 Today on Facebook, The Maternal Lens posted a link to this woman’s YouTube channel where she is uploading episodes of ‘MWAC Attack’. They asked if we thought these videos were satire or just plain mean. And I have to say…I did laugh out loud at all these hilarious videos. With lines like “switch your camera to P – that’s P for professional” and “I just burn my pictures on a disk because doing actual paper pictures is really hard”, it’s so obviously satire. Although to me, her intention/goal seems unclear. I can’t assess whether she’s making fun of beginners or perhaps just making fun of herself? I don’t know but I suppose that’s part of what makes it so funny.
Watching her first four episodes, I started asking myself “is she one of my readers? Is she making fun of ME?!” Who knows but I’m pretty sure some high and mighty pros might look at my plain English approach and think I’m a lot like her. I embrace the beginner. I want to support the aspiring photographers out there because it’s hard to get started without much support.
When I started, I was {and still am} a MWAC {Mom With A Camera} and I really don’t understand why this term is used in such a derogatory way. It’s usually used to describe a mom. Who has a camera. To take a zillion photos of her children. And then decides to become a professional. What’s wrong with that exactly? Isn’t that just clever business sense? My biggest motto in business is: find out what you love doing and figure out a way to make money doing it. So that’s exactly what I did.
I agree that starting to charge money before you have even learned anything about photography or set up your business legally is a bit ambitious. And you might look back someday and say ‘oops’. But at what point has a photographer passed the threshold from idiot to title-wothy-pro? I still look back at the previous year’s sessions and see how I have grown. Shouldn’t it always be that way? Heaven forbid that I should get to a point where there’s no more room to grow. That’s the day I’ll throw in the towel.
{further reading}
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 With Christmas upon us, it’s time to break out our cameras and try our darndest to get photos of our Christmas trees but it can be so hard to capture the real warmth and ambiance of all those beautiful little lights. If you twiddle with manual shooting, you may be trying to photograph your tree with the tools you’ve learned for low light shooting: wide open aperture and high(ish) ISO. Of course, with that combination comes a faster-than-helpful shutter speed and even when you use a slower shutter with your wide open aperture, you might be frustrated that you can’t capture the twinkle of the lights. Further frustrating the process is the fact that the tree is composed of branches that stick out everywhere so shooting wide open means that the camera will likely focus on the nearest branches and make the rest soft and out of focus.
But don’t put your camera away yet! Try this little trick:
- Set your aperture unusually high. I used f/16 for this shot of one of my trees.
- Set your ISO low like around 400
- With the very high aperture and low ISO, you’ll need a slow shutter speed which means that you’ll need a tripod
- When you have that all set up, set your camera to self timer mode so that when you press the button to release the shutter, you aren’t jiggling the camera.
- You may want to manually focus or just focus as usual before hitting the shutter
- When you’re ready to go, press the shutter and wait for the self-timer to set the camera off. You could also use a remote trigger if you have one.
- That’s it! With the high aperture, you’ll get lights that look twinkly and your whole tree will be in focus!
I’d love to see your twinkly trees! Feel free to post them on my Facebook wall!
 
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With the ease of online sharing, photographers are hot on protecting their work online and you rarely see images from photographers without some sort of marking.
So there are two functions for marking your images. You need to decide if you want to watermark for protection or brand your images for advertisement.
{Watermarking}
 The image above shows you an example of watermarking on an image. Watermarking is where you place a mark on your image to protect it from being swiped for illegal use online or printing without a release. To successfully protect your image with watermarking, sadly, the watermark needs to basically ruin your image so that it can’t be of use for printing. Your watermark should cross over important areas of your image like the subject’s face. Now, where there’s a will, there’s a way. In the image above, it wouldn’t be difficult to remove the watermark with Photoshop.
Some ways you can watermark in Photoshop are:
- Use your logo to create a brush which you can add to your images with one click. See this video for how I made mine.
- You can copy/paste your logo file onto the image and change the opacity if you want it to be transparent.
- You can simply type something like ‘do not copy’ onto the image. If you want to make a copyright symbol, you can copy/paste this one —> ©
- You can use MCP Actions’ FREE action ‘Facebook Fix’ to resize your images for use online. Part of the action allows you to select your logo file to use as a watermark or you can add the copyright symbol with one click.
How you can watermark in Lightroom:
- When you export your images, choose the size you want to export the files as and there’s also an area where you can add a watermark to a specific area of your images like bottom-right, middle center, middle top, etc. This is my preferred method when exporting a large number of images for a preview gallery.
{Branding}
Branding is different from watermarking in that:
- It doesn’t necessarily function as a protection for your images
- It isn’t meant to compromise the aesthetics of your image, but add to it
- It is for advertising purposes
I like to use branded images in web sharing and never brand my images for printing. Sometimes I get emails asking how big your logo should be on someone’s print and I’m like “what?!” I never do that. Sometimes, I sign the corner of my work for fine art prints or something special, but I don’t add a digital branding.
 Like you will see to the right, I like to place my brand in a location where the subject is interacting with it, particularly when I want the image to serve the purpose of marketing. I like the subject to be highlighting my business name, not the other way around. So this means that I also take this into consideration when choosing which images I will use to advertise my business online. I want an image that can be branded nicely. So in the example on the right, you’ll see that she’s actually looking at my business name/branding and I’ve placed it in a nice open space where it fits well.
I would recommend using your whole business name, not just your logo. And even better, use branding that includes your URL.
So how can you add your brand to your images?
- The exact same ways outlined above!
- Be aware that if you use a brush like mentioned above in the watermarking section, then it will be only one colour. If that is a problem, I would recommend just copy/pasting it on like you see in the image on the right –>
As with anything, weigh the pros and cons and mark your images in a way that sits well with you. Or don’t mark them at all! Anything goes :)
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For the new professional photographer who wants nothing more than to just get out there and get paid to do what they love, marketing can be a really scary proposition. I still regularly find myself doing everything I can to stay busy except marketing. So I’m going to give you a little tip today: save your time and find the bulls eye.
In week 4 of my class ‘Shooting Kids’ over on Rock the Shot, I make the following statement:
You have to find your target market before you can get the business. ‘Children’ is not a target market, it’s a niche. ‘Maternity’ isn’t a target market, it’s a niche.
So if you know what/who you want to shoot, you’ve already completed a very big first step in establishing your business. Sometimes, that’s a journey of discovery that can take years alone! But it’s not a market, it’s your niche.
{What is a target market?}
So when you know that you want to shoot child portraits, for example, what is your target market? Their parents. This is the dart board (you’re getting close!) But it doesn’t end there. You can narrow it right down to who your ideal client is: where they shop, the brands they love, their income, stay-at-home-mom or full time working mom. Knowing these things about your ideal client will then help you know how to market to them (what brands do they already love and how do those companies get their money?), what kind of packaging they will respond to, how to price your products and services and -most importantly- where to find these people! Where do their kids go to school (you can get into their world by working in partnership with the school), where do they go to church, where do they spend their leisure time, what doctor’s offices do they frequent?
Knowing who they are is the dartboard – finding where they are is the bullseye. Narrowing down all of these things will help paint a picture of the ideal client for your business and where to go to find them.
 {Further Reading}
I highly recommend that all photographers hoping to make money from their trade read Alicia Caine’s ‘Happy Place’ and ‘Easy as Pie’ eBooks. If I was running a school, they would be in the essential reading. Her new eBook Lux Undercover is priceless, but unfortunately it’s only available at special times of the year so the next time it is, flippin’ BUY IT!
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 Q. Since I have started to get a little better at my photography, I’ve been a little caught off guard walking into friends’ houses and seeing pictures I had posted on my personal Facebook printed and framed on their walls! Now, I still do not feel confident enough to be called a professional and copyright my pictures, and even if they were copyrighted, would there really be anything I can do about it?
A. Ok this is a loaded topic but the first thing to say is that you don’t ‘have copyright’ only because you have set something up to say that you have copyright. If you created it (blog post, photograph, song, computer program, whatever!) then it is your intellectual property and you have copyright. Now, whether you have the manpower to claim those rights when you need to is another thing and I briefly discussed that previously here and here.
So on this topic of walking into your friend’s house and seeing your images printed on the wall…
I’ve had this happen to me a few times and when I first started out, I got annoyed. I thought that surely, everyone should know better and everyone needed to be educated about their stupidity. And I had to be the one to provide that education. But then I got real and realized that it’s futile to run around putting out fires everywhere and also, I’m not willing to make enemies out of my friends over something so small. But there are times I might say something and it really takes a keen sense of discernment to know when and how to speak and this will come with experience.
So these are some questions I ask myself when this happens:
- Should these people know better? Are they photographers, too? Are they musicians who make music? Writers? Do they create property which they, themselves, take measures to protect? If so, this makes them a more likely candidate for me to speak to because there’s a foundation to start from. If they’re not people who create anything themselves, it’s sometimes difficult to make an argument that makes sense.
- Were they sneaky? Did they scan and enlarge proofs? Did they Photoshop out watermarks? If so, I would say that they knew better in the first place and won’t be too surprised if they’re caught out.
- Do they really not know better? If they’re friends whose home you are likely to go to, they’re not exactly going to put up these photos for you to see if they know that they’re doing something wrong. Sometimes, I just gush when I see them and say “aaaw look my photos!” Sometimes just using the word ‘my’ can make them hesitate and say “oh…wait…is that ok?”
- How were the images taken? Did you have a day out together where you took some snapshots? Is there any reason for them to think that you didn’t actually take them with their printing in mind? To us, they might be snapshots but to them, they might be the best photos ever taken of their children! You do have the option of just being plain honored :)
- Did you do your best to protect your images? Did you upload them to Facebook in full size so all they had to to was click ‘download’ to save them to their computer? Or did you use something like this and prepare them for online in a way that makes them unsuitable for printing?
So you see, it’s not always as easy as proclaiming “you thief!” These are some lines you might try to break the ice and try saying it with a smile:
- “Oh wow my photos!”
- “Oh that’s funny how did you print those?”
- “Oh wow my photos! The colors look a little off. It’s always good to use a professional printing company – you know I can hook you up!”
At the end of the day, in every sticky situation, I remember the golden rule: do unto others as I would have them do unto me.
{Further Reading}
How to prevent clients from editing your work
What does it mean to give away your copyright?
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 I really believe you don't need to go to school to to this Long time readers will know that I’m self-taught. I’ve been interested in photography since I was a kid and actively teaching it to myself for about 3 years. I’ve been making my own websites since I was 13 when I learned HTML so I could spruce up my little GeoCites website.
So I’m not a huge fan of photography degrees. I kind of wince when I hear people saying they want to go to school to become a photographer. To me, all you need to do to become a photographer is start taking pictures, no? But there is one use for further education as it relates to your photography and that is a business degree.
Even if you manage to learn the depths of photography, you’ll have a hard time making money if you can’t put on your business head. If you have no business gumption (do you hate talking to clients about money?) then you have a few options:
- Pay someone else to do it
- Learn through trial and error
- Teach yourself everything you need to know about business
- Get some business education
Now, these are all completely viable options. Even in business, I’m self taught. I read a LOT and have learned a lot through trial and error. And I guess that I’ve even been interested in business since I was a kid making bookmarks and forcing people in church to buy them for $0.25. I was able to pull off a profitable lemonade stand to pay for summer camp when I was 12. So I suppose I’ve been learning that since I was little, too.
But if you don’t feel that you have any grounding in business and you need to employ further education to succeed in your photography business, I would highly recommend that you get a business degree, not a photography one. I mean, think about it…if you get a photography degree and get sick of photography or can’t make it work as a business, what will you fall back on? If you get a business degree, you can either make your photography business an amazingly profitable one or turn around and do a million other things with that degree.
 You can learn photography online - I love Brooke's classes
 See this picture? This is me. Not we. One of my pet peeves in this business of photography is viewing photographers’ websites and seeing the word ‘we’ thrown around. For example “we shoot weddings”, “we offer…”, “we. we. we.” Must I ask, “Do you have a mouse in your pocket?”
Very few photographers out there are actually companies comprising more than one person. And even when they are, unless they’re all photographers, there’s still no need to continually referring to yourself as ‘we’.
And did you know that when the guys who approve bank loans and grants look at your website, this is something they’re looking for? If it’s important to them that you tell the truth, then it’s probably pretty important that you portray your business truthfully to your clients, too.
{Why do people do it?}
Now, since first publishing this post, I’ve received emails and comments from people saying that they truly are a ‘we’. Married couples and companies that are truly comprised of more than one photographer. So obviously, this would be the correct time to call yourself ‘we’. But that’s not what I’m talking about here.
Simply put, many people seem to think that referring to themselves in the third person on their website {exe: “Elizabeth Halford has had an interest in photography since she was a fetus”} and calling themselves ‘we’ makes their business appear more viable and successful. To me, it’s just silly and I really don’t get it. We photographers are a unique trade. We have to have personal bonds with our subjects/clients in order to communicate the essence of them through our photography. That starts from the word go, from the very first interaction you have with that client. This relationship starts on your website. So please please for goodness sake, don’t put a wall between yourself and your client. Be real. Be personal. Be YOU.
…and tell the mouse to get lost.
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When I found out that these three gorgeous children were being brought from three hours away for their mini session with me, I was pretty honored. So here is the session round-up with a few shots worth mentioning.
- Camera: 5DmkII
- Lens: 50mm f/1.2
- Weather: slightly cloudy, 3 hours before sundown
- Processed: Florabella Luxe II
 I started out with little guy ben. We all hiked a little ways into the forest to get away from people and find a clearing where we could settle down for a bit. The light coming through the trees behind him was luscious and made for an idea backlit scene in which for me to work. So I started asking him things like "if your mum was a Star Wars character, which one would she be?" I think he said Jar Jar Binks :)  Another of the first shots of Ben. I always say that you can break the rules once you know how to master them. And so it's really important to know why/how to use the rule of thirds in composition. But once you do, you can then successfully break the rule. I like to sometimes photograph children dead-center. I feel that a photo like this is saying "Hi, I'm Ben. This is me." with no frills or anything complicating the experience of getting to know Ben!  Again, composed dead-center for a reason. "World, meet Amie. Amie, meet the world." I also got this shot while asking her silly questions. I think I asked her to close her eyes and think of her favorite candy and then pop her eyes open and tell me what it is. I shot from slightly below because I wanted her to be dominant and I just think that she's so.darn.cute  Now that you've met Amie and she's established that she's the boss, this is a more vulnerable, intimate portrait of her. This is her "yea, I'm sassy but I'm still only little" shot. I love braids as you know and I love this simple portrait which I composed slightly off-center. I get a shot like this by setting my subject in their space and then holding my camera to my eye while walking around them. I tell them "don't move, just follow me with your head." And then there's a moment where you know you've got it and hopefully only need to snap once.  And then we have James who is so much like my Elijah. Extremely smart, hard to get to stop talking. You either have to fit into James' mold or get the heck out cuz he ain't gonna sit and pose for anyone! A very free spirit who loves climbing trees. So when I turned around after photographing Amie and he was in a tree, I just went with it and the bokeh behind him turned out amazing. Of course, shot very nearly wide open and backlit. I love the way the light in the forest twinkles in his eyes and that laugh is genuine.  Nothing about James could be forced. I had to capture what was real. I think we were talking about Star Wars here and he said his brother would be Chewbacca.  Photographing kids together ain't easy. So here's where we started and it was a little stiff...  ...so we let off some steam with some running...  ...and ended here! Gorgeous kids, super fun session and so many laughs. 
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