Photocommando

Creating A Look of Photographic Distinction

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 00:43:55 +0000

Once you’ve explored what the competition is doing and saying, it’s up to you to define what your “look” will be. I think this is one of those things that just happens if you have a solid understanding of your equipment and software. It might come as a surprise to you, at first, but, more often than not, your pictures will gravitate towards a certain amount of saturation, contrast, brightness and even compositional placement.

Of all these, composition may be the hardest to pin down. Here are some things you want to “see” when composing your shots:

Depth of Field
Lines and Symetry
Patterns
Texture
Exposure

In the coming weeks, we’ll take a closer look at all of these. Understanding them and embracing each one personally will give you a singular look.

Get To Know The Competition in Photography

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 20:32:51 +0000

Once the desire to be a photographer meets the daunting task of actually becoming a photographer, one of the first steps to take is to check in on the competition. As I wanted to be a wedding photographer in my area, I did the following:

Googled “wedding photographers Thousand Oaks” (my home town)
visited the individual websites that were relevant (more on this later, when we visit SEO for Photographers)
checked out their portfolios/pictures
checked out their prices

Now, to my surprise, there seemed to be a significant drop-off in both price and quality following the first three to four “expensive” photographers. Yet, there was a term being used by all these photographers - the good, the bad, and the unsaturated - “photojournalism.” What the hell is photojournalism, I remember asking myself. After some research, it turns out that what wedding photographers call photojournalism and what really is photojournalism are two very different things.

Nonetheless, the word was everywhere and its importance came to me shortly after finding it, in talking to my very first bride (my cousin). When I asked what it was she wanted for her pictures (God knows, she could have said anything and the pictures would have looked the same), she said (you know it), “photojournalism.”

Here’s what she did NOT want:

stiff, staged poses
an overbearing photographer
boring pictures

For her wedding, we made sure to be out of her way most of the time, choosing to shoot from non-intrusive nooks and angles. When it came time for the formal shots, they were done quickly (as I had planned them out earlier) and the entire experience went well. Was that photojournalism? I don’t think so, but it helped to know what she did not want and, more importantly, it helped me realize that this word was a major keyword in the bride’s vocabulary when talking about wedding photography.

As mentioned earlier, all this came about from a simple search of my local competition, understanding what they were offering, how they were wording their sales pitch and, most importantly, how their pictures matched what they were saying.

Tomorrow, we’ll look further into using this baseline understanding of your competition and how to apply it to your benefit.

Becoming a Professional Photographer

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 21:23:07 +0000

Some people want to act, others want to write, yet others want to paint or sculpt. For us, of course, it’s photography. Now, we won’t get into how you got to this point because what you really want to know is:

HOW DO I BECOME A PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER?

Apart from the obvious need to become a photographer, the remainder of the process is anything but obvious. Some of the factors to consider are:

How will I get clients?
What should I charge for my services?
How will I collect payment?
What equipment will I need to get started?
How long until I see profits?
Will I need a website?
Am I crazy?

The last one is a judgement call, but all other questions are problems every professional photographer faces when starting their career. While the internet is certainly rife with all types of photography information, not all of it is good and, quite honestly, most of it is crap.

Here are some helpful web sources to get you started:

Digital Pro Talk - David Ziser’s blog is an on-going, Monday - Friday behemoth of a blog with tips and advice on everything from equipment to marketing and networking.
Joe McNally’s blog- McNally, the world-famous freelance photographer, occupies his blog with, well, an assortment of things, let’s say. Sure, he goes off on rants more often than not but they’re funny rants. His napkin schematics - where he details the position and angles of some of his amazing pictures - are always worth a look.
Photoshop Insider - Scott Kelby, the best selling author and authority on Photoshop, is perhaps the biggest photography, internet-based resource out there. Covering everything from cameras, lighting equipment, software, books and the occasional bad joke, Kelby’s posts are also a valuable source on upcoming camera and software technologies.
Strobist - David Hobby’s Strobist blog debunks and demystifies the flash (strobe). An intimidating light source for the beginner, the Strobist site is a wonderful resource towards understanding and appreciating this small and extremely versatile source of light.

While all of these are excellent sources, we will also discuss and explore in this blog ways to actually get you “there.” From starting your website, optimizing it (SEO for photographers) to basic poses for small and large groups to exploring alternate sources of revenue as a photographer, Photo Commando will take you there!