Did you know that you are a copyright owner? If you’ve taken a photograph, then under US copyright law you own the copyright to that image. Copyright law is something that affects every photographer, not just those who are in business making money from their images. With the ease of sharing images online, understanding your rights under US copyright law is more important than ever. Let’s look at 7 things every photographer needs to know about copyright.
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How to Deal with Restrictive Photo Policies
Have you ever visited a historic landmark or any other beautiful space only to be told that photography is not allowed? It seems that most, if not all, photographers have encountered this situation. In this brief article I will talk about various types of photography policies that you may encounter and how to deal with them. This article will provide practical advise, not a definition of your rights as a photographer. Please understand that my experiences are not a replacement for a…
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How to Deal with Online Image Theft
If I were to tell you that there is a website out there that steals photos you post on the Internet and sells them without your permission, how would you react? I bet you would not be happy. Earlier this week, our very own Thomas Stirr reached out to me, asking what I would do with a website called “WallPart.com” that sells posters of my photographs. At first, I didn’t think it would be bad, since my photos get taken…
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Captured by the Light: Book Review
You can tell by the photos of this book that it went through a lot of use in my hands. Back when I just started learning about wedding photography, I literally slept with this book left on my face. I figured it was only fair enough I added a review of Captured By The Light by David A. Ziser into the small stack of book reviews at Photography Life.
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KeepSnap vs PhotoShelter
With only a week left until our PL + KeepSnap Lens giveaway ends, we wanted to write an article about differences between KeepSnap and PhotoShelter. Since a number of our readers asked about KeepSnap and what makes it different from the already established PhotoShelter, we thought it would be a good opportunity to look into the features of both sites in a bit more detail.
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Food Photography: From Snapshots to Great Shots (Book Review)
While Nasim is busy traveling, I am going to try to fill in for a few days and post some articles. Although there are a number of reasons why I have not been writing for PL for a while now, one of the main reasons has been simply lack of time! I hope our readers can forgive me for that, but going forward, I will do my best to show up a bit more often, since we need more female…
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SmugMug Review
Perhaps the best-known hosting website for photographers is SmugMug, a platform that has been around since 2002. SmugMug acts as an online gallery space, letting you display your photos easily and – relatively – inexpensively. I have been using SmugMug exclusively for several years, and I have grown very familiar with its range of tools and capabilities. In general, I have been very impressed by SmugMug; for this review (updated February 2018), I will cover some of its main uses and features,…
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KeepSnap Overview
Every once in a while, I bump into a great idea that I wish I came up with myself. Recently, I came across such an idea – a website called “KeepSnap” and I thought that the concept behind it was very smart. Many of us photographers often go to the streets and events armed with cameras, in hopes of finding something or someone interesting to photograph. And sometimes we do indeed come across fascinating people that we immediately get attracted…
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The Importance of Choosing Clients Well
Barring being struck by some incredible bolt of inspiration between now and the end of December (which given my advancing age and rather porous brain is highly unlikely), this will be my final article here on Photography Life in 2015. I’m looking forward to doing periodic postings next year. December is always the time of year that I hunker down and do some planning for next year’s business. During this exercise I am always reminded of the importance of choosing…
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Zenfolio vs SmugMug
Both Zenfolio and SmugMug are giants in the world of photography hosting websites, and each has its fair share of loyal supporters. I have used each website for more than a year – first Zenfolio, then SmugMug – and the differences between the two became clear over time. In this review, I want to share my experiences and help other photographers choose which site is better for their needs.
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Thoughts on Usage Rates, Depreciation and Cash Flow
The photography world seems to be in an almost endless state of flux these days with a plethora of new cameras and lenses popping up in the market like mushrooms after a rain. Debates rage about the future of various brands, technologies and camera formats as folks share their often hard-edged opinions. This certainly is a tumultuous time to consider new photography gear, whether one is an amateur or a working professional. My old, tired brain has been in overdrive…
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How to Properly Resize Images for Facebook
Love it or hate it, Facebook has become an important social media platform for not only promoting your work, but also for finding new clients. Whether you choose to create a fan page for your business or just upload your photographs in your own profile, you might be wondering what the best resolution and export settings should be for your images, so that Facebook can display them at the highest quality. In this article, I will not only go over…
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How to Make Facebook Show Images in Links
When publishing articles on our site, our team always cross-posts links to the same content on our Facebook fan page, where we have close to 250 thousand fans. One of the biggest frustrations we came across with Facebook, is when we post a link to an article that contains images, and Facebook refuses to show the image on top of the link. The strange thing is, sometimes deleting the URL and pasting it again will show images and other times,…
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Let’s Talk About Professionals
I have a rather peculiar confession to make, something I’ve not spoken of loudly to all that many people before. Here goes: whenever someone asks me what I do in life, what I do for a living, I always cringe slightly. Now, I do not mean Photography Life – I am very proud to work here and enjoy writing interesting articles immensely (whether I manage to write something interesting is a different matter altogether, but I dare say I do…
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Is YouTube for You?
If you reside on planet earth, own a computer, and have ever searched the internet, you already know that the number one search engine in the world is Google. What you may not realize is that YouTube is number two.
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Wildlife Photography as a Career
If I was to be completely honest about encouraging people about setting out on a career in wildlife photography, I feel these days I could sum it up in two words. ‘Forget it!’ Having said that, I do not take rejection of article ideas well, I am poor at self-promotion and I am not brilliant at keeping my agents supplied with my latest images. Finally, I do not keep up to date with all of the latest camera bodies which…
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Do You Have Insurance for Photography Equipment?
You have insurance to cover damage to, loss of, or theft of your photography equipment, or do you? We have all heard the words of warning, look both ways before you cross the street, don’t talk to strangers, and read the fine print. Maybe for photographers it should be read the fine print before you sell a print. Recently a friend of mine (who, for the purposes of this post we’ll call Bill), learned about insurance and the fine print found…
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How to Use Instagram for Your Photography Business
Instagram is my favorite social networking tool for my wedding photography business. If you are not utilizing it for business purposes, you are missing out on a wonderful opportunity. I often connect with wedding professionals on Instagram – wedding planners, florists, calligraphers, venues, dress shops, you name it! It has been wonderful for creating buzz and spreading the word about my business.
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Time Saving Tips for Wedding Photographers
Summertime for wedding photographers in the northern hemisphere can be quite hectic! Since the beginning of May I have been shooting 3-5 portraits sessions and 1-2 weddings per week – that means before I have little time to process, edit, and complete a session/wedding before I am already onto the next one. It goes without saying that good time management is crucial for not falling behind. In this article, I will share a few time savings tips for busy photographers like…
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Hiring a Second Shooter for Wedding Photography
Many photographers prefer to have second shooters to help them out during events, especially big weddings. Hiring or becoming a second photographer to work along with you on a job might be very complicated, tricky and sometimes downright nightmarish. You hire a photographer to come and help you out during one of the biggest weddings of your season, and the photographer shows up late, completely unprepared, with empty batteries, no flash and a completely different camera system. If you wish…
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