Month: May 2010
Memorial Day Picture Share ~ Photos of Patriotism
In both honor and memory of those who fight for our freedom and protect our country, I asked those on my Facebook Page to share images for Memorial Day. Here are some of the hundreds I received over the past week. Thank you for celebrating and sharing with us. As you look through these images,…
Using Photoshop Actions to Fix Washed Out Scanned Slide Images
This Blueprint will show you how Photoshop actions were used to save an 50+ year old, washed out scanned slide image. Didi Miles, a photographer, sent in this story with her Blueprint: It has been a weird-yucky-crazy 6 months. I’ve lost huge cornerstones of my life in the last 6 months. In order…..My Grandma Dorothy…
One Way to Control Light in Photography: Turn Day Into Night
What time would you guess the images below were taken? Look carefully… Sunrise? Sunset? A few hours before sunset? Just after sunrise? After dark? Or might these silhouettes have been taken minutes after 2pm when the sun was high above – but under controlled lighting – using aperture, speed and ISO to create an illusion?…
What to Wear: How to Dress Children for a Portrait Session
What to Wear {Part 2: Children} As a photographer, it can help your customers when you direct them on what to wear. The next number of weeks, guest writer Kelsey Anderson will be providing information to help you coach your customers on what to wear. When booking a portrait session I think it is almost…
The Secret to Using Photoshop on an iPad and iPhone
Photoshop on your mobile device? If you are interested, read on… Picture This: You want to edit photos on the go using Photoshop. And you want to travel light. You have your iPad or iPhone with you. What do you do? Sure, you could use one of hundreds of light photo editing apps in the…
From Hobbyist to Professional: Step 6. Believe in YOU
Believing in yourself might very well need to be your very first step. If it is, re-read the letter I wrote to myself. If you have the courage to take that first step you will never regret it. For the rest of you who find yourself in the same place I found myself not too…
From Hobbyist to Professional: Step 5. Build Your “Storefront”
It’s your business, it’s your storefront and it’s you. Building your identity for the web and in print is so important and it must be done well. It’s a non-negotiable. I thought today I’d share with you all the things I’ve done wrong so that you don’t have to do them, too. When I first…
From Hobbyist to Professional: Step 4. Building Your Portfolio
Ahhhh … building your portfolio. It doesn’t have to be difficult, you know? You’ve just got to know how to walk the line. Do not be arrogant. Do not be a pushover. There’s the fine line. A fine line that can also be confusing. When to say yes, when to say no??? Here’s my best…
From Hobbyist to Professional: Step 3. The Business Stuff
The (terribly boring, bound to make you second guess running your own business) business stuff … (enter giant, sigh here) … As artists this part can be the hardest. I’ll say though that if you’re willing to get the basics taken care of and the pertinent stuff organized (i.e. taxes) it won’t be as painful…
From Hobbyist to Professional: Step 2. Gear You Actually Need
Welcome back! Today I’m gonna talk about gear (the gear you actually need) to really get started. I think investing money into education is money well spent. I think investing money on a dozen different photography gadgets is money well wasted. Mottos I live by: #1: Buy quality, need less. #2: Don’t buy something until…
From Hobbyist to Professional: Step 1. Get Educated
Dear Jessica, It’s understandable that you’re terrified, doubtful and insecure about where you are. You desire something you think you want so much, but what if … what if it doesn’t work? You’ll look like a fool, you know? So, your only other option is to play it safe. Don’t pursue the dream that’s…
From Hobbyist to Professional Photographer: 2 Weeks of Education + Contests
Running a photography business takes a ton of work. A ton. Ask any photographer that makes money (particularly the ones that make it look easy) and they’ll tell you that they got there by pouring blood, sweat and tears into every ounce of what they do. Yes, there are times – really amazing and fulfilling…
Get Crisp Images + Color Pop Using Photoshop Actions: Blueprint
If you love rich, color popped image, you will want to read and learn from today’s Blueprint. Sometimes I like to have really fun, bright color and crispness with my photos. This photo of my daughter Ellie was taken on our cruise last month on Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas. I loved the real…
Beginner’s Photoshop Bootcamp: Online Group Classes
As most of you know, I teach Photoshop. I offer a number of Photoshop Classes for photographers as well as one-on-one Photoshop training. Some of the classes I offer are: Learn All About Using Curves in Photoshop Color Fixing: Color Correction in Photoshop Color Crazy: Popping Colors in Photoshop Speed Editing: Learn Shortcuts to Edit…
Why Linking is the Most Important Part of Your SEO
Allow myself to introduce… myself. I’m Zach Prez, Google rank sherpa for ya’ll photographers and author of the Photographer’s SEO Blog and Book. This post covers the Everest of SEO which is link building. It’s the most difficult and time consuming of SEO tasks, but has the biggest payoff for getting you ranked at the…
Watermark Your Images in Photoshop CS5: FREE & EASY
Watermarking and re-sizing are two effective ways to protect your photos from theft on the internet. And they also brand your images, which is an added bonus. While people may still copy or take a screen shot, prominent logos on re-sized photos make it harder for customers to print your images without permission. Watermarking and…
How to Move Photoshop Actions & More to Photoshop CS5
Are you considering an upgrade to Photoshop CS5? Did you already purchase CS5 and are unsure how to move over your products, like Photoshop actions? It can take a little bit of time and preparation, but setting up Photoshop CS5 should be fairly easy. If possible, start preparing before the program arrives via mail or…