Archives for: January 2006

01/13/06

Permalink 02:23:08 pm, 302 words, 1030 views  
Categories: Business of photography

How to price your photographs

At ProPhotoForum.com recently a new topic was posted by Rob Hoffman that casts some light at this tricky issue. So rush and read the topic "How to price your photographs". Actually there is even more than just prices - there you can find about business expenses and how to factor them into your pricing. So this topic could very well fit into your business plan :)

Posting prices on the website?
In another topic Rob gives his opinion about that:
My personal thoughts on publishing my prices on the web are not to do it. This is something that can be debated to death, but I don't put my prices on the web because I want to avoid people shopping just for price. I feel that if I can get them on the phone and then into the studio for a visit, the value of my work and what they will be getting will provide the necessary motivation to retain me based on quality not price. Now, that being said, many people will argue that you will be passed over if you don't list prices on the web. In my personal experience I don't want clients that have to ask "how much?" right away. You know the saying, "If you have to ask, it is too much"---well that may apply to me personally and my clients generally are not driven to me by price, but by a quality or service they are seeking. Again though, many will say that their prices are one of the features they choose to highlight because to them it is a selling point of theirs---they feel potential clients will see a great value based on numbers alone----I think it comes down to a personal decision of the type of client you are looking to attract.



01/06/06

Permalink 04:20:13 pm, 54 words, 6002 views  
Categories: Wedding Photography

The New Wedding Photographers Handbook

Visiting the websites, links to which were cover with a thick layer of dust, I was pleasantly surprised to find a whole book about wedding photogrpahy - more like a survival guide for new wedding photographer. And there is a lot to read - 79 pages! So go to the website and scroll to the section "Weddings".



01/05/06

Permalink 04:49:15 pm, 488 words, 983 views  
Categories: Photoshop and Effects

A few tips on Photoshop

Among other tips (which have its own page) I have new tips on Photoshop:

  • Use adjustment layers when you apply changes to the image. It will allow you to apply changes after you see the effect and made other changes or easily remove/toggle off the changes made by the layer. As well you can easily apply blending modes and layer masks to amend or limit the affect of the changes.
  • Before starting modifying the image - create a copy of the background layer (Ctrl-J).
  • Remembering essential hot keys and shortcuts helps working with the image. Here are a few: 'D' - resets the color of the tool (black foreground and white background), 'X' - toggles background and foreground colors, 'B' - switches you to the Brush tool, Ctrl-J - creates a new layer based on current selection (or a copy of the layer if nothing is selected).
  • Just to see a single layer (without hassle) - hold Alt and Click on the eye icon of the layer in the layer panel. It will make the layer to be visible alone. Repeat the step to return back to previous state.
  • Hold Shift to keep the proportions of the image/selection while resizing or cropping. I usually select the whole image and then change the crop area while holding Shift.
  • To fill the selected area (or the whole layer without selection) with the foreground color click Alt-Backspace. It helps me a lot when I apply layer masks and want to fill the selected area with black or white.
  • Want to see the whole image - click Ctrl-0 (zero), the actual size - Ctrl-Alt-0. To zoom in - Ctrl-'+', zoom out - Ctrl-'-'. To zoom in/out and change the size of the window (to fit the image) - Ctrl-'+'/'-'.
  • The easiest way to move the image in the window - hold Space Bar and drag the image.
  • To apply the contrast (or curves) without changing colors (usually it saturates the colors) - for adjustment layers set the blending mode to Luminosity, for others - menu Edit, Fade (Ctrl-Shift-F) and set the blending mode to Luminosity.
  • To rotate the image, such that verticals in the image are vertical and horizontals are horizontal, use Measure Tool (click and hold on Eyedropper on the tool bar - use Shift-I to switch to it). Using the Measure tool to draw a line along one of your verticals or horizontals in the image (it will have a slight angle). Then go to menu - Image, Rotate Canvas, Arbitrary. The dialog will show the exact angle to correct the bias. Click OK and you are done. Some cropping will be needed to get rid of empty space by the borders.
  • Want to draw a line with a brush? Click on the image (with a brush) to set the first end of the line. Shift-click to indicate the end of the line. If you want to draw a vertical or horizontal with a brush - start and end the painting with pressed Shift.


Permalink 04:15:16 pm, 63 words, 834 views  
Categories: News, Business of photography

Taking pictures and publishing: Legal and Illegal issues.

The blog I like cameras has pointed us to an article in USA Today. This article enlightens beginners and professional photographers on rights to take photographs and publishing it. As it seems there is a lot what we can do and only a few things we have to avoid. Though many people are not aware of it. But read the article - very useful.



Photography Things

When we find something interesting and useful, which we want to return to and share with others, it will be posted here. It could be about composition, digital effects, photoshop, photography business or links to interesting websites.

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