Proud Photography Blog

Occasionally, you may be asked to photograph a birthday.  Birthdays are celebrated in a number of ways; children may have small parties in the home or go to a special venue.  Teenagers tend to have parties in the home or sometimes at clubs, bars or special venues.  Older people are more likely to have a formal do, at a restaurant or hotel but this can vary.  Either way, you need to be flexible no matter what environment you are presented with.

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Babies can be easy or difficult to photograph – it depends entirely on the personality of the one you are photographing (not to mention the parents involved!).  Babies are susceptible to their environment and change; whilst some are curious other dislike strangers and change.

It’s always a good idea to have the parents involved as they are the ones that will ba able to calm the child down if it is upset.  They should always have toys and a change of clothes on hand.  Remember that a baby is not cooperative in anyway; if it needs to eat, it will cry, if it needs to sleep, it will.  Therefore, always ask the parent to produce a baby that is rested, cleaned, has a fresh nappy and has been fed recently (but not so recent that it will be sick!).

Here are some tips of getting their perfect portrait of your little one.

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Teenagers are making the difficult transition from child to adult and they definitely come with their own difficulties.  Teenagers can be full of angst and drama, and they don’t necessarily want to cooperate for photo shoots.

Many teens have been nagged by their parents into a photo shoot.  Apart from school photographs, many teenagers, especially boys try to avoid having photographs taken, partly because their bodies are changing and they are feeling awkward.

To deal with teens effectively here are some ideas.

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The family portrait is an image that is usually displayed and cherished for years to come.  The family portrait can be quite formal in its style; people lined up accordingly and dressed to the nines.  Or it can be a laid back, casual affair capturing the natural essence of the group.

Different families will expect different results and at the same time, will behave differently in front of the camera.  Reserved or outgoing, small or large, every group will need your strategic skills to work out what is best.

Whatever you decide, here are some ideas on how to make yours a winning shot.

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To begin with, you many want to exhibit at smaller more manageable venues.  For example, shops and cafes are a good place to start.
You have too decided first which images you want to show.  If you want to make money, a good idea is to show images that are striking but would also be appealing for someone from; landscapes, flowers etc.  They don’t have to be dull, but you may want to make them more saleable, if your aim is to make money.
Also be aware that many cafes and stores will not want anything too controversial on the walls, since their main unction is not as a gallery (unless they are a very edgy store).

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Now that you know what an exhibition is, or what it can be, and you realise that only the best and most interesting work will be successful you need to consider how to get your work shown.  It is not an easy task by any means, but with motivation and dedication it is certainly possible.
If you can find a local sponsor, then you will need to discuss with them what they expect from the images you are producing.  For a rough example, a local festival could be holding a food and drink event in your town in a week You could get in touch with the event planners and say you are a local and you can take a series of high quality photographs that will demonstrate the theme of food and drink in the town.  In return you would like to be sponsored for all materials and perhaps a small fee for your time, and you would also like them to use their contacts to find a space to show your work.  This is a rough example, but you need to open your eyes to opportunities available as rarely do non-established photographers just get asked to display work.
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Having your photography displayed in an exhibition is one of the best ways to share your work with the public and other professionals.  It can help you get noticed and really boost your confidence.  However, the prospect of holding an exhibition or being part of one may seem daunting and stressful if you have never experienced one before.  But where there is a will, there is a way!  Read on to hear more about the way to approach it.

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There are various ways to learn how to use the software, at home with a book, on a course, from an online school etc.  Whether you are new or experienced with Photoshop, it helps to have a grip on the commonly used terms.  There are hundreds of options of Photoshop, and thousands of possibilities.  Read on to familiarize yourself with terms you may hear regularly.

BRUSHES
Brushes are tools that can be used in Photoshop to do lots of different tasks; drawing, with the mask, applying effects and so on.  You can always change the diameter of the brush and choose the kind of edge you want (soft or hard).

COLOR CORRECTION
This is a when Photoshop corrects the colors in an image to make it pleasing to the eye or ‘true’.  The most dramatic examples of this are when you have color casts in a photograph and Photoshop removes this so the image is balanced.

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If you want an opportunity to make money with your photography, why not try to sell your work via a picture library?  What a picture library does is host your images on the Internet and advertises it to potential buyers, who will then pay the agency if they want to use your photo.  The agency will take a fee, anything from 20% - 60% generally.

The most successful picture libraries around include Corbis and Getty.  These libraries, along with a handful of others are the crème de la crème of libraries.  However – these companies will only take the work of the very highest standard from established photographers.  They take work of great interest or beauty, for example images that may be topical or represent a current event; images of remote places around the world or of important people.  Nor do they take speculative submissions from new photographers.  However – by all means look at these sites to see how high the quality of work can be.

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Professional photo shoots are not complete without the help of assistants.  Behind the photographer is usually a team of hair, make up, assistants, models, art directors and so on.

And many professional photographers start their careers as assistants.  This means you work for the photographer, you run around doing odd jobs, carrying things, doing set ups, making tea and coffee, calling clients and so on.  It can be a difficult job at times and exhausting; the pay is low and you may spend a lot of time just doing general things before getting anywhere near the photographers camera.  In fact, many assistants do so for a few years before being officially appointed as a photographer, rather than just an assistant.  So why would anyone choose to assist?
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