The Photographer Blog

8 Great Photo Sharing Sites

Mandy — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 21:55:19 +0000

I know I’ve spoken recently about how to increase traffic to your photography site by improving it’s SEO, so it only seemed logical to look at some places where you can create your photography site (maybe these posts should have been the other way around!).

The list below contains what I feel are the most popular of these sites (it’s not a definitive list). Ranging from sites that provide professional looking portfolio sites where you can sell your work, right down to sites where you can simply just share your photographs. Most of them offer free accounts but with limited useage and restrictions, and they give you the option to upgrade to a pro paid for account. So in no particular order:

1. PhotoShelter

You’ll see some well known professional photographers on Photoshelter as they cater for everyone by creating powerful portfolio websites. They also give you the ability to sell those images as prints through your site as well. Photoshelter is run by photographers so they understand what you need and how you need the site to run. Their simplist account is free, and then they offer a range of pro accounts with different benefits.

2. SmugMug

Smumug is another site that will cater for the whole range of photographers. Like Photoshelter their sites look attractive straight off and they are committed to helping the photographer succeed. They don’t have a free account though, but they do have a range of paid for accounts with a ‘pro zone’. Having said that, if you’re looking for a professional looking photography site to promote and start selling your images from, then I think you would find it hard to choose between Photoshelter and Smugmug, I know I would.

3. RedBubble

Redbubble is primarily a community site where you can upload and sell your images from, in a wide variety of formats and even on t-shirts. They do have a free account and give you a free ‘bubble site’ with your account, which is a basic portfolio type site – take a look at my bubble site to get the idea. The bubble site can also be easily integrated into a blog, as you can see from the ‘prints’ tab in the navigation bar of this blog.

4. Shutterfly

This is where the sites start to change a little, from a portfolio site to display your work and promote yourself as a photographer, to a site that’s more focussed on prodcuing and selling your images as an end product eg. cards, calendars, photo gifts, prints etc… They still provide a website to share (which is the focus) your images, and the account is free it just has a more ‘relaxed’ feel to it.

5. Flickr

What more do I need to say, probably the most well known photo sharing site out there, and I’d guess the largest. They have free accounts and the option to upgrade to pro when you get to 200 images, they also give you the option to make prints, framed prints and photo books etc… If you want you can view my Flickr photostream and take a look around, there’s a very strong community feel to Flickr and I enjoy having an account there.

6. Zooomr

Zoomr is more of a Flickr type photo sharing site and looks to have some very similar features, with pro and normal accounts. A true photo sharing site, I love the way their home page is just a ton of images that you can search through easily within different categories.

7. AdoramaPix

This is a new site to me anyway, that I came across recently. Actually until then I thought they sold photographic gear (which they do) only and didn’t know they had a print side. And that’s what they seem to focus on, although they do offer photo sharing (or photo galleries as they call them) and storage they pride themselves on producing the finest quality digital prints. I think they’re a very interesting site and I’ll be looking into them deeper.

8. ImageShack

This is a site that I’ve heard a lot about and it’s been around for a while but I have only found it recently. It’s hard to get a feel for what the structure is like and how it works without joining though! Simply because it’s not as visual and informative when you reach the home page as the others, that’s not necessarily a bad thing but when you’re working with visual people like photographers…

Their service is free and gives you good control over your images. Which they have a lot of and they are obviously a popular site, catering more towards the ‘relaxed’ Zooomr photo sharing end of the market.

All of these sites are good so it’s down to personal taste as to which one to use. I’m looking for more of a portfolio type site that I can promote, partly because I already have a Flickr account. And that’s why I created my Redbubble site, and in the future I’ll look toward Photoshelter or Smugmug to take it to the next level.

Have I missed any photo sharing sites that you use? Let us know below in the comments…

Mandy

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8 Great Photo Sharing Sites

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How to Create a Photo Book Part 1

Mandy — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:48:32 +0000

As you may have read in a previous post I am participating in SoFoBoMo 09, which means I have to create a solo Photo Book between the beginning of May and the end of June 09. I’ve never produced a Photo Book before and I’m learning a lot, so I thought it would be helpful if I wrote about the processes that I’m going through to create this ebook, and here they are:

What is a Photo Book?

As it’s name suggests it is a book containing mainly photographs with little or no text. Whether you’re putting together a book of holiday snaps, a wedding album, a collection for a client or simply displaying your best work to use as a portfolio anyone can, and should create a Photo Book. Why not! after all they look great, they’re easy and fun to produce and view, and can be made for free.

Choosing a Subject

The first step is obviously to pick a subject or theme for my Photo Book. In this case I have decided to make my Photo Book about food, mainly because I am a fan of food photography after discovering it’s lure recently. But also because I want to celebrate simple and healthy grown food and produce. It’s great to get out and buy food from the source, rather than going to a supermarket all the time and buying more mass produced food. You can taste the difference…

Planning the ‘Story’

Like any other book my Photo Book needs to tell a story. Just because I’m not using a ton of words to explain my message it doesn’t mean I can’t tell a story. Photographs are brilliant for doing this. So I am planning to shoot differnet types of food, but I want to group them together to tell a story or to follow a process, for example vegatables or fruit. Also I want these mini stories to follow on from each other or at least have some kind of link, to pull together the individual mini storiaes to give an overall picture (or story) as well.

Taking the Photos

Finally for this part of the process I need to create the images to go into the Photo Book, I need at least 35 as set out in the rules for SoFoBoMo. I am taking some of the photographs at home using my own setup and doing my own food styling. But I also wanted to get out and shoot fresh produce in situ. I thought an organic farm would be a great place to do this, and I knew of a farm close to home that would fit the bill nicely.

Church Farm Organics in Thurstaston is a great place to buy fresh organic food and I popped into their farm shop last week. After doing a bit of shopping (well I couldn’t resist), I asked if it was alright for me to take some photographs for my ebook. This was the very first time I had ever done anything like this, so I was wondering what they would say. But I thought the worse case scenario is they would say no, and I’d be back to square one. But they were lovely and said yes, they also thanked me for asking. As some people have popped in to take photographs without asking and admitted (when asked) that they were taking them to steal ideas!

When asked I just explained I was making a Photo Book about food. While walking around I was aware of the other customers while shooting, as I didn’t want to get in their way, or upset Church Farm. When finished I thanked them for letting me shoot, I also said I will credit them in the book, and send them a copy via email so they can see where their images ended up.

Mandy

This is the first part of a series covering the processes of creating a Photo Book, stay tuned for part 2 by subscribing to my RSS Feed!

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How to Create a Photo Book Part 1

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13 Resources for DSLR beginners

Mandy — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 20:21:55 +0000

I know it can take a while to adjust when moving from a point and shoot camera to a DSLR. So I’ve put these tips and resources together (in no particular order) for photographers who are just starting out with DSLR’s, although I’m sure they are a good reminder for all of us. 13 resources – Lucky for some!

1. 10 tips for Digital SLR beginners – useful and simple tips for anyone starting out with a DSLR.

2. 10 tips for the new Digital SLR photographer – I love to see different photographers views when asked what their top 10 tips would be?

3. A guide to the ins and outs of a DSLR camera - If you want to become familiar with all the buttons and what is what on your DSLR then this is the place to go.

4. 10 tips for people photography- 10 simple tips and techniques to create amazing portrait photography. If you’d like to try out portrait photography then this is definitely worth a read.

5. Find the best DSLR lens – Not sure which lens to buy, prime or zoom, which focal length is best? This is a 6 step guide to help you choose the right lens for you.

6. Rule of thirds – Would you like some help with composition? Then use the rule of thirds to create eye catching photographs.

7. Learning about Exposure – the Exposure Triangle - Learning the basics of exposure is essential…there’s really nothing else to say on the matter!

8. Lighting 101 - If you’re feeling a little more adventurous and would like to learn more about lighting, then take a look at Strobist’s Lighting 101 series.

9. Photoshop tips and tricks for beginners – Post processing digital images to some degree or other is common place these days. But learning how to use the software can be time consuming and have a steep learning curve. So if you’re feeling lost with Photoshop one of the most popular pieces of software, then this could be a good place to start.

10. Using focal points in photography – We are all looking to improve and create more interesting photographs that draw the viewer in, knowing where and what you want your focal point to be is an important part of the process.

11. 18 bite-size photo tips – if you’re just looking for a quick tip or two, then take a look at these tips from Neil’s twitter page.

12. Depth of Field simplified – This is a quick tutorial that easily explains what DOF or Depth of Field is and how it is achieved.

13. 7 bad habits of Digital Photographers – If you don’t want to fall into bad photography habits as a beginner, then take a look at these. I’ve noticed one or two that I fall into – ooopps.

Do you have any more tips for photographers just starting out with DSLR’s? Feel free to add them in the comments below…

Mandy

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13 Resources for DSLR beginners

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Do you want your Photography site to have better SEO?

Mandy — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 20:40:13 +0000

I know I do! I want to increase my website traffic and grow my search engine capabilities so more people can see my images, and read my articles. Lets face it a photography site has to be well optimised these days because there are so many quality sites out there.

What’s the point of having a photography site to display your images if nobody can see it?

One of the most important parts of any type of website, never mind a photography one is SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). There is a host of information on the internet about SEO and how to use it, but I’m really excited because I’ve just found an ebook that is specific to Photographers and optimising their Photography sites with SEO.

It’s called the SEO for Photography Websites Free Toolkit and it includes the SEO Cookbook, videos and a bonus What Buyers Want PDF. It bascially is a step by step guide for photographers to help them improve their photography sites whether they have a blog, portfolio or website using SEO. I’m reading through it at the moment and so far I’m really pleased with it. I think every photographer that wants to build a ’site’ and grow their online presence should download this as it’s a really good resource, and it’s free so there’s no excuse!

Mandy

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Do you want your Photography site to have better SEO?

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I’m Making a Photobook with SoFoBoMo 09′

Mandy — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 21:44:29 +0000

Have you ever thought about making a photo book?

I’d never really thought about making a photo book before now, but I’m going to try it out using SoFoBoMo 09. What on earth is SoFoBoMo? That’s what I said!

SoFoBoMo is short for Solo Photo Book Month – a group event where a bunch of photographers all make solo photo books start to finish, in 31 days, at more or less the same time. It’s modeled loosely on NaNoWriMo, where participating writers all write novels in a month, and NaSoAlMo, where musicians write and record solo albums in a month.

Sound interesting? I thought so and that’s why I’m giving it a go, it sounds like it could be a lot of fun and I’m sure I’ll learn a lot along the way.

Where did I hear about it?

I heard about SoFoBoMo 09 from Neil Creek, when he mentioned he was taking part and making a photo book on his blog inviting his readers to take part – so here I am.

What am I going to do?

As you may have read in my last post I have recently become interested in food photography, and I thought this would be the ideal opportunity to put my new skills to the test. So my photo book will be about food.

Stay tuned to find out how I’m getting along!

Mandy

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I’m Making a Photobook with SoFoBoMo 09′

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My Introduction to Food Photography

Mandy — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 21:17:10 +0000

I‘ve brought my two passions together recently, photography and food. I don’t know why I haven’t thought of it before, it seems so obvious now!

They make a perfect pair for me. I’m a home cook, that loves to cook for my family and friends, and trying out new recipes on them. And I love digital photography and want to try something new. But I’ve never thought of photographing the food I make before, proberly because the food didn’t stay around long enough to be photographed!

Until I was inspired by this post on DPS: Getting started in food photography. Besides the photographs making me feel hungry, the article just jumped out at me. And the video was a great way to show an insight into what is involved in food photography.

So I had a look around on Flickr for some food photography groups so I could learn some more, and meet other like minded photographers. I found Still life With… a blog dedicated to food styling and photography, they set a monthly challenge to remake a photograph of their chioice (see link), and you can see my 1st attempt at a remake above.

Besides the fact I haven’t photographed food before I think lighting is my main challenge. I have no lighting gear as such, so I’m using natural light and home made reflectors at the moment. There’a a bit of a learning curve but I’m really enjoying it!

Look out for more food photography on my Flickr Photostream!

Mandy

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My Introduction to Food Photography

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Take 10 Shots in 10m of where you are?

Mandy — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 13:34:31 +0000

This is a Tweet that I read the other day from @chasejarvis on Twitter (also check out his site at Chase Jarvis).

There are at least 10 great pictures within 10 meters of you right now.

It really jumped out at me so I thought I’d give it a go. So here are mine:

DPS has also seen the tweet and challenged it’s readers to take part. I loved taking the shots it really made me look around, and I was surprised at what I found!

Will you try it out?

Mandy

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Take 10 Shots in 10m of where you are?

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Introducing My DSLR – Canon 450D

Mandy — Wed, 20 May 2009 21:49:00 +0000

I love gadgets especially cameras so I really enjoyed spending time looking at which DSLR I wanted to buy. And now I have my very own Canon 450D/ XSi, that I’d like to introduce to you and share some of the first shots I took with it. If you’d like to know why I upgraded to a DSLR, then take a look at my 7 Reasons to Upgrade to a DSLR. You may also be interested in how I went about choosing a DSLR and how I got my short list down to the final 3.

Beginner DSLR

As this is my first DSLR it was important to me that it was easy to use, and the Canon 450D is definitely that. Obviously it is very different to my point and shoot, but it still has the functionality of a point and shoot camera through it’s automatic mode. This was great for me becuase it meant that I could go out and shoot straight out of the box, without worrying about all the different settings.

I’ve actually read a lot of advice from professional photographers saying that for the first couple of months at least, it can be a good idea to keep your DSLR in automatic mode, to get used to the camera before trying to figure out the more indepth controls. The idea being that it’s best to get a good grounding with the camera to start with, and get to know how it works. So you can focus on the composition of your shots and learn the rules of photography, like the rule of thirds. This way you can get to the point with your camera where you can set the shot up looking at the composition and lighting without thinking about it, and therefore you will find it easier to then turn to the more technical side of the camera.

Getting to know the Canon 450D – What are all these buttons on the back for?

And that’s what I’ve been concentrating on for the last couple of months, getting to know my 450D. Getting used to the feel and weight of the camera. Finding out how the 9 AF point focusing system that the 450D uses works, and looking at my composition of shots and where the light is coming from when I’m shooting. Looking at shooting in Manual mode, aperature priority, shutter priority, fstops, focal lengths etc can be very daunting and overwhelming for a beginner. Once I’ve had more experience trying different composition and lighting techniques, and learned how I can use them to enchance and improve my photography then that’s when I will move onto the more technical side of the DSLR.

I’m really enjoying my photography now I use a DSLR, and lots of different shooting opportunities have become possible. The shots I’ve added are actually some of the first shots I took with the camrera – straight out of the box!

Mandy

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Introducing My DSLR – Canon 450D

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10 Must Have Accessories For My DSLR

Mandy — Fri, 15 May 2009 10:42:49 +0000

This is a list of the top 10 items on my digital photography wish list (I have a Canon 450D). Every photographer has a wish list, and the items on the list tend to range from the affordable and practical, to the absolute dream. I’m a gadget fiend so I love researching and adding to my list (actually writing this post is making me drool). So here are the top 10 items that I would love to get my hands on:

1. Remote Shutter Release Cable

If you are wanting to shoot remotely then there are two solutions. Either a remote shutter release cable for shooting long exposures from behind the camera eg. night photography. Or an infared remote controller for shooting in front of the camera eg. self portraits. I am going for the cable release.

2. Sturdy Tripod with a Ballhead

I have a Hama Star 61 that I was given (not going to argue about that!). But on my wishlist I would like a really good sturdy tripod, like a Gitzo maybe and a Ballhead to give better movement.

3. Canon Speedlite 430EXII

My Canon 450D has an integral pop up flash that will do for now. But I would like to experiment and learn how to use a flash unit properly, I’ve never used one before. That will definitely take my photography to the next level, after all they say lighting is key…

4. Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Lens

The Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens and lens hood is the first prime lens that I want to get, and is definitely the cheapest Canon lens that you can buy. It’s great value for money, and a prime lens that everybody should take a closer look at. Also known as a ‘nifty fifty’.

5. Canon EF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 II USM Lens

I’d like to upgrade my kit lens an 18-55mm EF-S IS F/3.5 – 5.6 lens, for a more substantial everyday zoom lens. This lens would give me just that and would be a good upgrade from the kit lens. It’s slightly faster with USM and has a nice range, basically a good all round everyday lens.

6. Light Tent/Kit

It’s one thing, and essential to learn how to use natural light effectively when taking photographs, and another to learn the same for artificial lighting. Once I learn how to use a flash properly I can see myself wanting to experiment more with artificial lighting. This is where it can start to get expensive so buying a light tent would be a good place to start.

7. Aperture 2 software

I use Photoshop Elements at the moment for post processing and Canon Image Browser to organise my photo library. Which is fine but I really like the look of Aperture, it gives the ability to organise your photos extremely well and also has some powerful editing tools. And reasonably priced as far as photo editing/organising software goes.

8. Macbook Pro

Ok I’m thinking big! But I’d really love one…My poor old iMac 400 is ageing. And although it has done me proud I would really like to retire it soon and bring in some new big guns. This would make a huge difference to my photography and workflow. And is a dream that could really do with coming true…

9. Canon Powershot G10

For when one is just not enough…No wishlist would be complete without having another camera on it. If I was going to buy a ‘point and shoot’ camera for those times when a DSLR is a bit bulky, then this would be it. It has an impressive list of features, including full manual controls and the ability to shoot in RAW to name just two. And a really nice retro design.

10. Canon EOS 5D Mark II

Eventually. Oh I’m dreaming now… A full frame 21MP DSLR with a High-res 3.0” VGA LCD with Live View and ISO range expandable to 25600. And if that’s not enough it has Full HD (1080, 30fps) movie recording . By the time I could afford this I would have all the lenses I need, so I could just buy the body – what a bargain!

I could go on and on (but I wont). And I’m sure my list will change and evolve as I gain more experience in digital photography, which I’m looking forward to.

But what’s on the top of your list? What would you like to get your hands on? Let me know by leaving a comment below…

Mandy

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10 Must Have Accessories For My DSLR

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What does Photography mean to you?

Mandy — Wed, 06 May 2009 21:03:01 +0000

For me briefly (because I’m prone to ramble), photography is an expression of what I see around me, and how it makes me feel. The trick is to then convey that in my photographs. Everyone is unique and no two people will see a photograph in the same way, we all see things differently so lets enjoy that to the full. Photography is a creative expression therefore there is no right or wrong way to do it. And this is actually one of the main reasons why I like photography because it can be so unique. If five different photographers took shots of the same object do you think they would look the same?

What’s it all about?

The Photographer Blog is about my love and passion for photography and taking photographs. And it follows my journey with digital photography.

I want to share my experiences and what I am learning as an amateur photographer with you my readers. Although I’m not new to digital photography, I am new to DSLR’s as six months ago I bought my first one. A DSLR gives me endless possibilities for my photography and I can’t wait to explore and share them here. I feel photography is a journey and The Photographer Blog is the place to follow my journey with digital photography, and a place where I hope I will meet like minded photographers. Lets share what we know and enjoy each others photography.

The Blog – things are changing?

I want the best environment possible to share my photography and make this blog easy to read and navigate. If you’ve visited before you will have noticed that the design of the blog has changed completely, and there is still a bit more to do. I think it looks cleaner now which makes it nicer to read, but just bare with me a little longer while I finish it off. And as always feel free to let me know what you think in the comments!

What does Photography mean to you? Why do you like it so much? Share your thoughts by adding a comment below.