A Success Series for Modern Day Photgraphers
Last week we talked about SEO for photographers and how to get the basic structure of your website set-up and working for you in the search engines.  This week, we’re taking a look at some “old school” basics, which if paid close attention to, can be worth more than any class in PhotoShop that exists today.

Today’s modern digital photographer has many tools geared to make life easier and look better. From powerful retouching software to new digital cameras and flash equipment all this may be overwhelming to the photographer just starting and even for the seasoned pro.  Online articles and trade magazines report how using post-production software will give you the look clients most desire. All you have to do is spend your hard earned dollars for their software, learn how to use it, then apply it to your images. But there is something many photographers are overlooking…that is the ability to get the image correct when pressing the shutter. Many things cannot be changed after the exposure such as direction of light, composition and posing. Of course, a bad exposure can be corrected to an extent if you capture in RAW mode but that also adds a whole layer of post processing to your already full plate.  And, our customers already “know” we can fix anything in Photoshop, so save yourself the time and fix it before you trigger the shutter. 

Taking basic posing and lighting classes can be the most effective way to improve your photography and save you time. Lighting and posing is not covered in new camera manuals and certainly not on the sites sponsored by software companies. When film was used photographers were careful to correctly expose, crop and control their background info because in the back of your mind was always “click, $1.00”, the cost of the film and proofing.  The digital transition made photographers lax , thinking that these elements could now be controlled after exposure.  So now you have traded the money you used to spend at the lab with time spent behind the computer, not the camera. If you don’t know where you earn the most money, you need another business model. 

Learn proper techniques for exposure, learn white-balance, and learn to fill your camera frame without the need to crop out distracting elements BEFORE you click the shutter!  You will save both time and money.

Following these simple suggestions will allow you the freedom to do more shooting and less editing. Yes, editing out the “rejects” is still needed but if you are careful in composing and exposure this will be a quick process and your life as a photographer will be more enjoyable and give you more profits. And, at the end of the day, enjoying our work and making money are why we do this, right?

Harry Markel | MorePhotos Sales & Marketing Associate

Recommended Reading:

• Best Business Practices for Photographers
• The Fast Track Photographer Business Plan: Build a Successful Photography Venture from the Ground Up
• Commercial Photography Handbook: Business Techniques for Professional Digital Photographers 
• Tabletop Photography: Using Compact Flashes and Low-Cost Tricks to Create Professional-Looking Studio Shots 
• Low Budget Shooting: Do It Yourself Solutions to Professional Photo Gear
• Starting Your Career as a Freelance Photographer
• Photographer's Survival Manual: A Legal Guide for Artists in the Digital Age
• Legal Handbook for Photographers: The Rights and Liabilities of Making Images
• Taking Stock: Make money in microstock creating photos that sell
• Going Pro: How to Make the Leap from Aspiring to Professional Photographer