Focus Friday
BLOG + VLOG of AUTUMN THEODORE PHOTOGRAPHY
I would be totally lost (and unsuccessful) if I didn't...
One of my most click-on blog posts of 2017 was about the 21 tools I use to run my business - read it if organization is on your to-do list for 2018. If you need even more help with organization, feel free to email me. :) Happy Friday + Happy New Year! Autumn
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One year ago today, I enjoyed my very first day of self-employment, which made me feel like this... Photo by Megan Leigh Barnard I'm especially happy when I think of the past 13 years:
Beyond my hard work, I credit so much of my success to all of the supportive people in my life. Support means hiring me, referring me, talking to me, hanging out with me, getting creative with me, and reading my blog posts! I don't think you'll ever understand how grateful I am for you. <3 Happy Friday! Autumn
Two other details:
Happy (Black) Friday! Autumn And it's ok! There's no possible way we can all know everything about every industry. It's my job to educate my clients, as well as anyone else who wants to learn something new about photography.
If you want to make sure the photos you spent your hard-earned money on look high-quality, be sure to download the hi-res image and load that directly.* I'm proud of my work and so happy you're willing to post it online at the level of quality I provided. Happy Friday! Autumn *Side note: images can also be too large. Many websites and social media apps will compress the image for you so that you don't have to worry about this. If you still having a problem, let me know and I'd be happy to help you navigate the issue.
I'm excited to help the next three organizations serve Central Ohio by donating 20+ hours of work (valued at over $4,500) in 2018. Quality photos are a small part of an organization's marketing needs, but if they help bring in donors, customers, and community interest, they're a sound investment of time and resources.
If you'd like to support local organizations you believe in, please pass along the link below so that they can fill out the two-question application. Pro Bono Photography Application (Due November 30, 2017!) Thanks for supporting Central Ohioans! Happy Friday! Autumn "She's killing it." How often have you heard a friend say this about someone? Or better yet, has anyone said it to you? How does it make you feel? It's meant to be a compliment, but can it weaken your confidence?
Over the past year, I've talked to other people who have been referred to as folks who were "killing it," and they feel the same way. Some of them have only recently started a new business or project and are still figuring it out. Others aren't yet making enough money to support themselves, and they certainly don't feel like they're "killing it." There are even some who are so stressed from the work that they're doing, that it doesn't seem worth it to be complimented with such a phrase.
And that's ok. It's all ok. No matter if you're using the phrase or receiving the phrase, know that it's intended to be a compliment, and that's it. If you said it, you probably made the person feel good. If you received it, congrats, people see what you're doing and believe in you! Just like the old adage, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder," so is "he/she is killing it." It's all about perception, and has nothing to do with truth. Those being told they're "killing it" are not perfect - because no one is! Don't let others' hard work and accolades tear down your confidence about whatever it is that you're pursuing. You're doing great. Keep going. I believe in you. Happy Friday! Autumn
SHUTTER SPEED
Adjusting the shutter speed means changing how long your shutter stays open (aka how long the camera sensor is exposed to light). If you set your shutter speed to 1/60 (one sixtieth of a second), the image will be brighter than if you set your shutter speed to 1/2000 (one two-thousandth of a second). In addition to more vs. less light, shutter speed also has a lot to do with stopping (or not stopping!) motion. The longer the shutter stays open, the more motion is captured. With the same two examples, let's say your shutter is set to 1/60 at a sporting event. You might see too much blur as the athletes move quickly. But setting it to 1/2000 might be good enough to "stop" the action for a crisp shot. APERTURE Changing the aperture means you are making the lens opening wider or narrower. A wider aperture (lower f-number, like f/1.8) means more light as well as a narrower depth of field, while a narrower aperture (higher f-number, like f/16) means less light as well as a wider depth of field. Depth of field is the distance of focus between the subject and its foreground and background. Wide depth of field means lots of parts of the image are in focus - things closer to the camera and things way behind the subject are more focused. Narrow depth of field means the subject you're focused on is crisp and in focus while the rest of the foreground and background are more blurry. ISO Increasing ISO allows you to work with less light. BUT! This is not a magic button to make the darkness in every low-light situation you are in go away. As you increase ISO, the image gets brighter, but quality gets lower. You will start to notice graininess in your images the higher the ISO you go. Homework:
Happy Friday, and happy shooting! Autumn While we are often inspired by following folks in our fields, one of the quickest ways to kill your confidence and lose your ability to create great work is comparing ourselves to them. I have a problem (a BIG problem) with the idea of looking for inspiration in other photographers' work. Sure, I love Annie Leibovitz as much as the next photographer, but I don't look at her work before going to shoots or before editing photos. I don't even really look at websites, social media platforms, or industry magazines in which photographers are featured. Over the past year, I've gotten really good at knowing what I'm good at, and where I need to grow. (Where I need to grow is another story for another day, I promise.) What I'm good at is realizing how I can help myself grow, rather than hurt that beautiful process of creativity. Here are some things to help you strengthen yourself in the same way:
I hope these thoughts are helpful. They've helped me get inspired, stay inspired, and best of all, not lose hope about my own work, self worth, and ability to create beautiful things. You've got this! Autumn Have you ever wanted to take a beautiful photo of the moon? It can be accomplished with a nice camera in a few easy steps. Since the next full moon is this coming Monday, August 7th, you'll be all ready to test your new knowledge!
WHAT YOU NEED
STEP 1: SET UP YOUR GEAR Place your zoom lens on your camera and attach the camera to the tripod (or place it on a surface that can easily face the moon while staying perfectly still). If you have a remote shutter release, plug it in to your camera. (This is highly recommended since pushing the shutter still makes your camera move slightly.) STEP 2: CHOOSE THE RIGHT SETTINGS This part might take some time, so be patient! Zoom in as far as you can, and be sure the camera is centered on the moon. Set your camera on the following: shutter speed of 1/500, aperture of f/10, and ISO of 100. Using your remote shutter release, take a test photo. Adjust settings as needed - this may take a while! (Don't understand how shutter speed, aperture, and ISO work together? Sign up for my October 1st workshop!) STEP 3: MINIMAL POST-PROCESSING Load your photos to your computer, choose a favorite, and open that file in your preferred photo editing software. Crop the photo so that the moon takes up a large portion of the frame. Brighten or darken, and make any change to color or white balance as you prefer. Final step: post your photos! I'd love to see the gorgeous images you make, so don't forget to tag me when you post to social media. Happy shooting! Autumn Want to support and positively impact your favorite local businesses? Show them love online.7/28/2017 I'm obsessed with Lavash Cafe, One Six Five Jewelry, and Ambushed Salon (among tons of other locally-owned businesses in Columbus). I love supporting them by visiting as much as I can. But how else can I help?
Lately, I wanted to show our city's small, locally-owned businesses my support. Over the past four months, I wrote 100 reviews on Google so that when others might seek advice about buying from, hiring, or visiting a local business, they could see a local patron's stamp of approval, plus notes on why the spot is so great. I put a reminder on my calendar each week to write 5 reviews over the span of 20 weeks. It took me about 5 minutes per week, and it can be done on any platform. (I chose one platform to keep it simple for myself.)
I hear people brag on their favorite businesses all the time - why not make your voice heard to the world? Your favorite local businesses would love your support - I know I would. ;) Happy Friday! Autumn P.S. I realize this isn't photography-related, but photography is one small part of an overall marketing strategy. My 7+ years of marketing experience taught me a lot, and makes me realize how valuable my marketing knowledge is to companies who hire me as their photographer. After all, my bread and butter is brand, product, event, and portrait photography for businesses! I'm a better help to them if I can speak intelligently about how my work supports their overall mission. |
Writing and vlogging to entertain, educate, expose, and encourage.
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