Quick Review of the Sigma 135mm F1.8 DG HSM Art Lens

By: Karthika Gupta 

In this quick review of the Sigma 135mm f1.8 Art Lens, I will go over some of its features and give you my overall impression of this lens.

Photographers like gear

I belong to several photography groups, both online as well as within my local area, and often times when we meet, we end up talking about our gear. Conversations typically revolve around the gear we have, what we would like to have, and what we want to sell off. On several occasions, I have heard my fellow photographers talk about the Sigma Art series of lenses. They always start the conversation with, “Oh, I absolutely love my Sigma Art lens. The bokeh is so dreamy!” Now, I am a Canon shooter – always have been and always will be. But that does not mean that every once in a while, I don’t like to test out gear from other companies to compare performance, specifications, and price.

The Sigma 135mm F1.8 DG HSM Art Lens comes with a case and a lens hood.

So when I had the opportunity to test out the Sigma 135mm 1.8 DG HSM Art lens, I jumped at the chance. I spent about three weeks with this lens and used it for a variety of photography assignments – both indoors and outdoors. Here is my review based on my personal experiences with this lens.
Note – this lens is available for Canon, Nikon and Sony mounts.

Technical Specifications

As per Sigma’s website, the Sigma 135mm F1.8 DG HSM Art is a medium range telephoto prime lens designed for modern high-megapixel DSLRs. A new large Hyper Sonic Motor (HSM) delivers ample torque to the focusing group for outstanding speed, ensuring exceptionally stable performance even at lower speeds. This state-of-the-art prime lens touts a dust and splash proof mount for guaranteed performance in any condition and its large 1.8 aperture allows for more creative control over imagery.

The Sigma 135mm F1.8 DG HSM Art Lens attached to my Canon 1V film camera.

My telephoto lens of choice is my Canon EF 70-200L lens. It’s heavy and bulky but gives me some of the best picture quality in its class. Compared to that lens, the 135mm felt lightweight and comfortable to carry around all day. Being a fixed lens, there are no moving parts, unlike the zoom ring on the 70-200mm. While this meant that I had to move around to get shots at various distances, it was not an inconvenience. I just used pretended to have a zoom lens by moving my feet!
The lens looks very sharp and clean. The smooth matte black finish of the lens gives it a certain visual appeal. The build quality is very clean and it feels like a solid piece of glass. The lens is a little heavy (at about 2.56 pounds or 1.2 kg) but if you are used to walking around with other telephoto lenses, it’s not any different compared to using those.

Sharpness of the Sigma 135mm F1.8 Art Lens

The legendary quality of having the dreamiest bokeh is very true with this lens. It is super sharp even when shooting absolutely wide open. I typically shoot very wide opened with all my Canon L-lenses which fits my style of photography. The aperture of f/2.0 is my personal sweet spot – the one that I really trust to give me a shallow depth of field and dreamy bokeh (blurry background). This lens did not disappoint at my favorite f-stop.
But even at f/1.8 (the widest aperture on the Sigma 135mm), the lens was tack sharp with very shallow depth of field. Once it was stopped down to f/16, there was some softness on the edges of the frame but it’s not very prominent. With a lens of this quality, the best aperture would be between f/1.8 to f/4 (in my opinion) to get the best of the shallow depth of field and bokeh that we all love.

Shot at ISO 200, f/1.8 – wide open – look at that dreamy bokeh.

ISO 200 at f/2.0

ISO 200 at f/9 – more of the entire scene is clear and visible – with a wider (deeper) depth of field here.

Vignetting

The Sigma 135mm at f/1.8 Art Lens showed slight edge vignetting when shot wide open. But for my style of photography, it’s minimal and nothing I could not fix in post-processing. I was very impressed with the number of tack sharp images that I could keep even when I used the lens completely wide open at f/1.8.

The image above left was shot at ISO 200, f/2.0 and on the right, the same scene was shot at ISO 200, f/9. There is no visible softness or vignetting at either aperture. The bokeh at f/2.0 is so dreamy (shallow depth of field) and at f/9 more of the background is visible.

Autofocus

The Sigma 135mm has an electronic hypersonic motor. This makes the autofocus very fast and smooth. I found that the lens locked focus easily and did not hunt while focusing. The AF motor was also relatively quiet and smooth as compared to other telephoto lenses like the Canon 85mm f/1.2L II USM that is really slow while hunting for focus in the AF mode.

While hiking my two boys decided they would lead the pack. I really wanted to capture this 

independent streak and both images are shot less than 2 seconds apart. The Sigma 135mm had 

no problems tracking focus as they moved up the trail. Both images were shot at ISO 200, f/2.0 

and both have the subjects tack sharp and in focus in spite of the movement.

Macro capabilities

While the Sigma 135mm is not described as a macro lens, it did offer 0.2x magnification with a minimum focusing distance of just under three feet. Since I have a dedicated macro lens that I use for my detail shots, I did not pay much attention to this feature. However, in a pinch, this lens could be used to provide some magnification.

The 135mm zoom was a little tight when I had to take in-studio headshots but once I got the focus 

locked, it turned out beautifully. Both images were shot at f/2.0 ISO 640, 1/125th.

Summary

Overall I was really very impressed with the Sigma 135mm 1.8 DG HSM Art lens. It is a superbly built piece of gear that was incredibly fast, easy to carry, handle, and use.
The only thing I needed to get used to was the fact that it was a prime lens and not a zoom, unlike my favorite 70-200mm telephoto lens. This meant I had to move around to get shots at different angles and different focal lengths, but I don’t consider that a con. Instead, I feel that shooting with a prime lens makes you more careful and thoughtful about your compositions since you have to physically move around to get a diverse range of shots.
The Sigma 135mm lens is definitely something to look into if you are in the market for a good quality telephoto lens.

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Review: Laowa 17mm f1.8 Lens with Micro-Four-Thirds Mount

By: Mark C Hughes  

There are a lot of gear reviews for new photography gear. Many focus on technical specifications and others focus on sharpness and precision of the optics. I had a chance to spend a few weeks with the Laowa 17mm f1.8 lens for Micro-Four-Thirds (MFT) mount. This is a bit of a different lens that requires a slightly different approach to a review. I am hoping this approach will help you decide if this is a lens for you.

The New Laowa 17mm f1.8 lens is a fully manual compact design with metal construction, a small 

metal hood and clear markings on the barrel

This lens fits 46mm threaded filters (common for MFT)

Technical Specifications

I will run through the technical specifications of the Laowa 17mm f1.8 lens as they have some interesting but limited impact on this review (aside from the price). As a 17mm lens on an MFT mount, this has a corresponding field of view that corresponds to a 34mm lens on a full-frame (FF) sensor (65 degrees). The lens has nine elements in seven groups with a seven-bladed iris. The filter diameter is 46 mm, and the weight is 172g. It is not weather-sealed, and the MSRP is $149USD.

Works great even in low light conditions

Practical details

Aside from the mathematics of technical specifications, I think a lens review should provide more practical details. Details that describe the intangibles about the lens. Things you only realize when you have the lens in your hand or on your camera.

Perfectly balanced with smaller MFT camera bodies like the Pen F

For starters, this is a completely manual lens with manual focus and manual aperture control.
It is a small but solid – really solid – lens with metal construction and even a small metal lens hood (not much shading from this guy). This lens does not feel plastic-y in any way shape or form. The movement of the aperture ring and focus control feels great, and the aperture ring has quiet click settings (it is not clickless but moves easy) and the markings on the focus ring are clear.
This lens feels like something from the best film era vintage lenses and is well-sized to match the size of smaller MFT camera bodies.

Works well with the Olympus EM5 MK II

Focal range

At 34mm FF equivalent, the Laowa 17mm f1.8 is a prime lens size that, along with a 50mm FF equivalent, should be in any photographer’s bag. Some famous photographers have operated with only lenses in this range. At a 34mm FF equivalent, it provides a relatively wide field of view and a more forgiving range for focus. Wider lenses tend to be more forgiving when trying to focus them. With the manual focus on this lens, not getting focus perfect can still result in usable images.

Because it has a wide field of view, you can get pretty close.

Once the focus is set, the lens performs well.

Sharpness

As for image quality, the lens does reasonably well. It is not the sharpest (even when you nail focus) and it is clear that when fully wide open, the lens is sharper in the center of the image but softer at the edges. Saying this doesn’t really describe the image results from this lens. The image is sharp where it needs to be and softer where is it okay to be softer. The look from the lens is great. In addition, the seven-bladed iris produces very nice starbursts when closed down for night shots of light sources.

Even with close-ups, there are little problems resolving the images and little vignetting.

The seven-bladed iris allows for very nice starbursts at night

Size

As for size and usability, this Laowa 17mm f1.8 lens fits smaller MFT bodies really well (like a Pen F) and looks a little dwarfed on a bigger body (like an EM1X). Not only does this lens fit well on smaller bodies, but it looks entirely old school like the cameras that are going for that stylistic approach.
I had many people asking me if I was shooting with a film camera when I had this lens on my Pen F. I seemed to reinforce this feeling when I tried to focus and take a photograph and took forever. This is not a run-and-gun lens.

The lens is small and can seem overly-small on larger MFT bodies

Old-school feel and slow approach to photography

I am old enough to have shot film with manual film cameras. I thought I had left that all behind to use all the technical horsepower in modern cameras to really nail technically-challenging circumstances trying to get the best images. As a consequence, I had forgotten about the slower process of taking photographs when all you had was a split prism and a needle for a light meter.
When you connect a manual lens on an MFT camera, you operate primarily with the histogram/light meter to get a good exposure. You have to think about ISO, shutter speed, aperture, and focus. It takes time.

Fun to experiment with when you have the time

Slow photography is like slow food

I remember years ago traveling in Italy and going to a slow food restaurant.
The whole concept with slow food is to make it more of an experience and to take time to savor the flavors and textures. I think shooting with a manual lens is similar. It means that you are shooting slower and have to think way more about your images – no run and gun.
Slow photography is forced on you when you shoot with this type of lens. With cell phones, you pull them out and shoot. You barely focus. There is no thought to the process, and maybe that means that people can focus on the subject matter of their images. However, at other times, it means that you really aren’t thinking much about the images you are taking.

Despite being quite a wide lens, there is little obvious distortion with the Laowa 17mm f1.8 lens.

Nailing focus

Trying to nail focus with a manual focus lens also means you have to slow down. Back in the old manual focus film camera days, you had split prisms and micro prisms in your viewfinder to help you get your focus right. These tools are not available on modern digital cameras.
However, with mirrorless bodies on MFT cameras, you have other tools at your disposal including magnification and focus peaking. I was able to custom set my camera’s buttons to allow me to set one button for magnification and another for focus peaking. It’s still not fast, but it worked fairly well.

Even for moving subjects, such as from a balloon, once you have your exposure and focus set, it 

performs like any other lens.

This magic of this type of lens is that you need to slow down and think about the image you are composing. You need to think about everything from ISO to aperture to shutter speed and finally focus. If any are off, you can instantly see that you have screwed up. If you think back to the film days, it wouldn’t be until you got your images developed that you would know you messed up. When I was using this lens, I knew immediately when I screwed up, even when I thought I had all the settings right.

Limited distortion even for buildings

That process of slowing down and understanding what you are doing was a great deal of fun. The lens was wide enough and fast enough (aperture wise, not in any other way) that I would feel comfortable taking only this lens out to take some shots.

Not for the faint of heart

Slow means you can’t shoot fast. This seems obvious, but when someone says to you, “take our picture, “…they pose and wait for you. This lens will not do that quickly, regardless of how good you are.
You can take portraits, but you need to plan the shots and be ready when the opportunity comes up. An old street photography trick used to be to set your exposure with an intermediate aperture, put your focus at 3 feet, and point and shoot. In practice, this is not quite so simple. Nailing the exposure is a little trickier because you need to be looking through the lens to get the exposure balanced.

This lens is great to travel with because of its width and small size

The Results

I really enjoyed the Laowa 17mm f1.8 prime lens. I have other similar prime lenses, but all are equipped with autofocus and electronic apertures. They also feel pretty plastic. They are more expensive, but sharper. This lens feels great, is super-solid, shoots well and needs lots of attention to your images. It forces you to shoot like a photographer. You feel like a photographer. It also makes you look like a photographer.
At $149 USD, the Laowa 17mm f1.8 lens is quite the value. My images turned out great and I fell in love with taking slower pictures again. I had a chance to slow down and smell the roses, or in this case, take more deliberate thoughtful images.
Would you use a lens like this? Share with us in the comments below.

10 Low-Cost Marketing Strategies for Your Photography Business

By: Natalia Robert  

Whether you already have clientele or are looking to build a client list, marketing is a never-ending task for photographers. You’ve already focused in on a target market (or two), but where to start? Are you unsure of how to get things started with a shoestring budget? Here are 10 low-cost marketing strategies for your photography business:

1. Get out of the house

This biggest thing you can do to spread your name is to be out there. Finding events and activities where your target market may be is key. Meetup.com has a huge selection of groups that host events, many for no cost. While it can be overwhelming, and may take some trial and error, there are loads of opportunities on that site. Your local Chamber of Commerce also has events that are open to the public and offer networking time. They are ideal if you’re looking to connect with local small businesses that may need your services. If your target market is within a certain profession, you can look into professional organizations in your area. Most professions have local and national chapters that meet regularly, and most of these groups welcome guest speakers. Offer to speak to their members about what you do, and how it relates to their work. It’s a perfect opportunity to put yourself in front of potential clients at no cost but your preparation time.

2. Get charitable

Is there a cause that is close to your heart? How can your photo skills help them out? Maybe a local animal shelter could use professional photos of the animals to help them get adopted quickly. Maybe there is an organization that helps the homeless find work, and those folks could use headshots. Make it something that resonates with your cause, or with your target clientele.

Donated product photography for African refugee business owners

3. Tell your friends and family

Often just telling people what you’re enthusiastic about will also get them excited and make them want to help you. By just letting people you know what you’re working on, and what you have planned, they will often make suggestions or give you leads. There’s no need to do a sales pitch to them; just tell them about your life and what you have going on.

4. Put a photo on your business cards and hand them out to EVERYONE

We all have some sort of business card, so why not put a photo on there that will make people notice? It will give them something to “ooh and aah” over when they first get your card, and it will be a memorable card that they’ll recall easily.

Color photos on back side of business card

5. Seek out opportunities and ask for a chance

If you want to shoot large events, check local calendars or your convention center for what’s going on in your area. Contact these organizations and see if they have photography coverage booked. Sometimes all it takes is asking. Have you participated in a great event and want to be involved as a photographer? Ask them! Having someone help that has already been involved in the event will be a big bonus for them.

6. Become a source

Write articles. Start a blog. Use Meetup.com to start a group and lead photo walks or workshops. Use social media to follow folks you admire, and connect with them. Interaction is key. If they post something of interest to you, thank them for it or ask a follow-up question. If you have a link (not necessarily your own) that relates to something they are speaking about, be a resource for them and share the link. By doing so, you build credibility and create a professional relationship, and will therefore be someone that comes to mind for future needs.

7. Make sure you love the work that you’re sharing

Passion is contagious and palpable. If you’re excited, others will get excited and will be more willing to help out in any way they can. It’s that simple.

8. Offer a free session to a strategic friend or family

The key word here is strategic. If you give away services that you would normally charge for, be sure that there is a reason for giving it away. For example, if you are looking to do more family portraits, offer a session to a well-connected friend with kids. Be sure that it’s someone who is active on social media so that they will share your work if they like it. Also, be sure to ask for a testimonial for your website.

A free sample session for marketing to families

9. Collaborate

Strategic partnerships are much better when you create something cool together that you can show off. Maybe you organize a styled wedding shoot with other wedding vendors (and then you can submit images for features in local wedding publications). For kids, maybe you put together an elaborate cake smash session with folks that do cakes, kids clothing, party decor. Not only do you have something beautiful to show from your collaboration, but these fellow vendors will be a great source for referrals as well.

Strategic collaboration with a food stylist and wine brand

10. Incentives

You may have heard of giving incentives for referrals or to new clients, but how about giving incentives to your existing client base? If you do family sessions, you can send an email offering a small discount for booking their following year’s portrait session early. If you have wedding clients, touch base with them on their first anniversary, and then again at milestones to offer a discount for booking with you for updated portraits. If you’ve worked with a local business before, contact them periodically and offer a small discount to book for new product shots, new headshots, or photos of their new location. Be sure to put an expiration date on these discounts to encourage folks to book early.
One thing to keep in mind with any marketing tactic is that it will most likely not provide instant results, so you need to be patient and consistent. Only you can determine when it’s time to give up, and move on to something that will be a better fit for your business, but patience and consistency will help yield results.
What marketing strategies have you made that had great results? Do you have other ideas for free or low-cost marketing? Please share in the comments below.

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Styled Photo Shoots with Suppliers: How, Why and What You Get

By: Carl Spring  

When it comes to business, the word-of-mouth referral is still king (or queen). Obviously, your past clients will be a great source of referrals, but one of the best sources of leads for a working photographer is to get referrals from other suppliers. But what can you do to make sure that you are the first business on the lips of local suppliers? The simple answer is to work with them. The best way to do this is with styled photo shoots.

This is the result of a group of talented suppliers coming together. When you see the results, any 

issues melt away.

Now, as I mainly work in wedding photography, I will base this article on wedding suppliers. However, this can easily transfer over to portraits and, with a little imagination, various other fields of photography.

How do I begin?

Well the first stage is a portfolio – this is key to working with suppliers. They will want to know that you can deliver the images and that they aren’t wasting their time (and in many cases money) working with you.
What do I mean by their money?
Well, a wedding dress will generally need dry cleaning after a shoot, a florist will have to prepare flowers for the shoot that will die pretty soon afterward. Also, a venue will have to turn down bookings for the day that you hold the shoot there.
Obviously, there are time factors involved for everyone (including you), so bear this in mind. You will tend to work after the shoot on editing, whereas others will be working in the lead up to the day.
If you don’t have a portfolio, you can use friends and family to create your own styled photo shoots. Use a venue you have access to, and minimize your outlay in other ways too. Use supermarket flowers instead of paying for styled bouquets, for example. It’s a hard reality, but without work that you can show people, you won’t get very far.
You have to remember that these people are professionals. Most people do not have time to risk on a styled photo shoot with somebody with no portfolio. It takes time to build, but it is not a stage you can skip.

This totally unplanned styled photo shoot took place at a wedding fair. Having your gear and simply

 asking the question can get you great results.

The contact

Next is the hard part for some, contact a supplier you want to work with. I generally find email works best. Politely offer to meet up (I also bribe them with cake) and discuss an idea you have for a styled photo shoot. Make sure you compliment them on their work and be charming and polite.
Be prepared for a lot of “thanks, but no thanks” or sometimes no reply at all. By all means, follow up with a short, polite email a few days later, but that’s it. Some people don’t have time, some have people they already work with, and some simply don’t like your style.
Grow a thick skin, accept it, and move on. Eventually, though, you will find someone willing to chat. Just be patient and try not to get down in the dumps with rejections. It’s nothing personal; it’s business.

The initial meeting

Congrats, you have someone interested. The next step is meeting up.
The important thing here is to go with ideas, but be flexible. Always send a courtesy text or email the day before. A little tip is to call them when you are nearby and see if they want a coffee bringing in, or turn up with some treats. It’s just a nice thing to do, and, personally, I always remember people who give me free treats!
You will probably be nervous, but remember, they wouldn’t have come if they didn’t want to be involved. Talk over ideas and develop an outline plan. If they agree, you are on your way! Always follow meetings up with an email so that everyone is clear about what the idea is.
If you are starting out, a great way to expand your network is to ask the person you’re meeting if they have other suppliers they work with, people who model for them before, etc. Not only does this save you some hassle, but it expands your network as the other suppliers are being introduced to you by someone they trust.
Reading that last sentence back, it sounds like the wedding industry equivalent of the mafia.

Not Exactly the Mafia, but a great group of people to work with.

Once you have one…

Once you have one supplier on board, it always seems to get easier. Your initial supplier may recommend some other people to involve. Alternatively, you can now email people telling them “Brand X and I are planning a styled photo shoot…”. 
Pretty soon, things will come together and you will have a team of people on board. Now comes the hard parts.

Co-ordination

Having a group of people wanting to work on a project is great. But, now comes the hard part – coordinating them all!
This can be a nightmare.
My advice is to set up a chat on your social media of choice, where everyone can chime in.
The most important part of the coordination is sorting out a date that works for everyone, which can be a nightmare in itself. There is no advice I can give here. You simply need to throw out dates until you can all agree.
There can be a case for swapping out a supplier if one person cannot make a date. But it is hard to tell people who have committed that you need to look for someone else who is more available.
Patience is key. Be prepared to keep working until you get the date.

Plan B (and C and D)

Problems are par for the course on styled photo shoots, no matter how amazing the final images look across social media.
In my experience, models are most likely to drop out of shoots first, but it can be anyone at any time, for any reason. Try to plan for issues as best as you can. What will you do if it rains on the day you planned your outdoor shoot? Not a problem, you have 3 more dates locked in for such things. What happens if you turn up to your woodland location, and there is a cycle race? (This actually happened to me.) Not a problem, you have two other locations where you can shoot.
Problems can (and will) occur. Just plan for them and be prepared to change to plan B at a moment’s notice. Usually, you can overcome these problems, but only with planning. Speaking of…

This wasn’t the original model. She only came on board two days before the shoot. However, you 

could not have asked for a better model to work with.

Entertaining everyone’s ideas

You need to nail down the overarching theme for the shoot quickly. The person who organizes the shoot (i.e., you) will decide on the theme and its use when initially chatting about the plan.
Once decided, Pinterest is a godsend. Set up a shared board, then get everyone to add things to it. From here, you can all pick a favorite selection to become the final mood-board.
Things will need to be flexible, as everyone has a slightly different vision. Just make sure that everyone feels part of this process. By being invested in the planning stages, people tend to bring their A-game to the final shoot. Make sure everyone is on board, has had their say, and you have come to the final vision together.

Show them who’s boss (or know who is)

Somebody has to be the boss, and as the photographer, often people will look to you for guidance or to take charge. Be firm, but accommodating. You need to be the one to smooth things out when the stylist brings something floral she really wants in the shoot. Or the makeup artist tweaks the hair just a little. People can get stressed, and as the person in charge, your job is to keep everyone relaxed and keep the shoot rolling.
You are part teacher, part parent, part best friend to everyone on the shoot. Just be mindful of everyone’s feelings and try your best.
Now, this may not be your strong suit. You may agree that someone else takes needs to take the lead, but you do need to make sure someone is in charge of final decisions. Otherwise, the little issues can end up in an argument, and everything will go downhill from there.
One of the key things you need to do is get everyone’s details. You need a list of all suppliers, all their social media links, all websites, etc. because everyone who worked on the project should get be credited with any use of the images. Be sure that everyone agrees to this before they use the images.

This shot was solely for the makeup artist. Making a list of shots people want before the shoot is 

always helpful, especially when you’re starting out.

On the day

Hopefully, everyone turns up at the right time and the right location. Depending on your shoot, you may have all of the suppliers stay for the whole shoot or just a few of them. Obviously, it can be nerve-racking shooting with people around (especially when starting out), but it is something you need to get used to.
Remember, you are the expert (even if you don’t feel like it), and you will create images that everyone loves. Think positively, act positively, and believe in yourself. As a pessimistic introvert, I find this hard, but there is no alternative. Be charming, polite, helpful, and try not to let any panic show.
Once on the shoot, you need to work smoothly. You may be panicking, and the camera may be having a meltdown. Internalize it! No matter what happens, you need to come across with an air of calm and show that everything is fine. Even if you are not the person taking charge of the shoot, as the photographer, you are the person who is in charge of the final product.
Before you shoot, take your time and make sure you are happy with the lighting, etc. Lastly, make sure that you check the details. There is nothing worse than realizing somebody left a plastic bag in the background of the shot that you didn’t notice. Just check carefully and try not to get carried away.
Whilst I would not advise showing every shot to those on the shoot, I would advise to show them some that you nail. Especially early on. By doing this, it shows everyone you have got some great images, and it will relax everyone, yet make them work harder. Always check with the model too. Make sure they are happy with the photos. They may notice some things that you miss. They also tend to relax when they see the first photo of the shoot they like.

A public location can cause problems. Just out of shot are a couple of hecklers. On the plus side, 

the model did get a couple of marriage proposals.

After the event

Get the images to everyone for picks as soon as you can after the shoot. It is tempting to put all images up and let people choose, but if you are not careful, you can end up with people all choosing different shots and leaving you with a mammoth editing job.
Really trim the images down. I aim for around 40 maximum from a styled shoot. This way, I put out images that I love. If you add images you are not sure about, someone will choose it as a favorite, and you will regret adding it to the initial edit.
From here, get everyone to make some selections. The key is to ask people to choose 3-5 each that they love. That way, you are not left with a massive editing job. If you tell everyone to pick as many as they wish, you will generally end up having to edit about 90% of the images you show them.
When it comes to editing, start with the ones that multiple people have chosen, then work your way through the rest. Again, the key here is letting everyone know where you are up to.
Try to get a few out straight away, but if life or work stops you from being able to edit the rest quickly, just let everyone know. They will be understanding. But if you don’t let them know, they will begin to wonder. Communication is key in a styled photo shoot, from the first conversation to the delivery of the last image.
When you share images, make sure you credit everyone. Make sure you do exactly what you said you would and make sure that you check everyone is happy. That way, it leaves a good lasting impression, which is what you want.

What do you get?

There is a lot of time, effort, and occasional headaches involved in a styled photo shoot. Is it worth it? Yes.
The aim of this is to spread your name. If the dress shop has an appointment the next day, they may strike up a conversation about photography. If they do, they will likely speak of you. If you do a good job, your name will be the first one that comes up whenever they discuss photographers.
You will be seen on several companies’ social media, which again can turn into followers and customers.
Most importantly, you are putting your name out there as someone who takes great photos, is great to work with and you are widening your network. It may not count as money in the bank straight away, but it will eventually.
The more people who know your name, the more people will speak it. The more who speak it, the better known you become. Add in the fact that they will speak of you in high regard (if you delivered on the shoot), and you have a recipe for success.
Have you worked on styled photo shoots with others? What was your experience? Share with us in the comments section below.

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10 Ways to Make a Living from Photography

By: Kav Dadfar 

It has never been harder to make a living from photography than it is in this day and age. But that doesn’t mean the game is over for you as a photographer. There are still plenty of ways to make money from photography if you are willing to make the effort and have a well-thought-out plan. So here are 10 ways to make a living from photography.

Portrait photography

Portraits can be a great little money earner for any photographer. There is even more opportunity for those photographers in smaller towns. Yes, there may not be as many potential customers but the competition will also be much smaller. From the initial shoot fee to prints (digital or analog) and frames, there is an opportunity to make additional sales on top of just the portrait shoot. So any portrait photographer has a few potential steady income revenues.
The overheads to start with are also fairly minimal as you can offer location shoots or even set up a small studio in your home to keep you going until you can get a proper space to work.

Event photography

Event photography is another good genre of photography that offers great opportunities for earning money. Events can be anything from birthday parties to trade events or even company events like Christmas parties.
The advantage of this genre of photography is that there is always going to be a demand for it. So if you can get a good reputation, then word of mouth can spread and get you more and more work.

Photojournalism

Similar to other genres of photography, there is always a steady supply of work for a photojournalist. Being a photojournalist is hard work, both physically and, more importantly, emotionally. But it can also be one of the most rewarding genres of photography as it has the power to change the world.
If you are willing to make the sacrifices needed and are good at capturing photos that tell stories, then this genre of photography could be for you.

Wedding photography

A few years ago, weddings would have been one of the top earners in this list of 10 ways to make a living from photography. But like most genres of photography, things have changed.
Less than a decade ago, an average wedding photographer could command $2000 plus per wedding and easily shoot 30-40 weddings a year. Unfortunately, the influx of photographers who undercut each other in price has had a detrimental effect on wedding photography. There are photographers now offering to shoot weddings for a few hundred dollars.
Nevertheless, wedding photography is still a market that has lots of opportunities to make money.

Product and food photography

As long as people are making things to sell or eat, they will need images of their products to help sell them. Product and food photography is a great source of income and a steady stream of work for any photographer.
It can be a little mundane for some, but I actually enjoy the process. I really like that I can shoot at my own pace and control every aspect of the shoot. This is not something anyone who works as an outdoor photographer gets to experience. From local restaurants to design companies, there is an endless amount of work available if you can find it.

Commercial photography

Commercial photography can consist of things like:

• Shooting lifestyle campaigns or adverts for tourist boards and companies.
• Photographing hotel rooms and venues.
• It can consist of both interior and exterior shots with or without people.

I find it works really well combined with my editorial work as I often find myself getting an audience with someone in a position of power in these areas through my various commissions.

Editorial photography

Editorial photography was a great source of revenue for photographers.
This changed with the introduction of digital photography all those years ago, which led to the slow demise of staff photographers. It is cheaper and easier to use stock images than it is to send a photographer out to photograph a feature. The other benefit of using stock photos for an editor is that they can see exactly what images they are purchasing.
There are still higher-end magazines like National Geographic and agencies that will commission a photographer for an editorial feature, but they are few and far between.

Stock photography

Gone are the good old days of being able to make a living solely from stock photography. But all is not lost.
Assuming you are getting work from one of the other aspects of photography on this list, you will be accumulating a body of images that you can more than likely put with a stock agency. Whilst this won’t make you rich, it could provide a nice additional income. Just make sure to get model release forms where possible, and find the right agency for your style of photography.

Prints

Selling prints is another good revenue stream, whatever your genre of photography is. Big names aside, most of us photographers are not going to be lucky enough to sell prints for thousands of dollars. But, again, like stock photography, if you have a body of work, you might as well try to earn an income from it.

Sports photography

Sports photographers will always be in demand as long as our love for the various sporting games continues. If you can get yourself in with a good agency or accreditation and get those awesome shots that are grace the pages of newspapers and websites worldwide the next morning you can make a very good and steady living. To get to that level will take time and a lot of hard work.
But there are also lots of opportunities at the local level of photographing such as school sports days or even local sporting events. These are much easier to get into and can provide a steady income to supplement your other photography work.

10 Ways to Make a Living from Photography:

Whilst many photographers specialize in one specific area of photography these days, most photographers have to be willing to offer a few of these services. I shoot a lot of editorial and food photography and some commercial projects. I then use stock and print sales to increase that revenue stream.
Whatever genre of photography you specialize in, it’s important to diversify your work. Not only because of the income but also because you might make contacts that will lead to other jobs within your chosen genre.
Remember to price yourself accordingly and try not to work for free. Always keep in mind that if you don’t respect your work enough to be paid for it, why should someone else?
Do you have any other ways to make a living from photography that you’d like to add to this list? Share with us in the comments!


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