Ethics in Photography?

A little look into the market

Not really an expert in economics and the world of photography, but I have made some educated observations that are common-sense to me.

The days of the common photographer getting highly paid are over in this digital age.  Photographers had to be more skilled in technical in the days of film with all the processing and the expenses, which is why there were fewer artists around compared to today.  Most photo-blobs and forums will have complaints about how its so hard to make money in the market today due to the mass flooding of photographers because of the availability of inexpensive equipment.

The truth is that yes its harder to make money with the old business model for photography.  You have to shift and adapt to the times.  You have to be more efficient in your thinking and approach.

While technology has made it easier for mediocre artists to surface it has also made it easier for great artists to surface.

Most photographers are shooting the same quality of work that was done in the days of film due to how easy digital technology has made it.  In the flooded market you have to do more to stick out.  The same attention to detail and work ethic is needed to be applied in the digital age as was found in the film days.  If you put the same amount of work into your craft you will rise above the rest.  The quality of work has to be amazing, blow people's minds!

(not saying I have learned how to do this or achieved this, its just an observation)

If you do what is stated above your work will need to be placed in the proper avenue or market.  In a frictionless environment that the internet gives us, our work can be seen by millions in a matter of days.  If someone likes your photo they will pass it on to those who will enjoy it as well.  Word gets around and the old principles of marketing still apply in the digital age, things have just changed a little bit.

So put the effort in, do better than the guy you are competing with and find the right market for your brilliance. 

Simple right?

California Ain't Half Bad...

I took a trip to explore California, or at least a few places.  I had this idea in mind several months ago and I just decided I would do it last minute.


Here is what I discovered and captured... (read on)

First Behind the Scenes Video

A few weeks I did a random shoot for fun with my friend Kyle.  The theme was Clark Kent and it came out pretty awesome.  We also did a bts video and there will be more videos of shoots in the future.

Critique Journal. Entry 1

A few months ago I had an idea to critique my own work and post it here on this blog.  I figured that it would help not only myself but also the viewer in learning from mistakes or even how to make something better next time.  I learned the most effective way of doing this is dependent on time.  Even with editing I dont edit all of a picture at once.  I will do what needs to be done and go onto another picture.  I will go back to that one image and I will see what I could do better which I wouldn't have been able to do before.  Dont spend too much time on one photograph, spread it out and you will have better results.

Websites that help my work life. A-Z

Internet centrality is so vital to being a photographer or any other profession in the creative field.  I thought I would go through a list of websites from A-Z that help me out everyday.

While I missed a few letters, I made up for it by giving more than one in different places.   I hope this helps you out.

Amazon.com

I love amazon because I can get the equipment I need or anything else I might want.

aphotoeditor.com
he always has good interviews and knowledge about anything you would want to know in the photo world.  This gives you a major edge.

Blogger.com

I run my blog through blogger.  Its free and run with statistics and ad revenue.

Clientsfromhell.net

If you havent found this website yet, then I have done you a huge favor.  We all get some clients that have ridiculous requests and this a safe haven to share them
chasejarvis.com
This guy and his team shoots amazing photo and video and is also a very influential member in the photo community.  Listen to his podcasts and read his blogs, you will thank me later.

Dpchallenge.com

This is where I started taking photography seriously.  I love DPC because its more than just a contest site.  Its like a family that helps each other out, its a dysfunctional family but a family nonetheless.  This place is full of amazing photographers as well and its hard to win a contest.  It will challenge you and make you into a better photographer.

Deviant Art

This is another great place to check out where you can get a lot of feedback from artists.

Explosm - Cyanide and Happiness.

I have a sick sense of humor sometimes and I like to check it out from time to time.

Facebook

You are probably already on facebook, you need to be connected socially if you want your work to be seen.

fstoppers

This is the place to go for BTS videos and other things that are awesome.

Groove Shark

This website is free and you build your own music library.  Perfect for when you are at the computer editing.

Hulu

Since most of my time is spent on the computer, I need to have something to stimulate my mind.  I set my laptop to play hulu so I can watch a show or a documentary while I work.

iStockPhoto

I like to check out to see what is going on in the stock market to see if I can gain any inspiration or new ideas for photos.

joeyl
Ill be honest I dont have a J website but I do visit Joey L's site every so often to see what he has been up to.  He has a lot of great work accomplished at a young age.


legendphoto
this is a photo agency that hosts some serious photographers.  I check in here every so often to see what the market is producing and to get some inspiration

modelurl
modelmayhem
I use both these sites to host my model portfolio and to keep in contact with other models.  Ive used these sites to find models and make-up artists for shoots and I think its a great resource.  You should always have a list of models and make-up artists or stylists.

pandora
This is self explanatory, I love music and having it in the background.

Strobist
Strobist should be a site that everyone frequently checks out.  David Hobby is constantly updating us on new techniques and tricks along with other cool things that are going on in the photo world.
Sendspace
here is a great site to have when you need to email a client something that your regular email cant handle.  Its free up to 300mb.

Twitter.
This is an obvious tool to have in your social networking toolbox.  I use it to update any news that is going on and I often upload new pictures of recent shoots.  I have my website set to display my twitter and blog feed live.

ultimate-guitar
While not a photo site, its a site I always go to when my computer is working hard on something or I need a break.  I always have my guitar plugged into my amp next to me just in case.

Viewbug
I often update this contest site to see if I can win something cool.  I have had a few pictures displayed on the front page and won a few contests.  Its a great avenue to get noticed and receive feedback.

xkcd
This comic is updated every monday, wednesday and friday.  It always has something witty or interesting on it.

youtube.com
I always look here to check on new tutorials or see some interesting video to keep my sanity.  I also post video tutorials on various things.

zenfolio
zenfolio is where I display and sell my photographs for clients.  I upload them here for them to proof out and to download or order.  I also have my fine art portfolio there so I can sell them.

More Video Tutorials

Ive been pretty busy and I wanted to keep you guys informed with some new tutorials I have made.

Model Edit Using Only Aperture

Dark Style Edit Using Blending Modes

Lighting - Natural light

Whats the most important aspect of photography with the
exception of the camera (That meaning there would be no image if there were no camera)?

Using Manual Settings: A Must Know.

Something that I am a big advocate of is knowing how your camera works.  Don't always put it on an automatic setting and start shooting.  Actually know how to get a proper exposure and know what you are shooting as far as composition and how to use your camera to get the affect you are looking for.
Heres how to use the "M" setting on your camera.

Smoke and How to Shoot It.

One thing I have always wanted to photograph well is smoke.  However, I never had even tried before.  No problem because once you understand the process and whats needed to get around your environment, you are able to put together a workable plan for any shoot.

An Issue With War and Poverty: A Christian Perspective

Anyone that knows me knows how I have come to feel about war.  I served six years in the armed forces and my mentality about war changed a couple of years before I separated.  What first started to turn my opinion about war and the military was how people regarded human life.  I learned that there was very little regard and respect for human life.  If a mission would require the loss of personel, then so be it, the mission is the most important priority.

Some Recent Work

Its been a real busy past couple of weeks, hence no updates on the blog.  Well thats not acceptable so I thought why not take a free minute to update everyone.  So in a nutshell here it is.

Change the art

If you are an artist of any kind and thats how you make a living, or that is how you wish to make a living, why is it that you chose such a career?

What it is for me is that art can inspire and change the world.  Just think of the picture of the student standing in front of the tank in Tianenmen Square.  There are countless images that have caused change in the world.

Creating a Watermark in Aperture

A necessary item to have in your photograph when placing it anywhere, print or web, is a watermark.  It helps brand your photography as well as deter people from stealing your photograph to use for their own gain.

If you are using Apple Aperture, it can be a little confusing how to do such a task.  But its not all that difficult in the end.

Can a Photograph Tell a Story?

I find that a great question.  It seems that everyone knows the saying that a picture is worth a thousand words and its been pounded in our heads so much over the years that we just accept it and don't look any further than to see if a picture is pretty.

Can a photograph depict more than just that moment in time?  Can you see that subjects past?  I wish a photograph could tell more of the story.  Furthermore, could a photograph tell you more about what the photographer sees and feels or even tell you more about yourself as a viewer?

Via Request, New Color Setting Tutorial

I shared a few pictures online that used a new color setting and I received some really good feedback, even a few requests.  With that said, Im going to share this new color setting.

Digital Workflow and Selective Desaturation in Aperture Tutorials

I felt ambitious and super productive today so I set out to make a new video tutorial on the digital workflow.  I also had to do a selective desaturation for a client and figured I would show its done while in Aperture.

Hope you enjoy them.  Let me know what you think.  

First Video Tutorial

So I decided to jump on the bandwagon and start doing video tutorials.  They are so much easier to make compared to taking screen shots.  Here you can see how its done as I do it and I do a better job of explaining it as well.

I Heart Stereo Shoot with BTS

John and Brandi are an awesome duo that make up the band i Heart Stereo.  I did a shoot for them last summer and it was time for another shoot for their new website and for other promo purposes.  They are nominated for a Grammy so make sure you tune in and check that out as well.

The shots they wanted were simple, just plain white back ground and black and white.  Simple enough so we headed to the location.  We didnt want to rent out a studio so we just used white dry-wall for the backdrop.  I used two Yongnuo YN-560 flashes for my lighting setup through most of the shoot.

Live Where You Are Inspired

I just recently moved into a new place here in LA and I love it.  Its exactly what I was looking for.  First off, its cheap rent and I get my own room.  Second, the place gives me plenty of inspiration.
To me, this is important.  If your surroundings let your flourish creatively then everything you do will be creative, at least it should.  When your living surroundings are creative, you will be constantly making new ideas.  Growth, its awesome.

Here are a few places...

Dance Fusion Shoot + critique

Last week I had a 4 hour shoot with the awesome Dance Fusion dance team.  There were some 30 people at this shoot ranging from the dancers to the mothers of the younger dancers.

Whatever makes you free.

So in a constant pursuit of trying to make my mark in the photography world, I always check out other people's work.  I end up getting into a mind set of try to do what they do.  Well on the surface this is great because you need to see what is working on the outside world of making a career of photography.  You wouldn't show a magazine photo editor a portfolio that has a bunch of work that has a style that they wouldn't use.  So yeah, you need to be showing work that they want to see, so study up people.

However........

A New Concept: Critique Journal

So this time of year I see all the photographers around me doing photo-a-day blogs.  I tried that once, didn't work out, like most New Years resolutions.  In my mind, they dont help you become a photographer.  They pressure you into finding an interesting subject each day to photograph and eventually you just start taking pictures of whatever you see and you make it artistic.  This is what I call a productive way of bettering yourself as a photographer.

Poker Face

So, I just got my new Yongnuo speed lights in the mail and I needed to break them in.  Well, I got that chance on Sunday when I attended a weekly Redeye event.  This is the same type of even that I did the photo booth and silhouette wall.  However we wanted to do something different this time and then I saw the poker table.  Perfect, lets do it!

Martinez Engagement

I was approached by my friend Jonah Martinez about shooting his engagement pictures, he had just gotten engaged so I definitely said yes.  I haven't done engagement pictures since I left Charleston and It would be nice to go back and do some for old time's sake.

I will also be shooting their wedding in May of 2011.  I love doing engagement sessions because you get to capture something that is so important and so meaningful.  Its very fulfilling.

Movement with your pictures, and some theory

Most people like to just capture the moment sitting still.  Now, you dont always have to do that.  Usually you dont want any sort of blur in your pictures.  Its just not professional, dont do it.  However, its still a tool in your bag that you can use, if you know how to do it.

Here is how to make moving water into a gorgeous picture.

For this, you most definitely want a tripod.  Also, if you haven't figured out what that "M" is on your dial, its time to break it in.  It stands for manual, even though you can use your tV (shutter priority setting), we will be using manual.

Head out to the beach, you want to be there sometime around sunset.  15 minutes before the sun sets is a great time to get there and set all of your gear set up.

If you are lucky and live in California you will be able to easily find a beach with a lot of rocks in the water.  This makes for an even better effect.  But if not, you can find a pier or something similar.

Since we are shooting once the sun is down, we are able to have a much slower shutter speed.  We want at least 30 seconds per exposure.  If you really want your picture to come out great, you want your shutter to stay open for a couple of minutes or more.  To do this, you need to put your camera's shutter speed (In manual mode now) in the "B".  B stands for Bulb Exposure.  Why is it called bulb, I have no idea.  I just know that when you are in bulb, your shutter stays open for as long as you have the shutter button pressed. This is why you might want to splurge and buy yourself some sort of shutter release cable.  You can find them real cheap on amazon.  I spent 15 bucks on mine and it works great.  Otherwise you will have to have your finger on the shutter and that will be annoying as well as it will probably cause your camera to shake.

Most likely you wont be able to get a properly exposed picture with a wide open aperture so you will need to dial it back.  f/22 is a great place to start, it will cause your aperture to close up and will force you to have a longer shutter speed to get a proper exposure.  (also note that I took this picture off of the internet.  I would never recommend putting your ISO on Auto, thats just bad news.  I also shoot RAW, never jpeg)


Here is a little bit of lighting theory for you to know that will come in handy here.
Say you have a shutter speed of 1/500th of a second.  If you moved it to 1/250th of a second, you are letting one stop of light in.  (meaning it will be brighter by one stop)  if you move it from 1/500th of a second to 1/1000th of a second, you are going darker by one stop.  With shutter speeds, the stop changes by dividing your shutter speed in half, or doubling it.  Pretty easy to remember actually.

With your aperture, the same thing happens actually.  If you go from 5.6 to 4 you are letting in one stop more of light.  If you went from 5.6 to 8, you are stopping down one step, letting less light in by one stop.  Just remember this, its simple math.
There is a good way that I discovered to learn your f/stops.
break them down into two different rows. (most lenses these days have many more f/stops than this)

1.4 - 2.8 - 5.6 - 11 - 22  etc
2.0 - 4.0 - 8.0 - 16 - 32 etc.

put them in these two categories and each number doubles.  This makes it easier to memorize.
instead of the number doubling like the shutter speed, its just a number over.  so a one stop difference would be like going from 1.4 to 2.0.  from 2.0 to 2.8 and so on.  Easy once you practice it a little bit.
There is a chart below to help you visualize this easier.


It comes in handy here because once you are in Bulb your camera wont tell you if its metered to be over exposed or not.  So, what you do is you set your camera to give yourself a proper exposure at 30 seconds.  Since we want more time for to get more movement in the water, we can start doing some fun math :)

Going from 30 seconds to 60 seconds will give you one more stop, the same goes with going from 60 to 120 seconds.

Since we did this we need to also compensate with our aperture.  If we dont, our picture will be too bright.  If you metered out a proper exposure at 30 seconds and f/stop at 4.0 and then you changed your shutter speed to 60 seconds, your new f/stop will be 5.6.  From here if you go from 60 seconds to 120 seconds your new f/stop will be 8.  See the pattern now?

Here is a chart that shows exactly what I am talking about.  Notice that as the f/stop changes, so does the shutter speed.  Each corresponding number is what the proper exposure would be.  Here are 5 sets of exposures, so dont get confused.  A good practice to get the hang of it all is write down your exposures in a log, or check your metadata if you are using Lightroom or Aperture.  Make up a chart like this and see what your other options for shutter speed and f/stop possibilities would be.  

ok, now that we are done with the math lesson, you just keep shooting and dialing in your perfect picture.  The sun is setting rapidly at this point and so your settings are really going to change as well.  Soon you will be able to keep your shutter open for 10 minutes or more even.  Enjoy your newly learned technique.  Its harder than most to get just right, but very rewarding when its done.  The moving tide makes the water look like fog and you get a great effect.

Overdoing It

There is a certain habit that we can get caught up in as a photographer, or in any profession really.  We can learn this one technique and get great results but then over use that technique just to use it, even when its unnecessary or uncalled for.  I remember this happening to me when I learned HDR.

I started right off the bat with HDR when I started photography.  I got pretty good at it and people loved it, but then I started over using it.  I would even use it on portraiture subjects, which is something that you really ought not do.  The same thing has been happening to me with using off-camera lighting.  I find myself starting to use the lights even when its not necessary.  I remember before I got my strobist kit that I would take pictures and they would come out good without the use of spare lights.  Now it seems that I want to use it all the time.

We especially do this on photos that we think are sub-par.  We get this mentality that although this picture stinks, we can make it cooler by making it an HDR or converting it to black and white.  A girl I liked came up to me and showed me a picture and she was excited about it and wanted to know what I thought.  I told her it would look better in black and white.  Usually that means the photo isn't all that great.  Before you judge me, you cant tell me that you havent done that yourself, or something similar.  But yeah, usually we make something black and white to give it a punch because "everything looks good in black and white."

Well, I caught myself and I stopped doing this.  We can get so caught up in our equipment that we stop seeing the picture as it is.  We can go crazy buying new lenses and new this and that, but is it necessary?  Where and how do we learn that sober use of what we have?  I guess the best advice is to never lose sight of the fact that your equipment is just another set of tools to get the job done.  Dont lose the vision, thats what makes a photographer special.

Well, Im not big on New Years Resolutions, but I propose that in this day and age that we don't get lazy because we have all this technology around us.  I say we use it to our advantage and take photography to the next level.  No promises or anything like that, but I want to learn a new technique every single day this year and I will post it if I think it can help you out.  BTW, Im going based on the day that I moved out to California last year, which was January 4th.  So I will start tomorrow (from the date that this blog is posted)

So for now, I will just post some photos from my trip to Michigan, which I just got back from.