Month: August 2015

The Organic Process Professional Photographer

by Stanley LearyNikon D2X / Nikon D4
 
Nikon D2X, Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 EX DC, ISO 400, ƒ/2.8, 1/5000

This “Chicken Man” was on the road between Tenkodogo and Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso, West Africa. These are “free range” chickens that tie their feet together to take them to market.

Instead of ordering “free range” chickens off the menu, they are called “bicycle chicken.” Of course, they get that name, as you can see in how they bring them to market.

We hear today the benefits of eating natural organic food. We think of organic as a natural process.

Nikon D2X, Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 EX DC, ISO 400, ƒ/2.8, 1/400

Mergers and acquisitions, which are inorganic growth, are an aggressive approach to growing a business. While most photographers are too small to think of merging or acquisitions, the aggressive approach to business is hurting their growth.

When you start a small business, you must focus on growing your customer base, reinvesting profits in new assets for more significant income, and improving productivity to increase your bottom line. All of these efforts are examples of organic growth. In a nutshell, organic growth is focused on preplanning and preparing for the future.

Nikon D4, 14-24mm f/2.8G ED, ISO 125, ƒ/14, 1/250

Photographers need to operate their business like a farmer. He prepares the ground, plants the seeds, weeds the fields, waters the crop, and does what they can to protect the crop when storms come. The percentage of the farmer’s time is in the preparation versus the harvest.

Advice for the photographer

  • Dream first of what you hope for
  • Think of all the steps necessary for you to reach that dream
  • Invest your time and energy in getting the things you need to make the dream a reality
  • Create your action plan
  • Execute the plan

There are a couple of significant insights for the photographer from the farmer. First, there is a season for planting and a season for harvesting. The farmer clears the fields when they first start. They may have to clear trees and brush and remove rocks and stones from their areas before plowing the fields to prepare the ground for the seeds.

In West Africa, farmers are so poor they cannot buy fertilizer. It costs more than they will get out of the harvest. Many of these farmers will plant two seeds in the field because if they get enough rain, one of the plants will thrive, but if it is a dry season, the other plant will do better.

Nikon D2X, Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 EX DC, ISO 100, ƒ/5, 1/500

This farmer here works the fields in Koudougou, Burkina Faso. He is part of the bible school where they not only teach theology but farming to help the pastors feed their families while they minister as bi-vocational pastors.

Photographers may need to be bi-vocational as well today.

Overnight Success

You will look like an overnight success only if you are ready. There are some things in your dream that you will try and force to happen. We all do this, and then we slowly learn that sometimes the problem was we have been planting seeds in the fall and not the spring, or we were trying to harvest in the spring rather than the fall.

Here are a few things to help you become that overnight success.

  1. Have an elevator speech ready [earlier blog on elevator speech]
  2. Have ideas prepared for clients – Don’t just show your portfolio, do some research and have some pictures you can pitch to them when that opportunity presents itself.
  3. Prepared replies – Think about those situations that a client may ask you to do something and how you should respond. The more you anticipate issues, the better you will come off when they arise.
You have heard of Natural Leaders–Well, they have invested much time on the front end. You may have also heard of those who are “Good Natured.” Well, most likely, they have thought about situations enough to know how to respond or to understand how a case isn’t a problem, to begin with anyway. You know how to go with the flow because you have thought enough about things before your response.
 
You are going with the flow is a critical thing to understand. You need to know enough about your industry to learn how to be very flexible and when to take those “organic moments” and speak into them.
 
A farmer who plans to put the seeds into the ground one week realizes that if they move it up a few days, they can take advantage of the rain.
 
The photographer has invested some thought into their business like the farmer. So the question is, how well prepared are you?

Is your photography website scalable from Desktop to Mobile?

by Stanley LearyPhotography

60 Percent Of Internet Access Is Mostly Mobile

This is how the rest of the world is consuming the web, excluding the UK and the USA.
Here is a link to that story.

 
I pulled the report on my website.
 

These are some of the numbers of visitors to my website. The main discovery is that 56% use a laptop or a desktop to look at my website.

My website worked great for anyone using a desktop/laptop to connect with the website. However, 44% were visiting using mobile or a tablet. On the mobile, the website wasn’t amicable.

Now, viewing this blog on your mobile device, you have already seen the above photo. I realized I needed to make my main website mobile-friendly but also still a great experience if using a larger device.

Now my website looks like this on a mobile device.

Now in the corner, I have a typical pull-down menu on the web.

People often go to your website with their mobile device and then return later on a larger screen laptop or desktop. I still need to engage them because sometimes they are looking for someone like me, and I don’t want them to pass over me because my website isn’t mobile-friendly.

IMPORTANT FACT

 

In February 2015, Google announced that the mobile-friendly update would boost the rankings of mobile-friendly pages — legible and usable on mobile devices — in mobile search results worldwide. (Conversely, pages designed for only large screens may significantly decrease rankings in mobile search results.)

The rollout of this change was April 21st this year.

Are you mobile-friendly with your website?

I am using the website builders from Godaddy and PhotoShelter to build my websites that make them scalable from desktop to iPad to the mobile device. Of course, you can do this using a more traditional approach like Dreamweaver, but I have found these online designers are more straightforward.

Here is the link to see PhotoShelter website templates and designs. $10 a month for a mobile-friendly website.

Here is the link to see Godaddy website templates and designs. $6 a month for a mobile-friendly website.

Nikon AF 60mm f/2.8 D Micro on Fuji X-E2 and Nikon D750

by Stanley LearyNikon D750

I have had this Nikon AF 60mm f/2.8 D Micro for a while and use it occasionally. I was curious today about what this would do on my Fuji X-E2. I knew the results I was getting with my Nikon full-frame cameras, but I just shot the Nikon D750 to show you the difference in the crop factor more than anything. I shot all the photos as close as the lens would focus.

Fuji X-E2, Nikon AF 60mm f/2.8 D Micro, ISO 200, ƒ–wide open, 1/8

Since the lens is attached to my Fuji X-E2 with the Nikon G AFS lens to Fujifilm Fuji X-Pro1 X-E1 Adapter Aperture Control Ring, I wasn’t sure what the exact ƒ-stop was due to the extension tube factor. So I probably added a stop.

I set it up this way. First, I shot the photo using the 10-second timer delay.

Fuji X-E2, Nikon AF 60mm f/2.8 D Micro, ISO 200, ƒ–closed down, 8 sec

You can see the photo is better than a one-to-one ratio. I only shot two pictures with the lens. One wide open and one closed down.

Now to get a comparison for the crop factor, here are the Nikon D750 photos.

Nikon D750, Nikon AF 60mm f/2.8 D Micro, ISO 100, ƒ/5, 1/15

The extension tube put the lens further from the film plane on the Fuji and thus created an even shallower depth-of-field than the Nikon D750. The second factor is the cropped effect.

Nikon D750, Nikon AF 60mm f/2.8 D Micro, ISO 100, ƒ/57, 6 sec

You can also see the exact ƒ-stops and notice that even with the D750 shooting one ISO slower than the Fuji, the shutter was open much longer due to the extension tube.

I was using a tripod to keep the camera still. With the Nikon D750, I used the Nikon ML-L3 Wireless Remote Control Infrared to trigger the camera. I chose the “Remote mirror-up” setting, which lets you lock the mirror up and take a photo. You press it once, and the mirror locks up, and then a second time to take the picture. Here is an earlier post on this technique.

If you have other lenses for a DSLR, then get a converter and see what those lenses can do. The cool thing with a mirrorless is that you can see what you are getting and get the lens critically focused since you can see the results before you click the shutter.

Updating My Websites

by Stanley LearyPhotography
 

I am in the process of updating my website and thought I would share some of my thoughts about this process.

You can click on the thumbnails of the websites I have posted here to see them in action. I still have to change some domain names and make a few more administrative changes to make it all work, but I am almost there.

My website www.StanleyLeary.com works pretty well, but the main thing it lacks is the mobile Design that the new website has built.

My blog’s hosting is by blogger and has had the mobile function for a while. So I see no real reason to update this, except I will decide if I want to redo the links on it or eliminate those and point people back to my main website.

Navigation is critical with websites, blogs, and even social media. I need the function to work, or the form [Design] will be useless.

I have been told and read many opinions on when you should have a separate website. Most recommend it when you start to add too many services. The website does better for brand building to have it simple.

I created my workshop website separate from the main website. Of course, you can get to it from the main website, but this helps build these workshops as an individual business I run.

I am also maintaining a social media presence in a few spots, which you can find from my main webpage in the lower left-hand corner or by just searching for me on most social media outlets.

It is taking a while to build a brand presence on the web. However, the more places I listed, the higher my SEO is, making it easier for me to be found by those looking for my services.

 

Slowly a few things I am learning is how important it is to keep all the websites simple and clean. Find the niche for each of these websites and then feed them content to help drive more potential customers in my direction.

SUMMARY

While I am not changing my websites daily, they are constantly updated. Continuous quality improvement is the only thing constant with being relevant today as a professional communications expert. Remaining appropriate means I am always looking for a way to improve. Sometimes I take risks that fail, and other times I see positive results.

Those who are genuinely successful embrace the need for continuous change in their lives.

The pictures you want tomorrow, you have to take today.

by Stanley LearyPhotography
 

These are my great grandfather/grandmother and my grandfather, whom I am named after. Unfortunately, it is the only photo I have of Henry Leary.

When I look at this photo, I see the family resemblance, and this photo makes me ask a lot of questions about my family.

Here is a snapshot of my grandfather when he was much older with my grandmother. At the same time, this photo doesn’t communicate to others what it does for me because this is a memory trigger. It brings me back to when I was just a toddler and remembering my grandparent’s home and memories about them.

Here is my other grandfather. I realize these are photos of the family in our homes and relaxing and enjoying one another.

I didn’t take any of those photos., but they still mean something to me.

Our immediate family has its memories that I have been documenting through the years. For example, our boys are with my soon-to-be wife Dorie, my cousin, uncle, and her friend.

I took this photo at the Biltmore House in Asheville, NC, which brings back many memories.

On weekends when I would photograph a college football game for a wire service, I often would rent some longer lenses and would take some photos of our boys that same weekend in one of their games.

While my other photos were in newspapers and magazines telling the games’ stories, I cherish the family pictures even more.

I cherish the moments like this when my daughter first saw Harry Potter World at Universal Studios in Orlando. Parents love the moments when you help your children’s dreams come true.

While taking these photos is excellent, be sure you are doing everything to preserve those photos for the generations of the future of your family. So do your best to capture the moments and write a little about each image.

I recommend making photo books of your family’s memories. I use the publisher Blurb.com. If you use Lightroom to edit your photos, then click on the book module, and when you publish, you will be using Blurb.

Select all the photos you want in the book, and it will automatically create one you can modify, or you can do it page by page yourself.

Every day we look at photos to get news and help us do our jobs and hobbies. When you want to relax and remember, we are going to places like Facebook to remember and enjoy our friends and family.

I predict that the most important photos to you are those of your friends and family. Kodak sells films, but they don’t advertise films. They advertised memories.

Kodak advertisement, “We capture your memories forever.” and one that I think we need to remember today “The pictures you want tomorrow, you have to take today.”

Announcing Multimedia Storytelling Workshop with Coffee Farmers in Mexico

by Stanley Learymultimedia / Nikon D750
 

I am putting on a multimedia storytelling workshop in Chiapas, Mexico, with Cafe Justo’s coffee growers from January 9th – 16th, 2016.

I hope you consider joining me and learning how to tell a story by doing all the processes yourself with the guidance of James Dockery and myself.

Here is James working in one of the edit suites at ESPN. [Nikon D750, AF-S NIKKOR 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR, ISO 12800, ƒ/7.1, 1/30]

James Dockery, ESPN Video Editor | James works as a lead video editor for ESPN and operates his own business in Charlotte, NC, where he is a photographer/ videographer. James has been a photographer for over 30 years and a videographer for over 20 years.

Here is James’ website for his photography business outside of ESPN http://www.jamesdockery.com.

While James, as you can see, is well qualified to teach the subject, the main reason I have partnered with him is his personality. James is such an optimist and a person who has a lot of energy and is interesting to be with. The students feel James’ passion for teaching as he spends time with each person being sure they are getting what they need to complete their projects.

Here James is working with a student going over her project. [Nikon D750, Nikon 85mm ƒ/1.8G, ISO 500, ƒ/1.8, 1/100]
James loves pastries, making the best of friends with the workers at the local coffee and pastry shop on our trip to Lisbon together. [Nikon D4, 14-24mm, ISO 4500, ƒ/8, 1/100]

James and I enjoy sharing our experiences with workshop participants. We discovered getting each person as much hands-on time doing a project and walking alongside them as they work much better than a lot of lecture time.

 
Be sure to go to the website, read more about it, and sign up. I am looking forward to seeing you in Mexico.

Photography Boot Camp is a great way to learn photography

by Stanley LearyNikon D4 / Nikon D750
Nikon D750, AF-S NIKKOR 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR, ISO 5000, ƒ/25, 1/40–off camera flash with Alienbees B1600 powered by Vagabond and triggered using the Pocketwizard system.

Many people will talk about being Baptized by Fire when they take on a new responsibility. New responsibility is when you sink or swim, as one might also say about a new job.

A new IT industry movement is called “Coder Boot Camp.” 12 Weeks To A 6-Figure Job was a piece first published in December 2014 but continues to get traction.

One fan of these programs is President Obama. In March, the White House announced the TechHire initiative to help communities recognize, and hire, boot camp graduates in order to close the famous “skills gap.”

“There’s a lot more we can do together to make sure that more Americans benefit from a 21st century economy,” Obama said to the nation’s mayors. “Folks can get the skills they need in newer, streamlined, faster training programs.”

According to a recent report on NPR:

These programs promise, for several thousand dollars, to take people and in a manner of weeks, turn them into job-ready Web developers.

Virtually unknown just four years ago, today at least 50 of these programs have sprung up around the country and overseas. Collectively, the sector has taken in an estimated $73 million in tuition since 2011.

And the top programs say they are placing the vast majority of their graduates into jobs earning just under six figures in a rapidly expanding field — filling a need for practical, hands-on skills that traditional college programs, in many cases, don’t.

Photo by Robin Nelson

Since 2006 I have been part of a Photography 12-week boot camp that provides similar training for those wanting to know photography.

The students in the course I work with each year in Kona, Hawaii, do nothing but this one class for 12 weeks. The more I heard about the “Coder Boot Camp” on NPR while driving, the more I realized this is what we have been doing in that class.

Patrick Murphy-Racey, Sony Artisan Associate, takes a moment to talk with Lily Wang at a workshop about the Sony mirrorless camera system. [Nikon D750, AF-S NIKKOR 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR, ISO 6400, ƒ/5, 1/250]

I do not think a boot camp replaces a college degree. Multiple impact career advancement and promotions; however, having a bachelor’s degree can be a significant factor. Employers often view a college-educated employee as motivated to learn, able to meet deadlines, and have problem-solving and communication skills. In addition, many management and administrative positions require a bachelor’s or master’s degree.

What a boot camp does that a college degree doesn’t always do is train you in those efficient skills you need each day in the profession.

Nikon D4, AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED, ISO 12800, ƒ/8, 1/100

The multimedia workshops that I am now teaching have no tests and grading. No one cares in the industry if you graduated Magna Cum Laude; they want to see your portfolio. The boot camp experience is where you will spend a lot of time hands-on and producing, just like you would on a real job.

The difference between the job and the boot camp is the coaching and teaching that comes with the instructors. They will review your work and help guide you to help you produce a portfolio that, without the instruction, would have taken you a much longer time to do on your own.

Photography has very few Boot Camp Programs where in 12 weeks, you get the practical skills to start working as a professional. The School of Photography program that Dennis Fahringer runs in Kona, Hawaii, with the University of the Nations is the only one I know. We design it for Christians who want to use photography in ministry/missions to impact the world.

There are shorter workshops that will teach a specific skill, as I do with my Multimedia Workshop or Lighting Workshops, where you learn in a short period a skill.

+/- Photography Boot Camp

  • The most important key element about attending a Bootcamp was a COMMITMENT to and PASSION for learning the technology. You will get a great deal out of the program if you bring an insatiable desire for knowledge.
  • You realize that a portfolio will get you hired, not how many classes you have taken.
  • You take on all the projects with the desire to redo any part of the process until it is portfolio worthy.
  • If you are not carrying your camera around most of the time, this is a good clue you might not benefit from this program.
  • If you find spending 8+ hours a day doing nothing but photography too much, then you need to avoid this.
  • If you have trouble dealing with criticism, this isn’t your profession. While no one enjoys a fuss, the person with a passion realizes they need to get better and welcome the complaint rather than recoil.

I am a lifelong learner and realize that every few years, I must dive deeply into something new that I need to learn. The deep dive might be a class to learn new software or going to a workshop to learn about a new piece of gear. Whatever the case, I realized long ago that I will never know all there is to know about photography and that I can always learn something new.

I have a one-week Bootcamp in Multimedia Narrative Storytelling in Mexico with Coffee Growers. Click here to learn more.

 

I just got two new Fuji Lenses–Check and see if you can too!

by Stanley LearyPhotography
 

I feel like I just got two new Fuji lenses, but that is what it feels like after Fuji introduces a firmware upgrade.

I discovered today that I had missed two firmware upgrades for my Fuji system. I had done the firmware upgrade in December for my Fujifilm X-E2 to Version 3.00, but in March, there were updates for two of my lenses 1) XF18-55mmF2.8-4 R LM OIS and 2) XF55-200mmF3.5-4.8 R LM OIS.

The upgrade is to help improve the stability of the OIS function.

Here is the link to see the firmware updates for the Fujifilm X series cameras and lenses.

Here is the process and link to take you to the complete steps below.

1) Prepare the necessities for the firmware update.

  1. 1. A camera and a lens to be updated
  2. 2. A fully charged battery
  3. 3. A formatted memory card
  4. 4. The firmware(to be downloaded from this site.)

2) Firmware version checking procedure

  1. 1. Turn off the camera and put the card in it.
  2. 2. Put the card in the camera.
  3. 3. Turn the camera on by pressing the “DISP/BACK” button to check the current firmware version. (It is ver.1.00 in the picture below.)
  4. 4.
  5. Turn off the camera
  • *If the version is the latest, the firmware update is not required.
 

I want you to know that there was a definite improvement beyond just the OIS for me. I think the lenses were a little more responsive in general.

Have you checked your camera and lenses to see if there are firmware upgrades? I can tell you it is like getting a new camera each time Fuji does an upgrade to me.