Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Learn Photography Online

With everything going digital, there are now courses and even schools where you can learn photography online. This is a great way for you to pace yourself and learn about photography on your own time with minimal or no visits to a campus. This article attempts to acquaint you with online schools offering photography courses, what you can hope to learn from these courses and guide you in evaluating and learning more about specific schools you choose.

Photography can offer a lot if chosen as a career. Its dynamic, versatile nature allows for a great degree of movement even within the craft. You can have a choice of a wide variety of subject matter ranging from news photography to magazine covers and travel or exotic locations. While the diversity and rewards exist with photography, you are unlikely to become a great photographer with mere good intentions and fervent hopes. You need to put in significant effort and hard work, as with any other craft, to become good at it. In your quest to become a great photographer, you may need to search for a good online school. Consider your search over as this article will address all the relevant points of finding a good online photography school.

Learning about how to take good pictures is just the beginning. You will also need to learn about all the business aspects of working with photography. You need to become familiar with copyright related matters and preparation and presentation of a portfolio. Some of the courses that are taught in photography schools include the following:

- Techniques of Photography
- Photographic equipment
- Digital photography and imaging
- Processes in photography
- Color Theory

A good place to start is by visiting this online photography school. The link to the site is here.

The subject of photography as a career is vast. This article and some of the tips provided above are just a few examples of the myriad of categories available in photography.

Photography is a unique craft which combines artistic expression with distinct individual tastes. Combine this artistic expression with a business model and you’ve got the makings of a unique and rewarding career. If you’ve developed a healthy obsession for it, then you will do well to learn the craft from true professionals who can share their experiences with you. The beauty of attending a photography school is that you don’t need to be particularly adept at photography or be an expert. You can join a photography school for several reasons: perhaps you are just starting out and want to learn the basics, maybe you’re beginning to develop your ‘artistic eye’ and want to further hone your skills or you’ve already had some experience and are looking to reinforce the techniques and skills you know. Regardless of your motivation, online schools will provide a lot more guidance than simply teaching you to take pictures and process or develop them. You will learn the history of photography, science of the art such as the chemistry involved in photography, or the physics involved which cover optics, color & light theory and even computer related skills if you are learning about digital photography.

Along with the great teachers, you are bound to run into and forge relationships with fellow students who share the same interests as you. You can benefit significantly from groups such as this and can help each other grow along the way.

When you are considering an online photography school, you will need to do your homework and research on each of them. Here are some questions that can help you get started off on the right track (each question also has a response for you to evaluate):

What is the purpose of a specific online photography school?

Here, you will want to look at what the school is attempting to do. You need to look out for cues that the school pays attention to its graduates and are really keen on developing a students’ skill-set. They should focus on training photographers to have sound technical and professional knowledge.

What sort of photography should I pursue?

Again, photography has a vast set of categories when it comes to picking one as a career. Some of your choices are advertising, fashion, portrait wedding or news photography. You may want to look at schools that specialize in a specific category that you are interested in. The school should teach you the basics of how to tackle any of these subjects and prepare you to start off diverse and eventually narrow down your focus.

What kinds of schools should I look at?

Obviously, there will be other institutes that teach you not only photography, but other subjects as well. A good rule of thumb is to look for a school that specializes in photography and is a good fit within your budget.

Are there any good schools either online or offline located in the US?

There are indeed. Some of the schools that are recommended are the Brooks Institute of Photography and the Art Institute of Colorado. For further information and a detailed listing, please click here.

The Brooks Institute of Photography is at the top for learning visual arts and photography. As with any career decision, your objectives need to be met when selecting a good photography school. Take the time to list your career objectives before you start searching. This will simplify things when you do start looking for a good school. Next, you should look for schools which have been around for some time. You want to avoid startup schools which only have an internet presence. Look for opportunities to intern with the school where you can quickly build up your work-experience. Photography is one unique craft which, if done as a career, can help turn your hobby into a means of income. There is nothing better that getting paid for something you love doing.

In my quest for some of the best online photography schools, I have come across a few worth mentioning. My favorite, because of the services it offers, is here.

The second school I feel is worth mentioning is found here. Its an instructor lead course and is worth looking at if you are looking for a set of online courses.
How to easily start up and market your own

profitable photography business

What Are The Salient Points of Starting A Photography Business

The day comes when you realize that your little photography hobby is quickly growing bigger. You end up spending a lot more money, time and effort in your hobby and find yourself faced with that serious decision: Should I commit to my hobby by starting a photography business?

When you decide to go with photography as a business, you are now opening yourself up to a lot more responsibility. Whereas before, as a hobbyist photographer, you would only focus on your craft and the technical intricacies of photography, now you are faced with running a business as well. It is a rare instance when you will strike a good balance between being a photographer and a business-man from the get-go. Being one will not necessarily make you good at being the other. You will have to consider a lot more aspects of the business as a whole in order to turn it into a successful one. Some of these aspects are legal, finance, marketing and management related. Paying attention to all of these and taking great photographs is a sure recipe for success.

‘Excuse me sir, do you have a license for that camera?’

Most people wonder whether a license is required to become a professional photographer. The simple answer is no. You do not need a license to operate a photography business. As long as there is someone willing to pay for your photographs, no-one will stop you doing what you do. One thing you do need to keep in mind is the fact that when you are running your business and start incurring expenses, you may prefer to declare such expenses as a tax deduction on your income.

It will be at this point that the IRS will want to know whether your photography endeavor is a hobby or a full fledged business which generates income. In situations like this, there is no hard and fast rule for them to ascertain if you’re running a professional service or if you’re simply engaging in a hobby. They will, however, go through your records to determine if there are any specific patterns in your finances which give an indication of your work. Consider an example where you have entered a deduction for travel to Thailand. If you have specified this as an expense incurred as part of your business, then the IRS will want to know if any money you have coming in is a result of your trip to Thailand and the photographs you sell. If it doesn’t check out, then you will have some explaining to do.

Photography Inc. - How Do I Form A Company?

These days, there are a number of different ways you can start up a company. Incorporation has evolved to a point where you will most likely find that there is a type of company for your specific business. You could even incorporate under a Sole Proprietorship and do business like that. One other, more simple, option would be to incorporate as an S Company. This sort of company greatly simplifies the work required to file your tax returns and all the paperwork that goes with it. In this type of company, you do not need to have extra or separate paperwork for filing your tax returns. All you would need to do is to include any profits or losses of your business in your individual, personal tax return. For instance: Assume that your income is about $150k and your photography business has generated you a profit of $15k. You will have to combine your income, in this case, and specify a total income of $165k. Then you will be taxed on this consolidated income. If, however, instead of making a profit, you had incurred a loss of $15k, then you would deduct the loss from your income and be only taxed on $135k. This would be one of the most ideal ways to incorporate when you are just starting out.

What if I want to start my photography business at home?

One of the primary requirements of starting your business at home would be space. You will end up saving a lot on renting another place, but at the same time, you need to ensure that you have the requisite space to conduct your business at home. If you consider photography, you will need to have space for storing equipment and chemicals. If you are working with both digital and traditional photography, then you need to have a dark room. You will need to have an office space to work in and perhaps an area where your customers can wait. One point to remember is that if you use your house to double as your work area, you may not be able to consider it as a tax deduction. This is because the law stipulates that your place of work must be used solely for business purposes.

Getting the word out - How to market your Photography Business

When you start out your business, an important aspect you will want to focus on is the marketing. You need to tell as many people about your business as possible. You need to be able to tell people what you do and what services you offer. In a photography business, one of the first things you will need to do is build up a portfolio of the type of pictures you take. As an example, if you are only in the business of wedding photography, your portfolio will need to reflect that. Then what you can do is identify the market to which you want to sell. In wedding photography, you can partner up with people offering more services for weddings: stores which have gift registries, caterers, jewelers. You can approach them and ask if you could leave your brochure and portfolio with them so that they may recommend you to couples planning their wedding. Your brochure needs to be well worded, proofread and be very presentable. It is vital that you strive to make an impact with your brochure as this will be the entire basis for which you will sell your photographs. All marketing material should be proofread and checked by someone other than you for spelling or grammar mistakes.

The preceding are just a few tips for you to consider when starting up your photography business. Obviously you should expect some initial teething problems, but these tips will generally provide you with a road map to start off with. Once you get your first few jobs, provided you do great work in a professional manner, your reputation will spread quickly and you can expect to get a regular stream of customers.

If you are keen to start a successful and profitable photography business then you need to do it right the first time. Most people don’t and most often their business collapses. That’s a shame because most people want to be successful but won’t invest in knowledge and experience. They try to ‘go it alone’ to save a few coins. The differences between success & failure are based on 3 things; knowledge, experience and action. If you are sure you’ll take action then you just require the other two elements. Learn to start a profitable photography business.
How to easily start up and market your own

profitable photography business

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

How Do i Start A Photography Business?

When you consider photography, or any hobby, as a potential business, the first thing you need is a business plan. In this plan, you will be able to define your business, what you want to accomplish and how you will achieve your goals. The plan can help you organize your thoughts and can also act as a motivator in making your dreams a reality. There are qualified individuals who can act as mentors to you and also develop customized plans to address your specific needs. Think of the business plan as your own personal encyclopedia; one that you can use to document all your planning, strategies and financial matters down to the price which you will charge per photograph.

The fundamental aspect that you need to look at when you start your business is how much you are actually planning to charge per photograph. This should be a prominent entry in your business plan along with calculations on how you arrived at this figure. When trying to determine what price to charge per photograph, you will need to consider several factors: broadly, they can be grouped into your startup costs and the price per photograph that your competition charges. A good starting point is to evaluate the competition. What are other photographers charging per photograph? It will make sense for you to research the prices of photographers who have very similar profiles to you. They should also be fairly new to the business and offer similar services as you. As you progress and your business grows, you can continue this habit and ensure you remain competitive by either matching their price or bettering it. If you make a name for yourself and your photography becomes more sought after, you will be at an advantage to charge a premium for the services you provide. In reality, however, you will probably want to lower your rates so that you can beat the competition by offering a better service for a lower fee. If you position yourself to cater to a niche market with a higher demand and you find less photographers in your niche, you will then have an opportunity to raise your price per photo.

One other important aspect to consider when you embark on a photography business is your finances. You will need to consider all costs involved from setting up to delivering a finished product to a customer. Document all fees incurred; daily running costs, both fixed and variable, and also be on the lookout for any hidden costs that can creep up. When starting out, try to begin on a realistic budget which you feel you can manage. Bear in mind, however, that to launch and maintain a successful business you will need to have sufficient funding to ensure your business grows. This means having a marketing budget. You may want to focus more on the marketing as your sales pick up. Be vigilant that your marketing budget is utilized in a very efficient manner so as to maximize your exposure to your target markets. You will constantly need to market both yourself and the unique nature of your photography in whatever theme you choose.

Include details such as a business description, name of business, experience in the field and any qualifications you hold in your marketing strategy. Provide an insight into your technique and what you are capable of in some sample photographs. Include pricing details for your services and where or how you can be contacted. Your contact information is very important. Without this, people will not know how to reach you. Here are some things to consider:

1. Does your marketing material project your name and services in a compelling manner? Look at all your material and make sure the correct message is being delivered to your customers. Does your material answer some of your own questions if you were a customer that is considering the services of a photography business?

2. One mechanism of marketing your business and yourself is your website. How user-friendly is this website? Does it take several clicks for a user to navigate through to a particular page? One of the things you can include is a professionally presented profile of yourself. Information like this needs to be available to the customer at the click of a button. In this day and age, time is a very precious commodity and customers will rarely have time to waste navigating through a bad website. Make sure all important information is at the customers’ fingertips; otherwise they will go elsewhere.

3. Do you present all your services to the customer in a conveniently accessible manner? Are your contact details prominently displayed in your website and any advertisements that you put out? If you have outsourced your advertisement creation, then take a look at the advertisements before you publish them. Having the opinion of your friends and family is another economical way to ensure the advertisements are presentable and appealing.

4. If you are contemplating on using an agency to promote your business, then take the time to research the agency beforehand. Have a trial period during which they try to sell your photographs; evaluate them at each step they take. To ascertain if you are achieving the results that you require, go back to your business plan. See if your targets are being met. Additionally, you may get reviews of the agency you are trying out from fellow photographers.

5. Keep a watchful eye on the prices you charge for your photographs. Do not let unforeseen losses in revenue prompt you to charge very high prices. Your business plan should take into consideration potential challenges and times with lower sales. A good safety net is to have another source of income to ensure your photography business has all the support it needs during its infancy.

6. Your business plan should never be just a static document. It should be a dynamic, living document which you review and update throughout the milestones of your business. It can be a great way of documenting your experiences so that any errors you have made will not be repeated in the future. It is ideal to keep your focus on your goal.You can gain more knowledge at Profitable Photography Business. It’s dedicated to coaching you in starting your own photography business but places a strong emphasis on profitability issues & guidelines. You can also gain many photography resources(some free) from Photography Equipment & Resources
type="text/css" />
How to easily start up and market your own

profitable photography business

Friday, April 4, 2008

Start a Photography Business if You're keen on Photography

Staring your own photography can be an exciting adventure. Before you set up shop, browse the current, local competition to compare and contrast your business field or capabilities to theirs. Photographers truly shine in skill when they embark on a business journey related to a field of particular interest. Hone in on your desires for business purposes and to become a great photographer.

Photographers have a hard time standing apart people in the same field. Unless, they push to put together a portfolio containing photographs with regards to a particular area of the photographer’s interest. Dedicate your business to creating a niche in the market and stand out over the less original artists.

Well known artists succumb to greatness by finding a way to share what they see as beautiful, or a huge impact in their own lives, with the general public. Artists focus on bridging a mental gap between them selves and the audience. Artists relate to their viewers through different mediums of composition, and by focusing on various details not previously given attention to by the general population. Monet, Picasso and other famous painters possessed a talent for creating paintings with a unique vision of the world.

The general public holds a common interest of wanting to view life in modes outside of their immediate perception. Photographers grab a hold of their audience by capturing moments the general public often overlooks. Photographers express great talent through creating a personal experience with a single photograph of particular landscape settings, formidable architecture or other event settings. Some photographers happen upon their success by sharing a photograph originally intended for personal reference. A business filled with enjoyment of hobby innately falls into the lap of the photographer. A photographer, as an artist, presents normal and abnormal perspectives on daily subjects to create a unique statement through a photograph.

Artists are not merely born into great fame. Famous artist’s dedication, focus, passions, inspirations, and deterministic capabilities combine together to create unique and exquisite work. Photographers start their success from a feeling within. They must truly believe in their ability to create great art in order to produce it. An artist cannot be discouraged by not being very popular right off the hinge. Famous artist develop by producing work over time and their talent eventually comes to light of the public.

A variety of Internet-based sites provide tips to up and coming photographers on how to start their own business. Some websites describe methods of personal business marketing with regards to photography allowing business capabilities to expand worldwide. Amateur business photographers learn a great deal by researching other well-known artists online. Research allows the prospective business photographer to seek out answers to beginner questions and learn ways to avoid pitfalls experienced by established businessmen. The Internet allows your work to be seen by several people across the world, rather than the few who might discover you at conventional venues. Connecting with people of common interest through photography presents the most sure shot way to making it in the photography business. Present your attitude and work ethic through exercising passion in business-oriented relationships. Make sure to prepare long-term goals to help keep you within the guidelines of a good business proprietor. Seek out the assistance of business professionals in your field. Setting your goals ahead of you early allows you to focus on the artwork through passion and interest. Otherwise, you will be too busy concentrating on the challenges of having your own business and your artistic ability may decline under the stress.
type="text/css" />
How to easily start up and market your own

profitable photography business

Depth Of Field-What is it?

Developing a basic understanding on depth of field allows you to take matters further through personal research by having a starting point. Your shots give off a sense of confidence by making informed decisions.

Amateur photographers run through several rolls of film or memory capabilities before capturing the true meaning of certain photographic technicalities. Exposure times comprise the first of two aspects for so many rolls of film or memory use. The second aspect has to do with the DOF (Depth of Field). Photographers spend countless thoughts on what they might have done wrong.

Amateur photographers ask two questions frequently when first starting off.

1. How can I achieve a sharp subject and blurry back round in my pictures?
2. How do I put everything into focus?

Amateurs must learn the rules involved in long and short depths of field in order to move on to professional photography. Beginners need to learn how to manipulate and express personal vision through the depths of field.

First and foremost, consider the differences between short Depth of Field and long Depth of Field. Short DOF photographs contain a subject in focus, while the back round and all objects behind the focus show up blurry. Long DOF photographs focus every object in the picture. Combining short and long DOF you obtain the circumstances involved in medium Depth of Field photographs.

When should you use short DOF? Selective focus allows the photographer to be specific on what to focus in a photograph. Establish control of subject focus provides powerful photographs through this dynamic tool. Photojournalism photographs often include pictures of people standing out in a crowd and establishes them apart from the back round. “A picture paints a thousand words,” when uniquely using this powerful tool in your photography.

Glamour portraits use short DOF to isolate the subject in the photograph. Examples seen in photographs where the subject’s eye closest to the point of perspective renders sharply and the eye furthest away slightly blurs. This technique allows a level of individuality in the creation of personal messages through the photograph.

What instances should you use DOF in? Long Depth of Field provides great photographs considering landscape subjects. Shorter DOF used for landscaping produces minimal focus on the vast subject and capture much of the subject in a blurred outcome. Long DOF captures everything near and far in a landscaping picture and gives focus to several aspects of the subject. Ansel Adams and Edward Weston utilize long DOF to create famous works of art and photography. Large, wonderful scenery can produce a great blurred back round to a single bright, atheistically appealing flower by use of short DOF. Photographers need to develop versatility in order to capture the right photograph in various situations.

How can you make your understanding of DOF work for you? DOF varies on the camera’s focal length in the lens. Following information touches on quite a bit of technical details using a SLR lends with a 45mm to 70mm range. Learn to adjust the F-stops (aperture) on the camera to manipulating DOF. Modern SLR cameras allow the use of this feature through switching to AV (Aperture Priority) mode.

Fully explaining aspects of aperture could take quite a bit of time. Thus, the simplest understanding represents the F-stop as an adjustable opening controlling the light inducing a photograph on the film and digital captures. DOF of an image becomes controlled by the F-stop and choosing shutter speeds.

SLR cameras of older make contain lens ranges on the barrel. The aperture ring looks like the following on a basic lens:

2.8 - 5.6 - 8 - 11 - 16 - 22

The numbers indicate aperture open settings or otherwise known as the F-stops.

Modern electronic and other cameras display F-stop values on the viewfinder. Newer lenses raise the range between F-stops; the following displays some common examples:

2.8 - 3.5 - 5.6 - 6.3 -7.1 - 8 up to 32

Choosing DOF settings on the camera requires a bit of technical information and basic understanding of certain concepts. Short DOF selects lower F-stop numbers to represent their capabilities, such as 2.8. Longer DOF selects higher end F-stop numbers to represent their capabilities, such as 22. Everything in the final photograph for higher numbered F-stops will come into focus. One subject in the final photograph for lower numbered F-stops focus the subject only and blur out the back round. The separation between pictures and photographs provides a dividing line in the understanding of the F-stop concept. You can practice understanding F-stop settings by picking out 3 subjects to photograph. Apples or orange provide good subjects since they do not move on their own and you can change their position to practice different ranges and F-stop settings. Arrange the subjects in order of 2′, 3′ and 4′ to give you some perspective in the final photographs. Start off with lower end numbers on the F-stop and progress through until you reach the highest values. The final photographs should focus the very first subject in the line up and blur out the rest on smaller F-stop numbers. The final photographs including higher end F-stop values should include focus to the back round subjects with greater accuracy as the number gets higher. In high-end F-stop value photographs all subjects should view as sharp objects and under great focus.

SLR cameras usually have a preview icon to represent the DOF. Selecting the preview icon and focusing the lens on your subject should project what the final image will come out as. Consider the possibility off too much light getting in as the F-stop value gets higher. Preview capabilities will appear darker because of the amount of light being let in. Several practice sessions allow you to take photographs without the use of the preview button because you’ve learned how to master reproducing the image without a guide.

You’ve just learned the basics of Depth of Field! Certain facets of DOF include understanding Hyper Focal Distance issues, after all, longer and shorter focal lenses provide different DOF results. With the information you’ve obtained here, you are ready to go further in developing professional photography skills.
type="text/css" />
How to easily start up and market your own

profitable photography business