We're right in the heat of wedding season! So, we reached out to a handful of seasoned pros and asked them to share what they do to go the extra mile and really ‘wow’ their wedding clients. Read their advice below!

1. Be More Than Just Photographers      

One of the ways we wow our wedding couples is to just do all the little things better, not just be photographers. We show them that we really want their day to be the best ever. That means being there for them when things don’t go as planned. Maybe the groom could use a hand with cuff links or his tie. Maybe the cake table doesn’t have dishes and forks when it’s time to cut. Maybe the bouquets could use water when they are placed at the wedding party table. Maybe we nudge the DJ to get things going when we sense the guests are getting bored. It’s all the little things that add up. The better the wedding, the better our pictures will look. As photographers, we’ve seen lots of weddings, we know when it’s time to step in and give a hand. – Stacey Chance, Discovery Bay Studios Wedding Photography

2. Under Promise and Over Deliver       

Brides are extremely excited about the work and anxious for everything. The worse thing you can do is promise something and not deliver on time. For example, we like to post a sneak peek on Facebook shortly after the wedding but when the bride’s asks about it, we always say it should be a few weeks after the event. Usually, it’s a few days! That’s the same for delivery of the proof set, products, you name it! It’s not a matter of lying or making up things – be realistic about all of the things that could go wrong with your business (or god forbid your personal life) and take that into account before making promises! – Steven Somfalvi, Artage Pictures

3. Surprise Them       

Similar to under promising and over delivering, always have some surprises ready for your client. It definitely enhances their experience with your studio and it reconfirms that they are important to you. It can be a free print, product upgrade – really anything. We advertise in a national magazine and they send us a box of them to hand out. Every bride who comes through the door gets one and they just love it! – Steven Somfalvi, Artage Pictures

4. Create Excitement at the Reception       

We produce same-day slideshows at every wedding. It’s a total surprise to the couple. The bride, groom and their guests are totally floored and I’ve booked weddings of bridal party members because of them. I use ProShow Producer to output to MP4 on to a flash drive and loop it on an LCD flat screen TV at the reception. – Joe Pulcinella Photography

5. Be Passionate       

My secret to wowing the bride and groom and the complete wedding party is being passionate about the wedding day. To me, a wedding day is the most important day in a couple’s life, just after giving birth to their child. I want the experience to be memorable. Quality of photography is very important to bring to the wedding, but your personality is the secret to making the day more memorable. I never demand anything from the wedding. I work with what I got and I make the magic happen. Ego and attitude should never be part of a wedding photographer’s personality. – David Zumaya, Weddings at California

I first met Skip many years ago, at about the same time we began the Art of Photography Show. I appreciate him suggesting that I share some thoughts about this project.

The Art of Photography Show is an international photography competition, with the exhibition occurring each fall at the San Diego Art Institute in Balboa Park. Now in our ninth year, one of the distinguishing characteristics of the competition is that our judge is always a highly acclaimed museum curator. Most photographers feel that having their work exhibited in a museum is the ultimate goal. Yet, getting exposure to museum curators is normally very difficult. This project provides that opportunity. We’re very excited that Julia Dolan is our judge this year, the Curator of Photography at the Portland Art Museum. In this era of "online exhibitions," we feel it's very important that photographers exhibit their work as "objects of art" in physical galleries. The San Diego Art Institute is a very elegant 10,000 square foot gallery, right next to the San Diego Museum of Art and the Museum of Photographic Arts.

A key point of the show is to provide a forum for independent photographers to exhibit and sell their work. The Opening Reception on October 12, 2013 will be attended by over 1,500 people (for free). That evening we will announce the award winning images and give away $10,000 in cash prizes, including $2,000 for first prize. And we'll be giving away thousands of copies of the Show Catalogue, which will feature the images and information about each of the exhibited artists. On the morning of October 13, Julia Dolan will give a curatorial presentation, talking about some of the work she selected and about contemporary photography today. There will also be several artist talks during the five week exhibition, similar to what we did in 2012. This document provides additional information about the show.

Marketing and promotion for the Art of Photography Show is extensive, with numerous cross-promotions, tens of thousands of announcement cards, as well as promotion to thousands of fans and friends on social networks. We will be sending a personal invitation to our list of over 25,000 collectors, luxury consumers and art connoisseurs to the Opening Reception and to all of our special events in the gallery. The purpose for all of the above activities, events and efforts is to promote the selected artists and to sell their work. And we truly love photography, so we are diligently working to elevate and promote this art form.

Just to share a few additional thoughts, we answer every phone call, reply to every email, review portfolios, share sincere feedback, speak at schools and art classes, and do everything we can to assist photo artists -- young, old, aspiring or established. You can read lots of testimonials from artists and attendees of our previous shows here. And please check out this short document by our Associate Producer, Lisa Smith, titled "So what's it really like? If my work is accepted, what happens next?"

The 2013 entry deadline is June 10th at 11:59 pm. Our Prospectus contains all of the information about how to enter your work. We are encouraging each photographer to submit images which are a unique expression of you, your vision, your creativity. No limits, no boxes you need to fit into. Though the title of the show is evocative of what the exhibit is about: The Art of Photography Show.

As a life long macro and nature photography enthusiast, I can tell you that if I were asked to compile a list of all the tips, tricks, techniques, and possible gear choices for good macro photos, it would likely turn into a rather thick book pretty quickly.

But recently someone who is just starting out asked me to strip the gear subject to its core, and describe what I personally consider to be the most important choice in gear for macro work.

My answer was of course, “it’s the glass”.

No matter how well practiced the techniques, or how good the supporting gear, I believe that if the lens is sub-par, the odds are stacked that your images will be sub-par. This is true in all genres of photography really, but in the macro world where everything is small and highly magnified, the shortcomings or faults of an inadequate lens are greatly magnified as well.

After my years of trial and error with numerous types and configurations of gear including the typical adapters, stacking diopter rings, etc., I have found what delivers the best macro images for me and my style of work, is a prime dedicated macro lens.

Currently, my go-to and heavily favored lens for macro is the Tamron SP 90mm F/2.8 Di VC 1:1 Macro lens. This is so for many reasons, not the least of which is that the lens is a Di (Digitally integrated). Tamrons Di lenses are specifically designed to be used with our digital sensors rather than film as many others still are. Macro photographers tend to obsess over a deeper focus (Depth Of Field) already, because with the super close macro shots the DOF can be paper-thin. The last thing we need is an unnecessary softening of our images due to using a lens designed for film. To me this seems like buying a high performance Porsche, then pulling it with a pony.

Of course this lens also offers me an insanely fast focus, and strong stabilization, (VC - vibration compensation) which helps dramatically when chasing down a critter for a close up, tack sharp handheld macro image.

The three images in this article were captured handheld, using my Tamron 90mm Di VC on a 5D Mark ll body. The Red Eyed Tree Frog (Agalychnis callidryas) and the Amazon Milk Frog (Trachycephalus resinifictrix) photos were both lit with a Nissin MG 8000 flash with a Rogue Flashbender XL for diffusion, lighting off camera.  This gave me an exposure of F/11, 1/100th  sec and F/20, 1/40th sec respectively. The Red Eye is approximately 1.5 inches long, and the young Milk Frog was around ¾ inch long.

The tiny Jumping Spider (Family Salticidae) was lit with a Nissin MF18 Macro Ringlight attached to the Tamron 90mm and set to TTL metering for an exposure of F/20, 1/60th sec. The Spiders actual size is around 3/8 inch.

Of course, the lens consideration is just the beginning. Your next consideration could be using/mastering light to take control of your DOF and create sculpted macro images. But that is a discussion for another time. For now, get out there and capture and enjoy the beauty of nature.

Intro by Skip Cohen

A short time ago I wrote a post about "jump-starting an older business".  Well, I ran across this terrific post on the Photodex blog and was given permission to share it with you here. It's all thanks to "Leslie" at Photodex that you're about to read some outstanding ideas to help rebrand your business, but there's one major point you need to remember.

Your brand isn't just your logo - it's the personality, the heart and soul, of your business. At the very core of changing your brand needs to be thoughts about what your brand stands for!  I'm turning it over to Leslie, who's about to give you some outstanding food for thought!

Note: Leslie Hargenrader is the Creative Services Manager at Photodex and their lead designer. She's doing some amazing things at Photodex and strongly believes in support of the professional photographic community.

If you’re thinking about a rebrand —chances are good that you’re looking for a change in how your business (or product) is performing. The whole purpose of a rebrand is to achieve a specific business objective by altering the perceptions of your company or product. To do so, you must address the individual elements that make up the brand’s identity, controlling how it looks and feels to the world.

Why rebrand? A successful rebrand has many benefits. Not only should it help you stand apart from your competition, it should also make it easier to attract new customers who may not have considered your offerings before. It can also help certain problem areas, like closing the disparity between what you think you should be able to charge, vs. what customers think your services are worth.

A rebrand is not the solution to everything but it has the potential to breathe life and energy into a stale or uninspired business rut.

Rebrands vary in scope. For some companies, a rebrand involves a somewhat minor, cosmetic makeover of identity elements, such as logo, tagline, and brand color(s). In other cases, the rebrand is major and part of a bigger fundamental shift in a company’s ideology and direction. The rebrand may influence product design, production practices, customer policies and marketing strategy.

No matter how big or small the change is that you seek, a successful rebrand involves two things:

1) Making informed choices for your rebrand based on research & experience (not just gut feelings & emotions)

2) Consistent implementation of your new brand elements.

Here are 10 tips to keep your rebrand on track and implemented successfully:

1. Get the strategy down first — As cliché as it sounds, doing your homework (a.k.a research) is essential to coming up with a solid strategy for your rebrand. Before you get carried away with the visual side of the process, you should first determine what kinds of changes you need to make. It’s common for veterans of a certain field to assume that just because they’ve been in an industry for a long time, they already know all the trends, all the competitors, and all the types of people who might be interested in their offerings. A lot of times, they are relying on old information, and may be overlooking new opportunities (or new threats). During your research phase, try to approach the industry with new eyes, even if you’ve been doing this for 20 years.
2. Study what you can and can’t change —Looking at the external aspects of your business environment that are outside of your control, like your competitors, distribution, etc. , and also studying the aspects of your business that you can control, should give you a clearer picture of what you do and don’t want to focus on for your re-brand.
3. Determine your strengths and weaknesses — similar to the previous point, analyzing the nature of your company or product for which you are rebranding will help you narrow down the essence of what qualities you want to convey.
4. Write the brand positioning statement — This is a short paragraph that describes in simple language what you offer, the context of your offerings, and how your offerings stand apart from the rest. This is for internal purposes only, and will be helpful in developing marketing messaging that is aligned with your new brand.
5. Build the brand —this is the fun part where you get to decide on the logo, colors, typography and design. Whether you are designing these elements yourself or plan to hire a designer, make sure you do things in a logical order and that your designer has a clear understanding of your objectives, guidelines, and what exactly they are expected to deliver. If you are changing the name, do that first, before anything else.
6. Make it last – although going for a classic style might give your brand the longest shelf life, it’s not always the most relevant approach depending on your industry. If style trends are the name of the game in your line of work, you should try to pick style elements that you can live with over a 3-5 year period. Keep in mind – the stronger, more recognizable trends tend to burn out faster.
7. Logos should be scalable and adaptable —your logo will need to be legible and suitable in a number of contexts, whether as a tiny favicon on a web browser tab, or on a giant tradeshow banner. Consider how your logo and its elements (the wordmark and/or pictogram) can be configured for a wide variety of sizes and contexts. How legible is it if you tried to fit it on a postage stamp or address label? Also, how does it look when shown only in black and white (white on black)?
8. Selecting colors — if picking new colors for your brand, it is typically best to select one color as your dominant brand color. This keeps your implementation simpler and less costly (when printing). Colors have a lot of cultural and emotional associations. Knowing their value can help you make a more informed decision in this area. Also, it is OK to have 2-3 secondary colors that form a harmonious color palette with the dominant color. Just keep in mind that the branding should still work well in the absence of some (or all) of these colors.
9. Typography should be legible — as much as that seems a no-brainer, we’ve seen this rule broken a number of times, with questionable payoff. If you are going to use letters in your logo, let them be easy to read. It’s just annoying when you can’t tell if a ‘U’ is actually a ‘V’ or an ‘I’ is a lowercase ‘L’. The more your customers have to rack their brains to figure out how to say / spell the brand name, generally the less likely they will make the effort to stick around or come back.
10. Roll out your brand consistently —if you can, make a clean break of the old in place of the new. In situations in which this is not possible, give priority to contexts that have a higher public profile so that your new brand is reaching more people than your old brand. Phase out the old brand as quickly as possible to remove confusion. And finally, apply the same messaging & brand elements across the board, using your brand positioning statement to guide you.

"Only Passions, great passions, can elevate the soul to great things."      Denis Diderot

A few years ago I had the honor of being asked to go to Mexico to teach photography. The other artists invited were Oscar & Jessica Lozoya, Armando Chacon, and John Tanguma. We were asked to go to the border town of Nuevo Laredo. We were also told there was a war going on between the drug lords and the corrupt police/politicians of both sides of the border. (huh? a war? you want me to teach during a gun fight?)

Yes...We went there even though there were people being killed everyday in this little border town over drugs and politics. What was even more amazing: there were students who were willing to travel through this war zone.   We were limited to staying at the hotel to teach those who attended the seminar, for fear of gang reprisals in the area.

I was supposed to have a wedding couple as models, but because of scheduling conflicts they cancelled. I was given an alternative to photograph an elderly gentleman by the name of Vincente Medina. I thought to myself,

" Not a problem, I will just do a nice portrait of an older gentleman. Until I got to know him..."

One night, over a glass of wine....He told me a little bit about himself. He was a professional photographer who was a pilot in the war. He was married to his lovely wife for over 50 years and she gave him nine children. He lost her 4 years ago and they use to be ballroom dance champions.  That is what he missed the most, dancing.

I immediately had a vision how I wanted to photograph him. I could visualize him in a bistro type setting drinking a glass of wine, smoking his cigarette reminiscing over the photograph of his wife. In the background, I wanted to have a couple dancing a tango. They represented to me, Vincente and his wife dancing when they were young. I wanted this portrait to portray his story and his love.   In the beginning I was just going to do a portrait of an elderly man, but once I got to know the MAN, I had to do a portrait that told his story.

The day came for me to do my segment, which was "available light", and the day ended up being filled with thunderstorms. I originally wanted to be outdoors, but because of the rain, ended up doing this image by window light. I was on a ladder to get a higher camera angle.   I photographed with a shallow depth of field on purpose. I wanted the couple in the image to be out of focus so that your eyes were drawn to the man in the image. This image was shot at ISO 800, F4 at 30th of a second, with a Nikon camera & an 85mm 1.8 lens.

As I was photographing Mr. Medina I was also telling the class what I was doing and waiting for the interpreter to repeat what I said. I noticed that while I was shooting, Vincente was speaking to the photograph of his wife, which added to the poignant expression he had.

After the session, I showed the class what I would do to the image in Photoshop. I decided it would look good as a black and white and after I tweaked the image Mr. Medina wanted to say a few words...

He walked up to the front of the class...sat down on a stool, bowed his head and began to quote a poem that was his wife's favorite. My Spanish is rusty, but I could follow what he was saying.   At first he was speaking in a low tone but he then got more and more passionate about this poem as he was reciting it. Everyone in the room was crying. When he finished the poem the class gave him a standing ovation. Wiping my tears, I thanked him.  There was nothing I could have said to top that.  

He paused, came up to me and took my hand.   He said he was so moved by the photograph that he wanted to share with the students what he was saying as I was photographing him and that he was so grateful for the experience

I wanted to share this with you in this blog, because even though I was there to teach...I learned a valuable lesson as well:  If you get to know your subjects and listen to them before you set up your camera, you just might create a session that's not only more intimate for your client, but will tap into your imagination and find new ways to be creative.
 
" To Dance With You Again" This image Merited at PPA and hung at nationals.

                                                    Mastering Composition

Here a just a few tips for mastering composition.

Composition is the logical arrangement of elements so that their relationship is pleasing to the eye.  The elements are things that make up the scene (e.g. lines, shapes, texture, patterns, colors, tones, light, etc.). 

Let’s be honest, some people seem to have an easier time with composition.  They appear to be born with an artistic eye or should I say an inner vision.  The rest of us need to develop it through practice and visual stimulation. 

You will have to pay special attention to all of the elements in a scene.  Not just your main subject but also the small things. Once you start to notice these things, you are beginning to see.  Once you are seeing, mastering composition is within reach.

Keep It Simple

One of the most effective tools you can use in composition is to simplify.

Learn to look at the entire frame and eliminate elements that don't need to be there. If something in the frame isn't supporting what you're trying to show, don't include it.  You need to show your subject clearly, leaving no confusion on the part of the viewer about what you were photographing

Frames

Elements and lines within the scene can be used to create implied or actual frames.  Use these frames  within the photograph to call attention to your subject. 

Lines in photographs provide a path that lead the viewer’s eye from one element to another and hopefully, keep the viewer in the photograph.  There can be many types of lines in a photograph.

Create a Sense of Depth

Images that are well executed tend to have three distinct regions.

Foreground leads the viewer into the scene – it provides a starting point.  So, you should probably include something of interest that will anchor the image. 

Middle ground may contain the main subject of the image.  It may also serve to move the viewer along to the background.

Background, like the middle ground, may contain the main subject, or it may merely provide a pleasing completion to the image.

Using Color  

Color, more than any other design element, determines the emotional content of a photograph. 

A light subject will have more impact if placed against a dark background and vice-versa.  Contrasting colors may be used for emphasis, but can become distracting if not considered carefully. 

When I was eight or nine years old the act of charity overwhelmed my home. My mother was always “doing” for other families and I have a distinct memory of her wiping the forehead of a young girl who she had just accompanied to chemotherapy, and now was waiting on her parents. On the days that her parents couldn’t take off work and drive into NYC for the treatments, my mother did. A neighbor in need, you help. Cancer would rear its ugly head one too many times, taking my father from us when I was 19.

Years later I would chat with a friend about a new venture through Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. The Cancer Center at Riley Hospital would host its very first Riley Cancer Prom.  I offered my photographic services and was greeted with open arms by all involved. Besides the event itself, the patients and families are treated to an outing at Promingdales where they choose clothing and all the necessary bling to look fabulous on the night of Prom. The day of Prom volunteer hairstylists and makeup artists converge on the hospital to provide a Day Spa for all the ladies attending. The EVENT itself is decorated to the extreme with a chosen theme for the year.

On Friday I photographed the fourth annual Riley Cancer Prom and it is my favorite day of the year. Fathers dance with their daughters, mothers hug their boys extra close, children dance their feet off, as only children can. 

Even though many of the children sport hairless heads, the smiles they display and the laughter that resounds in the building allows them a brief moment of normalcy.  I feel blessed to be a part of this event and to provide families with images that show joy during a time in their lives that is painful.

One of my favorite quotes comes from the epitome of charitable giving, St. Catherine of Siena:

                                            "Nothing great is ever achieved without much enduring.”

I am fortunate beyond measure to be a part of this day and it fills me up with love of humanity and compassion for those who suffer. Yet more than anything, my time at the Riley Hospital Prom fills me with joy and hope for the future.

Giovanna Mandel

                                                    All images copyright Giovanna Mandel. All Rights Reserved

I'm teaching a class at SCU's Summer Session on Fine Art Photography, Personal Projects and how to take the work generated to market and make some money on it. Photographers don't always understand how this can work. Here's  a case study on how one of my personal projects, a fine art technique I call 'Photo-Synthesis', has been turning itself into income.

I've been playing with this technique in creating fine art images that have a painterly feel in order to create a unique look for wall decor for businesses and fine homes. I've only just begun to sell these outright to the market I was originally thinking about.

I was contacted by a restaurant to photograph their build-out upon expanding and taking over new space.  I suggested I could create some original art for some of their decor needs and was subsequently commissioned to create five art pieces. Following their seeing these images the owners asked if I could do that same style in an ongoing fashion to document the live entertainment performing at the club. I agreed.

They asked for a discount and to trade for some goods, because it was going to be an ongoing project. I've learned never to give a discount unless I am getting something in return. My 'return' for the discount was  being able to brand all the art pieces with my logo and web address. I now have a high traffic business that is displaying my work and promoting Bob Coates Photography on a regular basis. We are soon going to offer images with this technique for sale on site and through our web sites.

Extra business is being generated by the artists being exposed to my work and wanting to either use the images already created or have me design new work for their CD's and promo photos. Income from the past year from just the restaurant alone was just under $10,000 and it's growing more for this new year.

All of this happened because I was experimenting with new techniques for a personal project.  There's a wonderful side bonus when it comes to working on a personal project like this. I really have to stretch to push my techniques further in order to create a unique look and feel to the images, which is forcing me to continue to grow as an artist.

Bob Coates

I have owned a camera for four years, and I've learned everything I know about photography in that time. Before my camera even arrived, I had read Joe McNally's The Hot Shoe Diaries and attended a terrific workshop with David Ziser. So I'm not one who started in photography by shooting landscapes and learning everything over time; I dove into people pictures from the start with a focussed effort on lighting things well.

The trouble I ran into was finding subjects to photograph. I knew I needed to get some practice and really understand how the things I thought I had learned applied to my work, and I knew I needed lots of practice before I could hang out my shingle and claim to be a pro. My only solution was to ask! I turned to the people I sat next to at church and asked if I could invite their daughter (a senior in high school) for a portrait session. They said, "Yes, please!"

We ended up having a great time, and I learned volumes (for instance, don't clamp your speedlight to a dumpster and then leave it there when you switch locations...)

That summer I wanted to get the word out I was available for business, and I thought the local Garden's Market would be a good place to meet people. I rented a space and set up a tent with a backdrop and stood there smiling, waiting for people to come into my booth. It wasn't long before I realized that I'd be waiting a very long time for folks to approach me. So, I starting asking everyone who walked by if I could make a free portrait, and again they said, "Yes, please!" I spent the whole morning photographing kids and siblings, and I learned volumes (for instance, green grass underfoot results in green shadows under chins).

Still, I didn't get any bookings, so I thought it was kind of a flop. Until a few months later when Beth called and said I had asked to photograph her daughters at the market, and could I come and do a portrait of them before Christmas? I said, "Yes, please!"

Beth has since become a great friend and I've photographed all her daughters' senior pictures, and we made a terrific portrait of her and her five girls just the other day. And it's all because I asked if I could.

Shortly after my session for Beth, I started traveling all over the country for my job. My first trip was to Alaska, and I saw the guy sitting next to me on the plane had great light shining in his eyes from the window, so I asked if I could photograph him.

Later, I was just finishing up my work, and the guy who owned the place had good light in his face from the window behind me, so I asked if I could make a portrait. The next day, I was done with the job, and the sun was still up (Alaska in the summer!) so I climbed a mountain nearby and met a father and son on the trail who were camped in a beautiful spot, so I asked if I could make a picture.

Before leaving town, I drove outside Anchorage down Turn Again Arm and was shooting a waterfall in bad light when the high school's cross country ski team came riding into the parking lot on bicycles, so I asked if I could make a picture. And they all said, "Yes!"

I was on the flight home from that trip and my seat mate told me about his time in the Vietnam War, and about how he was recruited from college by the state department and was promised he would not be sent to the war, and about how he was not only sent to the front but was there for five years instead of the shorter term army recruits were sent for and about the terrible things he witnessed and the secrecy and the awfulness of war, and he was thoughtful and the light was great in his face and I'll never forget speaking with him. But, I was kinda tired, so I didn't ask if I could make a picture. That's one of my few regrets.

Have I been turned down? Yes. I was in a restaurant in Atlanta having lunch when a few moms came in with their daughters, like a girls' day out. The light was great, and these 8 year old girls were super cute, acting like ladies at their own table, so I asked if I could do their portrait. Actually, as I recall, I said, "Hi, do you mind if I make a picture of your girls?" "Um, what are you going to do with it?" "I dunno, maybe put it on my blog..." (this is when I realized what a creeper I sounded like) "Uh, yeah, not such a fan of that--thanks, though." Bless those southern ladies.

With the exception of those times when I was sounding creepy, people have almost never turned me down for a portrait, including people I've run into around the world from Seoul to Riyadh.

This is how I learned to find great light, and how I learned to talk to people, and how I learned that talking to people makes a better picture than anything else on the planet, and shows more about places and cultures than any landmark ever could.

Just ask, and always ask. It'll change your life.