by Skip Cohen

​We've all been to various kinds of workshops over the years, some great, others average, and then there are those programs that could put a rock to sleep.

Here are three coming up in 2024 that will fill up fast, but it's all because they're great programs. So, what makes a great program, and why would I suggest you put these on the very top of your bucket list?
​

• A Great Guide/Instructor: Moose Peterson is legendary, in part because of his skill set but also his passion for the craft. You're not just going for the adventure, but what you can learn and capture that becomes memory-making.
• Small Groups: Moose keeps his groups small, which adds to the experience. Bolivar Beach is only open to four shooters, while Grand Isle and Cape Hatteras are each five. Whatever the subject matter, the smaller the group, the more you will experience.
• Subject Matter: Obviously, if you're a wedding photographer, there's no connection to the bird world, but for those of you who are outdoor/wildlife enthusiasts, here's an opportunity to be in areas that are unique with a guide who knows his stuff.
• Values: This is a little harder to describe, but you always want a guide/instructor to have great values, not just a passion for the craft but life. Here's a great example, Moose and his wife Sharon (AKA Mrs. Moose) have been married for forty-two years, yet, read every description of his programs above, and you'll see him suggest you call his "beautiful bride" to register. 
• Setting the Standard: Anybody can put together an itinerary for a program, workshop, or adventure, but Moose and Karen go beyond that - you want a program that exceeds expectations, put together by people who know the area and understand your mindset for capturing great images.

Last but not least - a photographic adventure with Moose will always be fun. "FUN" - that's one of those words too often lost today. It's buried underneath the stress of business. 

These programs will fill up fast. If you're interested, click on the banner above for more information and get yourself signed up.

by Skip Cohen

​Yes, this is an infomercial, but if you know my reputation, it's not without being justified. I've been involved in several Kickstarter campaigns since joining Platypod, and this one has been the biggest kick to work on. Why? Because the product has a huge payback in boosting creativity, and it's just $49 until the end of May.

While it looks like a light-saber handle with the description of a camera riser - it may well be one of the most diverse accessories the company has ever released. And for those concerned about backing projects before they go to market - this one is in full production, with our first shipments already headed from overseas to our warehouse!

So from studio to close-up, macro, food, portraiture, tabletop and copy stand work, even vlogging, this little marvel allows you to add up to eight different accessories. With eight 1/4-20 sockets at the top, you can add lights, reflectors, monitors, and the list goes on and on. Plus, it will hold up to eleven pounds, and they're stackable - each from a breakdown height of three inches to adjust from 6 to 10 1/2 inches!

Visit Kickstarter and scroll down the project page for great videos and reviews from Lenworth Johnson, Rick Sammon, Don Komarechka, Stewart Wood, Moose Peterson, Dave Williams, Liam Douglas, Bob Coates,
and Sharky James.
​
​What a kick!

Check out Larry Becker's demonstration video below...there's so much this accessory can do. "Do you really need this?" For most of you, YES!
​

by Skip Cohen

Circle the Date: April 5th at 11AM PST and 2PM EST

There are a lot of great online programs these days, but nothing beats two remarkable artists joining forces for an outstanding event. Bob Coates and UK photographer Gavin Phillips are teaching together!

Bob Coates will be teaming up with UK photographer Gavin Phillips to share a webinar on artistic Photoshop Actions that Gavin has designed for creating watercolors and paintings from your photographs. When you sign up for the webinar you’ll get two backgrounds as a bonus. If you can’t make the live event you’ll be able to view the recorded version.

Learn more and click here to sign up.

by Skip Cohen

It's so easy to get caught up in the day-in-day-out challenges of life and business. Along the way, we forget our bucket list for adventures. Here are two outstanding trips coming up in Minnesota and Kenya.

What I love most about these two trips, besides the subject matter, is they involve two of my favorite people in the industry - Bob and Dawn Davis. We've been friends for a long time, but the friendship came out of the respect I have for their skill set as artists and business owners. Here's an opportunity for you to shoot with one of the finest photographers in the industry.

BLACK BEARS, WHITE AMERICAN PELICANS, WATERFALLS, + LANDSCAPES WORKSHOP WITH BOB DAVIS

It all starts out on June 7 in the Northwoods of Minnesota. Limited to just eight participants, the description of the bear part of the adventure says it all!

​Get ready for an extraordinary adventure! This workshop offers an incredible opportunity for a thrilling in-field photographic experience that you won't want to miss. In June, we'll be focusing on capturing the antics of some of the most adorable creatures on the planet... the bear cubs. These little fur balls are brimming with energy, curiosity, and playfulness, making them a delight to photograph for amateur photographers as well as the most accomplished wildlife photographers. With so many bears present, this is the perfect time to capture all kinds of captivating interactions and portraits, including cubs of all sizes. It's an experience that's sure to fill you with wonder and excitement!

More information is just a click away on any of the images above!

by Skip Cohen

​As I've written so many times before, the fun of this industry is in the friendships that come from everyone's love for the craft. Meet Dave DeBaremaeker. Although we had talked on the phone a few times over the last couple of years, we finally met in person a few months back when he joined me on Scott Kelby's show, The Grid. It was a kick!

Dave's passion for photography is all about toys, but as I watched this recent video on his YouTube channel, I realized how many of his applications work in other specialties. From rings and detail shots at weddings to closeups and macro images of flowers at home through the winter months - the common denominator is the gear behind the scene.

Obviously, wearing the hat of CMO for Platypod, I love this video, but it goes beyond toys. So many of you have a diverse collection of demands on your skill set. You need to be prepared for different challenges, and Platypod is often about solutions and gaining a new perspective.

Click on any Platypod Pro below to check out the rest of the "family." There's an incredible variety of images being captured with Platypod as part of the gear to get the shot! And you'll notice Dave is in the third row down in the photos below. The "family" on our website includes forty-four artists shooting virtually everything from macro to landscape to toys, food, portraits, real estate, night skies, and the list goes on and on.

Dave needs to be on your radar. You'll find more of his work on his website and check out his YouTube page too!

by Skip Cohen

​Michele Celentano and her husband, Paul, were here in early December. We haven't all been together since before the pandemic, but that didn't stop the laughs. We've been friends for a lot of years, and with great friends, even a one-night stay-over is time to cherish.  

So, what happens when one of the industry's finest family photographers falls in love with your dogs? First, she threatens to steal them!  When Michele wanted to photograph our girls, I figured a couple of grab shots, not a complete series. But the fun of it all was watching her work with the puppies. There's are reasons she's one of the best - her love for the craft and her ability to communicate with her subjects, whether they've got two legs or four.

​For all of you younger artists, there's a lesson here. Michele's skill set is extensive. While she's not a pet photographer, she understands every aspect of composition and lighting. Moreover, she's never stopped learning and fine-tuning her skill set.

Lucy and Belle responded to the love they were being shown, the same as Michele's clients. When you wander through her galleries and look at her work, you can tell from the natural expressions of her subjects. It's a story of trust in the photographer combined with fun during the sitting.

Here's my point: As photographers, you've got an enormous responsibility to consistently deliver the best to your clients. They're trusting you to exceed their expectations. And when that happens you become habit-forming.

If you're at a convention and Michele is speaking or doing a demo on the trade show floor, run, don't walk to get a seat. She never disappoints and never compromises on the quality of what she delivers! Click on any of the images in today's post to link to her Facebook page, and then put her on your radar!

​In the hierarchy of why consumers hire a professional photographer, it goes to brides, babies, and pets. That's the top three from a Kodak study at least twenty-five years ago, and I don't believe it's moved a bit. The pandemic changed the ranking slightly, but not the top three. Now, add to that the incredible growth in households with pets worldwide!

Take it a step further and look at the size of the pet industry. I took a quick stroll through cyberspace, and PetKeen.com had one the most thorough sets of statistics. Click on the banner below to link to the complete article. It's the top line you need to appreciate - the global market for pets is worth $261 billion, and pet owners in the US are spending over $100 billion on the furry members of the household. But one more statistic made me smile: Americans spent an estimated $490 million on Halloween costumes for their pets!
​
Here's the bottom line - pet photography can be an incredibly lucrative business, but don't underestimate the need for a great skill set. The standards for a great portrait and the experience of a fun sitting don't change just because the subject's got four legs!

by Skip Cohen

​The new year is off to an outstanding start for education and expanding your skill set. Last week, David Bergman announced his "Shoot from the Pit" program is back for 2023 at stadium concerts. Here's an opportunity to learn concert photography with one of the best in the industry right from the pit at live shows!

David has an outstanding track record as an award-winning artist, educator, Canon Explorer of Light, author, and good buddy to so many photographers in the industry. I've included his short video on the workshop series, as well as David's November guest appearance on Steve Brazill's behindtheshot.TV. It's the perfect introduction to understanding the depth of not only David's expertise but his passion for the craft!

​And if you still want to see more of his work and get to know him even better, just click on any image above to link to his website!

These workshops are limited to just a few attendees - they'll sell out fast. So check out the schedule with David and join him on the road with Luke Combs in 2023!

by Skip cohen

​Twenty-three years ago, Don Blair and I wrote a book together, Don Blair's Guide to Posing and Lighting Body Parts. Working with our good buddies, the other two Musketeers, Tony Corbell and Terry Deglau, we shot all the images for the book in Las Vegas. Of course, this was all pre-digital, so the storyboards were taped to the wall, and as we completed each page, the Polaroids were added to the illustrations. 

There are few projects from my career that make me smile as much as this one. It was a lot of hard work, but the four of us were the very best of friends, and the energy, the laughs, and the success of creating each page made it an incredible memory-maker - perfect for Throwback Thursday!

Parts of today's posts are from the SCU archives, but there's a definite reason for sharing the two pages I chose below.

by Skip Cohen

​When my buddy Scott Bourne posted the image above on the new community site for Platypod Users, I was blown away because it looked so real. The information about the portrait is below, but I still wanted to call him. It was our phone conversation that prompted me to want to write this post.

The star of the image is a toy, and while it was done in the studio, Scott gave credit to everything he ever learned about portrait lighting, starting with Monte Zucker. Monte's name is sadly not recognized by many young photographers. He was a master of lighting and portraiture and blazed a trail for so many of the techniques in lighting and posing today.

As we talked, the depth of Scott's understanding of lighting kept going deeper with names like Clay Blackmore, Tony Corbell, Bambi Cantrell, and Matthew Jordan Smith, just to name a few. And that brings me right to my point and why I wanted to share this image in today's post.

Creativity is the ability to see relationships where none exist.
Thomas Disch

by Skip Cohen

​At the risk of sounding like a Jack Handey clip from old SNL shows, when I read the quote above, it got me thinking about how it applies to our industry. As pros and aspiring professional photographers, you're all in the business of capturing relationships.

• Think about the relationship between the shadows and the highlights of a great portrait. Your ability to see and control the light creates the power behind the image. 
• Then there's the creativity to create sales over the last few years - again, "where none existed." Specifically, I'm thinking about JP Elario and his Facetime Portraits. At the height of the pandemic, he used his creative skills to capture portraits online through Facetime and develop a revenue stream that previously didn't exist.
• The true relationship between you and your subject doesn't exist before they step in front of your camera. I often do website reviews, and going through a photographer's gallery, I can always tell if the subjects were relaxed and their personalities captured versus just a nice picture.
• In terms of your community - your ability to build relationships that wouldn't exist without your involvement is critical to building your brand. And it's your creativity to balance the different hats you wear to be able to give back.
• One of my favorites is partnerships! It takes creativity and focus to bring together other vendors in your community to work together on a common goal of raising awareness for each other's products/services, and in turn sales.

And here's one last big one I see every day when I'm wearing my Platypod hat. Eight years ago, Larry T. had a vision of being able to travel without the bulkiness of a tripod but have the necessary gear to capture images that could never be handheld. In fact, the recent Platypod Pros feature on the website highlights forty of the most respected artists in the industry who, every day, create and capture relationships where none previously existed.

So here's my point - so many of you undervalue what you bring to the party with your skills, business, and ability to help your target audience. You worry about the timing of getting more involved and reaching out. You've got the passion for the craft, and you've spent plenty of time fine-tuning your skills, but taking that jump into the public eye and building relationships is risky.

Here's one more thought based on an old proverb:

by Skip Cohen

​It's Tamron Tuesday, and there's so much you can learn from these short videos Tamron regularly shares. And they're all on Tamron's YouTube channel.

The video below is from their archives, with professional photographer Maxim Guselnikov putting the 70-180mm F/2.8 DI III VXD, model A056, to the test. He's shooting Sony full-frame mirrorless.

Remember, I'm sharing screen grabs from a video. So, imagine how sharp the original images must be.

​In addition to simply watching another artist work, each still image in the video includes the exposure triad and focal length. Maxim's shooting in the studio, outdoors, in the theater, and truly putting this lens through a great little test drive.

Tamron's manufacturing some of the finest glass in imaging today. But don't take my word for it - visit your local Tamron dealer yourself!

And check out their ongoing workshops and programs taking place all around the country.

by Skip Cohen

Now and then, opportunities come along that simply shouldn't be missed, especially with Moose Peterson.

For the next year, Moose has some outstanding workshops coming up - all with small groups, limited attendance, and incredible subjects. From Yellowstone to Texas to Florida and then some, he's going to be teaching - and it doesn't get any better than hands-on with Moose by your side.

Living in Osprey, Florida, which, has an abundance of Ospreys to watch, I love that he's going to focus on these magnificent birds at Blue Cypress Lake...and there's only room for 4-5 shooters!  Here's the link, but don't wait too long - this one, like his other workshops, will sell out fast.

Remember, these are all small groups, which gives you time to get to know Moose, boost your skills and develop the kind of camaraderie that lasts a lifetime.

Regardless of your specialty, Moose should be on your radar, especially his blog - you'll never be disappointed.

What a kick!

by Skip Cohen

There's so much you can learn simply by taking a scroll through the notifications that come up on your Facebook page. It's time to meet Corey McDonald. The image above pulled me into the photographs he shared, but the other two were just as remarkable.

I know it was a long time ago, but I was a band nerd, playing the French horn for many years. Back then, nobody did senior portraits the way they do today - everybody got the same shot - guys in jacket and tie, girls in a v-neck black shroud. There was simply no personality shared in any portrait. I would have killed for a portrait like this of me.

And here's my point: you have so much power with every portrait you capture. Boudoir photographers often talk about the power of increased self-esteem a portrait session can create. Senior photographers talk about how they feel knowing they've captured the essence of their subject, especially when they've done a sitting involving their personal interests, usually cars, motorcycles, sports, and animals.

Today's post is about the power of a remarkable portrait of a kid in the band! But it's also about Corey's goal to give each kid his very best. Remember, for a lot of seniors; it's their first interaction with a professional photographer. Do it right and build the relationship, and you'll have a kid like this as a client for the rest of his life!

And to Corey, who I cold-called for permission to share these images posted in Gary Box's Facebook Forum - nicely done. Thanks for allowing me to share three portraits that deserve to be seen by more people. You can check out more of Corey's work with a visit to his website. It's just a click away.

by Skip Cohen

Whether you're an outdoor/wildlife artist or not, there's a lot to learn from Tamron's videos. To start, they're making some of the finest glass in imaging, and their new 50-400 is pretty outstanding - a "next-level ultra-telephoto zoom." But technology is only part of the story. When you visit the product page, Tamron's sharing images from well-respected photographers to help demonstrate the versatility of the lens. I grabbed three of my favorites to share in today's post.

I also like how they share the exposure triad, the focal length, and the gear used. They're not just announcing a new lens but adding an educational element about the image itself.

Now take things a step further and pay attention to how they tell the story of the new lens in the one-minute video below. Forget that it's a lens and take the same storyboard and apply it to how you might tell your own story in a marketing video about who you are and the services you offer. 

Regardless of what you shoot with, check out Tamron's YouTube page - it's loaded with great videos and elements to help you raise the bar on your skill set. There are 390 videos currently in the collection, with almost 26,000 subscribers...and it's just a click away.

 Intro by Skip Cohen

Over the last few weeks I've shared a number of Seth Resnick's posts. He always manages to get me thinking about something related to imaging, and today's guest post is a perfect example. Posted last week, he talked about Dall-E. Over a million people signed up, just to try it out.

A big thanks to Seth for allowing me to share his thoughts here on the SCU blog. If you don't already follow him on Facebook, he needs to be on your radar. And if you'd like to share your thoughts about this specific post, scroll down his FB page to August 4 and comment.

by Seth Resnick

​​Yesterday Dall-E became available and there were over 1,000,000 people who signed up to try it. I was not one of them. So for those who don’t yet know, Dall-E is an AI application that can ingest both language and text and create a single image from the stream. I am a big fan of technology and the technology behind this is incredible.

That said it also raises a stream of questions including the very concept of removing the very experience of photographing. The idea of creating an image by writing a text stream is indeed fascinating but at the same time quite scary.

There are an incredible amount of questions and problems I foresee with this type of software that go way beyond the issues of social media. What will happen with violence, racial, sexual or gender issues? Is this the final death to stock images? In fact is this a death to assignment photography? AI is programmed by humans so how this reacts will be in part based on the programming.

It also immediately raises a giant question. Who would own the copyright? One could easily argue that it would be the artist but one could easily argue that it would always be the software company.

While I always welcome new technology, I look at the image chosen today and would never want to give up the experience of being in this sacred place and experiencing this first hand.
​
Thoughts ?

by Skip Cohen

​As I've written so many times before, the fun of this industry is in the friendships. Well, meet Erik Cooper. Erik and I met when I was wearing my Platypod hat. He was a new member of PPA, and at the time, there was a new-member benefit to receive a Platypod.

What started as a purely customer service phone conversation has grown into a great friendship, multiple calls, and finally catching up to each other LIVE at ClickCon last year. Erik is a fashion and portrait photographer, although I doubt there's anything he can't photograph. He's based in Colorado Springs. We're a perfect example of how Facebook is sometimes the mortar that holds so many friendships together, especially during a time of limited conventions and travel - combine social media with a phone and it's easy to stay in touch.

Meanwhile, today's post isn't about Erik but the importance of understanding great lighting. Whenever I hear an artist say, "I'm a natural light specialist," right from the start, I know they're afraid of studio lighting. They've never taken the time to learn lighting and expand their skill set.  The truth is, all of us love natural light, and that's what understanding studio lighting is all about - creating stunning photographs with whatever light source you have!

But there's another point to today's post - a reminder of the power of a black and white image, especially in portrait work. Bringing a few black and white images into your portfolio/galleries also shows diversity in your skill set. Learn to see in B&W. It's about your thought process from the beginning and learning to see the highlights and shadows in your mind as you create and capture the portrait.

And for on-location wedding and event photographers, B&W also gives you more creativity in tough situations. For example, one of the early books I co-authored was with Bambi Cantrell. In the book she talked about shooting B&W when you're photographing in "the First Church of Uglyville!" We even did a stunning bridal portrait in the restroom at a hotel. It was shot in B&W, and was stunning, hiding the ugly deep pink tile walls!

A big thanks to Erik for sharing these images with me, and if you'd like to see more of his work, his Instagram page is just a click away.

Intro by Skip Cohen

It's Marketing Monday, and while this might seem a little off the topic, from my perspective, it's right on target. Anybody can market well enough to get their first client - the challenge is getting that client to keep coming back, as well as telling all their friends to check you out. 

That boils down to creating images that leave people in awe of your skills. Sure, it's about creating an experience and being fun to work with - but in the end, you have to create images beyond expectations.

I've recently shared a few of Seth Resnick's posts from Facebook because he's writing outstanding content. He's posting information to make you a better artist, regardless of your specialty. I loved this post because it hits one aspect of adding POWER to an image. 

I've written a lot about your galleries as past Marketing Monday posts. Every image in your gallery should be a "Wow" photograph. It needs to be so powerful that you'd only need to show that one image to get hired, or have a picture editor want to look at more of your work. 

When was the last time you cleaned up your galleries? Is there work there that anybody's Uncle Harry could shoot? Are you sharing too many images and not showing your very best?

Seth needs to be on your radar. He's regularly sharing great information covering a wide variety of topics on his Facebook page. And he's only a click away.

by Seth Resnick

​The silhouette from yesterday reminded me of the concept of balancing technical knowledge and aesthetics. There are photographers like the great “god” Jay Maisel who could care less about a lot of technicals and there are photographers who are so technical that they place the technical merits over the aesthetics.

The answer for me is almost like a right brain, left brain combination or rather meshing together both aesthetics and technicals.

All of this comes to mind as I think back to the days of Shadowland and the beginning of Lightroom. I remember some of the lead engineers thinking how to process a raw file and looking at all files as if they were the same only caring about technicals. Along comes my dear friend Greg Gorman and the engineers are blown away that the blacks in some of his images have no detail. They question whether this is correct and Greg explains how he intentionally slammed the blacks. For all the rules it is critical to understand that the first rule is that there are no rules that are always 100%.

Crushing blacks is the process of taking relatively dark areas typically shadow areas and making them even darker by increasing contrast in those areas. It removes any areas of light within those dark areas.

For photographers who grew up with darkrooms we talked about toes and shoulders where the highlights block off to white and the shadows block off to black on a given tonality curve so to speak. The toe would be the bottom part of any curve and the shoulder the top part. I remember discussing with the engineers what we were going to call curves in Lightroom. When we raised Toe, and Shoulder we got "huh" because while some of the engineers knew a ton about programing and pixels they weren’t necessarily photographers.
In fact one camera manufacturer automatically did this intentionally in their processor because it minimized seeing noise in the shadows.

I remember when I worked at the Syracuse Newspapers that we would have to fight like mad with the executive editors when we shot a silhouette because the art department was instructed to airbrush and open up shadows. The idea being quite literally that silhouettes don’t exist because shadows need detail.

​Anyhow, my point is silhouettes can make very powerful images and the crushed blacks do not need to be opened up……..

Intro by Skip Cohen

​The true power of the Internet, if you know where to look, is getting help when you need it. Last week I shared a Facebook post thanks to Seth Resnick. This morning, while running through my Facebook notifications, I caught this gem, again thanks to Seth.

Seth needs to be on your radar. Click on the portrait below, which he shared with today's post. It will link you to his website. Bookmark his page and then stay on top of his workshop schedule. And if you're not following him on Facebook, here's the link.

A quote on his website clearly describes Seth's passion for education: "Workshops Not PhotoTours." Whether you're interested in some of the most unique adventures around the globe or just boosting your skill set in Lightroom, I can promise you they'll be life-changing!

by Seth Resnick
​
I received a call from a very intelligent friend and he was desperate because when he opened up Lightroom, he had lost his pictures. Roughly a decade ago I did a video with Michael Reichman called "Where the #%*! Are My Pictures?” https://luminous-landscape.com/where-the-are-my-pictures/

Amazingly or not, I would say that 80% of the inquiries I still receive are people having this same issue. The main reason for this is that people really don’t understand what Lightroom is and that becomes the key to the problem. Lightroom is exactly like your local Public Library. Lightroom is the CARD CATALOG. If you don’t fully understand then read this over and over until you do.

The card catalog has all the information about a book and it might even contain a thumbnail of the cover but there are NO BOOKS in the card catalog. The books are on the shelves on different floors and possibly even at a different branch. Lightroom is the card catalog and it contains all the information ie metadata about the images but it does not contain the images. The images or books if you will are on shelves or hard drives but not in Lightroom.

There are some golden rules to adhere to in order to help eliminate this problem.

1) If you physically move the images outside of Lightroom, LR is going to lose them. Only move images within Lightroom.
2) If you rename the folder where your images are outside of Lightroom, LR is going to lose them. Only rename within Lightroom.
3) If you rename the images outside of Lightroom they will be lost. Only rename in Lightroom.
4) Make sure after you make changes to an image that you save the metadata Command S. If you don’t save the metadata and something happens to your catalog you will lose all the changes.
5) Use a dedicated drive for all of your images and your catalog. If you do this then if all else fails you still know where your images are and where your catalog is.
6) If you can’t find your catalog search for .lrcat

I wrote 5 books on Lightroom so of course there is a lot more info than this but in the end most of the questions I still receive are solved by one of the 5 issues above.

by Skip Cohen

As I've written so many times in the past, part of the fun of Facebook is keeping in touch with great friends and, in turn, their creativity.  Meet Erik Cooper from Colorado. We met when I needed to ship him a Platypod as part of his new membership bonus joining PPA. That led to regular phone calls, catching up LIVE at ClickCon in Chicago last year and simply a great ongoing friendship.

Yesterday, as part of Throwback Thursday, he posted the stunning image above of Milkweed, which Sheila and I have planted all over the butterfly garden. It's a Monarch butterfly's favorite. I just got off the phone with him for permission to share it again. And it was perfect for a throwback, because it's the image that launched his love for photography.

Erik needs to be on your radar! Follow him on Facebook to keep track of more of his images.

And to Erik...what a kick to have you as a buddy! Thanks for your never-ending support and inspiration.

by Erik Cooper

​Today has gone nostalgic! It's a Throwback Thursday as I've had to go through some old pics, looking for memories to use for a certain someone's celebration. Isn't it wonderful having old prints to look through? Oh the blackmail I have at my disposal! LOL!

I'll finish this post with a flashback to 2011 and the pic that launched my passion for shooting. Ever seen a Milkweed pod up close? So fascinating! This image caught a lot of reaction from friends and I was equally inspired knowing it came from my little Nikon D80. Shot with a manual focus lens from 1976, the image seemed to pop right off the computer screen when I edited it. Here's to fond memories and happier days in our past. Stay positive and know you are loved!
 

Intro by Skip Cohen

​The real benefit of Facebook often has nothing whatsoever to do with being social but raising the bar on the quality of your craft. After all, the common denominator most of us share is our love for imaging. 

Wandering through my notifications on FB just now, I ran into this post by Seth Resnick. I've admired his work for many years, and the image he shared drew me to the post. To his point - I'm amazed at how many artists don't calibrate their monitors. Yet, they view, share and print thousands of images.

One ingredient to calling yourself a professional photographer is the quality of your images. Not only do you deserve the best, but let's think about your clients. They deserve the best you can create.

There's no need to introduce this post further because Seth says it all. So put Seth on your radar; follow him on Facebook and check out his website, especially his upcoming workshops! They'll change your life and raise the bar on the quality of your work!

by Seth Resnick
​
Last night we went out to dinner before going to see Elvis. Leslie and I went to get a bite to eat and the restaurant had at least 25 television screens. On each screen is a Lion Fish from a live feed and Leslie notices that the color is different on every screen and asks me which one is correct? I start laughing and said likely none of them and go on to explain the concept of profiling a monitor and what that means. Ironically I had just gotten off the phone with Eric Meola who had purchased a new Mac with the M1 chip and had a tough go of profiling his NEC/Sharp Monitors.

As a photographer you spend your life producing images and processing them but unless you have a calibrated monitor, color becomes a crap shoot. It amazes me how many clients and photographers are making critical judgements about color and are doing so on non profiled or color deceptive monitors. In general, most screens are too bright, and have whatever default color the monitor happens to ship with.
Ambient light, the colors of the walls all have an influence on how we perceive color.

The bottom line to ensure the colors you see on screen are the same colors from your file, you simply need to calibrate and profile your monitor. Personally I use an i1 Display Pro which is a puck like device or spectrophotometer. I profile once a month and by doing so I am able to create a color guarantee. This helps ensure that when I print, the print can easily represent what I see on my screen and when I send a file to anyone, if they too have a profiled monitor, the image on my screen will match the look they get on their screen.
​
Of course the reality is that many clients and many photographers do not have profiled monitors and the reality is every screen will portray the image differently much like we experienced in the restaurant seeing the same Lion Fish on 25 different screens, each one different.