Tips for Creating Addictive Content

The good fellas at Hurricane Images Inc. have posted a banger post on how to create addictive video content.  If you're part of the small business revolution, or an entrepreneur looking for video marketing strategies, it offers some starter insights into how to reach new clients, build brand equity, and generally get your stuff out there.

The major focus of the article is how to create a hook, break your content down into chunks, and find your "hero."  What stood out for me was how few companies create videos based on their tag line.  Your tag shouldn't come at the end of the video, it can be your video. 

Create Addictive Content is a short piece full of insights and worth the read.

How to Evaluate A Video Proposal

You’ve committed to making a video, estimated the cost of your production, and posted a request for proposals.  Within the hour a handful appear in your Inbox… the question is... how to choose?  You may like the videos that the company produces, but you still need to know the cost.  The numbers seem... squishy.

Unfortunately, there’s no standard format for production proposals; quotes can come in different forms and formats.  All of them have strengths and weaknesses, but some are riskier than others.  A good video proposal should give you either a precise cost or a specific range of costs based on preferences you control, as well as information that describes the video in a way that's consistent with your vision. 

There are three main types of production proposals:

The first is  a Rate Card.  Rate cards provide the hourly rate for an activity, sometimes with an estimate of how long the activity will take.  Unfortunately, they’re often a poor estimate of the final cost, and they present the greatest financial risk to the client.  Worse, they can signal that the production company doesn’t stand by the quality of their work.  Not only are time overruns frequent on every project, but edits and changes based on your feedback will come at a price.  However, there are times when a rate proposal is the best choice. If both you and the vendor agree that there will be a lot of back and forth on the project, than an hourly rate may be the most reasonable approach.

In most cases, though, I recommend one of the two other proposal types.  For the skinny on these, jump on over to our main blog at Hurricane Images Inc. and read our guide to evaluating proposals. 

Creating Facebook Videos that Work

Tips for Making Facebook Videos the Sell


Today we posted an article on our other blog at Hurricane Images Inc.  Like it or not, Facebook is almost a ubiquitous presence in our lives.  And increasingly it’s become important for small businesses-- for branding, customer relations, and marketing.  Creating video for Facebook isn’t like creating video for other platforms, though. It’s a unique interaction, and if you’re going to be successful, your video should be custom built for the platform.  I'm posting the first five tips here.  If you like them, mosey on over to Hurricane Images Inc to read the next five.  And a little lagniappe.

1. Create for Facebook.  This means design your video for how people will watch it on Facebook, and upload it directly to Facebook.  Attention spans are short, 85% of videos are watched with the sound off. Facebook gives priority to their “own” content, versus Youtube links.  So design your content for the medium.  Marketing is only an expense when it doesn’t work; otherwise it’s a profitable investment.

2. Start hard.  The first three 2 seconds have to stop them in their tracks because viewers are scrolling downwards through their feed.

3. Make your visuals lively.  Seems like this goes without saying, but the visuals have to be striking.  This isn’t a medium that does well with elegance, slow moving frames, or talking heads.

4. Be unbelievable brief:  2-30 seconds is perfect.  Anything over 60 seconds is lost. What’s worse, if you bore them they’ll walk away with a negative impression.  So what if you have more to say? Create a second, longer video and link to it.  Or your website.  “Want to learn more, visit:  www.hurricaneimagesinc.com”

5. Call to action.  Tell them what they should do.  It doesn’t have to be “buy my product;” it can be as simple as “learn more.” Go to the “Edit Video” section of your video and under the “Call to Action” section, you will find various options (Learn More, Watch More, Shop Now, Book Now, Sign Up and Download).

Want more?  Read on.

The Sony a7Sii for weddings review

I was excited about using the Sony a7Sii for my upcoming wedding shoot.  Why? For one, it had been forever since I had used a silent camera.  No mechanical shutter, no sound.  And during a church ceremony this seemed priceless-- as did the incredible low-light capabilities of the a7Sii.  But the real world can be harsh.  The real world can turn "oh, my iPhone takes great pictures" into "my iPhone is completely impractical for anything beyond selfies and food porn."  So how did the a7Sii do at the wedding? Here's the good and bad.

The Good
I have to say that the a7Sii brings all of the joy of taking a picture back from 1990s.  We're so used to the camera doing all of the work that we've forgotten about the feel of taking a picture.  The ability to assign functions to buttons on the a7Sii is incredible.  It's lovely to have every possible function within thumb's reach.  It's lovely to see the histogram in the viewfinder.  It's lovely to have the viewfinder show the actual exposure-- what you see is (pretty close) to what you get.  Especially with a manual lens, it makes taking a picture a lovely experience.  Years ago I bought the coveted Nikon 50mm f/1.2.  I quickly concluded it was crap (at least my version).  It's soft from f/1.2 to f/4.  My Nikon 50mm f/1.8 is sharper. Wide open the purple fringing hurts one's soul.  But the (skimpy) 12MP sensor redeems those bad qualities, making the lens a delight and powerhouse of expression.

The a7Sii draws no attention to itself.  It's small and silent.  That's a plus for capturing candid moments at a wedding. I like stealth.

The camera truly is remarkable in low light.  This was taken at ISO 4,000.

It's grainy to be sure, but usable.  I gave this image (and all the others in this post) to the couple.  I wouldn't consider using anything above ISO 2500 from my beloved Nikon (okay, maybe if I converted the image to B&W I would do ISO 3200).  This was taken at ISO 5,000:

Again, grainy but completely usable.  And there's a quality to natural/available light that is completely different from flash photography.

Color rendition: that falls on both sides of the Good/Bad line for me.  You can get quite nice colors.  Sometimes. In low light, the hue can shift, and the program you use to convert your files can worsen the problem (I had to convert the files to DNG as a Lightroom 5 user).  I found that Adobe DNG Converter to be far superior in terms of color rendition, but not perfect.  Colors sometimes leaned towards green hues.  In good light, though, the colors are quite pleasing.

Black and white.  Between the lack of punch (and the color distortion that happens when you try to add in punch) and the low-light issues (see below), the Sony will eventually reach it's limit.  And then you make great Black and White images.

ISO 10,000

ISO 10,000.  Really?  I'm from the days of film where ISO 800 was pushing the "arty" look.

This is the image at 1:2:

Noise reduction is at 30; sharpening at 30.

The lack of sharpness here is largely due to the noise, and probably made slightly worse by a minimal shutter speed.  The image has the low-contrast quality that's endemic to low light situations, but I was standing four feet away from him and you really don't want a flash going off in this moment. 

The Not-So-Good
The first isn't a limitation of the camera but a fact of life.  Low-light situations are also low contrast and muted colors.  So in situations without clear light sources (and the shadows they produce), images are often a bit lifeless.  Rather than rely on the Sony's low-light capabilities, I used my Nikon with flash for many of my "low light" shots in order to get that added punch and dimensionality.  Otherwise, foregrounds blend into backgrounds and the world becomes mushy.

Between the electronic viewfinder and the electronic shutter there is a lag.  It's not noticeable when taking posed shots, but it can be a nuisance when shooting events.  You miss things.  This is exasperated by the fact that the preview image shows in the viewfinder.  That's wonderful in controlled situations, but a real stumbling block for fast moving events. You have to tap the shutter button to return to live view, and half a second has gone by.

12MP.  An additional challenge in working with only 12MP is the relationship between detail and grain.  There's less detail in a 12MP image, so grain (when it finally appears around 4,000 ISO) more quickly interferes with the detail.  Just a fact of life.  So in addition to having less ability to crop your photos, you quickly lose some of your detail with ISO.

Lens choices.  Oy.  Sony lenses are way over-priced.  The great thing is that a $20 adapter makes all of my Nikon lenses work... but only in manual focus mode.  That's great for video, architecture, and landscape.  It's too slow for people.  All of these images are shot with the Sony 28-70mm kit lens, which is sufficiently sharp for the a7Sii (yay) but also slow and unexceptional. The kit lens is far better suited to video and landscape than portrait and event.

Because you need the punch that comes from a flash, I spent less time with my Sony at the wedding than I thought.  If you can use a flash-- and you know how to use one-- it's just a better solution in low light.  If you can't use a flash for whatever reason, the Sony is great.

The verdict?  Any verdict would be an over-simplification.  I am increasingly impressed with the a7Sii's video capabilities, and that's the camera's strength.  I can see why one might buy the a7Rii over the "S" due to the megapixels and the fact that most of the time you won't use the better low-light capabilities.  I'm tempted to say that I made a mistake in buying the S, but it's also true that the lag issue and the lack of affordable auto-focus lenses means that my Nikon will always be my workhorse.  So when it comes to still photography (where the Sony a7Rii is clearly superior), I'd still be using my Nikon. I also suspect that the lack of affordable lens choices is even more problematic with the R, due to the need for really sharp lenses.  So if the Sony S is primarily for video (and for me that's true), then it's a better option than the R. My conclusion?  The a7Sii makes for a capable 2nd camera, but not a 1st camera for weddings.  This past week I took the camera to Joshua Tree, so I may add to my ongoing review of the Sony a7sii with that perspective.

Envisioning the final image... all the way

Pentax 645D

We're always told to envision the final image before we press the shutter.  Frankly, I'm not quite sure what that means.  I mean, I'm evaluating the scene prior to picking up my camera; I'm looking at a little rectangle image in the viewfinder;  I'm placing my subject artistically in the frame; I'm evaluating my exposure; if Athena the God of good judgement is with me I'm checking the edges of my frame, not just my subject.  Does this qualify as "envisioning the final image?"

A nagging doubt makes me suspect not.  I'm often surprised when I see the image on the back of my camera.  Sometimes I see things there I didn't see in the viewfinder.  How three dimensions mutate when compressed onto two dimensions.

Having obviously not mastered the basics, I'm still foraging ahead to what I now see as the next level: envisioning the image as the viewer.  Not as the photographer.  As the viewer.  What emotions will it evoke?  What is it's use?  Will it be used for marketing? Education? Pure enjoyment?  How do these things relate to what the viewer sees?

And here's the point.  We (the photographer) take the picture. If we're professionals, it's for someone else. That person sees it not just as a picture, but as a tool.   It is a memory enhancer, or art to go on the wall, or a seller of product (shoes or dresses or beer), or a seller of brand (sexy accountant-- no, sorry, dedicated accountant).  If we want to excel as photographers we need to be knowledgeable in these areas, too.  Not just light ratios but marketing, adult learning theory, and social networks.  That's how our images are being used.  When the client looks at our pictures they're thinking, "does this sell, brand, remind, or beautify?" Most often it's the first of those: "does this image sell my product?"

That's not as grim as it sounds.  Seeing the image as the client isn't about adulterating your art with marketing schmooze.  Knowing marketing (and by extension the customer being marketed to) is simply another tool, another lens filter.  Consider this:  Shooting for a magazine you'd naturally consider negative space.  Your "dedicated accountant" wants to exude knowledge and assurance-- emotional qualities you might have pursued in your image anyway.  Negative space, emotional content-- those are important considerations in marketing. If you've ever done either of those two things, you've envisioned the image as the viewer.  But that's just the tip of the monster.

At Hurricane Images we posted a blog designed to help Etsy sellers use the videos we made for them.  When we work with merchants and artisans we start with the question, "what does our client want to express?"  We finish with the question, "what do their customers want to buy?" The client looks at our videos and images not as sellers, but as customers.  What are they really buying?

If you think about that question you realize they're not buying a handcrafted piece of jewelry.  They were buying the experience of being the subject of everyone's attention in the room. They're buying an object that takes everyone else's breath away.  Our video wasn't about jewelry, it was about breathlessness.  Shoot that.  Think about what the background should evoke. Is it intimacy or expanse, warmth or a winter night?  Is it a cocktail party out of focus? A hand submerged in fur on a cold night?  It's not a ring, it's an experience.

We also shot a set of testimonials for a center that provided holistic therapeutic massage.  No one wants therapeutic massage.  What they want is to be their younger, healthier self again.  The object (massage) isn't the subject.  The subject is what the customer wants.  

That's thinking like a marketer.  That's seeing the work as your client. 

Nailing Perfect Exposure in Lightroom

I'll be the first to admit that I have a problem nailing the perfect exposure for the final print, especially if that print is on paper.  Personally, I tend towards moodier images with more dark tones.  Computer monitors generate light, so images usually appear brighter on screen than when printed.  Combine my "mood" with physics of light and you can end up with seriously unhappy client.

Almost all non-professional printers (like those at Walgreens) auto adjust the exposure because of this.  So in many cases you're saved by technology.  But professional printers often don't (it's a mixed bag), and it's always better to be in control of your own exposure.

The rule of thumb I sometimes hear is to find the exposure you like, and then increase it between 1/4 and 1/2 stops when sending to the printer.  That's a good rule of thumb, but I think I've found a more precise way to ensure the skin tone in my portraits are properly exposed.  If we follow the Zone System, we know that skin tones should be between Zones 5 and 7 (depending on skin color).  I've always been annoyed that the histogram in Lightroom doesn't change when you zoom in, but it does change when you crop the image.  So to perfectly expose skin you simply need to crop in:

Then adjust your exposure watching the histogram.  The histogram is divided into four sections.  Perfect skin tones will reside between the mid point (Zone 5) and the third line (essentially Zone 7).

You can adjust the exposure while still in the Crop Mode, and then re-crop the images to taste.

Now for a quick tip:  while in the Develop Module, when you put your cursor over an area the histogram doesn't change, but the numbers below R, G, & B, will show their values.  You can quickly check the exposure by hovering your mouse over the area. 

How to market your Etsy shop using video

Over at Hurricane Images we've been doing some expanding.  Over the past year I've had an increasing number of clients ask for video.  So a couple of months back we launched a full service video production company.  One of the challenges to starting a new business is maintaining your focus.  I've enjoyed working with a wide range of clients-- but none more than the artisans and artists.  I'm reaching out specifically to boutique shops, artisans, non-profits, and start-ups.  People with exciting new ideas and vision.  So you'll be hearing more about video production, and how small businesses can use video to connect with customers, supporters, and fans.

One of the most exciting new developments on Etsy this year is the ability to upload video to your “About” page (profile?).  Video and Etsy are natural partners because both emphasize the personal.  Etsy customers want something unique, and they want to feel a connection to the creators.  It’s not simply a purchase, it’s about being part of a community. 

Five years ago I bought my wedding ring.  I visited dozens of local shops, but I bought my ring on Etsy.  I surprised even myself with that decision, because a wedding ring is something you really want to see on your finger.  It’s intensely personal, and it takes an enormous amount of trust to buy something like that based only on a picture.  In reality, I didn’t.  I bought it because I was able to email the maker and ask my questions.  The ring in the pictures was exactly what I wanted, but I didn’t know what would happen if it didn’t fit.  I didn’t know if the color would fade.  I didn’t know how I should take care of the metal.  If I hadn’t emailed him, I would never have bought the ring.  He couldn’t take the initiative and email me.

Your video is that email.  It’s an opportunity to reach out to your customers without them having to contact you first.  People who buy on Etsy want to know how it’s made, who you are, and why you make the art you do.  It’s the very essence of Etsy.

So how do you make the most of your Etsy video?  Here are 10 tips to create the best video possible and get it seen.

1. Focus on who you are, the process of creation, and what’s unique.  Video is a story-telling medium.  Let your pictures sell the your products; have the video sell what’s behind them. 
2. Match the tone of your video to the “tone” of video.  What music  describes your product?  Is it relaxing and elegant?  Punk? Heavy metal?  In video tone is conveyed not just in music, but it editing style and color tone.  Your video should reflect you. 
3. Keep it short.  The biggest mistake people make when they create their video is making it too long. We live in a fast-paced world.  Your video should be between 1 and 3 minutes in length.  Anything over 90 seconds needs to have “two acts.”  What does that look like? Well, Act One could be what made you decide to be an artist; Act Two would then be how you create your pieces.  Or Act One is how you create, and Act Two customer appreciation. If it thinking in terms of two acts is daunting, keep it under 90 seconds-- or find a writer friend or professional to help.
4. Don’t try to tell everything.  Clearly define 2-3 things you want to convey and keep your message focused.  It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that everything is equally interesting (it isn’t).  Or that people will pick and choose what’s of interest to them.  They don’t.  They switch channels.
5. Answer the questions that are asked the most.  For every customer who contacts you to ask a question there are probably 10 who didn’t because they were afraid of starting a conversation.  Weave the most common questions you’re asked into the narrative of your video.
6. Upload on multiple platforms.  One of the great things about video is it can be your “brand ambassador.” It can be out there working for you when you’re asleep or in your workshop.  Post the video on Youtube, Vimeo, and your website and blog.  Link to it on Facebook and Twitter. You can even post video on Google+ and Pinterest.  Good video isn’t just a way to communicate with customers who have found you.  It can reach out to potential customers who haven’t.  Remember that each post is also a backlink to your Etsy page, increasing your visibility on search engines.
7. Promote your video.  Just like it was your work.  Tout it on Facebook, and Twitter.  Email it to your friends and contacts with a simple note. 
8. Give them a deal.  Consider using the “unveiling” of your video to offer a 15% discount to people that mention it.  It’s not just an “about” video, it’s a marketing tool.
9. Keyword it.  Just like your images, you should keyword your video files.  But don’t over-keyword.  Keywords are treated equally, so too many of them that aren’t exactly what people are looking for can be harmful.
10. Work with a professional.  Realistically, professional quality video is difficult to make.  Poorly made video can discourage potential customers from making a purchase.  As TV and movie consumers, we’ve become accustomed to high quality work, and even bad movies have excellent production values.  Your video will promote your work for years to come, so make it an investment.  Choose your video production company wisely.  They should do more than just bring a bunch of fancy equipment and hit “record.”  A “canned” process will produced a canned video, and they often reek of inauthenticity.  Your production company should take an interest in your work, your aesthetic, and your goals.  They should see you in action before they bring out the gear.  They should be able to help with scriptwriting, music, and provide options for review.  And they should be able to show you a budget that makes sense.

It’s not impossible to make your own video.  What’s most important is that it is clear, authentic, and compelling.  For many Esty vendors, self-producing is the only reasonable option for their budgets.  But be conscious of the benefits of working with professionals, and the drawbacks involved in self-producing.  We see over 3,000 advertisements a day.  That’s a lot of noise.  Your Etsy video may be the best investment you make this year.

Sony A7sii - Review

There are enough technical reviews of the Sony A7sii out there that I won't discuss the specs of this instrument.  This is more of a reflection from the viewpoint of a working professional-- and one that is primarily a Nikon shooter, with a Pentax 645D as a secondary system.  The first question you might ask is why on earth would I spend close to $3K on a Sony if I already have professional gear in two other systems??  It's not simply a matter of gear-mania.  My work is expanding into video, so I wanted a tool that was specifically designed for that purpose. And the A7sii really is.  I'll talk more about that as well.

Professional Craftsmanship
This does, actually, bear repeating.  The A7sii is a expertly designed and manufactured camera.  Its small size gives the sense of being unprofessional, but its quality matches its price tag.  If feels rugged.  While the small form has its advantages, I can't say I enjoy holding it as much as either my Nikon or Pentax.  It's just small, ergonomically.  I'll have to get used to it.

Each manufacturer manages to get something right that you wish the others would adopt:  The Nikon is a fantastic all-around camera; the green exposure button on the Pentax is brilliant for working quickly in Manual Mode, and it seems like only stubbornness keeps the other manufacturers from adopting it.  With the Sony, it's the abundance of well laid-out  programmable buttons-- no less than 4, plus a FN (function) button for quick access to 10 more menu items.  You never have to take your eye from the viewfinder.  Everything is at your fingertips and shows up on the screen.  I can't express how awesome that is.
  
Peaking and Focus Zoom.  These are necessary tools for video, but are also incredibly useful for working with manual lenses in still photography.  The viewfinder is sharp enough that you can get pretty good focus just by eye, old school, but focus peaking is quicker and zoom more precise. I purchased a K&F Concept Lens Adapter to mount my Nikon glass on the Sony.  For 18 bucks I can use all of my lenses, albeit in manual focus mode only, and manual aperture as well.  The adapter works well, though the aperture clicks are so close together they're impossible to count if you're trying to triangulate your exposure with your shutter and ISO.

Zebras.  Again, this is great for video and still images alike.  You can use the zebras to identify blown out portions of the image; or you can adjust them to identify when the skin is properly exposed. 

Viewfinder.  The viewfinder is nicely sharp and easy to use.  The camera switches from the back LCD to the viewfinder when you put the camera to your eye, which is simultaneously brilliant and annoying.  Annoying, because sometimes you'd like to turn off the auto LCD (to conserve battery or prevent your camera from lighting up).  When you do, however, it won't show you the image when you press the Play button, which frankly is stupid.

Battery Consumption.  This little guy chews through batteries like a pit bull.  Sony includes an extra battery in the box, so they're obviously aware of the shortcoming, but even two batteries only gives me about half the life of my Nikon.  If I find some power-saving tips I'll post.

Image Quality
Much has been said about the low light abilities of the Sony A7sii.  So I needn't say more.  Except I can't help myself.   It really is two steps above my Nikon D600, and it's hard to believe until you look at the files just how well it handles near blackness.  Between ISO 100 and 2000 there really isn't any advantage between my three cameras.  But from 2500 to 40,000 the usability of the image is stunning.

This is at ISO 40,000.  It's had noise reduction applied in Lightroom, but that it's usable at all is a miracle.  Yes, I'm only lit by my cell phone; otherwise the room is black.

This is ISO 8,000.  The close-up beneath is at a 100% crop.  There's noise (and plenty of it), but this is still just usable. And no noise reduction has been applied.

For professional use, 12MP is a little disappointing if you've become accustomed to having more to work with.  It's not simply that you can't blow up the image for printing; you can't crop down very far either, and have it keep its quality.  The image size is more than enough for casual shooting, but less than what I need for professional. For this reason, it won't ever become my primary photography camera.  I do pack it as my backup.

The other aspects of image quality-- color rendition, dynamic range, etc.-- are quite good.  I may have more to say once I've spent more time with it.

Video
I'll save a real review of the video capabilities for later, after I've spent more time with the camera.  Others have said, and I'll repeat, that the A7sii is really designed for video, with still images as a back up.  With most DSLRs, you have to rely on accessories to get all of the tools you need to capture footage efficiently... things like focus loupes, peaking, and zebras.  Those are built in with the Sony.  Plus Slog2 and Slog3 for professionally flat images.  And the mics are much better.  You never want to use your camera mic for talent, but it produces good quality for ambient sound and even for a behind-the-camera interviewer.

Is it worth three grand?  With internal 4K, it's hard to argue against that price tag.  Yes, there's more that goes into cinematic quality video than just 4K resolution, but the a7sii can produce professional quality video for the web.   (And with an external recorder it can produce television broadcast quality.) 
 

The Wear Your Love Sessions

It’s good to connect with start-up companies-- I think they understand the value of imagery more than established companies.  For one, they have less to lose and are willing to be more adventuresome, and more flexible.  Jillian Leigh with Wear Your Love is exactly one of those companies.  She creates gorgeous boutique wedding dresses.  The style is simplicity and elegance.  For our shoot, Jillian wanted the dreamy quality of the beach and I suggested China Beach in San Francisco.  I picked it for  the granite cliff that would provide both a middle-toned background, and shade in case the sun was shining. 

Step back for an environmental portrait and you’ve got a stunning background as well.

It’s challenging to have your images rise above the competition-- which is exactly the point in marketing.  Emotion is one quality that can give your pictures a boost, but it’s not always easy to manufacture-- especially if you’re working with a solo model.  Research is what every working photographer should fall back on.  Jillian shared some of the images that inspired her; I studied the work of other “bohemian wedding dress” sessions; and I plotted out the sun’s travel with The Photographer’s Ephemeris, an online tool.  I reviewed my own images as well, and packed my bag accordingly.

I have an deep-seated fear of beach shoots.  The sand gets everywhere-- the reflections, the wind, the beachcombers... they're all difficult to manage. Which is part of what attracted me to the shoot.

The images were shot almost entirely in natural light, and mostly (because the day was overcast), without even a reflector.  The majority was shot on my trusty Nikon D600 with either a 35-70mm f/2.8 or my 80-200mm f/2.8.  A number were shot with a Pentax 645D and 45-80mm f/4 lens.  

On the second day of the shoot, Jillian’s boyfriend joined as a model, which revived some of the energy from the first day.  You can see more of the images we created at Hurricane Images, Inc.

Day 88, Learning 88: You're a Screw-up. So am I. Deal with it.

Everyone makes mistakes.  Frankly, it’s how I got into the business.  I’d been taking pictures basically since childhood, and in later life was blessed with working in careers and environments that put those talents to use.  Before I ever considered myself a professional, my images appeared on the cover of International Musician and Engineering Magazine, several CDs, brochures, and marketing materials for numerous theatre companies.  It wasn’t until a friend-of-a-friend asked me to take their picture on the spur of the moment that I started down the path of considering myself a professional.  Because the picture I took really sucked.  I was rushed, should have switched lenses, the color was off, the shadows were grim.  In short I screwed up.  So I challenged myself to learn 100 new things about photography over the next 100 days.  And I did.  It took some elbow grease, but it wasn’t all that hard.

The hard part isn’t ingesting new information, it’s regurgitating it.  You’ve seen a penny tens of thousands of times, but I’ll bet you can’t remember which way Lincoln is facing?  That’s because the mind goes through two different processes in learning: taking it, and synthesizing it.  It’s the same reason that you can check your watch, but if your friend asks you what time it is a moment later you have to look again.  I knew that my “book” learning wasn’t of much help without practice.

The smart choice is to call upon your friends and family to act as your subjects.  I was never very good at that, so I looked for opportunities to volunteer my services for low-pay, low-stakes jobs.  That required throwing up a quick website of my previous work.  After a few jobs—and the realization of just how much even a low-stakes job required, hours of prep and digital editing--  I realized I needed to charge something closer to a professional fee.  So last January I re-vamped my website and officially hung out my shingle.  I’ve been both cautious and ambitious in the jobs I’ve sought and taken.  Over the past 10 months I’ve shot for two marketing agencies, a wedding, three CDs, several corporate events, and half a dozen individual sessions.  My clients have included the international companies Illy Coffee, Levi Strauss, and Kromtech; local musicians, actors, and models; a Pulitzer Prize winner; fashion start-ups and more.  Each has been a challenge and that has kept me engaged and energized.

And then I screwed up.  This isn’t ancient history, something I can look back on with a rueful smile; this was a couple of weeks ago.  I was shooting a highly personal “life event.”  A personal project dealing with loss and death.  It was, in some respect, a ritual.  My beloved Nikon 35-70mm f2.8, my work-horse and go-to lens, developed a loose internal part in the focusing mechanism.  The result was a fractional bit of random “jiggle room” in the focusing mechanism, and a varying degree of blur depending on where in the jiggle you were.  At its best the blur resembled defraction; at its worst the images were unusable.

I didn’t notice it.  We were shooting outside on the beach.  There was bright light, sand getting everywhere, we were working around the waves, and I was managing the pressure of performance.  It wasn’t until I returned home and saw the images (about half of the shoot was with this lens) and investigated my quipment that I realized what had happened.  I was beyond mortified; I felt sick to my stomach.  I could say it was just a mechanical malfunction, but in truth I should checked my LCD for more than exposure and composition when I was in the field; I should have brought a loop to shield the glare on the screen; I should have slowed down and I should have mixed up my lens choices more. The problem wasn’t purely mechanical.

Learning number 101 ain’t pretty.  But the lesson here is in how to both prevent failure and deal with it.   

There are drawbacks to continually checking your images (or crimping), but there’s also a way to do it.  

1     .       Take your time setting up your shot and lighting; let the client know

2     .       Shoot a series of shots before checking your LCD so you don’t destroy the flow of a session

3     .       When you do crimp: 

a.       Check your composition

b.      Check the aesthetics of your exposure

c.       Check your actual exposure using the histogram

d.      Check your focus at 100%

4     .       Bring a loop to outdoor sessions

So what do you do when you fail?  Here’s what I did.  First I prioritized the digital editing from the session so I could finish the images ahead of schedule.  With careful editing I was able to fully redeem about 80% of the session; the remaining 20% was “passable” but below a professional level.  I sent the images to the client ahead of schedule, explained what had happened, and offered a re-shoot if they were dissatisfied with any of the images. 

This is what I did.  Luckily, my client was so pleased with the first 80% that they didn’t mind the shortcomings in those 20%.  But I’m not patting myself on the back anytime soon.  Almost every session is a ritual of sorts, a special occasion, and as such is un-repeatable.  My failure took something away from my client that cannot be replaced.