Like many people on this blog, I’ve dreamed of becoming a professional photographer. Then I looked at the realities of the photo business. Here are a couple of sobering facts for those trying to break into the market:
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Got a camera? Great! But can you turn it into a business?

Aaron Lindberg did. After paying his full-time dues and freelancing on the side, this 30-year-old full-time freelance photographer from Kansas City, Missouri, has earned a solid reputation for himself and says the key to that is to keep promoting—and keep shooting!

How did you get started in photography? Did you go to school for it? Have you participated in any continuing education programs? What type of equipment do you use?

My photography career starting in college at the University of Kansas while I was getting my BFA in Art. I needed a job to pick up some extra money so I approached the school’s newspaper. I started shooting for the school newspaper (University Daily Kansan) and after shooting there for a couple years I got a part-time gig with the city newspaper (Lawrence Journal World). After graduation I moved back to Kansas City and my careers took off and haven’t looked back since. 98% of what I know was taught hands on in the field from taking on assignments at the newspapers. I shoot with digital SLR equipment (Nikon side of things) with a bag full of photo toys.

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The world of photography is changing, and while freelancers have always had an opportunity to participate in this lucrative realm, it is becoming more and more accessible to the masses as the price for equipment and software falls. The difference between a good and great photography business isn’t simply based on the camera you choose. More important is the way you cut through the waves of images, carefully selecting, editing, and printing the best of breed.

If you want to be competitive, you need to learn to hone your workflow. There are many ways to accomplish the task, and in this review we are taking a closer look at Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2. Is it mature enough to provide the necessary tools for the trade? Can it give one an edge in their own market? Read on to find out.

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Photo by ssh.

Time wasn’t too long ago when the term “photographer’s portfolio” referred to a leather case filled with prints of your very best work.

Those cases are still around, and they’re a worthwhile investment if you’re planning to show your work to local art directors and editors. But, like any other creative field, photography has gone global. You may be based in Houston while you work with clients in Dusseldorf or Singapore.

So, some sort of Internet presence is essential. This article will survey three options for displaying your photography.

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As the gap between analog and digital realms continue to merge, we are constantly on the lookout for ways to increase our efficiency while maintaining the sense and idea of the dreams that we are trying to bring to life. Wacom, a well known contender in this field, with product lines from the Bamboo to the Intous (among others), are hoping to continue the momentum of their past 25 years with the release of the Cintiq 12WX.

A pen tablet with a 12.1″ LCD display that is targeted at not only the professionals who have been able to resist the Cintiq line thus far, but also amateur artists and photographers who are interested in keeping a natural feel in their digital workflow. Can a small screen with a big history provide the tools to bring the analog world even closer to the digital universe? We took a few weeks to take a closer look at this hybrid display, and now present our results. Continue Reading

Image by Jeff Kubina.

I’ve scoured the web to find nine portfolio designs that are, dare I say it, probably better than yours, mine and just about everyone else’s.

I’m sharing them because they’re fun, inspiring, creative and ultimately, works of art.

I’ll be up-front about one thing before we start, though. Unless you’re a Flash genius or have lots of dosh to spend on things like that (doing work for Nike and Microsoft helps), you’ll probably never have an online portfolio like one of these.

The main question they might encourage you to ask, though, is this: is your online portfolio reaching its full potential, or are you settling for ‘good enough’? Continue Reading

Tara DiGiovanni, a New York City photographer, has worked with a variety of clients from Kenneth Cole to BCBG and Time Out New York magazine. Trained at the Parson’s School of Design, she’s had the opportunity to do all kinds of freelance photography, from product shots to portraiture.

John Brougher: Tara, you produce some fantastic pictures. When did you decide that photography was what you wanted to do professionally? Continue Reading

This week’s photo is by Dennis Good.
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

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!

Interviewed by Robert Janelle

Tuan Nguyen

Getting an education is expensive. Tuition fees keep rising while government loans rack up interest along with limited time to work due to classes and assignments.

Tuan Nguyen, a 24-year-old senior studying photography at Savannah College of Art and Design, found freedom by shooting freelance.

Involved in arts since childhood, Nguyen started off painting but eventually became tired of the medium and moved onto photography.

After posting his availability on his school’s job board (possibly the most underused job search tool by freelancers) some work started coming in, including a gig shooting the cover and fashion spread for Key West Magazine.

Along with fashion photography, Nguyen does a variety of other work, including art projects, photographing 10,000 year old relics for an antiques dealer and helping aspiring models build their portfolios (along with his own.)

In the following e-mail conversation, Nguyen and I discuss word-of-mouth advertising, portfolio building and fair bit of photo-geek talk.
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Image from iStockPhoto

I always felt if the world was organised properly I’d be besieged by people asking me to shoot great photographic jobs because of course it’s obvious I’m a cool dude, a knockout creative professional as well as an all round wonderful person – so what is there to worry about? The work should roll in!

Unfortunately for some unknown reason the personal charisma strategy proved to be a total dud in generating work. Clients of little faith or vision have this curious notion I should present a portfolio of some relevance to the job at hand before they will even consider coming across with anything for me to point a camera at.

So, over the years I’ve spent a lot of time pondering what I should include in these portfolios and what I should exclude and how I should structure the flow of images so that clients are inspired and convinced that I’m the guy for the job. The hardest thing of all is getting free of how you think it should work and getting to where you have a handle on how it actually works.

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