Gonna Shoot for Free? Fine. DO IT INTENTIONALLY!

Most all professional photographers and videographers started out offering services for free to help build portfolios. How can you show someone your work if you don't have a portfolio?  Shooting for free has it's advantages and disadvantages. I did the same thing starting out, but I shot for free intentionally.  I sought out venues and events I wanted to shoot and I set the rules of what I was going to shoot. The event coordinators knew I was coming because I had asked their permission.  Once I had a particular type of event in my portfolio, no more freebies.  Well, I still have my passions that I will sometimes shoot for free IF I WANT TO, but I don't do free shoots as a rule.  The one I do are on MY terms.

Why do I care to bring this up now?  I've been negotiating with a client over copyright and licensing for a video project.  I simply don't give away my copyright.  If I do, my client is looking at a hefty price tag, usually with three zeroes in it.  When I brought that up with my client she immediately said, "If we can't get something worked out on licensing then I'll just use someone else who will shoot for free and more than likely just give me the right to do whatever I want to with the footage."  I was referred to this job by another pro photographer.  When I asked the client who was shooting stills she said, "Well, there will probably be four or five people just show up and take pictures.  I'll use the best of what they give me."  I was floored.  Then I realized it was not her fault and I got REALLY REALLY REALLY mad at photographers and videographers who just "show up", do their thing, give their (usually crappy) work away, and go to the next venue/event and do the same thing.

Here's my unasked for advice: (Yes, I'm venting!)

1. Mentor up!  Find a mentor and work something out where you learn, he/she benefits, and you build your portfolio.  Yes photography is an art, but it is also a trade.  A mentor will, or should, help keep clients expectations in check while you're starting out.
2. If you're going to do free jobs, PLEASE limit them.  Not only do you lose the right to complain if you're not making money, but you're perpetuating the idea that photographers/videographers will do shoots for nothing, or next to nothing.  Some of us actually bust our donkeys to make a living at this. We lose jobs to the free-shooters, then hear the horror stories about bad they did.  The free shooters and the pros look bad.
3. If you're going to do free jobs, shoot for free and sell the images.  Why would you want to leave money on the table?????
4. If you find yourself doing more free jobs than paid jobs...just stop.  Either start charging or get out of this business.

Again, I'm not saying never do free jobs.  I'm just saying stay in control of them and don't do them all the time.

Now, have a great weekend! 

Top Five Reasons To Learn Advanced Lighting Techniques

I LOVE PHOTOGRAPHY!

All aspects of it! I love learning how the curves of my cameras fit in my hands, I love how different lenses are used in different situations. I love the technical settings in my camera. I love the smiles on my clients' faces when they see their pictures. And, most of all, I LOVE LIGHTING!

Natural lighting doesn't always provide me with the look I have in my head. As a result I've learned to use improvised lighting to create the conditions I want.  Eventually, being able to control the lighting in just about any environment became a passion of mine. (For more on my thoughts about the "natural light vs. studio light" debate, click HERE.)

Below is a list of the five most important reasons (for me) to learn studio lighting.

Increased Growth
Inverse Square Law + Camera Knowledge
(For more info on how this pic was taken click here.)

Increased Control

Increased Security
My strobe transmitter failed. Had to go natural light here.

You will rarely, if ever, have to worry about lighting conditions. Granted, you MAY have to worry about power sources and/or space, but we're a creative lot of people so we can make do!  With a good battery pack you can even take your studio lights outside!

Increased Growth
Basic lighting is easy. Creative lighting is challenging and will push you to learn. Hint: Look up the “Inverse Square Law.” It is muy importante when it comes to lighting but unknown to many.


Increased Options
You will have natural light options, studio light options, and combination options beyond your wildest dreams!

Increased Security
If something goes wrong with the weather and it's too dark, you can pull out your lights. If something goes wrong with your lights, you can go natural. Once I accidentally toggled my camera to shoot high quality .jpg instead of RAW for about 50 pics at a wedding. Because of my lighting usage the HQ .jpgs were fine with very minimal tweaking. No worries for my client or me!

Increased Marketability
This wraps up the previous four points. When you can pull off perfectly exposed shots in adverse conditions, or pull off shots that pleasantly surprise your clients, you get to make more money!  We all like more money, don't we?

To contact Ande for your video/photography needs:
(901) 213-7890
ande@geminimm.com

My Pics From Different Angels...um, I mean, Angles!

I've always always believed in having some fun with what you do for a living.  Being a photographer, many people don't see it as work. They see pics of interesting people doing interesting things. What people don't see are the not so glitzy things that pay the bills such as how to videos, corporate head shots, crying children. In order to keep a passion from becoming a job, you gotta have fun with it.

Sometimes I do that by hanging out at the park or experimenting with lighting.  Last week I spent some time at Bartlett United Methodist Church (Where I attend) and took some pictures of the church from angles MOST people will NEVER see.

I hope you enjoy the tour!

Pew rails

View of pew racks from balcony.

The steep stairs leading up to the rooms where the organ pipes are.

This ladders goes up a long way. Into the church's steeple.

Some medium sized pipes for the organ.

Itty bitty pipes for the organ.

More itty bitty pipes.

View of pews from pipe room. Focused on pews.

View of pews from pipe room. Focused on mesh.

Pneumatic controls for organ chimes.

Large organ pipes.

Bells that are controlled by the organ.

Not sure what these are called, but they are organ controls.

Organ pedals.

View from catwalk about 70 feet up.

View from cat walk. On the other side of that is a 70 ft. drop.

More catwalk.

View from sound booth.

Keystone from when current chapel was built. BUMC was once called the "Methodist Episcopal Church South"

Two chimneys that are no longer functional.

How to Dress for Your Family Photo Session

It's getting to be that time of year again...Thanksgiving, Christmas, the holidays, fall colors, and time for family portraits. Hard to believe isn't it?

It's always boggled my mind that so many people get so stressed out this time of year.  The holidays are time to get together with family and friends to have fun and celebrate.  Family portraits usually end up being cherished for years to come, but they can also cause a great deal of stress.  While I can't help you get rid of your holiday season stress, I CAN help alleviate some of the stress that goes into planning a family portrait session.

WHAT TO WEAR
Cool colors or warm colors, but don't mix the two.  Parents and older children should wear more neutral colors while letting the kids get more crazy. I personally love solids, but patterns are ok as long as they are not trendy and could date the picture. Logos are a no-no.  One wardrobe change MAX!

Wear something you like. Something that you feel good in. Something that fits and is comfortable. You will be more confident in the way you look and it will show through your smile!

Try not to dress everyone in the same outfit. Kids will roll their eyes and it will take away from everyone's individuality.

MAKE UP
Women - Mascara, blush, and lipstick at a minimum. Use an amount you're comfortable with, but don't overdo. Make sure you check teeth for stray lipstick.
Men - A little concealer if you have dark circles under your eyes. Brush your eyebrows, trim your earhair, and be careful shaving!  A little secret...I wear concealer for my pics. SHHH!!!! Don't tell anyone!  ;-)

HAIR
How you normally wear it is best. If you're going to have it styled do it the day before so it has some time to relax.

ACCESSORIES
Remember how I said one wardrobe change earlier? Bringing some fun accessories like hats, scarves, boots, etc. They will add some variety and give the appearance of a wardrobe change.  Also, if you have small children you should bring a favorite toy to help keep their attention.

Bring a blanket to sit on so you can sit on the ground without having to worry about any kind of stains.

LOCATION
Now this is up to you. I can shoot in your home, in a studio, or outside. Just make sure there is enough room for everyone and my studio lights.  I LOVE to shoot outdoors, especially when the weather is nice and leaves are changing color. If you don't know of any locations, please check out my post ANDe's Top 5 Places to Shoot In the Memphis Area.

TIME
The best time to shoot outdoors is usually before 10AM and and hour or two before sunset.  I can shoot at anytime of day, though.  For indoor pics we need to coordinate around the naps of small children.

That's it! Consider your family portrait session planning to be STRESS FREE!!!!!

Now all you have to do is call me at (901) 213-7890 or e-mail me at ande@geminimm.com to schedule your appointment! Deal? Deal!

Red Eye: It's Not Just a Late Night Flight!

Before I start I want to let you know that The Awesomeographist now has an unofficial "editor." Since I most often write this between 12:30 a.m. - 2:30 a.m. I am often bleary-eyed when I proofread.  Yesterday I asked Heather, the editor, what I should write about since I am beginning to experience a wee bit of writer's block. She said, "How about dealing with red eye?"  So...here goes!

It's no secret...a tell tale sign of speedy photo posting is red eye.  Not bloodshot eyes, but the kind of red eye that causes people to laugh and say things like, "OMG! She looks like she's possessed!"  Quite honestly, I've heard that phrase so much I want to throw up.  Seriously, I'll be right back...

Ok, I'm back, and I want to tell you how to a) avoid red eye and b) correct it if it happens.

Before I start I need to explain what red eye actually is. According to Wikipedia, it is the "common appearance of red pupils in color photographs of eyes. It occurs when using a photographic flash very close to the camera lens (as with most compact cameras), in ambient low light."  The flash occurs so fast that it is actually reflecting off of the back of the eye because the pupil doesn't have time to close.  Now that we know what it is we can plan on avoiding it before a photo is taken.

RED-EYE REDUCTION MODE (RRM)
Not all cameras have this, but if yours does by all means, enable it. RRM will either turn the flash on for a couple of seconds or flash 3 to 5 times to cause your subject's pupils to constrict.  This minimizes the amount of flash light that will reflect back to the camera.

REPOSITION YOUR SUBJECT
This may not always be an option. You can move your subject from an area of low light to one of brighter light. This will cause the pupils to constrict and, hopefully, reduce the amount of red-eye.  Any red-eye left from having the RRM turned on should be further reduced by doing this.

ANGLES ANGLES ANGLES

Subject's eyes cut at an
angle, eliminating red-eye
in a dark environment.

If you're not taking posed shots, make sure you are at a slight angle to your subject's eyes when you take the picture. There is very little light that will make it in the pupil and even less will be reflected out.

Hopefully red-eye is no longer a problem. But, if it is, try the following:

SMARTPHONE APPS
Of course this will only work if you take the photo with a smartphone.  There are some good apps out there, too many to list. Checkout Google Play or the iTunes store.

PHOTO EDITING SOFTWARE
After you get home from your event, you should immediately connect your camera to your computer and transfer your photos. Then you can open them in your photo editing software and remove the red-eye. You camera probably came with software to do this.  If it didn't there are free titles out there. GIMP is a good one. I prefer Serif products.

PRINT IT OUT AND USE A BLACK MARKER (Last Resort)
This is old school but it works if you do it right. Simply take a black permanent marker and lightly draw over the red pupil. Voila! No more red-eye. Just be careful to not over do it. The photo will look unnatural.  You may also need to shop around for just the right marker. Since prints aren't as popular as they used to be the markers specifically made to do this can be more than $25!

That's it! I hope those tips help!  If you have any tips or suggestions of your own I'd love to hear them!  Simply e-mail me a ande@geminimm.com.

4 Reasons to NOT Hire a Professional Photographer/Videographer

When I first began marketing my photography as a professional service, I wanted to be hired for any type of shoot.  You know, the typical things: Weddings, retirement parties, corporate events, modeling shoots, etc.  I also wanted people to hire me for smaller events like kids' birthday parties or any other small event you can think of.  It didn't take me long to realize that not every event warrants a professional photographer.  Here are four reasons you may not need a pro:

1. Your event is small.  You're event may be important, but it just may not warrant hiring a professional photographer. Point-and-shoot cameras and cell phones may work great!  EXCEPTION:  IF you have a gathering of people who rarely get together (out of town family and friends) and you want portraits done, by all means, hire a photographer for that once-in-a-blue-moon portrait opportunity!
2. "Just ok" is good enough.  I don't mean to sound condescending here, but sometimes "just
   
   ok" is exactly what is needed. If having high quality photos is not that important to you, why would you spend the money?  Not every event or occasion needs perfect lighting or high quality photos. Company picnics are a great example. People wear clothes that they will be comfortable in while enduring hot Summer temperatures. They get sweaty and sometimes dirty. A regular ol' snapshot will do just fine. 
   EXCEPTION: If there is corporate programming at the picnic, you may want to consider hiring a professional to cover any speeches given by management and executives. Or, if awards are to be handed out to employees.
3. Your event is going to be covered by media. If you've sent out press releases to media outlets and have verification that the media is going to cover your event, you more than likely won't
   need your own professional photographer. Many newspaper/magazine photographers are
   
   freelance and they know exactly what they are doing. If you're nice, they may even send you the pics they take of the event. At a minimum, you will be able to link to the online story that the media outlet publishes.
   EXCEPTION: If you have specific needs/wants for coverage, you should hire your own professional. Money = control, at least to a certain extent.
4. You don't have the budget.  Professional photographers/videographers bring significant skill, knowledge, and high quality equipment to the table. Therefore, we charge a premium for our services.  If your budget does not allow for that level of professionalism, then hiring a professional simply is not an option unless you are willing to cut expenses in another part of your budget. 
   EXCEPTION: If you have a friend who is a photographer and owes you a favor, or, if you have a service/product you offer as a "trade for service" that just might land you a professional for little or no monetary expense.

Obviously, if you have the money and desire for professional quality photos and/or video, by all means hire a pro!  Just make sure your hire the right pro for your event!

Hint Hint ;-)
(901) 213-7890
ande@geminimm.com

Q&A with Joey Sulipeck, Fox 13 Memphis Chief Meteorologist and iPhoneographer

Joey Sulipeck
Chief Meteorologist at Fox 13 in Memphis, TN
Follow Joey on Twitter and Facebook

I know, I know...If you're one of the millions who read this blog daily (heh heh heh), you know I'm bothered by two things: people who don't return their shopping carts AND the dependence on iPhones as a primary camera.

The primary reason is iPhones don't have optical zoom. I've seen decent shots where an iPhone was used but the digital zoom was not turned on. When the digital zoom is used, however, the shot can be ruined.  And that is not just an issue with iPhones, it's an issue with any piece of photo/video equipment no matter how "high-end" the device is.

Shortly after I started working the graveyard shift (as a video editor) at Fox 13 in Memphis, a friend of mine said I should introduce myself to the station's chief meteorologist, Joey Sulipeck, which I did.  It didn't take long before we realized we share a love of photography.  We have had some great discussions on viewing photography as art, subject preferences and equipment recommendations.  A couple of weeks ago we had lunch and I went off on a tangent about how I think people are putting too much faith in their iPhones as cameras.  Joey responded in defense of the "iPhoneographers." We were having an evenly matched debate until he started showing me some of the pictures he had taken with his iPhone.  I must admit...at that point he began to sway me.

As a result, I asked if I could interview him for this blog because, honestly, I was blown away by what he does with his iPhone's camera. I was also impressed by his technique. He understands that accessories and apps are needed to make it a truly effective substitute for a camera.

Enough of the background...let's dig in!

© Joey Sulipeck

The Awesomeographist:  Joey, what inspires you? What is your favorite subject to photograph?
Joey:  I LOVE capturing real moments.  Photos that make you stop and study, reflect, think, marvel.

The Awesomeographist:  I know you have some nice DSLR equipment, but it seems that your camera of choice is your iPhone. How has your iPhone impacted your photography?
Joey:  I've owned decent cameras for many years, but the iPhone changed my shooting dramatically.  Since I ALWAYS have it with me, I can ALWAYS capture a moment that appears before me.  And even more compelling is that I can adjust it, enhance it, be creative with it in a million different ways, and instantly share it across any platform I choose.  What good are beautiful photos if they're stuck forever on a memory card because I don't have the time to sit and download massive files?  I'm now SURROUNDED by my images, and can instantly access a huge catalog of past shots.  It's changed everything.

The Awesomeographist:  What determines whether you use your iPhone or your DSLR?
 Joey: I use my iPhone 99% of the time to shoot now.  If I have a special pre-arranged shoot (model shots, family photo shoots) I'll use my DSLR as it's a professional camera.

The Awesomeographist: Do you have a backup/disaster strategy should your phone break?
Joey: If my iPhone breaks.....I'll run and get a new phone.  And I know this for sure:  the next model will have an even better camera.

The Awesomeographist:  Do you use photography in your career as a meteorologist? If so, how?
Joey:  I take pictures of weather events all the time now.  Just as revolutionary has been OTHER people with iPhones to take weather pics and show them to me instantly.  Take a moment to let that sink in:  for the first time in history, we're able to SEE in REAL TIME the weather that's occurring from multiple viewing angles.  That has a massive ripple effect for studying weather and how it affects us.

© Joey Sulipeck

The Awesomeographist:  If you could choose any location and subject in the world to photograph, where and what would it be?
Joey:  There's no "one" location I'd like to shoot because if I stop and look around, I see fascinating things in every single place I'm standing.  Sometimes it's wide open and obvious....sometimes it's a super-close up macro shot.  That can often turn the mundane into the fascinating.






The Awesomeographist: What role, if any, do you see for film in the next 5 years?Joey:  The future of film is dim.  It's just not practical:  time consuming & expensive is not a good combination.  I think there will always be purists who will prefer and use it....but it will be a very small percentage of people.

The Awesomeographist: Describe the coolest photo you've ever taken...
Joey: Picking a favorite photo would be like picking a favorite child!  And what's a "favorite" of mine might not mean ANTHING to someone else.  Photography is an art, and art is personal.  I love that about photos.

© Joey Sulipeck

The Awesomeographist: Do you have a favorite photographer? Whose work do you most admire?
Joey:  I don't have a favorite photographer, and I like that.  Here's why.  As a kid, I wanted to be a professional photographer with National Geographic.  I realized early it was never going to happen because I couldn't afford a camera, or more importantly, the film processing.  But now, ANYONE can be a photographer!  And quite often, the most dramatic photos come from unkno
wn shooters who happen to be at the right place at the right time and (because they're all carrying smartphones) they just happen to have a camera!  I love that.

The Awesomeographist:  Of all the cameras you have owned, which one do you favor the most?

 Joey: Of all the cameras I've had?  It's ironic, because I've invested THOUSANDS of dollars over the years.  But now, my favorite?  My simple iPhone.  Just too easy and fun to use with remarkable results.

© Joey Sulipeck