Somehow, even after killing a small forest from all those scrapped drawings, I ended up getting a scholarship to the Philadelphia School of Arts…but turned it down. By the time I graduated high school I had become bored with art and felt that sports and nutrition was more interesting to me. To be completely honest I also didn’t want to have some college professor lecture me for hours on the life stories of old dead artists…or try to make me finally complete a project from start to finish.

Fast forward a couple years…ok a lot of years, and I have my first digital camera, then my first DSLR, then a few more years later I decide to start my own photography business. Photography was just a different way of being artistic, no different then drawing, I could take an idea or something I could see and turn it into a nice photograph. But it wasnt until Cass Imaging that I started mixing the two together. I learned pretty quickly that preparation and planning played a key role in making my customers happy, and being able to give them what they were paying me for.

When I began taking paid jobs, I would have an idea in my head of what I wanted to give them, but the customer would want something completely different, and it was something I struggled with at first. I quickly realized that I could no longer wait until I had the camera pointed to get creative, I had to spend more time planning. I now had to come up with and create something that was a combination of what the client wanted…and how I thought it should look.

I had to start spending time doing what I did for so many years when I was younger, sketching out my ideas, and drawing pictures again. The difference now compared to when I was younger was that I no longer had to worry about my lack of patience and discipline getting in the way, these would be rough drafts and nothing more. They no longer had to be perfect. They no longer had to be finished. The finished project would be done with my camera.

The first time I sat down with a client and started brainstorming ideas, I sketched out a few things in front of them, showing them what I had in my head. They liked everything and we went with it. Not knowing exactly how it was going to go, nor how close I would get the final image to look like the sketched one, I was a little nervous. It was a maternity shoot and the couple wanted something creative, so I had a couple of ideas sketched out and I planned the shoot around those, one of the shots coming out almost identical to the one I had on paper.

The creating step, sketching out my ideas on paper as part of the planning process is something I do a lot now. I can’t say that its something I do for every shoot or for every client, but it’s not always necessarily needed either. Some shoots require more planning then others. I now even spend more time on my sketches, and even get carried away with them sometimes, adding more detail then necessary. I’ve even started sketching out ideas for personal projects, and use it to challenge myself, trying to see how close I can get the final image to look like the sketched one.

I call this planning method of sketching out my ideas for a shoot on paper “ICE”, Imagine Create and Execute. When I get a project that I know will require a little extra planning or a project that I know will benefit from the extra sketching step I will even label the shoot as an ICE project. They don’t always work out as planned, but the extra planning always helps even if the final images don’t match up exactly like the sketches. You can see in the sketch at the bottom that was drawn in red, the original idea was to have Sandi on the end of the dock, but instead we chose to use a rock in the middle of the lake, but the same idea was there. The planning was done and it got us something to work off of before even picking the camera up.

I wanted to share this with all you to mainly emphasize the importance of planning, and maybe even challenge you to try this method. As you can see, you don’t need to be an artist to sketch out your ideas, I use stick figures most of the time. I would love to see some of your ICE projects and see how close you got to them. If you do give this a try, or already do something similar, shoot me an email with the results and I will post them up once I get a few. You can submit them through the contact page. Hope you enjoyed this, and hopefully I didn’t bore you too badly. Drop a comment letting me know if you would like me to post more articles like this.

-
South Jersey based photographer and owner of Cass Imaging and The Lightshop.
http://www.jaycassariophoto.com

As you see, the other two apps have less features.  Here are the details:

• SetMyCamDF:  Depth of Field, Field of View, distance unit conversion calculator and flashlight.
• SetMyCamMx: Shutter Speed Recommendations, Depth of Field, Field of View, distance unit conversion calculator and flashlight.
• SetMyCamPro: Remote Camera Trigger, Shutter Speed Recommendations, Depth of Field, Field of View, distance unit conversion calculator and flashlight.

You can learn more about the apps by visiting the Set My Camera website or by picking visiting the app store.

To see more apps that can be useful in your iPhone workflow, register for this free course on Udemy.

Since an early age, we’ve both always had a keen interest in photography. Study and travel really influenced that, and within the last couple of years we have tried documenting glimpses of real and raw life in some of the most rural areas of the world. Mostly, we are inspired by a mood or feeling of a particular place or subject. There has to be something genuine happening, and usually it’s something unplanned and spontaneous.

We generally prefer never to shoot anything that is posed for, with the exception of some experimental portraits we take of ourselves at times. It helps in staying creative and connected. Our favorite thing to do is getting lost for hours together, photographing unknown, and sometimes uninviting, back streets and alleyways. Any moment that feels unsafe or uncomfortable shooting is a photo worth taking, and that’s always what we’re looking for. Currently, we are working on a concept for our first book, as well as exploring other formats with video. We hope to compile enough footage to create a short film as part of the silenttapes project. We plan on continuing our travels and exploring as much of the world possible. We have yet to discover many corners and want to be able to document all of it. In our work, our motivations are to share something you can truly feel; to transfer a feeling of honesty you don’t find in everyday life at any given moment. A photo should speak for itself, and it should move you. Hence the name “silenttapes”.

Links: http://www.silenttapes.com/
http://instagram.com/missadami
http://instagram.com/francislane

Klaus Herrmann posted an article sharing what he believes is the top 20 Flipboard magazines for photographers.

Each that he shared is fantastic and I’m not going to say they’re not the best since it is his opinion.  Instead, I want to create this article as a place for you to share your own Flipboard magazines for photographers.

So please comment below with a link to your Flipboard magazine, and then share this article on social media so other photographers can enjoy all the magazines that get shared here.

I’ll start with one I created called Photography, Marketing & SEO.

(since writing this, I renamed the magazine)

Thanks for sharing,

Scott

These warmth inspirations were shared with us on Flickr.  If you want to comment on an individual photograph click on an image to be taken to it directly on Flickr. We all appreciate the feedback. You can find out more about our flickr group here. In no particular order…

1. Lena

2. Toby

3. Eve

4. Hugo

5. Alan

6. Tom

7. RMK14

8. Ale

9. Christopher

10. Bruno

11. Tim

12. Scott

Anyone can take part in our monthly Flickr themes! Check out our previous themes and find out more: 7×5 Flickr group page.

The in-person web marketing workshops are designed just for photographers to learn strategies increasing traffic, sales, social followers, clients, and business.

The topics covered in the workshops include SEO, keyword selection, site optimization, link building, image SEO, social media and social signals, blogging, content marketing, email marketing and follow up, paid advertising, conversion rate optimization, social proof, and more.

Obviously that is a lot, but to absorb in one shot, but the workshops are designed to make it simple for every photographer to understand.  There are also Q&A sessions, live case studies with students’ websites and an informal and beautiful photowalk to enjoy, socialize and relax afterwards.

Supercharge: Denver, Colorado

June 24, 2013 | 10am to 3pm

Red Rocks Amphitheatre & Visitor Center
Rock Room
2605 Red Rocks Park Road
Morrison, CO 80465

$249

$149 until May 31 | $199 until June 10

Supercharge: Hamilton, New Jersey

July 29, 2013 | 10am to 3pm

Grounds for Sculpture
Gallery B
18 Fairgrounds Road
Hamilton, NJ 08619

$299

$199 until May 31 | $249 until July 1

For a more detailed look at the workshops, and to register please visit the official Supercharge Workshops page.

In 2008, after almost 10 years since I last picked up an SLR, I decided to buy my first DSLR, a Nikon D90. I shot with the kit zoom lens for almost 2 years to get familiar with the camera and photography again. My photography was still very primitive however I was glad I had an understanding of manual features from my youth. In mid 2010 I bought the awesome 35mm DX Nikon lens and I used this all the time either in the street or capturing vistas.

I enjoy walking around late at night with a tripod and capturing still scenes, or street life at night. At night you can take photos with nice contrast in light and colour. I like photos where not everything is visible to the eye, where parts of the photo are in darkness and you are naturally drawn to the parts the eye can see. There is something nice and mysterious about this kind of subject isolation.

I am heavily influenced by other photographers who photograph moments, as opposed to scenes, and where possible I try to do this, however I am yet to be confident enough to photograph complete strangers in full view of them. While I love abstract photos, or shots of landscapes, I find candid shots of people in their everyday life the most interesting. There is a story in those photos and you can let your mind wander. Having said that, my photostreams in flickr and 500px are a mixture of scenery and street, if I am not comfortable roaming the streets looking for moments, then I am just as happy waiting for a nice sunset on top of a building somewhere!

Right now I am enjoying my photography, and I am trying to set myself challenges each time I go out and shoot. Many of my waking moment shots are ones where I do something I don’t normally feel comfortable doing. I hope I can continue to break my own barriers regardless of how experienced I am.

Links:
http://500px.com/OzGFK
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ozgfk/

My work is influenced not by photographers but painters like Ilya Repin, Edgar Degas; but the predominant influence is the Mexican Pre-hispanic (Mayan, Aztec, etc.) esthetics, forms, sculptures, paintings and recent Mexican painters like Siqueiros. Other influence that is deterministic in my photographs may be is Theater, I have been an experimental actor for 20 years, and this theatrical mood is always prevalent.

My photographic equipment is simple, but the beauty of the places I am discovering emphasize in my work; I think I am just a place discoverer and the impossibility of taking in an image all the magic of the place makes me capture a subjective square synthesis .

I am a tirelessly curious Mexico wanderer and a travel/landscape photographer. My main passion lies in capturing the beauty of my country. But not only nature, there are a lot of things that people make for changing their environment and the way they make it is filtered by culture. I am always trying to avoid the cliché´s and stereotypes, when you are in a place that is very rich in images and culture it is easy to involve in the subject and just capture it, and it could be by its own, interesting; but it is much better to make and interesting composition of this subject in interaction with its environment, that is why I think my work is interesting even for viewers that are not looking for Mexican landscapes, subjects and themes.

My work is not documentary, I am only looking for the esthetics of the image by itself, I refuse any political, religious or social interest in my images.

Links:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/curbina74/
http://www.twitter.com/curbina74/

I take a lot of inspiration from a range of people in the Photography and Painting field including: Ansel Adams, Robert Rauschenberg, Ian Ruhter, Scott Rinckenberger, David Hockney, David Plowden, Jeremy Cowart, Albert Watson, Joey L and Chase Jarvis. But then I can take different angles of inspiration from music and films which always seems just as important. A section of a film can have particular lighting and i could have an idea for something just from the lighting of that scene, but could be completely unrelated to the genre of the film; for instance there were certain scenes in “Into The Wild” Directed by Sean Penn really inspired me. I found myself creating simpler imagery with delicate lighting, but it can also go to the extreme opposite end of the scale and i can try something completely different, even though it came from that piece of inspiration. The same can happen with music, I listen to a huge variation, anything from pop/rock right through to RnB and Country, and that’s where a lot of my black and white work and ideas come from due to what I take from the music but also by watching music documentaries which usually shot in black and white. The U2 -The Joshua Tree is a favourite, as is although in colour is Sugarland- The Incredible Machine which had a huge inspirational value into my work for the last few years.

I find travels has also helped and encouraged my work, that will also be a huge inspiration to me and my work and will keep on motivating me to carry on learning in this ever-changing industry.

Links:
http://www.sallywanless.com
http://www.sallywanlessblog.wordpress.com
http://www.twitter.com/sallywanless

In the infographic below you will see the average mp/h of each subject (including a zombie) and the shutter speed necessary to freeze them in a still photograph.

The infographic was created by Photocrati’s Scott Wyden Kivowitz for his project, Lens Sweet Spot.