Trophy – something gained or given in victory or conquest especially when preserved or mounted as a memorial
— Meriam-Webster
Creating a website or blog is so easy today. You no longer need expensive software. Places like WordPress, Blogger and Godaddy all have templates which are super simple to very advanced allowing you within minutes to be up online self publishing content.
Years ago the cost to be published was so great that you had to go and work for a publisher like a newspaper to get published or be independently wealthy to have the resources to make it happen.
Technology changed a lot of things in photography. Today’s cameras are excellent at getting good exposures in most situations. Auto focus in the cameras is superb and often does a better job than the human eye alone can do. Camera manufacturer hot shoe flashes with TTL deliver more consistent exposure than the older models. You can get instant feedback whereas we used to have to wait until the film was developed and then it was too late to correct for the mistake.
The process of taking the picture to having the public see the photo used to take several people, lots of different equipment and a long time. Today you can take a photo on your DSLR and instantly transmit it and have it posted on the web to see within seconds.
Technology has empowered more people to get their photos in front of the world.
Those who grew up with the internet are part of Generation Y. I am reading Bruce Tulgan’s book Not Everyone Gets A Trophy: How to manage Generation Y. I am reading this to understand a little more about the young people coming to me wanting to become photographers.
Bruce Tulgan starts his book with these quotes:
They kept telling me, “here’s what you get in five years, ten years, twenty years. . .” But they expect me to come back to work tomorrow. What do I get tomorrow?
Doesn’t every new generation of young workers irritate the older, more experienced ones?
This new Y generation is moving into the workforce and their presence is being felt.
The flattening of the world allows us today to be globally interconnected. Today you can connect to people in far away countries.
Moore’s law describes a long-term trend in the history of computing hardware: the number of transistors that can be placed inexpensively on an integrated circuit doubles approximately every two years. The period often quoted as “18 months.” This phenominum of rate of growth and change of the computer has helped to speed up all areas in our society.
When the computer you just bought becomes irrelevant so quickly it is helping to drive the relevance as to what is happening now more than what did happen.
Today the instantaneous response is the only meaningful time frame is how Tulgan addresses the environment we live in today.
All this technology changes for the older generations may make them feel overwhelmed, but the new generation embraces it to the point they feel like experts on everything. They are impatient. With ongoing change the only relevance for them is in the present.
The new generation was raised with “positive tolerance.” This plays out as “we are all winners” and “everyone gets a trophy.”
I am realizing studying the Generation Y is helping me understand what is happening to our economy, my photography industry and more.
I am getting more and more Generation Yers asking me how to be a photographer. Many more are just wanting a tip to customize into their thought process.
One of my good friend photographers called me up when a couple from his church were asking what would be a good camera for weddings? They didn’t even own a professional camera and were buying one and launching their website that month to be wedding photographers. What do you say to people like this?
I too am getting more and more Gen Y coming to me and asking how can I become a professional now.
Stages of your Career
Years ago your career path was more dictated because the access was controlled more. Today however, as long as you have access to the internet you can self publish yourself even if what you put up is terrible in quality and content.
While I am excited about how much easier it is to be published, I think in some ways legitimacy is lacking. Today someone can look very established and not have ever done work for anyone.
Consumer Protection
While it is great you have the ability to hang a shingle and call yourself a professional photographer the public now needs to do a little more research to establish your legitimacy. Today it is more important than ever to have a network of people to help you navigate.
It is much wiser today to go to Facebook and ask your friends who they recommend for anything than to go to Google and just pick something. Your friends are references for these businesses. They give people legitimacy.
Paying your dues
While today the access to the world is just a click away, this didn’t totally do away with you having to work and develop your skills to make a living.
In the case of music, the internet has helped people like Justin Bieber get discovered, but it didn’t speed up the time it takes to becomes a musician. You still must practice to become a great musician. Today the access is improved.
Access to self publish for photographers through creation of websites, blogs and even eBooks has helped many people with talent speed up their success.
Today Generation Y has more opportunities than the generations before them, but they still must develop their skills to remain successful. You may get that first job, but to get repeat business you must deliver quality.
You can have the Captions display by default or give the option for the viewer to click on them and make them show in the far right hand corner.
My last post let you create titles that will float over the images in the lower third of the slide. You could have this title stay up for as long as you want while the slides changed under it.
This blog post will help you know how to use the Caption tool.
Captions that are embedded in your photos IPTC information can easily be shown in the slide show of SoundSlides. Basically there are two options. You can show them by default or make it an option that the viewer can click to view a caption.
In the template settings of SoundSlides you have two things that you can check. You can have a menu for showing the captions in the footer of the slide show and you can have the captions show by default.
If it is important that everyone see the captions then choose the default to show them. Sometimes you want the audience to be able to interact and choose to see them after they watch the show for more information. This might be why you have “Show Captions” menu item in the footer to give the audience an option to see them.
You can modify or create the caption under the menu item “Slide Info” and “Details.” SoundSlides will import your caption from your IPTC field if one exists.
You may want to modify your caption after you have already imported images into SoundSlides. Just to the tab menu item “Slide Info” and the sub-tab item of Details to then modify the text.
You can modify the appearance of the caption in 5 ways: 1) font, 2) size of font, 3) color of text, 4) color of background, & 5) opacity of background.
You will want to play with the appearance of the captions. You can modify type of font, size, color and opacity. Remember this will affect the entire slideshow captions. You are not changing individual appearance from slide to slide.
You can clear all the imported captions quickly if you like
HTML support
You can style your captions using HTML tags. Supported tags include b, i, u, font, br and a.
Turning the slide into a link
In addition to adding HTML links, you can also add code that will turn the slide itself into a link. By adding the following to your caption, you would make your image link to http://soundslides.com: [clickimagelink]http://soundslides.com[/clickimagelink]
By adding the following to your caption, you would make your image link to http://soundslides.com and open the link in a new window: [clickimagelink_new]http://soundslides.com[/clickimagelink_new]
Captions are just another tool that you can use to help communicate your message to the audience. Take a look at the SlideShow I did here on community service project. I made the captions an option just so you could see how they look by default. I used the default setting for the text size and colors.
Summary
Learn all you can do with a software even if you choose not to use a particular tool, because you may want to use it later for a client or know what it does before you invest in another software package. I am surprised as to how often people buy another software to do what their present software can do, but they failed to read the manual and master it before jumping to something new.
In my last blog post I talked about how to use SoundSlides. Here I just want to show how to use the lower thirds title tool.
Figure 1
When you are using SoundSlides pick the Audio tab and then under that click on the Lower Thirds tab as you see in Figure 1.
You then just type in the Name field what you want in large type and then in the Title field will all be smaller under the name. The In Point field says where the title starts and the duration how long it is up. You can see in the example in Figure 2 how the top line becomes the Title on the left.
Figure 2
I hope you also just enjoy watching two SoundSlide shows I did when I was in the Yucatan covering Roswell Presbyterian Church’s mission work there.
There are many ways to learn about photography. My recommendation is to try them all and learn from each one. These are some ways to get to see a pro work and learn from them.
I walked around for a while with Justin Veneman while he was shooting in Fort Worth, Texas. I enjoyed shadowing Justin. (Nikon D3S, ISO 12,800, f/5.6, 1/250, 28-300mm)
Shadow
When you ask a photographer if you can shadow them or they offer you need to understand etiquette of the role. You are there to observe. Your role is not to be shooting, because when you ae shooting you are no longer observing.
You may help a photographer by asking if you can carry anything. You can also help by letting them know if a flash isn’t working, but whenever you do this you need to do so discretely. I would whisper rather than pointing this out in front of a client.
In general you are to stay out of the way and take this time to watch how the photographer works. It is best if you schedule time later to ask the photographer questions rather than during the photo shoot. Carry a small notepad and write down questions you have that you can go over at a later time.
A photographer has a great deal on their mind and many responsibilities when they are working. Respect their role and when you offer help pay close attention to if just the offer of helping is being a nuisance.
One of my good friends is Bill Bangham who likes to shoot with his Leica. He likes to be as invisible as possible when he shoots. (Nikon D3S, ISO 200, f/5.6, 1/640, 28-300mm)
Photo Assistant
A good photo assistant anticipates the needs of the photographer. There are many people in the industry who would prefer this role over being the photographer.
The primary role of the photo assistant is to lighten the load of the photographer. Photo assistants do not shoot. They help by being a Sherpa, extra set of eyes, runner, and anything else the photographer needs during a photo shoot.
The assistant is primarily responsible for all the equipment. They need to unpack and repack the camera bags, lighting kits, cables, computers and everything needed for the photo assignment.
Photo assistants helping in getting model releases on many jobs.
Photo assistants role is to tell the photographer when something is not working. A flash can fail and the assistant must tell the photographer.
Scott Kelby waits for a good moment during the cattle drive in the Fort Worth Stockyards. I think it is cool he is using the same camera and lens I like to use and after talking with Scott he had similar reason for choosing it. It gives a good range, so less changing of lenses and it is sharp. (Nikon D3S, ISO 200, f/5.6, 1/500, 28-300mm)
Second Shooter
A second shooter often serves as a photo assistant who shoots photos. Second shooters generally do not own the copyright to the photos. You will see second shooters used in weddings and events primarily.
The second shooter compliments the photographer. Most of the time you are not shooting the same things, but sometimes on very critical shots the photographer may ask the second shooter to shoot the exact same shot because this will serve as an emergency backup.
Second photographers never hand out their business cards or talk to the photographers client about doing work on the side. This is not just wrong if this is discovered you are doing this you may be blackballed in the industry.
If a client asks you directly, always reply that if they need help in the future to contact the photographer and he/she can reach you.
A student gets Scott Kelby to review his work at the Southwestern Photojournalism Conference. This is another great way to learn. Show your wok and get it critiqued. (Nikon D3S, ISO 12,800, f/5.6, 1/250, 28-300mm)
Assistant
You can also just be a general assistant. The major difference between the photo assistant is most assistants do not know photography well enough to do this role. However, a good assistant can be just as valuable to a photographer.
Like a good host you make sure the client is comfortable and the photographer is serviced as well. You may handle model releases, help get snacks or lunch for the crew. You may run errands like picking up props, picking up clients or talent.
I like to use assistants who just understand good hospitality. My favorite assistants can talk with a client to keep them from distracting me when I am trying to solve problems that arise. Great assistants are gifted in knowing when to jump in and when to stay out.
You may have gifts already that could make you valuable to a photographer. In any of these roles you will be able to observe and learn. Almost every successful photographer has done one if not all of these roles before they became a full time professional photographer.
After watching my friend Jim Veneman pull out his Nikon Coolpix P7000 and get some shots, I had to get one myself. (Nikon D3S, ISO 200, f/5.6, 1/1250, 28-300mm)
Most all of my friends who are full time pros enjoy working with other professional photographers occassionally in one of these roles. The reason is simple, they like learning something new.
They learn how another photographer works and they learn about the other roles. I am a better photographer today because I have learned how to better work with my team. I am also sure that I could still do a better job and always like learning from other photographers.
Dan Cathy, President of Chick-fil-A, enjoys playing in the Moo Cow Band at the Fellowship of Christian Athletes breakfast for the Chick-fil-A Bowl. This is one sure way to be sure those in attendance were awake. They are really good band and got everyone alert for the program. (Nikon D3S, ISO 12800, f/5.6, 1/125, 28-300mm)
If you don’t know the purpose of an event for an organization, then your photos will not communicate what took place effectively. Why are they putting on the event and what do they hope to accomplish is what you should be asking yourself if not the client.
This is an event I covered this week and let me walk you through what they did and the purpose of the event.
Putting on a breakfast during the middle of the Chick-fil-A Bowl week is a daunting task. Each year the organizers work to create an event that will make each of the teams and the schools involved want to come, because it isn’t a required event.
There is an art to event planning and those who put this event together each year plan throughout the year trying to find the right keynote speakers and other parts of the program so that the variety of the parts creates an overall enjoyable and memorable event.
Keynote speaker RV Brown takes the stage in a sports jacket. He looks like a typical evangelist dressed like this. RV knows his audience and knows he has a very short time to get their attention. (Nikon D3S, ISO 12800, f/5.6, 1/400, 28-300mm)
We have seen the entertainers through the years that dress up to draw more attention. Elton John had those wild glasses, KISS the rock band painted their faces and wore platform boots, David Bowie even wore makeup to get our attention.
All of those musicians also made it on the Radio long before MTV came about and emphasized even more the importance of the visual part of the performance to sell records. Later the ability to put together a total package of the audio and visual is so important that singers like Justin Bieber would launch their careers on YouTube.
RV Brown removed his jacket and revealed his guns. These were not gotten with steroids he said, they were done with weights, black-eye peas and cornbread. (Nikon D3S, ISO 12800, f/5.6, 1/400, 28-300mm)
RV knew that the room was filled with Auburn and Virginia football teams. They are all expected to eat healthy, lift weights and to get into the best possible physical shape to play the game. RV wanted to establish he too had not only been down their road, but continued to take care of himself. He didn’t say it but this helped him to overcome how some people right someone off as a “has been.”
RV mixed humor with some life lessons that had the people laughing and crying by the end of his message.
RV Brown, Chelle (my daughter) and Charlie Ward. Chelle wanted a picture with the main speakers, which I enjoyed taking. Later on the ride home Chelle was talking about what each of them talked about. She knew which scriptures they used and was excited about their messages. (Nikon COOLPIX P7000, ISO 200, f/3.5, 1/30, Slow Curtain Flash)
I knew later after the event how well RV had done when my daughter is talking about the scripture references that he and Charlie Ward used in their talks.
Master of Ceremonies Ernie Johnson, Jr., Turner Sports inc., interviews Featured Guest Charlie Ward, 1993 Heisman Trophy Winner, Florida State at the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Breakfast (Nikon D3S, ISO 12800, f/5.6, 1/500, 28-300mm)
Charlie Ward is a quite person who commands attention more from his actions than from his talk. To mix up the program they had Ernie Johnson from Turner Sports interview Charlie and together they helped tell Charlie’s story and how God plays a role in his life.
Dorie Griggs, Chelle, Regina and Mike London enjoying catching up. (Nikon D3, ISO 6400, f/2.8, 1/60, 14-24mm)
We were excited about this year’s teams. University of Virginia’s head football coach is a close friend of my wife Dorie. When they were at University of Richmond together they met each other through FCA.
Dorie Griggs, Mike London and Jimmy Lyles when they were students at University of Richmond
Having Chick-fil-A sponsor the breakfast really helps the FCA. What is a nice surprise each year is that Truett Cathy makes it a point to be there for the event.
Truett Cathy stands up when they said he was here. Everyone applauded for him as well. I think people like Truett as much as they like his food. (Nikon D3S, ISO 12800, f/5.6, 1/40, 28-300mm)
Don Perry and Truett Cathy (Nikon D3S, ISO 12800, f/5.6, 1/30, 28-300mm)
Ernie Johnson Jr. always closes the event with the presentation of the Gospel. This year was a very touching time for him. He lost his father who was his best friend. Later he almost lost his son. He spent most of October in the hospital with his son who has muscle dystrophy and was suffering with pneumonia. He received a phone call while on the road working with the doctor asking permission to put a tube down Michael’s throat. A matter of life or death.
Master of Ceremonies Ernie Johnson, Jr. closes the breakfast with presentation of the Gospel. (Nikon D3S, ISO 12800, f/5.6, 1/640, 28-300mm)
Johnson became a Christian late in life. He remembers the date of December 10, 1997. He says this is the date where he found a direction in his life. A year later his wife had a gift for him of a compass. It is to remind him of his decision to become a follower of Jesus Christ.
Ernie Johnson Jr. shares how the decision to follow Christ was very much like having a compass for his life. (Nikon D3S, ISO 12800, f/5.6, 1/400, 28-300mm)
If you have read this far and seen all the photos I hope you understand that the reason I put this here in my blog was two fold. First of all the most important thing in my life is my faith in Jesus. Second I believe to be able to tell stories and capture those moments that show how much people with a faith in Christ are purpose driven you have to have walked with Jesus in your own life.
No matter the story you must be totally immersed within the story to engage the audience.
I will tell you the number one secret I have discovered in photographing people. My faith is in a God who loved us so much that he died for each one of us. He also taught us how to live. What I have learned through my walking with Jesus is that everyone is important.
If he was willing to die for all of us then each of us is worth getting to know. I spend my time listening and getting to know people and what I have discovered is for the most part I am truly blessed by each person I meet.
I hope my photos not only introduce you to the people I meet and their stories. I believe I honor God by treating everyone with honor, dignity and respect.
New church and well being built in Becanchen, Yucatan, Mexico. [Nikon D3, ISO 200, f/8, 1/100, 24-120mm]
“I feel God calling me into missions photography …” or “I want to be a humanitarian photographer and would like to meet you,” are two things I am hearing almost weekly now.
To make this dream a reality is to engage your head and your heart in this journey.
Reasons not to become a humanitarian/missions photographer
1. The field is overcrowded. If you live in a major city like Atlanta you are very much aware of traffic jams. Another great comparison is going to Universal Studios or Disney World. You are going to stand in a very long line because this is a very popular job. This field is not just crowded, every day more and more people are wanting and trying to become photographers.
Fernanda washes clothes and makes hammocks for a living in Akil. Her son Roberto Carlos has finished school and wants to go to college. They live in the Yucatan in Mexico. [Nikon D3, ISO 200, f/5, 1/8, 24-120mm]
2. Most photographers do it for free. Translation–it is very difficult to make a living. How will you compete against others who will not only do it for free, but pay their way to cover a cause around the world?
Mayan family at their home in the Yucatan, Mexico. [Nikon D3, ISO 200, f/5.6, 1/250, 24-120mm]
3. It requires a large financial investment. You need cameras, lenses, flashes, memory cards, computers, software, and training to use all this. Did you notice the list was multiples? Everything requires a backup because equipment will fail and you must still deliver.
4. It is a business. Since the 1970’s staff jobs are actually dwindling. More and more photographers are freelancers who must pay higher taxes and higher healthcare insurance than their staff counterparts. Don’t forget you need camera insurance and liability. You must first be a business person and then a photographer.
David Woods stopped on our drive to BoBo from Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso for our lunch. You need to be able to eat a variety of food when you travel. [Nikon D2X, ISO 100, f/8, 1/320, 24-120mm]
5. You have to be outstanding and not average. If you watched American Idol then you have a good comparison to this industry, but the numbers are greater. Everyone owns a camera and many think they can make great photos. American Idol auditions hundreds of thousands to get it down to 25. If you go back to past seasons not all of those 25 finalists are making a living at it. The odds are similar in photography. There are many great photographers, but they didn’t have the complete package to make it.
6. Everyone owns a camera and can make a photo. Think about this for a while. Why pay you to photograph something when they can take it themselves?
7. 95% of your time you are not making pictures. Even the most successful National Geographic Magazine photographers spend only a fraction of their time shooting. Most of the time you are researching a topic or an organization trying to find ways you can help them achieve their goals.
Diane Zuma plays with water at well in Koudougou, Burkina Faso. There are two types of wells in this area: one which is open and not safe to drink from and this one which is deep and is covered and much safer to drink. (Photo By: Stanley Leary) [NIKON D2X, AF Zoom 18-50mm ƒ/2.8G, ISO 100, ƒ/5, 1/320]
8. It’s not about you. If you want to take pictures because you have an interest in something, well unless an audience is willing to pay you to see your work there is no career for you. The most successful photographers today are not focused on telling a story with their camera–they are focused on connecting the subject with the audience to achieve a goal.
There is no AAA roadside assistance in Burkina Faso. My host David Woods repairs the truck that just lost a belt on the side of the road. [Nikon D2X, ISO 100, f/2.8, 1/2000, 24-120mm]
Here are some questions you need to answer
1) Why do you want to be a photographer? If your answer is I like to take pictures and meet people, then keep on doing this as a hobby. If you want to tell the stories of some people you have met, you still need to keep this a hobby.
Humanitarian and missions photographers are goal focused. When I am photographing an orphan I am wanting to help them find a parent. Some who will see my photos may give money to cover their housing and food until they find a parent and this good, but my goal is to move people’s hearts to take this child in.
My goal is not to tell the orphan’s story. Do you see the difference?
Surgeon Danny Crawley is in theatre doing a hernia operation and Comfort Bawa, theatre assistant helps him at the Baptist Medical Centre in Nalerigu, Ghana. (Photo by: Stanley Leary) [NIKON D2X, AF Zoom 18-50mm ƒ/2.8G, ISO 400, ƒ/2.8, 1/160]
2) Why should you be the photographer? If the goal is to do something, why are you the best selection and not a professional photographer who has given their life to not just taking pictures, but to the cause? If the goal is to get an orphan adopted why would anyone want to have a photographer shoot it that has never helped anyone get adopted verses the photographer that does. Think about it why not hire William Albert Allard who made the famous photos of the little shepherd boy who lost his heard to a reckless driver in Peru? Allard’s photos moved the readers of National Geographic Magazine to replace his herd and then some.
A mass of people wait for medical treatment at the Baptist Medical Centre in Nalerigu, Ghana. They are all waiting for Dr. George Faile to see them that day. [Nikon D2X, ISO 400, f/2.8, 1/25, 18-50mm]
3) What are you doing to be the very best photographer? Organizations that want to achieve their goals are not going to let just anyone photograph for them. Actually they want to keep most photographers away from their projects. Many photographers will do more harm than good. Too many photographers are just trying to build a portfolio rather than help.
I am called to be a photographer
Just like a professional musician you will need to study the craft and find a teacher/mentor. Even in Star Wars Luke had to find Yoda to help teach him the skills to become a Jedi Knight. My suggestions:
Take classes in the following:
a. Business and marketing – You need to understand how to price your work, how to negotiate with a client and most importantly how to find a client.
b. Psychology – You need to be able to work with a variety of people from all walks of life. You need to be able to get to know people in the most intimate way possible in the shortest time possible, because you will be telling their story as an expert on their life.
c. Photography – You need to know how to make your camera do what will work in any situation. You need to be able to not just capture something, but help capture it in a way that sets the mood as well as captures the moments. To do this you will need to master: Aperture; Shutter Speed; Hot Shoe Flashes; Studio Strobes; Available Light; Composition and much more.
We ate in a coffee growers home in El Aguilia, Mexico. [Nikon D3S, ISO 12800, f/5.6, 1/60, 14-24mm]
2. Study the masters – You will need to become a master. Remember the organization will hire the person they think is best suited to help them achieve their goal. You need to become the expert they want on their team. The best way to do this is to study all the great photojournalists that have gone before you. You need to know why their work was so successful.
3. Study with a master – Take a workshop with someone who is known for storytelling that also is known to help organizations meet their goals. I will be teaching you how to photograph in another culture, how to tell the story and reach your audience with the message.
4. Go to seminars and workshops to get inspiration. You will be able to hear successful photographers talk about their work. The room is often filled with current masters of humanitarian and missions photography.
5. Get critiqued to learn – Don’t show your work to just get pats on the back. Show you work to people who can point out the basic things you are missing early in your career and as you grow can teach you about the nuances. If your purpose is only to show your work and have everyone applaud only – well then you need to keep this as a hobby, because even the masters of the craft look for ways to get even better.
Your friends are giving you Christmas ornaments each year.
Twas the night before Christmas and I was sitting in my recliner by the tree. I looked over to enjoy the season when it hit me I am a photographer because I have so many ornaments to remind me.
Somewhere on your Christmas tree you have Santa with a camera.
I was enjoying my coffee in my Nikon mug and it tastes so much better when I have logos around me. Not just any logos will do for it is always Nikon and can never be a Canon.
You have a picture of Santa in a slide mount.
There are also ornaments to remind me just how long I have been in this career. I have a slide of Santa from another Christmas eve.
You have a What The Duck Christmas ornament
Today I have a cartoon character that helps me laugh and laugh really loud. What the Duck has given me much glee this year, helping me make light of the moments which use to get me all up tight.
You don’t just have Christmas ornaments but coffee mugs with cameras or camera manufacturer logos.
Nikon 24-79mm f/2.8 Coffee Mug. If you have one of these you have it pretty bad.
I like to arrive early and scout possible camera angles to use later. Nikon D3, Nikkor 14-24mm, ISO 6400, f/4, 1/200
This is the time of year for Christmas parties and New Year events. Through the years I have screwed up and here are some things I now avoid.
1) Arrive on time
If a client asks you to arrive at a certain time, it may be right at the time of the event, giving you no time to scout the location. Always arrive early to give yourself some time to look around and know where some good camera angles might exist later in the event.
While I found a good angle, I later tried it and it wasn’t as spectacular as I thought it would be. I did however shoot from this angle with a different lens later. Nikon D3, Nikkor 14-24mm, ISO 6400, f/4, 1/100
2) Don’t get caught off guard
If I can I always bring more than I will need, because I have been burned more times than I can count. Over the years I have bought a lens or two that I don’t use a lot, but the costs of renting them over and over verses the time I do use them made sense to buy them. Having a backup flash helped me this year when my SB900 got over heated and later needed repair. I am glad I had the SB800 there to continue to get the photos.
Some things that I recommend in that list of items to have:
Backup camera
Backup lens or two.
Backup Flash
Extra Fresh batteries
Tripod
While I had to go to bed early so Santa would come when I was young, now I had to be ready at a moments notice to get the photo of Santa coming down the elevator. I could of been up five floors when this happened or just under the elevator, but no matter where I was that night, until he came down I had to be in position with a lens to get the shot. Nikon D3S, Nikkor 24-120mm, ISO 12,800, f/5.3, 1/80
3) Relying on available light
I started shooting years ago and prided myself on shooting in almost any situation without a flash. As it says in the Bible pride comes before the fall.
Proverbs 16:18 “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.”
Using a flash to be sure you see your subjects face is important at times. I now use the flash to be sure I am not cursing myself as I am trying to fix it in post.
Where the pianist was sitting and how the light was on his face before I added the flash made him more to be a silhouette than anything else. My trusty “Voice Activated Light Stands” (my daughter or wife usually) pointed my Nikon Speedlight SB900 with the Radio Poppers PX radio system helping relay my Nikon Speedlight SU800 signal to the flash for TTL off camera flash. I balanced it to the room light. Nikon D3S, Nikkor 24-120mm, ISO 2000, f/5.3, 1/60.
4) I’ll Fix it later in Post
If you look closely you will notice I used two of my “Voice Activated Light Stands” for this photo. I had no idea if there was going to be one or more folks with Santa getting an award. I had my wife and daughter holding the Nikon Speedlights off to the camera on either side pointed at the subjects. By the way to not look light just a lot of light I had one light turned up a stop more than the other to give some shape to the faces. The cool thing is with the Nikon Speedlight SU800 I was doing this from my camera and never had to go over to the “VALS” and change the power on the flashes themselves. Nikon D3S, Nikkor 24-120mm, ISO 12800, f/5.6, 1/400.
I cannot tell you how many times I have sat at my computer and wish I had done something with the lighting in the camera. You cannot fix everything in post. You have got to do everything possible to get the best possible image in the camera. Your goal should be that you have nothing to do to the RAW image other than convert it to a JPEG for the client. Anything more than this is compensating for a reason that you were unable to get it in the camera.
I used two of my “Voice Activated Light Stands” for this photo. Nikon D3S, Nikkor 24-120mm, ISO 10000, f/4.8, 1/320.
I have updated this from a 2008 blog post with today’s latest cameras.
Canon PowerShot G12 Digital Camera $379.95
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 Digital Camera $369.95
Fujifilm X10 Digital Camera $599.95
Nikon COOLPIX P7100 Digital Camera $499.95
When I speak to groups, someone usually asks me what camera I use. Next, someone else will ask, “Would I take better pictures if I had a better camera… maybe one like you use?”
The best answer I’ve ever heard to “The Camera Question” came from Joanna Pinneo, a former colleague of mine. Joanna is an outstanding photographer who has worked for Newsweek and National Geographic. Joanna had just shown an audience some of her photographs when a little old lady asked, “If I had a camera like yours would I take better pictures?”
“Probably not,” Joanna said, “you will take the best photos with a camera that is easy for you to use. When you see something you want to photograph, the less you think about the camera, the better your picture will be.”
Joanna pointed out that professional photographers are so familiar with their cameras that using them is second nature, like driving a car. She told the little lady that unless she planned to study photography, she should find a simple camera and then concentrate on the subject of the photograph she wanted to take.
She was right, of course. Most of your best photographs are taken to capture a moment. You’ll miss the moment if you are switching lenses, fidgeting with a flash, or trying to remember how your camera works. By the time everything is set just right, the shot is gone, and the moment has passed.
On the other hand, if you have a point-and-shoot camera, you can just (pardon this) you can just point-and-shoot and capture the moment. You’ll take a better picture precisely because you did NOT have a “better” camera.
Not long ago, I was photographing the keynote speaker at an event in Atlanta. Beside me was Ambassador Andrew Young with his point-and-shoot camera. He was photographing the speaker as well. Later, he showed me his shot, and it was pretty good.
This was not the only time I’d seen him taking pictures. I’ve worked with him on several occasions, once I asked him about his photography. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the small point-and-shoot camera. He said he always carried it with him and loved to take pictures and share them with his friends.
Then Ambassador Young laughed. He told me he even pulled it out of his pocket at his daughter’s wedding. He was officiating the wedding, but he still took a photo during the ceremony at the altar.
Point-and-shoot cameras are not just for amateurs.
My good friend Dave Black, who shoots for Sports Illustrated, used one for a job. One of the most outstanding qualities of these point-and-shoots is they make no noise. They are so entire that manufacturers have put a speaker in them and created a clicking noise you can turn on or off to let you know when the shutter fires.
PGA rules will not allow a picture to be taken of a professional golfer during their backswing since the noise might distract the golfer. However, Tiger Woods’s caddy Steve Williams had thrown a few cameras into lakes when people fired away during Tiger’s backswing.
When Dave Black showed the editor from Sports Illustrated at the event the photos of Phil Mickelson in his backswing, you can understand why the editor started to quiver and gasp for air. Dave pulled out the little camera and made a picture or two of the editor. When the editor found that he couldn’t even hear the little quiet camera, he began to breathe normally again.
No one had any photos of golfers in their backswing before Dave, so Sports Illustrated ran the photos big made with a bit of point-and-shoot.
Today’s cameras are so much better than before. Take, for example, the point-and-shoot Nikon P7100.
While the hallmark of a pocket camera is the ability to shoot entirely automatically, Nikon knows you want to do more than that with the P7100. That’s why they gave the camera versatile manual controls. There’s even a front command dial, so you’re fully in charge of operating the camera. Other features, such as an ISO of 3200, bracketing options, and even a virtual horizon, ensure you’ll get the shot you want. Of course, choosing four classic exposure modes (P/S/A/M) is essential to this type of shooting. Add those, as mentioned earlier, in-camera special effects and other features like macro capture and HDR setting, and you’ve got one great little camera that puts the joy back into point-and-shoot photography.
Another camera similar to the Nikon P7100 is the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5. It is equipped with a Leica lens and is similarly priced to the Nikon P7100. Canon G12 and the Fuji X10 are similar as well. All of these cameras shoot JPEGs and RAW. They also all have missing controls for many of the other point-and-shoot cameras.
Joanna Pinneo said it so well when she said, “You will take the best photos with a camera that is easy for you to use.”
Guess the adage is true after all. I’ll paraphrase: It would be Stupid, not just to Keep It Simple.
Same photo but different color balances, cropping and exposure.
Which photo above would you use? Now unless you see them side by side you might not be as quick to make changes to the photo before sending it to the client. However, if you are meticulous you will give the client the best possible photo.
While the client may not have four identical photos like this to choose the photographer they would hire again, I know from what I have seen photographers put on their blogs, websites and even given to clients are all these and more.
Losing Teams vs Winning Teams
I think we have all heard the loosing coach after a team looses saying we just didn’t execute very well. I don’t think I have ever heard the coach say we just didn’t have a game plan.
The golfer who wins the tournament is normally the golfer who performed consistently each day. Rarely do you see a golfer with poor scores one day and the great scores the next win the tournament.
Miller said it is the execution of their formula that makes the difference. He went on to use the metaphor of the West Coast Football. Who hasn’t seen it by now? The thing is who can execute it well?
More than the photo
I think one of the largest mistakes I am seeing over and over is photographers often think it is all about the photograph.
While there are many photographers making the mistake of the 4 photos above, Many may have gotten the perfect photo, but a great deal of the execution was in your attitude and words you used with the client.
I will admit it that many in my industry of creatives are strange people. I sometimes think many in society tolerate our kind. We are not trying to fit in as much as stand out and in the process get kicked out.
The president of the college I went to for my masters gave a talk one day saying that the one course they needed to add to the curriculum was on common sense.
You can’t please everyone
When it comes to customer relations your ability to pay your bills relies heavily on you having customers. There should be enough incentive for you to go that extra mile and be hospitable and courteous. Will they be kind to you in return–not always, but as they say you have to take the high road and know you did everything possible to make it work.
X-Factor for Success Photography Business
There are two things that when are executed at the highest levels simultaneously together create a whole new product.
Quality – The quality of the photographs for the photographer is something that when executed at the highest levels will separate you from the pack. This is what you provide the customer.
Service – From the first phone call or email till the delivery and beyond of the product is an experience. The attitude of your performance can go a long way with a client. This is the how you do you work.
Do you have the X-Factor in your business model? You may need to benchmark yourself to others to find out if from the customers perspective you are at the top of the industry in both quality and service.
Remember it isn’t what you know that makes a difference in this game it is executive of what you know that matters.
I wanted to invite you to go with me to Tibet next summer. So many people continue to ask me to help them with visual storytelling I decided to put together a hands on workshop. Partnering with Brian Hirschy and Plateau Photo Tours, our goal is to help participants engage new cultures photographically, respectfully, and effectively as photographers.
We are excited to be able to offer this hands-on workshop in historic Tibet. Participants will walk away with a better understanding of how to engage a culture and effectively tell compelling and complete stories through their photography. All this while having the chance of a lifetime to engage, understand, and photograph the unique culture of eastern Tibet.
Contact me if you are interested and I will answer your questions.
Getting all the expressions in one photo can be a challenge. Nikon D3S, Nikkor 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6, ISO 200, f/5.6, 1/60, Alienbees 1600 at 1/32 power triggered by CyberSync radio remote.
The sun is lighting all the scene well, but the Alienbees 1600 firing at 1/32 power is giving just a kick for fill-flash helping with a catch light in everyone’s eyes. another benefit of the flash is it helps with the color temperature and giving good skin tones.
Don’t attempt this alone as I did, unless the person you are photographing can really trust you. I was lucky, I was able to photograph my good friend Yaniv with his bride to be Shannon and her son Aidan.
I worked at getting everyone in place creating some nice triangles for composition. I prefer not to have everyone’s head in a straight line.
Yaniv, Shannon and Aidan had great smiles and needed very little help giving great expressions. It was like working with professional models.
The hardest part of the entire photo shoot is getting the dogs to have great expressions to compliment them.
I am holding the camera making squeaking noises, whistling and doing all I can to get the dogs to perk their ears up and look attentive. Honestly, unless these are dogs trained to work for modeling and TV you are not going to have lots of moments.
What I recommend is a team for these photos.
Animal person – someone off camera who’s sole responsibility is to get the animals to look their best.
Wrangler for the small children – you need someone other than the mother holding a baby getting the attention of the child. Usually this person is playing with kids before the shooting begins. They are building a relationship and finding what will work for them in the photo.
Photographer or one more person – to get the expressions of the adults.
Stylist – can be great to have help. They are paying attention to wardrobe malfunctions, hair and makeup.
Photo Assistant – this person is being sure the flashes are firing, moving them and help changing the power on the flashes to help the photographer.
The key is planning and everyone understanding their rolls. Shoot lots of photos and then you will have trouble picking one image when everyone does their best.
