Instagram – My thoughts
I’m an Android user. I see no reason to spend several hundred dollars on an iPhone that will be replaced in 8 months and most of the apps that I use are available cross platform.
When I first heard about Instagram I had the reaction that I think most photographers had: “Oh boy, an app that lets your shitty camera-phone take your shitty camera phone pictures and put a less than shitty filter on it.” I admit, I was on the train of “This app is ruining photography” for a brief period and the millions of users annoyed me to no end with their “artistic” photos of their food and coffee and every day household items. But then Instagram came out on Android 2 weeks ago.
And I *LOVE* it.
To me it harkens back to when I discovered photography for the first time. I was using a point and shoot, and the camera would do all the work for. I would simply push the shutter button and get the photos developed. Easy.
It all came with this sense of wonder, of not knowing and the excitement of seeing those images for the first time was palpable.
These days with all of my digital equipment, computers and photoshop taking that snapshot isn’t as simple as a task as it once was. Part of that is me, wanting to put out a polished finished photo is part of who am, it’s what makes me “professional.” So when I want to upload some photos I took to facebook it’s a bit of a pain. I plug in the card to the card reader, download to the computer, open in photoshop, process, downsize and export and then finally upload them to facebook. With Instagram I point, shoot, select a filter and I’m done. It goes to my followers primarily, but it can share them on Facebook and twitter if I want. And it’s so easy and fun.
If you are simply interested in sharing your day to day life with your friends in photographs, I would highly recommend Instagram. No need to lug around big cameras and laptops, all you need is a smartphone. It came out just in time for my big trip to the Salton Sea last week and I shot the road trip, the locations and the shoot days and they were promptly shared.
You can follow me if you like, my user name is what_an_ahtist. I think my favorite filter is either Hudson or Sierra. I have yet to take a photo of a meal, but I have taken a picture of my morning coffee.
“Portraits of the 99%” fund raising continues
I’ve started fund raising again to get the “Portraits of the 99%” photographs mounted! There are 77 that I have selected for this process, and I’ve got a few done already to show to galleries. I’ve been shopping these around for 2 months now and I’ve got some places interested. You can check it out and donate here: http://www.indiegogo.com/Portraits-of-the-99-percent
You can also “Like”, tweet, +1 and share the page with your friends and family. Thanks for all your help!
My 12 favorite blogs for pictures, industry news and a good laugh
My google reader has blown up in the last year. I personally hate getting my inbox loaded up with emails from blogs and RSS feeds, so when I discovered that Google Reader lets you put everything in one place along with providing apps for your iGoogle, android phone and tablet, I was all over it. So today I want to share my Google Reader list with you guys, the blogs I read cover a broad range of things from industry news to awesome photographers to hearty laughs. I won’t be sharing my ENTIRE reader list of course, because not everyone wants to spend the entire morning reading blogs as I get 40-50 entries a day. So, without further ado;
Pictures
500 Photographers‘ Pieter Wisse digs through archives and various forms of media around the world and finds the most unique photographers that I have ever seen in one place. The collection is eclectic ranging from fine art to documentary to commercial photography and is worth a look for anyone looking for some inspiration. As of 1/17 the list is at 427.
Feature shoot showcases a small body of work from various user submitted photographers. They also have a great section called “Photo du jour” which features a single strong image from user submissions. Alison Zavos, who runs Feature Shoot also works in the photo industry as a photo editor, photographer and consultant.
Industry News
A Photo Editor is hands down the BEST industry blog I have ever read. Rob Haggart is a former director of photography and he shares his stories, opinions and advice for all to take in and absorb. He shares interviews, magazine spreads, real-world photo job estimates and quotes from industry leaders. You’d be doing yourself a disservice to not read and subscribe to his blog.
Stella Kramer is in the same boat as Rob Haggart, she’s a seasoned veteran of the photo industry and she offers her views and advice on a broad range of topics. A large portion of her blog is dedicated to the politics of the industry, especially in relation to historical context.
Strictly Business is the ASMP’s industry business blog and is run by several established professionals. Obviously the blog covers business related topics but believe me, it’s not some boring business 101 class, it’s some of the most useful blogging I’ve read because the professionals who write for it are working NOW, rolling with the punches and adapting to change.
Technical education
David Hobby runs Strobist and he’s all about using small lights to shoot big assignments. Mostly the blog features tutorials on how to shoot certain subjects with speedlights but there’s also great advice on how to tackle the organization of a shoot and how to use your software to the best of it’s ability.
Weather you’re on a budget or looking to to test out your crafting skills, DIY photography shows you how to build any light modifier or tool you can think of, on the cheap and with things you can find around your own home.
Humour
Photoshop Disasters features so many hilarious “How did they get away with that?” moments that most of your time spent on this blog will be spent boosting your own photoshop confidence.
We’ve all had difficult clients and Clients from Hell lets you vent about them and read about some of the most ridiculous requests, fits and naivety that you can’t even imagine unless you’ve been there.
Miscellaneous
If you’re looking for inspiration for your next promo look no further than No Plastic Sleeves. The feature some of the most original and creative promo pieces I have ever seen ranging from a simple series of post cards to box sets with branded disposable cameras in them.
Everyone loves gear so Nikon Rumors is my go to place for upcoming Nikon equipment. The author finds, through various tips and speculation, new Nikon Products and news and presents his findings. It’s really interesting to see how often speculation becomes truth. For those of you non-Nikon users there’s also a Canon Rumors.
This is another really important blog especially for those just getting into the industry. Photo Attorney has articles about copyright, contracts and laws and situations that we will all find ourselves involved with in some way or another.
Thanks for taking the time to check out these great sites. They have been a huge help to me and my own work in Photography. What are some of your favorite blogs?
Occupy California: Portraits of the 99% (San Jose)
San Jose was the third city I visited to continue my portrait series on the Occupy Wallstreet movement. I actually got the most portraits here than any other city, but the whole process is exhausting for both me and my assistant so we can only do so many in a few hours. If you’re interested in helping me travel to other cities to do portraits there, go and check out my indie go-go page. Anything helps.
Portraits of the 99% Project
Many of you I’m sure are aware of the Occupy Wall Street protests, whether your with them or against them makes no difference to me. I saw the protest as an opportunity to photograph a variety of passionate people from all walks of life so I recently set up a mini photo studio on the block near the OccupySF protests and took over 60 portraits of the individual protestors. Feeling very satisfied with the results of the shoot, I thought it was done right there.
In less than 24 hours after I posted the images they had 4,100 views. My servers crashed. The images started popping up in various places, facebook and social media, news sources and more. People contacted me and told me they were inspired. This project suddenly became much bigger. I have setup a fund to raise money to fly to various other cities around California and do the same thing there. The images will be donated to the Occupy Wallstreet effort, in an attempt to raise awareness of the individuals involved. The money donated will go towards getting flights, train tickets, hostels and fuel to make this project happen. Donors will receive limited edition prints, posters, cards, books and more.
http://www.indiegogo.com/Occupy-California
If you don’t want to contribute, that’s fine. But please, unless you are deadset against this movement, spread the word. Forward this to a friend. Post the link on Facebook. Go and “like” the indie-go-go page. This project means a lot to me, and I want to see it through.
Thank you for your time.
Print Give Away!
I’ve decided to have another print give away, I had one last February and it went over quite well – I gave away a signed and numbered 11×14 print of “Finding my way” to a lovely girl in Madrid. Well this year I’m upping the ante and giving away THREE prints, from my “Recreational Landscapes” series. The prints are 11.7×16.5 on Epson Premium archival Matte paper and they are signed and numbered. Each print is number 1 (That’s right, number ONE.) through 50.
How you enter to win is you simply tweet “I want to win the @robschultze Recreational Landscape print!” and you will be entered.
If you are on Facebook you can go ahead and “Like” my fan page and then share this story with your friends.
If for some reason you have neither facebook OR twitter you can simply mention this post in your blog and show a link in the comments.
Three winners will be chosen, each will win 1 print from the series, in the order that the winner was chosen.
The contest closes on June 30th and a winner will be announced July 1st. All entrants will be assigned a number and winners will be selected using http://www.random.org/ a true random number generator.
Good luck to everyone, I hope the turn out is as good as last years!
Recreational Landscapes 1
Recreational Landscapes 2
Recreational Landscapes 3
A tale from way back when…
It was 11am on a Wednesday and I approached a large office building on the 400 block of Sansome Street, surprisingly nervous. I didn’t think I would be nervous, seeing as I was simply meeting with someone to review my portfolio and not get a job. What made me nervous I think was the person’s title. Charli Ornett, the Creative director for Yoga Journal Magazine had told me a few days prior “We are very busy, but if you come by Wednesday at 11am we will see you for a few minutes.” Her tone was that of a very busy woman, who had no time for lowly students like myself. I checked in to the building’s security desk and they directed me to an elevator. Instead of floor buttons this elevator simply had company logos and brands, such as Flickr and other behemoths in the contemporary business world. This did not help. When the 8th floor came, I nervously walked into Suite 850 and was greeted by a rather cluttered waiting area filled with boxes overflowing with magazines. Standing in one corner was a UPS man, who was rather impatiently waiting with a dolly stacked with boxes. There was no receptionist. An older woman walked in and spoke with the UPS man and didn’t even look at me, she simply took him further into the office with his dolly. Another woman walked by, and I caught her attention. “Excuse me,” I said in my most confident tone which probably didn’t sound very confident at all. “I have an Appointment with Charli Ornett, my name is Rob Schultze?” She nodded and kept walking. A few minutes later an older woman with ling black hair and glasses walked in, the kind you would expect to see in a church wearing a Nun’s habit. “Hello Robert,” she said extending her hand quickly, which I promptly shook for fear of taking more of her time. “I’m Charli, you can come in now.” This was accompanied with a warm smile that made me feel much more comfortable. “I’ve asked our art director Ron Escobar to sit in with us, I hope that’s ok.” “Of course, that’s great.” I said, all feelings of comfort once again removed. We sat down in her office and I placed my humble little portfolio on her desk awaiting judgement. Ron entered her office and greeted me with a smile and a quick handshake and the two of them sat down and dove into my book. The first photo, a self portrait stopped them. They were silent. Their eyes traced over the image up and down, left and right. After nearly a minute of unbearable silence they turned the page, “Very good.” Charli said. The next pair of images were photos taken in a yoga studio with a fairly advanced yoga practitioner. I put these in my book specifically for them. Again with the silence. They turned the pages, saying nothing. I was terrified. The rest of my book consisted of portraits and editorial portraits. They spoke very little, until they came to the final image, an image of a girl standing in front of a string of christmas lights. “You’re images are too dark for print.” Charli said very matter-of-factly, and Ron nodded his head. “But they are so moody and full of visual identity, it’s very nice.” My heart rate slowed for the first time since I arrived. They then proceeded to go back through my book and point out what they liked and didn’t like. “I love your compositions, they are very clean.” Charli said. “The lighting is beautiful, but I want to see more detail in the faces, maybe a higher depth of field?” Ron said with a smile. “I want to see more images like this,” Charli said referring to an image of a man staring into the camera standing outside a window on a deck. “It’s very mysterious, and it’s begging for a story to be told.” When they turned back to my yoga images, they were both silent again. “I like this a lot,” Ron said. “The only thing I would do different is have her wearing a lighter shirt, and putting a bit of fill light on her face. It’s very moody, but almost too moody. It’s Yoga, not a Lars Von Trier film.” We all laughed. “It’s very nice to see a student who already has such a strong visual identity,” Charli said. “But if you want to work in magazines you have to start thinking about how your images will be used. Ninety percent of these images are too dark for print, so that’s something you need to work on and think about if you are serious.” With that, Charli and Ron seemed to have some sort of psychic connection that said “We’re done here,” and we all shook hands and I was shone the door. I walked out of their office feeling very accomplished and confident, them having confirmed things I have been working so hard on to achieve. Clean composition, beautiful lighting, a strong visual identity. They seemed very pleased with my work, but insisted that until I brighten up my images a bit that they would probably hire someone else. That being my first meeting with a creative director I felt I could live with that. Especially since now I get to do it every day until the day I die.
My general approach to yoga photography.
Photojournalism love
Those of you who know me know that I have a secret love-affair with Photojournalism. It isn’t something I would want to pursue as a career, but I certainly can appreciate and enjoy the process. I recently purchased a Sony NEX-3 (I know, I NEVER in my wildest dreams thought I would EVER buy a Sony) to have on hand as a point and shoot camera, take with me on trips etc. Man this thing is awesome.
I recently have felt that I have lost my connection to spontaneous photography, which is a big reason I got into the field in the first place. This camera being small, quiet and not too professional looking has opened a lot of doors and allowed me to do somethings I could never do while lugging around a bulky DSLR and a case of lenses. It still gives me all of the options that my DSLR does, but it’s in a smaller package. Plus it shoots HD video, so it’s perfect for what I’m doing.
So to celebrate my new ability to shoot much higher quality images on the go than the images taken with my camera phone for the Some-Photog-Tumblog I have started Back to the Streets, which has a lot more direction that my other tumblr. The Some-photog-tumblog is not going anywhere, I just feel like I don’t really have any real attachment to the images I take for it. The images there are usually humorous and lack much meaning. It’s more of a “fun-time-photo-blog” so to speak. Back to the streets is much more serious, and I feel way more connected to the images I shoot there.
Check it out!
Survival tips for new Digital Photography Pros – Part II
This article continues from “Survival tips for new digital photography pros – Part I” so if you haven’t read that yet go and check it out!
If you are an emerging digital photography pro the following tips and advice will help you to survive in the rapidly evolving world of digital media. Read on and take notes!
7. Think outside of the box
Since digital photography is so widely accessible people have been saying that “Anyone can be a photographer.” They say that anyone can take the amazing photo that you just took, and that they can do everything you can do. Here’s the thing: They can’t. You not only have the training to use your equipment and tools such as cameras and lighting, but you also have the mental ability to visualize a concept and execute an idea. You have to make yourself stand out more than ever right now, so show everyone that you’re not just another guy with a digital camera.
8. Video
Most DSLRs can shoot HD video now. Learn it and master it. It’s great when you can offer a client a video service as well as still images. The market seems to be shifting towards video, especially with tools like the RED camera available now.
9. Use social media
Twitter and Facebook are wonderful marketing tools. These days clients want to get to know you, because nobody wants to work with a jerk. Make yourself a professional twitter or facebook account, you typically want to keep your personal life seperate from your professional life. Not saying that you should only use these outlets to market your work – there’s a fine line, nobody likes spam. Give it all your personality, but keep it business.
10. Shoot for you
Come up with projects and portfolio work that interests you. If you shoot something you love, that love will come through in spades when people look at it. You will go crazy very quickly if you only shoot head-shots for months in a row when you really love shooting still life. Make some time, get some ideas, and mix things up.
11. Know when to walk away
If a client is way too difficult to work with or is taking advantage of you, or if you are offered a job that you know you would hate shooting or pays way below your established minimum, walk away. It can be tough at first, especially when you’re just getting started, but you have to learn when something is just not worth your time.
12. Take breaks
Photography can be amazingly stressful. Marketing yourself for 60 hours a week and shooting for 20 can drain your physical and creative juices very quickly, so take a break once in awhile. Set your camera bag down and pursue other interests. People know when they are working with a burnt-out creative type, and you need to keep your mind and eye sharp.
How to start a Photoblog
So you have a few photoblogs that you regularly visit (Hopefully Some Photographer is one of them) for a variety of reasons. Maybe one has a great “Photo of the week” post or maybe another one is a great news source. You say to yourself “I take pictures! I write! I can do this too!” Running a photoblog can be a lot of fun, but it can also be a lot of work. If you start to gather a following, there’s more pressure to write and you’d be surprised how easy it is to get writer’s block. So before you jump in and starting snapping pics and writing tutorials here are a few things to consider.
Who
What kind of audience do you want to appeal to? Beginners? Enthusiasts? Pros? It’s important to carve out your niche but to do so carefully – you don’t want to get in over your head. Most of the people that write blogs are pros, enthusiasts or beginners themselves and you can tell by what they write. This can also be reflected in the title of your blog. Take A Photo Editor for example – the titles says it all. Lou Lesko is allowed to use his own name as a title, because he’s well known enough in the industry. One day maybe you can name your blog after yourself too!
What
What sort of photoblog will you be doing? Whats the theme? The idea? Are you going to do daily posts like a 365 photos project? Are you going to post other people’s work as a way of showing the world great artists? Are you going to focus on industry news? Write tutorials? Or will it be all about you? Find out what would suite you best and stick with it. A combination of these themes can make your blog versatile and appeal to a wider audience, but it’s more difficult to keep up.
Where
There are a myriad of blog hosting services and websites you can use to set up your blog. You can buy your own domain name and have it that much more professional – or you can start out with a free service and see where it all goes. Most blog services have a free program that allows you to do all of the basics post-dating your posts, themes and looks for your blog, etc. Then they usually offer a premium service as well that allows more customization or storage space.
There’s a lot of things to consider when joing a blog service. Besides everything I mentioned above, you want a good community of bloggers, and bloggers who stick with it. WordPress is definitely the most popular blogging service, and you will find thousands of bloggers blogging about everything you can imagine. It might make your site a bit difficult to find, but if you tag and categorize properly you shouldn’t have a problem.
While I don’t believe that Blogger’s community is as dedicated as WordPress’, It is quite user-friendly and there are lots of ways to customize, even without a premium service. It’s affiliated with google, so you go straight to a search directory without any steps or registrations.
Make sure that whatever service you use has a lot of storage space for photos. Most places have at least 1 gig of storage, but you’d be surprised at how fast you can fill that up. You can always host your images through a different service like Flickr or Photobucket.
Flickr is easily the largest photo-sharing community and is aimed at photographers.
Photobucket is designed for mass photo-storage and sharing
When
So you have the theme, the host and the pictures – how often should you update? The answer is as much as you want – within reason. If your new at this and not sure what you want out of it yet, Once a week is a good place to start. Unless you’re doing a photo-a-day type blog, you won’t need to post every day – this gets tiresome for some readers. I would say even 3 times a week is a bit excessive. Twice a week is nice and comfortable, if you have a lot to write about. Spread out your posts don’t update two days in a row, get a schedule going so your readers know when to come back. And be consistent, don’t post 3 times in one week and then one time again a month later. No one will take you seriously.
Why
You’re probably doing this for one of the following reasons: (1) You have an opinion to share. (2) You have a lot of photos to share. (3) You have the inside scoop of the industry. (4) You like photo gear.
All of these reasons are fine – if you’re passionate about it, you will write well about it. A lot of up and coming professionals (like myself) get a blog to show potential clients that they can do more besides photography, and that they are diverse. Understand why you are writing and have a goal. When you reach that goal, make another one.
Etc.
Proper spelling and grammar is important. Readers will not take u srsly if u pst lik ths. Have a minimum/maximum wordcount. No one like s a rambler, but you should not have 50 word posts. I have a minimum of 250 words and a max of 1000. Use social networking like Facebook and Twitter or LinkedIn and Friendfeed to tie into your blog or advertise it. Don’t be excessive – nobody likes spam. Services like BlogExplosion work ok to get traffic initially – but if you want quality traffic you should stick with forums and websites for photographers to promote it on. Engage your readers – have polls and ask questions to encourage participation – it will stick in their minds and they will come back. Have links, lots of links. Links to other blogs, websites, etc.
So there you have it, the foundations to starting a photoblog. Have fun and experiment. Take risks – I am dangerously close to my word limit – and be consistent. Good luck and happy photoblogging!
Working Pro-Bono
So in the last few weeks that I have been in New Zealand I have been working with a musician named Darija Andzakovic for free – usually receiving nothing but gratitude or an occasional box of chocolate. Darija is a classically trained double-bassist who gigs around Auckland and gives lectures. She’s good friends with my girlfriend and she asked me to help her out with a poster which she already had the photos for.
The photographer she worked with initially had taken/gathered a number of photos and all I had to do was assemble them in photoshop and add text. She was very pleased with the results, and asked if I would photograph the event as well. With the time I spent working on the poster and the photos I took of the event, I could have been sitting on a nicely-paid job for some extra cash while I was on vacation.
Although monetary compensation was discussed, I decided to go for the chocolates. Why you ask? Darija has connections here that would take me quite some time to get myself. She has many friends in the creative industry as well as the music industry, and it’s always nice that when her peers check out her photos she will say “Rob Schultze took those photos.” Plus, I really like chocolate.
And then there’s the fact that I’m only here with a visitors visa, and they are quite strict about things like that.
Lou Lesko wrote an article that inspired this one, and I wanted to give my two-cents on the subject. I really like New Zealand, and so does my girlfriend. It’s always nice to have connections and word-of-mouth going around in a place that you may consider doing more work, if everything works out.
Marketing 101
How to keep the work coming is a bit of an enigma to newcomers of the industry.
When the majority of your work comes from freelance leads, it’s very important to have a handle on what will get you work and what won’t. And sometimes – Most times – It’s simply a waiting a game.
Business Cards
Depending on what sort of work you do, especially if your into the wedding or event photography arena, business cards can be a great source of work, as you can simply hand them out while your working. Some other fields such as advertising or fashion won’t care much if you leave a card with them – especially if it’s how you make your primary income. There are a lot of places to get business cards made, you can go through your local print shop or you can order them online. I use Mpix.com, they make great cards at low cost, and you can use their nifty-design program to speed up the creation and order process.
The Mpix Software
Promos
Promos are mailers that you send to art directors or event coordinators, and they can be as simple as a 5×7 postcard. These people receive hundreds of promos a day, so if you really want to be noticed you have to submit something that is not only an excellent image, but is also creatively presented. This can be anything from a folded up poster with one of your images and your name on it, to a small book that showcases the best of your work related to the client. Personally, I use iPhoto to create my miniature promo-books, they make excellent mailers as they are small (about 2.5 x 3.5 inches) and light, and they are a great substitute for a business card as they fit nicely in your pocket. Sending mailers can be expensive, so it’s best to send your mailers only once every 3-4 months. Make sure you send fresh work each time!
Also, you can go the e-mail blast route – browse talent and ad agency websites, get contact info and about once or twice a month send them a nice image with your name on it and a link to your portfolio. Explain what sort of work you do, briefly. It’s important that you update the image often.
My last e-mail promo
You can read more about promos from the view of a photo editor HERE.
The Internet
You absolutely must have a website or online portfolio of some kind. You would be surprised the amount of work you can get because of it, especially in this day and age of electronics. You can use the internet in other ways too, newcomers and veterans alike post ads on Craigslist all the time to get freelance work, and it’s a good place to start if your new to the industry.
Also, take advantage of social networking like Twitter and update people on the work your doing, start a blog and show potential clients that you can do more besides snapping photos.
Be Flexible
When you send out promos and mailers, it is important to cater to the interests of the client you are sending work to. However, this does not mean you should strictly only do portraiture or food photography. If you can shoot Fashion alongside journalism, you will be that much more valuable to your clients, and will get more work because of it. It’s best to plan out a shoot to show your diversity. Get friends to model for you, travel to interesting locations, etc.
Word of Mouth
This is hands down the best – and simplest – way to market yourself. Be polite. Be professional. Be knowledgeable. If you make a good impression on a client, word travels fast.
Above all, it is most important to produce good work. If you combine that all of the above, you will see steady work and success. A good photographer’s work is never done – so once you wrap up production of that new promo or business card, you need to get right to work on the next one. Be creative, be original, be you.
Tips to go from Hobbyist to Pro
So you’ve been shooting for a long time now, you have six different cameras both 35mm and digital and you’ve just been asked to shoot a senior photo. “Wow, I can make money from this??”
Yes. Yes you can, and here’s how you can make more money in a much more timely fashion.
Get an Education
Now I don’t mean that you need to go get an MFA in photography, but taking classes can be as simple as going to your local Technical college or taking a correspondence course. The New York Institute of Photography has a very good, inexpensive certificate program, if you think you’re up to the commitment of a correspondence program.
Read, read, read. Time to ditch “Popular Photography” and “Shutterbug” magazine, it’s time to move up to the big leagues – top of the game is Digital Photo Pro and Photo District News, these will not only get you the typical gear reviews and feature-photographers, but they will make you aware of all sorts of news within the industry, as well as Juried competitions which offer some serious exposure to the winning party.
Other books such as Pricing Photography and Advertising Photography offer in-depth views on how to manage your business.
Get a website
If you want to make it in today’s world as a photographer, you will need a web presence of some kind. I mentioned this in my last post, social networking is very powerful today. Sites such as Twitter and Facebook all offer ways to stay connected not only with individual people, but with companies as well. You will be taken much more seriously as a professional though if you have your own website to show your portfolio on. Livebooks offers a great flash-based site that works great and looks really slick. And if you’re a student, you can get it for $100.00 a year.
A certain livebooks website.
Your website should be 2 things: Simple and consistent. Don’t have a lot of sidebars and complicated menus. Here’s a good test; show your website to your grandmother, and if she can figure it out you’re on the right track. Your work should be consistently good – clients know filler when they see it – so only put up your best work.
Network
I am a member of the APA as well as a Photoshop usergroup, and these are valuable resources not only for getting information, but the people you meet can mean some amazing connections and work in the future. There are so many clubs and groups out there, that it would be hard for you to not join one.
Look at other people’s work
This one should be a given. Weather it’s the latest Ansel Adams exhibit or pictures of your niece’s cat, you need to soak up as much inspiration as you can. Go to portfolio reviews and art openings – it’s a great opportunity to see who’s better than you, and how you can improve.
Put your gear on a leash
Now just because you’re calling yourself a pro and you have a few paying jobs here and there does not mean you should rush out and drop $50,000.00 on all the latest gear. I do all of my professional shoots with a 12 Megapixel Nikon D300, and I have never had any complaints. I would say that 10 Megapixels with a good resolution is plenty, because it’s not the camera that makes a good photo. Don’t buy a strobe kit – you can rent those for $100.00, and how often will you really use them?
This should get you a good start. The rest you will learn in the field, on your own. Still, don’t be afraid to ask someone who’s better than you, read old out-dated photography books and get jobs that are way over your head. This is how you learn.
Social Networking and YOU.
Networking.
In the last few weeks between school, searching for work, and setting up this blog I noticed something. I spend a lot of time on my computer. This isn’t to say that I’m not productive during my day, I do a lot of things for personal enrichment such as reading, looking at art, socializing… But today, all of these activities can be done online. I’m trying to make it all work to my advantage. I use twitter and Facebook for both pleasure and networking, and it seems like something that used to be done so formally – meet-ups and gatherings – have been made so much more casual by the internet.
Now, I’m not knocking these services at all. I have had much success from cruising the likes of Craig’s List and LinkedIn, it just seems so different now. Promo mailers seems to be quickly becoming a thing of the past, and photographers have to find new ways to get themselves noticed. A website with your portfolio doesn’t seem to be enough anymore. For those dewy-eyed newborn photographers; get into social networking. Use it all, twitter, friendfeed, facebook… it can only help you in this new age of electronic marketing. And while I had a difficult time getting myself to use twitter – I have now discovered that a lot of my favorite artists and magazines and companies are on it, giving me a new way to keep up with the industry.
I encourage you to surf message boards, start a blog, anything to get your name out there. The internet gives anyone the opportunity to become known, and as a photographer in this fast-paced, super competitive world, you should take advantage of it. Because if no one knows who you are, how will you ever get work?
