Photography Backpack

Contains about photography information

The Advantages Of A Mobile Photography Studio

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Although there will probably always be a need for bricks and mortar photography studios, the savvy photographer is going mobile. It can be too much of a hassle in time and gas money to bring yourself to a photography studio, so you need to go to the customers, instead. When the customers don’t have to pay for travel, they tend to spend on extra prints. Even premier professional portrait photographer Annie Liebovitz went to the Queen of England instead of the other way around.

Cooperation Opportunities

Have you ever gone into a pet store and seen a display about a pet photographer coming to the store? If you’ve ever come back on pet photography days, you know the lines go out the door. This also happens for children’s professional photography or for any formal portraits, which can often be quickly set up in the corner of a large department store.

And what photographers do these stores pick on these busy days? They pick photographers with a mobile photography studio. Although some chain stores, like Sears, might have their own in-house photographers, for the most part, if you contact a store to set up a portrait day, you’re going to get some action (provided you have good references and a great portfolio, that is.)

Stocking Your Vehicle

You don’t need to bring everything and the kitchen sink along to your next portrait gig. You do need a van, truck or at least a station wagon filled with lighting equipment, extension cords, extra batteries, different colored background drapes or cloths, a tripod, some reflective umbrellas or cards to help with your lighting and a vast array of props. Usually, adults don’t need any more props than a chair. But pets and kids need some squeaky toys to get their attention, at least. And, of course, you need a camera or two.

The Darkroom

Contains about the only thing you can’t stock in your mobile photography studio is a good darkroom and your darkroom chemicals. Professionals who want to make creative photography out of even the most basic portrait need to develop their own pictures. Many photographers can do away with the need of a darkroom altogether by going digital. That way, their laptops, their memory cards and their cameras become the photography studio darkroom. Some artists claim that the quality of a real live film photography studio can’t be matched, but technology is very quickly catching up with the imagination.

Stock Photography Sites How to Sell Your Work

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Stock Photography Sites: How to Sell Your Work

Okay, so you have taken some nice pictures and would like to make a little money doing something you enjoy. Selling your photography to a stock photograph site may be just the right fit for you. Before you start submitting your work, however, there are some things you need to knowimportant things. This series of articles will help get you started the right way.

Part One Getting Started

A quick Google search will provide you with several sites that provide royalty-free images to designers, publishers, and other consumers for a fee. These include sites that are always looking for content like iStockphoto, Shutter Stock, and Big Stock Photo. You provide them with stock photographs of various subjects and, when a client downloads those photos, you receive a royalty payment. Nice, right? Before you dash off to organize those pics, however, there some things you have to know.

This article will cover the three things you need to consider before you can start making money from your photographs using stock photography sites.

Standards

Stock photography sites make money by selling useful images to writers, publishers, and designers who need to enhance their projectsthe important word being useful. A useful image, for the purposes of general standards, is an image that is:

High Quality. The photo you upload must maintain its resolution over a variety of print and digital media.
Technically Perfect. Your photo must contain no flaws that will make it unattractive to site editors or potential clients.
Big. Your photos need to be rendered as large as possible because most stock photography sites offer multiple image sizes and the larger the download, the more money everyone makes.
Commercially Viable. Stock photography sites collect money for these photographs from people who are going to use them in a commercial setting. You must ensure that all subjects have provided releases (both model and property) and that there is no copyright infringement or other commercial-use barrier.

The clients of stock photography sites need to be able to pay-and-go, i.e., buy a photo on the site, insert it into their project, and not worry about anything else. This means the site will only use your image if it comports with these standards.

Accounts

You will have to create a user account with any major stock photography site for obvious reasonsthey need to know where to send the royalty checks. Make sure that you fill out the information completely and accurately. Some sites, like iStockphoto, have an application process that also requires you to upload a copy of your drivers license or other photo identification. There is no reason to freak out about these requirements; they are no different than what any other employer or contractor would require of you.

General Image Requirements

Different sites will have minor differences in image requirements, but I suggest you do these three things:

Make it Simple. There are a variety of file formats for images and, while the requirements and file types vary from site-to-site, I suggest you make it easy on yourself and upload only JPG files that are in RGB. The reason for this is simple; this file format will work for everyone. Some sites will accept your PSD files in CMYK with no questions (because they are focused on effects, filters, or print images), but most wont. Some sites take TIFF and PNG, but others have a problem with those files uploading. As of the date of this writing, ALL of the stock photography sites will take the RGB JPG. Dont play chess if the game is checkersmake it simple.
Make it Big. The larger the file size, the more useful the image; you can always make a large image smaller with no loss of quality but you cannot exceed the original image size without pixilation and digital noise. Some sites have a minimum allowable image size, e.g., iStockphoto requires images to be at least 1600 X 1200 pixels, but there is no need to limit your opportunity by uploading small photos. Give yourself a better chance to succeed and give the site your biggest and best. In this case, bigger IS better.
Make it Pure. Dont try to sell images that have been up-sampled, filtered (unless it is a totally necessary artistic look), color-adjusted, or otherwise manipulated UNLESS the editors are looking for those specific types of images. Generally, over-produced images do not help clients and, while special effect photography is an entirely different matter, the closer your image is to the original natural shot the better.

Familiarize yourself with each sites general image requirements so you wont have problems getting your application approved.

So, thats the basic way to start selling your photographs on stock photography sites. The next article in this series will address how to determine the specific needs of each site, i.e., what exactly are the editors looking for right now. Knowing this will get you in the door much faster.

Still Life Photography – How to Shoot Good Pictures

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Still life photography has many uses. Perhaps you want to take a picture of a beautiful shell or perhaps take a picture of a product that you’re selling on eBay. Other reasons for learning still life photography may include selling still life photograph downloads at microstock sites or to food magazines. No matter what your reason, still life photography is a great skill to learn.

Unless you are photographing specific products or pictures for a magazine assignment, the subjects for your still life photography are endless. Despite common belief, still life photography isn’t limited to just pictures of apples and grapes. Even super simple items like a few artfully arranged spools of thread can be interesting and attract attention. There are a couple of microstock sites like Shutterstock and iStock that have a high demand for all sorts of still life pictures from simple to complex.

People often times think of still life photography as a lot easier than other types of photography like sports or landscape photography. With still life pictures, you can arrange the objects exactly how you want them and have full control over the photo’s composition.

In other ways, good still life pictures are more challenging to capture. Because still lifes are taken up close, it’s easy to see imperfections on your subject that you would normally never see.

Despite its challenge, by using some basic photography skills and applying these tips, you can create stunning still life pictures with just a little practice.

Still Life Photography Lighting

Professional photographers usually use a soft box or a light box to shoot their still lifes. However this isn’t absolutely necessary as you will see in a moment, but it can be a big help. However, if you do want one, you can find a soft box online or you can easily make one using instructions you find online. The purpose of these lighting tools is to provide even light on the subject.

Another way to get this good quality light is to set up your shoot outside. A high overcast or bright sky can create a natural soft box effect without having any of the harsh shadows.

Composing Still Life Pictures

Arrange your objects in a pleasing composition. Use a classical composition technique such as “Rule of Thirds” or “Leading Lines” or “Frame within a Frame” to create a good composition. Artfully arrange the objects, and use your imagination. For example, if it’s a picture of a piece of cake, instead of including the entire table setting, place a gleaming, silver dessert fork upside down on the plate and remove a tiny bite from the cake.

Fill the Frame with Your Still Life Subject

Remember, the only thing that should be in your viewfinder or on your preview LCD screen is your composition. You need to remove any distractions or clutter from the background so you can have a clean and up close image. If you have a backdrop or background you don’t like don’t worry about it because it can be easily solved. The light box or soft box will solve this problem, but if you’re taking pictures outside and have a distracting background simply place a piece of white foam board behind your subject and you’ll be all set. If you want a sharp image, make sure to use macro mode or you can end up with a fuzzy image.

Look for a Good Angle and Start Shooting!

Rather than taking a picture from your head level, try holding the camera so that it’s at the same height as your subject. You should also try shooting from a variety of different angles.

When Did Photography Become An Art Form

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Since the dawn of time, humanity has searched for ways to express the world around them in visual form. Sculptors like Praxiteles, Auguste Rodin, Michelangelo and the unknown artist who crafted the Venus de Milo have filled the art history books. Painters, such a Leonardo da Vinci, Pablo Picasso, Claude Monet and Salvador Dali, have their works in hundreds of museums and on the walls of private collectors.

Although the question of whether photography is an art form is still half-heartedly debated by some, and has been since the 16th century, many photographers have joined the ranks of famous artists. Several photographs, framed or enlarged, black and white or color, now populate the walls and museums of the world. However, only in the past century or so has photography been recognized as any kind of art, much less fine art.

Originally, photography was the “unwanted stepchild” of the arts, a poor relation to drawing and painting. Because of the camera’s mechanical nature, say the detractors, it doesn’t require any real skill. The need for hand to eye coordination is minimal, the subject of the photograph comes “ready-made” and the photographer doesn’t need to be creative or imaginative. In short, a monkey could do it.

Considered an industrial art or a documentary device, the medium still caused much consternation amongst the artists of other mediums. Many were afraid that photography would cause the loss of livelihood. Others saw a disintegration of the arts, distorted by the photographic lens.

So what changed? The art world met Peter Henry Emerson. A photographer himself, Emerson believed that, if a photograph brought “aesthetic pleasure to the viewer”, it was art. No matter how it came into being. In 1889, he founded a fine-art photography movement, calling it “naturalistic” photography.

George Davison and Horsley Hinton, along with Emerson, wrote many pieces claiming that their chosen art was not just a method of documenting and recording. In addition to the common uses, they suggested, photographs could be pictorial in nature, selected for their appeal and beauty.

Around 1892, pictorial photography became accepted throughout the world, vindicating many who had argued for the medium to be included under “art”. That same year, Alfred Stieglitz begged photographers in America to bring art photography to the country. In 1897, America embraced the first pictorial exhibit in Philadelphia and has accepted as an art form ever since.

Once acceptance was garnered, photographers began cropping up everywhere. All you really needed was to own a camera and a good eye. For instance, the “father of photojournalism”, Alfred Eisenstaedt, started taking photos at the young age of 14. He sold his first photograph in 1927 and had never had any training – just a good eye and a camera. His unstaged photographs, taken in the spur of a moment, have delighted and amazed viewers since 1928.

Throughout his entire career, Eisenstaedt never put aside the “amateurish” sense of adventure. He never felt the need to overburden himself with unnecessary equipment, and carried out his photojournalistic assignments merely by catching events at the right time.

Ansel Adams, whose landscape photography graces many walls, calendars and book pages, is another example. Although he had trained to become a concert pianist, a trip to Yosemite National Park and a Kodak Brownie box camera began a new era for Adams. From 17 until his death in 1984, he dedicated his life, an extensive array of fine art photography and music to the beauty of nature and the need to preserve the natural world’s wonders and resources.

Whether art or science, one cannot look upon the works of Ansel Adams, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Anne Geddes, Dorothea Lange, Edward Curtis and many others without feeling at least a small sense of awe. If a picture truly says a thousand words, their voices will be heard for many years to come.

Freelance Photography for a Living

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Photography is a passion for many. But if you are little strategic too, then you can turn your passion into a cash vending machine. Baffled to hear? Rest assured as this is a time tested way. There are thousands of photographers who work as freelancers and doing great with money. You don’t need to have high profile contact list for that. Just a little planning and right information, and bingo, you can earn wads of cash, which is obviously legal and honest. Read on to know more about freelance photography.

Photography entails lots of exciting things that people are usually passionate about. So apart from photography, you can pursue your other passions like traveling, meeting new people, and exploring new places too. And freelance photography enables you to do so by getting paid for pursuing your passion. However, this does not give you any reason to think that life of a self employed photographer is cakewalk, especially when you are doing it for some newspaper. News agencies have their own staff photographers but it is not possible for them to cover everything being omnipresent so freelancer photographers are hired who are paid per photograph used or per photo shoot. This is where you can play your role.

Even if you are not hired, you can always present your photos to selected newspapers since you were strategically present at the spot at the precise time. This is how it works. Payment varies according to the pay scale of the news agency. Local newspapers would naturally pay lesser than the leading dailies. Popular magazines also hire or buy photographs from freelancers. Basically, freelance photography had been there since quite long. It is just the lack of exposure that had stopped people from knowing about it. But today it has become mandatory to acknowledge the source of photographs. So your work does not get unnoticed either.

Being a professional freelance photographer can work on different domains. People always need professional photographers for different purposes. Even in the last few decades, they were called for wedding photography, but today it has become a specialized field. But whether they need to take photograph of items they want to sell in Craigslist or OLX kind of websites or a casual family get-together, your freelance photography is looked upon. When you are not on any assignment, go out and capture mundane yet exclusive moments. Offer them to various picture magazines and see them going places.

The freelance photography jobs are ample for the photography experts. Photographers can earn decent monthly income from freelancing.

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