Photo How To

While you as the photographer own the copyright to images you create, this does not negate the privacy rights of any recognizable individual in your photo. Knowing when you can sell or lease that image with or without a model release is important. In this article we cover that ground as well as the impact of social media and new technology on privacy rights and model releases.

A powerful portfolio involves so much more than just a strong grasp of the technical aspects of photography—it’s a complex mix of style, techniques, and intriguing ideas. Many photographers struggle to achieve a high-impact portfolio, feeling that they lack the creative spark to invigorate them and move their work forward.

As technology changes so do methods of presentation. In this article I set out to discover what type of portfolio photographers have found work best and, from the buyer’s perspective, what type or types they prefer. As I conducted the interviews among art directors, photo reps, and photographers it all began to boil down to this: how do you get your work seen by potential clients and how do you craft an effective portfolio that makes sense to them and represents your craft and passion?

One of the primary differences between a photograph and the real world is that reality has three dimensions: height, width, and depth. Your photos, of course, only have two—height and width. Any depth that exists in a photograph is purely an optical illusion. Even if you were able to create a print that was the exact same size as the scene (and wouldn’t that be fun) it would still pale beside the real thing because of the lack of that third dimension.

One of the challenges to home or professional photographersthese days is trying to keep every portrait set from looking the same. In a world where “freshness” counts a lot, being able to mix things up from one session to another, from season to season, all without jumping through too many hoops to change the set, is an advantage for many. A current trend is the ability to not only change backdrops but flooring as well, and with that in mind we recently had the opportunity to work with products from a division of the pro lab White House Custom Colour called “Backdrops by WHCC.” They have a wide range of interesting offerings in both fabric backdrops and rugged “rubberized” studio flooring.

After a grueling three-day walk, an elderly farmer, hobbling with the aid of two gnarly walking sticks, finally arrived at the hospital in Ometepec. The long distance and oppressive Mexican heat were not his only obstacles—the insidious cataracts that were slowly robbing him of his vision made his trek a precarious journey. A young mother, who had been sightless for several years, gave birth to a child. She had nursed her, raised her, and loved her, without ever seeing her face.

t was when my knees began creaking that I came to realize it was time to stop hauling around a monorail 4x5” camera system in the field. Something smaller and lighter was needed.