This compact and portable setup is quite small, light-weight and allows me to set it up almost everywhere because it doesn’t require much space – a perfect situation for every photographer and that’s why I love it. Ohh and one more advantage of using such simple setup is that I can concentrate on the subject and interact better with a person and a client instead of spending too much time on setting up the equipment and worrying too much whether or not everything is set up as it should be – this is something I’ve learned long time ago from Bert Stephani.

But of course, there are some shoots where I need more light, more light modificators, more equipment, and much more muscles to carry everything around

I’m slowly abandoning Flickr and although I have a pro account at the moment, I’m having serious doubts whether or not I’ll renew it in April next year. Flickr isn’t a social network for photography lovers anymore and it’s not even a valuable photo-sharing service anymore for me. The possibilities for valuable interactions are minimal when compared to 500px and most of the comments on the photos are just plain spam (great work, join the group blablabla or something like that – hate that!).

Although I believe that there is still lots of great work posted each day on Flickr, I find the service horribly polluted with regular pictures and it’s really hard to find those good photographs, to learn from others. Not to mention, getting valuable and constructive criticism on your work is almost impossible. I have to admit here that I’m not as active in posting comments on Flickr as I used to be. There are several reasons but I think that the main one is that 500px (not to mention Google Plus which is HUGE among photographers but it requires a different blog article) is much more valuable and reacher for photography enthusiasts. I prefer to explore photographs on 500px and spend my time there rather than on Flickr and the reason is simple: 500px enforces you to upload only the best shots – that’s how the community and the system (for free accounts) are made. The work there is stunning, the comments you give and receive are truly valuable (at least most of them) and you can easily get constructive criticism on your work and learn from it.

It’s really up to you and your preferences if you want to use any of these services and which one to choose. In fact, you can choose more than one but it’s also the time issue for me – being on too many photography services is a bit of a waste of time for me. I just prefer value over quantity

I love 2 things about blue jeans as a photographer: their color and their texture. Most jeans are in a really nice blue color spectrum and temperature, which is nice to look at and doesn’t overpower a subject in an image. Add a nice texture to this pleasant blue color and a good-looking model and you’ll have a perfect combination for  a photo shoot (not to mention you’ll also need good light but it’s a different story).

I had few photo shoots during my recent stay in (Gdansk) Poland in March and I asked Diana to be my model for a spontaneous photo shoot in the Oliwski Parc in Gdansk. We had a really nice weather, a bit cold but sunny. Although we met at around 2pm when the sunlight was still harsh, there was a lot of shadow from the trees and bushes which I used in order to get nice soft light on her face. I also used the sunlight as a hair-light. To my surprise, Diana had with her a couple of outfits and after about an hour shooting she told me she had a jeans outfit (jeans trousers  and jeans shirt).

We both like it so much that we decided to do the rest of the photo shoot in the jeans and I think it was a perfect decision. I particularly like how the colors of the jeans (both of the trousers and the shirt) and their texture fit into the bright light and spring feeling of the pictures. What do you think? I think these jeans are made for wearing … especially in spring

I didn’t expect to have so much trouble with lighting at first and I was hoping that I could manage most of the shots with a speedlight and a light reflector. Unfortunately, it turned out that bouncing the light off from the ceiling and walls with the speedlight wasn’t possible in all rooms because the walls and ceilings were painted with different colors. If I bounced the light off them, I would get weird white balance in camera. In addition, even my trusty 50mm f/1.8 lens (which is a very bright lens), couldn’t handle apartment’s low-light in most cases.

My next step was to use lamps and lights that were available in the apartment but another problem appeared: each light or lamp produced a completely different light color and color temperatures. This meant that setting up a proper white balance was a real nightmare as the smallest change in a set or the smallest movement of a model required adjusting the white balance. Unfortunately, our time for this shoot was limited so I had to come up with an alternative.

At the end, 2 things and ideas saved me. Firstly, I decided to use my speedlight and bounce the light off the walls and the ceiling but with overexposing the photographs with stronger light coming out of the speedlight. The differences in color temperature were less visible when pictures were a bit overexposed. I also used the lamps and lights available in the apartment with various power variations between the speedlight and the lamps to see which one gave me the best result. Secondly, a mirror in another room became my main prop for framing the model in the shots (I wrote about it in my previous post Using a Mirror to Frame a Subject). I can’t express enough how cool it was to use a mirror to do that and how much I learned thanks to these unexpected things that happened at the photo shoot. Now I know what fight I need to put up with artificial lights, lamps and white balance… but I’ll try to avoid it in the future

We photographers often get excited with the releases of new equipment, not to mention buying new gear – we are like kids who just got the most awesome and the most awaited Christmas gift – getting excited, sometimes even screaming or jumping up and down (having said that, our wives, girlfriends, husbands and boyfriends should be all given Nobel Peace Prizes for accepting our behavior but that’s a completely different story). This enthusiasm can often lead to focusing too much on the equipment  and not enough on the subject during a photo shoot. Don’t get me wrong, being able to use the equipment, the tools and the light sources during a photo shoot is important but it is a client, a person and a subject who should we focus on. Gear and equipment are just tools that help us in capturing the subject.

This topic is much broader and deeper than I actually thought it was when I started writing this article. Another important aspect about focusing on a subject (we are talking all the time about a person) and not gear is the significance of establishing certain relationship with a person, of course on the level photographer-subject/customer. Don’t forget that quite often, the photographed person is nervous and doesn’t know what to expect from a photo shoot. It is in your best interest to establish and create a friendly atmosphere and make the person feel comfortable. It helps in capturing great portraits or similar type of pictures, which otherwise could come out really bad, especially when the person is nervous, tense and doesn’t show his/her true face and behavior.

Another point is that it’s also in your best interest to focus on the subject and see it as a customer, a returning customer in the future as well as a ‘live’ walking advertisement of your services, who could refer their friends to you. I think it goes without saying that all your efforts should concentrate on making this person welcomed and special during a photo session but if you don’t know what I’m saying…. treat him/her like a new lens, a new lighting setup or a new camera

When you focus your attention on the gear and not your subject and customer, then you might create an unfriendly environment, which will not only prohibit you from taking great shots but also might cause you to lose that customer in the future and his/her recommendation of your services. I’m not saying that equipment is not important, it’s a tool (just like your camera) that helps you in getting great shots but it’s your subject that should be the main focus. It’s up to you to find that right balance between the two.

Pictures: This was my first photo shoot in 2011, where I tried to unleash my creativity. A friend visiting Brussels was very kind to model for me and it was actually her idea to do a bit of a retro photo session. Strobist info: I used one speedlight SB-900 from Nikon in the manual mode triggered with Cactus Wireless Flash Trigger Set V4 mounted to a big shoot through umbrella (110cm/43”).

Therefore, networking is much more effective for having new customers, especially when we already made happy previous customers with delivering photographs and products in line with their expectations. Satisfied customers who remember you well and have good memories from working with you are much more effective and efficient ‘living advertisers’ than anything else. They will definitely mention you and their experience on working with you to their friends, families and co-workers. They will even refer anyone looking for a photographer to you if they are happy not only with your final results but also with the way you work, communicate and approach your clients. Therefore, a photographer should also be a good communicator, a friendly and engaging person with excellent customer relations.

[fancy_box]The pictures accompanying this blog article were taken when testing new shoot-through umbrellas (110cm) together with Nikon’s Speedlight SB-900. The light source was positioned as close to the subject as possible in order to make the light as soft as possible.[/fancy_box]

Why is it important to always have a camera with you? The answer is very simple and it’s common sense: you never know when an opportunity for a great shot will be. It’s important to have a camera not only in situations where and when you’re expected to shoot but also in random situations, like a walk, family meetings, going out for a dinner, etc. Having a camera with you allows you to be ready to capture a moment that will pass and disappear. Scott Bourne goes a bit deeper into this topic in his article “Capture A Moment – Before It Goes Away Forever” on PhotoFocus.com.

1 November (Monday) was a public holiday in Belgium. I took an opportunity of having a long weekend and I went to Maastricht (the Netherlands) where I used to live before I moved to Brussels (Belgium) in 2009. I lived in Maastricht for about 5 years, so you can imagine I have lots of good memories from there. Going back to the city where I spent 5 years of my life was a great experience and even a time-machine, if you know what I mean. I took plenty of pictures during that weekend, counted in hundreds, and it’s a great feeling to look at them now.

Being good is not enough and being a cheap photographer won’t take you far in the long run. The truth is that the photography market is so much saturated with (mostly) wannabe photographers and even good pro photographers have hard time to make living out of photography. But hard doesn’t mean impossible, right? There are many variables that contribute towards being a successful photographer: marketing, network & networking, resources, photography knowledge & experience, creativity and many more. But it’s the latter one that I would like to emphasize today. Creativity and uniqueness in photography helps you to distinguish yourself from the huge group of other photographers. As I mentioned before, being a good photographer is not enough anymore and having good marketing strategies is not necessarily a key element for obtaining new and valuable customers.

So what to do in order to have a creative and unique photography? The best way is to start off with a small photography project or assignment. This is especially useful when you’re a beginner and you would like to become more visible on the market as a photographer.

- Brainstorming will play a vital role for coming up with creative ideas. I hear often that pros suggest on viewing others’ works for inspiration and creativity. While it might work for the first one (inspiration), it might not be a good idea for the second one (creativity). If you start going over the work of others, there is a risk that you might actually copy the idea of someone’s else, even though you’ll think you came up with a creative and unique photo idea. Give yourself at least a couple of weeks for brainstorming.

- Don’t forget to write down all the ideas that you have (even the smallest ones). Carry a pen and paper with you or make notes on your phone or on any device that you use and which allows you to make notes. I find myself having often new ideas while taking metro, train or just on my way to a store.

- Don’t be disappointed and discouraged quickly if the first idea seem to you not appealing – it’s always the case but soon you will see that more and more new and better ideas will be built on the previous ones.

- Look around you for inspiration – you’ll be surprised how many creative ideas and how much interesting inspiration you can find in your daily life, in your surrounding, things that happen or people that you meet. Take your time to look around you, go to various stores that have house/kitchen tools and appliances. Even look around in your kitchen. Things that you use on a daily basis might give you some terrific ideas.

- Don’t concentrate on photography equipment. In most cases, it is not the photography equipment that will contribute towards creative photography and brainstorming. If you start thinking too much about photography equipment that you don’t have, you might find yourself in a vicious circle (especially when you don’t have enough money to buy this equipment). Instead, you will most likely find the things that you use on a daily basis as interesting. For example, if you want to have a creative picture of a person you can use things in your kitchen (like liquid chocolate, milk, flour, etc.). Look at Bert Stephani’s blog article “Creative Blogstop”, especially on the pictures in the second half of the article.

- Ask your friends and family for help in brainstorming. Even though your friends and family members might not be interested in photography, they might be a great source for interesting ideas in the brainstorming phase. Ask them for help and present them with your ideas. You might be really surprised how creative they can be and how much new and great ideas they might give you!

- Give it a name. If you aim for a special project or an assignment in order to become more visible on the photography market, it’s always a good idea to come up with an interesting and catchy name for it. Wait for naming it until you’re done with your brainstorming. The more interesting the name, the more chances there will be that it will be popular.

For example, by photographing a person with a camera pointing upwards, the subject will look not only taller but also it will give a more powerful message about that person. In addition, changing the point of view will also influence and possibly alter the background that is behind the subject. This way, if the original background behind the subject is not interesting, changing the point of view will likely modify the background into what is above the subject. Also, changing your point of view when taking a picture can help you in eliminating distracting backgrounds.

Article Picture: I think this is a good example on how to use a different point of view from what we are usually used to when looking a subject. It is a picture of a wine bottle taken from above. What you actually see is a cork.

I believe that only taking pictures in order to learn photography is not enough. The same apply when talking about theory – let’s face it, you can’t be a photographer without taking pictures. But both theory and practice are required to be a photographer, add passion and creativity and you won’t only be a photographer but you will have pretty good chances in becoming a good photographer.

So where should be the balance between the theory and practice? In general, I think there is no definite answer to this question. However, I would say that every person who wants to do photography either as a hobby or make living out of it, needs to know at least the minimum of theoretical knowledge. I believe that practice and practical knowledge without the theoretical knowledge can limit an aspiring photographer because for me theory helps you in understanding how various things work, what can be different connections and relations between settings, etc. Such knowledge helps in boosting creativity for sure.

Therefore, I think that everyone should find his and her own balance between the theory: don’t let lack of theory limit your photography and don’t let practice forget about the theory.

Article Pictures: Marika is a young and aspiring model from Poland. We meet in July for a quick and spontaneous photo shoot in Brussels, Belgium. I have to say that working with her is pure pleasure. We had lots of laugh and fun while shooting.