Set Your Sights On A New Web Site in 2013

Does your site - your major presence on the web - need a make over? Do your images look as good as can be - on your web pages and in your galleries? Is it easy and fun to update your site? Does your site look original and creative? If you have a technical problem, is customer support there to help?

If you are looking for a new and improved web site for 2013, check out Squarespace. A free trail is only one-click away.

I moved my site to Squarespace back in November. Here's why:

1) Easy-to-use templates – for total creative control over your content.

2) Sites look great on any device – so your work is presented in the best possible way on desktops, laptops, iPads, iPhones, or any other device.

There is even a free iPad and iPhone app that lets you move your galleries from your desktop to your mobile device simply by downloading the app.

3) Drag and drop technology – great for hyper people, like me!

4) It's an all-in-one site – so your blog, galleries, events and so on are all in one easy-to-manage and updatable place. Checking stats is easy, too.

5) Customer support is 24/7 – so if you need help, it's away there.

6) Photos can be edited within Squarespace before you publish - giving you total control over how your images look on your site.

7) It's fun - which is a big benefit for hard working photographers.

Use one-click to get started with your own awesome Squarespace site. Now :-)

Explore the light,
Rick

6 Reasons to Check Out the Canon EOS 6D

Canon recently introduced the Canon EOS 6D. Man o man does this camera look awesome - as a main camera and as a back up camera for pro photographers who have top-of-the-line models.

The camera is loaded with cool features. Here are my personal top six:

1) Newly designed 20.2 megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor with DIGIC 5+ image processor for reduced noise reduction.

2) ISO up to 25,600 and up to ISO 102,400 when set to H2. That's more than kinda amazing!

3) New 11-point AF system for accurate focusing even in low light.

4) Built-in Wi-Fi and GPS so you can get your pictures out of your camera effortlessly, and mark where you took 'em.

5) Built-in HDR for easy HDR imaging.

6) 63-zone duel-layering metering system for accurate exposures even in tricky lighting conditions.

Readers of my blog and the photographers on my workshops know that my favorite lens is the Canon 24-105mm IS lens. Adorama has a special price on the camera and the lens and some other goodies. Info here.

I'm not trading in my Canon EOS 5D Mark III cameras, but the new 6D will soon be in my bag.

Speaking of HDR, the image above is a Canon 5D Mark III HDR image I made in Iceland. If you want to learn HDR, I teach it on all my workshops. If you can't make a workshop, my HDR app, iHDR, is loaded with HDR tips, tricks and techniques.

Explore the light,
Rick

Take Tiffen Dfx For A Test Drive

Readers of my blog, as well as the dedicated photographers who attend my workshops and seminars, know that I am big on using creative plug-ins. Not only are plug-ins fun to use, but they can help awaken the artist within. Plug-ins can also help us create our own photographic reality by altering the color,  tone, sharpness, brightness, contrast and perhaps most important, the mood of an image.

All the plug-ins I use are listed on my Save on Creative Plug-ins page. Check out that page to save a few bucks on plug-ins - especially on bundles.

In this post, I'll share a few examples of Tiffen Dfx filters that I applied to my favorite Cuba car photographs. If you have not used this cool plug-in, take it for a test drive during a 15-day trail version.

Above: Halo Effect/Light Filter

Above: Screen Grab.

Above: Original Image.

Above: Special Effects/Looks.

Above: Screen Grab.

Above: Original Image.

Above: Image/Color Correct. (Hey, I was not correcting color, just having fun!)

Above: Screen Grab.

Above: Original image.

Above: Special Effects/Day for Night.

Above: Screen Grab.

Above: Original image.

Again, check out my Plug-ins page to save on creative plug-ins.

I hope to see you on one of my workshops - where we can have fun playing with plug-ins, as well as striving for the best possible straight shot.

If you'll be at CES in Vegas next month, you can catch me at the Canon and Tiffen booths giving seminars.

Explore the light,
Rick

This site powered by (designed and hosted on) Squarespace. Use one-click to get started with your own awesome Squarespace site. These guys have a free trail period, too.

Seeing vs. Looking

Something happened here . . . perhaps a first kiss, or last. Or perhaps just old friends meeting.

Anyway, write a caption for this photograph, which I took in Amsterdam.

Keep this in mind for you own photographs: If you can't write a caption, maybe the photograph does not say anything  . . .

I teach seeing photographs vs. just looking around on all my workshops. I hope you can join one!

If you like stuff like this, you can subscribe to my blog here.

Explore the light,
Rick

This site powered by (designed and hosted on) Squarespace. Use one-click to get started with your own awesome Squarespace site.

What Does Your Web Site Say About You?

I know I might sound like your mother, but . . . "First impressions are important."

It's true, and in today's world of social media and mobile devices, it's especially important to make a good first impression - especially with your web site. If you don't make a good first impression, folks may click off your site in a matter of seconds, or less.

Your web is your home on the web, and in effect, when you set up a web site, you are inviting people into your virtual home - your galleries, your blog, and your store. You are also inviting people, from around the world, to read about you . .  what you like and don't like, what gear you use, and where you have been and where you are going. You are also telling friends, followers – and total strangers – about your accomplishments and goals.

So indeed, your web site says a lot about you.

Left: Old, cluttered web site. Right, new, cleaner Squarespace web site.

Above left: I used to have a cluttered web site, plastered, like many web sites, with ads on the right. It worked well, but it was just too busy and did not showcase the most important aspect of my work: my photography. I looked more like a photo store than a photographer.

Above right: Back in November, I switched to Squarespace because I wanted a clean web site on which I could showcase my photography. I chose Squarespace for several reasons: cool, totally customizable templates; all-in-one source for my blog, galleries, store, classes and more; ease of use; and 24/7 customer support. In addition, a Squarespace site looks great on desktops, laptops, iPhones and iPad - which is not the case with all web sites.

I still have ads, but they are placed at the bottoms of several posts a months, as well as on my sponsors page. I have found this placement to be much more effective than putting bright banner ads on the right. Studies have shown that regular readers become numb to these ads.

You can read more about Squarespace, and the awesome new Squarespace iPad and iPhone app, in this blog post.

Today, I think my site says: Rick Sammon loves photography - all aspects of it.

What does your site say about you? Leave a comment in the Comments here - along with a link to your site. Don't be shy. Show others your work. You may get some constructive criticism . . . and/or some great ideas. I'll take a look at each web site. Who knows? I might find some undiscovered talent, as I have done on my Tough Love portfolio reviews.

If you don't know what your web site says about you and your work, maybe it's time for a web site makeover.

If you are in the NYC area, I am giving a talk on social media and building a web site at Adorama on February 19th. Info here.

If you like stuff like this, you can subscribe to my blog here.

Explore the light,
Rick

This site powered by (designed and hosted on) Squarespace. Use one-click to get started with your own awesome Squarespace site.