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Great ways to get paid for your images » Weddings » Portraits » Selling stock » Events & more... Over
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THIRD edition
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Discover ways to get started with wedding photography
Professional advice Learn how the experts make money from their imagery
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The ultimate guide to making your portraits pay
06 _ make cash with your camera
Contents make cash with your camera CHAPTER 1
My Big Break
8
The biggest names in the industry reveal the moments and photographs that marked a turning point in their careers.
CHAPTER 2
Getting Started
26
Stock libraries...............................................................................................28 Selling prints..................................................................................................32 Part time portraits......................................................................................36 Online portfolio..........................................................................................40 Local business.............................................................................................44 Part time weddings...................................................................................48 Full time weddings.....................................................................................52 Events..............................................................................................................56 Portrait studio..............................................................................................60 Going full time.............................................................................................64 Getting a job.................................................................................................68 Competitions................................................................................................72
CHAPTER 3
Business
76
Insurance for pros......................................................................................78 Website building.........................................................................................84 Bookkeeping................................................................................................90
CHAPTER 4
Marketing
chapter 6
96
Marketing videos........................................................................................98 Blogging.......................................................................................................104 Facebook......................................................................................................110 Pinterest.........................................................................................................116 SnapChat.....................................................................................................122 PR.....................................................................................................................128 Instagram.....................................................................................................134 Mail-out marketing..................................................................................140
CHAPTER 5
Training
The Kit
Storage devices.........................................................................................168 Large format printers..............................................................................174 Is rental mental?.......................................................................................180 Studio lighting guide..............................................................................186
On FileSILO
What’s on FileSilo 146
166
194
Discover how to access FileSilo.......................................................194
There are many training routes into professional. Here, we introduce you to the best University......................................................................................................148 Accreditation..............................................................................................150 Short course...............................................................................................152 High-end workshop...............................................................................154 Online course............................................................................................156 Assisting........................................................................................................158 The education debate...........................................................................160
make cash with your camera _ 07
getting started of images of models striking various poses, laughing, crying or even in a specific situation that can be easily categorised such as a business meeting or phone call. This focus on easily-identified subjects isn’t restricted just to portraits; try to shoot images that can be used to illustrate specific themes such as waste or energy or even dereliction, as having this extra element will help you to add successful keywords and sell more images. There are also many small details that can help you make your images more appealing to both stock libraries and buyers. For some uses it’s important to avoid any logos or trademarks being visible in the image. For example, if a buyer from a retailer or manufacturer is looking for an image to use, the last thing they want is for a logo of a competitor to be visible in the image. You also need to make sure that the image looks great as a thumbnail as well as at full size. This may not seem obvious, but a simple, graphic image often works better as a thumbnail, rather than a complex and very detailed one. This matters because most buyers will be searching through hundreds or thousands of thumbnails searching for the right image, and your image needs to stand out as a thumbnail for them to even click on it. An image that can be applied to a range of stories or situations will sell better than one that is very specific – and remember to avoid subjects with logos on them
In the know Paul Foster, Senior Director, Creative Content, Getty Images Having worked as an art director for eight years, Paul has won numerous awards from the likes of the Art Directors Club of New York, Communication Arts and Photo District News (PDN). ■ “For amateur photographers wanting to take their imagery to the next level there are some key points to bear in mind. First, consider what you want to convey with the image, what emotion or idea you want to evoke and how you can communicate this visually. We receive a lot of photographs on every conceivable subject and so you should be your own harshest critic when judging your originality. Challenge yourself to find a novel angle or an unexpected point of view; perhaps experiment by using a wider lens to get up close and personal and give a greater sense of intimacy. Remember the power of clean, simple composition; sometimes the most powerful images work because of what is left out of the frame, rather than what is included in it.”
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Check the small print One of the most important
things to check when choosing a stock library is what percentage of each sale you will get. The amount you receive can be as low as 15 per cent for some sites, rising to around 50 per cent for others. The higher the percentage is obviously better for you, but it’s not always as simple as the numbers may suggest. Some libraries offer better rates the longer you stay with them, or the more images that you have, and some also offer different rates for different licences. You may also be able to increase your cut by signing an exclusivity agreement. This means that you won’t offer these images through any other agency, but this may limit your returns long-term.
A question of release While it’s not essential for every stock image, most agencies insist that you have a signed model release form for any people that are recognisable in your images. This release means the person in the image acknowledges that the photographs can be sold, although there are still certain restrictions concerning exactly where they are used, such as for advertising certain products. It’s also advisable to obtain a similar property release form if an image you’re selling was shot on private property or if it contains any easily recognisable buildings or structures. Some stock libraries will accept images without signed
releases (especially for property), as the pictures can still be used for editorial use, but it will mean that the image is less likely to be sold as easily, and you may not make as much cash from it.
The long haul Stock photography is best seen as a long-term investment rather than a get-rich-quick scheme. The chances are that you won’t get much money for the first few months, but it’s still worth persevering. Make sure that your images are of the best quality and are of subjects that buyers want. Keep uploading new images and you can make some significant cash. Making a living from stock photography is possible, but requires plenty of time, effort and dedication, and an understanding of image buyers’ requirements. While it could only take a weekend or so to submit your first images, once you have started you’ll need to set aside around one evening per week to upload new images and add keywords to them. You will also need to be shooting new images to keep your submissions new and fresh.
If you’re selling an image of a common or popular subject, it’s got to be top-notch to stand out from a crowd of similar shots
You may already be shooting new images every week or two, but if you are shooting specifically for stock then this can add another day or two to your schedule. When you start submitting your photos to stock libraries the initial returns will be pretty small. With microstock sites you
will typically get a few pence per image sale, so you need plenty of sales to make any significant cash. With rights-managed images you can make more per individual sale, but the volume of sales will be much lower. So, if you only have a few images on a stock site you will be lucky to make a few pounds per month,
especially with microstock sites. The returns can become significant once you have a good selection of hundreds or thousands of high-quality, saleable images uploaded.
Dos and don’ts of stock photography
Do
■ Read all of the small print about submitting images, and make sure that your images meet all of the criteria specified. ■ Spend time researching and keywording your images to make sure that they are what buyers are looking for and that they can be found easily in a search. ■ Check that every image that you submit is technically perfect. They need to be sharp, have low noise and be free of defects such as chromatic aberration. SPECIAL FEATURE
Don’t
D-SLR College
© Stokkete/Shutterstock
D-SLR College
LEARN NEW SKILLS
NIKON
COLLEGE Head back to school with our no-nonsense guide to your Nikon camera’s most important features
he great thing about a D-SLR is that you can leave it in fully automatic mode until you feel comfortable enough to step up a gear and take more control over the picture-taking process. But the sooner you can do this, the better; when you choose more of your
T
When magazines buy in stock photos, they’re often looking for ones with space for words, menus and so on. If you’re doing a shoot specifically for stock, leave a bit of space in some of your pictures
camera’s settings yourself, you’ll get more predictable, consistent, better-quality results and enjoy your photography more. So, with that in mind, we’ve created a five-lesson plan to get you up to speed, whether you’re new to using an SLR, new to Nikon or just in need of a quick refresher course.
FIVE LESSONS TO HELP YOU MASTER YOUR NIKON D-SLR
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September 2014
01 GETTING STARTED
www.nphotomag.com
www.nphotomag.com
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02 MASTER THE BASICS
03 SHOOTING SHARPER
04 IMPROVE EXPOSURE
■ Expect to get huge amounts of cash when you start out. It will take months or even years to generate enough images to make significant amounts of money. ■ Expect every image to be accepted, particularly when you start out. It may be that the agency simply has too many similar images on its site already. ■ Forget to get model and property release forms signed for as many images as possible. This will ensure that they are available to the maximum number of buyers.
05 TAKE GREAT PHOTOS
September 2014
27
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small events photography business, this can be the perfect opportunity to make some extra cash because the big firms often advertise for extra photographers to cover certain large events. You’ll need to prove that you’re able to shoot the type of images that they need, and you may need to use your own kit. Some companies will provide the equipment, however, making it much more affordable than setting up your own business. The down side is that instead of potentially charging several hundred pounds per event, you’re more likely to be paid a day rate of around £80 to £100, although some offer bonuses based on print sales at the event.
How much money can you make?
There are many ways to make money from events photography, from charging a single fee to cover the event to charging for individual prints or digital images images, print sizes and even photo gifts, such as mugs or key rings, which they can sell to participants – although many of these will need to be sent out after the event. If you’re thinking of offering this type of service, you’ll need a way of taking orders and payments both on the day and through your website. The simplest way is to use PayPal, although you need to remember that these services take a percentage of the payment when deciding on the amount you want to charge for these products.
Unless you’re in a position to offer this level of service, these jobs are best left to one of the many larger events photography companies. On the plus side, even if you have your own
There are many ways to make money from events photography, from charging a single fee to cover the event, to charging for individual prints or digital images. Charging a single fee or day rate means that you’ll know how much money you’ll make per event. The amount you can charge will depend on the size of the event, the type and number of images you’ll be expected to provide, and even the size of the company or organiser you’re dealing with. Most events photography companies charge £150 to £300 per day for a single photographer,
How much time will it take? Once you have the basic skills and equipment to shoot events, and you have appropriate insurance, you can get started almost immediately, but even if you get several bookings, it will still take around six months to a year to start recouping the start-up costs for basic equipment and insurance. Just like any photographic business, it will usually take around a year to get enough events under your belt to help bring in new business.
Dos and don’ts of shooting events
Do
■ Make sure you make time after the event to process and deliver your images to the client quickly. ■ Be realistic about the type and size of events that you’re able to cover. It’s impossible for a single photographer to get all the necessary shots at large events. ■ Get plenty of practice shooting the type of images that are required at the event before you start charging for your services.
Don’t
■ Rely on a single camera body for an important event – make sure you have a back-up body and a back-up standard zoom lens, just in case. ■ Expect simply to turn up when the event starts and leave when it finishes, particularly if you’re providing images at the event. ■ Skimp on either public liability or other insurance, because it’s likely that you’ll need plenty of cover to shoot events for businesses or sports companies.
Look for company It’s possible to shoot small events on your own and with basic kit, but larger ones will require specialised equipment and several photographers and support staff working together to cover everything satisfactorily.
with additional charges for additional staff.Charging for prints or digital images can make it difficult to estimate how much money you can make from each event, but most companies charge between £5 and £10 for an individual print. This means that you’ll need to be confident of selling at least 50 prints to even start to make the same money per event as you couldif you were charging a day rate.
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getting started Getting shots of key speakers is an essential part of photographing events
its participants.Remember that while it’s great to shoot creative images using techniques such as motion blur, shallow depth of field or panning to show some action, most event organisers are more interested in seeing pin-sharp images that clearly show what’s happening, and who’s there, than in arty techniques. Make sure that you get your straight shots before you try to get too arty with your images – although there’s nothing wrong with getting some more creative pictures once you have your ‘banker’ images in the bag.
Gear up You can start shooting small events with fairly basic kit, but there are many functions that will require more specialised equipment. For many sports events, for example, you’ll need wide-aperture, long
telephoto lenses and a camera capable of shooting at high ISO settings to get acceptable results in low light. A 70-200mm f/2.8 lens would be perfect if you could get reasonably close to the action, but a lens with a focal length of 300mm or longer will be necessary for many motorsports or equestrian events where you’ll need to shoot from a distance. Many corporate events require you to shoot formal portraits on location, so you’ll need a portable studio with at least two lights and a backdrop, while other events will call for specialised equipment such as on-site printing with immediate access for customers, which you wouldn’t have as part of your normal photography equipment. You’ll need to take this into account when you’re looking at the costs involved when setting up your business.
A long lens with a wide maximum aperture is essential for sporting events where you can’t get close to the action
The long haul Shooting events can involve some long hours, starting with arriving early to set up your gear, then shooting images during the day, and finally processing and maybe even printing your shots. You need to be prepared to put in long hours if you’re going to make a success of your business. Most event organisers will want the images quickly, so you may need to work into the evening after the event, or
IN THE KNOW MOTORSPORTS ■ Lee Marshall and his company, photoREVERIE, have been managing the event photography for MotorSport Vision (the owner of five of the UK’s race circuits) for over 11 years. This includes up to 500 track days, driving experiences and corporate events every year. He probably spends more time at race circuits than any other photographer in the UK. “Unlike a traditional motorsports photographer, who will be concentrating on only a few clients per weekend, our business is very much a numbers game. With the exception of corporate events, most of our sales are completed during the event itself, with anywhere from 50 to 200 potential clients purchasing digital and printed products. “All three types of event we attend are quite different and have very diverse customers, but they all require the same types of skills. At the forefront
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is the ability to be able to shoot reliably and creatively without having to edit your photos. All our photos are sold ‘as is’ because we don’t have the time to edit photos (usually 3,000-plus every day after removing out-of-focus or blurred shots) prior to selling. “When we’re shooting a track day, most of our potential customers have done it before and purchased photos previously. We’re therefore always trying to shoot something new or edgy, but we also have to mix it up with traditional shots and locations too. If we haven’t got 20 to 30 decent shots of them over a day (multiplied by up to 120 cars or bikes) it can sometimes be quite difficult to make sales. Most of our days are long. During the summer it isn’t unusual to work a 13- or 14-hour day with a two-hour commute at either end – and then to do it all again the next day in a different part of the country.”
the next day at the latest, to process all your images and get them either online or ready to send out to the client. If you’re providing prints at the event, then you’ll need to have a colleague handling this service while you’re shooting.
Get some cover Like any photographic business, you need insurance cover for your gear, and also public liability cover, before you shoot events. It’s worth checking the value of the coverage for any public liability, because large events often require you to have cover for several million pounds, which may not be covered by some policies.
Selling as well as shooting For some jobs you’ll be paid a day rate, but this isn’t always the case. For some events you’ll need to sell images or prints to the people taking part, either on the day or later on via your website. Many sports event photography companies will offer a range of digital
THE BUSINESS Case study
Photography kit vs. snowcat An unfortunate run-in with a snowplough turned action and lifestyle photographer Ross Woodhall’s kit bag into confetti, and resulted in a huge insurance claim How was your kit flattened by a snowcat? I was on a shoot for Headworks clothing in Aviemore. Scotland gets some dodgy old snow. Sometimes you get a lot, sometimes not so much, so for this shoot they had scraped pretty much all the snow off the mountain to create a pile for the snowboards to jump off. There was a huge snowcat going up and down the snow jumps to make sure it was nice and smooth for the
snowboarders, so I put my snowbag and my camera bag well out of the way – or at least I thought so. I’d pulled my light meter out to take some meter readings, and just as I did that, these big double rainbows came out in the valley. So I thought, we’d better start shooting right now to see if we can get that shot. So I told the guy driving the snowcat that he could finish up. He reversed and waved, and I watched in horror as he drove straight over my camera bag. Eeeek! What happened to your kit? Everything came out at the back of the
Action and lifestyle photographer Ross Woodhall lost £15,000 worth of equipment to a snowcat accident. Fortunately, his insurance covered the cost of replacement gear
necessarily covered by their regular insurance policy. Phoenix-based insurer Hill & Usher has been insuring drones for over eight years, and has recently experienced an increase in demand for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) cover. But due to the drawn-out process of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) clarifying regulations on drone use in the US, the drone insurance market is still a bit like the wild west. “The aviation liability policies vary fairly significantly from carrier to
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carrier at this point,” says Todd Landfried from Hill & Usher. “Some will not write where UAVs are used near crowds such as weddings or concerts. Some will write if the insured can demonstrate a high degree of knowledge as to how to safely fly in such situations. Some will authorise the use of very small UAVs indoors, while others will strictly prohibit indoor use. Some will cover the use of non-owned UAV units and contracted ‘freelance’ pilots, some won’t.” In any case, Landfried stresses,
snowcat like black-and-white confetti. The camera bag was smashed in the tracks of the snowcat. The guy in the snowcat went white when he found out what he’d done. We spent an hour or so picking everything up and putting it in boxes. What did you do about the shoot? I then had to hire stuff from down south. Calumet organised all the equipment and got it couriered up to Inverness. We waited for the equipment to turn up the next day, then carried on shooting for the next ten days with hired gear. Sounds expensive. Did your insurance cover it? We made an enormous insurance claim. The insurance company didn’t believe me at first so they came to the house and I had to show them this big box of smashed camera equipment. There were two Canon SLRs and a Hasselblad in there, and all the associated lenses, film and flashes. About £15,000 worth. The insurance company paid up in full. It was a shock to the system though. Did it change your approach to insurance? Not really. We always insure every year. It comes to about £400 per year. I don’t think I’ve made a claim since then. We have public liability and a separate insurance policy to cover life, health and travel. Then we have camera equipment on a separate policy. Because we’ve got such comprehensive insurance, we’re covered to do anything we want anywhere in the world. It means that we never have to take out extra insurance for specific jobs.
you’ll need extra cover if you’re using drones in a professional capacity. “Nearly all ground policies specifically exclude coverage and claims resulting from the operation of any aircraft, including a UAV,” he says. “In fact, many carriers will cancel your policy completely if they learn that you fly UAVs and that you have not purchased specific liability insurance for doing so.” The FAA is expected to have clarified its regulations on drone use by June this year, at which point the insurance
market will also become easier to navigate. In the UK, regulation is simpler, and causes less headache for insurers and photographers. “You don’t have to have a licence to get insured, but there are rules stipulated by the Civil Aviation Authority that you need to follow. If you breach them, it will invalidate your insurance,” says Knowlson.
Theft and recompense The second-most common insurance claim from photographers – after accidental damage to equipment – is theft. Most policies cover theft, but it’s important to study the fine print of your policy to make sure that you’re aware of its limitations, particularly if your kit is covered under your household insurance. “A lot of the policies we’ve seen tend not to cover kit in vehicles overnight when left unattended. They’ll limit the value of kit, or they’ll only cover it in daylight hours. There are all sorts of little things in insurance policies that can trip photographers up,” says Stevenson. InFocus will cover your insured kit in your vehicle all night, and there are other insurers who take a similar approach. “As a photographer, office hours do not really apply. You may be out to get a sunrise shot at 4am, or working a wedding until midnight. Flexible cover is required,” says Knowlson from Thistle. At Policy Bee, records show that the most expensive
Taylor at Towergate recommends that you check the prices of the latest equivalents to your kit on the market today. claims, to the insurer, are the ones that are made as a result of theft from a location – a home or a studio. “The insurer generally has to pay between £5k and £10k for these types of claims from photographers. It’s deemed ‘portable equipment’, but it’s still covered when stored at a location,” says Pitcher. Stevenson advises that photographers check exactly what’s covered under the ‘theft’ category. “We’ve just paid out a claim for £13,000 where a van was broken into, and there were no visible signs of a break-in. But the insurer paid it on the basis that the police reckoned that the car had been accessed with some sort of device that disabled the locks and alarms. Some policies exclude cases where alarms have been disabled and there is no sign of a break-in.” Many insurance companies only require you to itemise very expensive pieces of kit in your collection, but you do have to list the value of everything else – the cost of replacing it as new. This, of course, changes depending on which new models your kit manufacturer brings out, so it’s worth checking every year when you renew your
insurance policy. If you don’t, it can come back to bite you. This is what insurers call the ‘average condition’. “This is an area that does get misunderstood. If you insure for £5k of equipment, but you actually have £10k of equipment in total, you’ll be deemed underinsured, and if there’s a claim, the insurer can reduce what it pays in direct proportion to the degree that you’re underinsured,” explains Pitcher. Commercial photographer Tom Barnes learnt this the hard way. “Canon brought out an update to a lens I had, and almost doubled the price on it. I didn’t increase the lens replacement price on my insurance schedule to reflect this, so when it broke, I had to pay the difference. I ended up paying £600 of my own money to fund a replacement.” Taylor at Towergate recommends that you check the prices of the latest equivalents to your kit on the market today. He adds: “Don’t forget, if you are VAT registered, you can deduct this element from your total value.” Knowlson adds: “Itemising every single piece of kit, even if it’s not required, will help you keep track of its total value.”
Insurance for drones is much more straightforward in the UK and other countries than in the US, says insurance expert Todd Landfried. The situation is expected to improve once the FAA finalises its regulations
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MARKETING hen you think about social networks, you think of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. It’s quite easy to forget about Pinterest. Yet in many ways the image-pinning service is more relevant to photographers than many others. The idea is simple. You ‘pin’ images you find online, which then appear on your Pinterest page (which is divided into ‘boards’), where you can add captions to them. Fellow Pinterest users, in turn, can ‘repin’, ‘like’ or comment on images. There’s also a Pinterest Browser Button that you can add to your browser. This overlays every image on the web with a pin icon; click these and you can upload the images directly to your account. Pinterest is hugely popular, with more than 100 million active users. It’s recently been working hard to monetise those users, introducing affiliate links and paid advertising. It’s also the most femalecentric social network, with around 70-80 per cent of its users believed to be women. So how can any of this benefit professional photographers seeking more business? First, Pinterest allows your clients and customers to create mood boards, to help plan a shoot. Second, it’s a way for you to promote your own work online. And third, when people repin your images and links, it helps your Google ranking and drives traffic. But there’s one thing about Pinterest that some photographers hate: the way it acts as a portal for copyright theft. So which side should we be on? Is Pinterest a friend or foe?
Positive views Many photographers have had positive experiences with Pinterest. Take Bristol-based wedding
In September 2015 Pinterest exceeded
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Try to get your followers excited with beatuiful images combined with catchy text
and portrait photographer Venetia Norrington (@venetian1). “Pinterest has so much to offer photographers,” she enthuses. “It’s fun, easy to use and can be a very useful business tool.” She primarily uses it as a collaborative tool to prepare shoots with clients. “We plan all our couples’ shoots on Pinterest, working with them to achieve a focussed look, and ensure we are all on the same page,” she says. “For our styled shoots, we use it as a concept board, to get client signoff on that. It’s also useful as a central place, where all the suppliers involved in the shoot can view the concept, and add to it to refine the look.” Leicester-based photographer Joanne Withers (@joannewithers) takes a similar approach. “For my commercial clients, I create a secret board, then invite them to pin items they like,” she explains. “After liaising with them about their image requirements, I’ll pin images that I feel could inspire them. It helps them to think about how they want their images to look.” But what about posting your own images on Pinterest too? Can that actively increase traffic to your website? Texas-based fine art and travel photographer Trey Ratcliff (@treyratcliff) believes so. He makes aggressive use of Pinterest to drive traffic to his site, where he promotes his fine art prints, workshops and books. “The amount of traffic is incredible,” he reports. “Every day we post about 10 of my original photos or so and we’re seeing a big spike in visits.” That doesn’t surprise him, either. “A lot of the stuff on Pinterest gets
recycled a lot,” he reasons, “so when we insert ‘fresh meat’, our followers get excited.”His advice to anyone wishing to emulate his success? “I’d say just post beautiful photos and then put a soft sell down in the text. Don’t be too salesy. So for example, if you take photos of houses, put up tons of pretty house photos and say in the description something like, ‘I love taking photos of houses! Contact me at [insert URL] if you are interested.’” Turns out that character count is also an important factor. Multiple studies have found between 200 and 300 is the ideal for sharing – and remember to include key words. Pinterest is only one part of Ratcliff’s marketing mix, but it does come with one advantage over other social networks, in his eyes. “As far as I can tell, Pinterest shows everything I post to my 4.5 million followers in chronological order,” he points out. “Facebook, in contrast, bothers me sometimes because only a small percentage of my fans even see my work. Since Instagram’s algorithm change, it’s the same there, too.” (See our article on page 154 for more on that.) And he’s not hugely worried about copyright. “My work is all over Pinterest, uploaded by other people without any credit,” he admits. “I wish they would [credit me], of course, but what are you going to do? Spend all your brainpower being bitter? That seems like a waste of precious cycles. I use that time to create more.” Norrington has a similar take on copyright. “Stealing images is very flattering,” she says. “I’d rather spend my time giving the best service possible to our couples and clients, shooting great
CASE STUDY
“Clients become more invested in the shoot” Joanne Withers explains how she makes day-to-day use of Pinterest in her photography business How do you use Pinterest to plan your commercial shoots? “I create a secret board for a client first and then invite them to pin the items they like. I will have liaised with them about their image requirements and then pin images that I feel could inspire them to think about how they want their images to look. I get them to think about the location, lighting, styling, time of day, backgrounds, outfits, people involved and props. Then we use the board for them to focus their style by indicating the images they like and those that are not suitable for their brand. Visuals help people to be more creative and more involved in their
photoshoots in terms of the styling. Often people say they just want a few headshots, but when they start to see things and think about their brand, they get more invested and their shoot becomes about more targeted images that work better for them.”
anywhere really: my website, Facebook, Instagram. I just make sure that when I pin my own images, they have a link back to my website. I debated whether or not to watermark them, but I found that I got more repins when they were not.”
Do you ever get any direct bookings via Pinterest? “I’ve never had a direct booking, but then again, I don’t really target my pins or promote them in that way. It’s simply a tool for me after clients have booked in, or if they are thinking about it.”
How could Pinterest be improved, from your point of view? “If there was something that meant you couldn’t repin unless the original source was there, that would be beneficial I feel. So many people do not even know that images are copyrighted.”
What about your lifestyle shoots? “I use the ideas boards to get my lifestyle families and couples to think beyond just having a shot stood posing together. When they see outfit ideas, along with the colour boards, they start to co-ordinate their look more, which makes for stronger images. It helps them to imagine themselves in outdoor locations as opposed to just a white studio backdrop. It also encourages them to bring props, and they have more fun with it.”
What advice would you give to other photographers using Pinterest to market their services? “Make your Pinterest boards simple and clear for people to follow. Add tags and words that will help in search functions. Always have a link to your work, if it’s your image. “Also, be yourself. If you pin what inspires you, you’ll attract like-minded clients. Show your knowledge in your field, so people will feel they can recommend you. And promote your boards outside of Pinterest. There’s no point in having great boards if nobody knows that they’re there.”
How do you feel about the issue of copyright? “I’m not too precious about my images. These days, they can be lifted from
images or developing my skill, than worrying about someone lifting the odd image.”
The downside But while some photographers shrug off copyright infringement on Pinterest, that doesn’t mean it’s not a problem. Let’s remind ourselves what copyright means: it’s the legal right of photographers to determine how and when their work is copied. And if people pin your image
I use the ideas boards to get my lifestyle families and couples to think beyond just having a shot stood posing together.
Encourage your clients to use Pintrest prior to your shoot and get them to look for styles and ideas that they like and create a moodboard of inspiration for you
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Training
the online path “It’s spurred me onto land some really cool jobs” Paul Shaw was a serving solider and photography business owner when he decided to enrol on a nine-month web course with The Photography Institute in a bid to become a full-time photographer
“Work kept me very busy, so the course gave me the flexibility to study at my own pace, which attending a college would not have,” says Paul Shaw on choosing an online course. But was it worth the nine months and £450? “Undoubtedly. After completing the course I went on to become an army photographer, one of only 37. The Photography Institute gave me the knowledge I needed to progress, and I’ve since spent six months as a video cameraman in Afghanistan as part of a Combat Camera Team, almost five months as the Prime Minister’s official photographer, and four months in Sierra Leone covering the Ebola virus.” He was given experiences on the course which Shaw feels he wouldn’t have gained elsewhere. “It was like a kickstart to understanding what can go well and what can go wrong, as well as how to use your camera correctly and efficiently, the right lenses to have, what equipment to use and why. “I was impressed by how in-depth the technical side of the course goes, without it being confusing. It taught me a vast amount: so much so that I gained a commendation on my eight-month Defence Photographers course. I’m not sure I would have done so well without the course, as it has spurred me onto win some awards and land some really cool jobs.” paulshawphotography.co.uk
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overview
LEARN ON THE WEB Affordable, flexible, and accessible, online courses have been growing in popularity over the past five years. Most of them don’t require any formal
qualifications, and do link photographers with expert tutors from all over the world from the comfort and convenience of their living room – wherever that is. Anthony Mondello, CEO of The Photography Institute, explains how courses like its Diploma
of Professional Photography work. “All the learning is done online. When you enrol you get a username and password, which enables you to log onto a secure student site. From there, you can download your first module, which you could liken to your text book as it contains all the
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information you will need to complete assignment one. Each module is around 60 pages and is full of detailed technical information delivered in a friendly, conversational manner. The concepts are further explained by way of diagrams, images and examples.” Assignments usually
include a mix of theoretical and practical tasks, which are then uploaded for a tutor to mark. “You’ll be given a grade out of 10 and a comprehensive evaluation of your work and ideas to help nurture and improve your skills each step of the way.” The self-paced Diploma
of Professional Photography from the Photography Institute will currently set candidates back £649 and takes 24 weeks to finish, with students expected to invest an average of four to six hours a week. But there are options out there to suit everyone’s budget and time frame.
For example, the Open University is currently offering a £200 ten-week course in partnership with the RPS, the British Academy of Photography currently offers three home-based courses ranging from three to nine months, and £350 to £750 in cost, whereas the Institute of
Photography delivers a variety of online courses, priced between £250 and £950, and with no set completion time. Future Publishing, which produces this magazine, offers e-learning from £69 per year at https:// learn.digitalcamera world.com with no set time limit.
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