Aspiring Photographer: Photography Advice and Inspiration

Blur Your Background with the Nifty Fifty 50mm f/1.8 lens for Canon or Nikon DSLR cameras

What's that lens everyone is always recommending, and why might you want it?

The "Nifty Fifty" 50mm f/1.8 lens is THE recommended lens for those getting into DSLR photography, especially if you're wanting to achieve a shallow depth of field. Also, it is the one lens that lets you do that but that is still quite affordable. In general the lenses that let you open up your aperture are expensive, but for whatever reason, the 50mm f/1.8 is the one exception to that rule. And yes, there is also a 50mm f/1.4 lens that you can get if you have some additional spare cash, but I'm here to tell you how to get into a fast lens on the cheap. Oh yeah, and what's a "fast lens" anyway? That's one where you can get a lower f/stop number, or "open up" more. You may also hear it referred to as "fast glass." 

In every workshop I teach, someone always asks "But I already have an 18-55 lens, so I already have a 50mm length lens. Why would I need a fixed 50mm?" Well, here's why. You see on your lens where it says "1:3.5-5.6?" Those numbers show you the most open aperture you can get from your lens at the two far ends of your zoom. At the wide angle end, which is 18mm, your smallest f-stop (most open aperture) is 3.5. At the most zoomed-in end, 55m, your most open aperture is 5.6. The more you can open your aperture, the more shallow depth of field you can achieve (the more you can blur your foreground and background). The 50mm f/1.8 lens lets you open up to f/1.8, which is a much larger opening than the f/5.6 opening you could achieve at that same length with your 18mm-55mm kit lens. You can blur out your background a WHOLE LOT more at f/1.8 than you can at f/5.6. So that's why you want it even though you already have a lens that goes to 50mm!

So, what specifically, do you want to purchase? Well, if you're not wanting to spend a ton of money, then the lens you want is the 50mm f/1.8 lens.

With Canon it's straight forward, you want this one, and it's currently $119 at B&H: 

Canon Normal EF 50mm f/1.8 II (B&H)

With Nikon, it depends on your camera. It's a difference of about $100 depending on which one you need:

Nikon has manufactured several camera bodies where they excluded a drive motor for the lens, and if you have one of them then you need to purchase the more expensive version of this lens. If you don't buy that lens and get the cheaper one, then you'll be stuck with a lens that doesn't autofocus, which is probably not what you want. The cameras that require the AF-S version of the lens are: D3000, D3100, D5000, D5100, D40, D60. Basically, they made these cameras less expensive by leaving off the drive motor, but effectively made them more expensive by requiring you to purchase the more expensive lenses!

AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G Lens for D3000, D3100, D5000, D5100, D40, D60 (B&H). Warning, this lens is in high-demand, and as of this writing is currently on back-order through every source I've checked. I'd go ahead and place your order and get in line now!

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D for other Nikon DSLRs (B&H)

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Mary Lynne Ashley is a certified professional photographer in Colorado Springs. She offers private photography lessons and group workshops on the basics of digital SLR photography. See a listing of her current photography courses.

 

 

 

Become Re-inspired Through a Personal Project

A few years ago I found myself becoming very burnt out on photography. Creating photographs of children is usually an absolute joy, but even photographing the most beautiful subjects, which happen to be children in my opinion, can become tedious when you do the same thing every day, especially when you're creating the images to satisfy someone else rather than yourself. When you're starting out in your business, your workload is light enough that every session can be a new and unique creative opportunity. I remember being so excited and nervous for every session, and heading out to Hobby Lobby or the fabric store or a yard sale to look for items to include in the photos to make them new and fresh. Of course, once you start doing more sessions, you can't do that every time. First of all, you would eat up any profits you may have, and second, you don't have the time! So you learn which types of shots parents tend to buy, and you recreate them consistently for people. Each session and each image is still unique because each child is unique, but the initial excitement of creating images can wane, especially once you encounter a difficult client or two. Luckily for me, I fell into a personal project that greatly helped me to become excited about photography again.

My project happened almost by accident, but has gone a long way to re-excite me. It has opened up my audience to a larger population and has also gained me professional recognition. Your personal project can be anything that has meaning to you. In my case, something I'd wanted to do for years all of a sudden fell into my lap. I was hosting a birthday party for a friend of mine at my studio. While talking with a friend of the birthday girl, I found out that he was starting a project interviewing homeless people so that he could publish a set of their stories. I immediately blurted out that I would create studio portraits of each of the people he interviewed. I'd always wanted to photograph homeless people in the studio, but it wasn't like I was going to go out and find them on my own. He jumped on the offer, and my personal project began. All of a sudden I was learning how to engage and capture an entirely different type of subject, and I found it very creatively inspiring.

My first subjects I photographed through this project were Andy and Charlene. Still, of all the homeless portraits I have created, this portrait of them stands out as the most beautiful and moving. I entered the image into a PPA-style competition through the Professional Photographers of Colorado, and won not only a Judge's Choice award, but also the Kodak Gallery Award, and went on to be accepted into the PPA Loan Collection. Winning awards like these definitely helps to inspire me to want to aim even higher.

Since then I have also photographed another different type of subject -- dogs. I ran a little special at the studio offering a session and 5x7 print to anyone who brought me a $25 donation made out to the local Humane Society. My experience photographing all these dogs was similar to the homeless project, in that I learned how to work with an entirely differently type of subject, so to me the images were all new and fresh. The enthusiasm in creating images of these new types of subjects has carried over into my daily work in photographing children. Photography itself has become more exciting for me again. When I find myself slipping again, I hope I will be able to push myself to find another project that will continue to inspire me and help me grow as a photographer.

Oh No! They Didn't Like My Work!

I have talked to so many photographers who were frustrated because a session didn't go the way they wanted it to. Heck, I still stress out over lots of my sessions -- did they like their photos, or are they instead telling everyone what a lousy photographer I am? Maybe the children didn't behave, making it impossible for you to get something good. Or maybe the parents just didn't like the photos, even though you thought you did a great job. Perhaps you just didn't do your best work that day. It happens to all of us.

These experiences can sting.  They can lower our self-confidence. They can even cause us to give up on our dream to pursue photography as a profession. I have seen and heard countless photographers drive themselves crazy over one session that went wrong. They ask everyone they know -- “aren't these photographs good? What are they thinking? Why don't they like them? Don't you think they're being unreasonable?“ And most people will just respond with what you want to hear. They'll tell you the photos are great, and that the client is just difficult or picky. But I think your clients have a right to walk away with photos they love. What I'd like to see you do is to take these incidents and turn them into learning experiences.  Not everyone is going to love your work every time. In fact, not everyone is even going to like YOU every time. Our personality can't possibly resonate with every single person with whom we might do business. 

I believe that if someone tells us they don't like the work we did for them, we need to hear what they've told us and take it to heart. If you get all worked up over why someone didn't like the results from one single session, you're not giving yourself the chance to grow as a photographer and a business person. Offer to do a re-shoot at no charge. It might be inconvenient, but  it'll give you the chance to turn around a bad situation. I have read and experienced first-hand that ultimately the best clients in any business are those who complained and then had someone go above and beyond expectations to solve their problem.

Here are several ways to prevent some possible problems:

• Avoid naptime. Schedule small children at the beginning of the morning when they are at their best. If your session time cuts into nap time, then you're inviting a breakdown (by the kid, by the mom, and maybe even by you!)
• Set priorities for the session. Do not assume what photos and groupings the client wants. Talk with the parents at the beginning of the session to clarify the goals of the session. Take the top priority shots first. Let them know that you'd like them to prioritize in case the child decides he or she has had enough before you have a chance to get to all the shots.
• Provide session guidelines ahead of time.
• Take a snack break. Not for you, but for the kids! Frequently, a little drink and some goldfish crackers can turn around a cranky kid and save the day.

Believe me, I know it's miserable when someone doesn't like your work. But the more experience you have, the less often it'll happen. It really is true.

Customer Service: Penny-Wise and Pound Foolish

Recently, I had two dramatically different customer service experiences on the same day, and felt the need to share the contrast between the two. The two examples show the awareness, and alternatively, the lack thereof, of the lifetime value of a customer.

I'd started out the day deciding to take my daughter out for a little treat at my favorite little neighborhood coffee shop. I had a small standing credit at the shop from a gift certificate a friend had purchased for me a while back, and figured that would let us order what we wanted without guilt. Just a fun special treat for the two of us. Here, I need to point out that the shop changed hands several months earlier, and the previous owners, who had become dear to my heart, are no longer there. The new owner greeted us in a fake half smile. No recognition that I had ever been in the shop before. She silently, and somewhat glumly, made our order. I then told her I was using up the rest of my gift certificate. They have an "old fashioned" way of accounting for these in a little file box, so I prepared to tell her my name so she could look it up. She very matter of factly told me that she had given people a deadline to use their credits from the old owner, but that they had all expired a few months ago. Just sort of "sorry, that's the way it is," as I expressed my disappointment. So all of a sudden, our little treat, which I'd thought was going to be on my generous friend who had purchased the gift certificate, was now on me. So that brought us down a notch, and we sat at our little table, whispering about how mean the girl was. I decided right then and there that I wouldn't be going back! Does she care? No. But that's the problem. She should. She had no understanding about the lifetime value of a customer. Had she been a little more friendly and honored my little $20 gift certificate when I asked, she could have totally turned things around. But she was more concerned about saving a couple dollars in that one transaction than she was about saving me for the long term. People don't spend much in a coffee shop at any one time, but we all know how much a coffee shop can eek out of us over the course of a year. And she lost every future penny from me. Not to mention those of my friends who I used to always bring along with me. Bummer for me. Bummer for her.

Later that day I made my way to the Apple Store due to some problems with my laptop. Not only did my power cord not work, but I also had a cracked screen! Yikes, I wasn't looking forward to how much this was going to cost me. I'd purchased Apple Care, so I figured they'd probably replace the cord since there no visible damage, but I knew better about the cracked screen. I'd signed up for my appointment on their easy-to-use website, and they were right there to help me at my assigned time. Perfectly friendly and welcoming, too, although they'd never seen me before in their life. The guy took a few minutes to look over the problems and told me they'd be happy to give me a new cord. The cracked screen was not covered by Apple Care and had a hefty price of nearly $500 ... bummer!..., but, he said, he'd go ahead and cover it for me anyway. Of course, I was jumping for joy (well, inside my head, anyway) and left the store a super happy camper. I love Apple, in large part because they did the same thing several years earlier when I dropped my iPhone and it cracked. Not covered, but they covered it anyway. They know that over the years I'll spend many more thousands of dollars on their products. It's worth it to them to go the extra mile and me happy now, even if it costs them a little more. With customer service like that, is it any wonder they're one of the top-valued companies in the world?

Part of me wants to explain to the new owner of my ex-favorite coffee shop how should could have handled things differently, and why I won't be coming back, and why a lot of her former customers won't be coming back, but she wasn't even warm enough to make me want to bother. I have a new favorite coffee shop where the owner knows my name. I'll be taking my laptop with shiny new screen there from now on.

Do You Accept Credit Cards? Consider the Square Card Reader

When I first started my photography business I accepted only cash or checks. Finally, one of my clients convinced me that I needed to accept credit cards. Since then, I've gone through several merchant accounts. Quite honestly, I think it is the sleasiest business around. They sell you the service on their supposedly low rates, which are invalid as soon as you accept cards that get miles or points, or when the whim strikes them. They sneak in all sorts of hidden fees without telling you they're doing it. An extra $5 statement fee per month for this card or that starts showing up, high fees for keying in a card rather than swiping it, and other fees that they just add without telling you.  They make their statements just about impossible to decipher, and I really think they do so intentionally so that you will throw up your hands and avoid questioning them about the fees. For several years I worked with a merchant credit card company who NEVER EVER answered their customer service number. I learned that the only way to get someone on the phone was to call their sales office.

I've most recently been using a merchant account that wasn't too terribly sleazy, but I still felt somewhat in the dark about what I was being charged. The guy who signed me up said "these are the fees today, but I can't promise you they won't change them or add new fees after you sign the papers." What the heck is that? And because the only way to use this service is through their credit card terminal that needs to be plugged into a phone line, I was being charged the higher keyed-in fee for every transaction because I would have to write down the client's card info while at my studio and then come home and key it in. I don't have a phone line at my current studio.

So, I was really excited when I started hearing rumblings about Square. Their website is www.squareup.com. When you sign up they send you a nifty little plastic square thing that plugs into your iPhone, iPod touch, iPad or Android. This little square thing is free, by the way. You download their app, sign up for an account, verify your bank account, and you're good to go. For swiped transactions in which you swipe your client's card through the little plastic thing, your fee is 2.75% of the transaction. If, on the other hand, you enter credit cards manually, it is 3.15% + 15 cents per transaction. And by the way, they're not some little rinky-dink start up but were founded by one of the guys who started Twitter.

I started using Square a few weeks ago, and I still get excited every time I run a card through the little thing and hand over the iPad to my client to sign their name with their finger. I love it that the client immediately gets an email receipt of the transaction, and that I receive an email telling me the exact amount of the transaction fee so I can enter it into my Quickbooks account right away. You can stop using Square at any time and there is no cancellation fee. No startup fee, no cancellation fee. No monthly statement fee. Which is completely opposite most merchant account vendors, who can hit you with huge startup and cancellation fees. When I called my merchant account provider to cancel a couple weeks ago they tole me it would be $175 to cancel. That is, until I told them my contract says "no cancellation fee," and then they backed off. I told you merchant account vendors are sleazy.

So, is Square right for you? I think it probably depends on how many credit card transactions you do, and the size of them. Regular merchant accounts can offer much lower rates on swiped transactions, which can be huge if you frequently run large orders. These days, I'm finding more and more of my clients paying by check, and since I didn't have a way to plug in my terminal at my studio, I wasn't getting the advantage of lower rates on swiped cards. If you're thinking about accepting credit cards, and Paypal doesn't cut it for you, I think it's definitely worth looking into Square.

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Mary Lynne Ashley is a professional photographer specializing in creating portraits of newborns, babies, children, maternity and families in her Colorado Springs photography studio.

Imaging USA 2011

 Whew! What an awesome time. I had such a blast at Imaging USA 2011 in San Antonio last week, the first time I've ever attended in my 10 years as a professional photographer. And I didn't even attend the classes. I filled up my time there with a couple parties, the certification exam, the trade show, the print exhibition, and catching up with old friends. And that was plenty! Still holding my breath for the results of the exam. We were told to expect results in 3 weeks. I'm hoping that was their attempt to "under promise and over deliver," and that maybe just maybe we'll hear something before that. I was disappointed that it rained the whole time I was there, but the beautiful convention center and inspiration overload made up for the lousy weather.

So, I thought I'd share just a few of the highlights of the convention from my perspective.

Booth That Extracted The Most Money From Me

Oh yes, that would have to be Barbour Backdrops. Wow. The quality of these backgrounds is simply remarkable. They have developed a process that enables them to create the look and feel of a faux wall right on canvas. With many years of experience creating faux finishes, they are creating a product of the highest quality and craftsmanship. They tested it and got it right until they could create and roll the backgrounds, keeping them flexible and not cracking. I've looked a good deal online at the faux backgrounds that are computer generated onto a wrinkle-free poly fabric background, and am disappointed when I get up close and touch and feel them. Although people seem to like them and love the lightweight wrinkle free versatility, I can't get past the cheap look when they're hanging there, but the backgrounds from Barbour look really upscale and expensive. I think you really have to see them in person to appreciate the quality and texture. They almost have the look and finish of leather.

What I also love about Barbour Backdrops is the fact that this is a family run business, so it makes me happy to have my little family-run business support their family run business (which is not nearly as little as mine at this point!). One of the owners spent a lot of time with me telling me all about the product, and it's clear that he's enthusiastic about what they do.

I picked out a couple of backgrounds that I feel will both be universally great with families, boys and girls. It it so hard for me to commit to a background, but I feel these will provide me with good versatility while helping to set me apart from other local photographers. I really expected these backgrounds to be more expensive given the quality.

Booth With the Cutest Stuff

Design Revolution. Totally. And I got away with spending only $35 with them! Not quite sure how I pulled that off. Their booth was jam-packed with all these adorable little hats, tutus, tops and other baby clothing you feel like you have to buy right that second or else you'll die. I never actually really even got inside their booth because it was so crammed with female photographers clawing their way to the goods that you could barely turn around. But I got to see their stuff the night before in a little pre-show hospital suite hosted by Lori Nordstrom's PhotoTalk Forum, so that was cool. I thought I'd gotten some shots of the Design Revolution booth, but I'm not finding them, so you'll have to settle for this photo of Julie Klaasmeyer (famous baby photographer extraordinaire) being sweet and pretending she's my BFF while I hold up the super-cute newborn hat I bought from her.

Coolest Booth Design

Finao totally dominated the "coolest booth" category in my opinion. When you're walking the trade show floor for hours with a bag full of heavy promotional materials, you get exahasted. Coming across this huge booth with loads of  ottomans, sofas and papasan chairs was like finding an oasis in the desert! It was all set up to look like some hip hookah bar, and you could stay as long as you wanted by grabbing a seat and pouring through the countless albums that were on tables and shelves throughout the booth. The only problem is that they were a little off the beaten path, on the very far edge of the expo floor, so I didn't discover them right away.

 

Best Convention Inspiration

Since I did not attend any of the classes, which I'm sure were terrific, I drew most of my inspiration from the print exhibition, which contains the merit-winning and Loan Collection images from last year. It had me crying and laughing and staring in wonder. Wish I'd had a lot more time to go back through the exhibit a couple more times.

We observed that low-key character studies seem to do especially well in competition, and there were lots and lots of images of animals. Babies not so much! There was also lots of digital composite work that is totally beyond me, but way cool to look at.

[Mary Lynne Ashley is a Colorado Springs portrait photographer specializing in babies, children and maternity photography.]

Colorado Springs Camera Classes | Learn How to Use Your Digital SLR

Learn How To Use Your Digital SLR Camera
One Day, $99
NEW DATES: Saturday, February 19th OR Saturday, May 7th
9am – 2pm
Snacks and drinks included. Bring a sack lunch.

This is a group class for anyone interested in understanding how to get better results with their digital SLR, and will be especially geared towards those wanting to get better photos of people. You probably paid a lot of money for that camera, and a little training will help you get so much more out of it! This is a very hands-on class, where I’ll help demystify all those controls on your camera. We’ll talk about focusing, getting correct exposure through both manual and automatic methods by understanding ISO, shutter speed and aperture, white balance, lens selection, and more. With each discussion we’ll change settings on our cameras and get practice applying each concept. We will also cover some of the basics related to photographing with natural light, and "seeing the light."

No experience or prior knowledge is necessary. I usually cover this same information in my personalized two-hour one-on-one classes, but this class is great for those who prefer a group environment, or who would like a little extra time to absorb and experiment with each concept before moving onto the next one.

Contact Mary Lynne Ashley at marylynneashley@gmail.com, or 719-205-7236 (cell) for more information, and/or to register.

Mary Lynne Ashley is an award-winning Colorado Springs professional portrait photographer specializing  in babies, children and families.

You can see examples of her work at www.ashleyphotography.com, and also on her Ashley Photography Facebook fan page.

How NOT to Market Your Photography Business

So a few days ago I was at my studio listening to podcasts and painting away. We always have this need to redecorate our studios in January, it seems! Unshowered, dressed in my grubbies and covered in paint, I heard a knock at my door. I only take sessions by appointment, so I figured it was the landlord or the tenant next door needing something. I opened the door to find a guy standing out there. "Are you Ashley?" I said "Well, sort of. My last name is Ashley." So he says "well, what's your first name?" And I say "who are you?" He tells me his first name, and that he's from a company that helps photographers get more business. I tell him my name, and he says "Okay, well I just wanted you to be able to place a face with a name." He'd called and left a message on my phone the day before, and had sent me a postcard a week or two before that. I told him I was really in the middle of something, so he left.

I went back into the studio and thought "this guy went to the effort to find my studio's address and drive over here, but he didn't even bother to find out my name before he showed up?" Couldn't he have just checked out my website for two minutes? " How about approaching me this way instead?: "Hi, are you Mary Lynne? I was checking out your website, and you sure have some beautiful baby photography on there. January's sure a slow month for photographers, isn't it? Do you have a few minutes to talk about how our company might be able to help you with that?" Of course, I still wouldn't have been thrilled about him just showing up without an appointment, but he might have had a chance with me. A few days later I received an e-mail from a woman trying to sell me an Internet/phone bundle, and the first thing she said in the e-mail was how impressed she was with my photography, and how she wished she lived closer so she could bring her kids to me. I didn't need Internet service, but she at least earned a polite decline from me.

How would this lesson apply to your photography business? It took me back to the time I had a client show up to pick up her prints, and my new employee gave her a blank look and said "and your name is...?" completely acting like she hadn't just recently spent a couple hours in a session with her and another hour or two in the sales room! Knowing our clients' names is HUGE. They certainly deserve it after making the important decision to choose us as their photographer.

Well, that's my little rant for today! It just seemed like a relevant experience to share.

-Mary Lynne