Make Changes

Photo World if you are learning and growing then you are changing. Often it can be difficult to make change and go along with them but it is a necessary practice to improve from where you are.

So here we are on the 250th episode on Take & Talk Pics! I have been so blessed to do this podcast and bring this content to you Photo World. However, I have been learning, growing, and yes, changing.

I have been finding there are so many things I have planned for my work and businesses and I need to make a few adjustments right here on the podcast and blog.

First, the show is going to be on a bit of a break. I can't bring myself to stop because I am far too passionate about what this show means to me and what I want to continue contributing to you Photo World.

So being somewhat on the back burner you can expect 2 episodes a month. Once every other week. Ideally these would be interviews with photographers from around the world, but I know there will be a few here and there where I need to share solo from time to time.

As I make changes, I would like consistency, and a space where Photo World can continue to learn from me. So I will maintain a weekly blog post right here on Take & Talk Pics.

Happy Shooting!

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Nikon Active D-Lighting

Photo World this episode is more proof that you need to know your gear to fully understand the potential you bring to every shoot. Knowing your gear is good but knowing when, where, and how to use the tools effectively is the real test of a pro photographer versus a hobbyist. The Active D-Lighting setting for Nikon cameras is another great example of why it can be important to fully understand your camera.

Active D-Lighting is really Active Dynamic Lighting... Dynamic being richer with tonality. Like HDR isn't High Definition Resolution HDR stands for High Dynamic Range. Active D-Lighting isn't nearly the tonal range of HDR but it is a step in that direction. Active D-Lighting is also a Nikon specific option. Canon has ALO or Auto Lighting Optimizer, but ALO is only a fraction of the influence as Active D-Lighting ends up being.

There are many reasons to use Active D-Lighting but understanding more about how it works will clear up much of the confusion. Active D-Lighting offers the photographer the option to under expose to crush the highlights so they remain intact in the final image. The Active D-Lighting opens the otherwise underexposed shadows in camera and embedded into the RAW file. This allows for more details in the shadows than usual.

With selective settings from Low all the way to Extra High, Active D-Lighting is an awesome tool to be used in making better pictures. However, listen to the episode to hear why I like Canon RAW files more than my own Nikon RAW images. Hint: it has to do with Active D-Lighting.

When you take the time to investigate the inter workings of your gear you have the freedom to raise the bar on your images and continue stepping in the right direction, not only for your images, but you and your business overall.

Happy Shooting!

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Dust Mapping

Photo World we work so hard to have beautiful, clean, well made photographs. We did this back in the film days too, but there was a battle going on against dust and scratches. We still see issues today when it comes to dust.

They make air blowers, sensor brushes, lens cleaner fluids, micro fiber cloths, lens tissue, sensor gels, or you can send your equipment out for professional cleaning... There are a lot of options today to ensure that we don't have one spec of dust in an image where we don't want it. However, most of these tools/devices/options are horrible and cause more damage than help solve problems. Often it is user error but I say why take the risk!

Now there are many things you can do that are low risk and may clear up those dust spots but every so often there is a spot we can't seem to shake. I give a couple cleaning examples I do but my favorite and most trusted is send it out to a pro who will also assume responsibility.

Photo World, if you really can't get the job done or can't get the right person to do it for you, you may want to consider Dust Mapping. This in camera software driven process will save you hours of editing.

Happy Shooting!

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Time-lapse Photography

Photo World I needed a break from all the business talk because at the end of the day my addiction to photography needs some attention as well as my passion for building businesses. Time-lapse Photography is a bit of its own practice. In fact it began mostly by accident and has slowly evolved into spectacular motion pictures.

Time-lapse Photography is more simplified than it used to be with the advent of digital. In short it's a series of images being complied into video, for a quick view of an extended time. Hence Time-lapse.

There are several ways to make a time-lapse video but the easiest is the automated feature found in most DSLRs and Mirrorless systems. However, the highest quality is making the final video by way of capturing each image individually and edit to your liking. Much more time consuming but the results are stunning.

Let's run some numbers:

1 picture every second for 1 minute straight would offer you 60 images to be used as 2 seconds of video at 30 frames per second.

10 minutes of time-lapse for 1 second of video when you shoot at an interval of 6 seconds between shots.

Say you want 30 seconds of video and you are shooting at an interval of 1 shot every minute… That would be a 15 hour long shoot to have a frame rate of 30 frames per second.

Time-lapse is an investment but the results can be stunning.

Check more from Edward Muybridge.

Happy Shooting!

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Savings Plan

Photo World when you run your own business it doesn't matter when it comes up or in what aspect the conversation takes place... most of us, when we start out, do not like to talk money. That could be one of the worst offsets to a secure savings plan for a infant business.

When I sit down with clients I have absolutely no fear to talk about how the money works. This confidence emerged after six years in business as a professional. Six years living in fear of that one five letter word. One thing we all want more of, feel we have too little, and can't seem to stretch far enough. Money.

There are literally dozens of episodes I could do in highlight money's role in a small business. I tango with several of the topics involved from taxes, to loss, paying your bills, and having a savings plan.

Regardless of your photographic genre or even your business for that matter... We must step back and look at the year as a whole before we begin understanding our fiance. This episode may just be the key.

Happy Shooting!

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Why Should You Blog

Photo World as you can tell by the title I am going to totally sell you on the idea of why should you blog. Okay, not really but I am going to talk about the purpose and operations behind how a blog works. The true conversation is about good business practice, showcasing your talent, and hoe to obtain a free or cheap marketing funnel.

It is a lot of information to be crammed in a 10 minute episode but when it comes to blogging it's pretty simple. There are many reasons why you should blog. However, and I know this first hand, there are countless reasons to give up on a blog. It isn't as exciting because the investment of time is greater than most people are willing to give and results are not as instant as most would like.

That being said... Blogging is a long term investment but the payoff can be amazing. Listen to the example story of a friend of mine I share in today's episode. She went from doing pictures as a hobby to a six figure business in only one year.

Happy Shooting!

Get your FREE business coaching call with Rob!

Sign up for one of the last few spots here!

Build Your List

That's right Photo World, you need to build your list. That is your email list. Think of the countless emails you receive that are of little to no value for you, but there is one email every so often that keep you as a subscriber to that list.

Now, you don't have to bombard people with nonsensical emails day in and day out. However you may find a use for the list over time. Some will tell you to make a few lists that fit into categories like most likely to buy, least likely, and somewhere in the middle.

My view is collect all emails and compile a list of possible for sales. At the very least if you build your list you could always come back to it when the time is right. In this episode I discuss when the right time might be to use your list.

Anyone and everyone is a candidate to be considered. If you are able to acquire an email at any point then you are a step closer to a possible "yes" for your product or service. You have to consider any contact or inquiry is the halfway point to a "Yes". In other words gaining someone's email address is a "maybe" to buying your product or service.

You never know what you will do in the future so build your list in the present!

Happy Shooting!

All Work and No Play

We often feel like there's too much to do. To many things on our plate and we can't catch up; so much, that it seems our business, our career, our supposed passion is all work and no play. Just like anything else in life there is a time and place for everything. It's my belief that all work and no play should be observed from time to time. However, it's draining on the mind and the body to live life this way.

What is "play"? Well that could be up for debate but the way I view it is: something of interest to you, worth the investment, and worth the time, but shifts your focus away from your work. The average person is asleep for 33% of their life time. The average person is working for nearly 56% of their time during a 45 year span, but averaging another 33% of their time thought their life time. That leaves a life time average of 34% of your life time is glued by the other 66% of occupied time. All to have not much more than 1/3 their lives at play. This doesn't account for being sick, making improvements around the house, the time spent traveling or commuting to your job, attending special events for others, and a plethora of other things. So what time do you really have at play in your life? Shouldn't we work that much harder to open up the gap between work and play?