Photo How To

Modern digital cameras perform so well under dim light at high ISO settings that some photographers haven’t used a camera flash for months (maybe even longer). Well, here’s a news flash for them: for a small investment and a little practice they can turn most shoe-mount flash units into a controllable package of portable sunshine.

Some discouraged photographers complain and say they can’t get good shots because they don’t have the time or funds to travel to exotic, photogenic places. Sorry to rain on their pity party, but everyone can get decent images without a travel budget. Here are a couple projects you can start on tonight, as soon as it gets dark.

Photographers have always looked to the fine art field as a marketing outlet for their personal work but can you really make money from art sales? How do you establish yourself in the business? What are the best marketing tools for finding gallery representation and fine art clients? Is your work truly “fine art”? Certainly there will be many similarities to marketing consumer or commercial photography but the fine art world has some unique pitfalls and opportunities to watch for if you plan to expand into this field.

There are many kinds of white light. At first this statement seems like it doesn’t make sense, but if you look closely at a typical light bulb in your living room (the old kind, not the new florescent type of bulbs) and compare it with, say, a daylight florescent fixture, the light bulb is much more yellow than the florescent light. Similarly, if you compare sunrise and sunset lighting to the light from an overcast sky at noon, the lighting from low angled sunlight is very yellow—it looks golden, in fact—and the cloudy sky produces a white light that is more bluish.

Even with today’s “everyone with a camera is a photographer” syndrome, the event photography business is still ripe for making sales. With event photography, clients can’t use stock photos and shooting their own images often turns out to be below par, at best. It is a very specialized field of professional photography requiring both personal and business skills.

Back in the 70’s when I started my photography career as a street photographer/photojournalist we had some pretty hefty equipment. Protecting it from the elements and potential thieves was our main concern. We didn’t have much in the way of small photo bags other than pricey leather ones that protected the gear but screamed: “Take me. I’m expensive!”

Beyond learning how to handle cameras and photo equipment, working as a photo assistant will teach you many lessons that will go a long way toward helping you build a successful career. Skills you’d most likely garner include learning about project management, studio protocols, location procedures, dealing with clients, preproduction and postproduction work, and more. These are all essential business skills and can often be learned only “on the job.” Indeed, talk to many established pros today and you’ll find that’s how they got their start.