Where to show your images on the internet

forgotten bench postcard by martinspaperstore
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Forgotten Bench

You spent weeks finding access to the perfect location, you’ve researched it and you got up in the middle of the night to get there and set up ready for the perfect time of day, yes the weather was not right the first two time but this time everything was right. Then you spent too many hours to count in postproduction, making sure the image was just right, till your vision was realised in the image before you. After all this effort don’t you think that the world should see your image?

Web and Water in Sepia Postcard by martinspaperstore
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Web and Water inSepia

There are many ways to put your images on the internet for other people to see them, both paid and free. Over the coming months I will look at some of them in more detail but for now it will just be a brief over view of some of them. As a rule of thumb the more control you want the more it will cost you ether in time, skills or money.

Snowdonia Postcard by martinspaperstore
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Snowdonia

Website:

Having your own website may seam like the obvious option and indeed they can be a great asset. Though they can be a little static and search engines like new content all the time. How much control over the look of your website will depend on your programming skills and how much money you want to pay?

Blogs:

This may be the first place that you think of placing your images and I would recommend that you have your own blog even if you have your images elsewhere, so that you can have a central point on the internet that links to all your other internet galleries. If you are short on time this will give you one place for you to market that will link to all your images on the internet. Wordpress.com or Bloger.com or Tumblr.com are a good place to start.

Photo Galleries:

Photo galleries have the advantage of being known for their images which means that people looking for photos will know what to expect when they go to the site. They range from Flickr that is free and popular to paid for hosting at sites like 500px. 

POD Print on Demand:

POD sites are sites that let you sell your images on products and you get a percentage of the sale. Some sites let you add your images for free while others will charge you every month even if you do not you make any sales. Some sites like Zazzle will let you add sections / galleries while others like Redbubble will put all your images in one store / gallery.

trees and snow postcard by martinspaperstore
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Trees and Snow

Of course as in everything there are advantages and disadvantages to each of the above methods, indeed even within each method above there are advantages and disadvantages between each company involved in each method. First off you need to decided what you want from your exposure on the internet and of course this may change over time but what do you need now? This will help you know if a particular method / sites advantage is an advantage for you, even to pay for and if the disadvantages of a particular method / site is in deed a disadvantage for you.

Understanding Exposure.

Set the shutter speed to the ASA film rating (100 ASA = 1/100^th second) and the aperture to f8 for bright sunny days. This was the rule of thumb exposure settings that you use to get with rolls of film back when many cameras did not have an internal light exposure meter built in.

This might seam like a bit archaic by todays standards but let me explain, many people take images in RAW format thinking that you can recover and correct any mistakes made in camera when processing the RAW file. Sure you can recover some detail while processing the RAW file just like you could with film by changing the developing times but the key word here is SOME.

Of all the aspects of photography, exposure is the one you need to understand and get right, it is the foundation of the rest of your photography. Yes you could leave you camera set on auto but you would be missing out on some great tools to influence your photography. A great book to help you get started is Bryan Peterson’s Understanding Exposure.

Understanding Exposure, Fourth Edition: How to Shoot Great Photographs with Any Camera

This newly revised edition of Bryan Peterson's most popular book demystifies the complex concepts of exposure in photography, allowing readers to capture the images they want. 

Understanding Exposure has taught generations of photographers how to shoot the images they want by demystifying the complex concepts of exposure in photography. In this newly updated edition, veteran photographer Bryan Peterson explains the fundamentals of light, aperture, and shutter speed and how they interact with and influence one another. With an emphasis on finding the right exposure even in tricky situations, Understanding Exposureshows you how to get (or lose) sharpness and contrast in images, freeze action, and take the best meter readings, while also exploring filters, flash, and light. With all new images, as well as an expanded section on flash, tips for using colored gels, and advice on shooting star trails, this revised edition will clarify exposure for photographers of all levels.

I am back again

 For what seams like forever my home has been in the upheaval of renovation and I have been living out of boxes but now I am back. I do not normally talk about what kit I use as a lot of people that I have encountered tend to be equipment and brand junkies rather than photographers.

I am not rich so when it comes to choosing equipment the over riding factor is my wallet and what I can afford at the time as well as the subject matter that I will take photos of. Over the years I have used many different cameras from compacts to medium format, I have even sold images taken on my smart phone, each camera has its pros and cons but it comes down to personal choice but more importantly are you happy enough to take the camera out with you at every opportunity so that you are ready to take that all important photo.

Well my latest kit is a Nikon D3200 with an 18-55 and a 55-200 kit lenses. It feels quite a bit smaller than my Cannon 5D and 6D and I am hoping that this will make it easer to carry around. Now that I have got that out of the way lets get on with the subject of photography.

I try to carry my camera as often as I can so that I do not miss out on a photo opportunity, other time I am out and about just hoping that inspiration comes too me, both methods are not very productive and I am just lucky if I get any photos to keep. I do have a back up plan that is growing my catalogue of close up of interesting textures that I can use in other projects but some times this is all that I come back with.

Having had such a long spell from photography I intend to make the most of this camera and my time, looking at other images for inspiration is great but if I wanted to take images of the Northern Lights then I would have to book a flight and wait around for about seven months, not very good for productivity.

Projects: Is the way to go from short one day projects for when the weather is not that good and open ended projects that I can pick up on when I do not have anything else filling my photography time.

One Day Projects

Still life:

These are great for when the weather is overcast; in fact this helps as the clouds act as one big diffuser when lighting your subject with natural light. Stuck for subjects why not raid the kitchen or garden shed for utensils and tools arranging them together or on their own. Be sure to work all the angles and as well as taking images that show the whole subject move in and isolate parts of the subject giving you an almost abstract image.

Food Photography:

Planning a special meal or just papering your self, then why not document your progress as well as the finished result. This could be part of a bigger project by getting the images for that cook book you have always been meaning to write.

Back catalogue:

It is a great feeling creating the image but what are you going to do with it now, just leave it on your computers hard drive. Why not post it on the internet on sites like Flicker or 500PX you could even offer it for sale on sites line Zazzle or Redbubble.

Open Ended Projects:

Taking the Same Photo:

Some places character changes dramatically as the seasons change, why not revisit them through the year and capture that change. Other places change over a much longer period with new buildings and renovations, so if you hear of such a project in your local area big or small get out get some images before it all changes. Do not forget to go back when the work has finished and who knows over the years you could build up a body of work that is of important social documentary, there might even be a book in it.

Post Cards:

Many places have post cards of their surroundings be it cities, towns, villages and even individual buildings. Why not have a go at recreating some of them but with a twist. Some times it is impossible to find the vantage point that the original post card was taken from and the weather is sure to be different so use a different vantage point and go for inclement weather to give a totally different mood to the post card. When you have your collection on new postcards why not publish them.

A year in the life of your pet:

Some pets will play for the camera more than others giving greater photo opportunities, you know your pet better than anyone else so you will be better able to capture their personality. You can take the images every day or every couple of weeks, it is up to you. Have a product in mind for the end of the project, like a photo album or photo book to help keeping the project going.

Thinking outside of the picture frame

Many photographers long for their images to be seen by a wider public, beyond their family and their fellow members at the local camera club. Some photographers do enter competitions or send their images off to dedicated photography magazines, this is not a bad thing, but overall they are still only showing their images to the photographic community when their images could appeal to a much wider population.

Manchester calendar 2012 by martinspaperstore
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Photographers spend lots of time both behind the camera and on the computer honing their skills to produce the best image they can, right down to the type of photographic paper the image is printed on and what type of matting and frame will best complement the image. Even on the internet, websites and galleries use design and imitation matting to best display the image all framed by the viewers monitor.

Snowdonia by martinspaperstore
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Even moving a little bit outside the ridged frame of wall art can get your images in front of a whole range of people that would otherwise have never seen your work. Producing calendars or greeting cards and your images will be viewed by all kinds of people that you would never imagined liking your work. Greeting cards with just an image and no verse do sell but you will have more luck if you add text to the front and a verse inside for a specific occasion, birthday, sympathy, wedding and holidays.

Mushrooms in Sepia by martinspixs
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Pushing even further beyond the frames of wall art with a quick look at some of the bigger POD (print on demand) websites and you find that you can have your image on many different types of products. Before you click away, think of this as a marketing method. If you have an image that would work as a canvas print then why not as a “T” shirt or sweatshirt, just how many people will see your image as that person wearing it walks down the street? Go into a coffee shop and see how many smart phones / iphones are on the tables and how many people are using laptops, customized skins for both phones and computers are becoming more and more popular maybe you have seen them already and if so why should it not be your image on those skins.



Maybe you are not ready to jump into the global market but you would still like to put your images to use and let others see them. How about incorporating them into hand made greeting cards, the time and effort you put into making a card helps to display your sentiment. If you do not know where to start then why not look at Crafts U Print for tips, inspiration, and supplies.


Think outside of the picture frame and get your images out in the world for people to see and appreciate.

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Photography Competitions

Competitions in any area can be useful to help you improve your skills and this is true of photography competitions. The hardest part is to get over your fear of having someone judge your work but the rewards are worth it. The biggest reword has to be an increase in your confidence, even if it gets a little bruised along the way. You can reduce the chances of getting you confidence knocked by carefully picking the competitions that you enter.

There are many competitions to choose form each with their own advantages and disadvantages. You could start off at your local camera club or library, while there may not be any prize money your only cost should be the printing and you should be able to get more in-depth feed back from the judges.

If you do not want to be in person, you could always use the internet. There are many good photography web sites, some linked with off line magazines that have regular competitions with quite a few offering equipment as prizes. If a competition winner is voted in by the members of the site then the winner will be the one with the biggest following on twitter / facebook. If people can leave comments on your entry, remember that there are some very sad people that like to hurt others while hiding in hyperspace.

Big money competitions that have prizes of five figures plus attract many people with a lot of talent and usually have quit a high entrance fee to keep the numbers down. If you are going to part with your hard-earned money, you should look out for a few things:

• Does the competition have a history, so that you can see what standards your will work have to be to have a chance of wining.
• Is the competition run by a reputable organization, so that you know that you will be paid?
• Make sure that you are not giving away your copyright if you win or even just for entering. Even well known and loved organizations run copyright grab competitions from time to time.
• What are your responsibilities if you win or are placed? You might have to print and frame your work to a set size and be there on the opening night to get your prize. Not a problem if it is in your home town or nearby city but what if it is half way around the world!

Local competitions come up all the time, it could be the local paper, government, company or even a local band and they are usually free to enter. Local photography competitions usually have goods or services as prizes but if it is worth your time and it is not a copyright grab then why not give it a go!

It is always best to take a fresh photo for a competition rather than dig one out of your files and if you feel that your technique needs a little help then you could read up a bit on it, I would recommend:

The Photographer’s Mind: creative thinking for better digital photos by Michael Freeman




Composition: From Snapshots to Great Shots by Laurie Excell



Disclosure: many of the links on this blog are affiliate links from which I receive some money, but if you use them, you get the added benefit of knowing that you are helping support a fellow photographer with their own camera collection addiction, thank you.

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Photographers and Equipment

Have you ever noticed that when you get a few photographers together a big part of the conversation is taken up with a discussion about equipment. Sure, you will get a few snippets about technique, subject, locations, humorous antidotes and if you are lucky individual images. Photographers love for camera equipment seams to affect us all too some degree, this “camera collection addiction” and it plays on our confidence; “I would be a better photographer with that new camera” I could get the image with that bigger lens” “how have I managed to live without that gadget”.



Before the camera manufactures gang together and shut down this blog, let me say that the advances in camera technology have been great (keep it up) and some photos you just cannot get without the right equipment but it has made us all lazy. Do not get me wrong, I love technology but I think that it is holding many photographers back from reaching their full photographic capability. There seams to be an attitude of “the camera will take care of that, if not I will fix it on the computer and if I can’t then just delete it, after all it did not cost me anything”, well it has cost you your time and a little bit of your enjoyment of photography.



Photography is a great past time that gives vast rewards and like any endeavour the harder challenging the greater the reward. Like many endeavours, photography challenges you on many levels from learning about composition to the working and handling of your equipment, and carrying it all around. To start off, how well do you know your own equipment? When was the last time (if ever) you read the users manual for your camera or equipment, if you are not sure how a particular feature would benefit you then why not executively use that feature for a few days till you know it inside out and what it can do for you.



Probably the best way to increase your enjoyment of photography is to be forever expanding your boundaries and improving your skills, that also includes pushing your equipment to its limits. If you know that a particular lens has coped well in poor lighting then next time you are in a similar situation you will have confidence in your lens leaving you to concentrate on the image that your are creating. So next time you see a wonderful image why not push your equipment to its limit to produce an image as good if not better.




Disclosure: many of the links on this blog are affiliate links from which I receive some money, but if you use them, you get the added benefit of knowing that you are helping support a fellow photographer with their own camera collection addiction, thank you.

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Taking Photos on your Vacation

If you are like me then you are already counting to days until you can leave your job behind and head off to the sun for two weeks. The thrill of having new surroundings and photo opportunities every which way I turn, the only down side is that I know that I will not be able to take all my photography equipment with me as it is a family vacation and not a photography trip.



To help you decided what camera equipment you should take with you on your vacation you could research what photo opportunities there are at your destination. Have a look at the holiday brochures from the travel agents and check out the local bookstore. The more images the better, not only will this help in your equipment selection but you will also see how other photographers have tackled the subject.



The internet is also a very good place to find images of the place you are going to on vacation, just type your destination and the word ‘photo’ into your search engine. If you are looking to make some money from your vacation photos then have a look at photo stock site Fotolia" or macro photo stock site Shutterstock " this will also show you the type of images that sell.



I would strongly recommend that you do not take any equipment with you on your vacation that you do not fully understand how to use, the last thing you want to be doing is reading the users manual rather than relaxing at the bar / pool. That would also go for any photo technique that you might want to try, better to do that at home rather than getting frustrated on your vacation. With that in mind why not fresh up on all your photography techniques before you go, two great books for that are Life Guide to digital photography by Jim McNally and Betterphoto Basics by Jim Miotke.





One last thing, remember it is your vacation and you are there to relax and have fun.

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