January 14, 2009

2

Dennis Zerwas, ProPhotoShow, Wedding Tip Wens, Weddings

Wedding Tip Wednesday #9: Review & Revamp Your "Wow!" Images

Here in Minnesota, the wedding season slows down quite a bit this time of year.  Why?  Let’s just say I woke up to -18 F this morning and leave it at that.  Now is a perfect time for those of us working in “cooler” locations to take a moment to wrap up any loose ends from 2008 and get refreshed for the 2009 wedding season.  I suppose “refresh” could refer to mind and body but I’m mostly talking about your business literature and images in this case.  Let’s focus on the latter for this week’s tip.

Start sifting those “Wow!” shot gems out of the hundreds, thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands of images you and your staff snapped off last year.  “What do I do if I have like 250 great shots picked out?” Well then I would suggest going into your closet, pull out your “World’s Most Awesome Photographer” T-shirt, put it on, pat yourself on the back and get your butt back in front of your computer ‘cause you’ve got more editing down to do!  Be tough on yourself.  Pick out what you think are your ten to twenty best “Wow!” shots from 2008.  Much like Kevin Kubota touched on in PPS Episode #47, select the images that best represent the kind of shots you truly enjoy doing and want to do more of.  Choose the images that best define you.

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December 9, 2008

86

Gavin Seim, Portrait, PPS Photography Tips, ProPhotoShow, Weddings

Free Wedding, Portrait, Commercial, Contract Samples: UPDATED

Updated 08/2012. by Gavin Seim: People are often looking for a starting point to build their photography contracts. Sometimes photographers take the I’m not sharing stance. I however do not and rather than manually emailing them each time people ask, I decided to share them here. I’ve included a folder with  both PDF and DOC formats. You can start here, insert your own name and alter the text to suit your needs.

Disclaimer. I am NOT a lawyer: These are contracts I have used and I am making available free of charge. They are in no way guaranteed. I’ve written them in plain English, while still trying to cover my bases. I have not had them reviewed by a lawyer, so if you feel the need to have them checked, you’ll have to handle that on your own. OK disclaimer finished.

On a side note, if you are a lawyer and would like to help review the legal side of these contracts so we can post more official versions please contact me. Also if you have links to your own contracts (available for free) post them up so people can look at more ideas.

Enjoy… Gav

UPDATE 08.2012. Version 1.5.

Now includes…

  • Sample Wedding Contract – Updated
  • Sample Portrait Contract – Updated
  • Sample Commercial Contract – New
  • Sample Second Shooter Contract – New

Download Sample Contracts v1.5 Zip

 

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November 13, 2008

1

Canon, Gavin Seim, Nature, Portrait, PPS Photography Tips, ProPhotoShow, Software, Weddings

Six Tips to Build Your Photography Business:

by Gavin Seim (Updated 01/10) — With winter on and economic downturn in many parts of the world, you may find yourself looking at the numbers in horror. OK maybe I’m going too far, but many photographers are concerned about the amount of work on their schedule. I’m a blessed man. And while things are moving along, I too am looking at ways to put more on the calender.

Now I’m not the worlds chief authority on marketing. What I do know is that amazing service is a never fail approach. Beyond that there’s is no instant solution, but hard work pays off and these tips will get you thinking. I’m going to assume you already have great service (you do right?), then keep it short with six tips that can help you get noticed in this competitive market. I also found another cool article by Sean Clayton about getting your phone to ring that you might want to check out.

  • #1. Give Some Classy Freebies:
    Sometimes the best way to make profit is by giving something away. You don’t have to devalue your work by shouting FREE prints to the world.  Try sending  gifts to past clients for anniversaries or graduations. They don’t need to be photos. In fact something else might make a HUGE impression. Chocolates, a gift card for dinner. Maybe coffee or a bottle of wine. They may have loved your photos, but clients need a reminder to talk about you. I know it sounds expensive, but it will WOW past clients and usually pays. There’s various ways to give gifts and perks. Just be creative and see what matches your style.
  • #2. Send Images to Venue’s:
    Sending out promo images from a venue is a great way to make yourself memorable and build venue relationships.  A pile of 8×10’s for their book or some web files for their site is fine, but lately I’ve been taking it to the next level by giving notable things like larger canvas images and albums. Venues nearly always need great images to show off to potential customers and what can be better than them showing off yours. Make sure you put your name on them in a classy fashion and send some business cards along. The venue will appreciate the images, and you can get free advertising, which is always the best kind.
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October 15, 2008

12

Dennis Zerwas, Gavin Seim, Nature, Photography Podcast, Portrait, Pro Photo Show Podcast, ProPhotoShow, Weddings

Pro Photography Roundtable Podcast #10 ~ Pet's, Pew's & Nature

<<Click To Listen – Photography Roundtable Podcast #10 – PPS #51

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Todays Panel:
Gavin Seim ~ Seim Studios
Dennis Zerwas ~ DZ Photography
Paul Walker ~ Paws Pet Photography
Erik Guggenheim ~ CopperBreaks.com
Scott & Adina Hayne ~ Hayne Photography

Notable Time Indexes:
3:55 News & General Talk
52:33 Scott & Adina on selling Weddings & Portraits
1:04:06 Paul on Pet Photography
1:14:25 Erik on the Nature business

Listeners can Save with these codes:
15% from OnOne software with promo code PRPHTPC
15% on Seim Effects with promo code FALL

Roundtable 10 Forum Discussion:

Links:
Kodak Launches Ektar 100. Yep real film

5D MK2 is here

Pet Photography NOW: by Paul Walker

On This Earth: Photographs from East Africa: Nick Brandt

Orphan Works act may be dead

Freebies on the Seim Effects Facebook fan page.

Some articles of note…
90 seconds to better photography
Managing LR catalogs and images for Pro’s

____

Picks of the week:
Adina: Shoot Cue Studio Software

Scott: Brinkmann Maxfire Dual Xenon Spotlight

Paul: Our Peaceable Kingdom: The Photographs of John Drysdale

Eric: Molar Bean Bags

Dennis: Moon Phase for iPhone – Led Headbeam Lamp

Gavin: Good Printable Disks: Taiyo Yuden Water Shield Printable CD & DVD –  Overnight Prints for postcards and bussiness cards.

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September 26, 2008

16

Gavin Seim, Nature, Portrait, PPS Photography Tips, ProPhotoShow, Review, Weddings

Become a Better Photographer in 90 Seconds – 24 One Line Tips

Ghosts of Clepsydra Geyser - f164By Gavin Seim: (updated 09/11): I often hear from photographers asking me to look at their work and tell them how to be better photographers. In ten seconds I can usually tell them how to improve because we often overlook simple things. There’s nearly always something we can improve, no matter how much experience we have.

Most rules are universal to photography of any style or any experience level. Of course these rules are meant to be broken, but general concepts help us stay on track and we should only break rules for good reason. These are some tips I keep in mind with my own work. Hope they give you a few reminders. When your done here some join us in the forums to get some personal feedback. OK let’s roll.

  1. One primary subject. If you have more, you’ll have distraction.
  2. Omit needless objects. Getting them out will clean up your scene.
  3. Slow down. Many images are ruined because of RTC (Rush To Click).
  4. Tonal control is essential. Use the Zone Scale, Burn & Dodge.
  5. If a background detracts from your scene, change or carefully blur it.
  6. See Light. Where’s it coming from, how can you use it.
  7. Learn the rules photography. Then you’ll break them for good reason.
  8. Don’t just center things. Use the rule of thirds & others. They work.
  9. Eyes. Watch close, keep them sharp. They hold emotion.
  10. Use the Magic Hour. Around sunrise/sunset, light happens.
  11. Keep it sharp. Watch your shutter speed & subject movement.
  12. Space is valuable in a frame, keep clutter away with comp & tonal control.
  13. Harsh sun can be bad. Learn to manipulate it and find good light.
  14. Shadows are critical. Without them the light gets ignored.
  15. Great images start in camera. But don’t underestimate careful editing.
  16. Use fresh ideas, but also go for those old reliable images.
  17. If the weather is foul, it doesn’t mean the photos will be.
  18. Lines lead the eye. Pay attention to where they go and intersect.
  19. Change hours. Different times of day will transform a scene.
  20. Think about shadows and dimension. Flat light is usually boring.
  21. Motion Blur can be very powerful, but use it carefully.
  22. Take time to really LOOK at your subject before releasing the shutter.
  23. Study. Photography has 150+ years of history. Go learn about it.
  24. Remember… Slow down, refine, simplify. Analyze your scene.

 

seim-bridge-600x400
This award winning image has a lot going for it. Notice the balanced intersecting lines, bold colors, and simplicity of the scene. It leads the eyes and tells a story.
Focus Blurring was an effective tool here. The light at the ceremony was great but I wanted the focus on the couple. I used a Lensbaby to give me the soft edges and then some work in post production to make the viewers eye go right where I wanted. The blue could have also been done in post, but I enjoy the Lensbaby.
Silver Waves of Grain: Motion blur was used heavily in this 5 min+ exposure. This gave a ghostly feel to the fields and clouds, completely changing the feel of this scene. Then detailed tone work was done to add depth and dimension. You can click the image to read a detailed article on f164.com about how it was made.
Watch the details. Look To the Wind, is one of my early (and more recognized) HDR portraits. The space gives it a bold cinematic feel and the simplicity of the deserted beach adds strength to the scene. Looking back however I could have watched my lines more. The way the horizon cuts at the shoulder is not ideal. It's still a great image, but if I was doing it over I would try being higher with the camera for an even more powerful composition.

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