DIY Photography

Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time

Search

Submit A Story

The Good Camera

by 5 Comments

(In the World of Photography, there are many stories, some told tongue-in-cheek. This is one of them. There is a lesson at the end. Enjoy.)

Hello. I am a professional photographer and I am returning my Good Camera today. You know, the one that takes the Good Pictures. Yeah, it’s going back.

I saved my money to buy it. I almost did a GoFundMe campaign, but thought I’d better save the GoFundMe for the future, when I will undoubtedly do something silly, like drop the Good Camera and have to replace a lens or something. I figure GoFundMe is way cheaper than actually buying insurance and people love to help.

[Read More…]

Dear photographers, educate yourself before you start charging

by 13 Comments

(Warning…long post ahead.)

I have a question.

Actually, I have a lot of questions. These are questions that have been simmering on a low heat in the back of my brain. I try to ignore them, and most of the time I can, but now and then the heat gets turned up and the simmer turns to a full rolling boil. It’s noisy and hot and such that I can’t ignore it.

[Read More…]

Photographers! Do NOT Fake it till You Make It!

by 7 Comments

I see the posts. You see them, too.

A session gone wrong because a photographer didn’t know want to do. And they didn’t know what to do because they hadn’t yet acquired the skills necessary to do that thing they were hired to do.

They said “yes,” before they knew what they were doing.

I remember one such story. A gal had agreed to photograph a family at a beachfront hotel; a family that hadn’t been together in years. She photographed them on the balcony in the middle of a sunny day. The balcony was in shade. The beach behind them, in bright sunlight. The client wanted to get both them AND the beautiful beach in the pictures. Remember this family hadn’t been together for years and it would be years before they were together again.

But the photographer was a “natural light only” photographer so what the client ended up getting was an entire session of silhouettes.

[Read More…]

Rant: photographers, know your sh!#

by 2 Comments

I admire birth photographers.

I don’t engage in birth photography myself, but I marvel at those who do it well. The emotional climate is always changing at a birth, and so a photographer must not only be prepared in their own heart and mind, but also bring to the birth a level of patience, compassion, and skill that allows them to adapt to any and all changing conditions. The photographer is there to document what is in front of them and has very little to no control over the situation. They can’t dictate to the doctors or midwives what they need:

[Read More…]

“If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.” FALSE.

by 8 Comments

I would like to find who originally coined that phrase, get in a time machine, go back in time to when he/she was a tiny baby, and take them to an island to be raised by wolves so this sentiment would never make it into the world.
Because as nice as it sounds, it’s simply not true.

[Read More…]

Dear Adobe Photoshop…

by 14 Comments

Dear Adobe,

We need to have a talk. A come to Jesus moment, if you will. Allow me to begin by saying how much I love your product. I’ve used Photoshop since the beginning of Photoshop. Prior to your creation, I retouched images and negatives the way every print artist did: brushes, dyes, pencils. You should have seen my recipe for “flesh tone.” It was a thing of beauty. But, it had its flaw, namely, each print had to be worked individually. And I sure as heck didn’t like those damn lacquer sprays, the spray booth, or the fact I had to don a breathing mask to apply them. I felt like the Darth Vader of print retouching, but without any of the fun mind control powers.

[Read More…]

Why it’s so important for a girl to pick that perfect camera bag

by 14 Comments

“It’s a camera bag, for God’s sake. Just pick one already.”

Therese was losing patience. We had been standing in the “Shoot and Sparkle” booth looking at camera bags for the past 20 minutes, jostled about like riders in a packed subway car. The camera bag booths at photography trade shows are always the busiest. Women packed shoulder to shoulder. You’d think it wouldn’t it would be that way, right? That vendors selling equipment and lighting and actual photography gear would be the most popular, because on the List of Things You Need to Succeed in Photography, a camera bag comes dead last, but you’d be wrong. Very wrong. Camera bags don’t require any particular knowledge; you don’t need a class or special instructions on how to use them properly. They are just pretty and come in lots of different colors and because of this, the camera bag booths attract female photographers like a graham cracker to a flock of seagulls. Put them out and the women come running, pushing and shoving their way to the bags. You need protective gear just to be in the booth. I might have thrown an elbow myself a time or two.

[Read More…]

Nobody Paints Their Red Soles Purple

by 16 Comments

“I just purchased a beautiful painting. It was in a gallery and I fell in love with it. It cost quite a bit of money, but it was a great investment and will look amazing in my house. Well, that is, after I add my some finishing touches to it with my own acrylic paints. Maybe add some extra flowers, put glitter around the edges, or change the color of the sky, because I spent a lot of money on this beautiful painting and want to change it completely.”

“Look at this incredible Native American pottery. Beautiful, right? It cost thousands of dollars, and I saved up to buy it, but now, it’s mine. I can not wait to get it home and stick my kids’ Play-Doh all over it. Maybe put some start shapes or some long orange Playdough ropes around the top. Possibly shove the Play-Doh through the little plastic Play-Doh machine and make spaghetti strands to drape on the side. I spent so much money on this Native American pot so now I want to make it look different.”

[Read More…]

Plagiarism is for Amateurs

by 9 Comments

I’m fussy today.

And it’s not because I ran out of coffee; it’s not because I didn’t get a proper night’s sleep, and it’s not because I’m worried Gary Johnson won’t be given a chance to participate in the Presidential debates, although that last one is a concern.

I am fussy because, once again, a leader in the photography industry committed plagiarism on her blog, Facebook account and website. Yes, that’s right; I said “again.” As in, it has happened before, more than once. Not a straight copy and paste, because that would be way too obvious, of course. The clever plagiarists among us know to avoid that. Instead, they find brilliant writings, sources of inspiration and motivation, and move bits and pieces around. They change a few words, add a few of their own, while keeping the structure, the bones of the writing, intact.

[Read More…]

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts