by successfulbob | charity photography, photography, photography education, success education
Help spread the word.
October is pregnancy and infant loss awareness month. Now I Lay me Down to Sleep (NILMDTS) is way for photographers to give back to there community with the gift of professional portraiture to families who suffer an early infant loss. This is a precious gift that has amazing healing power for the families. I encourage you to learn more and to get other to learn more by spreading the word everywhere.
Logo you can share in spreading the message…
I believe this is an amazing organization. I have been a member and affiliate photographer since 2006 photographing families in need of these services. Been a trainer and area coordinator. Work on the photographer approval team. Served on the National NILMDTS Board of Directors for two years. I share this information not to brag but to hopefully inspire you to join in too. If you are like me when I first heard of NILMDTS I said, “There’s no way I could ever do this type of photography.” I eventually was convinced to give it a try and after seeing the help it gives families I now say, “How can I not do it??”
Banner logo you can share in getting the word out about Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month
Here are some more links….
Five reasons to become a NILMDTS photographer
Rhonda Gehman NILMDTS story
Vikki Zoller NILMDTS
Ashely Krapf NILMDTS
A call out story
I hope this inspires you to get on board. Is the work difficult? Yep. Is it rewarding? You bet! But you won’t know until you try… If you have any questions at all please don’t hesitate to get in touch. My contact info is at the top of the page or here.
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | Lumix GH4, Lumix Lounge, musician photography, photography, photography education, photography gear
Country music soundin’ GOOD!
Moot Davis Band had them on the dance floor at Sound Bites Grill in Sedona, Arizona last Wednesday night. Holly and I were there for dinner and the music and were not disappointed on either count…
Sometimes, in my mind, country music can get a little maudlin… I’m not one for crying in my beer so when they say a country music band is coming to town I’m not usually too thrilled. Well that thought jumped out of my head within the first couple songs once the band started to play. This is a really talented group of musicians. Moot has a great voice and the band has wonderful instrumentation occasionally leaning a little toward rock with Bill giving some great guitar licks.
We ended up staying until the last note faded away and had a great time.
Moot Davis Band photo created for the Sound Bites Grill ‘Wall of Fame’.
The individual images were captured with the Lumix GH4 and the 35-100mm f2.8 Vario Lens. I’m finding the stage photography is much easier with the GH4 especially with the LED stage lighting. The camera reaches into the shadows and keeps the highlights from blowing out when you use the shadow highlights curves setting to boost the shadows and hold down the highlights.
Each musician was layered into the image and multiple textures were added using blend modes to create the painterly feel…
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | art books, photography, photography - art quote, photography books, photography education
I’m reading a book.
Actually I’m reading several as I tend to do. But the one that pertains to today’s Photo/Art Quote is Inspiration on Photography, Train your mind to make great art a habit by Brooke Shaden is the title and while I haven’t gotten too far I’ve already found new ways to think about my art and creation in making images. So I thought I’d grab a quote from Brooke for today.
“Creativity, just like inspiration needs to be examined and nurtured.” Brooke Shaden
Brooke has hit the nail on the head with this one line. How do you come up with your ideas? Where are they from? What turns you on? And, even more important how do you act upon your thoughts and inspiration? How many times have you had a wonderful idea then delayed on the follow-through and never made the image? Shaden shares lots of ideas how you can get a handle on your creativity.
Lots of photographers I talk with feel they are not creative when they try to see their work verses another. Try not to compare. Think of it this way. You are watching someones fully edited and scored motion picture to your raw footage.
Inspect your ideas. Expand on them. Go shoot. Learn. Fail. Shoot again. Small successes lead to bigger ones. Work it. But work it with thought and a plan.
And, by the way it wouldn’t hurt to get Brooke’s book to help you think about inspiration in a new way. I’ll be doing a more detailed review of the book after I finish reading it. I can tell you right now that this is one that has already earned a permanent place on my photography reference bookshelf.
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | photography, photography education, success education
Sometimes you need to go the extra mile for your clients. I have some realtors who like to set themselves apart in the marketplace with an image that different than the run of the mill Realtor shots. When they asked last year for something really fun at Halloween how could I say no?
Here is the original image they use on a regular basis… Just a little bit of kick and sass!
Greenfield and Weems marketing photo for their Real Estate image.
Halloween was coming and Jolynn wanted to spice things up a bit. I used the photo above with Puppet Warp in Photoshop to get them into a seated position. Add a giant pumpkin, some witches hats and a broomstick and we are home free.
This was the result.
So fast forward to this year and Joylynn says, “Hey Bob, can you add our assistant to the photo and what would it cost?” I said of course, but didn’t realize how much more work was going to be involved. But,
because I wanted to plush out these guys as clients I just said, “I didn’t charge you near enough for this… Oh well, Happy Halloween!”
The full team!
When you have the opportunity to go over and above for your clients take it!
Yours in creative Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | photography education, photography marketing
As photographers we have to promote ourselves any way possible. One of the most overlooked is sending out press releases. When I offer that advice to other photographers I often hear, “Oh, I tried that and it didn’t work!” What needs to be realized is that getting press is not a one shot deal it is a process.
The process starts with writing a good release in the format that the editors recognize. When oyu do this the editor knows he or she is probably not wasting time in looking at it to see if there is something of use. Editors are very busy people and are constantly running up against deadlines to fill space with quality news their readers want to see. I’ve got some tips for you along with examples of press that has been published about Bob Coates Photography similar to the Kudos printing the information on awards I was fortunate enough to receive.
Sedona’s Bob Coates honored by peers and jurors for high-quality photography.
Here’s a quick tip for getting more space and exposure. Make sure you have photos of your work, the event and for sure make certain you have included a head shot.
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | fine art photography, Lumix Lounge, photography, photography education, success education
From the Biography page of Jay Maisel… After studying painting and graphic design at Cooper Union and Yale, Jay Maisel began his career in photography in 1954. While his portfolio includes the likes of Marilyn Monroe and Miles Davis, he is perhaps best known for capturing the light, color, and gesture found in every day life.
I grabbed a quote from Jay today because many times I talk with photographers who are not making the images they would like. I feel part of the reason is they don’t have their camera in their hand making images. They are not studying light. They are not studying shadows. They are, however, afraid to make mistakes. And that is the biggest mistake. That is where learning comes from. Jay is a big proponent of having a camera in your hand and trying many different things. Oh! And getting off your butt and out shooting!
“If you are out there shooting things will happen for you. If you’re not out there, you’ll only hear about it.” Jay Maisel
Making excellent images is a skill. Skills take practice. If you keep looking, firing frames, studying, learning AND have your camera with you will recognize more often the gifts that are in front of us in the name of a beautiful photograph.
Since becoming a Lumix Luminary I’ve had a camera with me almost constantly (working on getting the almost adjective out of there) and I’m finding I see more opportunities for making interesting images because I’m training my brain to always look. It’s become easy to have a camera with me all the time because the micro 4/3rds mirrorless cameras are so lite but the files are so robust. I often left my DSLR camera and lenses behind because of the weight and PIA factor. Now my entire everyday kit has more range and weighs less than a DSLR body equipped with a single zoom lens.
I salute technology and the freedom it is giving me to become a better photographer.
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
Here a link to some more Jay Maisel quotes written by Derrick Story… You’ll see such things as “On preparing for a shoot… “Try to go out empty and let your images fill you up.” “When finding the right angle for a shot… “Move your ass.”” Check it out.
