Category: Photography

Protecting and help retain the value of lenses

by Stanley LearyPhotography

Not long after I bought my first Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8, I invested in the LensCoat Neoprene Cover for the lens.

On the most basic level, it prevents cosmetic blemishes on the surface of the lens and helps retain the value of the lens. However, your lens will still depreciate. Look at KEH’s guide, and you will see how much depreciation is cosmetic.

KEH grades:

NEWNew defined as packaged by manufacturer complete with manufacturer’s USA warranty. Not previously owned or used by a consumer. *You have probably seen the words “NEW” or “LOWER PRICE” listed online or in our catalog, where prices usually appear. Due to specific manufacturers’ minimum pricing requirements, we are not permitted to publish the price if we sell it for less than the manufacturer’s Minimum Advertised Price (MAP). While these listings may seem inconvenient, it is our way of letting you know that when you call or click through on the website, you will be quoted the lowest pricing anywhere for comparable items.
DEMOThe demo is defined as packaged by the manufacturer, complete with the manufacturer’s USA warranty. She was never owned by a consumer but used for demonstration.
LN“Like New” Includes the original box and instructions.
LN-“Like New Minus” Extremely slight wear only seen upon very close inspection. Box and accessories are usually not included. Glass perfect*.
EX+“Excellent Plus” is Exceptionally nice. It May have slight wear on the finish but is visible only under close inspection. Glass is very clean*.
EX“Excellent” Shows moderate wear. It may have minor dents, dings, and slight finish wear. Glass may have little marks and blemishes that will not affect picture quality*.
BGN“Bargain” Shows more than average wear. It May have dents, dings, brassing, and finish loss. Glass may have marks and blemishes that should not affect picture quality*.
UG“Ugly” Very rough looking. Multiple impressions in metal, excessive finish loss, and brassing. Glass will have marks, fungus, and haze, affecting picture quality.
AI“As-Is” is Usually to be used for parts only. All equipment sold in the As-Is category carries no warranty nor return privileges. The equipment most likely doesn’t work and may have missing pieces. Defects include but are not limited to the problems listed in the description.

Here you can see the lens without the lens coating; that is how I hope to keep it looking for a long time.

A great feature includes a clear, flexible UV-PVC window over the AF/IS/VR controls and the distance-scale window. This window also helps you from accidentally bumping and changing those settings.

LensCoat® Lens Covers are manufactured from 100% closed-cell neoprene, offering protection from bumps, jars, and nicks, with a camouflage-pattern fabric cover. LensCoat® Lens Covers also provide a thermal barrier, protecting your hands from cold lenses in lower temperatures. In addition, they are easy to install and remove, sliding on like a sleeve and leaving no residue on the lens. And LensCoat® lens covers are waterproof, protecting in harsh conditions.

If the LensCoat performs as well on this lens as the last one I had on my older 120-300mm, I will recover the cost of the $89.

Here is a video explaining the product that LensCoat produced.

Process for buying a lens

by Stanley LearyPhotography
 

While I reviewed this lens a year ago, I am now buying the Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8 DG OS HSM Lens for the Nikon mount. So here it is on my Nikon D4.

The Sigma was more of an upgrade. Buying the newer version would be like selling your older car after getting 12 years of use of it and then buying a new one.

Until last night, I owned the original Sigma 120-300mm.

Here is a screen grab of the eBay listing I did to sell the lens. I sold it in less than 24 hours. But unfortunately, I didn’t list it until I had the other lens.

I listed the lens for sale using 11 photos, with this one being the main photo. Most people want to see everything.

I did differently this time by including photos taken with the lens.

These are all the photos I put up to sell the lens. In addition, two of the four images I posted taken with the lens were ones published in Sports Illustrated. I think this helped to sell the lens.

Too many people think that if it isn’t a Nikon or Canon lens, Sports Illustrated will not use it. I even had one photographer say this to me while standing next to me at a football game, trying to put down my lens. I laughed out loud at him and said that is funny because look at this week’s SI, and you can see the photo. Then he started back peddling and asked how big it ran.

 

Here is that photo.

All this is to say the lens I bought twelve years ago was great and did an excellent job through the years. However, I was replacing it because the newer technology that has come along makes it possible to get even sharper photos.

Sigma introduced a USB docking station that only works with their “Global Lenses,” and the 120-300mm is one of those lenses. Micro-adjust settings change the focus position bias and provide many exciting options for photographers who like to tinker with their equipment to get the best results. I am one of those photographers.

I do not have the funds to buy all the lenses now available in this focal length and test them. When I purchased the first lens, there were no other options except fixed lenses.

I highly recommend always going to the DXOMark website and looking at their test results on the lenses you are interested in buying. For example, I reviewed the DXOMark website when I wanted to see if I should buy the Nikon 200-400mm or get the newer Sigma 120-300.

The chart below is the side-by-side comparison of a Nikon D4. Another cool thing is you can check the results on your camera if they tested it.

I was also just a little curious about the Canon 200-400mm and how it measured up to it. So I compared it.

You can click on this comparison to see it larger. The bottom line is for sharpness; it was pretty equal.

Price Comparison:

  • Sigma    $3,599
  • Nikon    $6,749
  • Canon    $11,749
It was a no-brainer even after tossing in the USB Dock [$59] to calibrate the lens based on price alone.
Proverb

you get what you pay for

In commercial transactions, the quality of goods and services increases as the prices increase, i.e., the more one pays, the better the merchandise.

Well, the test results on these lenses and my experience with the Sigma lenses proved the old English proverb wasn’t always correct.

If you buy the lens, then be sure and buy the USB Dock and calibrate the lens. Here is a blog post I did about this process.

After I did all this research, I just looked for who had the lens and could get it to me at the best price. The best price nowadays was more about who offered free shipping because the price was pretty much the same no matter where you looked.

Stay tuned in the future, and I will be sure to post many photos from this lens.

Your photography gets better when you synthesize

by Stanley LearyPhotography
 
Teaching in Lisbon, Portugal. [photo by Jeff Raymond]

Synthesizing is the combining of two things for something completely new. For example, I have discovered through the years that combining items in teaching improves my photography.

Storyline

I have discovered that as I came to understand Joseph Campbell’s The Hero’s Journey as a framework for telling stories, I could not only analyze a project and make it better, but I can also apply this storyline to my own life and make changes.

Studying the concept of the storyline helped me do a better job throughout the storytelling process. I did a better job of pre-planning and, amid the shooting of the story, adjusted more quickly and improved the storytelling due to understanding the power of the myth of The Hero’s Journey.

Steve Johnson did a great job a few years ago talking about how synthesis takes place in ideas.

I have enjoyed teaching a lot more than I thought I ever would. I was terrified at first, but over time learned to thrive.

Teaching students in the Storytelling workshop in Lisbon, Portugal. [photo by Jeff Raymond]

I have shared in many of my past blog posts about how teaching is the highest form of the learning process.

Combining photography, video, audio, and writing, I have been able to tell stories more effectively than when I was doing photography.

When I started to teach, I was perfecting my storytelling skills. First, I had to connect the subject with the audience. Often that audience is just one person. Second, I would have to understand enough about the audience to know how to choose the right metaphors to engage them and teach different complex concepts.

[photo by Jeff Raymond]

I noticed that when I showed the audience something, their understanding increased over just talking about it. So I was synthesizing [combining] the visual and the spoken word to create a more meaningful and understandable presentation.

I have had many “Aha moments” where what many might consider a failure was a calibrating moment. You try a metaphor and realize this did not work with that audience. You may use it later, but then you must come up with another way to connect with the subject you are trying to teach the audience.

When pros take photos, the first pictures they take in a studio, for example, are to check the exposure, white balance, and often containing a composition. They then look at the photo and analyze it. Does it need to be lighter or darker? Is it too green or magenta? Do I need to do a custom white balance to fix it?

Teaching storytelling has me teaching a variety of subjects. Here are some of the topics I am training, for example:

  • Software like Adobe Lightroom, PhotoShop, Adobe Premier, or Final Cut
  • Lighting— Hot shoe flashes, studio strobes, radio remotes, flash metering, custom white balance, high-speed sync, slow-speed sync
  • Camera — ƒ-stops, aperture, shutter speed, ISO, EV, White Balance, composition, lens choices
  • Subjects — Sports, Fashion, Portraiture, Science, Features, Photo Stories, Environmental Portraits, 360º Panoramics, Landscape
  • Audio — microphones, setting levels, natural sound, voice over
  • Video/motion — formats, audio, storyboarding, scripts

There are more topics, but when I started to teach multimedia storytelling, I synthesized all of them in the class. You cannot teach a subject effectively if you do not know it inside and out. Once the student starts to ask questions about things you haven’t thought about, you must be able to process the inquiry and pull upon all this information to help formulate a response.

When you can answer the student’s questions and help everyone learn, you get invited to teach more and more. You then get exposed to more and more questions which often may have you saying let me get back to you on that question. I might find myself with a camera and working on a solution to the student’s question.

You see, when you teach, you will synthesize the material, and by combining the content, you create new content. As a result, you will start to CREATE new IDEAS. These unique creations will strengthen your portfolio and help you get more work.

Since I don’t always have a class to teach, I use the blog as a way to help me continue to synthesize content and improve my skills. Combining ideas is how you build a better portfolio.

How are you getting better?

You may need a new camera before a new lens

by Stanley LearyPhotography
 
Nikon D60 was announced in January 2008

You may have an excellent camera that isn’t all that old. For example, this Nikon D60 was a great camera in January 2008.

It was a 10.2-megapixel camera with an ISO range of 100—1600; you could push it to 3200.

What prompted this blog post was a class I taught today to a group of photographers. After helping them for a couple of weeks with settings, one student went out shooting and still had problems taking photos inside without a flash. All the images had a great deal of motion blur.

The camera settings were ISO 1600, ƒ/3.5 & 1/2 sec.

Sigma 17—50mm ƒ/2.8 $519

Lens Solution

The first thought by many was to get a faster lens. The kit lens was 18-55mm ƒ/3.5—5.6. We looked at replacing it with a Sigma 17—50mm ƒ/2.8. However, this would only give her about a little less than a stop at 17mm and 50mm 2 stops.

So she could have shot only at 1/4 second verses from 1/2 second.

Nikon D3300 Introduced April 2014 $599.95

Camera Solution

I started doing the math in my head. What if we look at today’s newer cameras with higher ISOs instead?

If we buy a camera with a top ISO of 12800, we will gain 3—stops. So instead of shooting ISO 1600, ƒ/3.5 & 1/2 sec, we could now shoot ISO 12800, ƒ/3.5 & 1/15.

Ultimate Solution

Buy the camera and the lens. However, if you are on a budget, buy the camera first. It will upgrade all your lenses by 3—stops. I remember going from the Nikon D2Xs to the Nikon D3. The D2Xs ISO 100—800, but the Nikon D3 ISO 200—6400. Those 4—stops made all of the lenses in my bag increase by 4.

All my ƒ/5.6 lenses were equivalent in how much light they let in on the D3 as a ƒ/1.4 was doing on my D2Xs.

I can tell you from my personal experience the jump of 4—stops were the biggest game changer I had gone through in all of my gear upgrades in my career.

Photojournalism is a great way to develop social skills

by Stanley LearyPhotography
 

photo by Jeff Raymond

Being a visual storyteller requires you to capture a wide range of information and distill it down to the essential elements to capture an audience’s attention and inform them about a subject.

Starting this profession, you learn extensively from your mistakes those first few years. One of the first things most newspaper photographers fail to do early is to get all the information necessary to write a caption. You cannot do this job like a tourist as they travel. It would help if you interacted with the people you photograph and got some basic information necessary to the story.

Born with Asperger’s Syndrome and an Introvert

I am an introvert and also have Asperger’s.

An INTROVERT is a person who is energized by being alone and whose energy is drained by being around other people. Contrary to what most people think, an introvert is not simply a person who is shy. Being introspective, though, does not mean that an introvert never has conversations. However, those conversations are generally about ideas and concepts, not about what they consider the trivial matters of social small talk. Introverts make up about 60% of the gifted population but only about 25-40% of the general population.

Asperger’s Syndrome is characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction and nonverbal communication, alongside restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests.

It is draining for Introverts to talk to people about subjects they aren’t interested in—people with Asperger’s struggle with verbalizing their thoughts.

The most challenging thing that I continue to struggle with even today is empathy. Genuine empathy is the ability to be aware of one’s feelings and thoughts. At the same time, you are aware of another person’s feelings and beliefs (or several other persons’). It means having the wherewithal to speak about this awareness. It also means mutual understanding and a sense of caring for one another.

I had to learn that I had very little empathy. It took me until my 30s to start to deal with this flaw. My wiring is not to naturally observe others’ feelings; I needed to work on this skill.

This is where photography became an asset. To improve my photos, I had to get better at analyzing situations and seeing those visual clues to pick up on people’s emotions. DING! DING! Eureka moments started to take place once I had training in body language. I first started studying body language in Social Work, but it was my time with Don Rutledge, my photo mentor, who taught me to see emotions.

It would take years before I could take what I was learning and start to capture it with my camera.

photo by Ken Touchton

I had to learn I needed to stop expecting my grasp of the facts to rule. But unfortunately, this was a trait that I share with many who have Asperger’s.

I couldn’t continue to say I was the arbiter of truth and protected by the second amendment when working for all my clients. So developing social skills is necessary for me to navigate the intricate path to gain access and cooperation to tell stories and get the assignments.

photo by Jeff Raymond

Journalist Questions

The formula for getting the complete story on a subject starts with answering the Five Ws.

  • Who is it about?
  • What happened?
  • Where did it take place?
  • When did it take place?
  • Why did it happen?
  • How did it happen?
Curiously none of the answers to these questions is a simple “yes” or “no.” My first experience was shooting for the East Carolinian, the East Carolina University student paper. I remember editors looking at my photos and loving them and then saying they couldn’t use them because I didn’t have the names of the people.
 
Quickly I learned that if I wanted to get published and paid, I had to have the Five Ws. 
 
I loved photography so much that I would do anything to keep doing it—even talk to people about subjects I wasn’t interested in at first. But, I learned through the years that everyone has a story and that by just spending some time listening and asking questions, I found out I was interested in a lot more subjects than before I started as a journalist.
 
I am critiquing students’ work with Morris Abernathy and Warren Johnson.
Photo Critique Sessions
 
I went to experts in photography to have them review my work. Each time I learned things that I could do to improve my photos. Then I would work on these recommendations and then come back to those people and ask how they did I do in implementing their suggestions.
 

I did this for a good twenty years with Don Rutledge, and never did he not have something that I could work on to improve. So I went to the Maine Photographic Workshop, studied with Steve McCurry, and worked on other aspects of my storytelling. Over time I got my work in front of industry leaders. Each time I learned something else that, if I tweaked, would make my images better at storytelling.

I remember the first time I shared my images with Tom Kennedy. At the time, he was the director of photography for National Geographic Magazine. I was terrified. He complimented me about it being solid professional work, and then he said I needed surprises. He expected to see the level of work I was doing, but to grab Tom’s attention for National Geographic Magazine, I needed to surprise him. It would take ten years to understand what he meant with that statement and where I started to shoot a unique and different photo.

I learned that I grew even more when mentoring and critiquing others’ work. To teach photography means you must understand the subject at a much higher level.
 
Teaching Photojournalism—Icing on the Cake
 
Photojournalism taught me how to listen to subjects and better understand them, and it helped me tell their story. Then, when the subjects would contact me and thank me, I felt I was finally doing a good job.
 
Teaching made me start to understand the audience more than I had done before. I could communicate something to an audience, but the story would fail unless the message was received and understood.
 
When students didn’t get a concept, I had to think of another way to communicate the message. Do this often and start understanding how to do a better job. You begin to learn how to do a better job of presenting the subject in the first place.
 
I also learned that no matter how well I do my job, sometimes those critical messages may need different stories told to reach more of your audience.
 
Everything to make your photos better with storytelling is all the things that will improve your social skills. One of the best examples is the quote from the famous photographer Robert Capa, “If your photos are not good enough, you are not close enough.”
 

The Two Most Made Travel Photography Mistakes

by Stanley LearyPhotography
 

Batteries

The number one mistake I see most often made by people traveling with cameras is not having enough fresh batteries.

Depending on your camera and flash, you may need more than just one extra battery. For example, my Nikon D4 camera can go most of a day shooting still images with one battery; however, if I start to shoot video or spend a lot of time reviewing images on my LCD, I can drain the battery and need a second.

My Fuji X-E2 goes through batteries, and I used all three batteries the day before.

I recommend having at least one extra battery, and before you leave for the day of shooting, be sure to charge both batteries fully.

Every evening before you turn in for bed, be sure to recharge all your batteries. That way, they will all be ready for another full day of shooting your travel in the morning.

Memory Cards

Carrying a few extra memory cards on a trip is much easier than a laptop computer.

For a once in a lifetime trip, it is wise to keep all the images on cards until you have them all on your computer and backed up in another location before formatting your cards.

Memory Card Tip

Always format your cards in your camera and not on your computer. The camera will do a better job of clearing the cards and creating the proper directories needed for the card to work correctly with the camera.

Common portrait mistake made by photographers

by Stanley LearyPhotography
 
 
Fuji X-E2, 55-200mm, ISO 1000, ƒ/4.8, 1/500

When making a person’s portrait, people often end up with a photo like the one above. Instead, they are looking for an image like the one below.

 
 
Fuji X-E2, 55-200mm, ISO 1000, ƒ/4.8, 1/500

As you can easily see, the background in the first photo is quite distracting and competes with the face of the person. In the second photo, some people might even say the subject just “pops” out of the picture.

Notice the camera settings are identical.

The difference is the distance the subject is to the background. For example, in the first photo, the person is right next to the background, and in the next one, the subject is 30 feet away from the background.

If you have a very distracting background like the brick wall, move the subject very far away to be able to throw the background out of focus.

Even if the background is a plain solid color wall, pull the person away from it, so you do not see the wall’s texture.

Don’t be a Naysayer

by Stanley LearyPhotography
 

This photo is of the Mexico/US border in Douglas, Arizona. Many children are now crossing the Mexican border without their parents. You can read more about this here. Why? They are desperate to solve a problem they have, and even risking their lives in the middle of the desert is better for them than remaining in their situation.

I mention this to remind us that when people come to you with a problem, you are either part of the solution or not.

Naysayers

nay•say•er: a person who says something will not work or is not possible : a person who denies, refuses, or opposes something

For many years while I was a staff photographer, people classified me as a “naysayer” due to how often people came to me to ask me to do something, and I explained why it wasn’t possible.

I remember when it finally hit me how negative I was when my co-worker jokingly said that I always was saying no. While the comment hurt me, I realized he was right.

Are you a Naysayer?

My experience has been there are more naysayers on staff than freelance. You cannot grow your business by saying no. It would help if you learned how to say yes. Those freelancers who say no too often are soon looking for another career. However, being on staff is a little more protection than being negative. However, this has a time limit as well.

A good clue that you might be a naysayer is other people are starting to do what you perceive as your job.

“Why are they bringing in an outsider to do what I am supposed to do?” is a question you might be asking if you are a naysayer. While working as a staff photographer for a college, I couldn’t understand why the admissions office was hiring freelance photographers to shoot their recruiting catalogs.

Hiring an outsider is not always due to being a naysayer. Many colleges around the country have staff photographers who do most all the work for a school. However, when it comes to the school’s advertising, they are looking for a particular style. You should be fine if you offer to help them and the photographer is coming in to shoot.

If you feel threatened by this outside photographer, take a deep breath. Ask yourself if anyone has come to me and I answered them with reasons their request isn’t possible. If you did, then you should feel threatened.

Too often, people take the attitude that it is their job and the rules say I have this responsibility. But, unfortunately, you do have this until you become an obstacle to people in the company trying to get their projects done.

Be an Optimist

The opposite of the Naysayer is the Optimist. When people come to you with requests, learn how to turn their proposal into a reality. While someone’s request has some vast problems look first for something positive. A big clue is that if nothing seems good about their request at the bare minimum, you can start by being excited that they came to you with their idea.

“I am honored that you thought of me to help you with your project” is a great way to start on a positive note.

When addressing an obstacle, talk about a solution. For example, let’s say you don’t have a particular piece of equipment to make that happen. Tell the client if we can rent or buy a part you don’t have that would make it possible. Maybe you need an extra hand to make it happen. For example, for me to move the couch from this room to another, I need some help carrying it, would you or can you find someone to help? I am more than willing, but I am busy now and could use some service to find another person.

The trick is to let them know from your experience that we need to address something for success. I am more than willing to help you, but my boss has me working on these projects. So while I can ask them to let me help you, it would be better for you to request my time.

Remember Storyline

Looking at the storyline elements will help remind you why you need to be the Optimist and not the Naysayer.

The person coming to you has a Conflict/Task and is looking to you to help them as a Guide/Resource. If you say no, their issue doesn’t go away. Like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, she will move down the yellow brick road to find the solution to her problem.

The difference between the Optimist and the Naysayer is the Assignment they give to the person. Please give them the solutions [Actions] to help their story turn into a comedy, not a Tragedy. You saying no is just not an option for someone who needs to solve a problem.

When someone proposes a new program that will compete with your schedule, tell them how you want to help and need to understand their goals. Also, ask for their critique on how the current program you are doing isn’t meeting those needs. Don’t be quick to defend your program.

If you listen, you may learn that your program isn’t serving all the needs, or maybe you need to tweak the communication about your program to show how it addresses those needs. Either way, there is a perception that it is not meeting the audience’s needs.

Your role may change going forward, but learning how to listen and adjust makes you more valuable to them and the organization.

As long as you are helping the organization address the new issues facing it, you are part of the solution and will have a job in the future. If you try and protect and keep things as they are, you are not growing and slowly helping the organization die.

The most under utilized setting on a camera

by Stanley LearyPhotography
 

Your photos might look much better if they look sharp in the viewfinder. This dial is how you make sure they are in focus.

Most cameras today have a diopter adjustment dial near the viewfinder. For example, this arrow points to the diopter adjustment on the Fuji X-E2.

The camera comes with diopter adjustment in the rangeof  –4 to +2 m–1 to accommodate individual differences in vision. Rotate the diopter adjustment control until the viewfinder display is in sharp focus.

Fuji covers this in the basic setup of the camera, right after you set the date and time for the camera. It is more important than all the other settings like ISO, Aperture, Shutter Speed, and Focus settings. Why? You need to see the subject and know if it is in focus and read all the information they provide you in the viewfinder.

First Steps 

  1. Attaching the Strap
  2. Attaching a Lens
  3. Charging the Battery
  4. Inserting the Battery and a Memory Card
  5. Compatible Memory Cards
  6. Turning the Camera on and Of
  7. Basic Setup
  8. Choosing a Display
  9. Focusing the Viewfinder 
  10. Adjusting Display Brightness

The great advantage of the mirrorless Fuji X-E2 over a conventional DSLR is when looking through the viewfinder, you can do everything through it. So once you adjust the diopter, you don’t need your glasses to review images or change settings in the menu; use the EVF instead of the LCD screen.

Photography is about anticipating

by Stanley LearyPhotography
 
Fuji X-E2, 18-55mm, ISO 800, ƒ/5.6, 8.6 sec.

I posted this photo on Facebook last night, and a friend said, “I love this photo. It looks like a postcard. What are the settings you used?”

The Facebook comment makes me want to say Patience Young, Grasshopper. If you are not old enough, in the 1970s was a TV show called Kung Fu. Here is the scene that I loved:

It would help if you had the patience to make the photo I created. So often, when people travel, they see a beautiful scene and take a picture, and few will return to the spot to take it at a better moment.

Fuji X-E2, 18-55mm ISO 200, ƒ/22, 1/10

While I love this photo just as much as the nighttime photo, I like it for different reasons. It has a different mood in the picture.

I also took this photo later in the week while in Kona, Hawaii.

Fuji X-E2, 18-55mm, ISO 6400, ƒ/5.6, 1/5

I realized that if I could wait and capture a car driving down the hill in the frame, I could have their headlights light up the road, and the red tail lights add just a little color.

I tried the photo with cars coming up the hill but felt the headlights were too bright. Maybe you like this better. Here is one of those photos.

Fuji X-E2, 18-55mm, ISO 800, ƒ/5.6, 7 sec.

To take the photo, I put the camera on a tripod and then timed how long it was taking cars to go down the hill. I wanted between a 6 to 10-second exposure to have the lights move enough through the scene. So I played with the ISO, ƒ-stop until I found something that worked to give me about 7 to 8-second exposures.

The other thing is that this must be done at dusk and not too late, or the sky will be black.

The lesson here can apply to all photography. You must find a good composition and wait for the action to develop. You are anticipating what will happen.

Nikon D100, Sigma 15-35mm, ISO 400, ƒ/6.7, 1/180

I arrived early for a basketball game to put a camera behind the backboard and four strobes in the ceiling to light the basketball court. I then had to wait for what I had anticipated would happen in the game.

Ansel Adams called this pre-visualization. I have seen many scenes before, and now I would plan to capture them.

What will you photograph today that will require you to arrive early and wait?

Client’s memory is very short

by Stanley LearyPhotography
 
Fuji X-E2, 55-200mm, ISO 640, ƒ/4.8, 1/500

Friday 13th

Tonight there is a full moon, and it is Friday the 13th. For those that are superstitious, I guess this is a Freaky Friday.

The June full moon is frequently the one nearest to the summer solstice, which falls on June 21 this year. Unfortunately, because of a neat bit of galactic geometry, the full moon on Friday will be the lowest in the sky in 2014.

Something that I am starting to notice is how clients can be Freaky. Clients and people, in general, are very demanding.

Fuji X-E2, 55-200mm, ISO 6400, ƒ/4.5, 1/340 [photo by Chelle Leary]

While I have been on vacation and relaxing, I have had to give assignments to my friends to shoot for my clients. I never tell my clients I am unavailable without always finding someone to shoot the work for them if I am unavailable.

We can go back to Biblical times to see how the Israelites became restless when Moses went up the mountain.

Exodus 32:1
32 When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.”

Only Good As Your Last Job

You may have heard the old saying that you are “only good as your last job,” but I would say the lesson is to work hard at keeping new work in front of your clients. Could you not rely on them to remain faithful?

In the movie Ten Commandments, based on the Bible events, the people continue over and over to become restless even after significant miracles performed by Moses. For example, to get the Jewish people out of the slavery of Egypt, there were ten plagues. As they were on the run, Moses parted the Red Sea. Still, throughout their time in the desert, the people complained.

I cite that story to say, don’t be surprised when your clients move on without you, even if your work is the best in the industry.

Importance of personal project[s]


While one of my projects was a series of videos on a coffee cooperative in Mexico near the Guatemala border, I continued to shoot more videos all the time.

Blogging

While I continue to create new content by shooting daily and creating videos weekly, I also create new content on this blog three times a week.

eNewsletter

Each month I create an eNewsletter to connect with my clients. Here is a link to the most recent one that I sent out.

Phone Calls

I learned from my good friend Ken Touchton a while ago that calling your clients and prospects each week was a great way to remain in front of your clients. Ken told me that each Sunday evening, he took a few minutes and made a list of five clients and five prospects he would call that week. Two phone calls each day to a client and one to a candidate.

Doing this helped him to build a great client base that grew through the years.

emails

Today I also connect with clients by checking in with them through emails. I do this regularly.

Social Media

I also connect with and follow my clients and prospects through social media sites like Facebook, Google+, Linkedin, and Pinterest.

So what are you doing to remain in front of your clients? Remember, even God had a difficult time remaining in the minds of his people.

Going freelance and pricing advice

by Stanley Learybusiness / Photography / pricing
Fuji X-E2, 18-55mm, ISO 6400, ƒ/5, 1/100

Editorial Note: Writing to you while on vacation in Emerald Isle, NC. The photos are some from my time here.

Questions just this week

Question #1: if someone wants to buy a digital copy of a photo and not a print, what is the recommended price to charge them?

Question #2: I have always had a strong desire to shoot full-time on my own, so I am praying through if this transition is right for me. Would love to hear your thoughts.

First Pricing

I heard it put once very well when it came to pricing. The photographer was talking about portrait and wedding photography. First he pointed out to me that this is a luxury and not a need.

Since no one needs your photos to survive then you shouldn’t feel bad about your prices. He believed that you want to be known as the most expensive photographer just like a jeweler wants to be known this way. Mind you Walmart still sells more engagement diamonds, but unless you can be a volume discounter this is a hard way to realistically build your business.

The photographer then went on to tell me your goal is to get all the money you can from their pocket to yours. Sounds a bit greedy, but they explained this as you want to get the most you can for your work that they can afford.

If the people who are talking to you about your work are minimum wage workers barely getting by, then your prices that you can realistically charge are most likely not enough for you to live on. However, if the people you are talking to live in a penthouse on 5th Avenue in New York, then you are able to charge a larger amount.

Fuji X-E2, 18-55mm, ISO 6400, ƒ/5, 1/250

What must you charge?

Now we know you can charge just about anything depending on the ability of the client to pay, what must you charge? You need a minimum price that you need to charge or you lose money. Do this too much and you are out of business or even worse you go bankrupt.

Basically you figure out what it costs you to live plus what it costs you to run your business. This figure will be very different if you choose to live in Beverly Hills, California or in Lizard Lick, North Carolina. If you choose to drive a Rolls Royce or a Nissan Versa.

I break down the parts of an estimate here in an earlier blog post.

Here is another blog 9 things you need to do before going freelance full-time, which I also recommend for reading.

Must Charge vs What Can You Get

The Gap between what you must charge to pay the bills and what you could charge is where you negotiate your price.

In assignment work and stock photography the best place to help get some industry ranges is fotoQuote Pro.

When someone wants to use one of your photos, you don’t need a number pulled out of a hat, you need help to get paid fairly for your work. You need fotoQuote, the industry standard photo pricing guide for stock and assignment photography.

The fotoQuote photo pricing guide is the only source of photo pricing information for photographers that includes powerful coaching help for every category. The fotoQuote price guide not only helps you come up with a fair price for your image license, but it also gives you the negotiation information you need to help you close the sale.

Numbers by themselves don’t mean anything if you can’t convince your client that your image is worth what you are asking.

The license for each image can easily be copied so that you can embed it into the metadata for your image, illustration, or video clip. The license can also be pasted into an external invoice or document. It will look like this:

Usage: Magazine Editorial.Consumer
Circulation: 25k to 50k
Size: Cover
License Duration: 1 Year
Territory: US Only
Industry: Publishing-Periodicals
Rights/Exclusivity: One-Time Non-Exclusive
Release Information: No model release

The rate fotoQuote gives you for assignment work is what you charge on top of your “creative fee” or base price.

Hobbyist → Part-time Photographer → Full-time Photographer

Timing your transitions from a Hobbyist to a Part-time Photographer is much easier than going full-time.

First let me try and talk you out of doing this. Seven Reasons Not to Become a Freelance Professional Photographer

I highly recommend keeping your day job while starting your freelance business on the side. When your day job is REGULARLY getting in the way of your FREELANCE this is when you should consider going full-time freelance.

In 2002 I was laid off from what I considered a great job. Well truthfully I was very frustrated with the environment for the last few years I was on staff. While I enjoyed the opportunities to shoot a variety of subjects, I was finding myself out of sync with my coworkers.

I should have left earlier, but I didn’t think I could made it as a freelancer. I liked having people just give me things to photograph and go home and come in the next day and do it again.

When I got called in and told that my position had been eliminated I was devastated. I called my wife and friend to come and help me pack up my gear and books and move out. As we were packing up my things my friend was trying to comfort me and made a very profound comment. “Stanley if you put in the amount of effort you have been doing here in your freelance, you will be a very successful photographer.”

I thought about his comment a lot that first year of freelancing.  He had said it to me with such conviction that I realized he really believed it to be true. Later even my wife would comment and say that he was right.

My life did change and each day I got up and worked hard.

By the way my freelance was starting to really pick up before this happened to me.

Tips for the freelancer

  • Keep a similar work schedule to the one you had on staff. Get up and go to work. While you may not have to drive anywhere to commute, still get out of bed eat breakfast and then take that commute to another part of your house/apartment.
  • Get dressed for work. One of my friends Ken Touchton told me in those early days that he used to get dressed and put on a tie just to go to the next room. It helps put you psychologically in a different frame of mind.
  • Create a calendar of events. Just like you had in your last job, schedule time for different thing you need to be doing. You need to create; meetings, lunch dates, and find events from things like the Chamber of Commerce to attend in your community.
  • Create a database of clients, prospects, and family/friends. You may need to buy a list to add to your present list. You may need to go to the library and find those resources with contacts in them for your niche´. Remember this formula that for every 1,000 contact names in your database only 100 of them will be interested in your services. Of those 100 contacts only 10 of them will become a client.
  • Create a plan on connecting to those in your database. Another formula is to know that it takes about 6 – 8 touches with a contact before they remember you. Therefore you need to have a plan on how to contact these folks in a way that is positive and not annoying. I recommend mixing up your arsenal. I use: Phone Calls, emails, eNewsletters, Blogging, Postcards, and events as ways that I can make contact with my prospects and clients.
  • Develop an elevator speech. You need to be able at a moments notice explain to anyone what you do. Here is a link to mine.

Freelancing is like a farmer. You will be plowing the fields, weeding and doing a lot of work long before you will be able to harvest the crop. 

If the farmer doesn’t put in the time and investment then there is no harvest.

Just like the farmer you can do everything right, but there are things outside your control. Most of the farmers I know have a tremendous faith in God and know that while they can do everything right there is much out of their control. They pray for guidance and wisdom. Most of all they pray for grace.