Selecting Your Best Photographs Can Be A Challenge

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Several months ago, I set up my first SmugMug gallery. My goal was to select and share my 50 favorite images - from hard drives filled with tens of thousands of images. 

The gallery is just a start. More galleries to come.


Selecting 50 images was not an easy task, but after a few days, I accomplished my goal.

So here's an idea for you. Select your 50 favorite images and set up a gallery or portfolio for all to see. Show off your very best work to the world.

Now, as a personal exercise, list the pictures in order of your favorites. Ahhhhh, the task gets more challenging – because you love each image just as parents like/love all the kids equally.


(As an aside, I can't tell you how many portfolios I have review in which the photographer does not have his or her strongest picture up front. Strong sells. Strong is important. If you are going to have your portfolio reviewed, your strongest image should be your first image.)

Now try this: Write a caption for each image. This process may help you decided on the order of your favorites, or perhaps it might make you delete an image or two. Why? Because if a picture does not tell a story, it might not be worth including.

Of course, the opposite theory is true: all great pictures should be strong enough to stand alone - no caption necessary. 

I'm just putting these ideas out there to help you look at your work more thoughtfully. I was going to say "carefully," but I know you do that already - zooming in a million times on your RAW files to check sharpness, etc. :-)

One more idea on selecting your favorite images: put on some music and enjoy the process. It's fun selecting your best of the best.


• • • 

If you don't have a SmugMug gallery, you can set one up and save 20 percent the first year by clicking here and by using my code: RICKSMUG20.

If you want to set up a SmugMug site and need some help, on-line assistance is available 24/7 with SmugMug's Support Heroes – SmugMug's crown jewels. 

SmugMug has 30 of them around the world (US, Ireland, Germany, Slovenia). Most of them were customers of SmugMug before becoming Support Heroes. Many are pros in their own right, and others are passionate amateurs that do amazing work.  

They all share a love for photography, sharing photos, the internet and helping people. They work nearly around the clock, 365 days a year, nights, weekends, every major holiday. Why? Because that's when SmugMug's customers are uploading photos, using the site, etc.,

Emails to Smugmug (http://smugmug.com/help/emailreal) are typically answered in minutes to an hour or so. You'll always by a real person, a photographer, a professional, a Support Hero.

SmugMug has a group of  heroes that are specialized. They have the additional title of Pro Concierge, and when needed, they provide extra attention to the pros for workflow, color management, getting great prints, post-processing, you name it. 

• • •


Here's a shot that will be in my next SmugMug gallery: Wildlife.

Explore the light,
Rick

New Items Added to the Menu in My 24/7 Photo Buffet iPad App. Yum, Yum!

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Dr. Dave Wilson and I have updated our iPad app - Rick Sammon's 24/7 Photo Buffet – to meet the design of our new iHDR app.

The improvements/additions:
- Larger, high-resolution photos when using the Photos button.
- Some of my latest photographs.
- EXIF (exposure) info displayed with some photos.
- Improved interface for swiping through photos.
- The capability to email images to family and friends. Say "Hi" for me.
- A Favorites section that lets you select and review your favorite sections.

Rick Sammon's 24/7 Photo Buffet is also available for the iPhone.

To see all my apps, click here.

Explore the light,
Rick


P.S. I will be giving an app talk at Photo Plus Expo in October. I hope you can join session.

iAARP for AARP Members?

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Photograph © Katrin Eismann
"Maturity allows me the grace to listen, learn, and appreciate more deeply." - Katrin Eismann
• • •

My friend Trey Ratcliff once referred to me as the "Godfather of Photography." Trey, in a complimentary manner, was referring to the fact that I have been making photographs and writing about photography for a long time - since 1978, when I was the editor of Studio Photography magazine. 

 
At the magazine (1978-1980), I interviewed the most well-respected and best-known photographers of the day, including: Andres Feininger, Karsh, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Scavullo, Harry Benson (now over 80) and Arthur Rothstein. That's Arthur and yours truly below.  

I still have, and treasure, these interviews.

I just turned 61, and I have been thinking about age and how it can affect photographers.

Back in 1978, the photographers whom I interviewed, most over 60, were as active and as creative and as enthusiastic as they were when they first started out. My guess is that the creative process of photographing kept them feeling young at heart. I also think that being an active photographer, lugging around gear, getting up early and staying out late to catch the light, and so on, kept these pros in good physical shape.

So I think photography can keep one young.

Speaking of young, I think surrounding yourself with young photographers and young creative people helps us "think young." So does challenging oneself. That is is one reason why I am working with creativeLive in October - doing a three day live class. More on the class to come, so stay tuned.

I, and many of my over-50 and even over-60 photographer friends, are actually more active than ever - teaching more workshops, giving more seminars, writing more books/apps and, of course, making more pictures.

Successful shooters have embraced social media. Those who have not . . . are hurting.

Some active photographers are even jumping out of airplanes.
• • •
I think there are many advantages of having been around for a while, one is the reason given by my friend Katrin Eismann at the opening of this blog post.

Another is the "10,000 hours of practice" concept put forth by Malcom Gladwell in his best selling book, Outliers:

Outliers: The Story of Success 
  
When young photographers ask me how and why I do so many things I say, "I can rest when I am dead." It's funny, but it's true. 

Also, as Jeremy said in Yellow Submarine, "Hocken knockin, quid pro quo. So little time, so much to know." 

Here is another concept: Learning is health. That is why we must keep on learning.

If you are over 50, I'd love to hear your thoughts (via a Comment on this blog - rather than on twitter or facebook) on how you feel about your photography – past and present. Share what you have learned, your photo philosophy. etc. Pros and amateurs are invited. If you share here, others can read and I can collect your words of wisdom.

Hey! If I get enough responses, maybe I can start iAARP - the International Association of Active and Rockin' Photographers. Yes, my friends, many of my photographer friends still rock!!

If you are not over 50, here is a good quote for you: "You are now where I once was, I am now where you someday will be."


Here's an FYI: Every photographer I know wants to keep shooting until he or she can "rest."

Explore the light - and I look forward to your comments,
Rick

P.S. If you like this post, click the twitter and facebook icons below to share. Thank you.

Make-up Can Make a Photograph

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This is a guest post by my friend, Laurence Yang - great model and editor-in-chief of Runway Magazine.Take it away Laruence! But before you do, thank you for showing the before shot (final image in this post), too.


Laurence will be my model on my October Master Your Flash workshop here in Croton on Hudson, NY.

    No matter what area of performance it is, make-up is an absolute essential for a successful shoot or show.

    Not only is it important to hire a great photographer for a shoot, but it is equally as important to hire a great makeup artist often referred to as an MUA. Without a makeup artist a shoot can still be a “good” shoot. If “good” is your goal then you might be ok without one. A fantastic shoot needs a great MUA. No model can do their own hair and makeup as well as a professional can and it is crucial that any model should look amazing in their shots. On the other hand, thinking about this some more, professional portrait photographers rarely ask their clients (other than pro models) to wear makeup, and still produce pretty good pictures.

    I've heard photographers say, "WHY can't the model do it?" A model’s job is to model the clothing. PERIOD. Makeup and style is usually set aside for them. In Europe models are called mannequins because they are something to hang clothes on to make the fashion or a specific product look good. This may sound cold, but it truly isn’t.

   A Professional Makeup Artist's job is to accentuate and enhance the model's best features on camera and give her a professional look by bringing out the striking qualities in the face and hair to make the total look ‘just right’. Color added to face and around eyes in the right way to cover blemishes and dark circles, in addition to that color could make a feature look larger or smaller, depending on how color is applied; cheeks can be made to stand out or recede; eyes can be outlined to create emphasis; a round face can be made thinner and a thin face rounder and bring life into an image. Who has the time to erase blemishes on 50 headshots? Or clone out dark circles? Just let the MUA handle it so no one else has to.



    Makeup for the camera is very different than makeup for everyday wear and a good makeup artist accounts for this difference. The camera wipes away more than half of a person's face paint. To the naked eye, a woman's normal makeup application looks great, but because of the intensity of a professional camera lens and strobe lighting, a professional artist knows where to highlight and contour to look your best on camera. Even stage lighting is much less bright than photographic lighting, but it tends to give people a washed out look. It's almost mandatory that a stage actor will need to apply makeup - even the men!
 
   It's important to hire a GREAT MUA, not just ANY MUA. A good makeup artist not only brings excellent skills and artistry to a shoot but also is very involved in the creative process where they contribute equally along side with the photographer and model. A great MUA also has a 'good eye' over-looking with a second set of eyes to insure that everything is flawless. All in all a bad photographer can get lucky and shoot something good. A bad model can be made to look amazing by a makeup artist.

   The truth is bad makeup can't be overcome. A GREAT MUA makes everyone so much happier. From 8 years of experience working without a makeup artist on a critical shoot is like going to a surgeon without the anesthesiologist. The results can be preeeee-t-ty painful.

   No MUA? Here are some basic make-up tricks to playing it safe on set:

* The first thing you should remember is that the model will need to apply more makeup than they would normally.
* Apply moisturizer to the face.
* Next is concealer. Make sure to apply 2 or 3 shades lighter than the skin tone. The purpose of concealer is to hide any blemishes and even out the skin tone.
* Apply foundation. The trick to choosing the right foundation for a photo shoot is to match it to the chin and neck.
* Make the lips stand out in photos by applying a solid color of lip gloss that is at least one shade darker than what the model normally wear.
*When applying blush/bronzer, make sure to do it precisely and a little heavier than normal.
* The eyes are probably your most important feature when it comes to photo shoot makeup. You want them to stand out. Choose an eye shadow color that complements the outfit and blends in with the rest of the look. A lighter color is usually best, since a darker color could make the model look tired and this is definitely not something you want on set.
* Powder up! A model may not use powder in everyday life, but for a photo shoot it's essential to finish up with it. Applying it through out the shoot to provide the model with a matt finish. Powder will reduce shine and make a better photo.


Cheers!

Laurence Yang
Editor-in-Chief
Runway Weekly
www.RunwayWeekly.com
http://www.wix.com/laurencegulyette/yang

Thank you, again, Laurence!


Explore the light,
Rick

P.S. I will be teaching studio lighting during my creativeLive class. I hope you can join the photo fun and learning. 





June 12: Cool Studio Shoot in Hot 'Lanta

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If you live in Hot 'Lanta and want to learn studio lighting, click here.  Rob Knight and I have a few spots open on our cool lighting workshop.

If you want to see how I created the above photograph, click here.


Here's a quick tip on studio lighting: When you think you need two lights, use one light; when you think you need three lights, use one light. It's amazing what you can do with one light - as a stand-alone or when used with a reflector or diffuser.

Explore the light,
Rick