Sooner or later, most photography enthusiast give some thought to "how to start a photography business." Unfortunately, there are a 'few' challenges that "doom" us to failure. One of the biggest challenges that we bring is our failure to make the distinctions between our love of photography (re: our enjoyment and passion for photography) and the business of photography (understanding buying and spending habits of people that are photography customers).
For example, many of us think that because our photography work is "so good," that we shouldn't have that much trouble selling it. We, sometimes, mistakenly, think that great art and photography "sells itself." Big mistake! Great photography does not sell itself. In the business world, nothing sells itself - nothing! Knowing this is critical to start a photography business.
Our failure to make the distinction between our passion for photography and our desire to be in the photo business is also evident in how we try to tell people about what we do. For example, photography customers don't care what type of equipment we use. They don't care how many mega-pixels we have, nor how much our equipment cost us, nor what brand of camera we use. Photography customers (current and potential) want to know that we can, and will, produce the highest quality photography work for them.
Think about it, the mechanics that repair our cars don't tell us what tools that they use. The chefs in the restaurants that we patronize don't tell us what type of pots, pans or stoves that they use. In those businesses, it is already established what customers want and how best to give it to them. In other words, other businesses do a better job of understanding their 'niche.' In order to start a photography business that is consistently successful and growing, we must be clear on what niche we are offering and how to sell the benefits of our niche to the customers.
Another mistake that we budding photography business owners repeat is failing to "specialize" (know our photography niche) in what we do. As photography enthusiasts, we enjoy shooting any and everything. As photographers, that's just fine. However, when we start a photography business, we, mistakenly, try to be 'all things to all people' - we take every photography job offered us.
One of the obvious problems with this approach is our failure to recognize how it drastically cheapens the value of what we do as skilled photographers, in the eyes of the customers. Mistakenly, we want our customers (current and potential) to know that we can photograph anything - after all, we're very versatile photographers! What the customers actually see is that we're not "versatile photographers," we're just someone with a camera that's available to take pictures when they call us. Serious photography customers (re: those that can afford to spend regularly) want to do business with specialists - photographers that know their photography niche.
Successful wedding photographers are clear on this, as an example of my point. Their 'primary' customer (usually the bride) has dreamed about her wedding day for most of her life. She isn't looking for a vesatile photographer. She wants a "wedding photographer" that can make her 'look' as good, happy and beautiful as she has been in all of her lifelong dreams of 'her day' - her wedding day. There's a special skill to this type of photography service. In fact, this niche has more to do with well developed 'people skills,' in my opinion. Successful wedding photographers that are clear on these nuances are more successful in business.
Do your research.
Inventory Your Photo Collection - Take a look at your photo collections. Determine what it is that you 1.) shoot the most; 2.) shoot consistently well; and 3.) enjoy shooting. Identify your and categorize the photos into various niches, i.e. portraits, sports, glamor, pets, children, landscape, etc.
Research The Photography Markets - Do internet searches using the words "photography niche." Also, use the type of niche that you think your photos fit. For example, "event photography niche," "wedding photography niche," etc. Also, a good source to help identify some of the photo markets is "The Photographer's Market." This is a book that is published annually and claims to provide photo buying contacts and information. Online searches are the most useful, in my opinion. Books by author and photographer, Dan Heller are good places to get a better understanding of the vast world of photography, without all the 'artsy-hype,' in my opinion. He also has a very informative website - DanHeller.com
Identify 'Real' Markets - Find out what type of photography (of your specialties) your customers currently are purchasing. What type of photography is selling? At some point, you'll have to 'balance' the realities of the different niches. There can be some factors that aren't consistent across all photography niches. For example, some niches require longer "workflow" (workflow is the post production process of taking photos) periods and tasks than others. Higher quality portraits normally require photo editing - which is time-consuming. Event photography requires the processing, packaging and delivering (presenting) of photos. True story: I went through my large photo collections and found that I had a very large number of outstandingly beautiful flowers. I can't begin to tell you my disappointment when I found out that there is 'virtually' no market of photos of flowers - it seems that everybody has them already, everybody! Lesson learned - identify 'real' markets.
Ten Tips To Assist You To Identify Your Niche
Identify specialties that fit your style:
Determine if you have the necessary equipment for the niche
Do you have identifiable and specific skills in this niche area - can you articulate them?
Who is your target audience
What type of photography do they purchase the most
Where are they taking their photography business currently - your competition
What will be different about your services
Does where you live support your preferable niche
Is your niche 'stock photography' or 'assignment photography' - do you know the difference
What is the future potential and tendencies of your niche
Fortunately, the internet makes this information just a few clicks away. The information isn't difficult to find and learn. Knowing your niche increases your confidence tremendously. Truly know your niche - and your photography business will follow!
More information, visit : http://www.marketing-for-photographers-and-photography.com/amateurphotographytips.html
Monday, March 4, 2013
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Online Jewelry Wholesalers
There are many small and large jewelry businesses around. In order to excel above the rest, you should permanently be on the lookout for ways to increase your profits and beat the competition, but the basics are very important, and get the best wholesale jewelry out there will put you ahead of the game from the beginning.
In order to find the best of the best in wholesale jewelry, pay attention to the following characteristics of each wholesale you consider:
1. They have international sources
Best buy wholesale jewelry pieces and materials from different sources and countries, allowing you to have more choices in the collection, and access to the latest trend. These characteristics can also save you from an economic crisis varied suppliers you will have access to.
2. They should know about the latest trends and know what the market is looking for
In order to help you sell, wholesale jewelry will offer what is in the moment and also what is considered a classic, for example, Stone, Bone, Glass, Metal, Wood and other, which always sells and it would make business You thrive.
3. They should offer a variety of jewelry pieces
You should be able to choose from a variety of earrings, necklaces, beads, bracelets, rings, chains, and others. The best of the best will also offer other product lines, such as hair accessories, belts, mobile phone chains, key chains, bags and accessories are big sellers and a very attractive option for customers of jewelry.
4. The trademark of a good wholesale jewelry is that they walk the walk and talking the talk
In other words, they provide, and their first priority is customer satisfaction. Wholesale jewelry should be open to advice you and your clients, and they must be able to meet the specific demands of your customers, so you can provide a unique service. If you have the chance, ask for recommendations from people you know in business, or looking for testimonials on the Internet and from other reliable sources.
The only way to sell is to have the right supply, support, and variations to get the most out of the jewelry market. If wholesale jewelry you can give this support, you know that you are in business with the right professional, and you can be sure that your jewelry business will provide you with years of financial stability and personal pride.
First, you must know a noticeable difference between online jewelry shops of your local stores and jewelry from online wholesale jewelry store. These are three different things, you see, online jewelry store operates basically almost the same as your local shops jewelry. They offer a price that does not differ from the local shops. The difference lies in how you buy their stuff. With an online jewelry store, you have to book through online auction sites, while for local stores, you will have to physically visit them in person to make a purchase. Both offer very similar mark up.
On the other hand, wholesale jewelry online store offers the same quality supplies at a cheaper cost. Selling wholesale benefit should not be dealing with the middleman and offering online entrepreneur to order from reputable wholesalers. This is the key to finding a good buy and at the same time ensuring profit, purchasing from a wholesaler in bulk.
To achieve this goal, you must find a reliable directory to work with. You also want to come up with a list of reliable suppliers to compare costs so you can offer the market with very competitive prices. You can confirm this by signing up for an online wholesale directory or maximize your search engine to find a reputable online jewelry wholesaler. If you're looking for the best available eternity rings, just key in eternity rings jewelry wholesaler and easily come up with a relevant hits, yes, as soon as snapping his fingers.
More information, please visit : http://www.tibetcraftswholesale.com/
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Simple Lifestyle Changes and Menopause Supplements For Memory Lapses
The Problem - Memory Lapses
During menopause, you may experience frequent memory lapses. Hormonal imbalance is an important factor in memory problems among menopausal women.
During menopause, the estrogen level fluctuate greatly, causing physical discomforts such as joint pains, headaches, hot flashes, sleep disorder, and mental problems including mood swings, anxiety, depression and irritability.
In case of memory lapses, declined level of estrogen affects the cognitive functions of the brain. Insufficient level of this female hormone causes the brain to slow down, leading to frequent memory lapses.
In addition, stress and disrupted sleep during menopause can worsen the condition. Some women also report fuzzy thinking as an accompanied symptom.
Memory problems may impede daily life. Misplaced keys, forgetting names, failing to remember appointments or important numbers, these can be very troublesome for many women.
Simple Ways to Alleviate the Problem
The good news is that: memory lapses are reversible and preventable, with some effective treatments, such as lifestyle changes and natural remedies.
Incorporate exercise into our daily route. Regular exercise sends more oxygen to your brain and relieves stress and tension. Increased oxygen and reduced stress can help the brain function better and reduce memory problems.
Limit intake of alcohol. Alcohol is harmful for the brain function as it damages never cells and depletes vitamins in the body, which are vital for building neural connections.
Get more snooze time. Sleep is essential for proper memory functions. Lack of sleep can affect mood, judgment and memory ability. A good night's sleep can improve your memory, especially for menopausal women. Aim for 7 to 8 hours sleep a night to get fully rested.
Natural Remedies to Relieve the Symptoms
Apart from memory lapses, you are very likely to suffer from other menopausal symptoms, such as hot flashes, weight gain, insomnia and anxiety. These symptoms are all hormone-related and can make your memory lapses worse.
To maintain a good menopause health and reduce the hormone-related symptoms, make sure you give body all essential nutrients for a good health foundation, as well as effective herbs to fight the unwanted symptoms.
Herbs can help stimulate the brain and boost memory. Herbal supplements for menopause can regulate hormone levels and alleviate menopausal symptoms. Effective herbs include Black cohosh, Dong quai and Red clover.
When you are combining lifestyle changes and quality supplements for menopause, you are treating the problems from inside to outside, from root cause to related symptoms.
During menopause, you may experience frequent memory lapses. Hormonal imbalance is an important factor in memory problems among menopausal women.
During menopause, the estrogen level fluctuate greatly, causing physical discomforts such as joint pains, headaches, hot flashes, sleep disorder, and mental problems including mood swings, anxiety, depression and irritability.
In case of memory lapses, declined level of estrogen affects the cognitive functions of the brain. Insufficient level of this female hormone causes the brain to slow down, leading to frequent memory lapses.
In addition, stress and disrupted sleep during menopause can worsen the condition. Some women also report fuzzy thinking as an accompanied symptom.
Memory problems may impede daily life. Misplaced keys, forgetting names, failing to remember appointments or important numbers, these can be very troublesome for many women.
Simple Ways to Alleviate the Problem
The good news is that: memory lapses are reversible and preventable, with some effective treatments, such as lifestyle changes and natural remedies.
Incorporate exercise into our daily route. Regular exercise sends more oxygen to your brain and relieves stress and tension. Increased oxygen and reduced stress can help the brain function better and reduce memory problems.
Limit intake of alcohol. Alcohol is harmful for the brain function as it damages never cells and depletes vitamins in the body, which are vital for building neural connections.
Get more snooze time. Sleep is essential for proper memory functions. Lack of sleep can affect mood, judgment and memory ability. A good night's sleep can improve your memory, especially for menopausal women. Aim for 7 to 8 hours sleep a night to get fully rested.
Natural Remedies to Relieve the Symptoms
Apart from memory lapses, you are very likely to suffer from other menopausal symptoms, such as hot flashes, weight gain, insomnia and anxiety. These symptoms are all hormone-related and can make your memory lapses worse.
To maintain a good menopause health and reduce the hormone-related symptoms, make sure you give body all essential nutrients for a good health foundation, as well as effective herbs to fight the unwanted symptoms.
Herbs can help stimulate the brain and boost memory. Herbal supplements for menopause can regulate hormone levels and alleviate menopausal symptoms. Effective herbs include Black cohosh, Dong quai and Red clover.
When you are combining lifestyle changes and quality supplements for menopause, you are treating the problems from inside to outside, from root cause to related symptoms.
When a Lapse of Memory May Be Something to Be Concerned About
We all have had a lapse of memory from time to time and thought nothing of it. However, repeatedly having memory problems may be a symptom of something more. Here's why your memory may be a good barometer on other health issues.
Memory lapses can range from mildly annoying such as forgetting to grab your keys as you run out the door to down right infuriating that you forgot to make a deposit and bounced a check as a result. Usually we remember after a moment or we shake our heads and move on to the next thing. However, it may be wise to pay more attention to what we're forgetting and how often.
The brain's ability to recall is a sensitive mechanism that can be greatly affected by a number of factors. Most people are familiar with the more serious lapse of memory that comes from actual disease like Alzheimer's. Physical damage to the brain interferes with the process of recall. However, the memory function is lost gradually over time not all at once. Recognizing the signs is key in getting an early diagnosis and treatment in order to preserve brain function as long as possible.
With a disease like Alzheimer's, memory lapses usually start like normal where you forget something for a moment or don't remember doing something a few days ago. However, they progress to getting more frequent with more serious and permanent loss. Things once familiar become foreign.
However, a lapse of memory doesn't necessarily mean a disease like Alzheimer's. Memory can also be impacted by things like stress, lack of sleep or even diet. Having trouble with your memory may be a sign of those things or even a illness like depression. Understanding when it is a symptom instead of a regular lapse of memory is the key.
So how do we tell the difference? It's not easy, after all memory can be somewhat subjective...some people have better recall than others. But, the trick is knowing what is normal for you and then being able to notice if it changes. If you always have trouble remembering names, but rarely forget phone numbers then you might be concerned if you started having trouble with numbers as well as names.
Frequency is also important to track. If you notice that memory lapses are happening with greater regularity then it may be a sign that there is an issue that needs to be addressed. Also the type of information that is being forgotten could be telling too. If you are having trouble remembering things that were normally simple for you or if you forget things that are routine and/or very familiar to you then that would be a more serious red flag.
What do you do if you suspect that your memory lapses are something more serious? Obviously the first step is to seek medical attention. A doctor should check you out and review your diet, sleep and stress patterns with you to see if they can determine a root cause. If that doesn't seem to be it they may need to run certain tests to see if they can uncover the reason for the issue. They may also refer you to a Therapist who can rule out things like depression or some other mental health issue.
Some steps you can take to combat memory lapses and possibly restore memory function is to adjust your diet to be healthier, exercise more or perhaps take a supplement designed for supporting brain function. These combined with the advice of your doctor may help you find and address the more serious issues your lapse of memory is trying to signal.
Memory lapses can range from mildly annoying such as forgetting to grab your keys as you run out the door to down right infuriating that you forgot to make a deposit and bounced a check as a result. Usually we remember after a moment or we shake our heads and move on to the next thing. However, it may be wise to pay more attention to what we're forgetting and how often.
The brain's ability to recall is a sensitive mechanism that can be greatly affected by a number of factors. Most people are familiar with the more serious lapse of memory that comes from actual disease like Alzheimer's. Physical damage to the brain interferes with the process of recall. However, the memory function is lost gradually over time not all at once. Recognizing the signs is key in getting an early diagnosis and treatment in order to preserve brain function as long as possible.
With a disease like Alzheimer's, memory lapses usually start like normal where you forget something for a moment or don't remember doing something a few days ago. However, they progress to getting more frequent with more serious and permanent loss. Things once familiar become foreign.
However, a lapse of memory doesn't necessarily mean a disease like Alzheimer's. Memory can also be impacted by things like stress, lack of sleep or even diet. Having trouble with your memory may be a sign of those things or even a illness like depression. Understanding when it is a symptom instead of a regular lapse of memory is the key.
So how do we tell the difference? It's not easy, after all memory can be somewhat subjective...some people have better recall than others. But, the trick is knowing what is normal for you and then being able to notice if it changes. If you always have trouble remembering names, but rarely forget phone numbers then you might be concerned if you started having trouble with numbers as well as names.
Frequency is also important to track. If you notice that memory lapses are happening with greater regularity then it may be a sign that there is an issue that needs to be addressed. Also the type of information that is being forgotten could be telling too. If you are having trouble remembering things that were normally simple for you or if you forget things that are routine and/or very familiar to you then that would be a more serious red flag.
What do you do if you suspect that your memory lapses are something more serious? Obviously the first step is to seek medical attention. A doctor should check you out and review your diet, sleep and stress patterns with you to see if they can determine a root cause. If that doesn't seem to be it they may need to run certain tests to see if they can uncover the reason for the issue. They may also refer you to a Therapist who can rule out things like depression or some other mental health issue.
Some steps you can take to combat memory lapses and possibly restore memory function is to adjust your diet to be healthier, exercise more or perhaps take a supplement designed for supporting brain function. These combined with the advice of your doctor may help you find and address the more serious issues your lapse of memory is trying to signal.
Slipping - How to Deal With a Dietary Lapse
We've all done it. You try to go on a healthy eating diet, but one day you binge. Maybe you go out for a big lunch with friends, or you're feeling a bit down and missing the chocolate or you're just tired and take away is SO much easier than cooking. Then you feel you've just lost the momentum and give up all together. This is what happens to a large percentage of diets or exercise programs, often in the first ten days. It's why so many fail. So how do you deal with a slip without destroying all the good work you've done, and without giving up all together? I think the first thing to do is accept that lapses happen to just about everyone. It's not the end of the world and it's definitely not worth giving up on your health plans.
Here are few strategies to deal with a lapse:
1. Celebrate your successes not your failure. If your lapse is on the fifth day, celebrate that you had 4 successful days rather than lamenting 1 unsuccessful day.
2. Relax a little and don't blame yourself for the lapse. Give yourself a break. You may have broken your diet but that's OK, you're human. No-one is perfect. As long as you treat yourself well, eating healthily as much as you can, the odd lapse shouldn't change your determination to look after yourself.
3. Instead of feeling like your diet is all over because you blew it once, take the time to figure out what went wrong. Consider if you were very tired, unhappy, scared, sad or anxious. Maybe you found the dieting situation pressured, uncomfortable or embarrassing. Figuring out where you may have taken a wrong turn and what you can do to get back on track to your weight loss goal will get you out of the "giving up" mode and may prepare you to avoid it in the future.
4. Give yourself a day off. If you are starting on a new regime it's fair to give yourself a day off. Allocate these days and let yourself eat as much chocolate as you want, or lie on the lounge in front of the TV rather than exercise, or have a big lunch out with friends and eat whatever you choose. This way, if you have cravings you know when you can indulge it, and hold off until then. Just be sensible in how often you allow these days. A day off every second day won't help you achieve your goals. Maybe start with once a week then extend to once a fortnight, then maybe even extend to once a month, but only if you can hold out that long between days off. A scheduled day off from any healthy eating or exercise program can actually ensure the program is a success.
5. The most important thing is to get back on track the next day. One lapse is not going to ruin your plans, but giving up will. Each time you lapse, just start up again the next day as though nothing happened. There's a good chance you'll lapse again. Don't panic!!! Each time you'll find there are more days between the lapses.
The key thing for you to keep in mind if you lapse is DON'T GIVE UP. Remember that lapses are a part of any diet, and a natural by product of any eating regimen change. Realistically, they should be taken into consideration from the earliest planning stages. Of course, you'll lose weight faster if you lapse less frequently. You'll certainly enjoy a diet more if you're not constantly struggling against cravings and temptations. One bad day is not enough to "break your diet" unless you let it get you down. It's what you eat over the long run that counts. The best way to get over a lapse is to treat it like the insignificant blip it is and just get right back on track!
Here are few strategies to deal with a lapse:
1. Celebrate your successes not your failure. If your lapse is on the fifth day, celebrate that you had 4 successful days rather than lamenting 1 unsuccessful day.
2. Relax a little and don't blame yourself for the lapse. Give yourself a break. You may have broken your diet but that's OK, you're human. No-one is perfect. As long as you treat yourself well, eating healthily as much as you can, the odd lapse shouldn't change your determination to look after yourself.
3. Instead of feeling like your diet is all over because you blew it once, take the time to figure out what went wrong. Consider if you were very tired, unhappy, scared, sad or anxious. Maybe you found the dieting situation pressured, uncomfortable or embarrassing. Figuring out where you may have taken a wrong turn and what you can do to get back on track to your weight loss goal will get you out of the "giving up" mode and may prepare you to avoid it in the future.
4. Give yourself a day off. If you are starting on a new regime it's fair to give yourself a day off. Allocate these days and let yourself eat as much chocolate as you want, or lie on the lounge in front of the TV rather than exercise, or have a big lunch out with friends and eat whatever you choose. This way, if you have cravings you know when you can indulge it, and hold off until then. Just be sensible in how often you allow these days. A day off every second day won't help you achieve your goals. Maybe start with once a week then extend to once a fortnight, then maybe even extend to once a month, but only if you can hold out that long between days off. A scheduled day off from any healthy eating or exercise program can actually ensure the program is a success.
5. The most important thing is to get back on track the next day. One lapse is not going to ruin your plans, but giving up will. Each time you lapse, just start up again the next day as though nothing happened. There's a good chance you'll lapse again. Don't panic!!! Each time you'll find there are more days between the lapses.
The key thing for you to keep in mind if you lapse is DON'T GIVE UP. Remember that lapses are a part of any diet, and a natural by product of any eating regimen change. Realistically, they should be taken into consideration from the earliest planning stages. Of course, you'll lose weight faster if you lapse less frequently. You'll certainly enjoy a diet more if you're not constantly struggling against cravings and temptations. One bad day is not enough to "break your diet" unless you let it get you down. It's what you eat over the long run that counts. The best way to get over a lapse is to treat it like the insignificant blip it is and just get right back on track!
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Wedding Photography Lenses That Every Photographer Can't Do Without
There are generally four kinds of photography lenses that every wedding photographer should have in his or her gig bag:
Wide-Angle Zoom
Wide-to-Telephoto Zoom
Image-Stabilized Telephoto Zoom
Prime/Portrait Lenses
Wide-Angle Zoom
Wide-angle zoom lenses are one of the most important photography lenses that every wedding photographer should have, typically 17mm to 35mm in length with a fixed aperture of f/2.8. They provide a large depth of field, making it simple to have foreground and background in focus. They are an indispensable wedding photography equipment which allows versatility in confined areas such as a small banquet room or crowded dance floor. While shorter photography lenses allow you to capture more details, wide-angle zoom lenses allow you to capture more reactions and atmosphere to tell a richer story.
To elaborate further, wide-angle zoom photography lenses allow you to shoot a wider perspective of moments happening around the major subject, hence providing a bigger picture of the entire event. For example, wide-angle photos have the capability to tell "stories within a story", allowing you to reveal more of the story behind the shot. This is essential for a good photojournalistic wedding photography. As events surrounding weddings are so time sensitive, good photography lenses will allow you to capture as many actions or emotions in the quickest time as possible.
When used in a venue such as the church or ballroom, wide-angle zoom photography lenses also magnify the grandeur and spaciousness of the area, which encapsulates the creative feel for a photojournalistic wedding photography.
However, you need to be selective of the scenes or actions using wide-angle photography lenses, as a caveat to shooting wide is that it creates some body distortion, particularly when a subject is photographed close-up. Generally, people tend to look heavier and shorter on the edges, while arms can look huge. The last thing you want is to have the bride cursing you for making her look like she has put on 10 pounds! To get around this problem, you should as far as possible avoid putting the bride and groom at the edges of the wide-angle distortion. In addition, wide-angle photography lenses might also introduce distracting or unwanted elements into the frame, which would otherwise ruin a picture perfect moment.
Wide-to-Telephoto Zoom
Wide-to-telephoto lenses are the single most important photography lenses that a wedding photographer cannot do without. They should ideally be lenses that cover somewhere around the 20-70mm focal length range with an aperture of f/2.8. This ideal range lets you get wide enough to take a group photograph and close enough to capture facial emotions in your candid shots or a three-quarter portrait of a couple without the undesirable effects of wide-angle perspective distortion. They also double as good lenses for portraits. Given just this lens, you would be able to capture most of the shots needed for a wedding decently well.
Image-Stabilized Telephoto Zoom
Image-stabilized telephoto zoom lenses are also essential items in your wedding photography equipment checklist. The 70-200mm focal length is an important range for wedding ceremony photos. It allows you to give your subjects more space in situations where you don't want to get in the way. As you will often be photographing down the aisle from the back of the church, image-stabilized telephoto zoom lenses will come in very handy. 200mm is long enough to be able to take 3/4 length images of the bride and groom exchanging their vows while staying at a reasonable distance away from the action and 70mm is wide enough to take in the bridesmaids or groomsmen as a group without switching photography lenses.
A good point to note is that when using such photography lenses, nice blurred background can be achieved with maximum wide apertures of f/2.8 and long focal lengths of 200mm or 300mm, whether you are using a full-frame or a small sensor body. This allows you to isolate the subject from its background, and to focus attention on the image as the main subject you want to portray. Such photography lenses are especially useful for shots where you are unable to get in close and for intimate and private moments, where you want to be an unobserved stranger at a distance. Some examples include a stolen glance, a mischievous grin, a kiss - the details that are effectively conveyed by the emotions. Image-stabilized telephoto zoom photography lenses hence play an important role in capturing such moments.
These image-stabilized telephoto zoom photography lenses aren't only good for blurry backgrounds or shooting events from a distance. They could also be used to photograph stunning facial close-ups from creative angles above or below the subject that don't exhibit the normal distortions of large chins or shrinking heads that come from wider photography lenses.
Yet another advantage of such photography lenses is that you can use the small-sensor camera's 1.5x crop factor to your favour. The 200/2.8 long end of the standard zoom effectively becomes 300/2.8, a lens that would cost $4000 for a full-frame camera. The effective 300mm length allows for more creative photo angles than shorter photography lenses, such as tightly cropped images of the groom's hands lifting the bride's veil or the bride and groom's hands while they put rings on each others fingers.
The obvious disadvantage of image-stabilized telephoto zooms is that in many cases, long photography lenses tend to disconnect the subject from the main scene and there might be little to no context as to why the subject may have had expressed how they were feeling, the whereabouts of the subject and who else was there.
When using a small-sensor camera as your primary or backup body, the other disadvantage of image-stabilized telephoto zoom lenses is that neither Nikon, Canon or Sony make an f/2.8 lens that gives you an effective 70-200mm focal length. Hence, you would have to pay the high price and carry the weight of photography lenses designed for a full-frame camera.
Canon's Image-Stabilization, Nikon's Vibration-Reduction and Sony's SteadyShot INSIDE systems are indispensable in allowing you to hand-hold these large and heavy long photography lenses, especially in low light situations. Every wedding photographer should ensure that the image-stablization and vibration-reduction features are available on their long lenses. You might also want to consider using a tripod to ensure continuous, accurate subject placement and sharp photos. Such telephoto zoom photography lenses are huge investments and if you have a budget constraint or an amateur just starting out, you might want to consider rental instead.
Prime Lenses
Prime lenses are essentially photography lenses with fixed focal lengths, as opposed to zoom lenses, which have variable focal lengths of say 24-70mm or 17-55mm. Prime lenses generally have a better optical quality than zoom photography lenses, and usually come with wider maximum apertures such as f/2.8 or f/1.8.
Good prime lenses are must-have photography lenses for any wedding photographer, as they are excellent for taking good portraits. Although you will be adequately equipped for a wedding shoot with the three zoom lenses in your lens kit as discussed above, it is worth including two to three fast prime lenses in your bag as well. These photography lenses are compact, light, and fairly inexpensive and would probably be needed in about 10 to 20% of a wedding shoot.
Faster prime photography lenses are ideal in situations where f/2.8 aperture is not enough to get the motion-stopping shutter speed or shallow depth of field desired, whether for artistic or technical reasons. For example, an image that requires a 1/20th of a second shutter speed at f/2.8 will only require 1/60th of a second at f/1.8, forming a distinction between a sharp image and a blurry one. Many professional wedding photographers actually include prime lenses in their gig bags as an economical backup to their zoom lenses. Not many people could afford to purchase an additional 70-200mm f/2.8 telephoto lens as a backup and you also want to prevent a frantic situation whereby your photography lens fails on you during a crucial moment.
There are many prime lenses available on the market but most photographers would include a 28/1.8, 50/1.8, and 85/1.8 in their prime photography lenses kit to be used on a full-frame body. The 28mm is wide enough to cover most ceremony locations and confined spaces, the 50mm is good for small groups or a priest blessing a couple, and the 85mm is long enough for ceremony vows and exchange of rings. A wedding can be successfully photographed with just these three photography lenses.
When you make a well-informed choice on the right photography lenses to use, it will definitely elevate your wedding photography to a more professional level.
Personal Tech and Memory to Lapse - You Still Have to Remember What to Search
If you are one who is unconvinced with the reality that the Internet is causing people to have shorter memories, then I'd like to explain why our high-tech world is in fact causing human brains to function differently. First of all, I'd like to state a fact, which I think we all know intuitively, even if there are no major research papers on the topic. And that is; "the brain works much like a muscle, and if you don't use it, you lose it." Now then, I can say we all believe that, and understand that principle.
Now, let's talk about your cell phone and how it stores all the phone numbers that you used to have to remember. And let's talk about the reason that it's no longer important to remember dates, events, or famous people - after all, you can look it up on the Internet anytime you want it's always there 24-7-365. Even kids wonder how come they have to do reports on various topics in school, as all the information is already there on Wikipedia, why should they have to redo it? Worse, they wonder why they can't just copy it, are you beginning to see the problem.
And, I think most of us realize that rote memorization doesn't work, or at least it doesn't work that well, and it's probably a lousy way to teach young humans in school. Nevertheless, we still do that, and you and I, and all of our friends have had a lot of training and memorization, but these days we don't use our memory very much, and therefore, often we feel it is lacking.
No, it's probably not onset Alzheimer's, but rather the fact that our brain just doesn't work that way anymore. We've not been reinforcing the memorization of information as we used too.
Still, I wouldn't say that the high-tech world and information age will totally destroy human memory, because Alas, you still have to know what to search, so you do have to remember the concept, even if you can never how to spell the names, or remember the dates behind that subject. Please consider all this.
Now, let's talk about your cell phone and how it stores all the phone numbers that you used to have to remember. And let's talk about the reason that it's no longer important to remember dates, events, or famous people - after all, you can look it up on the Internet anytime you want it's always there 24-7-365. Even kids wonder how come they have to do reports on various topics in school, as all the information is already there on Wikipedia, why should they have to redo it? Worse, they wonder why they can't just copy it, are you beginning to see the problem.
And, I think most of us realize that rote memorization doesn't work, or at least it doesn't work that well, and it's probably a lousy way to teach young humans in school. Nevertheless, we still do that, and you and I, and all of our friends have had a lot of training and memorization, but these days we don't use our memory very much, and therefore, often we feel it is lacking.
No, it's probably not onset Alzheimer's, but rather the fact that our brain just doesn't work that way anymore. We've not been reinforcing the memorization of information as we used too.
Still, I wouldn't say that the high-tech world and information age will totally destroy human memory, because Alas, you still have to know what to search, so you do have to remember the concept, even if you can never how to spell the names, or remember the dates behind that subject. Please consider all this.
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