PART 2 OF OUR 3-PART SERIES: SUMMER TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY

Travel Photography: 5 Essential Shots for Every Destination

When you travel, it’s easy to go photo-crazy and take hundreds (let’s be honest, thousands) of shots to make sure you capture your trip in its entirety. However, if you’re strapped for time or forget to pack extra memory cards, there are six shots you must take to document any adventure:

1. The Essence Shot

I could go on and on about the essence shot, but here it is in a nutshell: This is the photograph that captures the core, the feeling, or the rhythm of life of the place you’re visiting. It can be of anything, but it should move your audience and transport them to wherever you are. For example, an essence shot might capture daily life in the Hutongs, the poorest neighborhoods in Beijing. 

2. The Big-Picture Shot

The big-picture shot shows your destination and leaves no doubt to exactly where you are. This easily-identifiable shot may be of the New York skyline, the blue Caribbean Sea, or the Roman Colosseum. At a glance, your viewer will know immediately what place they’re looking at. 

3. The Tourist Attraction Shot

As professional photographers, we seem to try to avoid the typical tourist attraction shot. It’s important to take in the landmarks of any given place, but that doesn’t mean your shot has to be run-of-the-mill. Try taking your photo from a different perspective, waiting for a unique lighting situation, or including local people in it. A picture of the Eiffel Tower is much more interesting when distorted with a fisheye lens, or when captured as a long exposure. 

4. The Local Shot

This shot is a micro-capture of something unique about a place that you won’t see in a tourism book or brochure. It could be the cobblestones outside of your hotel room in Italy or the bunting on an Alabama plantation on Memorial Day weekend. It should be something simple that reminds you of a specific memory from your travels.

5. The Food Shot

Okay, I know the typical Instagram-worthy food shot is something pro photographers shy away from, but it’s important to capture the local flavor of a place when you’re traveling. Meals are a big part of the culture of any place you’re visiting, and having a photograph of your favorite meals will help you remember more fully what you experienced on your trip.

Watch for the 3rd & final part in this series on Wednesday, June 22nd.

Part 1 of 3: Summer Travel Photography

Preparing for Your Summer Photography Trip: 5 Tips For Success

Summer is finally here, and there’s no more perfect time to travel. Seeing the world around you is one of the greatest joys in life, and it’s a blessing to be able to capture it on film, or - for those of you on a more modern page - on a memory card. Preparing for your photography trip is as important as the shots you’ll take when you get there; Here are 5 things you should keep in mind: 

Pick and Choose, Then Document

I know this sounds difficult, but trust me - it’s worth it. When you’re traveling with your camera gear, it’s important to pick and choose bodies and lenses suited to what you’ll be shooting. You don’t want to spend your entire trip weighed down under your whole photographic arsenal. If you’re afraid you won’t have the perfect lens at the perfect moment, challenge yourself to take an even more amazing shot with one you’ve got with you. Forcing yourself to use a 50mm prime lens on a subject you’d usually shoot with a wide angle can open your eyes and improve your craft. 

After you’ve narrowed down what you’re bringing, make a list of everything. It’ll save you a lot of stress to be sure you’ve got it all, and should you lose or misplace anything, you’ll know what you’ll need to replace. 

Pack Important Extras

A few years ago, I spent about 4 hours going in and out of every shop in Venice looking for a memory card, as all of mine were full. Later on, my camera battery died at the top of the incredible rice terraces of a small village in the Chinese Himalayas. In both cases, I hadn’t packed any extras, and I paid for it. 

Though it’s necessary to be picky with the equipment you travel with, extra memory cards, film, and batteries rank among the essentials. Don’t assume camera accessories will be as readily available where you’re going as they are where you live!  

Don’t forget plastic Ziploc bags and your circular polarizer. Weather is difficult to predict and it’s best to be safe. Plastic bags are really helpful if you want to take photos while it’s raining and to protect your camera from the elements at a place like the beach.

Choose a Practical Bag

You’ll thank yourself later if you choose a bag that protects your gear and is comfortable to wear. Bags that can multi-task - hold your wallet, travel documents, and a book or tablet - are quite efficient and will make traveling a breeze. You want your bag to be small enough to be easy to carry and to carry on (and PLEASE, carry it on), but high quality enough to protect its contents.

Protect Your Gear (& Yourself)

Keeping your gear and yourself safe while traveling requires a level head and common sense. Remember, don’t put your camera bag down at the airport (or any other public location for that matter). For some destinations, it may even be necessary to use gaffers tape to cover the labels on your camera gear to keep from attracting too much attention. 

Make Local Friends

It’s simple: The locals know all the good spots. If you ask around and talk to the people who live where you are, you’re likely to find out all of the best places to take stunning photographs. You’ll also probably find out the best places to eat, sleep, and get a coffee, and there’s nothing bad about that. 

Keep in mind that some cultures still emphasize privacy and even view the camera as a device to capture the soul. Always ask before you take a picture of a person.

Step Away from the Lens

It’s a hard lesson to learn, but there are some moments that just can’t be done justice in a photograph. Sometimes, you have to let go and step away from the lens to take in the full beauty of the foreign place around you. Don’t forget to actually experience the place you’ve traveled to; Memories are just as important as photographs!

Watch for Part 2 in this series on Friday, June 17th.

MEDIUM FORMAT PHOTOGRAPHY: MORE THAN JUST PIXELS

Lately, we’ve noticed a welcome shift in the way photographers are thinking about how they do their work. Instead of relying solely on the newest, easiest technology to produce large, attractive photographs, they’re throwing a nod to the ways of the past, developing images on paper in a darkroom, instead of pointing, shooting, and downloading digitally.

Using a medium format camera is one of the greatest and most effective ways to produce beautiful images on film. It’s well known that medium format images have the potential for flawless resolution and huge print size; However, there are several other reasons photographers should add it to their repertoire.

What is Medium Format Photography?

“Medium Format” typically refers to a film size larger than 24x36 mm but smaller than 4”x5” large format film. The term is typically used to refer to cameras that shoot film. Medium format film comes in two sizes: “120,” which produces 12 square images, and “220,” which produces 24.

What’s the Deal with Pixels?

The more pixels you have, the higher quality image you’ll produce and the larger you’ll be able to produce it. Medium format photographs have 4 times the pixels than those on 35mm film. The images are incredibly detailed and clear, and they make nearly perfect large prints. Because these photographs can be enlarged significantly without sacrificing quality, many photographers use medium format film to produce images for gallery shows or to give as gifts.

It Won’t Break the Bank.

We know what you’re thinking: How can shooting medium format possibly be cost effective? Film tends to be expensive, and you may not even have a medium format camera. Well known versions such as the Hasselblad can cost up to $3,000.

But fear not, you can become a medium format photographer for $300 or less. There are many new and used medium format cameras out there that work just as well but cost less because they don’t have the Leica or Hasselblad label. Medium format twin reflex cameras and folding cameras can be found online or at antique stores, and 120 film can be ordered from just about any major photography equipment company. You’ll also need a film scanner to get the film images onto your computer for editing and enlargement, but a good scanner costs only $100­$200.

The Difference is Clear.

Over the past few decades, medium format has emerged as the leading method for producing large exhibition prints. The work of artists such as An­My Lê, Thomas Struth, and young photographers like Rob Hornstra demonstrates the power of this format.

If you’re looking for sharp, detailed, larger­than­life photo prints, you should be shooting medium format. The cost to start is small and the results are worth it.

Understand Your Brand’s Positioning

For a business to run successfully it is required that the products are sold. Products from your brand would be sold only when the customers would have the brand in mind when they purchase products for their needs. Hence it is very important that the    brand is being positioned well in the minds of the customers. This process of implanting the brand in the customer’s mind is termed as brand positioning. To understand whether your brand’s positioning is done well or not there are certain things that you would need to check. 

It differentiates your brand from others
Many people believe that if the product is of top quality, brand positioning is not required as the product would have carved its image in the customer’s mind owing to its high quality. The fact is that even though the product may be of top quality, brand positioning is still important as that would differentiate your brand from others and would get the winning edge over other brands. 

Tips to understand the effectiveness of a brand positioning strategy
You may want to want to understand the effectiveness of your brand positioning strategy by trying to find answers to the following points. The first question that you should ask yourself is that whether the brand positioning has been able to differentiate your brand from the competition. Ideally, while positioning a brand in a prospect’s mind it has to be taken care of that the brand is not getting mixed with the overcrowded market which has similar products to offer. Brand positioning has to play a catalytic role in helping the customers understand the unique values of your brand that they will not find in the competitive brands. 

Another thing that you should be checking is that whether the brand positioning strategy is difficult to copy or not. It should not be an easy strategy that your competitors will emulate and share equal benefits as like you. While the brand positioning should be difficult to copy for competitors, at the same time it should be easy to understand for the customer. 

If your customer is not able to receive the message that you are trying to convey him through your brand positioning initiatives, the whole purpose of the initiative would go down the drains as if the customer does not understand what your brand is all about they would not be interested in investing on products from that brand ever. 

SIX STEPS TO SUCCESS IN CONTENT MARKETING

"Content Marketing" encompasses both the creation and distribution of valuable, relevant content.  Depending upon your job title or area of focus, it certainly would mean a different approach to multiple efforts for many different people.  For the sake of this article, let’s start with the destination of your marketing efforts: your website content.  We’ll outline 6 steps to get you on the road to successful content marketing through the development, quality and control of your web content.

Start with the Basics

Stand back and take a look at your existing content before you start trying to make any big changes or spend time developing assets that may not be needed.

• Weight of content across pages:  Take a look at all of your pages on your site and compare them side by side.  Do they look balanced?  Is there an even amount of copy on each page that tells a good story?  Do you use images or videos in a balanced way from page to page?  If one page is too long, maybe you are trying to focus on too many things on that page.  Split it up.  Likewise, if a page doesn’t have any copy or is lacking other assets, this page should be combined with another page or removed entirely.
• Label navigation and Calls to Action (CTA) clearly:  The site navigation and CTAs on your pages or marketing allow your audience to explore what interests them. You want to make it easy for your visitors to navigate your site or learn more about a product or service, or even leave a rating or review. If they grow frustrated, they will leave, and/or be hesitant to return through future marketing campaigns.  Tell them exactly where each link is taking them and make sure the information on the backend is relevant and engaging.

 

Understand the Content Your Audience Wants

Try to understand where your audience is in their online journey.  Discover – Explore – Buy – Engage.  Offer content for each step of this journey, whenever possible.  Be a resource for information during the Discovery phase. Offer options and comparative data when they are exploring the best product or service on the market. Make it easy for them to purchase or share your content and/or product and provide feedback or reviews.

Also offer a variety of content to keep visitors engaged through videos, images, Infographics and charts.  Don’t forget to make it easy to share this content with others.  Allow access to share via email, social channels, and add comments, ratings or reviews. This will create a visitor-friendly experience that will help your content get shared and viewed to create more traffic and business for you.  And that’s the objective, right? 

Be Realistic With Keyword Focus

Although you will want to be everything to everyone – it just isn’t feasible – and could hurt your content in the long run. Keeping your content focused and on-point is the main objective.

• Start by reviewing your competition.  Do a search query as if you are looking for a product or service you offer or are doing research on this topic. Look at the organic page rankings. What page(s) are ranking in the top 10 and what search terms/queries are they ranking for?
• Then analyze each of your pages.  If you are not ranking in the top ten, does one of your pages answer the same search query?  Could you build one to answer it?  The search query and page content should align very seamlessly and immediately answer the question or offer the product/service they are searching for.

Be Engaging

Tell a story, give them facts, make them want to read more.  If you just focus on using a specific keyword or phrase, that will not hold the readers interest or answer their question. Be a storyteller – don’t just answer their question, tell them how, why, where and when. Use synonymous terms to continue to build the story, along with building the strength of the page.  Fresh, updated topics via blog or news feeds are a great way to keep fresh content and topics engaging visitors.

• Improve the flow of your text through formatting with use of color, bold, italics, underline, etc.
• Use images, graphics and videos to help illustrate your story. A picture is worth a thousand words, so allow those images to help support your story and hold the visitor’s interest.

Get Technical

You don’t have to have to specialize in IT to understand and fix some basic “technical” aspects of your site or with Google. Just understanding what is important and easy to update is the key.  Here are a few things to get started on “technical” updates that are quick and easy. These will help organize your site content and build traffic.

• Page Titles should be unique.  You would be surprised at the number of sites that have the exact same page title on every page of their site.  That is like walking into an auto parts store and having every aisle marked “Car Parts.”  It’s confusing and not at all helpful.  So be very specific – use keywords and keep the title to under 55 characters.
• Alt Text for Image. Make sure each image has alt text available for all images on your site.  Be as descriptive (but not long) as possible. 
• Fix Broken links and Server Errors: Fix all broken links on your site. There is nothing worse than seeing a 404 page when trying to link to a page on your site.  Use Screaming Frog to get a full list of broken links and server errors.
• Optimize videos: To ensure your hard work producing all of those videos pays off, make sure to include text in your video titles and descriptions.  Stream videos from the YouTube channel when using them on your site and allow ratings and comments.

Align Marketing, Social & Business Channels

Talk to Marketing. Make sure all content on the site is aligned to the marketing messages / campaigns sending people to your site. All too often, campaigns are completed and launched without a thought as to the destination page of the site.  Most revert to the homepage and then let the visitor figure out where they want to go.

• Be seen in social. Most companies have the core social channels, such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.  (If you don’t, get to it!)  But you should also make sure to setup a YouTube Channel (it’s the second largest search engine with 3 billion searches a month!) and include all social channel links on your site. 
• Register your business.  if you have a physical business location, you should add your business to Google My Business to help provide the best, locally relevant results via desktop or mobile.