Get It In Writing

The actual taking of the pictures is the easiest part of travel photography.  If you’ve ever taken clear, focused and colorful photographs for your own pleasure or to chronicle your vacations, then you already know what you need to do for decent travel photography.  The hard part about travel photography for freelance writers is getting paid for it.

The golden rule of freelancing is “Always get it in writing.”  NEVER assume that the editor will honor a verbal contract or even terms loosely given during one email exchange about copy or photography.  You need to be crystal clear about what you are going to be paid for on an assignment and what you aren’t going to be paid for.

Things you need to get crystal clear in travel photography for your articles include (but are not limited to):

How much you will get per photo
Are there any specific subject matters the editor wants?
What format is needed for submission
When you will get paid
Who will hold the copyright to your travel photography?

Take Many Pictures

In any professional photography area, you will need to take scads and scads of photos in order to find the one or two that will perfectly illustrate your piece.  You might be the one who makes the final decision as to which of your photos run and which don’t.  That is usually up to the photo editor (if your publication has one).  This also could be the graphic artist or the travel editor, depending on the title.  If it is a very small publication, than the editor in chief might also be the layout editor and the photo editor.

See if you can get to send digital photographs.  In this way, you can download your travel photography onto your laptop and then email them to your editor (or whoever) in order to get the piece done even before you have to come home.

You’ve Seen It

In case you are wondering what this most famous of famous photography images looks like, let’s refresh your memory.  It is a stark black and white photograph of six United States Marines pushing to raise a battle-scared American flag and pole into the sand and twisted landscape.  The flag is rising towards a bright white sky.  It looks as if the Marines are having a tough time raising the flag.

Why So Popular

What makes a picture enter the realms of famous photography?  Part of it is that it captures the essence of a huge event into one image.  “Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima” is considered the iconic image of World War II, even though this happened on the Japanese front and not the European front, where most of the action was.  Somehow, despite all of the odds, the good guys won.

Another element that makes a picture rise to the ranks of famous photography is that it has a certain timelessness, using symbols that talks to our collective unconscious.  Flags are included in that silent pictorial language.  It is known to many cultures that flags mean victory.  Raising the flag, family crest or shield of your army or side onto the enemy territory was the ultimate declaration of victory.

Brief History

This elite specimen of famous photography is actually the second raising of the flag at Iwo Jima.  However, this was the time the island was finally won.  The flag was raised inside of a Japanese pipe.  The image was so startling and so triumphant that it was published in newspapers a mere seventeen and a half hours after it was taken, at a time when it normally took a couple of days for news photographs to be published.

The photo was so good that it was accused of what all famous photography is accused of – being faked.  Although there are many famous photos that have been set up (Marilyn Monroe over the steam grating comes to mind), Joe Rosenthal and the three Marines that survived World War II were able to testify that it wasn’t.  It was just one of those things.

Where Exactly Is It?

Although listed as being at the University of Arizona Libraries, the Center for Creative Photography is not exactly open to the public like other art libraries.  There isn’t any money or manpower to keep a proper museum up and running in a way that the images inside deserve.  But to lock the photographs inside of a bank vault away from those who love photography would be cruel.  So, the Center for Creative Photography came up with a compromise.

You have to make an appointment in order to see the collection.  If you are alone or in a group, you definitely need to make an appointment and expect to be chaperoned throughout.  You will be escorted to see some of the 80,000 pieces of artwork and can make requests to focus on particular North American photographers such as Ansel Adams, Josef Breitenbach, Aaron Siskind, William Mortensen, Frederick Sommer and W. Eugene Smith.

For Researchers

If you are a researcher, then you need to make special plans with the Center of Creative Photography in order to be able to access its vast archives instead of just looking at the more famous photography images that most casual visitors want to see.  You also can have access to the written works from and about the photographers as well as negatives.  You still need to make an appointment.  Please don’t just show up unannounced.  They hate that.

The Center for Creative Photography is open weekdays from 10am to 4pm.  It is not open on weekends ever.  If you go to the Center for Creative Photography’s website, you can view a comprehensive index of all of the materials in their incredibly vast archives.  Depending on what your research subject is, you might be eligible to apply for a research grant, funded by Polaroid.  Again, you need to see the website for details.

The Center for Creative Photography is the largest collection of its kind in the world and they keep as close an eye on it as possible, because they know their duty for posterity.

Cooperation Opportunities

Have you ever gone into a pet store and seen a display about a pet photographer coming to the store?  If you’ve ever come back on pet photography days, you know the lines go out the door.  This also happens for children’s professional photography or for any formal portraits, which can often be quickly set up in the corner of a large department store.

And what photographers do these stores pick on these busy days?  They pick photographers with a mobile photography studio.  Although some chain stores, like Sears, might have their own in-house photographers, for the most part, if you contact a store to set up a portrait day, you’re going to get some action (provided you have good references and a great portfolio, that is.)

Stocking Your Vehicle

You don’t need to bring everything and the kitchen sink along to your next portrait gig.  You do need a van, truck or at least a station wagon filled with lighting equipment, extension cords, extra batteries, different colored background drapes or cloths, a tripod, some reflective umbrellas or cards to help with your lighting and a vast array of props.  Usually, adults don’t need any more props than a chair.  But pets and kids need some squeaky toys to get their attention, at least.  And, of course, you need a camera or two.

The Darkroom

Just about the only thing you can’t stock in your mobile photography studio is a good darkroom and your darkroom chemicals.  Professionals who want to make creative photography out of even the most basic portrait need to develop their own pictures.  Many photographers can do away with the need of a darkroom altogether by going digital.  That way, their laptops, their memory cards and their cameras become the photography studio darkroom.  Some artists claim that the quality of a real live film photography studio can’t be matched, but technology is very quickly catching up with the imagination.

Photojournalism

This kind of art photography is much harder than it first sounds like.  How many college students do you know have a poster of Albert Einstein sticking out his tongue or of that one lone Chinese demonstrator who stopped a column of tanks in Tiananmen Square?  Those photos are art.  They tell far more stories than the actual newspaper stories they were originally used to illustrate.

The art of photojournalism lies partially in being in the right place at the right time but also choosing which photo to select.  It has to capture the essence of a situation or a story with one image.  This kind of art photography is sort of a visual haiku.

Digital Tricks

You don’t need a fancy photography studio in order to create art photography.  You do need a computer and an excellent image program, such as PhotoShop.  There, you take a photograph as the framework for which your artistic expression is loosened.  For some, the challenge is in making a fake photograph look identical to a real photograph.  Some make a real photograph as beautiful as possible.  The sky’s the limit with this type of art photography.

Portraits

The bread and butter of a professional photographer’s trade is in portraits – of people, pets, buildings or whatever.  The usual portrait, although framed and hung on a wall, is not often considered art photography.  The art is when these portraits are taken just left of center.  Instead of stiff poses looking artificially perfect, another approach is taken.

Instead of the usual portrait of a little girl in a dress, the photographer could mount a ladder and look down on the girl spinning in play.  That would be art photography, even though it may be hard to tell the features of the little girl.  It is still a portrait, but captures more about the girl than just what she looked like on a given day.

Telling A Story

Think about the most memorable photograph you have ever seen – whether in the newspaper, in a book or in photography gallery.  What was is that was so special?  For a lot of people, great photographs tell entire stories or reveal entire lives in one image.  Although these pictures can be taken by accident, often they are taken through the eyes of someone with a story to tell.  Walking through a photography gallery is a bit like paging through a short story anthology.

The images selected to hang in a photography gallery aren’t just interesting compositions or shapes.  They might be entirely what you think a bad picture would be.  Images in Photography galleries can be blurred, unfocused, off-center or poorly lit.  But the images in a photography gallery not only show the story of what that image is about and, most tellingly, they tell the story of the photographer behind the lens.

Perception Through The Lens

We all long to express ourselves in some way.  Many people choose to express themselves through the use of the arts.  Almost all professional photographers develop their own photographs in order to ensure you see what they see.  Words can easily be misinterpreted and forgotten.  But images, such as the ones in a photography gallery, stay in your mind for a very long time.

We see this all the time in advertising photographs (which sometimes do pop up in a photography gallery or two).  You are meant to see only the effects that one product or service brings.  The picture doesn’t show you all of the problems the employees might be having or the effect the product or service might have on the environment.  We only see the positive, which can be done in surprisingly ingenious and quirky ways.

A photography gallery might blur the line between real life and art, but that is its goal.  Despite all of the technology and skill into every image, the ultimate interpreter of each picture is you.  Your input is the last sentence in the story.

The first step in choosing the right photography technique for your needs is determining what you would like the photograph to look like.  Many beginners are happy with taking basic images so that they can practice their placement and their lighting until till they are happy with the results.  There is some photography techniques that only focus on the creative aspects of photography and assume that the person already knows the photography basics.  More sophisticated techniques are often useless unless the photographer is interested in adding their work to a photography gallery, but the basic techniques are great for people that would like to take artistic photographs or are interested in scrap booking.

Basic Photography Techniques

The most common types of photography technique used today are intended to enhance the images that are obtained by the camera.  This includes many basic activities that are commonly used by amateur photographers, such as positioning the camera for the best angle and the best lighting and choosing the subject of the photograph carefully to obtain the best image.  Basic editing techniques include resizing, cropping, red-eye removal, and some printing options for the people that are using digital cameras.  In some cases, the basic photography techniques learned will also include how to use various filters and how to change the photographs from color to black and white.  Many of these techniques require little time to learn and will be retained by the photographer for as long as they are taking photographs.

Advanced Photography techniques

More advanced photography techniques include more difficult applications that require adjustment by the photographer to achieve the best effects.  Some of these techniques include using artificial lighting to lighten or darken portions of the images in the photograph, creating off center focal points, and adjusting the horizon in the photograph to better suit the image.  These techniques will increase your photography skills substantially but much practice will be required to create great photographs.  While many of the basic photography techniques can be found on the internet for free, learning the more advanced techniques may require a small investment on the part of the photographer.

What to Expect from a Fashion Model Photography Career

If working with beautiful models, traveling to exotic locations, and meeting high profile designers excites you, how about the thought of hours on end cramped up in a studio or editing room?  Along with the glitz and glamour of a career in fashion model photography come some less than pleasant tasks.  Fashion model photographers often work for at least 60 hours per week and have little personal time.  You have to really love the job to not feel burnt out.

People Skills and Creativity Spell S-U-C-C-E-S-S

In fashion model photography, interpersonal skills are very important because you constantly need to communicate with a group of people including make-up artists, art directors, and fashion editors, not to mention the models themselves.  It cannot be stressed enough how important a role people relations play in this field.  You have to be sensitive of the models’ moods in order to have a successful shoot.  You also have to build good professional relationships in order to build your career.

The only way you are going to get any respect in fashion model photography is by taking interesting, edgy photographs.  If you are churning out the same old, same old, finding work will be difficult.  Creativity and adventurousness are essential if you are interested in a career in fashion model photography.  If you can’t come up with anything avant-garde, you may want to consider a different field such as nature photography.

Getting Your Foot in the Door

In order to get started in the fashion model photography world, you are going to need some experience.  Start by finding amateur models that need to build their portfolios.  Look on model websites to find models who are willing to work TFP (time for prints) which means that after the shoot you will give them copies of prints that they can use to build their portfolios and in turn you can build your own.

Also try contacting modeling agencies and getting friendly with the booking agents.  The booking agents can help you arrange portfolio shoots, which modeling agencies need in order to market their models to clients.

Send unsolicited photos to magazines and companies to see if you get any responses.  Keep in mind that it is a very competitive field and it will be challenging but once you land your first job, it will get slightly easier from there.

So what are you waiting for?  Get out there and see what it takes to become successful in the dynamic and exciting field of fashion model photography.  Who knows, maybe one day your photographs will grace the covers of the world’s biggest fashion magazines.

The Equipment Used For Photography

One of the first photography basics that you will need to learn is the different types of equipment and what each type of equipment is used for.  The most important piece of equipment for photography and there are many different types of cameras available for an aspiring photographer to choose from.  Most photographers today are choosing digital cameras because of the ease of using them and changing the settings to fit any situation that the photographer may encounter.

Another piece of equipment that is considered to be one of the photography basics is the tripod.  The tripod is used to hold the camera steady during the photography shots and will prevent blurring, crookedness, or movement while the photograph is being taken.  A tripod can be a photographer’s best friend, but you would be amazed at how many people call themselves true photographers and do not own a tripod for their camera.

The Photography Styles

The next step in learning the photography basics is to learn the different photography styles that can be used for taking a photograph.  One of the most prominent styles of photography today is portrait photography which requires a sophisticated photography technique to improve the image of the face and the skin for the portrait.  Many people that practice photography professionally learned the photography basics of portrait taking early and decided to make that their career.

Other types of photography include landscape photography, nature photography, wedding photography, and family photography.  Each of these photography styles have photography basics that must be learned if you hope to obtain a good photograph using that method.  Photography can be very rewarding as a hobby or as a career, but excelling in the methods used in photography will take a great deal of dedication on the part of the photographer to improve their techniques and their images.

Taking Photography Classes

Many places located in major metropolitan cities offer professional photography classes for people that would like to learn photography.  Colleges and universities often offer photography courses as an elective course that will satisfy the Arts credits that are needed in order to graduate with a degree.  These courses will teach the student the photography basics and if they would like to learn more, then they can take the professional classes that are offered by some photography studios.

The classes that are offered by a photography studio for a person to learn photography is generally a group session where several people are doing the same tasks at the same times and the instructor may ask you to bring the photographs that you have taken to share with the rest of the class.  These classes can be expensive and will often require you to have specialized equipment so that everyone in the class is on the same footing.  If you are not willing to spend a lot of money to learn photography, there are some other options available as well.

Books On How To Learn Photography

There are many books available on how to learn photography that have been written by photography experts.  These photography books teach the basic techniques for photography and give tips for getting the best shot in different situations.  These books focus on the different photography styles and the best way to go about learning each of the different ways in an easy to follow fashion.  Each type of photography has a number of different techniques that will be associated with it so it is important to learn photography one style at a time so that you do not become confused.

Many retailers will have a variety of photography books available for people to choose from.  These books may be designed for a certain skill lever, such as beginner or expert, so choose the books that best match the photography level that you are currently at.  Some people choose to obtain the books to learn photography off of the internet because there are a wider variety of books available and they can choose the books that focus on the photography style that they would like to learn.