by Guest Contributor Carolyn Pongracz

Let’s face it: wedding photography is daunting. If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve been shooting portraits for a while now, and are finally working up the courage to dive into the world of wedding photography. It can be a little scary, knowing that you’ve only got one chance to capture everything, under completely uncontrollable lighting conditions with several subjects moving in different directions. Nobody wants to disappoint a bride (or the bride’s mother!), but having the right equipment on hand can certainly make things easier so you can focus on being creative! These are some of the things I suggest shopping for if you’re going to leap into wedding photography.

Camera Body: In portraits, you can usually make up for low-lighting situations by using a flash, or setting up near a window. But during a wedding, that’s not always possible. Some churches don’t allow you to use a flash during the service, and some reception halls are only lit with candles (and who wants to ruin that ambiance with a blast from a flash?). So your best option is to purchase the most quality camera body you can afford with high ISO capabilities. The higher your ISO can go, the better equipped you are to handle low-lighting situations. Some newer camera bodies have an ISO range up to 102,400ISO and beyond! (Yes, you read that correctly!) So a camera with better ISO capabilities is really going to help you out in those dark lighting situations that are very common with weddings.

Fast Glass: We all have our preferences of shooting with prime or zoom lenses, and both can be used throughout a wedding day. A prime is great for shooting crisp portraits and detail shots. A zoom is fantastic for getting in nice & tight on the bride or groom during the ceremony (because you never want to physically get up that close and disturb the views of everyone watching). But when you’re buying a lens, make sure of one thing: it’s got to be fast. A lot of the less expensive “kit” zoom lenses are at their widest aperture around f/3.5 – f/4. And often when you zoom in all the way on those lenses, you lose a lot of that ability and may only be able to get as wide as f/5! That doesn’t help in those dark lighting situations. So when you’re shopping for a lens, make sure you get one with a “Constant Aperture”; usually at f/2.8 or wider. They are “constant” because regardless of how far you zoom in, they will always allow you to shoot wide open and that’s a really important tool to have during a wedding! Yes, they are more expensive, larger & heavier, but any wedding photographer that is serious about their work makes it a priority to save up and buy the fastest glass they can afford.

Speedlight(s): Those little pop-up flashes on some DSLR’s? They’re worthless. Never, ever point a flash directly in someones face; especially not at a bride if you want her to look flattering! You need a speedlight. They come in all different sizes and strengths, and just like with all wedding photography equipment, you’re going to want to buy the best one you can afford. You can use them to bounce light off of ceilings, walls, or anything to light the space. I like to use a “Gary Fong Lightsphere” to help soften and spread out the light in a very flattering way — it’s my go-to trick for using flash and staying mobile. But other people use different types of speedlight diffusers (bounce cards, mini soft boxes, etc.). Once you start to get good with using your flash, you can try doing some off-camera lighting too! (Think: bride & groom back lit by a beam of light during their first dance!) In that case, you’re probably going to want at least two speedlights and some “Pocket Wizards” to fire them off remotely from where you’re standing.

Memory Cards: Your camera will probably take either an SD or CF card. I can’t stress this enough: don’t cheap out on memory cards. They are the only thing holding all of your hard work on a wedding day that can’t be re-shot! So again (say it with me, folks), purchase the best ones you can afford. The more expensive cards tend to write the data faster so they can handle rapid shooting. Some camera bodies can’t tolerate cards that hold more than 4G so make sure you know what your camera’s capabilities are – the last thing you want is to show up at a wedding with a 16G card only to find out your camera won’t work with it. And most importantly? Replace them often. I usually have 5 or 6 memory cards on hand at all times, all labelled with the date I purchased them. If they’re a few years old, I toss them and buy a new one to replace it. Old cards tend to get glitches and damage image files so be prepared to switch these out as necessary. And remember: format your cards each time you use them. Don’t just delete the files off of there — do an actual format in your camera before you begin shooting. Think of it like your memory card’s “reset” button.

Batteries: If your speedlight uses Double-A’s, it’s maybe time to think about getting rechargeables or a larger accessory battery pack. You’re going to use a lot of battery power during a wedding, and some flashes tend to shut down if the batteries inside are overheating from lots of use. Always have at least 2-3 extra sets of batteries on hand you can switch out as needed. And as far as your camera’s battery? You should have an extra (fully charged) one on hand as well. If you tend to use your LCD screen on your camera a lot, it will use up your battery power quicker. I have set up my LCD screen so it doesn’t show the image after every shot, but rather only when I want to scroll through my photos. That really helps with keeping the battery alive longer.

Backup Set: See everything above? Get two of them. You need a backup set of equipment because you cannot re-shoot a wedding day. You cannot invite everyone back the next day to relive these moments. And believe me, it happens more often than you think: your battery dies half-way through their first dance… or your camera just doesn’t seem to want to fire… and you don’t have time to sit and tinker with it to figure out what’s going wrong. You need to grab that back-up and continue shooting! So keep that in mind when you are shopping — a used camera body or lens can be a great way of saving money on your backup set.

Clothing, Bags & Shoes, oh my! I tend to wear all black at weddings because I want to go as unnoticed as possible. But it’s important to remember that this is a formal event, so wearing shorts, or flip-flops or anything too casual is never appropriate. You are representing your company so be professional! Black cotton pants and a nice black blouse or short-sleeved dress shirt work well on a hot summer day — I tend to stay away from skirts as I do a lot of squatting down and climbing on things while I shoot! Comfortable shoes are a must. I buy a new pair every year and I know what works well for my feet. And camera bags? You’ve got to be portable with the ability to get in and out of there quickly, and still be able to lug that equipment for 8-10 hours (remember: it’s got to hold your back-up equipment too in case of emergencies!). You will definitely feel like a pack-mule with all of that weight to carry around all day so get a bag that works!

And there you have it. Those are just the basics of what you’d need to jump into wedding photography (phew! and we didn’t even get into reflectors, props and more depending on your style!). It’s an expensive profession to have, absolutely. And you’re constantly on the lookout for upgrading your equipment to the next level. But the cost of equipment pales in comparison to the joy it brings when you nail a wedding shoot and impress your clients. It’s a lot of hard, stressful work, but it is extremely rewarding too. Remember to be prepared, keep on shooting, and most of all, have fun with it!

About the Author: Carolyn Pongracz is a wedding & portrait photographer based out of Brantford, Ontario Canada.  Her articles have been featured in numerous wedding blogs and magazines, and was most recently voted the #2 Wedding Vendor in Southern Ontario by The Wedding Ring.  Check out her website for more wedding inspiration, articles, and before/after shots!

by Guest Contributor Amy Fraughton

I have been reading on forums and blogs and even on Facebook lately about a lot of photographers who aren’t sure how to handle sticky situations with their clients. For example, clients who tell the photographer how to shoot. Clients who want to see more pictures than the photographer put in the online gallery. And clients who want more products from their package than they should be getting.

I know, I have been there; it gets very very frustrating as a photographer to feel like your clients are running you. You feel like you are stuck on this teeter totter of emotions. On the upside, this client loves your work and she has tons of friends so you want to please her. On the down side, this client will tell all her friends that you’ll give her a better deal if they just ask, and you’ll never be taken as a serious photographer.  So what do you do?

Here is the one rule that I have lived by with my business that has solved all of my client “sticky situations”. It’s easier than you think and can be used for any and all situations.

“Tell the client before it becomes a problem, and it never becomes one”!

That’s it!  This simple communication tool really does solve it all!  Aren’t you excited?  If your client knows you strive for originality in your style and any ideas she brings will be welcomed, but may or may not be used, then she is going to understand. If you have in your marketing welcome packet that they will be getting 30 custom edited images in their online gallery, then that is what she will expect. When you have listed your prices that they may add any extras for an additional fee, then they won’t be trying to sneak in their own bonuses.

Not only will communicating this upfront help with your sticky situations, but it will also help you look more legit, more credible, and more professional! And your clients will treat you that way as well.

Communicating with your clients can be done in many different ways. You may choose to list your policies on your agreement, put them in your information section of your website, send it in your tri-fold marketing brochure that your customer receives via email or snail mail. Or, if it is a really big issue, you will want to verbally cover it with each of your clients before you start shooting.

“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” – George Bernard Shaw

Just be sure it happens before hand to avoid any stickiness later!

About Amy: Amy Fraughton, photographer and entrepreneur, helps hundreds of women find more clients and grow their businesses through her site Photo Business Tools.

Visit Amy at her WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | PINTEREST pages today!

by Guest Contributor Valérie Jardin

Part one was all about finding the extraordinary in a familiar place, getting out of a rut when you feel like you’ve photographed your hometown from every possible angle. Now let’s say you are traveling to that exotic destination and spending a few days in a large city. Believe it or not, it can be just was difficult to produce great images. Why? Because of the overwhelming feeling of wanting to shoot it all and not knowing where to start. If you try to capture it all, you will most likely end up with mediocre shots of random things, some of them uninteresting or too cliché.

Look for a great spot for a street photograph and be patient.

Here again, start your day with a plan or a theme. Let’s say you love shooting architecture. Well, if you’re in Rome, you will soon have this overwhelming feeling of over abundance. Narrowing down your search to more specific types of architecture or architectural details may help you stay more focused. Look for repetitive patterns, reflections, flowered window, colorful doors, etc.

Include signage as much as possible to give a sense of place

Street photography is your thing? How about photographing lovers in Paris or locals walking their dogs? Of course, you won’t miss any other great action happening in the streets, but looking for something specific will sure make your day more challenging and fun! If you are in a foreign city, try including some signage in your frames for a sense of place. Here again, patience is a virtue. Sit outside at a cafe and watch people go about their daily lives. Some story will unfold right in front of you if you give it some time.

Think ‘outside the postcard’

Think ‘outside the postcard’, don’t ignore the local landmarks but try a different approach, a different perspective. Get close, tilt your camera, shoot wide. Get out of your comfort zone, your skills will improve and your passion for the craft will get a boost.

Include signage as much as possible to give a sense of place

You can add to the challenge and pick one lens for the day. This will save your back and will force you to see your surrounding from a different perspective. My go-to lens for traveling is the 24-70 mm because it’s so versatile. But it’s heavy and there are days when I will put the 50mm on my camera simply for comfort and those are the days that will often yield the best pictures because of the power of limitations.

Happy travels!

Bonjour! I’m Valérie Jardin and photography is my passion. It’s what I do to earn a living and for pleasure on my days off. I live and breathe in pixels. I love to share the passion and teach this beautiful craft. You can connect with me on Facebook, visit my website, or join me on my next photo workshop: A week in Paris in October!

by Guest Contributor Valérie Jardin

Can’t afford an exciting vacation or a photo workshop in an exotic location? Do not despair, you can still have fun with your camera in your own neighborhood and find the extraordinary in the ordinary. You just have to make the effort to get out there and learn to see your familiar surroundings with a fresh perspective.

Here are a few tips to get you started:
Don’t even go out the door yet, start in your own home, open a drawer and take out any common household item that inspires you. Then shoot it from different angles and depths of field. Let some direct sunlight shine through it, place it on a textured or shiny surface to get different feels. Try it and you’ll be surprised at how fun it can be and how much you’ll learn in the process!

Now step outside and walk down the street. Stop randomly and look around you. Pick an object, it can be anything from a manhole cover or a door knob. Study it from different perspectives and then shoot. Play with shadows and light.  Get down on the ground or shoot from above. Try different aperture settings. If you enjoy working in the digital darkroom, let your creative juices flow.  Add filters. Play with those sliders. This is all about vision – your vision!

Walk down the street. Stop randomly and look around you

Another day, another photo walk… Pick a theme before you head out with your camera: Patterns, textures, reflections, collections, a specific color. It doesn’t mean that you can’t shoot anything else while you’re out, but the theme will keep you focussed (ha!) and your walk will turn into a treasure hunt.

Try your hand at some street photography. You know your town, look for the perfect spot. A building with signage to add a sense of place, a textured or bright colored wall, etc. Then wait… The right person will walk by and a story will unfold, just be ready to tell that story in one frame. Capture gesture, good street photography is all in the body movement or expression. Don’t be shy, just remember to be respectful of your subject.

Pick a theme such as a color

Another day, another theme: Why not look for reflections today

Ready to try something a bit more challenging? Interact with strangers and ask if you can make a street portrait. It’s very intimidating but also addicting. Yes, you will get some rejections but a smile can go a long way. People like a compliment and most don’t mind having their picture taken. Use common sense and follow your instinct, if it doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t. Be friendly: “Cool hat, I love it! Would you mind if I took your picture?” Show them the resulting image on the back of your camera, offer a business card, they may want a copy later. If you are really shy and new at this, street performers are easy subjects to photograph and they usually love the attention.

Engage in a conversation with a stranger and ask to make a street portrait of them

Plan ahead and do a photo essay about a subject that really interests you. Your local baseball league, the bakery down the street or the neighbor’s garage band. The goal is to tell a story in several frames by including wide shots, environmental portraits as well as detail shots.

Collections of things are fun to shoot at market

The trip to an exciting location may not be accessible this year but, if you give it a try, you can see your familiar environment with new eyes and fall in love with being a story teller with your camera all over again.

Bonjour! I’m Valérie Jardin and photography is my passion. It’s what I do to earn a living and for pleasure on my days off. I live and breathe in pixels. I love to share the passion and teach this beautiful craft. You can connect with me on Facebook, visit my website, or join me on my next photo workshop: A week in Paris in October!

by Guest Contributor Anna Gay

Disclaimer: This is not an anti-Getty Images post. There seems to be no gray area between people who are excited about licensing their photos as stock, and people who scoff at the idea. I am here to present the gray area, the neutral voice of reason.

“What is Getty?” you may ask. Getty Images is the leading stock imagery website, featuring photos, illustration, and videos. The images you see on a billboard, or the tiny photos at the top of magazine articles and blog posts, are often licensed through Getty Images, and the editors of these publications pay a fee to Getty to use the media. In turn, the person who created the original media receives a percentage of the sale.

I am seeing more and more of my photographer friends licensing their photos through Getty Images. Now, Getty is a bit of a mystery to me, so I decided to do some research, and share it with you, too.

If you are interested in submitting your photos to Getty, the easiest way to do so is through Flickr. Flickr and Getty have a great partnership, and when you submit your photos to the “Getty Call For Artists” group on Flickr, your photos will be reviewed by Getty staff. If they are interested in your submissions, they will send you a private message on Flickr with an invitation, and directions on how to submit. When you upload your photos to Flickr, you also have the option to flag your photos with a “Request to License” through Getty, as another way of having Getty possibly contact you.

While Getty licenses video footage, for now we are just going to look at the types of licensing they provide for still images. As a side note, Getty, not the creator of the image, decides on how the content will be licensed.

Rights Managed

As Getty states on their website, these images are the “cream of the crop” in terms of stock photography, and are available for the client to license on varying usage terms and price levels. The client also has the option to purchase exclusive rights on select Rights Managed images. Many corporations and publications gravitate to Rights Managed images, as these images tend to be less widely used, therefore lessening the possibility that the image will appear in a competitor’s ad campaign.

Royalty Free

Bloggers, journalists, graphic designers and anyone who wants to purchase a great stock image absolutely love Getty’s Royalty Free images because of the flexible licensing terms. Pricing is based on the size of the image purchased, and once purchased, the image can be used by the client as much as they please.

The royalty rates paid to the creator of the image, as of April 2012, are as follows:

• Rights Managed – 30%
• Royalty Free – 20%

The Great Divide

Now, there is a lot of debate among photographers on whether or not to license with Getty. While some people find it a fun way to make extra cash throughout the year, others are skeptical about giving Getty the right to license their photos, while others are do not like the idea of their artistic endeavors being labeled as “stock” images.

Keep in mind that, while Getty acquires the licensing rights to your images, the Copyright still belongs to you. Your usage of the Getty licensed photos will be more limited than if you had not licensed the photo, but Getty will still give you the ability to use your licensed photos for self-promotional purposes, as well as the ability to sell limited edition, signed and numbered prints.

If Getty contacts you to submit to their collection, the decision, obviously, is yours, but above are a few points and figures to keep in mind. You may also want to consider:

• Creating images specifically to license through Getty. In their Flickr group, they often post themes, and you can submit photos to them based on the current theme.
• Know that Getty will have the right to license, reproduce and alter your images, so make sure that you are 100% at ease with that thought.
• Understand that you cannot dictate how your photo will be licensed. You may have the pleasure of your image being on the cover of a New York Times Bestseller, or it may become affiliated with a product or viewpoint that you do not support.
• Be realistic – You may not be able to pay for your child’s education at Harvard on what you make through Getty, but chances are you will have some extra cash at the end of the month. Also, it should go without saying that the more of your images that Getty selects, the better your chances of making money, so submit as many images for consideration as Getty will allow.
• In the same spirit of being realistic, consider this: Many of Getty’s images sell for as little as $5. In fact, some of the Getty contributors I know sell mostly on the $5 level, which means that their cut is $1. With that said, it can often take quite a while to reach $50.

As with any legal commitment, do your research, and carefully read Getty’s contract before signing up – their contract is straightforward.  For more information, you can visit their website at http://www.gettyimages.com

Anna Gay is a portrait photographer based in Athens, GA and the author of the dPS ebook The Art of Self-Portraiture. She also designs actions and textures for Photoshop. When she is not shooting or writing, she enjoys spending time with her husband, and their two cats, Elphie and Fat Cat.

by Guest Contributor Shannan Painter

It’s inevitable: if you own your own business, you will end up working with a friend at some point. One of my best friends is my hair stylist. Another friend is my esthetician, and I also have a close friend who is a massage therapist, a neighbor who does my landscaping, and of course my BFF (Laura Thomas) who runs the amazing businesses Pretty Presets and Rock the Shot. Sounds like I have it made right? While it is fantastic to have friends to work with, there is also a VERY delicate balance that needs to be maintained. How do you work with friends and not have your time be abused or put a strain on your relationship? Here are a few tips to help make relationship bliss translate into business:

1) Value your own time, (and your friends’ time as well). Last year a friend of mine called me and asked me to do her taxes. I interpreted that as her wanting to support my business. She interpreted me saying yes as that I was going to do them for free. I know you have all been here. What do you do? It’s often a judgment call based on the kind of relationship you have with that person, and what kind of time investment it will require of you. For me, my time during tax season is too valuable to give it away. I told her I would do it at a discounted rate, or that she could utilize one of the free tax services online & I would be happy to check over it after she did the work. Even though the conversation was a little awkward, it was a lot better than resenting every second of doing free tax prep!

I value my friends’ time by letting them know that I don’t expect free or discounted rates, and even though they often give me deals, I tip them extra, drop by gift cards, and write thank you notes.

2) Communicate expectations up front. If you are trading business with another friend (i.e. a massage for a sitting fee, tax prep for landscaping, etc.) it might be a good idea to put terms in writing – even if it is just in an email, so everyone is on the same page. Trades can be fantastic, but make them selectively, and only if it is mutually beneficial. As an accounting note, trades still must be counted as revenue. You should separately track “bartering revenue” in your bookkeeping. If you are trading for something that is a business expense, it will offset the income, but you should still track it. If you are bartering for a personal reason (like a photo session for a pedicure) you need to make sure you count the session as income.

3) Utilize the “friend hat, business hat” model. Laura and I spend a lot of time hanging out at the mall, doing yard work together, and even more time sitting at our computers answering emails, working on websites, and bouncing business ideas off of each other. Since a lot of this time runs together, we often switch gears by saying we are putting on our “business hats” so there is a separation from our “friend conversation”. It allows us to talk to each other about things that need to be discussed without it feeling awkward.

4) At the end of the day, money isn’t worth a relationship. While it’s important to set boundaries, value your time and communicate well, there also comes a point where a relationship is more important that money. Your business is your well being, but even if you have all the money in the world, it won’t mean much if you don’t have people in your life to share moments with. It might be worth it occasionally to let the rules out the window just because you care about someone. The good news is, since you’re the boss, you get to make those judgment calls!

About the Author: I graduated Magna Cum Laude with an Accounting Degree from the University of Montana. Instead of pursuing a career in public accounting and being stuck behind a desk for 70 hours a week, I turned down jobs at big accounting firms to pursue a different love. I chose instead to work from home where I live with my husband, two boys and a puppy named Growler. I live a glamorous, exciting life working from my living room in my pajamas, cleaning crayon off the walls, driving kids to school, playing superheros and taking care of a little dog that likes to refinish furniture with his teeth. I get to work with fun, creative & artistic photographers and help them understand that numbers can be our friends!

Visit Shannan at her website Accounting for Photographers, and on her Facebook Page today!