Wildlife & Landscape Photography Tips: What You Can Do While Self-Isolating
photo by xalanx via iStock
These are tough times for photographers of all kinds…
For those of you that specialize in landscapes, wildlife or nature photography, being restricted in terms of where you can travel is certainly putting a damper on your business.
I’m under a mandatory stay-at-home order at the moment, so I’m using my downtime to take care of a few tasks that never seem to get done. Below, get a few ideas for what you can do to make the most of your time in isolation.
Isolation Tips for Photographers #1: Finally Organize Your Photos
photo by electravk via iStock
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not really great at organizing my photos after a trip.
I mean, I look through them and color code or star the ones I like in my Lightroom catalog, and I select a few to process and print or post to social media. But I don’t take as much time or care as I should to organize my images beyond that.
If you’re like me, you know the frustration that brings later on. You remember a shot that you took on a trip, but can’t remember what it’s called, and you might not have initially labeled it or starred it, so you have to look through all your photos just to find it...it’s a mess.
photo by Blackzheep via iStock
I’m currently going through my images from my trip to Norway, which I took about a year ago. I’m being very purposeful in how I organize the photos and how they’re labeled. I’m following the 3-2-1 backup rule (finally!) so I’m sure my files are safe. I’m also culling images that I don’t need or want. I’ll do the same with my images from Turkey and Cabo San Lucas - two other trips I took last year.
If you’ve got hard drive after hard drive with images you haven’t organized, take the time to address that issue now, that way you’ll have a clean and tidy filing system for when life gets back to normal.
Isolation Tips for Photographers #2: Go Through Your Gear
Photo by Ramiz Dedaković on Unsplash
Now is a great time to take stock of your camera gear. Figure out what you need, what you don’t, and get rid of the items that are expendable.
I’ve actually been thinning out my gear for a few months now. I got rid of my Nikon Z7. I got rid of my Panasonic GH5 and my Sony a6400 before that. Along with those cameras went lenses, filters, cages, and other accessories that I no longer needed.
Now I’m down to one camera system - the Canon EOS R - and my gear closet looks SO much better now. I can actually find what I need and find it quickly now that everything has its place and I don’t have to search through 87 filter sets to find the one I need.
Photo by Jakob Owens on Unsplash
Not only will going through your gear help you from an organizational standpoint, but it could help you earn a little cash too.
Used camera gear is a hot commodity, especially if you’ve taken care of your stuff. My Z7, GH5, and a6400 were sold in a hot minute because they were all in excellent condition, had been thoroughly cleaned, and I took the time to take great pictures of them to put in my listings.
You can easily do the same and put a little more money in your bank account in these lean times.
Isolation Tips for Photographers #3: Do Something New With Your Images
photo by urbazon via iStock
Since I’ve had a lot of time on my hands the last couple of weeks, I’ve found myself pondering important questions about photography.
And one that came to mind was this: why is it that you really only hear about wedding and portrait photographers getting albums made?
I primarily shoot landscape photos, so why can’t I create a tabletop album of my best shots? The answer is...I can!
I only have so much wall space in my home, so I’m always looking for creative ways to display my favorite images and share them with my friends and family.
In the past, I’ve gotten digital photo displays so I can rotate through hundreds of photos in the space of one print. But this time around, I’m going old school and getting a museum grade photo album of some of my favorite shots.
For this task, I’m turning to QtAlbums.
I met the representatives from QtAlbums at WPPI last month, and I was blown away by their knowledge of the industry and their commitment to providing photographers like you and I with high-quality products that don’t break the bank.
The ArtBook collection of albums from QtAlbums is the quintessential example of beauty, luxury, and simplicity.
The Journal ArtBook
There are a number of paper choices, but I was all about their superb matte cotton rag paper, which has a fine, slightly textured surface that is perfect for color and black and white prints. The 100 percent archival acid-free paper ensures that your images will not fade in more than 100 years. Talk about durability!
I love that these albums lay flat, too. It’s so difficult to sit and share photos with my wife, son, and friends when I’m having to pay more attention to holding the pages down than to explaining the meaning behind each image to my loved ones.
QtAlbums also gives you multiple options in their ArtBook line: there’s the Matte Paper ArtBook with its ultra-smooth pages, and the Cotton Rag ArtBook with your choice of straight or hand-torn deckled-edges. Both of these lines include your choice of cover materials such as linen, silk, velvet, leather and leatherlike, along with personalizations like embossing or UV ink. There's also the Journal ArtBook - a special soft leather-wrapped album with cotton rag pages - it's like nothing else!
Sure, you can get a photo book on the cheap from any number of websites, but there is no comparison between those cheap paper albums and the finely-crafted beauty of an album from QtAlbums. And if price is a concern, they have a range that fits every budget - you’ll be pleasantly surprised!
These albums are true statement pieces that will become family heirlooms. And for my money, that’s just the kind of album I want for sharing my photos with the people I love.
Visit QtAlbums to see their selection of high-quality albums and print products and get creative with how you display your images in your home!