encouragement

DL Cade

What Makes a Great Photograph? A Bit of Thanksgiving Encouragement

Despite the video's title, the short, encouraging snippet above from photographer Joel Grimes isn't about finding a specific set of characteristics that define "a great photograph." Instead, it's about finding out what a great photograph is to you.

It's a matter of taste, discovering your personal vision, and then coming to terms with the fact that not everybody is going to love what you do.

DL Cade

10 No-Nonsense Tips On How to Become a Better Photographer

If you've been dreaming of making photography your full-time occupation, photographer Scott Robert Lim has some no-nonsense, sugar-free advice on what it takes to become, not just a better photographer, but a great photographer who can compete in the landscape today.

Gannon Burgett

Sports Photographer Receives Well-Wishes from Athletes World-Wide After Accident

@chadders_dm special thanks to @FAMediaOps #gwsMarc they win the prize no question pic.twitter.com/ueDxKB2HgQ
— Dickie Pelham (@DickiePelham) June 13, 2014

On the tenth of April, The Times chief sports photographer Marc Aspland was in a terrible car accident. The crash, which occurred in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, left him with brain hemorrhaging, nerve damage and two broken collarbones.

It was these injuries that led to Aspland missing out on two of the world’s largest sporting events, Wimbledon and the World Cup. But after news of the photographer unable to make it to these events spread about, a number of athletes started to team up to send support his way. Using the hashtag #gwsmarc (get well soon, Marc), a number of well-known tennis, cricket and football athletes have teamed up to show their support.

Missy Mwac

The Photography Teacher Nobody Wants

There is a teacher of photography that few speak of in today’s industry. She is shunned by many and with good reason.

Nobody seems to like her.

Dan K

Your First 10,000 Photographs May Include Some of Your Best

“Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst.” – Henri Cartier-Bresson

This sage advice is from perhaps the most influential photographer and art philosopher in the history of photography. I see this quote at least once a week on social media, but I only recently began to mull it over in any great depth. Let’s use it as a talking point to discuss artistic development in photography.

Alex Ignacio

Conquering Creative Burnout: Put Down the Camera

Whether you are an amateur photographer or a professional photographer, there will come a time when you are simply burned out. Periods of your photographic life where just the idea of picking up your camera is exhausting.

Creatives of all types face these challenging times, and they can be both daunting and scary. It can feel like your passion may no longer be your passion or, for the professional photographer, it can impact your life in a financial or business manner.

Cheri Frost

Fear Is Not Real: Fight the Photogra-Fear

I'm not gonna lie; I was worried.

I sat in the movie theater with my box of buttered jalapeno popcorn (Jalapeno popcorn is created by tipping the container of jalapenos found in the condiment area onto your popcorn. They provide them for your nachos and hot dogs, but it is a shame not to use them on your popcorn. It is delicious and I highly recommend it. You will thank me for this.) I furrowed my brow with nervous anticipation, for this was no ordinary movie; I was awaiting the start of M. Night Shyamalan's "After Earth."

Cheri Frost

The Kobayashi Maru of Photography

(Note: This is not an article about whom I feel is the better captain (Kirk). I mean, that would be ridiculous, because we all have our favorites (Kirk) and to bring up who I feel is the best (Kirk) really has no bearing on this photography column (Kirk). Just wanted to be clear.)

I grew up with Star Trek. By the time I was old enough to realize what it was, the show was well into syndication, but I watched every episode, sitting on the couch with my brother and eating Doritos. To this day, I can't bite into a Dorito without hearing, "Space, the final frontier..."

Olivia Paige

Don’t Let Photographers Look Down On You Because You Are Young

Since the moment I walked into Milford Photo looking to buy a professional camera in the winter of 2011, I have been exposed to constant judgment for being a rich, stupid and spoiled 13-year-old who wanted an expensive camera to take “artsy” pictures that I didn’t know how to take.

Contrary to society’s beliefs, I do not fit into that stereotype in any way, shape or form. Unfortunately, I am associated with this stereotype because that is the view society chooses to observe and overplay.

Steve Giralt

What Do You Do For A Living? I’m A Commercial Photographer

New York City is unlike any other city in the United States. Most young professionals who move here do so to be the very best at whatever it is they want to do for a living. If I were an accountant, I would want to work for the very best accounting firms. If I were an art director, I would want to work for the global office of the best creative agencies. As a photographer I want to work for the top magazines and shoot the biggest national advertising campaigns for the biggest brands. It is a very career-centered city and what someone does for a living really defines who they are in the eyes of others.

Steve Giralt

Photo Talk Is Cheap: Setting Goals and Putting Plans Into Action

There are so many things to do and never enough time to do them. You talk about starting that new personal photography project, about updating your website, or wanting to call those prospective new clients. You know that these things need to be done if you are to succeed and you really want to do them. Yet, more often than not, you decide they can wait until tomorrow.

Steve Giralt

It’s Not About The F-Stop!

Last year I did a lecture about how to get commercial assignments by photographing and promoting personal photography projects at the Event Space at B&H Photo in NYC. It was a wonderful lecture discussing how to come up with tests shoots that are artistic, enjoyable to shoot, and could be marketable to potential clients. Most of the images I was showing that day were from a portrait project I had shot a couple years earlier which ended up getting me some great advertising jobs. The portraits I was showing were very much about personality and were by no means a great technical feat being that they were shot in the studio on a black background.

Steve Giralt

So You Are Interested in Becoming a Photographer

I try to stay involved as much as I can with students studying photography at different institutions in the area. Every year I go back to RIT and do a lecture on the business of photography and I feel it's important that I do so.

Recently I got an email from a young photographer asking me about the career of being a still life/food photographer.

Michael Zhang

Armless Indonesian Woman Pursues Photography Dream

Rusidah Badawi lost her forearms in a tragic accident 32 years ago at the age of 12. After the amputation, the 44-year-old Indonesian woman was introduced to photography through a vocational rehabilitation centre for the handicapped. She immediately fell in love with it, and began a career working as a wedding and party photographer. Working primarily with film photography up until 2010, she switched over to digital when Canon sponsored her endeavors by gifting her with a digital Canon 550D DSLR and a Speedlite flash.