In this post Christina N Dickson issues a ‘photo a day’ challenge and gives some suggestions on how to get creative with it.
After I took my first photography course through IPS, I was really motivated to pursue photographic growth. For hours a day I would sit in front of my computer and browse the sites of successful photographers in many different fields. I found this exercise provided inspirational ideas, but it also was discouraging. Would I ever become that creative?
Sure, each image represented numerous hours and a great amount of discipline, but I was willing to make those investments too. I just didn’t know how to plot a course of action that would help me grow in photography the way I wanted to.
That’s when I came to a realization; A talented portrait photographer didn’t make a dynamic stock photographer. A landscape photographer could create stunning scenic images, but what about in fashion? A photographer can spend so much time producing in one or a few fields that he or she is unable to see and capture the beautiful every day scenes around them, waiting to be discovered.
So I made a challenge to myself: Everyday, for the next 6 months, I would take a photo a day, outside my normal shoots. I soon reaped many outstanding lessons from this exercise and found my progress to be quite speedy.
Whether you are a novice or a professional, a ‘photo a day’ will keep you sharp for your field and your growth. Here are some guides that will help you out:
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I met Pro Photographer George Tippet (no website… yet) at a function recently where he was the official photographer. I sidled up to him in a quiet moment, introduced myself and after chatting with him for a few minutes asked if he’d mind giving me a few ‘quick tips’ for portrait photography (his expertise). Here’s what he said (and what I managed to jot down quickly on a napkin).
1. Keep it Simple
The more complex your scene is the more unlikely you are to get a shot that is the X factor. Keep your backgrounds (and foregrounds) uncluttered, work with natural light where you can, if you have to use artificial light keep it simple and use as few lights as possible.
2. Set up the Shot before Introducing Your Subject to it
Be as prepared as possible before your subject arrives. If you’re shooting in a studio have your lighting ready and camera set up and ready to go. If you’re shooting on location know where you want to shoot. Have your camera’s settings ready to go and even do a few test shots before your subject arrives. This way you don’t keep them waiting around and get to photograph them when they are fresh. Read the rest of this entry
Weekly Assignment
First things first, we finished the Five Senses Assignment this week. There were a lot of really great pictures that went beyond sight and helped bring out the sense of taste, smell, hearing, and touch. We still managed to pick a few that we really liked though. Our winner was alex168 for his picture of the storm where he says he could not only see the storm, but feel the pressure of it as it was about to break. Our first runner up was Shutterbugdeb for her picture of Spock, her dog, enjoying the smell of popcorn. You can almost see the twitching of his nose before he quickly made that popcorn “disappear”. Our last runner up was muddy250 for the picture of his hand taken with a rear curtain flash to capture the movement associated with reaching out and touching the table. We really liked the clear motion that the picture showed. Great job everyone!
>We started a new assignment this week too, and it is From the Hip. What we’re looking for are pictures that are taken without looking through the viewfinder. This may mean holding the camera above your head, holding it down on the ground, or shooting from the hip. Show us what you can accomplish when you’re not looking through that viewfinder. In order to be eligible for the mini-contest, your photograph needs to have been taken between 21 May - 4 June 2008, the EXIF must be intact, and your post must include “Assignment: From the Hip” in order to show you want you picture included in the contest. Next week’s assignment will be Clashing Colours (or complimentary colours depending on what you want to call it). So pull out those colour wheels and shoot colours that are across from each other on the wheel!
Weekly Poll
Well, it was a pretty overwhelming result for this week’s poll where we asked if you stored your camera lens on or lens off. Nearly everyone picked lens on, and the next highest result was that the lens doesn’t come off. It looks like everyone wants to be ready to grab their camera in case that perfect shot comes along!
corry said “i always have a lens on, never know when there might be a deer in the driveway or the kids being goofy. usually sits on the counter or my desk too LOL Because you just have to be ready for anything.
And Nathan deGargoyle said “I can’t think of a good reason to take the lens off to put a body cap on.”
This week, update us on whether or not you have a photography site.
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One of my favorite things to photograph is Mushrooms - in this post I’ll give you some tips on how to do it.
As a child I had a love hate relationship with Mushrooms.
It all started down on my Nana’s farm where on cool Autumn days one of the things we’d love to do was go Mushrooming. We’d hunt in dark damp places for them and would marvel at the different colors, sizes and shapes that they came in - these bizarre little things that looked like something from out of space.
Nana taught us which ones were edible and which ones to leave alone and we’d return to her kitchen with a bucketful which we’d clean, chop up and put in a pot. That’s where the ‘hate’ part of my relationships started. I can still remember the smell of that stewing pot and Nana’s attempts at getting me to eat the fruit of our mushroom hunt. No thanks - not for me.
These days I don’t mind eating them as much as I used to - however my love of the ‘hunt’ for good mushrooms, toadstools and fungi is still with me - however I don’t hunt them to eat, I hunt them to photograph.
The little alien like creatures that we used to pick and chop up are now sought after photographic subjects. The variety of shapes, colors and sizes present photographers with all kinds of striking possibilities.
How to Photograph Mushrooms, Toadstools and Fungi:
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Today Christina N Dickson explores the topic of branding a photography business.
The photography business world is cut throat competitive. There’s a great deal of talent out there that goes unnoticed by the world. And there are many photographers who “make it” for reasons other than photographic ability.
Without a doubt, getting an edge in the photographic market can be a lot harder than it sounds.
But there is hope. You just need a little bit of creativity and a lot of innovation and business smarts. With these two things, you will be able to build your business in a way few others do: Branding with emotion.
Branding plays an enormous role in the life of a successful business. After you have built your skills, completed your business filing, and identified your target market, there’s one more thing that needs to be done. Sit down with your favorite cup of coffee or tea, put yourself in your future client’s shoes, and consider these three branding ideas.
1. Do you build your business on emotions?
Every individual goes through life with tears, joys, pains, drama, fears, hopes and dreams. Every person has a desire for gain and a fear for loss. Use these emotions to relate to customers and clients.
In my senior portrait business I relate to the fact that many young people don’t like pictures of themselves because they believe they aren’t photogenic. Rejection, self-acceptance, and desire for personal beauty are all ideas that I too have dealt with. Thus, I can honestly take these emotions and create a marketing idea for high school senior portraits around it.
How can you relate to fine arts collectors? What emotions would they have? Desire for capital investment perhaps? How about parents in sports? Great pride in their son or daughters sports accomplishments? Find the emotion of your market, and then move on.
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Today I’d like to present a video on Colorizing Black and White images in photoshop. The video is part of a course offered by fellow Aussie Shane Goldberg at Pro Photo Secrets.
Shane has put together hundreds of videos like this one on his site. There are more free ones on his site here and then over 500 others are accessible as a member.
Whether you’re interested in signing up as a member or not - I hope you find this video helpful as you think about colorizing black and white images!
Colorizing Black and Whites:
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See more of Shanes videos at Pro Photo Secrets.
