Love it or hate it, Social Media is here to stay and regardless of how you feel about it you are going to have to get used to it and learn how to use it if you want to market your business effectively. Beginning this month is going to be a series of articles on Social Media, why you need it, which ones are good to use, and how to use them. You need to be where everyone else is If you are trying to market your photography business by placing ads in the local paper, you might be finding that you are not getting anywhere. When people go searching for someone today they use Google, so you need to make sure that your name comes up there. It is the same with social media. Everyone is on it, including your potential clients, and you need to be… | Read the full article
Finding a Photographer
It is getting to that time of year where families are getting together and often the idea of family portraits comes up. Whether you want to find a photographer to record a family event or to just to get some portraits done of the family, choosing the right photographer is an important thing. It is essential to find a photographer that will give you the best possible images. They are something you are going to want to put up on your walls and give to others. It is important that you are proud of them and want to share them. You don’t want to end up with portraits that you feel resentful towards and remind you of a bad experience. Looking for a Photographer When you start looking for photographers you can start on Photographers.com.au, where you can see the folios of many of the photographers. You… | Read the full article
