Archive for the 'Portrait' Category

Old School Meets New School. Getting an edge:

SEN1061 b43 Old School Meets New School. Getting an edge:

by Barry Howell: I have been a professional photographer since the early 80’s and am in the throws of embracing change like I never could have imagined. I have photographed hundreds of weddings and thousands of high school seniors. I was honored with the first ever Haga Wedding Album award for the best wedding album in Minnesota, and have entered many competition prints over the years. I began shooting weddings for a couple of studios, worked part time on my own for several years, and bought a very large studio operation in 1995.   My first digital camera was a Fuji S2 and that is where my journey into the digital world really began. A good friend (and former employee) encouraged me to take a look at Lightroom and then Gavin’s presets from Seim Effects.

My years of experience (and significant volume) causes me to very careful how much “post production” we commit to. Having studied with the likes of Monte Zucker, Frank Cricchio  Don Blair, David Ziser and others, I learned to produce near perfect images in the camera. There just wasn’t much editing we could do with our C-41 in-house lab printing from medium format Hasselblad negatives. I am the “techie” guy that loves everything shiny, new and cool, but I didn’t jump into digital until I felt the cameras and output options rivaled film quality.  My journey from film to digital has been a long and at times very frustrating path. If you are just starting out (i.e. have never shot a roll of film-I know you’re out there), appreciate my story and be glad you can develop a workflow without  transitioning from anything else. Take the time to think about ways you can do it right from image capture to customer delivery.

Continue reading ‘Old School Meets New School. Getting an edge:’

Teeny Tiny Photography Tips 2009:

little photographer seim 300x207 Teeny Tiny Photography Tips 2009:by Gavin Seim updated 10.18.09:
I like quick bursts of information and chat frequently as @gavinseimtwitter2 Teeny Tiny Photography Tips 2009: on twitter.  I’ve made this list of my favorite tips and ideas. I plan to update it throughout the year. You can add your favorite photo tweets and tips in the comments with your twitter name. I might even RT them myself.

I give credit when I can, using names in parenthesis. Some of these are my own little musings based on what I’ve learned, so I’ve indicated myself with an (S). If there’s no name then I probably don’t know the source. Remember that these are not always exact quotes, but ideas I’ve re-formed to fit in under 140 characters. Feel free to tweet them yourself. You can RT @gavinseim or link to this post with http://bit.ly/phototip.

Things to think on:

  • Don’t wait for the photography establishment to try and stand out, because if you do, you won’t (S)
  • I’m not afraid to change my opinion, but I am afraid of not having one. (S)
  • It seems that by giving away knowledge we only get more of it. (S)
  • Competition. A powerful tool that makes you stronger. Complaints about it are often cop outs from photographers not motivated enough to excel (S)
  • Art is not about money. But it really really helps. (S)
  • In photography rules mean conformity, and to conform is the opposite of creativity. (Whitmire)
  • I’m tired of the industry telling photographers what a standard size is. My print size will be what I decide to make it. (S)
  • Photography is painting with light. So if light is paint, why do we spend more time pressing buttons than mixing our paint? (S)
  • Be Positive. It’s not just a blood type. (S)
  • Each time I think I’m really good, I learn that I’m not as great as I thought. Then I actually start getting really good (S)
  • Always do the best you can with what you have, but always push yourself to the next level. (S)
  • A unique style is no longer unique once everyone is using it. (S)
  • As photographers we often overlook the power of just practicing. It’s like giving ourselves our own workshop for free. (S)
  • If a “picture” is worth a thousand words. A “photograph” is worth ten thousand. (S)
  • Photography is painting with light. So if light is paint, why do we spend more time pressing buttons than mixing our paint? (S)
  • It’s not the location you take your photos in. It’s the photos you take in your location. Anything can be a good background. (S)

Posing n more:

  • Portraits. Guys tilt the head towards the low shoulder = macho. Girls tilt head towards high shoulder = pretty (Celentano)
  • Bridal Portraits, Hold that bouquet on the hip to look thinner. Hands (and bouquets) held in front from make the bride look bigger. (Celentano)
  • Group portrait. Just before the shot have everyone lift up their shoulders and lean towards the center. (Celentano)
  • Portrait Tip: Look for triangles in your group poses. Use bodies, sitting, head position etc to form triangles. (Celentano)
  • If posture pose and light is correct it does not matter where the camera sits. The pose is still set. (Gardener)
  • Posing tip: If it bends, bend it. Play around with joints, elbows, fingers, everything.
  • Posing tip: Leave some open space between those bent elbows and the waist. Helps make your subject slim n trim. (S)

Continue reading ‘Teeny Tiny Photography Tips 2009:’

How to deal with bright sunlight on portrait shoots

Pre-Wedding Photoshoot - by Alan Hutchison Photography

by Alan Hutchison: More and more pro photographers these days are breaking out of their nice clean controlled studios to offer environmental portrait shoots.

Whilst the studio offers perfectly controlled lighting conditions, the big bad real world can throw up all sorts of challenges in your way. One of them is bright sunlight (ironically something I don’t actually have to worry about too much in my local area of Central Scotland).

But sunlight is easy to deal with, right? Weren’t we all told to keep the sun over our shoulder – i.e. ensure the light is falling on your subject.  Whilst this is all well and good, with harsh bright sunlight you are going to get subjects with squinting eyes – not the most photogenic of looks. Continue reading ‘How to deal with bright sunlight on portrait shoots’

Formal Portrait Lighting on a Budget

"Allanah" by Alan Hutchison

"Allanah" by Alan Hutchison

by Alan Hutchison: When we think of formal portraits we tend of think of studios and expensive lighting set-ups.  Well here’s a quick tip to achieve that same look just using available light, a scrap of dark cloth and a baby changing mat. Yes, you heard right, a baby changing mat.  Let me explain.

Continue reading ‘Formal Portrait Lighting on a Budget’

How To Market & Sell Your Photography:

By Gavin Seim:  Being a fabulous photographer is great, but if you want to pay the bills with your passion you have to make sales and take great images. Here’s some great content from PPS and some other great sites to help out. I’ll be updating this post as I find great content on how to market and sell to your clients and a few posts dealing with shooting itself. If you know of some great articles on selling, post em up in the comments. For more good stuff see the Best Of Pro Photo Page

Good reads.

14 Steps To A Successful Sales Presentation:
Another good Ziser post. Fourteen steps David uses in his presentation to help him make great portrait sales.

How to Logo & Brand Your Images:
Branding is important and if you’re sending portraits out the door without it you’re throwing away money.

Selling to an out of town client:
Another Ziser classic. Full of tips on how you can keep sales high, even when you can’t meet in person.

The Portrait Consultation: Part1, Part2 A multi part series from David Ziser (we’ll update it as he publishes them). Selling a portrait is not just about getting a session booked. It’s about selling large prints and making the session profitable.

Large Wall Portraits. Why the 8×10 is stealing your thunder.
One of the host hotly discussed and perhaps the most valuable marketing articles ever on PPS. The ideas may be bold, but they absolutely work. whether you choose to listen or debate them is up to you. Join the discussion.

Copyrighting Your Images: It’s a part of the business that we tend to avoid, but it’s important and once you get the hang of it it becomes easy.

20 Ways To Appreciate Your Customers:
Can’t go wrong making happy customers.

Podcasts…

Pro Photo Show #60. Not Wearing Pants: A good episode overall, but starting at 1:34:10 we start getting into standing out and being something more than a weekend warrior. Then we move right into selling large portraits and how key it is. Be prepared for a few Gavin rants.

Pro Photo Show 53: This episode is a favorite and it’s full of good stuff. The whole show is well worth a listen, but starting at time index 44:28 we’re joined by Kevin Swan. Listen through to the end because the longer he talks the more you’ll glean.

Pro Photo Show 51: Another fun roundatble. At time index 52:33 guest photographer Scott & Adina Hayne talk about the marketing they used to build their wedding business in record time. This is also where they share info on leveraging Facebook to held build your business.

Free Wedding & Portrait Contract Samples: UPDATED

by Gavin Seim: People are often looking for a starting point to build their photography contracts around PPS. For some reason photographers often take the stance of “get your own, I’m not sharing”. I however do not, and rather than manually emailed them each time, I decided to share them here. I’ve included a folder with  both PDF and DOC formats. You can start here, insert your own name and the text to suit your needs.

Disclaimer. I am NOT a lawyer: These are my contracts and I am making available free of charge. They are in no way guaranteed. I’ve written them in plain English while still trying to cover all my bases. I have not had them reviewed by a lawyer, so if you feel the need to have them checked, you’ll have to handle that on your own. OK disclaimer finished.

On a side note, if you’re a lawyer and would like to help review the legal side of these contracts so we can post more official versions please contact me. Also if you have links to your own contracts (available for free) post them up so people can get more ideas.

UPDATE 03.2010. Wedding contract v1.1. Since 2008 I have made some significant changes and done some review of lawyer written documents for ideas. This new version, while still pretty simple is a bit more refined. Use it as needed.

Download Sample Contracts v1.1 Zip
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