News, Tips, Articles for the Photography Professional

Volume 8
March 2010

In This Issue

Learn Digital Photography - How To Become A Good Wedding Photographer, continued.

2. Equipments

Imagine your photographer carrying a compact digital camera during your wedding and told you that he is there for the job. He doesn't sound convincing. Does he?

So, having a DSLR camera does help to improve your image as a wedding photographer. Remember, you are a professional instead of a photography enthusiast. So, be professional and invest into something professional.

3. Black and white

Some thought that black and white photography is outdated but little do they know that black and white makes marvelous wedding pictures. Some photographers even belief that black and white wedding pictures are more classical and more long lasting.

So, when you are involve in wedding photography, give black and white a chance and have a look into it. You can show the couple some of your pictures in color and monotone. Let them make their decision. After all it is their wedding and not yours.

4. Your personality

As a professional photographer, you are supposed to provide your professional point of view to the couple instead of shoving what you like down the couple's throat. You might be a fanatic for black and white photography but the couple might feel that wedding is supposed to be colorful. You will spoil the couple's mood when you insisted on your way.

So, before you start the job, have a short discussion with them. Let the couple know what a person you are and at the same time you can ask them what they are looking for in the wedding pictures. Once the mutual understanding has been established, satisfying the clients and your need will be easy.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Michael Wong

Do you enjoy taking photos? Do you want more digital photography tips and techniques? Michael Wong is happy to share his knowledge about digital photography with you and hope you enjoy them. Just look at

http://www.learn-digitalphotography.blogspot.com

Return to Index

Digital Photography Tips and Tricks - Digital Landscape Photography, continued.

Digital photography technology has been in the process of constant development. Now it has reached a point where even amateur photographers are capable of capturing amazing scenery with wonderful photos. With the right technical knowledge and some imaginative power, you can create mind-blowing pictures.Whether you are a professional who needs a refresher or an enthusiastic amateur photographer, you will find the following information helpful to you.

The Importance of Location in Digital Landscape Photography

The selection of the right location is key in digital landscape photography. Before you choose a location, you should consider the purpose of your photograph. If you want to capture photos to hang them in your bedroom, you should think of serenity, peace or calm and look for such locations as a mountain range, seascape or moorelands. If your purpose is an exhibition then you should consider anger or fury to bring out a striking impact. Thus, always keep in mind the emotional effect your photos will give and what you want to accomplish with your photo.

The Importance of Composition in Digital Landscape Photography

Try to keep you image simple and uncluttered. You should remove any distractions from your photograph. This will help you bring more prominence to your focus subject as your viewers eye will not drift as much. Also try to include some form of foreground interest into the image. When you take a photo of only the main subject it will look only half as good as the same picture but with some foreground and background in it to give the whole piece perspective. A good rule is to follow the 'Rule Of Thirds'. So split your photo in three equal parts horizontally and also vertically, so that you have nine squares. The bottom row is for the foreground, the top row is for the background. Keep your main focus subject off-center, away from the middle of the frame. As a result, your photo will look more dynamic, and ultimately more interesting to view.

The Focal Point in Digital Landscape Photography

An important part of the composition of your image is the focal point, which attracts the viewers eye, such as a lighthouse, a boat on the ocean etc. This will ensure that your photo has a dimension and sense of scale. If you apply this technique, it will help prevent the image from looking too bland or boring. You will not have to use something mainstream as your focal point; in fact, it is more eye-catching and interesting when you choose something completely out of the ordinary. But the main point is to pick one main subject for your photo.

Digital Landscape Photography and the Time of Day

The quality and the effect of the light on your photos will depend on the part of the day you select for your photography. Suppose when the sun rises, shadows are weaker and pastel colors more apparent in your shots. Atmospheric haze is also at its lowest in the morning. But the light becomes more contrasting and harsh as the day progresses and is at its strongest during the middle of the day. If you want maximum color impact then you should shoot your picture with the sun behind you, or to one side. A favorite time to landscape photographers is the evening when the sun sets and you can get that warm, rich glow which works extremely well for landscape images. Thus, select the particular time of the day for the particular effect you want from your image.

Digital Landscape Photography and Capturing the Perfect Moment

A good photographer should try to get sufficient control over the situation and him/herself to take the perfect shot, not just any shot. So, do not remain satisfied with second rate shots just because factors seem to turn against you. If, for example, you cannot get the shot you want because it starts to rain, that's too bad, come back another time for that shot. However, do not consider it as a set back. Rather let your imagination work freely and then try to capture shots only possible when it is raining!

As a last suggestion, pay some attention to the right equipment. The most expensive kit does not guarantee that you will take superb shots. But you can take some simple items that make it easier for you to create great digital landscape photography. These items are a camera bag , a tripod and a lens cleaning cloth. A camera bag, which is both protective and sturdy, is essential if you are walking over rugged areas. A tripod can be very handy to have with you to keep your camera stable and to help you take the right image. A simple lens cleaning cloth may prove an important tool when the whether is rough.

These are some of the most important tips to great digital landscape photography. In the end , a lot of it comes down to practice and being conscious about what you want to create. Armed with these tips you should be able to put a real sense of purpose in your next digital landscape photography session. And I bet you that the results will then speak for themselves!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Want more digital photography tips and tricks? Then check out the Digital Photography Tips 'n Tricks eZine. Dominique Vangheel is a devoted fan of digital photography. He works to gather information, tips and news for digital camera users - Visit Your Digital Photography for more information on digital photography.

Return to Index

Oblique aerial photography - What is it and how is it used?, continued.

Oblique aerial photography is usually undertaken using a high-wing light aircraft and a photographer with a hand held camera. A high quality digital SLR is best , not only due to the quality of the images but the weight of the camera body will aid the photographer in providing a sturdy platform from which to take photos.

Construction photography will usually use oblique aerial photography to some degree as it can provide a variety of angles from number of different directions. Where a large building is being constructed this type of photography will allow the customer to visualise the building in its surroundings before it is finished. Computer Generated Images (CGI) can also be used for this. A construction company may also commission progress photography which will use oblique images to show the progress of the building work at regular intervals.

Oblique aerial photography has several advantages over vertical photography:-

It can show the front/vertical aspect of buildings.
It can show a greater area of the ground looking into the distance.
It can give a better perspective of height in surrounding terrain and buildings.
It provides a more dramatic platform for CGI.
It is more aesthetically pleasing for display event aerial photography.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Keith McGregor is a partner of Strawberrysoup, a web design agency with offices in Chichester and Bournemouth. Strawberrysoup specialise in creative web design, content managed websites, search engine optimisation, search engine marketing

Return to Index

Orange County Photographers can Utilize Google Tools to Plan their Marketing Strategy, continued.

Under Google's adword section is an application called the Key Word Tool. This tool allows a photographer to see what searches are the most popular. It also has a chart that indicates how heavily sought after a particular keyword is. An example of how this could be helpful is the following:

An Orange County California photographer trying to decide where to market his business will find it helpful to know that on average the term Huntington Beach Photographer only has 22 searches a month. In contrast, the term Huntington Beach Photography has over 91 hits a month. In like manner it is helpful to know that Laguna Beach Wedding Photographer has 110 searches per month while Orange County Wedding Photographer has over 880 searches per month.

This information is not only a good indicator on where an Orange County Photographer should put his online resources but also gives a good idea on where to put his non-online resources. The above data suggestions that there is more demand from Laguna Beach than there is in the more populous Huntington Beach.

Another related useful tool is Google analytics. Google analytics allows a photographer to see how his website is being utilized. He can see for example on which days his site gets the most hits. This can help a photographer judge the effectiveness of his advertising. For example, if a photographer sends out a mailer with his website on it , he can check to see if there is a spike in the number of people who are using the website. This will give him a general idea on the effectiveness of the mailer.

The photography business is competitive. It becomes even more competitive during an economic downturn because more photographers are going after a smaller pie. Using the tools provide by Google can help a photographer use his marketing resources more effectively and thus become more competitive.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The Author is a Laguna Beach Wedding Photographer who services all of Orange County. He has created a website that evaluates, from a photographer's perspective, wedding and portraits sites in and around Orange County. Included cities are Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach, Dana Point, Temecula, Irvine and Costa Mesa. Suggestions from readers on San Diego, Riverside or other Southern California Locations which the reader feels is a great place for portrait or wedding photography will be evaluated and added if the author agrees on the quality of the location.

Return to Index

Kirk Voclain on Online Proofing, continued.

Mark- So for your weddings, what do you do for those events?

Kirk- With weddings, I have found that the bride of course, they just want to see them online. So, my thing with weddings are I actually design everything… the book, the parent book, I design everything and it is put together before the bride sees picture one. At which point, they want to know if they can put it online and I’m like “sure we can put it online. I’d love to!” and we put it online and we give them a thumbnail book, one of those H & H thumbnail books. We tell them if you need to place an order at a later date the pictures are online, you can still place an order online at the discounted price.

Mark- That sounds great… I do a lot of corporate work and shoot for a lot of major corporations around the United States where we do events. What’s nice about that is the people who come to those events can go back home to any state in the country where they live. Then they go online and order extra photos for themselves. For us, for the way that I use it, it’s been a blessing.

Kirk- Yes, I can see where photographers in a large city need this kind of online service.

The other day, we drove through Dallas, for example, and I can see where a photographer in Dallas, man if you don’t have some sort of online ordering in my humble opinion you’re in trouble. Because to get from one end of that town to another end of that town is like a whole other country, you know, compared to Louisiana. My mom and dad all the time complain because I don’t go visit them enough. Well, dog gone, you guys live 20 minutes away. Now, compare that to some town like Dallas and that’s around the block. So, I can appreciate how that can also be the situation with me. I’m right in the middle of Houma, LA, so I’m right in the middle of everything. So, for someone to come to me to physically walk in is not that difficult. Parking that’s another thing, -- I’ve got my own little parking area. People drive in and park in and it’s just wonderful.

Mark- Now when you first saw SeeYourPhotos.net what was your impression of the site, since you have actually looked at some other sites?

Kirk- Well I thought everything worked pretty fast number one, and that’s always a big deal with me. When it comes to anything online it’s like to me it’s gotta work, it’s gotta happen quick. I just don’t know too many people that like looking at their computer waiting on stuff to load!. Everything loaded fast. Everything was right there in front of me and it was easy to navigate. Once I understood the thinking of the whole thing, it seemed to navigate very easily and operated very quickly. Which for me was a big positive. One thing I have found in the other proofing sites was they have so many problems…I haven’t seen that with SeeYourPhotos.net.

Mark- Now, are you currently using SeeYourPhotos.net and what is your relationship with them?

Kirk - I do use them and I love the service. I’m not a big heavy hitter yet you know, I don’t use it with every customer. I intend on using it and we are going to use it more because we just kind of got on-board there at the end of this past senior year. So I think if you check my name out I think there is like two or three listed because that was at the end of the season.

But, next year it will be a whole different deal. Everything we do will get uploaded that way. SeeYourPhotos.net…I love it, I love everything about it. I love the way the interface works, it’s fast and simple to use...with internet stuff, if it is not easy - I won’t use it. Plus, my events page on my website looks the way I want it to look…which I like by the way. They do like to hear from everyone about how to improve the site, they may or may not do it, but at least they want to hear it from us and that is very important.

Mark- Well, as you may have seen, SeeYourPhotos.net is an established business started by two photographers who own the site – then, added enhancements and upgrades by the comments and needs of all the members. Even though, they are not the biggest in the industry, they work very hard to make sure the site is user friendly on all levels, not just for the photographer, but for their clients viewing the events as well. So, how do you think they fit into the industry so far…

Kirk- I think that its just one of those things that there are so many proofing companies out there that they need to keep doing what they are doing to keep being, you know, keep providing a great service at a great price, and continue to be customer service oriented and it will happen.

Mark- You’re right Kirk, they really are customer service oriented. I’ve talked to many photographers at trade shows and so many people have been burned by other online proofing companies especially, by some of the early onset of proofing sites that were out there almost ten years ago. I think SeeYourPhotos.net is a great site.

Kirk- I know exactly what you’re saying.

Mark- I really appreciate your time Kirk, and what we talked about today. Like I said before, my first impression of you was you have a great passion for what you do in photography. I look forward to getting to see you at the WPPI show next year…and thanks again for your time today!

My overall observation with talking to Kirk Voclain today is that online proofing has it’s place in our industry, and although it may be different for every photographer, Kirk really likes what he has seen so far using SeeYourPhotos.net…or hear him say it…”I Love everything about it”.

Kirk Voclain is the owner and webmaster of a great professional photographer’s forum – The Pro4uM. He has spent many years making great photography information available thru the forum for thousands of photographers.

Please take an opportunity to check out Kirk’s website for professional photographers,

The Pro4uM @ http://www.pro4um.com

Kirk’s Photography studio is located in Houma, near New Orleans, Louisiana.

Visit Kirk’s photography website to view some of the most amazing Portrait and Senior photography at http://www.kvphoto.com …I promise you won’t be disappointed.

You can go online to see for yourself how SeeYourPhotos.net can improve your photography business @ www.seeyourphotos.net. You can also give them a call to ask any questions you may have about their online proofing service at 1-866-523-6463.

Mark Baltzley
www.yourweddingimages.com

Return to Index