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Most professional photographers rely on weddings as a staple of their annual income. Depending on the size and extravagance of the wedding (which may have something to do with the father of the bride’s checkbook) hiring the photographer can be one of the most expensive costs of a wedding. As a professional photographer, you and you alone (or maybe you and your assistant) are responsible for perfectly capturing every important moment. There is little room for error and brides can be very unforgiving.

Here are a few tips to help make sure you’re on your A game for your client’s big day:

Visit the location beforehand
Every location is going to have a different lighting situation. Are you shooting in a dark church? Is the wedding taking place outside? At night? Visiting the venue beforehand will give you time to take a few practice shots so are you don’t have any surprises the day of the wedding. Scouting the location beforehand might also give you some ideas for the best places to pose and shoot the wedding party.

Don’t ignore the little things
Of course you can’t miss the bride coming down the aisle or the first kiss, but what about the table displays at the reception? Taking pictures of the little things like shoes, flowers and dress details are great ways to capture the mood and feel of the wedding. They are also things you client might not think about, so you can surprise them with moments they never noticed.

Make a shot list
This goes along with both tips mentioned above. Talk to your clients before the wedding and find out what they want their photos to look like- do they want more posed or candid photos? A lot of photos with the family or just the bride and groom? Then combine their requests with your ideas from when you visited the venue. Add a few notes for the little things you want to keep an eye out for. This will help you stay focused the day of the wedding and make sure you get exactly what the client wanted.

Tags: Digital Photography by Embassy Pro Books
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While most people dread the idea of traipsing their way through ankle-deep puddles and sideways flying droplets, there is a reward for those photographers will to risk getting a little wet and trying to take photos in the rain. Depending on heavy it is raining—a light mist or a summer storm—and the natural effects that rain produces—heavy clouds, lightning, fog, etc—photos taken in the rain can produce an entirely different look and feel than photos taken of the same thing on a sunny day. The hard part is producing a quality image without letting your camera get destroyed by the inclement weather.

Here are few things photographers can do to make the most of a rainy day shoot:

Bring camera rain gear
Maybe you don’t need the type of weather protection fisherman wear, but you should do your best to keep the camera as dry as possible. There are plenty of camera raincoats available depending on your needs. If you find carrying a rain cover to be cumbersome, or are caught in a surprise shower, a finagled plastic grocery bag can do well in a tight spot. Whatever you do, don’t try to change the lens without some serious protection. Moisture can get inside the camera body or on the lens and ruin your equipment.

Backlighting
One of the hardest things to do may be capturing the rain itself. Sometimes rain just looks grey and flat. Adding a harsh flash would only reflect off the water falling closest to the camera, never reaching very far past the end of your lens. To compensate, find a light source in the background and shoot towards it. This could be a streetlight, window, car headlights, etc. Maybe you’ll luck out and the sun will have a few chances to peek through the clouds, producing a dramatic effect. Just make sure you’re ready to catch the light when it comes! Moving cars and fickle clouds can take your lighting away just as fast as it showed up.

Include visual clues
Windows, mirrors, shallow puddles and the like are all reflective, which can help indicate that it is raining. Again, since rain can come out looking flat and grey, it is hard to see the drops unless it’s during a heavy downpour. But since water has a certain effect on reflective surfaces, including them in your photos is a great way to help you tell your audience that it was indeed raining that day.

Tags: Digital Photography by Embassy Pro Books
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As digital photography has usurped a position of power from traditional analog film, so have computers taken the place of the darkroom. Most photographers, professional or amateur, have anywhere from the basic skills to a mastery of the Adobe photo editing software, Photoshop. Now running its fifth updated version, Photoshop gives photographers the ability to edit their photos in more ways than ever before, combining traditional darkroom techniques with modern technology.

Silver Efex Pro is a plug-in for Adobe Photoshop (and Apple’s Aperture) that is strictly used for editing black and white photos. While Photoshop already offers various conversion filters to change a color image to black and white, Silver Efex Pro is a much more sophisticated tool for converting photos to grayscale.

Upon opening the program, it runs a general black and white conversion of your photo. If you wanted the initial conversion to be more focused, you can always edit the colored version first. It doesn’t need to be perfect, just in the ball park of what you want. That way the black and white version will start off a little more fine tuned.

The best thing is that Silver Efex Pro offers a variety of pre-set “styles,” much like the Photoshop filters. If you aren’t looking to do too much work, sometimes these styles are all you really need. These styles can create a high- or low-contrast look; they add the effects of different color filters so the images looks like you had been shooting with them all along and more.

What really makes Silver Efex Pro stand out (and worth the price if you are serious about black and white photography) is its ability to make localized edits. The software’s intelligent Control Points allow you to make tonal adjustments to very specific areas of the image. It uses the original color under where you put your initial Control Point and adjusts only for that color. For instance, if you were shooting a landscape image and the grass and the sky came out very similar looking in grayscale, a Control Point in the sky would know that it was only supposed to adjust the sky, regardless of how close a match the grass was.

Tags: Digital Photography by Embassy Pro Books
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There are plenty of photo sharing websites available to photographers, both professional and amateur, where you can post your portfolios, show off current or recent photo projects or even just store your snapshots. With so many fish in the sea, as the proverb goes, here are a few of the best to start with should you be looking into creating an online collection of your work, but aren’t looking to spend the time or money developing a registered website.

While these may not be the most professional method of showcasing your work, a photo sharing site is a great way to back up your files. Just keep your albums private and it’s like having unlimited hard drive memory.

Shutterfly
Shutterfly is unique in that it allows an unlimited number of photos to be uploaded and stored on their servers. The site keeps posted photos at their full resolution, rather than scaling them down for easier storage and altering the original file.

Photobucket
Photobucket allows 500MB free storage and is usually used to store photos (often organized into albums), online avatars and short videos. Users can share their photos/videos by email, IM or MMS phone messaging. The site also offers a user-friendly slide-show builder.

Flickr
Flickr, in addition to storing member photos and videos, is commonly used to host images embedded in blogs and other social media forums. As one of the largest photo sharing sites around, the site reported hosting more than five billion images as of September 2010.

Snapfish
Snapfish, owned by Hewlett-Packard, allows members to upload files for free and gives them unlimited storage space. The only catch is that members must submit at least one paid order to Snapfish a year, or their files can be deleted.

If none of these photo hosting sites seem right for you, take the time to do a little research until you find the one that best meets your needs. These sites may not be the most professional way to showcase your work, but they can also be a fantastic addition to your website, allowing interested visitors to view more of your work.

Tags: Digital Photography by Embassy Pro Books
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While every photographer has their own set of “must have” items that they can’t imagine going to a shoot without, there are a few items that form the basis of a photographer’s tool kit that both professional photographers and serious amateurs should never leave home without.

Here are 4 things that every photographer should have with them:

Filters
Filters are basically glass rings that can be screwed on to the front of a camera’s lens. While there are various filters available, UV filters and polarizing filters are the most common.

UV filters reduce the haziness created by UV light. Since they are transparent to other wave lengths of light, many photographers simply leave them on all the time and use them mainly to protect the actual lens. (And since a good lens can run you thousands of dollars, the $25 dollar filter is definitely worth the investment!)

Polarizing filters can adjust the blues in the sky or water, making it an excellent tool for creating more dynamic landscape shots. They also help reduce any glare created by glass or water in the frame.

Extra Batteries
There can’t be a more nightmarish situation than working an event and having your battery die. If you are hired to work at a wedding, outdoor event or anyplace other than your studio, make sure you have an extra (fully charged!) battery with you. If you are shooting indoors, considering bringing your charger to recharge the first battery in case the backup also dies.

Extra Memory Cards
This goes along the same lines of always carrying extra batteries. Running out of card space at an event, or even just when you are on a creative roll, is always a terrible situation to find yourself in. Having one or two extra memory cards around means that even if one gets full or even worse, corrupted, you’ll be able to keep shooting.

Cable Shutter Release and Tripod
If you find yourself shooting at night, indoors or any other low light situation, a cable shutter release and tripod are great at reducing camera shake and allowing you to lengthen your exposure time. They also come in hand if you are running a photo shoot by yourself and need to handle a flash, reflector or other tool.

Tags: Digital Photography by Embassy Pro Books
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It’s impossible to deny that the world has gone digital, or that photography has gone along with it. Amateur and professional photographers alike have switched from film to digital cameras, be they the point-and-shoot pocket cameras or top-of-the-line digital SLRs. As digital photography has become more commonplace, so have the editing and printing methods. Computer editing software has taken over, negating the use for traditional darkrooms.

However, just because the means of taking photos have changed, that doesn’t mean the traditional method of displaying and sharing of them needs to be left behind. While some photographers may lament the demise of the darkroom, there is no need to mourn the loss of what is created there; namely, the print.

Professionally printed photo books are a great way to pay homage to the classic printing techniques used by photographers for centuries. While the shooting and editing may be done digitally, nothing can quite compare with seeing an image printed on a glossy (or matte, whichever you prefer) sheet of paper.

There is a great sense of pride associated with producing a finished print, where hours of time and concentration have created the correct color balance, enhanced the right shadows and perfected the frame. Why leave that image on a computer screen, only to be used as a desktop display. Even worse for that perfect photo to be buried away among the hundreds of unedited images stored on your hard drive.

A professionally printed photo book lets you experience your digital images just like you used to handle your film prints. Using only the best quality paper, ink and printing equipment, a printed photo book matches the professionalism of your images. You take a lot of pride in your work as a photographer. Often times much time, effort and dedication has gone into crafting an excellent image. Why not have a photo book developed that both matches and enhances the quality of your prints? They deserve to be showcased and you deserve to see (and touch) the fruits of your labor.

Tags: Digital Photography by Embassy Pro Books
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Sitting by my picture window, cup of coffee and laptop, I am inspired by the blanket of white that awaits! Winter scenes, especially early morning un-touched snow screams to be photographed. One thing is for certain, in the winter, photography opportunities meet you at every corner.

Tis the season, and there will be snow. Maybe you are taking a winter vacation, to a ski resort, maybe that big snowman that the kids so excitedly built awaits to be caught in time. Perhaps it is those icicles, hanging off the sides of your home, regardless of what it is, there certainly is no shortage of objects to photograph in the winter. There are countless reasons to take pictures in winter time, one thing you need to be sure of is that you are prepared! Preparation for outdoor winter shots, doesn’t mean just having your camera with you, it also means many other things

You will need to get yourself ready for the cold. Wear layers, so that in case need be, you can easily peel a layer off. Wear the proper winter footwear. A great pair of boots that will allow you to be sure and safe on slippery ground, keeping you and your camera safe from harm. Another important piece of clothing for those looking to take advantage of winter scene photography, a great pair of gloves, that will keep your trigger finger warm, but allow full functionality.

Your camera is a delicate piece of equipment and that is why it is important to ensure that it will work for you in colder temperatures. When you first step outside, you may notice fog on your lens, that is due to a change in temperature and should disappear over time, take caution, do not try to wipe it yourself you can damage your camera lens. Make sure that your camera is protected from snow and water. If the snowflake lands on your lens it will melt and smudges will form. So keep your equipment well protected and covered, if it is snowing outside.

Once you are out, the possibilities are endless. Some of my favorite shots are closeups, a snowflake, an icicle, or even closeups of the face of a child, rosy cheeks bundled up in contrast to stark white snow. It truly is a magical time of the year, and as a photographer, you can capture that magic, and preserve it forever in a professional photo book. The photo book will stand the test of time, and allow those children to relieve such special moments in the story of their lives.

Tags: Digital Photography by Embassy Pro Books
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Most photographers will look at the long list of what they have learned and accomplished throughout the year and wish that there were a great way to showcase their work. Printed photo books create a great alternative, however, a number of photographers worry that they just don’t have the design skills to create a book that will tell their story.

Designing a printed photo book is far easier than you might think that it would be.

When you make a commitment to designing a printed photo book, you’ll find that it’s possible to download page templates that can give you guidance as to the best spot to place a photo on the page. When you are looking into designing printed photo books, you’ll find that you’re able to get information about where the page bleeds need to be, and what space you should be using.

You’ll also find that there are a wide variety of tips and tricks and there are even examples of printed photo books that have been designed by others that you can take a look at in order to find inspiration and a sense of what you’re looking for.

Ideally, when you are looking at designing printed photo books, you’ll have some idea of what you’re hoping to accomplish. However, even if you don’t have much design experience, you’ll find that getting started and creating a great product is easier than you may have thought that it would be.

So when you look back at all your photos from the year, instead of just leaving your digital images on a drive somewhere, showcase them in a professional photo book.

Tags: Digital Photography by Embassy Pro Books
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With winter most certainly upon us, I thought I’d post a bit about photographing winter scenes and snowscapes.

Winter for photographers poses a challenge when it comes to getting the greatest shots. One might think that winter landscapes are the easiest to photograph, but they definitely are not. The challenge lies in getting the right light, the tone of a snow scape is very light.

When photographing winter snow scenes there is a look of a blanket of white, no defined lines to give your landscape distinction and depth. Therefore it is a good idea to take a shot where there is something else of interest in the scene, something that adds another element defining the space.

There are some things you can do to make your snow photography much more intriguing. One thing to consider is adding color. Perhaps it the contrast of a red scarf against the stark white snow, or the color of a cat in the the white snow. Adding color into your snowscape can make a huge difference in the perception of your shots.

Winter is a wonderful time to photograph, if you really are enthusiastic about the shots, opportunities are endless. Snoflakes, icicles, almost anything your eye captures will come through wonderfully in your photos as long as you take steps to capture them in the best light.

Why not store all your winter memories in professionally bound photo book, one that will last for years to come showcasing your best work.

Tags: Digital Photography by Embassy Pro Books
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Starting and keeping any business successful comes down to the way that your clients or customers think of your service. As a photographer, the perception of value of your work will be based on a number of factors. The quality of your photos, the number of people who have been exposed to your work, the price you charge, the type of equipment you use, and generally how easy you are to find and book.

I’ll expand a bit on some of these below:

Quality of Work
Are your photos of the highest quality? Does your work from initial meeting to final product show clients that this isn’t something they can get anywhere else? If not, it should. Your work should be viewed as something like none other.

Price You Charge
Your prices should be competitive in the market place. Sometimes having the lowest price can work against you, especially in the photography world, where low price might give off the idea that you are a sub par photographer. Keep your prices fair and in line with the industry.

Easy to Find
Are you and your business easy to find? Do you have an online presence? Can someone locate you and your business easily? If not, they should be able to, having a great website, that is informative for potential clients is a huge draw in this industry. Showcasing your best pieces in an online portfolio is desired.

Each of these things is something that you can have a bit of control over, but each also tends to come down on the buyer’s opinion. Therefore, once you’re doing your best work, it’s up to you to display it well.

Printed photo books that display your best work with a unique layout can be an ideal way of changing the way people look at you as a photographer. Whether you use a photo book as a marketing tool, a display book or as a striking portfolio, you’ll find that you’re able to draw more attention from your customers.

Tags: Digital Photography by Embassy Pro Books
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