Linkswitch - Photography Switch
Cyan Ta'eed
My father’s a photographer (hence my name) and I spent most of my childhood going along to shoots, standing in so he could test skin tone, and generally watching him work. As I got older I played assistant if he was ever caught out without one. Because of that I’ve always loved photography, and working with photographers was always one of my favourite things about being a graphic designer. Here are some links for all you amateur and professional photographers out there - and for people (like me) who just love looking at beautiful work…
Gizmodo wrote about an amazing new invention designed to thwart paparazzi shots - a spray that makes faces unphotographable. The guys over at The Superficial must be quaking in their boots 
If you’d like to know how to do HDR (High Dynamic Range) Photography, then check out this HDR tutorial roundup over at TutorialBlog.org.
I think the whole world has seen this by now, but in case you haven’t, rush over to Nick Brandt’s portfolio. These photos are just so unbelievably gorgeous - I have no words. Turns out he studied painting originally and you can really see that influence in his photos.
Do you love your coffee? Check out these amazing shots of coffee meeting milk. They’re extraordinarily beautiful.
Digital Photography School has a very handy guide to making your own inexpensive light tent. This is great for aspiring photographers on a budget, or early-days freelancers who need to photograph their work but can’t afford a professional… yet!
EpicEdits did a really interesting experiment - he asked 28 photographers to edit one photo using post-processing and cropping. The results are far more different than one would expect, and serve as a reminder for photographers and designers that there are many ways to interpret a photograph.
Photopreneur tells us how to earn $1000 an hour as a photographer. This one really surprised me!
Also from the Digital Photography School is a great guide to taking better candid photographs.
Finally, Crestock ran a photography competition with the theme Speed Demon and profiled the highlights. Some amazing work there!
This Weeks Photo:
This week’s photo is by Dennis Good, a graphic designer from Indianapolis who loves the world of photography. He works full time as a web designer, but stays busy with photography and print design outside of work. He books weddings, family portraits, and baby photos on the weekends and also specialize in logo design and corporate identity.
Got a good tip for a Linkswitch? Let us know here.
Do you want to submit a photo for profile on an upcoming Linkswitch? Then you can submit it here!
Robert
November 3rd, 2007
HDR Tutorials are great - thanks for sharing. Cheers;)
riki
November 4th, 2007
Checkout HRDLabs for all things HDR http://www.hdrlabs.com
Tuan Nguyen
November 4th, 2007
Thanks for the resources. I find that $1,000/hr is not impossible at all.
Colin Lenton
November 8th, 2007
Thanks for the links, definitely a fun read all around.
I’ll agree with Tuan, $1,000 hr may seem like a lot for a photographer, but it really isn’t - I’d also suggest that the photographer the article profiles really truly downplays the expenses portion of his business. On top of the digital photography costs (computers, software, cameras, lenses, repairs), the assistant’s fees, marketing costs, travel costs, printing costs, order processing costs etc.. the liability insurance that one would need to carry in order to bring a light kit into a room filled with small children would not be very cheap. My guess is that unless they’re scheduling 5 schools a week, 50 weeks a year, their overhead costs are at least going to be between $2,000 to $4,000 a day.
If we are to be extremely generous and say that the photographer they profiled is booked 5 days a week, and makes $2,000 (profit) a day for 50 weeks out of the year - estimate taxes (in my state nearly 50% of profits on a sole propietor), the photographer would earn a respectable salary of $250,000 a year. Still nothing compared to a lawyer or a surgeon for example, or even a fashion photographer or commercial advertising photographer who could command a creative fee such as that for one project that may take them all of a few days to shoot. More than likely, the photographer profiled is lucky to shoot twice a week.
I explain all of this in hopes that we all can learn not to think of our money “per hour”, but as a function of our cost of doing business. Thinking that $1,000 per hour is a lot of money for professional photography is misguided and knowing the truth will only help the photo industry and other creative industries as well.