Time Your Ocean Images for Maximum Impact

When it comes to vacation destinations, the beach often reigns supreme.  Nothing says summer like moments with our kids creating sandcastles, sandpipers strolling along the shores and the crash of waves against rock walls. The time of day is extremely important when shooting along the shores.  Natural light plays a prominent role with this kind of photography and patience is crucial in capturing the image you envision. 

The intensity of the light will play a role so being prepared before sunrise and well before sunset will serve you well.  Small passages of time can make a substantial impact in your final result. 

Capturing the mood of the ocean can be a challenging and rewarding experience and is one that takes experimentation.  For example, if you wish to convey the gently rolling seas and slow movement consider shooting with a slow shutter speed and use a tripod for added stability to minimize camera shake.  Don’t have a tripod? Consider one of our fantastic options.

Book Review: The PROMASTER Guide to Digital SLR Photography

Walk into any bookstore or browse your favorite online store and you’ll see that there’s a healthy selection of books on digital photography. This plethora of choices can be a good thing but, if you’re looking for that perfect guide, it can quickly become confusing trying to decide which book is best for your needs.

Fortunately, one book stands out as the perfect accessory for your new digital SLR camera.  The PROMASTER Guide to Digital SLR Photography by Jenni Bidner is just what you need to help you master your camera.   The book is written in a straightforward manner and covers a variety of topics designed to help you create stunning images.  This newly updated version includes a section on studio lighting and covers all the basics related to shooting with a DSLR camera.  If you’re looking for a well-written guide geared to get you started.

Creating Your Photography Business Niche

For today’s working professional photographers, the combination of a crowded market coupled with a tough economy has translated into pros casting a wide net when it comes to what they shoot.  Many have become all-purpose photographers, which is a wise strategy and can bring new jobs that might have otherwise been missed.  However, for some, specializing one’s services can bring new clients while strengthening skills in a specific field.

When does specializing in a niche make sense?  Well, for one, it can help launch a new side business while remaining engaged in a full-time career.  Many people dream of going pro but the realities of providing financially for their families means that taking such a risk without a regular income is simply not an option.  Being a niche photographer means that focusing on one area of expertise-usually one that the photographer is passionate about--is easier to fit into a full working schedule while still allowing one to remain connected to photography. 

Specializing in a niche also allows the photographer to become more attuned to the unique demands and nuances of that particular area of expertise, which can translate into a competitive advantage.  When one spends a great deal of time working in a niche market, the photographer becomes an expert in that market and can position herself as such to others in that field.

There are numerous niches to consider such as architectural photography, real estate photography, corporate portraiture, product photography, event photography and more.  Each market has its own demands, challenges and opportunities but any one can be a door that opens to larger projects down the road.

Monochrome Magic:

Tips for Beautiful Black & White Images

While some people state that black and white photography is back in style, we contend that it never stopped being special.  Today’s software programs make it a snap to convert color digital images to stunning black and white.  The classic, vintage feel of monochrome images lends an entirely different viewing experience than that of its color counterpart.  Here are a few tips to help create stunning black & white images:

Visualize the End:  Although you may be shooting in color, consider what you’d like to create in black and white.  Visualizing a certain feel, mood or style can help you make better choices about which subjects or locations to shoot.  For example, an old building downtown might be a better subject than a suburban area when shooting black and white.  Know what you intend to create from the onset and you’ll be happier with the results.

Try Textures:  Choose subjects or locations with interesting texture, such as a rustic fence, a brick building with visually appealing facets or a model wearing layered accessories such as a scarf and hat.  Light will play an important factor in your final result so consider what available light you have in each situation and consider bringing an additional light source to use for experimentation.

Top-Notch Tonality:  When creating black and white images, make sure that your photograph includes a full range of tonality, which is measured from a 0-10 with 0 representing pure black and 10 representing pure white.  You can view your tonality range by referring to the histogram on your digital camera.  Again, having an additional light source to help expand the tonal range in an image may help create the image you’ve visualized.

Shoot RAW:  When you think you’ll want to convert color images to black and white or sepia, shoot your images in a RAW format.  RAW files have the greatest range because these files include everything captured by the camera’s sensor.  You can adjust the midtones, highlights and shadows, and these modifications can greatly influence the results once you convert the images to black & white.

Black and white photography is experiencing a resurgence in popularity, and with these tips, you’ll be ready to create some fabulous vintage images.

Keeping Your Smartphone Photos in Sync:

Today’s smart phone cameras are often used as the primary choice for casual picture snapping.  After all, who leaves the house without their smartphone? And with the image quality continuing to improve and new applications that let us play with filters and other effects, some of our favorite images reside on our smartphones.

That’s why it’s more important than ever to make sure these images are added to your master photo library on your primary home computer (which you back up on a regular basis, of course!).  Fortunately, there’s an application called Photo Transfer App (clever name, we know) that is designed to easily transfer your smartphone photos via wireless or Bluetooth.  The sync process is simple, the interface is straightforward and the price is right at just $2.99. You can check the reviews and find more information here:  http://tinyurl.com/7hrunjl

Going Pro by Not Going it Alone

Becoming a professional photographer has long been a dream of many shooting enthusiasts, but the pros will tell you that, while digital technology has made some things easier, making a living with your camera remains a difficult challenge.  Many people dream of shooting all day, inspired by their surroundings and capturing images bathed in amazing natural light, but be warned that the reality is quite different.  Yes, you get to do what you love but there are numerous other skills that are critical to creating a successful business behind the lens.  For example, having a business background and an understanding of how to market yourself--and differentiate from the competition--are but two key skills you’ll need to realize success as a professional photographer.  In fact, the International Society of Professional Wedding Photographers once published a piece with a graphic showing the difference between perception and reality when it comes to how pro shooters actually spend their time (you can see the whole article here: http://tinyurl.com/ykhfs4d).

The Perception

How some people think wedding photographers spend their time (and how some photographers WISHED they could spend their time):

The Reality

How wedding photographers REALLY spend their time:

Copyright © 2010 ISPWP - All Rights Reserved. 

To help you on the road to success, consider joining a professional organization.  You’ll receive support from other pros and have access to the wisdom and experience of the country’s top working shooters.  Several of these organizations have regional and national conventions, which allow you to meet, mingle and network, all while providing valuable insight regarding the business side of photography.  When it comes to professional success, there is certainly strength in numbers so consider joining an association to help you shift from an avid hobbyist to working professional. 

Professional Photographers of America:

http://www.ppa.com

Wedding Photography Association:

http://www.wpppionline.com

Photo Marketing Association:

http://www.pmai.org

International Society of Professional Wedding Photographers

http://www.ispwp.com/

American Society of Media Photographer

http://asmp.org/

American Photographic Artists

http://www.apanational.com/

Fight the Flare:

Shooting outdoors usually brings an abundance of available light, but it can be too much of a good thing when an episode of flare encroaches on your image.  Flare can become an issue particularly for those who are shooting with a wide-angle lens.   Fortunately, our PROMASTER universal lens hood is the perfect accessory designed to eliminate flare.  Its petal shape design was created specifically to reduce glare and any unintended vignetting of your photograph. It can be attached to the camera lens in reverse for easy storage and the collar accepts a standard size lens cap.  And best of all, this useful accessory is under $20! http://fortworthcamera.com/lenshoods

 “Which of my photographs is my favorite? 

The one I’m going to take tomorrow.” – Imogen Cunningham

Spring Break Photo Contest 2012

It’s that time again…

Just coming back from a well-disserved vacation. Before you forget where you put your camera, take out your memory card and back up all your files by saving them in you computer and burning a back up DVD. But don’t stop there! go thru your images and find the one that you just can’t stop looking at. Fort Worth Camera is having an open contest, looking for happy images to lighten up the store. The subject should be shinny happy people, just enjoying life, please keep in mind this is a photo contest, where exposure focusing, composition and general photography knowledge should be at play. This time we will be displaying a huge 40x60 print in our store, to go along with our new “ We Make BIG Prints” Event. Keep in mind, a large image like this would have to be done from a high-rez file, so please do not submit Smart Phone images for this contest. The finalists will be public voted on by our loyal Facebook followers. Please submit your image by E-mail to FortWorthCamera@gmail.com by Thursday March 22, 2012 no latter then 1:00 p.m.

The winner will get a $25.00 Fort Worth Camera Gift card and a 20x30 BIG Print.

Good LUCK!