Q&A

Q) I’ve been approached by a publishing house to produce some new imagery from a remote area of southeastern Africa that will be used both in a picture book as well as for postcards and calendars. While they are a large company for this area, they are not that large on an international scale and they have stated that they can pay reasonable-but-not-lavish rates. They are offering different payment options (per image or per job) and want to know how I want to proceed. A) As in most all... 

When you can, use a ladder. If you are forced into a wide composition, you’ll have to use a wide angle lens. Try to get as close as possible with a tight lens (I prefer a 24-70). There were over 100 people in this group. I used a step ladder and my 24-70 for this second shot. There were about 80 in this image. You will need to engage... 

Q) A friend of my works at a local local graphic design shop and he’s got a great printer. He mainly does car decals and stuff like that, but he also does large prints (like 16×24) for me. Even though I’m really happy with his work, his prices just went up a bit, and I’m wondering if what he’s charging is inline with... 

Q) For the past few years, my website name has been my business name, but because of the unique spelling of my name, I’ve had clients tell me they have a hard time finding my site. I’m thinking of renaming everything to something easier to find, like Green Apple Studios or Blue Willow Photos. What do you think? A) If you’ve been... 

Q) Skip, I’ve been asked to shoot portraits with a prop and backdrop at an upcoming corporate event that’s going to run about three hours. I have the lights and equipment to do this, but could you give me some down-and-dirty? Thanks! A) The main thing is to be on the same page as the person hiring you as to what they are expecting to... 

Q) Skip, I really enjoy shooting portraits and am considering “going pro.” Could you give me an overview of what’s involved? A) I’ve looked at your portfolio and if you believe that it represents the type of work you can produce consistently, then I would say that, from a competence standpoint, you are ready. All you need... 

Q) Skip, How’s business? Still getting a lot of freelance gigs? Seriously, do you have something going on everyday (i.e., photography generated income), or does it come in spurts? I often dream of quitting “the day job”, but from everything I hear and read, the photography business is more about marketing and pounding the streets,... 

Q) Skip, I’m still working on my website and I was wondering if you could give me a little more insight into more of the technical design of your site — i.e. how you came up with the layout you did (for example, which menu bars map to wordpress categories, pages, etc.) — just some general “here’s whats-what on each page”... 

Q) Skip, could you give me some insight into how you balance your professional photography with being a “community photographer?” It’s not that I’m looking to profit off my friends when I’m shooting a community event, but I don’t think I can afford to always be giving it all away. A) I know what it’s like... 

Q) Skip, I want to sell my photos online and I’m thinking of using Smugmug. What do you think? A) I used to use Smugmug. It is really easy to use, they do have great customer service, and their products are really high quality. So, if they’re all that, why leave? A lot of reasons that mainly stem from how they got to be what they...