Writing for Photography Magazines – An Editor’s View

There’s one way to get your photos published in photography magazines that I didn’t mention in my previous post, and that is to write an article accompanied by your photos. There are lots of good photographers that can’t write, and lots of good writers that can’t take a photo. There are far less people that are good at both. Any photographer who can write an article as well as take good photos has an advantage when it comes to selling their work.

The main benefit to supplying an illustrated article is that you get paid for both the words and photos used by the magazine. If you do it right, you can set yourself up with a nice part-time income and perhaps a future career. You may go on to write for other magazines, or photography ebook and book publishers.
But how do you get started if you’ve never had an article published in a magazine before? The first thing is to work on both your photography and writing skills until you are good enough at your craft to be worthy of writing an article for a photography magazine. This website is an excellent place to start when it comes to your photography skills, so I will concentrate on the writing side of things.

Getting started

While you are unlikely to have the first article you write published in a photography magazine, you can publish it on your own website. There’s no excuse for not having a blog – you can start one for free at Google’s Blogger or at WordPress.com.
Remember your blog is your showpiece – it’s an advertisement for your services. It’s a good idea to treat each post as a commissioned article, it should be as professional as you can make it. You will go through a learning curve and the articles you write in six months time will be better than the ones you write now, but the more effort you put into each article the quicker you’ll get there.
How do you come up with article ideas? A good place to start is with the stuff you know. For instance, if you’re into landscape photography, write some articles about that.
Another technique is to learn some new skills and then write about that. For instance, if you’ve never attempted macro photography before, then research some macro photography techniques, buy the equipment you need to take some good macro photos, then once you’ve got some good photos write an article about it on your blog.
I write articles about stuff I start off knowing nothing about all the time for EOS magazine. I research the topic, try out new techniques for myself, and ask questions of people who know more about it than I do. By the time I start writing the article, I’ve become an expert on the topic.
It can be good to specialise. For example, Syl Arena has set himself up as an expert on the Canon Speedlite flash system. Note the professional design of his website and the quality of the articles.
I use Syl’s website when I’m researching articles for EOS magazine. Once, I had a question and I emailed Syl to ask him about it. He responded quickly and helpfully. A few months later we commissioned him to write an article for the magazine. He got noticed because we could see that he’s an expert on his chosen topic, he has some cool photos and the articles on his website prove that he can write.
You should also regularly read photography magazines, books and websites. You’ll learn new stuff and it will help you generate ideas for new articles.

Guest posts

Once your blog is up and running, you should think about writing some guest posts for other websites. One advantage is that it can bring traffic to your blog, building up the readership. But the main benefit is that it’s good practice for when you start pitching ideas to photography magazines. Here’s how it works.
Start by choosing a photography website or blog that you like. Read some of the posts until you have a feel for the style of article that it publishes. Think of an article idea and write an outline. Then you need to find out who to submit the idea to – the answer should be somewhere in the contact information on the website. Then contact the appropriate person and make your pitch. Hopefully the editor or owner of the site will like your idea and ask you to write the article. Once the idea’s been accepted, all that remains is write the article to the best of your ability and submit it.
This is exactly what you will be doing in the future when you write for photography magazines.
Another benefit of guest posting is that your articles may be found by someone who would like to buy your photos or commission you to write an article. I always search on Google when I’m writing an article for EOS magazine to see what I can find. There are certain sites that show up in the searches again and again, and having some articles on them will help you get noticed. Digital Photography School is one of them (that’s a hint!)

Websites that pay

While most guest posting is done without pay, there are websites that pay for photography articles. I started off writing articles for Smashing Magazine. After a few months of doing this, one of my articles was noticed by someone from the Tuts+ network. She invited me to write for a new website called Photo Tuts+, and I’ve been doing so ever since. This taught me that one thing leads to another. Those guest posts you’ve just written for free may lead to a paid gig in the future.

Photography magazines

Once you’ve had a few articles published on reputable photography websites, it’s time to consider approaching a photography magazine. Use the same approach that you did for guest blogging and study the magazine you intend to submit to carefully.
How many articles do they publish each issue? How many are written by staff and how many by freelancers? If an article doesn’t have a byline, that means it was written by a staff member. Try googling the names of article writers to see if they have websites. What do they do for a living? Are they professional photographers or established writers? What can you learn from their websites?
What type of articles does the magazine publish? Do they concentrate on photography techniques, the creative side of photography (ie topics like composition and lighting), portfolios, Photoshop techniques or a mixture of all of these? For example, at EOS magazine we publish a very specific type of article. Every article is written specifically for Canon EOS users. We never publish articles about Photoshop. We’re not going to make an exception for you, no matter how brilliant your Photoshop article is.
Does the magazine have a website? If so you should study that too. Some photography magazines have a section where you can upload photos. This can be another way to get noticed – some UK photography magazines regularly publish photos submitted to their websites.

Contact the editor

Your next step is to email the editor of the magazine to ask for writer’s guidelines. This is a set of instructions outlining the type of article that the magazine is looking for and telling you how to submit it. It’s also worth checking the magazine’s website to see if the guidelines are on there.
Normally the editor will respond by sending you the writer’s guidelines. If you don’t get a response, don’t worry too much. Editors are busy people and it’s easy for your email to slip through the cracks. Wait two or three weeks and follow up with a polite email. You should never be rude or impatient, or accuse the editor of ignoring you. This is unprofessional and will guarantee that you won’t be commissioned.
When you have the writer’s guidelines, make sure you follow them to the letter. Stepping outside them will probably mean your submission will be ignored. Generally speaking, the editor will ask for a brief outline of your article plus some sample photos.

Putting an outline together

Keep your outline brief and to the point. Here’s a sample outline that I sent to an Australian photography magazine (the article was accepted). Bear in mind your article idea will be accepted or rejected on the strength and suitability of your article idea, not the way in which the outline is written:
My concept is this – to write an article about converting a colour portrait to black and white. The emphasis is not just on how to do the conversion, but on the different interpretations available. Do you want to create a cold image? A warm one? Create an ‘antiquing’ effect by adding a texture overlay? There’s more to black and white than desaturating the image – it’s a chance to get really creative. Take a look at the attached photos; the names explain the process in each image.
If you like the idea let me know how many words or pages there are to play with and I can write a plan according to what fits in the available space.

The editor’s response

Hopefully, you’ll get a fairly quick response from the editor. If you don’t, again wait two or three weeks and follow up with a polite email. If the editor still doesn’t respond, then forget about it and move onto another magazine. It’s unfortunate, but not all editors will respond to every email. Get used to it, it’s a fact of life in this industry.

Writing the article

The editor loves your idea and has commissioned you to write the article. Now what? If it’s your first magazine article, don’t panic. The editor has confidence in you, and you’ve earned the right to write the article.
The first thing is to ask when the editor needs the article by. This is your deadline. Always meet your deadlines. I try and send my articles in by two or three days prior to the deadline at the latest.
By this stage you should have had plenty of practise writing articles for your own and other websites. Now, all you have to do is repeat what you did for them.

Contracts

Some magazines will ask you to sign a contract before they commission an article. Check the wording carefully. If there’s anything you don’t understand, query it with the editor.
The main thing to watch out for is copyright grabs. Some magazines will try and get you to sign a contract handing them copyright of your photos. If a magazine does that, I ask them to amend the contract so that I retain copyright. If they refused to do that (no-one has yet) I would walk away. I never give away copyright.

Team effort

When I started off as a writer, I thought that the writer’s job is to turn a perfectly written article every time. I’ve since learnt that isn’t true. Writing is often a team effort. Most photography magazines have sub-editors whose job is to knock the copy you submit into shape. They’ll make it fit the house style (that’s the way the magazine spells certain words, phrases and punctuation) and edit your copy to improve the article where necessary. So don’t feel under pressure to submit a word perfect article. You need to submit the best article that you can, but understand that you’re part of a team now. The copy editors will improve your writing and the design team will make your article look awesome.

After the submission

After you’ve submitted the article, you may not hear anything back from the editor. That’s normally a good sign – it means that your article is going through the production process.
After the magazine has been printed, some editors will send you a copy of the magazine. Not all do though, so feel free to email the editor and ask for a copy. Believe me, seeing your first article in print is a good feeling.

Long term relationships

Send the editor an email thanking him for the opportunity – and send him another idea for the next issue with it.
You should be looking to develop long term relationships with editors. You don’t want to sell just one article – you want to sell a hundred, an issue at a time.

EOS magazine

If you’d like to submit an idea to EOS magazine, your best chance is if you have a specialty in something. For example, in the most recent two issues, two articles were contributed by freelancers. One on panoramic photography, and the other on astrophotography. Your first step is to read our writer’s guidelines here.

A good example

There’s one photographer who’s done an excellent job of writing articles for many photography magazines in the UK over the last few years (he wrote one for EOS magazine too a year or so ago). He’s a great photographer and writer and he’s worked hard for his success. His name is David Clapp and I recommend that you check out his website and blog. If you want to be a writer for photography magazines there’s no better example to look up to. With hard work and a bit of luck, there’s no reason why you can’t do the same.

Andes

The spreads illustrating this post are taken from the first article that I ever had published in a photography magazine – Practical Photography. You can see more photos from the Andes in my new ebook Andes which has just been released at Craft & Vision.
Andrew S Gibson is a freelance writer based in Auckland, New Zealand. He is the Technical Editor of EOS magazine and writes photography eBooks for Craft And Vision. including The Evocative Image. Follow Andrew on Facebook here.

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How to Simplify Your Life as a Photographer

By: Mat Coker

Whether you’re an amateur or a professional photographer, complexity, confusion, and chaos are your enemies. When your life is chaotic and you’re feeling out of sorts, you’ll be unfocused and your photography will suffer. As a creative person, the last thing you want is to neglect your creative pursuits like photography.

“The more simple we are, the more complete we become.” – August Rodin

Here are 5 ways for you to simplify your life so that you can focus clearly on your life and love of photography.

Embrace simplicity in your photos by including as little as possible in the frame. In this photo, I 

eliminated the foreground as well as boats and other objects that could have been in the frame. All 

our attention is drawn to the clouds and the lighthouse in the distance.

1. Tidy up a mess

“Have nothing in your homes that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” – William Morris

One of the simplest ways to bring some order to life around you is to tidy up a mess. Find space that you’ve got control over and clean it up. Start with your desk, or clean up your bedroom. Maybe you’ve got piles of stuff laying around the house. Choose one pile, sort it out, and put it away.
Once your space is clean, make it beautiful. Make a print of your favorite photo and frame it. Place it on your desk or hang it on the wall. Creating a tidy and beautiful space around you will help you simplify the chaos and encourage your creativity.

With nothing else present in this photo our full attention is drawn to the little jellyfish. Sometimes 

simplicity in photos is hard to achieve because there are so many other distracting elements.

2. Organize your photography gear

“There are two ways to be rich: One is by acquiring much, and the other is by desiring little.” – Jackie French Koller

Gather up all your photography gear into one place. This is especially helpful if you’ve got equipment stashed all over your house or apartment.
Clean it thoroughly, sort it out, and sell what you don’t need. By simplifying your gear, you’ll have fewer decisions to make and you’ll be freer to take photos when you’re in the moment.
For example, instead of wasting time wondering which of your eight lenses you should use, you’ll have three favorite ones from which to choose.

Silhouettes are an excellent way to simplify and draw attention to your photos. The frosty glass adds 

an interesting background.

Organizing and simplifying the gear you own is one way to simplify your life. But another way is to simplify your desire for more gear.
Photographers are notorious for suffering from GAS – gear acquisition syndrome. Buying new gear is necessary from time to time, but sometimes buying stuff is an easy way to feel like a photographer rather than actually being one.
Make the most of the gear you’ve alredy got and only purchase what will truly allow you to take more creative photos.

I love taking photos with my Fuji x100s because it has just one prime lens. I don’t have to think 

about lens choices or focal lengths. Instead, I forget about my camera and just observe what’s 

around me.

3. Learn one new thing

“Knowledge is a process of piling up facts; wisdom lies in their simplification.” – Martin H. Fischer

You’ve embraced simplicity by cleaning up some small space, you’ve made that space more beautiful by printing and framing one of your photos, and you’ve begun relieving your GAS.
Now, take your favorite camera and lens and go learn something new. But learn just one new thing at a time. As a creative photographer, you’re likely eager to learn many new things and become a better photographer. That is a worthy ambition. But don’t pile on too much learning at once. That will only hold you back.
Choose just one article, book, or course, and master that before moving on. DPS has a lot of tips and articles for you to learn from, but they have also organized and simplified topics with their books and courses.

I decided to spend some time trying to learn food photography. It’s a fun skill to study about. I 

needed to create some sort of background for this coffee mug and decided to stack up a few other 

mugs behind it. I like the repetitive pattern, another form of simplicity in photos.

4. Create a photography project

“Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious and adding the meaningful.” – John Maeda

With your new learning, why not tackle a photography project?
Many photographers have thousands of disorganized and disconnected photographs. And they have dozens of ideas in mind for what they will photograph next. Make of list of everything you’re interested in trying as a project and then choose one thing from the list to accomplish.

I have a growing collection of silhouette photos with my living room window. Soon, I’ll gather them 

all together and choose my favorites for a photo book. The symmetry in this photo is an element of 

simplicity.

Instead of the chaos of too many options and ideas, choose one thing and bring it to life. Maybe you could take a day trip to a favorite location. Or gather together friends for a portrait project. Maybe you should sort through photos from the past and create a photo book.
In just a few days or weeks you could have a finished project and something new to hang in your tidied up space. Tackling a project will help simplify your life and bring order and accomplishment to your day.

Close-ups simplify portraits by eliminating distracting backgrounds. Toddlers and kids have lots of 

fun peering into the camera or playing peekaboo.

5. Photography business

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” – Leonardo da Vinci

It is natural for photographers to consider starting a photography business. It’s a natural move since entrepreneurs and creative people are cut from the same cloth. Starting a photography business may seem like the ultimate way to live as a photographer. But even with a business, you must keep it as simple as possible.

I love to show up early before family photo sessions. Arriving at the harbor at 5 am in the morning, 

I captured this beautiful silhouette of a father and son heading out on one of the Great Lakes to fish.

If you’re already in business consider ways that you can simplify your photography business:

• Keep your business aligned with what you actually love to photograph.
• Offer one type of photography rather than doing everything.
• Choose a simple pricing strategy.
• Create a simple mobile-friendly website.
• Put limits on how long your workday will be.
• Create simple systems to make your workday flow.
• Carve out lots of time for family and friendships.

I played baseball as a kid and feel nostalgic about it in the autumn months. Photographing a 

single object, such as a baseball, is a way to practice simplicity in your photography.

Start simple and make steady progress

Take the next 90 days (3 months) to simplify your life and your photography. Clean up your spaces, appreciate the gear you’ve got, learn just one new thing, and bring it all together with a photography project. If you have a photography business or are thinking of starting one – keep it simple by keeping all the parts simple.
Let me know in the comments what you plan to simplify first.

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6 Things to Consider Before Becoming a Professional Photographer

By: Melinda Smith 

So, you’ve got a nice camera, you really love photography, and you’ve been thinking that maybe it would be nice to make a little bit of money from this passion you’ve discovered. Before you decide to make that leap, read on. You may be convinced to throw that idea out the window, or you may find that you truly are ready, and it’s time to try your hand at photography as a career.
Before we go any further, I have to clarify something about the photos in this article. First of all, I had to include photos, because every article is better with pictures, right? Secondly, this session was inspiring, fun, and an example of every reason that I LOVE being a photographer. This client does not exemplify any of the cons of the business. Also, for this article “professional photographer” is defined as someone who gets paid to take photos, particularly portrait photographers.

1. You’re not good enough…yet

Maybe you love photography, and maybe you get a lot of compliments on your photos, but you may not be a good enough photographer to actually take money from people yet. Do you sometimes take a bunch of photos where the majority of them are garbage? Do you often say to yourself, “I’ll fix that later in Photoshop?” If your photos aren’t consistently in focus, exposed correctly, and great IN CAMERA, before you get to Photoshop, you’re not ready.
If you look at other professional photographers’ work and wonder how on earth they got their photos to look like that, you are not ready. I don’t mean that you have to be able to produce photos exactly like the photographers that you admire. I’m saying that you should have an understanding of how they achieve the look they get. You should know how light, depth of field, angles, etc., contribute to the photo. You should have an idea of how much of the photo is a result of post-processing.
Having a nice camera does not qualify you to be a professional photographer.

2. You don’t have enough experience

This goes along with not being good enough, but experience is important. You have to be consistent every time. You have to know that every single session you do will result in good photos, and that you can roll with the punches if conditions aren’t ideal. You have to know your camera settings inside and out, because when you’re chasing a naughty toddler around, you don’t have time to try to figure out what your shutter speed should be.
I’ll admit that I didn’t have enough experience when I started. I did some sessions for friends and family, then requests started coming in. I didn’t really have the goal of making money with my photography, but when people started asking me, I thought, “Hey, why not?” Some of my early sessions are dear to my heart, but some of them I look at and cringe. I feel bad that people paid money for me to experiment and find out who I was as a photographer.

3. You don’t want to lose the love of photography

Once you turn a passion into a job or career, you have a very real possibility of it turning into something you do because you have to, and not because you want to. I’m not saying this happens to everyone, but I’ve seen enough professional photographers burn out and quit, that I know it’s a very real thing. You may think that it will be fantastic to make money doing something you love, but are you ready for the possibility of not loving that thing anymore?
True confession here: I rarely get my camera out anymore for anything except a paid session. When I’m on vacation, sometimes the last thing I want to do is “work” while I’m there, and I certainly don’t want to drag my camera around when I’m supposed to be having fun.  Then, if I do take some photos just for the heck of it, they sit there on my computer forever, because I don’t really feel like sorting and editing yet another batch of photos. This doesn’t happen to every pro photographer, but I’m being real here. Sometimes I wish that I could just take photos because I love it, but the truth is, I’m often too tired after my paid sessions for the week to get my camera out again. I still love photography, but it’s more that I love my job; I love the photos and what I can create, I love working with people, but I don’t love photography just for photography’s sake anymore.

4. You don’t want to deal with business stuff

Taxes, business licenses, contracts, equipment upkeep, scheduling, email, phone calls – it’s all a very real part of running a photography business, and it takes far more time and effort than you’d like to believe. Being a professional photographer is not just happily snapping some photos, collecting money, and then spending all of that money on anything you’d like. There are expenses, lots and lots of expenses. There are boring, repetitive tasks. There are hours spent doing behind the scenes stuff.
No matter how great of a photographer you are, if you aren’t good at the business side of things, you are going to struggle as a photographer. It’s hard. It’s frustrating. Sometimes it’s overwhelming. Some days horrible things happen, like The Cloud losing your entire photography calendar (yes, speaking from experience). Sometimes you have to ask people for money, and that’s not easy for everyone. You have to be able and willing to run a pretty tight ship with scheduling, collecting money, and sticking to your policies. You have to decide your policies, and your fees, and how you are going to do business beforehand, because believe me, people will ask you to change all of it for them, and you have to be ready for it.

5. You don’t like to deal with difficult people

Luckily for me, I actually really love working with people, but even then, sometimes some people are hard to deal with. When people are paying you money to photograph them, sometimes they expect you to do anything and everything they want, and sometimes, even when you’ve done your best, they aren’t happy with you. If you are sensitive, like I am, that kind of criticism can be very hard to take.
Most of the people you will take photos for are fantastic, wonderful people, who love your work, and love you, which is why they hired you. That doesn’t happen every time though. Sometimes you have to spend lots of time on the phone talking to a worried client (what about the weather? what about junior’s bad haircut? what about clothes they’ll wear? what if they smile awkwardly?). Or someone who has lots of ideas they saw on Pinterest, and wants to discuss every one of them with you, in depth, even if they aren’t even remotely your style of photography. Sometimes you’ll show them their gallery and they’ll say they love it, except can you photoshop every single wrinkle off of their face? Questions are great, and most people don’t have unreasonable demands. But, you have to know that sometimes people are just not on the same page as you are, and you have to be able to work with them, and do your best to keep them happy.

6. It isn’t the fairytale job you think it is

I hear from people all the time about how much fun it must be to be a photographer, and how much they wish they could be a photographer too. Many people who jump into the photography business, without doing a lot of research and self-evaluation, get a harsh slap to the face when they realize that it’s work. A lot of work. Many people pop in the “professional photographer” scene on a whim, and pop right back out of it within a year or two, and sometimes don’t even last a few months. It’s work to get clients. It’s work to keep clients. They don’t just fall in your lap, waving hundred dollar bills and smiling their pearly whites for your camera.
You’re going to have competition, and sometimes criticism from others. Sometimes the world of photographers can get pretty nasty. You will find wonderful people to collaborate with, and those who encourage you, but you will also find some that will tear you down if they get the chance.
There are many benefits of running your own business, but it’s also hard. You have to know what you are doing, and if something goes wrong, it’s all on your shoulders. Being a professional photographer is much more than loving to take pictures. When you realize all of the work it’s going to be, you might decide that taking photos for the love of it, and because you’re an artist, may be much more fulfilling in the end.

Do I sound a little bitter? I know that I might, but I want to be realistic here. I think being a photographer is such a romanticized notion, that there are oodles of people just itching to jump into photography as a business, without really knowing what they’re getting into. I’ve learned so much over the years, and sometimes I wonder if I would have even started had I really understood all of the cons.
Then, remember why I do this. Yes, it’s a job, and it’s hard. Yes, I hate the business side of things sometimes. Yes, some days I want to go hide in a hole and bury my camera there. But most of the time I feel blessed beyond measure to be a photographer. I love the people I get to work with. I love creating beautiful photos, and capturing real personalities. I love happy clients, and I love that I can create memories for them that will last forever. Right now I wouldn’t trade this job for any other, because now, that I’ve learned and lived through the hard parts of my job, I know that it’s all worth it, for me.
Now you get to decide: will it be worth it for you?

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5 Things Every Newbie Photographer Must Learn and Practice

By: Karthika Gupta 

There are certain things as a photographer you should know regardless of if you are an expert or a novice. These simple yet powerful lessons not only differentiate you but also help you grow in your art and your photographic career. For every newbie photographer, these are essential lessons to learn and practice.
Note: For the purposes of this article, all the images used here are SOOC (Straight out of camera). This is done to demonstrate key concepts highlighted here. My camera of choice is Canon 5D MKIII with a few common Canon L-series lenses like the 50mm and 85mm.

#1 – Know your gear inside out

This almost seems like a no brainer but I am surprised by the number of people who say that they have a really fancy (and expensive) DSLR camera but still shoot in auto mode 100% of the time. Now before you get all upset and say that there is nothing wrong with shooting in auto, I will raise my hand and say that yes, I also shot in auto when I got my first DSLR camera. But very quickly I realized that my camera (a Canon 5D MKII at that time) was a fantastic and sophisticated piece of equipment that was capable of some incredible shots if I only knew how to operate it.
So take the time and really know the ins and outs of your gear. The user manual is a great place to start to not only familiarize yourself with what all the buttons do but also where they are located on the camera. You should be able to adjust settings without removing your eye from the eyepiece/viewfinder when you are composing your frame. Think about it this way, would you like to own a convertible and always drive with the top up (i.e. closed), even on the most gorgeous of summer days?

Here are some ways to learn the ins and outs of your gear.

ISO – Play around with various ISO settings to understand how it affects exposure and what is an acceptable ISO grain (for you). This will help you make photography decisions in low light situations. Some of these ISO decisions may be limited to the kind of camera you have. Regardless, you should know the upper limits of your gear.

The quality of light at the stables where my kids ride is terrible. Even though they have lots and lots 

of flood lights, there isn’t enough light just because of the sheer size of the barn. These images were 

shot handheld at ISO 3200 – the one on the left was at 1/60th shutter speed whereas the one on the 

right was at 1/400th. That was because of the natural light coming in closer to the wall that illuminated 

my son and gave me a higher shutter speed to capture the motion of the horse.

Sweet spot – Find the sweet spot for your lens. Every lens has an aperture setting where the image is sharper overall than others. This will help you analyze what is the widest aperture (smallest f-stop) you can shoot in and still have the image in focus. This is different than the depth of field (which is how much of the scene is in focus) in that the actual resolution of the image is sharper at the sweet spot.
Minimum shutter speed – Find out what is the lowest shutter speed you can handhold your camera and get a sharp image. This will also help in low light situations as well as in creative motion blur type shots when you don’t have a tripod handy. The general rule of thumb is to shoot at one over the focal length of your lens.

Here I was shooting in a dark canyon with dark stone walls. I was using a 35mm lens at f/1.4 

(completely wide open aperture) because I wanted a very low ISO (100) to eliminate any noise. 

My shutter speed dropped to 1/30th – which I clearly could not hold steady…the image is 

completely blurry and out of focus!

Weight – Find out what is the maximum weight you can comfortably carry without hurting yourself or almost passing out because of discomfort from carrying excess weight (true story!)

#2 – Know and understand light

There are some photographers who only shoot in natural light while others only shoot using some form of artificial light. Then there are photographers who shoot in any type of light and do a fantastic job at that. There is no right or wrong answer here in terms of preference but it is important to know how to shoot in any form of light. That might be the only thing that stands between you and the shot of your dreams.
Knowing how to read, analyze, and play with light is one of the most basic and important skills every newbie photographer should know, in my opinion. Keep in mind that not all light is equal from a purely technical standpoint (tungsten versus fluorescent versus white-balanced light). Certain types of light are good and others are not so good. Experiment with many different kinds of light so you know how to read light, then learn how to shoot in each.
These three images were all shot within the hour just before sunrise.

Here my settings are as follows ISO1250, f/2.8, 1/60th shutter speed. I LOVE the blue in the sky 

falling on the snow covered Pike’s peak in Colorado.

The warm sunrise cast such a magical glow on the mountain and surrounding areas. My settings 

here were ISO 320, f/5.0, and 1/500th. The sky filled with so much light that I had to stop down 

my aperture to be perfectly exposed.

The overcast sky with little spots of blue took my breath away. My settings here were 

ISO 320, f/5.0, and 1/800th to get a perfectly exposed photo.

I do not like indoor yellow tungsten light…everything become so orange! (A custom white balance or correction in processing is necessary)

But neutral natural light is so much easier to work with and to get even natural-looking skin tones.

3 – Practice good ethics

Be respectful of the people, places, and things you photograph. I cannot tell you how much it pains me when I see photographers (both amateurs and professionals) disrespect their surroundings. Be it climbing where they are not supposed to, keeping heavy equipment on delicate surfaces, overcrowding and overstaying their welcome in public places and not giving other general tourists the opportunity to enjoy the scenery.
Pay special notice to other photographers. These are folks in your industry even if they are beginners. They are all in it for the same reasons you are – love for the art! Leave that sense of entitlement behind, just because you have more expensive gear does not make you a better photographer or a creative artist. Take the extra effort to find out what the photography rules are in the places that you intend to photograph and stick to them.

I belong to several groups of photographers and we regularly meet to shoot the breeze, photograph 

together and just generally geek out about all things photography. There is no pressure, no tension 

and everyone plays nice! Community over competition!

4 – Safety

Be safe when you are out and about. Always be aware of your surrounding especially if you are a female photographer who tends to travel alone. Check out this article  Safety Tips for Travel Photographers (Particularly Women) that addresses this issue. Remember safety always comes first, art next.

5 – Be your true self and be patient

Whether you choose to be in business or not, be true to your art. Get inspiration not just from other photographers but also from daily life. There are many amazing things around us at any given point in time. Just because no-one else photographs it does not make it boring. Similarly think outside the box, just because everyone photographs something a certain way does not mean you have to follow the pack.
When you are starting out, don’t obsess over clients, getting work, and making money. Yes, they are absolutely important, I will not disagree, but take the time to perfect your art (to the point where you are confident charging money for your photography) and then the money and fame will follow.
Also give out as much as you can, be helpful and uplift others who are on this journey with you. The more you put out there the more you will receive from the universe! I truly believe in that mantra across all walks of life.

I am always coming up with shoot concepts and ideas to keep experimenting. Some work and some fail miserably but that’s okay. I take everything as a learning experience and try to stay positive in my game. An editorial shoot with my daughter captured on film was a complete disaster as I got all the setting wrong and ended up with grainy, grudge frames! – but I learned a whole lot about film and light and how different it is to digital!

Leftover florals from Valentine’s day gave me a chance to practice some styling as well as a more moody, contrasty way of editing – which I sort of like and dislike at the same time! But no money was lost and I only used 10 digital frames and spent 30 minutes in editing experimentation.

Are there any other life lessons that photography has taught you? In the spirit of building this community of creatives, feel free to share it with others.

 

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Put the Fun Back into Your Photography with a Cow Safari

By: Lea Hawkins 

Whether you are a pro photographer or a dedicated amateur, sometimes when you are photographing a lot you can get so caught up in achieving the perfect image, that you lose the sense of fun that got you interested in the first place.
Actively putting the fun back in can not only help you to enjoy your regular photography work more, and assist in getting your photo mojo back, but can inspire new ideas you otherwise might not have come up with. My favourite way to do this is a Cow Safari. It’s kind of like an African safari, but with cows.

Why cows? Well, for a start they tend not to eat you as much as lions and it’s much cheaper than a trip to Africa. Cows are not the most athletic of creatures, they tend to just stand around a lot and are not well camouflaged, so are pretty easy to capture in a photo. They generally hang out in very picturesque areas, perfect for a day out photographing.

Cows make a great safari subject and are generally vegetarian so your risk of getting eaten by one is 

fairly low. Can’t say the same for lions.

However, if you don’t live close enough to a cow hang out, you can make up your own safari. For example; if you’re in the city, maybe a pigeon safari, or seagulls if are near the beach. Perhaps a people walking their dogs safari, or even a flower safari – it doesn’t really matter, just so long as you can find your subject in various different places that you can travel around to easily over a few hours, a day, or even a road trip weekend.
My first safari was some years ago by the seaside with my father, the subject was seagulls. We set up a small wager, winner gets bragging rights. There has been no definitive winner, because the safari still continues years later. Even when we’re in different parts of the country, there is an occasional exchange of seagull photographs. It’s been inspirational, I’ll be bogged down in the photographic process and my phone will light up with something like this:

A photograph sent to me by my father while on a seagull safari. I don’t think that seagull is very 

well, in fact I don’t think it is actually a seagull, I suspect foul play! Photo credit: Chris Hawkins

The main point of the safari is to step away from your usual photography routine and just enjoy taking photographs for the sheer sake of doing so. No planned images, no trying to achieve anything or get that perfect shot, just fun photographic play time with the idea of loosening and lightening up a bit as a photographer, and not taking yourself or your images too seriously.
Once you take the trying hard part out of the picture, you can get back to experimenting, and maybe surprise yourself, just like you did when you first fell in love with photography. Of course you may not end up with anything worth saving, and that’s not the point of the exercise. But, then again, you never know what you might come across in your travels.

Had I not been out on a cow safari, I may have missed the opportunity to capture this cow doing a remarkably good impersonation of a horse.

Your safari is a great time to experiment with things you might not normally try when you’re too busy trying to get that perfect shot. Try the lens you haven’t really played with yet, test out some of the features on your camera you haven’t gotten around to trying. If you are a pro who is dedicated to manual setting, maybe just try out some of the Scene Modes, or vice versa, play with manual settings if it’s something you have not really tried. Maybe even pick up one of those cheap disposable film cameras, or test out some different mobile phone apps.

Use the photographic time-out to slow down and experiment with things like mobile phone 

photography apps. 

How to Conduct Your Safari

Step 1: Grab a fun friend or two

They don’t necessarily need to be photographers, although I’m willing to bet they’ll end up taking a shot or two on their phones. Encourage them to bring a camera, or bring one for them. They could also come in handy as a model.

Safari fun is best shared.

Step 2: Bring some supplies

Depending on where you conduct your safari, you may not be close to a convenient cafe or food place, so why not take your own. Pack a few sandwiches or a whole picnic.

Maybe pack a healthy picnic for your safari. It’s all healthy as long as there’s some fruit right?

Step 3: Get out there and have fun

Jump in the car, on your bikes, the train, or get your walking shoes on and head out. You can map your trip beforehand, or perhaps toss a coin for which direction to go, as you step out the front door. Just so long as you travel around a bit, and have a few different spots to stop and take some photographs.

It’s thumbs up for the cow safari. My little friend here really got into the spirit of the day. He even 

took some great photographs and video on his portable gaming device. By the end of our safari he 

wanted to know how much he had to save up to buy a camera. Safari success!

Safari Tips:

• Experiment: Use the safari to experiment with different lenses, settings, or cameras.
• Go Mobile: Don’t disregard the phone camera, even if you are not a fan of phone photography.
• Do variations: Try all versions of the above at each place you stop. See how each setting/lens/app deals with the same situation.
• Don’t trespass on properties, as much as you might be tempted to slip under a fence to get that perfect cow shot, these animals can be dangerous, as can farmers who don’t appreciate trespassing.
• Don’t hassle the cows. If they are close to the fence, keep a distance and approach very slowly. If they start to get up and move, back off. No shooting off a flash in their moo-ey faces.  The same applies to other subjects. Just be kind and respectful.
• Set up a challenge with your co- safarians (I think I just made that word up), such as best, funniest, or worst pic of the day. Just don’t get too serious about it!
• Keep it going in the processing stage: The fun doesn’t have to stop when you get home from your safari, take the same approach to editing. Use some of your images from the day to experiment in your editing program with different effects and techniques that you wouldn’t normally try.
• Take it global: You could do your safari with online friends, just set up a date or an event on Facebook. In this day and age of instant online access, you can safari with friends from around the world.

The final shot on our cow safari, taken through the car window on the way home.

Above all, have fun, relax, enjoy, laugh, play. This is about taking a photographic break of sorts and getting outside your normal photography practice. You never know, you may end up with that coveted perfect shot in the process. Or, maybe not. It doesn’t matter, as long as you were having fun with your camera. Although I am sure you will end up with at least one shot that makes you smile, and I would love to see that shot or any others you take on your safaris.
Please do share in the comments below, any safari shots inspired by this article or from a previous safari, or any tips or safari ideas you might like to share with fellow safarians (yup, it’s a word now). They don’t have to be great shots! It’s about sharing the experience and having fun with your photography.

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Doublemint – Two Different Takes on the Same Green Scene

By: Elizabeth Halford  

I really really REALLY love the editing process. I didn’t think there was any way I could love anything as much as I love actually taking photographs, by alas, editing has captured my heart.
Isn’t it funny how there are whole worlds out there which we know nothing about? I have seen so many photographers out there who take excellent shots and I just can’t believe they haven’t put any effort into going the extra mile to make a great shot outstanding.
Of course, this is all just a matter of perspective as is any facet of the art world. I know there is a whole camp who say editing is evil and fair enough as far too many young ‘photographers’ don’t seem to think that mastering the art of actually capturing a photograph is of any importance since there is software to correct just about every mistake you can dream of making.
I’m not by any means saying that I am an expert in either situation but I am willing to stick my neck out there and say that personally, I think I’m pretty good and have come a long way extremely fast. Not to be funny or anything (Darren’s not paying me to say this!) I learned half of everything I know about photography and editing from this website! If you haven’t taken the hours necessary to just sit and soak up all of the information available on this site (for FREE, people!) then you are missing out on a potentially huge benefit to your photographic knowledge.

When you jump into the sea which is editing and begin scanning the ocean floor for pearls, it’s hard to come up for air. My oxygen tank is very big you might say! Imagine my level of excitement when I learned about layers! I know, I know this might seem painfully simple for some of you but for others who are just beginning their journey, you may have only just discovered this pearl as did I only a few months ago.
Last week, I went away with my family for a weekend in the countryside here in England. For an American city girl, the countryside here is far beyond anything I ever dreamed that I would live in (not to mention the castles in my own back yard!) so I jumped out of bed at 5am and snuck out to catch the sunrise. It was my first time ever photographing the sunrise since for the past 6 years, I have only been up before the sun to make bottles or change diapers! Here are two photos I ended up with which, to my surprise, look completely different thanks to the editing processes I have developed for myself.

{IMAGE 1}

 

Every time I look at this photo, I instinctively squint because the light is so bright and I hear my mom in my head saying, “Don’t look at the sun – you’ll go blind!”

1.} In Lightroom, I created about 5 copies of this photo before I began applying presets (right click and choose ‘create virtual copy’).
2.} To #1, I applied Rebecca Lily’s ‘Fresh Perspective’ preset. On 2, I used ‘Creme Retro’.
3.} In Photoshop, I layered the two images and blended using the ‘overlay’ mode. To layer, you literally drag one photo on top of the other and then resize it so they match. Then in the layers palette on the right, select from the drop down menu ‘overlay’. In the palette is a sliding bar to change the opacity which is basically just making the front image more ‘see through’ which will change the impact of the effect. There are many different modes here you could choose for a different effect. In the layers palette, right click on the background image and choose ‘make layer from background’. This takes your fixed background image and turns it into a layer so you can then change the order of your layers to decide which of the two images you want in the front.
4.} Although there is naturally a beautiful sunburst and flare from the sun shining through the trees, I just wanted to bump it up a tiny bit. On the top menu, choose ‘filter’ —> ‘render’ —> ‘lens flare’. Here, you can choose from a few different effects which naturally occur depending on the lens used and then you can change the brightness and, most importantly, the position of the burst. I clicked exactly in the middle of the natural sun burst and changed the brightness just a tad brighter than the natural one. Now when you click ok to finish and you watch it appear on your image, you will notice at different points in your image, flare will appear. These are the circles of light (some people call them orbs) that appear. I didn’t want this to happen because there was already some natural flare which I like and any more would just be cheesy.
So here is where I backtrack. Before I added the extra sunlight, I merged the two preset layers into one (right click on one of the layers in the layers palette and choose ‘flatten image’). Then, I right-clicked and chose ‘duplicate layer’. When I began the process of filter/render/flare, I did this on that top layer. When the orbs appeared after I clicked ‘ok’, I was then able to use the eraser tool to basically erase them away. But since there was a duplicate image layer under it, erasing the orbs just reveals the bottom layer. If there is too sharp a line around where you erased, you can either click undo and re-erase using a lower opacity eraser or just change the opacity of the whole top layer in the layers palette which also works nicely if you want to tone down the brightness of the added sunlight.
5.} Think that’s it? Think again! Once you I got the new sunburst sorted out, I again right clicked a layer and chose ‘flatten image’. Then I began my texture layers work. I opened the two textures I decided to use from Florabella Collection. I used the ‘tea stained’ overlay and ‘Elysium (cool)’ texture. I take quite a long time experimenting with different blend modes (I most often settle with either ‘overlay’ or ‘soft light’) and opacities. The ‘Elysium cool’ texture from this collection works so well with green landscapes because it really adds an extra punch and depth and I use it often.
6.} When displaying an image which uses warm or bright light, I really recommend acquiring your prints from a professional print house from which you can purchase prints on metallic paper. Metallic paper adds a really appealing glow and shimmer to any image but is especially effective for sunlit images. I am so happy with the finished product of this image.

{IMAGE 2}

 

A fellow photographer said of this photo that it “has the most beautiful citrus tones and the sunlight looks like lemon.”
You should recognize this as a crop of the first photo. This time, I edited it to be less warm and more fresh and juicy.
1.} As in the first image, my first step was to ‘vitual copy’ the image and apply different presets. ‘During 1’ is Rebecca Lily’s ‘Spring Haze’ and 2 is Matt Kloskowski’s ‘Lomo’ preset which is free!
2.} In Photoshop, I layered 1 over 2 and applied the soft light blend mode. I took the opacity down very low as you can see, the finished product looks almost exactly like the Lomo-only edit of ‘During 2’. It does make a difference when viewed larger, though.
3.} I cropped the sun out of the image because I wanted the focus to be on the light this time, not the sun itself. I applied Florabella’s ‘Tea Stained’ and ‘Elysium Cool’ as in image 1 and voila! The same photo and the same process but different presets produces two images with an entirely different mood.
This is basically the same process I use when editing an image. The main steps I take are to apply different presets to multiple copies of an image and then layer those images in different ways in Photoshop and then finish it off with some texture work. It sounds like a long process, but when you get your process down, you can churn out fantastic images at a surprising speed. Just gives me more time to get out there and take more photos!

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