Photo Professional Issue 92

NO.1 PHOTOGRAPHERS FOR WORKING PROFESSIONAL

NATURAL BORN THRILLERS Take baby steps to big money

WHIP YOUR LOCATION PORTRAITS INTO SHAPE Incredible shots that have to be seen to be believed

ISSUE 92 £4.50 www.photopromagazine.com

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Blogs: make them pay How 3 professionals blog their way to gg profits bigger

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SOUND ADVICE FOR ALL DSLR MOVIEMAKERS HOW TO SHOOT SMOKIN' ACTION IMAGES THE NEW BREED OF DIGITAL MEDIUM FORMAT CAMERAS

Why W hy you should sh houlld sign up to the world’s largest business network

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GET PERSONAL Be inspired by Zhang Jingna’s personal portraits project

SHOOT & SHARE: GIVE SHOTS AWAY, MAKE MORE ££S

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CONTENTS SAVE 45% ISSUE 92

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Regulars

006 INBOX

024

We keep our ears to the ground and eyes scanning the horizon to bring you the news – from diary dates to the latest kit.

016 PORTFOLIO: JEFF MITCHUM Summers in Yosemite and an encounter with Ansel Adams set this landscaper off on his own path, but when he was starting out, no one would have bet his journey would take him to Vegas.

024 PROJECT: CHRONICLES

COVER While many enthusiasts commit themselves to a 365 project, not many pros declare their intention to create a portrait a week for their personal portfolio – but Zhang Jingna did.

016

Pro Academy

032 ROCK A BYE BABY

COVER The saying goes: Never work with children or animals. But babies?

Karen Wiltshire does just that, delivering newborn shots for doting parents.

039 THE LOCATION SHOOT

COVER Light, airy setting? Check.

Designer dresses? Check. Slaves? Check.

The story of a shoot with a difference.

046 LIGHTING MASTERCLASS

COVER Take three sports, add some smoke and you’ve got atmospheric shots by action shooter, Sam Mellish.

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Business Matters

055 BUSINESS MATTERS

COVER Expert tips and tricks to ensure you’re profiting from your photography.

058 GET LINKED IN

COVER It may be the world’s largest professional network, but why should you Link In? Donal Doherty explains all.

Gear

081 MEDIUM-FORMAT CMOS

COVER Digital medium-format means CCD sensors, right? Well, it did until Hasselblad and Phase One announced they’re using CMOS for their latest cameras. Let’s see what this change could herald for the medium-format market.

063 MAKE BLOGGING PAY

088 TAMRON SP 150-600MM

068 SHOOT & SHARE

090 BUYERS’ GUIDE

075 HDSLR MOVIEMAKER

114 NEXT ISSUE

COVER Every Tom, Dick and Harry has a blog now, but can you make money out of them? Rosie, Brett and David say yes.

It offers a huge focal length at a budget price, but does the Tamron’s performance earn it a place in your armoury?

COVER For many wedding shooters, giving the happy couple the files and not selling them an album is anathema, but it’s the sharing, caring, profitable way.

Presentation is everything, we’re often told. And if you get it right, it can boost your profits too. One of these products is sure to fit the bill.

COVER It’s not all about the images; you need to master the sound too.

Everything from portraits of D-Day veterans to developing a killer brand.

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PORTFOLIO | JEFF MITCHUM

SELLING Inspired by a love of wild open spaces, landscape photography was a natural outlet for Jeff Mitchum, and his beautiful work is now showcased in galleries in two of Las Vegas’s most exclusive casinos WORDS TERRY HOPE PICTURES JEFF MITCHUM

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PORTFOLIO | JEFF MITCHUM

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PROJECT

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PROJECT

ONE STEP New York-based photographer Zhang Jingna has been building up the images for her Motherland Chronicles project at the rate of one a week – now she’s just three shots away from completion WORDS TERRY HOPE PICTURES ZHANG JINGNA

The first image in the series involved a Venetian mask, the next a self-portrait; this is Dreaming, image 43. The gruelling one-a-week schedule finishes soon for Zhang Jingna and Tobias Kwan with image 52.

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PRO ACADEMY

ESSENTIAL PRO SECRETS REVEALED

Providing you with the essential skills, techniques and ideas you need to make it as a successful professional photographer

032 ROCK A BYE BABY The saying goes: Never work with children or animals, but what about babies? Karen Wiltshire does.

039 THE SHOOT The insider story of a very different shoot.

046 LIGHTING MASTERCLASS Atmospheric shots by action shooter, Sam Mellish.

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PRO ACADEMY

PHOTOGRAPHING NEWBORNS

WELCOME TO THE WORLD

BUNDLES OF JOY The arrival of a new baby is a momentous occasion for any couple and increasingly, more parents are booking a photo shoot to mark the occasion.

Karen Wiltshire explains how this area has become the focus of her business WORDS TERRY HOPE PICTURES KAREN WILTSHIRE

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PRO ACADEMY

ACTION LIGHTING MASTERCLASS

STATIONS

When you set up a personal project you have ultimate freedom to create the shots as you see fit, but it involves a lot of problem solving. Sam Mellish explains how he set up three atmospheric action shots WORDS TERRY HOPE PICTURES SAM MELLISH

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BUSINESS MATTERS 058 IT'S A CHAIN REACTION

063 BLOG YOUR WAY TO SUCCESS

Join LinkedIn to build business

SCOTT GAIR, INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAWYER

Before you sign that lease… any professional photographers will at some point entertain the idea of taking on commercial studio premises, either to let or to buy. When taking these on, there is an ever-increasing list of statutes and regulations (laws/rules) that occupiers will need to comply with. Anyone either buying or renting commercial property needs to be aware of laws relating to fire risk assessments and asbestos surveys. If you don’t swot up on these, it could cost you thousands!

• Fire safety regulations: The law now places an obligation on ‘responsible persons’ (typically those in occupation) to carry out a fire risk assessment – essentially an evaluation of the fire risks associated with that property.

Fire risk experts are often called in for this, which will also identify if certain works need to be done to reduce fire hazards. This could involve installing fire exits, staircases, fire doors, alarms and smoke detectors. If you don’t undertake the work and the property is subsequently damaged by fire, the buildings insurance company may try to deny any claim under the insurance policy since you haven’t implemented those recommendations. Even more seriously, if anyone is harmed in the blaze you could end up being guilty of a criminal offence and facing a hefty fine.

Undertake a fire risk assessment before committing yourself to a commercial property.

You want to avoid the situation whereby you buy or let a property, and you then need to spend thousands on fire prevention and detection measures. Do the assessment before, and if it throws up problems, try and use these as levers to reduce the price or rent, or ask the seller/landlord to implement the works before you sign on the dotted line.

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How your blog can earn its keep

• Asbestos: The law now requires asbestos surveys to be carried out on commercial properties. Contractors will now often refuse to work on commercial properties until they have seen a copy of the asbestos survey, in order to be entirely sure that they are not about to unwittingly disturb potentially harmful material. Again, the key here is to ask the seller or the landlord to provide an asbestos survey before you exchange contracts in order to ascertain if there is any asbestos in the property. If the survey recommends removal, this could be an expensive exercise – make sure this isn’t an expense you pick up!

If you are buying a commercial property, you can understand that compliance with the fire and asbestos regulations is your responsibility. What a lot of people do not realise is that the overwhelming majority of commercial leases provide that the tenants are responsible for statutory compliance too. This means that if you are only leasing a commercial property, the landlord will push compliance with all laws on to you as the tenant. This will include compliance with the fire regulations, and undertaking any recommendations that may be picked up in the report. It also includes paying for your own asbestos survey, and again picking up the tab and doing any work that is recommended by that report.

Invest the time and energy now to learn about these regulations, and save yourself the time and expense of learning the hard way!

Q Scott Gair is an intellectual property lawyer at Mayo Wynne Baxter and a professional photographer. Send your questions for this column to sgair@mayowynnebaxter.co.uk.

Undertake a fire risk assessment before committing yourself to a commercial property”

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068 SHOOT & SHARE WITH THE HAPPY COUPLE 056 SAY HELLO TO SALES

ZACH PREZ, INTERNET MARKETING GURU AND CREATOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY SPARK

Building a business via email spend the majority of my working day and (confession) most of my personal time as well reading and writing emails. I don’t enjoy email. In fact, I think my goal is to get out of email as quickly as possible. Why? Because I can’t really hang out in email or browse it indefinitely like I can Pinterest.

Yet email effectively communicates brand messages to me. That’s where opportunity lies for your photography business. In my more than ten years of web marketing, email continues to be the most consistent and reliable source of new business and web traffic for me. Here I’m going to outline the importance of email marketing, including best practices for email and why it makes sense to either create or grow an email list.

First of all, email marketing helps you to find new customer prospects and then enables you to turn them into customers.

Other forms of marketing such as SEO, Facebook, websites and RSS do this too, but are less effective. Google and Facebook can deliver new prospects and customers but you don’t own the profiles or the contacts. If

I

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BUSINESS MATTERS

LINK IN MASTER MARKETING

FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS Sign up to LinkedIn and you become a part of the world’s largest professional network. It’s then possible to connect with others inside and outside the photo industry to gain business and referrals WORDS DONAL DOHERTY PICTURES RICHARD WATSON

inkedIn launched in 2003 and has grown to become the world’s largest professional network with 277 million users. Set up a profile and you could have direct access to millions of high calibre professional people in companies all around the world.

Due to the nature of LinkedIn, it’s the perfect social network for commercial and fashion photographers to connect with their target client. Wedding and portrait photographers may not be as successful at generating direct sales, but even so they will find LinkedIn great for building relationships with those that can generate referrals.

Sharing information and linking and building meaningful connections will help drive traffic to your website and will let others know about your services.

And it’s easy to get started. Begin by filling out your profile, as this will enable you to take advantage of all the features available through LinkedIn. Add links to your website,

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portfolio and other social media, and you can also upload some of your best images.

Include information on your business and career until your profile is 100 per cent complete. Whatever your goal, it’s worthwhile understanding what you would like to achieve so you can tailor your activity.

Make sure you have a great headshot and I would advise using the same avatar across all social media so you are instantly recognisable to your followers. Write a killer summary too, making sure you focus on your key strengths and the role you play in your company.

Use your headline to hit home the key message you would like to push. One of my friends in the States who’s studying for an MBA has “Aaron Pratts – Innovative international professional with a diverse set of leadership experiences and team-orientated interests”. How interesting does he sound!

As a photographer you could say ‘corporate photographer seeking new opportunities’, but add your own flair. Don’t be afraid to sell

IMAGES Don’t take a scattergun approach to marketing your business. Shoot your way to success with a profile and company page on LinkedIn, a network of more than 277 million.

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ESSENTIAL PRO GEAR REVEALED All the essentials you need to take your videography to the next level

Nikon live in London New regional TV channel London Live will be using Nikon DSLRs in the production of its 24-hour entertainment content, for both newsgathering and in the studios.

The new channel, set up by Evening Standard owners Lebedev Holdings, will provide 24-hour comedy, drama, sport and culture on Freeview, YouView, Sky and Virgin. The channel’s London studio will use Nikon D800 and D4 cameras mounted on nine-axis robotic arms to produce fullframe 35mm style footage.

The channel will launch on 31 March, and will be the first 24-hour entertainment channel devoted exclusively to the capital. You’ll be able to find it on Freeview (channel 8) YouView (channel 8), Sky (channel 117) and Virgin (channel 159).

• www.londonlive.co.uk

New Hedler HMI Hedler has added a new head to its range of HMI lamps, the DX25. A more powerful version of the existing DX15 unit, it features the same combination lighting and ballast unit. The built-in ballast means the overall weight of the lamp is largely reduced and it removes the need for extra cables.

The DX25 has fan-free cooling, making it useful for video work, although it can also be used for stills lighting. The 250 Watt metal halogen lamp has an output of up to 4200 Lux, is balanced at 5600 Kelvin and is flicker-free.

The DX25 is available now for £750.

• www.flaghead.co.uk

All action from Rollei Rollei has released two new wearable action cams, one built into a pair of ski goggles, the other into a pair of sunglasses.

The splash-proof Rollei ski goggles feature a five-megapixel 1080p camera with a 135° wide-angle lens, while the sunglasses come in two flavours: Cam 100 and Cam 200.

The cameras on both pairs of sunglasses have a five-megapixel sensor that records Full HD video (1920x1080/30) with stereo audio. The sunglasses have a recording time of up to 60 minutes. The 100 and 200 series are distinguished by their fields of view, with the 100 model sporting a 63° lens and the 200 offering 135°.

The ski goggles are available now for around €230, while the sunglasses Cam 100 and Cam 200 will sell for around €130 and €170 respectively.

• www.rollei.com

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GEAR

ESSENTIAL PRO GEAR REVEALED

All the vital gear you’ll need eed to be a successful professional photographer

090 BUYERS’ GUIDE: PRESENTATION Get your presentation right and it can boost your profits – one of these products should fit the bill.

081 CMOS MEDIUM-FORMAT

Digital medium-format means CCD sensors, right? Not any more; we take a look at the new CMOS interlopers.

088 TAMRON SP 150-600MM

A huge focal length at a budget price, but is it enough to earn it a place in your armoury?

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GEAR

BUYERS’ GUIDE: Professional presentation The right presentational product not only makes your work look amazing but it can also deliver a huge profit margin. We round up some of the latest ideas to hit the market WORDS TERRY HOPE

We may live in the age of shoot and burn, but there is still plenty of opportunity to make full use of presentational products and to reap the benefit of the generous margin they

often deliver. Not only that, but if your images look amazing, your reputation is enhanced and there’s the potential for others to see the work and to decide you’re the photographer

that they should be booking. Here then is a round-up of some seriously gorgeous products, which might be just perfect for your own business to show off what you can do.

Qt Albums From £60 The new Artbooks from Qt Albums feature museum-grade white matte paper, and they’re printed using long-lasting 12-colour archival pigments, while four dedicated greyscale colours uplift black & white pictures. Great for negative space designs and subtle photography, a smooth matte surface and a perfect fold are designed to show off work without any distractions.

Featuring a minimum of 15 spreads and a maximum of 45 spreads, the books feature a lay flat design and a choice of leather or linen covers. Every book and box is made by hand from scratch using the best ingredients and with care taken over detail. Prices start at £60 for a 6x6in 15-spread book, rising to £175 for a 12x12in 15-spread book. All books ship with a soft linen cloth envelope, which can be upgraded to a bespoke handmade presentation box with prices starting from £20 for the 6x6in book.

• www.qtalbums.com

Sim Imaging From £24 Amongst the recently announced line-up of products from Sim Imaging is the handmade Linen Presentation Folio. It can be ordered in either Trio or Duo options, as 8x8in or pocked-sized 6x6in varieties. It can be personalised with a choice of colours, and text can be added to the front and back covers, while a premium option includes an 8GB USB card in a pull-out pocket. Prices start at £24.

Acrylic Prints are now available in Sim’s new wall display range, being produced using the latest 12-colour printing technology and then face mounted to a 5mm thick sheet of ultra clear acrylic. The wall display product is fitted with a sub-frame mount ready to hang. Prices start from £32.

Acrylic box frames are precision cut and come in a matte finish and a choice of two colours. The image is face mounted on ultra clear acrylic and enclosed in a deep slimline aluminium frame, giving it depth, clarity and impact. Prices start from £58.

Metal prints are produced using a unique printing method for vibrant colours with exceptional detail. The product comes ready to hang and is available in four different finishes, while the surface is ultra hard, scratch resistant and waterproof. The aluminium base is approximately 1.5mm thick and is mounted on to a sub-frame, lifting the print 15mm from the wall. Prices start from £26.

• www.simimaging.co.uk

DIY Framing From £145.56 Fresh from intensive framing training sessions at The Photography Show, DIY Framing is offering a series of training days and weekends at venues up and down the country. Geared towards the needs of artists and photographers, each course covers the basics of framing and mount cutting and decoration.

Locations include Derby, Canterbury, High Wycombe, Hereford, York and Manchester, and prices for a single day start at £145.56.

DIY Framing’s facility at The Photography Show proved highly popular, and four one-hour sessions were held each day. The company reports that the nine practical sessions were sold out even before Rankin! Meanwhile the other seven demonstrations each attracted average classes of 20 people.

“We had excellent feedback from the sessions, which culminated in great product sales and course bookings,” says DIY Framing’s Duncan McDonald. “Generally the stand was rammed each and every day almost from the moment the doors opened, with great interest for all our products including mount cutters, frame-making tools, courses and our hanging system for pictures. Overall it was one of the best show experiences I have had in over 100 shows I have attended.”

• www.diyframing.com 090 PHOTO PROFESSIONAL ISSUE 92

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GEAR BPD Photech BPD Photech has been providing high-quality photographic printing services and professional canvas printing since 1989. One of the company’s specialities is photo mounting, with photographers given the option of choosing from three different materials: 2mm card, 3mm Forex rigid plastic and 5mm Kappa foam board. Block mounted prints are also available, and provide a modern stylish alternative to canvas prints. Images are printed on Fuji photographic paper, and the print is then heat sealed with a satin protective laminate before mounting onto an 18mm MDF block. The blocks have a black or white PVC edging for the perfect finish.

Float mounted prints are another alternative. Your image is printed on to Fuji Crystal Archive photographic paper, and the print is then heat sealed with a satin protective laminate, before mounting onto a 5mm solid PVC board in black. A sub-frame and hanging device are then added to the back of the mounted print. When hung this gives the appearance of the mount floating one inch from the wall. A white mount board is also available, but orders will be produced in black unless otherwise stated in the comments box.

• www.photech.co.uk

Loxley Colour Loxley Colour has recently launched several products, designed to benefit the pro photographer looking for new and profitable presentation ideas. The Portfolio Box is popular with photographers who shoot a series of sessions, for example bump, baby and one year, and for boudoir and family portrait sessions, as the prints are mounted ready for display, while the keepsake box makes a special gift. The Print Box holds up to 300 prints, and is popular for wedding and portrait previews. Clients can choose their favourite images for larger products, and the box is a suitable alternative to files on a disc.

The Lifestyle Folio is one of Loxley’s newest products, but its choice of covers appeals to a wide range of styles, and you can choose to have two or three mounted images. Meanwhile, the Keepsake Accordion is the kind of product that would be included as a base in most packages, or you could add it on at a low cost, but the minimum order is three.

• www.loxleycolour.com

One Vision Amongst One Vision’s multitude of innovative presentation devices is the Show Box. It arrives with a set of 10-15 matte prints, each mounted in a choice of apertures within alabaster textured overlays, and backed by solid 1mm card. Meanwhile the Portrait Box has become a staple for many of the UK’s pro photographers. Holding up to 12 images, mounted onto 2mm card, the box can also include a signature image or logo. The prints are available on a choice of three papers and in three sizes.

The Illusion Wall Display suspends the image within crystal clear acrylic. The photographic print has an anti-scratch seal and is flush mounted to a 6mm bevelled edged block, which is adhered to the acrylic. A matching backboard is also mounted to the rear to give the appearance of the block going through the acrylic. The product is then framed using One Vision’s Confetti range of frames in black, white or multicoloured satin coated finishes.

• www.onevisionimaging.com

Graphistudio Graphistudio’s large range of new products was on show at the recent Photography Show, the accent being on top quality allied with value for money. The Young Book sits flush in its own box and the modern, minimal design lends it a contemporary and quality feel. With high-end papers and stylish neat Italian lines, it’s designed to appeal to couples looking for style and substance. The price has been kept low without compromising on quality, and each book replicates Graphistudio’s famous flat layouts and continuous bindings and finishes.

Digital Matted Prints are the partners to Graphistudio’s Digital Matted Album, and they can be presented in a fully customisable envelope as an alternative, or as well as, a traditional album.

The new Primo Book Range is a cost-effective solution for big wedding shoots, which can result in huge numbers of images: it’s capable of accommodating 350 double-sided pages. Fedrigoni paper, available in gloss or soft touch laminate finish, gives a magazine effect, especially when encapsulated in a soft-style cover. The package is finished off with an innovative coordinated box.

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PHOTO A B S O L U T E

I LOVE THE CONTENT OF THIS MAGAZINE! SNOWBASIC, 21 JAN - CANADA

It’s perfectly suited to the iPad with lots of interesting photography features and videos to explore KEVEALING, 10 JAN - UK

Amazing images and interactivity with great videos also. Great stuff!

LEDLEY26, 19 DEC – UK

I love the multimedia format with print, video and sound ROSIEBARCELONA, 30 DEC - USA

Find out why people are talking about Absolute Photo magazine.

VISIT THE APP STORE TODAY. Absolute HOUSEADv2.indd 1

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