ThinkTank - VisibleDust - This Washington DC Photographer taking advantage of foresight

The NYC Photo Plus Expo lead to a few purchases mostly to enhance the "workflow" of our everyday lives here at the studio, be it my assistant or just me.

100% of the time we out in the field so making it look as seamless as possible is really important. I had fully expected just to wander the Expo and attend various seminars with no intention of purchasing gear. However, a few items jumped out at me and an idea started to formulate. - A different "decisive moment" for the digital age -.


There are several moments during my work day that have been really important to me and one in particular has come to light as the absolute defining moment.
Here's a few examples of this Virginia photographer's idea of what is important:- appearance of my crew, the gear's appearance, quality of gear, punctuality, communication skills, personality, competency and execution.

The defining moment - as I wandered the vendor stalls is the instant the image pops up on the screen for the client's approval.
(100% of the time I'm tethered to a computer).

At that moment - nothing else matters, the lighting can be changed, the set or model finessed, but quality is the watch-word so this is the "decisive moment".

Too often a photographer's sensor can be mucky or the computer screen being used has mismatched color. Now, I've never been this sort of sloppy technician but things have snuck up on me during busy periods.

There is nothing worse than excusing sensor dust on a client's product or likeness. All day long - "I'll fix that in PhotoShop!" Once your at on the assignment it's too late to clean and calibrate. Something I have work to avoid but ti was adding so much time as the last task of the night.

NYC got me thinking about that moment and finessing out these aggravations. Money must be able to make this easier on me.

VisibleDust based in Canada got the jump many years ago on the digital camera self-cleaning accessory market. I've been a user or many years with their high end Sensor Clean and rather ordinary early model brushes which ran several hundred dollars.
Now they have in the product lineup the Sensor Loupe, Sensor Swabs and the Arctic Butterfly which I have ignored until now, but in light of my revelation I couldn't resist. ChaChing - more money! Problem no longer.

Before each shoot I now inspect my sensor and clean it if necessary. The Arctic Butterfly works wonders - zip, whirl -and my images are as clean as a whistle.

Next, I color calibrating my monitors before each shoot.

This may seem very laborious but compared to spotty images and a client wondering why they look a little jaundice it is well worth it.

I also of course grabbed PhotoShelterand ThinkTankPhotos' Airport Takeoff. I didn't want a defining moment of stupidity at the airport departure gate so I purchased the ultimate airline "approved" photo kit bag. My back also thanks me since it has wheels and I feel like I'm permanently off for my holidays. Fat Chance!

This Washington DC Photographer has PhotoShelter!! -

My friend John Harrington has been pestering me for years about having a PhotoShelter account but I just didn't get it.

Finally, the combinations of such features as SEO, client delivery, stock portal, client proofing and ease of job completion I made the leap at this year's 2009 NYC PhotoPlus Expo with just 20 minutes to spare.

So far it's amazing to use PhotoShelter and I'm eager to load more as stock which has languished all these years.

Part of the attraction is adding SEO to the brand "Virginia Photographer" and "Washington DC Photographer" so that I too can compete for some of the work available through Google searches.

Secondly it keeps me to one editing tool, the speed machine PhotoMechanic which loads directly to PhotoShelter. Phew!

Anyway it's making an impact and I think it's the future for all photographers. Check out my new front page here

Virginia Photographer, Virginia Photography, Virginia Photographers, washington DC photographer, DC photographer

Paying Once - the right photographer

This is really just a brief tale of what might be a false economy.

Go for the cheaper person and the saving might be $100 then again sometimes $1000.

However, a lot might depend on that image let alone the cost of producing a full re-shoot if the photographer entirely chosen for price turns out not to be able to produce the goods.

Recently, due to the economy I've been considered the somewhat expensive freelancer which I of course reject because I bring a lot of gear, creativity and experience. Many times now I've had to save-the-day for clients when choosing the cheaper guy say $50-200 cheaper didn't pan out.

This saving might seem like a good idea to a daily publication where the drop in quality can be absorbed by the daily turnover but to a monthly magazine, corporate client or advertising job it's a big mistake.

Here's the brief:- Tiki-esque cocktails for the cover illustration. (I don't necessarily consider myself a food shooter)

Tiki-esque had me stumped when I walked into a local very high-end white table cloth restaurant.
There was nothing Tiki to be seen, no tiny umbrellas, no palm tables - nothing.

I spotted after some anxiety a dark wooden table and a high back rattan booth. Next - steal palm fronds and a flower from planters down the street. Add light and some gels.

Here's the photo they had done previously before they called me. (Pretty uninviting isn't it?)



Here are the images I produced. (Below)

Presto - instant Tiki and photos worth every penny.

Drinks you want to reach in and enjoy on a hot day. (Blur - Canon 45mm Tilt Shift lens - no photoshop)
This is a pretty light shoot with just two lights since the budget had taken a hit from the previous photographer.

PhotographersQuote.com - not likely.

The internet is amazing with boundless potential so I was really intrigued when I received an email to the newly launched PhotographersQuote.com.

DesignersQuote has been around for a while it would seem with many happy and equally unhappy people. The jist is that an individual can post a job request and a photographer bids on this 'opportunity" with credits purchased from the site.

Each credit costing $4 and each job having a credit score.

This may work in the "designer" site since you can design for anyone in the world but photography is very much bricks and mortar so the job (usually low budget) has to be in your region -okay - walking distance and use your iPhone.

I "had" to sign up to see if my suspicions where correct. Job postings existed in the $100 for headshots and $500 for a full wedding. Locations - North Carolina and Michigan - Good luck getting a real professional for that!

Anyway, it's a great idea in this economy so we'll watch this site for improvements and maybe a realistic job request. It didn't cost to join after all.

Bidding which uses time and paying for the honor be it $4 to $24 for a $100 job just isn't going to catch on.

Tweet-FaceBook bad for business! Shocker

Personally, I don't get the Tweet or the minute-by-minute, blow-by-blow updates on Facebook or Twitter. I'm not over-the-hill in age and confess openly to being a bit of a technology enthusiast/geek. However, I'm sort of English by nature - after years of torture living there - so - we all know showing your feelings just isn't cricket!

This fascination with other peoples musing, rants and daily potty habits makes me wonder: - What are the Bookies saying? Fads to be gone in -- 3 yrs - maybe? Place your bets! My Space - How Passe´!

Here's a great story over at AP (A Photo Editor) as to the dangers of the "Tweet" - Watch what you post folks!

"Facebook Ad Twitter Lost Me An Advertising Shoot"

Excuse me, whilst I head off and clean-up my FaceBook account.

Honda Generator EMS 4500 - For Sale -

A vital tool is a generator for home protection or photo shoots on location. I have a Honda EMS 4500 120/240 30A beast for sale at $450 on craigslist if interested. I replaced this with a Honda EU3000i so if you need home protection and more this guy might be right for you.

SpyFu .com a way to unravel what some have spent (literally) so much on.

Spy Fu.com is a brilliant and sometimes unknown tool to peek behind the curtain of your competitors work and advertising methods.

If your competitor is using Google Adwords you simply put their URL into SpyFu.com and presto all your competitions vital statistics from budget to keywords and who their greatest challenges to overcome are and how they rank.

Just passing this on if you have an Adwords campaign brewing in the back of your mind.