The C Word

I’ve said it over and over, and I firmly believe this to be true: Photography is a form of communication. The vast majority of photographers (be it beginners or professionals) are interested in creating or capturing a moment and sharing it with others. It doesn’t matter what skill level the particular photographer is at; we are all trying to capture a mood, convey a feeling, or better still – tell a story. This applies to all types of photographers too, from nature to landscape, portraiture’s to pets, photographers of all disciplines are communicating to their views through their photos. The ability to communicate with our images comes with experience, knowing yourself, and knowing exactly who/what/when/where/and how to make photos which speak to our viewers. With all this communication going on, social media is the perfect fit for us photographers. Not only because it’s 100% free, here’s why…

Amateurs and Hobbyists

Here’s a group of photographers who I feel have the most to gain from social media. Some of you are in the learning stages, some of you are in the ‘finding yourself’ stages, and some of you are taking photos as your creative outlet as a hobby. While professionals and aspiring pros love photography, I believe it’s the hobbyists and beginners that enjoy photography the most at a more personal level – because you’re doing it for the enjoyment of it. Here are some of the ways that social networking can benefit you:

Share, Learn, Grow: Through sites like flickr, Facebook, MySpace, and forums like the PhotographyBB Forums (ok, a shameless plug), you as photographers are able to share your photography, ask questions, and receive feedback or constructive criticism. You become part of a community of friends who grow together. I love learning through books, but the personal interaction with peers offers a more interactive approach to learning and ultimately improving – or even just enjoying a nice chat with others about their photos.

Meet ‘Real’ People: Did you know that by doing a simple search on any of the websites I just mentioned above, amateurs and hobbyists can find local photography clubs and associations to get involved with, local photo-walks, and meet like minded people who share the same interests you do. Through social media, we now have ways of connecting with others almost instantly both online and in the real world. These are some of the true benefits of how you can use social networking to gain more experience and enjoyment from your craft.

New or Aspiring Pros

This is probably the category I would place myself in at this stage. Social media has some HUGE benefits for people in this category, and using myself as an example, here’s how I have gotten the most out of social networking. I don’t shoot for money, but PhotographyBB is my business. Everyone who works with me on the magazine and website, I have met through social media (forums, Twitter, Facebook, and flickr). We work together as a team because we are like-minded and share the same passions. So here’s why the new or aspiring pros should embrace social media:

Form Partnerships: Social media gives us a platform for meeting each other. All it takes is a very short time investment, and regardless of which social networking site you use, you can quickly and easily find your peers and people who’s work you admire. Since the whole point of social media is to be social, connecting with others (even people you’ve never met) is acceptable and encouraged, and it’s how we all meet each other. From that stems deeper interaction, learning, and partnerships in professional projects. Opportunities are created rather than discovered.

Connecting with Industry Professionals: Since maintaining an active online social presence has become the in-thing to do (remember, not because it’s cool, but because there are lasting benefits), many professionals and companies are active in social media. It offers two-way communication between a large company and their end consumers. But, I’m going to let you in on a cool little secret here (for sticking with me this far). Since social media is a relatively new arena, the people who are hired to maintain an online social networking profile for their organization are often a company’s “head-office” or marketing staff. For aspiring and new professionals seeking future partnerships with larger companies, connecting with these ‘insiders’ is a more personal way (and sometimes the only way) to build a better relationship with a company whom you may see yourself working together with.

Self-Promotion and Reputation Building: If you haven’t quite caught on by now, social networking is the easiest way to put yourself and your work “out there.” Not only is it free, but it gives millions of people access to you and your photography, which simply wasn’t easy or even possible before the advent of social media. Through social networking, photographers are building their own reputations for their work and the type of person they are, which leads to partnerships with others, sales of their photography, and even being hired for freelance and contract work. How’s that for benefits!

The “Pros”

Why would professional photographers who already make a living at doing what they love, want to participate in social networking? What could they possibly have to gain? This puts professionals on the other end of the social networking interaction – it affords them an easy way for their clients, customers, and even fans to interact with them.

Keeping Customers In the Loop: They say that the word on the street travels faster than the news, and that couldn’t be more true when it comes to social media. Now, things like firmware updates, product releases, conventions, tips and tutorials, viral videos, etc… spreads across the internet like wildfire. Professionals do what they do for a living, and the marketing potential of reaching millions instantly is too large a benefit to simply ignore.

Branching Out: Professionals who have been honing their craft as a business for years have already built their following and their reputations. Many pros are brilliant in their work; busy photographers who earn their living doing what they love to do. But photographers are creative people first, and photographers second. Social media allows professionals a chance to interact with their following to “test the waters” so to speak, for new products, workshops, and courses which they may consider creating. Many professionals have now taken to writing eBooks which have become widely popular, and are now part-time authors on the side!

It is what you want it to be…

In the end, social media is going to be exactly what you want it to be. If you see it as useless, it’s going to be nothing but that for you. If you choose to see the positive potential, then you are going to experience the benefits and growth that comes along with it. It takes only a small amount of effort to become involved and regardless of what stage photographer you are, the results of your involvement can be life changing. Just as photography is a form of communication between us and the viewers of our photos, social media offers a more literal way of communicating ourselves rather than just our images. If you are not already “socially active” on line, here’s my challenge to you:

Head on over to flickr.com and sign up an account. It’s free, requires minimal effort, and is extremely easy to use. Search the flickr groups for ” [Your City] Photo Club ” and see what comes up. Introduce yourself, post a couple of comments, and maybe even see when/where their next meetup is. You may just wind up meeting some nice people, learning something new, and having a great time in the process.

Feedback

Whether it is positive or negative, feedback is a wonderful tool to help the willing photographer learn to improve, but should however, be taken with a grain of salt. Feedback is a way to gauge the popularity of your efforts as either a learning or established photographer, but like any tool, you must learn how to use it effectively if your purpose is growth. I say this because feedback is most often a mixture of advice and opinions, those of which may not mean very much unless you know exactly who they are coming from. If you put your work out there amongst your peers in the hopes of receiving feedback, be prepared to receive all types. There are plenty of strong viewpoints amongst our peers (one of the natural characteristics of being an artist/photographer). Keep in mind that positive feedback shows you what you are doing well, and negative feedback gives you an opportunity for improvement.

Advice

Advice is a whole different ballgame, one which should be taken more seriously. Personally, my belief is that advice should only be sought from those who are in a valid position of giving it. For me, that means someone more successful, who has walked in my shoes, and who has more experience than I do in my field. Sometimes we ask the advice of others who are in no position to be handing it out, which can actually be quite damaging to your future as a photographer. This is why getting good advice is so difficult – because you need to first find the right person to ask.

People in general are quick to give their thoughts on what you should be doing better, but that is usually largely based on their outlook for their own lives, not yours. When you find an appropriate person to ask for advice, you should listen both carefully and cautiously too. Although we are all photographers, we are not all the same type of photographer with the same vision. Adapt and apply important advice to your situation, and you’ll have gained a step up from where you were once sitting. Of course, it isn’t as easy as it may sound, but believe it or not, the effort is worth it!

Opinions – The Ugly Children

I divert this part of the posting into rant mode as I present my ugly child to you… Opinions are what make us individuals. Some would say we are entitled to them and I suppose that we are, as long as we are not using them to belittle or degrade each other with them. Opinions should not be confused with feedback or advice, since opinions are quite often based on feeling rather than fact; a product of our upbringing, our environment, and our individual beliefs. Opinions are often just individual emotional reactions to a situation (or in our case, to photographs, articles, etc…) and like it or not, they are self-serving.

Be both accepting and cautious when receiving advice; it must be taken in a way that applies to your individual creative vision. Feedback is a fantastic tool which can help you gauge the effectiveness of your efforts. There are very few perfect things in this world, which leaves plenty of room for opinions on improvement.

Ultimately, when it comes to your work there is only one opinion that truly matters – how do YOU feel about your work, and how would YOU like to improve? We are all capable of learning anything we want or need to in order to grow as photographers. Keep an open mind and stick with your vision, be mindful of true advice and the feedback on your efforts, and you’ll find yourself consistently reaching new heights in your photography.

Going back to school sounds exciting to those of use who are currently working full-time, but usually our job demands do not afford many of us the time to go back to school. For those of you who are interested in learning more about digital photography, post-processing, the photo-business, and doing it all from home – read on!

There are some fabulous online digital photography schools out there, and among the finest is the New York Institute of Photography. Many of you may have noticed our recent involvement with NYIP in our magazine. We have chosen to work together with them because we believe they are providing our readers with a truly valuable option for going back to school, learning digital photography, and getting the necessary student/teacher interactions which provide specific and valuable feedback conducive to learning and growing as a photographer.

There are so many options out there, but the overall purpose is to help our readers to learn. Going back to school no longer means sitting in a traditional classroom and giving up the better part of your day. If you are learning photography just for fun as one of the greatest hobbies there are, or if you are planning to turn your photography into a lifestyle or even a business, then consider taking courses of any kind to learn from professionals with the knowledge and experience to truly help you improve. Join some local photography clubs, participate in photowalks (or start your own), see what options are available through institutions such as the New York Institute of Photography, and also check out some of the workshops offered by local camera shops in your area. Learning is a life-long process, and most importantly, it’s fun when it’s something you love.

For a FREE course catalog offered by the New York Institute of Photography, please visit the link below:

Get your free NYIP course catalog here!

In fact, we’d like to know where some of our experienced readers stand. Have you taken a traditional photography program or course? If so, how did it help you in your photography career?

Last month in the April 2010 edition of the PhotographyBB Online Magazine I wrote an editorial on the importance of making time for your photography. The response, to my pleasant surprise, was overwhelmingly positive so I’ve decided to extend that editorial into the blog here. It seems that many of us are at least a little guilty when it comes to putting our hobbies and passions on the back shelf when our busy lives “get in the way.” Some of our readers and my personal friends have confessed that the only reason they don’t use their cameras often is because they simply “don’t have the time.” I can understand this, I’m a busy person myself, but as I thought about this more I kept wondering why would we sacrifice our passion for down time when there is so little of it? Taking a photo takes but a mere fraction of a second, or of course it can take longer if you dedicate yourself to a shoot you’ve been wanting to do. But in either of these cases, you’d be hard pressed to argue that it wasn’t enjoyable, relaxing, or worth the time. Time is passing all of us by, and when I look back at the important achievements and moments in my life I want to remember my loved ones, and my life’s passions.

Getting started is the fun part, and picking up your camera and learning just one setting/feature at a time does not have to be time-consuming. For those of you who just cringed at the word “learning,” here’s what I know… I realize that typically “learning” requires an energy which most of us aren’t willing to invest at the end of a long day. However, I can tell you from experience that learning photography is FUN. Now, I’m not asking you to sit down and read your camera manual from front to back; that would put anyone to sleep. If you aren’t familiar with how camera settings work, flip it to auto-mode and peek at the auto-settings (to make a mental note) as you aim your camera towards something. Flip your camera to another mode like shutter or aperture priority, and take a series of shots while adjusting the settings (usually with one spin of the control wheel on the camera). Trust me, if you are doing this for the first time, as you practice you will stumble upon exciting realizations as you learn through experimentation. It’s that discovery process that makes learning photography fun, and ignites the passion to fuel your photography.

If you’ve invested in a camera, then I know you already have that passion inside you to be a photographer (be it as a hobbyist or professional). I know you are also a busy person, so for those of you who “just don’t have the time for photography,” I’m calling your bluff – here’s my challenge to you.

Take a photo right when you wake up in the morning, or before you go to sleep at night

I’m serious! Instead of storing your camera away in it’s camera bag (please don’t tell me it’s still in the box!), put your camera on your nightstand. Keep a memory card inside it, and keep the battery charged at all times (it only requires charging once every week or so if you aren’t using it regularly). I have learned from the many talented photographers out there, that anything can make a beautiful photograph. When you wake up or before you go to bed, pick up your camera and find something out your bedroom window, inside your home, inside your room, or even inside one of your dresser drawers to photograph. Better yet, experiment with different camera settings. Set your camera to aperture priority mode and shoot a 3 second exposure handheld with no flash. Intentionally blur your focus. Try shallow depths of field. Zoom in close on anything so the resulting photo gives no clues as to what you shot. It doesn’t require much of a time investment at all, the point is you will be shooting something. And with each photo you shoot, the closer you come to getting the most out of photography while improving in the process. You’ll be surprised just how much you learn over time when you experiment and practice.

If possible, take your camera to work, everyday

I realize there are professions where this is not at all possible or safe for your camera. However, for some of people, bringing your camera to work is completely plausible. Use it to take photos of your workplace, your desk, or even your coworkers. You will find that when you involve others, your passion becomes infectious, which can further fuel your enjoyment of photography. I know so many folks who have created beautiful photo-art from photographing their workplace. It may sound a tad silly, but photo books of people and recognizable subjects from the workplace (ones that are memorable or have become inside jokes) make for the most thoughtful and well received gifts come gift-giving time. Remember, photography is about communicating to your viewers. If your workplace doesn’t inspire your photo-creativeness, then take your camera for a walk on your lunch break. Set a goal to take just one photo; surely we can make time for that.

Teach a family member photography

After a long day at work, spending time with the family is probably the thing we all want to do the most. You can just as easily combine your love for your family and your passion for photography if you include them in your hobby. I’m not talking about picking up your camera and asking your children to pose for you while you practice. That’s boring for them, and you’ll be the only one getting anything out of it. Show them your camera, let them play with it (supervised), and let them photograph something. There’s no need to get hung up on camera functions and settings; just have fun with photography. Take turns each taking a photo of one family member, or even the family pet. You’ll be having fun as a family, you’ll be able to make use of your camera, and you may just be inspiring your loved one to pick up your hobby too. Sometimes even the untrained eye can surprise and even inspire you with the way they see things through a lens.

Create a photo series about your home/family

This one ties in with the suggestion above, but if your family members aren’t as interested in photography and would prefer to let you do the shooting, then do it! Take five minutes (there’s no excuse to say that you cannot make 5 minutes of time) and shoot something in your home that is of significance to you or your family. Do you have any antiques or heirlooms which have been in the family for many generations? How about a craft or piece of art that one of you made? Something from your childhood? The photographic opportunities are there for the taking – you just need to make the time.

Photograph someone else’s hobby

This doesn’t have to be a daily ritual, but it’s a really fun way to enjoy your photography while being inspired by someone else’s passion. If you have a friend or family member who has a regular hobby of any kind, offer to take some photos of them doing it. Be it sports, arts/crafts, hiking, fishing, building models, etc… Offer to take some photos for them. It gives you an opportunity to try new styles of photography, and practice in all areas of photography inevitably helps to improve your familiarity with your camera/settings,  composition and technique.

These are just a handful of ideas which I and various photographer friends of mine have found to be helpful in the pursuit of enjoying photography. Every photo you take makes you not only a better photographer, but a more passionate one. There is no excuse for not using your camera because you don’t have the time. “Life is what you make of it,” so no matter what, find the time to make photography (or any hobby) a fulfilling part of your life.

Welcome back to the next round in our new year of contests and challenges folks. This particular contest should be an interesting one as we face off the beginners against the experts. Since we believe in life-long learning at PhotographyBB, we want to reward those who seek knowledge, as well as those who are kind enough to mentor and/or provide knowledge.

For some time now, we’ve had great success with our “No Stupid Questions” room in the PhotographyBB Forums. Here, beginners can feel free to post any photography related question they’ve had on their minds, and receive an answer from one of our more experienced members. It’s worked great and we’ve helped many people who may have otherwise been too shy to ask their question… until now…. We have a lovely prize package for one lucky “beginner” as well as one lucky “expert.” So here’s how this is going to work:

Beginners: Ask Your Questions!
We want all of the great folks who are just getting started with photography, digital SLR cameras, and image processing to put on your thinking caps and ask any question you may have burning inside you. There are 3 categories for you to post your questions in, and they MUST follow a specific format (see the brief “Rules” section for details).

The categories are:

• Digital Photography
• Photoshop
• Lightroom / Bridge / ACR

Beginner’s Rules:

1. All questions must be submitted in the CORRECT category in the PhotographyBB Forums. If you are not yet a forum member, registration is extremely fast and free. Any questions submitted into the wrong category will be eliminated.
2. When posting a question, the SUBJECT line of your posting must be related to your question. For example, we will not accept subject lines that read, “I need help!”. An example of an appropriate subject line would be, “What is Manual Mode?” If your question is a long one (which is great) please title the subject line appropriately so the “experts” can have some idea what the posted question will be regarding.
3. Maximum of 5 questions per person.
4. Contest period runs from Feb 5th to March 5th, 2010.

Experts: Share Your Knowledge!
To all of our more experienced members and those of you who enjoy sharing knowledge and helping others, we haven’t forgotten you! We want you to post your answers to the beginners’ questions, and since we want to encourage your participation you may answer as many questions as you can. There are some rules for our expert submissions too, namely:

1. You may answer as many questions as you would like to, however, the most thorough and easy to understand responses will be most likely to win our “experts” prize package.
2. If a response to a question has already been posted, you are still free to add to the reply. Once we feel that the question has been answered appropriately and thoroughly, the thread will be locked.

That’s really all there is to it folks! Once again, we will have 2 prize packages, one for the beginners and one for the experts. The winner of the beginners contest will receive Scott Kelby’s “The Digital Photography Book” volumes 1 through 3. The winner of the experts contest will receive a copy of “VisionMongers” by David duChemin. Both groups will also receive our entire collection of Premium Photoshop Actions. Additionally, more prizes will be revealed as the contest goes on! Let’s all have a great time learning and enjoying digital photography and image processing. Bring on your questions and answers!

In welcoming the world to Vancouver, many free and “street” events have been planned which are sure to show off both the spirit of Vancouver as well as the Olympic Games. One brilliant place to check out will be the Robson Square Outdoor (undercover) ice rink where you can skate below Robson Street while looking up at Vancouver’s Art Gallery or night sky. There’s also the 14 meter tall Olympic Rings in Coal Harbour which will serve as a stunning visual showpiece to mark the Games.

So the question of the day is, will you be in Vancouver for the Olympics, and if so, how will you be capturing your experience of the games?

Now it’s your turn… Are you an amateur who’s resolution it is to learn more this year? Shoot more, or expand your photography subject matter? Is there something in particular you plan to do with your photography for 2010? Starting a photography business or side-business? Or are you a professional photographer already, and if so, are you planning on doing anything more or different this year? One of the wonderful things about sharing our resolutions with each other is that we may all find a few suggestions from each other that may help you to learn something new or grow as a photographer this year. What are your plans, thoughts, and resolutions for 2010?

One of the most beloved traditions for many of us during the Christmas season has got to be “tree day” when we put up our Christmas trees, remember past Christmases gone by, and enjoy some quality time with those we care about. The choice of tree is always a personal one, and even more so are the ornaments with which we choose to decorate them. I certainly have some interesting ornaments which do say a lot about my personality (as noted from the above shot, I am obviously a die hard “Trekker”). Grab your camera and snap a few photos of your tree and/or favourite ornaments, and share them with our community here. Show us your personality by showing us your tree!

The question is simple: We want to know what your processing tool of choice is, and why? Leave your comments below!

Are the arts expendable? Apparently not, but we wanted to know your thoughts. As photographers (or even amatuer photographers), have you cut back on your photography related expenses? Are you shooting less and working more? Developing less images due to the cost? It’s true that there are probably more starving artists than starving scientists on the street, so maybe for now, the arts should be a casualty of the times we live in. But think about what your life would be like without art, photography, paintings, books, music, movies, and television. What if everything we did, we did only to generate revenue. Yes, we may only wind up with a handful of successful artists, but those few provide inspiration to countless others, and spawn new art in the process. Yes, the times are tough, and while even successful artists such as Annie Leibovitz is (somehow)$24 million in the hole, this week also brings the remastered release of The Beatles collection, set to become the biggest selling album of 2009… 50 years after their birth!

This notion of “non-success” for artists can only be blamed on the school systems that teach art without teaching the business of art. Thankfully, our government went back on their desicion to cut arts grants, but maybe they shouldn’t have. Maybe they should have taken that money and re-invested it into arts education so that when you learn photography, you also learn how to market and sell your photography. For now, the cycle continues and the arts dodge a bullet; the handouts still keep coming. The arts are certainly not expendable, so let’s not put them in the position where arts funding needs to be questioned. We obviously all need art in our lives in some form. To all our photography enthusiasts, keep shooting, keep pursuing your craft, and keep inspiring… grant funded or not.