Category: Photography

Why are you here?

by Stanley LearyPhotography
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

— Ephesians 2:10

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Fellowship Of Christians United in Service, Hamilton, GA

“Stanley, why were you created?” is a question I remember being asked by my grandfather Rev. Knolan Benfield. 
My grandfather then quoted Ephesians 2:10 to me and let me know I was created to do good works. 
I believe one of the greatest movements in my lifetime has been volunteerism.  I saw this movement start in the late 60’s for me.
As a child I remember professional missionaries speaking to churches where they helped raise support. Most of the missionaries were all college graduates who often had masters and doctorate degrees in things like theology, law, agriculture and medicine.

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Student marks the board to be cut as part of a roof repair for an elderly woman’s house in Hamilton, Ga.
These missionaries felt called to give of their lives in service around the world.  They prepared through education so they would be well qualified to do the work in a different culture.  They would go to language school and learn to speak a foreign language.
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Students clean the landscaping of Fellowship Of Christians United in Service offices in Hamilton, Ga.
Loren Cunningham started Youth With A Mission in the 60s when the mainline church thought that unskilled youth should not be encouraged to do short term mission’s projects.  It took a while to grow the concept to today.  YWAM currently has over 16,049 full-time volunteer workers in nearly 1,100 operating locations in 171 nations and trains 25,000 short-term missions volunteers annually.  It is a movement still growing and thriving today.
Former U. S. President Jimmy Carter got involved with Habitat for Humanity in 1984.  Habitat for Humanity is devoted to building “simple, decent, and affordable” housing using primarily volunteers.

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IMPACT 360 student cuts board for roof repair in Hamilton, Ga.
Pay it Forward is a movie produced in 2000 about a 11 ½ boy’s response to school assignment to devise and put into action a plan that will change the world for the better.  Most folks feel like they need to give back to those who help them, but this boy’s concept is to Pay it Forward and creates a movement.
This past weekend I photographed college students who are in a gap year program in Pine Mountain, GA doing a service project. One of the appealing things about this college program is the service component and students are seeking ways to Pay it Forward in their communities.
John and Trudy White founded the college gap year program called IMPACT 360.  Trudy is the daughter of Truett Cathy, the founder of Chick-fil-A. One of the cornerstones of Chick-fil-A is based on biblical principle of service.
It’s the same way with the Son of Man. He didn’t come so that others could serve him. He came to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many people.

— Matthew 20:28

widow watches
Elderly woman watches as the IMPACT 360 students and alumni put in stairs to her home in Hamilton, Ga.
The students each year enjoy their time of service and after they graduate they come back for alumni weekends to work alongside the current students in service projects.
Are you living up to your purpose—doing good works?

Students have access to superstars

by Stanley LearyPhotography
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Sergej Krylov and Arild Remmereit talk to the students from Elkins Point Middle School orchestra and band. Next to Sergej is his Stradivari “Scotland University” (1734) from the Sau-Wing Lam Collection, courtesy of “Fondazione A. Stradivari” in Cremona. (photo by: Stanley Leary)

Having kids give us a great excuse, if we need one, to take them places we want to go. Parents of kids get to enjoy children’s movies that they may feel awkward going to alone. We get to go to places like Disney World.

Sometimes kids have advantages to give us access to adult subject matter.  This is what happened last Friday night with our daughter.

Seth Gamba is my daughter’s orchestra teacher who organized group ticket sale for the students and parents to see the Atlanta Symphony.  Friday night was special because of guest violin soloist Sergej Krylov and last minute bonus of guest conductor Arild Remmereit.
 

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Students, parents and teachers from Elkins Middle School enjoy listening to the artists answer their questions. (photo by: Stanley Leary)

At first you might think the “discounted ticket” was what excited me, but really it was what happened after the concert.

Seth Gamba had asked if the soloist violinist and the conductor would talk to the students after the concert.  They graciously stayed after the event and the students sat on the first 2 rows of the symphony hall for question and answer time.

You could see the faces of the students paying close attention to these superstars.  The parents I think were just as excited and also asked questions.

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Arild Remmereit talks about his journey from the time of the student’s age to now. The students got to hear how his path was different than of Sergej Krylov’s. Arild’s mother made him take piano, which he wasn’t fond of at that time and had to practice 5 minutes a day.  Sergej took from his parents and practiced for 6 hours a day as a young 5 year old. (photo by: Stanley Leary)

The lesson is simple—as a student you have access that is difficult later in life to get. Professionals are very excited about talking about their work and answering questions to students.

If you have children be sure you are aware of the opportunities that the community has for them that give them access to “superstars” and go with them.  If you don’t have children—volunteer to help youth programs and by doing so you will not just get an opportunity to tag along to meet superstars you are one for giving of your time.

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I seized the opportunity to thank Seth Gamba by offering to photograph him with the conductor and violinist. Follow the lead of Seth Gamba and organize an outing for the students you know to get access to professionals and artists–you will be glad you did. (photo by: Stanley Leary)

Measuring your efforts of marketing

by Stanley LearyPhotography
Do you know your ROI—Return On Investment?  While often we can use this to measure a financial purchase for your work—like a new camera or lens you need to also look at your time.
Let me talk about four things I do to connect with customers and potential customers.
front
Front of my latest postcard
Postcards
First of all this is one of my first things I used to get my images into people’s hands outside of sitting down and showing my portfolio.  My friend Tony Messano helped me with a template to use.  Tony also gave me some great insight into using postcards.
back
back of the postcard
“Everyone has one good photo in them,” Tony would say, “so put some other photos on the backside of the same shoot to show how much variety you deliver—it will help set you apart.”
I have purchased and created a database of names that at one point was close to 6,500 names.  With the poor economy this has shrunk to 4,700 names.  I need to work on this as well.
I mail the postcards quarterly and sometime have gotten behind.  The advantage of these verses using email is the person has to touch the card before it goes into the wastebasket.
My hope is that it gets pinned on the wall with other examples the art directors keep.
newsletter
e.Newsletter
I have been sending this out for many years now on a monthly basis.  Sometimes I was excited about a new topic and sent out more than one a month.  This has proven very helpful.  I give away photography advice and tips I am picking up.  I am no longer just a photographer but considered an expert, because of my sharing of my knowledge.
This does pretty good and I can track it to see who looked at the email, whereas the postcard I just put out there.
website
My Website
Website
This to me is my online portfolio and more.  The main reason I have it is for those folks looking for a photographer can maybe find me and see my work and based on what they see hire me.
This is a very static way to market.  I use my postcards, emails, Facebook, Find a Photographer links on National Press Photographers Association and American Society of Media Photographers to drive people to my website.
Besides the photos it also has all my e.Newsletters, videos, bio and links to make it more of a resource tool for folks that visit.
I can track the number of visitors to the website using Google Analytics.  Here is a sample of the last month of visitors.
google analytics
Google Analytics
Blog
The largest traffic I get daily is my blog.  I am posting 3 or more times a week similar things that I used to only send as an e.Newsletter.  Blogs are not like spam in the people chooses to revisit and often will subscribe to get emails so they know when I have posted new material.
The number of folks coming to my blog each day and month are 10 to 20 times that of any other thing I do.
Here you can see the analytics showing the past month.
blog
Blog Analytics
Summary
You cannot pick just one of these to do.  All of them help each other and build my brand.  I ask folks when they call to book me where they found me and believe it or not all of them are getting me jobs.  But the one thing I hear the most often is after they discover me and go to my website they are impressed with the depth of material there that can help them.
Use Google Analytics or something similar to track visitors to your website, blog and e.Newsletters and you will know your ROI score.

Want to be a full-time freelancer?

by Stanley LearyPhotography
This is an article written for Shuttterbug magazine a couple years ago and after being called for another interview I revisited what was written and think the tips apply today.

Take a moment and read it and give me your feedback in the comments below.

Click on picture to go to the article where you can read it online or print out the PDF on your printer.

shutterbug article

Active Listening

by Stanley LearyPhotography
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Vince Stanton attempts Troublemaker during the Professional Bull Riders Atlanta Classic at the Georgia Dome.
From Wikipedia
Active listening is a communication technique that requires the listener to understand, interpret, and evaluate what (s)he hears. The ability to listen actively can improve personal relationships through reducing conflicts, strengthening cooperation, and fostering understanding.

When interacting, people often are not listening attentively. They may be distracted, thinking about other things, or thinking about what they are going to say next (the latter case is particularly true in conflict situations or disagreements). Active listening is a structured way of listening and responding to others, focusing attention on the speaker. Suspending one’s own frame of reference, suspending judgment and avoiding other internal mental activities are important to fully attend to the speaker.

“The Most Dangerous Eight Seconds in Sports,” is how, National Geographic writer, Zoltan Istvan describes bull riding.  Death is a real possibility to the bull rider.  The bulls are 15 times the size of the rider.  Imagine a defensive lineman in football being 15 times the size of the quarterback.

One of my photography friends is also a bull riding coach.  His name is Maxy Pinson.  When you meet Maxey you see a well-dressed and groomed elderly gentleman.  He is from Oklahoma and in his earlier career was a scientist for the oil industry. 
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Reuben Geleynse hangs on to Long John during the PBR Atlanta Classic at the Georgia Dome.

I was fascinated with Maxy’s career and really interested in what a coach does to help a cowboy ride a bull.  I think what he teaches these bull riders parallels what we need to know about being a good listener.

Maxy teaches the bull rider to focus his “full attention” on the bull’s head.  “The bulls head will let you know what the bull is doing and going to do,” says Maxy.  You cannot take your eye off it.  You have to stay focused for 8 seconds to ride the bull.

Active listening requires you to make eye contact and listen so as to understand the message and not just hear the words.

You cannot allow yourself to become distracted by whatever else may be going on around you, or by forming counter arguments that you’ll make when the other person stops speaking. Nor can you allow yourself to get bored, and lose focus on what the other person is saying. All of these contribute to a lack of listening and understanding.

You also need to communicate to the person you are listening.  Sometimes just an “uh-huh” or nod will let them know you are listening.  This isn’t saying you are agreeing, but communicates you are listening.

An occasional question or comment to recap what they are saying not only helps them know you are interested but will remind you to stay interested.

Let them finish their thought before interrupting.  This can be very distracting to them and irritating as well.  If you find what they are saying getting you emotional, this is a good time to say something and to clarify what you are hearing.  “I may be misunderstanding what you are saying and find myself taking this personally, is this what you are saying ________?”

WE REMEMBER
10% of what we read
20% of what we hear
30% of what we see
50% of what we hear and see
70% of what we discuss with others
80% of what we personally experience
95% of what we teach others
–Edgar Dale

For me the first step to becoming a better listener was acknowledging that my personal style of communicating has been less than stellar.  While I was getting better at getting my ideas across as I matured, my relationships were not getting better with people.  I had to stop and evaluate my communication style.  It needed an overhaul.

I can see that the successes I have had in life have usually been when I practiced “active listening.”  There are still many relationships where I need to do a better job implementing these skills. 

What I have discovered is Edgar Dale is right, I remember more of what I need to do to be more successful by writing and sharing what I have discovered on this blog. 

While you might get something out of the blog, just the very nature of writing these posts has helped me improve in so many ways.
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Bart Jackson attempts to ride Smokin Joe during the PBR Atlanta Classic at the Georgia Dome. 
You will go down just like the bull rider if you don’t actively listen to those who need your attention.

What will they buy? —Not what do I have to sell?

by Stanley LearyPhotography

Are you selling prints, DVDs, digital files, or the memories you capture?

Too often, photographers look only at the cost of making a photo—pushing the button. In the days of film, many of these same photographers would try and sell a 25¢ piece of paper. Both then and now, these photographers miss the point—the medium is only a vehicle.     

Photographers of people sell moments. The better the photographer can raise the feelings in the beholder’s mind the monetary value of that image is increased.     

The door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman isn’t selling appliances but a clean house.   The key for photographers is to realize they are not selling pictures but what those pictures capture. Even in advertising photos of products, the incredible images help capture a mood and create a craving in the audience in some way.     

Photography has five stages in selling.   

  1. Attention 
  2. Interest 
  3. Desire 
  4. Need 
  5. Action   

You need to, in some way, have their attention first. There are many ways to get this. One of the best ways is through a referral from a happy customer. This is based on relationships. The relationship you as a photographer have built with a client and the excitement they have and want to share you with their friends is, in my book, the best way to get someone’s attention.   

Great images will also get someone’s attention. These are often done through your advertising. Getting your work in front of someone to get their attention would be best.   

The next step is creating an interest in your product. Your referral will use their testimonial to help you create interest. They will tell their friends about how you impressed them in some way.     

Many photographers may have celebrities in their portfolio, and some photographers have exotic locations, and as you can see, these things create an interest in the photographer and their work.    

This interest should lead to desire. This is where they start to inquire, want to know more, and are engaged with you. You must move them from seeing you as a commodity; otherwise, they will look for another photographer.

Instead, you have to establish a real need for your services. This is where your ability to demonstrate to them how you are the best choice for them. This may be how you communicate your ability to care for them, and you might explain this by just how attentive you are in the sales process.     

Questions for yourself:   

  • Did you offer them something to drink?  
  • Did you listen and ask thoughtful questions based on what you heard them say?   
  • Did you have good eye contact with them?  
  • Did you greet them with a genuine smile?  
  • Are you conscious of their time and clear and concise in your answers to their questions?

If you establish your ability to meet their needs, it is on to action. The client wants to sign the contract and hand you the money to make it happen. If you seldom get to this stage where the client is taking the initiative to close the sale for you—then a real need for “you” was never established. Instead, you are seen as a commodity, and someone else can fill the market.

Why is my color off?

by Stanley LearyPhotography
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Spyder2Express Color Calibration

From the moment you click the shutter to make a photo till the final place the photo is to be viewed can make or break a photo.

After you transfer your images from your digital camera to your computer you can view the images on the screen of your computer.  If you choose to make any changes to the photo’s colors this is where if your monitor is not calibrated correctly you could be changing colors that need no change at all.

I use the DataColor Spyder2Express to calibrate my monitor.  There are many different tools you can use to calibrate.  Pantone huey, X-Rite Eye One and there are other devices to help you calibrate.

The difference between the devices is how many monitors you can calibrate and how many choices of colors that you can choose to calibrate.

If you are using PhotoShop, Lightroom, or any other software to manipulate images then you need to calibrate your monitor so you as you work you are seeing the most accurate color possible with your monitor.

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Calibrating the blue channel
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Calibrating the red channel

Good photographers play checkers, while great photographers play chess

by Stanley LearyPhotography


If you have played checkers you know that each piece moves the same. When a piece reaches the furthest row from the player who controls that piece, it is crowned and becomes a king.

The other game that uses the same board is chess.  Chess has 6 different pieces of which each one moves differently than the other pieces.  One of the many problems a beginner faces in a chess game, once he is familiar with the rules, is what to do when playing the game, how should he start the game, how to attack his opponent position and defend his own at the same time?  

The difference between the two games that I want to use for illustration is that in checkers all the pieces are the same and in chess they are different.

I remember taking lessons on how to play chess from a grand master who played on the Princeton team in college.  There were two pieces I had more trouble learning how to play than all the others.  The pawn and the knight for me were difficult to understand.

It took a while to understand that the pawn’s first move can be one or two squares straight ahead and unlike the other pieces where it can move to is not how it takes the opponents pieces, rather it takes them diagonally.  The en passant capture is when your opponent moves his pawn two spaces trying to avoid capture by your pawn on the first square.  You may take their pawn if they make that move. Also unlike the other pieces the pawn cannot move backwards. As you can see this can make your head spin and this is just the pawn.

Once you learn what all the pieces can do then you realize in combination things they can do that alone they cannot.



My teacher taught me how military leaders used chess to help them plan their attacks on enemies and how to respond.  The pieces represent the people and their roles.  If you watched Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, you will have seen how the pieces of the board came to life as they played. Even today you will find around the world humans used as pieces on large boards of chess games.

There are two ways photographers play either chess or checkers that I see. The first way is how they treat their subjects in their viewfinders.

Many photographers see people as just an object to fill a space, but great photographers like Henri Cartier-Bresson know that not just any subject will do for a particular composition.  His photos became iconic due to how everything in the frame all worked together at the right moment—the decisive moment.

So the first lesson we can learn as photographers is to see people like chess pieces—each one as unique and moving differently.  This requires you to get to know your subjects and the more you know about them the better your photographs.

The second place photographers are often playing checkers and not chess is in their business practices. You may only make headshots in your business as opposed to another photographer who offers a wide variety of services.  The mistake is often made not by the photographer offering only 1 product, but by the photographer who thinks their variety of services makes them more service oriented.

If you want to play chess instead of checkers with your business, then you need to see each client as different and learn to listen to them.  While you may only offer headshots, they may need you to come to them or be more flexible with your schedule.  They may need large prints or just a Facebook size photo and the question is, are you flexible to offer them what they need?

If you are playing chess with your photographs then:

  1. You know your subjects names in your photos
  2. The photos reveal their personality—not necessarily yours
  3. You know something about your subject—how else were you going to tell their story if you didn’t know it
  4. You are making new friends with your subjects

If you are playing chess with your clients of your photo business

  1. You have accommodated a request you don’t normally offer—you may charge more to do this, but you were willing and excited to meet their expectations
  2. You are asking what they want and need, rather than just showing them a menu of your services
  3. You listen more than you talk
  4. You are thinking after you are no longer interacting with the client about them and how you can do something else to help them
  5. You are making new lifelong friends with your clients

    Take Advantage of Spring Time

    by Stanley LearyPhotography
    Dogwood in my front yard.

    This season is such a cliché for a reason. We all understand that timing is everything when planning our vacations. We go to the beaches in the summer and the mountains to ski in the winter. If you go the wrong time of year, you will miss the ability to take in the best of a place.

    If you Google the phrase “Tis the season,” you will find more than 5,690,000 hits.   

    Tis the season for photographers to get outside in your backyards and plan those road trips to capture the springtime in full bloom.   

    Azaleas have started with buds in my yard. They stay in bloom for about two weeks.

    If you have a business, this is the time to do those photos you need on your website to show off your properties. This is when you plan for those outdoor weddings to take advantage of the flowers and trees in bloom.   You still have time to take advantage of the season. Be sure you put aside the time to capture the blooms in your yards and places of business.    

    Dogwood blooms in my front yard.
    Dogwood

    How to get really sharp photos

    by Stanley LearyPhotography

    Here are a series of photos showing full-framed image and then followed up with a crop 100% view of the same image.  If you want to enlarge your photos and have people admire them on the walls of your home or office, be sure they are in focus & sharp.

    I used for this exercise a point and shoot camera. I used the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 camera.  I made the photos of the same object handheld and then with a tripod.  Can you tell the difference in these bright sunlit photos?

    1
    Hand held full-frame

    2
    100% view of the image above (hand held)

    4
    Full framed shot using tripod

    3
    100% cropped view of the tripod image
    8
    Full frame of hand held photo

    7
    100% cropped view of the hand held

    6
    Full frame of Tripod photo

    5
    100% cropped view of the Tripod Image

    How to be critiqued

    by Stanley LearyPhotography

    Scott Kelby walks everyone through the seven steps he does in Lightroom with all his photos.

    Reviewing each other’s work at the Southwestern Photojournalism Conference

    To grow as a photographer, you must have someone check your work. There are two types of people to review your work_the general public and the professional. The professional can be another photographer, photo editor, graphic designer, or art director.

    The public should be able to look at our photos and tell us what they get out of an image and therefore help us know if our intended message came across.

    The advantage of a professional photographer who is further along in their journey than you is they can tell you if a photo is good or not, but can give you some tips on how they might improve the image.

    Ground Rules:

    1. Let your photos speak for themselves—Be Quiet.
    2. Edit and show only your best
    3. Have everything needed to show your work
    4. Get multiple opinions
    5. Take the advice and change
    6. Go back and show them your changes.
    Brad Moore critiques Deanna Santangelo’s work at the Southwestern Photojournalism Conference.

    Letting your photos speak for themselves will help you know if you were successful. For example, if you wanted a picture to show how much two people are good friends, then the audience will tell you.

    If the person reviewing the images asks for more information, provide it. Too much information will hurt your critique. For example, if you tell the person this is a photo where you were trying to illustrate friendship, the person will ask if it worked, but you need to know what it says to them when they have no information other than the photo.

    Sometimes you might have a powerful photo that is a failure. For example, it may be a successful photo in which the audience likes the picture but fails to deliver the message you were going for.

    Edit and showing your best work will help the person reviewing your work. However, showing too much work will weaken your portfolio rather than strengthen it. Your portfolio is to show your skills. You may have a collection of subjects or a photo story. Either way, each photo should offer something different.

    You only need one photo to show you know how to do something, so make it your best effort. Your second photo should offer something different about your abilities. For example, maybe the first photo was available light, and the second one shows you know how to use flash. Your third might be shooting in a studio.

    Your photo stories must work like a written story, with a beginning, middle, and end. The face is often an establishing photo to help us understand the story. You must vary the images from wide to medium and then close up.

    Scott Kelby reviews a person’s portfolio.

    Have everything you need to show your work. Don’t show up with a USB drive; expect the person you see to have a computer. Be sure everything works and try it a few times to be sure all the photos load, for example, if it is on a laptop, iPad, or some other device.

    Sometimes the best way to show your portfolio is in a book or prints. This way, you are not relying on technology that could quit. However, I don’t want that to happen at a once-in-a-lifetime meeting.

    Get multiple opinions before making changes to your work. If you show your work to 3 or more folks and they all say there is something wrong with a photo_then you know it needs to go. What will not be so consistent is what they might sound like as a way to improve that photo. For example, one person may say to back up, and another might say to crop in closer.

    Take the advice and change. Go out and make the changes to your portfolio. Take the photos out that almost everyone agreed on the need to come out. Go and crop the images that need cropping.

    Go back into Lightroom or PhotoShop and re-edit those photos that can be improved.

    Most of all, take the advice to heart as you shoot your following photos. Watch the edges of the image. Know what you want to say to your audience about the subject.

    Go back and show your changes. Find those people and show them your revised portfolio after you have made the changes and shot some new material. See if you got what they were talking about. Often you will find out that you didn’t fully understand what they were saying, and by revisiting, you will discover this.