Want to win the most prestigious press photo contest in the world this year? It’s okay if you don’t shoot with the latest camera gear — just make sure your work stands out from things that have come before.
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In late 2012, Photoshelter surveyed around 5,000 photographers to find out the industries outlook on 2013. Some of the findings were pretty interesting.

The chart above shows the top challenges the photographers think they’ll face in 2013. Only 10% of those who responded were worried about gear-related issues. People don’t seem to be having a hard time finding the right equipment to use for their shoots — it’s the business-side of the photography business that’s weighing photogs down.
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Photographer Zack Arias created this video titled Signal vs. Noise to help his fellow photogs refocus their lives and careers. His advice: “Look for the signal in your life, and not the noise.” Arias writes,

As 2012 was coming to an end [...] I felt as though my brain was full. There wasn’t any more room in it. I can’t take any more information. My head was filled with noise and trying to find anything of any substance was difficult. I would do my best to remember what I was going to the store to buy, but when I walked in the door I couldn’t remember. I’d sit in meetings with my studio manager where she would ask about the direction for the new year and I’d draw a blank. “I don’t know.” My mind was filled with thoughts but I couldn’t string them together in a coherent way to save my life.

Each year I take the month of December off from social media. I like to disappear, go work on stuff, and come back feeling fresh. Nearing the end of 2012 I knew I needed to leave all of that behind sooner than December and most likely stay off of it until the spring. My mind was stuck on static and the volume was set to eleven.

Arias has developed a number of strategies for strengthening signal and killing noise. Head on over to Scott Kelby’s blog for the whole shebang.

It’s Guest Blog Wednesday featuring Zack Arias! [Scott Kelby's Photoshop Insider]

Lifehacker featured a great tip today courtesy of Redditor lifedeathandtech that’ll help you avoid scams when you take your chances buying camera equipment from sites like Craigslist. When you see a listing that seems suspicious, or you get an e-mail reply that seems a bit automated, plug the post’s photos into Google Images and see if they’re being used elsewhere.

All you have to do is drag and drop the image into Google Image Search or use the Search by Image extension on Chrome or Firefox. It’s not a foolproof method, but if the poster pulled the photos off the internet you’ll know. Now, if only this would help weed out the people trying to scam wedding photographers.

(via Lifehacker)

When photographer Jess T. Dugan picked up her luggage after a flight from Chicago to Boston on December 18th, something didn’t feel quite right. It felt a bit lighter than it should have. She opened it up, and, lo and behold, several thousand dollars of camera equipment was missing — oops.
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Want to learn how to be more productive with your photography? Instead of simply “trying harder” and relying on your willpower, a better way may be to take simple steps that have been shown to be effective by science. The above 3-minute video, created by artists/educators Mitchell Moffit and Gregory Brown, offers some tips that science has taught us about being more efficient at working and spending less time getting our work accomplished.
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Do you ever clean the front element of your lens by fogging it up with your breath and then wiping it off with a cloth? If so, you might want to stop — Nikon says the practice could be damaging to your glass. Apparently human breath contains stuff that isn’t too friendly toward camera lenses.
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My wife Tori and I are suckers for a good silhouette. While out photographing, we are always scanning the environment for a good silhouette opportunity. We don’t nail every attempt, but over the past few years, we’ve picked up some simple tips that increase our chances of achieving a killer silhouette shot. If you want to execute a jaw dropping silhouette, put these tips to practice and chances are, you’ll accomplish your goal!
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Here’s a friendly public service announcement: remember to time on your camera before and after Daylight Savings Time (which just ended yesterday in the United States) — unlike cell phones, digital cameras generally don’t adjust their own time. If you accidentally forgot and now have a bunch of photos with timestamps that are off by an hour, there are some programs out there that can help you set things right.
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Here’s a nice little video in which photographer Matthew Jordan Smith tells the story of a portrait session he had years ago with American actor/dancer/singer Gregory Hines. After finding himself in a sticky situation with a subject that wouldn’t offer the personality and emotion Smith wanted to capture, he reached deep into the knowledge of Hines that he had accumulated through his research; one particular fact saved the shoot.
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