Photography for Profit or Fun

Photography Quick-Money Tip

It's Fair Time! Across the country a great summer tradition unfolds as thousands of state, county, and regional parades and fairs celebrate the change of seasons in America. For any competent photographer with a camera, a computer, and a smidgen more enterprise than the average photo-joe, this spells an opportunty to make extra cash while enjoying these events. There are plenty of marvelous new cameras, lenses, and other accessories which any photographer would covet. Here's a chance to have them for free--or to make extra cash during these hard economic times. I have used variants of this plan many times over the years. Today's technology makes this opportunity way easier than it has ever been. It almost seems a crime for any able-bodied photographer to pass it up.
Our nation's economic problems will be solved by those who can step forward and seize the abundant opportunities afforded by the mother-or-invention. Necessity has often been the bones of great businesses that have been born or rissen from ashes. If it were not for the prodding of fate, few people would ever leave their secure jobs and take the steps that lead to true economic independence. As a respected mentor once told me, "You are only as secure as your personal initiative allows."
Here's what you do. Equip yourself with a digital camera (a back-up is always a good idea, but not required). If you prefer film, no problem, you will merely need to have them processed and digitally scanned and on the media of your choice). A built-in flash will work, but an off-camera auxillary flash will always expand your photographic capabilities. A handful of batteries or extras will fix you up. A light vest or jacket with lots of pockets suitable to the weather is a nice touch as well.
Make up a few sheets of pre-scored business cards on your computer with at least a Facebook Page or a simple website URL; this makes marketing your pictures extremely painless. (Or, you can have a thousand color buiness cards profesionally printed by any of numerous online printing brokers for ten bucks or less and receive them within a couple of days.) Your same standard home or laptop computer will do the rest of the job after your pictures are taken.
Attend the events--parades and/or fair, rodeo, festival--and go as often as you want. The more pictures you take, the more money you make. This is best done entirely on speculation. You may arrange with a particular group or party in advance, but I would not bother. In the past, this was a fairly expensive proposition, but with no expendable film and processing costs with digital photography, you have virtually nothing but your time spent enjoying the events with a friend or spouse, or family. Call it a cheap date. The aroma of the fair foods and the stockyards are worth any time spent
Circulate and indulge your creative instincts and hone your photographic eye. Capture small groups, floats, displays, exhibits, rides.Take a closely-cropped overall image and then crop closer for interesting visual impact. You name it, think it, shoot it. Go wild. Don't waste shots, but don't hesitate. I used to say, "Film is cheap!" (compared to the possible pay-off), but digital images on reusable media are even cheaper.
Hand your cards out liberally. Take names in a small notebook or use a pocket recorder to make notes of names, and emails if you can. This will increase your sales, but it is not required. Hand the cards out with the message, see your photos here: www.kasdhfaklfh.com .
Then move on to the next scene. Try to think in terms of WHY these people may want pictures of themselves and their activities. Reasons will range from wanting a reminder of a single good time, a great date, to numerous busniess needs for advertising, websites, emails, drawing entry follow-ups, and a hundred other promotional needs.
Sure, they have a cameras too. But you have avest and/or a business card and you can see things objectively. Presumably you are pretty good, getting better, or great at taking pictures, or you would not have an interest in photography or money. The mere fact that you a concentrating you full attention upon taking photos rather than manning their booth, or prize-winning live-stock,or dealing with other distractions will make your pictures better. If you don't spare the chips and batteries and if you take lots of pictures, you'll also have the law-of-averages in your favor, Your pictures will be better.
Finally, post your photos to the site you listed on your business card. I know of few restrictions for numbers of images you can post to social media sites or to hosts like Photobucket. Use small low resolution images, so that viewers will not be too tempted to steal your images online. It's also easy enough to place a PROOF DO NOT COPY banner diagonally across the images.
It's not a bad idea to remind people severally all over your website that you own these images. You can then accept orders by Internet or by telephone or both.
Payment will be made via credit card or by check; of course you will not delive rthe goods until checks have cleared. PayPal offers easy solutions for anyone to accept electronic payments from anyone, and it is very inexpensive, making the process so much easier. Have the orders printed and delivered to you and then to your customers exercising care to meet or beat the delivery date promised to avoid problems. You can also set up a key to download the high-resolution images.
Pricing is an whole 'nother subject. The tendency is to charge too little. At the very least you would want to ensure that your minimum print charge for any given size is going to cover all of your expenses and time and any necessary eqipment that you may have jumped the gun to justify with this project--based on your best conservative guess as to how many prints you will sell. I would guess you'll absolutely sell a minimum of 10 percent of the shots that you display. You will likely sell much more. This depends much on your own merchandising. These subjects are treated fully within various post in this blog. Just seach my archives.
I would consider, for those entities you feel could return dividends as repeat photography customers and the larger orders to deliver some of these in person. The reason for this is to practice some of the merchandising and sales ideas that are presented elsewhere in this blog--which requires you to present the pictures in person. At the very least, you will want to set a deadline for pictre orders which will be within a few days to no more than a week after the event. You can always provide a second dealline, but you don't want too much time for potential buyers to forget the fun or newsworthiness of the event.
You will want to offer a piggy-back coupon or offer of some sort with each delivered order for another service that you offer. Portraits, key-chanes, frames, or virtually any related (or non-related) product or services. I can discuss this forever, and I probably will, if I haven't done so already within the posts contained here. But let me merely encourage you to allow your brain to work on the idea of expanding each contact to include a series of additional sales opportunities.
Meanwhile, check the times and places for any likely festivities within your geography. It goes without saying to be aware of but not intimidated by local business restrictions. There are usually reasonable provisions for individuals who keep a low profile and keep their earnings below a certain ceiling, regardless of what any self-important government beauracrat at city hall tells you. (If you turely wnat a good answer ask a CPA or attorney. These areas of expertise are beyond my areas of expertise.) If you excede this amount, then you will be happy to comply with the necesary requirements.This may include sales tax. Keep records of your sales and deposits, because the government may.


your capabilities with any

The Saturdays enter our photo booth of truth at V Festival - mirror.co.uk

Celebs On Sunday went to the hottest festival of the summer to take snapshots of the stars and find out some secrets…

The Satrudays at V Festival (Pic: Celebs on Sunday)

via www.mirror.co.uk

This is a clever suggestion that works.

‘But I remember Katie Price once said, "If you want a good pout, squint like you’re looking into the sun and pretend you’re blowing bubbles". I wouldn't dream of doing it normally, but it’s great for taking these kind of pictures!’

Read more: http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/news/2011/09/04/the-saturdays-enter-our-photo-booth-of-truth-at-v-festival-115875-23390629/#ixzz1X3ExVU7C
Go Camping for 95p! Vouchers collectable in the Daily and Sunday Mirror until 11th August . Click here for more information

Using Aperture and Shutter Speed Creatively from Adorama Learning Center

While digital cameras offer the potential to bring back better pictures more easily, I find many aspiring photographers are overwhelmed and confused by the technology and abundant options for shooting. It's time to focus on the essentials, and then take advantage of the technological enhancements.

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Digital cameras are still based on the use of an aperture and a shutter for both exposure and creative control, just as film was. Working with the basic principles of each still applies  to every photograph you take. Exposures are all modified by adjusting the diameter of the aperture and the speed of the shutter. For determining creativity, though, the key is to remember that changing the aperture’s diameter determines the amount of depth of field, and adjusting the shutter speed determines how motion is portrayed.

 

Working with the automatic modes on today’s cameras helps make getting a good exposure as easy as it’s ever been. First, I’ll take a photo and visually check it for composition on the LCD. With the ‘Highlights’ feature turned on, any overexposed areas flash and show up right away. Next, check the histogram for more detailed exposure information. The extreme left of the graph is the black point, and the extreme right is white. If any portion of the graphed line touches or piles up against the white or black ends, some sections of the image are either pure white or black and have no other detail. There is no ‘perfect’ curve for the middle, the graph simply reflects varying amounts of image detail at different tonal values.

via www.adorama.com

Althoug I have covered this subject several times, it seems to be a popukar subject. This article which I have reblogged for my readers convenience may be helpful tho those who have ad a hard time peening down exactily what this is all about.
Please continue to let me know which subjects are of concern to you. If you leave a comment below this personal insert, I willdo everything that i can to answer you here so that others can bennefit from my answers.

How to read a histogram from Adorama Learning Center

How to read a histogram

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Average of 16 ratings: 4.2 stars

 

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The key to understanding exposure

By Diane Miller

via www.adorama.com

Histograms have been used by printers and professional photographers and graphic artists for ages. But they don't mean much to the average hobby photographer unless they have had some classes that cover the subject.
Because I have a backround which includes aa of the above professional areas, i take histograms for granted. They are very useful in quickly uderstanding what is going on with a didital photograh if yor displayoffers the histogramfunction.
Histograms can also be used to help while in digitally correcting an image in the computer with photo software such as PhotoShop. One way that I use it is to gaina surreal look to othewise mundane landscapes or decorative art images.Historgrams are especially helpful for getting "back" to an image's set of values when you may want to start over on your corrections or to alter a similar image in the same manner.

How to read a histogram from Adorama Learning Center

Low key? High key? Learn how to read histograms and you’ll understand how to manipulate them until you get the kind of digital image you want.

A histogram indicates the amount of each light level (and in more sophisticated versions, amount of each color at each amount of brightness your photos have. An experienced photographer can glance at a histogram and know in an instant if the exposure is accurate, while a Photoshop jockey can manipulate an image’s Levels (which shows the histogram) to improve an image.

Let’s look at three kinds of histograms: One for a good average scene, one for a darker, low-key scene, and one for a bright, high-key image.

What does a good histogram look like?

A histogram is a graph of 256 vertical bars, one for

via www.adorama.com

Histograms have been used by printers and professional photographers and graphic artists for ages. But they don't mean much to the average hobby photographer unless they have had some classes that cover the subject.
Because I have a backround which includes aa of the above professional areas, i take histograms for granted. They are very useful in quickly uderstanding what is going on with a didital photograh if yor displayoffers the histogramfunction.
Histograms can also be used to help while in digitally correcting an image in the computer with photo software such as PhotoShop. One way that I use it is to gaina surreal look to othewise mundane landscapes or decorative art images.Historgrams are especially helpful for getting "back" to an image's set of values when you may want to start over on your corrections or to alter a similar image in the same manner.

Dov S-S Simens' 2-Day Film School�

Welcome to the official website for
Dov S-S Simens' 2-Day Film School

 

For over a decade, Dov Simens has been Hollywood's greatest film instructor#  Voted "America's #1 Film Instructor" by the National Association of Film Schools, and having taught at USC, NYU, UCLA and over 18 other major universities and film schools around the world, Dov has been revolutionizing the film industry with his 2-day Film School that packs four years of film education into a single weekend#  In just two days taking Dov Simens 2-Day Film School you will immediately learn how to shoot, produce, direct, finance, market and distribute your film -- whether your budget is $5,000, $50,000 or $500,000#

Called the "Champion of Independent Filmmaking," Dov's Grads - which include the likes of Quentin Tarantino #"Reservoir Dogs," "Kill Bill"#, Chris Nolan #Director of "Batman Begins," "Memento"#, Guy Ritchie #"Snatch," "Revolver"#, Will Smith, Kirk Jones#Director of "Waking Ned Devine," "Nanny McPhee"#,  Paul Brooks #Producer of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," "White Noise"#, the makers of "The Blair Witch Project," "The Matrix" trilogy and many others - have gone on to shoot, produce and direct films that have grossed over $8 BILLION at the box office#

One of the greatest filmmakers of all time,

Orson Welles, said, "Everything you need to know about filmmaking can be learned in two to three days." Dov does it in two. From ide

via www.dovsimensfilmschool.com

A book that was a sensation a decade or so back was entitled, How to Swim with the Sharks. It was written by imminently successful businessman Harvey McKay. He made a lot of good points. One was that when you are learning a skill, you are well-served by seeking out the best in the given field as your instructor. It isn't rocket science, but it is so seldom done. Although this post is from a commercial web site, I thought I might try to do this to assist my film instruction (I only claim professional expertise in still photography, although I enjoy video production too). I hope to increase my travel more back to normal this year, so maybe I'll get to do this. I felt some of you may also want to know about it as well.

Dead Sea hosts mass nude photo shoot - Yahoo! News

Dawn over the lowest spot on earth illuminated a Dead Sea very much alive on Saturday, as more than 1,000 floating nude Israelis posed for a mass shoot by US photographer Spencer Tunick.

via news.yahoo.com

Esoteric?