Some of the most successful restaurants are those with the simplest of menus.

In-N-Out Burger

The menu is a prime example of In-N-Out’s intense focus on simplicity to maximize quality and minimize expenses.  Items on the menu are mainly unchanged from the original restaurant stand and exhibit a rare marriage of quality and affordability:

• 3 Burger Choices: Hamburger, Cheeseburger, Double Double (most expensive at $3.40*)
• French Fries
• Beverages: Soda (4 sizes), Shakes (3 flavors), Coffee, Milk

Since its inception, In-N-Out Burger has enjoyed tremendous success, growing annual sales to approximately $400mm per analyst estimates and consistently earning a #1 ranking in the fast food burger chain segment, ahead of competitors such as Wendy’s, Five Guys’ and Fuddruckers. 

While you may have created a very complex spreadsheet to figure out your pricing, don’t show this to a client. Please don’t abandon it either. It would help if you had this to help you in the future as costs change to figure your pricing.

After you do a job, you may want to return to that spreadsheet and adjust the numbers.

Keep Menu in Mind

Just like in photography, you keep things simple for design purposes; this holds for your estimate and pricing. Restaurant patrons aren’t looking to be overwhelmed when it comes to reading a menu. A clean, straightforward design will convert better than a list of options or large chunks of expository text. A visually pleasing design effectively uses white space and naturally guides the eye to essential menu items.

Your customers are the same. Please keep it simple.

Ditch the dollar signs

Pricing shouldn’t be the center of attention. One way to downplay price is to remove any associated dollar signs, which tend to elicit a negative emotional response. You want them to concentrate on the content, not the price. 

Don’t line up the prices

A list of prices aligned to the left or right is easily scannable, which could encourage people to choose lower-priced items out of habit. Mixing up pricing placement throughout the estimate will minimize decisions based on price comparisons.

Use simple, descriptive language

Avoid industry jargon or long sections of text that will confuse people. Yes, more and more people consider themselves experts, but the simple, descriptive language in the item’s title will attract more sales. 

A photographer wrote me and asked for advice on quoting a nonprofit. Here is my advice for them. Now there was a list of specifics, but I wanted to get to the pricing strategy rather than giving them a quote I would do. You see, each person has different costs. This is due to where they live, what lifestyle they want to maintain, and the cost of their gear are just a few things that influence one’s price.

BACKGROUND

I believe first you need to have your pricing for “Normal Jobs” and then for those you consider a “Charity Job.” Charity is something that you deem that you want to donate your time to. You may want to give everything for free to an organization. That is up to you. Once you embrace discounting your price for an organization, you will also have to be sure you have enough “Normal Jobs,” or this will not be sustainable.

What I am communicating here is not what you speak to the client. This is for you to understand while you price something for them.

Once you have figured out your pricing thought process, you then create packages—the price and what they are getting and not how you arrived at that price.

PRODUCTION FEES

Normal Job Price = 100% for time

Charity Job Price = 60 – 70% for time

Hard costs to you I would pass along at 100% to a “Charity Job.” Charity means the organization you consider a charity to which you want to give your time. Regarding IRS, you cannot write off your time to a charity.

I suggest creating your “Normal Estimate” and then giving a discount. This way, you are communicating your standard rates and letting this organization know you are giving them a HUGE DISCOUNT.

I think a rate of about $600 to $800 a day for your time for a nonprofit is where many I know are charging these days [This is what many of my circle of friends have told me and my personal experience]. Most photographers capture $1600 to $4000 daily for their time for regular jobs.

Most in the industry will charge 50% of their rate for a travel day. That is a day that you do no work at all. If you show up and shoot for an hour after traveling most of the day, that is a shooting day, not a travel day.

POST PRODUCTION

Don’t forget to charge for the post-production. Many organizations will abuse you with having multiple revisions. Making them pay for this will make them responsible.

By the way, be sure in all your correspondence that you communicate you are charging for revisions. You can have priced 1 or 2 edits in the package, but let them know when the additional modifications are happening.

Quote your shooting fee, post-production fee, and expenses in your estimate. Be sure you spell out what it includes. Just like McDonald’s does for what is included in a sandwich. If a video is expected, describe how long it is and how many revisions it includes.

I would give a range of finished and edited photos for your photography.

START WITH PHONE CALL

Always start with a conversation. In-person or by phone is the best way to start. Ask them what their expectations are for the project and if they have a budget figure for the project. Sometimes they not only tell you their expectations clearly but also give you a price you are thrilled to work with. This rarely happens, but ALWAYS start with the idea they may know what they want and have a realistic budget for the project.

Your goal is to manage expectations. First, by being sure, they articulate what they want, and then you, in the end, tell them what you can provide to them. Do your best to underpromise and then over-deliver.

When you finish this conversation where you agree on what you can do for them, you will put it in writing to them. However, get some ballpark figures during that conversation to see if it is worth your time to go further. No need to spend all this time to put together a formal agreement in writing if they have no way of paying what you need to agree to go forward.

ESTIMATE

Give them three versions of an estimate. This is how you show them you are flexible and also help talk them into spending more on something they will genuinely enjoy and use.

Don’t line item things you used to come to your price. You don’t see McDonald’s selling their Big Mac with the time it took to make it and each piece listed. Imagine 2 – Beef patties, 10 minutes cooking, shipping costs to get the products, and so on. No, you don’t see that. They give information the public wants and a price. Price changes on where in the world you are buying it.

Bottom Price:
This will just give them what they barely need

Middle Price:
Add more deliverables to the package. More Photos, other videos, Blog posts, etc

Luxury Price:
Coffee table book of photos, Videos, More Photos Etc

The Sky Is the Limit:
Sometimes you can add a 4^th price for the client who could spend a lot if they wanted.

They most likely will go with the median price every time.

The Stanley Works was founded by Frederick T. Stanley, in 1843, originally a bolt and door hardware manufacturing company located in New Britain, Connecticut.

One of the most innovative things they did with the door hinges that helped them to outgrow their competition was to include screws in their packaging.

Clerks were taking time to find screws to fit competitors’ hinges.

Friction Free Economy

To succeed in the friction-free economy, long-established companies must form new and more fluid relationships with customers, workers, and owners. Those that don’t will either struggle to maintain market share or fail.

It is the intangible assets that businesses need to understand, measure, and exploit to succeed. These include intellectual property, brand value, human capital, and customer loyalty.

Friction Free Resource

You want to be a Friction Free Resource for your clients. You want not just to solve their problems but do so in a way that the experience is not a bumpy road but smooth.

Just like Stanley did in the 1850’s by just packaging screws with their hinges making it easier to go to the hardware store and leave in little time, you must think of ways to help your clients make things smooth.

What do you offer your clients like Stanley, who packaged screws for his clients?

My former students from workshops and college classes often contact me about pricing and negotiating with clients.

This blog post is more about how to respond to a client or potential client when they make you feel like you were just insulted by them.

While you should figure out your Cost of Doing Business and know your bottom line to do a job, often, people will come back saying they only have a budget for less than you can accept.

My friend just called and was quoting on covering a business event for a day. She had figured this was probably an excellent place to network, so she cut her price in half and quoted that figure.

Always Quote Full Price

I told her she should always quote her average total price and then show a discount and why they are getting it. If you don’t do this, they think her price is half what she needs to charge. They tell their friends this is her rate.

Expect Negotiating

Negotiation theorists generally agree that there are two primary forms of negotiation:

• Distributive Negotiation: this is also referred to as positional or hard-bargaining negotiating. …
• Integrative Negotiation: this is the softer side of the two forms of negotiation, often referred to as win-win.

You need to figure out quickly which type of person you are dealing with when negotiating.

After my friend gave them her half-price quote, they returned with a low-ball response. “We only have $200 budgeted for the event.”

Respond Professionally

Often in the negotiating, one of the parties can feel insulted at the low or high dollar amount.

I recommend trying your best to stay with your pricing so that you are not going below your bottom line. Also, think of other things you can negotiate for that are of value. Maybe they can give you their contact list that you can use. Perhaps you can trade for free advertising.

Try and stay with something that sounds like, “I would love to cover your event for you.” Then you can outline the pricing and what value you bring to them.

You say I can do the work for you at this price. They say no, NOT YOU if they cannot afford you.

Know Your Numbers

I cannot stress enough that if you do not know your “Cost of doing business,” you will not be in business very long. You need to know the total amount you have from a job to pay your bills and also have money to invest in the growth of your business.

Great Video to Make My Point

This has been around for a while, and I have shared it in the past, but for those new to negotiating, this helps you see how often silly people can look for what they are asking. These are examples of Distributive Negotiation where they are trying to get something for below cost or even free.

The top photo is one of the laminated lists I used in 2002.

When I mentioned in a recent post about creating a Digital Workflow that you laminate, one person asked for that list.

I have been doing this so long that I no longer need the list, but I came across one of my laminated lists in my van to help me be sure I had everything before I left the house for a photo shoot.

This list had four sides of two laminated cards with a clip.

“Quality is never an accident. It is always the result of intelligent effort.”

John Ruskin

I was shooting many college basketball games then and had to arrive early to put up remotes and turn on my strobes.

I also did many headshots and a couple of shots for a missionary agency.

Each assignment was often so different that I would bring some gear I wouldn’t use for another project.

Today, I still take the time to pack before I leave for a trip or photo shoot the day before.

Here are some things I am doing that impact my Digital Workflow.

Day Before Photo Shoot Preparation

·  Charge all camera batteries and other batteries

·  Format all XQD Memory Cards for Cameras in Camera

·  Inspect all camera sensors with Sensor Loupe

·  Clean, if necessary, the sensor with a Cleaning Kit

·  Make a list of gear needed for the photoshoot

• Do I need a studio?
• Do I need a tripod?
• Am I doing a video?
• Do I need microphones?
• Do I need a constant light source for video?

·  Pack the necessary gear into cases

• If flying, then I will weigh all the cases
• Often, this is rearranging items to stay within the weight limit
• If overweight, I will arrive extra early at the airport to get the Media Baggage Rate. This applies to only working media and not a hobbyist.

Day of Shoot

• Check cameras one last time for battery power
• Pack Van and leave
• Meet contact and brief on expectations and any last-minute changes
• Scout location – Often with client
• Take gear out and assemble what is necessary
• Go to each site and do a custom white balance
• Pick all settings for the shoot
  • Sports Settings example for my Nikon D5
  • Standard
  • If Shooting with Studio Strobes, choose the settings on the camera
• When changing locations, pick the custom white balance [on Nikon, I can store six different WB settings and just like the one needed or do a new custom white balance]
• Go to spots I identified during scouting that would be ideal locations to shoot from just before the best time to be in those locations.
• If there is a long shot list, I will pull this out, ensure I am on track, and help remind me of the next shot or place for the photoshoot.
• Shoot the event
• Check-in with the client before leaving

Post Processing

1. Ingest to PhotoMechanic
2. IPTC information is filled out, and part of the ingesting process
3. Select the keepers
4. Delete all untagged images
5. Import into because I am shooting RAW
6. Using metadata, I select all the photos with the same lens
7. Select all with the same lens
8. Go to the Develop Module “D” shortcut.
9. On the far right, go to lens correction.
10. Go back to the Library, pick another lens, and do the same until all photos have been lens-corrected
11. Click on the profile and enable the profile for Adobe Color, or select another more appropriate profile by browsing in the menu.
12. Tip for choosing multiple images shot in the same scene and making corrections all at once
13. Go to settings and then tell it to Match Exposure on all those selected
14. ⌘D unselect
15. Go through them one by one and check that they are correct. Repeat this step for different scenes.
16. Correct for blown-out highlights
17. Pull in blacks if necessary
18. I often use the Dehaze and Texture sliders.
19. For sharpening, I use this technique
20. Export all images to sRGB JPEGs Quality 80
21. Open PhotoMechanic
22. Upload to my PhotoShelter account for the client

I love the updated Adobe Lightroom. I am using three of the controls that, if used correctly, can help out some photos that, in the past, without these controls, would have been so-so photos.

I love the Texture, Clarity, and Dehaze sliders. I cannot recommend them enough.

I hold the Option key on the Mac for sharpening while sliding the Masking control. The masking is around 70 for my older cameras, 12 megapixels or less. Eighty is for my Nikon D5, and 90 is for the higher resolution cameras. Once I see the white edges, I slide the sharpening amount to 150.

When your quality isn’t up to standards, it is often because you skipped a step in your Digital Workflow.

“The highest cost of poor quality is when your customer buys it from someone else because they didn’t like yours.”

W. Edwards Deming

Pam Goldsmith is an emeritus winner of the ‘Most Valuable Player’ award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Her viola playing has been heard on countless records, films, and television shows. 
[NIKON D4, 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6, Mode = Aperture Priority, ISO 5600, 1/125, ƒ/4.5, (35mm = 28)]

“If you just focus on getting better, and not being the best, you have such a good time.”

James Acaster

The other day I was reminded I am working with many people at the top of the field, and when I work with those starting, I have to be patient. This post is about how to become a better you by reflecting on how I got to where I am today.

I have been so blessed to know some of the world’s best in a few fields. One of those is my sister-in-law Pam Goldsmith. I have written about her before.

She plays in the studio musicians group that plays for many of the movies, TV, records, and other places you would be surprised about. She sits in the first chair most of the time. When the studio musicians show up to play the music for a movie that has never been played, they don’t practice it–they play it for the first time, and 95% of the time, that was the last time they played it for the final recorded version you see in the movie. The 5% of the time, they do it again, it wasn’t due to their execution, but the composer realized during the recording that they made a mistake, and after a rewrite, they re-recorded it.

It takes a long time to get to that point of expertise from just learning to play the instrument.

In 1984 during my Spring Break, I was hired by Robert Reed at the Hickory Daily Record and would start working after graduating that May. While driving from Delaware to Hickory, North Carolina, I stopped by the International Mission Board to meet Don Rutledge.

My uncle, Knolan Benfield, had worked with Don for more than nine years when they were on staff for the North American Mission Board in Atlanta, Georgia.

In the 1950s, Don was shooting stories for all the top magazines. He would go on to work with and help lift the quality of photography done by the mission magazines to compete with LIFE, Look, and National Geographic Magazine.

Pam Goldsmith grew up in California near all the great musicians and became one due to being surrounded by great viola players. In some ways, I was growing up in an environment of great photographers and storytellers.

I remember my uncle Knolan Benfield talking to me about getting to the top. You go and talk to the people at the top. He told me about many of the experiences where he noticed famous photographers at conferences standing by themselves because people feared them. He just walked up and talked to them and got to know them.

Today I know that very few at the very top of the profession can help others. These are the ones that can teach and not just do. Don Rutledge happened to be one of those few.

While Don taught me a lot about composition, body language, and learning to see the light, Knolan taught me how to create using lights.

In 1993 I started to work at Georgia Tech. Georgia Tech has been named one of the most prestigious schools in the world. My role there was storytelling on research, education, athletics, and alumni for distribution through campus publications and outside media. I worked there until 2002, and during this time, I perfected lighting.

In 2008 Greg Thompson, Director of Corporate Communications for Chick-fil-A, asked me to come and help him build his team. Chick-fil-A is the third largest American fast food restaurant chain and the largest whose specialty is chicken sandwiches.

Greg was building an incredible team. He recruited Ken Willis, who had run the largest PR agencies in Atlanta. He had just sold one of them and started a new agency KWI.

Greg was scooping up talent from Coke and Porter Novelli and recruiting some of the best students to start their careers with Chick-fil-A.

Again I was surrounded by some of the best in the storytelling profession.

In 2018 Mark Johnson, Senior Lecturer, Journalism at Grady College of Journalism & Mass Communication for the University of Georgia, asked me to come and teach for the year Intro to Photojournalism to four different classes while they looked for a full-time professor with a Ph.D.

I quickly learned that I had worked my entire career with people at the top of their game. Everyone I worked with was always doing whatever it took to tell the story in the most effective way possible.

Many of these students were not desiring to be visual storytellers. Many took journalism as an undergrad degree before going to another profession like law.

In 2006 I got a call from Dennis Fahringer asking me to come to Kona, Hawaii, to teach his students lighting. He initially requested Joanna Pinneo, photographer for National Geographic Magazine, who told him to contact me. Joanna and I both worked with Don Rutledge.

Dennis’ students in YWAM had a passion for God. Most taking the class explored if photography was one of the ways they could serve the church or learn how to work their faith into running a photography business.

Again I was asked to dial back from shooting at the highest level in my profession to talking to newbies about literally “Step One” in photography.

I am often hiring photographers to help me with projects at Chick-fil-A. Two that I love to hire over and over are Michael Schwarz and Robin Rayne.

I have hired so many through the years, but only a few consistently meet the customer’s demands. When I hire either of them to do work, I know that I am sending to the customer storytellers who are not just as good as me but better than me. This is how I see them.

Be the best version of yourself!

• Show Up! – It is incredible how many people don’t show up
• Start With Baby Steps – you can’t skip the line. You have to start at the beginning
• Stop Looking For Shortcut – “Luck Is What Happens When Preparation Meets Opportunity” While it may look like a shortcut, it is often years of working hard, and you get a lucky break. If you are not prepared, then you may have just lost your one chance.
• Accept Help From Others – Most of those at the top didn’t get along. Don’t be prideful; take the help.
• Celebrate Small Accomplishments – Realize that learning at the level you are at at the moment is just as important as the finish line. Break down the “Big Goals” into bite-size pieces.
• Help Others – Pay it forward. Don’t be about taking. Be known for giving.

“Become the BEST VERSION of Yourself!” | Oprah Winfrey (@Oprah) | Top 10 Rules

Harpist plays for the VIP Reception at Marriott Marquis in Atlanta during the Islamic Speakers Bureau’s “Celebrating Women of Influence ISB Gala.”
[NIKON D5, 14.0-24.0 mm f/2.8, Mode = Aperture Priority, ISO 4000, 1/200, ƒ/3.2, (35mm = 14)]

On October 12th, I was covering the Islamic Speakers Bureau’s “Celebrating Women of Influence ISB Gala” at the Marriott Marquis in downtown Atlanta, Georgia.

If you ever have to cover an event like this, I recommend a few things.

Two or More Cameras

Anytime you shoot professionally, you need a backup camera. This is in case one stops working for any reason at all. I tend to put the Nikon 28-300mm on one camera and the Nikon 14-24mm on the other.

I can get everything I need with this range of glass.

For this event, I had a third camera on a tripod with the Sigma 120-300mm & 2X converter so that I could shoot more straight into people’s faces from across the room rather than everything shooting up at them when I was closer.

I had to be down front sometimes and shoot up at the speakers on the podium, as you see here.

After introducing a speaker to an award winner, I snapped a photo of them with some of the board members.

As I mentioned in my last blog post, I went on stage before the event started and did a custom white balance with my Nikon Cameras. On the Nikon Z6 & Nikon D5, you can store up to 6 different presets. This way, you can do a custom white balance for the stage and then go to another room with a different setting and set it on an additional Preset.

Have a Flash

Now with the stage having two sets of lights at 45º to the location, it was even lighting. However, walking around in the Atrium of the Marriott Marquis, the light needed help with flash.

Laura Espeut, the second shooter, got this photo of me with the Nikon Z6 with a 28-300mm and the Godox V860ii on the camera and the MagMod Magshpere on the hot-shoe.

Save your Back

To carry two cameras, I use the HoldFast Gear Money Maker Two-Camera Harness with Silver Hardware (English Bridle, Chestnut)

Quality Photography Demands A Digital Workflow

The bottom line is you need a workflow. You prepare days ahead, from talking with the client to managing expectations to getting a shot list. You then must prepare before the event by charging batteries and checking the sensor of each camera for dust.

I recommend you create a workflow list of things you need to do for every photo shoot. Be sure that the order you do things is in the correct order. Please print it out and even laminate that list and keep it with you in your camera bag.

In my last blog post, I showed you some of the white balance when done without a custom white balance and then doing one.

I hope you are hearing from me today that if the quality isn’t up to the standards you want to represent what you can do for clients, the answer is most likely in your workflow. It is something you skipped or modified from what is the ideal way to shoot the assignment.

While I try to be consistent and do a custom white balance all the time, I confess I sometimes get sloppy and choose to try and fix it in Lightroom.

Here is a photo I shot with my Nikon Z6 shooting with Auto White Balance.

When the camera is seeing this scene it is factoring in the projection screen behind the speaker which was a different color temperature than the speaker.

I realized all the photos on the stage were off, so I selected all of them and did a color balance based on my calibrated monitor. Here is the result.

I had used the eye dropper on a microphone. Well, it is close but not perfect.

Then the next day I got there early and asked the lighting guy to turn the lights on so I could go on the stage and get a custom white balance using the ExpoDisc. Here is another blog post on using the ExpoDisc.

This is shot with the custom white balance. Big difference in nailing the skin tone.

Moral of the Story: Get A Custom White Balance

I recommend using the ExpoDisc. You can use it to help you 1) White Balance, 2) Set Exposure & 3) Dust Mapping. Here are the instructions for doing all this if you didn’t already know how.

[Cristina Baccay Holdsworth, Eleanor Baccay Reece, & Blair D. Sullivan]

Back when I was on staff at Georgia Tech [1993 – 2001] Facebook had not been created and the iPhone didn’t exist. I was still shooting film.

While Match.com was founded in 1995 students were still doing silly things at Georgia Tech to get dates in 2001.

I was shooting with ISO 100 most of the time. This meant I was lighting almost everything inside.

The cool thing is we did have PhotoShop. It was released February 19, 1990. This let me scan all the images we were making and put Metadata with each photo. So most of the photos we would put some caption information on each photo.

So often when we go back to photos the biggest problem is having some context around the photo.

This week I stumbled over a folder of images that I created when I left Georgia Tech to start freelancing in April 2002.

Seeing the family photos during this time of starting my new season as a full-time freelancer has put into perspective how long I have now been freelancing full-time.

Today it is easier than ever to just take a moment when you are in Lightroom, PhotoShop or Bridge to add just a few words about the photo that will help give context.

Without some captions generations in the future will not know any of the significance or who people are in the photos that you have been taking.

Don’t Rely on Social Media to Store Your Photos

My Samsung Galaxy S10 takes the wide shots at 3456 x 4608 pixels. When I upload this to Facebook it will cut that size to 1500 x 2000 pixels. This is basically cutting the quality in half.

For social media that is fine, but if later you want a large wall print now you are limited greatly to the size you can print.

There are many online services that you can use with your phone to store all your images at high resolution. Google Photos, Amazon Photos and many others can do a great job of storing images for you.

Adding Text with Google Photos

The process of adding a custom description to a single photo is the same whether you’re on the Google Photos app or website:

1. Tap or click in to view a single photo, then select the information button (a small “i” icon) to view more details on the photo.
2. You’ll see things like the capture date, file name, camera model and location — select “Add a description” to add more to it.
3. There doesn’t seem to be a character limit (or if there is one it’s quite large), so go ahead and add in any extra information you think is relevant to the photo. Maybe a little back story, what’s going on in the picture or perhaps some other bit of information that can’t be picked up from the plain EXIF data of the photo.

The extra details should help if you’re searching for pictures in the future on Google Photos, but at least right now you’ll have those details synced up to that photo for your own benefit when you view it manually. Go forth and add all of the extra info your pictures deserve!

I came across a folder of images from when I was on staff at Georgia Tech. Just take a look at some of these memories. Can you find pictures on your computer from years ago?

In the past 20 years, technology has improved. Here is a scan I did 18 years ago:

Then today using the latest Adobe PhotoShop software I was able to get this with just minor editing:

The Raw Camera Filter has some cool features.

The best feature for scans is the Dehaze slider.

When you slide it to the right, you get less haze, which comes from a backlight that scans the film transparency.

The other feature is all the tools at the top of the Camera Raw. I use the Detail tool [two triangles] to adjust for noise and sharpening.

By the way, the Develop Module of Lightroom is the same as the Camera RAW filter of PhotoShop.

Hope this tip helps you if you have old transparency photos that you scanned and look washed out.

Here some photos I fixed just today

In 1996 I photographed Dr. Sam Shelton, the guy who designed the Olympic Torch.

Then in 2002, Dr. Sam Shelton designed the Winter Olympic Torch. These are some of the photos from then that were used to promote Georgia Tech’s involvement in the Olympics.

While the cameras are better today, with enough light, the past cameras also did a great job.

I have been going through old photos from 17 years ago during my last staff job before going full-time freelance in 2002.

I worked at Georgia Tech as their only staff photographer, which I have done since 1993. I took lots of photos of Buzz, the mascot during those years.

Tech Square was just being built.

I was always in the research labs capturing the latest technology.

Sometimes those researchers were working on the coast of Georgia.

Georgia Tech beat The Citadel back then. This year they lost to them.

I was often capturing lasers and the researchers working on projects.

Be sure you store your images on hard drives. I recommend using SSD and having your pictures in 3 places. 

Today’s digital camera makes travel photography more accessible than ever.

You’ll need several memory cards if you plan to take many pictures, or you can carry a small Memory Card Back-up Device to store and view your digital images. These are available in various hard drive capacities and are equipped with screens for viewing your pictures. You can keep your photos on your laptop and free up your digital cards for more photographs. 

A single zoom lens such as an 18mm – 200 mm may be all you need to carry. Traveling light makes your trip more accessible and enjoyable and has some hidden advantages. I love shooting with my Nikon 28-300mm.

It is easier to make natural photos when people don’t perceive you as a professional photographer. They relax and are more themselves. Whipping out a considerable lens or lugging a large camera bag around can intimidate your subjects. Another advantage to traveling light – you want to attract as many thieves. 

Buy a good guidebook about the places you plan to visit. National Geographic publishes excellent travel guides that help you plan your trip and your photography. We used their book for our trip to Hawaii. 

Guidebooks tell you about incredible places, and many describe the best time of day to photograph specific locations. Guidebooks are a must-have. They’ll keep you from being in the wrong place at the wrong time with the bad light for great photos. 

Check out the postcards. They can save you time finding the best angle. Looking at the postcards and perhaps asking the locals where they were made puts you on the trail to the most scenic locations for great photos. Once you find that general area look around, and you can probably improve on the postcard picture. 

Make the best photograph possible when you find the perfect spot, then do the obligatory “in-front-of” shot. You know, the one that shows that you and yours were there, but be careful. There are a couple of things to watch out for. Place the family so that where you are is (1) the only place that photo could have been made. Place the people to one side, perhaps up close, so that (2) the folks are recognizable and be sure the “scenic attraction” is also identifiable in the photo. If you covered it up, you could have stayed home and taken the picture in the backyard. 

Overshooting ensures excellent photos. Give yourself room to edit when you’re back home. If you seldom write, you probably wouldn’t use the first sentence you thought of to start a paper. In writing, we usually put down as many thoughts as we can and then edit. From all the thoughts and ideas jotted down, we find the ones that work best. 

Do the same in photography. Take lots and lots of photos. It gets the creative juices flowing. Besides, it’s fun. Try different angles: close-up, wide angle, zooming in. Shoot at low angles, climb up high and look for new ways of seeing the subject. Back up and take the long, establishing shot. Turn around and see what’s behind you; it could be just as exciting as what is in front. 

Use your camera to journal your trip. Photograph the food you eat, where you stay, and the people you meet. Some of these “notes” may appear in large print on your wall. 

With digital, you can shoot a thousand rolls of film and fit it into a memory card. Talk about traveling light… and cheap -no film cost. 

I’ve never heard anyone say they took too many photos on their trip. I have listened to the sad stories of many people who left the camera in the room and missed golden opportunities. 

A person’s expression can make the photograph or break it.

Everyone recognizes and is affected by people’s expressions of being happy, sleepy, cheerful, silly… you get the idea.

Understanding how our feelings we translated into expressions helps you understand and capture these moments. 

You need to learn to look at people’s expressions and immediately be able to know how this makes you feel.  Your reactions to others’ expressions help you understand the power of what they are communicating to the world through their expressions.  One of the benefits of this exercise is realizing each of us is expressing how we feel to the world through our expressions.

Once you have taken the time to realize what an expression communicates, you can then ask what causes this expression.  The answer to this question will help one to anticipate.  What caused them to smile?  This cause and effect help you know when you recognize those events that get reactions—you need only point the camera in the right direction and zoom in for a successful photograph.

When people open their birthday presents, those who bought the gifts will often know if this was on the person’s wish list.  Watching my daughter open her presents on her birthday and Christmas was easy to anticipate the expressions of joy.

Alfred Eisenstaedt, known to millions worldwide through his work for LIFE Magazine, made a famous photograph of children’s reactions to a puppet show.  Today professional photographers point their cameras as much to the reactions as the actions for storytelling expressions.

Where are some of the best places to start making great expression-driven photos?  I think special events with some obvious timeline scheduled events are the best places to start—opening the presents we have already mentioned.  Another would be an audience reaction to a speaker. 

Some funniest expressions are when people forget they are the center of attention—like a children’s performance.  Parents can capture great photos of their children during performances.  But to capture the expressions, you have to be close.

A good rule of thumb for ensuring an expression is seen to remember can you tell time by the size of the person’s face.  There is a convenient reason we do not have wristwatches hanging on walls to tell time and just a good reason we don’t wear wall clocks on our wrists.  When you look at a wristwatch on your hand, it is very close to your face.  It is almost the same size as the clock face on the wall across the room when you hold your hand up with the clock on the wall in the background.

So, if you want people to see the expressions get close.  Great expressions only work if they have the “WOW” factor, which is achieved by the expression being large enough for people to see.