Intro by Skip Cohen

We all have a moment now and then when the "lightbulb" goes off above our head, and we've got an idea. This is a lot of fun for me to share, because it's from Chamira Young and she had an idea. 

Most of you know Chamira from her podcast series on ProPhotographerJourney, and my co-host on Tamron Recipes, along with Mind Your Own Business and Beyond Technique. However, she's also a talented artist, photographer, and tech nerd when it comes to any product or technique that makes her life easier.

As a professional photographer outside Detroit, she's worked with a wide variety of clients from high school seniors to families, moms, and corporate clients. Recently she sat down to play with Westcott's Ice Light 2.  She not only discovered a little insight into what her clients feel when they're in front of the camera, but she also had fun. 

As I've written before, "fun" is one of those words so often lost in business today. It disappears under the stress of running a business. And, especially for artists who are chasing deadlines and the challenge to be more creative with their images. 

Well, she showed me the final self-portrait, and I talked her into a guest post, which I hope is the first of many about her photography.

by Chamira Young
 
Truth be told, I’ve been drooling over the chance to use Westcott’s Ice Light for a while. The longer I work as a portrait photographer, the more I’ve come to value portable, lightweight equipment. And with the recent news that my amazing assistant has decided to move out of state, I’ve had to haul everything around myself, which has led me to appreciate the need to be as efficient as possible.
 
So when I was offered the chance to try the Ice Light 2, I jumped at the opportunity. In no time it’s quickly become a favorite key light for my corporate headshot clients. It’s also served as great fill light for the occasional outdoor senior high school portrait on cloudy days.  However, I wanted the chance to use the Ice Light 2 in a more dramatic project. Hence, today’s self-portrait.
 
The Dramatic  Self-Portrait
 
Self-portraits can be tricky. Having grown accustomed to being the one behind the lens, I found it a bit intimidating to break out my camera’s remote control and start snapping the shutter at myself. Immediate insecurities arose; ironically, the same insecurities that I’m constantly reassuring my clients about. Should I smile? Should I not smile? How’s my hair? Will my skin show my age?
 
Nevertheless, after setting up my tripod, camera, portable 5x7 black backdrop, and chair, I plopped down in the hot seat and flipped on the Ice Light 2.

The thing is like a powerful light saber. In fact, one of my teenage clients (who turned out to be an avid Star Wars fan) nearly refused to give it back when I let him hold it during a recent photo session.

​Operation is easy: just turn it on! It has ten levels of brightness, so after some testing, I settled on a stetting of 6 and held it out slightly to the side, just outside of frame.
 
As I listened to my favorite tunes, a few practice shots quickly turned into an impromptu full session. As you'll see in the image, I didn't even bother to take my headphones off. Instead of having to reposition hefty softboxes, all I had to do was literally change the position of the Ice Light in my hand and adjust the output of the light if needed.
 
It took all of 30 minutes to get a series of shots to choose from. After making some basic edits in Lightroom, I took my favorite portrait over to Photoshop.
  
After hand-painting some streaks of color and adding in a bit of gritty texture, I was quite happy with the final result shown in the first image.

The Ice Light 2 has essentially changed the way I work, and for the better. It’s fun and it’s easy!

It's Monday and "Mirrorless Mark" (Mark Toal) kicks off the day with his version of what looks like an M.C. Escher print. Besides being so abstract and leaving us wondering what it is, capturing the image in black and white and with the detail captured by the LUMIX S1 added to the impact!

We've shared a lot of Mark's travels here on the SCU blog because he's ALWAYS got a camera with him. I've written about living vicariously through his travels, but it's really about seeing the world through another artist's eyes. He's always sharing images that so many of us might have just walked by and missed.

All three images in today's post were captured with the new full-frame LUMIX S1 and the 24-105 mm lens. It's a remarkable camera. Panasonic NEVER strays from their tagline of "Changing Photography."

by Mark Toal
​
As part of my job with Panasonic I get to take photographers to the coolest places. I recently went with a group of photographers to the Georgetown Steam Plant in Seattle, Washington. This is a great historic building dating back more than a hundred years that generated steam until the 1970’s.
 
I decided to use the Lumix full fame S1 camera with the 24-105mm lens. I choose the S1 for its ability to shoot detailed images in low light. I shot with a monopod at smaller apertures like f/11 to get everything in focus. My ISO ranged from 1600 for the black and white image to 12,600 for the red door.

"Mirrorless Mark" (Mark Toal) is back today with two stunning images. He was out and about in Las Vegas with the GX9 and the Leica 10-25mm lens. I love these short posts he shares because Mark is staying in tune with his surroundings and sharing his "adventures" during his never-ending travel, usually for business. If you've met Mark then you know photography runs through his veins and he's never without a camera. 

Panasonic's tagline is "Changing Photography," and they've stayed true to that commitment with every LUMIX camera and lens they've introduced us to. Check out the GX9 and Leica lens with a click on either thumbnail below. And to see an even larger image, click on either one Mark's sharing today and view in the SCU Lightbox. 

Looking for great images along with ideas and tips to be a better photographer? Check out Mark's blogs.  You'll never be disappointed in the content he shares. And as I always suggest check out the LUMIX Ambassador team. They're an incredible group of artists and focused on helping you raise the bar on your skills set and the quality of your images. 

by Mark Toal
 
Once in a while I’m lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. A while ago I was handed an early version of the new Panasonic Lecia 10-25mm f/1.7 lens and walked the Las Vegas strip with it. I’m a little biased since I work for Panasonic, so I’ll let the images speak for themselves. The camera body was a Lumix GX-9.
 
Yes, it is a little large, but to be able to shoot at 10mm, f/1.7 with auto focus makes it all worthwhile for me. I think this might replace the Lumix 7-14mm as my favorite Micro Four Thirds lens. 

A week ago I announced a very special promotion in support of Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep, and teaming up with Westcott.  SCU is a Westcott affiliate, which means 10% of whatever you buy from Westcott when you go through the SCU gateway is our sales commission. But we're NOT going to take it.

With everything you buy, when you click on a specific product in a blog post or when you go through the door above, 10% of what you spend, for the rest of 2019, is going to one of the industry's best-known nonprofits, NILMDTS. I've been a NILMDTS Ambassador for many years and couldn't be more proud of the help their photographers have provided families having to deal with the worst kind of pain - the loss of a baby.

One of the most read SCU guest posts about NILMDTS was published in 2013, only a few months after SCU launched. I wanted to bring it back today because it gives such a strong perspective on the gift these photographers provide each family.

In response to Aurora Daley Olmstead's guest post about photographing baby Dora, the mother of the child responded directly as a comment. I'm not sure there's any higher honor than for a photographer to hear back from the client directly, especially when it's the mother of a child who's died!

Westcott is manufacturing some of the finest and most diverse lighting gear in professional photography. And, if you're headed to Chicago for ClickCon in August, swing by the Westcott booth and meet some of the crew. They're always looking for ways to help you through the challenges of capturing stunning images...and now we're adding support for NILMDTS to the focus!

by Skip Cohen

When I asked Aurora Daley Olmstead if she'd do a guest post about her experiences with Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep several years ago, I had no idea the significance of my request. Typical of most photographers, Aurora got busy, and it was at least three weeks before she was able to find the time to send me something. Even when I first read her guest post, while it obviously touched me, I still failed to recognize the true impact. But read what the baby's mother posted as a comment to Aurora's blog just a day or so later:

When I asked Aurora Daley Olmstead if she'd do a guest post about her experiences with Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep several years ago, I had no idea the significance of my request. Typical of most photographers, Aurora got busy, and it was at least three weeks before she was able to find the time to send me something. Even when I first read her guest post, while it obviously touched me, I still failed to recognize the real impact. But read what the baby's mother posted as a comment to Aurora's blog just a day or so later:

Dear Aurora:

Thank you so very much for the beautiful blog. My tears are pouring reading it and reliving the most precious moments in our lives! I also want to take a moment to thank all the photographers from the NILMDTS who volunteer their time to help families like ours walking through the darkest moments of their lives.

I also want to let you know how much we cherish the pictures you took. I carry Dora's picture in my wallet everyday. It reminds me not only of her beautiful face, but all the wonderful people she brought to us, including her aunt Aurora. I know my little girl is just as happy as we are now to see her little brother grow everyday, and to see more people like you bringing light to other people's lives.

Love and kisses to your little princesses!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Weihua

The ability of the baby's mother to open her heart and publicly comment on the meaning of Aurora's work and NILMDTS as an organization represents the rarest of feedback and affirmation of what everyone hopes to accomplish as a photographer. There could be no greater "thank you" than to receive a comment like this from a subject, a client who has now become part of Aurora's life as a professional photographer.  

I've said it at the end of virtually every workshop, class or program where I've ever spoken and in dozens of blog posts. "Except for modern medicine, no career field has given society more than professional photography! "

Everyone dreams about capturing the ultimate image - that one shot nobody else could get that becomes your signature.  Sometimes the ultimate image is a moment in time when you're given an opportunity to use your skill set or as Weihau put it... "help families like ours walking through the darkest moments of their lives."

Aurora said it best in one of her comments on the blog, "...my life and my heart are fuller for having given what I can to these families - it always fills my heart to know I've been able to help them even in some small way!" 

by Skip Cohen

One of the most significant benefits of the Internet and in turn, social media, is how small the world has become. Facebook is often my greatest resource for meeting new artists and often seeing images I love to share.

Meet Daniel Venter, an accomplished photographer from Czechia. We met through the Facebook Wedding Photographers forum. I had shared a post about the importance of your "About" page as an element to help build trust. Daniel made the comment below:

I don't have one. It was my least visited page of my site since the advent of social media, so I stopped implementing it on new sites. Most people don't care about it because they want two things only: price and how awesome the photos are. The trust factor can be built on how often you show your photos to the world. When people see awesome photos they trust that you do the job well. Tell them through your photos that you are the one to go to! In this day and age where content is king, and social media is top layer, speed it key. People want to read less and see more because info is hitting them every few seconds, so even your website becomes less important when there are tons of reading to do. People don't wont to read, they want to scroll, get engaged by an awesome image and buy the service.

At first, I was ready to go into defensive mode, but then I went to Daniel's site and looked at his images. While I don't agree with him completely, his work is beautiful, and his point is definitely valid. He gave me another perspective to my original point in the post. 

As I looked through his galleries, I loved the image above and contacted him for permission to share. I appreciated Daniel's comment,  feedback and most important of all enjoyed the consistency of the work he's sharing. Click on his image above to visit his website, and to see what Daniel's sharing on Facebook (and in English) check out his Facebook page.

​Daniel also has an educational site with support for the photographic community. Click on the banner below for more information. 

Intro by Skip Cohen

It's Mirrorless Monday with a special guest post by one of my favorite people, the "mad scientist of imaging," Don Komarechka. Some of the most incredible images ever shared in the SCU blog have been thanks to Don, and over the years, even though we've still never managed to meet in person, our friendship has grown.  

Today's guest post is unique and remarkable because Don captured the image below with the new LUMIX S1R and without a macro lens. Thanks to his love for sharing and education, he takes us through each step of the process.

The tagline for Panasonic's LUMIX family of cameras, "Changing Photography," has never been more accurate! Check out more of Don's work with a click on either image to link to his website, blog, and newest projects. And for more LUMIX images, meet the Ambassadors. They're a fantastic group of artists with an unmatched love for imaging, education, creativity, and mirrorless photography!

by Don Komarechka 
 
Our gardens are filled with Forget-Me-Nots, such a delicate and tiny string of flowers, so small that they would make a great companion to a water droplet. Walking around the flowers between rainstorms gave me the idea!
 
This image is shot with a novel approach: using the high-resolution pixel shift mode on the Lumix S1R to create a 187MP image, and then cropping in on the central area of interest. This has a few benefits, one of them being that a macro lens is not required. This was shot with the Lumix S 24-105mm F/4 lens! No extra attachments, no extension tubes, just a high quality crop in from a very high resolution image.
 
Another benefit is that shooting from farther away from your subject will yield a greater depth of field. Focus stacking an image such as this would normally take me around a dozen images, but only five were required here. The end result is an image around the 30 megapixel mark, so the crop is significant but even still I have more than enough detail to make large prints of this.
 
The high resolution mode of the S1R takes multiple images, each with slight shifts to the sensor to create a final image with four times the resolution than the camera would normally have. This could be useful for a number of things like landscape photography, artwork reproduction or product photography, but macro photographers can benefit as well. Since the depth of field in your image becomes shallower as you get closer to your subject, intentionally being farther away with all other things being equal will increase the amount of depth you have over your subject. Sure, I’m throwing away a lot of pixels in the process, but it’s a valuable technique!
 
The droplet was placed very carefully with a small gauge hypodermic needle, and it held on just long enough to take these images. The flower inside the refraction might appear to have a line running through it – this is actually the surface of the water with the flower half-way submerged, and you’re seeing the top of the flower reflected to mimic the full flower. The position of the forget-me-not flowers gives the droplet space, and the bottom blue flower is deliberately touching the surface of the water so that the surface tension creates a different angle to reflect more of the magenta petals of the gerbera daisy placed in behind.
 
The entire scene is lit with a bright LED flashlight positioned over my right shoulder, continuous light being required for the high resolution mode. This is also one of the rare times you’ll find me using a tripod for this type of photography, because it is easier to find the right angle than hand-holding the camera. Different techniques require different equipment, and this high-resolution mode is a real winner!

Skip's Note: All the secrets of water droplet refraction photography as well as most other aspects of macro imaging will be covered in Don's upcoming book Macro Photography: The Universe at Our Feet, currently being funded on Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/donkom/macro-photography/ - if you’d like to support the project and help the book be an even better final product, you’ll also get a copy of the book in time for Christmas at a price much less than retail

I started Fast Food Friday with one singular goal - to get all you "right-brain creatives" thinking about what you might be missing in building your business. Most of the Friday "blue plate specials" have been short easy to implement ideas to help you fine-tune your business.

They're meant to hopefully spark an idea or two on things you should be doing better. But today's post is out of the SCU archives, and I try and share it every couple of years because it's one of the best guest posts ever written about closing the sale.

It's from my good buddy Scott Bourne who helped me start SCU, co-authored GoingPro, still one of the very best books about getting started in photography and who's been an inspiration to thousands of us! And while this post was last shared in 2017, you'll find Scott's current work and wisdom on his new site, Picture Methods.

​Think about this - What good is working hard to create the very best images of your life, if you can't lose the sale? It's not rocket science, but it does take practice learning to listen to your clients, read their reactions, and then present ideas/products they want to buy.

You're part of a fantastic industry that can be incredibly rewarding financially as well as emotionally, and Scott's sharing advice so many of you need. Learn to close the sale and start building a more significant customer base and stronger revenue stream.  

"Without customers you don't have a business, you have a hobby!"
Don Peppers and Martha Rogers

by Scott Bourne

My mentor in sales was Zig Ziglar. He had a motto: "ABC" i.e., "Always Be Closing." It's a known fact that the NUMBER one reason people don't get paid, hired, etc., is they either don't know how to close, forget to close or are afraid to close.

Don't let the word "close" scare you. At it's most basic form it just means to ask someone "Will you hire me." Common sense right? But you'd be surprised to learn how many people make sales presentations that do NOT contain a close. It's a losing proposition. 

Remember that good sales skills are as important as a good camera. Sales is not a dirty word. It's how you feed your family. Zig used to say "Nothing happens until somebody sells something." So don't be afraid. Persuading people to do what they already want to do is not sleazy. It's just good business.

While I can't teach you everything I know about closing the deal in a blog post, I can and will give you some starter ideas that might make this easier for you.  The following suggestions assume the following:

• You're talking to a qualified prospect
• You know your business and your craft
• You believe in yourself and your product
• You've made a proper presentation of your offer
• You have dealt with prospect objections(1)

The Assumptive Close

This is a basic technique where you proceed as if you have the business. "So Mrs. Jones shall I put you down for our Gold package?" The assumptive close is the first one you should learn because it can (and often should) be combined with other sales techniques. It asks the basic question that implies or assumes the prospect wants to hire you and it very often is all you need to get hired.

 The Calendar Close

This is another basic technique used to book an appointment. If you are "two-step" selling, meaning you first sell the appointment and THEN the job, you need to know this one. 

Have a diary or a calendar in your hand and ask, "Mrs. Jones would next Wednesday at one or Thursday at two be a good time to meet with my staff to solidify the details?" Show the book to the prospect. Draw their attention to a specific date and time. Keep them engaged. This works.

The Minor Points Close

This is less aggressive than the assumptive close, but will be a good build up to the finale. Start by asking questions like these: "Mrs. Jones of our packages, which appeals to you most; the Gold or the Silver?" or "Do you have a venue picked for the wedding? Good we're very familiar with that church and can make sure your daughter looks her best there because it's got great lighting."

Minor points are a way of walking the prospect toward yes. Which is of course where we want them to go.
 
The Shame Close

This is a delicate close that needs to be practiced, but used well, can be ultra effective. This close requires set up. Using weddings again as an example, you might ask: "Mrs. Jones who is your florist? They are great, but a little on the expensive side. How about your caterer? Again great but not the cheapest. Wouldn't it be a shame to invest all that money in a great cake and a great florist, but have substandard photography to remember the event by?"

This sounds cheesy, but it is important and it works. After all, most of the time, when I was shooting weddings the bride was spending more on the flowers and the catering than they wanted to spend on photography. The flowers end up in the dumpster outside the hotel and catering - well we all know that ends up in the toilet sooner or later. But the photos? They are the lifetime keepsake. We have to build value and this is a great way to do it.

The Hassle Free Close

There are lots of photographers looking for business. If you can make YOUR company just a little bit easier to deal with than the next person, you might just get the business. Hence the hassle free close. There are some setup items with this close too. Make sure you accept EVERY reasonable form of payment. Make sure your business hours are convenient for your prospects - not for you. Make sure you are easy to find and easy to follow up with. But then, move in with the final step: "Mrs. Jones we've talked about the services we offer, you've agreed that you like our work. We've met with your lovely daughter and we fell in love with her. All that's left is to sign the contract and book the date. I've prepared the document here, all you need to do is sign here and arrange payment and we're all set." 

Making this seem like the natural thing to do, i.e. hire a photographer is part of the hassle free close. And you might note that some or all of these could be combined with the first close I mentioned, the Assumptive Close. 

Some of you are reading this and it makes you uncomfortable. To you I say hire someone to do this for you or prepare to starve. Sales are important. Without a sale there is no business; no need for a camera or a studio or anything else. You have to have the tools necessary to do the sales part of the business if you want to succeed. And these closes are simple tools. No different than a flash diffuser or a reflector. They are all intended to make the final result a positive one. 

Don't be ashamed to be a great sales person. If your heart is in the right place you need to know one last thing. Sales isn't something that you do TO someone - it's something that you do FOR someone. 

Now go get the business. Skip and I are rooting for you.

Remember, objections are buying signals and when you start dealing with objections you are already starting the closing process, so be glad if you get an objection. It means the prospect is paying attention and is interested.

Illustration Credit: © Dmitry

​Intro by Skip Cohen

Last Sunday I shared a post of Kevin Kuster's, and since then I've been hooked on following whatever he's sharing. He's in Uganda and posts on Facebook each day.

​I'm so proud to consider him a buddy, even though that's based on only one phone conversation and a few emails. But, some people cross our paths on this journey we're all on, and you know right from the start they're in your life for a reason.  I don't know if we're honestly "cut from the same cloth," or I just hope we are, because I so appreciate the way he looks at life.

We met through ClickCon, and strictly online, but you can be sure when Kevin gives his keynote presentation at the conference on Monday morning, August 5, I'll be in the front row! As I've written so many times in the past, the best thing about our industry has NOTHING to do with photography, but the friendships that come out of everyone's love for the craft!
 
And to Kevin, thanks for sharing! 

by Kevin Kuster
​
Day 8 at the water well.

I woke up late today. I sprinted to the well because I could tell it was the BEST sunrise yet. I missed it. Old legs, weak back does not a sprinter make.

I sometimes miss “it” in life. Some people are afraid of the unknown. I’ve learned to try and embrace it. What we don’t know we must learn to try and understand. An education is never a burden to carry.

When some of the very small children in Uganda see me for the first time, a white person, they cry and are afraid of me. Not because of who I am but, because of the way that I look. For some, I am the first white person they have ever seen. I have been told they’re scared because they believe I may be a ghost.

Whenever this happens I step away, smile bend myself down to their perspective and try and make myself look non-threatening and small. When this happens many of the locals burst into laughter. It’s a moment I have not yet learned to adequately process.

I appreciate all the joy and laughter from the locals but I am also keenly aware that the young one is afraid of my skin and that makes me contemplative.

It’s hard for people to revel who they are. Everyone wants to erase any flaws they see and be accepted. When we start erasing one flaw we need to keep erasing more and more. One of my flaws I struggle with is I REALY don’t like tension between me and another. I especially feel very bad when I mistakenly make the small children cry on these @wattsoflove trips. Thankfully it doesn’t happen a lot.

We must all try and choose courage over comfort. In life we all experience uncomfortable positions. 
It’s how we respond to that discomfort that defines our character.

Again, no one came today while I was at the water well. I could only stay for a few minutes. This is the best perspective I could find for today.Thankfully every passer by both young, old, male and female, smiled and waved to me and said, “Ibutu Aber!” Good morning in Lango.

​A smile and a wave in any country and culture always reveals the heart.

Last month we shared a podcast packed full with great insight and a series of images by Tamron "Chef," Lisa Langell. The Tamron Recipe series always receives a great response, and today, Lisa's back with one of her recipes for success - how to photograph hummingbirds. The fun of working with Lisa is her attention to detail, combined with her willingness to share just about everything she's learned over the years to help more photographers fine-tune their skill set.

This new guest post is loaded with good solid information, especially Lisa's observations on the importance of "re-imagining nature photography" for today's contemporary clients and the interiors of their homes.​

Lisa's hummingbird images are all captured with Tamron's 70-210mm f/4 Di VC USD lens. Just like Lisa's approach to photography, Tamron never slows down in manufacturing some of the very best optics in imaging. And, they're just as focused on helping photographers improve their skill set to help capture the very best photographs.

To find out more about this outstanding lens, click on the thumbnail to the left. The 70-210 lens is also included in Tamron's Spring Rebate program through July 6, 2019 with a $200 instant savings at authorized Tamron dealers.

Check out more of Lisa's work and her workshop schedule with a visit to her website. Just click on the banner below. While her August workshops are already sold out, with some classes, she maintains a waitlist. Make sure you sign up for her FREE newsletter, so you're always up to date on her workshops, trips, and latest information to help you become a better artist.

by Lisa Langell
​
​Creating wildlife and nature photography that works well into the interior designs of homes, offices and more is a true passion of mine.  Echoing back to my years long ago of working as a floral designer with other interior decorators to transform the indoors, I learned a great deal about people’s palates, tastes, design techniques, and decorating trends. 

Making wildlife photography something people want to hang in trendy, well-decorated and designed homes requires transforming how we perceive what constitutes “nature photography.”   We must go beyond the “rules” and restrictions long-associated with “classic” magazine and calendar-style photography.  It requires re-imagining how we photograph, process, print and display our work so that it is on-trend with the decorative and artistic look of today’s indoor environments. 

The high-key style hummingbird photography I do is just one example of re-imagining nature photography for today’s interiors.  Here is how it is done.
 
Recipe for Hummingbird High Key Setups

1 hummingbird feeder (which inevitably attracts bees and wasps, detested by hummingbirds)

3-4 speedlite flashes positioned about 18-24 inches from the bird, set to Manual, at 1/16th to 1/32nd power.
 
Zoom and aperture settings variable to achieve the light and look you need, depending on the placement of the flashes.

1 white backdrop about 24-36 inches behind the bird

1 flash positioned to illuminate white backdrop set to no higher than 1/8 power

1 camera on a tripod - Set camera to the following settings (slight adjustments made as needed):

• Focus on the hummingbird feeder and then set your camera to Manual Focus so it will not “hunt” with each shot
• Shutter Speed:  1/160th  to 1/200th second
• Aperture:  f/18 to f/25
• ISO:  100 to 200

​1 Tamron 70-210mm f/4 Di VC USD lens

1 remote trigger (I do not recommend the type that requires line-of-sight communication)

1 or more stunningly gorgeous hummingbirds
 
Directions:

• Ensure your flashes are set to communicate with each other.  Depending on the brand and model, you may need to utilize the built-in master/slave settings, wireless communication via  via a trigger, by using pocket wizards and PC Sync cords, or other methods.
• Enable your “highlight alert” (a.k.a., “blinkies”) on your camera and ensure that the flash for the backdrop is positioned in such a way as to over-expose the white backdrop. 
• As the birds come in toward the feeder, or pull back from it, trigger the shot.  The flashes being set to 1/16 to 1/32nd power are what stops the high-speed wingbeats of the bird, not your camera’s shutter.  
• This method is “part art and part science,” so you will want to explore your options with positioning the flashes and the settings used.  You may also add flowers to the shot, or replace the feeder entirely with flowers for other effects.

by Scott Bourne

My life as a professional photographer started with a great big bowl of luck. I didn't plan to be a professional photographer. It just sort of happened. I lived in Indianapolis at the time and I got a chance to photograph the Indy 500. I got lucky and made a photograph that the wire services picked up, and on my first serious shoot, I was published around the world and made $2000 for one picture. That was pretty serious and astounding money in the early 1970s. I spent the next six years photographing motor sports and realized, hey - I guess I'm a professional photographer.

While thinking about ways that I could potentially help emerging professionals, I thought back to those days and wondered - if I knew what I know now - what would I do differently. The answer might surprise you.

But before I tell you what I'd do differently, let me reveal the first thing I'd do as promised in the headline. Ready?

Here's the first thing I would do:

I would do the first thing.

Nope, it's not a riddle. It's sage advice from no less than Mark Twain.

"The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.”

Since there are many tasks associated with becoming a professional at any craft, why not just pick the first thing and knock it off your list? Pick anything. Do anything. More importantly, stop planning, talking, dreaming, thinking, speculating, worrying, procrastinating, wondering, contemplating and just START DOING. Do something. Do anything. Just do it. If you don't know what to do first, start with a marketing plan. It's the most important thing you could do. Think about what you will sell, to who, for how much and using what approach. Start there. Start anywhere, but start.

So many of the people I meet, who want to break into the photography business, are far too wrapped up in the mental side of things. They need to get up off the couch and just go for it.

As for me and what I'd do differently?

I wouldn't change a thing - and here's why.

I was too stupid to know I could fail. I was too stupid to even realize that failure was even an option. I was just a boy who had a camera and thought it would be fun to make photographs of race cars and all the trimmings that went with them. I didn't have any master plan. I ended up after that first big sale living in the back of mechanic's vans and car haulers, traveling the world - following the race cars and drivers with my camera. I ended up eating with the pit crews, track stewards and occasionally even the drivers, as I scratched out a living making $52.50 a week - after taxes mind you. I did that for six years and looking back at it now - well it looks like it was a bunch of hard work for very little pay. But I don't remember it as being hard. Back then I thought I was the luckiest kid in the world. Heck I'm still lucky. :)

While I didn't have this in my back pocket then, I do now. It's a quote from an inspiring book by Julia Cameron - The Artist's Way:
                                                                 "Leap, and the net will appear."

I just jumped into professional photography. I took the leap, and everything worked out because I had the passion, the desire, the patience, the drive, the will and the persistence to succeed.

It's easy to find excuses. Telling yourself you'll probably fail is the lazy person's out. It's harder to actually get out of bed and do SOMETHING. Don't make excuses. Don't plan for failure. Just get busy doing that first thing on your list. Then do the next thing. Then do the next thing. Before you know it, you'll be like me.

Four decades will have passed and people will still be paying you to put a camera in your hand. It's an amazing, thrilling and rewarding career. No matter how much money you get paid. Your experiences - my experiences along the way - the lives we touch  -  those are priceless.

Now,stop reading this and get busy. Leave a comment if you like telling all of us what that first thing is for you personally - keep it to one sentence. Remember baby steps. You can do it. Skip and I are rooting for you.

Image copyright Kevin Kuster. All rights reserved.

by Skip Cohen

Every so often I run across a spectacular image from a photographer I've just met, and it's fun to share their work. So, it's time for you to meet Kevin Kuster.

But there's a fun backstory here and even a lesson or two behind it:

I'm honored to be speaking at Chicago's ClickCon conference in August, and Sherry Hagerman recently shared a nice comment on Facebook about us working together over the years with the banner for my programs. Typical of Facebook, a lot of people saw it and Kevin Kuster, who I've never met, commented.

His response sounded like he might be a photographer needing a little help. If you've met me or followed me for even the shortest amount of time, then you know how proactive I am. I'll always opt for instant fulfillment when I want to meet somebody, and I just picked up the phone and called him.

My assumption couldn't have been more off base. Kevin wasn't a future attendee looking for help, but one of the instructors himself. He's been a photographer for twenty-eight years, and that was part of the reason for my call to him. Looking at his website, I saw so many outstanding images and wanted to have a conversation.

In terms of the image I wanted to share in this profile, it was from a Civil War reenactment group several years ago. Click on the image to view it in the SCU LightBox. Kevin sent me the specs on the portrait. It was captured with a "Canon EOS 5D Mark III and 24-70 mm lens, shot at f2.8 at 1/250. All available light.No retouching. Smoke fell perfectly around his eye. Converted RAW file to black and white in Nik Silver Affects Pro."

But the story gets better. Kevin mentioned he hadn't updated his website in a long time, because he's putting all of his energy into Watts of Love. Visiting their website, I couldn't help but like what they're doing, and it's so perfect for his background and love for understanding light - not just in photography but in helping to bring light into people's lives.

It's a great play on words. I grabbed a screenshot of their belief statement from their website where Kevin is a founding member and Creative Director. And, take the time to watch the short video about Watts of Love below.

"All great change comes from the passion of others."

Looking to see more of Kevin's work? His website is just a click away. And, I've written so much over the years about giving back. Check out Watts of Love and your opportunity to join a dedicated group of people working to help create change in so many different lives.  

Kevin is also very active in social media. You can follow what's he's up to on Instagram: @kevinkuster and Twitter through @kevinkuster247.

So here's my point this morning...take the time to meet people - whether phone, social media or best of all in person.

We're all part of an incredible industry, and if I hadn't made a call today I would have missed out on meeting Kevin; seeing some spectacular work from a passionate artist, and learning about a non-profit focused on making the world a better place...one light of hope at a time!

Kevin and I are both speaking at ClickCon in August. Whether you're attending our classes or not, take the time to come by and say hello!

The best part of this industry has nothing to do with photography, but the friendships that come out of everyone's love for the craft. What a kick!

​See you in Chicago!

by Skip Cohen

​Now and then I meet a photographer, see some spectacular work and want to share it. Meet Lori Whalen, a talented artist from Plymouth, MA. As she was showing me some of the images in her portfolio, I loved the lighting on this one and since I don't share a lot of nudes, here's one of Lori's images.

We all know how lighting is the key to every portrait, but with figure studies, it's even more critical. Put a great understanding of lighting together with the elements of composition and black & white, and you've got an excellent example of Lori's skill set. Now, catch up to her for lunch, and you'll also learn about her passion for the craft.

Meeting Lori at lunch with friends yesterday, gives me an excellent sidebar topic to share as well. It's the friendships that keep this industry alive. Sure, technology, creativity, passion for the craft are all necessary ingredients, but what about the "Bobbi Lane Factor?" 

Bobbi is like the mortar that holds a whole bunch of bricks together. Just like the three degrees of Kevin Bacon game, you can probably connect a lot of people you know to Bobbi or at the very least somebody who's attended one of her classes. And that's where each of those connections can grow and flourish thanks to the common denominator we all share - a love for the industry!

We're all on a remarkable career path, and it's such a kick to meet new artists, especially when their work is stunning. Check out Lori's galleries with a click on the images in today's post. And while you're there wander into her Fine Art section. The photograph above was where looking at her work started, but from commercial to editorial to fine art, there's so much in her galleries showing a diverse skill set and her passion for the craft!

Intro by Skip Cohen
 
My long-standing friendship with good buddy Scott Bourne goes back a lot of years and was founded on the respect I have for his business sense. There are a lot of things I do today, thanks to Scott's help, direction, and influence.

Today's post is perfect for this time of year as 2019 seasonality starts to take hold. It's one of the longest and most in-depth posts he's shared since helping me start SCU, and it's loaded with things to think about, especially the importance of being grateful for the career path you've chosen. I first published it in 2013, but there's no expiration date on wisdom and appreciation!

"Recognizing that the real reward of being lucky enough to be a professional photographer is the joy of knowing that you are protecting memories for others and those memories will last lifetimes."

I love that sentence from one of his last paragraphs - we're all part of a fantastic industry, and your clients deserve nothing but the best. If your heart isn't in it, then take a break and figure out what's missing.

​You can't create images that tug at people's heartstrings if your own heart isn't in it. 

Intro by Skip Cohen

This is a perfect reminder for Marketing Monday and where your focus should be!

Scott Bourne shared this post several years ago, and I brought it back in 2016, but recently after reading a few absurd discussions in some of the Facebook forums, it's the right time to share it again! Too many of you are wasting time arguing and having pointless discussions with your peers, rather than building relationships with your clients.

If you divide your activities into thirds - then one part should be building your skill set. Another is building relationships with your clients, and the last is everything else. Obviously, that's simplified, but my issue is how much time, so many of you waste working on things that don't matter rather than putting the energy into building a stronger business.

Your greatest marketing tool is relationship building, and I've tagged Scott Stratten's book more than once in previous posts. His tagline for his book Unmarketing says it all. Stop marketing. Start engaging.

by Scott Bourne

If you want to sell photography (or anything else) you should spend more time caring about what your customers care about and less about everything else. 

Your customers don't care what your Klout score is, which of your lenses is the sharpest or which brand you shoot with. Your customers care about having photographs that make them (and their families) look good. That's it. That's all.

The online camera forums are full of discussions about photography but, not the people who buy photography. Want to stand out? Want to get ahead of your peers, including those with nicer gear and more experience than you? Simply start caring about your customers. Put all your focus (pun intended) on them and their needs. This is NOT about you. This IS about them. The sooner you realize that - the sooner you'll start to thrive as a professional photographer.

Let the nerds in the photo forums duke it out about which lens is sharper. You go out and make your customers happy by paying attention to their needs and making them look their best. You'll win every time.
​

By Scott Bourne

Pricing photography is the second hardest thing you will ever do as a professional photographer. (Finding the right clients is the first hardest.) It’s very easy to make mistakes when pricing and once they’re made, it’s hard to recover from them. So start out right.

One disclaimer: Not every pricing method works for every photographer. Much depends on the current state of the market and the genre (i.e., wedding, commercial, fine art, food, etc.) I’ll try to stick to some universal ideas in this post.

Start at the Beginning

You can’t effectively price your work until you understand what it is you’re selling.

You are not selling square inches of paper for the cost of printing them. For some reason, the first element that seems to enter some photographers’ minds when making a pricing decision is the size of the print. This “brick wall” has cost many photographers money. The most important thing to keep in mind is the value of your work, not the size of the print. You build this value by evaluating ALL the factors that go into making a salable image.

So what are you selling? How about your creativity and unique ability to capture something others do not see? Anyone can buy a camera, but can they capture the image exactly the way you do? How about the time you have invested in training for the moment when you captured the image? That time needs to be taken into consideration. Your mechanic, doctor, accountant, and lawyer all get paid for the time they spend doing the work. Shouldn’t you be paid too? You also have to consider the level of your present technical ability. The casual amateur should not be able to get the most out of the same equipment as an experienced professional.

And, speaking of equipment, you must also take into consideration the value of your gear. So, as you are deciding how to price your work, make sure you take into account and charge for your logistical skills, experience, time and your ability to translate your client’s desires into a visual statement. Know what you’re selling before you try to sell it. This will help you avoid many mistakes later.

Pricing Economics

In order to price something well, you must know the economics. Here are some key things to keep in mind:

A) Overhead
B) Profit margin
C) The market you are serving

Calculating your overhead requires that you consider all the costs associated with being a professional photographer.  These includes:

A) Equipment depreciation
B) Insurance
C) Rent
D) Licenses
E) Legal fees
F) Accounting fees
G) Payroll fees
H) Salaries
U) Taxes
J) Utilities
K) Production
L) Repairs
M) Printing
N) Postage
O) Office supplies
P) Subscriptions
Q) Professional dues
R) Advertising/marketing
S) Transportation/shipping
T) Travel

Calculating your profit may be a bit easier. You consider your cost of doing business by allowing for a percentage of your overhead to be applied to the cost of each job. From there, mark up your price to include a standard profit margin. This can be based on any number you want but a good starting point is to double the cost of your product (100 percent profit margin).

Selling or Licensing Images

Now you also need to adjust this figure based on the market type you are serving. Is the image being used in a small or large market? Will thousands of people see it or just a few? What is the perceived value to the client? How does the client plan to use your image? Who is your competition and what choices does your client have besides you for this type of image? Are there 50 photographers in the mix or only two or three? Consider these factors to calculate your fee.

When you sell or license an image, it is likely you will have to negotiate the price with a savvy photo buyer. Knowing how to negotiate can save you time, money and help you close profitable deals. Remember that negotiating is just problem solving. Both parties have something they need to accomplish and the negotiation makes it happen.

You must not take ANY of the issues that arise during a negotiation personally. The buyer is supposed to try to get the best deal that he or she can. That’s their job. Your job is the same.

The essential steps in the negotiating process are: establish rapport, gather information, do research, ask questions, and let the buyer do most of the talking. In any negotiation, the person who listens most is likely to gain more. In any negotiation, it’s always very important that you do more listening than talking. Otherwise, you will miss important clues, both physical and verbal, that will help you resolve the deal.

Before quoting a price, you must try to educate the client and build the value of the image you are selling. Make sure that the client understands the effort, time and expense you invested to make this image. If the image is truly one-of-a-kind or was made at personal risk, those factors translate directly into the value of what you have for sale.

Try to encourage the client to place an opening bid. If the buyer is the first one to name a price, I believe you will be rewarded with a higher fee. A good way to open the negotiation process is to ask a question like, “What’s the most you would be willing to pay to use my image or purchase my print?” If you are forced to begin the negotiation process by offering a figure, an alternative is to begin with a number that is twice your standard price plus 10 percent. Once this figure is given, you can work down from there.

But remember that if you give a number first, you run the risk of quoting a price that is much lower than the buyer was willing to pay, and you’ll never know what figure they were willing to pay. So, let your clients do the talking. Then, you should listen, take notes, and preferably wait for them to tell you what they can afford.

If the client has pricing objections, be sure to return to the rapport building and value enhancement stages outlined above. Usually, a price objection really means that there is another piece of information you have not uncovered.  It is likely that there is something else you have not offered that the client really wants or needs. This is why it’s crucial to listen more than you talk and ask plenty of questions to uncover hidden needs.

Once you have taken all the necessary steps, be sure to ask for the order. A surprising number of photographic sales don’t happen simply because the seller has forgotten to ask for the sale.

(NOTE: Negotiating with magazines is not possible unless you are a famous photographer with images that are in great demand. When you approach magazines, understand that you will only get paid their standard rates.)

Intro by Skip Cohen
​
Welcome back to a new "Insight," a series of content-rich posts to help you build a stronger business and in today's post, protect your images. Working together with PhotoShelter we want to make 2019 your best year ever and as I've written in the past, thrive, not just survive. 
 
There's an incredible amount of outstanding content in PhotoShelter's archives, all directed to helping become a successful artist. I ran across this article by Allen Murabayashi, and he's writing about an issue critical to all of you - copyright! 
 
PhotoShelter has a reputation for helping you create the very best presentation of your work, but also help you run a stronger business. You've got to protect your photographs. So often I'm surprised how many photographers have so little understanding of copyright.  Check out the post below and start protecting your images - you've worked too hard to develop the skill set to capture and create them. Don't they deserve to be protected?

Intro by Skip Cohen

Since launching in 2016, we've shared thousands of posts here on the SCU blog, with information on virtually every type of idea to help you build a stronger business. Well, as we get more into 2019, we're going to be sharing more technique posts to help you not only develop a stronger and more successful business but raise the bar on your skill set.

I love this post we're sharing today, thanks to Suzette Allen.  While it might seem like a lesson in outdoor landscape photography, learning to work with slow shutter speeds is a skill applicable to so many different images you capture, including photographing a wedding and children playing, to name a couple.

Roday is "Mirrorless Monday," and Suzette is out with with a LUMIX G9 and two different lenses. More information about each one is linked in the thumbnails below.

Suzette has several different blogs, all filled with great content on technique, new ideas and often providing inspiration and insight into her passion for the craft, people and life. She's just a click away. Then, follow her and the entire US LUMIX Ambassador team. They're regularly speaking at LUMIX retailers and conventions around the country. In fact, she'll be with me and several of the other LUMIX Ambassadors at WPPI in the Panasonic booth #934 February 27-29. They're one of the most diverse and creative teams in photography, and should all be on your radar.  You'll be surprised at how much great content they share.
 

by Suzette Allen

​There’s something magical about the silky softness of a waterfall, shot with a slow shutter speed! While it’s very easy to do once you know how and have the right equipment, it seems just like pure magic before you master it! In this blog, you will learn how to capture water flow with a silky soft look, whether it be a grand waterfall like Havasu or a babbling brook down the road from you.

One thing that is necessary is a tripod, or at the very least, set your camera on a rock or log or something very stationary. Camera movement will destroy this effect in a fraction of a hot second!

In the examples here I’m using a Mirrorless Micro 4/3 camera- the Lumix G9 and either the 7-14mm lens above or the 8-18mm lens. I have my camera on a MeFoto Backpacker tripod which is light and easy to hike with, so it was my companion for the 57 miles we hiked in 7 days in the Grand Canyon on this trip!

Note: There were times I used it as a walking stick as well, when we walked the Narrows in freezing cold water in Zion National Park too! But next time I won’t do that—I’ll tell you why (and show images) in a different blog!.

​Anyway, the trick to getting a soft silky water look is shooting in manual mode and using a slow shutter speed. Typically, you are shooting in the daytime, and hopefully in shade (or you will NEED neutral density filters), and you want to shoot with the shutter speed at 1/8 of a second or slower if possible. It was relatively soft light, but at ISO 200, which is the lowest my camera goes, and the aperture at F22, the highest f-s top it offers, the slowest I could go was in the range of 1/5 to 1/8 of a second. Otherwise my image was overexposed.

It usually requires a bit of experimenting with a DSLR because you cannot see the effect or the exposure through the view finder and you need to shoot and adjust and re-shoot and adjust a few times until you get the right combination. Even if you use a meter, there is some experimentation or at least bracketing.

What I love about the Mirrorless Lumix is the  EVF, or Electronic View Finder, which shows you exactly what your exposure looks like AND the effect of a slow shutter speed! [Be sure to turn on the Constant Preview feature to see that]. My camera is ON Constant Preview all the time and I literally cannot live without it.  

The other benefit is the Zebras feature, which shows any part of the image that is overexposed with little black zebra stripes, alerting you to the overexposure BEFORE you take the shot! Take a look at this short video taken of Havasu Falls, where I show how I can confidently get a great exposure without any blown-out pixels (or needing to bracket or use a meter).
​
This feature is also turned on ALL the time on my camera and is an invaluable tool for getting great exposures all the time.

Turning on Constant Preview on the Lumix G9
Menu>Custom Wrench>Monitor&Display>Page4, bottom item: Constant Preview
turn to ON
Setting the Zebras on the Lumix G9
Menu>Custom Wrench>Monitor&Display>Page5, almost bottom item: Zebras
Choose SET and then choose [Zebra2 100%] and then turn it ON. Hit the center Set button on the camera back to be sure it is turned ON.

A few notes about this technique.

• If you are shooting in the sun or with a lens that doesn’t go to F22, you may need to use a neutral density filter to cut down the light enough to drag the shutter effectively. The other option is to shoot in low light in the evening or early morning with no direct light, choosing the lowest ISO and highest aperture your camera offers.
• Always use a tripod or stationary platform.  Experiment with different shutter speeds, as a little blur-movement is a great look as well!

Photography is an ever-changing field and offers an opportunity to grow in your skills for years. It is always an exciting hobby, craft, passion or skill, and offers no ceiling to its creative potential as we grow in our skills and vision for beautiful photographic art! #SEEinspired #CreatewithSuzette

Intro by Skip Cohen

Over the years I've heard so many ugly stories from photographers about lost images. In the "old days" it was lost rolls of film, often the photographer's fault, but when breaking the news to the client, it was always blamed on a mistake at the lab! LOL Then there are those gut-wrenching moments when your computer crashes and you weren't backing things up the way you should have been. Today, it's a lot tougher to shift the blame to anybody beyond the face in the mirror!

I've written a lot over the years about having backup gear and a backup for yourself should a family emergency, or health issues prevent you from an assignment, but we've never talked about the best ways to back up your images and data on your computer. 

Thanks to a good buddy of so many of us, Dave Doeppel, offered to share a guest post. And, while some of it is a little over my head, I have a deep appreciation and respect for the process. But I'm not the one whose entire business is built on a foundation of client images and thousands of photographs! 

It's not that complicated a process, but sadly too many of you treat it as if it's something you'll take care of tomorrow. Well, "mañana" isn't a skill set. Sure it would be great if there was a button you could push and you'd be protected, but to Dave's point at the end of his post - whatever you do, make it automated. If you need to rely on doing something manually to get files backed up, chances are it won’t happen. Protect yourself and never lose your data.

Dave needs to be on your radar. Just a click on his headshot, and you're there!

​Chad Pennington and I met online many years ago when he reached out to me with a comment about something on Facebook. While I love an IM conversation on Facebook, I often just pick up the phone and call. Well, that kicked off a great friendship. From there we've bumped into each other at various conventions over the years; stayed in touch through IMs on Facebook and grabbed a few phone calls here and there.

But more than anything today, this is one of those spotlight posts that's a testimonial to what I love most about this industry and social media - it helps us stay in touch.

It started a couple days ago when going through birthday notifications on Facebook; I wished Chad a Happy Birthday. It was early, and I never expected him to respond right away, but he was right there in the IM box. He thanked me, and that kicked off a "catch-up" conversation.

He's in Nigeria this week, and curious about what he's working on, I asked him to send a couple of images from his trip. He immediately dropped these two stunning images into the IM thread mentioning these were from his visit three months ago. (Click on either image to visit Chad's website to see more of his work.)

I haven't lost touch with Chad, but I had lost touch with his work. It's easily been five years or more that our friendship took off, but I hadn't been looking at his galleries. I've often written that the best thing about this industry has nothing to do with photography, but the friendships that come out of everyone's love for the craft.
Well, Chad loves the craft! That quest for the ultimate image runs through his veins every time a camera is in his hands, and I'm so grateful that social media gives us the ability to stay connected.

When I think back to the early days, when I first came into the professional side of this industry at Hasselblad in '87, the only way we'd share images was either in person or through the mail. The Internet changed the way we share photographs, share friendships and share our passion for the craft!

So to Chad - thanks for following through and sending me the specs on both images as well. Thanks for a great friendship, and thanks for always being true to quality in everything you do. I'm sure proud to consider you a buddy - safe travels!

In describing this new series...

"We have been in this zone of creating professional training systems for SLR Lounge Premium, but we wanted to take it back to what originally started our love for this industry and we thought YouTube would be the perfect platform for a series we like to call Back to the Basics.”

There's so much great content packed into the short video above. And, with each segment the SLR Lounge is sharing the specs on the final image, after Pye takes you through his thought process.

But for me, the "fun," there's that word again, is watching ​Pye in action. Great educators aren't just good at teaching; they're never afraid to show their passion for the craft and their thirst to capture the ultimate image, in both new ways and back to the basics.

The SLR Lounge needs to be on your radar. Just click on any image above to link to the blog post for "Nighttime Portraits With ONLY a Phone Flashlight."  And, while you're there, check out the SLR Lounge's Premium Program. Regardless of your specialty in photography, it doesn't get any better than the information being shared by Pye and Chris in the SLR Lounge.