You Should Know

This page is dedicated to helping you, the client, with anything we may think of that could make you a better photographer and assist you with making your workflow - flowing faster. If anyone would like to submit a suggestion, please email lisa@nctricolor.com.

How to Raise Your Photography Prices Significantly Without Losing All Your Clients

The Awful Truth of Photo Theft, and What You Can Do About It

How to Protect Yourself From Carpal Tunnel, Tendinitis and Forearm Pain

Collecting Old Cameras may be Dangerous to your Health!

Do you think your Professional Facebook Images are safe without a Watermark?

Did They “Borrow” Your Image?

Facebook Etiquette

Photography Organizations and Associations

2013 a year for organization:DIGITAL PHOTOS into PRINTED MEMORIES

Aspect Ratio

Branding

 

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How to Raise Your Photography Prices Significantly Without Losing All Your Clients

By 

Photography Pricing is one of the most difficult things to determine when running your business.

The market is saturated with people charging hardly anything and doing things irresponsibly. If you know your numbers it can be hard to believe how much more you need to be charging to make what you need to be making. It doesn't seem possible.

Yet you’re awesome because you are committed to being profitable and are ready to make the leap into the higher prices you deserve. No more pretending you’re making more than you really are, no more excuses. You’re ready to put on your big girl panties and making the leap into running a successful and profitable photography business.

So you raise your prices a lot. And suddenly you hear crickets. Nothing, not even an inquiry. You start to doubt yourself, your work, your ability to stay in business, and you are tempted to either drop your prices back to where they were or quit altogether.

Sound familiar? It doesn’t have to be this way.

So let’s talk this through, let’s do this the smart way, and let’s start making more money and avoiding some common pitfalls.

Exactly how much do you need to make compared to what you make now?

You've got to know your numbers in order to do this well. You can’t just make them up, as nice as that would be.

Not only that, but you need to know your current numbers as well as your desired numbers. You can’t make a concrete plan if you don’t know where you’re at and where you’re going.

This is where I shamelessly plug my free pricing guide series. It’s going to take you some time to work through it, but you need to do it. Twice in fact. Do it once based upon realistic numbers that you hope to have in the next 12 months (so for example, if you haven’t booked any weddings, don’t plan for 30 weddings a year because it’s highly unlikely that you’ll book 30 weddings in the next year without any under your belt). Then do it again based upon your desired future numbers. This is especially helpful if you’re looking to leave your full-time job to do photography full-time instead. Your needed profit as well as workload will be different between now and then.

The nice thing about this is that your current needed profit may be less than what you’re hoping to make in the future. Compare your current desired numbers to what you’re actually making. So if you are currently averaging $200 a session but your calculations say you need to be averaging $400 per session now, and $1000 per session when your business is where you want it to be, you can use these numbers to plan how to get there.

The easiest way to do this is to use the Pricing Guide Workbook that I offer in addition to the free pricing guide series. You don’t NEED it, but it will allow you to make easy adjustments without having to go through the math again and again, and it’s super simple to do 2 separate versions of the guide to compare.

Determine if you actually need to raise your prices

This is a huge step that people often miss.

Can you make the extra income you need by booking and shooting more clients? You may or may not have the time to shoot more clients or may not be able to book more, but it’s another option. Photography isn’t the best model to try and do in quantity, since your services are limited by how much time you have and are harder to multiply, but it’s a viable option for some people.

Are you doing everything you can to maximize sales at your current prices? If you are a portrait photographer and don’t do in-person sales, you could be making 3-5 times as much income through simply changing how you present and sell your images to clients without having to change your prices at all. If you’re a wedding photographer, you may be losing out on income because you don’t have wedding packages that sell.

Before increasing your prices, start with this step. You may find that it works better than simply increasing how much you are currently charging for your products and services. Not sure it will work for you? Read several in-person sales success stories in this post in our private Facebook group (just request to be added if you’re not already part of it).

Resources worth investing in to increase sales at your current prices:

I have always been a fan of investing in products that will make back their price several times over and get you the info you need now instead of taking months or years to learn the same stuff. These are the best two resources I've seen for helping increase sales. I've reviewed a number of sales guides, but these are my highest recommendations that I believe every photographer who is serious about making more money should have:

The Guide to In-Person Portrait Sales by Matt + Katie
I think this is THE BEST guide out there for learning how to make more money selling portraits. Hands down. It gives you everything you need to know, step-by-step, including the words to say in case selling isn’t your strong point. It’s a must read for every portrait photographer. They share exactly how they made over a quarter-million dollars a year selling portraits in a market that was saturated by lots of shoot’n'burn photographers who severely under-priced their work. Click here to learn all their amazing secrets.

Creative Pricing & Packaging by Tofurious
This ebook will walk you through the psychology of creating packages, specifically speaking to wedding photographers. The things I learned in this book have helped us increase our average booking by $1700 per wedding over an 18-month period without any actual pricing changes and just package changes. While your mileage may vary, it’s one of the best purchases I’ve ever made for my business in terms of increasing profit without having to increase prices. Highly recommended for all wedding photographers, and well worth every penny. Would benefit portrait photographers who offer a traditional package model as well, although honestly I feel the Matt + Katie method listed above is way better. Click here to learn how to increase your average package sale without increasing your pricing.

How to raise your prices significantly: Two methods

So, you’ve done everything you can to maximize your sales at your current pricing levels and you know you need to be charging more. A lot more. So how do you do it?

Here are two methods:

The all-at-once method: painful, risky, but potentially the fastest way to higher prices

This seems to be how most people approach price increases, and it works in certain situations but more often ends up in frustration like I mentioned in the intro, so it isn’t for everyone.

This is great for when you want to get out of the deal-seeking clients completely and truly start targeting clients who are willing to spend more. If this is you, you’ll likely want to make a bigger jump up front as your low prices may be pushing the quality clients away.

This is exactly what I did when I was wanting to book wedding clients that valued photography instead of people just looking for a deal that needed any photographer and didn’t really care. I more than doubled my rates after only shooting a few weddings but starting to book for the future far too fast.

However if you’re not also working on marketing and other factors that will help you book those higher-end clients, you’ll likely end up discouraged and it may hurt your business more than it helps.

Risks of just jumping in and doing it all at once: You will lose almost all of your current clients if you’re a portrait photographer, and you’ll basically be starting over with a new target market and WILL have a booking lull. If you’re a wedding photographer, inquiries will likely slow down, but they will pick back up if your image quality and marketing matches the prices you are now charging. There’s just fewer people who appreciate photography and are willing to pay more for it than there are deal seekers. But it’s a much better type of client to have, and you’ll make more for the same or less work. Just be warned, it’s a bit like pulling a band-aid off all at once. It’s not easy, it’s not pleasant, but if you’re looking for all new clients it might be best. You’ll want to make sure that you don’t rely upon your current photography income in order to pay bills, though.

It does mean making sure your work is good enough to be charging that much and it will likely mean changing up your marketing to more effectively reach and appeal to people in a different target market. I’ll be speaking more to the marketing part in the next few months. Appealing to your new target client + having higher prices that show that your work is worth it + having beautiful work will get you the clients you are looking for, but it may take a bit to get the word out.

The slow and steady method: patience required, but less risky

If you want to keep your current clients, but still raise your prices
If you’re really priced low, you may have a hard time keeping any clients because they’re always going to go for the deal and there will ALWAYS be someone cheaper. I promise. They will tell you that you are priced too high no matter how low your prices are, and you have to learn to ignore them or you’ll only get discouraged.

But if you’re making some money and have some clients who have really enjoyed your work, but you need to make more, the best bet is to create a plan for getting from where you are now to where you want to be.

Let’s say you’re currently making an average of $200 per portrait session and you eventually need to be making $1000 per session. Plan to do this slowly over as much time as you need. So for example, make it your goal to increase your average session to $400 in the next 6-9 months, then $600 in the next 6-9 months, and keep going until you get there. Plan your price increases and be diligent about implementing them.

Or, do it based upon the number of sessions or weddings you are booking. Jasmine Star raised her prices a little bit after every 3 wedding bookings until she got where she wanted to be. So do a small 10% increase to your sessions after every 10 sessions, or after X numbers of weddings, or at an increment that makes sense to you.

By planning out your gradual increases, you’ll keep more clients around and they won’t be as shocked by the increases.

Risks of doing gradual price increases: Two big risks. First, you may not make more money fast enough which could be a problem if you’re relying upon your income. Second, It’s also very possible that you’ll get comfortable, make excuses, or have something that keeps you from doing regular increases over time. So if you’re going to go this route, you’ll need to make sure and plan it out and stick to your plan.

How to tell returning clients that your prices are now higher

The absolute best way to handle this is to set expectations up right from the start. In fact, if you’re just getting started and know you’ll be raising prices over the next few years significantly, call your pricing guide the “Winter 2012 Pricing Guide” and tell them that a new one comes out every season or something along those lines. Then if they come back in the future asking for old prices, you can simply say that they no longer apply and that these are your new prices.

If you have significant increases and you have a returning client, make sure they know that right away before they commit to anything. You don’t need to explain yourself or justify your prices. It’s not helpful, because honestly they don’t care. Do you care how much it costs Canon or Nikon to make your camera? No. You just care about what you get and what you pay.

When you tell them your prices have changed, make sure you tell them explicitly because they likely will NOT read anything or look at it closely and may be upset later. If you’ve also changed your process, such as no longer offering online proofing galleries but instead doing in-person sales, make sure you tell them this up front as well. Something short and simple is fine. For example:

“Great to hear from you, Prior-Client-of-Mine!

I’d absolutely love to work with you again. Just so you know, I’ve refined the way I do my portrait sessions to help ensure that you get exactly what you are looking for from the session. Instead of doing an online gallery I now am doing all in-person ordering sessions to help you select the best images from your session.

Also, please note that my prices have been revised since the last time you were here, with a session fee of $X and [prints/packages/whatever you are selling them] starting at $Y. You can see all the details here [insert link or attach pricing to email and tell them].

I just wanted to make sure you’re aware of the changes so that you know what to expect. My main goal is to provide you with the best experience I can. When you are ready to book your appointment, [insert call to action here].

Looking forward to working with you again!
Your Awesome Photographer”

You might be tempted to offer them discounts, but don’t. It’s a super slippery slope, because then they’ll always expect them in the future, and if they aren’t willing to pay full prices now they won’t be willing in the future either.

I know it’s hard to let a client walk away, but you will need to do that as your prices increase. You simply cannot be everything to everyone. You can have a varied of services and packages that might appeal to a larger crowd, but really you should be selling to your ideal client, not to anyone and everyone or you’ll have a hard time becoming successful.

The best part of this is that people who really value working with you will stick with you and pay your new prices, and as your prices increase you’ll attract more and more clients who value photography. The people who only want a deal will always say you’re too expensive and go elsewhere, and you should let them. They aren’t worth it.

Bonus Tip: How to avoid the booking lull after a price increase for portrait photographers

A great way to book a bunch of extra business is to tell everyone that your prices are increasing in 2 weeks, but that you’ll honor your current prices for anyone who schedules a sessions before the price increases that takes place within the next X months. So if you’re increasing your prices at the end of September, they have until the end of November to actually have the session as long as they book it and schedule it before the prices go up. It’s a way to tell your clients about the price change, give them one last opportunity to get your current prices, and ensure extra business for the next few months.

Raising your prices is never easy, but it’s often necessary to having a successful business. Figure out which method is best for you and go for it!

- Special Thanks to for writing this Article.Top ^


The Awful Truth of Photo Theft, and What You Can Do About It

 

By 

Stop what you’re doing for a second.

Think about how content you are with your photography. The accolades. The compliments. Even if you think the only person who really appreciates the results is you. Think about how much work you put in to get those things.

Photo by under-milkwood

Photo by under-milkwood

Experimentation with different filters, formats, and shooting locations, not to mention countless hours of post-processing and self-promotion on Flickr and the other 50 websites you keep your photos on.

Now imagine a random person, a thousand miles away and browsing your carefully curated site, plucking one of your prized shots from the page, whisking it away, and placing it next to their questionably-acquired text, and oh yeah…putting their name for the photo credit.

I have a bit of news for you, and it may or may not be surprising; not only can this scenario happen to you, it may have already happened, and you just might not know it yet. The good news? Two things actually; first, there are things you can do to help protect yourself, and second, it may not be the worst thing that could happen!

The Risk of Doing Business

Being artists in a digital age, we face different challenges than our photography forefathers; Ansel Adams never had to worry about some kid swiping his latest photo on 500px and using it without permission. With advancements in technology, new obstacles present themselves to be overcome. Here’s the bottom line…there’s nothing you can do to completely prevent your photos from being taken when you upload them online.

Although preventing all photo theft is nearly impossible, there are things you can do to discourage it.

Although preventing all photo theft is nearly impossible, there are things you can do to discourage it.

Of course, there are things you can do to discourage this from happening, and to make it more difficult for the thief, but ultimately you are at the mercy of the same wonderful technology that allows you to instantly share your photos in the first place.

Why Does This Happen?

Without going into the inner workings of psychology, the short answer to the question “why do people use others’ photos without permission?” is, because they can. For some people, it is much easier to take someone else’s hard work and present it as their own than to do the work themselves. In some situations, however, it is accidental; it may not be clear that a certain photo is or is not royalty-free and a public domain image. In others, the user of the photo may have legitimately forgot to give credit for the shot.

Sifting through the HTML code of your website is one way thieves can take your images.

Sifting through the HTML code of your website is one way thieves can take your images.

There are several methods of lifting photos from websites, including:

  • Right-clicking an image within a browser window and selecting “Save As” or saving the entire HTML page (which also saves any images used on the page)
  • Utilizing various methods to learn the full path of the image on the site, and then linking directly to it
  • Using a smartphone or other digital camera to physically take a picture of the photo, then modifying and using it as their own

When all else fails, the thief’s coup de grâce is one of the most simple methods available; the screen shot. Regardless of what protection has been enabled, a screen shot will capture whatever can be actually seen on the screen at that time, and it is impossible to prevent.

This Can’t Be Legal, Right?

Luckily for us, no, it isn’t. A copyright is something that is created the moment you click the shutter and take the shot; no further action is required on your part to legally own that photo. You don’t even have to put a copyright notice on the photo itself after it has been uploaded online, although though there are arguments for doing this.

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) came into being in 1998, and addresses many of the issues we face in the age of online image use. The act protects lawful owners of digital content and places some of the burden of enforcement oninternet service providers (ISP’s) to remove copyrighted material that is being used illegally.

You may decide that going the legal route through the system may not be worth it.

You may decide that going the legal route through the system may not be worth it.

If one or more of your photos are lifted and used elsewhere without your permission, there are a few options available to you:

  • The least invasive option is to simply request that credit be given for your work. This could be a letter or an e-mail explaining to the individual or company that an image they are using is protected by copyright, and that no permission has been given for its use. Since the infringement could have been accidental, you don’t want to accuse the user of theft right out of the gate. Let them know that you don’t mind if they use the image, as long as your name is given as the photographer and owner. You can request that a return link to your site or the image source be provided as well. Keep in mind that any images or content on other sites that link back to your own can help your visibility in the search engines.
  • Prepare a “cease and desist” notice and send it to the person or company. This will provide some legal ground to stand on if the situation escalates in the future. Let the user know that the photo was found on their site or in their material without your permission, and that you would like the photo removed immediately. This can be sent via e-mail as well, although printed requests usually carry more clout than their digital counterparts.
  • Prepare and send a DMCA Takedown Notice. This is an official notification to an ISP that copyrighted material is being hosted on their servers. This request will usually include examples of the illegal use as well as any other information the ISP may find useful to remove the content. DPReview.com has an excellent article that details how to find the correct ISP and outlines the letter that you would need to send. After proper notification, the ISP is then required to remove the photos in question.
  • Do nothing. After considering your options, you may decide to just let it go. Sometimes the work involved in having a stolen image removed isn’t worth the effort. Also, many laws are different or do not apply internationally, so infringement that occurs in another country might be a lost cause.

Alright, So What Can I Do?

It’s not all doom and gloom! Although we can’t prevent theft completely, there are a few technical tricks we can employ to discourage it.

  • Use watermarks on your photos. Watermarks are bits of text (usually a copyright logo or mark and the owner’s name) that are overlaid on the image, indicating that it is not for use without the owner’s permission. Larger watermarks can cover more of the photo, rendering it unusable to a would-be thief. Using watermarks tends to be a double-edged sword however, since any foreign text on top of a photo will take away from it and prove to be a distraction, even at a small size. Although a watermark can remind a viewer that the photo is not free for the taking, it is not required for the photo to be protected by a copyright, and its use is generally frowned upon.

If you decide to use a watermark, make sure it's small and does not distract the viewer from the photo.

If you decide to use a watermark, make sure it’s small and does not distract the viewer from the photo. Photo by Tim Gilbreath

  • Disable right-clicking on your photos. The most common method of taking images online is saving them directly to the thief’s hard drive. This is done by right-clicking an image, which brings up a context menu, and gives the user the option to save. If you have access to the HTML files that your photos are displayed with, a small bit of javascript code can prevent right-clicking altogether. While this can discourage individuals without any technical prowess, more advanced users can quickly work around this by looking at the source code of the page or other methods.
  • Layer another image on top of the real photo using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). CSS allows us to control layering of content on a page, so that a transparent image can be placed directly over the actual photo. When a user attempts to right-click and save the photo, they will only save the transparent image. Again, this is simply a deterrent and not a foolproof solution.
  • Slice your images into sections, making it difficult for the thief to get the whole image. Again, this is simply a way to slow the thief down. Dividing the image into several pieces in Photoshop and then reassembling them on your website will frustrate the user when they attempt to save the image; they’ll end up with only one small piece, and realize that they’ll need to download each piece and assemble them again in order to grab the entire image. This alone might make them think twice about stealing your photo in the first place.
  • Don’t upload high resolution photos. For commercial photographers, this is a much more effective way of dealing with image theft. Loading only low resolution or low quality photos discourages the user from taking them, since they’d much rather have full resolution files to deal with. The smaller the physical size of the photo, the less incentive there is for the thief to use or print it. For amateur photographers still trying to get a leg up, however, this causes issues, since you want to display clean, attractive versions of your work for promotional purposes.
  • Keep a central image repository. The easiest way to lose track of your photos and their use is by spreading them out over a large number of sites. It is too easy to have a copy of a photo on Flickr, another copy on 500px, one for your Tumblr, and so on. Keeping all of your images in one place and then linking to that single copy makes it easier to track the photo and where it’s being used.
  • Keep tabs on your photos by checking yourself on Google every now and then. I’ve found that Google and other popular search engines have a pretty accurate record of your content on the web and how it’s being used. If you followed my previous point and know the URL of your photo, you can then find out if anyone is linking to that photo without your permission, or search for the photo and see if it has been lifted and placed on another site. What you find may surprise you!

Seriously, Did You Just Say ‘Look at the Bright Side’?

Well, not yet, but I planned on it. The truth is, although it’s maddening, having a photo stolen and used somewhere else isn’t the end of the world, unless you’re a professional photographer and are losing money because of the theft. It might be such a minor inconvenience that it isn’t even worth the time to resolve it, and if it is a big deal, copyright laws are generally on your side, and there’s a pretty good chance that you can get the whole thing resolved.

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The silver lining in this dark cloud is, your photo was good enough for someone to think it was worth taking. Think of it this way; people generally take photos without permission because they like them and they’re too lazy to create something as good as that own their own.

Maybe we should start worrying if we never have anything stolen at all.

Have you had a copyright infringement experience? Tell us all about it by submitting a comment below! Now that you know how to protect your photos, see if you’re ready to become a professional photographer, or learn how to break out of the pack andtake your photography to new heights.

-Special thanks to  for writing this Article.

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How to Protect Yourself From Carpal Tunnel, Tendinitis and Forearm Pain

We are using dangerous tools everyday that are minute by minute reducing our hand and wrist movement, however there are people who have created Mice that can help reduce the strain we are placing on our body.  Take a look below at the different mice and how they affect your wrist and hand movement.

If this doesn't win you over, try turning your mouse vertical and see how natural that feels.  Both of the two Winning Mice can be found on Amazon through the following links:

Evoluent Vertical Mouse
Anker Vertical Mouse

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Collecting Old Cameras may be Dangerous to your Health!

Currently there is a list of some 54 lenses produced between the 1940s and 1970s that have been reported to be measurably radioactive.  Noted on the website, Camerapedia: Typical radiation levels can approach 10 mR/hr when measured at the lens' surface..  Most smaller lenses with thorium elements are not very dangerous.  However, thorium eyepieces are dangerous.

If you are a vintage camera collector as I am, this is very scary, especially since I shoot with most of my collection pieces.  Mentioned in Camerapedia's page are the 54 (and probably growing) lenses that are known to carry radioactive levels.

Be safe and spread this to your fellow Camera Enthusiasts!


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Do you think your Professional Facebook Images are safe without a Watermark?

Have you heard of the new app Photos at My Door?  This app gives individuals the opportunity the ability to print any image, from any user's album.  Through this site, you can select from different prints (prints, mugs, phone covers, key chains, ..) using YOUR IMAGES.

Copyright Your Images

If you look at the above images, this is how you should be copyrighting/watermarking your online images.  A Watermark should be over a hard to edit part of your image and with your copyright information on the footer if you want.  Some photographers feel that the footer copyright is enough, however that can easily be cropped off.  Protect yourself - now even more with apps that can print your images without your permission.

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You Should Know:  Did They "Borrow" Your Image?

I recently found out of about a wonderful extension to the Google Chrome browser that will make the job of knowing if anyone is using your images with our without your knowledge much easier.  This extension is called Search by Image (by Google).  Once this extension is downloaded, all you need to do is right-click on your image and select "Search Google with this image" and Google will search for any image that looks like this, in addition this can also be used to in reflection to see how unique your work is as it will show you images that will have similar design.

Below is an example of how well this application works if your image is being used.  This is an image from a great teacher of mine, Ralph A. Clevenger, at Brooks Institute of Photography, his image is constantly being used without his consent.  Here you can see the many pages (at the time I research this, it went on to 50 pages of people using his image) as well as an example of a similar image at the top that Google thought looked like this Iceberg (the heart).

Stolen Images Example

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You Should Know:  Facebook Etiquette

Knowing how to make a stand without losing clients within the Facebook world is hard.  We post our images for basically the World to see as well as our clients and expect respect to be taken in the digital realm that they lie in.  When our clients tag themselves in their pictures we feel honored, but what typically comes next is what is feared by most.  Cropping of our Copyright, Editing of the image in its entirety, but what do you say to your client without offend him or her and then losing them as a future client?

I found this great Post a Photographer made which is subtle, yet firm, but delicate enough not to offend a client.  Let me know what you think?

 

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You Should Know:  Photography Organizations and Associations

Being part of a Photography Organization or Association is a great tool to have in your Camera Bag, this helps you socialize with your fellow photographers as well as learn since a lot of these Associations/Organizations have classes to help keep up with the changing times of photography.  Here is a great list of some we know about:

Advertising Photographers of America (APA)

  • Mission is "successful advertising photographers," and goal is to establish, endorse and promote professional business practices in the photographic and advertising industries.

American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP)

  • The leading trade association for photographers who photograph for publication.

American Society of Picture Professionals (ASPP)

  • A community of photographers, picture researchers, editors, photo buyers and picture agencies that offer educational tools, industrial support and networking opportunities.

American Association of Museums (AAM)

  • The only organization representing the entire scope of museums and its staff.

The Association of Independent Architectural Photographers (AIAP)

  • Connects photography buyers with architectural photographers.

The Association of International Photography Art Dealers (AIPAD)

  • Dedicated to creating and maintaining high standards in the business of exhibiting, selling and buying photographs as art.

Editorial Photographers

  • Dedicated to improving the health and business practices of editorial photography.

En Foco

  • Dedicated to promoting cultural diversity in photograph.

International Association of Architectural Photographers (IAAP)

  • An online community for architectural photographers from around the world can meet, share ideas and enhance new business.

International Freelance Photographers Association (IFPA)

  • Focuses on the business of photography and how to make money with your camera.

International Industrial Photographers Association (IIPA)

  • An international organization for professional industrial photographers.

National Press Photographers Association (NPPA)

  • Dedicated to visual journalism: its practices, training, editing and distribution.

North American Nature Photography Association (NANPA)

  • Serves the field and practitioners of nature photography.

Photographic Society of America (PSA)

  • An organization that promotes the art and science of photography.

Photo Marketing Association International (PMAI)

  • Helps worldwide photo imaging community achieve business success and adapt to new technologies.

Professional Photographers Association (PPA)

  • The world's largest nonprofit association for professional photographers, seeks to increase its members' business savvy and creative scope.

Society for Photographic Education (SPE)

  • Promotes wider understanding of photography in all its forms and seeks to foster development of its practice, teaching, critical analysis and scholarship.

Society of Sport and Event Photographers

  • The only trade association of its kind that focuses on helping sport and event photographers become more successful.

Royal Photographic Society (RPS)

  • An educational charity whose aim is to promote the art and science of photography.

Wedding & Portrait Photographers International (WPPI)

  • Devoted to the needs and interests of wedding and portrait photographers.

Wedding Photojournalist Association (WPA)

  • An organization of professional journalists and wedding photographers dedicated to the practice of the documentary style of wedding photography.

Women in Photography International

  • Serves the needs of photographers, photo educators, photography students, gallery owners and photographic organizations around the world

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You Should Know:  2013 a year for organization:DIGITAL PHOTOS into PRINTED MEMORIES

1.  To easily sort through your images, place them all into one common folder - as we do with when we upload into ROES. If you have multiple computers, you can enable File Sharing between them, Your devices can be plugged in and the images can then be uploaded quickly.

File Sharing:

MAC

PC

2.  Next, you will want to chronologically sort your images and the best way to help you do that is to use an application you may already have on your computer: Adobe Lightroom or Apple iPhoto. Both, Lightroom and iPhoto allow you to sort your images by date, which is how you should now have your images sorted - First by Year, next by Month.

3.  Purging through multiple takes of the same image will help you clean up your folder. We all know that we take too many images of the same thing, but do you really, really need 12 identical OR almost identical shots? Ask yourself that question a few times while you are looking at how many Megabytes, Gigabytes, Terabytes you have of your digital images.

4.  Now it’s time to backup your images on Archival DVDs and begin printing. It’s best to keep in the theme of working in chronological order so you don’t get overwhelmed. There are many different ways you can print your photos, but I like the old stand-by of having your images in a Photo Album, (or what would be more cost effective now would be a Photo Book) now with your images sorted by Year/Month you can easily place them in an Album that would flow with ease.

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You Should Know: Aspect Ratio

Have you ever ordered a print and you have to crop your image to have it re-size to the print size you want? The reason this happens is the aspect ratio of your original image is not proportional to the size you would like. Aspect ratio is the proportion of an image’s height to its width. Most SLR cameras are able to produce an images at an aspect ratio of 2:3. This basically means that the height of the image is 2/3's the width.

To re-size an image that is 2:3, you basically need to multiply the height and width with multiples of 2. For example, the proper re-sizing options for an aspect ratio of 2:3 is

2x3 multiplied by 2 = 4x6
2x3 multiplied by 4 = 8x12
2x3 multiplied by 6 = 12x18
2x3 multiplied by 8 = 16x24
2x3 multiplied by 10 = 20x30

If you wanted an image, let's say, as a 5x7 you would basically need to crop a portion of your image off. Unfortunately, there is no way around this.

 

 

NC TriColor You Should Know Aspect Ratio NC TriColor You Should Know Aspect Ratio

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You Should Know: Branding

The best way to get yourself out there is to be aggressive with your branding. Have you thought about going to trade shows and show the world what you've got?

A common problem for photographers is knowing the right trade show to attend. Shows are expensive, so why waist your time and money on the wrong show for what you're selling. Make sure you attend the RIGHT SHOWS. Don't just jump on the closest or soonest trade show coming, do your homework and see who goes to these trade shows and what they are looking to get out of their visit.

Once you've determined which shows you want to attend, next you need to prepare yourself for the show. Sit back and figure out how much you plan to spend on displaying your work. Be sure to budget for promotional material like business cards, banners, brochures, posters and spiral bound books.

Now you're ready to present yourself! Be sure to put on your best face (and comfortable shoes) and grab some new clients.

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