Take & Talk Pics

Hey Photo World! I have done over 200 weddings in my 6 years as a photographer and I get one common questions from people I end up sharing what I do with. "Oh I bet you have some stories... What was the craziest thing you've seen?" The truth is, every wedding has some hick-up. Sometimes big but most are small. I have seen family drama where the cops have been called, The wrong DJ showing up, and even the florist never delivering the flowers at all. Thins happen and we need to adjust quickly. Every once in a while it is a situation where we as photographers need to make a choice on what to do or how to handle this situation. Those times where we are Walking a Fine Line. Those small fight or flight occurrences. In this episode I walk through a story from this past weekend and awesome wedding. Not a big deal situation but enough to feel this is worth talking about. here is the image I was referring to. Shot at: f6.3, 1/200, ISO 100 Click HERE to register for the next Take&TalkPics.com webinar! Be sure t

Rule of Thirds

Today’s featured guest is Lee Holt.   Lee is a Google trusted photographer based out of Jacksonville Florida with his company Holt Media Productions. While the application to become a Google verified business is simple, being selected is extremely difficult and it becomes even harder each day. The process is based on merit as well as location availability. Being unofficially backed by Google is a great accomplishment and will boost to any business. Lee has a range of work and covers many genres of photography due to his location. The work available is a bit less than a major city and that makes it tough to niche down to one area of photography. Having been a pro photographer for only 3 years Lee has a lot to share with you Photo World.

3 key things to be open about with your clients.    Who will be the photographer?        Depending on how your studio runs it may appear that you are the only photographer and not have any others available to shoot for you. This can also raise some concerns in certain industries, with the fear that you may be sick and therefore who will cover for you? The answer to this subject has come up in more than a dozen episodes here on Take & Talk Pics. Get those systems in place! If you aren't the photographer for your business, you must have friends and network option to call upon someone else that could, in a bind, help you out and take over that job. Be prepared to pass most if not all of the money involved on that job for taking on such a task with short notice. If your studio includes more than one photographer be upfront about how things run. With additional photographers included in your brand you are stating that they are just as capable as you, including your skill set and personality when working with t

Fundamental Friday's - Equivalent Exposure

Today’s featured guest is Seth Lowe. Seth is a lifestyle and portrait photographer in Peroria, IL. His portrait work always seems to host a unique perspective of his subjects. His quote says it all. - "Get Shit Done." It's about time we got blunt and got real for a change. If we can't get things done then what the heck are we doing. The 9-5 or part time job is honorable and there is no shame in it. If you want to go full time photographer do it right and do it gradually. Though, remember to get things done in all areas of your life to maintain order and a better end result by the end of each day. I can preach all day on shifting gear and moving forward but I think Seth expresses some great points in this interview. Listen to Seth Lowe on Take & Talk Pics and get the motivation to start or in some ways restart and crush your business. I am a portrait and lifestyle photographer based in Peoria, IL. I was born in farm town, and raised around people who work with their hands. My dad owned a construction compa

Gratitude is the direction to better life. It is a peaceful motivator to begin a day and to end a night; it is the inner strength we have but often forget and we need not be without Gratitude. The growth of your business can come from Gratitude. Your health both physically and mentally can be improved with a daily practice of Gratitude. There is a wealth of information on Gratitude and it is no secret. However it is a friendly reminder. Listen to this episode where I share a story that reminded to practice Gratitude more often.

Fundamental Friday's - Depth of Field There are three factors for depth of field. We discussed one of them two weeks ago... Aperture! listen or watch the video to learn the other two factors and start making great pictures with these tools!

Today’s featured guest is Lyndsie Schlink. Lyndsie is a portrait photographer based out of Normal IL. However she has a full time job in addition to her photography business. Today I want to speak with Lyndsie about her full time work. See… Lyndsie is the Senior University Photographer for Illinois State University. After completer her Mass Communication degree in 2004 Lyndsie continued with her photography and in 2007 started with ISU full time. I was inspired by my mom to become a photographer. My mom always took a lot of photos of my sister and I growing up, whether it was playing in the yard, at summer camp, or family vacations. Her love of the art led to my love of the art. My professional career began as a student photographer at ISU taking photos for the Vidette, which led to a job at The Pantagraph and later the Herald and Review. For the past eight years I’ve worked full time as the University Photographer at ISU documenting student life, events, and activities. I love the variety of work, which give

Hey Photo World! Bonus episode today! This is the second Take & Talk Pics webinar to date and it is all about failure. I ask this question in every interview. "Tell Photo World about a time you failed." - this isn't to point out the times where a photographer messed up... No. It is meant to give insight to you Photo World on how to do things a little different that you maybe have been or to prevent you form making the same mistakes anyone of them has... or in today's case - mistakes I have made. I cannot count how many times I have failed it must be tens of thousands by now perhaps hundreds of thousands. Well, in this webinar I shared 3 failures/mistakes I made on my wedding photography contracts... 1 of them is such a big mistake it cost me thousands of dollars. Ouch! watch this webinar and tune in to future webinars for great content you don't get on the podcast right away. I have been toying with the idea of exclusive live content on the webinars only and not publishing them in any way. What do you thi

Procrastination is a success killer! If you procrastinate your work your procrastinate your overall progress. Growth is driven by forward momentum. Listen to today's episode and learn three tips that will help you from procrastinating in your work. This is great for those of you who are already making your business out of photography and this is especially awesome for those who are gearing up to start their photo business. Take control of your day to day by applying these small but effective changes and watch the momentum build. You are on your way to bigger and better things Photo World keep it up! and share this with your friends and photo family out there! Click HERE to register for the next Take&TalkPics.com webinar! Be sure to Subscribe to our newsletter! 2015 © Take&TalkPics #HeyPhotoWorld #PhotoWorld

063 Fundamental Friday - ISO

Today’s featured guest is Jacquelynn Buck.   Jacquelynn is a full time portrait and wedding photographer based in Tucson AZ. She has been building her boutique studio over the past 9 years. Jacquelynn was a speaker at the 2015 WPPI Photography Expo for her 5 consecutive visit. The quote Jacquelynn shared was great and so inspiring! "What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?" -Robert H. Schuller. Hear how Jacquelynn lives by this quote and how it brought her to her "I Made it Moment". Note from Jacquelynn I am a: full-time, totally enamored Pro photographer {#dreamlife}, Foodie {#sotasty}, wine-lover {#drinkme}, travel junkie {#takemethere #morethanonce} + coffee addict {#wakemeup} I am a: philosophical, introspective dreamer and an energetic, outgoing, dynamic do-er. I write {travelblog} when it moves me. I love to cook. I adore rooftop bars {#viewfromthetop} and look for one in every city I love, live and travel to. I am obsessed with quotes. Fresh flowers make me happy. But photography ma

Keynote Speech for College of DuPage. I was asked to speak at the 1st annual College of DuPage Exposed Photography Showcase. It was an honor to speak for a little over 400 photography driven individuals. I tell a bit about my journey and segue to becoming an instructor and podcaster. Not before I play with the question “Can I make it as a photographer?”. I pulled out 3 minutes from an otherwise long speech. I think you can hear some excitement mixed with nerves as I share with the large group. Although it was a great practice to be inform of so many people. I would love to speak on a few different topics that I have been developing. A goal would be an hour talk for WPPI. I want to burst out now with the topics but I think I’ll save them for a while or at least till WPPI invites me. :) Enjoy today’s Monday Message and tune in to Wednesday’s episode where I interview a photographer and WPPI speaker Jacquelynn Buck. Stay Cool and Happy Shooting! Rob

Aperture! Hey Photo World here we are on another Fundamental Friday’s episode and I am so excited to bring us back to the basics of Aperture. Many of you already know that aperture plays a big part in depth of field and I am only going to scratch the surface on that piece to the aperture puzzle. Today I am really dialing back and walking us through the basics of aperture. Simply put it is the opening in the lens. Furthermore it is adjustable by you the photographer. There are many cameras out there where you would have a fixed aperture however I am speaking to those of you who are DSLR, hybrid, or mirrorless shooters. Basically those who have the full manual options to make exposure changes. Your aperture is the opening in the lens and the part that allows for that to be adjustable are a set of blades coming together making a larger or smaller hole. The numeric value assigned to each step or Stop are referred to as the F number or F stops. Example of full stops: F1.4, f2, f2.8, f4, f5.6, f8, f11, f16, f22, f3

Today’s featured guest is Sarah Claxton. Sarah is a Photography Agent with her company: Claxton Represents. She is based out of Philadelphia Pennsylvania and represents commercial photographers and their work. After graduating from Brooks Institute she worked in many facets of the photography industry Sarah has found a passion in working with other photographers in helping them achieve their vision. 

I am currently on vacation in Wisconsin Dells. Something I do one every year to get away from all the work day to day. To celebrate for the little victories I have. Just like you do. I feel we need to take the time and spend the money to reward our driven motivation to succeed in our businesses. It helps continue the path to the big wins where we see the most change and ultimately growth in our businesses. We'll I need to get back to my trip so enjoy this little Monday Message and great reminder to relax from time to time. Thanks for stopping by and Happy Shooting! -Rob Click HERE to register for the next Take&TalkPics.com webinar!

Today on the Take & Talk Pics Fundamental Friday's, I am really dialing back down to the basics. I walk you through the basics of Shutter Speed. Each week on Friday I will be adding new elements to the basics and tying everything together as we go. Pros I would love for you top contribute to the conversation and share your knowledge with those starting out. Follow along with the slides on the show notes page on Take & Talk Pics .com

I was having complications so the video will be ready next week. Sorry about that.

Today’s featured guest is Andre LaCour.   Andre is a Chicago based wedding and portrait photographer. His award winning work has been published in many magazines such as: Chicago Style Weddings, Wedding Guide Chicago, Chicago Social Brides, and Range Finder. As a member of PPA Andre has certificates as a Craftsman and Master Photographer. Andre LaCour, Master Photographer, CR, is an award-winning photographer with more than 25 years of experience capturing relationships and important moments in the lives of his clients. Andre’s sophisticated and distinctive approach is grounded in the principles of art, and combines the best of photojournalism, classic and fine art styles. One of Chicago’s most established and reputable wedding photographers, Andre will photograph his one thousandth wedding in the summer of 2010. His portfolio of work includes all aspects of wedding, portrait and fashion photography. Andre’s passion for photography was ignited early on by an educator who eventually became an employer and ment