Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time
I don’t mean to step on any toes, but <deep breath> here we go…
Dear PPA,
A couple weeks ago, I asked to sit down with your top brass and discuss what is happening with our beloved PPA over some pie. Who doesn’t like pie, right? It was going to be a long conversation and, well, difficult discussions just seem to go better with pie. Granted, the request was made via a Facebook post, so you probably didn’t really take me seriously.
What does it mean to be a professional photographer? Many people will assume that the tag “professional” automatically means that you take amazing photos. But is it true that only pros are great photographers? In this great video, Mark Denney discusses three reasons why you don’t have to be a professional to still take great photos. And if you’re a hobbyist like me, you’re gonna enjoy this.
This has to be one of the silliest things I’ve seen for a while. Not the product itself, but how it’s being marketed. Iris claims to offer professional automated headshots in a booth for $20. Your $20 gets you a “photo session” including half a dozen shots, “helpful posing tips”, and one free high res digital file (the other 5 cost an extra $5 each).
When you watch the promo video, don’t worry, your speakers aren’t broken, there’s just no audio to go with it.
Structuring your prices as a wedding photographer or any business in the creative industry can be a difficult task, especially if you’re self employed/running your own business. Not only is the creative industry a competitive one, it’s also a very saturated market with some very interesting pricing structures.
With so many businesses charging less and less for their services, it’s easy to price your own services too low, but go in too high and there’s the potential you might loose custom. Pricing your services is a huge task in itself, but once you reach that point you then have questions to ask yourself regarding deposits, payment plans, where will you advertise your prices and will you offer discounts.
Being in the photography business successfully for 40 years has been an amazing journey and a great accomplishment for me. I believe that the people I meet are the best clients anyone could wish for.
For the most part, my clients book an appointment, look at the images and then make a purchase according to the price list I provide, and they go home a happy camper. Once in a while, though, a new client will express concerns about what they perceive to be the high cost of professional photography in general, and they wonder aloud if it is really worth it.
Have you ever wondered how you compare to other news photographers? Perhaps you’ve felt that you’re earning less than your colleagues or that your occupation is especially dangerous?
A new study on the state of photojournalistic practice, conducted by the University of Stirling and the University of Oxford’s Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism in association with World Press Photo, offers fascinating insights about “the world’s professional photographic community with a special focus on photojournalists”.
It happened again about a week ago. The Conversation. You know the one. It starts innocently enough.
“You’re a professional photographer?”
“Yes. I am.”
“Wow! That must be so exciting.”
“Sometimes.”
“No, I bet you go to all sorts of cool and exciting places, and meet lots of interesting people.”
And so on and so on.
San Diego, California based start-up company, Togally, is hoping that it’s new platform will help connect photographers with clients by taking a slightly different approach. The company has designed and built a website which allows photographers (which they refer to as “togs”) to post a free profile on their website so that anyone with an internet connection and a need for a photographer can look them up and hire them. ( I find it to be like a combination of the services Thumbtack and ImageBrief provide.)[Read More…]
When I was in high school, I started messing around with my dad’s DSLR. It was a Canon EOS 20D, and we had two different lenses for it. I started carrying it around and taking pictures of stuff I thought looked cool. Then I took whatever Photoshop skills I’d been accumulating since the 7th grade and started editing the hell out of everything I shot. It was an entirely new hobby for me, and I eventually started wanting to make short films and try putting together a portfolio.
“Funny…You don’t LOOK like a professional photographer.”
“Really? What does a professional photographer look like?”
“Well, for starters, you only have that one camera!”
“Will I be needing more?”
Thus began the conversation– and the engagement session. I’d met the bride and her mother (really awesome people, by the way) when they hired me, but this was my first encounter with The Groom. At first I figured he was just trying to break the ice. I’m still not sure if that assessment was right or wrong, but in either case it was quite possibly the longest two hours of my career as a photographer. Yes– a professional photographer, damn it.
You can find out more about John on his website and follow his adventures on YouTube and Facebook.
can change a lens mid-rappel, swap a memory card while treading water, or use a camel as a light stand.
To see more of his work please visit his studio website blurMEDIAphotography, or follow him on Twitter, 500px, Google Plus or YouTube.
JP’s photography is available for licensing at Stocksy United.
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