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Houston Wedding Photographer

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Everyone Want to Sell Me Something

By gmiller | Published August 22, 2011

Everywhere that I go these days it seems that someone is constantly trying to sell me something. It does not matter if it is in the wedding photography world or in other businesses. I can’t even go to the post office without the person behind the counter trying to up sell me and everyone else in line, more things and wasting our time. Somehow I do not think that I want to spend $15 to mail a letter that will cost me 44 cents and still be there tomorrow. I do not know what bothers me more in this situation, the up selling or the cog-like role of the postal worker who is forced to give the same lame speech to everyone in line. Doesn’t the USPS realize that this technique is ineffective and only serves to annoy the customers and cause longer wait times? For more advice on how not to be a cog read ‘The Courage to Stand Out‘ and the excellent books of Seth Godin. Or the dumbness of the guys dressed in stupid costumes on the side of the road holding cheap signs. Really now? Are you generating more business because you are dancing around like some idiot in a santa costume? Did you even take to time to figure out if your efforts are that effective? Probably not.

This type of situation occurs, and is occurring all over the place, because people are reading books and articles on sales and sales techniques and then thinking that if they just blindly apply them their sales will magically increase. It is a common lazy cycle where people want everything now, without having to put forth much effort or practice, and then expect to get brilliant results and be rich and popular. Well it does not work that way. Being in the fine art wedding photography business I have to deal with sales on a daily basis. And even though sales are important to any business, they are not my prime motivating factor. I see sales more from a buyers perspective. I look for ways to help my clients get what they need and not to buy things that they do not need. I am not in some sort of sales race to see how much I can get someone to buy. I do not blindly follow some ideas that I read in a book on sales. Rather, I took the time to learn from these ideas and then incorporated them in a way that works best for my clients and me. You have to be true to yourself first before you can fully serve your clients.

The digital age has brought technology and information right into our homes. There is easy access to information. And overall, this is a good thing. But technology and information still have to be utilized properly to make them valuable. Just owning a thousand books doesn’t make you smart. You have to read those books and then internalize that information. Everyone wants the easy way. Well, the easy way is not the way to go. You want the best way and that means work, practice, and patience. You can read more about these ideas in my post ‘Don’t Be a Lazy Photographer.’ You can also read more about the customer service disappearance in the world by reading ‘What Ever Happened to Customer Service?‘

With just a little effort and education we can bring back proper selling and customer service and in the end better serve our customers and ourselves. If you don’t do it your competition will.

Gary Miller

Eye Candy and Brain Veggies

Posted in digital photogarphy, philosophy, photography, photography techniques | Also tagged digital photography, marketing, selling, Seth Godin Comments Off

Building Loyalty is a Necessity for Photographers

By gmiller | Published August 21, 2011

loyalty is a great commodity in photography

Loyalty is a much prized trait in both business and personal matters. But unfortunately, it is often missing in many of the relationships that people engage in today. As a wedding photographer, loyalty is important to my business. I value my clients and provide them with top quality service to go along with their fine art wedding photographs and custom designed wedding albums. I go that extra mile all of the time, and I am sincere about it. I don’t go through extra work to make more money. I do it because I want to satisfy my clients. I am dedicated to the art and craft of photography and I want to preserve their special memories for them. It is my personal ethic. For me, it is my way of remaining true to them, loyal, and in return they are loyal to me. It is an integral part of my fine art wedding photography business. You can read more about this philosophy in my post ‘Fine Art Wedding Photography.’

Loyalty is an interesting commodity. It is very two sided. Like many other commodities you both give and receive. When you are nice to someone they are usually nice to you. The same is true for loyalty. People who are loyal to business will always get great treatment. Not that the other customers are ignored, but loyalty builds a deeper bond and a deeper friendship which naturally leads to a higher level of commitment.

Do not think that this idea just applies to business. True friends are loyal to you. They care for you and respect you and are there through the good times and the bad. Many of us have experienced friends who were mostly opportunistic and not loyal. They wanted our friendship for a period of time because they saw it as a way of getting something from us; love, attention, money, popularity, etc. Your true friends, like your true clients, are spending time with you because they value the relationship. And that brings mutual respect and a stronger relationship all around.

Many companies, and individuals, today are all about instant gratification. Unfortunately this usually pushes them into the opportunistic category. They will buy whatever item is the lowest price. They will befriend whoever will advance their career more. These are fleeting relationships and we all need to recognize them such. Once we can recognize them, then we can weed them out and find the genuine people that we want to spend time with in our lives.

We can learn alot from animals. They are loyal and they bring a great deal of happiness to our lives. We should be doing the same.

Gary Miller

Eye Candy and Brain Veggies

Posted in digital photogarphy, fine art photography, philosophy, photography, photography techniques, wedding photography | Also tagged fine art wedding photographer, houston wedding photographer, loyalty, wedding photography Comments Off

Reading is a Great Teacher in Photography

By gmiller | Published August 20, 2011

and old book provides new knowledge

I have been teaching photography for over eleven years. In that time my students have taught me a great deal. I have been on the front line of the switch from film-based to digital photography. Two of the jobs that I had involved either converting a conventional, film and chemical darkroom based program into a digital one, or starting a digital photography program from scratch. I have spoken before about the film versus digital realms in posts like ‘You’re Not Taking Enough Photographs‘ and ‘The Visceral Nature of FIlm.’ So I am familiar with change and I am familiar with technology. It is important to never stop learning and reading books is an integral part of that.

One of the trends that I have noticed in my students over the years is that fewer and fewer of them are reading books. Now it doesn’t matter to me whether it is a printed book or an ebook. Students have become used to getting their information daily via online and smart devices. They are used to 140 character posts on Twitter, or quick text messages, or brief Facebook posts. There is nothing wrong with these methods of communication, but by not reading books, and not reading often enough, people are giving up one of the best learning tools that we have. I have read countless research reports that show book readers are more intelligent. It gives your brain exercise, increases your knowledge base, and is a really economical way to learn. The research also suggested that like nutrition, people should be reading from a variety of sources. Just because you are a photographer does not mean that you should spend your days reading only photography books. By tossing in other subject areas you mix it up and broaden your education. Thomas Jefferson had a personal library of almost 6500 books and he had read each of them. The subject matter for his collection is vast, so vast that after the British burned down the Capitol building 1814 Congress purchased Jefferson’s collection for the Library of Congress. You can read more about this collection and view scans of the books at the Library of Congress site. Many students in my classes try to save money by not buying the test for a class. In most cases this is mistake. Now if a text is not well matched for the course, or not used properly, it can be a waste. But having the text that compliments a class allows a student to reinforce their knowledge.

I, like everyone else, have been guilty of buying books and then not reading them. Even now I have a stockpile of books waiting to be read. I have gone through phases where I do very little reading. But I always feel better if I consistently am reading something new and challenging. And I am talking about reading books, not online forums or postings. I would recommend to everyone that they start getting back in the habit of reading on a regular basis. There are just too many positive benefits to be gained. There is so much knowledge out there just waiting to be ingested. And no, blog reading doesn’t count unfortunately. This is the ‘brain veggies’ part of our slogan.

Gary Miller

Eye Candy and Brain Veggies

Posted in digital photogarphy, fine art photography, philosophy, photography, photography techniques | Also tagged book, classroom, digital photography, learning, reading Comments Off

You’re Not Taking Enough Photographs

By gmiller | Published August 20, 2011

collage of wall photographs

There has been an ongoing debate in photography for a long time now. It centers around how many images someone should capture. Now some people argue that if you know what you are doing you can take very few images and get it right. Others argue that you need to take loads of images to cover yourself. Well I think that both extreme approaches have their flaws. If you take too few photographs you run the risk of not really covering an event or portrait session. Whenever people are involved in a photograph you run the risk of shut eyes, wide open mouths, weird expressions, or just plain disaster. Even though it may have looked fine to you through the viewfinder when you pressed the shutter button, because of the lag between your brain, finger, and camera, you may not have captured the moment that you thought you did. You can read more about this in my post ‘Capturing Moments, That’s Our Job as Photographers.’ On the other end of the scale are the ‘spray and pray’ group. These are people who are taking way too many images because they lack confidence or they just plain lack technique. You do not want to be one of these lame photographers. These are the people who just take loads of images hoping that a few of them will be good. At events this can get annoying to the guests as you are constantly sticking a camera in their face or have that crazy flash going off every second like it was some Hollywood red carpet premiere.

Being a wedding photographer, and dealing mostly in a photojournalistic style, I need to cover certain key aspects of the ceremony and reception. I have to have coverage and I cannot be afraid to take a bunch of frames. I am also custom designing the wedding albums for my clients, so I need extra images to use in the design. These extras can be used as accent images or as parts of backgrounds. By being involved in the album design process I can better appreciate the need for these ‘extra’ shots. Since I am not posing people much I need to have more coverage because of the human face expression problems that I mentioned before. If I were a portrait photographer in the studio, or doing more formal portraits at the wedding, then I would not expose as many frames as I do now. In highly controlled situations you can photograph less. In fact, if you have done your homework, set up your lighting properly, and metered it, you should be able to get a good image in a few tries. When I used to be a commercial location photographer I took many environmental type portraits. Lots of these were with CEOs and they rarely gave you more then a few minutes to work. These types of situations taught me the value of being prepared, setting up way ahead of time, testing your lighting with a stand-in, and making sure that all of your equipment was functioning properly. That way when the CEO or celebrity walks in you are in control and look very professional. You place the subject and take your photographs. The whole photographing process may take a few minutes.

In the film days there was much more incentive to photograph less because it cost you money every time you pushed the shutter. Now, in the digital age, taking more images does not have that financial burden. Negating the two extremes that I mentioned above, I still think that the average photographer that I see, and most of my photography students, are not taking enough images. This goes to the end of coverage, but more so, it leads to a lack of practice. So the more images that you take with skill, the more you will learn, and the more familiar you become with situations. This is a great way of developing your photographic intuition which I talked about in my recent post, ‘Developing Your Photography Intuition.’ Everyone will have to find their own comfort level, but don’t let the post-processing component slow you down.

Gary Miller

Eye Candy and Brain Veggies

Posted in digital photogarphy, fine art photography, philosophy, photography, photography techniques, wedding photography | Also tagged digital photography, improving your photography, wedding, wedding photography 1 Comment

Developing Your Photography Intuition

By gmiller | Published August 20, 2011

develop your intuition my dear watson

Documentary photography has long been an interest of mine. I did not start out being interested in this area but somewhere along the line I fell into it and I am happy that I did. I was teaching myself photography, slowly I might add, and for the first years of my development I was more of a landscape type photographer. I think that many people fall into this path. I liked to travel. I liked to hike. I had a camera. So it became a natural progression that I would travel, hike, and take photographs. In fact, photography became a good excuse to travel. Most of my work was not in the Ansel Adams traditional landscape style. It was more about detail, abstract, nature. Somewhere along the line I discovered the work of Sebastaio Salgado, the brillant documentary photographer from Brazil. And my photography life, and regular life, was changed. I was moved by the sublime use of light in his images. I loved the raw emotion that he captured in his subjects. I was entangled by the exotic places that he visited. I have mentioned him before in my posts ‘Why We Photograph‘ and ‘10 Easy Ways to Improve Your Photos (Part 2).’ So you can see how important and influential another photographer can be on you and that is why I always tell me students to have a photo hero.

In the wedding photography business I mix in my documentary, photojournalism style with my fine art background. Bake for 30 mins at 350 degrees and you have a delicious treat. I have been asked many times about my images and how I was able to capture that perfect moment, or what Henri Cartier-Bresson called ‘the decisive moment.’ A great deal of it is being able to predict what is going to happen, when, and where. Some may think that this is blind luck. It is more like intuition and the only way that I know how to develop it is through continued practice. It is like a chess master memorizing the moves from classic games and then using the right move in their own games. It is intuition, but it is more about putting in the time to really master your craft. Life is somewhat predictable. If I find an interesting location I know that sooner or later someone interesting is going to come by. As you practice this skill of photography more and more you really do get to the point where you feel like you can predict the future. It is hard to explain, but there are many times that I know exactly where to stand and where to look to capture that great moment in time. I guess that is a form of intuition. One of the definitions of intuition is “…a keen and quick insight.” There is nothing magical about that.

So if you want to develop the seemingly impossible skill of intuition know your game really well. Practice over and over and suddenly situations will not look so unfamiliar. There is really no other way that I can explain it. You must become aware. Once again you must see.

Gary Miller

Eye Candy and Brain Veggies

Posted in digital photogarphy, fine art photography, philosophy, photography, photography techniques | Also tagged digital photography, Henri Cartier-Bresson, improving your photography, intuition, practice, Sebastaio Salgado, tutorial 1 Comment

What Does the Future Hold for Photography?

By gmiller | Published August 20, 2011

what does the future hold for photography?

People are always trying to predict the future. Now this can be to make money, like in the stock market or predicting the winner of a sporting event,on in the field of business, to better prepare. But being able to predict the future in the business of photography will definitely help you prepare for changes and better position yourself in the future. No one knows what will happen. A new technology could emerge tomorrow and photography would embrace it. It always has. The latest technological advancements have always been mixed with the medium of photography. With that caveat, here are my predictions for the future of photography.

1. Video

Unless you have been living under a rock you know that just about every digital camera produced in the past two years has had video capability built in. The Canon 5d Mark II started the trended a few years ago and the look and feel of DSLR videography has taken off. Numerous television shows, movies, events, weddings, and commercials are being shot using these compact, incredible cameras. And the trend is going to continue. While many cinematographers have embraced the new technology, most classic videographers, like you encounter at weddings, have not made the switch. They are going to be left behind. Commercial and consumer photographers will be asked to produce more and more video in the future as the world gets more web-based and more motion-based. Don’t be left behind. Now is the time to learn the skills.

2. Camera speedlites

Those little on-camera flash units have come a long way in the past few years. They used to be clunky beasts, many times referred to as ‘potato mashers’, that blinded many a partygoer and bumped a lot of heads. Well these little babies have come of age. Now they have full TTL (through the lens) metering capability, along with manual controls, IR and radio control, power ratio setting, and power enough to do most jobs. They are starting to replace bulkier studio-type flash units because they are light, portable, and versatile. They have a look, a genre all their own. To learn more about them you should read Joe McNally’s wonderful book, ‘The Hot Shoe Diaries‘ or check out The Strobist website or books. My advice to you is to learn how to use an on-camera flash well. You don’t have to fully convert to using them, but they are going to become more and more of a good solution to many photo problems. And anything that you can do to improve your lighting skills is important.

3. Outsourcing

There was a time, not long ago, in the film days where the photographer, well photographed. We would expose the film, then take it to a lab to be developed. When it came back we would edit it and then send it off to the client, usually a graphic design or advertising agency. And our job was done. Then came the digital era and photographers were expected to take the image, retouch it, make it ready for printing, post it up on a website, etc. Well luck for us outsourcing is back. Now you can affordably send your images out to be edited, retouched, posted on a website, etc. The market is driving this as prices for these services are dropping. This trend will continue.

4. Boutique business

Being a ‘me too’ business is really not going to help to be successful in the future. You can read some more of my thoughts on this in my post ‘Fine Art Wedding Photography.’ You want to build a boutique business and stand out from the crowd. Charge more because you value yourself more and then your clients will value you and your services more. A great resource for all things boutique marketing is the Joy of Marketing website run by Sarah Petty and Erin Verbeck.

I am not some weird futurist. All of these trends are happening around us right now. To be successful in any photography business you just have to go back to the basics that your learned in your Photography 101 class, and that is seeing. Slow down and take a look around you. You will see all of things that I mention slowly creeping into the business mix.

Gary Miller

Eye Candy and Brain Veggies

Posted in digital photogarphy, fine art photography, philosophy, photography, photography techniques | Also tagged digital photography, fine art, fine art photography, wedding photography Comments Off

7 Photography Truths Worth Pondering

By gmiller | Published August 19, 2011

wedding dress detail

In my neverending quest to understand photography better as both a craft and an artform, I find myself occasionally thinking about various aspects of this medium. I have had several post in the past on ‘photography truths’ as I like to call them. They are little thoughts that will hopefully give you pause to contemplate why you photograph, why you create art, and how you feel about the experience. These are not meant to be deep meaning absolute truths. They are just meant to be something to think about. You can accept them or not. The point is not that I make my opinion known. My opinion really does not matter. I am more interested in what I call ‘the subjective response of the viewer.’ This is applied more to art, but I apply it equally to the way people react to speech or words. I encourage you to come up with some of your own ‘truths’ in photography and then post them under the comments section. Don’t think that your thoughts and ideas have to be prophetic. Just let your mind explore and see what you come up with. And it is not like I sit around and force these thoughts. I just let them pop into my head. It is part of the way that my brain works. I like thinking about abstract ideas and searching for connections, both visually and intellectually. That is one reason why I have so much formalism in my work. I am looking for beauty in form, shape and design, but I am also looking at how these forms, shapes, and designs, interact with one another to form compositions. You can read more about the concept of Formalism in my post ‘Photography Movement – Formalism.’ I mention it a great deal because it is such an integral part of the way that I see the world and create my work. My two recent post ‘Do You See What I See?‘ and ‘Don’t Forget the Details When You Photograph‘ talk more about this.

Here are seven more truths in photography:

43. Don’t listen to critics

44. Embrace fear, avoid anxiety

45. You must give to receive

46. Beauty is in the object not the eye

47. Creativity is a gift

48. Winter light is the best light

49. Look for the positive, but notice the negative

Gary Miller

Eye Candy and Brain Veggies

Posted in digital photogarphy, fine art photography, philosophy, photography, photography techniques | Also tagged advice, digital photography, improving your photography, truths, tutorial Comments Off

Problem Solving and Leadership

By gmiller | Published August 18, 2011

Seth Godin mentions in his book ‘Linchpin; Are You Indispensible?‘ that the two most important things that a school can teach someone are the skills of problem solving and leadership. So today I wanted to take a closer look at these in relation to the job of a professional photographer.

Photographers are very independent. Many times we find ourselves either working alone or in a small team. One of the most important skills that you can have to be a successful photographer is the ability to problem solve. When I was a commercial photographer I specialized in location work. Companies would fly me all around the country to create images at their various company locations. These images were normally used for annual reposts, brochures, or advertising. There were several times that the list of desired photographs included an exterior shot of the building. I cannot control the weather and since I was probably only at the location for a day or two I had to come back with any image. You have to problem solve. Your client, who is spending a lot of money to fly you somewhere, then house you and feed you, does not want to hear that you could not get the shot because it was cloudy on the day that you were there. We had outdoor locations and the same situation came up. And if you think that being inside solves all of your problems, well think again. There were countless times that they gave us an empty or unkept area or some ugly machine area for our photography. Rather than give up or complain, you make the best of it. In any area of photography you have to be able to think on your feet quickly and come up with a solution. Then you are golden and will get hired time and time again. Now your work has to be good, but if you can solve someone else’s problems you are their ‘go to’ person. In the wedding photography business that same thing comes up. Nothing ever stays on schedule, things don’t show up, people are missing, and the weather can rain on your parade, literally. Since a wedding is happening quickly and many of those moments are only going to happen once, you have to always be ready. Read my post ‘Being Prepared and Being Lucky‘ for more about this idea.

On to the leadership role. You have to be able to take control and make things happen. If you are excited then your subjects/models will be excited and you will get better results. Now this does not mean being an arrogant jerk. You have to be able to confidently tell people what to do and then coerce them into doing it. It does not matter if you are working with a professional model or a groom. But being a problem solver makes you confident and confidence makes you a leader. There is a great synergy that goes on. So going into a situation you need to have done your homework and made some mental or physical plans. Don’t show up and wing it. Not unless you have a great deal of experience and then you really are not winging it but just drawing on your past knowledge.

Schools do not often teach problem solving and leadership skills directly. They are mixed into the program but not emphasized enough. So it is up to you to get this type of training. Read, think, act, and practice until you possess these skills. It will benefit you greatly in the long run.

Gary Miller

Eye Candy and Brain Veggies

Posted in digital photogarphy, philosophy, photography, photography techniques | Also tagged college, digital photography, education, leadership, problem solving, Seth Godin 1 Comment

Make Your Photographs Truthful

By gmiller | Published August 18, 2011

I believe that one of the things that makes a photograph resonate with other people is truth. Now this may sound like a simple concept, but it is not so easy to obtain. Many photographs are just recordings of what the person saw who was behind the camera. Many are just a fraction of a second slice of life. These photos lack soul and depth and emotion. To me, they lack truth. So ‘Don’t Be a Lazy Photographer.’ This is not necessarily happening because the maker of the image is trying to deceive. I think that in most cases the photographer is genuine in their intentions, but they do not know how to record the truth, the real truth. Doing so requires that you trust your instincts and get your brain out of the equation. You see your logical brain, the left side in most people, runs the show most of the time. It wants to analyze everything, categorize everything. This is the logical side of the brain and it’s job is to keep you alive. You would not be able to successfully walk across the street without your left brain controlling you. Your creative right brain would stop to admire the beauty of a blade of grass growing up through a crack in the road, oblivious to that truck coming at you. You can read more about these concepts in ‘There are Photographs All Around Us.’

To put truth into your images you have to know how to be truthful yourself. You have to approach the situation without judgement, without categorization or any preconceived ideas about what you are looking at. So if I am photographing a bride as part of my wedding photography events I can’t see her and let my brain say, yes that is a bride and there is a strong side light on her, and you need to change your white balance in your camera so that she comes out the correct color. I need to see whatever is in front of my camera and then capture it without identifying or judging anything. The principle is the same when you are drawing and it is the main reason why people have trouble. They go to draw an object, but before they can just record the shapes, light and shadow, their brain identifies the object and says, ‘yeah it is a pencil and I know what a pencil looks like and you draw a pencil like this.’ For more about the two sided brain theory look at Betty Edwards’ ‘Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain‘ work. This is what I mean when I say that I photograph ‘unconsciously.’ When you are in that fully creative state you shut off your controlling left brain temporarily and you just are. That is the moment of truth. The real moment of truth. And that is what each and every one of us should strive to capture. You can use your logic and your reasoning to get you to just the point before you actually take the image. Then just let all of that go.

These are not easy concepts, so sit with them a while. Practice it over and over until it is automatic. Then you will be on your way to real truth in your images.

Gary Miller