Professional Photography 10 Character Traits Of A True Pro
The most professional and very successful photographers that I have worked with during my own twenty-year professional creative career have all shared certain character traits. By developing these traits yourself, you can fast-track your own photography career development.
1. The ideal ‘Perfect Photographer’ needs to have a powerhouse work ethic. They accomplish things in a day that ordinary mortals take weeks to do. They seem unstoppable. They know their time is valuable – irreplaceable actually – and don’t waste it watching TV or on Yahoo Messenger.
2. The Perfect Photographer is very easy to get along with, has great people skills, an excellent sense of humor and people naturally like working with them.
3. The Perfect Photographer is genuinely curious, interested and fascinated by their craft and loves innovation and inspiration from any source – a beginner or otherwise.
4. The Perfect Photographer maintains composure in stressful situations where others flounder and lose control of the situation and possibly themselves. In this sense, the Perfect Photographer inspires trust, confidence and belief because they are unflappable and unfazed by almost anything.
5. The Perfect Photographer is always experimenting with new approaches, new tricks, new lenses, new software etc. In short, they don’t become cynical, bored, lazy or complacent with their skill level and are always enthusiastic and eager to find out cool new stuff.
6. The Perfect Photographer has clarity and knows precisely what they are aiming for at the final stage of output, e.g. a giant billboard poster, at the earliest stages of input e.g. conceptual planning. Small modifications early on in a project can have absolutely massive implications for a project later. The Perfect Photographer is always aware of this and is flexibly adapting, responding and problem-solving at each stage with the optimum later final output always in mind.
7. The Perfect Photographer is completely generous and recognizes the fundamental importance of humbly giving back some of their accumulated wisdom, experience or even money. They are a giver, not a taker.
8. The Perfect Photographer knows how to say ‘no’ politely. It does not matter who the ‘no’ is to, they are excellent at doing it in an inclusive and polite way that actually makes the other party respect her or him more, instead of less.
9. The Perfect Photographer has integrity and can be depended on, no matter what. If the Perfect Photographer says that they will deliver something, they will. If they genuinely cannot due to unforeseen problems, they communicate constantly with the person that they have made the commitment to so that the situation is crystal clear to everyone involved.
10. They are not at all egotistical and are motivated by their humble love of the process, the craft, the art, the science, of what they do. They are not interested in fame (but know how to promote their work to maximum effect) or extravagant wealth (but get paid a fortune) but instead feel like a ‘servant’ to the art of photography – if that is not too corny.
Discover The Joy Of Pet Photography
Pet photography is something that many people like to do to capture a special moment in the life of their pet. For example, you have a cat and a bird, and they get a long surprisingly well. Why not capture those special moments when they’re relaxing with each other. After all, there aren’t many cats and birds that live peacefully together.
A beautiful example of pet photography is one is which a person plans an outing with their pet, and has the camera set to take a picture of them. Of course, you’ll have to plan the logistics of this photo and have everything setup in advance of taking the shot. Do a few practice runs with your pet and then set the timer appropriately.
People that have invested in purebred animals like to photograph their pets that they show. There are plenty of events and situations to photograph with your pet, especially while practicing and then the actual participation in the shows. Imagine all the photos you can get with other pet owners and the people you meet!
Perhaps the most common reason that people are interested in pet photography is for use for holiday cards. I’m sure you’ve received a few holiday cards with the family pet showcased. While people can plan and execute their own pet photography, many local pet stores offer this service for their customers. Look for special offers on major holidays when special backdrops have been setup. The best photos can often be achieved by getting the pet to focus their attention on something specific, like a toy.
Pet photography is one of those hobbies that is both fun and relaxing. Not only do you get to take pictures with your favorite camera, but you also get to interact with pets at the same time.
If you are the owner of a dog, and photography is your hobby, then consider opening a dog photography studio. To attract the most customers, you will most likely have to be able to photograph dogs of all breeds and sizes. You can do informal pictures or formal pictures. Informal pictures most likely involve the dog being photographed with a favorite toy or bone, while other more formal pictures are the kinds of things that people like to choose from like special backdrops and furniture setup.
You can imagine that it is not easy to take pictures of dogs. While some breeds are lazy and docile, others are quite hyper and do not follow directions. To be a successful dog photographer, you need to be able to get dogs in a position that their owner wants for the picture. This is most often achieved with things like treats and dog toys, so be sure to have plenty on hand.
Pet photography can be fun for you and your family to record memories. But, if photography and pets are your hobbies, consider choosing to do pet photography. You may also want to consider submitting the photos you’ve taken to photo galleries for resale. Better yet, setup your own website and offer your quality pet photography as a specialty niche for pet lovers and publishers.
[Top]Basic Professional Photography Poses!
Seeking out and learning various photography poses is the quickest and simplest route to becoming a sought after photographer. Even if you never decide to go “pro”, becoming a master of the basic photography poses will put pizzazz in your photography. If you want to start getting YOUR percentage of “oohs and aahs”, keep reading…
The Football player
The most typical error I see in inexpert photos – and in more pro work than you may imagine is what I call the “Linebacker” pose.
Consider a professional football player. (The United States kind, not what we in the U.S. think of as soccer.) Size is a large component of their job. The bigger and wider they appear to be, the better. When they pose for photos, they try to face the camera’s lens straight on – making their shoulders look as wide as they can. They will want their hips and thighs to appear huge as well.
The more of the frame they can fill, the better – intimidation is their target.
Now picture virtually everyone else in the world-few of them are trying to appear intimidating in their pictures.
Take Off The Appearance Of Excess Size-
To help our model’s desire to get rid of that “footballer” look, simply have them twist their shoulders so they’re about 45 degrees to the lens. This appears natural, and is the most slimming pose. If they’re visible in the photo, the model’s hips, legs and feet should be turned too.
Rule of thumb-Shoulders, hips, legs and feet should never be straight on to the camera.
Avoid??? The “Sumo Wrestler” Pose Too!
While linebackers want to look broad – they don’t necessarily want to appear fat! The only photo subject I can think of that actively has a use for looking fat is a Sumo wrestler.
Throughout the known universe, and even more so in the United States we almost ALL feel that we look too fat! (With valid reason.) It has turned into an obsession. How many times have you heard the phrase “the camera adds 10 pounds?” To make our subjects to visually lose some pounds, think about what makes us appear visually heavy! It’s the shadows!
[Top]Most Common Things To Consider When Hiring Professionals For Wedding Photography
Are you planning to get married soon? It is essential for you to manage each and everything properly for effective completion of the ceremony. You need to select for the best venue, decoration, catering facilities and several other things. Perfection in these common things will decide the successful completion of the event. Hence, it is advised to approach reputed professionals and hire them for getting the things done more effectively.
In order to click the best images on your wedding that is going to be held in Boston or some other parts of the world, you need to hire professional wedding photographer. To know about the companies that can help you to hire the experts for photography on your wedding you can take reference from your friends. They will share their experience that will help you to know about the professionals and hire them for clicking the best images. These professionals will never let you miss any memorable event to capture in the form of images.
When approaching a company for hiring the experts, it is also needed for you check whether they are using advanced cameras for clicking the images or not. If the professionals use advanced cameras for clicking the images, then you will surely get the best images clicked by the experts. Hence, it is needed for you to check for the accessories that are used by the experts for clicking the images.
Besides this, it is also needed that the professionals use efficient software for editing the images. Make sure that they are using user-friendly software for editing the images. This will help the experts to develop the premium quality images for serving you. Only advanced software has the capability to develop the images and add unique effects to them for the best results. The expert knows the fact well and use the best software for developing the images and serve you with the best results.
With an effective consideration of these common things, you must search online to get the list of available companies that can hire the expert photographer for you. All the professionals who are registered with these companies have years of experience in this domain and will serve you with the best facilities. By approaching a reputed company, you will surely be able to hire the experts for clicking the best images. Moreover, you will also get the best services at reasonable rates from these companies by hiring the professionals.
[Top]Still Life Photography – How to Shoot Good Pictures
Still life photography has many uses. Perhaps you want to take a picture of a beautiful shell or perhaps take a picture of a product that you’re selling on eBay. Other reasons for learning still life photography may include selling still life photograph downloads at microstock sites or to food magazines. No matter what your reason, still life photography is a great skill to learn.
Unless you are photographing specific products or pictures for a magazine assignment, the subjects for your still life photography are endless. Despite common belief, still life photography isn’t limited to just pictures of apples and grapes. Even super simple items like a few artfully arranged spools of thread can be interesting and attract attention. There are a couple of microstock sites like Shutterstock and iStock that have a high demand for all sorts of still life pictures from simple to complex.
People often times think of still life photography as a lot easier than other types of photography like sports or landscape photography. With still life pictures, you can arrange the objects exactly how you want them and have full control over the photo’s composition.
In other ways, good still life pictures are more challenging to capture. Because still lifes are taken up close, it’s easy to see imperfections on your subject that you would normally never see.
Despite its challenge, by using some basic photography skills and applying these tips, you can create stunning still life pictures with just a little practice.
Still Life Photography Lighting
Professional photographers usually use a soft box or a light box to shoot their still lifes. However this isn’t absolutely necessary as you will see in a moment, but it can be a big help. However, if you do want one, you can find a soft box online or you can easily make one using instructions you find online. The purpose of these lighting tools is to provide even light on the subject.
Another way to get this good quality light is to set up your shoot outside. A high overcast or bright sky can create a natural soft box effect without having any of the harsh shadows.
Composing Still Life Pictures
Arrange your objects in a pleasing composition. Use a classical composition technique such as “Rule of Thirds” or “Leading Lines” or “Frame within a Frame” to create a good composition. Artfully arrange the objects, and use your imagination. For example, if it’s a picture of a piece of cake, instead of including the entire table setting, place a gleaming, silver dessert fork upside down on the plate and remove a tiny bite from the cake.
Fill the Frame with Your Still Life Subject
Remember, the only thing that should be in your viewfinder or on your preview LCD screen is your composition. You need to remove any distractions or clutter from the background so you can have a clean and up close image. If you have a backdrop or background you don’t like don’t worry about it because it can be easily solved. The light box or soft box will solve this problem, but if you’re taking pictures outside and have a distracting background simply place a piece of white foam board behind your subject and you’ll be all set. If you want a sharp image, make sure to use macro mode or you can end up with a fuzzy image.
Look for a Good Angle and Start Shooting!
Rather than taking a picture from your head level, try holding the camera so that it’s at the same height as your subject. You should also try shooting from a variety of different angles.
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