Top Ten Essentials for Event Photography

For the last two years, I have been doing dirt race track photography. And it has been a successful sideline. If you would like to get into event photography there are some essential steps that I have learned from experience.

1. Do your research: Pick an event that you know you will enjoy. The ideal event will be re-occurring on a weekly basis. You will want to be a fixture at the event coming each week.

Make sure you are welcome, talk to the owners/mangers and tell them you would like to help support their event. Show them samples of your work so they know what you can do. And by all means have your own style to separate yourself from other photographers.

2. Have the right equipment: I use a Nikon D80 and several vr lenses.

Beyond the camera equipment you may need a Step Stool, a folding table, and a way to display and carry your photos. And a notebook and a pen to keep track of orders.

Drinks, food and a good hat I have found all necessary for long intensive shoots. You may be standing in the sun all day and these essentials are a necessity. And have some camera rain protectorsand plastic bags just in case you need to cover things up.

3. Develop a methodology: If you have to carry everything figure out the best way to make things easier for you. For instance I use reusable shopping bags to combine all the small items, a back pack for my camera gear, and bungee cords to tie together my step stool and aluminum table.

Realize your day is going to cover two functions shooting pictures and selling. Figure a good times for both these activities. A lot of my selling happens a couple of hours before the event begins.

Scope out the best place for sales. Near restrooms and near concession stands are two prime locations for sales. If at all possible have an assistant to help you. I have found that indispensable. Event photography is hard work I take at least a 15 gig card an event. And many times more.

4. Maximize your sales: Most of my sales happen at the event itself. I shoot one week and have the pictures available the following week.

As you get to know the participants and fans you will get requests for pictures. I always print spec photos (8x10s) and keep them in notebooks and keep them displayed through the event.

I use plastic sheet protectorsand when I make a sale include the protector in the sale. You want to keep your prices reasonable and you will get repeat sales week to week.

5. Miminize costs: I do most of printing locally. It took me awhile to find a printer that was reasonable and good. I use the profits from the previous week to print the following week.

6. Have an online gallery: This can help you have added sales directly online. Mostly the participants tell me I saw that picture online and I want it. This has really been a boon for business. I also have two sites that promote the event itself.

On one, I feature many of the photo products that I can do with their favorite photos. Not only do the event managers like this, but it has increased my sales of other photo products. Take a look at my video blog and take a careful view of the left sidebar.

You will quickly see how I capitalize on sales. I also have a YouTube site that links directly back to my gallery.

7. Treat the event staff well: There is nothing like building good will. I often give freebies to the event staff and the owners. After all, if it was not for them the event would not be happening at all. Do all you can to be a positive asset to the event itself.

8. Build relationships: The more relationships you build the more successful you will be overall. Perhaps one way of thinking about this is like building incoming links to a web page. The more incoming links the more opportunities you will have. And perhaps even beyond the event for other photo shooting opportunities.

9. Schedule time for photo processing: I usually spend a full 8 hours or longer processing photos before the next event. Photo processing is something I do not rush through. Plan ahead and get your work done.

10. Consider what you can do better: Would a Portable Printerimprove your sales? Do you treat everyone with the respect they deserve? Keep asking yourself how you can refine your craft.

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Ten Top Reasons Photographs Say WOW

Beyond all the rules of photographic is the intangible WOW. WOW happens at lightening speed in the viewer's mind. They know WOW and perhaps they can not explain why they were WOWed.

So how can the photographer achieve WOW in the viewer's mind? To reach this intangible are some tangible hints.

1. The medium is the message: Marshall McLuhan theorizes on the effect of media on the mind. In the Wikipedia explanation is a good start in understanding the relationship of the viewer's mind in response to media. And of course photography is a medium.

2. Tonal quality: Tonal quality can add sensual undertones. These can be over stated or under stated. And, I suppose this relates to style. Even in Black and White photography the tones of transition can have a deep effect on the viewer mind. In color photography, I try to achieve a pleasing smoothness to acquire that eye candy feel. Other photographers delve into harsher tone transitions. The real point is to offer something unique that is not found in snap photography. Tonal quality is an evolving process for me, and it has been part of the evolution of my style.

3. Style: Style is the fingerprint that an artistic photographer places on his photograph. Style can be achieved from the compositional elements, the post processing techniques and even the camera settings, or the kind of camera a photographer uses.

All of these elements really have a bearing on style. And each good photographer develops his unique approach. Many photographers try to emulate work.

Imitation may be the best flattery, but learning from others then evoking your own style should be your goal. Style is a process that grows with the photographer. As I look through my photographs, I definitely see a progression. I have posted most of my work on Flickr and a time line of development can be noticed.

4. Atmosphere: What photographs are likely to send a viewer into orbit?

I have found that atmosphere can be a deciding quality. A foggy scenes taken in the woods, a mountain landscape or a river scene adds immensely to the visual appeal of the viewer. I look for these atmospheric events to add accent to my photographs. I know when nature interacts it positively affects the WOW.

5. Interaction: When people or animals interact in your photographs you tell a story.

You have one frame to tell a story. Your subject can interact with others or even the viewer. A one frame story does not have to be the whole story. If it leaves something unsaid the better. Letting the viewers interact with their own musings is the ultimate in making a photograph interactive.

6. A sense of mystery: We always enjoy the imponderables. If our photographs can inspire a viewer to reflect we will hook the viewer.

I really can just can't tell you how to do a photograph with a sense of mystery. I can give you a hint. It is all in how the photograph leads the eye. If you can lead the eye into a deeper more provoking space you may achieve the sense of mystery.

7. A sense of disbelief: In good novels an author who can suspend the sense of disbelief can consume the reader.

The same is true for the artistic photographer. No photograph is an exact representation of reality, even snap shots. Reality is changed from three dimensions to two. Colors light and contrast are different from what reality presents. How effectively a photographer makes this transition depends on his ability to suspend the viewer's sense of disbelief.

8. Thematic Photography: Thematic photography helps a photographer develop his specialty and evoke style.

Thematic photography can broadly span the photography a person does. Nature, politics, sports, journalism and even wedding photography can promote certain styles.

Personally, I present two themes in my photography. I find it interesting that each have evolved separately. My style in nature photography is different than my race car photography. Themes help build a photographer's evolution in creating style and his own personal WOW factor.

9. Conceptual Photography: The idea here is to covey a concept.

As a nature photographer I am constantly emphasizing the importance of nature. Photographs are subliminal messages.

Other photographers have other messages in the photographs. I do not always agree with their message, but I appreciate the style and delivery. Every time you can inspire a viewer to think you are tapping into the WOW factor.

10. Originality: Perhaps you have gleamed from my last nine points an emphasis on originality.

If your photographs fall into a general commonality with others you are not exploiting the WOW factor.

Photoshop tutorials tend to lend to that commonality. And while I do suggest you explore these, you might try striking out on your own plowing new ground of creativeness. After all, only if you are different will you truly tap into the WOW factor of your viewers.

Top Ten Reasons to Choose SmugMug for your Photo Gallery

If you are considering a professional gallery. There are lots of things to consider. It is not only important to have a snazzy gallery, but it should be easy and quick for potential buyers to navigate through your pictures quickly. In a study performed by PhotoShelter, they surveyed buyers of photographs and found some surprising results. Take the quiz found on the PhotoShelter site and you will be in for an education. For a longer view of the survey and more detailed interpretation here is an hour long video of what photo buyers want. After viewing I decided this is what I needed.

Kudos has to go to PhotoShelter for their savvy questions and their interpretation of the results. And, their implementation of the results on their website. Unfortunately, the cost for a pro account at PhotoShelter is nearly 50 dollars a month. And, there are limits to the amount of storage.

Now, at this point the cost factor enters in. And, you have to decide if you want to pay the piper or try another way. I first had someone design a site for me, and they did a good job. But the needed elements were just to difficult to implement even for a seasoned web designer. In order to be competitive I had to find another solution. And I did, I am wowed by SmugMug.

• SmugMug will *never* surround our clients' photos with Ads or Pop-ups. We also don't require your visitors to enter an email to view photos.
• SmugMug has 3 different service levels to meet every type of photographer from soccer mom to fine art photographer.
• SmugMug answers Help emails within minutes and not days like everyone else.

Now, that is just the beginning of their excellent service. And here are ten reasons for a photographer to have a SmugMug Account.

1. Their motto: "Your Photos Look Better Here," and they really do. You can find my gallery here for a look see. And the cost is a darn lot cheaper than PhotoShelter. I have a pro account and the flexibility of the site and themes are just superb. Everything is easy to customize even if you do not have a great deal of knowledge of CSS. The site is easy to navigate and the customer is in charge of how he wants to view your site.

2. Image protection: With a pro account you can disable right click copying and place watermarks on your photos like the image above. On each page you have a buy this photo with tons of options. Clients can buy prints (many sizes and paper styles), merchandise, and downloads with a simple click. You set the price and determine your own profits.

3. Printing: SmugMug gives the photographer a choice of two excellent printers. If you read through their help indexes you will find the meticulous effort they used to pick who prints the photographs. I am pleased by the printer I have chosen who has human quality control rather than just software output. SmugMug is about quality, and you can see that in every step of their efforts. Choosing SmugMug is like buying the best Swiss time piece.

4. Support: I can safely say their support is the best. I have used it once and had a human answer me within minutes. When they say, talk to real person they mean it. And, if you are a person that likes to fend for themselves their help menus are filled with easy to follow tutorials.

5. Easy Customization: I have been able to make the customizations that I considered essential through their easy customization tool. It is a breeze to use and very easy to understand. You will have your site running the way you like it quickly and efficiently.

6. Client Confidence: Using SmugMug you will instill confidence in your clients. Not only will your photos be elegantly displayed the service they receive is superb. Clients will be impressed by the attention to minute detail in every aspect of their experience on the site. As a professional photographer, you want the service to be professional. And SmugMug delivers.

7. Site Compatibility: Uploading pictures is a breeze, the interface works great. One thing I particular like if you have your photos on another site like Flickr as I do, you can use an available Firefox extension to upload directly from the site. This is quick and easy and saves tons of time. The extensions are available directly from the upload menu.

8. Unlimited Storage: SmugMug offers you unlimited storage and use of your photos. A person like me who has over 2,000 of processed photos this is a godsend.

9. Competitive Cost: SmugMug offers three levels of membership. I have chosen the most expensive option which is $149.50 a year. This is by far one of the best deals on the internet for what you get. Compared to PhotoShelter which is also a great site your cost would run $600 dollars per year. My choice SmugMug has not been a disappointment. Here is a SmugMug coupon that will save you five dollars. 2PY6wBMmDLK56

10. You Get What You Need: I started this post with the PhotoShelter appraisal of what photo clients want. Each item in their appraisal is covered by SmugMug. And, I must say elegantly and with a professional style.