Out Of Chicago: Winter Conference 2016 - See Me There!

February 17, 2016

My Presentation: "Life As A Full-Time Photographer... Is It For You?"

Do you have what it takes “go pro?" Find out in this highly-engaging presentation at the Out Of Chicago Winter Conference. I'll be using stories from my years of experience to teach you important lessons about photography as a business. The photography business is a very personal, emotional and immersive world… but it’s still a business. That means you need to possess not only the creative spark and energy, but also those strong business fundamentals that “connect the dots” and put you on the path to success.

Take advantage of my personal discount code and save $70... Use offer code: newborn70

LEARN MORE AND REGISTER HERE: http://winter.outofchicago.com

If you can't make it to this conference consider signing up for one of my "Business Growth Workshops", coming this Spring to my Elk Grove Village studio & event space.

As a commercial photography business expert, I'll help you grow your photo business the right way. You’ve purchased some equipment, taken some online classes… now what? If you're trying to figure out the next steps towards business success as a photographer, this workshop will be the boost you need. It’s like jet fuel for Startups, providing strategies for growth and expanded creativity.

Learn the essential steps to getting your photography business heading in the right direction. I will guide you in learning how to determine who are you as a photographer and what steps you need to take to successfully step into the world of the commercial photo business.

WORKSHOP HIGHLIGHTS:

We’ll Help You Create Your Personal "Why" Statement
Website creation & marketing
Identifying your target markets
Conducting a portfolio review
Your branding & marketing strategy
Social Media for photographers
Tutorials in Photoshop and other apps
Understanding studio and outdoor lighting techniques
Workflow guidance so you'll spend less time in front of the computer
Develop proper selling skills, including how to set pricing and negotiate

Find out more by visiting our event page.

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Product Photography: 7 Important Tips

February 12, 2016

Product photography is a booming, lucrative industry with an ever-growing demand. To break into this industry, you’ll need an eye for composition and the technical know-how to take beautiful, quality images. Here are seven important tips to keep in mind before shooting:

1. Select the best lens for the job

Selecting the right photography equipment for the right product is extremely important to be successful as a product photographer. However, arguably the most important piece of equipment is your lens. Mid-zoom, fast lenses work best universally for a wide range of subjects. As you gain experience and begin to bring in more business, you may also want to invest in more specialized lenses.

2. Set up a beautiful backdrop

It won’t matter how great your lens is if the background of your photograph is cluttered and unprofessional. Investing in a good, neutral backdrop will give you flexibility and will increase the quality of your photographs, while making sure the product is the center of focus. Most products photograph beautifully on a neutral backdrop, but as you gain experience and begin to make money, you can invest in several more to highlight a larger variety of products.

3. Invest in lighting

Good light is the magic ingredient in taking high quality photographs. Investing in a box light, an umbrella light, or a quality flash and flash diffuser will take your photos to the next level. Having the correct lighting tools will wash your product in even, white light and help you avoid harsh shadows or loss of product detail.

4. Find your angle

Product photography is all about highlighting, you guessed it, the product. You’re creating a two-dimensional version of an object to help consumers make purchasing decisions. Finding the correct angle is essential to show the product as it would appear in real life. Taking photos from above, below, in front of, behind, and from the side of the product will ensure that you accurately represent it to the customer.

5. Create an engaging image

Photographs have immense power to make people feel a certain way about the subject matter. A great product photo will induce an emotional response in the consumer who’s viewing it, and will make the product more memorable. Product photographs that make an emotional impression and fall in line with a good branding strategy are more likely to encourage a purchase.

6. Take several shots

In today’s world, digital cameras and SD cards make it possible to take hundreds, if not thousands, of photographs at a time. It’s wise to take lots of shots from a variety of angles to ensure that you’ve got several worth publishing. If you’re investing time and money in creating beautiful product images, don’t risk capturing too few shots.

7. Use a tripod

The human hand can only hold a camera still at 1/125 of a second or faster, and it can only hold a camera for so long. Setting your camera up on a tripod is the best way to capture a clean, sharp, detailed shot every time. A tripod also gives you the freedom to shoot at lower speeds or higher F-stops to give your images more variety.

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Visual Content & It's Impact On The Digital World

January 15, 2016

In recent years, we've seen a massive technology-driven shift in the way content is consumed via digital platforms. According to estimates, over five exabytes of content is created every day, and this rapid increase can make it challenging for consumers to discover meaningful content and for brand marketers to engage consumers to create those deep connections that drive sales.

The future of storytelling depends on the use of high-quality visual experiences. This content evolution, driven by the dramatic increase in the adoption of smartphones and other mobile devices, is forcing publishers and brand marketers to rethink their approach to content development and to adopt a visual-first strategy.

According to a study recently conducted by POPSUGAR, 76% of women feel that messages they see are more memorable than messages they read or hear, which makes sense when you consider that humans process images 60,000 times faster than text. So it appears obvious that the way to rise above fragmentation of your marketing message is to use high-quality images to get consumers to pause, engage and connect with your message. In the POPSUGAR study, consumers defined "high quality" as images that are high resolution, aren't cluttered in their composition and feature original photography over stock images. The use of high-quality, "thumb-stoppable" images combined with strong headlines acts as a magnet to pull consumers deeper into a compelling content experience.

In order for brands to succeed in the age of the evocative Internet, the focus needs to be on the quality of the content as well as the emotional connection that the visuals evoke. Research by AdAge.com found that 87% of women prefer high-quality visual content, 69% of women prefer native advertising and 78% of women prefer ads that use original photography. Using this information, it's possible to develop highly engaging content on Pinterest. In conducting their research study, AdAge.com found that art-designed pins consistently outperform undesigned pins in terms of both impressions and repins. In one month, 86 designed pins delivered 37 million more impressions than 670 undesigned pins.

Their research also shows that women view brands that use high-quality original images as being more creative (53%), more experienced (48%) and more knowledgeable (46%) than those that don't. Therefore, brands that invest in providing women with thoughtful, original, high-quality visual content can reap significant rewards.

As digital marketers, we can only succeed when we are able to create a memorable experience that delivers value to both brands and consumers and creates a deep, long-lasting, and positive impression.

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