If you are still looking for a present for the photographer’s friend, consider a gift certificate for a workshop. If they don’t have one, give a VISA or AMEX gift card with a printout of the website to tell them you are giving them the funds to go to the workshop.

Difference between Photography Workshops/Seminars and College Programs

First, most photography workshops and seminars are held by working pros. Second, most college programs have people teaching who have academic credentials.

Some college programs do have working professionals teaching, but this is the primary advantage of a workshop and seminar. You can talk to the pros shooting for National Geographic Magazine or Sports Illustrated.

They will teach you tips for improving the use of your existing equipment, and their recommendations for new gear will help you make your next purchase.

I continue to attend workshops and help organize them. I just participated in the Atlanta Photojournalism Seminar earlier this month. That was an excellent refresher and a chance to talk to other pros doing what I am doing.

Advice to Students

If you are in a college program, you must attend a workshop or seminar to meet people in the industry. You may find an excellent place for an internship.

I have learned more in a week-long workshop doing nothing but photography than I did in college classes. One of the best reasons for this is that photography is all you do when you are there.

You don’t stop after an hour and then take an English and later a history class. You don’t work on other papers and projects at night unrelated to photography.

One of my favorite programs is the Youth With A Mission’s School of Photography. This 12-week photography program features guest speakers who give the students hands-on training.

Many of the students have gone on to create businesses in photography and have incorporated photography into other careers.

Tips to make the most of a workshop/seminar

• Always have business cards. This allows you to share with the speakers and those in class.
• Always have a portfolio with you. With iPads, Laptops, and photo books, you should not have your most recent portfolio to show for feedback and to help you grow.
• Eat with the instructors if you can. Ask them if they have meal plans and take them to lunch. This will be your best investment ever. Ask questions and listen. Please don’t take them to lunch to tell them all about you.
• Take notes.
  • Write down notes from speakers.
  • Audio record them if they will let you. Always ask first.
  • Take notes with your camera. (Again, ask)
• Get to know as many of those in your class as possible. Sometimes, the people sitting next to you are just as valuable a resource as the teachers.

Cost-saving tips

• Register earlier to take advantage of discounts.
• Find the workshops’ social media pages. This is a great way to share rides or even rooms. Many college students can fit a few people into a hotel room and save money.
• Find out if Nikon, Canon, or sometimes a camera store will provide free camera cleaning. They may limit the number of items they clean, but cleaning two cameras can save you $30 to $50 for each camera.
• Try eating at the meeting space rather than driving for lunches and dinners. Many of the speakers eat right on-site to save time. You can pack a sandwich and get something small to sit at their table with other attendees.
• Always let people with potential jobs in the area know you are going. If you go to a college, be sure to check to see if any of the sports teams are playing nearby. Going early or staying late may allow you to tag on a paying assignment, which will help lower your costs.

Southwestern Photojournalism Seminar’s
2-Minute Shows 

This is March 1 – 3, 2013, in Fort Worth, Texas. They still have some slots left for the student practicum from February 28 to March 1.

2-Minute Shows: The conference has a great opportunity that I don’t know any other seminar or conference offers. The first 45 to sign up can show their work to everyone in 2 minutes or less. This is a great tradition, and everyone loves seeing everyone’s work.

If you come to SWPJC and do not sign up for the 2-Minute Show, you will miss a great opportunity, especially if you are trying to get jobs or do this professionally in the long run.

My suggestion to any photographer who wants to be sure their loved ones know what they want for Christmas is to forward this email and suggest a workshop you might want to attend.

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Photographers can learn a thing or two from other businesses. You go to just about any business and if you are receiving any services they are going to fill out some forms.

When you go to college they get all your information and put you into their system. Hospitals do the same thing and get information about where you live, phone numbers and most of all payment information.

When you get your car repaired the same thing happens. You will not get service before they gather information in most service providers.

Mistake Number One

When you get that first call from a new client there is a tendency to rush through your business practices. Your fear of loosing the client can cause you to miss some vital information which is done during the intake process.

You are setting the tone for the relationship going forward. The clients are generally understanding of you asking some questions to then later be able to give them a quote.

Create a form for new clients

One of the best things early in your career is to have a physical form you fill out so you can be sure you do not miss information which is critical to meeting their expectation and you getting paid.

Information you should get:

• Contact Information
  • Name
  • Company Name
  • Mailing Address
  • Phone numbers
  • email
  • website
• Project Details
  • Name for project
  • Deadlines
  • Usage Rights
  • How will it be used
  • What are the deliverables
    • JPEGs, RAW
    • CDs, DVDs or hard drive
    • Online Gallery
    • Prints
    • Contact Sheets
  • What is the style and approach for the project
  • Location
  • Contact names
  • Names of different people on project
    • Creative Director
    • Client contact
    • Location contact
  • Examples
    • Shot List
    • Sketches/Diagrams from Art Director
• Information about location
  • Lighting
  • Crew (Will you provide or them)

These are just some of the things I often am asking for during my intake process. You may need to add some more or take something off, but either way having a physical list near your phone or on your computer that you can reference in the first contact will help you be successful.

The Power of Questions

For the most part each client that calls you will be getting a customized price for their needs. If you are just letting them choose from a price list you are more of a commodity and therefore not as service oriented as transaction based.

The accuracy of identifying the specific problem that the photography will help solve will give you a clear objective to meet.

When a new client calls and wants your price for doing head shots you can clarify how they will use them and how this helps their company. If the head shots are to be done of all their upper management to put on their website asking a few more questions can determine a more accurate pricing and meeting of their objective.

They may just want to show their people so when their clients call in they know who they are talking to or to expect when they come to them. This is more of an identification photo. However, lets say they are trying to help people get to know them to leverage themselves against their competition. The photos are to help them with branding and showing how personable they are as compared to the competition.

This is where maybe environmental portraits of their people not in their workspace, but rather with their hobbies may fit the bill better.

To get to the real problem being solved with photography requires some questions. Your questions maybe met with uncertainty. This is where you are helping them define their problem. You are also showing your expertise.

Mistake Number Two

Miscommunication is more common than anyone of likes, but it happens. The time to see if you were on the right track to meeting their objective is not when you are totally done.

Too many photographers forget that the best way to clarify the deliverable is with examples. If you have something you can send to them which is similar to what you plan to deliver then you are way ahead of the problem of miscommunication.

Take a moment once you have a good photo of the first thing you have and show them it. “Is this the right direction?,” is a great question. Often clients who have a lot to do will often leave once they see you are going the direction they want and let you take it from there.

If you have a number of locations on a job, take a moment and send them the first shots you can before continuing.  I had a few photographers who I gave a series of subjects to photograph and the photographers shot a few of these over a few weeks and then sent me the results. They were not what I had asked them to do.

Mistake Number Three

Too many photographers shoot for themselves and not for the client. This shows up in a few ways to the client.

The photographer will crop the photographs to the way they like them. I have seen way too many photographers not paying attention to the way the client will use the photos.

The client needs the photos to put into a video. Most videos are designed to fit a TV screen. The photographers are providing squares or verticals which means there is a lot of black that will need to be used around the photos.

The client may need to put these in a layout of a publication that the client has approved of a specific layout design. If the photographer crops too much the photos become unusable.

The photographer also needs to provide several options for the client. Clients do not enjoy having just one photo that could work to have to use. Do your best to give the client a few options for any photo they need to use. Unless their are some pretty extreme circumstances preventing this, always make the effort to provide options.

Dialogue

While you may have some great questions you need to clarify their answers. You need to solicit their questions. The more you peel the onion of the assignment the closer you get to the core and meeting of those objectives.

While you may loose the bid to someone else, you are still auditioning for a future assignment. It is quite common that clients will use a friend or try to give someone a break and get burned. They will remember you as the one they should have gone with to do the job.

The magazine publishing my pictures requires images to be at least 300 ppi. How do I change the resolution to 300 ppi?

Editorial Note: DPI (or dots per inch) is commonly accepted but not technically correct. It refers to the resolution of output devices such as laser or inkjet printers, plate setters, or film imagesetters. For accuracy, we will use the term PPI (or Pixels Per Inch).

I’m often asked this question based on misunderstandings, and I hope we can clarify them in this newsletter.

First of all, you rarely need to do anything. They request an image with a resolution of 300 PPI when printed to a specific size. A request for 300 PPI or any ppi without any associated width and height dimensions of the print is nonsense—the dimensions of the print need to be known.

The Formula:  

Width x 300 = a
Height x 300 = b

Multiply a times b to determine the minimum size of a megapixel camera needed to make the photo.

Here’s an example for an 8 x 10-inch print.  Width 8 x 300 ppi = 2400.  Height 10 x 300 ppi = 3000. 

 You need an image that is at least 2400 x 3000 pixels. Multiply 2400 x 3000 to get 7,200,000 pixels or 7.2 megapixels. Now we know the minimum size of the megapixel camera needed, but how do we change the resolution?  Photoshop to the rescue…. again.

The dialogue to change the PPI-number in Photoshop is Image->Image Size.  When you choose it, you get a dialogue box like the one in Example 1.  Be sure the Resample Image checkbox is left unchecked.  This prevents accidentally throwing away pixels that will diminish the quality of the image.

The Image Size box is a resolution calculator. Your camera manufacturer has a default setting, such as 72 ppi. In this example, the default setting is 240. Remember that you can change this to 300 ppi, which tells you the maximum size print you can make with this image. As long as the Resample Image checkbox is unchecked, you will not accidentally damage your image.

Take a look at Example 2.  You can see that the Resample Image box is unchecked, and the Resolution was changed to 300 ppi.  Note: The width and height remain the same for the Pixel Dimensions.  The actual image didn’t change.  You now have a calculator that tells you the print size you can make at any ppi.

There are many different output devices.  Let’s look at printers. Canon and HP desktop inkjets are usually optimized at 600 ppi, while Epson’s are 720 ppi. The Fuji Frontier, used in many minilabs, is generally optimized for 300 ppi; some laser jet printers offer a choice between 200 ppi and 400 ppi.  You should refer to the manufacturer’s specifications or ask the lab to determine the optimum resolution for a specific printer.

Please know the best PPI for your printer to determine the most significant print size you can make.  Just be sure the size image is not larger than your printer’s quality capabilities.  You want it large enough, but there is a slight chance it can be too big. An often forgotten aspect of quality prints is the distance from which the prints will generally be viewed. The viewing distance changes everything.  You do not need a 300 ppi image to produce a billboard.  You only need about 6000 total pixels for a Billboard. 

The chart below can help you make display prints for trade shows or places where you need large images.

Determining PPI by Viewing Distance

To determine an optimal PPI (resolution in Photoshop) for a photo, the calculation is as follows:

7000 / viewing distance in inches = PPI

This is for optimal results.  Using half that number will still provide good-quality results. If you do anything lower, you will begin to sacrifice image quality.

A Quick Chart for Determining PPI by Viewing Distance

Under 24 inches = 300 PPI

24″ to 36″ = 200 PPI

36″ to 60″ = 120 PPI

5′ to 10′ = 60 PPI

10′ to 20′ = 30 PPI

Billboard = 10 to 20 PPI

 I hope this information about PPI, image size, viewing distance, and printer capabilities has been helpful to you. Nothing is EVER simple.

I get this question all the time:
“How much should I charge for my photography?”

I teach classes that help students understand pricing each year. I’ve noticed that many students simply copy each other’s numbers instead of doing the math for themselves, which is a big mistake.

There are a few dangerous myths about pricing your work. Let’s break them down.

Myth #1: Everyone’s Situation Is the Same

People say they know everyone’s situation is different, but then they go online, see what others charge, and copy those prices.

Here’s a typical example:
A new wedding photographer sees that most people in the area charge $2,500 per wedding. They look at what’s included—prints, a photo book, maybe an online gallery—and figure, “I can do all that and still make money,” so they charge the same amount.

They often don’t realize those photographers may be losing money or barely breaking even. Learning whether your pricing works takes time (and frequently a few financial hits).

Myth #2: Better Work = Higher Prices

Many photographers think that the better your work, the more you can charge. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that in the real world.

Let me explain it with a business concept: Return on Investment (ROI)

Here’s the formula:

ROI = (Net Profit / Investment Cost) × 100

Example:
If you spend $1,000 on marketing and make $1,500, your ROI is 50%.
You earned 50 cents for every dollar you spent.

In photography, better quality doesn’t always lead to better ROI. A real-world example: Sports teams often need basic photos for websites or media guides. A high school doesn’t need a Sports Illustrated-level photo—they need one that works. The incredible image might be admired, but it won’t necessarily generate more revenue for the school.

Even at the professional level, the value of a photo often depends more on who’s in it than how technically perfect it is. A great action shot of an MVP might sell. The same quality image of a benchwarmer? Probably not.

So yes, quality matters—but it’s not the only thing that matters.

Myth #3: New Photographers Should Charge Less

I hear this mostly from students:
“I’m still in school, so I should charge less.”

But here’s the truth: Clients look at your work first, not your resume. They’ll hire you if they like what they see and your price fits their budget.

The only time being a student matters is when the client is looking for a bargain and thinks hiring a student is a way to save money.

Experience does help in some cases. But sometimes clients prefer a fresh perspective over someone with decades of experience. There’s room for both.

Clients really care about whether your photos look like what you say you can deliver.

So… What’s Your Situation?

Before you can price your work correctly, you need to know where you stand and what you want.

Here are the three main types of photographers:

1. Hobbyist

You love photography but don’t plan to make it a career.

• Some hobbyists fund their gear and give away photos just for fun or access.
• Others try to offset the equipment cost by charging a little for their work.

2. Part-Time Photographer

You have a primary job but shoot gigs on the side.

• Teachers who shoot weddings in the summer.
• Professionals who do editorial work in their field, like scientists contributing to National Geographic.

3. Full-Time Photographer

You make your living entirely from photography.

If you want to move from hobbyist or part-time to full-time, you must price accordingly.

Want to Go Full-Time? Here’s How to Start

If you’re serious about going full-time, you need to do three things:

1. Know Your Budget.
   Use tools like Excel’s “Household Budget” or free resources like Kiplinger’s online budget worksheet:
   http://www.kiplinger.com/tools/budget/
2. Know Your Business Expenses.
   It all adds to gear, insurance, marketing, software, and subscriptions.
3. Estimate Your Workload.
   How many shoots do you think you’ll realistically book in a year? Start small and base your estimates on real jobs you’ve already done, even on the side.

Once you have those three numbers—your budget, business costs, and potential jobs—you can figure out what you need to charge to go full-time.

Myth #4: “I’ll Figure It Out Later”

Many photographers tell themselves they’ll figure out pricing once they’re “ready.” But that kind of thinking can delay or even sabotage your success.

Here’s a little secret: Many full-time photographers don’t create mind-blowing work.
So, how do they stay in business?

They know their numbers.
They understand what it costs to run their business and what they need to earn. They stick to their pricing and don’t discount out of fear. They don’t work for free or less than cost.

When you’ve done the math, you’ll have the confidence to say,
“This is my price.”
And you’ll know you’re running a sustainable business, not just chasing your passion.

Which kind of photographer are you today?
And more importantly, where do you want to go?

Pricing isn’t just about numbers. It’s about clarity, confidence, and building the kind of career—or hobby—you want.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Nikon P7000

LCD Benefits

First, the LCD on most modern digital cameras and cell phones is pretty big. Compare that screen to the little eyepiece on the Nikon P7000 above, and at first glance, you might prefer using it over the viewfinder.

You can display more information on the LCD than on the viewfinders. I have the camera set for Aperture Priority here due to the big “A” in the left-hand corner. You can also see the ISO of 100, 1/1, and ƒ/4. In addition to these settings, you can see the histogram, the flash is turned off, the vibration reduction is on, and the infrared remote is turned on.

Also, you can see the JPEG setting is on FINE JPEG. Next to it, the size of the image is set to the highest for this camera, which is 10 Meg.

As you can see in this photo of me using the LCD, I must keep the camera a reasonable distance from my face.

LCD Disadvantages

Holding the camera still this far out isn’t easy. I guess you now know why almost all point-and-shoot cameras now have vibration reduction. It is trying to compensate for the above-average camera shake compared to the viewfinder.

Now, using the viewfinder, the camera is next to my eye.

I can now use my two hands and my head as a tripod. I push the camera next to my head, which will help steady the camera. When you do that, your pictures will be sharper because you are less prone to shaking the camera.

My Nikon D4 also has an LCD like the Nikon P7000, but photographers rarely use it to shoot still images.

When you are outside, it is tough to see the LCD in bright sunlight. I prefer the viewfinder.

Viewfinder Advantages

• You can use your body as a tripod since you can now steady the camera on your head.
• I can see in any situation
• On most DSLR cameras, all the information on the LCD is in the viewfinder

Viewfinder Disadvantages

If you want to take a photo above at a bird’s l, you cannot see what you are doing, and the LCD will help you know what the camera is seeing. This is also true from the perspective of a low worm’s eye.

Conclusion

Neither the viewfinder nor LCD works for every situation. I would always want both on any camera I buy from now on.

Let me start with the client’s email to me the morning after the event. Yes, I deliver quickly.

The pictures are great.  I really love the clarity; especially those that are up close.  Please send me an invoice so I can submit payment.

thanks again!!

When I cover a party, I have a mental shot list. As I work through the list, I notice that I become increasingly relaxed as I tick off each item.

I have learned over time to cover an event in phases, which allows me to ensure I have the “safe” shots, and then I can gradually add the photos that enhance the package.

Phase One

Arrive early and start taking photos of the location. Most likely, the hosts have spent a little money on the food, and the caterer has done their best within the budget to present their best.

Arriving early also allows you to have more space to work. No one is there, and this gives you the ability to back up, move closer, and change your angle to get what you like for representing the food.

All the food shots I took were done with available light. I am not trying to be on the cover of Southern Living Cookbook, so I am not shooting the photos at the lowest ISO and lighting the food to make it look its very best. My purpose is to show the food as it looked for the event.

I try to use available light as much as feasible. All the food shots were done with available light.

Phase Two

I work the room, trying to get photos of the people interacting. During this time, I might use some flash to fill in the shadows. I want to be sure the images are solid and not me pushing the limits of the situation, which might not work.

As you can see, this is where I might have the guest pose for a photo. I am encouraging them to get closer to one another. Now, if they do not want to get too close, I capture them with a bit of space, or when they want to show a true friendship, you might see them holding on to each other.

I try to shoot these just a little loose for two reasons. First, if you shoot too tight and they want an 8×10 print, then they may not have enough excess to crop the photo from the long side. The same can be true for a 5×7, except in this case, there isn’t enough from the short side to crop. Keeping it loose allows for different dimension prints.

Second, I like to show the environment. I believe this is one of the most significant mistakes made by amateurs. They come in so close that the pictures no longer have any context. Whose party are they attending anyway?

Why Flash?

During the second phase, I occasionally shoot available light and then quickly add a flash. The reason is that the flash will help fill in the shadows. With darker skin, there is a tendency to lose the facial details if you are not careful. Notice the difference in the skin tones of the lady’s face, and you will see how the lower photograph is technically superior. I prefer the expression in the first photo and wish I had had the flash on for that shot; then it would have been perfect for my taste.

As one who is always advocating for removing the flash from the camera, unless the budget allowed for a photo assistant to walk around with my flash, the guests would most likely bump into a light stand and possibly get hurt, or damage my gear. I used a camera flash for this event. However, I did bounce it and never shot with it directly pointed at the subjects.

 Notice in these two photos that I have switched to an ultra-wide-angle lens, the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8. I love shooting with this lens to help give context and put the viewer in the scene, as if they are standing right there on the porch and part of the conversation.

Notice in the photo below that I went just a little wider than the one above. The one above is shot at 24mm, and the one below is shot at 19mm. I love seeing the three women in the back in three different conversations. You can tell everyone is enjoying themselves and having moments of their own.

Using the 28-300mm lens, I can zoom in, as I have done below with the photo of the person listening to another. This was zoomed to 300mm, allowing me to look across the room, just like you would if you were there to catch glimpses of others enjoying conversations.

You need some overall shots to capture the number of people who attended the event. This is everyone gathering for a few comments at the cocktail party. I shot it with the Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm to capture as much of the room as possible. I am holding the camera as high as I can above my head and angling it down to show the room, almost as if it were a security camera positioned in the corner of a room.

Phase Three

Usually, there is a point at which I have photographed most everyone in the room a few times. I have the event covered if I were to stop working. This is where I am now free to start looking for more interesting photos.

Now in Phase Two, I did some of these photos, but this is where I look for moments and may push the limits of the situation. A good example is shooting with the Nikon 28-300mm zoomed to 300mm, shooting available light. Even at ISO 12800, you may need to use a slow shutter speed indoors.

I did this, but I had to discard a lot of the photos because of camera movement or because the subject moved. It would be common for the subject to start laughing and toss their head back in the process, and I get a blur and nothing is sharp. This is why I often wait to do these shots in Phase Three, but I might mix a few in Phase Two.

Since I had pretty much everything the client needed, it was easier to meet the chef’s request for a photo of himself towards the end. I could have done this in Phase One, but he was swamped at the time.

With the photo of the man in the center and the people around the table, I moved a little back and forth until I used him to block the light behind him. This is the president of Georgia Tech talking to the new tenured professors.

In the photo below, you can see the dining room from above. Hopefully, this gives you a reason to arrive early to take pictures of the food. Where do you stand on getting those photos now?

In the following two photos, notice the slow shutter speeds and high ISO settings. The top photo was shot at 250mm and the lower one at 210mm. Either of these would generally be shot at a minimum shutter speed of 1/250 to ensure there is no camera movement. In the lower photo, I am shooting at a shutter speed of 1/40. While I can do everything to capture this moment, ideally, all it takes is for the lady to move slightly, and it becomes a blur. This is why I shoot this type of photo without a flash and ISO 12800 in Phase Three. I am taking larger risks. If I did this in Phase Two, the number of photos I would be giving the customer would shrink drastically.

The Seasoned Pro

It takes years to master this technique truly. Besides dividing up types of photos, I am also pushing the limits of the flash and available light.

Notice I am shooting inside at really high ISOs and using flash. Why would I do that? Read this early blog post of mine to answer that question here.

Shooting the way I did for this event is quite complex, but the results, I think, speak for themselves. I guess I capture genuine moments with minimal intrusion. This is why clients hire me – not just because they need a photographer. They need a photographer who will come in and not complain about the lack of light, thereby creating problems.

Before my client even saw these photos, they were excited to invite me back. They liked how I worked; that’s what they commented to me as I left. If it is that evident that they see a difference in how I work compared to other photographers, and they haven’t even seen the results, then I know it is my years of experience showing in how I carry myself.