Ok, here's a new update. In a past post, I mentioned that I heard somewhere, (suspecting a podcast), that the median annual income of an American photographer was $26,000. Well, I did a little research and found that Salary.com had some enlightening info......go to http://swz.salary.com/salarywizard/layouthtmls/swzl_compresult_national_CM02000016.html
It says that the current average is $53,054. That looks a hell of a lot better than the previous number!!
I just started a project to update my portfolio, I'm very excited, and can't wait to see the outcome! I'll have to figure out how to show you guys when it's all done....it should be fierce, if it's anything like the picture in my mind.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Reading Materials--(of the paper kind)
Alright, let's talk about the books I currently have, and keep in my arsenal. Some of them I have read more than once, some of them I would recommend to you....and then others you might use to prop up the couch when the leg falls off.
List of Reading Materials
Photoshop Classic Effects, by Scott Kelby**
Creative Lighting and Posing Techniques for Portrait Photographers, by Jeff Smith
Group Portrait Photography Handbook, 2nd Ed., by Bill Hurter
The Business of Portrait Photography, by Tom McDonald
Posing for Portrait Photography, A Head-to-Toe Guide, by Jeff Smith
Successful Self-Promotion for Photographers, by Elyse Weissberg
The Outdoor Photographer's Bible, by Lawrence/Watson
The Waterfalls of South Carolina, by Brooks/Cook
Business and Legal Forms for Photographers, by Tad Crawford
Photography Your Way, by Chuck Delaney **
Power Marketing for Wedding and Portrait Photographers, by Mitche Graf
Master Lighting Guide for Wedding Photographers, by Bill Hurter
Digital Wedding Photography, by Paul F. Gero
Professional Techniques for Digital Wedding Photography, 2nd Ed., by Jeff and Kathleen Hawkins
The Best of Wedding Photojournalism, by Bill Hurter
Minimalist Lighting, Professional Techniques for Location Photography, by Kirk Tuck
Garage Glamour, Digital Nude and Beauty Photography Made Simple, Rolando Gomez
Holywood Portraits, by Hicks/Nisperos
Great Photography Workshop, by Bill Fortney
The Tao of Photography, by Gross/Shapiro
Shooting and Selling Your Photos, by Jim Zuckerman
Wedding Photography, by Mark Cleghorn
The Make-up Book, by Joy Terri
Get The Most From Your Digital Camera, by Simon Johnson
Photography-The Art of Composition, by Bert Krages
The Digital Photographer's Guide to Photoshop Elements 4, by Barry Beckman
Photoshop CS2, The Art of Photographing Women, by Kevin Ames
Canon EOS Digital Rebel Field Guide, by Charlotte K. Lowrie
Professional Techniques for Pet and Animal Photography, by Deborah H. Muska
The Photographer's Guide to Light, by Nigel Hicks
Close-ups in Nature, by John Shaw
Best Business Practices for Photographers, by John Harrington
This is not a complete list. I have also read hundreds of magazines, and school based texts on the subject.
Oh, and this is a book I have found useful many times, for improving the appearance of various webpages. It gives you all the HTML codes for colors, fonts, etc.
Creating Web Pages with HTML Simplified, 2nd Ed., by Maran Graphics, IDG Books
**books I recommend.
Now, if you haven't fallen into an ADD induced coma yet, I would like to tell you what really burns my onions! In all the material I have read, very little applies to the actual day-to-day running of a photography business! I'd say roughly 5%. This is very aggrivating.
Anyway, I'll get back to that later.....for now, I just want to show you a couple shots, and show you how I look through the camera to get them.
This one is a detail shot of a Jack Daniels minibottle that was attached to a Harley Davidson, with a light underneath. It was a very unique detail, and I had to get a shot of it.
The owner of the bike is now a friend of mine, due to the fact that I was one of the few people to notice that it was even there. Sometimes details rule!
Here's a detail shot of a 105th Anniversary Harley gas tank. The whole purpose of the shot was not really to capture the tank, but to get the silhouettes of the people near the bike. I wanted to show the comraderie, and atmosphere that a "Harley" fosters.
I used the same concept in this one. You can see the bikers on their bikes, handlebars, the sun going down....just hangin' out. Hopefully this will give you some ideas about how to put a picture within a picture. This can open up all sorts of possibilities.
Try to come up with a few shots using this technique this week. You might be surprised at the results.
List of Reading Materials
Photoshop Classic Effects, by Scott Kelby**
Creative Lighting and Posing Techniques for Portrait Photographers, by Jeff Smith
Group Portrait Photography Handbook, 2nd Ed., by Bill Hurter
The Business of Portrait Photography, by Tom McDonald
Posing for Portrait Photography, A Head-to-Toe Guide, by Jeff Smith
Successful Self-Promotion for Photographers, by Elyse Weissberg
The Outdoor Photographer's Bible, by Lawrence/Watson
The Waterfalls of South Carolina, by Brooks/Cook
Business and Legal Forms for Photographers, by Tad Crawford
Photography Your Way, by Chuck Delaney **
Power Marketing for Wedding and Portrait Photographers, by Mitche Graf
Master Lighting Guide for Wedding Photographers, by Bill Hurter
Digital Wedding Photography, by Paul F. Gero
Professional Techniques for Digital Wedding Photography, 2nd Ed., by Jeff and Kathleen Hawkins
The Best of Wedding Photojournalism, by Bill Hurter
Minimalist Lighting, Professional Techniques for Location Photography, by Kirk Tuck
Garage Glamour, Digital Nude and Beauty Photography Made Simple, Rolando Gomez
Holywood Portraits, by Hicks/Nisperos
Great Photography Workshop, by Bill Fortney
The Tao of Photography, by Gross/Shapiro
Shooting and Selling Your Photos, by Jim Zuckerman
Wedding Photography, by Mark Cleghorn
The Make-up Book, by Joy Terri
Get The Most From Your Digital Camera, by Simon Johnson
Photography-The Art of Composition, by Bert Krages
The Digital Photographer's Guide to Photoshop Elements 4, by Barry Beckman
Photoshop CS2, The Art of Photographing Women, by Kevin Ames
Canon EOS Digital Rebel Field Guide, by Charlotte K. Lowrie
Professional Techniques for Pet and Animal Photography, by Deborah H. Muska
The Photographer's Guide to Light, by Nigel Hicks
Close-ups in Nature, by John Shaw
Best Business Practices for Photographers, by John Harrington
This is not a complete list. I have also read hundreds of magazines, and school based texts on the subject.
Oh, and this is a book I have found useful many times, for improving the appearance of various webpages. It gives you all the HTML codes for colors, fonts, etc.
Creating Web Pages with HTML Simplified, 2nd Ed., by Maran Graphics, IDG Books
**books I recommend.
Now, if you haven't fallen into an ADD induced coma yet, I would like to tell you what really burns my onions! In all the material I have read, very little applies to the actual day-to-day running of a photography business! I'd say roughly 5%. This is very aggrivating.
Anyway, I'll get back to that later.....for now, I just want to show you a couple shots, and show you how I look through the camera to get them.
This one is a detail shot of a Jack Daniels minibottle that was attached to a Harley Davidson, with a light underneath. It was a very unique detail, and I had to get a shot of it.
The owner of the bike is now a friend of mine, due to the fact that I was one of the few people to notice that it was even there. Sometimes details rule!
Here's a detail shot of a 105th Anniversary Harley gas tank. The whole purpose of the shot was not really to capture the tank, but to get the silhouettes of the people near the bike. I wanted to show the comraderie, and atmosphere that a "Harley" fosters.
I used the same concept in this one. You can see the bikers on their bikes, handlebars, the sun going down....just hangin' out. Hopefully this will give you some ideas about how to put a picture within a picture. This can open up all sorts of possibilities.
Try to come up with a few shots using this technique this week. You might be surprised at the results.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Food For Thought
I was over on Strobist the other day, and watched a video about Annie Leibovitz. The actual post is about her newest book, but the video I'm about to show you is one of her other ones on Youtube.com It's about photographers living their lives through the lens....and shows some of Annie's work. Well, right about 1:40 in the video, it cuts to Annie talking while driving down the road. It also shows the interior of Annie's ride.
Now, you know I'm constantly scrutinizing everything about photography, and it's craft.....especially when it's related to making a profit (see original post). And you know I've got to comment on anything that I find to that effect. Well, here goes. You would think that Annie, a household name in the Photography world, would be pimpin' the Rover LR3 or something. I never expected her to be sportin' the 78 Oldsmobile whatchamacallit, with the headliner falling down. This directly relates to this blog, and the photography industry. Is cruisin' in the hoopdee due to a personal choice, or maybe because she spends all her money on Hasselblads.....I'd like to know!
Hopefully it's due to the latter. Take a look and tell me what you think.
You would think, if you had the skills, client list, experience, etc, that she has....you'd be smoking cigars made out of dollars. It kinda makes me nervous....how 'bout you?
Now, you know I'm constantly scrutinizing everything about photography, and it's craft.....especially when it's related to making a profit (see original post). And you know I've got to comment on anything that I find to that effect. Well, here goes. You would think that Annie, a household name in the Photography world, would be pimpin' the Rover LR3 or something. I never expected her to be sportin' the 78 Oldsmobile whatchamacallit, with the headliner falling down. This directly relates to this blog, and the photography industry. Is cruisin' in the hoopdee due to a personal choice, or maybe because she spends all her money on Hasselblads.....I'd like to know!
Hopefully it's due to the latter. Take a look and tell me what you think.
You would think, if you had the skills, client list, experience, etc, that she has....you'd be smoking cigars made out of dollars. It kinda makes me nervous....how 'bout you?
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
The purpose of this blog
I've been thinking of starting this blog for some time now, wracking my brain with what it should be about, and what needs to be left out. It is first and foremost about photography, and second, how it relates to me.....a small town, aspiring photographer.
I should probably start out by saying that I'd rather take pictures than breathe! There are many reasons I love it so much, but I'm sure this blog will show you that over time. I really just wanted to learn to make great photos of my family. See, when I was about ten years old, almost all our family's photos were destroyed in a house fire. I set out with a mission to make sure that my kids would have amazing photos to record their lives.
Well, I have finally gotten to the point where I feel I have accomplished this goal, constantly adding to it of course. And I will add new photos as I feel they warrant display in this blog. I have branched out into other directions in photography over time and I want to learn to turn this love into profit. This blog will document my journey. You can ride shotgun, and maybe we will learn something together.Note: I recently read somewhere, (cannot recall exactly where-feel free to message me if you have the details), that the average annual income of an American Photographer is $26,000. I seriously want to make sure that I buck this trend.....if you know what I mean.
Oh, before I wrap up this post, I have to say that I'm a strobist addict! I have to thank Dave Hobby for changing the way I thought about photographic lighting forever.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)