Take & Talk Pics

Aperture Priority Mode Hey Photo World! I need to clear up one small detail from the last episode on Shutter Priority. I never mentioned that many of you may see is as "Tv" mode or "Time Value". This is the standard for Canon as well as a few other cameras out there. Today I go over the Aperture Priority Mode or as you Canon users will see "Av" or "Aperture Value". Let me cut to the chase because I am going to sound like a broken record if I don't just lay this out there now. These modes or any modes for that matter are useless, unless you try them out and see where they can benefit your photography and work. I still feel Manual it he best way to learn and shoot. You get to a point in your photography where complete control is necessary and extremely beneficial to your image making. With that said,  Aperture Priority Mode is as restricting as the Shutter Priority Mode. You may engage the option to select your ISO or leave it to the camera, but this is only to get "correct exposure". That is a whole other topi

Shutter Priority Mode Photo World I am on this “what does every little thing in my camera do and how can it be helpful to me?” kick. I know that’s not really a thing but for me blabbing on like I do it is an important enough discussion to have. Also, it gets my attention because there are so many functions I almost never use and perhaps it is because I don’t know as much as I would like about it. It isn’t 100% of the time but I would say I shoot exclusively in Manual exposure. Today, and the rest of this week, I want to walk through other Priority Modes that most DSLR’s offer and maybe why it would be something worth using or at least trying out. Photo World, that brings me to today’s topic: Shutter Priority Mode. The Shutter Priority is exactly like it sounds… You choose the shutter and the camera will do the rest. This is a great little tool for things like Sports or something where you need the speed for really freezing the image. There is more to say about it so that’s where having a podcast comes in hand

Nikon CLS There are specific sensor receptors to interact with the Creative Lighting System or CLS. The number one complaint is the flash wont fire because of too much sun or there isn’t enough power from the on camera flash. There are so many “reasons” people have for why they think it won’t work and the number one actual problem is user error. Not having the sensor aiming back at the camera or master flash and incorrect or insufficient power from the commander flash are also a big problem for an effective CLS.  If you know your gear and you practice how you plan on using it long before you actually put it to use on the job you have a much better chance at being successful with that gear. This has never been truer than when using CLS. It isn’t a complicated system however it can be a limiting system if you are not fully prepared. Choose the Chanel, Choose the Group, You can shoot in TTL or Manual. The coolest thing about the Creative Lighting System is: wireless wasn't always affordable and this function for

AE-L/AF-L or AF-ON AE-L/AF-L AE-L AF-ON There are also other, detailed, options for these functions. AE Lock only, AE Lock (Reset on release), AE Lock (Hold) and AF Lock only. You may have to set a function button for this same option but not have a dedicated AE-L or AF-L button. AE-L stands for Automatic Exposure Lock or Auto Exposure Lock. AF-L stands for Automatic Focus Lock or Auto Focus Lock. The way this button works is you may compose an image, press the shutter release half way down to catch your focus, then press and hold the AE-L/AF-L, remove your finger from the shutter release, re-compose your image, and then release the shutter to take your picture. As far as I can tell there is very little use for the AE-L (Auto Exposure Lock). The use of this function suggests you are shooting with an automated exposure mode; Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, or Program modes. Furthermore, this would indicate you are not shooting in Manual. Now I understand the Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, and Progra

Question Assumptions with Nick Leung Today’s featured guest is Nick Leung! Nick is a wedding photographer based out of Seattle Washington for 8 months and then Hong Kong China the remaining 4 months of the year. He was named one of Seattle’s top 25 wedding photographers in 2015. His wedding photography career kicked off on a remote stretch of the Great Wall of China 4 years ago and that inspiring moment keeps Nick driven to continue the double fronted wedding business he runs. Notes from Rob: Nick and I seemed to be on the same page as far as mindset and our approach to business. I was impressed with his outlook and understanding on both progress and opportunity. I can easily say we both continue to look forward and have a drive to see "what else" when it comes to our photography and our businesses. This will not be the last you see/hear from Nick. Bio: Nick Leung is a professional wedding photographer based out of Seattle and Hong Kong. After graduating from University of Washington with a Business degree,

Pixel Binning Hey Photo World! First, I would like to start off with the fact that I am no expert on the Pixel Binning subject bur more so I am an interested learner on all things photography. My latest endeavor has been studying up and testing out the sRAW option on my Nikon D810 and D750. For more information on my findings so far with sRAW you can listen to episode 226 here! In my search on sRAW, there were many references to pixel binning and how it should be a much more effective down scaling of resolution to ¼ the size of a traditional full resolution RAW file. At face value, it sounded like a great solution to the speculated sRAW flaws. However, after investigating the difference between compressions with RAW files, sRAW images, and even the compression operations of JPEG images, there seemed to be little evidence that pixel binning offers substantial improvements. Then, I gathered much of my information by reading through multiple blogs and other writings on the subject and here is a list of the sites

sRAW I have been testing out the sRAW option in my Nikon D810 and wanted to know more about it. So like most people I turned to Google and got articles and blogs all about sRAW or small RAW. Furthermore, some bad press kept showing up on the subject. All these photographers out there complaining and ripping the idea of sRAW apart. They go on about how bad it is and how much you lose by skimping out and using sRAW to save a near useless amount of space. Well, it’s my turn to go off the deep end and rant about the sRAW options out there. Again, I did some testing on my Nikon D810 and I will do the same on my Nikon D750 to see how it compares. Ultimately, and like a photographers work, the proof is in the pudding. What do you do with your images? What do you need your images to do for your specific customers and industry? Will you need all the resolution at a later date so why not do it all right now with the max RAW options? You will have to be the judge of all that. Like I say all the time: “know your gear”, a

Nice To Employees This is for all you photographers who have 1 or more employees. Heck you can apply this method to those of whom are flying solo. Also, I would like to clear up the word “employees” for you. Many would think it means you have individuals on payroll with an hourly or salary wage or someone who comes to work for the company at regular intervals. Well “employee” can mean a lot of things and I look at it as anyone who does work for someone else regardless of the interval, pay rate, or consistency. You could say they are temporary or sub-contractors as well. No matter how you define them you should be nice to your employees. Nice/Positive Mean/Negative Competitive pay Restrictive pay Constructive guidance Pushy guidance Offering more work opportunities Restricting the hours Perks No perks Somewhere to go/climb the ladder Lateral movement Nice seems like an obvious choice and an easy way to go but nice isn’t always the easiest to define. What you think could be nice may easily be b

Chase The Light Photo World I was thinking about one of the turning points in my career as a photographer. Really it was before my career kicked off. This was happening while I was learning and working for other photographers. I used to spend hours and hours poring over photos, surfing the net, flipping through magazines, and even perusing a newspaper here and there. (Yes I used to read actual newspapers). I would look at how all those other photographs were taken and more specifically what kind of light was used to make the picture. I wanted to know what light source was used, guess the modifiers that were helping shape the light, figure out what the exposure must have been. I will say that it didn’t come easy but I do have a skill now for determining what lens is used for many of the photographs my students make just by investigating their images. I still find myself asking what kind of light is in play or what kind of modifiers were used here? I am continually seeking the answers… not to learn them and the

Leadership Photo World today's episode is more about personality development than running a business. Although, one does need the right personality to run a business. Specifically with small businesses you may be the boss but you must also show leadership. You must have a leader’s mindset. In a quick google search I found a Leader is – The person who leads or commands a group, organization, or country. Or business (business was added by me). There is a ton of information on leadership and how to go about gaining good leadership skills or how to operate in the work place but what about when you own your own business? According to mindtools.com A leader can: Create a vision Motivate & Inspire Deliver the vision Coach and Develop Owning your business, means your name is on it. So… Don’t blame others for failure or setbacks. – busted wireless story What kind of leader do you want to be? – panic while serving or casually under control The kind that only chases the pay check or the one who is there for their

I Love Yes I would have rather had the long title of "The day I met and photographed actor Colin Farrell" but that felt a bit long for a title. After all I'm not Panic At The Disco where I could get away with such lengthy titles. Even though I decided to write and record about how much I love yes the real story is the how behind my meeting a famous Hollywood actor and one of my favorite actors for that matter. Now I could go on and plot out the story of Yes Man for you Photo World and tell you why Yes can be so powerful, but I would be ruining a great movie for you (great may be a bit much but I did enjoy that one) and you wouldn't believe that is really how it works. To be honest I only Love Yes when it works out for me. You may recall I had once said I Love No. Both Yes and No can be powerful and helpful to a career it is just a matter of when and how. It usually leads to one thing in the end anyway... Any guesses where I am going with this? Education! That's right Photo World I passionately believe in educ

Even Sell Ahh... Finally... The long awaited Even Sell. Back from when this all started I spoke of over selling then I moved to under selling and to be honest that is where most discussions stop. Is it taboo to speak of even selling or as I like to call it in this episode "niche selling"? I guess most people side step that portion of the discussion because when successful selling takes place it isn't worth talking about. The only incredibly major problem I have with that is WHY NOT? Why do so many blogs and podcasts avoid subject matter that revolves around the correct way of doing something. Niche selling is the most fun and has the least pressure involved but no one really talks about it. There is this horrible misconception that selling is a game or a trick and out have to accidentally get your clients to go along with it. Real even selling or niche selling doesn't work like that. It is all based on getting the right customer in front of you so by the time you are selling they are already 90% committed to

Distraction Kills Distraction will kill your business. Wake up every day with three goals and attack them. Some examples of how big or small the goals can be: Take care of all the emails I have before 12 noon. Return all the calls I have between 1pm-3pm. Work on X number of photos for X amount of time. Social media posts once a day for the next seven days. There is something about music in the background that just works. I have tried putting on Netflix with a show I know well and then minimizing the window so I can just get to work and before I know it I find myself wanting to just sit and watch. I love the internet and Google especially, but for some reason I have so many questions that must have an answer and before I know it, the only question I had was: “Where are the latest funny cat videos?” Even our work can be a distraction! What if there was a way to consolidate the work we did in a more careful structure so we don’t have wasted time in between each task needing to be done. This goes back to having

All Wrong When everything goes wrong you have to keep strong. It’s not an easy task learning how to be professional. Time, practice, failure, education, trial, and error is what makes a professional a professional. For some it is an accelerated process and for others it is a life long journey. I know I still have trouble being professional all the time. Now I need to clear up a couple things first… I’m not talking about “A professional” in the industry of photography I’m not talking about someone who is an authority in their craft I’m not talking about how your income is 51% or more obtained by your business I’m not talking about the way you dress I’m not talking about the car you drive I am talking about your attitude. What happens when you have a decision to make, such as, blow up over a mishap or keep your cool and work the problem? Sticking to your guns when it come to your pricing or caving to book the job. I guess this has been on my mind because of one day where everything went wrong… However, I had

Ah-Ha Moment “If you treat this business as a business you will get paid as a business. If you treat it as a hobby you will be paid as a hobby.” I pulled this quote from a book I have been reading called Gameplan. It is a great quote and it refers to the idea that you get out of things what you put into them. I have interviewed many photographers who have suggested testing the waters and doing photography on the side without jumping in head first with the hopes that you can build a sustainable business. However, many new photographers or small businesses in general have a tough time making that transition from side-preneur to entrepreneur or part time to full time. It didn’t really hit home for me until recently when a bride told me something that changed my perspective. Not only my perspective of the day but my perspective of the wedding photography industry as a whole, and the way I will approach it moving forward. It was eye opening and gave me sight into the difference in effort from one photographer to t

Make Lemonade When life gives you lemons make Lemonade… I say: When life gives you nothing make Lemonade. We have three currencies and each one effects the others. Time Knowledge Money Just a few examples on how I had to make more from an otherwise inopportune situation. More often than not I find knowledge is one of the easiest of the currencies to acquire but more often one of the easiest to miss. These examples, as explained in the episode, are proof of that very phenomenon. Wedding with bad weather and an unflattering location. Photo Studio with nowhere to grow. Photo classes that seemingly had little to no value for me. However, I was able to find the opportunity within. I couldn’t learn anything new with photography itself but I could learn plenty about how I would instruct if I were in that role. Photo World do you a story or example of a time when you felt there was very little or even nothing available for you in a given situation but made it work anyway? Share it with us on Twitter with #HeyPhot

Fail Quitting True failure exists only when we stop trying. An entrepreneur never gives up. Therefore, their “failures” are only learning moments and steps toward growth. (Fail vs Quit is very different) Did you want to be a fireman or police officer while growing up? Maybe a doctor or a lawyer… Did you not become that because you failed or because you stopped trying? So a simple google search had yield me several results and a somewhat poor consistency of information. I searched for what percentage of small businesses fail and then I searched what percentage of businesses succeed. I figured if I could look up some information from both attitude perspectives (negative as well as positive) I would be left with a set of numbers that explained this idea from two sides. I had no idea what I would really find. From, let’s say, more trusted names I pulled information and gathered it into two groups and I am left here laughing at the results. I don’t trust much of what I read online even if the source seems credible

Undersell Photo World I have been on the "How To Sell" kick for a while now and I wanted to break down yet another approach. How, Why, and When to Undersell. I know, you hear undersell and think: "Why would I do that successfully?" or "How would that be a good strategy?" First off listen to the episode, I clear up a lot in a short amount of time. Secondly, open up to the idea that there is always a possible success in every approach. That being said I will say building a business with an undersell strategy is a slow rise to a stable business model. I will also add this can be one of the best ways to learning business and building a strong foundation to build from. On a base level, Undersell is when you sell something at a lower cost than your competitors. I dive into the idea of competitors as well. I don't like the idea that we are all to be competing against one another. I don't see the value of being hung up on what others are doing when we should just be doing what is best for our businesses. Happy Shooti

Interesting vs Interested Photo World, as we build our small businesses into a successful careers we come to many cross roads. Sometimes we get caught up learning and lose our focus when we should have been earning. Other times our social media falls by the way side and we seem to forget there is an audience there. It could just be difficult to maintain a positive habit like keeping up on a blog or it could be tough to stop a bad habit like staying up too late. In today’s episode I want to highlight another strategy for our selling techniques and hopefully offer you the chance to grow based on being honest with your business, as well as, yourself. There is a 100% chance you are not doing one of the following 6 things for your business and you need each of the 6 to achieve the goals of today’s topic. movementmasterminds.com Not updating your portfolio – You must update your portfolio. Every time you have an image that is worthy of your portfolio you need to set that aside for when you do make the changes

Follow-Up Photo World, it is time for one of those episodes where I break down one simple thought and blow it up to show you that this “one simple tool” can be the game changer for your photography business. It isn’t a big secret nor is it hard to find sufficient evidence backing up my shared opinion. I say “shared opinion” because there are many sales specialists who agree. Furthermore, many business experts and entrepreneurs have done studies on the subject or at the very least expressed weighted opinions in favor of the idea. So what is this big tag line I want to investigate? Well before I get there I have a small quiz for you to take. There are no right or wrong answers but there should be a theme. Just take a minute and jot down your honest answer to these 7 questions. How many times a week do possible customers contact you? (Try for an average number) What is your first reaction to the customer reaching out? (What do you do first?) How fast do you respond to the potential customer? When do you conside