Most photographers are introverts and introverts need community

[Nikon D5, Sigma 35mm ƒ/1.4, ISO 100, ƒ/1.4, 1/1000] photo by: Robin Rayne Nelson

I have taken many personality tests, all of which have me somewhere on the introvert scale. Now some have me as a borderline extrovert but never a strong socialite.

On the Myers-Briggs test, I am an INFP.

INFP personalities are true idealists, always looking for the hint of good in even the worst of people and events, searching for ways to improve things. While they may be perceived as calm, reserved, or even shy, INFPs have an inner flame and passion that can truly shine. Comprising just 4% of the population, the risk of feeling misunderstood is unfortunately high for the INFP personality type – but when they find like-minded people to spend their time with, the harmony they feel will be a fountain of joy and inspiration.

I have found that while not all of my photojournalist friends are INFPs, many are introverts.

Being a freelancer and an introvert combination can make life incredibly lonely. Friends and family support me, but having someone who can fully relate is invaluable.

My Involvement with Groups

For most of my life, I have been organizing small groups. While in high school, I loved to play chess, so I formed a club that met at my house.

Later I worked on the staff of the Southern Short Course, the oldest photojournalism conference in the country, based in North Carolina.

I also hung out with fellow photojournalists in my first job at the Hickory Daily Record.

When I went to work with Don Rutledge in Richmond, VA, with The Commission Magazine, we had people from all over the world coming in regularly to meet Don Rutledge and Joanna Pinneo. We often went to lunch and talked shop. This was one of the most rewarding times of my life where I met with people in the same career as myself each week and my passion for our work.

Left to Right: Jim Veneman, Bob Carey, Morris Abernathy, Louis Deluca, Ron London, & [Me] Stanley Leary

When I went to seminary, we started the Southwestern Photojournalism Conference, which has run for 25 years. Also, during my time in Fort Worth, TX, I was part of the Christians in Photojournalism group that met in the metro area.

I would later start a CIP group in Atlanta and then help transition this group to become FOCUS.

Yet all of these formal groups aren’t enough. I continued to join affinity groups because I spend so much of my day alone.

Start with just one person

Robin Rayne Nelson was the guest speaker at the Cherokee Camera Club in Canton, GA. Robin shared her passion for special needs and the LGBT community. [Fuji X-E2, 18-55mm, ISO 6400, ƒ/4, 1/25]

I can tell you that I could not have survived without my close friends in the industry. Robin Nelson and I get together for coffee and discuss our story ideas.

Bill Bangham, Eugene Richards and Stanley Leary at the SWPJC. [Nikon Coolpix P7000, ISO 1600, ƒ2.8, 1/60]

Another close friend is Bill Bangham. We pick up from where we left off whenever we get together. So often, these conversations today are on the phone since we live in different towns.

Ken Touchton and myself on a job.

Another good friend is Ken Touchton. Ken has given me some of the best business advice I have ever had throughout my career. Ken also challenges me all the time. When I first left a staff job and went freelance, Ken called me weekly to ask what I was doing and my plans. Then the following week, he called to hold me accountable.

During one of our times together, Vivian and Gary Chapman, and Ken Touchton ate at a restaurant in Roswell, GA.

Another wonderful couple is Vivian and Gary Chapman. They have been good friends through the years. I often call Gary for advice and love how transparent Gary is about his work.

My mentor, coach, and friend Don Rutledge. Photo by Ken Touchton

The one person who taught me to have an open door policy was Don Rutledge. He was available to meet with anyone if he had the time or would make time.

Don would take me to lunch with some of the most famous and not-so-famous photographers. Every person was treated equally. Don listened and asked questions. Don also loved to tell stories about himself where he screwed up. He taught me how to laugh at myself.

I hope to communicate today through this blog that a successful photographer must be in the community. Not just to participate in some meetings planned by others, but to go out of your way to plan those events for others as well.

I highly recommend joining a Facebook online group and not just troll the posts but contribute. Post photos, ask questions, and contribute by commenting on other photographers’ posts. Create community.

Here are a few Facebook groups you might be interested in joining. Be sure you are a good fit. Don’t just try and enter every group. Join those where you genuinely are amongst your people. If you are not a photojournalist, then don’t join that group. Maybe join the Nikon or Canon group.

FOCUS – Fellowship of Communicators Uniting Socially 

Christians In Photojournalism (CIP)

Photojournalism

Christian Photographers

Sony Alphas

Nikon D5

There are many other groups to join on Facebook. The cool thing is many of these groups organize events locally for you to participate. Besides joining a group, take the time to develop those closer relationships where you go to coffee or lunch with just one person.

If you are going to see what you can get out of something, you will not get very much at all out of anything. However, if you go not just to get something but rather to give, you have a better chance of benefiting. When someone tells you of their projects, follow up and ask how their project is going. Ask to see it and offer constructive criticism if they are open to it.

Knolan Benfield is in Hawaii with me, helping teach posing to photography students with Youth With a Mission. (Photo by: Dennis Fahringer)

By the way, the person who got me started in photography was my uncle Knolan Benfield. He worked with Don Rutledge as well, and the two of them taught me so much and made it possible for me to be where I am today.

The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.

– Mahatma Gandhi

No more fumbling through the camera bag for a lens

LenzBuddy

Working with photo assistants taught me that you must communicate clearly with them. Every photographer has a different system for doing things.

If you work with the same assistant all the time, you are at an advantage over those of us who need to hire different assistants from time to time. I am not so busy that I have a full-time photo assistant.

One of the things I did was label the lenses in my camera bags. I had been researching different labeling systems for camera lenses and tried out LenzBuddy. They make a variety of front lens caps, rear lens caps, and camera body caps.

I decided to put all the lenses into my ThinkTank Airport Security Roller Bag with the lens rear caps facing up.

I then ordered all the “Focal Length Only Custom Lens Cap – Rear,” which cost $9.95 each. The official Nikon rear lens caps cost $14.82 on Amazon.

You can put your Logo or other custom design on and off their caps.

This week, when I had my daughter as the photo assistant, this helped a great deal. “Can you get me the 35mm?” was no longer a slow process for her to pull each lens out of the bag to find the one lens I needed.

Maybe you have been digging through your bag of lenses labeled with a Sharpie on masking tape (or not at all) and realize how much this could help. I think that whenever you can present yourself in front of the client as one who thinks of all the small details, they will trust you even more with their details.

Simple one light setup to balance existing light

[Nikon D5, Sigma 35mm ƒ/1.4, ISO 400, ƒ/1.4, 1/125–Alienbees B1600, Translucent Umbrella, Pocketwizard remotes]

My daughter helped me today with a photo shoot. Here she stood in for a test shot where I needed a key/leading light due to the overhead skylight creating unpleasant light on her face.

Setup

Once I had my setup, I dialed the Pocketwizard AC-3 power up and down to balance the light in the room. I made it about a stop brighter to be sure it was the leading light on her face.

Next, I moved closer and tried a few angles with the Sigma 35mm ƒ/1.4.

After exploring my options later, I took my second Nikon D5, put the Nikon 85mm ƒ/1.8G lens on it, and did a few more shots for angles. Now it is on a second body because it would be much faster to change cameras than lenses.

[Nikon D5, Nikon 85mm ƒ/1.8, ISO 200, ƒ/1.8, 1/60–Alienbees B1600, Translucent Umbrella, Pocketwizard remotes]

Again I then tried a few different angles and compositions.

My gear for this photo shoot:

Nikon D5

Nikon 85mm ƒ/1.8

Sigma 35mm ƒ/1.4

Alienbees B1600

Pocketwizard TT5 & TT1 kit

Pocketwizard AC-9

Pocketwizard AC-3

Manfrotto 5001B 74-Inch Nano Stand

Westcott 2001 43-Inch Optical White Satin Collapsible Umbrella

Drew Gibson Country-Blues Song-Writer

Drew Gibson plays at The Crimson Moon in Dahlonega, GA with Dave Hadley playing the steel guitar. [Fuji X-E2, 18-55mm, ISO 6400, ƒ/4, 1/45]

Last night we drove up to Dahlonega, GA, to see one of my wife’s friends from college in Richmond, VA play at The Crimson Moon.

Drew Gibson plays a country-blues style of music. He writes all of his music.

[Fuji X-E2, 55-200mm, ISO 5000, ƒ/3.8, 1/100]

His latest album is 1532, about his late father and his family. I believe when artists start to deal with those raw emotions that they experience in things like the loss of a loved one, they can unleash their feelings.

[Fuji X-E2, 18-55mm, ISO 6400, ƒ/4, 1/70]

Musicians often create a vibe with their music that draws others in since this often resonates with their audience’s emotions.

While listening, I felt like the photos I took from my seat didn’t capture all the emotions I wanted. I saw this in front of The Crimson Moon and Drew and Dave playing through the window.

[Fuji X-E2, 18-55mm, ISO 6400, ƒ/4, 1/90]

Shooting through the window created this barrier between the musicians and me. The reflections in the window were from outside the coffee shop.

Often this is how I think we listen to music. We hear the artist’s theme, and at the same time, we are reflecting on our own lives. The experience of the event creates this hybrid of our worlds colliding.

[Fuji X-E2, 18-55mm, ISO 6400, ƒ/4, 1/25]

When I returned to the restaurant, I wanted to capture the guests all relaxed and listening. I tried to pick up on the mood of the place itself.

I took a few photos from different parts of the room to give more context to the small venue in Dahlonega.

[Fuji X-E2, 18-55mm, ISO 6400, ƒ/4, 1/80]

Too often people get tunnel vision and continue to shoot from the same spot with the same lens. It may be a great composition and the best angle, but it isn’t the only angle.

Move around and find those different perspectives.

[Fuji X-E2, 18-55mm, ISO 400, ƒ/3.6, 1/500]

If you want to experience a similar concert as I did, go to The Crimson Moon website for a list of shows.

You can find out more about Drew Gibson on his website as well.

This is a song about Drew’s Mother, Betty Jane, from the album.

Here is another song by Drew, “When the Vinyl Scrapes.”

You can’t handle the truth

A small outreach group has started in the bush village of Sabtenga. The oldest man in a hat was Musanai Zemnai, the Chief of the Young People, who welcomed the group. [Nikon D2X, Sigma 18-50mm ƒ/2.8, ISO 400, ƒ/2.8, 1/350]

I grew up singing in Baptist churches “Blessed Assurance.” The refrain went like this:

This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long;
this is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long.

The words of this song are vital to the photojournalist’s ethics. We are not there to tell our story but rather the subject’s story. As long as the issue is honest with the journalist, they must reciprocate.

[Nikon D2X, Sigma 15-30mm ƒ/3.5-4.5, ISO 400, ƒ/4, 1/160]

When I was visiting the Chief among the young people of the bush village in Sabtenga, I took many different photos of him.

[Nikon D2X, Sigma 18-50mm ƒ/2.8, ISO 100, ƒ/2.8, 1/500]

While I ended up with a variety of photos that I could use, it was imperative that I pick those photos that helped tell his story.

[Nikon D2X, Sigma 18-50mm ƒ/2.8, ISO 400, ƒ/4, 1/640]

Often the photojournalist is limited to just one photo, so which one is the one photo?

[Nikon D2X, Sigma 18-50mm ƒ/2.8, ISO 400, ƒ/2.8, 1/400]

How a journalist arrives at the photo is one that determines the storyline. Often the journalist will pull together a narrative using the images in a specific sequence to tell the subject’s story.

Look at these different photos and pick which image you think is the best for the story.

[Nikon D2X, Sigma 70-200mm ƒ/2.8, ISO 400, ƒ/2.8, 1/180]
[Nikon D2X, Sigma 70-200mm ƒ/2.8, ISO 400, ƒ/2.8, 1/180]
[Nikon D2X, Sigma 70-200mm ƒ/2.8, ISO 400, ƒ/2.8, 1/180]

I hope you took your time and looked at each one closely. Most of those who may read this will have picked a photo.

If you picked a photo and would run this photo, you have now just violated the ethics of photojournalism.

The question you should have been asking is what is the story and which photo does the best job of telling the story. Since you didn’t know the story then you must say I cannot choose without knowing the storyline.

What is the code of ethics? Here is the National Press Photographers Association code of ethics.

Code of Ethics

Visual journalists and those who manage visual news productions are accountable for upholding the following standards in their daily work:

  1. Be accurate and comprehensive in the representation of subjects.
  2. Resist being manipulated by staged photo opportunities.
  3. Be complete and provide context when photographing or recording issues. Avoid stereotyping individuals and groups. Recognize and work to avoid presenting one’s own biases in work.
  4. Treat all topics with respect and dignity. Give special consideration to vulnerable issues and compassion to victims of crime or tragedy. Intrude on private moments of grief only when the public has an overriding and justifiable need to see.
  5. While photographing subjects, do not intentionally contribute to, alter, or seek to alter or influence events.
  6. Editing should maintain the integrity of the photographic images’ content and context. Do not manipulate images or add or change the sound in any way that can mislead viewers or misrepresent subjects.
  7. Do not pay sources or issues or reward them materially for information or participation.
  8. Do not accept gifts, favors, or compensation from those who might seek to influence coverage.
  9. Do not intentionally sabotage the efforts of other journalists.

Ideally, visual journalists should:

  1. Strive to ensure that the public’s business is conducted in public. Defend the rights of access for all journalists.
  2. As a psychology, sociology, politics, and art student, I think proactively to develop a unique vision and presentation. Work with a voracious appetite for current events and contemporary visual media.
  3. Strive for total and unrestricted access to subjects, recommend alternatives to shallow or rushed opportunities, seek a diversity of viewpoints, and work to show unpopular or unnoticed points of view.
  4. Avoid political, civic, and business involvements or other employment that compromise or give the appearance of compromising one’s journalistic independence.
  5. Strive to be unobtrusive and humble in dealing with subjects.
  6. Respect the integrity of the photographic moment.
  7. Strive by example and influence to maintain this code’s spirit and high standards. When confronted with situations in which the proper action is not explicit, seek the counsel of those who exhibits the profession’s highest standards. Visual journalists should continuously study their craft and the ethics that guide it.

But we are not journalists!!!!

We have to protect our __________

You may have inserted into that blank your organization or even the subject. You feel like you know how best to help people by not telling the complete story. The audience will not understand.

Just remember that you put yourself on a very high horse just like in the movie

Could “we the people” handle a bit more of the truth? One would certainly like to think so.

When you get in the way of “truth,” you have changed the narrative. You have robbed the subject of “their story” and replaced it with “your story” or “your organization’s story.”

Maya Angelou said, “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”

When it is finally shared, do you want to be the one person that altered the story in any way that could diminish its power?

Who has your back?

[Nikon D2X, Sigma 18-50mm ƒ/2.8, ISO 400, ƒ/2.8, 1/320]

If you are a freelancer or a business owner, you might be like me and wake up in the middle of the night sweating from the anxiety of how I will pay my bills this month. There is nothing on the books for a while, and you wonder if the phone will ring again or if you will get an email.

Matthew 6:25-34

Worry
25 I tell you not to worry about your life. Don’t worry about having something to eat, drink, or wear. Isn’t life more than food or clothing? 26 Look at the birds in the sky! They don’t plant or harvest. They don’t even store grain in barns. Yet your Father in heaven takes care of them. Aren’t you worth more than birds?

27 Can worry make you live longer?[a] 28 Why worry about clothes? Look how the wild flowers grow. They don’t work hard to make their clothes. 29 But I tell you that Solomon with all his wealth[b] wasn’t as well clothed as one of them. 30 God gives such beauty to everything that grows in the fields, even though it is here today and thrown into a fire tomorrow. He will surely do even more for you! Why do you have such little faith?

31 Don’t worry and ask yourselves, “Will we have anything to eat? Will we have anything to drink? Will we have any clothes to wear?” 32 Only people who don’t know God are always worrying about such things. Your Father in heaven knows that you need all of these. 33 But more than anything else, put God’s work first and do what he wants. Then the other things will be yours as well.

34 Don’t worry about tomorrow. It will take care of itself. You have enough to worry about today.

So I know that scripture, and I still wake up in a cold sweat. My main concern is getting a paying job from a client or potential client. This is the core issue.

[Nikon D2X, Sigma 18-50mm ƒ/2.8, ISO 100, ƒ/2.8, 1/200]

One of the best things about being young was not having these worries. My parents carried those worries for me. I went out and played with my friends.

I think the key to solving the “cold sweats” at night is the same key to building solid friendships.

One of the most incredible things I can remember growing up was when someone knocked on the door and wanted to play with me. Today I still enjoy it when a friend calls me up and asks me to play golf with them.

This feeling of euphoria is one of the most powerful emotions.

[Nikon D2X, Sigma 18-50mm ƒ/2.8, ISO 400, ƒ/2.8, 1/80]

What was even better than just having a friend knock on my door was the invitation to do something they had already planned. Do you want to go bowling? Some of the best memories were when I had a friend create an experience for me and asked me to join them.

One way to have your “cold sweat” disappear is for the client to call with a project. That solves my problem right away. This does happen, but what I have found that solves this problem more than receiving a request is to be just like that friend of mine knocking on the door asking me if I wanted to go out on the lake in their boat for skiing.

You see, most of your clients also have those “cold sweats” of some sort. They need ideas as well.

Solve your clients problem and you will solve your own

What is your client’s problem? This takes a lot of time to figure out. Steve Jobs solved problems for the world. One of the first problems he solved was a way to carry around a lot of music and help musicians sell their music through the iPod and iTunes.

Another problem Steve Jobs solved was needing a computer with you all the time to be able to solve problems at a moment’s notice. The iPhone allowed you to search the web right in the palm of your hand.

[Nikon D2X, 20-200mm ƒ/2.8, ISO 4100, ƒ/2.8, 1/80]

You need to put your clients first, and success will find you. Once you have clients, getting to know them and learning their needs is much easier than if they are prospects.

If you do a great job of providing a solution to their problems, then you are on the way to a profitable career.

Not every solution should involve you. If you are genuinely concerned for a client, there are times that you will give your client an answer that doesn’t affect you directly.  When you do this regularly rather than just once, you will be communicating that you are looking out for their best interests over your own.

By not always coming to a client with solutions that only you can fulfill, but others are better at meeting those needs, you become the fixer for them. They will be more likely to listen to you than if the only time you are coming to them is the solution.

[Nikon D2X, Sigma 18-50mm ƒ/2.8, ISO 400, ƒ/4, 1/640]

When you are the person calling your clients with ideas for their problems, you are just like the friend knocking on their door asking them to come and join you on an adventure.

Faith is Distinct from Human Belief

Fuji X-E2, 18-55mm, ISO 6400, ƒ/4, 1/18

Yesterday I was studying Hebrews 11. As I was reading all the examples of those who had great faith, it struck me that they did not have the scripture as Jews, Christians, or Muslims have today.

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. 

Hebrews 11

The chapter continues using the examples of Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Sarah.

All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting they were foreigners and strangers on earth.

They had an extraordinary relationship with God. They knew God and God knew them. They seemed to walk together through life.

What is interesting to me is the phrase “By Faith” used to introduce each of them. This is quite different than saying “By Confidence.”

Faith is always a gift from God and never something people can produce. In short, “faith” for the believer is “God’s divine persuasion” – and therefore distinct from human belief (confidence), yet involving it. The Lord continuously births faith in the yielded believer so they can know what He prefers, i.e., the persuasion of His will.

Throughout scripture, faith is always received from God and never generated by us. In many ways, this is what Christians would believe is the Holy Spirit working through us. It is also what many would say is how God works on the hearts and minds of those who are not believers.

Understanding that God gives Faith makes it much easier to read this scripture and understand it was only with God’s intervention that Abraham could have offered his son in sacrifice.

When God tested him, Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice by faith. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking, he received Isaac back from death.

The more I read and study the concept of faith, the more I see that it is something that comes from a relationship with God.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast”

Ephesians 2:8-9:

To run my business by faith would require me to be called by God to be in this business. It requires me to yield to his will and to take time each day to be in a relationship with God. Without the connection, there can be no faith. I must allow God to speak to me and be willing to listen.

Are you living by faith if you feel called to the profession you are doing today? I cannot tell you the five steps to living by faith because faith is given by God and not something we can produce.

We can carve out time today to be with God. We can read the scripture and live by his commandments. We can seek to know his will.

This, to me, is why I love Jesus so much. This one scripture keeps it simple for me.

36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Matthew 22:36-40

Mac Users tips on Sharing files with PCs

This is written for Mac users. I have found that when it comes to formatting a USB drive or even an external hard drive that you intend to share with PC users, it is essential to know there are many ways you can choose to format the drive.

I will walk you through the steps here, which will let you easily share your files with anyone, and if they want to, they can add files to the drive to give back to you. We had to do this for our Storyteller Abroad Workshops, where we had a mixture of Macs and PCs used in the workshop.

We wanted to share photos and videos so we could use this in b-roll, and we needed to have everyone’s Adobe Premier project ultimately saved to a hard drive that we could open on the instructor’s computers to fix if needed later or if we needed to change something due to changes in the storyline.

In your toolbar, pick Launchpad.

Then select the “Other” folder.

Inside that folder is the “Disk Utility” you want to select. Another way to choose this is to go to Spotlight and type in Disk Utility.

When it launches, you will highlight the drive that you want to format on the left column.

Then at the top of the menu, click on “Erase.”

Name your drive and then click on “Format” so you can see all the options.

You want to pick “ExFAT.”

Next, be sure you pick the scheme of “Master Boot Record” as well. The problem is that Apple defaults new partitions to GUID, which is bootable on a new Mac. But Windows can’t read it. You have to manually choose MBR (Master Boot Record) as the partition type, which is bootable in Windows, and then format it as exFAT.

Sometimes you might get an error after it attempts to format the drive. Try it a second time, and it usually works.

Now you can share your files with your clients using a USB drive or hard drive.

I suggest always using this format so that you never get the call that the client cannot open your USB Jump Drive or Hard Drive.

Use flash like garlic – A little goes a long way

[Nikon D5, Sigma 35mm ƒ/1.4, ISO 100, ƒ/8, 1/125 – Neewer TT850 flash, Neewer 433MHz Wireless 16 Channel Flash Remote Trigger, MagMod Magsphere]

I am one of my favorite customers Raving Fan. For the past 13 years, Chick-fil-A has taken one day a year for customer appreciation day. However, the cows like to call it “Cow Appreciation Day.”

Being a Raving Fan of Chick-fil-A, I wanted my photos to stand out and show my enthusiasm for the brand.

[Nikon D5, Sigma 35mm ƒ/1.4, ISO 560, ƒ/4, 1/100 – Neewer TT850 flash, Neewer 433MHz Wireless 16 Channel Flash Remote Trigger, MagMod Magsphere]

Now everyone is taking photos with their phones and point and shoots of the day. I am competing with thousands of photos. How do you make your photos stand out and look “different”?

I have found the best way to use a flash-off at 45º of the camera axis to create a pleasing light. It also helps color correct, giving you excellent skin tones.

[Nikon D5, Sigma 35mm ƒ/1.4, ISO 100, ƒ/6.3, 1/200 – Neewer TT850 flash, Neewer 433MHz Wireless 16 Channel Flash Remote Trigger, MagMod Magsphere]

Here is the setup where my assistant holds the off-camera flash for me.

Using the flash helps in so many ways. I do not have raccoon eyes from the sun overhead, and getting the skin color right is equivalent to singing in tune.

[Nikon D5, Sigma 35mm ƒ/1.4, ISO 140, ƒ/2, 1/100 – Neewer TT850 flash, Neewer 433MHz Wireless 16 Channel Flash Remote Trigger, MagMod Magsphere]

I am using the flash inside and outside. Also, I am just adding the sparkle to about +1 Stop above the existing light. Sometimes a little less. If you are just above the current light level, the flash can help correct any color cast.

[Nikon D5, Sigma 35mm ƒ/1.4, ISO 100, ƒ/6.3, 1/200 – Neewer TT850 flash, Neewer 433MHz Wireless 16 Channel Flash Remote Trigger, MagMod Magsphere]

One more thing that might not be apparent, but I am not lighting the entire scene. I am just adding a little light to the subject only. The backgrounds are all lighted by another light source than my flash.

Just add a little light to the subject to make your photos stand out because, like seasoning, a little light goes a long way.

Here is all the gear I used for the photo shoot. All of these links are affiliate links, meaning I receive a commission from any purchases made using the affiliate link. This is at no additional cost to you.


Nikon D5
 Sigma 35mm ƒ/1.4
Neewer TT860
Neewer Radio remote

MagMod Basic Kit – v3

MagSphere

How to identify people in large group photos and projects

[Nikon D5, Sigma 35mm ƒ/1.4, ISO 100, ƒ/9, 1/80 – (2) Alienbees B1600 for fill]

Yesterday, I took a few large group photos. The editors needed to identify everyone in these group photos. Within Lightroom, you can go to “People,” which will search for all the faces using face recognition software similar to Facebook.

While Lightroom helps you with “face recognition,” you must still get everyone’s names. So here is that blog post for an earlier post on how Lightroom “face recognition works.

Here is a link to Adobe Lightroom and PhotoShop software:

By the way, I just made the photo with all the people’s names in it big in Lightroom and did a screen grab. So, in addition to putting the information in the IPTC, I also gave them this photo so they could see the identification.

[Nikon D5, 85mm ƒ/1.8G, ISO 360, ƒ/1.8, 1/200]

I had each person print their name on a Sharpie with a 3.5″ x 5″ card. Then, I made a quick headshot of each person.

[Nikon D5, 85mm ƒ/1.8G, ISO 140, ƒ/1.8, 1/200]

After they held up the card, I had them put it by their side and did a few quick headshots. I also gave all these to the client. It is a bonus for them, but I needed it to help me to identify people in all the photos.

I also needed everyone to fill out a Model Release. Here is the short form I use on card stock.

My assistant hands out pens and cards to make all this go fast. Then, I use the Software fotoBiz to create the model releases. It comes with the wording for the model release as well.

I hope these tips can help you the next time you need to identify many people in your group photos quickly.

What do I charge, and how do I word something with a client?

This is the most helpful software package I own for my business. While I have Adobe Creative Cloud Suite, which I use Lightroom, PhotoShop, and Premier Pro regularly, it is fotoBiz X that runs the business side of my work. Here is a link to the software. I am an affiliate of their program. This is an affiliate link, meaning I receive a commission from any purchases made using the affiliate link. This is at no additional cost to you.

I knew about the software for years but didn’t use it. I couldn’t figure out the advantages of the software.

Now many years later, I regret having not purchased this earlier. The experience started to teach me that I needed help.

When you first open the program, you should go to setup and put in your information and if you have a logo, put that in as well.

They show examples of what it will look like on a #10 envelope or an invoice.

One thing you will need early on is a model release.

Under “Forms and Releases,” you will find five different templates. There is one for:

  • Adult Model Release
  • Minor Model Release
  • Photographer’s Portfolio Release
  • Property Release
  • Simplified Adult Release

It will drop your name or company name into the form, and then you can print it out.

Another problem I was always running into was how you word your cover letters, late payment letters, and even a copyright violation letter. Well, the software comes with many email templates you can use and modify for your correspondence uses.

A question I often had early on and continue today is what to charge for specific uses. The fotoBiz comes with fotoquote, which will help you know what you should charge for not only stock used but also assignment work. Here is a link to buy fotoquote.

fotoQuote was just updated to version 7. This includes social media use now in the latest version.

It also has a video and all the possible ways you might want to use it. Now while you may not always get the prices they recommend, these are the prices many are getting in the industry.

This information about prices gives you a better idea of the range of a job and what you can quote. I have learned that fotoQuote has helped me better understand a job’s low, medium, and high prices. I give clients three prices most of the time.

The low, medium, and high price quote is based on uses that the client can get and how long they may use the images. Without fotoQuote, I didn’t know how to offer three different prices.

fotoBiz also helps you create estimates that can easily be transformed into an invoice with just a click. You can always make the invoice as well.

When you sell a stock image, the software lets you embed a thumbnail into the invoice with all the information about the sale. It will ask if you want a reminder on your calendar when the usage is up. This way, you can write a letter not to remind the people that the time is up but to ask if they want to extend it with estimates for developing the usage.

You can download the demo and try it for 14 days free. fotoBiz is just $299. This is not subscription-based software. You own it and can use it forever.

I can tell you that this software will help the freelancer know what to charge and help you communicate with your prospects and clients in putting together estimates, invoices, and even email correspondence.

FotoBiz® has a 30-day money-back guarantee, so what do you have to lose?

Here is a video showing you how it works.

Remembering the Balkans

[Fuji X-E2, 18-55mm, ISO 400, ƒ/5, 1/100]

It has been over a week since I returned from the Balkans. I have been reviewing my photos and reflecting on my time there.

I was not there to shoot photos and come away with a story for myself. I was there teaching a workshop with three other instructors on multimedia storytelling.

[Fuji X-E2, 18-55mm, ISO 400, ƒ/2.8, 1/120]

This is a photo of the three instructors: James Dockery, Pat Davison, Jeff Raymond, and one of the students, Allison Basye.

We spent our time helping the students with their stories.

[Fuji X-E2, 18-55mm, ISO 400, ƒ/4.5, 1/2700]

I ended up making a lot of snapshots. This is what we call the Balkan Harley. They made a lot of noise driving down the street.

These were photos for me to jog my memory. I couldn’t take the time to get the best picture of each situation. I did feel like I was able to get good photos of the setups and a few shots of the other instructors teaching. Here is one of James working with Meghan Duncan.

[Fuji X-E2, 18-55mm, ISO 6400, ƒ/2.8, 1/90]

We navigated, telling the stories through all the politics of the area. That took a lot of time to talk through the levels a few times compared to doing an account where you can be free to say whatever you need.

[Nikon D5, 85mm, ISO 100, ƒ/1.8, 1/160]

There were a few “moments” that I liked from the trip. Seeing these boys react to James Dockery was one of those moments.

[Fuji X-E2, 18-55mm, ISO 640, ƒ/5, 1/100]

After I got that photo of the kids laughing, James went back to show them some of his shots.

[Fuji X-E2, 18-55mm, ISO 400, ƒ/3.2, 1/500]

I thought it was fun just watching people as the locals were on the bike versus our group walking on the left.

[Fuji X-E2, 18-55mm, ISO 400, ƒ/4, 1/100]

While walking the streets and taking photos is fun in different places worldwide, they still don’t compare to being inside the homes and businesses and having them share their stories.

Go here if you are interested in joining us next year. storytellersabroad.com We don’t have dates or locations yet, so stay tuned.