4 Photography Mistakes And How To Avoid Them

I think every photographer starts off wanting to learn as much about photography as possible, and this is a good thing. The more you know the better your images will be, right?

4 Photography Mistakes And How To Avoid Them - Day 4

# 4: I Can Do It All

Just because you can do it all doesn't mean you should. As a matter of fact, the more focused you are in photography the better your career will be. You don't need to do it all, just focus on what you enjoy doing most and put all of your energy into that.

If I could start my career all over again with my current knowledge, I would focus on shooting what I enjoy most and only shoot that. For example, if you love cooking and love taking pictures of food, only shoot pictures of food. To go even deeper, maybe you love baking desserts vs just taking pictures of food in general. You'd focus on photographing beautiful desserts and master it vs just photographing food. 

Find your special niche and work to be the best you can in your specific niche of photography.

Always dream big,

Matthew

The Secret To Shooting Big Jobs

Recently I was part of a panel discussing elements of the photography industry. The panel included an art buyer, photography agent, magazine editor and several photographers. During the course of the evening someone in the audience asked the art buyer a great question. His question was, "If you loved a new photographers work, who had never shot an advertising job before, what would persuade you to give him or her the job?" The art buyer said, "I would have to make sure they had a great producer."

Having a great producer on your team is essential for big advertising and editorial jobs. I have seen many photo seminars that focus on teaching lighting and shooting techniques, but production before the job, during and after are extremely important. For the Farmers Insurance job, we had my set builder make the floor and chalk board, but before that, we had several meeting to discuss the size, color, and what fake room should feel like. This is all up to the photographer, so you must do your research and have references to show your team. All the other elements were rented for the shoot. We had several options for everything pictured in the image, including several desk options, chairs, books and more. To learn more about production, lighting, and photography check out the tutorials available at Photography Help Store.

Always Dream Big