Tips | Pro Photo Show

Tag Archive for 'tips'

Pro Photography Podcast #52 ~ The World, With Rick Sammon:

Published

on November 21, 2008

in Gavin Seim, Nature, Podcasts and ProPhotoShow

. 0 Comments

>>Listen To Pro Photo Show #52

Like the show? Rate/Subscribe on itunes — Vote on Podcast Alley

Host Gavin Seim: Seim Studios
Special Guest: Rick Sammon

Show notes…

This week we talk about nature, travel and general photography tips with Rick Sammon. Rick travels all over the world for photography workshops and has written 30 books in his career as a photographer.

The Pro Photo Show Winter contest has begun. Enter now.

Rick Sammon workshops are coming all over the world.

Rick uses Photomatix for HDR and Aperture for general post processing.

Rick uses magic tricks from Tannen’s Magic in New York.

Rick uses the Wescott stand and diffuser for his flashes.

Seim Effects and the new PW2 LR presets.

Gavin’s HDR portrait gallery.

Talking HDR on the Camera Dojo Photography Podcast

Published

prophotoshow

on November 20, 2008

in Gavin Seim, HDR and News

. 0 Comments

I was a guest on this weeks Camera Dojo podcast with Kerry Garrison talking about all things HDR.

We chatted about the various techniques and tools, and I shared my techniques for HDR portraits. I just listened to myself this afternoon. It felt different being on the guest end, but it was relaxing. This won’t be in the PPS podcast feed, but If you’re interested head over the Camera Dojo and give a listen. While your at it you can drop by iTunes and subscribe to their show… Gavin

Freaking Out In Slow Season? Build Your Photography Business:

Published

prophotoshow

on November 13, 2008

in Canon, Gavin Seim, Nature, PPS Photography Tips, Portrait, ProPhotoShow, Software and Weddings

. 0 Comments

building-photography-business Freaking Out In Slow Season? Build Your Photography Business: by Gavin Seim — With winter coming on, as well as an economic downturn (at least in the USA), you may find yourself looking at the numbers in horror. OK maybe I’m going too far, but I have seen people chatting about grabbing new work their schedule. I am blessed, and while I’m booking weddings well into next year, I still need more on my calender.

I’m going to keep this short and list six tips to help bring in bookings. I also found a nice article by Sean Clayton about this very thing.

I’m not the chief authority however. What works can vary greatly by your situation. What are you doing in your market to drum up photography business? Share your tips. There’s rarely a magic bullet, but we know business is hard work. Share your ideas in the comments.

1. Send a newsletter:
I collect email addresses of clients, and people who sign up at weddings and events. Then I send an occasional newsletter. I’m about to send my fall edition to over 800 emails as a way to get past and future clients thinking about my work. If you want to see mine, you can sign up on my photo site. Sending a newsletter is a great way to put your business in front of many eye’s for a low cost. It does take time to build your list, but it’s worth it. Just don’t email too often, and don’t buy lists of emails or you’ll be marked a spammer for sure.
2. Send Images to Venue’s:
Sending out prints with your logo or name on them is a great way to make venues remember you. It’s also a great way to use that extra time during the slow season. This year I plan to send a simple venue packet with a letter, some free images taken at their venue, and plenty of business cards.They’ll appreciate the free images, and you may well get some free advertising, and that’s the best kind.

Continue reading ‘Freaking Out In Slow Season? Build Your Photography Business:’

How To Backup Photoshop Settings Like A Pro:

Published

prophotoshow

on November 5, 2008

in Gavin Seim, PPS Photography Tips, Photoshop and ProPhotoShow

. 0 Comments

by Gavin Seim: I had a call recently from a photographer who lost all her preferences, settings and actions because of a crash. For some reason Photoshop lost all it’s preferences and went back to default. The thing is, PS is not meant to hold all our settings permanently. You need to have them backed up. The key is being prepared so that when something’s lost, you can take it in stride. Today I’m going to show, and tell you how to do it. Remember that once you’ve stored these settings, re-loading them is as simple as double clicking the file.

ps-icons3 How To Backup Photoshop Settings Like A Pro:

1: Give Them A Home:
First, decide where you’ll be backing up your settings. Be it a folder on your hard drive, a CD/DVD or an offsite storage service. Wherever it is find a consistent place that will be separate up from your main computer should you have a total crash.

2: Archive your actions:
Photoshop is not a place to store actions. When you download a new action don’t just load it in the actions palette and expect it to stay there. PS will retain the actions so long as the preference to keep it loaded remains. Also deleting an action in PS does not actually delete the file, it just removes it from the action palette. As long as you have your action files safely stored you’re good. But, if you load an action, and then delete the file expecting PS to retain it forever, your doom is sealed.

I like to make a “favorite actions” set that I store with my other actions. This way all my commonly used actions are in one set that I can load fast. I keep it in PS all the time, but it’s backed up should I have a crash. My other actions are nearby as well, but I load them only occasionally since all my favorites are in one set. You can do this by making a new action set (folder) within PS, then drag your favorite actions into it from other sets, then save your favorites set in a safe place.

Continue reading ‘How To Backup Photoshop Settings Like A Pro:’

Using Lightroom’s Auto Sync to edit faster

Published

prophotoshow

on October 20, 2008

in Gavin Seim, Lightroom and ProPhotoShow

. 2 Comments

By Gavin Seim: Today I want to share a tip that some of you may already be using, but many others have not delved into. It’s called Auto Sync.

Within Lightroom’s Develop Module (D) you can select multiple images in the filmstrip and you’ll see the sync button appear on the bottom of the right panel. You can select the images you wish to sync, and click Sync. It will ask what settings you want to apply, then apply those settings to the selected images. OK so most of us know this already, and while it can be a big time saver there’s still more.

Auto Sync is slightly more hidden, but very useful. With your images selected, hold CNTRL (Win) CMD (Mac) and the Sync button now turns into the Auto Sync button. Click on the Auto Sync button to activate it. It now stays active until you click again to turn it off. Continue reading ‘Using Lightroom’s Auto Sync to edit faster’

Staying Inspired: Does your photography get burnt out?

Published

prophotoshow

on October 12, 2008

in Gavin Seim, PPS Photography Tips and Portrait

. 2 Comments

I want photography to always feel like play, even though I’m getting paid to do it. Often what separates work from play is how we think of it, and changing how we think is not always easy. Good photographers are photographers because they love photography (say that three times fast)

As a professional photographer with a growing business, I often find myself needing to step back and review. What, how and why am I shooting? Obviously I want to to make a living, but in the hustle the stress of keeping clients thrilled I can forget that I’m doing a job I love, and start thinking all business. Being paid for something you love doing is a real blessing, and many of us have worked/are working hard to attain that.

I think it’s easy to get burnt out if you don’t try new things. When you get burnt out that means you’re less creative, and passionate about photography. Both you and your clients suffer for that.

Lately I’m turning to nature and landscape. If I MAKE time to go and just shoot, I relax and start to think about my work. It breaks the mold and helps me learn new things that I can apply to my “real” jobs. Sure I sell my nature photography, but I don’t really make any money from it. It’s just my way of slowing down remembering what a beautiful world God has built around me and that I became a photographer, not to worry about how much money I make per hour, but because I love photography.

Not always nature. A few minutes ago I went out in the backyard with my wife and shot portraits using only my 50mm 1.4. It was a way for me to experiment and learn, but without deadlines or requirements. Once I started It was really fun and my wife loves the attention; double win. The problem is that often I put such things aside because I feel I’ve been shooting more than enough with other jobs.

Maybe you’re with the crowd who’s not trying new things, but should be. Or maybe your somebody who doesn’t easily get burnt out and can stay relaxed. Or maybe I’m just a stress case and nobody else deals with this. Speaking of relaxing, I’m off to call a square dance. Relaxing doesn’t always have to be photography you know