I don’t spend a lot of time looking in the rear view mirror but this time of year presents a good opportunity to reflect. Whether it’s the end of the calendar year or the free time created by the holidays, this is the time I sit and ponder what’s been learned this past year. I’d like to touch on some of the things witnessed and overhead in 2008, including our commercial photography business (Daylight Photo), photojournalism, video, camera gear and wedding / portrait photography.

Commercial Photography
As you may know, commercial photography …

A few years ago I spent some time racing vintage motorcycles. It was a great flashback to my youth, working on and riding a vintage 1974 Suzuki motocross bike. Motorcycles (and Steelers football) were the common ground my dad and I shared so it brought back wonderful memories, working in the garage with the same tools we used way back then.
I’ll hang on to those tools forever but the motorcycles have come and gone. After racing and refining that Suzuki for two seasons, getting it perfectly dialed in, I realized …

Before beginning to type this (is it still called typing?) I took a look back at the comments and some emails received after last week’s post on image rights. The plan for today was to talk about a few general pricing scenarios but I see now (and understand) that more than a few readers may have been “left at the station”. I think it would be valuable to back up a bit and discuss pricing and the value of photography in a broader sense. Without an underlying understanding of …

Try as we might, it’s not always possible to capture what’s needed in a single photograph. Though I prefer to do as much as possible in the camera, digital tools now allow us to create most anything. The trick is pulling the elements together to make a quality photo and not a “Frankenshot”. Luckily, my business partner (Bob) is an expert Photoshop user and enjoys a good challenge.
Shown here is an example of when we rely heavily on retouching and I thought you might be interested in the back …

Today’s post deals with some frequently asked questions regarding pricing commercial photography. Here’s an excerpt from a comment left by Rick D. under random ramblings on pricing photography.
Hey Jim. I was just recently considering some pricing options. Living in LA at the moment, there seems to be an abundance of people willing to work for peanuts.
How does one calculate a reasonable price when freelancing for commercial photography and selling off the rights to a photo(s)? Sure we charge for our time and a final product with limited use, but what …

It’s been awhile in the making but we’re getting there. The production work is caught up (pretty much), the boxes are packed and heaps and heaps of items are getting downsized. Daylight Photo is getting ready for our next incarnation, instituting changes we’ve long thought about. Monday and Tuesday we’re moving the boxes and the following week we’ll be up and running at the new address.
It’s a dramatically different photo studio layout and design, going from a 4,000 square foot facility down to 1,000 square feet. We won’t have all …

Not every photo shoot is created equal. Even when you’re a professional shooting for a familiar client you may be greeted with unexpected twists and turns. This is one of those stories. So, the next time you’re having a rough day at work and think “there has to be something better than this”, well, I just want you to know that I can relate.
My studio has a wonderful client that imports printing presses and we’ve worked together many times on various projects. Last year we flew to another Midwestern city …

I’ve been receiving a number of questions lately about pricing photography. Pricing photography is a difficult and confusing process and, I’ll be honest, it’s getting more difficult all the time. There are novice portrait and wedding photographers with great websites, experienced photographers with outdated websites, moms with a camera that aren’t preoccupied with profitability and established professionals offering the complete package. After looking around I understand why many of you are overwhelmed when it comes to establishing price value for portraits and weddings…at the moment I am, too. What will …

Submitting photos to magazines
Have you ever wanted to see your images published as a photo story in a magazine? A key to getting photos published is understanding your chosen subject and market. Today I’d like to share some tips that helped me make a living as a freelance motorcycle magazine photographer for a number of years.
Breaking in to the market
No matter what your interest is, get out there and shoot it. Then find the different outlets for your work and study how they use photos, tailoring your submissions to their …

Last week a reader asked if Daylight Photo was doing much in the way of video production. Quite a bit, actually. I don’t mention video services a whole lot because, after all, this is a photography blog and my first love is still photography. But, truth be told, adding video to our repertoire is what’s currently creating new business opportunities.
Today I’d like to show you one such example of combining photo and video, part of a series we’re creating for a printing press company. The campaign includes a double page …