SnapSquad Photographer Marketplace: 2018

HOW MUCH WILL YOUR WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY COST?

By SnapSquad - December 18, 2018

Prices for a wedding photography coverage vary depending on a list of factors that may or may not figure on your personal list. You may choose a la carte services or a package from your photographer. In this post, we will assume that you will not be hiring the photographer of “the stars”.

Check it out:

1. Where is your wedding location?

In a city: Everything always cost more in big cities.
In some distant place, the photographer will have to travel to?

2. How many hours of photo shooting do you require?

3. How many photographers do you need?

4. What type of services and package do you require?

I have looked at some statistics for you and found out that most couples in the USA spend between $1,200 and $3,000. The upper range to that would be $4,500 and more.

Wedding photography packages typically cover 8 to 10 hours. More or less shooting time will affect the cost.

What Does a Wedding Photo Package Include?

Hours of coverage

Standard packages cover 8 to 10 hours of shooting. Overtime to what was agreed in your contract will cost extra. The number of photographers present or extra staffing will also mean extra charges.

Tip: Photographers have peak months and low seasons and even weekdays opposed to weekends. Those come with different pricing.

Equipment

Extra or special equipment will, of course, cost more.

Travel

If your photographer has to drive a distance to your wedding event, he/she will have to charge you for transportation. In the case of a faraway destination, you will, of course, have to cover the photographer’s (and his team?) airfares, accommodation and probably meals.

Editing

Editing work to produce awesome wedding pictures will take a fair amount of time.

Album

One wedding album is often part of the package. Depending on the layout, an average wedding album will hold between 60 and 160 photos. The quality of the cover will affect the price.

Digital Files

Wedding packages often include digital files on DVDs or USB.

Prints

You may want to have a certain number of selected prints as part of your package; these may include canvas prints. Speciality prints will come as extras.

Choosing your wedding photographer is a top priority in organising your big day. Whatever your choices may be for your budget, always ask questions before you confirm hiring a photographer and make sure you read your contract first. The right photographer will deliver the beautiful lifetime memories you deserve.

Sources of reference:

https://www.weddingwire.com/cost/wedding-photographer

https://www.creditdonkey.com/average-cost-wedding-photographer.html

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Tips and Tricks

CHRISTMAS PHOTOGRAPHY FOR GREETINGS

By SnapSquad - December 14, 2018

“So this is Christmas and what have you done?”

Let your friends know how you and your family have been doing and let your business associates and clients know that your good wishes are for them too. Send them your best Christmas photo shots!

I- Your personal Cheers.

They are a message to friends about yourself and/or your family. A picture is worth a thousand words; you will want this one (or you may opt to send a few different pictures?) to reflect how you want to project yourself.

Depending on how important your Christmas shot is going to be this year, either as a cherished memory or as a promotional tool, you may even decide to hire a photographer to do the job or you may simply take your own shots. Whatever your choice, here are a few scenario ideas you may like to consider:

1. Just you

After all, you may be single or simply send your greetings to friends without wanting to involve your close family. Your picture could feature you in action, involved in your favourite hobby or something you are particularly known for to all your friends. Of course, a goofy look is always a good option.

Right now I have in mind someone’s picture of himself dressed in Santa’s outfit and holding a surfboard with the sea in the background.
Or you could be “caught” at a Christmas market?

Or pose with your pet(s)?

There is also the present trend to use cards to display a message on a photo.

Be creative and release the “merry” in Christmas onto your photos!

2. You and your loved ones

(a) A family picture.

After all, isn’t Christmas a celebration of the family? There are so many ways to express how close your family feels at those gatherings, how they love to do things together. Here are few ideas of moments you could catch with your camera:

Everyone in the kitchen, busy preparing the meal and baking, perhaps even making a mess of things, especially the children (I just flashed back on making chocolate truffles!).
Around the Christmas tree (or climbing it!).
In front of a log fire.
Wrapped up in a Christmas quilt together with a baby or the kids.
Everybody dressed up with the theme.
Caught in an explosion of confetti.
Outdoors pictures in the snow, in your garden or in a park; perhaps in front of your local church; in front of an Xmas tree or some public display; next to Frosty the snowman…
As a couple kissing in a festive décor or underneath mistletoe.
Think of simple tricks such as a face reflected on the surface of a Christmas ball and think of all the props available for you to use!

You can be traditional, romantic, and goofy or mean (why not?), it’s all up to you really and how you feel at that time.

3. Your Favourite Pet

You love your pet and have been wanting to frame up some pet photos for quite some time? Here is your chance. You may need some patience though unless you want to call a professional. Nowadays, pet photographers like to come out of the studio with their animal models and catch some good outdoors romping.

You’d rather stay warm and clean indoors? Then you could even opt for a together portrait.

II- Business Greetings

It might be all about promotional gimmicks yet business is done with emotional beings; so by all means, make Christmas work for you by using this cheerful opportunity to invest yourself personally and forward season greetings to your clients.

Gaudy Cheers: Why not? Christmas is gaudy everywhere. Beware though not to over-do it to the risk of being vulgar, and offend recipients.
Personal Appearance: Here is a good opportunity to show the face behind the business with a portrait of yourself. With this in mind, focus on the positive impression of yourself you wish to convey: people need to like you and respect you too.
A Team Appearance: Are you employing a team? Then involve them in your company’s picture and kill two birds with one stone: Your clients will be happy to see the faces behind the trading and you will bring cheers and closeness to your employees.
A minimalistic Choice: If this is what you choose then make sure it is artistic and meaningful. Being Minimalist may require more work than any other style.

“And so this is Christmas, I hope you have fun
The near and the dear ones, the old and the young”

John Lennon – Happy Xmas (War is Over)

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Marketing

Marketing Your Photography Business or Services

By SnapSquad - December 08, 2018

Your photos are awesome but they need to be promoted to sell and for you to get new jobs. The thing is, photography is your passion, not marketing. This said, you do realise that your passion is now your business and that makes you feel, at times frustrated, frankly irritated or simply at a loss. Luckily for you, there is such thing as easy to grab marketing techniques (no rocket science, I promise) that you can master in no time to get your business rolling on success lane. Good techniques to learn and apply are often the result of observing what you should not be doing; of what you have been doing wrong all along. So I invite you to check on your present tactics and find out how to correct your wrong marketing moves.

I-IMAGE & ETHOS

Who are you really?

The first question may surprise you and yet, think about it: photography is a full-time people business that works both ways, with you wanting to attract a certain type of clients on one side, and on the other side potential customers wanting to find a photographer with the right personality for the assignment they have to offer. Make no mistake, your profile is what people will react to. So who are you? What makes you different in the world of photography? Are you a likeable human and what do you stand for?

The image you promote is all over your website, your blog and every social media account you may have. There too, show what you love and what you love doing. Use social media as a platform to voice your personality and unique style.

TACTICS TO QUIT:

Mimicking other and successful photographers. It is good to know what others in the profession are doing and even learn from them and find yourself through them but it is quite a different thing to copy them. You are a passionate photographer, so be creative, be yourself and build your own unique photo business.

Boring your readers with doing what every other photographer does.

II-TARGETING CLIENTS

Before you rush into investing in any form of marketing, make sure you have clearly defined the type of client you want to attract to your business. Look back on clients you have worked with so far and read their testimonials (keep testimonial preciously) to find out what you appreciated, even enjoyed most during those assignments and what they appreciated with you as their photographer. With that, draw a portrait of your ideal client: required assignment and budget (business, wedding etc.), age bracket, social background etc.

Checking out how or where these clients got in touch with you will be also good guidance.

TACTICS TO QUIT:

Trying to catch any sort of client out there by being over-active and everywhere at once on social media, with flyers, emails and what not.

III-BUILDING A MARKETING PLAN

I have two keywords for you to remember: Focus and Strategy. You want your business to make money and expand. To do this you need a plan that will:

Focus on the targets you want to achieve to make a good income first by working out your prices.
Work out a strategy to attract clients to your business.

This again will require you to have determined the ideal profile of your clientele and be clear about it.

You are not sure on how to work out a marketing plan? There are a number of websites and forums that will put you on the right trail. In order to succeed in your business, you absolutely need to make the effort and spend some time getting it right.

TACTICS TO QUIT:

Not having a marketing plan. This is the number one mistake photographers usually make.
Building your marketing plan based on what others are doing. Assuming their success is the result of a strategy of which you have no idea, you are heading towards big disappointment. Again, do not simply copy what others are doing.
Scattering your marketing effort all over the place (go back to the previous chapter).

IV-DECIDING ON ADVERTISING TECHNIQUES

This is quite a long chapter which has to start with a “SCREAM”: Schedule marketing time! Jot it down on your weekly calendar and never, never neglect it. No potential client will ever find you or your photo studio if you are not marketing your work; put it this way, they won’t even know you exist. No marketing = no clients = no photography business.

1.Networking Social Media

Social media is certainly a great tool to make yourself visible out there, however, not all platforms will serve your business interests equally. Rather than getting overzealous with wanting to market your photography by opening multiple accounts, you need to slow down and become an observer to find out which platform(s) is really appropriate for you. This goes back, again, to your targeting the right clientele and checking on feedback from your existing clients on how they found you in the first place. You could, of course, test several platforms at once and progressively narrow it down to a couple that works for you.

Consulting other photographers will also be a good lead to pick the best platforms; generally, though, it seems that Instagram is the preferred platform for photography.

Whatever your choice of platform, remember to make it a people’s place. Show your work but also your face.

TACTICS TO QUIT:

Neglecting precious marketing time.
Scattering your efforts all over social media platforms and wasting time. Pick a couple of suitable ones and organise automated posting.
Showing your work constantly yet being invisible and impersonal.

2. E-Mailing

(a). Building up an E-mailing List

If that is not obvious, you need a list and you will need to build it yourself. It is possible to buy lists online but even if it seems like the ideal and easy solution I would not recommend it. Nothing beats a list that you have personally put together. I know it will take some time to work it out, so think of a good clients’ e-mailing list as a beautiful ripe fruit: it needs time. Build your own list right from the time you meet interested people or your first client and do not neglect your friends either; like word of mouth, sharing e-mails can go a long way.
Photography is a people business that will grow with relationships that you will have built along the way and I’ll come back to this further down.

(b). Keeping the Content Attractive

Write compelling messages. Inform everyone of your new products, your special offers, your “special days”; create small privileges to make the recipients on your list feel like VIPs. Keep your content informational and engaging if you want the recipients to react and contact you back.

(c). You’ll certainly want a response to your e-mails. Keeping this in mind, you’ll have to let the recipient know who you are and what good you could be to them. If your list is also made up of other businesses, let them know how you can assist them in promoting them and you could help maximize their marketing by being their photographer.

(d). Automating E-Mailing

This may sound contradictory to the above (Maintaining a Human Touch) but it is none of the less a very tempting tool to use. After all, automated e-mailing can reach hundreds of recipients in a matter of seconds and with one single click. How awesome is that?!

Well, I hate to put a lid on your enthusiasm but generalising messages that would become irrelevant to their recipients is not what you want to achieve; not to mention that your e-mails will probably be caught by spam filters.

Automated e-mailing however, could be suitable to inform of some updates, spread the news about a special event you’ll want all your contact not to miss of and of course, photos.

E-mailing is a great tool (and the cheapest too!) that can definitely promote your image and develop the presence of your business in the social media which is why you must keep a clear goal while using it with engaging messages tailored for a targeted audience.

TACTICS TO QUIT:

Not using a mailing list.
Purchasing ready to use e-mailing lists. Build your own.
Being impersonal and only business as usual: Be a people person.
Being unattractive to your readers: be informational and engaging.
Sending generalised insensitive messages through automated e-mailing. Customise!!

3. Blogging

Blog as often as you can. Set yourself a rhythm and post regularly. Keeping your blog alive with fresh content will not only help you achieve better ranking with Google but also let your clients and followers know that you are in business.
Being a photographer, you do not have to write lengthy posts but keep on showing what you’re up to with your work, events you join and some of your more personal side. You can keep it short, interesting and relatable for you clients with a helpful content and even share interesting resources from other bloggers.

Keep focused on YOUR targeted audience; it’s them you are writing for and not the whole world.
Remember you are in a people’s business, so connect and stay connected.

TACTICS TO QUIT:

Blogging with no regular schedule.
Posting too generalised contents.
Not being helpful to your audience.

4. Using Promo Video

Your first reaction to the concept of using promo video may be uncomfortable; after all, what you want to promote is your work behind a camera, not in front. Breathe!

Here are some information I have gathered for you:

By 2020, online videos will make up more than 80% of all consumer internet traffic (85% in the US). (Cisco)
One minute of video is worth 1.8 million words. (Forrester Research)
YouTube is the second most trafficked site, after Google. (Alexa)
59% of executives say they would rather watch a video than read text. (Wordstream)

Video marketing has become the top online marketing tool of the new century. All this while I have kept emphasising the importance of the human touch in marketing a business. Emotions are what drives people and what better way is there than engaging yourself on a video and letting your potential clients meet you in the flesh (almost!) and in the action? Consider your video promo like an Interactive CV that would showcase yourself in your life and at work (while shooting) and why not backstage after shooting?

You may not be able to shoot and edit a promo video by yourself, so set up a budget for it and hire a videographer. Meanwhile you will most certainly enjoy checking out photographers’ promo video on

this website:

https://photodoto.com/photographers-promo-videos/

My personal favourite is Spunky Art Photography.

TACTICS TO QUIT:

Ignoring new online marketing tools
Being scared of standing out from the crowd.
Not using video

V- PRICING YOUR WORK

How do you price your work? This question brings us back again to the targeted audience. Are you looking for genuine, loyal, long-term clients? Or do you want to attract cheap bargain hunters whose values are based on price, not quality?

Discounts will attract some clients; however, you would not want them to always wait for the next discount to purchase one of your works. If you are not sure on how to price your work, go back to networking with colleagues and check out related websites.

TACTICS TO QUIT:

Not displaying your prices. People will not write to you to find out.
Not charging enough.
Using discounting as a marketing trick.
Making pricing decisions based on bargain hunters’ choices.

VI- LAST RECOMMENDATIONS

This is mostly on keeping a good client’s date base.

Keep an up-to-date portfolio of your work.
Keep your client list and mailing list religiously updated.
Keep track of how clients find out about you.
Keep all testimonials like a precious dowry.
Keep track of referrals by clients a reward those clients.
Keep up contributing to the community by donating free coverage of an event or free short sessions.
Keep networking and getting involved with professionals and your local community to build up friendships and trust. Good relationships can do wonders to propel your business.

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Photography for business

PROMOTING YOUR BUSINESS: People prefer visuals

By SnapSquad - December 01, 2018

It is no mystery that photos are becoming the “universal” language. Technology has created a new world for us where we want to communicate and share information faster and faster and to a broader crowd as ever before. Let’s face it, we rather keep in touch with selfies over social media than with letters. A photo will touch your whole family and all your friends with just one finger click and often generate an instant reaction (with smileys or visual symbols like thumbs up etc.).

How does this translate into the business world?

Attention Needed

Your business needs attention, it needs to touch clients fast to keep them up-to-date with your promotions and new products. It needs a response from existing clientele as it needs to reach a broader audience. Everyone is busy, busy and well, a bit lazy too and it has become a fact that they all have embraced a new culture: a visual culture.

A Story to Be Told

Imagine your advertising photo as a story being told but this time visually. You want that story to be powerful enough to capture the attention of a large audience without them needing to read an explanatory text. You also want it to trigger emotions.

A Connection to Be Made

In our new world, people are craving for connection; your business needs to reach a specific audience which in turn needs to recognise themselves in your photo-story and relate when it triggers their own feel-good memories.

Authenticity Needed

Because of the personal emotions, your photo-story will trigger, the subject of your picture must appear authentic, genuine. There is no put-me-off picture as one staging fake attitudes and smiles. To achieve authenticity you will need quality work.

Quality Delivers

In order to catch the eye and stay connected with the viewer, your business simply cannot afford low-quality pictures; images contribute up to 60% in triggering consumer’s interest and engagement and remember you are in competition with hundreds, so make sure you call a professional photographer who, when required, will organise the right scene for your business photo-story and will know where to hire the right models for the right job.

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Photography

STREET PHOTOGRAPHERS’ QUOTES

By SnapSquad - November 20, 2018

I hope you have enjoyed our latest post on Street Photography. To motivate and inspire you further, here is a list of quotes from street photographers. If you look around the net, you will find hips of those but here, I have picked those that illustrate what was highlighted in our post: that (obviously) you have to go out there, that it is a very emotional art genre, and that you need lots of patience to practise the art.

I - Be Out There

1- Alex WEBB

“I only know how to approach a place by walking. For what does a street photographer do but walk and watch and wait and talk, and then watch and wait some more, trying to remain confident that the unexpected, the unknown, or the secret heat of the known awaits just around the corner. “

American street photographer Alex Webb worked as a professional photojournalist and joined Magnum Photos as an associate member in 1976. Webb started as a black and white photographer until 1978 when he started to shoot in colour and has never stopped since, using colours and emotions in his work.

2-Matt Stuart

“Buy a good pair of comfortable shoes, have a camera around your neck at all times, keep your elbows in, be patient, optimistic and don’t forget to smile.”

Matt Stuart from West London is a member of an international group of street photographers: In-Public Street Photography. His book of street photography, All That Life Can Afford (2016) is, of course, a great reference.

3-Steve McCurry

“My life is shaped by the urgent need to wander and observe, and my camera is my passport.”

Steve McCurry is an American photo-journalist you will recognise right away when you know his most famous photo is the “Afghan Girl”. His books: A life in Pictures and Afghanistan.

II - Feel The Street

1-Alfred Eisenstaed

“It is more important to click with people than to click the shutter.”

Alfred Eisenstaedt (1898 – August 1995) was an American photojournalist who worked for Life Magazine. He happened to be in the street, in Time Square to be precise, during the V-J Day celebration and yes, he is the one who shot V-J Day in Times Square. Talk about capturing the emotion!

2- Robert Capa

“If your photos aren’t good enough, then you’re not close enough”

Capa (1913-1954) photographed D-Day and the Spanish civil war (The Falling Soldier). His words can be interpreted as being physically close enough or emphatically close. Think about it, both ways are correct.

Here is another quote by Capa that I like to share: “I hope to stay unemployed as a war photographer till the end of my life”

3- Irving Penn

“A good photograph is one that communicates a fact, touches the heart and leaves the viewer a changed person for having seen it. It is, in a word, effective.”

In 1938 American Irving Penn (1917-2009) started recording his observations with he called “camera notes”. While street photographing, his special interest was for signage and political graffiti of resistance.

4-David Alan Harvey

“Don’t shoot what it looks like. Shoot what it feels like.”

Harvey who is also American, discovered photography when he was only 11 years old. He published his first photo book “Tell it Like it is” when he was 20. Harvey started with documenting the lives of black families in Virginia and kept on recording culture on both sides of the Atlantic. His other books: Cuba, Divided Soul and Living Proof.

5-Christophe Agou

“When I use the camera, I often feel like I know part of the people or places I come in contact with.”

Christophe Agou (1969 – 2015) a French, who had adopted New York as his home was a street and documentary photographer. Like his friend Matt Stuart, he was a member of the In-Public street photography collective. Christophe photographic talent was to be able to capture the essence of a moment; to do that, he invested his heart into what he was doing. Check out his book: Life Below (2004) in the New York subway.

6- Susan Meiselas

“The camera is an excuse to be someplace you otherwise don’t belong. It gives me both a point of connection and a point of separation.”

Susan Meiselas who is an American considers herself as “The present but almost invisible photographer” whose vocation is to immortalize people caught up in the tidal waves of politics and war (Kurdistan-Nicaragua).

III - Practice the Art of Patience

1- Guy Le Querrec

“A photographer is an acrobat treading the high wire of chance, trying to capture shooting stars.”

Guy Le Querrec a Breton born in Paris in 1941. He worked as a reporter photographer in francophone Africa but also in China and the USA (documenting Amerindians) and photographing Villejuif, a suburb of Paris.

His is also very well known for photographing jazz festivals, which is how he started with photography.

2- Thomas Leuthard

“Street Photography is like fishing. Catching the fish is more exciting than eating it… “

Leuthard who is Swiss is a full-time street photographer. Lens Magazine ranks him amongst the 5 most active street photographers. His work is usually in black and white. He shares all his photos on Flickr for everyone to discover and enjoy; I am thinking particularly of amateur street photographers.

3- Ansel Adams

“Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop.”

Born in San Francisco, Ansel Adams (1902-1984) was well known as a commercial photographer and even more famous as a conservationist photographer with a love for Yosemite Park and like most photographers, he did take some awesome street shots. In any case, I find his quote quite appropriate for our subject.

I’ll leave you with a quote attributed to an ancient wise man, Confucius:

“Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.”

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Street Photography

STREET PHOTOGRAPHY

By SnapSquad - November 06, 2018

What is Street Photography

Let’s clear one thing out of the way, street photography does not necessarily have to be shot in the street. In fact, street photography does not even need to happen in a street or even outdoors! You can shoot in a public place like a market or a mall, a station, a post office… It can involve people for sure (yet not necessarily), architecture, vehicles, random objects (even macro) your pick. So what makes a street photographer? To simply put it, it’s all about documenting life and society as a whole; a way to create a social record (and often a socio-historical record) with an artistic flair.

Let’s make another thing clear too, even if you do take pictures in a park, a landscape is not street photography; it must become part of your story in a shot based on human essence.

Abundance of Subjects

Knowing that street photographers are recorders of the human impact on the world, it is easy to figure out that the list of subjects to cover is extremely long and diversified! There are a million ways to capture expressions of life and human nature in moments or sights that may feel sometimes surprising, intriguing even, funny, dramatic, happy or sad, shocking, outrageous and too, beautiful. And even though you may rather take pictures that do not include people, keep in mind that some of the most interesting “old” photographs are the ones with people on them. Those are the ones that touch us the most for showing us what we were like in time and how our culture evolves. All this makes street photography a uniquely emotional art genre.

Ethical Behaviour

Because it often deals with catching people’s behaviour or visible emotions, street photography can be intrusive to the subject. If you are caught taking someone’s picture, you may upset someone who may approach you to let you know that they are not happy. The best way to deal with it is, to be honest, and not deny having taken the shot. Instead, you may even succeed in talking the person into letting you have the picture with the promise of sending them a copy and giving them your contact number? In any case, smile, be courteous and ready to delete. Beyond that, you may want to find out about the privacy and security laws in the country you are visiting before you start taking pictures of strangers.

If you feel awkward taking pictures of people or you do not like to interact with them and yet mind missing on candid shots, you may want to pick a spot and wait there; become a scene observer. By doing so you will find that the action comes to you instead of you invading people’s space. A fine compromise.

Another way to take your shot and avoid having to interact (that’s what I often do) is to keep your eye on the camera even though you have just clicked, pretending your attention is still on something and wait till your subject leaves the scene; a nice way to let the person believe that you were not focusing on him/her. Although you may feel sneaky and a bit of a stalker, you may still rather take candid shots rather than planned one with the approval of the subject.

Equipment & Photographic Skills

Equipment

The great thing about street photography is that you do not need a special camera; it is accessible to anyone with a hand camera and even a camera phone which now come with very high pixels and your favourite apps. A camera equipped with a zoom lens will, of course, be more appropriate for shots involving distances. It really all depends if you have some specific subject in mind (in this case you may also want to check out specialised websites that recommend a list of cameras) or if you want to go about light, easy and inconspicuous.

Skills

Street photography is the ideal ground to develop your photographic skills. It is perhaps less daunting to take pictures of facades or windows and still targets in general (watch the lighting!) yet really, the more you go out there and shoot and the faster you will develop your own style and techniques. When you catch a good scene, an expression and attitude that appeal to you, take lots of shots and sort them out later.

Techniques

Zone Focusing

A commonly used focusing technique is zone focusing which allows the photographer to pre-focus the camera to a specific distance and shoot when the subject comes into range.

Depth of Field

It is a good idea to shoot with as much depth of field as you can. With this, you will be able to be more often successful at taking sharp shots of fast-changing scenes and avoid blurring the surrounding. To obtain as much depth of field as possible, set your ISO high so that you get a faster shutter speed and a smaller aperture (f/8 or f/11).

The secret to street photography is really to go out there and follow your heart to find out what makes you tick most, what attracts you most, what your special interest really is and the stories you want to share. To all this I’ll add one more recommendation, which is to research the work of other photographers; and that will be the topic of our next post.

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Tips and Tricks

SNOW VACATION PHOTOGRAPHY

By SnapSquad - October 22, 2018

Winter is a beautiful time of year when landscape photography amateurs (and professionals, of course) are out to brave low temperature and fierce weather to capture the magic of the season. Those who appreciate the beauty of winter landscape photography must also be aware of its challenges and even more so those who seize the opportunity of a mountain vacation to test their skills in the snow.

Before you grab your ticket to the snowy summits and your camera gear, here are a few suggestions on what you should include in your luggage and, of course, a few handy photo shooting tips to consider before you go.

Packing up for the Trip

1.Clothing

If you are going to be shooting outside for longer than a few minutes, make sure the clothes you are going to wear are suitable for the outdoor conditions you may have to face; and don’t forget your ends too!

Your Feet:

Regardless whether you will be walking in cold snow or on icy ground, or whether your toes will be at risk of getting frozen while you are standing still waiting for the perfect time to click, make sure you wear appropriate boots to keep your feet warm.

Your Hands:

And what about your fingers that will start to freeze while you will be holding the camera? Putting gloves on and off may prove to be a tricky exercise, especially when your fingers are not flexible; you may even risk dropping your camera! Some gloves have rubber grips on the fingers. What do professional photographers recommend? Some like to use shooter’s gloves which have the particularity to uncover the tip of the fingers you need to use, like the trigger finger which in your case will be the shutter finger.

Your Eyes:

If you are going to be out in the snow and especially when the sun is out and shining, you won’t want to be caught without sunglasses. Keep your eyes safe from sun reflection.

2.Photographic Gear

-Camera (lol)
-Tripod
-Spare battery
-Extra memory card
-Hand light meter (if you have one)
-Water resistant camera bag

3.Handy Tips

For your Gear:

KEEP IT DRY!

If you have to be in the snow, prepare your gear so that you do not have to put any of it on the ground and risk getting it wet. A water-resistant bad is a good option.

For your Batteries:

As mentioned earlier, it is always a good idea to pack extra batteries. Cold temperatures drain batteries faster so it may be wise to keep those extra ones nice and warm inside your pocket.

For your Shoot:

-BEWARE OF BRIGHT LIGHT!

When shooting pictures in the snow, like can be extremely bright and over-powering. Using camera mode will be your best option while using your histogram will guide you to adjust your settings. If you happen to have one, use a light meter!

-Not just White Snow:

I once found out at my own expense while driving over sand dunes that my camera had a real hard time focussing on anything at all. It’s the same with snow: the camera gets very confused. So, avoid taking just fields of white snow and instead, add some other interest to it like a person, a chalet or a tree or…

-Slalom Snowflakes:

It is beautiful when snow falls, however, snowflakes coming close to your lens may be a hindrance when it comes to the good results of your shoot. What’s a photographer to do? Professionals recommend to set the camera on a tripod, decrease the ISO, increase the aperture and shoot with a delayed shutter.

-Watch your Steps:

If you are planning to shoot a subject surrounded with pristine snow, remember checking that you are not taking your own footprints. Oops!

-Keep All your Photos:

For one, extremely bright light and reflection from surrounding snow will confuse you when you’ll look at your LCD screen to check your pictures. Instead, keep all your shots and review them when you get home. Because you will have brought an extra memory card, you won’t have to worry about a thing!

-Keep your Camera from Fogging:

To avoid your camera from instantly fogging when you walk in and out from the cold into a warm place (and again when you re-expose it to the cold) do not try to warm it up but on the contrary, try to place it in a cold nook (like by a window?).

-At the End of the Day:

When you are ready to go back indoors, keep your camera inside the closed bag and for a while, resist the urge to take it out to check your pictures of the day. By doing so, your camera will warm up slowly and you will avoid condensation forming on the lens or even inside the camera. Another thing you can do is remove the memory card from the camera while you are still outside in the cold.

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Commercial Photography

WHAT A PHOTOGRAPHER CAN DO FOR YOUR BROCHURE & WEBSITE

By SnapSquad - September 19, 2018

DRAW ATTENTION

A brochure with photos can be an excellent tool to promote your business. Whether its purpose is limited to promoting a one-time event or to open a professional window into the works of your company. Whatever the extent of your marketing strategy, you want your brochure (or your website) to draw attention to attract clients and it will be as good as the content inside it; hence the paramount importance of selecting top quality photographs that will not leave the reader insensitive.

DELIVER CLEAR PICTURES, CLEAR IDEAS

We live in the age of visual expression where most people won’t read what’s written unless a picture or a video draws them to it. Nowadays more than ever, pictures do the trick. Choose pictures that give a clear idea of what you are offering and make clients want to buy it from you. Because you want a greatest possible impact, choose the best quality photos, in terms of expression and high resolution. Enrolling the help of a professional photographer could propel your brochure like never before.

FOCUS ON THE PURPOSE OF THE BROCHURE

Whoever comes to pick and hold your brochure should immediately be clear about what your business is about. Before you start working on its content, narrow down what exactly you expect from giving away this brochure; with that, share your clear message with your photographer who in turn will discuss with you what he/she thinks will express and highlight visually what your words promote. Cliché as it may be, a picture is worth a thousand words.

WORK HAND IN HAND TOWARDS CREATIVE EXPRESSION

Again, all the weight of the message you want to share, and even the first impression about your business or your event will be brought through the pictures you will have selected. To achieve this, it is critical that you work hand in hand with your photographer. Make sure you pick the right one for you; look at the portfolio; don’t hesitate to talk and open up, listen to a professional point of view and advice until you are sure that he/she is absolutely in tune with your own creative expression and you can start working hand in hand. More often than not, your photographer will be able to guide you through different trends for you to choose from.

SELECT WITH RELEVANCE

Beautiful quality photos can make you forget that your paramount goal is relevancy. Your photographer, especially if experienced in business photography, will be able to help you keep in line and focus on what really resonates with your message.

ADD GRAPHIC EXPERIENCE

You may be a successful business person or a great marketing executive, however, you may not be top of your game with graphic designs necessary when creating a brochure. Good thing there are tools like Canva that will be able to handle all this for you a lot easier, hence making sure of the work will deliver top of the range results.

What you are going to show on your brochure or website will result directly on your sales as it will affect your clientele. Keeping this in mind, it will be well worth investing in your efforts to produce the best quality pictures and graphics.

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