Nature's Best :: Don Smith Photography
Exploring our incredible world one image at a time!
Want To Go Pro? Here Are Some Things To Consider!
Posted on April 24, 2014
Alpenglow on El Capitan, Valley View, Yosemite National Park
Canon 1DMKII, 20mm, f/22, 2.5 seconds, ISO 100, Singh-Ray Thin LB Polarizer
Without question, the number one question I have been asked over the years is, “How do I become a professional?”
There are variations on this theme. “What gear do you recommend? What college courses do you recommend? What about marketing?”
Perhaps you are reading this wishing you could dump your day job and travel to beautiful places and just photograph your life away. Looks glamorous right? Well it’s an illusion.
Don’t get me wrong. I do get to travel (I’m actually on the road for over half the year). Yet, let me peal back the curtain and give you a glimpse of what really goes on for most of us lucky enough to make a living with our cameras.
My Path To Professional Photography – Education Is Key
First off, let’s start with a bit of my background. I have been making a full-time living with my camera since 1990. Prior to that, I spent 10 years working my way up the ladder part-time while working full time in construction and eventually as a high school teacher.
Though I’ve always loved landscape photography, I started out as a photojournalist, knocking around with small newspapers. I eventually concentrated on sports photography and ended up working for a sports stock agency, FocusWest, which eventually became Getty Images. I also spent a stint of 6 years working as a stringer for Sports Illustrated. I then went on to become co-team photographer for the San Jose Sharks along with a 14 year stint as staff photographer for Fleer Trading Cards.
All the while I kept after my landscape photography in my spare time. Getting good at this genre doesn’t happen overnight – it happens with hard work and many failures.
Not only was landscape photography a new challenge, but it was also very therapeutic (a break from constant deadline pressure of sports). I also just enjoyed working with light that I found at the end of the days. It excited my senses.
So it’s worth noting, that I did not immediately shoot for the top. I got my college degree from San Jose State University in Photojournalism, then worked my way up the ladder a hard step at a time. Reputation means more than just making pretty pictures in this business. Editors want to work with photographers who are dependable.
So, I believe the first step is to get a thorough education in the craft of photography and supplement your coursework with business classes. It also requires that one doesn’t try to cut the legs out from underneath full-time pros who have worked hard to get prices and day rates to the level they are. I’ve seen a disturbing trend of young photographers either giving away their work or accepting sub-standard day rates to get their foot in the door. It has brought the entire industry down. Nowadays, everyone is a photographer and editors are exploiting that fact (often at their loss as shoots are not meeting the standards that they were used to seeing).
Bottom line – compete fairly. Study the market and learn what tho charge and don’t accept less just to get the job. This reputation will follow you throughout your career and other pros will know who you are.
Being a pro also means that a majority of your time will be dedicated to running your business. That means endless hours of marketing, planning, tracking expenditures and hopefully, and most importantly, tracking income! Believe me, expenses come fast and furious. Income, less regularly. There are no guarantees – you have create avenues to generating income if you hope to make a go at this. In the beginning, that could mean shooting many events that may not be on the top of your list.
It wasn’t until 2004 that I decided to turn my attention to marketing my landscape work. My wife and I waited 2 years before deciding that I should go for it.
How I Got Into Professional Landscape Photography
It has been a steady climb that started with learning how to become an effective workshop instructor. I met Gary Hart in Yosemite in 2006 and started assisting his workshops before striking out on my own.
I also applied with Getty Images’ Creative Division (I was already repped by their sports side) but wanted to see if my landscape work could also be repped. Somehow I survived the cut of 800 applicants for one contract (an 8 month process of surviving cut after cut); however, one can no longer make a full-time living from stock photography. There is simply too much competition and photographers willing to give away their work – too bad for all us full-timers, but something that is completely out of our hands.
Hopefully, if you’ve stuck with me to this point, you are understanding that there is no quick way to making a full living at this. Just a step at a time.
Study, Study, Study, Then Apply That Knowledge
Also, if you are reading this blog, I’m assuming you are interested in landscape photography. There are many genres in photography. Don’t be a jack-of-all-trades. Identify what it is you like and make yourself an expert in that genre through hard work and study.
The study side for me these days comes from the art world. I love studying paintings and other photographers work that resonates with me. I’ve spent years learning my craft. Cameras keep improving and developing (mirrorless seems to be where we are heading), and processing (hey, we are the lab these days and processing images is a craft in itself).
Then I have to apply all this knowledge to crafting and creating images that editors will buy. Be hard on yourself here – seriously. If you want to join the ranks of other pro photographers, you have to know they are the best at what they do, or they simply wouldn’t be here. Competition is ruthless and exceptional quality is a must. Set your standards extremely high.
Let’s Talk Equipment – Get Ready To Spend A Lot Of Money – This Will Be Quick
That leads me to equipment. Just know that your competition are using the best cameras, lenses, tripods, accessories that money can buy. So the most direct and honest answer I can give to the “what equipment should I buy?” question is start with the best you can buy and add as you can. Also, don’t get hung up on what brand is better – they are all good. I use Canon cameras and lenses, but Nikon is just as good as well as other companies. Many are now concentrating on the mirrorless market. It’s just key you start with one company and build your system a lens and camera at a time.
No Matter How Awesome Your Images Are, You Need To Market Them – Editors Need To Know Your Work Is Out There
Now, for every hour you spend creating an image, multiply that by 10 when it comes to marketing. The best images in the world are useless to your business if no one can find them.
This is where websites and social media come into play.
First order of business is to get a good website built that offers e-commerce. I am in the process of having a new website designed that will offer beautiful and easy navigation and full e-commerce.
Proper use of social media is the next step to getting your work in front of many eyes. Separating the serious lookers from the casual lookers is difficult to ascertain, but the key is getting active with Facebook and other social media sites. Besides FB, I also use Google+, 500px, Aminus3, and a WordPress blog that I constantly update.
I have been told by social media experts that you have to give your viewers a reason to come back – to both your website and your social media and blog sites. I’m asked how I built my following on Facebook? I try to post 5 times per week and l also try to link my posts to blogs (at least 2-3 times per week depending on my travel/shooting schedule). I also purchased Facebook ads when I first started out to help build a following. I no longer rely on ads but I think it is imperative in the beginning. NOTE: Almost every day I will get another photographer placing his/her link on my FB site for exposure. I immediately delete and ban them. This is wrong and please don’t follow this course of action. Work hard and build your own following. When I first started on FB, I was lucky if I got 2-3 new followers per day. Now, it is closer to 800-1000 per day. But this will not happen overnight. You have to engage your visitors with good imagery and information. You also have to interact with them. Don’t be aloof and just take in all the nice comments. I think it is important to comment back (not to each reply, but always to someone who took the time to write more than “nice image.”)
My blogs offer a lot of advice, both on the craft and vision sides of fine art landscape photography. I feel I have to offer my readers a reason to follow me without giving away all my knowledge. They get that when they sign up for a workshop.
It’s a fine line I walk but a necessary one.
A Typical Day
When I am not traveling, my day normally will start at 5:30am. I spend upwards of 3-4 hours answering emails, responding to social media posts (I feel it very important to take the time to respond to those who write me – see “NOTE” above), and writing blogs. This morning alone I have been at the computer addressing those three issues for the past 5 hours!
I still have a 3-hour editing stint ahead of me and an evening commercial shoot (to help pay the bills). My day will end somewhere around 8pm tonight. Tomorrow, I’ll get up and do it all over again. In fact, I rarely take a day off.
Yesterday was spent arranging travel for the next 6 months. This included scheduling two scouting trips to Oregon and New Mexico, along with working on setting up hotels and filing permits for my fall workshops.
All of my travel is paid out of my own pocket. Again, no guarantees I’ll ever make a penny back, but these are the chances I have to take to create new imagery and scout potential new workshop locations. I’ll be off to Oregon later this week, then off to New Mexico next month. I also teach 13 workshops per year, so as you can see, travel is part of all this.
Travel may seem exciting, but it is long hard hours. Most days fall between the 15-17 hour range with very little sleep (and I suck at napping). Weather is not guaranteed and days can be wiped off the calendar if I’m not willing to put up with the discomfort. Fortunately I’ve always held the belief that great images can be created in awful weather. It is a state of mind really that I’m willing to put up with discomfort to create interesting and exciting images.
This Will All Be Exhausting And Taxing On Your Body, So Take Care Of Yourself
Being an effective and productive landscape photographer can be extremely taxing on your body, thus it is important to eat right, get plenty of rest when you can, and exercise – daily! I’m fortunate that my wife is vegan and makes very nutritional meals. I am not vegan (nor am I interested in becoming vegan) but I do watch what I eat when I am at home, not so much on the road (I need to get better at that). I also workout daily when at home. I’m fortunate to live two blocks from a gym where I am a member. Daily workouts are part of my routine. Take care of your body and it will take care of your. Lugging heavy backpacks and hiking means conditioning is a must!
Through It All, Try To Keep A Balance
Through all of this, I think it is very important that you try to maintain a balance. Remember, when your turn your passion into a business, it can drain the passion. This is the last thing an artist needs – without passion, we cannot create. I do this by trying to maintain a balance in my life (though my wife Beri will tell you I need to do it more). I love playing golf and working out. I also love exploring new locations (that means more travel, but leisure travel). I’m rarely without a camera but if I see potential in a leisure travel area, I’ll come back with my photographer mentality.
So that’s about it. If you’ve made it to the end of this blog, then I would have to say you are serious. So get out there and get going. Just be realistic about the path ahead of you. Wish I could say it is a piece of cake but I’d be lying. On the other hand, I couldn’t think of a more enjoyable and exciting way to make a living. Just be ready to work long hours and keep the flame inside of you alive. More than anything, enjoy the journey and believe in yourself. Build your business a step at a time. Good luck!
Free Video Sample :: Chapter 19 – Introduction to Luminosity Masks
2014 Photo Workshops – Complete List
2015 Photo Workshops
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Helicon Focus click on link to receive 15% discount
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MindShift Gear rotation180° Panorama rotating day hiker backpack
Similar To Songs, Images Can Provoke Powerful Memories
Posted on October 30, 2013
Clearing Winter Storm, Yosemite National Park
Canon 1DsMKII, 24-70mmL @ f/20, 1/5th second, ISO 100, Singh-Ray Neutral Polarizer, Singh-Ray 2 stop GND
I have been photographing the beauty and splendor of Yosemite for the past 40 years. I’ve been lucky enough to photograph many clearing storms with sunset light but none as beautiful as this one in early March of 2006.
Perhaps even more fortuitous, I was one of only five photographers lucky enough to make it to the Tunnel View lookout as park rangers were strongly urging visitors to leave the park due to high winds and falling trees and branches.
There must be a story here, and you are right, but not just any story; this is one that actually was a career-changer!
Living within a 2 1/2 hour drive of the park allows me the freedom to chase storms. On March 2, 2006, I was tracking an extremely cold storm with a snowline of 1500 feet – well below the Valley’s 4,000 foot range. I set my alarm for the wee hours of the next morning (March 3) and set off to photograph fresh snow.
On The Front Side Of The Storm
The storm was really just beginning as I entered the park, so I dashed off for a bit a breakfast and allowed for some accumulation to take hold. It doesn’t take long in Yosemite as even an inch or two can give the Valley a fresh look. Pacific storm fronts can come and go quickly and this was a fast mover by all indications.
I spent the better portion of the day driving the loop (Southside and Northside Drive) and occasionally detoured over the El Capitan Bridge. I noticed with each loop that the park was becoming more and more devoid of tourists and photographers. “Where was everyone going,” I thought to myself, “this is when the good stuff happens!”
I happened to notice one other photographer who was as stubborn as me and enjoying the hell out of himself at every stop. We struck up a bit of a conversation a Fern Creek but mainly stuck to our photography. What I soon realized was happening was that park rangers were asking people to detour the park as they were certain the storm was going to last through the night, and trees and falling branches had already closed two of the park’s main entrances: Highway 40 (south of Tunnel View) and Highway 120. That left only the Merced River Canyon route (Highway 140) accessible. I had booked a room on the drive up at The Yosemite View Lodge (located just outside the park on Highway 140) so I wasn’t too concerned.
Playing A Hunch
Having lived in the Sierra during my early 20’s, I knew storms could clear within three-to-four hours of clearing the Bay Area. I’d set my radio to San Francisco’s all-news channels – KCBS – and was encouraged to hear that the storm had indeed cleared the Bay Area just after noon. Sunset that evening was listed for 5:53pm (no I don’t have a photographic memory – I looked it up)!
Doing some simple math made me realize that there was an outside chance that this storm could indeed clear (or at least begin to break up prior to sunset). As I made one more loop around Yosemite Village, a ranger did indeed stop me at approximately 3pm and asked if I could leave the park. I told him that I was a photographer and had been monitoring the storm. I further told him that I felt there was a reasonable chance that the storm could break prior to sunset. I believe his response was, “no chance in hell; this one’s going through the night.”
I then asked if I had to leave and he responded with a tepid, “No.” He let me go and I continued down Northside Drive. Tree limbs overwhelmed by the accumulated snow had broken and fallen on the roadway. In fact, it was snowing so hard that the plows could only clear one of the two lanes. I started thinking it might not be a bad idea to heed the ranger’s advice and drive to the hotel. I did stop at Valley View and got out of my car to access the situation, but with no break in sight, I climbed back in and slowly pulled away thinking I’d call it a day.
Divine Intervention Or A Lucky Break?
I hadn’t driven more that 300 yards when out of nowhere a shaft of sunlight burst through the clouds and snow-covered trees. “A divine message,” I thought to myself? I didn’t question it any longer. A quick glance at my watch revealed I still had over two hours before actual sunset. If the sun could break through all these clouds, it just might be a sign that the storm was coming to an end.
There was no other thought in my mind as I neared the Pohono Bridge. I took that shaft of light as a sign that the storm could indeed be breaking and immediately turned left over the bridge and drove to Tunnel View. As I waited with the other four photographers, I struck up a conversation with the photographer I’d met earlier in the day. His name was Gary Hart. It didn’t take long to realize that we had a lot in common – mainly our passion for photography (and sports). Gary had made a career switch, giving up his job at tech giant Intel, while I told him that I was primarily a sports photographer but was looking at transitioning into the world of fine-art landscape. Up to that point, I had kept my landscape photography strictly recreational but had amassed over 1,000 images.
As we continued chatting, the storm kept pounding with no end in sight. I told Gary about the report I’d heard on the radio and that I used to live in the mountains and that we had an outside chance of getting a clearing storm shot. He told me he had no intention of leaving regardless of the conditions until sunset time came and went – I loved his tenacity!
And Now…The Rest Of The Story!
As you can see in the image above, our patience was rewarded (I love it when things work as intended – now where did that ranger go)?
Gary and I stayed in touch, and the following year, I started to assist Gary with his Yosemite workshops. With his encouragement, I started teaching my own workshops two years later.
We have remained great friends and help at each others workshops when our busy schedules allow! Currently we do three each and co-teach an August Monsoon Workshop at Grand Canyon (see links below).
To say the least, that day was one that will always stick in my memory bank!
2014 Photo Workshops – Complete List
3rd Annual Fall Color in Grand Teton National Park – September 23 – 27, 2014 (2 spots remaining)
Software Discounts
Photomatix Pro 4.2 type in code at checkout: donsmithphotography 15% discount
Topaz Software type in code at checkout: SMITHPHOTO 10% discount
Helicon Focus click on link to receive 15% discount
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Special September Offer From Think Tank Photo NOTE: (Use Promo Code WS-643)
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Bright Future Ahead for Nik Software!
Posted on July 13, 2013
Late Winter Afternoon Light on Merced River, Yosemite National Park
Canon 1DsMKIII, 24-70mmL @f/16, (5) bracketed shutter speeds, 100 ISO, Singh-Ray Thin LB Polarizer, Images colors and tonality adjusted using Nik Color Efex Pro and Viveza 2. Final image sharpened with Nik Sharpener Pro.
CLICK ON IMAGE FOR LARGER VIEW
I’m not sure about you, but I have a love/hate relationship with the Internet. I love the instant access to virtually any subject one can conjure up, but I hate the misinformation that is out there by the self-proclaimed experts!
My initial degree from San Jose State University was in Journalism; I also went ahead and added an emphasis in Photojournalism, then went back to school and added an English/Secondary teacher degree (yes, I taught High School for three years). Every professor I ever had required that we check the facts, and then double-check them again. From day one, this was drilled it into me. The 5 W’s and H had to be answered in every story: who, what, when where, why and how.
Fast forward to our modern-day access to the world-wide web, and we are transposed into a wild west world where opinions run rampant and fact-checking takes a back seat (sadly). It makes it tough to know who and what to believe anymore. Unfortunately, the days of yellow-journalism are returning as writers have become their own editor.
Recently, I spent an entire evening searching the web regarding the future of Nik Software. If you have followed my blog within the last three years, or have attended any of my workshops, then you know what a huge fan I am of the Nik Software plugins.
Most of you are also aware of the acquisition of Nik Software by software giant Google. The initial speculation was rampant. The so-called Industry experts questioned the acquisition and speculated (I hate that word) as to the popular company’s future. Google immediately issued a statement calming nerves that they were not planning on killing the software and had plans to develop and take it forward. Again, the so-called experts speculated that Google just wanted to get its hands on the popular Snapseed app for its Android phones and would eventually dump the pro-level filters.
Unfortunately, my recent search on this topic turned up more of the same negative speculation. What lacked in each and every story that I read was any evidence that any person at Nik/Google was ever contacted for the story. Granted, software companies keep their plans secret, but I wasn’t trying to find out what new software was coming down the pipe, I just wanted to know if there were plans to continue with the existing software?
The Future for Nik Software Looks Very Bright
I have been a part of Nik Software on the pro photographer side for the past four years. I have gotten to know some of the key employees with the company and I have had the pleasure of getting to know Josh Haftel, who is now Product Manager G+ and who was in-charge of product management at Nik Software. I decided to get a hold of Josh. I was hoping he’d be able to bring me up to speed as to the future plans for the product and I’m excited to say, the future for Nik Software looks very bright!
One of the main rumors floating around is that the all of the original software designers were released. Josh told me this was not true. “As it relates to what Google is doing with the Nik products, we still have the same number of engineers, user interface designers, and quality assistance assigned to the plugins as we did pre-acquisition. We are working both on updates to the existing products as well as new products that we will be releasing soon. Nothing has really changed and we continue to move forward,” said Haftel.
“The acquisition of Nik is also really hard for most people to understand. Google doesn’t generally sell products, wasn’t previously in the high-end photography space, and is almost entirely focused on consumers. All of these points come together to paint a rather confusing picture which some people will summarize as ‘they bought Nik for Snapseed’, as Snapseed is consume-based, it was made free, and you can even see parts of it being added to the G+ app.
“Add to this a general lack of apparent motion in the plugins and voila, there is speculation that Google is killing Nik. Of course there are many reasons why Google bought Nik, and Snapseed was one of them. The reality is that there are a lot of things going on, and things aren’t readily apparent on the outside. I can’t wait until some of these new projects we’re working on are released!”
This was great news to hear and of course I wanted to know if I could share it with my workshop students and followers of my blog and other social media sites. Fortunately, Josh agreed.
I’d be remiss if I did not add that Josh is an excellent photographer in his own right. Thus, he has the rare ability to understand what the filters can do from both an artistic and engineering point-of-view.
Josh has also co-authored a book with Tony Corbell titled, Nik Software Captured. I strongly recommend it to anyone who is serious about processing with the Nik filters.
So there you have it. The future of Nik Software looks bright indeed and there is no reason to abandon your filters. If you have been on the sidelines waiting to purchase these incredible filters, then wait no longer. What used to cost $500+ can now be purchased for 149.00! That includes all six of Nik’s incredible editing plugin filters. You can order them by clicking Nik Software Plugin Filters. You can also try the filters for free for 15 days! I also want to mention to those of you who are new to digital processing, that the Nik Filters are plugins, meaning that they are not a standalone program; they need a host program and will work with: Photoshop, Lightroom, Photoshop Elements or Aperture.
The Suite includes: DFine (noise reduction filter), Viveza 2 (for overall and localized adjustments), Color Efex Pro 4 (59 filters for various affects – try Pro Contrast > Dynamic Contrast), Nik Sharpener Pro 3 (perfect sharpening without the guesswork), Silver Efex Pro (the best black-and-white filter on the market) and HDR Efex Pro (the best HDR filter on the market). All of these filters work on the patented U-Point technology, which makes image processing simple. For your Smartphone and tablet, don’t forget Snapseed – possibly the only processing app you’ll ever need!
If you order before the end of this month, you can use my code DSMITH at checkout and receive an additional 15% off your order. Starting August 1, this offer will no longer be available.
2013 Photo Workshops
2014 Photo Workshops
Software Discounts
Photomatix Pro 4.2 type in code at checkout: donsmithphotography 15% discount
Nik Software type in code at checkout: DSMITH 15% discount
Topaz Software type in code at checkout: SMITHPHOTO 10% discount
Helicon Focus click on link to receive 15% discount
Hardware Discounts
Think Tank Photo – July 2013 Special Offer!
NOTE: Use Promo Code WS-643
Purchase Prints and Cards
Click on this link to purchase prints and cards from a growing library of my favorite landscape images:
Purchase Fine Art Prints and Cards
Nature's Best :: Don Smith Photography 