Online Photography Courses

Interested in becoming a great fashion/advertising photographer and earn a good income as well? This specialist area of photography is huge, but also very competitive and challenging. You really need to learn what is required to make great photos and how to pose models expertly. The good news is that this is a skill anyone can acquire and there will always be mountains of work available. Some online photography courses can offer you the skills required to get you started in this genre of photography.

One of most difficult areas of portrait photography is posing. What do I get my client to do? I found this one of the most difficult skills to grasp and so do many novice photographers. But, as I have mentioned in other posts, this is a skill like many others and can be easily learned.

With posing, you need to be able to relate to your client, their features, flattering lighting, clothing and poses. A great way to start is to get some posing ideas together, as many as you can, and practice on friends. Discover what works and what doesn’t. Identify what different features demand in terms of poses, file these away for future reference. keep a folder of poses that you like and know work. Bring this out when you have a paying client; put in somewhere so you can constantly refer to it, change poses to suit or modify ones that show promise. When you have done this hundreds of times you will probably end up not requiring the use of your pose file. But still maintain it, you will always find it useful as there is an infinite variety of poses.

To get you started on posing techniques, have a look at the following course on posing secrets. Sure, they’re not really secrets but you need resources from somewhere to get started.

Some useful tips to get the novice going in the popular area of portrait photography.

Portrait photography is perhaps the most popular form of photography today. It also can be very lucrative if you acquire the skills to make a professional image. Further information can be acquired with an online photography course, but in the meantime here are some tips.

Most people who know how to point and operate a camera are able to make a portrait photograph. However, there are of course differences in the amateur and professional portrait. Professional portrait photographers have certain abilities and techniques that let them get the best out of their subjects. These techniques can be easily learned with good online photography courses.

A portrait photograph does not only mean a person’s image. It shows character and emotion as well as employing professional approaches. If you want to start shooting portraits and don’t know the essential elements, here are five tips that can give you a good start.

1. Plan
Be sure that you are ready before you go to the photo shoot. Not only that you have all the equipment that you need, but be sure that you can handle the job properly. Prepare all the necessary materials and be sure to bring a good topic for conversation so that your subject can relax while you are shooting. Document your scene and itemize all tools and props you are going to need. Review this list carefully and make sure nothing is missing.

2. Rapport
Building rapport with your subject is the first thing that you should learn how to achieve. Interest in knowing your subjects are a plus. If you get to know your subject and they know you, they will become more comfortable in front of the camera. When the shoot comes, you have better chances of getting the best natural expressions of the people you are photographing. Sit your subject and initially discuss anything to put them at ease. Many photographers from the film days would spend some time snapping without film for a “rapport time”. Then when they felt the subject was at ease, then use film. With digital this is not necessary, but you get the point.

3. Personality
Try to make sure that your photos will show the personality of your subject. You can only do this if you know the person. So if you don’t know them, get to know them. You can do this in the initial discussion before the session as well as observation during the session. Discover something about the person and their characteristics and try to show this in the photographs. Make sure that their personality shows in their faces. Personality usually appears when the subject is not expecting a shot or is comfortable with you and the equipment.

4. Background
Most portraits have light or dark backgrounds to emphasize the subject. You can also use the environment to add more character to your subject. Also, be sure that the colors of your background and the dress of your subject compliment each other. Sometimes backgrounds become the flaw of a picture because the photographer took it for granted. Plain black or white paper or material backgrounds are the favorite choice of professional portrait photographers.

5. Lighting
Most photographers prefer studio lighting as it provides the photographer with much more control than natural light. However, some professionals choose natural lighting but this can be difficult to achieve, as a studio has to be purpose built around the natural elements of the sun. Be sure that light is interesting and flattering, or that it satisfies the angle that you want to emphasize. Portrait photographers generally use two or more lights, underexposing one side of the face by up to one stop. Lighting can have a terrific effect especially if you want a professional looking photograph.

Portrait photography is a really enjoyable hobby. If you’re serious in making it your career, you can be sure that it can be lucrative as long as you perfect your craft. However, remember that you should have the heart for the job because portrait photography’s first requirement is human interest.

Like to know how to pose your model?: Click Here!

by PJ Francis

It’s easier than you may think to make money as a digital photographer. There are many different ways to make money doing digital photography and here are 15 to get you started.

How to Start a Profitable Photography Business

“If you enjoy taking photos, then starting a photography business will be easy and achievable for you; learn how to earn up to $720 part time, per week … guaranteed!” Have a look here!

Method #1 – Selling Stock Photography: Selling stock photography is easier than you may think. Just take some of your best photos and submit them to stock photography sites. They will be reviewed and if it’s a good photo, it will hopefully be accepted. You’ll get paid about $1-2 every time someone uses your photo.

Method #2 – Screensavers: There’s a lot more money in screensavers than people realize. Take a series of photographs along a theme and make your own screensaver. If the photos are good, they’ll do great on screensaver sites or on eBay.

Method #3 – Help eBay Sellers: eBay sellers often have very poorly taken photos of their items. For higher end eBay sellers, this could be losing them thousands of dollars every month! You can offer your services to these sellers, offering to take photos of their items for them for a fee.

Method #4 – Wedding Photographer: Wedding photography is one of the most popular, profitable and competitive photography fields out there. To get jobs in this area, it’s important to have a very impressive portfolio.

Tips, tricks and techniques for creating breath taking wedding photographs: Click Here!

Method #5 – Restaurant Photography: Have you ever noticed how pretty food plate images are in restaurants? You can bet the owner didn’t take those pictures themselves. Helping restaurants get good photos for their menus or marketing is a great way to position yourself as a photographer.

Method #6 – Real Estate Agents: Real estate agents need listing photographs of new homes they’re listing. Get yourself a few real estate agents you work with regularly and you could quickly be booked with work.

Method #7 – Take Insurance Photos: When someone gets insurance, they usually need to have their belongings photographed. For higher end clients, the process of going through their home item by item taking photos just isn’t a good use of their time. Instead, you can do it for them. For a premium, of course.

Method #8 – Take Online Dating Photos: Your online dating photograph is often the #1 most important thing in your dating profile. As a photographer, you can help both men and women find love, while making a good living at the same time!

Method #9 – Consignment Art: Places like Cafes and restaurants would often love to showcase your artwork. It gives them art on their walls for free. In exchange, you get exposure and potential buyers for your art.

Method #10 – Sporting Events: Local sporting events such as little league games or high school soccer games would often love to have photographers photograph their games.

Interested in Sports Photography? Quickly take advantage of this Market! Click Here!

Method #11 – Church Directories: A church directory is a booklet with photographs of all their members along with names and phone numbers. You can create these booklets for churches for a nice profit.

Method #12 – Make T Shirts: Original T shirts are big sellers on websites on eBay. By taking good photos and putting them on T Shirts, you can make a very good profit.

Method #13 – Craigslist: Craigslist is a great way to find clients. As the biggest classifieds website on the internet, Craigslist is the first place many people look when they need to hire a photographer.

Method #14 – Portrait Photographer: The portrait business is a big business. You can work with a studio or set up your own practice for doing portraits.

Like to know how to pose your model?: Click Here!

Method #15 – Photo Blogging: People love looking at images. If you continue to take images people like to look at and publish them, you can quickly build up a following.

You now have 15 great ideas to get you started as a professional photographer. Just one of these ideas can keep you busy for months. Pick the one that resonates with you and run with it!

Here are some tips transcribed from ‘Digital Photographer’ magazine. The article addressed a good Top 20 list of tips for those wanting to get into Street Photography.

Here is the list:

1. Off the Beaten Track – don’t just go to all the touristy shots – try to get ‘behind the scenes’ and ‘real life’ scenes.

2. Stolen Moments – anticipate moments between people before they happen.

3. True Colors – black and white is often where it’s at with street photography but at times colorful situations arise and can really make a shot – be on the look out for these.

4. In the Background – what’s going on behind your subject can actually ‘make’ the shot. Billboards, signs, graffiti and other visual elements can really make a statement in a shot.

5. Dare to Go Diagonal – don’t just hold your camera horizontally – experiment with angles. Street photography is a less formal medium – make the most of it.

6. Opposites Attract – shots which challenge the ‘norm’ in terms of composition and story/subject matter can be powerful. Look out for ’surprising’ subject matter and composition.

7. What a Performance – street performers, parades and other street entertainment can be great subject matter on the street.

8. Off the Streets – other places where people gather in number can lead to great shots in this genre – zoos, fairs, shows, parks, sporting events etc all can be worth trying.

9. New Angle – find ways to get up high or down low – these new perspectives on subjects that are familiar can lead to eye catching shots.

10. Fortune Favors the Brave – sometimes the best thing you can do is to get close to your subject – this can be a little confronting but will produce powerful images

11. Fun in the Sun – often we try to avoid shooting into the sun and the shadows that direct sunlight can produce – in street photography breaking these ‘rules’ can lead to great shots.

12. Ready to Pounce – have your camera out and ready to shoot at all times. Things can move quickly on the street so if you’re not ready you’ll miss lots of opportunities.

13. Revise the Revisit – street photography is not all about spontaneity – if you see a scene with potential don’t be afraid to keep coming back to it until you get the shot.

14. Frozen Motion – the street is a place of movement – to capture it and still get sharp shots make sure your shutter speed is fast enough. 1/125 or more with an ISO of 400 is what this article recommended as a base. I also think it can be fun to experiment with slower shutter speeds on the street – capture the movement as blur.

15. Street Wallpaper – blend in with the scene – shoot unobtrusively and unnoticed.

16. Life Through a Lens – ‘exaggerating perspective will help set your subject in context and provide a more forgiving ‘depth of field’ – a wide angle lens is useful here.

17. Expect the Expected – people can be suspicious of street photographers so shoot in places where people expect to see people doing photography. Smile, be polite and be willing to delete images if people protest.

18. Location, Location, Location – really this is what it is all about. Choose places where people interact with one another and times when they are present.

19. Less is More – don’t take too much equipment and travel light. It’ll make you less obtrusive and you will be able to move around for the best shot quickly.

20. Practice makes Perfect – over time and with practice your photography will improve. You’ll not only get better at technique but also spotting the things to focus upon on the street.

And to add one of my own:

Be invisible: a wide angle lens can do this for you. At 28 or 35mm you can be including people in your frame, but if they look at you, your camera appears to be pointing elsewhere!
By engaging with reputable online digital photography courses you will learn in more detail about street photography and how to apply this knowledge in your everyday photography.

Be an individual…

Deviate from the normal with your photography

1. Use your camera On Manual

This is the very first tip you need to abide by. Leave your camera an automatic and the camera has control over your photographs. Switch to manual and you have given yourself control. Until you do this you cannot move on to step 2, 3, 4, 5%u2026

2. Slow down that Shutter Speed

Slowing down the shutter speed is a simple way to create more dramatic photographs. For movement to be captured or seen by the camera, you will need to stop down to about 1/15 of a second. From here to 1 second and beyond will give you some excellent results in capturing movement. Some ideas to explore are nighttime shots of cars, lights, people, daytime shots of waterfalls, the ocean, cars again and anything else that moves. Find your composition first, put your tripod on your camera and fire away.

3. Move your subject to the Edge of the Frame

Don’t compose in the center of your frame, be bold and move sideways, up, down, wherever. There is a tendency to center the subject because that’s what your camera is suggesting you do, particularly with exposure and focus controls locking your eye in the center of the frame.

4. Terrible Weather, take some photos

Yes, I know it can be a problem with rain, wind and other aspects of bad weather. But a storm can give your photographs some drama. In addition to this, there is generally some excellent light provided by a storm. Have a look next time at the saturation of the light offered. Everything looks different to that of a fine day. Worried about getting your camera wet, use a plastic bag, cut a hole for the lens, buy a glass filter and screw the bag on with the filter.

5. Throw away that Tripod!

Used to using a tripod to stabilize your camera slow shutter speed, for a close-up or for a long lens? Leave it at home and introduce some camera shake. Swing you camera round with its straps; jump up and down while you release the shutter, turn in circles, take a photo out of the car window while moving (not you driving of course). Think of some more crazy stuff to do, your list is endless.

6. Move in Real Close

Think you are close to your subject? Move closer until you can’t move any closer. Drop your camera into macro if you need to. Be extreme; see what designs you can find inside of the normal frame you were originally intending. Move around the frame with your eye glue to the viewer or LCD.

7. Focus! Why Focus?

Hopefully you are comfortable with auto zero by now, so you can play with focus. Try shooting slightly out-of-focus. Try totally out-of-focus, you will find some very interesting backgrounds emerging with some practice, especially in color. Remember there still needs to be a hook of some sort to keep the viewer interested. Forget I just said that, if you want to be abstract, break all the rules.

8. Slither on your stomach

Get down and dirty; you will find a lot of interesting stuff at this level. Switch to maco if you need to. A cheap way to get into a decent macro level is to buy and Extension Tube for your camera (must have removable lens though). This will give you great magnification and open up an entirely new world. A tripod is difficult at this level but you can usually find something to stabilize with; a stick, stone etc. See my lens on macro for more info.

9. Look outside the Rectangle

Why shoot the frame the camera provides us by default. Your camera provides you with a rectangle to you for composition. Try deviating from this. Unfortunately the camera you have will probably not provide you with a tool to change this, so you will have to change the way you see. Try looking for compositions that are square, panoramic, vertical strips or even round. You can always edit your rectangle in your photo editor to whatever you want. Digital makes anything possible here.

10. Shoot in Black and White

There’s just something about Black and White photography isn’t there? It yields something that color cannot. Again, digital gives us access to a field only a pro or enthusiast with a darkroom could get involved with. It’s there for you to investigate. Explore what is has to offer.

Black and white photography is obsolete. It is antiquated, and exists for no reason at all, save our desire to see the world as we can’t see it. Shoot more black and white…

The best and most flexible tripod I have used for studio portraits is a bean bag. You can lie in it, stabilize your camera at very low angles for shots with a difference. Not much use for conventional portraits though.

One that I have been using for years now is to diffuse the flash lighting from a cheapo camera. A tissue and some tape or rubber band and you have an excellent diffuser. You loose about one stop of light, but the result is worth it. Often been caught with a bottom of the range pocket camera and this tip works well.