Cameras

Photography is an art, much in the same way painting and sculpting is, however the initial investment to produce art is usually much higher compared to painters or sculptors. Oddly, you rarely hear of a painters saving money to buy the newest, latest and greatest paints, brushes or canvases to take their art to the next level; why should photographers always look into their wallets to produce better photography? Lets explore some ways to improve your photography without spending any more money.

Photo by notsogoodphotography

Utilize the rule of thirds. One of the easiest ways to improve your photography is to frame subjects differently. Rather then placing the subject directly in the middle, move them to the right or left third of the frame, or horizontally to the top or bottom third. This can make a dramatic difference in photographs of the horizon, especially during sunrise or sunset. A great example of how the rule of thirds works is in the photo below where the subjects are both to the right third and to the lower third of the frame, as shown by the window jams.

Photo by Rock Harris

Fill the frame. Don’t be afraid to fill the frame when shooting. There is nothing wrong with not being able to see the background. The portrait shown below is a great example of how filling the frame brings the attention right into the face with no dead space around the subject.

Bokeh. By definition the word bokeh is the blur, or the aesthetic quality of the blur, in an out-of-focus areas of an image. To achieve get this look and add some depth and separation from your subject and the background, set your camera’s lens to the most wide open aperture it has (lower number) and shoot. In the portrait sample below what can only be guessed as city streetlights are shown as orbs of light in the background.

Photo by Mark Sebastian

Utilizing depth of field isn’t only restricted to night photography though, this example taken during the day clearly makes the eye go straight to the writing on the hand while the background remains out of focus, thus creating the desired separation while also utilizing the earlier mentioned rule of thirds. Experiment with choosing the focal point to be near or far away for desired effects and see how you can force the viewers eye to go right where you want it.

Photo by Dotbenjamin

Use the flash when the sun is out. Just because the sun is out doesn’t mean you no longer need the flash. On the contrary, the flash is almost more needed because depending on the location of the sun and the subject matter you are shooting, the shadows created can be really unflattering. Looking at the photo below you’ll notice that the shadow of the child is in front of her, indicating the sun coming from behind and the person holding the camera is looking into the sun. Because the shooter used the flash as a fill, the child’s face is nearly shadow-free and you can see her beautiful eyes and bright smile. Had no flash been used, her face would have been cast in a dark shadow much like what is projected on the sand.

Photo by jim Sneddon

Light trails. This tip requires a tripod but can be done by supporting your camera via other secure methods, such as placing it on a beanbag, or a tube sock filled with rice if you really like DIY. The concept is the same as capturing running water over a waterfall or through a stream, but really tends to yield stunning photos once it’s mastered. The photo below shows red and green lights from traffic going in two different directions, the product of a long exposure. Set your camera up and put it into shutter priority mode, then choose 30 seconds. Push the shutter, then walk away from the camera until it cycles.

Photo by AtomicPuppy68

Obviously choosing your location and time of day will have varying results, as will the time, but most cameras easily support up to 30 seconds without the need for an external cable release. Cars aren’t the only subject that works well for this, use our imagination to capture the twirling lights of a Ferris wheel

Photo by Brandon Godfrey

or even the stars, as seen in this photo that was shot over a period of more then an hour!

Photo by TheDreamSky

Bonus! Read the manual. This one is obvious, but the manual for your specific digital camera has a wealth of knowledge in it. Get to know what all the features and functions of your camera are so you can properly apply them to take better photographs!

Above and beyond all, shoot, take lots of photos. Digital photography has allowed us as photographers the ability to be far more creative then we ever where with film because the incurred costs of buying and processing the film are no longer there. Take your camera with you wherever you go, shoot everything you see, share them with your friends, family and even strangers for feedback and adapt as you learn techniques.

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Photography is amazing, it is one of the only hobby’s that can capture moments in time that will last a lifetime and allow you to recoup some, all or even profit. Unlike say, snowboarding, where you need to not only pay for the gear you use but a drive to the mountain and buy a lift ticket every time you want to actually snowboard, photography only has the initial investment; beyond that, the world is yours to capture.

Every few years a story breaks on the news about someone finding a priceless painting or artifact in their basement or attic worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. While we all dream for this to happen, what if you had a hidden gold mine in your photo collection stuffed away in a shoe box or hidden on your hard drive somewhere? Photography is becoming an increasingly great way to earn a little income on the side, both passively and actively.

What You Should Know About Stock

One of the best ways to earn passive income is through selling stock photography. Stock photographs can be used for anything from inner-office memo’s and company email newsletters to product packaging and billboards. Basically, anywhere you see a photograph that a graphic designer may have used has the potential of being from a stock photo catalog. If the ad agency or company doesn’t have the budget to hire a photographer to capture the shot they need, they can buy one from several places, often at a fraction of the cost. Some of the best performing photographs on a stock photo site can do several thousands of dollars in revenue yearly, each! Don’t think you need to be a professional either, often times candid family photos sell very well, as do far off destinations from vacations. There are rules, requirements and restrictions so make sure you familiarize yourself with all of them before submitting images.

Photo by Mike Baird

Famous moment in time. Did you or someone in your family photograph a famous moment in time, perhaps during something significant happening in history where they were the only person there with a camera? Museums, art galleries and news media outlets often look for these hidden treasures and can pay substantial money for them.

What About Celebrity Photography?

At the right place at the right time. One of the most hated words among true photographers is paparazzi, but that doesn’t mean you are one if you happen to photograph a celebrity or well known person in such a way that news outlets would find them interesting. If you happened to go to high school with someone who is now famous and have photos of them from school, they could be worth some big money.

Photo by Syd Daost

Selling Your Prints

Art & craft fairs and the Internet can lead to sales too! If you regularly have friends and family ask you for enlargements that they can hang on the wall of their living room, perhaps selling some of your work can lead to money. Check your local art and craft fairs out, get some prints made and frame them, rent a table and have a go at it! A great tip for making sales at events like this is to offer the same image in different sizes. If you have a 16 20 printed, matted and framed, chances are it will cost you $60-100 in framing alone, meaning you need to charge more then that to break even. Offer the same image as a 4 6 print and tape it into a 5 7 matte available for $1-3 pre-cut, less if you buy a matte cutter and teach yourself. Usually the single cut mattes come in a perfectly sized clear plastic sleeve, put the matted photograph back in there and sell them for $6-10, easily doubling or tripling your investment. By doing this, you’ve enabled someone to take your work home with them for a minimal investment, yet you can still turn a profit. Setting up a store front on the Internet is also now easier then ever before and will allow you to harness the power of hundreds of millions of shoppers. If the idea of doing it on your own is too scary, look at sites like Etsy.com that will get you selling your photos in a matter of minutes.

Photo by Circulating

No matter how you look at it, there are probably at least a few photos that are in your collection that you could be cashing in on, right now! Start sorting through them, plan your best coarse of action and earn that money!

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We’ve already touched base on cashing in on your existing photo collection, but what if you’re more interested in making money from stuff you’re shooting now? There are two main ways to make money from photography; getting hired to shoot or selling your work as art each requires a unique approach to acquiring clients and making sales.

Photo by Shoken

What if you’re still making sales though? Photography is about telling a story through still photograph, capturing moments and building memories here’s some tip to get the sales that maybe you are missing out on.

Things to Remember if You Want to Get Paid to Shoot

If you’re the type of photographer who’s getting hired to shoot, weddings, event coverage, etc. then your job is to capture the event exactly how the people attending it remember it, and the intimate moments and interactions between two or three people. Blend in, mingle and look for these moments. What should set your photos apart from say, Uncle Joe at the wedding reception with his DSLR is how you shoot these moments.

• Utilize fast lenses, shoot wide open, the depth of field alone creates the separation from subject matter to the background that most amateurs don’t know how to capture.
• Get a flash bracket to move your flash off the camera, this will greatly reduce red-eye, but also should flip so the flash stays directly above the camera for less harsh side-to-side shadows.
• Take the time to do a custom white balance in mixed lighting situations so color representation is accurate too.

If you’re a wedding photographer specifically, one of the newest trends is giving a kick-back to your bride & groom for orders placed by guests. Get the photos into your online store as soon as possible and offer your bride & groom 10% credit towards any purchases they will make, or 10% off the package they bought from you for everything friends and family order. By doing this, it turns your clients’ into salespeople, pushing your service and prints onto their friends and family.

The other current trend is to offer prints from the wedding at a slightly lower price for the first two weeks, then drastically raise them. Some photographers offer 8 10 prints for $10 during the first two weeks, then the price goes to $30. This tactic is extremely effective because the event is fresh in the minds of the guests and they can be swayed to purchase in fear of the prices going up.

With both of these methods it’s imperative to get marketing materials in the hands of the guests, so work with bride & groom and perhaps offer to print their table cards or place settings for names and roll that price into the package. This would allow you to get your website and possibly some small marketing info on them and home to friends and family of the bride & groom.

Lastly, keep your calendar updated with the dates of the weddings you shoot, about three weeks prior to the anniversary of each couple send them a nice folded card with an image you shot during their wedding, wish them the best and inquire if they would have interest in doing a follow up shoot and / or if they have had any children so you could get hired to shoot them.

If you’re hired to shoot something specific, say a family portrait, head shots or more posed photo, the idea here to getting prints sold is finding out exactly what your client needs and offering them that. Try your best to never say no. Provide the client with the best possible experience with you and give them a reason to use you for future events.

What About Selling Your Photos?

Selling photography as art can often be a bit more difficult, but with more options like Etsy.com and the ability to easily sell on your own website becoming available, more shooters are doing this. If your art still isn’t selling there could be two reasons why. Buyers of photography tend to pass on pieces they think they themselves can shoot, so only sell your very best shots. The other reason could be how you are presenting them. Spending a few extra dollars on a custom cut matte and a nice frame will drive up your total cost, however the look of the piece is strikingly different, and for the better.

Next, don’t just look at making prints on paper, utilizing some of the new techniques out there from vendors, the ability to have prints made on canvas that’s stretched around bars and hung on the wall in the same way a painting is look simply stunning. Metallic, or sometimes called Mica paper is a traditional wet processed paper the same as matte or glossy, but has a deep silver tone to it that’s simply amazing when light catches it. Even printing on metalic surfaces can also produce stunning results. Offering your photos on more then just glossy or matte will give your buyers a unique option they may not even know exist.

When selling as art, don’t overprice your work. If you’re an unknown artist, look to recoup your costs plus some profit, but make your work accessible. One of the smartest things I saw a photographer do more than 10 years ago at a photo gallery was so simple and clever, but has stuck with me all these years. They were offering 16 20 prints on canvas, beautifully done, but very expensive, I think around $1500 each. They also offered the same photo as a 4 6 taped into a cardboard frame for a much cheaper price (which sold a lot better!).

The last step to selling photos is to let people know you have them for sale! Utilize free social media tools like Twitter and Facebook to tell your friends and family about them. Facebook also offers low cost advertising that anyone can buy, which you can use to target specific demographics of Facebook users to reach audiences larger than who you are just friends with. Attend local art shows, meet with fellow artists of all backgrounds, mingle, exchange business cards and talk with them on how they are getting art shows, selling pieces and making money. Attend photo workshops and seminars to continue learning what the new trends are.

Don’t Forget About Other Potential Income Streams

While shooting and selling prints are the two most common ways to make money for photographers, don’t forget that you also have a skill that people will pay to learn. Many photographers supplement their income by taking classes of students through the basics of photography. Once you get established in this way you can even start taking seminars of people (see Scott Bourne and Rick Sammon as photographers who have been very successful doing this).

The other option is writing about photography. And this doesn’t need to be as difficult as getting a book or magazine deal. The great little self-published PDF guides of people like Mitchell Kanashkevich and David Duchemin are in huge demand. In fact, we know that Mitchell financed his last overseas trip from selling his guide to lighting in photography! We also know well that there is a huge online demand for this type of information that is presented well.

In short, treating photography as a business is at the core of making money from it. If you want to go pro (and we admit not everyone wants to) then honing your potential income streams is how to do it.

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