Jose Soriano
10 things to look for when building a photography website

“A photographer teaching about building a website!?” This thought is most probably hovering in your mind right now, and it might mislead you. But trust me on this one, I have a strong background in system engineering and have been building photography websites for about 15 years now. Bear with me and read along to learn what my immense experience offers.

Like I mentioned before, I have been building my sites and tried many platforms and options in the last 15 years, even before SEO was all the rage like nowadays.

In today’s highly competitive time, having a site and not ranking well for the keywords that bring you business is a big problem, at least for me it is. In the last 8 years, I have been relying on many ways to bring business to me: referrals, networking, paid ads, and the most valuable and difficult, Search Engine Optimization. I don’t claim to be a marketing expert, but with years I have realized that you need to invest in your website for a long-term strategy and that’s why I bet my money into SEO.

You might ask yourself, why is this guy talking about SEO, well, pretty simple. Taking the right decisions when building your site could have a big impact on your business success, so here are my valuable recommendations to look for when building your photography website.

 

Look for inspiration

I do this all the time. Whenever I have an assignment or a personal project, the same applies in this case. Photographers, are visual artists and visuals inspire us the most. What better way to get inspired than to look at the websites of the photographers you admire? Another good resource to find inspiration is to look for web templates, specifically photography-related ones, so you get a clear idea. Forget what platform it is for now. At this stage, what you want to do is spend some time gathering good examples of what you like.

 

How will your website work for you?

This is a very important question you need to ask yourself after you find your inspiration. The reason I say this is that many people these days rely on social media platforms, something that I think is a big mistake since social media platforms could come and go unexpectedly, I’m not saying Instagram or Facebook are going away soon but you need to have something more reliable and user friendly like a website.

 

Website platforms

These days I find the number of platforms very overwhelming that offer the ability to have your website up and running in “seconds” and in most cases that is what you want, right? Quick and easy? Well, sometimes that quick and easy is not the best long-term solution, at least for me, based on my strategy. I want my website to be my main business driver. I rely on it more than on social media, at least until now.

We are getting back to the main point, right? Some of the most popular websites builders that I’ve tried for my photography website are:

● Squarespace

● Photobiz

● Wix

● WordPress

● Pixpa

● Photoshelter

● Portfoliobox

● Smugmug

I have to disclaim that I did not run my website on all of them. On some of these I just did the trial, and some like Squarespace and Wix. I stayed for a couple of months. After trying something easy to build like those I mentioned, I realized some limitations get you stuck. In my case, I find platforms like Squarespace have a design limitation since you can’t have the site exactly as you wish unless you spend money to customize it for a developer. Another limitation is the lack of plugins to enhance your site. And last, my main issue is the hosting those sites use, they are standard hosts and very limited. I’ll explain why…

The choice I went to is WordPress even tho is a more difficult path, but it is more customizable and popular to build a website. Here are the reasons I think it is the best option:


Pros

● You choose the template you want. I know it’s hard work, but worth it.

● You choose the hosting you want. In my case, I went with Kinsta.com. More about this below.

● Unlimited plugins

● Integration with many services

● Unlimited developers


Cons

● More work to do

● You can’t change the template without editing the whole site

● More pieces to put together

I only scratch the surface with this info about website platforms, but I want to give you an overview of what works for me and my experience.

 

The right website hosting for your photography website

I had a similar experience with this, testing different hosting where I got my website down for days because of the hosting problems, backups, customer service, etc.

This is what the ideal hosting should look like for your photo website:

● Cloud hosting: Don’t go with shared hosting, it is very slow and you will regret it

● Solid-state storage: Sometimes this is implied when choosing cloud hosting, but not all the time. The solid-state is FAST.

● Integrated CDN: I won’t go into detail here, but you want this feature.

● At least weekly backups: This is crucial because many things could happen, security issues that break your site, a wrong update, and many more.

● Reliable customer support, if possible 24h

● Staging environment: I know this could be confusing. In simple words, this allows you to create a new site or edit your site in a temporary URL without affecting your Live site. Whenever you are ready, just push one button and you are live with your modifications. Pretty cool ah?

● SSL certificate is a must, no you can’t avoid this. Trust me

Some of the hosting I’ve tried:

● Godaddy. Avoid them as much as you can. They are the worst I’ve tried.

● HostGator. Average hosting with good price but to get to the features as mentioned above, it becomes expensive and the customer support is not the best.

● Bluehost. Same experience as HostGator. I have to add that the user interface is horrible to manage your site, confusing as hell. And last, customer support is terrible.

● SiteGround: The second hosting I would recommend has all the features I mentioned above, but it is pricey. Customer support is top-notch most of the time. The interface is old and could be confusing.

Kinsta: This is the king of the kings. It has ALL the features I mentioned above and they add great features all the time. They run on a google cloud platform; they had proprietary CDN, and it was great. Recently they upgraded for free to CloudFlare. Last, the customer support is freaking amazing, fast, when I say fast is, you don’t wait over 5 minutes on a chat to get a knowledgeable technician. What I like the most is, you get all those features for a very good price. You can’t go wrong about Kinsta for your photo website.

If you want to sign up, use this link (this is an affiliate link so I will receive a commission :))

 

A Coherent Theme

Now that you have selected the platform and hosting, it is time to pick a theme for your website. As a developer and a photographer, I would highly recommend that you choose a theme that best resonates with the theme of your photography. Another important point is that it should allow you to customize not just the fonts but colors and layout as well. Each element of your website, including prompts, fonts, and background, should follow a singular theme. The theme which has the same color theme as your photography and allows maximum customizability is the ideal choice. Remember, it must be responsive.

A great resource where to get the best WordPress photography templates is theme forest.

 

Showcasing your Portfolio

Of course, the main reason for building a photography website is to show what you are capable of. However, there are certain things that you need to keep in mind while doing this. Let me emphasize that the key to an appealing website is how it displays the content. Hence, you need to find a visually pleasing way to do this. You should not put all of your work in a sort of heap, but break it up. I would recommend that you divide up your galleries depending on the theme or even based on projects that you have done. This will not only help you order your work but also help the visitors navigate your website better.

The next thing that you need to be aware of is to only showcasing your best works. I have learned through trial and error that although a photographer’s first work is dear to him, potential customers are not here for the sentiments. They need to see the best that you have done. Therefore, remember to only put up the works that portray your strengths.

 

Acknowledge Your Goals

Website building is more than simply uploading content for people to see. The whole idea behind showcasing your best work is to make viewers into potential customers. You should know that besides your works you need to add subtle prompts on your website which will influence the visitors to do some action for you. For instance, if your main goal is to sell or license your works, you can display a prompt talking about deals or discounts. Similarly, if you want to teach people photography, you can ask them to subscribe to your emails.

 

Prioritize SEO

Like I said above, Search Engine Optimization or SEO is all the rage nowadays and because of good reason. Search engines today have become so smart that they rank websites depending on their relevance to the subject. Since the main portion of the photography website is occupied by images, you need to make sure that you add relevant text to these images. If you want to attract local clients, you can use the name of your city or even country in the text displayed with your photos. If you want to work as an event photographer, you can use words like weddings, concerts for better ranking. These are just a few examples of keywords; you can select your own depending on your niche.

 

Make Yourself Approachable

Every photographer knows that, although the images are the most critical part in securing a client, the photographer also needs to be approachable. While building a website, you must take great care in curating your ‘About Me Page. This will serve as the first gateway towards you therefore, it needs to reflect your priorities and values.

The next thing that you should do is add Contact Information. It would reflect poorly on you if you build a fully functional website, but forget to provide a way for people to contact you.

Last, add links to your social media as well. Now, I said that a website is better than those mediums, however, even I cannot deny their significance in today’s world. Linking your website to your social profiles will generate more visits, which will consequently lead to more popularity and profitability.

 

Watermarks Confusion

There are two sides to the watermarks discussion, and both are equally important to understand. The first one is that watermarks prevent image theft and keep your works safe. However, it is also a double-edged sword. Mostly, watermarks are placed right in the middle and with gigantic fonts. These might make the images look less flattering and visually attractive than they are. If you are too protective of your works, go with the watermarks. For others, there are a few methods that you can use instead of watermarks. You can try to display a prompt that displays your ownership if someone tries to copy your images from the browser. Otherwise, you can write ‘all rights reserved’ or similar text under your images. Unfortunately, the images still might get stolen even with watermarks, so I recommend you choose the visually attractive option over it.

I particularly don’t use watermarks since it is so easy to remove it from the photo. Something that I came across not too long ago is a service that tracks all your work around the WWW and tells you if someone is using your work. They help you track and legally take action with those who like to steal your images. I’m just trying it. It’s called pixsy.

 

Start a Photography Blog

You might say that why would I need a blog when what I do is photography? However, you need to understand in this online world, people have become wary of online fraud. Therefore, you need to connect with them, and what better way than a blog? Not only will it help with your overall perception, but it will also boost people’s trust and confidence in you. The blog will also help you if you write about your photography process and the tools you use. Who knows, you might get some insights into your workflows if you write about them? There is one more advantage of writing a blog. As I discussed above, focusing on SEO will be extremely beneficial for your website. Blogs are a great way to make a photography website rank better. You can write about your works using trending and relevant keywords. Blog writing will not only help the reader connect with you but will also be beneficial for your website, so why not try it?

 

Conclusion

To sum it all up, a website needs to be as creative as the photographer’s works. These points, if understood, will be enough to build a great website. Have fun with your photo web!

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Jose Soriano
10 Tips to Capture Great Indoor Event Photos

When it comes to any type of photography, the goal is to progress, advance your skills and become better in what you do. Event photography requires the same amount of effort and knowledge to get better, boost your portfolio’s value and make more money.

In this article, you will find the best 10 tips to capture great indoor event photos. Whether if you’re a beginner or a pro, these tips will help you become more creative and increase your awareness to get where you want. The goal is to capture better images after each event.

 

Understand the Camera Settings for Indoor Event Photography

The camera settings differ in each situation. There is no such thing as setting up your camera and using the same settings on every event. That won’t work because each place is different. It has different lighting, space, and people.

Before any type of event, you must know what your camera is capable of. If you’re not sure how to set up your camera, read the manual, visit your camera’s official website or follow instructions from top photographers who use your camera on YouTube or on online photography websites (or contact me for more info?).

 

Have the right Indoor Photography Equipment

A photographer needs to have the right camera gear with them. If you’re a beginner, you can start by using your camera, an external flash, and at least two lenses. As your skills and experience grow, you will have to put money on the side to buy professional photography equipment. That will include:

  • A second camera body (preferably full frame)
  • A zoom lens with a wide f/2.8 aperture (24-70mm f/2.8 for full-frame or 16-50mm f/2.8 for APS-C cameras)
  • A prime lens with f/1.8 or f/1.4 aperture.
  • Professional lightweight tripod.
  • High-Speed Sync Flash with Wireless Trigger.
  • Strobes or LED Lights.
  • High-Speed Memory Cards of at least 64GB of storage (preferably 128GB).
  • Extra batteries.
  •  

Use the Best Settings for Indoor Photography with Flash

In the beginning, flash scares everyone. Some of you may have heard “never use flash” or “try to shoot in natural light”. Those people don’t know how to use flash. If you know how to use it and master it, you can come up with the best photos ever taken.

In the beginning, you can start using TTL mode and gradually learn how to use manual settings. TTL mode gives you a lot of flexibility too. Keep your ISO in higher values (between 800-3200), use White Balance, and the right metering mode.

Use “center metering mode” when your subject is in the middle between the foreground and the background. Alternately, use “spot metering mode” when the subject is closer to the background. Also, make sure you use a diffuser to create more ambient light.

 

 

Shoot in Low Light

event photography 62

On some occasions, shooting in low light creates dramatic awesome results. That said, point your camera to capture a moment where only the faces of people lighten up. You can try to take these kinds of photos and then use proper filters in the post-process to enhance the details and brightness of the whole image. Don’t be afraid to try taking photos in low light. You can create a different style and your photography will instantly get more exposure.

 

 

Use both Prime and Zoom Lenses

 

Most photographers use two camera bodies. They choose to mount a prime lens on their primary camera and a zoom lens on their secondary body (or the opposite – it doesn’t mind). This way they quickly choose a lens to take a photo without having to switch lenses and miss the moment.

Prime lenses will give you a wider aperture and better lighting indoors, whether zoom lenses will give you more depth of field. Both are very useful in event photography.

 

Become More Creative

Each time you book an event to shoot, you gain a lot of experience. In the field, try to remember not to take photos as an ordinary guest but observe the space you’re in and try to find areas you could place your camera to take more interesting photos.

Take candid shots of the attendees while they’re interacting with each other. Capture a nice smile and reveal the story behind their conversation. Use black and white during the time of the event or in post-process. Shoot behind flowers, find mirrors that give you reflections, or create depth in your shots. Don’t forget to get wide-angle shots of the whole event too.

 

Take Group Shots

event photography 54

If you book a corporate event, you have to choose a nice background to get group photos. This happens in coordination with the host. You can either use any of their displays (if they have any from their company) or hire someone to prepare a special backdrop that fits the occasion or the space of the event.

Place several people in front of the backdrop and start taking photos. Adjust your camera settings and flash and make people feel comfortable by talking to them and guiding them on how to pose better for the perfect shot!

 

Edit Your Photos

event photo edtiting

Professional photo editing should be included in your work. Nowadays, it is essential to edit your photos and create your style. Remember to edit your photos the same way for every event and create consistency.

If you are not sure how to do it, ask the advice of another professional or attend a workshop or online course where you can find more information on how to edit your photos in Photoshop / Lightroom or using other professional photo editing software.

 

Network Network Network

Each event will allow you to connect with so many people. Some of them might be interested in booking you for their next event. Make sure you have a business card with you and know exactly what to say. Be short and schedule a phone call or a meeting in the next few days.

 

Study Your Work

Don’t let previous work stay on your computer. Take an hour each week and view some of the photos you have taken previously. Check the exposure, the aperture or other settings you have used. How much time did it take you to edit your photos? Could you save more time by improving your camera settings during the photoshoot?

Is there anything else you need to change/improve? Do you see more noise in your photos or notice any chromatic aberration that needed to be corrected in post-process? Is your composition good? Do you need to try different angles? All these questions will help you improve your skills and give you better results in future work.

Photo by lucas Favre on Unsplash

Photo by Ramiz Dedaković on Unsplash

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Jose Soriano
11 Tips For A Successful Event Photoshoot

Adding event photography to your skills as a photographer is a massive boom for your business. Events are always happening!

As an event photographer, you can participate in some of the most important moments, such as corporate events, concerts, etc.

Let’s look at some tips to help you successfully shoot those events for your clients.

 

Put yourself in your client’s shoes.

Be prepared that, as an event photographer, you may be asked to photograph various events. These events can range from weddings to birthday parties or corporate events. You may not find every event the most exciting but think about your client. These events are significant to them.

 

Prepare your equipment ahead of time.

event photography bag

Assess the situation and think about all the gear you will need. You don’t want to get to the site and realize you don’t have everything to make this shoot successful. Err on the side of caution and bring more than you think you might need. You would rather have extra than not enough. Test out all your equipment and make sure it all works. Don’t forget to check any of your equipment that uses batteries and have backups. A great way to be prepared is to have a gear checklist.

 

Organize your shot list

event photoshoot shotl ist

For most events, there will be certain shots and moments that are required to get. A corporate event is a classic example with a long list of required shots, speakers, networking breaks, booths, etc.

Once you have that list put together, you can think about other moments you want to capture of your clients. This is also a great chance to check with your client to review what you have and what other moments are on their shot list. Pre-event photos should be part of this list. They can also tell a great piece of the story of the event.

 

Managing your client’s expectations

The key to this is communication. Ask your clients their expectations for this event, what they want, and what they need. And then let them know what you can realistically provide. You never want a disappointed customer.

Disappointed customers lead to lawsuits and bad online reviews. Protect yourself by being honest with your customers and getting all agreements in writing. This way, the customer can not say later that they were not informed.

You may also want to hire a contract lawyer to protect both parties. The least you can do to cover your back is to have everything discussed in the email.

 

Show up early to the event

show up early to the event

If you schedule yourself to be early, you can never be late. It is a bad look for the photographer to be late. And since you are capturing moments, whatever you miss by being late is not something you can get back. If you miss something, it’s gone for good.

Being late is also highly unprofessional. Being early allows you to check the venue for lighting conditions, capture some pre-event shots and make you look professional and confident.

 

Plan your outfit

corporate outfit

You don’t want to stand out from the crowd, but you don’t want to look like you don’t belong. The rule of thumb is that if you didn’t have your camera, you would want someone to think you were a guest. If you are at a formal event, wear formal attire.

When photographing a rock concert, wear a nice t-shirt and jeans. Take your cue from what type of event it is and dress accordingly.

Wear neutral colors to blend into the crowd, not stand out. Do not show up in ripped, torn, dirty, not pressed clothes, etc. You are a professional and should look like one.

 

Do not put your camera down

While the event can go on for hours, important moments can happen. If you put your camera down, you can miss something significant. Keep your camera at the ready! If you stay set up for the shot, a moment will happen. You should always be on the lookout for candid shots and moments!

 

Be wise in photographing the event

Don’t get in the way of guests; sometimes, if the moment calls for it, ask them to pose for a group photo. Respect their space if a guest asks you not to take their picture.

As a photographer, you should not obstruct the view of the guests at any time. It is almost like guests should never even notice you are there. Only ask to pose guests if the situation calls for it or they ask you to.

 

Circle the room

If you stay in one spot too long, you will miss action and moments in another location. Stay on the lookout for those unique shots by circulating the room.

 

Make sure you don’t undershoot the event.

Some people would say that overshooting the event could be a problem. Undershooting is worse! There is no way to get that time or moment back in any event. Having too many shots is better because you can always delete a picture.

 

Edit quickly to get images back to your client

event photo edtiting

In many events, clients will want to see the proofs soon after the event is complete. Make sure you meet that expectation. Edit quickly and efficiently to get these pictures to your client. If you did shoot a lot of photos of the event, it might seem like you have too many images to get through. That will not be the case at all.

Once you get into the process, you will see some pictures aren’t up to your quality standards, and you can quickly discard them. Then you can see what you are really working with and get those edited and back to your client.

Hopefully, these tips are helpful when doing your event photoshoot. If you incorporate these simple tips, you will grow your business quickly!

 

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Jose Soriano
20 Resources to Improve Your Professional Photography Skillset

Screen Shot 2019 09 16 at 9.55.03 PMProfessional photography has come a long way since flash powder and darkroom film development. As technology advances, it gets easier to take the picture a photographer wishes to capture. As a result, though, it is easier to become confused at the new progressions or lose out on using your full potential.

Whether you are new to photography or an expert photographer, there is always something more to be learned in the photography world. Business techniques and strategies change every year, so it is important to stay up to date on techniques on how to achieve certain projects, also, camera gear and what you can do with it, and editing platforms to get the most out of your photography efforts.

Here are 20 great resources to help you get that perfect shot or start that engaging photography business in today’s technologically changing world, and improve your professional photography skills.

PRO EDU

Best photography tutorials from working pros

I want to start by saying that this is my favorite photography tutorial website. PROEDU helps photographers turn their snapshots into a piece of art. It offers high-quality tutorials about color-grading, retouching, filmmaking, and many other topics to strengthen your professional photography skills. The reason I love these guys is that the instructors are all working professionals and you really get to see them working as they were with a real client. If you want a taste of how their courses are, just take a look at their free beer photography tutorial.

proedu.com

 

CreativeLive

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This site has a lot of learning to grant, with over 1500 virtual classes offered. These range in topics from art and music to photography, videography business, marketing, personal development, and more. Take as many classes as you choose, and follow the pace that works best for you. The Best part with CreativeLive is that you can watch live any course for FREE, if you miss the broadcast, you can rewatch the replay again for free. This is just amazing. They also offer a monthly subscription, but if that doesn’t work for you either, you can buy individual courses for cheap. They recently announced a membership model called “The Creator Pass” and it’s $19 the first month and $39 the rest of the months or $149 for one year, this last one is a bargain, in my opinion, if you do the math this is 0,40 cents per day.

creativelive.com

Karl Taylor Education

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Getting the picture just right can be complicated, so this site is here to make it easier through video tutorials. Karl Taylor Education includes courses for both beginners and professionals, providing insights on topics like landscape, fashion, food photography, and product photography; this last one is the most powerful since Karl is a working professional in this field. His images are so strong that you will fall in love with them and will want to start this right away. This is another one that I highly recommend because Karl Taylor is a working professional, not only an educator. They offer a whole educational ecosystem, forums, Facebook groups, videos, live webinars, behind the scenes. The price is just a steal, $19 monthly or $168 annually. Again, this one too is just great for all the value you get for your buck.

karltayloreducation.com

Lynda.com

Screen Shot 2019 09 16 at 9.55.03 PM

This website offers thousands of tutorials from Design, Business, Personal Development, Photography, Marketing, and many more. Good news for North American people, it’s free with your local library. This portal is great because they are always updating content so you are learning the latest tendencies and techniques from working professionals. They offer courses or even a career path, so if you decide you want to learn about marketing, you can choose between a single course of “Google PPC” or become a “Digital Marketer” and you also get a certificate of completion.

lynda.com

Photigy

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As an online photography school, Photigy has over 45,000 students and helps you learn practical product photography skills. If you want to become a better photographer, this site is great, since it gives you personal feedback on all homework submitted. They keep doing great changes to make the learning process easier and I can tell you that they are my go-to resource about product photography. They have the most talented teachers like Alex Koloskov, founder of Photogy, as students from around the world.

photigy.com

Fstoppers

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This site collects articles about the craft of photography, videography, and business. Also, Fstoppers provides news articles to inform you of advances in camera technology, to keep you up-to-date on the latest improvements in photography. They also offer great courses about business, video shooting, and editing, product photography, etc. They invite talented artists like Monte Isom, Mike Kelley, Elia Locardi, and more to share their knowledge of their craft and pack these amazing pieces that we can buy to get better at what we love to do.

fstoppers.com

SLR Lounge

Screen Shot 2019 09 17 at 9.41.04 PM

This website posts articles that offer tips and tricks to make your photographs less boring and more professional. News in photography and cameras also make an appearance, with different features on new cameras shown. SLR Lounge focuses more on the wedding and family portraiture side and they are great at it. They offer a membership that is fully packed with value to put into your photo business.

slrlounge.com

Strobist

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If you struggle with lighting when photographing a subject, then this one is for you. Strobist is a website that offers tutorials to better illuminate your shots. It provides guidance on color, quality of light, and the right gear to use to get a better-exposed picture. The best of it, it’s a free blog that you can rely on. Simple and cheap gear to make great results.

strobist.blogspot.com

Joe McNally Photography

Joe Mcnalley Photography workshops

Explore here to see hundreds of well-taken photographs from portraits to sports to fashion, as well as find a workshop event hosted around the world. Joe keeps a blog on how to improve your picture-taking skills by doing things such as changing your lighting, and he also writes books that can be bought on this site to better learn the secrets of photography. One of my favorite photographers, period. He is a storyteller, even shooting a simple headshot he can tell a great story with lighting, colors, composition, and location!

portfolio.joemcnally.com

Chase Jarvis

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Chase is a photographer, blogger, and entrepreneur, as well as the founder and CEO of CreativeLive. He hosts a weekly podcast, interviewing celebrities like best-selling authors and musicians, who explain the art of doing what you love and making a difference, an essential topic for photographers who want to go somewhere with their projects.

chasejarvis.com

Retouching Academy

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A site that offers both beginners and professionals extra help in editing and retouching photos. With video courses and retouching tools, you can start making your photos even more impressive in post-production. One of the best retouchers can be found here. The great thing about this site is many of the instructors are great beauty and fashion photographers like Julia Kuzmenko Fashion Photographer and Retoucher and Michael Woloszynowicz

retouchingacademy.com

Behind The Shutter

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This blog publishes posts dedicated to training photographers to run successful photo businesses. Article topics include lighting, social media, and marketing, helping you make a greater influence and get yourself out there more as a photographer. I love Salvatore Cincotta because he is a businessman that runs a wedding photography business, the ideal way to learn. If I had the opportunity to start over I would learn first the business side of photography and then the easy part, technicalities :)

behindtheshutter.com

DP Review

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If you’re looking for camera reviews, then DP Reviews is a must-see guide. This site rates and compares the features of various cameras and their quality as well as how they operate. These blog posts show unique aspects that other cameras don’t have, to help you make the right choice in photo gear. They also have a fabulous youtube channel now with two great hosts Chris Nicholls on the photo side and Jordan Drake on the video side, I know them personally since they used to work at the Calgary Camera Store.

dpreview.com

Photography Spark

photography blog to learn business

Creating and maintaining a photography business can be challenging, but with Photography Spark, you can receive tips on how to start and turn a profit. It helps you make and execute a business plan to get yourself out there and better recognized. This was my main “go-to” photography business blog at the beginning of my career and it still is, you can also get great e-books at a great price. I also contribute to this blog, you can check my latest article about how your social skills could improve your photo business

photographyspark.com

The Modern Tog

photography business blog to learn

Another site devoted to helping photographers make a business. The Modern Tog makes it simple to create your business and offers insights about legally doing it, building a portfolio, and gathering clients. This is extremely valuable since there are not many blogs talking about the legal aspect of photography, a subject that is crucial when running a photo biz. They offer free great blog articles and a paid membership if you want to get serious and invest in your business.

themoderntog.com

Photographer Journey

business photography podcast blog

A free audio podcast that can help you run a photography business and sustain it to become a professional photographer. Award-winning photographers talk about their experiences and how they have overcome their shortcomings, useful advice for any photographer, especially those starting out. Great blog full of resources where you can find a great photo biz bundle

prophotographerjourney.com

Masterclass.com Annie Leibovitz 

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Masterclass is where professionals create video lessons for the less- experienced to learn from. This class with professional photographer Annie Leibovitz includes 15 lessons on Masterclass that not only give tips on taking photos but demonstrate how one can tell a story through the pictures they take. This course is more about mindset than technical skills. You get to see how she works on those massive productions for big brands, don’t expect to learn technical skills with this course.

Masterclass with Annie Leibovitz

Kelbyone

Kelby one content creators portal

This offers online courses from around 100 expert photographers as instructors. Many diverse classes about specific phototypes are available, such as portrait, sports, and drone photography. Guidance about camera gear and editing software are also provided, including over 700 Photoshop and Lightroom courses to help you edit your photos in the best way possible. Depending on your skills you could find these courses a bit basic but for sure they give a lot of value with all access for just $10 USD a month, once again, less than you pay for coffee in a month.

kelbyone.com

Skillshare

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Skillshare has over 25,000 online courses in not only photography topics, but also offers courses about design, illustration, entrepreneurship, and many more. Also, if you are looking to make some money, you can teach on Skillshare and help other photographers acquire the skills you already have. I like that you have the freedom to choose between hundreds of courses but be careful because not all of them are going to make you happy. Do your research about the instructor, for sure you will find more about him/her.

skillshare.com

Udemy

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This site has more than 100,000 videos about marketing, photography, videography, and other useful topics. Tutorial themes span from digital photography to editing software and will help the emerging or experienced photographer better prepared to make a positive result in their work. Udemy is very similar to Skillshare, but I would say, more popular. You need to be wise about choosing the course since I’ve had a bad experience with some instructors in different areas like marketing. One more time, do your research before buying unless you want to try first. They have a great 30-day refund policy.

Udemy Photography Courses

Invest well in your camera gear and how you use it. In today’s world, we can learn almost everything with a web search or the press of a button.

Be cautious, though, because free information does not always mean it is the best, or that it is high quality. Learning photography is an investment you’ll have to take if you want to stand out or at least, stand out faster.

Take the steps you need to learn and purchase the help you need when necessary. In the end, when you have your world-renowned photography company, it won’t matter how much you spent today. A photographer learns, and experiments, and does all he or she can get the perfect picture; and with these guidance websites, you can become the next expert in no time.

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Jose Soriano
360 Product Photography. a Simple Guide From a Photographer

360 Product Photography. a Simple Guide From a Photographer

Have you ever wondered how to take 360 interactive product photos? It can be overwhelming, but with a bit of guidance from a photographer, it’s straightforward.

As a photographer, I have been using 360 product photography for many years, which has helped me enhance how I market my services. It is an incredibly versatile technique that provides customers with a complete view of the product they are interested in buying. With this simple guide, you, too, can understand how to use 360 product photography to give your business an edge. This guide will break down the basics of 360 product photography and provide you with some useful tips on how to get started.

 

What is 360 Product Photography?

360 product photography is a technique that allows capturing photos of your product from all angles. This product photography genre enables the creation of more engaging and professional images than standard product photos to enhance your e-commerce website.

If you’re a business owner or looking to improve the quality of your product shots, you’ll want to learn more about 360-degree product photography. This technique can help you create engaging content to keep prospects interested and possibly make them buy your product.

Turntables are widely used to rotate products. Buyers can better see the product from all sides, making informed purchase decisions.

 

Benefits of 360 Product Photography

There are many benefits when using this kind of product photography. You will ditch the standard still images to incorporate this spin photography into your e-commerce website.

 

Engagement Growing

Having 360 product photos is on the rise as it allows customers to view the product remotely, such as holding it or walking around it.

360 product photography offers users a more immersive and interactive experience by allowing them to see the product from all angles. This engages the customer and helps them make a better-informed purchase decision.

 

A Visually Stimulating Project

An in-store experience does not attract shoppers like simple product images; Using 360-degree and 3-D product photos can help e-commerce retailers engage with customers’ bricks and mortar.

 

Fewer Product Returns

Since customers have almost a hands-on experience and a more realistic idea of what they are buying, they are less likely to return products after purchase, reducing business return rates.

 

Increase Sales

360 photos can be used on companies’ websites or apps, giving shoppers a more confident purchase experience. The result is a much quicker conversion rate from shoppers into buyers.

Customers spend more time interacting with the spin images translating into less bounce rate. Google loves this and will treat your website as an authority raking you higher and attracting more leads.

 

Creative Opportunities

It is becoming increasingly important for companies to showcase their products with 360-degree product photography.

In the fashion industry, for example, 360 photos allow customers to explore how the garment fits on the model before purchasing. This feature helps reduce customer uncertainty when shopping online since they can see how clothing looks and fits from every angle before buying. Here are a few ideas where this technology can be used:

In the automotive industry, 360 photos give potential buyers an up-close look at vehicles without stepping inside a dealership. You can open doors and trunks from the comfort of your home.

Like many other photography genres, this product photography genre allows being very creative with your products, so you create more engagement.

 

Preparing for a 360 Product Photography Shoot

Preparing for a 360 product photography shoot doesn’t have to be complicated. Here are some tips that can help you get ready:

Gather Your Equipment and Make sure you have all the necessary photography equipment:

 

Full Frame DSLR or Mirrorless Camera

Use the camera that you already own! As long as it has “Manual Mode,” you are good. You want to be able to control all the settings for the correct result and not expect inconsistencies. For this tutorial, I’ll work with a Nikon Z6II Mirrorless Camera and the Nikon Z 105mm f/2.8 lens.

Camera Remote Trigger (optional)

I like to use this remote Trigger to avoid touching the camera when shooting and to prevent any vibration.

 

A Standard or Long Lens

nikon, 105mm f2, 8 macro lens

Depending on the size of the product, you can use a 35mm to 105mm macro when shooting small items. You don’t need expensive lenses to get the job done. An affordable zoom lens can do the trick easily.

 

A Stable Tripod

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We will shoot a series of images to create the final one, and you want to ensure all the shots are sharp and aligned. This is critical to avoid any movement during the shoot. Even the light movement will ruin your rotation, and you must re-shoot the whole sequence.

 

Strobes or Continuous Lights

photography strobes

You can use either continuous lights or flash. For 360 product photography, I recommend continuous lights because you will get consistent exposure and color on all the image rotations. That is critical because you do not want color shifts in your final 360 image.

If you don’t have continuous lights, you can still use strobes. Ensure the room where you are shooting does not have intense ambient light to avoid a solid white balance. I recommend turning all the room lights off.

I learned this the hard way. When shooting with flash, I used to get one or two shots with different exposures and sometimes color balance. This is because of the flash color accuracy. Using continuous lights will give a solid, consistent result.

 

Light modifiers or softboxes.

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Light modifiers or softboxes are essential for product photography. They allow you to control the light and create a more professional look. Softboxes provide a more extensive, softer-lit area perfect for photographing objects of any size.

Light modifiers vary depending on the product attributes. Softboxes are the safest solution, but there are many tricks if the product has a challenging, shiny texture like jewelry or glass.

If you are on a budget, you can use translucent umbrellas.

Here is a visual list of the light modifiers I commonly use:

Strip box

Very useful when photographing small items with not much depth. They help define objects by lighting the edges

Square or rectangular softbox

They work very similarly to strip boxes since they are the same kind of modifier but larger. They are helpful for bigger items and also as a backdrop

Octa box

Again, this is the same softbox family, but the shape is what changes its use. I use the octa box for a top light because it takes less space, and I can get closer to the softbox and still have room to photograph the product top down.

Translucent reflector

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Reflector

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White card

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Flags

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Flag frame

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Translucent paper

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A Turntable

360 product photography turntable

This device allows rotating the product in one spot to capture all 360 angles on a horizontal axis. This might be as simple as a Lazy Susan or an automated turntable where it turns after each shot. This last one is ideal for avoiding any shaky shots or misalignment. My favorite is the Edelkrone turntable; it’s affordable and fantastic to work with.

If you choose to go with a manual turntable, mark it every 3 to 5 inches to know when rotating it.

 

A White Background Paper

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White backgrounds are the go-to for 360 product photography because they give a clean look focusing on the product rotation.

You can use a roll of paper; Savage pure white paper is commonly used in the industry. You can also use a softbox as a backdrop; this allows you to control the exposure of the background.

 

Suitable space

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Ideally, you want a space to fit all your lights and camera. Avoid colorful rooms because you will get your product contaminated with color reflections. A white or grey wall room is ideal for shooting in. If you don’t have the option, try avoiding walls and ceilings other than white or grey.

 

Place the product

Whether you shoot 360 photos or stills, the camera should be level with your product or slightly lower. Shooting a little lower angle creates a hero look on the product.

 

Camera settings

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Attach the camera firmly to the tripod and adjust the settings to:

Aperture: f8 to f13

Shutter speed: 1/125 – 1/200 This is critical if you shoot with strobes. If shooting with continuous light, choose any shutter speed that gives you the correct exposure over 1/60

ISO: accordingly to get the proper exposure. I try to stay between 100 and 400

 

Take test shots

Take multiple practice shots to check your composition and make any adjustments if needed.

Shoot one full rotation, using the marks on the turntable if it’s manual.

Check all the photos and look for consistency in the images. Exposure, horizon, colors, and sharpness must be correct for good results.

 

Lighting setup

The primary lighting setup for your 360 product photos should be the one that gives you a consistent look throughout the whole rotation.

My favorite lighting scheme is 3-point lighting:

360 product photography setup

Two strip boxes on each side of the product. This varies depending on the size of the product. Your softbox should be around 50% larger than your product to cover the whole item.

One top softbox could be an octabox or a square shape. This light not only helps to light the product but creates an even white on your backdrop and softens any shadows.

I use a softbox as a backdrop for two reasons. You can control the intensity of the background, and you get a smooth transition between the horizontal and vertical backdrop.

 

Capture the final shots

Once everything is set, start shooting each item. Ensure you check the full rotation photos to verify any inconsistencies to avoid re-shooting once you are in the editing stage.

Depending on each product, you can try more photos per rotation for a smoother look. 

 

360 Product photography software

360 product photography software

Once you have all the angle images and are happy with them, you need 360 product photography software to assemble your rotation. There are many options for this 360 software; the downside is the majority come with a hefty price tag or are attached to hardware to shoot the 360 images. Here you can find a compilation of these 360 product photography software.

 

How much is 360 product photography?

The simple answer is it depends. I say this because you can produce 360 product photography in-house or outsource it; those two options have pros and cons.

 

Outsource 360 product photography

This is the easiest way to try this product photography genre. The cost depends on the product size, texture, and creativity. But to give you a price range, this could go from $150 to $1000 per product. Many of these product characteristics make 360 product photography pricing similar to still product photography; the difference with 360 images is the number of photos for the final 360 image. The image quantity will make the product rotation smoother or choppy.

 

360 product photography comparison by the number of frames

So, how many images do you need for your 360 product photography?

If you want a smooth rotation is better to shoot 72 images per rotation.

If you don’t care much about how smoothly your product rotates, you can get away with 36 images or lower. I would not recommend going with less than 12 frames because you can miss part of the product since the rotation between images will be too long.

 

Check the difference between each 360 image.

12 frames

24 frames

36 frames

72 frames

To have fun, I shot over 300 frames on this one below

A quick note. The number of frames is approximate. Depending on the product, it’s easier or more difficult to control that aspect. In this case, the item was hanging with a fishing line, making it more tricky.
 

How can you make 360 product photography images more engaging?

360 images are already engaging since there is motion and interaction in them. It is very simple; 360 images are a compound of single frames compiled with 360 product photography software to make the final image. If we change the position of some of the frames inside the 360 image, we can show the features of a product.

 

In-house 360 Product Photography Studio

If you are ready to incorporate 360 product photography into your services or you are a business owner and want to take care of the production in-house, the price could be from $10000 to $30000, depending on the level of production you want to get into and the type of product you want to photograph. Bigger items require more space and photography equipment to get the job done.

 

FAQ

What is 360-degree product photography called?

It is also called interactive 360 product photography, spin product photography, or spin photography.

Does Amazon allow 360 images?

Yes, they were the last ones to jump into the technology, but they are slowly implementing it more and more. The good news is they refine the technology to make it very simple, and it will be one of the best when they do.

What are amazon’s requirements for 360 images?

Amazon 360 product photography is simple since you don’t need special 360 software to assemble the final image. Here are amazon’s requirements for 360 photos

 

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Jose Soriano
360 Product Photography Software for E-commerce

What is 360 Product Photography Software?

This digital tool creates 360-degree rotating images of products, allowing customers to view the product from all angles without physically handling it. You use this software to combine all the rotation images into one file and make it interactive or just a simple rotation.

Some of this software help you with the whole process; capture, edit and publish 360 images for e-commerce platforms.

There are different solutions to create these 360 images.

360 product photography software

 

Automated 360 photo solution

automated 360 product photography solution

Automated 360 product photography allows users to capture 360-degree images automatically from all angles using specialized equipment, such as rotating turntables, cameras, and software.

Big companies that can afford to automate fully commonly use this solution. With a bit of manual reading, you can shoot amazing 360-spinning images.

This automated solution has its pros and cons. Here are some:

Pros

  • Increases turnaround times
  • Processes more orders in less time
  • Consistent results
  • You don’t need to be a photographer to operate it
  • It takes less space to produce the images in some cases. This is dependent on the product size

Cons

  • It’s pretty expensive to acquire the equipment.
  • It needs different devices for the type of product
  • If you need to solve a photography challenge, you can get stuck
  • The learning curve is less steep.
  • Less creative. It’s a volume solution.

This automated 360 photo solution ranges from $10.000 for small products to USD 40.000 for more oversized items to buy the equipment.

 

Traditional 360 photo solution

360 Product photography setup

A traditional 360 product photography solution is a method where you shoot a full product rotation and then put them together with specialized software. This method involves traditional photography gear like a camera, tripod, lights, turntable, etc.

This traditional solution has its pros and cons too:

Pros

  • More affordable to buy the gear.
  • You can repurpose the gear for any product. Simple changes go a long way.
  • No ceiling for creativity
  • Consistent results. If you have the right photographer.
  • The 360 images will have a creative touch. Different than everyone else

Cons

  • The learning curve is steeper to get the proper results.
  • You need a product photographer in some cases.
  • You need more space to execute the photoshoot
  • It takes more time to produce high-volume images.

This traditional 360 photo solution ranges from $3.000 to 10.000 USD.

When digging into 360 product photography, you should pay attention to the platform where the 360 images will be hosted.

 

E-commerce platform

Make sure your e-commerce platform runs in sync with the file output you receive from your 360-degree photography software before starting this technique. Usually, the output is an HTML, animated GIF, or video.

The most common e-commerce platforms ready for 360 photography are:

  • Amazon
  • Shopify
  • WordPress and Woocommerce
  • Adobe Commerce (previously Magento)
  • PrestaShop
  • BigCommerce
  • OpenCart
  • Joomla
  • Squarespace
  • Weebly
  • Wix

Depending on the platform and the 360 software you use, you would need a plug-in to run the interactive image on your e-commerce site.

 

Hosting the 360 image

Even though we are talking about one 360 picture, it is composed of 12, 24, 36, 48, or even more images. This means there is a need for more space and processing power from the server where your website is hosted.

E-commerce sites like Amazon don’t need 360 image hosting; they compose 360 images on their platform.

So, to make it simple, there are two options to host these 360 images on your eCommerce site:

 

Self-hosted images

This means that your images will be stored in the exact location where your site is hosted. The benefit of this is that you don’t need to pay for an extra hosting service for your 360 images.

The downside is that you need more hosting storage since these images are a compound of 12 – 36 images on average.

The other con is speed. As we said before, these are heavy images, and you could run into some slow-loading issues that can result in customers leaving your shop.

One way to tackle this speed issue is to have a CDN (Content Delivery Network) on your website.

 

360 image hosting

E-commerce platforms increasingly rely on 360 image hosting to provide customers with a better shopping experience.

If your website doesn’t manage the 360 images like Amazon, you should consider a 360 image hosting.

This type of hosting offers many benefits:

  • Fast and reliable all the time. Your 360 images get replicated in different servers worldwide, so no matter where the client sees the image, it will load fast and smoothly.
  • Quick sharing & integration. You get a link to your hosted media and share it on any eCommerce platform.
  • Easy management. Uploading the images is as easy as posting photos on your social media.

This image hosting is ideal for those who don’t need the shooting or editing part of the process. This is only if you have the final 360 ready to post.

Hostings

Many 360 image hostings offer 360 devices to produce great 360 product photography. Like, turntables, robotic arms, and lightboxes.

 

360 Product Photography Software

Many of the above-mentioned software provide all one solution, shooting, editing, and hosting. That’s why you will see some repeated names on this list.

360 software

 

Conclusion

The following options are available if you are thinking about using 360 images on your e-commerce site:

  • Invest in an automated 360 photo solution
  • Learn 360 product photography and buy the necessary equipment
  • Hire a professional product photographer

If you already have the product images and need to compile and post them, you need to get an 360 image hosting. The other option is to use a web developer to help you embed the images into your website.

If you are still thinking about hiring a product photographer, I recommend reading my article in-house vs. outsourcing product photography

 

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Jose Soriano
5 Tips for a Great Actor Headshot

A Great Headshot is Essential

As an actor, you know this business requires significant versatility and creativity, and careful attention to every little detail to land excellent roles. A high-quality headshot is a must to get your acting qualities the exposure they need. A great headshot is crucial in moving on to an audition and eventually landing the acting role you know you deserve.

A headshot that meets the cut requires the focused attention to detail that directors always demand. You want to stand out from the crowd but also demonstrate you are a real professional. This means you must draw attention to your best features and strive to be different, but avoid overdoing them.

Your headshot starts your brand as an actor and your primary marketing tool in this business. Your brand begins with the headshot and is the way you get noticed for current jobs and kept in mind for future roles. Now that we have established the importance of this crucial tool let’s look at what to wear for your actor headshot to deliver results.

Here are five tips for a great actor headshot to spark interest in your acting ability.

 

Plan your Brand

Every important endeavor requires careful planning. For the right actor headshot concept, study your target roles and have a profile in mind for the headshot that will get you the proper exposure. Your look is yours, but you want a presentation that projects professionalism and confidence.

The casting people will have to quickly assess your headshot and determine if you have the right basic look for the next step. Ideally, agents and or casting directors will have your great headshot on file and ready for when the proper role comes along.

You want to make sure your photo sends the right message.

What are the roles you expect?

Do your profile and the brand you are trying to project align with the roles you want?

Where is the location of the photo shoot, outdoors or studio?

The lighting and other location factors require planning for this vital shot to get your appearance right.

Every detail is essential, and it starts with detailed planning. Your brand image will drive opportunities for the acting roles you have in mind. Have a plan and brand image defined as you move on to the next steps in selecting what to wear for your headshot photo.

 

 

Your Face is the Focus

actor headshot on a white background

This appears to be blatantly obvious, but the purpose of the headshot is to put your face in the middle of the frame. The shot usually starts below the shoulders, focusing on your face and eyes. Ideally, the shot is the same view and expression as an in-person meeting.

The clothing you are wearing and any accessories should not detract from the primary purpose of conveying your brand as presented by a focused view of your face.

Every detail plays a part in this act, but keep the lighting, background, and clothing, as discussed further below, in harmony with the plan.

The plan is to project a brand that projects you and begins with a focus on the core center of your look- your face.

Should you wear a smile or not? It depends somewhat on the brand. But overall, a smile demonstrates an engaging personality who works well with others. A smile can also project energy and, most importantly, confidence. These are subtle factors that can come across in a headshot. Keep your face in the frame and aligned with your brand image.

 

 

Know your Pose

actress headshot with red dress on grey background

Study the various camera angles, shadows, and exciting impressions your pose can create. Your pose position can create a profound impact you want to create with your headshot.

Rarely will a straight-level stare into the camera give you a captivating look. Avoid the “mugshot” approach and turn one shoulder towards the camera to create a slight angle of view.

However, regardless of the pose position you feel looks the best, make sure you come off as comfortable with a natural pose. Your natural pose and genuine smile can project your energy as an actor and, most importantly, your confidence to handle any role.

 

 

Grooming and Stylingdramatic actor headshot

What you wear is only one essential component of your appearance and only one element of the complete headshot. You need to look your best regarding the appearance of your hairstyle.

Are the cut and style right for your image?

Is your hairstyle aligned with the brand image you have planned for the shot?

Is your skin tone too dry or a bit oily?

Guys should pick the right shave level that meets the image target. For the most part, a clean shave is a way to go.

 

  

Dress for the Shot

well dressed actress headshot

Finally, we address the dress requirements. The key factors are the brand image planning, the essential focus, and your overall appearance, but there are some critical notes on the clothing.

The headshot does not cover your entire outfit, but every detail is essential in getting the right headshot.

  • Avoid white clothing since this will conflict with the background.
  • Consider v-neck shirts, and guys should consider a neck-tie if the image is appropriate. The idea is to emphasize and bring focus to your face.
  • Using layered clothing can help develop an image.
  • Experiment with shirt and sweater combinations that work best for you.
  • Avoid crazy patterns and colors that may distract from your face shot and muddle the brand you are going for.
  • Keep the clothing approach as simple as possible; you are the focus, not the clothing.

 

Conclusion

An actor headshot is critical to acting work. Take the time to plan and get it right. A great headshot that will help get you noticed. It is a must to stand out from the crowd, but you must consistently demonstrate you are a real professional. This means selecting the right pose, applying good grooming techniques, and simple clothing to highlight the best features.

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Jose Soriano
5 Ways to Improve your Photography Portfolio and Get Paid

In the virtual world, we are living in, online presence means a lot. Over the past few years, market jobs and opportunities have expanded more in the internet domain than physical applications and the selection process that takes too much time and effort. This is where portfolios come in and save the day for you. You need to have a dossier containing your talents and work experiences in hard and soft copy. They link your work and skills and present them to any employers or companies looking for fresh talent. They speak for you more than you could possibly think.

While its true portfolios do reflect your talent and skills, it’ll be too much to expect them alone to land you a handful of opportunities without investing your effort to upgrade them. In this section, we’ll talk about ways to upgrade and improve your personal statements to effectively stay on top.

 

Look for collaborations

The fastest way to grow and develop yourself is to look for collaborations with already established setups. Button up your shirts and walk into the offices you want to be associated with. Offer them long or short-term associations in terms of mutual benefits as photographers or promotions on the internet and social networking sites. This step will get you much-needed belief in your talents in addition to career development and extension and financial stability. So go for it without being discouraged by proposal rejections. Not everyone is going to endorse your ideas but then again, not everyone needs to do that. Sooner or later you’ll find what you’re looking for.

 

Invest in a local business

Investing in and learning from a local business is the fastest way to get your foot in the door and build a pretty solid client base. The idea you might pursue includes the design or redesign of a local and small non-profit or neighborhood business in your portfolio. You can also take a shot at rebranding your favorite restaurant. If you try hard enough you can give it a completely modern and fantastic feel— making it stand out —while preserving the original business’ identity.

There’s absolutely nothing holding you back— except for some things that you should keep in mind: First, make sure that the final product associated with the business you choose for your portfolio is the exact product you want to be associated with—in simpler words, ask yourself this question if your potential clients will want to be associated with the concept products you’re presenting.

 

Shoot Stock themes and Images

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Without a doubt, Stock themes and images are the biggest source of images for most of the internet. One of the prominent advantages of integration and capturing or developing a stock theme is that you can also sell it yourself as a premium theme, generating additional income while contributing significantly to your portfolio. Or you can publish your theme away as a means of promoting your business and yourself (you can consider offering someone support or proper customization for an additional price as in this case). All you’ll need to do is do a bit of market research and create a standout product.

 

Create a versatile body of content

Your gut feeling intuition can derail you, so coupling it with market research for informing your content creation is all fine and good-looking. Research and Data say that certain kinds of review articles and content pieces are performing the best. You would feel bored exclusively promoting and writing them alone, though. You want to actually experiment with newer and exciting content formats to satisfy and broaden your vision.

The joy of creation cannot be contained in a few themes and paths. A creative career in content calls for building a versatile and strong body of work — something you feel excited about even while putting sweat and extreme effort and something you feel really proud of — and that can’t happen with “safe” career choices and “proven” frameworks alone. You need to take risks and let your inner curiosity guide you — maybe even when everyone tells you otherwise and even when it doesn’t seem to have a financial impact potential. Always Remember your portfolio reflects your creative potential and will result in career opportunities of that magnitude. So go out there and offer themes to big names that are worth your time and effort.

 

Work for a “CAUSE”

It’s true you won’t have much time in your professional career but taking out time for a cause will be beneficial instead of detrimental in the long run. Volunteering to take photos at a charity event or an event run by non-government organizations and offering to write descriptions on media for them can do wonders for your career as these associations go a long way. And it’s a mutual effort on your part as the work will be done by a professional with the best possible experience which will also give you the much-needed “exposure” and recognition which in turn will boost your career significantly.

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Jose Soriano
6 Product Photography Mistakes that Make Your Products Look Cheap

Product photography is an important part of any eCommerce business. It helps customers understand how a product works, looks and sometimes feel. It also makes your website look professional and that translates in a better brand. If you are embarking on producing the photos yourself instead hiring a professional product photographer, there are many things that can go wrong when when doing it, so don’t make this photography mistakes.

 

Poor Lighting

bad product photography lighting

One of the biggest mistakes people make with product photography is using bad lighting. This is a subject that we can write an exclusive blog about it but I will scratch the most important parts.

good product photography lighting

 

Light Intensity

If you use too much light, your subject will appear washed out and unattractive. On the other hand, if you use too little light, your subject will be dark and hard to see. You need to strike a balance between these two extremes. That balance depends on what you want to achieve with your photography. eCommerce photos tend to be bright and clean to focus on the product but again, it depends on your goal.

 

Light Direction

This is one of the key factors to get a good quality light. Depending on the shape, texture, and camera angle the light direction may be different. One tip that will make your products look better is to light across your camera angle, it could be completely straight on the oposite side or sligly on the sides.  The idea is to enhance the edges of the product to give some dimenssion

 

Light modifiers

There are many ways to modify light when doing product photography. One popular method is using a reflector. Reflectors can be used to bounce light back onto the product, fill in shadows, and create a more even overall light.

Another common light modifier is a diffuser. Diffusers soften the light and help reduce hot spots on the product. This is especially helpful when photographing products with shiny surfaces.

Finally, umbrellas are a cheap way to modify light for product photography as long as the product is not reflective, because you would see the umbrella shape on the product and it’s not very appealing. 

Light Temperature

Product photography often requires special lighting to make the products being photographed look their best. The color of light can have a big impact on how a product looks, and different colors of light can be achieved by changing the temperature of the light.

The temperature of light is measured in Kelvin, and it is generally accepted that the ideal color temperature for product photography is between 5000K and 5500K. This range of temperatures will produce a light that is close to natural daylight, which makes colors appear bright and vibrant. When the Kelvin temperature is too low, a light might appear to be yellow or orange and can make product colors appear dull. When the Kelvin temperature is too high, a light might appear blue and can wash out product colors. The Kelvin temperature is an easy way to balance the color of a light, and it is common to use gels to correct the temperature or to give a creative twist to the final image.

 

Bad Backgrounds

bad background product photography

When it comes to product photography, the background is just as important as the product itself. The right background can make your product pop and help it stand out from the competition. There are a few things to keep in mind when choosing a background for your product photos.

Texture and color are two important factors to consider. A busy or cluttered background can be distracting, so choose something with a simple texture or pattern. A solid color backdrop is a great option if you want your product to really stand out. On the other hand, textures and patterns could be your friend, as long as you incorporate them in a way that enhances the composition, we are wining!

A good practice is to use pure white backdrops when photographing products for e-commerce, it is clean and pretty much industry standard.

 

No Depth of Field

In product photography, depth of field is the distance between the nearest and farthest objects in a scene that appear acceptably sharp in an image. The depth of field can be shallow, deep, or anywhere in between. It depends on several factors, including the aperture setting on your camera, the focal length of your lens, and how close you are to your subject.

When photographing products, a shallow depth of field can be used to make the background blurry, which makes the product stand out from the rest of the image. A deep depth of field keeps both the foreground and background in focus, which can be useful for showing off a product’s features or for creating a more lifelike image.

Once again, depending on your goal and product type you need to play with the depth of field in order to get the look you are looking for. A great tip to create some dimension is to use some foreground elements to make the composition more interesting.

 

Too Much Noise

product photo with too much noise

Another mistake people make when photographing products is using too high ISO which makes the image too noisy or grainy. Noise is present at any level of ISO but the lower it is the less visible is to the naked eye. To avoid introducing too much noise to an image you need to lower the ISO so the image is clear and crisp. This comes with a price and is to have more powerful lights, since the lower the ISO the more light you need to properly expose the scene, whether it’s natural or artificial like strobes or LED lights.

 

Poor Composition

If there is something that you really need to pay attention is the composition. This is the most important aspect when taking any kind of photo since it is the way the viewer navigates the photo to understand and engage with it. A quick tip is to make it simple, try to fill the frame with your product other than props to avoid distraction, and try to use a grid to position your item in one of the strongest spots of the frame. Check this composition article to know more about this subject.

 

Wrong Angle

Very often you need to think out of the box when photographing products, you don’t always get the most appealing item to photograph so angles are key to spicing up the composition. Getting the wrong angle is very easy and to avoid this you need to experiment with different angles until you or your client are happy with the result. It’s a good practice to try different angles to highlight product features, top-down, down up, and sideways. Sometimes a good idea is to move your product in a way that catches your eye.

 

Using the Wrong Lens

A lens is one of the most important tools in a photographer’s toolkit. The right lens can make or break a photo, and using the wrong lens can ruin a perfectly good shot.

There are a few things to keep in mind when choosing the right lens for product photography. First, consider the size of the product. A small product will require a different lens than a large product. Second, think about the distance between the product and the camera. A close-up shot will need a different lens than a wide-angle shot.

Unless you are photographing a lay flat scene where you would need a standard focal length, 50mm lens, I would go with a macro lens around 90mm or 105mm that are very common. With this Im not saying that these are the only options, but the best ones.

 

Conclusion

There you have it, 5 product photography mistakes that you should avoid while photographing your products for your online store. Don’t get frustrated if you don’t get it right the first time. Practice practice practice and pay attention to little details.
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Jose Soriano
7 great commercial photographers to get your inspiration from

Since I started my journey into Commercial Photography, I wanted to copy every photographer’s style I liked and this could sound a bit wrong but this helped me to learn a bit about those photographers and incorporate what I like about them and create my style.

These are some of the inspirational commercial photographers I use when I have to work on a project and from whom I have learned since I just started my career as a professional photographer.

Benjamin Von Wong

commercial photographer Benjamin Von Wong

I admire this commercial photographer for many reasons. The main one is the fact that he never went to school to study photography and I feel I identify with him for this reason. He is a self-taught photographer coming from an engineering career. The second reason is the way he approaches the idea to create an epic photograph. I have heard from him he spends 80% of the time preparing his epic photography projects based on an idea he had, then recruiting the team to make gorgeous and breathtaking photos. 

The last reason I love his work is because I worked with him for several opportunities. Once, when he went to Europe to create a Photoshop tutorial with all the people he met, based on very creative artisans, he shot on the trip. During this opportunity, I translated a Spanish interview they conducted with a leather artisan in Spain. The second time I worked with him was in a photoshoot in Montreal, called “Epic Pumpkin Destruction”; a Halloween theme, testing a super-high frame 700 fps video camera from FOR.A.

Von Wong Portfolio

 

Joel Grimes

I love Joel’s work and style. I see him as a visual artist more than a simple photographer, since he crafts his photos in every single detail. Portrait photography is one of my favorite genres. You can see in his work more than your eye expects to see: texture, contrast, and expression. From all the tutorials I have watched from him, I learned that I’m a photographer 24 hours a day. 

I say this because I see a photo everywhere; I’m looking to craft a photo all the time I see an interesting location. That is the way he thinks or, at least, what I have got from his way of work.

Joel Grimes Portfolio

 

Joe McNally

One of the first photographers I followed when I began my journey into photography. Usually when you see photography with a different eye, as more than a simple hobby, and you see photographers like Joe McNally, you get inspired by how he gets such a beautiful photo with the simplest gear, speed-lights, and a couple of modifiers. I love the way he produces the photos with simple techniques. 

That is what you look for when you have just started photography–at least I did. I also like his personality a lot since he connects with the subject he is photographing in a way that gets the money shot. I would say that 50% of the success of a magnificent portrait is engaging with the subject, and he does this very well in his environmental portraits.

Joe McNally Portfolio

 

Lindsay Adler

A fashion photographer that goes far beyond the typical portrait. Her work inspires me on another level since sometimes her work is very surrealistic. Photography, for me, is an art and I always try to create more than unimaginable images to engage the spectator and cause them to feel powerful emotions. I see Lindsay that way.

Her clean, graphic and bold style make me go out and shoot new projects every day, to think of a new challenge and produce new results. In another word, she makes me think out of the box. If you want to learn a bit more about her and her techniques, check out her photography and pose courses

Lindsay Adler Portfolio

 

Alex Koloskov

As he calls himself, he is the lighting magician. He is a product photographer and educator. His work makes me buy anything he photographs, even though I don’t use most of these products. I admire Alex because he is also a scientist by formal education from Ukraine, based in the USA and a self-taught photographer.

The way he lights the scene in a softly manner is sometimes unbelievable but realistic. As I mentioned before, he is also an educator at photigy product photography community where I took a couple of courses and I can tell by looking at his work, that trying to replicate his creation could be impossible, but he explains the techniques so easily that even a monkey could create that image, maybe not a monkey but you get the idea.

Alex Koloskov Portfolio

 

Michael Woloszynowicz

Fashion/Portrait Photographer, retoucher and educator. My inspiration from Michael comes from the natural and clean look of his images. His work inspires me as his fashion work captures the beauty of a woman’s body, which is surely the greatest creation in the world. I have learned advanced retouching techniques, as well as creating a successful portrait session. As I mentioned before, he is a great educator in many of the most renowned online photography websites, Retouching Academy, PRO EDU and a writer at Fstoppers.

Michael Woloszynowicz Portfolio

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