If Santa can do it so can you!

If Santa can do is so can you as photographers! Do you know what I am talking about? I am not talking about taking kids photographs but you could to make money! Do you know what I am talking about now? I am talking about pets. You can make some good money photographing peoples pets. Pet lovers spends a lot of money on there pets. If you  photograph their pets.They may use your services to make postcards for their kid’s pet who is away at college to a large print to put on the family wall. Most pet owners will treat their pets like a part of the family. I am a pet lover also so I know this. I hate to say this but if my pet is getting up there in age I would want to get the best image of my pet to have up on the wall before something bad happens to my pet that I love. They say mans best friend is a dog for a reason. If you are not a pet owner then you don’t understand. lets say you do a family portrait at a clients house. If you see a pet. Always after the family photo session. Let them know you also photograph pets. If they want prints of their pet try to shoot their pet while you are there and offer a discount because you will save gas money and time.Work the up sale to fit you and the client. Also for the future let them know you would love to set up a photo session for christmas cards. See if they are interested especially if you are near christmas. If its not near christmas get that email and phone number for the future. Offer a special rate for repeat customers. If they can recommend me to their friends and If I get at least two more photoshoots out of it.( Family Photoshoots) I will give them a free photoshoot. Don’t forget the up sale because it was free they could spend some money on extra prints or a larger print. Offer each one of them the same deal. Thats how you can build clientele fast. You may bring in a lot of cash in a short time period. This is just an example. You need to set what will work for you. You may need 3 photoshoots before you are willing to give a free one. You need to figure out your sales model on your own. 

Just Enjoy Photography!

If you are a hobbyist photographer. Or a beginning photographer. You will never please every Critic. Photograph what you love and enjoy your work. Take the positive with the negative but do not dwell over the negative. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and so is your photographs. Always remember that. Here is an example as a new not well know photographer. You posted a not so tack sharp image on some social media site. Your image is slightly soft. The comments will just say some horrific things about your work. If you used that same image and you was well known photographer who has been around for years. The comments would be so different. They would be so positive with words like dreamy and artistic. Another little bit of info some people on social media just love to be the biggest ass on purpose just to get a response out of you. 

 A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words!

You are wasting your time trying to make money as a photographer!

You are wasting your time trying to make money as a photographer! Have you ever heard this? I hate to say I have. From people I thought who would support me! I was wrong. So were they. I have made money as a photographer. Not always 50% of my income But I made money selling prints,hand made coasters,T-shirts,magnets,gift cards,and many more items. I have sold items at fairs, artisan craft show,online, and custom request. From the skills learned as a photographer using an editing app like photoshop®. I also was able to make a custom Item for a company using there logo making many of the same item for display and as gifts. I will leave you with this just go prove them wrong. If you sell one print for more than it cost you to print. You made money. Start by one step at a time and see how far you will go. I will leave you with a motto.

 NEVER STOP IMPROVING! 

Never work for free!

Never work for free! Thats what schools teaches students. If you only work for fee you will never make money that true. But working for free can be very beneficial for you. The questions to ask yourself before you turn down free work is can I profit from this. How can I profit from free work. No money equals no profit right. No not always. The free work could be you biggest way of getting your name out to other potential paying clients. Working for small profit free charities in you area is a great way to get your name out in your area. A larger or a charities that make profit for themselves. Do not do it for free. If they are going to get paid so should you also get paid. A local theater that puts on plays could get your name out fast. If they put out flyers and have brochures with your photographs and crediting your name about the newest play. This is a good one to do it at least the first time for free. You just goto know how to approach the theater. Tell the theater how much you normally charge to photograph the actors in their costumes for their brochures. You goto come up with a great reason why you want to do it for free. You love the theater or the play that they are putting on. Make it about them way more then you. 

Heres another tip. The theater may say no because they already have a photographer. Don’t take no for an answer and give up. Ask questions like is that photographer getting paid,is he a photographer or just someone they may know? If yes is the answer that he gets paid. and they have been using him or her for years. Then you got a chance to still photograph the actors. Sell the free aspect. Tell them how much time you need ( Make sure you finish before the time you told ) to get the images and you can do the shoot at a practice dress rehearsal.  Make sure to shoot before the other photographer. Tell the theater if they don’t like your work no harm no foul. They can just go with the other photographer. But if they do go with you because it free you need credit for all you your images. You still own the all right to the images. They may use your images online for promoting the theaters play. Any image they use must be credited by your name or your brand. Just because its free still make a contract with the theater. This will cover you and them. You own the rights to your images. Use those same Images to promote you. No one need to know you did it for free. If your work is better than the paid photographer they may call you again but now you can charge them at full price or at a discount price.

I will leave you with a list of local places to offer free work to help get your name  out that could potentially get you paid work. Non profit charities,theater,churches, SPCA, pet adoption, or the humane society can turn into paid work. Think of it this way if one free job can turn into many paid job is it worth your time. I think so but that me, You will have to decide for yourself.

Never Stop Improving!   

Take Snapshots!

Have I lost it by telling beginning photographers to take snapshot? No. Take a snapshot only if you are able to take a photograph of the same subject right after. Why would you take a snapshot of a subject then a photograph? They are the same thing right? No not at all.

 A snapshot is just a shot of a person,objects, or some event that is just a simple shot to record a image. A snapshot could be out of focus slightly that was unintentional,bad framing,and no artistry whatsoever. A snapshot is someone who just pointed the camera in the right direction and clicked the shutter! Some people call them a guy or girl with a camera. “GWAC”  

A photograph is an artistic interpretation of a person,objects, or some type of event. If a viewer,any viewer can tell something about the subject. A photograph is taken with care and must be composed with all of its elements selected and arranged to work together. In a photography you pay attentions to every details thats in the frame and try to get them just right. You will see the artistry in a photograph.

If a photograph is much better than a snapshot. Why should I take a snapshot. For future reference to show and help teach, if you decide to. Also studying the snapshot and comparing it to the photograph will help improve your compositions more and more. The last reason to take a snapshot, sometimes all you need is a snapshot of a love one for the memory. If Its possible I want a photograph but a snapshot is way better then no shot at all.

As you grow as a photographer your snapshots will grow into photographs. 

NEVER STOP IMPROVING!

Photography Callenge! The 52 Weeks Photo Challenge!

If you think the 365 Day Photo challenge is just too much for you to do in your busy life style. Try the 52 Weeks Photo Challenge. Instead of trying to take one photo every day for 365 days try this challenge to try to take one quality photo every week for a whole year.

 I recommend trying to pick a day that you can shoot that works for every week. This will keep you on a schedule so you know you can get a photoshoot in. A backup day in that week to shoot is also a great idea. You have seven days in a week to shoot. You can shoot any day of the week but having a schedule and keeping yourself on a schedule is a great for disciplining yourself.

The 52 Week Challenge gives you six day to set up a photoshoot. This should give you plenty of time to come up with a concept. The gear needed from lighting to location and so on. You may be able to shoot a series of photo in that one day using the idea or theme you came up with.  

Don’t pass up opportunities as a photographer!

Don’t pass up opportunities as a photographer! This is for the beginning photographer. What do I mean by that? If you know you can do the work and deliver beautiful images that the client will love. Just do it. If the job will benefit you, most defiantly do it. Now if you have any doubt don't do it. Example If its a once in a lifetime event like a wedding. Don’t do it. You could be sued for money and loose everything. Get some work as a second shooter for a while before attempting a wedding. You don’t ever want to fail but never for a once in a lifetime event. If you do have any opportunities that you could try and may fail that will not ruin you or the client. Go for it. Here is my example for an opportunity that I should have shot when I was starting out. I was ask to shoot a   topless calendar for breast cancer survivors. Very little to no money would I receive. That was not the reason for turning it down. I had not shot any nudes of someone that I did not know. I have never photograph one stranger let alone more than 12 topless models so I had some doubt about shooting a topless shoot. I did not have a studio,lighting,and enough confidence. The confidence

was the killer because they wanted to shoot at onsite locations. They had the hair,makeup,and wardrobes all they needed was a photographer. I may needed to find a few locations outside. That I could do with no problem. Here is what I should have done. Meet all the models way in advance. If the meetings went good for both move on to try to do a test run with one of the models. That would have build up my confidents. Being new to photography I did not have that knowledge at that time to beak it down into steps. Would I have made a lot of money? No! Would it have got my name out? Yes. Could it kick started my career. I think so. The most important thing was experience and getting experience early on in your career can be priceless. So do your best not to pass up opportunities as a photographer! 

NEVER STOP IMPROVING!  

Lessons from Your Big Screen TV!

What can a photographer learn from TV shows, movies, and commercial? As a photographer you can learn a lot. If you already see things like a photographer. You will see composition,focal point, and inspiration. Even someone who is just getting into photography can see how to a scene is framed. Just because it a moving image instead of a still image check out each scene. Whats in the background,whats in focus, what is the main subject or subjects in the frame. How many different angels of view in a scene.

Here is an example: I am watching a TV show. A police car is moving down the road. The car is the main subject in the frame because it in focus and every thing else is slightly out of focus. But I know the car is going down the road in a country area probably a farming area because of the fences. Now the next scene the car pulls into the driveway of a farm house but all you see of the car is the front fender. The farm house is in focus and so is the fender of the police car. The main subject is the farm house the next subject is the police car. Thats how videographers tells a story and that how photographers can tell stories with there photographs.

Placement,focus, and dominant subject in a photograph can tell a story. The background or the foreground in a photograph will help give you a location to help convey the story of your photograph.

Watching movies for me gives me so many inspirational ideas and concepts to try to photograph and take one scene that if its was a photography. You would know the story I wanted to tell or the movie concept. So when someone viewed my photograph they would remember the movie or at least the character.

So what can you learn from your big screen TV? Don’t forget to enjoy watching your big screen TV first then see what you can learn with it also…

Books,movies,TV shows,video games, and other photographers photographs can give you concepts and ideas for your own photographs.

Check out my free PDF book for more tips and ideas. 

The Blindfold Test!

The blindfold test is if someone put a blindfold on you ( No, this is not fifty shades of grey ) could you operate your camera? Could you turn it on, know where all the buttons are and could you change the settings without looking at your camera? If I said that your camera is in shutter priority and I want you to put it in aperture priority. Do you know which way to turn the dial? Your camera is in aperture priority at f2.8. I ask you to change the aperture to 4.0 still blindfolded! Do you know where the dial is? Do you know which way to move the dial? Do you know how many stops that is? Some of these tasks is very hard to do blindfolded but if you could, think how fast you could be without looking at your camera and always looking at the action. Your reaction time would be so fast. No one would doubt you know your camera. Sometimes you cannot tell the subject that I missed the shot so we need to redo so I can get the shot. Think sports or the Olympics. Sometimes there are no retakes. If you missed it, you missed it. 

Get Close Game!

This is for any photographer from someone who is starting out to a photographer who has been photographing for many years. I know you have heard If you don’t like the photograph you took get closer. That is alway a great idea. This game is to see how strong is a subject is from many different views. Start as far away as you can. Then get a little closer. After moving in closer get as close to your subject that allows your lens to focus. This could just be a texture of the subject because you are so close. You may end up with a few killer photographs. The composition of the closes image or somewhere close to the furtherest one away. They both may be very strong images. This will help you see what is the best distance for a particular subject.

Depending on the type of lens you use will greatly change the look of your subject. Try out different types of lenses you have. From wide to fisheye and don’t forget telephoto lenses. See what looks interesting using a fisheye lens using the close up game. You may be very surprised how using a wide lens close up will make your image look.

Photo Challenge: 365 Day Project!

Photo Challenge: 365 Day Project!

365 Day Project!

Have you heard about the 365 Day Project? Its a challenge to shoot one photo every day for a whole year. You should start shooting simple shots and as you grow by keep improving your skill. By the end of your 365 days you should be able to shoot more complicated images that you could not do when you started. This challenge may be to demanding for you because of your lifestyle. I still say give it a try. In just fifteen minutes you can shoot quite amount of quality images not quantity. By day 366 you will have learned so much and you will be a better photographer. If you want to get started check out this web site. http//365project.org 

I will be posting more photo challenges in the future but if you want more now check out my free PDF Book: pictureeyecandy@gmail.com Photography Tips & Ideas I will leave you with the link below.

Free PDF BOOK!

Critiquing vs. Criticizing!

Critiquing vs. Criticizing! 

Critiquing vs. Criticizing! Do you know the difference? Critiquing the works of other photographer requires you to comment on the positive and the negative in a balancing act. So you give the good with the bad in equal parts.

Now if you are criticizing the work of a photographer all you are doing is giving negativity comments about the photograph. You are not offering any positive feedback for the photographer. Criticizing someones work is so unprofessional. Kind of a dick move also. So learn to critique not to criticize someone’s photographs.

Critiquing someones photograph and critiquing your own work. Will help improve your photography. You will start to analyze your composition through the camera before you even touch the shutter button.

When you want to critique a photograph do you know the three basic questions to ask yourself? Lets start with the positive. What is good about it? What is not good? How could it be better? You are training your eyes to see like photographer. 

The more photographs you are able to critique the better your composition will be. So find some photographs that you can critique so you can start improving your own photography. 

This has nothing to do with photography

99 bottles of beer on the wall! Has seven words!! So does 99 problems but a bitch aint one! Mind blow? Just to let you know they are both songs. This has nothing to do with photography but this does.

 How can you photograph 99 bottles of beer on the wall? How can you shoot 99 bottles of beer creatively? If you don’t have 99 beer bottles how can you take a photograph with 99 bottles of beer? Would you use a wide lens or a telephoto lens? I challenge you to try be as creatively as you can and photograph 99 bottles of beer on the wall. I would like to see your photograph so please share.

PHOTOGRAPHY IS NOT ART!!!

Photography is not art! Have you ever heard this? I know I have. Here's how they justify that statement. Anybody can take a picture but not everybody can paint a painting. I bet you have heard this also. When someone says this to me. First nine times out of ten. They are not any type of artist at all. So I tell them that I don’t own a pig that can paint, or a painting elephant. But I do have a Monet paint by numbers that I painted. I am not putting down painters. I admire many painters. I am just showing that an artist is an artist no mater what his medium is. If you are a photographer,painter,sculptor,and many more different type of people who create. All are artist. Do you agree with me? What is your opinion about who is an artist?

This is a very old original tobacco barn!

I am a photographer and an artist! Photographers are artist! Photographers are just as creative with their photos as fine art painters. Photographers and painter use very similar rules to achieve a fantastic piece of art. Rule of third, framing, and lighting are both used in a painting and a photograph. Painters add  elements they want to include in their paintings to improve the final masterpiece. Photographers try to remove distracting elements in their photographs to improve composition for a much better photographers. 

Just something to share with Photographers

With photography you can soar high above the ground or explore deep down in the oceans. If you are not adventurous you can stay on the ground and photograph ocean creatures at an aquarium. Its up to you where your photography will take you.

FREE PDF BOOK

Picture Eye Candy@gmail Photography Tips & Ideas Version 1

This is the cover to my Free PDF Book! What do you think about the cover? Did you find the mistake? I left the mistake in for fun.

Here is a few excerpts from my Free PDF Book:

With photography you can soar high above the ground or explore deep down in the oceans. If you are not adventurous you can stay on the ground and photograph ocean creatures at an aquarium. Its up to you where your photography will take you.

What Should I Photograph?

Anything you want. You did get into photography because you like or love photography. Photography lets you be creative. It can be a hobby and for fun. All you got to remember is to enjoy and have fun with your photography. 

Almost 100 pages of information thats fun and easy to learn. I know over 200 photographers in at least 10 different countries has read this free PDF Book! If  you want to check it out click the link below.

Photography Tips & Ideas

I love photography! 

Check out my work at the links below
Youtube Channel

At my Youtube Channel you will learn photography tips & how-to videos! Please subscribe.

My DeviantArt Page
Come and check out some of my photographs. You will be able to see what kind of photographs I like from other DeviantArt photographers. Caution Do Not Enter If Nudity Offends You! 
I do enjoy Photographers who do Fine Art Nudes so I have some in my favorites as Artistic Nudes.
Surreal photography is another type of photography I enjoy. There are many kind of photography I enjoy. If you want to know what other kinds of photography I like just come on in my DeviantArt page the link is above.

Google Plus
I am also on google plus. So come on by and be part of my circle.

My Facebook Page
I do have a Facebook page but I'm not on that much but my Photography work is on there...

Twitter
Yes I'm on Twitter also but like my Facebook page I am hardly on.

My email
If you want me to look at your photography work  or have a question or comment.

Do you want something free?
Almost 100 pages  Over ten different countries, hundreds of people has read this free PDF Book. Just click on the link below.

Photography Tips & Ideas Version 1

Lipscomb Photography and Picture Eye Candy is created by Alvin Lipscomb.

Last But not least I will leave you with a Motto:
NEVER STOP IMPROVING!